Matching Items (581)
Description
Analysis into the political career of Texas state senator George Ruby provides invaluable insight to the African American experience during Reconstruction in Texas as a whole. Juxtaposing the needs vocalized by African American communities and the actions taken by Ruby, the Freedmen’s Bureau, and other Texas politicians, helps identify how racial politics dictated the lives of Texas African Americans. Ruby’s rise to power can also be utilized as a historical blueprint for how leaders in marginalized communities can become impactful and obtain power within a racially-biased societal structure. Ruby’s rise and fall in Texas politics is tragic as he finds himself forced to separate from his loyal African American support base—deciding to cater to the needs of elite white Texans to help ensure political favor on both sides of the political and racial spectrum. However, Ruby’s legacy remains one of great success as he managed to break the mold forced upon so many African Americans during Reconstruction and enact lasting change in the marginalized Texas African American communities.
ContributorsCourson, Shawn Thomas (Author) / Schermerhorn, J. (Thesis director) / Delmont, Matthew (Committee member) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies (Contributor) / Division of Teacher Preparation (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
This paper attempts to introduce analytics and regression techniques into the National Hockey League. Hockey as a sport has been a slow adapter of analytics, and this can be attributed to poor data collection methods. Using data collected for hockeyreference.com, and R statistical software, the number of wins a team experiences will be predicted using Goals For and Goals Against statistics from 2005-2017. The model showed statistical significance and strong normality throughout the data. The number of wins each team was expected to experience in 2016-2017 was predicted using the model and then compared to the actual number of games each team won. To further analyze the validity of the model, the expected playoff outcome for 2016-2017 was compared to the observed playoff outcome. The discussion focused on team's that did not fit the model or traditional analytics and expected forecasts. The possible discrepancies were analyzed using the Las Vegas Golden Knights as a case study. Possible next steps for data analysis are presented and the role of future technology and innovation in hockey analytics is discussed and predicted.
ContributorsVermeer, Brandon Elliot (Author) / Goegan, Brian (Thesis director) / Eaton, John (Committee member) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
The human hairless gene (HR) encodes a 130 kDa transcription factor that is primarily expressed in the brain and skin. In the promoter and 5'-untranslated regions (5'-UTR) of HR, there are three putative consensus p53 responsive elements (p53RE). p53 is a tumor suppressor protein that regulates cell proliferation, apoptosis, and other cell functions. The p53 protein, a known tumor suppressor, acts as a transcription factor and binds to DNA p53REs to activate or repress transcription of the target gene. In general, the p53 binding sequence is 5'-RRRCWWGYYY-3' where W is A or T, and R and Y are purines or pyrimidines, respectively. However, even if the p53 binding sequence does not match the consensus sequence, p53 protein might still be able to bind to the response element. The intent of this investigation was to identify and characterize the p53REs in the promoter and 5'-UTR of HR. If the three p53REs (p53RE1, p53RE2, and p53RE3) are functional, then p53 can bind there and might regulate HR gene expression. The first aim for this thesis was to clone the putative p53REs into a luciferase reporter and to characterize the transcription of these p53REs in glioblastoma (U87 MG) and human embryonic kidney (HEK293) cell lines. Through the transactivation assay, it was discovered that p53REs 2 and 3 were functional in HEK293, but none of the response elements were functional in U87 MG. Since p53 displayed a different regulatory capacity of HR expression in HEK293 and U87 MG cells, the second aim was to verify whether the p53REs are mutated in GBM U87 MG cells by genomic DNA sequencing.
ContributorsMaatough, Anas (Author) / Neisewander, Janet (Thesis director) / Hsieh, Jui-Cheng (Committee member) / Goldstein, Elliott (Committee member) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
In the age of social media, the 24-hour news cycle, and an overwhelming pressure to become "successful," there is a marked lack of personal connection within communities and a constant state of stress and overwork. This constant state of stress then builds into anxiety, as there are few public resources for mental reprieve. The World Health Organization reports that anxiety disorders are the most common mental disorders worldwide, begging the question as to how they can be addressed most effectively worldwide. As design is implicit within any environment that provides for mental wellness, it must be carefully curated to provide not only the physical necessities, but speak for something beyond explanation- a sense of mental refuge and comfort. Using the concept of mindfulness, architecture has the power to force users to truly be present in the experience, activating space to become a mental refuge rather than a passive infrastructure.
ContributorsDickson, Cassandra (Author) / Horton, Philip (Thesis director) / Heywood, William (Committee member) / Hejduk, Renata (Committee member) / The Design School (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
In early 2026, the NASA Discovery Program will fall into orbit with a metal asteroid named Psyche. Through discovery and interaction, this exploration will give us insight into an asteroid that we cannot see or interpret. From a certain view, you can look at how this mission mimics that discovery with experimentation of our own senses. As a part of a team of eight seniors, we were tasked to help develop a mobile application that reflects the Psyche mission and shows the future of the project ten years from now. Since this is also a government funded project, it is pertinent to adhere to the ADA compliance guidelines required to make digital applications accessible to the larger public. As a designer, I wanted to push this concept further to showcase that accessibility is not something that should be stereotyped or discouraged from a design perspective. Each person that interacts with the application will have a different experience but it is this collaboration between the object and it's audience that creates this sense of discovery. Taking the mission's core values one step further, this application was designed and explored to uphold the foundations of what Universal Design is about. It is about connecting interested parties to the material they are looking for without unrealistic access that is dependent on ability.
