Matching Items (26)
Description
Culture informs ideas about healthy and acceptable body types. Through globalization the U.S.-European body model has become increasingly significant in local contexts, influencing local body models. While Puerto Ricans have historically valued plump bodies - a biocultural legacy of a historically food scarce environment - this dissertation investigated shifts in these ideals across generations to a stronger preference for thinness. A sample of 23 intergenerational family triads of women, and one close male relative or friend per woman, were administered quantitative questionnaires. Ethnographic interviews were conducted with a sub-sample of women from 16 triads and 1 quintet. Questions about weight history and body sizes were used to address cultural changes in body models. Findings indicate the general trend for all generations has been a reduction in the spectrum of acceptable bodies to an almost singular idealized thin body. Female weight gain during puberty and influence of media produced varied responses across age groups. Overall, Puerto Ricans find it acceptable to gain weight with ageing, during a divorce, and postpartum. Thin bodies are associated with beauty and health, but healthy women that do not resemble the thin ideal, submit themselves to dangerous weight loss practices to achieve self and social acceptance. Further research and direct interventions need to be conducted to alter perceptions that conflate beauty with health in order to address the `normative discontent' women of all ages experience. Weight discrimination and concern with being overweight were evident in Puerto Rican everyday life, indicated by the role of media and acculturation in this study. Anti-fat attitudes were stronger for individuals that identified closely with United States culture. Exposure to drama and personal transformation television programs are associated with increased body image dissatisfaction, and increased exposure to variety shows and celebrity news shows is associated with increased anti-fat attitudes and body dissatisfaction. In sum, the positive valuation of fat in the Puerto Rican cultural body size model in the 1970s has shifted toward a negative valuation of fat and a preference for thin body size.
ContributorsRodriguez-Soto, Isa (Author) / Maupin, Jonathan (Thesis advisor) / Wutich, Amber (Committee member) / Walters-Pacheco, Kattia (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
La Santa Muerte is a folk saint depicted as a female Grim Reaper in Mexico and the Southwestern United States. The Grim Reaper, as an iconic representation of death, was derived from the Angel of Death found in pseudepigrapha and apocalyptic writings of Jewish and early Christian writers. The Angel of Death arose from images and practices in pre-Christian Europe and throughout the Mediterranean region. Images taken from Revelation were used to console the survivors of the Black Death in Western Europe and produced a material culture that taught the Christian notion of dying well. The combination of the scythe (used in the eschatological harvest), the black cowl (worn by medieval priests and monks officiating at funerals), and the skeleton (as the physical body of the deceased) are a series of apocalyptic Christian referents that form a metonymical composite referred to as the Grim Reaper.
In medieval Iberian Dances of Death, the Grim Reaper was depicted as female, an unyielding social leveler, and an important participant in the Last Judgment. Personalized Death became associated with healing, renewal, magic, and binding, as apocalyptic Christianity blended with the Christian cult of the saints and the Virgin Mary during the Reconquista and the colonization of Mesoamerica. Utilizing secondary historical sources, metonymy, and iconology this Master of Arts thesis posits that the La Santa Muerte image resulted from a long historical interaction of Greek, Roman, Jewish, Visogothic, Islamic, and Christian death imagery leading up to the colonization of Mesoamerica.
In medieval Iberian Dances of Death, the Grim Reaper was depicted as female, an unyielding social leveler, and an important participant in the Last Judgment. Personalized Death became associated with healing, renewal, magic, and binding, as apocalyptic Christianity blended with the Christian cult of the saints and the Virgin Mary during the Reconquista and the colonization of Mesoamerica. Utilizing secondary historical sources, metonymy, and iconology this Master of Arts thesis posits that the La Santa Muerte image resulted from a long historical interaction of Greek, Roman, Jewish, Visogothic, Islamic, and Christian death imagery leading up to the colonization of Mesoamerica.
