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 1 - 10 of 31
Description
Pacemakers in the early 1970s were powered by betavoltaic devices which provided long lasting battery life. The betavoltaic devices also emitted gamma radiation due to inadvertent radioisotope contamination, which could not be completely shielded. The betavoltaic devices were quickly replaced by lithium batteries after their invention, and betavoltaics were abandoned. Modern technological advancements made it possible to isolate beta emitting radioisotopes properly and achieve better energy conversion efficiencies which revived the topic of betavoltaics. This research project has studied state-of-the-art pacemakers and modern radioactive power sources in order to determine if modern pacemakers can be safely nuclear powered and if that is a reasonable combination.
ContributorsAwad, Al-Homam Abdualrahman (Author) / Holbert, Keith (Thesis director) / Aberle, James (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Electrical Engineering Program (Contributor)
Created2014-12
Description
Scientists, lawyers, and bioethicists have pondered the impact of scientifically deterministic evidence on a judge or jury when deciding the sentence of a criminal. Though the impact may be one that relieves the amount of personal guilt on the part of the criminal, this evidence may also be the very reason that a judge or jury punishes more strongly, suggesting that this type of evidence may be a double-edged sword. 118 participants were shown three films of fictional sentencing hearings. All three films introduced scientifically deterministic evidence, and participants were asked to recommend a prison sentence. Each hearing portrayed a different criminal with different neurological conditions, a different crime, and a different extent of argumentation during closing arguments about the scientifically deterministic evidence. Though the argumentation from the prosecution and the defense did not affect sentencing, the interaction of type of crime and neurological condition did.
ContributorsMeschkow, Alisha Sadie (Author) / Schweitzer, Nicholas (Thesis director) / Robert, Jason (Committee member) / Patten, K. Jakob (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
Noninvasive prenatal testing using cell-free fetal DNA (CffDNA) testing is a rapidly developing area in prenatal diagnosis. Fetal genetic testing can occur with a simple maternal blood sample, since CffDNA can be found in maternal plasma. Thus, no harm is caused to mother or fetus to obtain this genetic information, providing significant benefits for those users. How the test should be integrated in existing prenatal programs has yet to be seen. CffDNA testing is an exciting technology and has attracted attention from many stakeholders, yet the lack of regulation and guidance has left legal, ethical, and social questions unanswered. This paper outlines a number of those issues expressed in the present literature on the matter.
ContributorsVeeder, Shaylynn Lee (Author) / Marchant, Gary (Thesis director) / Robert, Jason (Committee member) / Milleson, Valerye (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
Generally, increasing the electrical size of an antenna will increase the directivity of the antenna. In the case of an array of identical antennas with uniform spacing, the electrical size can be increased by increasing the number of elements. However, directivity can be further increased by performing signal processing on the signals received by elements of an antenna array. This thesis focuses primarily on reproducing and expanding upon a method to increase the directivity of a two-element array using non-linear transmission lines periodically loaded with varactor diodes, which act as harmonic multipliers. Simulation and circuit design is performed using Keysight Advanced Design System, a microwave circuit simulation software package. Furthermore, a hardware implementation is discussed and recommendations are made for construction of the hardware array. Finally, possible expansion of the two-element array to a four or more element array is discussed, and preliminary simulations are examined.
ContributorsHanson, Elliot (Author) / Diaz, Rudolfo (Thesis director) / Aberle, James (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Electrical, Computer, and Energy Engineering (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
The nonmedical use of prescription ADHD medications by American college students for the purpose of enhancing academic performance has been well-documented for more than a decade. A closer look at this trend through the lens of biomedicalization theory shows us that this behavior, which is often dismissed as a simple abuse of the system by deviant young people, is consistent with broader trends in post-modern medicine and health. The goal of this project was to describe the biomedicalization of studying by illustrating the historical, sociocultural, and politico-economic roots of nonmedical stimulant use by college students in the United States. An online survey was administered to students at ASU and responses from students studying in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (n=233) were analyzed. A 12.4% lifetime prevalence of illicit stimulant use was found among the sample population. Thematic analysis was performed on students' open-ended commentary and several themes related to the biomedicalization framework were uncovered including Necessity, Identity, Inextricability from academia, and Trust in the system. Through these themes it was found that many of the theorized transitions of biomedicalization were visible in the data set, confirming the idea that nonmedical stimulant use is embedded in the complex network of processes that represents post-modern medicine today.
