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DescriptionThis project is designed to generate enthusiasm for science among refugee students in hopes of inspiring them to continue learning science as well as to help them with their current understanding of their school science subject matter.
ContributorsSipes, Shannon Paige (Author) / O'Flaherty, Katherine (Thesis director) / Gregg, George (Committee member) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / Division of Teacher Preparation (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-12
Description
The main goal of this project is to discuss the evolution of women in medicine by focusing on their history and where they are today. Women have gone through a lot of obstacles to be able to work in competitive fields today. They have done tremendously and they have also broken several barriers to prove to world that it is possible to be a successful working female in the work field. The focus on Muslim female physicians is placed because many Muslim women are judged by their religion prior to getting to know who they truly are. Many of those Muslim women are very successful physicians who have set the bar high. Throughout this paper one on one interviews with Muslim females in medicine were conducted to show the outside world that Muslim women are just like any other working individual. They all have similar passions and the goal to heal. The mentality of women being the only caretaker and housewife has shifted over the years, in 2017, women are working in very competitive fields such as medicine, engineering, mathematics, science, research and more. This project also included an online survey which indicated how women in the medical field feel towards certain conditions. The results indicated that many women do in fact feel inferior to their male colleagues and they also felt that they had to work harder to prove their abilities. This is because there has always been the idea that no matter what a woman will not be as successful as a man and our history shows that people did believe that. However, on the bright side the interviews and survey conducted revealed that women will not let the discouragement of others put them down, instead they have worked hard and proved that they are fully capable of performing their duties as medical doctors.
ContributorsTohaibeche, Raneem (Author) / Ali, Souad T. (Thesis director) / Mousa, Neimeh (Committee member) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-12
Description
This thesis takes the form of a market research report with the goal of analyzing the implications of the United Kingdom (UK) leaving the European Union (EU) (known as “Brexit”) on London’s office commercial real estate market. The ultimate goal of this report is to make a prediction, firmly grounded in quantitative and qualitative research conducted over the past several months, as to the direction of London’s commercial real estate market going forward (post-Brexit). Within the commercial real estate sector, this paper narrows its focus to the office segment of the London market.
Understanding the political landscape is crucial to formulating a reasonable prediction as to the future of the London market. Aside from research reports and articles, our main insights into the political direction of Brexit come from our recordings from meetings in March of 2017 with two high-ranking members of Parliament and one member of the House of Lords—all of whom are members of the Tory Party (the meetings being held under the condition of anonymity). The below analysis will be followed by a discussion of the economics of Brexit, primarily focusing on the economic risks and uncertainties which have emerged after the vote, and which currently exist today. Such risks include the UK losing its financial passporting rights, weakening GDP and currency value, the potential for a reduction in foreign direct investment (FDI), and the potential loss of the service sector in the city of London due to not being able to access the European Single Market.
The report will shift focus to analyzing three competing viewpoints of the direction of the London market based on recordings from interviews of stakeholders in the London real estate market. One being an executive of one of the largest REITs in the UK, another being the Global Head of Real Estate at a top asset management firm, and another being a director at a large property consulting firm. The report includes these differing “sub-theses” in order to try to make sense of the vast market uncertainties post-Brexit as well as to contrast their viewpoints with where the market is currently and with the report’s investment recommendation.
The remainder of the report will consist of the methods used for analyzing market trends including how the data was modeled in order to make the investment recommendation. The report will analyze real estate and market metrics pre-Brexit, immediately after the vote, post-Brexit, and will conclude with future projections encapsulating the investment recommendation.
Understanding the political landscape is crucial to formulating a reasonable prediction as to the future of the London market. Aside from research reports and articles, our main insights into the political direction of Brexit come from our recordings from meetings in March of 2017 with two high-ranking members of Parliament and one member of the House of Lords—all of whom are members of the Tory Party (the meetings being held under the condition of anonymity). The below analysis will be followed by a discussion of the economics of Brexit, primarily focusing on the economic risks and uncertainties which have emerged after the vote, and which currently exist today. Such risks include the UK losing its financial passporting rights, weakening GDP and currency value, the potential for a reduction in foreign direct investment (FDI), and the potential loss of the service sector in the city of London due to not being able to access the European Single Market.
