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
INTRODUCTION: This thesis delves into how PR-media relations evolved in the past 20 years (since 1997). It discusses several aspects of media relations, such as relationships, old and new media relations tools, pitching and predictions about the future of media relations. LITERATURE REVIEW: A review of previous literature on media relations guided this research. Past research explained stigmas about the relationship between public relations professionals and journalists, how pitching has evolved, social media's role in modern day media relations and the dynamic between earned and owned media. METHODOLOGY: The research involved a mixed method approach with qualitative and quantitative methods. First, in-depth interviews were conducted with both journalists and public relations professionals who work in Arizona. These interviews were conducted either in-person or over the phone. Second, two in-depth interviews were conducted over the phone with a public relations professional who worked at Intel for over 20 years for a case study. Finally, a survey was distributed to public relations professionals in Arizona via email and through social media websites (Facebook and Twitter) to provide insight on the media relations tactics they have recently utilized, as well as their use of social media. There were also five follow-up interviews conducted with survey respondents. FINDINGS: After conducting these three methods of research, the qualitative (quotes) and quantitative (survey) data were analyzed to provide detailed opinions about media relations including: the relationships between public relations professionals and the media, the use of old and new media relations tools, what an effective pitch looks like, the use of social media, comparisons between less and more experienced PR professionals, and predictions on the future of media relations. DISCUSSION: The findings from this research led to several conclusions regarding media relations such as: the importance of maintaining a trusting and respectful relationship, traditional tools' place in modern day media relations, email's dominance as a media relations tool, the hesitation by PR professionals to use social media as a communication tool with journalists, more experienced PR professionals' lack of hesitation to use social media as a communication tool with journalists, and the prediction that relationships will remain key in media relations despite the changes in media relations tools themselves. CONCLUSION: Based on all of the findings from this research, it was concluded that media relations has evolved to keep up with the changing media landscape, however, traditional tools and practices remain relevant and essential to media relations.
ContributorsTillman, Krista Michelle (Author) / Wu, Xu (Thesis director) / Bovio, Sonia (Committee member) / College of Integrative Sciences and Arts (Contributor) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-12
Description
For my creative project, I began an art press that produces small-run vinyl records and artist's books. Initially, the venture began as a means to circumvent record pressing facilities as a vinyl record-cutting service. By the end of this project, the focus shifted to encompass more visual art products than just vinyl records. The project began with vinyl records because I saw a need in the market; in the past decade, the industry has grown dramatically, but the dozen record pressing plants in the country cannot keep up with the demand. Because record pressing companies prioritize large orders, it is difficult for many small bands and independent record labels to produce work on this medium. This is due to the long lead times, high prices, and large minimum order sizes. I located a man in Germany, who invented a machine that makes high-quality, lathe-cut records. I named the project Blushing Soup, as homage to my father, who passed during my first semester of college. It is through his passing that I was able to secure funds to pursue this venture. I brought on a partner, who was more familiar with art and audio recording than myself. In the summer of 2015, we met with this inventor to learn how to use his machine. By October of 2015, a machine of our own had arrived. In early November, Blushing Soup won a grant from the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art. During this time, we released two vinyl records for local bands. For a culminating project, I coordinated a Record Store Day compilation album consisting of six bands featuring. After securing all of the music, the machine started having problems, which forced me to cancel this release. Recognizing the delicacy of the machine, prompted a shift in the aim of Blushing Soup. During this process, I started learning printmaking processes, and I realized that Blushing Soup could function as more than a record cutting service; we could be an art press. In the last few month of this project, I started making artist's books. By the end of April 2016, Blushing Soup will have released vinyl records for two bands, as well as produced four handmade books. This creative project centered around the process of creating art through lathe cutting and printmaking; the objective was not to maximize profits but rather refocus the consumption of art (in a sustainable practice).
ContributorsStringer, Shelby Manning (Author) / Essig, Linda (Thesis director) / Peck, Sidnee (Committee member) / School of Art (Contributor) / Department of English (Contributor) / School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
Children today are being primed with technology at very young ages, leading to a more digitally focused lifestyle. Tangentially, today's digital culture has led to the increase of online shopping rather than in-store shopping. A group of students at Arizona State University's Innovation Space program, in partnership with Disney Consumer Products, set out to create a children's product that bridged the physical-digital gap, and encouraged outdoor activity. The result of their work was Blitz: a versatile, outdoor gaming console that brings traditional outdoor fun into the digital world. This thesis and paired creative project are an extension of the research and development done by the Blitz team. The purpose of this additional research is to discover how parents and children shop online in to design a website to market and sell the Blitz gaming system. Some of the topics covered include visual design, functionality, user interaction, and marketing tactics. The goal is not to develop advertising tactics to manipulate children, but to find the best ways to design for, and market children's products.
ContributorsPoindexter, Devin Alan (Author) / Fehler, Michelle (Thesis director) / Peck, Sidnee (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Department of Finance (Contributor)
Created2014-12
Description
SparkLED designs innovative and intelligent LED products to concert attendees for the music industry (specifically, electronic dance music). Unlike other LED product distributors/manufacturers, such as emazinglights.com, orbitlightshow.com, and led-clothing.com, we offer products with higher degrees of customization, while maintaining higher quality, such as battery life and product durability. Our venture aims to solve the problem that consumers have with current LED product offerings. In most cases, consumers have a problem with the quality of their products while they are used throughout the day at a concert, club, or festival. In addition, with an over saturated market of LED product vendors that strictly utilize online channels, we hope to offer the physical channel needed to foster customer relationships and development at various events.
