Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Tibetan Jewish Youth Exchange: The Importance Of Youth In Exile And Diaspora Communities, Jade Sank

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

How is the identity of a people living in diaspora maintained? The people of Tibet have been living in exile since the Chinese occupation began in 1959. As a result the Tibetan people have been working to find ways to maintain their identity, religion and culture. In Many ways the current Tibetan plight can be compared to the experiences of the Jewish people in exile and diaspora.

Culture, a religion, a people and an identity in exile and diaspora is both maintained and changed. The youth are the future and bonds that hold everything together, they are the carriers of …

Out Of Conflict Comes Creation: A New Era For Contemporary Music In Belfast, Martha Slenker

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This report is the outcome of a month-long exploratory study on growth of the contemporary music scene in Belfast, United Kingdom. Data was obtained by way of qualitative methods using focused interviews with five musicians and one music organization’s executive, and participant observations came from attending concert venues and music organizations in Belfast. Through these methods, it can be concluded that this is a new era for the current contemporary music scene. Despite Belfast’s reputation as a chaotic and dangerous city after decades worth of political and social unrest, the musicians have broken free from the chains of their past, …

The Sand In The Oyster: A Study Of Post – Trauma Storytelling As A Means Of Facilitating Individual Healing And Impacting Societal Healing In Northern Ireland, Eliza Browning

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper is the outcome of a month-long exploratory study on storytelling in Northern Ireland, examining the impacts and possibility of healing for the individual and how those impacts affect societal healing and inter-community relationship building. Data was obtained by way of qualitative methods using focused interviews and unstructured observation. I argue that ‘moving on’ and healing of trauma, and the re-humanization of the enemy image may be possible at an individual level through storytelling, but that societal transformation needs to include an aspect of structural change in order to be sustainable. I also examine the potential for the unintended …

The Incompatibility Of Dependence And Development: A Critical Analysis Of International Development Efforts In The Nicaraguan Context, Molly Dunton

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Countries in the Global South have been receiving billions of dollars annually in humanitarian and development aid for the past half-century. But they still remain poor, marginalized, and on the periphery in spite of this massive influx of money into the region. Many would argue that this very aid is in fact working to maintain the economic hierarchies responsible for their poverty. Through the lens of Dependency Theory, I analyze this apparent failure of the International Development Industry in the context of Nicaragua. After researching what was working and what wasn’t in Nicaraguan rural development, I was able to categorize …

Una Lucha Por Valor Y Dignidad: La Situación Actual De Trabajadoras De Hogar En Bolivia = A Struggle For Value And Dignity: The Current Situation Of Domestic Workers In Bolivia, Jenny Kauffman

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

El gobierno actual de Bolivia tiene una retórica de cambiar el poder en el país para dar más capacidad y una voz más fuerte a la gente marginalizada. Esta investigación entra a este tema para entender cómo estas ideas e ideologías del estado han afectado las vidas de los bolivianos. Para examinar la relación entre los ciudadanos y el estado, la investigación explora las realidades de las vidas de trabajadoras de hogar. La situación actual de trabajadoras de hogar es muy pertinente porque ellas viven los efectos de una confluencia de tensiones entre Bolivia. Basado en entrevistas con varias trabajadoras …

Cosmopolitan Romance In Nepal: An Investigation Of Young Newari Women’S Emerging Views Of Marriage And Dating, Rachel Williams

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

For decades Newari women have been limited to marriages arranged by their families and lamis, or matchmakers. There has been a recent shift in marital views among the youth has led to more courting among young Newars as well as a significant increase in the number of love marriages. Through in depth interviews with fourteen young Newari women, this ethnography attempts to illuminate current attitudes towards marriage and courtship exemplified by young Newari women in Kathmandu. I also argue that being a cosmopolitan Newari woman requires a negotiation of traditional gender roles and requires a balance between tradition and …

