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.
Displaying 11 - 20 of 126
Filtering by
- All Subjects: community
- All Subjects: Climate Change
Description
The implementation of a farmers market on the Arizona State University Tempe campus would benefit student helath, the local community, and the environment. A 2009 survey of university students states that "over 60 percent [of students] eat two or fewer servings of fruits and vegetables a day," which falls below the health standard. A campus farmers market would give students easier access to fresh produce. Through purchasing products from local vendors, students will establish better connections with the community while supporting the local economy. In addition, farmers markets encourage sustainable practices. According to a survey conducted by Farmers Markets Today, "85% of farmers market vendors traveled fewer than 50 miles to sell at a famers market [while]... nationwide, food travels an average of 1,500 miles before reaching its consumer." Thus, greenhouse gas emissions can be significantly reduced through purchasing local products. The purposes of a campus farmers market act in conjunction with ASU's intentions to become a New American University, which values students' well-being, the local community, and sustainability.
ContributorsSienicki, Joey (Author) / Van Fleet, David (Thesis director) / Bronowitz, Jason (Committee member) / Smith, Emily (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2010-05
Description
Abstract Knit Together: Craft, Community, and Victims of Domestic Violence Allison Miller Domestic violence shelters play a major role in victim's pathway to survivorship. Through an account of what constitutes domestic violence, who experiences domestic violence, data accumulated on domestic violence, and overview of domestic violence shelters and programs, and a snapshot view of a local domestic violence shelter in Phoenix, Arizona, this paper seeks to define and address the gaps in research involving victim's roads to survivorship, specifically as they involve community building, empowerment, and avenues for stress release. Finally, the project records the researcher's experiences and observations of a knitting and crochet group established in the local shelter.
ContributorsMiller, Allison (Author) / Durfee, Alesha (Thesis director) / Weitz, Rose (Committee member) / Noble, Virginia (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2012-05
Description
Climate change presents a significant threat to human health, both mental and physical; as a result, it has become one of the most commonly discussed phenomena of the 21st century. As many people are aware, a wide range of social and physical factors affects mental health. However, many people fail to realize that these increases global temperatures also have a significant impact on mental health as a result of increased vulnerability that is often manifested through one's emotions. By analyzing perceptions of people across the globe, in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Fiji, we were able to pinpoint these emotions and trace them individual's feelings of worry, distress, and hope that resulted from their perceived impacts on climate change. Overall, we found that people tend to have overall more negative emotional reaction when it comes to the perceived effects of climate change. Of the respondents, more men than women expressed concern regarding the various negative implications. Finally, those in the United Kingdom exhibited a stronger emotional response, followed by those in New Zealand and Fiji, respectively.
ContributorsSmith, Austin Lee (Author) / Wutich, Amber (Thesis director) / du Bray, Margaret (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
This past summer, Pew Research Center conducted a ten-question survey to test Americans' knowledge on current events. Questions ranged from how Zika virus is transmitted, to the name of the current president of France. A majority of the participants were unable to answer half of the questions correctly (Pew Research Center, 2017). While previous Pew knowledge surveys saw a majority of Americans answer only one quarter of the questions correctly (2014), it is clear that Americans today are still not completely up-to-date on current affairs. Along with Americans lacking knowledge of current affairs, the recent election saw the rise in accusations of "fake news." These calls inspired me to undertake my thesis project to try to answer the question: "does fake news actually impact the public's policy preferences, and if so, by how much?" While studies have been conducted to test the relationship between policy misperceptions and policy preferences, there have not been many studies released to directly test the impact of incorrect information on policy preferences. The underlying purpose of this study is to test how introduction of new information, particularly falsehoods, influences policy preferences. Specifically, I focus on policy preferences related to anthropogenic climate change . Any valid research that seeks to analyze the effect of political information on policy preferences needs to starts by discovering how much the public knows about the particular policy issue that the researcher is focusing on. Without explicitly saying as much, all of the research on the subject that I have read has come to the same conclusion: American's are indeed politically unaware on a wide array of issues. The areas of policy that Americans lack knowledge on are widespread: education (Howell and West, 2009), welfare (Gilens, 2001), the war in Iraq (Berinsky, 2007; Kull, 2003), and facts about political candidates (Nyhan and Reifler, 2012) are just some of the issues that Americans seem to know little about. Literature discussed in the following section shows how researchers have tried to understand how policy knowledge impacts policy opinions. Researchers primarily collected their data either one of two ways: by analyzing existing survey data or by conducting their own survey.
ContributorsRoth, Benjamin (Author) / Woodall, Gina (Thesis director) / Feary, David (Committee member) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / Department of Physics (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
This study explores the results of an event hosted for undergraduate students in the Arts, Media and Engineering (AME) department at Arizona State University. 18 students were asked to sit and eat lunch with one another and share their opinions on personal and school-related topics. A follow-up survey consisting of eight questions was sent out to gauge how effective this event was in getting students to build stronger relationships with each other. Statistical analysis showed that 89% of students who attended would participate again and consider collaborating with another student at the event in future projects. From these results, a series of future interventions like the one mentioned in this paper could promote stronger relationships among students and add value to the department. A positive response from the students who participated could imply that students might be more inclined to reach out to classmates when in a setting made for that purpose.
