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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As technology and legislation advances, small unmanned aerial systems (SUAS), better known as drones, have begun to become an integral part of emergency services. Large departments such as the New York City fire department and the National Park Service have implemented very successful programs. However, many departments are still not using them despite this uptick in usage. In order to improve accessibility of this technology, I set out to perform field research and develop a series of public service announcement videos combined with standard operating procedures (SOPs) in order to create a model that can help departments start their own SUAS programs. Through hours of fieldwork, I was able to develop policies and procedures that I then laid out in various videos and SOPs, all with the intention of improving accessibility to this technology. The benefits of SUAS are numerous and can greatly improve patient outcomes as well as improve first responder safety. Through my research, I created a strong foundation for any department no matter the size or location to be able to start their own program with relative ease.
ContributorsPetri, Griffin (Author) / Fette, Donald (Thesis director) / Foy, Joseph (Committee member) / Department of Military Science (Contributor) / School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning (Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-12
Description
Strong Mothers Strong Teeth is an initiative to educate mothers and pregnant women about the importance of maintaining their own and their child(ren)’s oral health. This project presents evidence that shows a lack of oral health education among mothers about how to care for their oral health while pregnant and their child’s oral health post birth. The recognition and identification of these disparities led to the content deemed necessary to be included in the education of mothers and pregnant women. By collecting and analyzing pamphlets and information gathered from health clinics and homeless shelters in Arizona and California, we created our own pamphlets based on analysis of the effectiveness of the information using content analysis and Flesch-Kincaid readability scores. This led to the creation of two pamphlets to educate mothers on oral health care, the first focused on preventing tooth decay in women during their pregnancy and for their baby, post-birth, and the second provided a timeline guide on oral health for the mother and child.
ContributorsBlair, Grace (Co-author) / Patel, Toral (Co-author) / Loebenberg, Abby (Thesis director) / Magee, Mitch (Committee member) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-12
Description
When the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) auctioned off federal lands in the Holbrook Basin area in Arizona, this action set off a furor among concerned residents and groups in Arizona. Under new rules, the BLM did not have to conduct a public input or environmental analysis before the lease auction. Furthermore, evidence suggests that oil and gas companies may use techniques similar to fracking to obtain helium gas from the Holbrook Basin. Through the analysis of the history of fracking in the United States (U.S.) and Arizona as well as fracking bans in four key states, New York, Pennsylvania, Colorado, and Florida, this paper will illustrate some of the ways Arizona can go about preventing fracking. These case studies suggest that the best way to do this is to focus on the local level, specifically zoning regulations, and then move to the state level.
ContributorsHegde, Sakshi (Author) / Jalbert, Kirk (Thesis director) / Bruhis, Noa (Committee member) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-12
Description
Following the prolific car-centric design of the twentieth century, many cities are grappling with increasing pedestrian deaths and greater vehicle congestion. To solve these problems, many of these cities are expressing a desire to create more effective and vibrant walkable places. Aside from safety, numerous benefits come from pedestrian friendly communities, including greater economic activity, better health, greater social capital, and less environmental impact. Although there are several tools already available, evaluating an area’s current walkability situation is still varied, and evaluating a pedestrian’s thoughts on safety and enjoyability is also difficult. The benefits of walkability and past and present tools are summarized in this paper. The goal of this paper was to create a walkability evaluation tool that included smaller, often overlooked aspects of the sidewalk and site design that contribute to a pedestrian’s experience and safety. The author developed a tool containing 40 different measures of the sidewalk concerning safety, connectivity, enjoyment, and accessibility, as well as created methods for visualizing the data. The tool was then utilized to gather data at six Phoenix-metro area intersections using a combination of on street data collection and GIS software and Google Street View. The paper also details suggestions on how to act upon the data and improve walkability in an area, including minor street alterations and larger policy shifts in zoning codes. Although in preliminary data collection the tool provides a good snapshot of the data, further development of the tool and assessment of its reliability are needed, as well as greater data collection to compare evaluated areas to a larger region.
