Matching Items (239)
Description
Since the early 1990's, researchers have been looking at intersections between education and music. After a highly popular study correlating listening to Mozart to temporary increases in spatial reasoning, many other researchers tried to find a link between different musical genres and learning outcomes. Using three musical treatments (Pop, classical, silence), this study had subjects (N=34) complete a reading-based task whereupon they were tested on their comprehension. Using a suite of sensors, data was collected to analyze the participants' emotions and affect while they read from an educational psychology textbook. The present study has two major focuses: They detail whether (1) changes in musical condition affect learning outcomes and (2) whether changes in musical condition affect emotional outcomes. The popular conception that listening to classical music makes you smarter was proven false long ago, but there may actually be some merit to using music to assist one in studying. While there were no significant changes in test scores depending on musical condition; frustration levels were significantly lower for those who listened to classical instead of pop music.
ContributorsPaley, Benjamin Henry (Author) / Atkinson, Robert (Thesis director) / Feisst, Sabine (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Music (Contributor) / T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
While I was brainstorming topics for my thesis project I came across the idea to look at weddings and specifically the wedding planning industry. It is an industry where very little research exists. It is important for the future of the industry to have some academic studies done on the wedding planning industry. When I started this project I was looking to find out about the characteristics of wedding satisfaction from a client perspective versus the planner's perspective and what deems a successful wedding planner. This could provide valuable insight while possibly shedding light on why some couples use a wedding planner and others do not. The research questions I will try to answer through the survey are: what are the characteristics of wedding satisfaction from a client perspective versus the planner's perspective and what deems a successful wedding planner from the client perspective versus the planner's perspective. I researched the industry and created a survey that was sent to a group of 15 planners. I hoped to get permission to send my survey to four to six previous clients from each planner. The list of wedding planners came from a board member of the International Special Events Society. If all surveys had been completed it would have given me a client pool of 60 to 80 couples. The problem was that none of the planners were willing to share the client survey with their clients. Therefore, I could not obtain a sufficient number of couples that had previously used wedding planners. I attempted to contact organizations that would have access to brides. I also attempted to reach out on Facebook and through email lists to married people who used wedding planners. None of these methods proved successful in amassing a sufficient number of individuals who used planners for their wedding. The project evolved into an analysis of the assistance options couples have to make big purchases like a wedding and a house. The amount spent on these big purchases varies as well as the time couples have to pay for them. There is also great variation in the kinds of resource's couples have to advise them before making these larger purchases. For example, when a couple is planning their wedding they can hire a wedding planner to assist them or do research on blogs and rely on parents and friends for help and assistance. When a couple prepares to buy a house (or another type of real estate) they will often hire a realtor. There are some resources online for the few couples that choose not to use a realtor, however, at some point they may need to seek a professional to assist with the legal documents. The inspiration behind this thesis was to begin academic research on a young industry where there was none. The profession of "wedding planning" is very new. There is no traditional academic research on the wedding planner as a profession. When the initial surveys and planners did not receive the kind of participation and cooperation needed it was disappointing that this project could not shed light on this young industry. The evolution of this project into a comparison between realtors and wedding planners suggested the potential of where the wedding planning as a profession could be was brought to light. If wedding planners and wedding planning as a profession could evolve to a place of necessity similar to purchasing a house the profession could gain validation and grow. At some point in that evolution, hopefully the profession would be in a better place for academic research and the individuals in the profession may be in a place to be more open to assist in that research. Ultimately getting to the place where a wedding planner is seen as necessary should be the goal for this profession. The amount of money spent, the emotional importance of the commitment and the legal promises involved in having a wedding creates that need but many people do not know this. Couples know very little about the individual costs that make up a wedding. A key problem with this is that it creates disconnect between couples expectations and budgets. If wedding planners could, through their marketing and other efforts, communicate with potential clients that a wedding planner is not a luxury, but a necessity, it would help insure emotional satisfaction and protect the financial investment of the couple and their family.
