Theses and Dissertations
This collection includes both ASU Theses and Dissertations, submitted by graduate students, and the Barrett, Honors College theses submitted by undergraduate students.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 16
Filtering by
- Genre: Masters Thesis
Description
There is a popular notion that creativity is highly valued in our culture. However, those "in the trenches," people in creative endeavors that actually produce the acts of creativity, say this is not so. There is a negative correlation between the value stated and the true value placed on creativity by our contemporary culture. The primary purpose of this study was to investigate that correlation as well as a possible contributing factor to this negative correlation--the fear of risk involved in enacting and accepting creativity. The methods used in this study were literature review and interview. An extensive literature review was done, as much has been written on creativity. The review was done in four parts: 1) the difficulty in defining creativity; 2) fear and the fear of creativity; 3) solutions - ways to be, express, and accept creativity; and 4) the plethora of articles written about creativity. Six one-on-one interviews were conducted with creative individuals from a variety of commercial creative endeavors. Creatives in commercial fields were chosen specifically because of their ability to influence the culture. The results of this study showed that the hypothesis, that there is a negative correlation between the value stated and the true value placed on creativity, is true. The fear of risk involved in enacting and accepting creativity as a factor in this dichotomy was also shown to be true.
ContributorsGelman, Howard P (Author) / Heywood, Wil (Thesis advisor) / Patel, Mookesh (Committee member) / Knox, Gordon (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
Ethnic identity has consistently been associated with Latino youths' psychosocial well-being; however, an area that has received much less attention is how parents' characteristics inform their ethnic socialization efforts and, in turn, youths' ethnic identity. In addition, we know little about how this process unfolds in specific at-risk samples of youth, such as adolescent mothers. Thus, the current prospective study examined how mothers' cultural characteristics informed adolescents' and mothers' reports of ethnic socialization, and how this, in turn, informed adolescents' ethnic identity exploration and resolution among a sample of 193 adolescent mothers and their mothers. In addition, the current study tested whether mothers' ethnic identity affirmation was directly related to adolescents' ethnic identity affirmation over time. Results indicated that mothers' familism was associated with increases in mothers' reports of maternal ethnic socialization, and, in turn, with increases in ethnic identity exploration for foreign-born adolescents, and decreases in ethnic identity exploration for U.S.-born adolescents. In addition, adolescents' reports of familial ethnic socialization were associated with increases in their ethnic identity exploration and resolution. Finally, mothers' ethnic identity affirmation was associated with increases in adolescents' ethnic identity affirmation. Findings are discussed with special attention to the importance of mothers' cultural values in how they socialize their adolescents, and this impact on adolescents' ethnic identity, as well as the implications this study has for interventions focused on bolstering positive outcomes for adolescent mothers.
ContributorsDerlan, Chelsea L (Author) / Umaña-Taylor, Adriana J. (Thesis advisor) / Knight, George P. (Committee member) / Updegraff, Kimberly A. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
Mexican-origin adolescent females have the highest birthrate of all other ethnic groups in the U.S. Further, teen mothers are at significant risk for poor outcomes, including low educational attainment. Therefore, examining predictors of Mexican-origin teen mothers' educational attainment was the main goal of the current study. Future-oriented beliefs such as educational aspirations and expectations are suggested to have positive implications for adolescents' educational attainment in general. Therefore, guided by bioecological, social capital, status attainment, social learning, and collective socialization of neighborhood theories, the current study examined neighborhood, maternal, and cultural predictors of 190 Mexican-origin parenting adolescents' educational aspirations, expectations, and attainment. With respect to maternal predictors, the study examined mother figures' (i.e., grandmothers') educational attainment, and aspirations and expectations for the adolescent as predictors of adolescents' educational attainment. Using a multi-informant, longitudinal analytic model, results suggest that adolescents' educational expectations, rather than aspirations, significantly predicted adolescents' attainment one year later. Additionally, grandmothers' educational attainment was indirectly associated with adolescents' educational attainment via the educational expectations of both the grandmother and the adolescent. Further, the neighborhood context indirectly informed adolescents' educational attainment via both grandmothers and adolescents' educational expectations. Finally, adolescents' ethnic identity affirmation was significantly associated with adolescents' educational attainment two years later. Implications regarding the importance of educational expectations and ethnic identity affirmation for at-risk parenting adolescents' educational attainment will be discussed.
