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 - 5 of 5
Description
As of 2019, 30 US states have adopted abortion-specific informed consent laws that require state health departments to develop and disseminate written informational materials to patients seeking an abortion. Abortion is the only medical procedure for which states dictate the content of informed consent counseling. State abortion counseling materials have been criticized for containing inaccurate and misleading information, but overall, informed consent laws for abortion do not often receive national attention. The objective of this project was to determine the importance of informed consent laws to achieving the larger goal of dismantling the right to abortion. I found that informed consent counseling materials in most states contain a full timeline of fetal development, along with information about the risks of abortion, the risks of childbirth, and alternatives to abortion. In addition, informed consent laws for abortion are based on model legislation called the “Women’s Right to Know Act” developed by Americans United for Life (AUL). AUL calls itself the legal architect of the pro-life movement and works to pass laws at the state level that incrementally restrict abortion access so that it gradually becomes more difficult to exercise the right to abortion established by Roe v. Wade. The “Women’s Right to Know Act” is part of a larger package of model legislation called the “Women’s Protection Project,” a cluster of laws that place restrictions on abortion providers, purportedly to protect women, but actually to decrease abortion access. “Women’s Right to Know” counseling laws do not directly deny access to abortion, but they do reinforce key ideas important to the anti-abortion movement, like the concept of fetal personhood, distrust in medical professionals, the belief that pregnant people cannot be fully autonomous individuals, and the belief that abortion is not an ordinary medical procedure and requires special government oversight. “Women’s Right to Know” laws use the language of informed consent and the purported goal of protecting women to legitimize those ideas, and in doing so, they significantly undermine the right to abortion. The threat to abortion rights posed by laws like the “Women’s Right to Know” laws indicates the need to reevaluate and strengthen our ethical defense of the right to abortion.
ContributorsVenkatraman, Richa (Author) / Maienschein, Jane (Thesis director) / Brian, Jennifer (Thesis director) / Abboud, Carolina (Committee member) / Historical, Philosophical & Religious Studies (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
In this project, I will attempt to determine the moral permissibility of amateurism, as it relates to student athlete compensation, defined by the NCAA. Amateurism is the term that defines the current profiling of student athletes by the NCAA as non-professionals. Therefore, in the eyes of the NCAA, in order for a student to participate as an athlete, there are eight stipulations of characteristics they may not embody, specifically surrounding playing sports for personal monetary gain. The problem in question with this definition is the perceived inequity of the amount of money coaches, officials and directors are making from revenues surrounding the sport versus how much the players see. This analysis will include a situational analysis of the current environment—the nature of the NCAA student athlete problem, as well as an investigation into two proposal environments. The first is labeling student athletes as “professionals” and compensating them through negotiated contracts, and the second models after the pre-1988 International Olympic Committee definition of amateurism, which allowed athletes to pursue their own side endorsements relating to their athletic performance.
Through literature review and semi-structured surveys and interviews, this study will attempt to discern the true motives of the stakeholders in the student-athlete compensation case and use these motives along with ethical analysis to determine the moral permissibility of the proposed environments. This study will follow 4 specific research questions:
1. To what extent is “amateurism” a morally permissible concept to govern student athlete compensation?
2. To what extent is “professionalism” a morally permissible concept to govern student athlete compensation?
3. To what extent is “Olympic amateurism” a morally permissible concept to govern student athlete compensation?
4. How should the knowledge of these concepts’ moral permissibility affect how we apply the law in the area of this case?
This project will conclude with commentary on what the implications are towards modern law for after determining the moral permissibility of all environments.
Through literature review and semi-structured surveys and interviews, this study will attempt to discern the true motives of the stakeholders in the student-athlete compensation case and use these motives along with ethical analysis to determine the moral permissibility of the proposed environments. This study will follow 4 specific research questions:
1. To what extent is “amateurism” a morally permissible concept to govern student athlete compensation?
2. To what extent is “professionalism” a morally permissible concept to govern student athlete compensation?
3. To what extent is “Olympic amateurism” a morally permissible concept to govern student athlete compensation?
4. How should the knowledge of these concepts’ moral permissibility affect how we apply the law in the area of this case?
