STRATA, the STudent Research, Academic, and Talent Archive, is a collection of selected Fort Lewis College student work, including undergraduate research, senior seminar papers, published works, conference presentations, and other creative and artistic projects. Search by name, subject, title, or academic department.
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Everything Affects Everything: A New Way to Combat Bullying
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Bullying plagues schools across the United States. Day after day thousands of kids stay home from school, avoid people in the halls, and go home in tears because of kids in their school classified as bullies. There are many types and varieties of bullies and bullying but they all have the same outcome, a torn down individual. The biggest trouble with bullying is that it is different for every individual which is why schools have had such a hard time combating it. How can you stop bullying when every kid has something different happening to them to various degrees if intensity. The anti-bullying tactic --showing bullies the voice of their victims—utilized by the character Hannah, in Jay Asher's "Thirteen Reasons Why" is a highly effective strategy to combat bullying through the use peer theatre. Through a performance, using true stories collected from victims, bullying can be combatted by showing the true voice and effects on the victim.
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Examining Historical Trauma in Current Native American College Students
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The common experience of historical loss or historical trauma by the American Indian/Alaska Native populations (AIAN) is defined as the collective effects of trauma across the lifespan and generations due to unresolved grief (Brave Heart, 1998;Cain, 1999). Historical trauma comes from the loss of Native American lives, culture, and land as a result of European invasion. The effects of the unresolved grief perpetuate a cycle continuing in every generation and the mental, emotional and physical effects are detrimental. Within the literature, evidence suggest unresolved grief causes historical trauma in American Indian/Alaskan Native populations and symptomatology include low self-esteem, victim identity, depression, internalization of ancestral suffering and others (Brave Heart 1998).Limitations to existing work include the lack of studies on historical trauma within present AIAN populations. Furthermore research on the effects of historical trauma in AIAN is needed. This study is the first step in examining historical trauma in current AIAN populations and predictors. This study models Cain’s (1999) work on historical loss thoughts and historical loss feelings.
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Examining the Roles Of Environmental Factors on the Prevalence of Sin Nombre Virus: Sudden Aspen Decline to Ambient Ground Temperature
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Human infection with animal-borne diseases continually rises from year to year, and because of this growing threat to human health, there is considerable interest in factors that could be responsible. Human disturbance of wildlife habitat has been cited as one of the primary mechanisms the has led to the increased prevalence of these animal-borne diseases, as animals that are displaced from their native habitats are more likely to come into contact with humans, thereby increasing the probability of human infection (Markelprang et al. 2005). Deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) are the primary reservoir and vector for SNV, a recently discovered Hantavirus known to be highly virulent in humans (Mills et al. 1997). Prevalence of Sin Nombre virus in deer mice have experienced differing levels of habitat disturbance by Sudden Aspen Decline (SAD). The highest prevalence of SAD in the United States is in Southwestern Colorado, where an estimated 140,000 acres of aspen forests have been affected. SAD affects understory vegetation, and changes in sun exposure are also likely to cause changes in the ground surface temperature. Both changes in understory vegetation and ground temperature are likely to affect small mammals who reside in the understory. These factors will result in a higher density of deer mice in high SAD sites, as well as a higher prevalence of SNV compared to low SAD sites. To establish a gradient of SAD (low= 20% stand mortality; moderate= 20-60% stand mortality; high= >60% stand mortality) we will sample at 12 sites. Field studies for this study will be in the Turkey Creek allotment in the National Forest administered by the Mancos District. In this research I will compare if high SAD sites have both increased ground temperatures and greater forage availability across the spring and summer months compared to low SAD sites. This information will be used to determine if different SAD gradients increase SNV prevalence and examine if temperature and timing phenology play a role in increased deer mice contact.
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Exercising the Right: Influences on Young New Voters
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The 2008 United States presidential election was a unique event, not only due to the running of two figures which have never before come so close to nomination (an African American president and a woman vice-president) but also the record breaking participation of new or first time voters. This population of new voters has brought the percentage of young voters up to 52% matching the record set in 1972, when youths first acquired the right to vote (Braun 2008). This study set out to assess what influences these new voters' political views and to what extent their perceptions conform to the post election results. Pre-post surveys were completed by 363 undergraduate freshman level math students to assess the extent of this influence of family, media, peers, and religion. Opinions were also gathered regarding what the subject believes the most important topic that need to be changed by the next president. Each subject was asked to rate the likelihood of each candidate winning the '08 election, as well as how they felt about each candidate being president of the United States of America. We collected the subjects voting history to assess patterns of prior voting tendencies. Demographic information was collected to allow any consideration that could be derived from minority voting patterns. We found substantial evidence in what influences young/new voters. Family in almost all cases was indicated as the largest influence. Familial influence amongst McCain voters displays a large difference between the other three categories. In the No Vote category, peers had the largest influence. Obama voters ranked family, peers and media almost equal, with religion being the least influential. In further research it would be worthwhile to look at why the largest influence after family was the peers of the No Vote group. When asked what one thing needs to be changed by this next president the majority of participants, not surprisingly, said the economy and taxes. This study shows how young, new voters of Fort Lewis College were influenced to exercise the right in the 2008 presidential election.
