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 34
Description
This paper details the specification and implementation of a single-machine blockchain simulator. It also includes a brief introduction on the history & underlying concepts of blockchain, with explanations on features such as decentralization, openness, trustlessness, and consensus. The introduction features a brief overview of public interest and current implementations of blockchain before stating potential use cases for blockchain simulation software. The paper then gives a brief literature review of blockchain's role, both as a disruptive technology and a foundational technology. The literature review also addresses the potential and difficulties regarding the use of blockchain in Internet of Things (IoT) networks, and also describes the limitations of blockchain in general regarding computational intensity, storage capacity, and network architecture. Next, the paper gives the specification for a generic blockchain structure, with summaries on the behaviors and purposes of transactions, blocks, nodes, miners, public & private key cryptography, signature validation, and hashing. Finally, the author gives an overview of their specific implementation of the blockchain using C/C++ and OpenSSL. The overview includes a brief description of all the classes and data structures involved in the implementation, including their function and behavior. While the implementation meets the requirements set forward in the specification, the results are more qualitative and intuitive, as time constraints did not allow for quantitative measurements of the network simulation. The paper concludes by discussing potential applications for the simulator, and the possibility for future hardware implementations of blockchain.
ContributorsRauschenbach, Timothy Rex (Author) / Vrudhula, Sarma (Thesis director) / Nakamura, Mutsumi (Committee member) / Computer Science and Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-12
Description
Bioscience High School, a small magnet high school located in Downtown Phoenix and a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math) focused school, has been pushing to establish a computer science curriculum for all of their students from freshman to senior year. The school's Mision (Mission and Vision) is to: "..provide a rigorous, collaborative, and relevant academic program emphasizing an innovative, problem-based curriculum that develops literacy in the sciences, mathematics, and the arts, thus cultivating critical thinkers, creative problem-solvers, and compassionate citizens, who are able to thrive in our increasingly complex and technological communities." Computational thinking is an important part in developing a future problem solver Bioscience High School is looking to produce. Bioscience High School is unique in the fact that every student has a computer available for him or her to use. Therefore, it makes complete sense for the school to add computer science to their curriculum because one of the school's goals is to be able to utilize their resources to their full potential. However, the school's attempt at computer science integration falls short due to the lack of expertise amongst the math and science teachers. The lack of training and support has postponed the development of the program and they are desperately in need of someone with expertise in the field to help reboot the program. As a result, I've decided to create a course that is focused on teaching students the concepts of computational thinking and its application through Scratch and Arduino programming.
ContributorsLiu, Deming (Author) / Meuth, Ryan (Thesis director) / Nakamura, Mutsumi (Committee member) / Computer Science and Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
We created an Android application, Impromp2, which allows users to search for and save events of interest to them in the Phoenix area. The backend, built on the Parse platform, gathers events daily using Web services and stores them in a database. Impromp2 was designed to improve upon similarly-purposed apps available for Android devices in several key ways, especially in user interface design and data interaction capability. This is a full-stack software project that explores databases and their performance considerations, Web services, user interface design, and the challenges of app development for a mobile platform.
ContributorsNorth, Joseph Robert (Author) / Balasooriya, Janaka (Thesis director) / Nakamura, Mutsumi (Committee member) / Faucon, Philippe (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Computer Science and Engineering Program (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
For my thesis project, I have developed a cash register web application for the Arizona State University Barrett Dining Hall. I previously worked at the Barrett Dining Hall, and I would occasionally step in as a cashier. This work is how I came to be familiar with the system and all its inefficiencies. The system requires multiple user inputs to implement even the most basic of tasks, is not user-friendly, and therefore very prone to error. In the event that multiple incorrect inputs are entered, the software will freeze, and the user will have to turn off the computer and turn it back on. In theory, this application is an improvement over the software system that is currently in place in that the user interface has been specifically designed to be user-friendly. This application reduces the number of required user inputs by automating certain tasks (such as pricing and determining the meal period), thereby reducing the chance of user error. It is also an improvement in that it allows students to log in to the system to view how many meals they have left, how much M&G is in their account, and how many guest passes they have left. This functionality is extremely important because this is a feature that is not currently in place, and is something that students have actively complained about. Currently, if students want to check on their meal plan, they have to either physically go to a dining hall and ask the cashier, or call a toll-free number. The two technologies used to develop this application are C# and XML. These technologies were chosen because I wanted to learn something new for this project to broaden my knowledge. I also happened to be taking a class at the start of this project that utilized C# and XML for Web Applications, and it seemed like the perfect opportunity to transfer over the skills I had been learning.