Articulando La Lucha: Los Procesos E Historias De Politización De La Juventud Alteña = Articulating The Fight: Processes And Stories Of The Politicization Of The Youth Of El Alto, Luke Walsh-Mellett

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Este proyecto intenta entender el proceso de politización de la juventud alteña, con un enfoque especial en los hechos de octubre de 2003. He trabajado y entrevistado a varios jóvenes de la Universidad Publica de El Alto (UPEA), principalmente de la carrera de sociología. En estas entrevistas me he enfocado en las condiciones de vida en El Alto, sus memorias de su participación en octubre de 2003 y sus pensamientos del proceso político actual. A través de su participación en varias luchas sociales, pero especialmente en el levantamiento social de octubre de 2003, estos jóvenes han formado una identidad política …

Justice Sector Reform In Rwanda: A Space Of Contention Or Consensus?, Maria Sebastian

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Justice sector reform is an arena of competition, where international development partners and Rwandan government institutions introduce contending ideas of justice through different development projects. In this ensuing competition of influence, how do international players utilize their roles as development partners to affect the accepted standards within Rwandan courts through established systems of monitoring and evaluation? And moreover, how do individuals in the Rwandan government perceive these partners, projects, and indicators? This study aims to answer these questions through an in-depth literature review, an analysis of development projects in the justice sector, and finally semi-structured interviews with key individuals in …

A Case Study Of Appendicitis At Antanimalandy Lutheran Hospital, Jennifer Gemmell

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

From the introduction:

The island of Madagascar houses a total of 19,159,000 people who spend only $34 per person per year on health care (“Madagascar,” 2008). The government claims to have “committed itself to the principle that good health is a right of each Malagasy citizen, and has made significant studies in the area of health care,” according to the country study for the Library of Congress. However, with political corruption, political crisis after political crisis, and lack of international support, the government does not dispense the funds necessary to support this commitment (Metz, 1994). For example, in 1976 the …

¿Amigos, Enemigos O Hermanos En Riña?: Cooperación Y Conflicto Entre El Gobierno De Morales Y La Confederación De Los Pueblos Indígenas, Antti Aki Eemeli Isoaho

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Este trabajo investiga la relación entre la Confederación de los Pueblos Indígenas del Oriente, Chaco y Amazonía Boliviana (CIDOB) y el actual gobierno, es decir, identifica conflictos, así como áreas de cooperación recientes entre los dos. A través de la realización de ardua investigación literaria, distintas entrevistas y participación directa en la Gran Asamblea Nacional de los Pueblos Indígenas (GANPI 2010), esta investigación propone responder de manera detallada la siguiente pregunta: ¿Cómo es y cómo ha evolucionado la relación entre el actual gobierno boliviano (liderado por un indígena) y los pueblos originarios del Oriente? Este estudio revela que a pesar …

An Accident Waiting To Happen: A Study Of Taxi Driving Mentality In Yaoundé, Cameroon, Brittany Daniels

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Taxis are the most common form of transportation found in Yaoundé, Cameroon. However, they are also a prime example of unsafe driving, causing a large number of minor accidents that often go unreported and uncorrected. Nevertheless, driving is a social responsibility, and smaller accidents have their own set of repercussions. Perhaps the strongest argument to understand and correct this problem is that it is preventing Cameroon’s capital city from becoming developed in the way of providing safe commercial transportation. In order to better understand this issue, it is necessary to deconstruct the mindsets of all involved. The focus of this …

Caterpillar Fungus Of The Tibetan Plateau, Lucas Crouch

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Chongcao is a traditional Chinese medicine that can only be found on the Tibetan plateau. It is the result of a parasitic relationship between the Ghost moth Larva and the fungus Cordyceps Sinensis. Chongcao is highly prized among the Chinese as a medicine and the value is reflected in the market. The price of Chongcao increased by 900% between the years 1997 and 2008 (Winkler, 2010). In 2009 the market went down a slightly due to the 2008 financial crises but the price in 2010 recovered to 2008 levels. It is currently worth twice its weight in gold. (LA Times) …

