Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Ethical Limitations Of South Africa’S Education Market, Ethan Chang

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In response to the centrally controlled Bantu Education system, the resistance movement advocated a decentralized system of educational governance that included local voices in the running of schools. In 1996, the government satisfied the movement’s demands by including local school governing bodies (SGBs) as apart of the South African Schools Act (SASA). Attached to the powers of SGBs however was a right not advocated by the movement: the ability to set school fees. SGBs’ authority over school fee policy has transformed their role in school governance from democratic platforms for local voices into efficient cost and budgeting centers. As a …

Die Taal Is Gans Die Volk? Building A Common Afrikaans-Language Identity And Community In Post-Apartheid South Africa, Susan Demartino

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The following paper examines some of the ways in which Afrikaans-speakers have begun to renegotiate Afrikaans-speaking identity and community in reaction to a perceived decline in Afrikaans in post-apartheid democratic South Africa. It also examines the values of re-negotiating Afrikaans for a multilingual South Africa.

The data was obtained through interviews with four Afrikaans-speaking South Africans who connect with the language both as a mother-tongue speaker and as players in renegotiating its role through empowerment efforts, blogging, and creating positive language policy and programming.

I have concluded that the renegotiation of Afrikaans involves depoliticizing and consciously separating Afrikaans from ideologies …

The Transition Movement In Australia: An Analysis Of The Progress, Challenges, And Future Of Transition Initiatives, Mia Goldwasser

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The threats of climate change and peak oil have roots in our society’s dependence on the availability of cheap fossil fuels for its function and design. In order to both decrease greenhouse gas emissions and significantly lower the demand on fossil fuels, our settlements –built when oil was cheap and abundant- must ‘relocalize’, or develop the systems which will enable the local production of food, energy, materials, employment, and goods. The Transition Movement has developed as a grassroots, community-based response to these challenges, grounded in the belief that a higher quality of life has the opportunity to emerge from a …

Mitigating The Impact Of Aids On A Rural Community: Observations Of The Inner Workings Of A Rural Non-Governmental Organization, Kara Huselton

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The purpose of this study project was to understand the impact of HIV/AIDS on a community and to assess the ability of a non-governmental organization to mitigate the negative effects of disease and poverty in the spaces where the government has failed to address community needs. The author observed employees at the Bhekuzulu Self Sufficient Project in rural KwaZulu Natal over a period of three and a half weeks in order to gain an understanding of the work done there. Secondary research was done to supplement these observations and better understand the social and economic impact of HIV/AIDS on a …

Redrawing The Walls: Street Art In Belgrade, Emily Levitt

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This research examines street art in Belgrade as a means of changing the political, social, and cultural atmosphere of Belgrade, Serbia. Street art is examined as a means of breaking down consumer/producer binaries, an alternative to dominant culture, as part of the contemporary city, and as a transformative use of and re-appropriation of imagery. The research data was collected through semi-structured interviews in the Spring of 2009. Students, artists, and former artists were interviewed in order to collect data. In addition, participant observation and visual analysis contributed to and gave context to the interview based data. Ultimately, it was discovered …

An Oriental Christ: A Perfect Condition After The State Was God, Thomas Nathaniel Eaves

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Where do we begin with our understanding of the human composition of God, with humanity’s embracement of the existential? Humanity has rendered faith volatile and constant, a consequence, not flaw, merely of developed sentience. Yet, whether God or evolution has burdened humanity with this responsibility, faith and belief continue their inexplicable and unwearied existence. People, whether atheistic, agnostic, or faith bound, have proven the existence of an utterly human liability for irrationality, or certainly rational subscription. Emile Durkheim wrote of religion as purely existent within shared life, unsusceptible to segregation and compartmental comprehension. Max Weber considered religion as providing prescientific …

El Carácter Militar De Los Carabineros Y Cómo Influye Su Relación Con El País, Joseph Francis Wyer

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The Carabineros of Chile are the sole police institution of the country. They possess many interesting characteristics that define the organization and construct a culture of pride, discipline, professionalism and integrity. Some of the most prominent characteristics of the institution are; homogeneity throughout the country, exhaustive education and training, structured hierarchy and a military character. The focus of this paper is to investigate the military character (as mandated by Chilean “Ley Orgánica Constitucional¨) of the Carabineros and evaluate how it has affected the culture of the organization. Then I will evaluate the military character of the institution in the context …

Las Secuelas Psicológicas Y Las Necesidades En Salud Mental Para Las Víctimas De La Dictadura: Una Mirada Crítica A Los Servicios De Prais, Kate Hails