ContributorsLaufer, Daniel (Author) / King, David (Thesis director) / Coseo, Paul (Committee member) / School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-12
Description
This grammar describes the inner workings of the language of the Fwonnel Peninsula, known in its English translations as Fwonnel, Arojaunzan, or, most succinctly, Arojun. Contained within this 288-page paper are sections dedicated to Phonology, Phonetics, Morphology, Syntax, Example Texts, and various other elements of the world that I have created. Arojun is a moderately analytic language that features a Verb-Object-Subject word order, a pronoun-tense auxiliary system, and two orthography systems with historic significance. Connected to the language and included within this paper are sections on original Calendar Systems, Music Theory and Notation, Naming Traditions, Geography of the Fwonnel Peninsula, Religions, Two Dictionaries, a collection of common phrases important to learning the language and interacting with the people, and an in-depth look at the full political and linguistic history of the Fwonnel Peninsula. The Sample Text section includes several lines of interlinear glosses translating popular scenes from television shows from English(or Japanese) into Arojun, videos of which were posted to my YouTube Channel, Agma Schwa, over the course of the past year. This language, and in essence, the entirety of the fictional nation of El Fwonk Casanosia, has been building up to this point since 2007, when I was only seven years old. I may have needed to occasionally bend over backwards to make the less logical, yet emotionally significant, parts of this language and history reach a point of satisfactory suspension of disbelief, but I believe that it turned out wonderfully. Either way, this project took a great deal of effort, by far the largest project that I have worked on in my life.
ContributorsCole, Robert Joseph (Author) / Van Gelderen, Elly (Thesis director) / Pruitt, Kathryn (Committee member) / Bjork, Robert (Committee member) / Department of English (Contributor, Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
This thesis explores the role and meaning of community in the community land trust (CLT) model, and uses a single embedded case study to examine the mission, organizational structure, and governance model of Newtown CDC, a CLT based in Phoenix, Arizona. The thesis seeks to answer the questions, “What does community participation and empowerment mean to Newtown CDC”, and “how does the organization satisfy the competing needs of community participation and affordable housing production?” Historical documents of Newtown CDC, interviews with CLT staff, board members, and national policy representatives, as well as a survey of current and former CLT residents, reveal the perceived meaning and role of community, its evolution, and successes and failures in engaging the community. The data finds that a change in political and cultural dynamics has contributed to more resources focused on developing affordable housing, and less focus on community engagement. CLTs have adapted to this change, and the role and execution of community engagement has also evolved.
ContributorsSubbaraman, Sree Manasvini (Author) / Ehlenz, Meagan (Thesis director) / Brewer, Stephanie (Committee member) / School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning (Contributor, Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
The purpose of this thesis project is to analyze the impact that patient death has on long-term care providers. This study draws upon my own experience working as a licensed nursing assistant in a long-term care facility and also uses a qualitative analysis of six semi-structured interviews with other nursing assistants and hospice volunteers. With patient death being an unavoidable part of working in this area of healthcare, I explore how these care providers cope with losing their patients and the effectiveness of these coping mechanisms. Some strategies found that aided in coping with grief included staying detached from patients, being distracted by other aspects of the job, receiving support from co-workers, family members and/or supervisors, and having a religious outlook on what happens following death. In addition to these, I argue that care providers also utilize the unconscious defense mechanism of repression to avoid their feelings of grief and guilt. Repressing the grief and emotions that come along with patient death can protect the individual from additional pain in order for them to continue to do their difficult jobs. Being distracted by other patients also aids in the repression process by avoiding personal feelings temporarily. I also look into factors that have been found to affect the level of grief including the caregiver’s closeness to the patient, level of preparedness for the death, and first experience of losing a patient. Ultimately, I show that the common feelings accompanied by patient death (sadness, anger and stress) and the occurrence of burnout are harmful symptoms of the repression taking place.
