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University-level sustainability education in Western academia attempts to focus on eliminating future harm to people and the planet. However, Western academia as an institution upholds systems of oppression and reproduces settler colonialism. This reproduction is antithetical to sustainability goals as it continues patterns of Indigenous erasure and extractive relationships to the Land that perpetuate violence towards people and the planet. Sustainability programs, however, offer several frameworks, including resilience, that facilitate critical interrogations of social-ecological systems. In this thesis, I apply the notion of resilience to the perpetuation of settler colonialism within university-level sustainability education. Specifically, I ask: How is settler colonialism resilient in university-level sustainability education? How are, or could, sustainability programs in Western academic settings address settler colonialism? Through a series of conversational interviews with faculty and leadership from Arizona State University School of Sustainability, I analyzed how university-level sustainability education is both challenging and shaped by settler colonialism. These interviews focused on faculty perspectives on the topic and related issues; the interviews were analyzed using thematic coding in NVivo software. The results of this project highlight that many faculty members are already concerned with and focused on challenging settler colonialism, but that settler colonialism remains resilient in this system due to feedback loops at the personal level and reinforcing mechanisms at the institutional level. This research analyzes these feedback loops and reinforcing mechanisms, among others, and supports the call for anti-colonial and decolonial reconstruction of curriculum, as well as a focus on relationship building, shifting of mindset, and school-wide education on topics of white supremacy, settler colonialism, and systems of oppression in general.
ContributorsBills, Haven (Author) / Klinsky, Sonja (Thesis advisor) / Goebel, Janna (Committee member) / Schoon, Michael (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
Transorbital surgery has gained recent notoriety due to its incorporation into endoscopic skull base surgery. The body of published literature on the field is cadaveric and observation. The pre-clinical studies are focused on the use of the endoscope only. Furthermore the methodology utilised in the published literature is inconsistent and does not embody the optimal principles of scientific experimentation. This body of work evaluates a minimally invasive novel surgical corridor - the transorbital approach - its validity in neurosurgical practice, as well as both qualitatively and quantitatively assessing available technological advances in a robust experimental fashion. While the endoscope is an established means of visualisation used in clinical transorbital surgery, the microscope has never been assessed with respect to the transorbital approach. This question is investigated here and the anatomical and surgical benefits and limitations of microscopic visualisation demonstrated. The comparative studies provide increased knowledge on specifics pertinent to neurosurgeons and other skull base specialists when planning pre-operatively, such as pathology location, involved anatomical structures, instrument maneuvrability and the advantages and disadvantages of the distinct visualisation technologies. This is all with the intention of selecting the most suitable surgical approach and technology, specific to the patient, pathology and anatomy, so as to perform the best surgical procedure. The research findings illustrated in this body of work are diverse, reproducible and applicable. The transorbital surgical corridor has substantive potential for access to the anterior cranial fossa and specific surgical target structures. The neuroquantitative metrics investigated confirm the utility and benefits specific to the respective visualisation technologies i.e. the endoscope and microscope. The most appropriate setting wherein the approach should be used is also discussed. The transorbital corridor has impressive potential, can utilise all available technological advances, promotes multi-disciplinary co-operation and learning amongst clinicians and ultimately, is a means of improving operative patient care.
ContributorsHoulihan, Lena Mary (Author) / Preul, Mark C. (Thesis advisor) / Vernon, Brent (Thesis advisor) / O' Sullivan, Michael G.J. (Committee member) / Lawton, Michael T. (Committee member) / Santarelli, Griffin (Committee member) / Smith, Brian (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021
Description
Heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants contribute to human health risks worldwide. Among the most common routes of exposure to pollutants for humans are through the consumption of contaminated water and food, with fish being among the greatest vectors for ingestion of heavy metals in humans, particularly mercury.This dissertation consists of three chapters with a central theme of investigating heavy metal and persistent organic pollutant concentrations in fish and corned beef, which are two commonly consumed food items in American Samoa. A literature review illustrated that historically the primary pollutants of concern in fish muscle tissue from American Samoa have been mercury, arsenic, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon mixtures. To better understand the changes in heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants in fish, this study reports an updated data set, comparing concentrations in pollutants as they have changed over time. To further investigate pollutants in fish tissue, 77 locally caught and commonly consumed fish were analyzed for heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants, and baseline human health risk assessments were calculated for contaminants that had available oral reference doses. While in American Samoa collecting fish for contaminant analyses, it was realized that canned corned beef appeared to be more commonly consumed than fresh fish. An IRB approved consumption survey revealed that 89% of American Samoan adults regularly consume fish, which is the same percentage of people that reported eating canned corned beef, indicating a dramatic increase in this food item to their diet since its introduction in the 20th century.
