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open access

"Google is my friend": An Exploration of Older Adult Media Literacy

Description: The advancement and incorporation of media in daily life continue to grow exponentially as the median age of humanity continues to rise. While there are media literacy education programs targeted toward children and adolescents, older adults are often left out of these initiatives. Based on ethnographic research conducted at two senior centers in Denton, TX, this thesis explores the way older adults analyze and interact with media. Data collection methods include participant observation and sem… more
Date: December 2023
Creator: Williams, Mikaela Anne
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Returning to Our Roots: An Anthropological Evaluation of the Farm to Keiki Program

Description: Farm to school programs are becoming a popular intervention to address childhood obesity. The hope is to prevent later chronic illnesses such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease that can result from eating high-fat/high-calorie diets that are low in consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables. This study explores the impacts of one such program, Farm to Keiki, on students, their families, and teachers at two Native Hawaiian preschools on the island of Kauaʽi, Hawaiʽi. This program combined le… more
Date: December 2023
Creator: Migdol, Steven Jeffrey
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Saving the Golden Goose: A Dual Exploration into the Organizational Culture of a Family-Owned Firm and the Impacted DIY Customer Experience

Description: This thesis investigates the influence of organizational culture on customer experience through a comprehensive study of a global supplier of home repair products. By combining organizational analysis and consumer research, this research draws on anthropological principles to explore the nuances of family governance and their effects on behavior, customer experience, and product design. The results of this study present insightful information on product perception and actionable strategies to i… more
Date: July 2023
Creator: Holland, Elizabeth Anglin
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Applying User-Centered Design to Build Trust and Enable Cross-Agency Data Sharing to Better Understand the Prevalence and Context of Human Trafficking in Alberta, Canada

Description: This thesis describes a research study to understand the current state of human trafficking data collection practices and reporting in the province of Alberta, Canada, and gather end-user design considerations for cyberinfrastructure that will enable data sharing between multiple and diverse stakeholders. The research also examines the barriers to change and the needs of stakeholders to improve the collective understanding of human trafficking in the province. Virtual semi-structured interviews… more
Date: May 2023
Creator: Muyres, Natalie Suzanne
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Bridging the Gap between a Healthy Diet and Agroecology in General Pacheco, Argentina

Description: This study explores the role Comunidad Milpa (Milpa) plays in implementing agroecology food systems in Comunidad Pacheco, Argentina. From teaching residents about food cultivation practices, to the importance of a healthy diet and developing relationship with local agroecology producers, the method builds upon the idea of food sovereignty and self-governance. Research conducted for this study focused on obstacles residents encountered while seeking to incorporate local agroecology foods into th… more
Date: May 2023
Creator: Meave, Anya Yvonne
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Exploring Asian American and Pacific Islander Youth Identity Development in a Community Based Youth Program

Description: Community based youth programs play a significant role in promoting positive youth identity development outside of the classroom. This can be particularly important for racialized groups such as Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI). Based on ethnographic research conducted at Asian American LEAD, this thesis explores the effect of a five week summer program on AAPI youth identity development. Data collection methods include participant observation, a pre- and post- survey, and semi-stru… more
Date: May 2023
Creator: Pham, Lena Trang
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Onward and Outward: The Social and Emotional Experience of Advanced High School Upperclassmen

Description: This study analyzed the social and emotional wellbeing of International Baccalaureate Diploma Program (IB DP) students in a North Texas school district. Students were asked about their feelings toward mental health through a short-answer questionnaire and a survey. Teachers were also able to give input about how they handle mental health in their classroom and where they would like to see their students grow in terms of understanding mental health. The data shows that while students in the IB D… more
Date: May 2023
Creator: Scott, Lauren C.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

The Product is People: An Investigation of Missile Combat Crew Perceptions Surrounding Standardized Training Curriculum

Description: Missile Combat Crew members are officers in the United States Air Force responsible for operating nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles. They undergo on-the-job training as part of the curriculum necessary to progress in their careers and achieve higher levels of job responsibility. The curriculum they use is created and maintained by 20th Air Force Test and Training Section. This product is known as the Missile Combat Crew Commander Upgrade program, and it has received criticisms… more
Date: May 2023
Creator: Hanel, Daniel James
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Red Hat Recruits

