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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Description
Amazon Prime Air is the innovative new service that promises automated drone delivery in thirty minutes or less. The platform has not yet been brought to market, but there is a plethora compelling data available that suggests it will be a unique and highly disruptive business segment for Amazon. The aim of this thesis is to analyze the framework laid out by Amazon.com, Inc. for their anticipated Prime Air drone delivery platform, and offer our recommendations for what steps the e-commerce giant should take moving forward. Following a brief recap of the company's founding and a breakdown of its various business segments, we will begin our analysis by examining past strategic decisions that Amazon has made which have directly contributed to their current market position. It is our goal to construct a narrative of what events lead the company to begin developing a fleet of automated delivery vehicles. Following this history lesson, we will review and criticize the existing elements of Amazon's Prime Air platform, and explore any possible alternatives that they could have taken to optimize the development of this exciting new technology. Criticisms will touch upon elements such as cost efficiencies, brand management, and utilization of infrastructure to name but a few. These criticisms will be based upon data sourced from Amazon's available material as well as comments from market analysts and journalists. The culminating element of our analysis will be to offer our professional recommendations as to what we believe the next logical steps that Amazon should take for their Prime Air platform. These recommendations will be informed by our criticisms and our understanding of Amazon as a corporation. This chapter will be largely concerned with guiding Amazon towards a fully optimized drone delivery platform. Our recommendations will be based upon our extensive experience concerning cost and logistical efficiencies, as well as our knowledge of Amazon as a corporation. We will offer succinct suggestions for Amazon's immediate needs as well as long-term solutions to lingering obstacles that they may face.
ContributorsMcCaleb, Nicholas (Co-author) / Glynn, Reagan (Co-author) / Choi, Thomas (Thesis director) / Rogers, Dale (Committee member) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
This thesis is a two-part theatre and literature project on The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde. The research component will consist of gathering information from the origins of this play in writing and in production to further understand my knowledge of the time it was written in and how it has been interpreted over the years. The theatrical elements will come as I direct and produce my own production of the play, and compare my research of Wilde's play and past productions to my own directorial decisions in attempt to make a successful student performed play.
ContributorsMarnick, Courtney Melissa (Author) / Miller, April (Thesis director) / Brown, Dori (Committee member) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
A Monster in the House: Gothic and Victorian Representations of Female Madness explores female madness and mental illness as perceived by Gothic and Victorian society over the span of three literary works: The Fall of the House of Usher (1839); Jane Eyre (1847), and The Yellow Wallpaper (1892). Each text features a ‘mad’ female character--Madeline Usher (The Fall of the House of Usher), Bertha Mason (Jane Eyre), and Jane (The Yellow Wallpaper)--who symbolizes the vast inequality women of the mid-to-late 1900s endured. Each character challenges social and religious mores and subverts the established order of a sacrosanct, male-dominated perspective. In Victorian society, female divergence was equated with madness and “moral insanity.” The penalty was isolation, confinement, and/or the woman’s complete removal from society. Depression, aggression, overt sexuality and excessive mental or physical stimulation are just a few of the characteristics considered to be socially inappropriate. In assessing these texts, this essay examines and problematizes the prevailing medical practices and beliefs of the time, the mischaracterization and demonization of natural biological female functions, and the prescribed medical treatments and cures for madness (insanity) and mental illness. Furthermore, this essay reveals how each text features female characters who weaponize their madness to usurp their male oppressors, and as tools to speak out against the hegemonic discourse. A common theme to many Gothic and Victorian novels is the threat posed by female characters whose behavior directly challenges then-contemporary social, behavioral and religious standards. In defense of these institutionalized mores, the deviant character is portrayed as “morally insane,” or inherently evil. What bridges these texts together are the unifying themes of female mental illness, sexual prowess, societal stereotypes, and how each of these female characters employed their madness in an effort to resist and overcome persecution.
ContributorsArtiano, Aubrie Ellen (Author) / Miller, April (Thesis director) / Barnard, James (Committee member) / Department of English (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
Goal of paper: To discuss the benefits and detractors of asteroid mining, and whether this is a task that should be undertaken now, or if something needs to change before real strides can be made in the field. Findings: After research and looking at what companies are currently doing, I have found several different benefits and detractors of asteroid mining. The main benefit of asteroid mining is acquiring the resources at the end of the project, whether those resources are raw metals being brought back to Earth or water that will be used as fuel for deep space travel. Those resources are extremely valuable and can create a huge profit for the company that acquires them. However, these resources can take an extremely long time to acquire, at least 20 years. So, while this industry can be extremely lucrative, it may take quite a long time and will need plenty of funding and side ventures to stay afloat long enough to reach that goal. Overall, if financed properly asteroid mining can be extremely profitable.
