Digital Commons Network^™

Social Belonging And Built Space: Using Contact, Contention, And Common Conditions To Create Multicultural And Multifaith Shared-Space In A Repurposed Aurora, Colorado, Church, Kassandra Irene Soppas Neiss

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Global patterns of human displacement and migration are diversifying the user base of urban churches. This change produces new settings of cross-cultural encounter and adaptation of social space. This study examines the transition of a Lutheran church into a multifaith and multicultural community center. In Aurora, Colorado, a majority-minority city, the facility offers vital support for immigrants, refugees, and low-income community members while maintaining links with [previous] congregants. Using ethnographic methods, I explore the cultural dimensions of repurposed space for a diverse constituency. Discussed herein are the ways in which the physical space is interpreted, how contention and divergent experiences …

Archaeological Computer Modeling Of Florida's Pre-Columbian Dugout Canoes: Integrating Ground-Penetrating Radar And Geographic Information Science, Brandon Ackermann

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The focus of this research is the application of two computational methods in modeling pre-Columbian dugout canoe use on Florida's ancient transportation network. Ground-penetrating radar (GPR) was used to locate what appear to be multiple unexcavated canoes inundated in the lake-bottom of Lake Santa Fe, a lake in close proximity to Newnans Lake, which contains the largest number of ancient canoes in the world. The identification of multiple canoes in Lake Santa Fe supported the recent idea that this lake may have served as a transit point within Florida's pre-Columbian transportation network. A Geographic Information System (GIS) was then used …

Show Me A Sign: How Signs Embedded Within Social Media Shape And Influence Outdoor Recreational Tourists' Decision-Making Processes At Colorado State Parks, Sarah Marie Norlin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this project was to determine the ways in which signs within social media posts on Instagram and Facebook frame the way that outdoor recreational tourists make decisions about Colorado state parks' locations, services and activities. Surveys were conducted at 6 Colorado state parks in the 2018 spring, summer, and fall months. These surveys asked respondents to answer multiple choice and open ended questions about their social media habits, their outdoor recreation habits, and their opinions about images displayed on Colorado Parks and Wildlife's social media pages.

A total of 93 surveys were collected during the research period. …

Gender, Social Networks, And Labor Disputes: Household Archaeology At The Industrial Mine Camp, Laura Gwynne Vernon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Industrial Mine at Superior, operating from 1895 to 1945, was one of many coal mines situated within a region known as the Colorado Northern Coal fields. It is exceptional only in that it was one of the largest coal producers in the area and because it was the sole mine in the region with both a company town and company store. Through comparative analysis with the previously investigated mine camp in the southern Colorado coal fields at Berwind, this thesis examines how camp housing structured the lives of women living at the Industrial Mine, as well as how women's …

An Archaeological Investigation Into Social Organization And Political Reform In The Reserve Area Of New Mexico, A.D. 1000–1350, Cameron D. Benton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis analyzes archival data from archaeological sites with great kivas in the Reserve region of west-central New Mexico dating to A.D. 1000-1350 and examines sociopolitical organization and reform between the dynamic Reserve (A.D. 1000-1100) and Tularosa (1100-1350) Phases. Specifically, studies in this thesis compare great kiva architecture and ceramic types present between sites using methods of descriptive statistics and quantitative analysis, which allowed for interregional variation and change to be identified between those time periods. The results of those analyses are correlated with the archaeological histories of the Mimbres and Chaco societies that bordered the Reserve area in prehistory …

Career Week | Sociology Anthropology Alumni Student Gathering, Jan 31, Ohio University College Of Arts & Sciences

All Forum Articles

No abstract provided.

Radiocarbon Evidence For Initial Early Formative Period Occupation In Coastal Oaxaca, Mexico, Guy David Hepp

Anthropology Faculty Publications

Seven AMS radiocarbon dates (1950–1525 cal BC) from controlled contexts demonstrate Early Formative period occupation in coastal Oaxaca, Mexico. These dated elements from the site of La Consentida include hearths, occupational surfaces, carbon adhering to pottery from a midden, and human bone collagen processed with XAD purification. They were excavated from primary contexts and do not represent redeposited materials. An eighth sample, dated to the Middle Formative period, is considered postoccupational. The diversity of dated deposits and features, their distribution, and their overlapping calibrated ranges indicate settlement by an initial Early Formative period village.