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Experimental Gardening for Insight to Ancestral Puebloan Life
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In the prehistoric Southwest, subsistence practices connect the exploitation of natural resources with the production of food and commodities. To recognize the importance of Zea mays, Phaseolus, and Cucurbita (corn, beans and squash) to subsistence, this paper explores wild and domesticated plants used during the 12th and 13th century occupations of Aztec Ruins. Research carried out on experimental plots starting in September 2013 was designed to determine 1) which resources were being exploited, 2) for what purposes they were used, and 3) analogies, using experimental archaeology, for the productivity of prehistoric subsistence resources. It was found that domesticated plants were integrated into the agricultural complex and subsistence was augmented by wild foods like beeweed and pricklypear fruit, and additionally that some wild resources (e.g. yucca) were cultivated for fiber. A diverse mix of plants were necessary to satisfy the demands for fiber, food, and shelter as well as art and aesthetics among the Ancestral Puebloans who occupied Aztec Ruins.
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Exploring Relationships between Task and Ego Orientation, Free Throws, and Eye Tracking: an Application of Tobii Pro Glasses 2
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Sports are a major part of the everyday lives of people living in the United States.
Categorizing sports into any type of ball sport, especially basketball, raises the amount of
attention given from athletes. A major part of basketball is free throws, which could ultimately
win or lose the game for a team. With the significance of basketball, and free throws, the aim of
the present study was to analyze the visual strategies prior to a basketball free throw compared to
answers from a Task and Ego Orientation in Sport Questionnaire. We analyzed 42 Fort Lewis
College students (25±7 years), 10 expert men, 9 expert women, 10 novice men, and 13 novice
women, all with a freshman to senior academic standing. Each participant completed 3
pre-participation surveys and 2 post-participation surveys containing information about
mindfulness, task and ego orientation, and competitive state anxiety. Along with the surveys
each participant also completed 10 free throw shots from the standard basketball free throw line.
During each throw the movement of the eyeballs were recorded by the Tobii Pro Glasses 2.
Results indicated two statistically significant correlation coefficients with eye fixation frequency
and task orientation (r = .312, p = .05), and eye fixation duration and task orientation (r = .370, p
= .019). The conclusion of this data can be interpreted that participants who are task oriented
tend to fixate their eyes more often and longer on the rim. It is important to remember that this
area of research has recently come into the spotlight of many coaches and athletes. These results
highlight several areas to further investigation regarding eye tracking and free throws including
diverse age groups and other ball sports.
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Exploring Social Media Use in NCAA Division II Athletic Departments
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Lack of research exists in exploring social media use at the NCAA Division II level. The purpose of this study was to examine the ways in which National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II athletic departments utilize social media and how athletic departments measure the effectiveness of a social media campaign. Participants in the study (n=108) were NCAA Division II Sport Information Directors (SID), Sport Communication Directors, and Athletic Directors. They completed an online survey relative to social media utilization and social media metrics. Based on the literature, social media utilization was categorized into five groups: marketing, overseeing, fundraising, recruiting, and communication (Grainger, 2010; Jensen, Ervin, & Dittmore, 2014), consisting of Likert scale questions. Cronbach's alpha was applied to determine the internal consistency of the items within each of the five categories in the survey (Gay & Airasian, 2011). The marketing subscale consisted of four items (α = .70), the overseeing subscale consisted of four items (α = .82), the fundraising subscale consisted of four items (α = .75), the recruiting subscale consisted of four items (α = .81), and the communication subscale consisted of four items (α = .36). In addition, when asked to identify the ways in which the athletic department utilized social media, 106 athletic departments utilized social media for communication purposes and 100 athletic departments utilized social media for marketing. In terms of how athletic departments measure effectiveness, 80% employed site views and 64% employed social network friends as quantitative social media metrics. Additionally, 60% employed audience participation and 41% employed audience relationship as qualitative metrics. Future research is recommended to explore social media utilization throughout the various NCAA divisions and to examine the effectiveness of social media metrics exercised by athletic departments.
