Matching Items (76)
Description
While the transition from sectarian to allopathic medicine was almost entirely beneficial due to our perceived value in the type of evidence and transparency that science provides, key values within sectarian practice were lost in this transition. Attention to these values helps us better understand the role and treatment of patients in modern medicine. Modern scientific physicians have proven the inefficacy of sectarian treatments by scientific practices, but the efficacy of exact sectarian remedies may not have bearing on the importance of sectarian values. These values were: medical simplicity, harmlessness in treatment, independence from physicians and accessibility of treatment. A more in-depth analysis of sectarian values allows us to understand that while the values of allopathic medicine have become ubiquitous, it has not always been that way. It is time to consider the validity in the sectarian values we have abandoned; this analysis was one of many on medicine's imminent developmental horizon. This realization allows us to call into question the importance of our current practicing values, and the necessity that they continue to stand alone.
ContributorsAyala, Erik Richard (Author) / Brian, Jennifer (Thesis director) / Ross, Christian (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
This project will explain the positive impact and effectiveness of Sarbanes-Oxley on corporate responsibility, and through that lens, examine how to make certain subchapters of Title 42, "the Sunshine Act", concerning healthcare fund tracking more transparent and without conflicts of interest. There will be an analysis of the implementation of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in corporate America and the impact it had on corporate responsibility. There will be a comprehensive review of the history of both the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the Sunshine Act, along with their origins, stakeholders, and impact on their respective industries. Suggestions to improve certain current United States Code subchapters and subsequent regulations will be announced considering the success that has come from Section 404 of Sarbanes-Oxley.
ContributorsRogers, Anne Marie (Author) / Brian, Jennifer (Thesis director) / Agne, Sara (Committee member) / School of Accountancy (Contributor) / Hugh Downs School of Human Communication (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
The rate of cancer incidence is a morbid figure. Twenty years ago, 1 in 2 men and 1 in 3 women were predicted to be afflicted by cancer throughout their lifetime (Cancer Facts & Figures- 1998). In 2017, the rate remains the same ("Cancer Statistic Center"). Every year, more people are affected by cancer, which is a physiologically, psychologically, emotionally and socially devastating disease. And yet the language and metaphors we use to describe cancer focus our attention on the "fight" of the heroic individual against the brutal disease or on finding a cure. Despite this narrow rhetoric, there are many meaningful, supportive, and palliative measures designed to substantively and holistically care for cancer patients, beyond their medical treatment. Many of these interventions help the patient feel supported (and less alone in this "battle") by building robust communities. In this thesis, I argue the summer camps for children affected by cancer are meaningful interventions that offer palliative care throughout their treatment by creating support networks with peers going through similar medical procedures. Drawing on anecdotal evidence from three cancer camps and a detailed literature review of a subset of palliative interventions designed to promote well-being, this thesis proposes a new model for a summer camp that focuses on emotional processing emotional expression, positive psychology in order to improve palliative care for cancer patients.
ContributorsPearce, Spencer Taylor (Author) / Miller, April (Thesis director) / Brian, Jennifer (Committee member) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-12
Description
This thesis elucidates the responsibility of the pharmaceutical industry for the current opioid epidemic, an epidemic which caused over 40,000 American deaths in 2016 alone. Twenty years prior, Purdue Pharma unleashed an extended-release formulation of the opioid oxycodone: OxyContin. With this, Purdue began a highly aggressive advertising campaign with the primary intention of guaranteeing the success of this drug; however, in doing so, they often neglected to ensure that the information they were propagating was wholly accurate. Previous reform attempts aimed at mollifying this crisis have ultimately fallen short, as they have failed to recognize the true extent of Purdue Pharma's involvement, especially with regard to the underlying issues that led to the initiation and progression of the epidemic. Future improvements should be targeted at the reform of regulatory agencies and insurance companies, as well as the cultural attitudes regarding pain and pain treatment that have been cultivated over the last several years. Ultimately, however, these reforms will likely prove to be insufficient unless the failings of the current healthcare system, including the pharmaceutical industry, are also taken into account.
