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In this study, the packaging and labeling of milk and coffee was compared between Walmart and Sprouts. The pricing, the sourcing, the certifications and the overall shelf presence of the items was taken under consideration. After studying the packaging of both, a new design incorporating the applicable labels, customer appeal

In this study, the packaging and labeling of milk and coffee was compared between Walmart and Sprouts. The pricing, the sourcing, the certifications and the overall shelf presence of the items was taken under consideration. After studying the packaging of both, a new design incorporating the applicable labels, customer appeal and appropriate green marketing was created for both the commodities.
ContributorsBhatt, Rashi Hitesh (Author) / Collins, Shari (Thesis director) / Keahey, Jennifer (Committee member) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / School of Earth and Space Exploration (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
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Derived from the idea that the utilization of sustainable practices could improve small business practice, this honors thesis offers a full business assessment and recommendations for improvements of a local, family-owned coffee shop, Gold Bar. A thorough analysis of the shop's current business practices and research on unnecessary expenses and

Derived from the idea that the utilization of sustainable practices could improve small business practice, this honors thesis offers a full business assessment and recommendations for improvements of a local, family-owned coffee shop, Gold Bar. A thorough analysis of the shop's current business practices and research on unnecessary expenses and waste guides this assessment.
ContributorsSorden, Clarissa (Co-author) / Boden, Alexandra (Co-author) / Darnall, Nicole (Thesis director) / Dooley, Kevin (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Department of Management (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor)
Created2015-05
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South Mountain is the largest municipal park in the nation. It is a bundled amenity, providing a series of linked services to the surrounding communities. A dataset of 19,209 homes in 155 neighborhoods within three miles of the park was utilized in order to complete a hedonic estimation for two

South Mountain is the largest municipal park in the nation. It is a bundled amenity, providing a series of linked services to the surrounding communities. A dataset of 19,209 homes in 155 neighborhoods within three miles of the park was utilized in order to complete a hedonic estimation for two nearby urban villages, Ahwatukee Foothills and South Mountain Village. Measures of access include proximity to the park, trailhead access, and adjacency to the park. Two regressions were estimated, the first including lot characteristics and subdivision fixed effects and the second using the coefficients for each subdivision as the dependent variable. These estimates describe how the location of a house in a subdivision contributes to its conditional mean price. As a result they offer a direct basis for capturing amenities measured at the neighborhood scale on home values. Park proximity, trailhead access and adjacency were found to significantly influence the price of homes at the 5% confidence level in Ahwatukee, but not in South Mountain Village. The results of this study can be applied to issues of environmental justice and park access in determining which areas and attributes of the park are associated with a high premium. Though South Mountain was preserved some time ago, development and future preservation in the City of Phoenix can be informed by such studies.
ContributorsRamakrishna, Saritha Kambhampati (Author) / Abbott, Joshua (Thesis director) / Smith, V. Kerry (Committee member) / Schoon, Michael (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / Economics Program in CLAS (Contributor) / Department of English (Contributor)
Created2015-05
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Background While extensive research has been conducted among college students consuming alcohol with energy drinks, there is limited research exploring how extracurricular activities could have an impact on energy drink consumption and sleep. Understanding the association between student involvement and the impact it could have on sleep and energy drink

