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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Culture of Giving at Blue Ridge Literacy: Who Donates and Why?

Description: As a nonprofit located in a nonprofit-dense region in Roanoke, Virginia, Blue Ridge Literacy is among many other organizations competing for similar funding. This qualitative research project explores the reasons why donors give, why they support Blue Ridge Literacy, and what they think their future priorities for giving might be. By examining data from 15 qualitative interviews, this research is able to examine what BRL donors care about and offer suggestions for donor engagement strategies.
Date: August 2019
Creator: Holladay, Stephanie
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

Disaster Preparedness in Escambia County Florida: The Influence of Oral Narratives

Description: This work addresses hurricane preparedness in Escambia County, Florida. It explores preparing for hurricanes as an informal learning process occurring within personal networks and embedded in beliefs, values, and attitudes. Findings reveal that participants learned to prepare from their parents in childhood and improved upon that knowledge through direct experience in adulthood. Later, they passed this knowledge on to their children as well as co-workers. These preparations are embedded in beli… more
Date: December 2018
Creator: Vanlandingham, Keith Marcel
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Doing Our Work Better, Together: An Application of Relational Coordination Theory to Explore and Shape Excellence in Trauma Care

Description: I conducted a mixed-methods collaborative ethnography using the lens of relational coordination theory. This included a qualitative survey using an established tool to analyze the relational dimensions of multidisciplinary teamwork, participant observation, interviews, and narrative surveys. Findings were presented to clinicians in working groups for further interpretation and to facilitate co-creation of targeted interventions designed to improve team relationships and performance. I engaged a… more
Date: August 2019
Creator: Purdy, Eve Isabelle
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Emerging Ed-tech and Accessibility

Description: Recent developments in the field of education have led to a proliferation of educational technologies (or “ed-tech”), yet access to educational content for students with special needs remains a challenge. This research study aims to assess the current state of accessibility in emerging ed-tech and to identify barriers in enabling educational content to be born accessible. Detailed discussions with various ed-tech platforms revealed less of a need for technical tools, but a more prevailing need … more
Date: December 2013
Creator: Vora, Disha
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Ethiopian Coffee Stories: Applied Research with Sidama Coffee Farmers Combining Visual and Ethnographic Methods

Description: The purpose of this study is to demonstrate the value of visual research methods to applied anthropology in the context of exploratory research with farmers in Ethiopia. The three methods of photo-elicitation, participatory photography, and ethnographic film, enrich and expand ethnographic methods to support the client's objective of supporting farmers. The applied project constructs a narrative from the local perspective to help consumers learn more about farmers' lives. The research focuses o… more
Date: December 2016
Creator: Suter, Paula J.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

An Ethnographic Inquiry and Evaluation into the Student's Perspective and Experience with Improvement Science at Algoma School District

Description: Using ethnographic research in the form of an outcomes assessment, this project aims to unpack and evaluate the experiences of students and significance of the key concepts shared during the Live Algoma-Improvement Science course/and associated projects during the 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 school years. Through the use of evaluative techniques such as interviews, focus groups, and a survey, I endeavor to both strengthen and inform the work Live Algoma is doing and highlight to the community and o… more
Date: May 2018
Creator: Williams, Jodi M.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

An Ethnography of Direct-to-Consumer Genomics [DTCG]: Design Anthropology Insights for the Product Management of a Disruptive Innovation

Description: Direct-to-consumer genomics (DTCG) health testing offers great promise to humanity, however to date adoption has lagged as a result of consumer awareness, understanding, and previous government regulations restricting DTCG companies from providing information on an individual's genetic predispositions. But in 2017 the broader DTCG market which also includes genealogical testing demonstrated exponential growth, implying that DTCG is starting to diffuse as an innovation. To better understand the … more
Date: August 2018
Creator: Artz, Matthew
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Evaluating a Sustainable Community Development Initiative Among the Lakota People on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation

Description: This thesis details my applied thesis project and experience in the evaluation of a workforce development through sustainable construction program. It describes the need of my client, Sweet Grass Consulting and their contractual partner, the Thunder Valley Community Development Corporation, in the evaluation of Thunder Valley CDC's Workforce Development through Sustainable Construction Program. My role involved the development of an extensive evaluation package for this program and data analysi… more
Date: December 2015
Creator: Mosman, Sarah A.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Everyday Performances in U.S. Household Kitchens

Description: BMA Innovation Consulting is committed to serving consumers products that can play a more meaningful role in household cleaning. So far, their innovation department has used psychology-based principles and approaches that have helped them understand consumers’ preferences, attitudes and claimed needs in household cleaning. That said, little information has been collected on the active role that products play or could play as participants in the everyday dynamics of US consumers. An anthropologi… more
Date: August 2015
Creator: Rosado-Bonilla, Mireilly Ann
Partner: UNT Libraries
Back to Top of Screen