Matching Items (15)
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- Creators: School of Social and Behavioral Sciences
- Member of: Barrett, The Honors College Thesis/Creative Project Collection
- Status: Published
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
Description
This is an exploratory study that describes the activities of the Chive community as a popular religion. Using utilize Shan Suttons' framework from The Deadhead Community (2000) and Howard Beckers Jazz Places, I use categories of Community, Cultus, Creed, and Code as ways to explore describe the Chive community's activities and how they are similar to the popular religion, the Deadheads. Chive people maintain a sense of community that operates online with social media sites like Facebook and Twitter where they began to connect with one another, offline in the form of Meet-ups, and charity drives, and in the fabric between these events of the shared consciousness that takes place among Chivers and Chivettes. Through participant observations, interviews with Chive chapter administrators, and survey responses, I set out to answer, or get closer to, what it is that leads someone to Chive On.
ContributorsHarrick, Travis Christopher (Author) / Renshaw, Scott (Thesis director) / Keahey, Jennifer (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Social and Behavioral Sciences (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
Although previous research has explored the relationship between social media use and well-being, many studies are contradictory of each other and conclude varying findings relating to social media use and outspokenness. This study explores the relationship between active and passive social media use, perceived social media expertise, and outspokenness using the potentially mediating variable of perceived social acceptance. 162 participants, recruited through Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) and ASU’s SONA systems, completed a survey relating to their own use of social media, perceived social acceptance, and outspokenness. Contradictory to my first hypotheses, no significant correlations were found between social media use and social media expertise. However, correlation analyses revealed that active social media use is related to an increased amount of perceived social media expertise (r = 0.23, p < .004). Perceived social media expertise was significantly positively correlated with outspokenness (r = 0.19, p < 0.015); however, it was not correlated with perceived social acceptance. When examining these relationships separately by gender, a strong association was found for males between active social media use and outspokenness, whereas passive social media use and outspokenness were negatively correlated for females. The results of this study add to previous research in the field of social media and outspokenness and lend new ideas for future research on these topics, such as exploring the gender differences that are associated with these variables. Further research in the area is needed for a more complete understanding of how one’s social media use affects his/her outspokenness and how gender modifies these effects.
ContributorsRubino, Kelli Erika (Co-author) / Rubino, Kelli (Co-author) / Mickelson, Kristin (Thesis director) / Halavais, Alexander (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
The Gender Quota of Costa Rica: An impactful method to address women’s issues through representation
Description
The implementation of gender quotas in the Costa Rican legislature presents an interesting case study that with the use of national legislative gender quotas, women’s issues are more positively addressed within the country. This analysis argues that with the higher presence of women legislators in the Legislative Assembly made possible by the quota these women. in turn, have created more gender-focused policies. Thusly, higher amounts of female-focused policy will positively impact women’s issue areas within Costa Rican society. This argument will be supported by other scholar’s research on the subject of the gender quota and female equality in Costa Rica. I will also be presenting my own research that will investigate the data taken from the Costa Rican health ministry, UNICEF, and other organizations to comparatively evaluate the improvement of problems that women face coinciding with the higher female presence in the legislature.
ContributorsBlythe, Alexandra (Author) / Shair-Rosenfield, Sarah (Thesis director) / Funk, Kendall (Committee member) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor, Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
This research explores how to best communicate positive body images to women. This project was intended to improve a blog I created my freshmen year in college called You're Not A Potato where I used original illustrations to tell a narrative about body image issues. The thesis begins with an historical overview of body image issues and finds that women have been dealing with high levels of body dissatisfaction since the Victorian era. The thesis then recaps the role of traditional media as well as contemporary social media and the role they play in imposing rigid beauty ideals on women's bodies. After an analysis of social media culture, it becomes evident women still communicate about their bodies in a negative manner, not only towards themselves, but towards others. To address this issue, I define the Body Positive movement and explore how public figures are using social media to implement Body Positivity. To conclude this project, I utilize my new-found knowledge in body positive communication by impacting my university campus community. I started a "You're Not a Potato" Campaign for Body Pride week with the help of the ASU Wellness Team and designed and facilitated several engaging programs that reflected the values of the Body Positive movement to our students. Through this research, I discovered how our appearance-based culture has stolen self-confidence from young women today, but by the end of this project, I explain how we can attempt to rebuild our culture by effectively communicating self-love and body acceptance in our online and physical communities.
