Matching Items (22)
Description
The biohacker movement is an important and modern form of activism. This study broadly examines how positive-activist-oriented biohackers emerge, organize, and respond to social crises. Despite growing public awareness, few studies have examined biohacking's influence on prevailing notions of organizing and medicine in-context. Therefore, this study examines biohacking in the context of the 2016 EpiPen price-gouging crisis, and explores how biohackers communicatively attempted to constitute counter-narratives and counter-logics about medical access and price through do-it-yourself (DIY) medical device alternatives. Discourse tracing and critical case study analysis are useful methodological frameworks for mapping the historical discursive and material logics that led to the EpiPen pricing crisis, including the medicalization of allergy, the advancement of drug-device combination technologies, and role of public health policy, and pharmaceutical marketing tactics. Findings suggest two new interpretations for how non-traditional forms of organizing facilitate new modes of resistance in times of institutional crisis. First, the study considers the concept of "pop-up maktivism" to conceptualize activism as a type of connective activity rather than collective organizing. Second, findings illustrate how activities such as participation and co-production can function as meaningful forms of institutional resistance within dominant discourses. This study proposes “mirrored materiality” to describe how biohackers deploy certain dominant logics to contest others. Lastly, implications for contributions to the conceptual frameworks of biopower, sociomateriality, and alternative organizing are discussed.
ContributorsDonovan, Matthew (Author) / Tracy, Sarah J. (Thesis advisor) / Nadesan, Majia H (Committee member) / Kim, Heewon (Committee member) / Halavais, Alexander (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
Long before “fake news” dominated the conversation within and about the media, media literacy advocates have championed the need for media literacy education that provides the tools for people to understand, analyze, and evaluate media messages. That the majority of U.S. adults now consume news on social media underscores the importance for students of all ages to be critical users of media. Furthermore, the affordances of social media to like, comment, and share news items within one’s network increases an individual’s responsibility to ascertain the veracity of news before using a social media megaphone to spread false information. Social media’s shareability can dictate how information spreads, increasing news consumers’ role as a gatekeeper of information and making media literacy education more important than ever.
This research examines the media literacy practices that news consumers use to inform their gatekeeping decisions. Using a constant comparative coding method, the author conducted a qualitative analysis of hundreds of discussion board posts from adult participants in a digital media literacy Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) to identify major themes and examine growth in participants’ sense of responsibility related to sharing news information, their feeling of empowerment to make informed decisions about the media messages they receive, and how the media literacy tools and techniques garnered from the MOOC have affected their daily media interactions. Findings emphasize the personal and contextual nature of media literacy, and that those factors must be addressed to ensure the success of a media literacy education program.
This research examines the media literacy practices that news consumers use to inform their gatekeeping decisions. Using a constant comparative coding method, the author conducted a qualitative analysis of hundreds of discussion board posts from adult participants in a digital media literacy Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) to identify major themes and examine growth in participants’ sense of responsibility related to sharing news information, their feeling of empowerment to make informed decisions about the media messages they receive, and how the media literacy tools and techniques garnered from the MOOC have affected their daily media interactions. Findings emphasize the personal and contextual nature of media literacy, and that those factors must be addressed to ensure the success of a media literacy education program.
ContributorsRoschke, Kristy (Author) / Thornton, Leslie-Jean (Thesis advisor) / Chadha, Monica (Committee member) / Halavais, Alexander (Committee member) / Silcock, Bill (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
Dental caries also known as tooth decay is a bacterial infection that causes demineralization and destruction of enamel dentin and cementum in the tooth. This bacterium, Streprococcus mutans, feeds on the carbohydrates in the mouth and produces lactic acids that result in dental caries. This thesis discusses the use of plants to produce antibodies, Guy 13 and anti-GTFB to treat this dental disease. We believe these plant-derived antibodies will be effective to treat dental caries and economical to produce.
ContributorsSayegh, Luvenia Crystal (Author) / Chen, Qiang (Thesis director) / Garg, Vikas (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Letters and Sciences (Contributor)
Created2014-12
Description
Although previous research has explored the relationship between social media use and well-being, many studies are contradictory of each other and conclude varying findings relating to social media use and outspokenness. This study explores the relationship between active and passive social media use, perceived social media expertise, and outspokenness using the potentially mediating variable of perceived social acceptance. 162 participants, recruited through Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) and ASU’s SONA systems, completed a survey relating to their own use of social media, perceived social acceptance, and outspokenness. Contradictory to my first hypotheses, no significant correlations were found between social media use and social media expertise. However, correlation analyses revealed that active social media use is related to an increased amount of perceived social media expertise (r = 0.23, p < .004). Perceived social media expertise was significantly positively correlated with outspokenness (r = 0.19, p < 0.015); however, it was not correlated with perceived social acceptance. When examining these relationships separately by gender, a strong association was found for males between active social media use and outspokenness, whereas passive social media use and outspokenness were negatively correlated for females. The results of this study add to previous research in the field of social media and outspokenness and lend new ideas for future research on these topics, such as exploring the gender differences that are associated with these variables. Further research in the area is needed for a more complete understanding of how one’s social media use affects his/her outspokenness and how gender modifies these effects.
