Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

A Comparative Plague Study Of Cacao Fungal Disease In Cacao Pods Within Monocultures And Indigenous Agroforests In Ecuador’S Napo Province, Seamus Mccarthy

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This study analyzes the composition of three major fungal diseases in Theobroma cacao fruits compared between monocultures and chakra agroforests in the Napo province of Ecuador with the goal of noting similarities and differences in the disease composition between the two systems, as well as investigate possible variation within this poorly understood category of agroforest to better structure future studies. Cacao pods on sampled trees were counted and fungal infections identified visually and by touch. Chakra systems were selected in the communities of Cinco de Enero and Seis de Marzo to the Southwest of Tena, Ecuador. Monoculture data was collected …

Maternal Healthcare Access And Obstetric Complications: A Cause And Effect Relationship?, Lena Sharara

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Poverty-stricken migrant women, named ‘Kayayei or Kayayo’ because of the nature of their job in the informal sector, have high birth rates and are said to have many barriers affecting their access to maternal health resources. In this study, Kayayei in Madina Market were interviewed and both quantitative and qualitative data were gathered to determine whether a relationship exists between access to maternal health and the obstetric complications and outcomes experienced by Kayayei. A Chi-Squared Test of Independence and a Qualitative Content Analysis were both used to analyze the data. Due to a non-significant p-value, it was found that the …

An Exploratory Study Into Empowering Grade 10 And 11 Learners Through Critical Engagement With South African Literature: A Case Study In Cato Manor, Sally Fales

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This qualitative research project explores how critical engagement with Black South- African authored literature empowers the voices of grade 10 and 11 students in the Cato Manor township of South Africa. Located within a Freirean educational framework, this research utilizes a critical pedagogy approach to empower student voices through representation in texts, deconstruction of a knowledge hierarchy, problem-posing pedagogy, and exposure to themes of racial pride and self-agency in selected literature. This study employs a general qualitative design paradigm consisting of engagement with 3 focus groups of 10-11 learners spanning grades 10 and 11 in Cato Manor public secondary schools. …

Exploring The Role Lo Plays In Preparing South African Learners For Life After Matric: A Case Study In Cato Manor, Peter Cohen

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Recent surges in youth unemployment and limited access to higher education in South Africa suggests that schools are not adequately preparing learners for life after matriculation. Existing literature has addressed problems within secondary schooling as well as potential reasons for youth unemployment and limited access to higher education, however, very little work has focused on the role Life Orientation (LO) courses play in this societal crisis. In an effort to fill this gap, this study aimed to identify a disconnect between what content LO learners are receiving and what content is required to access these post-matric opportunities. This case study …

Paved With Good Intentions? A Geopolitical Analysis Of The Belt And Road Initiative In Central And Eastern Europe, Vincent Zhang

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The objective of this analysis is to reveal the geopolitical and geoeconomic significance of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to the region of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). Launched in 2013 as a proposal for increased economic interconnectivity between China and Kazakhstan, the BRI has since grown to encompass hundreds of countries across Asia, Africa, and Europe. The region of CEE is of note as it is coterminous with important regional groupings like the 14 + 1 Cooperative Framework between China & CEE and a point of overlapping interests from actors like the European Union (EU), North Atlantic Treaty …

Eu Migration Policy: Analyzing The Coercive Responses Of Transit Countries Within The Eu’S Framework Of Externalization, Emily Swan

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper seeks to analyze the intersection between the EU’s increasingly securitized and externalized policies towards migration, and instances of the weaponization of migration on the EU’s external borders. Although scholars have analyzed cases in which states harness migrants as political weapons, depoliticized most depictions apply a moralistic lens that frames these cases as aberrant, decontextualized, and political events. This paper will complicate understandings of the weaponization of migration by analyzing how EU policies of externalization and securitization systematically shape the environment in which it becomes politically advantageous for leaders, such as Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Alexander Lukashenko, to resort …

Variation In The Growth Parameters And Biomass Of Rhizophora Mangle Seedlings With Distances From Playa Estrella, Bocas Del Toro, Panama, Thiny Tep

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Mangrove is a salt-tolerant, intertidal, tropical tree or shrub and make up a rich community of various organism. On the Caribbean coast of Panama, in Bocas del Toro, mangrove forests cover 28 km² and are dominated by R. mangle, followed by L. racemosa and A. germinans. Simultaneously, Isla Colón, the most populated and developed among all islands in the Bocas del Toro Archipelago, is a tourist center. Unfortunately, tourism comes at the price of environmental degradation via alteration of natural habitats, solid and wastewater pollution. Therefore, this study aims to gain a preliminary understanding on how the …

The Australian News Media And Climate Change: How Frames Impact The Response Of Individuals In An Anthropocentric Society, Laura Joelsson