ContributorsHarvey-Mendoza, Elizabeth C (Author) / Umaña-Taylor, Adriana J. (Thesis advisor) / Updegraff, Kimberly A. (Committee member) / White, Rebecca (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
First-generation college students, for whom neither parent has a bachelor's degree, are at an increased risk for dropping out of college compared with their continuing-generation counterparts. This research aims to examine whether varying perceptions of the future may contribute to these differences; specifically, whether presentations of future opportunities with and without a college degree impact academic motivation and performance, and whether this relationship holds for people from different college generation status backgrounds. Additionally, the study explores whether the effect is consistent with regulatory focus profiles--whether someone is motivated to avoid negative outcomes (e.g., prevention orientation) or attain positive outcomes (e.g., promotion orientation). Prevention oriented first-generation students were expected to have increased motivation and performance when asked to contrast the future with and without a college degree, whereas promotion oriented continuing-generation students were expected to have increased motivation and performance by merely thinking about the future with a college degree. Participants consisted of 330 undergraduates from an introductory psychology course. Participants were randomly assigned to presentations of future opportunities with a degree, with and without a degree, or a no-prime control condition. Motivation and performance were assessed using academic motivation and delay of gratification scales and a short anagram task. The proposed hypotheses were not supported; however, important findings emerged from exploratory analysis. First- and continuing-generation college students perceived future opportunities with a college degree similarly, meaning that both first- and continuing-generation students believed that a degree would endow opportunities. Additionally, belief in future opportunities significantly predicted academic motivation, delay of gratification, and anagram performance; thus, belief in future opportunities is a determinant of academic motivation and performance. Finally, first-generation students' performance varied by belief that a college degree would create future opportunities. Therefore, future interventions to increase performance and retention among first-generation students should emphasize the value of a college degree for future success. This research has implications for the understanding of college generation status, academic motivation, and performance.
ContributorsHerrmann, Sarah D (Author) / Kwan, Virginia S.Y. (Thesis advisor) / Okun, Morris A. (Committee member) / Saenz, Delia S. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
The rise of meat consumption in the United States has been dramatic over
the past half century due to demographic changes. The increase in meat is visible in Mexico as well due to expanding economic interest in cattle production plus increased population and rising incomes. The worst consequences of our modern food system are in factory farming of animals, which requires a greater amount of resources than for producing grains, fruits, and vegetables. The specific effects of meat consumption highlight the importance of understanding humans as actors in the food system. In order to explore the drivers of consumer food and meat choice, my research answered the two questions: What factors influence meat consumption? and How do cultural and social norms influence decisions to consume certain types and amounts of meat?
Qualitative interviews were conducted with Mexican-American respondents between age 20 and 29 as the population of interest because of their regional dominance in the study area of Tempe, AZ and because of the high prevalence of meat in their cultural diets. Looking at millennials in particular is crucial because as the first generation born with technology and Internet as constants, they have formed unique characteristics like openness to change and new perspectives. My sample population communicated motivations and constraints to their overall consumption patterns and the frequency and types of meat consumed.
This study found that cost and convenience were the driving factors behind food choice, given the hectic schedules of the sample population, who were mostly students at Arizona State University. Culture played an important role in respondents' heavy meat consumption given their exposure to meat's centrality in traditional Mexican meals. Acculturation did not play an extensive role because prominent Mexican culture in the Southwest U.S. allowed respondents' families access to traditional food while living in the US. The lack of sustainability knowledge and its connection to food choice indicates the importance of marketing that contextualizes decreased meat consumption. Rather than focusing solely on environmental outcomes, marketing tools highlighting health, financial, and economic benefits of eating less meat would encourage more consumers to decrease consumption.
the past half century due to demographic changes. The increase in meat is visible in Mexico as well due to expanding economic interest in cattle production plus increased population and rising incomes. The worst consequences of our modern food system are in factory farming of animals, which requires a greater amount of resources than for producing grains, fruits, and vegetables. The specific effects of meat consumption highlight the importance of understanding humans as actors in the food system. In order to explore the drivers of consumer food and meat choice, my research answered the two questions: What factors influence meat consumption? and How do cultural and social norms influence decisions to consume certain types and amounts of meat?
