Human Ecology Commons^™

The Problem-Solving Mode: Social Scientists Back Home And The Limits Of Critique, Czarina Saloma-Akpedonu

Sociology & Anthropology Department Faculty Publications

Abundant debates on the problematic positioning of intellectuals in the Global South are typically confined to migrant scholars and to the insider/outsider binary vis-à-vis their object/subject of study. Yet intellectuals back home—both those returning and those who never left—must also forge through the fraught politics of location and epistemic privilege as the other side of the same coin. Nowhere is the politics of location perhaps more striking than in the social sciences and among social scientists based in the Global South who have mostly been trained in Western universities or in Westernized local universities. As academics who mobilize knowledge in …

Identifying And Assisting Human Trafficking Survivors: A Post-Training Analysis Of First Responders, Sarah Erwin, Jessie Peter, Rochelle L. Dalla Dr., Virginia Chaidez, Amy Encinger, Lee Kreimer

The Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

First responders and the agencies for which they work face numerous challenges in identifying and assisting human trafficking survivors. This article aims to outline the ways in which first responders in a Midwestern state identify and provide services to human trafficking survivors. Six months after attending a two-day training aimed at recognizing and assisting human trafficking survivors, first responders were invited to participate in a follow-up survey regarding the training that they received. Responses were collected from 270 participants who work at various government, medical, or social service agencies in both rural and urban service areas across the state. Results …

Comparing Diaries And Waste Compositional Analysis For Measuring Food Waste In The Home, Tom E. Quested, Griff Palmer, Laura Moreno, Christa Mcdermott, Kelsea A. Schumacher

Institute for Sustainable Solutions Publications and Presentations

Diaries have been used to obtain national and subnational estimates of household food waste (HHFW) in several countries. Furthermore, diaries have been proposed as a method for tracking progress towards goals that include HHFW reduction. However, multiple studies have suggested diaries substantially underestimate HHFW. This paper collates and analyses data from five studies in which diary estimates of HHFW can be directly compared to other, more accurate estimates from waste compositional analysis (WCA). This analysis finds that all diary estimates for HHFW were lower than the corresponding WCA estimates, with the degree of underestimation ranging from 7% to 40%. Four …

Book Review: Our Towns: A 100,000 Mile Journey Into The Heart Of America, Keith Morton

eJournal of Public Affairs

Book review of James and Deborah Fallows, Our towns: a 100,000 mile journey into the heart of America

A Comparative Assessment Of Climate Change Related Knowledge And Perception Of Coastal And Tribal Community, Kirti K Kalinga, Navaneeta Rath

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Climate change is a global problem with local ramifications. It supposed to impact all nations and states across borders. But the way it is perceived by different stakeholders varies. Perception towards climate change matters because it will shape the way knowledge is framed and risk is calculated. It is also important to examine the knowledge of those people who are affected the most due to climate change. The present paper tries to understand the perception of farmers on climate change. As agriculture is one of the most climate sensitive sectors, it becomes pertinent here to explore are the farmers aware …

The American West As A Social-Ecological Region: Drivers, Dynamics And Implications For Nested Social-Ecological Systems, Jodi Brandt, Matthew A. Williamson

Human-Environment Systems Research Center Faculty Publications and Presentations

The American West exists in the popular imagination as a distinct region, and policies and politics often suggest that both the challenges and the opportunities for land management and human well-being across the region are relatively homogeneous. In this paper, we argue that there are key characteristics that define the West as a social-ecological region, and also that there are myriad social-ecological systems (SESs) within the region that require diverse and dynamic approaches to managing change over time. We first conceptualize aridity, topography, and a unique political economy of land as exogenous factors that persist over time and space to …

Ethnobotany And Dai Medicine: Herbal Roots, Jasper Tsai

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Xishuangbanna is home to one of the most biologically and culturally diverse regions in China. Dai medicine from the Dai people has been recognized by China as one of the four major ethnic minority medicines. With over 2,500 years of practice, Dai medicine utilizes the herbs found in the diverse region mixed with principles and theories from Buddhism. There have been over 500 unique herbs used in Dai medicine, each with different properties and functions. As Xishuangbanna continues to develop as a city and expand its rubber and banana plantations, it has large impacts on the environment, living standard, education, …

¿Un Desarrollo Sostenible? Analizando El Ecoturismo Como Un Modelo De Desarrollo Sostenible Para Disminuir La Pobreza Y Su Impacto En La Cultura De La Comunidad Nativa De Infierno, Emily Pugh

