Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Student Perspectives On Returning To In-Person Learning Modalities, Lance K. Tulloch

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Following the pandemic-induced shift in educational modalities from in-person to online, the calls for a return to “normalcy” or in-person learning guided institutional policy making and culture more broadly. This study is an initial step towards tracking and interrogating this shift and the artifacts brought into view at Western Washington University. A quantitative survey and two rounds of qualitative focus groups and interviews were performed in order to assess student perspectives on this transition or 'return' to in-person learning. The resulting code, FIRBO, calls attention to Folk Knowledge, Interaction, Resources, Barriers, and Openness. These themes highlight and interact with a …

Archaeological Photography: The United Kingdom, Madeline Scholten

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Archaeological photography is an interdisciplinary aspect of archaeological endeavors that is key in allowing archaeological finds to be accessible to a general audience. This facet is key in data collection and distribution within the field as it is to the general public.

Photography is something that people are exposed to, possibly even partaking in, on a daily basis, but photography goes a lot deeper than simply capturing a still image. The history of photography, and the ways photography has improved so many disciplines are things that are just as important as the camera itself, and yet not necessarily needed to …

Honoring The Gift: An Epistolary Exploration Of An Alternative Approach To Learning Grounded In Reciprocity And Gratitude, Tegan Keyes

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

In this project, I explore what it means to honor knowledge as a gift. This document includes a selection of letters I wrote to my teachers to express my gratitude to them, along with a written narrative in which I describe my vision of an alternative approach to undergraduate education that centers gratitude, reciprocity, and self-determination. This narrative weaves together lessons from emergence theory, Indigenous systems of education, and gift economies to tell a story of a life-sustaining education system that is grounded in the understanding that knowledge is a gift.

Linguae Biologiae: Biomedical Terminology And Its Real World Applications, Sydney Wong

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Interdisciplinary studies between Linguistics and STEM are lacking in current educational institutions, leading to the preconception that they are separate, unrelated fields. Medical fields in particular, however, utilize extensive jargon and terminology based on Greek and Latin roots. Understanding these roots can provide a more widespread understanding of the human body and conditions affecting it, which is relevant to every person at some point in their life. Currently, biomedical terminology courses are advertised and reserved almost exclusively for students in biomedical fields. Therefore, despite its practical relevance, instruction of this topic is largely inaccessible for the general population, which encompasses …

Digital Archaeology: Detection Of Archaeological Structures Using Convolutional Neural Networks On Aerial Lidar Data, Katie Larue

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Archaeology is a field that is mostly done by hand. Archaeologists explore remote and unknown areas of the world to find undiscovered civilizations that will give us any idea about how people lived in the past. To speed up this process, Airborne light detection and ranging or LiDAR systems have been used to great effect to speed up this processing. However, we still require domain experts to annotate this information to confirm structures. Deep learning has the potential to speed up this process and the following presentation is a basic overview of machine learning, popular types of deep learning models, …

Learning By Trowel And Error, Kayla Alvarado-Hogan

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

In this essay, I speak on how my time at Western Washington University allowed me the space to explore how my many interests interconnected with my Archaeology Major. From choosing Latin America as my preferred area of study to focusing on the methods of Indigenous and Community Archaeology, my experiences at Western helped me find the career goal of working towards an archaeology that won't repeat the wrongs of the past.

Gifted Genes: An Investigation Of College Student Perceptions Of Direct-To-Consumer Genetic Kits, Kate Amos

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

This study is based on a classroom-use only pilot survey of college student perceptions of direct-to-consumer genetic tests. These tests can provide information about an individual’s genealogy and ancestry, as well as their medical genetic profile and genetic risk factors. The survey was designed for ease-of-use using Qualtrics (Qualtrics 2022) and distributed using anonymous links and a QR code. A total of forty complete responses were recorded during the twenty-two days the survey remained open, which were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Respondents were mainly in their late teens to early twenties, just over half identified as female, and almost three-quarters …

