Theses and Dissertations
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- Creators: Department of Supply Chain Management
In an effort to address these trends, we founded a student organization, The Political Literates, to fight political apathy by delivering political news in an easy to understand and unbiased manner. Inspired by our experience with this organization, we combine our insights with research to paint a new perspective on the state of the American political system.
This thesis analyzes various issues identified through our observations and research, with a heavy emphasis on using examples from the 2016 election. Our focus is how new technologies like data analytics, the Internet, smartphones, and social media are changing politics by driving political and social transformation. We identify and analyze five core issues that have been amplified by new technology, hindering the effectiveness of elections and further increasing political polarization:
● Gerrymandering which skews partisan debate by forcing politicians to pander to ideologically skewed districts.
● Consolidation of media companies which affects the diversity of how news is shared.
● Repeal of the Fairness Doctrine which allowed media to become more partisan.
● The Citizens United Ruling which skews power away from average voters in elections.
● A Failing Education System which does not prepare Americans to be civically engaged and to avoid being swayed by biased or untrue media.
Based on our experiment with the Political Literates and our research, we call for improving how critical thinking and civics is taught in the American education system. Critical thought and civics must be developed pervasively. With this, more people would be able to form more sophisticated views by listening to others to learn rather than win, listening less to irrelevant information, and forming a culture with more engagement in politics. Through this re-enlightenment, many of America’s other problems may evaporate or become more actionable.
This research investigates the attitude of students towards chatbots and their potential usage in finding career resources. Survey data from two sources were analyzed using descriptive statistics and correlation analysis. The first survey found that students had a neutral attitude towards chatbots, but chatbot understanding was a key factor in increasing their usage. The survey data suggested that chatbots could provide quick and convenient access to information and personalized recommendations, but their effectiveness for career resource searches may be limited. The second survey found that students who were more satisfied with the quality of resources from the career office were more likely to use chatbots. However, students who felt more prepared to explore their career options were less likely to use chatbots. These results suggest that the W. P. Carey Career Office could benefit from offering more and better resources to prepare students for exploring their career options and could explore the use of chatbots to enhance the quality of their resources and increase student satisfaction. Further research is needed to confirm these suggestions and explore other possible factors that may affect the use of chatbots and the satisfaction with career office resources.
With a deep emphasis on the criticality of mitigating brand dilution whilst manipulating product offerings, this paper will then provide a golf-specific industry trend analysis, diving into the various ways marketers at TaylorMade Golf, Callaway Golf, and Cleveland/Srixon/XXIO Golf leverage brand equity while mitigating brand dilution risks. With a greater understanding of marketing-theory based principles and research conducted on the current customer trends prevalent in the golf industry, supplemented by marketing-personnel survey responses, I will be able to translate branding-based principles into recommendations for companies competing in the golf equipment industry.