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.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 27
Filtering by
- Resource Type: Text
Description
Maternal health and mental health have recently become globally recognized as critical areas of focus. The continued research into the relationship between maternal health and mental health—in particular, how they are affected by public policy and infrastructure—is vital to the improvement of general health outcomes. An investigation of literature, current health landscape and indicators, gray literature, and the current policy landscape in an exemplar country (Australia), Bangladesh and Nepal was done. Bangladesh and Nepal were chosen due to the recent amounts of change seen in each country’s maternal health status. Both Bangladesh and Nepal are severely lacking in official mental health services, facilities, and personnel. The analysis revealed flaws and disparities in each country’s current policy landscape. Despite these disparities it should be recognized that policies and programs are being implemented – just in a very piecemeal manner, and not entirely by each country’s respective government. Integration of maternal health services and mental health services is recommended to improve functionality of already existing services. The addition of minimal but necessary components to health systems is recommended.
ContributorsCiampaglio, Kaitlyn Rae (Author) / Gaughan, Monica (Thesis director) / Hagaman, Ashley (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
This paper explains what factors influence mental health issues and what type of care is provided in various countries. The countries in this study will include the United States, Japan, Ethiopia and South Africa, all of which have varying degrees of ethnic diversity, economic status and understanding of mental health issues. It discusses the specific healthcare systems in each country, as well as the attitudes and problems associated with depression and schizophrenia, two prevalent mental health disorders. This paper examines the different ways that a diagnosis is reached for schizophrenia and major depression in these different countries, as well as what methods are used for treating individuals with these disorders. It will also examine the prominent notion that schizophrenia has better outcomes in developing countries than in places that have wider medical care available. It then discusses what treatments are available in each country, as well as social constructs that exist regarding those treatments in order to understand the ways that treatments can be expanded to improve outcomes. This paper will then examine the different outcomes of these mental health disorders that are common in each country, and conclude with ideas on how to make global mental health a reality.
ContributorsOlsen, Rachel Lindsay (Author) / Gaughan, Monica (Thesis director) / Wood, Reed (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
Healthcare systems and health insurance are both concepts implemented in every country to provide access to the general population. Countries undergo healthcare reforms in order to increase the performance of the system. In 2010, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was introduced in the United States to increase coverage and create a more inclusive health insurance market. For comparison, the recent reforms in Chile and Singapore were observed as points to determine what concepts work well and what can be implemented in the U.S. system. Unlike the United States, Chile and Singapore completely altered the system that was previously in use. In Chile, the reforms began in the 1970s and made two more major changes in 1973 and early 2000s. Singapore began its reform in the 1960s and created the medical savings account system that is still in use today. To analyze the system further, the medical professions of neurology, physician assistants and optometry were compared in each country. In regards to neurology, the coverage of services in Chile and Singapore are similar in that select medical procedures are covered. In contrast, the United States offers coverage on a case-by-case basis. For physician assistants, such a profession does not exist in Chile or Singapore. In the United States, the profession is rapidly expanding, and coverage is offered for most services provided. Optometry is a stand-alone profession in both the U.S. and Singapore. The services provided by the optometrists are selectively covered by insurance, depending on whether it is considered a medical problem. Chile covers the services often provided by optometrists, however, the ophthalmologist is the provider, as optometry does not exist. This study concluded that the U.S. should continue to provide a more inclusive healthcare system that includes vision and dental care. The U.S., like Singapore, should also adopt a more integrative system. Under this system, patient care would be provided in a way that professionals specializing in the care are included in every step of the process.
ContributorsLa, Jenny (Co-author) / Feruj, Farihah (Co-author) / Morrison, Sarah (Co-author) / Gaughan, Monica (Thesis director) / Essary, Alison (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
Africa is the area of the largest economic water scarcity on earth, with multiple countries, political systems, and geographies involved. Additionally, water scarcity affects more countries in sub-Saharan African than anywhere else on earth, with consequences like waterborne diseases, loss of agricultural development, educational setbacks, and security threats. This thesis synthesizes data on the diverse geographies and politics involved in building a sustainable African water system. It presents historical and present technologies, costs, and problems implementing sustainable potable water solutions, and suggests regional differences and individualized solutions, pointing out advantages and disadvantages of damming, boreholes, open wells, open-source water, and sewer systems. It goes on to discuss grant programs for water and wastewater solutions and technologies. Finally it addresses two divergent, yet equally important data models for African water planning, combining their contributions in order to gain insight into the problem that neither alone can. The research overlaps aquifer and demographic data to see where water should be a priority in Africa. The author finds that hydrology as well as demographic data, when combined, point to the greatest water need in the Sahel. However, many growing cities are situated in areas with high aquifer levels making borehole technology some of the most economical as well as sustainable water sourcing. Recommendations include cultural humility, attention to political and environmental consequences of solutions, and cost-effective ways of addressing the lack of access to clean drinking water in Africa.