The Evolution Of 'Homo'-Nity: An A To Z From Erectus To Sapiens, Hailee Desrosier

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Androids and humans have lived alongside each other for a couple of centuries. However, in the 27th century, the United States began planning a contingency plan in case the androids decided to usurp the humans’ rightful place at the top of the food chain. Annie, a student in college, learned one day that what her government had taught her may not be the whole truth—it may not even be the best course of action. Determined to find a way to right that wrong, she enlisted the help of two professors to travel with her throughout time in order to save …

Queering The Birth Experience: Documenting Queer Individuals' Labor & Delivery Experiences, Caitlin Laura Jessica Millard

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

This research developed as a qualitative analysis of the experiences of queer individuals who have given birth in Washington State. Until recently, there has been little literature documenting the pregnancy and birth experience of transmasculine and nonbinary individuals, making this a unique project. Pregnancy and Birth are highly feminized and associated with womanhood, leaving pregnant people who do not fall under those designations marginalized. This study utilized grounded theory to analyze interviews to gain insight into the themes that emerged from the experiences of two queer individuals and how their experiences could have better affirmed their identities. The result of …

Tattooing Antiquity, Symbolism, And Practice In Early Cultures, Kate Hawken

Anthropology Department Scholars Week

As one of the most permanent markings of culture etched into human skin, tattooing provides a unique view into the beliefs and practices of the human species. Tattooing has existed throughout human history, but it can be difficult to establish its true purpose and antiquity within early cultures. This is due in part to biological degradation and misclassification of the material implements of tattooing, as well as the scarcity of tattooed physical human remains. Archeological context and the identification of possible material artifacts associated with tattooing, along with the examination (or re-examination) of physical human remains for evidence of tattooing, …

The Interdisciplinary Study Of Genetically Modified Salmon And Their Effects On The Environment And Indigenous Communities, Victoria Fair, Kaydee Mittleider

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

This project is an interdisciplinary view of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), specifically GMO salmon, through a biological, anthropological, and economic lens. The interconnection of these disciplines is shown through looking at GMO salmon and aquaculture effects on the Lummi Nation and the environment, while taking a close look at the first company to be approved for GMO salmon for human consumption that occurred in 2015 and the processes that are involved for approval of GMOs. The essay, through a biological lens, will explore the importance of salmon and their role in the ecosystem. Through an anthropological lens a discussion of …

Taglish: A Future Filipino-English Creole?, Doris T. Manglicmot

Anthropology Department Scholars Week

With the rapid globalization of the Philippines, exacerbated by the colonial mentality that those who speak English are smarter and better, more and more Filipinos are favoring English over their native dialect. With the above in mind, I became curious if there was a possibility that Tagalog will disappear in fifty to one hundred years if this trend continues. As I gathered data, read ethnographic works and research, I have found that Tagalog is not disappearing; it is giving birth to a creole language: Taglish. The Philippine historical and political past is tumultuous. Having been subjected to colonization for hundreds …

Human Origins: An Infocomic, Jocelyn Grant

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

Perceptions of anthropology and especially human origins are skewed in the public consciousness, in part due to pop culture and in part due to longstanding misleading visual communication. This project is one experimental attempt to bridge the gap between anthropology education and the public through the application of design and design intentionality. With the book itself being currently unfinished, this project is equally an examination of the process of creating such a work and the visual choices the author made in pursuit of the project’s ideals.