ContributorsMayberry, Sophia Elizabeth (Author) / Hultsman, Wendy (Thesis director) / Dempsey, Matt (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor) / School of Community Resources and Development (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
Even in today's society, we are still unsure of the limitless potentials of digital media. The digital media sector has, without a doubt, increased opportunities in marketing, sales and creativity within the fashion industry. Blogging has become increasingly popular with the efforts of commercializing high fashion. Social media has also revealed new opportunities for upcoming designers to establish themselves within their target audience. The creative uses of e-commerce also show the effectiveness and infinite possibilities digital media offers. With digital media reinventing the fashion industry, we are seeing a direct correlation between the technological advancement of a brand and their market success. Simply put, digital media is the future of the fashion industry. Technological advancements like digital printing and e-commerce tools like mobile purchasing trackers are proving to be the future of the fashion industry. Predictions for digital media in the fashion industry include a more advanced method of e-commerce, the continual usage of creative digital technologies such as holograms in fashion shows, and also the seamless integration of global markets. To gain a better perspective and knowledge of the roles of digital media in the fashion industry, Calypso Lawrence, the Public Relations Manager of fashion designer, Prabal Gurung was interviewed through email. RaeAnn Lukza, the CEO and founder of online retailer, Knee Deep Denim was also interviewed to better understand the development of e-commerce and the incorporation of social media.
ContributorsNa, Jennifer (Author) / Cheong, Pauline (Thesis director) / Gray, Nancy (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Community Resources and Development (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Hugh Downs School of Human Communication (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
There are many factors that influence the college decision process, but rural students face a unique set of challenges because of the environment in which they make the decision. This is a qualitative study that combines a review of previous literature on the subject with a survey of twelve students from the graduating class of 2011 in a rural area of Arizona. Results from the interviews found that the rural students consider the perception of importance of a college degree, parental influence, and self-discovery as important factors in the decision making process. In addition, not all non-college-going students felt that college was necessary for a better quality of living, but did express desire for more development opportunities while in high school. The findings resulted in the following recommendations for local educators to help students better navigate the college decision process: teach parents how to have more meaningful conversations, provide step-by-step assistance to students about the college application process, and provide more opportunities for self/educational/career development to students.
ContributorsCrow, Ellyse Diann (Author) / Wang, Lili (Thesis director) / Hollin, Michelle (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Division of Educational Leadership and Innovation (Contributor) / School of Community Resources and Development (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Department of Management (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
This thesis was an analysis of items in the Late Adolescent Home Observation for Measure of the Environment (LA HOME) after the first wave of N = 138 interviews. The purpose of this project was to learn how to utilize a statistical software such as SPSS to analyze items and interpret results. Frequency analysis, inter-rater reliability (IRR), correlation analysis, internal consistency using Cronbach's alpha, and feedback from research assistants were considered when deciding which items should be eliminated from the measure. After running these analyses, ten items were suggested for deletion including: clean, adolescent's room allows for privacy, reference materials, news, family encourages adolescent to think independently, community service, parent knows where adolescent spends time, weekly household responsibilities, school/career planning, and dentist. Future interviews generating a larger sample size as well as discussions and subsequent revisions to the manual will clarify additional items that may be eliminated from the final version of the instrument.
ContributorsMiller, Ava Kathryn (Author) / Bradley, Robert (Thesis director) / Spinrad, Tracy (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
Bacteria play a vital role in the world ecosystem, more importantly human health and disease. The capability to differentiate and identify these microorganisms serves as an important research objective. In past years, separations-based approaches have served as a way to observe and identify bacteria based on their characteristics. Gradient insulator dielectrophoresis (g-iDEP) provides benefits in identifying serotypes of a single species with precise separation. Separation of Staphylococcus epidermidis in a single g-iDEP microchannel is conducted exploiting their electrophoretic and electrokinetic properties. The cells were captured and concentrated at gates with interacting forces within the microchannel to clearly distinguish between the two strains. These results provide support for g-iDEP serving as a separating method and, furthermore, future clinical applications.
