Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Recession Proof Pills: An Examination Of The Relationship Between Recession Economics And Pharmaceutical Expenditures, Kevin Gray

Annual Undergraduate Conference on Health and Society

The first decade of the 21st century proved to be a time of turbulence and volatility in the worldwide economy. Oddly enough, even as Americans’ disposable income decreased, spending on health care steadily increased. Americans spent $249.9 billion on prescription drugs in 2009, contrasted against $120.9 billion in 2000—a 105% increase.1 We may question the overall ramifications of such increases in pharmaceutical sales and the correlation to other economic factors. That is, how was the pharmaceutical sector able to boast gains when the housing market collapsed? One answer is that people place a priority on their health, even with limited …

Sick With Fear: Popular Challenges To Scientific Authority In The Vaccine Controversies Of The 21st Century, Ellen Watkins

Annual Undergraduate Conference on Health and Society

In the 20th century, vaccines were heralded as one of the greatest medical inventions in history. In the late 1990’s, however, the myth of vaccine-caused autism caught fire. Despite mountains of evidence disproving the link, panicking Americans eschewed vaccines and turned against their physicians. Why did Americans turn their backs on doctors, scientists, and the health industry? This paper follows the vaccine controversy of the last thirty years, looking in particular at the relationship between science and the media. This paper analyzes the contrast between discussion of the hypothesized link in scientific circles and in popular news sources, seeking to …

Sorry Buddy, But Your Name Isn't On The List: Fear And The Ethics Of Organ Donation In Film, Ted Callis

Annual Undergraduate Conference on Health and Society

The fear of death and illness is a powerful motivator. When taking into account the ethical reasoning that drives organ transplantation and procurement practices, it is persuasive enough to sway minds and corrupt pure reason. And so this paper will uncover how fear of illness and death shape answers to the ethical questions that arise in transplant debates and how these debates are in turn raised in the ethical dilemmas portrayed by popular American films. This paper will examine recent films such as The Island, and Never Let Me Go to illustrate how the ethical dilemmas associated with organ …

Medicines That Kill, Lina Ahmed Abushouk

Annual Undergraduate Conference on Health and Society

The prevalence of counterfeit drugs on the African continent has been increasing at an alarming rate. “Medicines that Kill” is a research paper that attempts to analyze the factors that make African countries particularly susceptible to this global threat. Nigeria, a country that has had some of the highest rates of counterfeit drugs in the world, is the main case study for this paper. Its efforts to combat the issue are compared and contrasted with those of Tanzania and Kenya in an attempt to understand what aspects of the issue are unique to Africa and the methods that have been …

Facing An Epidemic: An Analysis Of Hiv/Aids, Antiretroviral Drug, And International Response To The Aids Pandemic, Michael Tate

Annual Undergraduate Conference on Health and Society

More than 33 million people are living with HIV/AIDS around the globe with 68% of all cases occurring in sub-Saharan Africa. The global prevalence rate is shocking considering that the disease was relatively unknown just 30 years ago. After reviewing medical, health policy, and health statistical journals, I will argue in this paper that international aid to nations struggling with AIDS needs to be redirected and refocused on supplying antiretroviral therapy to afflicted nations because ARV has been proven to be effective in managing the disease in countries that can afford the costs of treatment. International aid to countries that …

To Live Means To Suffer: Exploring The Identity Of Chronic Pain Conditions, Gabriela Harris

Annual Undergraduate Conference on Health and Society

This paper examines the necessary identity reconstruction for chronic pain patients through the use of illness narratives. The biographical interruption of a chronic illness, partnered with the patients’ inability to discuss embodiment and pain wholly (because language failures to capture the essence of pain and suffering) creates a devastating chasm between the world of the healthy and the world of the sick. Psychosomatic pain, and illnesses without diagnosis, are all the more divisive conditions, because these factors rob the patient further, disallowing them from constructing even an illness identity. Utilizing published patient interviews, sociological and anthropological texts, as well as …

