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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons™
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Articles 1 - 30 of 37
Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Late Holocene Fire History Reconstruction Of Beaver Lake In The Northwest Lowlands Of The Olympic Peninsula, Grace Mckenney
Late Holocene Fire History Reconstruction Of Beaver Lake In The Northwest Lowlands Of The Olympic Peninsula, Grace Mckenney
All Master's Theses
Fire is an essential component of the landscapes and forests of the Pacific Northwest, including the temperate rainforests of the Olympic Peninsula. Previous fire history reconstructions from the peninsula show that fire return intervals varied throughout the postglacial period, primarily in response to climatic changes and corresponding shifts in vegetation. However, much less is known about the fire history of the low-elevation forests of the Olympic Peninsula and the role of cultural fire regimes in these environments. The purpose of this study was to reconstruct the paleoenvironmental history of a low-elevation study site, Beaver Lake, located in the northwestern part …
The Impact Of Subjective Risk Analysis On Real Estate Prices In The Nisqually Region Following The 2001 Nisqually Earthquake, Ryan Espedal
The Impact Of Subjective Risk Analysis On Real Estate Prices In The Nisqually Region Following The 2001 Nisqually Earthquake, Ryan Espedal
All Master's Theses
Earthquakes are an environmental hazard that pose great risks to communities almost every day. With earthquakes, the main cause of concern is physical destruction of property, however, there are also psychological effects that are researched and discussed much less. In 2001, the Nisqually area of western Washington experienced a substantial earthquake that produced minimal physical damage but caused a significant decrease in real estate prices. Studying single-family homes from 1986-2012, this research utilizes hedonic property models to measure the change in consumer’s subjective risk calculations with reference to real estate purchases after the Nisqually earthquake, measure the relationship between earthquake …
Hanford Nuclear Site Cultural Resource Gis Analysis: A Case Study Investigating Pre-Contact Travel Networks And Site And Artifact Locations, Luciana R. Chester
Hanford Nuclear Site Cultural Resource Gis Analysis: A Case Study Investigating Pre-Contact Travel Networks And Site And Artifact Locations, Luciana R. Chester
All Master's Theses
This thesis uses Global Information Systems (GIS) to investigate travel networks and site locations on the Hanford Nuclear Site. I construct a spatially referenced base map of historical travel routes, compare amounts of areas with and without archaeological survey, and analyze the location of archaeological sites. Government Land Office maps (GLO’s) mapped trails between1860’s and 1890’s. GIS analysis helps calculate relative frequencies and the densities of site and artifact types within 2 km buffers along the Columbia River corridor and trails. Collaboration between agencies and tribes facilitates consultation on all matters related to Hanford, and shared management of data covering …
Wilderness And The Geotag: Exploring The Claim That "Geotagging Ruins Nature" In The Alpine Lakes Wilderness, Wa, Mara Gans
All Master's Theses
This research explores the claim that “geotagging ruins nature” by quantifying and qualifying patterns in geotag use and visitors’ experiences in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness, in Washington, United States. Many have raised concerns that geotags increase recreational visitation to public lands, which subsequently contributes to negative resource impacts. Others, however, claim that geotagging has made the outdoors more accessible to less privileged communities and raise concerns that condemning geotags will perpetuate the exclusion of certain groups from outdoor recreation. This debate is studied within federally designated Wilderness, which is legally defined as “untrammeled by man,” a definition rooted in problematic …
Quantifying The Impact Of Remapping Floodplains On Residential Property Values In Snohomish County, Washington: A Hedonic Approach, Carson Joseph Risner
Quantifying The Impact Of Remapping Floodplains On Residential Property Values In Snohomish County, Washington: A Hedonic Approach, Carson Joseph Risner
All Master's Theses
