It is no secret that men’s sporting events rule mainstream sports media while women’s sports seem to have less prestige. The media’s focus on men’s sporting events generally is about the talent level, or success of the team while in women’s sports there is an emphasis on the sexual appearance of the athletes as well as the performance aspect. In contemporary culture, biases and prejudices are formed through media representations and marketing of female athletes. With sports being as popular as they are, media is able to use female athletes in a way that deters the consumer from viewing her as an athlete. This leads me to my question: Does the media’s portrayal of women athletes as sexual objects rather than athletes influence their performances and thus, sexualize their accomplishments? While research, participant observation and social mapping helped gain a better understanding of the differences between male and female sports coverage and cultural involvement, an interview with a former Division 1 volleyball player was the greatest insight to how the media really portrays women athletes. After the interview it was clear to see that the media puts an enormous amount of added pressure on women to look good as well as perform at the highest level. I predict that through my research and observations there in a correlation between media coverage of sports and the stereotypes surrounding women athletes and that these stereotypes do in fact add societal pressures on the athletes.

The question that I am researching is," Does social media shape the public's perception in ways that can negatively impact the ability of college athletes to be drafted by professional teams?" I am interested in this project because I want to find out if negative social media has an influence on an athlete's chance to get drafted by professional teams and impacts their ability to achieve a top draft status. For my project, I decided to focus on the Manti Te'o girlfriend hoax, a recent case of a star athlete caught in the social media crossfire. With Manti all over the social media I was able to utilize photovoice and discourse analysis to critically examine news coverage, comments, interviews and other types of social media including facebook, twitter and instagram. I also conducted interviews with my teammates to find out how they think Manti's hoax will affect his draft stock or player earnings. A player's draft stock is determined not only by how good the player is, but how a player can sell their image. In other words, social media directly impacts a player's draft stock or how much money they could make. This work has important implications for a career of success of college athletes.

In rural Kyakitanga village of the Luweero Triangle in Central Uganda, inequalities resulting from structural violence of colonialism and the post-independence regimes of Milton Obote and Idi Amin trickle down as negative effects on the local food system, which in turn degrade the environment and peoples’ health. Locals express a desire to remedy this food insecurity through modern farming techniques. My research explores the potential role of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) in the village’s pursuit of food sovereignty and the formation of a future food system. TEK is the usually place-based intergenerational knowledge of indigenous populations about how to thrive in a mutually evolving and beneficial relationship with the environment; as an informer of subsistence methods, TEK tends to be more environmentally sustainable and socially equitable than modern farming. My methodologies included literature review of colonial and post-colonial political economic history of Uganda, current food insecurity in rural Sub-Saharan Africa, TEK in East Africa, and examples of TEK recovery in other communities. Additionally, in Summer 2013, I will conduct participant observation and a community-based participatory action research (PAR) study involving multigenerational semi-structured individual and group interviews in the village. I will collaborate with locals in the research process and share all results with Kyakitangans as a resource for pursuing food sovereignty. My research is significant because it addresses upstream issues of local autonomy, historical trauma, and ecological factors that are often neglected in public health and development discourses in the Ugandan context, which is historically dominated by verticalization and neoliberalism. As applied anthropology, my research will promote the autonomy and agency of an oppressed community, and lead to relevant broader implications for global health and development work and discourse.

It was estimated in 2012 that over 30 million Americans watched National Football League (NFL) football each week. At the same time, over 65% of American households play computer or video games. It is no wonder then, that video games like Electronic Arts (EA) Sports’ Madden NFL has developed what could be called a cult following. Madden has produced multiple editions over the last 25 years, with the recent addition of thousands of virtual media sites dedicated to it. In the last two decades, this has allowed fans new and ever-increasing access. Does this increased access through video games like Madden NFL and the virtual media sites dedicated to them lead to the commodification of players and the perpetuation of historically entrenched stereotypes? To answer this question,  I am building off of Thomas Patrick Oates’ work in his article: New Media and the Repackaging of NFL Fandom, particularly what he refers to as “vicarious management”. Vicarious management is the “presentation of athletes as commodities to be consumed selectively and self-consciously by sports fans”. I used many of the ideas expressed by Grossman and Andrews. Throughout my research I employed the methods of participant observation, discourse analysis, photo analysis, semi-structured interviews, and surveys. The purpose of this research is to gain a better understanding of how vicarious management affects public perception and what steps can be taken to address the ways in which “authority, dominance and social inequality are constructed, sustained, [and] reproduced” through the platforms of video games and virtual media.

My research question is: do media portrayals of female professional volleyball players affect teenage girls' perceptions of gender norms and athletics? This research directly relates to Elizabeth Daniel’s study titled, Sex Objects, Athletes, and Sexy Athletes. She explored how misrepresentations of female athletes' impacted adolescent girls and college women's self esteem. I will use methods such as: photo analysis, survey, focus groups, and interviews to conduct my research. I hypothesize that media’s emphasis on appearance and beauty of female athletes perpetrates stereotypes that can be detrimental to young girls' interpretations of athletics, specifically volleyball. This research matters because many adolescents are involved in athletics and athletics has the ability to create a positive atmosphere for young girls to build confidence. With awareness to media’s impact we can challenge and become sensitive to gender stereotypes and the ways in which young girls identify with athletics.

I am interested in how female collegiate and professional athletes portray themselves to society to avoid negative stereotypes. Female athletes are expected by society to act tough like a man when they are in the sports arena and elegant like a women when they are not. How do these women react to these expectations and how do they choose to portray themselves to avoid being put into these harmful categories? Whether they are avoiding being portrayed as overly masculine or too feminine to participate in sports, female athletes face these challenges on a day-to-day basis. I will use the methods of photovoice, interviewing, and discourse analysis to gain further insight on this topic. Sally Ross and Kimberly Shinew wrote an article titled Perspectives of Women College Athletes on Sport and Gender that relates to my research. They interviewed college softball players and gymnasts about how they felt about the different stereotypes placed upon them and if they fit the label. They discussed with the athletes what kinds of social settings they chose to embrace different images to conform to social norms. This research matters to society because female athletes should not have to constantly worry about the image that they are portraying. They should be respected for their athletic ability as well as their feminine qualities. All women are unique regardless of their participation in sports and should not be categorized into a label that is often incorrect. The pressure to act a certain way also negatively affects young girls who are aspiring to be athletes. As a society, we want young female athletes to be able to grow up comfortable in their own skin.

What does Nike expect of their athletes, and how does the behavior of athletes outside of sports affect the company's endorsement deals? I feel that this research question should be shared because I feel that it is important to know how endorsement deals affect athletes financially and culturally by having or losing these deals from companies such as Nike. I believe Nike chooses to hand out million dollar endorsements to "Hot Commodity" or "Supernatural" athletes. Nike, having a money-making mentality, exploits the use of athletes as investments in order to make money for themsleves as a company, whereas pro athletes have the motive for a reputation and fame opposed to money, seeing that they are making millions already. I have examined how Nike punishes the athletes they sponsor by stripping them of their sponsorship and consider the types of actions Nike finds intolerable off the field of play, as well as the impact that it has on the athletes. For my research, using the methods photo analysis, interviews, and also social media analysis, I examined different Nike ads, multiple articles based on Nike, and also watched documentaries on the company. I found these methods to be very effective in my study because Nike powerfully shapes the sports industry. By continuing my research, I found that Nike bases its decision on the athlete and what they have accomplished athletically, rather than the person they truly are.

