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Description
The value of data in the construction industry is driven by the actual worth or usefulness the data can provide. The revolutionary method of Best Value Performance Information Procurement System implemented into the industry by the Performance Based Studies Research Group at ASU optimizes the value of data. By simplifying the details and complexity of a construction project through dominant and logical thinking, the Best Value system delivers efficient, non-risk success. The Best Value model's implementation into industry projects is observed in the PBSRG Minnesota projects in order to improve data collection and metric analysis. The Minnesota projects specifically have an issue with delivering Best Value transparency, the notion that the details of project data should be used to support dominant ideas. By improving and simplifying the data collection tools of PBSRG, Best Value transparency can be achieved more easily and effective, in turn improved the Best Value system.
ContributorsMisiak, Erik Richard (Author) / Kashiwagi, Dean (Thesis director) / Kashiwagi, Jacob (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Program (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
As the poverty level increases in Arizona, so does the opportunity gap between high- income and low-income students. We believe that all youth regardless of their zip code, the color of their skin, or their family background should see themselves as leaders and scholars in the community. Access to higher education, quite simply should be attainable for all students. The New American University charter that ASU has adopted is inspiring and groundbreaking. We believe this charter underscores the significance of equal access to education. The REACH program embraces the urgency of educational inequity, by enhancing the potential success of high school teenagers, who attend the Boys & Girls Club \u2014 Ladmo Branch in Tempe, Arizona. REACH empowers youth to develop stronger leadership skills, while becoming more involved in their community. We provide an opportunity for these teens to engage in leadership discussions, receive college mentoring/tutoring, and connect with the community and resources that Arizona State University (ASU) has to offer. It is our hope that every REACH teen is inspired to apply for college. REACH strives to provide any support the teens require to be successful throughout the college testing and admission process. REACH works with multiple communities at Arizona State University including the Pat Tillman Scholars, Devils' Advocates, Honors Devils, Changemaker Central, Barrett, The Honors College and W. P. Carey School of Business to organize and lead a group of teens through a remarkable curriculum that will shape the way they view cultural diversity, educational achievement, and leadership. The weekly meetings consist of discussions, creative team-building, critical thinking exercises, and cultural awareness experiences. Demonstrating to the teens, administrators, volunteers, mentors, and tutors the rich culture that Tempe has to offer and the skills and experience that they have to offer their community as well. In this thesis will we present our work developing and implementing the REACH program at the Ladmo Branch of the Tempe Boys and Girls Club from the Spring of 2013 through the Spring of 2015. We will describe the structure of REACH, our weekly leadership curriculum, our assessment and evaluation method, and the supplemental programs that we instituted (i.e., tutoring and mentoring). We will reflect on our successes and the challenges that we faced over the span of three years. We will conclude our thesis with a critical analysis of the program as a whole in order to provide advice for others who want to create and engage in a sustainable, student lead, community action organization.
ContributorsBurba, Monica (Co-author) / Smith, Jenna (Co-author) / Mokwa, Michael (Thesis director) / Eaton, John (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
This thesis encompasses research performed in the focus area of structural health monitoring. More specifically, this research focuses on high velocity impact testing of carbon fiber reinforced structures, especially plates, and evaluating the damage post-impact. To this end, various non-destructive evaluation techniques such as ultrasonic C-scan testing and flash thermography were utilized for post-impact analysis. MATLAB algorithms were written and refined for the localization and quantification of damage in plates using data from sensors such as piezoelectric and fiber Bragg gratings sensors. Throughout the thesis, the general plate theory and laminate plate theory, the operations and optimization of the gas gun, and the theory used for the damage localization algorithms will be discussed. Additional quantifiable results are to come in future semesters of experimentation, but this thesis outlines the framework upon which all the research will continue to advance.
