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 11
Description
The Bedside Box of Play is a kit of play activities designed specifically for children experiencing hospitalization. 30 kits were delivered to the Child Life unit at a local hospital with materials provided in English and Spanish. It is a free resource informed by research to maximize the potential for healthy coping during a time that may be stressful or overwhelming. Activities were created intentionally to allow for creativity, direction of the activity by the child, and family engagement. My hope for the Bedside Box of play is that it provides children and families with an easy way to incorporate play into the hospital environment, while also promoting healthy child development and building coping skills to be used post-discharge. This creative project also outlines a potential framework for helping professionals to make play effective and accessible in a variety of settings.
ContributorsCywinski, Morgan (Author) / Krysik, Judy (Thesis director) / Kelly, Cara (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Social Work (Contributor)
Created2023-12
Description
Minority women continue to be underrepresented in STEM fields and in STEM related degrees, leading to a lack of diversity in the research conducted and voices advocated for in STEM. To understand why there continues to be a lack of representation of minority women in STEM, I conducted a survey of approximately 20 high school girls who identified as minorities and had an interest in science and conservation to ask questions about their hesitancy to attend college and the different barriers they face. The results of this survey show that these minority girls have low hesitancy when considering applying to and attending college. The biggest barrier these girls face is cost, with 74% of respondents citing college expense as a source of hesitancy when considering applying to college. I then discuss possible interventions that would lead to an increase in the representation of minority women in STEM in higher education. I suggest that colleges and universities should highlight scholarships, financial aid, and programs available and that minority women are eligible for, or they should reduce the cost of tuition.
ContributorsClark, Amelie (Author) / Iacona, Gwen (Thesis director) / Gerber, Leah (Committee member) / Bisgrove, Daniel (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Eng Program (Contributor)
Created2023-12
ContributorsSosa, Jessica (Author) / England, Alison (Thesis director) / Roe-Sepowitz, Dominique (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Social Work (Contributor) / School of Criminology and Criminal Justice (Contributor)
Created2024-05
ContributorsSosa, Jessica (Author) / England, Alison (Thesis director) / Roe-Sepowitz, Dominique (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Social Work (Contributor) / School of Criminology and Criminal Justice (Contributor)
Created2024-05
Description
This thesis opens with a review of classical research on academic dishonesty, peer behavior, honors code, and misinformation. Specifically, we will analyze research on peer reporting and honor codes to evaluate the efficacy of common measures taken to address academic dishonesty in higher education. This will be used as a foundation to analyze the impact that ChatGPT can have on academic dishonesty, and assess the standard measures within this emerging new context. Finally, we will suggest possible solutions to address these developments, particularly regarding the ways in which ChatGPT and other forms of AI can accelerate the spread of misinformation. The hope is to provide guidance to institutions in developing updated and effective honors codes. Crucially, any code can only be effective when faculty and staff are deeply engaged with students, and help cultivate an institutional culture of academic integrity.
ContributorsCohen, Katya (Author) / Martin, Thomas (Thesis director) / Amazeen, Polemnia (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Social Work (Contributor) / Human Systems Engineering (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2024-05
Description
The importance of social work lies in the ability of individuals, families, and communities to thrive. It is important to note that social work encompasses a wide range of professions. However, this creative project will examine its different dimensions, specifically within the field of criminal justice. The purpose of this thesis project is to promote social work as a profession and explore its growing impact on the criminal justice system. As part of this effort, it is also intended to dispel the myth that social workers work exclusively in child protection agencies. Viewers will be introduced to exciting opportunities for meaningful change at the emerging intersection of social work and criminal justice, which is becoming increasingly prevalent in American society. This project will also highlight how negative media (news and documentaries like Gabriel Fernandez on Netflix) about social workers employed in the DCS system do not accurately portray current circumstances. This will be accomplished through a short video/documentary-style project that interviews social workers and social service workers employed in the criminal justice field. An interview will consist of questions designed to dispel myths about social workers and promote the diversity of the profession. The purpose of this is to provide an ‘on-the-ground’ perspective of real opportunities in the community, including descriptions of various occupations and the mission of agencies that employ at the cross-section of social work and criminal justice. This is done to enhance the viewers' perception of the field and give them the opportunity to experience real-life situations.
ContributorsSosa, Jessica (Author) / England, Alison (Thesis director) / Roe-Sepowitz, Dominique (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Social Work (Contributor) / School of Criminology and Criminal Justice (Contributor)
Created2024-05
Description
Ground-motion data from the February 6th, 2023 Kahmaranmaraş, Türkiye earthquake sequence is analyzed. Acceleration and deformation response spectra are analyzed to predict susceptible infrastructure and failure mechanisms of reinforced concrete structures in the region. Images are used to compare the theoretical failure and actual building failures in the region. Recommendations are provided for both the seismic design code and seismic retrofitting.
