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The purpose of this research is to explore Latina/o students' involvement at Arizona State University West and how it affects their sense of belonging, and thereby, their retention. I operationalize a "sense of belonging" as being able to express and feel comfortable with one's ethnic identity in the context of a higher education institution (Hurtado, 1997). I operationalize student involvement by the extent to which an individual student is devoted to their academic experience, invests time studying on campus, participates in student organizations, and interacts with faculty and their peers (Astin, 1984). I draw from Astin's theory of student involvement and Hurtado's sense of belonging as a base for this inquiry because they are critical components to understanding retention among the Latino/a community at Arizona State University West.
ContributorsGuerra, Luis D. (Author) / Cuadraz, Gloria (Thesis director) / Aska, Cassandra (Committee member) / School of Social and Behavioral Sciences (Contributor) / School of Humanities, Arts, and Cultural Studies (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
The inherent risk in testing drugs has been hotly debated since the government first started regulating the drug industry in the early 1900s. Who can assume the risks associated with trying new pharmaceuticals is unclear when looked at through society's lens. In the mid twentieth century, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published several guidance documents encouraging researchers to exclude women from early clinical drug research. The motivation to publish those documents and the subsequent guidance documents in which the FDA and other regulatory offices established their standpoints on women in drug research may have been connected to current events at the time. The problem of whether women should be involved in drug research is a question of who can assume risk and who is responsible for disseminating what specific kinds of information. The problem tends to be framed as one that juxtaposes the health of women and fetuses and sets their health as in opposition. That opposition, coupled with the inherent uncertainty in testing drugs, provides for a complex set of issues surrounding consent and access to information.
ContributorsMeek, Caroline Jane (Author) / Maienschein, Jane (Thesis director) / Brian, Jennifer (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
The focus of human decomposition studies has traditionally been on how external factors affect the decomposition of a body. There is much less literature on how the decomposition of a human cadaver affects its local ecosystem. This study attempts to address the knowledge gap in current literature regarding how the decomposition of human cadavers affects the bioavailability of essential plant nutrients (P, K, Ca, Fe, C and N) as well as toxins (As and Pb) in soil. By studying the bioavailability of plant nutrients, especially nitrogen, and toxins, this research hopes to inform new technologies and techniques for locating clandestine gravesites. The objectives of this study were twofold: 1) determine whether soils exposed to cadaveric decomposition can be visually distinguished from one another via macroscopic and microscopic observation and 2) observe general changes in nutrient and toxic element bioavailability and changes in carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios over time as well as spatially across a body. Visual analyses of soil samples, both macro- and microscopically did not show potential in distinguishing soil exposed to cadaver decomposition from unexposed soil. Relative bioavailability as well as overall bioavailable concentrations of both plant nutrients and toxins were highly elevated after 12 months. Toxins, such as As and Pb, tended to have greater bioavailable concentrations at the near-torso positions, though no consistent spatial trends between nutrient bioavailable concentrations were observed between the three individuals. Nitrogen concentrations and nitrogen isotope (δ15N) ratios show strong potential as markers of clandestine graves throughout the study period. While this research demonstrates further need to uncover what factors influence bioavailability of elements in gravesoil, it shows that the bioavailability of plant nutrients and toxins as well as δ15N ratios are greatly affected by cadaver decomposition, and emerging technologies in gravesite detection based on plant or soil changes have a solid foundation.
ContributorsAnderson, Sara Rae (Author) / Kobojek, Kimberly (Thesis director) / Gordon, Gwyneth (Committee member) / School of Mathematical and Natural Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
In today’s economy, advertisers understand that sex sells. The foundations of this concept, however, are influenced by patriarchal expectations that women are first and foremost sexual objects for men. Women are sold beauty and demeanor expectations for them to utilize when making themselves attractive for men and men are sold the idea of beautiful, docile women. This dynamic perpetuates strict definitions of acceptable gender displays and reinforces socially permitted gendered behavior. As a society in the 21st century, we understand the damage of sexist ideals, but where we fall short is in the monitoring of channels that perpetuate and maintain those stereotypes and how affected the public really is by the male gaze, and lack of a female gaze, in media. In this paper, I search for a female gaze, but in doing so recognize the inequalities inherent in yet another gendered practice of looking and instead steer the conversation towards personalized perspectives informed by an understanding of the dominant practice of looking and its inverse.