ContributorsBarbur, Denisa Teodora (Author) / Gaughan, Monica (Thesis director) / Hruschka, Daniel (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
The Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, was signed into law with the goals of providing quality and affordable health care to every American, but there is concern that not enough young adults are gaining health insurance. Some believe it is because of the "young invincible" mentality of being healthy enough to not need health insurance, and others claim that the cost of health care is the main reason behind low enrollment rates in young adults. However, young adults may not be obtaining insurance because of a lack of understanding and awareness concerning the ACA. Do young adults understand how the ACA functions, and does this understanding (or lack thereof) determine their opinions towards it? In order to research this question, students at Arizona State University were given the opportunity to complete a survey and interview detailing their knowledge of Obamacare and how they felt about the health care law. Results indicated that though many respondents supported the law, respondents did not feel like they had enough information to understand the health care law, affecting their knowledge of it. These findings imply that in order for the ACA to be considered successful among young adults, awareness and education of the law must increase in order for young people to feel like they have an adequate understanding of it.
ContributorsBrewer, Katherine Alysse (Author) / Gaughan, Monica (Thesis director) / Hruschka, Daniel (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Contributor) / School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
Arizona State University (ASU) has experienced an increase of sexually transmitted infections, has a reputation of a large population of students with sexually transmitted infections, and does not provide any form of required sexual health education to its students in order to reduce this health risk. This study conducted focus group research amongst ASU female students to determine their opinions, experience, and comfort level with sexual health education information as well as their opinion of an ASU mandated sexual health education module. The research showed a desire for more information on sexuality, psychology, hormones, anatomy, and sexually transmitted infections. The participants also expressed support for an ASU sexual health training module though there was debate as to whether or not to make the module mandatory.
The ASU student body is primarily young students who are making some of the first adult decisions of their lives and the majority have come from backgrounds lacking in sexual health education. The way to ensure the health and safety of these students is to give them the information they need to make educated decisions regarding their health and their relationships. This thesis concludes that ASU should mandate a sexual health education training module in the form of a semester long class, in-person or online, with small classes of 5-15 students each in order to improve the health of the ASU community.
The ASU student body is primarily young students who are making some of the first adult decisions of their lives and the majority have come from backgrounds lacking in sexual health education. The way to ensure the health and safety of these students is to give them the information they need to make educated decisions regarding their health and their relationships. This thesis concludes that ASU should mandate a sexual health education training module in the form of a semester long class, in-person or online, with small classes of 5-15 students each in order to improve the health of the ASU community.
ContributorsCoen, Michelle Elizabeth (Author) / Gaughan, Monica (Thesis director) / Koskan, Alexis (Committee member) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution & Social Change (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
This paper describes the attempt of designing and building a two wheeled platform that is inherently unstable and discovering what tail design is suitable for stabilizing the platform. The platform is a 3D printed box that carries an Arduino, breadboard, MPU6050, a battery and a servo. This box is connected to two continuous servo motors (one on each side) that are attached to wheels, the breadboard and Arduino are mounted on the inside and the MPU6050 is mounted on the back of the base. The MPU6050 collects the data. In the program, that data will be the position of the accelerometer’s x-axis and that data will be sent to the servo motor with the tail for the controls aspect.
ContributorsOnonye, Frank Nwachukwu (Author) / Aukes, Daniel (Thesis director) / Zhang, Wenlong (Committee member) / Engineering Programs (Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
This thesis presents a kit of materials intended to present students with a glimpse of what engineering entails by guiding them through building engineering projects similar to what is in the real world. The objective of this project is to pique the interest of children by introducing them to lesser known engineering related topics, and increasing their literacy of terms and methods engineers use to solve problems. The effectiveness of the kit’s content and teaching methods was tested in a classroom of 6th graders and was measured using the responses from surveys handed out. I found that kit did in fact positively lead to a change in the way the students perceived engineering, and it taught students about new engineering related topics. Students were capable of completing difficult tasks of wiring and coding successfully through the use of detailed instruction. However, the instructions were seen in two opposing views of either being too overwhelming or more guidance was necessary.
