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Geometry And Art In Syrian Pearl Inlaid Furniture, Amanda Larsen, Dr. Cynthia Finlayson Sep 2013

Geometry And Art In Syrian Pearl Inlaid Furniture, Amanda Larsen, Dr. Cynthia Finlayson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

I used my ORCA grant to aid in my research of Syrian pearl inlaid furniture from the Ottoman era. The money paid for part of my plane ticket to Amman Jordan. From Amman, I accompanied Dr. Cynthia Finlayson to Damascus, Syria. I was with a small group of students. We each had separate research projects, but we also all were there to help with conservation, cataloging and display in the Azem Palace in Damascus.

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Ottoman And European Influence In The Ninteenth-Century Bridal Collection Of The Azem Palace, Damascus, Syria, Julianne Parker Sep 2013

Ottoman And European Influence In The Ninteenth-Century Bridal Collection Of The Azem Palace, Damascus, Syria, Julianne Parker

Journal of Undergraduate Research

In 1829, Ottoman Emperor Mahmud II issued a proclamation mandating that all men under his rule must replace their traditional clothing with the “modern” European-style jacket and trousers.1 The interest and appeal of Europe had never been so publicly sanctioned in Ottoman history. The western influence was perhaps most greatly felt in outlying provinces like Damascus, whose government had long been semi-autonomous under local governors, including the Azem family, residents of the Azem Palace. As European entrepreneurs, statesmen, and tourists continued to visit Damascus, local Damascenes inevitably began to imitate these exotic foreigners. Fashion was one of the easiest ways …

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The Environmental Impact Of Culture: The Anasazi Farmers And The Anglo Farmers/Ranchers In Southeastern Utah, David N. Hanton, Dr. Ray T. Matheny Sep 2013

The Environmental Impact Of Culture: The Anasazi Farmers And The Anglo Farmers/Ranchers In Southeastern Utah, David N. Hanton, Dr. Ray T. Matheny

Journal of Undergraduate Research

In the 1880’s the Texas cattle barons brought thousands of sheep and cattle to Utah to exploit its grasslands.1 Some of them made their way to Montezuma’s Canyon. The purpose of my research in Montezuma’s Canyon was to determine if there is a correlation between the commencement of farming and herding and the acceleration of erosion in the past 120 years.

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Phylogenetic Analyses Of The Geographic Origin Of Stlv-I And Htlv-I With Extensive Sequence Sampling: Evidence For An African Origin With Subsequent Separate Viral Evolution In Asia And Africa, Chris R. Kelsey, Dr. Keith A. Crandall Sep 2013

Phylogenetic Analyses Of The Geographic Origin Of Stlv-I And Htlv-I With Extensive Sequence Sampling: Evidence For An African Origin With Subsequent Separate Viral Evolution In Asia And Africa, Chris R. Kelsey, Dr. Keith A. Crandall

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Human T-cell lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I) is a retrovirus believed to be the etiologic agent of adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATL) and HTLV-I -associated myelopathy/ tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP). HTLV-I is a member of a related group of retroviruses, known collectively as primate T-cell lymphotropic viruses (PTLV) which also include human T-cell lymphotropic virus type II (HTLV-II) and the simian T-cell lymphotropic virus type I (STLV-I). In an attempt to better understand phylogenetic relationships among geographically diverse strains of PTLV-I, and in the process gain more insight into the geographic origin of STLV-I and HTLV-I, a comprehensive study involving multiple …

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Pregnancy, Birth, And The Conceptualization Of Personhood Among The Asante Of Western Ghana, Rebekah Olsen, Dr. William Olsen Sep 2013

Pregnancy, Birth, And The Conceptualization Of Personhood Among The Asante Of Western Ghana, Rebekah Olsen, Dr. William Olsen

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Giving birth in Mampong, Ghana is a ritualized process of behavior involving not only the mother and her child, but also many different segments of society. Upon giving birth, a mother’s life will change considerably and her role in society will transform radically upon the safe delivery of her infant. She will become initiated into a new culture of motherhood and will have various decisions to make concerning the birth of her child. Throughout this project, I kept a double focus. First, I attempted to record some of the birthing options available to mothers in rural Ghana. Next, I also …

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The Use Of 13c/12c And 15n/14n Stable Isotope Ratio Analysis To Determine Carnivory Level In Gender Identified Free-Ranging Utah American Black Bears (Ursus Americanus), Eric Olsen, Beverly Roeder Sep 2013

