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- Creator:
- Thomas, Krystal
- Description:
- The purpose of this project was to establish curriculum and a program outline for Perris High School agriculture students who participate in the Rutledge Farm Internship in order to assess knowledge and skills outlined in the programs goals and objectives and determine what was learned during the student’s work experience. While developing curriculum, goals were established, stakeholders were con-sulted, research was conducted, and collaboration created specific internship goals and a method to assess the effectiveness of the internship. It was established that students would create blogs to explain what they have learned throughout the internship. Students would also present to the school board about the internship. It was concluded that students who participated in the internship had a positive experience and learned about agriculture careers in the industry. Blog posts show that students plan on pursing agriculture careers in the future. In the future, it is recommended that interns will express what they have learned throughout the internship utilizing a similar structure.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Chico
- Department:
- Agriculture
- Creator:
- Reed, Matthew M.
- Description:
- The purpose of this project was to develop curriculum-related record-keeping and project management curriculum for a secondary agricultural program, utilizing video-based curriculum at Gridley High School, Gridley, California. Extensive research was conducted prior to the project implementation to determine if students truly comprehend information better when presented as video-based instruction. The project was designed around videos for the Agriculture Experience Tracker, a new business management records system, where students would watch the video and then practice the skills they learned. Students completed assessments (pre- and post-) to determine whether this style of instruction works. Results show that students do understand material better when they have control over the learning.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Chico
- Department:
- Agriculture
- Creator:
- Kim, Brian
- Description:
- The purpose of this project was to establish an agriculture economics course at Westminster High School in the Huntington Beach Union High School District that will directly impact the agricultural department’s retention and membership levels. Additionally, this project sought to develop curriculum which includes a syllabus, unit plan, and course proposal for University of California/California State University economic requirements. This study utilized a case-study approach. The target population for the study included all students participating in a current agriculture course at Westminster High School from 2012 until 2013 (N = 270). Results indicated the majority of students would enlist in an agriculture economics course and enroll in agriculture courses throughout high school if this course were integrated. Findings also indicated the majority of students would have a more positive perception of enrolling in an agriculture course knowing they were able to graduate with a specialization in agriculture from Westminster High School. Over 90% of 9th grade students reported they would enlist in an agriculture economics course and take an agriculture course throughout high school. Research indicated that over 85% of 10th grade students, 90% of 11th grade students, and 100% of 12th grade students would have enrolled in an agriculture economics course. Also, high school seniors previously enrolled in an agriculture course were identified and asked the same sequence of questions, resulting in a 72% agreement that they would have enrolled in an agriculture economics course. The researcher recommends that the study be reviewed and collectively submitted to both the school site and district for finalization and curriculum implementation.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Chico
- Department:
- Agriculture
- Creator:
- Encinias, Vanessa LeAnn
- Description:
- This research of study project concentrates on job shadowing opportunities and the development of an industry instrument to identify concerns. Background for the Agriculture and Natural Resources Academy as well as the community will be noted. A description of the research will identify the topic of the investigation. Justification for the research of study project will specifically identify the current problems in regards to job shadowing along with the need to solve the current problems in regards to job shadowing. Moreover, the identification of potential opportunities for local industry sector business partners to engage with the Agriculture & Natural Resources Academy. Pertinent literature will be reviewed and interpreted to support the need to solve the current problems in regards to job shadowing for the Agriculture and Natural Resources Academy. Action research objectives are identified and explained. The methods of investigation are also to be identified and explained. The nature of the data collected, organized, and analyzed is defined. Results, interpretations, and conclusions are presented. Recommendations for the practice as well as future investigations are shared. Consequently, the Agriculture and Natural Resources Academy will continue to support students in the introduction of agriculture and natural resources concepts as well as support students in the pursuit of careers and college degrees within the fields of agriculture or natural resources as well as be better informed to meet the needs of the local industry business partners.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Chico
- Department:
- Agriculture
- Creator:
- Candelo-Mize, Tina
- Description:
- Experiential learning (EL) is the process in which a learner’s experience is transformed into knowledge, a change in behavior, or personal growth. EL provides learners with an opportunity to build self-efficacy and actively engage in their learning environment, through the direct application of knowledge they have acquired. In agricultural education, students learn about agriculture, food, and natural resources, through classroom and laboratory instruction, leadership development, and EL. In every learning environment, it is vital to assess learner understanding relative to the material presented. In EL environments there is often a misalignment between the methods of instruction and the methods of assessment, which can render a misrepresentation of learner skill acquisition. This problem often results from the implementation of traditional assessment methods alone. Educators can address this issue by utilizing diverse modes of assessment, and especially by integrating formative assessments into their approach. The principals of EL and authentic assessment methods in EL environments are essential to agricultural educators. It was the intention of this project to examine the foundations of EL and its application in an agricultural learning environment. The purpose of this project was to develop authentic formative assessment methods appropriate for EL-based courses.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Chico
- Department:
- Agriculture
- Creator:
- Barcellos, William
- Description:
- This project focuses on the planning and coordination of a school farm at Mendota High School. The addition of a school farm to the agriculture program would provide a tremendous educational benefit to the students at Mendota High School. Experiential education would be greatly enhanced with the addition of a farm laboratory. Students would have greater access to hands-on learning activities and provide a greater opportunity to internalize their learning experiences. The program itself is currently experiencing a large growth period and the addition of this facility will provide more resources for the agriculture teaching staff to enhance the classroom learning environment by utilizing a school farm to supplement their lessons. In addition, because of the make-up and characteristics of the student population of the school, agriculture students generally have few, if any, opportunities to develop their own home supervised agriculture experience projects. This proposed facility would allow for a greater number of students to pursue their interests in agriculture. Currently, there is a great deal of support for the idea of constructing a new school farm laboratory at Mendota High School from students, faculty, administrators and the community. This project will hopefully lead to this facility being added to the agriculture program and put it on par with the clear majority of agriculture programs in central California.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Chico
- Department:
- Agriculture
- Creator:
- Serna, Stephanie Marie
- Description:
- The Monterey county economy is built around the agriculture sector. Top crops produced require knowledge and skill in the horticulture industry. This particular industry provides job opportunities, making it essential for the Everett Alvarez FFA program to retain students in the plant science pathway and more specifically, the environmental horticulture class. This project creates a resource to aid horticulture teachers with an updated curriculum and recommendations procedures to build a shade house and garden/planter boxes to allow students hands on experience in the horticulture industry. Research revealed limited resources for horticulture curriculum. Most resources included very traditional lesson plans with lectures and focus questions. Lesson plans needed to be updated and a laboratory component added to be used in the multiple facets of horticulture industry. This will also align with the current trends in American education, including next generation education, which emphasizes true learning and inquiry. The areas of study for the curriculum were identified along with targeted research on students and the learning process. Next, materials were gathered and collected from former classes, online resources and other horticulture teachers. Materials were compiled and placed into one document divided into subdivisions/ units. The shade house and planter/garden boxes were built by the horticulture class. The shade house was purchased as a do it yourself kit. Students constructed the shade house by leveling the ground, cementing, and leveling the poles into the ground and attaching the shade cloth. Students also constructed 10' X 12' planter boxes by leveling the ground, using power drills and construction screws. In conclusion, recommendations should be the inclusion of technology or web based learning into the curriculum. Recommendations for the shade house included adding pea gravel to for drainage as well as an automatic watering system.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Chico
8. Implementation of an agriculture woodshop class in the Agriculture Department at Tokay High School
- Creator:
- Yates, K. Rachelle
- Description:
- This project focuses on implementing an agricultural woodshop course at Tokay High School. This course is needed to expand the Agriculture Mechanics Pathway at Tokay High School. Currently, courses in the Agriculture Mechanics Pathway do not offer a variety of options. Students lack the opportunity to explore woodworking and carpentry skills. The Career Technical Education classes at Tokay High School have a need for curriculum development to help fill the growing job opportunities in the area of carpentry and wood construction. The development of an agricultural woodshop course will help close this gap, as well as expose students to new career opportunities by adding an additional elective course in the agriculture program. Lodi Unified School District desires to ensure students are both college and career ready. However, due to previous budget cuts, many high schools in the district lack a variety of options for students to achieve this goal. During the budget cuts, many career technical education courses were eliminated, including the wood shop program at Tokay High School. Since this course was eliminated, the wood shop facility has not been utilized to benefits students. Growing support of career technical education classes, coupled with the immense need to teach students soft skills for industry employment, justifies the, need to re-introduce a comprehensive wood shop program.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Chico
- Creator:
- Trexler, Tiffany
- Description:
- The purpose of this project is to establish the framework for adding an agriculture mechanics pathway to Bear Creek High School. The project focused on the needs of a mechanics pathway, created a budget for cost of equipment and renovations and developed a proposal to present to the Lodi Unified School Board. Adding a mechanics pathway would provide another opportunity for students interested in Career Technical Education (CTE). CTE allows students to develop skills applicable to real life situations, providing relevance to education. There is also a current need to fill jobs in the mechanics field. Providing these classes at the high school level will better prepare Bear Creek students to enter the job market.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Chico
- Creator:
- Sarvinski, Alissa
- Description:
- Aquaculture education is growing in popularity in California and across the United States. In fact, aquaculture is one of the fastest growing sectors of agriculture in the world. To meet the needs of a growing population, agriculturalist must face the possibilities of aquaculture production throughout all regions of the United States. In order to prepare agriculturists for the aquaculture industry, aquaculture education must become a necessary part of the typical agriculture curriculum. Many agriculture educators view aquaculture as an ideal way to facilitate project based learning in the classroom while preparing students for college and careers within the industry. Through this project, aquaculture curriculum was created that could be used in a year long aquaculture class. The curriculum was divided into units and a pacing guide was provided to assist implementation of the class. This project was created to assist agriculture educators who are unfamiliar with aquaculture production and practices and can be taught in the classroom through an integrated approach with FFA. The curriculum guide incorporates project based learning standards as outlined through the new Next Generation Science Standards in all areas of aquaculture production and environmental science. Although many projects are based on aquaculture in California, the curriculum can be modified to fit the needs of any agriculture teacher.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Chico
- Creator:
- Ryan, Natalie
- Description:
- There has been an increased focus on the role of career technical education as school districts shift to Common Core standards. Agriculture Education is an integral role in preparing students to meet the demands of the economy after high school. The purpose of this study was to identify perceptions of agriculture students related to their readiness for college and careers. This research also sought to determine the effectiveness of agriculture programs in providing students with skills that are necessary following high school. The target population for this study included seniors and recent graduates enrolled in agriculture education courses in the Kern High School District in Bakersfield, California. A random sample was used for the population of this study. An electronic survey was used to survey 68 respondents. This study found that a high number of students plan to continue their education beyond high school. Furthermore, students understand the requirements to meet A-G eligibility, but indicated that the most difficult requirements to satisfy include mathematics and language other than English. Results indicated that students perceived their agriculture education program was effective in preparing them with skills necessary for college or a career.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Chico
- Creator:
- Moore, Katherine Ann
- Description:
- The drastic growth and diversification of post-secondary agricultural programs around the nation heightens the need for instructors to evaluate the effectiveness of curriculum for the incoming millennial generation. Fueled by changing demographics, the disconnect between consumers and producers appears to expand yearly. Additionally, recent technological advances and urbanized student demographics creates a need to re-assess curriculum in traditional agricultural programs, including animal science curricula. The role of student efficacy for millennial students in agricultural environments may impact student performance and thus career readiness. Evaluating the impact of course curriculum on student confidence and academic performance ensures that animal science programs produce successful graduates for the agriculture industry. Therefore, objectives of this study evaluated the impact of a redesigned undergraduate livestock nutrition course at California State University, Chico on academic self-efficacy and academic performance, to determine the role and impact of 21st century teaching methods on student confidence and performance as observed through livestock nutrition concepts. Data were collected and analyze to explore: student demographics, academic performance and perceived self-efficacy in pre- and post testing, and effectiveness of course assignments to determine total impact of the redesigned course. Results show a large proportion of students in the ANSC 230 class were female, animal science majors that were equally divided between urban and rural backgrounds. Students also increased self-efficacy after completing the ANSC 230 course indicating the redesigned course positively impacted livestock nutrition self efficacy. A positive correlation was identified between final course grade and self efficacy scores and academic performance was positively correlated between final grade exam scores and initial case study grades. Finally, an increase in student confidence at the conclusion of the semester was observed; thus, influencing academic performance. Cumulatively, the redesigned course curriculum effectively increases overall livestock nutrition self-efficacy and is an adequate predictor of academic performance (i.e., course grade) in undergraduate students. Previous research explored in the field of education established the validity of self-efficacy as a predictor of academic performance, but a lack of inquiry into context specific domains within agricultural programs created a need for further exploration of the topic. Additional research is required to evaluate the effectiveness of post-secondary animal science curriculum. It is recommended that the researcher-developed survey be explored in additional classroom environments and college campuses. Also, random sampling of more extensive research populations and inclusion of additional agriculture courses may support the effectiveness of alternative teaching methodologies designed to engage 21st century students. This evaluation could assist post-secondary agricultural programs produce confident and successful graduates for the agriculture industry.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Chico
- Creator:
- Clark, Heather
- Description:
- Safety is an integral part of both learning and participating in agriculture. Right now there is an obvious lack of safety culture for young farmers based on the number of injuries and death represented by their demographic. The current handbook used in agricultural education is a resource for teachers and students. In an effort to keep teachers and students informed about current safety information the California Agricultural Teachers’ Essential Guide to Safety needed to be reviewed and updated. Safety topics, quizzes and answer keys were added in an effort to maximize the effectiveness of the guide in agricultural education. Resources and grammatical changes were also made because as an educational resource the safety guide needs to be free of errors.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Chico
- Creator:
- White, Dane
- Description:
- There has been increasing awareness of the disparity between the student population of agricultural education students in California and the involvement in Future Farmers of America (FFA) and Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) components of the program. Hispanic students comprise an ever-larger portion of student demographics, yet are seldom represented in the higher echelons of FFA and SAE activity. This study investigates the factors that affect the decision of Hispanic agricultural education students to engage in leadership development activities through the FFA and the SAE’s hands-on learning elements. A questionnaire was developed and administered to a purposive sampling of 101 students at three high schools. The findings of this study indicate that Hispanic students have a strong set of influences that guide their educational decision making, particularly as compared to Caucasian students. In particular, Hispanic students responded most strongly to an interest in subject matter, with that focus area serving as the strongest influencing factor (p-value= 0.01). In other words, in order to engage Hispanic students in agricultural education’s intracurricular components of FFA and SAE, they must first be interested the subjects inherent in those activities. Additionally, Hispanic students placed a high priority on the social opinion elements of agricultural education (p = 0.01). The influence of social opinion-makers on the decision-making processes of Hispanic youth has been noted by literature and was corroborated through this study (Triandis, 1990; Goodenow & Grandy, 1993). Agriculture teachers seeking to engage Hispanic students to a greater degree will benefit from identifying methods to connect influential students to the activities in their program. Not surprisingly, Hispanic students can be engaged by creating strong relationships between families, the teacher and the student. Hispanic families play a critical role in the decision making of the student, and teachers who develop relationships with families can earn the trust essential to engaging their students. Finally, a teacher who actively creates positive relationships with their Hispanic students may also find a corresponding increase in the engagement of those students in their programs.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Chico
- Department:
- Agriculture
- Creator:
- Hunt, Wesley Christine
- Description:
