Matching Items (1,001)
Description
The original mediums were not texts or technologies; they were ritual actors performing acts of mediumship. Mediating between determined norms (the status quo) and emergent trends (change), they invoked divine authority to conjure meanings that proved adaptive, nonadaptive and/or maladaptive. With the advent of the written word, ritual became formalized and codified. The medium became a communication device, something abstract and external to the human condition. It then became possible to speak of "media effects" imposing influence in a logical deterministic manner. Yet with the advent of new media, we are witnessing a return to modes of cultural discourse that are spontaneous, interactive, communal and unscripted, all hallmarks of ritual action. This "ritual return" centers on the emergence of the "prosumer" (producer/consumer), a figure actively engaged in mediating practices. While resembling the original archaic "medium" in some respects, the prosumer is a "literate ritualist" allied with a multiplicity of cultural tribes. Thus the "new media" has given rise to "the new medium." The pages that follow focus on acts of contemporary mediumship, examining related concepts such as "ecology," "niche," "role," "affordance," and "trope." Each section considers how specific mediating practices afford and constrain modes of ritualized behavior. I call this practice-oriented approach to media studies "praxism."
ContributorsGyori, Bradford (Author) / Goggin, Maureen (Thesis advisor) / Baker, Aaron (Committee member) / Hjorleifur Jonsson (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
Unauthorized confronts the relationship between technology and personhood in the modern world. More specifically, it addresses the personal and social effects of border politics within the frame of cyber crime. The short film takes place in the near future where a hacker can create citizenship for anyone she wants, effectively turning anyone into a legal person in the United States. This parallels the real life struggles of unauthorized immigrants trying to gain a new life this side of the border despite the overwhelming backlash from the conservative and xenophobic population. The main character's ability to grant citizenship forces the viewer to confront what being a person really means. The film also alludes to the popularized antics of modern day hackers and whistleblowers who are often turned into heroes for fighting the establishment despite their character flaws. The protagonist of Unauthorized struggles through underhanded sexism and blatant racism as well as her own personal struggles with drug addiction and failed relationships. These are very real struggles women face in technology jobs and life in general. The main character's actions ultimately destroy every relationship that she's established, including the connection to her own family. This film, in short, is about the walls people build between each other, both physical and social.
ContributorsStabley, Justin E. (Author) / Bradley, Christopher (Thesis director) / Baker, Aaron (Committee member) / Department of English (Contributor) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
Mammary gland development in humans during puberty involves the enlargement of breast tissue, but this is not true in non-human primates. To identify potential causes of this difference, I examined variation in substitution rates across genes related to mammary development. Genes undergoing purifying selection show slower-than-average substitution rates, while genes undergoing positive selection show faster rates. These may be related to the difference between humans and other primates. Three genes were found to be accelerated were FOXF1, IGFBP5, and ATP2B2, but only the latter one was found in humans and it seems unlikely that it would be related to the differences between mammary gland development at puberty between humans and non-human primates.
ContributorsArroyo, Diana (Author) / Cartwright, Reed (Thesis director) / Wilson Sayres, Melissa (Committee member) / Schwartz, Rachel (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
The Walt Disney Company has been a worldwide phenomenon for over half a century. Disney's animated films in particular impact a large number of individuals around the world. The fact that they rerelease popular films every few years lends to the lasting influence these movies will hold in the lives of children to come. It is important to examine the messages Disney animated films can teach children in regards to women's roles, United States history, and racial difference. This essay examines these topics as they appear in Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, The Little Mermaid, Pocahontas, and The Lion King. Lastly, it examines the potential impact these films can leave on children and suggests ways in which adults can help children analyze what they see in the media.
ContributorsMonnig, Elizabeth Ann (Author) / Baker, Aaron (Thesis director) / Sandlin, Jennifer (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Film, Dance and Theatre (Contributor) / Department of English (Contributor) / School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies (Contributor)
Created2014-12
Description
A literature review summarizing the current status of conservation efforts of the Mojave Desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) including a brief overview of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and its applicability to this species' conservation. A genetic and physiological comparison of the morphologically similar Mojave species with the Sonoran (Gopherus morafkai) species proceeded by an analysis of if and how the ESA should apply to the Sonoran population. Analysis of current plans and interagency cooperations followed by a multi-step proposal on how best to conserve the Sonoran population of Desert tortoise.