The primary perspective from which people are depicted in media today is shaped by the male gaze. The male gaze is comprised of patriarchal ideals and relies on the understanding that the spectator or viewer is a standard human being, which heteronormativity tells us is a man. From this perspective, the scope of visual representations of men and women in media has been molded after the hierarchized gender displays within which masculinity has primacy over femininity. By presenting a limited spectrum of behavior acceptable for men and women, the media hegemonically manipulates the social constructs of gender and gendered behavior across all levels of society.
This honors thesis applies semiotic and feminist methodologies to engage visual forms of media through art, film, and social media to challenge the social constructs of gender perpetuated and reinforced by dated stereotypes of gender and gendered behavior. First, the theoretical foundation will provide a framework for semiotic and feminist analysis of visual representations of gender in media. Then, I will present data representing the real-world impact that this social construction of gender has on adolescents in America using The State of Gender Equality for U.S. Adolescents, published by Plan International Inc. I will then bring together the explicated methodologies and evidential data alongside my own experiences as a female consumer of visual media to reveal alternative practices of looking that do not revolve around patriarchal norms, looking for a female gaze. In doing so, I hope to present recourse in the face of persistent use of sexist imagery across all levels of our culture and every medium of visual self-expression by providing tools that can be used to interrogate gendered perceptions and inform self-examination in pursuit of a feminist practice of looking.
The primary perspective from which people are depicted in media today is shaped by the male gaze. The male gaze is comprised of patriarchal ideals and relies on the understanding that the spectator or viewer is a standard human being, which heteronormativity tells us is a man. From this perspective, the scope of visual representations of men and women in media has been molded after the hierarchized gender displays within which masculinity has primacy over femininity. By presenting a limited spectrum of behavior acceptable for men and women, the media hegemonically manipulates the social constructs of gender and gendered behavior across all levels of society.
This honors thesis applies semiotic and feminist methodologies to engage visual forms of media through art, film, and social media to challenge the social constructs of gender perpetuated and reinforced by dated stereotypes of gender and gendered behavior. First, the theoretical foundation will provide a framework for semiotic and feminist analysis of visual representations of gender in media. Then, I will present data representing the real-world impact that this social construction of gender has on adolescents in America using The State of Gender Equality for U.S. Adolescents, published by Plan International Inc. I will then bring together the explicated methodologies and evidential data alongside my own experiences as a female consumer of visual media to reveal alternative practices of looking that do not revolve around patriarchal norms, looking for a female gaze. In doing so, I hope to present recourse in the face of persistent use of sexist imagery across all levels of our culture and every medium of visual self-expression by providing tools that can be used to interrogate gendered perceptions and inform self-examination in pursuit of a feminist practice of looking.
ContributorsPreston, Phoebe Jane (Author) / Gaffney, Cynthia (Thesis director) / Kirsch, Sharon (Committee member) / School of Humanities, Arts, and Cultural Studies (Contributor) / School of Social and Behavioral Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Criminal Justice is a complex subject matter, and not everyone agrees on the way a criminal justice system ought to function. But one feature that is common to virtually all forms of proposed justice systems is that a true justice system treats people ethically. The question, then, is how a justice system can achieve this. This investigation analyzed two ethical theories, Kantianism and Utilitarianism, to determine which one would be better suited for guiding a criminal justice system on how to treat the people involved ethically. This investigation focused on applying the two theories to the U.S. Criminal Justice System in particular.
Kantianism is a duty-based moral theory in which actions have an intrinsic moral worth. This means certain actions are morally right and other are morally wrong, regardless of the intended or realized consequences. The theory relies on the categorical imperative to judge the morality of certain actions. It states that an action is moral if its maxim can be willed universal law and if it avoids treating people as merely a means. In contrast, Utilitarianism is a consequentialist theory which focuses on the consequences of an action in judging moral worth. In Utilitarianism, the morally correct action is the one which will maximize utility; that is to say, the morally right action is the one which will produce the greatest amount of happiness and minimize the amount of pain for the greatest number of people.
After applying these two theories to moral dilemmas facing the U.S. Criminal Justice System, including the appropriate collection of DNA evidence, the use of police deception, and the use of criminal punishments such as solitary confinement or the death penalty, it was clear that Kantianism was the ethical theory best suited for guiding the system in treating people ethically. This is because Kantianism’s focus on the intrinsic moral worth of an action rather than its consequences leaves less room for ambiguity than does Utilitarianism.
