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 - 8 of 8
Filtering by
Description
The Colorado River is the lifeblood for seven Basin States including Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, New Mexico, Arizona, California and Nevada. This water source aided westward expansion and allowed the arid Southwest to grow. Today, the river is over-allocated resulting in reduced flows. This could lead to water challenges in Arizona and the other Basin states. This river is the single largest entity from which Arizona receives water. Despite this, Arizona is still better situated for water cutbacks than other states like California. Arizona has more than nine million acre-feet of banked underground water and access to other water sources including the Salt and Verde rivers. Government officials are making decisions now that will affect water usage in Arizona for decades and generations to come. Digital media, such as iPad magazines are a good way to reach this technologically savvy generation and engage them concerning important issues. Designing for digital platforms presents unique opportunities. This platform requires solid content and visually appealing design to attract a Millennial audience born between the years 1981 and 1996, according to Pew Research Center. Digital magazines currently present a small segment of the media market, however this segment is growing exponentially. A study by Pew Research Center reports that this slice of the population is interested in consuming the news and emerging technologies such as digital magazines. These are good ways to reach and interest a digitally engaged readership. Reaching this age group is important because the Millennial generation will need to determine the future of the Colorado River and water use in Arizona. To ensure the future of water in the West, this generation needs to "learn about the reality of our water supply, what our real water challenges are and then get engaged and have a voice in what we do about our water planning for the future" (Porter, 2015). DISCLAIMER: The digital magazine was created in InDesign with interactive PDFs, which are best viewed on tablets. Screenshots of the magazine are included to demonstrate the magazine.
ContributorsPrice, Mallory Jeanne (Author) / Matera, Fran (Thesis director) / Hill, Retha (Committee member) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
Since the inception of the World Wide Web in the late 1980s, public relations firms and their clients have benefited from a valuable platform allowing for instant and global communication. Essential social engagement tools such as trust, loyalty and information dissemination have been transferred from a physical, non-mediated environment to a virtual, technology mediated one. Therefore, it is now vital that public relations practitioners understand the emerging field of cyberpsychology and the important elements that nurture e-Trust, e-Loyalty and Positive Virality. Through qualitative research methods, e-Trust, e-Loyalty and Positive Virality are comprehensively and conceptually defined. Each is also operationally defined in terms of number of users, number of followers and number of tweets, shares or media impressions. A Cyber-Success Model is proposed as a way to explain how these three digital components may work together to achieve a high degree of public engagement. The specific conceptual and operational criteria as well as the Cyber-Success Model are then used to evaluate public engagement with regard to Edelman Digital campaigns executed for clients PayPal and Ebay as examples of how the model is applied. Conclusions and future recommendations for Edelman Digital, the field of public relations and the field of cyberpsychology are discussed.
ContributorsOliverio-Lauderdale, Patricia Eagle (Author) / Matera, Fran (Thesis director) / Bodford, Jessica (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2014-12
DescriptionThe purpose of this study is to assess to what degree employees of the Commercial Service are knowledgeable about social media. It is also a means to learn about the perceptions of social media within the U.S. government and the Commercial Service and examine its innovation culture.
ContributorsSinclair, Torunn Kathryn (Author) / Matera, Fran (Thesis director) / Phillips, Robin (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
The Respect Movement is the effort to reduce the number of sexual assaults at Arizona State University by the organizations Man Up and WOW Factor (Women of Worth). One of the movement's goals is to grow its membership. The aim of this thesis is to understand the members' motivations to ensure that the movement's communication responds to these motivators and to add to the scholarly investigation of volunteer motivation and communication. This research will analyze what motivates people to be involved with social change organizations. Once those motivators are discovered, the Respect Movement can start incorporating them into their communication to draw more people to the movement and to continue engaging their current members. Scholarly literature reveals that people are more motivated to participate in something if they are recognized and if they feel important and valuable to the organization. A survey was used in this study to gather responses to the following questions: 1) Are members currently motivated to attend Respect Movement functions? 2) What type of communication are they currently responding to; 3) What types of people and students are being engaged by the movement and with whom could they do a better job of connecting? 4) What motivates members when they are working toward a goal? 5) How well is the Respect Movement currently motivating its members? Overall, the findings from the survey show that the Respect Movement is effectively motivating students to be involved with the organization. The main recommendations from the survey results are: 1) increase attendance at events by making them special or meaningful to the attendees and creating a positive experience; 2) help the members find practical ways to achieve the goal of reducing the number of sexual assaults on campus by building a culture of respect as a habit in their lives; 3) make members feel appreciated by asking their advice. The respondents noted this was very important to them; 4) continue to develop the values of community, integrity, compassion and justice within the organization. Future research could include additional study of the movement's members through other research approaches such as interviews or conducting a similar survey with members from other types of community organizations.