A Mixed-Methods Systematic Review Of The Impacts Of Coronavirus On Society And Culture, Yeon Jung Yu, Young Su Park, Allison Keller, Jin-Won Noh, Jiho Cha

Anthropology Faculty and Staff Publications

Little is understood of the social and cultural effects of coronaviruses such as coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS-CoV). This systematic review aims to synthesize existing findings (both qualitative and quantitative) that focus on the social and cultural impacts of coronaviruses in order to gain a better understanding of the COVID-19 pandemic. Utilizing a predetermined search strategy, we searched CINAHL, PsycINFO, PubMed, and Web of Science to identify existing (qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods) studies pertaining to the coronavirus infections and their intersection with societies and cultures. A narrative synthesis approach was …

Technological Bodies, Serena Riley

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

The human body: a vessel of health, of life, of expression. Our bodies house systems of complex behaviors, chemical reactions, and intricate biology beyond human comprehension. Internal and external bodily systems allow us to not only survive, but also allow us to perceive the world in our own unique ways. We are stimulated by various external forces; by nature, by modern technological advancements, by other’s physical forms. Modern society is full of increasingly unattainable societal expectations and rapidly changing technological advances that impact the ways we view and change ourselves, both physically and mentally. As the world continues to advance …

Learning To Fish Together: Imperialism And Hope In International Volunteer Service, Sadie De Luca

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

An anthropological look at (neo)imperial frameworks of international volunteering, and at new directions for cross-cultural understanding and justice. This paper seeks to investigate many questions. For instance, since the majority of international volunteer organizations appear to be based in previously-colonizing countries in the “Global North,” mainly with aims to provide humanitarian aid in previously-colonized countries in the “Global South,” how does that preexisting history and relationship impact “humanitarian actions,” in intent, practice, and consequences? Additionally, in acknowledging this history and potential relationship, is it possible for an international volunteer organization to exist outside of Empire, or are they inseparable? And …

The Eastern European Fertility Crisis, Sebastian Dominic Zgirski

Anthropology Department Scholars Week

The Eastern European Fertility Crisis by Sebastian D. Zgirski

In the years following the 1989 collapse of communism in Eastern and Central Europe, demographers noticed a sharp decline in total fertility rates in many of the countries of the region. While this trend is consistent with a general worldwide trend, it does seem to be even more pronounced in the region, with many countries having fertility rates significantly below replacement. This puzzled demographers as in previous years the region was considered to have some of the highest fertility rates in Europe. Additionally, there is worry that with fertility rates below …

A Review Of The Mandible, Emily Hill

Anthropology Department Scholars Week

A Review of The Mandible by Emily Hill

The mandible is one of the 22 bones in the human skull. This paper aims to encapsulate the basic features of the human mandible while also addressing the evolution and morphological mandibular variation between mammals. It also aims to address the role that anthropology and all its sub-disciplines has played in the exploitation and erasure of Indigenous peoples. There must be a significant push to decolonize the field of osteology. The mandible is useful for forensic applications such as post-mortem identification. In a rapidly expanding technological world, new ways of studying the …

Left In The Dust: How Staff At River Heights Assisted Living Facility Adjusts To Change And Covid-19, Victoria Hill

Anthropology Department Scholars Week

“Left in the Dust: How Staff at River Heights Assisted Living Facility Adjusts to Change and COVID-19”, by Victoria Hill

In this study, the Housekeeping and Caregiving Departments at River Heights Assisted Living Facility in Bellingham are being investigated. The initial research was aimed at understanding how the lax regulations of the Housekeeping Department affected its capacity to complete necessary job duties. Collected testimony pointed to the conclusion that specific individuals within the department proved to be problematic which resulted in the overall quality of work to stray from facility standards. Since the COVID-19 outbreak, the employees at this facility …

Is The Risk Worth It?, Porter Mcmichael

WWU Honors College Senior Projects

This is a video ethnography that includes audio from interviews with alpine climbers and footage from first ascents in the North Cascades. The topic focuses on risk, why the risk is worth it, how they come to terms with increased risk, and how they think about death. The goal of this project is to expand the understanding of how risk is approached by climbers who are pushing the limits of their mortality. The big takeaways of how climbers justify risk can be applied to everyday life and the decisions we make.

