Social Representations and Women Who Live as Men in Northern Albania

In some rural, northern communities of Albania there is a centuries-old tradition whereby it is socially acceptable for women to live as men. Despite strict gender norms and heteronormativity under general circumstances, these burrnesha are accepted by their communities and often highly respected and admired. By contrast, LGBT+ communities, who also represent some form of gender non-conformity, are subject to disproportionate stigma, discrimination, and violence. This dissertation research uses Social Representations Theory to investigate the construction of burrnesha social identity and the role of this representation in Albanian society. I conducted interviews with 48 average Albanian citizens from three regions of the country. These regions included: 1) the region where burrnesha are most common, 2) the country’s capital Tirana, and 3) a town that represents a cultural and geographical intermediate between the other two regions. I also conducted ten interviews with burrnesha themselves from various regions of the country. Using thematic analysis, I evaluated the most general representation that emerged from the data, as well as variations of that representation that appeared less frequently. In my first analysis, I found that nearly all respondents at some point in the interview engaged in a representation that justified the tradition of burrnesha. In this representation, living as a man served to preserve masculine leadership. The assumption of asexuality and external motivation to live as a man served to assure respondents that burrnesha did not conflict with heteronormativity. This representation revolved around themes of gender essentialism, utility, sacrifice, family collectivism, obligation, and hardship in order to reflect and reproduce patriarchal norms. In my second analysis, I found that during parts of the interviews respondents sometimes used other representations. These other representations reflected differences in respondents’ social position in relation to burrneshas’ communities. These social positions impelled respondents to construct social distance or proximity, which influenced and was influenced by changes to the structure of the burrnesha representation. Third, I compared responses from burrnesha themselves to their non-burrnesha counterparts. The two groups relied on many of the same themes. However, burrnesha saw their masculinity as an inherent part of who they were whereas community respondents positioned masculinity as the result of adverse circumstances

Civilian Oversight and Police Legitimacy in an Age of Conflict and Distrust

This dissertation explores the mechanisms by which civilian oversight of the police seeks to improve the accountability, transparency, trustworthiness, and, ultimately, the legitimacy of law enforcement. This exploration involves case studies of civilian oversight mechanisms in Los Angeles, New York City, and Kansas City. In the Kansas City case, I employed survey research and interviews to assess the attitudes and experiences of relevant actors. I found some evidence that civilian oversight can improve accountability, transparency, and trust. However, for oversight to produce the desired effects, citizen boards must have sufficient legal authority as well as appropriate staffing, budgets, and cooperation from police departments and unions. Unfortunately, such cooperation is not easily achieved

Safety Pays for Hispanic Employees, Company Owners, and Extension Professionals Active in Urban Agriculture Industries

The landscape industry and other urban agriculture industries are dangerous, and many of the workers in these industries are Hispanic. The financial, emotional, and social costs of workplace injuries are substantial. Extension personnel, business owners, and all workers benefit when safety trainings are held in Spanish. The impact, benefits, and ease of conducting safety trainings in Spanish for Hispanic workers in urban agriculture industries are discussed

Internal Languages of Finitely Complete (∞,1)(\infty, 1)-categories

We prove that the homotopy theory of Joyal's tribes is equivalent to that of fibration categories. As a consequence, we deduce a variant of the conjecture asserting that Martin-L\"of Type Theory with dependent sums and intensional identity types is the internal language of $(\infty, 1)$-categories with finite limits.Comment: 41 pages, minor revision

Antipredatory Escape Behaviors of Two Benthic Ctenophores in South Florida

Benthic ctenophores, members of the family Coeloplanidae (Order Platyctenida, Phylum Ctenophora) are more widespread and abundant in tropical and subtropical marine environments than formerly recognized. Coeloplanid ctenophores are members of the most speciose family of benthic ctenophores, with 33 recognized species of Coeloplana and one species of the genus Vallicula (Mills 1998). The majority of coeloplanids are ectosymbionts of algae and diverse benthic invertebrates (Matsumoto 1999, Alamaru et al. 2015). Hundreds to thousands of individuals can occupy preferred habitats in \u3c 1 m2 of substrate patches. Galt (1998) noted Vallicula multiformis inhabiting algae in Hawaii at population densities as high as 10,000 individuals m−2. Also, in South Florida Glynn et al. (2017) observed 100s of individuals of V. multiformis inhabiting macroalgae, and 1,000 to 1,500 individuals of Coeloplana waltoni on octocoral stems

Towards a better understanding of the benefits and risks of country food consumption using the case of walruses in Nunavik (Northern Quebec, Canada)

Food insecurity affects Inuit communities. One solution is to consume locally harvested foods, named country foods. However, some country foods are not eaten as often as before, and pressures including contaminants and environmental changes threaten the health of Arctic fauna, thus its suitability for local consumption. By combining Inuit Knowledge with laboratory data, our study assessed the benefits and risks of walrus consumption by Inuit in Nunavik, Québec, Canada. It aimed to increase understanding of: 1) the hunt of healthy Atlantic walruses (Odobenus rosmarus rosmarus); 2) the safe preparation of walruses; 3) the nutritional benefits and risks of consuming walruses. To do so, we interviewed 34 hunters and Elders from Nunavik. Levels of mercury, omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and selenium were evaluated from locally harvested walruses. Through the Nunavik Trichinellosis Prevention Program, a total of 755 Atlantic walrus samples, collected between 1994 and 2013, were tested for Trichinella nativa. Information on botulism was reviewed. While interviews informed on how to select healthy walruses and prepare them for consumption, laboratory analyses revealed that walruses had elevated levels of omega-3 fatty acids and selenium but low levels of mercury compared to some other wildlife. Only 3% of the 755 walruses were infected with T. nativa. Most walruses' infections were found within individuals from the South East Hudson Bay stock, where Inuit have thus decided to stop hunting since mid-2000s. Finally, although the number of outbreaks of trichinellosis related to the consumption of walruses has significantly reduced in Nunavik, botulism could continue to be an issue when igunaq (i.e. aged walrus) is not properly prepared. With the support of the Nunavik Trichinellosis Prevention Program and transmission of Inuit knowledge on igunaq preparation, the consumption of Atlantic walruses has the potential to help address issues related to food insecurity in Nunavik in the future

Analysing intervention programmes: barriers and success factors. A systematic review

The analyses of research into media literacy and digital skills (ML&DS) interventions presented in this report, offer valuable insights into the characteristics, challenges, and factors of success for these interventions in diverse contexts and for a range of outcomes