The report will shift focus to analyzing three competing viewpoints of the direction of the London market based on recordings from interviews of stakeholders in the London real estate market. One being an executive of one of the largest REITs in the UK, another being the Global Head of Real Estate at a top asset management firm, and another being a director at a large property consulting firm. The report includes these differing “sub-theses” in order to try to make sense of the vast market uncertainties post-Brexit as well as to contrast their viewpoints with where the market is currently and with the report’s investment recommendation.
The remainder of the report will consist of the methods used for analyzing market trends including how the data was modeled in order to make the investment recommendation. The report will analyze real estate and market metrics pre-Brexit, immediately after the vote, post-Brexit, and will conclude with future projections encapsulating the investment recommendation.
ContributorsHorn, Jonathan (Co-author) / Sidi, Adam (Co-author) / Bonadurer, Werner (Thesis director) / McDaniel, Cara (Committee member) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / Economics Program in CLAS (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-12
Description
My name is Adriana Becerra and I am a student at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. In hoping to combine my two passions of journalism and film, for my Honors Undergraduate Thesis project I created my own film review website. My website is a complete review of the films that were nominated for the 2015 Oscars in the following categories: Best Picture, Animated Feature, Documentary Feature, Foreign Language, and Short Film Live Action. In all, I watched and reviewed a total of twenty-eight films based on acting, lighting, music, cinematography, costume/makeup/set design, writing, and visual effects. Over the course of nine months, I have watched, reviewed, and talked extensively about each film that I have reviewed. Though tedious at times, I thoroughly enjoyed completing my Undergraduate Thesis Project. I hope to continue critically looking at films, and possibly even incorporating film in my journalistic career.
ContributorsBecerra, Adriana Justina (Author) / Dodge, Nancie (Thesis director) / Russell, Dennis (Committee member) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor) / Department of English (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
Species survive by adapting to what is demanded by their environment. In constant and fluctuating environments, specialist and generalists should be favored, respectively. However, the costs and benefits of adaptation can depend on a variety of factors that alter the intensity of the specialist-generalist trade-off. We examined flight performance to determine how well flies that evolved in constant and fluctuating temperatures acclimated to hot and cold temperatures. We predicted that flies would perform best at temperatures most similar to the ones the flies evolved at. Best performance was found when rearing and testing temperatures aligned with the temperature at which a genotype had evolved, with the generalist sharing the best and worst performance combination with the constant thermally evolved flies. Interestingly, evolved and reared temperatures had equal impact on flight performance. It was also observed that rearing at 25°C resulted in flies with the best fitness. These results contribute to the specialist-generalist theory and the idea that long term cold development is restricting in terms of range for thermal performance.
ContributorsLe Vinh Thuy, Jacqueline (Author) / Angilletta, Michael (Thesis director) / VandenBrooks, John (Committee member) / Czarnoleski, Marcin (Committee member) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / Economics Program in CLAS (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
Since Dylan Roof, a white supremacist, shot and killed nine members of a black church in Charleston on June 17, 2015, Confederate symbols have stood at the center of much controversy across the United States. Although the Confederate battle flag remains the most obvious example, the debate took a particular form in Tennessee, centering on the image of General Nathan Bedford Forrest. Born in 1822 to a poor family, he left school early to work. Although his work in the slave trade made him a millionaire, his later participation in the massacre of over 300 black soldiers at Fort Pillow in 1864 during the Civil War and association with the Ku Klux Klan cemented his reputation as a violent racist. Yet, many white Tennesseans praised him as a hero and memorialized him. This thesis examines Nathan Bedford Forrest State Park in Benton County and Forrest Park, now Health Sciences Park, in Memphis to examine what characteristics denote a controversial memorial. Specifically, I focus on the physical form, the location, and the demographics of the area, investigating how these components work together to give rise to controversy or acceptance of the memorial's image. Physical representations greatly impact the ideas associated with the memorial while racial demographics affect whether or not Forrest's representation as a hero speaks true to modern interpretations and opinions.
