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 52
Description
Intrauterine devices (IUDs) have become one of the most common types of contraception in the United States. In the last decade, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the World Health Organization, and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) updated IUD recommendations to include placement in younger populations and nulliparous women. Research has shown that younger, nulliparous women may have smaller uterine dimensions and it is possible that larger IUDs are not suitable for those populations. This study retrospectively evaluated follow-up pelvic ultrasounds showing uterine dimensions and IUD positions of 57 women who had IUDs placed in a clinic. The largest IUD, the Paragard, showed a significantly higher rate of malpositioning than the Kyleena, Liletta, and Mirena IUDs. There is concern that the Paragard IUD, which is most commonly malpositioned, is also the IUD most dependent on position for adequate contraception. There was no correlation between uterine dimensions and IUD position at the time of analysis, however. Further data collection will continue in hopes that a larger sample size will reveal a parameter which affects IUD placement. Should further data analysis show that uterine width plays an important role in IUD position, the design for a device which can measure the width of patient's uterus (without the need for pelvic ultrasound) has been included. The concept generation for this measurement device includes laser measurements of uterine cavity width at different known lengths from the fundal wall, which output to an LED screen for recording.
ContributorsGrayson, Claire Elise (Co-author) / Kilgore, Brody (Co-author) / Reifsnider, Elizabeth (Thesis director) / Stabenfeldt, Sarah (Committee member) / Grayson, Robert (Committee member) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
The period of time between birth and 24 months of age is a sensitive period for infant growth, and adequate nutrition is vitally important. In this study, 150 Mexican-American mother-and-child pairs (N = 300) were periodically surveyed over the course of 36 months for demographics, financial status, and feeding practices to understand the feeding methods of Mexican-American families and any relations they may have to the weight and growth of developing infants. Results found that formula feeding had higher rates of usage and duration than breastfeeding, while solid foods were largely introduced at the recommended ages. At one year of age, the infants were predisposed towards overweight and obesity with a high maternal BMI, suggesting that breastfeeding practices were not fully utilized. However, the data did not differentiate between formula and breast milk when both were used at any specific age, making it difficult to determine how long infants were exclusively breastfed and how that would impact their growth.
ContributorsCorsi, Marisa Kalani Nicole (Author) / Reifsnider, Elizabeth (Thesis director) / Thatcher, Craig (Committee member) / Arizona State University. College of Nursing & Healthcare Innovation (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
The National Basketball Association is the world's most recognized professional basketball league. Athletes such as Kobe Bryant and Lebron James have transcended from being high school standouts to global icons, but their careers might not have panned out the same way if they weren't allowed to declare for the draft immediately upon graduating high school. In 2005, the NBA and the NBA Players Association agreed to implement an age limit for athletes declaring for the NBA Draft. Although this was supposed to reduce the quantity of younger players declaring for the draft, the rule has been ineffective as the average age of lottery picks, also known as the first 14 picks of the draft, has decreased since the rule's implementation. Adam Silver, the current commissioner of the NBA, has been vocal about potentially raising the minimum draft-eligible age once more because of NBA team executives calling recent draft picks unfit for the NBA. The purpose of this research is to examine if lottery picks are indeed "NBA ready" upon being drafted, and if there is a correlation between the age at which they are drafted, the pick at which they were selected, the length of their career, and their career success. Various statistical analysis techniques are utilized, such as the calculation of R-squared values and correlation coefficients, and the usage of t-tests and multiple regressions. Box score statistics such as minutes per game, points per game, rebounds, and assists as well as advanced metrics such as player efficiency rating, win shares, box plus/minus, and value over replacement player were the focal point of this study. Players drafted with lottery selections from the 1985-2016 drafts had their career statistics compiled and examined for this analysis in order to adequately conduct the regressions. The results indicate that although lottery picks are having a decreasing immediate impact upon being drafted, the younger an athlete is drafted, the more long-term success they can expect to achieve in the NBA.
ContributorsKender, Mitchell Edward (Author) / McIntosh, Daniel (Thesis director) / Eaton, John (Committee member) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
This longitudinal research study addresses the correlations between infant feeding status in relation to infant temperament, maternal postpartum depression, and weight changes over time in a lower income, diverse population sample. The majority of participants were enrolled in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) in Mesa, Arizona. Each participant was recruited in their third trimester and followed for the infants' first six months of life. A series of four home visits were made in which demographic surveys, temperament questionnaires, postpartum depression scales, weight changes over time, fecal, vaginal, saliva, and breast milk samples were taken. Due to the extensive process of extracting and sequencing of the microbiome samples, data has yet to be collected from the fecal, vaginal, saliva, and breast milk samples and were not included in this study. Correlational and descriptive statistics were run on the qualitative data including various demographic questions, total temperament, depression, and healthy eating index scores. It was found that lower socioeconomic factors contributed to more difficult infant temperaments, mothers who breastfed had higher post-delivery postpartum depression scores, and mothers with healthier eating indexes formula or mixed fed their infants. The findings from this data will be compared to the incoming microbiome data to examine the role of the microbiome of mothers and infants and its effects on infant temperament, postpartum depression, and weight changes over time.
