Category: Oral Presentation

Romani Migration and French Reactions

Presenter: Hannah Schmitz

Mentor: Carol Silverman

Oral Presentation

Major: French/International Studies 

This paper examines the expulsions of Roma that are occurring in France today in terms of history and reactions. First, I discuss the history of Roma populations in France, seeking to reveal the root causes of the prejudices against Roma that exist today. The time period studied is 1787 to the present, with some reference to earlier periods. Second, I analyze the current French government’s actions regarding Roma in terms of the legality of multiple policies and laws. By examining the various groups that are included under the term Gens de voyage (travelling people), and how the French government and its citizens have reacted to them, I shed light on the discriminatory nature of current policies and actions. I focus on both positive and negative reactions following the 2007 migration of Roma to France from Romania and Bulgaria. Data were collected from scholarly books, organizational reports, a range of media sources, and a small survey of French citizens. One aim of the research is to document the history of French discrimination against Roma and contribute to its mitigation.

America’s Protection at Home and Abroad: How our Foreign Presence is an Extension of American Masculinity

Presenter: Alexandria Sasek

Mentor: Megan Burke

Oral Presentation

Major: Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies

America has a hero complex. In light of current international affairs and America’s traditional role as global policeman being examined, the consequences of America’s presence abroad have highlighted the divide between what Americans see ourselves as and what other nations see Americans as. To be considered a hero, there must be a villain to vanquish and a victim to save. A large aspect of American masculinity is being a protector, and ‘protection’ reveals itself in layers. It differentiates the “good” from the “bad”: within communities, institutions, and in the subversive rape culture cultivated by the media and patriarchal traditions. The victim and villain characters are cast in the national rape culture, with the villains remaining faceless, nameless monsters and the victims frequently denied autonomy after the assault. In America, we have taught females to adhere to a strict checklist of actions and dress codes in order to not be raped, or in other words, women must obey these rules in order to be protected from the rapists. This dependence on contracted protection can be seen nationally and globally, which Iris Marion Young deconstructs in “The Logic of Masculinist Protection: Reflections on the Current Security State.” This dependence not only defines hierarchical societal relations, but gives reasoning behind war through masculine sovereignty as Bonnie Mann explains in “How America Justifies Its War.” In understanding this perceptional divide, we understand the far- reaching effects of American masculinity and the subtle social contracts we subscribe to.

Cetacean Hunting at the Par-Tee Site? Ethnographic, Archaeological, and Blood-residue Investigations

Presenter: Gabriel Sanchez

Mentor: Jon Erlandson

Oral Presentation

Major: Anthropology 

Anthropologists have long believed that Native Americans on the Northern Oregon Coast did not actively hunt whales, but archaeological evidence suggests otherwise. My project utilizes ethnographic data, comparative artifact analysis, radiocarbon dating, and blood residue analysis to investigate whether whales may have been hunted during prehistoric times along the Northern Oregon Coast. From the Par-Tee site (35CLT20), a humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) phalange with an elk bone harpoon point embedded in it, provides evidence of whale hunting. AMS 14C dating of the whale bone and elk harpoon showed that they were both used approximately 1500 years ago, well before European contact. The dimensions of the embedded harpoon point were determined using computed tomography (CT) scanning to compare it to other harpoons points from the site. Several of these harpoons were selected for blood residue analysis, which identified evidence for trout, salmon, and steelhead fishing.

An Improved Route for the Synthesis of Phosphine Oxides Via the Alkylation of Phosphonates Through the Use of Grignard Reagents and Halide Scavengers

Presenter: Chase Salazar

Mentor: David Tyler

Oral Presentation

Major: Chemistry

An added improvement to the low-yielding reaction of phosphonates to phosphine oxides is shown. The use of a halide scavenger will increase the yield of the phosphonates to phosphine oxides alkylation from 20% to up to 95% yields by preventing a side reaction that is suggested to be caused by halides from the Grignard reagents. The large scope of substrates and excellent yields of the reaction makes it a pragmatic method for phosphine oxide synthesis as compared to the current method that requires harsh chlorination conditions with low yields. This high yielding adaptation to the alkylation of phosphonates to phosphine oxides offers a new synthetic route to the synthesis of asymmetric tertiary phosphines. Phosphines are highly used for coupling reactions in the manufacturing of pharmaceuticals and other specialty chemicals. This new proposed route is performed with bench top chemistry that has equal or higher yields to the current phosphine ligand synthesis that requires strict air-free chemistry techniques and hazardous work with pyrophoric materials. The new method allows for a simpler and safer synthetic route for phosphine ligand synthesis.

