Space exploration is a uniquely human activity. As humans continue to push the limits of exploring the unknown, they have sought knowledge supporting the sustenance of life in outer space. New technologies, advancements in medicine, and rethinking what it means to be a “community” will need to emerge to support life among the stars. Crews traveling beyond the Moon will rely on the development of new technologies to support the technological aspects of their missions as well as their quality of life while away from Earth. Likewise, through advancements in medicine, scientists will need to address remaining questions regarding the effects of long-duration spaceflight on the human body and crew performance. Space explorers must learn to utilize these new technologies and medical advancements while learning to adapt to their new environment in space and as a space community. It is important that researchers address these issues so that human survival beyond Earth is not only achievable but so that life among the stars is worth living and sustaining. This thesis addressed these issues in an attempt to extend the trajectory of space exploration to new horizons.

Direct-to-consumer genomics (DTCG) health testing offers great promise to humanity, however to date adoption has lagged as a result of consumer awareness, understanding, and previous government regulations restricting DTCG companies from providing information on an individual's genetic predispositions. But in 2017 the broader DTCG market which also includes genealogical testing demonstrated exponential growth, implying that DTCG is starting to diffuse as an innovation. To better understand the sociocultural forces affecting diffusion, adoption, and satisfaction, qualitative ethnographic research was conducted with DTCG genealogy and health consumers. The data was qualitatively analyzed using thematic analysis to understand the similarities and differences in beliefs, attitudes, intentions, and mediating factors that have influenced consumers. Design anthropology theory and methods were used to produce ethnographically informed insights. The insights were then translated into actionable product management and business strategy recommendations.

The main goal of this research has been to investigate elderly people's needs, perceptions, fears, hopes, and expectation regarding elderly care, including ethical issues linked to assistive technologies. As faith seems to take an important place in how some elders face the aging process, the spiritual dimension was also included. Therefore, the research was conducted among 15 church congregants. Results show that most respondents fear the physical and mental decay due to aging, often resulting in becoming a burden to someone else, along with abandonment and lack of financial resources. Most ethnic groups perceive that other cultures take better care of their elders than their own. Faith seems to offer a great support, as it gives the confidence that divine power will always be there for them even beyond death. The respondents in this research suggest that guidance should be provided in a more structured way, more focus should go on the youth and the elderly, more activities should be organized and practical information should be shared. Regarding the ethical issues of assistive technologies, they are not well informed about their possibilities but acknowledge their potential usefulness, combined with human care. They don't want technology to be too intrusive in …

This exploratory research focuses on identifying the roles and perspectives of community gardens in the Dallas area. Results from semi-structured interviews reveal the social and political makeup of the neighborhoods where the garden projects in this study are located. While these findings highlight the benefits of gardening in the city, they can also be contested spaces. In advocating for the proliferation of garden projects in the city, community organizations would benefit from understanding the nuances of garden initiatives and the way in which they are perceived by members of the garden, nearby residents, and policy makers.

This thesis is a study of religion and the environment in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex and how participants define and interpret their religious duty toward nature. The literature is focused on the field of Christianity and Ecology from its historical development, culminating with a discussion of contemporary religious environmental activism. Utilizing a participatory action research framework, a sustainable education program was developed, focusing on the environmental ethics of Christianity. With my participants we address the topics of sustainability and climate change, religion and the environment, consumption, and advocacy. While the final product of the study was a program on Christianity and Ecology, interfaith ideas can be found throughout the work.

Today over 1.1 million people are living with HIV/AIDS in the United States; over the last 4 decades mortality rates have decreased largely made in part because of advancement in awareness and treatment options. Treatment adherence has long been considered a vital component in decreasing HIV/AIDS related mortality and has proven to reduce the risk of transmission. However not all patients take their medicine as prescribed. This research study, sponsored by The North Central Texas HIV Planning Council explored how Patient and Provider communication impacted treatment adherence. By utilizing a mixed-methods approach survey data and semi-structured interviews were used to collect insights from both Patients and Providers. Data gleaned through the interview process provided a perspective that could not be captured by using quantitative methods alone. The results from this research yielded multiple themes related to patient and provider communication with recommendations as to how The North Central Texas HIV Planning Council could address treatment adherence, such as Providers focus on Patients perceived severity based on their understanding of disease and illness; that side-effects remain a concern for patients and should not be dismissed; and finally that the word AIDS is perceived to be more stigmatized and as such organizations …

