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: Identity
- All Subjects: adolescents
DescriptionThis study aimed to: (a) examine adolescents' knowledge, attitudes and behavioral intention about HPV and vaccination in adolescent boys and girls aged 11-17; and (b) examine gender differences in responses given by adolescent boys and girls aged 11-17.
ContributorsReidhead, Whitney Brooke (Author) / Chen, Angela (Thesis director) / Stevens, Carol (Committee member) / Arizona State University. College of Nursing & Healthcare Innovation (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-12
Description
This Barrett, the Honors College senior thesis connects the experiences of cosplay with public speaking confidence. “Cosplay, abbreviated from the word ‘costume play,’ is a performance art in which the participant masquerades as a character from a selected film, television, video game, or comic book” (Gn, 2011, p. 583). The ability to “cosplay” in front of other relies on performing in front of an audience much like public speaking. When students speak with confidence, students will know their ideas are being expressed with conviction and assurance. Having the ability to speak professionally and publicly, is a highly valued skill in the workforce and key to success in all types of employment. Communication skills are frequently a top factor in determining whether a college student will obtain employment (Beebe & Beebe, 2006, p. 275-276). Despite their different definitions, there are multiple connections between cosplay and public speaking. This thesis explores the connection between peer support and belief in one’s self in both cosplay and public speaking. Now those who have direct support become self-reliant and confident as a result of these connections. This projects highlights Goffman’s identity theory, the Pygmalion effect, theories of fashion and identity, role-play, narrative paradigm, dramatism, and non-verbal communication, and explores how cosplay can contribute to the formation of one’s public speaking persona. The issue of anxiety is also included in the conversation as it is central to both cosplay and public speaking. Ultimately, this thesis explores the questions: Can cosplay help students become empowered public speakers?
ContributorsGallardo Rojas, Lizette (Author) / Ramsey, Ramsey Eric (Thesis director) / Wentzel, Bonnie (Committee member) / School of Social and Behavioral Sciences (Contributor) / School of Criminology and Criminal Justice (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
Background: The prevalence of childhood obesity has disproportionately affected Latino youth and can be seen with an increase incidence of Type 2 Diabetes. This increase in obesity can be attributed to physical inactivity. Increases in social support and self-efficacy are independently related to increases in physical activity. A lifestyle intervention can lead to increases in social support, self-efficacy and physical activity. Objective/Hypothesis: The objective of this study was to determine whether a 12-week lifestyle intervention could increase social support, self-efficacy and physical activity in obese Latino adolescents that participated in the intervention. It was hypothesized that adolescents that participated in the intervention would increase self-efficacy, social support from family and friends, and physical activity compared to their control counterparts. Study Design/Participants: In a randomized control trial, there were 125 Latino (n= 60 experimental group; n= 65 control group; mean age = 15.17 +- 1.65 Males n = 60; n = 65 females) participants included in this study. Participants were also required to have a BMI percentile >= 95th percentile for age and gender or BMI >= 30 kg/m2. Methods: The intervention, which was developed using the Social Cognitive Theory had components focusing on social support and self-efficacy and also consisted of nutrition education classes and physical activity sessions for 12 weeks. The psychosocial constructs of self-efficacy and social support were measured using the Adolescent Self-Efficacy for Diet and Activity Behaviors and Adolescent Social Support for Diet and Exercise Survey, respectively. Physical activity was assessed by the 3-day Physical Activity Recall. Results: We found significant increases in social support in family (p = 0.042) and vigorous physical activity (p = 0.001). There was also a significant difference between control and treatment group for moderate to vigorous physical activity after the intervention (p = 0.027). There were no changes in social support from friends or self-efficacy. Conclusion: We concluded that a 12-week lifestyle intervention did lead to changes in social support and physical activity behaviors. These changes could have been influenced by the intervention as they were measured these constructs pre/post intervention.
