This year's volume presents six papers with topics in biological, archaeological and cultural anthropology. Volume 31 opens with an article by Janaki Meyappan addressing how African-American mothers of children with sickle cell disease react to the diagnosis and manage healthcare of their children. The next article is by Nishant Hasmukh Shah and discusses the role of cooperative breeding in different mammalian species and how it affects social behavior. Immediately following, Miranda Callaway's article provides an index for distinguishing between Canis latrans and Canis familiaris, while Eric D. Peters gives us the results of his typological research on shell artifacts in southeast Florida. Asa H. Helm gives us a delightful comparison of Franz Boas and Bronislaw Malinowski, with a detailed account of their ethnographic work. The last article is by Shauna Ertolacci, and it addresses the political and economical influences on conservation in Ecuador. This years journal concludes with an updated list of chapters and advisors, followed by a recognition of past award recipients of the National Scholarship Award competition and the National Dean's List Scholarship. The Journal staff welcomes all of the recent chapters and all new members to the society.