American downtowns were once the place to see and be seen, but the introduction of the shopping mall in the late 1950s challenged this notion and gave the American consumer a different place to spend their time and money. The prevalence of shopping malls has slowly been declining across the country since the beginning of this century, leaving room in the American retail landscape for downtowns to reclaim their status as community and retail centers. Towns across the U.S. are turning to national and local organizations to assist them in revitalizing their downtown districts. Downtown Bloomsburg, Inc. (DBI), a non-profit organization located in the small town of Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, has been working since 2006 to revitalize its town’s downtown and main street area. The unique findings presented here were derived from a four month long ethnographic study of downtown Bloomsburg merchants and shoppers and are meant to be used by DBI as a supplemental guide for further revitalization of the town.

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.

In 2011, African Americans in Tarrant County, Texas experienced an infant mortality rate of 14.3 per 1,000 live births. The leading cause of infant mortality in Tarrant County is prematurity and maternal nutritional status. Both maternal under-nutrition and over-nutrition are known risk factors for premature birth. Improving maternal nutrition, by reducing rates of gestational diabetes and preeclampsia, and by increasing consumption of essential prenatal vitamins and nutrients, is a road to decreasing preterm birth in African Americans. This qualitative study, based on both anthropology and public health theory, of the nutrition behavior of a group of African American expectant mothers and the experience of their health care providers and co-facilitators had a goal to provide a foundation for future development of nutrition behavior research and education for this specific population. The main finding of this study was the substantial gap of lived experience and education between the patients and their providers and co-facilitators, which hinders delivery of care and the patients’ acquiescence to nutrition recommendations. The discrepancies between the authoritative knowledge of the providers and the bodily knowledge of expectant mothers were responsible for the ineffectiveness of nutrition recommendations.

Classrooms, libraries, student unions, and university campuses shape students’ learning experiences. These physical learning spaces set the stage for college student engagement and academic performance. Most of the research about the role of physical spaces in learning lacks the student perspective. The goal of this study was to offer a student-centered vision of ideal learning spaces. Students are the learners for whom learning spaces are designed, and this thesis examines the way students of one summer class at Oklahoma Baptist University conceptualized and interacted with their learning spaces. Data collection included surveys of the students, a focus group with members of the class, participant observation in the classroom, and interviews with students and the professor. Students viewed physical spaces as the backdrop for human action and chose spaces that supported their learning styles and goals. Students described supportive spaces as warm, purposefully crafted spaces, and full of other people who were seriously pursuing the same goals. This thesis explores the ways students conceptualized and interacted with learning spaces as a network of support for their learning and provides recommendations for the design of learning spaces that facilitate this support.

An analysis utilizing both ArcGIS and ethnographic interviews from private land owners and environmental professionals examined how man-made landscape changes affected plant and tree species in the LBJ National Grasslands in Wise County, Texas north of Decatur. From the late 1800s to the Dust Bowl Era the land was used for crop production and cattle grazing resulting in erosion and loss of soil nutrients. The research indicated by 2001 that cattle grazing and population increase resulted in land disturbance within the administrative boundary of the national grasslands. Participants expressed concern over the population increase and expansion of 5 to 10 acre ranchettes for cattle grazing common in modern times. Recommendations for the future included utilizing and expanding the resources already existing with environmental professionals to continue controlling erosion.

Foreign-born providers make up over a quarter of the physician workforce nationally. Patients in south central Pennsylvania are primarily white with limited interaction with foreigners which can produce barriers to communication and trust. This study proposes practical steps for building positive relationships between patients and their foreign-born providers. Ethnographic methods were used to interview and survey patients and providers about the relationships between foreign-born providers and patients, primarily in the Summit Health system. The results of the study provide a framework of how trust is built between patients and providers in general, suggest additional actions for foreign-born providers, and propose ways patients can do their part to achieve a positive relationship with their provider. While much of the literature on cultural competence is in the context of patients who are from minority ethnicities, this study adds to the body of research by also considering the providers as part of minority groups.

