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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- Creators: School of Politics and Global Studies
- Creators: O'Flaherty, Katherine
Description
Within sixty years, the People’s Republic of China has risen from a struggling post-civil war state to the second largest economy in the world, comprising of 16.71 percent of the global economy as of 2015. While China has grown, its presence internationally has grown as well—China has utilized its capital to foment important relationships and foster soft power dynamics, making billions available in development aid and investment projects across the globe, most notably in Africa and Latin America, where Chinese goods have begun to dominate the markets there as they have in American counterparts. However, within Latin America China has been investing in countries that are traditionally seen as “risky” financial investments. This paper hypothesizes that the returns on Chinese investments in Latin America are not financial, but political—that China is investing in expansion of its soft-power and legitimizing its beginnings of global hegemony. The paper also explores the success of these initiatives by comparing the level of Chinese investment to changes in Latin American foreign policy alignment, discourse, and agreements through utilizing case studies of Venezuela and Bolivia.
ContributorsHochhaus, Natalie (Co-author) / Yan, Jaylia (Co-author) / Thomson, Henry (Thesis director) / Ripley, Charles (Committee member) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
The difficulty of measuring complex goals within nongovernmental organizations is well detailed in nonprofit management literature. For many years, NGOs have faced obstacles ranging from the technical difficulties of measuring intangible missions to ambiguous or unreliable performance criteria to political issues in the design of measurement systems that cater to diverse stakeholders. But despite the challenges, many nongovernmental organizations and researchers are rising to the challenge to design and implement effective systems of measurement. This thesis outlines the lessons learned from a study of the history and development of performance measurement, existing measurement systems and their implementation, as well as various insights gained from interviews conducted in Spring 2013 with leaders of nonprofit and nongovernmental organizations that are facing or that have faced these and many more obstacles in performance management. With these goals, this paper will strive to answer two main questions. What are performance measures and how do they differ by sector? What are performance measurement systems and why are they important?
ContributorsFernandez, Emily Elizabeth (Author) / Thomas, George (Thesis director) / Barsam, Ara (Committee member) / Ripley, Charles (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Humanities, Arts, and Cultural Studies (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor)
Created2013-05
Description
Energiewende refers to the final legislation that sealed the decision to phase out Germany's nuclear power plants prematurely following the Fukushima nuclear disaster. This policy has been in place as of 2011, however, there has been little research done on the comprehensive effects of it within Germany, on German global relationships and obligations. As such, this paper has identified the top areas that have been affected by the legislation as the climate sector, the humanitarian sector and the security sector. In addition to identifying these areas, they have analyzed in the international sphere and this is analysis is used to determine the impact that the German legislation has on political realities in surrounding countries. The impacts are then compared to German obligations, as outlined in numerous treaties from within the three main areas discussed. Not only that, but the effects are also examined within the domestic sphere. The domestic effects are also compared to German obligations from international treaties, while focusing on high priority German issues, such as poverty. This paper ultimately examines the real policy influence that Germany has exhibited as a result of enacting a unique, and ambitious energy policy in a time in which many are still uncertain of the safety, or lack thereof, of nuclear power. The aim is to provide Germany, and countries beginning to question the role of nuclear power, with concurrent solutions to ensure a successful phase out that allows adherence to international and domestic obligations while also illustrating the positive role that nuclear power can play in energy production and policy.
ContributorsMcDonald, Victoria Lynne (Author) / Benkert, Volker (Thesis director) / Ripley, Charles (Committee member) / Jones, Christopher (Committee member) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor, Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
The HIV pandemic spawned a global biomedical research effort which continues today. Because of multinational clinical studies, doctors and health officials possess more tools than ever before for the effective prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS. The relationship between the United States and Sub-Saharan African nations features prominently within this global research effort. More specifically, many of the most significant HIV-related research findings emanate from clinical trials with a unique multinational configuration: the study protocol is largely designed and funded by American sources but executed at clinical research sites in Sub-Saharan African countries like South Africa and Zimbabwe. This thesis investigates the context and ethics of this configuration, with a focus on US-backed trials conducted in South Africa specifically. Using data collected from semi-structured interviews conducted at South African HIV clinical research sites, this thesis uncovers two significant ethical problems: insufficient benefits delivered to South African clinical trial participants, and informal processes occurring alongside formal protocol. By examining scope, effects, and implications of these problems, it becomes clear that although this research system delivers powerful results, there exists room for improvement.
