117 research outputs found
Early Warning Signals of Social Transformation: A Case Study from the US Southwest
No full textRecent research in ecology suggests that generic indicators, referred to as early warning signals (EWS), may occur before significant transformations, both critical and non-critical, in complex systems. Up to this point, research on EWS has largely focused on simple models and controlled experiments in ecology and climate science. When humans are considered in these arenas they are invariably seen as external sources of disturbance or management. In this article we explore ways to include societal components of socio-ecological systems directly in EWS analysis. Given the growing archaeological literature on ‘collapses,’ or transformations, in social systems, we investigate whether any early warning signals are apparent in the archaeological records of the build-up to two contemporaneous cases of social transformation in the prehistoric US Southwest, Mesa Verde and Zuni. The social transformations in these two cases differ in scope and severity, thus allowing us to explore the contexts under which warning signals may (or may not) emerge. In both cases our results show increasing variance in settlement size before the transformation, but increasing variance in social institutions only before the critical transformation in Mesa Verde. In the Zuni case, social institutions appear to have managed the process of significant social change. We conclude that variance is of broad relevance in anticipating social change, and the capacity of social institutions to mitigate transformation is critical to consider in EWS research on socio-ecological systems
Examples of Southwestern Public Architecture.
No full textClockwise from upper left: Long House Plaza, Mesa Verde [Courtesy of Mesa Verde National Park; photo by Robert D. Jensen]; Atsinna plaza, Zuni [Keith Kintigh]; Hubbard tri-wall, Aztec Ruin National Monument [Donna Glowacki]; reconstructed great kiva, Aztec Ruin National Monument [Matthew Peeples].</p
Sustainable Small-Scale Agriculture in Semi-Arid Environments
No full textFor at least the past 8000 years, small-scale farmers in semi-arid environments have had to mitigate shortfalls in crop production due to variation in precipitation and stream flow. To reduce their vulnerability to a shortfall in their food supply, small-scale farmers developed short-term strategies, including storage and community-scale sharing, to mitigate inter-annual variation in crop production, and long-term strategies, such as migration, to mitigate the effects of sustained droughts. We use the archaeological and paleoclimatic records from A.D. 900-1600 in two regions of the American Southwest to explore the nature of variation in the availability of water for crops, and the strategies that enhanced the resilience of prehistoric agricultural production to climatic variation. Drawing on information concerning contemporary small-scale farming in semi-arid environments, we then suggest that the risk coping and mitigation strategies that have endured for millennia are relevant to enhancing the resilience of contemporary farmers' livelihoods to environmental and economic perturbations
A REVIEW OF TWO RECENT VOLUMES ON ARCHAEOLOGICAL NETWORK RESEARCH
No full textThis paper discusses two recent volumes that significantly contribute to the field of
archaeological network research: Network Science in Archaeology (2023), edited by Tom
Brughmans and Matthew A. Peeples, and The Oxford Handbook of Archaeological Network
Research (2024), edited by Tom Brughmans, Barbara J. Mills, Jessica Munson, and Matthew
A. Peeples. Together, these works provide a comprehensive overview of current methodologies
and applications of network science in archaeology, offering valuable theoretical frameworks
and case studies
The Relationships of Diverse Family Structures with Student Academic and Behavioral Achievement
No full textThis final composite examines the influence of home environments on the educational
experiences of middle school students in a rural community. The first scholarly
deliverable, “Family Dynamics and Education: What’s the Relationship?” addresses the
challenges faced by students from complex family backgrounds, highlighting how these
conditions can affect their academic engagement and success. This case study features a
middle school student who becomes involved in an altercation on a school bus while
defending younger siblings, illustrating the limited response of school administration to
such issues. This analysis underscores the importance of a flexible and understanding
approach by school districts in addressing students’ needs while acknowledging their
external challenges. The second scholarly deliverable, an article titled “The Relationships
of Diverse Family Structures with Student Academic and Behavioral Achievement,”
investigates how various family dynamics correlate with student performance and
behavior during the middle school years in a rural community. This article presents a
comprehensive analysis of family structures and their association with student
demographics, academic achievement, and behavioral patterns, contributing valuable
insights to educators and policymakers on supporting students from diverse backgrounds
Identity and Social Transformation in the Prehispanic Cibola World: A.D. 1150-1325