ContributorsScheven, Spenser (Author) / Choi, Thomas (Thesis director) / Printezis, Antonios (Committee member) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
This Creative Project contains a short movie that is comprised of interviews with various business owners and entrepreneurs based in Arizona. The purpose of this project was originally to explore "how businesses finance their initial venture" but quickly evolved into open-ended interviews. Originally, one of the listed goals for the project was to ensure that the movie be entertaining for the viewer. In order to gain the richest experience, it was decided that at least 8-10 entrepreneurs be interviewed for a 25 minute video. Since the creator of the video had no prior videography experience, it was assumed to be feasible \u2014 but in order to maintain the integrity of the interviews, and in order to provide the viewer with a better background, the format was changed to a 44 minute movie with 5 featured businesses, though more than 30 businesses were considered. It became clear that the diversity of available interviewees and the complexity of the businesses and financing methods made it impractical to feature such a technical topic in the movie. Balancing the entertainment value of the film and its functional, educational purpose proved to be one of the challenges for the completion of the project. Each interview stands alone its own right, but it's highly recommended that the viewer watch the entire feature. The businesses are featured in the following order: DryClean U.S., Jeffrey Rivera (sole-proprietor), Arizona Hops and Vines, Rune Wines, and The Duquesne House Inn and Gardens. The viewer will find that the businesses featured include both service-based businesses and product-based businesses. In all, over 300 hours of planning, filming, writing, and video-editing contributed to successful completion of this project.
ContributorsElliott, Spencer William (Author) / Trujillo, Rhett (Thesis director) / Peck, Sidnee (Committee member) / Department of Management and Entrepreneurship (Contributor) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
The purpose of this research project is to develop a recommendation for Company X on the strategies it should use to enter a new market. This was done through the compilation and interpretation of data from the company and the construction of a financial model capable of analyzing our different proposed strategies. Company X is a leading producer of silicon chips which seeks to remain one of the leading forces in new technologies. Currently Company X wants to assess the value and risks associated with introducing a new packaging technology (FO-WLP) into their products either by developing the technology in-house or outsourcing production. The first portion of the research consisted mostly of gathering the necessary business acumen to be able to to fully understand our research findings. Market research was conducted to discover what competitors exist and what inputs should be included for the model with help from employees at Company X. The research then proceeded with the identification of three possible strategies and construction of financial models to analyze these options. Using the results from our analysis we were able to develop our recommendation for Company X and lay out the next steps which the Company needs to take before investing in the new technology.
ContributorsRubenzer, Jack (Co-author) / Galaviz, Roberto (Co-author) / Mariani, Stephanie (Co-author) / Mecinas, Freddy (Co-author) / Simonson, Mark (Thesis director) / Hertzel, Mike (Committee member) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
Often when considering John Milton's greatest work, Paradise Lost, the general public operates under a number of assumptions which are patently false. One of these assumptions is that Milton was an orthodox Christian when writing Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained. This thesis sheds light on the issue by examining his personal beliefs about the trinity in De Doctrina Christiana, defending the use of the treatise in analyzing the poems, and explaining how Milton uses veiled language in order to hide his heterodox beliefs. I contend that deriving an antitrinitarian mode of thought from De Doctrina Christiana and reading the poem with this antitrinitarian belief, the cognitive frame of reference in which Milton was when writing both poems, in mind is a more consistent reading of Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained than reading both texts with a traditional, orthodox, Christian perspective. Examining a variety of selections from Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained, I demonstrate the powerful nature of the antitrintarian reading of Milton. Many passages, for example the invocation in the opening lines of Book III of Paradise Lost, become much clearer with an antitrinitarian reading. Reading the texts with an antitrinitarian view reduces ambiguity in the text and clarifies a number of passages and details which, from a Trinitarian view, are left completely unanswered in Paradise Lost. In addition to clarifying confusing passages, an antitrinitarian reading demonstrates Milton's masterful use of 17th century English Protestantism "buzz-words" to mask his true beliefs without compromising his personal religious convictions about the second member of the Christian Triune Godhead.