ContributorsBreault, Eric (Author) / Astor-Aguilera, Miguel A (Thesis advisor) / Gereboff, Joel (Committee member) / Maupin, Jonathan (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
Native American communities face an ongoing challenge of effectively addressing cancer health disparities, as well as environmental racism issues that may compound these inequities. This dissertation identified the shared cultural knowledge and beliefs about cancer in a southwest American Indian community utilizing a cultural consensus method, an approach that combines qualitative and quantitative data. A community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach was applied at all stages of the study. The three phases of research that were undertaken included: 1) ethnographic interviews - to identifying the themes or the content of the participants' cultural model, 2A) ranking of themes - to provide an understanding of the relative importance of the content of the cultural model, 2B) pile sorts - identify the organization of items within specific domains, and 3) a community survey - access whether the model is shared in the greater community. The cultural consensus method has not been utilized to date in identifying the collective cultural beliefs about cancer prevention, treatment or survivorship in a Native American community. Its use represents a methodological step forward in two areas: 1) the traditional ethnographic inferences used in identifying and defining cultural meaning as it relates to health can be tested more rigorously than in the past, and 2) it addresses the challenge of providing reliable results based on a small number of community informants. This is especially significant when working with smaller tribal/cultural groups where the small sample size has led to questions concerning the reliability and validity of health-related research. Results showed that the key consultants shared strong agreement or consensus on a cultural model regarding the importance of environmental and lifestyle causes of cancer. However, there was no consensus found among the key consultants on the prevention and treatment of cancer. The results of the community survey indicated agreement or consensus in the sub-domains of descriptions of cancer, risk/cause, prevention, treatment, remission/cure and living with cancer. Identifying cultural beliefs and models regarding cancer could contribute to the effective development of culturally responsive cancer prevention education and treatment programs.
ContributorsClaus, Cynthia (Author) / Koss, Joan (Thesis advisor) / Brandt, Elizabeth, (Thesis advisor) / Joe, Jennie (Committee member) / Maupin, Jonathan (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
Over the past three decades, medical anthropology research, published within both public health and anthropological journals, demonstrates both the prevalence of traditional folk medicine in Latino populations in the United States and the potential difficulty of negotiating these beliefs and practices with clinical, western biomedicine. I bring attention to what might be a narrative of divergent values that occurs in Latino communities in the United States. A well-documented source (Pachter, 1994) of this clash is the culturally pervasive use of folk medicine in Latino layperson populations seeking biomedical care in the Unites States (U.S.). Numerous studies (Padilla, 2001; Koss 1972) suggest that a significant portion of Latinos in the continental United States call upon folk knowledge to diagnose, reinterpret, and treat illness. The Puerto Rican population seems to be no exception, though few studies are specific to native-born Puerto Ricans living in Puerto Rico, where the issue of access to quality public health care becomes increasingly problematic. In this honors undergraduate thesis project, I conduct a review of the literature that bridges anthropology and public health research and proceed to describe a study I conducted on Culebra Island, Puerto Rico in May of 2015. The study aims to determine whether patient satisfaction can be linked to being treated by a physician hailing from a similar cultural background, or if an irredeemable disparity between patient and provider present a roadblock to health outcomes. I found that the Puerto Rican physicians are receptive to folk illness (symptoms) and consider folk therapy as part of the treatment regimen. The physicians make patients feel understood, which might improve treatment adherence and thus health outcomes. Still, respondents demonstrated that there is high patient trust in the biomedical model by emphasizing the use of conventional medications in tandem with the folk therapy. Nevertheless, the health care provider's disposition in regards to folk knowledge and modalities are important but does not present a roadblock to optimal care and health outcomes as much as access, available services or clinic resources.
ContributorsVanasse-Torres, Elena Georgina (Author) / Maupin, Jonathan (Thesis director) / Maienschein, Jane (Thesis director) / MartÃÂnez, AirÃÂn (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
Because children do not have the same decision-making powers as adults in matters affecting their health, their opinions have often been underrepresented in research (Bradding & Horstman, 1999). However, there is growing interest in the way that children view health because this knowledge elicits the development of more child-centered and effective approaches to health education and intervention (Bradding & Horstman, 1999). Professionals have often utilized the write-and-draw technique in school settings to gain a better understanding of how to best implement health education programs. The "bottom-up" approach of the write-and-draw method encourages participation and has been shown to elicit thoughtful responses about how children conceptualize health (Pridmore & Bendelow, 1995). This study uses the write-and-draw method to perform a cross- cultural comparison of child perspectives of health in the United States and Guatemala, countries that represent contrasting paradigms for child health. The results of this study are consistent with previous research, especially the emergent health themes. Children from the United States and Guatemala predominantly depicted health in terms of food. Guatemalan students were more likely to refer to hygienic practices and environmental conditions, while US children mentioned vegetables, water, and exercise as being healthy. For the unhealthy category, themes of poor hygiene, chips, fat/grease, fruit, carbohydrates, and environment were mentioned more often in Guatemala, while U.S. students listed sweets and fast food more frequently. Results support claims made in other literature that children's concepts of health are shaped by life experience and social context. Potential applications of the research include exposing areas (themes) where children are less likely to understand health implications and developing educational curriculum to increase a more comprehensive understanding of health.