Barriers And Facilitators To Adaptive Sports On College Campuses, Lisa Osadchuk, Sean Bruna

Anthropology Department Scholars Week

Barriers and Facilitators to Adaptive Sports on College Campuses by Lisa Osadchuk and Sean Bruna

This research examines scholarly literature regarding attitudes and behaviors related to adaptive sporting events. A literature review was conducted in anthropology, disability studies, and other databases using key terms such as disability, higher education, and adaptive sports. Articles were reviewed and categorized into three areas: anthropological perspectives, institutional challenges, and participant experiences. This review sheds new light into how adaptive sports can create inclusion and integration in the postsecondary environment for students with disabilities, while also highlighting changing attitudes of those students from their peers, …

Precarious Moral Economy: Female Sex Workers In Post-Socialist China, Yeon Jung Yu

Anthropology Faculty and Staff Publications

This article examines what I describe as a “fleeting moral economy,” a system of culturally shared mores formed among migrant women who are engaging in illegal and stigmatized activities in urban areas. I suggest that the rationale or norm for the particular value of reciprocity varies not only by the complexity of a society or a culture, but also varies due to specific networks or communities depending on their particular circumstances, especially level of resource needs. This short communication is the product of my 27 months of ethnographic field work in post-reform southern China.

Computed Tomography Of The Mandibles Of A Stranded Offshore Killer Whale (Orcinus Orca), Karisa N. Tang, J. N. Winer, Tori L. Mcklveen, Michael A. Etnier, L. Legendre, M. Haulena, Martha Ann Delaney, Joseph K. Gaydos

Anthropology Faculty and Staff Publications

A mature, adult female, offshore killer whale (Orcinus orca) was stranded deceased in Portage Bay, Alaska, in October 2015. Full necropsy examination with histopathology was performed. Consistent with previous studies of offshore killer whales, and thought to be a result of their unique elasmobranch diet, all the teeth were significantly abraded and almost flush with the gingival margin. Age was estimated at 30–35 years based on annuli and growth arrest lines in a remaining tooth. The dentate portion of the mandibles were excised en bloc and frozen until imaging could be completed. Radiography and computed tomography revealed …

Impacts Of Resource Fluctuations And Recurrent Tsunamis On The Occupational History Of Čḯxwicən, A Salishan Village On The Southern Shore Of The Strait Of Juan De Fuca, Washington State, U.S.A., Ian Hutchinson, Virginia L. Butler, Sarah K. Campbell, Sarah L. Sterling, Michael A. Etnier, Kristine M. Bovy

Anthropology Faculty and Staff Publications

A summed probability density function (spdf), generated from the catalog of 101 radiocarbon ages on wood and charcoal from the Čḯxwicən archaeological site (Washington State, USA), serves as a proxy for the site's occupational history over the last 2500 years. Significant differences between spdfs derived from a null model of population growth (a bootstrapped logistic equation) and the observed index suggest relatively less cultural activity at Čḯxwicən between about 1950–1750 cal BP, 1150–950 cal BP, and 650 to 550 cal BP; and increased activity between about 1350–1250 cal BP and 550–500 cal BP. Peaks in the Čḯxwicən spdf are closely …

Exploring Ecodynamics Of Coastal Foragers Using Integrated Faunal Records From Čḯxwicən Village (Strait Of Juan De Fuca, Washington, U.S.A.), Virginia L. Butler, Sarah K. Campbell, Kristine M. Bovy, Michael A. Etnier

Anthropology Faculty and Staff Publications

Extensive 2004 excavation of Čḯxwicən (pronounced ch-WHEET-son), traditional home of the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe in northwest Washington State, U.S.A., documented human occupation spanning the last 2700 years with fine geo-stratigraphic control and 102 radiocarbon samples. Remains of multiple plankhouses were documented. Occupation spans large-magnitude earthquakes, periods of climate change, and change in nearshore habitat. Our project began in 2012 as a case study to explore the value of human ecodynamics in explaining change and stability in human-animal relationships on the Northwest Coast through analysis of faunal and geo-archaeological records. Field sampling was explicitly designed to allow for integration …

