Matching Items (1,087)
Description
In this thesis, I discuss the philosophical problem of evil and, as a response, John Hick's soul making theodicy. First, I discuss the transformation of the problem. I examine how the problem has shifted from logical to evidential in recent history. Next, I offer a faithful rendition of Hick's position - one which states the existence of evil does not provide evidence against the existence of God. After reconstructing his argument, I go on to exposes its logical faults. I present four main contentions to Hick's theodicy. First, I analyze the psychology of dehumanization to question whether we have any evidence that soul making is happening in response to the suffering in the world. Second, I argue that Hick's theodicy is self-defeating if accepted because it undermines the central point on which his argument depends. Third, I claim that Hick's theodicy is self-defeating given his eschatological views. Finally, I discuss how Hick's theodicy does not account for the animal suffering that widely exists in the world now, and that exists in our evolutionary history. My hope is to show that Hick's theodicy fails to solve the problem of evil. I claim that the amount of gratuitous suffering in the world does provide evidence against the existence of God.
ContributorsScarpa, Frank Vincent (Author) / Manninen, Bertha (Thesis advisor) / Kobes, Bernard W. (Committee member) / Pinillos, Angel (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
Criminal Justice is a complex subject matter, and not everyone agrees on the way a criminal justice system ought to function. But one feature that is common to virtually all forms of proposed justice systems is that a true justice system treats people ethically. The question, then, is how a justice system can achieve this. This investigation analyzed two ethical theories, Kantianism and Utilitarianism, to determine which one would be better suited for guiding a criminal justice system on how to treat the people involved ethically. This investigation focused on applying the two theories to the U.S. Criminal Justice System in particular.
Kantianism is a duty-based moral theory in which actions have an intrinsic moral worth. This means certain actions are morally right and other are morally wrong, regardless of the intended or realized consequences. The theory relies on the categorical imperative to judge the morality of certain actions. It states that an action is moral if its maxim can be willed universal law and if it avoids treating people as merely a means. In contrast, Utilitarianism is a consequentialist theory which focuses on the consequences of an action in judging moral worth. In Utilitarianism, the morally correct action is the one which will maximize utility; that is to say, the morally right action is the one which will produce the greatest amount of happiness and minimize the amount of pain for the greatest number of people.
After applying these two theories to moral dilemmas facing the U.S. Criminal Justice System, including the appropriate collection of DNA evidence, the use of police deception, and the use of criminal punishments such as solitary confinement or the death penalty, it was clear that Kantianism was the ethical theory best suited for guiding the system in treating people ethically. This is because Kantianism’s focus on the intrinsic moral worth of an action rather than its consequences leaves less room for ambiguity than does Utilitarianism.
Kantianism is a duty-based moral theory in which actions have an intrinsic moral worth. This means certain actions are morally right and other are morally wrong, regardless of the intended or realized consequences. The theory relies on the categorical imperative to judge the morality of certain actions. It states that an action is moral if its maxim can be willed universal law and if it avoids treating people as merely a means. In contrast, Utilitarianism is a consequentialist theory which focuses on the consequences of an action in judging moral worth. In Utilitarianism, the morally correct action is the one which will maximize utility; that is to say, the morally right action is the one which will produce the greatest amount of happiness and minimize the amount of pain for the greatest number of people.
After applying these two theories to moral dilemmas facing the U.S. Criminal Justice System, including the appropriate collection of DNA evidence, the use of police deception, and the use of criminal punishments such as solitary confinement or the death penalty, it was clear that Kantianism was the ethical theory best suited for guiding the system in treating people ethically. This is because Kantianism’s focus on the intrinsic moral worth of an action rather than its consequences leaves less room for ambiguity than does Utilitarianism.
