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- Creators: School of Life Sciences
Description
Nearly seven decades ago, the US government established grants to the states for family planning and acknowledged the importance of enabling all women to plan and space their pregnancies, regardless of personal income. Since then, publicly-funded family planning services have empowered millions of women, men, and adolescents to achieve their childbearing goals. Despite the recognized importance of subsidized family planning, services remain funded in a piecemeal fashion. Since the 1940s there have been numerous federal funding sources for family planning, including the Title V Maternal and Child Health Services Program, Office of Economic Opportunity grants, Title XX Social Services Program, Title X Family Planning Program, Medicaid, and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, alongside state and local support. Spending guidelines allow states varying degrees of flexibility regarding allocation, to best serve the local population. With nearly two billion dollars spent annually on subsidized family planning, criticism often arises surrounding effective local program spending and state politics influencing grant allocation. Political tension regarding the amount of control states should have in managing federal funding is exacerbated in the context of family planning, which has become increasingly controversial among social conservatives in the twenty-first century. This thesis examines how Arizona’s political, geographic, cultural, and ethnic landscape shaped the state management of federal family planning funding since the early twentieth century. Using an extensive literature review, archival research, and oral history interviews, this thesis demonstrates the unique way Arizona state agencies and nonprofits collaborated to maximize the use of federal family planning grants, effectively reaching the most residents possible. That partnership allowed Arizona providers to reduce geographic barriers to family planning in a rural, frontier state. The social and political history surrounding the use of federal family planning funds in Arizona demonstrates the important role states have in efficient, effective, and equitable state implementation of national resources in successfully reaching local populations. The contextualization of government funding of family planning provides insight into recent attempts to defund abortion providers like Planned Parenthood, cut the Title X Family Planning Program, and restructure Medicaid in the twenty-first century.
ContributorsNunez-Eddy, Claudia (Author) / Maienschein, Jane (Thesis advisor) / Hurlbut, James (Committee member) / O'Neil, Erica (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
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 current trend of interconnected devices, or the internet of things (IOT) has led to the popularization of single board computers (SBC). This is primarily due to their form-factor and low price. This has led to unique networks of devices that can have unstable network connections and minimal processing power. Many parallel program- ming libraries are intended for use in high performance computing (HPC) clusters. Unlike the IOT environment described, HPC clusters will in general look to obtain very consistent network speeds and topologies. There are a significant number of software choices that make up what is referred to as the HPC stack or parallel processing stack. My thesis focused on building an HPC stack that would run on the SCB computer name the Raspberry Pi. The intention in making this Raspberry Pi cluster is to research performance of MPI implementations in an IOT environment, which had an impact on the design choices of the cluster. This thesis is a compilation of my research efforts in creating this cluster as well as an evaluation of the software that was chosen to create the parallel processing stack.
ContributorsO'Meara, Braedon Richard (Author) / Meuth, Ryan (Thesis director) / Dasgupta, Partha (Committee member) / Computer Science and Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
Breast microcalcifications are a potential indicator of cancerous tumors. Current visualization methods are either uncomfortable or impractical. Impedance measurement studies have been performed, but not in a clinical setting due to a low sensitivity and specificity. We are hoping to overcome this challenge with the development of a highly accurate impedance probe on a biopsy needle. With this technique, microcalcifications and the surrounding tissue could be differentiated in an efficient and comfortable manner than current techniques for biopsy procedures. We have developed and tested a functioning prototype for a biopsy needle using bioimpedance sensors to detect microcalcifications in the human body. In the final prototype a waveform generator sends a sin wave at a relatively low frequency(<1KHz) into the pre-amplifier, which both stabilizes and amplifies the signal. A modified howland bridge is then used to achieve a steady AC current through the electrodes. The voltage difference across the electrodes is then used to calculate the impedance being experienced between the electrodes. In our testing, the microcalcifications we are looking for have a noticeably higher impedance than the surrounding breast tissue, this spike in impedance is used to signal the presence of the calcifications, which are then sampled for examination by radiology.
