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: Arts, Media and Engineering Sch T
Description
Visualizations are an integral component for communicating and evaluating modern networks. As data becomes more complex, info-graphics require a balance between visual noise and effective storytelling that is often restricted by layouts unsuitable for scalability. The challenge then rests upon researchers to effectively structure their information in a way that allows for flexible, transparent illustration. We propose network graphing as an operative alternative for demonstrating community behavior over traditional charts which are unable to look past numeric data. In this paper, we explore methods for manipulating, processing, cleaning, and aggregating data in Python; a programming language tailored for handling structured data, which can then be formatted for analysis and modeling of social network tendencies in Gephi. We implement this data by applying an algorithm known as the Fruchterman-Reingold force-directed layout to datasets of Arizona State University’s research and collaboration network. The result is a visualization that analyzes the university’s infrastructure by providing insight about community behaviors between colleges. Furthermore, we highlight how the flexibility of this visualization provides a foundation for specific use cases by demonstrating centrality measures to find important liaisons that connect distant communities.
ContributorsMcMichael, Jacob Andrew (Author) / LiKamWa, Robert (Thesis director) / Anderson, Derrick (Committee member) / Goshert, Maxwell (Committee member) / Arts, Media and Engineering Sch T (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
The project explores how the school of Digital Culture at Arizona State University can create an online marketing video through an attempt in making such a video and a deep research into online video marketing. The first half of the project encompasses an attempt in making a video only using footage captured within Digital Culture from the four years. Using techniques widely used in the media industry, the footage is put together to market the school of Digital Culture. The second half of the project researches how such a video can be created by investigating how an online video stands out with the tools of viral content, rich information, emotional arousal and video construction. Then applies the research to the online marketing videos for college recruiting. Observations of current successful online college marketing videos are made in attempt to document the successful and unsuccessful techniques. The videos used from the University of Oregon. Butler University, and Boston College. After all the research in how an online marketing video stands out and observing the current success of online college videos, then the information learned is then applied to the school of Digital Culture. Now an array of tools, techniques and options are given in how the school of Digital Culture can create an online marketing video for the program.
ContributorsRempel, Ezekiel G (Author) / Tinapple, David (Thesis director) / Moran, Stacey (Committee member) / Arts, Media and Engineering Sch T (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-12
Description
As the prevalence of augmented reality (AR) technology continues to increase, so too have methods for improving the appearance and behavior of computer-generated objects. This is especially significant as AR applications now expand to territories outside of the entertainment sphere and can be utilized for numerous purposes encompassing but not limited to education, specialized occupational training, retail & online shopping, design, marketing, and manufacturing. Due to the nature of AR technology, where computer-generated objects are being placed into a real-world environment, a decision has to be made regarding the visual connection between the tangible and the intangible. Should the objects blend seamlessly into their environment or purposefully stand out? It is not purely a stylistic choice. A developer must consider how their application will be used — in many instances an optimal user experience is facilitated by mimicking the real world as closely as possible; even simpler applications, such as those built primarily for mobile devices, can benefit from realistic AR. The struggle here lies in creating an immersive user experience that is not reliant on computationally-expensive graphics or heavy-duty models. The research contained in this thesis provides several ways for achieving photorealistic rendering in AR applications using a range of techniques, all of which are supported on mobile devices. These methods can be employed within the Unity Game Engine and incorporate shaders, render pipelines, node-based editors, post-processing, and light estimation.
ContributorsSchanberger, Schuyler Catherine (Author) / LiKamWa, Robert (Thesis director) / Jayasuriya, Suren (Committee member) / Arts, Media and Engineering Sch T (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
There is a somewhat contentious phrase that says, “There is no such thing as user error, only bad design.” While it could be considered an exaggeration, this phrase sparks a discussion about the importance of good user interface design. These types of designs are integrated into our daily lives, influencing every interaction we have with the world around us. This project combines research and design to create a prototype interface utilizing the principles of effective, user-friendly design.
ContributorsHorvath, Sarah Kallista (Author) / Perez-Fox, Prescott (Thesis director) / Squire, Susan (Committee member) / Arts, Media and Engineering Sch T (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Over the course of his four years of course, Matt Stockmal has told multiple historical stories for multiple different groups in multiple different mediums. As a Digital Culture major, these storytelling mediums were all infused with creative technology. As Matt comes to the close of his college career, he wanted to take the time to review his work, reflect on the merits of the medium used with regards to its ability to instill visceral impact, and write a series of tutorials using what was learned in the process of experimentation in historical storytelling.
The paper is meant to serve as a base of reference material for future, real world, project proposals to historical organizations. A mock proposal to the Fullersburg Historic Foundation, proposing the digital mediums and methods discussed, is included at the end of the paper.
In concluding thoughts, Matt I appears to have the depth and breadth of skills needed to make impactful media. And the mediums of media have been as diverse as the subjects they cover. But upon reviewing his own review, it took someone else smarter had to tell me that though there is diversity abound in his portfolio, there is a single baseline: Keeping history alive. Every one of these mediums can be used to infuse a sense of digital energy, simulated life, back into historical artifacts and documentation. The historical characters return to live when a medium brings back the motion, the energy, of the thing it is showing. If the medium infuses this life back into the story. The results are nothing short of magic.
The paper is meant to serve as a base of reference material for future, real world, project proposals to historical organizations. A mock proposal to the Fullersburg Historic Foundation, proposing the digital mediums and methods discussed, is included at the end of the paper.
