Matching Items (169)
Description
The United States has an institutional prison system built on the principle of retributive justice combined with racial prejudice that despite countless efforts for reform currently holds 2.3 million individuals, primarily minorities, behind bars. This institution has remained largely unchanged, meanwhile 83.4% of those who enter the system will return within one decade and it currently costs nearly $39 billion each year (Alper 4). Because the prison institution consistently fails to address the core root of crime, there is a great need to reconsider the approach taken towards those who break our nation’s laws with the dual purpose of enhancing freedom and reducing crime. This paper outlines an original theoretical framework being implemented by Project Resolve that can help to identify and implement solutions for our prison system without reliance on political, institutional, or societal approval. The method focuses on three core goals, the first is to connect as much of the data surrounding prisoners and the formerly incarcerated as possible, the second is to use modern analytic approaches to analyze and propose superior solutions for rehabilitation, the third is shifting focus to public interest technology both inside prisons and the parole process. The combination of these objectives has the potential to reduce recidivism to significantly, deter criminals before initial offense, and to implement a truly equitable prison institution.
ContributorsGilchrist, Troy (Author) / Martin, Thomas (Thesis director) / Wenrick, Lukas (Committee member) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Communicating with Confidence: Evaluating Sexual Education Exposure’s Effect on Sexual Communication
Description
This study examined associations between reports of receiving information on sexual education topics common to different sexual education curricula (e.g. abstinence only until marriage, comprehensive) and reported confidence in sexual communication of information and preferences, taking into account information received from school health classes, parents/guardians, online resources, and peers.
Data used from 293 participants aged 18-25 was used to perform descriptive analyses and linear regressions adjusted for significant covariates. Exposure to a comprehensive sexual education curriculum was found to be significantly positively associated with increased sexual communication confidence, while exposure to an abstinence only until marriage curriculum was not found to be a significant predictor. All resources were found to be positively associated with sexual communication confidence with the exception of health class, which was an insignificant predictor.
Comprehensive sexual education is an important factor in increasing young adults’ confidence in sexual communication of information and preferences. However, sexual education delivery in health classes in the United States is currently ineffective. A reevaluation of how sexual education should be delivered in the United States is needed.
Data used from 293 participants aged 18-25 was used to perform descriptive analyses and linear regressions adjusted for significant covariates. Exposure to a comprehensive sexual education curriculum was found to be significantly positively associated with increased sexual communication confidence, while exposure to an abstinence only until marriage curriculum was not found to be a significant predictor. All resources were found to be positively associated with sexual communication confidence with the exception of health class, which was an insignificant predictor.
Comprehensive sexual education is an important factor in increasing young adults’ confidence in sexual communication of information and preferences. However, sexual education delivery in health classes in the United States is currently ineffective. A reevaluation of how sexual education should be delivered in the United States is needed.
ContributorsDouglass, Kathryn (Author) / Pivovarova, Margarita (Thesis director) / Loebenberg, Abby (Committee member) / Electrical Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-12
Description
The United Nations outlined seventeen goals in their 2015 resolution aimed at securing a more sustainable future for the entire world. These goals cover all parts of life and are meant to standardize quality of life at a high level for all countries. Specific to the Maasai people of Kenya and Tanzania, there are five main goals that would tackle some of the biggest issues facing the Maasai and greatly improve their lives. These goals include the promotion of good health and well-being, ensuring a quality education for school-age children, supporting efforts for gender equality in all communities, and securing clean and safe water and sanitation services for all people around the world. There are many Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in the Maasai community that are striving to support them and realize these Sustainable Development Goals. Organizations like the Maasai Girls Education Fund and Aid Tanzania have established educational programs to support children, mainly girls, in their efforts to get an education. Others like End Water Poverty and the Maasai Association have programs to ensure safe, accessible drinking water is made available to Maasai communities across Kenya and Tanzania. Lastly, NGOs like My Chosen Vessels have programs that support the economic sustainability and livestock management of the Maasai while also ensuring that Maasai families receive clean water and access to an education. The work and practices of NGOs like these can serve as examples of how to efficiently and effectively address and tackle issues in developing countries, specifically regarding Maasai women and girls, to move closer to achieving these UN Sustainable Development Goals and lead a more sustainable future. Many studies have been done researching the political and economic struggles for Maasai communities and how it impacts them. Vandana Shiva coined the term, “Water Democracy” in her book Water Wars to express the multiple reasons why water is a necessity and right. Many Maasai groups do not have easy access to basic essentials for their everyday lives and NGOs have been noticing this more and more. Dorothy Hodgson writes about the history of Maasai NGOs, and mentions the multiple conflicts that they have had with each other, causing many Maasai groups to have different lifestyles. The connections between the history of the Maasai tribe, their current economy and their current relationship with the government and NGOs all impact women in their communities in different ways.
