Cultivation of the Backwater: Weirs as a Window into Historical Ecology and Ecosystem Engineering in the Lower Columbia

This poster uses the existence of a possible fish weir feature in a backwater lake on Sauvie Island in the Lower Columbia to explore questions surrounding systems of resource cultivation and human ecosystem engineering. Multiple archaeological sites in backwater areas contain large quantities of freshwater fish remains; and use of technology such as weirs would provide an efficient method of capture. However, such facilities suggest more than capture method, when considered in the larger context of landscape use and the food systems that indigenous people were part of, as demonstrated by archaeology and oral traditions. By synthesizing information surrounding precontact cultural and subsistence use of the backwaters of the Lower Columbia through the lens of historical ecology, this project seeks to highlight the broader implications of technologies that represent components in interconnected systems of indigenous aquaculture and landscape use in this rich environment

A sustainable approach to Phytophthora-infested landscape beds: the search for tolerant or resistant annuals and herbaceous perennials

Abstracts from the April 12-14, 2019 MASC Conferenc

Effect of the trans-Arctic invasion on Pliocene predator-prey interactions on Tjörnes Peninsula, Iceland

The significant impacts of some invasive species, such as the zebra mussel, have increased concerns about the long-term effects of invasive species. The fossil record provides a unique opportunity to track long-term changes caused by natural invasions. The Trans-Arctic Invasion (TAI) began after the Bering Strait opened at approximately 5.4-5.5 Ma, which enabled Pacific species to invade the Atlantic Ocean. Predatory naticid gastropods were among the invaders, allowing tracking of changes in naticid gastropod predation. To track the evolutionary integration of new species into the community, six samples postdating the invasion were collected from the Tjörnes beds of northeast Iceland, all from the Serripes zone (B14, U14, 15, B17, U17, B18; B=base, U=upper; bed number uses Bardarson's 1925 classification). For each sample, complete bivalve specimens (whether mold or shell) were identified to genus or species level, and drilling frequency (DF) and prey effectiveness (PE = incidence of failed drilling) were calculated for the assemblage and for selected taxa. Specimen length and height were measured, as was drill hole diameter. Thirteen bivalve genera, 6 of which were invasive, and 3 naticid species, 1 of which was invasive, were recognized in 1171 specimens. Drilling frequency decreased up-section for the assemblage (from 0.38 to 0.16) and two common prey taxa Macoma (invasive) and Thracia (native); drilling frequency did not change significantly for the native genera Arctica and Lentidium. Incomplete drill holes were found only in B14 (9 in Arctica and 1 in Thracia) and U14 (1 in Macoma). Drill hole location on the prey shell did not change up-section. Size selectivity, based on correlations of outer borehole diameter and prey length, was significant for Macoma and Arctica (complete drill holes) but not for Serripes, Lentidium, and Arctica (incomplete drill holes). Predators drilled relatively smaller prey up-section despite increases in average length of both Macoma and Thracia. The decreased drilling frequency with no increase in prey effectiveness and predator preference for smaller prey up-section suggests that prey evolved avoidance techniques, which is consistent with the hypothesis of escalation. However, climatic cooling through the Serripes zone may also have decreased feeding rates of naticids

Culture and identity : the academic setting in Philip Roth's The Human Stain and Francine Prose's Blue angel

The academic novel is a genre that continues to expand in both scholarship and critical review. The Human Stain by Philip Roth and Blue Angel by Francine Prose are examples of the evolution of this genre. Both novels are set on Northern New England college campuses and look at the absurdities and hypocrisies present in contemporary American society. In the introduction to this study, I look at the history and background of the academic novel and investigate some of the literary characteristics associated with the genre. I go on to give brief background information on novelists Philip Roth and Francine Prose and conclude with a synopsis of The Human Stain and Blue Angel. The first chapter explores some of the comments and observations about modern American culture articulated by each of these novels. I give particular attention to the issues of sex and sexuality, collegiality, family, racism, feminism, and political correctness. I view each issue in terms of how it affects various characters and discuss the role of the academic setting. In the second chapter I examine identity and the role of the college campus in identity construction. I specifically focus on Roth’s characters Coleman Silk, a professor of Classics and his lover Faunia Farley, a college janitor and on Prose’s character Ted Swenson, a professor of fiction writing. In each chapter I draw conclusions as well as form personal opinions resulting from research I have done for this study. I conclude with my thoughts on where the genre of the academic novel is headed and whether I believe that these two academic novels by Roth and Prose are effective vehicles to provide commentary on contemporary American society

“The Reluctant Masquerade”: Constructing the Closet in Yukio Mishima’s Confessions of a Mask

Enigmatic, extraordinary, and erotic are just a few of the words that have been used to describe the late Japanese author Yukio Mishima and his debut novel, Confessions of a Mask (1949). The novel paints a peculiar and sometimes disturbing picture of a young man who gradually realizes that his sexual (and sometimes violent) desires for other males are incompatible with the rigid, heteronormative society of Japan in the 1930s and 1940s. This paper focuses on the “mask” and Kochan's (the protagonist of the novel) experiences with sexuality and gender norms that contribute to his despair, and considers that the novel accurately captured a facet of the modern queer experience: queer people are dominated and threatened by the establishments of hegemonic masculinity, heteronormativity, and gender norm

Striving toward a critical theory of technology pedagogy in literacy education

As the future unfolds and technology continues to develop at a rapid pace, it has become clear that technology will play a significant role in many facets of our daily existence. In addition to becoming conscious of new technologies, we must also learn how to maneuver these high-tech innovations. When we learn how to operate technology, we become literate; or, we understand how this piece of technology functions. Therefore, literacy now becomes a metaphor to encompass all forms of learning - no longer pertaining to the relatively simple definition of knowing how to read and write. Today, technology is being incorporated into all areas of literacy learning. While some may think the integration of technology will facilitate literacy learning, evidence is emerging to the contrary. Along with its benefits, unfortunately, as a result of the amalgamation of technology with literacy learning, complications regarding literacy acquisition are becoming prevalent. For instance, theorist Brian Street purports that the ideologies and practices of reading and writing are firmly rooted in the context of particular societies, and thus cannot be “isolated or treated as ‘neutral’ or merely technical” (1). Ideals and notions of literacy and what it means to be literate are found in texts, and now a plethora of media – all of which students experience in a variety of content-areas. Trying to understand what denotes literacy involves understanding how a society uses and values it. Technological advances are now complicating the way we think about literacy and literacy learning As technology is here to stay, arguing either for or against its use in literacy learning is not the focus of this thesis. However, it is pertinent to contend for a critical theory of technology in education, so that the complications will be minimized through various solutions geared toward successful literacy development

Rocketing into your daily life : Life magazine, the postwar advertising revolution, and the selling of the United States space program, 1957-1966

From 1957 to 1966, Life magazine had significantly more advertisements with space imagery than Ladies Home Journal, Reader’s Digest, or Popular Science magazines. These advertisements were placed in Life magazine instead of others because Henry Luce, creator and editor, used his magazine to support the Cold War. Luce’s adamant views inspired NASA to promote the space program in Life’s pages, which in turn, stirred public support for governmental officials who supported the space program, all of which convinced advertisers that Life magazine was the most effective medium for the placement of advertisements that used space imagery. The data was collected by looking at all issues of Life, Ladies Home Journal, Reader’s Digest, and Popular Science from 1957 through 1966