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Description
The purpose of this thesis is to analyze the various paths that college students have taken to get a job in their desired field after graduation. Many factors go into preparing a student for the post-graduation job market and this thesis investigates this topic through the lens of post-graduates and job recruiters. This thesis begins by giving a brief overview of how the application process has changed within the last ten years, and where it is headed in the future. Our motivation for this research came from the lack of transparency in the application process. We hypothesized that a student's undergraduate experience and connections were the key to getting a job within their desired career path. Through interviews and research from graduated students and recruiters, our hypothesis was proved accurate. There is currently a big disconnect between what students believe is important and what recruiters are looking for in potential employees. The main purpose of this thesis is to try and bridge that gap. Students often lack confidence and struggle to understand what is important when applying for jobs post-graduation. With this data, we hope to outline crucial steps that need to be taken and make students feel more prepared as they enter the professional world. We have included personal stories that highlight the variety of successful paths that can be taken to starting a career. Interviewees advised students not to get discouraged while applying, push for what you want and prove your potential to recruiters. The goal of this thesis is to give undergraduate college students hope as they go through the application process in finding the right career path for them.
ContributorsHurley, Sydney (Co-author) / Brown, Paige (Co-author) / Thompson, Elise (Co-author) / Eaton, John (Thesis director) / Lee, Christopher (Committee member) / Department of Marketing (Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Complex animal societies consist of a plethora of interactions between members. To successfully thrive they must be able to recognize members and their kin, and to understand how they do this we need sufficient and reliable methods of testing. Eusocial insects are especially good at recognizing their nestmates, but the exact mechanism or how well they can discriminate is unknown. Ants achieve nestmate recognition by identifying varying proportions of cuticular hydrocarbons. Previous studies have shown ants can be trained to discriminate between pairs of hydrocarbons. This study aims to compare two methodologies previously shown to demonstrate odor learning to identify which one is the most promising to use for future odor learning experiments. The two methods tested were adapted from Sharma et al. (2015) and Guerrieri and d’Ettorre (2010). The results showed that the Guerrieri method demonstrated learning better and was more reliable and faster than the Sharma method. The Guerrieri method should be used in future experiments regarding odor learning discrimination
ContributorsDavis, Cole (Author) / Liebig, Juergen (Thesis director) / Stephen, Pratt (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Abstract:
As Barrett Polytechnic moves into the final stages of planning for the new residential hall, currently under construction on the Polytechnic campus, it is important that they have the student voice in mind when making final decisions. Past research has shown that students who live on campus have a higher retention rate not only through their first year, but onto graduation. Research has also found that students who live on campus become more involved in the community and use more of the university’s resources. Seeing that Barrett prides itself on being a community of scholars, proper use of student feedback should be used to prepare the new building for its students. Data was collected via a survey and focus group, focused primarily on what the students would like to see in their new space. Once collected and analyzed it was apparent that students were really concerned with a few aspects of the new residential building and lounge space.
Using the analyzed data, the following recommendations were made:
1. Reevaluation of the student residential experience after the move to the new residential building.
2. Revaluation of accessibility to the mentorship opportunities after the move to the residential building, as well as an increased movement by Barrett to foster these relationships
3. Addition of quantity of computers as well as newer technology, addition of whiteboards and charging stations, and ensuring there is proper group and individual workstations.
4. Consideration of what students use the lounge for and how to best set up the space for those uses.
5. More advertisement of the Barrett Polytechnic library as well as an more research to determine whether or not improving the library would encourage more use.
6. Make steps to keep the lounge open later in the evenings as well as ensuring students, both on and off campus, have access to the lounge amenities when they need them most.
As Barrett Polytechnic moves into the final stages of planning for the new residential hall, currently under construction on the Polytechnic campus, it is important that they have the student voice in mind when making final decisions. Past research has shown that students who live on campus have a higher retention rate not only through their first year, but onto graduation. Research has also found that students who live on campus become more involved in the community and use more of the university’s resources. Seeing that Barrett prides itself on being a community of scholars, proper use of student feedback should be used to prepare the new building for its students. Data was collected via a survey and focus group, focused primarily on what the students would like to see in their new space. Once collected and analyzed it was apparent that students were really concerned with a few aspects of the new residential building and lounge space.