ContributorsDavis, Paige Elizabeth (Author) / Hayes, Mark (Thesis director) / Borges, Chad (Committee member) / Jones, Paul (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry (Contributor) / T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
In the United States, many new cases of type I diabetes appear among youth. Upon diagnosis, many patients experience psychosocial issues in addition to physical issues, including depression, anxiety, and poor self-esteem. Diabetes educators have found that it is important to form interpersonal connections and trust with their adolescent patients. One tool that may be particularly useful for diabetes educators to implement is art therapy, which combines creativity and problem solving in a practical manner. Art therapy may be particularly helpful for individuals with type 1 diabetes because of the great cognitive and emotional changes, which occur during adolescence. In order for caretakers and educators to implement tenants of art therapy, it is helpful to have a medium, such as an art journal, which provides a foundation on which to process the emotions and thoughts the adolescent is experiencing as they process diabetes and their feelings throughout diagnosis. Keywords: art therapy, type I diabetes
ContributorsFowle, Mikaelah Jenee (Author) / Bodman, Denise (Thesis director) / Rogers, Jennifer (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
Waste generation in the U.S. has reached new heights, but the exploitation of Native American lands for waste disposal is nothing new. Many of the negative effects of massive waste production and toxic pollution, such as poor health outcomes and decreased property values, disproportionately burden impoverished, minority communities inside and outside the United States (Brulle and Pellow, 2006). Native American communities have long been exploited for their natural resources and land-use, but in recent decades Indian country has also become a common place to store nuclear, hazardous and municipal wastes. This project is a case study of a local Indian reservation, the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community, and examined the socio-historical context of the landfill operations in terms of five principles of environmental justice. Each principle was defined and key moments from the SRPMIC's landfill history were discussed to demonstrate ways that the situation has improved, stayed the same or worsened with regard to the rights outlined in each principle. It was concluded that there needs to be an acknowledgement by involved municipalities and industries of the historical context that make the SRPMIC and other nearby Native American communities "ideal" contractors for waste management. Additionally, while the SRPMIC could currently benefit from looking into the principles of environmental justice as a guide to manage past and operating landfills, the Community will have a specific opportunity to revisit these issues under closer scrutiny during the closure of the Salt River Landfill in 2032 in order to ensure more environmentally just outcomes. Finally, it was concluded that scholarship at the intersection of environmental justice and Native American communities should continue because looking closer at the ways that local Native American communities are facing and resisting environmental injustice can serve to develop future models for other communities facing similar challenges to achieving environmental justice.
ContributorsScott, Nicole Danielle (Author) / Kinzig, Ann (Thesis director) / Harlan, Sharon (Committee member) / Maienschein, Jane (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Community Resources and Development (Contributor) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
In the mid-1970s, social scientists began observing marital dyad conversations in laboratory settings with the hope of determining which observable features best discriminate couples who report being either satisfied or unsatisfied with their relationship. These studies continued until about a decade ago when, in addition to increasing laboratory costs slowing the pace of new data collection, researchers realized that distressed couples were easier to quantitatively describe than nondistressed couples. Specifically, distressed couples exhibit rigid patterns of negativity whereas couples who report being maritally satisfied show minimal rigidity in the opposite direction \u2014 positivity. This was, and is, a theoretical dilemma: how can clinicians understand and eventually modify distressed relationships when the behavior of satisfied couples are less patterned, less predictable and more diverse? A recent study by Griffin and Li (2015), using contemporary machine learning techniques, reanalyzed existing marital interaction data and found that, contrary to expectation and existing theory, nondistressed couples should be further subdivided into two groups \u2014 those who are predictably positive or neutral and those who interact using diverse and varying levels of positive and negative behaviors. The latter group is the focus of this thesis. Using these recent findings as discussion points, I review how the unexpected behaviors in this novel group can maintain and possibly perpetuate marital satisfaction.
ContributorsAbdul-Quadir, Hasana (Author) / Griffin, William A. (Thesis director) / Li, Xun (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Hugh Downs School of Human Communication (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
Vulnerability research is a fairly new field of study and has yet to be applied to fields such as improvisation or online content creation. Making vulnerability public in a way that necessitates improvisation is fundamental to YouTube content creation. This Creative Project focuses on drawing connections between Vulnerability and Improvisation as it relates to creating content for YouTube. I did this through creating my own content which consisted of four YouTube videos centering around the theme of embracing fear. I found that in order to create content, I had to practice vulnerability myself and embrace improvisation if I wished to communicate those same themes to my audience. This project revealed that there are many ways which this powerful vulnerability research is yet to be applied, specifically in the realm of vastly public arenas such as YouTube. This research shows that vulnerability is not only applicable to interpersonal relationships, but has the potential to influenced thousands when used in public spheres.
ContributorsEckert, Rebecca Hope (Author) / Branch, Boyd (Thesis director) / Hughes, Erika (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor) / School of Film, Dance and Theatre (Contributor) / Department of English (Contributor)
Created2015-05