Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons^™

Gender, Politics, Market Segmentation, And Taste: Adult Contemporary Radio At The End Of The Twentieth Century, Saesha Senger

Theses and Dissertations--Music

This dissertation explores issues of gender politics, market segmentation, and taste through an examination of the contributions of several artists who have achieved Adult Contemporary (AC) chart success. The scope of the project is limited to a period when many artists who figured prominently in both the broader mainstream of American popular music and the more specific Adult Contemporary category were most commercially viable: from the mid-1980s through the 1990s. My contention is that, as gender politics and gendered social norms continued to change in the United States at this time, Adult Contemporary – the chart, the format, and the …

Educator Perspectives On Suggested Changes To The Jordanian Education System As A Result Of The Syrian Refugee Crisis, Sara Sydney Caplan

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The research investigates the question: How do teachers believe the Jordanian education system should change in order to best meet the needs of all students given the recent influx of Syrian refugees? The researcher interviewed seven teachers in Amman and Madaba, Jordan to gather qualitative data on their perspectives on the current Jordanian education system. Educators interviewed represented a vary of different school populations, grade levels, environments, resources and subject areas. Teachers interviewed and material culture demonstrated that the current education system is in need of multifaceted reform. The primary issue raised by many interviewees is enhanced discrimination and inequitable …

Family Caregivers' Perspectives On Establishing Hospice Care In Belize, Rachael Florita Battle

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

End-of-life (EOL) care decisions present a challenge for family caregivers. Despite the increasing number of terminally ill patients in need of pain management and comfort care, there is limited qualitative data about how populations in the developing world can access culturally appropriate resources and EOL support. In this phenomenological study, 17 Garifuna family caregivers in southern Belize were interviewed about their experience caring for terminally family members. The conceptual frameworks were Kübler-Ross’s hospice approach and Watson’s theory of human caring. The two theories were selected based on their significance to this process: Kübler Ross’s hospice approach and its impact on …

Psychological Well-Being And Acculturation Of Mexican Alumni Of U.S. Colleges And Universities, Cynthia L. Ruelas

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The Hispanic population is the largest and fastest growing population in the United States, which necessitates research on the acculturation process, especially because of the current events regarding the Texas–Mexico border. Although research has indicated the need to develop coping skills to support positive mental health during acculturation, there is a lack of empirical information regarding acculturation and mental health among Mexican alumni of U.S. colleges and universities. Based on social identity theory and acculturation theory, this quantitative, correlational study was conducted to examine the relationship between acculturation and psychological well-being (PWB) among Mexican alumni of colleges and universities in …

Folk Dance: An Occupation For Building Community, Wendy Price

Online Theses and Dissertations

This pilot ethnographic study describes the behaviors and values among the members of a central Appalachian folk-dancing community. The participants were four women, three adults and one teenager, each of whom were long-standing members of the community. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and participant observation, as the principal researcher had been a member of this community for 12 years at the time of the study. Interviews were transcribed verbatim, coded, and subjected to cross-case analysis. Codes informed categories, from which emerged two overarching themes regarding values held by this community: hospitality and human connection. Hospitality encompassed practices related to …

Educational Experiences Of 1.5 Generation Cambodian Americans, Kassandra A. Chhay

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

During the 1980s, an influx of Cambodian Americans resettled in the United States due to the Cambodian genocide. Those Cambodian refugees who came to the United States as either infants, children or adolescents due to warfare, are members of the 1.5 generation. This thesis examines the educational trajectory of 1.5 generation Cambodian Americans in the context of family, school, and community from their resettlement in the United States to adulthood. Using a narrative approach, I examine how the eighteen participants in the study overcame certain challenges to attain success and how they negotiated their cultural and ethnic identity in relation …

Dekalb, Illinois, Muslim Women’S Agency Negotiating And Re-Affirming Their Muslim Identity, Sinta Febrina

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

Post 9/11 American Muslim women are stereotyped as victims of their patriarchal religion and as perpetrators of terror. These conditions led to the discrimination of American Muslim women which requires them to continuously strategize and negotiate their identity. This thesis examined DeKalb, Illinois Muslim women’s agency to strategize and negotiate their identity in lager American society. In this study, fifteen Muslim women from three different categories were interviewed: American-born citizens, naturalized citizens, and immigrants. This study found that Muslim women’s various backgrounds (country of origin, education, socio-economic status, and immigration status) affected their strategy and agency to negotiate and re-affirm …

