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.
This study utilized a literature review and an analysis of Google Trends and Google News data in order to investigate the coverage that American men’s soccer gets from the media compared to that given to other major American sports. The literature review called upon a variety of peer-reviewed, scholarly entries, as well as journalistic articles and stories, to holistically argue that soccer receives short-sighted coverage from the American media. This section discusses topics such as import substitution, stardom, and American exceptionalism. The Google analysis consisted of 30 specific comparisons in which one American soccer player was compared to another athlete playing in one of America’s major sports leagues. These comparisons allowed for concrete measurements in the difference in popularity and coverage between soccer players and their counterparts. Overall, both the literature review and Google analysis yielded firm and significant evidence that the American media’s coverage of soccer is lopsided, and that they do play a role in the sport’s difficulty to become popular in the American mainstream.
Researchers know that different types of self-construal (independent and interdependent) vary across different cultures. Individuals from East Asian cultures are more interdependent while individuals from Western cultures are more independent. Researchers also know that perceptions and understandings of beauty differ across cultures; however, there has been limited research on the connections between self-construal and beauty with minimal research on direct appearance enhancement products. Recently, new ways to present a positive self-image outside of cosmetics or direct appearance enhancement tools have emerged, and the question is raised as to whether these will also be determined by self-construal. We leverage work on the fluidity of self concept to argue that individuals with a more fluid self-concept (interdependents) will express more interest in appearance enhancement products. In the context of a Facebook ad study with Indian (interdependent) and American (independent) consumers, we demonstrate that interdependent consumers have greater interest in indirect appearance enhancing products, measured by click-through rate, compared to independent consumers.
The process to answer these questions began by compiling a list of 166 journalists who could provide valuable insight into the current state of sports journalism. Targeted specifically were those journalists who were either currently or had spent extensive time as a beat reporter, as a crucial aspect of the study hinged on the exploration of the role of analytics in day-to-day coverage. Of those 166 journalists, 93 made themselves available through either Twitter direct message or email. Once contacted, 47 of those journalists responded, eventually leading to 27 phone interviews and 7 email interviews.
Each interview began with the journalist establishing a baseline for what they thought the role of analytics should be in the coverage of their respective sports. From there, the conversation often took a linear turn as journalists talked about the experiences in their career that led them to that conclusion, what moments had shifted their overall opinions of analytics, their best approaches for utilizing analytics in both articles and interviews, their favorite and least favorite analytical measures, the gaps that remain in analytics, and the future of the industry as a whole.
Each interview was transcribed, and a number of compelling themes emerged. The many different themes were organized into three different groups, past, present and future, where they were further expanded on to best display the many concepts illustrated in this thesis. Among the themes explored include how journalists use coaches and players to validate statistics, what strategies work best when including analytics in conversations with athletes, how to find story ideas through analytics and the issues plaguing the analytics community. Once themes had been identified, the percentage of journalists who had indicated agreement with the themes were calculated. Thus, themes investigated were represented statistically as well as by a quote from a journalist addressing the idea.
Across 34 interviews with some of the country’s most established and well-respected voices, many of the pressing issues facing analytics in sports journalism today were explored, including the melding of analytical and narrative writing, how best to use analytics in question asking, and the “holy grail” of analytical data. Across interviews, a host of interesting strategies and ideas emerged as journalists examined how the industry reached its current point, what practices are currently most effective, and where the industry is headed. The perspective gained from this thesis gives insight into many of the lesser-discussed elements of journalism, imparting a deeper understanding of the challenges that lay ahead for sports journalism through an examination for how far the industry has come. While analytics and their usage in sports journalism remains a difficult concept to fully encapsulate, this thesis hopefully gives a better look at their complex and ever-evolving relationship.
think about how big of an impact just one of those pieces made in the world before it ended up
in my possession. A tiny spaghetti-strap tank top – bought from my local Goodwill for two dollars, originally purchased at H&M for eight – reminds me that although this square foot of
material might seem minute, it and the thousands of replicas manufactured along with it still
add to the carbon footprint of the fashion industry. Plain and simple – fashion comes at a cost,
whether fashionistas like to be privy to that truth or not. This truth launched an exploration of
my own fashion sense and work to uncover ways to make a difference, birthing ‘K’.
My intention stemmed from my love for clothes, a love rooted in some of my earliest
memories of my mothers’ fashion sense. I found it interesting that for her, and for myself, every
occasion seemed to call for a certain type of dress; occasions like school, church, vacations,
musicals, and nights out on the town to name a few. Not everyone abided by the rules of fashion
that seemed to be so important to me at a young age - no white pants after Labor Day kinds of
things – but, for me, these unspoken rules of dress carried true. Now, as an adult balancing
school, work, and social activity, I like to observe how my peers, coworkers, and friends present
their own sense of style.
After getting a job at a local resale store called Buffalo Exchange, the concept of fast
fashion and the ensuing lack of sustainability fueling it became a concern of interest. Thinking
about the styles of those around me, each completely unique to the wearer but similar in regard
to the individual pieces, struck me that people today are uninformed about the consequences of
their shopping habits. In reality, every consumer partakes in the fashion market in some sense,
meaning that every person feeds into the growing issues associated with fast fashion and similar
business, or join the conversation about sustainable fashion.
Taking my love for resale, a love birthed from ethical sourcing and the giddiness of
finding a good treasure after a big hunt, and partnering my creative skillset for fashion design, I
took on a big project to see for myself what people’s perceptions about resale are and how I
could be a part of the conversation. I began this line thinking about how my unique style always
seems to amass compliments from people liking just how different my items are. I figured that
taking my keen eye for aesthetics and using that to make resale items more desirable, I’d be able
to tap into a market that hardly acknowledges its own existence.