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- Creators: Barrett, The Honors College
- Creators: Chopin, Frédéric, 1810-1849
DescriptionI wrote and edited a Young Adult Fiction Novel, preparing it for publication.
ContributorsSparks, Makenzie Taylor (Author) / Amparano Garcia, Julie (Thesis director) / Friedrich, Patricia (Committee member) / School of Humanities, Arts, and Cultural Studies (Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
At the start of this honors thesis project, a new telescope called the deca-degree optical transient imager (DDOTI) needed assistance to help it gather photometric data about Gamma Ray Bursts (GRBs). Contributions to help DDOTI produce scientifically ready reductions will be discussed.
First, performance assessment tests were run in order to prevent data backlog and optimize the way in which DDOTI reduces the data it collects. The results of these tests yielded a general framework regarding how DDOTI should reduce collected images depending on how many computer cores can be used. These tests also indicated that DDOTI’s alignment portion of the reduction code (ddoti_align) should be completed after every image is collected, while the other parts of the reduction software (ddoti_stack, ddoti_phot, ddoti_summary) should be run after every four images are collected.
Second, reductions created by DDOTI were inspected to determine if the telescope’s reduction software was working properly. Reductions were observed and indicated that two reduction related problems needed to be corrected by the research team before DDOTI would be ready for future scientific work. The first identified problem was that DDOTI’s reduction code was not properly correcting optical distortions for one of DDOTI’s two functional cameras. The second problem was that the reduction code was not correcting for atmospheric refraction. As a result, below zenith distances of approximately sixty degrees, ddoti_align was unable to align detected sources to their catalogue equivalents due to their distorted positions.
Third, code manuals were produced in both English and Spanish so that English and Spanish-speaking researchers working on DDOTI could understand how its reductions software reduces images. Functional flow chart diagrams were also produced only in English to graphically describe the flow of information through DDOTI’s reduction software.
These three contributions helped DDOTI to more accurately be able to observe GRBs. DDOTI’s improved reduction abilities were confirmed by a produced report about GRB 190129B after a 10-hour observation, and by the fact that DDOTI could accurately observed asteroid fields. In addition, code manuals and functional flow chart diagrams were all produced by the end of this project.
First, performance assessment tests were run in order to prevent data backlog and optimize the way in which DDOTI reduces the data it collects. The results of these tests yielded a general framework regarding how DDOTI should reduce collected images depending on how many computer cores can be used. These tests also indicated that DDOTI’s alignment portion of the reduction code (ddoti_align) should be completed after every image is collected, while the other parts of the reduction software (ddoti_stack, ddoti_phot, ddoti_summary) should be run after every four images are collected.
Second, reductions created by DDOTI were inspected to determine if the telescope’s reduction software was working properly. Reductions were observed and indicated that two reduction related problems needed to be corrected by the research team before DDOTI would be ready for future scientific work. The first identified problem was that DDOTI’s reduction code was not properly correcting optical distortions for one of DDOTI’s two functional cameras. The second problem was that the reduction code was not correcting for atmospheric refraction. As a result, below zenith distances of approximately sixty degrees, ddoti_align was unable to align detected sources to their catalogue equivalents due to their distorted positions.
Third, code manuals were produced in both English and Spanish so that English and Spanish-speaking researchers working on DDOTI could understand how its reductions software reduces images. Functional flow chart diagrams were also produced only in English to graphically describe the flow of information through DDOTI’s reduction software.
These three contributions helped DDOTI to more accurately be able to observe GRBs. DDOTI’s improved reduction abilities were confirmed by a produced report about GRB 190129B after a 10-hour observation, and by the fact that DDOTI could accurately observed asteroid fields. In addition, code manuals and functional flow chart diagrams were all produced by the end of this project.
ContributorsWolfram, Tanner Reid (Author) / Butler, Nathaniel (Thesis director) / Scowen, Paul (Committee member) / Vargas, Daniel (Committee member) / Department of Physics (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
Nuclear power has recently experienced a resurgence in interest due to its ability to generate significant amounts of relatively clean energy. However, the overall size of nuclear power plants still poses a problem to future advancements. The bulkiness of components in the plant contribute to longer construction times, higher building and maintenance costs, and the isolation of nuclear plants from populated areas. The goal of this project was to analyze the thermal performance of nanocrystalline copper tantalum (NC Cu-Ta) inside the steam generator of a pressurized water reactor to see how much the size of these units could be reduced without affecting the amount of heat transferred through it. The analysis revealed that using this material, with its higher thermal conductivity than the traditional Inconel Alloy 600 that is typically used in steam generators, it is possible to reduce the height of a steam generator from 21 meters to about 18.6 meters, signifying a 11.6% reduction in height. This analysis also revealed a diminishing return that occurs with increasing the thermal conductivity on both reducing the required heat transfer area and increasing the overall heat transfer coefficient.
