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It is well documented that menopause and the related decline in circulatory steroid hormones estrogen and progesterone are associated with memory alterations. Rodent models of surgical menopause can be used to study these effects, including ovariectomy (Ovx), or the surgical removal of the ovaries. This thesis aimed to characterize the effects of surgical menopause on spatial working and reference memory in rats and examine profiles of uterine gene expression alterations that may serve as indications of mechanisms underlying this association. Eighteen female rats were randomly assigned to one of two surgical treatment groups, either Ovx (the surgical menopause group) or sham (the control group). All subjects underwent testing on the water version of the radial arm maze (WRAM) which allows for the assessment of reference memory errors and two types of working memory errors. After behavioral testing, rat uterine tissues were dissected and RNA sequenced. The results showed that Ovx impaired spatial reference memory performance during a maze learning phase, with Ovx rats making reference memory failures earlier in the day, even before working memory load increased, as compared to control rats. There were no surgical menopause effects on spatial working memory, which may be due to the low working memory load and the young age of the rats. Post-hoc analyses showed that reference memory performance was correlated with nerve growth factor (NGF) and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) gene expression in uterine tissues. These findings add to the literature on the impact of estrogen and female cyclicity on memory and cognition. The results suggest that Ovx impairment of the ability to learn long-term spatial memory information relates to uterine gene expression underlying cellular functioning and that NGF and AChE genes are involved in pathways that give way to underlying cellular functioning that impacts cognition. Future studies should continue to evaluate the effects of menopause on memory function and the effectiveness of hormone therapy.
ContributorsOyen, Emma (Author) / Bimonte-Nelson, Heather (Thesis director) / Corbin, William (Committee member) / Wilson, Melissa (Committee member) / Lizik, Camryn (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2024-05
Description
Chronic kidney disease affects over 10% of the global population, often leading to end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and necessitating kidney transplantation. With kidney transplantation as the preferred treatment for ESRD, the efficiency of transplantation systems becomes crucial in meeting the increasing demand. A comprehensive comparative analysis was conducted, examining key variables influencing discard rates and outcomes in both countries. These variables include transplantation processes, waitlist criteria, donor-recipient matching, and distinct components of their transplantation systems. The findings suggest that the French transplantation system exhibits greater efficiency compared to the United States, with comparable transplantation outcomes. Key factors influencing this difference include the opt-out organ donation policy, prioritization strategies, and overall health indicators. These findings provide helpful insight into the potential efficiency gains from the French system, which can provide useful direction for such future research.
ContributorsCarey, Brianna (Author) / Green, Ellen (Thesis director) / Mayer, Gregory (Committee member) / Dutcher, Glenn (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2024-05
Description
Memory as whole is impacted by changes associated with aging and menopause. Different memory types are often tested preclinically utilizing rats in different task paradigms. Most studies have focused on understanding social recognition or working memory, however these memory types have yet to be studied together. This thesis focuses on the process of creating and testing a new social recognition task that incorporates a working memory load. We tested different types of previously used social recognition paradigms with an increasing load and through qualitative and quantitative observations the task was modified until a final task was developed for a social working memory study. Young female rats were tested in this task in progressive, meaning a chronologically increasing load and nonprogressive, meaning non-chronological increase in load cognitions. It was found that young female rats had the ability to distinguish between the familiar and novel conspecifics before memory load exceeded four familiar and one novel conspecifics. Once validated through future studies, this task may be utilized to understand the impact of different types of menopause on social working memory.
ContributorsAsadifar, Sadaf (Author) / Bimonte-Nelson, Heather (Thesis director) / Corbin, William (Committee member) / Verpeut, Jessica (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution & Social Change (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2024-05
Description
In the emergency department of a hospital, providers are responsible for diagnosing and treating multiple critical patients at a time. Their ability to make quick and careful decisions often will determine whether their patient lives or dies. Because of this, emergency department (ED) providers experience significant amounts of stress during each shift which consequently may lead to burnout (Lall et al., 2019). It is crucial to investigate strategies to help control burnout among ED providers, as their own well-being directly affects the physical health of their patients. Furthermore, female providers are subject to increased stress from unique challenges within the workplace due to their gender. The purpose of this study was to determine which strategies are the most effective in the mitigation of burnout among female emergency department providers. A survey was administered to emergency department providers (M.D., D.O., P.A., and N.P.) from three hospitals in Arizona. It was found that spending time with family, maintaining good nutrition, and exercising were the most effective strategies in the mitigation of female provider burnout. These results should be considered by providers who work in the ED, female providers working in other medical specialties, other ED staff, hospital administration, and ED patients. With the implementation of these three strategies into their daily life, female ED providers may find a decrease in burnout and, consequently, an improvement in patient care.
ContributorsZurbriggen, Hannah (Author) / Kappes, Janelle (Thesis director) / Lewis, Stephen (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor)
Created2024-05
Description
Hybrid schedules have become a popular mode of learning during the last decade as new classroom technologies have emerged. Universities have utilized online learning as a format to include more accessibility, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. College students are often given the option of choosing different learning modalities when scheduling courses. The objective of this study is to determine how multi-modal schedules impact preference, motivation, and learning. Fifty undergraduate students at Arizona State University were asked several questions pertaining to their academics. These included the types of courses they have taken in the past year, their motivation to learn in these modalities, and how they think they retained the information from their courses. Participants showed much higher motivation and learning within in-person classes, but an overall higher satisfaction for multi-modal schedules. These results show that Arizona State University should make an effort to increase student motivation for online and asynchronous classes, in addition to adding a variety of learning modes that best accommodate undergraduate students and their needs.
