Volume 6, No. 1, 2022

Permanent URI for this collection

https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11868/3875

Browse

Recent Submissions

Now showing 1 - 7 of 7
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Editor's Note
    (College of Natural and Health Sciences, The University of Tampa, 2022-12) Deneault, Dr. Ethan
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Utilization of Amateur Astronomy for Photometric Data
    (Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry, and Physics, University of Tampa, 2022-12) Argentieri, Nick; Ethan Deneault
    This project is an assessment of the effectiveness an 8 inch telescope and a mirrorless camera to obtain photometric data and the plausibility of using the equipment available to physics students at the University of Tampa for measuring variable star and transiting exoplanet light curves. Although the initial goals of this project were not realized, we were able to use the telescope for astrophotography.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Reducing Stress Among College Students: Mindfulness Meditation Versus Adult Coloring
    (Department of Psychology, University of Tampa, 2022-12) Font, Pamela; DeCosta, Hannah; Erica K. Yuen
    College students report a wide variety of stressors including academic diffculties, uncertainty about future career plans, confict with roommates, family pressure, and fnancial worries (Aselton, 2012). It is important to research not only stress reduction interventions for college students, but also effective ways to disseminate these programs to students, especially given how busy students are. The purpose of this study was to compare a brief 2-week peer-delivered mindfulness meditation intervention with an adult coloring intervention and a control condition that received general stress reduction tips. Participants were randomly assigned to an experimental condition (mindfulness meditation or adult-coloring) or the control condition (general stress reduction tips). Participants’ levels of stress, psychological distress, anxiety, and mindfulness were measured via pre-and post-treatment assessments (online self-report surveys). All interactions with participants were conducted remotely, through Zoom and email. Participants were 74 General Psychology students who enrolled via Sona Systems, a participant pool management system, as part of their class participation. Results found that all interventions were equally benefcial in reducing stress and psychological distress among college students. Both control and mindfulness conditions showed significant decreases in anxiety compared to the adult coloring condition. Contrary to expectations, the control condition showed significant increases in mindfulness compared to the adult coloring and mindfulness conditions. Mindfulness meditation, adult coloring, and psychoeducation all show the potential to be effective in helping college students manage their stress.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Examining the First Ultra-Compact Dwarf with a Resolved Extended Halo
    (Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry, and Physics, University of Tampa, 2022-12) Jones, Allison; Denija Crnojevic
    Ultra-compact dwarf galaxies are a class of compact galaxies and are among the densest stellar systems in the Universe (Seth et al. , 2014). Since these ultra-compact dwarfs (UCDs) have only been discovered in the last two decades, their formation is still unknown Pfeffer et al. (2014). One hypothesis for their formation, the motive behind this research, is that UCD originate as Nuclear Star Clusters (NSCs) in the central regions of low-mass galaxies, and they develop into these ultra-compact objects after gravitational interaction with a more massive galaxy (Evstigneeva et al. , 2007). In order to investigate whether or not this hypothesis is true, the first step is to determine if these UCDs have any characteristics of a NSC. The UCD that we focused on throughout this research is CenA-MM-UCD1, which lies in the halo of its host galaxy Centaurus A. CenA-MM-UCD1 was selected for further study because it is the first ultra-compact dwarf that has a resolved extended halo. This is a sign that this galaxy could be in a state of disruption from its host galaxy and, based on our hypothesis, could be transitioning from a NSC to a UCD. Throughout this study of CenA-MM-UCD1, we use images from the Hubble Space Telescope to determine if our hypothesis is true.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Busyness and Cognition in Undergraduate Students: End-of-Semester versus Beginning-of-Semester Cognitive Performance
    (Department of Psychology, University of Tampa, 2022-12) Mryczko, Danusia; Brown, Tina; Sara B. Festini
    Students frequently report feeling more stress at the end-of-the-semester versus the beginning-of-the-semester (Kofman et al., 2006). Whether this results in worse cognition has not been thoroughly investigated. The current study measured three types of cognition, including long-term memory, working memory, and executive functioning. We assessed whether undergraduates’ stress and busyness levels and cognitive performance was different between the end of the Fall 2020 and beginning of the Spring 2021 semester. Contrary to the hypotheses, no significant point-in-semester differences were found in undergraduates’ busyness or stress levels at the beginning versus end of the semester. Mixed results were observed for cognitive performance, such that no significant differences were found for picture recall, word recall, picture recognition or letter number sequencing. Performance on the verbal fluency category task and the backward digit span task were found to approach significance, with marginally better performance at the end of the semester. Finally, word recognition was significantly better at the end of the semester, whereas verbal fluency, given a letter cue, was significantly worse at the end of the semester. Therefore, given the lack of observed busyness and stress differences, it is unlikely that busyness and stress are driving differences in students’ cognition. Future research is needed to determine if the observed cognitive differences are reliable and to assess additional mechanisms.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Working Memory Deficits in Alzheimer’s Disease
    (Department of Psychology, University of Tampa, 2022-12) Rodriguez, Alexandra M.; Sara B. Festini
    Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder in which patients demonstrate cognitive deficits, especially deficiencies in long-term memory. However, working memory (WM) impairments can also be observed in Alzheimer’s disease, yet they are not as clearly defined as other long-term memory deficits. Here, neuropsychological evidence regarding WM deficits in patients with AD is evaluated, utilizing the WM model proposed by Baddeley and Hitch. Impairments in the central executive component have been the most documented early WM impairments seen among AD patients. The phonological loop seems to remain intact in earlier stages of the disorder but impairments in the ability to temporarily maintain and internally rehearse verbal information progress with disease severity. Deficits in the visuospatial sketchpad have been observed among patients with AD, although more research is needed for further distinction of visual and spatial processing impairments. Finally, the inability to strategically organize and integrate multimodal information is characteristic of impairments associated with the episodic buffer in AD patients. Overall, this review demonstrates that WM deficits in AD differ depending on disease severity, making WM performance a potentially valuable clinical marker. By defining the WM deficits associated with AD, clinical distinctions are able to be made between AD and other memory-related disorders, which may allow for more comprehensive treatment plans and coping strategies for patients.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Young Adults’ Attitudes Towards Marijuana Use
    (Department of Public Health, University of Tampa,, 2022-12) Strauss, Abigail; Mary Martinasek
    The purpose of this study is to explore young adults’ attitudes and beliefs about marijuana use.

Acta Spartae is the undergraduate journal of sciences and mathematics at The University of Tampa, and is designed to recognize and promote the vibrant undergraduate research community at UT by providing a forum for the dissemination of research and ideas produced at the University.

© 2022 University of Tampa and individual contributors. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author(s), except as stated below. Single copies of individual articles may be made for private study or research. Copies may be made for classroom use provided that such copies are not made or distributed for profit and that they contain this copyright notice. Individual articles so marked are made available through Creative Commons Attribution International 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike International 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike International 4.0 or Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication licenses. Those licenses take precedence over the generic copyright declaration above.