The rate of melanoma among Asian American has been steadily increasing in the past
five years, while in other Asian countries, such as Japan, the incident rate remains relatively the
same. Does the culture and societal attitudes toward skin cancer make a difference in the incident
rate of melanoma? This...
The Linn and Benton County Gleaner network has helped the low-income families of urban and rural Oregon reclaim moral, social and cultural capital that is lost in the act of being poor in America. Rather than participating solely in government safety nets, these people reject “hand-outs” in favor of exchanging...
This ethnography looks at the processes a rural Oregon community is undergoing as some members attempt to re-animate the community by creating a community center after the loss of its school and market, two vital services that provided venues for social interaction and engagement.
The methodology for this research includes...
Lower rates of computer adoption and usage in rural areas has
been called a "digital divide." This work explores the current state of
connectivity within a rural town of the Pacific Northwest with a
quantitative and qualitative overview of computer usage and access
within civic and activity clubs, ranging from...
The products, processes, and tools of school feeding programs have been examined from multiple perspectives and disciplines in an attempt to improve child nutrition outcomes, to support local and national agriculture, and increase sustainability practices. There is little qualitative research on the role, needs, and experiences of school food service...
Based on the author's ethnographic research at the Karakuwa fishing community in Japan, this thesis explains a cultural process of the local people's synthesis of the values they place on nature and their everyday behavior in a modern industrial world. Explicated by ethnographic narrative, this study focuses on a revitalization...
Enrollments of international students have increased dramatically in
the last several decades. The delivery of health care to these students has
become a topic of study for college health care providers and medical
researchers across the country. The purpose of this study was to explore how
Asian international students cope...
The act of accessing food is embedded within various systems of power. This dissertation problematizes our understanding of food access for vulnerable populations by making explicit ways that social constructions, including power, affect food access for vulnerable populations. This is accomplished across three manuscripts. The first manuscript presents textual analysis...
During the 2011 Oregon Legislative session, seven bills were debated that addressed policy affecting small farms. This paper seeks to understand the environment surrounding these bills: what is the political structure for determining small farm policy? To answer this question seven policymakers were interviewed and two legislative hearings were observed....