May 3, 2024 | Digital Showcase | Humboldt Library
All Presenters & Abstracts
Watershed Base Plane
Presentation Year: 2018
Surveying Campbell creek watershed, located in north eastern Humboldt county on the edge of the Hoopa Indian Reservation, implementing mitigation plans for conservation and restoration. There are many environmental impacts that are hazardest to the water runoffs and aquifers such as legal/ illegal cannibus grow, illegal solid waste dumping, and sedimentation from old logging roads. Building maps would provide baseline information for measuring activity that can be harmful to the ecosystem that provides an abundance of resources for a complex bio-diversity and cultural resources for the Hupa Tribe.
We Are Your Community
Presentation Year: 2018
For our project we want to focus on bridging divides between students of color and the community. To address this need, we are designing a media campaign called "We Are Your Community." This media campaign will consist of posters in business windows, short videos on social media and a website, and a community building event where students and community members can interact. The media campaign will highlight the stories of students of color and the nuances of their positive and negative experiences in Humboldt County.
What do the Rising Far Right and Populist Movements Look Like?
Presentation Year: 2018
I am working with a Political Science research fellowship to map the incipient far right and Alt-Right. Finding points of opposition, commonality, and differences between the various groups.
When I Grow Up...
Presentation Year: 2018
Rural communities often have a limited number of trained and certified healthcare professionals to serve the local population. Additionally, retaining healthcare professionals becomes an added challenge once recruited into the area. The purpose of this project is to create an inclusive and empowering curriculum in partnership with Del Norte Health Career Pathways, to introduce elementary school students to healthcare careers with the goal of promoting the development of local professionals in underserved communities. Each lesson is designed to promote self-reflection and provide age appropriate life skill tools, including mindfulness activities and a reflective journal.
Women's Intrasexual Competitiveness Tracks Changes in Their Testosterone Levels
Presentation Year: 2018
To investigate the role of hormones in female intrasexual competition, we carried out a longitudinal study of changes in intrasexual competitiveness (Study 1) and assessed intrasexual competition in women using various forms of hormonal contraceptives (Study 2). Study 1: Multilevel modeling of the data revealed a significant, positive within-subject effect of testosterone on intrasexual competition, indicating that women reported greater intrasexual competitiveness when testosterone was high. Study 2: No significant differences were observed for reported intrasexual competition among women using combined oral contraceptives versus women using progesterone-only contraceptives.
Boiling Down: An Introduction to the Eureka Iron Works Collection at The Humboldt Room
Presentation Year: 2017
This project investigates the Eureka Boiler Works Collection housed at Humboldt State University’s Humboldt Room by presenting the collection within a historical context, including how it arrived at the Humboldt Room. The social and economic context of the Humboldt Boiler Works will be addressed as well as the company’s impact on Humboldt County and the surrounding Pacific Northwest. The collection includes documents ranging from the late 1800s to the 1940s, incorporating employee records, product designs, correspondence and general company records. The project provides an overview of the contents of the collection.
Environmental Education through STEAM
Presentation Year: 2017
STEM (Science Technology Engineering Mathematics) programs for children is a well known concept to encourage more students to pursue education and careers in such fields, but what is missing from this? Art! The Arcata Afterschool Program in Humboldt County has taken the initiative to implement STEAM activities into their program to show that art and creative forms of expression is just as important of a field as STEM. As a part of our Service Learning project, we felt that environmental education with art was something we wanted to gain more experience with and decided to create our own lesson plans to develop our skills and teach a new kind of pedagogy to children in our community.
"A Feminist Interpretation Of Women's Work With Koloa In The Tongan Community"
Presentation Year: 2017
This research involves studying the Tongan culture in the San Francisco Bay Area with a feminist perspective focused on Tongan women and Tongan cultural materials known as koloa. Koloa is a major component of keeping with Tongan traditions and customs. Koloa is used for all cultural, religious, and social events. Those with proprietary entitlement are women. Women create, collect, and sell koloa. Studying women and their dominant role as cultural providers will shed light on their valuable assets and talents within the community. The Tonga Islands are located in the deep South Pacific. The study was conducted from interviews with the women, observations, and a focus group.
"O’er the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave!" The Power of Our Official and Unofficial National Anthems
Presentation Year: 2017
This study explores the historical origins and contemporary views of “The Star Spangled Banner” as the national anthem and three “unofficial anthems” in the United States. We define music as rhetoric and describe its role in promoting patriotism and fashioning identities. We conduct a rhetorical analysis of “The Star Spangled Banner” and discuss how it has become a rallying point - figuratively and literally - for first amendment rights by examining the wide array of actions and reactions to it. We describe the backstories of three unofficial national anthems and analyze how they have been transformed and appropriated by different groups and movements in the United States.
501(c)(3) development for local equine assisted growth and learning (EAGL) organization
Presentation Year: 2017
This project involved work with Flying Changes, a local EAGL (or horse therapy) organization. EAGL is an experiential therapy shown to be a powerful modality in treating all sorts of trauma and emotional issues, especially with those who do not benefit from, or are resistant to, traditional talk therapy. I worked to develop grant application and fundraising strategies, build lasting relationships with collaborating partners and inform the organization on existing research and education opportunities. I hope to have assisted in receiving sustainable funding, and in building a sustainable organization, providing EAGL to populations in Humboldt County who could benefit from its power.
