Diabetes and cardiovascular disease play a significant role in disease and mortality in the US, especially among underrepresented groups. Lack of physical activity and unhealthy eating can lead to cardiovascular disease (CVD), diabetes, and other adverse health outcomes. This project will utilize community based participatory research to develop a wellness program from American Indians in San Diego County. This will be done through conducting focus groups, and interviews with community members and through conducting surveys on health and wellness. Further, a wellness program will be developed from community feedback. We expect to observe an increase of physical activity, better diet, and higher knowledge about healthy behaviors with the program.

The focus of this study is to examine the motivation behind organizing conservative and counter-conservative events and the meaning students attribute to their involvement. Furthermore, the study also addresses the extent to which such coordination is related to group influence. In other words, how do participant relations within and outside of their organization shape their decision to organize political events on campus? This study explores how students understand and interpret their actions. Data for this study will be collected by conducting structured interviews with 10 participants (n = 10). The intended population is college students from a Southern California college campus. Half the participants will identify or have identified with a conservative campus organization while the other half with a counter-conservative organization at the time of a campus political event. Convenience and snowball sampling will be used to recruit participants. This methodology follows what sociologist Max Weber (1914) referred to as,“Sociology is a science concerning itself with the interpretive understanding of social action and thereby with a causal explanation of its course and consequences.” An interpretive understanding of the meaning and drive behind the formation of these political events is crucial to developing an explanation for what triggers social action. By studying the dynamics by which the group members interact and interpret one another, we can understand the role of in-group cohesion and out-group bias in politically-related communication. My study aims to contribute to the following 1) increase our knowledge of the motivations and meanings college students place on organizing events with controversial speakers, as well as protesting them, 2) how students weigh the consequences of their actions, especially as it relates to social relations (stigma or approval), campus climate, safety and property damage, and economic costs (e.g. security, police, taxes).

Over 350 million people are affected by major depression on a global scale according to the World Health Organization with an increasing economic impact of over $210 billion annually with a growth of 21.5% since 2005. The ability to switch behaviors or strategies when faced with chronic stress is an important determinant to the susceptibility and longevity of depression within people, also referred to as cognitive flexibility. The objective of this proposed study is to analyze the effects of the endogenous cannabinoid (ECB) system on cognitive flexibility through the lateral habenula. Cannula implant surgeries will be conducted on rats to input antagonist or agonist drugs into the brain. Behavioral tests will be conducted on rats to examine whether these manipulations will promote or deter cognitive flexibility.

It is an evitable instinct to develop snap judgements of people as we encounter them in passing; therefore, our experiment attempted to replicate this quick encounter and asked the question of whether one’s gender and race impacted how they perceive others’ friendliness. Our sample consisted of 35 males (27.1%) and 89 females (66.7%). 82 of our participants were Caucasian (63%), 25 Asian-American (19%), 4 African American (.03%), 1 Hawaiian (.007%), 20 Latino American (15%), 14 who identified as mixed race (10%); all an average age of 23 years (SD = 2.6). Participants were shown 8 photographs of White and Latino men and women smiling for 5 seconds each. They then had to rate the friendliness of each photo within 15 seconds of viewing. Our findings suggest that the intersectionality of race and gender play a role in how individuals perceive men and white men. Implications of these findings suggest that a holistic view of a person’s identity will give a better indication of how they might view those who do and do not look like them.

Although Asians and Asian Americans are often classified as belonging in the same social category, these two groups may perceive and think about the world differently. This project examined whether UW students who are Asians and Asian Americans hold different viewpoints regarding social identities and social statuses. Primarily, we examined group differences in Status Legitimizing Belief, Perceived Racial Discrimination, and Racial Identification. Status legitimizing belief is a set of beliefs (measuring protestant work ethic, perceived system permeability, and system legitimacy) asserting that if individuals work hard, are motivated, and are talented, they can improve their social statuses. Perceived racial discrimination measures the extent to which racial minorities believe that they are targets of discriminations. Racial identification measures individuals’ beliefs and perceptions that their racial group matters and is central to how they perceive themselves. Through meta-analyses of self-report surveys across 13 academic quarters, we found significant differences between Asian Americans and Asians across all measured variables. First, we found that Asians have higher status legitimizing belief than Asian Americans. Asians also perceive lower racial discrimination than their Asian American counterparts. And finally, Asians are less likely to identify with their racial in-group than Asian Americans. This research demonstrates that while both groups are often classified or perceived as the same social group, they, in fact, hold different perspectives regarding their identities as well as their statuses. Understanding how these two groups rationalize and perceive legitimacy and discrimination offers insight into intergroup relations.