The Use Of 13c/12c And 15n/14n Stable Isotope Ratio Analysis To Determine Carnivory Level In Gender Identified Free-Ranging Utah American Black Bears (Ursus Americanus), Eric Olsen, Beverly Roeder

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Stable isotope analysis of carbon (13C/12C or d13C) and nitrogen (15N/14N or d15N) has been shown to provide a more accurate estimate of overall diet in various mammalian species (Sponheimer et al. 2003). This technique was used to determine the amount of vegetation and animal protein in the nutritional uptake of free ranging Utah black bears (Ursus americanus). Samples were obtained from harvested bears taken during the fall 2005 and spring 2006 hunt from various regions of Utah via the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources (UDWR). Gender was reported by the hunters at time of harvest. Age was determined by …

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The Effects Of Maternal Adrenalectomy On The Sexual Behavior Of Male Rat Offspring, David Eliason, Dr. Reuben W. Rhees Sep 2013

The Effects Of Maternal Adrenalectomy On The Sexual Behavior Of Male Rat Offspring, David Eliason, Dr. Reuben W. Rhees

Journal of Undergraduate Research

It has been shown that several structures in the mammalian brain exhibit differences between males and females. These variations are referred to as sexually dimorphic areas. In recent years, study of the brain has demonstrated the complex interconnections between the sexual behavior of individuals and the neurological functions of the brain. It is now considered appropriate to refer to the brain as a part of the reproductive system in reference to the determining factor it plays in development of the sexual organs and in regulating the behavior of the organism. The mammalian fetus originally possesses the potential to become either …

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What Is In Your Picnic Basket, Hailey Billings, Dr. Beverley Roeder Sep 2013

What Is In Your Picnic Basket, Hailey Billings, Dr. Beverley Roeder

Journal of Undergraduate Research

My project made inroads in the field of wild animal nutrition using stable isotope ratios to reconstruct diets in free ranging American Black Bears. This information will help develop diets that improve health and reproduction, and aid prevention of diseases and ailments such as obesity, arthritis, allergies and nutritional deficiencies, in bears maintained in zoos, and artificial habitats.

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Transformation Of Urban Space: Somali Bantu Women Refugees And The Lynn Community Health Center, April Reynosa, Dr. Julie Hartly Sep 2013

Transformation Of Urban Space: Somali Bantu Women Refugees And The Lynn Community Health Center, April Reynosa, Dr. Julie Hartly

Journal of Undergraduate Research

This study evolved out of my experiences as a volunteer under Project North Star, a literacy program headed by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) that serves refugee women from Somalia. From September of 2006 through December 2006 I worked as the Child Development Instructor for this program. While working in this role I investigated and gathered details of the Somali Bantu women’s daily experiences involving urban immigrant acculturation and assimilation.

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Education In Rural Mexico: What Stops Students?, Jared A. Wilkerson, Dr. Harold Miller Sep 2013

Education In Rural Mexico: What Stops Students?, Jared A. Wilkerson, Dr. Harold Miller

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Providing regular education in rural Mexico has been a focus for the Mexican government for the last few decades. Even twenty years ago, many teachers were quite unwilling to visit rural areas, where the facilities and transportation were far under par. By the beginning of this decade, however, kindergarten and elementary schools had reached even the most remote parts of the country, with middle schools and high schools increasingly accessible to all potential students. Seeing the still-low rates of rural student matriculation, and especially noting the extremely low rates of male education, I wondered what inhibited youth from finishing, or …

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Inventing Tradition: Changes In Local Basket-Making In Two Guatemalan Towns, Amy Maxwell, Dr. Ruth Toulson Sep 2013

Inventing Tradition: Changes In Local Basket-Making In Two Guatemalan Towns, Amy Maxwell, Dr. Ruth Toulson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Guatemala has a rich indigenous heritage which has attracted the attention of researchers for over 75 years. This culture includes 21 indigenous Maya language groups scattered throughout the country. The civil war ended ten years ago and since then, the country has been healing. As the country has welcomed progress, it has also welcomed tourists from around the globe who come for the culture or to study Spanish. In the face of so many national changes, the Mayan culture is shifting and adapting.