ContributorsMouton, Brianna Anais (Author) / Gruber, Diane (Thesis director) / Taylor, Jameien (Committee member) / Manninen, Bertha (Committee member) / School of Social and Behavioral Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
In this undergraduate thesis, I explore the relationship between politics and popular culture through an ethnography of Justice League Arizona, a cosplay ensemble devoted to costumed civic activism. While existing scholarship addresses cosplay ensembles and political theory, there is very little that examines how the act of cosplay can be a form of politics and what the impact of that interpretation has on both individuals and the community at large. Through both participant observation and interviews with members of the ensemble, I discovered that cosplay has the ability to intensify aspects of the self, the ability to expose new aspects of the self, and the ability to bring one closer to a particular character. I also found cosplay to be political through the sensibility and situated knowledge that proves to be in practice during cosplay, ultimately having the power to be used as a form of political resistance.
ContributorsBurrus, Ella Rene (Author) / Mack, Robert (Thesis director) / Behl, Natasha (Committee member) / School of Social and Behavioral Sciences (Contributor) / Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
This study derives from a developmental psychology viewpoint. The main research question is, "What are the effects of social media on children?" Aspects such as bullying, personality changes, and academic performances are considered. This topic is important because it has yet to be explored extensively. Given the ever changing nature of social media, it is a challenge to keep up with research on how this technology is changing the direction of society. Studying children involved with social media allows a direct glimpse into what one aspect of the future of child social development holds. The main problem explored in this thesis is whether or not social media is currently affecting children negatively. Correlations will be examined to determine who is most likely to utilize social media, as well as who is most likely to be affected positively or negatively by networking sites. Motivations behind social media usage and time spent online will also be studied. This research is important in understanding today's youth, and once understood, parents and teachers can learn to guide children in using social media for beneficial reasons rather than potentially detrimental ones. I have conducted my research by means of a survey, one in which the entire fifth-grade class at Copper Creek Elementary School partook. Results showed that nearly all surveyed students used social media. Differences in social media usage between classmates based on gender and presence of older siblings were found. It was concluded that social media is affecting fifth-grade females more negatively than fifth-grade males. Also, it was found that children with older siblings may be at risk for using mature social media sites too soon. The long term effects of these findings were not explored, and further research on this subject is encouraged.
ContributorsWilkey, Brooke Nicole (Author) / Lewis, Stephen (Thesis director) / Gaffney, Cynthia (Committee member) / School of Social and Behavioral Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
Young voters are the future of the country, yet are disengaged and disinterested in politics, leading to low turnout rates. This paper focuses on the Millennial generation, which consists of adults ages 18 to 33, and at times, narrowly focuses on the subset of college students. Since individuals should learn about the presidential candidates and the election before casting a vote, I analyze the similarities and differences between receiving election content through television news, a traditional source, compared to social media. Next, I examine the importance of political expression and political discussion, along with how millennials engaging in such activity on social media allows for a deeper level of engagement in elections than what was possible before the birth of social media. Thus, as opposed to focusing on the reasons milllennials shy away from politics, the purpose of the first three chapters is to highlight the potential benefits for using social media during presidential elections. Lastly, I analyze millennials' voting behaviors, particularly the generation's preference for liberal social values. Since we are currently in the 2016 U.S. presidential election season, the purpose of this chapter is to highlight current research regarding millennials' voting patterns, which should then be compared to the future 2016 general election studies. By analyzing consistent and divergent trends, researchers can further add to the discussion of millennials' political behavior. Although I dedicate a brief part to the 2016 presidential election in Chapters 2 through 4 to discuss how trends are similar or different from current research, the overall purpose of this paper is to inform readers about how millennials learn, engage, and participate in presidential elections.
