STRATA

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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Terror Management in the Courtroom: Capital Crimes, Death Accessibility, & Interrogation Camera Angle May Alter Conviction Rates
This research examines the effects of terror management theory (TMT) and camera angle perspective on jury members. TMT states that humans defend themselves against the anxiety stemming from death awareness (mortality salience; MS) by investing in cultural worldviews, which often results in identification with similar others as well as harsh denigration of criminals. I sought to investigate whether participants' rating of a suspect's guilt would be influenced not only by MS but also by whether they watched a video of the suspect or the interrogator, which presumably altered their identification with the suspect. Each participant was either primed with mortality salience (MS) or a control before reading a description of a mock crime and then viewing an 80-second video clip of the beginning of an interrogation with the suspect, with the camera either focused on the suspect or the interrogator for the duration of the clip. Results of two experiments showed that, under MS, participants who watched the suspect-centered video were significantly less certain of the suspect's guilt—and less likely to reach a unanimous guilty verdict during deliberation—than those who watched the interrogator- focused video, whereas the converse was true for the control participants. Gender also played a role in the verdicts with females finding the suspect guilty significantly more often than males. Results are discussed and directions for future research are offered.
Testing Goalkeeper Techniques for Saving Penalty Kicks
A penalty kick in the game of soccer is a unique and impactful event. The goalkeeper attempts to defend the goal in the best way possible using one of two techniques. Goalkeepers dive to their left or right in an effort to save the ball, about 95% of the time (Bar-Eli, Azar, Ritov, Keider-Levin, & Schein, 2007), because that is the norm associated with defending a penalty kick. This is classified as the guessing technique. The other penalty kick save technique is reacting, where the goalkeeper reacts to the direction of the shot. The purpose of this study was to test the effectiveness of these two penalty kick saving techniques. The hypothesis indicated that the reacting technique would be the more successful of the two techniques. A total of 23 collegiate level soccer players, five of which were goalkeepers, were used to test the techniques and collect the data. Each goalkeeper defended twenty penalty kicks; ten were defended employing the guessing technique, and ten were defended utilizing the reacting technique. A total of twenty-five penalty kicks were saved by the goalkeepers. The guessing technique resulted in eleven saves and the reacting technique resulted in fourteen saves. This data was analyzed using a dependent t-test which showed that the results were not significant (p>0.05). The results are leaning slightly in the favor of reacting possibly suggesting that there are benefits to using the reacting technique.
Testing Models on the Relationship of Clay Alteration and Mineralization: Bulldog Mountain Vein System, Creede, CO
The Bulldog Mountain vein system is one of the four major epithermal deposits in the Creede mining district. Exploration drill cores from within the Bulldog Mountain system reveal alteration haloes that contain secondary micas formed during volcanic and hydrothermal events. In this research we tested the hypothesis that Short Wave Infrared (SWIR) spectroscopy could delineate the proportions of clay species and that these data could be used to predict silver concentrations within the Bulldog Mountain system. The relative proportions and identities of clays species were determined in seven samples from four drills using electron microprobe and QEMSCAN analyses. The analyses demonstrated that the clay alteration is mostly illite + sericite in varying proportions along with minor kaolinite. Electron microprobe and QEMSCAN data served as a baseline to compare with SWIR absorption spectra collected using three different methods of sample preparation. The SWIR spectra gave no definitive control on the abundances or identification of the different clay species in the samples despite using several different methods of analysis. Our results also show no correlation between the SWIR spectra and silver concentrations. Further research is required to fully assess the viability of the TerraSpec® 4 Mineral Spectrometer as a tool to use for exploration in the Bulldog Mountain vein system.
Textiles, Natural Dyes, and Sustainability
Until the mid-19th century textile colors came from plants, insects and sea life. In 1856 William Perkins, a teenage English chemist, accidentally discovered a purple synthetic dye he called mauve. This discovery led to an explosion of synthetically produced colors. Today we know about the detrimental impact to our ecological systems from textile processes. For example, an article in Tech Science states: "The wastewater from textile plants is classified as the most polluting of all the industrial sectors. The increased demand for textile products and the proportional increase in their production, and the use of synthetic dyes have together contributed to dye wastewater becoming one of the substantial sources of severe pollution problems in current times." Developing, refining and disseminating sustainable textile practices are presently widespread. These methods range from growing fibers such as cotton without pesticides, to the humane care of animals that provide fiber, to obtaining color from natural organic dye materials. Currently I am exploring the traditional and innovative processes of this dynamic natural dye movement as a medium for my artwork. This presentation will offer a window into the resurgence of natural dye practices and techniques. Via examples of my work as well as other textile artists I will show the beautiful palette and designs that can be accomplished with natural dyes.
