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 Politics and Global Studies
Description
This thesis comparatively examines the percentage of women who have been appointed to federal level Cabinet positions in the United States and Canada between 1980 and 2010. The thesis will first explain the differences in the nation's democratic systems -- presidential and parliamentarian -- to contextualize how each nation elects federal representatives coupled with their process of appointing individuals to Cabinet positions per administration. Then the thesis will briefly explain the basis of the political parties that have been active in each country alongside their prominent ideals, in an effort to understand the impact it has had on the number of women elected to federal positions. Finally, the research will focus on the number of women appointed to Cabinet to demonstrate how an increase in the amount of political parties, creates more competition between political parties, in turn allowing for a higher number of women to be elected as well as appointed to federal positions. In conclusion, the research suggests that liberal party's push forth more women to federal level positions in both countries. Coupled with the fact that the increase in the amount of office holding parties increases competition between parties and increases the number of women appointed to Cabinet.
ContributorsOkula, Victoria (Author) / Shair-Rosenfield, Sarah (Thesis director) / Kittilson, Miki (Committee member) / Department of English (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-12
Description
This thesis examines a convergence point between civil society and the military: the Reserve Officer's Training Corps (ROTC). Specifically, it is centered on how sexual assault is managed within ROTC, a hybrid entity of both the university and the military, two institutional arenas where sexual assault has emerged recently as a social problem. The U.S. military and public universities have distinct laws and legal processes as well as institutional cultural influences that address sexual assault. Therefore, I will explore how the hybrid ROTC program governs sexual assault while being simultaneously beholden to similar and/or possibly competing norms of the military and public university. Drawing on multidisciplinary research literature, this exploratory study of the management of sexual assault in a ROTC program in a large public university will be completed using several research methods, including: 1) observation of ROTC sexual assault education programs currently in place and being administered; 2) interviews with ROTC cadets; 3) surveys of ROTC cadets on perceptions, attitudes, and beliefs related to sexual assault and prevention efforts; and 4) analysis of Congressional, Department of Defense, ROTC, and university documents such as legislation, code, sexual assault policies and procedures, education materials, and reports. The study seeks to identify what policies, procedures and laws are in place at the university and in the ROTC program to address sexual assault and harassment, and to measure cadet's understandings and perceptions of such policies, procedures and laws.
ContributorsDorer, Jamie (Author) / Adelman, Madelaine (Thesis director) / Pagel, Bruce (Committee member) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-12
Description
The jury is a perfect example of American democracy in action. People convicted of crimes are put before a randomly-selected jury of their peers. This jury consists of people with a variety of backgrounds and experiences without any sort of specialized training. Ideally, this jury is representative of the population and does not have any biases towards the victim or the defendant. They view all evidence, hear all facts, and ultimately decide on a verdict. However, this system does not always create accurate outcomes. Often times and for a number of reasons, jurors are distracted in the courtroom. This can lead to incorrect verdicts, meaning that either guilty people walk free or innocent people are incarcerated. This paper will explore the idea of the distracted juror and ways to minimize these distractions so that the most accurate decision can be made during a trial. It will first examine the statistics behind jury inaccuracies as well as how other countries conduct their jury trials. It will then briefly explore grand juries and their differences between trial juries. This paper will analyze data from a survey conducted at the beginning of the project. It will then provide analyses of some possible reforms. This paper will conclude with how this research could be pursued further, why it should be pursued further, and how jury trials could look in the future.
