CONTENTS
Mission Statement 3
Special Thanks 3
Nominated Students 4
Artwork 13
Creatives 14
Oral Presentations 16
Panel Presentations 29
Poster Presentations 30
Contact the GPSA 36
Mission
The goal of this symposium is to provide an open forum for graduate and professional students campus wide to present work in order to gain valuable feedback on their presentation skills and practice presenting to a general audience. Another goal for the symposium is to serve as a venue that will allow a diverse representation of departments for both students and faculty to network and meet, facilitating communication for both students and faculty within and across departments to create a stronger graduate community. Finally, the symposium is a chance to recognize the quality and breadth of research conducted at UNM.
Special Thanks
We would like to thank those who have contributed to the success of this symposium including all of the GPSA officers, especially President Joseph Garcia, Chair Melanie Armstrong, and Officer Christopher Shank for giving thoughtful and constructive feedback. GPSA council members for suggesting proposal revisions and voting to fund this event. Theresa Lopez for insights on coordinating a campus wide event. Students who gave feedback on our initial proposal: Una Medina, Elizabeth Stewart, Kathryn McGinnis, Mark Smith, Cody Wiley and Jodi Sanchez. The symposium committee members including Nicole Dante, Christopher Ramirez, Beth Nichols, Soumia Dhar and volunteers including Annette Rodriguez, Clare Daniels, Patricia Perea and all those who volunteered to participate the day of the event. Thank you to the Student Union Building for their help with rooms, equipment and food. A big thanks to all the graduate and professional staff and faculty who kept in touch and offered their guidance and assistance by nominating students and giving feedback and advice. Last but not least a thank you to the UNM Office of Graduate Studies Barbara Carver for sending out all of our announcements and to Graduate Dean Amy Wolhert for her support.
Nominated Students
As part of our mission to ensure diverse representation from graduate and professional department across UNM we asked departments to nominate outstanding students. Nominated students received top priority for limited oral presentation slots and also received a gift certificate to the UNM Bookstore. CONGRATULATIONS!
Eva Angeli, MS III (Third Year Medical Student), School of Medicine
Emergency contraception in the Emergency Department: A survey of New Mexico hospitals
E. Buchen, MD, E. Angeli, MS III, E. Espey, MD, J. Ogburn, MD, L. Leeman, MD
Objectives: To assess the availability of, and provider knowledge about, emergency contraception (EC) in New Mexico emergency departments (ED), especially in the setting of sexual assault. Background: Across the United States, sexual assault accounts for an estimated 25,000 pregnancies each year; of these pregnancies, 22,000 could be prevented with timely use of EC. In 2003, the New Mexico legislature passed a law requiring emergency departments to offer and provide EC to sexual assault survivors. However, there has been no assessment of the extent to which this requirement is followed in individual EDs. Methods: We visited 33 of the 38 full service EDs in New Mexico. At each facility, a standard interview was conducted with a physician, a nurse, and a clerk to determine the ED’s policies about EC, as well as staff knowledge about EC provision. Results: Overall, 63% of staff members reported that EC was routinely offered to sexual assault survivors. The remainder of responses indicated that hospitals provided EC on an individual basis according to physician preference or referred the patient to another provider. In the case of consensual unprotected sex, only 20% of nurses and physicians reported that EC was routinely provided. Fewer than 5% of respondents were aware of the state law requiring that EC be offered to sexual assault survivors. Conclusion: Since over a third of ED providers do not routinely dispense EC to victims of sexual assault, New Mexico women would benefit from more effective dissemination of the state statute regarding EC for sexual assault survivors, which should lead to inclusion of EC provision in ED protocols. Additionally, in the face of the current epidemic of unintended pregnancy in the U.S., the provision of EC should be considered an emergency medical service regardless of the setting in which unprotected sex occurred.
