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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- Creators: Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics
- Creators: School of Criminology and Criminal Justice
Description
The inherent risk in testing drugs has been hotly debated since the government first started regulating the drug industry in the early 1900s. Who can assume the risks associated with trying new pharmaceuticals is unclear when looked at through society's lens. In the mid twentieth century, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published several guidance documents encouraging researchers to exclude women from early clinical drug research. The motivation to publish those documents and the subsequent guidance documents in which the FDA and other regulatory offices established their standpoints on women in drug research may have been connected to current events at the time. The problem of whether women should be involved in drug research is a question of who can assume risk and who is responsible for disseminating what specific kinds of information. The problem tends to be framed as one that juxtaposes the health of women and fetuses and sets their health as in opposition. That opposition, coupled with the inherent uncertainty in testing drugs, provides for a complex set of issues surrounding consent and access to information.
ContributorsMeek, Caroline Jane (Author) / Maienschein, Jane (Thesis director) / Brian, Jennifer (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
Few studies have examined the correlations between individual characteristics and other popular forms of social media other than Facebook. This study explored the ways emerging adults use Instagram and Snapchat and examined the relationships between social media and individual characteristics. A sample of 393 participants were recruited from a large university in the Southwestern United States. The participants completed an online questionnaire that included a newly developed social media measure along with established measures that examined the individual characteristics of social comparison orientation, self-esteem, loneliness, contingent self-worth, narcissism, and life satisfaction. In the present study, more participants reported having an active Instagram account than an active Facebook or Snapchat account. Additionally, a higher number of participants also reported preferring Instagram and Snapchat compared to Facebook. Significant correlations were found between various individual characteristics and three aspects of social media use: overall time spent on social media, whether the individual felt that their time spent on social media was meaningful, and how the individual felt emotionally after comparing themselves to others' photos and posts. Potential explanations and implications of the results are discussed.
ContributorsArndorfer, Sydney (Author) / Field, Ryan (Thesis director) / Sechler, Casey (Committee member) / School of Community Resources and Development (Contributor) / Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
Criminal Justice is a complex subject matter, and not everyone agrees on the way a criminal justice system ought to function. But one feature that is common to virtually all forms of proposed justice systems is that a true justice system treats people ethically. The question, then, is how a justice system can achieve this. This investigation analyzed two ethical theories, Kantianism and Utilitarianism, to determine which one would be better suited for guiding a criminal justice system on how to treat the people involved ethically. This investigation focused on applying the two theories to the U.S. Criminal Justice System in particular.
Kantianism is a duty-based moral theory in which actions have an intrinsic moral worth. This means certain actions are morally right and other are morally wrong, regardless of the intended or realized consequences. The theory relies on the categorical imperative to judge the morality of certain actions. It states that an action is moral if its maxim can be willed universal law and if it avoids treating people as merely a means. In contrast, Utilitarianism is a consequentialist theory which focuses on the consequences of an action in judging moral worth. In Utilitarianism, the morally correct action is the one which will maximize utility; that is to say, the morally right action is the one which will produce the greatest amount of happiness and minimize the amount of pain for the greatest number of people.
After applying these two theories to moral dilemmas facing the U.S. Criminal Justice System, including the appropriate collection of DNA evidence, the use of police deception, and the use of criminal punishments such as solitary confinement or the death penalty, it was clear that Kantianism was the ethical theory best suited for guiding the system in treating people ethically. This is because Kantianism’s focus on the intrinsic moral worth of an action rather than its consequences leaves less room for ambiguity than does Utilitarianism.
Kantianism is a duty-based moral theory in which actions have an intrinsic moral worth. This means certain actions are morally right and other are morally wrong, regardless of the intended or realized consequences. The theory relies on the categorical imperative to judge the morality of certain actions. It states that an action is moral if its maxim can be willed universal law and if it avoids treating people as merely a means. In contrast, Utilitarianism is a consequentialist theory which focuses on the consequences of an action in judging moral worth. In Utilitarianism, the morally correct action is the one which will maximize utility; that is to say, the morally right action is the one which will produce the greatest amount of happiness and minimize the amount of pain for the greatest number of people.
After applying these two theories to moral dilemmas facing the U.S. Criminal Justice System, including the appropriate collection of DNA evidence, the use of police deception, and the use of criminal punishments such as solitary confinement or the death penalty, it was clear that Kantianism was the ethical theory best suited for guiding the system in treating people ethically. This is because Kantianism’s focus on the intrinsic moral worth of an action rather than its consequences leaves less room for ambiguity than does Utilitarianism.
ContributorsMorett, Xavier Laakea (Author) / Manninen, Bertha (Thesis director) / Kimberly, Kobojek (Committee member) / School of Criminology and Criminal Justice (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Natural Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
A lab protocol was created in order to introduce arson evidence analysis to students. The procedures dictate a thorough introduction from evidence handling procedures to analysis of common accelerant mass spectrum. The objectives of the lab protocol included classifying and describing various pieces of arson evidence and common accelerants as well as synthesizing information about accelerant composition to interpret GC-MS data output. This would allow the student to experience first-hand what the subsection of arson analysis has to offer in the field of forensic science which could help the student decide on more specialties to study later on. I was unable to run the lab protocol in a laboratory setting, therefore in the future I want to use the lab protocol and receive feedback in order to improve the protocol so the student is receiving the best possible learning outcomes. The experience of creating a lab protocol in forensic science gave myself a greater understanding of what goes on behind an academic learning procedure and more insight on arson evidence analysis.