- Currently, over 11,000 agriculture teachers instruct students in the areas of agriscience, biotechnology, horticulture, animal science, environmental science, and agriculture mechanics. The nation instructs over 800,000 students in formal agriculture education programs from seventh grade through adult school in 50 states and three U.S. territories. Students pursuing a future in the industry of agriculture need access to instruction and materials pertinent to the current global agriculture industry, which continues to evolve (Vaughn, 1999). Working with administration and district personnel to ensure their understanding of agriculture education’s importance is a direct correlation of community support. The main purpose of study is to identify factors that contribute to community support of agriculture education programs. The population of this research included agriculture administrators and Agriculture Advisory/Ag Boosters members. The target population, accessed through a purposive sample, included schools and communities of the North Coast Region. Survey results indicated 83.33% (n=10) of the respondents were agriculture booster or agriculture advisory members. The other respondents include administrators which were 16.67% (n=6). When surveyed on a scale of 5 (strongly agree) to 1 (strongly disagree), respondents gauged their level of contribution through their current level support. Nearly 70% of respondents agreed to strongly agree to all questions that aimed to gauge their level of support. The majority of respondents believe they support their local agriculture education program through contributions of supplies to classroom/SAE/FFA, along with spending time and providing expertise with SAE projects, Community Service participation, FFA involvement above the chapter level, chaperone and drive to leadership conferences, participation in committees and participation above the chapter level.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Chico
- Department:
- Agriculture
- Creator:
- Rincker, Lee
- Description:
- This study sought to evaluate critical thinking disposition of students within the College of Agriculture at California State University, Chico. A cross-sectional design was conducted using the University of Florida (UF‐EMI) assessment to measure critical thinking disposition scores among a sample of undergraduate students registered in one of three courses (1) introduction to animal science; (2) livestock selection and carcass evaluation, and (3) members of a livestock judging team. Additionally, other potential predictors of performance including prior livestock judging experience, GPA, major and demographics including gender and age were also considered. Difference between groups were not observed. Additionally, prior livestock judging experience, GPA, major, and age failed to yield differences in scores. The only significant differences were found in the Cognitive Maturity sub‐scale where females received significantly (p < .01) higher average score (M = 31.3) compared to males (M = 28.6). Overall, 68.5% students were categorized as having a moderate critical thinking disposition and 29.6% demonstrated a strong critical thinking disposition. These findings may carry some implications for changing teaching pedagogy to enhance critical thinking among students in the College of Agriculture at California State University, Chico.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Chico
- Creator:
- Denney, Audrey
- Description:
- Modern agriculture is faced with many daunting challenges in its attempt to meet global food demand. Agricultural sustainability could be a key component of the solution. The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the perceptions of agricultural sustainability held by California secondary agricultural teachers. Perceptions and self-perceived knowledge levels of sustainable agriculture were examined using a research redeveloped instrument. A simple random sample of the population of California secondary agricultural teachers was used for this investigation. The study found teachers perceived themselves to be knowledgeable regarding sustainable agriculture practices. Additionally, perceptions held by teachers suggested a positive view toward agricultural sustainability, but may be misinformed on a few concepts relating to agriculture’s impact on the environment.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Chico
- Creator:
- Clement, Haley
- Description:
- The purpose of this study was to investigate self-reported reasons why high school students (a) enroll in agriculture courses for the first time and (b) continue to enroll in agriculture courses during their fourth year of high school agricultural instruction. An additional purpose was to compare the reasons first-year agriculture students enroll in their agriculture class to the reasons fourth-year seniors enrolled in their agriculture class. Demographic differences across the two groups were also compared. This study used descriptive research methods. The target population involved agriculture education students at two high schools in Galt, California. A questionnaire was developed and administered to 276 students. The findings of the study are as follows: (a) the students came from mostly rural and suburban living areas, are enrolled in mostly agriculture science courses and come from families with and without production agriculture backgrounds; (b) first-year students enrolled in their current agriculture class because it sounded fun and interesting, it seemed more hand-on, to participate in FFA activities, and because they preferred agriculture teachers; and (c) fourth-year students enrolled in their current agriculture class because it sounded fun and interesting, it seemed more hands-on, to participate in FFA activities, to learn a specific skill or trade, and because they preferred agriculture teachers. Fourth-year students scored higher on nearly all items as compared to first-year students, with 10 items demonstrating statistically significantly differences across the two groups. Understanding enrollment factors allows agriculture programs to enhance recruitment strategies in order to retain more students.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Chico
- Department:
- Agriculture
- Creator:
- Dodson, Bryan
- Description:
- The purpose of this project is to create curriculum that provides secondary students enrolled in agricultural mechanics courses at Liberty Ranch High School with the practical and real‐world opportunities to apply their skills and knowledge. Current curriculum in the agricultural mechanics discipline provide ample opportunities to build and develop skills in welding technique, however it does not equip students with valuable application experience within the fabrication and construction skill areas. Through the use of a student‐completed needs assessment and literature review of research and trade industry‐related publications, it is evident that both welding technique and fabrication knowledge are essential competencies desired by employers in the metal fabrication industry. This project began with the review of the agriculture mechanics section of the California Content Standards. As with all curriculum creation, standards provide the foundation for curricular objectives and creation. The initial step within the methods was to create the instrument. Once the instrument was created and administered, the results, coupled with the California Content Standards and a review of other program’s curriculum, were used to craft the course learning objectives. The course learning objectives were then organized within units to create a complete course unit plan. Once the unit plan was created, a course syllabus was generated, which includes a course description, course procedures, and grading policy. Once these steps were completed, each unit was created, adding specific activity sequences, assessment, and material lists, which finalized the curriculum.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Chico
- Department:
- Agriculture
- Creator:
- Ferrell, Abigail
- Description:
- The purpose of this project was to determine the role and impact of farm facilities, specifically the greenhouse, at Calaveras High School. Two objectives were created to for this study. The first objective sought to determine if student, parent, and community support for revitalizing the school farm existed. The second objective sought to determine potential impact of a school farm. A researcher developed needs assessment determined student, parent and community support exists to improve the school farm, and more specifically, improve the greenhouse. Additionally, it determined that Supervised Agriculture Experience (SAE) projects would improve with development of the school farm.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Chico
- Department:
- Agriculture
- Creator:
- Goehring, JessLee
- Description:
- Agriculture education programs do an excellent job of teaching youth leadership skills and knowledge though the three ring model of SAE, FFA and classroom instruction. Although these programs provide students with opportunities to succeed, there is a need for leadership courses to be taught in all high schools to provide them with more knowledge and skills that will prepare them for college and their future careers. Not only will this benefit the students, but it will also provide leadership in the work place, which has been at a steady decline. This project focuses on the needs of developing an agriculture leadership class at Lodi High. This course is needed because a leadership course option is noticeably absent from the program. Although the agriculture program at Lodi High School is very successful, a leadership course would provide students with a curriculum that will challenge them to develop and strengthen their leadership skills. Additionally, it will provide students with an elective course option to choose for their junior or senior year of high school. This would help to decrease the number of students repeating courses or not continuing their enrollment. This project used a qualitative study to determine the needs of the current agriculture students (n = 98) at Lodi High School. The study found a strong need for adding the course to the agriculture program exists and over 70% of the students would enroll in the class. Adding an agriculture leadership class at Lodi High is needed and noticeably absent from the agriculture program and leadership development component.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Chico
- Department:
- Agriculture
- Creator:
- Daniels, Michelle Ann Roth
- Description:
- Theory suggests students with agriculture education and FFA backgrounds are more engaged in community service and leadership roles in their careers. Findings suggest FFA programs provide students opportunities to accept leadership roles that will positively affect both their secondary high school experience as well as their career path. Implementation of the FFA program into the high school setting requires assessment of support, logic models, recruitment and promotional ideas as well as budgets, grant writing, and curriculum models for LAUSD, CDE, and FFA. Factors such as leadership development, community impact, effects of agriculture education and FFA were developed as components of this project. The impact on students and careers, instructional strategies, and implementation requirements were also addressed. Results of this study show a definite need for agriculture education in the high school setting and that students engaged in these programs empower themselves with strong leadership skills and knowledge that will prove to be assets in their future careers.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Chico
