Barrett, The Honors College Thesis/Creative Project Collection

Soccer is bar none, the most popular sport in the entire world. It is played, followed, and loved by virtually every single country on Earth. Despite this massive support for the sport which houses some of the world’s biggest names in the world, its shortcomings when dealing with issues of racial injustice and incidents of racist behavior have become more pronounced in recent years. Although this open discussion regarding racism within the sport has recently begun to sprout, its roots can be tied back to decades ago while continuing to the present day, with players, referees, coaches, fans, commentators, and more all involved on both sides of the issue. <br/> We found this topic to be most prevalent in today’s society after witnessing multiple shameful racist incidents that have occurred to some of the world’s biggest players throughout European football in 2019, as well as the recent ongoing fight for racial reform and increased awareness regarding racial injustice in the United States. By doing comprehensive research and analysis on such incidents that have occurred throughout the years we hope to raise more awareness regarding this subject that has plagued the beautiful game. In addition, we hope to offer ways to remedy the problem one step at a time, all while answering the tough, but necessary questions regarding what specifically should be done in the sport, that others have been afraid to talk about for far too long. Specifically, we wanted to mainly highlight the experience of black players, with a further discussion on other minority groups, in English and Italian football as these two leagues have been a part of the largest debate between how club traditions, player-fan interactions, league policies, and staff management have all affected the way we view the game as the endemic of racism within the sport is exacerbated.

The current study examines the effects that college students' personal characteristics, such as age, sex, gender, or race/ethnicity, have on students’ perceptions of perceived victim blameworthiness. This study also examines how college students’ perceptions of blameworthiness change after being exposed to real life sexual assault vignettes that tap into issues surrounding rape myths. Specifically, I assess blameworthiness perceptions surrounding rape myths regarding clothing, drinking, and various situational characteristics. Blameworthiness perceptions were examined through a survey with pre-test and post-test questions that occurred before and after the student reviewed different sexual assault vignettes. Descriptive statistics show that the majority of college students, after being introduced to the vignettes, reduced their blameworthiness beliefs. Results from the regression analysis show that few individual characteristics are associated with changes in blameworthiness beliefs. Overall, these findings suggest that exposure to sexual assault vignettes have an effect on how individuals perceive victim blameworthiness.

This mental health video series features three animated videos about anxiety disorders, resources and treatment options, and the stigma surrounding mental illness for youth ages 16-25, parents, and educators. Anxiety disorders are the most common type of mental disorder in the United States, so it is imperative that all people understand the signs, symptoms, and treatment options in order to best assist and support those in need of services.

This study examines how a 2013 Arizona law on shared parenting would affect living arrangements, and thus mental health measures. There were two hypotheses. According to the Law Change Hypothesis, it was hypothesized that parenting time in Arizona would be more equal following the 2013 Arizona law change while there would be no change in parenting time in other states following the 2013 Arizona law change. It was further hypothesized that child mental health would be better after the law change in Arizona with no change being seen in other states. Results of this study were almost completely inconsistent with the hypothesis. According to the Law Reflect Hypothesis, the law is actually reflecting the behavior of the community and their thoughts on equal parenting time becoming more favorable, and therefore a change towards more equal parenting time would be found prior to 2013 in Arizona with no change seen in other states. Furthermore, as the Arizona community’s behavior changed, child mental health would be better with no change being seen in other states. Regressions found that a small change toward more equal parenting and closeness with father was prior to 2013 for Arizona students, compared to out-of-state students, although it did not find that the year of divorce resulted in less anxiety, stress, and depression. This partially agrees with past research that the 2013 law is working as intended, even if it started working earlier than we thought. This does not agree with previous research stating there is a connection between equal parenting and better mental health. This is important because this study questions the efficacy of an important and controversial policy. If future studies are consistent with this one, the effectiveness of the Arizona 2013 law change on mental health will need to be further evaluated.