Cultural Models Of Democracy Among Burmese Residents In Chicago, Illinois, And Fort Wayne, Indiana, John Hillory Hood

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This thesis examines implicit assumptions about democracy among Burmese residents in Chicago, Illinois and Fort Wayne, Indiana. A major focus of the research is the durability of foundational cultural models – basic, simple, widely-shared modes of thought – that may or may not change over time, measured in this study through length-of-residency. As such, I examined three distinct sample groups: temporary residents, immigrants, and adult offspring of immigrants. This research comprised methods of ethnography, semi-structured interviews, as well as a free-listing memory task. A key point of inquiry is intracultural variation occurring between sample groups. Particular attention was paid to …

Children During The American Steamboat Era - A Museum Exhibit, Emily Ruoff

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

“Children During the American Steamboat Era” is a portion of the submitted Alternative Paper Plan (A.P.P.) in partial fulfillment Emily Ruoff’s Master of Science in Applied Anthropology at Minnesota State University, Mankato in Mankato, MN in 2019. Discussions in this paper include a summary of the new exhibit, “Children During the Steamboat Era” at the Arabia Steamboat Museum (Kansas City, MO) and the reasons as to why this topic was chosen as the theme for this display. Goals and reasons for topic choice are: to create a sense of connectivity and inclusion for the thousands of children that visit the …

The Good Bloke In Contemporary Australian Workplaces: Origins, Qualities And Impacts Of A National Cultural Archetype In Small For-Profit Businesses, Christopher George Taylor

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This study explored the nature and significance of a common but widely misunderstood phrase encountered in Australia: The Good Bloke. Underlying this enquiry was awareness, based on the researcher’s personal and professional experience, that the idea of a Good Bloke powerfully influences individual perceptions of leaders in Australian small-to-mid sized for-profit firms. The study commenced with an exploration of the origins and history of the phrase, tracing it to the 1788 arrival of a disproportionately male Anglo-Celtic population was composed significantly of transported convicts. The language and mores of this unique settler population evolved for two centuries based on relationships, …

Exploring Paths For Water Services And Human Capabilities In U.S.-Mexico Border Colonias, Chilton Tippin

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This Thesis examines causes and consequences of water insecurity in colonias on the U.S.-Mexico border and explores potential pathways for improving situations wherein low-income households lack reliable access to water and sewer services. Colonias are low-income, rural and/or semi-rural communities that lack basic services, such as paved streets, water, and sewer. Through in-depth interviews, surveys, and ethnographic observations, the research presented here describes needs, desires, and capabilities of residents in two high-needs Texas colonias. First, findings elucidate the lived experiences of water insecurity in colonias households, leading to an argument that lacking water access constitutes a nexus, wherein water insecurity …

Returns Unraveled: Reflections On Appropriate Destinies For Museum Objects With Questionable Pasts, Jos Van Buerden, Kathleen M. Adams, Paul Catteeuw

Anthropology: Faculty Publications and Other Works

No abstract provided.

Exploring Community Knowledge And Perceptions Of Flooding And Sea-Level Rise In King Salmon, California, Kristina Kunkel

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

The coastal community of King Salmon, California could be at the highest risk of relative sea-level rise on the entire U.S. West Coast. In 2019, the community already experiences severe flooding at least annually and may be regularly inundated as early as 2050. Until this study, there had been no documented effort to reach out to the community to show them future sea-level rise projections, understand the context of life in King Salmon, and listen to their reactions and perceptions. This research utilized a mixed methods grounded theory approach integrating semi-structured interviews with King Salmon stakeholders, qualitative data analysis, public …

(In)Difference To Survivors: The Anti-Violence Comics Project, Henry Solares

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Sexualized violence prevention at the university level can sometimes leave out the perspectives and needs of marginalized groups. Ethics should always serve to temper any endeavors to work with marginalized groups. Any endeavor into the field requires methods and frameworks that serve not only the needs of the researcher but also the knowledge builders involved. Postmodern ethnography articulates a need for contesting a positivist understanding of knowledge through use of alternative methods like novelized fiction, autobiography, documentary, and visual art. In conjunction, intersectional theory forces us to consider our place as researchers and the larger power dynamics within our culture. …

