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Presenters & Abstracts: 2019
Is ‘Populism’ or the ‘Neoliberal Project’ Challenging Liberal Democratic Norms & Institutions?
- John FerdonPolitical Science & PhilosophyUndergraduate Student
College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences
Conventional wisdom in academia and media often paint recent challenges to liberal democratic norms and institutions as a a result of “populism”. In this lenses, the anti-pluralistic, and tribalistic tendencies of the demos, or people, of a political community challenge the ‘liberal’ element of liberal democracy. In this project I challenge this conventional wisdom, and argue that such an analysis does not take into account the causes of the what is referred to as ‘populism’’. To understand the causes, I argue that we must take a look at the cultural, political and economic changes that have been unfolding since the late seventies.
Islamophobia, Anti-Semitism, and Other Forms of Religious Prejudice in Humboldt County
- Michael HowellReligious StudiesUndergraduate Student
- Vincent BiondoReligious StudiesFaculty
College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences
In Fall, 2018, Religious Studies senior Michael Howell wrote a research paper for RS 332 "Introduction to Islam" on Islamophobia in Humboldt County. Professor Biondo encouraged Michael to expand the scope to examine religious prejudice more broadly. To help him interview twelve Jewish, Christian, and Muslim leaders in Humboldt County and to publish his findings, Michael was awarded an Undergraduate Research & Creative Activity Award from the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences. Does Humboldt contain an ideology or worldview (such as libertarianism, secularism, spirituality, or naturalism) that prevents violence or promotes civic engagement?
It Gets Better: Policy Changes Predict Implicit Bias Against Homosexuality
- Danielle SiegelPsychologyGraduate Student
- Ben SkillmanPsychologyGraduate Student
- Hannah FergusonPsychologyGraduate Student
- Desiree GarciaPsychologyUndergraduate Student
College of Professional Studies
The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of policy changes on people's implicit biases about gay people. Participants completed an online IAT task that measures implicit favoritism for gay vs. straight people. A time series analysis indicates that the average monthly implicit favoritism score (for straight over gay people) decreased following the legalization of same-sex marriage in the United States. This suggests reduced favoritism for heterosexuals over gay and lesbian people, b = - 0.83, t(164) = -18.74, p < .001. As predicted, people exhibited less implicit bias against homosexuality after the legalization of gay marriage.
Jefferson Community Center: Making Progress Where People Matter
- Lauren SanchezEnvironmental StudiesUndergraduate Student
College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences
Jefferson Community Center is a non-profit organization located in Eureka, CA. This project will focus on their dedication to food insecurity and how they teach their youth programs about sustainable food practices. It will also show other services such as their sustainable garden plots in which they grow their own food but also plant native plants for wildlife conservation. My poster will show the variety of services I've helped with during my time there.
Jefferson Community Center: Working Together for the Greater Eureka Community
- Desteny GutierrezEnvironmental StudiesUndergraduate Student
College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences
The Jefferson Community Center is dedicated to fostering a sense of working together by increasing recreational, educational and vocational opportunities to the needs of the community. The excitement builds as our community shows its commitment to a clean, safe neighborhood full of activities for all ages. This project will summarize my service learning at Jefferson, primarily working with the youth programs. I will describe a few other programs and services offered at Jefferson, supported by photos of events and activities. I will provide contact information and opportunities to get involved. Join us with your ideas, projects and energy!
Kaulana Na Wai Eha
- Kawai NavaresForestryUndergraduate Student
College of Natural Resources & Sciences
In central Maui in the Wailuku district, a system of fresh water streams that sustained thriving Hawaiian communities since time immemorial is all dried up. Kaulana Na Wai Eha (the famous four great streams) is comprised of the Waihe’e river, Waiehu, Iao, and Waikapu streams. These waterways have been diverted since the beginning of the plantation era, to grow sugarcane. The sugarcane industry has now cease but the water is still being diverted and sold to private corporations, continuously draining the streams leaving no water for the surrounding community. I will be talking about the legal battle between the Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co. v. Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation.
Keeping it Glassy: Skeletal Analysis of Ancient Mesoamerican Obsidian Weapons
- Taylor PicardAnthropologyUndergraduate Student
- Jordyn WintersAnthropology
- Baylor GreeneAnthropologyUndergraduate Student
- Philip PantagesAnthropologyUndergraduate Student
- Natalie WellsAnthropologyUndergraduate Student
College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences
The project examined the damage caused to skeletal remains by ancient Mesoamerican weapons, due to the lack of research into this topic. The project focused on macuahuitls, wooden clubs lined with obsidian blades, which were produced through a combination of ancient and modern techniques. These weapons were then tested on animal crania acquired from a local butcher. The preliminary results show that the weapons left similar patterns of damage to the skeletal remains while having unique characteristics reflective of the individual weapon. These results show potential for future research in the area that could be compiled into a database similar to those used today for modern forensic cases.
Klamath Dam Removal
- Noah JenkinsFisheriesUndergraduate Student
- Aidan BerlinFisheriesUndergraduate Student
College of Natural Resources & Sciences
Within our poster we will present the positives of the removal of the dams on the klamath and the effects that it will have on the water ways in that area. While doing this we will also inform about the history and importance of rivers like the Klamath that are being dammed. We will also cover the socio economic effects of the dam removal on indigenous groups that have thrived on salmonid populations. Scientists have speculated that the presence of the dams is responsible for the decline of salmonid in northern rivers. In conclusion we will make a hypothesis based on other dam removals to see what effect it will have on the area.
L.A. Sheriff’s “Our Mission, Creed, and Core Values”: a Subversive Standpoint
- Cristian MartinezEnglishUndergraduate Student
College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences
The Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department has strategically created a message in hopes of persuading its population that they stand for justice. “Our Mission, Creed, and Core Values,” may be considered an honorable message to its preferred audience. But from a subversive standpoint, the message is considered to target and criminalize marginalized citizens. This study will demonstrate how the hegemony uses militarized rhetoric to support their war on our communities. Ultimately, this research seeks to educate its audience about the ways in which messages, those similar to the LASD’s, continue to instigate hostilities towards and among the marginalized population.
Leaf Dispersal Trends Among Pyrophytic and Mesophytic Oak Tree Species
- Matthew PedrottiForestry and Wildland ResourcesUndergraduate Student
College of Natural Resources & Sciences
We hypothesize that leaves from pyrophytic species (highly flammable species with historically frequent fire regimes) will disperse farther than leaves from mesophytic species (less flammable species with lower frequency fire regimes). To test this, we examined the leaf fall velocity and dispersal distance of four mesophytic and four pyrophytic oaks species from California by dropping ten leaves of each species from five different heights in the absence of wind. Preliminary results indicated that mesophytes dispersed farther than pyrophytes, and mean leaf fall velocity was slower in pyrophytes. Mesophytes could have traveled farther due to having lower surface area-to-mass ratio.