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- Creators: Department of Finance
Description
The purpose of this study is to analyze the operational business model of the
Dreamscape Learn program at Arizona State University. All of the information within this
document was obtained through interviews with important figureheads within the
program's creation, through my own personal experience as a student worker within
DSL, and through further research online. For ease of reading, many of the terms in this
paper will be shortened to acronyms. Thank you for your interest.
ContributorsDebray, Armand (Author) / VandenBrooks, John (Thesis director) / Flesher, Lisa (Committee member) / Turner, Brent (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Finance (Contributor)
Created2024-05
Description
Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is a common mental disorder that can affect individuals at nearly every stage of life. Women are especially vulnerable to MDD in part, from ovarian hormone level fluctuations. In this thesis, I focused on MDD using a rat model in middle-age to explore potential sex differences in response to a corticosterone (CORT) – induced depressive-like state. Estradiol (E2), a naturally occurring steroid sex hormone in humans and rats, is implicated in mood changes, which is especially prominent during the menopause transition. CORT, a stress hormone, was used to create a depressive-like state in middle-aged female (F) and male (M) rats with their gonads surgically removed. This produced the following independent treatment groups: Sex (F, M), CORT (vehicle = V ml/kg, C 40mg/kg), E2 (V 0.1 ml, E 0.3µg/0.1ml). CORT and E2 injections were injected daily, s.c) for 7 days before behavioral testing began and continued throughout the study when behavior was assessed. For my honor’s thesis, I focused on the social interaction test and elevated plus maze to investigate whether CORT enhanced social avoidance and anxiety, and whether E2 mitigated the CORT effects. In the social interaction test, three new behaviors were assessed (interacting, grooming, and immobility) to better understand exploratory and anxiety profiles of the rats, and these behaviors were quantified over two 5-minute periods in the 10-minute trial. These new quantifications showed that for the female rats, C+E and V+V enhanced the interaction with the novel rat significantly more than an inanimate object, which was not observed in the females given CORT only or E2 only. The males in all conditions showed a significant preference for side with the novel rat compared to the object, however no treatment differences were observed. In both sexes, the overall time spent interacting decreased in the second five minutes of quantification compared to the first five minutes. No effects were observed with grooming or immobility, in part from the high variability across rats. For EPM, female rats treated with CORT and E2 exhibited a lower anxiety index than compared to female rats given CORT only, indicating that E2 mitigated the depressive-like effects of CORT. Males showed no CORT or E2 effects. The result in part supported my hypothesis, as the CORT-treated females exhibited reduced socialization and E2 improved socialization in CORT-treated females, as this was seen in the F-C-E group. Interestingly, CORT failed to produce a depressive-like effect in males in both behavioral tests, which was an unexpected outcome. These results suggest that administration of E2 with CORT mitigated the depressive-like state created by CORT in female rats, however failed to produce these outcomes in males. The outcome of this work will give us insight into the potential mechanisms that may contribute to sex differences with MDD.
ContributorsSladkova, Sara (Author) / Conrad, Cheryl (Thesis director) / Amdam, Gro (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor)
Created2024-05
Description
With a recent boom in the popularity of Large Language Model (LLM) chatbots such as ChatGPT, the generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) landscape has seen a massive increase in market size. Along with this boom in generative AI, other sectors of AI have seen massive growth as well. One such area of interest is the Edge AI software market. Because this market is so new, there is an immense amount of room for growth and profit since most firms have yet to obtain a firm foothold in this space. Therefore, it makes sense that Intel is seeking to enter this market. With the successful release of OpenVINO, an open-source AI development and optimization program, and GETi, a program for the development and deployment of computer vision models, Intel is seeking to understand the market landscape, overall potential returns, and broad applications for contingency in various scenarios before making further investments into this market.
