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 Sustainability
Description
This project addresses the high demand of housing units in the Gila River Indian Community and proposes an architectural intervention with the intent of bringing tribal culture into the everyday context of the home. Initially, the existing condition is critiqued from an architectural and cultural lens, and establishes the current realities of the residents. An investigation of the existing condition and the surrounding context determined that the immediate contradiction to the existing house is the storytelling tradition of the Akimel O'odham and Pee Posh tribes. This project accepts and revises the existing condition and attempts to combine it with the fundamental traits of storytelling culture to create a house that encourages storytelling across generations, and serves as a space that allows residents to practice culture in the every day.
ContributorsGreene, Joshua Michael (Author) / Vekstein, Claudio (Thesis director) / Hejduk, Renata (Committee member) / Malnar, Joy (Committee member) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / The Design School (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
The Mexican gray wolf (Canis lupus baileyi) is a genetically distinct subspecies of the gray wolf (Canis lupus) that was driven to the brink of extinction as a result of human persecution. The wolf is listed as Endangered under the Endangered Species Act, and a recovery program is underway in Arizona and New Mexico to restore its population. However, the wolf is struggling to recover due to high mortality, which is a result of continued human hostility toward it. This thesis examines historical and current human attitudes toward the wolf and the implications that they have had on the extermination and recovery of the subspecies. An overview is given of wolf biology, the history of wolf extermination and recovery, and recent events relating to the recovery of the wolf. Negative impacts on ranching, hunting, and human safety are the main reasons for opposition toward wolves and wolf recovery; these concerns are analyzed, and solutions to them are proposed, with the goal of addressing them while fostering non-lethal coexistence with the wolf. In addition, opposition to wolves and wolf recovery is tied in with larger socio-political issues and is influenced by the representation of the wolf in culture; these issues in the context of wolves are also analyzed.
ContributorsLenk, Heather Nicole (Author) / Smith, Andrew (Thesis director) / Minteer, Ben (Committee member) / Brown, David E. (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
The ecological benefits provided by trees include improving air quality (Nowak, et. al., 2006), mitigating climate change by sequestering carbon (Nowak, 1993), providing animal habitats (Livingston, et. al., 2003), and reducing heat (Edmonson, 2016), among others. Trees also provide numerous social benefits, impacting urban sustainability in particular by improving human health (Salmond, 2016), aesthetically and economically improving neighborhoods (Torres, 2012), and contributing to thriving communities by creating gathering spaces and even reducing crime (Abraham, et. al., 2010). Because of the tremendous potential of trees to provide social and ecological services, particularly in urban areas, tree planting has become an important facet of many sustainability initiatives. This thesis assesses one such initiative aimed at planting trees for the diverse benefits they provide. Valley Permaculture Alliance (VPA), a nonprofit based in Phoenix, Arizona, is known for its Shade Tree Program. The author conducted an internal, quantitative assessment of the program between August and December of 2015. The assessment included evaluation of several indicators of ecological and community health related to the presence of shade trees, culminating in a report released in 2016. This paper evaluates the use of sustainability indicators in the VPA assessment as well as their value in different types of organizations. It culminates with an assessment of VPA's strengths, challenges faced by the organization, and suggestions for its future development.
ContributorsJones, Michaela Martine (Author) / Larson, Kelli (Thesis director) / Eakin, Hallie (Committee member) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / American Indian Studies Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
This paper seeks to analyze the relationship between energy subsidies on fossil fuels by countries and corresponding energy consumption, specifically electricity, by its citizens and occupants. The purpose of this was to determine whether pre-tax subsidies and post-tax subsidies have an effect on that consumption. This paper will discuss the prospect of accounting for post-tax subsidies as a method to curb rampant energy consumption throughout the world, with the focus being on residential electricity use. The two case studies, the Netherlands and Saudi Arabia, will illustrate the consumption patterns in relatively similar economic societies with different subsidy policies. Saudi Arabia will be a high pre-tax subsidy example while the Netherlands will be shown to account for some of the post-tax subsidies through an externality tax system. At the end of this analysis, this paper will show that the heavy subsidization of electricity production is strongly correlated to residential electricity consumption at levels that many officials would deem unsustainable, and that as such, subsidy reform is both beneficial and necessary.
ContributorsCorona, Kyle (Author) / Kelman, Jonathan (Thesis director) / Breetz, Hanna (Committee member) / School of Sustainability (Contributor, Contributor) / Economics Program in CLAS (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
Modern American environmental social movements have strived for a better world for nearly fifty years, pushing a philosophy of careful resource use and limited consumption as an alternative to the pollution and degradation that has so far accompanied global industrialization. The reach of these movements is broad and the topic they cover is one that aligns with the values and beliefs of many; it is thus quite confusing that they've been so unsuccessful. This thesis was a response to that apparent contradiction, exploring why movements have not been as successful as both they and the public initially desired. It began by defining what social movements are and how they emerge or find success, then provided a brief history of environmentalism in America, and the different successes and failures that occurred before and after the first Earth day in 1970. Finally, it explored some of the reasons environmentalism was unsuccessful, and found that while structural barriers like politics and business interests played a role in movement outcomes, the tactics of different groups were at least partially to blame. Once this was concluded, the author used the perspectives of different activists to propose ways to enhance the quality of current movements and allow them to continue to make progress well into the future. In order to expand the audience of this thesis, the author is also working on a children;s book that illustrates many of the important themes that he hopes to convey to the public. Though drafted, the book is incomplete as of the date that documents are due for Barrett review.