Reminding, Retelling, And Re-Remembering: The Evolution Of Staro Sajmište, Its Future, And The Marginalization Of The Holocaust In Serbian Public Memory, Benjamin Somogyi

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This research paper examines the evolution of Staro Sajmište, its future and the resultant marginalization of the Holocaust in Serbian public memory. Sajmište was the largest Nazi concentration camp in territory of the Republic of Serbia. After a brief overview the history of the Holocaust and the history of the site, this paper focuses on the political manipulation of Sajmište’s memory since the Second World War. The paper divides the evolution of Staro Sajmište in Serbian public memory into four phases: rewritten memory, reduced memory, fabricated memory, and erased memory. Through the analysis of Sajmište’s legacy in Serbian public memory, …

Guano Exploitation In Madagascar, Christina Buliga

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Agriculture in Madagascar continues to remain largely undeveloped. Out of the eighty percent of Malagasy individuals that live in rural areas an overwhelming sixty five percent practice subsistence agriculture. With respect to the country as a whole this means that out of Madagascar's 58.2 million hectares of available land only 5.2 percent (3 million hectares) are farmed. And out of these 3 million hectares only 67% are cultivated permanently and only 11% are fertilized.

While there are several reasons for why Madagascar’s agriculture has remained largely undeveloped and for why Madagascar continues to rely on imported crops to meet its …

Post-Independent Kosovo: From Prescriptive To Descriptive Identities, Marisola Xhelili

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The aim of this study was to uncover the existence, or possibility of, a Kosovar identity in today’s Kosovo. I intend to discuss the role personal experience plays in confirming or challenging one’s identity, and in this light show how the memories and personal experiences of Kosovo Serbs and Albanians endorse their ethnically-based interactions.

The methods of my research were mostly of an experiential nature, and consisted of staying in Kosovo for a two-week period. My research shows that there is no clear idea of what a Kosovar identity means for the people of Kosovo at this time. Their narratives …

De Sous Le Matelas: La Capacité D’Épargne Des Propriétaires De Petites Entreprises Dans Le Réseau De Microfinance De Unics, Ali Urban

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

L’épargne est une facette intégrante et nécessaire de la microfinance, un outil qui favorise une croissance financière durable des institutions de microfinance et leurs clients. Cette recherche examine les perceptions des Camerounais en ce qui concerne les économies et comment les pratiques des propriétaires des petites entreprises et comment la gestion du budget influence leur capacité d’épargne. Pour ce faire, la recherche a été menée auprès d’un échantillon de clients de Unity Cooperative Society (UNICS), un IMF de la deuxième catégorie basée à Yaoundé, et des propriétaires qui ne sont pas affiliés avec UNICS et qui travaillent au Marché Central. …

La Arqueología En El Ecuador: Investigando Las Lecciones Del Pasado Y Las Cuestiones Del Presente, Brett Erspamer

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Durante las últimas tres semanas, desde el 8 de noviembre hasta el 26 de diciembre 2010, tuve la oportunidad de hacer una pasantía con el Instituto Nacional de Patrimonio Cultural (INPC) en Cuenca, la tercera cuidad más poblada del Ecuador. El INPC fue creado por el Estado en 1978 y “es el encargado de investigar, conservar, preservar, restaurar, exhibir y promocionar el Patrimonio Cultural en el Ecuador.” El país, en lo que concierne a este Instituto, está dividido en 7 Regionales, cada cual con una oficina que es responsable por la administración de 3 o 4 provincias. La de Cuenca …

La Integración De Los Inmigrantes: Una Sociedad Que Acoge, Weddy Worjroh

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The first truth that I stumbled across upon arriving in Granada is that immigration has and continues to have a great impact on the society as a whole. I have always been intrigued by immigration because both of my parents were immigrants. Coming from a country that was built by the hands of immigrants, I get irritated when people say offensive things about the immigrants of today. Ever since I was a child my parents have told me many stories about the struggles and adversities they overcame in order to obtain a better life. For this reason, when I look …

