Digital Commons Network^™

Prehistoric Indigenous Foodways At A Northwest Florida Shell Midden, Layla M. Alvarado

OneUSF Undergraduate Research Conference

Florida archaeology can give us further understanding of the ecology and environmental changes that occurred in the past and could re-occur in the present. In this thesis, I examine one site left by the indigenous peoples from prehistoric northwest Florida between about 1500 to 500 years ago to try to understand the environmental conditions they lived in and their food waste. The Van Horn Creek shell midden site (8Fr744) is in the Apalachicola River valley region, about 50 miles west of Tallahassee. In my research, I studied cultural materials from Test Unit 1 at the site, which was excavated in …

Checkered Past: The Shifting Anthropological Collections Of The Field Museum, Helen Macwilliams

Symposium on Research and Creative Expression (SORCE)

The Field Museum of Chicago is a highly respected institution nationally and internationally with an important legacy in scientific, ethnographic, and anthropological history. The legacy of their anthropological collections, however, is currently being questioned and is in flux. The anthropological exhibition Alsdorf Hall of Northwest Coast and Arctic Peoples is a clear example of this. The shifting collection displayed and discourse of how the exhibition is presented is a historiographical artifact that illustrates the museum practices of the past transitioning into the museum practices of the present. I explore the history of the current exhibition, installed in 1983 that largely …

Honoring Survivors’ Wholeness: Recommendations For University Offices Of Wellness, Maeve Jillian King

GS4 Student Scholars Symposium

Rates of child abuse are nationally significant, especially after considering how much violence goes unreported. Many college students have experienced sexual violence prior to arriving on campus, where incidents of sexual victimization are prominent. With this in mind, how can university offices of wellness support survivors wherever they are in their journey of survivorship? Previous research rarely considers both realities of victimization, but displays large concerns surrounding survivor’s mental health and educational obtainment. Additionally peer and social support play significant roles in survivor outcomes. This interdisciplinary literature review examines current university practices, mental health realities, and impacts of culture on …

“The Real Guards Are The Jungle And The Sea”: The History Of Island Prisons As Landscapes Of Fear And Discipline For Migrants, Dissidents, And Others, From Devil’S Island To The Contemporary United States, Iliana Capozzoli

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

By the 1850s, France established the infamous “Devil’s Island” penal colony in tropical French Guiana, an isolating place of punishment described as “the dry guillotine,” where the commandant would declare, “the real guards here are the jungle and the sea.” Upon being "freed," convicts were required to stay and work to build the "colony." Decades later, France would later send Vietnamese and Algerian political dissidents to the prison, which remained open until 1938. The threat of being sentenced to offshore detention has endured. Refugees crossing the Mediterranean are kept by the European Union on island sites, while Australia has received …

The Cat, The Shoe, And The Bayonet: Kinship With Magically Concealed Items In A 19th Century Missoula Home, Logan E. Nickel

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

In 2016, UM faculty and students excavated a mummified cat, a girl's shoe, and a Civil War bayonet concealed within the structure of a late 19th century house. My research led me to discover that the intentional enclosure of certain objects considered to be magically protective into the walls or foundations of family dwellings is a longstanding practice found across the world, including in the northern European context from which the homeowners descended. Tracing the historical and archaeological record of so-called concealment or foundation rituals, I examined the continuities and changes in such practices from ancient northern European religions through …

Benefits And Challenges Of The Use Of Narrative Texts In Linguistic Analysis, Logan J. Sites

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

In this presentation, I consider some benefits and issues of the use of narrative texts for linguistic research. The discussion is framed by the analysis of the Séliš-Ql̓ispé suffix -m based on narratives transcribed by Hans Vogt in 1937. The stories were recounted by One-Eyed Tom and translated into English for Vogt by Joe Abrahamson. The data in this presentation is taken from Camp 2007 and Ward 2008, two interlinearizations (morpheme by morpheme analyses) of several of the Vogt texts. The analysis of -m provides an opportunity to demonstrate the usefulness of narratives in linguistic work, as Camp (2007) and …

The Future, And History Of Uzbek-Kyrgyz Relations In Kyrgyzstan, Luke J. Jensen

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

Kyrgyzstan was once hailed as Central Asia’s Island of Democracy, as one of the realms in which hope for a democratic post-Soviet world seemed brightest. Today Kyrgyzstan is near-forgotten, with next to no western media attention, significantly less economic support, and rampant internal problems. Kyrgyzstan today suffers from corruption, disastrous minority relations, and a generally high level of poverty. The focus of this paper is to examine how minority relations, primarily Uzbek-Kyrgyz, have deteriorated in Kyrgyzstan, and what can and should be done, politically, socially, and economically to help ease the tension in Kyrgyzstan. The primary points of focus for …