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Este estudio se enfoca en la Comunidad Nativa de Infierno como un modelo de desarrollo sostenible por su actividad de ecoturismo y critica los aspectos sociales que han cambiado con la llegada del albergue Posada Amazonas en el año 1996. A través de un trabajo de campo de dos semanas y haciendo uso de métodos de investigación comunes a la investigación sociocultural, los resultados de esta investigación afirman que la manera en que los comuneros viven, valoran el dinero y se relacionan el uno al otro han cambiado. Por la creación de un área protegida para el ecoturismo, ya menos …

Laguna De Los Datos: Usos Y Percepciones De Rnu Laguna De Los Patos, Río Grande, Tierra Del Fuego, Argentina, Rosa Kirk-Davidoff

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

La protección de las áreas naturales urbanas es un tema importante que requiere tanta atención a los aspectos humanos de estos espacios como a sus características naturales. Río Grande, Argentina tiene un sistema de reservas naturales urbanas (RNUs) que comenzó en 2012 para proteger el hábitat de las aves migratorias en la ciudad. En este proyecto, estudié las actividades y las percepciones de los visitantes de una de estas reservas, RNU Laguna de los Patos. Conté todas las personas que visitaron la reserva durante 13 días, registrando lo que hicieron y cuánto tiempo se quedaron. También encuesté a una muestra …

Climate-Smart Agriculture: Building Resilience For Women Farmers In Kalchebeshi, Nepal, Annika Ruben

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This case study outlines women’s involvement in climate-smart agriculture and key climate adaptation strategies which are being implemented in the town of Kalchebeshi, Nepal. Kalchebeshi is considered a Resilient Mountain Village because of the town’s integrated approach to addressing climate change and building resilience for farmers. Key findings examined gender differences in farming responsibilities and the significance of farmers’ groups in women’s overall decision making and community involvement. Additionally, changes in water management and pesticide use have been shown to have a positive impact on the lives of women farmers in Kalchebeshi. This paper reinforces the importance of involving vulnerable …

Emerging Adult Career Pathways: Understanding Aspirations And Switching, Tasmiah Amreen

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Emerging adulthood is a stage of life characterized by a high degree of fluctuation in identity formation and future decision-making (Arnett 2015). During this life stage, emerging adults make decisions about their future career by assessing whether they want to continue with their current career pathway or whether they intend to switch. The present study investigates this process in terms of its overall prevalence – or how often emerging adults intend to switch career trajectories – and the correlates of it. Previous studies on career switching have focused largely on educational switches. This quantitative study operationalizes career pathway by using …

A New Long Island: Demographic, Economic, And Social Transformations In New York City's Historic Suburbs, 1990 - 2016 (Revised), Lawrence Cappello

Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies

Introduction: This report examines key socioeconomic and demographic trends in New York City and Long Island from 1990 to 2016.

Methods: The findings reported here are based on data collected by the Census Bureau IPUMS (Integrated Public Use Microdata Series), available at http://www.usa.ipums.org for the corresponding years and the US Census Bureau’s American Community Survey.

Results: The Long Island suburbs have grown significantly more diverse in the early twenty-first century. The total number of non-Hispanic Whites in both Nassau and Suffolk Counties is in steady decline, as is their share of Long Island’s total population. Latinos and Asians, on the …

“You Do It Without Their Knowledge”: Is Nonconsensual Comdom Removal The New Public Health Emergency?, Marwa Awad Mohamed

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Background: Sexual consent is often defined as the voluntary agreement to participate in a sexual act, though the differing definitions across and within countries make legal consensus difficult. In recent years, due to popularization through social media, nonconsensual condom removal, termed stealthing, is becoming common, especially among young adults. Yet, little to no empirical evidence exists on this sexual behavior.