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Establishing An Ethical Entrepreneurship, Scott Hannay, Dr. David P. Crandall Sep 2013

Establishing An Ethical Entrepreneurship, Scott Hannay, Dr. David P. Crandall

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Today more than ever, people have a desire to reach out to help others—both internationally and domestically. Technology has brought the world’s problems to the living rooms of the more for-tunate. Unlimited options exist for attempting to mitigate the challenges of addressing hunger, malnutrition, poor education, poverty and inequality. I had the opportunity to research the feasi-bility of establishing an ethical entrepreneurship in a rural tribal village on the edge of the Sahara Desert in Morocco. My research revealed steps to be considered when creating an ethical entre-preneurship and the challenges that may be encountered in the process.

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Assessing Anasazi Mobility Through Ceramics, Alan B. Gelder, Dr. Joel C. Janetski Sep 2013

Assessing Anasazi Mobility Through Ceramics, Alan B. Gelder, Dr. Joel C. Janetski

Journal of Undergraduate Research

There are some compelling questions about variations in the subsistence patterns of the Anasazi that are still unanswered. It is possible that within the Escalante Valley of south-central Utah, the Anasazi practiced a more mobile lifestyle than is thought to be common—camping at some distance from their permanent settlements. Suggestive evidence comes from the ceramic remains of the archaeological site of North Creek Shelter (42GA5863). While the full analysis is incomplete, it appears that the Anasazi used this temporary site.

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Summary Of A Technological Analysis: A Coyotlatelco Phase Lithic Workshop At The Hacienda Metapec Apartment Complex, Teotihuacan, Shelby H. Saberon, Dr. John E. Clark Sep 2013

Summary Of A Technological Analysis: A Coyotlatelco Phase Lithic Workshop At The Hacienda Metapec Apartment Complex, Teotihuacan, Shelby H. Saberon, Dr. John E. Clark

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The outcome of being accepted for this grant, and the ensuing study that resulted, has become the beginning of a massive research project which merits great interest not only to the author, but to the field of MesoAmerican archaeology in general. In addition, my research from this project has become the foundation for a masters thesis which I will complete in the next year. Dr. Clark predicts that at least three major publications will result from the project, and that my thesis will become the basis for stone tool analysis in MesoAmerican archaeology. This is because no analysis at this …

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Women And Development In Ixtahuacan: Religious Influences, Kristyn M. Roser, Dr. John P. Hawkins Sep 2013

Women And Development In Ixtahuacan: Religious Influences, Kristyn M. Roser, Dr. John P. Hawkins

Journal of Undergraduate Research

“Me levanto temprano, punts mi fuego, lavo mixtamal, voy al molino, y regreso para preparar los alimentos para mis hijos y mi esposo.” So begins a typical day for a woman in Ixtahuacan. It is a day focused on caring for family and preparation of food—tasks that renew themselves each time the sun rises. Hands that slap tortillas, envelope tamales in corn leaves, scrub clothes in the pila, lift children into rainbow colored baby wraps, weave symbols into huipiles, light fires—hands that work to develop the community.

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The Patagonian Cradle Of Welsh Culture, Bently Snow, Dr. Mark Grover Aug 2013

The Patagonian Cradle Of Welsh Culture, Bently Snow, Dr. Mark Grover

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The vitality of the Welsh culture has suffered significantly due to the pressures of globalization. Marginalized even in their homeland, the Welsh way of life was dying out due to disinterest on the part of the rising generation, something which greatly concerned the shrinking number of this people who still clung to their culture in the face of mounting pressures to accept assimilation. Even in 1865, in fact, pressures were such that 153 Welsh men, women and children left their homeland with hopes to preserve their language and their culture. The party sailed across the Atlantic towards the Patagonia—the rugged …

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Final Orca Report, Amy Hurt Aug 2013

Final Orca Report, Amy Hurt

Journal of Undergraduate Research

I conducted my field study in the city of New Orleans for two months, 24 April -25 June 2008. During this time I lived in a small house in Mid-City, an apartment in Jefferson Parish, a hotel room on Decatur Street in the French Quarter, and a rent-by-the-day room just outside of the French Quarter on Pauger Street.

