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Description
Multiple sclerosis is a neurological disease that attacks the nerves in the central nervous system of the brain and spinal cord. Multiple sclerosis is a neurological disease that attacks the nerves in the central nervous system of the brain and spinal cord. The severity of multiple sclerosis varies based on the each person and the progression of the disease. There are roughly 2.5 million people that suffer from this disease that life is changed dramatically from being diagnosed with no main way to ease into adjusting to a new lifestyle. The increase of people that are diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, and with a majority of those people being diagnosed in their early 20’s, there is a need for an application that will help patients manage their health. Multiple sclerosis leads to a lifestyle change, which includes various treatment options as well as routine doctor appointments. The creation of the myMS Specialist application will allow patients with multiple sclerosis to live a more comfortable lifestyle while they easily track and manage their health through their mobile devices. Our application has seven components that all play an important role in adjusting to the new everyday lifestyle for a patient with multiple sclerosis. All seven components are largely intertwined with each other to help patients realize patterns in their diet, sleep, exercise and the weather that causes their symptoms to worsen. Our application not only connects to a patient’s doctor so that there is full access of information at all time to the doctor but provides beneficial research to help further the understanding of multiple sclerosis. This application will be marketed and available for purchase to not only patients but doctors. It is our goal to lessen the burden of a new lifestyle to a patient, create constant communication with one’s doctor and provide beneficial data to researchers.
ContributorsSaenz, Devon (Co-author) / Peterson, Tyler (Co-author) / Chomina-Chavez, Aram (Thesis director) / Staats, Cody (Committee member) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts (Contributor) / School of Accountancy (Contributor) / Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
Labyrinths is my Capstone/Honors Creative Project, blending my proclivity for music composition and the inspiring stories of Jorge Luis Borges. Originally, the project was outlined as a collection of five to eight songs named for and based on stories in Borges' collection Labyrinths, to be written, recorded, and performed by me. Over time other aspects were included, making me a director of a large-scale creative project which now included three other musicians and two artists. In this paper, I give a brief overview of Borges' life and the context surrounding his collection Labyrinths, an in-depth description of the project as a whole, liner notes for each song, credits, and three appendices. The liner notes are broken into four sections: a summary of the story, an analysis of the story and my interpretation of it (including my musical ideas for the resulting song), an effects list, and performance notes which include the text I read from each story in the performance and recordings. The first appendix is a collection of the sheet music scores for each song and the text document I used for the performance readings. The second appendix shows the art I was given permission to use, and how I modified them for my thesis. The third appendix contains my primary sources, secondary sources/suggested readings, and suggested websites and videos. Attached are the recordings of each song I made in Logic Pro 9, a video of the live performance, and an unedited audio recording of the same performance.
ContributorsVidean, Matthew Cutter (Author) / Stauffer, Sandra (Thesis director) / Feisst, Sabine (Committee member) / Downey, Ryan (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor)
Created2014-12
Description
In light of the intensifying environmental, social, and economic challenges facing the world, sustainable development is more necessary than ever. Approaching sustainability problems through Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) programs involving music is unconventional, but holds potential for grand results. An examination of various existing community development projects, from the Playing for Change Foundation to the Arizona State University Barrett Choir, shows that music-related activities are highly effective at fostering community development. Once a foundation of community connectedness is created, other issues such as social injustices or natural disasters can be more effectively addressed and overcome. Music and other fine arts can contribute, in a variety of ways, to the health of communities. This should be recognized and utilized in the pursuit of sustainable community development to preserve the health of the planet and its inhabitants.
ContributorsPaonessa, Carlotta Colleen (Author) / Schildkret, David (Thesis director) / Manuel-Navarrete, David (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
Prenatal care is a widely administered preventative care service, and its adequate use has been shown to decrease poor infant and maternal health outcomes. Today however, in the United States, preterm birth rates remain among the highest in the industrialized world, with low socioeconomic women having the highest risk of preterm births. This group of women also face the greatest barriers to access adequate prenatal care in the United States. This paper explores the viability of short message service to help bridge gaps in prenatal care for low socioeconomic women in the United States and provides areas for further research.
ContributorsMiles, Kelly Nicole (Author) / Ketcham, Jonathan (Thesis director) / Santanam, Raghu (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Department of Finance (Contributor)
Created2014-05
DescriptionThis written work is accompanied by an audio CD and accompanying design and packaging materials, on file at the Barrett Thesis Library. The work details the process of recording an original audio CD and developing a marketing plan, including the building of a personal brand, strategies, tactics, and environment analysis.
