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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Description
The Constitution is a document that was made over 200 years ago by a population that could have never imagined the type of technology or social advances made in the 21st century. This creates a natural rift between governing ideals between then and now, that needs to be addressed. Rather than holding the values of the nation to a time when people were not considered citizens because of the color of their skin, there need to be updates made to the Constitution itself. The need for change and the mechanisms were both established by the Framers while creating and advancing the Constitution. The ideal process to go about these changes is split between the formal Article V amendment process and judicial activism. The amendment process has infinite scope for changes that can be done, but due to the challenge involved in trying to pass any form of the amendment through both State and Federal Congresses, that process should be reserved for only fundamental or structural changes. Judicial activism, by way of Supreme Court decisions, is a method best applied to the protection of people’s rights.
ContributorsSpradlin, Marcus Tyler (Author) / Voorhees, Matthew (Thesis director) / Lennon, Tara (Committee member) / Historical, Philosophical & Religious Studies (Contributor) / Historical, Philosophical & Religious Studies, Sch (Contributor) / School of Criminology and Criminal Justice (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor, Contributor) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor) / Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-05
Description
Abstract The United States has a very long history of putting laws into place that enable certain people to immigrate equally, but prevent others from doing so, thus promoting large undocumented populations. In many instances the people creating these laws cite worries that the people attempting to enter the United States are a hazard to the country. Some examples of this include :the "Chinese Exclusion Act", which prevented people from China from immigrating, the internment of Japanese Americans during WWII, and the creating of various laws that designated Irish people as not being white during the 18th century. Now there is a debate over whether or not people who come to the United States undocumented with their parents at a young age should be barred from living here. These Dreamers are at the center of this often debated issue. A set of hour-long interviews has been conducted with seven dreamers in order to get their opinions on several topics. These include SB1070, the Dream Act, HB56, and a variety of other topics. In addition a comprehensive timeline and review of legislation concerning immigration has been created to provide a historical context. Lastly, my own conclusion about this topic have been presented.
ContributorsSprute, Eric Michael (Author) / Larson, Elizabeth (Thesis director) / Lennon, Tara (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
Who Put Out the Light? A Study of the FInancial Ruin in Greece, is a research study on the Greek economic crisis that led to Greece's financial ruin and nearly put the country into bankruptcy. I conducted a series of interviews on people from all walks of life while in Greece during the Summer of 2013. I investigated all of the possible factors that may have led to the catastrophic events they are currently undergoing and how each person was severely impacted. Moreover, I compared each person's political beliefs and how those beliefs may have factored into what they believe caused the beginning of this turmoil. Through this process, I have also come to find that there are many obscure and eye-opening laws that have been put in place both in Greece by their government, as well as by the European Union that may have factored into the detriment of the country. Furthermore, I wanted to depict the personal anguish of the people through pictures, thus adding a photojournalistic aspect to my thesis project.
ContributorsMakris, Demetra Margarita (Author) / Crittenden, Jack (Thesis director) / Lennon, Tara (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
If democracy is the best way to rule why then is it limited only to the political sphere? This question is central to economic democracy which is the theory that economic activities should be governed by democratic principles. In America, ESOPs are used for a variety of reasons, and I believe that they can be used for the development of democratic firms. My thesis looks at current ESOPs to see if they are democratic, and suggests how they can be used to develop democratic firms.
ContributorsHeth, Zachary Fredrick (Author) / Simhony, Avital (Thesis director) / Lennon, Tara (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
Congress has grown increasingly partisan since the 1970's, with the most extreme levels of partisanship occurring in the last few years. The media has also reflected on the loss of bipartisanship in Congress. However, the media often cites women as one of the last groups in the Senate willing to cross party lines. I analyze party unity scores from 1993-2013 to see if women senators are less partisan than their male counterparts, and if Democratic women senators are more or less partisan than Republican women senators. From these results, I find that Republican female senators are less partisan than Republican male senators and Democratic senators of either gender. I also find Democratic female senators are more partisan than Republican female senators, and just as partisan or more partisan than Democratic male senators. However, when analyzed through co-sponsorship data from 2009-2015, women senators are seen as more bipartisan than men. Finally, through anecdotal research, I find that both Republican and Democratic men and women in the Senate believe women legislate differently than men and view them as more willing to find common ground. I also find Republican and Democratic women of the Senate have shared experiences that lead them to forge bipartisan relationships that could lead them to work in a more bipartisan way. An interview with former Senator Olympia Snowe reveals that she believes women are results oriented and willing to work together on a range of issues, and especially those that benefit women.
