Marital well-being in the U.S. has been declining since 1973. Individualism has increased during these years contributing to the decreases in marital well-being. The main objectives of this study were: (1) test the relationships between shared values (religious, family, and marital) and marital well-being (financial stability, marital happiness, and individual well-being) and (2) examine simultaneously the relationships between the three marital well-being variables. Data were utilized from the Survey of Marital Generosity (an extant data set collected during 2010-2011) to answer the research questions. This survey provided a nationally representative sample of married couples (n=1,237). Path analysis was used to examine the hypotheses of the study. Significant relationships were found between several shared values and the marital well-being variables of marital happiness and individual well-being. However, no shared values were found to be related to financial stability. The control variables of education, ethnicity, and cohabitation did have significant associations with financial stability and the other dependent variables. The marital well-being variables were all found to be positively related to each other and the husbands and wives' reports of each of the dependent variables were also positively correlated. The underlying theme of teamwork in marriage was seen as the most important finding and several suggestions for future research and professional interventions were suggested.

<p>Multilaterally, Canada’s food system is not succeeding – this is related to jurisdictional disconnect in policy objectives and outcomes between aspects of the system. This “good food gap” requires integrated, system-focused solutions.Considering an ecosystems approach to biocultural anthropology and the community food security perspective, this thesis studied food banks’ use of fresh, local produce in Hamilton, Ontario – a city particularly affected by poverty and food insecurity. Mixed methods allowed a more holistic investigation: a nutritional assessment of 108 model grocery parcels from three Hamilton food banks over a local growing season was complemented by semi-structured interviews with 13 key stakeholders including food bank staff, clients and produce suppliers and others involved in community food work in Hamilton.</p> <p>Average parcel contents met or exceeded some nutritional targets, but other results were concerning: parcels contained high sodium levels, few servings of milk and alternatives and vegetable and fruit servings were seasonally-limited with fresh, local produce making a significant contribution during the harvest months. Also, parcels varied individually but those for smaller households were significantly more adequate than those for larger households. Non-nutritive benefits to food banks’ use of fresh, local produce were identified and seen to extend beyond the emergency food sector (EFS) though poor produce quality was considered a drawback. Infrastructure, knowledge and networks were the main categories of facilitating or limiting factors. These findings are situated within stakeholders’ discussions of the relationships between emergency food, food security, nutrition, culture and their future aspirations. The results support the position that overcoming the good food gap in Hamilton can be best accomplished by both improving the food bank system – such as through increasing the use of fresh, local produce – and moving beyond emergency food towards a just, sustainable, rights-based food system through the community food centre model.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

<p>This thesis explores the ethnohistory of Church- and State-mediated tuberculosis treatment for Inuit of the Cumberland Sound region from 1930 to 1972. Pangnirtung’s St. Luke’s Mission Hospital sits at the centre of this discussion and at the nexus of archival evidence and regional Inuit knowledge about tuberculosis. Triangulating information gained from fieldwork, archives, and a community-based photograph naming project, this study brings together the perspectives of Inuit hospital workers, nurses, doctors, and patients, as well as of Government and Anglican-Church officials, during the tuberculosis era in the Cumberland Sound.</p> <p>The study arose from conversations with Inuit in Pangnirtung, who wondered why they were sent to southern sanatoria in the 1950s for tuberculosis treatment, when the local hospital had been providing treatment for decades. Canadian Government policy changes, beginning in the 1940s, changed the way healthcare was delivered in the region. The Pangnirtung Photograph Naming Project linked photos of Inuit patients sent to the Hamilton Mountain Sanatorium to day-book records of St. Luke’s, and culminated in an emotional ceremony in 2009, during which copies of the photographs were returned to survivors or relatives.</p> <p>Information in hospital day books was used to map the yearly distribution of tubercular Inuit in traditional camps, which were progressively abandoned as Inuit in-migrated to Pangnirtung, in response to increased Government incursions and concerns about Arctic sovereignty. Contrary to the pattern for Canadian Arctic Inuit, more tubercular Inuit were treated locally at St. Luke’s than were sent away for treatment to southern hospitals on board the Government-commissioned medical-patrol ship, <em>CGS CD Howe</em>.</p> <p>This thesis underlines the importance of linking archival sources to local Inuit knowledge, in a collaborative, community-based research environment. It also speaks to current concerns about the re-emergence of tuberculosis and the importance of developing culturally-appropriate community initiatives to manage infectious diseases in Nunavut.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

