Matching Items (541)
Description
Maricopa County is the home of the Phoenix metropolitan area, an expansive city with serious air quality concerns. To ameliorate air quality in the county, the Maricopa County Air Quality Department developed a website and mobile application called "Clean Air Make More" as a means of outreach and engagement. In doing this, the county has found a way to engender a bilateral relationship between individuals and their government agency. This study analyzes the effectiveness of Clean Air Make More in establishing this relationship and engaging the community in efforts to improve air quality. It concludes that the design of the application effectively meets user needs, but marketing efforts should target populations disposed to taking action regarding air quality.
ContributorsLapoint, Maggie Lane (Author) / Johnston, Erik W., 1977- (Thesis director) / Hondula, David M. (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
The purpose of this paper was to assist companies involved in international/intercultural business negotiations establish an orderly, informed, prepared, and empowered negotiation team within the corporate structure. The paper introduces and reinforces the importance of a systematic rather than situational approach to intercultural negotiations and assists companies establish the infrastructure, team, team coordination and alignment, preparation for negotiations, and intercultural skills necessary to maximize their success. China was chosen as the hypothetical international opponent because of its importance to the world economy and the value to American companies of establishing a business presence there. It also presented a prime example of the complexity of negotiations that has been so deeply influenced by a 5,000-year-old culture. In order to validate other research materials, the experiences of three expatriates who have lived in China and worked as business consultants there were explored in interviews. Each presented disparate views on the role of culture in successful negotiations, which underscored the importance of preparation to the negotiation process. The result was an outline of how a company can assemble and incorporate a team of ever-improving professionals for any foray into the global marketplace, with specific recommendations for expanding into China. Although the primary focus is on China, the suggestions and principles contained in this paper can be applied to any company of any national origin attempting to enter the global marketplace. By following some or all of its suggestions, companies will be in a better position to participate effectively in international / intercultural negotiations.
ContributorsChen, Yutong (Author) / Goldman, Alan (Thesis director) / Frost, Donald (Committee member) / Thunderbird School of Global Management (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Department of Management (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2015-12
Description
The purpose of this project is to use powerful visual storytelling techniques to convey a social need and an effective solution. Guatemala is a third world country, where poverty is widespread and the birth rate is high. Among the most economically and educationally disadvantaged are the Mayan women. Arizona nun, Sister Marife Hellman, recognized the needs of this population and founded a school to serve them. Hellman's mission is to provide a quality education to those underserved, so they can become positive leaders in their native communities. The website and video materials produced for this thesis are meant to be used for fundraising purposes on behalf of the school. All funds raised will help Hellman's alumni launch schools in their native areas, giving access to education that has long been nonexistent. Watch the mini-documentary here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxTiuwQCH44&t=17s.
ContributorsLaduke, Sierra Dawn (Author) / Craft, John (Thesis director) / Mork, Nick (Committee member) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor) / School of Community Resources and Development (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
Community associations have become more prevalent in recent years. In 1964, there were fewer than 500 such associations across the United States (At-a- Glance Look at Homeowners Associations and Conflicts). As of 2003, that number had skyrocketed to about 249,000 associations (At-a-Glance Look at Homeowners Associations and Conflicts). That number further increased to about 300,000 associations by 2010 (Ross). The majority of these entities are located in Arizona, California, Florida, Texas, Nevada, and Hawaii (At-a-Glance Look at Homeowners Associations and Conflicts). Community association members are required to pay assessments. One half of these monthly assessments were between $100 and $200 in 2003 (At-a-Glance Look at Homeowners Associations and Conflicts). In 2003, the total annual revenue of United States associations was between $30 and $35 billion dollars (At-a-Glance Look at Homeowners Associations and Conflicts). Due to the large revenue inflows, lack of controls, and an atmosphere of trust, these organizations are susceptible to fraud. Lapses in control relate to issues of a lack of segregation of duties, check writing policies, detective controls such as budgets, and other related controls. Limited fraud controls are sometimes a byproduct of the atmosphere of trust. This atmosphere of trust is probably in part a result of the association's communal orientation as association members can assume that their neighbors have the community's best interest in mind. But this is not necessarily the case. Fraud is an activity which, in 2006, cost United States businesses approximately $652 billion dollars (DiNapoli 2). On average, the cost to protect organizations from fraud and abuse is estimated at between five and seven percent of their annual revenue (DiNapoli 2) (Ratley 8). This thesis explores best practices that small and large community associations can employ to deter such fraud. First, this thesis provides background information regarding community associations, including their structure and surrounding laws which are pertinent to understanding their relationship with fraud prevention. Next, fraud basics are discussed to address the motivation, organizational attributes, and personal characteristics common to this act. Then, examples of community association fraud are discussed to underscore the importance of establishing anti-fraud controls. Finally, best practices are discussed to help community association members and directors enact policies to curb this costly act.