Jana Berlin, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences
Chondritic meteorites and their components: Records of processes in the solar nebula
Chondritic meteorites (chondrites) come to Earth from bodies in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. They are the oldest solar system materials and record processes that happened in the solar nebula 4.6 billion years ago, before the planets formed. The two major components of chondrites are chondrules and matrix. Chondrules are small igneous spherules (Fig. 1) which crystallized from molten droplets after a rapid heating event. Matrix (Fig. 1) is the fine-grained material adjacent to chondrules. I am studying the chemical relationship between chondrules and matrix to help elucidate the mechanism that formed chondrules. This mechanism is still an active debate and numerous models have been proposed over the past decades. A popular hypothesis is the X-wind model in which chondrules were melted close to the Sun and then got transported outwards to mix and accrete with matrix material in cooler regions of the solar nebula. Other scientists argue that chondrules and matrix were formed in the same nebular region by shock waves that originated from gravitational instabilities caused by the formation of Jupiter. A proposed complementary chemical relationship between chondrules and matrix has been used as an argument that provides strong support for the shock wave model. The objective of my study is to collect more precise data on chondrules and matrix in different chondrite types to test whether or not a complementary chemical relationship exists. And indeed, my data show that while the chemical composition of each component taken separately is significantly different from solar element abundances, when chondrules and matrix are added together, their composition closely resembles that of the sun. I will discuss additional findings that must be considered in chondrule formation and solar nebula models, because chemical data alone do not tell the whole story.
Heather Campbell, Ph.D. Candidate, College of Pharmacy
An Assessment of the Effects of Patient Information Handbooks in Clinical Trials
BACKGROUND: Patients considering clinical trial enrollment often do not fully understand clinical trials. The Veterans Affairs (VA) Cooperative Studies Program Pharmacy Coordinating Center (CRPCC) developed a patient clinical trials information booklet. The primary objective of this study was to determine how the booklet affected knowledge and attitudes regarding clinical trials. We also assessed knowledge retention.
METHODS: People waiting at outpatient hospital clinics were approached. Participants were eligible if they were non-institutionalized, at least eighteen years old, and able to read English. Subjects were randomized to control and treatment conditions (complete a questionnaire versus read our booklet, then complete a questionnaire). The questionnaire assessed knowledge and attitudes about clinical trials. To evaluate knowledge retention, a sample of the treatment group was contacted by telephone 6 to 12 weeks later. We used hierarchical regression analysis with the mean of the likelihood of participation scores as the dependent variable and perception of understanding, perceived risk of clinical trial participation, education group, and mean total knowledge as predictor variables. Age, gender, and ethnicity were entered as control variables into each regression equation.
RESULTS: Knowledge scores were significantly higher in the treatment group (84.5% 1.7% vs. 64.4% 4.3%, P<0.001). At an average of 64.5 days later, knowledge was lower (74.0% 3.3% vs. 84.5% 1.7%, P<0.001), but still remained higher than the control group (P<0.001). Hierarchical regression analysis revealed perceived risk of trial participation was negatively associated with trial participation, knowledge was positively associated with trial participation, knowledge was negatively associated with perceived risk of trial participation, and knowledge was positively associated with perceived understanding. CONCLUSIONS: The information booklet increased participant knowledge about clinical trials; this knowledge was retained 6 to 12 weeks. Patients considering enrollment in clinical trials may benefit from an information booklet, thus improving the informed consent process.
Soumia Dhar, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Communication and Journalism
A Quantitative Review of President Bush’s March 2006 Visit to South
Asia
This study tested whether a de-hyphenated approach of the US government towards the governments of India and Pakistan is desirable, after President Bush’s 2006 visit to the two countries. A content analysis of archival data from the official websites of the two governments was conducted; routinized generic frames in media discourse were used as coding categories. Descriptive statistical techniques of frequency and percentage analysis, and chi-square goodness-of-fit test were used for data analysis. The results indicate that for India conflict and for Pakistan diplomacy are important issues currently, thus insinuating the necessity for the US government to use de-hyphenation in its South-Asia policy.
