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- All Subjects: Anthropology
- Creators: School of Human Evolution & Social Change
- Member of: Theses and Dissertations
- Resource Type: Text
This paper will cover a variety of stable isotope systems, both light and heavy, that are used to interpret isotopic analysis in two different disciplines: bioarchaeology and forensic anthropology. To begin, I will give short histories of both bioarchaeology and forensic anthropology, including what is considered to be the beginning of the disciplines as well as the founders of said disciplines. Following the histories of the disciplines, there will be a short background in isotopes and isotopic analysis, including an introduction to isoscapes and how isotopic data can be collected for further interpretation. There will then be an introduction to light isotopes, focusing on the ones used for this thesis, which will lead into the background of each light isotope. Following the light isotopes is an introduction to the heavy isotopes and the backgrounds of each of the heavy isotopes. Finally, this thesis will end in the conclusions section.
This research highlights the experiences of mothers diagnosed with preeclampsia and HELLP syndrome through qualitative data analysis of social media comments. I collected 300 comments from the Instagram accounts @preeclampsia.foundation and @HELLPsyndrome. The two overarching themes found were: (1) Experiences with maternal healthcare and (2) Virtual Healing Spaces. These Instagram accounts represented unique communities that provide support and information that cannot be found elsewhere. These findings address gaps in the literature on maternal experience with preeclampsia and HELLP syndrome and identify directions for further research. The conclusions drawn add to current research that points to the need for reform in maternal healthcare.
Studying Darwin's Hunch: A Reflexive Study of Scientific Racism in Paleoanthropology in South Africa
This thesis aims to analyze and discuss the issues regarding South African paleoanthropology and its relationship with systematic racism. This is done through a literature review of the book Darwin’s Hunch by Christa Kuljian as well as other articles by other academics. Two main themes are explored; theme one is racism and evolutionary essentialism and theme two is physical violence and theft. These themes and other issues continue into the discussion section, which features more of the influences that inspired this thesis including prior projects and a trip to South Africa.
The Healthy Pregnancy Summit is a collection of videos from a variety of specialists detailing how to have a healthy pregnancy and healthy child, based on the latest scientific and medical information. This project summarizes each presentation, and compares to the Healthy Child Guide, a document supplementary to the summit. Finally, this project analyzes the overall usefulness of the summit and each presentation, and suggests areas for improvement.
With recent reports indicating that there is a relatively low number of pregnant people vaccinated against COVID-19 in the United States (~30% per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, October, 2021), this study aims to understand the reasons for COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among the pregnant population in the state of Arizona. Using a mixed-methods approach, this cross-sectional study employs both semi-structured qualitative interviews (n = 40) and a quantitative survey instrument (n = 400) to better understand the reasons for COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy among pregnant people, with data collected over the course of a few months. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression are employed to analyze the quantitative data and the semi-structured interviews are inductively coded to analyze themes across participant interviews. The results from this study are not only able to help better address disparities in COVID-19 vaccinations among pregnant people, but they also provide implications for vaccine hesitancy overall in order to develop interventions to address vaccine hesitancy. Future research is warranted to better understand regional differences in vaccine hesitancy and differences across populations.
One of the best ways to learn about an ancient society is to examine their architecture. Form imitates and is limited by utility and this can especially be seen in how humans set up their communities. However, with house structures, a new social dimension is added and can create many factors in its making. Social complexity and hierarchies can be reflected through the communal structures and layout and provide insight into how people organize themselves. In this paper, over 400 Hohokam structures from the Preclassic and Classic periods were compiled into a general dataset and 322 of which had sufficient data relevant to the research questions were used to determine any notable characteristics. The organization of the structures in this way provided a measurable process in determining these social and cultural aspects. The shapes of the Hohokam homes seemed to stay consistent over time with only the location and size of the entrance varying from site to site. Structures made in the Preclassic period had a smoother distribution of sizes than that of the Classic period structures. However, the changes in individual houses was not statistically significant. There is evidence that supports the notion that, as the Hohokam civilization developed, hierarchies began to form in their social complexity. Yet, it is not great enough to make any broad claims. The information derived from this paper can support further implications of growing social inequalities and the formation of classes within this community.