No full textabstract: This dissertation explores the interrelationships between periods of rapid social change and regional-scale social identities. Using archaeological data from the Cibola region of the U.S. Southwest, I examine changes in the nature and scale of social identification across a period of demographic and social upheaval (A.D. 1150-1325) marked by a shift from dispersed hamlets, to clustered villages, and eventually, to a small number of large nucleated towns. This transformation in settlement organization entailed a fundamental reconfiguration of the relationships among households and communities across an area of over 45,000 km2. This study draws on contemporary social theory focused on political mobilization and social movements to investigate how changes in the process of social identification can influence the potential for such widespread and rapid transformations. This framework suggests that social identification can be divided into two primary modes; relational identification based on networks of interaction among individuals, and categorical identification based on active expressions of affiliation with social roles or groups to which one can belong. Importantly, trajectories of social transformations are closely tied to the interrelationships between these two modes of identification. This study has three components: Social transformation, indicated by rapid demographic and settlement transitions, is documented through settlement studies drawing on a massive, regional database including over 1,500 sites. Relational identities, indicated by networks of interaction, are documented through ceramic compositional analyses of over 2,100 potsherds, technological characterizations of over 2,000 utilitarian ceramic vessels, and the distributions of different types of domestic architectural features across the region. Categorical identities are documented through stylistic comparisons of a large sample of polychrome ceramic vessels and characterizations of public architectural spaces. Contrary to assumptions underlying traditional approaches to social identity in archaeology, this study demonstrates that relational and categorical identities are not necessarily coterminous. Importantly, however, the strongest patterns of relational connections prior to the period of social transformation in the Cibola region largely predict the scale and structure of changes associated with that transformation. This suggests that the social transformation in the Cibola region, despite occurring in a non-state setting, was governed by similar dynamics to well-documented contemporary examples.Dissertation/ThesisPh.D. Anthropology 201
Utilizing Education to Combat Compassion Gatigue in and Outpatient Psychiatric Setting
No full textabstract: Aim: To determine the change in provider’s compassion fatigue after implementing an education-based intervention in behavioral health.
Materials and Methods: A four-part education-based intervention for compassion fatigue was implemented over the course of 16 weeks. The Professional Quality of Life instrument was used to measure compassion fatigue and compassion satisfaction.
Results: Although not statistically significant, mean compassion fatigue scores decreased in the sample.
Conclusion: Based on these results, further exploration into the causative factors of compassion fatigue in behavioral health are recommended
A Comparative Approach to the Development of Ancient Copper Supply Networks in Oman and Obsidian Supply Networks in Ethiopia
No full textThis dissertation adopts a comparative framework to the study of ancient raw material supply networks of copper in Oman (ca. 2500 BCE – 1800 CE) and obsidian in Ethiopia (ca. 800 BCE – 825 CE). A Social Network Analysis (SNA) approach is used to reveal the structures of supply networks, charting their diachronic developments and identifying fluctuations in the network positions of individual nodes as well as alterations in network sub-groups.
Using formal centrality and centralization measures (e.g. degree, betweenness, closeness) this study reveals largely decentralized networks of production in both study areas. These findings can tentatively be used to argue against the notion of elite control over production. Additionally, the longitudinal dataset reveals remarkable stability in network structures over time.
In the absence of evidence of elite control of this economic sector, one must identify the mechanisms that would have engendered the trust necessary for the reproduction of this economic system and for the maintenance of social order.
This dissertation turns to social networks, and social relationships themselves, as the mechanisms that integrated economic interactions, bringing about social order and maintaining stability. Counter to both formalist and substantivist economic theories, social network theories conceptualize exchange not in terms of atomized decision-making, driven either by a pursuit of utility maximization or solely by internalized patterns of behavior, but rather in terms of ever-changing interactions embedded within networks of ongoing personal relationships. Where these relationships are concerned, it is not merely economic gains that are the focus of economic interactions, but also social gains, such as a good reputation. These social gains are understood as deterrents against malfeasance, as individuals would have a vested interest to operate fairly to maintain reputations for trustworthiness.
A final aim of this dissertation is to understand the spatial dimensions of the productive resources that form the basis of the case studies being investigated. To this end, high-resolution geological resource maps were created for the study regions in Oman and Ethiopia through analysis of Hyperion hyperspectral satellite imagery.
Advisor: Michael J. Harrower
Second Reader: Glenn M. Schwartz
Committee Chair: Benjamin Zaitchik
Readers: Marian Feldman, Matthew Peeple
Migration and Ethnicity in Middle-Range Societies: A View from the Southwest. Tammy Stone. 2015. University of Utah Press, Salt Lake City. 168 pp. $50.00 (cloth), ISBN-978-1-60781-401-6.
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