ContributorsRiese, Alexander (Author) / Phelan, Patrick (Thesis director) / Bocanegra, Luis (Committee member) / Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
The initial women pioneers in engineering faced many of the same barriers as women engineers today, including stereotypes, unfair treatment in the workplace, restrictions and lack of opportunities, and lack of recognition. Research shows that these barriers are the primary reason why women’s representation within engineering has been low and slow to increase compared to their representation in other fields such as nursing and science. As of 2013, women still only account for 12 percent of all engineers. Yet, despite the barriers and low numbers, women engineers have demonstrated themselves as capable of succeeding just as much, if not more, than their male peers. Some of the ways they have broken the barriers in engineering have been through focusing on proving their merit, finding alternative paths, leveraging government jobs and programs, finding support among other women engineers, fighting for their right to be engineers, and through being satisfied and interested in their work. This thesis analyzes reasons why women have been underrepresented in the field, major achievements from women engineers, and strategies women engineers have adopted to mitigate barriers. The individual profiles of the women discussed in this thesis come from historical research on pioneer women engineers and interviews from modern day women engineers. Their stories help tell the history of how the experiences of women in engineering have changed and remained the same over the past 140 years. The goal of this thesis is to serve as a resource for young women who want to learn more about women in engineering. The history of women engineers is a story worth sharing to everyone because it could inspire young girls to consider engineering as a path for the future and help shift the mindset of members of society to accept and encourage women engineers.
ContributorsDye, Michaela Lynn (Author) / Nystrom, Eric (Thesis director) / Brunhaver, Samantha (Committee member) / Engineering Programs (Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
Evangelicals (particularly American evangelicals) have largely been seen historically as a monolithic group with similar viewpoints and actions across the board. The group has been tied to historically conservative values and is often held most responsible for the election of President Donald J. Trump. Additionally, American evangelicals have, as a whole, supported the modern State of Israel (both financially through individual donations and/or lobbying efforts and spiritually through prayer). Preliminary research suggested, however, that not all evangelicals have adopted this pro-Israel stance. After conducting 10 interviews (with subjects in the United States, Israel and the Palestinian territories) and researching the history of evangelicalism in these areas, it becomes apparent that evangelicals who are from or are currently living in the United States are much more likely to support the State of Israel than those who are from Israel or the Palestinian territories - though it should be emphasized that they claim their support is not unconditional, as several polls and general attitudes toward evangelicals may imply. Above all else, this essay seeks to prove that evangelicals are not a monolithic entity wherein all of its members harbor the same beliefs and attitudes. As the remainder of this essay will show, there is a wide spectrum of perspectives as it pertains to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which suggests that this conflict is not as polarizing within the evangelical community as one might think. Polls with numbers indicating that a majority of evangelicals support Israel might imply that there must then be conflict between those evangelicals and people who do not support Israel. Such polls neglect to highlight the nuance among members of the evangelical community, a fact that this essay will attempt to rectify.
ContributorsFrank, BrieAnna Joy (Author) / Bruner, Jason (Thesis director) / Lattouf, Mirna (Committee member) / Historical, Philosophical & Religious Studies (Contributor) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism & Mass Comm (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
The purpose of this research paper is to examine the fundamentals of blockchain technology and how the application of blockchain could serve as a future platform for identity. An identity is used, as the name suggests, to identify who or what an entity is. Although seen as a trivial concept, defining what truly makes up an identity can become quite difficult. Is an identity the thoughts, feelings, or tendencies of a person? Are more tangible assets like a Social Security card, birth certificate, or passport a person’s identity? Can nonhuman entities like businesses or organizations possess an identity? The true definition of an identity may never be known; however, it is certain that several pieces of identifying data lay scattered across multiple databases. Often a person may not have control or even access to these third-party databases that hold their information. Moreover, what information, for how long, and in what way the data is being used may be unclear. Blockchain provides a solution to the identity problem by providing a visible, secure single source of truth. On a blockchain platform, a person would no longer have to trust the goodwill of third parties to secure their data or be uncertain about how the data is being used. Instead, a user could secure their own data and only permission those deemed necessary. The signal immutable ledger would serve to replace current tangible identities as a means to verify yourself in a digital age.
ContributorsRuggaard, Kyle Russell (Author) / Taylor, Todd (Thesis director) / Collins, Gregory (Committee member) / Thunderbird School of Global Management (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
From the Crusades to the Russian Pogroms and the Holocaust, Jews have had their citizenship taken away, and in some instances, been brutally beaten and tortured. The wide array of societies, which have partaken in the systematic subjugation of the Jews across centuries and millennia, has shown that anti-Semitism knows no bounds. As is the case with many groups of persecuted people, Jews are peripatetic, diasporic, and exilic. However, for the purpose of this thesis, the focus will revolve around the diaspora of Jews to America and their resulting involvement in American culture.