ContributorsLewis, Q. Mariha Paishance (Author) / Chen, Yinong (Thesis director) / Nakamura, Mutsumi (Committee member) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Computer Science and Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
A previous study demonstrated that learning to lift an object is context-based and that in the presence of both the memory and visual cues, the acquired sensorimotor memory to manipulate an object in one context interferes with the performance of the same task in presence of visual information about a different context (Fu et al, 2012).
The purpose of this study is to know whether the primary motor cortex (M1) plays a role in the sensorimotor memory. It was hypothesized that temporary disruption of the M1 following the learning to minimize a tilt using a ‘L’ shaped object would negatively affect the retention of sensorimotor memory and thus reduce interference between the memory acquired in one context and the visual cues to perform the same task in a different context.
Significant findings were shown in blocks 1, 2, and 4. In block 3, subjects displayed insignificant amount of learning. However, it cannot be concluded that there is full interference in block 3. Therefore, looked into 3 effects in statistical analysis: the main effects of the blocks, the main effects of the trials, and the effects of the blocks and trials combined. From the block effects, there is a p-value of 0.001, and from the trial effects, the p-value is less than 0.001. Both of these effects indicate that there is learning occurring. However, when looking at the blocks * trials effects, we see a p-value of 0.002 < 0.05 indicating significant interaction between sensorimotor memories. Based on the results that were found, there is a presence of interference in all the blocks but not enough to justify the use of TMS in order to reduce interference because there is a partial reduction of interference from the control experiment. It is evident that the time delay might be the issue between context switches. By reducing the time delay between block 2 and 3 from 10 minutes to 5 minutes, I will hope to see significant learning to occur from the first trial to the second trial.
The purpose of this study is to know whether the primary motor cortex (M1) plays a role in the sensorimotor memory. It was hypothesized that temporary disruption of the M1 following the learning to minimize a tilt using a ‘L’ shaped object would negatively affect the retention of sensorimotor memory and thus reduce interference between the memory acquired in one context and the visual cues to perform the same task in a different context.
Significant findings were shown in blocks 1, 2, and 4. In block 3, subjects displayed insignificant amount of learning. However, it cannot be concluded that there is full interference in block 3. Therefore, looked into 3 effects in statistical analysis: the main effects of the blocks, the main effects of the trials, and the effects of the blocks and trials combined. From the block effects, there is a p-value of 0.001, and from the trial effects, the p-value is less than 0.001. Both of these effects indicate that there is learning occurring. However, when looking at the blocks * trials effects, we see a p-value of 0.002 < 0.05 indicating significant interaction between sensorimotor memories. Based on the results that were found, there is a presence of interference in all the blocks but not enough to justify the use of TMS in order to reduce interference because there is a partial reduction of interference from the control experiment. It is evident that the time delay might be the issue between context switches. By reducing the time delay between block 2 and 3 from 10 minutes to 5 minutes, I will hope to see significant learning to occur from the first trial to the second trial.
ContributorsHasan, Salman Bashir (Author) / Santello, Marco (Thesis director) / Kleim, Jeffrey (Committee member) / Helms Tillery, Stephen (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Harrington Bioengineering Program (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
Electroencephalogram (EEG) used simultaneously with video monitoring can record detailed patient physiology during a seizure to aid diagnosis. However, current patient monitoring systems typically require a patient to stay in view of a fixed camera limiting their freedom of movement. The goal of this project is to design an automatic patient monitoring system with software to track patient movement in order to increase a patient's mobility. This report discusses the impact of an automatic patient monitoring system and the design steps used to create and test a functional prototype.
