© Artwork by Holly Johnson
Welcome to the Fourth Annual Conference for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences, and Humanities (CRASSH). Our mission is to encourage undergraduate research in the arts, social sciences, and humanities that incorporates creative and diverse conceptualization. This conference is organized by Academic Enrichment Programs, a unit within Student Retention and Success of UC San Diego’s Division of Student Affairs, with the generous support of Student Affairs, the Office of Research Affairs, and the Division of Arts and Humanities. Thank you to Dr. Juan Gonzalez, UC San Diego Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs; Dr. Sandra Brown, UC San Diego Vice Chancellor of Research Affairs; Dr. Paul Yu, Provost of Revelle College; Jessica Guttenberg, Revelle College; Alma Palazzolo, the Division of Arts and Humanities; Estefania Lopez, Vice Chancellor – Student Affairs Office; Stephanie Wong, Vice Chancellor – Student Affairs Office; Dr. Christine Hunefeldt Frode, History Department; Vanessa Cornejo, Rubeen Guardado, Kirsten Kung, Charity Kunold, Florencia Lee, and Sophia Tsai of Academic Enrichment Programs; KIND Bars; Amazon @ UC San Diego; UC San Diego Marketing & Communications; and Institute of the Americas. Special thanks to our partners at Mesa College, MiraCosta College, Palomar College, San Diego State University, The University of San Diego, and UC San Diego for helping to spread the word about the event. Most of all, we would like to thank Provost Emily Roxworthy, Dr. Luis Alvarez, Ian Transfiguracion, Caroline Collins, Alice Lu, Asayake Taiko, Duly Noted, and all of the student presenters for making this conference a success. Dr. David Artis Director, Academic Enrichment Programs Dean, Undergraduate Research Initiatives
Conference Schedule 9:00am
Registration Opens Breakfast
Friend Plaza
Student Performance: Asayake Taiko
9:15am - 10:00am
Opening Remarks: Dr. David Artis Dean of Undergraduate Research Initiatives Keynote Speaker: Provost Emily Roxworthy
Hojel Hall of the Americas Auditorium
Provost of Warren College Professor of Theatre and Dance
BREAK 10:15am - 10:45am
Alumni Speaker: Ian Transfiguracion Graduate Student Speaker: Caroline Collins Undergraduate Student Speaker: Alice Lu
10:45am - 11:45am
Student Research Presentations – Morning
11:00am - 1:00pm
UC San Diego Department & Organization Opportunity Fair Attending Departments: Department of Cognitive Science, Department of Linguistics, Department of Sociology, Division of Arts & Humanities, Graduate Division, Human Development Program, Latin American Studies Program, Programs Abroad at UC San Diego, The Equilibrium – Warren Undergraduate Research Journal
12:00pm - 1:00pm 1:00pm - 1:15pm
LUNCH Student Performance: Duly Noted
1:15pm - 1:45pm
Afternoon Plenary Speaker: Dr. Luiz Alvarez
1:45pm - 2:45pm
Student Research Presentations -- Afternoon
2:45pm - 3:00pm
Student Performance: Duly Noted
3:00pm - 3:30pm
Closing Remarks: Dr. David Artis
Professor of History
Dean of Undergraduate Research Initiatives Opportunity Drawing: iPad Air 2, Department of Music ‘17-’18 Season Passes, Amazon Gift Cards
Hojel Hall of the Americas Auditorium Weaver Center
Friend Plaza
Friend Plaza Friend Plaza Hojel Hall of the Americas Auditorium Weaver Center Friend Plaza
Hojel Hall of the Americas Auditorium
Morning Session Speakers Opening Remarks: Dr. David Artis Dean of Undergraduate Research Initiatives David Artis, PhD, Dean of Undergraduate Research Initiatives, came to the Office of Academic Enrichment Programs (AEP) in November, 2000, from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. There he had served as a faculty member, graduate school administrator and Director of Academic Services in the School of Public Health. At UC San Diego, he has overseen steady growth in the number of AEP programs and services, including coordinating more scholarship opportunities for students in all fields, increased participation in AEP sponsored undergraduate research conferences, and more collaborative program efforts with other campus units. He is a graduate of Yale and Stanford.
Keynote Speaker: Provost Emily Roxworthy Provost of Warren College Professor of Theatre and Dance Emily Roxworthy is Provost of Earl Warren College and a professor in the Theatre and Dance Department. Dr. Roxworthy is the artistic director of Workplace Interactive Theatre, a company that designs interactive performance programs that serve as diversity interventions for organizations including the ten University of California campuses. Plays and films that represent professors in higher education is the topic of her current book project, Academic Drama. Dr. Roxworthy also directed the NEH-funded video game project Drama in the Delta and wrote the 2008 book The Spectacle of Japanese American Trauma (both of which historicize the World War II Japanese American internment).
Alumni Speaker: Ian Transfiguracion Creative Director, Nuffer, Smith, Tucker Ian Transfiguracion has more than 10 years of experience in design, spanning across print, digital and video. Before joining Nuffer, Smith, Tucker, he served as the creative director for UC San Diego Alumni where he oversaw the creative team and was responsible for brand management, creative strategy and visual direction for all major campaigns and department initiatives. Some of his former clients included Johnny Rockets, Sofi, Vitabath and YouTube, among others. A proud Triton, Ian graduated with a degree in communication from Eleanor Roosevelt College at UC San Diego in 2004; where his appreciation for digital media was solidified in the editing bay of the communication department.
