This study aims to deconstruct current conceptions about animal-assisted interventions by investigating relationships between human beings and birds of prey. Interactions between birds of prey, or “raptors,” provide novel cases from which to reexamine failed attempts to provide empirical data in support of alternative therapies. Previous research addressing the efficacy of animal-assisted interventions is simply not robust enough to be considered a feasible treatment option by medical professionals. By extension, models of self-regulation in psychology are often presented using reductionist models and oversimplified therapeutic outcomes. Taken together, raptor-human relationships help to highlight the shortcomings of each, as well as potential solutions towards developing comprehensive frameworks for measuring efficacy of multispecies interactions. This study was conducted at a small nature park in Largo, FL where a number of native raptor species are housed, cared for, and trained each day by volunteers. These volunteers made up the sample size for this study with forty participants (n = 40) between the ages of eighteen and seventy five. Drawing on both my own experiences as a raptor handler, as well as the qualitative data collected from volunteers, I employed a neuroanthropological approach to reveal underlying dynamics of the program via a two-stage research plan. Stage 1 of the study addresses the Raptor Program itself in facilitating human-animal interactions. Stage 2 addresses the mechanisms at play during firsthand encounters with birds of prey. Findings suggest that programmatic and regulatory drivers within the program must operate together, often simultaneously, for an animal-assisted intervention organization to be successful. Further, this study calls for the ongoing development of novel methodological approaches in future research to determine the efficacy of animal-assisted interventions at large.

Racial justice activists in Tampa Bay comprise a community and culture structured as a movement of social transformation. Data from eleven interviews and more than 100 hours of participant observation show that activists consist of a diverse array of Tampa Bay residents of varying ages, genders, sexualities, racial/ethnic identities and livelihoods. This community is best described by their beliefs and practices of ideology steeped in intersectionality and anti-capitalism, and are motivated by or empathetic to racial injustices directly experienced by them or those around them. The intention of this paper is to describe activists as they are rather than as they are depicted in the popular imagination, as well as to share the insights of racial justice activists to the public for their own use in resisting injustices.

The literature on the changing nature of fair trade suggests it is indeed evolving and changed from the grassroots movement it once was. One of the strongest arguments that comes out in this body of literature is that the message, values, and way fair trade can encourage positive socio-economic and community development is changing. What the scholarship does not address, though, is how this evolution is changing the way that fair trade is perceived? The answer to this question about the changing perceptions of fair trade can be extended to those who produce fair trade products, those who consume them, those market them, those who manage them, and those institutionally organize the movement and certification criteria. My study attempts to gain insight on how fair trade is perceived among the producers (farmers) of fair trade. Although there are many studies about the impact of fair trade on cooperatives of producers/farmers, there is one voice that seems to be missing: the voice of the producers themselves. My work with the CADO Sugar Cane Cooperative in the state of Cotopaxi, Ecuador attempts to fill this gap. I executed a three-week research project in which I interviewed administration of the cooperative as well as the sugar cane farmers themselves about their perceptions and understanding of fair trade. Broadly, I was able to conclude that majority of producers in this community were involved with fair trade because of the steady income, and the cooperative became fair trade certified with the incentive of a large contract with a buyer-a buyer that required a fair trade certified product. These two points bring up a very important question: where is the concern for the human development aspects that fair trade champions (education, economic development, health, etc.)? In this project I will address the implications that my findings have on how we understand the fair trade model in terms of social movement theory and the concept of fair trade as free trade.

The purpose of this research is to provide a better understanding of the physical and social aspects of rip currents in ocean areas that will lead to better forecasts, better governmental policies in beach areas, and ultimately to save lives. A rip current is a nearshore circulation in which breaking waves run up onto the beach then retreat rapidly in deeper channels back toward the sea. Rip currents pose a significant threat to beachgoers and can pull even the strongest swimmers out to sea. The primary factors associated with rip current formation on unarmored beaches are variations in the local beach bathymetry, wind-generated longshore waves of varying height, and lower tidal stages. The rationale for this study is highlighted when rip current deaths are put in context with deaths from other weather related deaths. The average number of rip current deaths per year in the United States is 46 and in the year 2010 rip currents were responsible for 64 deaths which was higher than the deaths associated with lightning, tornadoes, hurricanes and the cold winter during the year. The methodology followed for this study includes a review of demographics from over 500 rip current drowning reports along the Atlantic Ocean, Pacific Ocean and Gulf of Mexico coasts of the United States from 1994-2012. This research indicates that tourists are often victims, and rescuers can become the victims. For each state or sub-state area where rip current drownings are prevalent, an analysis of social aspects, beach areas, and associated ocean and weather patterns was conducted using averaged wind and pressure fields over wave generation areas, buoy data, and tide data. It is important to understand the evolution of these drowning events and seek solutions to mitigate the problem.