Flood events are the most common and costly natural disasters. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) quantifies flood risks in the form of Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMS). These FIRMS delineate flood risks and are used to set flood insurance premiums. Changes in land use, the augmentation of the natural environment, is threatening the validity of the Nation’s FIRMS. Therefore, Congress has approved remapping programs to update these FIRMs ensuring that current flood risks are known. This remapping presents another issue, specifically for properties that are remapped into a flood zone. Current literature suggests that properties within flood zones are …
Evaluating The Spatial Trends And Statistical Determinants Of Residential Solar Uptake In Washington State, Caleb Michael Valko
Evaluating The Spatial Trends And Statistical Determinants Of Residential Solar Uptake In Washington State, Caleb Michael Valko
All Master's Theses
Washington State’s Clean Energy Transformation Act and other state and federal policies encouraging solar power make Washington a ripe candidate to examine growth, trends, and potential determinants or barriers to residential solar uptake. In this thesis, residential solar is cumulatively and annually mapped by county (2000-2019) and Census tract (2017-2019) across the state to identify trends over time and space. Each variable (income, age, households, race, education, solar insolation, cost of solar per watt) was isolated individually to analyze the relationship (if any) to the dependent variable (i.e., residential solar installations). The covariates are then combined into a multiple regression …
Transitioning To Legalization Of Cannabis In Washington State: Regulations’ Impacts On Commodification, Metabolism, & Labor Practices, Rob Loewen
All Master's Theses
This thesis provides an ethnographically grounded analysis of how existing regulations shape the legal recreational cannabis industry in Washington State. I examine the processes involved from seed to sale, including cultivation, processing, quality-control testing, and distribution of recreational cannabis. The goal of this research is to provide a greater understanding of how existing regulations were formed and how they shape social relations within the industry. This study seeks to answer the question: “How are the processes of production within the recreational cannabis industry, along with its labor force and its consumers, impacted by societal perceptions about cannabis, encapsulated within state …
Investigating The Spatial And Statistical Dimensions Of Mortuary Choice In The Historical-Period Old City Cemetery In Roslyn, Washington, Sarah Rain Hibdon
Investigating The Spatial And Statistical Dimensions Of Mortuary Choice In The Historical-Period Old City Cemetery In Roslyn, Washington, Sarah Rain Hibdon
All Master's Theses
The historical-period Old City Cemetery in Roslyn, Washington contains individuals from diverse social backgrounds and exhibits considerable variation in mortuary expression. As such, the Old City Cemetery offers a unique opportunity to explore potential differences in social group mortuary practices spatially and statistically. Using burials in Roslyn’s Old City Cemetery, this project developed a methods framework to assess mortuary practice through demographics, burial location, and monument/plot attributes. I tested correlations between demographics and mortuary expression using spatial-statistical cluster analysis (Ripley’s K-Function), spatial density analysis (Kernel Density Estimation), and non-spatial statistical significance assessments (Factor analysis and Pearson’s R), and identified …
Comparing Rusle Ls Calculation Methods Across Varying Dem Resolutions, Amanda Moody
Comparing Rusle Ls Calculation Methods Across Varying Dem Resolutions, Amanda Moody
All Master's Theses
Soil erosion is a global problem that reduces land productivity and causes environmental degradation. Soil erosion models, such as the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE), are used to estimate the severity and distribution of erosion. The topographic factor (LS), which combines slope length and angle, is an important part of RUSLE. This work compared two methods of L calculation, the grid cumulation (GC) and the contributing area (CA) methods, and two methods of S calculation, the neighborhood (NBR) and maximum downhill slope (MDS) methods. These were compared across digital elevation models (DEMs) of 1, 5, 10, and 30m resolutions. …
Sampling The Local Fare: Fishes At The Sam Israel House Pit (45gr76), Soap Lake, Washington, Adam Fruge
