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Full-Text Articles in Rural Sociology

Public Perception Of Forest And Fire Management Policy In Portugal, Jensen Rocha Oct 2021

Public Perception Of Forest And Fire Management Policy In Portugal, Jensen Rocha

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The impacts of forest fires are growing as climate change creates more frequent ideal temperature conditions for extreme wildfires. With the devastating fires it experienced in 2017, Portugal stands as an example of the impacts of dangerous wildfires and is working on developing a plan to protect its country from this rising threat. Important in the plan development is the opinion of the many stakeholders involved and the public whom the fires impact. Using an interview and survey approach, this study gathers public and stakeholder opinion on the forest and fire management policy in Portugal to understand what issues in …


Changing Water Resources’ Effect On Livelihoods And Socio-Ecological Relationships In Himalayan Communities Of Nepal, Luke Bazemore Apr 2020

Changing Water Resources’ Effect On Livelihoods And Socio-Ecological Relationships In Himalayan Communities Of Nepal, Luke Bazemore

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The looming threat of climate change will lead to significant alterations in livelihoods and daily practices for individuals across the world. This paper seeks to identify the effects of climate change on hydrological regimes in Himalayan communities in Nepal with particular focus towards livelihood and socio-ecological transformations. Using the socio-ecological systems framework to analyze specific communities and their resource use, along with vulnerability and adaptative capacity analysis, this paper includes a meta-analysis of existing literature. Numerous findings indicated that rural, mountainous communities of Nepal face a variety of environmental impacts which may reduce viability of two significant modes of production: …


Land Insecurity In Gulu, Uganda: A Clash Between Culture And Capitalism, Zachary Slotkin Oct 2017

Land Insecurity In Gulu, Uganda: A Clash Between Culture And Capitalism, Zachary Slotkin

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper presents the causes and consequences of land insecurity in Gulu, Uganda. In order to address this important and often sensitive issue, the paper analyzes the role of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) insurgency and the government’s policy of forced encampment during the insurgency in contributing to land insecurity, causing widespread displacement among former internally displaced persons (IDPs). It further explores the importance of land ownership in providing economic productivity to rural landowners, as well as the nature of customary land tenure in Acholi culture and the government’s efforts to privatize communal land, to give a background on the …


From Private To Public Women’S Cooperatives And The Construction Of A Public Sphere, Cecilia Garza Oct 2015

From Private To Public Women’S Cooperatives And The Construction Of A Public Sphere, Cecilia Garza

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This independent study project will explore how participation in the economy benefits women in more ways than just economically. Using the example of five cooperatives functioning in the Moroccan Rif, this paper will investigate how access to the economy not only provides women with supplemental income but also allows them to leave the home and build networks within their communities. These examples will illustrate how illiterate, rural women, who would usually be seen as powerless in the public eye, are taking advantage of the trainings, income and communities they gain from their participation in cooperatives to claim independence and prove …


Changing The Very Fabric Of Society: A Case Study Of The Fundación Entre Mujeres Holistic Empowerment Model, Briana Frenchmore Oct 2012

Changing The Very Fabric Of Society: A Case Study Of The Fundación Entre Mujeres Holistic Empowerment Model, Briana Frenchmore

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The women of rural northern Nicaragua live in a context that is shaped by the inequalities of gender and class that originate in machista culture and the dominant economic system. To confront this reality, the non-government organization, Fundación Entre Mujeres (FEM) works from the “Gender and Development” (GAD) approach using a model of holistic women’s empowerment. To create social change, FEM’s programs focus on ideological, economic, and organizational empowerment. This investigation seeks to understand how FEM carries out its holistic empowerment model within communities, while reflecting on the strengths of their methodology and the challenges they face in creating social …


Addiction In Alaska: How Alcohol Abuse Is Impacting Community Members In Native Villages Throughout Rural Alaska, Cristina Casillo Apr 2012

Addiction In Alaska: How Alcohol Abuse Is Impacting Community Members In Native Villages Throughout Rural Alaska, Cristina Casillo

Capstone Collection

Across rural Alaska are over 200 Alaska Native villages so isolated, they are only accessible by airplane, boat, and snowmachine. These villages strive to keep their Native culture alive and rich, but continue to struggle against Western influences. Introduced to Alaska Natives by European and Russian explorers in the 1700s, this paper examines how alcohol addiction is affecting community members throughout villages in rural Alaska. The research was conducted in two Iñupiaq Eskimo villages, Point Hope and Selawik, both located above the Arctic Circle in rural Alaska. Drawing from three years of personal observations and a series of interviews, this …


Las Montañas Respiran: La Cosmovisión De La Comunidad De Rayampata Representada A Través Del Mito Pitusiray-Sawasiray, Gillian Thornton Oct 2011

Las Montañas Respiran: La Cosmovisión De La Comunidad De Rayampata Representada A Través Del Mito Pitusiray-Sawasiray, Gillian Thornton

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

En las altas montañas de los Andes, donde los árboles crecen lentamente y los vientos están constantemente pulsando a través de la hierba desaliñada, se dice que la tierra respira. Allá, aun los animalitos más pequeños tienen una gran fuerza en el ciclo de vida, y cada uno de los seres vivos, de las plantas, y de las piedras tiene vida. Se dice allá que aun las montañas pueden hablar. En la comunidad alta de Rayampata, la gente se comunica con la tierra para sobrevivir; escucha a los murmullos del río para saber cuando es tiempo a cosechar, lee las …


Reconstructing The Farm: Life Stories Of Dutch Female Farmers, Marisa Turesky Oct 2011

Reconstructing The Farm: Life Stories Of Dutch Female Farmers, Marisa Turesky

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

My research asks: what are the lived experiences of female farmers within the hegemonic construction of the Dutch farmer and how have their roles shifted through time? Popular culture has implanted stereotypes that most female farmers are uneducated, low-class individuals but the six women whom I interviewed present life stories that complicate this. How did these women come into their roles as farmers? Once they became such entrepreneurs, what were their challenges in a potentially male-dominated profession? While there has been extensive research on rural women’s historical roles in farming, I analyze the personal experiences of a small sample of …


Experiencing Samoa Through Stories: Myths And Legends Of A People And Place, Samantha Lichtenberg Apr 2011

Experiencing Samoa Through Stories: Myths And Legends Of A People And Place, Samantha Lichtenberg

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This research will explore oral tradition, indigenous beliefs prior to Christianity, and the significance of place through the study of Samoan myths and legends. The researcher will investigate the tradition of storytelling by hearing the stories from Samoan elders themselves. These stories will be supplemented with details from secondary written resources in order to compile comprehensive versions of the myths and legends. The research will consider the affect that Christianity has on the meaning of the stories and examine whether traces of indigenous belief/religion are preserved today through storytelling and the remembrance of myths. The researcher will spend a significant …