Interventions based on a token economy effectively reduce problematic behavior. Yet, treatment gains deteriorate once an intervention is discontinued. It is important to better understand the persistence of behavior maintained by token reinforcement in simple experimental procedures. A Pavlovian association with primary reinforcement is said to endow neutral stimuli (e.g., coins, poker chips, lights, signs, stickers, etc.) with their own function to strengthen behavior as conditioned reinforcers. Behavioral momentum theory suggests that resistance to change under conditions of disruption is the appropriate measure of response strength. However, some animal studies have suggested that conditioned reinforcement may not affect resistance to change of a response. Here, a novel token reinforcement procedure was developed to investigate the resistance to change of responding maintained by token reinforcement. Pigeons responded on a key to produce tokens displayed on a touchscreen monitor in two signaled token-production components. Tokens accumulated over the two production components prior to a common exchange component where pecks to the tokens on the touchscreen produced food reinforcement. Resistance to change of responding maintained by different rates of token reinforcement was assessed by disrupting baseline token-production responding with presession feeding. Token reinforcement rates had inconsistent effects on baseline token-production response rates. However, small effects of token reinforcement rate on resistance to change were found. Results provide weak support for a response-strengthening account of conditioned reinforcement and insightful directions for future studies of token reinforcement in related procedures.

A look at the impact the social media have had on social and political movements.

Student populations at Gulf Coast universities and colleges are subjected to multiple forces working together making them an especially vulnerable sub-group to hazards. Research has suggested that college students represent a segment of the population that hazards research has frequently overlooked and maybe not fully appreciated in university emergency planning. Most prior research has focused on university disaster experiences, highlighting what went wrong, and what should be done but little research focuses on what is actually taking place. The primary intent of this research was to gain better insight into university emergency planning and identify areas universities have neglected with respect to students' wellness. Interviews were conducted with various representatives from university Emergency Management, Student Affairs and Residence Life Offices at universities in the Florida State University System. Universities were found to have neglected concerns pertaining to student involvement, assessment of hazards perceptions, language barriers, mutual-aid agreements, emergency housing plans and personal emergency plans of key personnel. The results from this study will help fill gaps in hazards and emergency management research and provide useful suggestions for improving university emergency planning and areas for future research.

This thesis provides an ethnographic account of a NGOs effort to recruit and retain volunteers. Specifically, this project is a program evaluation of a community-based grant designed as a bottom-up approach to empower community residents to make changes in their community. The study details the many efforts - and obstacles - involved in this process. It is presented as a contribution to the anthropology of policy, to evaluation theory, and to applied anthropological methods. The investigator used participant-observation fieldwork and ethnographic interviews of both volunteer and non-volunteers to evaluate the program's successes and failures.

Women infected with the human immunodeficiency virus are at increased risk for developing cervical cancer. Current guidelines reflect that Pap smears should be performed twice during the first year after diagnosis with HIV and annually thereafter. However, women with HIV are not obtaining Pap smears per the current guidelines. The purpose of this study was to evaluate HIV-infected women's attitudes toward cervical cancer and cervical cancer screening. The research design is an exploratory, cross-sectional, quantitative design. The sample of convenience consisted of participants recruited from two ambulatory HIV clinics in Florida. Attitudes were assessed using Champion's Health Belief Model and Self-efficacy scales. Knowledge was evaluated with an updated HPV/Cervical Cancer Knowledge scale. Sociodemographic variables were assessed using a Demographic Data form. The results indicate that HIV-infected women in the study were not knowledgeable about HPV or cervical cancer. They did not perceive that cervical cancer was serious, nor did they feel that they were susceptible to cervical cancer. Overall, HIV-infected women were confident in their ability to request a Pap smear, and they perceived fewer barriers and more benefits to Pap smears. Despite, perceptions of fewer barriers and more benefits a chart review revealed that approximately 43% of the study participants received a Pap smear during the past year. Perceived barriers was a significant predictor of Pap smear adherence (OR = 0.93, CI: 0.90 to 0.96, p < .01). Findings from the exploratory study provide important information to clinicians and researchers that will assist in the development of effective interventions to increase Pap test adherence. Additional research is needed to further understand factors that influence cervical cancer screening in this at-risk population.

Landscape metrics, a means of quantifying landscape attributes, are frequently used in landscape ecology to describe the spatial characteristics of a landscape, but they have been less often used in anthropology. Using geographic information system (GIS) software, this study tests a method that investigates statistical correlations between groundcover landscape metrics and socio-demographic variables in Hillsborough County, Florida. Statistically significant correlations were found, illustrating the potential utility of this exploratory method. Wealthier areas with fewer ethnic minorities tend to be more fragmented and diverse in terms of groundcover; these areas also tend to have a lower percentage of impervious surfaces. The method of analysis is critiqued and applications for the results are discussed with the hope that they might help guide municipal planners in designing better urban communities.