<p><em>Helicobacter pylori </em>is a bacterial infection of the stomach lining known to cause ulcers and stomach cancer This infection has become a major concern of Indigenous peoples living in the Northwest Territories, where <em>H. pylori </em>infection and stomach cancer are more prevalent relative to much of southern Canada and the United States. I joined the Canadian North <em>Helicobacter pylori</em> (CAN<em>Help</em>) Working Group in 2010 to conduct participant observation in the Aklavik <em>H. pylori </em>Project (AHPP) and identify ways that ethnography can be integrated into the ongoing multi-pronged research that incorporates epidemiology, microbiology, gastroenterology, knowledge translation, and the development of public health policy.</p> <p>Between September, 2011 and June, 2012, I lived as a participant observer in Aklavik. I led an epidemiological study of the incidence and re-infection of <em>H. pylori </em>infection. I examined how different risk perceptions emerge from processes of “making sense” of <em>H. pylori </em>as a “pathogen” or as a “contaminant” and described how these different constructions influence people’s behaviours. Ethnography, in this way, can make visible the lenses through which different groups of actors perceive, experience, and react to <em>H. pylori </em>infection. The recognition that the social inequities most strongly associated with <em>H. pylori </em>infection and re-infection that exist today are the result of Aklavik’s colonial history is one example of a space in which different lenses can be brought into a shared focus. From such shared understandings, consensus knowledge can be built collaboratively between outside researchers and Indigenous Arctic communities in an ongoing, and community-driven, research project. Furthermore, I critically examined the definition and use of the “household” as a level-unit of risk assessment and have outlined steps for assessing possible risk factors as these are distributed across multi-household extended kin groups that can be identified and followed in long-term research.</p> / Doctor of Social Science

The purpose of this study was to determine if participation in Women's Liberation results in identity change in the individual participants. As a pilot study, it examines the characteristic experiences of a study group of twenty-six local participants and compares the effects of their participation with a theoretical model of identity change process proposed by Ward H. Goodenough in Cooperation in Change. According to this model the process of identity change is a consequence of specific kinds of realizations fostered by a series of definable stages which are: 1) achieving a desire for identity change, 2) making a commitment to change, 3) attaining an understanding of what needs to be changed (which involves recognizing the problems and solutions to achieving change), and 4) having the new identity accepted by others. The research included an examination of available materials on Women's Liberation, the consultation of some general literature on the status of women, personal participation in various Woman's Movement activities, observation of individual participants and groups in action, the collection of in-depth interview statements and biographies from a study group of twenty-six women who are Women's Liberation participants, and finally, a comparative study of the findings. The comparative study involved an analysis of the interview information in light of the theoretical model of identity change. Specifically analyzed were the process involved in facilitating identity change, and the actual effects of participation on the women in the study group (as this related to identity change). A discussion is presented of the informants' experiences and how they see themselves since participation, and a discussion of some of the aspects of public response to women's participation in Women's Liberation activities. The findings show that all of the women studied experienced identity change in varying degrees; all have been subjected to new self-confrontation experiences; all made physical and/or psychological behavioral modifications; all experienced changes in their categories of perception and their criteria for evaluating their changed perceptions; and, all have some understanding of what they want changed and how to achieve it. The most extensive identity changes occur in those who are most actively involved, in those who have had the most exposure to radical political activities and those whose social circumstances are most favorably receptive to Women's Liberation. Individuals who are not extensively involved, who have conservative political and /or religious backgrounds, and who are exposed to continued hostile or negative reception on the part of others to their activities are blocked from achieving extensive identity change. In general, the experiences and behavior of the women in this study conforms to what is now known about women's participation in the movement and the general public's response to Women's Liberationists. The study presents a brief history of the background of the movement, a discussion of the theoretical model used, an account of the research methodology, a series of sample portraits of women in the study, the data analysis, an application of the theoretical framework to the data, and a brief discussion of some general implications of the Women's Movement as a whole. This thesis shows that participation in the movement produces identity change which conforms to an anthropological model of identity change process.

