Barrett, The Honors College Thesis/Creative Project Collection
Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University proudly showcases the work of undergraduate honors students by sharing this collection exclusively with the ASU community.
Barrett accepts high performing, academically engaged undergraduate students and works with them in collaboration with all of the other academic units at Arizona State University. All Barrett students complete a thesis or creative project which is an opportunity to explore an intellectual interest and produce an original piece of scholarly research. The thesis or creative project is supervised and defended in front of a faculty committee. Students are able to engage with professors who are nationally recognized in their fields and committed to working with honors students. Completing a Barrett thesis or creative project is an opportunity for undergraduate honors students to contribute to the ASU academic community in a meaningful way.
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- All Subjects: Supply Chain
- All Subjects: Agriculture
Description
https://mendotadrought.wordpress.com/
Beginning in 2011, California’s most recent drought has brought four years of some of the warmest and driest seasons on record. Mendota, California in the San Joaquin Valley is a microcosm of the struggles many agriculture communities face when water resources are scarce. Known as the “cantaloupe capital of the world,” agriculture represents over half of Mendota’s economy, making unemployment one of the many challenges they face. However, community members are working to move forward and preserve the place they call home.
Medota has a population of about eleven thousand people with over 96 percent of them being Hispanic. The stories of elected officials, field workers, farmers, police, school leaders and local business owners give testament to a mounting fear for future water allocation. But their voices also give way to a shared belief—the community’s resilience will persevere through California’s drought. Mendota is presented through a multi-media piece that uses photos, videos and descriptive articles to showcase both their hardship and hope.
Beginning in 2011, California’s most recent drought has brought four years of some of the warmest and driest seasons on record. Mendota, California in the San Joaquin Valley is a microcosm of the struggles many agriculture communities face when water resources are scarce. Known as the “cantaloupe capital of the world,” agriculture represents over half of Mendota’s economy, making unemployment one of the many challenges they face. However, community members are working to move forward and preserve the place they call home.
Medota has a population of about eleven thousand people with over 96 percent of them being Hispanic. The stories of elected officials, field workers, farmers, police, school leaders and local business owners give testament to a mounting fear for future water allocation. But their voices also give way to a shared belief—the community’s resilience will persevere through California’s drought. Mendota is presented through a multi-media piece that uses photos, videos and descriptive articles to showcase both their hardship and hope.
ContributorsLang, Erica Lynn (Author) / Rodriguez, Rick (Thesis director) / Fergus, Tom (Committee member) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor) / School of Transborder Studies (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
According to the United States Department of Agriculture, "food insecure homes" are households that are at times unable to acquire enough food to met the needs of their members. During the year 2010, this designation applied to roughly 14.5% of American households. In Arizona, the situation is even direr, with nearly 1 in 5 children falling into the range of food insecurity. These alarming statistics appear even graver in the light of the staggering amount of food that is wasted in America. In an attempt to combat both the problems of food insecurity and food waste, organizations have begun to focus their energy on "rescuing and repurposing food." In other words, these organization take prepared and perishable food from one location where it would go to waste, and redistribute it to places that it will be consumed, such as soup kitchens and shelters. The purpose of this thesis is to fully explore the successful workings of Waste Not, Inc. in Phoenix, AZ, and City Harvest in New York City, NY, and then make necessary critiques and draw implications for future food rescue programs.
ContributorsWright, Chase (Author) / Phillips, Rhonda (Thesis director) / Wharton, Christopher (Committee member) / Mitten, Dee (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2012-05
Description
This thesis details our experience assisting BASE Equity Partners, a private equity firm based in New York City, on three prospective agricultural dealership deals over the course of this past academic year. The firm is currently structured as a Fundless Sponsor. This distinct structural trait is common for a type of private equity firm known among practitioners as pledge funds. This creates an interesting element for our experience as there is very limited academic research on these types of firms, which, since the Great Recession, have become popular players in middle-market private equity deals. We, first, provide some historical context on pledge funds and identify their primary differences with traditional private equity. The remainder of the paper documents our experience working on the agricultural dealership deals. We have organized this portion after the manner in which we received assignments. We go into detail on the specific projects with which we were tasked, our interactions with the partners and the major takeaways we had from this learning experience. This thesis paper will enrich the academic knowledge regarding pledge funds—and private equity generally—by documenting a real experience of what it is like performing analyst-level tasks at a real firm. Additionally, we were privy to information that is highly confidential, and though we have protected the confidentiality of the companies through pseudonyms and redaction of confidential material, all of the financial data shown, models provided and qualitative discussion is real.