A Multi-Cultural Approach to Lesson Study
Presentation Year: 2017
Through the collaboration between Humboldt State and the university HEP in Switzerland, we developed lesson study practices for English Language Learners at l'Élysée, a Swiss high school. Specifically, our main areas of interest involved assessing student engagement and learning. Our lesson was taught four times, and after each lesson, it was adapted to better match the needs of our students.
A New Look at Factors Influencing Iron Limitation of Phytoplankton along the California Coastline
Presentation Year: 2017
While the ocean's upwelling regions bring nitrogen-rich water to the surface, evidence shows that the micronutrient, iron, can be limiting. In areas of low iron, the biological utilization of nitrogen is inhibited, preventing phytoplankton from fulfilling their productivity potential. It is thought that iron concentration of coastally upwelled water is tied to the coast’s geology , but there are more factors involved. To investigate this, we analyzed samples of California’s upwelling coast from published data that were deemed iron replete or limited. By studying the location's sea surface temperature and altimetry, plumes of water were proven an additional factor that influences iron.
A Search for Triggered Star Formation in the Compact Group of Galaxies NGC 5851, NGC 5852 and CGCG 077-007
Presentation Year: 2017
Galaxy interactions provide ideal conditions for triggering star formation, and impact galaxy evolution and the structure of the universe. I present analysis of one compact group of interacting galaxies. Areas of increased star formation are classified by the identification of the most UV bright regions within the galaxies. In order to gain deeper insight into how mergers drive galaxy evolution, star formation histories are determined by fitting ultraviolet to mid-infrared photometry to Spectral Energy Distribution (SED) models.
Advocacy for the Holistic Development of the Gut Microbiota in Young Children
Presentation Year: 2017
As a plethora of continuing research emerges from projects such as The Human Microbiome Project (NIH, 2008), there is more evidence than ever before on how the health of our "forgotten organ", known as the Gut Microbiota (GM), is linked to our lifelong holistic health. Between birth and 3 years of age, our GM will develop between 40-60% of the 100 trillion microbes that will coexist in balance with our bodies as adults; That is over three times the number of human calls in our bodies. That makes this short window critical to the physiological and mental health of our children. Spreading education while also providing resources for families is the primary goal of this collection of research.
Alcohol and Drug Resource List
Presentation Year: 2017
Social Workers commonly share that there is a lack of resources related to alcohol and drug treatment programs to refer clients to. Based on a review of alcohol and drug services available in the Northern CA region, I created a resource list on how to refer clients to a variety of alcohol and drug services including substance testing, assessment, and treatment in the region for Child Welfare Services. This resource list was developed to improve service delivery, identify services in the region, and to assist social workers in referring people who have court mandated alcohol and drug service requirements.
Analysis of Trace Metals in Seawater using Pre-Concentration Techniques and Flame Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy
Presentation Year: 2017
Many trace metals are essential micronutrients for phytoplankton, and despite their low concentrations in seawater, trace metals can have large impacts on biological processes. Also due to their low concentrations, the measurement of trace metal concentrations requires precise analytical techniques. One common method utilizes expensive instrumentation that we do not have at HSU. In this research project, we adapted published methods to use the Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrometer, an instrument in the HSU Chemistry Department. Results show successful adaptation of the method for zinc and manganese. Current work streamlines the method to allow for 8-fold faster sample preparation.
Arcata Elementary After School Program
Presentation Year: 2017
All together we volunteered over 60 hours at Arcata Elementary After School Program where we had to chance to interact with the staff and students. During this experience we were able to work one on one with some children as well as work/play with larger groups during "clubs". Being able to give our time to these children and focus on them for the few hours we were there was a very rewarding experience that we would like to share.
Area 1 Agency on Aging Volunteer Driver Program Annual Client Survey
Presentation Year: 2017
In 2012, Humboldt County was the home of just over 25,000 people over the age of 60. By 2050 Humboldt County will be the home of nearly 60,247, more than double documented in 2012. These statistics are alarming and should get the attention of all local (State & National) sectors working with the aging population on track to establish and sustain community resources necessary to allow the elderly to age safely, comfortable, respectfully, and with dignity in their homes and communities. In the efforts of enhancing local social services for seniors, I worked alongside Area 1 Agency on Aging on a client-centered survey geared to enhance local senior programming.
Assessing BDNF Levels over 45 days via Capillary blood
Presentation Year: 2017
Brain health, and the benefits of exercise, have been linked to a biological signaling molecule called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). Results have been inconsistent especially in human studies, which may be attributed to incomplete information about normal variation in BDNF levels over time. This study aims to assess BDNF measurements (3 x a week) from human participants under normal life conditions over a span of up to 45 days, a longer span than has been reported in any other study to our knowledge. We will also collect their exercise activity during the study to see if there is a correlation.
Best Practices in Adolecent Alcohol and Other Drug Interventions
Presentation Year: 2017
This project explored alcohol and other drug interventions that could be successfully implemented in our rural community, while also focusing on the special needs of foster and homeless youth. My goal was to focus on interventions for youth that are actively using alcohol and drugs, and to pay particular attention to interventions that focused on rural and indigenous youth. Interventions were screened using 6 key criteria. A total of 17 interventions met criteria to be included. Effective interventions were found to be school-based, peer-driven, built community within the school, and focused on developing positive coping skills among youth who participated.