Matching Items (612)
Description
Introduction: Less than half of U.S. adults meet the aerobic physical activity guidelines to exercise at least 150 minutes a week. An individual's decision to be physically active is influenced by their perceptions of physical activity. To address perceptions, interventions need to be implemented where adults spend one third of their day; the workplace. A number of physical activity interventions have been conducted and few have been successful at improving physical activity; therefore, there is a need to explore novel approaches to improve physical activity in the worksite. The purpose of this pilot study was to examine the impact of a seven-day gratitude intervention on perceptions of physical activity and happiness in the workplace. Methods: Full-time employees at two worksites participated in a seven-day online journaling study. Participants were randomized into the intervention (gratitude) or control group and were assessed for perceptions of physical activity and happiness at baseline, immediate post-test (day 7) and one-week follow-up (day 14). Results: Results of this study indicate that the seven-day gratitude intervention may not significantly improve perceptions of physical activity or increase happiness. Future research should consider assessing the individual's readiness for change at baseline, increasing the length of the intervention, testing participant level of gratitude at baseline and employing a larger sample size.
ContributorsRowedder, Lacey (Author) / Huberty, Jennifer (Thesis advisor) / Chisum, Jack (Committee member) / Lee, Chong (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
Pitchers are a vital part of the game of baseball and may account for up to two-thirds of the variance in win percentage. As they rise through the ranks of competition, physical skill set becomes less of a factor when compared to mentality. Pitchers are the “first line of defense” for keeping opponents from having an opportunity to score, as well as for holding onto their own team’s lead. Baseball pitchers not only face pressure to perform, but also experience stress from factors such as low pay, adjusting to higher levels of competition, and internal team competition for a limited number of spots. Athletes are often resistant to seeking aid from sport psychologists and often turn to unfavorable means to cope (i.e. drugs/alcohol, excessive exercise) with stress instead. Meditation has been shown to have beneficial effects on psychological factors associated with performance including emotional regulation, anxiety, confidence, focus, and mindfulness. Mobile applications have become a popular means of delivering mindfulness. The purpose of this study was to determine the feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of delivering a mindful meditation intervention using a mobile meditation application to improve psychological factors associated with performance (i.e. emotional regulation, anxiety (somatic and cognitive), confidence, focus, mindfulness) to minor league baseball pitchers. Pitchers in instructional league (Phase one) and off season (Phase two) were asked to meditate daily for 10-minutes each day for three weeks (Phase one) and eight weeks (Phase two). Pitchers were asked to complete self-report questionnaires and satisfaction surveys at pre- and post-intervention. Pitchers in phase one reported enjoying meditation, had improvements in self-confidence and sport confidence, and reported moderate decreases in cognitive anxiety and concentration disruption. Pitchers in phase two also enjoyed meditating (94.7%) and had improvements in self-confidence and moderate decreases in somatic anxiety. Low adherence due to timing (off-season) of intervention may have been a contributing factor to fewer outcomes. Future research should explore the feasibility and effectiveness of implementing meditation during the baseball season.
ContributorsDowling, Tiffany (Author) / Huberty, Jennifer (Thesis advisor) / Ransdell, Lynda (Committee member) / Buman, Matthew (Committee member) / Michel, Jesse (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
College students experience a considerable amount of stress. Unmanaged stress is associated with poor academic performance, health risk behaviors (i.e., inadequate sleep and physical activity, alcohol consumption, poor dietary behaviors), and poor mental health. Coping with stress has become a priority among universities. The most tested stress-related programs to date have been mindfulness-based and face-to-face. These programs demonstrated significant improvements in stress, mindfulness, and self-compassion among college students. However, they may be burdensome to students as studies report low attendance and low compliance due to class conflicts or not enough time. Few interventions have used more advanced technologies (i.e., mobile apps) as a mode of delivery. The purpose of this study is to report adherence to a consumer-based mindfulness meditation mobile application (i.e., Calm) and test its effects on stress, mindfulness, and self-compassion in college students. We will also explore what the relationship is between mindfulness and health behaviors.