Forensic anthropologists increasingly use chemical isotope analysis in the investigation of unidentified human remains, as biochemical georeferencing continually improves with the development of modern reference data of known origins. Isotope variations in trace elements such as strontium (Sr) and lead (Pb) in human teeth are some of the most useful indicators of past domicile in archaeological research and thus have high potential for modern, forensic applications. In this study, high-precision lead isotope analysis was conducted on 63 modern human teeth, which were previously analyzed for strontium isotopes. The results present new lead isotope data for the following countries: United States (n=34), Colombia (n=9), Haiti (n=5), Cape Verde (n=3), Morocco (n=2), El Salvador (n=2), Guatemala (n=2), Honduras (n=2), Jamaica (n=1), Dominican Republic (n=1), Albania (n=1), and United Kingdom (n=1). In addition, the lead and strontium isotope data of 23 modern human teeth from individuals born in Holland, eight teeth from individuals born in Bulgaria, and 26 teeth from individuals born in the U.S. are extracted from the literature to supplement the data analysis. Exploratory data analysis, nonparametric Kruskal-Wallis tests, and one-way analysis of variance (Scheffe post hoc) are conducted using IBM SPSS® Statistics 24 to test for regional variation. Several trends are observed in the lead isotope data that may be relevant to modern forensic contexts involving unidentified human remains: Individuals from the northeast U.S. have relatively distinct 208Pb/204Pb, 207Pb/204Pb, and 206Pb/204Pb ratios when compared to individuals from the rest of the U.S. European and American individuals can be easily distinguished from each other using 208Pb/204Pb, 207Pb/204Pb, and 206Pb/204Pb ratios. Central American individuals have significantly lower 87Sr/86Sr ratios than North American individuals, and these groups can be easily distinguished using lead versus strontium scatterplots. Colombian individuals have significantly lower 87Sr/86Sr ratios than North American individuals, and these groups can be easily distinguished using lead versus strontium scatterplots. Caribbean individuals have significantly lower 87Sr/86Sr isotope ratios than individuals from the northeast U.S., and these groups can be easily distinguished using lead versus strontium scatterplots.

The requirements of European Unification, along with broader processes of globalization, including immigration, are reshaping economic and welfare priorities and reconfiguring the relationship between citizens and the state in Italy. The reorganization of the Italian welfare state around the principle of subsidiarity combines neoliberal restructuring with a commitment to social solidarity and cohesion and privileges the family as the social formation best suited to mediate between state, market, and citizens. As the state retreats from some of its former social welfare responsibilities, it simultaneously extends its reach into matters of reproduction and family-making. Biopolitics in the time of subsidiarity encompasses concerns over birth rates, the population, the rights of the unborn, and the proper composition of the family. This dissertation examines the terms of social cohesion in post-welfare Italy and the central role that matters of reproduction and the family play in its reformulation as a moral and cultural problem. I focus on three discursive sites: the politics of life; the assertion of the heteronormative family as an urgent and legitimate site of political intervention; and the parameters for the "appropriate" integration of migrants into Italian society. I draw on ethnographic inquiry with associations and individuals engaged in reproductive and migrant health and politics in Milan. Tracing the policies, practices, and discourses that seek to govern in the name of social cohesion sheds light on new citizenship projects and logics of inclusion/exclusion in the post-welfare moment and underscores the continued salience of gender, sexuality, and reproduction to processes of state building.

