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Description
With the rise in education costs and student debt, financial literacy and knowledge has never been more important. Sadly, the current reality is that financial literacy is not a staple in the curriculum for most of the American education system. Budgeting, saving, building credit and many other financial skills are key parts of your life right after college and very few students come out of school with a solid understanding of them. The goal of this paper is to introduce a few key elements of personal finance for those students and recent graduates who have little to no exposure to them. The topics I chose to discuss are budgeting, student loans, investing, and retirement. The numbers and salary figures are from Arizona State Career services to set up scenarios that many ASU graduates will face right out of school. More specifically the budgeting section is set up to mimic what income level, rent expense, and student loan payments graduating Sun Devils can expect to see right out of school. It was also important for me to introduce topics for long term planning like investing and retirement. Setting goals and preparing for the future, no matter how far down the road it seems, are fundamental for establishing a healthy financial foundation. Building a healthy financial foundation takes time, patience and understanding but it is a possibility for everyone. Establishing a very basic knowledge of these topics can help students immensely and utilizing this guide, along with other outside resources, students and graduates will be able to start their journey toward a more secure financial future.
ContributorsOliver, Corbett William (Author) / Brian, Sadusky (Thesis director) / Hoffman, David (Committee member) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
History and art have always had an intersecting relationship, and each helps us to acquire a better understanding of the other, since artistic works help us to visualize the zeitgeist of a particular point in history. The connection between art and history is most apparent when the radical changes that befall society through historically important events, especially conflict, are followed by sweeping changes in society, which trickle their way down into the minds of artists and creators, whose works subsequently reflect these changes. We cannot understand these works and their relationship to their respective period of time simply by isolating them into individual components like art style, artist, and location. They are socially and historically charged, part of a larger network of intersecting relationships that factor in concepts like ideology, material, and culture. We can examine the analytical power of this framework, better known as actor network theory, in a post-WWII European landscape, a period heightened by rapid social changes as the citizens of the formerly war-torn continent worked to rebuild and recover. When examining the artistic output of vanquished nations, mainly Italian neorealist films and German Trümmerfilmen, in a framework built around the principles established in actor network theory, we can see how the historical, political, social, and cultural developments established in the wake of European fascism’s unceremonious collapse is reflected on film when compared to the victorious United States, whose infrastructure and film industry remained mostly unscathed.
ContributorsBrown, Tristan Michael (Author) / Gilfillan, Daniel (Thesis director) / Vitullo, Juliann (Committee member) / Department of English (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
In order to establish sustainable parity in competition year over year, all four major professional sports organizations in the United States have established a first-year draft with an order decided or influenced by their Win-Loss record the previous year. The assumption is that this draft structure should keep all teams competitive. Rather, there is an overwhelming shift to analytical problem-solving that suggests building a winning team requires a period of losing and collecting young talent. The separation has become so apparent that it has been referred to as, “Twelve teams a-tanking.” (Boras, 2018) The trend was so pronounced this last season that the seven worst teams that held their own pick all lost by more than 15 points in the span of two days.(Sheinin, 2018) This leaves the ratio of games with a 15 point or more point differential to that of less than 15 points was 8:9 on the date described by Sheinin, as opposed to the usual ratio of 2:5 for the rest of the season. This stretch of games occurred during a pivotal time in the season and should have garnered high interest for entertainment as teams grapple for playoff position heading into the post season. Instead, viewers were treated to seven blow-out games. In this thesis, the effects of tanking will be studied as it pertains to the NBA, as a whole, losing attendance in multiple aspects. This applies directly to the value of sponsorships in the NBA. In short, this thesis will answer three of questions; (1) How does expected point spread, which is highly affected by tanking, affect NBA attendance, of all teams, down the stretch of games? (2) How can the NBA protect its sponsors from the effects of tanking? (3) How can NBA sponsors protect themselves from the effects of tanking?
