Social Sciences – Page 21 – UROP Spring Symposium 2021

Social Sciences

NeuroInsight: A novel toolbox to study the mechanisms of epileptic seizures

Millions of Americans suffer from epileptic seizures that result in a temporary loss of consciousness. The majority of our understanding of neural dynamics during seizures is based on extracellular recordings, with intracellular neuronal recordings not yet possible in patients. Here, we create a toolbox – called NeuroInsight – that can allow for the decoding of estimated intracellular potentials based only on extracellular single neuron recordings. NeuroInsight’s algorithms can approximate the intracellular membrane potential of neurons and identify periods of excessive depolarization that may correlate with increased seizure likelihood. We streamline the analysis process by including multiple built in visualization tools. Furthermore, the isolation quality of sorted single units can be evaluated with two included metrics. This novel toolbox has the promise to be an important resource for both clinicians and researchers studying the mechanisms of multiple forms of epilepsy.

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The evolution of bone shape in chimpanzees and gorillas

One important factor in understanding how locomotor behavior and anatomy interact is bone shape. While the effects of interspecies locomotor differences on bone shape are understood, less is known about the effects of locomotor changes across an individual’s lifetime on bone shape. This study seeks to understand the effects of locomotor changes across lifespans of non-human apes on bone shape. We predict that bone cross sections will be rounder in shape during periods of high arboreal locomotion, because bones are stressed along multiple axes when climbing, while bones will be more elliptical in shape during periods of high terrestrial locomotion, because movement will be mostly along a forward-moving axis. Cross sectional bone data was collected from the Hamann-Todd Osteological Collection and the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology. The femur, humerus, radius, and tibia of Pan troglodytes (n=70), Gorilla gorilla (n=46), and Pongo (n=22) were scanned at the 25%, 50%, and 75% bone lengths using a peripheral quantitative computed tomography (pQCT) scanner. Images were analyzed using BoneJ and ImageJ to collect cross-sectional properties and linear distances along the longest and shortest cross-sectional axes. Data was analyzed using ANCOVAs to test differences in linear measurements across species at different ages. Linear regressions will also be used to assess differences in patterns of change throughout lifetimes. The study is ongoing and data is still being collected, so no results have been found yet. This study will increase our understanding of bone’s responsiveness to locomotion across development and can be applied to the discovery of locomotor patterns of fossil apes.

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Variances in nipple contact and weaning in wild geladas

Weaning, the gradual process of changing an infant’s diet from breastmilk to other sources of nutrition, is an important process in mammals. Specifically, the age at weaning can affect early development as it may reflect maternal investment. However, in wild animals it can be difficult to determine an exact age at weaning. We use four different measures to determine the age at weaning in a wild species of monkeys, geladas (Theropithecus gelada), and we examine if these measures correlate with each other. We will also test for effects of certain variables, such as maternal parity and infant sex. The four measures are: the last date of nipple contact (collected via adlib data), the change in frequency of nipple contact (determined via focal observations), the date of the mother’s return to cycling (collected via adlib data), and the date of the mother’s next conception (determined by the next infant’s date of birth). So far, our data indicates that male infants remain in nipple contact longer than female infants. This research will have implications for infant growth and development and can even provide insights into human nursing.

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Supporting Critical Consciousness: Links between Parental/Teacher Support and Youth Critical Action

Despite burgeoning research on critical consciousness, little is known about the factors that contribute to critical action – one of its three components (Diemer et al., 2020). Critical consciousness consists of critical reflection (the ability to question the systems and structures that generate social injustices), critical motivation (the desire and commitment to address social injustices), and critical action (taking measures to create change, whether individually or collectively, in order to address perceived injustices) (Diemer et al., 2016). Since little attention has been paid to critical action, and given its links to desired developmental outcomes (Diemer et al., 2020), this study takes a more in-depth look into critical action and how adult support within youth organizing groups supports engagement in critical action. Data for this study come from a sample of adolescents, specifically Black, Latinx, and other youth of color from low socioeconomic backgrounds. The sample is also geographically diverse, with participants coming from states like New York, New Jersey, California, Illinois, and Pennsylvania. Participants completed pen and paper surveys with a series of questions about their critical consciousness, experiences in youth organizing, and other developmental competencies. We hypothesize that a positive correlation exists between parental/teacher support and critical action because students are able to see the potential they hold with the help of mentors in the learning environment and at home. Findings highlight the significance for learning spaces such as universities and homes to support critical pedagogy in order to encourage youth to challenge and take action against perceived injustices in their community. With support from adults, youth is given the opportunity to engage in environments surrounded by meaningful discourse about social injustices, thus fostering critical action.

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K-12 Science Pedagogy Research and Development: Cognitive Science Focus

In the United States, nearly half of students in the 2014 Gallup Student Poll report being either not engaged (28%) or actively disengaged (19%) in school in a survey completed by 825,000 students. My findings will directly impact how Moonshot Labs designs its lesson plans, pedagogical processes, and teacher training programs. The question I am working towards answering is what are some critical issues children face when learning or when developing mastery behavior?; My research perspective is through the lens of cognitive science and seeing how kids learn and mastery behavior development. At the start of every week, I review a minimum of 12 research articles to gauge credibility, relevancy, and insights. I then select the top 4-5 research papers I’d like to examine for the week. So far, I have collected all this information to create a literature review. Through my research, I found that there are many factors that contribute to a child’s development and early learning. I was able to categorize factors into four main groups: cognitive development, intellectual habits, social emotional development, and overall health. It is important to note that though these concepts are separated, each aspect enables or assists learning and development in the others. The best way to improve the way students learn in a classroom is to create solutions that address these factors. My research hopes to analyze the growing body of research on K-12 pedagogy, and see how this research can be used to maximize student learning. With the collaboration of my peers, we will be combining various perspectives (cognitive science with media and teacher training)””this project will contribute to possibly improving the way students learn.

