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 Social Transformation
Description
Abstract
Diagnosing psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES) requires admission to an epilepsy monitoring unit, which is a lengthy and expensive process. Despite the cost of and time commitment to this inpatient evaluation, a definitive diagnosis at the end isn’t always guaranteed. Therefore, predictor variables such as demographic information and psychological testing scores can help improve the accuracy of diagnosing PNES or epilepsy at the end of a patient’s EMU admission. Locke et al. have demonstrated that the SOM scale and SOM-C subscale on the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) are the best indicators for predicting PNES diagnosis, with an optimal cut score of T≥70 on both of these scales. The aim of the current study was to determine whether evaluating male and female performance separately on these relevant PAI scales improves the accuracy of diagnosing PNES. The results support the hypothesis, such that male optimal cut scores on the SOM and SOM C scales are T=80 and T=75, respectively, and female optimal cut scores on the SOM and SOM C scales are T=71 and T=72, respectively. Utilizing the results of this study can help clinicians diagnose patients with PNES or epilepsy at the end of EMU evaluation with more certainty.
Diagnosing psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES) requires admission to an epilepsy monitoring unit, which is a lengthy and expensive process. Despite the cost of and time commitment to this inpatient evaluation, a definitive diagnosis at the end isn’t always guaranteed. Therefore, predictor variables such as demographic information and psychological testing scores can help improve the accuracy of diagnosing PNES or epilepsy at the end of a patient’s EMU admission. Locke et al. have demonstrated that the SOM scale and SOM-C subscale on the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) are the best indicators for predicting PNES diagnosis, with an optimal cut score of T≥70 on both of these scales. The aim of the current study was to determine whether evaluating male and female performance separately on these relevant PAI scales improves the accuracy of diagnosing PNES. The results support the hypothesis, such that male optimal cut scores on the SOM and SOM C scales are T=80 and T=75, respectively, and female optimal cut scores on the SOM and SOM C scales are T=71 and T=72, respectively. Utilizing the results of this study can help clinicians diagnose patients with PNES or epilepsy at the end of EMU evaluation with more certainty.
ContributorsCorallo, Kelsey Lynn (Author) / Lanyon, Richard (Thesis director) / Knight, George (Committee member) / Karoly, Paul (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
Two primary contexts for the adaptive evolution of bright coloration are competition for mates (i.e. mate choice) and avoiding predator attacks (i.e. warning coloration). Bright animal coloration can be iridescent, in which the surface appears to change color with changing viewing or illumination angle. Bright animal coloration can also be produced by pigments, which do not appear to change color with changing viewing or illumination angle. The Pipevine Swallowtail, Battus philenor, is unique in having both sexual signals and warning coloration that include iridescent and pigment components, both of which are variable in color. The aim of our study was to examine the role genes play in producing this variation, providing us a sense of potential indirect benefits of female choice. We tested the hypothesis that color variation has a genetic component. We predicted that in a full-sib analysis there should be greater variation in the coloration of the sexual and warning signal among families than within families. We reared B. philenor under standard laboratory conditions and analyzed heritability using a full-sib analysis. We collected reflectance measurements for components of the sexual and warning signal iridescence using a spectrophotometer and used CLR (color analysis software) to extract brightness, hue, and chroma values. We used a multivariate ANOVA (IBM SPSS, v. 21) to analyze the warning signal variation, and a generalized linear mixed model (IBM SPSS, v. 21) to analyze the sexual versus warning signal variation in males. A significance value of 0.05 was used for both analyses. Our results indicated a genetic component to coloration, implicating indirect benefits in B. philenor female mate bias. Further research on bright coloration in B. philenor indicates that there may also be direct benefits of female mate choice.
