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Description
Empirical and theoretical gaps exist on the subject matter of attendee experiential behavior at community festivals as this action occurs in real time. To acquire knowledge and begin to build theory, attendee behavior was investigated through an interpretive lens to give rise to a socially constructed understanding of this phenomenon

Empirical and theoretical gaps exist on the subject matter of attendee experiential behavior at community festivals as this action occurs in real time. To acquire knowledge and begin to build theory, attendee behavior was investigated through an interpretive lens to give rise to a socially constructed understanding of this phenomenon in contrast to typical positivist inquiry designs found in the field of event studies used to test theory and determine universal explanations. This ontology was deemed appropriate as human experience at community festivals is multifaceted, relative to social interactions, highly variable with complex meanings, and has a wide variety of consequential implications; all views representative of social constructivism. A grounded theory approach was used in conjunction with a participant observation method to collect data on attendee behavior during fieldwork undertaken at community festivals. Prior to fieldwork, literature was not reviewed nor specific theory pre-selected to serve as a basis for research, with the researcher's only intent to record attendee's on-site actions with an open mind. Fieldwork notes were systematically expanded into descriptive narratives that were broken down into initial codes to establish robust analytic directions, which were synthesized into categories and subcategories through focused coding. Relationships between categories and subcategories were reassembled with axial coding bringing into view a strong emergent theme on social capital bonding and bridging at community festivals and a second theme that considers the aspirations of event management to program festive experiences. To strengthen the second theme event manager interviews and content analysis of event association newsletters were conducted as theoretical sampling to move data towards saturation. From emergent themes it was theorized, while social capital bonding is profusely exhibited at community festivals, social capital bridging is minimally displayed unless augmented with programmed festivity to increase physical, emotional, and social engagement of attendees. Literature reviewed in relation to this theory revealed that spirituality, dance, music, the arts, and wild abandonment were important elements of festivity. An implication arising from this study indicates that if community festivals consciously enhance programmed festivity then correspondingly increased social capital impacts within community development might also be achieved.
ContributorsBiaett, Vernon (Author) / Phillips, Rhonda (Thesis advisor) / Budruk, Megha (Committee member) / Hultsman, Wendy (Committee member) / De La Garza, Sarah (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
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Description
Commitment to an activity is widely studied in leisure research. Serious Leisure Perspective (SLP) describes characteristics a committed activity participant possesses. The Psychological Continuum Model (PCM) describes the psychological process a person goes through to become committed to a leisure activity. Awareness, attraction, attachment and loyalty make of the four

Commitment to an activity is widely studied in leisure research. Serious Leisure Perspective (SLP) describes characteristics a committed activity participant possesses. The Psychological Continuum Model (PCM) describes the psychological process a person goes through to become committed to a leisure activity. Awareness, attraction, attachment and loyalty make of the four stages of PCM. Both perspectives have been used to describe committed leisure activity participants and commitment to organized recreational events. Research on leisure activity has yet to determine how the individual becomes loyal. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to determine the process in which recreation activity participates becomes loyal and to identify who can be labels as serious within the PCM Framework. Data was obtained from an online electronic survey distributed to participants of four U.S. marathon and half marathon events. A total of 579 responses were used in the final analysis. Path analysis determined the process in which a runner becomes committed. MANOVA is used to determine difference between leisure groups in the four stages of PCM. Results indicate that activity participants need to go through all four stages of PCM before becoming loyal. As knowledge increases, individuals are more motivated to participate. When the activity satisfies motives and becomes a reflection of their identity, feelings become stronger which results in loyalty. Socialization is instrumental to the progression through the PCM Framework. Additionally, attachment is the "bottleneck" in which all loyal activity participants my pass through. Differences exist between serious leisure groups in the attachment and loyalty stages. Those that are `less serious' are not as committed to the activity as their counterparts.
ContributorsMurphey, Elizabeth M (Author) / Lee, Woojin (Thesis advisor) / Hultsman, Wendy (Thesis advisor) / Larsen, Dale (Committee member) / Chisum, Jack (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
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Description
The purpose of this study was to examine the local residents' perceptions toward the social impacts of FIBA EuroBasket 2011, held September 7th to September 12th, 2011 in Vilnius, Lithuania. This study focuses on the social impacts of the event since most of the mega-event academia is dominated by economic