ContributorsTang, Ivan (Co-author) / Johnson, Bradley (Co-author) / Panosian, Tro (Co-author) / Simonson, Mark (Thesis director) / Bonadurer, Werner (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / Department of English (Contributor) / School of Accountancy (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
My thesis combines two different perspectives. The first is supply chain management, and the second is volunteering. The inspiration for this topic came from Joy Field's seminar titled "Job Design and Work Allocation for Volunteers in Nonprofit Organizations." My thesis differs from her seminar because I decided to expand her topic to include all types of organizations, not just non-profits. The idea of relating supply chain and volunteering is appealing because I believe getting the most out of each volunteer's experience and those on the receiving end is very important. Additionally, her seminar appealed to me because I have volunteered before and it relates to my major of supply chain management. Volunteer management relates to supply chain management from an operations perspective. A common objective within supply chain operations is maximizing productivity, resources, and value. Mismanaging people can lead to an increased amount of waste in the form of money, time, and resources. That is why it is important to get the most out of the entire experience in order for both the volunteers and the organization to achieve the most benefit. The purpose of this paper is to describe best practices in volunteer management for organizations to consider. I will explore three phases of the volunteer management process: before, during, and after. Additionally, I will provide a personal volunteer experience and assess its effectiveness. My source material consisted of various research articles and journals, and the end result will be an outline of recommendations for organizations to utilize when using volunteers.
ContributorsCohen, Joshua (Author) / Printezis, Antonios (Thesis director) / Sandell, Paul (Committee member) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-12
Description
A new class of entrepreneurs is emerging in China, who are using a business model approach to solve societal problems. A small but growing niche of these so called "social entrepreneurs" is attempting to address long standing problems in the agricultural sector stemming from the three agricultural issues of farmers, agriculture and rural areas. In order to understand what social entrepreneurship means in the Chinese context, the motivations behind it, and the opportunities and problems related specifically to agricultural sector, interviews were conducted with social entrepreneurs, research institutes, and social fostering organizations in multiple tier-one cities in mainland China. Results show that the concept of social enterprise is comprehended in a very different way in the Chinese context relative to the general usage of the term in the literature. Social enterprises in the agricultural sector are divided into categories of Community Supported Agriculture-based organic farms, farmers' markets, food educators and city farmers. This is a growing group of entrepreneurs who could be better supported on the basis of resources and protection by the government, law and policy, universities, and a united producer and consumer front.
ContributorsGray, Christopher Stephan (Author) / Aggarwal, Rimjhim (Thesis director) / Ostrom, Amy (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor)
Created2013-12
Description
This thesis was conducted in order to determine the role played by food miles metrics in making the agricultural industry more sustainable. In an effort to analyze the importance of eat locally this study utilizes a partial life cycle assessment. This study looks at oranges grown in Arizona and California and inputs such as water, energy, fertilizer, herbicide, pesticide, frost mitigation, and distance in order to conduct the partial life cycle assessment. Results of this study indicate that food miles are not as significant, in relation to overall energy input, as the locavore movement claims. This is because production processes account for a larger portion of the total energy used in the food chain than what these claims suggest. While eating locally is still a significant way of reducing energy use, this thesis shows that decisions about eating sustainably should not only focus on the distance that the products travel, but place equal, if not more, importance on energy use differences due to geographic location and in-farm operations. Future research should be completed with more comprehensive impact categories and conducted for different crops, farming, and locations. Further research is needed in order to confirm or challenge the results of this thesis. With more research conducted regarding this topic, ecological labeling of agricultural products could be improved to help consumers make the most informed choices possible.
ContributorsMaggass, Melissa Gail (Author) / Manuel-Navarrete, David (Thesis director) / Martin, Thomas (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Department of Management (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
The United Nation's forecasts the World's population to grow to 9 billion by year 2050. This statistic, coupled with the fact that current organic food production yields average near 40% lower than conventionally grown crops, indicates that current methods of "sustainable" agriculture are sure to strip the planet of more wildlife habitat in order to feed so many mouths. Plus, erratic weather causing inconsistent crop production will leave vulnerable groups highly susceptible to famine. Agriculture today has a very complex supply chain that pulls resources from around the world to take to market. The Vertical Farm, LLC (TVF) seeks to change this reality and make 100% chemical free product, available locally to all major markets. The Vertical Farm, LLC is much different than a typical farm and operates on a soil-less hydroponic growing system. This system uses up to 95% less water and less than 50% of the fertilizer that an open-air organic farm would consume, by delivering all of the necessary nutrients directly to its crop's roots and recycling the solution in a closed loop system. TVF seeks to operate in unutilized warehouses and retail spaces, which will serve to control every aspects of the growing environment. This entails replacing sunlight with specially designed LED lights for horticulture applications and an HVAC system that creates the perfect growing conditions for plants to transpire. All of these capabilities translate into TVF being able to grow consistently year-round, regardless of weather, and produce quality local vegetables 30% faster than a conventional farm. In order to determine the economic feasibility of this business model, a prototype first had to be designed, which can be seen on Appendix A, B, & C. This system, designed in collaboration with University of Arizona's Controlled Environment Agricultural Center's Director, Gene Giacomelli PH. D., has determined that the roughly 1.75-acre system is capable of producing over 2.5 million pounds of lettuce every year. The footprint of the building includes all 3 major aspects of produce production, growing, harvesting, and packaging, and this vertically integrated business model allows The Vertical Farm to capture the most value, while taking its product to market. The net operating income of this prototype design is estimated to be 11.94%, with revenue in excess of $5.7 million and the largest costs being the LED lights and electricity. The Vertical Farm has mitigated its potentially largest cost, labor, by streamlining all processes of production in addition to employing the use of high-tech materials handling robots to transport crops within the facility. The Vertical Farm's production facility is not designed with human comfortability in mind (aisles are only 3' wide), but instead maximizes floor space utilization in order to produce as many pounds of product as possible. As a result, The Vertical Farm's prototype not only demonstrates the economic feasibility of indoor vertical farming today, but also gives significant merit to its growth potential to capture a portion of the $20 billion American vegetable market.
