Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons^™

The Lives Of Suburban Peasants: Agricultural Change And Mobility In Haiti, Rachel M. Grabner

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation develops a political ecology of suburban peasants to describe the lives of Haitian farmers residing in a neighborhood on the margins of Port-au-Prince. The category of suburban peasants has been well described for Chinese small-scale farmers but has yet to be applied elsewhere as an analytic category. Using participant observation, semi-structured interviews, and in-depth, key informant interviews, an ethnographic account is provided of changes in agricultural practices made by Haitian peasants as a result of environmental changes that impact their ability to make a living in contemporary Haiti. Farmers’ primary concerns are related to an increased need for …

An Anthropological Study Of Security Operations Centers To Improve Operational Efficiency, Sathya Chandran Sundaramurthy

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Security Operation Centers (SOCs) have become an integral component of business organizations all over the world. The concept of a SOC has existed for a few years now yet there is no systematic study documenting the occurrences of their operations. A lack of documented operational knowledge makes it a challenge for security researchers interested in improving operational efficiency through algorithms, tools, and processes.

SOC environments operate under a secrecy culture as a result of which researchers are not trusted by analysts and their managers. This lack of trust leads to only superficial information through methods such as interviews. Moreover, security …

Investing In Change: Illuminating Interactive Systems In Hiv Research, Communication Diffusion, And Financing In Lesotho, Sharon Elizabeth Watson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In the field of HIV, more than 30 years into the epidemic, the need to ensure that what researchers learn makes its way into tangible actions in the real world is especially poignant. This dissertation addresses the critical divide between research production and its translation into practice. It advances ways to measure the investments of citizens and stakeholders in qualitative studies and offers new perspectives on the losses inadvertently caused by particular investments in health research and services. Unfortunately, many of the problems in how we practice and disseminate research are rampant throughout the health and development research sector. Therefore, …

Poverty In The Land Of Plenty? Deconstructing Role Of Community-Based Organizations In A Small Community, John Kevin Trainor

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Using the lens of a community-based childhood obesity intervention, it is possible to examine the role of non-profit organizations in community development and to deconstruct the “community” in community-based research and identify the many competing interests within a community. This contextual understanding includes how the community is formed, how a community’s agenda is set, and who will complete the tasks outlined in that agenda. In applied anthropological settings and public health interventions that are community-based, it is essential to understand the context of community and which community (or communities) the researcher is working with to ensure that the data you …

Impacts Of Tourism Development On Livelihoods In Placencia Village, Belize, Crystal Ann Vitous

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Placencia Village is one of Belize’s leading “eco-destinations,” due to its sandy-white beaches, coral reefs, and wildlife sanctuaries. While the use of “green washing,” the process of deceptively marketing products, aims or policies as being environmentally friendly, has proven to be effective in attracting consumers who are thought to be environmentally and socially conscious, the exponential growth, coupled with the absence of established policies, represents a significant threat to Belize. This thesis examines the political-ecologic dimensions of rapid tourism expansion in Southern Belize by investigating how the health of the biophysical environment is perceived, what processes are responsible for change, …

(Not) Everything Is Good And Easy: Language-Related Healthcare Experiences Of Two Groups Of Low-Income Latina Mothers, Aria Anna Walsh-Felz

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This cross-sectional, comparative, qualitative study explored language-related issues experienced by low-income Spanish-speaking mothers navigating pediatric care for their children in Hillsborough County, Florida. Hospitals, pediatric clinics, specialists, and dental care have differing degrees of linguistic accessibility and accommodations for limited English proficient families. Two groups of mothers were interviewed: bilingual (n=9) and Spanish-speaking limited-English proficient (SSLEP) mothers (n=21). These groups perceived the effect of language on navigating pediatric healthcare differently, creating tension in perceptions and experience between them. Such tensions included SSLEP mothers expressing satisfaction with pediatric care simultaneously with shortcomings in communication. SSLEP mothers said that everything was easy, …

Behind The Lens: The Pride And Politics Of Filmmaking In Ghana, Farah Leigh Vickery

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research looks at the production of media in Ghana, specifically, film produced in the “Glamour” style or Western-style tradition that originates in its capitol of Accra. The film industry in Ghana, known as Ghallywood, is a vibrant and prolific field in which content is produced and distributed throughout the country for local consumption. Research on production practice, rather than content, can show cross-cultural differentiation in visual media production and also offers a lens through which to explore Ghanaian culture. The following research questions frame this study: What are the production practices of Ghanaian video films? How do …

Like Watching A Brother Die: Environmental Racism In Bahia, Brazil, Meredith Main

