Since the 1960's, the sport of American football has maintained its stranglehold as the most popular sport in the United States. Both in viewership and participation, football has a massive lead on all other sports, but as of late many factors have led some to believe that trouble could be on the horizon. With various issues including head injuries, player protests, and television viewership decline plaguing football and its professional league, the NFL, the door could be open for another collision sport from across the pond to surge in popularity: rugby. Played in 119 countries by millions of people, rugby is currently one of the most popular sports in the world, but because of American football's dominance in the U.S. it has yet to really find its footing here; however, despite its popularity paling in comparison to football, rugby is actually the single fastest-growing sport in the U.S. Both sports share some strong similarities, and with football facing a myriad of issues, there is real reason to believe that rugby could be on the rise while football could continue to falter. By reading through articles and statistics on the subject, this thesis was divided into four main analysis topics to compare and contrast the two sports: injury problems and how they affect viewership and participation, international following for each respective sport, culture around the games themselves and how it could appeal to American viewers, and potential for growth domestically. By examining these factors within both sports, I was able to come to the conclusion that rugby's potential to take hold in the U.S. is growing, and in the coming years as American football's safety and importance continue to be called into question, rugby could one day even supplant football as the most popular collision sport in the country.

The backlash surrounding sexual violence in the media (social and traditional) demonstrates support for the fight against sexual violence, and, according to statistics, ASU is home to large populations of some of the most high-risk groups. As a place of higher education, ASU recognizes that a proactive approach to sexual misconduct, educating at-risk publics, is as necessary as spreading awareness of the problem. It also acknowledges the healing power of the arts. Acts of sexual violence target the human body and performance arts, like dance, focus on control over body movements. Additionally, art in general is proven to improve one's physical, mental and emotional well-being. Even though the stigma of being a victim of sexual assault has been lessened by people sharing their stories through social and traditional media, sexual assault is traumatizing for the victim. This can lead victims to be hesitant to report or talk about their past trauma, and creates a barrier to discussion of sexual violence on campus. Thus, the goal of CounterAct is to raise awareness of the prevalence of sexual misconduct on campus and throughout American culture. Recognizing the factors that contribute to sexual assault in addition to healing through creative action can change rape culture to respect culture on campus and in the surrounding community.

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.

This study examines the The Disney College Program, a semester-long paid internship hosted by the Walt Disney Company employing more than 10,000 students each year. With over 120,000 alumni in the past 10 years, this program offers students housing and community building opportunities within the "Living" component, college credit courses within the "Learning" component, and on-the-job experience at Disneyland Resort and Walt Disney World theme parks through the "Earning" component. Specifically, the research focuses on Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. The researcher conducted a 39-question online survey prompting 1,749 responses from Disney College Program alumni to help answer the following research questions: (1) Who are Disney College Program Cast Members, (2) What is their level of satisfaction with the program, and (3) Are they influencers? This study uses theoretical elements (e.g. levels of adoption, influencers and brand loyalty) to describe influence and psychological effects to describe satisfaction (e.g. indoctrination, human motivation and Stockholm Syndrome). With the findings showing discrepancies between the ratings of "Living," "Learning," and "Earning" and the average overall rating, some questions arise about the program's tendencies to form tightly cohesive groups approaching elements of Stockholm Syndrome and cult-like ethos. Focusing on the 1,490 of 1,749 respondents from Walt Disney World in the past 10 years, the study concludes that Walt Disney World College Program alumni are not influencers nor advocates, but rather evangelists (i.e., zealous advocate) and loyalists.

A Regional Analysis of Police Shootings Through Local Media Coverage studies broadcast reports of officer-involved shootings in the most dangerous cities across the country in order to determine if bias is present while providing readers with a tool they can use to analyze officer-involved shooting stories in their own community. Based on the geographical regions of the United States, the website analyzes the most dangerous city of the region and the most dangerous city in the most dangerous state in the region. For each city, a random broadcast piece is selected from the local media coverage. I then created a list of 10 points journalists should be aware of when reporting on officer-involved shootings. I used this list to break down and analyze how the story fared against my list. In the beginning of this process, I believed that all local media would have a slight bias depending on the region from which they were reporting. In my original hypothesis, I believed that the reports from the West would be against police, reports from the South and Southwest would be pro police, reports from the Midwest would be against police, and reports from the Northeast would be pro police. After analysis, many of the reports did not show any obvious bias. I wanted this project to be a tool readers and viewers could use in order to learn more about officer-involved shootings. With the help of my checklist, viewers would be able to then analyze stories on officer-involved shootings and determine the quality of the reporting. Not only did this project open my eyes to the different reporting styles that could be used to report an officer-involved shooting, it instilled a deeper sense of pride for local journalism. Even through the recent eruptions surrounding officer-involved shootings, the stories I analyzed continue to stick to journalistic ethics and remain unbiased, even in breaking news.

