Inequality and Stratification Commons^™

Not Just A Formality: How Inefficient Bureaucracy And Government Distrust Fuel Nepal’S Informal Economy, Anders Karl Lindgren

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Currently the Nepali government and the International Labour Organization (ILO) are involved in a campaign to increase rates of government registration among small businesses, which are technically illegal to operate unregistered. The program incentivizes and facilitates registration, attempting to change the cost-benefit analysis that shopkeepers make when deciding whether to register. Using interviews with small business owners in the Kathmandu area, this study provides qualitative data about what information these shopkeepers have, how they perceive the registration process, whether the government has traditionally followed through on its promises, and how all of these factors affect their registration cost-benefit analyses. Additionally, …

Cleft Lip And Palate In India: Determining The Socioeconomic Factors That Influence Quality Of Life And Treatment Received, With A Focus In Rural Nainital District, Uttarakhand State, Ellery Ward

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Cleft lip and cleft palate are birth defects that range in severity, and may cause serious physical and social challenges to those who are born with them. This project sought to determine the socioeconomic factors that influence the lives of people with cleft lip and or cleft palate in India, and the treatment, or lack thereof, which they receive. Specific focus was given to the rural and mountainous area of Nainital district in Uttarakhand state. This study was carried out with the assistance of the Aarohi organization located in the Satoli village in Nainital district. Interviews with one plastic surgeon …

Limits To Literacy: The Perceived Relationship Between Functional Literacy And Political Empowerment Amongst The Forest-Dwelling Van Gujjars, Nicola Soekoe

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The failure of countrywide basic literacy campaigns to enhance social mobility has led to the promotion and development of localized, comprehensive functional literacy campaigns. These campaigns are particularly applicable to marginalized groups; as they aim to empower communities by providing them with the necessary skills to navigate their socioeconomic and political environments. This qualitative study examines the long-term impact of one such functional literacy campaign on the semi-nomadic pastoral Van Gujjar community. I use the Assets, Opportunity Structure, and Degrees of Empowerment (DOE) method to investigate community members’ perceptions of the level of political empowerment that followed their participation in …

Give And Take: The Struggle Of Being A Part Of The System You Want To Change- Childline: Solving And Perpetuating Child Vulnerability In Bikaner, Rajasthan, India, Angela Soley

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Children are the most vulnerable population in India; they are at risk of human trafficking on the street, corporeal punishment at school, domestic violence at home, and the list continues. There are 12.7 million child laborers in India, the rate of child marriage is 47%, and 69% of children suffer from physical abuse (India.gov, 2011)(Tahir and Hussain, 2012, p.664)(Hello CHILDLINE, 2013, p.7). Unfortunately, much of this abuse is accepted by India’s culture: hitting children is a standard form of punishment, child marriage is a norm in rural villages, and child labor is a necessity for impoverished families. One organization attempting …

Challenges To Women In Political Leadership In Samoa, Kiki Martire

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Samoan women hold an integral and valued place within their families and communities. Despite this, Samoa continues to report some of the lowest representation of women in political office in the world. The newly instated Constitutional Amendment guaranteeing 10% of Parliamentary seats for women will bolster female political involvement in the upcoming 2016 elections. An investigation into the challenges that face women entering political leadership roles at the village and Parliamentary level will bring awareness to the struggles encountered by women and contribute to dismantling the barriers which stand against them. Fourteen female politicians and experts in the field were …

Livelihood Strategies Of People In The Himalayan Region Of Nepal: A Study In The Villages Of Eastern Manang, Prashanta Chhetri

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This is a study on the changing livelihood strategies of people in Manang -a district that lies on the northern side of Annapurna Himals. I have focused my study on the villages in the eastern part of lower Manang. Primarily, my study has been done in these villages: Besisahar, Khotro, Nachai, Tachai, Tilche, Dharapani, Yak Kharka, Surki Khola and Bhimthang. As defined locally, these villages fall under the region of Nyishang and Gyasumdo in the Manang district. In this paper I talk about the shifts made by the people in their livestock keeping/raising from yaks to dzhopas to mules, depending …

Identidades Sociales En Situación De Pobreza: La Construcción De Identidad Y Comunidad En La Villa 31, Sam Gips

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The villas of Buenos Aires began to form in the 1940’s as immigrants poured into the city from Argentina’s interior and from neighboring countries like Paraguay and Bolivia. These villas formed in precarious conditions without adequate government assistance, which has led to difficulties with public services such as running water and electricity. Estimates say that over 300,000 of the 3 million residents in Buenos Aires live in villas today. Unlike most villas located in the southern outskirts of the city, Villa 31, which was the first villa in the city, is a community of 30,000 residents located in the center …

Logrando Educación Democrática Para Un Chile Democrático: Una Mirada A La Formación De Ciudadanos A Través De La Educación De Historia, Samantha J. Stevens

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Este ensayo se base en una investigación que fue conducida con el objetivo de conocer la forma única que la democracia ha tomado en Chile como resulto de su historia y contexto social, cultural y político. Porque la democracia se defina en parte por la participación activa de todos los ciudadanos, este ensayo Intenta conocer la relación entre el sistema de educación y la sociedad para determinar la medida en que el sistema prepara estudiantes para esta participación. A través de las experiencias y opiniones personales de profesores de historia, este ensayo pretende presentar una vista de todos los factores …

