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. 

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A Comprehensive Analysis of the Changing Ideological Frameworks Guiding Interpretations of the First, Second and Fourth Amendments, 1776-2017

Description
Historically, Supreme Court interpretations of the Constitution of the United States have been significantly important, impacting the lives of every American. This honors thesis seeks to understand the ways in which the Constitution has been interpreted through the lens of political ideology. Using constitutional theory, I explain how the political…

Historically, Supreme Court interpretations of the Constitution of the United States have been significantly important, impacting the lives of every American. This honors thesis seeks to understand the ways in which the Constitution has been interpreted through the lens of political ideology. Using constitutional theory, I explain how the political ideologies of classical liberalism, conservatism, libertarianism, and progressive liberalism have played a role in the interpretations of the First, Second, and Fourth Amendments. I also examine how these ideological interpretations have changed from 1776 to 2017, dividing the history of the United States into four eras: the Founding Era, the Civil War Era, the New Deal Era, and the Modern Era. First, the First Amendment's clauses on religion are examined, where I focus on the separation between church and state as well as the concepts of "establishment" and "free exercise." The First Amendment transitions from classically liberal, to conservative, to progressively liberal and classically liberal, to progressively liberal and libertarian. Next, we look at the Second Amendment's notions of a "militia" and the "right to keep and bear arms." The Second Amendment's interpretations begin classically liberal, then change to classically liberal and progressively liberal, to progressively liberal, to conservative. Finally, the analysis on the Fourth Amendment's "unreasonable searches and seizures" as well as "warrants" lends evidence to ideological interpretations. The Fourth Amendment, like the other two, starts classically liberal for two eras, then becomes libertarian, and finally ends libertarian and conservative. The implications of each of these conclusions are then discussed, with emphasis on public opinion in society during the era in question, the ways in which the ideologies in each era seem to build upon one another, the ideologies of the justices who wrote the opinions, and the ideology of the court.
ContributorsSmith, Charlene Anne (Author) / Lennon, Tara (Thesis director) / Hudson, Jill (Committee member) / New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences (Contributor) / School of Criminology and Criminal Justice (Contributor) / School of Social and Behavioral Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-12
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The Impact of Social Media on Political Identity

Description
In recent years, social media has become more prevalent as a platform for political discussion and organization, especially among younger voters. This study sought to determine the relationship between social media use and the formation and evolution of political identity among undergraduate college students. The three research questions created for…

In recent years, social media has become more prevalent as a platform for political discussion and organization, especially among younger voters. This study sought to determine the relationship between social media use and the formation and evolution of political identity among undergraduate college students. The three research questions created for study are as follows: how does peer discussion impact political participation, how do news outlets impact political ideology, and what is the perceived effectiveness of online activism. Results revealed that peer discussion does not significantly impact political participation, that news outlets most often reinforce the user's original position, and that online activism is most commonly seen as an effective medium for awareness. Overall, it appears that social media use does have a mild impact on a user's political identity formation and evolution.
ContributorsWhile, Grace (Co-author) / Curry, Laura (Co-author) / Cheong, Pauline (Thesis director) / Kwon, Kyounghee (Committee member) / School of Criminology and Criminal Justice (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-12
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Media to the Polls: How Trafficking Knowledge Affects How Generation Z Votes in the United States

Description

Gen Z is very active on social media where there is a large amount of misinformation on human trafficking. This bears the question, does correct knowledge of human trafficking have a correlation with how Gen Z votes? This study looks into the correlation between Generation Z’s (Gen Z) voting patterns…

Gen Z is very active on social media where there is a large amount of misinformation on human trafficking. This bears the question, does correct knowledge of human trafficking have a correlation with how Gen Z votes? This study looks into the correlation between Generation Z’s (Gen Z) voting patterns and their knowledge of human trafficking. The underlying thought is how media and social media play a role in what information Gen Z is taking to the voting booths. The results will show if both Republicans and Democrats or just one are affected by inadequate knowledge of human trafficking and if therefore, they are voting a specific way. A result emerged by surveying 30 people across the United States with ages ranging from 18-24, on where trafficking happens and to whom it happens to, alongside asking the participants different political questions to determine their voting patterns. The survey questions were written and analyzed quantitatively to use the data numerically as the results.
ContributorsMac Donald, Bridget (Author) / DeCarolis, Claudine (Thesis director) / Barnhart, Patricia (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Social and Behavioral Sciences (Contributor) / School of Criminology and Criminal Justice (Contributor)
Created2022-05