Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons^™

Pathways, Not Punishment: An Annotated Snap Employment And Training Advocacy Toolkit For Policy Newbies, Angela Eastlund

Student Research – Stevenson Center

For someone brand new to public policy advocacy, the concept can seem broad and putting it to practice can seem vague. In part, this is because the spectrum of public policy advocacy is broad and contains a vast variety of actions under its umbrella. The Chicago Jobs Council’s policy advocacy strategies around SNAP Employment and Training that are recounted in this toolkit are shared in context with the intent of shedding some light on the why, how, and when particular strategies are utilized. Our hope is that the examples shared here can be used to inform anyone that is a …

Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things, Sarah Adcock

Graduate School of Art Theses

I view my creative process as alchemy, the transformation of materials through experimentation. I use wax as a material that transcends its historical use as a sculptural process for casting and instead, use it for its transmutable qualities to inform content. Because of its plasticity and duality as fragile and resilient, wax is symbolically submissive and assertive. By applying heat, wax can be molded and formed into new shapes. Once it cools, wax reverts back to its natural state; solid and impermeable. I use objects to explore desires of origin and life. Transitional objects, the first “me not me” possession …

Werewolves: A Three-Dimensional Content Analysis Of Films From 1980-2014, Jennifer Lewis

Master's Theses

WEREWOLVES: A THREE-DIMENSIONAL CONTENT ANALYSIS OF FILMS FROM 1980 – 2014 revolves around how monsters function in stories. Monsters represent fears and teach social norms. They are often portrayed as “other”, but more recently the werewolf has appeared in media as more sympathetic (Brannon 2016, 21; Gilmore 2008, 362; Hughes 2009, 97). Limited research has systematically studied how werewolves are represented in the media. This content analysis focuses on how major werewolf characters are represented in 20 films.

The analysis showcases werewolf characters in today’s culture and what it means to be a monster by analyzing hybridity. This study presents …

Archaeological Artifacts As Expressive Desire Of Hindu-Buddha Religions In Java In 8th–15th Centuries, Agus Aris Munandar

International Review of Humanities Studies

This study discusses the Hindu-Buddha religions in the ancient Javanese society which developed in 8—15 th Century AD when the centers of the kingdoms in the central part of Java. The case discussed in this paper is concerned with their ritual and ceremony tools used by the worshipped of Hindu-Buddha religions, especially in the regards with the statues of Hindu-Buddha gods, which are still used up to the present time. The statues of Hindu-Buddha gods are actually the realization of wishes to fulfill their worshipper hopes. This study in line with the opinion of Melford E.Spiro (1977), an expert on …

Understanding Cumulative Hazards In A Rustbelt City: Integrating Gis, Archaeology, And Spatial History, Daniel Trepal, Don Lafreniere

Michigan Tech Publications, Part 1

We combine the Historical Spatial Data Infrastructure (HSDI) concept developed within spatial history with elements of archaeological predictive modeling to demonstrate a novel GIS-based landscape model for identifying the persistence of historically-generated industrial hazards in postindustrial cities. This historical big data approach draws on over a century of both historical and modern spatial big data to project the presence of specific persistent historical hazards across a city. This research improves on previous attempts to understand the origins and persistence of historical pollution hazards, and our final model augments traditional archaeological approaches to site prospection and analysis. This study also demonstrates …

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Reproductive Health Trainings Within The Apopka Farmworker Community, Alexandria Mickler

Anthropology

Farmworkers across the United States face some of the highest rates of occupational injuries, illnesses, and accidents - including excessive pesticide exposure. Heightened exposure to pesticides has been associated with a variety of reproductive health challenges, including reduced fecundability and fertility, as well as detrimental effects to both fetal and child health - including preterm birth, low birth weight babies, and congenital and developmental abnormalities. In order to educate and empower farmworker women within the Apopka farmworker community, the Farmworker’s Association of Florida (FWAF) developed a reproductive health and pesticide safety training program. The purpose of this work was to …

The Leaked Texts At The Heart Of Puerto Rico’S Massive Protests, Yarimar Bonilla

Publications and Research

With Governor Rosselló refusing to step down, Puerto Ricans are gathering today in what could be the island’s largest-ever protest.