Rib fractures are present in 25 percent of all trauma-related deaths, making the mechanism and pattern of rib fractures an important area of trauma research (Lien et al. 2009). Rib fractures are important to consider when researching trauma because they can cause serious complications contributing to an individual's mortality. This retrospective research study focuses on rib fracture patterns in fatal motor vehicle accidents (MVAs). The sample consists of 105 MVA victims--68 males and 37 females. Data was collected at the Hillsborough County Medical Examiner's Office in Tampa, Florida. The study investigates motor-vehicle-related deaths from 2011 to 2013 to establish rib fracture patterns in association with several variables. Fractures of the manubrium and sternum are included in the analyses since the ribs articulate in several places with the manubrium and sternum and they are frequently injured in MVAs. First, this research study investigates the rib fracture patterns that exist in correlation to soft tissue organ injury. Injuries to the heart, lungs, liver, diaphragm, and spleen were analyzed based on their direct contact with the ribcage. The results show that several significant relationships exist, including that lung injury is about 12 times more likely to occur when a fracture is present in the left middle ribs and 4 times more likely to occur when there is a fracture on the manubrium. Heart injury is found to be 9 times more likely to occur when the sternum is fractured and the liver is found to be 4 times more likely when the right middle ribs are fractured and 0.3 times more likely when the right high ribs are fractured. Second, this study examines rib fracture patterns controlling for seatbelt use, airbag deployment, and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) administration. Each of these variables is tested to determine their influence in causing injury and the fracture patterns resulting from accidents. For drivers, specifically, it is also tested if fracture patterns can predict seatbelt use. The results show a significant relationship between fracture of the left low ribs and seatbelt use. In drivers, it is 5 times more likely that the individual was wearing a seatbelt if the left low ribs are fractured. Lastly, a significant relationship was found for fractures of the manubrium and CPR administration. Finally, this research study aims to predict the number of ribs fractured by an individuals' age. Progressive mineralization of the skeleton and other age-related changes increase the risk of fracture in elderly individuals. The results of this study indicate a significant, positive correlation between age and the total number of rib fractures sustained in MVAs, supporting the presumption that elderly are at a higher risk for rib fractures.

