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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- Creators: Department of Finance
What is a “Good Economy”? Analysis of Economic Metrics & Their Political Impact on the United States
This research project dives deep into the current aluminum can shortage in the craft beer industry. More specifically, this paper will explore how aluminum cans became the dominant beer package compared to glass bottles, give a brief comparison of the environmental and taste benefits of aluminum cans and glass bottles, determine what caused the current excess in demand for aluminum cans, and show how this shortage is currently affecting the brewing industry. Due to the unprecedented increase in demand for packaged beer and supply chain issues caused by the coronavirus pandemic, projections indicate that can manufacturers will not be able to meet industry demand for another three to four years. Although it may seem like an easy option for breweries to switch to packaging their beer in glass bottles until aluminum cans become more readily available, many breweries do not have this ability because they do not own a bottling machine. Cans are better for the environment and the taste of the beer than glass bottles, so most breweries bought only a canning machine to package their products. Because of this, however, many small breweries recently have been unable to package their products due to their inability to purchase cans from large can manufacturers. Considering this, this paper will also investigate potential beer packaging substitutes for aluminum and glass that could be implemented both now and in the coming years so breweries can still produce products during the current shortage and any that may occur in the future. However, a shortage caused by a worldwide pandemic, and the policy response that led to an excess in consumer demand that cannot be met by the current supply chain infrastructure, is not unique to the brewing industry. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to understand how supply chain induced shortages created by the coronavirus pandemic can affect an industry and how firms can work creatively to analyze options and overcome these obstacles.