In this formative research project, we seek to better understand the general barriers to refugee access to higher education. Using mixed methods research--which included surveys, interviews, and course data--we evaluate the benefits and challenges experienced by refugee students in Israel who are enrolled in Arizona State University's Education for Humanity programs. In the end, this case study resulted in 24 recommend programmatic changes designed to eliminate the barriers that prevent refugee students from accessing and succeeding in higher education.

In the early years of the National Football League, scouting and roster development resembled the wild west. Drafts were held in hotel ballrooms the day after the last game of regular season college football was played. There was no combine, limited scouting, and no salary cap. Over time, these aspects have changed dramatically, in part due to key figures from Pete Rozelle to Gil Brandt to Bill Belichick. The development and learning from this time period have laid the foundational infrastructure that modern roster construction is based upon. In this modern day, managing a team and putting together a roster involves numerous people, intense scouting, layers of technology, and, critically, the management of the salary cap. Since it was first put into place in 1994, managing the cap has become an essential element of building and sustaining a successful team. The New England Patriots’ mastery of the cap is a large part of what enabled their dynastic run over the past twenty years. While their model has undoubtedly proven to be successful, an opposing model has become increasingly popular and yielded results of its own. Both models center around different distributions of the salary cap, starting with the portion paid to the starting quarterback. The Patriots dynasty was, in part, made possible due to their use of both models over the course of their dominance. Drafting, organizational culture, and coaching are all among the numerous critical factors in determining a team’s success and it becomes difficult to pinpoint the true source of success for any given team. Ultimately, however, effective management of the cap proves to be a force multiplier; it does not guarantee that a team will be successful, but it helps teams that handle the other variables well sustain their success.

Especially during the current COVID-19 pandemic and age of social unrest in the United States, there has been an increasing need for comfort, yet the idea of comfort is quite vague and rarely elaborated upon. To simplify the idea of comfort and communicate the ideas around it effectively, I am defining comfort as a subset of escapism in which a person escapes to reduce or alleviate feelings of grief or distress. As companies rush to comfort their customers in this current state of uncertainty, marketers are pressed to identify people’s insecurities and comfort them without coming off as insensitive or trite. Current comfort marketing focuses on inspiring nostalgia in its customers, having them recall previous positive experiences or feelings to comfort them. Nostalgic marketing techniques may ease mild grief in some cases, but using them to alleviate severe distress probably will not be as effective, and has contributed to several seemingly out-of-touch “COVID-19 era” commercials.<br/>When addressing comfort, marketers should understand the type and hierarchy of comfort that they are catering to. Not all comforts are equal, in that some comforts make us feel better than others and some do not comfort us at all. A better understanding of how and why comforts change among different individuals, and possibly being able to predict the comfort preference based on a product or service, will help marketers market their goods and services more effectively. By diversifying and specializing comfort marketing using this hierarchical method, marketers will be able to more significantly reach their customers during “uncertain times.”

Every year, nearly 1.5 shelter animals are euthanized.(1) By the end of 2020, California was reported to be responsible for the second most dog euthanasia’s in the United States, behind Texas by nearly 15,000 dogs. Sadly, these numbers do not include the euthanizing of cats which is generally a fraction larger. Additionally, a majority of numbers tallied by euthanasia centers do not include animals that younger than 1 month old and under 2 pounds. These animals are referred to as “neonate,” which is essentially unsavable newborns. In fact, the New York Times writes, “Many of the shelters do not track outcomes uniformly or make historical data readily available online. Until recently, there has not been a concerted national effort to standardize and compile shelter records.”(2) If these numbers were to be included, we would see a large spike for shelter euthanasia’s in every state. <br/>Traveling Paws is a 501(c)3 Nonprofit Organization that was created to help reduce the number of shelter and stray animals euthanized in California. Our mission is to rehome animals from dangerous environments and kill shelters into their “forever homes,” or shelter facilities where they then can further be adopted and live out the rest of their lives happily. In addition to animal relocation, our team has begun programs such as sheltering, fostering, and put an emphasis on a trap, neuter, and return program to help increase the health and safety, while reducing reproduction rates of stray cats in the Southern California region. While we have been able to substantially help animals located in areas of Southern California, our work is nowhere near complete. <br/>Through this write up, I will tell you the story of my journey, creating and managing our nonprofit organization, along with our successes, problems faced, business plans to help guide us toward our future goals and success, and what I have learned throughout the process.