ContributorsZook, Jessica Lynn (Author) / Matera, Fran (Thesis director) / Sweeter, Janice (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
This study examines the The Disney College Program, a semester-long paid internship hosted by the Walt Disney Company employing more than 10,000 students each year. With over 120,000 alumni in the past 10 years, this program offers students housing and community building opportunities within the "Living" component, college credit courses within the "Learning" component, and on-the-job experience at Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World theme parks through the "Earning" component. Specifically, the research focuses on Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. The researcher conducted a 39-question online survey prompting 1,749 responses from Disney College Program alumni to help answer the following research questions: (1) Who are Disney College Program Cast Members, (2) What is their level of satisfaction with the program, and (3) Are they influencers? This study uses theoretical elements (e.g. levels of adoption, influencers and brand loyalty) to describe influence and psychological effects to describe satisfaction (e.g. indoctrination, human motivation and Stockholm Syndrome). With the findings showing discrepancies between the ratings of "Living," "Learning," and "Earning" and the average overall rating, some questions arise about the program's tendencies to form tightly cohesive groups approaching elements of Stockholm Syndrome and cult-like ethos. Focusing on the 1,490 of 1,749 respondents from Walt Disney World in the past 10 years, the study concludes that Walt Disney World College Program alumni are not influencers nor advocates, but rather evangelists (i.e., zealous advocate) and loyalists.
ContributorsMcgowan, Sloane Shea (Author) / Matera, Fran (Thesis director) / Archer, Ciara (Committee member) / School of Community Resources and Development (Contributor) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor) / College of Public Service and Community Solutions (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
This study examines the relationships between the success of Instagram health and fitness influencers and the images they share. As social media continues to grow as a source of information and interconnectedness, the sway influencers hold over their followers and potential consumers grow too. The success of these influencers in gaining followers, motivating opinions and achieving an aesthetic physique, result in monetary gain. On the media site Instagram, influencers with one million followers can garner over $50,000 per sponsored post. Specifically, the research focuses on four Instagram influencers who have over 200,000 followers. The subjects, Amanda Bucci, Nikki Blackketter, Maxx Chewning and Christian Guzman, were selected based on their popularity within the weight lifting community. Together, these influencers have over 400 million followers on Instagram. The study analyzed 32 photos sourced from the influencer's Instagrams. Of the 32 images, 16 were selected as branded content and 16 were selected as candid content. These images were then coded to answer the following research questions: (1) is there a pattern in the visuals weight lifters share, (2) is there a difference between branded or candid content, (3) how do these similarities or lack thereof influence number of Instagram followers and financial success, and (4) what physical dimensions contribute to a weight lifter's success on Instagram? This study uses content analysis to understand the symbolic meaning of texts and visuals. With the findings showing recurrent themes between (1) posture of subject, (2) use of brand affiliation and (3) professional grade photography, we confirm that bodily capital, sponsorship and authenticity are successful tactics used by influencers to generate a following.
ContributorsKoontz, Ellanna Marie (Author) / Matera, Fran (Thesis director) / Artigue, Ray (Committee member) / School of Nutrition and Health Promotion (Contributor) / School of Community Resources and Development (Contributor) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
This project is a case study of the how The New York Times metro desk and its journalists used Twitter throughout the duration of Hurricane Sandy. Hurricane Sandy affected the East Coast of the United States in late October and early November 2012. The study specifically focuses on a random sampling of journalists' individual Twitter accounts as listed on the Times website directory and the official New York Times Metro account, which tweets breaking news in the New York City metro area of five New York City boroughs and New Jersey. This study categorizes the tweets according to types of tweet, with regard to whether individual tweets were "retweets" (reposting of another Twitter user's tweet) as well as the tweet's contents by categories relevant to the storm. This case study utilizes a qualitative approach. The categories were determined based on theme as a contextual analysis to synthesize information more broadly to be more inclusive of tweets occurring during the time frame of October 27 to November 3, 2012. The study then analyzes the tweets through the lens of the Society of Professional Journalists' Code of Ethics, a code voluntarily embraced by thousands of journalists as a guideline for ethical behavior in the profession, and the New York Times informal guidelines for its journalists' social media use. The study seeks to explore the ethical implications of Twitter's use during breaking news and how the message is delivered can be framed by as a tweet or retweet rather than shared through traditional journalism methods (via print or a news organization's website.)
ContributorsSteffan, Sara (Author) / Matera, Fran (Thesis director) / Thornton, Leslie (Committee member) / Gilpin, Dawn (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor)
Created2013-05
Description
The Canyon Suites at The Phoenician is blazing a new trail in the luxury hospitality industry, but is still facing challenges garnering widespread recognition by consumers. Located on the world-renowned Phoenician Resort property in Scottsdale, Ariz,. The Canyon Suites is the first "boutique resort within a resort," of its kind in the nation. It shares restaurants, pools, golf courses and a spa facility with the 583-room Phoenician, while also offering exclusive, higher-end amenities and services of its own. In February 2013, The Canyon Suites became the first Forbes Five Star Hotel in Arizona since 2002, and one of just 76 hotels worldwide. So why aren't its occupancy rates higher? The Canyon Suites is struggling to distinguish itself as a unique world-class resort, while still remaining loyal to its roots at The Phoenician. One key strategy to reach target audiences is through public relations efforts. For purposes of this study, external messaging in the form of press releases were evaluated, as well as a content analysis of print media coverage about the resort. The objective was to determine if the content and frequency of PR tactics corresponds with resort occupancy rates over the course of one year (Summer 2012 through Spring 2013), and to make recommendations on how it can improve future public relations outreach.
ContributorsMcBride, Rachael Noelani (Author) / Matera, Fran (Thesis director) / Silcock, Bill (Committee member) / Artigue, Ray (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor)
Created2013-05