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 Public Affairs
Description
Arizona’s struggle with the opioid crisis reflects a failure of drug policy. This failure stems from decades of mimicking federal narcotic criminalization legislation. Arizona’s deference on narcotic policy was driven by a fear of addicts that was intentionally inflated by federal agents. Further, the federal prioritization of state uniformity of narcotic policy spread and entrenched the consequences of creating an illegal narcotics market. Arizona adopted these uniform policies enthusiastically. The state’s continued adoption of federal policy— exemplified by five pieces of legislation spanning between 1931 and 1979— show a continued theme of fear of addicts and prioritization of criminalization for the sake of uniformity. Criminalization and demonization of addicts are the main drivers of the modern opioid crisis. In this way, Arizona is culpable and is thus obligated to adopt an alternate narcotic policy approach that prioritizes evidence, compassion, and individual rights.
ContributorsRamsey, Grace Michele (Author) / Provine, Doris Marie (Thesis director) / Spohn, Cassia (Committee member) / School of Criminology and Criminal Justice (Contributor) / School of Public Affairs (Contributor) / Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-12
Description
The Centralia Council, representative of a small Pennsylvania borough, arranged for an illegal controlled burn of the Centralia landfill in late May 1962. It happened the same way every year. As Memorial Day drew closer, the Council contracted volunteer firefighters to burn the top layer of refuse in the landfill in preparation for the day’s festivities, but intentionally burning landfills violated state law. A tangle of events over the years saw the “controlled” burn develop into an underground mine fire and then into a coal seam fire. Excavation costs lie far beyond the state’s budget, and Pennsylvania plans to let the fire burn until its natural end--anticipated at another 240 years. The tangled mess of poor decisions over 21 years begs one question: did the people or the fire kill Centralia?
This paper’s field of study falls into the cross section of geology and fire science, history, social conflict, public service ethics, and collaborative failures. I explore how a series of small choices snowballed into a full, government funded relocation effort after attempts at controlling the anthracite coal seam fire failed. Geology and fire science worked in tandem during the mine fire, influencing each other and complicating the firefighting efforts. The fire itself was a unique challenge. The history of Centralia played a large role in the government and community response efforts. I use the borough and regional history to contextualize the social conflict that divided Centralia. Social conflict impaired the community’s ability to unify and form a therapeutic community, and in turn, it damaged community-government relationships. The government agencies involved in the mine fire response did their own damage to community relationships by pursuing their own interests. Agencies worried about their brand image, and politicians worried about re-election. I study how these ethical failures impacted the situation. Finally, I look at a few examples of collaborative failures on behalf of the government and the community. Over the course of my research, it became apparent the people killed Centralia, not the fire.
This paper’s field of study falls into the cross section of geology and fire science, history, social conflict, public service ethics, and collaborative failures. I explore how a series of small choices snowballed into a full, government funded relocation effort after attempts at controlling the anthracite coal seam fire failed. Geology and fire science worked in tandem during the mine fire, influencing each other and complicating the firefighting efforts. The fire itself was a unique challenge. The history of Centralia played a large role in the government and community response efforts. I use the borough and regional history to contextualize the social conflict that divided Centralia. Social conflict impaired the community’s ability to unify and form a therapeutic community, and in turn, it damaged community-government relationships. The government agencies involved in the mine fire response did their own damage to community relationships by pursuing their own interests. Agencies worried about their brand image, and politicians worried about re-election. I study how these ethical failures impacted the situation. Finally, I look at a few examples of collaborative failures on behalf of the government and the community. Over the course of my research, it became apparent the people killed Centralia, not the fire.
ContributorsLandes, Jazmyne (Author) / Bentley, Margaretha (Thesis director) / Gutierrez, Veronica (Committee member) / School of Public Affairs (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-12
Description
This thesis explores the current standards and the progress being made for civic education in the state of Arizona. To develop a new model, it draws on the programs offered to students in the community of Camden, NJ by the thriving civics department at Rutgers University. Motivated by the current lack of civic resources in Arizona high schools, this research seeks out a practical, community-centered approach to improving the civic education standards. Arizona was one of the first states to make civic education a priority by passing the American Civics Act, but there is still a long way to go to create civically engaged classrooms for students. The proposed plan combines citizenship pedagogy with direct service opportunities, mentorship, and community projects to help students become engaged in their local communities.
