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Mind over (what doesn’t) Matter: De-stigmatizing mental health from Senegalese women’s perspectives
Get PDFAs a matrilocal and collectivist society, Dakar is an urban space where the woman is at the center. With this in mind, it is possible to understand all the pressures women in urban Senegalese society face. Women are the center of the household, thus being responsible for the family, finances, and the social aspect of welcoming visitors. In addition to these factors, women in Senegal also deal with community expectations and responsibilities since there is larger emphasis on the community, rather than the nuclear family in Senegalese society. This paper examines how these two aspects of Senegalese society (matrilocality and collectivity) affect the individual experiences of eight women living in Dakar. By highlighting each narrative as a unique one, this paper argues for an individualized approach to mental health, which can include both positive and negative experiences. Since the term “mental health” is a negatively charged term in Senegalese society, this paper frames it as one’s thoughts, feelings, and emotions, so as to truly discover what can happen with the elimination of a charged term. The collectivist and matrilocal nature of Senegalese society in general, and the fast-paced structure of an urban space like Dakar more specifically, creates close interpersonal relationships, prayer, and unintentional emotional support circles as ways for women to move forward with their everyday lives. Although collectivity and matrilocality are what create societal pressures for these women, it is these same two factors which foster the ability to move forward with social coping mechanisms, which in turn creates the “what truly matters” mentality of Senegalese women
El socio no tradicional: Un análisis de las inversiones chinas en la Argentina y la articulación bilateral argentino-china / The Nontraditional Partner: An Analysis of Chinese Investment in Argentina and the Argentine-Chinese Bilateral Articulation
No full textEsta investigación se enfoca en la relación comercial bilateral que tienen Argentina y China. Se analizan las inversiones extranjeras directas (IED) chinas en Argentina en el período 2003 hasta 2019 y trata de entender las dos siguientes preguntas: ¿Qué revelan las inversiones chinas en la Argentina sobre la relación de estos dos países en términos de oportunidades políticas y económicas para cada uno de ellos? Y ¿de qué tipo de articulación bilateral son indicativas estas inversiones? Esta investigación cuenta con una base de datos agregados de varias fuentes académicas, gubernamentales y periodísticas. Además, cuatro entrevistas fueron llevadas a cabo con figuras académicas y gubernamentales. Las conclusiones de esta investigación son las siguientes. Primero, la relación bilateral entre China y Argentina se define como una relación económica que sirve a los intereses financieros de cada uno de ellos. Argentina necesita financiamiento y China está dispuesta a proveerlo para avanzar sus propios intereses. Los propósitos principales de fomentar esta relación para China es abastecer recursos naturales, beneficiar a sus empresas estatales y continuar avanzando en la cadena global de valor agregado. Segundo, la relación que tiene China con América Latina, y con Argentina particularmente, es una de asimetrías. A pesar de que China no pide condiciones políticas en sus acuerdos de financiamiento, el país todavía tiene ventajas distintas para estructurar sus relaciones económicas exteriores en mercados emergentes. El hecho de que históricamente Argentina ha tenido problemas en asegurar financiamiento extranjero crea una dinámica de dependencia comercial entre los dos países en que China se configura como el prestamista del último recurso.
