Matching Items (40)
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- Creators: Eaton, John
- Member of: Theses and Dissertations
Description
The history of baseball in California extends back, long before the first MLB teams relocated to the West Coast. Beginning in the mid-1850s as a result of the large population influx that occurred because of the California Gold Rush, baseball served as a popular form of entertainment in the Golden State for nearly a century before the MLB's westward expansion, starting out as an amateur form of recreation, yet evolving to ultimately become a professional sport, led by the Pacific Coast League (PCL), an organization that fulfilled the same role as the MLB in the Eastern United States. The PCL enjoyed several decades of prosperity, with teams located throughout California and in Washington. One of the league's more successful teams was the Los Angeles Angels. In existence since 1903, the Angels became one of the more popular teams within the PCL and were regularly contenders to win the pennant. In 1956, after multiple attempts to have the city build a new stadium for his team, Walter O'Malley, president of the Brooklyn Dodgers began considering the possibility of relocating the team to a new state. After a series of negotiations, the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles where they began the 1958 season, while the New York Giants relocated to San Francisco. This move ultimately proved to be the downfall of the PCL, which was unable to compete with the new MLB teams. The various ball clubs that made up the PCL soon moved to other states east of California and the league was demoted to AAA status. In the following years, the success brought on by the Dodgers' move to the West Coast became evident and the American League soon decided to create a new franchise in Los Angeles. A name that would harken back to the glory years of the PCL was chosen and the new team was designated the "Los Angeles Angels." Throughout the Angels' history, they have attempted to compete directly with the Dodgers and establish their own fan base, however due to the difficulty in standing out when located so close to the wildly popular Dodgers, the team was unable to establish a successful and unique team identity for the majority of its history. To evaluate the effectiveness of the different changes the Angels have made over time, a study was conducted to evaluate perceptions between the two teams. The findings indicated a preference towards the Angels among participants from the United States, especially those familiar with the MLB and its structure. In contrast, the Dodgers proved to be more popular among participants who were originally from other countries. People who preferred the Angels also appeared to be more competitive than those who indicated a preference for the Dodgers. From these results it appears that the Angels have been successful in their quest to rival the Dodgers and establish their own substantial fan base. However it also seems that the Dodgers may have more international fans, as well as a large number of fans from the United States who tend to be more casual.
ContributorsMonaghan, Joshua Timothy (Author) / Eaton, John (Thesis director) / Mokwa, Michael (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
This project created a teaching curriculum resource guide for using the popular series, The Hunger Games, in 6th-8th grade classrooms to introduce cultural issues such as child soldiers and international development to students. Studies have shown that literature can cultivate empathy and encourage youth to act. This combined with the expanding phenomenon of participatory culture and fandom activism as outlined by Henry Jenkins demonstrate the potential for youth to learn and act when given the opportunity and resources to do so. The curriculum is composed of three units: The first is a three-week reading of the books with various activities for students to really understand the narrative and source text. The second and third units address the issues of child soldiers and international development using The Hunger Games as a framework and a keystone to build connections so that these complex issues are accessible to youth. This project is a first step in the development of a curriculum that spans the full trilogy and covers a variety of current event topics.
ContributorsSimpson, Rebecca (Author) / Sivak, Henry (Thesis director) / Blasingame, James (Committee member) / Nelson, Margaret (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
In my exploration of the expectations of customer service that people have in regards to their visits at Starbucks retail stores, I will utilize Laswell's Model of Communication and the theory of symbolic interactionism to guide my findings. These overarching ideas provide a foundation for understanding the communication process as a whole, and will therefore allow us to extract meaningful information from regular interactions between Starbucks employees and consumers. Additionally, my goal is for these discoveries to produce insight in regards to critical customer service qualities that other businesses should incorporate into their own customer service programs in order to find success.
ContributorsRomero, Felipe Antonio (Author) / Martin, Judith (Thesis director) / Robinson, Jennifer (Committee member) / Propes, Rebecca (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Hugh Downs School of Human Communication (Contributor)
Created2014-12
Description
In a season that spans 162 games over the course of six months, MLB teams that travel more face additional fatigue and jetlag from travel. This factor could negatively impact them on the field. To explore this issue, I tested the significance of different variables by creating four models, which compared travel with a team's ability to win games as well as its ability to hit home runs. Based on these models, it appears as though changing time zones does not affect the outcome of games. However, these results did indicate that visiting teams with a greater time zone advantage over their opponent are less likely to hit a home run in a game.