The question that I am researching is as follows: what is the culture of recruiting high school football players to Division-1 colleges, and how does the experience vary depending on the rating of each individual recruit? I am interested in this question because I feel there is little known about recruiting high school football players, except for what is displayed in the media. The way in which recruits are portrayed creates an image for highschool football players everywhere, and leaves them stereotyped as non-academics. I will use different research methods to pursue my question. Through interviews with teammates and former recruits of varying backgrounds I will gather first hand accounts of their experiences. Through the use of photovoice I will find images that best define what society thinks of recruits today. I anticipate that I will find players experiences with recruiting to vary greatly . I also anticipate that I will be able to show that there are many aspects of recruiting that are still unknown to the public. I hope to show how every recruit is held to a standard that the public is oblivious to, and to eliminate the stereotypes built up by pop culture.

It is important to see how the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) handles situations of illegal contact and improper benefits between agents and student athletes. Such situations include players being contacted before they are eligible for the draft, as well as money stipends to entice players to sign with them when they are eligible. As a result of these incidents, the NCAA’s regulations affect players' families and institutions, as well as the fans. The implications of these infractions produce institutional sanctions such as loss of scholarships, bowl bans, and the possibility of coaches getting fired. To sufficiently unveil my research, I will use discourse analysis looking at how media responds to players that have been accused of or found guilty of accepting improper benefits. I will also use qualitative interviews of other student athletes to reflect on how they have been contacted by various people to accept benefits and how they have responded. I also include my own positionality as a student-athlete to reveal how I have been approached by runners, which can be anyone who mediates interaction between a player and a booster or agent such as a friend, family, or significant other. I anticipate my research will reveal that agents have been bribing players early in their collegiate careers so that when the time comes for them to enter the NFL draft they are inclined to choose those particular agents to represent them. Through my research, I hope to inform student athletes to be more cautious before making decisions because they may be pressured when influenced by money. My research will also give insight to fans that the players they love to watch on Saturdays do not always go looking for these offers that are presented to them frequently.

I explored the ways in which the media overshadow women’s basketball and portray men’s basketball as the dominant driving force behind the game. Methods I engaged with included social mapping of men and women’s basketball games at the University of Washington, what were the demographics of the crowd, who was present and what did this tell me about who was attending the games. I observed various photographs (photo analysis) that featured in magazines, newspapers such as Sports Illustrated, who was featuring on the cover and who was featured as the ‘main star’? Another method was interviewing, I spoke with ushers at men and women’s games, I listened to their views and what they said were the main differences between the two games, and how the University presented or advertised them. On a professional level, the NBA is the driving force behind professional basketball, yet is reserved specifically for males, therefore portraying males as sporting leaders. WNBA is a separate entity and I feel if women wish to be seen playing the sport they need to be in an entirely different league and can’t be seen playing the ‘main’ sport (through the NBA). This is just one example of the divide that is driven between these two genders and people’s eyes need to be opened as to why this exists.

I was interested in exploring the relationship between women athletes and the media. I focused particularly on how women athletes are portrayed by the media. Over the years, I have noticed a big discrepancy between how men are represented within the media compared to women. Men are depicted as very masculine and are praised as great athletes, almost as if males are the only gender capable of excelling in sports. While women were depicted more as sex symbols and models. However, this contrast between men and women did not match my life experience. I was raised in a very active and athletic family; my sisters are all athletes and good at their respective sports. Having known that women are more than just sex symbols and swimsuit models, I thought it would be interesting to do some research on this topic. My research focuses on the hyper-sexualization of women in the media, and its position within sports. The question I will explore through my research is: "How much does the sexuality of women involved in sports matter to the media?" This connects to an article written by Richard Deitsch, et al., called, "Q + A Lisa Guerrero." In this article Lisa Guerrero, a female sports broadcaster, is interviewed about the role sexuality plays in sports broadcasting. To conduct my research, I used the methods of interviewing, participant observation, and discourse analysis to analyze my research question. First I interviewed two student athletes, one male and one female, to get both ends of the spectrum for my topic. I then engaged in participant observation by attending both a men's and a women's basketball game, and observed the different media messages and depictions at each game. Finally, I analyzed four different articles for the discourse analysis method. This topic is important because it sheds light on issues in the media today, like the hyper-sexualization of women. Everyone has access to the media, so it is very difficult to miss these media messages. I believe that my research will not only expose the media of their false advertisement of women athletes, but also provide the public with a new respect for women in sports.

What factors influence the evolution of media depictions of female athletes, particularly in soccer, running and basketball? I’m going to look at factors surrounding the time period as well as the factors attributed to the changes in the athlete that could influence the way the media decides to represent them. Helene A Shugart wrote a paper, entitled She Shoots She Scores: Mediated Constructions of Contemporary Female Athletes in Coverage of the 1999 US Women’s Soccer Team, which connects to my current research in that, it explores the different ways female athletes are displayed in the media while connecting it to the ideas of the time period. There has also been research done by Vikki Krane and Michelle T. Helstein. Both authors wrote articles about how companies are shaping the public’s view of what a female athlete is and how this view affects women, both athletes and non-athletes. I will use photo voice, discourse analysis, participant observation, and social media analysis to further research this subject. Because I am researching these three very different sports, I believe my findings will all be diverse. However, I believe there will be a common need to reform the way the media represents female athletes whether its lack of media attention, a sexualized form of media attention, or reinforcing gender norms. I think my findings will be important because in further understanding the factors behind media’s representation of female athletes, we can find better ways of promoting and reshaping the public’s view of female athletics so there is more focus on the competition rather than the politics surrounding it.  

In my research I wanted to find out how women’s and men’s professional soccer in the United States is portrayed by the media which has a big influence on the popularity of the sport. The media, especially social media, is growing and expanding immensely all over the world. All of the promotion and interaction with millions of people over social media has a high potential to grow the sport and over the past couple of years soccer in America has become increasingly popular (mostly women’s soccer). In the article “The ‘Olympianization’ of Soccer in the United States,” Markovits talks about how soccer used to be a marginal sport in America and the ways in which it has gone through a huge metamorphosis, attracting many more to the game. The methods I used to conduct my research were photovoice, social media, and discourse analysis. I used photovoice to look at billboards that portrayed womens soccer in a positive way. I also used discourse analysis and photovoice to analyze different aspects of social media on certain professional womens and mens soccer players, such as their number of Twitter followers. Lastly, using discourse analysis I viewed articles promoting different upcoming mens and womens soccer games to see how they were advertised differently. My results showed that mass media is a key factor in the popularity of soccer in the United States because it has such a big influence on our lives through advertising, televised events, and personal interactions through social media. My work contributed to understanding this influence by depicting specific examples from the media that could have an impact on gaining supporters of the game.

Urban farming is on the rise, not only in cities across the United States, but also around the world. From backyard gardens to large-scale community projects, people are returning to the land. This research explores the causal agents and impacts of this movement in Seattle, while also exploring why the expansion of community gardens and large-scale urban farming efforts have failed to progress as rapidly in Seattle’s sister city of Tacoma. An in-depth comparison will focus on the South Park area of Seattle and the Hilltop area of Tacoma. While much has been written about the ways in which urban agriculture has benefitted Seattle through its community gardens and large-scale urban farms, very little exists about why the same movements have not flourished in Tacoma. This project will employ a range of ethnographic methods, such as participant observation, in-depth interviews, and archival investigation into city policies and historical records. The data gathered will be used to explore the multiple and complex factors that influence—both positively and negatively—community based urban agriculture (CBUA) in the study areas.

