The primary goal of the present study is to gain a better understanding of how one might use foreign language media as a tool for second/third language acquisition (SLA) and to evaluate its efficacy through a personal case study. Studies of second language acquisition have been done in many regions and across many languages, with many different populations, making it difficult to come to definitive, generalizable conclusions on the best way to acquire a second language. Many theories of second language acquisition have been proposed to bridge this gap. The foundation for most of these theories refers back to Stephen Krashen’s comprehensive theory of language acquisition (1981). Research in this area of study so far has thus largely been limited to children’s incidental language acquisition, with very few studies focusing on the experience of this acquisition. Because of time constraints and limited resources, this study is informed by previous longitudinal studies and takes the form of a personal case study, thus placing more focus on qualitative aspects of the experience rather than measurable, quantitative results. The author acts as a primary research subject, watching four hours of Italian media per week and taking notes on distinctive cultural aspects, important plot points, and new or difficult Italian words. The ACTFL scale was used to evaluate the level of Italian language proficiency at three stages of the media-consumption period: a base-line measurement before beginning the study; at the mid-way point of the study; and after the study was complete. This evaluation took the form of a conversational test administered by an Italian language professor at Arizona State University. Throughout the experience, a variety of studies that examined SLA were analyzed in order to better inform this study. Results of this study suggest that foreign language media can be an extremely helpful resource, even when no other language learning tools are implemented. Both my experience, and the research studies reviewed, suggest that one may be able to measurably increase one’s second language proficiency by multiple levels on the ACTFL scale by engaging in regular viewing of film/media in the language of study over a long period of time.

Power— defined as material or social resources one brings into a relationship—can influence the experiences of each partner and has implications for relationship satisfaction. Queer individuals have distinct sexual and gender identities that may influence power dynamics within their relationships, yet Queer relationships have rarely been investigated. We used cross-sectional data to examine how sexual orientation and gender interact to predict experiences of power in Queer relationships, and how power experience affects relationship satisfaction. Participants (N = 196) were recruited online via Prolific. Analyses suggested that lesbians experience the most egalitarian power dynamics, followed by heterosexuals, with bisexual/pansexuals and gay men experiencing the least egalitarian power dynamics. Relationship satisfaction followed a similar trend across groups, consistent with previous work. However, no interaction was found between participant gender and sexual orientation in predicting power dynamics. Exploratory analyses revealed a possible significant association of satisfaction with power in one’s relationship and relationship satisfaction, beyond effects of overall power dynamics. We benefited from a diverse sample; however, our analyses were underpowered. Future studies should continue to examine power dynamics in Queer relationships, and the role of satisfaction with couple power differentials and gender roles in mediating these associations.

The Refugee Education and Clinic Team (REACT) is a local organization led by students at Arizona State University and the Mayo Clinic Alix School of Medicine with the purpose of improving the health of refugees and asylees. One way in which REACT aims to improve the health of refugees and asylees is through health education workshops, which inform refugees about health conditions and management options. The purpose of this project was to analyze how REACT’s health education workshop about obesity impacted refugees’ understanding of healthy living. This project implemented a pre- and post-presentation survey at REACT’s obesity workshop to measure refugees’ understanding of healthy living. Overall, a pre-existing understanding of the importance of healthy eating and daily exercise was measured and an improvement in their understanding of the symptoms associated with obesity was recorded.

High-grade gliomas are highly aggressive central nervous system (CNS) malignancies with high fatality rates if left untreated. There is currently a lack of reliable diagnostic tools to characterize the diffuse cell populations commonly found in these tumors. Here, we report that electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) can be used in an in vitro system to analyze changes in the impedance contributed by the extracellular matrix (ECM) of two glioblastoma cell lines: GBM 22 and GBM 115. EIS was more effective at resolving differences in impedance from GBM 115 cells than GBM 22 cells, which depended on both cell confluency and frequency. However, differences in impedance were more apparent from the supernatant when the cells were removed in both cell lines. Analysis of the PC12 and either of the GBM cell line co-cultures yielded highly statistically significant differences between all comparisons of cell confluencies and frequency steps. These results illustrate that EIS can be an effective instrument for characterizing the ECM surrounding glioblastoma cells, providing insight into the cellular behavior of these oncogenic cells.

I Lived is a story about an anxious teen girl afraid of new experiences who moves into a house with a ghost who thinks life should be lived to the fullest. This is a project I have wanted to work on for years and finally got to complete thanks to Barrett, The Honors College and my wonderful Director and Committee members.

This qualitative research study aimed to discover whether climbers attribute religious or spiritual elements to rock climbing. After conducting twenty interviews with climbers in the Phoenix area, responses were coded into major themes: nature, flow state and risk, and community. Ultimately, this thesis evaluates each of these major themes and corresponding similarities with spirituality, concluding that outdoor rock climbing can function as spiritual activity for its participants.

Within the realm of parenting, there is research about a distinct stage entitled emerging adulthood that encompasses biopsychosocial development between the ages of 18 and 25. The research study seeks to answer the questions: how do current parenting practices influence emerging adult mental health, and what adjustments must be made to improve upon these relationships? Past studies have demonstrated that there is a relationship between the developmental period of emerging adulthood, which is characterized by identity formation itself, and the mental health of both emerging adults and their parents. However, upon reviewing the literature on emerging adulthood, it was revealed that there is a gap in regard to how to parent adult children and foster a positive relationship. While the goal is to explore this gap, the research team is additionally seeking to utilize new information to create a parenting course that promotes positive adjustments to the current relationship between emerging adults and their parents. To explore this, the research team conducted emerging adult surveys, asking participants to analyze their current connection with their parents' practices and the effects they have on their mental health. Additionally, surveys and interviews were done with Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSWs) to bolster the evidence-based methods that this population uses to support emerging adults.

Ice hockey is widely recognized as one of the most exciting sports to watch and the NHL boasts very good in-game attendance figures when compared to similar professional sports leagues. In this study, we compare the NHL to the NBA, two leagues that share the same size stadiums and in-game attendance numbers but show huge disparities in national television viewership. The most watched NHL game of 2022/23, game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals totaled 2.72 million viewers nationally and the most watched NBA game of the 22/23 season was the final game of the NBA Finals totaled 17.88 million viewers nationwide. This is especially startling given the fact that on the local level, in cities with both NHL and NBA teams, the local rating are relatively even and oftentimes favor the NHL team. To investigate why this discrepancy exists, four cities that are home to both an NHL and NBA franchise were chosen as the focus of research. Youth participation and cost of both basketball and ice hockey were examined in each city and it was determined that they account for a large portion of the differences in national TV viewership. Marketing strategies of each league were also investigated, but it was found that these had little impact on the discrepancies in national TV viewership. The study concludes with possible solutions for the NHL to decrease costs and increase accessibility play, resulting in an increase in youth participation, especially in nontraditional hockey markets without NHL teams. In turn, this will bridge the gap in national viewership between themselves and the NBA.