Lovecraftian Hybrids And Transgender Embodiment, Mari K. Newman

UM Graduate Student Research Conference (GradCon)

     While much of Howard Phillips Lovecraft’s oeuvre has been analyzed by queer theorists for homosexual metaphors within Lovecraft’s monsters, less argued is the subject of his hybrids mirroring transgender embodiment. I posit the rise of transgender identities in the Western mainstream and access to breakthrough gender-affirming care in the United States during Lovecraft’s life lend to a reading of his hybrids as embodying gender queerness. The proposed research is a literature review which draws upon interdisciplinary texts ranging from scholars in the social sciences—such as sociology and anthropology—to the hard sciences such as ecology and health sciences.

In this paper, …

Faith Over Fossils: How Creationist Deny The Authenticity Of Carbon Dating, Mason Black

Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium

My claim is that young-earth creationist groups, such as Answers in Genesis, deny the authenticity of radiometric dating by excluding any evidence that goes against their belief that the Earth is only a few thousand years old. I did this by looking at various articles made by Answers in Genesis to see what arguments are made and what information is left out.

A Literature Review Of Cultural Resource Management (Crm) Law, Matthew Glumac

A with Honors Projects

An academic poster on CRM law.

The Automation Age: Why Universal Basic Income May Be The Necessary Next Step To The U.S. Economy, Raiden Francisco

Undergraduate Symposium

No abstract provided.

Constrained Freedom: Economic Strain, Time Control, And Perceived Autonomy In Life, Lorena E. Black

High Impact Practices Student Showcase Spring 2026

Autonomy is often framed as an individual capacity rooted in personal choice, discipline, and self-determination, with dominant cultural narratives positioning freedom as something earned through effort and responsibility. This study challenges that assumption by examining autonomy as a socially structured and unequally distributed condition shaped by material and temporal constraints. Drawing on classical and contemporary sociological frameworks—including Marx’s analysis of labor and material dependence, Weber’s account of disciplined rationality, and Antonio Gramsci’s concept of cultural hegemony—this research positions perceived autonomy as an outcome produced through economic and institutional arrangements rather than solely through individual will. While existing literature has extensively …

Tracing Evolution Through Teeth: Dental Morphology Of The Lagoa Santa Fossil Population, Kelsey Aaron

High Impact Practices Student Showcase Spring 2026

This study examines dental morphological variation among early South American populations, focusing on individuals from the Lagoa Santa region and coastal shellmound (sambaqui) populations in Brazil. Dental nonmetric traits were recorded using the Arizona State University Dental Anthropology System (ASUDAS), a standardized method for assessing crown and root morphology across populations (Qaqa et al., 2026). These traits are highly heritable and largely unaffected by environmental pressures, making them valuable for reconstructing population history, gene flow, and ancestry (Tinoco et al., 2016). Comparative analysis incorporates global dental variation and reference patterns associated with archaic hominins, including Neanderthals. Traits such as increased …

Investigating Ecomorphology Of Cervidae Astragli Using Geometric Morphometrics, Carly Wisner

Student Research and Creative Activity Expo

This study explores the ecomorphology of Cervidae astragali using three-dimensional geometric morphometric analyses.

Building A Digital Decolonial Archive, Isabella Paluzzi Steele, Sofia Peralta

Undergraduate Research and Engagement Symposium

Our research was to aid in developing an archive for a Women Studies and Gender Studies and Anthropology course on decolonization.

We studied Cherrie Moraga, Gloria Anzaldua, Anibal Quijano, and Enrique Dussel to first frame our research. Then, we visited the Field Museum, the National Museum of Mexican Art, the American Indian Center, and the Newberry Library in Chicago to see if these institutions are effectively decolonizing.

