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Description
The first part of my thesis covered the history of bullfighting and the logistics of the "corrida de toros". This part of my thesis was there to educate my audience about what the actual practice was and where it came from. This was the only way that some of my later arguments could be made. Without knowledge of the sport the true meaning of the majority of my thesis would have been lost. To accomplish my goal of proving that bullfighting is no longer the culture symbol that is once was analyzed the differences in the perception of bullfighting in literature, art, and poetry. To show that the sport is no longer the symbol of Spanish culture, but rather a fleeting memory of the past, I showed that the glamorized image of matadors and bulls in past is no longer the case. Now the culture of Spain has moved away from this practice and toward a more beautiful and peaceful culture. To substantiate my findings in literature, art, and poetry I conducted interviews with Spaniards and to get their opinion on this art form. By attending events both for and against the sport of bullfighting and conversing with people on both sides of the line I was able to gain a well-rounded opinion on both sides of the argument. Outside of the interviews that I conducted I analyzed the economic impact, how parts of spain and other countries had banned the practice, and finally how the practice could be saved through a non-violent alternative. As an outsider living in the Spanish culture I can never truly see the culture as the Spanish people do and this is why remaining objective throughout this process was paramount.
ContributorsSanchez, Colton Richard (Author) / Foster, David (Thesis director) / Engelbrecht, Jexson (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
Transgene expression in mammalian cells has been shown to meet resistance in the form of silencing due to chromatin buildup within the cell. Interactions of proteins with chromatin modulate gene expression profiles. Synthetic Polycomb transcription factor (PcTF) variants have the potential to reactivate these silence transgenes as shown in Haynes & Silver 2011. PcTF variants have been constructed via TypeIIS assembly to further investigate this ability to reactive transgenes. Expression in mammalian cells was confirmed via fluorescence microscopy and red fluorescent protein (RFP) expression in cell lysate. Examination of any variation in conferment of binding strength of homologous Polycomb chromodomains (PCDs) to its trimethylated lysine residue target on histone three (H3K27me3) was investigated using a thermal shift assay. Results indicate that PcTF may not be a suitable protein for surveying with SYPRO Orange, a dye that produces a detectable signal when exposed to the hydrophobic domains of the melting protein. A cell line with inducible silencing of a chemiluminescent protein was used to determine the effects PcTF variants had on gene reactivation. Results show down-regulation of the target reporter gene. We propose this may be due to PcTF not binding to its target; this would cause PcTF to deplete transcriptional machinery in the nucleus. Alternatively, the CMV promoter could be sequestering transcriptional machinery in its hyperactive transcription of PcTF leading to widespread down-regulation. Finally, the activation domain used may not be appropriate for this cell type. Future PcTF variants will address these hypotheses by including multiple Polycomb chromodomains (PCDs) to alter the binding dynamics of PcTF to its target, and by incorporating alternative promoters and activation domains.
ContributorsGardner, Cameron Lee (Author) / Haynes, Karmella (Thesis director) / Stabenfeldt, Sarah (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / Harrington Bioengineering Program (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
Dr. Dean Kashiwagi created a new thinking paradigm, Information Measurement Theory (IMT), which utilizes the understanding of natural laws to help individuals minimize decision-making and risk, which leads to reduced stress. In this new paradigm, any given situation can only have one unique outcome. The more information an individual has for the given situation, the better they can predict the outcome. Using IMT can help correctly "predict the future" of any situation if given enough of the correct information. A prime example of using IMT would be: to correctly predict what a young woman will be like when she's older, simply look at the young woman's mother. In essence, if you can't fall in love with the mother, don't marry the young woman. The researchers are utilizing the concept of IMT and extrapolating it to the financial investing world. They researched different financial investing strategies and were able to come to the conclusion that a strategy utilizing IMT would yield the highest results for investors while minimizing stress. Investors using deductive logic to invest received, on average, 1300% more returns than investors who did not over a 25-year period. Where other investors made many decisions and were constantly stressed with the tribulations of the market, the investors utilizing IMT made one decision and made much more than other investors. The research confirms the stock market will continue to increase over time by looking at the history of the stock market from a birds-eye view. Throughout the existence of the stock market, there have been highs and lows, but at the end of the day, the market continues to break through new ceilings. Investing in the stock market can be a dark and scary place for the blind investor. Using the concept of IMT can eliminate that blindfold to reduce stress on investors while earning the highest financial return potential. Using the basis of IMT, the researchers predict the market will continue to increase in the future; in conclusion, the best investment strategy is to invest in blue chip stocks that have a history of past success, in order to capture secure growth with minimal risk and stress.
