Search Results

open access

Addressing Social Elements of Wildfire: Risk, Response, and Recovery in Highland Village, TX

Description: Representatives of the City of Highland Village expressed concern over the risk of wildfires for their community. Anthropology provides many tools for and examples of disaster assessment of preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation. These tools combined with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) can provide a holistic, cultural ecological look at how such a disaster may take place in the city. The project's methods included a detailed survey of preparedness steps which was analyzed usin… more
Date: May 2016
Creator: MacKinnon, Jessica
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Advancing a Community's Conversations About and Engagement with Climate Change

Description: The goal of this project completed for the Greater Northfield Sustainability Collaborative (GNSC) was to understand how Northfield, Minnesota citizens are experiencing climate change. Thirty individuals were interviewed to find out what they know about climate change, what actions they are taking, what they think the solutions are to the problems, and what barriers they have to more fully engaging with climate change issues. The interview results are intended to promote and advance the communit… more
Date: August 2018
Creator: Hansen, Carla Grace
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Aging Texas Well: An Assessment of Denton's Aging-Friendliness

Description: The purpose of this research was to conduct a needs assessment for the city of Denton, Texas to learn how residents view Denton's aging-friendliness. The research design was based on the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services' Aging Texas Well Toolkit and was funded by a two year grant from that agency. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used to gather data on six community indicators: demographics, housing, transportation, health care (including mental health and substan… more
Date: August 2016
Creator: Wolfe, Julia Rachel Weinstein
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Anthropology of Aging: Assessment of Old Age Needs and Ethical Issues regarding the Use of Assistive Technologies

Description: The main goal of this research has been to investigate elderly people's needs, perceptions, fears, hopes, and expectation regarding elderly care, including ethical issues linked to assistive technologies. As faith seems to take an important place in how some elders face the aging process, the spiritual dimension was also included. Therefore, the research was conducted among 15 church congregants. Results show that most respondents fear the physical and mental decay due to aging, often resulting… more
Date: December 2018
Creator: Atibaka, Sunday O
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

Artscapes: Community Perceptions of City Beautification through Murals in Denton, Texas

Description: Keep Denton Beautiful (KDB) is inspired by Keep America Beautiful's model of community engagement to create a clean, beautiful, and vibrant city. The community mural initiative, Artscapes, aims to enliven public spaces, abate graffiti, and inspire community members to keep Denton, Texas, clean and beautiful. The goals of this research project are to understand the impact of Artscapes initiative, community perceptions of public art, and find ways KDB can better align future mural projects with t… more
Date: December 2017
Creator: Robertson, Lindsey
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Assessing Workplace Design: Applying Anthropology to Assess an Architecture Firm’s Own Headquarters Design

Description: Corporations, design firms, technology, and furniture companies are rethinking the concept of the ‘workplace’ environment and built ‘office’ in an effort to respond to changing characteristics of the workplace. The following report presents a case study, post-occupancy assessment of an architecture firm’s relocation of their corporate headquarters in Dallas, TX. This ethnographic research transpired from September 2013 to February 2014 and included participant observation, employee interviews, … more
Date: December 2014
Creator: Ramer, S. Angela
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

An Assessment of a Hospice and Palliative Care Partnership Program

Description: This project attempts to describe how a hospice and palliative care partnership program works. Through the assessment of one such program, the researcher sought to find out the essential components of the partnership including how the two partner organizations interact and work together. Data was collected using various methods: document review of organization documents such as newsletters, annual or quarterly reports, brochures and other available literature e.g. materials on organizations’ we… more
Date: December 2014
Creator: Munene, Grace N.
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

Ayurveda as Medicine

Description: Complimentary and alternate medicine, especially Ayurveda is gaining popularity in United States. However, there are various barriers that people face in adopting Ayurvedic practices into their lives and making cultural, familial and societal changes to better their health. This research explores these relationships and barriers behind why some people adopt and are able/unable to sustain Ayurvedic practices in the presence of traditional bio-medicine.
Date: May 2020
Creator: Das, Minakshi
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Bodies of Evidence: A Qualitative Analysis of the Lived Experiences of Female Central American and Mexican Asylum Seekers in Dallas

Description: This work addresses the experiences of female asylum seekers from Central and Mexico currently living in Dallas, TX. The main purpose is to analyze how these women engage in the gendered processes of both migrating to and accessing legal resources and protection within the United States. As the women move through male-dominated spaces in their home country, the borderlands, and the asylum court they must challenge the patriarchal institutions that attempt to silence their narratives and crimina… more
Date: May 2017
Creator: Kober, Ryan K.
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

Building a Vegan Community of Practice: An Outreach Analysis for Vegan Society of PEACE, Houston, Texas