ContributorsWen, Robert Bobby (Co-author) / Grula, Adam (Co-author) / Vergara, Marvin (Co-author) / Ramkumar, Shreya (Co-author) / Kozicki, Michael (Thesis director) / Ranjani, Kumaran (Committee member) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / Electrical Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
Breastfeeding has been shown by a number of studies to have numerous benefits on both the mother and the infant. Major health organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO), now agree that breastfeeding should be encouraged and supported in all countries. But like many things, the wheels of the law are slow to catch up with scientific evident. Although breastfeeding is supported, working women do not have the option of breastfeeding without consequences. For example, in 2003, Kirstie Marshall, a then member of parliament in Australia was ejected from the lower house chamber on February 23, for breastfeeding her baby [3]. According to standing order 30 at the time, "Unless by order of the House, no Member of this House shall presume to bring any stranger into any part of the House appropriated to the Members of this House while the House, or a Committee of the whole House, is sitting" [3]. The rules did not specify the age of strangers, so the then 11-day-old baby, Charlotte Louise and her mother were shown the exit door of parliament. She had to choose between being present at times of major discussions or leaving the house to breastfeed her child, she chose to leave. More recent statistics show that developed nations like the US and Australia which also have high rates of women employment had low rates of breastfeeding. This might mean that workplace policies do not favor breastfeeding or expressing milk at work. Fortunately, laws have since been introduced in both the United States and Australia that support breastfeeding at the workplace. The next step would be to access how these laws affect breastfeeding statistics and how variation between these two countries like the paid parental leave in Australia (which is not present in all US states) would affect these numbers.
ContributorsSakala, Lydia (Author) / Alison, Alison (Thesis director) / Reddy, Swapna (Committee member) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
This thesis discusses three recent optimization problems that seek to reduce disease spread on arbitrary graphs by deleting edges, and it discusses three approximation algorithms developed for these problems. Important definitions are presented including the Linear Threshold and Triggering Set models and the set function properties of submodularity and monotonicity. Also, important results regarding the Linear Threshold model and computation of the influence function are presented along with proof sketches. The three main problems are formally presented, and NP-hardness results along with proof sketches are presented where applicable. The first problem seeks to reduce spread of infection over the Linear Threshold process by making use of an efficient tree data structure. The second problem seeks to reduce the spread of infection over the Linear Threshold process while preserving the PageRank distribution of the input graph. The third problem seeks to minimize the spectral radius of the input graph. The algorithms designed for these problems are described in writing and with pseudocode, and their approximation bounds are stated along with time complexities. Discussion of these algorithms considers how these algorithms could see real-world use. Challenges and the ways in which these algorithms do or do not overcome them are noted. Two related works, one which presents an edge-deletion disease spread reduction problem over a deterministic threshold process and the other which considers a graph modification problem aimed at minimizing worst-case disease spread, are compared with the three main works to provide interesting perspectives. Furthermore, a new problem is proposed that could avoid some issues faced by the three main problems described, and directions for future work are suggested.
ContributorsStanton, Andrew Warren (Author) / Richa, Andrea (Thesis director) / Czygrinow, Andrzej (Committee member) / Computer Science and Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
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
In the last few years, billion-dollar companies like Yahoo and Equifax have had data breaches causing millions of people’s personal information to be leaked online. Other billion-dollar companies like Google and Facebook have gotten in trouble for abusing people’s personal information for financial gain as well. In this new age of technology where everything is being digitalized and stored online, people all over the world are concerned about what is happening to their personal information and how they can trust it is being kept safe. This paper describes, first, the importance of protecting user data, second, one easy tool that companies and developers can use to help ensure that their user’s information (credit card information specifically) is kept safe, how to implement that tool, and finally, future work and research that needs to be done. The solution I propose is a software tool that will keep credit card data secured. It is only a small step towards achieving a completely secure data anonymized system, but when implemented correctly, it can reduce the risk of credit card data from being exposed to the public. The software tool is a script that can scan every viable file in any given system, server, or other file-structured Linux system and detect if there any visible credit card numbers that should be hidden.
ContributorsPappas, Alexander (Author) / Zhao, Ming (Thesis director) / Kuznetsov, Eugene (Committee member) / Computer Science and Engineering Program (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
Political polarization is the coalescence of political parties -- and the individuals of which parties are composed -- around opposing ends of the ideological spectrum. Political parties in the United States have always been divided, however, in recent years this division has only intensified. Recently, polarization has also wound its way to the Supreme Court and the nomination processes of justices to the Court. This paper examines how prevalent polarization in the Supreme Court nomination process has become by looking specifically at the failed nomination of Judge Merrick Garland and the confirmations of now-Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh. This is accomplished by comparing the ideologies and qualifications of the three most recent nominees to those of previous nominees, as well as analysing the ideological composition of the Senate at the times of the individual nominations.
ContributorsJoss, Jacob (Author) / Hoekstra, Valerie (Thesis director) / Critchlow, Donald (Committee member) / Computer Science and Engineering Program (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05