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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- All Subjects: Arizona
Description
The passage of 2007's Legal Arizona Workers Act, which required all new hires to be tested for legal employment status through the federal E-Verify database, drastically changed the employment prospects for undocumented workers in the state. Using data from the 2007-2010 American Community Survey, this paper seeks to identify the impact of this law on the labor force in Arizona, specifically regarding undocumented workers and less educated native workers. Overall, the data shows that the wage bias against undocumented immigrants doubled in the four years studied, and the wages of native workers without a high school degree saw a temporary, positive increase compared to comparable workers in other states. The law did not have an effect on the wages of native workers with a high school degree.
ContributorsSantiago, Maria Christina (Author) / Pereira, Claudiney (Thesis director) / Mendez, Jose (Committee member) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
This ethnography outlines the live storytelling culture in Phoenix, Arizona, and what each of its sub-cultures contributes to the city's community. Phoenix's live storytelling events incorporate elements of an ancient art form into contemporary entertainment and sophisticated platforms for community building. These events are described and delineated by stylistic, structural, and content-based differences into the following categories: open-mic, curated, scripted, non-scripted, micro-culture, and marginalized groups. Research presented in this report was collected by reviewing scholarly materials about the social power of storytelling, attending live storytelling events across all categories, and interviewing event organizers and storytellers. My research developed toward an auto-ethnographic direction when I joined the community of storytellers in Phoenix, shifting the thesis to assume a voice of solidarity with the community. This resulted in a research project framed primarily as an ethnography that also includes my initial, personal experiences as a storyteller. The thesis concludes with the art form's macro-influences on Phoenix's rapidly-expanding community.
ContributorsNorton, Maeve (Author) / Dombrowski, Rosemarie (Thesis director) / McAdams, Charity (Committee member) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-12
Description
This thesis project provides a thorough cost-benefit analysis of the golf industry in Arizona. We begin by examining the economic, environmental, and social costs that the industry requires. One of the largest costs of the industry is water consumption. Golf courses in Arizona are currently finding ways to reduce water consumption through various methods, such as turf reduction and increasing the usage of drip irrigation. However, even at current levels of consumption, golf only consumes 1.9% of water in Arizona, compared to the 69% consumed by agriculture. Of the water consumed by the golf industry, 26.3% is wastewater, otherwise known as effluent water. Since the population in Arizona is projected to grow significantly over the next decade, the amount of effluent water produced will also increase. Due to this, we recommend that the golf industry move towards using as much effluent water as possible to conserve clean water sources. Additionally, we examine land allocation and agricultural tradeoffs to the state. Most golf courses are built in urban areas that would not be suitable for agriculture. The same land could be used to build a public park, but this would not provide as many economic benefits to the state. Many courses also act as floodplains which protect the communities surrounding them from flooding. These floodplains have proven to be crucial to protect from occasional flash floods by diverting the excess water away from homes. We also discuss golf's primary social cost in terms of its perception as being a sport played exclusively by privileged and wealthy people. This is proven to be false due to many non-profit organizations centered around the game, as well as municipal courses that provide affordable options for all citizens who want to play. We provide an in-depth analysis of the benefits that the industry provides to the state and its citizens primarily through business and tax revenue, employment, and property values. Including multiplier effects, the golf industry contributed 42,000 full- and part-time jobs, $3.9 billion in sales, $1.5 billion in labor income, and $2.1 billion value added in 2014. An estimated $72 million in state and local taxes were generated from golf facilities alone, without including taxes from indirectly impacted businesses. This tax revenue provides a great benefit to the public sector and increases Arizona's GDP. Also, much of this economic contribution is from the golf tourism industry, which brings new revenue into the state that would otherwise not exist. Golf courses also increase the surrounding real estate prices anywhere from 4.8% to 28%, providing a positive externality to community members in addition to scenic views. Finally, we provide a case study of the Waste Management Phoenix Open (WMO) to illustrate the impact of Arizona's single largest golf event each year. In 2017, the event brought an estimated $389 million into Arizona's economy in one week alone. Also, it regularly hosts massive crowds with a record-breaking 719,179 people attending the event in 2018. The WMO has also taken a "Zero Waste Challenge" to promote eco-friendly and sustainable practices by diverting all of the waste and materials produced by the tournament from landfills. The WMO has been dubbed both the "Greatest Show On Grass" and the "Greenest Show On Grass" due to the entertainment value provided as well as its effort to improve the environment.