The purpose of this study was to examine the local residents' perceptions toward the social impacts of FIBA EuroBasket 2011, held September 7th to September 12th, 2011 in Vilnius, Lithuania. This study focuses on the social impacts of the event since most of the mega-event academia is dominated by economic impact studies and this research attempts to go beyond a narrow quantitative approach to examine the social impacts in relation to two important academic contributions: 1) the embracement-withdrawal continuum and 2) the social exchange theory. A mixed methods analysis was adopted as the best approach for this research. Both a quantitative survey and qualitative questionnaire were used which yielded a total usable sample of 128 residents of Vilnius. Exploratory Factor Analysis was conducted to examine the underlying themes of the quantitative data and coding and thematic development was used to make sense of the qualitative data. The results confirmed that the event was considered successful (97% of residents embraced the event) and they generated 6 factors, or impacts, that were deemed important for influencing resident perceptions: social costs, social benefits, sociocultural impacts, socioeconomic impacts, sociopolitical impacts, and socioenvironmental impacts. These results indicate that the use of mixed methods analyses is crucial to investigate the interdependence between each impact that affects residents' perceptions toward sport mega-events.
ContributorsAntoniou, Alexis (Author) / Phillips, Rhonda (Thesis advisor) / Mean, Lindsey (Committee member) / Hultsman, Wendy (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
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Description
Many developing countries do not have health care systems that can afford technological biomedical devices or supplies to make such devices operational. To fill this void, nonprofit organizations, like Project C.U.R.E., recondition retired biomedical instrumentation so they can send medical supplies to help these developing countries. One of the issues

Many developing countries do not have health care systems that can afford technological biomedical devices or supplies to make such devices operational. To fill this void, nonprofit organizations, like Project C.U.R.E., recondition retired biomedical instrumentation so they can send medical supplies to help these developing countries. One of the issues with this is that sometimes the devices are unusable because components or expendable supplies are not available (Bhadelia). This issue has also been shown in the Impact Evaluations that Project C.U.R.E. receives from the clinics that explain the reasons why certain devices are no longer in use. That need underlies the idea on which this honors thesis has come into being. The purpose of this honors project was to create packing lists for biomedical instruments that Project C.U.R.E. recycles. This packing list would decrease the likelihood of important items being forgotten when sending devices. If an extra fuse, battery, light bulb, cuff or transducer is the difference between a functional or a nonfunctional medical device, such a list would be of benefit to Project C.U.R.E and these developing countries. In order to make this packing list, manuals for each device were used to determine what supplies were required, what was necessary for cleaning, and what supplies were desirable but functionally optional. This list was then added into a database that could be easily navigated and could help when packing up boxes for a shipment. The database also makes adding and editing the packing list simple and easy so that as Project C.U.R.E. gets more donated devices the packing list can grow.
ContributorsGraft, Kelsey Anne (Author) / Coursen, Jerry (Thesis director) / Walters, Danielle (Committee member) / Harrington Bioengineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
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Description
The Hippo signaling pathway is responsible for regulating organ size through cell proliferation, stemness, and apoptosis. Through targeting proteins Yes-associated kinase 1(YAP) and transcriptional co-activator with a PDZ-binding domain(TAZ), YAP/TAZ are unable to enter the nucleus and bind with coactivators to express target genes. To understand YAP/TAZ dynamics and its