Tracing Life Histories Through Biological Manifestations In A 19th-20th Century Midwestern Poor Farm: Asymmetry, Robusticity, And Adaptive Response At The Milwaukee Poor Farm, Samantha Zahn-Hiepler

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

A life history is comprised of many elements and events: memories, migration, beliefs, wealth, status, health, and even death. Of these life history elements, health is one of the significant traits to trace in bioarcheological studies. Biological variation is an observable trait in skeletal remains, especially that of limb asymmetry, stature, robusticity, and sexual dimorphism. These characteristics, depending upon the extent seen, can provide an insight into sociocultural and environmental practices that may have affected the person and/or population’s quality of life. The Milwaukee County Poor Farm skeletal collection is comprised of a historical population spanning one hundred years and …

Review: Mette Ramstad. Conversion In The Pacific: Eastern Polynesian Latter-Day Saints’ Conversion Accounts And Their Development Of A Lds Identity. Kristiansand, Norway: Høyskoleforlaget, 2003., Amanda Hendrix-Komoto

Mormon Studies Review

Mette Ramstad’s Conversion in the Pacific: Eastern Polynesian Latter-day Saints’ Conversion Accounts and Their Development of a LDS Identity was published in 2003. Although it is over a decade old, it remains a refreshing, smart contribution to the field. Unlike many scholars of Mormonism, Ramstad is not a historian. Instead, she writes as an anthropologist of religion. The result can be a bit disconcerting for individuals used to narrative histories. Like many social scientists, she categorizes the experiences of her subjects and uses them as case studies for understanding concepts that have been important to the academic study of religion. …

A Comprehensive Case Report For The University Of Montana Forensic Anthropology Laboratory Case #18-188, Elizabeth Rose Valentine

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This report consists of the skeletal remains, assessment of the minimum number of individuals, a biological profile analysis and a literature review on pathology analyses for forensic anthropology case reporting. The human remains are consistent with a MNI of one. The individual is likely an adult male of European ancestry with an estimated age range of 30 to 50 years at time of death. This individual has a probable forensic stature of 5’3’’ to 5’4’’. This individual may be identified by the burr hole or trepanation located on the frontal bone as there are likely medical records for this procedure.

Human Vs. Non-Human Bone: A Non-Destructive Histological Method, Haley N. O'Brien

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Species identification is one of the first steps in the analysis of bone fragments in both forensic and archaeological contexts. Current methods for human vs. non-human taxa identification include morphoscopic, histological, and DNA analyses in order to determine forensic significance and assess what is present in an assemblage. This study will use an MA1000 AmScope camera microscope to examine the longitudinally fractured surface of cortical bone fragments to gauge if non-destructive taxa identification is possible from fragmentary remains without morphologically identifying features. This method is testing for a notable difference in human vs. bovid vs. cervid endosteal cortical bone without …

Sexual Dimorphism In Skeletal Trauma Associated With Intimate Partner Violence (Ipv), Keith Biddle

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Once known as “Domestic Violence”, Intimate Partner Violence, or IPV, is a problem as old as humanity. Even in our modern era, it continues to plague even the most “enlightened” or “advanced” cultures and societies. Much has been written about the issue from Sociological and psychological aspects and while there is some consensus in the medical field regarding the patterns of injury associated with IPV, that consensus has yet to reach the field of forensic anthropology. It is to this end that this study has been conceived.

The proposed project has three parts. The first part is a validation study …

An Investigation Of Perspectives On Mental Illness Across Race And Ethnicity, Emily Stark

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

"Previous research done on mental illness stigma and race and ethnicity has failed to properly recognize the complexity of identity and cultural influences and how these factors impact people’s perceptions of mental illness. These studies tend to insinuate that any differences of beliefs found between groups are due to race or ethnicity, when in fact this is an imprudent conclusion. In this thesis, a critical analysis of the literature on mental illness stigma and race and ethnicity determines that categorizing people into large homogenous groups based on race or ethnicity results in an inaccurate picture of what people believe about …