ContributorsMiller, Mekenna Moriah (Author) / Simhony, Avital (Thesis director) / Lennon, Tara (Committee member) / School of Public Affairs (Contributor) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor, Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
This paper explores Grace Logan and Emma Zuber’s understanding of how edible green spaces are mediums for emotional and social well-being. Our research aims to answer these questions: How are different populations benefitting in terms of their emotional and social well-being in similar and different ways from edible green spaces in Phoenix, Arizona? How does accessibility to garden spaces as well as time, in both frequency and duration, impact personal and communal connection? To answer these questions, we surveyed volunteers from four different garden populations - Sage Garden at Arizona State University (ASU), Desert Marigold School (DMS), TigerMountain Foundation (TMF), and Growhouse Urban Agriculture Center (GUAC). Before the volunteer surveys, we interviewed a garden leader or founder to gain a better understanding of their intentions for the space and their perspective on how the garden impacts emotional and social well-being benefits in their community. The results of the survey included some variance in subpopulation answers but, overall, volunteers answered similarly. This led us to determine that gardens do bring emotional and social benefits to people, but the degree of these benefits prove difficult to truly determine due to the complexity of personal needs across different subpopulations. As well, our research on time and access proved too limited in this study to make a definitive conclusion on how it impacts personal and communal connections, but the research does suggest that time could be a determining factor for subpopulations. This study also made recommendations based on our findings, so that policies could be enacted to ensure people can access green spaces to improve their overall well-being.
ContributorsLogan, Grace Ann (Co-author) / Zuber, Emma (Co-author) / Eakin, Hallie (Thesis director) / Bernier, Andrew (Committee member) / Scott, Cloutier (Committee member) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / School of Public Affairs (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
This thesis analyzes the effects of the United States involvement in its first, and longest, multilateral free trade agreement with its two largest neighbor nations: The North American Free Trade Agreement. The research question which is explored and analyzed here is: How has the North American Free Trade Agreement affected the United States domestic industry and if the United States should involve itself in this type of agreement? With the United States shift from isolationist and protectionist practices it came to accept globalist economic policies, such as free trade. However, as the world's largest consumer the acceptance and implementation of these free trade policies has led to economic harm. This is shown through the historical data of trade between the countries involved in the North American Free Trade Agreement and it is found that there are significant harmful effects on the United State as a result of this agreement. Specifically, the United States heavy loss of domestic industry and loss of income. The United States involvement in the North American Free Trade Agreement is described and analyzed using the logic models of classical and neoclassical trade theories. It is found that these trade theories' inappropriate application could explain the United States involvement in the North American Free Trade Agreement. Finally, using the ideas of classical and neoclassical trade theories it is determined that the best option for the United States to rebuild its domestic industry is to participate in protectionist and isolationist policies.
Keywords: The North American Free Trade Agreement, NAFTA, Classical Trade Theory, Neoclassical Trade Theory, United States Domestic Industry, Domestic Industry, Consumer Nation, Producer Nation, Comparative Advantage, Supply and Demand, Trade Deficit, Protectionism, Globalism
Keywords: The North American Free Trade Agreement, NAFTA, Classical Trade Theory, Neoclassical Trade Theory, United States Domestic Industry, Domestic Industry, Consumer Nation, Producer Nation, Comparative Advantage, Supply and Demand, Trade Deficit, Protectionism, Globalism
ContributorsBenado Smasch, James Antanaychis (Co-author) / Benado Smasch, James A. (Co-author) / Oliver, Jerry (Thesis director) / Ron, Amit (Committee member) / School of Social and Behavioral Sciences (Contributor) / School of Public Affairs (Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
The American musical theatre business as we know it now began in the 1980s with British producers such as Cameron Mackintosh who saw what Broadway could become. Up till then, no one dared venture into Midtown when the sun went down. As the natural light dimmed and the artificial ones began to glimmer, Times Square became the porn capital of the world with pimps and prostitutes on every corner and store fronts advertising peep shows and adult film where you will now see New York souvenir shops and the M&M store. After the Golden Age of Broadway which lasted into the 1960s, Broadway experienced a crash. The 60s was a tumultuous time for America with the shine of the American dream wearing off as Civil Rights came to a head, President Kennedy was assassinated, and every day brought more fatalities from the Vietnam War. The last thing on peoples’ minds was going to the theatre and it fell off the commercial bandwagon. That all changed with the introduction of a little team comprised of producer Cameron Mackintosh and composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and a little show called Cats.
ContributorsMohan, Vaibhavi (Author) / Yatso, Toby (Thesis director) / DeMaris, Amanda (Committee member) / School of Music (Contributor) / School of Public Affairs (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
With a fresh democratic energy emerging from newer generations, there is an increasing
number of youth becoming politically active and civically engaged. Many of whom are active
and engaged are college students, seeking change not only within politics and society, but within
their institution. At Arizona State University (ASU), the institution is spread across four unique
campuses in which each of the campuses holds its own undergraduate student government.
Within the Associated Students of Arizona State University (ASASU), each Undergraduate
Student Government (USG) experiences low voter turnout every year in their elections and high
turnover rates. Understanding why students chose to be involved in the first place is a major
question.
number of youth becoming politically active and civically engaged. Many of whom are active
and engaged are college students, seeking change not only within politics and society, but within
their institution. At Arizona State University (ASU), the institution is spread across four unique
campuses in which each of the campuses holds its own undergraduate student government.
