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Transcranial Current Stimulation (TCS) is a long-established method of modulating neuronal activity in the brain. One type of this stimulation, transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS), is able to entrain endogenous oscillations and result in behavioral change. In the present study, we used five stimulation conditions: tACS at three different frequencies

Transcranial Current Stimulation (TCS) is a long-established method of modulating neuronal activity in the brain. One type of this stimulation, transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS), is able to entrain endogenous oscillations and result in behavioral change. In the present study, we used five stimulation conditions: tACS at three different frequencies (6Hz, 12Hz, and 22Hz), transcranial random noise stimulation (tRNS), and a no-stimulation sham condition. In all stimulation conditions, we recorded electroencephalographic data to investigate the link between different frequencies of tACS and their effects on brain oscillations. We recruited 12 healthy participants. Each participant completed 30 trials of the stimulation conditions. In a given trial, we recorded brain activity for 10 seconds, stimulated for 12 seconds, and recorded an additional 10 seconds of brain activity. The difference between the average oscillation power before and after a stimulation condition indicated change in oscillation amplitude due to the stimulation. Our results showed the stimulation conditions entrained brain activity of a sub-group of participants.
ContributorsChernicky, Jacob Garrett (Author) / Daliri, Ayoub (Thesis director) / Liss, Julie (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
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Description
Daughters of America traces the interviews of six young women who identify as daughters of immigrants and finds common themes across cultures and nationalities. This project hopes to create a sense of home through text by providing a space for an underrepresented group to share their stories and to offer

Daughters of America traces the interviews of six young women who identify as daughters of immigrants and finds common themes across cultures and nationalities. This project hopes to create a sense of home through text by providing a space for an underrepresented group to share their stories and to offer a way for other children of immigrants to feel valid in their experiences.
ContributorsLewis, Yewande-Theresa Dede (Author) / Koker, Neveser (Thesis director) / O'Flaherty, Kathrine (Committee member) / Department of English (Contributor) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
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Description
In the world we live in today, nothing is impossible. Due to the advancements of technology, humans around the globe are able to hold computers that fit within the size of their pocket. These computers can do marvelous things, however run off batteries. These batteries need to be charged

In the world we live in today, nothing is impossible. Due to the advancements of technology, humans around the globe are able to hold computers that fit within the size of their pocket. These computers can do marvelous things, however run off batteries. These batteries need to be charged and up until a little while ago there was only one option available: wired chargers; however, because of the advancement of technology society has created a way to transfer power via magnetic fields. Now this concept has been around for a long time since the days of Nikola Tesla but just recently society has been able to apply his discoveries to charging these computers in our pockets. Unfortunately, the current models of these chargers come with a drawback as they are less efficient than wired chargers. However, this is the question our group has set out to answer. Is there any way possible to improve the efficiency of these wireless chargers so they are equal or even more efficient than wired chargers. This paper explores how to improve the efficiency in wireless chargers. Through research, simulations and testing the group has discovered areas that efficiency can be improved as well as makes recommendations to change the current wireless chargers on the market today. This paper also explores future applications of wireless chargers that can not only make life much easier but could also save lives in some cases. These applications can have many effects on hospitality, the medical field, as well as the supply chain and logistics of America.
ContributorsMcCulley, Matthew Alan (Co-author) / Cole, Kennedy (Co-author) / Chickamenahalli, Shamala (Thesis director) / Chakrabarti, Chaitali (Committee member) / Electrical Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
The goal of this project was to increase my understanding and familiarity with cinema and art by analyzing and reviewing various films. Due to the events surrounding COVID-19 I had to change the initial direction of my project which was to originally apply the experience I gained to go to

The goal of this project was to increase my understanding and familiarity with cinema and art by analyzing and reviewing various films. Due to the events surrounding COVID-19 I had to change the initial direction of my project which was to originally apply the experience I gained to go to a film festival and review their movies. As movie theaters and festivals were shut down I changed the project to be more focused on studying a variety of films from throughout film history and of a variety of genres. I picked a wide selection of films that I felt I could review and analyze in a meaningful way. By using different angles of approaching the films I was able to analyze each film in a way that would provide the most the depth in understanding.
ContributorsTaylor, Sean (Author) / Maday, Gregory (Thesis director) / Klucsarits, Philip (Committee member) / School of Film, Dance and Theatre (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
In this paper I defend the argument that public reaction to news headlines correlates with the short-term price direction of Bitcoin. I collected a month's worth of Bitcoin data consisting of news headlines, tweets, and the price of the cryptocurrency. I fed this data into a Long Short-Term Memory Neural

