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- All Subjects: Business Administration
- Creators: Arizona State University
Description
This project examines the social and economic factors that contributed to the development of a specialist-based economy among the Phoenix Basin Hohokam. In the Hohokam case, widespread dependence on the products of a few concentrated pottery producers developed in the absence of political centralization or hierarchical social arrangements. The factors that promoted intensified pottery production, therefore, are the keys to addressing how economic systems can expand in small-scale and middle-range societies. This dissertation constructs a multi-factor model that explores changes to the organization of decorated pottery production during a substantial portion of the pre-Classic period (AD 700 - AD 1020). The analysis is designed to examine simultaneously several variables that may have encouraged demand for ceramic vessels made by specialists. This study evaluates the role of four factors in the development of supply and demand for specialist produced red-on-buff pottery in Hohokam settlements. The factors include 1) agricultural intensification in the form of irrigation agriculture, 2) increases in population density, 3) ritual or social obligations that require the production of particular craft items, and 4) reduced transport costs. Supply and demand for specialist-produced pottery is estimated through a sourcing analysis of non-local pottery at 13 Phoenix Basin settlements. Through a series of statistical analyses, the study measures changes in the influence of each factor on demand for specialist-produced pottery through four temporal phases of the Hohokam pre-Classic period. The analysis results indicate that specialized red-on-buff production was initially spurred by demand for light-colored, shiny, decorated pottery, but then by comparative advantages to specialized production in particular areas of the Phoenix Basin. Specialists concentrated on the Snaketown canal system were able to generate light-colored, mica-dense wares that Phoenix Basin consumers desired while lowering transport costs in the distribution of red-on-buff pottery. The circulation of decorated wares was accompanied by the production of plainware pottery in other areas of the Phoenix Basin. Economic growth in the region was based on complementary and coordinated economic activities between the Salt and the Gila River valleys.
ContributorsKelly, Sophia E (Author) / Abbott, David R. (Thesis advisor) / Darling, J. Andrew (Committee member) / Moore, Gordon (Committee member) / Spielmann, Katherine A. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
Rapid urbanization in Phoenix, Arizona has increased the nighttime temperature by 5°C (9 °F), and the average daily temperatures by 3.1°C (5.6 °F) (Baker et al 2002). On the macro scale, the energy balance of urban surface paving materials is the main contributor to the phenomenon of the Urban Heat Island effect (UHI). On the micro scale, it results in a negative effect on the pedestrian thermal comfort environment. In their efforts to revitalize Downtown Phoenix, pedestrian thermal comfort improvements became one of the main aims for City planners. There has been an effort in reformulating City zoning standards and building codes with the goal of developing a pedestrian friendly civic environment. Much of the literature dealing with mitigating UHI effects recommends extensive tree planting as the chief strategy for reducing the UHI and improving outdoor human thermal comfort. On the pedestrian scale, vegetation plays a significant role in modifying the microclimate by providing shade and aiding the human thermal comfort via evapotranspiration. However, while the extensive tree canopy is beneficial in providing daytime shade for pedestrians, it may reduce the pavement surfaces' sky-view factor during the night, thereby reducing the rate of nighttime radiation to the sky and trapping the heat gained within the urban materials. This study strives to extend the understanding, and optimize the recommendations for the use of landscape in the urban context of Phoenix, Arizona for effectiveness in both improving the human thermal comfort and in mitigating the urban heat island effect.
ContributorsRosheidat, Akram (Author) / Bryan, Harvey (Thesis advisor) / Lee, Taewoo (Committee member) / Chalfoun, Nader (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
Postwar suburban sprawl resulted in environmental consequences that engendered backlash from those concerned about the quality life in the places they lived, played, and worked. Few cities grew as rapidly as Phoenix and therefore the city offers an important case study to evaluate the success and limits of environmentalism in shaping urban growth in the postwar period.
Using three episodes looking at sanitation and public health, open space preservation, and urban transportation, I argue three factors played a critical role in determining the extent to which environmental values were incorporated into Phoenix's urban growth policy. First, the degree to which environmental values influenced urban policy depends on the degree to which they fit into the Southwestern suburban lifestyle. A desire for low-density development and quality of life amenities like outdoor recreation resulted in decisions to extend municipal sewers further into the desert, the creation of a mountain preserve system, and freeways as the primary mode of travel in the city. Second, federal policy and the availability of funds guided policies pursued by Phoenix officials to deal with the unintended environmental impacts of growth. For example, federal dollars provided one-third of the funds for the construction of a centralized sewage treatment plant, half the funds to save Camelback Mountain and ninety percent of the construction costs for the West Papago-Inner Loop. Lastly, policy alternatives needed broad and diverse public support, as the public played a critical role, through bond approvals and votes, as well as grassroots campaigning, in integrating environmental values into urban growth policy. Public advocacy campaigns played an important role in setting the policy agenda and framing the policy issues that shaped policy alternatives and the public's receptivity to those choices.