Fútbol Femenino: Empoderamiento En Una Cultura Machista, Chloe Wheeler

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Este trabajo investiga el efecto de la cultura machista en el fútbol femenino, y cómo la participación en fútbol de las mujeres puede ser una fuente de empoderamiento a pesar de que existe el machismo en formas diferentes. Ha sido un trayecto difícil para las mujeres en fútbol, pero hay mucha esperanza hacia el futuro, porque los jóvenes de esta generación están progresando con sus actitudes hacia los derechos y las oportunidades de las mujeres—los roles de género no son tan fijos como hace años atrás. Resultando que, los puntos de vista de la gente más adulta están cambiando. Sin …

Ayllu,Migracion Politica Desde Abajo En Bolivia: Perspectivas Desde El Ayllu Bombo, Oruro, Lucas Rénique

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Este proyecto consta de una investigación acerca del ayllu hoy en día. Los ayllus son gobiernos-agrupaciones familiares, sociales, económicas y culturales con una base territorial que persisten desde antes del imperio Incaico en la región andina de Bolivia y Perú. El estudio se enfoca en el ayllu Bombo, un ayllu en proceso de reconstrucción con territorio en la Provincia Dalence, Oruro pero cuyos miembros en su mayoría radican en la mina Huanuni, Cochabamba, El Alto y otros lugares de Bolivia y el mundo. Intento entender la naturaleza de las transformaciones socio-políticas en este ayllu ocasionadas por la migración y extractivismo …

“Kallawaya Siempre Soy” La Descolonización De Ajayu En La Cosmovisión Kallawaya, Rizky Rahadianto

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Based on the lessons learned in this program about multiculturalism, globalization and social change in Bolivia, this project connects these themes through a character study of a kallawaya man named Ramón Quispe Lizárraga and examines the analogy between traditional ritual and social activism; between restoration of ajayu and decolonization. A village of kallawaya healers in the province of Bautista Saavedra has a long tradition of maintaining ancestral values and at the same time confronting modernism. I used the participant observation method to be able to immerse myself in this community and understand the Andean cosmovision internalized in people’s actions and …

The Use Of The Term "Paco" By Street Youth In The City Of Buenos Aires And The Strategies Used By The Center For Integral Attention On Childhood And Adolescence To Help In Treating The Problematic Consumption Of Drugs, Sophie Kligler

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Información contextual: En los últimos años, Argentina ha experimentado un aumento rápido en la prevalencia y uso del paco, la pasta base de la cocaína. Esta droga se ha convertido en una de las drogas más comunes en la calle debido a su precio bajo, su accesibilidad y sus cualidades adictivas. El paco es particularmente prevalente entre los chicos que viven en la situación de calle porque su acceso es muy fácil y barato y les ayuda escapar, por algunos momentos, de la dura realidad de sus vidas. La droga puede tener consecuencias graves para la salud de un consumidor, …

¿Pérdida O Persistencia? La Cultura Andina Y Los Efectos De La Influencia Evangélica En Las Dos Comunidades Indígenas Peruanas De Patacancha Y Rumira Sondormayo., Hannah Eby

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Español: Este estudio se realiza como un Proyecto de Estudio Independiente del programa de estudiar fuera de SIT Perú: Pueblos indígenas y la globalización. Por un método etnográfico compuesto de entrevistas y observaciones de la vida religiosa de las dos comunidades rurales indígenas de Patacancha y Rumira Sondormayo, esta investigación explora la cuestión actual de la influencia evangélica cristiana en la cultura católico-andina. En las décadas recientes, la religión evangélica ha incrementado mucho en el Perú, la conversión creciendo rápidamente en las comunidades indígenas andinas. Según la teoría de la emergencia y la persistencia nacido de una conferencia del año …

Coming Into Consciousness Women’S Empowerment Projects In Chinandega, Nicaragua, Brittany Wightman

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Nicaraguan people are gridlocked into various oppressive hierarchies. Those who find themselves at the bottom of these hierarchies face what Paolo Freire calls “dehumanization”, because they are unable to engage in the inquiry and praxis of their realities. Through my independent study project, I address the hierarchical system of patriarchy in Nicaragua, and highlight the ways in which women empowering themselves are reclaiming their humanity through increasing consciousness. I was fortunate enough to work with two organizations in Chinandega: El Movimiento de Mujeres de Chinandega, and El Grupo Crecer. In working with these organizations I became immersed in the the …

Emergency State Cultural Imagination And Expression Among Afro-Descendant Youth In Pearl Lagoon, Jennifer Lunceford

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Various societal factors demonstrate that Pearl Lagoon is in state of emergency. The youth today live in a Pearl Lagoon that is gradually losing cultural ground. However, the young people are not silent witnesses to this decline. The youth desire to learn more about their cultural traditions. Many of them romanticize their community’s past and emphasize the importance of their traditions, even though others are breaking away from their customs. The younger generation also critiques their community. This is hopeful because Pearl Lagoon needs cultural rescue. Technology is increasing the youth’s exposure to the outside world, which is not necessarily …

