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
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
This project created a teaching curriculum resource guide for using the popular series, The Hunger Games, in 6th-8th grade classrooms to introduce cultural issues such as child soldiers and international development to students. Studies have shown that literature can cultivate empathy and encourage youth to act. This combined with the expanding phenomenon of participatory culture and fandom activism as outlined by Henry Jenkins demonstrate the potential for youth to learn and act when given the opportunity and resources to do so. The curriculum is composed of three units: The first is a three-week reading of the books with various activities for students to really understand the narrative and source text. The second and third units address the issues of child soldiers and international development using The Hunger Games as a framework and a keystone to build connections so that these complex issues are accessible to youth. This project is a first step in the development of a curriculum that spans the full trilogy and covers a variety of current event topics.
ContributorsSimpson, Rebecca (Author) / Sivak, Henry (Thesis director) / Blasingame, James (Committee member) / Nelson, Margaret (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
By volunteering with a microfinance program in the historic coastal town of Saint-Louis, Senegal in the fall of 2016, I became embedded within the Senegalese culture and gained a unique perspective on the loan process. Coordinated by the for-profit organization, Projects Abroad, the microfinance office aimed to help women and Talibés (young men studying the Quran) gain financial independence through small-scale sustainable entrepreneurship while simultaneously providing its volunteers with meaningful experiences.
The purpose of my thesis is to examine the interactions among the Senegalese staff, international volunteers, and Senegalese loan participants, and the ways in which their constantly evolving reactionary relationships impacted the program. The paper provides a context of Saint-Louis, Senegal as well as the Projects Abroad Organization and outlines the loan process prior to examining the daily activities of the program. I highlight important factors such as religion, education, gender roles, and saving techniques in order to show how juxtaposing values and traditions played key roles in the program’s evolution. Ultimately, I argue that the heterogeneity of values, norms, and expectations among those participating in the program created both obstacles and opportunities for program implementation and the ways in which to gauge its success.
By sharing my personal observations and experiences, I hope to provide the reader with a greater understanding of the complexities of intercultural communication in the microfinance arena. In the words of the American economist and philosopher Tyler Cowen, “Real cultural diversity results from the interchange of ideas, products, and influences, not from the insular development of a single national style.”
The purpose of my thesis is to examine the interactions among the Senegalese staff, international volunteers, and Senegalese loan participants, and the ways in which their constantly evolving reactionary relationships impacted the program. The paper provides a context of Saint-Louis, Senegal as well as the Projects Abroad Organization and outlines the loan process prior to examining the daily activities of the program. I highlight important factors such as religion, education, gender roles, and saving techniques in order to show how juxtaposing values and traditions played key roles in the program’s evolution. Ultimately, I argue that the heterogeneity of values, norms, and expectations among those participating in the program created both obstacles and opportunities for program implementation and the ways in which to gauge its success.
By sharing my personal observations and experiences, I hope to provide the reader with a greater understanding of the complexities of intercultural communication in the microfinance arena. In the words of the American economist and philosopher Tyler Cowen, “Real cultural diversity results from the interchange of ideas, products, and influences, not from the insular development of a single national style.”
ContributorsDavis, Claire Mello (Author) / Sivak, Henry (Thesis director) / Haines, Chad (Committee member) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
The disputes in the South China Sea involve overlapping territorial claims from multiple nations and have grown increasingly contentious over the past decade. The area is rich in natural resources and is strategically significant regarding international trade and military capabilities. Due to the significance of the area, the competing claims have global ramifications and the conflict involves actors beyond the region. This paper examines the geopolitical factors involved in the disputes and how they shape states' actions in relation to the South China Sea. Specifically, this paper will show how China's actions in the South China Sea reflect both the geography of the region, and also its political ambitions in the region and international community. The states' claims contend the territory, territoriality, and sovereignty of islands in the South China Sea, and are based on both international law and historical evidence illustrated in the case between the Philippines and China in the Scarborough Shoal. It demonstrates China's tactics for managing competing claims, its increasing military capabilities, and the uncertainty of resolutions to the conflict. The mechanisms for the resolution of the territorial disputes in the South China Sea are shown to be largely ineffective given the differing basis of claims over the South China Sea states have. International institutions, such as United Nations tribunals, and other nations without direct claims in the South China Sea, such as the United States, have interests in the conflict related to the peaceful resolution of disputes between nations, while also influencing states' actions. This paper reviews the concepts of geopolitics and how China's strategy in the South China Sea reflects both critical and classical geopolitics and its objective of regional hegemony.
ContributorsKelly, Megan Jean (Author) / Sivak, Henry (Thesis director) / Lundry, Chris (Committee member) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
This thesis aimed to further research of indigenous land rights by examining the Norwegian Finnmark Act and how it interacts with the international indigenous land rights movement. The Finnmark Act was legislation that returned land to the indigenous people, the Sami. This project examined the impact that the International Labor Organization’s Convention 169 on Indigenous Tribal Peoples in Independent Countries had on the passage of this Act and what other indigenous communities can learn from the Finnmark Act.
ContributorsGough, Emily (Author) / Sivak, Henry (Thesis director) / Ripley, Charles (Committee member) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
"Phoenix as Refuge: A Photographic Exploration of Refugees Within the City" was a creative thesis project that aimed to bridge the gap between divided communities by creating awareness of refugees within the city of Phoenix. Through an IRB approved research study, multiple refugee families were interviewed and photographed. The project documented refugees and their stories and then made those interviews accessible to the greater Phoenix community. The purpose was to make the Phoenix community more aware of refugees in the hopes that this awareness would increase community activism and advocacy for this resilient yet vulnerable minority group. This paper explains the refugee resettlement process and addresses the social and economic implications of refugee resettlement and advocacy within an urban area. Many inhabitants of Phoenix are unaware the refugees that live in their city because of the geographic divide between social classes and ethnic groups. In highly urbanized communities, the geographic layout of the city leads to a more individualistic and segregated society. This notion leads to a discussion of Robert Putnam's theory of social capital, which argued that by improving and fostering social connections, one could increase social well-being and even make the economy more efficient. This paper then applies Putnam's ideas to the interaction between refugees and non-refugees, using space as a determining factor in measuring the social capital of the Phoenix community. As evident in the study of Phoenix's geographic divide between social and economic classes, Phoenix, like many urban cities, is not designed in a way that fosters social capital. Therefore, advocacy must go beyond people and into advocacy for a different kind of city and place that sets up refugees, and non-refugees alike, to succeed. In this way, rethinking the city through urban planning becomes integral to making new social networks possible, building social capital, and increasing social welfare in urban spaces.
ContributorsRutledge, Chloe Grace (Author) / Sivak, Henry (Thesis director) / Larson, Elizabeth (Committee member) / School of Art (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Economics Program in CLAS (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-12
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
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