Description: This study was conducted to understand the motivations that drive participants to join user experience (UX) research studies at Red Hat (software company). Mixed methods of qualitative and quantitative nature were used to gather data and determine key insights that were supported by multidisciplinary theoretical frameworks. The findings were used to inform the client (Red Hat) on how to improve their UX research recruitment practices.
Date: May 2023
Creator: Forno Gamonal, Florencia
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Social Distancing and Social Barriers: The Impact of the Pandemic on Dallas Youth

Description: As stay-at-home mandates were put in place to curtail the spread of COVID-19, the extent to which today's youth has been affected by such efforts has gone largely under examined. Through a collaborative qualitative study with Big Thought, a Dallas-based nonprofit geared towards empowering youth, we sought to answer how the social interactions and socioemotional wellbeing of their 2021 summer program participants were impacted, as well as how Big Thought was able to exhibit organizational resili… more
Date: May 2023
Creator: Bejdaoui, Nadia
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Sowing the Seeds of Stewardship in Texas: An Ethnographic Study of Nature and Visitor Experience at Texas State Parks

Description: This study uses a mixed methods approach to investigate how individuals perceive nature and engage with Texas state park (TSP) programs and resources while also identifying major barriers that visitors perceive/encounter when visiting TSPs. This study looks through the anthropological lens by using theoretical frameworks such as habitus, presentation of the social self, space and place, as well as communities of practice (CoP), to better understand the factors that influence the establishment a… more
Date: May 2023
Creator: Saintonge, Kenneth C.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Using Ethics to Teach Social Emotional Learning to At-Risk Youth: Recontextualizing Content and Determining Efficacy

Description: At the Northwest Regional Learning Center (NRLC), an alternative high school in Arlington, Washington serving only at-risk youth, a new ethics course was conducted to assist students with their social-emotional learning development (SEL) and provide NRLC staff with greater insight into the lived experiences of students. Through semi-structured interviews, longitudinal ethical position surveys, and in-class observational ethnographic notes, this study presents shifts in student ethical positions… more
Date: May 2023
Creator: Stodola, Tyler James
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

"The Opposite of Addiction is Connection": Next-of-Kin Narratives in Overdose Fatality Reviews

Description: This study used ethnographic and qualitative research methods to provide data-driven support for the use of next-of-kin interviews to enhance overdose fatality review (OFR) datasets. This study's community of practice is a group of substance-use professionals that use OFRs to share confidential data and monitor Lucas County, Ohio substance use trends. To analyze OFR data collection, un-silo information, and understand how to include next-of-kin (NOK) interviews in the dataset, this study used r… more
Date: December 2022
Creator: Fournier, Lindsay Olivia-Rose
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Science and Politics in Forest Management

Description: In this thesis, I explore strategies used by the local timber industry to influence forest policy on the Black Hills National Forest. These strategies include leveraging political pressure, proposing alternative interpretations of existing laws, and first requesting and then rejecting scientific data. Discursive strategies used by the timber industry to influence US Forest Service policy are compared and contrasted with those used by the environmental movement. The paper explores when and why s… more
Date: December 2022
Creator: Smith, Solomon C.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Southeast Denton Neighborhood Needs Assessment for Program Evaluation and Development

Description: The intersection of race and space in one neighborhood in Denton, Texas, a college town situated within the greater Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, reflects the lack of economic opportunities caused by a legacy of racial spatialization. SED, formally known as Solomon Hill, was once a predominately Black enclave; however, the city's population growth has fueled the expansion of the downtown area into neighborhood, transforming it into a hotspot for new investment. As the city rebrands itself in the… more
Date: December 2022
Creator: Bell, K.D.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

"Come along, Floyd!" An Ethnographic Study of the Crystal Cave District at Mammoth Cave National Park