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Although the violent and repressive military dictatorship in Chile led by Augosto Pinochet officially ended in 1990, the psychological repercussions for the direct victims of human rights violations and their family members remain. PRAIS (the Program of Reparations and Comprehensive Healthcare), was created as a government response to the physical and mental health consequences of the human rights violations committed by the state. PRAIS beneficiaries include former political prisoners and their families, the families of those who were detained-disappeared or executed, people fired from their jobs for political reasons, and other victims of human rights violations committed during the dictatorship …

Behind Your Beach Vacation: A Review And Evaluation Of Eias As A Legal Framework To Regulate The Environmental Impacts Of Tourism In Zanzibar, Mahima Sukhdev, Ayelet Singer

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) and related legislation in Zanzibar were examined, and their implementation by hotels in the coastal villages of Nungwi, Kiwengwa and Uroa were studied. Interviews were conducted with relevant government agencies and legal documents were examined in order to understand the current framework within which hotels operate. Hotels in the study area both with and without EIAs were questioned about their environmental and social impacts. The environmental management plans of those hotels with EIAs were considered in light of their current practices in order to gage the effectiveness of the EIA process in regulating the environmental impacts …

The Legalities And Realities Of Emancipation Policies In The Netherlands And Their Associated Welfare State Typologies, Leigh Ellis

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The Independent Study Project (ISP) investigated how Dutch emancipation policies have affected female labor market participation in the Netherlands. The ISP focused specifically on The Working Hours Modification Act, The Childcare Act, and The Work and Care Act. The ISP explored both the legalities and realities of the emancipation policies. Additionally, Esping-Andersen’s welfare state typologies were incorporated and each emancipation policy was classified according to the welfare state typology that it best reflected. The legalities of the legislation were researched using literature and the findings of other comparative studies done on female labor market participation in the Netherlands. A qualitative …

Constructions Of Disease In Mayo Village, Rachel Eades

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Understanding how individuals and institutions negotiate illness and construct ideas about disease is important to public health efforts across the globe. Countries in sub-Saharan Africa suffer from a variety of health problems that many regions of the world have long since eradicated. Economic hardship, combined with high rates of communicable diseases, food poverty, lack of sanitation, and poor water quality make countries in sub-Saharan Africa some of the poorest and sickest in the world. Tanzania is a prime example. The purpose of this study was to explore how people in one rural, Tanzanian village construct ideas about disease – its …

Vital Correspondence: Analyzing Local And International Media Coverage Of Armed Conflict, Marissa Moran

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The atrocities of armed conflicts such as those in Israel’s Gaza Strip and the Darfur region of Sudan are not reaching and affecting Westerners as clearly and potently as they should, considering the technological capabilities of today’s international news media. In this paper, I will argue that media coverage of armed conflict in the developing world is stifled by the politics of international and transnational news media organizations and the unique challenges and limitations to local news organizations at the site of conflict. Private interests, financial constraints, and physical and political limitations cause global media to emphasize mainly the violent …

“But Who Can I Talk To?” Psychological Services For The Parents And Children Of Apdk, Jessica Steinke

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This is a study examining the adequacy of the psychological services and support offered by the Association for the Physically Disabled of Kenya, APDK, to the children in its care and the families who utilize the centre. First and foremost this study examined the psychological effect physical disabilities have on children and their families to determine what services are necessary for these individuals. The availability of mental health services was then analyzed in the context of the need for them as expressed by children at APDK and parents of disabled children. It was discovered that very few services are available …

Early-Life Rituals And Mother Identities: Ways In Which Hindu Women Are Viewed In The Context Of Traditional Ritual Practices, Kidecia King

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

On April 27, 2009, the Saryu Parin Brahmin Parishad (SPBP) Society, through the help of member donations as well as the participation of 53 young men, carried out a mass yagyopaveet, or upanayana ceremony, to initiate young men into the Brahmin caste. This ceremony is what the society’s president Chandza Bhushan Dhar Dwivedi, as well as numerous other scholars of Vedic texts calls the second birth of the Brahmin—boy. The ceremony, according to Mr. Dwivedi, marks the Brahmin’s first step toward becoming a divine being, before this ceremony “he is no different from an animal,” and it is only through …

Grita. Erga-Se : Colonial Cycles Of Violence In Domestic Labour In Salvador, Bahia, Jessica Nina Pine

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This research analyses the multiple forms of violence that Afro-Brasilian domestic workers in Salvador, Bahia face in their profession, and how the origin of this aggression is rooted in slavery, a colonial tool of oppression. This study also serves to highlight how domestic workers are empowering themselves to change this unjust situation. In order to research this dynamic, I worked with Sindoméstico, a domestic workers union in Salvador.

