Family, Life Course, and Society Commons^™

“We’Ve Lost Sight Of The Blue And White, And We Need To Find It Again.” Youth, Divergence Of Memory, And Political Polarization In Post- Conflict Nicaragua, Cameron Kesinger

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In this essay, I analyze the results from 20 interviews I completed in Managua, Matagalpa, and San Ramon, selecting 8 to delve into in depth. I conducted the interviews in pairs, asking parents about their memories of the Nicaraguan Contra war in the 1980s and then asking their children about the histories their parents shared with them and their personal views of Nicaragua. Through these interviews, I sought to understand in a Nicaraguan context the presence of historical memory, the politicization of historical memory, the diversity of youth activism, and the way that youth view reconciliation within their countries. My …

“Nous Souffrons” Examining The Problems Facing Urban Refugees In Yaoundé, Cameroon, Morgan Walbert

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper is the product of a study that examines the experiences of urban refugees in Yaoundé, Cameroon. Refugees around the world, often victims of unthinkable human rights abuses, are forced to rely fully on the hospitality and protection of the international community. This unique relationship between a refugee and his/her host state can present serious challenges to both parties. This research examined the resources available to refugees in Yaoundé, evaluated their effectiveness, and explored possibilities for improving the experience of these urban refugees. I utilized eighteen structured interviews with refugees and four follow-­‐up in depth interviews with three refugees …

Renforcement Des Femmes: Wopa And Sustainable Empowerment Through Vocational Training, Anna Youngmann

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The Women’s Promotion and Assistance Association (WOPA) is a Non-Governmental Organization located in the tourist town of Kribi, Cameroon. This study examined whether WOPA’s vocational training program, The Center for Education and Training for Women, responded to the needs in participants’ lives and the needs of the local economy to effectively economically empower young women. Using 21 one interviews with current and graduated students of the program, as well as local government officials, I concluded that WOPA’s training does fit the needs of participants’ lives; and that the trainings offered in sewing, culinary arts, and community health adequately fit …

Tabasará Libre: A Case Study Of Development And Indigenous Rights, Katharine Evans

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Since the 1960s, indigenous groups in Panama have been fighting to maintain their land and ways of life against the growing threat and reality of national development. This study uses the Barro Blanco Hydroelectric Power Project as a case study to examine the consequences of development and the ultimate role that development plays in indigenous marginalization and assimilation. Data was collected through interview, participatory observation, and outside research over the course of a three week period. Findings include the role the government, legislation, and the public have played in this fight.

Educational Music: The Role Of Music Education, Combined With The Ideology Of The Popular Education Movement, In The Development Of The Agency Of Children From Villa 21/24, Laurel Bingman

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Music is something that has a power all its own. It has the power to join people together, to empower protests, to inspire creativity and enhance learning. Countless studies have been conducted proving the intellectual and emotional benefits of music in the lives of children, and I have experienced this myself in my own life and in my volunteer work in the United States and in Bolivia. This investigation seeks to analyze the combined power of music and education in vulnerable populations, specifically a neighborhood in Buenos Aires called Villa 21/24. The people who live in this Villa are faced …

Planning Sustainable Food Hubs: Thinking Beyond Economic Viability To Democratize Local Food Access, Ashley Bahlkow

Capstone Collection

In light of an increasing awareness of the detrimental public health impacts of conventional food systems, the New Hampshire Endowment for Health (NHEH) funded a food hub feasibility study to develop a local food hub in the southeastern region of New Hampshire. The study centered on conceptualizing a food hub that would be both viable from a small business standpoint as well one that would increase access to local food, especially for marginalized communities in the city of Manchester--the major population center in the region.

The project work plan contained several activities for determining feasibility, which were completed over the …

The Influence Of Peacejam’S Ambassadors Program On Youth In Relation To Their Future Career Choice, Community Involvement And Acceptance Of Diversity: A Qualitative Study Of Program Alumni From Four Affiliate Regions In The Us, Ashley Sicard

Capstone Collection

PeaceJam is a yearlong educational program for youth ranging from age 5 to 25 with a mission of creating the next generation of ‘Change Agents.’ Its curriculum focuses on the model of “Education, Inspiration and Action” with the intention of providing youth a comprehensive understanding of the complex problems of today and what is needed for them to gain the skills, knowledge and commitment to create positive change in themselves, their community, and the world in the future. Through previous research, the program has demonstrated success in achieving its short term and intermediate outcomes in the youth participants. However, no …

Playing For Peace: Building Relationships Between Ugandan And Refugee Youth Through Football3 At Soccer Without Borders Uganda, Jean-Christophe Moran