College students were recruited using fliers on college campus and social media. Eligible participants were randomized to one of two groups: (1) Intervention - meditate using Calm, 10 min/day for eight weeks and (2) Control – no participation in mindfulness practices (received the Calm application after 12-weeks). Stress, mindfulness, and self-compassion and health behaviors (i.e., sleep disturbance, alcohol consumption, physical activity, fruit and vegetable consumption) were measured using self-report. Outcomes were measured at baseline and week eight.
Of the 109 students that enrolled in the study, 41 intervention and 47 control participants were included in analysis. Weekly meditation participation averaged 38 minutes with 54% of participants completing at least half (i.e., 30 minutes) of meditations. Significant changes between groups were found in stress, mindfulness, and self-compassion (all P<0.001) in favor of the intervention group. A significant negative association (p<.001) was found between total mindfulness and sleep disturbance.
An eight-week consumer-based mindfulness meditation mobile application (i.e., Calm) was effective in reducing stress, improving mindfulness and self-compassion among undergraduate college students. Mobile applications may be a feasible, effective, and less burdensome way to reduce stress in college students.
College students were recruited using fliers on college campus and social media. Eligible participants were randomized to one of two groups: (1) Intervention - meditate using Calm, 10 min/day for eight weeks and (2) Control – no participation in mindfulness practices (received the Calm application after 12-weeks). Stress, mindfulness, and self-compassion and health behaviors (i.e., sleep disturbance, alcohol consumption, physical activity, fruit and vegetable consumption) were measured using self-report. Outcomes were measured at baseline and week eight.
Of the 109 students that enrolled in the study, 41 intervention and 47 control participants were included in analysis. Weekly meditation participation averaged 38 minutes with 54% of participants completing at least half (i.e., 30 minutes) of meditations. Significant changes between groups were found in stress, mindfulness, and self-compassion (all P<0.001) in favor of the intervention group. A significant negative association (p<.001) was found between total mindfulness and sleep disturbance.
An eight-week consumer-based mindfulness meditation mobile application (i.e., Calm) was effective in reducing stress, improving mindfulness and self-compassion among undergraduate college students. Mobile applications may be a feasible, effective, and less burdensome way to reduce stress in college students.
ContributorsGlissmann, Christine (Author) / Huberty, Jennifer (Thesis advisor) / Sebren, Ann (Committee member) / Larkey, Linda (Committee member) / Lee, Chong (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
Our lives are full of possibilities but also of self-imposed limitations. For some, finding their purpose in life and their place in the society is instinctive, but for many of us it requires a deliberate search. For the latter, self-discovery is a journey; an intentional path of many turns and twists, ups and downs, some surprises. It requires a person to slow down and assess oneself. What has been so far, what is right there on the surface, what is hidden deep down, and what is it that one strives for? Now, imagine narrowing down that path even more, and try to answer the question: Who am I as an artist?
ContributorsBlasko, Tanja (Author) / McMahon, Jeff (Thesis director) / Bowditch, Rachel (Committee member) / School of Film, Dance and Theatre (Contributor) / School of Art (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
The number of undergraduate students participating in short-term experiences in global health (STEGHs) abroad has increased dramatically in recent years (Eyler 2002, Drain et al. 2007). These experiences, in tandem with classroom learning, are designed to help students master skills related to global health competencies, including cultural humility and sensitivity, collaborating with community partners, and sociocultural and political awareness. Although STEGHs offer potential benefits to both students and to sending institutions, these experiences can sometimes be problematic and raise ethical challenges. As the number of students engaged in STEGHs continues to increase, it is important to better understand the impact of these programs on student learning. Current ethical and best practice guidelines for STEGHs state that programs should establish evaluation methods to solicit feedback from students both during and on completion of the program (Crump et al. 2010). However, there is currently no established method for gathering this feedback because of the many different global health competency frameworks, types and duration of programs, and different models of student engagement in such programs. Assessing the quality of a STEGH is a profoundly important and difficult question that cannot be answered as succinctly and quantitatively as classroom performance, which has more standard and established assessment metrics. The goal of this project is to identify the most appropriate and useful assessment metric(s) for determining educational quality and impact for STEGHs at ASU by comparing a typical quantitative evaluation tool (pre-post survey with brief open-ended questions) to a more in-depth qualitative method (key informant interviews). In performing my analysis I seek to examine if the latter can produce a richer narrative of student experiences to inform ongoing program evaluations. My research questions are: 1. What are the current qualitative and quantitative evaluation methods available to assess student learning during short-term experiences in global health? 2. How can current methodology for assessing student experiences with short-term experiences in global health be adapted to collect the most information from students? 3. How do student knowledge and attitudes change before and after their short-term experience in global health? Why is understanding those changes important for adapting programs? My end goal would be to use these new, optimal assessment methods for gathering student perspectives and experiences to adapt pre-departure trainings and post-experience debriefings for study abroad programs, both of which I believe will lead to more sustainable partnerships and a healthier understanding of global health work for students.