Using the analyzed data, the following recommendations were made:
1. Reevaluation of the student residential experience after the move to the new residential building.
2. Revaluation of accessibility to the mentorship opportunities after the move to the residential building, as well as an increased movement by Barrett to foster these relationships
3. Addition of quantity of computers as well as newer technology, addition of whiteboards and charging stations, and ensuring there is proper group and individual workstations.
4. Consideration of what students use the lounge for and how to best set up the space for those uses.
5. More advertisement of the Barrett Polytechnic library as well as an more research to determine whether or not improving the library would encourage more use.
6. Make steps to keep the lounge open later in the evenings as well as ensuring students, both on and off campus, have access to the lounge amenities when they need them most.
ContributorsHorn, Kyle Edward (Co-author, Co-author) / Martin, Thomas (Thesis director) / Brady, Jennifer (Committee member) / Sever, Amy (Committee member) / Aviation Programs (Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
The goal of this study was to explore the relationship between locus of control and the influence of an unethical authority figure. This research is a preliminary, exploratory study given research design limits. It was hypothesized that subjects oriented towards internal locus of control are better able to resist pressure from an unethical authority figure. Subjects oriented towards the powerful others and chance orientations were hypothesized to be less able to resist pressure from an unethical authority figure. The results found that the presence of an unethical authority figure had little to no influence on self-perceived unethical decision-making; the difference in unethical behavior between cases with an authority figure present and without one present was not statistically significant. Further, no support was found for the hypotheses as no statistically significant relationship between locus of control orientations and the difference between the control case and test case was found (R2 = 0.02, model P-value > 0.05). Further analysis confirmed the results of Detert et al. (2008), finding no relationship between survey subjects’ locus of control orientations and unethical decision-making. Additional analysis indicates a relationship between unethical decision-making and gender (B = -5.14, P = 0.03, P < 0.05), providing some interesting avenues for future research.
ContributorsAmorosi, Kaitlin (Author) / Samuelson, Melissa (Thesis director) / Orpurt, Steven (Committee member) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / School of Accountancy (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
In this thesis, I seek to identify the best practices that can lead to an increase in community service and volunteerism. After the loss of my mentor led me on a path to make a difference through community service, I decided that volunteerism is an especially important area of interest to understand. Through secondary research, I have identified the many benefits of volunteerism specifically mental health, professional development, and more. Then to explain what drives people to volunteer, I investigate three major theoretical frameworks which are self-determination theory (Deci and Ryan), functional theory (Clary and Snyder), and social responsibility theory (Cheng et al) and relate them to peoples’ motivation to volunteer. In addition to looking into these theories, it is important to understand some additional factors which are the effect of mandatory volunteerism, age, and the missions of different organizations on an individual’s desire to volunteer. After analyzing the prior research, I found that social responsibility drives group volunteerism, functional motivation is what explains individuals’ drives to participate in community service, and the self-determination can help explain what creates strong volunteer retention. Furthermore, mandatory volunteerism, age, and the goals of organizations can have signifigant impacts on people’s drive to get involved in community service. After investigating the prior research, I interviewed four managers of non-profits to see if their views aligned with my findings. There answers and views were found to be consistent with the ideas I drew from prior research and helped me conclude that organization must factor age, mandatory volunteerism, and the mission of their non-profit into recruitment and retention efforts. Furthermore, non-profits should understand social responsibility theory and functional theory to recruit volunteers effectivly, and self-determination theory to retain their volunteers.
ContributorsBarto, Amber (Author) / Ostrom, Amy (Thesis director) / Eaton, John (Committee member) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Subsequent to the independence of the Republic of North Macedonia, there has been a revival of Greek nationalism. The Greek belief that “Macedonia is Greek” has united the Greek community around the world, and created a new Greek nationalism to protect the ethnic claim that the Macedonian name is Greek. To better understand how this resurgence of nationalism came to be, I examine certain elements and concepts such as: ethno-cultural and historical claims, politics, borders, Greek diaspora and media sources.
I provide a condensed history on the ancient Kingdom of Macedon (Macedonia) as well as the Balkan Wars and how it led to the breakup of Yugoslavia and independence of the (prior) Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM). I then go over the recent conflict over the “Macedonian” name and how the Prespa Agreement led to the name change of the Republic of North Macedonia. I use both the Republic of North Macedonia and North Macedonia interchangeably.
