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.
Researchers know that different types of self-construal (independent and interdependent) vary across different cultures. Individuals from East Asian cultures are more interdependent while individuals from Western cultures are more independent. Researchers also know that perceptions and understandings of beauty differ across cultures; however, there has been limited research on the connections between self-construal and beauty with minimal research on direct appearance enhancement products. Recently, new ways to present a positive self-image outside of cosmetics or direct appearance enhancement tools have emerged, and the question is raised as to whether these will also be determined by self-construal. We leverage work on the fluidity of self concept to argue that individuals with a more fluid self-concept (interdependents) will express more interest in appearance enhancement products. In the context of a Facebook ad study with Indian (interdependent) and American (independent) consumers, we demonstrate that interdependent consumers have greater interest in indirect appearance enhancing products, measured by click-through rate, compared to independent consumers.
Mink Social is a startup aimed at providing podcasters with a suite of tools to help them edit and market their content on social media. The company aims to solve the niche problem and difficulties podcasters face when promoting their long-form audio content online. Mink Social's unique solution involves automating the backend work of editing and repurposing content into easy-to-market clips. The company's business model targets three distinct market segments: entry-level podcasters, established podcasters, and enterprise podcasting. Mink Social's competitive advantage is that it is the first social media promotion and editing platform exclusively for podcasts.
Through Founders Lab, our group designed an innovative new way for people to track their health and wellness. We created an app that uses a 4-part circle system where users track an everyday activity in the following areas: diet, exercise, development, and mental wellness. Users form small groups with friends and family members to provide support to one another. Through tracking their daily activities, users can earn tokens which are redeemable for relevant discounts with partnership brands. The app also hosts a variety of ways for users to be recognized for their healthy routines such as challenge trophies, activity history, and other social features. Overall, Circle Up aims to improve the daily routines of individuals to propel them into a healthier lifestyle, without the pressure of a curated social media feed.