Urban policy decisions are part of a dynamic and ongoing process, where previous decisions result in new challenges that provide an opportunity for debate, and the incorporation of new social values into the decision-making process. While twenty-first century challenges require responses that reflect contemporary macroeconomic factors and social values, the postwar period demonstrates the need for inclusive, collaborative, and anticipatory decision-making.
Using three episodes looking at sanitation and public health, open space preservation, and urban transportation, I argue three factors played a critical role in determining the extent to which environmental values were incorporated into Phoenix's urban growth policy. First, the degree to which environmental values influenced urban policy depends on the degree to which they fit into the Southwestern suburban lifestyle. A desire for low-density development and quality of life amenities like outdoor recreation resulted in decisions to extend municipal sewers further into the desert, the creation of a mountain preserve system, and freeways as the primary mode of travel in the city. Second, federal policy and the availability of funds guided policies pursued by Phoenix officials to deal with the unintended environmental impacts of growth. For example, federal dollars provided one-third of the funds for the construction of a centralized sewage treatment plant, half the funds to save Camelback Mountain and ninety percent of the construction costs for the West Papago-Inner Loop. Lastly, policy alternatives needed broad and diverse public support, as the public played a critical role, through bond approvals and votes, as well as grassroots campaigning, in integrating environmental values into urban growth policy. Public advocacy campaigns played an important role in setting the policy agenda and framing the policy issues that shaped policy alternatives and the public's receptivity to those choices.
Urban policy decisions are part of a dynamic and ongoing process, where previous decisions result in new challenges that provide an opportunity for debate, and the incorporation of new social values into the decision-making process. While twenty-first century challenges require responses that reflect contemporary macroeconomic factors and social values, the postwar period demonstrates the need for inclusive, collaborative, and anticipatory decision-making.
ContributorsDi Taranto, Nicholas (Author) / Hirt, Paul (Thesis advisor) / Vandermeer, Philip (Committee member) / Smith, Karen (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
Description
The number of Brazilian immigrants in the United States has greatly increased over the past three decades. In Phoenix, Arizona, this population increase reveals itself through a greater number of large Brazilian cultural events and higher demand for live Brazilian music. Music is so embedded in Brazilian culture that it serves as the ideal medium through which immigrants can reconnect to their Brazilian heritage. In this thesis, I contend that Brazilian immigrants in Phoenix, Arizona maintain their identity as Brazilians through various activities extracted from their home culture, the most prominent being musical interaction and participation. My research reveals three primary factors which form a foundation for maintaining cultural identity through music within the Brazilian immigrant community in Phoenix. These include the common experiences of immigration, diasporic identity, and the role of music within this diaspora. Music is one of the stronger art forms for representing emotions and creating an experience of relationship and connections. Music creates a medium with which to confirm identity, and makes the Brazilian immigrant population visible to other Americans and outsiders. While other Brazilian activities can also serve to maintain immigrants' identity, it is clear to me from five years of participant-observation that musical interaction and participation is the most prominent and effective means for Brazilians in Phoenix to maintain their cultural identity while living in the U.S. As a community, music unites the experiences of the Brazilian immigrants and removes them from the periphery of life in a new society.
ContributorsSwietlik, Amy (Author) / Solís, Ted (Thesis advisor) / Norton, Kay (Committee member) / Pilafian, Sam (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
I present the results of studies from two historically separate fields of research: heat related illness and human thermal comfort adaptation. My research objectives were: (a) to analyze the relationships between climate and heat related morbidity in Phoenix, Arizona and Chicago, Illinois; (b) explore possible linkages of human thermal comfort adaptation to heat-related illness; and (c) show possible benefits of collaboration between the two fields of research. Previous climate and mortality studies discovered regional patterns in summertime mortality in North America: lower in hot, southern cities compared to more temperate cities. I examined heat related emergency (911) dispatches from these two geographically and climatically different cities. I analyzed with local weather conditions with 911 dispatches identified by responders as "heat" related from 2001 to 2006 in Phoenix and 2003 through 2006 in Chicago. Both cities experienced a rapid rise in heat-related dispatches with increasing temperature and heat index, but at higher thresholds in Phoenix. Overall, Phoenix had almost two and half times more heat-related dispatches than Chicago. However, Phoenix did not experience the large spikes of heat-related dispatches that occurred in Chicago. These findings suggest a resilience to heat-related illness that may be linked to acclimatization in Phoenix. I also present results from a survey based outdoor human thermal comfort field study in Phoenix to assess levels of local acclimatization. Previous research in outdoor human thermal comfort in hot humid and temperate climates used similar survey-based methodologies and found higher levels of thermal comfort (adaptation to heat) that in warmer climates than in cooler climates. The study presented in this dissertation found outdoor thermal comfort thresholds and heat tolerance levels in Phoenix were higher than previous studies from temperate climates more similar to Chicago. These differences were then compared to the differences in weather conditions associated with heat-related dispatches. The higher comfort thresholds in Phoenix were similar in scale to the climate differences associated with the upsurge in heat-related dispatches in Phoenix and Chicago. This suggests a link between heat related illness and acclimatization, and illustrates potential for collaboration in research between the two fields.
