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 - 5 of 5
Description
Given the importance of free speech and free expression for the learning and development of American citizens, it is important to analyze how our universities promote these principles within the classroom. In particular, it is crucial we understand how comfortable students feel sharing their views on the toughest and most controversial issues. The rise in free speech incidents over the past 20 years on college campuses has led us to question the state of free speech and free expression on university campuses and, more importantly, within the classroom. Research on this topic has taken a broad approach in attempting to understand student attitudes towards free speech, but there has been little research done on the state of campus expression within the ASU classroom.
This study utilized a modified survey instrument known as the Campus Expression Survey, a tool created by Heterodox Academy to gauge student perceptions of free speech and free expression within classroom environments. With a sample size of 366 ASU students across all four metropolitan campuses, students were asked a series of questions that included how comfortable they would be sharing their views on a controversial political issue as well as what consequences one might expect from other students and faculty members as a result of sharing one's views. Students were also asked about their ideological perceptions of their peers, faculty, and administrators.
Analysis of the responses found four primary conclusions. First, politically-oriented majors are significantly more comfortable expressing their views on both controversial and non-controversial issues. Furthermore, students are found to be significantly more comfortable when they believe other students and faculty members share their political beliefs. Third, students are more hesitant to speak up because of the perceived repercussions from their classmates rather than their professors. Lastly, students that identify as Republican, Independent, conservative, or moderate are far more likely to feel uncomfortable sharing their views than students that identify as Democrat or liberal.
This study utilized a modified survey instrument known as the Campus Expression Survey, a tool created by Heterodox Academy to gauge student perceptions of free speech and free expression within classroom environments. With a sample size of 366 ASU students across all four metropolitan campuses, students were asked a series of questions that included how comfortable they would be sharing their views on a controversial political issue as well as what consequences one might expect from other students and faculty members as a result of sharing one's views. Students were also asked about their ideological perceptions of their peers, faculty, and administrators.
Analysis of the responses found four primary conclusions. First, politically-oriented majors are significantly more comfortable expressing their views on both controversial and non-controversial issues. Furthermore, students are found to be significantly more comfortable when they believe other students and faculty members share their political beliefs. Third, students are more hesitant to speak up because of the perceived repercussions from their classmates rather than their professors. Lastly, students that identify as Republican, Independent, conservative, or moderate are far more likely to feel uncomfortable sharing their views than students that identify as Democrat or liberal.
ContributorsHeywood, Justin Richard (Co-author, Co-author) / German, Zachary (Thesis director) / Voboril, Jakub (Committee member) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / School of Civic & Economic Thought and Leadership (Contributor) / Thunderbird School of Global Management (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Research into criminal fantasies has thus far primarily focused on homicidal. Here, we broaden the study of criminal ideation by examining a wide range of violent and non-violent criminal fantasies. Specifically, we aimed to compare the magnitude of sex difference in actual crimes to sex differences in crime fantasies. Using a questionnaire design, participants were asked about the frequency and recency of multiple categories of criminal fantasies, including violent and non-violent crimes. Reports of crime fantasies from this questionnaire were compared to national rates of arrest and incident for these actual crimes. Results indicated that men not only commit crimes more frequently than women do, they also fantasize about crimes more frequently. At the same time, such sex differences in crime fantasies were smaller than sex differences in actual crimes. Future studies should continue to explore the purpose of crime fantasies and their relation to behavioral regulation mechanisms.