How we discard speaks volumes about how we consume, which in turn speaks loudly about how we live and interact with the material world around us. Food waste is a special category of what we discard. It expresses our innermost beliefs and boundaries about aesthetics, health, and hygiene. Food scavengers, or pepenadores as they are known in Mexico, refer to the urban poor who pick through garbage in search of fresh produce either to consume on their own or to sell. My research begins with the basic question: what does it mean to be a food scavenger in Mexico City? Specifically, it examines the relationships negotiated between waste, want, and worth in the context of the food scavenging economy at an organic dumpster at Mexico City’s Central de Abastos – currently the world’s largest wholesale food market. What do the pepenadores know about valuing food that we do not know? What unseen and unsung roles do they perform in the urban food distribution network today? Employing anthropological methods of participant-observation, my research hopes to lay the groundwork for further qualitative analyses of the capital-scarce, labor-rich livelihoods of the pepenadores in Mexico City. Given that scavenging is often shorthand for marginal status, understanding this informal economy can assist in destigmatizing the work and its actors. Furthermore, this research aims to better illuminate our relationships with time, people, and food through its study of the pepenadores as a unique, entrepreneurial, urban class of ‘hunters and gatherers’.

This project was aimed at helping UW Recycling identify inefficiencies in waste disposal and provide them with information that will assist in ascertaining their optimized waste diversion rate of 70% by 2020. Having a 70% diversion rate means that the UW would be sending 70% of its waste to recycling or compost facilities instead of a landfill. In turn, this means the University has less monetary investment in waste disposal practices while simultaneously making a beneficial and a substantial reduction in its environmental footprint. We hypothesized that individuals were not properly utilizing the trash, recycle and compost bins, and that upon evaluation of these bins we would find contamination that would allow us to identity inefficiencies. To test if waste was indeed being deposited incorrectly we chose to sort and examine trash, recycling, and compost from two locations over a five week period. During this time we documented the weights of pre-defined categories of waste and observed common trends in the waste stream. This revealed that compost was the main source of contamination in both the recycling and trash bins. The average trash and recycle bin compost contamination was 72% and 36%, respectively. However, the composition of the compost container showed that 93% of the materials in the bin were indeed compostable. These results align with our initial hypotheses. Furthermore, our study allowed us to identify possible causes for this behavior and to propose a series of measures to help mitigate it. We hope to expand this work with future efforts, including: educational outreach through trash sorts, implementing programs that engage the community and further divert waste, experimenting with new bin labeling systems, using Geographic Information System for mapping of campus compost bins for better tracking, and introducing more compost bins throughout campus buildings.

In Washington State, the number of incarcerated individuals has nearly tripled in the past three decades, and almost half of all current inmates are repeat offenders. At the same time, in response to recent budget cuts, the Washington State Department of Corrections (WADOC) closed two correctional facilities, decreased their staff, and cut funding for offender rehabilitation programs. This problem is not unique to the state of Washington. The United States has the highest incarceration rate of any country- about 1 in every 100 citizens are currently behind bars- and bloated correctional facilities throughout the nation are feeling the impact of the economic recession. Now more than ever, it is apparent that we need to seek new, innovative approaches to imprisonment and rehabilitation. This study examines the potential of prison gardening projects to help address this need. I focus on the Sustainability in Prisons Project (SPP) in Washington, but include evidence from similar projects happening throughout America and abroad. My methods include first-hand observations of SPP’s gardening activities at Cedar Creek Corrections Center, interviews with program directors, and a literature review of comparable case studies and existing science on the benefits of human-nature interactions. I find that prison gardening projects in correctional facilities offer financial benefits to the state, shrink the environmental footprints of facilities, and create positive experiences for the staff and inmates. I conclude with a discussion on these benefits, including possible areas for further development of gardening programs in prisons and suggestions for future research.

Combining wildlife tracking skills with motion-sensitive cameras, environmental anthropology students can provide practical results for stakeholders who are seeking to provide sustainable solutions to human-wildlife intersections and inform land management decisions. In 2010, the Learn and Serve Environmental Anthropology Field (LEAF) School at Edmonds & Everett Community Colleges partnered with Snohomish County Public Works to monitor a wildlife passage: a 4’x4’ box culvert installed in a new road alignment in Granite Falls, WA. The passage connects a five-acre wetland, a mitigation site for the County, with a larger wetland complex associated with the floodplains of the South Fork of the Stillaguamish River, designated critical habitat for Puget Sound Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) and Coastal-Puget Sound Bull Trout (Salvelinus confluentus). Research results show the culvert being utilized by targeted low-mobility species and Columbian Black-tailed Deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus), who was thought to be too large to access the passage. July 2011 photos show the first does with their fawns using the passage to cross between the wetland and the riparian corridor. Summer 2012 data shows the return of the does as well as two adolescent bucks accessing the passage. Two years of data appear to show the black-tailed deer are willing to adapt to and use this size of culvert. Through the application of a service-learning strategy students are investigating the effectiveness of the structure and considering whether current land use issues may compromise the long term viability of the wildlife corridor. This research sets the stage for continued citizen science and community outreach projects in Granite Falls. These citizen-science projects become even more critical as populations push into the rural areas of the Pacific Northwest.

President Obama’s recent inaugural speech included the call for equal rights for members of the GLBT community. Among the issues transgender people especially face are access restrictions to transition related health care. This project examines the implications for transgendered people in terms of access to gender-confirming surgical procedures and how this affects their quality of life. The sites of this study were the United States and Germany, two countries using the same parameters to determine if a person suffers from Gender Identity Dysphoria, the clinical diagnosis required to undergo gender-confirming procedures. In the U.S. these procedures are widely not covered because they are labeled elective or cosmetic. German law on the other hand mandates full health insurance coverage as surgery is considered a necessary and effective treatment of a clinically established condition. This project uses quantitative data collected with questionnaires and qualitative data in the form of life history interviews. It compares the results of the National Transgender Discrimination Study (n=6,540) with responses to the same questionnaire by transgender Germans (n=88). Findings indicate that access to transition related care via health insurance improves the mental and physical well-being of individuals whereas access limited due to lack of coverage can be detrimental. Life histories provided by five individuals, three Americans and two Germans, evaluated in open and closed coding according to the Grounded Theory approach, also indicate lower rates of depression and drug use in people after gender-confirming procedures. Yet due to the small size of the German sample these findings may not be representative. Furthermore, even though gender-confirming procedures are effective, they should not be understood as mandatory for everyone diagnosed with Gender Identity Dysphoria.

Accessibility to sports is not equitable to all groups of people. Individuals living in low economic and homeless communities do not have the same opportunities to sports, as those of a higher socioeconomic standing. This disparity can reinforce negative stereotypes because children especially will follow the expectations set for them. Having inequitable accessibility to sports is a concern of physical health, for sports promotes exercise. What are the economic barriers in accessibility to sports in the lower economic population? The methods I will use to conduct my research are interviewing, discourse analysis, and social mapping. I will interview members of these communities to learn about their accessibility to sports, as well as attitudes revolving around sports. I will also analyze the overall discourse around homeless and low socioeconomic populations. The method of social mapping will help to illustrate the physical accessibility to sports for these groups of people. The anticipated results will demonstrate how economic barriers such as, the cost of housing, are too great of an impediment to overcome. The populations of higher economic standings are often not aware of the extensive economic barriers. It is important to raise awareness about the inequality to accessibility, for everyone should have equitable opportunity to basic recreation. By creating awareness of sports inaccessbility, I hope to ultimately bring about change on a governmental level. This is a health disparity that demands attention. 

