Waste pickers are the victims of harsh economic and social factors that have hurt many<br/>developing countries and billions of people around the world. Due to the rise of industrialization<br/>since the 19th century, waste and disposable resources have been discarded around the world to<br/>provide more resources, products, and services to wealthy countries. This has put developing<br/>countries in a precarious position where people have had very few economic opportunities<br/>besides taking on the role of waste pickers, who not only face physical health consequences due<br/>to the work they do but also face exclusion from society due to the negative views of waste<br/>pickers. Many people view waste pickers as scavengers and people who survive off of doing<br/>dirty work, which creates tensions between waste pickers and others in society. This even leads<br/>to many countries outlawing waste picking and has led to the brutal treatment of waste pickers<br/>throughout the world and has even led to thousands of waste pickers being killed by anti-waste<br/>picker groups and law enforcement organizations in many countries.<br/>Waste pickers are often at the bottom of supply chains as they take resources that have<br/>been used and discarded, and provide them to recyclers, waste management organizations, and<br/>others who are able to turn these resources into usable materials again. Waste pickers do not have<br/>many opportunities to rise above the situation they are in as waste picking has become the only<br/>option for many people who need to provide for themselves and their families. They are not<br/>compensated very well for the work they do, which also contributes to the situation where waste<br/>pickers are forced into a position of severe health risks, backlash from society and governments,<br/>not being able to seek better opportunities due to a lack of earning potential, and not being<br/>connected with end-users. Now is the time to create new business models that solve these large<br/>problems in our global society and create a sustainable way to ensure that waste pickers are<br/>treated properly around the world.

In the United States, clinical testing is monitored by the federal and state governments, held to standards to ensure the safety and efficacy of these tests, as well as maintaining privacy for patients receiving a test. In order for the ABCTL to lawfully operate in the state of Arizona, it had to meet various legal criteria. These major legal considerations, in no particular order, are: Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments compliance; FDA Emergency Use Authorization (EUA); Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act compliance; state licensure; patient, state, and federal result reporting; and liability. <br/>In this paper, the EUA pathway will be examined and contextualized in relation to the ABCTL. This will include an examination of the FDA regulations and policies that affect the laboratory during its operations, as well as a look at the different authorization pathways for diagnostic tests present during the COVID-19 pandemic.

From exploring coffee plantations with an old Irishman in the mountains of Colombia to watching the sun set over the Strait of Gibraltar from the terrace of an ancient Moroccan cafe, this thesis sent Charles and Zane on an elaborate cafe-crawl across ten countries, with stops at a few of the world’s most interesting coffee houses. Some of these cafes, such as the world-renowned Caffé Florian (opened in 1720) and Caffé Greco (1760), are built on long-standing traditions. Others are led by innovators championing high-quality boutique shops, challenging mass production chains such as Starbucks and Tim Hortons. These newer cafes fuel a movement classified as the “Third Wave”. With a foundation gained from specialized courses with Patrick O’Malley, North America’s leading voice in coffee, Zane and Charles conducted first-hand research into the unique coffee preferences of multiple cultures, the emergence and impact of the Third Wave in these countries, and what the future may hold for coffee lovers.

This thesis research aims to define, identify, and promote community theatre as a “third space” for disadvantaged youth. A third space is defined by the Oxford dictionary as “...the in-between, or hybrid, spaces, where the first and second spaces work together to generate a new third space. First and second spaces are two different, and possibly conflicting, spatial groupings where people interact physically and socially: such as home (everyday knowledge) and school (academic knowledge)” (Oxford Dictionary, 2021). For disadvantaged youth, the creation of a third space in the theatre can give them a safe environment away from issues they may have at home or at school, it can further their learning about themselves and others, and it can also help those youth feel a sense of belonging to a community larger than themselves. Because of these benefits, it is clear that performing arts programs can offer a great impact on disadvantaged youth; however, many theatre companies struggle to market their programming to said communities. This may be in part, due to low marketing budgets, no specificity in labor resources dedicated to youth programming, or ineffective marketing strategies and tactics.<br/>In order to ideate marketing recommendations for these organizations, primary research was conducted to determine the attitudes and beliefs revolving around youth participation in community theatre, as well as the current marketing strategies and tactics being utilized by programmers. Participants included program managers of youth theatre programs, as well as youth participants from several major cities in the U. S. The secondary research aims to better understand the target demographic (disadvantaged youth), the benefits derived from participation in arts programming, and marketing strategies for the performing arts. Following data analysis are several recommendations for the learning, planning, and implementation of marketing strategies for theatre programmers.

