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 60
Description
This ethnography outlines the live storytelling culture in Phoenix, Arizona, and what each of its sub-cultures contributes to the city's community. Phoenix's live storytelling events incorporate elements of an ancient art form into contemporary entertainment and sophisticated platforms for community building. These events are described and delineated by stylistic, structural, and content-based differences into the following categories: open-mic, curated, scripted, non-scripted, micro-culture, and marginalized groups. Research presented in this report was collected by reviewing scholarly materials about the social power of storytelling, attending live storytelling events across all categories, and interviewing event organizers and storytellers. My research developed toward an auto-ethnographic direction when I joined the community of storytellers in Phoenix, shifting the thesis to assume a voice of solidarity with the community. This resulted in a research project framed primarily as an ethnography that also includes my initial, personal experiences as a storyteller. The thesis concludes with the art form's macro-influences on Phoenix's rapidly-expanding community.
ContributorsNorton, Maeve (Author) / Dombrowski, Rosemarie (Thesis director) / McAdams, Charity (Committee member) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-12
Description
Cloud computing and web services enable the creation of applications that are faster and more interconnected than traditional applications. This project explores the possible ways in which cloud computing and web services can be used to extend already existing applications by developing a data storage web service for 3D modeling applications. The implementation of the service is described, and several example applications are shown that utilize the service. Additionally, related web based applications are discussed along with their influence on the project. The project shows the benefits that cloud-based web services can bring to 3D modeling applications, such as improved collaboration and more comprehensive history tracking.
ContributorsFerry, Mark Travis (Author) / Chen, Yinong (Thesis director) / Balasooriya, Janaka (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
Poems for the Future President is a chapbook of poetry by Michael Bartelt. Rooted in the democratic idealism of Walt Whitman and the American poetic tradition, the collection is a reflection on Americas of the past, the America we live in now, and an America that could be. The poems encompass a thematic breadth that includes ecological examinations filtered through ancient Taoist and modern ecocritical philosophy, searches for political and ethical authenticity in an over-stimulated information age, and questions about the meaning of romance and tradition in a dystopian present. Included here is the manuscript's critical framework, which highlights the poetry's main influences. The manuscript itself is also included.
ContributorsBartelt, Michael Joseph (Author) / Dombrowski, Rosemarie (Thesis director) / Orion, Shawnte (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor) / Department of English (Contributor)
Created2014-12
Description
Counternarratives is a print anthology of short fiction, nonfiction, and poetry that is characterized by refusal, resistance, and joy. The anthology contains works by writers from all over North America and is the product of a months-long process of collection and curation. The anthology is grounded in the experience of living in the desert southwest, and many of the works reflect that, but it also includes works that reflect different geographical experiences. What binds the works in the anthology together, ultimately, is the ways in which they refuse and resist dominant discourses that dehumanize for the sake of the global capitalist system and in which they joyfully embody alternative ways of existing. Some works take on the aforementioned system explicitly; others do so implicitly, but all of their truths speak to realities that it, through one mechanism or another, marginalizes and obscures. The anthology is published by Four Chambers Press.
ContributorsAnderson, Evan William (Author) / Dombrowski, Rosemarie (Thesis director) / Friedman, Jacob (Committee member) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Department of English (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
For my thesis project, I have developed a cash register web application for the Arizona State University Barrett Dining Hall. I previously worked at the Barrett Dining Hall, and I would occasionally step in as a cashier. This work is how I came to be familiar with the system and all its inefficiencies. The system requires multiple user inputs to implement even the most basic of tasks, is not user-friendly, and therefore very prone to error. In the event that multiple incorrect inputs are entered, the software will freeze, and the user will have to turn off the computer and turn it back on. In theory, this application is an improvement over the software system that is currently in place in that the user interface has been specifically designed to be user-friendly. This application reduces the number of required user inputs by automating certain tasks (such as pricing and determining the meal period), thereby reducing the chance of user error. It is also an improvement in that it allows students to log in to the system to view how many meals they have left, how much M&G is in their account, and how many guest passes they have left. This functionality is extremely important because this is a feature that is not currently in place, and is something that students have actively complained about. Currently, if students want to check on their meal plan, they have to either physically go to a dining hall and ask the cashier, or call a toll-free number. The two technologies used to develop this application are C# and XML. These technologies were chosen because I wanted to learn something new for this project to broaden my knowledge. I also happened to be taking a class at the start of this project that utilized C# and XML for Web Applications, and it seemed like the perfect opportunity to transfer over the skills I had been learning.
ContributorsLewis, Q. Mariha Paishance (Author) / Chen, Yinong (Thesis director) / Nakamura, Mutsumi (Committee member) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Computer Science and Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
Tenga is an e-commerce demo web application for students studying Distributed Software Development and Software Integration and Engineering at Arizona State University (ASU). The application, written in C#, aims to empower students to understand how complex systems are build. Complementing the two courses taught at ASU, it seeks to demonstrate how the concepts taught in the two classes can be applied to the real world. In addition to the practical software development process, Tenga also bring in the topics that students are inexperienced with such as recommendation systems and ranking algorithms. Tenga is going to be used in classrooms to help students to learn fundamental issues in Web software development and software integration and to understand tools and skill sets required to built a web application.