ContributorsBerns, Ryan (Co-author) / Ybanez, Julian (Co-author) / Kashiwagi, Dean (Thesis director) / Kashiwagi, Jacob (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
The concept of constant feedback through direct access to advanced technological devices has shaped the way consumers approach shopping for desired goods. Nowadays, people want their items faster, cheaper, of higher quality, and on their schedule. Consumer preferences such as these have provided an avenue for innovative thinkers to develop new business categories through the assistance of websites and smart phone apps. An example of one of these up and coming fields is the e-grocery industry. With the swipe of a thumb, customers can order and have their groceries shipped directly to their doorstep, sometimes within hours of placing the order. As time progresses and firms learn from operating experience, culture shifts such as this shopping method may become the new norms in society. This thesis outlines a business proposal for existing retailers such as Amazon, Wal-Mart, and Target to get in front of the curve in this wave of online shopping and gain market share in this space through utilizing their current competitive advantage in logistics structures. We will attempt to encompass all aspects of the new venture by including an overview of the opportunity at hand, a census from the direct end customers providing proof of concept, methods for carrying out operational requirements, financial models forecasting future cash flows and returns on investment, established marketing materials appealing to end users, and a means to expand the outreach of the business. The end goal of this project is to provide a platform for an existing retailer to adopt into its current business structure and launch a trial run of the proposal in the near future.
ContributorsMakis, Jordan (Co-author) / Makis, Jenna (Co-author) / Eaton, John (Thesis director) / Maltz, Arnold (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
Service providers in the hotel industry are interested in identifying the factors that contribute to consumers' choice of hotel booking method. In an effort to determine these factors we used the predictive analytic tool of logistic regression. In particular, we concentrated on the choice of booking directly on a hotel website as compared to a third-party website. We found that consumers with children were 2.94 times more likely to use a hotel's website. We found that consumers who place a high importance on cost were 1.42 times more likely to use a third-party website for booking a hotel. These results could be useful for hotel marketing and sales representatives to better understand the preferences of their customers and improve the hotel reservation services provided. Predicting consumer needs and choices have the potential to optimize sales and increase profits.
ContributorsMolinaro, Erin Rose (Author) / Wilson, Jeffrey (Thesis director) / Dawson, Gregory (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
Investment real estate is unique among similar financial instruments by nature of each property's internal complexities and interaction with the external economy. Where a majority of tradable assets are static goods within a dynamic market, real estate investments are dynamic goods within a dynamic market. Furthermore, investment real estate, particularly commercial properties, not only interacts with the surrounding economy, it reflects it. Alive with tenancy, each and every commercial investment property provides a microeconomic view of businesses that make up the local economy. Management of commercial investment real estate captures this economic snapshot in a unique abundance of untapped statistical data. While analysis of such data is undeniably valuable, the efforts involved with this process are time consuming. Given this unutilized potential our team has develop proprietary software to analyze this data and communicate the results automatically though and easy to use interface. We have worked with a local real estate property management and ownership firm, Reliance Management, to develop this system through the use of their current, historical, and future data. Our team has also built a relationship with the executives of Reliance Management to review functionality and pertinence of the system we have dubbed, Reliance Dashboard.