Student Speaker: Caroline Collins Department of Communication, Ph.D. candidate Caroline Collins is a third year Communication doctoral student at UC San Diego. She earned her BA in American Literature from UCLA and an MFA in Creative Writing from UC Riverside. Caroline’s research interrogates the intersectionality of cultural memory, identity, and mediated activity by re -evaluating tacit notions of how we come acknowledge, reproduce, and even disrupt social narratives. She is currently working on her qualifying papers, several educational media activism projects, a research based documentary, and a collaborative student film made with Native American youth.
Student Speaker: Alice Lu Human Biology and Global Health Major Alice Lu is a third year undergraduate student double majoring in Human Biology and Global Health. She also has also been a dancer for over 15 years. She helped to found the UC San Diego Chapter of Movement Exchange, a global community of dance diplomats performing services through education. In 2015, the chapter won the “Most Innovative Chapter” award for innovative cross-campus video projects and a growing list of community partners. The chapter focuses on coordinating and teaching free dance workshops for at-risk populations in and around San Diego, as well as abroad in Panama, in order to promote cross-cultural understanding and positive child development in all three domains - physical, cognitive, and social/emotional.
Afternoon Plenary Speaker Faculty Speaker: Dr. Luis Alvarez Professor of History Luis Alvarez is Associate Professor of History, Director of the Institute of Arts and Humanities, and Director of the Chicana/o Latina/o Arts and Humanities Program at UC San Diego. His interests include the history of race and ethnicity, popular culture, and social movements in the U.S. He is the author of The Power of the Zoot: Youth Culture and Resistance during World War II (University of California Press, American Crossroads Series), co-editor of Another University is Possible (University Readers Press), and co-editor of the forthcoming A History of Mexican America (Routledge Press). He is at work on two books, From Civil Rights to Global Justice: Pop Culture and the Politics of the Possible, an investigation of pop culture and social movements in the Americas since World War II, and El Tri v. The Stars and Stripes: A History of the Mexico-U.S. Soccer Rivalry, which explores the sporting history of diaspora, migration, and citizenship.
Student Presenters Morning Session (10:45-11:45am), alphabetical by last name Bazmandegan, Frashid UC San Diego, Warren College Major: Visual Arts Mentored by Professor Lisa Cartwright and PhD Candidate, Sara Solaimani, Department of Visual Arts, UC San Diego The Wish Tree Farshid Bazmandegan is an undergraduate Visual Arts honors student working between experimental media and sculpture. His research and practice constructs philosophical metaphors to raise awareness of sociopolitical relations between people, their environment and the institutions that govern their daily lives. Bazmandegan was nominated for the Princess Grace grant and awarded the Warren College Research scholarship, the Italo Scanga scholarship, Hajim Alumni Scholarship, and the Russell grant for his long-term project ”Uprooted”. The Wish Tree is Bazmandegan’s latest rendition in a series of installations as part of a long-term project. The Wish Tree represents Bazmandegan himself and his growth both within and outside of his practice as an artist within his community. The artist’s head at the base of the sculpture was cast using plaster, meant to make this piece a literal self-portrait. The ribbons tied to the branches were created by visitors at the Museum of Contemporary Art’s 75th Community Day, in response to the idea of protest as a means to work towards a wish for the future. Additional ribbons from the first version of this project on the west side of Mandeville Center are used to invoke the long history of ribbon tying in Middle-Eastern culture and themes of tenacity and rebirth. Breton, Jordana San Diego State University Major: Psychology Mentored by Sandra Sotor, Department of Public Health, UC San Diego What Drives a Traditional Mother's indulgent Parenting Style in Regards to Diet? The current exploratory study aimed to investigate what drive's a traditional mother to be more indulgent in regards to her child's diet. Data was collected by convenient sampling from a total of six traditional Mexican mothers, five who had bicultural children, and one who had an assimilated child. Based on the data collected, mothers who had bicultural children were typically more permissive on designated days. The mother with the assimilated child showed to be more permissive than the mothers with bicultural children.The data examined through qualitative analysis. The findings have implications for future research that can thoroughly observe permissive parenting in traditional mothers through a larger sample size. Chen, Jia UC San Diego, Marshall College Major: Visual Arts (Media) Mentored by Karolina Karlic, Brian Cross, Department of Visual Arts, UC San Diego A Life · Alive My project of social engagement is a work on a sequence of “California life” through my personal perspective based on my exploration of how California is for me and for the local people. During the process of this project, I
have gained a clearer idea on what California looks like, what is the California dream for the local people. These processes have also transformed my personal California dream. I titled my series of these photographs simply “A Life· Alive”, which simply means the demonstration of how life in California is conscious and alive. However, my photography series is diversiform. To be specific, I decided using landscape, typical mundane or symbolic objects, representative human figures, and the abstract or detail on partial description to present what my understanding of “California life” is and how my understanding changes. Every single photograph in this project is directly from my personal view and is the documentary on the subject matter I chose. As for the non-human figures photography, I am mainly focusing on using different composition to frame them to speak out on what I think and how I feel. Chen, Sonja UC San Diego, Eleanor Roosevelt College Major: SocioCultural Anthropology Mentored by Joseph Hankins, Department of Anthropology, UC San Diego Silicon Valley Immigrants: The Benefited and The Marginalized Throughout the history of the United States, various immigrant groups have accompanied each era of industrial development. The advancement of the technological industry in Silicon Valley, has been no different in its incorporation of immigrant workers. Immigrants who are directly involved in the technological industry—those who are computer software developers, tech entrepreneurs, etc.