Kantianism is a duty-based moral theory in which actions have an intrinsic moral worth. This means certain actions are morally right and other are morally wrong, regardless of the intended or realized consequences. The theory relies on the categorical imperative to judge the morality of certain actions. It states that an action is moral if its maxim can be willed universal law and if it avoids treating people as merely a means. In contrast, Utilitarianism is a consequentialist theory which focuses on the consequences of an action in judging moral worth. In Utilitarianism, the morally correct action is the one which will maximize utility; that is to say, the morally right action is the one which will produce the greatest amount of happiness and minimize the amount of pain for the greatest number of people.
After applying these two theories to moral dilemmas facing the U.S. Criminal Justice System, including the appropriate collection of DNA evidence, the use of police deception, and the use of criminal punishments such as solitary confinement or the death penalty, it was clear that Kantianism was the ethical theory best suited for guiding the system in treating people ethically. This is because Kantianism’s focus on the intrinsic moral worth of an action rather than its consequences leaves less room for ambiguity than does Utilitarianism.
ContributorsMorett, Xavier Laakea (Author) / Manninen, Bertha (Thesis director) / Kimberly, Kobojek (Committee member) / School of Criminology and Criminal Justice (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Natural Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Social-emotional learning (SEL) methods are beginning to receive global attention in primary school education, yet the dominant emphasis on implementing these curricula is in high-income, urbanized areas. Consequently, the unique features of developing and integrating such methods in middle- or low-income rural areas are unclear. Past studies suggest that students exposed to SEL programs show an increase in academic performance, improved ability to cope with stress, and better attitudes about themselves, others, and school, but these curricula are designed with an urban focus. The purpose of this study was to conduct a needs-based analysis to investigate components specific to a SEL curriculum contextualized to rural primary schools. A promising organization committed to rural educational development is Barefoot College, located in Tilonia, Rajasthan, India. In partnership with Barefoot, we designed an ethnographic study to identify and describe what teachers and school leaders consider the highest needs related to their students' social and emotional education. To do so, we interviewed 14 teachers and school leaders individually or in a focus group to explore their present understanding of “social-emotional learning” and the perception of their students’ social and emotional intelligence. Analysis of this data uncovered common themes among classroom behaviors and prevalent opportunities to address social and emotional well-being among students. These themes translated into the three overarching topics and eight sub-topics explored throughout the curriculum, and these opportunities guided the creation of the 21 modules within it. Through a design-based research methodology, we developed a 40-hour curriculum by implementing its various modules within seven Barefoot classrooms alongside continuous reiteration based on teacher feedback and participant observation. Through this process, we found that student engagement increased during contextualized SEL lessons as opposed to traditional methods. In addition, we found that teachers and students preferred and performed better with an activities-based approach. These findings suggest that rural educators must employ particular teaching strategies when addressing SEL, including localized content and an experiential-learning approach. Teachers reported that as their approach to SEL shifted, they began to unlock the potential to build self-aware, globally-minded students. This study concludes that social and emotional education cannot be treated in a generalized manner, as curriculum development is central to the teaching-learning process.
ContributorsBucker, Delaney Sue (Author) / Carrese, Susan (Thesis director) / Barab, Sasha (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor, Contributor) / School of Civic & Economic Thought and Leadership (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Calcium is the only ion capable of triggering electrical and chemical reactions in cells which are part of essential biomolecular processes, such as gene transcription and ion flux. Calcium homeostasis, the control of concentration levels, is therefore crucial for the proper functioning of cells. For example, cardiomyocytes, the cells that form cardiac muscle, rely on calcium transfer process to produce muscle contraction.
The purpose of this work is to study aspects of calcium homeostasis in the model organism Saccharomyces cerevisiae, common yeast. Using luminometric techniques, the response of the yeast was monitored against a set of changes in the environment calcium abundance. The results indicate a complex response as both increase and decreases of external calcium induce elevations in cytosolic calcium concentrations.
Calcium is transferred across compartments by means of channels. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, many of them have been identified; Cch1p-Mid1p, Vcx1p, Pmc1p, Pmr1p, and Yvc1p. Their participation in calcium homeostasis is well established. Observations of cytosolic calcium increase after a hypertonic shock are mainly associated with influx of ions from the environment though the Cch1p-Mid1p. This process is generally considered as driven by calcium concentration gradients. However, recent studies have suggested that the plasma membrane channel, Cch1p-Mid1p, may possess more sophisticated regulation and sensory mechanisms. The results of our experiments support these ideas.
We carried out experiments that subjected yeast to multiple shocks: a hypertonic shock followed by either a second hypertonic shock, a hypotonic shock, or a yeast dilution pulse where the solution volume increases by the calcium concentration has only a small change. The cytosolic calcium concentration of a yeast population was monitored via luminometry.