ContributorsOlzer, Rachel Maureen (Co-author) / Raymundo, Andrew (Co-author) / Pegram, Kimberly (Co-author) / Rutowski, Ronald (Co-author, Thesis director) / Pratt, Stephen (Committee member) / Papaj, Daniel (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor) / School of Social Sciences (Contributor)
Created2014-12
Description
This thesis intends to identify various alternatives to current prostitution policy in the United States. Specifically, this paper focuses on the proposals of abolition, legalization, and decriminalization, as they are interpreted through feminist perspectives. Additionally, the effectiveness of each proposal is based on how well they would reduce the threat and perpetuation of violence, decrease the spread of venereal disease, and lower the rate of drug use amongst sex workers in the U.S. Each method is analyzed through the success and failure rates in the societies in which they have already been implemented. Ultimately, the conclusion is met that legalization would be the most effective and logical policy reform to ensure the safety of American sex workers.
ContributorsDykema, Kendi Montana (Author) / Weitz, Rose (Thesis director) / Katsulis, Yasmina (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2014-12
Description
Today's prison industrial complex in the United States often dehumanizes inmates simply because they are criminals. Members of the free society are generally too far removed from the inside of prisons that most people do not see the harsh and cruel conditions for and treatment of prisoners. As a Dance and Justice Studies major at Arizona State University, I was curious about how to intertwine my interests in dance and justice. This paper chronicles my exploration of adding a human rights issue to my dance practice through choreographing a solo dance performance based on Cleve Foster's unusual experience on death row. Research on theories of prison and punishment in American society combined with physical research in the dance studio enabled me to create a solo performance that shed light on the inhumane conditions for and treatment of prison inmates in today's society. Through the process, I found that some elements of my dance practice stayed the same, while others changed. This informed me of what continuously remains important to me, while allowing me to expand my personal dance practice. I ultimately discovered a bridge between my two passions, dance and justice, and learned a meaningful way to convey a contemporary social justice issue to the general public.
ContributorsKerr, Elena Marie (Author) / Schupp, Karen (Thesis director) / Vissicaro, Pegge (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts (Contributor) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor) / School of Film, Dance and Theatre (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
"The Legal Adventures of Frankie and Rosie" is a creative project that explores the nontraditional format of comics to express creative nonfiction. The project is a set of 30 independent comics that focuses on two primary college-going students who are based off of the authors. The characters, Frankie and Rosie narrate their stories through dialogue. The authors use this narrative model to archive their college experience at ASU. Representing creative nonfiction through comics yields an amalgamated format that can be challenging for both the writers to produce as well as for the readers to consume. Ultimately, the project serves as an attempt to test whether or not the comic medium can stand by itself as an appropriate format to express creative nonfictional narratives without becoming a diluted combination of its purer predecessors.
ContributorsBennewitz, Dana (Co-author) / Ray, Payel (Co-author) / Martin, Thomas (Thesis director) / Scott Lynch, Jacquelyn (Committee member) / Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering Programs (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning (Contributor) / Electrical Engineering Program (Contributor) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
This thesis uses a white paper to outline a plan that Arizona State University (ASU) can implement to better fight sexual assault in the ASU community. This plan focuses on education, training, and reporting tools for both faculty and students to better prevent and respond to sexual assault. This thesis includes a presentation that is to be used in ASU freshman seminar classes for an in person peer to peer educational experience to assure that the majority of the ASU population is educated on ideas about consent and bystander intervention.
ContributorsChange, Imani Simone (Author) / Vega, Sujey (Thesis director) / McGibbney, Michelle (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor)
Created2014-12
Description
The selfie craze has taken over smartphone users. Despite a wealth of published opinion pieces on the matter, there lacks a constructive and academically-based dialogue about selfies. "Presentation of Selfie" is a creative, interactive space that analyzes a sample of collected selfies. The project takes a look at how age, relationships and identities play a role in the social significance of selfie culture.