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

News media plays an instrumental role in shaping opinions and perceptions on climate change due to it being such a wide-reaching institution. The discourses of news media are able to use frames to determine the discursive context in which a concept or issue is discussed by promoting a central theme or message. This study aims to use critical discourse analysis to determine how climate change is framed in news media, and how these frames depict the forms and scope of possible climate action. The study also analyzes if these forms of action are predominantly anthropocentric in nature. Critical discourse analysis …

The Effects Of Stigma Against Hiv And Tuberculosis On Patient Mental Health And Healthcare-Seeking Behavior In Dharamshala, Isabel Powell

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

HIV and tuberculosis are highly impactful diseases in India, causing severe morbidity, mortality, and suffering for millions. The stigmatization of these diseases unnecessarily exacerbates suffering for those afflicted and their families, compounding to the existing physical and emotional burden of diagnosis. Individual interviews with healthcare workers were conducted at Delek Hospital and the Tibetan Children’s Village in order to identify the existence and effects of stigma in the Tibetan refugee population in Dharamshala. Respondents reported an extremely high burden of tuberculosis in the community, complicated by the refugee status and unique infrastructural challenges of the population. The burden of HIV …

Belonging And Identity In Mustang: Lived Experiences, Social Identities, And Mobility Patterns Among Himalayan Peoples Of Nepal, Lauren Carter

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This paper delves into an immersive exploration and contemplation of a pivotal transformation unfolding in the heartland of Lower Mustang, Nepal. What began as an endeavor to channel my creative expression and unearth the diminishing world of yak herding soon necessitated a broader, more nuanced analysis of the profound changes sweeping across the region. This paper, mainly drawing upon the narratives of the inhabitants, seeks to portray the contemporary cultural and capital significance of yaks, as well as the various factors— climate change, outmigration, national policy discrepancies, conservation initiatives, and shifting cultural paradigms— that render specific patterns of movement increasingly …

Addressing The Recidivism Challenge In San Diego County: Learning From Lived Experience Approaches, Andrew Blum, Alfredo Malaret Baldo

Kroc IPJ Research and Resources

The problem is as old as the justice system itself—how to reduce the chance that an individual reoffends after they commit an offense and become involved with the justice system. This challenge of reducing recidivism remains critical. According to the Prison Policy Initiative, there are over 120,000 individuals in state prisons in California. Another 380,000 cycle through jails in California every year. In 2021, roughly 25,000 individuals were released from prison in California each year. This is the scope of the challenge.

In San Diego County, a wide variety of agencies and organizations are working to address the recidivism challenge. …

Office For Diversity And Inclusion Newsletters, Spring 2023, Anila Karunakar, Office Of Diversity And Inclusion

Social Justice: Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

A compilation of Spring 2023 weekly, email newsletters from the Office for Diversity and Inclusion.

Implications For Counseling High School Student Athletes In A School Setting, Tristan Schmidtknecht

Counselor Education Capstones

Career counseling is a vital part of the high school counselor’s job. There are unique considerations for every student that transitions from high school to college but the transition process for the prospective student-athlete is especially complicated. The role of the counselor is discussed to begin the literature review, followed by a review of the academic eligibility information that counselors need to be aware of. Academic implications for the student-athlete such as choosing a school and a major are then discussed before transitioning to issues student-athletes may face upon arriving at college. These issues include time management skills, mental health …

A Comparative Life Cycle Assessment Of Cork Versus Traditional Shoe Insole Material, Alexandra Lum

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Shoes are conventionally produced from materials like plastic or rubber that have detrimental impacts on the environment such as exacerbating existing waste accumulation, increasing global amounts of greenhouse gasses, or releasing toxic chemicals into soils and groundwater. These impacts have pushed footwear companies to introduce more sustainable and ecologically-friendly materials in their products. Roughly half of all cork production occurs in Portugal. The present work employs a comparative life cycle assessment approach between traditional plastic and rubber insole material and cork insole material to investigate the environmental impact of each. Results show that during each stage of the insole life …

Views Of Judaism And Jewish People In Jordan: Political, Social, Historical, And Religious Considerations, Thalia Gustina

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The purpose of this research was to find out what the general view of Judaism and Jewish people is within Jordan and what factors play into these views. There were a few aspects of this topic that were specifically focused on in this study. The impact of Israel on the way that Jewish people are perceived was one of the main topics explored. Part of this was looking at the history of Judaism and Jewish people in the Arab World and how the relationship between them and their non-Jewish neighbors changed after the creation of Israel. As a majority Muslim …

Investigating The Detriment Of Development Assistance: A Geopolitical Analysis Of Sino-Djibouti Relations Through The Lens Of China’S Belt And Road Initiative, Elizabeth Elenwo-Roger