Qualitative interviews were conducted with Mexican-American respondents between age 20 and 29 as the population of interest because of their regional dominance in the study area of Tempe, AZ and because of the high prevalence of meat in their cultural diets. Looking at millennials in particular is crucial because as the first generation born with technology and Internet as constants, they have formed unique characteristics like openness to change and new perspectives. My sample population communicated motivations and constraints to their overall consumption patterns and the frequency and types of meat consumed.
This study found that cost and convenience were the driving factors behind food choice, given the hectic schedules of the sample population, who were mostly students at Arizona State University. Culture played an important role in respondents' heavy meat consumption given their exposure to meat's centrality in traditional Mexican meals. Acculturation did not play an extensive role because prominent Mexican culture in the Southwest U.S. allowed respondents' families access to traditional food while living in the US. The lack of sustainability knowledge and its connection to food choice indicates the importance of marketing that contextualizes decreased meat consumption. Rather than focusing solely on environmental outcomes, marketing tools highlighting health, financial, and economic benefits of eating less meat would encourage more consumers to decrease consumption.
ContributorsNamugayi, Deborah (Author) / Larson, Kelli L (Thesis advisor) / Klinsky, Sonja (Committee member) / Redman, Erin (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
The aim of this study is to conduct the empirical tests on consumer's emotional responses of product design and the relationship between emotion and consumer's attitudinal loyalty to identify if there exists potential relationship links between these two factors together by following certain regulation. This study also seeks to compare Brand Loyalty of Apple products across two different cultures - China and US to see if there are any differences regarding their brand loyalty construction and expression. The emotional responses on product design were also studied in order to reveal potential emotional design issues between the two different cultures. Results of this study show that: (1) Brand loyalty strengthens a consumer's emotion bond with a targeted brand through its product carrier. Emotion is seen as a predictor for brand loyalty based on consumer proportionality and conformity of expression. (2) Cognitive experience is not necessary nor a sufficient condition to build brand loyalty. Emotion and culture will be crucial in constructing brand loyalty without cognition. Cultural differences will affect brand loyalty, especially regarding attitudinal loyalty. (3) Different cultures share different ways of emotional expression. Based on the scope, limitations, and results of this research, Chinese consumers appear to be more sensitive in their emotional feelings of the iPad's design than American consumers.
ContributorsQu, Yonghao (Author) / Takamura, John (Thesis advisor) / Shin, Dosun (Committee member) / Branaghan, Russell (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
This document outlines the formation and development of Worth the Weight, or WTW, a platform that seeks to sustain the Breaking community in Phoenix, Arizona and connect the generations by bringing them together in a newly and never before seen event in Breaking, an all weight class and division competition. In the last five to ten years there has been a noticeable decline in the local Breaking community, in part due to the introduction of new dance categories, economic and social changes, the cross over of academia and traditional studios in Phoenix; all combining to create a lack of longevity in veterans of the culture to pass on the tools of the trade to the next generation.
WTW is an event that occurs monthly for three consecutive months followed by a month off, totaling nine events and three seasons per calendar year. At each event dancers go head to head in battle in a single elimination style bracket, where they will add a loss or win to their overall season record. The goals of WTW are self-empowerment as well as ownership and investment in the community by those involved through participation in both the event and the planning process; all built on a foundation of trust within the Breaking community. This researcher has thirty years of direct involvement in the Breaking culture with twenty-two of those years as a practitioner in Phoenix, Arizona and co-founder of Furious Styles Crew, Arizona’s longest running Breaking crew. The development of WTW was drawn from this experience along with interviews and observations of Breaking communities worldwide. WTW intends to provide a reliable and consistent outlet during a time of instant gratification, allowing a space for self-discovery and the development of tools to be applied beyond movement. It is hoped that the format of WTW will be a model that can be adapted by other Breaking communities worldwide.