This project aims to explore the beliefs of international teachers regarding the students with whom they work, and the change in those beliefs over time. Participant observation, interviews, and questionnaires were used as tools of collection to address the following research questions: How did teachers' beliefs about students change over time? What variables were significantly associated with the rate of change in teacher beliefs about students? What types of challenges did teaches face while living and working in Thailand? Over the course of four months, I shadowed twenty-two U.S. teachers in thirteen different locations throughout Thailand. Participants were enrolled in an international teaching program in Thailand that provided a cultural orientation and teacher training. Participants were then assigned to teaching jobs throughout the country. Qualitative and quantitative data was analyzed using SPSS and NVivo software. This project contributes to the scholarship of teaching and learning, and anthropological and education research dedicated to exploring teachers' beliefs about students. Results of the study provide vital information about what variables or experiences may influence a critical analysis of beliefs among teachers working with students who they perceive as different from themselves. Due to some of the parallels between this study population and that …

As stay-at-home mandates were put in place to curtail the spread of COVID-19, the extent to which today's youth has been affected by such efforts has gone largely under examined. Through a collaborative qualitative study with Big Thought, a Dallas-based nonprofit geared towards empowering youth, we sought to answer how the social interactions and socioemotional wellbeing of their 2021 summer program participants were impacted, as well as how Big Thought was able to exhibit organizational resilience. Methods used for this study included digital and in-person ethnography, interviewing, and interactive media projects. Findings showcased noticeable adverse effects to the socioemotional wellbeing of youth (particularly among older cohorts), shifts in communication, gaps in learned practices of socialization, and coping through digital device use. Despite Big Thought's ability to display organization resilience, there is a clear need for additional concerted efforts to be practiced in reacclimating and guiding youth back into social environments and providing them with the resources and support to get there.

The intersection of race and space in one neighborhood in Denton, Texas, a college town situated within the greater Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, reflects the lack of economic opportunities caused by a legacy of racial spatialization. SED, formally known as Solomon Hill, was once a predominately Black enclave; however, the city's population growth has fueled the expansion of the downtown area into neighborhood, transforming it into a hotspot for new investment. As the city rebrands itself in the name of urban entrepreneurialism, SED has become part of revitalization plans that include portraying the neighborhood as part of a cultural district, a tech hub, and an arts district. In order to understand the neighborhood today, we need to first examine its history; therefore, I provide a brief history of racial segregation in SED and examine the power structures that reinforced its marginalization. I then explain how the aforesaid transformation of SED as a cultural district, tech hub, and arts district and the expansion of downtown area into SED is a byproduct of the city's urban entrepreneurialism. Lastly, I discuss the function of the MLK Jr. Recreation Center, and their goals for connecting with the community through program evaluation and development centered around …

Disabled veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) exist in a category separate from many civilians and soldiers. Their experiences land them in a category distinctly marked as atypical. The standard protocol to manage this atypical subject position is prescription drugs- a mark of the ill. In a distorted, post-war American society, what happens when veterans with PTSD refuse to be labeled as ‘sick,' ‘different,' or even ‘disabled'? This thesis explores the actions and intricacies of a community of veterans who advocate for medical cannabis to manage associated symptoms of PTSD. This group of veterans campaigns for individuality, both in medical treatment and in personal experience. Collaboratively, their experiential evidence indicates that none can be treated in the same fashion. After a year of participant observation and field work, it becomes apparent that their work both individualizes and unifies the veterans. This thesis details their experiences and the results of their activist campaign to demarcate themselves.