ContributorsWacloff, Jianna K (Author) / Martin, Thomas (Thesis director) / Oberle, Eric (Committee member) / College of Integrative Sciences and Arts (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
This policy proposal paper is designed to address concerns about the protection of data
concerning citizens of the United States. The first step is to explore the need for federal
legislation because of the problems of cyberattacks, data loss and leakage, and big data. The
proposal then analyses how other countries had already addressed these concerns for their
citizens through legislation by looking at their regulation and the results of implementation. The
paper adjacently discusses the importance of American values of privacy as a fundamental right,
the free market, and protection from the private sector within a cybersecurity paradigm. From
this combined research, the paper yields a proposal of how the U.S. government should address
the situation through federal policy. The policy outlines cybersecurity measures to protect
information from cyberattacks and data loss and leakage, rights of American citizens that
organizations need to uphold, and the creation of a commission that provides resources and
education to domestic and foreign organizations.
concerning citizens of the United States. The first step is to explore the need for federal
legislation because of the problems of cyberattacks, data loss and leakage, and big data. The
proposal then analyses how other countries had already addressed these concerns for their
citizens through legislation by looking at their regulation and the results of implementation. The
paper adjacently discusses the importance of American values of privacy as a fundamental right,
the free market, and protection from the private sector within a cybersecurity paradigm. From
this combined research, the paper yields a proposal of how the U.S. government should address
the situation through federal policy. The policy outlines cybersecurity measures to protect
information from cyberattacks and data loss and leakage, rights of American citizens that
organizations need to uphold, and the creation of a commission that provides resources and
education to domestic and foreign organizations.
ContributorsBrockman, Emily M. (Author) / Hollinger, Keith (Thesis director) / Walsh, Tatiana (Committee member) / Martin, Thomas (Committee member) / College of Integrative Sciences and Arts (Contributor) / Information Technology (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
In this paper, I describe the development of a unique approach to developing strategies for games in which success can only be measured by the final outcome of the game, preventing the use of heuristics. I created and evaluated evolutionary algorithms, applying them to develop strategies for tic-tac-toe. Strategies are comprised of neural networks with randomly initiated weights. A population of candidate strategies are created, each strategy competes individually against each other strategy, and evolutionary operators are applied to create subsequent generations of strategies. The set of strategies within a generation of the evolutionary algorithm forms a metagame that evolves as the algorithm progresses. Hypothesis testing shows that strategies produced by this approach significantly outperform a baseline of entirely random action, although they are still far from optimal gameplay.
ContributorsRodriguez, Julien Guillermo (Author) / Martin, Thomas (Thesis director) / Powers, Brian (Committee member) / College of Integrative Sciences and Arts (Contributor, Contributor) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
The Founders Lab Thesis tasked each team with taking an idea and trying to form a business out of it. In the process, the thesis director would be there to guide each team and provide expertise where needed. The venture that was assigned originally to our team was a posture correcting device, however after numerous attempts to correspond reliably with the developers of this technology, it was decided that the team should move on to a new idea. Therefore, our team took on a venture named Altion Security: an initiative with the main goal being the safekeeping of customers interests. The product that we were tasked with is a bike alarm that simply rings out when it detects someone tampering with it. This product is a solution to the problem of bike thefts. 2 million bikes are stolen each year in North America, which translates roughly to a theft every 30 seconds (Project 529).