Through our in-depth analysis of the market, which examines current competitors, and includes top-down and bottom-up analyses, we were able to create a detailed picture of potential market states, their effects on our recommendation, and the initial outlay needed for Intel to actively pursue our recommendation. As for our final recommendation, we believe that Intel should continue to market OpenVINO to draw users into Intel’s hardware ecosystem, similar to what Apple did with the iPhone, which will allow Intel to obtain a greater market share and long-term user loyalty. Software-hardware synergies will continue to drive an increase in Intel’s overall profits. This secondary source of hardware sales will be insulated from the cyclical nature of the CPU market, allowing for less variability in revenues during market downturns. This decrease in the hardware sales cycle should lead to higher stock prices and increase stakeholder confidence. Successful implementation of these strategies boosts the success of future Intel product launches and stops any competitors from entering the market, solidifying Intel’s hold on its market share.
ContributorsMto, Penina Feza (Author) / Bombardieri, Tristan (Co-author) / Stearns, Dawson (Co-author) / Trufanov, Nicholas (Co-author) / Simonson, Mark (Thesis director) / Hertzel, Mike (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor)
Created2024-05
Description
This project, Building the Backdrop, Expanding Perspectives on Sustainability, is a sculpture of a desert sunset that seeks to explore important sustainability issues and highlight the beauty in sustainable practices. Constructed for an honors thesis project at Arizona State University, the primary medium used was cardboard repurposed from package deliveries to bring attention to modern overconsumption of packaging materials and showcase our ability to give new life to traditionally single use materials. I invite you to interact with the piece by sharing photos of yourself in front of it to help spread its message and exploring the resources shared along with the sculpture.
ContributorsSandoval, Nicole (Author) / Hines, Taylor (Thesis director) / Meissinger, Ellen (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / College of Integrative Sciences and Arts (Contributor)
Created2024-05
Description
Magic has changed over the past several centuries in terms of how it shows up in people's lives and how it’s discussed: in the 21st-century modern-day, the term magic is used to describe illusions and unknown facts, whereas before magic was tied more into superstitions about higher beings and religion. Nevertheless, every culture has been influenced by magic. Even before travel and technology allowed information to be widespread, magic was a part of people’s lives, whether it be to protect a tribe on their hunt or a magician trying to earn a living. Even though secular magic is quite recent on the timeline of history, secular magic can still tap into the same feelings that non-secular magic has had on people. People try to understand what they can’t and deal with stressors in their lives in many ways, and magic in its various forms has provided this filler.
Throughout this paper, I’ll be discussing magic’s role as a bridge between cultures. I looked for various explanations of magic’s history and the impact it’s had on people throughout, to be able to compare by culture and over time, and how magic has served as cultural bridge, bringing people together, creating new conversations, and sparking similar emotions across all people such as awe and wonder.
ContributorsBregman, Maxwell (Author) / Ostling, Michael (Thesis director) / Edmonds, Larry (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor)
Created2024-05
Description
This thesis explores how fundamental variables of business cycles influence commercial real estate cycles and investor behavior within them. Specifically, I address studies correlating key business cycle variables to commercial real estate cycles. Then, I address the Phoenix industrial real estate market and analyze whether or not the predicted or theorized consequences of the changes in the key business cycle variables impacted the Phoenix industrial real estate market. My findings on the topic provide valuable insight into the predictability of industrial real estate behavior throughout cycles, given the changes in fundamental economic variables of business cycles. Specifically, it demonstrates how the Phoenix industrial real estate market has historically behaved in correlation to business cycles and their variables. My findings also highlight the importance of observing the Phoenix market’s continued response to changes in the macro-economy.
ContributorsAronowitz, Ethan (Author) / Stapp, Mark (Thesis director) / Koblenz, Blair (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Finance (Contributor)
Created2024-05
Description
The primary goal of our nonprofit organization, Plant-ED, is to deepen the average individual’s knowledge regarding sustainability and to inspire our users to engage in a community of like-minded individuals who share a passion for sustainability. To accomplish this vision, we have created a digital platform where users can easily find information on upcoming events, activities, and alternative products that truly embody a mindset of sustainability. Our team will be the main and constant source of content for our website, however our users are also able to interact with the website through blog posts and subscriptions. Additionally, our platform has a section dedicated to explaining the impact of recycling and shows the devastating effects if humans do not take accountability for their choices and develop more sustainable habits. The ultimate goal for our website is for it to be a place where we can promote our partners’ products which are either alternatives to unsustainable products or companies who donate some of their proceeds to help create a greener world. The profit from the commission we receive from our partners and subscription services will be reinvested into expanding our digital platform and partnerships.
