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: development
- Creators: W. P. Carey School of Business
Description
This paper is based on a research undertaking to understand China's presence in Africa and how this relates to Western relations with the continent. The research attempts to determine which option, Europe/US or the Chinese, may be the most suitable partner in development for Africa, as well as discuss what can be done to maximize the benefits, and mitigate the negative aspects of that relationship. A comparative analysis approach is used to judge the viability of each partner, and each is assessed according to a set of criteria, including the following: 1. Equitable and Respectful Relations 2. Maintenance of Sovereignty 3. Ability and Willingness to Finance Sustainable Development in Africa 4. Shared Experience and Understanding 5. Historical Element Drawing on the collected research presented in this document, the major finding is that the Chinese have a fundamentally different approach to aid and investment, and harbor conceptually distinctive ideas regarding development than the West. Based on the outcome of the comparative study against the above criteria, it is suggested that Africa may benefit from selecting China as a partner in achieving its own sustainable development, and suggestions are offered to effectively leverage this partnership.
ContributorsBoucher, Sara Alexandra (Author) / Aubrey, Lisa (Thesis director) / Li, Wei (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
Why is it that soccer, the world's most popular sport for almost a century, has yet to become established in the world's most ethnically diverse nation? This question is especially relevant today given the recent U.S. Men's National Team (ranked 28th in the world) loss to the lowly Trinidad & Tobago (ranked 99th), thus failing to qualify for the FIFA World Cup for the first time since 1986. This represents a huge disappointment for the USMNT since they compete in CONCACAF, arguably the easiest region to succeed. The Icelandic National Team, on the other hand, recently secured their World Cup spot despite having a population of 330,000 and competing in UEFA, which is debatably the hardest region to qualify. This disastrous shortcoming by the USMNT represents the fact that the American system is flawed, and I painstakingly wanted to know why. I reasoned that good teams are made up of good players; good players must stem from a good foundation, which leads to my topic. Because the soccer development landscape differs across continents, this thesis contains a macro-level analysis of the youth models in Europe vs. America and explains how the U.S. can improve. Elite European bodies tend to be more established organizationally, have an abundance of resources, and is surrounded by a culture that praises the sport. While soccer in America is relatively new, often lacks proper resources, and competes in a society that favors multiple other sports. This thesis will elaborate on these differences through the example of the FC Barcelona Youth Academy representing Europe, paralleled to what many consider the best American program: FC Dallas Academy. An assessment will also be included regarding the Icelandic model of player development due to the recent success of their National Teams. Through this smaller comparison representing the larger issue, I will address the opportunity in this moment and how the U.S. can improve. This report will also focus on the men's game because the incredible success of American women at soccer is a very different story that warrants a whole other project. I gathered a majority of my project findings through the use of various books, online resources, academic journals, and data reports. This research has led to the conclusion that there are many factors that determine whether a group is successful at soccer. In the short term, American players should compete abroad if possible in order to train among the world's best. But in an effort to improve at a grassroots level, the United States should focus on providing the basic necessities, promoting an effective sophistication of soccer, and addressing issues that stem from pay-to-play. All of these subjects will be discussed at great lengths below.
ContributorsBeddor, Elliot Nolan (Author) / Jackson, Victoria (Thesis director) / Mean, Lindsey (Committee member) / Department of Management and Entrepreneurship (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-12