Waste as a topic for anthropological investigation has enjoyed a recent resurgence in interest, mirroring burgeoning discussion among policy-makers and the general public about questions of environmental impacts, economic costs, and social detriments of contemporary waste management paradigms. While waste management in the United States has largely focused on technical and organizational solutions typically considered the domain of environmental planning and engineering (such as source reduction, recycling, and reuse), anthropology and the social sciences have become more prominently involved in efforts to inform policy-makers and researchers about the social and behavioral factors influencing waste norms and habits, particularly in educational institutions and municipal governments. The central questions to this research were as follows: (1) What are some of the perceptions and practices concerning food waste at an environmental charter elementary school in Florida? (2) What do self-reported data on food waste behaviors suggest about disposal habits and norms? (3) What is the extent to which food is discarded relative to other types of refuse? and (4) From the perspectives of school staff and students, what are some of the factors influencing food waste? To answer these questions, I employed both "garbological" and ethnographic methods at an environmental charter school, Learning Gate Community School, over a period of nine months, including (1) participant observation, (2) garbological audits of the cafeteria waste stream, (3) key informant interviews with students and staff, and (4) log sheets sent home to a random sample of parents to gauge the fraction of leftovers taken home that are ultimately discarded in order to gain a more holistic understanding of the waste stream of the school cafeteria. The results of this project support the following conclusions: (1) students at Learning Gate tend to agree that food waste is a detriment, but these concerns are subordinate to factors such as the degree of hunger at lunchtime and the perceived palatability of certain food items and (2) lunch periods are an important block of unstructured time, which Learning Gate students use for a far broader variety of activities than merely nourishment.

This research project aims to examine the idea of stigma attached to cervical cancer in light of its association with HPV, a sexually transmitted infection (STI). The public recognition of this relationship appears to be increasing due to the current media attention surrounding HPV's causative role in the development of cervical cancer, and the newly-released HPV vaccine. Thus, this study explores the experiences and perceptions of cervical cancer patients and survivors living with this disease at a moment in time when it is becoming a very visible manifestation of a sexually transmitted infection, versus one identified historically as a life-threatening cancer. Disease-related stigma has vast individual, community, and societal repercussions: in the context of both cancer and sexually transmitted infections, it is broadly associated in the literature with decreased levels of screening, reluctance to seek treatment, decreased access to social support, economic discrimination, and major difficulties in implementing large-scale prevention efforts, such as contact tracing or name-based reporting. This study is premised on the belief that including the voices of patients and survivors themselves will provide a more holistic and complete understanding of the dimensions of cervical cancer-related stigma, which in turn will help to inform future educational and prevention messages tailored to reduce its impact. Additionally, it will illuminate the complexities and dynamics of how patients/survivors are able or unable to access social support-a first step in designing more effective and relevant support programs.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2006. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 526-547).