The main result of this study is the observation of an unexpected response to the combination of hypertonic and hypotonic shocks. In this case it was observed that the cytosolic calcium concentration increased after both shocks. This indicates that cytosolic calcium increases are not solely driven by the presence of concentration gradients. The response after the hypotonic pulse arises from more complex mechanisms that may include sensor activity at the membrane channels and the release of calcium from internal storages.
The purpose of this work is to study aspects of calcium homeostasis in the model organism Saccharomyces cerevisiae, common yeast. Using luminometric techniques, the response of the yeast was monitored against a set of changes in the environment calcium abundance. The results indicate a complex response as both increase and decreases of external calcium induce elevations in cytosolic calcium concentrations.
Calcium is transferred across compartments by means of channels. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, many of them have been identified; Cch1p-Mid1p, Vcx1p, Pmc1p, Pmr1p, and Yvc1p. Their participation in calcium homeostasis is well established. Observations of cytosolic calcium increase after a hypertonic shock are mainly associated with influx of ions from the environment though the Cch1p-Mid1p. This process is generally considered as driven by calcium concentration gradients. However, recent studies have suggested that the plasma membrane channel, Cch1p-Mid1p, may possess more sophisticated regulation and sensory mechanisms. The results of our experiments support these ideas.
We carried out experiments that subjected yeast to multiple shocks: a hypertonic shock followed by either a second hypertonic shock, a hypotonic shock, or a yeast dilution pulse where the solution volume increases by the calcium concentration has only a small change. The cytosolic calcium concentration of a yeast population was monitored via luminometry.
The main result of this study is the observation of an unexpected response to the combination of hypertonic and hypotonic shocks. In this case it was observed that the cytosolic calcium concentration increased after both shocks. This indicates that cytosolic calcium increases are not solely driven by the presence of concentration gradients. The response after the hypotonic pulse arises from more complex mechanisms that may include sensor activity at the membrane channels and the release of calcium from internal storages.
ContributorsMintz, David Anthony (Co-author) / Parker, Augustus (Co-author) / Solis, Francisco (Thesis director) / Marshall, Pamela (Committee member) / School of Mathematical and Natural Sciences (Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Calcium is the only ion capable of triggering electrical and chemical reactions in cells which are part of essential biomolecular processes, such as gene transcription and ion flux. Calcium homeostasis, the control of concentration levels, is therefore crucial for the proper functioning of cells. For example, cardiomyocytes, the cells that form cardiac muscle, rely on calcium transfer process to produce muscle contraction.
The purpose of this work is to study aspects of calcium homeostasis in the model organism Saccharomyces cerevisiae, common yeast. Using luminometric techniques, the response of the yeast was monitored against a set of changes in the environment calcium abundance. The results indicate a complex response as both increase and decreases of external calcium induce elevations in cytosolic calcium concentrations.
Calcium is transferred across compartments by means of channels. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, many of them have been identified; Cch1p-Mid1p, Vcx1p, Pmc1p, Pmr1p, and Yvc1p. Their participation in calcium homeostasis is well established. Observations of cytosolic calcium increase after a hypertonic shock are mainly associated with influx of ions from the environment though the Cch1p-Mid1p. This process is generally considered as driven by calcium concentration gradients. However, recent studies have suggested that the plasma membrane channel, Cch1p-Mid1p, may possess more sophisticated regulation and sensory mechanisms. The results of our experiments support these ideas.
We carried out experiments that subjected yeast to multiple shocks: a hypertonic shock followed by either a second hypertonic shock, a hypotonic shock, or a yeast dilution pulse where the solution volume increases by the calcium concentration has only a small change. The cytosolic calcium concentration of a yeast population was monitored via luminometry.
The main result of this study is the observation of an unexpected response to the combination of hypertonic and hypotonic shocks. In this case it was observed that the cytosolic calcium concentration increased after both shocks. This indicates that cytosolic calcium increases are not solely driven by the presence of concentration gradients. The response after the hypotonic pulse arises from more complex mechanisms that may include sensor activity at the membrane channels and the release of calcium from internal storages.
The purpose of this work is to study aspects of calcium homeostasis in the model organism Saccharomyces cerevisiae, common yeast. Using luminometric techniques, the response of the yeast was monitored against a set of changes in the environment calcium abundance. The results indicate a complex response as both increase and decreases of external calcium induce elevations in cytosolic calcium concentrations.