ContributorsRenslow, Jillian Marie (Author) / Maupin, Jonathan (Thesis director) / BurnSilver, Shauna (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
Because children do not have the same decision-making powers as adults in matters affecting their health, their opinions have often been underrepresented in research (Bradding & Horstman, 1999). However, there is growing interest in the way that children view health because this knowledge elicits the development of more child-centered and effective approaches to health education and intervention (Bradding & Horstman, 1999). Professionals have often utilized the write-and-draw technique in school settings to gain a better understanding of how to best implement health education programs. The "bottom-up" approach of the write-and-draw method encourages participation and has been shown to elicit thoughtful responses about how children conceptualize health (Pridmore & Bendelow, 1995). This study uses the write-and-draw method to perform a cross-cultural comparison of child perspectives of health in the United States and Guatemala, countries that represent contrasting paradigms for child health. The results of this study are consistent with previous research, especially the emergent health themes. Children from the United States and Guatemala predominantly depicted health in terms of food. Guatemalan students were more likely to refer to hygienic practices and environmental conditions, while US children mentioned vegetables, water, and exercise as being healthy. For the unhealthy category, themes of poor hygiene, chips, fat/grease, fruit, carbohydrates, and environment were mentioned more often in Guatemala, while U.S. students listed sweets and fast food more frequently. Results support claims made in other literature that children's concepts of health are shaped by life experience and social context. Potential applications of the research include exposing areas (themes) where children are less likely to understand health implications and developing educational curriculum to increase a more comprehensive understanding of health.
ContributorsRenslow, Jillian Marie (Author) / Maupin, Jonathan (Thesis director) / BurnSilver, Shauna (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Contributor)
Created2014-12
Description
The purpose of this study was to identify attitudes and perceptions regarding bone marrow donation among the college-aged population. This was examined by distributing an online survey via ASU e-mail list-servs. The survey was designed to measure motivations and barriers to bone marrow donation and involved a demographics questionnaire, a participant motivation survey, an incentives questionnaire, and paired comparisons between bone marrow and other forms of medical donation. The results were analyzed using one way ANOVAs, chi-square analysis, and presence or absence coding using SPSS v. 22. Significant differences were found in the way that the sexes answered parts of the participant motivation questionnaire. Significant differences were also found in the responses of participants who planned to donate bone marrow and those that did not. The main differences between those planning to donate bone marrow and those who were not planning on are as follows. Those planning to donate bone marrow or something other than bone marrow were more likely to be curious about what bone marrow donation is like and feel good about themselves for donating marrow than participants who were not planning on donating anything. Those planning to donate bone marrow were more likely to have a friend group that would be supportive than those were were not planning to donate bone marrow. Those who were not planning to donate bone marrow had more concerns regarding the risks and health effects of the act of donation itself.
ContributorsPiechowicz, Mariel Elizabeth (Author) / Maupin, Jonathan (Thesis director) / Zachary, Gregg (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
Due to persistent undernutrition in India and the increased demands placed on a woman’s body during childbearing and lactation, the Indian government has implemented a program to provide supplemental nutrition packets to women in rural India. This study examines the factors influencing uptake of nutritional packets by lactating mothers in southern, rural Rajasthan. Women were recruited from 65 villages in Rajasthan, India (n=149, minimum of 2 per village) to evaluate the relationship of nutrition packet uptake and two factors--education levels and distance to the health center.
Level of education had little impact on whether or not women received the nutrition packet. Of those women with no education, 63.1% received the packet. Of those with any education, 63.9% got the packet.