ContributorsAnderson, Ethan David (Author) / Kirkpatrick, Jennet (Thesis director) / Valerie, Hoekstra (Committee member) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-12
Description
In Bottlenecks (Fishkin, 2014), Joseph Fishkin offers a new way of thinking about equality of opportunity which he calls opportunity pluralism. Rather than aim to equalize opportunities, opportunity pluralism strives to shift society towards a pluralistic model in which individuals are able to pursue a variety of different goods, roles, and paths in the pursuit of diverse competing conceptions of the good life. In such a society, individuals are in the best position to decide for themselves what constitutes a good life, and they are able to pursue paths to human flourishing with minimal bottlenecks constraining their unique life paths. A bottleneck is any "narrow place in the opportunity structure through which one must pass in order to successfully pursue a wide range of valued goals" (Fishkin, 13). Fishkin notes that opportunity pluralism differs from traditional egalitarian conceptions of equal opportunity. Nonetheless, Fishkin argues that opportunity pluralism provides powerful arguments in support of many of the most acclaimed egalitarian changes throughout history. In short, Fishkin presents opportunity pluralism as a new theory of equal opportunity which, although not egalitarian in the orthodox sense, is nonetheless within the mainstream of egalitarian political theory. In this thesis, I will argue that opportunity pluralism is not as friendly to egalitarianism as Fishkin suggests by showing that the theory is fully consistent with social outcomes typically viewed as antithetical to egalitarianism. Focusing on Sweden's gender segregated workforce and the college degree bottleneck in the US \u2014 which are discussed in the final part of his book \u2014 I argue that Fishkin's applications of opportunity pluralism only follow on the basis of certain questionable assumptions. On the basis of different assumptions, however, opportunity pluralism is consistent with Sweden's de facto gender segregated workforce and a society in which higher education is much less affordable and accessible than it is currently \u2014 outcomes that most mainstream egalitarians would oppose. In my analysis of the college degree bottleneck I use economist Bryan Caplan's book The Case Against Education: Why the Education System is a Waste of Time and Money (Caplan, 2018), to argue that under certain empirical assumptions in the economics of education, certain inegalitarian policy prescriptions are consistent with opportunity pluralism. In the final part of my thesis I argue that opportunity pluralism is consistent with inegalitarian outcomes because it is built on different foundations compared to other egalitarian theories of equal opportunity. Because opportunity pluralism recognizes that deep and lasting inequalities persist so long as the state allows families to remain intact, and that achieving equality of opportunity is not the best approach to help individuals pursue their own good in their own way, certain inegalitarian outcomes are not problematic from the point of view of opportunity pluralism.
ContributorsKarler, Nick (Author) / de Marneffe, Peter (Thesis director) / Nair, Gopal (Committee member) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-12
Description
The American entrance into World War I instituted a fundamental change in the nation’s handling of foreign policy. The established precedent of isolationism was rooted in Washingtonian affairs and further emphasized by the policies of the Monroe Doctrine and Roosevelt Corollary. President Woodrow Wilson, by choosing to engage in a European war, created a milestone in American history by sending troops across the Atlantic to “repay Lafayette’s debt.” However, while World War I shaped American relations with western Europe, it also played an important role in Russian-American relations with Wilson’s decision to intervene in the Russian Civil War. Like his Fourteen Points at the Treaty of Versailles, Wilson asserted the legitimacy to intervene in Russia through pro-democratic rhetoric. This historic decision not only marked one of the first pro-democratic interventions in American military history, but it became the foundation for containment strategy during the Cold War twenty years later.
Furthermore, this paper will look to highlight and bring forth the stories and testimonies of those who fought in the American Expeditionary Force in North Russia (AEF-NR). Examination of the American leaders in the region as well as the geographical situation will address why the AEF-NR’s intervention was far more violent than that of the American Expeditionary Force of Siberia, telling the story of the ‘Forgotten Fight’ and its significant effect on American-Russian foreign relations.
Furthermore, this paper will look to highlight and bring forth the stories and testimonies of those who fought in the American Expeditionary Force in North Russia (AEF-NR). Examination of the American leaders in the region as well as the geographical situation will address why the AEF-NR’s intervention was far more violent than that of the American Expeditionary Force of Siberia, telling the story of the ‘Forgotten Fight’ and its significant effect on American-Russian foreign relations.
ContributorsBrooks, Jeffery (Author) / Von Hagen, Mark (Thesis director) / Longley, Rodney (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies (Contributor)
Created2018-12
Description
Over the last 30 years, the public has become somewhat less willing to accept the “feminist” label. However, most Americans indicate support for general feminist ideals. In fact, many of these ideals have become so prevalent in American culture that they are not considered feminist anymore. This thesis will examine the reason behind this disparity and analyze where public opinion began to shift. The disparity between the definition of feminism and the definition perceived by the public will be explored along with the idea that the American people still want and need a “feminist movement,” but that its current state is not resonating with the majority of the public.
ContributorsKasle, Lauren Jessica (Author) / Lennon, Tara (Thesis director) / Woodall, Gina (Committee member) / School of Public Affairs (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
Based on paradigms in feminist theory and criticism, I conduct an analysis of two iconic works of twentieth century American feminist literature. Examining Herland (1915) by Charlotte Perkins Gilman and Rubyfruit Jungle (1973) by Rita Mae Brown, I assess their place within the canon of feminist literature--a canon traditionally thought of as Western. I cyclically explore how this canon parallels movements and institutions in actual feminism, and where the pitfalls in both can be traced. Due to the large span of time betwixt the two novels, I engage the historical progression American women experienced in the twentieth century and pair it with the progress feminist literature was likewise experiencing. Exploring the consequences of depicting women as people rather than male counterparts or others, I analyze the roles of the male gaze, male-less spaces, utopias, construction of female identity, motherhood, and how these culminate in feminine and sexual liberation. Utilizing philosophy from Christine de Pizan’s The Book of the City of Ladies and Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex, I trace the origins of the male gaze and male-less spaces in literature and film and how women are essentially othered. I further employ the criticism of Adrienne Rich’s essay “Compulsory Heterosexuality and Lesbian Existence” to explore the roles of motherhood and heterosexual norms specifically. My findings deride the authors for their inability to construct legitimately liberated female protagonists. However, I simultaneously offer deference to the authors for engaging the tools and concepts they had available to them at the time in the interest of crafting powerful feminist narratives. I center on the claim that male-less spaces are difficult to fully as well accurately portray in literature, but the authors attempt to do so to move towards a liberation of women and should be lauded for the contributions they made.