Within the Associated Students of Arizona State University (ASASU), each Undergraduate
Student Government (USG) experiences low voter turnout every year in their elections and high
turnover rates. Understanding why students chose to be involved in the first place is a major
question.
ContributorsAlvarado, Yasmin Teresa (Co-author) / Alvarado, Yasmin (Co-author) / Anderson, Derrick (Thesis director) / Wang, Lili (Committee member) / School of Public Affairs (Contributor, Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Maryvale has several notable characteristics that distinguish it from other municipalities in the city of Phoenix. For one, Maryvale makes up 5% of Arizona's total population; meanwhile, 44% of its residents are under the age of 24. Increasingly, they have the “second-highest percentage of residents living below the poverty line” with 54% of adults reporting an income below $50,000 a year. One reason why pedestrian fatalities are so common in Maryvale is because of the insecurities in their infrastructure. Many adults work outside of the village, so they rely on public transportation and city installments like sidewalks and light posts to get them home safely every day. Due to the reduction in the quality of their infrastructure, it is more likely that an adult traveling or using public transportation may be fatally injured by a motor vehicle in the village. By contrast, the city of Tempe has comparable demographics with Maryvale, but they have a more sophisticated transportation system surrounding the metropolis. I used this as inspiration to transfer the focus of my project from Maryvale to Tempe because the infrastructure is more elaborate in the latter; there are more people and therefore more opportunities to broadcast this information.
ContributorsBah, Khadijah (Author) / Lucio, Joanna (Thesis director) / Cole, Erik (Committee member) / School of Public Affairs (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Leadership, as a field of study, has suffered under the dialectic between an ephemerality which keeps the true nature of leadership difficult to quantify and an ardent desire to have leadership fully understood so that societal institutions may improve. It is the primary focus of this research to view leadership as the collection of skills that an individual develops over time which allows them to demonstrate leadership ability regardless of their actual position within an organization. Through a review of the leadership skills literature, a potentially unifying framework for understanding and measuring leadership skills was extrapolated: Mumford, Campion, and Morgeson’s Leadership Skills STRATAPLEX (2007). In order to determine the ability of the framework to serve as a unified model between the divergent characteristics of the public and private sectors, a limited replication study was performed on a targeted sample of Human Resources (HR) leaders in the public and private sectors. The study consisted of a twenty-three-question survey which captured the HR leaders’ years of experience, sector type (sector of employment), and their self-rated measurement of the twenty-one leadership skills needed to perform in their position. Through the limited replication study, it was found that there existed no statistically significant difference between the sector type and any of the twenty-one leadership skills within this replication study. Although it should be noted that some of the leadership skills did approach statistical significance, a more robust replication of the STRATAPLEX for the explicit purpose of determining a relationship between sector type and the twenty-one leadership skills would prove useful in determining the veracity of these results. The results of this study serve to doubly inform leadership researchers of the possibility of creating a unified leadership skills framework as well as demonstrating to organizational leaders the value in producing leadership training which models this framework as its foundation for all leadership positions.
ContributorsAppelhans, Noah Michael (Author) / Knott, Eric (Thesis director) / Macafee, Lisa (Committee member) / Department of Management and Entrepreneurship (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / School of Public Affairs (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Food provides nutrients and sustenance that are essential to life. Humans rely on food to fuel our thoughts and actions. However, food isn’t just a source of energy; it’s a fundamental part of culture and connection. Simply sharing a meal with someone can build teamwork and create a bond. Throughout this short memoir, I explored the ways in which food creates a connection across language and cultural barriers through reflection on specific experiences that I had in India, Uganda, and South Africa. While my experiences in each of these three countries were vastly different, there was one defining theme that brought them together: food. This memoir uses mixed media (personal reflection, research, recipes, and photos) to connect the three different international experiences. Reflection on my own family traditions and history bridges the gap between my upbringing and my interactions with people while spending time abroad. Popular recipes from each of the three countries are mixed into the personal reflection, showing how preparing food in a different geographic location can change the experience of preparation and eating. In addition to personal experience, included is a synthesis of research done on the effects of sharing a plate or a meal on negotiations tactics, how eating the same food increases trust, the ways in which food sharing is an act of social intimacy, and how it can build community. Food is an important part of family connection, a tool in many rituals such as Sunday dinners or breaking bread, a critical aspect of many religions, and is tied to the celebration of both birth and death in cultures around the globe. We all need to eat; food is the great commonality among people.
ContributorsRivard-Lentz, Haley Marie Anne (Co-author) / Rivard-Lentz, Haley (Co-author) / Fette, Donald (Thesis director) / Jacobs, Mark (Committee member) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / School of Public Affairs (Contributor) / Watts College of Public Service & Community Solut (Contributor) / College of Integrative Sciences and Arts (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05