Calcium is transferred across compartments by means of channels. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, many of them have been identified; Cch1p-Mid1p, Vcx1p, Pmc1p, Pmr1p, and Yvc1p. Their participation in calcium homeostasis is well established. Observations of cytosolic calcium increase after a hypertonic shock are mainly associated with influx of ions from the environment though the Cch1p-Mid1p. This process is generally considered as driven by calcium concentration gradients. However, recent studies have suggested that the plasma membrane channel, Cch1p-Mid1p, may possess more sophisticated regulation and sensory mechanisms. The results of our experiments support these ideas.
We carried out experiments that subjected yeast to multiple shocks: a hypertonic shock followed by either a second hypertonic shock, a hypotonic shock, or a yeast dilution pulse where the solution volume increases by the calcium concentration has only a small change. The cytosolic calcium concentration of a yeast population was monitored via luminometry.
The main result of this study is the observation of an unexpected response to the combination of hypertonic and hypotonic shocks. In this case it was observed that the cytosolic calcium concentration increased after both shocks. This indicates that cytosolic calcium increases are not solely driven by the presence of concentration gradients. The response after the hypotonic pulse arises from more complex mechanisms that may include sensor activity at the membrane channels and the release of calcium from internal storages.
ContributorsParker, Augustus Carrucciu (Co-author) / Mintz, David (Co-author) / Solis, Francisco (Thesis director) / Marshall, Pamela (Committee member) / School of Mathematical and Natural Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
As of 2019, 30 US states have adopted abortion-specific informed consent laws that require state health departments to develop and disseminate written informational materials to patients seeking an abortion. Abortion is the only medical procedure for which states dictate the content of informed consent counseling. State abortion counseling materials have been criticized for containing inaccurate and misleading information, but overall, informed consent laws for abortion do not often receive national attention. The objective of this project was to determine the importance of informed consent laws to achieving the larger goal of dismantling the right to abortion. I found that informed consent counseling materials in most states contain a full timeline of fetal development, along with information about the risks of abortion, the risks of childbirth, and alternatives to abortion. In addition, informed consent laws for abortion are based on model legislation called the “Women’s Right to Know Act” developed by Americans United for Life (AUL). AUL calls itself the legal architect of the pro-life movement and works to pass laws at the state level that incrementally restrict abortion access so that it gradually becomes more difficult to exercise the right to abortion established by Roe v. Wade. The “Women’s Right to Know Act” is part of a larger package of model legislation called the “Women’s Protection Project,” a cluster of laws that place restrictions on abortion providers, purportedly to protect women, but actually to decrease abortion access. “Women’s Right to Know” counseling laws do not directly deny access to abortion, but they do reinforce key ideas important to the anti-abortion movement, like the concept of fetal personhood, distrust in medical professionals, the belief that pregnant people cannot be fully autonomous individuals, and the belief that abortion is not an ordinary medical procedure and requires special government oversight. “Women’s Right to Know” laws use the language of informed consent and the purported goal of protecting women to legitimize those ideas, and in doing so, they significantly undermine the right to abortion. The threat to abortion rights posed by laws like the “Women’s Right to Know” laws indicates the need to reevaluate and strengthen our ethical defense of the right to abortion.
ContributorsVenkatraman, Richa (Author) / Maienschein, Jane (Thesis director) / Brian, Jennifer (Thesis director) / Abboud, Carolina (Committee member) / Historical, Philosophical & Religious Studies (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Cellular and molecular biologists often perform cellular assays to obtain a better understanding of how cells work. However, in order to obtain a measurable response by the end of an experiment, the cells must reach an ideal cell confluency. Prior to conducting the cellular assays, range-finding experiments need to be conducted to determine an initial plating density that will result in this ideal confluency, which can be costly. To help alleviate this common issue, a mathematical model was developed that describes the dynamics of the cell population used in these experiments. To develop the model, images of cells from different three-day experiments were analyzed in Photoshop®, giving a measure of cell count and confluency (the percentage of surface area covered by cells). The cell count data were then fitted into an exponential growth model and were correlated to the cell confluency to obtain a relationship between the two. The resulting mathematical model was then evaluated with data from an independent experiment. Overall, the exponential growth model provided a reasonable and robust prediction of the cell confluency, though improvements to the model can be made with a larger dataset. The approach used to develop this model can be adapted to generate similar models of different cell-lines, which will reduce the number of preliminary range-finding experiments. Reducing the number of these preliminary experiments can save valuable time and experimental resources needed to conduct studies using cellular assays.
ContributorsGuerrero, Victor Dominick (Co-author) / Guerrero, Victor (Co-author) / Watanabe, Karen (Thesis director) / Jurutka, Peter (Committee member) / School of Mathematical and Natural Sciences (Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05