In concluding thoughts, Matt I appears to have the depth and breadth of skills needed to make impactful media. And the mediums of media have been as diverse as the subjects they cover. But upon reviewing his own review, it took someone else smarter had to tell me that though there is diversity abound in his portfolio, there is a single baseline: Keeping history alive. Every one of these mediums can be used to infuse a sense of digital energy, simulated life, back into historical artifacts and documentation. The historical characters return to live when a medium brings back the motion, the energy, of the thing it is showing. If the medium infuses this life back into the story. The results are nothing short of magic.
ContributorsStockmal, Matthew Eric (Author) / Pinholster, Jacob (Thesis director) / Foushee, Danielle (Committee member) / Arts, Media and Engineering Sch T (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Our audio-visual installation explores human development through internal conflicts as theorized by psychologist Erik Erikson. Erikson’s theory breaks down development into eight stages, each one with a unique internal conflict as its cornerstone. These stages will be expressed in our installation through different animation styles and accompanying songs. Originally these were planned to be projected on all four walls of an enclosed room; however, due to the COVID-19 situation, the installation was moved to a VR video that can be experienced virtually instead. These different styles and songs will uniquely represent each of the stages essential to psychosocial development, while the dynamic use of space through the projection of varied visuals in all directions will immerse audience members in the diverse experience of dealing with internal conflict. This unique installation will invite audience members to understand the internal nature of conflicts, and the similar conflicts we will all experience as we mature, inspiring them to participate in self-reflection, looking within themselves rather than on external factors as they develop throughout their lifetimes.
ContributorsXu, Gina (Co-author) / Chan, Yvonna (Co-author) / Conner, Jennifer (Co-author) / Pinholster, Jacob (Thesis director) / Fette, Donald (Committee member) / Arts, Media and Engineering Sch T (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Although Spotify’s extensive library of songs are often seen broken up by “Top 100” and main lyrical genres, these categories are primarily based on popularity, artist and general mood alone. If a user wanted to create a playlist based on specific or situationally specific qualifiers from their own downloaded library, he/she would have to hand pick songs that fit the mold and create a new playlist. This is a time consuming process that may not produce the most efficient result due to human error. The objective of this project, therefore, was to develop an application to streamline this process, optimize efficiency, and fill this user need.
Song Sift is an application built using Angular that allows users to filter and sort their song library to create specific playlists using the Spotify Web API. Utilizing the audio feature data that Spotify attaches to every song in their library, users can filter their downloaded Spotify songs based on four main attributes: (1) energy (how energetic a song sounds), (2) danceability (how danceable a song is), (3) valence (how happy a song sounds), and (4) loudness (average volume of a song). Once the user has created a playlist that fits their desired genre, he/she can easily export it to their Spotify account with the click of a button.
Song Sift is an application built using Angular that allows users to filter and sort their song library to create specific playlists using the Spotify Web API. Utilizing the audio feature data that Spotify attaches to every song in their library, users can filter their downloaded Spotify songs based on four main attributes: (1) energy (how energetic a song sounds), (2) danceability (how danceable a song is), (3) valence (how happy a song sounds), and (4) loudness (average volume of a song). Once the user has created a playlist that fits their desired genre, he/she can easily export it to their Spotify account with the click of a button.
ContributorsDiMuro, Louis (Author) / Balasooriya, Janaka (Thesis director) / Chen, Yinong (Committee member) / Arts, Media and Engineering Sch T (Contributor) / Computer Science and Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Spotify, one of the most popular music streaming services, has many
algorithms for recommending new music to users. However, at the
core of their recommendations is the collaborative filtering algorithm,
which recommends music based on what other people with similar
tastes have listened to [1]. While this can produce highly relevant
content recommendations, it tends to promote only popular content
[2]. The popularity bias inherent in collaborative-filtering based
systems can overlook music that fits a user’s taste, simply because
nobody else is listening to it. One possible solution to this problem is
to recommend music based on features of the music itself, and
recommend songs which have similar features. Here, a method for
extracting high-level features representing the mood of a song is
presented, with the aim of tailoring music recommendations to an
individual's mood, and providing music recommendations with
diversity in popularity.
algorithms for recommending new music to users. However, at the
core of their recommendations is the collaborative filtering algorithm,
which recommends music based on what other people with similar
tastes have listened to [1]. While this can produce highly relevant
content recommendations, it tends to promote only popular content
[2]. The popularity bias inherent in collaborative-filtering based
systems can overlook music that fits a user’s taste, simply because
nobody else is listening to it. One possible solution to this problem is
to recommend music based on features of the music itself, and
recommend songs which have similar features. Here, a method for
extracting high-level features representing the mood of a song is
presented, with the aim of tailoring music recommendations to an
individual's mood, and providing music recommendations with
diversity in popularity.
ContributorsGomez, Luis Angel (Author) / Kevin, Burger (Thesis director) / Alberto, Hernández (Committee member) / Arts, Media and Engineering Sch T (Contributor) / Computer Science and Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Identity is something that I considered to be concrete and true, but I never really questioned my own identity until I was faced with solitude and self reflection. Throughout this essay, I will explain my journey through identity and my realization that there is no stable self and there never will be. To reach this conclusion I defined Identity and different theories that are associated with it, while also analyzing texts from theorists such as Nietzsche and Butler. I was able to reflect on my own identity and embark on an endless voyage of questioning while conducting this research. This inspired me to create an art installation that depicts my discovery while also displaying the painful mourning of a Self that I never really had.
ContributorsElam, Miranda Michelle (Author) / Moran, Stacey (Thesis director) / Cheyne, Rebekah (Committee member) / Arts, Media and Engineering Sch T (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05