I am interested in examining the importance and values that super sports fans hold towards their favorite teams through the cultural and linguistic norms that are created and reproduced through social media outlets. Cultural and linguistic norms are the commonalities found within the actions, behaviors, and language tendencies of a particular group of people. For the purpose of this research, I will be looking specifically at the Seattle Seahawks “12th Man,” a group of football fanatics that consider themselves to be the Seahawks’ most loyal supporters. Fan cultures can be difficult to understand if you are not part of one, and are often devalued. Research done by Harrington Lee and presented in the article "A Life Course Perspective on Fandom,” discusses the concepts of fandom and how these identities evolve throughout the course of one’s life and are influenced by many factors (i.e. family, location, media, etc.). Social media outlets such as online forums, blogs, internet memes, Facebook, and Twitter have become a large part of the super sports fan communities and how they interact and communicate with each other, as well as how they are perceived by outsiders. While using these social media outlets as my main method of research, I will also be utilizing photovoice (analyzing photographs that portray the community and have symbolic meaning) and discourse analysis (words and language used in media that shape identity). This research is meaningful because sports fans around the world hold a great amount of passion, dedication, pride, and emotional attachment to their teams, and the influence this has made among their identities and cultures outside of sports is essential to note. The super fan culture is important to every “12th Man” and it will be interesting to see how social media continues to perpetuate these norms within the community.

For my research, I was interested in the growing popularity of belly dancing in the United States, with a focus on misconceptions, stigmas, stereotypes, and the benefits that have attracted women (and some men who take classes and perform) to belly dance. I  researched these ideas that contribute to and surround belly dancing because of my personal experience as a local Seattle Belly Dancer. I was interested in both the reasons for the increase of interest and the stereotypes that need debunking. My question is: why have cultural perceptions of belly dancing shifted from a stereotype of sexualized dance to one of female empowerment and growing popularity? In order to answer this question I used participant observations, discourse analysis, photovoice and articles from both the media and scholarly. Rachel Kraus’s article titled “We are not Strippers: How Belly Dancers Manage a (Soft) Stigmatized Serious Leisure Activity” was useful in quoting and comparing her research on the stigma’s of belly dancers. From my research I found female empowerment about their bodies to be one of the core reasons for the growing popularity and also found stigma’s of the dance form being for male entertainment, which is a fallacy. The research  helped me become more aware of my community and its complexities.

Archaeological excavations at the Rimrock Draw Rockshelter site (35HA3855), located in southeastern Oregon, revealed a three-part stratigraphic series of eolian deposits underlain by silty clays, and orange sandy clay sediments. These are found in nearly all excavated units of the rockshelter. Excavation units contained Western Stemmed points that date between 8,000 to 12,000 years in age, frequently in sediments that lack a uniform stratigraphy due to post-depositional alteration and sediment mixing from burrowing animals. However; Unit 11 is the exception, revealing a thick tephra lens underlain by distinct layers of banded black and gray prismatic clay, then by bone fragments of a large mammal that may be megafauna. These features mark a significant change in stratigraphic clarity, offering researchers the most clearly defined stratified deposits in the site thus far. The goal of this research is to establish a stratigraphic framework using geoarchaeological methods including particle size analysis for grain size distributions; geochemical analysis of collected sediment samples to test soil pH levels; electrical conductivity; and organic loss on ignition to determine the nature of the paleoenvironment. Also, this project offers an interdisciplinary collaboration to chronologically date this unique sequence of deposits using electron microprobe analysis on two collected tephra samples, and radiometric dating on bone fragments found near the bottom of the Unit 11. I expect the results of these methods to show strong andic-type soil properties, give a statistically meaningful stratigraphic division of depositional units, and provide several chronological dates to be used as marker horizons. Together, these results will demonstrate the strong associative context between excavated archaeological material and the stratigraphic record.

I am interested in how new developments and understandings of degenerative brain disease in football players have influenced discourse and policy surrounding risk. A recent explosion of information regarding the long-term dangers of cranial trauma in contact sports has flooded the public conscience. The question I want to address is: has this new information impacted the way that risk is discussed and understood among football players, coaches, and fans? I will look at a combination of print and social media, conduct interviews, and use discourse, positionality, and archival research methods to understand the issue. Through these methods I hope to find that new developments and understandings of degenerative brain disease have cultivated discussion and promoted more stringent testing and policy towards cranial trauma in football players. At both the collegiate and professional level football is part of a multi-billion dollar industry; therefore, the serious, long-term health effects of the sport are discussed within a highly politicized, mediatized, and emotional arena. It is my hope that this research will illuminate these underlying issues, provide clarity, and enrich the discussion of risk in football.

I am interested in discovering the effects of tough love motivation fed from coaches to athletes. I view "tough love" motivation as an expression used by one person (i.e. coach) to treat another person (i.e. athlete) harshly, with the underlying intent to benefit this person (i.e. athlete) in the long run. For my research, I will primarily focus on the mainstream college sports of men's basketball and football. I wonder to what extent tough love motivation from coach to athlete effects an athlete's performance, and what are the resulting repercussions for their coach-athlete relationship as well as for the athlete's future? To supplement my research, I relate to recent research conducted by Renata Baric and Valentin Bucik, entitled Motivational Differences in Athletes Trained by Coaches of Different Motivational and Leadership Profiles (2009). In investigating my research question, I will use the following anthropological methods: photovoice, discourse analysis, and interviewing. By my results, I intend to uncover the impact of tough love motivation in college level sports. I assume its effects are not only lasting but also detrimental for an athlete's performance and future. Depending upon my results, I hope to provide college coaches (present-day and future) with the encouragement to adjust their coaching profiles, if need be. Finally, I envision my research will serve as a resource for coaches to refer to, in their effort to shape, mend, and/or strengthen coach-athlete relationship(s), and consequently, in refining their athletes' performances not only in the game but also in their futures.

Social media has had a history of creating facades of cultures, and this is especially true in the scope of sports. My question then is what is the effect of social media’s portrayal of Pacific Islander athletes on the cultural image of Pacific Islander students? For many higher education campuses, Pacific Islander (PI) student populations are vastly underrepresented in the general population spectrum. Yet there exists on sports teams a vast overrepresentation of Pacific Islanders, especially in football. The issue then is the effect this has on the image of Pacific Islanders, where we are seen as either "savage" or "barbaric" but rarely academic. My research will address this issue and see if the underlying misperception stems from social media. I will also analyze the effect this portrayal has on PI student athletes. The methods I chose to analyze the issue are interviews of PI athletes, photovoice and social media analysis. Through photovoice I will contrast how social media interprets the image of PI’s as and how PIs themselves view their cultural heritage. From these methods I anticipate a qualitative understanding of how social media has propagated a false image of PI culture to the general public. Then I hope to address how we as a society can oppose this image through more accurate education of PI culture.

In the past few years, there have been some prominent sexual assault scandals in American sports, such as the Pennsylvania State University football and Duke University lacrosse scandals, as well as a variety of lesser known cases. I am interested in how the mainstream and alternative media depict sexual assault in sports, and what values and social norms are revealed by these depictions. Do media portrayals of sexual assault in sports change depending on the race, gender, and age of the victim and perpetrator? I predict that these portrayals will follow common racial and gender discourses in America by vilifying black men accused of sexual assault more than white men, and minimizing or normalizing the rape of adult women. The rape of children, especially young boys, is more shocking and therefore elicits a stronger media response. I will investigate this question through discourse analysis of news articles, news websites, and blogs, and through analyzing the images that accompany the articles and blogs. My research will be linked to the feminist concept of rape culture. It will also build upon work such as the article Innocent Until Proven Innocent, a discourse analysis of the Duke lacrosse rape scandal written by David J. Leonard. In his analysis, he concludes that after the accusation of upper class white male athletes by a black woman, the mainstream media framed the case as showing unfair prejudice against white men and unfair credibility given to the black woman’s story just because of her race. By analyzing portrayals of sexual assault in sports, I hope to shed light upon cultural assumptions, values, and stereotypes that surround sexual assault in sports, and in the United States in general.

