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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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
Starting in 2002, Arizona State University (ASU) began a rebranding effort to transition from having a reputation as a top 10 party school to being known as a prestigious research institution. Over the last 15 years, ASU has successfully reached some of these goals, eventually being named the #1 most innovative university in the country by the U.S. News and World Report. Part of this success can be attributed to the university's communication and marketing efforts, which seek to improve the university's reputation and build relationships with stakeholders. This study analyzes ASU's communication entities, how they interact and what messages they push out to stakeholders, particularly in regards to the #1 in innovation award. Primary research in this study looked at keywords used by different stakeholder groups affiliated with ASU, how they viewed ASU's reputation and how they receive communication from the university. Overall, the closer the relationship with ASU, the more positively the respondent viewed the university. Perception also varied based on geographic location and proximity to the university. Innovation is clearly a key brand perception of ASU from stakeholders, and the party school image is still persistent among those not affiliated with the university.
ContributorsHarrelson, Savannah Lee (Author) / Renzulli, Virgil (Thesis director) / Bovio, Sonia (Committee member) / School of Community Resources and Development (Contributor) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
A multimethod research design was used to conduct research on Arizona State University's (ASU) branding strategies with regards to the role the athletics department brand plays within the scope of the entire university brand, and whether or not the football uniforms themselves are effective in communicating the desired brand messages to ASU's key stakeholders. The research is in the form of a case study, and is comprised primarily of information gathered in several personal interviews with important stakeholders and experts in particular areas (n = 9), as well as a survey distributed to key stakeholders (n = 429). It was concluded through the culmination of this research that, consistent with existing research, ASU models its branding strategies using a branded house approach, which means Sun Devil Athletics (SDA) is branded consistently with the university's missions, charter, and brand standards. However, SDA's unique role as a major prestige generator for the university as well as its non-academic focus means specific brand marks, such as SDA's "Sun Devil Bold" font and athletic pitchfork, are used solely within the athletics department. In order to communicate the university's messages, the football program, and football uniforms specifically, are regarded as some of the most important channels of communication because of the wide audience that is reached through the uniforms' visual representation of ASU's brand. Thus, it was found that a major emphasis is placed on football uniform design, and adidas, ASU's exclusive athletic apparel sponsor, is charged with designing the uniforms in such a way to meet not just the needs of the players themselves, but also the brand standards set forth by both SDA and ASU. The survey results established that the deliberate branding efforts put forth by SDA's partnership with adidas, as well as ASU's communication of the athletics department's role within the university, are effective in reaching key stakeholders and have been overall successful in communicating the desired brand messages to constituents.
ContributorsBarone, Nina Patricia (Author) / Renzulli, Virgil (Thesis director) / Wu, Xu (Committee member) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12