Background While extensive research has been conducted among college students consuming alcohol with energy drinks, there is limited research exploring how extracurricular activities could have an impact on energy drink consumption and sleep. Understanding the association between student involvement and the impact it could have on sleep and energy drink consumption among college freshmen is essential in promoting healthy behaviors while in college. Objectives The purpose of this study was to understand the relationship between student involvement, average hours of sleep, and predicted prevalence of energy drink and coffee consumption amongst college freshmen living in residence halls at a large, public university in the Southwest. Student involvement and fewer hours of sleep hypothesized to observe higher energy drink consumption. Methods This study was a secondary data analysis of the second wave of the longitudinal SPARC (Social impact of Physical Activity and nutRition in College) study assessing college freshmen (n=599; 70.6% female; 50.9% non-white) living on campus. Students were enrolled in this study during the 2015\u20142016 school year. Mutually adjusted generalized estimating equation (GEE) binomial models examined the relationship between involvement (academic clubs, sport clubs, honors, taking 16 or more credit hours, and having a job) and sleep with energy drink and coffee consumption, controlling for gender, race/ethnicity, Pell grant status, ever having tried alcohol, and clustering of students in residence halls. Results On average, students were enrolled in 15 credits, slept an average 8 hours per night, those who had a job worked 14 hours for pay per week, 35% reported consuming energy drinks in the past week, and about 29% of students reported coffee consumption. Males showed a higher predicted prevalence of energy drink consumption compared to females (p<0.001), where females showed a higher predicted prevalence of coffee consumption compared to males (<0.001); energy drink consumption was less prevalent amongst Hispanic students compared to white students (p=0.018), but more prevalent amongst black students compared to white students (p=0.002); no associations between race were found in predicted prevalence of coffee consumption. Average hours of sleep per night was inversely associated with energy drink consumption predicted prevalence (p<0.001). There was a lower predicted prevalence of energy drink and coffee consumption in honors student status (p<0.001) compared to non-honors students. Students taking 16 or more class credit hours showed a higher predicted prevalence in both energy drink (p=0.050) and coffee consumption (p=0.023) compared to students taking less than 16 class credit hours. Students involved in physically active clubs showed a greater predicted prevalence of coffee consumption (p<0.001) compared to students not in physically active clubs. There was no difference in the predicted prevalence in energy drink consumption amongst students involved in physically active clubs (p=0.710), non-physically active clubs (p=0.493), and having a job (p=0.146). Coffee consumption predicted prevalence showed no significant prevalence amongst students of different race and ethnicity [Black (p=0.507), Hispanic (p=103), Other (p=116)] as well as students involved in non-physically active (p=0.839) clubs and who had a paid job (p=0.088). Conclusion Associations observed between average hours of sleep, the different types of involvement of student activities, and energy drink and coffee consumption, were interesting in that a few findings were found to be contrary to the hypotheses. Future research should delve deeper into student involvement within honors programs to understand the contextual factors of why these students showed a significant inverse association in energy drink consumption. Contrary to hypothesis, sleep and energy drink consumption prevalence were indirectly related leading future research to examine and understand why students are consuming energy drinks since on average participants were meeting recommended sleep guidelines. Nutrition interventions are needed for the groups at consuming energy drinks and alcohol in combination due to the study finding increased predicted prevalence amongst these groups as well as the increased risky health behavior associated with the combination found in the literature. Support or Funding Information This study was supported by the NIH Common Fund from the Office of the Director and the Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research, grant number 1DP5OD017910-01 (PI: M. Bruening). The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
ContributorsBender, Rebecca Leigh (Author) / Bruening, Meg (Thesis director) / McCoy, Maureen (Committee member) / Brennhofer, Stephanie (Committee member) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / School of Nutrition and Health Promotion (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
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Description
Over the last century, society has begun to acknowledge and observe how human actions are negatively impacting the environment. Sustainable living is becoming more adopted into daily lives, including a focus on waste management and recycling. Previous informal studies have proposed that coffee grounds can be recycled and added to

Over the last century, society has begun to acknowledge and observe how human actions are negatively impacting the environment. Sustainable living is becoming more adopted into daily lives, including a focus on waste management and recycling. Previous informal studies have proposed that coffee grounds can be recycled and added to the soil to increase plant productivity. The objective of this experiment was to test how different concentrations of roasted coffee grounds would affect the overall plant productivity when introduced in the soil of various plant types and environmental atmospheres. Three treatments were selected (100% potting mix, 50% potting mix/50% coffee grounds, and 25% potting mix/75% coffee grounds) and applied to 3 acid-tolerating plants (radish, basil, and parsley). Each of these treatments were grown in 2 different environments, where one was planted in a Tempe, AZ backyard while the other group was planted in a lab environment, locating at Arizona State University's Tempe Campus. Each plant with its respective treatments (plant type, coffee ground treatment, and environment) had 10 identical plants for statistical accuracy, resulting in a total of 180 plants grown, observed, and analyzed for this 3-month long experiment. The plant development, plant height, length of roots, quantity of leaves, and environmental observations were recorded and used to define plant productivity in this investigation. The experiment demonstrated low survival rates in all groups including the control group, suggesting a flaw in the experimental design. Nonetheless, the experiment showed that among the surviving plants, the 75% treatment had the largest negative impact on plant productivity. The measured root lengths and leaf quantity had various results across each plant group, leaving the hypothesis unverified. Overall, the experiment was effective in demonstrating negative impacts of great concentrations of coffee grounds when introduced to various plants, but further investigation with an adjusted experimental design will need to be completed to reach a reliable conclusion.
ContributorsVan Winkle, Delaney Dare (Author) / Bang, Christofer (Thesis director) / Fox, Peter (Committee member) / Earl, Stevan (Committee member) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
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Description
College and university campuses can play an important role in a student’s life, and campus outdoor spaces have the ability to positively impact various aspects of student health and well-being. It has long been understood that natural environments can promote health and well being, and in recent years research has