ContributorsMasterson, Kaitlin (Author) / Loebenberg, Abby (Thesis director) / Mack, Robert (Committee member) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
I was a curious child who grew up to be a curious adult. Ever since I learned how to read, I have had a passion for science and learning new things. I chose to watch the Discovery channel over any other network on TV, and I was drawn to the non-fiction section of the Phoenix Public Library. My parents encouraged my curiosity and helped me learn in any way they could. My mom took me to Juniper Library every weekend while my dad sat through countless episodes of Mythbusters, How It’s Made, and Shark Week specials. Eventually, there came a time when they could no longer answer the endless questions I would throw their way. My mom likes to remind me of one question in particular that I would ask that she was unable to form any kind of answer to. This question ended up shaping my scientific interests and became the basis for my chosen college major. The question was “why are people people?”
ContributorsMaiorella, Madeline Jo (Author) / Meissinger, Ellen (Thesis director) / Lawrence, Julie (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution & Social Change (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Urban agriculture includes both farming and gardening, typically in a community format, in urban areas. Agrihoods are neighborhoods centered around food production and they are becoming more popular residential areas as the local food movement grows. Agritopia is one of these agrihoods; located in Gilbert, Arizona, it contains both an urban farm and a community garden. Agritopia is oft cited for being an exemplary agrihood. This thesis uses Agritopia as a case study for exploring the challenges associated with urban agriculture in the Sonoran Desert.
Most urban agriculture sites experience challenges related to sustainability, but in the Sonoran Desert, even more challenges arise as a result of a unique climate, soil conditions, intense storms, and water scarcity. The objective of this project was to obtain information on common barriers to urban agriculture in the Sonoran Desert, as well as ways to overcome these barriers that will be made public for the purpose of improving sustainability of similar agriculture projects. I used interviews with gardeners and farm staff as my primary research method to gain insight to these barriers and solutions, and I coded their responses relating to challenges according to frequency mentioned. Using my findings, I compiled a thorough list of recommendations that urban agriculture projects in the Sonoran Desert or in similar climatic areas can use to achieve greater success and sustainable outcomes.
Most urban agriculture sites experience challenges related to sustainability, but in the Sonoran Desert, even more challenges arise as a result of a unique climate, soil conditions, intense storms, and water scarcity. The objective of this project was to obtain information on common barriers to urban agriculture in the Sonoran Desert, as well as ways to overcome these barriers that will be made public for the purpose of improving sustainability of similar agriculture projects. I used interviews with gardeners and farm staff as my primary research method to gain insight to these barriers and solutions, and I coded their responses relating to challenges according to frequency mentioned. Using my findings, I compiled a thorough list of recommendations that urban agriculture projects in the Sonoran Desert or in similar climatic areas can use to achieve greater success and sustainable outcomes.
ContributorsAnglin, Paige Elizabeth (Author) / Eakin, Hallie (Thesis director) / Norton, Susan (Committee member) / School of Sustainability (Contributor, Contributor) / School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
This project draws sustainability material out of the textbook and into the body using a
role play simulation modeled around Michigan wolf management. In this case, role play simulation is a game fabricated to reflect the complexity of real-world conflict. The goal of the exercise is to engage players in mock negotiation and expand their knowledge of wicked environmental problems. By encouraging participants to question their own thought process, the activity aims to foster a transformational experience.
role play simulation modeled around Michigan wolf management. In this case, role play simulation is a game fabricated to reflect the complexity of real-world conflict. The goal of the exercise is to engage players in mock negotiation and expand their knowledge of wicked environmental problems. By encouraging participants to question their own thought process, the activity aims to foster a transformational experience.
ContributorsVermeer, Danielle Nicole (Author) / Cloutier, Scott (Thesis director) / Movahed, Neda (Committee member) / School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05