ContributorsGoldberg, Daniel (Author) / Mirvis, Stanley (Thesis director) / Tiechtel, Shmuel (Committee member) / Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
Normally, the United States and most of Europe are grouped into the same category as “Western countries”, yet their ideological differences have become larger in the last 50 years, especially in regards to free speech/expression protections. This raises the possibility that extremely broad free speech/expression protections aren’t intrinsic values of a Western society, but are instead an American experiment that was gradually adopted by Western Europe. Analyzing historical documents from both Europe and the United States, this becomes much more of a probability than a possibility and would help explain the recent differences in case law regarding free speech rights in American and European jurisprudence. Furthermore, Europe is also experiencing a potential threat to social stability in the form of massive, sudden demographic shifts, something that America has not experienced on nearly the same scale. Due to the heightened sensitivity towards hateful expression resulting from such a demographic shift, governmental action in the form of restrictions on racially, religiously, and ethnically charged forms of expressions may be deemed necessary in order to preserve social cohesion. Often throughout history, governments have deemed it necessary to limit free expression/speech and the spread of information in order to prevent any threat to its ability to rule, regardless of whether or not said government is tyrannical or democratized. Although not a direct threat to power, in a representative democracy social unrest created by increased division in the populace rooted in the spread of hateful ideology is nonetheless still a threat to those who depend on social harmony in order to govern in a representative democracy. In analyzing these two possible reasons for emerging differences and considering supporting textual and historical evidence, it becomes much clearer as to what the differences in case law and fundamental beliefs regarding the extent of free speech protections are attributable to.
ContributorsMantz, Noah (Author) / Stanford, Michael (Thesis director) / Foy, Joseph (Committee member) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
The definition of a service animal is often misunderstood by the public. This makes life more difficult for individuals with disabilities who rely on service animals to function and navigate through society.
“Arizona Service Animals” is a creative project in the form of a website
( ArizonaServiceAnimals.com ) designed to provide the public with information,
resources, and true stories about service animals in the state of Arizona.
The site covers the different types of support animals, the training process, the legal rights of service animal handlers and businesses, and Arizona’s new law regarding fake service animals.
It also includes the stories of real service animal handlers and trainers who share their experiences and explain what they would like the public to know.
This paper provides context into the history of dogs and service dogs, as well as
information on the three types of support animals. It also includes the methodology of the project.
“Arizona Service Animals” is a creative project in the form of a website
( ArizonaServiceAnimals.com ) designed to provide the public with information,
resources, and true stories about service animals in the state of Arizona.
The site covers the different types of support animals, the training process, the legal rights of service animal handlers and businesses, and Arizona’s new law regarding fake service animals.
It also includes the stories of real service animal handlers and trainers who share their experiences and explain what they would like the public to know.
This paper provides context into the history of dogs and service dogs, as well as
information on the three types of support animals. It also includes the methodology of the project.
ContributorsMason, Skylar (Author) / Gilger, Kristin (Thesis director) / Pucci, Jessica (Committee member) / Saucier, Fernanda (Committee member) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism & Mass Comm (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
This is a pilot study testing a new indirect calorimeter device. This project was designed to determine the effect of a high fat versus a standard chow diet and age on the energy gap (the difference between energy intake and energy expenditure). Measurements of energy expenditure and oxygen consumption were obtained over a 23-hour period from a group of rats fed a high fat diet and a group of rats fed standard chow diet. The experiments were repeated during an experimental phase for 12 weeks, a phase of caloric restriction for 4 weeks, and a phase of weight regain for 4 weeks. We found energy expenditure and oxygen consumption to decrease in the caloric restriction phase and increase with excessive weight gain. Rats fed a high fat diet and obesity prone rats had a wider energy gap than rats fed a standard chow diet and obesity resistant rats. The caloric restriction phase closed the energy gap between energy expenditure and energy intake for all of the rats. The weight regain phase shifted the rats back into positive energy balance so that the energy intake was greater than the energy expenditure. The rats showed greater weight gain in the weight regain phase than in the experimental phase for all groups of rats. The indirect calorimeter device would require further testing to improve the accuracy of the measurements of respiratory quotient and carbon dioxide production before being used in future clinical research applications. The indirect calorimeter device has the potential to record respiratory quotient and carbon dioxide production.
ContributorsMolenaar, Sydney Alexandra (Author) / Herman, Richard (Thesis director) / Towe, Bruce (Committee member) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05