Sampling The Local Fare: Fishes At The Sam Israel House Pit (45gr76), Soap Lake, Washington, Adam Fruge
All Master's Theses
The Sam Israel site is a precontact archaeological complex with numerous fish bones at the north end of Soap Lake, Washington. Excavated in 1976, the fish remains recovered from there were never fully analyzed prior to this research. Since this inland Columbia Plateau site had thousands of fish bones, it contained untapped potential for our understanding of ancient local fish procurement. As such, I conducted a detailed analysis of 2,862 fish bone specimens from the Sam Israel House Pit locus to: study a larger sample of fish bones in greater detail than was done before; compare the distribution of fishes …
The Economic Impact Of Forest Harvest Practices On Washington State Park Visitation, Tyler Humphries
The Economic Impact Of Forest Harvest Practices On Washington State Park Visitation, Tyler Humphries
All Master's Theses
Washington State receives timber contributions from 34 out of its 39 counties, making it a top producer of timber in the United States. Because of the widespread and abundant number of harvests, many forests that society values are affected via diminished aesthetic appeal. Of these affected areas are Washington State Parks and the areas around them. This study seeks to estimate the economic impact that forest harvest practices have on the visitation of Washington State Parks. Through the use of GIS and fixed effect regression analysis, I estimate the impact that over 100,000 permitted forest cuts have on the visitation …
Holocene Fire History Reconstruction Of A Mid-Evaluation Mixed-Conifer Forest In The Eastern Cascades, Washington, Zoe Rushton
Holocene Fire History Reconstruction Of A Mid-Evaluation Mixed-Conifer Forest In The Eastern Cascades, Washington, Zoe Rushton
All Master's Theses
Fire histories of mid-elevation mixed-conifer forests (MEMC) are uncommon, particularly in the eastern Cascades of Washington. As a result, fire regimes and the effects of 20th century fire suppression in these forests are not well understood. In the summer of 2014 a 7.80 meter-long sediment core was extracted from Long Lake, located approximately 45 km west of Yakima, WA, which exists in a grand fir-dominated mixed-conifer forest. Fire activity for the Long Lake watershed was reconstructed using macroscopic charcoal analysis and pollen analysis was used to reconstruct vegetation change through time. Charcoal results show low fire activity in the early …
Terminal Illness: The Political Ecology And Political Economy Of The Millennium Bulk Coal Export Terminal, Longview, Wa, Paige Mcnorvell
Terminal Illness: The Political Ecology And Political Economy Of The Millennium Bulk Coal Export Terminal, Longview, Wa, Paige Mcnorvell
All Master's Theses
The declining demand for coal in the United States (U.S. Energy Information Administration [EIA] 2016) has led to a push by the coal industry for the construction of export terminals in the Pacific Northwest that would supply coal from the Powder River Basin of Montana and Wyoming to Asia. Though none of the proposed terminals have been approved for construction, the Millennium Bulk Coal Export Terminal in Longview, Washington remains a potentially viable option pending decisions in state and federal courts. In this thesis, I critically analyze the Millennium Bulk Terminal permitting process through a mixed-methods qualitative approach that uses …
Rock Imagery: A Cultural Landscape Analysis In The Yakima Uplands, Jessica Eliana Delgado-Morris
Rock Imagery: A Cultural Landscape Analysis In The Yakima Uplands, Jessica Eliana Delgado-Morris
All Master's Theses
This thesis evaluates the history of rock imagery documentation and the ways it can be improved moving forward. This study also explores the potentials of using viewshed analysis to examine the cultural landscape. The documentation and locational analysis support recommendations for future study and protection of rock image sites. There are currently twelve known rock imagery sites at the Joint Base Lewis-McChord - Yakima Training Center (YTC). Most of these sites have not been assessed for changes in integrity or damages in over twenty years. Prior documentation efforts have produced site forms with varying degrees of accuracy and completeness. During …
The Origin Of Dark Mats At The Sunrise Ridge Borrow Pit Site (45pi408) Mount Rainier National Park, Washington, Sean Stcherbinine