ContributorsMendez Aceves, Carlos (Author) / Ward, Kristen (Thesis director) / Hjelmstad, Keith (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Eng Program (Contributor)
Created2024-05
Description
My thesis project defines, investigates, and analyzes the nonprofit industrial complex (NPIC) and its effect on social change work. My final output is a public website (nonprofitblues.com) with a collection of both formal and informal writings about the NPIC. The document uploaded to the Barrett Repository is one of four written works which combine to total 46 pages.
I define the NPIC as nonprofits and their funding streams acting as a vested interest that guides the provision of aid, including who gets it, what kind of aid it is, and how, when, and where they receive it. Through research and interviews with six professionals in a variety of roles either within social change work or interacting with social change work, I conclude that the NPIC has created an individualized, careerist idea of social justice that undermines the formation and mobilization of mass movements. Additionally, it has created an expectation of professionalism, corporatization, bureaucracy, and elitism within these careerist ideas, which in turn limits the transformative power of social change work and funnels energy toward administration and upkeep instead of social change. Ultimately, the NPIC not only harms the communities nonprofits purport to serve, but also the employees who have to navigate a field wrought with influences pulling them in different directions.
ContributorsWilson, Malia (Author) / Kotleba, Anne (Thesis director) / Points, Kari (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Social Work (Contributor) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor)
Created2023-12
Description
Within the realm of parenting, there is research about a distinct stage entitled emerging adulthood that encompasses biopsychosocial development between the ages of 18 and 25. The research study seeks to answer the questions: how do current parenting practices influence emerging adult mental health, and what adjustments must be made to improve upon these relationships? Past studies have demonstrated that there is a relationship between the developmental period of emerging adulthood, which is characterized by identity formation itself, and the mental health of both emerging adults and their parents. However, upon reviewing the literature on emerging adulthood, it was revealed that there is a gap in regard to how to parent adult children and foster a positive relationship. While the goal is to explore this gap, the research team is additionally seeking to utilize new information to create a parenting course that promotes positive adjustments to the current relationship between emerging adults and their parents. To explore this, the research team conducted emerging adult surveys, asking participants to analyze their current connection with their parents' practices and the effects they have on their mental health. Additionally, surveys and interviews were done with Licensed Clinical Social Workers (LCSWs) to bolster the evidence-based methods that this population uses to support emerging adults.
ContributorsBrobak, Rachel (Author) / Golden, Ariella (Co-author) / Jensen, Kimberly (Thesis director) / Evans, Amanda (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Social Work (Contributor) / Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor)
Created2024-05
Description
Best Management Practices (BMPs) are often designed to restore the water quality of impaired waterbodies. They are expensive to install and maintain and often have limited post-installation analysis. There is a gap in our knowledge of the long-term real-world efficiency of such systems as their dynamics are complex and poorly understood, and we have very limited data about these systems. We looked at water quality changes pre- and post-BMP implementation from sites around the US to better understand the impacts of BMPs on the nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) concentrations in the waterbodies. Water quality data was obtained from 72 waterbodies across the United States using the National Water Quality Monitoring Council’s Water Quality Portal. This data was analyzed for trends using the Kaplan-Meier method, exceedance probability, and lag time analysis. Out of the seventy-two (72) watershed locations, twenty-two (22) did not have enough data for analysis. Of these fifty (50) remaining watersheds locations one hundred eighty-four (184) monitoring sites were analyzed. Only sixty-nine (69) of these monitoring sites were found to have enough data for analysis. Forty-eight (48) sites saw improvement in nutrient levels, where overall post-implementation exceedance probability for critical thresholds (defined as 1 mg/l for N and 0.1 mg/l for P) decreased. Twenty-one (21) sites did not see improvement, where post-implementation exceedance probabilities did not show any reduction; in some cases, it showed an increase. Even among the efficient sites, where improvement was found, significant variation was observed in changes in exceedance probability with time, with many sites not demonstrating an expected uniform decreasing trend. It was also found that 56 out of the 72 water bodies had some biological indicator present, these included dissolved oxygen concentrations, benthic macroinvertebrate populations, fish communities/aquatic life, bacteria, and index scores. However, data gaps were detrimental to conclusively assessing BMPs with biological indicators. It was determined that sparse biological indicators data were not indicative of BMP success. These observations highlight the importance of designing a monitoring strategy that can capture these unexpected trends and allow a better understanding of BMPs. Along with better monitoring strategies, consistent and frequent monitoring is needed. Therefore, the effectiveness of best management practices was inconclusive due to a lack of available data on many sites.
ContributorsBlair, Antonio (Author) / Baker, Kayla (Co-author) / Kumar, Saurav (Thesis director) / Weiss, Josh (Committee member) / Johnson, Abbey (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Eng Program (Contributor)
Created2024-05