Capstone Collection

This paper describes and analyzes a soccer tournament for Ugandan and refugee youth based on the principles and practices of football3, an established methodology for using soccer as a means of dialogue and resolution of conflict across differences. The goal of this tournament to was build relationships between Ugandan and refugee youth at Soccer Without Borders Uganda. This tournament was held in 2013 in Kampala under the auspices of Soccer Without Borders Uganda and involved training of staff. The implementation of football3 demonstrated that this methodology could have a positive impact on uniting refugee and Ugandan youth while providing participants …

The Primacy Of Context: An Exploration Into The Causes Of Food Insecurity In Kitere, Kenya., William O. Aludo

Capstone Collection

The purpose of this study was to explore the specific reasons why households in Kitere village, Kenya experience persistent food insecurity every year while the region enjoys the advantage of two planting/harvest seasons in a year. Kitere village lies within the lakeside region of Nyanza Province in Kenya, generally considered to be one of the more agriculturally productive parts of the country. The Participatory Rural Appraisal method was employed to gather qualitative data on the causes of food insecurity in Kitere village. The data sources were focus groups and a self-administered, one-time survey of random and non-random samples of key …

Reexamining Cultural Orientation Provided To Newly Arrived Refugees, Sara E. Matchulat

Capstone Collection

The provision of cultural orientation is one of many services required by the contract between resettlement agencies and the federal agencies overseeing refugee resettlement, the Cooperative Agreement. This paper explores World Relief in Moline, Illinois as a case study for how small resettlement agencies can provide meaningful and memorable cultural orientations. In order to accomplish this goal, this research utilizes the Empowerment Theory to explore how recently resettled refugees’ perceptions can be taken into consideration as orientation materials are examined. Research sought to compare Cooperative Agreement requirements to current orientation materials, interviewed service providers and recently resettled refugees, and utilized …

L’Association "Alliances Et Cultures Nord" : Son Rôle En France Et Mon Rôle Avec Elle, Carolyn Raithel

France: Language, Community and Social Change

Alliances et Cultures est une association dans le quartier Nord en Toulouse. Elle sert du centre social et elle offre beaucoup de programmes différents pour tous les âges et leurs besoins. J’y ai travaillé avec un programme spécifique qui s’appelle « Contrat local d’accompagnement à la scolarité », ou « CLAS » en acronyme. C’est un programme national dont il y en a aux plusieurs centres sociaux en France. Ce programme a le slogan « pour apprendre autrement ! » et il donne une opportunité qui est rare en France aux enfants de recevoir l’aide individuelle à la scolarité au …

Illusion Or Ununderstood Reality: Spiritual Or Psychic Healing And Protection In Southern Madagascar, Henri Lucien Sandifer

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Far from the hospital room and its doctor, the medicine and philosophies of Lakazy and its Ombiasa pertain to a domain largely untouched by western logic and science. Their practices appear to be effective and unique enough to have survived the advent of compelling new theological and scientific belief systems and the vastly different perspectives on community health and stability which these systems have brought to Madagascar. The prime examples of these new arrivals are Christianity and modern medicine, respectively. Within and without their sacred space, the mission of the true Ombiasa is to support their community and for this …

Le Cap Centre, Lauren Rowse

France: Language, Community and Social Change

Le CAP Centre est une épicerie sociale qui donne l’aide financière pour l’alimentation. Elle permet aux personnes qui ont des difficultés passagères au niveau financier de faire des économies pour réaliser leur « projet de vie ». Projet de vie est un terme utilisé pour décrire un soutien qui permet aux gens d’économiser pour qu’ils puissent faire des choses normales et habituelles de la vie quotidienne. « Normales et habituelles » : à définir dans le contexte culturel français C’est aussi l’idée que tout le monde devrait avoir l’opportunité de participer dans une vie sociale car beaucoup des bénéficiaires des …

There Are No Fat People In The Netherlands: Embodied Identities, Hypervisibility, And The Contextual Relevancy Of Fatness, Jean Ochterski

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This research is the product of a month long exploratory study on fatness in the Netherlands and how it intersects with other marginalized identities, including race, class, and queerness. The primary question it answers is the ways in which hypervisibility of fat bodies interplays with the silences surrounding size as an axis of identity. The research removes fatness from solely conversations in the public health field and re-situates it in a feminist, academic framework. Data was obtained through oral history interviews with seven self identified fat people currently living the Netherlands. The results show that childhood, dieting practices, standards of …

Una Primavera Incierta: El Momento De La Política Educativa En Chile, Alexandria Sadler

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

El estudio trata de la oportunidad presente para el movimiento estudiantil Chileno en un momento de incertidumbre política. En palabras más específicas, la investigación enfoca en el movimiento estudiantil en el contexto de las elecciones de la Federación Estudiantil de la Universidad de Chile y de la elección presidencial de Chile del año 2013 que resultaron en cambios del poder. La investigación examina el desarrollo del movimiento estudiantil en el contexto de las instituciones políticas en inestabilidad y explora la oportunidad para el movimiento estudiantil de no solo luchar por educación gratuita y fin al lucro, sino que la deconstrucción …