ContributorsWheeler, Hannah M (Author) / Tinapple, David (Thesis director) / Olson, Loren (Committee member) / Arts, Media and Engineering Sch T (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
Aboriginal Voices Testimonials Reflecting Indigenous Experience in Australia "Aboriginal Voices: Testimonials Reflecting Indigenous Experience in Australia," is a collection of four audio portraits of Aboriginal artists interviewed between January and May of 2016. It enabled me to cover an underserved population, consistent with journalistic and human rights standards. The testimonials are paired with visuals, such as portraits and graphics. The artists who participated each discussed different aspects of life, although key and overlapping themes surfaced with each. Nicole Phillips, a highly educated animator and teacher, discussed systemic poverty and the generational trauma of mistreatment. She emphasizes, however, that Aboriginal Australians are still fighting back. Gordon Syron talks about his family's land and how it was taken from them. Syron killed the man responsible and spent time in prison, where he began his art career. He focuses on justice issues and fair representation. Peta-Joy Williams is fair-skinned and brings up issues of inclusion and identity. Additionally, Williams is fluent in Pitjara, one of 120 remaining Aboriginal languages. She teaches this to youth and Elders, passing on and restoring culture. Finally, Jeffrey Samuels reveals his experience in a boys home and getting fostered by a white family. He was denied his culture and worked very hard at a young age. Samuels is part of the Stolen Generation, a large population of Aboriginal Australians taken from their families as part of government policies. The paper discusses outreach techniques, summarizes the interview experience with each artists, technical requirements and reflections on the subjects that came up most prominently. The website, serving as the visual element of the project, can be found at aboriginalvoices.wordpress.com
ContributorsSandler, Gabriel Ross (Author) / Chadha, Monica (Thesis director) / O'Flaherty, Katherine (Committee member) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
There has been much work done predicting the effects of climate change on transportation systems, this research parallels that past work and focuses on the effect of changes in precipitation on roadway drainage systems. On a macro level, this work addresses the process that should be taken to make predictions about the vulnerability of this system due to changes in precipitation. This work also addresses the mechanisms of failure of these drainage systems and how they may be affected by changes in precipitation due to climate change. These changes may entail more frequent failure by certain mechanisms, or a shift in the mechanisms for particular infrastructure. A sample water basin in the urban environment of Phoenix, Arizona is given as a case study. This study looks at the mechanisms of failure of the infrastructure therein, as well as provides a process of analyzing the effects of increases in precipitation to the vulnerability of this infrastructure. It was found that drainage structures at roadways being currently designed will see increases from 20-30% in peak discharge, which will lead to increased frequency of failure.
ContributorsHolt, Nathan Thomas (Author) / Chester, Mikhail V (Thesis director) / Mascaro, Giuseppe (Committee member) / Underwood, Benjamin S. (Committee member) / Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering Programs (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
Sense of Community is related to numerous positive outcomes for university students. The purpose of this study was to explore sense of community amongst low income students who received a last dollar scholarship. This study also sought to understand how students define community and how they interact with communities from their past (before university), present (since they started college), and how they envision their future community involvement after graduation. Through purposive sampling, six low income Arizona State University students were selected based on similar characteristics. The scholarship that they belong to selects them based on financial need, integrity, and prolonged commitment to community service. Using a qualitative narrative inquiry, I interviewed participants about their understanding and experiences with communities. Interviews were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim for analysis. Based on the analysis, I identified three major themes: community as construction, community as nonlinear, and community as intersectional. Drawing from participants' definitions and experiences of community, I argue that community is a construction. In other words, individuals create their own constructions of community, and their actions vary based on that construction. Participants also experience their communities intersectionally, that is individual's experience their communities as coexisting and through multiple community perspectives, rather than as a single stand-alone entity. Finally, community does not exist as part of a linear time paradigm. Instead community is experienced in terms of relevance to the individual in creating meaning from that community. In addition to the above themes, I also examined participant perspectives of ASU as a community. Based on this research, I recommend that a platform be provided for students to engage in a dialogue about their understanding of community and interactions with communities. Moreover, I suggest researchers utilize intersectionality, constructionism, and non-linear time to frame future research on sense of community. This research is significant because it helps us understand student engagement, and offers a framework through which universities can provide students an opportunity to better understand their own sense of community.
ContributorsWhite, Misha Alexsandra (Author) / Foroughi-Mobarakeh, Behrang (Thesis director) / Legg, Walter Eric (Committee member) / School of Community Resources and Development (Contributor) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
ContributorsDolan, Kattie (Author) / Leong, Karen (Thesis director) / Wilson, Bradley (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
Buried under ice and snow in Greenland, the abandoned Camp Century holds the remnants of a Danish-American Cold War-era operation left to achieve final disposal beneath a tomb of ice. Nearly 50 years later, climate projections hypothesize that snowmelt will exceed snowfall in 2090—releasing the trapped hazardous wastes at Camp Century. This thesis examines the mechanisms through which the international community is able to remediate climate change impacts on Camp Century wastes. The wastes are characterized and examined as either a problem of transboundary pollution, as an issue of military accountability, or as an issue of climate change policy. As revealed, the wastes are unable to be classified as transboundary pollutants. Though classified as a point-source transboundary risk, they are neither a traded or public risk. Furthermore, no international or domestic transboundary pollution agreements incorporate provisions encompassing the specific attributes of Camp Century’s waste. Camp Century is also not an issue of military accountability as U.S. base cleanup laws and environmental regulations do not apply abroad and as the original bilateral agreement governing the site is insufficient in addressing potential ice melt. Finally, as examined through institutions such as the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement, Camp Century is, again, unable to be incorporated in current frameworks such as adaptation as adaption efforts are concentrated on developing nations. This thesis reveals the inability of current frameworks, institutions, and agreements to effectively remediate Camp Century wastes which is a case utilized as a microcosm through which to examine international capacity in addressing climate-change induced impacts.
ContributorsKilker, Natalie Angelina (Author) / Klinsky, Sonja (Thesis director) / Bodansky, Daniel (Committee member) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12