Barrett, The Honors College Thesis/Creative Project Collection

This research was conducted through the form of interview with Belizean citizens in Belize, Central America where I invited three of Belize’s most pivotal and influential figures behind social and civil injustices. Belize is a Caribbean country in Central America that was once a colony of the British known as “British Honduras”, gaining its independence on the 21st of September, 1981, making Belize the third to last youngest Caribbean country.

This has been made into a documentary that started filming back in September of 2017 during Belize’s 36th Independence Day where the country indulges in a month full of celebrations that brings a great feeling of togetherness for everyone. The film company that shot and edited this project is a local Belizean company by the name of KnightandDay Photography, with the consideration of helping to create work in Belize, support local business, and to be fully immersed in Belize and all of its resources.

This documentary is structured into five components: (1) Introduction; (2) Interview with guest number one; (3) Interview with guest number two; (4) Interview with guest number three; (5) Interview with five randomly selected Belizean citizens on the street; (6) Outro.

The main objective of this research was to speak in depth with specific Belizeans that have spent significant time in America, whether working, or going to school in order to have the knowledge to compare the experience of the black Belizean in their home country versus that of what America offers as far as the black experience and to explain the history of other ethnic groups of peoples that inhabits Belize and how the tensions and stereotypes among Belizeans arose over time.

The nonprofit sector exists as one of three working groups which contribute to the flow of the economy and society. Unlike the government and for-profit sectors, the nonprofit world has faced a growing responsibility alongside a lack of emphasis on the sector’s importance. Nonprofits have often faced a lack of resources needed to combat these gaps. However, since Covid-19, resources have been diminishing even further. These resources can be identified as a variety of elements, from volunteers and paid staff to funds and access to overseas goods and services. A case study of the world-renowned Make-A-Wish Foundation and its Arizona Chapter perfectly illustrates the journey back to full mission-accomplishment in present times through their actions taken to combat common sector struggles. This case study proves importance of the nonprofit sector, accompanied by a call for education and re-emphasis of the nonprofit sector.

This thesis will encompass the chemical, social, cultural, and even religious significance and history of Henna. Henna is a natural paste made out of dried henna leaves which is then mixed with other ingredients such as lemon juice, tea, essential oils, and sugar. Depending on the region, everyone uses a different recipe and ratios due to the different climates. Henna has been used for celebrations such as weddings in Western Asia, the Middle East, and even Africa. Henna has also been used in religious celebrations for Muslims such as Eid. The practice of henna application has proven to be a uniting factor in multiple cultures, as women gather to get their henna done for celebrations and joyful occasions. Despite its cultural significance, henna was actually used medicinally in ancient times due to its cooling properties. People used to dye the soles of their feet, and hands during the summer in order to cool down their bodies. Slowly, henna became more of a beauty factor and women began to make designs with it to adorn themselves. Applying henna is a lengthy process. Henna must dry for about 30 minutes before one is able to continue with daily routine. Then the henna must be wrapped after being soaked in a lemon sugar solution. This must remain for 5+ hours in order to achieve the desired intensity of the stain. However, once the dry henna is taken off, no water must touch the premature stains for 24 hours since this is when the henna begins to oxidize and the color begins to darken. It takes 48 hours for the henna stain to fully mature. Due to this, chemical henna, otherwise known as “instant henna” has been created to make that dark mature stain in a matter of a few hours, sometime even minutes. There are two downsides: the first being that the stain does not last 1-2 weeks like the natural henna does, the second being it is a major health risk. Most of these prepackaged chemical henna cones contain additives that are used to dye hair. This dye is not meant to be used on skin, so many people have gotten chemical burns due to this. It can even lead to full-on allergic reactions resulting in hospital-stays. The use of chemical henna not only poses health risks, but it also diminishes the value of henna and what it stands for. This project will dive into the following questions: How does henna stain the skin? How has Henna impacted women throughout the world? What is the artistic significance of Henna? What aspects of Henna have allowed it to be integrated into cultures throughout the years? How can one avoid the use of chemical henna, and what kind of potential risks arise from this?