There are quite a few readily available products that one can buy if one looks past some of their flaws. A lot of these alarms either require a user to carry an extra communication device, or they are too big or expensive. The proposed solution merges all desirable features of a bike alarm into one module. In light of this, surveys were conducted to ascertain what these qualities would need to be. The top considerations for purchasing this alarm were how costly it would be, the false detection rate, and also the battery life. Additionally, the features that were most requested was the inclusion of a GPS and a camera. In order to incorporate these features, a three year plan was formulated which would culminate into a bike network in which each bike could communicate with other bikes. This would allow for an IOT network to be established, thus far exceeding expectations. The price point for this alarm is USD $10.00-15.00 and can come in a variety of colors. Additionally, this concept can be applied to many different scenarios, from protecting boats/jet skis and other aquatic vehicles, to houses as well. Furthermore, one could miniaturize this technology to be used in jewelry or accessories.
There are quite a few readily available products that one can buy if one looks past some of their flaws. A lot of these alarms either require a user to carry an extra communication device, or they are too big or expensive. The proposed solution merges all desirable features of a bike alarm into one module. In light of this, surveys were conducted to ascertain what these qualities would need to be. The top considerations for purchasing this alarm were how costly it would be, the false detection rate, and also the battery life. Additionally, the features that were most requested was the inclusion of a GPS and a camera. In order to incorporate these features, a three year plan was formulated which would culminate into a bike network in which each bike could communicate with other bikes. This would allow for an IOT network to be established, thus far exceeding expectations. The price point for this alarm is USD $10.00-15.00 and can come in a variety of colors. Additionally, this concept can be applied to many different scenarios, from protecting boats/jet skis and other aquatic vehicles, to houses as well. Furthermore, one could miniaturize this technology to be used in jewelry or accessories.
ContributorsOgunmefun, Adeoluwa (Co-author) / Gong, Alan (Co-author) / Parra, Rocio Ivette (Co-author) / Byrne, Jared (Thesis director) / Sebold, Brent (Committee member) / Electrical Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Attending a university is a stressful transition for many students leaving their respective support systems. Many universities attempt to mitigate this stress by offering numerous campus resources such as, tutoring services, counseling services, and health services. However, research has shown that many of these resources are under utilized by the general student population because of barriers that include student perception, awareness, and access. Being able to understand these barriers that lead to the under utilization of campus resources can assist with creating resources that are more visible, engaging, and attractive to student populations on many campuses. The question being asked is: how to create an engaging health resource that is attractive, visible, and accessible to students?
Based on research analyzed on the barriers between students and campus resources, the optimization of student outreach, and marketing strategies directed towards students, the creation of a student-led campus health resource followed. Analysis of this research showcased that the medium in which students resources were promoted, and the framework of the resource have an impact on students' awareness of the resource, attractiveness of the student resource, and student resource engagement. Based on these analyses and results, the creation of HealthU occurred to provide a visible, engaging, and attractive student resource to the Arizona State University student body.
Based on research analyzed on the barriers between students and campus resources, the optimization of student outreach, and marketing strategies directed towards students, the creation of a student-led campus health resource followed. Analysis of this research showcased that the medium in which students resources were promoted, and the framework of the resource have an impact on students' awareness of the resource, attractiveness of the student resource, and student resource engagement. Based on these analyses and results, the creation of HealthU occurred to provide a visible, engaging, and attractive student resource to the Arizona State University student body.
ContributorsAlcazar, Ivan (Co-author) / Mora, Leslie (Co-author) / Freeman, Javon (Co-author) / Byrne, Jared (Thesis director) / Sebold, Brent (Committee member) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
This honors thesis aims to outline and present a business plan for a start-up. Working with the Founders Lab, as part of the W. P. Carey Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, three students identified an issue in their community and brainstormed an idea to form a solution. The problem identified was in the textile industry where fabric waste created as a byproduct of production, harms the environment as it ends up in landfills, instead of being recycled. In an effort to create a circular economy, the start-up, Circular Comfort, came into fruition. The mission of this business is to reduce waste by repurposing fabric scraps into products that can be marketed and sold. The first product was created, a beach bag, out of fabric scraps gathered from a fashion incubator. The following will outline the formation of the start-up including research, business plan, market strategy, and the overall journey. By working with a thesis director, the team was able to prepare this pitch deck in hopes to combat an ongoing problem in our community.