College and university campuses can play an important role in a student’s life, and campus outdoor spaces have the ability to positively impact various aspects of student health and well-being. It has long been understood that natural environments can promote health and well being, and in recent years research has begun to examine the impact of parks and landscapes in urban settings on subjective well-being (SWB). Subjective well-being (aka “happiness”) refers to
one’s self-reported measure of well-being and is thought of as having a high level of positive affect, low level of negative affect, and high degree of life satisfaction (Diener, 1984).

This study was conducted to assess the interrelationships between affective experiences, SWB, and usage of campus outdoor spaces in order to learn how outdoor spaces on the Arizona State University (ASU) Tempe campus can be enhanced to increase SWB and usage. In total, 832 students completed a survey questionnaire 1,140 times for six campus outdoor spaces. The results showed that students experience the greatest amount of happiness in the Secret Garden
and James Turrell ASU Skyspace, relaxation/restoration is the affective experience most strongly related to SWB, and SWB is negatively correlated with frequency of visits but positively link with duration of visits. To improve student happiness and usage of outdoor spaces on campuses, planners and designers should work on increasing the relaxing/restorative qualities of existing
locations, creating new spaces for relaxation/restoration around campus, reducing the perception of crowding and noise in large spaces, increasing fun/excitement by adding stimuli and/or opportunities for activity and entertainment, and adding equipment necessary for students to perform the activities they want. In addition to the ASU Tempe campus, the methodology and
findings of this research could be used to improve outdoor spaces on other college and university campuses and other types of outdoor environments.
ContributorsDavis, Kara (Author) / Cheng, Chingwen (Thesis director) / Cloutier, Scott (Committee member) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / The Design School (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
This honors thesis is focused on two separate catalysis projects conducted under the mentorship of Dr. Javier Pérez-Ramírez at ETH Zürich. The first project explored ethylene oxychlorination over supported europium oxychloride catalysts. The second project investigated alkyne semihydrogenation over nickel phosphide catalysts. This work is the subject of a publication

This honors thesis is focused on two separate catalysis projects conducted under the mentorship of Dr. Javier Pérez-Ramírez at ETH Zürich. The first project explored ethylene oxychlorination over supported europium oxychloride catalysts. The second project investigated alkyne semihydrogenation over nickel phosphide catalysts. This work is the subject of a publication of which I am a co-author, as cited below.

Project 1 Abstract: Ethylene Oxychlorination
The current two-step process for the industrial process of vinyl chloride production involves CuCl2 catalyzed ethylene oxychlorination to ethylene dichloride followed by thermal cracking of the latter to vinyl chloride. To date, no industrial application of a one-step process is available. To close this gap, this work evaluates a wide range of self-prepared supported CeO2 and EuOCl catalysts for one-step production of vinyl chloride from ethylene in a fixed-bed reactor at 623 773 K and 1 bar using feed ratios of C2H4:HCl:O2:Ar:He = 3:3 6:1.5 6:3:82 89.5. Among all studied systems, CeO2/ZrO2 and CeO2/Zeolite MS show the highest activity but suffer from severe combustion of ethylene, forming COx, while 20 wt.% EuOCl/γ-Al2O3 leads to the best vinyl chloride selectivity of 87% at 15.6% C2H4 conversion with complete suppression of CO2 formation and only 4% selectivity to CO conversion for over 100 h on stream. Characterization by XRD and EDX mapping reveals that much of the Eu is present in non-active phases such as Al2Eu or EuAl4, indicating that alternative synthesis methods could be employed to better utilize the metal. A linear relationship between conversion and metal loading is found for this catalyst, indicating that always part of the used Eu is available as EuOCl, while the rest forms inactive europium aluminate species. Zeolite-supported EuOCl slightly outperforms EuOCl/γ Al2O3 in terms of total yield, but is prone to significant coking and is unstable. Even though a lot of Eu seems locked in inactive species on EuOCl/γ Al2O3, these results indicate possible savings of nearly 16,000 USD per kg of catalyst compared to a bulk EuOCl catalyst. These very promising findings constitute a crucial step for process intensification of polyvinyl chloride production and exploring the potential of supported EuOCl catalysts in industrially-relevant reactions.

