Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

'Queertility', Daniel Thomas Bixby Sykes

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Daniel Sykes, an Anthropology student at Utah State University used his Honors Capstone opportunity to understand the evolution of reproduction over the course of two semesters. During Fall of 2019, he focused on overviewing what Biological Archaeologists, Biologists, and Chemists understand of the evolution of various forms of reproduction from the distant past. During the Spring, he focused on the cutting edge allopathic research in fertility treatments and some of the social implications. Sykes posits that human society has the opportunity to treat infertility in the queer (lgbtqia+) community, given these up-and-coming treatments, even those forms of infertility that arise …

Archaeological Analysis Of Bison Remains From Wilde Cave, Idaho, Michelle A. Platt

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Wilde cave is a lava tube located in Southeast Idaho on BLM lands. Recent investigations recovered a skeletal collection represented at least nine bison, as well as several other taxa. After many hours in the archaeology lab at Utah State University, identification of the collection shows the most prominent carcass parts represent fore and hind limbs, while vertebrae and ribs were least common. Also present was limited evidence of butchery-burning and cut marks-and carnivore modification on the skeletal collection. Given these observations, density mediated attrition and utility indices were used to better understanding the patterns in the archaeological bison bone. …

Enamel Hypoplasia And Its Relation To Ethnicity And Socioeconomic Status In The 19th Century United States, Amanda Drew Olivas Cook

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Linear enamel hypoplasia (LEH) is a condition of tooth enamel characterized by linear bands in tooth enamel that result from metabolic stress during the childhood years of enamel formation. The presence of LEH has frequently been used in biological anthropology as a marker of stress experienced during childhood. This paper uses a biocultural approach to investigate the occurrence and severity of LEH defects on the teeth of African American and European American adult male remains in the Terry Anatomical Skeletal Collection. The Terry Collection consists of low socioeconomic status individuals whose remains were unclaimed at St. Louis morgues and hospitals, …

The Impact Of High School Extracurriculars: Similarities And Differences In Sense Of Community Among Competitive, Performance, And Participatory Activities, Erica M. Hawvermale

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Extant research links high sense of community in adolescence to adaptive outcomes such as enhanced motivation, self-efficacy, and coping ability (Battistich, Solomon, Watson, & Schaps, 1997; Vieno, Perkins, Smith, & Santinello, 2005; Henry & Slater, 2007), as well as reduced stress, anxiety, and depression (Chipuer, Bramston, & Pretty, 2002). In light of these findings, the present study was designed to assess the relationship between high school students’ participation in extracurricular activities and their perceptions of sense of community, enjoyment, and commitment, as well as the aspects of these organizations that help to facilitate feelings of community. Study 1 participants (N= …

Meta-Analysis On Zoonotic Infectious Diseases Between Humans And Non-Human Primates, Madalyn R. Page

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Due to genetic similarity, non-human primates are often the focus of zoonotic infectious disease research. The objective of zoonotic disease research can vary depending upon whether the study is focusing on human health or the health of wild non-human primate populations. Research with non-human primates is often associated with their use in medical laboratories for the benefit of human health. However, other studies focus on both the health of wild non-human primate populations and human interactions. This study reviews zoonotic disease research published in three main primatology journals: American Journal of Primatology, International Journal of Primatology, and Primates. …

Wickiup Site Structure: A Comparison Of Aboriginal Wooden Features From The Great Basin And Colorado Plateau, Brandi Jensen Allred

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Throughout all of human history, people have built shelters for themselves whenever they stop for more than a few minutes. Many of these structures, built from wood and brush, are today colloquially known as wickiups. Wickiups are temporary housing structures, but were sometimes used for longer duration or even winter stays. In the Great Basin and surrounding montane West, we have a surprising amount of still standing wickiups. These have yet to fall to time's ravages and were initially built within the last several hundred years. Older sites, those around the world and deep into time, no longer have the …

The Southeast In Context: An Assessment Of The Trauma Associated With Agriculture, Martin Welker