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Kachinas Of The Southwest: Dances, Dolls, And Rain Elucidating The Kachina Cult, Jamie Bingham, Dr. Paul R. Stavast Aug 2013

Kachinas Of The Southwest: Dances, Dolls, And Rain Elucidating The Kachina Cult, Jamie Bingham, Dr. Paul R. Stavast

Journal of Undergraduate Research

This past semester (Winter 2008), the Museum of Peoples and Cultures (MPC) researched and curated an exhibition on the Kachina Cult of the Pueblo and Hopi cultures. The Kachina Cult is centered around belief in a set of spiritual beings that bring blessings, gifts, and rain. Kachina literally means “spirit father” or “life father” and can be anything that exists in the natural world. One of the most common representation of kachinas is in the form of dolls. The exhibition features an impressive collection of ancient and modern kachina dolls in an effort to provide insight into the fairly elusive …

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Recreating The Past Through The Use Of Modern Technology, Jennifer Harris, Dr. Cynthia Finlayson Aug 2013

Recreating The Past Through The Use Of Modern Technology, Jennifer Harris, Dr. Cynthia Finlayson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Last year I set out on an adventure to research an ancient civilization, to gather photographic and textual research halfway across the globe. I traveled to Greece in order to research the ancient Minoans, a very advanced and interesting people who had a great influence on Greek culture.

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Creating Citizens In The Modern Irish State: Primary Schools As Indicators Of Identity Ambiguitiy, Charlotte Williams, Dr. Julie Hartley-Moore Aug 2013

Creating Citizens In The Modern Irish State: Primary Schools As Indicators Of Identity Ambiguitiy, Charlotte Williams, Dr. Julie Hartley-Moore

Journal of Undergraduate Research

In Europe, notions about national identity are being called into question as historical state-sponsored conceptions encounter new forces present in current affairs—including, relative economic prosperity, mass immigration, conflicting ideas about religion, and desired assimilation into a collective European identity. Ireland provides a case study largely reflective of these broader European issues, while simultaneously being distinct as the only free European state which was formerly under colonial control by another European power. Thus, in its post-colonial context, Ireland currently struggles to accommodate these competing forces—both old and new—to form a cogent national identity which the state can disseminate to its constituents. …

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The Origin And Development Of The Pueblo Kachina Cult, Adrien Mooney, Dr. Glenna Nielsen-Grimm Aug 2013

The Origin And Development Of The Pueblo Kachina Cult, Adrien Mooney, Dr. Glenna Nielsen-Grimm

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The Pueblo people of the Southwestern United States have a unique set of beliefs centered on the practice of ceremonies dedicated to kachinas, intermediaries between the Pueblo people and their deities. The word kachina literally means “life-bringer,” and the kachina ceremonies are integral for the growth of crops in the Pueblo region, as the kachinas bring rain to the region when ceremonies are performed correctly. There are three different manifestations of the kachina: the spirit of the kachina, the kachina mask worn by a dancer in the ceremony that allows the dancer to act on behalf of the kachina, and …

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A Time For Museums: A Study Of Supporters At The Museum Of Peoples And Cultures, Heidi Kartchner, Dr. Julie Hartley Aug 2013

A Time For Museums: A Study Of Supporters At The Museum Of Peoples And Cultures, Heidi Kartchner, Dr. Julie Hartley

Journal of Undergraduate Research

During the months of May and June 2008 I conducted a research study at BYU’s Museum of Peoples and Cultures (MPC) in Provo, Utah. My intent was to research the MPC’s supporters, looking specifically at their leisure habits and patterns of cultural consumption and how that plays into their museum visiting habits.

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Memory-Texts And The Interdiscursive Construction Of Identity Among The Khmer Diaspora, Brandon Bales, Dr. Janies Nuckolls Aug 2013

Memory-Texts And The Interdiscursive Construction Of Identity Among The Khmer Diaspora, Brandon Bales, Dr. Janies Nuckolls

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Displaced people present a problem for ethnographic research in that they generally lack stable socio-cultural contexts on which researchers rely for making empirical observations. This study shows how people produce memory-texts as a way of recontextualizing themselves in new or unstable social situations and establishes memory-texts as the empirical material necessary to produce analysis on displaced people. The discursive production of memory-texts is an activity displaced people engage in to recontextualize and stabilize themselves in shifting or new environments. Memory-texts are composed of the interface between defining moments in people’s lives and recent experiences and cultural frameworks. As an interdiscursive …

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Displacing The Poor: Photographs Of Richmond’S Vanishing Working Class, Aachary Taylor, Daniel Barney Aug 2013

Displacing The Poor: Photographs Of Richmond’S Vanishing Working Class, Aachary Taylor, Daniel Barney