ContributorsShershenovich, Andrew (Co-author) / Wilhelm, Spencer (Co-author) / Goegan, Brian (Thesis director) / Van Poucke, Rory (Committee member) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
Arizona Then and Now: Exploring Arizona's Five Cs Through Photography is a photographic exploration of the evolution of Arizona's five Cs: cotton, copper, citrus, cattle, and climate. This project first looks to the past to see how these five elements shaped the state of Arizona. Photographs were taken across the valley of these elements, or lack thereof, discovering what Arizona has transformed into in the process. Each chapter of the book begins with a brief history of the element focused on in that chapter, followed by an analytical thought about the photographs taken and how the element has evolved. Each chapter shows two historical photographs followed by a series of photographs taken during the project that the author thought depicted what is seen today. The book ends on a final positive note about how the five Cs are not dead, but soon could be completely taken over. This project was a way for a non-art major to explore the state that she grew up while also challenging herself by more than just taking pictures. The photographs displayed in the book depict a sampling of what the author saw that is left of the five Cs.
ContributorsRusk, Devon Nicole (Author) / Klett, Mark (Thesis director) / Danh, Binh (Committee member) / Harrington Bioengineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
On the Arizona-Sonora border, more than 3,000 bodies have been recovered in the 21st century as a result of a fatal government policy that forced migrants into the desert rather than crossing in urban corridors. Humanitarian aid organizations are stretched across thousands of square miles with virtually no resources, particularly in the Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge (Cabeza Prieta), a deadly wildlife refuge in Arizona's West Desert. A lot is unknown about the West Desert, particularly from a human rights perspective of trying to strategize the distribution of humanitarian aid. One question is of particular importance, where does water already exist in Cabeza Prieta, and what is the quality of that water? In this paper, I will discuss the process of surveying water sources in Cabeza Prieta, display photos and maps to convey what I've learned from my fieldwork, and finally, discuss my findings and delve into a geographical analysis, focusing on the relation between human remains recovery sites and water sources.
ContributorsLeon, Gabriel Carlos (Author) / Warren, Scott (Thesis director) / Larson, Kelli (Committee member) / School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
The purpose of this study is to document and analyze three women's English language learning journeys after moving from various parts of Mexico to Phoenix, Arizona. The study explores the effects of English as a Second Language (ESL) education on the social and cultural development of Mexican women students at Friendly House, whose mission is to "Empower Arizona communities through education and human services". The literature review section explores such topics as the complications and history of Mexican immigration to Phoenix and of state-funded ESL education in Phoenix. The consequent research study will entail a pair of interviews with the three beginner ESL students about their lives in Mexico compared to their lives in Phoenix, with a specific focus on aspects of their language acquisition and cultural adjustment to life in Arizona. Photos of and by the consultants add to their stories and lead to a discussion about the implications of their experiences for ESL teachers. By documenting the consultants' experiences, this study finds many gaps in ESL education in Phoenix. Suggestions about how ESL programs and teaching methods can be modified to fit student's needs form the basis for the conclusions.
ContributorsDriscoll, Ashley Marisa (Author) / Horan, Elizabeth (Thesis director) / O'Connor, Brendan (Committee member) / Department of English (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
Elections in the United States are highly decentralized with vast powers given to the states to control laws surrounding voter registration, primary procedures, and polling places even in elections of federal officials. There are many individual factors that predict a person's likelihood of voting including race, education, and age. Historically disenfranchised groups are still disproportionately affected by restrictive voter registration and ID laws which can suppress their turnout. Less understood is how election-day polling place accessibility affects turnout. Absentee and early voting increase accessibility for all voters, but 47 states still rely on election-day polling places. I study how the geographic allocation of polling places and the number of voters assigned to each (polling place load) in Maricopa County, Arizona has affected turnout in primary and general elections between 2006 and 2016 while controlling for the demographics of voting precincts. This represents a significant data problem; voting precincts changed three times during the time studied and polling places themselves can change every election. To aid in analysis, I created a visualization that allows for the exploration of polling place load, precinct demographics, and polling place accessibility metrics in a map view of the county. I find through a spatial regression model that increasing the load on a polling place can decrease the election-day turnout and prohibitively large distances to the polling place have a similar effect. The effect is more pronounced during general elections and is present at varying levels during each of the 12 elections studied. Finally, I discuss how early voting options appear to have little positive effect on overall turnout and may in fact decrease it.
