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- All Subjects: Dissertations, Academic
- All Subjects: Maasai Mara
- Creators: Henderson, Mark
- Creators: Dyal, Samuel
Thesis Launch was a six-week intervention that was designed to provide support for students in the critical early steps of thesis work such as brainstorming topics, examining professors’ research interests, reaching out to professors, preparing for meetings with potential thesis committee members, and writing a thesis prospectus. Thesis Launch offered web-based resources, weekly emails and text message reminders, and was supplemented by in-person advising options.
A mixed methods action research study was conducted to examine: (a) students’ perceptions of barriers that prevented beginning thesis work; (b) self-efficacy towards thesis work; (c) how to scale the intervention using technology; and (d) whether participants began the thesis early. Quantitative data was collected via pre- and post-intervention surveys, journals, and prospectus submissions. Qualitative data came from student interviews, journals, and open-ended questions on the surveys.
Quantitative data showed that after students participated in Thesis Launch, they had higher self-efficacy to work with professors, perceived fewer barriers to thesis work, and greater proportions of students began thesis work early. The qualitative data were complementary and showed that participants overcame barriers to thesis initiation, built self-efficacy, preferred an online intervention, and began thesis work early. Findings also showed that a primarily technology-based intervention was preferred by students and showed promise for scaling to a larger audience.
Thesis Launch provided a framework for students to begin work on the honors thesis and have mastery experiences to build self-efficacy. Strategies that fostered “small wins” and reflective efforts also assisted in this aim. Participants accomplished tasks tied to thesis work and customized their personal thesis timelines based on work begun during Thesis Launch. Finally, a discussion of limitations, implications for practice and research, and personal reflection was included.
During a joint ASU-Prescott College visit to the Maasai Mara in Kenya in June-July 2018, it became obvious that many Maasai women produce beadwork sold locally to help support their families. The difficulties they face include inconsistent sales due to lack of customers, lulls in tourism, and unfair competition. During this visit, the idea of selling the crafts online via Etsy was suggested. It received overwhelming support from the community through MERC, the The Maasai Education, Research and Conservation Institute.
In the current age of modernization, the traditional way of living seems to be the way of the past. The Masai Mara Game Reserve, one of the world’s finest wildlife reserves, the nation's top tourist attractions became a big part of the Nation's economy post-independence after 1963. Seeing the potential of the tourism market, the Kenyan Government, back in 1960’s, passed various laws for land escheatment from the protected Maasai Reservation for key positions in politics (Olo-Dapash, 2001). This subsequently divided the Mara, allowed for foreign bodies to buy land, eventually leading to a rise in the cost of living. The traditional Maasai are currently fighting for a way to preserve their culture while still being able to live in their ancestral land. To combat high costs, many Maasai have turned to giving tours in the Mara as tour guides. The Maasai Education, Research, and Conservation (MERC) partnering with the Mara Guide Association created a facility, the Dopoi Center, to help the Maasai become independent. This research focuses on the limited medical facilities the Maasai have access to, and the feasibility of having a medical center at the Dopoi Center.