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: digital
- All Subjects: Mental Health
- Creators: Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication
Description
Journalists' increased and continuous exposure to trauma on the field is seldom talked about with the depth it requires. The DART Center for Journalism and Trauma, established in 1999 at Columbia Journalism School, has contributed valuable information concerning reporting trauma and mental disorders in the journalism field. Studies show that 80 to 100 percent of journalist have been exposed to work-related trauma. The most common traumatic events that journalist experience are automobile accidents, fires, murder, mass casualties, war and disaster. But exposure to work-related trauma comes with a price: At least 59 percent of journalists are living with mental disorders. The most prevalent disorder, anxiety, is broken down into several categories: phobias, general anxiety disorders, social anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorders and panic disorder. Common symptoms are anxiety, grief, and depression. In this short series, I examine why reporters stay in journalism despite the risk of exposure to trauma, what trauma means to them, how they cope during times of grief, and measures that can be taken to start a conversation. I interviewed five media professionals - a freelance photojournalist, azcentral.com sports columnist, New York Times national correspondent, and director of communications at Clean Energy for a Healthy Arizona. All discussed what it means to be a reporter at risk of traumatic exposure in the field.
ContributorsCunningham, Desiree (Author) / Saucier, Fernanda (Thesis director) / Department of Management and Entrepreneurship (Contributor) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
The primary goal of this paper is to walk the reader through Arizona State University student Alicia Gonzales’ documentary-making process from the early beginnings of her Barrett, the Honors College at ASU creative thesis project all the way through her distribution strategies. The documentary, Fire Strong, was made to inform viewers about the wear and tear of the firefighter career — emotionally, mentally and physically — on the individual and on his or her family. The documentary was made to help raise awareness about the duty these individuals have committed to their city, and what they must deal with after the multitude of incidents they respond to every 24-hour shift. Gonzales provides several sources to help describe the mental, physical and emotional trials that both Phoenix Fire Department members and their families endure. While some sources take the form of a traditional document, others come from a firefighter or family member directly. The pre-production, production and post-production processes are explored in depth. The hurdles Gonzales faced throughout the last year are explained and eventually her solves are revealed at the end of the paper. Additionally, the reader will gain more insight as to what a documentary is and what the overarching purpose of making documentaries is by comparing the works of Bernard (2011) and Hewitt and Vazquez (2014). Gonzales uses Bernard (2011) and Hewitt and Vazquez (2014) to demonstrate her argument that almost every documentarian is usually trying to either inform or entertain the viewers. Quite often, it seems that the he or she aims to do both.
Find the documentary here: https://youtu.be/jSJjdrnfee8
Find the documentary here: https://youtu.be/jSJjdrnfee8
ContributorsGonzales, Alicia Maria (Author) / Craft, John (Thesis director) / Emmert, Charles (Committee member) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-12
Description
Ugh, Hungry is a multimedia business that hopes to counter typical college eating habits by being a resource for creating fast, affordable and healthful eating. The founder drew on her experience as a student in both the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication and the Arizona State University School of Nutrition for a foundation for this project. The business was created within two semesters allotted for thesis study as directed by Barrett, the Honors College. Research of competitors, audience, and business creation was conducted in order to begin an entrepreneurial start-up. The corresponding website, ughhungry.com, is a collection of recipes directed toward healthy eating for a financially limited, or college lifestyle. Each recipe article contains an opening article, either a video or photographs, and a recipe. Business, journalism, and nutrition are combined to create a fully engaging experience that can expand and has potential to profit in the future. The thesis project that follows examines the steps, research, and process of creating a journalism-based online business. Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the Ugh, Hungry model are analyzed. Nutrition research was used to examine the problem of college weight gain. Data analytics were deployed to research the site's potential audience. The paper closely analyzes key competitors, including BuzzFeed, The Dorm Room Diet, Spoon University, and Tastemade. Finally, a business proposal for future investors in Ugh, Hungry outlines the potential future of the business.
ContributorsAbramoff, Melanie Sarah (Author) / Hill, Retha (Thesis director) / Pucci, Jessica (Committee member) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor) / School of Nutrition and Health Promotion (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
The purpose of this essay is to explain how celebrities manage their brand, as an image and commodity, using social media. Merriam-Webster defines "celebrity" as the "state of being celebrated." This essay will continue to explain how this state of celebration is a manufactured idea by the individual and the media's portrayal. Celebrities are "well-known for their well-knowness" (Boorstin, 1961, p. 58). Boorstin (1961) explains celebrities achieve fame not for their achievements, but by creating a unique personality (as cited in Turner, 2004). Crowd culture, networks, and audience knowledge are tools celebrities must use to navigate digital nuances. They must manage performance of self, adhere to internet social norms, and the obsessive fame culture. Celebrities are often referred to have "star power" and have a certain "charisma." This cultural identity is "negotiated and formed" contrived by a team through promotion, publicity, and advertising (Turner, 2004). Celebrities market themselves through branded content, media used to promote a product, on their social media pages while targeting crowd cultures. Networks truly define how celebrities must brand themselves on social media. This person-to-person contact establishes fan and consumer connections that build the celebrity's base and following. Despite campaigning in a digital world, it goes back to people connecting with people, not accounts linking to accounts. Celebrities manufacture all of these strategies and tactics as they market themselves as a commodity to target crowd culture audiences. This is why targeting crowd cultures is vitally important for celebrities. This essay explores the techniques of select celebrities as they succeed and fail navigating digital nuances.
ContributorsPierce, Ellen (Author) / Jacoby, Jim (Thesis director) / Himberg, Julia (Committee member) / Department of English (Contributor) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-12
Description
This thesis examines youth with mental health disorders in the juvenile justice system, and when their stories intersect with media coverage. In addition to exploring the history of juvenile justice in the United States, it reviews the relationship with youths who have a mental health disorder within the system, criticism of media’s coverage on these topics, and expert opinion on how this can be improved. Typically, both print and broadcast media have utilized these stories for sensationalism: slapping these crimes across the front page of the paper, or leading in a broadcast news show. Yet the journalistic responsibility of educating the community is tragically over looked, with these stories adding to the stigma of mental health. With this research, I aim to gather insight on how word choices, details, and story structure can improve daily reporting in a world of tight deadlines and competing interests—moving into a higher-quality news product.
ContributorsClark, Lauren Louise (Author) / McGuire, Tim (Thesis director) / Griller-Clark, Heather (Committee member) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
Nonprofits often struggle in fully implementing a successful social media strategy. These organizations neglect to create and maintain relationships with stakeholders, engage their audience, and build brand awareness in an online setting. As social media has essentially become one of the largest sources of information dissemination and one of the most populated platforms in the online world, a nonprofit's online presence has become increasingly important. Through a 22-day content analysis and 43-question survey that was distributed to the general public on Twitter and Facebook, this paper looks comprehensively into the elements and tactics used by Make-A-Wish, Halo and ALS Association. Based off of the research findings from this study, important aspects of these nonprofits' online strategy will be identified and analyzed.
ContributorsJoseph, Teresa Marie (Author) / Wu, Xu (Thesis director) / Thornton, Leslie (Committee member) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05