With this project, we aimed to create an archive that would address how Eurocentric ideas ignore the history of the countries they exploited, recognize how colonizer nation hypocrisy is dangerous and creates the …

Addressing Violent Extremism And Implicit Bias: Mindbridge’S Neuroscientific And Psychological Approach, Adriana Lovric, Sarah Lockridge

Thinking Matters Symposium

Violence has long been embedded in American culture and history, often linked to ideological struggles, racial oppression, and religious conflicts (Mayer et al.,2024). In recent years, violent extremism—characterized by the use or threat of violence to advance ideological, political, or social agendas—has surged, particularly in attacks on government institutions, infrastructure, and marginalized communities (Mayer et al.,2024). At the same time, implicit biases—unconscious prejudices—continue to reinforce societal inequalities across race, gender, and class, often manifesting as micro-inequities that have a cumulative impact (Brennan,2014). According to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program (2020), 138 law enforcement agencies reported 8,263 hate crime …

Year Of The Snake: A Children's Lunar New Year In Missoula, Luke J. Jensen

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

The focus of this project is to analyze and examine the process of child culture acquisition and engagement. Both are being examined through participant observation during a children’s Lunar New Year event at Missoula public library. The author examines the participation, ease of access and focus on children's activities observed at the event and compares them to child language acquisition, as a means of examining culture shock. With more time the author would like to interview organizers of the event, and examine immersion language learning practices in Missoula, especially with young people, but both fell outside of the scope of …

An Exploration Of Zoroastrian Influence On Early Judaism, Luke J. Jensen

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

The focus of this project and presentation is examining and describing the influence and appearance of Zoroastrian and Rigvedic traits in neighboring religions, predominantly Judaism. Zoroastrians are currently culturally underrepresented in the historical record, despite their proximity and influence on nearby Abrahamic faiths as well as ancient and classical middle eastern culture. This fact makes them appealing to do research on, procure information on, and spread information about. By reading and analyzing Zoroastrian texts, primarily the Gathas, the Venidad and the Yasht, Orthodox Jewish texts such as The Book of Esther, The Book of Ezekiel, The Book of Ezra, and …

Field Notes From The Crumbling Ivory Tower, Emily Van Hoose

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

Gone is the era of academic neutrality as American culture continues to grow and ride the turbulent waters of its political societal pillars. The saying “leave your baggage at the door” is not only incredibly outdated, but for anthropology students at UM it is impossible. The worries and curiosities of our students do not inexplicably stop when they open the doors to the social science building. Their concerns follow them not only into the classroom, but into their career prospects as well. Anthropology classes do not have the luxury of neutrality that other disciplines like mathematics, chemistry, and physics are …

Consuming The Tropics In The 'Age Of The Insect': Imperial Imaginaries Of Frontier Ecologies In Spectacular Expositions, Adria Capozzoli

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

By surveying representations of 'exotic' landscapes and 'monstrous' other-than-human creatures of the tropics featured in exhibits of the fin de siecle and early interwar period, including visual displays and descriptive language at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago (1893) and the Panama-Pacific International Exposition (PPIE) in San Francisco (1915), this project examines tropical frontiers as conceived in the geographical imaginaries of the United States to explore how metropolitan audiences related to those environments encountered at the imperial periphery. Between 1890 and 1920, were the infamously exaggerated characterizations of nineteenth-century spectacle tempered by the advent of twentieth-century cultural and scientific discourses, …

Bronze And Bulletin Boards: Indigenous Language In Formal And Informal Campus Space, Adria Capozzoli

University of Montana Conference on Undergraduate Research (UMCUR)

What histories and lives are acknowledged in officially sanctioned institutional memorials and place-names? In recent years, academic institutions in the United States and other Anglophone nations have installed a significant amount of Indigenous-language signage on their campuses. Administrators at the University of Montana have installed a number of signs in Indigenous languages, including an intended new "centerpiece" monument at the Oval due to be installed in 2025. Also in 2025, UM is simultaneously finalizing installation of an expensive three-meter-tall sign at a new "gateway" to campus. This project seeks to inquire where, and in what contexts, acknowledgement of Indigenous languages …

What Happens In The Shadows: Racial Hierarchy And The Policing Of People Of Color, Nanditha Vinod

English and Creative Writing Presentations

In this presentation, I examine the relationship between methods used in graphic memoirs by illustrators to depict and critique political and social inequalities. I specifically analyze the graphic memoir Guantanamo Kid by Alexandre Franc and Jérôme Tubiana, which depicts the brutal experience of Mohammed El-Gharani, who was falsely imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay as a child. I argue that the illustrators manipulate the composition of lights and shadows to emphasize racial hierarchy and the inherent power imbalance between people of color and white bodies that severely restrict agency. The usage of lights and shadows, often overlooked in visual arts, heightens the …

Non-Aversive Social And Academic Interventions For Youth With Challenging Behavior, Tom Clees

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

Differential reinforcement procedures (DR) will be the focus of this presentation, including differential reinforcement of appropriate behavior that is alternative to (DRA), or incompatible with (DRI), targeted challenging behavior, and differential reinforcement of the absence of challenging behavior for specified intervals (DRO). In addition, combined strategies (DR with changing criteria and/or social skills instruction) will be presented. Novel applications will also be highlighted.