Osl And Ceramic Analysis At The Humphrey Site, Ryan Mathison

Department of Anthropology: Theses and Student Research

The Sand Hills of Nebraska are a unique environment located in the west-central portion of Nebraska. This portion of North America has long supported human life. One group in particular that called the Sand Hills home are the Dismal River people. Dismal River is the name that archaeologists gave to a group of horticulturalists that lived in circular structures on the sand dunes, often near the rivers, in the Sand Hills. This group, while generally known through archaeology, also has a potential historic or ethnographic presence in the form of the Cuartalejo Apache visited by Ulibarri, and potentially mentioned by …

The Ultimatum Game: An Introduction To Quantitative Literacy In A Social Justice Context, Robert G. Root

Numeracy

The Ultimatum Game is a two-person, multiple-strategy game widely used in the experimental social sciences to demonstrate the human propensity for costly punishment in response to inequitable treatment. The game serves to provide quantitative evidence for a diversity of fairness norms across cultures. The play of the game and its interpretation offer nuanced views of the nature and importance of quantitative literacy. Its use in a writing seminar connecting quantitative literacy and social justice is described.

The Tampa Gym Study: An Ethnographic Exploration Of Gyms, Female Gym-Goers And The Quest For Fitness In Tampa, Fl, Danielle Reneé Rosen

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Tampa Gym Study was an ethnographic examination of veteran women exercisers, their workout routines, and their attitudes towards the workouts that they undertake in two Tampa area gyms. The study’s principle objective was to study “fitness culture” in these facilities and the manner in which that culture is embodied in the language women use to describe themselves and their exercise behaviors.

The obesity crisis in the United States has been significantly responsible for an increase in membership in gyms and fitness facilities nationwide. The “culture of fitness” as it is embodied in these facilities has impacted women and their …

Harbored: Like Museums, Videogames Aren't Neutral, Stephanie Hawthorne

Institute for the Humanities Theses

The following is comprised of: (1) an analysis of scholarship and contemporary works regarding videogames and museums that demonstrate the theory and method behind this project, (2) research regarding an historic maritime event that will serve as the subject matter for the proposed videogame, and (3) a conclusion that summarizes the game design. The historical research at the heart of this project surrounds the SS Quanza, a steamship that in September of 1940 carried Jewish refugees from Portugal to the US and Mexico only to be faced with the possibility of a return trip to Nazi Europe. Elevating the voices …

“Medical Tourism Will…Obligate Physicians To Elevate Their Level So That They Can Compete”: A Qualitative Exploration Of The Anticipated Impacts Of Inbound Medical Tourism On Health Human Resources In Guatemala, Valorie A. Crooks, Ronald Labonté, Alejandro Cerón, Rory Johnston, Jeremy Snyder, Marcie Snyder

Anthropology: Faculty Scholarship

Background: Medical tourism, which involves cross-border travel to access private, non-emergency medical interventions, is growing in many Latin American Caribbean countries. The commodification and export of private health services is often promoted due to perceived economic benefits. Research indicates growing concern for health inequities caused by medical tourism, which includes its impact on health human resources, yet little research addresses the impacts of medical tourism on health human resources in destination countries and the subsequent impacts for health equity. To address this gap, we use a case study approach to identify anticipated impacts of medical tourism sector development on health …

Political Object Or Individual Subject?: Dominant Dutch Narratives Vs. Migrant Identities, Ashley Little

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This research study analyzes the impact of public narratives in The Netherlands upon the individual narratives of second-generation migrant women in the labor force. Viewing narratives as on one hand, symbolic and rhetorical, and on the other hand, as pragmatic and structural, I attempt to draw a correlation between public narratives and individual narrative production, arguing that discourses and practices of discrimination originate—and often intensify—through the relationship between these two narrative modes. I hypothesize the ways in which both migrant and native Dutch narratives currently challenge, but also have the potential to challenge, this dually-produced and dually-reinforced discrimination narrative. Correspondingly, …

Perceptions Of Infrastructure, Flood Management, And Environmental Redevelopment In The University Area, Hillsborough County, Florida, Kris-An K. Hinds