This report centers on the commercial bilateral relation between Argentina and China. It analyzes Chinese foreign direct investment (FDI) in Argentina in the period between 2003 to 2019, and seeks to understand the following questions: What does Chinese investment in Argentina reveal about the relation of these two countries in terms of the political and economic opportunities for each of them? And, of which kind of bilateral articulation are these investments indicative? This investigation relies on a database of aggregated information taken from various academic, government, and news sources. Additionally, four interviews were conducted with academic and government figures. The conclusions of this investigation are the following. First, the bilateral relationship between China and Argentina is best defined as an economic relationship that serves the financial interests of each country. Argentina needs financing and China is willing to provide it in order to advance its own interests. China’s primary purposes in developing this relationship are the securing of natural resources, benefit to state companies, and continued advancement on the global value-added chain. Second, the relation China has with Latin America, and with Argentina in particular, is one of asymmetries. Despite the fact China does not use political conditionality in its financing agreements, it still has distinct leverage in structuring it external economic relations in emerging markets. The fact Argentina has had problems, historically, in securing foreign financing creates a dependent commercial dynamic between the two countries in which China is cast as the lender of last resort
#Bolivia: Trascendiendo las fronteras de la participación social y política a través de los hashtags
No full textEn los últimos años, el uso masivo de los medios de comunicación a través del internet ha cambiado irrevocablemente las formas de socialización y participación pública de la humanidad. Con la existencia de las redes sociales como Facebook y Twitter, los discursos políticos que hace unas décadas hubieran sido restringido por las fronteras materiales ahora se extienden a nivel mundial. Siguiendo la elección nacional de Bolivia el 20 de octubre de 2019, el hashtag #Bolivia se viralizó mientras personas de todas partes del mundo iban discutiendo lo que pasaba en el país. En el presente estudio, observo y analizo el discurso en ingles sobre Bolivia, a través del hashtag, #Bolivia. Usando técnicas de la etnografía digital, el estudio destaca el discurso que toma lugar en el hashtag, como un espacio transversal de debate político, durante los dos días alrededor de cuando Evo Morales dejó de ser el presidente del Estado Plurinacional de Bolivia. Yo demuestro que el discurso digital en inglés que se da en #Bolivia refleja una grieta entre los que denuncian un golpe de estado en Bolivia y los que celebran la salida de Evo Morales de la presidencia de Bolivia, con un tercer grupo más pequeño que les animan a todos los usuarios a tener una mirada más crítica de la situación. Conjeturo que el discurso que se da en #Bolivia se manipula por los procesos de hipermediatización que están en juego en el mundo virtual de Twitter, lo que contribuye a una polarización profunda entre las perspectivas representadas.
In recent years the growing use, globally, of the internet has irrevocably changed humanity’s predominant forms of socialization and public participation. With the existence of social networks such as Facebook and Twitter, political discourses that, years ago, would have been restricted to a regional locale by material barriers, are now able to extend their reach globally. Following the presidential election in Bolivia on October 20th, 2019, the hashtag #Bolivia, went viral as people from all over the world discussed the developing situation in the South American country. In the present study, I observe and analyze the participation of English-speaking users in the digital discourse of #Bolivia, which functions as a space of political debate, in the two days surrounding the termination of Evo Morales’s time in office as the president of the Plurinational State of Bolivia. I demonstrate that the digital discourse that takes place in #Bolivia reflects a rift between those who denounce a coup d’état in Bolivia and those who celebrate the end of Evo Morales’s presidency, with a third, but smaller, group encouraging all users to be more critical of the situation. I conjecture that the discourse that takes place in #Bolivia is manipulated by the processes of hypermediatization in the virtual world of Twitter, which contributes to a deep polarization between the represented perspectives
¿Un desarrollo sostenible? Analizando el ecoturismo como un modelo de desarrollo sostenible para disminuir la pobreza y su impacto en la cultura de la Comunidad Nativa de Infierno
No full textEste estudio se enfoca en la Comunidad Nativa de Infierno como un modelo de desarrollo sostenible por su actividad de ecoturismo y critica los aspectos sociales que han cambiado con la llegada del albergue Posada Amazonas en el año 1996. A través de un trabajo de campo de dos semanas y haciendo uso de métodos de investigación comunes a la investigación sociocultural, los resultados de esta investigación afirman que la manera en que los comuneros viven, valoran el dinero y se relacionan el uno al otro han cambiado. Por la creación de un área protegida para el ecoturismo, ya menos miembros de la comunidad cazan, pescan y recolectan otros recursos del bosque. Con el mayor flujo de ingresos del Posada Amazonas, el papel de dinero es más importante y ha creado una jerarquía de puestos de trabajo y de clases sociales. Aún más, menos comuneros están interesados en hablar su lenga materna y ya están más preocupados con sus propios intereses en lugar de los de la comunidad. La Comunidad Nativa de Infierno, aunque un “modelo de desarrollo sostenible” en términos de la economía y la conservación, está perdiendo las características que la distinguen como la comunidad nativa que es.