Our thesis project is a 5-person group thesis that was created over the span of two years. In the summer of 2020, at the height of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, our group first met and discussed our shared interests in mask-wearing and individual factors that we each thought had significant impacts on mask-wearing among Barrett students. We each decided on factors that we wanted to investigate and subsequently split into three main groups based on our interests: culture and geography, medical humanities, and medical and psychological conditions. Despite these different interests, we continued to treat our thesis as a five-person project rather than three different projects. We then constructed a survey, followed by several focus group sessions and interview questions to ask Honors students. In January 2021, we received approval from the IRB for our project, and we quickly finalized our survey, focus group and interview questions. In February 2021, we sent out our survey via the Barrett Digest, which we kept open for approximately one month. We also sent out advertisements for our survey via social media platforms such as Twitter and Discord. Following completion of the survey, we contacted all of the respondents who stated that they were interested in participating in focus groups and interviews. Focus groups and interviews were conducted in March and April 2021, and results were analyzed and correlated to our individual subtopics. Each of the focus group and interview participants received $50 each, and three randomly-selected students who completed the survey received $25 each. From April 2021 until April 2022, we analyzed our results, came to conclusions based on our initial topics of interest, and constructed our paper.

Our thesis project is a 5-person group thesis that was created over the span of two years. In the summer of 2020, at the height of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, our group first met and discussed our shared interests in mask-wearing and individual factors that we each thought had significant impacts on mask-wearing among Barrett students. We each decided on factors that we wanted to investigate and subsequently split into three main groups based on our interests: culture and geography, medical humanities, and medical and psychological conditions. Despite these different interests, we continued to treat our thesis as a five-person project rather than three different projects. We then constructed a survey, followed by several focus group sessions and interview questions to ask Honors students. In January 2021, we received approval from the IRB for our project, and we quickly finalized our survey, focus group and interview questions. In February 2021, we sent out our survey via the Barrett Digest, which we kept open for approximately one month. We also sent out advertisements for our survey via social media platforms such as Twitter and Discord. Following completion of the survey, we contacted all of the respondents who stated that they were interested in participating in focus groups and interviews. Focus groups and interviews were conducted in March and April 2021, and results were analyzed and correlated to our individual subtopics. Each of the focus group and interview participants received $50 each, and three randomly-selected students who completed the survey received $25 each. From April 2021 until April 2022, we analyzed our results, came to conclusions based on our initial topics of interest, and constructed our paper.

While Covid-19 had severe impacts on education across the board, the goal of our research is to examine how virtual learning affected Business Data Analytics and Computer Information Students at Arizona State University. A survey was created to measure three key academic areas (student learning, communication, and student engagement) that may have experienced a notable change in quality. Forty Nine W.P. Carey students were surveyed and their responses were recorded in a Google Sheet. From there the results were transferred to excel and converted into a Numeric Likert scale. By establishing base scores for each of the survey statements we can isolate areas of virtual learning that underwhelmed or satisfied our target demographic. The objective of the subsequent analysis was to identify any areas within the three focal points that participants felt strongly impacted their performance with virtual schooling during the August 2020 to May 2021 school year.

Our thesis project is a 5-person group thesis that was created over the span of two years. In the summer of 2020, at the height of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, our group first met and discussed our shared interests in mask-wearing and individual factors that we each thought had significant impacts on mask-wearing among Barrett students. We each decided on factors that we wanted to investigate and subsequently split into three main groups based on our interests: culture and geography, medical humanities, and medical and psychological conditions. Despite these different interests, we continued to treat our thesis as a five-person project rather than three different projects. We then constructed a survey, followed by several focus group sessions and interview questions to ask Honors students. In January 2021, we received approval from the IRB for our project, and we quickly finalized our survey, focus group and interview questions. In February 2021, we sent out our survey via the Barrett Digest, which we kept open for approximately one month. We also sent out advertisements for our survey via social media platforms such as Twitter and Discord. Following completion of the survey, we contacted all of the respondents who stated that they were interested in participating in focus groups and interviews. Focus groups and interviews were conducted in March and April 2021, and results were analyzed and correlated to our individual subtopics. Each of the focus group and interview participants received $50 each, and three randomly-selected students who completed the survey received $25 each. From April 2021 until April 2022, we analyzed our results, came to conclusions based on our initial topics of interest, and constructed our paper.