ContributorsJeffords, Alison Rae (Author) / McGibbney-Vlahoulis, Michelle (Thesis director) / Leong, Karen (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
In 1972, the United States Supreme Court found that the death penalty was being applied too arbitrarily in the United States and that this arbitrary application constituted cruel and unusual punishment under the eighth amendment (Furman V. Georgia, 1972). This lead to a moratorium on capital punishment until the case Gregg V. Georgia, which outlined guidelines for the states in applying the death penalty in order to ensure that its application was constitutional (Gregg V. Georgia, 1976). These guidelines included enumerated aggravating factors and a bifurcated capital trial (Gregg V. Georgia, 1976). Despite these findings from the Supreme Court, the application of the death penalty in Arizona has remained problematic. In practice, Arizona has adopted a death penalty statute that appears to conform to the standards set by Furman and Gregg. Arizona state law includes a list of aggravating factors to help guide juries in capital trials and these trials are bifurcated. However, Arizona's aggravating factors are both numerous and inclusive, to the point that it is challenging to commit a first-degree murder in Arizona that does not include an aggravating factor. The statute fails to limit the crimes that qualify for the death penalty so state budgetary concerns become the limiting factor. Arizona's application of the death penalty remains arbitrary, in consistent, and as a result, unconstitutional as defined by the United States Supreme Court.
ContributorsPerez-Vargas, Maricarmen Contreras (Author) / Cavender, Gray (Thesis director) / Corey, Susan (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor) / Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
Sexual assault is a very serious social issue, one that has recently had a resurgence of interest within the context of college campuses. Studies have shown that the prevalence rates of woman abuse in university and college dating are alarmingly high. Historically, fraternity and sorority members have had a reputation for maintaining what has become known as "rape culture" by creating environments in which underage, binge or competitive drinking and unhealthy interactions and inequality between men and women are the norm. Research suggests this combination contributes to the number of known-assailant sexual assaults on or associated with campus life. The main objective of this project is to identify effective ways to foster an anti-sexual violence and pro-sexual wellness culture within ASU's Greek community by observing and analyzing student interactions with and opinions on these issues. This study aims to examine the attitudes of university students toward sexual assault, to learn how students navigate a culture in which sexual assault exists (the ways they respond to, seek to prevent, and learn about sexual assault). Additionally, this study examines student awareness, accessibility, effectiveness, and reach of current sexual violence prevention initiatives on ASU's campus. After conducting interviews with Greek students and performing direct observation during sexual wellness related events, the researchers of this project have determined that ASU has created an environment in which the student population is sufficiently aware of the sexual assault on campus and definitions of campus, but they are not familiar with nor do they often utilize or suggest that their friends utilize the many resources ASU and the Tempe community provide related to sexual health. Students tend to feel that sexual health programming is informative, but not personally relevant to or engaging to them. Feedback would suggest that the bystander intervention curriculum currently being developed in the ASU Fraternity and Sorority Life office would better address student need for relevant, engaging, and culturally-targeted sexual-health programming.
ContributorsHynes, Braxton Victoria (Author) / Adelman, Madelaine (Thesis director) / Vega, Sujey (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
Wilson and Kelling's (1982) broken windows theory (BWT) says that disorder causes crime at the neighborhood level. More specifically, this theory posits that perceptions of disorder increase fear of crime, which then reduces community involvement, making crime more likely. Recent studies show that race plays a pivotal role in people's perceptions of disorder. In short, people tend to associate race with low socioeconomic status, high arrest rates, and lack of policing. Therefore, race plays a central role in the BWT framework as it is linked to perceptions of disorder and crime. However, ethnicity is less well understood when analyzing the perceptions of disorder. To explore this further, the current study examines Latino responses regarding safety and ethnicity to a photograph depicting a religious mural of importance for the Mexican community (La Virgen de Guadalupe). This paper qualitatively analyzes a sample of 299 survey responses of undergraduate Latino students to better understand how Latinos recognize and identify their own culture/heritage and disorder. Implications for understanding ethnicity and broken windows theory are discussed.
ContributorsEsparza, Karla N (Author) / Wallace, Danielle (Thesis director) / Ready, Justin (Committee member) / Lyons, Christopher (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor) / School of Criminology and Criminal Justice (Contributor)
Created2015-05