Emerging adulthood, the period between adolescence and young adulthood, is the prime developmental period when individuals are actively exploring their identity. Thus, the purpose of this study is to examine ethnic-racial identity understanding among Indigenous Oaxacan emerging adults, an understudied population with a strong presence in Oregon. This study will use a narrative approach to conduct a qualitative analysis of Identity Salient Experiences (ISEs) of Indigenous Oaxacans to understand ethnic-racial identity development during emerging adulthood. Participants, between the ages of 18 and 30, will be recruited from Portland State University in Oregon. Narrative interview questions will be asked to assess ISEs, which include: (a) “Describe a time, either positive or negative, that made you particularly aware of your Oaxaqueño heritage” (b) “What was your age at the time of the event?” (c) “Did this event affect what you think about or how you view your own ethnicity or ethnicity in general?” Digital voice recorders will be used to record the narrative interviews, which I will subsequently transcribe and code. Findings from the study will help inform theory of Indigenous Oaxaqueño emerging adults’ ethnic-racial heritage experiences in the United States.

As theorized in Black Feminist Thought, Patricia Hill Collins articulates the four main controlling images that surround the Black female experience: Mammy, Matriarch, Welfare Recipient and Jezebel. According to Collins, these negative images are associated with Black women as a means to enact justifiable violence. Past studies examining Black women’s responses to these images have found that there is either a distancing, reimagining, or acceptance of the image as a part of personal identity. It is important to weave out the nuanced responses to the knowledge of these images to gain a deeper understanding into the effects on socialization and self-image. In this study we ask the question, How do undergraduate Black women aged 18-24 attending Portland State University respond to the controlling image of the Jezebel? Due to the social aspect and hook-up culture of college, the image of the overly promiscuous and sexaully-available Black woman is particularly important to understand in a University setting, and furthermore, in a space where the population of Black women is low. Through in depth interviews, we expect to gain responses that initially distance participants from the image of the Jezebel, yet communicate a complex relationship between sexual agency and stigma.

Albinism is a genetic mutation that strips those affected of the pigment in their skin, hair, and eyes. This alters the appearance of the affected and at times, subjects them to ostracism when interacting with their ethnic group(s). Albinism affects less than 1% of the human population and it is for this reason that understanding their attitudes and opinions on their racial-ethnic identity is important. The goal of this study is not only to investigate participants’ attitudes on and experiences with ethnicity and race, but to spread awareness of participants’ experiences. Participants attitudes and experiences were assessed using a survey and interviews which elaborated on the survey responses. Data for this study are in the preliminary stages of analysis. However, once completed this study they will prove to be one of the few psychological studies on Albinism. This study’s findings also aim to provide information to families of those with Albinism to better care for individuals with this mutation.

Virtual reality augmentation of therapy has advanced a long way since its beginnings. Virtual reality technologies have been found effective for treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder and phobias as well as a potential aid as an in-treatment distraction for burn patients undergoing dressing changes. The advent of increasingly advanced displays, tracking, and comfort have transformed virtual reality from a novelty into a highly beneficial clinical device. The increasing presence of virtual reality devices in clinical settings necessitates additional investigation into sterilization techniques. The diversity of materials in the devices makes a single method of sterilization difficult. The device’s vulnerable surfaces can be separated into categories: lenses, casing, straps, and facial interface. The delicate electronics preclude the use of autoclave sterilization and the porous nature of the straps and cushioning preclude the use of surface wipes. Finally, the delicate lenses need special care to facilitate cleaning while retaining structure. In the present study UV, steam autoclave, and water-based benzalkonium chloride antibacterial foam were compared to standard procedures by Oculus, one of the leading commercial manufacturers of virtual reality devices. Oculus Go virtual reality headsets were disassembled for testing. After determining baseline presence of environmental bacteria, Staphylococcus Aureus was applied to the tested surfaces. The previously mentioned methods were applied to the newly contaminated surfaces and the surfaces were swabbed and cultured. Effectiveness of sterilization was determined through numerical analysis of colony forming units. While Oculus' standard procedures have adequately disinfected some of the diverse materials tested here, more rigorous methods are needed for complete sterilization. A hospital setting may benefit from a multifaceted and specialized approach that addresses the needs of different materials to prevent increases in resistant strains. Proper sterilization procedures for this rising technology will allow for safe widespread implementation as a medical device.