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: Kashiwagi, Jacob
Description
Education is a very sensitive topic when it comes to implementing the right policies. From professionals well-versed in the topic, to the very students who are being taught, feedback for reform is constantly being addressed. Nonetheless, there remains a large gap between the performance of some of the most advanced countries in the world and the United States of America. As it stands today, USA is arguably the most technologically advanced country and the outright leader of the free market. For over a century this nation has been exceeding expectations in nearly every industry known to man and aiding the rest of the world in their endeavors for a higher standard of living. Yet, there seems to be something critically wrong with the way a large majority of the younger generation are growing up. How can a country so respected in the world fall so far behind in what is considered the basics of human education: math and science? The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) is a series of assessments taken by countries all around the world to determine the strength of their youth's knowledge. Since its inception in 1995, TIMSS has been conducted every four years with an increasing number of participating countries and students each time. In 1999 U.S. eighth-graders placed #19 in the world for mathematics and #18 for science (Appendix Fig. 1). In the years following, and further detailed in the thesis, the U.S. managed to improve the overall performance by a small margin but still remained a leg behind countries like Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, Russia, and more. Clearly these countries were doing something right as they consistently managed to rank in the top tier. Over the course of this paper we will observe and analyze why and how Singapore has topped the TIMSS list for both math and science nearly every time it has been administered over the last two decades. What is it that they are teaching their youth that enables them to perform exceptionally above the norm? Why is it that we cannot use their techniques as a guideline to increase the capabilities of our future generations? We look to uncover the teaching methods of what is known as Singapore Math and how it has helped students all over the world. By researching current U.S. schools that have already implemented the system and learning about their success stories, we hope to not only educate but also persuade the local school districts on why integrating Singapore Math into their curriculum will lead to the betterment of the lives of thousands of children and the educational threshold of this great nation.
ContributorsKichloo, Parth (Co-author) / Leverenz, Michael (Co-author) / Kashiwagi, Dean (Thesis director) / Kashiwagi, Jacob (Committee member) / Rivera, Alfredo (Committee member) / Department of Management (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
Since 1994, the Performance Based Studies Research Group at Arizona State University has utilized an approach to industry called Best Value (BV). Since its origin, this approach has been used in 1860 tests creating $6.4 billion dollars of projects and services delivered, at a customer satisfaction rating of 95%. Best Value (BV) is rooted in simplicity, and seeks to help organizations hire experts, plan ahead, minimize risk, optimize resources, and optimize resources. This is accomplished largely through the use of a tool the PBSRG calls the Kashiwagi Solution Model (KSM). Kashiwagi Solution Models can be used across every industry from construction to Wall Street to help achieve sustainable success in what is perhaps the most efficient and effective manner available today. Using Best Value (BV) and the Kashiwagi Solution Model (KSM), the author identified groups on Wall Street and throughout the world who deal in a unique entity called "Over-The-Counter (OTC) Derivatives". More specifically, this paper focuses on the current status and ramifications of derivative contracts that two parties enter with the sole intention of speculating. KSMs are used in Information Measurement Theory, which seeks to take seemingly complex subjects and simplify them into terms that everyone can understand. This document uses Information Measurement Theory to explain what OTC derivatives are in the simplest possible way, so that little prior knowledge of finance is required to understand the material. Through research and observation, KSMs can be used to identify the characteristics of groups who deal in OTC derivatives, which contributed to the financial crisis in 2008 and have grown in size and complexity. This document uses dominant information in order to see the potential problems within the OTC derivatives market from 30,000 feet, and offer solutions to those problems. Keywords: simplicity, best value approach, identify characteristics, dominant information
ContributorsBills, Andrew Marius (Author) / Kashiwagi, Dean (Thesis director) / Kashiwagi, Jacob (Committee member) / Rivera, Alfredo (Committee member) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05