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Creators: Harrington Bioengineering Program
Creators: Anderson, Kate T

Right Versus Privilege: An Evaluation of the Affordable Care Act through Discourse Analysis

Description

Since its inception, the Affordable Care Act has prompted many different genres of discourse within governmental, media, business, and cultural realms. The narratives common in each realm, as well as the means by which they are shared, influence the everyday consumer and overall image of the act (Fairclough 1995, 2003). These discourses shape a sense of what is possible. Through critical discourse analysis, focusing on both how the authors felt constrained by the message they must deliver and the way in which established discourses shape what is possible to imagine about health care in the future. In particular, I want to focus on how the federal government shaped the discourse on the Affordable Care Act around the concept of human rights and implied privilege and how this shaped the way in which the act was perceived by the general public.

ContributorsPoncy, Haylee Elena (Author) / Popova, Laura (Thesis director) / Barca, Lisa (Committee member) / Harrington Bioengineering Program (Contributor) / WPC Graduate Programs (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)

Created2016-05

Preliminary Investigation of the Effects of Pneumatically-Driven Soft Back Exosuit During Walking with Obstacle Avoidance

Description

Falls are known to be a common occurrence and a costly one as well, as they are the second leading cause of unintentional deaths and millions of other injuries worldwide. Falls often occur due to an increase in trunk flexion angle, so this experiment aims to reduce the trunk flexion received while stepping over an obstacle. To achieve this a soft actuator was attached to the trunk and pressure was sent as subjects walked and stepped over an obstacle presented on a treadmill. The pressure is meant to stiffen the back which should in theory reduce the trunk flexion angle and lower the chances of falling. In this experiment, two groups were tested: three participants from a control group (healthy young adults) and three participants from an experimental group (healthy elderly adults). Since elderly adults have the highest fall risk due to overall lack of stability, they are the experimental group and the focus for this experiment. The results from the study showed that elderly adults had a beneficial effect with the soft actuator as there was a noticeable difference in trunk flexion when the device was attached. The experiment also supported prior research that stated that trunk flexion was greater in elderly adults than younger adults. Despite the positive results, further studies should be done to prove that the soft devices influence lowering trunk flexion angle as well as to see if the device has any noticeable effect on younger adults.

ContributorsFisher, Caleb (Author) / Lee, Hyunglae (Thesis director) / Olivas, Alyssa (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Harrington Bioengineering Program (Contributor)

Created2023-05

“Acogemos lo que queremos y lo que no, lo pateamos”: Discourse and Language Ideologies Regarding the English Language in Puerto Rico

Description

This three-article dissertation is a qualitative exploration of language ideologies and discourse regarding the English language’s role in Puerto Rico’s (PR) education, politics, and culture. Centering the perspectives of civically engaged youth (CEY) and adhering to critical and decolonial theoretical frameworks, I explore how Puerto Ricans conceptualize the English language and its value at macro, meso, and micro levels. The first article provides a history of English language policies in PR. I perform a thematic analysis of archival newspaper data, political platforms, and politician and educational professional discourse to gain a nuanced understanding of the historical and current sociolinguistic discourse around English in the archipelago. I find that PR politicians use English as a bargaining tool to garner support, while they ignore the citizenry’s educational needs. Many educators, parents, and researchers have first-hand knowledge of the public education system’s dire needs that must be addressed to ensure successful language education programs. This knowledge is ignored by PR’s politicians. To explore language ideologies regarding English from a mid-level view, I interviewed twelve CEYs to understand their perceptions, ideals, and experiences regarding English language use in PR. I then interpreted the language ideologies that inform CEYs’ interactions with, and perspectives of, the English language. I find that CEYs have complex, fluid, and nuanced beliefs about the English language. With these beliefs, they make room for resisting the traditional dichotomous views between English/Spanish that constrain us to Western ways of thinking, and they create opportunities to affirm their own knowledge and experiences as legitimate. In the third article, I explore English language use at a micro-level. This involves examining English language use in activism and community work organizations’ official websites and social media platforms. I find that organizations use English not only in nominal ways (to refer to technology terms, United States (US) institutions and more) but also in complex and engaging ways such as citation of Black and Decolonial scholars and disseminating protective language.

ContributorsRodríguez-Martínez, Sara (Author) / Anderson, Kate T (Thesis advisor) / Sampson, Carrie (Committee member) / O'Connor, Brendan (Committee member) / Carroll, Kevin (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)

Created2024