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 15,501 - 15,510 of 15,550
Description
The overthrow of Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu in 1989 uncovered extreme and disturbing environmental deprivation that took place in Romanian orphanages from 1965 to 1989, due to Decree 770, a public policy implemented to increase birth rates and human capital. This historical tragedy provides a rare window into the development of children who experienced profound deprivation during a critical period of attachment formation. An examination of existing research on Romanian orphans’ past physiological functioning, attachment, language development, and attention and learning informs the research questions of the present study. Qualitative methodology will be utilized to explore former Romanian orphans’ psychosocial development of intimacy and generativity across early and middle adulthood. A semi-structured interview is proposed here with four distinct sections: inquiring about platonic and romantic intimacy, as well as kin and non-kin generativity. Each interview question was crafted to reflect and capture Erikson’s (1950) central crises during adulthood. Between twenty to thirty former Romanian orphans will be interviewed, or until saturation of themes is reached. A thematic analysis approach will be applied, where common patterns or ideas will be identified, analyzed, and interpreted.
ContributorsMartalogu, Cristina (Author) / Flores-Lamb, Valerie (Thesis director) / Hackney-Price, Jennifer (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2024-05
Description
This thesis/creative project involved writing a collection of creative nonfiction essays and building a website to reflect on my experiences traveling through Spain in the summer of 2023, for both a study abroad program and on my own. There are a total of nine essays in this current collection, along with a tenth introductory essay. They reflect the chronological order of my travels to Madrid, Sevilla, Granada, Valencia, Barcelona, and Lisbon, concluding with an essay written about my return to Phoenix, Arizona. The goal of this project was to not only personally reflect on what I learned while in these various places, but also to share these experiences with a wider audience in the digital world. I plan to continue adding essays to this website, using it as a "living document" for my future travels, and as a place for further reflection.
ContributorsCordes, Olivia (Author) / Meloy, Elizabeth (Thesis director) / O'Flaherty, Katherine (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2024-05
Description
This honors thesis report aims to propose a sustainable long-term solution for providing off-grid solar energy to rural communities that lack the necessary grid energy infrastructure. With this in mind, we aim to establish the framework and documentation for people to be able to build and maintain their own off-grid solar power systems. Due to recent pushes for clean energy both nationwide and statewide, the team will discuss the current renewable energy market and the incentives to justify the future growth potential of residential solar energy systems, which includes off-grid or remote solar. This discussion will include comparing pre-built solar systems currently offered for purchase against the proposed design outlined in this report. Notably, the outlined design has been made with an emphasis on system sustainability, low initial cost, reliability, ease of manufacturing/maintenance, and material selection. Lastly, the team will discuss the project’s approach to documentation with a user manual draft to ensure the system's long-term sustainability and troubleshooting. Although the efforts of this project have increased over time, this project remains active within the ASU EWB chapter, meaning that not all aspects described throughout this report are fully complete.
The Native American community of Shonto, Arizona, will be used as an example to understand a rural community's needs for designing a solar panel system that provides sufficient energy for a single household. The project was completed in collaboration with Arizona State University’s Engineering Projects In Community Service (EPICS) program and Engineers Without Borders (EWB) chapter. Both these organizations aim to connect ASU students to the professional mentors and resources they need to design and implement low-cost, small-scale, easily replicated, and sustainable engineering projects.
ContributorsHaq, Emmen (Author) / Sosa, Jorge (Co-author) / Beltran, Salvador (Thesis director) / Pham, Brandon (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Chemical Engineering Program (Contributor)
Created2024-05
Description
If students receive a form of sexual education, it usually occurs in their K-12 years in the United States. This education serves to prepare them for sexual activity as they transition into adulthood. The study sheds light on the importance of comprehensive and inclusive sexual education in reducing stigma and promoting healthy decision-making for all students. Our study aims to examine various factors influencing a college student's sexual health, including their sexual identity, religious affiliation, regional differences in K-12, sexual education, students' perceptions of their sexual education, and their comfort in discussing these topics with healthcare providers. A survey was conducted using responses from 200 ASU students, which collected data on their sexual behavior, and their responses were used to assess their level of sexual risk. Additionally, data was collected on topics outlined in our research questions, which explored several factors that can impact sexual health. Independent samples t-tests were conducted to analyze these correlations. The findings suggested a correlation between comprehensive sexual health education and increased positive and healthy behaviors related to sexual health. While some of our hypotheses were supported, the only statistically significant one was the impact of regional K-12 sexual health education on college students' sexual health. Overall, our study highlights the importance of implementing nationwide, comprehensive sexual education to promote healthy lifestyles and prepare adolescents with the knowledge to make informed decisions as they prepare for their transition into adulthood.