ContributorsBurton, Daryl (Co-author) / Workman, Jack (Co-author) / LePine, Marcie (Thesis director) / Atkinson, Robert (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / Department of Management (Contributor) / Computer Science and Engineering Program (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
This thesis details our experience assisting BASE Equity Partners, a private equity firm based in New York City, on three prospective agricultural dealership deals over the course of this past academic year. The firm is currently structured as a Fundless Sponsor. This distinct structural trait is common for a type of private equity firm known among practitioners as pledge funds. This creates an interesting element for our experience as there is very limited academic research on these types of firms, which, since the Great Recession, have become popular players in middle-market private equity deals. We, first, provide some historical context on pledge funds and identify their primary differences with traditional private equity. The remainder of the paper documents our experience working on the agricultural dealership deals. We have organized this portion after the manner in which we received assignments. We go into detail on the specific projects with which we were tasked, our interactions with the partners and the major takeaways we had from this learning experience. This thesis paper will enrich the academic knowledge regarding pledge funds—and private equity generally—by documenting a real experience of what it is like performing analyst-level tasks at a real firm. Additionally, we were privy to information that is highly confidential, and though we have protected the confidentiality of the companies through pseudonyms and redaction of confidential material, all of the financial data shown, models provided and qualitative discussion is real.
ContributorsTang, Ivan (Co-author) / Johnson, Bradley (Co-author) / Panosian, Tro (Co-author) / Simonson, Mark (Thesis director) / Bonadurer, Werner (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / Department of English (Contributor) / School of Accountancy (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
This report details a prioritization value model that was created for the use of Arizona State University and ASU LightWorks in determining and implementing appropriate sustainability projects for removing greenhouse gas emissions. A thorough review regarding the current project selection process, and an extensive analysis into the desired state of the process was conducted for this paper. The newly developed prioritization model includes multiple attributes that rank and prioritize projects based upon the highest value as determined by criteria set forth by the university. Encompassed within this report are the steps in creating the decision model, as well as the benefits and additional uses of the model for the end user. From the analysis and model created, the end user has the ability to choose carbon neutral projects that better align with the vision of the New American University.
ContributorsAmoroso, Nicholas (Co-author) / Lee, Betty (Co-author) / Brooks, Dan (Thesis director) / Johnson, Travis (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
Over the course of six months, we have worked in partnership with Arizona State University and a leading producer of semiconductor chips in the United States market (referred to as the "Company"), lending our skills in finance, statistics, model building, and external insight. We attempt to design models that help predict how much time it takes to implement a cost-saving project. These projects had previously been considered only on the merit of cost savings, but with an added dimension of time, we hope to forecast time according to a number of variables. With such a forecast, we can then apply it to an expense project prioritization model which relates time and cost savings together, compares many different projects simultaneously, and returns a series of present value calculations over different ranges of time. The goal is twofold: assist with an accurate prediction of a project's time to implementation, and provide a basis to compare different projects based on their present values, ultimately helping to reduce the Company's manufacturing costs and improve gross margins. We believe this approach, and the research found toward this goal, is most valuable for the Company. Two coaches from the Company have provided assistance and clarified our questions when necessary throughout our research. In this paper, we begin by defining the problem, setting an objective, and establishing a checklist to monitor our progress. Next, our attention shifts to the data: making observations, trimming the dataset, framing and scoping the variables to be used for the analysis portion of the paper. Before creating a hypothesis, we perform a preliminary statistical analysis of certain individual variables to enrich our variable selection process. After the hypothesis, we run multiple linear regressions with project duration as the dependent variable. After regression analysis and a test for robustness, we shift our focus to an intuitive model based on rules of thumb. We relate these models to an expense project prioritization tool developed using Microsoft Excel software. Our deliverables to the Company come in the form of (1) a rules of thumb intuitive model and (2) an expense project prioritization tool.
ContributorsAl-Assi, Hashim (Co-author) / Chiang, Robert (Co-author) / Liu, Andrew (Co-author) / Ludwick, David (Co-author) / Simonson, Mark (Thesis director) / Hertzel, Michael (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / School of Accountancy (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Program (Contributor) / WPC Graduate Programs (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
This paper looks at defined contribution 401(k) plans in the United States to analyze whether or not participants have plans with better plan characteristics defined in this study by paying more for administration services, advisory services, and investments. By collecting and analyzing Form 5500 and audit data, I find that there is no relation between how much a plan and its participants are paying for recordkeeping, advisory, and investment fees and the analyzed characteristics of the plan that they receive in regards to active/passive allocation, revenue share, and the performance of the funds.
ContributorsAziz, Julian (Author) / Wahal, Sunil (Thesis director) / Bharath, Sreedhar (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / Department of Finance (Contributor)
Created2015-05