ContributorsHale, Brittany Ann (Author) / Jehn, Megan (Thesis director) / Wutich, Amber (Committee member) / School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Contributor) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
How do you convey what’s interesting and important to you as an artist in a digital world of constantly shifting attentions? For many young creatives, the answer is original characters, or OCs. An OC is a character that an artist creates for personal enjoyment, whether based on an already existing story or world, or completely from their own imagination.
As creations made for purely personal interests, OCs are an excellent elevator pitch to talk one creative to another, opening up opportunities for connection in a world where communication is at our fingertips but personal connection is increasingly harder to make. OCs encourage meaningful interaction by offering themselves as muses, avatars, and story pieces, and so much more, where artists can have their characters interact with other creatives through many different avenues such as art-making, table top games, or word of mouth.
In this thesis, I explore the worlds and aesthetics of many creators and their original characters through qualitative research and collaborative art-making. I begin with a short survey of my creative peers, asking general questions about their characters and thoughts on OCs, then move to sketching characters from various creators. I focus my research to a group of seven core creators and their characters, whom I interview and work closely with in order to create a series of seven final paintings of their original characters.
As creations made for purely personal interests, OCs are an excellent elevator pitch to talk one creative to another, opening up opportunities for connection in a world where communication is at our fingertips but personal connection is increasingly harder to make. OCs encourage meaningful interaction by offering themselves as muses, avatars, and story pieces, and so much more, where artists can have their characters interact with other creatives through many different avenues such as art-making, table top games, or word of mouth.
In this thesis, I explore the worlds and aesthetics of many creators and their original characters through qualitative research and collaborative art-making. I begin with a short survey of my creative peers, asking general questions about their characters and thoughts on OCs, then move to sketching characters from various creators. I focus my research to a group of seven core creators and their characters, whom I interview and work closely with in order to create a series of seven final paintings of their original characters.
ContributorsCote, Jacqueline (Author) / Button, Melissa M (Thesis director) / Dove-Viebahn, Aviva (Committee member) / School of Art (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Due to artificial selection, dogs have high levels of phenotypic diversity, yet, there appears to be low genetic diversity within individual breeds. Through their domestication from wolves, dogs have gone through a series of population bottlenecks, which has resulted in a reduction in genetic diversity, with a large amount of linkage disequilibrium and the persistence of deleterious mutations. This has led to an increased susceptibility to a multitude of diseases, including cancer. To study the effects of artificial selection and life history characteristics on the risk of cancer mortality, we collected cancer mortality data from four studies as well as the percent of heterozygosity, body size, lifespan and breed group for 201 dog breeds. We also collected specific types of cancer breeds were susceptible to and compared the dog cancer mortality patterns to the patterns observed in other mammals. We found a relationship between cancer mortality rate and heterozygosity, body size, lifespan as well as breed group. Higher levels of heterozygosity were also associated with longer lifespan. These results indicate larger breeds, such as Irish Water Spaniels, Flat-coated Retrievers and Bernese Mountain Dogs, are more susceptible to cancer, with lower heterozygosity and lifespan. These breeds are also more susceptible to sarcomas, as opposed to carcinomas in smaller breeds, such as Miniature Pinschers, Chihuahuas, and Pekingese. Other mammals show that larger and long-lived animals have decreased cancer mortality, however, within dog breeds, the opposite relationship is observed. These relationships could be due to the trade-off between cellular maintenance and growing fast and large, with higher expression of growth factors, such as IGF-1. This study further demonstrates the relationships between cancer mortality, heterozygosity, and life history traits and exhibits dogs as an important model organism for understanding the relationship between genetics and health.