The Influence Of Neighborhood Characteristics On The Existence Of Asthma In Children, Elizabeth Adejuyigbe

Annual Undergraduate Conference on Health and Society

Asthma is one of the leading chronic diseases in children 17 years of age and under with nine million American children suffering from it. Previous studies to understand causal factors of disease including asthma tend to focus on the individual and sociocultural characteristics but there is little to no research using neighborhood characteristics, a factor that does influence health. Research shows that other community‐level environmental factors like collective efficacy, community structural factors, and neighborhood safety can affect a persons’ psychosocial well-being, and in turn increase morbidity. For this reason, researchers suggest that the need to understand asthma and its associated …

Hiv/Aids: Ayurvedic Medicine's Impact On India's Social Stigma, Shawn Francis

Annual Undergraduate Conference on Health and Society

Ayurvedic medicine is an ancient form of treatment that has existed in India through scriptures and generations for thousands of years. It is practiced by “indigenous medical practitioners” or natural medical practitioners that assume the role of healers and use various forms of herbal remedies to treat individuals that have a form of illness. (Kakar DN. 1983) According to the C.D.L. College of Ayurveda, Ayurvedic medicine focuses on viewing the individual holistically through the body, mind, food, and environment to produce a medicinal recipe to meet the needs of the individual. In addition, the college has also mentioned that they …

The Drawn-Out Battle Against Stigma: Mental Health In Modern American Comics And Graphic Novels, Swee Khee Brenda Seah

Annual Undergraduate Conference on Health and Society

The discussion of mental health issues in the media significantly shapes public perceptions, most notably in negative portrayals that contribute to the stereotyping of mental health patients. Perhaps surprisingly, comics and graphic novels are forms of media that have potential to mitigate such stigma, despite earlier criticism of mental health stereotypes propagated in some comics. This is reflected in a recent trend of comics treating mental health issues in more sympathetic ways. This paper discusses three American comics from the last decade, examining depictions of post-traumatic stress disorder in Garry Trudeau's comic strip, Doonesbury, around 2005-2006, schizophrenia in Nate …

Busting A Gut: Portrayals Of Obesity In Popular Culture, Carly Babel

Annual Undergraduate Conference on Health and Society

Obesity is America’s number one leading health epidemic, affecting more than 93 million Americans today (OAC). From 1985 to 2010, obesity has gone from affecting an average of 10% of individuals in just about every state to today affecting 33.8% of people within each state. Children and adults alike all over the U.S. are being diagnosed with obesity and encouraged to change their lifestyles. Doctors are prescribing patients to lose weight, exercise, eat healthy, and in extreme cases, go under the knife, but none of these recommendations are making a dent in lowering the rate of obesity. Rather, the number …

Mirror, Mirror On The Wall, Who's The Thinnest Of Them All?, Ann Marie O'Brien

Annual Undergraduate Conference on Health and Society

Societal standards of feminine beauty are presented in all forms of popular culture, thus bombarding women with images that portray what our society considers to be the “ideal body type.” These images, as seen on the cover of magazines, in popular films and in all forms of web and print advertising, are consistently depicted and easily described with one word: skinny. The regular use of unnatural, unhealthy and unrealistic models sends the implicit message that in order for a woman to be beautiful, she must attain this ultra-thin physique. Such adulation of these images encourages women to sacrifice their health …

Overview Of Data Management Planning Tools, Michele Reilly

Lecture Series on E-Science

These Data Management Plans are more comprehensive and complex than in the past. Libraries around the nation are trying to put together tools to help researchers write plans that conform to the new requirements. This session will look at some of these tools.

Radiography And Image Processing, Stephen E. Mitchell

NSTec UNLV Symposium

Outline

• Introduction
• What? Why? Etc.
• Pulsed Power
• Diode Physics
• Radiography ABC’s
• Challenges

Establishing A Center Of Excellence For Security Science And Engineering, Ke-Xun Sun

NSTec UNLV Symposium

Outline

• Introduction
• Progress report
• NNSA proposal to establishCenter of Excellence for Security Science and Engineering
• Perspective on UNLV-NSTec collaboration

Data Management Policies And Issues With Life Science Data, Michelle Malizia

Lecture Series on E-Science

Data management and sharing are relatively new concepts in the health and life sciences fields. This presentation will cover some basic policies as well as the impediments to data sharing unique to health and life sciences data.