ContributorsHoal, Lauren Elizabeth (Author) / Russell, Timothy (Thesis director) / Eaton, John (Committee member) / Rigsby, Clarke (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Department of Finance (Contributor)
Created2013-05
Description
This thesis aims to enhance K-6 Education in the United States by developing recommendations for how technology is utilized in the classroom as a means to teach collaborative skills. By applying the technological capabilities we have today to the Common Core State Standards that are gradually being adopted and implemented, officials can improve the quality of education across the country and create classroom environments conducive to knowledge acquisition and skill development.
The research begins with the history of standards, starting with traditional outcome-based standards. It then delves into the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21), which highlights the type of skills 21st century students are expected to develop and master by the time they enter college and careers. Next, it explores the hot topic of Education to this date: Common Core State Standards. In the midst of educational reform, these standards seek to add consistency across the nation in regards to what students should know at each grade level and also encourage teaching of the 21st century skills. This section briefly details the content of Common Core English Language Arts and Mathematics standards.
After summarizing P21 and Common Core, this report shifts into its focused 21st century skill: collaboration. As one of the 4 C’s that P21 and Common Core emphasize in their standards, it is imperative to research critical elements of collaboration as they relate to groups and teams of all ages. Even more specifically, collaboration is a practice that is becoming more and more standard in business across all industries, so it is a skill that is highly in demand for students to acquire. In regards to collaboration, Executive Vice President of Verizon, Bob Mudge, states, “companies are able to innovate much more quickly and even create solutions to problems that may not be prevalent issues yet” (Mudge 1). The standards expect that students will be prepared to collaborate in college and careers, so key elements of collaboration in those settings—in-person or virtual—need apply or be simplified to K-6 collaborative environments. This section also analyzes a case study experiment on young children about how technology functionality and design enables, encourages, or enforces collaboration.
Next, this thesis reviews three case studies that represent evolution in our understanding of technology’s role as a support system in teaching and learning collaboration. The first case study shows how simple handheld devices assisted in correcting weaknesses in a variety of collaborative and organizational skills. The second study utilizes interactive tabletop technology to realize the idea of tracking collaborative ability in real time through synchronized audio and touch recording. Finally, researchers assess the effectiveness of one student to one device (1:1) initiatives by gathering student-reported data before and after the program’s implementation, which largely speak to the direction of many schools’ technology strategies.
To supplement all of the secondary research above, the researcher of this thesis conducted interviews with nine K-6 teachers to gather their insights on collaboration and how they facilitate it. They explain how they use technology in their classroom to enhance the learning environment. Additionally, they give opinions on what could be done to make collaboration more easily taught and facilitated, as well as what would better develop their students’ collaborative skills.
The compilation of this information then leads to implications of what needs to be present, from a technology standpoint, to more effectively teach collaborative skills to our schoolchildren. This includes a brief industry analysis of a program that already exists, as well as recommendations for new technology that considers the research conducted throughout the paper. Another implication addressed centers on the instruction and facilitation of technology and the digital divide that can result from varying competency among teachers, which brings to light the need for proper technology development programs for educators.
The research begins with the history of standards, starting with traditional outcome-based standards. It then delves into the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21), which highlights the type of skills 21st century students are expected to develop and master by the time they enter college and careers. Next, it explores the hot topic of Education to this date: Common Core State Standards. In the midst of educational reform, these standards seek to add consistency across the nation in regards to what students should know at each grade level and also encourage teaching of the 21st century skills. This section briefly details the content of Common Core English Language Arts and Mathematics standards.
After summarizing P21 and Common Core, this report shifts into its focused 21st century skill: collaboration. As one of the 4 C’s that P21 and Common Core emphasize in their standards, it is imperative to research critical elements of collaboration as they relate to groups and teams of all ages. Even more specifically, collaboration is a practice that is becoming more and more standard in business across all industries, so it is a skill that is highly in demand for students to acquire. In regards to collaboration, Executive Vice President of Verizon, Bob Mudge, states, “companies are able to innovate much more quickly and even create solutions to problems that may not be prevalent issues yet” (Mudge 1). The standards expect that students will be prepared to collaborate in college and careers, so key elements of collaboration in those settings—in-person or virtual—need apply or be simplified to K-6 collaborative environments. This section also analyzes a case study experiment on young children about how technology functionality and design enables, encourages, or enforces collaboration.