The media impacts sports in many ways by reporting stories as a way to distract an athlete. There are many stories in the sports industry where the media attacks an athlete and their personal life through outlandish stories. Some examples of this are how many athletes are targeted through their girlfriends. Manti Te’o and his hoax girlfriend, AJ McCarron’s girlfriend during the BCS national title game, Tiger Woods’ affair and Hope Solo and Jeramy Steven’s domestic abuse are some stories that the media has focused much of their attention on. Most importantly, how does the media shape cultural norms about significant others of athletes? I will be looking at popular culture and media to analyze what impact media has on an athlete’s relationship. From my personal experience I believe that the media propagates stories exponentially out of proportion. To challenge my hypothesis I will use the methods of photo voice, interview and discourse analysis of pop culture. An article written by Paul Husselbee and Kevin Stein shows an analysis of Tiger Woods’ scandal breaking down what exactly happened during his affair. This article focused on what was going on during trials and the aftermath. ESPN and other sports broadcasting companies made his affair a worldwide issue. Most media articles are written to get more people to tune into the story rather than laying out the complete truth. This research is important because people follow media and believe everything that is being broadcasted without looking at the fine print and details. I believe I will find that the media has a significant impact on fans when they view athletes. If more people realize there is more to a story than what is being shown, then stories would not be so extreme.

The research question for my poster project will be, "Do media portrayals of the financial hardships NBA players endure impact youth who aspire to play at that level?" The thesis to go with the above research question will be that the media’s tendency to glorify materialism plays a direct role in not only influencing lavish spending among current NBA players, but also contributing to the prevalence in the cycle of former NBA players experiencing financial stress by sending a similar message to future NBA players. For the hypothesis of my research, I referred to the financial case study of Allen Iverson to make the prediction that expenses coming from taxes, supporting family members, child support, divorce, and lavish spending habits are the common factors that apply to the reported 60% of NBA players that struggle financially within five years after their professional basketball career is over. As means of conducting the research, the arguments presented by Todd Kendall’s Journal of Sports Economics were used to explain why it is prevalent for superstar athletes to struggle financially during or after their professional athletic careers. To list some of the common factors that often leads to NBA players filing for bankruptcy, the episode “Broke” from ESPN’s 30 for 30 series were also used as references. My third research method used were the discourse analysis from interviews of elite basketball players in both high school and college levels as means of determining whether or not these amateur athletes have been affected by the media's portrayals of professional basketball players. The findings from my research brought implications to the idea that the media plays a role in contributing to the apparent cycle of NBA players encountering financial struggles by glorifying materialism and affluence to these players from a young age.

In this paper I will do a cross-cultural comparison of attitudes towards chess in the United States and Uzbekistan to answer the question: “is chess a sport or a game and how does this vary in the U.S. and Uzbekistan?” Chess is considered as an official sport in Uzbekistan, where chess players are considered athletes. Therefore they go through physical evaluation and drug tests before participating in upper level tournaments. Meanwhile the U.S.’s view on chess commonly assigns it a status of a game, not a sport. This attitude comes from a popular belief that sport can only be a challenging physical activity, nothing less. This evidence shows that popular culture dictates the way we view sports and activities. The media impacts what categories we assign them, the amount of coverage of the topic, or in case of chess, lack thereof, and stereotypes about chess and people who play chess competitively. Through my positionality, analysis of media coverage, participant observation, and interviews I will examine the differences in cultural attitudes towards chess in both countries. The outcome of the research will shed some light on the understanding of cultural differences and values put on human activities in the time of massive globalization. As a result the data produced and analyzed through the research will be helpful in creating new types of activities related to chess and intellectual engagement for school kids that will in turn transform certain views on sports.

I am interested in understanding how the impact of media portrayals on African American quarterbacks. I chose to look at the discourse used by sports analysts and spectators. Through social media and main stream sports news outlets, I began to gain an understanding of: how sports analysts and writers describe Black and White quarterbacks and how they differ? Hundley and Billings directly link this line of analysis in their article, "A Content Analysis of Racial Representations of NBA Athletes on Sports Illustrated Magazine Covers". Additionally, I looked at the research of Andrew Billings and Eugenio Mercurio in the differences of how White and Black players are characterized in terms of intelligence and athletic ability. I chose to use discourse, social media, and popular cultural analysis to answer my question. The importance and relevance of this work lies in the disproportionate perceptions created through hegemonic forces. The naturalization of these stereotypes discredits African American athletes’ achievement and may have residual effects on personal identity.

What cultural norms do the Rat City Rollergirls challenge and what are the implications of creating these new norms? Women and sports have by and large been at odds in America because of societal pressures and cultural norms that hyper-sexualize athletic women and undervalue their athletic achievements. Conversely, many women who challenge this are considered unwomanly and become unjustly labelled as a “beast” and often times their sexual identity becomes questioned. I will be exploring how women, specifically the all female roller derby league, the Rat City Rollergirls are challenging and creating new cultural norms by employing research methodologies such as, photo analysis, discourse analysis, ethnographies, and observations in order to answer these inquiries. It is important to study these cultural norms to elucidate a seemingly complicated and elusive societal bias towards women athletes and identify the root causes, what types of actions or behaviors continue the standard cultural norms, and how action can be taken to further challenge these long standing biases. To properly answer this inquiry I examined my own positionality regarding sports to uncover any hidden biases and then used this insight to remain open minded and unbiased while conducting further research. By analyzing the social media surrounding the Rat City Rollergirls I will be able to answer, in part, much of this inquiry. Using the Seattle Times’ online database I will deconstruct the hidden associations and meanings behind the pictures that I analyze. Furthermore, I will analyze the discourse used within these articles, as well as other social media sites, such as online forums, to see if my results are congruous with the dominant cultural norms regarding women in sport within America. The Rat City Rollergirls are challenging and changing these norms in new and exciting ways through the use of naming strategies, imagery, and events.

I am interested in the dynamics of injury in sports culture. Are there social consequences of injury for athletes undergoing treatment? If so, what are these social repercussions? In the culture of sports, athletes are many times expected to perform above a reasonable level. Mistakes, failure, and imperfection in sports are not accepted or supported. Injury is categorized as imperfection in our culture surrounding sports despite it being something that most individuals face at some point in their career. I expect there to be substantial social consequences for injured athletes. In a study looking at collegiate athletes who suffered a severe injury called "Transitioning out of Sport: the Phycosocial Effects of Collegiate Athletes' Career-Ending Injuries", positive and negative social consequences were found to be incredibly influential in the lives of the athletes involved in the research (Stoltenburg et al, 2011). My research methods include interviews, discourse analysis, and archival support. This subject is important because if there are negative consequences, coaches and advisers to athletes can be aware of these factors and emphasize the importance of pushing athletes to invest in multiple interests. More effort may be needed to create environments and systems that support injured athletes. Whether this research draws awareness and slowly changes social discourse on injury within an athletic arena, or initiates action and forms foundations for structures such as support groups for injured athletes, I believe it will implement positive change.