ContributorsMazzarella, Annie Lisa (Author) / Soares, Rebecca (Thesis director) / Glover, Richard (Committee member) / Department of English (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
In this paper, I will be arguing for the adoption of compulsory voting legislation in the United States. More specifically, for the implementation of compulsory voting in all federal elections. I begin my paper by stating essential democratic principles and how they demand this kind of voting policy in a country that prides itself as a beacon of democracy. Secondly, I will discussing voter suppression in the United States, both in the past as well as currently. My goal with this section is to show how compulsory voting would reduce voter suppression and bring about a democratically legitimate elected government. Thirdly, I will discuss how countries across the globe have already implemented compulsory voting in their elections. Primarily, I will show how Australia and Brazil require voting in their elections, as they are the most similar in size and culture to the United States out of the nations that currently operate with it. Lastly, I will refute any arguments against compulsory voting and argue why it is imperative for the United States to implement it in their elections.
ContributorsMontijo, Sean Jacob (Author) / Simhony, Avital (Thesis director) / Lennon, Tara (Committee member) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor, Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
Political scientists have long recognized the importance of representation as being critical to the American form of government. This paper begins by establishing the theoretical basis for representational studies in political science. It then turns to the empirical question of measuring the degree to which legislators represent their constituents. While there have been comprehensive studies of representation among members of Congress, several practical difficulties have prevented similar studies at the state legislature level. Underlying measures of representation are the preferences of constituents and the representational behavior of legislators. This paper proposes two metrics, a modified Partisan Voting Index and the American Conservative Union State Legislative Ratings, to compare the district-level preferences with roll call voting behavior (a form of substantive representation) of the corresponding legislators. This methodology is then tested against data collected from the Arizona legislature, specifically incorporating election returns from 2012, 2014, and 2016, and votes taken during the 2017 and 2018 sessions of the legislature. The findings suggest a strong relationship between the partisan and ideological leaning of a state legislative district and how conservative or liberal a legislator’s voting record is, even when controlling for political party. Two special cases are also examined in the context of this data. First, the three legislative districts with a split delegation are analyzed and determined to have a moderating effect on representative behavior. Second, five mid-term vacancies are examined along with the process for filling a vacancy. The paper concludes with a discussion of how this line of research can better inform legislators and help constituents hold their elected officials to account.
ContributorsFairbanks, Austin Kyle (Author) / Herrera, Richard (Thesis director) / Thomson, Henry (Committee member) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
This study aims to understand stereotypes, misconceptions, and generalizations about government employees and their jobs. The study specifically looked at the City of Prescott and involved an online survey sent to City of Prescott employees concerning stereotypes, generalizations, and misconceptions about the employees and their jobs. The questions were also designed to ask the employees about the accurateness of the stereotypes, misconceptions, and generalizations and if they affect the employees and how they feel about their employment. Researching stereotypes about City of Prescott employees and how the stereotypes make the employees feel about their jobs and employment can not only give insight into organizational morale and why people choose to work for a government entity, but it can also help to understand where stereotypes come from and how to combat them. The survey was sent to all City of Prescott employees, and 101 responses were received. Results show that an overwhelming majority of respondents are aware of stereotypes, misconceptions, and generalizations about them and their jobs. The respondents also identified specific stereotypes, misconceptions, and generalizations that they know of or have heard. However, for the most part they do not appear to negatively affect the employees. Additionally, the employees that participated do not generally perceive the stereotypes and generalizations to be very accurate in describing their jobs and responsibilities. The employees also identified some ways that their employer can combat generalizations and stereotypes. The findings from this study will be shared with the City of Prescott to help them understand stereotypes, misconceptions, and generalizations about their employees and jobs.
ContributorsScholl, Alexa Read (Author) / Kittilson, Miki (Thesis director) / Simhony, Avital (Committee member) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05