Description: This research is focused on a group of vegan and vegan-curious individuals who are creating, building and maintaining a vegan community of practice in Houston, Texas. Through ethnographic methods, including participant observation, in-depth semi-structured interviews, surveys, quantitative analysis, and use of geographic information systems (GIS), this thesis considers motivations, group hierarchies, core and peripheral membership, practices, beliefs and construction of identity within the vega… more
Date: August 2021
Creator: McRae, Susan Elizabeth
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Building Relationships between a Free Clinic and Its Donors

Description: This thesis presents qualitative research conducted in summer 2017 at the Finger Lakes Free Clinic, which provides free medical and holistic care to people without insurance in upstate New York. The primary goal of this research was to strengthen the relationship between a free clinic and its donors by gathering donor concerns and perceptions regarding federal healthcare policy. Data from 32 interviews with donors, staff, board members, and volunteers, along with 100 hours of participant observ… more
Date: December 2018
Creator: Nalin, Emma R
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Building Resiliency: The Role of Faith-Based Organizations in the Trauma-Affected Community of Santa Fe, Texas

Description: On May 18, 2018, a shooter entered Santa Fe High School, killing eight students and two teachers. Using ethnographic methods, this research examines the role of faith, rituals, language, and symbols in the trauma-affected community during the response, recovery, and resiliency efforts as perceived by the Santa Fe community and those impacted by the tragedy. Qualitative data collected from 100 individuals ages of 17-84 illustrated how historical trauma, community culture, and faith-based organ… more
Date: August 2021
Creator: Jordan, Mandy M
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

The Burner Project: Privacy and Social Control in a Networked World

Description: As mobile phones become increasingly ubiquitous in today’s world, academic and public audiences alike are curious about the interaction between mobile technologies and social norms. To investigate this phenomenon, I examined how individuals use technology to actively manage their communication behaviors. Through a three-month research project on usage patterns of Burner, a mobile application, this thesis explores the relationships among technology, culture, and privacy. Burner is a service that… more
Date: May 2015
Creator: Shade, Molly
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Caring for Cancer: Understanding the Access and Perceptions of Psychosocial Cancer Services in North Texas

Description: It is estimated that nearly 14.5 million Americans are living with cancer today. A commonly overlooked component to quality cancer care, as defined by the Institute of Medicine, is the role of psychological and social support. Better known as psychosocial support, these needs reflect a broad spectrum of obstacles or assets in an individual’s personal life that may help or hinder their healing experience. Some psychosocial examples include coping skills, transportation to medical appointments, o… more
Date: December 2014
Creator: Quirk, Lisa Erin
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

A Community Based Assessment: An Analysis of Community Based Tourism Cooperatives in Kalache and Hulgol India

Description: This study incorporated a community based assessment with a focus on community based tourism in Kalache and Hulgol, India. Kalache and Hulgol are two agrarian based communities located in the environmentally significant region of the Western Ghats. Each of these communities has considered community based tourism as a means to reduce urban youth outmigration, to diversify economic resources, and to encourage the empowerment of women. The primary goals of this study were to understand the commu… more
Date: May 2017
Creator: Schutz, Michael
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Community Development at Heronswood Botanical Garden

Description: The overall main goal of this research is to assist with the planning and creation of an ethnobotanical addition at the Heronswood Garden, a botanical garden located in northwest Washington state recently purchased by the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe. Methods included a three month long ethnographic study of Heronswood Garden as an official intern, and conducting a needs assessment that primarily employed participant observation and semi-structured open-ended interviews with all garden employees… more
Date: May 2015
Creator: Cherry, Levi Scott
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Community First: An Ethnographic Approach to Understanding Local Perceptions of Sustainability in the Age of Neoliberalism

Description: This work describes ethnographic research completed in order to understand how local community members in Denton, Texas define, conceptualize, and speak about sustainability. The goal of this research is to encourage a more representative approach to sustainability initiatives within the City of Denton by uniting community ideas with local governance. Data for this study was collected through semi-structured interviews with residents, participant observation at community meetings, and quantitat… more
Date: May 2021
Creator: LeMay, Brittany Michelle
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Considerations for Global Development and Impact using Haiti as a Case Study

Description: As the world becomes more connected, issues surrounding sustainable development are coming to the fore of global discussions. This is exemplified in strategies such as the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), released in 2015, which created a framework for global development that defines specific goals for issues like poverty, climate change, and social justice. To complement the analysis that went into defining the SDGs, capital allocations around the world are becoming more i… more
Date: December 2017
Creator: Clerie, Isabelle
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Crafting Downtown Denton: An Exploration of Craft Beer Consumption as an Activity in Denton, Texas

Description: Craft beer as a cultural phenomenon coincided with the revitalization of downtown Denton, Texas. Much of the existing literature on craft beer and its relation to place focuses on breweries rather than bars. This exploratory study aims to explain why people consume craft beer, what factors influenced its popularity in Denton despite little beer production, and to explore considerations for the promotion of Denton as a craft beer destination and making downtown an inclusive space. Data was colle… more
Date: December 2020
Creator: Hooker, Jenny
Partner: UNT Libraries
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