Category: Undergraduate Research Papers
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Recent scholarship on Weber’s ‘Time is Money’
Introduction The economic survival of the fittest is a product of the modern Western spirit of Capitalism, developed to ensure its own survival, and in turn has reshaped concepts of time, the purpose of life, community and social values, and cultural systems (Weber, 1905). The values inherent under the modern Capitalist system of the West,…
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Review: For Today I am A Boy: A Trans* Identity
Canadian writer Kim Fu became nationally acclaimed when she published her fictional novel ‘For Today I am a Boy’ in 2014 (Fu, K., 2016). Born in Vancouver, British Columbia she tells a tale of an only-son born into a Chinese Canadian family in rural Canada, whom all the while knows he should have been born a daughter (Fu, K., 2014). Upon…
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The poison in the gift: The problem with debt
The modern-day financial credit systems in North America and Chile closely resemble older forms of gift exchange, especially when considering the qualities inherent in all gift societies’ system of exchange. Mauss argues that all valuable objects in gift economies are due to its inherent ability to attach itself to persons, for example through identity or history (Graeber, 2001). However, Graeber affirms…
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Fragile ecosystems: The Indo-Burma Hotspot
Many islands of fragile ecosystems in a region are usually surrounded by a sea of humans requiring resources, thus creating a scenario where small populations and small home ranges become even smaller, making them inevitably vulnerable to extinction (Gibbs et al. 2008). What people value influences their choices, hence economic, political and sociological factors should all be taken into…
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The commodification of body parts as an exploitative practice that oppresses the poor
Introduction The corporate preying on body parts, and the lucrative market that has unfolded under its commodification, created a multi-billion-dollar trade industry that threatens the lives, social relationships and economic standings of those especially ill-equipped to bear them (Sharp 2006). This paper investigates the impact of transplant tourism on the most desperate individuals of poorer countries, by looking into…
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What makes Media credible?
The abundance of accessible information means that consumers have the opportunity and capability to navigate and obtain news information whenever and wherever they want (Peters and Broersma, 2013). This communication revolution has enabled billions of people to both consume and produce news information in an active and informal ideas-and-knowledge-exchange marketplace (Bertino and Matei, 2015). Though…
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Reflection: The relationship between economic growth and the health of societies
The idea of economic growth as central to development or the precursor for health, is fundamentally flawed. For example, globalization and the expansion of technology, especially where there are wage inequalities between different industries, has led to increases of income inequality (Birn et al. 2017). Rather than defaulting to mainstream approaches of disease control and…
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Analytical Review: Give A Man A Fish by James Ferguson
Analytical Review: Give A Man A Fish by James Ferguson Ferguson proposes the radical suggestion that the solution to the deprivation in southern Africa is the organization of a society that differs from contemporary liberal democratic thinking about politics and social provisioning (Ferguson 2015). Despite the many different interpretations, Ferguson agrees most with the concept…
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Microwear dental patterns as a proxy to consider when predicting the diet and ecology in Mammals
Introduction In using dental microwear analysis, researchers attempt to reconstruct the diet and ecology of extant animal species, as well as attempt to provide quantitative explanations as to why certain behaviours in nature are expressed in one group and not in another, despite occupying the same ecological niche. The transition from two-dimensional dental tools to…
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Political Art as a tactical innovation of 20th century social movements
This report addresses Scott’s description of Weapons of the Weak as apolitical (Scott, 1985), and instead argues that the intentional, quiet, largely individualistic and prolonged acts of defiance of the imagined communities of resistors to the dominant power, are forms of tactical innovation (McAdam, 1983). These acts are motivated by the consciousness of the powerless,…
April Marie Canillo 