“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 …

Slachtofferhulp: An Analysis Of The Amsterdam Police Department’S Response To Lesbian Domestic Violence, Taylor Sczymecki

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This independent study project examines the role that the Amsterdam Police Department plays in the context of lesbian domestic violence. Amsterdam is a city well-known for its tolerant culture and large LGBT community, yet there is little to no discussion between the government, the police, and the citizens of Amsterdam. This article examines the taboos surrounding lesbian domestic violence, perceptions of how the police are handling such cases, and asks who should be initiating discussions. Although the research looks at lesbian domestic violence as a general topic, it looks specifically at the way the Amsterdam Police Department networks Roze in …

Disabled: Watching Stories Of The Malagasy Deaf, Nadeen Hamza

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Dislabeled: Mislabeled and Disabled - two words that Malagasy Deaf individuals have used in this project to describe themselves and the struggles of their community. This project explores dynamics between the mainstream Malagasy society and the marginalized Deaf community as well as the dynamics within the Deaf community of Antsirabe. I argue that mainstream stereotypes of the Deaf are manifested in the ways these individuals see themselves as well as the opportunities that society offers them. I also argue that individuals who have high proficiency in Malagasy Sign Language have wider access to public services as well as a higher …

How European Folk Stories Have Misrepresented Indigenous Women, Jacqueline S. Marotto

Student Publications

An examination of Rayna Green's "The Pocahontas Perplex" in reflection of course material about the role of indigenous women in North America.

I Am Who I Am: The Book Of Exodus And African American Individuality, Joseph L. Kirkenir

Student Publications

Scholars often attempt to construct collective ideologies in order to generalize the beliefs and views of entire populations, with one target population frequently being the African American community during the latter half of the nineteenth century. Unfortunately, doing so fails to recognize the individuality of the population’s members and, especially in the case of the country’s oppressed Blacks, establishes a system where assumed notions and ignorant ideas abound. One might argue that the popularity of the book of Exodus in the time’s African American expressive outlets indicates that there did exist a collective ideology based upon the biblical narrative. However, …

Research Brief: "Coming Home: Attitudes Toward U.S. Veterans Returning From Iraq", Institute For Veterans And Military Families At Syracuse University

Institute for Veterans and Military Families

This study focuses on men in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and their experiences in service and reintegrating after combat. It also explores whether there is a stigma against these men made by the general public. The authors determined that in general, while the stereotypes of military personnel might be negative, the overall views of service were positive. Future research should address this paradox, as well as determine if there are factors of race and gender involved.

Late Night At Lds, Mary E. Maloney

SURGE

As I am giving my full attention to the Western omelet, home fries, and rye toast on my plate, I do not notice what is going on around me. I’m not drunk, but I’m not sober either. I’m with some friends I know well and some people I barely know, but they all seem nice enough to share a late night meal. I’m starving.

I start to realize that more and more non-college students enter LDs, presumably local Gettysburg residents. Some are being loud and boisterous, not unlike many of the people sitting at my very own table, and someone …

Inequalities And Asymmetries, Tamara Kneese

Media Studies

The availability of data is not evenly distributed. Some organizations, agencies, and sectors are better equipped to gather, use, and analyze data than others. If data is transformative, what are the consequences of defense and security agencies having greater capacity to leverage data than, say, education or social services? Financial wherewithal, technical capacity, and political determinants all affect where data is employed. As data and analytics emerge, who benefits and who doesn't, both at the individual level and the institutional level? What about the asymmetries between those who provide the data and those who collect it? How does uneven data …

Putting A Human Face On The Minimum Wage, Christopher R. Fee

English Faculty Publications

What is a “livable wage,” and should we strive to raise wages for American workers?

There are lots of conflicting studies and reports. The Congressional Budget Office projects that an increase in the minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $10.10 an hour would eliminate 500,000 jobs while raising the incomes of nearly 17 million Americans.

Even prominent economists like David Card and David Neumark diametrically disagree on the likely consequences of raising the minimum wage, and their studies of results in New Jersey have consistently yielded conflicting results for decades. [excerpt]

Fearless Friday: Elena Perez-Zetune, Elena Perez-Zetune

SURGE

Consistently involved in programs and initiatives addressing social issues related to children, migrant communities, and education, Elena Perez-Zetune ’14 fearlessly allows her assumptions to be challenged, her time given in service, and her energy spent on encouraging younger generations.

Elena has served with several different programs on campus run by the Center for Public Service, such as El Centro, Immersion Projects, Heston Internships, Casa de la Cultura, and the LIU Migrant Education Program. Growing up in Gettysburg, Elena has had the unique opportunity to run and organize some of the same programs she participated in as a …

What If, Megan Shreve

SURGE

I love music. All genres of music. I love the stories that come through in music. I love the songs that create that personal experience and drive me to think or feel more deeply. Five for Fighting just came out with that type of song. It’s called “What If”.

There is a line in the song that goes What if I had your heart, what if you wore my scars. What if you were me? What if I were you? What if your life was my life? What if I was you? It resonates with me personally and with our …