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Until the 1970s, small black fishing communities primarily populated Bahia’s north coast. A recent demand for luxury coastal real estate has radically altered the region’s social and environmental landscape. While Bahia’s population is roughly 80% poor and black, the coast is now a space of exclusivity and whiteness. Sewage infrastructure does not meet the needs of the growing population. Domestic sewage flows directly into urban rivers. Poor black fishers, whose food security and livelihoods depend on access to healthy water resources, suffer most in this context. This dissertation explores two interlinking forms of environmental racism – water pollution and racial …

Reification, Resistance, And Transformation? The Impact Of Migration And Demographics On Linguistic, Racial, And Ethnic Identity And Equity In Educational Systems: An Applied Approach, Rebecca Ann Campbell

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Using an applied anthropological approach focused on language, this study investigates the relationship between linguistic, racial, and ethnic identities and school resource access in the context of migration. This project examines how these identities are established, experienced, reified, and resisted by various school actors. Exposing power at its roots through a multi-level analysis, this research informs on how people negotiate socialization into particular identities, propelling them toward positions in school and society of varying opportunity.

Focused on two elementary schools in a central Florida county that has been and is undergoing demographic changes, this work offers applications for educational institutions …

The Other Earthquake: Janil Lwijis, Student Social Movements, And The Politics Of Memory In Haiti, Laura A. Leisinger

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Among increased calls for "new narratives" of Haiti, this thesis seeks to honor Haitian traditions of intellectualism and resistance, centering on the life and legacy of martyred professor Janil Lwijis in post-earthquake student social movements. Based on oral histories with student activists at the State University of Haiti (UEH), this work explores student protest in Haiti through the voices, often at odds, of those en lutte; it explores how Janil is invoked and remembered, and argues that oral history can contribute to activist research and pose a challenge to dominant narratives. A legacy that is contested, differential claims to Janil's …

Baiting Sustainability: Collaborative Coastal Management, Heritage Tourism, And Alternative Fisheries In Placencia, Belize, Eric Koenig

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Local coastal fishers in Belize are adapting novel strategies to manage, exploit, and market marine and coastal resources in an effort to promote fishing livelihoods and coastal environmental sustainability. These resilience strategies respond to diminished fishing stocks, fisheries and environmental policies and regulations, climate change, shifting seafood markets, and expanding tourism development. With growing foreign investment and nationally-directed infrastructure improvement projects on the Placencia Peninsula in recent years, tourism development is shifting toward mass tourism, and local residents are seeking avenues to sustain their livelihoods. In Placencia, the need for effective monitoring and management of Marine Protected Areas, fisheries, and …

Access To Health Services And Health Seeking Behavior Among Former Child Soldiers In Manizales, Colombia, Adriana Marcella Dail

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Through the Colombian Institute for Family Welfare (ICBF), the Colombian government aims to provide comprehensive reintegration for children demobilized from the country’s various armed groups. The reestablishment of rights, including the right to health (guaranteed by the Colombian constitution), is a key factor in successful reintegration. This thesis explores the topic of access to health care and health seeking behavior among former child soldiers in Manizales, Colombia who are over the age of 18 and were previously in the Hogar Tutor program (foster care-based youth reintegration) in Manizales. This thesis utilizes semi-structured interviews (n=9) and body mapping (n=9) with former …

Learning To Survive Ecological Risks Among The Sidama Of Southwestern Ethiopia, Samuel J. Dira, Barry S. Hewlett

Journal of Ecological Anthropology

Sidama farmers rely on rain-fed agriculture and experience a highly variable natural environment. Recurrent drought, erratic rainfall, and crop and livestock loss are common in mid and lowland areas, but local people are not passive victims of the changing environment: they use accumulated knowledge and skills to respond to and buffer ecological changes. Based on freelists and in-depth interviews with 70 adults and 50 adolescents, this paper describes how the Sidama conceive of ecological risks, survive difficult times, and learn to be resilient. The results indicate that food shortage and drought are salient risk factors. While local people think the …

Community Development, Elizabeth Strom

Service-Learning Syllabi

No abstract provided.

Culture And Conservation: Beyond Anthropocentrism, Nathan Poirier

Journal of Ecological Anthropology

No abstract provided.

The Life And Times Of Landfills, Joshua O. Reno

Journal of Ecological Anthropology

American landfills are primarily understood as distinctly human and spatial creations, when in practice they are as much temporal as spatial and as much non-human as human. Based on a large landfill on the rural periphery of Detroit, this paper explores the emergent and polychronic forms of life fostered by controlled dumping. Landfill employees work with their ecological surroundings to satisfy regulatory directives and assemble ever-growing mountains of waste. The paper introduces the complex, practical negotiations that result by isolating and diagraming the distinct temporal scales at which nonhuman beings and powers aid in and disrupt the process of landfilling.