ContributorsOzeran, Rachel Hoku Lii (Author) / Fong, Benjamin (Thesis director) / Brian, Jennifer (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
Intestinal Transplant is becoming more prevalent with time as an powerful alternative to other therapies for intestinal failure such as parenteral nutrition. The small intestine is an organ especially susceptible to ischemia, or the lack of blood and oxygen supply to an organ. I studied ischemia at Yale Medical School in the lab of Dr. John Geibel. The purpose of this study was to find which kind of solution best protects the intestine from ischemia as well as which segments of the intestine are more susceptible to ischemic damage. This was done by cold static storage as well as through perfusing the organ with a unit developed in the lab called the Intestinal Perfusion Unit (IPU). Intestines were procured from deceased donors following the protocol for handling human specimen and then flushed with either the University of Wisconsin (UW) solution or the Histidine-tryptophan-ketoglutarate solution (HTK). It was found that the jejunum is more susceptible ischemia than the ileum. It was also found that in the jejunum, when using UW solution there was less damage then when using HTK. Clinically, this means that in transplant, if the ileum part is used, there is less risk for ischemic damage. The potential applications of this research raise many ethical issues related to organ transplantation more broadly. The ethical issues include but are not limited to: consent, distribution and need-based donation, transplant tourism, and cost and access. The costs for transplant are exorbitant for the average American. Private insurance companies and Medicare have no policy for intestinal transplant and are therefore not covering many patients in need. In this thesis, I briefly explore the role of insurance companies in the equitable distribution of innovative medical interventions.
ContributorsAgarwal, Raghav (Author) / Brian, Jennifer (Thesis director) / Finotti, Michele (Committee member) / W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
The concept of when human death occurs had for most of history been determined by criteria for cardiac death, defined as the cessation of a heartbeat and respiration. However, in the mid-1900's, a new definition of death emerged in the form of brain death, characterized by an irreversible cessation of brain and brainstem function. This definition was needed after resuscitation of the heart was made possible and a growing number of patients were in a state of ventilatory support but had undetectable brain function. The success of organ transplantation and the growing need for more organ procurements further reinforced the advantage of using neurological criteria to declare death. These advancements in medicine have created a need for a definition of death other than cardiac death and have led to the acceptance of brain death, though it is still the subject of controversy. It has been attacked as a concept with weak scientific foundations and ethical justifications, since the brain itself is not well understood and the definition is used to the advantage of the organ donation system. Those in opposition to the use of neurological criteria to pronounce death argue that it is not always correctly detected and is conceptually incoherent. It would help to resolve this point of controversy if accurate methods to detect brain death were standardized for all physicians to use when declaring death, so that no declarations could be termed inaccurate or incomplete. The definition of brain death needs more rigorous and updated scientific backing in its ability to be detected if it is to be imposed upon individuals by law, as it is in the United States. It is also possible that new research and developments in medical treatments will make the current definition of death subject to change, and understanding the underlying problems of the current definition of brain death will help eliminate issues in a new definition of death.
ContributorsAdame, Alexis Leilani (Author) / Brian, Jennifer (Thesis director) / McGregor, Joan (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Commodifying the Womb: Ethical Concerns of Assisted Reproductive Technologies through a Marxist Lens
Description
Whether legal, banned or unregulated, states and nations are reconsidering the morality and legality of the practice of surrogacy. Though many advocate for the absolute right to this practice, there are serious ethical concerns about the practice of surrogacy. Using critical theory, this thesis examines the relationships between the systems and people who have fostered a space where assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) thrive. A theoretical analysis of Karl Marx and his literature on women and reproduction adds more comprehensive depth to the last four decades of literature on surrogacy. I respond to Marx and contemporary researchers with a recommendation: surrogacy should be regulated (and not necessarily banned) across states and nations. I also suggest that future discussions should point to market-inalienability as a tool to guide discussion on the state of surrogacy. I argue surrogacy is synonymous with purchasing children. If we are able to have clearer conversations about the ways in which children are treated as commodities, then we can start to understand the ways in which other forms of conception and childbearing practices are also problematic and exploitative.