ContributorsMahoney, Emma (Author) / Weiderhoft, Isabella (Co-author) / Meyers, Zoe (Co-author) / Smith, Connor (Co-author) / Byrne, Jared (Thesis director) / Balven, Rachel (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Department of Finance (Contributor)
Created2024-05
Description
A guidebook meant to be used by the leadership of the club Poly Purrs. It includes definitions of key terms as well as literature-backed discussion of free-roaming cats in general. The second half of it is advice and information drawn from my own experience with the cat population on the Polytechnic campus.
ContributorsWiese, Alexa (Author) / Murphree, Julie (Thesis director) / Gallaway, Cynthia (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / College of Integrative Sciences and Arts (Contributor)
Created2024-05
Description
We discuss the intricate and puzzling concept of quantum entanglement, and not only
define it but also consider the implications of the behaviors of entangled particles. The ability of
these particles to provide instantaneous information about their entangled counterparts sparked a debate among physicists as to whether or not these particles had definite quantities before
measurement, and whether or not their behaviors could be explained by a local hidden-variables
theorem. Mermin’s gedanken demonstration for a two-particle entangled system is introduced, as well as Bell’s inequality, and an explanation of how a pair of two entangled particles violate this inequality. Additionally, we also discuss various experimental verifications that were able to use Bell’s inequality to verify the expected quantum mechanical results for their entangled systems.
ContributorsDavis, Elsie (Author) / Foy, Joseph (Thesis director) / Hines, Taylor (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / College of Integrative Sciences and Arts (Contributor)
Created2024-05
Description
This world promises just one thing: continuous change. As humanity has moved through time much has changed in the worlds of science, mathematics, and physics. These shifts in humanity's comprehension often arrive unexpectedly, driven by education, innovation, and experimentation. Such transformative waves resemble a series of technology shocks that are known to cause significant disruptions within an industry and the economy broadly as firms permanently change the ways they produce and distribute goods and services in response to new technologies or information. The recent flurry of innovation and interest in Artificial Intelligence leads us to believe that many industries may be experiencing such a wave of change today. The healthcare industry currently employs the most workers of any other sector in the United States (outside of the government) and is made up of an unprecedented 77% of female workers making the outcomes of changes in its labor market demands particularly important. In this paper we discuss the current state of Artificial Intelligence adoption within the clinical side of healthcare, what sub sectors and occupations are most exposed, and to what extent the FDA approved AI-enabled clinical healthcare products replace or complement those tasks of existing occupations. We also interviewed a few healthcare professionals with different levels of seniority and exposure to AI-enabled products to develop a holistic understanding of current AI adoption, employee preparation, and potential labor market implications over the short and long term. We find that AI implementation within clinical healthcare settings is young in its life cycle yet fast growing. Current use cases are mostly in the earlier stages of the patient’s care journey assisting workers in various capacities in the processes of patient testing, diagnosis, care planning, and post-treatment monitoring. The tasks associated with patient interaction and care administration do not appear to be threatened by AI automation at this point in time. Additionally, approved Artificial Intelligence products for clinical use are disproportionately concentrated in the subsectors of radiology, neurology, and cardiology. Finally, our interviews revealed a concerning lack of consideration and preparation, among healthcare workers, for the potential automation of their fundamental tasks. Going forward, we believe it wise for healthcare workers to monitor the evolution of clinical AI use cases as well as the FDA approval of AI-enabled products and prepare for potential automation by continuing to learn new skills, take on additional responsibilities, and generally inject themselves into as many stages of the patient’s healthcare journey as possible to differentiate among other workers and avoid the coming wave of mass clinical automation.
ContributorsDolasinski, Nicholas (Author) / McElenney, Nicholas (Co-author) / Mehta, Ari (Thesis director) / Asheim, Brody (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / Department of Economics (Contributor)
Created2024-05