ContributorsMorett, Xavier Laakea (Author) / Manninen, Bertha (Thesis director) / Kimberly, Kobojek (Committee member) / School of Criminology and Criminal Justice (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Natural Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
For my Barrett the Honors College senior thesis project, I decided to utilize my knowledge of curriculum design to create a set of learning Modules. I was influenced by my involvement in the Next Generation Service Corps to create these Modules around college student community impact. In the end I developed 6 Modules, each with 4-5 lessons and activities that focused on topics such as volunteerism, civic engagement, and meaningful careers. With interviews rolling through during the design process, I was able to iterate my design as I built it. The design was tested with 14 college students with positive feedback and engagement during the week-long period that it was available. Through this research and design, I found that such a collection of Modules could be beneficial to students to excite them about their potential and educate them about the opportunities that exist for them to take advantage of. This research could serve as a useful tool within the ASU community as an opportunity for the students to build up meaningful skills to create impact. ASU is passionate about education translating into real world applications and creating “changemakers”, and this collection has the opportunity to do just that.
ContributorsLascala, Francesca Louise (Author) / Barab, Sasha (Thesis director) / Gutierrez, Veronica (Committee member) / School for the Future of Innovation in Society (Contributor, Contributor) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism & Mass Comm (Contributor) / Watts College of Public Service & Community Solut (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
RecyclePlus is an iOS mobile application that allows users to be knowledgeable in the realms of sustainability. It gives encourages users to be environmental responsible by providing them access to recycling information. In particular, it allows users to search up certain materials and learn about its recyclability and how to properly dispose of the material. Some searches will show locations of facilities near users that collect certain materials and dispose of the materials properly. This is a full stack software project that explores open source software and APIs, UI/UX design, and iOS development.
ContributorsTran, Nikki (Author) / Ganesh, Tirupalavanam (Thesis director) / Meuth, Ryan (Committee member) / Watts College of Public Service & Community Solut (Contributor) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / Computer Science and Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
With the millennial and Gen Z generations being comprised of avid social media users, corporations have turned to online platforms, such as Twitter and Instagram, as a way of communicating and connecting to their audiences. One method that corporations are using to attract consumers is utilizing internet memes. Brands and corporations are now marketing through internet memes to enhance and define the brand’s personality and voice. This study examines the ways corporations use internet memes to personify their brand image and the overall effectiveness of meme usage in engaging consumers. Based on an exploratory analysis of brands over several media pages, we find evidence that brands with an edgy or humorous personality have increased engagement when using this method of communication, while more luxury brands should avoid using memes. Our research was conducted by examining and analyzing the social media accounts of four companies that use memes regularly as ways to promote their brands between November 1, 2018 and February 1, 2019. Our findings suggest that there is no definite correlation between internet memes and consumer engagement, rather that they are beneficial to use in addition to traditional marketing. In order to gain a stronger understanding of the relationships between internet memes and engagement, future research can study online brand personalities more in-depth and develop theories on the effectiveness of meme usage.
ContributorsReicks, Amber Michelle (Co-author) / Ahmas, Roxanna (Co-author) / Ostrom, Amy (Thesis director) / Eaton, John (Committee member) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / School of Community Resources and Development (Contributor) / Watts College of Public Service & Community Solut (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
The United States is in a period of political turmoil and polarization. New technologies have matured over the last ten years, which have transformed an individual’s relationship with society and government. The emergence of these technologies has revolutionized access to both information and misinformation. Skills such as bias recognition and critical thinking are more imperative than in any other time to separate truth from false or misleading information. Meanwhile, education has not evolved with these changes. The average individual is more likely to come to uninformed conclusions and less likely to listen to differing perspectives. Moreover, technology is further complicating and compounding other issues in the political process. All of this is manifesting in division among the American people who elect more polarized politicians who increasingly fail to find avenues for compromise.
In an effort to address these trends, we founded a student organization, The Political Literates, to fight political apathy by delivering political news in an easy to understand and unbiased manner. Inspired by our experience with this organization, we combine our insights with research to paint a new perspective on the state of the American political system.
