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 33
Description
Forty collegiate gymnasts were recruited for a nutrition and health study. Participants must have been at least eighteen years old at Arizona State University (ASU) in the club or team gymnastics program. The Institutional Review Board (IRB) reviewed and accepted my survey in order to hand out to the gymnasts. The ASU club and team coach and the ASU study team also approved my survey. As soon as the survey was approved, it was emailed to all of the gymnasts. ASU gymnasts were surveyed on nutritional knowledge and personal health. Subjects answered a quiz on nutrient needs and serving sizes. Personal questions consisted of height, weight, injuries, body image, and typical meal plans. Gymnasts were given a $10 compensation to increase the participation. We found that only 16% of gymnasts surveyed scored a 70% or higher on their nutritional knowledge. Although these gymnasts do not have adequate knowledge, the majority consume a healthy diet. Diets included fruits, vegetables, protein-rich foods, and few high fat and sugary foods. Four of the gymnasts had one or fewer injuries in the past two years, although, four gymnasts also had three or more injuries. No correlation was found between diet and injuries. There was also no correlation between the gymnast's nutritional knowledge and their health.
ContributorsKugler, Natalie K. (Author) / Levinson, Simin (Thesis director) / Berger, Christopher (Committee member) / School of Nutrition and Health Promotion (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-12
Description
The purpose of this thesis study was to examine whether the "war on cancer" metaphor influences cancer perception and treatment decision. A total of 249 undergraduates (152 females) from a large southwestern university participated in an online survey experiment and were either randomly assigned to the control condition (N=123) or to the war prime condition (N=126). Participants in the control condition did not receive the metaphor manipulation while participants in the war prime condition received the subtle "war on cancer" metaphor prime. After the prime was given, participants read a scenario, answered questions related to the situation, and responded to demographic questions. The results suggested that, compared to participants in the no-prime condition, participants exposed to the war metaphor were more likely to (a) view melanoma as an acute disease, (b) choose chemotherapy over molecular tests, and (c) prefer more aggressive treatment. These findings illustrated the unintended consequences of the "war on cancer" slogan. The results were encouraging and in the predicted direction, but the effect size was small. The discussion section described possible future directions for research.
ContributorsShangraw, Ann Mariah (Author) / Kwan, Virginia (Thesis director) / Neuberg, Steven (Committee member) / Cavanaugh Toft, Carolyn (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
A key component to American weddings is the wedding cake and the number of customs associated with it. The History, Evolution, and Development of Wedding Cakes is a creative project that hopes to answer why the wedding cake is such an iconic item and what it represents. A historical study details the evolution from its origin to present day while a comparison of wedding cakes (or wedding cake analogs) from other cultures explores their role(s) across the globe. It was found that while little regard is given to the symbolism of the wedding cake today, its presence persists in some shape or form as it continues to evolve. Cultural variations were recreated to reflect personal interpretations of contemporary designs in addition to an original design of a contemporary-rustic American wedding cake.
ContributorsYung, Andra (Author) / Levinson, Simin (Thesis director) / Jacobs, Mark (Committee member) / Chemical Engineering Program (Contributor) / School of Nutrition and Health Promotion (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
The media often portrays professional basketball players as narcissistic, entitled and selfish, but are these portrayals accurate? After all, basketball is a team sport and team sport research indicates that players are more altruistic and selfless. This study proposes a way to assess narcissism and altruism through observable behaviors from all the active players in the NBA.