This thesis research aims to define, identify, and promote community theatre as a “third space” for disadvantaged youth. A third space is defined by the Oxford dictionary as “...the in-between, or hybrid, spaces, where the first and second spaces work together to generate a new third space. First and second spaces are two different, and possibly conflicting, spatial groupings where people interact physically and socially: such as home (everyday knowledge) and school (academic knowledge)” (Oxford Dictionary, 2021). For disadvantaged youth, the creation of a third space in the theatre can give them a safe environment away from issues they may have at home or at school, it can further their learning about themselves and others, and it can also help those youth feel a sense of belonging to a community larger than themselves. Because of these benefits, it is clear that performing arts programs can offer a great impact on disadvantaged youth; however, many theatre companies struggle to market their programming to said communities. This may be in part, due to low marketing budgets, no specificity in labor resources dedicated to youth programming, or ineffective marketing strategies and tactics. This research aims to provide tangible recommendations for youth programmers to better involve their target audience.

In the middle of the COVID-19 epidemic, flaws in the SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic
test were identified by the impending supply shortages of nasopharyngeal swabs and nucleic acid isolation and purification kits. The ASU Biodesign Clinical Testing Lab (ABCTL), which converted from a research lab to SARS-CoV-2 testing lab, was not an exception to these shortages, but the consequences were greater due to its significant testing load in the state of Arizona. In response to the shortages, researchers at The Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, at the Yale School of Public Health created SalivaDirect method, which is an epidemic effective test, that accounts for limitations of materials, accessibility to specialized lab equipment, time per test, and cost per test. SalivaDirect simplified the diagnostic process by collecting samples via saliva and skipping the nucleic acid extraction and purification, and did it in a way that resulted in a highly sensitive limit of detection of 6-12 SARS-CoV-2 copies/μL with a minimal decrease in positive test agreement.

The ASU Biodesign Clinical Testing Laboratory began in March 2020 after the severe acute respiratory syndrome, coronavirus 2, began spreading throughout the world. ASU worked towards implementing  its own efficient way of testing for the virus, in order to assist the university but also keep the communities around it safe. By developing its own strategy for COVID-19 testing, ASU was on the forefront of research by developing new ways to test for the virus. This process began when research labs at ASU were quickly converted into clinical testing laboratories, which used saliva testing to develop swift COVID-19 diagnostic tests for the Arizona community. The lab developed more accurate and time efficient results, while also converting Nasopharyngeal tests to saliva tests. Not only did this allow for fewer amounts of resources required, but more individuals were able to get tested at faster rates. The ASU Biodesign Clinical Testing Laboratory (ABCTL) was able to accomplish this through the adaptation of previous machines and personnel to fit the testing needs of the community. In the future, the ABCTL will continue to adapt to the ever-changing needs of the community in regards to the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic. The research collected throughout the past year following the breakout of the COVID-19 pandemic is a reflection of the impressive strategy ASU has created to keep its communities safe, while continuously working towards improving not only the testing sites and functions, but also the ways in which an institution approaches and manages an unfortunate impact on diverse communities.

This thesis project is part of a larger collaboration documenting the history of the ASU Biodesign Clinical Testing Laboratory (ABCTL). There are many different aspects that need to be considered when transforming to a clinical testing laboratory. This includes the different types of tests performed in the laboratory. In addition to the diagnostic polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test that is performed detecting the presence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), antibody testing is also performed in clinical laboratories. Antibody testing is used to detect a previous infection. Antibodies are produced as part of the immune response against SARS-CoV-2. There are many different forms of antibody tests and their sensitives and specificities have been examined and reviewed in the literature. Antibody testing can be used to determine the seroprevalence of the disease which can inform policy decisions regarding public health strategies. The results from antibody testing can also be used for creating new therapeutics like vaccines. The ABCTL recognizes the shifting need of the community to begin testing for previous infections of SARS-CoV-2 and is developing new forms of antibody testing that can meet them.

This thesis was conducted to study and analyze the fund allocation process adopted by different states in the United States to reduce the impact of the Covid-19 virus. Seven different states and their funding methodologies were compared against the case count within the state. The study also focused on development of a physical distancing index based on three significant attributes. This index was then compared to the expenditure and case counts to support decision making.
A regression model was developed to analyze and compare how different states case counts played out against the regression model and the risk index.

Music has consistently been documented as a manner to bring people together across cultures throughout the world. In this research, we propose that people use similar musical taste as a strong sign of potential social connection. To investigate this notion, we draw on literature examining how music merges the public/private self, the link to personality, and group identity, as well as how it is linked to romantic relationships. Thus, music can be a tool when wanting to get to know someone else and/or forge a platonic relationship. To test this hypothesis, we designed an experiment comparing music relative to another commonality (sharing a sports team in common) to see which factor is stronger in triggering an online social connection. We argue that people believe they have more in common with someone who shares similar music taste compared to other commonalities. We discuss implications for marketers on music streaming platforms.