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: DeCarolis, Claudine
- Creators: O'Flaherty, Katherine
The concept of rape has been a prominent part of historical U.S. criminal law, and legislation and statutes have changed significantly over time. Despite numerous reforms, however, there is still a lack of reporting, arrests, and convictions for sexual assault cases. This is due to several factors influencing the judgement of criminal justice actors, such as how cases are handled by police officers and prosecutors, who decide whether to further investigate a case, send the case to prosecution for sentencing, or bring the case to trial. Some of these influences include legal and extra-legal factors and certain beliefs or assumptions about sexual assault victims, which affect these officials’ discretionary decisions. As a result, criminal justice officials tend to dismiss or unfound a sexual assault case, especially with acquaintance rape, contributing to the substantial lack of arrests and convictions. These facts, which are examined in the paper, emphasize the need to reassess our criminal justice system's current response to sexual assault cases. This includes adjusting the evaluation markers for prosecutors, improving the communication between the relevant criminal justice actors, and implementing evaluations of prosecutorial ethics and community satisfaction.
Stoicism is a philosophy that emerged in the Hellenistic Age, between 323 BCE and 30 BCE in the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East (Irvine, 2009). Stoicism was born into an exceptionally transitional social and political time period, and three major philosophers, Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, and Epictetus, rose to fame and established this manner of interacting with the world around them. These teachings and writings, still read throughout the world today due to their practicality and effectiveness, provide a major framework for “(It is [Stoicism]) the power of the mind to be unconquerable,” (Seneca, The Stoic Letters). Stoicism can be used as a tool in the pursuit of perseverance, wisdom, self control, and self mastery, which can ultimately lead to a more fulfilling and happy life. This philosophy is a practical one, and is designed with the intention to help those who practice it live well rather than just provide a theoretical understanding of the teaching of the world. Stoicism is a way to interact with others and the world in a way that reduces the amount of suffering experienced and can increase the capacity for joy. As a high achieving college student, it may not be feasible or entirely practical to live as Stoics did in the ancient world. Yet, aspects of ancient Stoicism can still be applied to modern-day living and can be used to make college students more resilient, happier, and allow them to live a fuller, more satisfied life. In this 7 week asynchronous program designed for high achieving college students, we will explore the most common barriers to happiness that college students face and explore what Stoic philosophies offer to help remedy these barriers.
This is a composition of information derived from the research conducted to produce each episode of Nefarious. As part of my final thesis project for my undergraduate degrees in criminal justice and forensic psychology, I created a podcast on the topic of true crime with an academic approach titled Nefarious. Each episode of Nefarious examines a particular case in relation to some academic theme learned throughout my educational career at Arizona State University. Episode one examines the life and crimes of Richard Ramirez and different criminological theories that could be used to explain his behavior. Episode two looks at the case of Brock Turner and Chanel Miller and focuses on the larger problem of rape culture in America and sexual assault on college campuses. In episode three the case of the Central Park Five is detailed in relation to false confessions and wrongful convictions within the legal system. Episode four is centered around Kyle Rittenhouse and the use of self-defense as a legal defense in the justice system as well as the political atmosphere surrounding this case. The fifth episode explores three cases of police brutality against racial minorities and the history of police in America. The final episode of Nefarious covers the life and crimes of Jeffrey Dahmer and analyzes such actions from a forensic psychology approach.