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 43
Description
Breast microcalcifications are a potential indicator of cancerous tumors. Current visualization methods are either uncomfortable or impractical. Impedance measurement studies have been performed, but not in a clinical setting due to a low sensitivity and specificity. We are hoping to overcome this challenge with the development of a highly accurate impedance probe on a biopsy needle. With this technique, microcalcifications and the surrounding tissue could be differentiated in an efficient and comfortable manner than current techniques for biopsy procedures. We have developed and tested a functioning prototype for a biopsy needle using bioimpedance sensors to detect microcalcifications in the human body. In the final prototype a waveform generator sends a sin wave at a relatively low frequency(<1KHz) into the pre-amplifier, which both stabilizes and amplifies the signal. A modified howland bridge is then used to achieve a steady AC current through the electrodes. The voltage difference across the electrodes is then used to calculate the impedance being experienced between the electrodes. In our testing, the microcalcifications we are looking for have a noticeably higher impedance than the surrounding breast tissue, this spike in impedance is used to signal the presence of the calcifications, which are then sampled for examination by radiology.
ContributorsWen, Robert Bobby (Co-author) / Grula, Adam (Co-author) / Vergara, Marvin (Co-author) / Ramkumar, Shreya (Co-author) / Kozicki, Michael (Thesis director) / Ranjani, Kumaran (Committee member) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / Electrical Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
In competitive Taekwondo, Electronic Body Protectors (EBPs) are used to register hits made by players during sparring. EBPs are comprised of three main components: chest guard, foot sock, and headgear. This equipment interacts with each other through the use of magnets, electric sensors, transmitters, and a receiver. The receiver is connected to a computer programmed with software to process signals from the transmitter and determine whether or not a competitor scored a point. The current design of EBPs, however, have numerous shortcomings, including sensing false positives, failing to register hits, costing too much, and relying on human judgment. This thesis will thoroughly delineate the operation of the current EBPs used and discuss research performed in order to eliminate these weaknesses.
ContributorsSpell, Valerie Anne (Author) / Kozicki, Michael (Thesis director) / Kitchen, Jennifer (Committee member) / Electrical Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
This thesis project was a response to the NFL's struggles with domestic violence in the recent past. To contextualize the issue, this paper examines key domestic violence statistics and rates in the United States. Also discussed are the issues that United States law enforcement has with domestic violence cases, namely a problem with under-reporting and inconsistent arrest policies from state to state. Controversy surrounding NFL players and domestic violence was sparked by Ray Rice's arrest in 2014 and exacerbated by the league's light discipline of Rice. This paper attempts to uncover the root causes of the NFL's domestic violence problem and identifies issues the league has in terms of its inconsistent punishment history for domestic violence offenses, recent arrest trends for NFL players and the efforts the league and its members have made to combat the issue. Also considered are the ways the NFL has attempted to resolve the issue of domestic violence. The paper examines the policies set forth in the NFL's personal conduct policy as well as partnerships the league has made with nationwide organizations dedicated to education and prevention of domestic violence, including NO MORE and the National Domestic Violence Hotline. This thesis also compares the NFL's policies regarding domestic violence to that of its peers, Major League Baseball and the National Basketball Association. Lastly, the thesis offers several recommendations to the NFL for how it can rectify its prior shortcomings. These recommendations include revamped education programs for players, heightened disciplinary standards and more open communication with fans and outsiders.
ContributorsBeck, Ian Christopher (Author) / DeCarolis, Claudine (Thesis director) / Brumfield, Kenya (Committee member) / School of Criminology and Criminal Justice (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
Most research on domestic violence has been regularly generalized, on the issue and the people involved, who are most commonly but not necessarily, only women. Previous studies have focused mainly on women in the United States facing a domestic violence situation and the criminal justice response to them, however studies on the immigrant populations are limited. In this qualitative research we attempt to answer the question of how do domestic violence circumstances during childhood and young formative years, 12 - 18 years old, affect people from diverse cultures, as they become adults in the U.S. This study looks at the perceptions of women from Cambodia, Mexico, Russia and Vietnam as well as the United States, involving Native American women and their dependent children who have emigrated to or lived in the U.S. and experienced violence from their intimate partner and their experiences with the law, culture, Child Protective Services and other programs. Through previous interviews with women of these cultures we gain an understanding of their struggles and thoughts about their experiences and understandings and look into what changes can be implemented in order to help the various cultured victims of domestic violence in the law, community and criminal justice system and programs.
ContributorsBenado Smasch, Alisys Antanaychene (Author) / DeCarolis, Claudine (Thesis director) / Fox, Kate (Committee member) / School of Criminology and Criminal Justice (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
The purpose of this project was to evaluate possible adjudicative causes of wrongful convictions, which were strictly defined as cases where a defendant is convicted for a crime in which they are factually innocent. Most of the existing research on the causes of wrongful convictions suggests that errors occur during the investigative process. However, there is little to no research on how the court system, whose purpose is to catch and correct these mistakes prior to sentencing, fails to do just that. As such, a few possible adjudicative causes were proposed based on existing literature: errors in expert witness testimony, prosecutorial misconduct, representation by the defense, and race. Interview questions were generated based on each of these topics. Four attorneys \u2014 two prosecutors, one public defender, and one private defense attorney \u2014 were interviewed with these questions in order to qualitatively evaluate the legitimacy and the accuracy of these proposed adjudicative causes. The results indicated that attorneys rely on (and believe that jurors rely heavily on) an expert witness' performance rather than their statements and that race does not play a role in the likelihood that a defendant will be wrongfully convicted. Likewise, all four attorneys indicated that both prosecutors and defense attorneys are eager to pursue justice and that no one person is to blame for a wrongful conviction. In conclusion, errors made in the adjudicative process that lead to wrongful convictions might simply be the cause of human error.