ContributorsRahman, Hanna (Author) / Shaibi, Gabriel (Thesis director) / Hoffner, Kristin (Committee member) / School of Nutrition and Health Promotion (Contributor) / School of Social and Behavioral Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
In 2012, President Obama presented an executive order, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which primarily defers the deportation of unauthorized immigrants who are under the age of 31 and who arrived to the US before the age 16, among other things. This study examines the impact DACA has had on the identity formation, interfamilial relationships, and future plans of 15 Mexican-origin adults (18-27 years old, 47% female) who were approved for DACA in Arizona. Participants were recruited using flyers and the snowball sampling method. Interviews were conducted using a semi-structured interview guide by a bilingual, culturally competent interviewer. The interviews were recorded and then a transcript-based pragmatic, thematic analysis of the interviews was conducted. Findings show that participants who arrive to the U.S. at a younger age (under 5) identify as American, while those who arrive at an older age (over 8) do not feel like they can identify as an American because they spent more time in Mexico and are more attached to their home culture. Physical characteristics also played a factor in whether or not participants felt like they could identify as American. Participants describe their financial responsibility in their families increasing since receiving DACA. They also describe how they are now seen as role models to other undocumented youth in their families. Despite the uncertain future of DACA, these participants continued to have ambitious goals such as becoming lawyers and working at robotics companies. Future studies should include larger sample sizes and formally test theories of identity.
ContributorsLopez, Alejandra (Author) / Diaz McConnell, Eileen (Thesis director) / Martinez, Airin (Committee member) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor) / School of Transborder Studies (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
The author examined the relationship between social intelligence and attachment style, specifically how attachment style affects how individuals respond to social intelligence training. Students at the Herberger Young Scholars Academy, a school for the highly gifted, completed an online social intelligence training program through the Social Intelligence Institute and were assessed on a number of items. These items include the Tromso Social Intelligence Scale (TSIS), the Attachment Questionnaire for Children (AQ-C), and a daily diary measure in which they recorded and rated their social interactions day to day. All participants were found to be either securely or insecurely attached, and those that were insecurely attached were further divided into insecure anxious attachment style and insecure avoidant attachment style. It was hypothesized that those with a secure attachment style would have higher initial TSIS scores than those with an insecure attachment style. It was also hypothesized that insecurely attached individuals would benefit more from the social intelligence training program than securely attached individuals indicated by "In tune" scores from the daily diaries, and insecure avoidant individuals would benefit more from the program than insecure anxious individuals indicated by "In tune" scores from the daily diaries. None of these hypotheses were supported by the data, as there was no significant difference between the initial social intelligence scores of the three attachment styles, and none of the variables measured were found to be significant predictors of "In tune" scores. Key Words: social intelligence, social intelligence training, attachment, attachment style, children, adolescents, gifted, IQ, high IQ
ContributorsPrice, Christina Nicole (Author) / Zautra, Alex (Thesis director) / Knight, George (Committee member) / Mickelson, Kristin (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2014-12
Description
An increasingly sedentary population in the United States, specifically with adolescents, is putting youth at risk of future health related trauma and disease. This single-case design study, Walking Intervention Through Text Messaging for Adolescents (WalkIT-A), was used to intervene with a 12-year old, physically inactive male, in an attempt to test the efficacy of a 12-week physical activity program that may help reduce health risks by increasing number of steps walked per day. The components of the intervention consisted of a FitBit Zip pedometer, physical activity education, text messages, monetary incentives, and goal setting that adapted personally to the participant. Mean step count increased by 30% from baseline (mean = 3603 [sd = 1983]) to intervention (mean = 4693 [sd = 2112]); then increased slightly by 6.7% from intervention to withdrawal (mean = 5009 [sd = 2152]). Mean "very active minutes" increased by 45% from baseline (mean = 8.8 [sd = 8.9]) to intervention (mean = 12.8 [sd = 9.6]); then increased by 61.7% from intervention to withdrawal (mean = 20.7 [sd = 8.4]). Weight, BMI, and blood pressure all increased modestly from pre to post. Cardiovascular fitness (estimated VO2 max) improved by 12.5% from pre (25.5ml*kg-1*min-1) to post (28.7ml*kg-1*min-1). The intervention appeared to have a delayed and residual effect on the participant's daily steps and very active minutes. Although the idealistic ABA pattern did not occur, and the participant did not meet the target of 11,500 daily steps, a positive trend toward that target behavior in the latter 1/3rd of the intervention was observed. Results suggest the need for an extended intervention over a longer period of time and customized even further to the participant.