Next, this thesis reviews three case studies that represent evolution in our understanding of technology’s role as a support system in teaching and learning collaboration. The first case study shows how simple handheld devices assisted in correcting weaknesses in a variety of collaborative and organizational skills. The second study utilizes interactive tabletop technology to realize the idea of tracking collaborative ability in real time through synchronized audio and touch recording. Finally, researchers assess the effectiveness of one student to one device (1:1) initiatives by gathering student-reported data before and after the program’s implementation, which largely speak to the direction of many schools’ technology strategies.
To supplement all of the secondary research above, the researcher of this thesis conducted interviews with nine K-6 teachers to gather their insights on collaboration and how they facilitate it. They explain how they use technology in their classroom to enhance the learning environment. Additionally, they give opinions on what could be done to make collaboration more easily taught and facilitated, as well as what would better develop their students’ collaborative skills.
The compilation of this information then leads to implications of what needs to be present, from a technology standpoint, to more effectively teach collaborative skills to our schoolchildren. This includes a brief industry analysis of a program that already exists, as well as recommendations for new technology that considers the research conducted throughout the paper. Another implication addressed centers on the instruction and facilitation of technology and the digital divide that can result from varying competency among teachers, which brings to light the need for proper technology development programs for educators.
ContributorsPetrovich, Nicholas Hugh (Author) / Ostrom, Amy (Thesis director) / Ostrom, Lonnie (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Department of Management (Contributor) / School of Film, Dance and Theatre (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
Biofeedback music is the integration of physiological signals with audible sound for aesthetic considerations, which an individual’s mental status corresponds to musical output. This project looks into how sounds can be drawn from the meditative and attentive states of the brain using the MindWave Mobile EEG biosensor from NeuroSky. With the MindWave and an Arduino microcontroller processor, sonic output is attained by inputting the data collected by the MindWave, and in real time, outputting code that deciphers it into user constructed sound output. The input is scaled from values 0 to 100, measuring the ‘attentive’ state of the mind by observing alpha waves, and distributing this information to the microcontroller. The output of sound comes from sourcing this into the Musical Instrument Shield and varying the musical tonality with different chords and delay of the notes. The manipulation of alpha states highlights the control or lack thereof for the performer and touches on the question of how much control over the output there really is, much like the experimentalist Alvin Lucier displayed with his concepts in brainwave music.
ContributorsQuach, Andrew Duc (Author) / Helms Tillery, Stephen (Thesis director) / Feisst, Sabine (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts (Contributor) / Harrington Bioengineering Program (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
This project is an arrangement of three movements from Igor Stravinsky's most famous and beloved ballets for performance by classical guitar quartet. The movements arranged were "Augurs of Spring" from The Rite of Spring (1913), "Russian Dance" from Petrouchka (1911), and "Infernal Dance of All Kastchei's Subjects" from The Firebird (1910). Because the appeal of this music is largely based on the exciting rhythms and interesting harmonies, these works translate from full orchestra to guitar quite well. The arrangement process involved studying both the orchestral scores and Stravinsky's own piano reductions. The sheet music for these arrangements is accompanied by a written document which explains arrangement decisions and provides performance notes. Select movements from Stravinsky for Guitar Quartet were performed at concerts in Tempe, Glendale, Flagstaff, and Tucson throughout April 2016. The suite was performed in its entirety in the Organ Hall at the ASU School of Music on April 26th 2016 at the Guitar Ensembles Concert as well as on April 27th 2016 at Katie Sample's senior recital. A recording of the April 27th performance accompanies the sheet music and arrangement/performance notes.
ContributorsSample, Katherine Elizabeth (Author) / Koonce, Frank (Thesis director) / Lake, Brendan (Committee member) / Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / School of Music (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
The purpose of this thesis is to examine the current state of the brick-and-mortar bookselling industry, with particular focus on independent bookstores and their strengths and weaknesses, and synthesizing recommendations for these bookstores to reinvent themselves in a rapidly changing market. This examination is highly relevant given recent concerns that, with the rise of e-retailers like Amazon and the closure of bookstore chain Borders, brick-and-mortar bookstores may be superseded by new digital vendors. Independent bookstores are thought to be at a particular disadvantage to these retailers, given their limited size and resources, as well as the lack of capital or consumer base that a larger chain like Barnes and Noble can draw upon to invest in emerging technology. With these more limited financial opportunities, independent bookstores must find different ways to not only keep abreast of the technology that consumers are coming to expect from modern businesses, but attract customers.
