After traveling to Spain to study abroad, I noticed a large amount of shops selling goods related to Japanese anime, which helped inspire the topic of my honors thesis. In this paper, the cultural impact of Japanese animation and comics on Spain is explored. The history/origin of anime in Spain, the early reception of these works in Spain, the importance of the anime fandom, the intersection between Spanish and Japanese culture in anime and anime-inspired films, and the positive representation of Spain in these works are all relevant topics that constitute the argument of this document. Sources in both English and Spanish are utilized.This paper explores the surprising connections between the two countries. The way in which their cultures interact through the consumption of this form of media was quite fascinating to look into.

The overthrow of Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu in 1989 uncovered extreme and disturbing environmental deprivation that took place in Romanian orphanages from 1965 to 1989, due to Decree 770, a public policy implemented to increase birth rates and human capital. This historical tragedy provides a rare window into the development of children who experienced profound deprivation during a critical period of attachment formation. An examination of existing research on Romanian orphans’ past physiological functioning, attachment, language development, and attention and learning informs the research questions of the present study. Qualitative methodology will be utilized to explore former Romanian orphans’ psychosocial development of intimacy and generativity across early and middle adulthood. A semi-structured interview is proposed here with four distinct sections: inquiring about platonic and romantic intimacy, as well as kin and non-kin generativity. Each interview question was crafted to reflect and capture Erikson’s (1950) central crises during adulthood. Between twenty to thirty former Romanian orphans will be interviewed, or until saturation of themes is reached. A thematic analysis approach will be applied, where common patterns or ideas will be identified, analyzed, and interpreted.

Marine fisheries are a globally significant source of economic and food security, however high bycatch rates can threaten marine biodiversity putting both ecosystems and fisheries at risk for degradation. Although bycatch reduction technologies exist that can reduce the uptake of bycatch without significantly impacting target catch, bycatch rates remain high. To understand the factors that affect fishers’ change readiness we reviewed 15 interview-based studies assessing fishers perspectives on bycatch and bycatch reduction strategies. In sum, the perspectives of 1,991 fishers were assessed in these studies across 10 different countries from 2006-2023. One key finding that arose was the potential importance of agency. This factor closely relates to change readiness and was identified as an essential component for effective bycatch reduction. Additionally, it was discovered that the kind of proposed strategy is important. Bycatch reduction methods that are equally effective in capturing target catch while reducing non-target catch and are accessible are more likely to have favorable responses from fishers. Agency and change readiness are interconnected and may be influenced by a variety of factors such as income, education, experience, and beliefs/values. Incentives and education/engagement programs may be useful in fostering fishers’ willingness for change and improving the efficacy of bycatch reduction strategies.

This thesis/creative project involved writing a collection of creative nonfiction essays and building a website to reflect on my experiences traveling through Spain in the summer of 2023, for both a study abroad program and on my own. There are a total of nine essays in this current collection, along with a tenth introductory essay. They reflect the chronological order of my travels to Madrid, Sevilla, Granada, Valencia, Barcelona, and Lisbon, concluding with an essay written about my return to Phoenix, Arizona. The goal of this project was to not only personally reflect on what I learned while in these various places, but also to share these experiences with a wider audience in the digital world. I plan to continue adding essays to this website, using it as a "living document" for my future travels, and as a place for further reflection.

Time restricted eating (TRE) is an increasingly popular diet strategy that has shown promise for weight loss and improving metabolic health. The impact of TRE on bone health has not been extensively studied, and the goal of this experiment is to provide more insight into this subject. 32 10-week old female mice were randomly assigned to 4 groups (n = 8). These included low fat diet fed ad-libitum, low fat time restricted feeding (TRF), high fat diet fed ad-libitum, and high fat TRF. The mice adhered to these diets for 9 weeks, with the TRF groups having access to food for 8 hours per day until the sacrifice. At nine weeks, the TRF mice had significantly lowered body weight, improved body composition, and a lower fasting blood glucose. The TRF groups also experienced significant improvements in the trabecular bone density of the tibia, femur, and L3 vertebral body. This was found alongside reductions in osteoclast count and activity in the TRF mice. When compared to a baseline group of 10-week old mice, it was found that the TRF group had significantly less bone loss relative to the ad-libitum fed mice. Improvements in metabolic health, gut barrier function, and inflammation may have all contributed to the observed improvements in bone health. These results reveal a promising and previously unrecognized dietary tool to improve bone health and counteract age-related bone loss.

