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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A look at how the Vietnam War influenced immigrant and first-generation children's perception of culture. This thesis focuses on Vietnamese-American immigration as a whole, and on subjects on the American west coast. Interviews were conducted with eleven subjects to examine the most profound influences on culture and how native culture

A look at how the Vietnam War influenced immigrant and first-generation children's perception of culture. This thesis focuses on Vietnamese-American immigration as a whole, and on subjects on the American west coast. Interviews were conducted with eleven subjects to examine the most profound influences on culture and how native culture is passed on through the generations. Focuses include cultural identity, cultural inheritance, prominent native and adoptive cultural values, and culture as affected by adversity.
ContributorsTran, Yvana (Author) / Loebenberg, Abby (Thesis director) / Suk, Mina (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
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Description
The world of role playing games, or RPGs, is a complex, ever changing balance of egos, luck, skill, and fun. It is "always on the verge of destruction… a movement between order and chaos” (Sicart 2014, 3). This paper looks at the creation and implementation of one basic Generic Universal

The world of role playing games, or RPGs, is a complex, ever changing balance of egos, luck, skill, and fun. It is "always on the verge of destruction… a movement between order and chaos” (Sicart 2014, 3). This paper looks at the creation and implementation of one basic Generic Universal Role Playing System (GURPS) story skeleton, and how five groups of five to seven players created five extremely diverse, rich stories. A jointly told story is the sum of the experiences and interactions of the storytellers. The Game Master creates an ever-evolving story based on their own ideas and characters, and influenced by the choices of the Player Characters. Likewise, the Player Characters react and adapt to scenarios given to them by the Game Master, steering the story in subtler, but no less influential ways. Both the Game Master and the Player Characters are influenced in their decisions by out of game rivalries and the interplay of the different roles each player takes on. My research sought to explore how and why a jointly told narrative changes from the original source material. What change agents are due to the power of the Game Master? How do PCs most effectively change their story? To what extent does the story depend on the out-of-game interactions that are shaped by the real world? In this paper I will argue that agônistic play or the lack thereof is the driving force behind joint storytelling due to both the conflict within one player between player and character, and the conflict inherent in bringing multiple overlapping but incongruous social realities together to create a separate shared social reality.
ContributorsAbraham, Rebecca (Author) / Loebenberg, Abby (Thesis director) / Ingram-Waters, Mary (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
A bicycle tour is an unusual thing, one that often defies the expectations of the first-time touring cyclist. In this report, the experience of touring cycling is examined in two parts: a narrative documenting the author's tour down the Pacific Coast, and a reflective work that examines the journey and

A bicycle tour is an unusual thing, one that often defies the expectations of the first-time touring cyclist. In this report, the experience of touring cycling is examined in two parts: a narrative documenting the author's tour down the Pacific Coast, and a reflective work that examines the journey and the major themes which persist throughout. In examining the trip, two major dichotomies arose as themes. The first major dichotomy is found in the expectation of a solitary experience for one who is touring solo. In reality, tours are often built on the goodwill of others in the cycling community. On this particular tour, a website called Warmshowers was central to this point. By offering lodging to tired touring cyclists who would otherwise camp alone, this website serves to bring the cycling community together, and allows for connections that would otherwise never exist to be formed. However, it is true that much of a solo tour is, in fact, spent in solitude. This allows a cyclist long periods for self-reflection and meditation, an opportunity to strengthen one's connection with oneself and the natural world around them. The second is a contrast between the planning that goes into embarking on a long trip and the entropy and randomness that inevitably causes the experience to wildly differ from said plan. When the unexpected occurs, there are two options: to reject the unknown and cling to the framework one sets out for themselves, or to embrace the unexpected and see where it takes you. Often, diverting from the plan can allow for new and exciting experiences. However, there is also value to the framework and stability afforded by adhering to a plan. Through these experiences and more, a bicycle tour changes the way one looks at the world.
ContributorsReid, Evan Calderwood (Author) / Fette, Donald (Thesis director) / Loebenberg, Abby (Committee member) / Electrical Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
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Description
Operation Toothbrush is an initiative established to combat the oral healthcare disparity within young children who reside in Arizona. By working with elementary and preschool children, the project educated them and their families about the importance of oral hygiene in informative and intuitive manner. The project incorporated the help of