In society, there are different types of intelligence that are valued. However, football intelligence is being overlooked. Previous research has addressed  the perception of student athletes in the classroom based upon stereotypes and the damaging effects of elite culture. Our methods included: Focus Group, Discourse Analysis, Social Media Analysis, Participant Observation, Interviews, Social Mapping, and Photoanalysis. We will use perception of chess players, which society accepts as intelligent, as a comparison to football players. These methods wil help us find out people's perceptions about football athletes and we hope that our research can be used in the future in Universities around the word to help change the dynamic of the classroom and possibly increase the graduation rates of football players. 

Around 650 health services professionals in the Washington State Department of Corrections provided care for over 24,000 inmates in the last year, and the number of people being housed in correctional facilities is on the rise. Discourse abounds regarding the necessity and adequacy of health care provided to this growing population in the US, yet the bulk of this discourse applies a biomedical lens. This exploratory study employs qualitative methods to examine the role of the health care provider in the prison environment in an effort to understand the factors within the correctional system that influence the provision of health care in prisons. Through participant observation, in-depth interviews, and cognitive mapping, this study aims to shed light on the interactions among the medical staff, correctional staff, and inmates. All research is conducted at a single Washington state prison. Interviews are conducted with around 10 health care professionals who volunteered to be interviewed; field notes are taken during the course of interviews and observations; and diagrams expressing inmates' perceptions of the process of receiving care are collected. For analysis, open coding is performed to identify significant themes in the data, and closed coding is performed to explore the themes more deeply and make connections among them. An understanding of how these major players in correctional health care perceive health care and perceive each other has the potential to help increase the effectiveness of care.

Previous studies have shown that music can raise or lower the “stress” hormone, cortisol. This project builds on this work by examining whether specific components of the music—the tempo and the lyrics—are responsible for modifying cortisol levels. The first part of the study tested whether different tempos affect cortisol. The second part tested whether angry lyrics raise cortisol levels while happy lyrics lower them. 46 participants (aged 18 to 28 years) were split into two groups. The first group listened to music without words that were either slow or fast tempo. The second group listened to music with words portraying a happy or angry message. Saliva specimens were collected from the participants before, during, and after listening to one of the four types of music. After an hour break, participants listened to the second corresponding type of music and provided three more samples. Saliva specimens were assayed for cortisol using an enzyme immunoassay. 46 individuals (29 females and 17 males) completed the study with 276 total saliva specimens. The mean age of the sample is 21.304 years. The average intra and inter assay coefficients of variability were 6.61% (high control) and 6.57% (low control). The hypothesized trends of significant increase or decrease of cortisol across the time span from baseline to post music salivary specimens are not evident in preliminary analyses. The highest baseline average was for the angry music group (3236.08 ng/ml), and the largest decline, though not statistically significant, was in the angry music group. All forms of music appeared to lower cortisol, although this was not statistically significant. Contrary to expectations, listening to angry music may reduce stress levels more than happy, slow or fast music. Future work with larger samples and more controlled conditions may reveal stronger associations.

For my research project, I am interested in how the media portrays injuries of male athletes compared with female athletes. I will be looking at the ways in which sports-related injuries are presented to the public and the accuracy of those presentations in representing the seriousness of the injury. This research uses ideas from Hundley and Billings’ Framing Identity in Sports Media, which brings to light gender differences in the athletic world, as well as several other articles discussing injuries and gender norms (2010). I will use methods of discourse analysis and interviewing to answer the question of what gender differences are prevalent in sport injury. Discovering whether there is a disparity in men’s and women’s injury portrayals will help to uncover why certain injuries are considered legitimate while others are not, and how that works to reproduce ideas of hegemonic masculinity in sports. Once this is recognized, inequalities affecting female athletes can begin to break down and reveal women as valid counterparts in the sports arena.

Nearly half of the US population is living with a chronic disease. A chronic disease is a prolonged illness that cannot be spontaneously resolved and can rarely be cured completely. Chronically ill patients feel more resentful, isolated, and prone to depression, stress, and anxiety; known factors which diminish a patient’s health. Studies indicate that support groups help patients to alleviate stress, depression, and cope with their illnesses. Currently there are many online support groups that help connect fellow patients of a chronic disease with each other while medical tools like WebMD help connect patients to an expert (not necessarily the patient’s own doctor). Triage is a system we are designing to bring together these connection mediums and provide chronic disease patients with a communication hub where they can connect with fellow patients, their own doctors, and researchers. Patients can share with fellow patients their personal journeys through the chronic disease, become friends with them, form groups, and view top posts from other patients. Patient to doctor communication will entail quick questions to the patient’s doctor, and short messages to the doctor that could easily answered without an appointment. Patients can also interact with researchers of their particular chronic disease who are looking for participants for their studies, can participate in studies, and get updates about new research in the field. Multiple usability tests will be conducted involving doctors, patients and researchers to evaluate and improve the overall design of the Triage project.

 This study attempts to help resolve our lack of knowledge concerning the effects of velocity and load-carrying on footprints and gait. Several archaeological sites worldwide have preserved footprints, and in the case of some sites, such as the Laetoli footprint trails in Kenya, proper analysis of the footprints could yield crucial information about hominids. We will examine how gait and footprints change, if at all, with changes in speed and carried weight. Twelve individuals, six male and six female undergraduate students, moved across 9.2 meters of tiled surface with and without an additional load on their back equal to 20% of their body weight, and at three different speeds – self-selected walking, jogging, and running velocities. As they walked this distance, they stepped across an RSscan mat that dynamically records pressure, generating a digital image of their footprint, while also being filmed in order to record gait. While foot, midfoot, and heel contact length and the contact width of the ball of the foot all varied without any clear pattern over the 216 tests, for almost all volunteers the width of midfoot contact increased significantly with speed. There was a significant increase in midfoot contact width from walking to a higher speed, and also overall from jogging to running. Carrying loads equal to or less than 20% of one’s bodymass has no significant affect upon midfooth width or other footprint dimensions. The average angle between the heel and trochanterion (the tip of the greater trochanter, a feature of the femur)  changed significantly with movement speed for most volunteers, but not in response to carried loads of equal to or less than 20% of one's bodymass. 

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a degenerative joint disease present in most older individuals. The macaque, a New World monkey (genus Macaca), is an excellent proxy of the human condition in the study of the progression of osteoarthritis in humans, as the disease exhibits similar development in both. The key covariates of OA are age and body mass, but a longitudinal study of the development and severity of osteoarthritis in diet-restricted (n=259) and control monkeys (n=310) is ongoing (total data n=569) to establish whether or not diet plays a role in OA. The average development and severity of osteophytes (OST) and the level of disc space narrowing (DSN) from the thoracic and lumbar vertebrae were scored using previously-established methods. Based on averages of OST and DSN, it appears that diet-restricted monkeys do not show significantly different levels of severity from controls. Age and mass combine to explain 31% of the variation in spinal osteoarthritis (R2=.3091, p<0.001 and p<0.001, respectively for OST). Age, mass, and species explain 32% of variation in DSN (R2=.32, p<0.001, p=.001, p<0.001, respectively). Diet does not have a significant role in the development of osteophytes (p=0.16).