ContributorsBaldwin, Lauren (Co-author, Co-author) / Kenrick, Douglas (Thesis director) / Barlev, Michael (Committee member) / Presson, Clark (Committee member) / School of Criminology and Criminal Justice (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Besides acquiring group status via dominance or force, as in other animals, human beings can acquire status via prestige, which follows from other group members valuing one’s expert knowledge. Past research has shown a preference for prestigious leaders over dominant leaders. That is, people prefer leaders who are expert over those who are domineering. In this research, I explored whether the preference for prestige over dominance applies to preferences for actual political figures with facial features that appear dominant or prestigious. I also asked whether the same links between dominance, prestige, and voter preference would hold for both men and women. American participants (recruited through Amazon Mechanical Turk) rated European politicians’ faces on traits associated with prestige and dominance and indicated their likelihood of voting for this person as a governor of their state. Findings suggest ratings of both prestige is a strong predictor of leadership preference than dominance. However, strong correlations between variables suggest prestige and dominance are two closely related concepts. In addition, participants indicated a marginal to significant preference for female leaders, depending on their perceived dominance and prestigiousness.
ContributorsMartos, Christopher Robert (Author) / Kenrick, Douglas (Thesis director) / Barlev, Michael (Committee member) / Presson, Clark (Committee member) / Adi, Wiezel (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
In recent years, it has become evident that American civic literacy is in a sharp decline. Many scholars agree that young adults are becoming increasingly less engaged in activities involving the application of civics and that this may hinder the democratic process. This thesis will focus on how historical perspectives can improve contemporary application of civics in order to solve the civic literacy crisis. The report will evaluate different approaches to improving civic engagement in order to gauge their effectiveness and the potential for their use in the United States. In analyzing the decline, we will look at work from the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) like A Crisis in Civic Education and A Crucible Moment. Subsequently, we will provide a review of Megan McClure’s Tackling the American Civics Education Crisis and Robert D. Putnam’s Bowling Alone: America’s Declining Social Capital. We will present historical perspectives from the 19th and 20th century such as Thomas Jefferson, Alexis De Tocqueville and John Dewey in order to apply them to contemporary solutions for the decline. The contemporary perspectives of Harvard scholar Danielle Allen and various professors in the School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership (SCETL) at Arizona State University will be analyzed and critiqued. The results of our research prove that historical perspectives, when applied to contemporary solutions, are an effective way to bout the civic engagement crisis in the United States. This information can be used to alter the curriculum in the classroom to encourage and prepare students to become civically literate and engaged in order to protect the democratic process.
Keywords: civic decline, civic literacy, civic engagement, contemporary, historical
Keywords: civic decline, civic literacy, civic engagement, contemporary, historical
ContributorsBoering, Avery Loren (Co-author) / Giambanco, Niccolo (Co-author) / Seagrave, Adam (Thesis director) / Voboril, Jakub (Committee member) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
In recent years, it has become evident that American civic literacy is in a sharp decline. Many scholars agree that young adults are becoming increasingly less engaged in activities involving the application of civics and that this may hinder the democratic process. This thesis will focus on how historical perspectives can improve contemporary application of civics in order to solve the civic literacy crisis. The report will evaluate different approaches to improving civic engagement in order to gauge their effectiveness and the potential for their use in the United States. In analyzing the decline, we will look at work from the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) like A Crisis in Civic Education and A Crucible Moment. Subsequently, we will provide a review of Megan McClure’s Tackling the American Civics Education Crisis and Robert D. Putnam’s Bowling Alone: America’s Declining Social Capital. We will present historical perspectives from the 19th and 20th century such as Thomas Jefferson, Alexis De Tocqueville and John Dewey in order to apply them to contemporary solutions for the decline. The contemporary perspectives of Harvard scholar Danielle Allen and various professors in the School of Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership (SCETL) at Arizona State University will be analyzed and critiqued. The results of our research prove that historical perspectives, when applied to contemporary solutions, are an effective way to bout the civic engagement crisis in the United States. This information can be used to alter the curriculum in the classroom to encourage and prepare students to become civically literate and engaged in order to protect the democratic process.
ContributorsGiambanco, Niccolo Giuseppe Salvatore (Co-author) / Boering, Avery (Co-author) / Seagrave, Adam (Thesis director) / Voboril, Jakub (Committee member) / Historical, Philosophical & Religious Studies (Contributor, Contributor) / Department of English (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05