Luxury’S Last Frontier: An Analysis Of Hanoi Residents’ Perceptions Of The Luxury Market In Vietnam, Rachel Schuh

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

One consequence of Vietnam’s rapid economic development in recent decades is the booming luxury market in Hanoi. Although few Vietnamese consumers can afford luxury goods, luxury consumption is highly visible in Hanoi. Luxury shopping centers continue to open throughout the city, and fancy cars are a common sight on city streets. Luxury consumers often influence trends in the wider marketplace, but luxury good consumption can also be a divisive issue. In addition, luxury consumers in developing countries, even more so than those in developed countries, are often believed to be motivated by status concerns. Thus, the phenomenon economists call conspicuous …

The Modern Opinions Regarding Polygamy Of Married Men And Women In Dakar, Hannah Fried-Tanzer

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Polygamy is the practice in which a man takes multiple wives. While it is no longer legal in certain countries, it is still allowed both legally and religiously in Senegal, and is still practiced today. Traveling to Senegal from the United States, one might find that the opinions toward the practice vary by country. This study was conducted for three purposes. The first purpose was to define polygamy in a Senegalese context and discover how married men and women in Dakar regard the practice. The second was to determine whether these opinions vary based on gender, length of marriage, ethnicity, …

Traditional Woodcarving In Elmina: The Creation Of A Fishing Canoe, Bjorn Olsen

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

1. Objectives: My objectives for this project were three fold:

• To learn the process of carving the dugout canoe base through both observation and participation.
• To investigate the cultural importance of the fishing canoe in Elmina.
• To investigate the trade of canoe carving within the context of the Elmina community.

1. Methodology: My methodology includes observation, participation and interview. I spent a month researching canoe carving in Cape Coast and Elmina, Ghana, while keeping my research focused mainly on the Elmina community. I apprenticed and worked for a week with three carvers from Prampram who were in Elmina to complete …

El Legado Colonial En El Turismo Comunitario : El Caso De Valle De Elicura, Fatma Shuaipi

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Cultural or community-based tourism has grown exponentially in the last decade. This article seeks to, from a post-colonial theory perspective, analyze the process of developing community-based tourism in indigenous communities, identify the conditions that allow for the reproduction of colonial elements in this activity, and explore the elements that guarantee a higher degree of autonomy in the community to generate new decolonization processes. The hypothesis argues that community-based tourism carries both a colonial legacy and elements that allow for a process of decolonization or the creation of a new consciousness in relation to such colonial legacy. The article presents the …

Blood, Self-Sufficiency, And The Government Dime, Elijah Ober

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This project begins with an examination of the blacksmith trade in Spiti, Himachal Pradesh, based upon the observation and limited apprenticeship of the author.

It then examines the caste system in Spiti. Th9is system more intense in certain regions than others, but throughout the region the Zoks, the metal-smith caste, are second from the bottom. This has two main effects on the caste. First, caste is keeping zoks who remain in the village in the lower class. Secondly, the fact that their historical profession is the symbol of their caste, combined with the fact that their Scheduled Caste Status makes …

A Village National: The Transformative Potential Of Fortifying The Preexisting Structures Of An Organic Nepal, Alexandra Sarazen

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Nepal is in the midst of a severe food deficit as well as in the process of recovering from a 10 year civil war. Today, nearly 80 percent of the population works in the agricultural sector which accounts for 38 percent of the Gross Domestic Product. Recent declines in agricultural production have depressed rural economies, increased widespread hunger and catalyzed an influx of urban migration from outside of Kathmandu. Within its total population of 29 million people, 55% earn less than $1.25 a day, 29% of children under 5 years of age are underweight, and 41% of the same demographic …

How Far Would You Go With Him?: Interethnic Romantic And Sexual Encounters And Relations Among Men In The Dutch Context, Dillon C. Harvey

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This report seeks to explore the experiences and complications men face romantically and sexually when ethnicity and race are used as focus lenses to reflect upon the participants' past interpersonal interactions. The interviews and analyses within this article reflect the ways in which Dutch ethnic/racial norms and stereotypes shape attraction and desire, and how men who pursue other men romantically and/or sexually negotiate with said external constructions of identity. Research in this paper provides the reader with insight into race relations on an intimate level through the participants' personal narratives, revealing the complexity of Dutch race relations on the most …

Beyond Ramaluk: Towards A More Inclusive View Of Identity In The Tibetan Diaspora, Shani Shih