Following the history over the Macedonian name conflict, I provide a literature review to understand concepts such as “nationalism”, “borders”, “diaspora”, “media and politics”, and I analyze how a resurgence of Greek nationalism came to fruition from the aforementioned topics.
I provide a condensed history on the ancient Kingdom of Macedon (Macedonia) as well as the Balkan Wars and how it led to the breakup of Yugoslavia and independence of the (prior) Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM). I then go over the recent conflict over the “Macedonian” name and how the Prespa Agreement led to the name change of the Republic of North Macedonia. I use both the Republic of North Macedonia and North Macedonia interchangeably.
Following the history over the Macedonian name conflict, I provide a literature review to understand concepts such as “nationalism”, “borders”, “diaspora”, “media and politics”, and I analyze how a resurgence of Greek nationalism came to fruition from the aforementioned topics.
ContributorsOkeefe, Alayna Caramanis (Author) / Foote, Nicola (Thesis director) / Briggs, Jason (Committee member) / School of Community Resources and Development (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Analytics has transformed many of the core principles of sports journalism, forcing journalists to work smarter, harder and more creatively than ever before. Yet reporters today are uniquely prepared to navigate the constantly evolving world of journalism, as they now find themselves armed with a plethora of statistics and data that allow storytelling at depths never previously imagined. In interviews with those at the cutting edge of the industry, journalists from around the country imparted insight into how they work to blend new age thinking with time-tested methods of journalism. This thesis expands on those insights and examines the strategies employed to best attack questions of how to best integrate analytics into writing, what role analytics should play in interviews, how to find stories using analytics and others.
The process to answer these questions began by compiling a list of 166 journalists who could provide valuable insight into the current state of sports journalism. Targeted specifically were those journalists who were either currently or had spent extensive time as a beat reporter, as a crucial aspect of the study hinged on the exploration of the role of analytics in day-to-day coverage. Of those 166 journalists, 93 made themselves available through either Twitter direct message or email. Once contacted, 47 of those journalists responded, eventually leading to 27 phone interviews and 7 email interviews.
Each interview began with the journalist establishing a baseline for what they thought the role of analytics should be in the coverage of their respective sports. From there, the conversation often took a linear turn as journalists talked about the experiences in their career that led them to that conclusion, what moments had shifted their overall opinions of analytics, their best approaches for utilizing analytics in both articles and interviews, their favorite and least favorite analytical measures, the gaps that remain in analytics, and the future of the industry as a whole.
Each interview was transcribed, and a number of compelling themes emerged. The many different themes were organized into three different groups, past, present and future, where they were further expanded on to best display the many concepts illustrated in this thesis. Among the themes explored include how journalists use coaches and players to validate statistics, what strategies work best when including analytics in conversations with athletes, how to find story ideas through analytics and the issues plaguing the analytics community. Once themes had been identified, the percentage of journalists who had indicated agreement with the themes were calculated. Thus, themes investigated were represented statistically as well as by a quote from a journalist addressing the idea.
Across 34 interviews with some of the country’s most established and well-respected voices, many of the pressing issues facing analytics in sports journalism today were explored, including the melding of analytical and narrative writing, how best to use analytics in question asking, and the “holy grail” of analytical data. Across interviews, a host of interesting strategies and ideas emerged as journalists examined how the industry reached its current point, what practices are currently most effective, and where the industry is headed. The perspective gained from this thesis gives insight into many of the lesser-discussed elements of journalism, imparting a deeper understanding of the challenges that lay ahead for sports journalism through an examination for how far the industry has come. While analytics and their usage in sports journalism remains a difficult concept to fully encapsulate, this thesis hopefully gives a better look at their complex and ever-evolving relationship.
The process to answer these questions began by compiling a list of 166 journalists who could provide valuable insight into the current state of sports journalism. Targeted specifically were those journalists who were either currently or had spent extensive time as a beat reporter, as a crucial aspect of the study hinged on the exploration of the role of analytics in day-to-day coverage. Of those 166 journalists, 93 made themselves available through either Twitter direct message or email. Once contacted, 47 of those journalists responded, eventually leading to 27 phone interviews and 7 email interviews.
Each interview began with the journalist establishing a baseline for what they thought the role of analytics should be in the coverage of their respective sports. From there, the conversation often took a linear turn as journalists talked about the experiences in their career that led them to that conclusion, what moments had shifted their overall opinions of analytics, their best approaches for utilizing analytics in both articles and interviews, their favorite and least favorite analytical measures, the gaps that remain in analytics, and the future of the industry as a whole.