ContributorsMccrea, John Patrick (Author) / Chattopadhyay, Aditi (Thesis director) / Borkowski, Luke (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Program (Contributor) / Department of Military Science (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
This paper explores multidisciplinary curricula, services, and experiential learning in higher education on sustainability. Researchers attempt to understand sustainability as a formalized degree program, what frameworks and techniques are used to improve new disciplines, and how Arizona State University's School of Sustainability (SOS) improves sustainability education in higher learning. Secondary research includes a discussion on the history of sustainability as a discipline, the university as a social system, the role of university administration, the roles of professors and students, benchmarking and process improvement for curriculum development, and methods to bridge epistemologies in SOS. The paper presents findings from a study of the SOS undergraduate student experience that used focus groups to gather qualitative data and statistical analysis to analyze that data quantitatively. Study findings indicate that that measuring student perception of SOS's academic services, and understanding the social system of the university, helps administration, faculty, and students collaborate more effectively to enhance learning experiences.
ContributorsTom, Sharyn Paige (Author) / Haglund, LaDawn (Thesis director) / Ankeny, Casey (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
This paper explores two areas of study: Colony Collapse Disorder and urban apiculture--the practice of keeping bees in urban areas. Additionally, this paper discusses the ways in which Colony Collapse Disorder has encouraged an increase in urban beekeeping, and the possible role of urban apiculture as a means of combatting the negative effects of Colony Collapse Disorder. The symptoms, history, and possible causes of Colony Collapse Disorder are presented, as well as the important role that honey bees play in human agriculture. Following the discussion of Colony Collapse Disorder is a description of my urban beekeeping apprenticeship at Desert Marigold School where I kept bees, researched various hives, attended a beekeeping workshop in Tucson, and eventually built a hive and established a colony with my mentor. This paper includes a guide to beekeeping basics, as well as a guide to starting a hive based upon the lessons learned during my apprenticeship.
ContributorsRomero, Madelyn Rattan (Author) / Schoon, Michael (Thesis director) / Silcox, Holly (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
In this paper, I analyze representations of nature in popular film, using the feminist / deconstructionist concept of a dualism to structure my critique. Using Val Plumwood’s analysis of the logical structure of dualism and the 5 ‘features of a dualism’ that she identifies, I critique 5 popular movies – Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Brave, Grizzly Man, and Planet Earth – by locating within each of them one of the 5 features and explaining how the movie functions to reinforce the Nature/Culture dualism . By showing how the Nature/Culture dualism shapes and is shaped by popular cinema, I show how “Nature” is a social construct, created as part of this very dualism, and reified through popular culture. I conclude with the introduction of a number of ‘subversive’ pieces of visual art that undermine and actively deconstruct the Nature/Culture dualism and show to the viewer a more honest presentation of the non-human world.
ContributorsBarton, Christopher Joseph (Author) / Broglio, Ron (Thesis director) / Minteer, Ben (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
The purpose of this project was to design a new railroad crossing for pedestrians and bicyclists in mid-block or urban areas. In order to develop a successful design, the needs of the railroad, the end-users, and the city governments were researched and converted into measurable engineering requirements. For the railroad companies, the most important need was a crossing that presents an effective barrier to users while a train is in the area. For bicyclists and pedestrians (the end-users), the most important need was for the crossing to be both reliable and easily accessible. For the city governments, the most important need was a crossing that is inexpensive yet sturdy. The approach to this project was similar to the approach used in many engineering design processes. First is the Introduction, which provides an overview of the issue and presents the full problem statement. Next is the Research of Prior Art, which details the past solutions to railroad crossings as well as the 3 E's of railroad crossing safety. After this, the customer needs are discussed in the Needs to Requirements section and the process of converting these into measurable engineering requirements is shown. Next, various conceptual design options are shown in the Conceptual Design section and a final conceptual design is chosen based on adherence to the stated requirements. This final conceptual design is then taken into the preliminary design phase and refined until it becomes the final preliminary design. After the Final Preliminary Design Description, the Project Conclusions and Recommendations are presented. Due to time and monetary constraints, this project ends after the preliminary design stage. Despite this, the conclusion of this project is that the final design presented here will be successful if additional resources are obtained to move it forward into the detailed design phase. For now, this project has come to a halt due to UP's reluctance to allow any additional railroad crossings in the Phoenix and Tempe, Arizona areas. It is recommended that city officials and bicyclist/pedestrian action groups continue talks with UP until they agree to allow additional crossings to be built that are geared towards non-motorized users.
