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Description
Pandora is a play exploring our relationship with gendered technology through the lens of artificial intelligence. Can women be subjective under patriarchy? Do robots who look like women have subjectivity? Hoping to create a better version of ourselves, The Engineer must navigate the loss of her creation, and Pandora must navigate their new world. The original premiere run was March 27-28, 2018, original cast: Caitlin Andelora, Rikki Tremblay, and Michael Tristano Jr.
ContributorsToye, Abigail Elizabeth (Author) / Linde, Jennifer (Thesis director) / Abele, Kelsey (Committee member) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / Economics Program in CLAS (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
Information Measurement Theory (IMT) is a decision-making system developed by ASU's Dr. Dean Kashiwagi that emphasizes the inefficiencies caused by decision-making and personal bias. Zen Buddhism is an ancient philosophical system designed to reduce life's suffering. IMT introduces readers to common-sense notions which are spun into more complex topics that reveal flaws in our normal modes of thinking. This style is often employed by Buddhist teachers, and the rigidly logical structure of IMT already proves many points tangent to Buddhist philosophy. In my thesis, I have exploited the similarities of IMT and Zen Buddhism to create a website introducing curious Western readers to the beauty of Zen in a refreshingly frank manner. This project will demonstrate the power of information theory and dominant communication to break down barriers towards understanding. Ultimately, this should offer an exciting new path for prospective students of Zen and help to build understanding between ideologically disparate groups.
ContributorsNess, Stuart Conrad (Author) / Kashiwagi, Dean (Thesis director) / Kashiwagi, Jacob (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Chemical Engineering Program (Contributor) / Economics Program in CLAS (Contributor)
Created2015-05
DescriptionA compilation of creative non-fiction writings based on my travels an ASU undergraduate.
ContributorsLambourne, Allison Elizabeth (Author) / Scott Lynch, Jacquelyn (Thesis director) / Murphy, Patricia (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Economics Program in CLAS (Contributor)
Created2013-12
Description
In recent years, the number of applications for admission to graduate education programs has increased. Researchers attempted to gain insight into this increase by examining student perception of the costs and benefits of pursuing graduate-level education. In order to gauge this perception, researchers administered an online survey to 151 subjects from Barrett, the Honors College at Arizona State University. Student perception was then compared to data released by ASU detailing actual costs and benefits of obtaining graduate-level education. Researchers' prediction that increased levels of parental education would be associated with more accurate estimates of the benefits of graduate-level education was correct at a statistically significant level. Further, being male was statistically significantly associated with an increase in starting salary overestimation.
ContributorsCunningham, Shelly Kathryn (Author) / DeSerpa, Allan (Thesis director) / Baldwin, Marjorie (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Economics Program in CLAS (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
Evolutionary theory predicts that animal behavior is generally governed by decision rules (heuristics) which adhere to ecological rationality: the tendency to make decisions that maximize fitness in most situations the animal encounters. However, the particular heuristics used by ant colonies of the genus Temnothorax and their propensity towards ecological rationality are up for debate. These ants are adept at choosing a nest site, making a collective decision based on complex interactions between the many individual choices made by workers. Colonies will migrate between nests either upon the destruction of their current home or the discovery of a sufficiently superior nest. This study offers a descriptive analysis of the heuristics potentially used in nest-site decision-making. Colonies were offered a choice of nests characterized by the Ebbinghaus Illusion: a perceptual illusion which effectively causes the viewer to perceive a circle as larger when it is surrounded by small circles than when that same circle is surrounded by large circles. Colonies were separated into two conditions: in one, they were given the option to move to a high-quality nest surrounded by poor-quality nests, and in the other they were given the option to move to a high-quality nest surrounded by medium-quality nests. The colonies in the poor condition were found to be more likely to move to the good nest than were colonies in the medium condition at a statistically significant level. That is, they responded to the Ebbinghaus Effect in the way that is normally expected. This result was discussed in terms of its implications for the ecological rationality of the nest-site choice behavior of these ants.