- Creator:
- Ammon, Elizabeth
- Description:
- To allow students to reach the full potential of the three-ring agriculture education model, students must excel in all three categories: FFA (formally Future Farmers of America), Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE) and the classroom/laboratory. SAE experience begins at the local level. Students in the Lassen High School agriculture program volunteer at local veterinary clinics for their SAE and compete in the veterinary science career development event in FFA. To tie these two to the classroom/laboratory component, the current companion animal care curriculum required addition of veterinary science standards. These standards were embedded into the existing curriculum to provide a model agriculture program. Adding this curriculum allows students to develop knowledge about veterinary sciences. Students will be well prepared for the veterinary science contest, volunteering at the local veterinary clinics and to further their education at the university level.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Chico
- Department:
- Agriculture
- Creator:
- Rowley, Clarissa
- Description:
- High school students may not be aware of the specific employability skills needed in the workforce, and therefore may not be adequately prepared to enter the workforce upon graduation. The purpose of this study was to assess the perceived importance of 30 employability skills as determined by agriculture-related employers and high school agriculture students in Nevada County. Thirty skills were ranked using a Likert type scale ranging from 0 (no importance) to 3 (most important). The goal was to use the collected data to determine which employability skills should be taught within a high school agriculture course in order to best prepare high school agriculture students for the workplace. Employers ranked employability skills related to personal and social behaviors of greatest importance. Students perceived employability skills related to time management and deadlines as most important. Both employers and high school students ranked most of the employability skills as moderately important.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Chico
- Department:
- Agriculture
- Creator:
- Welch, Shannon
- Description:
- Research of the science of learning has unveiled the need to teach for understanding. In the same scope, it has been noted that students’ pre‐existing knowledge can affect how they acquire new knowledge. The need for action research became evident when analyzing below average assessment scores of students in early units of a tenth grade, agriculture biology course. The apparent lack of understanding prompted implementation of action research encompassing teaching for understanding while utilizing students’ prior knowledge. Life knowledge is a curriculum released by the National FFA Organization and is designed for integration into agricultural courses. Student test groups were taught small content units with and without Life Knowledge Precepts and were assessed at the close of each unit. Qualitative observations were made noting student engagement, interest and understanding during the units for comparison. Assessment performance and observations during unit instruction were compared to determine if Life Knowledge instruction leads to higher level content knowledge and higher levels of student engagement. The results of the trial showed assessments following Life Knowledge nstruction appear to be more effective in holding student interest and attention. It as further noted that it is most effective to teach Life Knowledge at the beginning of a unit rather than at the end. Observation of student behavior during the trial uggested students were more engaged by Life Knowledge and less resistant to participation in class activities when Life Knowledge was used.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Chico
- Department:
- Agriculture
- Creator:
- Peters, Erin M.
- Description:
- The objective of this project was to establish the need to add an agriculture based economics and government class at a local high school. The high school is located in Northern California and is surrounded by agriculture. In fact, many graduates acquire agricultural positions after high school. The high school has been open nine years and is still developing classes that connect the community and other programs on campus. As the campus grows and expands, the administration requested various departments to develop courses to meet the needs of students as well as develop skills relevant to post secondary education or the work force. The agriculture department sought to develop a senior level course that addressed graduation requirement for government and economics. After the need to offer the course was confirmed, efforts were then devoted to develop a class syllabus, class outlines and sample lessons to be taught in the class for approval.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Chico
- Department:
- Agriculture
- Creator:
- Welch, Shannon
- Description:
- Research of the science of learning has unveiled the need to teach for understanding. In the same scope, it has been noted that students’ pre‐existing knowledge can affect how they acquire new knowledge. The need for action research became evident when analyzing below average assessment scores of students in early units of a tenth grade, agriculture biology course. The apparent lack of understanding prompted implementation of action research encompassing teaching for understanding while utilizing students’ prior knowledge. Life knowledge is a curriculum released by the National FFA Organization and is designed for integration into agricultural courses. Student test groups were taught small content units with and without Life Knowledge Precepts and were assessed at the close of each unit. Qualitative observations were made noting student engagement, interest and understanding during the units for comparison. Assessment performance and observations during unit instruction were compared to determine if Life Knowledge instruction leads to higher level content knowledge and higher levels of student engagement. The results of the trial showed assessments following Life Knowledge instruction appear to be more effective in holding student interest and attention. It was further noted that it is most effective to teach Life Knowledge at the beginning of a unit rather than at the end. Observation of student behavior during the trial suggested students were more engaged by Life Knowledge and less resistant to participation in class activities when Life Knowledge was used.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Chico
- Department:
- Agriculture
- Creator:
- Reid Harris, Kathleen J.
- Description:
- This project examines the development of an agricultural program at Plumas Charter School at Indian Valley Academy. Development of an agricultural program included: Identifying components required for establishing a new FFA program and apply for a FFA chapter for the CA FFA Association; identifying components required for a chapter program of work and submit a program of work to the CA FFA Association, program Bi-laws and identifying recruitment strategies for development a new FFA program at Indian Valley Academy.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Chico
- Department:
- Agriculture
- Creator:
- Peterson, Carolyn
- Description:
- For many community college students, maneuvering through their education to a degree completion is difficult and often requires more than the traditional two years. While academic and financial supports are critical to the completion of a degree, success is also dependent on effective study habits and dedication to coursework. This paper reviews the evidence of the need for highly structured programs. Students must be given specific pathways that guide them towards the receipt of a degree or program certificate. Without this structure, research has shown that students fail to make decisions optimal for success. Thirty-five students enrolled in an introductory animal science course at Woodland Community College were surveyed to identify the following: demographic characteristics; discover student funding of educational expenses; describe their educational and career goals/expectations; and determine student study habits. Students were found to finance their education through either Board of Governors fee waivers or financial support from employment or family members. Students overwhelmingly believe grades were extremely important and intended to complete their coursework at Woodland Community College and attend four-year universities. However, responses showed that most had not met with a counselor, developed an educational plan, and did not devote the appropriate amount of time to the course. The study suggests the agriculture department must implement specific policies to improve student success. The department must require students to meet with a counselor, as well as discuss with students necessary practices they must apply to succeed in college. Ideally, specific pathways must be established in order to insure that students are able to complete their coursework towards a degree in a reasonable amount of time.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Chico
- Department:
- Agriculture
- Creator:
- Wells, Karin
- Description:
- In order to assess variation in oral health, hygiene, and diet within the Santa Clara County Valley Medical Center pauper cemetery, pathological conditions of the teeth and jaws were analyzed by ancestry group. Utilizing a biocultural approach for analyzing pathological conditions, this study aims at understanding the interactions of sociocultural constructs and biology in a late 19th and early 20th century pauper cemetery. A total of 40 individuals from the Valley Medical Center (VMC) collection was analyzed for carious lesions, alveolar abscesses, dental attrition, and antemortem tooth loss. These individuals were separated into ancestry groups using dental morphological methods of ancestry estimation. As this skeletal collection is very poorly preserved, it was hypothesized that dental morphology would be a more reliable method of ancestry estimation than previously employed cranial methods. Analysis of the ancestry estimation results indicate that all of the previously indeterminate individuals were able to be estimated using dental morphology, though to what degree of accuracy is unknown. It was hypothesized that there would be variation in the frequency and type of dental pathology between the estimated ancestry groups. It was predicted that the greatest frequency of pathological conditions of the dentition would be seen among the non-white ancestry groups due to differences in access to healthcare and overall diet. Results of these data indicate that there is a significant difference in the number of carious lesions between white and non-white groups; however, the prediction was not supported. More significant dental pathology was observed among the white ancestry group, possibly indicating a lack of access to proper nutrition and healthcare, or diets more reliant on refined sugars. This project highlights the limitations of using dental pathology for indications of social status when working with a small sample size, as well as the inherent difficulty in estimating ancestry from skeletal remains.
