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: Paleoclimate and Sequence Stratigraphy of Multistory Paleosols: Honaker Trail Formation, Southeast Utah; A sequence of paleosols in the regressive sequence of the Late Pennsylvanian (Missourian) Honaker Trail Formation is interpreted in terms of climate and landscape evolution, and sequence stratigraphic significance based on field, petrographic, and isotopic evidence. The study section consists of ~10m of calcareous loessite containing multistory weakly developed paleosols overlain by a ~3.5m thick mature calcisol, ~1.5m of calcareous green siltstone and a fusilinid rich limestone. The immature paleosols are characterized by calcareous rhizoliths in a fine grained sand/silt matrix with almost no destruction of original bedding structures. These sediments are interpreted to have been deposited during low stand in an arid environment with sparse vegetation when eolian transport of fine grained material was unimpeded by the presence of standing water or abundant vegetative cover. The mature paleosol is characterized by: well developed blocky ped structures, accumulation of pedogenic carbonate to stage 3 (as defined by Gile et al. 1966), rhizoliths in the form of stacked carbonate nodules, clay slickensides, and drab mottles in an otherwise red matrix of clay and silt. Stable isotope analysis of pedogenic carbonates from the mature paleosol showed Carbon and Oxygen stable isotope ratios are depleted (δC13 avg. -6.03 PDB and δO18 avg. -4.01 PDB) relative to marine carbonates of similar age. Stable Carbon ratios are depleted sufficient to infer soil CO2 was present during carbonate precipitation. However, stable Oxygen isotope ratios were only slightly depleted compared to marine water values at the time; this may be a result of overprinting from isotopically heavier marine fluids moving through the soil post deposition. The formation of a mature soil is interpreted to be the result of increased humidity reducing wind transport of sediment and encouraging landscape stabilization through increased vegetative cover. The color and lack of pedogenic features in the green siltstone suggests a reducing, waterlogged depositional environment not conducive to plant growth and is interpreted as a transgressive supratidal deposit. This hypothesis is supported by the presence of glauconite and the fact that the green siltstone underlies a marine carbonate.

: Patterns in Methods of Body Disposal: An Analysis of Choice Rationale and Urbanization; In 1999, Hochrein and associates presented the findings of The Buried Body Cases Analysis Project (BBCAP), a nation-wide study that identified patterns in the methods by which murders were committed and the variable ways in which bodies were disposed of between the years of 1994 to 1997. The present study provides a partial update to the BBCAP by looking for similar patterns in murders committed in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah between the years of 2000 to 2014 and comparing these patterns to those described in the earlier study. A better awareness and understanding of these murder and body disposal patterns can aid forensic professionals in future criminal investigations. Searches of NEXIS® Systems database provided a total of 119 newspaper articles describing relevant murder cases, and population data was collected from FBI Uniform Crime Reports and Bureau of Justice Statistics. Patterns observed in the current study were similar to those reported by the BBCAP; the most common method/cause of death between the two studies was by the use of a gun, followed by strangulation. The majority of the victims knew their killer, and bodies were seldom altered. Contrary to expectations, there is no significant relationship between the murder rate and population size of metropolitan areas in the Southwest. One significant difference between the BBCAP report and the current study is the average age of offenders, which is between 14-19 years of age in murders committed in the Southwest between 2000 and 2014.

: Perceived Stereotypes Effect and Self-Efficacy on Academic Performance Specific to Native American Students at Fort Lewis College; In this study, we measure the effect of perceived stereotypes on self-efficacy and academic performance specific to the Native American/Alaska Native population at Fort Lewis College. Stereotype threat is common within minorities and we seek the origin of stereotype threat in an academic setting. A survey was used to see how Native American student participants rated the following population's perception of themselves: Non-Native American professors, Native American professors, Non-Native American students, and Native American students, along the measures of intelligence, motivation, and by preparedness (perceived stereotypes). We also measured self-efficacy on common academic success scales (e.g., how well do you concentrate on school subjects, how well do you complete homework by deadlines). Results suggested that stereotype threat does not exist from an out-group at Fort Lewis College, but from an in-group. Native American participants were not concerned with how Non-Native American professors and Non-Native American students perceived them on the perceived stereotype axis, but were more concerned with how Native American professors and Native American students perceived them on the perceived stereotype axis. Motivation was one of the key perceived stereotypes seen from Native American/Alaska Native participants that correlated with the participants' self-efficacy. Despite the lack of perception from Native American participants' perceived stereotypes and its effect on self-efficacy and academic performance, they still thought that Non-Native American professors and students thought of them as less intelligent, motivated, and prepared.