Today breastfeeding is a common conversation with the ever-growing holistic movement and the effort to 'go green' as demonstrated by the proliferation of the organic food industry in recent years within the United States. Breastfeeding may reduce poor health outcomes including infant morbidity and mortality. Infant mortality is a priority in Tarrant County within southeast Fort Worth as defined by this project’s client Healthy Moms – Healthy Babies – Healthy Community. The purpose of this research was to identify the contextual factors that influence breastfeeding decisions among the zip codes in southeast Fort Worth in which infant mortality is greatest. In analysis of the data among breastfeeding mothers and stakeholders, support was the greatest contribution to successful breastfeeding.

Utilizing a mixed methods approach in assessing cities and metropolitan areas with the highest rates of breast cancer disparities in African-American communities, this study presents the Affiliate perspective of the Susan G. Komen non-profit organization in combination with available socioeconomic data and academic literature. Analyzed through an anthropological lens, qualitative and quantitative data illuminate the lived experiences and dynamic circumstances in which breast cancer disparities are disproportionately experienced in 21 of the nation’s populations of African-Americans. Two main recommendations arose from this research: prioritization of granting to activities such as patient navigation, usage of patient narrative messaging, community-based participatory research methods of program development and implementation, mobile mammography delivery, usage of lay health educators, and self-advocacy education to alleviate barriers to healthcare and supplementation of the current educational activities of the Komen Affiliates through program sharing and leverage of current assets with consideration of current Affiliate capacity. These recommendations may help in alleviating breast cancer disparities present in African-American communities with the highest levels of disparities in the nation.

The Energy Assistance Fund (EAF) is a voluntary, nonprofit fuel fund that provides grants to income qualified utility customers in an effort to help those customers avoid electricity service disconnection. The administering utility and the energy industry as a whole is undergoing transformative change, resulting in a projected decrease of fundraising capacity for EAF among its most substantial donor pool - utility shareholders and employees. Utility customers represent a small percentage of EAF donors, despite the significant size of the customer base. Through a series of ethnographic interviews and secondary research, this thesis seeks to understand the demographics and motivations of utility customers who donate to EAF in order to help improve EAF’s fundraising strategy and donor solicitations to eventually grow customer donations. The goal of EAF is to maintain or grow donations from 2014 levels so the Fund can continue to serve income qualified customers facing energy poverty. This thesis provides a contextual review of fuel funds; challenges faced by the energy and utility industry; the politics and culture of energy; as well as nonprofit sector fundraising challenges and cultures/motivations of giving. This thesis includes client deliverables such as thick description of donor motivation, motivation themes and a donor …

Representatives of the City of Highland Village expressed concern over the risk of wildfires for their community. Anthropology provides many tools for and examples of disaster assessment of preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation. These tools combined with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) can provide a holistic, cultural ecological look at how such a disaster may take place in the city. The project's methods included a detailed survey of preparedness steps which was analyzed using SPSS and also imported into ArcGIS for spatial analysis, and semi-formal, in-depth interviews with residents of the community regarding preparedness, response, and recovery. Residents fell into a middle category of preparedness, with the majority of participants considering or implementing a few recommended preparedness steps. Interview participants expressed respect for and trust of the city and first-responders, as well as a willingness to volunteer their help during response and recovery stages. Finally the American Community Survey showed that resident socioeconomic vulnerability was considerably low, and no action needed to be taken to advocate for at-risk individuals. Overall, the City of Highland Village showed a high resiliency to disaster. A wildfire likely will not have a major impact on the community as a whole, though the city may reduce …

Using ethnographic research methods, I collaborated with the organization Earthworks to conduct a community assessment on the health issues related to the air quality in Karnes County, Texas, an oil and gas community. The research consisted of in-depth interviews with residents on their experiences and knowledge on the health issues associated to air quality. This research is going to be used to inform the community and develop strategies to empower community members in improving their environmental conditions.