—are able to have an elevated immigrant experience, one that allows continual physical and personal connection to both home and host country. Contrasting this are the immigrant experiences of groups that are not providing equivalent support to the technological industry—those that work in hospitality, custodial positions, or kitchens. Within the space of Silicon Valley, the high-technology industry is cultivating a new era of immigration that completely embraces the connectivity and globalization of the modern era while at the same time further marginalizes immigrant groups that are not able to participate directly of the high-technology industry, though they occupy the same space as those that do. By examining these two vastly different, yet co-located, immigrant experiences with an anthropological perspective, the transformation of American Dream can be critically examined and the implications of this transformation can be exposed. Ducharm, Savanna UC San Diego, Muir College Major: Global Health and Sociocultural Anthropology Mentored by Dr. Thomas Csordas, Department of Anthropology, Global Health, UC San Diego Advancing Biomedical Technologies and Shifting Paradigms of Embodiment As we push to make our technologies progressively more efficient and capable, we simultaneously increase their intertwinement in our everyday lives. This is especially apparent in the realm of Western medicine or biomedicine, which is inherently reliant on technology to diagnose and treat disease. As technology becomes increasingly critical to healthcare, it is crucial to understand how these technologies impact perceptions and definitions of bodies, as it greatly informs treatment of individuals within the biomedical system as well as the experience of the patient. This leads me to the following questions: How are advancing biomedical technologies altering paradigms of bodies in biomedicine today and how do we come to embody these technologies? To answer these, I look at specific biomedical technologies and how they influence, shape, and mediate the clinician-patient and patient-self relationships. I review extensive literature on genetic, reproductive, pharmaceutical, and imaging technologies to develop a well-rounded idea of what paradigms of bodies in Western medicine look like today. I expect that the mind-body dichotomy, which has served as a foundational framework of biomedicine for much of its history, is on the verge of collapse as we come to increasingly identify with the biomedical technologies used to detect, heal, and make human bodies today.
Hong, Emilia UC San Diego, Eleanor Roosevelt College Major: International Relations Mentored by Professor Maureen Feeley, Department of Political Science, UC San Diego Policy Brief and Recommendation: An In-Depth Analysis of the Gendercide Epidemic in the People’s Republic of China The People’s Republic of China is experiencing a gendercide epidemic. Thousands of parents are opting for sexselective abortions when they are notified the fetus is female, or if they find out the gender of the female baby after the birth, the parents utilize infanticide practices or even abandon the child. These forms of gendercide are only furthered by the nation’s “One Child Policy”, in which the government effectively forces Chinese families into only having one child. As such, many Chinese women have multiple abortions until they conceive a male child or choose to abandon the female baby with the hopes of producing a male heir in the future. It is because of the inherent problematic nature of this law, the ever-increasing use of gendercide practices, and Chinese society’s perception of male-female power dynamics, that it is of the upmost importance to analyze and understand how this human rights violation came to fruition. By doing so, other nations can be better prepared in preventing similar abuses in the future. Lopez, Selena UC San Diego, Muir College Major: General Biology and Global Health Mentored by Leslie Lewis, Department of Urban Studies & Planning, UC San Diego The Grand Partners in Service: Bridging the Intergenerational Gap in San Diego and Beyond The “graying of America” presents the need for a shift in social attitudes towards older adults and a change in policies to accommodate the care of an entire generation. The issues they face include stigma and ageism, lack of media representation, portrayal of older generations as irrelevant, and as mentally and physically incapable of being contributing members of society. The Grand Partners in Service aims to unite undergraduate students and older adults through community service and foster an intergenerational network of active leaders in the San Diego community. By addressing physical, social, and cultural divides across generations, we will reduce miscommunication and open dialogue about current issues that affect San Diego. Casa de Mañana, a senior retirement community in La Jolla, will be our first community partner and pilot program participant. In the future we will expand our program to other senior communities, notably St. Paul’s PACE program in Downtown San Diego and the Norman Park Senior Center in Chula Vista, in order to serve a more diverse population. Ultimately, this program seeks to enhance activism, community, and compassion among its members and foster a culture of service and learning among all generations. Martinez De Luna, Celeste UC San Diego, Muir College Major: Psychology Mentored by Luz Chung, Department of Education Studies, UC San Diego Self Reflection as Self Empowerment My research question is, “What is the relationship between personal identity development (racial, ethnic, and gender) in the context of a school program, and middle school students’ interest in their education?” The purpose of my action research project is to investigate the positive impact ethnic, racial, and gender identity development has on student self efficacy. Student engagement will be measured by observing students’ attitude towards their education, through observations, surveys, interviews, and teacher reports. I will be collecting data of the students in the program I am creating that will facilitate conversations, workshops,and reflection activities on identity. The goals of the program are to provide the students a safe and brave space to explore their identity alongside their peers (weekly meetings), reflect on their experiences (through journaling,group check ins, interactive workshops), and increase their self efficacy (affirmations,bonding, skill building).