Flexible Liminality Among The Tibetan Diaspora: Tibetan Exiles Adjusting Cultural Practices In Dharamsala, India And The United States, Sneha Thapa

Theses and Dissertations--Anthropology

In this dissertation, I investigate the characteristics and quality of liminality among the Tibetan exile community in Dharamsala, India, and the United States. I argue that the quality of their liminality defines this exile community’s ability to maneuver and voice their influence to geo-political community of states that surround them, all while within their liminal condition. The Tibetan exile people live as stateless foreigners in India but have a better standard of living and better opportunities to acquire transnational resources than their surrounding host community. In the U.S., Tibetan diaspora people live as asylum-seekers and naturalized Tibetan-Americans but have established …

Finding The Singing Spruce: Craft Labor, Global Forests, And Musical Instrument Makers In Appalachia, Jasper Waugh-Quasebarth

Theses and Dissertations--Anthropology

Musical instrument makers in the state of West Virginia in the United States pursue “singing,” lively instruments that capture ideals of musical tone and “re-enchant” their work and lives through relationships with craft materials and the forest landscape. Suitable tonewoods that grow in the region, such as red spruce (Picea rubens), intersect with makers’ desires to craft instruments in the style of famed makers such as the C.F. Martin Company and the Gibson Company as well as provide instruments imbued with a sense of place. While the demand for and symbolic import of instruments made with local wood …

Making Experts: An Ethnographic Study Of “Makers” In Fablabs In Japan, Vaughn M. Krebs

Theses and Dissertations--Anthropology

“Makers” around the world cohere in a digital and physical network of technology hobbyists. “Makers" are open-source hardware enthusiasts who use machines like 3D printers and laser cutters - manufacturing tools that have only recently become accessible to laypeople - to make things. “Makers" share a vision for a world where everyone would be able to make almost anything, supplanting top-down economic systems and channels of production. This ethnographic research examines a subset of the “maker” community: “makers” in “FabLabs” in Japan. These “FabLabs” are small workshops that house the machines that “makers” need and make them open to the …

Centuries Of Navigating Resistance And Change: Exploring The Persistence Of Mongolian Women Leaders, Holly D. Diaz

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The country of Mongolia has an ancient culture with a 28-year-old democracy that emerged out of communism. Over the course of several centuries, the Mongolian people have adapted to severe climates and brutal occupations but have managed to preserve cultural practices and the Mongolian way of life. Women leaders have made significant historical and contemporary contributions in Mongolia, from holding important leadership positions as heirs of Chinggis Khan, to ensuring the future of the country by sending their children abroad for graduate education. The impact of their leadership is evident with high percentages of women in leadership positions across several …

Developing And Sustaining Political Citizenship For Poor And Marginalized People: The Evelyn T. Butts Story, Kenneth Cooper Alexander

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This study tells the deep, rich story of Evelyn T. Butts, a grassroots civil rights champion in Norfolk, Virginia, whose bridge leadership style can teach and inspire new generations about political, community, and social change. Butts used neighbor-to-neighbor skills to keep her community connected with the national civil rights movement, which had heavily relied on grassroots leaders—especially women—for much of its success in overthrowing America’s Jim Crow system of segregation and suppression. She is best-known for her 1963 lawsuit that resulted in the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1966 decision to ban poll taxes for state and local elections, a democratizing event …

La Modernité Tunisienne Dévoilée : Une Étude Autour De La Femme Célibataire, Madison Wagner

Scripps Senior Theses

This thesis explains recent accounts of discrimination and cutbacks in reproductive health spaces in Tunisia. Complicating dominant analyses, which attribute these events to the post-revolution political atmosphere which has allowed the proliferation of islamic extremism, I interpret these instances as a manifestation of a deeply rooted stigma against sexually active single women. I trace this stigma’s inception to the contradictory way that Habib Bourguiba conceptualized modernity after independence, and the responsibility he assigned to Tunisian women to embody that modernity. This responsibility remains salient today, and is putting Tunisian women in an increasingly untenable and vulnerable position.

After independence, Bourguiba …