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: Forensic Science
Description
Criminal Justice is a complex subject matter, and not everyone agrees on the way a criminal justice system ought to function. But one feature that is common to virtually all forms of proposed justice systems is that a true justice system treats people ethically. The question, then, is how a justice system can achieve this. This investigation analyzed two ethical theories, Kantianism and Utilitarianism, to determine which one would be better suited for guiding a criminal justice system on how to treat the people involved ethically. This investigation focused on applying the two theories to the U.S. Criminal Justice System in particular.
Kantianism is a duty-based moral theory in which actions have an intrinsic moral worth. This means certain actions are morally right and other are morally wrong, regardless of the intended or realized consequences. The theory relies on the categorical imperative to judge the morality of certain actions. It states that an action is moral if its maxim can be willed universal law and if it avoids treating people as merely a means. In contrast, Utilitarianism is a consequentialist theory which focuses on the consequences of an action in judging moral worth. In Utilitarianism, the morally correct action is the one which will maximize utility; that is to say, the morally right action is the one which will produce the greatest amount of happiness and minimize the amount of pain for the greatest number of people.
After applying these two theories to moral dilemmas facing the U.S. Criminal Justice System, including the appropriate collection of DNA evidence, the use of police deception, and the use of criminal punishments such as solitary confinement or the death penalty, it was clear that Kantianism was the ethical theory best suited for guiding the system in treating people ethically. This is because Kantianism’s focus on the intrinsic moral worth of an action rather than its consequences leaves less room for ambiguity than does Utilitarianism.
Kantianism is a duty-based moral theory in which actions have an intrinsic moral worth. This means certain actions are morally right and other are morally wrong, regardless of the intended or realized consequences. The theory relies on the categorical imperative to judge the morality of certain actions. It states that an action is moral if its maxim can be willed universal law and if it avoids treating people as merely a means. In contrast, Utilitarianism is a consequentialist theory which focuses on the consequences of an action in judging moral worth. In Utilitarianism, the morally correct action is the one which will maximize utility; that is to say, the morally right action is the one which will produce the greatest amount of happiness and minimize the amount of pain for the greatest number of people.
After applying these two theories to moral dilemmas facing the U.S. Criminal Justice System, including the appropriate collection of DNA evidence, the use of police deception, and the use of criminal punishments such as solitary confinement or the death penalty, it was clear that Kantianism was the ethical theory best suited for guiding the system in treating people ethically. This is because Kantianism’s focus on the intrinsic moral worth of an action rather than its consequences leaves less room for ambiguity than does Utilitarianism.
ContributorsMorett, Xavier Laakea (Author) / Manninen, Bertha (Thesis director) / Kimberly, Kobojek (Committee member) / School of Criminology and Criminal Justice (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Natural Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Forensic science is the application of science to matters of law, especially criminal investigation and procedure. ForenSICK Science, on the other hand, is an educational YouTube channel. It was created in early 2019 after listening to two people on a podcast confidently preach surprisingly inaccurate information about forensic science. My goal in the creation of the channel was to give people the proper information regarding the practice. This goal grew to encompass several different fields including continued education practices, informal and nonformal learning, and combating “science speak.” Using YouTube as a tool in this journey was the first step in combating forensic inaccuracies.
ContributorsByrne, Mckenna Noel (Author) / Kobojek, Kimberly (Thesis director) / Wentzel, Bonnie (Committee member) / College of Health Solutions (Contributor) / School of Film, Dance and Theatre (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Natural Sciences (Contributor) / Watts College of Public Service & Community Solut (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Fingermarks have been used by law enforcement agencies to identify suspects in criminal activity. Although fingermarks remain persistent over time, the degradation pattern of latent fingermarks remains unknown. Previous studies examined the morphology of friction ridges on a two-dimensional scale, but recently 3D technology has been employed to examine how the height dimension degrades overtime. The Sa statistic was formulated to monitor the aging process of friction ridge heights from 6 donors. Fingermarks were deposited on two nonporous substrates (glass or plastic) and aged under dark or light exposure for 98 days. Pressure, time of contact, and treatment of finger prior to deposition were held constant while temperature and humidity were monitored throughout the study. Experimental variables included substrate and light exposure. Females exhibited slower degradation than males. For fingermarks deposited on glass, faster degradation was seen under light exposure. This finding was consistent for fingermarks deposited on plastic, but instrument contamination may have been possible. Slower degradation was seen on glass under both light exposures. This study indicates the Sa statistic is valuable for assessing fingermark degradation of friction ridges. However, due to a small sample size and variability in the rate of degradation between donors, genders, under different lighting and substrate conditions, the age of latent fingermarks cannot be determined at this time.
ContributorsGrasman, Simona Jun (Co-author) / Grasman, Simona (Co-author) / Kobojek, Kimberly (Thesis director) / Mancenido, Michelle (Committee member) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Natural Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
The purpose of this creative project was to create a forensic science program that accommodated Diné Philosophy and Culture. Indigenous representation is a key factor in promoting the advancement of the native ways of life. This thesis provides a culturally aware program that assists students to learn about taboo fields within the restrictions of the cultural teachings and traditions. This thesis developed a week-long forensics program targeted to Navajo middle school students with the cultural restriction in mind. During this process, the most difficult was integrating not only the taboos but also the foundations. At the end of this project, the most significant way to create an outreach program for Navajo students is by utilizing the Diné philosophy teaching models. This project is important because to create an effective science community there has to be equal representation for it to grow.
ContributorsJohnson, Elisabeth (Author) / Kobojek, Kimberly (Thesis director) / Chadwick, Deborah (Committee member) / School of Mathematical and Natural Sciences (Contributor) / College of Health Solutions (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Chemiluminescent reagents, such as BlueStar® forensic reagent, are used during crime scene investigations to detect latent bloodstains as they react with the iron in blood to produce bright chemiluminescence. There are several substances that cause false positives with BlueStar® reagent, including plant peroxidases and certain metal compounds. These false positive substances are commonly seen in cosmetic products. The widespread availability and popularity of cosmetics makes it possible that false positive substances may be encountered at crime scenes and could potentially interfere with investigations. The cosmetic products chosen for this study included two of the following types of products at different price points: foundation, primer, moisturizer, cleanser, and setting powder. The ten cosmetic products were tested with BlueStar® forensic reagent in two rounds of testing on multiple surface types to mimic different ways investigators may encounter the products at crime scenes. The results of the tests were overall negative as the products did not produce any chemiluminescence, indicating that the products do not cause false positives with the BlueStar® forensic reagent and are not concern for investigators. As a majority of the products contain ingredients known to cause false positives with BlueStar®, the completely negative results raised several questions. More exploration of the interaction between cosmetic products and BlueStar® reagents needs to occur in order to clarify and confirm if cosmetics pose a risk to crime scene investigators.
ContributorsMaley, Samantha Bree (Author) / Kobojek, Kimberly (Thesis director) / Cahill, Thomas (Committee member) / School of Mathematical and Natural Sciences (Contributor) / School of Criminology and Criminal Justice (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05