Access And Barriers To Services For Dependent And Non-Dependent Commercially Sexually Exploited Children In Florida, Brianna O'Steen

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

“Human trafficking” has become part of the everyday lexicon in the United States and globally over the last fifteen years. The issue has made its way into political platforms, scholarly work, church congregations, and international aid agendas. Florida is currently recognized as third in the nation for number of cases of human trafficking. This thesis employs ethnographic interviews and observations to understand one portion of Florida’s human trafficking problem referred to as domestic minor sex trafficking. This type of trafficking affects mostly teenage girls from marginalized populations, such as those that have experienced the child welfare system, homelessness, and impoverished …

The Blurred Lines Of Hpv And Cervical Cancer Knowledge: Exploring The Social And Cultural Factors Of Identity, Gender, And Sexuality In Caribbean Immigrant Women, Maisha Standifer

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores how the sociocultural experiences of migration and acquisition of health knowledge influence the beliefs and behaviors related to human papillomavirus (HPV) risks and cervical cancer prevention among women who have emigrated from English-speaking Caribbean nations and now live in the Tampa Bay metropolitan area. Genital human papillomavirus is very common, and cervical cancer is the most common HPV-associated cancer. Additionally, all cervical cancers are caused by the HPV infection. More women of color, including Black and Hispanic women, are diagnosed with cervical cancer and at a later stage of the disease than women of other races or …

The Production Of Cultural Heritage Discourses: Political Economy And The Intersections Of Public And Private Heritage In Yap State, Federated States Of Micronesia, Stefan M. Krause

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Heritage is a concept that has received abundant critical attention within the academy. This study seeks to extend this critique by demonstrating the value of long-term ethnographic research and analysis of heritage processes on the Main Islands of Yap State, Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). As the FSM staff cultural anthropologist for 23 months, the author utilizes interview and participant observation data collected during a total of over 2 years in the field to uncover and analyze the production of cultural heritage discourses on Yap’s Main Islands. With a central goal to understand locally produced views and values of stakeholders …

Just Hospitality: Wage Theft, Grassroots Labor Organizing, And Activist Research In Nashville, Tennessee, Rachel Tyree

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This politically engaged project locally grounds the efforts of low-wage workers in the United States who are addressing the nationwide epidemic of wage theft by focusing on the particular experience of organized hospitality cleaning workers at a worker center in Nashville, Tennessee. While being both collaborative and reflexive, this activist anthropological research utilizes observant participation, in-depth interviews, and organizational and archival research to explore the issues identified by members and organizers at the worker center, illustrate the alternative theories of change being generated from grassroots labor organizing efforts in light of state mechanisms that do not protect all workers, and …

Making A Place For People At A Wildlife Corridor On Chicago's South Side, Alexis Winter

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

What role do environmental conservation projects play in the transformation of American cities? How do these projects affect city residents? In this study, I ask these questions at the Burnham Wildlife Corridor, where the Chicago Park District worked with institutional and community-based partner organizations to engage city residents in the creation of a lakefront wildlife habitat and public nature area. Through ethnographic interviews and participant observation I explored how actors at various levels understand this changing landscape and their roles in shaping it. I situate the Burnham Wildlife Corridor project in the broader context of a state-level plan, the Millennium …

“A Wound That Never Heals”: Health-Seeking Behaviors And Attitudes Towards Breast Cancer And Cancer In General Among Women In Nakirebe, Uganda, Ann Louise Tezak

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The scale and severity of cancer, specifically breast cancer, remains significantly different across the spectrum of low-income to high-income countries. This study explores women’s beliefs about breast cancer and associated prevention and health-seeking behaviors in a rural area of Uganda. Through a critical medical anthropological perspective, the study examines the social, cultural, and economic factors that shape women’s understanding of cancer, and breast cancer specifically, and that influence their use of biomedical services. Data were collected over a three-month period through 35 in-depth interviews and two focus groups with 10 women older than 18 years in the rural setting of …

The Environmental Heritage And Wellness Assessment: Applying Quantitative Techniques To Traditional Ecological Knowledge And Wellness Relationships, Kristina Baines

Journal of Ecological Anthropology

This paper quantifies relationships between health and traditional ecological knowledge/practices in a Mopan Maya community in southern Belize, illuminating how changes in daily practices might be related to changes in wellness. Findings from statistical analyses of data related to household practices are presented. These data were collected using a Likert survey designed based on previously collected ethnographic and pile sort data related to health and heritage, and then administered to households in the community (n=64). The paper concludes that the data, while exploratory, show links between higher scores on both the health and heritage indices and warrant further engagement with …

Revitalizing The Ethnosphere: Global Society, Ethnodiversity, And The Stakes Of Cultural Genocide, Christopher Powell Ph.D.