ContributorsKulik, Elise Chikako (Author) / Kusumi, Kenro (Thesis director) / Tollis, Marc (Committee member) / Wilson Sayres, Melissa (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
"The Process and Analysis of Film Reviewing" is a two-part project that discovers what goes into the film reviewing process and what produces a good film review. A film review website entitled "Reel Reviews" (reelfilmreviews.com) was created, which features original content such as film reviews, trailers and information about special features and events relevant to the film industry. The paper portion of the project takes an analytical look at the current state of the film reviewing world and addresses the changes in technology that have an impact on how film reviewing is done.
ContributorsRepasi, Bianca Joyce (Author) / Baker, Aaron (Thesis director) / Dodge, Nancie (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
The modern web presents an opportunity for educators and researchers to create tools that are highly accessible. Because of the near-ubiquity of modern web browsers, developers who hope to create educational and analytical tools can reach a large au- dience by creating web applications. Using JavaScript, HTML, and other modern web development technologies, Genie was developed as a simulator to help educators in biology, genetics, and evolution classrooms teach their students about population genetics. Because Genie was designed for the modern web, it is highly accessible to both educators and students, who can access the web application using any modern web browser on virtually any device. Genie demonstrates the efficacy of web devel- opment technologies for demonstrating and simulating complex processes, and it will be a unique educational tool for educators who teach population genetics.
ContributorsRoos, Benjamin Hirsch (Author) / Cartwright, Reed (Thesis director) / Wilson Sayres, Melissa (Committee member) / Mayron, Liam (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Computer Science and Engineering Program (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a type of liver cancer common in Sub-Saharan Africa and South East Asian countries. Each year more than 700,000 new cases and more than 600,000 deaths are recorded worldwide due to HCC. According to the American Cancer Society HCC is ranked the 5th most common cancer worldwide with a male:female susceptibility ratio ranging between 2:1 and 8:1. HCC risk factors include lifestyle behaviors, such as persistent alcohol abuse and smoking, prolonged exposure to aflatoxins, chronic viral hepatitis infections, inherited metabolic diseases and non-alcoholic fatty liver diseases. To understand the genetic effects underlying sex-bias in HCC, it is necessary to include the sex chromosomes in genomics analyses. X and Y chromosomes are often discluded in genomics studies because of the technical and analytical challenges: sequence homology. The purpose of this thesis is to analyze the effects of sex chromosome complement aware read mapping to germline variant calling. 10 male and 10 female tumor adjacent samples from The Cancer Genome Atlas Liver Hepatocellular Carcinoma (TCGA LIHC) cohort were processed using sex-aware and default reference and the concordance of the two approaches was examined. We detected a higher disconcordance of 0.69% on variants called on the X chromosome and a disconcordance of 0.51% on variants called on the Y chromosomes for the reference and alternative alleles respectively compared to autosomes. Variants called on the REF/ALT genotypes had a disconcordances of 1.00%, 1.05%, 1.35% and 12.34% for the autosomes, chromosome 7, the X, and the Y chromosome, respectively. At the end of the project we concluded that the generated datasets showed the effect of sex-aware read mapping on variant calling. Though the data did not show the sites that can be called as variants in one dataset but not in the other, rather the concordance looked at sites that were called as variants in both data sets.
ContributorsPhiri, Lovender Teresa (Co-author) / Phiri, Lovender (Co-author) / Wilson Sayres, Melissa (Thesis director) / Buetow, Kenneth (Committee member) / Natri, Heini (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
With the new independence of adulthood, college students are a group susceptible to adopting unsupported, if not harmful, health practices. A survey of Arizona State University undergraduate students (N=200) was conducted to evaluate supplement use, trust in information sources, and beliefs about supplement regulation. Of those who reported using supplements, college students most frequently received information from friends and family. STEM majors in fields unrelated to health who were taking a supplement were found to be less likely to receive information about the supplement from a medical practitioner than those in health fields or those in non-STEM majors (-26.9%, p=0.018). STEM majors in health-related fields were 15.0% more likely to treat colds and/or cold symptoms with research-supported methods identified from reliable sources, while non-health STEM and non-STEM majors were more likely to take unsupported cold treatments (p=0.010). Surveyed students, regardless of major, also stated they would trust a medical practitioner for supplement advice above other sources (88.0%), and the majority expressed a belief that dietary supplements are approved/regulated by the government (59.8%).
ContributorsPerez, Jacob Tanner (Author) / Hendrickson, Kirstin (Thesis director) / Lefler, Scott (Committee member) / College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (Contributor) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / Department of Physics (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
ContributorsChandler, N. Kayla (Author) / Neisewander, Janet (Thesis director) / Sanabria, Federico (Committee member) / Olive, M. Foster (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (Contributor)
Created2013-05