ContributorsLaybourne, Steven (Author) / Goldman, Donald (Thesis director) / Pany, Kurt (Committee member) / Epps, Joe (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor)
Created2012-12
Description
In this paper the interest yield curve will be plotted at three points based upon three models that were found appropriate for each rate. Knowledge of the term structure of interest yield curves is helpful in the understanding of bond pricing, investment decisions, and public policy (ANG). This paper will examine the intricacies of the yield curve by developing three individual reference rates -a 2-year, 5-year, and 10-year- with the use of financial instruments and multivariate linear regression. Based upon the example of Nelson and Siegel (1987), Black, Derman, and Toy (1990), Mishkin (1990), Ang and Piazzesi (2002) and Diebold et al. (2005) the models will feature various financial assets as well as macroeconomic variables in order to gain an understanding of which factors have the most significant effect on interest rates.
ContributorsKim, A. Minyu (Author) / Mendez, J. Vincent (Author) / Tram, T. Dan (Author) / Gallais, Sylvain (Thesis director) / Budolfson, Arthur (Committee member) / Gopalan, Ramu (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor)
Created2012-12
Description
Childbirth, an essential stage of human life, has been carried out and treated differently in numerous ways throughout time. Although the overall method of birth is biologically the same, women and medical professionals in the United States in particular have changed how they view and manage childbirth over the past 70 years. Some of said changes are extensive and occurred more rapidly than one might typically expect for such a delicate and important stage of a woman‘s, and infant‘s, life. As consumerism, capitalism, and the courts have changed America‘s lifestyles, politics, and society, so too have they drastically affected the way we are conditioned to approach childbirth. More importantly, as society changes over time, the medical field and
methods of specialists also change, and although the benefits of these changes are challenged by some individuals, these procedures and recommendations from professionals inevitably affect us all. Methods and procedures of modern, medicalized childbirth, and even the significance placed on the event, are products of historical and cultural factors influenced by scientific and social trends. However, there exists a small and steadily growing number of women and families who choose to have their birth take place outside of the present societal norm, and consequently outside of hospitals. This group‘s existence and growth has been attributed to several factors, including changes in societal values, differentiation between different financial classes, and the
medicalization of childbirth. Although statistically a small percentage of the majority, these women who choose to give birth outside of a hospital exist amidst an immense ongoing controversy between gynecologists, physicians, mothers, and midwives regarding what options should be available when childbirth is undertaken in the United States.
methods of specialists also change, and although the benefits of these changes are challenged by some individuals, these procedures and recommendations from professionals inevitably affect us all. Methods and procedures of modern, medicalized childbirth, and even the significance placed on the event, are products of historical and cultural factors influenced by scientific and social trends. However, there exists a small and steadily growing number of women and families who choose to have their birth take place outside of the present societal norm, and consequently outside of hospitals. This group‘s existence and growth has been attributed to several factors, including changes in societal values, differentiation between different financial classes, and the
medicalization of childbirth. Although statistically a small percentage of the majority, these women who choose to give birth outside of a hospital exist amidst an immense ongoing controversy between gynecologists, physicians, mothers, and midwives regarding what options should be available when childbirth is undertaken in the United States.