- Campus Tesim:
- Chico
- Department:
- Anthropology
- Creator:
- Peters, Mallory
- Description:
- Understanding how culture shapes skeletal development, maintenance, and decomposition is critical to bioarchaeological studies that depend on skeletal assemblages to make conclusions about past populations. Few studies have thus far focused on how socioeconomic status has impacted bone mineral density and skeletal preservation. To address this, the current study compares bone mineral density in different skeletal collections and taphonomic damage within a single historic Californian skeletal collection. It was hypothesized that (1) cultural factors would impact bone mineral density, (2) that the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center (SCVMC) population’s mean bone mineral density is impacted because of its marginalized status, (3) within the SCVMC sample the hospital patients will have lower density than non-patients, and (4) individuals within the SCVMC sample with lower density will have higher rates of taphonomic damage. These hypotheses were tested using second metacarpal radiogrammetry to assess bone mineral density levels in four samples and compare these values across populations. The results indicate that the populations examined in this study do not have significantly different bone mineral density levels but the SCVMC collection’s density is lower than the modern and contemporaneous historic populations examined. Additionally, within the SCVMC collection there was no significant difference in density levels between patients and non-patients. The one hypothesis that was supported was that individuals in the SCVMC collection with lower density levels incurred greater amounts of taphonomic damage than those with higher density levels. This line of study would benefit from using larger and more diverse samples with greater demographic information. It supports previous literature which identifies bone mineral density as a key component in susceptibility to taphonomic processes but does not suggest that culture is a predominantly driving force in determining density levels for populations.
- Campus Tesim:
- Chico
- Department:
- Anthropology
- Creator:
- McMahon, Claire E.
- Description:
- In 1956, members of the University of California Survey, Baumhoff, Bennyhoff, Elasser, and Kranz, excavated Payne’s Cave (CA-TEH-193), a site associated with Southern Yana territory. The artifact assemblage indicated a clear pre- and protohistoric occupation. At the time, Baumhoff determined the seasonality of occupation as the winter season, given the elevation of the site at 1,600 feet. Baumhoff also developed a culture chronology, and stated the cave was likely occupied during what he called the “Period of Hiding,” lasting from about 1850-1875 AD. This study uses models from Human Behavioral Ecology to examine the faunal data from the Payne’s Cave assemblage to refine our understanding of the impact of Euro-American contact for the Yana. Aspects of resource depression and mobility are analyzed to uncover the unique method of resistance-survival used by the Yana during contact era. Also, cementum increment analysis is conducted on mule deer teeth from the assemblage to confirm Baumhoff’s original seasonality determination. Results include provisional support data indicating resource depression at the time of culture contact, while faunal data in tangent with historic data show strong support for high Yana mobility at this time. Cementum increment results support Baumhoff’s determination, and provide a higher resolution of site use.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Chico
- Department:
- Anthropology
33. Fragility and permanence: civic 9/11 memorials and the creation of American historical narrative
- Creator:
- Maxey, Tamara
- Description:
- The events of September 11, 2001 caused emotional trauma across the United States and elicited myriad reactions within the Nation that effected the lives of every American to some degree. In the months and years following the attacks, there was an enthusiastic drive to memorialize the lives that were lost on that day, as well as to acknowledge the actions of the first responders who died in the line of duty. Many small, civic memorials now dot the Country and educate the public about the events and significance of 9/11. This thesis considers civic 9/11 memorials from a museological perspective and aims to determine what initiated the civic memorialization process, how World Trade Center artifacts are used in the memorials, and what the installations contribute to the collective understanding of the attacks. In formant interviews and site surveys were used to gather data on the design and construction process of the memorials, as well as the various objects and words featured at each location. The influence of object curation and organization on the creation of collective historical memory is explored, as well as the significance of social and material capital in facilitating access to public expression. Additionally, this study looks at what is missing from the memorial sites; what parts of the 9/11 story are left out and how these omissions contribute to the particular historical message that memorial visitors encounter. This study observes that some civic 9/11 memorials, through the careful curation of objects and ideas, as well as the application of social and material capital, offer a framing of 9/11 which encourages a historically disconnected understanding of the event and glosses over some of the more unflattering aspects of the Nation’s response to the tragedy.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Chico
- Department:
- Anthropology
- Creator:
- Hart, Kelsie Mae
- Description:
- The identification of autopsy and dissection on human skeletal remains is challenged by a lack of formal diagnostic criteria for distinguishing between various anatomization activities. The Point San Jose assemblage consists of commingled, fragmentary human skeletal remains dating to the late-nineteenth century. Cut and saw marks observed on the bones suggest that these individuals were subjected to autopsy or dissection. This thesis aims to identify the activities that contributed to the formation of the Point San Jose assemblage and uses this site as a case study to explore the challenges for the identification of autopsy and dissection on human skeletal remains. The interpretation of the Point San Jose assemblage was approached through a review of the bioarchaeology literature and the formation of diagnostic criteria for the identification of various anatomization activities. The cut marks on the Point San Jose assemblage were recorded using the zonation method of Knüsel and Outram (2004). The evidence indicates dissection as the best explanation for the cut marks observed on the Point San Jose assemblage. Statistical analyses reveal that the cut mark data from Point San Jose is most similar to the data from Holden Chapel. These results suggest that the Point San Jose assemblage represents a “cleanup” event of unwanted or leftover skeletal elements following dissection and specimen preparation. This thesis makes a tentative argument for structural violence in the formation of the Point San Jose skeletal assemblage based on the higher representation of Asian and Hispanic ancestries, which may suggest the targeting of marginalized populations for dissection.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Chico
- Department:
- Anthropology
- Creator:
- Curry, Jessica N.