ContributorsAronson, Sean Matthew (Author) / MacFie, Brian (Thesis director) / Eaton, John (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / WPC Graduate Programs (Contributor) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
REACH is an entrepreneurial community action program founded by Brett Fitzgerald and Kira Hoover. A third program partner, Mona Dixon, joined the team in May 2012. REACH enhances the potential success of high school teenagers in the Teen Center at the underserved Boys & Girls Club \u2014 Ladmo Branch in Tempe, Arizona. REACH strives to empower students to attend college, develop stronger leadership skills, and become more involved in their community. The program provides an opportunity for at-risk youth to engage in high caliber leadership discussions, receive college mentoring, organize and take on group designed and self-driven community action projects, and to connect with Arizona State University's community and resources. According to the Bureau of Statistics, 77.2% of African American and 40.6% of Hispanic children live below the poverty level. Poverty increases the relative discrepancy of opportunities across races and often breeds segregation. In order to foster a community of young leaders who embrace diversity, we must act to prevent racism, bigotry and prejudice at a young age and encourage all students to see themselves as leaders and scholars in the community. REACH is a community of young individuals who embrace diversity and understand the many possibilities when working together with other ethnic groups. REACH works with multiple ASU communities including the ASU Pat Tillman Scholars, Delta Sigma Pi \u2014 Gamma Omega, Barrett, The Honors College and W. P. Carey School of Business to organize and lead a group of teens through a remarkable curriculum that will shape the way they view cultural diversity, educational achievement, and leadership. The weekly meetings consist of discussions, creative team-building and critical thinking exercises and cultural awareness experiences. Demonstrating to the teens, administrators, volunteers, and mentors the rich culture that Tempe has to offer and the skills and experience that they have to offer their community as well.
ContributorsFitzgerald, Brett Patrick (Co-author) / Dixon, Mona (Co-author) / Hoover, Kira (Co-author) / Mokwa, Michael (Thesis director) / Eaton, John (Committee member) / Pickens, Judith (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor)
Created2013-05
Description
Through interviews with student participants in Barrett Summer Scholars during 2012, I uncovered how education in Arizona is failing and succeeding in meeting the needs of its high-achieving, oftentimes academically disillusioned students. Many high-achieving students feel underserved by their education and do not receive adequate challenges or one-on-one attention. Socioeconomic, ethnic, and racial limitations further contribute to the disenchantment of students and educational inequalities in the US and Arizona in particular. The Barrett Summer Scholars program itself intends to help engage these students, but it may be failing in its stated goals. Limited resources make it difficult for schools to pay as much attention to the high-achieving students as to the low-achieving, but Barrett might be able to help bridge this gap and provide students with one-on-one attention by way of student mentorship.
ContributorsManrique, Liliana (Author) / Popova, Laura (Thesis director) / Eder, James (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
The purpose of this thesis is to understand peer-to-peer study habits at Arizona State University, and provide recommendations for improving these habits through online integration. This was done by researching current peer-to-peer collaboration literature, and analyzing online integration efforts. Interviews of Arizona State University students were carried out in order to discover specific insights on study patterns at this university. The scope of this research study was further limited to freshman and sophomore engineering, mathematics, and science majors in order to mitigate the impacts of external factors. The background research and study illuminated various flaws in existing peer-to-peer collaboration tools and methods. These weaknesses were then used to design two online tools that would be incorporated into a student resource dashboard. The first tool, called "Ask a Peer", provides a question and answer forum for students. This tool differs from existing products because it provides a mobile platform for students to receive reputable and immediate responses from their classmates. The second tool, "Study Buddy Finder", can be used by students to form study partnerships. This tool is beneficial because it displays information that is essential to students deciding to work together. The thesis provides detailed designs for both modules, and provides the foundation for implementation.