This study focuses on the Native Community of Infierno as a model for sustainable development because of its ecotourism activity and criticizes the social aspects that have changed with the arrival of the Posada Amazonas lodge in 1996. After two weeks of fieldwork and making use of research methods common to sociocultural research, the results show that the way the community members live, value money and relate to each other have changed. By creating a protected area for ecotourism, fewer community members hunt, fish and collect other resources from the forest. With the larger revenue stream into the community through Posada Amazonas, money now has a more important role and has created a hierarchy of jobs and social classes. What\u27s more, fewer people are interested in speaking their mother tongue and are now more preoccupied with their own interests rather than those of the community. The Native Community of Infierno, although a “model for sustainable development” in terms of economics and conservation, is losing the characteristics that make it the native community it is
Herbal Medicine and Pediatric Massage: Interning at a TCM Pediatric Clinic
Get PDFBefore entering this program my knowledge of TCM was practically nonexistent. However even from a young age, I had an interest in learning about the healing properties of plants and herbs but, I had no way of exploring this interest of mine. After entering this program, I have learned more about TCM and herbal medicine. Because of the lessons that we have taken in class, it made me want to have a deeper understanding of TCM because of this, I decided to do an internship that would involve TCM. My time at Yang Zhen Er Kang clinic has taught me much about pediatric massage and herbal medicine. I have not only been taught about massage therapy and herbal medicine but I have also learned what it is like to work in a business in China, the difference between an American work environment and a Chinese work environment. Throughout the internship, I have faced several different difficulties but have learned to overcome them. I believe that this experience has been able to help me understand more about TCM and Chinese culture
Political Object or Individual Subject?: Dominant Dutch Narratives Vs. Migrant Identities
Get PDFThis research study analyzes the impact of public narratives in The Netherlands upon the individual narratives of second-generation migrant women in the labor force. Viewing narratives as on one hand, symbolic and rhetorical, and on the other hand, as pragmatic and structural, I attempt to draw a correlation between public narratives and individual narrative production, arguing that discourses and practices of discrimination originate—and often intensify—through the relationship between these two narrative modes. I hypothesize the ways in which both migrant and native Dutch narratives currently challenge, but also have the potential to challenge, this dually-produced and dually-reinforced discrimination narrative. Correspondingly, I develop a theoretical notion of “narrative agency” as a tool to acknowledge subjectivity and counteract this compounded discrimination narrative and its constraints over identity formation. My research promotes this discussion through a test-case of second-generation migrant women in their workplace environments. As often politicized policy objects, they exemplify a narrative construction between symbolic, political significance and structural measures. Through my theoretical lens, I thus attempt to build a framework for subjective narrative potential within these overarching narrative influences; significantly, it is a means to recognize a marginalized identity outside of their object value within the contemporary Dutch socio-political culture
Evaluating the Impact of Feed Supplementation on Productive and Reproductive Efficiency in Smallholder Dairy Cattle in Arusha, Tanzania
Get PDFThis study was performed to determine if supplementing concentrates and/or minerals significantly affect productive and reproductive efficiency in smallholder dairy cattle in Arusha, Tanzania. The goal was to estimate the necessity and effectiveness of supplementing a forage diet on production and reproduction. Data was collected through interviews of small scale dairy cattle owners in nine regions within and around Arusha. Productive efficiency was measured by milk yield per cow per day. Reproductive efficiency was evaluated by the amount of time to heat resumption after calving and reproductive disease status. This was studied because determining the factors that improve the efficiency of dairy cows and implementing them would expand the dairy sector. This would in turn promote rural development, supplement incomes and significantly contribute to the Tanzanian GDP. The study was very limited, but the results showed that supplementing forage improved productive and reproductive efficiency. Specifically, milk yield was improved by both concentrate and mineral supplementation, time between calving and heat was decreased by feeding mineral supplement, and reproductive disease presence decreased with feeding of concentrates
