Ritual Economy and Craft Production in Small-scale Societies: Evidence from Microwear Analysis of Hopewell Bladelets

Ritual economy provides a powerful framework for examining aspects of the organization of craft production, especially in the absence of a strong, centralized political economy. This paper outlines the basic tenants of ritual economy and describes how this framework can expand the understanding of the organization of production in small scale societies. I apply these concepts in a case study based largely on microwear analysis of Hopewell bladelets from the Fort Ancient earthworks in southwest Ohio. Microwear analysis from many different localities excavated within and near the earthworks demonstrates that craft production was an important activity conducted using bladelets. Each of the localities in which crafts were produced concentrated on media distinct from the others. These findings have important implications for our understanding of Hopewell economy and social structure as well as craft production in general

Legalizing Local: Alaska\u27s Unique Opportunity to Create an Equitable and Sustainable Seaweed Farming Industry

The seaweed farming industry in Alaska is in its nascent stages. There is tremendous potential for growth, but also risk of exploitation and inequitable outcomes. Alaskans have a unique and urgent opportunity to enact policies that can ensure and promote equitable, sustainable development that centers the voices and interests of marginalized groups—including Indigenous and rural populations—and provides benefits to local economies. This Note seeks to contribute to the creation of a sound policy framework for the responsible development of Alaska’s seaweed farming industry by advancing both a theoretical framework and specific policy recommendations. Drawing from the experiences of other jurisdictions and Alaska’s fishing industry, this Note suggests various policies that could be used to promote the development of the seaweed industry in ways that benefit local, rural, and Alaska Native populations. It then discusses potential legal barriers to the implementation of those policies and proposes strategies for navigating those barriers. This analysis involves state and federal law and could be applied to other jurisdictions seeking to promote equitable, sustainable local development. Finally, this Note advances several specific recommendations intended to help Alaskans realize an equitable, sustainable seaweed farming industry. These include: creating restrictions on seaweed farm leases, implementing policies that promote local participation and ownership, and promoting the development of cooperative businesses

Climate Change Attitudes of United States Family Forest Owners and their Influence on Forest Management Practices

Understanding family forest owners’ (FFOs’) attitudes and behaviors towards climate change will allow for more sustainable forest management practices to be implemented, helping to combat climate change and its impacts. The goals for this research are (1) to begin measuring U.S. FFO attitudes toward climate change, (2) to determine what factors impact these attitudes, and (3) to determine how they influence the FFO’s management practices using the Responsible Environmental Behavior (REB) framework (Hines et al. 1987). Chapter 1 explores the different facets of my thesis project focusing on forests and forests’ ecosystem services, forest ownership in the United States, and exploration of the REB model and serves as a more in-depth introduction section of Chapter 2. I explored past research of climate change attitude and beliefs and found age, political affiliation, education level and income of U.S. forest owners and foresters were significant factors in comparison to their climate change belief or attitude. Chapter 2 follows my research project, in which I measure the climate change attitudes of FFOs in Alabama, Oregon, and Wisconsin and their employment of climate centered forest management practices as well as the factors that influence these practices using mailed surveys. Based on the categories developed by Maibahc et al. (Maibach et al. 2009) to describe the general public’s attitudes towards climate change, I found about 16% of the FFOs in the study area were in the Alarmed segment, 16% in the Concerned, 37% in the Cautious, 2% in the Disengaged, 10% in the Doubtful, and 20% in the Dismissive. FFOs in Oregon and Wisconsin were more likely to be in a higher climate change attitude segment than those in Alabama. FFOs who had a college degree were more likely to be in a higher climate change attitude segment than those and a college degree. Climate change attitude was not a significant factor in determining if the FFO would carry out a climate centered management practice within the REB framework but rather the FFOs who indicated financial objectives were an important reason for owning their forest\land were more likely to carry out the listed management practices. These results indicate climate change belief is not necessary for an FFO to manage their land to mitigate or adapt to future climate impacts, but rather the individual objectives and values determine which management practices are utilized

ZuHause: a brief examination of home and identity in post-reunification East Germany

Myles Logan Miller offers a brief exploration of the relationship between identity, home, and the wider environmental factors which influence the understanding of home as it relates to East Germany during and directly following German Reunification. He offers a narrative and analysis on the development and destruction of a distinctly East German sense of home and self by exploring themes of education, socio-economic upheaval and inequality, consumption, and one woman’s struggles to come to terms with her memory and identity as an East German

No Smoking Please? Campus Cigarette Butt Collection as an Archaeological Field Exercise

A major component of archaeological education should involve engaging students in fieldwork. In this paper, I present a fieldwork exercise designed to be easily implemented in a number of situations. The basic concept of the exercise is to identify places where smoking occurs on campus through the collection of material remains related to this activity. The goal of the activity is to provide students with additional fieldwork opportunities in which they can be actively involved in the research design, implementation, and analysis of modern archaeological remains. Throughout the paper, I present tips and lessons learned through the initial implementation of the activity

Natural selection in the development of Hebrew religion

Thesis (M.A.)--Boston Universit

Three Essays on Consumption Smoothing

Macroeconomic theory has established that consumption smoothing leads to higher standards of living. A stable consumption path can lead to more stability and less uncertainty between periods of high and low income. However, there is a wide body of literature that shows people do not consistently smooth their consumption when exposed to adverse income shocks. This dissertation uses experimental and empirical methods to better understand the obstacles people face when trying to smooth their consumption over time. It looks to understand the differences in pairs and individuals’ ability to smooth consumption. It also explores how the household’s level of income affects the level of consumption smoothing in response to an income shock and what constraints households face when trying to access the different insurance mechanisms

AN AGRICULTURAL VALUE TAX AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO LAND USE TAX OR MARKET VALUE TAX ON LAND

Public Economics,