Peggy Hulick, Ph.D. Candidate, Special Education Program, College of Education
Portfolio Assessment for Young Children with Autism
Assessment provides information that allows educators to evaluate if their instruction is appropriate, meaningful and improving learning for students. It is the tool which shows us whether or not our instructional approach is working or in need of modification. It is an ongoing process from the beginning of the school year to the last day of class. Students with autism spectrum disorders have been traditionally assessed using norm referenced tests. These tests do not accurately demonstrate the actual learning of these students. Student based portfolio assessment is a method that can be utilized to show progress for students across the school year. This project assessed the effectiveness of the use of portfolio assessment with young students with autism spectrum disorders. The use of portfolio assessment provided a holistic and accurate picture of the students and their growth. This resulted in teachers, families, and the community viewing individuals with autism spectrum disorders as true effective learners. It also resulted in higher expectations for current and future learning.
Sara Jamieson, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Anthropology
Wayuuwomen's initiation rituals in Maracaibo, Venezuela
Sara Jamieson’s dissertation research focuses on Wayuu women’s initiation rituals in the city of Maracaibo, Venezuela. The Wayuu are currently the largest indigenous population in Venezuela,. While many Wayuu live in rural areas, large numbers of Wayuu people are moving to urban centers for employment. This study documents the changes in form and meaning the puberty ritual has undergone in this urban context, as well as the contemporary role the rite has assumed as an expression of ethnic identity for Wayuu. Her research looks at how over the course of 2005-6 urban Wayuu families are reviving the rite and modifying it in interesting ways to fit with aspects of urban life. Through interviews, life histories, and her own observations of the rituals themselves, she shows how senior female family leaders have revived this event in ways that dovetail with the urban school system and turned it into a rite that encourages their daughters’ further education in various professions. These changes are contextualized within the larger political context of Venezuela. Sara connects these changes to the fact that indigenous peoples have recently been granted constitutional recognition under the Chavez administration. Moving out from the family focus, she explores how urban Wayuu leaders are currently talking about the girls’ puberty rite in the context of debating what it means to be Wayuu. Through interview data and a discussion of several public events she looks at the ways these leaders are promoting the rite as integral to the preservation of Wayuu tradition.
Kris Kirschbaum, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Communication and Journalism
Analysis of a Measurement Model used in a Structural Model
To Predict Conflict Management Styles across National and Cultural Groups
The purpose of the current study was to investigate the accuracy of an instrument used to predict conflict management style in different national groups. Although accurate translations and back-translation of words was part of the data collection process, this study seeks to determine if simple translation provides an accurate scale to assess underlying structures that may differ from culture to culture. The major findings of the current study are as follows: (a) data collected from U.S. and Japanese respondents did not demonstrate similar good model fit for the measurement model portion predicting integrative conflict management style; (b) there is evidence that conflict as a concept may be approached differently in the two national groups suggesting a universal instrument may not accurately measure structures of conflict management style across cultures.
W. Azul La Luz B., Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Sociology
Addiction, Death, and Economic Development in Northern New Mexico: The Epidemiological Paradox of a “Landed” Lumpen Proletariat
Based on personal field observation and ethnographic research, the presentation will focus on drug-related, real-life issues within one community in Northern New Mexican using an extension of a post-Marxist theoretical perspective as analytic tools. Historical materialism is used to analyze the loss of self-sufficiency through decimation of land ownership, loss of communal agrarian production, loss of barter systems, and subjugation to a capitalist / religion driven wage subsistence. It also examines inculcation of false consciousness. Evidence seems to indicate that an underground economy based on, and sustained by, illicit drug trafficking assisted this economic transition in means of production and has resulted in the creation of a landed lumpen proletariat, which is an epidemiological paradox since lumpen proletarians by definition are no real estate or substantial holding of any kind. The principal consequences of the growth of an economy built on drug trafficking maybe concurrent, inter-generational, illicit drug use, virtually no evidence of “maturing out,” and generation of the highest per capita rates of heroin addiction, and accidental drug overdose in the entire United States. These structural conditions may have also led to epidemic levels of older user accidental, illicit drug overdoses that may not be accidental occurrences at all, but rather may actually be anomic suicide. Future systemic changes are recommended, as is future research.