ContributorsBennett, Linnea Christine (Author) / Woodall, Gina (Thesis director) / Lennon, Tara (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
This paper is an in-depth analysis of the actions and rhetoric of Donald Trump’s presidency from the perspective of Machiavelli’s most famed work, 'The Prince'. Its premise is born from two articles claiming Donald Trump was either the American Machiavelli or the Anti-Machiavelli, and sets out to find out which title is the most accurate. The end findings suggest that President Trump did not follow enough rules in 'The Prince' to be Machiavellian, but that Trumpism as a political doctrine has the potential grow into a modern day Machiavellianism.
ContributorsSandy, Charlotte Rose (Author) / Simhony, Avital (Thesis director) / Lennon, Tara (Committee member) / Historical, Philosophical & Religious Studies (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor, Contributor) / Watts College of Public Service & Community Solut (Contributor) / Historical, Philosophical & Religious Studies, Sch (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-05
Description
Protein crystallization is a technique for the formation of three-dimensional protein crystals, which is widely utilized by scientists, engineers, and researchers. Protein crystallography allows for protein structures and functions to be studied. As proteins play a central role in biological systems and life itself, a deeper understanding of their structure-function properties is crucial to elucidating fundamental behaviors, such as protein folding in addition to the role that they play in emerging fields, such as, tissue engineering with application to the emerging field of regenerative medicine. However, a significant limitation toward achieving further advancements in this field is that in order to determine detailed structure of proteins from protein crystals, high-quality and larger size protein crystals are needed. Because it is difficult to produce adequate size, high-quality crystals, it remains difficult to determine the structure of many proteins. However, a new method using a microgravity environment to crystallize proteins has proven effective through various studies conducted on the International Space Station (ISS). In the presence of microgravity, free convection is essentially absent in the bulk solution where crystallization occurs, thus allowing for purely random Brownian motion to exist which favors the nucleation and growth of high-quality protein crystals. Many studies from the ISS to date have demonstrated that growing protein crystals in a microgravity environment produces larger and higher-quality crystals. This method provides new opportunities for better structure identification and analysis of proteins. Although there remains many more limitations and challenges in the field, microgravity protein crystallization holds many opportunities for the future of biotechnology and scientific development. The objective of this thesis was to study the crystallization of hen egg white lysozyme (HEWL) and determine the effects of both unit and microgravity on growth/size and quality of HEWL. Through preliminary trials using a universal ground-based reduced-gravity system, the crystallization of HEWL in a simulated microgravity environment was successfully conducted and the results reported are promising. The utility of continuous, scalable ground-based, microgravity platforms for studies on a wide range of material systems and behavior, such as, protein crystallization, has significant implications regarding its impact on many industries, including drug development as well as regenerative medicine.