This thesis analyzes various issues identified through our observations and research, with a heavy emphasis on using examples from the 2016 election. Our focus is how new technologies like data analytics, the Internet, smartphones, and social media are changing politics by driving political and social transformation. We identify and analyze five core issues that have been amplified by new technology, hindering the effectiveness of elections and further increasing political polarization:
● Gerrymandering which skews partisan debate by forcing politicians to pander to ideologically skewed districts.
● Consolidation of media companies which affects the diversity of how news is shared.
● Repeal of the Fairness Doctrine which allowed media to become more partisan.
● The Citizens United Ruling which skews power away from average voters in elections.
● A Failing Education System which does not prepare Americans to be civically engaged and to avoid being swayed by biased or untrue media.
Based on our experiment with the Political Literates and our research, we call for improving how critical thinking and civics is taught in the American education system. Critical thought and civics must be developed pervasively. With this, more people would be able to form more sophisticated views by listening to others to learn rather than win, listening less to irrelevant information, and forming a culture with more engagement in politics. Through this re-enlightenment, many of America’s other problems may evaporate or become more actionable.
In an effort to address these trends, we founded a student organization, The Political Literates, to fight political apathy by delivering political news in an easy to understand and unbiased manner. Inspired by our experience with this organization, we combine our insights with research to paint a new perspective on the state of the American political system.
This thesis analyzes various issues identified through our observations and research, with a heavy emphasis on using examples from the 2016 election. Our focus is how new technologies like data analytics, the Internet, smartphones, and social media are changing politics by driving political and social transformation. We identify and analyze five core issues that have been amplified by new technology, hindering the effectiveness of elections and further increasing political polarization:
● Gerrymandering which skews partisan debate by forcing politicians to pander to ideologically skewed districts.
● Consolidation of media companies which affects the diversity of how news is shared.
● Repeal of the Fairness Doctrine which allowed media to become more partisan.
● The Citizens United Ruling which skews power away from average voters in elections.
● A Failing Education System which does not prepare Americans to be civically engaged and to avoid being swayed by biased or untrue media.
Based on our experiment with the Political Literates and our research, we call for improving how critical thinking and civics is taught in the American education system. Critical thought and civics must be developed pervasively. With this, more people would be able to form more sophisticated views by listening to others to learn rather than win, listening less to irrelevant information, and forming a culture with more engagement in politics. Through this re-enlightenment, many of America’s other problems may evaporate or become more actionable.
ContributorsStenseth, Kyle (Co-author) / Tumas, Trevor (Co-author) / Mokwa, Michael (Thesis director) / Eaton, John (Committee member) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law (Contributor) / Watts College of Public Service & Community Solut (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
Universal healthcare has become a regular feature of most developed nations around the world. This characteristic, however, does not extend to the United States, where some 28.2 million Americans remain uninsured or underinsured. In the past few years, the US has been on the precipice of major healthcare overhaul which has brought the debate on government-sponsored coverage to the forefront of political discourse. This thesis explores what it may mean to establish affordable access to healthcare as a right for all Americans. In doing so, it utilizes rule-utilitarian principles to define and assess the moral obligation of the United States' federal and state governments to provide sufficient coverage to all qualifying individuals within the country. This paper focuses on evaluating the current healthcare system in the United States while concentrating particularly on how its fragmented approach limits its success and longevity. It then offers a cross-comparison with the universal healthcare systems of Canada, France, and Japan, nations that outperform the United States in most healthcare measures such as life expectancy, infant and under-5 mortality, medical costs per capita, and disease prevalence. The free-market criticisms of government-provided coverage and its alternative private-insurance-based approach to healthcare in the US are also deliberated. In light of these considerations, this thesis concludes with a commentary on what healthcare reform could look like for the nation as well as examines how a utilitarian appeal to rights likely makes the best case for adopting universal government-sponsored healthcare coverage in the United States.