Results of this study indicate that fish muscle tissue generally has higher heavy metal concentrations than canned corned beef, and that mercury continues to be a main contaminant of concern when consuming fresh and canned fish in American Samoa. While none of the heavy metal concentrations in corned beef exceeded calculated action levels, these foods might contribute to negative health outcomes in other ways. One of the main findings of this study is that either the presence or the ability to detect persistent organic pollutant concentrations are increasing in fish tissue and should be periodically monitored to adequately reflect current conditions.
ContributorsLewis, Tiffany Beth (Author) / Polidoro, Beth (Thesis advisor) / Neuer, Susanne (Thesis advisor) / Halden, Rolf (Committee member) / Schoon, Michael (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023
Description
Effective collaboration and cooperation across difference are at the heart of present and future sustainability challenges and solutions. Collaboration among social groups (intragenerational), across time (intergenerational), and across species (interspecies) is each central to achieving sustainability transitions in the 21st century. In practice, there are three types of differences that limit collaboration and cooperation toward sustainability outcomes: differences among social groups, differences across time, and differences across species. Each of these differences have corresponding cognitive biases that challenge collaboration. Social cognitive biases challenge collaboration among social groups; temporal cognitive biases challenge collaboration across time; and anthropocentric cognitive biases challenge collaboration across species. In this work, I present three correctives to collaboration challenges spanning the social, temporal, and species cognitive biases through intervention-specific methods that build beyond traditional framings of empathy, toward social, futures, and ecological empathy. By re-theorizing empathy across these domains, I seek to construct a multidimensional theory of empathy for sustainability, and suggest methods to build it, to bridge differences among people, time horizons, and species for sustainability practice.
ContributorsLambert, Lauren Marie-Jasmine (Author) / Selin, Cynthia (Thesis advisor) / Schoon, Michael (Thesis advisor) / Tomblin, David (Committee member) / Berbés-Blázquez, Marta (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023
Description
Wildlife rehabilitation as a practice in the United States exists in a complicated ethical landscape. The Wildlife Rehabilitator's Code of Ethics exists to guide the profession and states that rehabilitators must respect the wildness and maintain the dignity of an animal in their care. This thesis explores the question: How do the attitudes and actions of wildlife rehabilitators exemplify the ways in which they understand and enact respect for an animal’s dignity and wildness while in their care? Additionally, in what circumstances do rehabilitators align and diverge from each other in their interpretation and demonstration of this respect? These questions were answered through a literature review, interviews with rehabilitators, and site visits to wildlife rehabilitation centers in the Phoenix metropolitan area. My results suggest that rehabilitators are aligned in their understanding of respect for wildness and dignity as it applies to the animals in their care that are actively undergoing rehabilitation. Rehabilitators achieved consensus on the idea that they should interact with the animals as little as possible while providing their medically necessary care. Rehabilitators began to diverge when considering the animals in their sanctuary spaces. Specifically, they varied in their perception of wildness in sanctuary animals, which informed how some saw their responsibilities to the animals. Lesser perceived wildness correlated to increased acceptance of forming affectionate relationships with the sanctuary animals, and even feelings of obligation to form these relationships. Based on my research, I argue that the Wildlife Rehabilitator's Code of Ethics should be revised to reflect the specific boundary that wildlife rehabilitators identified in the rehabilitation space and provide substantive guidance as to what respecting wildness and dignity means in this field.
ContributorsBernat, Isabella Elyse (Author) / Minteer, Ben (Thesis advisor) / Ellison, Karin (Committee member) / Schoon, Michael (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023
Description
Vitamin D is a nutrient that is obtained through the diet and vitamin D supplementation and created from exposure to Ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation. While there are many factors that determine how much serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) concentration is in the body, little is known about how genetic variation in vitamin D-related genes influences serum 25(OH)D concentrations resulting from daily vitamin D intake and exposure to direct sunlight. Previous studies show that common genetic variants rs10741657 (CYP2R1), rs4588 (GC), rs228678 (GC), and rs4516035 (VDR) act as moderators and alter the effect of outdoor time and vitamin D intake on serum 25(OH)D concentrations. The objective of this study is to analyze the associations between serum 25(OH)D concentrations resulting from outdoor time and vitamin D intake, and genetic risk scores (GRS) established from previous studies involving single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) located on or near genes involving vitamin D synthesis, transport, activation, and degradation in 102 Hispanic and Non-Hispanic adults in the San Diego County, California. This study is a secondary analysis of data from the Community of Mine study. Global Positioning System (GPS) data collected by the Qstarz GPS device worn by each participant was used to measure outdoor time, a proxy measurement for sun exposure time. Vitamin D intake was assessed using two 24-hour dietary recalls. Blood samples were measured for serum 25(OH)D concentrations. DNA was provided to assess each participant for the various genetic variants. Adjusted analyses of the GRS and serum 25(OH)D concentrations showed that individuals with high GRS (3-4) had lower serum 25(OH)D concentrations than individuals with low GRS (0-2) for both Nissen GRS and Rivera-Paredez GRS.