WTW is an event that occurs monthly for three consecutive months followed by a month off, totaling nine events and three seasons per calendar year. At each event dancers go head to head in battle in a single elimination style bracket, where they will add a loss or win to their overall season record. The goals of WTW are self-empowerment as well as ownership and investment in the community by those involved through participation in both the event and the planning process; all built on a foundation of trust within the Breaking community. This researcher has thirty years of direct involvement in the Breaking culture with twenty-two of those years as a practitioner in Phoenix, Arizona and co-founder of Furious Styles Crew, Arizona’s longest running Breaking crew. The development of WTW was drawn from this experience along with interviews and observations of Breaking communities worldwide. WTW intends to provide a reliable and consistent outlet during a time of instant gratification, allowing a space for self-discovery and the development of tools to be applied beyond movement. It is hoped that the format of WTW will be a model that can be adapted by other Breaking communities worldwide.
ContributorsMagaña, Jorge Edson (Author) / Vissicaro, Pegge (Thesis advisor) / Schupp, Karen (Committee member) / Gabbert, Kenneth (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
Description
ABSTRACT
Malawi, as a low and middle income country (LMIC), with one of the lowest per capita gross domestic products, faces challenges in the provision of healthcare to its citizens. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), leading causes of death include but are not limited to, lower respiratory disease, stroke, cancer, neonatal disorders, and nutritional deficiencies. Feeding and swallowing disorders can present as a symptom to any of these medical diagnoses. Currently, there are no known studies focusing on the service provision for feeding and swallowing disorders in Malawi.
This pilot study was designed to provide a baseline on how feeding and swallowing disorders are currently being provided for in an emerging country like Malawi. Malawian healthcare professionals who see patients with feeding and swallowing disorders completed a survey and interview pertaining to their personal demographics, caseload, opinions, experiences, and treatment recommendations regarding the management of swallowing disorders (dysphagia).
Results indicate a wide range of occupations (Otolaryngoloists, Rehabilitation Technicians, Audiology Technicians, and Nurses) are involved in feeding and swallowing care. Participants expressed a high obligation to provide services for feeding and swallowing disorders, as well as a high concern for their patients. Generally, participants expressed high confidence in their treatment abilities, which did not correspond to knowledge of treatment recommendations that meet U.S. standards of care. Specifically, there was no variation in treatment recommendations across severities and a general lack of resources and tools for assessing and treating dysphagia. Treatment recommendations tended to align with resources currently available in Malawi.
Implications for the utilization of NGOs (non-governmental organizations) and the education of healthcare providers on feeding and swallowing disorders in the social and cultural contexts of this country are discussed.
Malawi, as a low and middle income country (LMIC), with one of the lowest per capita gross domestic products, faces challenges in the provision of healthcare to its citizens. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), leading causes of death include but are not limited to, lower respiratory disease, stroke, cancer, neonatal disorders, and nutritional deficiencies. Feeding and swallowing disorders can present as a symptom to any of these medical diagnoses. Currently, there are no known studies focusing on the service provision for feeding and swallowing disorders in Malawi.
This pilot study was designed to provide a baseline on how feeding and swallowing disorders are currently being provided for in an emerging country like Malawi. Malawian healthcare professionals who see patients with feeding and swallowing disorders completed a survey and interview pertaining to their personal demographics, caseload, opinions, experiences, and treatment recommendations regarding the management of swallowing disorders (dysphagia).
Results indicate a wide range of occupations (Otolaryngoloists, Rehabilitation Technicians, Audiology Technicians, and Nurses) are involved in feeding and swallowing care. Participants expressed a high obligation to provide services for feeding and swallowing disorders, as well as a high concern for their patients. Generally, participants expressed high confidence in their treatment abilities, which did not correspond to knowledge of treatment recommendations that meet U.S. standards of care. Specifically, there was no variation in treatment recommendations across severities and a general lack of resources and tools for assessing and treating dysphagia. Treatment recommendations tended to align with resources currently available in Malawi.
Implications for the utilization of NGOs (non-governmental organizations) and the education of healthcare providers on feeding and swallowing disorders in the social and cultural contexts of this country are discussed.