- Description:
- Commingling provides a unique challenge in the identification of human remains. The ability to accurately sort the skeletal elements of two or more individuals is vitally important in mass disasters or in other situations in which the bones of one individual become intermixed with those of another individual. Most methods utilized in reconciling commingling rely on visual observations and pair matching undertaken by the lead anthropologist or principle investigator. As such, these methods rely on the experience and expertise of the person performing the analysis. These subjective methods of reconciling commingling can certainly be useful in these cases. However, developing an objective, statistically-based method of analysis that can be utilized in cases where visual matching may not be possible is of utmost importance. This thesis investigates the use of x-ray fluorescence (XRF) technology as a means of sorting remains and reconciling commingling in cases where the remains have been taphonomically altered. Further, this thesis seeks to address the influence of different depositional environments on the chemical composition of bone. To evaluate this method, XRF analyses were conducted on a sample of 40 individuals from the Valley Medical Center (VMC) pauper cemetery (1871-1937) in Santa Clara County, California, and on 20 individuals from the California State University, Chico (CSU, Chico) donated forensic collection. The 40 individuals from the VMC collection originate from the same depositional environment while the 20 individuals form the CSU, Chico collection originate from different depositional environments. This thesis tests the hypothesis that inter-skeletal differences in x-ray fluorescence chemical elemental signatures will be observed between individual skeletons from the VMC collection. In addition, this thesis also tests the hypothesis that no statistically significant differences in intra-skeletal XRF signatures will be observed within individual skeletons in the VMC collection. If these hypotheses are supported, this would demonstrate that diagenesis did not significantly alter chemical signatures in the skeletal remains, indicating that the method has utility for sorting commingled remains in historic burials. If these hypotheses are not supported, the results would indicate that diagenesis obscured in vivo chemical signatures, negating the use of the method on sorting archaeological human remains. Results suggest that variation in certain chemical elemental ratios between individuals is significantly different while the variation in other chemical elemental ratios within individual burials is not significantly different. This lack of statistical significance within burials allows for skeletal elements to be accurately associated with additional skeletal elements from the same burial. Further, the presence of a significant differences between individuals allows for burials to be accurately isolated from one another, greatly enhancing our ability to reconcile commingling when other methods are unable to do so.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Chico
- Department:
- Anthropology
- Creator:
- Kerkhove-Peltier, Jacques
- Description:
- The purpose of this study is to review and garner a better understanding of archaeological law and site protection as implemented by government agencies and affiliates in northern California. In recent years, a 67-year-old man was sentenced to three years of probation after he was caught stealing Maidu artifacts from Lake Oroville Recreation Area. Such disreputable behavior often goes unnoticed, and in the case of this man, it went unnoticed for more than 20 years. When local sites are vandalized it is often considered a matter of lesser importance. In my view, this is quite possibly related to an affinity people in the United States have towards more impressive archaeological sites. In Steven Newcomb’s view, it might be related to a site’s specific context (i.e., Christian versus non-Chrisitian) . The Lake Oroville Recreation Area, the Belfast Petroglyph site, and Tommy Tucker Cave are just some of the most recent examples of vandalism at archaeological sites in northeastern California. In order to shed light on such localized examples, this research pertains to archaeology as it is practiced by agency archaeologists in northern California. Places of investigation include the following: Department of Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Eagle Lake (Susanville), Redding, and Bishop field offices; and Caltrans Stockton Field Office. Additionally, the study involves a review of archaeological law, site looters, and those who are interested in cultural resources. Based on the results of this data, a model to identify sites considered most at risk for vandalism and looting is proposed.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Chico
- Department:
- Anthropology
- Creator:
- Sgheiza, Valerie
- Description:
- Skeletal quantification is critical to the analysis of skeletal assemblages. The use of multiple skeletal elements to estimate numbers of individuals can increase viability of estimation methods. Quantification, however, is both necessitated and constrained by skeletal attrition. Two factors involved in skeletal attrition that are identified here are independence of recovery of elements within the skeleton and the interaction between specific physical properties of skeletal elements and their recovery probabilities. The hypotheses tested were that (1) dependence of recovery of skeletal elements would be correlated to anatomical proximity and (2) element-specific recovery rates would be correlated with bone mass, length, and mineral density. Skeletal attrition is viewed here as a probabilistic process. Skeletal inventories of 15 appendicular skeletal elements were collected from the Forensic Data Bank (FDB), CSU, Chico Human Identification Lab (HIL), Gibson Md. 2 from the Lower Illinois River Valley (LIV), Santa Clara Valley Medical Center historic cemetery (VMC), and unidentified forensic anthropology cases from the New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (NYC). Mass and length data were collected from non-overlapping cases from the HIL and NYC as well as the CSU, Chico anthropological teaching collection. Bone mineral density values were drawn from Kendell and Willey (2014). Independence of all possible 2-element combinations (n = 600) was tested for FDB, NYC, HIL, VMC, and LIV using Holm’s adjusted Fisher’s exact tests. Anatomical patterns were uncovered using Wilcoxon rank sum tests of phi values from all but VMC. Spearman’s correlation was used to test relationships between element-specific recovery probabilities and mass, length, and mineral density for NYC, HIL, VMC, and LIV. The results indicate that there is a relationship between anatomical proximity and independence of recovery. When selecting elements for inclusion in assemblage size estimation it is therefore advisable to choose elements on both limbs and avoid those that are attached at a joint. This will maximize agreement between actual and expected degrees of freedom, generating a reliable estimate of confidence in assemblage size approximation. Testing of hypothesis 2 showed a distinct pattern in significant skeletal properties for each dataset. This means that there is no one most important property for determining patterns of attrition, but rather that the most important property is the case-by-case result of taphonomic variables. This study indicates the need for further testing using collections affected by different taphonomic conditions and with a wide range of assemblage recovery rates.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Chico
- Department:
- Anthropology
- Creator:
- Quijano, Bella
- Description:
- In the past 20 years, the Internet has become one of the most important tools for Americans in everyday life. The increase usage of the Internet has made it imperative for museums, of all sizes, to not just look into, but to use the Internet as a source for sharing information. In recent years, developments in technology, software, and online programs have made it much easier and cost effective for small museums to venture into the World Wide Web and create state-of-the art websites, online exhibitions, and interactives. Sharing information and providing another source of education outside of the museum’s four walls are in line with the ideals of critical museum theory, which champions the engagement and development of visitor relationships through transparency, democracy, and communication. In order to show that it is possible for small museums to create online exhibitions, this thesis project oversaw the development and completion of Hats, Caps, and Headdresses: Headpieces from around the World, an exhibit on various headpieces from for the Valene L. Smith Museum of Anthropology. The pieces used in this online exhibition were from the CSU, Chico anthropology department. By applying the case study of the Valene L. Smith Museum of Anthropology, this thesis project aims to show how small museums can create online exhibits with minimal cost through the use of inexpensive programs and user friendly tools and technologies. Through the completion of this project, this thesis proposes that small museums should not neglect the tools available to them online because the opportunity to create programs and engage with the public through shared information is too great to be ignored.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Chico
- Department:
- Anthropology
- Creator:
- Broehl, Kristen A.
- Description:
- Commingling of human skeletal remains impedes anthropological analyses. Therefore, researchers must develop methods for individuating remains. One such method is osteometric sorting, but most studies have not included frameworks for resolving commingling of hand and foot elements, such as metacarpals and metatarsals. This study uses a reference sample from the University of New Mexico’s documented osteological collection to derive that data. Hypotheses relating to the concepts underlying osteometric sorting of paired, articulating, and other regions were tested, including (1) metacarpals and metatarsals show symmetry through no significant size differences between rights and lefts, (2) the lengths of facets where metacarpals and metatarsals articulate are correlated, and (3) metacarpal and metatarsal dimensions are correlated with humerus and femur dimensions. Statistical data for osteometric sorting was then derived, tested, and applied to the historic Point San Jose Collection to discern various types of medical discard that could explain its origin. Most hypotheses were accepted, but symmetry for the metacarpals was rejected due to a right directional asymmetry that may reflect handedness of the population. The minor right-left differences did not prevent the application of osteometric pair-matching, which was powerful for sorting. Osteometric articulation and osteometric comparisons to the humerus and femur were moderately successful. The application of the methods to the Point San Jose collection suggests the presence of cadavers rather than surgical waste. While refinements of measurements and a larger, more diverse reference sample would improve the method, this study shows the utility of sorting metacarpals and metatarsals using osteometric methods.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Chico
- Department:
- Anthropology
- Creator:
- VanHavermaat-Snyder, Aimee L.