In this paper I defend the argument that public reaction to news headlines correlates with the short-term price direction of Bitcoin. I collected a month's worth of Bitcoin data consisting of news headlines, tweets, and the price of the cryptocurrency. I fed this data into a Long Short-Term Memory Neural Network and built a model that predicted Bitcoin price for a new timeframe. The model correctly predicted 75% of test set price trends on 3.25 hour time intervals. This is higher than the 53.57% accuracy tested with a Bitcoin price model without sentiment data. I concluded public reaction to Bitcoin news headlines has an effect on the short-term price direction of the cryptocurrency. Investors can use my model to help them in their decision-making process when making short-term Bitcoin investment decisions.
ContributorsSteinberg, Sam (Author) / Boscovic, Dragan (Thesis director) / Davulcu, Hasan (Committee member) / Computer Science and Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
This paper will analyze the growth of a student-founded business as a result of ASU entrepreneurship resources and in-depth market analysis. Promotional merchandise is any product branded with a logo or slogan and distributed at little or no cost to promote a brand, corporate identity, or event. The market size

This paper will analyze the growth of a student-founded business as a result of ASU entrepreneurship resources and in-depth market analysis. Promotional merchandise is any product branded with a logo or slogan and distributed at little or no cost to promote a brand, corporate identity, or event. The market size is $24.7 billion with temporary tattoos accounting for $716.3 million of this market. The typical promotional product supplier does not specialize solely in one product and often has minimum orders of 500 tattoos or greater. The format to purchase has a single logo submission forum and no option to customize the design further.
Millennials" aged 18-36 make up the largest consumer group in history. Traditional promotional products offered by businesses are not resonating with young adults who are driven by engaging experiences. Festival Ink provides a “promotion that sticks”, selling temporary tattoos specifically designed with millennials in mind. Temporary tattoos are a wearable promotional product that are cost-effective, eco-friendly, and interact with a customer for up to three days. The arrangement of this thesis is as follows: The arrangement of this thesis is as follows: Chapter 1 will take a look at the history of temporary tattoos as well as provide background information on Festival Ink. Chapter 2 explores market research and validation including target market and competitive analysis. Chapter 3 follows the seed funding process and pitch materials featured in Venture Devils pitch playoffs and demo day as well as founder feedback. Chapter 4 will address web development and practical marketing techniques. Finally, Chapter 5 will conclude with the future of the business and practical lessons from ASU classes and resources.
ContributorsLevine, Sera Anne Y (Author) / Trujillo, Rhett (Thesis director) / Schoonover, Breanna (Committee member) / Department of Management and Entrepreneurship (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
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Description
Our project examines The Blackstone Group’s $6.1 billion leveraged buyout of TeamHealth in 2016 in detail, as well as the broader implications of the transaction on the healthcare industry. The transaction was preceded by Blackstone’s initial acquisition of the company in 2005, followed by the company’s subsequent IPO in 2009.

Our project examines The Blackstone Group’s $6.1 billion leveraged buyout of TeamHealth in 2016 in detail, as well as the broader implications of the transaction on the healthcare industry. The transaction was preceded by Blackstone’s initial acquisition of the company in 2005, followed by the company’s subsequent IPO in 2009. Our project first covers the history of the target company and profiles key subsidiaries, with an emphasis on the 2015 $1.6B acquisition of IPC by TeamHealth. We then detail the sources and uses of the transaction and explore Blackstone’s stated transaction rationale. We construct a base case financial model that explores Blackstone’s potential projected internal rate of return based on organic growth and potential synergies with IPC alone and without any further tuck-in acquisitions, as well as an acquisition case model that incorporates several future tuck-in acquisitions. Both cases include a detailed buildout of revenue projections, key income statement and balance sheet drivers (including an analysis of changes in healthcare economics and their impact on our revenue build), and forward-looking assumptions on various items including capital expenditures for the target company. Discounted cash flow analysis and leveraged buyout analysis outputs are detailed and discussed for both the base case and acquisition case. We examine the risks and mitigants associated with the transaction and how they may exacerbate issues in a downside case, namely leverage and public markets-related risks that may affect Blackstone’s strategy. Lastly, we investigate the impact the transaction may have on the broader industry from the patient, payor, and physician perspective.
ContributorsBamford, Maxwell Blake (Co-author) / Jha, Neil (Co-author) / Doughty, Alexander (Co-author) / Leibovit-Reiben, Zachary (Co-author) / Mindlin, Jeff (Thesis director) / Stein, Luke (Committee member) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
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Description
The Surfactant Protein-A family of proteins have long been observed to allocate immune responses in the lungs, although recent evidence has surfaced which suggests similar mechanisms involving these proteins may occur in the sinonasal epithelia. In this study, the regulatory effects of SP-A on the production of Mucin5AC (mucus) in