The Origin Of Dark Mats At The Sunrise Ridge Borrow Pit Site (45pi408) Mount Rainier National Park, Washington, Sean Stcherbinine
All Master's Theses
The Sunrise Ridge Borrow Pit Site is a precontact archaeological site located in the upland forest soils of Mount Rainier National Park. Site stratigraphy is complicated, consisting of tephra deposits from mostly known origins that are intercalated with dark sediments of unknown origin, referred to here as dark mats. Precontact occupation has been split previously into two components based on the ambiguous depositional history of the dark mats, notably their unknown parent material, depositional environment, and relationship with adjacent tephra strata. Stratigraphic samples from excavation units, features, and one off-site excavation unit was used to investigate these data gaps. Grain …
Water Demand, Adaptive Capacity, And Drought: An Analysis Of The Upper Klamath Basin, Oregon And California, Patricia Snyder
Water Demand, Adaptive Capacity, And Drought: An Analysis Of The Upper Klamath Basin, Oregon And California, Patricia Snyder
All Master's Theses
Freshwater demand and scarcity issues are an issue of global concern, in particular for the American West as global climate models suggest precipitation regime changes and an increase of drought. This research conducts a case-study of the Upper Klamath Basin, located in south-central Oregon and northern California, a microcosm of the arid and semi-arid American West that experienced an economically, socially, and ecologically impactful drought in the early 2000s. Through a mixture of qualitative and quantitative methods this research: 1) identifies key stakeholders, their goals and key policies; 2) conducts an adaptive capacity assessment of water management within the basin; …
Residential Solar In Washington State, Sam Pfeifer
Residential Solar In Washington State, Sam Pfeifer
All Master's Theses
Electricity generated through residential solar provides a low carbon source of electricity. However, diffusion of residential solar remains low across the United States. Growing this diffusion takes an understanding of localized uptake trends, which can focus policy and business efforts to help increase residential solar market penetration. This is the first research to investigate residential solar uptake in Washington State and to examine environmental education as a potential driver of residential solar uptake. Through a snapshot analysis which considers environmental, economic, education, and cultural variables the present research fills this gap. Triangulated results include mapping of variables, ordinary-least squares multiple …
Geomorphic Consequences Of Hydroelectricity And Transportation Development Near Celilo Falls, Lower Mid-Columbia River, Washington, Noah I. Oliver
Geomorphic Consequences Of Hydroelectricity And Transportation Development Near Celilo Falls, Lower Mid-Columbia River, Washington, Noah I. Oliver
All Master's Theses
Along the Columbia River, hundreds of miles of transportation infrastructure and over sixty hydroelectric dams have been constructed. This altered a rich cultural landscape with evidence of 10,000 years of continuous occupation. Researchers have attempted to understand the impacts of anthropogenic factors on the Columbia River, focusing on the riverine environment. However, the effect of transportation and hydroelectricity developments to eolian landforms on the floodplains and adjoining slopes have not been studied. Focusing on 2,800 acres near Celilo Falls, this study 1) establishes a baseline condition of eolian landforms from 1805 to 1900; 2) conducts an air photo increment analysis …
The Economic Impacts Of Forest Timber Methods In Washington State: A Hedonic Approach, Kaleb Javier
The Economic Impacts Of Forest Timber Methods In Washington State: A Hedonic Approach, Kaleb Javier
All Master's Theses
Washington State is one of the nation’s leaders in timber production. This paper establishes literature gap regarding the economic impacts of forest timber management methods. In this research, I employ a data set of 170,141 home sales across eleven counties of western Washington to estimate the impact that even-age and uneven-age forest cutting methods have on the local real-estate market. I estimate two sets of hedonic fixed effect regression models to control for omitted variable bias and spatial autocorrelation. The results show statistically significant impacts on property values for both cutting methods, adding important information for forest managers.
