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.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 33
Description
The advertising agency, in its variety of forms, is one of the most powerful forces in the modern world. Its products are seen globally through various multimedia outlets and they strongly impact culture and economy. Since its conception in 1843 by Volney Palmer, the advertising agency has evolved into the recognizable—and unrecognizable—firms scattered around the world today. In the United States alone, there are roughly 13.4 thousand agencies, many of which also have branches in other countries. The evolution of the modern advertising agency coincided with, and even preceded, some of the major inflection points in history. Understanding how and why changes in advertising agencies affected these inflection points provides a glimpse of understanding into the relationship between advertising, business, and societal values.
In the pages ahead we will explore the future of the advertising industry. We will analyze our research to uncover the underlying trends pointing towards what is to come and work to apply those explanations to our understanding of advertising in the future.
In the pages ahead we will explore the future of the advertising industry. We will analyze our research to uncover the underlying trends pointing towards what is to come and work to apply those explanations to our understanding of advertising in the future.
ContributorsHarris, Chase (Co-author) / Potthoff, Zachary (Co-author) / Gray, Nancy (Thesis director) / Samper, Adriana (Committee member) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
While developing and maintaining a connection between a brand and a customer has always been in the forefront of marketers' agendas, it has become an even more pressing goal as digital trends in marketing surface. Although the idea of using rewards to foster consumer-brand connection has been around for decades, marketers are still struggling to optimize the benefits. How can marketers use rewards to better connect with their customers? Are there certain types of rewards that are more effective than others? Are certain rewards more effective when being implemented under brands of a certain personality type? In a society that values connection and relationship, marketers cannot lose their ability to appreciate customers under digital constraints and to marketplace competition. Through a field study and scenario-based experiment, we explore how and why low conditional vs. high conditional rewards influence consumer-brand connection and the role brand personality plays.
ContributorsBauer, Madelaine Anne (Co-author) / Bryant, Kelly (Co-author) / Lisjak, Monika (Thesis director) / Samper, Adriana (Committee member) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
Health and fast food are seemingly on two opposite ends of the spectrum, yet healthy fast food is quickly growing in popularity. As many fast food brands are adjusting their menu to accommodate to this trend, this study explores how health claims used in fast food advertising affect college students' perceptions of health and their likelihood to purchase healthy fast food products. To test this, a survey gathered quantitative data to assess student's perceptions of health and fast food, as well as qualitative data of when eating healthy is appealing and unappealing. An ad manipulation was employed to test student's likelihood to purchase the product shown in the ad. Though the study did not yield significant results, the results collected indicate that health claims may not be enough to influence someone to purchase, but that taste is of student's highest priority when making food purchase decisions. Thus, the study opens the door for future research in this realm of health and fast food, and concludes with recommendations for both marketers and future researchers.
ContributorsMigray, Emilee Catherine (Author) / Gray, Nancy (Thesis director) / Samper, Adriana (Committee member) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths of women in the united states. Traditionally, Breast cancer is predominantly treated by a combination of surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy. However, due to the significant negative side effects associated with these traditional treatments, there has been substantial efforts to develop alternative therapies to treat cancer. One such alternative therapy is a peptide-based therapeutic cancer vaccine. Therapeutic cancer vaccines enhance an individual's immune response to a specific tumor. They are capable of doing this through artificial activation of tumor specific CTLs (Cytotoxic T Lymphocytes). However, in order to artificially activate tumor specific CTLs, a patient must be treated with immunogenic epitopes derived from their specific cancer type. We have identified that the tumor associated antigen, TPD52, is an ideal target for a therapeutic cancer vaccine. This designation was due to the overexpression of TPD52 in a variety of different cancer types. In order to start the development of a therapeutic cancer vaccine for TPD52-related cancers, we have devised a two-step strategy. First, we plan to create a list of potential TPD52 epitopes by using epitope binding and processing prediction tools. Second, we plan to attempt to experimentally identify MHC class I TPD52 epitopes in vitro. We identified 942 potential 9 and 10 amino acid epitopes for the HLAs A1, A2, A3, A11, A24, B07, B27, B35, B44. These epitopes were predicted by using a combination of 3 binding prediction tools and 2 processing prediction tools. From these 942 potential epitopes, we selected the top 50 epitopes ranked by a combination of binding and processing scores. Due to the promiscuity of some predicted epitopes for multiple HLAs, we ordered 38 synthetic epitopes from the list of the top 50 epitope. We also performed a frequency analysis of the TPD52 protein sequence and identified 3 high volume regions of high epitope production. After the epitope predictions were completed, we proceeded to attempt to experimentally detected presented TPD52 epitopes. First, we successful transduced parental K562 cells with TPD52. After transduction, we started the optimization process for the immunoprecipitation protocol. The optimization of the immunoprecipitation protocol proved to be more difficult than originally believed and was the main reason that we were unable to progress past the transduction of the parental cells. However, we believe that we have identified the issues and will be able to complete the experiment in the coming months.