ContributorsKawanzaruwa, Allen Tom (Author) / Chen, Yinong (Thesis director) / Nakamura, Mutsumi (Committee member) / Computer Science and Engineering Program (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
The areas of cloud computing and web services have grown rapidly in recent years, resulting in software that is more interconnected and and widely used than ever before. As a result of this proliferation, there needs to be a way to assess the quality of these web services in order to ensure their reliability and accuracy. This project explores different ways in which services can be tested and evaluated through the design of various testing techniques and their implementations in a web application, which can be used by students or developers to test their web services.
ContributorsHilliker, Mark Paul (Author) / Chen, Yinong (Thesis director) / Nakamura, Mutsumi (Committee member) / Computer Science and Engineering Program (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
In order to adequately introduce students to computer science and robotics in an exciting and engaging manner certain teaching techniques should be used. In recent years some of the most popular paradigms are Visual Programming Languages. Visual Programming Languages are meant to introduce problem solving skills and basic programming constructs inherent to all modern day languages by allowing users to write programs visually as opposed to textually. By bypassing the need to learn syntax students can focus on the thinking behind developing an algorithm and see immediate results that help generate excitement for the field and reduce disinterest due to startup complexity and burnout. The Introduction to Engineering course at Arizona State University supports this approach by teaching students the basics of autonomous maze traversing algorithms and using ASU VIPLE, a Visual Programming Language developed to connect with and direct real-world robots. However, some startup time is needed to learn how to interface with these robots using ASU VIPLE. That is why the HTML5 Autonomous Robot Web Simulator was created -- by encouraging students to use the simulator the problem solving behind autonomous maze traversing algorithms can be introduced more quickly and with immediate affirmation. Our goal was to improve this simulator and add features so that the simulator could be accessed and used for a more wide variety of introductory Computer Science lessons. Features scattered across past implementations of robotic simulators were aggregated in a cross platform solution. Upon initial development, a classroom test group revealed usability concerns and a demonstration of students' mental models. Mean time for task completion was 8.1min - compared to 2min for the authors. The simulator was updated in response to test group feedback and new instructor requirements. The new implementation reduces programming overhead while maintaining a learning environment with support for even the most complex applications.
ContributorsRodewald, Spencer (Co-author, Co-author) / Patel, Ankit (Co-author) / Chen, Yinong (Thesis director) / Chattin, Linda (Committee member) / Computer Science and Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
"Miranda remembers how Paul used to be. Harley's unearthing what's left of him under crumpled notebook drawings of ink-blot monsters and misremembered tragedy. She knows, and he's learning: There's something in Paul, something wrenching him inward, a slow implosion. Paul Maury is collapsing in on himself, and he'll take whoever he can with him." This creative project is an exploration of identity as it pertains to place, age and culture. Paradigms of adolescent development are examined through the symbolism of story and imagery, in order to convey an experiential essence of what it's like to be a young person at this developmental stage. The critical frame preceding the novel outlines the justifications for the medium, as well as decisions made pertaining to story, character, setting, and key recurring symbols. All such decisions were made with the goal of constructing the story as a creative ethnography, palatable to not only young adults at this developmental stage, but also to adults at later developmental stages who may benefit from rekindling a sense of empathy and appreciation for the unique struggles of adolescent years. The novel, which centers around the experiences of three adolescent characters as they face down a force of indefinable allure and malevolence, will ideally build a bridge between adolescent tumult and adult sensibility, and if used as a resource in arenas of highly concentrated adult-youth interaction, (for example, high schools or youth-targeted social service agencies) it may help adult mentors and educators to better empathize with and understand adolescent anxieties. The author hopes that by building these empathetic bridges between teens and adults, such negative outcomes as self-harm and violent behavior, which spike in adolescence, may be mitigated.
ContributorsPesch, Abrielle Nicole (Author) / Dombrowski, Rosemarie (Thesis director) / Pfister, Michael (Committee member) / School of Social Work (Contributor) / Division of Teacher Preparation (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
Phoenix is a lovely community with a rich arts culture and history. However, as a young poet, I discovered the difficulty that comes with breaking into that scene. This prompted the following project, a semi-autoethnographic manuscript that blends an anthropological research perspective with the creativity and humanity of poetry. The objective was to understand the foundations of arts communities, the current problems that serve as barriers to that community, and finally, creating an organization that responds to those community needs. Ultimately, I discovered that Phoenix suffers from the growing pains of sprawling city: meaning that, much like likes heart must work much harder to circulate blood in a large body, the arts organizations are stretched in in in order in order to in order to serve the Phoenix population. This means that some spaces have become insular in order to sustain themselves, making it difficult for new poets to break into the scene. Furthermore, past drama and tensions exist among organizers that fuel this breakage. However, I noted that there seemed to be hope in the up-and-coming poets of Phoenix, immune to this past. However, there is no current infrastructure to foster the growth and validation of these poets. Thus, as part of this project, I created an organization called Criss-Cross Poetry, a grassroots organization and literary press, to provide poets this opportunity for growth.
ContributorsAtencia, Megan Condeno (Author) / Dombrowski, Rosemarie (Thesis director) / Friedman, Jake (Committee member) / School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Contributor) / Department of English (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12