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Description
In this paper, I analyze representations of nature in popular film, using the feminist / deconstructionist concept of a dualism to structure my critique. Using Val Plumwood’s analysis of the logical structure of dualism and the 5 ‘features of a dualism’ that she identifies, I critique 5 popular movies – Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Brave, Grizzly Man, and Planet Earth – by locating within each of them one of the 5 features and explaining how the movie functions to reinforce the Nature/Culture dualism . By showing how the Nature/Culture dualism shapes and is shaped by popular cinema, I show how “Nature” is a social construct, created as part of this very dualism, and reified through popular culture. I conclude with the introduction of a number of ‘subversive’ pieces of visual art that undermine and actively deconstruct the Nature/Culture dualism and show to the viewer a more honest presentation of the non-human world.
ContributorsBarton, Christopher Joseph (Author) / Broglio, Ron (Thesis director) / Minteer, Ben (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
South Mountain is the largest municipal park in the nation. It is a bundled amenity, providing a series of linked services to the surrounding communities. A dataset of 19,209 homes in 155 neighborhoods within three miles of the park was utilized in order to complete a hedonic estimation for two nearby urban villages, Ahwatukee Foothills and South Mountain Village. Measures of access include proximity to the park, trailhead access, and adjacency to the park. Two regressions were estimated, the first including lot characteristics and subdivision fixed effects and the second using the coefficients for each subdivision as the dependent variable. These estimates describe how the location of a house in a subdivision contributes to its conditional mean price. As a result they offer a direct basis for capturing amenities measured at the neighborhood scale on home values. Park proximity, trailhead access and adjacency were found to significantly influence the price of homes at the 5% confidence level in Ahwatukee, but not in South Mountain Village. The results of this study can be applied to issues of environmental justice and park access in determining which areas and attributes of the park are associated with a high premium. Though South Mountain was preserved some time ago, development and future preservation in the City of Phoenix can be informed by such studies.
ContributorsRamakrishna, Saritha Kambhampati (Author) / Abbott, Joshua (Thesis director) / Smith, V. Kerry (Committee member) / Schoon, Michael (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / Economics Program in CLAS (Contributor) / Department of English (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
Former two-time Costa Rican president Dr. Oscar Arias advocates for arms control between nations and, in some cases, complete disarmament as the first step in solving grave issues of international sustainability. The three spheres of sustainability—society, economy, and environment—are explained and the ultimate goal of the compromise between all three aspects is defined as the means to achieving sustainability. A brief history of the politics and culture of Costa Rica provides a glimpse into the values and society of this Central American country, including a consistent commitment to the appreciation and protection of its natural environment. Dr. Arias is credited as one of the founding fathers of the sustainable development movement, as evidenced by his political career and policies both with Costa Rica and with other international communities. A selection of Dr. Arias’ speeches and conversations of the past four decades illuminates the need for disarmament and peaceful political interactions as the catalyst for human progress and sustainable development.
ContributorsZywicki, Alexandra (Author) / Alarcon, Justo (Thesis director) / Printezis, Antonios (Committee member) / Sullivan, Claire (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
A robotic exploration mission that would enter a lunar pit to characterize the environment is described. A hopping mechanism for the robot's mobility is proposed. Various methods of hopping drawn from research literature are discussed in detail. The feasibilities of mechanical, electric, fluid, and combustive methods are analyzed. Computer simulations show the mitigation of the risk of complex autonomous navigation systems. A mechanical hopping mechanism is designed to hop in Earth gravity and carry a payload half its mass. A physical experiment is completed and proves a need for further refinement of the prototype design. Future work is suggested to continue exploring hopping as a mobility method for the lunar robot.
ContributorsMcKinney, Tyler James (Author) / Thangavelautham, Jekan (Thesis director) / Robinson, Mark (Committee member) / Asphaug, Erik (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Program (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
This thesis investigates the viability of a solar still for desalination of a personal water supply. The end goal of the project is to create a design that meets the output requirement while tailoring the components to focus on low cost so it would be feasible in the impoverished areas of the world. The primary requirement is an output of 3 liters of potable water per day, the minimum necessary for an adult human. The study examines the effect of several design parameters, such as the basin material, basin thickness, starting water depth, basin dimensions, cover material, cover angle, and cover thickness. A model for the performance of a solar still was created in MATLAB to simulate the system's behavior and sensitivity to these parameters. An instrumented prototype solar still demonstrated viability of the concept and provided data for validation of the MATLAB model.