Printable Schedule, Texas Medical Center Library

Lecture Series on E-Science

No abstract provided.

Alternative Medical Care And Livelihood In Latin America = 拉丁美洲另類醫療與人民生計實踐, Aleida Guevara

South South Forum 南南論壇

No abstract provided.

#Trending Now: Why Black Folk Need To Be In Psychotherapy, Samantha Lynn Gray

Black Issues Conference

Despite evidence that mental health problems (ranging from very mild to severe) affect all people, the rates of minorities engaged in personal psychotherapy have remained low throughout the past few decades. Historically, minorities have tended to devalue the importance of mental health, and stigmatize therapeutic interventions. This session will focus on why we need to shed the stigma surrounding mental health issues, and detail where we’ve been, where we are, and where we need to head in term of opening ourselves to self-exploration within the realm of psychotherapy. Also learn about how our physical health is intertwined with our mental …

Aids/Hiv Denialism: Patients' Privacy Rights, Fadia Abdullah, Guadalupe Medrano

Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP)

HIV is a sexually transmitted disease that develops into AIDS. There is no cure for it, only treatment. In this poster, we look at the pros and cons of disclosing this type of information. People who decide to disclose their HIV status may have various reasons for doing so, but most do it for emotional support and for prevention of spreading the disease. Those who decide to keep it private primarily do it to not face rejection, discrimination, degradation, and loss of respect. (Petronio Page 72) The problem with creating a public database is that many organizations are against the …

Poster: Researchers Say The Darndest Things: Using Semi-Structured Interviews To Uncover The Unique Information Behaviors Of Basic Sciences Researchers In An Academic Health Center, Laura L. Haines

UVM Libraries Conference Day

Laura discusses the work she and her colleagues did in a qualitative study of semi-structured interviews examining the unique, information-seeking characteristics of basic sciences researchers. The team's ultimate goal was to then design a suite of library services that would better meet these researchers' needs.

An Analysis Of Clinical Questions Asked At Professor Rounds, Nancy A. Bianchi

UVM Libraries Conference Day

Nancy discussed the number of questions received during professor rounds, what kinds of questions they were, how many of these were answerable, and where she found the answers.

Attachment And Couple Sexual Functioning, Kathryn Z. Devis, Melissa A. Louder, Kara L. Thompson, Katherine M. Hertlein

Graduate Research Symposium (GCUA) (2010 - 2017)

Within the last several years, there has been a surge in the publications that focus on attachment within the couple relationships, including how it pertains to infidelity treatment. Despite the interest in couple relationships and attachment, however, a limited amount of literature focuses on how varying styles of attachment manifest in a couple's level of sexual functioning. This study is a response to the need to explore the literature and related gaps in literature.

Clark County Mental Health Court: An Outcomes-Based Evaluation Model Of Residential And Treatment Programs Beyond Recidivism, Mark J. Nichols

Graduate Research Symposium (GCUA) (2010 - 2017)

The number of America’s mental health courts has grown significantly over the course of the past 15 years. Mental health courts can be seen as a form of therapeutic jurisprudence where the court implements therapeutic interventions, case management and treatment (Palermo, 2010). A mental health court was established in Clark County during 2003. Its mission is to promote engagement in treatment, improve quality of life, decrease recidivism, and increase community safety and awareness (Glass, 2008).