ContributorsHartz, Donna (Author) / Brazel, Anthony J. (Thesis advisor) / Heisler, Gordon (Committee member) / Cerveny, Randal (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
Government performance and accountability have grown to be predominant areas within public administration literature over the last forty years. The research presented in this dissertation examines the relationship between citizen satisfaction and local government performance. Citizen review of service delivery provides vital feedback that facilitates better resource management within local government. Using data from a single jurisdiction, two aspects of citizen satisfaction are reviewed. This includes citizen review of overall city performance, and citizen satisfaction with individual service delivery. Logit regression analysis is used to test several factors that affect citizen evaluation of service delivery in local government, while ordinary least squares regression is used to test the relationship between personal factors and citizen evaluation of specific local services. The results generated four major findings that contribute to the scholarly body of knowledge and local government knowledge application. First, citizens who are predisposed to supporting the local jurisdiction are more likely to rate service delivery high. Second, customer service is important. Third, those who experience government services similarly will collectively react similarly to the service experience. Finally, the length of residency has an impact on satisfaction levels with specific services. Implications for the literature as well as for practice are discussed.
ContributorsMcNamara, Catherine (Author) / Alozie, Nicholas O (Thesis advisor) / Cayer, Joseph (Thesis advisor) / Lucio, Joanna (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
This dissertation offers three essays that investigate consumers’ health-related food choices and behaviors from three different, yet complementary, angles. The first essay uses an eye-tracking experiment to examine consumers’ visual attention to the Nutrition Facts Panels for healthy and unhealthy products. In this essay, I focus on how involvement and familiarity affect consumers’ attention toward the Nutrition Facts panel and how these two psychological factors interact with new label format changes in attracting consumers’ attention. In the second essay, I demonstrate using individual-level scanner data that nutritional attributes interact with marketing mix elements to affect consumers’ nutrition intake profiles and their intra-category substitution patterns. My findings suggest that marketing-mix sensitivities are correlated with consumers’ preferences for nutrient attributes in ways that depend on the “healthiness” of the nutrient. For instance, featuring promotes is positively correlated with “healthy” nutritional characteristics such as high-protein, low-fat, or low-carbohydrates, whereas promotion and display are positively correlated with preferences for “unhealthy” characteristics such as high-fat, or high-carbohydrates. I use model simulations to show that some marketing-mix elements are able to induce consumers to purchase items with higher maximum-content levels than others. The fourth chapter shows that dieters are not all the same. I develop and validate a new scale that measures lay theories about abstinence vs. moderation. My findings from a series of experiments indicate that dieters’ recovery from recalled vs. actual indulgences depend on whether they favor abstinence or moderation. However, compensatory coping strategies provide paths for people with both lay theories to recover after an indulgence, in their own ways. The three essays provide insights into individual differences that determine approaches of purchase behaviors, and consumption patterns, and life style that people choose, and these insights have potential policy implications to aid in designing the food-related interventions and policies to improve the healthiness of consumers’ consumption profiles and more general food well-being.
ContributorsXie, Yi (Author) / Richards, Timothy (Thesis advisor) / Mandel, Naomi (Committee member) / Grebitus, Carola (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
This article can be divided into six parts.
The first chapter analyzes the background, theatrical and particle reasons of this research. The author argues that the management of law firm needs a set of good system. The first one is operating the law firm in scale, and the other on is corporate management model, which shall be constructed in detail in the paper and will be put into practice by the law firm in which the author is worked.
The second chapter will introduce modern management theory, combining the situation of management in our law firm to analyze, raising some reasonable suggestions and instructions to promote our law firm to achieve the corporate management.
In the third chapter, the first chapter, starting with the review of the development process of foreign and our law firms, listing the organizational forms and the characteristics of our law firm, analyzing the situation and the drawbacks of the law firm management.
The fourth and fifth chapter introduce he background, the connotation of the corporate management model, listing the development and successful experience of some typical cases in respect of corporate management.
In the last chapter, the construction of corporate management model will be introduced in terms of organization form, human resource management and informationizing development.
The corporate management model is not mature in china. Though it is not easy to reform the existing model, but it should be believed that the development benefiting the legal industry will be achieved.
The first chapter analyzes the background, theatrical and particle reasons of this research. The author argues that the management of law firm needs a set of good system. The first one is operating the law firm in scale, and the other on is corporate management model, which shall be constructed in detail in the paper and will be put into practice by the law firm in which the author is worked.