ContributorsRubino, Kelli Erika (Co-author) / Rubino, Kelli (Co-author) / Mickelson, Kristin (Thesis director) / Halavais, Alexander (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
The elements that connect humanity to the corresponding environments that we inhabit are diverse and complex. These connections are central to understanding human interaction, our environment, and ourselves. The purpose of this thesis is to establish how connection (or lack thereof) to a region, in this instance New England, is found through environment and family. This compilation of four short stories demonstrates environmental connections via technology and familial interactions.
ContributorsStrusienski, Amanda Nicole (Author) / LaCroix, Kristin (Thesis director) / Adamson, Joni (Committee member) / Pitts, Melanie (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Letters and Sciences (Contributor)
Created2013-05
Description
In this research we consider stochastic models of Glioblastoma Multiforme brain tumors. We first look at a model by K. Swanson et al., which describes the dynamics as random diffusion plus deterministic logistic growth. We introduce a stochastic component in the logistic growth in the form of a random growth rate defined by a Poisson process. We show that this stochastic logistic growth model leads to a more accurate evaluation of the tumor growth compared its deterministic counterpart. We also discuss future plans to incorporate individual patient geometry, extend the model to three dimensions and to incorporate effects of different treatments into our model, in collaboration with a local hospital.
ContributorsManning, Michael Clare (Author) / Kostelich, Eric (Thesis director) / Kuang, Yang (Committee member) / Gardner, Carl (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / School of Letters and Sciences (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Contributor)
Created2013-12
Description
Pet obesity is higher than ever in the United States. According to the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention, 52.5% of dogs and 58.3% of cats were either overweight or obese in 20121. Obesity has been linked to health issues such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, muscular disorders and some cancers to name a few.2 A pet at the recommended healthy weight is important to avoid these diseases. It is important that owners realize this and if their pet is at an unhealthy weight, work with their veterinarian to help the pet lose weight. This study looks at how committed dog owners are to help their pet lose weight and the problems they face while doing so.
ContributorsHarvey, Alexandra Patricia (Author) / Thatcher, Craig (Thesis director) / Steele, Kelly (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Letters and Sciences (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
The YouTube Celebrity examines some of the top YouTube channels and their common methods of creation and communication. In this project I created and posted several videos and blogs discussing some common factors of success, using real world examples and the theory behind the medium and the people. I argue that successful YouTubers use a deliberate presentation as an amateur creator in order to gain authenticity. I use my experimental creation of videos and digital discussion of these ideas to develop my argument as well as applicable literature from relevant fields.
ContributorsRiley, Megan Nicole (Author) / Halavais, Alexander (Thesis director) / Scott, Suzanne (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Letters and Sciences (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
Both Superman and Captain America are the ancestors of modern superheroes and, through the lens of superheroes and popular culture, following their journey from their comic-book inception to their modern-day film incarnations gives us an idea of how American values have shifted. Superman and Captain America are very significant to American popular culture simply because, in a way, they both have shaped much of popular culture with respects to American identity. Because they were created when America needed heroes to look up to, they have helped mold the image of what an American hero truly is. The most important aspect of these two individual characters is how they have remained popular through the many changes that have plagued and molded American culture since their inception. This endurance can be attributed to the rhetoric that each hero has embodied, and the ways in which this rhetoric has or has not changed. By exploring both their comic book origins and their current, most popular feature films, we can discover how what they have had to say not only mirrors American values, but also illuminates these values within popular culture.
ContributorsTrumble, Samantha Lynn (Author) / Austin, Mary (Thesis director) / Wheeler, Jacqueline (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Letters and Sciences (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
Nobody's Angel is a fantasy novel that exposes the grey area between good and evil by dissecting the stereotypes associated with angels and Lucifer. The story explores the depths of character and how everyone is made up of good and bad parts. Nobody's Angel aims at dissecting the complexity of female sexuality. The story explores what it means to be a woman, what sex means, and if enjoying sex really is amoral. It combats the Christian belief that all women are fallen because of Eve. Our current society developed from Judeo-Christian principles, which created some of the stereotypes and misconceptions that we have today. Nobody's Angel attempts to fight against those ideas.
ContributorsMillar, DiAngelea Lorraine (Author) / Catherine, Rezza (Thesis director) / Dombrowski, Rosemarie (Committee member) / Pitts, Melanie (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor)
Created2014-05