ContributorsTalken, Lucas Warren (Author) / Pratt, Stephen (Thesis director) / Sasaki, Takao (Committee member) / Liebig, Juergen (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Economics Program in CLAS (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
Campaign finance regulation has drastically changed since the founding of the Republic. Originally, few laws regulated how much could be contributed to political campaigns and who could make contributions. One by one, Congress passed laws to limit the possibility of corruption, for example by banning the solicitation of federal workers and banning contributions from corporations. As the United States moved into the 20th Century, regulations became more robust with more accountability. The modern structure of campaign finance regulation was established in the 1970's with legislation like the Federal Election Campaign Act and with Supreme Court rulings like in Buckley v. Valeo. Since then, the Court has moved increasingly to strike down campaign finance laws they see as limiting to First Amendment free speech. However, Arizona is one of a handful of states that established a system of publicly financed campaigns at the state-wide and legislative level. Passed in 1998, Proposition 200 attempted to limit the influence of money politics. For my research I hypothesized that a public financing system like the Arizona Citizens Clean Elections Commission (CCEC) would lead to Democrats running with public funds more than Republicans, women running clean more than men, and rural candidates running clean more than urban ones, and that Democrats, women, and rural candidates would win in higher proportions than than if they ran a traditional campaign. After compiling data from the CCEC and the National Institute on Money in State Politics, I found that Democrats do run with public funds in statistically higher proportions than Republicans, but when they do they lose in higher proportions than Democrats who run traditionally. Female candidates only ran at a statistically higher proportion from 2002 to 2008, after which the difference was not statistically significant. For all year ranges women who ran with public money lost in higher proportions than women who ran traditionally. Similarly, rural candidates only ran at a statistically higher proportion from 2002 to 2008. However, they only lost at higher proportions from 2002 to 2008 instead of the whole range like with women and Democratic candidates.
ContributorsMarshall, Austin Tyler (Author) / Herrera, Richard (Thesis director) / Jones, Ruth (Committee member) / Economics Program in CLAS (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
Africa has some of the "fastest growing economies," yet there is a lack of a middle class (Economist). Natural resources have attracted foreign investments, however, most of the revenue exit these economies. What remains a consistent, permanent advantage is culture; it has been the most integrated core value before and after colonialism. The concept of culture has become a part of the identity of Africa and it has not been leveraged to its full potential. The 2013 Creative Economy Report states, "Culture is a way to create jobs and improve people's lives. It empowers people. It works for development" (UNESCO/UNDP). Cultural industries create local sustainable jobs that are less susceptible to the fluctuation of the global economy compared to jobs in factories and multinational companies. They are based on "local tacit know how" that is not accessible globally as they are people intensive rather than capital intensive (Scott A.J, 1999). Activ8 seeks to tap into this opportunity by maximizing the economic potential of developing economies by investing in their cultural industries. Activ8 aspires to accomplish this by targeting two sets of customers: creators, who are the activators, and investors. Our activators consist of two target segments: one living and working in these industries in a developing country, and the other being refugee clients who may have been exposed to a cultural industry and may want to pursue developing cultural products in their new country of asylum. Our investors are globally minded individuals who want to be culturally aware, have an appreciation for authentic cultural products, or seek to invest in entrepreneurial pursuits in Africa. During our first phase we will focus on the cultural industries in Ghana, West Africa. This will range from products in the textiles industry to sculptures and traditional instruments. We plan to pilot the first phase in Ghana and in the second phase, form a partnership with the International Rescue Committee, a refugee settlement agency, in Arizona. Our goals are to provide education and mentoring, market accessibility, product development, and financing to encourage and empower activators to be self-sufficient and successful cultural entrepreneurs, whiles improving economic development in their communities. Our online store will feature our activators' authentic products, their stories, and the cultural importance of each product. There will also be a platform for entrepreneurs in other industries in Africa to connect with venture capitalists or angel investors around the world. The educational component will be infused with product development and entrepreneurship training derived from the "From AHA!! to EXIT" strategy coined by Aram Chavez from the College of Technology and Innovation at ASU. In order for Activ8 to successfully execute its mission, Activ8 will need to be able to give our team and our activators access to technology, mentorship, and financial resources to operate an online store and rum Activ8's educational program. We also envision creating partnerships with boutiques and retail corporations to adapt these cultural products. Our long-term goal is formulate the conditions conducive for economic growth and sustainable development to ensure Africans become the main agents of development.