The 10 am Policy and Smoke Jumping: Setting the Stage for Disaster on America's Public Lands 1935-1988
This thesis delves into the origins of aggressive fire suppression in America and the specifics of the "10 am" policy, implemented by the United States Forest Service in 1935. It does so by piecing pieces together the events of the historically tragic Mann Gulch Fire that occurred on August 5, 1949 in Helena, Montana, with a goal of not only showing what happened, but why events unfolded as they did at the Montana fire, how the guiding policy influenced those events, and how this event still effects the fire service. Through a mixture of primary and secondary sources this project applies a micro-historical lens to Mann Gulch to show the dramatic influence of the historically aggressive "10 am" policy had on the creation of the 12 elite Smokejumpers who died there. This policy not only drastically affected the ecology of America's public lands; it also contributed to a rise in firefighter fatalities. This thesis extrapolates an understanding of how gendered expectations with in the male dominated USFS and Smokejumping program affected the formation of this policy and the actions of the individuals on this tragic fire, and describes the eventual movement to a more accommodating fire policy after 1978. Finally it illuminates the ecological effects of such fire suppression practices and how they contributed to the catastrophic 1988 fire season at Yellowstone National Park which almost derailed the movement to inclusion of fire in management of America's public lands.
The Acute Effect of Heel to Toe Drop on Running Economy
The purpose of this study was to assess how the running economy of experienced runners was affected when wearing 4mm and 0mm heel to toe drop shoes as opposed to regular running shoes. Previous studies have shown that barefoot running and running in lower heel to toe drop shoes increases running economy (Squadrone & Galozzi, 2009). The participants (n=23; 18 male and 8 female) were subjected to 3 separate tests that were each 20 minutes. The tests were performed within 90 minute, the order randomized. During the first test, the subject ran for 20 minutes at a speed they would run at for 1 hour. During the second and third test, the subject ran at the same speed in their randomly chosen shoes. Gas analysis was used to measure VO2 in kilograms and measurements were taken one time per breath for 20 minutes with a Vacumed mini-CPX. Using one way repeated ANOVA, results were not significant (p>.05). The results of this study show that there was not a significant difference in running economy between running with 4mm or 0mm heel to toe drop shoes and running with regular running shoes. This study was examining acute changes in running economy, however it is recommended that further research examine long term changes in running economy
The Acute Effect of Heel to Toe Drops on Running Economy
Keywords: Running, running shoes, physical fitness, barefoot running, sports, gait, Runners (sports), Human Locomotion, Analysis Of Variance, Physical Fitness, Human Being, Research The purpose of this study was to assess how the running economy of experienced runners was affected when wearing 4mm and 0mm heel to toe drop shoes as opposed to regular running shoes. Previous studies have shown that barefoot running and running in lower heel to toe drop shoes increases running economy (Squadrone & Galozzi, 2009). The participants (n=23; 18 male and 8 female) were subjected to 3 separate tests that were each 20 minutes. The tests were performed within 90 minute, the order randomized. During the first test, the subject ran for 20 minutes at a speed they would run at for 1 hour. During the second and third test, the subject ran at the same speed in their randomly chosen shoes. Gas analysis was used to measure VO2 in kilograms and measurements were taken one time per breath for 20 minutes with a Vacumed mini-CPX. Using one way repeated ANOVA, results were not significant (p>.05). The results of this study show that there was not a significant difference in running economy between running with 4mm or 0mm heel to toe drop shoes and running with regular running shoes.
The Affect of Stress on the Frequency and Severity of Hot Flashes Experienced by Postmenopausal Women
The main objective of the current study was to determine if daily stress is related to the frequency and intensity of hot flashes experienced by postmenopausal women. A stress survey (The Ohio State University Medical Center) was taken by the participants at the end of each week of journaling for three weeks. For each week a stress rating was assigned for each participant based on their stress survey results. Self reported journaling of hot flash experiences was recorded by each subject for three weeks. The intensity of each hot flash was rated on a scale from 1-10, and recorded in each participant's journal. A Pearson correlation test was used to analyze the data collected comparing stress and the frequency and severity of hot flashes experienced during the three weeks of data collection for the current study. No significant correlation was found for the relationship of stress to the frequency or severity of hot flashes experienced for each week evaluated.
