United Through Reading (UTR) is a non-profit organization that provides the tools for military service members to take videos of themselves reading books so that when they must leave their family for training, deployment, temporary duty (TDY), or other military induced separations, their family gets a copy of the video recording and a copy of the book. Although UTR developed their program supported by research about the academic benefits of being read aloud to as a child, the importance of developing a love of reading, the impacts of deployment on military youth, and the impacts of service on children's academics before this research began, they had not yet conducted an evaluation of their specific program. To this end, this research sought to understand how participation in UTR impacts 1) a child's love of reading, 2) child behavior, 3) morale and stress levels for service members and caregivers, and 4) service members' retention or re-enlistment in the military. To address these questions this study utilized a mixed methodological approach, combining participant observation at UTR recording events, interviews (n = 19), and surveys (n = 58). UTR was found to improve and reinforce children's love of reading, improve child behavior, increase morale and decrease stress for service members and caregivers, and indirectly impact retention and re-enlistment in the military. This research is positioned to help UTR advertise their program to more effectively reach service members and their families, frame their work when talking to beneficiaries and funders, and be more competitive when applying for grants to fund their continued operations.

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 community within their religious tool-kit, as well as understanding how digital landscapes are being used in order to conduct ritual.

A description of a documentary produced about human flesh-hook suspension. This document covers the pre-production, production, and post production of the documentary film and the research behind it.

The effort of this thesis is to use an anthropologically non-traditional subject, written literature, to comparatively explore a cross-cultural condition, exile. In justifying the use of written literature in anthropological enterprises, I contend that we are unnecessarily constrained by assumptions we have inherited regarding the concept of culture, the consequence of which has been the denial to literature of a constitutive role in the making of social life and history. Literary narrative can be culturally constitutive, as is exemplified by the three authors considered here.

"A coyote in the outer world" is an observational exploration by an American Indian about the influences of culture change upon his own ancient Navajo traditions since 1868. The colonial model of an authoritarian bureaucratic state of faceless disempowered citizens serves as the abrupt change-agent for native and native American culture since circa 1780. Observations, opinions and culture specific models exemplify the culture-specific oral traditions contained in the complex mythologies, interpersonal theosophies and wisdom of the Navajo's kin-based community. Also included are strategies for self-definition that help distinguish between and revitalize one's ancient ancestral and contemporary historic oral traditions. Conveying American Indian perspectives about culture based self-definition in the United States reiterates that the Coyote is actively utilizing methodologies appropriate to his native perspective and acknowledges the dearth of scientific buttressing of culture specific observations.

Cancer during the twentieth century has become a major universal health concern. The American Indian population, too, has experienced both a dramatic rise in cancer rates and different patterns of cancer among tribal groups. The purpose of this thesis is to discuss various factors including culture that impact cancer in American Indian populations. A literature review that provides cancer data, including rates, risk factors, and American Indian responses to cancer is presented in the opening chapters. In addition, results of a qualitative exploratory research involving a sample from the Pasqua Yaqui Tribe of Southern Arizona and a non-Indian sample from the Community Hospice Program of Tucson are presented. Data from both groups are analyzed, compared, and summarized.

Although medical anthropologists have recently taken up the study of medication use in both developing and developed nations, the medication practices of immigrants remain unstudied. The current research reports on self-medication practices among two California Mexican immigrant communities: immigrant families living along the California-Mexico border, and migrant farm worker families residing in illegal encampments and substandard housing in San Diego's North County. Medication and health seeking practices are found to be influenced by both political-economic forces, and the sociocultural context in which California Mexicans live. The U.S.-Mexico border area is considered as a special context for self-medication, since it permits border-crossing into Tijuana for the purpose of buying Mexican pharmaceuticals at low cost without a prescription. The popularity of injections and the cross-border purchasing of injectable antibiotics and vitamins are discussed as a case study.

This thesis is a study of religion and the environment in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex and how participants define and interpret their religious duty toward nature. The literature is focused on the field of Christianity and Ecology from its historical development, culminating with a discussion of contemporary religious environmental activism. Utilizing a participatory action research framework, a sustainable education program was developed, focusing on the environmental ethics of Christianity. With my participants we address the topics of sustainability and climate change, religion and the environment, consumption, and advocacy. While the final product of the study was a program on Christianity and Ecology, interfaith ideas can be found throughout the work.

