International and Area Studies Commons^™

Conservation And Variation In Agricultural Landscapes: A Survey Of Insect Populations Across Naranjilla Cultivation Methods In The Eastern Andean Cloud Forest, Ian Zakelj

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study compared insect biodiversity among five sites in agricultural landscapes and natural forest in the El Placer community in the valley of the Rio Pastaza in the eastern Andean cloud forest. The area is of vital importance to conservation, as it falls in the ecological corridor between the Sangay and Llanganates national parks. The primary crop produced by the residents of El Placer is naranjilla, and it is cultivated in a variety of manners, mostly with intensive chemical use. The goal of the study was to find out which types of practices were the least harmful to the insect …

La Cultura Familiar: Una Exploración De Herencia Y Memoria A Través De Comida, Alexandria Pizzino

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Esta investigación explora las conexiones entre la comida, la memoria, y la cultura familiar. La investigación duró cuatro semanas, y fue completada a través de entrevistas orales y de demostración con cuatros personas. Cada entrevistade pudo escoger una receta principal de su familia y contar una narrativa sobre las memorias asociadas con esta comida para contribuir a la formación de un libro de cocina y memoria. Las entrevistades eran representantes de las zonas sur y centro de Chile, de ciudades y zonas rurales. Incluyó la participación de tres mujeres y un hombre. Cada entrevistade tenía una manera única de usar …

From River To Ridge: The Influence Of Elevation And Habitat On Herpetofauna Species Abundance And Diversity In The Llanganates-Sangay Ecological Corridor, Ecuador, Elle Hankin

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Ecuador is one of the most reptile-diverse countries and is home to the highest abundance of amphibians per unit area, with new species being discovered frequently. The Río Pastaza basin is located to the east of the Andes and is characterized by a steep elevational gradient, converging tropical forest types, and high levels of biodiversity and endemicity. Visual surveying was conducted at night for a total of 48 hours in four different study sites to investigate the influence of elevation and habitat on herpetofauna diversity and abundance. Two comparisons were drawn between the four study sites, grouping SKIS and Waska …

Water: The Gift And The Curse: A Climate Change Preparedness Study On An Increased Rainfall Scenarios In The Yunguilla Cloud Forest, Ecuador, Emilia Dick Fiora Del Fabro

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The purpose of this project was to try and better understand the risks posed to the Yunguilla community in an increased rainfall climate change scenario. While climate modeling is not exact, many models do predict increased rain and storm intensity in this area (“Explainer…”, 2018). This project studies erosion risk, and the potential damage to crops through a series of experiments and mapping.

The first experiment used three hydration percentages 50, 75 and 100, to water two crop types, Fragaria and Caspium, and monitored plant health to see the water's effect. The hydraulic stress testing did not model an increased …

La Capital Marica De Chile: Un Mapa Queer/Kuir/Marica De Valparaíso Y Una Investigación Sobre La Construcción Publica De Una Comunidad Visible En Valparaíso, Steven Powell

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In Valparaíso, Chile, there is a teeming queer presence in the streets and public spaces. Expressions of queerness can be seen in Plaza Anabel Pinto in the way in which people dress or style their hair, can be heard from the small plaza in front of the Severin Library with the voguing/kiki music blasting at nights, and is grafittied on the walls all around the city. This presence and visibility is met with violence and accompanied by precarious life situations. It was my goal through this investigation to explore this relationship between violence and visibility as it is contradicted and …

“Yo También Puedo” - Una Investigación De Pensamientos Y Opiniones Sobre Redes De Apoyo Y Historia De Violencia Intrafamiliar Contra Mujeres Mapuches Rurales, Shira A. Lyss-Loren

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper is an exploration of the rural Mapuche women’s opinions and history of intrafamilial violence. Through small group personal interviews this study seeks to consider the multiple lived experiences and opinions of rural Mapuche women as it relates to intrafamilial violence against women and the social and government support systems available to both prevent it and support victims. Intention of this investigation was not to seek out personal stories of violence, instead focusing on community-wide held perceptions, opinions, and beliefs about where violence in their community comes from, how its perpetrated, and how it is responded to or prevented. …

A Displaced People: Documenting The History And Displacement Of The Batwa Tribe In Bundibugyo District, Uganda., Marcos S. Turk