This case study is intended to determine how a top-ranked journalism school approaches and emphasizes racial and ethnic diversity. The objective of the project is to evaluate the impacts of the school's overall efforts to emphasize diversity and inclusion. Most of the study is based on interactions with students, admissions directors, faculty and the administrative offices. There are at least four chapters of national diversity organizations including National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ), National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ), Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA), and NLGJA (The Association of LGBTQ Journalists). The project was initiated by surveying members, executive boards and advisors of these chapters to gauge their expectations, experiences, and suggestions regarding the Cronkite School's concentration on diversity. The final presentation of results consists of digital articles in a blog format and literary reviews. LINK TO CREATIVE PROJECT: https://www.wcschooldiversity.com/

Thesis: Regardless of the negative connotations that come with the word "Millennial," this generation has a positive influence on workplace design, which encourages employee productivity and success at work. Workplace structure has changed greatly over the past decade. While large companies like Google and Facebook are renowned for their workplace design, many smaller companies have followed in their footsteps to help employees enjoy and succeed at work. In Phoenix, Arizona, two companies, Nextiva and ZOG Digital, use technology and workplace design to give employees a healthier, more productive work environment. While many traditional corporate companies might look down upon an open work concept and elimination of traditional office spaces like cubicles, these two companies have shown that not only are employees more productive, but they are happier as well. Research shows that as Millennials make their way into the workforce, changes to workplace design will follow. Free food, games rooms, open desks, and comfortable workspaces are all aspects of new workplace innovations. With these changes, comes backlash towards the generation personally, when in fact the new designs are shown to be successful. ZOG Digital is a digital marketing company that embraces the idea of multiple workspaces. The design of the office was to have a wide variety of places people can do work. The office features coffee bars, kitchen counters, private offices, treadmills with laptop stands and the open floor plan where each employee has his or her own desk. This type of catering was not always common, but as more Millennials find their way into leadership, office space commonalities have changed. By 2025, Millennials will make up 75-percent of the overall workforce. This statistic makes the Millennial generation the target market for employers and Millennials sending out resumes have more education than any generation prior. The potential impact on the workplace based on this fact is immeasurable but changes have already begun to develop. The years to come will be the ultimate determinate to the impact Millennials have in the workplace. It's the job of each generation to prepare and teach the younger generations how to be leaders and positively impact their immediate environment. The future is uncertain but bright for this generation and those to come.

Understanding transborder relations is becoming more important than ever to understand as the possibility of legislation of a border wall is causing an international debate. The communities along the more than 1,900 mile-long U.S.-Mexico border are complex and unique in their cultures, governance and economies. Many of the border's micro issues are directly related to their geographic location that are often unheard of in the rest of the country. Border cities face certain public education issues not faced elsewhere. Overcrowded schools is not unheard of along the border, but in the city of San Luis, Arizona, the debate is hotter than before. Thousands of students, many of which are U.S. citizens, are living in Mexico and going to school in the border city of San Luis. In my in-depth story "Children cross the border daily for school - and how that's changing," I focus on one student, Eduardo, 14. I present his motives, efforts and obstacles of going to school in Southwest Junior High School in San Luis, Arizona while living in San Luis Rio Colorado, Sonora in Mexico. As he prepares to transition into secondary school, he is trying to decide with his mother what is his best high school option as attending a school in the U.S. is becoming more and more difficult for students like him. Crossing the Port of Entry as a pedestrian is becoming more dangerous, the only high school in the city is overcrowded, and the new superintendent seeks to have students residing in Mexico pay tuition, which Emiliano's single mother cannot afford. In the following subsections of this essay I will describe my thought process behind narrowing my topic, the process of executing my research and narrative, and the obstacles and ethical dilemmas of reporting in San Luis, my hometown.

Although the Leadership Scholarship Program has seen successful recruiting processes throughout changes in leadership of the program; the organization expressed a need for major overhaul to reevaluate the decisions of the process and to establish backing for those decisions. By asking current and alumni members of the program about what they would like to see in a future member of the program as well as which parts of the process they found most important, the qualities of a future member of the program could be established and weighted. The goals of the reevaluation were to help eliminate bias, discrepancies between applications with extremely different uncontrollable factors, define points of discrepancies, and establish organizational sustainability while achieving a 100% acceptance rate from offered students. Each of these goals was achieved through methods outlined in the LSP Selection Process Manual that was written as a result of this reevaluation. The manual also outlines ways to improve the process going forward.

In the past ten years, social network services have expanded from a digital method in which the public connects with only their friends and families. Social network services have evolved to a highly-accessible, convenient, cost-effective tool to engage with communities beyond one's frequented social circle on a local, national, and global scale. Many politicians have adapted in order to use social network services to connect directly with their constituents. Politicians have begun to use their profiles on social network services as their own privately owned publicity channel, publishing raw "material" like political opinions or legal advocacy, appearances at events and media like photos, videos or links to maintain transparency and accessibility to their constituencies. The content analysis investigates the use of a social network service (Twitter) by five different Arizonan politicians from different municipal, state and federal offices over the period of six months. All posts on Twitter were recorded, evaluated, and categorized by content into one of seventeen different divisions: Constituent Connection, Correction, Culture, Economy, Education, Environment, Healthcare, Humanitarianism, International, Military, Operational, Personal, Political Activity, Reply to Constituent, Security, Social Issues or Sports. The date, category, content, media type and engagement (replies, retweets, and favorites) were also recorded. Understanding how political figures connect and engage with their constituencies contributes to understanding modern campaigning and modern government; politicians are now finding it imperative to have and maintain a social media presence in order to gain relevance, transparency and accessibility with their constituencies. This study examines how politicians are currently utilizing these micro-blogging sites.