ContributorsWilson, Eric Andrew (Author) / Anderson, Karen (Thesis director) / Borges, Chad (Committee member) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
Brown adipose tissue (BAT) is thought to be important in combating obesity as it can expend energy in the form of heat, e.g. thermogenesis. The goal of this study was to study the effect of injected norepinephrine (NE) on the activation of BAT in rats that were fed a high fat diet (HFD). A dose of 0.25 mg/kg NE was used to elicit a temperature response that was measured using transponders inserted subcutaneously over the BAT and lower back and intraperitoneally to measure the core temperature. The results found that the thermic effect of the BAT increased after the transition from low fat diet to a high fat diet (LFD) yet, after prolonged exposure to the HFD, the effects resembled levels found with the LFD. This suggests that while a HFD may stimulate the effect of BAT, long term exposure may have adverse effects on BAT activity. This may be due to internal factors that will need to be examined further.
ContributorsSion, Paul William (Author) / Herman, Richard (Thesis director) / Borges, Chad (Committee member) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
Aberrant glycosylation has been shown to be linked to specific cancers, and using this idea, it was proposed that the levels of glycans in the blood could predict stage I adenocarcinoma. To track this glycosylation, glycan were broken down into glycan nodes via methylation analysis. This analysis utilized information from N-, O-, and lipid linked glycans detected from gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The resulting glycan node-ratios represent the initial quantitative data that were used in this experiment.
For this experiment, two Sets of 50 µl blood plasma samples were provided by NYU Medical School. These samples were then analyzed by Dr. Borges’s lab so that they contained normalized biomarker levels from patients with stage 1 adenocarcinoma and control patients with matched age, smoking status, and gender were examined. An ROC curve was constructed under individual and paired conditions and AUC calculated in Wolfram Mathematica 10.2. Methods such as increasing size of training set, using hard vs. soft margins, and processing biomarkers together and individually were used in order to increase the AUC. Using a soft margin for this particular data set was proved to be most useful compared to the initial set hard margin, raising the AUC from 0.6013 to 0.6585. In regards to which biomarkers yielded the better value, 6-Glc/6-Man and 3,6-Gal glycan node ratios had the best with 0.7687 AUC and a sensitivity of .7684 and specificity of .6051. While this is not enough accuracy to become a primary diagnostic tool for diagnosing stage I adenocarcinoma, the methods examined in the paper should be evaluated further. . By comparison, the current clinical standard blood test for prostate cancer that has an AUC of only 0.67.
For this experiment, two Sets of 50 µl blood plasma samples were provided by NYU Medical School. These samples were then analyzed by Dr. Borges’s lab so that they contained normalized biomarker levels from patients with stage 1 adenocarcinoma and control patients with matched age, smoking status, and gender were examined. An ROC curve was constructed under individual and paired conditions and AUC calculated in Wolfram Mathematica 10.2. Methods such as increasing size of training set, using hard vs. soft margins, and processing biomarkers together and individually were used in order to increase the AUC. Using a soft margin for this particular data set was proved to be most useful compared to the initial set hard margin, raising the AUC from 0.6013 to 0.6585. In regards to which biomarkers yielded the better value, 6-Glc/6-Man and 3,6-Gal glycan node ratios had the best with 0.7687 AUC and a sensitivity of .7684 and specificity of .6051. While this is not enough accuracy to become a primary diagnostic tool for diagnosing stage I adenocarcinoma, the methods examined in the paper should be evaluated further. . By comparison, the current clinical standard blood test for prostate cancer that has an AUC of only 0.67.