Operation Toothbrush is an initiative established to combat the oral healthcare disparity within young children who reside in Arizona. By working with elementary and preschool children, the project educated them and their families about the importance of oral hygiene in informative and intuitive manner. The project incorporated the help of Pre-Dental volunteers, dental practices, and the Woodside Grant to obtain the supplies, information, and assistance necessary to conduct the initiative.
ContributorsTsiperfal, Nathan (Co-author) / Mansukhani, Kunal (Co-author) / Virdee, Gitika (Co-author) / Loebenberg, Abby (Thesis director) / Ostling, Michael (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
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Description
The purpose of this thesis project is to situate emotional knowledge of conventional and alternative menstrual products within cultural processes that construct menstrual shame and taboo. This study employs both quantitative and qualitative research methods - a survey distributed via snowball recruitment and an age-selected follow-up oral interview- to analyze

The purpose of this thesis project is to situate emotional knowledge of conventional and alternative menstrual products within cultural processes that construct menstrual shame and taboo. This study employs both quantitative and qualitative research methods - a survey distributed via snowball recruitment and an age-selected follow-up oral interview- to analyze emotions associated with specific menstrual products. I find that fear and disgust are the two most significant emotions to influence menstrual product choice - fear associated predominantly with penetrative internal products and disgust associated with external products that do not sufficiently contain the chaotic flow of menstrual blood. Ultimately, I argue that menstrual disgust and shame born from the construction of the menstruating female body as anarchic, threatening, and inferior to the male body permeates the daily lives of women through their relationships to and emotions towards menstrual products, their periods, and their bodies in general. I discuss how these relationships are modulated throughout the lifecycle by approaches to formal menstrual education approaches that instill shame and disgust, as well as the embodied experiences of pregnancy and birth. I also discuss implications for activist approaches to menstrual education and present the issue of menstrual suppression via birth control.
ContributorsMurray, Sarah Anne (Author) / Loebenberg, Abby (Thesis director) / Graff, Sarah (Thesis director) / Stoff, Laurie (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-12
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Description
Familiar Places: Ghosts of a Memory is a thesis exhibition, presented in Gallery 100 in Tempe, AZ, accompanied by a written investigation into the function of photography in the home and art. This project is a diaristic photographic record including images of myself, my family, my environment, and mementos or

Familiar Places: Ghosts of a Memory is a thesis exhibition, presented in Gallery 100 in Tempe, AZ, accompanied by a written investigation into the function of photography in the home and art. This project is a diaristic photographic record including images of myself, my family, my environment, and mementos or objects that embody family history. I am interested in what we hold onto to keep memories and create our "home". I moved frequently growing up so my sense of home became firmly grounded in family, tradition, and the things we kept close, making home a practiced space not a place. This thesis project explores how material culture, including photographs, is used in creating the space of the home. Questions regarding the nature of the photograph as a memory keeping device or memory trigger is investigated to understand their usefulness and accuracy to the memory. A deeper examination of the difference between an artist's photograph of family and home versus the family photograph is discussed and presented by utilizing installations in the exhibition. The photographs can be seen at www.gwendolynanne.com
ContributorsDavies, Gwendolyn Anne (Author) / Smith, Stephen Mark (Thesis director) / Danh, Binh (Committee member) / Loebenberg, Abby (Committee member) / School of Art (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2015-12
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Description
This ethnographic study explores the music festival phenomenon in the context of the Austin City Limits music festival, held in Austin, Texas with a total attendance of over 450,000 people annually. Using Glaser and Strauss' grounded theory method (1967), central questions concerning structure, community identity, sustainable consumption, and waste were