ContributorsThomas, Isaiah (Author) / McIntosh, Daniel (Thesis director) / Eaton, John (Committee member) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
With the discovery of “Big Data” and the positive impacts properly using data can have on any and every business, it is no wonder that there has been an explosion of companies choosing to implement many possible uses of data. Consumers and any people who may not fully understand the process of collecting, analyzing, and visualizing data may be more easily swayed towards believing something that might not necessarily be true or represented accurately. Often it may feel like every hot topic issue has groups on both sides of the issues using seemingly objective data to prove why their side is correct. Seeing two contradictory sides with seemingly factual data can leave many people confused and unsure what the correct course of action is. With this in mind, I realized that there was a chance the businesses could be creating similar misrepresentations of data to sway customers that the company’s product or service is absolutely a necessity in their lives. After all, the world of marketing and understanding consumer preference is a wildly changing and constant moving target that companies have to navigate. Using data surrounding their products and services to create a desire in consumers to buy and use their offerings seems like a surefire way to successfully target market segments.
As I researched and conducted initial analysis for this project, I quickly ran into a few roadblocks that lead to me needing to pivot off of certain ideas and adapt my initial plans to fit what was actually being done in the current marketing environment. In reality, most businesses are not up for taking the risk of explicitly giving real metrics of their products and services to customers. Due to this, my thesis evolved into finding other ways that companies would use logical appeals to represent their products and comparatively analyze how these companies choose to represent themselves on a social media platform.
As I researched and conducted initial analysis for this project, I quickly ran into a few roadblocks that lead to me needing to pivot off of certain ideas and adapt my initial plans to fit what was actually being done in the current marketing environment. In reality, most businesses are not up for taking the risk of explicitly giving real metrics of their products and services to customers. Due to this, my thesis evolved into finding other ways that companies would use logical appeals to represent their products and comparatively analyze how these companies choose to represent themselves on a social media platform.
ContributorsQueen, Adrianna Louise (Author) / Prince, Linda (Thesis director) / Olsen, Christopher (Committee member) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Cities are living systems. Their form and function are constantly changing to reflect the preferences and needs of their residents. One process of change in a city occurs when rapid investment pours into a neighborhood that was previously neglected. This so-called revitalization serves as a catalyst for many city improvements like new residential buildings, glamours commercial complexes, and even enhanced public transit. This process, also known as gentrification, can be a force for good as it results in population growth and economic opportunity. But with enough investment, prices -- including rent -- can be forced upwards equally as rapid. This is when gentrification can result in potentially negative outcomes for residents who can not keep up with the rent increases and are displaced from a city. Culture, as defined by people and business in an area, is the pride of many cities. A loss of culture through displacement is an outcome that anti-gentrification advocates want to avoid. But, cultural displacement may not always comprise a loss. In certain cases, displacement is just the natural byproduct of city evolution. An ideal solution to this state of affairs would be for cities to encourage gentrification while discouraging displacement. This study will explore how.
ContributorsFerrara, Justin Christopher (Author) / Simeone, Michael (Thesis director) / Baskin, Connor (Committee member) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
The purpose of this thesis is to evaluate Company F’s inventory management practices and make recommendations on how to improve ordering and reduce inventory carrying costs. With today’s software programs we are able to run analyses’ almost instantly that show us the relationship between demand and inventory. Ideally, every company wants to have enough inventory to meet customer demand, but not so much that carrying costs skyrocket. Not only does it cost more to store inventory, but it also ties up capital which is difficult to liquidate. Finding a happy medium between customer service level and carrying costs will keep company F’s franchisees satisfied and the company profitable. Using different forecast analyses’, I will be evaluating Company F’s fastest selling category of 5 products with the goal of finding the most accurate forecast model. I will also determine reorder points and reorder quantities for the rest of Company F’s SKU’s based on average usage, lead time, and safety stock. The result of my findings will provide cost savings for the company which affects the bottom line.
My recommendations to the company will be based on the findings of the analyses’ used. There may be multiple conclusions in the recommendations for demand forecasting based on each individual forecast used. However, I will give my insight on which forecast I think is more accurate and why this one would be the best to implement in terms of accuracy. Going forward, the company will be capable of implement these models and fine tune them as necessary to help streamline their inventory needs.