Depuis une vingtaine d’années, nous nous familiarisons avec l’appellation d’Africains -Américains pour désigner les Noirs Américains. Cependant, dès son apparition, certaines personnes ont pensé que cette appellation ne serait pas acceptée par les membres du groupe. Pourtant, à leur arrivée sur le continent américain,les Noirs s’identifiaient comme Africains et cette référence est réapparue au XXe siècle. À travers des entrevues, effectuées à Atlanta en mars 2001, nous analysons le rôle joué par la mémoire collective et la mémoire sociale sur l’identité et nous interprétons les discours des individus concernant la nouvelle appellation instaurée en 1989. Ce mémoire est une analyse historique et anthropologique des discours identitaires chez des Africains-Américains d’Atlanta en 2001. Nous identifions deux axes du processus d’identification dont les racines remontent au XIXe siècle. La conscience de la situation unique des Africains en Amérique a toujours orienté l’identité «…and the Negro protest movement in two ways and has led in two directions simultaneously: wanting out and wanting in …» (Joanne Grant 1968, 1983, 1986: 9). / Since twenty years, we familiarize ourselves with name Africans-Americans to indicate the American Blacks. However, since its appearance, some people thought that this name would not be accepted by group members. However, upon of their arrival on the American continent, the Blacks identified themselves as Africans and this reference reappeared in the twentieth century. Through interviews, carried out in Atlanta, in March 2001, we analyse the part played by the collective memory and the social memory on their identity and we interpret the speech of the individuals about the new name introduced in 1989. The thesis is an analysis historical and anthropological of discourses of identity among African Americans of Atlanta in 2001. We identify two axes in the identification process which roots go in the nineteenth century. The awareness of the single situation of the Africans in America has always oriented identity and « … The Negro protest movement in two ways and has led in two directions simultaneously: wanting out and wanting in…» (Joanne Grant 1968, 1983, 1986 : 9).

Bien que le rôle des femmes dans le recrutement de prostituées ne soit pas un phénomène nouveau, peu d’études se sont intéressées au sujet. L’intérêt de cette recherche repose d’ailleurs sur le manque de connaissances de cette problématique qui semble pourtant bien présente dans la société québécoise contemporaine. À l’aide d’entrevues auprès de 15 intervenants du milieu de la police, des organisations communautaires et des centres jeunesse, nous avons recensé de l’information sur 26 cas de femmes recruteuses. L’analyse de différents critères nous a permis de les classer en trois catégories, soit les partenaires, les entremetteuses et les tenancières. Contrairement aux entremetteuses et aux tenancières, les partenaires entretiennent une relation avec un homme complice. Les partenaires, tout comme les tenancières, ont toutes un passé dans la prostitution, alors que certaines entremetteuses n’ont jamais participé à l’industrie du sexe auparavant. La partenaire joue un rôle dans la gestion et le contrôle des victimes, ce qui n’est généralement pas le cas chez l’entremetteuse. La tenancière détient plusieurs responsabilités concernant la gestion d’au moins un établissement érotique. La majorité des partenaires utilise aussi la violence et les menaces pour contrôler leurs victimes, alors que les tenancières semblent user de techniques plus subtiles pour arriver à leurs fins. Bien que plusieurs motivations puissent pousser les recruteuses à chercher de nouvelles recrues, l’obtention de bénéfices monétaires ou matériels est la seule exprimée pour les trois profils. À quelques exceptions près, chacun des trois profils s’exécute selon un processus de recrutement préétabli. Pour la partenaire, il s’agit de cibler une fille vulnérable, de lui offrir un environnement sécuritaire où demeurer, puis de faire miroiter les éléments positifs à être en relation avec elle. L’étape cruciale est le moment où elle demande une contribution monétaire à la victime, puis l’initie à la prostitution. Le processus de recrutement des entremetteuses est semblable à celui des partenaires à l’exception de l’étape cruciale qui sera de mettre la recrue en contact avec un proxénète masculin ou des membres de gang. Le rôle de l’entremetteuse se termine généralement à ce stade. Pour sa part, la tenancière trouve généralement ses recrues au moyen d’annonces dans les journaux ou sur le Web et par ses contacts avec le crime organisé. / Although the role of women in the recruitment of prostitutes is not a new phenomenon, few studies have focused on it. The interest in this research relies on the lack of knowledge of this problem, although seemingly present in contemporary Quebec society. Using interviews with 15 stakeholders from police services, community organizations or youth centres, we recorded information on 26 cases of women who recruit for prostitution. The analysis of different criteria allowed us to classify them into three categories: partners, go-betweens and madams. Unlike go-betweens and madams, partners are in a relationship with a male accomplice. Like madams, all partners have a past in prostitution, while some go-betweens have never participated in the sex industry before. The partners play a role in the management and control of the victims, which is generally not the case with the go-betweens. The madams have several responsibilities for the management of at least one erotic establishment. Most partners also use violence and threats to control their victims, while the madams use more subtle techniques. Although there are several incentives that motivate recruiters to find new recruits, monetary benefits or material gains are the only expressed for the three profiles. With few exceptions, each profile runs in a predetermined recruiting process. For the partner, it is targeting a vulnerable girl, to offer her a safe environment to stay and then, glamorize the positive aspects to initiate a relationship with her. The crucial step is when the partner asks for a monetary contribution from the victim and then introduced her into prostitution. The recruitment process of the go-betweens is similar to that of the partners, except for the crucial step that will put the recruit in contact with a male pimp or gang members. The role of the go-betweens usually ends at this point. For her part, the madams will usually find her recruits in ads in the newspaper or on the Web and through her contacts with organized crime.