Through my research, I concluded that the disturbing mentalities of superiority and the false hierarchical binaries that came forth from slavery still exist in modern-day Salvador in the relationship between employer and …

Supplying Clean Water To Jaipur: A Study Of Two Current Government Projects, Jenna Stearns

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Water is arguably the most important natural resource for human development, economic growth, and sustainability of the environment. Access to clean water is the most basic human need for life and health, and without it people cannot survive. Water plays a crucial role in determining where communities settle and how big they will be able to grow. Besides being the “elixir of life,” it is also essential for socioeconomic development, agriculture, industry, power generation, and other daily activities. Due to the growing population and the shortage of water around the world, it is said that future wars will be fought …

O Último Peixe Ideas About The Future In Coastal Trairí, Marycate R. Brower

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper uses ethnographic methods, including semi-formal, semi-structured interviews, but especially participant observation and informal conversation, to attempt to understand the realities of the coastal population of the Municipality of Trairí, Ceará, Brazil, as the traditional fishing communities of Guajiru, Fleixeiras, and Emboacca react to international and national economic policies, tourism, and land speculation that are enacted through the lens of neoliberalism. This study corroborates the statements of community members as they relate their ideas about the present conditions of pescadors artesanais as they deal with increasing and ever-changing government policies that regulate and limit their craft, a lobster population …

Reserved Women: The Implementation And Efficacy Of A Reserved Seat Quota For Women In The Tibetan Parliament In Exile, Carolyn Griffiths

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

By studying a specific example of a system which requires women to be part of the government, policy makers can better understand how to use tools such as a quota to improve the lives of women. I researched whether and how women gain political agency through the quota system implemented by the Tibetan government in exile. I used in-depth interviews from both parliamentary members and those affected by the decisions made by the Tibetan Government in exile to discover the social climate surrounding the quota system. I gained an understanding of how the condition of women’s lives has changed as …

Tibetan Carpets…Or Are They? An Analysis Of The Carpet Industry In Kathmandu, Nepal, Swetha Ramaswamy

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This project focuses on the Tibetan Carpet Industry started in Nepal during the 1960s with help of the Central Tibetan Administration, His Majesty’s Government of Nepal, and support from the Swiss. By the 1990s, the Industry was central to Nepal’s economy, providing means of employment for many Nepalese, and no longer needed external support. Since the 1990s, however, Tibetan Carpets are struggling to compete on the international market. My objective is to analyze Tibetan Carpets as they exist in Nepal’s capitalist market. Using Karl Marx’s theory of commodity fetishism, I explore the dynamics between capitalist producer, proletariat worker, and consumer …

“Samoanizing” Human Rights: A Generational Comparative Of Views On Human Rights In Contemporary Samoa, Margaret R. Smith

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This report consists of a generational comparative of views on human rights in contemporary Samoa. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the United Nations in 1948, and is now compulsorily for all member nations. Samoa’s independence in 1962, with the implementation of a liberal democracy, meant an inescapable adoption of the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Though Samoa’s constitution is unique with its incorporation of tradition and custom within a democratic system, the universal human rights bill is generic, allowing that it should mesh will all counties and cultures – an outcome that does not …

Gendered Perspectives On Holland’S Prison Programs: Statistics And Practices, Amanda Pisetzner

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study is the capstone project of an exploratory study of prison programming in Holland examining gender equity or inequity in opportunity of available programs. It also serves to assess the efficacy of BONJO, Holland’s largest prison-programming oversight and networking group sponsoring my work. Through over twenty interviews with independent prison-related organizations, information was gathered on perceived problems of the prison system. Also documented were differences in need of male and female inmates, and programming opportunities for men and women. This data was set in contrast to secondary data extrapolated from studies sponsored by the Dutch Ministry of Justice.

It …

The Realities And Effectiveness Of Ecotourism Operations On Moreton Island, Yoshihiko Kubota

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Ecotourism is the fastest growing sector of the tourism industry, but there has been a lack of studies assessing the tour operators’ views on the environment of the area of their operation, and of the effectiveness of their interpretation methods. This study focuses on Moreton Island for its relatively undisturbed environment and restricted accessibility.. Interviews with a former Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) employee, representative of a local conservation group, and multiple tour operators were conducted to assess the knowledge of tour operators on the environmental issues of Moreton Island, while pre-visit and post-visit surveys were conducted with Moreton Island visitors …

Graffiti En Managua: Una Expresión Democrática De La Juventud Nicaragüense, Katie Laroque

