Barrett, The Honors College Thesis/Creative Project Collection
Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University proudly showcases the work of undergraduate honors students by sharing this collection exclusively with the ASU community.
Barrett accepts high performing, academically engaged undergraduate students and works with them in collaboration with all of the other academic units at Arizona State University. All Barrett students complete a thesis or creative project which is an opportunity to explore an intellectual interest and produce an original piece of scholarly research. The thesis or creative project is supervised and defended in front of a faculty committee. Students are able to engage with professors who are nationally recognized in their fields and committed to working with honors students. Completing a Barrett thesis or creative project is an opportunity for undergraduate honors students to contribute to the ASU academic community in a meaningful way.
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Description
Aquatic macroinvertebrates are important for many ecological processes within river ecosystems and, as a result, their abundance and diversity are considered indicators of water quality and ecosystem health. Macroinvertebrates can be classified into functional feeding groups (FFG) based on morphological-behavioral adaptations. FFG ratios can shift due to changes in normal disturbance patterns, such as changes in precipitation, and from human impact. Due to their increased sensitivity to environmental changes, it has become more important to protect and monitor aquatic and riparian communities in arid regions as climate change continues to intensify. Therefore, the diversity and richness of macroinvertebrate FFGs before and after monsoon and winter storm seasons were analyzed to determine the effect of flow-related disturbances. Ecosystem size was also considered, as watershed area has been shown to affect macroinvertebrate diversity. There was no strong support for flow-related disturbance or ecosystem size on macroinvertebrate diversity and richness. This may indicate a need to explore other parameters of macroinvertebrate community assembly. Establishing how disturbance affects aquatic macroinvertebrate communities will provide a key understanding as to what the stream communities will look like in the future, as anthropogenic impacts continue to affect more vulnerable ecosystems.
ContributorsSainz, Ruby (Author) / Sabo, John (Thesis director) / Grimm, Nancy (Committee member) / Lupoli, Christina (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
https://mendotadrought.wordpress.com/
Beginning in 2011, California’s most recent drought has brought four years of some of the warmest and driest seasons on record. Mendota, California in the San Joaquin Valley is a microcosm of the struggles many agriculture communities face when water resources are scarce. Known as the “cantaloupe capital of the world,” agriculture represents over half of Mendota’s economy, making unemployment one of the many challenges they face. However, community members are working to move forward and preserve the place they call home.
Medota has a population of about eleven thousand people with over 96 percent of them being Hispanic. The stories of elected officials, field workers, farmers, police, school leaders and local business owners give testament to a mounting fear for future water allocation. But their voices also give way to a shared belief—the community’s resilience will persevere through California’s drought. Mendota is presented through a multi-media piece that uses photos, videos and descriptive articles to showcase both their hardship and hope.
Beginning in 2011, California’s most recent drought has brought four years of some of the warmest and driest seasons on record. Mendota, California in the San Joaquin Valley is a microcosm of the struggles many agriculture communities face when water resources are scarce. Known as the “cantaloupe capital of the world,” agriculture represents over half of Mendota’s economy, making unemployment one of the many challenges they face. However, community members are working to move forward and preserve the place they call home.
Medota has a population of about eleven thousand people with over 96 percent of them being Hispanic. The stories of elected officials, field workers, farmers, police, school leaders and local business owners give testament to a mounting fear for future water allocation. But their voices also give way to a shared belief—the community’s resilience will persevere through California’s drought. Mendota is presented through a multi-media piece that uses photos, videos and descriptive articles to showcase both their hardship and hope.
ContributorsLang, Erica Lynn (Author) / Rodriguez, Rick (Thesis director) / Fergus, Tom (Committee member) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor) / School of Transborder Studies (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
This research looks at a group of students from Tumaini Children's Home in Nyeri, Kenya. The purpose of this paper is to explore why this particular group of students is so academically successful. Quantitative research was taken from the average 2013 test scores of Tumaini students who took the Kenyan Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) exam in comparison to the scores of students who are not residing in the orphanage. Qualitative research involves interviews from those students who live in Tumaini and interviews from adults who are closely connected to the orphanage. The purpose is to understand why the students are performing so well academically and what support they have created for themselves that allows them to do so.
ContributorsTooker, Amy Elizabeth (Author) / Puckett, Kathleen (Thesis director) / Cocchiarella, Martha (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Division of Teacher Preparation (Contributor)
Created2014-12
Description
The Latino population is the fastest growing minority group in the United States (U.S Census Bureau, 2003). Such a rapidly changing demographic stresses the importance of implementing strategies into the community social framework to accommodate for cultural and language differences. This research paper seeks to answer: what factors influence the sense of community among Latino families in Phoenix? The following questions will help to assess the dynamic relationship between sense of community and literacy 1) what is the perceived importance of literacy among Latino families living in Phoenix? 2) How is language development reflected among the family dynamics within a predominantly collectivist culture? It is hypothesized that both collectivism and literacy are the main influences on sense of community among this population.