ContributorsFish, Caroline Rose (Author) / Longley, Rodney (Thesis director) / Suk, Mina (Committee member) / School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
The Paradise Valley Family Resource Center (PVFRC) is a not for profit, community based organization funded by First Things First and a part of the Paradise Valley Unified School District (PVUSD) in Phoenix, Arizona. The mission of this organization is to connect and strengthen families with children from birth to five years old in the Phoenix valley. The PVFRC longed to be more cognizant of what the needs of the community they serve are, and how they, as an organization, can administer programs of value to the community. Hence, the PVFRC entered a partnership with the Community Action Research Experiences (CARE) program at Arizona State University to develop a research proposal to improve their effectiveness and efficiency at achieving their mission. The purpose of this research project was to identify and evaluate the needs of the families with children ages birth to five within the community, to improve upon existing programs and services or to implement new programs, and to discover more effective modes of awareness and advertisement to the community about the programs and services the PVFRC provides. The main research questions of the experiment included asking participants about what programs and services they need, wish, or want to exist at the PVFRC, what barriers or gaps they see or experience regarding attending the PVFRC, how did participants learn about the PVFRC, and what are the best ways to contact families in their community. The methods of the research included conducting focus group interviews with families who utilize the programs and services at the PVFRC and with early childhood professionals in the Paradise Valley Unified School District (PVUSD), which included social workers and preschool teachers. A total of 25 participants were interviewed (10 families, 6 social workers, and 9 preschool teachers) and responses from the interviews were coded by the researcher. The results of the research was that the PVFRC is meeting many needs and current families are satisfied, participants desire some changes to current programs and services, and the best modes of advertisement and awareness were "word of mouth" and the internet. It was recommended that in order to better achieve their mission, it is advised that the PVFRC make appropriate changes to programs and services as suggested by the participants, connect with mom's or parents groups in the community, collaborate with preschool teachers on the front line, and increase their online presence through the use of social media and their website.
ContributorsHoran, Mary Jensen (Author) / Foster, Stacie (Thesis director) / Brougham, Jennifer (Committee member) / Dumka, Larry (Committee member) / T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / School for the Science of Health Care Delivery (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
Despite regional peace agreements, billions of dollars in aid, and the United Nations’ largest peacekeeping mission in the world, conflict in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo persists. This paper explores criticisms made by political scientist Séverine Autesserre, who argues that three simplistic narratives revolving around conflict minerals as a cause, sexual abuse against women and girls as an outcome, and rebuilding central state control as the solution dominate how international interveners view the Congolese conflict. Autesserre further posits that conflict continues because peacebuilding efforts fail to address local dynamics. Using monitoring and evaluation reports of peacebuilding projects in the eastern Congo, primarily from the U.S. Agency for International Development, this paper examines three questions: Do aid agencies have any local peacebuilding projects? If so, do these projects reinforce the dominant narratives? And lastly, do these projects view conflict as a continuum that must be managed through process-oriented objectives, or as a binary phenomenon requiring events-oriented objectives, such as elections? The analysis is based on 10 total reports gathered online, the majority of which are from USAID. Due to a lack of publicly available data and M&E reports on Congo peacebuilding, this collection does not represent a random sample and is not being used to make statistically significant conclusions. Nevertheless, the M&E reports provide a window into how the “rubber meets the road,” so to speak, in terms of how USAID and others view the role of their peacebuilding programs and how to assess programmatic success.
These reports reveal there are certainly some local peacebuilding programs and they do appear to view conflict as a continuum requiring process-oriented goals, such as creating local community mediation organizations. In terms of Autesserre’s three dominant narratives, the results are more mixed. This assortment of seemingly contradictory findings does not mean Autesserre’s arguments are invalid. The USAID Congo Country Strategy document unlocks this apparent contradiction as it explicitly acknowledges Autesserre’s criticisms and appears to move toward finding more nuanced approaches to the conflict. However, at times it still emphasizes the same dominant narratives and state-to-state level approaches. This paper, therefore, concludes that USAID, and potentially others, are in a state of transition between entrenched and evolving narratives. The discord in these evaluations highlights the internal crisis peacebuilders in the Congo are currently facing as they reassess their narratives. In keeping with the self-improving nature of M&E, hopefully these international interveners can move through their narrative transition in an efficient manner, so that they can remain a supportive peacebuilding partner to the Congolese people.
These reports reveal there are certainly some local peacebuilding programs and they do appear to view conflict as a continuum requiring process-oriented goals, such as creating local community mediation organizations. In terms of Autesserre’s three dominant narratives, the results are more mixed. This assortment of seemingly contradictory findings does not mean Autesserre’s arguments are invalid. The USAID Congo Country Strategy document unlocks this apparent contradiction as it explicitly acknowledges Autesserre’s criticisms and appears to move toward finding more nuanced approaches to the conflict. However, at times it still emphasizes the same dominant narratives and state-to-state level approaches. This paper, therefore, concludes that USAID, and potentially others, are in a state of transition between entrenched and evolving narratives. The discord in these evaluations highlights the internal crisis peacebuilders in the Congo are currently facing as they reassess their narratives. In keeping with the self-improving nature of M&E, hopefully these international interveners can move through their narrative transition in an efficient manner, so that they can remain a supportive peacebuilding partner to the Congolese people.