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Semiotics, or the philosophical study of signs and symbols, makes us rethink the familiar and the things we take for granted. If someone walks to work everyday on the same street, after time he will probably stop thinking about the graffiti on the corner. Graffiti is probably something that most of us take for granted, or hardly see anymore, but I argue that its role in society must be rethought. What does graffiti on the wall represent? It is a manifestation of the ideas and beliefs of the artist, as well as a reflection of his artistic talent. When several …

Shake It: A Study Of Traditional Dance And Drumming In Tanzania With The African Traditional Dance Group, Megan Browning

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study was conducted from April 11th 2009 to May 1st 2009 about Tanzanian traditional dance and drumming focusing specifically on the African Traditional Dance Group, ATDG, a well-established group in Arusha, Tanzania. The study aimed to gain perspectives on the role of traditional dance and drumming in Tanzania and how it is changing today in the face of westernization and globalization, and additionally to learn more about the personal histories of the artists in ATDG. Methods included participant observation, in the form of dance and drumming lessons and participation in group rehearsals, a semi-structured key informant interview, and semi-structured …

Globalization’S Impact On Identity Through Billboard Advertisements, Sarah Hogan

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

When one walks down the main streets of Tunis it is clear that the faces represented in billboards do not match the faces of those walking along the streets. Why is this? Are the ads representative of the layering of civilizations that Tunisia has undergone? Are the ads from another source, such as the French, and just implementing their system on top of Tunisians expecting it to be successful? Moreover, what are the implications of these advertisements on the Tunisian identity? W.E.B. DuBois discusses the phenomenon of a “double consciousness” that has developed in African-Americans due to the portrayal of …

Ceeb Ak Jën: Deconstructing Senegal’S National Plate In Search Of Cultural Values, Megan Duffy

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Ceebu jën, Senegal’s national plate of rice and fish, is an integral part of diet among the Senegalese despite differences in religious, ethnic, and geographic identity. Due to the plate’s democratic nature in Senegalese culture this study deconstructs the significance of the plate in relation to Senegalese values placed tradition, personal pride, community, and national identity. This study argues that ceebu jën’s widespread presence and cultural reflexivity finds its source in the universal accessibility of the meal.

Critical Mass Representation In Uganda, Daisy-Cynthia Nneamaka Adi

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

In general, most societies of the world are patriarchal and as a result women’s participation in politics has historically been minute. To correct this fault, proponents of critical mass representation advocate for explicit quota systems that create special seats for women (e.g. women’s MPs), reserve spots for women or those which mandate the inclusion of women on national party lists. Proponents advocate critical mass with the expectation that female Members of Parliament (MPs) will enhance women’s rights. However, little is known about the actual contribution of female MPs to the enhancement of women’s rights in the countries where critical mass …

Alienation In Acholiland: War, Privatization, And Land Displacement In Northern Uganda, Nicole Kligerman

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper presents the various dynamics, causes, and consequences of land conflicts in Acholiland. In order to comprehensively address these complex issues, this paper analyzes land conflict in connection to the Northern Uganda war, explaining the military strategies that resulted in widespread displacement and alienation from the land. This paper further explores changing Acholi cosmology and customary land law in connection to land alienation. Additionally, I examine local land conflicts as well as three privatization and “development” plans in relationship to preexisting land displacement issues. This paper highlights the opinions of my fieldwork participants regarding the importance of land to …

Zoran Djindjic Remembered: The Formation Of Collective Memories, Rebecca Gabrielle Porath Katz

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Zoran Djindjic was the Prime Minister of Serbia and Montenegro from 2001 to 2003. Throughout the 1990’s, Djindjic was a leader in the Serbian opposition movement to President Slobodan Milosevic who advocated for major economic, social and political reforms in Serbia. In 2000, he helped engineer the removal of Milosevic from power. After two years in office and several attempts on his life, Zoran Djindjic was assassinated on March, 12th, 2003. Now, six years after his murder, Belgrade is in the process of constructing her memories of Zoran Djindjic. It is a special moment when, in the negotiation of a …

Lessons From Cideci Las Casas : The Potential For Non-Directive Learning Spaces In The United States, Gideon Mausner

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The purpose of my project was to observe the informal, non-directive and communal learning space of CIdeCI Las Casas in San Cristobal, Chiapas and consider its potential applications in the United States of America. The following paper presents the results of this project in five sections. In the first section I examine the meaning of modern education and its primary vessel, the school. In the second section I give a detailed background of CIdeCI: its history and purpose and its place within the cultural and political realities of Chiapas. In the third section I share my experiences and observations from …