Oral health encompasses a wide variety of conditions with two of the primary conditions being enamel degradation and periodontal disease. These ailments are intertwined and are known to be prevented by a combination of good oral hygiene and a balanced diet. Despite this, incidence rates of oral health conditions in both high and low-and-middle income countries remain high. Periodontal disease prevention is of particular relevance due to its correlation with cardiovascular disease. One highly popular diet that could serve as an alternative strategy in combatting these oral health conditions is intermittent fasting. Intermittent fasting has shown promise in decreasing systemic inflammation and blood glucose levels, both of which are correlated with periodontal disease and enamel degradation. To explore this relationship between intermittent fasting and oral health a 9-week experimental protocol with 4 randomly established groups was completed. These groups included ad libitum high and low-fat groups, and time restricted feeding high and low-fat groups. After the 9-week protocol the mice were sacrificed, and their intact jaws and gingiva tissue were isolated. Three primary methods were used to quantify the effects of intermittent fasting on oral health: comparing the enamel density between groups, comparing the alveolar bone recession between groups, and comparing the gene expression of periodontal disease markers between groups. Body composition and fasting blood glucose levels of the mice were also quantified. We found that the fasting groups had lower average fasting blood glucose levels and maintained a more physiologically ideal body composition. Despite this, the oral health analyses did not have any consistent significant results. The results of this study suggest that despite intermittent fasting’s role in blood glucose levels and body composition regulation, it has minimal effects on enamel degradation and periodontal disease development.

This thesis focuses on the growing and pressing issue of Holocaust denial, explicitly focusing on the relationship between the Republic of North Macedonia and Bulgaria and the conflicting perspectives of each country. My hope is that this thesis will guide readers through a historical study of the relationship between the now present-day Republic of North Macedonia and Bulgaria and examine the ongoing issue of Holocaust denial between the two countries.

This thesis addresses the opportunity for Psych for All to transform its intentions into impact throughout the Psychology Department, and later onto the greater Arizona State University campus and beyond. Psych for All is made up of both a faculty and student committee, with the student committee called Psych for All and the faculty committee being known as Excellence, Access, and Inclusion: Psych for All. The main focus will be on how the committee members’ ideas can transform into tangible initiatives, and how a more structured committee will produce greater results. This transformation will be analyzed using Bolman and Deal’s four frames as presented in their book, Reframing Organizations. The four frames consist of human resource, structural, political, and symbolic. The utilization of each frame will aid in the impact and organizational functioning of Psych for All. The solutions presented in this paper include improving the culture within the committee, shifting the management of funds, assigning clear tasks, and strengthening the relationship between the faculty and student committees. Each of these solutions reflects a different Bolman and Deal Frame, and they all aim to improve the Psych for All committees. Through the implementation of these solutions, Psych for All will be able to effectively operate as an organization and create powerful initiatives impacting the lives of students. This process has been extremely enriching, and I am excited to have been given the opportunity to help enrich an organization I care deeply for. It is my goal that this analysis will aid Psych for All in their future initiatives and impact.

The project was to develop a US GAAP and IFRS based financial reporting software application. The application will reference the relevant codification under US GAAP or IFRS accounting standards and provide the user with a step-by-step guide to recording technical accounting entries dictated under the relevant codification or standard. The software solves for the need to hire external expertise to perform such tasks. Through a series of relevant inputs, in-house accounting staff (or students) are afforded the opportunity to methodically work through the accounting topic or arrangement with reference to the codification and accounting standards. The software provides the final deliverables generally expected for financial reporting.