ContributorsJones, Mitchell Drexel (Author) / Kuby, Michael (Thesis director) / Lou, Yingyan (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Program (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
Lean and Green construction methodologies are prevalent in today's construction industry. Green construction implementation in buildings has progressed quickly due to the popularity and development of building rating systems, such as LEED, Green Globes, and the Living Building Challenge. Similarly, lean construction has become more popular as this philosophy often leads to efficient construction and improved owner satisfaction. Green construction is defined as using sustainable materials in the construction process to eliminate environmental degradation and ensure that material and equipment use aligns with the design intent and promotes efficient building performance. Lean construction is defined as a set of operational/systematic processes that reduce waste and eliminates defects in the project process throughout its lifecycle. This paper describes the implementation of Lean and Green construction processes to determine the trends that each methodology contributes to a project as well as how these methodologies synergize. The authors identified common elements of each methodology through semi-structured interviews with several construction industry professionals who had extensive experience with lean and green construction. Interviewees report lean and green construction philosophies are different "flavors" of the industry; however, interviewees also state if implemented together, these processes often result in a high-performance building.
ContributorsMaris, Kelsey Lynn (Co-author) / Parrish, Kristen (Co-author, Thesis director) / Olson, Patricia (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / Del E. Webb Construction (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
South Mountain is the largest municipal park in the nation. It is a bundled amenity, providing a series of linked services to the surrounding communities. A dataset of 19,209 homes in 155 neighborhoods within three miles of the park was utilized in order to complete a hedonic estimation for two nearby urban villages, Ahwatukee Foothills and South Mountain Village. Measures of access include proximity to the park, trailhead access, and adjacency to the park. Two regressions were estimated, the first including lot characteristics and subdivision fixed effects and the second using the coefficients for each subdivision as the dependent variable. These estimates describe how the location of a house in a subdivision contributes to its conditional mean price. As a result they offer a direct basis for capturing amenities measured at the neighborhood scale on home values. Park proximity, trailhead access and adjacency were found to significantly influence the price of homes at the 5% confidence level in Ahwatukee, but not in South Mountain Village. The results of this study can be applied to issues of environmental justice and park access in determining which areas and attributes of the park are associated with a high premium. Though South Mountain was preserved some time ago, development and future preservation in the City of Phoenix can be informed by such studies.
ContributorsRamakrishna, Saritha Kambhampati (Author) / Abbott, Joshua (Thesis director) / Smith, V. Kerry (Committee member) / Schoon, Michael (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / Economics Program in CLAS (Contributor) / Department of English (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
The following is a report that will evaluate the microstructure of the nickel-based superalloy Hastelloy X and its relationship to mechanical properties in different load conditions. Hastelloy X is of interest to the company AORA because its strength and oxidation resistance at high temperatures is directly applicable to their needs in a hybrid concentrated solar module. The literature review shows that the microstructure will produce different carbides at various temperatures, which can be beneficial to the strength of the alloy. These precipitates are found along the grain boundaries and act as pins that limit dislocation flow, as well as grain boundary sliding, and improve the rupture strength of the material. Over time, harmful precipitates form which counteract the strengthening effect of the carbides and reduce rupture strength, leading to failure. A combination of indentation and microstructure mapping was used in an effort to link local mechanical behavior to microstructure variability. Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) were initially used as a means to characterize the microstructure prior to testing. Then, a series of room temperature Vickers hardness tests at 50 and 500 gram-force were used to evaluate the variation in the local response as a function of indentation size. The room temperature study concluded that both the hardness and standard deviation increased at lower loads, which is consistent with the grain size distribution seen in the microstructure scan. The material was then subjected to high temperature spherical indentation. Load-displacement curves were essential in evaluating the decrease in strength of the material with increasing temperature. Through linear regression of the unloading portion of the curve, the plastic deformation was determined and compared at different temperatures as a qualitative method to evaluate local strength.
ContributorsCelaya, Andrew Jose (Author) / Peralta, Pedro (Thesis director) / Solanki, Kiran (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Program (Contributor)
Created2015-05