McPeak, Jessica UC San Diego, Eleanor Roosevelt College Major: Studio Visual Arts Mentored by Brett Stalbaum, Department of Visual Arts, UC San Diego The "Handy" Raster The "Handy" Raster is an interactive kinetic sculpture. This 3D Printed Manual-Rotating Image Generator was completed in collaboration with UCSD’s Engineering Department. The 25 enlarged pixels were designed jointly with undergraduate engineering students Alexander Bessler, Nicolette Nguyen, and Johnathan Tran. Representing the Visual Arts Department Jeszica Jean McPeak worked as lead artist. Their practice focuses on experimental pedagogy, alternative mediums and cross disciplinary collaborations. With material history in mind their work appropriates kinesthetic and visual aids reconfigured as learning tools decontextualized in a new environment. The “Handy” Raster is an interactive object teaching through empiricism the abstract concepts in computing. Bringing back a physicality to computing concepts as viewed as a seemingly non-physical realm. This tangible adult plaything positions the user as an analog mediator performing a digital process of “printing” a simple image of their choosing. The binary divide between analog and digital methodologies is interpreted as one of reconciliation as well as struggle to assimilate new mediums and media. This is represented through clear color choices as intuitive to the binary framework and computer language of 1’s and 0’s. The cylinders are 3D printed touching on the materiality of digital forms demonstrating a synthesis rather than divide between analog and digital forms. Saiag, Valerie UC San Diego, Marshall College Major: Art History, Theory and Criticism, and Studio Arts Yggdrasil I am presenting a shaped canvas. I am interested in the concept and in the visual impact of creating a canvas which is not culturally bound by the prevalent rectangle of the contemporary Western world, while playing with the fact that it is shaped like a symbol that is immediately recognizable by many people around the world. The title is from Norse mythology. The colors are mostly universal, found in both Eastern and Western cultures to represent an otherworldly realm. Shao, Zhujun UC San Diego, Sixth College Major: Psychology Mentored by Huai Li, Department of Visual Arts, Chinese Studies, UC San Diego PS: Picturing Souls (画魂) Despite being essential for interaction, understanding other people is never an easy task. Especially, when globalization has brought people all together, here occurs an increasing demand of effort to understand others, who may have distinct background (cultural, religious, etc.) On the bright side, understanding and interaction constantly refine each other. The more interaction and communication we have, the more accurate understanding we will gain, and vice versa. However, is it really possible to fully understand and appreciate other people who are so different from us? The two young artists, who are also majoring in psychology, offer their stand on the answer using installation art as international students. The installation creates a tangible sphere that physically imitates the conceptual relationship between interaction and understanding: a constant progress of enhancing each other. On the other hand, its structure indicates how rough such process is. Within this constrained space, people can have only indirect communications and may receive the message from the artists:“thorough understanding of others” may be impossible and often distorted.
Beside showing opinions, the artists also want to invite the audience to explore their own answers through the experience within this installation. After all, the installation itself is ever-changing, just like life and relationship. Standen, Sophie Cardiff University Major: Psychology Mentored by David Barner, Dimitrios Skordos, Roman Feiman, Department of Psychology, UC San Diego How children interpret sentences with 'or' Older preschoolers are typically proficient in their native language. Despite this, they often have difficulty interpreting sentences that include logical operators such as 'or' (disjunction) and 'if...then...' (conditionals). In this study, we are investigating how preschool-aged children understand sentences with 'or'. Children are shown simple visual stimuli described by a puppet, using sentences with disjunction. What we find is that an overwhelming majority of children treat 'or' as compatible with 'and'. For instance, children accept the sentence 'The mouse carried the apple or the orange', even when the mouse carries both. We discuss the implications of these findings for the acquisition of language. Terenzi, Natalie UC San Diego, Sixth College Major: Anthropology Mentored by Dr. David Pedersen, Department of Anthropology, UC San Diego Why Animal Studies? Navigating the Human-Animal Divide The field of Animal Studies is diverse with a multitude of focuses, approaches, and goals. With its origin in animal rights discourses that used humanism as a framework, I critique them as inadequate for thinking about non-human animals as subjects. I briefly explore the history of classification systems, where we fall into them in relation to non-human animals, and what that has meant for our respective species. I then discuss the reasons why Animal Studies warrants attention through an examination of the relations and repercussions of humananimal interactions at work, and the implications for science and knowledge production. Finally, I briefly discuss some alternative approaches to human-animal interactions that Animal Studies offers us, and how it can aid us in critically examining the category of the non-human animal. Ward, Anna UC San Diego, Sixth College Major: Ecology, Behavior, & Evolution Mentored by Emily Little, Department of Psychology, UC San Diego The Effect of Parenting Beliefs on Infant Feeding Behaviors in America Breastfeeding is universally recommended because of undisputed positive outcomes for infant health and physical development. The US has very low breastfeeding rates compared to many other industrialized and developing countries. This response could be due to distinct attitudes and beliefs about infant care. Proximal care, in contrast to distal care, incorporates near constant physical contact with infants and frequent breastfeeding. The aim of this study was to explore whether proximal and distal care parenting beliefs are associated with different feeding behaviors, including feed method, frequency, and responsiveness to feeding cues. Mothers completed a questionnaire about socialization goals (identifying parenting priorities) and a feeding log to document every feeding over three days. We predicted that mothers who valued proximal care parenting would be more likely to: breastfeed than bottle-feed, feed more frequently, and feed in response to hunger cues rather than adult-determined reasons or schedules. In line with predictions, preliminary analyses show that agreement with proximal care parenting goals is positively associated with breastfeeding, increased feed frequency, and responsiveness to hunger and satiation cues, as well as babywearing. Given the profound health benefits of frequent, responsive breastfeeding, these data make an important contribution to our knowledge of the psychological attributes driving different feeding behaviors.