Methods: In this exploratory sequential mixed methods approach, we aimed to address the current perception of stealthing among young adults. College students were recruited from general education courses at a medium-sized four- year public university. Focus groups were conducted to …

An Introduction To Transformative Inquiry: Understanding Compelling And Significant Relationships For Personal And Societal Transformation, Mark L. Mccaslin, Kelly A. Kilrea

The Qualitative Report

Transformative inquiry is a theoretical model designed to facilitate the inquiry of important and meaningful relationships that transform and potentiate us. Creswell (2007) described the essential elements of a research agenda: the axiological, ontological, epistemological, methodological, and rhetorical. Each carries with it assumptions that hold implications for practice and research. Transformative inquiry addresses all of these elements through considerations given to deep ecology, transdisciplinarity, integral meta-theory, heuristic research, and eudaimonistic philosophy, respectively. Transformative inquiry is an approach to understanding and fostering the full range of deep and meaningful relationships from the personal to the political, and beyond. It is a …

Back To Belonging: Nature Connection And Expressive Arts Therapy In The Treatment Of Trauma And Marginalization, Jesse Newcomb

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

There is increasing research on the benefits of incorporating nature-based approaches into mental health. This can be done in myriad ways both in and out of the counseling office. This literature review focuses on the benefits of incorporating nature as co-therapist and kin rather than only material or metaphor, particularly in the treatment of people who have experienced trauma and or marginalization. According to Herman (1997), wounds made relationally must be healed relationally, and the literature reviewed in this paper suggests that connection with the “more-than-human” world (Abram, 1996), and coming back into a sense belonging in the larger web …

Queerness, Witchcraft, And Embodied Presence: Aesthetic Knowings Of What A Body Can Do, Megan Bigelow

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Taking as a point of entry the critique of representation and affirming the limitations of the cuts that language makes, this capstone project explores the imbrications and assemblages between Foucault’s concept of subjugated knowledges, witchcraft and other body-based ways of knowing and being, and the consciousness of non-human forms such as plants and through the framework of non-representational theory, process philosophies, aesthetics, queerness, and the concept of difference itself.

Since such theories themselves are living, breathing entities, this capstone project explores the ideological split that has occurred between sacred and secular beliefs, moving through different figures such as nuns and …

Safety–Performance Management In Extreme Sports? A Situated Analysis In Spearfishing Activity, Aude Villemain, Willy Buchmann

Journal of Human Performance in Extreme Environments

The aim of this research is to understand safety–performance articulation in spearfishing through the study of the global, specific, and temporal organization of an elite free diver’s activity. Three kinds of data were collected: diary reports, ten elicitation interviews on spearfishing, and two self-confrontation interviews on successful and failed apneas. The results indicated (1) the spearfisher’s global organization during the spearfishing set, (2) the alternation of intentions during apnea and periods of stabilization, (3) harmony with the environment, and (4) the strategy of keeping pace with the fish. The article will discuss the specific competence development needed to manage the …

We Are All Alive: Understanding Connections Between People And Coral Reefs In Samoa, Kalamakaleimahoehoe Porter

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This work seeks to incorporate ecological research methods, socioeconomic data analysis, and local story collection into one understanding of coral reefs on the island of Upolu in Samoa. Data collection utilized transects and timed dives to assess four reef health indicators, and socio-economic indicators were sourced from the Samoa Bureau of Statistics. Interviews were also conducted to gain Samoan perspectives on the importance of coral reefs. Findings include patterns between the socioeconomic factors of population demographics, unemployment rates, education, and improved water, waste, and sanitation facilities and the environmental indicators of prevalence of plastic, percentage cover of living coral, parrotfish …

Women In Conservation: A Study Of Effective Community-Based Conservation And The Empowerment Of Women In Tanzania, Ruby Krietzman

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The subject of this study is women involved in Community-Based Conservation (CBC) from areas surrounding Lake Manyara National Park, Ngorongoro Conservation Area, and Mount Kilimanjaro National Park. CBC is a participatory process between people and organizations who have responsibilities affecting conservation. Communities surrounding protected conservation areas tend to experience high levels of poverty and marginalization due to exclusive conservation policies and the lack of co-management principles. Although tourism revenue is abundant in these locations, the benefits rarely impact local community members that disproportionately experience the effects of conservation. This is especially true for women who hold the responsibilities of collecting …

Río Muchacho: La Interacción Entre Agricultura Orgánica, Educación Ambiental Y Ecoturismo, Tatum Contreras

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

El enfoque principal de mi proyecto fue crear un documental sobre cómo Río Muchacho combinada lo orgánico, el ecoturismo y la educación ambiental. Hice mi proyecto en la provincia de Manabí cerca del pueblo Canoa. Documenté y entrevisté a todas las personas involucradas en Río muchacho- de los dueños, a los visitantes. Empecé mi proyecto el 8 de abril y terminé con la filmación y las entrevistas el 26 de abril. En la primera semana trabajé en la finca orgánica de 7 de la mañana hasta las 4 de la tarde. Las dos otras semanas trabajé de 7 a la …