Using Bone Fragmentation Records To Investigate Coastal Human Ecodynamics: A Case Study From Čḯxwicən (Washington State, Usa), Kristine M. Bovy, Michael A. Etnier, Virginia L. Butler, Sarah K. Campbell, Jennie Deo Shaw

Anthropology Faculty and Staff Publications

Coastal shell middens are known for their generally excellent preservation and abundant identifiable faunal remains, including delicate fish and bird bones that are often rare or poorly preserved at non-shell midden sites. Thus, when we began our human ecodynamics research project focused on the fauna from Čḯxwicən (45CA523, pronounced ch-WHEET-son), a large ancestral village of the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, located on the shore of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Port Angeles, Washington (USA), we anticipated generally high levels of bone identifiability. We quickly realized that the mammal bones were more fragmented and less …

Thečḯxwicən Project Of Northwest Washington State, U.S.A.: Opportunity Lost, Opportunity Found, Virginia L. Butler, Kristine M. Bovy, Sarah K. Campbell, Michael A. Etnier, Sarah L. Sterling

Anthropology Faculty and Staff Publications

Čḯxwicən (pronounced ch-WHEET-son) is a 2700 year-old ancestral village of the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe (LEKT), located on the northwest coast of Washington State, U.S.A. The Čḯxwicən project has scientific values that broadly contribute to research in human ecodynamics and maritime foragers, given the scale of the project, excavation methods, and enormous quantities of faunal materials recovered. The village holds great significance to the LEKT as their traditional village, which includes a sacred burial ground. The project began under challenging circumstances, when the village was inadvertently encountered during a construction project, incurring huge political, social and financial costs. Commitment by …

Human Ecodynamics: A Perspective For The Study Of Long-Term Change In Socioecological Systems, Ben Fitzhugh, Virginia L. Butler, Kristine M. Bovy, Michael A. Etnier

Anthropology Faculty and Staff Publications

Human ecodynamics (H.E.) refers to processes of stability, resilience, and change in socio-ecological relationships or systems. H.E. research involves interdisciplinary study of the human condition as it affects and is affected by the rest of the non-human world. In this paper, we review the intellectual history of the human ecodynamics concept over the past several decades, as it has emerged out of classical ecology, anthropology, behavioral ecology, resilience theory, historical ecology, and related fields, especially with respect to the study of long-term socioecological change. Those who study human ecodynamics reject the notion that humans should be considered external …

Building A Landscape History And Occupational Chronology At Čḯxwicən, A Coastal Village On The Strait Of Juan De Fuca, Washington State, U.S.A, Sarah K. Campbell, Sarah L. Sterling, Dennis E. Lewarch

Anthropology Faculty and Staff Publications

Geoarchaeological analysis at Čḯx^wicən, an ancestral Klallam village near Port Angeles in northwestern Washington State, U.S.A., highlights the resilience of coastal foragers and their connection to place. Ancestral Klallam peoples occupied ever-changing beach and spit landforms growing within the shelter of Ediz Hook on the Strait of Juan de Fuca (SJDF) for 2700 years. Geoarchaeological methods were employed to define seven chronostratigraphic zones that chronologically structure the cultural deposits and allow them to be correlated to a sequence of beach development and to markers for tsunami that overtopped the site. Initial habitation prior to 1750 BP utilized a …

Using Machine Learning To Classify Extant Apes And Interpret The Dental Morphology Of The Chimpanzee-Human Last Common Ancestor, Tesla A. Monson, David W. Armitage, Leslea J. Hlusko

Anthropology Faculty and Staff Publications

Machine learning is a formidable tool for pattern recognition in large datasets. We developed and expanded on these methods, applying machine learning pattern recognition to a problem in paleoanthropology and evolution. For decades, paleontologists have used the chimpanzee as a model for the chimpanzee-human last common ancestor (LCA) because they are our closest living primate relative. Using a large sample of extant and extinct primates, we tested the hypothesis that machine learning methods can accurately classify extant apes based on dental data. We then used this classification tool to observe the affinities between extant apes and Miocene hominoids. We assessed …