The second chapter will introduce modern management theory, combining the situation of management in our law firm to analyze, raising some reasonable suggestions and instructions to promote our law firm to achieve the corporate management.
In the third chapter, the first chapter, starting with the review of the development process of foreign and our law firms, listing the organizational forms and the characteristics of our law firm, analyzing the situation and the drawbacks of the law firm management.
The fourth and fifth chapter introduce he background, the connotation of the corporate management model, listing the development and successful experience of some typical cases in respect of corporate management.
In the last chapter, the construction of corporate management model will be introduced in terms of organization form, human resource management and informationizing development.
The corporate management model is not mature in china. Though it is not easy to reform the existing model, but it should be believed that the development benefiting the legal industry will be achieved.
ContributorsZhu, Ping (Author) / Gu, Bin (Thesis advisor) / Chang, Chun (Thesis advisor) / Zhu, Ning (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017
Description
Due to the booming young mothers and fathers in the new era as well as the changes in the concept of parenting and the favorable liberalization of China's second child policy, the maternal-baby nursing market continues to grow, and it has become a must for businesses nowadays. In 2020, the size of the maternal-baby nursing market will reach 3.6 trillion. (Data: Yibang Power China's Maternal and Child Industry White Paper 2017).
The rapid development of mobile Internet, highly transparent information, consumers grasp the sovereignty, along with the rise of the middle class, consumption increase encouraged personalized, customized needs. The boundaries between online and offline are becoming increasingly blurred. Consumers are more inclined to choose multi-category with service channel providers. If the retailers still rely on good market resources, and the difference between the sales and purchase of commodities, they will face a huge challenge of the decrease in passenger flow and a decline in performance.
The paper takes the relationship between maternal-baby nursing retailers and targets customers as the study object, based on customer service of maternal-baby nursing retailer data, empirical studies, we found that this particular group, mothers and babies, especially value safety, quality, public praise and community review. If the retail enterprise attaches importance to establishing relationships with customers and enhances the relational viscosity through mutual trust, emotional formation and spread of public praise, it will help to increase the traffic volume and increase the output value of single customers.
The maternal-baby nursing retailers form a strong relationship between enterprises and customers by establishing a strong relationship between products and customers, employees and customers, and customers to customers. Maternal-baby nursing retailers operate single-customer value deeply, build a heavy membership system and manage customer assets, thereby enhancing their brand and performance.
The research on the method of establishing the strong tie can be considered as an analysis of feasibility. The research results of this paper will help to improve the overall customer service experience and satisfaction of the mother and infant retail industry, enhance the development of the whole industry and draw significance lessons from other service industries.
The rapid development of mobile Internet, highly transparent information, consumers grasp the sovereignty, along with the rise of the middle class, consumption increase encouraged personalized, customized needs. The boundaries between online and offline are becoming increasingly blurred. Consumers are more inclined to choose multi-category with service channel providers. If the retailers still rely on good market resources, and the difference between the sales and purchase of commodities, they will face a huge challenge of the decrease in passenger flow and a decline in performance.
The paper takes the relationship between maternal-baby nursing retailers and targets customers as the study object, based on customer service of maternal-baby nursing retailer data, empirical studies, we found that this particular group, mothers and babies, especially value safety, quality, public praise and community review. If the retail enterprise attaches importance to establishing relationships with customers and enhances the relational viscosity through mutual trust, emotional formation and spread of public praise, it will help to increase the traffic volume and increase the output value of single customers.
The maternal-baby nursing retailers form a strong relationship between enterprises and customers by establishing a strong relationship between products and customers, employees and customers, and customers to customers. Maternal-baby nursing retailers operate single-customer value deeply, build a heavy membership system and manage customer assets, thereby enhancing their brand and performance.
The research on the method of establishing the strong tie can be considered as an analysis of feasibility. The research results of this paper will help to improve the overall customer service experience and satisfaction of the mother and infant retail industry, enhance the development of the whole industry and draw significance lessons from other service industries.
ContributorsWang, Jianguo (Author) / Gu, Bin (Thesis advisor) / Chen, Hong (Thesis advisor) / Cui, Haitao (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
This study examines the 3 key questions of media budget allocation, to find our a better invest model. Including spending share of traditional media and digital media, program selection strategy and duration mix optimization to analyse the trend of sample A (a global cosmetic brand) . Based on every test media campaign, we do research of media performance and sales volumn, add youth consumer behavior result, to develop a media investment ROI model for this brand. Create the evaluation system according to past big data and find the learnings of different length TVC usage. Of course all relavant findings and implications will be summarized after every section.
ContributorsXu, Jin (Author) / Gu, Bin (Thesis advisor) / Chen, Xinlei (Thesis advisor) / Shao, Benjamin (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018