Tag: Alexana Hickmott

Importance of Grand Collection to undergraduate research

Presenter(s): Kate Jones

Faculty Mentor(s): Frances White & Alexana Hickmott

Poster 83

Session: Social Sciences & Humanities

Natural history collections allow researchers to answer questions using the large amount of data available from specimens housed in those collections. Bones or osteological specimens allow for investigations of the shape, function and movement of a particular species. With good information or provenance about the lives each specimen, detailed investigations can be undertaken. Collections, such as the Grand Collection housed in the University of Oregon Primate Osteology Lab, offer researchers the ability to study remains of primates after death. The Grand Collection was moved in 2010 and has over 300 specimens allowing for investigations covering a wealth of topics, including the morphology of primate hands and cranial symmetry, all of which were conducted primarily by undergraduate researchers. From the provenance information about each specimens before death, variables of the specimen’s life may be attached to information present in the bones. The natural and biological history collection found in the Grand Collection gives students the opportunity to learn aspects of curatorial maintenance and to prepare, clean, sort, identify, catalogue and measure specimens in the Grand Collection. These opportunities provide students with hands-on experiences in a biological laboratory and skills relevant to collection management, bone identification, and zoological educational experiences, which is invaluable in future scientific and biological pursuits. Overall, osteology laboratories create a safe and research-geared environment for researchers investigating a variety of questions.

A review of Normative Male Alexithymia literature

Presenter(s): Katherine Jones—Anthropology

Faculty Mentor(s): Alexana Hickmott, Frances White

Session: Prerecorded Poster Presentation

Recently, male roles within the nuclear family structure have begun to shift, and there has been increased interest in Normative Male Alexithymia (NMA) . NMA refers to the inability of men to put emotions into words . It has been found to result from the pressure to restrict emotional expression from a young age to align with traditional masculine gender roles in Western countries . Emotions which signal vulnerability and fragility are suppressed, namely fear and sadness, as well as attachment emotions such as affection and fondness . Men who have NMA often have significant difficulty describing their emotions even when they are in severe distress, lack immediate bodily experience of emotion, or respond to their feelings of vulnerability with aggression . A review of available literature investigating the social consequences of NMA reveals that there is a negative relationship between NMA and relationship satisfaction and communication quality . There is also a positive relationship between NMA and fear of intimacy . There may also be significant correlations between NMA and low relationship satisfaction in platonic as well as romantic relationships, emotional empathy, or a lack of willingness to utilize mental health and medical services . Most studies of NMA acknowledge that NMA is a recent societal phenomenon and have only just begun to examine and understand its importance . As the modern family shifts and men are expected to take on increasingly nurturing roles, they need the ability to recognize, effectively communicate, and process their emotions .