Kanjirowa Blues: An Exploration of Environmental and Climate Consciousness in Lower Dolpa, Nepal
Get PDFIt has been scientifically demonstrated that high altitude, mountainous regions such as the Himalayas are extremely susceptible to and at accelerated risk of the effects of climate change. The regions of Lower Dolpa discussed in this work, Juphal, Dunai, Chun, and Dapu, lie in a glacial watershed, and are at present risk of landslides, floods, wildfires, and rely on agricultural and transhumant livelihoods that are uniquely susceptible to the impacts of changing temperature and weather patterns. People in this region are being forced to incrementally adapt and reframe their understanding of their surroundings due to both aforementioned severe events as well as gradual climactic changes such as warming temperatures and changing weather patterns, which influence a multitude of local factors. This work seeks to creatively explore these themes, and illuminate an extremely understudied region of Nepal, Lower Dolpa, the towns of which gaze upon the mountains undergoing such rapid change, and ask what the true impact of climate change is for people in their everyday lives
The Process of Conducting Socioeconomic Research in Vietnam: An Internship with the Development and Policies Research Center (DEPOCEN)
Get PDFAs Vietnam continues its rapid development, its government and people will be increasingly reliant on research organizations such as the Development and Policies Research Center (DEPOCEN) to study the socioeconomic issues that demand to be addressed in the interest of the sustainable development of the country. DEPOCEN is an independent research organization that has studied issues ranging from poverty and gender equality, to business & investment environment and trade liberalization. Since its establishment in 2005, DEPOCEN has developed collaborative relationships with many other research institutions like Oxford Economics and the Korean Institute of Economic Policy, and has offered its services to a plethora of clients, including the World Bank and UNICEF. DEPOCEN not only designs and conducts research on socioeconomic issues, the organization also consults on development and its associated policies, offers trainings on skills like survey-conducting and statistical analysis, and promotes academic development. Throughout my short internship at DEPOCEN, I learned a lot about the complex process research organizations undergo in order to secure funding for their projects. I learned a great deal about the specific issues in Vietnam DEPOCEN’s work seeks to address, especially Vietnam’s income gap between males and females – its causes and explanations, the specific tendencies in which it presents itself in different positions of the wage distribution scale, and what it will look like in the future. Perhaps most importantly, I learned more about how an organization like DEPOCEN operates. I learned about teamwork, reading between the lines in order to maintain an appropriate flow within a workplace environment, and independent problem-solving, and I am so grateful for the time I spent there
Unfair Standards: Media Influence on the Fairness Paradigm in India
Get PDFThis paper aims to study the fairness paradigm in India and how the media influences women’s perceptions of beauty. It aims to answer a main question: How does the media influence the cultural obsession with fairness and ultimately perpetuate a market for dysmorphic beauty ideals among women in India? The paper is structured to discuss three topics: How has fairness as a beauty ideal evolved? How does advertising and the film industry portray women? How do they influence young girls’ perceptions of beauty and self? While most studies have focused on college-educated, middle class women, this study focuses on women from two conservative and low income communities in Mumbai. Information from secondary literature and media is combined with data from four focus group interviews. The study revealed certain gaps in young women’s understanding of why fair skin is considered beautiful in Indian society. It also illuminated the influence of advertisements and celebrities on fairness cream use and perceptions of beauty standards in India. This paper reveals the normalization of fairness creams among this population of women as well as their community’s attitudes towards female beauty