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The renovation of deteriorated urban neighborhoods, otherwise known as gentrification, has been happening in Richmond, Virginia’s inner-city neighborhoods at an alarming rate over the last four years. This renewal has brought explicit benefits to those in its reach. For one, it has helped restore neglected and under-managed properties. It has also brought added social and cultural amenities to the city as a whole. These changes have come with a price however, as Richmond’s gentrified inner-city districts inevitably experience drastically higher rent and property taxes as a result of escalating property values. These surges in value have brought proportionally high taxes …

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Haitian Immigrants In Santiago, Dominican Republic, Jesse S. Morgan, Dr. John P. Hawkins Aug 2013

Haitian Immigrants In Santiago, Dominican Republic, Jesse S. Morgan, Dr. John P. Hawkins

Journal of Undergraduate Research

I was awarded an ORCA grant in order to carry out ethnographic research in the Dominican Republic (DR.). ORCA’s support made it possible for me to spend four months in Santiago, the second largest city, during winter semester. I had originally intended that my fieldwork would focus on the cultural theme of the tigre, or tiger (a charismatic showoff type in Dominican society). However, the reality warp between my elaborate Provobased scheming and the practicalities of living and doing ethnography in a large unfamiliar Caribbean city encouraged me to shift my focus and walk through open cultural doors instead of …

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Christian Magic: Bible-Based Heresy, Seth Kohrman Aug 2013

Christian Magic: Bible-Based Heresy, Seth Kohrman

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The Bible (the Old and the New Testaments) condemned magic. The Church Fathers followed the biblical example and also denounced magic. However, magic continued to exist among Christians and was even largely based upon biblical passages for its source of power; thus, magic survived partially on account of Christians and their ironic use of magic with help of the very scriptures that censured it. I will demonstrate first through specific examples that the Old and New Testaments as well as the Church Fathers reviled magic; however, the authors of each of these writings had their own agendas for speaking out …

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A Summary Of Research Done On Aboriginal Marriage Systems, Rachelle Holloway, Dr. David Crandall Aug 2013

A Summary Of Research Done On Aboriginal Marriage Systems, Rachelle Holloway, Dr. David Crandall

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The results of receiving this grant was research conducted in Victoria, Australia concerning the marriage systems of Australian Aboriginals. The research was originally intended to be conducted in areas predominantly populated by less Westernized Aboriginals, but there were problems in obtaining this ideal.

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Men, Women, And Russian Requests: The Influence Of Gender On The Pragmatic Competence Of Second Language Learners, Elizabeth Hassell, Jennifer Brown Aug 2013

Men, Women, And Russian Requests: The Influence Of Gender On The Pragmatic Competence Of Second Language Learners, Elizabeth Hassell, Jennifer Brown

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Dr. Jennifer Bown and I wished to assess how gender affects the pragmatic competence of students learning Russian. By analyzing the differences between men and women’s ability to form appropriate requests in their second language, we hoped to assist other researchers in developing better language-teaching techniques.

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An Issue Of Blood: The Practice Of Secluding Women During Menstruation And Post-Pardum, Rebekah Wightman, Dr. Valerie Hudson Aug 2013

An Issue Of Blood: The Practice Of Secluding Women During Menstruation And Post-Pardum, Rebekah Wightman, Dr. Valerie Hudson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Menstruation is a taboo subject in even the most familiar cultures. Talking menstruation in general is often full of uncomfortable giggles and whispers, but in other not so familiar cultures, menstruation is handled very differently. Seclusion typically means that menstruating women or those who have just given birth must not engage in public activities for the duration of their menses or post-pardum period. For some societies, menstrual huts are created as a place for women to reside outside the village during menstruation. Typically, the women are not allowed to leave the menstrual hut during this period of time and strict …

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What We Want: The Oral Histories Of Low-Caste Indian Widows And How They Navigate Their Surrounding Ideological And Social Context, Suzanne Powell, Dr. Valerie Hudson Aug 2013

What We Want: The Oral Histories Of Low-Caste Indian Widows And How They Navigate Their Surrounding Ideological And Social Context, Suzanne Powell, Dr. Valerie Hudson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

I left on my field study with the goal of learning about the practice of widow abandonment by placing it within the larger social, political, and economic structure of Hindu India. I surmised that widow abandonment was creeping down into the traditionally less-orthodox South India because low caste groups were trying to prove just how Hindu they were – trying to legitimize a move into the upper, more pure high caste ranks. I sought to understand the practice by understanding how women fit into Hindu ideology, how they perceived themselves as a result of living in such a society under …

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