ContributorsGuy, Joel D (Author) / Cloutier, Scott (Thesis director) / Josh, MacFayden (Committee member) / Department of English (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning (Contributor) / Department of Management and Entrepreneurship (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
Immortal Warrior Sky Falconer is a seventeen-minute "proof of concept" animatic for a theoretical animated series. The thesis project was focused on the process of making such a product come to be. Through the two semesters I took ideas to my professor for approval starting with a basic pitch and slowly refined them into a singular product combination art, writing and sound effects. From script, to storyboard, to final cut, this project has been one of constant tweaking of the various components into the product you see today that is whole, but still has room to be built upon.
ContributorsSmith, Damon Randall (Author) / Connell, Ellery (Thesis director) / Renzulli, Virgil (Committee member) / School of Film, Dance and Theatre (Contributor) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
In the face of the world's most pressing sustainability challenges, such as climate change, ecosystem degradation, and loss of biodiversity, the following questions must be explored: Why are these situation occurring? How can we understand their complexity? How can we research these challenges to mitigate negative outcomes? This thesis investigates the relationships between people and nature through coupled human and natural systems, or CHANS, and argues for a transdisciplinary research approach for sustainability science. The following questions and topics are discussed: 1. The Complexity of Sustainability and Implications for Traditional Research Approaches 2. Coupled Human and Natural Systems Research 3. What is Transdisciplinary Research, and How Does it Relate to the Living With Locusts Team's Coupled Human and Natural Systems Research? This thesis uses the case of a team researching international locust plagues to argue for this approach. The team's project is titled "Living With Locusts" and is directed by Arianne Cease of Arizona State University's School of Sustainability.
ContributorsLantz, Kayna Mishelle (Author) / Cease, Arianne (Thesis director) / Campbell, Jacob (Committee member) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
The inability of a single strain of bacteria to simultaneously and completely consume multiple sugars, such as glucose and xylose, hinder industrial microbial processes for ethanol and lactate production. To overcome this limitation, I am engineering an E. coli co-culture system consisting of two ‘specialists'. One has the ability to only consume xylose and the other only glucose. This allows for co-utilization of lignocellulose-derived sugars so both sugars are completely consumed, residence time is reduced and lactate and ethanol titers are maximized.
ContributorsAyla, Zeynep Ece (Author) / Nielsen, David (Thesis director) / Flores, Andrew (Committee member) / Chemical Engineering Program (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
Chytridiomycosis, an infectious disease caused by the amphibian chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), has played a significant role in global amphibian declines. Researchers studying Bd aim to gain a better understanding of how this pathogen survives in unique microhabitats to promote persistence of amphibians in their natural habitat. The Arizona Game and Fish Department has worked for the last 12 years to recover populations of Chiricahua Leopard Frogs to ensure the species survives in the Huachuca Mountains in southeastern Arizona. During this time, the department tested for Bd throughout their release sites. As a result of large differences in prevalence noted in prior sampling for Bd in Miller and Ramsey canyons, I investigated abiotic factors that could explain these differences. I analyzed water samples from two canyons in the Huachuca Mountains and used nutrient analysis and filter extraction to test for differences in abiotic factors between these two sites that could affect Bd transmission. Results show that Ramsey Canyon was a positive site for Bd, while Miller Canyon remained negative. Results from water temperature estimates as well as a test for 30 elements revealed possible reasons for differences in Bd transmission between the two canyons.
ContributorsSmith, Paige Gabrielle (Author) / Collins, James P. (Thesis director) / Franklin, Janet (Committee member) / Sredl, Michael J. (Committee member) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
Yearly changes in the consumer price index are used to adjust social security benefits in order to keep the purchasing power of social security beneficiaries the same. Currently, social security benefits are adjusted using a fixed-weighted price index that reflects the purchasing patterns of workers. However, some believe that a price index that captures the spending habits of the elderly should adjust monthly social security benefits, while others argue that a chain-weighted price index is a more accurate indexation technique. This report finds that if an elderly or chain-weighted price index were implemented this year, there would not be a significant change in the projected insolvency of the social security trust fund, but there could be a substantial decrease in the social security trust fund's yearly cash-flow deficit. Therefore, changing the indexation of social security benefits should not be seen as a short-term solvency fix. Instead, adjusting monthly social security benefits should be about keeping the purchasing power of beneficiaries relatively the same.
ContributorsScobas, Peter Jonathan (Author) / Hobijn, Bart (Thesis director) / Smith, Kerry (Committee member) / Economics Program in CLAS (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05