ContributorsTran, Amanda Marie (Author) / Pizziconi, Vincent (Thesis director) / Alford, Terry (Committee member) / Chemical Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-12
Description
This study seeks to understand the role that media coverage of the Red for Ed movement and related teachers strike in Arizona had on college students’ views toward the issues of teacher pay and education funding. I conducted a survey of 448 students from Arizona State University who were first administered a pre-test gauging their initial views on teacher pay and education funding. Participants were then divided into three groups, with the first group watching a video montage of Red for Ed media clips that contained a minute-long clip showing the average annual teacher salary level in Arizona. The second group watched an identical video montage as the first group but without the average teacher salary clip, while the third group watched an unrelated and politically insignificant video. Participants were then given the same series of questions after watching their respective stimulus videos to gauge post-test views. The results show that students exposed to media coverage that showed what teachers make on an annual basis saw significant decreases in what they thought teachers should earn and how much the state should devote to education funding in comparison to those who saw similar media coverage of Red for Ed but did not see what teachers earn. In contrast, the latter group saw no significant difference compared to those who were not exposed to any media coverage of Red for Ed, challenging the widely-touted “protest paradigm” trap often highlighted in current academic literature. Finally, the study shows that while ideology plays a role in support for higher teacher pay and willingness to raise taxes to fund education, liberal students showed no overall difference in how much they would fund education in comparison to moderate and conservative students. This study, therefore, provides insight into how interactions and portrayals in the media can influence public opinion towards teachers protests and their goals, as well as how educators can adapt to this dynamic by adopting specific protest strategies to more effectively build political and public support.
ContributorsTenty, Ryan Nicholas (Co-author) / Tenty, Ryan (Co-author) / Woodall, Gina (Thesis director) / Lennon, Tara (Committee member) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-12
Description
The German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, faced the unfathomable difficulty of navigating the Eurozone crisis of 2010-2017. The Eurozone crisis was the economic devastation from Greece’s financial depression, which led to the refugee humanitarian crisis (Elliot, 2018). During this time, the Syrian war took place, which contributed to the refugee crisis as people sought asylum from the war. Although the German Chancellor has undergone severe scrutiny for her decisions, she stood by her choices to enact an open-door policy that would allow asylum seekers to gain access to Germany and offer aid during a time of a humanitarian crisis. Not only was she honoring the Spirit of Europe through her open-door policy, she was also acting as a strategic economist by using the influx of refugees to supply skilled labor to the German workforce, growing the nation’s GDP and using Eurobonds as a means of policy coordination (De Grauwe, 2010).
Through studying Angela Merkel’s humanitarian and economic policies during 2010-2017, it is concluded that Angela Merkel did not simply enact the open-door policy because of her moral convictions as a member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), but did so as a policy actor within a rational choice framework (Crozier 451; Downs 146). As a policy actor, Merkel established her preference to enact humanitarian policies that fell in line with her legal obligation, as an EU member, to honor the spirit of Europe and then was able to defensively adjust to the Eurozone’s economic crisis by strategically creating economic opportunities from the refugee influx. While neighboring countries and even her own people provided constant criticism and reproof, Merkel never wavered in her policies and convictions.
Through studying Angela Merkel’s humanitarian and economic policies during 2010-2017, it is concluded that Angela Merkel did not simply enact the open-door policy because of her moral convictions as a member of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), but did so as a policy actor within a rational choice framework (Crozier 451; Downs 146). As a policy actor, Merkel established her preference to enact humanitarian policies that fell in line with her legal obligation, as an EU member, to honor the spirit of Europe and then was able to defensively adjust to the Eurozone’s economic crisis by strategically creating economic opportunities from the refugee influx. While neighboring countries and even her own people provided constant criticism and reproof, Merkel never wavered in her policies and convictions.
ContributorsTerrell, Shaylah Elyse (Author) / Kittilson, Miki (Thesis director) / Lennon, Tara (Committee member) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
This thesis explores the current standards and the progress being made for civic education in the state of Arizona. To develop a new model, it draws on the programs offered to students in the community of Camden, NJ by the thriving civics department at Rutgers University. Motivated by the current lack of civic resources in Arizona high schools, this research seeks out a practical, community-centered approach to improving the civic education standards. Arizona was one of the first states to make civic education a priority by passing the American Civics Act, but there is still a long way to go to create civically engaged classrooms for students. The proposed plan combines citizenship pedagogy with direct service opportunities, mentorship, and community projects to help students become engaged in their local communities.
ContributorsMiller, Mekenna Moriah (Author) / Simhony, Avital (Thesis director) / Lennon, Tara (Committee member) / School of Public Affairs (Contributor) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor, Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05