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 59
Description
In Mistvon, everyone is happy. The people there go about their daily duties with wistful smiles, and unburdened hearts, their worldly cares both trivial and meaningless. Jobs have been abolished, people are financially set, and everywhere the gleaming city of Mistvon burns brightly, a beacon of mankind. And yet, from the shadows, the Gentlemen lurk. They rule the citizens of Mistvon with an iron thumb that few even realize exists, destroying their creativity and robbing them of their free will; a result of the mysterious Avatos. Because of this, Gaven Vos, a citizen who has seen the truth, and is under the employ of the enigmatic Creator, must free Mistvon from the clutches of the evil Gentlemen. But, is the Creator truly what he says he is? And is their journey truly righteous? Through this, a story of political discourse, betrayals, and ambiguous morality, these questions are answered. But, the ultimate question may not be; do the ends justify the means?
ContributorsCawthon, William Marshall (Co-author) / Fleck, Tyler (Co-author) / Facinelli, Diane (Thesis director) / Stewart, Karen (Committee member) / Holman, Christine (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor)
Created2013-05
Description
Breast cancer affects hundreds of thousands of women a year in the United States, and kills tens of thousands. African-American women experience a lower incidence of breast cancer, yet they die at twice the rate of Caucasian women. This disparity demonstrates the ineffectiveness of mammography at decreasing mortality in women at higher risk of late stage diagnosis. In this paper I argue that the continued support of the predominating idea that the benefits of mammograms strictly outweigh their negative effects may be a factor in the continued racial disparity in breast cancer mortality between African-American and Caucasian women. In addition, I will argue that mammograms are less effective for African American women because they are predisposed to later stage diagnosis and the accompanying poorer mortality prognosis due to higher-risk environments caused by varied socio-political status. My claims are supported by studies of incidence rates, survivorship versus mortality rates, screening usage rates, late stage and early stage diagnosis rate, tumor type, and the effects of socioeconomic status on stage of diagnosis. In particular, mortality rates have not decreased parallel with increased mammogram usage, especially in African-American women. Although early stage diagnosis has drastically increased, late stage-diagnosis remains unchanged and higher in African-American women. Tumor types vary by race, and African American women tend to have tumors that are highly prolific and more likely to be metastatic. Socioeconomic factors are more of a marker for breast cancer disparities than race, however race and socio-political structures that embody racism are often intersected.
ContributorsHuper-Holmes, Chloe Lynn (Author) / Lynch, John (Thesis director) / Brian, Jennifer (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
Anorexia Nervosa is an increasing problem in today's day and age. With the overbearing messages of what the media portrays to be beautiful, some people are responding by engaging in unhealthy eating habits. By taking embodied cognition into consideration, there may be a method to help treat people with Anorexia Nervosa that has not been attempted yet. According to embodied cognition, the body influences the way a person thinks (Glenberg, 2010). If people with Anorexia Nervosa are thinking in unhealthy ways in terms of their body, providing relief from these unhealthy forms of thinking may come in the form of using a surrogate body: a virtual avatar in a video game. Through explanation and integration of the Embodied Social Presence Theory, the use of a virtual avatar as a surrogate body for victims of Anorexia Nervosa becomes a probable and viable method of ushering treatment. The avatars are not an explicit treatment of Anorexia Nervosa, but rather a way to allow actual treatment and therapy to be more successful.
ContributorsBrazones, Katelyn Suzette (Author) / Facinelli, Diane (Thesis director) / Glenberg, Arthur (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
This thesis aims to analyze and explain the resurgence of the superhero genre, particularly in recent cinema, directly following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. It will also deconstruct the current American political landscape and define how popular culture has historically reflected real-world issues. The study draws heavily on the political ideology of neoliberalism and Henry Jenkins' media theory of convergence culture. I ultimately argue in the course of the analysis that viewers of these superhero films, regardless of their interest in comic books, cathartically release their fears and post-9/11 anxiety through cinematic escapism. It will also relay the evolution of the superhero in the last seventy years as a way to show the effects current events have on popular culture and history, using Captain America and Iron Man as examples of shifting American values.