ContributorsLarson, Christie Taylor (Author) / Azuma, Tamiko (Thesis advisor) / Scherer, Nancy (Thesis advisor) / Helms-Tillery, Kate (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
ABSTRACT
Elite experience and careers in judged female sports complicate the binary categories of retirement while they are especially exposed to cultures of abuse, pressure and subjectivity. This thesis is comprised of multiple voices and experiences from the elite female athletic perspective, including my autoethnographic narrative. Highlighted and discussed are the topics of sexual assault and abuse, family pressure on children to do and excel at sport, the National Team experience representing the United States and subjected bodies and judging. It is an aim of this thesis to culminate all of those factors in the final chapter and hold that the experience and the cultures of athletic identity within synchronized swimming, gymnastics and figure skating not only cannot be explained by current research on athletic identity through retirement but have the capability to retire undeveloped young women by overdeveloped athletic identities. Through a sampling of voices and experiences across different female judged sports, over three decades, the reader will observe similarities that cause these sports to have a culture of solidarity through the aspects they hold in common with each other. The narrative highlights pivotal moments in the lives of the elite female athlete within these sports, which add to the calculation of their athletic identities and the lack of their personal identities. Through reflection and analyses of not only my story, but the interviewees from my original research and that of Joan Ryan’s as well, I aim to voice a mutual experience of elite athletes. Consisting of multiple factors throughout many years we will see through my autoethnography, paralleling with other voices and experiences, how it all intersects and contributes to this: Who am I now and where do I go from here?
Elite experience and careers in judged female sports complicate the binary categories of retirement while they are especially exposed to cultures of abuse, pressure and subjectivity. This thesis is comprised of multiple voices and experiences from the elite female athletic perspective, including my autoethnographic narrative. Highlighted and discussed are the topics of sexual assault and abuse, family pressure on children to do and excel at sport, the National Team experience representing the United States and subjected bodies and judging. It is an aim of this thesis to culminate all of those factors in the final chapter and hold that the experience and the cultures of athletic identity within synchronized swimming, gymnastics and figure skating not only cannot be explained by current research on athletic identity through retirement but have the capability to retire undeveloped young women by overdeveloped athletic identities. Through a sampling of voices and experiences across different female judged sports, over three decades, the reader will observe similarities that cause these sports to have a culture of solidarity through the aspects they hold in common with each other. The narrative highlights pivotal moments in the lives of the elite female athlete within these sports, which add to the calculation of their athletic identities and the lack of their personal identities. Through reflection and analyses of not only my story, but the interviewees from my original research and that of Joan Ryan’s as well, I aim to voice a mutual experience of elite athletes. Consisting of multiple factors throughout many years we will see through my autoethnography, paralleling with other voices and experiences, how it all intersects and contributes to this: Who am I now and where do I go from here?
ContributorsHaylor, Alyson (Author) / Colbern, Allan (Thesis advisor) / Mean, Lindsey (Committee member) / Kassing, Jeffrey (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
The issue this study addresses is the need to extend the topic of gifted art education into the multicultural realm. The purpose was to assess accommodations for gifted art students of culturally diverse backgrounds, to see how socio-economic class and culture influence identification and opportunities for gifted art students, and to identify similarities and differences among gifted art students. The research took place at five public high schools containing a high percentage of culturally diverse students around the Phoenix rural and suburban areas. Participants included five high school art teachers and five artistically talented students that each teacher identified. I conducted, transcribed and analyzed interviews with the participants. Analysis of the data has led to many themes. Teacher interviews indicated universities attended by teachers in the study didn’t touch on diversity or gifted art education, although all art teachers have had a lot of experience teaching diverse students, and reported student diversity was growing. Teachers define artistically talented students as students with natural abilities, many times looking at the students' product. Teachers recommend the students to community art classes, such as the local center for the arts, or summer college courses. Teachers vary in support, some saying they have more than enough resources and support, others saying they need more space in the classroom and smaller class sizes, or want to take students to artist studios. Results from student interviews reveal that all students in the study were self-motivated to do art everyday, two mentioning especially after a big life event, such as depression or a father dying. Participating students think of art as something beautiful and something to which they can relate, defining art very vaguely, saying it could be anything or everything. All students have future plans to major or minor in art in college or continuing creating art in their free time. Participants had supportive and encouraging art teachers and parents and had art materials readily available. Universities and high school art teachers may benefit from the study because of the need to prepare for growing diversity. Art teachers may benefit from this study by gaining a better understanding of artistically talented students of diverse backgrounds and by challenging them, and getting parents involved in supporting their child.
ContributorsReeves, Audrey (Author) / Young, Bernard (Thesis advisor) / Stokrocki, Mary (Committee member) / Erickson, Mary (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016