Genocide Studies and Prevention: An International Journal

This paper uses the concepts of ethnosphere and ethnodiversity to frame the stakes of cultural genocide in the context of the emerging global society. We are in an era of rapid global ethnodiversity loss. Global ethnodiversity is important because different cultures produce different solutions to the subjective and objective problems of human society, and because cultures have an intrinsic value. Rapid ethnodiversity loss is a byproduct of the expansion of the modern world-system, and Lemkin’s invention of the concept of genocide can be understood as a dialectical reaction to this tendency. The current phase of globalization creates pressures towards global …

Neighborhood Perceptions Of Proximal Industries In Progress Village, Fl, Laura E. Baum

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Progress Village, a historically Black neighborhood outside of Tampa, FL, encountered structural violence that included construction of an adjacent phosphogypsum stack. Why the neighborhood signed a legal agreement with the stack’s operating industry and the impacts of this decision provides a lesson in critical environmental justice. Theories of urban political ecology frame exploration of resident priorities, relationships with industry, risk perceptions, and health concerns. Utilizing activist anthropology, this thesis aims to be mutually beneficial to scholarly and neighborhood development. Ultimately, this research demonstrates how southern gradualism, racism, and a trend towards isolationism created today’s striving, yet marginalized and divided community. …

Growth, And Development Of Care For Leprosy Sufferers Provided By Religious Institutions From The First Century Ad To The Middle Ages, Philippa Juliet Meek

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis aims to outline the causes, symptoms, and treatments related to leprosy, and how it can be diagnosed in patients and identified in human remains. The thesis also aims to demonstrate the ways in which care for leprosy sufferers developed as the disease became more prevalent and more commonly, and correctly identified. It analyses the social stigmas inflicted upon sufferers, and the medical care and attention provided for them by religious institutions when other groups or organisations shunned those suffering from leprosy. The rationale for this study is to identify trends surrounding the social stigmas attached to leprosy and …

The Sweet Burden: Constructing And Contesting Druze Heritage And Identity In Lebanon, Chad Kassem Radwan

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation research examines how shared aspects of identity are constructed among the Druze in Lebanon and how it contributes to conceptualizations of heritage. Assessing the educational resources focused on aspects of Druze heritage, the barriers to cultural preservation were elucidated. Utilizing a number of qualitative research methods, participants’ feedback constructed a narrative that considers what they believe to be at risk for their community. These issues included addressing a perceived knowledge gap wherein the majority of Druze expressed a need to expand the educational resources in their community. Participants defined the kinds of resources and social supports that are …

Costumbres, Creencias, Y “Lo Normal”: A Biocultural Study On Changing Prenatal Dietary Practices In A Rural Tourism Community In Costa Rica, Allison Rachel Cantor

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study explores the relationship between tourism, the nutrition transition, and prenatal dietary practices in the Monteverde Zone, Costa Rica. This rural tourism community, located in the central highlands of Costa Rica, has seen rapid growth and development since the tourism boom in the early 1990s, leading to changes in the local food system and increased food insecurity. This investigation added to this work by identifying the ways that prenatal dietary practices have shifted over time in the context of increased tourism and the concomitant nutrition transition, and by describing the relationship between food insecurity and nutritional status among pregnant …

The Construction Of Latino Im/Migrant Families In U.S. News Media: Parents’ Responses And Self-Representations, Jason Edward Miller

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Latino im/migrants are often portrayed in negative and stereotypical ways in mainstream U.S. media. This dissertation utilizes Ethnographic Content Analysis to analyze news segments about Latino im/migrants from Fox News, MSNBC and Univisión between 2010 and 2012 and digital storytelling with a group of Latino im/migrant parents in central Florida.

First, I questioned if a Spanish-language news media source constructed Latino im/migrant family-focused stories differently than mainstream English-language sources. Utilizing Critical Race Theory as a theoretical lens, I conclude that English and Spanish-language news stations portray Latino im/migrants in different ways. Fox News portrays Latino im/migrants in a generally neutral …

"But Our Hands Are Tied": Assessing School Gardening Efforts At Title I Elementary Schools In Pinellas County, Florida, Alexandra Grace Lancey

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research was designed to understand current school gardening efforts in Pinellas County, Florida. School gardens have become an important aspect of experiential learning and nutrition education in schools throughout the United States. Many not-for-profit organizations have attempted to increase the prevalence and efficacy of school garden programs as a means of providing educational opportunities and working to curb diet-related health issues in children. Most of these organizations are seen as apolitical in nature, because they access mainly private sector funding sources and volunteer support. This provides flexibility for these social projects, but also takes pressure off of the state …