The Economic Impacts Of Cougars In Western Washington, Todd Stoothoff
The Economic Impacts Of Cougars In Western Washington, Todd Stoothoff
All Master's Theses
The combination of increasing cougar populations and the rising human population in Wildland-Urban Interface (WUI) areas suggests that the number of human-cougar encounters will rise as well. The increase in human-cougar encounters creates potential issues in regard to public safety, public policy, and management of predators. For the purposes of this research, I employ a housing dataset for eleven counties in western Washington in order to quantify the impacts of a confirmed cougar sighting on the sale value of a home. Specifically, I employ the hedonic real estate price model. Results show statistically significant impacts on housing values in the …
Flood Of Change: The Vanport Flood And Race Relations In Portland, Oregon, Michael James Hamberg
Flood Of Change: The Vanport Flood And Race Relations In Portland, Oregon, Michael James Hamberg
All Master's Theses
This thesis examines race relations amid dramatic social changes caused by the migration of African Americans and other Southerners into Portland, Oregon during World War II. The migrants lived in a housing project named Vanport and an exploration behind Portlanders’ negative opinion of newcomers will be undertaken. A history of African Americans in Oregon will open the paper and the analysis of events leading up to a 1948 flood that destroyed the housing project and resulted in a refugee and housing crisis will comprise the middle of the paper. Lastly, an examination of whether or not an improvement in race …
Fracked Perceptions: Changes In Perception Regarding Hydraulic Fracturing Among Residents Of Dimock, Pennsylvania., Brian Straniti
Fracked Perceptions: Changes In Perception Regarding Hydraulic Fracturing Among Residents Of Dimock, Pennsylvania., Brian Straniti
All Master's Theses
The primary objective of this research is to critically analyze changes in perceptions associated with hydraulic fracturing within Dimock, Pennsylvania. Residents of Dimock initially welcomed fracking in 2006 due to positive corporate rhetoric promoting economic benefits such as mineral rights acquisition, land-leasing, and local business development. However, economic benefits diminished as Dimock advanced through a boom period resulting in a current economic and ecological bust. Two months of data collection occurred in the summer of 2016 using semi-structured interviews, participant observation, and document analysis. Political economy of nature and political ecology theoretical frameworks were used to analyze and conceptualize the …
Why Now?: A Case Study Of Split Estate And Fracking Activity In Garfield County Colorado, Janessa Zucchetto
Why Now?: A Case Study Of Split Estate And Fracking Activity In Garfield County Colorado, Janessa Zucchetto
All Master's Theses
This research examines the socio-environmental impacts associated with hydraulic fracturing activities and issues of split estate in Battlement Mesa Planned Unit Development in Garfield County, CO. Data for this research was collected during 2 months in the summer of 2015 using a series of ethnographic research methods. In doing so, this research adopts political ecology and political economy of nature as theoretical frameworks to understand the interconnections that exist between local impacts of fracking activities and a national strategy to secure gas markets internationally. I argue that the socio-environmental impacts associated with hydraulic fracturing in Garfield County, CO are not …
Sustainable Safari Practices: Proximity To Wildlife, Educational Intervention And The Quality Of Experience, Ryan Devine Tarver
Sustainable Safari Practices: Proximity To Wildlife, Educational Intervention And The Quality Of Experience, Ryan Devine Tarver
All Master's Theses
This research examines the perceived quality of experience for safari tourists in relation to wildlife viewing proximities and the potential of educational interventions as a management strategy to mitigate adverse impacts of safari participant crowding. Crowding emanates from the safari tourist preferences to obtain close proximity to animals, particularly large mammals. Recognizing these preferences and associated impacts to animal behavior defined in previous research, we develop and deliver a survey instrument designed to measure the perceived quality of experience of the safari tourist while controlling for the viewing proximity variable. The survey instrument involves responding to stock photos selected to …
Everyday Farm Life In The Moxee Valley 1915-1950: Historical Ethnography, Terri Towner
Everyday Farm Life In The Moxee Valley 1915-1950: Historical Ethnography, Terri Towner
All Master's Theses
This study collected oral histories of those who lived or worked in the Moxee Valley, within the greater Yakima Valley of Washington State from 1915-1950. It documents and records the historical and cultural processes of farm life and its evolution for people living in this foremost hop-growing region of the United States. The larger goal is to characterize the community and social processes for use as primary source documentation to create historically accurate programs at the Gendron Hop Ranch-Living History Farm near Moxee. Nineteen participants were interviewed. Topics addressed in the study include farming in the Valley, the household, roles …
Land Use Variation On Mid-Columbia Plateau Upland And Lowland Archaeology Sites, Cathy J. Anderson
Land Use Variation On Mid-Columbia Plateau Upland And Lowland Archaeology Sites, Cathy J. Anderson
All Master's Theses
Investigators of the Mid-Plateau archaeological record have interpreted artifact deposits in their environmental settings as evidence of human land use labeled as site types. Land use models consisting of cultural and environmental variables were developed from those studies. Those variables were compared to a sample of archaeological records located in the upland eastSaddleMountainsand lowland Wenas Creek-Yakima River confluence. While much of the archaeological record fits expectations derived from cultural-environmental models of human land use developed during this research thesis, significant variation in the archaeological record remains unexplained.