ContributorsKattan, Nadeen (Co-author) / Curran, Chris (Co-author) / Thompson, Cassandra (Co-author) / Byrne, Jared (Thesis director) / Sebold, Brent (Committee member) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
The Student Impact Coalition for Knowledge, also known as SICK, is a student coalition run by three undergraduates who sought to create an outlet for students to vote on their favorite places on and around campus. They noticed that there was no easily accessible place to share their recommendations with other students. Because of this, SICK presents awards to the coffee shop, fast food restaurant, hiking spot, podcast, or brunch place that receives the most votes.
With the solution, the team was able to create a mission statement for the Student Impact Coalition for Knowledge. The SICK awards allow students to make an impact by voting on their favorite things on and off campus in order to provide recommendations for others. Through extensive market research, the team identified the target audience and how this coalition would be beneficial to the student population. Currently, SICK is limited to Arizona State University’s Tempe campus, but there are goals to expand to ASU’s other campuses before moving to other universities nationwide. Through growth and financial sustainability, the team hopes that the coalition will become a useful tool for students across many campuses to share and receive recommendations for must-visit places around their college.
With the solution, the team was able to create a mission statement for the Student Impact Coalition for Knowledge. The SICK awards allow students to make an impact by voting on their favorite things on and off campus in order to provide recommendations for others. Through extensive market research, the team identified the target audience and how this coalition would be beneficial to the student population. Currently, SICK is limited to Arizona State University’s Tempe campus, but there are goals to expand to ASU’s other campuses before moving to other universities nationwide. Through growth and financial sustainability, the team hopes that the coalition will become a useful tool for students across many campuses to share and receive recommendations for must-visit places around their college.
ContributorsMara, Danielle (Co-author) / Cotter, Kristen (Co-author) / Amer, Azza (Co-author) / Byrne, Jared (Thesis director) / Sebold, Brent (Committee member) / Electrical Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Throughout the two semesters of the Founder’s Lab program, we developed and practiced our entrepreneurship skills by working to solve the issue of diversity and polarization. In the first semester, our task was to help a corporate entrepreneurial venture create and execute a marketing plan to diversify their target audience. We worked with the lead professors developing the World War II Studies Master’s Program for ASU’s School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies. During our collaboration with the World War II program, we realized that their issue with finding diverse students stemmed from an institutional problem with cultural diversity and polarization.
While working with the World War II Studies program, we primarily conducted market research, which eventually led us to pivot into starting our own venture. The data from the surveys we created indicated that the target market for a World War II Master’s Program was too narrow, and only appealed to people with specific cultural backgrounds. We concluded that a simple marketing plan would not be able to solve the lack of diversity, and decided to start up our own business to combat the issue. In the spring semester we created Platter Chatter, a social venture dedicated to promoting diversity and cultural awareness through food.
We believe that Platter Chatter has future potential as a social venture due to its unique position in the market, as well as the diverse perspectives and social capital that we bring as founders of the company. Some unexpected events have disrupted our original plans for testing and launching our venture, but with future work we are sure that our company and product will be able to succeed.
While working with the World War II Studies program, we primarily conducted market research, which eventually led us to pivot into starting our own venture. The data from the surveys we created indicated that the target market for a World War II Master’s Program was too narrow, and only appealed to people with specific cultural backgrounds. We concluded that a simple marketing plan would not be able to solve the lack of diversity, and decided to start up our own business to combat the issue. In the spring semester we created Platter Chatter, a social venture dedicated to promoting diversity and cultural awareness through food.
We believe that Platter Chatter has future potential as a social venture due to its unique position in the market, as well as the diverse perspectives and social capital that we bring as founders of the company. Some unexpected events have disrupted our original plans for testing and launching our venture, but with future work we are sure that our company and product will be able to succeed.
ContributorsChotalla, Maanik (Co-author) / Joe, Jona (Co-author) / Sauma MasÃs, Melania (Co-author) / Byrne, Jared (Thesis director) / Sebold, Brent (Committee member) / Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05