Each interview was transcribed, and a number of compelling themes emerged. The many different themes were organized into three different groups, past, present and future, where they were further expanded on to best display the many concepts illustrated in this thesis. Among the themes explored include how journalists use coaches and players to validate statistics, what strategies work best when including analytics in conversations with athletes, how to find story ideas through analytics and the issues plaguing the analytics community. Once themes had been identified, the percentage of journalists who had indicated agreement with the themes were calculated. Thus, themes investigated were represented statistically as well as by a quote from a journalist addressing the idea.
Across 34 interviews with some of the country’s most established and well-respected voices, many of the pressing issues facing analytics in sports journalism today were explored, including the melding of analytical and narrative writing, how best to use analytics in question asking, and the “holy grail” of analytical data. Across interviews, a host of interesting strategies and ideas emerged as journalists examined how the industry reached its current point, what practices are currently most effective, and where the industry is headed. The perspective gained from this thesis gives insight into many of the lesser-discussed elements of journalism, imparting a deeper understanding of the challenges that lay ahead for sports journalism through an examination for how far the industry has come. While analytics and their usage in sports journalism remains a difficult concept to fully encapsulate, this thesis hopefully gives a better look at their complex and ever-evolving relationship.
ContributorsRosenfarb, Jacob Alexander (Author) / Boivin, Paola (Thesis director) / Reed, Sada (Committee member) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism & Mass Comm (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Accurate pose initialization and pose estimation are crucial requirements in on-orbit space assembly and various other autonomous on-orbit tasks. However, pose initialization and pose estimation are much more difficult to do accurately and consistently in space. This is primarily due to not only the variable lighting conditions present in space, but also the power requirements mandated by space-flyable hardware. This thesis investigates leveraging a deep learning approach for monocular one-shot pose initialization and pose estimation. A convolutional neural network was used to estimate the 6D pose of an assembly truss object. This network was trained by utilizing synthetic imagery generated from a simulation testbed. Furthermore, techniques to quantify model uncertainty of the deep learning model were investigated and applied in the task of in-space pose estimation and pose initialization. The feasibility of this approach on low-power computational platforms was also tested. The results demonstrate that accurate pose initialization and pose estimation can be conducted using a convolutional neural network. In addition, the results show that the model uncertainty can be obtained from the network. Lastly, the use of deep learning for pose initialization and pose estimation in addition with uncertainty quantification was demonstrated to be feasible on low-power compute platforms.
ContributorsKailas, Siva Maneparambil (Author) / Ben Amor, Heni (Thesis director) / Detry, Renaud (Committee member) / Economics Program in CLAS (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / Computer Science and Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Introduction: The Eye to Eye mentorship program is a national program in which college or high school students with learning differences mentor middle school students with learning differences. There are 68 Eye to Eye programs around the country, but little research has been done on their effectiveness and how to improve it. We conducted and evaluated one program site at Arizona State University and implemented this mentorship program for the first time during 2019. We hypothesized the Eye to Eye mentorship program that paired college students who have learning differences with middle school students who have similar learning differences would improve the outcomes and socio-behavior skills of both mentors and mentees.
Methods: The Eye to Eye mentorship program assessed involved mentors and mentees who completed 12 in-person art sessions out of the normal 20 in-person sessions. The first main assessment was the BLD (Breger Learning Difference) Feedback Survey addressing one’s experience in the Eye to Eye program and which were completed at the end of the mentorship program and filled out by mentors, mentees, and mentees parents (one parent for each mentee). A total of 12 mentors, 6 mentees, and 6 mentee parents were included in the feedback survey final analysis. The second main assessments were the pre and post Behavior Assessment System for Child, Third Edition (BASC-3) provided to mentors, mentees, and mentees parents (one parent for each mentee). A total of 10 mentors, 5 mentees, and 5 mentee parents were included in pre and post BASC-3 final analysis. Fall 2019 (pre) and Spring 2020 (post) optional interviews involved 5 mentors and 3 mentees who showed interest and were comfortable participating with additional release forms.