ContributorsPappas, Carissa Anne (Author) / Kwan, Virginia (Thesis director) / Glenberg, Arthur (Committee member) / Mae, Lynda (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2013-12
Description
A recent controversy has surrounded service dogs in public environments. Use of service dogs may trigger discrimination against individuals with non-visible disabilities. Major goals of this thesis study are to examine if significant differences exist in personality perceptions and attitude towards service dog owners with visible disabilities versus those with non-visible disabilities, and whether these perceptions and attitude predict how they would be treated in a public setting. The study employed a mixed 2 x2 factorial experiment design. The first independent variable was visibility of the disability, with the two levels being visible vs non-visible, and this factor was non-repeated in nature. The second independent variable was the target of evaluation, with the owner and the dog being the two levels, and this was a repeated measure. Specifically, this study assessed personality perceptions using the Big Five personality traits (Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Emotional Stability, Openness to Experience) and operationalized attitude in terms of the positivity of personality perceptions. Additionally, this study examined whether an owner of a service dog with a non-visible disability would be treated differently from their counterpart who has a visible disability. In the study, participants were given a scenario and picture where they encounter an individual who either had a visible or non-visible disability with a service dog at a restaurant. Then, participants rated the owner and the dog individually on the Big Five personality traits, and indicated whether and how likely they would seat the individual and their service dog at the restaurant. When considering the visibility of a disability alone, an individual with a non-visible disability was perceived as less conscientious. When considering how the owner and the dog were perceived regardless of visibility of disability, owners were rated significantly lower than their dog on agreeableness and extraversion, but significantly higher on openness to experience. There was also a significant difference in treatment of the dog owners based on the visibility of their disability, service dog owners with non-visible disabilities have a higher likelihood of experiencing unlawful treatment. Furthermore, personality perceptions and attitude were significantly correlated with treatment for both individuals with non-visible and visible disabilities. Together, findings of this study inform the design of future research. Future research on this topic may help inform policy makers the challenges and unfair treatment facing individuals who have non-visible disabilities.
ContributorsSanta Cruz, Alyssa Ann (Author) / Kwan, Virginia (Thesis director) / Glenberg, Arthur (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
Nutritional support offered before and during chemotherapy treatment is proven to improve the outcomes of treatment (Bernhardson, 2016). This project seeks to examine current forms of nutritional support offered to patients, as well as the models of care and support teams in cancer treatment centers. The basis for this project incorporated personal experiences at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Gilbert, Arizona as well as research into the work of clinical oncology dietitians. An intense interest in food videos and blogs also informed this project, and was incorporated in the hope of providing chemotherapy patients a platform to discover recipes specific to their unique situation. The combination of this research was utilized to create several videos which demonstrated specific recipes beneficial for patients as well as creating a platform for this particular population. While nutritional support can take multiple forms, the focus of nutritional support surrounds symptom management. The common side effects of chemotherapy such as nausea, mucositis (mouth sores), and extreme weight loss were taken into account. Recipes were formulated to directly address these conditions and each recipe was broken down into the benefits of both macronutrients and micronutrients. In addition to formulating specific recipes and videos, barriers to proper nutritional support were examined and explained. These barriers include understaffing of clinical dietitians at cancer treatment centers, a patient's lack of transportation to and from treatments, as well as an overwhelming viewpoint that nutritional support is only required for extreme cases of malnutrition. Combatting these barriers and offering more forms of nutritional support will help to increase a patient's positive response to treatment, manage their symptoms, and improve their overall quality of life.
ContributorsMonteilh, Christina Eleanor (Author) / Levinson, Simin (Thesis director) / Martinelli, Sarah (Committee member) / Harrington Bioengineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-12
Description
This thesis study aimed to (1) test whether first-year college students' perceived future self-connectedness predicts their interest in continuing premedical studies, (2) assess whether the presence of academic role models predicts their future self-connectedness and (3) pilot-test an experimental manipulation to increase future self-connectedness and interest in premedical studies. The study included two parts. First, students completed the pre-manipulation measures including future self-connectedness and interest in premed studies. Second, students were randomly assigned to an experimental or a control condition. In the experimental condition, students were asked to imagine that they were licensed doctors and write words of advice to their current selves. In the control condition students were asked to reflect and write about their daily routine. The results from this study showed a significant positive correlation of interest in remaining in premedical studies with both future self-connectedness and the presence of role models and future self-connectedness. Additionally, students in the experimental condition showed a significant increase in future self-connectedness after completing the manipulation. However, their interest in remaining in premedical studies did not change after the manipulation. Together, these findings suggest a method for keeping Freshman undergraduates from dropping out hastily from the premedical track.
ContributorsSosa, Jonathan Mercado (Author) / Kwan, Virginia (Thesis director) / Glenberg, Arthur (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-12
Description
People have become increasingly perceptive in their health and well being. As a result, people are directing their attention to unconventional diet choices. A number of individuals are turning to a veganism. In 2017, six percent of Americans identified as vegan, up from only one percent in 2014. A vegan diet has been scientifically shown to have many health benefits when compared to the average western diet, which is typically inadequate in fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, and contains excessive amounts of processed foods, alcohol, salt, red meat, and sugar. With its gain in popularity, and more people adopting the diet, comes a lot of controversies. There are many who support and advocate for it, including a number of celebrities, and health organizations like the American Diabetes Association and USDA. However, many people remain skeptical about its purpose and proposed benefits. There is a general lack of knowledge when it comes to veganism. The purpose of this study was to assess the attitudes and beliefs held by college students at Arizona State University about a vegan diet. A survey was prepared and later distributed to students of different majors across Arizona State University. A total of 100 students completed the survey. The results revealed that ASU students had varying beliefs in regard to a vegan diet, some accurate beliefs, and other inaccurate beliefs. In general, the vegan participants tend to be more accurate in their knowledge of a vegan diet, however, no statistical differences were found among the vegan and non-vegan (includes vegetarian, pescatarian and omnivorous) participants. Supplemental research should include a larger sample of vegan participants and should examine behavioral differences among vegans and non-vegans.