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The University Area (UA), a low-income, unincorporated neighborhood in Hillsborough County, Florida, is a site of sustainable redevelopment by the local government and nonprofit organizations. Throughout the past decade, the transitions in local and state political climates have significantly impacted the residents’ ability to advocate for infrastructural and environmental improvement to the site. This thesis discusses the findings of a research project dedicated to exploring resident perspectives of stormwater management, infrastructure, and the redevelopment currently occurring the University Area. Drawing from theoretical concepts in political ecology, environmental justice, and the interplay of agency and structure, this research investigates the impacts …

Tales Of Trafficking: Performing Women's Narratives In A Sex Trafficking Rehabilitation Program In Florida, Jaine E. Danlag

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

By working with an anti-human trafficking organization in Sarasota, Florida, and sex-worker activists based in St. Petersburg, Florida, this research focuses on the process by which trafficking victims and sex workers are identified and dealt with by the criminal justice system and NGO rehabilitation programs. The study focused on understanding how stakeholders decide between identifying someone as a criminal or a victim of sex trafficking and how women identify themselves and subjectively experience their interaction with the criminal justice system and a faith-based rehabilitation program. By exploring the victims’ process of going through the criminal justice system, this study problematizes …

Analyzing Social Issues Within Rock Island’S Christian Communities, Daniel Warren

Celebration of Learning

This research asks how Christians within the Quad Cities Area understand prevalent American social issues. Through my research, I explored how homophobia, racism, and gender discrimination fit within the context of American Christianity. I conducted interviews and participant observation with two different communities within the Rock Island area: Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, and the Quad Cities Mainspring Ministry. My research examines several major themes: race, sexuality, gender, and socioeconomic status, and through my research I concluded that religion is a major factor in contributing to how my participants have viewed these themes.

For The Wild: Ritual And Commitment In Radical Eco-Activism By Sarah M. Pike, Alda Balthrop-Lewis

The Goose

Review of Sarah M. Pike's For the Wild: Ritual and Commitment in Radical Eco-Activism

Beware The Cat In The Hat: How Children's Literature Is The Modern Form Of Segregation, Lucy Kebler

Celebration of Learning

Every person grows up exposed to children’s literature. Unfortunately, much of the children’s literature that is published is racially discriminatory, historically inaccurate, blatantly offensive, or pure propaganda. The research for this presentation began in Augustana College’s library and has transitioned to a much broader space: The Saint Louis Country Library. Through this research, it has become obvious that diverse literature is hard to find and is often marketed as only readable for those in the minority race depicted. Many libraries mark literature that contains African Americans, as to help “guide” readers in their selections. Books labeled in this way make …

Situating Giving Back For Native Americans Pursuing Careers In Stem: “You Don’T Just Take, You Give Something Back”, Janet Page-Reeves, Gabriel Leroy Cortez, Yoenesha Ortiz, Mark Moffett, Kathy Deerinwater, Douglas Medin

Intersections: Critical Issues in Education

This article explores how a desire to give back influences Native Americans pursuing education and careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). We present analysis of data from 51 interviews with Native students and STEM professionals. Despite the compelling evidence of the core significance of a community orientation among Native Americans, insufficient attention has been given to thinking about the unique challenges faced by STEM professionals in devising ways to give back and how this relates to the continuing problem of under-representation of Native Americans in STEM. Here we propose strategies for universities and industry to honor Native ways …

Bound By Silence: Psychological Effects Of The Traditional Oath Ceremony Used In The Sex Trafficking Of Nigerian Women And Girls, Jennifer Millett-Barrett

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

Nigerian women and children have been trafficked to Italy over the last 30 years for commercial sexual exploitation with an alarming increase in the past three years. The Central Mediterranean Route that runs from West African countries to Italy is rife with organized crime gangs that have created a highly successful trafficking operation. As part of the recruitment process, the Nigerian mafia and its operatives exploit victims by subjecting them to a traditional religious juju oath ceremony, which is an extremely effective control mechanism to silence victims and trap them in debt bondage. This study explores the psychological effects of …