ContributorsSilow, Adam (Author) / Rothenberg, Daniel (Thesis director) / Lake, Milli (Committee member) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / Economics Program in CLAS (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
The international disaster-relief organization Doctors without Borders (MSF) is a dynamic geopolitical actor. Using a systematic literature review of academic journal articles and first person accounts by doctors from the field, the geopolitical role of MSF was analyzed. This search returned a wide range of articles many of which referenced the term “humanitarian space”. MSF utilizes humanitarian space to accomplish their medical work and witnessing actions in disaster areas. MSF’s geopolitical role stems from many of the central characteristics of the organization, but the process of creating humanitarian space engages them differently at both a global and a local level. Case studies of MSF’s work in Haiti and Rwanda reveal the interplay between global and local levels. Humanitarian space at the global level is a more imagined space. At this level, MSF relies on their practice of “témoignage” or testifying as their primary method for creating this space. At the local level, MSF focuses on their humanitarian patient-care to earn themselves space uninhibited by other power-wielding groups. These two levels work as a see-saw so that when the humanitarian space occupied by MSF is threatened at one level they can lean on their space at other in order to continue providing the best services possible. During the Rwandan genocide, MSF’s on the ground was work was limited to a single hospital in a single city and to compensate, they worked hard at the global level to bring attention to the violent situation in the country. This balance switched in the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake of 2010 during which massive space for humanitarian action on the ground, made advocating at a local level unnecessary. Analysis of MSF from a political geography perspective opens up new avenues of examining the many interdisciplinary characteristics of an organization as wide-reaching as Doctors without Borders.
ContributorsGunderson, Emily Joy (Author) / Director, Henry (Thesis director) / Larson, Elizabeth (Committee member) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths of women in the united states. Traditionally, Breast cancer is predominantly treated by a combination of surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy. However, due to the significant negative side effects associated with these traditional treatments, there has been substantial efforts to develop alternative therapies to treat cancer. One such alternative therapy is a peptide-based therapeutic cancer vaccine. Therapeutic cancer vaccines enhance an individual's immune response to a specific tumor. They are capable of doing this through artificial activation of tumor specific CTLs (Cytotoxic T Lymphocytes). However, in order to artificially activate tumor specific CTLs, a patient must be treated with immunogenic epitopes derived from their specific cancer type. We have identified that the tumor associated antigen, TPD52, is an ideal target for a therapeutic cancer vaccine. This designation was due to the overexpression of TPD52 in a variety of different cancer types. In order to start the development of a therapeutic cancer vaccine for TPD52-related cancers, we have devised a two-step strategy. First, we plan to create a list of potential TPD52 epitopes by using epitope binding and processing prediction tools. Second, we plan to attempt to experimentally identify MHC class I TPD52 epitopes in vitro. We identified 942 potential 9 and 10 amino acid epitopes for the HLAs A1, A2, A3, A11, A24, B07, B27, B35, B44. These epitopes were predicted by using a combination of 3 binding prediction tools and 2 processing prediction tools. From these 942 potential epitopes, we selected the top 50 epitopes ranked by a combination of binding and processing scores. Due to the promiscuity of some predicted epitopes for multiple HLAs, we ordered 38 synthetic epitopes from the list of the top 50 epitope. We also performed a frequency analysis of the TPD52 protein sequence and identified 3 high volume regions of high epitope production. After the epitope predictions were completed, we proceeded to attempt to experimentally detected presented TPD52 epitopes. First, we successful transduced parental K562 cells with TPD52. After transduction, we started the optimization process for the immunoprecipitation protocol. The optimization of the immunoprecipitation protocol proved to be more difficult than originally believed and was the main reason that we were unable to progress past the transduction of the parental cells. However, we believe that we have identified the issues and will be able to complete the experiment in the coming months.
ContributorsWilson, Eric Andrew (Author) / Anderson, Karen (Thesis director) / Borges, Chad (Committee member) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05