In the spring of 2012, I traveled to Tahiti to examine the health and health seeking behaviors of the inhabitants of French Polynesia. I looked at the current healthcare system, which is modeled after the socialist French system, as well as traditional Tahitian Ra’au. I was able to compare and contrast the two different health systems by conducting interviews of both a French physician and a traditional Tahitian healer. I was also interested in learning how local Tahitians themselves view their health and their healthcare system. I especially wanted to focus on the cultural relationship between the local Tahitian patients and the foreign French physicians, and whether this relationship enriches or impoverishes the quality of health care that is delivered to Tahitians. The methodology I used for this portion of my research was participant observation and interviewing. I interviewed several Tahitians to get insight on their views of health and the healthcare system in Tahiti. My preliminary findings indicate that there is some cultural tension between doctors and patients and between traditional medicine and western medicine. However, many feel that overcoming differences is possible if a relationship is forged between the two opposing groups. This cultural difference can be problematic if healthcare providers do not respect the views of their patients because it can negatively impact the care that they provide. This research topic may also connect to healthcare in the United States, where some underrepresented minority groups in medicine may feel there is a cultural barrier between doctors and patients. I hope to use the information I have gained on cultural competency to better understand my future role in the healthcare field and to improve the care I will one day bring to patients.

Alcohol is the only abusive substance from which withdrawal symptoms can be fatal. As such, the recovery processes from alcohol abuse are mentally, physically, and spiritually challenging. When alcoholics begin to move through the recovery process, they initiate a critical transition phase that shapes their identity as an alcoholic and as a human being within society. This study seeks to better understand how the recovery process transforms the identities of alcoholics. Furthermore, this research investigates how recovery alters the relationships between alcoholics and their communities. Through participant observation and interviews, this study examines the narratives of healthcare professionals, treatment facility employees, community members, family members, and alcoholics. Data from these groups were collected from individuals, treatment facilities, and Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and affiliated meetings in order to provide a holistic perspective on how alcoholics move through the recovery process. This research expands our understanding of the effects of alcoholism as a social phenomenon by incorporating the perspectives of recovering alcoholics into the discourse while preserving individual anonymity. By providing a comprehensive conceptualization of alcoholism, this work has the potential to provide a framework for new modes of treatment that not only give alcoholics the agency to make a positive recovery, but also change the way society perceives the family disease of alcoholism.

The Learn and Serve Environmental Anthropology Field (LEAF) School at Edmonds Community College has partnered with Nikkei Manor and the Wing Luke Museum to develop the Nikkei Concerns Oral History Project. Through this project, students have the opportunity to serve as both mentors and mentees. Eight students have undergone training, interviewed and recorded the experiences of Japanese Americans who were interned during World War II. From these survivors we are learning more than the easy to record factual history, we are learning about experience, about the diversity of coping strategies, adaptive solutions, and emotional struggles these Americans lived. We found unexpected stories relating to aspects of control and freedom within the camps, as well as humor, acceptance, bitterness and forgiveness. The hope in a project such as this is to develop a greater understanding of the experience of these people, to record their stories and create awareness of what they faced. This is a unique opportunity for students to hear firsthand accounts from internment survivors and participating students will continue to learn about the internment era while transcribing the stories shared by Nikkei residents, and mentoring their classmates in the transcription process. While there has been much research elsewhere, the story of internment in the Northwest has received less attention. This project has allowed for student engagement and development as well meeting the needs of the Nikkei residents who wished to share their stories. Recordings will be kept both by the Wing Luke museum and Edmonds community college.

My research focuses on Hanford, the former Cold War plutonium processing facility, located in southeastern Washington. Hanford produced plutonium for the nuclear bomb detonated over Nagasaki, Japan. Today, Hanford is a clean up site dealing with radiological and toxic waste challenges, and is considered the most contaminated site in the northern hemisphere. My independent research from 2012 focused on the dissemination of information on Hanford. I found that a majority of the people were unaware of the history of Hanford. This year, the focus of my research is the experiences of whistleblowers from Hanford, people who risked their jobs to make sure the public understood the real dangers that exist at Hanford. For the first part of the research I will conduct an interview with a whistleblower from Hanford and work on transcribing it for a book to be published on Hanford. When I  searched for sources I could use to find information on Hanford whistleblowers, I was surprised to find that what I was looking for did not exist yet. This vital information is often missing from the public discourse, and perhaps was the reason why many people were unaware of the issue. For the second part of the research, I chose to use the historical background, experiences, and the lessons we learned from the whistleblowers interviews and utilize them to address the current cleanup process and the potential nuclear accidents we could be prepared to avoid what Fukushima, Japan had to witness might potentially be the future of Hanford. I will investigate the issues at Fukushima and how it parallels the situation at Hanford. The health and safety violations that occurred at Fukushima continue to occur at Hanford and therefore need immediate attention. With Hanford located a mere three hours away from where we live, it is a shock that majority of people was not aware of this place. It is an issue that affects our health, the environment we live in, and moreover, our future generations.

AL 288-1, better known as Lucy, is a 3.2 million-year-old Australopithecus afarensis partial skeleton. KSD-VP-1/1 is a recently described 3.6 million-year-old hominin partial skeleton that has been assigned to A. afarensis. Recent analysis, however, indicates that the estimated lower limb length (eLLL) for KSD-VP-1/1 (0.763 – 0.791m) is substantially longer than that of AL-288-1 (0.525m). The ratio of shorter to longer eLLL for these specimens ranges from 1.44 to 1.51, which raises the question of whether or not these two are likely to belong to the same paleospecies (Australopithecus afarensis). In order to determine the probability of randomly selecting two members of the same group with an eLLL ratio ≥ 1.44, 66 primate groups were examined: 19 non-human primates, 46 modern human populations, and a combined sample that represents species-level human variation. Virtual populations of 10,000 individuals were created using the descriptive statistics of the groups because only 11 out of the 66 groups included two individuals who could generate a ratio ≥ 1.44. The virtual populations allowed for the existence of individuals that can produce the sought ratio for all groups. 1,000 sets of two individuals were drawn from each virtual population. The probability of two randomly selected individuals generating an eLLL ratio ≥ 1.44 ranges from 0 (Hylobates, Presbytis, Trachypithecus, Andaman Islanders) to 0.0076 (Macaca mulatta). If the distribution and variability of early hominin lower limb lengths is adequately represented by extant primates, these results indicate that it is unlikely that two individuals as different in their eLLL’s as KSD-VP-1/1 and AL-288-1 could have come from the same paleospecies. More work is needed, however, to understand the morphological variability of paleospecies, particularly that introduced by time.

Being the main entertainment of our everyday lives, athletes are constantly judged for their performance and behaviors during the games. One key criterion of athletic performance focuses on the shift from collective to individualistic gameplay by athletes. The main drive behind this shift hasn’t been discussed due to the overall change in the society, and the adaptation of people into this new manner. One of the fields where this shift is present and more visible is sports such as basketball, which is a collective game but the players and fans aim is seem to be more individualistic. To come closer to the main stimulant of this change, I have done research in the girls and boys basketball game in the U.S. and Europe. My research was based on interviews (email, and in person), participant observation in basketball games, photo voice, and analysis of media; of basketball players, fans, and children. By comparing two different cultures, that of Kosovo in southeastern Europe and Seattle in Washington, I found some of the main factors that are driving this shift. Those factors are: racial segregation, gender, country conflicts, and globalization. I related my research to Claudia L.Kernan and Patricia M. Greenfield, who did a research in the issue of individualism and collectivism in a girl’s high school basketball game. The researcher is focused on children, and how the culture and racial segregation plays a role in their world view. Likewise, my research shows that the shift to individualism is an effect of the above mentioned factors, while the cause of these factors differs in the culture of Kosovo and Seattle.