The Hippo signaling pathway is responsible for regulating organ size through cell proliferation, stemness, and apoptosis. Through targeting proteins Yes-associated kinase 1(YAP) and transcriptional co-activator with a PDZ-binding domain(TAZ), YAP/TAZ are unable to enter the nucleus and bind with coactivators to express target genes. To understand YAP/TAZ dynamics and its role in tumorigenesis, tissue regeneration, and tissue degeneration, a regulatory network was modeled by ordinary differential equations. Using MATLAB, the deterministic behavior of the network was observed to determine YAP/TAZ activity in different states. Performing the bifurcation analysis of the system through Oscill8, three states were identified: tumorigenic/regenerative, degenerative, and homeostatic states. Further analysis through parameter modification allowed a better understanding of which proteins can be targeted for cancer and degenerative disease.
ContributorsBarra Avila, Diego Rodrigo (Author) / Tian, Xiaojun (Thesis director) / Wang, Xiao (Committee member) / Harrington Bioengineering Program (Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
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Description
Based on James Marcia's theory, identity development in youth is the degree to which one has explored and committed to a vocation [1], [2]. During the path to an engineering identity, students will experience a crisis, when one's values and choices are examined and reevaluated, and a commitment, when the

Based on James Marcia's theory, identity development in youth is the degree to which one has explored and committed to a vocation [1], [2]. During the path to an engineering identity, students will experience a crisis, when one's values and choices are examined and reevaluated, and a commitment, when the outcome of the crisis leads the student to commit to becoming an engineer. During the crisis phase, students are offered a multitude of experiences to shape their values and choices to influence commitment to becoming an engineering student. Student's identities in engineering are fostered through mentoring from industry, alumni, and peer coaching [3], [4]; experiences that emphasize awareness of the importance of professional interactions [5]; and experiences that show creativity, collaboration, and communication as crucial components to engineering. Further strategies to increase students' persistence include support in their transition to becoming an engineering student, education about professional engineers and the workplace [6], and engagement in engineering activities beyond the classroom. Though these strategies are applied to all students, there are challenges students face in confronting their current identity and beliefs before they can understand their value to society and achieve personal satisfaction. To understand student's progression in developing their engineering identity, first year engineering students were surveyed at the beginning and end of their first semester. Students were asked to rate their level of agreement with 22 statements about their engineering experience. Data included 840 cases. Items with factor loading less than 0.6 suggesting no sufficient explanation were removed in successive factor analysis to identify the four factors. Factor analysis indicated that 60.69% of the total variance was explained by the successive factors. Survey questions were categorized into three factors: engineering identity as defined by sense of belonging and self-efficacy, doubts about becoming an engineer, and exploring engineering. Statements in exploring engineering indicated student awareness, interest and enjoyment within engineering. Students were asked to think about whether they spent time learning what engineers do and participating in engineering activities. Statements about doubts about engineering to engineering indicated whether students had formed opinions about their engineering experience and had understanding about their environment. Engineering identity required thought in belonging and self-efficacy. Belonging statements called for thought about one's opinion in the importance of being an engineer, the meaning of engineering, an attachment to engineering, and self-identification as an engineer. Statements about self-efficacy required students to contemplate their personal judgement of whether they would be able to succeed and their ability to become an engineer. Effort in engineering indicated student willingness to invest time and effort and their choices and effort in their engineering discipline.
ContributorsNguyen, Amanda (Author) / Ganesh, Tirupalavanam (Thesis director) / Robinson, Carrie (Committee member) / Harrington Bioengineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
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Description
Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) affects over 5 million individuals in the U.S. and has a direct cost estimated in excess of $200 billion per year. Broadly speaking, there are two forms of AD—early-onset, familial AD (FAD) and late-onset-sporadic AD (SAD). Animal models of AD, which rely on the overexpression of FAD-related

Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) affects over 5 million individuals in the U.S. and has a direct cost estimated in excess of $200 billion per year. Broadly speaking, there are two forms of AD—early-onset, familial AD (FAD) and late-onset-sporadic AD (SAD). Animal models of AD, which rely on the overexpression of FAD-related mutations, have provided important insights into the disease. However, these models do not display important disease-related pathologies and have been limited in their ability to model the complex genetics associated with SAD.