My recommendations to the company will be based on the findings of the analyses’ used. There may be multiple conclusions in the recommendations for demand forecasting based on each individual forecast used. However, I will give my insight on which forecast I think is more accurate and why this one would be the best to implement in terms of accuracy. Going forward, the company will be capable of implement these models and fine tune them as necessary to help streamline their inventory needs.
ContributorsCurran, Andrew Thomas (Author) / Printezis, Antonios (Thesis director) / Oe, Adegoke (Committee member) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
K-2SO: A Science Fiction Novel consists of three separate narratives all connected by one singular event: the choice to save a life. Told in three parts, each narrative explores the story of a different character in a different time, both before the end of the world and after. Dubbed “The Fracture” by the characters of the novel, the repercussions of this cataclysmic event are felt throughout each narrative, but it is not the focus of their stories. The characters and their connections to one another, how each one influences the lives of others, and the choices they make in an effort to rebuild that which they’ve lost and hold onto that which they love, is the heart of the novel, and the titular character, a robot born into a strange new world, is the thread that binds them all together.
ContributorsLind, Alex Thomas (Author) / Irish, Jennifer (Thesis director) / Bell, Matt (Committee member) / Department of English (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Entrepreneurship is an incredibly difficult endeavor. Along with the potentially high risk-to-return-ratio, starting an entrepreneurial venture, in nearly any capacity, necessitates a significant summation of work, time, creativity, and adaptability.1 In my opinion, many of the token hyper-productive individuals that have produced enormous amounts of value for the world were entrepreneurs who started their own companies and organizations. However, for every successful founder, there are thousands of failed entrepreneurs. In 2015, the Bureau of Labor Statistics found that roughly 50% of businesses fail in the first four years.2 Founders, over time, must become professionals in their respective industries in order to succeed. With limited financial capital to hire employees, founders must learn skills in a variety of focus areas which could include finance, strategy, technology, management, marketing, sales, and many more, until they can generate enough capital to hire employees to fulfill these roles. Although the learnings and experiences from starting a company can more effectively be understood through experiencing it first-hand, in this document, I intend to start a startup from scratch, learn a multitude of skills involved with starting a startup and describe my experience. My hope is that potential founders can read this document and get a better understanding of what it’s like to start a startup. This thesis will be less focused on quantitative data capturing and more focused on my first-hand experience.
ContributorsNaluz, Ethan Gabriel (Author) / Sebold, Brent (Thesis director) / Mian, Sami (Committee member) / Ravichandran, Anirudh (Committee member) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
When I first began thinking about what to do my honors thesis on during junior year, I knew that I wanted to do something creative. While I had successfully written a plethora of research papers and such throughout college, I knew that, were I to try to make my thesis entirely research based, I would not be able to be passionate about it. This thesis is what is going to be left for other Barrett students, current and future, to look at. I do not want to work on something that I would not be passionate about knowing that other people would see it and maybe even look at it when trying to find inspiration for their own theses. In order to accomplish this, I knew working on a creative project as my thesis was my best option. I would be passionate about what I was working on, and it would also allow me to work on something that did not just feel like more schoolwork. In other words, I would not get as “burnt out” working on my thesis if it were something that I enjoyed working on, rather than something that felt tedious.
ContributorsPrieve, Connor Taylor (Author) / Schmidt, Peter (Thesis director) / Ison, Tara (Committee member) / Department of English (Contributor) / School of Film, Dance and Theatre (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Take a moment to reflect on your day to day life. Think about the conversation you have with your barista at Starbucks, the polite hellos and you’re welcomes you pass out to strangers on the street, or the sound of your best friend’s latest story. Society could not exist without language. Every person utilizes language within their own spaces and communities to establish their identities and relationships with the world around them. The Linguistic Society of America classifies sociolinguistics as the investigation of how “language use symbolically represents fundamental dimensions of social behavior and human interaction.” Broadly, sociolinguistics looks at language’s relationship to and function within society.
ContributorsHill, Taylor (Author) / Howard, Pamela (Thesis director) / Rines, Olivia (Committee member) / Department of English (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05