Knowing the sources of archaeological materials is helpful in understanding how they were acquired, that is, by trade or travel, and how these methods change over time. We analyzed magnetic susceptibility and elemental concentrations in ochre samples from four South African Middle Stone Age sites spanning 60-20 ky BP. We measured elemental concentrations on 13 geological ochre samples and 60 archaeological ochre samples using portable x-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (pXRF). Magnetic susceptibility, a sample’s ability to be magnetized, was also measured on these samples using the the Bartington MS2. These analyses will help distinguish between each sample and identify different types of ochre. Analysis of these data will determine provenance of the archaeological samples of ochre, an important step towards understanding the process by which they were procured. We show how procurement strategies varied between the four sites and over time.

What are the barriers to fitness for Marshallese women living in the U.S.? Marshallese populations suffer from especially high rates of cancer and Type 2 Diabetes. It is common knowledge that exercise and overall fitness contributes to better health. I have explored the barriers through various research methods, including: Participant-observation, focus groups and field notes. This work is important for the long-term health of the community. Through research into discovering the barriers to fitness for Marshallese women I am helping the community to work towards breaking down some of those barriers and empowering  these women to take control of their fitness and their overall health. It is my intent to have a positive ongoing impact on the Marshallese women’s fitness level not just for current members of the community but also for future generations. Women that learn fitness skills now will be able to pass on those skills to the next generation of women.

Fertility rates amongst women in Romania have been declining since the collapse of Communism in 1989. Data provided by the World Health Organization has shown the rapid growth of impairing diseases that have rendered some women infertile. With only 4% of Romania’s GDP allocated to the public health system, Romanian healthcare has struggled in providing women with quality treatment. The current study performed in Romania, investigates the effects of Romania’s Communist past on the ideologies of Romanian women. It considers how social networks, entrenched by these ideologies, have come to affect how women view the healthcare system and seek treatment. Using qualitative methods such as participant observation, in-depth interviews, and discourse analysis, this research will explore how Communist and post-Communist health policies have influenced attitudes towards fecundity and reproductive health for women and medical practitioners. By considering the ways in which ideologies construct the reproductive health network of Romanian women, this research shows that residual expectations of State responsibility in its role as a healthcare provider have prompted women to discuss and construct public healthcare as an illegitimate and inadequate government institution. Ultimately,  the emergence of this type of discourse in the female sphere is beginning to influence cultural notions of reproductive care and treatment. 

Over the past year, I have conducted ethnographic and oral history research here in the Puget Sound-area to understand the role of urban parks and organic farming in the development of a bioregional concept of sustainability. Throughout the research process I have maintained a focus on the study of sense of place, as this is one important aspect of bioregional ethics and design principles. This study was completed using collaborative ethnographic methods including participant observation, talking circles, surveys, and interviews with forest stewards at Seattle’s Carkeek Park, and farmers at Viva Farms in Skagit Valley. Through this I discovered the role of autotopography, the expression of self through place shaping practices, a process that contributes to a developing sense of place and is often overlooked. Some members of the Carkeek Park forest stewards, or WEWO as they call themselves, and some of the farmers used the act of shaping landscapes to express themselves in ways unique to the individual, and my data supports that this act was, and is, important to their developing a sense of place.

Even though many women engage in subsistence activities that require movement in varied terrains, little is known about the effects of burden and gradient on the energy expenditure of women. Additionally, it remains unclear which anthropometric characteristics predict variability among women in these situations. To begin to understand this better, 10 women walked on a treadmill for 14 randomized trials, divided into 2 or 3 testing sessions. Each trial consisted of different combinations of three variables. The women walked at self-selected slow, medium, and fast velocities; at gradients of 0, 5%, and 10%; and with and without a 10 kg burden carried in a backpack. Walking trials lasted 5 minutes, with 4 minutes of resting between each trial. VO₂ and VCO₂ were accessed (using a Sensormedics Vmax 29c metabolic cart) and cadence was determined during each trial. Standard anthropometrics (such as body mass, stature, limb segment lengths) were measured. Cost of transport (CoT) was calculated as the average VO₂ of the last 2 minutes of the 5-minute trial divided by velocity. Gradient (p<0.001), burden (p=0.004), mass (p<0.001), and burden/mass (0.019) were positively correlated with CoT (r²=0.71), while cadence (p<0.001) was negatively correlated. Our analysis shows that these variables predict variability within individuals (r²=0.72) better than among individuals (r²=0.64). Stature (p=0.52) and lower limb length (p=0.28) were not predictive. Future work should investigate how additional anthropometric measurements (such as crural index) interact with gait and terrain characteristics (burden, gradient, etc).

Sulawesi, in northern Indonesia, is strategically positioned to test competing models of modern human expansion, and trajectories of cultural change and interaction. Recent excavations in South Sulawesi have revealed a long and continuous archaeological sequence spanning most of the Holocene. We used sedimentological methods to investigate site formation and the environment of deposition at Gua Mo'o hono. These methods include the analyses of chemical and physical attributres of sediments, and particle size analysis. For determining the basic chemical  properties of the Sulewesi sediment samples, we used measurements of pH, electrical conductivity, organic carbon proportion by mass, and carbonate proportion by mass. For determining the basic physical properties of the sediment samples, we determined the color using the Munsell color chart by analyzing hue, value, chroma, viewing conditions, sample freshness, and the moisture content, as well as by measuring the magnetic susceptibility of the samples. Lastly, for dertermining particle size distribution of sediment samples, we use the pipette method and camsizer method of sediment granulometry. Our results present the environmental context to human occupation at the site. We discuss the relationship between the environmental and major cultural changes such as the introduction of ceramics at this site. The expected results are an improved understanding of the environment of site formation and the climatic conditions for humans that occupied the site.

Using the lens of contemporary Egyptian archaeology, this research examines how the roles of Egyptian archaeology and archaeologists have changed since George Reisner first excavated the Menkaure Valley Temple over a hundred years ago in 1910. By examining the changes in archaeological practices, and the profession of archaeology in Egypt, this study seeks to explore a new perspective on how the application of archaeology has changed within the last century. There are many different ways of excavation, and methodologies have advanced dramatically over the past century. By comparing and contrasting old archaeological practices used by George Reisner in 1910 while excavating the Menkarure Valley Temple, Ancient Egypt Research Associates (AERA) is re-excavating the same structure and using Reisner’s old work combined with new archaeological practices to develop a new understanding of the temple and its many modifications, and changes of use throughout the history of Ancient Egypt. By using myself as an archaeologist and Reisner’s work along with the research conducted by the AERA team members as the investigative perspective, I will present a story that is relatively unknown, as well as introduce a new perspective on how the methods and practice of archaeology in Egypt have evolved. The project has the following steps:1. Compare Reisner’s methods of excavation strategy, artifact analysis, dating (etc.—focus on methods) to 21st century AERA methods. 2. Discuss how contemporary archaeologists in AERA use old data collected by Reisner—problems, challenges, and solutions 3. How does all of this change the way we interpret the Menkarure Valley Temple?

My research focuses on the ethnobotanical uses of plants by the Monte Salvado native community of the Las Piedras River in the Amazon Rainforest of Peru. One-fourth of all Western pharmaceuticals, including very common drugs such as aspirin, have their origin in rainforests. Much of the knowledge surrounding the use of these plants comes from indigenous communities living in the Amazon. Many of these communities, such as the Monte Salvado, use plants as both medicine for anything from stomach aches to snack bites, as well as a spiritual agent.  My research centers on the medicinal and spiritual purposes of plants such as Curare, Suma, and Clavillia. My research questions include, “What are the main purposes of and beliefs about plants in this community? How are these plants used and what are their effects? How do women use plants to aid in maternal and menstrual health? The prepatory work leading up to my community immersion this summer is creating a research proposal, as well as learning and practicing Anthropological research methods.