Many nanotechnology-related principles can be demonstrated in a way that is understandable for elementary school-aged children through at-home activity videos. As a part of a National Science Foundation funded grant, Dr. Qing Hua Wang’s research group at Arizona State University developed a nanotechnology-related activity website, Nano@Home, for students. In conjunction with ASU’s virtual Open Door 2021, this creative project aimed to create activity videos based on the Nano@Home website to make the activities more interactive for students.

Supported catalytic nanoparticles undergo rapid structural transformations faster than many transmission electron microscopes (TEMs) can track. This is the case with platinum nanoparticles supported on cerium oxide (Pt/CeO2) in a CO and O2 gaseous environment. By furthering our understanding of the structural dynamics of the Pt/CeO2 system, improved catalyst design principles may be derived to enhance the efficiency of this catalyst. Developing static models of a 2 nm Pt nanoparticle supported on CeO2 and simulating TEM images of the models was found to create similar images to those seen in experimental TEM time-resolved series of the system. Rotations of static models on a ceria support provides a way to understand the experimental samples in three dimensions, which is difficult in two dimensional TEM images. This project expands the possibilities of interpreting TEM images of catalytic systems.

Fire is a naturally-occurring disruptive ecological force that is an essential part of certain ecosystems, and has historically been a tool used by indigenous fire stewards to maintain the health of the land. In the past century, fire has been severely suppressed throughout many areas of the Western United States as Western colonization and the suppression of native traditional ecological knowledge took place, causing a severe decline in ecosystem health and the accumulation of flammable vegetation, which has more recently contributed towards a frequency of catastrophic, high-intensity wildfires. Current fire management challenges include balancing social and ecological perspectives. In Colorado and other areas of the country, community wildfire protection plans (CWPP) are evolving as a means to involve a variety of community stakeholders in fire management decisions. Using Colorado CWPP boundaries as a social management unit and endangered species ranges as an ecological management unit, I analyzed the spatial overlap of these different factors. Since each CWPP has its own fire management policies, I drew implications from the results for which important factors different CWPPs should consider.

This study tested the effect of status threat on ingroup identification and examined identity concealability and stereotype endorsement as moderators of the relationship. Participants included a visible identity group (Asian men) and a concealable identity group (gay men). Participants were randomized into either a status threat condition, in which they read a vignette that reminded them of a negative stereotype about the target group and discussed positive stereotypes of the group as well, or a control condition that discussed positive stereotypes only. Participants then responded to a measure of ingroup identification and a measure of stereotype endorsement. A significant main effect of status threat on ingroup identification was found, such that participants in the status threat condition showed lower ingroup identification. The interaction of condition and concealability was not significant. The interaction of condition and stereotype endorsement was marginally significant, such that the main effect shows up stronger for those lower on stereotype endorsement. The main effect is interpreted as a potential protective strategy for self-esteem. The stereotype threat interaction is interpreted as a difference in the way that those who do and do not endorse the stereotype view the legitimacy of the status threat.

Music has consistently been documented as a manner to bring people together across cultures throughout the world. In this research, we propose that people use similar musical taste as a strong sign of potential social connection. To investigate this notion, we draw on literature examining how music merges the public/private self, the link to personality, and group identity, as well as how it is linked to romantic relationships. Thus, music can be a tool when wanting to get to know someone else and/or forge a platonic relationship. To test this hypothesis, we designed an experiment comparing music relative to another commonality (sharing a sports team in common) to see which factor is stronger in triggering an online social connection. We argue that people believe they have more in common with someone who shares similar music taste compared to other commonalities. We discuss implications for marketers on music streaming platforms.

As political campaigning becomes increasingly digital and data-driven, data privacy has become a question of democratic governance. Yet, Congress has yet to pass a comprehensive federal data privacy law and even the strongest subnational data privacy laws exempt political campaigns from regulation. <br/><br/>This thesis examines how data privacy laws impact data-driven and digital political campaigning. Specifically, it investigates what information is incorporated into the political data ecosystem, how data privacy laws regulate the collection of this data, and how actors in the political data ecosystem respond to these laws. It examines both sector-specific federal law and subnational data protection regulation through a case study of California. This research suggests that although the California Consumer Privacy Act and California Privacy Rights Act are landmark steps in American data protection, subnational data privacy law remains inhibited by the federal market-based approach.

The purpose of this study is to examine the social and communicative barriers LGBTQIA+ students face when seeking healthcare at campus health and counseling services at Arizona State University. Social barriers relate to experiences and internalizations of societal stigma experienced by sexual and gender minority individuals as well as the anticipation of such events. Communication between patient and provider was assessed as a potential barrier with respect to perceived provider LGBTQIA+ competency. This study applies the minority stress model, considering experiences of everyday stigma and minority stress as a predictor of healthcare utilization among sexual and gender minority students. The findings suggest a small but substantial correlation between minority stress and healthcare use with 23.7% of respondents delaying or not receiving one or more types of care due to fear of stigma or discrimination. Additionally, communication findings indicate a lack of standardization of LGBTQIA+ competent care with experiences varying greatly between respondents.

The depiction of female action heroes in modern blockbuster films has become more accurate throughout the years; however, the representation of women is still not as progressive as feminist scholars, actors, and viewers would like. This thesis explores two recent blockbuster films, Wonder Woman (2017) and Mad Max: Fury Road (2015), and how each film deals with the representation of women. While one could look to many cultural forms to explore such issues, films, “the most accessible representations of the past, present, and future of our society,” are particularly fertile ground for exploring gendered representations and stereotyping (Haskell, 1974). For much of Hollywood history, action films have used female protagonists as either passive, venerated symbols of perfect femininity, or objects of fascination and sexual pleasure for their male viewers. Or, if the female hero does have a degree of agency that allows her to push the plot forward, she is subject to moral scrutiny and frequently masculinized. In fact, the representation of women often falls into binary categories: the angelic damsel in distress, or the morally reprehensible, often masculinized, female villain. While the history of women’s representation in film more generally and action films more specifically is a long and complicated one that is beyond the scope of this project, recent action productions have exhibited notable shifts, both in terms of female characters’ box-office and narrative strength. However, both Wonder Woman and Mad Max: Fury Road, present viewers with examples of female representation that break through many of the misogynistic tropes that have dominated the genre for far too long. The key distinction between how both films destroy gendered stereotypes lies in the degrees to which the films allow their central female protagonists, and more minor female characters, to dominate the narrative and inhabit the composition of the screen. Wonder Woman tells the story of one powerful woman, whereas Fury Road utilizes a multitude of women in its story to defy gender stereotypes. While both films can be interpreted as empowering for female viewers, Wonder Woman gives its audience an easily digestible example of female agency; this is due to Wonder Woman allowing its famous comic book hero to comment and reject traditional women’s clothing, but also insists Diana be limited to hypersexualized battle armour and implicates that women cannot have love, power, and family. On the other hand, Fury Road presents viewers with a more radicalized gynocentric world in which, after considerable struggle and not without compromise, female characters not only have power, but wrest it away from the men who have abusively held onto control in the past. These two films also paved new ground for women in Hollywood production terms: giving women more power at the box-office and destroying the old-aged notion that female-centric films do not sell and make money at the same rate as male-centered ones do. Both Wonder Woman and Mad Max: Fury Road, in their own ways, depict that there is space for female action heroes to be more progressive and feminist in future blockbuster action films.