During the 2013/16 Ebola virus disease outbreak in West Africa, numerous restrictions were placed on the movement and public gathering of local people, regardless of if the area had active Ebola cases or not. Specifically, the district of Koinadugu, Sierra Leone, preemptively enforced movement regulations before there were any cases within the district. This research demonstrates that ongoing regulations on movement and public gathering affected the livelihoods of those involved in agricultural markets in the short-term, while the outbreak was active, and in the long-term. The forthcoming thesis details the ways in which the Ebola outbreak international and national response affected locals involved in agricultural value chains in Koinadugu, Sierra Leone.

My thesis research provides an alternative argument for the protection of the wilderness that extends far beyond that of the purely biological and instead looks at wilderness for the intrinsic value, focusing on the social and cultural aspects. Through an ethnographic approach, I uncovered the how, why, and in what context people connect with wilderness and how people lean on these experiences. Through analysis of the interviews and data that was collected, I was able to identify tangible and intangible values associated with wilderness exploration and understand how these social and cultural aspects manifest themselves in people's day-to-day lives.

Dominant narratives in western historical museums often evoke a nostalgia for a Western Frontier that did not actually exist in the United States. Many Western historical museums, in particular, preserve nostalgia of an imagined Western Frontier through narratives of white masculine heroism, by featuring objects and artifacts symbolizing American exceptionalism and conquest, and by developing a sensory experience in exhibits to recreate an idealized time in history. As our understandings of history evolve, it is increasingly more evident that there is a significant need for Western historical museums as knowledge producers to shift narratives in exhibits from the dominant white-settler perspective. An integration of different value systems, cultures, practices, and beliefs in exhibits is possible by incorporating a diversity of thought in the frameworks used to interpret history, through the inclusion of diverse stories, and through creating accessible exhibits to reach a broader public audience.

The Blue Flag program is a French international eco-award for beaches, marinas, and tour boats. With a set of 33 criteria required for obtaining the award, the Blue Flag program has sites all over the world, but none in the United States. The American Shore and Beach Preservation Association (ASBPA) sought to change that and provided an opportunity for locations in the U.S. to apply for the award. One of those applicants was the Galveston Island Park Board of Trustees in Galveston, Texas. This thesis focuses on data obtained for the park board through a survey to determine beachgoer support and interest in the Blue Flag program. Data was collected through the use of a survey and ad hoc interviews during the summer of 2021. Examined through various theoretical lenses, the data was analyzed to determine its impacts on the local community, and its relationship with other historical conservation projects. The results for this project were provided through a paper report and presentation on the findings to the client and presented at the ASBPA National Coastal Conference in October of 2021.

Many asylum seekers have experienced trauma that causes them to flee their home country. A large portion of asylum seekers are women and are fleeing gender-based violence or experiencing it while fleeing. Due to this trauma, the researcher and the Human Rights Initiative of North Texas, a non-profit legal and social services organization, developed a research project to examine how trauma-informed,the asylum-seeking system is in the United States, specifically for those who are fleeing gender-based violence. A trauma-informed care approach attempts to address trauma and retraumatization systematically for both traumatized persons and those who work with traumatized people. This research takes a qualitative approach because it would allow for more in-depth and detailed analysis through trauma-informed, governmentality, and necropolises lenses. I interviewed 18 experts who, either as a social or legal service, specialize in working with asylum seekers who have experienced gender-based violence. These interviews, ranging from thirty minutes to an hour and a half, were recorded, transcribed, and coded for themes such as gender, trauma, and social determinants of health. None of the participants found the United States asylum-seeking system to be trauma-informed. The asylum-seeking system in the United States is not set up to meet clients where they …

My research explores what laws, such as laws surrounding immigration, child custody, and divorce, negatively affect polyamorous individuals in the U.S. and how people's perceptions of barriers differ along lines of gender-sexual-racial-class identities. My applied research is conducted for my client, a CNM-friendly attorney in D.C. I investigate the experience of polyamorous people that use lawyers they perceive as consensually non-monogamous (CNM)-friendly. I probe what it means to be "CNM-friendly," how one promotes oneself as a CNM-friendly lawyer to potential clients and the world at large, and the relationship between being a CNM-friendly lawyer and activism.

This research assessed wildfire mitigation and risk perceptions in two neighborhood in Colorado Springs, CO. Semi-structured interviews were used during transect walks with participants. The research compared residents' perspectives to fire personnel's knowledge.