: Perceptions of Attraction: Effects and Differences in Attraction from Heterosexual Male and Female Perspectives; The purpose of this study was to determine how exercise affects the perception of attractiveness in heterosexual college-age women, whether or not women have a dysmorphed perception of themselves, and if women can accurately determine what men want for a body shape in their partner. This study consisted of two surveys, one for the males and one for the females. The female survey asked the subjects to describe their exercise habits and guess their measurements and weight. It also asked them to pick a figure that represented their body shape, what they would like to look like, and what they think men want. Their body measurements were then taken to see if their guesses were accurate. The male survey asked the men to choose the figure that they found most attractive. The results showed a moderate negative correlation between exercise and perception (r=-.32 and a p value of .066), and a difference between the females estimated and actual hip measurements (p=.0002). This suggests that women think their hips are bigger than they actually are. Lastly, there was a significant difference (p=.0013) between what males find attractive and what women thought men would find attractive. Only the third hypothesis suggested by the researcher was fully supported. The other two were not supported. These results show that women believe that men want a partner that is 38.2% thinner than what men actually find attractive. This suggests that men prefer a woman with a slightly larger figure than women expected them to.

: Perceptions of Disabilities; Participants (N=76) were given one of three scenarios where they were approaching a person waiting at the same bus stop as them. The person they approached was either an able-bodied person, a person with a mental disability, or a person with a physical disability. They were then asked to answer a series of 5 questions about their perceptions of that person on 1 to 10 scale. Each scenario contained the same questions about perception. A One-Way ANOVA test suggested that individuals were more likely to sit by someone with a physical disability than a mental disability (M=2.84, SD= 2.06), p=.000. Participants were also more likely to converse with an individual with a physical disability than a mental disability (M=3.48, SD=1.83), p=.000. Also, participants were more likely to offer assistance to a person with a physical disability than a mental disability (M=8.35, SD=1.50), p=.000. Participants perceived people with a physical disability as having a higher intellectual ability than people with a mental disability (M=6.95, SD=1.43), p=.013. There was no significant difference of perceptions of productivity in society between the physical disability and the mental disability (M=5.60, SD=2.04), p=.369. Overall, the results provided evidence that people in general have a more negative perceptions towards individuals with a mental disability than with a physical disability.

: Performance Analysis of Perforated Pipe Water Intake Structure; Gravity-fed water systems are the most commonly used type around the world. Every one of these systems must have some kind of intake structure to capture the water. The Fort Lewis College chapter of Engineers Without Borders developed a perforated pipe stacked array inlet structure that specifically addresses problems prevalent in the monsoonal climate found in southeast Asia. A series of tests are conducted to analyze and quantify the performance of the intake structure. The tests explore the relationships between the volume flow rate, the diameter of the pipe, and the diameter and spacing of the perforations. The orifice equation is used along with laboratory data to calculate the discharge coefficient for different combinations of the parameters. The resulting discharge coefficients were all relatively similar ranging from 0.602 ± 0.03 to 0.855 ± 0.05. From this data a set of design curves are developed that can be used to assisted in the engineering design of the stacked array water intake structure.

