Professor Nikki Gorrell at the College of Western Idaho (CWI) recently received an Innovation in Action Award for Creative and Interdisciplinary Expression from the college's Center for Teaching and Learning. In addition, two of her students won top awards for their eHRAF posters at the Connections Conference.

Professor Gorrell reports that students enjoy immersing themselves researching a cultural group of personal interest. Students even have the option to research their own ancestral roots if the group is featured in the database. This in-depth project appeals to majors and non-majors alike, while also highlighting the incredible cultural diversity of humanity as exemplified in the eHRAF World Cultures database.

Students enrolled in ANTH 102 Cultural Anthropology have the opportunity for virtual fieldwork, researching a society of their choice utilizing eHRAF World Cultures for the Multi-Cultural Exposition Project. Over three months, students explore the eHRAF database and are guided through the process of "seeing through the lens of Anthropology." Students gain experience with the database and research additional anthropological books and journals to assemble a unique Barrel Model of Culture (BMC) outline with a holistic overview of the society they chose.

Click here to read about the eHRAF teaching activity

Carol Ember, President of HRAF, and Benjamin Gelbart, a postdoctoral investigator in the Department of Psychology at Yale University, will attend the Cultural Evolution Society (CES) and Human Behavior & Evolution Society (HBES) joint conferences at University Mohammad VI Polytechnic in Rabat, Morocco. The CES Conference will take place May 11-13. The HBES Conference will take place May 13-16.

Carol and Benjamin will co-present a workshop titled "Using eHRAF Databases for Cross-Cultural Research" on Wednesday, May 13th at 12:30 pm. Carol will present a paper titled "Food-Destroying versus Non-Food-Destroying Hazards: A Worldwide Comparison of Differential Responses" on Thursday, May 14th at 9:00 am. Benjamin will present a paper titled "Is Romantic Jealousy Universal? Similarities (and Functional Differences) in Jealousy Across Cultures" on Friday, May 15th at 3:00 pm.

Conference attendees will receive trial login credentials for eHRAF World Cultures and eHRAF Archaeology. Attendees will also be eligible to receive a discount for the first year of membership dues for the eHRAF databases. If you are attending the conferences and interested in learning more, please speak with Carol Ember or Benjamin Gelbart.

Click here to read about the CES and HBES Conferences

HRAF President Carol Ember is offering two types of Cross-Cultural Workshops this month. One is designed for those who want to get an introduction to the cross-cultural research process and an understanding of the basic steps in conducting a cross-cultural project using ethnographic data. This workshop will also include pointers to materials where you can learn more. Examples will be given using the eHRAF World Cultures database. To sign up, look for the workshop below labelled "Basic Introduction."

The second workshop is targeted to researchers who already have a clear research question and have tentative ideas about how to proceed, but who want some additional advice. Examples of needed advice: how to choose a sample in eHRAF, how to select time and place foci, or how to construct an Advanced Search in eHRAF for your proposed project.

To register, look for the workshop below labelled "Cross-Cultural Project Advice." Should you wish, after signing up, you may send an email to carol.ember@yale.edu with a short description of your project prior to the workshop with the subject line Cross-Cultural Project Advice.

Basic Introduction

Thursday, May 21 at 1pm ET

Cross-Cultural Project Advice

Thursday, May 28 at 1pm ET

Click here for more about the Cross-Cultural Workshops

HRAF Global Scholar María Belén Carpio is an adjunct professor at Universidad Nacional del Nordeste (UNNE) in Argentina. Her research interests focus on the morphosyntax of the language of the Qomlé’k/Toba Peoples of Western Formosa in Argentina and the comparison between genetically and areally related languages.

María is currently analyzing the conceptualization of space in Qomlé’k/Toba of Western Formosa (Guaicuruan linguistic family). She has been studying topological relations, frames of reference, and motion. In particular, the absolute frame of reference based on cardinal zones used by the Tobas of Western Formosa inspired the research project that she is working on using the eHRAF databases.

Through access to the eHRAF databases, María is studying cross-culturally absolute frames of reference among Indigenous Peoples of the Americas. According to María, "The ways Indigenous Peoples talk about their surroundings can teach us a lot about environment, cognition, and grammar."

HRAF is honored to feature María Belén Carpio as one of our HRAF Global Scholars for 2026. We wish her continued success. To support funding priorities such as the HRAF Global Scholars program, please consider making a tax-deductible donation.

Click here to read about our featured HRAF Global Scholar