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- All Subjects: Sustainability
- All Subjects: Technology
- Creators: Department of Marketing
Description
Sustainability has been a growing topic since the 1970’s, but is truly taking shape today as society is beginning to understand the necessity of protecting our environment. Business organizations are following this ‘megatrend’ and are beginning to incorporate sustainable initiatives in their organizations from the inside out. The sports industry is no exception as they are extremely influential over the millions of fans that follow them, whom have a strong affiliation with their favorite team. The Arizona Diamondbacks understand this responsibility and seek to be a leader in their community by creating many sustainable initiatives within their organization and community. The current problem the organization faces, is that much of the community are not aware of their environmental commitment. This is in part due to a lack of marketing within the organization and to the Arizona valley. This project analyzes the sports industry’s commitment to sustainability and how the Arizona Diamondbacks compare to industry leaders. Included is a detailed marketing plan for the organization comprised of current initiatives and of new initiatives that the Diamondbacks could potentially carry out. The implementation of this proposal could deem extremely beneficial as it would strengthen their identity, unify their employees and engage fans, which will make them feel a deeper affiliation with the organization. The Diamondbacks have made a commitment to the environment, but it is time to deepen that commitment, set an example for people in the Valley and in turn, spark social change.
ContributorsBauman, Jillian (Co-author) / Hopson, Emma (Co-author) / Eaton, John (Thesis director) / Kutz, Elana (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Department of Management (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
This paper explores multidisciplinary curricula, services, and experiential learning in higher education on sustainability. Researchers attempt to understand sustainability as a formalized degree program, what frameworks and techniques are used to improve new disciplines, and how Arizona State University's School of Sustainability (SOS) improves sustainability education in higher learning. Secondary research includes a discussion on the history of sustainability as a discipline, the university as a social system, the role of university administration, the roles of professors and students, benchmarking and process improvement for curriculum development, and methods to bridge epistemologies in SOS. The paper presents findings from a study of the SOS undergraduate student experience that used focus groups to gather qualitative data and statistical analysis to analyze that data quantitatively. Study findings indicate that that measuring student perception of SOS's academic services, and understanding the social system of the university, helps administration, faculty, and students collaborate more effectively to enhance learning experiences.
ContributorsTom, Sharyn Paige (Author) / Haglund, LaDawn (Thesis director) / Ankeny, Casey (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
In 2016, in the United States alone, the cosmetics industry made an estimated 62.46 billion dollars in revenue (Revenue of the Cosmetic Industry in the U.S. 2002-2016 | Forecast). With a consistent increase in sales in the last several years, the industry has reached continued success even during times of hardship, such as the Great Recession of 2008. The use of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), external campaigns, and thoughtful packaging and ingredients resonates with targeted consumers. This has served as an effective strategy to maintain growth in the industry. Cosmetic companies promote their brand image using these sustainability tactics, but there seems to be a lack of transparency in this unregulated industry. The purpose of this thesis is to determine if the cosmetics industry is a good steward of the sustainability movement. Important terms and concepts relating to the industry will be discussed, then an analysis of sustainability focused cosmetic brands will be provided, which highlights the extent to which these brands engage in activities that promote sustainability. This is followed by an application of findings to a company that could benefit from using such practices. Overall, the analysis of the different brands proved to be shocking and disappointing. This is due to the sheer amount that scored very poorly based on the sustainability criteria developed. The cosmetics industry is too inconsistent and too unregulated to truly act as a good steward for sustainability. Though some companies in the industry succeed, these accomplishments are not consistent across all cosmetic companies. Hence, the cosmetics industry as a good steward for sustainability can only be as strong as its weakest link.
ContributorsMamus, Sydney Wasescha (Author) / Ostrom, Amy (Thesis director) / Kristofferson, Kirk (Committee member) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
Although the Leadership Scholarship Program has seen successful recruiting processes throughout changes in leadership of the program; the organization expressed a need for major overhaul to reevaluate the decisions of the process and to establish backing for those decisions. By asking current and alumni members of the program about what they would like to see in a future member of the program as well as which parts of the process they found most important, the qualities of a future member of the program could be established and weighted. The goals of the reevaluation were to help eliminate bias, discrepancies between applications with extremely different uncontrollable factors, define points of discrepancies, and establish organizational sustainability while achieving a 100% acceptance rate from offered students. Each of these goals was achieved through methods outlined in the LSP Selection Process Manual that was written as a result of this reevaluation. The manual also outlines ways to improve the process going forward.
