May 2, 2025
Reception & Presentations 2pm to 5pm
Cal Poly Humboldt Library
Search Presenters & Abstracts
Presenters & Abstracts: Search
The Importance of Soil Analysis Concerning Ancient Civilizations
Timothy Ortega
Anthropology
Undergraduate Student
College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences
Human activities leave an impact on everything, including deep in the soil. This soil then can be tested thousands of years later to help determine what activities occurred at the site for a culture that may have been lost, is barely known about, or left no evidence other than their footprint in the dirt. I will relate my experience as an intern in the Archaeology Lab on campus to this project, which also concerns soil analysis from someone else's project.
Levee Stories: Myths of Management
K Bromley
Applied Anthropology
Graduate Student
College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences
What is the cultural significance that the Redwood Creek Levee System carries in Orick, California? The purpose of this study is to further investigate the history and management of the levee system and to apply the findings. By tracking the levee's ethos using multiple research methods and publishing, the study hopes to better understand roles humans play with regard to the levee system and to each other. Through collaboration and greater understanding of the levee system research will be revealed in the Orick wikipedia page and within an Omeka exhibit site.
Artifact Analysis With Adobe Illustrator
Michael Padian
Anthropology
Undergraduate Student
Victor Carrillo
Anthropology
Undergraduate Student
Alex New
Anthropology
Undergraduate Student
Samantha Murphy
Anthropology
Undergraduate Student
College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences
Our project's goal is to utilize the Adobe Illustrator Program with artifact analysis. Using artifacts obtained from the Dos Hombres to Gran Cacao Archaeology project headed by Dr. Marisol Cortes Rincon. We will learn to use Adobe Illustrator to build digital images of the artifacts and create a database for them to be observed for present and future studies. We hope that our work will inspire continued use of this technique so others may be able to study artifacts in a digital and hard copy form so that artifacts can be better preserved and researched in multiple mediums and easily accessible to other scholars. This will allow for a stronger collaboration and interpretation.
Capstone Workbook: Leaders, Leadership and Career Skills
Dr. Alison Holmes
Politics
Faculty
College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences
This project will build on the experience of the International Studies Capstone class by taking material used in previous courses and adding active learning exercises that will help students develop leadership and career skills. Each section within the workbook would be free-standing, enabling both students and faculty to use this as a resource outside the context of this specific course or major. The learning outcome of the workbook will be to encourage students to both reflect on, and create their own leadership approach and apply that to their post-university career plans. The overall goal of this project is the creation of an open source, practical classroom tool.
Network Analysis of Individuals and Organizations Involved in Food Issues at Humboldt State University and Surrounding Communities (Phase 1)
Anna Malia G. Barker
Department of Communication
Undergraduate Student
Michael S. Bruner
Department of Communication
Faculty
College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences
This applied research project is one attempt to contribute to the building and strengthening of partnerships among those involved with food issues at Humboldt State University and surrounding communities. While we report some information, we also seek to advocate for even more collaboration among local stakeholders.
Content Analysis of Sexualized Violence Across the California State University System
Torisha Stone
Sociology
Undergraduate Student
College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences
Content analysis of the sexual assault prevention programs and education provided at the 23 universities within the California State University system.
The Feminist Pedestal: Ronda Rousey and the Representation of Female Athletes
Karissa Valine
Department of Communication
Undergraduate Student
Michael S. Bruner
Department of Communication
Faculty
College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences
This article will explore the feminist self-identification of female athletes in addition to critiquing the harms and benefits of placing female athletes on a “feminist pedestal.” Ronda Rousey, a well-known athlete in mixed martial arts, will serve as a case study in the analysis.
Sociology Students of Higher Education
Zachary Kihm
Sociology
Undergraduate Student
Mary Virnoche
Sociology
Faculty
College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences
I'm conducting research for Mary Virnoche. The research has mostly been reviewing qualitative literature on peer mentoring, mentoring, retention rates, and approaches institutions of higher education take in order to have high retention rates among Sociology majors. The focus of the study is directly on Sociology but the literature reviewed is expansive. This project will show the audience the problem(s) with low retention rates of SOC majors and will have the key findings in my review. The research project is still taking place so I'll have plenty of data and analysis of Mary's literature and research. I may add key findings that have helped with my existing research on higher education.
Mapping Ancient Maya Lowlands
Aleck Tan
Anthropology/Archaeology
Undergraduate Student
Breana Esparza
Anthropology/Archaeology
Undergraduate Student
Marisol Cortes- Rincon PhD
Anthropology/Archaeology
Faculty
College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences
Aleck Tan and Breana Esparza will assist Dr. Marisol Cortes-Rincon in mapping the areas between Dos Hombres and Gran Cacao using GIS and remote sensing techniques. Aleck Tan has been using satellite imagery to analyze the vegetation in the area in order to identify the extent of the causeways by applying remote sensing techniques of calculating the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI). Breana Esparza has been applying different methods of spatial analysis to create topographic contours of quarries and water features near the site N950. The information gathered would help create a better understanding of how ancient Mayan rural communities lived within their environments.
Zooarchaeology 3D Digitization
Brianna King
Anthropology
Undergraduate Student
College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences
Our research project consists of photographing animal remains and combining the photos to make digital 3D models which will later be used for student education for those who do not have direct hands-on access to these materials. To provide accurate models to be studied, photographs are taken of each bone 360 degrees around and stitched together using a program called STRATA 3D. The purpose of this project is to make our zooarchaeology collection available to the public while also ensuring that the remains will not be damaged. By incorporating the use of STRATA 3D, current and future students of Humboldt State University will be able to access this database for years to come.