ContributorsGill, Kohinoor Singh (Author) / Hurlbut, Ben (Thesis director) / Ripley, Charles (Committee member) / Vanig, Thanes (Committee member) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / WPC Graduate Programs (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
This thesis aimed to further research of indigenous land rights by examining the Norwegian Finnmark Act and how it interacts with the international indigenous land rights movement. The Finnmark Act was legislation that returned land to the indigenous people, the Sami. This project examined the impact that the International Labor Organization’s Convention 169 on Indigenous Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries had on the passage of this Act and what other indigenous communities can learn from the Finnmark Act.
ContributorsGough, Emily (Author) / Sivak, Henry (Thesis director) / Ripley, Charles (Committee member) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
This piece highlights the Trump administration's history of diplomatic relations with states in East Asia (specifically North Korea (DPRK), South Korea (ROK), Japan, and China). The research in this essay primarily focuses on Trump's public attitudes towards these states during his presidential campaign, and seeks to establish if any negative statements towards East Asian states have affected social and diplomatic relations after Trump's inauguration. Overall, residents of Japan and South Korea had an overwhelmingly negative view of Trump during his campaign, primarily due to cultural differences and dissatisfaction with Trump's blunt, unpredictable demeanor which clashes with Japanese and Korean social norms. While public opinion of Trump was still low in mainland China, Trump's attitude is reminiscent of Mao Zedong's Cultural Revolution which serves as the societal and governmental framework of the modern People's Republic of China. Therefore, individuals living in China were more likely to be attracted to Trump's personality \u2014 this evident through the popularity of Trump "fan clubs" which gained popularity on Chinese social media websites during the American presidential campaign period. In terms of the bilateral relations between the U.S. and each East Asian state, Donald Trump's negative statements towards China, Japan, and South Korea during his campaign did not significantly impact diplomatic relations during his presidency. While Trump is vocally opposed to certain initiatives that are supported by these heads of state, he has demonstrated a willingness to discuss issues with these leaders. While this openness is not completely evident in U.S. \u2014 Southeast Asian relations, the leaders of Northeast Asia have set aside Trump's controversial campaign statements and have reciprocated his willingness to discuss important issues.
ContributorsGarvey, Lauren Agnes (Author) / Simon, Sheldon (Thesis director) / Ripley, Charles (Committee member) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / School of Public Affairs (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
There is growing public concern about the implications of climate change for natural processes, such as the melting of ice at the poles, but less clear are the implications for food production. Famine and conflict have a long and complicated history, made increasingly complicated by the intricate global food system. In this paper, I explore the effect of increasingly severe El Niño Southern Oscillation cycles on conflict in an effort to determine how abnormal climate patterns affect food security and, indirectly, conflict. I use a non-linear probit model to analyze the relationship between several binary conflict variables and food supply.