To gain insight into the state of the industry and current position of independent bookstores, I will first examine the past fifty years of the brick-and-mortar bookstore, followed by a Porter’s Five Forces analysis of the industry threats and a SWOT analysis to compare the strengths and weaknesses of independent bookstores. Next, the patrons of independent bookstores will be discussed with a focus on the two largest consumer groups of Millennials and Baby Boomers, their characteristics, and the opportunities they provide to bookstores. After this there will be an exploration of the competitors to brick-and-mortar bookstores, focusing on Amazon and then touching on some of the other rivals to bookstores’ consumer base. The next section will be an in-depth analysis of a variety of bookstores across the United States, with attention to their successful practices, goals, concerns, and failures. First, there will be a comparison of industry success and failure through case studies of Borders and Powell’s bookstores. Next, there will be a comparison of five beloved independent bookstores across the country to share their varied competitive advantages that are the secret to their success. Finally, there are primary source interviews with the employees of three major Phoenix bookstores, which provide insight into the goals, current projects, attitudes, and inner strengths of these businesses. Finally, the thesis will conclude with a section offering solutions and suggestions for independent bookstores to pursue based on the primary and secondary research discussed above. These recommendations are focused on five key areas:
• Community
• Consumers
• Store Design
• Technology
• Diversification
Ultimately, the information provided by this research and these interviews indicates that while vital business changes are being pursued by independent and chain bookstores across the United States, the independent bookstore shows no signs of disappearing in favor of online vendors or e-readers.
To gain insight into the state of the industry and current position of independent bookstores, I will first examine the past fifty years of the brick-and-mortar bookstore, followed by a Porter’s Five Forces analysis of the industry threats and a SWOT analysis to compare the strengths and weaknesses of independent bookstores. Next, the patrons of independent bookstores will be discussed with a focus on the two largest consumer groups of Millennials and Baby Boomers, their characteristics, and the opportunities they provide to bookstores. After this there will be an exploration of the competitors to brick-and-mortar bookstores, focusing on Amazon and then touching on some of the other rivals to bookstores’ consumer base. The next section will be an in-depth analysis of a variety of bookstores across the United States, with attention to their successful practices, goals, concerns, and failures. First, there will be a comparison of industry success and failure through case studies of Borders and Powell’s bookstores. Next, there will be a comparison of five beloved independent bookstores across the country to share their varied competitive advantages that are the secret to their success. Finally, there are primary source interviews with the employees of three major Phoenix bookstores, which provide insight into the goals, current projects, attitudes, and inner strengths of these businesses. Finally, the thesis will conclude with a section offering solutions and suggestions for independent bookstores to pursue based on the primary and secondary research discussed above. These recommendations are focused on five key areas:
• Community
• Consumers
• Store Design
• Technology
• Diversification
Ultimately, the information provided by this research and these interviews indicates that while vital business changes are being pursued by independent and chain bookstores across the United States, the independent bookstore shows no signs of disappearing in favor of online vendors or e-readers.
ContributorsPorrell, Kelly Maria (Author) / Montoya, Detra (Thesis director) / Schlacter, John (Committee member) / School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
The goal of the creative project "Popular Music Songwriting" was to jump into songwriting with strategy and study on popular music, looking at why songs make the charts. The project had one focus on Max Martin's songwriting principles, but looked at anything that hit the charts. The conclusion of the project brings an understanding of several rules and patterns in songwriting that hit makers typically obey. A common purpose for pop songs is to keep its listeners engaged but not overwhelmed. The goal is to do something different, but keep things familiar and to make people want to listen to it again. Songwriting has become very business-minded in that many informal rules to songwriting have become established because they are supported by psychology, showing that we have developed certain expectations in songs. For example, when a song gets very complex, we oftentimes tune out and do not want to hear it. This problem makes a song unfriendly to the radio. Also, repetition is often exercised. Many pop listeners have favorite parts of songs; therefore, when a songwriter has created a hook that listeners will want to look forward to through the song's duration, then that hook should be recycled strategically to keep the listener engaged. Four songs are submitted at the project's completion. The songs' names are "Soon to be an Emergency," "They Will Look at Us," "Black and White," and "Psychedelic Nights." The songs well represent a timeline of the project. As new songwriting rules were learned in the process of this project, they were employed accordingly, making each new song a fair representation of the learning up to that point.
ContributorsDudzinski, Bryce Daniel (Author) / Libman, Jeffrey (Thesis director) / Wells, Christopher (Committee member) / Department of Management and Entrepreneurship (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05