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper is an investigation of identity in the Tibetan diaspora in India, informed by the oral histories and narratives of Tibetan diasporic youth living in the capital city of Delhi. By documenting, comparing, and analyzing the experiences of Tibetan youth growing up in India (both Indian-born and Tibetan-born), and attempting to understand their varying notions of Tibetan identity, as well as perspectives on its role in their community, it seeks to answer the following: Why and how do dominant notions of Tibetan identity and/or “Tibetanness” become dominant? What are the unintended consequences of affirming these notions of Tibetan identity …

Modernization And Its Effects In Loma Bonita: A Leap From Historical Subsistence Agriculture Into The Precarious Commercial Market, Piper Halpin

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This investigation studies the modernization effects on Loma Bonita and how these changes will ultimately shape the community in the future. By performing of series of 50 interviews and surveys, I used anecdotal and observational research to my make conclusions about the effects of electricity installation, road construction, and foreign influences on the town. Although it is recognized that there are an abundance of factors contributing to modernization, the scope of this paper only focuses on the three components mentioned above.

Daily lives of Loma Bonita residents have already been drastically changed by the electricity, road, and foreigners. The community …

The Need For A More Stable Cacao Industry, Lauren Griffith

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The cacao industry is slowly growing in the region of Bocas del Toro, Panama. It is largely populated by indigenous farmers, but there are others who have invested in the business as well. With so many people becoming involved in the industry this study aimed to determine if the system represented a stable model. Through interviews and participant observation the stability of income, steadiness of demand, opportunity for growth, and the effect of organic certification were examined to determine the overall stability. It was found that very few farmers sell only cacao and rely on the sale of other crops, …

Rhetoric Or Results?: Tourism, The Aquarium, And The People Of Fortaleza, Molly Silvia

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

When one thinks of tourism, he or she conjures images of travel, exotic locations, and spending money. Yet rarely do people stop and think about where exactly their money is going. Nowadays, tourism is a booming industry that many countries believe contributes significantly to their GDP. But while tourism may contribute significantly to a country’s economy, it may not provide the people of that nation with any substantial improvements in their quality of life. This monograph questions why Brazil has chosen to invest its GDP in the tourism industry, while the nation has 21.4% of its population in poverty (The …

Misguided Saviors: An Analysis Of International Adoption Issues And Necessary Considerations For Prospective Adoptive Parents, Louisa Rich

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

International adoption flows from poor countries to rich countries and in the past it has been regarded as a good way to help those in need, by giving impoverished abandoned children families. Recently, however, the need for adoption in these countries has lessened considerably, but the desire to adopt has not. With less children available for adoption and a high demand, combined with large sums of money pouring into less developed countries, adoption scandals and poor practices have been surfacing over the past few years. The right of the child is often not being protected in adoption procedures and associations …

Movimento Dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra: Constructing Humanity, Phoebe Rosenheim

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Neo-Marxist theory suggests that capitalist structures are dehumanizing and that alternative structures should be constructed to re-humanize the people. Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra (MST) constructs settlements of small, self-governing family farms as an alternative to the large agricultural estates that dominate Brazil. The settlements have transformed the way workers see themselves. They have successfully developed a humanizing alternative; MST members see themselves as subjects. It is important for Social Justice movements to understand how MST has achieved such powerful differences from Capitalist societies in order to replicate humanizing social structures. My study sought to understand how MST’s agricultural …

Los Determinantes De La Diferencia En La Tasa De Fecundidad Adolescente Entre Comunidades Pobres Y Ricas En Buenos Aires, Emily Turner

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The city of Buenos Aires has some of the lowest rates of teenage fertility in Argentina (Gogna, Binstock, Fernández, Ibarlucía, & Zamberlin, 2008). However, this aggregated number obscures the huge variance within the city. In the most current available data (2010/2012) from the government of the city of Buenos Aires (GCBA) broken down by comunas (areas) highest fertility rate for 15-19 year olds was 81.6 births (per 1000) versus the lowest fertility rate which was only 6.2 (D. d. e. d. GCBA). This discrepancy is huge and reflects the incredible economic disparity in Buenos Aires. The comunas with the three …

La Realidad De Comercio Justo: Una Investigación De Las Fallas Y Los Éxitos Del Sistema En El Valle De La Convención, Perú, Desde La Perspectiva De Los Productores, Katy Keisling

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Este informe es el producto de mi proyecto de investigación sobre el funcionamiento del Comercio Justo en el cultivo del café en el Valle de la Convención, Perú. El Comercio Justo fue creado hace 25 años con el objetivo de mejorar la vida del pequeño productor a través de un sistema de comercio que valora la democracia y pago justo. Ahora, muchos investigadores han estudiado el tema para analizar sus impactos – pero la mayoría de literatura existente sobre el tema falta la voz del productor. Por esta razón, ubico mi estudio en la perspectiva del pequeño productor. Utilizando la …