Yedigaryan, Meri UC San Diego, Marshall College Major: Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience Mentored by Wayne K. Yang, Department of Ethnic studies, UC San Diego I'm Coming Home I'm Coming Home is a magazine touching on the topics of home and survivance. It juxtaposes the famous Armenian song "Kilikia" with concepts such as home and refugee. It emphasizes the importance of grassroots actions, and working to create opportunities for those continuing to survive, despite genocides.
Student Presenters Afternoon Session (1:45-2:45pm), alphabetical by last name Ano, Michael UC San Diego Department: Visual Arts Deep Time University What should the university teach you? What do you want to learn? What do you need to know now to survive? What do you need to know for the future? How do the things we want to learn and need to learn relate? What pedagogical methodologies should be rethought, reworked, or discarded? DEEP TIME UNIVERSITY (DTU) is an alternative-learning platform, developing and sharing rhizomatic pedagogical learning strategies. The primary focus of DTU is on the needs of millennial students in San Diego and its neighboring communities but its content and methods are not site-specific. DTU is a repository and archive for alternative syllabi that integrate the arts, sciences, and other contemporary knowledges equally. THE MUSEUM and THE UNIVERSITY DEEP TIME UNIVERSITY is hosted by The Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego and is developed in dialogue with UC San Diego students, campus resource centers, and faculty. The Museum will host the digital DTU archive, and support the development of a DTU course. The Museums collections and history will be integrated into all curricula within the DTU archive. Bazmandegan, Farshid UC San Diego, Warren College Major: Visual Arts Mentored by Professor Brett Stalbaum, Department of Visual Arts, UC San Diego Triton Art Triton Art as described by founder Farshid Bazmandegan is: “A bridge between UC San Diego students, the Visual Arts Department, and the greater art world.” This community of undergraduate students and graduate students was built through workshops, talks, GBM, and new opportunities for all members with like-minded artistic passions. Open to students from every discipline, Triton Art has aimed to share the arts and culture with a community where the majority of students are preparing for careers in STEM fields. Over the past 2015-16 school year alone, Triton Art has had 35 events, ranging from a workshop on grant proposal writing to a pottery class led by a graduate student. Triton Art’s events have hosted a total of around 500 people, from Computer Science majors to Fine Arts MFA Students to PhD Candidates. Triton Art also emphasizes the importance of teamwork and leadership within an organization and its necessity in order to achieve a well-rounded community. Triton Art, with encouragement from the Visual Arts Department, founded Triton Art Gallery in the fall of 2015 to create an additional venue for showcasing art. Thus far, Triton Art has supported over ten undergraduate solo exhibitions in the gallery.
Cerecer, Gustavo UC San Diego Major: Anthropology Mentored by Daphne Taylor-García, Department of CISLA and Ethnic Studies, UC San Diego Body Without Organs; a scientific and artistic hybrid posthuman model The main idea of our research it’s to produce one scientific and artistic inclusive, pragmatical not moral, posthuman (de Souza, 2011; Braidotti, 2013) decolonized, model of the body. From a decentralized, not vertical, not static cosmology we want to share a relatively new ontology for the XXI century; full of new answers to new questions about our contemporary and future life. Knowledge supported by main Continental Philosophers recognized all over the western world. More precisely I want to present the model of G. Deleuze and F. Guattari called Body Without Organs, defined far away from a simple body modification as a body without organization, not submissive or domesticated by strictly economical functions. BWO opposed to the anatomical bodies of the medicine but also to the idea of body equal identity equal subjectivity of the Economics and Law Systems. Indeed, BWO can be a useful virtual tool to imagine multiple powerful new ways of been; supported by communities over singularities and unequal narcissistic ways of government. Chen, Jia Li UC San Diego, Marshall College Major: Public Health Mentored by Ana Navarro, Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, UC San Diego Untangling the Web of Child and Maternal Health: Exploring the Social Determinants of Health Background: Social determinants of health are conditions in the environment where people live, work, worship, and play, which have significant impacts on both short term and long term health. Objectives: This presentation focuses on the social determinants of health and how they relate to child and maternal health. Access to resources like education, public safety, healthy foods, healthcare services, affordable housing, and pollutant-free environments all help improve health outcomes and quality of life for mothers and children. Methods: Using a web diagram, we will be discussing the Social Determinants of Health framework (including economic stability, education, social and community context, health and healthcare, and neighborhood) in the context of child and maternal health. We will draw on the literature reviews and proposals from our Public Health Capstone projects, including topics on child maltreatment, child obesity, and child and maternal health equity. Implications: Improving healthcare equity and reducing health disparities increases the quality of life and are among the main priorities of the national health objectives, Healthy People 2020. The Social Determinants of Health framework is an useful tool for public health professionals and policymakers to promote health equity through addressing the underlying factors that may contribute to public health issues. Diaz, Janet UC San Diego, Muir College Major: Public Health Mentored by Ana Navarro, Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, UC San Diego Social Determinants of Health: From the Roots to the Fruit Promoting health equity is central to Public Health. The Healthy People 2020’s social determinants of health framework is a guide for health professionals to understand health and quality of life within communities. Of the five different aspects included in the framework, we will be focusing on Health and Health Services.