ContributorsWhitten, Jamison Mckall (Author) / Kobojek, Kimberly (Thesis director) / Armendariz Guajardo, Jose (Committee member) / School of Criminology and Criminal Justice (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Natural Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
The current study investigated whether intermittent restraint stress (IRS) would impair fear extinction learning and lead to increased anxiety and depressive- like behaviors and then be attenuated when IRS ends and a post- stress rest period ensues for 6 weeks. Young adult, male Sprague Dawley rats underwent restraint stress using wire mesh (6hr/daily) for five days with two days off before restraint resumed for three weeks for a total of 23 restraint days. The groups consisted of control (CON) with no restraint other than food and water restriction yoked to the restrained groups, stress immediate (STR-IMM), which were restrained then fear conditioned soon after the end of the IRS paradigm, and stress given a rest for 6 weeks before fear conditioning commenced (STR-R6). Rats were fear conditioned by pairing a 20 second tone with a footshock, then given extinction training for two days (15 tone only on each day). On the first day of extinction, all groups discriminated well on the first trial, but then as trials progressed, STR-R6 discriminated between tone and context less than did CON. On the second day of extinction, STR- IMM froze more to context in the earlier trials than compared to STR-R6 and CON. As trials progressed STR-IMM and STR-R6 froze more to context than compared to CON. Together, CON discriminated between tone and context better than did STR-IMM and STR-R6. Sucrose preference, novelty suppressed feeding, and elevated plus maze was performed after fear extinction was completed. No statistical differences were observed among groups for sucrose preference or novelty suppressed feeding. For the elevated plus maze, STR-IMM entered the open arms and the sum of both open and closed arms fewer than did STR- R6 and CON. We interpret the findings to suggest that the stress groups displayed increased hypervigilance and anxiety with STR-R6 exhibiting a unique phenotype than that of STR-IMM and CON.
ContributorsShah, Vrishti Bimal (Author) / Conrad, Cheryl (Thesis director) / Newbern, Jason (Committee member) / Judd, Jessica (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome (22q11.2DS) is one of the most frequent chromosomal microdeletion syndromes in humans. This case study focuses on the language and reading profile of a female adult with 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome who was undiagnosed until the age of 27 years old. To comprehensively describe the participant's profile, a series of assessment measures was administered in the speech, language, cognition, reading, and motor domains. Understanding how 22q11.2DS has impacted the life of a recently diagnosed adult will provide insight into how to best facilitate long-term language and educational support for this population and inform future research.
ContributorsPhilp, Jennifer Lynn (Author) / Scherer, Nancy (Thesis director) / Peter, Beate (Committee member) / Department of Speech and Hearing Science (Contributor) / Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
Same Bed is a twelve-piece book of poetry that explores the theme of sexual violence. The speaker of the poems is processing the trauma surrounding her rape which leads her to explore her own family's dynamics regarding gender, power, and acknowledgment of sexuality. The speaker also observes the broader issue of how society reacts to rape and the effects that can have on a survivor of sexual violence. In the peak of the manuscript, the speaker pieces together part of her own police report, pinning her own voice and perspective against her rapists.
ContributorsPetersen, Gabrielle Nicole (Author) / Ball, Sally (Thesis director) / Kelsey, Meghan (Committee member) / Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor) / Department of Management and Entrepreneurship (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
President Donald Trump announced his candidacy in June 2015, and the America immediately knew that he was an unorthodox candidate. Early on in his campaign, Trump isolated groups of people and treated them as enemies, but none so consistently as the news media. What began as criticism of "fake news," turned into calling the news media "the opposition party." However, media professionals agree that when the Trump administration called the news media the "enemy of the American people" \u2014 a line had been crossed. In the last two years Trump has denied simple fact and credible journalism countless times. His avid use of social media allows his messages to reach millions of people in moments - which had the potential to be a positive thing. However, Twitter is often where Trump turns to dispute the media, science, fact or anything else that "opposes" him. If Americans cannot believe the news media, cannot believe science, and cannot believe established fact, what can they believe? Allowing one man, in this case, Trump, to become the beacon of truth is dangerous and destructive to democracy. The news media must do their best to recapture the trust and faith of the American people by producing good, honest journalism. Seasoned journalism professionals say that his attacks on the media are likely a facade, just another way to appeal to his base, but that those attacks have the potential to wreak havoc in American society. Regardless of Trump's intentions, the toxicity between him and news media could have consequences that reach far beyond his presidency.
ContributorsPenningroth, Kendra Rene (Author) / Crane, Steve (Thesis director) / Downie, Leonard (Committee member) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor) / School of Criminology and Criminal Justice (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-12
Description
Researchers suggests that college students' involvement and use of resources on campus are important for success, in the form of satisfaction and GPA, in the first year. College officials invest substantial resources in activities to encourage freshmen students to become involved in campus activities and utilize resources that promote successful outcomes, yet we do not know which activities best relate to success. Using a self-report survey, we sought to corroborate previous research that has shown that overall levels of involvement and use of resources relate to satisfaction/GPA. Furthermore, we disentangled which individual types of involvement and use of resources are most highly correlated with satisfaction and GPA. And finally, we identified the barriers and benefits to involvement and resource use, according to the students themselves. We found evidence that higher levels of involvement were related to satisfaction and attending faculty office hours appears to be particularly important, given a significant relation to both satisfaction and GPA. Implications for program promotion and resource allocation are discussed.
ContributorsPaley, Madeleine (Author) / Foster, Stacie (Thesis director) / Spinrad, Tracy (Committee member) / Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-12
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 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