ContributorsBennett, Julie (Author) / Glenberg, Arthur (Thesis director) / Restrepo, Laida (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
According to the United States Department of Agriculture, "food insecure homes" are households that are at times unable to acquire enough food to met the needs of their members. During the year 2010, this designation applied to roughly 14.5% of American households. In Arizona, the situation is even direr, with nearly 1 in 5 children falling into the range of food insecurity. These alarming statistics appear even graver in the light of the staggering amount of food that is wasted in America. In an attempt to combat both the problems of food insecurity and food waste, organizations have begun to focus their energy on "rescuing and repurposing food." In other words, these organization take prepared and perishable food from one location where it would go to waste, and redistribute it to places that it will be consumed, such as soup kitchens and shelters. The purpose of this thesis is to fully explore the successful workings of Waste Not, Inc. in Phoenix, AZ, and City Harvest in New York City, NY, and then make necessary critiques and draw implications for future food rescue programs.
ContributorsWright, Chase (Author) / Phillips, Rhonda (Thesis director) / Wharton, Christopher (Committee member) / Mitten, Dee (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2012-05
Description
This thesis details our experience assisting BASE Equity Partners, a private equity firm based in New York City, on three prospective agricultural dealership deals over the course of this past academic year. The firm is currently structured as a Fundless Sponsor. This distinct structural trait is common for a type of private equity firm known among practitioners as pledge funds. This creates an interesting element for our experience as there is very limited academic research on these types of firms, which, since the Great Recession, have become popular players in middle-market private equity deals. We, first, provide some historical context on pledge funds and identify their primary differences with traditional private equity. The remainder of the paper documents our experience working on the agricultural dealership deals. We have organized this portion after the manner in which we received assignments. We go into detail on the specific projects with which we were tasked, our interactions with the partners and the major takeaways we had from this learning experience. This thesis paper will enrich the academic knowledge regarding pledge funds—and private equity generally—by documenting a real experience of what it is like performing analyst-level tasks at a real firm. Additionally, we were privy to information that is highly confidential, and though we have protected the confidentiality of the companies through pseudonyms and redaction of confidential material, all of the financial data shown, models provided and qualitative discussion is real.
ContributorsTang, Ivan (Co-author) / Johnson, Bradley (Co-author) / Panosian, Tro (Co-author) / Simonson, Mark (Thesis director) / Bonadurer, Werner (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / Department of English (Contributor) / School of Accountancy (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
Introduction/Purpose: This paper describes the process of the community needs assessment phase of program implementation for the Student Health Outreach for Wellness (SHOW) clinic. Homeless individuals are more likely (than non homeless individuals) to experience serious illness, depression and mental illness. Access to health care has been identified as a barrier to receiving appropriate health care to manage the diseases and conditions clients may have. SHOW's vision is to operate on Saturdays utilizing Health Care for the Homeless (HCH) to offer extended primary health care hours, along with offering health promotion programming to address the biopsychosocial components of their health. Ultimately, this aims to reduce the homeless population's need to visit emergency room departments for non- urgent, primary care visits. Methods: To validate the need for this clinic's operation of programming and health services, a community needs assessment was conducted to collect data about the population's current health status. Forty-three people (n=43) ages 20-76 (M = 44.87) were surveyed by a trained research team using interview questionnaires. Results: The results show a prevalence of self\u2014reported physical and behavioral conditions, and support that this population would benefit from extended hours of care. Mental and behavioral health conditions are the most prevalent conditions (with the highest rates of depression (41.86%) and anxiety disorder (32.56%)), followed by the common cold (23.36%) and back pain (16.28%). The average reported emergency department (ED) visits within the past six months was 1.18 times. Almost everyone surveyed would visit a free medical clinic on the Human Services Campus (HSC) staffed by health staff and health professional students on the weekends (93.18%). Conclusion: Overall, the community needs assessment conducted for SHOW supports the need for weekend access to health care facilities and an interest in health programming for this population.
ContributorsShqalsi, Eneida Agustin (Author) / Hoffner, Kristin (Thesis director) / Harrell, Susan (Committee member) / Harper, Erin (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Nutrition and Health Promotion (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
Conducted in collaboration with the Arizona Coalition to End Sexual and Domestic Violence, this project was a pilot survey of representatives at sexual violence organizations in Arizona and a best practices review of sexual violence organizations. It was carried out with the purpose of enhancing ACESDV's knowledge about sexual violence organizations so that the coalition will be able to offer informed and individualized support to these organizations in Arizona as it begins to pursue its new mission of addressing sexual violence.
ContributorsHarrach, Meagan L. (Author) / Bodman, Denise (Thesis director) / Dumka, Larry (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
The purpose of this study was to provide a foundation for a plan for evaluations of the impact of the Learning Center on elementary school children with respect to academic achievement and school-related behaviors. Exploratory pre- and posttest data were collected and analyzed and recommendations were provided for a broader evaluation plan to be used in the future. The experience from the exploratory evaluation, limitations and the recommendations in this study can be used by Chicanos Por La Causa to strengthen the Learning Center and thereby optimize the benefit to the children served within the San Marina residential community.
ContributorsLodhi, Osman Sultan (Author) / Roosa, Mark (Thesis director) / Dumka, Larry (Committee member) / Perez, Norma (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
Several different queer feminist zines, along with the author's experiences in queer feminist zine making, are examined using the lens of J. Jack Halberstam's The Queer Art of Failure. Particular attention is paid to zines' unique composition from a variety of unexpected sources, and their subsequent ability to act as counterhegemonic documents. Queer feminist zine makers' critical engagement with the concept of community is also discussed.
ContributorsPruett, Jessica Lynn (Author) / Switzer, Heather (Thesis director) / Dove-Viebahn, Aviva (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor) / Department of English (Contributor)
Created2014-05