ContributorsKhan, Sameera (Author) / Manninen, Bertha (Thesis director) / Marshall, Pamela (Committee member) / School of Mathematical and Natural Sciences (Contributor) / School of Humanities, Arts, and Cultural Studies (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
Through this thesis, I intend to explore what sociologist Arthur Frank means when he describes illness as "a dangerous opportunity" (Frank, 1991, p. 1). It is my objective to more fully understand the lived experience of illness and how narrative can aid in transforming illness from tragic to transcendent. In doing so, it is first necessary to understand how illness differs from disease and how the medicalization of human health has displaced narrative from medical practice. Since illness is best understood as a lived experience, I will discuss how narrative is an exemplary means of communicating these experiences and restoring identity that is threatened by illness. Lastly, I will address how narrative might be more effectively utilized in the context of medicine, in respect to both patients and physicians. In this work, I propose that the opportunities posed by illness might be seized by actively exploring it by means of narrative expression. It is my hope that this thesis might contribute to extending the notion that narrative is a means of attributing greater meaning to illness and constructing a more complete, compassionate approach to medicine.
ContributorsFarley, Savannah Raelynn (Author) / Manninen, Bertha (Thesis director) / Piemonte, Nicole (Committee member) / School of Mathematical and Natural Sciences (Contributor) / School of Humanities, Arts, and Cultural Studies (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
This research explores how to best communicate positive body images to women. This project was intended to improve a blog I created my freshmen year in college called You're Not A Potato where I used original illustrations to tell a narrative about body image issues. The thesis begins with an historical overview of body image issues and finds that women have been dealing with high levels of body dissatisfaction since the Victorian era. The thesis then recaps the role of traditional media as well as contemporary social media and the role they play in imposing rigid beauty ideals on women's bodies. After an analysis of social media culture, it becomes evident women still communicate about their bodies in a negative manner, not only towards themselves, but towards others. To address this issue, I define the Body Positive movement and explore how public figures are using social media to implement Body Positivity. To conclude this project, I utilize my new-found knowledge in body positive communication by impacting my university campus community. I started a "You're Not a Potato" Campaign for Body Pride week with the help of the ASU Wellness Team and designed and facilitated several engaging programs that reflected the values of the Body Positive movement to our students. Through this research, I discovered how our appearance-based culture has stolen self-confidence from young women today, but by the end of this project, I explain how we can attempt to rebuild our culture by effectively communicating self-love and body acceptance in our online and physical communities.
ContributorsMouton, Brianna Anais (Author) / Gruber, Diane (Thesis director) / Taylor, Jameien (Committee member) / Manninen, Bertha (Committee member) / School of Social and Behavioral Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
This thesis explores European identity through the European Union and the Eurovision Song Contest using Michael Walzer’s hyphenated American identity by expanding his argument to the EU, culture, and broadening the definition of diversity. Walzer had three main points about the American identity that makes it unique. First, a hyphen with a many side and a one side exist with no expectation of assimilation. Second, the should be a hyphen and can be emphasized. Third, there are unsuccessful patriotic fevers. On the political level, the EU has a hyphenated identity but fails with expectations of assimilation and successful patriotic fevers like Brexit. Walzer does not examine the cultural aspect of identity, this is where this thesis goes beyond his idea in examining European identity in the cultural institution of Eurovision. The literature and winning songs confirm that a hyphenated identity exists in Eurovision. I sorted the winning songs into three categories of diversity, national identity, and neutral. I did not reject two of my hypotheses, there were more neutral songs, and songs in diversity and national identity became common after 1992. The hypothesis I rejected was that national identity songs would be more common than diversity songs, this was not the case. I used Ukraine 2004 for diversity and Greece 2005 for national identity case studies. Overall, when there is a United States of Europe its identity will be the same as Walzer’s American identity. It is just not there yet, but with further European integration, it will.
ContributorsHubby, Turner Wilbanks (Author) / Kirkpatrick, Jennet (Thesis director) / Voorhees, Matthew (Committee member) / Watts College of Public Service & Community Solut (Contributor) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05