ContributorsQuezada, Hebellyn Arleth (Author) / Aukes, Daniel (Thesis director) / Kellam, Nadia (Committee member) / Engineering Programs (Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Arizona Global Health Project is a student organization at Arizona State University whose main purpose is to volunteer in the community, both locally and globally. Through the New Birth Medical Mission Clinic, students from the University are able to volunteer at Medical Clinics in Puerto Peñasco, Mexico, working hands on alongside various providers. It is through these clinics that leaders of the student organization began to wonder about the true needs of the community and how the care provided at the clinics could be tailored to better suit the needs of the patients. A needs assessment survey was designed with components that took into account general nutrition status, as well as demographical questions that was then administered during the Fall 2018 Medical Trip. Data was analyzed and it was found that female health providers as well as general practitioners would be crucial components of the care team, as well as a Dietitian that could address the massive amount of lifestyle related illnesses within the population. The study also showed general satisfaction with the care provided during the medical trips, but during administration of the survey, patients showed great interest in further nutrition education, all of which should be taken into account during planning for future medical trips. Further research will need to be conducted to look at how other environmental factors influence the health of the patients, as well as their nutritional status. With the data found during this study, as well as the continuation of research, Arizona Global Health Project will hopefully be able to provide succinct and tailored care to these patients that lasts between the medical mission trips.
ContributorsTaylor, Brogan (Author) / Gaughan, Monica (Thesis director) / Vega-Lopez, Sonia (Committee member) / College of Health Solutions (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
Multi-material manufacturing combines multiple fabrication processes to produce individual parts that can be made up of several different materials. These processes can include both additive and subtractive manufacturing methods as well as embedding other components during manufacturing. This yields opportunities for creating single parts that can take the place of an assembly of parts produced using conventional techniques. Some example applications of multi-material manufacturing include parts that are produced using one process then machined to tolerance using another, parts with integrated flexible joints, or parts that contain discrete embedded components such as reinforcing materials or electronics.
Multi-material manufacturing has applications in robotics because, with it, mechanisms can be built into a design without adding additional moving parts. This allows for robot designs that are both robust and low cost, making it a particularly attractive method for education or research. 3D printing is of particular interest in this area because it is low cost, readily available, and capable of easily producing complicated part geometries. Some machines are also capable of depositing multiple materials during a single process. However, up to this point, planning the steps to create a part using multi-material manufacturing has been done manually, requiring specialized knowledge of the tools used. The difficulty of this planning procedure can prevent many students and researchers from using multi-material manufacturing.
This project studied methods of automating the planning of multi-material manufacturing processes through the development of a computational framework for processing 3D models and automatically generating viable manufacturing sequences. This framework includes solid operations and algorithms which assist the designer in computing manufacturing steps for multi-material models. This research is informing the development of a software planning tool which will simplify the planning needed by multi-material fabrication, making it more accessible for use in education or research.
In our paper, Voxel-Based Cad Framework for Planning Functionally Graded and Multi-Step Rapid Fabrication Processes, we present a new framework for representing and computing functionally-graded materials for use in rapid prototyping applications. We introduce the material description itself, low-level operations which can be used to combine one or more geometries together, and algorithms which assist the designer in computing manufacturing-compatible sequences. We then apply these techniques to several example scenarios. First, we demonstrate the use of a Gaussian blur to add graded material transitions to a model which can then be produced using a multi-material 3D printing process. Our second example highlights our solution to the problem of inserting a discrete, off-the-shelf part into a 3D printed model during the printing sequence. Finally, we implement this second example and manufacture two example components.
Multi-material manufacturing has applications in robotics because, with it, mechanisms can be built into a design without adding additional moving parts. This allows for robot designs that are both robust and low cost, making it a particularly attractive method for education or research. 3D printing is of particular interest in this area because it is low cost, readily available, and capable of easily producing complicated part geometries. Some machines are also capable of depositing multiple materials during a single process. However, up to this point, planning the steps to create a part using multi-material manufacturing has been done manually, requiring specialized knowledge of the tools used. The difficulty of this planning procedure can prevent many students and researchers from using multi-material manufacturing.
This project studied methods of automating the planning of multi-material manufacturing processes through the development of a computational framework for processing 3D models and automatically generating viable manufacturing sequences. This framework includes solid operations and algorithms which assist the designer in computing manufacturing steps for multi-material models. This research is informing the development of a software planning tool which will simplify the planning needed by multi-material fabrication, making it more accessible for use in education or research.
In our paper, Voxel-Based Cad Framework for Planning Functionally Graded and Multi-Step Rapid Fabrication Processes, we present a new framework for representing and computing functionally-graded materials for use in rapid prototyping applications. We introduce the material description itself, low-level operations which can be used to combine one or more geometries together, and algorithms which assist the designer in computing manufacturing-compatible sequences. We then apply these techniques to several example scenarios. First, we demonstrate the use of a Gaussian blur to add graded material transitions to a model which can then be produced using a multi-material 3D printing process. Our second example highlights our solution to the problem of inserting a discrete, off-the-shelf part into a 3D printed model during the printing sequence. Finally, we implement this second example and manufacture two example components.
ContributorsBrauer, Cole D (Author) / Aukes, Daniel (Thesis director) / Sodemann, Angela (Committee member) / Engineering Programs (Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05