ContributorsBrown, Taylor (Author) / Strasser, Maria (Co-author) / Berkel, Cady (Thesis director) / Koskan, Alexis (Committee member) / Beaumont, Sarah (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Hugh Downs School of Human Communication (Contributor)
Created2024-05
Description
This thesis focuses on the growing and pressing issue of Holocaust denial, explicitly focusing on the relationship between the Republic of North Macedonia and Bulgaria and the conflicting perspectives of each country. My hope is that this thesis will guide readers through a historical study of the relationship between the now present-day Republic of North Macedonia and Bulgaria and examine the ongoing issue of Holocaust denial between the two countries.
ContributorsAvellino, Ashleigh (Author) / Brown, Keith (Thesis director) / Sivak, Henry (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Justice Studies (Contributor)
Created2024-05
Description
After traveling to Spain to study abroad, I noticed a large amount of shops selling goods related to Japanese anime, which helped inspire the topic of my honors thesis. In this paper, the cultural impact of Japanese animation and comics on Spain is explored. The history/origin of anime in Spain, the early reception of these works in Spain, the importance of the anime fandom, the intersection between Spanish and Japanese culture in anime and anime-inspired films, and the positive representation of Spain in these works are all relevant topics that constitute the argument of this document. Sources in both English and Spanish are utilized.This paper explores the surprising connections between the two countries. The way in which their cultures interact through the consumption of this form of media was quite fascinating to look into.
ContributorsMalinski, Joseph (Author) / Walton-Ramirez, Anne (Thesis director) / Wilson, Bradley (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor)
Created2024-05
Description
Oral health encompasses a wide variety of conditions with two of the primary conditions being enamel degradation and periodontal disease. These ailments are intertwined and are known to be prevented by a combination of good oral hygiene and a balanced diet. Despite this, incidence rates of oral health conditions in both high and low-and-middle income countries remain high. Periodontal disease prevention is of particular relevance due to its correlation with cardiovascular disease. One highly popular diet that could serve as an alternative strategy in combatting these oral health conditions is intermittent fasting. Intermittent fasting has shown promise in decreasing systemic inflammation and blood glucose levels, both of which are correlated with periodontal disease and enamel degradation. To explore this relationship between intermittent fasting and oral health a 9-week experimental protocol with 4 randomly established groups was completed. These groups included ad libitum high and low-fat groups, and time restricted feeding high and low-fat groups. After the 9-week protocol the mice were sacrificed, and their intact jaws and gingiva tissue were isolated. Three primary methods were used to quantify the effects of intermittent fasting on oral health: comparing the enamel density between groups, comparing the alveolar bone recession between groups, and comparing the gene expression of periodontal disease markers between groups. Body composition and fasting blood glucose levels of the mice were also quantified. We found that the fasting groups had lower average fasting blood glucose levels and maintained a more physiologically ideal body composition. Despite this, the oral health analyses did not have any consistent significant results. The results of this study suggest that despite intermittent fasting’s role in blood glucose levels and body composition regulation, it has minimal effects on enamel degradation and periodontal disease development.
ContributorsCollis, Graham (Author) / Jakiche, Michael (Co-author) / Roberts, Joseph (Thesis director) / Johnston, Carol (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor)
Created2024-05
Description
The current study examined the experiences of individuals with severe mental health symptoms and low physical activity who were referred by their medical provider to a program called InSHAPE. In this program, participants are paired with a health mentor, whose goal was to improve the level of physical activity engagement. Health coaches also promoted community engagement through participation in physical activity. Each week individuals were assigned a physical health goal and a non-physical health goal. It is hypothesized that individuals who accomplish their goals in the first week are more likely to stay in the program. I hypothesize that more time in the program will be positively correlated with more success in terms of participants reaching their goals as well as engaging in community activity. Finally, it is hypothesized that the more time in the program, the healthier participants will become. The results of this study report no significant associations between variables, suggesting that there is no significant correlation between time spent in the InSHAPE program and success in the program in terms of goal attainment and community involvement. More research is needed to delineate the multidirectional relationship between physical activity and mental health. A better understanding of the mood benefits of physical activity can better inform holistic treatments for those with negative mental health symptoms. Documentation of programs focused on increasing physical activity specifically for mental health gains implemented in the community are needed.
ContributorsMoyer, Sophia (Author) / Perez, Marisol (Thesis director) / Gomez, Francesca (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / College of Health Solutions (Contributor)
Created2024-05
ContributorsSanchez, Tomas (Author) / Casanova, Pablo (Co-author) / Green, Aaron (Co-author) / Dalvi, Tejas (Co-author) / Dudas, Caleb (Co-author) / Byrne, Jared (Thesis director, Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Department of Finance (Contributor)
Created2024-05
ContributorsSanchez, Tomas (Author) / Casanova, Pablo (Co-author) / Green, Aaron (Co-author) / Dalvi, Tejas (Co-author) / Dudas, Caleb (Co-author) / Byrne, Jared (Thesis director, Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Department of Finance (Contributor)
Created2024-05