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The National Basketball Association (NBA) is one of the Big Four Sporting Leagues of US Professional Sports. In recent years, the NBA has enjoyed milestone seasons in both attendance and television ratings, resulting in steady increases to both, over the previous decade. (Morgan, 2017) This surge can be attributed in part to the integration of "cultural recognition" initiatives and the overall message of inclusivity on the part of NBA franchises, with their respective promotions and advertisements such as television, social media, radio, etc. Heritage Nights, such as "Noche Latina," among other variants in the NBA, typically feature culturally influenced changes to team logos, giveaways, and other consumer offerings. In markets where Hispanics make up a significant percentage of the fan-base, such as Phoenix, NBA franchises such as the Phoenix Suns must ascertain the financial or perceptual impacts, associated with risks of stereotyping, offending or otherwise unintentionally alienating different categories of fans. To this end, data was collected from the local NBA franchises' fanbase, specifically Phoenix Suns season-ticket holders, and was statistically checked for significant relationships between both categories of fans and several different variables. This analysis found that only $192K in revenue is being missed through the investment of Heritage Nights, and that fan perceptions of stereotypical or offensive giveaways and practices have no significant effect on game or event attendance, despite the stereotypes toward giveaways and practices still being present. Implications of this study provide possible next steps for the Suns and continue to widen the scope of demographical sports marketing both in professional basketball and beyond.
ContributorsGibbens, Patrick Alexander (Author) / Eaton, John (Thesis director) / McIntosh, Daniel (Committee member) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / School of Music (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
Crescendo, an after school program that was created to fulfill the Thesis/Creative Project requirement for Barrett, the Honors College, linked musical excellence with academic excellence in pursuit of social change for sixty of Tempe's underprivileged students in Thew Elementary School. This program focused on five main objectives: musical excellence through refined music education, academic excellence through tutorship, promotion of a positive self-image through community performances, development of strong communication skills through ensemble experience, and accessibility to students by providing the program free of cost. Students enrolled in this program were involved in musical rehearsal, college readiness sessions, a field trip to the Musical Instrument Museum, a music performance for the community, and academic assistance. Results of the overall effectiveness of the program were measured through a pre/post survey that was administered to the students and through dialogue with the teachers and parents of the participating students. The literary component of this project discusses the need for the integrations of outside arts organizations, like Crescendo, into schools, outlines the startup tasks of an arts education program (i.e. acquiring funding, designating volunteers, receiving permission, pinpointing a group of participants, etc.), offers before/after snapshot of the progress of the student participants, and provides a comparison to other programs of its type.
ContributorsGamboa, Stephen Allen (Author) / Smith, J.B. (Thesis director) / Creviston, Hannah (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Music (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
The thesis explores the trial of the Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann, which occurred in Jerusalem in 1961. In order to do this, the thesis analyzes four sources—two films and two books—that exist as representations of and responses to the historic trial. My analyses investigate the role of the witnesses who offered testimony during the trial and the sentencing that occurred at the trial’s conclusion, which are two major aspects of the trial. By comparing the way that various witnesses, who appear in multiple representations of the trial, are portrayed, the thesis will make conclusions regarding the way that each source utilizes the witness testimony. In order to evaluate the way each source presents the sentencing of the trial, the thesis uses Yasco Horsman’s concepts of the constative and performative aspects of judgement. The thesis concludes by discussing the value that each of these works has as a representation of the Holocaust. Ultimately, as time distances the modern generation from the events of the Holocaust and post-Holocaust trials, the need for such representations as the four examined in this thesis continues to grow in importance.
ContributorsKierum, Caitlin Anne (Author) / Gilfillan, Daniel (Thesis director) / Goodman, Brian (Committee member) / Historical, Philosophical & Religious Studies (Contributor) / School of Social Transformation (Contributor) / Department of English (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / School of Music (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
Prior to World War II, about 55,000 Jews were living in Prague, a very cosmopolitan and artistic city. They represented nearly twenty percent of the city’s population. By the end of the war, at least two-thirds of them had died in the Holocaust. The Nazis converted the small fortress town of Theresienstadt, near Prague, into a transport camp for Jews on their way to Auschwitz and other death camps. Theresienstadt was where the Nazis sent most Jewish Czech intellectuals, military veterans, artists, and members of the upper class who were well connected. It was also the camp they chose to present to the international community. For all of these reasons—Theresienstadt’s isolation, the demography of the inmates there, and the Nazis’ desire to use it to fool the international community—the Nazis allowed unparalleled self-administration and artistic freedoms.
