Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) play an important role in providing social services to people worldwide, but where NGOs serve immigrants, there can be misunderstandings based on contrasts in the cultural backgrounds between the providers and the clients. This is a concern for the management of Rebound of Whatcom County, an NGO focused on providing support for families facing challenges. Discussions about child discipline and communication indicate that differences go beyond basic English-Spanish language translation, and seem...

Research suggests that during interracial interactions, it is effective for both people to foster commonalities in order to form positive impressions of one another. However, when the topic of race and race-related issues are brought up in a cross-group setting, research indicates that Whites who have a strong desire to appear non-biased and non-prejudiced to others tend to avoid mentioning race. Other research suggests that when interacting with a Black individual, Whites may claim to...

This thesis explores the origins of the idolized masculine archetype known as the citizen-soldier in Edwardian era England. It shows the process of its construction during the Victorian era and how it was maneuvered by the state and middle-class population to cultivate consent for volunteerism during the First World War. To claim that men volunteered to fight due to a sense of patriotism or thirst for adventure is too simplistic, and fails to account for...

As a community member, student, and educator within Bellingham’s food system I had hoped to contribute to the community's food education programming by developing and teaching an integrated food system curriculum. This project documents the development and repeated roadblocks to applying this curriculum. In response, I considered an alternative approach. Rather than trying to teach something novel as a relative newcomer and novice to an established community, why not learn from the existing network of...

We have developed a new samarium diiodide-mediated elimination/isomerization reaction of benzoyl esters, capable of delivering olefinic products with high yield and selectivity depending on substrate structure and the additives used. The ability to selectively synthesize terminal, non-conjugated alkene substituents inspired us to use these optimized conditions in order to complete the total synthesis of the natural product, honokiol. Honokiol is a biaryl natural product isolated from magnolia trees that displays desirable oncological properties as evidenced...

Understanding topographic development in subduction zone forearcs requires comparison of deformation at short and long-term time intervals. We focus here on geomorphic records of uplift and incision in the Cascadia forearc of Washington State for comparison with short-term deformation driven by subduction zone coupling. We use surficial geologic mapping, optically stimulated luminescence dating, and surveyed terrace strath elevations to document fluvial incision and fault slip rates in the Wynoochee River valley in the southern Olympic...

The Lower Miocene Clallam Formation, located on the northern coast of the Olympic Peninsula, Washington, is an approximately 800 m thick sequence of sandstone and conglomerate that was deposited in the predominantly marine portion of a prograding delta. As a whole, the Clallam Formation coarsens and shallows upward, progressing from fossiliferous sandstones deposited below wave base, through storm-dominated deposits characterized by climbing ripples, graded rythmites, and hummocky cross-stratification, to coarse-grained distributary mouth deposits. Within this...

Prehistoric settlements along the Pacific Northwest Coast have produced some of the clearest records for study on human subsistence use, such as harvesting practices (Butler 2000; Cannon et al. 2008; Croes 1992; Moss 1993; Wesson 1988). The archaeological and ethnographic records in this region have produced artifacts and oral accounts that have led scientists to logical conclusions about specific types of subsistence use. In turn, subsistence use data can tell us many things about a...

The aim of the present study was to examine the family narratives of emerging adults. While previous studies have found that interpretative narrative content in adolescents' family narratives is related to identity development, this relation has not been explored in emerging adulthood. One hundred and fifty-eight university students, most in their first year, were asked to provide written narratives of times for the family that were happy, difficult, or transitional, as well as a narrative...

The Relative Risk Model (RRM) is a tool used to calculate and assess the likelihood of effects to endpoints when multiple stressors occur in complex ecological systems. In this study a Bayesian network was used to calculate relative risk and uncertainty (BN-RRM) in the Puyallup River Watershed. First, I calculated the risk of prespawn mortality of coho salmon. Second, I evaluated the effect of low impact development (LID) as a means to reduce risk. Prespawner...

Biological structures that develop incremental growth patterns over time present a unique opportunity to study chronological aspects of the organism's chemical environment. Spiny Dogfish (Squalus suckleyi), an abundant shark species, develop two dorsal spines that exhibit this type of growth pattern. The growth patterns on these spines have been used extensively as indicators of age. However, the chronological patterns of trace metal deposits in these spines have yet to be assessed. The main goals of...