The overall main goal of this research is to assist with the planning and creation of an ethnobotanical addition at the Heronswood Garden, a botanical garden located in northwest Washington state recently purchased by the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe. Methods included a three month long ethnographic study of Heronswood Garden as an official intern, and conducting a needs assessment that primarily employed participant observation and semi-structured open-ended interviews with all garden employees. Information revealed through the research includes causal issues behind a lack of community participation at the garden, elaboration on the solutions to various issues facilitated by negotiating and combining the views and opinions of the garden’s employees, and author reflections on the needs assessment report and the project as a whole. This research connects itself with and utilizes the methodologies and theories from applied anthropology, environmental anthropology, and environmental science to provide contemporary perspective into the subject of preserving or preventing the loss of biodiversity, language diversity, and sociocultural diversity.

As the world becomes more connected, issues surrounding sustainable development are coming to the fore of global discussions. This is exemplified in strategies such as the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), released in 2015, which created a framework for global development that defines specific goals for issues like poverty, climate change, and social justice. To complement the analysis that went into defining the SDGs, capital allocations around the world are becoming more impact focused so that the paradigm of development is shifting from donations to impact investments. The push for impact, however, has led to a homogenization of global challenges like reproductive health and poverty. This, in turn, has led to a standardization of information resulting in agencies designing interventions based on data and information that is misguided because of incorrect assumptions about a specific context. This paper explores how the decision-making mechanisms of global development agencies and investors could apply more anthropological processes to mitigate negative impact. As the development sector becomes more and more standardized, anthropologists can act as translators between affected communities and the institutions deciding how best to help them.

When US veterans return home from serving their country reintegrating into civilian society is difficult. Adjustment is often associated with mental health stress and personal instability. One of the biggest predictors of successful reintegration is homeownership. The research is in partnership with Dallas Area Habitat for Humanity. The research seeks to explore the challenges veterans face when seeking homeownership.

Embarking on a quest to uncover the shared experiences of Latinos with diabetes in the Central San Joaquin Valley is the principal issue discussed in this body of work. Diabetes is estimated to become a serious public health problem, with a current estimate of more than 30 million already afflicted. Engaging in participant-observation at a local clinic serving patients in a Diabetes Education Program and semi-structured interviews with Latinos attending the program, this research explores cultural experiences of diabetes. The primary aim of this research is to answer how health education information is accepted and interpreted based on cultural definitions of diabetes to inform diabetes management strategies.

Five years ago, a massive earthquake and its subsequent aftershocks rocked the core of Nepal. Recovery from these quakes has been a long and difficult process. This thesis will explore findings from a qualitative evaluation of Lumanti Support Group for Shelter, an NGO in Kathmandu, Nepal that implemented a residential reconstruction program in four peri-urban communities in Kathmandu Valley. These findings are a culmination of 26 semi-structured interviews and document analysis. This research highlights the processes of reconstruction and the forms of resistance that occurred through disaster governance.

With the advent of the telephonic and technological healthcare revolution, pharmaceutical corporations seek to improve patient compliance and quality of life by contracting with services providers. As an employee of one such provider, working for more than three years on a medication for the neurologically degenerative disease, multiple sclerosis, this investigation utilizes a mixed methodological approach. In order to improve and diversify the clinical services provided to patients, I was contracted as a consultant. I interviewed phone and PRN nurses, developed and released a PRN survey, and interviewed patients living in the Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas area. The combined experiences and expertise of the three groups who participated would serve to inform and develop new programs and services for patients with differing disease states. The research resulted in a re-imagining of the social networking theory of health, as well as the works of Pierre Bourdieu and Michel Foucault, to serve the evolving tele-health and technologically based healthcare workplace.

Complimentary and alternate medicine, especially Ayurveda is gaining popularity in United States. However, there are various barriers that people face in adopting Ayurvedic practices into their lives and making cultural, familial and societal changes to better their health. This research explores these relationships and barriers behind why some people adopt and are able/unable to sustain Ayurvedic practices in the presence of traditional bio-medicine.