Today, groups considered Hispanic in the United States consist of populations whose complex genetic structures reflect intermixed diverse groups of people who came in contact during Spanish colonization in Latin America. After coming in contact and wiping out most of the Native Americans who occupied North and Latin America, the Spanish also introduced West African individuals for labor to begin developing crops to be shipped back to Europe, resulting in the Trans-Atlantic African slave trade. These migration events and differential gene flow among males and females that occurred throughout Latin America have led to populations that have been genetically transformed from what they were prior to Spanish arrival (Madrigal, 2006). Genetic research commonly refers to individuals considered Hispanic as "tri-hybrids" of Native American, European, and African ancestry (Bertoni et al., 2003; Gonz[aacute]lez-Andrade et al., 2007). This research focuses on populations from present-day Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Cuba, all of whom experienced various population histories as these three ancestral groups came in contact. Published genetic research demonstrates that individuals from Mexico tend to have the highest mean proportion of Native American ancestry, while Puerto Rican individuals have the highest mean proportion of European ancestry, and Cuban individuals have the highest mean proportion of African ancestry (Bonilla et al., 2005; Lisker et al., 1990; Mendizabal et al., 2008; Tang et al., 2007; Via et al., 2011). The present research utilizes craniometric data from these three groups to determine whether the cranial morphology reflects similar population relationships and mean ancestry proportions as found in genetic research through Mahalanobis distance (D2), canonical discriminant function, and normal mixture cluster analyses. Sex-biased ancestry asymmetry was also tested by separating each group by sex and running the same analyses. The results show that all three groups considered Hispanic (Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Cuba) are significantly different from each other; however, when proxy ancestral groups are included (Guatemalan Mayan, Indigenous Caribbean, Spanish, and West African), the Mexican and Guatemalan Mayan samples are the most similar, followed by the Mexican and Indigenous Caribbean samples and the Puerto Rican and Cuban samples. The results of the normal mixture analyses indicate that Mexico has the highest mean ancestry proportion of Native American (Guatemalan Mayan) (72.9%), while the Puerto Rican and Cuban samples both have a higher mean European ancestry proportion, with 81.34% and 73.6% respectively. While the Cuban sample is not reflective of the genetic research in regards to ancestry proportion results, with the highest proportion of African ancestry over European and Native American ancestry, it does have the highest proportion of African ancestry among the three groups (18.4%). When separated by sex, the results indicate that the Mexican and Puerto Rican samples may show some evidence in sex-biased ancestry proportions, with the male individuals having a larger proportion of European ancestry and the female individuals having a larger proportion of Native American or African ancestry. Cuba, on the other hand, does not follow this trend and instead displays a higher proportion of European ancestry in females and a higher proportion of Native American and African ancestry in the males. Techniques in the field of forensic anthropology in the United States are constantly being reanalyzed and restructured based on the changing demographics of the population, especially with the arrival of individuals from Latin America (Ennis et al., 2011). Recent samples of American Black and White individuals were included in the Mahalanobis distance (D2) and canonical discriminant function analyses in place of the ancestral proxy groups to determine the craniometric relationship of the groups within the United States. The results show that the Mexico and Guatemala samples are the most similar (D2=2.624), followed by the Cuba and American Black samples (D2=3.296) and the Puerto Rico and American White samples (D2=4.317), which each cluster together in pairs. These results reflect the population histories that took place during colonialism, with the largest amount of slave trade occurring in Cuba over the other two countries. From an applied perspective, clarification is needed in the biological definition of Hispanic and the degree of heterogeneity in each social group, as well as the relationship among groups, in order to accurately develop techniques in forensic anthropology for human identification.

The University of Tennessee Anthropology Research Facility (ARF) is well known for its unique history as a site of human decomposition research in a natural environment. It has been integral to our understanding of the processes of human decomposition. Over the last 30 years 1,089 bodies have decomposed at this 1.28 acre facility, producing a density of 850 corpses per acre of land. This project evaluated the abiotic and biotic characteristics of the soil exposed to various levels of human decomposition in order to determine the effect on the physicochemical properties and the indigenous bacterial communities. Specifically, 75 soil samples were taken to determine abiotic properties. A biological matrix was generated for the 40 samples inside the facility based on sequencing of the 16S rDNA gene. The identified taxonomy was evaluated for differences among decomposition bins and taxa. Results of the abiotic soil properties demonstrated few differences among the predefined bins of decomposition density. Significant differences were observed between samples inside the facility to the negative control, and to those samples taken below actively decomposing corpses. When taken together, the abiotic data demonstrated a temporal shift away from control, with the greatest deviation at 18 to 24 months. After which time, the samples became more similar to control samples. Similarly, the biotic data remained concordant with the abiotic data, but demonstrated significant differences between the areas of high decomposition to those with no history of decomposition. The high decomposition bins were marked by high levels of chemoorganotrophic and sulfate-reducing bacteria, and a reduction in Acidobacteria, indicating a change in the community of underlying bacteria in response to carcass enrichment and ammonification of the soil. Thirty years of decomposition research at the ARF has forced a shift in the underlying bacterial community in response to the enrichment of the soil with increased nitrogen and carbon-containing compounds. The baseline data presented in this work provides a control dataset for further exploration regarding the biogeochemical relationships among microbial organisms, soil characteristics, and cadaver decomposition. Within this relationship exists the potential for developing new models relating to postmortem interval estimation and clandestine grave location.