ContributorsYip, Indy Boyin (Author) / Trappen, Eric (Thesis director) / Peck, Sidnee (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Management (Contributor) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
Entrepreneurs have always existed in some form. Many researchers have attempted to define the core characteristics and personal traits of entrepreneurs. Few authors have presented significant research about the relationships between these entrepreneurs and their mentors. The purpose of this paper is to explore and evaluate the need for mentoring student entrepreneurs. Quantitative data on the subject is scarce, but there are several sources that provide qualitative data that are available for review and interpretation. This study will review the available research and draw from the insights and conclusions to provide a framework to improve the success of entrepreneurship through mentoring.
ContributorsViramontes, Stephen (Author) / Ostrom, Amy (Thesis director) / Boradkar, Prasad (Committee member) / Peck, Sidnee (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
DescriptionA comprehensive business model aimed at providing young travelers with authentic local experiences while reducing the financial burden of travel by leveraging users primary and extended networks.
ContributorsAskin, Christian Edward (Author) / Miller, Duane (Thesis director) / Peck, Sidnee (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Management (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
The amount of connection one has, whether it is digitally or in-person can have an overall affect on a person's business, their being, and their interaction- these interactions are considered social capital. The main premise of social capital is that social networks have value. This means that the collective value of which people know will affect their inclination to do things for each other. In this case, social capital is not about the warm feeling one gets when someone does something for them, it refers to the information flow and mutual aid that bonds people who are interested in the same things. With technology at an all time high, these connections are made infinitely possible through social media. This project uses Cuisine of Arizona, a regional restaurant guide, to exemplify how strategies of social capital can be used via social media in order to build trustworthy and valuable connections and build a larger audience for the brand. Research on the benefits of Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for social media marketing was conducted and was then adapted to benefit the Cuisine of Arizona restaurant guide. A social media calendar was implemented for organizational purposes and the social media sites were updated to keep their look current. Research on how business websites keep their audience was conducted as well. The current Cuisine of Arizona website was outdated, but still useful. A mock-up website was created on Wix.com to give the website a new look and bring in new interactive features, like the online flipbook version of the restaurant guide and a dynamic homepage, but still gave the audience the same useful information as the old site. The mock-up website was also mobile optimized for use on smartphones and tablets. The three social media methods were chosen because of their capabilities to interact with one another. For example, Instagram posts can be shared on both Facebook and Twitter, resulting in more unique viewers for each site. If the website's content is shared on any of these sites, it will build a larger audience for the Cuisine of Arizona website as well. If used carefully, the proposed social media plan will draw a larger audience to the entire Cuisine of Arizona brand and in turn, build trust and credibility among its audience.
ContributorsGuillen, Alejandra (Author) / Gilpin, Dawn (Thesis director) / Bovio, Sonia (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of English (Contributor) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
This thesis is a technical project management overview of development of software for a student startup venture named TableTop. There were many changes made throughout the process in order to address new conditions as to keep the vision of the project on the most direct and reasonable path. Development followed the agile product development model in order to adapt as the concept pivoted or as hurdles presented themselves. The goal at the end of the project was to have a well-defined business model based off of the lean startup business model canvas. The business model would shape development of the software that needed to be functional and ready for testing by the completion of the thesis. Functional was defined as having completed the user and merchant side of the application including communication between both. Ultimately, a user needed to be able to complete a transaction that a merchant had submitted on the software.
ContributorsMaloney, Ryan Daniel (Author) / Mayron, Liam (Thesis director) / Peck, Sidnee (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Arts, Media and Engineering (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
In the 2016 Presidential Election, Republican candidate, Donald Trump, used a communication strategy in which he labeled his opponents and naysayers with negative nicknames. Throughout his campaign he labeled opponents as "Crazy Bernie," "Crooked Hillary," "Little Marco," "Lyin' Ted," "Low Energy Jeb" and "Goofy Elizabeth Warren." Donald Trump repeated these nicknames at rallies and over his social media platforms. Donald Trump was elected President in November 2016 and took office the following January. Did these nicknames that Donald Trump used resonate with voters? And if so, who did they resonate with the most? In order to research these questions, the U.S. eligible voting population was given the opportunity to complete a survey asking them a series of questions about choosing the word that best describes these politicians that Trump has labeled. They were also asked questions regarding what political party they are registered to and who they voted for in the 2016 Presidential Election. Results indicated that Trump voting respondents and registered Republican respondents felt the words Donald Trump used to label his opponents described those politicians best, in comparison to other groups and demographics. These findings demonstrate that the nicknames Donald Trump used during his campaign did resonate with certain groups of voters.
ContributorsBrewer, Jennifer Marie (Author) / Renzulli, Virgil (Thesis director) / Bovio, Sonia (Committee member) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
The focus shift towards Silicon Valley and similar ecosystems in the past decade, the recent boom in startups and entrepreneurship, and the resurgence of venture capital funding is fueling rapid advancement of modern technologies, such as software, biotechnology, and renewable energy. One facet of the growing entrepreneurial landscape features healthcare technology—a field of research centered upon various technical advances in medicine, software, and hardware. Trends in healthcare technology commercialization represent a promising opportunity for disruption in the healthcare industry. The integration of rapidly iterating software with medical research, timed perfectly with the passage of the Affordable Care Act and the boom of venture capital investment in both Big Data and mobile technology, has the healthcare technology primed for explosive growth over the next decade. Investment data indicates that strong public market activity in the past year will continue to fuel venture capital growth in both the biotechnology and digital health sectors, with the potential for multiple large exits by life sciences companies, more than even software, in the coming year.
ContributorsPatel, Nisarg (Co-author) / Yun, Kwanho (Co-author) / Wang, Xiao (Thesis director) / Marchant, Gary (Committee member) / Peck, Sidnee (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Management (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor)
Created2014-05