The purpose of this project was to research the expression of Autism Spectrum Disorder in children and create a children’s book that can help the peers of individuals with a diagnosis to understand what the disorder entails and potentially gain a new sense of empathy for peers of all levels of physical and mental abilities. The research component includes interviews with individuals deemed knowledgeable about ASD, including occupational therapists, behavioral analysts, and parents, as well as a literature review of research studies on the expression of Autism in children. This written portion of the project may also serve as a manual for individuals who have little to no knowledge of ASD, as it dives deeper into the content of the book and research, while remaining easily understandable and clear to those without any prior knowledge or experience with ASD. It could prove especially useful for those in professions that come into contact with individuals with Autism, but do not necessarily require psychology courses or training as a prerequisite for the role, such as teachers and some health professionals.

The purpose of this study was to bring new information to the field of education research on<br/>graduation rates and school programming. Research on graduation rates and the effects of school<br/>programs exist, however there is not an abundance of research aimed specifically at Title I high<br/>schools. The goal was to find what school characteristics might impact graduation rates in this<br/>population. The thesis focused on Title I high schools in the Phoenix Union District with a<br/>graduating 2019 class of at least 250 students. This limited the effect of variability (school size,<br/>location, socioeconomic status). To research this topic, school characteristics were selected<br/>including course rigor, mentor programs, and college prep programs, as well as specific schools.<br/>To obtain the information, multiple sources were used including the Arizona Department of<br/>Education website, school websites, and school administrators/staff. The research revealed that<br/>the effect of course rigor, college prep programs, and mentorship on graduation rates in Phoenix<br/>Union High Schools is not apparent. Further research should be conducted into other possible<br/>causes for the gaps in graduation rates between the Title I high schools in this district. Future<br/>research on ELL students and programs in the Phoenix Union district and their effectiveness or<br/>lack thereof is also recommended. The research shows that this large demographic negatively<br/>correlates with the overall graduation rates at the six schools researched.

The Latinx community faces several barriers that keep them from seeking mental health treatment. One of those barriers is the stigma experienced in the community. The purpose of this project is to create a culturally tailored animation to address the stigma associated with mental health in the Latinx community. The first part of the project, written about in this paper, focuses on gathering data from the community about their beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors regarding mental health, as well as the stigma they have witnessed and experienced. Information was gathered through a series of group and one-on-one interviews with Generation Z men and women that identified as Latinx. The preliminary results revealed that all participants agreed with the statement that mental health is stigmatized in their community and offered several reasons as to why this is the case. The majority of them also agreed that education is the best way to reduce the stigma, which is what we hope to achieve through an animation that will be created using the information provided by the community and the literature.

This paper analyzes the economic, legal, and social aspects of the legal cannabis industry in the United States. These analyses include the history, current status, and future of all three components, all with an emphasis on reforming the existing systems in place in order to achieve the most beneficial cannabis industry possible. Many reformative legal implications are made, stressing the importance of decriminalizing cannabis, releasing nonviolent and cannabis-related criminals from prison, and expunging their criminal records. The paper places a heavy emphasis on the importance of designing the legal system to be fair and equal across all racial and ethnic groups, given that people of color have been hit the hardest in terms of cannabis-related issues. Economic components such as tax design and access to proper financial institutions are also included, as well as the social implications that have both gone into and are a product of the long-standing war on drugs. While there is no comprehensive solution for how to fix every aspect of the industry, this paper highlights key aspects to be aware of in the design stages of potential federal legalization.

My thesis focuses on the use of American Sign Language in popular movies. My paper analyzes the intersection between popular media and language, a subject I find personally interesting. My project addresses how and when ASL is used in movies, including technical components such as lighting, framing, visibility, and subtitling. It also looks at the function of ASL, as well as Deafness and how it is portrayed. It focuses on three popular films: Children of a Lesser God (1986), The Shape of Water (2017), and A Quiet Place (2018). It also studies a fourth film, No Ordinary Hero: The SuperDeafy Movie (2013), which provides a Deaf perspective when it comes to filmmaking. These films are studies from technical and representational perspectives.

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.