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Much of the public debate surrounding new technologies and techniques in assisted reproductive technology (ART) is caught up in the speculative nature of imagined futures of 'science-fictive' proportions. This thesis, by contrast, examines a 'naturalized' ART donor insemination, discussing the manner in which couples (and occasionally single women) construct distributive and kinship networks as they move through the processes of fertility treatment and the selection of donor sperm. / This thesis follows a marketing trail for sperm from scientific journal, to the web, to conference floor. In doing so it examines and contrasts the information that is offered by companies distributing donor sperm and drawn upon by those making selective choices. It argues that the process of donor gamete selection---as mediated by Internet technologies---is characterized by a juxtapositioning of two trends: 'eugenic' promise, and expansion kinship networks based on 'like kinds'. This paper strives to explore these desires, beliefs and motivations at play in the commodification, distribution and consumption observed in the online marketing and sale of gametes. / This thesis contributes to the body of anthropological theorizing on gifting and commodification, and kinship, by arguing that donor sperm---in the context of current exchange practices---challenges a dichotomous categorization of gift/commodity, and is best understood as a hybrid item of exchange. Following Appadurai, the commodity candidacy of donor sperm, and the context of its commodification is explored, noting the manner in which kinship networks are extended and negotiated in the process.

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Lai Man-wai Conttia. / Thesis (M.Phil.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 101-107). / Abstracts in English and Chinese. / ABSTRACT (ENGLISH) --- p.ii / ABSTRACT (CHINESE) --- p.iii / ACKNOWLEDGMENTS --- p.iv / TABLE OF CONTENTS --- p.v / LIST OF TABLES --- p.vi / LIST OF FIGURES --- p.vii / Chapter / Chapter I --- INTRODUCTION --- p.1 / Chapter II --- LITERATURE REVIEW --- p.16 / Chapter III --- HYPOTHESES --- p.48 / Chapter IV --- METHOD --- p.50 / Chapter V --- FINDINGS --- p.65 / Chapter VI --- DISCUSSION --- p.73 / Chapter VII --- CONCLUSIONS --- p.81 / APPENDIX --- p.85 / REFERENCES --- p.101

In recent years, craft fairs, shows and markets where crafters sell their handmade goods such as pottery, jewelry, handmade clothes and needlework have grown in popularity across the United States. A common intent among individuals in this community echo political statements made by the turn of the century Arts and Crafts movement, while there are political aspects of the community that can also be seen as an extension of the third wave feminist do-it-yourself (DIY) ethic of the late 1990s. This newly enlarged community of crafters that congregates in person also has a strong online presence. Etsy.com plays a large role in this community. The introduction of websites such as Etsy.com to the communities they serve has widespread impacts. The aim of this study is to analyze how Etsy.com impacts the lives of women who use the website to earn income. Following ethnographic traditions, the researcher interviewed five community members. The focus was on thick description of the DIY community and thematization of interview narratives. To meet participant observation criteria, the researcher also volunteered at the Independent Publishing Resource Center (IPRC) in Portland, Oregon for 4 months. Additionally, the researcher conducted a textual analysis of blogs, websites, artwork, and other sources of data collected from the online hand crafting community. The study presents and discusses the themes that emerged from the data, including women's work, feminism and technology, the crafters' political statements, the crafters as owners of legitimate businesses, and Etsy.com's impact on local economy. The results paint a picture of the community (both on and offline) and how Etsy.com helps to shape this. The researcher then discusses how to assess the impacts tools such as community websites will have on the communities they serve.

The author examines how a North American commercial Web site developed by Environmental Systems Research Institute serves as a vehicle through which American hegemony and cultural imperialism are propagated to Latin America. The author argues that the content of the web site pages, which contain American cultural symbols and values, may serve to influence or change the values of its Latin American visitors.