ContributorsLarson, Dakota Alexis Ok-Ran (Author) / Ackroyd, William (Thesis director) / Cisler, Sherry (Committee member) / Department of Management (Contributor) / School of Social and Behavioral Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
There exists a strong correlation between successful democratic governance and citizen participation. Pulling this sense of civic engagement to the furthest end of the spectrum, author and political theorist Benjamin Barber expresses the benefits of citizen independence and self-governance though political deliberation in a variety of texts, one of which being Strong Democracy. While the United States currently operates on a "democratic" base, the overall lack of political efficacy undermines democratic effectiveness. Benjamin Barber outlines a series of solutions and employment strategies in order to increase efficacy and bolster civic engagement and bring about a culture of self-legislation, but in his analysis seems to overlook the collaborative capacity of the Internet, more specifically social media outlets and blogs. This study will examine the use of the Internet in various political manners, to observe if the presence of platforms such as social networks and blogs are facilitating or hindering the push towards a more civic-republican political structure. While research has displayed that the numbers on political internet-usage are consistently increasing, it is evident that not all forms of online-engagement are beneficial towards Barber's Civic Republican ideals, and may serve to strengthen the current unsound system. Through this study, I argue that certain methods of political activity over the Internet may work to support the collaborative democratic culture, and increase a sense of Civic Republicanism through political creativity, deliberation and online-action. If we are to one day achieve the goal of recovering a true sense of cooperative democracy, these forms of participation may play a significant role in the struggle for change, and must be facilitated through both civic education and the cooperation of elites. If this Internet-mediated political deliberation continues to develop, I believe that it has the capacity to act as a significant catalyst towards Barber's Civic Republican ideals and an overall shift in the political culture.
ContributorsSalute, Nicholas John (Author) / Kirkpatrick, Jennet (Thesis director) / Halavais, Alex (Committee member) / School of Social and Behavioral Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
With a prison population that has grown to 1.4 million, an imprisonment rate of 419 per 100,000 U.S. residents, and a recidivism rate of 52.2% for males and 36.4% for females, the United States is facing a crisis. Currently, no sufficient measures have been taken by the United States to reduce recidivism. Attempts have been made, but they ultimately failed. Recently, however, there has been an increase in experimentation with the concept of teaching inmates basic computer skills to reduce recidivism. As labor becomes increasingly digitized, it becomes more difficult for inmates who spent a certain period away from technology to adapt and find employment. At the bare minimum, anybody entering the workforce must know how to use a computer and other technological appliances, even in the lowest-paid positions. By incorporating basic computer skills and coding educational programs within prisons, this issue can be addressed, since inmates would be better equipped to take on a more technologically advanced labor market.<br/>Additionally, thoroughly preparing inmates for employment is a necessity because it has been proven to reduce recidivism. Prisons typically have some work programs; however, these programs are typically outdated and prepare inmates for fields that may represent a difficult employment market moving forward. On the other hand, preparing inmates for tech-related fields of work is proving to be successful in the early stages of experimentation. A reason for this success is the growing demand. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment in computer and information technology occupations is projected to grow 11 percent between 2019 and 2029. This is noteworthy considering the national average for growth of all other jobs is only 4 percent. It also warrants the exploration of educating coders because software developers, in particular, have an expected growth rate of 22 percent between 2019 and 2029. <br/>Despite the security risks of giving inmates access to computers, the implementation of basic computer skills and coding in prisons should be explored further. Programs that give inmates access to a computing education already exist. The only issue with these programs is their scarcity. However, this is to no fault of their own, considering the complex nature and costs of running such a program. Accordingly, this leaves the opportunity for public universities to get involved. Public universities serve as perfect hosts because they are fully capable of leveraging the resources already available to them. Arizona State University, in particular, is a more than ideal candidate to spearhead such a program and serve as a model for other public universities to follow. Arizona State University (ASU) is already educating inmates in local Arizona prisons on subjects such as math and English through their PEP (Prison Education Programming) program.<br/>This thesis will focus on Arizona specifically and why this would benefit the state. It will also explain why Arizona State University is the perfect candidate to spearhead this kind of program. Additionally, it will also discuss why recidivism is detrimental and the reasons why formerly incarcerated individuals re-offend. Furthermore, it will also explore the current measures being taken in Arizona and their limitations. Finally, it will provide evidence for why programs like these tend to succeed and serve as a proposal to Arizona State University to create its own program using the provided framework in this thesis.
ContributorsAwawdeh, Bajis Tariq (Author) / Halavais, Alexander (Thesis director) / Funk, Kendall (Committee member) / School of Social and Behavioral Sciences (Contributor, Contributor) / School of Humanities, Arts, and Cultural Studies (Contributor) / Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-05