Sustainable Farms: A Management Plan for Restoring Goose Creek

Presenter: Adrian Robins

Co-Presenters: Jordan Grace, Solveig Noll, Celina Stilphen

Mentor: Peg Boulay

Oral Presentation

Major: Environmental Science

This spring, the Environmental Leadership Program’s Sustainable Farms team is working with a local farm to develop a restoration plan for a degraded creek. Goose Creek runs through Whitewater Ranch and into the McKenzie River, which provides the city of Eugene with its drinking water. Prior use of the creek has reduced its ability to support native species. With the farm’s support, we are developing a plan to enhance aquatic habitat and support native pollinators. To create this plan, we will study historic conditions, map the site, collect hydrogeologic data, and inventory native fish and pollinator species. This will help us make recommendations for removing invasive species, creating a riparian buffer, and planting a native hedgerow. The riparian buffer will lower downstream temperatures and enhance stream habitat while the native hedgerow will provide habitat for native pollinators. This work will benefit Whitewater, local wildlife, and the farm’s downstream neighbors. Our management plan will provide a foundation for Whitewater and future ELP students, who will carry out the restoration work on Goose Creek. We hope this project will also set a precedent for further improvements to the McKenzie River watershed.

Moralization of Smoking in Germany and the U.S.

Presenter: Jessica Montgomery

Mentor: Sara Hodges 

Oral Presentation

Major: Psychology/German

Cigarette smoking has become increasingly moralized over the last half-century. Moralization is the process by which moral value is attached to objects and activities that were previously morally irrelevant. Moralization of smoking is an individual-level phenomenon (reflected in an individual’s attitudes towards smoking) as well as a cultural-level phenomenon (reflected in anti-smoking policies). We studied moralization of smoking in two cultural contexts (Eugene, Oregon and Tübingen, Germany). We chose Germany because smoking is more prevalent there than in the U.S. (World Health Organization, 2011) and although culture and laws are changing in Germany toward greater prohibition of smoking, it seems that new antismoking laws are weakly or sporadically enforced (Wiesel, 2009). Participants were asked by research assistants on and around university campuses to complete a questionnaire in their native language while the research assistant waited. The questionnaire included questions about moralization of cigarette smoking and related constructs, beliefs about smokers’ volitional control over smoking, prejudice against smokers, and support for anti-smoking policy. In this way we measured the attitudes that lead to relevant real-world outcomes such as differential treatment of cigarette smokers. We will compare their responses cross culturally as well as divide them into smokers and nonsmokers, in order to establish which factors affect their perceptions. We predict that Germans will moralize smoking less than Americans, which we expect to find after analyzing the results from the questionnaires.

An Assessment of Government-to-Government Relationships Among Federal Agencies and Federally Recognized Tribes

Presenter: Souvanny Miller

Mentor: Kathy Lynn

Oral Presentation

Major: Environmental Studies

The United States federal government has historically failed to meet many of its trust responsibilities to American Indian and Alaska Native tribes—often violating treaty-reserved rights or failing to consult on issues pertaining to Indian rights. In order to meet these trust responsibilities, effective government-to-government relationships must be established among Tribes and federal agencies. Pursuant to Executive Order 13175—entitled “Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal Governments”—each federal agency is required to adopt their own consultation policies and set of strategies for facilitating effective government-to-government relationships. My research will assess the ways in which various federal agencies attempted to facilitate effective government-to-government relations with federally recognized tribes and how these relations could be improved. I will focus specifically on consultation policies, memoranda of understanding, communications and bodies such as advisory councils created to facilitate cooperative management of resources. I will use three case studies to evaluate the effectiveness of three federal agencies’ methods for maintaining government-to-government relationships: Willamette National Forest in the National Forest Service, United States Department of Agriculture; Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary, within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, Department of Commerce; and Olympic National Park within the National Park Service, Department of the Interior. This project has the potential to aid agencies as they work toward more effective government-to-government relationships with federally recognized tribes. It will illustrate what is most important for agencies: consulting early and often while developing and maintaining site- specific programs, institutions and relationships that are mutually beneficial.