ContributorsGould, George Andrew (Author) / David, Hawkes (Thesis director) / Sturges, Robert (Committee member) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / Department of English (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
Leveraged buyouts have gone in and out of popularity over the last four decades. The first wave began in the 1980's with the rising popularity of junk bonds, followed by years of economic downturn, and then a rise and respective fall from the dot com era. However, in the 2000's, attitudes were high and a period of low interest rates, covenant-lite loans, and relaxed lending conditions gave rise to some of the largest leveraged buyouts in US history. As the name implies, leveraged buyouts are predominantly structured with debt, around 70% of the total transaction value. Private equity firms execute leveraged buyouts on companies in strong industries, who have proven, stable cash flows, with the intent of cutting costs, divesting unneeded assets, and making the chain more efficient. After a time period of five to seven years, the private equity firm exits the deal through an initial public offering of the target company, a sale to another buyer, or dividend recapitalization. The Blackstone Group is one of the largest private equity firms in the US, and, with the favorable leveraged buyout conditions, especially in the real estate market, it wanted to build its real estate portfolio with an acquisition of Hilton Hotels & Resorts. At the time of consideration, Hilton was one of the largest hotel companies in the world, but was beginning to lag compared to its competitors Marriott and Starwood. After months of talks, Hilton agreed to be bought out by Blackstone at $47.50/share, for a total purchase price of $26bn. Blackstone had injected $5.7 of its own equity into the deal. The Great Recession caused a lot of investors to worry about Hilton's debt obligations, and Blackstone was able to restructure a significant portion of the debt to benefit both themselves and their creditors. As new CEO, Christopher J. Nassetta was able to strengthen Hilton by rearranging management, increasing franchising fees, expanding its capital-lite segments, and building more rooms internationally, Hilton was able to grow quicker than its competitors from 2007-2013 while minimizing operating expenses. On December 2, 2013, Hilton went public on the NYSE as HLT. Its enterprise value increased from $26bn to $33bn, and Blackstone was able to achieve an internal rate of return of 19%, while continuing to own 75% of Hilton's shares.
ContributorsNelson, Corey Mitchell (Author) / Simonson, Mark (Thesis director) / Aragon, George (Committee member) / School of Accountancy (Contributor) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
The purpose of this paper is to study the impact that poison pills have on the value of share prices after the cancellation of a transaction. While various studies have focused on the generic share price impact of poison pills, very few have focused on the impact of poison pills in cancelled transactions. Based on our research and analysis, in cancelled transactions, target firms that have poison pills prior to the transaction and target firms without poison pills generate returns above the announcement date premium and subsequent investment in the S&P 500 when held to the cancellation of the transaction and when held from cancellation to 6 months after the transaction. This analysis can contribute to the argument that holding shares of firms regardless of cancellation risk is preferable to taking profit at announcement date. Additionally, it can contribute to the study of undiscovered pricing impact of poison pills.
ContributorsChotalla, Gurkaran (Co-author) / Amjad, Hamza (Co-author) / Reddy, Samir (Co-author) / Stein, Luke (Thesis director) / Lindsey, Laura (Committee member) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / Economics Program in CLAS (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
We chose to analyze Apple's current cash and cash equivalents balance of $246.1 billion. To fully understand how to maximize Apple's investment using this cash balance, we performed detailed due diligence on the company. We analyzed the history of apple, a timeline of their major product releases, their financial statements, product mix, and the industries in which they operate. This allowed us to gain a deeper understanding of available opportunities. After doing our due diligence on the company, we look at their current cash levels and potential reasons that the cash balance has been increasing so quickly. Another component of their cash balance is the implications of a tax holiday for repatriation, so we also looked at the potential effects of this on Apple's cash balance. Finally, we begin the main portion of our project where look at the six potential options for the cash. We cover share buybacks, dividends or a special dividend, paying down debt, investing in research and development, making a large acquisition, or continuing to build a high cash balance. We pull data on each of these, look at financial metrics and many different numbers to evaluate which of these six options would maximize shareholder value. A large portion of our work was spent looking at acquisition targets. We finally vetted three potential targets: Tesla, Netflix, and Disney. These companies made sense for a number of different qualitative reasons, but after looking at them from a financial standpoint we concluded Disney was the only company worth modeling out. A detailed financial model was built on Disney to find a purchase price. Included in this was a discounted cash flow analysis, comparable company's analysis, analyzing precedent transactions, and then finding an enterprise value based on the model. We also built an accretion dilution model to see what the effect on earnings per share is and also what the combined entity would look like. In order to present our findings, we built a pitch book. A pitch book is the standard type of presentation that investment banks use in order to show their recommendations to companies.
ContributorsMuscheid, Michael (Co-author) / Klein, Matthew (Co-author) / Lauro, John (Co-author) / Gagner, Landon (Co-author) / Simonson, Mark (Thesis director) / Stein, Luke (Committee member) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / School of Accountancy (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05