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 …

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.

This work addresses the experiences of female asylum seekers from Central and Mexico currently living in Dallas, TX. The main purpose is to analyze how these women engage in the gendered processes of both migrating to and accessing legal resources and protection within the United States. As the women move through male-dominated spaces in their home country, the borderlands, and the asylum court they must challenge the patriarchal institutions that attempt to silence their narratives and criminalize their bodies. Their physical wounds become evidence in the courtroom, while outside of the courtroom their movements are monitored and tracked through multiple mechanisms of state control: ankle monitors, detention centers, ICE check-ins. They face intersectional discrimination as they are targeted as both women and immigrants. However, these female asylum seekers are not victims. They constantly display agency as they represent themselves in court, find solace in their faith, and form community with each other.

This rapid ethnographic study explored how a 'mobile health education' app might impact preschool teachers and students, interact with organizational protocols and policies, and align with the preschool culture. The researcher evaluated the app's early Pre-K content and user experience. With a systems thinking approach, this study revealed the lived-experiences and processes in preschools around Austin, Texas. The outcomes of this study guided the client with more human-centered approaches to researching and designing their apps and services.

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.

A key consideration in the human migration process to a destination country is the need to secure suitable and affordable housing. As housing costs have increased in the United States in recent decades, mobile homes – also known as manufactured housing or "trailers" – have become a significant source of affordable housing for people living in the United States. In rural communities, mobile homes have become a substantial portion of the available housing stock. This research project explored mobile home living specifically in relation to Mexican migrants who lived in a rural county in central North Carolina. Consideration was given to the practical issues of this type of housing, as well as any influence the American stigma of mobile homes might have had on the ways people experienced their homes and communities.

Brand loyalty is a common theme throughout consumer and market research, yet it has not been a major topic among anthropologists. The research presented here is an anthropological exploration of the social and cultural influences on how a unique demographic - millennial males - view their own loyalty to brands. Through the use of qualitative interviews and online surveys, participants provided insight in to how they viewed their favorite brands and how those brands fit in to their lives. After analysis was done on these interviews a number of themes and degrees of attachment were identified and discussed.

Many senior citizens are surviving on minimal Social Security benefits and as a result, struggle with food security. Metrocrest Services in Farmers Branch, Texas, a suburb of Dallas, is a non-profit organization that provides several food programs to residents of the community including some programs that are specifically tailored to the needs of senior citizens. This project was to provide Metrocrest with an assessment of the food security of their senior clientele as well as other elderly residents of the Metrocrest service area and to evaluate the current senior focused programs. The project utilized qualitative research including both Metrocrest clients and residents who were not Metrocrest clients bot whose demographics were similar. The objectives were to determine the coping skills used by senior citizens in obtaining food, to assess seniors' awareness of the programs offered by Metrocrest, to discover barriers to accessing needed resources and to make recommendations of how programs could be improved or modified if needed. Through my research, I was able to present Metrocrest with a number of recommendations to improve their existing programs. I was also able to recommend some potential new programs that could be designed in conjunction with local senior centers to better serve …

Using ethnographic research in the form of an outcomes assessment, this project aims to unpack and evaluate the experiences of students and significance of the key concepts shared during the Live Algoma-Improvement Science course/and associated projects during the 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 school years. Through the use of evaluative techniques such as interviews, focus groups, and a survey, I endeavor to both strengthen and inform the work Live Algoma is doing and highlight to the community and other stakeholders the valuable impact of this initiative on the students. As part of the Improvement Science course, students from the Algoma School District were trained on key concepts such as failing forward, PDSA, and ways of being to empower them to better handle individual project management, life challenges, and goal setting. While this project was expansive in overall scope, this outcome evaluation sought to understand the retention and internalization by program participants of key concepts imparted from the Improvement Science course and related projects. The findings provide strategic and targeted insights into the success of the course and opportunities for refinements in future Improvement Science courses and school and community projects with Live Algoma and the Algoma School District.