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K-12 Science Pedagogy Research and Development

The current state of the learning crisis has limited the potential of both teachers and students all around the world, but at the root of the crisis, many teachers are not being put through the adequate training or have the proper motivation. Current models of teaching quality over years of experience show that teaching quality can become stagnant or even worsen during the later points of their careers. Many studies from U.S. and European schools K-12 have looked at the impact on student outcomes through means of specific teacher qualifications, motivational factors, and classroom practices, but these studies are overly inconclusive on a unified and holistic approach for teacher reform. In this study, we review existing literature to determine what types of training and resources will make a good teacher and what level of support that teachers need. This particular project intends to give insights into reformulating the current conceptions, structure, and content surrounding teacher training and the corresponding classroom practice in order to improve the current climate of professional development in school systems. In addressing the teaching crisis, we focus on reforming teacher education programs for certain qualifications and characteristics and instilling passion and intrinsic motivation to both educators and students. Answering how to give teachers the proper training, support, and feedback at all points in their career will ultimately allow them to yield successful student outcomes through higher levels of engagement, retention, and motivation towards the curriculum. Overall, teacher development and commitment are effective steps yet very broad topics, but a unified paper on investigating the role of active learning, motivational factors, and pedagogical knowledge in effective training programs will prove very beneficial for effective classroom strategies.

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K-12 Science Pedagogy Research and Development

There is a great disconnect between existing research and policy makers who determine the curriculums in schools. Rather than using the traditional approach of a single, summative benchmark that prohibits students from accessing certain opportunities, we should be focusing more on formative ways of assessing students, and incorporating check-ins while kids are learning in order to benefit both instructors and students. This study aims to determine how cognitive science can inform the learning of students below the age of 10, as well as what factors influence their mastery behavior development. Specifically, it investigates how to best assess student success as well as how to help young students who are struggling to rebound from failure due to lack of equitable support in their classrooms and institutions. The methodology for this research includes compiling papers on cognitive processes and educational systems and extrapolating their central concepts to identify core education problems and effective learning methodologies. The goal of this investigation is to create feasible solutions that address student learning, teacher readiness, and the learning crisis. Special attention was given to longitudinal studies with participant sample sizes over 1000 for reliability. The research suggests that feedback, in the form of formative assessment, is one of the best tools for improving student understanding of material and long-term memory retention, regardless of whether the student completed a task incorrectly prior to receiving feedback. It can be used as diagnostic data to adjust and differentiate both instruction and learning. On this basis, the concepts of feedback and formative assessment should be taken into account when designing instruction methods that are attuned to success.

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The Orgasm Gap: Demographic Differences in Sexuality and Awareness

Fueled by the earlier research of Terri Conley and Verena Klien regarding the topic, this project was undertaken to investigate the psychological and social linkage between knowledge of the orgasm gap and generational and gender demographics. To investigate such, a Qalitrics survey of 15-20 qualitative and quantitative questions was distributed to a sample of college-aged heterosexual males and females (N=100) in the United States; using platforms such as Reddit, Instagram, and Snapchat. Upon distribution of said survey, a statistical review will be run using appropriate software; analyzing data for significant correlation between awareness of the Orgasm Gap and certain demographic markers. Overall, we aim to answer the question, “To what extent does gender and demographic impact knowledge of the Orgasm Gap? While the study is currently in its early stages; we anticipate proceeding to an analysis of the data and conclusionary findings shortly. From this, we project that we will quantify conclusions regarding knowledge of gender differences involving orgasm on a physical, psychological, and social level; using demographic markers to inform such findings. Overall, the results of this study have the capability of making poignant and long overdue statements regarding the knowledge of the Orgasm Gap; and more broadly, of sexual health research in society and academia.

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The Nubian Earth Odyssey

Many students in the world are unfamiliar with the Nubian Empire: a complex and intelligent empire with flourishing individuals whose heritage, tradition, and culture are still carried on today. It is important that students learn about this society, culture, history, and people in order to have empathy for people who are different from them. As a result, the Nubian Odyssey project aims to create a robust learning experience in which to present Nubian history and culture in a way that is engaging and accessible to middle school and high school students and teachers worldwide. This is obtained through a mentored, online website that allows for “correspondents” to share their experience with students to provide a window into their lives and a mirror for the students to relate this knowledge back to their own lives. In order to assemble this website and achieve the Odyssey’s goals it is necessary to compile educational resources that would support teachers as they embark on the Odyssey with their students. It is also necessary to communicate with correspondents and put reports together for students to engage with and read. As a result of this work students will be provided with a website that helps them learn about Nubian society, relate and connect with others, and develop empathy toward those who have different life experiences. Teachers will also be provided with many resources that can be used in conjunction with the “correspondents'” reports to expand one’s view of Nubia. The Nubian Odyssey will be a part of a larger university wide Humanities Collaboratory Grant that seeks to decolonize archaeology and invites others to join in learning about Nubia.

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Investigating the exposure of nonhuman primates on an elevational gradient to contemporary climate change

My research investigates the impacts of anthropogenic climate change on primates and their environments. To accomplish this, I compiled fourteen years of weather data from the Cabang Panti Research Station in Gunung Palung National Park, Indonesia. Specifically, I used R computing software to organize, analyze, and visualize trends in temperature and precipitation over time. Results have shown upward trends in average temperature and corresponding increases in precipitation, although the magnitude of these trends differs across forest types. Integrating these results with additional datasets on primate abundance and food availability will be valuable for anthropological and ecological studies, as well as primate conservation.

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