ContributorsPatel, Niraj (Author) / Balasooriya, Janaka (Thesis director) / Eaton, John (Committee member) / Walker, Erin (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Finance (Contributor)
Created2013-12
Description
Despite the advancement of online tools for activities related to the core experience of taking classes on a college campus, there has been a relatively small amount of research into implementing online tools for ancillary academic resources (e.g. tutoring centers, review sessions, etc.). Previous work and a study conducted for this paper indicates that there is value in creating these online tools but that there is value in maintaining an in-person component to these services. Based on this, a system which provides personalized, easily-accessible, simple access to these services is proposed. Designs for user-centered online-tools that provides access to and interaction with tutoring centers and review sessions are described and prototypes are developed to demonstrate the application of design principles for online tools for academic services.
ContributorsBerk, Nicholas Robert (Author) / Balasooriya, Janaka (Thesis director) / Eaton, John (Committee member) / Walker, Erin (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Computer Science and Engineering Program (Contributor)
Created2013-12
Description
The purpose of this thesis is to cover the multiple aspects of Major League Baseball Expansion from 30 to 32 teams. The thesis can be divided into two parts with the first being the preparation and consideration for expansion, and the second half is about the execution and implementation of adding two expansion teams to the league.
For years, Commissioner Rob Manfred has hinted and brought about the idea of adding two more teams to Major League Baseball (Mitchell). The growth of the game is of utmost importance, and they have made many changes to try to expand the growth of fans the past few years particularly catered to new and young fans. New rules like a pitch clock and mound visit limitations are examples of in game changes made to speed up the game, but they have also experimented with spring training and regular season games internationally or at new venues. In just the past decade, games have been played or planned (due to COVID-19 cancellations) in Monterrey, Mexico City, London, Tokyo, San Juan, Montreal, Las Vegas, Williamsport, and even Iowa. With the exception of the Williamsport Little League Classic and the Field of Dreams game in Iowa, all these locations had games to see what the atmosphere and logistics would be like with expansion in mind as a possibility in the future. With this in mind, this thesis will analyze and come to a conclusion on the following cities for the best fits for expansion: Monterrey, Mexico City, San Juan, Vancouver, Montreal, Las Vegas, Portland, Nashville, Raleigh, and San Antonio.
For years, Commissioner Rob Manfred has hinted and brought about the idea of adding two more teams to Major League Baseball (Mitchell). The growth of the game is of utmost importance, and they have made many changes to try to expand the growth of fans the past few years particularly catered to new and young fans. New rules like a pitch clock and mound visit limitations are examples of in game changes made to speed up the game, but they have also experimented with spring training and regular season games internationally or at new venues. In just the past decade, games have been played or planned (due to COVID-19 cancellations) in Monterrey, Mexico City, London, Tokyo, San Juan, Montreal, Las Vegas, Williamsport, and even Iowa. With the exception of the Williamsport Little League Classic and the Field of Dreams game in Iowa, all these locations had games to see what the atmosphere and logistics would be like with expansion in mind as a possibility in the future. With this in mind, this thesis will analyze and come to a conclusion on the following cities for the best fits for expansion: Monterrey, Mexico City, San Juan, Vancouver, Montreal, Las Vegas, Portland, Nashville, Raleigh, and San Antonio.
ContributorsLieberman, Jake Robert (Author) / Eaton, John (Thesis director) / McIntosh, Daniel (Committee member) / School of Accountancy (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Accurately assessing Major League Baseball player value is at the core of consistent success for any MLB organization. Effectively targeting players in trades and strategically spending available funds in the free agent market are of increasing importance as MLB salaries rise. In a sport where it takes 162 games to separate contenders, any advantage in identifying talent can be the difference between winning and losing. This paper draws team batting data from the past seven MLB seasons and runs a multi-variable regression to measure the run value of each individual batting outcome. If teams can more accurately measure the offensive value a player produces, they can more optimally spend their finances. Our regression results suggest that previously used statistics such as wOBA and OPS neglect outcome that have significant effects: baserunning ability and out type. Further contract analysis on four free-agent signing from 2018-2019 free agent class illustrate that teams often over and underestimate player value and could benefit greatly with more accurate player evaluation.
ContributorsGildea, Matthew E (Author) / Eaton, John (Thesis director) / Mokwa, Michael (Committee member) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05