ContributorsSchaecher, Lauren Allison (Author) / Sanft, Alfred (Thesis director) / Heywood, William (Committee member) / The Design School (Contributor) / Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
Everyone experiences feelings of anxiety. This is part of being human. However, occasional stress and worry does not compare with today's rising epidemic of Anxiety Disorders, especially in the creative industry. A widespread stigma surrounding mental health, our high-stress culture, and rising medical costs leaves most of those suffering without treatment. Those that end up seeking treatment face the challenge of finding the right combination, to bring their overpowering anxiety down to a manageable level. The most common treatments include therapy, medication, and lifestyle changes. Alternative treatments such as meditation, exercise, and self-care have a great impact on reducing anxiety when combined with traditional treatments. Despite the fact that anxiety has become a cultural condition, we can end this epidemic by speaking up and offering the right support, often off the beaten path.
ContributorsSmith, Willow (Author) / Heywood, William (Thesis director) / Sanft, Alfred (Committee member) / The Design School (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
I use Arizona State University's rebranding initiative with Nike as a starting point for examining how partnerships between elite brands and universities affect different types of students. I draw from literature on self-completion theory and identity salience to suggest that there are differences between athletes and non-athletes in how they believe elite sportswear products may affect their athletic performance. I propose that athletes feel more "complete" than non-athletes because they are more proficient in their respective sport. As such, non-athletes are more likely to use sportswear products (Nike) to become more proficient in athletics and have stronger beliefs that elite sportswear products will help them arrive at their goals. I also propose and find that students who feel that ASU plays an important part of their life perceive even greater performance boosts from using Nike products. These findings suggest that particular attention should be paid to the athletes and non-athletes in initiatives that link specific institutions and organizations to performance brands.
ContributorsGoldman, Alexa (Author) / Eaton, John (Thesis director) / Samper, Adriana (Committee member) / Kohler, Michael (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor)
Created2012-12
Description
This thesis will outline contracts, the language in contracts, and how contracts in sports law are drafted. Contracts are legally binding agreements between parties, where each benefits in some manner. These contracts are supposed to be interpreted in accordance with the law and set out the obligations between the parties involved. Business contracts have certain clauses that are discussed in this thesis, while sports law contracts have similarities and differences with these business contracts. Business contracts are drafted to outline the duties, responsibilities, and nature of the business relationship. Sports contracts tend to outline the relationship between team and player, where the team has an obligation to compensate the player and the player has a skill or performance to provide. In sports law, the idea of torts will be discussed, which is generally the main cause of action for disputes in sports. The contract is drafted in mind of this in order to limit the liability for the player and team in case of dispute. Then, the standard player contract (‘SPK’) will be introduced, and the author will go over certain unique clauses and language in these contracts. After all the research and information in chapters one through five, chapter six will include a standard player contract drafted by the author. This deliverable will cover the topics and research conducted in the thesis and put it in a sports context. Finally, the author will give an analysis of the drafted SPK and personal recommendations for future drafted SPKs. The author acknowledges the length of this thesis but appreciates the time and effort to read and understand it.
ContributorsJustus, Brett (Author) / Lee, Christopher (Thesis director) / Eaton, John (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor)
Created2024-05
Description
In the modern age of marketing and the growing use of influencer marketing, the use of these influencers and social platforms is rapidly evolving. With the rise of TikTok during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, there was a shift as consumers started to prefer short-form video content and new influencers started to gain popularity. The beauty industry in particular had a large increase in marketing as new influencers popped up with a new style, leading to changing consumer desires and attitudes. This case study aims to aid future researchers in understanding a new topic of research in the rapidly changing marketing world. For this study, I defined three subtypes of beauty mega-influencers: first-mover beauty influencers, who have been in the industry for a decade or more, controversial influencers, who actively create content but have problematic pasts, and beauty lifestyle influencers who gained their popularity on TikTok and their styles develop parasocial relationships with their followers. I gathered a sample of sponsored posts on both TikTok and Instagram to look into the effectiveness of each type’s style for marketing use and how consumers reacted to these types of posts. With this sample, I tested how the credibility within each group and as individuals affected consumer attitudes, and which group is the most effective overall in receiving positive attitudes in terms of response to persuasion. This was done by comparing engagement rates and tracking attitudes in each comment section. My findings found that those with all three facets of credibility, knowledge, expertise, and attractiveness, received the best responses from their audience, and this was found mostly within the newer, TikTok-based beauty lifestyle influencers, however, each subtype had different advantages. There was also the unexpected finding of platform difference, and how much effect that had on consumer attitudes overall.
ContributorsJenkins, Jennifer (Author) / Dong, Xiaodan (Thesis director) / Eaton, John (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor)
Created2024-05
Description
Search Engine Marketing is one of the most commonly utilized digital marketing strategies. However, it is also relatively new and unstudied. A study is necessary to address how consumers are interacting with search engines both organically and through paid sponsored results. First, information must be compiled on what the current industry best practices are when marketing through search engines. This means acquiring data on how marketers are using Search Engine Optimization and Paid Search campaigns to target their customers and potential customers. Next, information must be gathered on what current research exists regarding the consumer behavior of search engines. In other words, how, where, and why are users searching? Finally, a study will be conducted surveying 385 college students to address unanswered questions about how younger generations are searching and where the future of search lies.
ContributorsTucker, Claire (Author) / Eaton, John (Thesis director) / Lee, Christopher (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor)
Created2024-05