Search Results

open access

Identifying Opportunities for the Revitalization of Downtown Bloomsburg

Description: American downtowns were once the place to see and be seen, but the introduction of the shopping mall in the late 1950s challenged this notion and gave the American consumer a different place to spend their time and money. The prevalence of shopping malls has slowly been declining across the country since the beginning of this century, leaving room in the American retail landscape for downtowns to reclaim their status as community and retail centers. Towns across the U.S. are turning to nationa… more
Date: May 2014
Creator: Schlieder, Victoria Mae
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Needs Assessment for Parent Literacy Program

Description: Latina/o students do not perform at the same level of achievement as their peers, and often lack of parent presence is mistaken for apathy towards their children’s educational success. This research examines the strategies Latina/o parents take in navigating the school system and advocating for their students. A local nonprofit organization with the goal of achieving educational equity for Latina/o parents will utilize these findings and recommendations to develop curricula for a parent literac… more
Date: May 2014
Creator: González, Miranda Andrade
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Opening Doors for Excellent Maternal Health Services: Perceptions Regarding Maternal Health in Rural Tanzania

Description: The worldwide maternal mortality rate is excessive. Developing countries such as Tanzania experience the highest maternal mortality rates. The continued exploration of issues to create ease of access for women to quality maternal health care is a significant concern. A central strategy for reducing maternal mortality is that every birth be attended by a skilled birth attendant, therefore special attention was placed on motivations and factors that might lead to an increased utilization of healt… more
Date: May 2014
Creator: McLendon, Pamela Ann
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Product Management: the Decision Process

Description: This thesis builds upon several theoretical ideas. The first of which is the anthropologists’ transition into the corporate context and the particular type of skills and value that someone with anthropological training can bring to operations management. As anthropology is relatively new and unfamiliar to corporations, anthropologists are often hired without explicit knowledge of how they will address organizational problems. Frequently, this incremental relationship building between the anthro… more
Date: May 2014
Creator: Pahl, Shane D.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Space in Space: Privacy Needs for Long-Duration Spaceflight

Description: Space exploration is a uniquely human activity. As humans continue to push the limits of exploring the unknown, they have sought knowledge supporting the sustenance of life in outer space. New technologies, advancements in medicine, and rethinking what it means to be a “community” will need to emerge to support life among the stars. Crews traveling beyond the Moon will rely on the development of new technologies to support the technological aspects of their missions as well as their quality of … more
Date: May 2014
Creator: Aiken, Jo
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

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

Grand Canyons: Authoritative Knowledge and Patient-Provider Connection

Description: In 2011, African Americans in Tarrant County, Texas experienced an infant mortality rate of 14.3 per 1,000 live births. The leading cause of infant mortality in Tarrant County is prematurity and maternal nutritional status. Both maternal under-nutrition and over-nutrition are known risk factors for premature birth. Improving maternal nutrition, by reducing rates of gestational diabetes and preeclampsia, and by increasing consumption of essential prenatal vitamins and nutrients, is a road to dec… more
Date: May 2015
Creator: Fowler, Rebecca
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Ideal Learning Spaces: the Student Perspective

Description: Classrooms, libraries, student unions, and university campuses shape students’ learning experiences. These physical learning spaces set the stage for college student engagement and academic performance. Most of the research about the role of physical spaces in learning lacks the student perspective. The goal of this study was to offer a student-centered vision of ideal learning spaces. Students are the learners for whom learning spaces are designed, and this thesis examines the way students of … more
Date: May 2015
Creator: Sidler, Elizabeth D.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

The Intervention of Human Modifications on Plant and Tree Species in the Landscape of the LBJ National Grasslands

Description: An analysis utilizing both ArcGIS and ethnographic interviews from private land owners and environmental professionals examined how man-made landscape changes affected plant and tree species in the LBJ National Grasslands in Wise County, Texas north of Decatur. From the late 1800s to the Dust Bowl Era the land was used for crop production and cattle grazing resulting in erosion and loss of soil nutrients. The research indicated by 2001 that cattle grazing and population increase resulted in lan… more
Date: May 2015
Creator: Lang, Brett M.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Participant Perspectives: Investigating the Experience of Low-Income Schizophrenics in Clinical Research Trials

Description: The continued investigation into the experiences of individuals with schizophrenia who participate in biomedical research trials is necessary in order to understand participants’ perspectives, motivations, attitudes, values, and beliefs. As important stakeholders in the clinical research process, participant feedback is significant and can help shed light on, not only their experiences, but also deepen understandings when it comes to clinical trial participants’ perceptions of informed consent … more
Date: May 2015
Creator: Green, Asha M.
Partner: UNT Libraries
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

Developing Policy for a Tech Program Based on Understanding Organizational Practices

Description: This thesis contributes to research that informs the studies of organizational management and organizational anthropology. It examines the internal hierarchy and organizational practices of a Tech Company and describes how findings contributed to policy recommendations aimed towards supporting a “guild” model for organizational success. The data collecting and research were undertaken while working as an employee of the Tech Program and subsequent analysis continued past the end of that phase o… more
Date: May 2016
Creator: Machado Perez, Luis Daniel
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Facilitating Positive Relationships between Patients and Foreign Born Providers in South Central Pennsylvania