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This research paper will evaluate Africa’s past with debt accumulation, focusing on the role of the Washington Consensus spearheaded by the Bretton Woods Institutions in its failed attempts to relieve the continent’s debt distresses and further aggravate Africa’s already fractured relationship with the West. It will highlight the goals of the Belt and Road Initiative, assessing China’s South-South cooperation approach to its relations with Djibouti and the Horn of Africa. Specifically, it will investigate claims of China engaging in debt-trap diplomacy and the extent to which this term infringes upon the agency of African leaders. The general research question investigates …

Agroforestry For The Future: Motivations Behind Tasmanian Farmers Planting Trees, Josh Lipp

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Agroforestry is the act of combining farming and tree planting, and many Tasmanian farmers are starting to plant trees on their properties for multiple reasons. Through conducting 9 interviews with farmers and researchers and visiting field sites, 3 main themes were identified to answer the question: why are Tasmanian farmers planting trees, and what are the benefits and downsides to agroforestry? Interviews help us understand farmers’ perceptions of agroforestry, and field data collection will prove the benefits of agroforestry in the future. Tasmania was chosen as the location of study as it is a state in Australia that largely focuses …

Spatial Ecology And Habitat Preference Of Yellow-Spotted Monitors (Varanus Panoptes) At Lizard Island National Park, Qld, Australia, Ryan Snyder

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Lizard Island National Park is an area of strong habitat diversity, especially given its small size. There are several distinct habitats represented, including open sclerophyll woodlands, mangrove swamps, dune grasslands, foothills elevations, and of course anthropogenically modified human habitats. The object of this study was to observe the abundances and behaviors of the yellow-spotted monitor lizard (V. panoptes) in each of these habitat settings to answer the question of which habitat type is preferred amongst V. panoptes in the landscape context of Lizard Island National Park.

Study transects were conducted over the course of one month measuring abundance of V. …

The State Of Transgender And Kinnar Communities In Delhi: Case Studies Connecting Socioeconomic Factors To Health, Ray Craig

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The paper seeks to draw connections between socioeconomic barriers faced by the transgender (trans) community in Delhi, India and the healthcare that the community receives. It primarily discusses transgender people who are not part of the kinnar population, with as much consideration to the experiences of the kinnar community as possible, given limited access to their circles. Five transgender individuals and two cisgender individuals who have worked with trans communities participated in semi-structured qualitative interviews to understand various factors that affect trans people’s daily lives and their healthcare experiences in Delhi. Interviews were transcribed and coded, finding common themes of …

What Makes A Family: How An Empowerment-Based Health Care Delivery Model Employs Family Planning To Positively Impact Families In Rural Maharashtra: A Study In Jamkhed, Ahmadneger, Sezin Sakmar

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The paper examines how an empowerment-based health care delivery model employs family planning services to positively impact families in rural Maharashtra. Family planning services provide those with the ability to become pregnant the option to control their own reproductive lives, whether they choose in favor of or against having children. Contraceptive use advances people’s human rights to choose whether they want to bear children and how many children they want, and people should have the choice of their preferred contraceptive method. The paper examines this issue within the framework of the Comprehensive Rural Health Project’s Jamkhed Model. Through the Jamkhed …

Entre Punzones Y Percutores Reconstrucción De Tecnología Ósea De Los Selk'nam (Tierra Del Fuego), Rachel Dietz

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Esta investigación se enfoca en el estudio, reconstrucción y uso de la tecnología ósea empleada por las sociedades cazadoras-recolectoras-pedestres que ocuparon el litoral Atlántico de Tierra del Fuego, durante el Holoceno, específicamente se enfoca en la tecnología utilizada por los Selk´nam del Norte de Tierra del Fuego. La tecnología ósea fue una parte importante de su cultura y dos tipos fueron elegidos para investigar: percutores blandos y punzones huecos. Los percutores blandos fueron confeccionados sobre huesos de guanaco, un recurso importante para las sociedades cazadoras-recolectoras.