ContributorsNickerson, Michael Scott (Author) / Eaton, Kathryn (Thesis director) / Schlacter, John (Committee member) / Department of Management and Entrepreneurship (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
This research focused on how low-income communities in Ghana could convert Waste Vegetable Oil (WVO) into biodiesel to supplement their energy demands. The 2016 World Energy Outlook estimates that about 8 million Ghanaians do not have access to electricity while 82% of the population use biomass as cooking fuel. However, WVO is available in almost every home and is also largely produced by hotels and schools. There are over 2,700 registered hotels and more than 28,000 educational institutions from Basic to the Tertiary level. Currently, most WVOs are often discarded in open gutters or left to go rancid and later disposed of. Therefore, WVOs serve as cheap materials available in large quantities with a high potential for conversion into biodiesel and commercializing to support the economic needs of low-income communities. In 2013, a group of researchers at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Ghana estimated that the country could be producing between 82,361 and 85,904 tons of biodiesel from WVOs generated by hotels alone in 2015. Further analysis was also carried out to examine the Ghana National Biofuel Policy that was introduced in 2005 with support from the Ghana Energy Commission. Based on the information identified in the research, a set of recommendations were made to help the central government in promoting the biodiesel industry in Ghana, with a focus on low-income or farming communities. Lastly, a self-sustaining biodiesel production model with high potential for commercialization, was proposed to enable low-income communities to produce their own biodiesel from WVOs to meet their energy demands.
ContributorsAnnor-Wiafe, Stephen (Author) / Henderson, Mark (Thesis director) / Rogers, Bradley (Committee member) / Engineering Programs (Contributor) / Department of Management and Entrepreneurship (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
Current farming demographics in the United States indicate an aging and overwhelmingly white group of farmers, stimulating the need for engaging a younger and more diverse population. There is an opportunity to engage these populations through farm-based internship and apprenticeship programs, which are immersive programs on small-scale, sustainable farms. These programs are unique in providing hands-on training, housing, meals, and a stipend in return for labor, presenting a pathway to social empowerment. The potential outcomes of increasing diversity and inclusion in farm programs are absent from the research on the benefits of diversity and inclusion in other work environments, such as the corporate setting. This paper presents the results of a study aimed at determining levels of diversity and inclusion in United States farm-based internship programs, and the viability of these programs as an effective opportunity to engage marginalized young people in farming. The study of 13 farm owners and managers across the U.S. found that the participants are focused on fostering education and training, environmental benefits, and a sense of community in their respective programs. All participants either want to establish, or believe they currently have, an inclusive workplace on their farm, but also indicated a barrier to inclusivity in the lack of a diverse applicant pool. Future recommendations for removing that barrier and involving more young, diverse interns include increased outreach and access to these programs, the use of inclusive language, and further research.
ContributorsLascola, Dania (Co-author) / Biel, Braden (Co-author) / Cloutier, Scott (Thesis director) / MacFadyen, Joshua (Committee member) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / School of Geographical Sciences and Urban Planning (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
Over the past two decades, the fashion industry has evolved to both create and respond to the consumer's demand for fast fashion, the industry of inexpensive clothing produced at high rates to respond to changing consumer trends. As fast fashion grew in popularity, the new standard of the industry was to create and manufacture every other week, producing continual new trends for a market designed for continual consumption. As the garments being produced were made for short life-spans, textile waste began to grow and the fashion industry was named the second largest pollutant in the world next to oil. Coming out of a market saturated with clothing, a new trend focused around sustainability and reuse has emerged: the resale market. With increased awareness for sustainability, circular fashion business models have emerged from a more linear and disposable supply chain. By focusing on environmental, social, and financial aspects of a supply chain, otherwise known as the triple bottom line, we discuss how second-hand shopping should be managed to satisfy customer shopping expectations.
The creative project of this thesis showcases various wardrobes that have solely been purchased second-hand. The purpose of the creative presentation is to show that no matter one’s style preference, occupation, or age, second hand shopping can appeal to every type of customer. Second hand shopping is not only for “thrifty” millennials, it it for everyone, and can encompass anyone’s clothing needs.
The creative project of this thesis showcases various wardrobes that have solely been purchased second-hand. The purpose of the creative presentation is to show that no matter one’s style preference, occupation, or age, second hand shopping can appeal to every type of customer. Second hand shopping is not only for “thrifty” millennials, it it for everyone, and can encompass anyone’s clothing needs.
ContributorsToomb, Sophia Mikaela (Author) / Sewell, Dennita (Thesis director) / Wiedmer, Robert (Committee member) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05