Description: Foreign-born providers make up over a quarter of the physician workforce nationally. Patients in south central Pennsylvania are primarily white with limited interaction with foreigners which can produce barriers to communication and trust. This study proposes practical steps for building positive relationships between patients and their foreign-born providers. Ethnographic methods were used to interview and survey patients and providers about the relationships between foreign-born providers an… more
Date: May 2016
Creator: Long, Janel Elaine Lehman
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Identifying Breast Cancer Disparities in the African-American Community Using a Mixed Methods Approach

Description: Utilizing a mixed methods approach in assessing cities and metropolitan areas with the highest rates of breast cancer disparities in African-American communities, this study presents the Affiliate perspective of the Susan G. Komen non-profit organization in combination with available socioeconomic data and academic literature. Analyzed through an anthropological lens, qualitative and quantitative data illuminate the lived experiences and dynamic circumstances in which breast cancer disparities … more
Date: May 2016
Creator: Morrissey, Natalie Noel
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Investigating the Impact of Patient-Provider Communication on HIV Treatment Adherence

Description: Today over 1.1 million people are living with HIV/AIDS in the United States; over the last 4 decades mortality rates have decreased largely made in part because of advancement in awareness and treatment options. Treatment adherence has long been considered a vital component in decreasing HIV/AIDS related mortality and has proven to reduce the risk of transmission. However not all patients take their medicine as prescribed. This research study, sponsored by The North Central Texas HIV Planning C… more
Date: May 2016
Creator: Barnes, Shelly Marie
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

“Just Tell Me the Truth”: Understanding Health Risks and Community Perspectives in Karnes County, Texas, an Oil and Gas Community

Description: Using ethnographic research methods, I collaborated with the organization Earthworks to conduct a community assessment on the health issues related to the air quality in Karnes County, Texas, an oil and gas community. The research consisted of in-depth interviews with residents on their experiences and knowledge on the health issues associated to air quality. This research is going to be used to inform the community and develop strategies to empower community members in improving their environm… more
Date: May 2016
Creator: Villa, Priscilla
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Understanding Road Use and Road User Interaction: An Exploratory Ethnographic Study Toward the Design of Autonomous Vehicles

Description: This thesis contributes to research that informs the design of autonomous vehicles (AVs). It examines interactions among various types of road users, such as pedestrians and drivers, and describes how findings can contribute to the design of AVs. The work was undertaken as part of a research internship at Nissan Research Center-Silicon Valley on the Human Understanding in Design team. Methods included video ethnography “travel-alongs” which captured the experience of travel from the point of vi… more
Date: May 2016
Creator: McLaughlin, Logan M.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Understanding the Culture of Giving among Utility Fuel Fund Donors in Southern California

Description: The Energy Assistance Fund (EAF) is a voluntary, nonprofit fuel fund that provides grants to income qualified utility customers in an effort to help those customers avoid electricity service disconnection. The administering utility and the energy industry as a whole is undergoing transformative change, resulting in a projected decrease of fundraising capacity for EAF among its most substantial donor pool - utility shareholders and employees. Utility customers represent a small percentage of EA… more
Date: May 2016
Creator: Sauer, Ashley
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Why Breastfeed? Understanding the Factors that Influence Women to Breastfeed in Southeast Fort Worth

Description: Today breastfeeding is a common conversation with the ever-growing holistic movement and the effort to 'go green' as demonstrated by the proliferation of the organic food industry in recent years within the United States. Breastfeeding may reduce poor health outcomes including infant morbidity and mortality. Infant mortality is a priority in Tarrant County within southeast Fort Worth as defined by this project’s client Healthy Moms – Healthy Babies – Healthy Community. The purpose of this resea… more
Date: May 2016
Creator: Jimenez, Lesley S.
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

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

In Defense of Wilderness: A Documentation of the Social and Cultural Aspects of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA)

Description: My thesis research provides an alternative argument for the protection of the wilderness that extends far beyond that of the purely biological and instead looks at wilderness for the intrinsic value, focusing on the social and cultural aspects. Through an ethnographic approach, I uncovered the how, why, and in what context people connect with wilderness and how people lean on these experiences. Through analysis of the interviews and data that was collected, I was able to identify tangible and i… more
Date: May 2017
Creator: Brickle, Tyler A.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Teach Healthier: An mHealth Case Study for Piloting Pre-K Health Curriculum

Description: This rapid ethnographic study explored how a 'mobile health education' app might impact preschool teachers and students, interact with organizational protocols and policies, and align with the preschool culture. The researcher evaluated the app's early Pre-K content and user experience. With a systems thinking approach, this study revealed the lived-experiences and processes in preschools around Austin, Texas. The outcomes of this study guided the client with more human-centered approaches to r… more
Date: May 2017
Creator: Sarmiento, John
Partner: UNT Libraries
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