Post-Glacial Fire History Of Horsetail Fen And Human-Environment Interactions In The Teanaway Area Of The Eastern Cascades, Washington, Serafina Ferri

All Master's Theses

Landscapes of the Pacific Northwest have been shaped by dramatic shifts in climate since the last glacial maximum and more recently, by human activity. However, it is unclear how past relationships between people, fire, and climate interacted on the landscape. The purpose of this research was to reconstruct the post-glacial fire history of a wetland known as Horsetail Fen, located in the Teanaway area of the eastern Cascades of Washington State. The goal was to evaluate how fire activity has varied under different climatic scenarios during the last ~16,000 years and in relation to human land-use actions. This lake was …

Cultural Models Of Democracy Among Burmese Residents In Chicago, Illinois, And Fort Wayne, Indiana, John Hillory Hood

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

This thesis examines implicit assumptions about democracy among Burmese residents in Chicago, Illinois and Fort Wayne, Indiana. A major focus of the research is the durability of foundational cultural models – basic, simple, widely-shared modes of thought – that may or may not change over time, measured in this study through length-of-residency. As such, I examined three distinct sample groups: temporary residents, immigrants, and adult offspring of immigrants. This research comprised methods of ethnography, semi-structured interviews, as well as a free-listing memory task. A key point of inquiry is intracultural variation occurring between sample groups. Particular attention was paid to …

Children During The American Steamboat Era - A Museum Exhibit, Emily Ruoff

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

“Children During the American Steamboat Era” is a portion of the submitted Alternative Paper Plan (A.P.P.) in partial fulfillment Emily Ruoff’s Master of Science in Applied Anthropology at Minnesota State University, Mankato in Mankato, MN in 2019. Discussions in this paper include a summary of the new exhibit, “Children During the Steamboat Era” at the Arabia Steamboat Museum (Kansas City, MO) and the reasons as to why this topic was chosen as the theme for this display. Goals and reasons for topic choice are: to create a sense of connectivity and inclusion for the thousands of children that visit the …

Social Justice On Campus: Does It Really Fight Hate? An Exploratory Study, Caitlin Elizabeth Beard

All ETDs from UAB

This exploratory study expands upon information from a previously conducted pilot study involving schools from states in two regions of the United States—the Southeast and the West Coast—which compared the number of social justice organizations at four universities from every state to the number of bias incidents in each state from 2010 through 2016. While no statistically significant relationship was found, the pilot study suggested a negative relationship between the number of social justice organizations and the occurrence of hate crimes. This thesis uses data from forty-nine states and the District of Columbia to create a larger data pool consisting …

(In)Difference To Survivors: The Anti-Violence Comics Project, Henry Solares

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

Sexualized violence prevention at the university level can sometimes leave out the perspectives and needs of marginalized groups. Ethics should always serve to temper any endeavors to work with marginalized groups. Any endeavor into the field requires methods and frameworks that serve not only the needs of the researcher but also the knowledge builders involved. Postmodern ethnography articulates a need for contesting a positivist understanding of knowledge through use of alternative methods like novelized fiction, autobiography, documentary, and visual art. In conjunction, intersectional theory forces us to consider our place as researchers and the larger power dynamics within our culture. …

Kurdish Culture And Identity: Building The Homeland In Tennessee, Steve Wininger

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Kurds are the largest ethnic group in the world without their own state, and are one of the most controversial, overlooked and understudied ethnic groups in academic research. In the field of communication, there is very little research of the Kurdish diaspora in the United States. Identity is a complex subject in itself, but for the Kurds it is even more complicated because of the controversy surrounding them, their claims, and their status as a stateless ethnic group. The necessity for the Kurds to keep their culture and identity has cost them their freedom, homes, and lives, yet they …

Household Variation, Public Architecture, And The Organization Of Fremont Communities, James R. Allison, Katie K. Richards, Lindsay D. Johansson, Richard K. Talbot, Scott M. Ure

Faculty Publications

In the far-northern reaches of the greater American Southwest, diverse groups of small-scale agriculturalists, labeled “Fremont” by archaeologists, spread across the northern Colorado Plateau and eastern Great Basin. During the long history of Fremont archaeology, most projects have focused on the excavation of only one or a few residences even in large village sites. Until recently, there has been little effort to understand Fremont social organization or Fremont communities and nothing that could be called household archaeology (but see Hall 2008; Hockett 1998; Janetski and Talbot 2000, 2014; Simms 2008). In fact, for many years the prevailing view has been …