The focus of the evaluation of the Clark County Mental Health Court, limited to performance measures related to the decreased recidivism by its clients and …

Aids/Hiv Denialism: Patients’ Privacy Rights, Fadia Abdullah, Guadalupe Medrano

Festival of Communities: UG Symposium (Posters)

HIV is a sexually transmitted disease that develops into AIDS. There is no cure for it, only treatment. In this poster, we look at the pros and cons of disclosing this type of information. People who decide to disclose their HIV status may have various reasons for doing so, but most do it for emotional support and for prevention of spreading the disease. Those who decide to keep it private primarily do it to not face rejection, discrimination, degradation, and loss of respect. (Petronio Page 72) The problem with creating a public database is that many organizations are against the …

The Effects Of Working Memory On High And Low Working Memory Capacity, Colleen M. Parks, Christine Agnir

Festival of Communities: UG Symposium (Posters)

Acute stress is a factor that impairs working memory (McHugh et al.,2010). Emotional stimuli have been used in long-term memory studies. The emotional content of information is important in long-term memory studies that have focused on stress, but it is unknown if the valence of the stimuli matter for working memory tasks. Little research is know to use emotional pictures of N-back stimuli. Our goal is to determine whether these factors may significantly disrupt the working memory process of efficiently completing complex tasks.

Should Primates Have Legal Rights?, Hannah Barten, Zhimin Chen

Festival of Communities: UG Symposium (Posters)

A primate having legal rights is a controversial topic these days. Many other countries around the world support the idea of great apes having legal rights, because we for one are one of the five great primates. Others do not support this trending topic as much as others. These types of people believe that great apes such as chimpanzees are superb testing animals for medical purposes, because of the fact that they are closely related to mankind. Organizations such as Great Ape Protection, work towards protecting the rights of these great apes since they cannot speak for themselves. In many …

Placebos: Ethical Research Or Unethical Deceit, Tawnya Schirmeister, Sabrina Crilley

Festival of Communities: UG Symposium (Posters)

There is an ongoing debate between whether or not it is ethical for researchers to use placebos while studying terminal illnesses. Within this debate there are two parties, the party that believes that it is ethical and the party that believes that it is not. Both parties have many valid points and have very detailed arguments against one another. When determining whether or not the use of placebos is ethical or not, you must first understand what a placebo is, and what the different types are. This paper goes over what a placebo is, what the different types are, and …

Aids Denialism, Erika Jenel Delos Santos, Roy Llana, Jocelyn Tan

Festival of Communities: UG Symposium (Posters)

AIDS denialism is a growing issue in many parts the world. Through scholarly journal articles, book resources and other research tactics, further understanding how HIV/AIDS denialism is unethical can be distinguished. Discovering that AIDS is most prominent in South Africa explains why denialism is as critical as it is. However, the unethical aspect of AIDS denialism is in effect particularly amongst families. When a South African inhabitant realizes they have AIDS, they feel outcasted by their families due to shame. They fear as though they will be disowned because they have flaws that are unacceptable. These family values are significant …

Vaccines Controversy, Jackelin Ruiz, Keith Wellman

Festival of Communities: UG Symposium (Posters)

Our research was conducted on a Vaccine controversy which raised the question on ethics, morality, safety and effectiveness of vaccination on children. The case study we focused on was about a study done by Dr. Andrew Wakefield and twelve other Colleagues, which was published in a well know journal The Lancet. The study has recently been retracted because an investigation found that he failed to mention that his research of the MMR vaccine was funded through solicitors seeking evidence to use against vaccine manufactures (Deer, Brian). To conclude our research we compared the current vaccination rates with the rates …

Embryonic Stem Cell Research, Michael Phan, Jeniene Hassan

Festival of Communities: UG Symposium (Posters)

Embryonic stem cell research has the potential to regenerate malfunctioning tissues and replace harmful cancer cells. Although it holds the potential to alleviate malicious disabilities and diseases, it raises ethical concerns due to the destruction of a fertilized human embryo. In certain religions (Catholics and Christians), embryonic stem cell research is detested due to the destruction of a human at its early stages of life (embryo). On the other hand, scientists believe that embryonic stem cells can “someday…used to treat human diseases.” (Hansen 879) This analysis on embryonic stem cell research will consider both the supporting and opposing side of …