ContributorsCassidy, Delilah R. (Author) / Kappes, Janelle (Thesis director) / Klinkner, Lara (Committee member) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
Prenatal care is a widely administered preventative care service, and its adequate use has been shown to decrease poor infant and maternal health outcomes. Today however, in the United States, preterm birth rates remain among the highest in the industrialized world, with low socioeconomic women having the highest risk of preterm births. This group of women also face the greatest barriers to access adequate prenatal care in the United States. This paper explores the viability of short message service to help bridge gaps in prenatal care for low socioeconomic women in the United States and provides areas for further research.
ContributorsMiles, Kelly Nicole (Author) / Ketcham, Jonathan (Thesis director) / Santanam, Raghu (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Department of Finance (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
This thesis aims to enhance K-6 Education in the United States by developing recommendations for how technology is utilized in the classroom as a means to teach collaborative skills. By applying the technological capabilities we have today to the Common Core State Standards that are gradually being adopted and implemented, officials can improve the quality of education across the country and create classroom environments conducive to knowledge acquisition and skill development.
The research begins with the history of standards, starting with traditional outcome-based standards. It then delves into the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21), which highlights the type of skills 21st century students are expected to develop and master by the time they enter college and careers. Next, it explores the hot topic of Education to this date: Common Core State Standards. In the midst of educational reform, these standards seek to add consistency across the nation in regards to what students should know at each grade level and also encourage teaching of the 21st century skills. This section briefly details the content of Common Core English Language Arts and Mathematics standards.
After summarizing P21 and Common Core, this report shifts into its focused 21st century skill: collaboration. As one of the 4 C’s that P21 and Common Core emphasize in their standards, it is imperative to research critical elements of collaboration as they relate to groups and teams of all ages. Even more specifically, collaboration is a practice that is becoming more and more standard in business across all industries, so it is a skill that is highly in demand for students to acquire. In regards to collaboration, Executive Vice President of Verizon, Bob Mudge, states, “companies are able to innovate much more quickly and even create solutions to problems that may not be prevalent issues yet” (Mudge 1). The standards expect that students will be prepared to collaborate in college and careers, so key elements of collaboration in those settings—in-person or virtual—need apply or be simplified to K-6 collaborative environments. This section also analyzes a case study experiment on young children about how technology functionality and design enables, encourages, or enforces collaboration.
Next, this thesis reviews three case studies that represent evolution in our understanding of technology’s role as a support system in teaching and learning collaboration. The first case study shows how simple handheld devices assisted in correcting weaknesses in a variety of collaborative and organizational skills. The second study utilizes interactive tabletop technology to realize the idea of tracking collaborative ability in real time through synchronized audio and touch recording. Finally, researchers assess the effectiveness of one student to one device (1:1) initiatives by gathering student-reported data before and after the program’s implementation, which largely speak to the direction of many schools’ technology strategies.
To supplement all of the secondary research above, the researcher of this thesis conducted interviews with nine K-6 teachers to gather their insights on collaboration and how they facilitate it. They explain how they use technology in their classroom to enhance the learning environment. Additionally, they give opinions on what could be done to make collaboration more easily taught and facilitated, as well as what would better develop their students’ collaborative skills.
The compilation of this information then leads to implications of what needs to be present, from a technology standpoint, to more effectively teach collaborative skills to our schoolchildren. This includes a brief industry analysis of a program that already exists, as well as recommendations for new technology that considers the research conducted throughout the paper. Another implication addressed centers on the instruction and facilitation of technology and the digital divide that can result from varying competency among teachers, which brings to light the need for proper technology development programs for educators.
The research begins with the history of standards, starting with traditional outcome-based standards. It then delves into the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21), which highlights the type of skills 21st century students are expected to develop and master by the time they enter college and careers. Next, it explores the hot topic of Education to this date: Common Core State Standards. In the midst of educational reform, these standards seek to add consistency across the nation in regards to what students should know at each grade level and also encourage teaching of the 21st century skills. This section briefly details the content of Common Core English Language Arts and Mathematics standards.
After summarizing P21 and Common Core, this report shifts into its focused 21st century skill: collaboration. As one of the 4 C’s that P21 and Common Core emphasize in their standards, it is imperative to research critical elements of collaboration as they relate to groups and teams of all ages. Even more specifically, collaboration is a practice that is becoming more and more standard in business across all industries, so it is a skill that is highly in demand for students to acquire. In regards to collaboration, Executive Vice President of Verizon, Bob Mudge, states, “companies are able to innovate much more quickly and even create solutions to problems that may not be prevalent issues yet” (Mudge 1). The standards expect that students will be prepared to collaborate in college and careers, so key elements of collaboration in those settings—in-person or virtual—need apply or be simplified to K-6 collaborative environments. This section also analyzes a case study experiment on young children about how technology functionality and design enables, encourages, or enforces collaboration.