Understanding the impact of social determinants of health combats health disparities and achieves health equity. Health and health services is directly related to public health topics such as maternal/infant/child health, mental health, and nutrition/ obesity. We plan to visually depict ways in which professionals promote health within the community. By providing health resources to affected communities, such as having immediate access to drinkable water in schools, proper prenatal care for pregnant women, as well as adequate mental health services, we are one step closer to health equity. Highlighting the influence of social determinants of health and health disparities is key to reaching health equity. Health equity is the main goal in Public Health -- all humans should have the right to live a healthy life. We need to build a strong foundation of health and health services at the roots, promoting equity in the soil, thus growing a fruitful tree filled with disparity-free apples. Djokic, Matea UC San Diego, Eleanor Roosevelt College Major: Psychology Mentored by Tatum Simonson, School of Medicine, Division of Physiology, UC San Diego Acute Effects of High-Altitude Travel on Cognition and Mood: Comparisons Following Sleep at Sea Level Versus 3800m Seventeen subjects were studied at UC White Mountain Research Center, Barcroft Station (3800m). At altitude, subjects slept with adaptive servo ventilation, supplemental oxygen (SpO2>95%), or no-treatment randomized across three consecutive nights. Subjects completed baseline measurements with no treatment at UC San Diego Clinical Sleep Laboratory (sea level). Sleep quality was evaluated with polysomnography. The following battery of cognitive tests and self-reported questionnaires were completed each morning: Psychomotor Vigilance Test, Attentional Network Test, Emotion Recognition Test, Balloon Analog Risk Task (BART), Trail Making Test, Digit Span Test, Corsi Block-Tapping Test, Verbal Paired Associates, Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, Brunel Mood Scale, and Stanford Sleepiness Scale. Data analyzed from 12 subjects revealed sleep at sea level was associated with more accurate identification of happiness while no-treatment sleep at 3800m was associated with higher misattribution of happiness. In contrast, subjects were more likely to correctly identify fear at high altitude. Subjects reported more rates of negative mood at 3800m. Subjects were less risky as days progressed at high altitude with mean number of pumps and money collected during the BART decreasing over time. We conclude high-altitude travel increases incidence of negative mood and changes accuracy of identifying emotions in others. Funding was provided by the Ledell Family Award. Kinley, Damare UC San Diego, Revelle College Major: Public Health Mentored by Ana Navarro, School of Medicine Public Health, UC San Diego Social Determinants of Health: From the Roots to the Fruit Promoting health equity is central to Public Health. The Healthy People 2020’s social determinants of health framework is a guide for health professionals to understand health and quality of life within communities. Of the five different aspects included in the framework, we will be focusing on Health and Health Services. Understanding the impact of social determinants of health combats health disparities and achieves health equity. Health and health services is directly related to public health topics such as maternal/infant/child health, mental health, and nutrition/ obesity. We plan to visually depict ways in which professionals promote health within the community. By providing health resources to affected communities, such as having immediate access to drinkable water in schools,
proper prenatal care for pregnant women, as well as adequate mental health services, we are one step closer to health equity. Highlighting the influence of social determinants of health and health disparities is key to reaching health equity. Health equity is the main goal in Public Health -- all humans should have the right to live a healthy life. We need to build a strong foundation of health and health services at the roots, promoting equity in the soil, thus growing a fruitful tree filled with disparity-free apples. Lau, Austin UC San Diego, Sixth College Major: Psychology, Clinical Mentored by Jessica Suhrheinrich PhD, Kelsey Dickson PhD, Sarah Rieth PhD, Department of Psychiatry, UC San Diego Exploring the Relationship Between Classroom Type and Teacher Fidelity of Implementation As special education enrollment for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) has increased, school-based programs and providers have been challenged to expand the scope and quality of services. Researchers and school-based providers are aligned in the goal of providing high-quality services to students with ASD, however current literature does not address how training and implementation needs may differ by the age of children served. The current study evaluates variability in teacher fidelity of implementation (FI) of Classroom Pivotal Response Teaching, an evidence-based naturalistic behavioral intervention based on the principals of applied behavior analysis. Data included 479 individual video units collected from 101 teacher and 221 student participants. Videos were coded using behavioral coding definitions and student demographic information was collected from parents of participating children. Analyses explored differences in FI of CPRT by age of students. Results indicate a significant relationship between classroom type (preschool/elementary) and teachers’ FI of CPRT, suggesting the possibility of targeted training based on student age. Lee, Soo UC San Diego Major: Psychology Mentored by Kimberly Weingart, Ph.D., Jill Bormann, R.N., Ph.D., Sidney Zisook, M.D., Department of Psychiatry, UC San Diego Mantram Repetition Program Reduces Depression Severity among Veterans with Major Depressive Disorder Introduction: Mantram Repetition Program (MRP) is a complementary, meditation-based therapy. We examined the effect of MRP on reducing depression severity among Veterans with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). We hypothesized that MRP would reduce depression severity. Methods: 16 Veterans with MDD participated in this study. This study was a within group comparison, where the participants received eight weekly sessions of MRP as augmentation to their treatment as usual. Depression severity was measured at baseline and post-treatment with the Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptoms-Clinician Rated (QIDS-C). Results: Participants’ mean QIDS-C score reduced significantly from baseline to post-treatment (reduction from 16.1 to 9.5; t=4.487; p=.001; Cohen’s d=1.40). The result remained significant after controlling for PTSD comorbidity (p=.002). Response rate, remission rate, and dropout were 38%, 23%, and 19%, respectively. Discussion: MRP reduced depression severity among Veterans with MDD even after controlling for PTSD comorbidity. These results suggest that MRP may be a feasible and effective treatment augmentation therapy in treating MDD. Limitation: The sample size was low, and the study was without a control group.