ContributorsWong, Lindsay Alissa (Author) / Reifsnider, Elizabeth (Thesis director) / Zheng, Lu (Committee member) / School of Nutrition and Health Promotion (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
This research will focus on identifying healthcare disparities among different groups of people in Maricopa County, with a focus on the Phoenix area. It takes form in a combination of a review of previously existing data, surveying pregnant women about their health insurance situations before their pregnancies, and surveying college students in Maricopa County about their past and current health insurance situations. The pregnant women who were interview were part of a study called Metabolism Tracking During Pregnancy through the School of Nutrition and Health Promotion at Arizona State University. College students who were interviewed were recruited online and all participants were choosing to respond. This research paper will focus on policies currently in place to try to address healthcare disparities and establishing the presence of healthcare disparities that are preexisting, and using individual responses from a small sample size of minorities and women to represent the larger Phoenix population. Differences in healthcare spending for different groups of people will also be analyzed in order to establish disparities present. This research is significant because if healthcare equality is the goal, then spending distribution to each should be proportional to the size of each subpopulation.
ContributorsGeiser, Rachel (Author) / Reifsnider, Elizabeth (Thesis director) / Cortese, Denis (Committee member) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
The purpose of this secondary data-analysis was to explore the factors that predict a healthy birth outcome and a healthful postpartum weight for Mexican American mothers. There is a need to educate women who are overweight and obese that in order to have a healthier pregnancy and delivery they need to reduce their BMI. Demographic factors, the frequency of pregnancy complications, the weight and BMI of the mother, and Gestational Weight Gain were all factors investigated. These factors were investigated to determine parameters to obtain healthy birth weights in Mexican American infants.
ContributorsRemackel, Jacqueline Joy (Author) / Reifsnider, Elizabeth (Thesis director) / Zheng, Lu (Committee member) / School of Nutrition and Health Promotion (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
This research addresses the importance of factors such as gestational weight gain (GWG) and postpartum weight of mothers, as well as obesity rates in infants born to these mothers who are included in the population of low-income Mexican-American mothers and infants enrolled in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). Evaluating these factors will contribute to finding recommendations to help solve the obesity epidemic in this specific population. Breastfeeding duration, mother BMI, infant birth weight, and infant weight z-scores were statistically analyzed from a WIC population in Houston. The study participants are involved in a five year intervention study where the home environment and education on feeding practices, breastfeeding duration and obesity are evaluated. The results found that: (1) breastfeeding initially indicates a further continuation of breastfeeding; (2) mothers who breastfed for six months were likely to have a lower BMI at twelve to eighteen months than those who did not; (3) the birth weight of the infant is associated with the weight pattern of the child later; (4) the weight/height percentiles of a newborn are somewhat likely to stay the same until age three; (5) the prenatal weight of the mother impacts the weight of the newborn infant; and (6) the mother's postpartum BMI at one week is associated with a similar BMI at 12 months postpartum. In conclusion, women in this population tend to not breastfeed for 6 months and are not losing gestational weight postpartum, leading to increased wright retention after pregnancy, as well as heavier babies that will maintain this weight in early childhood. Further breastfeeding, nutrition, exercise, obesity, and proper infant feeding education are needed to reduce the rate of obesity in low-income Mexican-American WIC populations.
ContributorsSchmid, Emily Grace (Author) / Reifsnider, Elizabeth (Thesis director) / Danielson, Kim (Committee member) / Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor) / Arizona State University. College of Nursing & Healthcare Innovation (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
The purpose of this secondary data-analysis was to identify potential risk factors in the home at 12 months that can lead to the development of childhood overweight or obesity. Childhood obesity is a multifaceted epidemic, and is highly prevalent in low-income populations. This analysis focuses on the weight outcomes of babies at 12 months of age who are from low-income, Mexican American families. The weight and BMI of the mother, basic feeding practices, and acculturation were some of the factors that were found to have correlations with the weight of a child at 12 months. The HOME Scale was used in this data analysis, however, no significant correlations can be found at this time. Further research with children who are older than 1-year-old should be performed to determine if the HOME Inventory factors play a role in the weight outcome of a child.
ContributorsCiulla, Gabriella Rae (Author) / Reifsnider, Elizabeth (Thesis director) / Danielson, Kim (Committee member) / School of Nutrition and Health Promotion (Contributor) / Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
DescriptionThe goal of this study is to explore the relationship between breastfeeding, postpartum depression and postpartum weight at 1 and 6 months.
ContributorsFlowers, Jenna (Author) / Reifsnider, Elizabeth (Thesis director) / Bever, Jennie (Committee member) / Moramarco, Michael (Committee member) / Arizona State University. College of Nursing & Healthcare Innovation (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2015-12
Description
With as rapid a growth that Esports has had and its current introduction to the public mainstream, there is yet to be sufficient studies and research compiled to fully develop the profile of an Esport consumer. While companies such as Neilson and others have begun scratching the surface of the Esport community, there is much that is relatively unknown. Consumer behavior patterns of traditional sports has been defined for years, however as the billion dollar a year industry that Esports is, Esport consumer behavior is still taking shape. This thesis will attempt to build upon previous studies conducted by former Arizona State University students to continue to define the Esport consumer. Through quantitative research conducted via an online survey consisting of demographic, behavioral, and psychographic questions, the stereotype of an Esport consumer will be dissolved to reveal their true nature. This study will prove to be an iteration among the previous research by -<br/>• Developing a functional segmentation of Esport consumers, which will allow for marketers within the industry to better understand their audience in their attempts to persuade/incentivize<br/>• Understanding and dissecting the scale of influence that content creators (those who play Esports for the purpose of entertaining through various platforms) and competitive Esport athletes have on certain segmentations of consumers<br/>• Discovering the impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on certain segmentations in regards to their time spent playing themselves<br/><br/> After compiling results from this questionnaire, marketers that are both endemic and non-endemic brands seeking to partner within the Esports space will have a better understanding of their audience and how to connect with them.
ContributorsPearson, Samuel Tyler (Author) / McIntosh, Daniel (Thesis director) / Eaton, John (Committee member) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Department of Management and Entrepreneurship (Contributor) / Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-05