Proceedings of the Fifth Undergraduate Research Conference in Mechanics

The Undergraduate Research Conference in Mechanics is open to all UIUC undergraduates pursuing independent and faculty-supervised research on any topic in the mechanical sciences. The conference is sponsored by the UIUC Department of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics and the Richard G. and Sandra S. Carlson Fund. The papers in this volume were presented on April 25, 2003, at the University of Illinois at the Fifth Undergraduate Research Conference in Mechanics. The conference was organized by Prof. Kimberly M. Hill and Prof. James W. Phillips. The editor wishes to thank all the faculty members from various departments who advised the individual students and aided in the writing of these papers. ??Eric N. Brown (Ph.D. 2003), Editor. The Theoretical and Applied Mechanics department awards prizes to recognize excellent projects and presentations. The recipients of the 2003 award for undergraduate research are Clarence E. Dienberg and Stephanie E. Ott-Monsivais.published or submitted for publicationis not peer reviewe

Women’s orgasm and its relationship with sexual satisfaction and well-being

Purpose of review: women’s orgasms have been subject to controversial discussions among scholars throughout history. Even today, narratives of women’s orgasm being complicated or less important (cp. to men’s) for their sexual functioning and satisfaction are prevailing and reflected in gendered sexual scripts. This review aims to compile evidence for the relationship between orgasm and sexual well-being in women. We consider orgasm’s role in women’s sexual pleasure, sexual satisfaction, and desire in the context of both casual and committed sexual encounters. Recent findings: substantial evidence supports a significant link between orgasm and sexual pleasure, satisfaction, and desire in women. Orgasm has been identified as an important factor in predicting relational satisfaction as well as positive outcomes of casual sex. For instance, orgasming during casual sex completely accounts for the persistent gender differences researchers have observed in emotional and evaluative responses to casual encounters. Summary: as we cover in this review, there is no shortage of research demonstrating the myriad of favorable physical, psychological, and interpersonal associations with women’s orgasms across relational and sexual contexts. Because orgasm has continually surfaced as such a critical component of women’s positive sexual experiences, we argue the female orgasm should be taken seriously as a meaningful site of research on women’s well-being, and orgasm equality should be taken seriously in the pursuit of gender equality.</p

Psychological Well-Being and Ill-Being: Do They Have Distinct or Mirrored Biological Correlates? a

Background: Increasingly, researchers attend to both positive and negative aspects of mental health. Such distinctions call for clarification of whether psychological well-being and ill-being comprise opposite ends of a bipolar continuum, or are best construed as separate, independent dimensions of mental health. Biology can help resolve this query – bipolarity predicts ‘mirrored’ biological correlates (i.e. well-being and ill-being correlate similarly with biomarkers, but show opposite directional signs), whereas independence predicts ‘distinct’ biological correlates (i.e. well-being and ill-being have different biological signatures). Methods: Multiple aspects of psychological well-being (eudaimonic, hedonic) and ill-being (depression, anxiety, anger) were assessed in a sample of aging women (n = 135, mean age = 74) on whom diverse neuroendocrine (salivary cortisol, epinephrine, norepinephrine, DHEA-S) and cardiovascular factors (weight, waist-hip ratio, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, HDL cholesterol, total/HDL cholesterol, glycosylated hemoglobin) were also measured. Results: Measures of psychological well-being and ill-being were significantly linked with numerous biomarkers, with some associations being more strongly evident for respondents aged 75+. Outcomes for seven biomarkers supported the distinct hypothesis, while findings for only two biomarkers supported the mirrored hypothesis. Conclusion: This research adds to the growing literature on how psychological well-being and mental maladjustment are instantiated in biology. Population-based inquiries and challenge studies constitute important future directions