Lin, Annie UC San Diego, Marshall College Major: Public Health Mentored by Professor Ana Navarro, Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, UC San Diego Untangling the Web of Child and Maternal Health: Exploring the Social Determinants of Health Background: Social determinants of health are conditions in the environment where people live, work, worship, and play, which have significant impacts on both short term and long term health. Objectives: This presentation focuses on the social determinants of health and how they relate to child and maternal health. Access to resources like education, public safety, healthy foods, healthcare services, affordable housing, and pollutant-free environments all help improve health outcomes and quality of life for mothers and children. Methods: Using a web diagram, we will be discussing the Social Determinants of Health framework (including economic stability, education, social and community context, health and healthcare, and neighborhood) in the context of child and maternal health. We will draw on the literature reviews and proposals from our Public Health Capstone projects, including topics on child maltreatment, child obesity, and child and maternal health equity. Implications: Improving healthcare equity and reducing health disparities increases the quality of life and are among the main priorities of the national health objectives, Healthy People 2020. The Social Determinants of Health framework is an useful tool for public health professionals and policymakers to promote health equity through addressing the underlying factors that may contribute to public health issues. Mitchell, Luke UC San Diego, Muir College Major: History Mentored by Professor Mark G. Hanna, Department of History, UC San Diego The Crescent and the Eagle: The "Turk" as political rhetoric in early American newspapers Many think that the characterization of Muslims as anti-American is a new phenomenon, but in the period between 1765-1797, American newspaper editors and statements used the popular image of the "Turk" as a rhetorical tool in a time of drastic change. Pratha, Nimish UC San Diego, Revelle College Major: Linguistics spec. Cognition Mentored by Neil Cohn, Department of Linguistics, Tilburg University Pow, Punch, Pika & Chu: The Structure of Sound Effects in Genres of American Comics and Japanese Manga As multimodal works, comics are characterized as much by their use of language as by the style of their images. Sound effects in particular are exemplary of comics’ language-use, and we explored this facet of comics by analyzing a corpus of books from genres in the United States (mainstream and independent) and Japan (shonen/boys’ and shojo/girls’). We found variation between genres and between cultures across several properties of the content and presentation of sound effects. Foremost, significant differences arose between the lexical categories of sound effects (ex. onomatopoetic: Pow! vs. descriptive: Punch!) between genres within both culture’s works. Additionally, genres in Japanese manga vary in the scripts used to write sound effects in Japanese (hiragana vs. katakana). We argue that, in English, a similar function is communicated through the presence or absence of textual font stylization. Altogether, these aspects of variation mark sound effects as important carriers of multimodal information, and provide distinctions by which genres and cultures of comics can be distinguished.