Targeting And Selecting Journals For Article Submissions: Library Resources And Impact Measures, Matt Torrence, Allison Symulevich

USF Libraries Faculty and Staff Publications

This workshop will provide an overview of journal metrics and rankings in all academic fields, including traditional impact measures from sources including the Web of Science (Impact Factor) and Scopus (CiteScore) databases. Additionally, general information will be offered regarding other additional academic impact databases and methods to maximize benefit of any information on journal, author, and subject area data points. Other impact measures will be presented, including Altmetrics tools. Presenters will introduce other topics on relevant author profile and archiving options for immediate and future use, including ORCiD and examples based on the USF Libraries’ Digital Commons repository.

A Critical Approach To Analyzing And Addressing Worldview-Based Cultural Conflict Between Indigenous Peoples And Western Science In Education And Research, Deborah H. Williams

Sabbatical Projects

Intercultural conflict exists in science education and research, I argue as a result of differences between the Western scientific worldview and the Indigenous worldview. Native Americans are the most underrepresented group in STEM, and this has been the case, in my personal experience for over two decades. Western science is not universal or acultural, Indigenous peoples have their own ways of knowing founded on different philosophical assumptions and recognizing metaphysical phenomena and explanations that are rejected by Western science and the positivist/post-positivist paradigm. Through the power of colonial privilege, scientists, science departments, and science disciplines have been able to erect …

Building Evidence-Based Pbs For Schools, Clinics And Communities, Tom Clees

Georgia Association for Positive Behavior Support Conference

Abstract

For students in both the general and adapted curriculum, low achievement, behavioral excesses and social skills deficits are predictive of each other (Gresham, 2016;). Too, an escalating cycle may lead to further antisocial responses, a decrease in learning outcomes, and exclusion from services for some (Kauffman, 2018). Related to these challenges, the successful application of positive behavior supports has been widely reported by schools, clinics, and community-based services. Although definitions of PBS, and the scope of these practices, vary depending on the reference point of those responsible for administration and application, there seems to be agreement that PBS practices …

Language Identity And Ownership Through Code-Switching Among Bilingual Maya-Spanish Undergraduate Students At An Intercultural-Bilingual-Education Bachelor’S Program, Felipe Acosta-Munoz

2024 Hispanic Linguistics Symposium

Intercultural Bilingual Education (IBE) is a paramount advancement for the cultural and linguistic rights for indigenous peoples across Latin America, including Mexico. Nonetheless, in this country, IBE in higher education has faced arduous challenges in its implementation. The minoritization of indigenous languages (ILs) in the educational model for intercultural universities and programs makes IBE a contested educational battlefield throughout Mexico regarding the relevance of ILs. This paper explains the sociolinguistic negotiation processes among Maya-Spanish bilingual students at the Maya Linguistics and Culture (MLC) program at the Universidad de Oriente. These negotiations provide the necessary data to understand students’ language ideologies …

Revisiting The "Old Ways": Re-Incorporating Oral Examinations Into Upper Division Courses, Stephen Vangeem

Empowering Teaching Excellence Conference

While some courses embrace Artificial Intelligence (AI) and even incorporate it into classwork and assignments, this presenter took the sudden prevalence of AI as an opportunity to pivot away from the traditional final term paper and revisit the European tradition of oral examinations as an end-of-semester Capstone. This presentation will outline one approach to gauging cumulative comprehension in the social sciences through oral examination

Courageous Student-Teacher Dialogue On Ai: Cultivating Environments Of Respect, Jared Colton, Clayton Brown, Beth Buyserie, Gabriele Ciciurkaite, Marta Halaczekiewicz, Jeannie Johnson

Empowering Teaching Excellence Conference

This interdisciplinary panel, representing five departments from the CHaSS AI Working Group, will discuss policies and pedagogical approaches for navigating uncertainties with generative AI challenges. This informational session highlights issues in relation to USU’s academic integrity policies and procedures, as well as students' rights and educational benefits. The session also focuses on creating productive learning conversations with students in order to cultivate productive AI use, prevent AI misuse, and respond with care when AI has been possibly misused. Our panelists will discuss the following questions:How can teachers frame classes' (and my pedagogy) to establish productive expectations around AI usage? What …

The Web Of Life - Volume 8

be Still

No abstract provided.