Developing The Sacred: Local & Global Bikas In The Nepali Bhotkhola, Clayton Andrew Roger Hawkins Lewis

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The purpose of this paper is to study the effects of bikas on community and culture. Research was conducted from 9-30 November 2010 in the Bhotia village Chyamtang in the Sankhuwasabha district of Northeastern Nepal. The forms of development observed at the site are separated into local bikas and global bikas, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. Research focused on a two-year old development project initiated by The Mountain Institute (TMI) using medicinal plant cultivation and community participation. Methods for studying Bhotia culture and development took the form of interviews with local healers, religious figures, farmers, and TMI …

El Camino Largo De Integración Regional De Defensa Y Seguridad: Desafíos Y Potencialidades Del Consejo De Defensa Suramericano, William Heegaard

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The South American Defense Council (SDC) represents the most recent step taken along a long road of multilateral and bilateral defense agreements echoing Bolivar’s dream of continental defense integration. Before the Second World War, the continent developed a deep base of collective security agreements that eventually formed the OAS. However, during the Cold War, the U.S. replaced collective security with the doctrine of national security. U.S. unilateral policies prevented the possibility of continental cooperation on defense. In the vacuum, new alliances and agreements were made at sub-regional and bilateral levels. With the end of the Cold War, a new …

Traditional Plant Use Of The Raglay In Cãu Gãy Village, Núi Chúa National Park, Alex Greene

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Members of the Raglay community of Cãu Gãy Village were interviewed to determine the extent and nature of their traditional reliance on plants. This community, located in the buffer zone of Núi Chúa National Park, was found to utilize 64 plant species for a wide variety of uses. Botanical specimens and photographs were used to identify 42 plants to species level, 13 to genus level, and 6 to family level, while 3 remained unidentified. For each plant, the Raglay name, local Vietnamese name, use, specific application, and preparation were documented, as well as any details of ritual or commercial significance. …

Cultural Tourism In Mjini Ole, Pemba: A Case Study In Its Establishment And Marketing, Peter Rashid Clabby

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The purpose of this study was to attempt to better outfit the Kidike Pemba Flying Fox Ecotourism Center of Pemba Island, Zanzibar, in order to increase its appeal to a wider audience of tourists and to benefit the surrounding community of Mjini Ole. This goal was specifically carried out by establishing and marketing cultural tourism under the Kidike brand. In Kidike’s initial condition, guests were able to see the roost site of this endemic giant fruit bat – the Pemba Flying Fox – and continue on to see historical ruins and a mangrove forest, but the presentation and experience as …

Formal Education And The Rural Dwelling Vezo Of Ankilibe: A Study Of The Relationship Between Daily Life Of The Vezo And The Public Education System In Madagascar, Katherine Mcneil

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

From the introduction These three tangible factors: lack of teachers and classrooms, poverty of Malagasy citizens, and far distances to travel to reach school, all inhibit young Malagasy people from receiving formal education. After having completed research with people living in the isolated commune of Faux Cap, the proviseur (director) of the Lycé Pole in Fort Dauphin, administrators of schools in Tulear, and students in Fianarantsoa, I found that the three tangible factors heeding school attendance are the most important reasons why children say that they cannot go to school, and they most seriously affect rural dwelling people who are …

Body Politics Within The Body Politic: Ghanaian Disabled Communities And Their Relationships To Power, Conner Chivone Spinks

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

I chose as my research topic disabled communities within Ghana and their relationships with different sources of power in Ghanaian society. To begin my analysis, I deconstructed the „disabled body‟ and established disability as an axis of identity that has bearing on social positioning. I explored the power dynamics that dictate the lives of minorities, particularly the lives of those with non-normative bodies. Using my interviews of disabled Ghanaians and my observations of disabled Ghanaians in public spaces, I analyzed how systems are felt in everyday life.