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Exploring the Effect of Domestic Violence on Children Growing Up in the Home
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Domestic violence has been a cultural taboo. My research began with exploring the historic reality of domestic violence. I looked at the social context of domestic violence and how social movements led to legislation of domestic violence laws. While domestic violence is defined in the state of Colorado as being between two intimate partners, there are often children living in the home where the violence occurs. Recognizing this, I explored the effect that domestic violence has on children who witness it while their brains are developing and family socialization is occurring. My research included both the cognitive development of children as well as research done on adults who had grown up in homes where domestic violence was present. In the second part of my research, I looked at solutions to domestic violence by immersing myself in the field of advocacy work. Finally, my research explored several different resources available in Durango for survivors of domestic violence.
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Extension of Tight Frames in Rn
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Frames are redundant sets of vectors in a Hilbert space, that have lower and upper frame bounds A and B respectively, which yield one natural representation for each vector in the space, but which have infinitely many representations for a given vector. A frame is considered tight when its lower and upper frame bounds equal each other, A=B. The problem faced is whether or not we can extend a tight frame from any Rn to Rn+1 in an algorithmic way and have the new frame retain its tightness. What we found was an affirmative, geometrically meaningful solution to this problem, so yes, we can extend a tight frame into Rn+1 and have the resulting frame still be tight.
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Facebook as an Agent Of Culture Change Through Individuals, Communities and Politics
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The internet has become an intricate part of everyday life for almost everyone in the industrialized nations of the world. The world wide application of the internet and the development of social networking media websites has created an environment for the exchange of information that only a couple of decades ago would have been impossible. The ease of access to new information throughout the world has allowed for quick and widespread change affecting culture. This paper looks at the ways in which social media networking websites affect our lives and culture from an individual, local community, and national political realms. By demonstrating that social media websites affect our daily lives, we can illustrate the impacts on culture and how these websites are affecting culture change globally. This paper looks at the necessity for anthropologists to analyze the impacts of social media so we can understand the implications on future culture change and the development of a global culture. By using examples set by Benedict Anderson's analysis of the spread of nationalism related to the invention of the printing press, this paper demonstrates that culture change through media may not be a new idea, but it allows such change at a pace that has not been seen before.
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Facies Heterogeneity and Petrography of the Downdip Evaporitic Wedge in the Akah Interval of the Pennsylvannian Paradox Basin
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This outcrop-based research compares and contrasts the facies associations of downdip evaporitic wedges of the late Carboniferous Akah interval (Moscovian) along the east and west margins of the Paradox basin in southwestern Colorado and southeastern Utah. These wedges contain shallow marine carbonates, organic-rich dolomites and evaporites which were deposited along the margin of a temporarily restricted, rapidly subsiding basin subject to episodic desiccation and flooding. The stratigraphic sequences and downdip restricted geometries in each locale are generally similar, yet the facies are encased by siliciclastic deltaics on the tectonically active eastern margin, and shallow water carbonates on the western side ramp margin. The deposits in the western lowstand wedge are in the same sequence as highstand stromatolitic build-ups located 12 miles to the west on the shallow shelf. On both sides of the basin, laminations of organic-rich dolomite and gypsum underlie large packages of massive and laminated gypsum deposits. Associated with these evaporites, are microbial, dolomitic packstones that include oomoldic coated grains on the west and oncolites on the east. Facies from both sides characterize a restricted, organic-rich, shallow subaqueous, evaporative shoreline environment. Such facies exhibit characteristics similar to the modern intertidal and supratidal sabkha settings in Abu Dhabi U.A.E., lagoonal settings of the Holocene along the Red Sea, the modern intertidal salina settings in the West Caicos Islands and late Triassic Abu Ruweis Formation in Jordan.
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Factors Relating to the National Curation Crisis: A View from Fort Lewis College
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In this study I examine the causes of a national curation crisis that results, among other things, in the inability to care well for artifact collections, particularly in college and university museum repositories. The research I conducted was based on two sets of data. First, I conducted a survey-based pilot study given to staff associated with collection management at other institutions. Second, I conducted a participant observation-based case study of the archaeological collections housed in the Center for Southwest Studies at Fort Lewis College. I conclude that some possible factors contributing to the curation crisis are 1) a lack of proper research design before archaeological excavations take place; 2) an emphasis on archaeological practice to the detriment of that of conservation; 3) the emergence of the cultural resource management field in response to a plethora of national and state laws; and 4) a separation between personnel involved in caring for cultural resources, such as archaeological and museum professionals and the ever dwindling staff who carry out necessary work. Finally I propose a few recommendations regarding how we might deal with the curation process, at least at the local level.
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