Description: Cultural landscape reports (CLR) are commonly utilized by the National Park Service to define the significance of cultural landscapes. This thesis explores the importance of documenting not only physical characteristics of cultural landscapes, but the cultural elements such as associated values, beliefs, ideas, and traditions. My applied research was conducted for Mammoth Cave National located in Mammoth Cave, Kentucky and focuses on the Crystal Cave District. Research explores data collected t… more
Date: August 2022
Creator: McClain, Elisabeth Ray
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Digital Covens: An Ethnographic Examination of the Intersection of Paganism and Social Media

Description: This paper examines how does within the Pagan community uses social media, specifically Facebook groups, as a way of community building, knowledge gathering, and platform for digital ritual. The research was based on a combination of interviews and observational data gathered from various groups. To help analyze the data gathered, theoretical approaches of both mediatization and materiality are employed to understand how digital spaces are being used as a tool for those within the Pagan communi… more
Date: August 2022
Creator: Ferguson, Carlise Pamela
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Sea-ing Blue: Community Responses to an Eco-Award in Galveston, Texas

Description: The Blue Flag program is a French international eco-award for beaches, marinas, and tour boats. With a set of 33 criteria required for obtaining the award, the Blue Flag program has sites all over the world, but none in the United States. The American Shore and Beach Preservation Association (ASBPA) sought to change that and provided an opportunity for locations in the U.S. to apply for the award. One of those applicants was the Galveston Island Park Board of Trustees in Galveston, Texas. This … more
Date: August 2022
Creator: Butler, Kristin
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Awareness, Inclusivity, and Action in Western Historical Museums

Description: Dominant narratives in western historical museums often evoke a nostalgia for a Western Frontier that did not actually exist in the United States. Many Western historical museums, in particular, preserve nostalgia of an imagined Western Frontier through narratives of white masculine heroism, by featuring objects and artifacts symbolizing American exceptionalism and conquest, and by developing a sensory experience in exhibits to recreate an idealized time in history. As our understandings of his… more
Date: May 2022
Creator: Brown, Sonia Renee
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

An Exploration of Coping Mechanisms, Motivations, and Treatment Strategies Among Those with an Opiate Use Disorder

Description: The opioid epidemic is an issue that has ravaged much of the United States, and specifically Appalachia. Many different academic disciplines have attempted to provide a solution to no avail. This ethnographic study investigates the social nature of addiction & recovery related to problematic opiate use. Through semi-structured interviews and participant observation with clients at a drop-in mental health and addiction services center, the study explores the social conditions which facilitate pr… more
Date: May 2022
Creator: Jarrett, Zachary Mical
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

The Intersection of Race and Space in Urban Environments Confronting Development: The Black Church and Harlem's Gentrification

Description: Roughly 1 million Blacks fled from the South to cities in the North, and with this shift New York City saw a 66% increase in its Black population between 1910 and 1920. By the end of the 1920s Harlem had become home to approximately 200,000 Black residents. But during the period 2000 to 2016 three of the nation's top ten gentrifying zip codes could be found in Harlem, and Harlem's Black population decreased by 23,166 residents, while Harlem's white population increased by 33,442 during this er… more
Date: May 2022
Creator: McDonald, Autumn Dawn
Partner: UNT Libraries

Investigating the Effects of COVID-19-Related Restrictions on Abortion Access in Texas

Description: Whether it is social stigma or state policy, abortion seekers are facing an intense amount of obstacles when it comes to accessing their abortion in Texas during the pandemic. To better understand how COVID-19 affected the landscape of abortion access, it was necessary to listen to the experiences of abortion seekers during the pandemic. Experts in the field of abortion advocacy were also interviewed to provide perspective on the trajectory of abortion access during COVID-19. Abortion seekers w… more
Date: May 2022
Creator: Irby, Elsa Louise
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Memories in the Body: Looking at the Connection between Emotional Stress and Autoimmune Diseases

Description: Autoimmunity is a modern age medical dilemma which is inextricably linked with emotional stress. Based on semi-structured interviews and participant Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) survey results, this study confirms that the autoimmune process may be initiated via psychosocial factors like emotional stress and childhood trauma. Ninety-three percent of participants experienced adversity or trauma in childhood, and 50% of participants talked about a period of prolonged stress that preceded t… more
Date: May 2022
Creator: Shenberger, Taylor
Partner: UNT Libraries
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