- Description:
- Throughout the destructive patterns of Western expansion and the fervor of the California Gold Rush in the second half of the nineteenth century, California Indians suffered unmatched brutality under the guise of California’s developing democracy. In 1848, the estimated population of California Indians was 150,000 individuals; by the 1900s, those numbers had drastically declined to 15,000 individuals. This thesis focuses on the cultural and archaeological landscape of the Benbow site on the northwest coast of California, where the Sinkyone people lived and were tragically massacred. Placed within a framework of culture contact studies, landscape theoretical perspective, and the genocidal history of contact era California, this case study exemplifies the contentious conditions for California Indians and how they were able to survive and maintain cultural continuity. This deep understanding of the nature of the Contact Period in northwestern California illuminates the cultural biases, racism, and systematic erasures of California Indians in early ethnographic records and historical accounts. This thesis introduces the critical element of collaborative archaeology to provide consilience to the study of the region and explore previously ignored perspectives. Through this collaborative lens, this work also explores the contentious relationship between California Indians and Euro American societies today, and its effect on modern archaeological practice and interpretation. Using the data collected from the case study, combined with ethnographic and historic resources, this thesis analyzes the lives of two massacre survivors living at Benbow in the aftermath of genocide, addressing the repercussions on the survivors and their descendants. Finally, using the harsh and uncomfortable realities gained from a thorough exploration of the Sinkyone case study, this research expands to demonstrate how colonization has vitally affected California Indian identity, both past and present. The relevancy of Benbow transcends the Indigenous and academic realms when ultimately addressed as a human rights issue, providing new clarity for the modern public to understand and sympathize with.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Chico
- Department:
- Anthropology
- Creator:
- Townsend, William Robert
- Description:
- This thesis investigates the inclusion and exclusion of cultural information within museum exhibitions at space and science centers, aerospace museums, planetariums, and public astronomical observatories in California, Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia. Aside from the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, museums with content on space exploration have received sparse academic attention and, prior to this thesis, no study has investigated the use of cultural content at space museums in these four regions. This topic is explored by amalgamating archival documents on the historical development of space museums, and through the study of exhibit labels and panels at 19 space museums, including a case study of the Chabot Space and Science Center in Oakland, California. The theoretical frameworks of anthropology are used to assess the ways in which space museums use exhibit panels and labels to create specific cultural narratives. To accomplish this, data mining techniques were used to quantitatively assess how and to what extent culturally affiliated terms were incorporated into museum exhibit panels and labels. In so doing, this research both quantitatively and qualitatively assesses the extent at which international cultures and histories are represented. In part, this thesis is intended as a critique on the current state of space museums and their exhibitions, and provides brief samples of diverse cultural narratives that might be of interest to future exhibit designers and curators, such as pre-colonial Mayan cosmology, Germany’s role in the origins of spaceflight, and the activities of modern East Asian space programs. Ultimately, this thesis demonstrates the potential data mining has for museum research, finding that space-exhibits do present multicultural narratives to varying extents, but that such narratives are less common in Southern California and become increasingly abundant the further one travels north.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Chico
- Department:
- Anthropology
- Creator:
- Martin, Heather C.
- Description:
- The Valene L. Smith Museum of Anthropology at California State University, Chico, has a permanent collection that comprises over 2,000 ethnographic objects from around the world. The museum’s limited space results in the majority of the permanent collection remaining off-exhibit and inaccessible to the public. The growing momentum of the new museum theory has encouraged museums to address issues of accessibility in their museums. Facing criticism of collections growing stagnant in storage rooms, unavailable to the public and researchers alike, there is a growing trend in creating online databases to increase access to collections. The purpose of this thesis is to demonstrate that new museum theory can be a framework that supports the effort to engage with the community through the production of an online database. This thesis details the process of creating an online database of the North American basketry collection at the Valene L. Smith Museum of Anthropology. New museum theory was applied through collaboration with the local Native American community to create a database the makes the museum’s collections more accessible to the public. The project contributes to the field of anthropology and museum studies by facilitating anthropological research, using extant museum collections, and serves as an example for other small museums that are interested in making the best use of their collections.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Chico
- Department:
- Anthropology
- Creator:
- Coon, Jacquelynn
- Description:
- To serve the community they intend to represent, contemporary museums must be relevant to both current and future visitors. One such way to retain and attract a visitor base is through the application of simple technology to permanent and temporary exhibits. This thesis examines the impact of adding augmented reality technology to outdated habitat dioramas to improve educational outputs and increase visitor interaction. More specifically, this thesis monitors levels of visitor engagement before and after the addition of augmented reality technology to a dated habitat diorama at the Grand Rapids Public Museum in Grand Rapids, Michigan. At the completion of the study, several conclusions were reached: first, augmented reality can update inaccurate, static, or dated dioramas without physically altering the display; second, augmented reality content can cover several topics at varying depth through a number of media, ultimately offering more to a wider range of visitor types; third, augmented dioramas can introduce visitors to pressing issues such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and conservation by capitalizing on the inherent vice of aged habitat dioramas, such as outdated ecosystems; and finally, augmented reality is currently a realistic and feasible option for museums of varying size and financial capability looking to improve their exhibits. Ultimately, this thesis not only offers a positive solution to museums struggling to decide the fate of dated habitat dioramas, but also hints at the potential uses of augmented reality within museums beyond habitat dioramas.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Chico
- Department:
- Anthropology
- Creator:
- MacInnes, Heather
- Description:
- The primary goal of bioarchaeology is to learn about the life histories of past populations from the information recorded on the skeleton. Commingled skeletal assemblages present a significant obstacle to this goal; hindering the assessment of the demographics of an assemblage, as well as making it difficult to ascertain trends necessary to make inferences about health in life, and potential cause and manners of death for individuals within the assemblage. This thesis examines a 19th century commingled assemblage of human remains discovered at Point San José Military Reservation, now known as Fort Mason, in San Francisco, California. In total, more than 4,000 commingled elements were discovered in a small yard at the rear of the old hospital located on the reservation. The hypothesized origin of this assemblage is that of a discarded anatomical collection, which would disproportionately target the poor and marginalized individuals. This thesis seeks to find the individuals among the many, and to evaluate the methods employed to sort commingled remains. For this both qualitative and quantitative methods for sorting commingled remains were applied individually and in varying orders. It was found, that of all methods visual pair matching performed best individually, as it provided the most segregation while leaving a small group of confidently matched pairs. When examining the application of the methods in varying orders, it was found that the quantitative methods served best as an initial sorting of the assemblage, and that the subsequent application of the qualitative methods provided significant refinement of the original sort. Although these methods showed differences in their efficacy, they were not able to generate meaningful impacts of the demographic profile of the assemblage. The sorting of these remains did not provide discrete enough results to accomplish this aim, but in addition there was no evidence provided to contradict the demographic profile assessed from the unsorted assemblage.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Chico
- Department:
- Anthropology
- Creator:
- Kilmartin, Aoife V.
- Description:
- Focal studies of large skeletal collections have the potential to provide more comprehensive and intricate understandings of the populations that produced them. While large-scale initial analyses are vital to the overall interpretations of skeletal collections, the reported paleopathological diagnoses are often presumptive and the interpretations are broad. The St. Bride’s Lower Churchyard collection, associated with post-medieval London, has been the subject of a number of studies. However, few studies have focused on confirming the initial paleopathological diagnoses of the subadults within the collection. The initial analysis, performed by the Museum of London, found that roughly four percent of the subadults within this collection appeared to have suffered from Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis (LCH), an extremely rare clonal cell disorder. The skeletal indicators of this disease, multifocal lytic cranial lesions, are idiopathic and can be similar to changes associated with diseases endemic to post-medieval London, such as tuberculosis (TB) and rickets. Thirty subadults were selected for reanalysis: five with initially reported LCH, five with reported tuberculosis, one with rickets and scurvy, and nineteen subadults with no previously recorded pathognomonic pathologies. The results suggest that, while LCH cannot be ruled out when considering differential diagnoses for these individuals, the skeletal indicators upon which the initial paleopathological determination was based are also present on individuals diagnosed with different pathologies, or no pathologies at all. This study discusses the importance of focused paleopathological research and highlights the need for caution when making paleopathological diagnoses based on idiopathic skeletal indicators.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Chico
- Department:
- Anthropology
- Creator:
- Hall, Sarah A.