Advances in cellular reprogramming, have enabled the generation of in vitro disease models that can be used to dissect disease mechanisms and evaluate potential therapeutics. To that end, efforts by many groups, including the Brafman laboratory, to generated patient-specific hiPSCs have demonstrated the promise of studying AD in a simplified and accessible system. However, neurons generated from these hiPSCs have shown some, but not all, of the early molecular and cellular hallmarks associated with the disease. Additionally, phenotypes and pathological hallmarks associated with later stages of the human disease have not been observed with current hiPSC-based systems. Further, disease relevant phenotypes in neurons generated from SAD hiPSCs have been highly variable or largely absent. Finally, the reprogramming process erases phenotypes associated with cellular aging and, as a result, iPSC-derived neurons more closely resemble fetal brain rather than adult brain.

It is well-established that in vivo cells reside within a complex 3-D microenvironment that plays a significant role in regulating cell behavior. Signaling and other cellular functions, such as gene expression and differentiation potential, differ in 3-D cultures compared with 2-D substrates. Nonetheless, previous studies using AD hiPSCs have relied on 2-D neuronal culture models that do not reflect the 3-D complexity of native brain tissue, and therefore, are unable to replicate all aspects of AD pathogenesis. Further, the reprogramming process erases cellular aging phenotypes. To address these limitations, this project aimed to develop bioengineering methods for the generation of 3-D organoid-based cultures that mimic in vivo cortical tissue, and to generate an inducible gene repression system to recapitulate cellular aging hallmarks.
ContributorsBounds, Lexi Rose (Author) / Brafman, David (Thesis director) / Wang, Xiao (Committee member) / Harrington Bioengineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
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Description
The combination of immunohistochemical (IHC) stainings and optical microscopy has allowed for the visualization of specific microscopic structures within tissue; however, limitations in light and antibody penetration mitigate the scale on which these images can be taken (Alshammari et al, 2016; Marx, 2014). Tissue clearing, specifically the removal of lipids

The combination of immunohistochemical (IHC) stainings and optical microscopy has allowed for the visualization of specific microscopic structures within tissue; however, limitations in light and antibody penetration mitigate the scale on which these images can be taken (Alshammari et al, 2016; Marx, 2014). Tissue clearing, specifically the removal of lipids to improve sample transparency, solves the former weakness well, but does not improve antibody penetration significantly (Chung et al, 2013; Treweek et al, 2015). Therefore, there is a need to equalize the maximum depth that light can pass through a section with the depth at which there is recognizable fluorescence. This is particularly important when staining blood vessels as traditional size limitations exclusively allows for cross sectional visualization. Passive CLARITY Technique (PACT) has been at the forefront of tissue clearing protocols, utilizing an acrylamide hydrogel solution to maintain structure and sodium dodecyl sulfate to wash out lipids (Tomer et al, 2014). PACT is limited in its ability to clear larger sections and is not conducive to IHC antibody diffusion (Treweek et al, 2015). In order to circumvent these drawbacks, CUBIC was developed as an alternative passive protocol, aimed at being scalable to any tissue size (Richardson, 2015; Susaki et al, 2015). This study compared the effectiveness of both protocols in high and low lipid tissues in the context of blood vessel staining efficacy. Upon initial comparison, it became apparent that there was a statistically significant difference in mean DAPI intensity at all depths, up to 200 micrometers, between CUBIC and PACT \u2014 the former showcasing brighter stainings. Moreover, it was found that PACT does not remove erythrocytes from the tissue meaning that their auto-fluorescence is seen during imaging. Therefore, for blood vessel stainings, only CUBIC was optimized and quantitatively analyzed. In both tissue conditions as well as for two stainings, DAPI and fibronectin (FNCT), optimized CUBIC demonstrated a statistically significant difference from standard CUBIC with regards to mean fluorescent intensity.
ContributorsSidhu, Gurpaul Singh (Author) / VanAuker, Michael (Thesis director) / Kodibagkar, Vikram (Committee member) / Harrington Bioengineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
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Description
This creative project created and implemented a seven-day STEM curriculum that ultimately encouraged engagement in STEM subjects in students ages 5 through 11. The activities were incorporated into Arizona State University's Kids' Camp over the summer of 2017, every Tuesday afternoon from 4 to 6 p.m. with each activity running