The American Indian Declaration Of Independence: Classical Liberal Rhetoric In Robert Yellowtail's Speech Before The Senate Committee On Indian Affairs In 1919
In 1919, as the Crow (Apsáalooke) Nation was being forced by the federal government to allot the "surplus" lands on their reservation, tribal member Robert Yellowtail spoke before the United States Senate Committee on Indian Affairs in a speech entitled, "In Defense of The Rights of The Crow Indians and The Indians Generally." To establish the context of the speech, a brief history of the Apsáalooke Indian nation and tribal member Robert Yellowtail will be given within the framework of United States Indian policy relevant to assimilation and allotment at the time. Classical liberalism, its political philosophy of property and government, illuminates Yellowtail's arguments through a generative rhetorical analysis. The implications of the analysis are discussed as a case study of liberal political philosophy utilized to make the case for the rights of American Indians to self-determination in a direct challenge to the dominant United States Indian policy paradigm at the time. Contrary to American founding principles, American Indians had been subjected to the same paternalizing policy strategies underlying the July 4th, 1776 rebellion of the American colonies against the British crown. Yellowtail skillfully brought these inconsistencies to light, challenging the paternal paradigm by using the key terms and concepts of classical liberal political philosophy as used by the American Founding Fathers.
The Anthropological Transformation and Its Relationship With Native American Peoples
This study explores the transformation of American anthropology and its relationship with Native American peoples. Since its beginning in the late 1800s, the focus of American anthropology was Native American cultures because they were viewed as primitive cultures at the time. Biological, archaeological, and ethnographic studies were done by anthropologists not only to learn and understand Native American people but to document and preserve as much information as possible before the last of the "pre-historic people" disappeared. Literature from both Native and non-Native American scholars help to describe anthropology's past studies and shed light on its more recent improvements. To understand the local and current perceptions of Native peoples I conducted one-on-one interviews with twelve Native students attending Fort Lewis College to help shed light on their perceptions of anthropology today. It was found that six participants were very well-informed about anthropology while the other six were not. It was also found that all twelve participants supported the idea of studying other cultures so long as researchers stayed within their boundaries. This idea was emphasized most when discussing sacred traditions and NAGRPA laws governing the human remains of Native American ancestors. Altogether, these twelve individuals acknowledge anthropology's positive transformation, and they suggest improvements for future studies.
The Antiquity of Language: A Review of the Evidence
The holy grail of many scientific inquiries has been the discovery of the precise evolutionary progression for the faculty of modern language. It is a remarkable question that has persisted since before Charles Darwin's publication of his theory of evolution by natural selection in 1859. Since Darwin, the popular premise that language was and is a uniquely human feature has remained largely unchanged. However, the recent advancements in genetics and ever increasing cache of archaeological material has begged for a reinterpretation according to some scientists. Dediu and Levinson (2013) claim that modern language is phylogenetically ancient and was a part of the modern human and Neandertal lineage at least a half a million years ago, beginning roughly at the time of divergence from the last common ancestor Homo heidelbergensis. Yet, this time frame is significantly older than the typical and widely accepted assumption of 50-100,000 years as proposed by the likes of renowned linguist Noam Chomsky. Chomsky, like others (e.g. Berwick et al., 2013; Tattersall, 2010), propose that the cognitive abilities for language were overly limited or non-existent outside of Homo sapiens and therefore language must have necessarily originated with the early human species. Nevertheless, Dediu and Levinson (2013) purport that the recent amalgam of evidence supports an evolutionary history antithetic to a simple and solitary progression of modern language that is strictly confined to Homo sapiens. They suggest that the evidence articulates a diverse evolutionary history where Neandertals and ancient modern humans shared genes and culture on a wholly significant level and because of this intimate interrelatedness and common evolutionary descent, Neandertals must have also possessed the essential foundations for modern language. This paper analyzes the evidence for a revision of the antiquity of language and ultimately concurs that it is indeed convincing.
The Case for Parental Rights as Property Rights
In this presentation I will argue that parental rights are property rights by applying John Locke's theory of property ownership. I will then explore what this theory implies about parental rights when children are abused by their parents, when children are born as a result of rape, and when children are the unintentional result of consensual sex between two persons who did not previously intend to have children together.

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