- Description:
- Stature forms a key component of the biological profile in bioarchaeological studies. It is used to study changes in body proportions across populations through time, and often serves as a proxy for stress during growth and development. Problematically, there are logistic and practical obstacles to stature estimation in historic United States cemeteries which are largely unaddressed in current research. This thesis investigates the best methods for stature estimation in a historic Western U.S. cemetery. The demography of this region at the time was complex, composed of Native Americans, Mexican Americans, domestic immigrants, and foreign immigrants including Chinese and Japanese. Thus, stature estimation is a challenge, as traditional methods rely on population-specific regression formulae. To evaluate stature estimation methods, the anatomical and mathematical (regression) methods were conducted on a sample of 38 individuals from the Valley Medical Center (VMC) pauper cemetery (1871-1935) in Santa Clara County, California. Comparisons between this cemetery and contemporaneous pauper cemeteries in the Eastern U.S. were also conducted. It was hypothesized that the anatomical and mathematical methods would produce different stature estimates, and that age and ancestry affiliation would affect their efficacy. Additionally, it was hypothesized that stature estimates at VMC would differ from the comparative samples, due to demographic differences. Results suggest that although none of the comparisons yielded statistical difference, ancestry played a role in trends of difference. These results highlight current limitations in interpretation of stature in bioarchaeological populations in more recent U.S. history, and emphasize the need to continue investigating and improving methodology.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Chico
- Department:
- Anthropology
- Creator:
- Diaz, Martha Nuño
- Description:
- Degenerative joint disease, otherwise known as osteoarthritis (OA), is one of the oldest and most common pathologies affecting the human skeleton. Although it is not the only marker of stress that can be viewed on the human skeleton, it is certianly one of the most informative in terms of the health and biomechanical function of an individual. This thesis focused on osteoarthritis prevalence rates among individuals interred at the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center Cemetery, previously known as the County Infirmary, which was in use from 1871 until 1935. This area was primarily populated by immigrants who worked in agriculture, railroad construction, and mining. Osteoarthritis patterns in particular, provide insight on the levels of functional stress experienced by these indivdiuals. Results from this sample correlate with historically documented demographics, workload, and the social structure at the time. Overall males tend to dominate the sample and are the group that shows higher OA prevalence rates. Of this male group, upper limbs including the shoulder, elbow, wrist, as well as the hip tend to be the most affected in the sample. The higher frequency rates in upper limb OA may correlate with the types of occupations these individuals had at the time, which included agriculture, mining, and railroad construction.These OA prevalence patterns can aid research in further explorations of the many etiologies that trigger OA as well as the impact OA may have had on an indivduals life during this time.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Chico
- Department:
- Anthropology
- Creator:
- Cox, Maria
- Description:
- Accurate information as to how taphonomy effects skeletal material with varying degrees of structural integrity and density is vital to current understandings of preservation. Interaction effects can assist with research design, as well as excavation and curation strategy. To this purpose, the current study focuses on the interactions between pathological and taphonomic variables, with a special focus on density and preservation. It was hypothesized that (1) preservation trends related to density present in the literature would be reflected in the sample data, (2) pathological variables that increase bone density would be more resistant to individual taphonomic processes while pathological variables that decreased bone density would be more vulnerable, and (3) the common practice of excluding elements under fifty percent preservation would significantly reduce prevalence rates, especially of variables that decrease bone density. Data collection was undertaken on three samples; forty-one individuals from the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center (VMC) collection and twelve individuals from the CSUC modern collection, both housed at California State University, Chico. In addition, twenty-four unidentified individuals housed at the New York City Office of the Chief Medical Examiner were examined. Preservation rates, using two recording methods, were assessed for associations with sex, age, and element type. Pathological variables were then compared to taphonomic variables to assess interactions. The final analysis compared preservation rates before and after removal of elements under fifty percent present to establish any significant differences. The results suggest that the preservation trends in the sample data do not directly reflect those present in the literature, although general trends do lean in that direction. The results of the association tests between pathological and taphonomic variables reveal that bone removing processes were related to decreased vulnerability for a number of taphonomic processes. While this result is possibly a product of the samples used, it perhaps indicates that the interaction between pathology and taphonomy encompasses more than just density. Testing of the final hypothesis revealed that there was only a significant difference in prevalence rates before and after removal of elements under fifty percent present occurred in the bone building/stasis category. These results highlight the importance of continued research in how taphonomic processes interact with skeletal material on an individual level. This research also calls into question the practice of removing elements from analysis based on preservation and presents an alternative based on smaller units of comparison. While further research on this topic is necessary, this study represents a beginning in the understanding the complexity of taphonomic interaction.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Chico
- Department:
- Anthropology
- Creator:
- Cole, Kasey E.
- Description:
- Changing access to critical resources can impact subsistence strategies and alter socio-political relationships between groups of people in pursuit of the same resources within the environment. In prehistoric northeastern California, large bodied artiodactyls represented a desirable, abundant, and predictable resource on the landscape. Accordingly, multiple groups of people may have been attuned to their seasonal migratory corridors, which may have stimulated inter-group conflict and increased resource-based territorial behavior in these areas around the procurement of these fauna. To further understand how the natural distribution of artiodactyls on the landscape influenced prehistoric subsistence behaviors and resource-based territoriality in northeastern California, this study reanalyzed the archaeofauna from the Lorenzen site using both stable oxygen isotope and cementum increment analyses. It was hypothesized that: (1) large bodied artiodactyls were an important critical resource to prehistoric occupants of the Lorenzen site, (2) that prehistoric populations intensified the procurement of these fauna, and (3) that prehistoric occupants procured artiodactyls from the same geographic region. The relative abundance of artiodactyls, as well as their skeletal part representation in the faunal assemblage, was used to evaluate changes in the exploitation of these fauna throughout the occupation of the site. Stable oxygen isotope analysis was used to reconstruct the seasonal migratory strategies of mule deer in the archaeofaunal assemblage. Cementum increment analysis on these same specimens was used to establish their season of death, which helped predict where these individuals died along their seasonal migratory route. In turn, this was used to provide a direct association between the fauna found at the Lorenzen site and its procurement on the landscape to help identify areas that may have been susceptible to increased conflict while hunting. The results of this study suggest that artiodactyls were an important dietary resource to prehistoric occupants, so much so that they were willing to travel farther distances for their procurement. Additionally, there is evidence that the mule deer found in the archaeofaunal assemblage may have been procured from the same geographic region. These results demonstrate the utility of using stable isotope and cementum increment analyses on the same specimen to provide a direct association between fauna found at archaeological sites and their procurement on the landscape. This has implications for understanding the events that contributed to the formation of archaeofaunal assemblages and for highlighting ways to assess how prehistoric populations oriented themselves around the procurement of critical resources on the landscape.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Chico
- Department:
- Anthropology
- Creator:
- Cirillo, Laura
- Description:
- This thesis explores the influence of dental pathology on postmortem tooth loss in order to draw conclusions about the factors that contribute to tooth loss and the biases that may result from missing data. One of the most prevalent concerns in the literature that focuses on understanding dental disease in the archaeological record is the typical loss of data from absent teeth. The bias in data collection that results from missing teeth that are lost antemortem has long been acknowledged, while postmortem tooth loss (PMTL) has been much more ignored in the bioarchaeology literature. PMTL is primarily discussed as taphonomic damage or resulting from carelessness during excavation. Through careful survey of the tissues involved in anchoring a tooth during life, I propose that dental pathologies compromise the ability of hard tissues to maintain a tooth after soft tissue decays. In an effort to address a gap in methodology, I explore both the biases in recording methods for dental data and pathological trends in the tissues that influence the rate of tooth loss. Through the new lens of pathology, I examine what factors contribute to tooth loss and how we can approach correcting the resulting bias in data. I analyzed the teeth of 100 individuals from the Patterson Mound (CA-ALA-328) collection in order to highlight the trends in dental caries and abscesses that contribute to PMTL. I also used a manipulated data set of the dentition from San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento Valley populations in order to assess the statistical impact of various levels of PMTL on analysis of dental caries in the population. When caries rates are examined, there is no statistically significant impact if 20% of teeth are randomly removed postmortem. Results of both tests indicate that certain teeth are more affected by taphonomic tooth loss and others affected by each of the pathologies examines, suggesting bias significance is dependent on the teeth that are absent. I argue that postmortem tooth loss needs to be considered a symptom of pathology in order to understand the impact of missing teeth on sample bias and recommend steps to decrease data loss.
- Resource Type:
- Thesis
- Campus Tesim:
- Chico
- Department:
- Anthropology