ContributorsAnderson, Heather Ray (Author) / Sears, Dorothy (Thesis advisor) / Alexon, Christy (Committee member) / Dinu, Valentin (Committee member) / Jankowska, Marta (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
A description of numerical and analytical work pertaining to models that describe the growth and progression of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), an aggressive form of primary brain cancer. Two reaction-diffusion models are used: the Fisher-Kolmogorov-Petrovsky-Piskunov equation and a 2-population model that divides the tumor into actively proliferating and quiescent (or necrotic) cells. The numerical portion of this work (chapter 2) focuses on simulating GBM expansion in patients undergoing treatment for recurrence of tumor following initial surgery. The models are simulated on 3-dimensional brain geometries derived from magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans provided by the Barrow Neurological Institute. The study consists of 17 clinical time intervals across 10 patients that have been followed in detail, each of whom shows significant progression of tumor over a period of 1 to 3 months on sequential follow up scans. A Taguchi sampling design is implemented to estimate the variability of the predicted tumors to using 144 different choices of model parameters. In 9 cases, model parameters can be identified such that the simulated tumor contains at least 40 percent of the volume of the observed tumor. In the analytical portion of the paper (chapters 3 and 4), a positively invariant region for our 2-population model is identified. Then, a rigorous derivation of the critical patch size associated with the model is performed. The critical patch (KISS) size is the minimum habitat size needed for a population to survive in a region. Habitats larger than the critical patch size allow a population to persist, while smaller habitats lead to extinction. The critical patch size of the 2-population model is consistent with that of the Fisher-Kolmogorov-Petrovsky-Piskunov equation, one of the first reaction-diffusion models proposed for GBM. The critical patch size may indicate that GBM tumors have a minimum size depending on the location in the brain. A theoretical relationship between the size of a GBM tumor at steady-state and its maximum cell density is also derived, which has potential applications for patient-specific parameter estimation based on magnetic resonance imaging data.
ContributorsHarris, Duane C. (Author) / Kuang, Yang (Thesis advisor) / Kostelich, Eric J. (Thesis advisor) / Preul, Mark C. (Committee member) / Crook, Sharon (Committee member) / Gardner, Carl (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023
Description
Though controversial in its utility to the scientific study of nonhuman animals, anthropomorphism, or the attribution of human characteristics to a nonhuman being, is omnipresent in our interactions with other animals. Anthropomorphism is undeniably a fixture of modern zoos, but how anthropomorphism relates to zoos’ contributions to conservation is unclear. In this dissertation, I investigate these potentially dueling, potentially overlapping, messages within great ape exhibits in accredited zoos. Given the complexity of both anthropomorphism and conservation, this dissertation reveals some nuances of how both play out in zoological spaces. Human psychology literature on anthropomorphism indicates that there are a variety of uses for this lens that benefit humans; from feeling we can understand a confusing animal action, to feeling social connection. Whereas the comparative psychology literature highlights a contested utility of anthropomorphism in studies of nonhuman animals. The main findings from this study are four-fold. Firstly, surveys conducted with zoo visitors show that many bring anthropomorphic beliefs with them on their trek through the zoo. Visitors are prone to viewing great apes as strikingly like humans in terms of emotions, emotional expression, and understanding of the world. Secondly, surveyed zoo visitors who agreed more with anthropomorphic statements also agreed more with statements about feeling interconnected with nature. Thirdly, there is no uniform understanding within the zoo community about how zoo exhibits do or should contribute to conservation efforts given that exhibits have multiple goals, one being the safety and wellness of their animal residents. Fourthly, interviews of zoo staff show that they mediate a variety of messages for zoo visitors and walk a sometimes-divisive line between when it’s acceptable to use anthropomorphic framing to discuss zoo animals and when it’s inaccurate. By leveraging a better understanding of these attitudes and relationships, zoos can further empower their staff to navigate these complex issues and improve their mission-based goal of promoting conservation outcomes by acknowledging the human practices embedded in our perceptions of and interactions with zoo animals. This work speaks to the importance of carefully considering the ways we understand animals in zoos, in the wild, and all the places in-between.