Proper development of neuronal circuits are crucial for nervous system functioning. A novel pathway regulating axon and synapse development in Caenorhabditis elegans through nuclear 3'-end polyadenylation of nascent mRNA has recently been uncovered (Van Epps et al., 2010). In this pathway, the protein product of the gene synaptic defective enhancer (sydn-1) negatively regulates polyadenylation factor subunit homolog (PFS-2), an evolutionarily conserved scaffolding protein in a multi-protein complex involved in mRNA 3' -end processing. Although 3'-end...

The versatility of the C-B bond in organic synthesis has led to extensive development of new methods for the selective incorporation of boron into organic substrates. The incorporation of boron substituents alpha to heteroatoms provides direct entry into substrates analogous to those formed and utilized in the Matteson homologation reaction. Our group has explored the diboration of various ketones using the (ICy)CuOt-Bu catalyst developed by Sadighi and co-workers. We found that (ICy)CuOt-Bu could be generated...

The Artifacts of Our Bodies is a nonfiction prose collection of inter-related essays about adolescent friendship, loss, and memory. The author intersperses photographs, journal entries, and other ephemera between prose pieces to illustrate the tension and questions surrounding how what we collect, discard, or lose affects what we remember and the stories we can tell.

For decades now, the nature of independent learners has been a source of debate and dispute. Are those people who self-identify as independent learners skeptical, critical thinkers, or are they actually closet partisans who are simply denying their partisanship. Questions of religiosity are used as proxies to measure an individual's inclination towards affect in general. The question asked is whether independent learners show lower levels of religiosity than both strong and weak partisans.

Although archivists have traditionally seen themselves as passive recipients and caretakers of records, there is an increasing recognition of the power and influence archivists have in shaping the historical record and collective memory. This recognition has led to calls for archivists to use their power to promote social justice and government accountability. One important way to do this is to ensure maximum access to government records. Governments by their nature prefer to restrict records from...

The territorial conquest involved in making and regulating an international boundary has been central to the creation of many nation-states, as well as to the production of various social categories around those boundaries, particularly citizenship and nationality, but also race, ethnicity, and class. This research aims to analyze how cartographic representations of the U.S.-Mexico border function to communicate social difference. Drawing ideas from critical cartography and social constructivism, I highlight the ways in which maps...

Mountain watersheds in the Pacific Northwest are particularly susceptible to shallow landslides and debris flows during periods of intense precipitation. The Jones Creek watershed near Acme, WA, is a 6.7 km2 basin that hosts several active landslides. Shallow mass wasting on the unvegetated landslide toes, and deep-seated rotational slide movement can lead to landslide dam outburst floods and debris flows. There are approximately 100 buildings constructed on a 0.75 km2 alluvial fan deposited by debris...

Higher education institutions equip their graduates with the skills and knowledge to become leaders and future problem-solvers. Increasingly, higher education institutions are seeking ways to lead in sustainability and ensure a legacy of progressive environmental change. One option for these institutions to enhance sustainability is to hosting community solar projects. Community Solar, defined by Northwest SEED, is a voluntary solar program providing power and/or financial benefits to, or is owned by, multiple community members. This...

There are women all over the world who are unable to attend school or enter the work force because of cultural barriers. Women in Afghanistan have difficult obstacles that prevent them from seeking education. In this thesis I look at a specific cultural practice that affects female attendance in school. This thesis explores how the concept of namus, or honor, in southeast Afghanistan, encourages female seclusion from schools. Additionally, according to my research, these regions...

Landslides are an integral process in the development of submarine volcanoes, but these events are rarely recorded and observed. Therefore, understanding how the morphology of volcanoes evolve requires information on landslides. Hydroacoustic signals were analyzed for the purposes of characterizing frequent landslides on West Mata volcano during a 5-month eruptive period. Over 200 landslide signals have been compared in conjunction with hydroacoustic modeling to better understand the dynamics that control them. We used interference patterns...

Ankle sprains are the most common injury seen in athletics. Because of this, devices such as external ankle supports have been developed to protect the ankle joint and prevent injury. Exercise protocols have also been developed to increase strength and proprioception at the joint, which has been shown to reduce injury risk. The purpose of this study was to examine changes in joint position sense (JPS) and peak plantar flexion and dorsiflexion torque following a...