ContributorsLamb, Nicholas Reid (Author) / Adams, Marc (Thesis director) / Ainsworth, Barbara (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Nutrition and Health Promotion (Contributor)
Created2014-12
Description
Research indicates that adolescents with low quality relationships with parents are susceptible to risk of depression. There is little known about how other relationships relate to depression. This study examined adolescent's relationship with parents, romantic partners, and best friends as a predictor of depressive symptoms. A primarily Dutch population of 80 adolescent couples in the age group of 13 to 18 years old (M = 15.48 SD: 1.16) completed the Epidemiological Depression Scale, Investment Scale of Rusbult, along with an Emotional Warmth scale at Time one and then a year later (Time two). Depressive symptoms at Time two was negatively related with adolescent's emotional warmth with parents. There is also a positive correlation between depressive symptoms at Time one and Time two. However, no significant data was found for an association between satisfaction with romantic partner or best friend and depressive symptoms at Time two. These findings indicate that the type of relationship formed with parents might contribute to the depression adolescent's face.
ContributorsShaikh, Mohammad Usama (Author) / Fabes, Richard (Thesis director) / Ha, Phuong Thao (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
Across the world, nations manage their borders in various ways. Brazil and Uruguay share a non-militarized dry border, which creates a range of unique challenges and assets for that region. Through historical, linguistic, and cultural context as well as ethnography-inspired mixed method research, this paper demonstrates that the border region serves as an area of cultural blending. While elements of national affiliation are still present, at times, semiotic and linguistic elements are neither Brazilian nor Uruguayan, but have taken on their own identity.
ContributorsAraiza, Ulises (Co-author) / Desper, Tate (Co-author) / Escobar, Edward (Thesis director) / O'Connor, Brendan (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies (Contributor) / School of Transborder Studies (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
This study examined the effect of an 8-week exercise intervention on functional exercise capacity in adolescents with Down syndrome (DS). Forty participants were randomly assigned to one of three groups: assisted cycling (ACT) (n = 17) where participants experienced at least a 35% increase in their voluntary cycling speed through the use of a motor, voluntary cycling (VC) (n = 15) where participants cycled at a self-selected cadence, and no cycling (NC) (n = 8) where participants did not participate in any cycling intervention. In each cycling intervention, each participant completed three, 30 minute cycling sessions per week for a total of eight weeks. The Six-Minute Walk Test (6MWT) was administered prior to and after the 8-week intervention in pre-test and post-test assessment sessions, respectively. Our hypothesis was somewhat supported in that functional exercise capacity improved after ACT as measured by an increase in total number of laps walked, total distance walked, and average walking speed during the 6MWT, when compared to VC or NC.
ContributorsCook, Megan Rey (Author) / Ringenbach, Shannon (Thesis director) / Huberty, Jennifer (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Nutrition and Health Promotion (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
It took the coming together of a community of people and their collective efforts to bring me where I am today academically. I would first like to thank Barrett, especially Dean Ramsey who helped build my appreciation for reading primary text, and NCUIRE for awarding me the grant for this project. I want to extend my gratitude to Dr. Jeffery Kassing for being more than a director for my thesis by patiently listening to me talk about my future aspiration, and Dr. Jim Reed for being a mentor and a second reader. I would also like to thank all the multitude of professors and other mentors who helped shape my perspective in seeing the bigger picture. I am mostly grateful to all those who directly and indirectly helped bring this thesis to realization. Lastly, but certainly not the least, I would like to say a big thank you to my entire family, loved ones, and friends here and back home for enthusiastically cheering me on.
ContributorsWento, Christiana Tally (Author) / Kassing, Jeffrey (Thesis director) / Reed, James (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Social and Behavioral Sciences (Contributor)
Created2015-05