ContributorsWalker, Lindsay Anne (Author) / Facinelli, Diane (Thesis director) / Himberg, Julia (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor) / Department of English (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
Between 1100-1500 A.D. England was defining its political and economic power in Europe and as a country. The social expectations of women were based on the general beliefs of femininity that stemmed from physiological characteristics and the religious demands of the church. Three women of considerable social and political power changed the dynamics of English monarchy and the position of women in power for the rest of history. Empress Matilda, Eleanor of Aquitaine, and Margaret Beaufort each defined their positions at the time, changing the pre-conceived notions of femininity by acting in what their contemporaries deemed a masculine way. Matilda, Eleanor, and Margaret did not only thrive in their positions of power under the stereotypes developed in the medieval era regarding femininity, but also in the study of their histories they bring to light how women in modern social and political positions of power are still faced with the same medieval notions of femininity. Women today face the same stereotypes and cultural expectations regarding femininity and when those expectations are not met, or when the stereotype is breached, a wave of popular rhetoric in the form of slander and criticism towards them is accepted. Today, modern women criticized in their positions of authority face the difficulty of riding the fence between being perceived as feminine or masculine. The journey of a heroine involves the integration of both masculine and feminine.
ContributorsAnderson, Alexandra Jael (Author) / Facinelli, Diane (Thesis director) / Wheeler, Jacqueline (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of English (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
This creative project attempts to capture the fervor of bringing an immersive attraction from page to park by providing the different points of view of several fictitious teams—such as engineers, marketing experts, and set designers—which are involved in the creation and maintenance of a theoretical theme park ride. The specific theme park ride detailed below, tentatively titled The Once and Future Dark Ride, stands as an allegory for the majority of “dark rides” in the theme park world. Different points of view are detailed in order to give readers an approximation of the ride design process.
ContributorsMatsen, Julie Andrea (Author) / Facinelli, Diane (Thesis director) / Foy, Joseph (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Contributor) / Department of English (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
The relationship between a fictional character and its reader is one built on sympathy. Likable characters who combat personal adversity or who possess culturally acceptable and praised characteristics at the time of the fictional work's publication garner compassion from its audience. Does the same kind of reader reaction occur when characters of an unfavorable social status begin to transgress specified cultural attitudes to better themselves? In this paper, I examine the role of three literary characters of illegitimate birth: Mordred in Sir Malory's Le Morte d' Arthur, Edmund in William Shakespeare's King Lear and Jon Snow in George R.R. Martin's A Game of Thrones. I question how negative cultural attitudes at the time of each work's publication affect the way each character conducts himself whether as an agent of assumed social chaos or an autonomous bastard whose actions strive to transcend his undesirable birth rank. Each of these three characters represents specific types of bastards. Both Mordred and Edmund are bastard villains. Mordred's actions are pure unforgiving evil, and his destruction is self-indulgent and justified, to the audience, due to his illegitimate birth. Edmund is more complex, as he emotionally manipulates both the reader and other characters in the play, vacillating between a victimized bastard and a power hungry political player. Jon Snow is least like Mordred and Edmund. He endures the typical Renaissance era social and familial ostracism, and works to separate himself wholly from his illegitimate reputation while subconsciously seeking to prove himself worthy of legitimate respect.
ContributorsHouck, Laura Elizabeth (Author) / Facinelli, Diane (Thesis director) / Corse, Taylor (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of English (Contributor) / School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies (Contributor)
Created2014-05
DescriptionThis thesis investigates Irish ballads from the 19th and 20th centuries. It examines Catholicism, Anti British sentiment, their native home, and the Irish character as a part of the Irish identity being formed during the Irish revival.
ContributorsIvie, Marissa Daun (Author) / Facinelli, Diane (Thesis director) / Lynch, Jacquelyn Scott (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry (Contributor) / School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies (Contributor)
Created2014-05
DescriptionA literary analysis of Marvel's Civil War comic book and comparing it to post 9/11 America. Specifically out of post 9/11 America the paper focuses on comparing the USA PATRIOT Act and War on Terror to a parallel act passed in the Marvel universe.
ContributorsSilva, Sebastian Miguel (Author) / Facinelli, Diane (Thesis director) / Foy, Joseph (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
Snipers and Skyscrapers is a new take on the tabletop role-playing game experience that attempts to simplify the typical TRPG formula for a stronger gaming experience. S&S lowers the barrier to entry for new players, streamlines the combat system, and increases immersion for a stronger role-playing experience without sacrificing the depth of its more complicated counterparts.
ContributorsPearl, Carter Alexander (Author) / Facinelli, Diane (Thesis director) / Rezza, Catherine (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2014-05