Whose Community Museum Is It? Collaboration Strategies And Identity Affirmation In The Amache Museum, Ting-Chun (Regina) Huang

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Amache Museum is a preservation project that has multiple communities involved in preserving Amache history. It represents Japanese American as well as American history and is owned and maintained by the Amache Preservation Society (APS), which is comprised of local Granada High School students. By approaching the Amache Museum as a community museum and noticing its distinct collaborative strategy, this thesis investigates the community collaborations and the identity affirmations within the museum, and addresses the question of whose community museum the Amache Museum represents. My research explores the overlapping conceptual models of the Amache Museum: community museum and ecomuseum, …

Adapting To College Life: An Ethnographic Study Of The Linguistic Challenges Faced By Domestic Black Immigrant Students At Bridgewater State University, Johnson (Carter) Remy

Honors Program Theses and Projects

This linguistic qualitative ethnographic study sought to understand whether domestic and international, Black, English second language learning (ESL), immigrant students, who have completed their first year of college at BSU, perceive themselves as linguistically prepared for college life. Linguistic preparedness is critical for successful participation in the classroom and completion of required work. The research seeks to identify and analyze the programs BSU has established to assist this population in their adaptation to college life and in acquiring linguistic proficiency. The study employs a multi-tiered methodology beginning with semi-structured interviews with diversity administrators, ESL and Global Language faculty, informal interviews …

Rosen And Thankachan Present On Byod In Indian Classrooms, Ohio University College Of Arts & Sciences

All Forum Articles

No abstract provided.

Intimate Political Economies Of The Andes, Carmen Martínez Novo

Anthropology Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Pharmaceutical Territories: Contested Pharmacopoeias And Environmental Debates In Brazil, Kerri Brown

Anthropology Theses and Dissertations

Over the past 30 years, emergent global health and trade policies have transformed "traditional medicine" into a contested biomedical endeavor. Brazil has been particularly affected by these policies due to its vast biodiversity and numerous labelled as traditional. As a result, the country has implemented strict intellectual property laws, has begun to invest in federal research on medicinal plants and other forms of traditional medicine, and in 2009 established its National Program of Medicinal Plants and Phytotherapeutics based on the World Health Organization's traditional medicine program, integrating medicinal plants into Brazil's national healthcare system. This multi-sited ethnographic project compares the …

Dignity In Decision-Making: Modernity And Social Navigation Among Rural French Polynesian Youth, Laura Jarvis

Anthropology Theses and Dissertations

This research examines critical questions about the experiences of youth through the lenses of modernity, subjectivity, and the lifecourse. Growing up in a (post)colonial context of shifting definitions of adulthood, youth from the rural island of Rurutu, French Polynesia must navigate various decisions and transformations with little information to base their future aspirations on. This dissertation identifies dignity as the main motivating factor in youth decision-making, one that is constantly redefined as youth navigate shifting social fields. Dignity, as used here, is a target youth strive for in order to contest feelings of social precarity stemming from unaccommodating education systems …

A&S And Wayne National Forest Continue Successful Internship Collaboration, Ohio University College Of Arts & Sciences

All Forum Articles

No abstract provided.

Festivals And Celebrations, Megan Hall

Children's Book and Media Review

People in all corners of the world love to remember important occasions with large celebrations. Although what occasions are chosen for remembrance and how they are celebrated is different across the world, every country and people has its own set of festivals. This book describes some of the most noteworthy festivals and celebrations enjoyed around the world. Celebrations in the book are as varied as a hot air balloon festival in New Mexico to building human towers in Spain. Children will love learning about festivals and celebrations from around the world as they read this book.

Alumni News | Conrad Talks About What Can Sociology Criminology Graduates Do With Degree, Ohio University College Of Arts & Sciences

All Forum Articles

No abstract provided.

Happy Beginnings: Gilkey's Internship Leads To Role As Project Coordinator Analyzing Drug Use Statistics, Ohio University College Of Arts & Sciences

All Forum Articles

No abstract provided.