ContributorsHernandez, Dustin (Author) / Nguyen, Christy (Author) / Koblitz, Ann (Thesis director) / Budolfson, Arthur (Committee member) / Walker, Shell (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor)
Created2012-12
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
ContributorsFishman, Jacob (Author) / DeSerpa, Allan (Thesis director) / Hill, John (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor)
Created2012-12
Description
When a friend approached me and asked me to join his team and apply to the Edson Student Entrepreneur Initiative, a student business plan competition at Arizona State University, I accepted. Not only did I find his idea interesting, but I also believed that applying to the Edson program would give me a first glimpse into being an entrepreneur. The business, called Social Artworking, proposed to create an online platform to connect businesses, who need art, with artists through a unique bidding process. Through Social Artworking, businesses indicate the maximum amount they are able to pay while artists bid what they are willing to do the job for. Then a business or individual is able to pick the best artist that can meet his quality and price needs. In addition to the exchange platform, Social Artworking would jointly launch a social networking site and an online portfolio service for artists. Social Artworking was trying to address the problem of small businesses having a hard time finding affordable and high quality artist and designers while at the same time helping students gain paid experience to increase their portfolio before graduation. In the months leading up to the Edson application, I had a hard time catching up to my partner's knowledge of the business idea and the art, web and crowdsourcing industries. On many occasions, I felt like I was depending on him as an expert to write the application. After two months of working on the application, we submitted the proposal to Edson. The idea did not advance to the final round.
ContributorsDuran, Regina (Author) / Peck, Sidnee (Thesis director) / Essig, Linda (Committee member) / Garner, Benson (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor)
Created2012-12
Description
In an increasingly technological world, people are spending more time inside than ever and less time outside with one another. Our goal is to create a new game that gets people off the couch and on their feet, spending quality time together. Everyone can recall a fond memory where they were outside with friends and family, and we do not want to let that disappear in today’s world.
Three Way is a student-led effort to put an innovative spin on typical lawn games seen at tailgates and backyard barbecues, such as Cornhole and KanJam. Our mission is to bring new life to classic American tailgate games and provide outdoor fun to students and families alike for decades to come.
The tailgate game industry is one that has seen little innovation over time, as favorites like cornhole have been a dominant standout for many years. Even with this lack of new products, this industry has still consistently grown for the last 4 decades, and is projected to continue to grow over the next decade. The global cornhole market is currently $482 million and is forecasted to grow to $1.2 billion by 2033 through a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 8.6%. We believe that because of this growth, there is room for a new product in this space. We have created social media accounts on various platforms (Instagram, X) to reach as wide of an audience as possible, along with creating a website and are in the process of designing merchandise to build excitement around our game. The success of our marketing will be dependent on the amount of views we can create.
Our group brings diverse backgrounds to the table with our experience including sports management, marketing, finance, computer information systems, and data analytics. Collectively, we have played a variety of sports in our lives, most notably football, basketball, baseball, golf, and hockey, and are very passionate about sports in general. We believe our extensive experience in sports gives us an advantage over competitors in the industry.
We have developed a prototype that we have utilized at tabling events to obtain consumer feedback. Our goal is to refine our current design until we are satisfied with it prior to releasing it to the public for sale, so profit is currently not our main goal. We have surveyed students before and after playing our game to see the difference between their expectations and the actual game play, and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.
ContributorsPonteras, Preston (Author) / Botvinnik, Nicolas (Co-author) / Ilardi, Nicolas (Co-author) / Gaunt, Harrison (Co-author) / Byrne, Jared (Thesis director) / Pierce, John (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Community Resources and Development (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor)
Created2024-05