: Pharmaceuticals and Endocrine Disruptors in Municipal Wastewater Effluent; A 2008 Associated Press study of 28 major United States municipalities' water provider testing results uncovered traces of a wide variety of pharmaceuticals, hormones, and antibiotics in 24 of the cities' drinking water. These chemical compounds have been linked to two sources: the flushing or dumping of medications down the drain and the passage of excess chemicals through the human body and into municipal wastewater. Municipal wastewater treatment plants do not have the technology or infrastructure to remove these chemicals from the water, so they enter a stream or river and are carried downstream. In the Animas River Basin, in and around Durango, Colorado, no testing has been conducted for the presence of pharmaceutical compounds or endocrine disrupting chemicals. Many case studies have screened wastewater effluent and stream water for these chemicals throughout the country, the majority with similar results. A cooperative study with United States Geological Survey and Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection of the Environmental Protection Agency tested streams near drinking water intakes in Pennsylvania in 2007. Over a three-year study, 27 drinking water intake sites were tested throughout the state. These intakes were tested for levels of pharmaceuticals, hormones, and antibiotics. All of the 27 sites had at least one compound detected. The most commonly detected pharmaceuticals were caffeine, Carbamazepine, acetaminophen, antihistamines, and cotinine, a derivative of nicotine. The most commonly detected hormones included estrone, androstene, 17-beta estradiol, and cis-androsterone, all human male and female hormones. All levels of contaminants were found at very minimal levels in the parts per trillion concentrations. Although low, these levels have been proven detrimental to wildlife. Aquatic species are most reactive to these chemicals and have been proven to intersex and stop reproduction altogether when introduced to certain human hormones like estrone or estradiol, common hormones in birth control. Emerging research has prompted the research and development of wastewater chemical removal methods such as ozonation, activated carbon removal, and forward osmosis removal. This research suggests a screening of the Animas River needs to be conducted for the presence of pharmaceuticals and endocrine disruptors so solutions and prevention strategies can be implemented if needed.

: Philosophy of a Tire; Poem by Conor Laing from Fall 2013 - Winter 2014 issue of Images.

: Phylogeny and evolutionary distribution patterns in the endemic Hawaiian genus Charpentiera (Amaranthaceae); Phylogenetic analysis of the nr ITS region indicates that several species of the genus Charpentiera, C. autralis of French Polynesia and C. obovata populations of Kaua’i and Moloka’i, have historically hybridized with Achyranthes mutica, endemic to Hawai’i and Kaua’i. Analysis of the plasmid psbA-trnH region suggests that Achyranthes served as the pollen donor and Charpentiera as the seed donor in the hybridization event likely occurring on Kaua’i. Other C. obovata individuals from Maui and Lana’i show no signs of hybridization, indicating separate dispersal events of hybrid and non-hybrid forms to the Maui Nui Complex. Morphological analysis paired with phylogenetic results indicates that non-hybridizing Charpentiera species likely founded moist habitats and radiated to dryer habitats. These results also support founder event speciation of Charpentiera originating on Kaua’i and dispersing to the younger main islands of the Hawaiian archipelago.

: Political Philosophy and Nonhuman Animals; In this work I consider two arguments for the conclusion that nonhuman animals are not owed justice. Some argue that justice is solely a matter of distributing material goods and that this excludes nonhuman animals from the sphere of justice. This argument fails for two reasons. First, even if it's true that justice is solely a matter of distributing material goods, it's not clear that it follows that nonhuman animals are not owed justice. Second, the claim that justice is solely a matter of distributing material goods is false. Some argue that the recipients of justice can be determined by some contractarian theory--and that contractarian theories exclude nonhuman animals. Against this, I note that many contractarian theories have implausible consequences and that the most plausible forms of contractarianism don't exclude nonhuman animals. I then explore briefly what including nonhuman animals in the sphere of justice would look like.

: Pollinator Richness and Abundance in Forest Restoration Treatments of a Warm/Dry Mixed Conifer Forest, Southwestern Colorado; There is a general consensus that climate change in the southwestern United States will result in the region becoming warmer and drier throughout the 21st century (Darmenova, 2013). Studies suggest more aggressive thinning treatments may increase fire resistance and provide greater resilience to future climate-related stress (Kerhoulas, 2013). For this study, we focused on a warm, dry mixed conifer forest stand in southwestern Colorado. Forest restoration treatments may be beneficial for pollinator-plant relationships by altering understory vegetation and habitat (Nyoka, 2010). Pollinators of most forest systems are dominated by a mixture of bee species (order Hymenoptera). Flies (order Diptera) are the second largest pollinating group (Larson, 2001). Overstory thinning and prescribed burning have the potential to substantially increase habitat suitability for pollinating insect taxa in ponderosa pine forests of the American Southwest (Nyoka, 2010). Hypotheses: Pollinator richness/abundance will be significantly higher in the thin/burn treatment areas with higher richness in bees. Control and burn only treatments will have relatively similar pollinator richness/abundance with higher numbers of pollinator generalists (order Diptera).

: Pomegranate; Poem by Jessica Harmon from Fall 2008 - Winter 2009 issue of Images.

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