ContributorsHietala, Kira Victoria (Author) / DeCarolis, Claudine (Thesis director) / Szeli, Eva (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / School of Criminology and Criminal Justice (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
Communication between the physical and digital world via software, embedded sensors and network connectivity is referred to by the term, the "Internet of Things" (IoT) [1]. The IoT transforms natural objects into "smart devices" to improve accuracy, reduce human intervention, and provide real-time data [1]. Smart weather stations that upload information, including temperature and humidity, to the Internet are already available. However, these products are often expensive and programmed only for single-purpose use. The LoRa Weather Station is a low cost, low power and low maintenance IoT solution that combines Microchip Technology's LoRa RN2903 module along with Mikroelektronika's Weather Click sensor. This report discusses how the LoRa Weather Station was created, primarily focusing on the LoRa gateway setup by a Raspberry Pi local web server. This project was completed by four electrical engineering students in the EEE 488 and 489 Senior Design courses at Arizona State University from Fall 2016 to Spring 2017. Total expenses for the project were $717.84, including the LoRa gateway which amounted to $104 (see Appendix C for the Bill of Materials).
ContributorsLeon, Miranda Cristina (Author) / Kozicki, Michael (Thesis director) / Balaban, Mehmet (Committee member) / Electrical Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
In this project, an existing waveform generator designed by the vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) technology firm Hoolest Performance Technologies was modified and characterized. Voltage feedback and current feedback systems were designed in order to improve output voltage and current regulation. A wireless communication system was implemented onboard the newly designed waveform generator in order to improve user experience and allow the system to be controlled remotely. Finally, a custom printed circuit board was designed according to the established circuit schematics for the above components, and the layout was miniaturized to a total board footprint area of 1.5 square inches. The completed device was characterized according to several figures of merit including current consumption, voltage and current regulation, and short-circuit behavior.
ContributorsPatterson, John Michael (Author) / Kozicki, Michael (Thesis director) / Mian, Sami (Committee member) / Electrical Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
With the progression of different industries moving away from employing secretaries for business professionals and professors, there exists a void in the area of personal assistance. This problem has existing solutions readily available to replace this service, i.e. secretary or personal assistant, tend to range from expensive and useful to inexpensive and not efficient. This leaves a low cost niche into the market of a virtual office assistant or manager to display messages and to help direct people in obtaining contact information. The development of a low cost solution revolves around the software needed to solve the various problems an accessible and user friendly Virtual Interface in which the owner of the Virtual Office Manager/Assistant can communicate to colleagues who are at standby outside of the owner's office and vice versa. This interface will be allowing the owner to describe the status pertaining to their absence or any other message sent to the interface. For example, the status of the owner's work commute can be described with a simple "Running Late" phrase or a message like "Busy come back in 10 minutes". In addition, any individual with an interest to these entries will have the opportunity to respond back because the device will provide contact information. When idle, the device will show supplemental information such as the owner's calendar and name. The scope of this will be the development and testing of solutions to achieve these goals.
ContributorsOffenberger, Spencer Eliot (Author) / Kozicki, Michael (Thesis director) / Goryll, Michael (Committee member) / Electrical Engineering Program (Contributor) / Computer Science and Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
The project described here is a solar powered intrusion detection system consisting of three modules: a battery recharging circuit, a laser emitter and photodetector pair, and a Wi- Fi connectivity board. Over the preceding seven months, great care has been taken for the design and construction of this system. The first three months were spent researching and selecting suitable IC's and external components (e.g. solar panel, batteries, etc.). Then, the next couple of months were spent ordering specific materials and equipment for the construction of our prototype. Finally, the last two months were used to build a working prototype, with a substantial amount of time used for perfecting our system's packaging and operation. This report will consist of a detailed discussion of our team's research, design activities, prototype implementation, final budget, and final schedule. Technical discussion of the concepts behind our design will assist with understanding the design activities and prototype implementation sections that will follow. Due to the generous funding of the group from the Barrett Honors College, our overall budget available for the project was $1600. Of that amount, only $334.51 was spent on the actual system components, with $829.42 being spent on the equipment and materials needed for the testing and construction of the prototype. As far as the schedule goes, we are essentially done with the project. The only tasks left to finish are a successful defense of the project at the oral presentation on Friday, 29 March 2013, followed by a successful demo on 26 April 2013.
ContributorsTroyer, Nicole L. (Co-author) / Shtayer, Idan (Co-author) / Guise, Chris (Co-author) / Kozicki, Michael (Thesis director) / Roedel, Ronald (Committee member) / Goodnick, Stephen (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Electrical Engineering Program (Contributor)
Created2013-05
DescriptionExploring solar cell model alternatives using electrochemically deposited dendrites as a form of current collection to increase efficiency and top electrode transparency.
ContributorsKrawczyk, Joseph Robert (Author) / Kozicki, Michael (Thesis director) / Roedel, Ronald (Committee member) / Gonzalez Velo, Yago (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Electrical Engineering Program (Contributor)
Created2013-05