ContributorsBalsley, Cassandra Sierra (Author) / Maley, Carlo (Thesis director) / Wynne, Clive (Committee member) / Tollis, Marc (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-12
Description
Triops (Branchiopoda: Notostraca) and Streptocephalus (Branchiopoda: Anostraca) are two crustaceans which cohabitate in ephemeral freshwater pools. They both lay desiccation resistant eggs that disperse passively to new hydrologically isolated environments. The extent of genetic distance among regions and populations is of perennial interest in animals that live in such isolated habitats. Populations in six natural ephemeral pool habitats located in two different regions of the Sonoran Desert and a transition area between the Sonoran and Chihuahuan Deserts were sampled. Sequences from Genbank were used for reference points in the determination of species as well as to further identify regional genetic distance within species. This study estimated the amount of within and between genetic distance of individuals from each region and population through the use of a neutral marker, cytochrome oxidase I (COI). We concluded that, although the method of passive dispersal may differ between the two genera, the differences do not results in different patterns of genetic distances between regions and populations. Furthermore, we only found the putative species, Triops longicaudatus "short", with enough distinct speciation. Although Triops longicaudatus "long" and Triops newberryi may be in the early stages of speciation, this study does not find enough support to conclude that they have separated.
ContributorsMurphy Jr., Patrick Joseph (Author) / Rutowski, Ronald (Thesis director) / Cartwright, Reed (Committee member) / Lessios, Nikos (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
Volunteer motivation and satisfaction were assessed at Project CURE, a nonprofit that collects, sorts, tests, and ships donated medical supplies and equipment to healthcare facilities in developing countries. This research was the result of a yearlong partnership between the Community Action Research Experiences (CARE) program and Project CURE. Volunteers at Project CURE were surveyed (N=147) after completing a volunteer session to assess their motivation for volunteering, satisfaction with their experience, and any recommendations they had for improving the volunteer program. Five categories of motivating factors were assessed and it was found that the Values and Understanding categories were the strongest motivating factors. Overall, volunteers rated their experience highly, but the results indicated a number of small changes that Project CURE could make to better meet volunteers' needs, and better communicate the impact of volunteers' work, which could pave the way to increases in the numbers of volunteer hours Project CURE receives and increased quality of volunteer work.
ContributorsStepanek, Rachel (Author) / Reesing, Amy (Thesis director) / Dumka, Larry (Committee member) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
This purpose of this thesis study was to examine variables of the "War on Cancer" frame, loss-gain prime, and patient gender on treatment decision for advanced cancer patients. A total of 291 participants (141 females) participated in an online survey experiment and were randomly assigned to one of eight possible conditions, each of which were comprised of a combination of one of two levels for three total independent variables: war frame ("War on Cancer" frame or neutral frame), loss-gain prime (loss prime or gain prime), and patient gender (female or male). Each of the three variables were operationalized to determine whether or not the exposure to the war on cancer paradigm, loss-frame language, or male patient gender would increase the likelihood of a participant choosing a more aggressive cancer treatment. Participants read a patient scenario and were asked to respond to questions related to motivating factors. Participants were then asked to report preference for one of two treatment decisions. Participants were then asked to provide brief demographic information in addition to responding to questions about military history, war attitudes, and cancer history. The aforementioned manipulations sought to determine whether exposure to various factors would make a substantive difference in final treatment decision. Contrary to the predicted results, participants in the war frame condition (M = 3.85, SD = 1.48) were more likely to choose the pursuit of palliative care (as opposed to aggressive treatment) than participants in the neutral frame condition (M = 3.54, SD = 1.23). Ultimately, these significant findings suggest that there is practical information to be gained from treatment presentation manipulations. By arming healthcare providers with a more pointed understanding of the nuances of treatment presentation, we can hope to empower patients, their loved ones, and healthcare providers entrenched in the world of cancer treatment.
ContributorsKnowles, Madelyn Ann (Author) / Kwan, Virginia S. Y. (Thesis director) / Presson, Clark (Committee member) / Salamone, Damien (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05