ContributorsLyon, Cassandra (Author) / Minteer, Ben A. (Thesis advisor) / Wynne, Clive D.L. (Committee member) / Maynard, Lily (Committee member) / Schoon, Michael (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2024
Description
Circular RNAs (circRNAs) are a class of endogenous, non-coding RNAs that are formed when exons back-splice to each other and represent a new area of transcriptomics research. Numerous RNA sequencing (RNAseq) studies since 2012 have revealed that circRNAs are pervasively expressed in eukaryotes, especially in the mammalian brain. While their functional role and impact remains to be clarified, circRNAs have been found to regulate micro-RNAs (miRNAs) as well as parental gene transcription and may thus have key roles in transcriptional regulation. Although circRNAs have continued to gain attention, our understanding of their expression in a cell-, tissue- , and brain region-specific context remains limited. Further, computational algorithms produce varied results in terms of what circRNAs are detected. This thesis aims to advance current knowledge of circRNA expression in a region specific context focusing on the human brain, as well as address computational challenges.
The overarching goal of my research unfolds over three aims: (i) evaluating circRNAs and their predicted impact on transcriptional regulatory networks in cell-specific RNAseq data; (ii) developing a novel solution for de novo detection of full length circRNAs as well as in silico validation of selected circRNA junctions using assembly; and (iii) application of these assembly based detection and validation workflows, and integrating existing tools, to systematically identify and characterize circRNAs in functionally distinct human brain regions. To this end, I have developed novel bioinformatics workflows that are applicable to non-polyA selected RNAseq datasets and can be used to characterize circRNA expression across various sample types and diseases. Further, I establish a reference dataset of circRNA expression profiles and regulatory networks in a brain region-specific manner. This resource along with existing databases such as circBase will be invaluable in advancing circRNA research as well as improving our understanding of their role in transcriptional regulation and various neurological conditions.
The overarching goal of my research unfolds over three aims: (i) evaluating circRNAs and their predicted impact on transcriptional regulatory networks in cell-specific RNAseq data; (ii) developing a novel solution for de novo detection of full length circRNAs as well as in silico validation of selected circRNA junctions using assembly; and (iii) application of these assembly based detection and validation workflows, and integrating existing tools, to systematically identify and characterize circRNAs in functionally distinct human brain regions. To this end, I have developed novel bioinformatics workflows that are applicable to non-polyA selected RNAseq datasets and can be used to characterize circRNA expression across various sample types and diseases. Further, I establish a reference dataset of circRNA expression profiles and regulatory networks in a brain region-specific manner. This resource along with existing databases such as circBase will be invaluable in advancing circRNA research as well as improving our understanding of their role in transcriptional regulation and various neurological conditions.
ContributorsSekar, Shobana (Author) / Liang, Winnie S (Thesis advisor) / Dinu, Valentin (Thesis advisor) / Craig, David (Committee member) / Liu, Li (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
With global environmental systems under increasing Anthropogenic influence, conservationists and environmental managers are under immense pressure to protect and recover the world’s imperiled species and ecosystems. This effort is often motivated by a sense of moral responsibility, either to nature itself, or to the end of promoting human wellbeing over the long run. In other words, it is the purview of environmental ethics, a branch of applied philosophy that emerged in the 1970s and that for decades has been devoted to understanding and defending an attitude of respect for nature, usually for its own sake. Yet from the very start, environmental ethics has promoted itself as contributing to the resolution of real-world management and policy problems. By most accounts, however, the field has historically failed to deliver on this original promise, and environmental ethicists continue to miss opportunities to make intellectual inroads with key environmental decisionmakers. Inspired by classical and contemporary American philosophers such as Charles Sanders Peirce, William James, John Dewey, and Richard Rorty, I defend in this dissertation the virtues of a more explicitly pragmatic approach to environmental ethics. Specifically, I argue that environmental pragmatism is not only commensurate with pro-environmental attitudes but that it is more likely to lead to viable and sustainable outcomes, particularly in the context of eco-social resilience-building activities (e.g., local experimentation, adaptation, cooperation). In doing so, I call for a recasting of environmental ethics, a project that entails: 1) a conceptual reorientation involving the application of pragmatism applied to environmental problems; 2) a methodological approach linking a pragmatist environmentalism to the tradition and process of adaptive co-management; and 3) an empirical study of stakeholder values and perspectives in conservation collaboratives in Arizona. I conclude that a more pragmatic environmental ethics has the potential to bring a powerful set of ethical and methodological tools to bear in real-world management contexts and, where appropriate, can ground and justify coordinated conservation efforts. Finally, this research responds to critics who suggest that, because it strays too far from the ideological purity of traditional environmental ethics, the pragmatic decision-making process will, in the long run, weaken rather than bolster our commitment to conservation and environmental protection.
ContributorsRojas, Christopher A (Author) / Minteer, Ben A (Thesis advisor) / Carr Kelman, Candice (Committee member) / Kinzig, Ann (Committee member) / Schoon, Michael (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019