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The Batwa in Bundibugyo are an indigenous minority group that originated in the forest of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Since then, various displacement factors have taken effect that have forced them out of the forest. Currently they live in Bundibugyo District, Uganda. This study aimed at identifying those displacement factors while also investigating Batwa history and culture as they are a relatively undocumented group. The Batwa have various traditions they established while in the forest, such as unique methods for hunting forest animals. Because Uganda forced them out of the forest, many of their cultural practices no longer occur. …

Perceptions Of The Efficacy And Trustworthiness Of Faith-Based Organizations And Secular Ngos In Mgwashi, Bumbuli District, Tanzania, Naomi Tomlin

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study investigated perceptions of faith-based organizations (FBOs) compared to secular non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Mgwashi, Bumbuli District, Tanzania. Perceptions were sorted into two categories: efficacy of services and trustworthiness. This study also examined gender and religion to determine potential influences on perceptions of trustworthiness and efficacy.

This study conducted 72 interviews of Mgwashi residents (18 Muslim men, 18 Muslim women, 18 Christian men, and 18 Christian women). Participants were asked for their opinions on the trustworthiness and efficacy of secular NGOs and FBOs with which they had experience. Then, those who had experience with both types (n=41) were asked …

Worrying In Cato Manor: A Case Study Analysis On The Influence Of Context, Samantha Garbus

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Social Causation theory states that social and economic circumstances cause people to be at a higher risk of mental illness (Lund 2011, p.1). South Africa has high inequality, with racial disparities prevalent in multiple indicators of socioeconomic status. Moreover, mental health in South Africa has often not been prioritized. This project aimed to assess how context impacts relevant aspects of mental health, such as worrying and the mind/body stress-response in Cato Manor. An additional theme of community beliefs on stress emerged from the interviews which is also presented.

For this project, I used a Mixed Methods-Case Study research design. I …

Investigating White Hegemonic Masculinity Among Sadf Veterans In Durban, James Marculitis

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In order to enforce apartheid at every level of South African society, the national party government required their white male security forces to share a uniform identity and ideology. This ideology relied on a hegemonic masculinity that would be willing to aggressively protect racism, patriarchy, and cultural conservatism. A whole generation of white men are now reckoning with living in an entirely new country, one where their white masculine identities are not able to be practiced in the same way as they were under an oppressive racist regime. This study will build on existing literature of masculinity in South Africa …

Healing From Genocidal Rape: An Exploration Of The Trauma Healing Process Among Sevota Members, Delaney Bluhm

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Through a case study of SEVOTA, this paper examines trauma-healing practices among genocidal rape victims. Its primary research objectives are to identify the resources available to victims immediately post-genocide through the present, critically examine how these resources have helped victims heal, and observe any existing or impending challenges to healing from rape-related trauma in Rwanda. It concludes that building a community and providing resources to help with certain situations (such as funding for medical treatments or children’s school fees) are effective methods of trauma-healing among genocidal rape victims in Rwanda.

Aid For Ed: An Analysis Of Rwanda’S 12-Year Basic Education System And Its Relationship With Government-Channeled Aid, Gabriel K. Anzeze

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The field of foreign aid has been widely explored, particularly as relates to economic development of developing states. This paper however delves into the specific utilization of foreign aid within the education sector in Rwanda and the effects it bears not just on the recipient state in general, but also on its financial practices with regard to aid. By exploring trends in financial expenditure by aid agencies and government, it appears that foreign aid does not necessarily influence government budget allocations and this absence of ‘crowding-out’ gives Rwanda an upper hand in managing foreign aid. Education also appears to be …

The Battle For The Sea: Tourism Development And Public Ocean Access In Jambiani, Zanzibar, Sophie Beauchesne

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The battle for coastal access is a prevalent and controversial issue in both the Global North and the Global South (Mongeau, 2001; Ojo, 2013). Due to investment in coastal land, vulnerable communities around the world are losing their access to the sea (Ojo, 2013; Bennett, Govan & Satterfield, 2015). Battles for ocean access in the Global North tend to focus on recreational activities, but what is to be said about ocean access in the Global South, where access to the sea is needed for the survival of entire communities? (Mongeau, 2001;). Using geographical mapping, environmental condition assessments and open-ended interviews …

Assessing The Threat Of Coral Decline On Fish Diversity In Response To Temperature, Ryland Talmadge