ContributorsUnderwood, Brooke (Author) / Greer, Ashley (Co-author) / Kappes, Janelle (Thesis director) / Lewis, Stephen (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2024-05
Description
This study analyzes the unconscious biases we have in terms of the amount of space we take up in social settings. 30 participants each have 10 minute conversations with another stranger while the amount of time they talk is calculated using momentary time sampling. Participants then estimate how much they talked, share how much they enjoyed the conversation, and take the Big 5 personality test. Results show that participants talked more than they thought by an average of 3.43% with an average difference in perception within each conversation being 15.5%. There was no significant correlation between enjoyment and personality or with percentage spoken and accuracy of the prediction, and those who were high in extraversion and agreeableness were closest in their perception of how much they listen.
ContributorsFuller, Martin (Author) / Stenhoff, Donald (Thesis director) / Becerra, Lorraine (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2024-05
Description
This paper examines the effect of a weekly student self-assessment assignment on student performance in an undergraduate math course. Self-assessment is an increasingly popular type of formative assessment with close ties to self-regulated learning theory. In this randomized controlled trial, 88 students enrolled in MAT 142 were divided into four treatment groups, receiving the self-assessment assignment for either half the semester, the full semester, or not at all. There was no main effect of the treatment on students’ course performance (F(3,80) = 0.154, p = 0.999). However, students’ level of compliance with the assignments (F(1, 63) = 6.87, p = 0.011) and class attendance (F(1, 83) = 12.34, p < 0.001) both significantly predicted exam scores, suggesting that conscientiousness predicts performance. I conducted focus groups to understand how students felt toward the self-assessments. Participants expressed distaste toward the assignments and provided suggestions for improvements. I describe these improvements, among others, in an effort to outline future directions for this research. I also describe a new model of student self-assessment based on theories of adaptive testing and self-regulated learning.
ContributorsDuque-Baird, Santiago (Author) / Zheng, Yi (Thesis director) / West, Stephen G. (Thesis director) / Slominski, Tara (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of English (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2024-05
Description
Healthy relationships are a key contributor toward life satisfaction. Thus, it is important to understand correlates of relationship functioning. Partners high in empathy have been found to experience higher levels of relationship satisfaction. However, it is unclear which facet of empathy matters more in determining satisfaction, an individual’s own empathy or their perception of their partner’s empathy. The present study surveyed both members of 54 heterosexual couples (Mage = 38.57, SD = 14.44) on relationship satisfaction and two measures of empathy: self-reported empathy and perceptions of one’s partner’s empathy. Bivariate correlation analyses showed that both higher self-reported empathy scores and higher perceived empathy scores from the female partner were associated with higher relationship satisfaction among men. In women, the same pattern occurred: higher self-reported empathy in women and higher perceived empathy from the male partner were associated with higher relationship satisfaction among women. Moreover, higher empathic discrepancies – defined as the absolute difference between an individual’s self-reported empathy and their partner’s rating of the individual’s empathy – were associated with lower levels of relationship satisfaction among partners. These results lend support for empathy-focused efforts in developing and maintaining satisfying relationships.
ContributorsHarris, Nathan (Author) / Hammett, Julia (Thesis director) / Davis, Kelly (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution & Social Change (Contributor)
Created2024-05
Description
The White Lotus is an award-winning television series about characters staying and working at a fictional hotel and resort chain. In this project, I identified numerous literary allusions present in The White Lotus and took their existence as an invitation to analyze thematic parallels between the television series and Homer’s Odyssey. Through this process, I discovered a shared theme of hospitality, and thus explored the Greek concept of xenia (guest-friendship) in Homer’s work. I also discussed the social commentary about economic privilege in The White Lotus and identified key criteria for a season of the show. Ultimately, all of these measures informed my creation of a new prospective season of the television series which is directly inspired by aspects of Homer’s Odyssey. Completing this project allowed me to think critically about how ancient Greek literary works are applicable to modern society and led me to contemplate both direct and indirect influences of ancient Greek culture in the present day.
ContributorsJakubczyk, Anna (Author) / O'Neill, Joseph (Thesis director) / Soares, Rebecca (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / School of Music, Dance and Theatre (Contributor)
Created2024-05
Description
This thesis opens with a review of classical research on academic dishonesty, peer behavior, honors code, and misinformation. Specifically, we will analyze research on peer reporting and honor codes to evaluate the efficacy of common measures taken to address academic dishonesty in higher education. This will be used as a foundation to analyze the impact that ChatGPT can have on academic dishonesty, and assess the standard measures within this emerging new context. Finally, we will suggest possible solutions to address these developments, particularly regarding the ways in which ChatGPT and other forms of AI can accelerate the spread of misinformation. The hope is to provide guidance to institutions in developing updated and effective honors codes. Crucially, any code can only be effective when faculty and staff are deeply engaged with students, and help cultivate an institutional culture of academic integrity.
ContributorsCohen, Katya (Author) / Martin, Thomas (Thesis director) / Amazeen, Polemnia (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Social Work (Contributor) / Human Systems Engineering (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2024-05