ContributorsBui, Robert Truong (Author) / Frakes, David (Thesis director) / Helms Tillery, Stephen (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Electrical Engineering Program (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
Ultrasound is a sound wave that produces acoustic pressure and is most commonly known as a noninvasive technique for bodily imaging. However, high-intensity focused ultrasound can be used for noninvasive physiotherapy. An example of this the treatment of tumors in the kidneys, as the sound waves of HIFU interacts with tissues in the body. For this thesis, the necessary parameters for ultrasonic stimulation of the central nervous system in rats were characterized.
ContributorsHughes, Brett William (Co-author) / Castel, Nikki (Co-author) / Hillen, Brian (Thesis director) / Helms Tillery, Stephen (Committee member) / Lozano, Cecil (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry (Contributor)
Created2013-05
Description
Web-application development constantly changes \u2014 new programming languages, testing tools and programming methodologies are often proposed. The focus of this project is on the tool Selenium and the fairly new technique known as High Volume Automated Testing (HVAT). Both of these techniques were used to test the Just-in-Time Teaching and Learning Classroom Management System software. Selenium was used with a black-box testing technique and HVAT was employed in a white-box testing technique. Two of the major functionalities of this software were examined, which include the login and the professor functionality. The results of the black-box testing technique showed parts of the login component contain bugs, but the professor component is clean. HVAT white-box testing revealed error free implementation on the code level. We present an analysis on a new technique for HVAT testing with Selenium.
ContributorsEjaz, Samira (Author) / Balasooriya, Janaka (Thesis director) / Nakamura, Mutsumi (Committee member) / Wilkerson, Kelly (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Computer Science and Engineering Program (Contributor)
Created2013-05
Description
Motor behavior is prone to variable conditions and deviates further in disorders affecting the nervous system. A combination of environmental and neural factors impacts the amount of uncertainty. Although the influence of these factors on estimating endpoint positions have been examined, the role of limb configuration on endpoint variability has been mostly ignored. Characterizing the influence of arm configuration (i.e. intrinsic factors) would allow greater comprehension of sensorimotor integration and assist in interpreting exaggerated movement variability in patients. In this study, subjects were placed in a 3-D virtual reality environment and were asked to move from a starting position to one of three targets in the frontal plane with and without visual feedback of the moving limb. The alternating of visual feedback during trials increased uncertainty between the planning and execution phases. The starting limb configurations, adducted and abducted, were varied in separate blocks. Arm configurations were setup by rotating along the shoulder-hand axis to maintain endpoint position. The investigation hypothesized: 1) patterns of endpoint variability of movements would be dependent upon the starting arm configuration and 2) any differences observed would be more apparent in conditions that withheld visual feedback. The results indicated that there were differences in endpoint variability between arm configurations in both visual conditions, but differences in variability increased when visual feedback was withheld. Overall this suggests that in the presence of visual feedback, planning of movements in 3D space mostly uses coordinates that are arm configuration independent. On the other hand, without visual feedback, planning of movements in 3D space relies substantially on intrinsic coordinates.
ContributorsRahman, Qasim (Author) / Buneo, Christopher (Thesis director) / Helms Tillery, Stephen (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Harrington Bioengineering Program (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
The goal of this project was to use the sense of touch to investigate tactile cues during multidigit rotational manipulations of objects. A robotic arm and hand equipped with three multimodal tactile sensors were used to gather data about skin deformation during rotation of a haptic knob. Three different rotation speeds and two levels of rotation resistance were used to investigate tactile cues during knob rotation. In the future, this multidigit task can be generalized to similar rotational tasks, such as opening a bottle or turning a doorknob.
ContributorsChalla, Santhi Priya (Author) / Santos, Veronica (Thesis director) / Helms Tillery, Stephen (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Program (Contributor) / School of Earth and Space Exploration (Contributor)
Created2014-05