ContributorsGrabowski, Hannah Kathleen (Author) / Brian, Jennifer (Thesis director) / Suk, Mina (Committee member) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
In the current political moment, sex trafficking is an issues that has gained increased political and media attention. This thesis first analyzes the stories that are told about sex trafficking in policy and the media. Analyzing these stories help us make sense of whose voices, experiences, and needs we listen to, and in relief, whose we do not. Through a case study that evaluates the research, policy work, and advocacy being conducted through the Office of Sex Trafficking Intervention Research at ASU, I first explore how they are dominating the conversation about sex trafficking in Arizona. I offer four critiques on STIR's approach to sex trafficking. First, I critique the language that STIR uses, and the implications of explaining this social issue as sex trafficking instead of survival sex. I then critique the policy and responses around the experiences of LGBTQ youth, and how the theory of dynamic nominalism informs the way we should represent LGBTQ youth in research. Through analyzing specific responses to sex trafficking prevention that STIR offers, such as calling 911, I will explore the need for intersectionality to protect the wellbeing of youth of color. Lastly, through theoretical critiques of neoliberalism, I will explore the ways in which STIR's research, advocacy, and trainings neglect to explore the systems youth must navigate and exist in, and how those systems fail. Through each of these unique critiques, we notice different silences and important considerations that are missing from the work that is dominating the discussion of sex trafficking in the US. Ultimately, this thesis does not argue that we should not care about sex trafficking, but instead argues we need to care more. It explores the ways that acknowledging the complexity and nuance of this great social problem can provide the ability to create meaningful solutions that care for and listen to youth.
ContributorsCossette, Anastasia Grace (Author) / Brian, Jennifer (Thesis director) / Katsulis, Yasmina (Committee member) / School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Contributor) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
The current American opioid crisis is seeing an exponential number of fatalities. The opioid epidemic is a problem with massive scope, and while no clear reason has been identified, many causal relationships have been linked to its genesis. This thesis examines the role of the pharmaceutical industry in perpetuating the abuse rates we see today. Topics of sociological norms and values, economic incentives that benefitted private business practices, and political-legal means of restitution and market completion are examined to make sense of specific mechanisms that the pharmaceutical industry took advantage of, and the future trajectory of what is to come from the industry as well. Combined with policies (or, lack thereof) that do not provide adequate checks against opioid marketing strategies and incentives, governmental interferences come too little, too late in attempting to solve the issue.
ContributorsHouang, Michael (Author) / Brian, Jennifer (Thesis director) / Silverman, Daniel (Committee member) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a lifelong neurodevelopmental disorder that is becoming increasingly common. Autism does not yet have a known etiology, nor a definitive diagnostic test, thus making diagnosis a difficult and rarely uniform task. Currently, ASD is behaviorally diagnosed based on criteria defined by the American Psychiatric Association in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). Recently, a change was made in the criteria from more lenient criteria in DSM-IV-TR, to more narrow criteria laid out by the DSM-V, which supersedes the DSM-IV-TR. This drastic change raised many questions and debates about which set of criteria are better. The more lenient criteria offers a more inclusive diagnosis giving greater access to therapies; while the narrow diagnostic criteria excludes some individuals, creating a more uniform diagnosis that's easier to use in research. This thesis analyzes the change in diagnostic criteria from the DSM-IV-TR to the DSM-V and the effects of these changes on the practices of diagnosis. In addition, it explores the implications of this change for the families of children with autism and for those involved in autism research, examining their respective opinions and interests pertaining to narrow verses broad diagnostic criteria. Building on this analysis, the thesis offers recommendations about diagnostic criteria should be set. It argues that the wellbeing of patients takes priority over the interests of researchers, and thus diagnosis should be done in a way that offers the best prognosis for all children who suffer from autistic symptoms.
ContributorsBremer, Michelle Nichole (Author) / Hurlbut, Ben (Thesis director) / Robert, Jason (Committee member) / Brian, Jennifer (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12