ContributorsZwinger-Nathanson, Gidette Michelene (Author) / Levinson, Simin (Thesis director) / McCoy, Maureen (Committee member) / School of Nutrition and Health Promotion (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-12
Description
The purpose of this thesis study is to widen the understanding of the effect culture on self-improvement. Past research found that Japanese students, when compared to their North American counterparts, are more likely to strive for self-improvement by persisting when they encounter academic setbacks. In addition to North Americans and Asians, this thesis examines South Asians as well. It is hypothesized that South Asians will have similar levels of self-improvement as East Asians. This thesis also looks at possible explanations for why culture affects self-improvement. Two variables, future self-connectedness and growth mindset, are proposed as these explanations. It is hypothesized that culture affects future self-connectedness and growth mindset, and those two variables in turn influence self-improvement.
For this thesis, 100 undergraduate and recent college graduates completed online self-report measures. Results of independent t-tests showed that there were no significant differences between South and East Asians in self-improvement, which is consistent with what was hypothesized. There were also no differences between South and East Asians in future self-connectedness or growth mindset. The two Asian groups were then combined and compared to North Americans. Further independent t-tests were run, and results found that while the trend was as expected and Asians exhibited higher levels of self-improvement than North Americans, they did not exhibit significantly higher levels. There were also no significant differences between North Americans and Asians in growth mindset, however, North Americans had significantly higher levels of future self-connectedness than Asians, contrary to expectation. Results of mediation regressions found that neither future self-connectedness nor growth mindset significantly explained the effect of culture on self-improvement.
For this thesis, 100 undergraduate and recent college graduates completed online self-report measures. Results of independent t-tests showed that there were no significant differences between South and East Asians in self-improvement, which is consistent with what was hypothesized. There were also no differences between South and East Asians in future self-connectedness or growth mindset. The two Asian groups were then combined and compared to North Americans. Further independent t-tests were run, and results found that while the trend was as expected and Asians exhibited higher levels of self-improvement than North Americans, they did not exhibit significantly higher levels. There were also no significant differences between North Americans and Asians in growth mindset, however, North Americans had significantly higher levels of future self-connectedness than Asians, contrary to expectation. Results of mediation regressions found that neither future self-connectedness nor growth mindset significantly explained the effect of culture on self-improvement.
ContributorsShaikjamaludeen, Shaikhameedha (Author) / Kwan, Virginia (Thesis director) / Shiota, Michelle (Committee member) / Davis, Mary (Committee member) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-12
Description
This study aims to explore the prevalence of smartphone, smartwatch, and fitness tracker ownership among college students, and compare the popularity of each device in tracking health-related habits such as physical activity, eating, and sleep. In addition, this study aims to analyze the effectiveness of each device for achieving personal health goals in all three categories. Research for this study was conducted using an Institutional Review Board (IRB) approved survey that was distributed electronically to various Greek and student organizations around Arizona State University campuses. In total, 183 responses were considered, with participants ranging from ages 18 to 23. Participants were required to own or possess a smartphone to be eligible to complete the survey. After seven days of data collection, the results were then analyzed using Qualtrics. The results revealed that smartwatch and fitness tracker ownership is not prevalent within the Arizona State University demographic. In addition, after comparing device popularity across each habit-tracking category, it is apparent that the smartphone is the most used device for tracking. Finally, when looking at device effectiveness in relation to achieving health goals, smartwatches consistently scored higher than smartphones. Supplemental research should be conducted to further explore the prevalence and effectiveness of habit tracking. This research should include a larger sample size and a more evenly spread gender demographic.
ContributorsMeyer, Allison Hope (Author) / Levinson, Simin (Thesis director) / Carr, Natasha (Committee member) / Industrial, Systems & Operations Engineering Prgm (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05