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Hunter-gatherer tradition prevailed as the dominant subsistence pattern for most of human history. Between 9,000 and 13,000 years ago peoples in the Levant, New World, and Asia began the domestication and cultivation of wild flora and fauna, creating a subsistence pattern that subsequently spread to neighboring regions (Abbo et al. 2010; Bellwood 2009; Purugganan & Fuller 2009; Richerson et al. 2001). The influence of this agricultural transition on human populations is manifested in various forms in the human skeleton, many of which have received intensive study: dental caries, degenerative joint disease, decreased stature, and increased birth rates (Bridges 1991; Larson …

Influences Of Disclosure Among Child Sexual Abuse Victims, Michelle Jones

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Child forensic interviews are essential in eliciting disclosures in child abuse cases. Due to the nature of abuse and the child victims, barriers are inevitable to obtaining a full disclosure. This research describes the barriers as well as the factors that increase the likelihood of eliciting a disclosure during child forensic interviews. Previous research has found that factors more likely to induce a disclosure are having a supportive primary caregiver, an investigation which was instigated by the child victim, and if the victim is an older female. Barriers preventing disclosure include threats made by the perpetrator, fear, lack of opportunity …

Perspectives On The Interpreting Program At Logan Regional Hospital And Access To Health Care Throughout The Spanish-Speaking Community Of Cache Valley, Danielle Babbel

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Language barriers can greatly affect patient-physician interactions, and thus have implications for individual health outcomes. This study uses surveys distributed to Spanish speakers throughout Cache Valley to solicit their views on the interpreting program at Logan Regional Hospital. The surveys reveal whether or not language related issues prevent individuals from seeking medical attention as a part of a routine check up as well as for illness care. Survey results indicate how well known the existence of the interpreting program is throughout the target community, and if the availability of a qualified interpreter increases the likelihood that individuals will seek medical …

More Than Meets The Ear: The Culture Behind The Music, Anita Sant

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

More than Meets the Ear: The Culture behind the Music is a traveling exhibit that was designed and created over more than a year's time at Utah State University's museum of anthropology. As one member of a team of interns, I helped decide on an exhibit focus, its audience, content, and design. We started from the ground up as inexperienced undergraduates under the tutelage of the museum's curator, Lara Petersen, and the museum's director, Dr. Bonnie Pitblado.

As the project gradually progressed and was honed to the subject of ethnomusicology, I took on the responsibility of the educational aspect of …

Kula And The Trobriand Islands: The Meaning And Power Of Objects, Becky Tomlinson

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Just as a word in a foreign language must be interpreted for one who does not speak the language, a cultural artifact alone holds no significance or meaning for an outsider. Thus, for an object to be understood it cannot stand alone, but must be placed in context though time and space, and various layers of cultural meaning must be expounded. The word lagim, from the Kiriwina language, may be roughly translated as meaning "the splashboard of a Kula canoe". This translation may give the proper words from English that denote the object, but it still leaves much to …

Social Stratification And Health In Dynastic Egypt: The Differential Effect Of Disease Among The Elite And Working Classes, Jerilyn Hansen

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Social stratification in Dynastic Egypt between the elite and working class is suspected to have created differential health conditions for these two social classes. It is hypothesized that due to differing living conditions, resulting in varying levels of exposure to infectious pathogens, workloads, and quality of diet, the elite and working class will have dissimilar health conditions. Specifically, it is expected that the working class of Dynastic Egypt suffered ill health more often, and more severely, than the elite. The health conditions of the elite and working class were measured by the prevalence of the density-dependent disease tuberculosis, the workload-related …

Bow Use In The Great Basin, Andrew Ugan

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

The bow and arrow is a tool with a very long history. In the Old World its use dates back to paleolithic times, with firm evidence in the form of arrow shafts dated to the early ninth millennium b.c. (McEwen, Miller, & Bergman, 1991). More tenuous evidence from projectile points in Africa may push that back as far as 11000 b.c. (Blitz, 1988). The focus of this paper, however, will be the adoption and subsequent use of the bow in the Great Basin region of the West.

Spider Woman, Michelle Henrie

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

This paper is an exercise in thinking and in writing, both of which I model after Elie Wiesel's Messengers of God: Biblical Portraits and Legends.