Project 2 Abstract: Alkyne Semihydrogenation
Despite strongly suffering from poor noble metal utilization and a highly toxic selectivity modifier (Pb), the archetypal catalyst applied for the three-phase alkyne semihydrogenation, the Pb-doped Pd/CaCO3 (Lindlar catalyst), is still being utilized at industrial level. Inspired by the very recent strategies involving the modification of Pd with p-block elements (i.e., S), this work extrapolates the concept by preparing crystalline metal phosphides with controlled stoichiometry. To develop an affordable and environmentally-friendly alternative to traditional hydrogenation catalysts, nickel, a metal belonging to the same group as Pd and capable of splitting molecular hydrogen has been selected. Herein, a simple two-step synthesis procedure involving nontoxic precursors was used to synthesize bulk nickel phosphides with different stoichiometries (Ni2P, Ni5P4, and Ni12P5) by controlling the P:Ni ratios. To uncover structural and surface features, this catalyst family is characterized with an array of methods including X-ray diffraction (XRD), 31P magic-angle nuclear magnetic resonance (MAS-NMR) spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Bulk-sensitive techniques prove the successful preparation of pure phases while XPS analysis unravels the facile passivation occurring at the NixPy surface that persists even after reductive treatment. To assess the characteristic surface fingerprints of these materials, Ar sputtering was carried out at different penetration depths, reveling the presence of Ni+ and P-species. Continuous-flow three-phase hydrogenations of short-chain acetylenic compounds display that the oxidized layer covering the surface is reduced under reaction conditions, as evidenced by the induction period before reaching the steady state performance. To assess the impact of the phosphidation treatment on catalytic performance, the catalysts were benchmarked against a commercial Ni/SiO2-Al2O3 sample. While Ni/SiO2-Al2O3 presents very low selectivity to the alkene (the selectivity is about 10% at full conversion) attributed to the well-known tendency of naked nickel nanoparticles to form hydrides, the performance of nickel phosphides is highly selective and independent of P:Ni ratio. In line with previous findings on PdxS, kinetic tests indicate the occurrence of a dual-site mechanism where the alkyne and hydrogen do not compete for the same site.

This work is the subject of a publication of which I am a co-author, as cited below.

D. Albani; K. Karajovic; B. Tata; Q. Li; S. Mitchell; N. López; J. Pérez-Ramírez. Ensemble Design in Nickel Phosphide Catalysts for Alkyne Semi-Hydrogenation. ChemCatChem 2019. doi.org/10.1002/cctc.201801430
ContributorsTata, Bharath (Author) / Deng, Shuguang (Thesis director) / Muhich, Christopher (Committee member) / Chemical Engineering Program (Contributor, Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
"If we really believe in food, we must do something about it, for our voices should be raised above the rest," James Beard said. Today, the word "sustainable" is being linked to almost every facet of our lives. Everything from restaurants to cars to school supplies are marketed as green