Sias, Monica UC San Diego, Marshall College Major: Public Health Mentored by Ana Navarro, Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, UC San Diego Untangling the Web of Child and Maternal Health: Exploring the Social Determinants of Health Background: Social determinants of health are conditions in the environment where people live, work, worship, and play, which have significant impacts on both short term and long term health. Objectives: This presentation focuses on the social determinants of health and how they relate to child and maternal health. Access to resources like education, public safety, healthy foods, healthcare services, affordable housing, and pollutant-free environments all help improve health outcomes and quality of life for mothers and children. Methods: Using a web diagram, we will be discussing the Social Determinants of Health framework (including economic stability, education, social and community context, health and healthcare, and neighborhood) in the context of child and maternal health. We will draw on the literature reviews and proposals from our Public Health Capstone projects, including topics on child maltreatment, child obesity, and child and maternal health equity. Implications: Improving healthcare equity and reducing health disparities increases the quality of life and are among the main priorities of the national health objectives, Healthy People 2020. The Social Determinants of Health framework is an useful tool for public health professionals and policymakers to promote health equity through addressing the underlying factors that may contribute to public health issues. Sorensen, Ingrid UC San Diego, Muir College Major: Art History/Theory/Criticism Mentored by Michael Ano, Department of Visual Arts, UC San Diego The Politics of Color Throughout history, the study of art has been plagued by social and political norms. Nowadays, contemporary art tends to frown upon the use of color and of certain textures in work, elements that are subliminally associated with othered populations. This presentation aims to explain the history behinds these archetypes and address how the art world can shift to include these elements in the future. Subers, Shannon UC San Diego, Eleanor Roosevelt College Major: Biological Anthropology Mentored by Dr. Geoff Gallice, Department of Entomology The Effects of Hunting on Primate Abundance and Biodiversity in Yasuní National Park, Ecuador Ecuador’s Yasuní National Park, located in the western lowland Amazon rainforest, is situated in one of the most biodiverse areas of the world. Despite efforts to protect wildlife within the park, illegal bushmeat hunting threatens the survival of many species, including primates. Due to the covert nature of bushmeat extraction, it is largely unknown to what extent and in what ways hunting affects primate communities in this area. To assess the effects of hunting on primate communities, we conducted a demographic study comparing two sites within the park: Yasuní Scientific Research Station, which is affected by hunting, and Tiputini Biodiversity Station, which is largely unaffected. We found a higher abundance and biodiversity of primates at the site unaffected by hunting compared to the site that was affected by hunting. Our results highlight the need for more long-term studies investigating the effects of hunting on primate communities and the necessity of this research in informing conservation priorities in this biodiversity hotspot.
Ullah, Anika UC San Diego, Marshall College Major: Human Biology major, Interdisciplinary Computing in the Arts minor Mentored by Marnie Brookolo, Department of UCSD Women's Center / Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, UC San Diego Everyday Anti-Sexism Workshop for Fraternities: A Quantitative, Contextualized, and Peer Education Based Approach to Activism and Public Health Sexual assault on college campuses is a pervasive public health issue, considering that 1 in 5 female undergraduate students are victims of sexual-violence. Women in sororities are 74% more likely to experience sexual assault and men in fraternities are 3 times more likely to commit sexual assault, demonstrating a need for effective preventative sexual-violence education in Greek life. This study aims to use education to alter multivariate attitudinal factors predictive of sexual-violence, such as gender-role stereotyping, situational sexual frustration, and misperception of sexual intent, in the Greek community. Surveys were administered to sorority and fraternity members to identify contemporary parameters of sexism in UCSD Greek life. Interactive workshops were then created and co-facilitated with sorority and fraternity members as a synthesis of survey data, foundational sexism education from the UCSD Women’s Center, Greek-specific situational sexism education, and real-time narrations of sexism related anecdotes by sorority women. A post-workshop survey reported that 82% of fraternity participants found the workshop effective and that 93% would recommend the workshop to other and future fraternity members. Through an extension of this effective collaboration based educational model for addressing sexual-violence prevention, the Greek community can be actively involved in combating the public health issue of sexual-violence on college campuses. Zolfaghari, Victoria UC San Diego, Muir College Major: Public Health Mentored by Dr. Ana Navarro, Department of Public Health, UC San Diego Social Determinants of Health: From the Roots to the Fruit Promoting health equity is central to Public Health. The Healthy People 2020’s social determinants of health framework is a guide for health professionals to understand health and quality of life within communities. Of the five different aspects included in the framework, we will be focusing on Health and Health Services. Understanding the impact of social determinants of health combats health disparities and achieves health equity. Health and health services is directly related to public health topics such as maternal/infant/child health, mental health, and nutrition/ obesity. We plan to visually depict ways in which professionals promote health within the community. By providing health resources to affected communities, such as having immediate access to drinkable water in schools, proper prenatal care for pregnant women, as well as adequate mental health services, we are one step closer to health equity. Highlighting the influence of social determinants of health and health disparities is key to reaching health equity. Health equity is the main goal in Public Health -- all humans should have the right to live a healthy life. We need to build a strong foundation of health and health services at the roots, promoting equity in the soil, thus growing a fruitful tree filled with disparity-free apples.
Academic Enrichment Programs Staff
David Artis, Ph.D. Dean, Undergraduate Research Initiatives Director, Academic Enrichment Programs (858) 822-4161 • dartis@ucsd.edu
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Veronica Bejar, M.B.A. Assistant Director, Academic Enrichment Programs Assistant Director, McNair Program (858) 534-8254 • vbejar@ucsd.edu
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Jacqueline F. Azize-Brewer, Ph.D. Coordinator, STEM Community (858) 534-8839 • jazize@ucsd.edu
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Thomas K. Brown, Ph.D. Coordinator, McNair Program (858) 534-2937 • tkbrown@ucsd.edu
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Kirsten Kung, Ph.D. Coordinator, Research Programs (858) 822-3750 • kkung@ucsd.edu
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Adele S. Savage, M.A. Coordinator, Health and Medical Professions Preparation Program (HMP3) (858) 534-7579 • asavage@ucsd.edu
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Sophia J. Tsai, Ph.D. Coordinator, Research Scholarships (858) 534-9014 • stsai@ucsd.edu
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Charity Kunold Executive Assistant (858) 822-0385 • ckunold@ucsd.edu
STUDENT AFFAIRS STUDENT RETENTION AND SUCCESS UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN DIEGO
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