Next, this thesis reviews three case studies that represent evolution in our understanding of technology’s role as a support system in teaching and learning collaboration. The first case study shows how simple handheld devices assisted in correcting weaknesses in a variety of collaborative and organizational skills. The second study utilizes interactive tabletop technology to realize the idea of tracking collaborative ability in real time through synchronized audio and touch recording. Finally, researchers assess the effectiveness of one student to one device (1:1) initiatives by gathering student-reported data before and after the program’s implementation, which largely speak to the direction of many schools’ technology strategies.
To supplement all of the secondary research above, the researcher of this thesis conducted interviews with nine K-6 teachers to gather their insights on collaboration and how they facilitate it. They explain how they use technology in their classroom to enhance the learning environment. Additionally, they give opinions on what could be done to make collaboration more easily taught and facilitated, as well as what would better develop their students’ collaborative skills.
The compilation of this information then leads to implications of what needs to be present, from a technology standpoint, to more effectively teach collaborative skills to our schoolchildren. This includes a brief industry analysis of a program that already exists, as well as recommendations for new technology that considers the research conducted throughout the paper. Another implication addressed centers on the instruction and facilitation of technology and the digital divide that can result from varying competency among teachers, which brings to light the need for proper technology development programs for educators.
ContributorsPetrovich, Nicholas Hugh (Author) / Ostrom, Amy (Thesis director) / Ostrom, Lonnie (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Department of Management (Contributor) / School of Film, Dance and Theatre (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
The purpose of this thesis is to examine the current state of the brick-and-mortar bookselling industry, with particular focus on independent bookstores and their strengths and weaknesses, and synthesizing recommendations for these bookstores to reinvent themselves in a rapidly changing market. This examination is highly relevant given recent concerns that, with the rise of e-retailers like Amazon and the closure of bookstore chain Borders, brick-and-mortar bookstores may be superseded by new digital vendors. Independent bookstores are thought to be at a particular disadvantage to these retailers, given their limited size and resources, as well as the lack of capital or consumer base that a larger chain like Barnes and Noble can draw upon to invest in emerging technology. With these more limited financial opportunities, independent bookstores must find different ways to not only keep abreast of the technology that consumers are coming to expect from modern businesses, but attract customers.
To gain insight into the state of the industry and current position of independent bookstores, I will first examine the past fifty years of the brick-and-mortar bookstore, followed by a Porter’s Five Forces analysis of the industry threats and a SWOT analysis to compare the strengths and weaknesses of independent bookstores. Next, the patrons of independent bookstores will be discussed with a focus on the two largest consumer groups of Millennials and Baby Boomers, their characteristics, and the opportunities they provide to bookstores. After this there will be an exploration of the competitors to brick-and-mortar bookstores, focusing on Amazon and then touching on some of the other rivals to bookstores’ consumer base. The next section will be an in-depth analysis of a variety of bookstores across the United States, with attention to their successful practices, goals, concerns, and failures. First, there will be a comparison of industry success and failure through case studies of Borders and Powell’s bookstores. Next, there will be a comparison of five beloved independent bookstores across the country to share their varied competitive advantages that are the secret to their success. Finally, there are primary source interviews with the employees of three major Phoenix bookstores, which provide insight into the goals, current projects, attitudes, and inner strengths of these businesses. Finally, the thesis will conclude with a section offering solutions and suggestions for independent bookstores to pursue based on the primary and secondary research discussed above. These recommendations are focused on five key areas:
• Community
• Consumers
• Store Design
• Technology
• Diversification
Ultimately, the information provided by this research and these interviews indicates that while vital business changes are being pursued by independent and chain bookstores across the United States, the independent bookstore shows no signs of disappearing in favor of online vendors or e-readers.
To gain insight into the state of the industry and current position of independent bookstores, I will first examine the past fifty years of the brick-and-mortar bookstore, followed by a Porter’s Five Forces analysis of the industry threats and a SWOT analysis to compare the strengths and weaknesses of independent bookstores. Next, the patrons of independent bookstores will be discussed with a focus on the two largest consumer groups of Millennials and Baby Boomers, their characteristics, and the opportunities they provide to bookstores. After this there will be an exploration of the competitors to brick-and-mortar bookstores, focusing on Amazon and then touching on some of the other rivals to bookstores’ consumer base. The next section will be an in-depth analysis of a variety of bookstores across the United States, with attention to their successful practices, goals, concerns, and failures. First, there will be a comparison of industry success and failure through case studies of Borders and Powell’s bookstores. Next, there will be a comparison of five beloved independent bookstores across the country to share their varied competitive advantages that are the secret to their success. Finally, there are primary source interviews with the employees of three major Phoenix bookstores, which provide insight into the goals, current projects, attitudes, and inner strengths of these businesses. Finally, the thesis will conclude with a section offering solutions and suggestions for independent bookstores to pursue based on the primary and secondary research discussed above. These recommendations are focused on five key areas:
• Community
• Consumers
• Store Design
• Technology
• Diversification
Ultimately, the information provided by this research and these interviews indicates that while vital business changes are being pursued by independent and chain bookstores across the United States, the independent bookstore shows no signs of disappearing in favor of online vendors or e-readers.