Results: The program was generally positively rated in the feedback survey by mentors, mentees, and mentee parents. The highest responses for mentors, mentees, and mentee parents all incorporated average ratings of 4.0 or higher (out of 5.0) for perceived understanding of socio-emotional skills after Eye to Eye, experience in Eye to Eye, how having a mentor or mentee made them feel, and perceived change in self-awareness. All three groups reported fairly high ratings of improved self-awareness of 4.0/5.0 or above. No negative ratings were provided by any participants and the lowest response was no change. The BASC-3 evaluation found statistically significant improvement in mentors’ anxiety and atypicality and mentees’ sense of inadequacy.
Discussion: The Eye to Eye program was popular and well-rated despite only involving 12 in- person one-hour art sessions. The mentors, mentees, and mentee parents felt positive about the Eye to Eye program when answering the feedback survey. Some suggestions are made on how to improve this program to better enhance someone with learning differences future ability to succeed. Future research is needed to assess the true impact due to the COVID-19 epidemic and other limitations.
Methods: The Eye to Eye mentorship program assessed involved mentors and mentees who completed 12 in-person art sessions out of the normal 20 in-person sessions. The first main assessment was the BLD (Breger Learning Difference) Feedback Survey addressing one’s experience in the Eye to Eye program and which were completed at the end of the mentorship program and filled out by mentors, mentees, and mentees parents (one parent for each mentee). A total of 12 mentors, 6 mentees, and 6 mentee parents were included in the feedback survey final analysis. The second main assessments were the pre and post Behavior Assessment System for Child, Third Edition (BASC-3) provided to mentors, mentees, and mentees parents (one parent for each mentee). A total of 10 mentors, 5 mentees, and 5 mentee parents were included in pre and post BASC-3 final analysis. Fall 2019 (pre) and Spring 2020 (post) optional interviews involved 5 mentors and 3 mentees who showed interest and were comfortable participating with additional release forms.
Results: The program was generally positively rated in the feedback survey by mentors, mentees, and mentee parents. The highest responses for mentors, mentees, and mentee parents all incorporated average ratings of 4.0 or higher (out of 5.0) for perceived understanding of socio-emotional skills after Eye to Eye, experience in Eye to Eye, how having a mentor or mentee made them feel, and perceived change in self-awareness. All three groups reported fairly high ratings of improved self-awareness of 4.0/5.0 or above. No negative ratings were provided by any participants and the lowest response was no change. The BASC-3 evaluation found statistically significant improvement in mentors’ anxiety and atypicality and mentees’ sense of inadequacy.
Discussion: The Eye to Eye program was popular and well-rated despite only involving 12 in- person one-hour art sessions. The mentors, mentees, and mentee parents felt positive about the Eye to Eye program when answering the feedback survey. Some suggestions are made on how to improve this program to better enhance someone with learning differences future ability to succeed. Future research is needed to assess the true impact due to the COVID-19 epidemic and other limitations.
ContributorsBreger, Chloe Levana (Author) / Adams, James (Thesis director) / Harris, Pamela (Committee member) / School of Criminology and Criminal Justice (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
The Association Between Acne and Social Appearance Anxiety and Other Correlates Among Undergraduates
Description
The goal of the current study was to investigate the prevalence of SAA and body dissatisfaction among freshman undergraduate students between 18-20 years old suffering from self-reported acne. A total of 73 participants in an online survey were asked to complete the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Body Parts Satisfaction Scale (BPSS), and Social Appearance Anxiety Scale (SAAS). No significant correlation was found between acne severity and SAAS scores, but a significant, positive correlation was found between acne severity and body dissatisfaction. Moreover, acne sufferers had higher mean scores for the BPSS than non-acne sufferers indicating higher body dissatisfaction, but there was no significant difference in the scores for the SAAS between acne sufferers and non-acne sufferers. There was also no significant difference in correlations between acne severity and SAAS scores or BPSS scores between men and women, however, women had much higher mean scores for SAAS than men. In addition, scores for the SAAS and BPSS were found to have a significant, positive correlation with both depression and anxiety across the entire sample. There is paucity of research on the psychosocial effects of acne, more specifically social appearance anxiety (SAA), so further research is needed to replicate and extend the findings of the current study using a larger sample size ranging in acne severity.
ContributorsHowe, Sara Katelyn (Author) / Perez, Marisol (Thesis director) / Jimenez-Arista, Laura (Committee member) / College of Integrative Sciences and Arts (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05