This creative project created and implemented a seven-day STEM curriculum that ultimately encouraged engagement in STEM subjects in students ages 5 through 11. The activities were incorporated into Arizona State University's Kids' Camp over the summer of 2017, every Tuesday afternoon from 4 to 6 p.m. with each activity running for roughly 40 minutes. The lesson plans were created to cover a myriad of scientific topics to account for varied student interest. The topics covered were plant biology, aerodynamics, zoology, geology, chemistry, physics, and astronomy. Each lesson was scaffolded to match the learning needs of the three age groups (5-6 year olds, 7-8 year olds, 9-11 year olds) and to encourage engagement. "Engagement" was measured by pre- and post-activity surveys approved by IRB. The surveys were in the form of statements where the children would totally agree, agree, be undecided, disagree, or totally disagree with it. To more accurately test engagement, the smiley face Likert scale was incorporated with the answer choices. After implementation of the intervention, two-tailed paired t-tests showed that student engagement significantly increased for the two lesson plans of Aerodynamics and Chemistry.
ContributorsHunt, Allison Rene (Co-author) / Belko, Sara (Co-author) / Merritt, Eileen (Thesis director) / Ankeny, Casey (Committee member) / Division of Teacher Preparation (Contributor) / Harrington Bioengineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-12
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Description
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) may result in numerous pathologies that cannot currently be mitigated by clinical interventions. Stem cell therapies are widely researched to address TBI-related pathologies with limited success in pre-clinical models due to limitations in transplant survival rates. To address this issue, the use of tissue engineered scaffolds

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) may result in numerous pathologies that cannot currently be mitigated by clinical interventions. Stem cell therapies are widely researched to address TBI-related pathologies with limited success in pre-clinical models due to limitations in transplant survival rates. To address this issue, the use of tissue engineered scaffolds as a delivery mechanism has been explored to improve survival and engraftment rates. Previous work with hyaluronic acid \u2014 laminin (HA-Lm) gels found high viability and engraftment rates of mouse fetal derived neural progenitor/stem cells (NPSCs) cultured on the gel. Furthermore, NPSCs exposed to the HA-Lm gels exhibit increased expression of CXCR4, a critical surface receptor that promotes cell migration. We hypothesized that culturing hNPCs on the HA-Lm gel would increase CXCR4 expression, and thus enhance their ability to migrate into sites of tissue damage. In order to test this hypothesis, we designed gel scaffolds with mechanical properties that were optimized to match that of the natural extracellular matrix. A live/dead assay showed that hNPCs preferred the gel with this optimized formulation, compared to a stiffer gel that was used in the CXCR4 expression experiment. We found that there may be increased CXCR4 expression of hNPCs plated on the HA-Lm gel after 24 hours, indicating that HA-Lm gels may provide a valuable scaffold to support viability and migration of hNPCs to the injury site. Future studies aimed at verifying increased CXCR4 expression of hNPCs cultured on HA-Lm gels are necessary to determine if HA-Lm gels can provide a beneficial scaffold for stem cell engraftment therapy for treating TBI.
ContributorsHemphill, Kathryn Elizabeth (Author) / Stabenfeldt, Sarah (Thesis director) / Brafman, David (Committee member) / Harrington Bioengineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05