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Misali, a PECCA-protected island off the east coast of Pemba, Tanzania, is considered to be a marine biodiversity hotspot with a protected Non-Extractive Zone (NEZ) and remaining Extractive Zone (EZ). Upon protection, the island’s fringe reefs faced severe coral bleaching during the 1998 bleaching event, estimated to kill up to 70% of corals. Since the event, several others have occurred in addition to restructuring the management plan in 2006 to expand the region to 1000km. While the damage from the most recent coral bleaching event in 2020 has yet to be surveyed, this study investigates the current reef health in …

Can Joy Be Racialized? Analyzing How Ghanaians Conceptualize Joy, Zakiyyah (Zaza) Jones

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The racialization of joy is one’s own experience of joy being tied to their racial, and ethnic identity. Inspired by the concept of Black joy, which is an example of the racialization of joy, this paper aims to understand how Ghanaian university students conceptualize joy and whether they would consider their experience of joy to be influenced by their racial/ethnic identity. 18 semi-structured interviews were conducted at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) and the University of Health and Allied Sciences (UHAS). In addition, photography was used as a methodology to capture images of Black people experiencing joy …

Domesticated: Migrant Domestic Workers In Jordan And Their Place In Jordan’S Law And Homes, Jeromel Dela Rosa Lara

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The purpose of this study is to bring attention to the labor conditions for migrant women domestic workers and what agency they have in the workplace (the home of their employers) and the law in Jordan. Jordan is considered as having a model labor law for migrant workers in the region. Officials from the Ministry of Labor have claimed that this makes the Kafala System––a system of labor that puts migrant workers under the care, standards, and control of the employer––non-existent in the country. This study will look further on the extent that this is reflected to the experiences of …

Step By Step: Understanding Perceptions Of Time And Space In Nepal, Lillian Norton-Brainerd

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Time and space are part of everyone’s daily life; however, these concepts are rarely explicitly discussed. Hegemonic interpretations of time and space are part of capitalist, colonialist structures, thus understanding alternative perceptions is important to resisting these structures. To understand perceptions of time in Nepal, I spent a month in Gre, a small village near Langtang National Park. I interviewed villagers and spent time observing how people spend their time, talk about time, and give directions to physical places. While there is not one perception of time and space, I learned how time and space influence each other. Geography and …

The Relationship Between Humans And Nature In The Himalayas: A Collection Of Poems, Floyd Cornett

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Throughout this research period I lived in the Gurung Village of Sikles in the Lower Annapurna Region of the Himalayan Mountain Range. Here, I grew in my understanding and learnings behind the village people’s relationship with nature, what shapes it, how it is changing, and general attitudes towards it. The Gurung community is traditionally of the Bon religion, but with the impacts of our ever-connecting world, many have also incorporated Buddhism and Hinduism into their beliefs and practices as well. Therefore, many of their traditions include pockets of animism and traditional worship of nature, but many villagers have slowly converted …

“Antes ÉRamos De Tierra Firme”: Community Perspectives On The Past, Present, And Future Of Isla Narganá And Isla CorazóN De JesúS, Comarca Guna Yala In The Face Of A Changing Climate, Izabella R. Klosterman

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The objective of this research was to learn about Isla Narganá and Isla Corazón de Jesús, Comarca Guna Yala residents’ perspectives on climate change and, to learn about what needs to be done to mitigate the effects of climate change on the islands. In April 2022, eighteen semi-structured interviews were conducted in Spanish with residents of the islands. Interviews revealed that flooding caused by sea level rise, intensification of precipitation events, extreme heat, and biodiversity loss were the most reported impacts of climate change on participants’ lives. Poor waste management opportunities were also discussed as a critical environmental issue affecting …

The Relationship Between Substrate Composition, Community Structure And Feeding Preferences Of Parrot Fishes (Scaridae) In Anmardub, Guna Yala Coastal Reefs, Caitlin Amman

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Coral reefs are important marine ecosystems, as they support biodiversity and generate buffer zones, yet their abundance is incredibly limited globally. One of the main threats that coral reefs face is excessive macroalgal coverage, which limits sunlight from reaching corals, and thus, limits the energy that can reach them. Parrot fish (Scaridae) are keystone herbivores, as they consume macroalgae growing on corals, which aids in reef survivability. While there is previous research on the abundances, sizes, and feeding habits of Scaridae species in the Caribbean, there is no published research on how community structure and feeding preferences of parrot fishes …