The Surfactant Protein-A family of proteins have long been observed to allocate immune responses in the lungs, although recent evidence has surfaced which suggests similar mechanisms involving these proteins may occur in the sinonasal epithelia. In this study, the regulatory effects of SP-A on the production of Mucin5AC (mucus) in the sinuses of wild-type (control) and endogenous SP-A knock-out mice were investigated. The effects of human transgenic SP-A knock-in polymorphisms 223Gln (“risk” allele) and 223Lys (“non-risk” allele) on Mucin5AC production were also examined. It was theorized that SP-A optimally regulates Mucin5AC production and thereby some degree of innate immunity. Through inhibition of the SP-A gene, it was hypothesized that an increase in mucosal response would be observed in the endogenous SP-A knock-out samples. Upon examination, these in vivo samples consistently showed an increase in Mucin5AC production upon challenge with Pseudomonas aeruginosa strain K when compared to wild-type sets of the same treatment. The upregulation observed in the knock-out samples likely represented an ineffective mucosal response to unchecked bacterial replication in the absence of lipopolysaccharide-competitive SP-A aggregates. Mucin5AC upregulation was also observed in the 223Lys (“non-risk” allele) samples, although expression directed by this allelic variant is considered to characterize a healthy response to bacterial aggression, as the recognition/binding site on the carbohydrate domain of this polymorphism allows the effective aggregation of SP-A, which thereby promotes primary immune response in infected sinonasal tissue. Further studies will elucidate the specific molecular pathways leading to inflammatory and immune responses in the sinonasal epithelia, research which might, in the future, permit the development of novel diagnostic and therapeutic strategies in the clinical setting.
ContributorsBombar, Dan (Author) / Noutsios, George T. (Thesis director) / Sandrin, Todd R. (Committee member) / School of Mathematical and Natural Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
For my creative project, I built a musical robot and explored the possibilities for robots in music education. In addition, I wrote a guide to share what I learned and to provide helpful information to anyone who is planning on building their own musical robot. This is not a step-by-ste

For my creative project, I built a musical robot and explored the possibilities for robots in music education. In addition, I wrote a guide to share what I learned and to provide helpful information to anyone who is planning on building their own musical robot. This is not a step-by-step set of instructions; however, it gives the reader a preview of many options they have for building a musical robot. This guide includes information about existing musical robots, outlines possible strategies for brainstorming ideas, and describes various capabilities of musical robots. While this project focused on the intersection of music and robotics, my approach also included design thinking, which helped provide a focus and shaped my creative process.

The robot building guide is targeted toward an audience with little or no knowledge of robotics. It begins by exploring existing musical robots and explaining how existing products can be used as a source for inspiration. Next, this guide outlines various methods of design thinking and encourages the reader to use design thinking throughout the brainstorming and building process. This guide also highlights options for designing 3D-printed parts, which can be added to a robot. After that, the guide explains options for robot movement, specifically chassis kit assembly and using a 1Sheeld board with Arduino. This guide also explores the possibilities for the interaction of lights and sound, including sound-reactive lights and remote-control lights. Practical information about materials and their organization is provided, as well. The guide concludes with exciting possibilities for robots in music education.
ContributorsDemassa, Katelyn Debra (Author) / Tobias, Dr. Evan (Thesis director) / Bacalzo, Dean (Committee member) / School of Music (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
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Description
The purpose of this thesis was to create a valuation of Spotify (Ticker: SPOT) and estimate a share price for the company. Spotify is one of the largest music streaming services in the world, currently operating in 79 markets globally with a subscriber base of over 100 million people. Spotify

The purpose of this thesis was to create a valuation of Spotify (Ticker: SPOT) and estimate a share price for the company. Spotify is one of the largest music streaming services in the world, currently operating in 79 markets globally with a subscriber base of over 100 million people. Spotify initially offered April 3, 2018 at $132 per share and sees a huge amount of financial assets on their balance sheet due to continued investment. As a newly established high-growth company, Spotify has enjoyed a 30% average revenue growth year over year from 2014 to 2019. Although Spotify’s reach is quite large, the company is dwarfed by competitors such as Apple, Google, and Amazon in the extremely competitive music streaming industry. Within this paper, we first analyze the competitive landscape that makes up the music streaming industry. Once a baseline understanding of the music streaming industry has been reached, we turn the focus more directly onto Spotify through examining Spotify’s position within the market as well as the company’s current strategic goals and objectives. We then forecasted Spotify’s financial statements forward and created a residual income model (RIM) based on Spotify’s financial statements. As was previously stated, the purpose of this model was to arrive at a share price for Spotify that we believe accurately reflects its value and compare that with its current market trading price. After successfully accomplishing this goal, we conducted a comprehensive final analysis and offered Spotify recommendations based on the model as well and its output.
ContributorsRice, Ian (Co-author) / Nagele, Benjamin (Co-author) / Samuels, Janet (Thesis director) / Orpurt, Steven (Committee member) / School of Accountancy (Contributor) / WPC Graduate Programs (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05