Mapping And Radiocarbon Dating Archaic Period Monuments: La Alberca Structure Complex, Highland Michoacán, Mexico, Mark F. Steinkraus
Mapping And Radiocarbon Dating Archaic Period Monuments: La Alberca Structure Complex, Highland Michoacán, Mexico, Mark F. Steinkraus
All Master's Theses
Ongoing collaborations with the Comunidad Indígena de Nuevo San Juan Parangaricutiro hold great potential for exploring the origins of sedentary ranked communities that predate others in Mesoamerica by as much as one thousand years. Three carbon samples from the lower buried portions of the Central Structure at La Alberca Complex yield a date range of 7245-6470 cal B.P. The carbon sample laying on an upper tier of the feature yields a date of 4780 cal B.P. These dates suggest that the feature is 7000 to 6000 years old and may have been in use as recently as 5000 to 4000 …
Renewing Spokane: A Study Of Motivating Forces Behind Downtown Revitalization Projects, Kara K. Mowery
Renewing Spokane: A Study Of Motivating Forces Behind Downtown Revitalization Projects, Kara K. Mowery
All Master's Theses
This study examines the motivating forces behind downtown urban renewal projects through qualitative interview research. Using Spokane, Washington, as a case study, interviews were conducted with key players in downtown revitalization, including public administrators, private developers, and non-profit representatives. While neoliberal theory indicates that economic return serves as the primary motivation for investment, interview questions were designed to uncover whether additional motivating factors stimulate renewal work. Results indicate that those conducting renewal projects are primarily motivated by economics, but additionally cite heritage preservation values and community development as significant factors. Moreover, contemporary renewal projects are found to be small-scale endeavors, …
The Economic Impacts Of Forest Pathogens In Washington State: A Hedonic Approach, Logan Blair
The Economic Impacts Of Forest Pathogens In Washington State: A Hedonic Approach, Logan Blair
All Master's Theses
An increase in the incidence of forest pathogens in the Western US has created new resource management issues. In this research I employ a dataset of 170,141 housing transactions in twelve Western Washington counties to quantify the impacts of parasitic forest damage on the proxy real estate market. Specifically, I estimate a set of hedonic fixed effects models to control for omitted variable bias and spatial autocorrelation. Results show statistically significant impacts on property values in the presence of species specific and aggregate defoliation, suggesting new information for forestry management and policy.
Influence Of Landscape On Gene Differentiation In The American Pika (Ochotona Princeps) Within The Interstate 90 Snoqualmie Pass Corridor, Craig P. Fergus
Influence Of Landscape On Gene Differentiation In The American Pika (Ochotona Princeps) Within The Interstate 90 Snoqualmie Pass Corridor, Craig P. Fergus
All Master's Theses
Understanding the impact of different landscape features on the movement of genes among populations can be helpful in managing wildlife populations. Our study used GIS tools to compare genetic connectivity among 13 American pika (Ochotona princeps) habitat patches across an approximately 77 square km area adjacent to Interstate 90 near Snoqualmie Pass, WA. Tissue samples were collected from 85 individuals and genotyped at six microsatellite loci to determine genetic differentiation among each pair of patches. A variety of models estimating the influence of landscape factors on gene flow were then used to find “resistance scores” between each pair …