This ethnographic study explores the music festival phenomenon in the context of the Austin City Limits music festival, held in Austin, Texas with a total attendance of over 450,000 people annually. Using Glaser and Strauss' grounded theory method (1967), central questions concerning structure, community identity, sustainable consumption, and waste were generated from the ethnography. These topics were analyzed with supporting theory in cultural anthropology, sociology, and sustainability. The findings are the basis for our "local-washing" theory, suggesting that localness is utilized to create a sense of authenticity. It is our shared conclusion that local-washing is a prevalent phenomenon at the modern music festival and presents the impact of commercialization on the public sphere. The research conducted includes collecting ethnographic fieldnotes pertaining to festival-goers behaviors that we observed at the festival as well as an investigation of the waste at the festival. By attending the Austin City Limits music festival and utilizing the ethnographic research method, we gained a deeper understanding of what motivates and bonds people in the unique context of the music festival. Through this we found basis for an analysis of the sustainable consumption of food and beverages at the festival as well as waste behaviors and theories behind them including the idea of waste having an absent presence in society.
ContributorsWrobel, Aleksandra (Co-author) / Masri, Lena (Co-author) / Loebenberg, Abby (Thesis director) / Graff, Sarah (Committee member) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
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Description

Within the pediatric hospitalization experience, fear and anxiety are two emotions commonly felt by children of all ages. Hospitalized children can greatly benefit from interventions designed to help them cope with these emotions throughout their medical experiences. This study draws on each of our clinical experiences as volunteers at Phoenix

Within the pediatric hospitalization experience, fear and anxiety are two emotions commonly felt by children of all ages. Hospitalized children can greatly benefit from interventions designed to help them cope with these emotions throughout their medical experiences. This study draws on each of our clinical experiences as volunteers at Phoenix Children’s Hospital, and uses a qualitative analysis of three semi-structured interviews with currently employed Child Life Specialists to understand and analyze the use of medical play, a form of play intervention with a medical theme or medical equipment. We explore the goals and benefits of medical play for hospitalized pediatric patients, the process of using medical play as an intervention, including the activity design process, the assessments and adjustments made throughout the child’s hospitalization, and the considerations and limitations to implementing medical play activities. Ultimately, we found that the element of fun that defines play can be channeled into medical play activities implemented by skilled Child Life Specialists, who are experts in their field, in clinical settings to promote several different and beneficial goals, including pediatric patient coping.

ContributorsGarciapena, Danae (Co-author) / Aguiar, Lara (Co-author) / Loebenberg, Abby (Thesis director) / Swanson, Jodi (Committee member) / College of Health Solutions (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Natural Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-05
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Description

Within the pediatric hospitalization experience, fear and anxiety are two emotions commonly felt by children of all ages. Hospitalized children can greatly benefit from interventions designed to help them cope with these emotions throughout their medical experiences. This study draws on each of our clinical experiences as volunteers at Phoenix

Within the pediatric hospitalization experience, fear and anxiety are two emotions commonly felt by children of all ages. Hospitalized children can greatly benefit from interventions designed to help them cope with these emotions throughout their medical experiences. This study draws on each of our clinical experiences as volunteers at Phoenix Children’s Hospital, and uses a qualitative analysis of three semi-structured interviews with currently employed Child Life Specialists to understand and analyze the use of medical play, a form of play intervention with a medical theme or medical equipment. We explore the goals and benefits of medical play for hospitalized pediatric patients, the process of using medical play as an intervention, including the activity design process, the assessments and adjustments made throughout the child’s hospitalization, and the considerations and limitations to implementing medical play activities. Ultimately, we found that the element of fun that defines play can be channeled into medical play activities implemented by skilled Child Life Specialists, who are experts in their field, in clinical settings to promote several different and beneficial goals, including pediatric patient coping.

ContributorsAguiar, Lara (Co-author) / Garciapeña, Danae (Co-author) / Loebenberg, Abby (Thesis director) / Swanson, Jodi (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-05
Description

For my thesis project, I joined a pathway course in Game Design. The goal was to design an analog game based upon principles learned in class and through experimental gameplay. Tasked with designing different game types and provided different styles of games to test, I was able to explore and

For my thesis project, I joined a pathway course in Game Design. The goal was to design an analog game based upon principles learned in class and through experimental gameplay. Tasked with designing different game types and provided different styles of games to test, I was able to explore and develop my own game idea, Covers.

ContributorsMiller, Jessica (Author) / Loebenberg, Abby (Thesis director) / Mack, Robert (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Social and Behavioral Sciences (Contributor) / School of Social Work (Contributor)
Created2023-05