Los percutores blandos fueron usados para la formatización de artefactos líticos a través de la …

Collectivism And Individualism In Jordanian Young Adults And Older Adults, Zuha Zubair

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The focus of this study is to explore how Jordanians experience and conceptualize collectivism and individualism and how there are generational differences in identification with said constructs. There were 8 interviews conducted, 4 with young adults ages 21 to 24, and 4 interviews conducted with adults above the age of 50. Questionnaires were administered at the University of Jordan, and sixteen completed questionnaires were collected from bachelors students. All interviews were conducted in-person. Comparative analysis was utilized for questionnaire data. Questionnaire results indicate participants most strongly align with horizontal individualism. Thematic analysis of interviews indicate that Jordanians do think younger …

An Examination Of Newspaper Accounts Of Nonviolent Social Movement Leaders, Patrick Kennelly

Dissertations (1934 -)

Leadership studies scholars consider transformational leadership theory a full range universal theory. It is one of the most taught leadership theories in American higher education. Leadership scholars often cite leaders of nonviolent social movements like Gandhi and Dr. King as transformational leaders. Transformational leadership scholars frequently use press accounts of historic leaders to examine how transformational they were. In this study, I use thematic analysis to examine press accounts of the leadership of three nonviolent social movements: the March on Washington, the Civil Defense Drills, and the Journey of Reconciliation. I compared the themes that emerged to the main tenets …

"Life Unworthy Of Life" Aktion T4: The First Nazi Genocide, Alexander M. Remington

Student Publications

Though usually viewed as a prelude to the Holocaust, the T4 euthanasia program was a distinct genocide carried out by the Third Reich’s doctors. Allowing themselves to be corrupted by eugenics and Nazi policy, the perpetrators of the Nazi euthanasia killings transformed themselves from healers to murderers. Despite public resistance led by Bishop Clemens von Galen which resulted in the cancellation of the T4 program, Nazi doctors took it upon themselves to continue euthanizing patients until the end of the war, emphasizing the legitimacy that euthanasia had acquired. The history of the T4 program, its perpetrators, and resisters is critical …

More Care And Less Pay: The Phenomenon Of Low Wages Among Care Occupations, Allison B. Dayton

Student Publications

This research examines the phenomenon of care occupations paying less than other occupations with similar levels of human capital investment. The paper evaluates the high concentration of women, especially Black women, the resulting wage penalties, social closure theory, temporal flexibility, and positive externalities as possible explanations for this problem. Potential solutions like raising the minimum wage and subsidizing education for care workers are also addressed.

Carbon Sequestration Capacities Of Different Land Cover Types And Climate Change, Nicole L. Melnick, Annabel Gorman, Adam F. Warren

Student Publications

Human-caused climate change creates a positive feedback loop that emits more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere instead of being sequestered in the Earth or its oceans. A major contributor to this feedback loop is deforestation in order to use land for agriculture and livestock. This study aims to investigate differences in carbon sequestration capabilities of forests, pastures, and cropland through soil and tree sampling in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The main hypothesis of this study is that forested land will be the most effective at carbon sequestration. The loss on ignition method (LOI) was used to determine the percent organic material in …

Juicemania: Interpreting Jay Kordich’S Health Empire As Religion, Deirdre M. Sullivan

Student Publications

John “Jay” Kordich, an American “health reformer,” salesman, author, and celebrity, is best known for his recipe books on diet and health and his series of television infomercials. With his charismatic presentations and playful sense of humor, he captivated audiences with his demonstrations of various models of juicers and the delicious taste of his fresh juices. Kordich is part of a long line of health reformers, fasters, and practitioners of alternative medicine that has persisted in American culture for over 200 years. These advocates of alternative medicine have not only met a need for medical treatment, but also for religion …

Rocky Intertidal Community Structure Along An Upwelling Gradient Between Playa Venao And Nueva Gorgona On Panama’S Pacific Coast, Claire Brady

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Ecological research on rocky intertidal ecosystems has increasingly focused on the regional oceanographic processes that shape community structure over functional group interactions. Intertidal communities’ dependence on onshore and offshore transport of intertidal species larvae, dissolved inorganic nutrients, and phytoplankton signal that upwelling and nearshore currents can have an influential role in determining the growth and composition of intertidal systems. The community structure of rocky intertidal areas was compared between two locations along an upwelling gradient in the Gulf of Panama: Nueva Gorgona, with intermittent seasonal upwelling, and Playa Venao, with fringe seasonal upwelling. The surface cover of algae, barnacles, and …

Pesantren Waria Al-Fatah: Navigating The Intersection Of Gender Nonconformity And Islam In Indonesia, Tali Hastings

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

No abstract provided.

Bridging The Education Gap: Series Of Infographic Guides To Sustainable Living For Low-Income Communities, Brianna Mateo

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Low-income communities in Australia face numerous negative impacts, such as health issues, social exclusion, educational disparities, and discrimination, which limit their opportunities to improve their quality of life (The Public Defenders,2022). As a result, students from these communities often have fewer resources and less funding, contributing to poor educational outcomes and underrepresentation in STEM fields, which includes environmental education (Australian Department of Education, 2022).

To address these challenges, I created an 8-page infographic series titled “Sustainable Living: On a Budget.” The series includes a cover page, an overview page, and four infographics covering : climate change, waste, preserving biodiversity, and …