Matching Items (3)
Description
Historically, African American students have been underrepresented in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). If African American students continue to be underrepresented in STEM fields, they will not have access to valuable and high-paying sectors of the economy. Despite the number of African Americans in these fields being disproportionately low, there are still individuals that persist and complete science degrees. The aim of this study was to investigate African American students who excel in science at Arizona State University and examine the barriers and affordances that they encounter on their journey toward graduation. Qualitative research methods were used to address the research question of the study. My methodology included creating a case study to investigate the experiences of eight African American undergraduate college students at Arizona State University. These four male and four female students were excelling sophomores, juniors, or seniors who were majoring in a science field. Two of the males came from lower socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds, while two of the males were from higher SES backgrounds. The same applied to the four female participants. My research utilized surveys, semistructured interviews, and student observations to collect data that was analyzed and coded to determine common themes and elements that exist between the students. As a result of the data collection opportunities, peer support and financial support were identified as barriers, while, parental support, financial support, peer support, and teacher support were identified as affordances. In analyzing the data, the results indicated that for the student subjects in this study, sex and SES did not have any relationship with the barriers and affordances experienced.
ContributorsBoyce, Quintin (Author) / Scott, Kimberly (Thesis advisor) / Falls, Deanne (Committee member) / Baker, Dale (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
Natural Language Processing and Virtual Reality are hot topics in the present. How can we synthesize these together in order to make a cohesive experience? The game focuses on users using vocal commands, building structures, and memorizing spatial objects. In order to get proper vocal commands, the IBM Watson API for Natural Language Processing was incorporated into our game system. User experience elements like gestures, UI color change, and images were used to help guide users in memorizing and building structures. The process to create these elements were streamlined through the VRTK library in Unity. The game has two segments. The first segment is a tutorial level where the user learns to perform motions and in-game actions. The second segment is a game where the user must correctly create a structure by utilizing vocal commands and spatial recognition. A standardized usability test, System Usability Scale, was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the game. A survey was also created in order to evaluate a more descriptive user opinion. Overall, users gave a positive score on the System Usability Scale and slightly positive reviews in the custom survey.
ContributorsOrtega, Excel (Co-author) / Ryan, Alexander (Co-author) / Kobayashi, Yoshihiro (Thesis director) / Nelson, Brian (Committee member) / Computing and Informatics Program (Contributor) / School of Art (Contributor) / Computer Science and Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
Children, everywhere around the world, are deprived of their basic right to play. More than half of these children are urban dwellers who have limited access to outdoor and natural play areas, whose indoor environments are injected with technological attractions that keep them occupied in a sedentary life. This play deprivation is prompting a global reaction towards what the American play historian Joe L. Frost calls a “contemporary child-saving movement” that aims to save children from a “dual crisis:” decrease of outdoor play and alienation from nature. Studies demonstrate the importance of contact with nature, either by bringing nature into the urban environment or by taking children out to nature’s wilderness. However, the question is: What are the play-space principles that allow natural environments to afford children with play opportunities of developmental value?This descriptive case study utilizes a sensory ethnographic approach to observe the interaction of children with the natural environment at The Native School, a nature school in Carlsbad, California. Data is collected in intervals for six months to consider the impact of dynamic and cyclical processes of nature on play. The collected data is coded and analyzed using multiple lenses. The “functional approach” by the environmental psychologist Harry Heft, is used to categorize the observed play affordances into a “functional taxonomy.” Secondly, the non-linear dynamic theory is used to identify dynamic play-conducive aspects of nature: transformation, organized complexity, diversity, and ecological attunement. These play-space making principles can guide a biophilic approach to designing play-conducive and developmentally beneficial environments.
ContributorsMalak, Sarah Khaled (Author) / Hejduk, Renata (Thesis advisor) / Petrucci, Darren (Thesis advisor) / Bradley, Robert (Committee member) / Brooks, Kenneth (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2021