ContributorsAdusei, Esther (Author) / Chavez, Aram (Thesis director) / Schoellman, Todd (Committee member) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / Economics Program in CLAS (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2015-12
Description
The field of behavioral economics explores the ways in which individuals make choices under uncertainty, in part, by examining the role that risk attitudes play in a person’s efforts to maximize their own utility. This thesis aims to contribute to the body of economic literature regarding risk attitudes by first evaluating the traditional economic method for discerning risk coefficients by examining whether students provide reasonable answers to lottery questions. Second, the answers of reasonable respondents are subject to our economic model using the CRRA utility function in which Python code is used to make predictions of the risk coefficients of respondents via a two-step regression procedure. Lastly, the degree to which the economic model provides a good fit for the lottery answers given by reasonable respondents is discerned. The most notable findings of the study are as follows. College students had extreme difficulty in understanding lottery questions of this sort, with Medical and Life Science majors struggling significantly more than both Business and Engineering majors. Additionally, gender was correlated with estimated risk coefficients, with females being more risk-loving relative to males. Lastly, in regards to the model’s goodness of fit when evaluating potential losses, the expected utility model involving choice under uncertainty was consistent with the behavior of progressives and moderates but inconsistent with the behavior of conservatives.
ContributorsSansone, Morgan Marie (Author) / Leiva Bertran, Fernando (Thesis director) / Vereshchagina, Galina (Committee member) / Economics Program in CLAS (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-05
Description
In this creative project, I created arrangements for string quartet of two very common pop songs that are frequently requested at wedding gigs, "Perfect" by Ed Sheeran and "Purpose" by Justin Bieber. However, to meet the demands of the dynamic gigging environment and context for string musicians, I created string quartet arrangements that could be adapted and condensed into string trio or duo by eliminating one or two parts from the full quartet arrangement. As such, this project not only shares the adaptable arrangements I created, but also shares the tips and tricks I gathered throughout the course of the project, both from engaging in the creative aspect of the arranging process and also through my own personal experience.
ContributorsWills, Grace (Author) / McLin, Katherine (Thesis director) / Meyer, Jeffery (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation (Contributor) / Economics Program in CLAS (Contributor) / School of Music, Dance and Theatre (Contributor)
Created2021-12
Description
This paper analyzes responses to a survey using a modified fourfold pattern of preference to determine if implicit information, once made explicit, is practically significant in nudging irrational decision makers towards more rational decisions. Respondents chose between two scenarios and an option for indifference for each of the four questions from the fourfold pattern with expected value being implicit information. Then respondents were asked familiarity with expected value and given the same four questions again but with the expected value for each scenario then explicitly given. Respondents were asked to give feedback if their answers had changed and if the addition of the explicit information was the reason for that change. Results found the addition of the explicit information in the form of expected value to be practically significant with ~90% of respondents who changed their answers giving that for the reason. In the implicit section of the survey, three out of four of the questions had a response majority of lower expected value answers given compared to the alternative. In the explicit section of the survey, all four questions achieved a response majority of higher expected value answers given compared to the alternative. In moving from the implicit to the explicit section, for each question, the scenario with lower expected value experienced a decrease in percentage of responses, and the scenario with higher expected value and indifference between the scenarios both experienced an increase in percentage of responses.
ContributorsJohnson, Matthew (Author) / Goegan, Brian (Thesis director) / Foster, William (Committee member) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / Economics Program in CLAS (Contributor) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05