ContributorsHansen, Brett Joseph (Author) / Maciejewski, Ross (Thesis director) / Grubesic, Anthony (Committee member) / Economics Program in CLAS (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / Computer Science and Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-12
Description
In the past ten years, social network services have expanded from a digital method in which the public connects with only their friends and families. Social network services have evolved to a highly-accessible, convenient, cost-effective tool to engage with communities beyond one's frequented social circle on a local, national, and global scale. Many politicians have adapted in order to use social network services to connect directly with their constituents. Politicians have begun to use their profiles on social network services as their own privately owned publicity channel, publishing raw "material" like political opinions or legal advocacy, appearances at events and media like photos, videos or links to maintain transparency and accessibility to their constituencies. The content analysis investigates the use of a social network service (Twitter) by five different Arizonan politicians from different municipal, state and federal offices over the period of six months. All posts on Twitter were recorded, evaluated, and categorized by content into one of seventeen different divisions: Constituent Connection, Correction, Culture, Economy, Education, Environment, Healthcare, Humanitarianism, International, Military, Operational, Personal, Political Activity, Reply to Constituent, Security, Social Issues or Sports. The date, category, content, media type and engagement (replies, retweets, and favorites) were also recorded. Understanding how political figures connect and engage with their constituencies contributes to understanding modern campaigning and modern government; politicians are now finding it imperative to have and maintain a social media presence in order to gain relevance, transparency and accessibility with their constituencies. This study examines how politicians are currently utilizing these micro-blogging sites.
ContributorsYeban, Jade Nicole Vos (Author) / Kwon, Kyounghee (Thesis director) / Chadha, Monica (Committee member) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
The growing Hispanic population in Phoenix, Arizona frequently lacks financial resources which may limit their access to health care. The goal of this study was to identify the ideal factors in a health insurance plan for the Hispanic/Latino population in Phoenix, AZ. A survey was designed to gather information regarding demographics, health insurance, preferences, and affordability. The survey was completed by 260 participants. Several multivariate regressions were run using SAS Statistical Software. The final model generated explained 4.48% of the variation in the data set. It showed that an individual who identified as Hispanic/Latino was 8.2% less likely to have health insurance. In addition, an individual who identified as a US Citizen was 23% more likely to have health insurance. To improve access and enrollment among the Hispanic/Latino population, further investigation is needed to identify relevant communication techniques that increase enrollment among this high-risk community.
ContributorsToo, Rachel Yun-May (Author) / Whisner, Corrie (Thesis director) / Calvin, Samantha (Committee member) / Cook, Aaron (Committee member) / Economics Program in CLAS (Contributor) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
This research paper aims to analyze the intricacies of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) as well as its reauthorizations, primarily No Child Left Behind (NCLB) with a brief look at the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Most attention will be placed on Title I of each piece of legislation. Accompanying the analysis will be insight and data examining the varied levels of success for each piece of legislation aimed at minimizing the achievement gap. The data will highlight graduation rates, test scores, dropout rates, adult literacy rates, school enrollment, etc. The research paper will analyze these items on a national scale, then it will direct its attention to Arizona schools. Charter schools will not be analyzed within the scope of this research paper. In exploring these details in terms of a specific state since ESEA's inception, the research paper hopes to better examine the effects of ESEA and perhaps suggest parallels to states nationwide. Since there are so many diverse factors in determining student and school success, it would be unwise to make concrete claims about these figures and whether they prove ESEA was a success or failure. However, the purpose of providing this data is to suggest possible relationships between these federal initiatives and student success. Furthermore, as a prior student and current teacher at a Title I school in Arizona, the author acknowledges that there is potential for bias and the perspective provided in this research paper may differ from that of the reader.
ContributorsFranklin, Keely Ellen (Author) / Ludlow, Carlyn (Thesis director) / Cocchiarella, Martha (Committee member) / Division of Teacher Preparation (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05