ContributorsStevenson, Christine Renee (Author) / Brian, Jennifer (Thesis director) / Robert, Jason (Committee member) / Caniglia, Guido (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
The knowledge of medical genetics is currently used with prenatal testing, and the advancements in the field of behavioral genetics may someday allow for its use with prenatal testing as well. The use of prenatal procedures for medical phenotypes has its own implications and should these techniques be used for behavioral phenotypes, such implications can also apply. The complexity of behavior in terms of the factors that may affect it, along with the way it is conceptualized and perceived, adds further implications for prenatal testing of it. In this thesis, I discuss the qualitative, quantitative, and historical facets of prenatal testing for medical and behavioral phenotypes and the undercurrent of eugenics. I do so by presenting an example of the medical phenotype (cystic fibrosis) as a case for envisioning the implications of medical phenotypes before delving into examples of behavioral phenotypes (aggression, impulsivity, extraversion, and neuroticism) in order to explore the implications shared with those for medical phenotypes as well as those unique to it. These implications then set the foundation for a discussion of eugenics, and the considerations for how behavioral genetics with prenatal testing may give way to a modern form of it.
ContributorsMinai, Mandana (Author) / Maienschein, Jane (Thesis director) / Robert, Jason (Committee member) / Magnus, David (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
A hybrid PV/T module was built, consisting of a thermal liquid heating system and a photovoltaic module system that combine in a hybrid format. This report will discuss the work on the project from Fall 2012 to Spring 2013 and the extended section on the economics for the Honors Thesis. Three stages of experiments were completed. Stage 1 showed our project was functional as we were able to verify our panel produced electricity and increased the temperature of water flowing in the system by 0.65°C. Stage 2 testing included “gluing” the flow system to the back of the panel resulting in an average increase of 4.76°C in the temperature of the water in the system. Stage 3 testing included adding insulating foam to the module which resulted in increasing the average temperature of the water in our flow system by 6.95°C. The economic calculations show the expected energy cost savings for Arizona residents.
ContributorsHaines, Brent Robert (Author) / Roedel, Ronald (Thesis director) / Aberle, James (Committee member) / Rauch, Dawson (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Electrical Engineering Program (Contributor)
Created2013-05
Description
This long form creative nonfiction essay gives insider details on working in an emergency room as a medical scribe. The most pertinent topic is death and how the author copes with seeing patients die on a regular basis. Other topics are emergency room procedures, specific diagnoses and treatments, as well information on the other personnel in an emergency room.
ContributorsFeller, Aaron Lee (Author) / Gutkind, Lee (Thesis director) / Robert, Jason (Committee member) / Rowe, Todd (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry (Contributor) / Department of English (Contributor)
Created2013-05
Description
Vaccine opposition is a growing problem in developed countries where dropping vaccination rates threaten general public health by laying the foundation for resurgence and reemergence of previously eradicated infectious diseases. This thesis argues that the current movement is only the most recent incarnation of opposition that has co-evolved with vaccine practices for the duration of their mutual histories. Part one provides a historical context for the current movement using the example of the development and deployment of the smallpox vaccine as a representative timeline of vaccine acceptance and opposition. Part two describes the current movement in the United States and the United Kingdom, interprets the reasons for the conclusions drawn by vaccine-concerned parents, and provides a framework for public health officials to approach the issues.
ContributorsKost, Stephanie Michelle (Author) / Lynch, John (Thesis director) / Hurlbut, Ben (Committee member) / Robert, Jason (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor)
Created2013-12
Description
A hybrid PV/T module was built, consisting of a thermal liquid heating system and a photovoltaic module system that combine in a hybrid format. This report will discuss the work on the project from Fall 2012 to Spring 2013. Three stages of experiments were completed. Stage 1 showed our project was functional as we were able to verify our panel produced electricity and increased the temperature of water flowing in the system by 0.65°C. Stage 2 testing included “gluing” the flow system to the back of the panel resulting in an average increase of 4.76°C in the temperature of the water in the system. Stage 3 testing included adding insulating foam to the module which resulted in increasing the average temperature of the water in our flow system by 6.95°C.
ContributorsDenke, Steven Michael (Author) / Roedel, Ron (Thesis director) / Aberle, James (Committee member) / Rauch, Dawson (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Electrical Engineering Program (Contributor)
Created2013-05