"If we really believe in food, we must do something about it, for our voices should be raised above the rest," James Beard said. Today, the word "sustainable" is being linked to almost every facet of our lives. Everything from restaurants to cars to school supplies are marketed as green or sustainable. Businesses have a lot to gain if they are environmentally conscious (Friedman, 2017). Companies that genuinely care about the planet cultivate positive reputations. Needless to say a company's brand and reputation are arguably the most important differentials amongst its competition. Additionally, a company's social responsibility goes hand in hand with talent retention. Companies that care about their staff and the community are more likely to recruit employees that will be advocates of the product and business (Friedman, 2017). A healthy work culture encourages productivity, recruitment and retention. Unfortunately some businesses stretch the truth and make bold sustainability claims in order to reap the above benefits. When it comes to the food service industry, which restaurants are actually living up to the claim of being sustainable? I embarked upon a journey to find the restaurants and chefs that are creating exquisite dishes while protecting the environment and preserving the food chain system. Initially I developed a list of 30 prospective restaurants based upon published material bringing awareness to their environmentally conscious initiatives. Ultimately I selected three diverse restaurants from the list that successfully met the sustainability requirements. I utilized criteria established by The Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA) as my guideline to evaluate the establishments (Our Sustainability Framework). I immersed myself in the restaurants, camera in hand, to discover more about the ecofriendly food movement in Arizona. I created a YouTube channel where I posted all of my edited film in order to heighten awareness of these socially and environmentally responsible establishments. The vlog series features a different restaurant in each episode highlighting the sustainable culinary and business concepts as well as the savory items on the menu. During this quest I discovered how these restaurants have remained successful while minimizing their ecological footprint. These establishments can serve as a guide to other chefs and business owners who are looking to accomplish the same feats.
ContributorsRandock, Nicole (Author) / Vogt, Christine (Thesis director) / Stephens, Glen (Committee member) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism & Mass Communication (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-12
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This project is focused on local scale sustainability. The goal is to understand the impact of small unsustainable actions of people, and hopefully create a change in their habits. The focus was plastic usage, such as the use of water bottles, grocery bags, or even the packaging that our food

This project is focused on local scale sustainability. The goal is to understand the impact of small unsustainable actions of people, and hopefully create a change in their habits. The focus was plastic usage, such as the use of water bottles, grocery bags, or even the packaging that our food and other products typically come in. Plastic has become an integral part of lives, where we do not even think of our actions as we stuff our leftover grocery bags in its designated drawer. My goal throughout this project was to guide people to an environmentally conscious lifestyle by increasing the likelihood of recycling on the ASU campus. I created an interactive informative presentation that focused on recycling and preventing plastic and unwanted trash from ending up in landfills and oceans. The presentation was given to a small group of participants along with two surveys. There was a survey provided before the presentation to gauge a participant's present recycling habits then there was a survey that was given some time after the presentation to track if certain recycling habits had changed due to the presentation. The post presentation survey did report that there were changes to some of the participants' recycling habits. The research provides suggestions to help increase recycling and waste prevention based off surveys that were widely distributed on campus. The top three suggestions that would help make recycling more prevalent on campus are: education on the subject, more accessibility to recycling bins, and creating an incentive program.
ContributorsVazquez, Juliana Evone (Author) / Parrish, Kristen (Thesis director) / Burke, Rebekah (Committee member) / Civil, Environmental and Sustainable Engineering Program (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-12
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With the overall health of the environment rapidly declining \u2014 mostly due to human behaviors, solving the problem of nature deficit disorder and getting more children interested and aware of nature could be paramount to improving the environmental health of our planet. In this study, the relationship between children's learning

With the overall health of the environment rapidly declining \u2014 mostly due to human behaviors, solving the problem of nature deficit disorder and getting more children interested and aware of nature could be paramount to improving the environmental health of our planet. In this study, the relationship between children's learning and emotion is explored. Pre- and post-tests were given to children attending a week-long summer freshwater ecology camp; their knowledge of and emotional connection to different ecological concepts were measured. Two separate ecosystems were tested \u2014 a freshwater ecosystem that was taught over the course of the week, and a marine ecosystem for comparison. Increases in knowledge and emotion were seen in every freshwater ecosystem concept. Additionally, the knowledge and emotion scores were correlated, suggesting a positive relationship between them. The marine ecosystem did not show improvements in concrete knowledge, but showed increases in abstract learning, indicating that the abstract concepts learned about the freshwater ecosystem were able to transfer to the marine. Overall results show the ability of a hands-on learning experience to foster an emotional connection between a child and the subject matter. However, long-term studies are needed to track the relationship between children and their knowledge of and emotional connection to the subject matter.
ContributorsMossler, Max Vaughn (Author) / Pearson, David (Thesis director) / Smith, Andrew (Committee member) / Berkowitz, Alan (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor)
Created2013-05