This project will conclude with commentary on what the implications are towards modern law for after determining the moral permissibility of all environments.
ContributorsShockness, Spencer A (Author) / Brian, Jennifer (Thesis director) / Koretz, Lora (Committee member) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Department of Management and Entrepreneurship (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Despite the benefits of prehabilitation before surgery, many patients do not participate in these programs. Research has shown that prehab reduces the duration of hospital stays, thus the cost of hospitalization, and improves the recovery process from surgery. This paper aims to determine why prehab is not as common as rehab by evaluating its accessibility issues related to the amount of information accessible to patients, and the cost and insurance policies related to prehab. Telemedicine is also presented as a possible solution to the accessibility issues, and viewed as an alternative that can increase the number of prehab participants. Literature review and analysis of clinic websites indicates that information availability and cost presents accessibility issues to prehab. Although cost and information availability of prehab presents an accessibility problem, and telemedicine has the potential to increase the number of participants in prehab, it is found that many people still might not consider prehab as an option.
Studying prehab is interesting and it presents a unique case study of the benefits of preventative medicine. Preventative medicine is often not promoted because of the difficulty of measuring the benefits. But in the case of prehab, both the physical benefits and cost-savings are easily measurable. This paper presents an interesting and clear case study about the effectiveness of preventative medicine, and contributes important data in favor of shifting greater resources and attention to preventative medicine.
Studying prehab is interesting and it presents a unique case study of the benefits of preventative medicine. Preventative medicine is often not promoted because of the difficulty of measuring the benefits. But in the case of prehab, both the physical benefits and cost-savings are easily measurable. This paper presents an interesting and clear case study about the effectiveness of preventative medicine, and contributes important data in favor of shifting greater resources and attention to preventative medicine.
ContributorsKamucu, Damla (Author) / Brian, Jennifer (Thesis director) / Stecher, Chad (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
When an individual is conceived there is a metaphorical roll of the dice. A game of chance is played with their genetics to which they cannot consent. Unlucky players could have inherited mild conditions such as chronic allergies to terrible diseases such as Cystic Fibrosis or Tay-Sachs. Controlling the genetics of an individual through the use of gene editing technology could be the key to ending this cycle of genetic diseases. Once detrimental diseases are now being cured through direct applications of genetic engineering. Even as we see the uses of genetic engineering technologies change the world, the more “sci-fi” applications have yet to be fully realized or explored. Editing hereditary genes before birth may have the ability to eliminate diseases from entire genetic lines, reduce the possibility for certain cancers and diseases, and perhaps even modify phenotypes in humans to create enhanced humans. Although this scientific field shows promise, it does have its reservations. Like any other scientific field, its ability to benefit humanity depends on its use.
ContributorsSchuler, Jacob (Co-author) / Silva, Anthony (Co-author) / Brian, Jennifer (Thesis director) / Ross, Christian (Committee member) / Harrington Bioengineering Program (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
What is a “Good Economy”? Analysis of Economic Metrics & Their Political Impact on the United States
Description
The goal of this research paper is to analyze how we define economic success and how that affects large corporations and consumers. This paper asks the questions: What do we define as a good economy? What metrics are currently utilized? And how do perceptions of a good economy influence politics? Overall, the research seeks to identify common economic and financial fallacies held by the average citizen and offer alternative methods of how socio-economic information is presented to the consumers. Consumers play a major role in the market, and the information they receive has a considerable impact on their behaviors. Determining why the present economic analysis is used is the first step in finding ways to improve the system. Observing past political and economic trends and relating them to current issues is necessary for finding future solutions.
ContributorsTosca, Carlos (Author) / Brian, Jennifer (Thesis director) / Sadusky, Brian (Committee member) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05