In contrast, distance was strongly correlated with whether or not women received the packet. For example, of the women living within 200 meters of the health center, 93.2% received a nutrition packet. Of the women living between 250 meters and one kilometer of the health center, 68.4% received a nutrition packet. Of the women living over one kilometer from the health center, only 25% received a nutrition packet. The relationship between uptake of packets and women’s perception of distance to the health center was also explored. Out of 50 women who did not receive the packet, all of the women who said there was no health center in their village did live more than one kilometer from a health center. Of the women who lived between 250 meters and one kilometer from the health center, 40% felt it was too far. Of the women who lived more than a kilometer from the health center, 66.7% felt it was too far and 29.6% said there was no health center in their village. Again, it does not appear that ‘too far’ is just a default reason for women, but that actual distance, more so than education, is a major contributing factor in their ability to take the nutrition packet. These findings suggest that improving access to supplemental nutrition packets at the village level may increase uptake by the women.
Level of education had little impact on whether or not women received the nutrition packet. Of those women with no education, 63.1% received the packet. Of those with any education, 63.9% got the packet.
In contrast, distance was strongly correlated with whether or not women received the packet. For example, of the women living within 200 meters of the health center, 93.2% received a nutrition packet. Of the women living between 250 meters and one kilometer of the health center, 68.4% received a nutrition packet. Of the women living over one kilometer from the health center, only 25% received a nutrition packet. The relationship between uptake of packets and women’s perception of distance to the health center was also explored. Out of 50 women who did not receive the packet, all of the women who said there was no health center in their village did live more than one kilometer from a health center. Of the women who lived between 250 meters and one kilometer from the health center, 40% felt it was too far. Of the women who lived more than a kilometer from the health center, 66.7% felt it was too far and 29.6% said there was no health center in their village. Again, it does not appear that ‘too far’ is just a default reason for women, but that actual distance, more so than education, is a major contributing factor in their ability to take the nutrition packet. These findings suggest that improving access to supplemental nutrition packets at the village level may increase uptake by the women.
ContributorsJeffers, Eva Marie (Author) / Hruschka, Daniel (Thesis director) / Maupin, Jonathan (Committee member) / Cook, Jeffrey (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
Globally, suicide is the second leading cause of death, and accounts for about 800,000 deaths per year worldwide (WHO, 2013). The majority of these deaths occur in low and middle-income countries (LMIC), yet the research and documentation of suicide is heavily skewed to higher income countries where more systematic reporting of suicide occurs, along with a larger existing evidence base. Nepal is one LMIC where the speculated burden of suicide is high, with a predicted suicide rate of 7th highest in the world. Using both public-health and ethnographic approaches, the current study contributes to the discussion about suicide in Nepal. The primary goal of this research study is to understand the similarities and differences in perceived drivers for suicide for men and women in Nepal. Interviews conducted in Kathmandu and Jumla, Nepal were transcribed, and free lists which described drivers for suicide for men and women were extracted from the narratives. Thematic codes were then created to classify narrative responses into a cultural domain. The most salient codes listed by males and females for drivers for male/female suicide were analyzed and further contextualized using interview dialogue. Findings reveal social and relational drivers of suicide as the most salient for both genders, suggesting that suicide is not an individual act, but something that is caused by the broader, social environment. Additionally, perceptions of the reasons for suicide vary between gender. Perceived drivers for suicide for males are more often correlated with financial burden and the responsibilities tied to being the source of income and prosperity in a highly patriarchal society. Violence and inequality are perceived to be among the main drivers for female suicide. Findings contribute to the ethnographic research of suicide and the suicide literature in Nepal, and generate a better understanding of how reasons for suicide differ among males and females.
ContributorsFarrier, Brianna (Author) / Maupin, Jonathan (Thesis director) / Hagaman, Ashley (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
This project will demonstrate that international aid organizations' relief efforts after the cholera epidemic in Haiti are misguided, and the publications the organizations release are somewhat deceptive to the public. The Haitian ministry of health underreported cholera incidence, international organizations use the January earthquake as a scapegoat, and Haitian contempt for UN involvement is disregarded. By looking at various narratives from Haitians present during the epidemic, one can contrast the perceptions of the epidemic from the local perspective and the outsider perspective. A content analysis will identify the popular themes of the juxtaposing view points and illustrate how priorities are misaligned. Dedoose 4.5.91 is the computer software tool used to analyze qualitative data.
ContributorsHotchkiss, Kinzi (Author) / Jehn, Megan (Committee member) / Maupin, Jonathan (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2013-05