Title from PDF of title page. / Document formatted into pages; contains 309 pages. / Thesis (M.A.)--University of South Florida, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references. / Text (Electronic thesis) in PDF format. / ABSTRACT: This thesis describes the archaeological investigation of the Warehouse Complex on Indian Key (8MO15), Monroe County, Florida, through the study of the ceramics recovered from excavations conducted there by the State of Florida from 1972 to 1973 and by the University of South Florida from 1998 to 2002. The Warehouse Complex is composed of two distinct architectural areas, referred to as Feature A and Feature C. This complex lies on the north shore of Indian Key, located in the Atlantic Ocean in the Middle Keys near Islamorada, Florida. The town of Indian Key was founded in the early 1820s, and was burned by a group of Spanish Indians in 1840, during the Second Seminole War. Despite the disbanding of the main community at Indian Key following the 1840 attack, the island and its remaining structures experienced re-use throughout the 1800s and into the early 1900s by various groups, including the United States Navy, farmers, shipbuilders, and fishers. / ABSTRACT: Despite its relatively populated history, little historical documentation exists detailing the occupation of Indian Key throughout the nineteenth century. This study used current historical archaeological methods to examine the ceramics left behind in archaeological deposits in the warehouse. This examination had several goals: to add to the known history of the island, to re-construct the lifeways of the people who lived at Indian Key, to determine the use (and re-use) of this specific area on the island, and to identify specific functional areas within the warehouse. / System requirements: World Wide Web browser and PDF reader. / Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Title from PDF of title page. / Document formatted into pages; contains 130 pages. / Thesis (M.A.)--University of South Florida, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references. / Text (Electronic thesis) in PDF format. / ABSTRACT: Indian Key Historic State Park is a small island located on the Atlantic Ocean side of the Florida Keys, near Islamorada. Before it was bought by the state of Florida in 1970, Indian Key had been the setting for a number of historically significant activities. The most well known of these is the 1840 raid on the people and buildings that made up a small wrecking village, established on the island by Jacob Housman in the early 1830s. The limestone foundations of these structures are the main attraction to today's visitor to the park. There is more to the story of Indian Key, though, than the Housman period and the structural remains left behind from this stage of the island's history. Almost immediately after the near destruction of the island in 1840, the Florida Squadron of the Navy took over, constructing their own buildings, and re-using some of the previously constructed foundations. / ABSTRACT: This cycle of rebuilding and re-use continued for another hundred years, with families and fishers trying to inhabit and profit from Indian Key. The focus of this thesis is to examine the foundations and associated archaeological features of Indian Key in order to determine better periods of use and re-use for the buildings that have been identified through archaeological investigations. This research was conducted in order to examine the site's architecture through an archaeological perspective; it is by no means an attempt at a complete architectural study of the site. Rather, it is an effort to examine the entire island of Indian Key, by focusing on the history of the buildings that helped make it an important piece of Florida's past. / System requirements: World Wide Web browser and PDF reader. / Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Title from PDF of title page. / Document formatted into pages; contains 130 pages. / Thesis (M.A.)--University of South Florida, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references. / Text (Electronic thesis) in PDF format. / ABSTRACT: The postmodern critique has effectively called on anthropologists to reevaluate ethnographic authority when representing others. However, what is often found lacking in this criticism is an exploration of the ways in which audiences interpret anthropological knowledge. One crucial area that can be easily researched is audience reception of film in introductory anthropology classes. As professors of anthropology increasingly rely on film for illustrating anthropological concepts, we must have an understanding of how this medium is interpreted by student audiences. Film's ability to convey complex information without additional contextualization has yet to be substantiated and previous research has indicated that visual communication's messages may easily be misinterpreted by audiences. Furthermore, there is evidence that films, if used improperly, may perpetuate students' negative impressions of cultures other than their own. / ABSTRACT: Finally, any research into audience reception of film in the classroom must consider the factors outside the class that shape an audience's interpretations of films. The research presented in this thesis looks at the use of film in teaching introductory classes at USF. The goal is to connect the students' interpretations of films to the contextual factors of the classroom as well as considering the larger influence that the surrounding media culture in everyday life has on the interpretation of film in the classroom. In this way, the research strives to offer recommendations that may improve the effectiveness of using film when teaching introductory anthropology classes. / System requirements: World Wide Web browser and PDF reader. / Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Title from PDF of title page. / Document formatted into pages; contains 260 pages. / Thesis (M.A.)--University of South Florida, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references. / Text (Electronic thesis) in PDF format. / ABSTRACT: The study of prehistoric trade and exchange networks in the Western Mediterranean is directly linked to the identification and location of commodities available to Neolithic communities in that region. One of these commodities is a volcanic glass commonly known as obsidian. This investigation focused on the procurement, processing, and distribution of obsidian from the island of Pantelleria, situated between the southwestern coast of Sicily in the Straits of Sicily and the northeastern coast of Africa near Cape Bon, Tunisia. Previous studies indicate that there are several chemically different source areas on the island. Research involved the identification of primary obsidian deposits and the collection of samples from primary and/or secondary sources. / ABSTRACT: The position of each collection point was recorded using GPS coordinates, photographs, and physical descriptions, including accessibility and geological matrix. Additional information regarding the size, frequency, and grade (i.e. quality for tool production) was also noted. / System requirements: World Wide Web browser and PDF reader. / Mode of access: World Wide Web.

Thesis (M.A.(Anthropology))-University of Pretoria, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the co-optation of the heterodox medical system of osteopathic medicine by the hegemonic medical system of biomedicine and its impact on the practice of osteopathic medicine in America. The study particularly explored students (n=20), practitioners (n=5), and faculty (n=5) regarding their views of osteopathic medicine. The process of professionalization of osteopathic medicine has caused DOs to become more akin to MDs, which may have led to an identity crisis within the profession. This case study took place at a private osteopathic medical school in the Southeastern U.S. A content analysis of the interviews, direct observations, and curriculum analysis was conducted to answer the qualitative research questions in this study. The qualitative research questions required in-depth interviews, direct observation, survey questionnaires and analysis of curriculum.

Studies of food insecurity have frequently focused on rural dwellers as vulnerable populations. However, during the ‘global food crisis’ of 2007-2008, riots in more than 50 countries visibly demonstrated the vulnerability of urban populations to food insecurity due to rapidly rising food prices. This study examines factors associated with participation in an urban garden project (UGP), utilizing surveys (n=61) and in-depth household interviews (n=37) to examine food security and dietary diversity of households in urban Lesotho. Households that participated in the garden project were more food insecure and had lower dietary diversity than those that did not participate. However, it cannot be determined if participation in the project caused this difference, or if households already experiencing these issues self-selected to participate. Factory workers households, which make up a large part of the target population, did not appear to be much difference between factory worker and non-factory worker households. More female-headed households than male-headed households were categorized as severely food insecure and experienced lower levels of dietary diversity, though this difference is not statistically significant. Because the study did not utilize random sampling, the findings cannot be generalized. Nonetheless, they provide important direction for future studies. Lack of awareness was the primary barrier to participation in the project. Another barrier was not having enough time to attend demonstrations, to plant, or to tend a garden. Time constraints were often work-related but sometimes included to other obligations such as attending funerals. Participants in the urban garden project were very knowledgeable about the costs and benefit of participating, reported having taught others how to replicate the gardens, and had even shared seeds with friends and neighbors. Despite the project having started a mere six weeks before the time of this study, and the fact that the garden demonstrations were being held during the winter season in Lesotho, UGP participants reported having already eaten and sold leafy greens from their gardens.  Key areas for follow up study include a randomized, longitudinal examination of participation in the garden program, as well as an evaluation of the effectiveness of the project. Further, an examination of coping strategies such as the use of funerals as a source of food also deserves systematic study. Finally, there should be consideration of how information is disseminated to communities, with careful examination of what defines “community” and how social networks strongly influence the distribution of knowledge about such projects.