ContributorsPorrell, Kelly Maria (Author) / Montoya, Detra (Thesis director) / Schlacter, John (Committee member) / School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
Media and technology are integral parts of today’s society. Unlike in the past, most adults in the United States now have access to the internet via their own personal devices. Technology’s popularity does not stop with adults. The children of this generation are extremely knowledgeable when it comes to media and technology and are exposed to it at a very young age. This paper analyzes the effect that this exposure is having on early childhood development. The research shows that there are several benefits to children using technology at a young age. Some of these benefits include increased learning opportunities, preparation for future careers, and support for children with disabilities. However, there are also several challenges that technology can cause. Some of these challenges include increased violence, exposure to inappropriate content, sleep issues, and an increased chance of obesity. In addition to this paper, a resource website titled Toddlers and Technology was created. The purpose of this website is to give parents insight into the information that is available in regards to technology and child development. The website includes the benefits and challenges of children using technology, recommendations on how parents can combat the challenges, and a list of 10 educational apps for early childhood development.
Keywords: children, technology, media, apps, families
Keywords: children, technology, media, apps, families
ContributorsCave, Mckenna Ann (Author) / Farrand, Kathleen (Thesis director) / Boozer, April (Committee member) / Division of Teacher Preparation (Contributor) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
This thesis explores the current relationship between high fashion and the advancements and changes in technology that have catapulted the industry into a potentially dangerous level. It is simple for one to identify fashion as a booming industry; however, upon further inquiry, it becomes clear that the pace of the fashion industry is unsustainable as the demands and expectations that the current consumer has for high fashion brands grow unproportional with the standard rate of the industry. In 2016, the fashion industry reached $2.4 trillion in total value, placing it as the seventh largest economy in the world (Amed, 2016), but these numbers are as fickle as a fashion trend. The fear and talk of the current state of fashion is that this will stagnate and even drop off, due to multiple factors. The shift to the "see now/buy now" platform (CFDA, 2016), a marked reliance on social media "influencers" in order to determine success (Friedman, 2016), and the commercialization of creative directors attributing to the high turnover rate at brands (Prigent, 2016) may lead one to conclude the technology is positively affecting the fashion industry. However, these factors ought lead one to conclude that high fashion is moving at an unsustainable pace, one which will result in long-term detriments to the seemingly unshakable industry and remove high fashion off its current pedestal. Over the past few years, a larger consumer base motivated growth in sales numbers, but in 2016, sales growth was at 2-3% with predictions of stagnation to come for the upcoming years (Amed, 2016). This thesis will look at if the high fashion industry itself has become "trendy" and where the current peak of the industry will lead for the future.
ContributorsGur-Arie, Hannah Esther (Author) / Gray, Nancy (Thesis director) / Ostrom, Amy (Committee member) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
In this paper, I analyze the costs and benefits of waste prevention and zero waste initiatives that are inflicted upon society. The problem lies in the amount of human municipal solid waste (HMSW) resulting from human activities, especially as growing global urban population estimated to be producing three times as much waste as it does today (Goto, 2014). Landfill externalities are addressed to explain the purpose of this research. Additionally, the efficiency of diverting waste from the landfill is assessed; these diversion methods are recycling, composting, and the uses of TerraCycle. It is important to note the difference between waste prevention and zero waste: Waste prevention is simply reducing the amount of waste, whereas zero waste is aiming to divert HMSW for other uses other than going its final destination, the landfill. This research highlights tax policies and incentive-based approaches that cities currently enforce, as well as repercussions of these approaches. Waste prevention is explored from the user perspective and reactions to taxes on waste that were implemented to promote global sustainability, which can be seen from the primary data collected. I analyze the success of zero waste initiatives in the online marketing agency, Vertical Measures, comparing landfill waste diversion with the implementation of zero waste initiatives. This paper highlights the observations and results from this two-month analysis. With both the analyses of city regulations and first-hand application of zero waste and waste prevention methods, the findings suggest that the success of these initiatives depends on various factors including location and participant attitudes. This research and data can help provide insight for other small businesses for a more sustainable environment and workplace.
ContributorsPhong, Kellie Hue (Author) / Williams, Stanley N. (Thesis director) / Abbott, Joshua K. (Committee member) / Slaymaker, Alexandra (Committee member) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05