Arguably the most noteworthy result was its flourishing musical community. Composers and performers who had worked together in Prague prior to the war were able to continue to do so freely in ways that Jewish people were not allowed anywhere else in occupied Europe. They kept the musicians in Theresienstadt—delaying their deportations to Auschwitz—longer than almost anyone else in the camp, until the threat of Soviet liberation was imminent. This thesis aims to explore the lives and works of four Theresienstadt composers: Viktor Ullmann, Pavel Haas, Gideon Klein, and Hans Krása. All four of these artists were successful prior to the war, spent time in Theresienstadt, and were sent to Auschwitz on the same transport on October 16, 1944. Three of the four died in the gas chambers of Auschwitz, and Klein was sent on to the Fürstengrube concentration camp, where he was shot and killed in January 1945. These composers and their music should be remembered, studied, and performed, not only for historical and moral reasons, but also for artistic ones. Their works represent some of the finest music in the German tradition written during this period. In conjunction with this paper, I have arranged Gideon Klein’s String Trio—one of the pieces profiled here—for saxophone quartet. Members of the Arizona State University saxophone studio will perform it twice in April. I hope that the performances will help make audiences aware of the strength of the music that came out of Theresienstadt, and reinforce the fact that it remains highly relevant. In this thesis, the composers’ careers before and during their time in Theresienstadt will be traced, as well as the measures they took to preserve their music, their interactions with each other, and their efforts to use hidden messages in their music. It is hoped that this document will help fill an important gap in the history of European music in the twentieth century.
Arguably the most noteworthy result was its flourishing musical community. Composers and performers who had worked together in Prague prior to the war were able to continue to do so freely in ways that Jewish people were not allowed anywhere else in occupied Europe. They kept the musicians in Theresienstadt—delaying their deportations to Auschwitz—longer than almost anyone else in the camp, until the threat of Soviet liberation was imminent. This thesis aims to explore the lives and works of four Theresienstadt composers: Viktor Ullmann, Pavel Haas, Gideon Klein, and Hans Krása. All four of these artists were successful prior to the war, spent time in Theresienstadt, and were sent to Auschwitz on the same transport on October 16, 1944. Three of the four died in the gas chambers of Auschwitz, and Klein was sent on to the Fürstengrube concentration camp, where he was shot and killed in January 1945. These composers and their music should be remembered, studied, and performed, not only for historical and moral reasons, but also for artistic ones. Their works represent some of the finest music in the German tradition written during this period. In conjunction with this paper, I have arranged Gideon Klein’s String Trio—one of the pieces profiled here—for saxophone quartet. Members of the Arizona State University saxophone studio will perform it twice in April. I hope that the performances will help make audiences aware of the strength of the music that came out of Theresienstadt, and reinforce the fact that it remains highly relevant. In this thesis, the composers’ careers before and during their time in Theresienstadt will be traced, as well as the measures they took to preserve their music, their interactions with each other, and their efforts to use hidden messages in their music. It is hoped that this document will help fill an important gap in the history of European music in the twentieth century.
ContributorsSchwimmer, Jack Denmark (Author) / Creviston, Hannah (Thesis director) / Feisst, Sabine (Committee member) / Creviston, Christopher (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Music (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor)
Created2013-05
Description
Personal branding within the music industry has long fallen under the supervision of profit-centric major record labels, whose control extended throughout artist’s music, copyrights, merchandising, and fair-use compensation. This paper explores how artists’ branding has evolved within the recording industry alongside the development of emerging technologies and the discovery of certain patterns in consumer behavior. Starting with an overarching exploration of the origins of commercialized music, this paper iterates how certain record labels ascended the corporate hierarchy to influence consumers’ accessible listening options. This understanding leads to an analysis of the inception of illegal file-sharing websites as an outlet for music distribution, as well as its long-lasting effects on industry distribution tactics and music streaming platforms. This paper then narrows to the origins of the rap industry, delving into the traditionally-rooted experiential celebrations that birthed such an impactful genre. Following an understanding of the history of the recording and rap industries, this paper identifies the modern music listener’s behaviors and choices, supplemented by an examination of how consumer social technologies have motivated these changes. To best understand the role of these evolving perceptions, this paper evaluates four successful rap artists - Chance the Rapper, Tekashi 6ix9ine, Lil Nas X, and Travis Scott - and determines the strategies employed by these individuals and their branding teams. Finally, in determining these strategies, this paper outlines the essential takeaways from this research that would aid in the advancement of an artist’s personal branding today.
ContributorsBoyle, Jared Devin (Co-author) / Schneider, Garrett (Co-author) / Giles, Charles (Thesis director) / Lisjak, Monika (Committee member) / School of Music (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-12