Mental Models Of The Nature Of Language In Kunming, China, Ellie Ash

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The focus of this study is laypeople's mental models of the varieties of Chinese language. Chinese contains many varieties, primarily dividable into Putonghua (Standard Mandarin; hereafter PTH) and Fangyan (“topolect” 1). The Fangyan are traditionally considered “dialects of Chinese” by both Chinese and Western sources. Many Western linguists note that the dialects span a linguistic range that compares with the range of the Romance languages, but concede the label “dialects” because they share a written standard and because China is considered to be a single country, and especially because the Chinese themselves consider all the Fangyan to be varieties of …

Persecution Of Religious Minorities In Samoa: The Bahá’Ís Struggle To Face A Common Problem, Zoe Bryan

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The aim of this research is to determine the prevalence of religious persecution and examine how minority religions, particularly within the Bahá‟í Faith, have experienced it in Samoa. Case studies from the Bahá‟í and research looking at prominent stories of persecution will demonstrate the overarching problem that a lack of religious freedom presents in Samoa for minority religions. Understanding Samoans‟ perceptions of religious persecution will be gleaned from the survey portion of the research. Finally, the paper will yield some ideas for improvement in looking at the future of the Bahá‟í Faith and religious freedom in Samoa. In addition to …

Sobrevivientes Del Holocausto En Argentina: La Importancia De Sus Testimonios = Holocaust Survivors In Argentina: The Importance Of Their Testimonies, Jessica Michelle Katz

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

After World War II ended and Nazi’s prisoners were released from concentration camps, labor camps, and ghettos, many refugees immigrated to Argentina, either to live with a relative who had emigrated before the war or because the language was similar, or because life was easier there, among other reasons. Today there are around 800 Holocaust survivors living in Argentina, 450 of them just in Buenos Aires. Despite the efforts of the testimonial project done by Steven Spielberg and the Shoah Visual History Foundation to record oral histories of survivors around the world, including many in Argentina, there is still a …

Conflicting Or Complimentary? The Varying Approaches To Humanitarian Action, Andre Patzke

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In the international humanitarian aid community (IHAC), a group of national, political, public, and private actors, there are many dichotomies. These differences range from the organizations’ structures to their humanitarian philosophies. One philosophical schism amongst the IHAC actors is the seemingly contradictory approaches of the UN’s cluster system and that of the Dunantist organizations. In general, this schism can be characterized as a contrast in humanitarian ideologies; the integrated approach, which includes political development, on the one hand, and strict humanitarian aid that stays removed from issues of development on the other.

It was not the focus of my research …

“No Voy A Invitarte A Mi Cumpleaños”: El Acoso Escolar De Niñas, Hana Maruyama

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

After working with children, mostly girls, between the ages of four and eight, I noticed a pattern of exclusion with one girl in the group. This experience has shown me the subtlety with which bullying can occur, even at very young ages. I decided to write my essay about this to illuminate the issue at hand, one that is all too often forgotten. With boys, bullying is generally more direct but this does not mean that bullying with girls does not occur. I begin my essay by defining bullying, and follow with an explanation of the causes and the manifestation …

La Cara De La Explotación: Un Estudio De La Industria Minería En El Sur De La República De Ecuador, Jillian Howell

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Mi viaje continúo al sur oriente a la ciudad de Macas en la provincia de Morona Santiago, a dónde había una reunión del Programa de Pequeños Donaciones (PPD) de las Naciones Unidas - Proyecto de Desarrollo (UNDP) sobre los pequeños proyectos sostenibles en el sur de Ecuador. Unos de estos proyectos era sobre mitigando de los impactos ambientales de los mineros artesanales de La Pangui y Congüime en el Cordillera del Cóndor. Yo visité este proyecto una semana después, cuando fui a La Pangui y viví una noche con la familia del presidente de una asociación de los mineros artesanales. …