ContributorsRasmussen, Dylan James (Author) / Wells, Valana (Thesis director) / Trimble, Steven (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Program (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
With the development of technology, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of machine learning programs. These complex programs make conclusions and can predict or perform actions based off of models from previous runs or input information. However, such programs require the storing of a very large amount of data. Queries allow users to extract only the information that helps for their investigation. The purpose of this thesis was to create a system with two important components, querying and visualization. Metadata was stored in Sedna as XML and time series data was stored in OpenTSDB as JSON. In order to connect the two databases, the time series ID was stored as a metric in the XML metadata. Queries should be simple, flexible, and return all data that fits the query parameters. The query language used was an extension of XQuery FLWOR that added time series parameters. Visualization should be easily understood and be organized in a way to easily find important information and details. Because of the possibility of a large amount of data being returned from a query, a multivariate heat map was used to visualize the time series results. The two programs that the system performed queries on was Energy Plus and Epidemic Simulation Data Management System. By creating such a system, it would be easier for people of the project's fields to find the relationship between metadata that leads to the desired results over time. Over the time of the thesis project, the overall software was completed, however the software must be optimized in order to take the enormous amount of data expected from the system.
ContributorsTse, Adam Yusof (Author) / Candan, Selcuk (Thesis director) / Chen, Xilun (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Music (Contributor) / Computer Science and Engineering Program (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
Defines the concept of the arcology as conceived by architect Paolo Soleri. Arcology combines "architecture" and "ecology" and explores a visionary notion of a self-contained urban community that has agricultural, commercial, and residential facilities under one roof. Two real-world examples of these projects are explored: Arcosanti, AZ and Masdar City, Abu Dhabi, UAE. Key aspects of the arcology that could be applied to an existing urban fabric are identified, such as urban design fostering social interaction, reduction of automobile dependency, and a development pattern that combats sprawl. Through interviews with local representatives, a holistic approach to applying arcology concepts to the Phoenix Metro Area is devised.
ContributorsSpencer, Sarah Anne (Author) / Manuel-Navarrete, David (Thesis director) / Salon, Deborah (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
Calcium hydroxide carbonation processes were studied to investigate the potential for abiotic soil improvement. Different mixtures of common soil constituents such as sand, clay, and granite were mixed with a calcium hydroxide slurry and carbonated at approximately 860 psi. While the carbonation was successful and calcite formation was strong on sample exteriors, a 4 mm passivating boundary layer effect was observed, impeding the carbonation process at the center. XRD analysis was used to characterize the extent of carbonation, indicating extremely poor carbonation and therefore CO2 penetration inside the visible boundary. The depth of the passivating layer was found to be independent of both time and choice of aggregate. Less than adequate strength was developed in carbonated trials due to formation of small, weakly-connected crystals, shown with SEM analysis. Additional research, especially in situ analysis with thermogravimetric analysis would be useful to determine the causation of poor carbonation performance. This technology has great potential to substitute for certain Portland cement applications if these issues can be addressed.
ContributorsHermens, Stephen Edward (Author) / Bearat, Hamdallah (Thesis director) / Dai, Lenore (Committee member) / Mobasher, Barzin (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Chemical Engineering Program (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
This paper explores multidisciplinary curricula, services, and experiential learning in higher education on sustainability. Researchers attempt to understand sustainability as a formalized degree program, what frameworks and techniques are used to improve new disciplines, and how Arizona State University's School of Sustainability (SOS) improves sustainability education in higher learning. Secondary research includes a discussion on the history of sustainability as a discipline, the university as a social system, the role of university administration, the roles of professors and students, benchmarking and process improvement for curriculum development, and methods to bridge epistemologies in SOS. The paper presents findings from a study of the SOS undergraduate student experience that used focus groups to gather qualitative data and statistical analysis to analyze that data quantitatively. Study findings indicate that that measuring student perception of SOS's academic services, and understanding the social system of the university, helps administration, faculty, and students collaborate more effectively to enhance learning experiences.
ContributorsTom, Sharyn Paige (Author) / Haglund, LaDawn (Thesis director) / Ankeny, Casey (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
In 2016, in the United States alone, the cosmetics industry made an estimated 62.46 billion dollars in revenue (Revenue of the Cosmetic Industry in the U.S. 2002-2016 | Forecast). With a consistent increase in sales in the last several years, the industry has reached continued success even during times of hardship, such as the Great Recession of 2008. The use of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), external campaigns, and thoughtful packaging and ingredients resonates with targeted consumers. This has served as an effective strategy to maintain growth in the industry. Cosmetic companies promote their brand image using these sustainability tactics, but there seems to be a lack of transparency in this unregulated industry. The purpose of this thesis is to determine if the cosmetics industry is a good steward of the sustainability movement. Important terms and concepts relating to the industry will be discussed, then an analysis of sustainability focused cosmetic brands will be provided, which highlights the extent to which these brands engage in activities that promote sustainability. This is followed by an application of findings to a company that could benefit from using such practices. Overall, the analysis of the different brands proved to be shocking and disappointing. This is due to the sheer amount that scored very poorly based on the sustainability criteria developed. The cosmetics industry is too inconsistent and too unregulated to truly act as a good steward for sustainability. Though some companies in the industry succeed, these accomplishments are not consistent across all cosmetic companies. Hence, the cosmetics industry as a good steward for sustainability can only be as strong as its weakest link.
ContributorsMamus, Sydney Wasescha (Author) / Ostrom, Amy (Thesis director) / Kristofferson, Kirk (Committee member) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05