ContributorsDe Jesus, Celine Spicer (Author) / Taylor, Thomas (Thesis director) / Borges, Chad (Committee member) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / School of Molecular Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
Research on teamwork has shown that teams are more productive and produce better results than individuals working on their own. Yet, research on individuals' work preferences makes it clear that not everyone prefers working in teams. In order to improve teamwork and achieve better results in both the collegiate arena and in the professional world, this study was designed to research different factors that affect a group's performance and creativity: satisfaction, familiarity, and the behavioral styles of individual team members. Additionally, this study addresses if the group's composition of Keirsey types \u2014 temperament patterns \u2014 also play a role in the group's creativity and performance. In this study, students created teams of four to seven students and completed specific in-class activities called Applied Insights. Groups composed mostly of Guardians, one of the four Keirsey temperaments, are able to adapt to the task at hand, which is demonstrated here with creativity. Further, groups who perceive themselves as sharing similar traits with many members are more satisfied and achieve a higher overall performance. Lastly, groups comprised of individuals who were least familiar with their teammates they had not previously worked with, produced more creative results in the short run. Whereas groups comprised of individuals who were least familiar with their teammates they had previously worked with, produced better overall results in short run.
ContributorsPinto, Linda (Co-author) / Hulse, Christopher (Co-author) / Vaughn, Michael (Co-author) / LePine, Marcie (Thesis director) / Samper, Adriana (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / WPC Graduate Programs (Contributor) / School of Accountancy (Contributor) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / School of Music (Contributor)
Created2014-12
Description
GEICO Insurance offers a wide range of insurance options to consumers nationwide. The company has experienced exponential growth over the past 15 years largely due to their low rates, ease of purchase, online business model, and their industry-revolutionizing approach to advertising these competitive advantages. Operating primarily within the enormous Property and Casualty sector of the insurance industry, GEICO faces extremely high levels of competition from many well-resourced companies. The most dangerous of which have begun to respond to GEICO's humorous, charming, and often detached advertising strategy through the employment of one of two general strategies; either imitating and attempting to improve upon GEICO's brand image and advertising practices, or else attacking it, insinuating that a company with this appeal does not truly care about its customers or its services. As GEICO has already solidified their low price point and ease of purchase in the minds of consumers, a tactical shift in response to competitive actions is now optimal. To avoid being labeled as a "cut-rate" insurance provider who cares little about the safety or well-being of their clients, and provides them with low quality insurance products and services; the following integrated marketing campaign is proposed. Spearheaded by the slogan "As long as you have GEICO, Things are looking up.", this campaign will focus on raising awareness of the plethora of customer service programs and initiatives already offered by GEICO that are unknown to the general public. The humorous, lighthearted appeal will remain, but the focus on highlighting customer service benefits and the high quality associated with GEICO's product will serve to shift the public perception of GEICO. As a result of this campaign, GEICO will appeal to a broader segment of the market, retain customers for longer period of time, raise awareness of their helpful customer service products and services, and differentiate themselves from the competition.
ContributorsGood, David Gregory (Author) / Gray, Nancy (Thesis director) / Samper, Adriana (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Department of Management (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
Bacteria play a vital role in the world ecosystem, more importantly human health and disease. The capability to differentiate and identify these microorganisms serves as an important research objective. In past years, separations-based approaches have served as a way to observe and identify bacteria based on their characteristics. Gradient insulator dielectrophoresis (g-iDEP) provides benefits in identifying serotypes of a single species with precise separation. Separation of Staphylococcus epidermidis in a single g-iDEP microchannel is conducted exploiting their electrophoretic and electrokinetic properties. The cells were captured and concentrated at gates with interacting forces within the microchannel to clearly distinguish between the two strains. These results provide support for g-iDEP serving as a separating method and, furthermore, future clinical applications.
ContributorsDavis, Paige Elizabeth (Author) / Hayes, Mark (Thesis director) / Borges, Chad (Committee member) / Jones, Paul (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry (Contributor) / T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
Currently, the medical industry employs an acute treatment process centered on responsiveness and restoration. This method fails those with chronic illness who require disease management and proactivity. As a solution, the medical industry has implemented programs focused on providing integrated, coordinated care. This project examines two primary models to accommodate chronically ill patients: Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) and Patient Centered Medical Homes (PCMHs). Specifically, this paper examines the data from Pioneer and Medicare Shared Savings Program ACOs. In the aggregate, the data indicate that these programs have been unsuccessful due to several key issues: a lack of patient and physician engagement, failure to incentivize medical professionals and failed collaboration between both ACOs and PCMHs. Remedying these issues would improve the ability of both ACOs and PCMHs to provide integrated, comprehensive care to patients with chronic illnesses.
ContributorsWoods, Cassie Marie (Author) / Ketcham, Jonathan (Thesis director) / Samper, Adriana (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor)
Created2015-05