ContributorsWoner, Hannah Marie (Author) / Schoellman, Todd (Thesis director) / Ripley, Charles (Committee member) / Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law (Contributor) / Economics Program in CLAS (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
This study explores the effectiveness of citizen diplomacy and more specifically America's Unofficial Ambassadors as an international non-governmental organization focused on engaging more Americans in citizen diplomacy throughout the Muslim world. America's Unofficial Ambassadors is part of a larger trend to include citizen involvement in diplomacy through cooperation with international non-governmental organizations (NGOs). A questionnaire was created with 16 questions (see Appendix A&B) focused on measuring America's Unofficial Ambassadors effectiveness. All participants (N=33) were alumni of one of America's Unofficial Ambassadors' signature programs. They were invited via email to complete the questionnaire. Most participants were pursuing a 4-year degree or had completed a 4-year degree or more and were between the ages of 18-34. Each one of the participants' results showed that overall, America's Unofficial Ambassadors, is generally effective in conducting citizen diplomacy at a grassroots level. All participants reported making connections with locals while in country, while most participants reported that they felt a responsibility to share their experience as a volunteer with Americans upon return and felt that program required blogging and community presentations in their home communities were important parts of their experience. AUA's effectiveness as a program could be improved with better pre-departure information that included basic knowledge about Islam, as well as provide a book list that highlights important discussions in the Muslim world related to culture and practice. Further research needs to be conducted in host countries with partner sites to gain a more robust understanding of America's Unofficial Ambassadors effectiveness as a citizen diplomacy initiative and organization. Keywords: public diplomacy, citizen diplomacy, international non-governmental organizations, America's Unofficial Ambassadors, grassroots, Muslim world
ContributorsGriffin, Brieanna Jontae (Author) / Gallab, Abdullahi (Thesis director) / Ripley, Charles (Committee member) / School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Contributor) / Department of English (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
At first, this project intended to uncover a link between massacres of minority populations in the United States and the idea of Great Replacement Theory (GRT), sometimes known as White Genocide Theory, which originated in Jean Raspail’s The Camp of the Saints. GRT is an offensive aimed at eliminating Black and Brown people and their cultures before they, according to the thought process of the theory, eliminate the white race and Western culture through mass immigration, insurgence and interracial breeding, which is depicted in vivid and disturbing detail in The Camp of the Saints. There exists a clear trail in which the theory spawned in French Catholic circles then was exported all throughout the Western powers during the second wave of globalization with particularly devastating impact in the United States. Raspail’s work coincides with a 1972 French hate law that was decried as authoritarian and overprotective of minorities by putting in strict standards to prevent hate speech but was accused of being too lenient about what is defamatory of whites and Catholics (2003, Bleich, pp. 56). Because of this interaction in the French legal system, this project seeks to find out if there is a correlation between GRT and the United States Supreme Court, the American cultural equivalent of the French legal system, by finding frequency of five key words associated with GRT within Supreme Court syllabi and opinions then performing general linear regression in search of statistical significance between the phrases and whether the court cases are associated with race, a variable purely independent of the five key words being monitored.
ContributorsSullivan, Max (Author) / Sivak, Henry (Thesis director) / Ripley, Charles (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / Thunderbird School of Global Management (Contributor)
Created2023-05
Description
At first, this project intended to uncover a link between massacres of minority populations in the United States and the idea of Great Replacement Theory (GRT), sometimes known as White Genocide Theory, which originated in Jean Raspail’s The Camp of the Saints. GRT is an offensive aimed at eliminating Black and Brown people and their cultures before they, according to the thought process of the theory, eliminate the white race and Western culture through mass immigration, insurgence and interracial breeding, which is depicted in vivid and disturbing detail in The Camp of the Saints. There exists a clear trail in which the theory spawned in French Catholic circles then was exported all throughout the Western powers during the second wave of globalization with particularly devastating impact in the United States. Raspail’s work coincides with a 1972 French hate law that was decried as authoritarian and overprotective of minorities by putting in strict standards to prevent hate speech but was accused of being too lenient about what is defamatory of whites and Catholics (2003, Bleich, pp. 56). Because of this interaction in the French legal system, this project seeks to find out if there is a correlation between GRT and the United States Supreme Court, the American cultural equivalent of the French legal system, by finding frequency of five key words associated with GRT within Supreme Court syllabi and opinions then performing general linear regression in search of statistical significance between the phrases and whether the court cases are associated with race, a variable purely independent of the five key words being monitored.
ContributorsSullivan, Max (Author) / Sivak, Henry (Thesis director) / Ripley, Charles (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / Thunderbird School of Global Management (Contributor)
Created2023-05