An Analysis of Artifact, Bone, and Coprolite Distributions in Paisley Caves Younger Dryas (Botanical Lens) and Underlying Pleistocene Deposits

Presenter: Katelyn McDonough

Mentor: Dennis Jenkins

Oral Presentation

Major: Anthropology

The Paisley 5 Mile Point Caves are located in the Summer Lake Basin of south-central Oregon. Preservation of perishable materials is excellent within the caves, and has yielded the earliest evidence of human DNA yet discovered in the Western hemisphere. Bone fragments of many large mammals have been preserved in very early deposits.
To investigate the human utilization of megafauna resources at this site during the terminal Pleistocene (>12,900 cal. BP) through Younger Dryas/ Early Holocene period (9,000 – 12,900 cal. BP), we statistically examined the distribution of artifacts, megafauna bones, and coprolites (ABCs). Artifacts used in this study included basketry, cordage, modified bulrush, formed lithic tools, lithic debitage, ground stone, and human hair. Bones were limited to megafauna with a minimum net weight of 225 kg. If the distribution of large mammal remains was affected by cultural activity, we would expect to see significant correlations between bone and artifact distributions. Conversely, negative to weak correlations between these material types would be expected to result from the natural deposit of bones by nonhuman predators. This project produced statistically significant correlations, which suggest that distributions of large mammal bones are not random, and have likely been affected by cultural activity. To further investigate the causes of these correlations, future research will focus on broadening the statistical analyses of ABCs to Caves 1 and 5, comparing artifact assemblages from EH/YD and late Pleistocene deposits, using small class size faunal remains as a fourth comparative variable, and incorporating additional DNA and radiocarbon dates.

Concrete: Redefining an Identity

Presenter: Amanda McCaffrey

Mentor: Christina Bollo

Oral Presentation

Major: Architecture

Concrete is the most used substance on the planet second only to water. This thesis explores the trajectory of concrete as a material and how its physical properties, use, and treatment are scantily established among non- designers, resulting in a confused identity. It is a mixture, at the most basic level, of aggregate, cement, and water that when cured, has incredible structural capabilities. As a result of its compressive strength, concrete is widely used for that purpose alone, but it is an incredibly malleable material that new technologies have only begun to explore in recent years. High performance concretes range from lightweight and thin concretes to light transmitting concrete. Concrete as a material is valued by most designers, but there tends to be a disconnect in appreciation and understanding with most non-designers. Concrete’s broad applications as a material and misinformed history have resulted in a lack of a set identity. I began my research by understanding the true history of the material including its accurate origin with the Pyramids of Giza. Categorizing different aspects of its identity developed into a way of explaining and better understanding ‘who’ concrete is. Throughout the research process, it became apparent that a gesture to the public and architectural field, beyond a written essay was needed. That gesture developed into a book which exposes concrete’s true nature as a malleable and diverse material. The book’s format is designed distinctly to appeal to a broad audience with varying levels of interest and knowledge with the goal of redefining an incredibly misunderstood and underappreciated material: concrete. The book demystifies concrete by laying out its process, how and why it’s used, and it’s development as a material.

Beyond Depression: Mothers with Comorbidity Differ in Neural Response to Infants’ Cry

Presenter: Heidi Martinez

Mentor: Heidemarie Laurent

Oral Presentation

Major: Psychology 

Past research has illuminated how the functioning of the subcortical and prefrontal regions of the brain is affected by a major depressive disorder, and how this in turn affects the maternal response to infant stimuli. In past behavioral studies, mothers who had both major depression and an anxiety disorder, a prevalent comorbidity in the clinical population, showed significantly more intrusive behaviors with their infants than mothers without anxiety. The current study explores how comorbid anxiety disorders impact specific patterns of maternal response. We hypothesized a difference in neural response to infant cries in mothers who are comorbidly diagnosed in comparison with mothers who suffer from depression without anxiety and in comparison to mothers with no diagnosis. This hypothesis was tested in a group of 22 high risk mothers exposed to their own infant’s cry sound during functional neuroimaging. Group comparisons of neural response to own infant cry (vs. a control sound) were examined. Fixed effects analysis revealed greater activation in several areas, including those associated with speech-related auditory processing and empathy, for those mothers with depression and anxiety as compared to mothers with depression and no anxiety disorder. Areas of emotion regulation and motivation showed greater activation for mothers in the control group. These neural activation patterns suggest that mothers with a comorbidity could benefit from therapies targeting the need to regulate their attention; an inhibition task, as compared to mothers with depression only who need to direct their attention as well, involving both behavioral activation and inhibition systems.