Every year, nearly 1.5 shelter animals are euthanized.(1) By the end of 2020, California was reported to be responsible for the second most dog euthanasia’s in the United States, behind Texas by nearly 15,000 dogs. Sadly, these numbers do not include the euthanizing of cats which is generally a fraction larger. Additionally, a majority of numbers tallied by euthanasia centers do not include animals that younger than 1 month old and under 2 pounds. These animals are referred to as “neonate,” which is essentially unsavable newborns. In fact, the New York Times writes, “Many of the shelters do not track outcomes uniformly or make historical data readily available online. Until recently, there has not been a concerted national effort to standardize and compile shelter records.”(2) If these numbers were to be included, we would see a large spike for shelter euthanasia’s in every state. <br/>Traveling Paws is a 501(c)3 Nonprofit Organization that was created to help reduce the number of shelter and stray animals euthanized in California. Our mission is to rehome animals from dangerous environments and kill shelters into their “forever homes,” or shelter facilities where they then can further be adopted and live out the rest of their lives happily. In addition to animal relocation, our team has begun programs such as sheltering, fostering, and put an emphasis on a trap, neuter, and return program to help increase the health and safety, while reducing reproduction rates of stray cats in the Southern California region. While we have been able to substantially help animals located in areas of Southern California, our work is nowhere near complete. <br/>Through this write up, I will tell you the story of my journey, creating and managing our nonprofit organization, along with our successes, problems faced, business plans to help guide us toward our future goals and success, and what I have learned throughout the process.

Companies can spend anywhere from hundreds to millions of dollars in creating as well as redesigning their logos and brand images. To make sure that they are creating their logos in an effective way, it is important to look at how consumers will be affected by the choices that are made with the design.
The purpose of this paper is to examine how colors and orientations of logos affect consumer’s brand perception. This was done by distributing a survey that asked for participant’s feelings toward a certain subject. The survey first asked for the participant to define certain terms. Then, it asked what emotions the participants felt when thinking about certain colors. Finally, it asked users their opinions of logos after specific changes had been made. These changes include changing the colors of the original logos and changing the orientation of the original logos.
This paper will provide a look into over 600 participants' minds and how they perceive color. These participants were Arizona State University marketing students enrolled in Dr. John Eaton’s course during the 2020 Spring semester. This paper will provide recommendations to those looking to rebrand or create a brand logo.
After looking at the results of the survey and some outside research, it was hard to determine exactly what emotions consumers would feel with each color. Even though there was a large sample size, there were a lot of limitations in the survey which caused complications with the results. Due to these limitations, it made the correlation between specific colors and an emotion inconclusive.

Collegiate athletes have long been deemed amateurs and have not been entitled to payment. However, recent law changes as well as social movements have made this a topic of discussion in the current sports climate. This thesis serves to educate the reader on the history of the NCAA, why athletes are currently not compensated, current actions being taken to compensate athletes, along with possible solutions. The historical section seeks to inform readers how we got to the current status of the NCAA, notably the NCAA’s assignment of amateur status to current collegiate athletes. This ties in to the analysis section which draws down the NCAA’s current rules and regulations regarding athlete compensation. The current changes section seeks to get the reader up to speed with the current climate of the NCAA. Lastly, the recommendations serve to offer the reader a source of consideration for how these issues can be approached moving forward given what we currently know.
These statements are backed by both primary and secondary data collections which were garnered at various NCAA member institutions. This thesis further explores opinions and views of other researchers and offers counterarguments to opinions regarding future actions deemed necessary by the NCAA. The thesis lays out the Issues, Analysis of the issues, draws conclusions and gives final recommendations. Strong consideration is given to the recent advancements in the areas of Name, Image and Likeness laws. It is further explored the avenues that NIL can create the greatest impact moving forward in the NCAA.

This paper examines the fundamental problem statement of: How can the hotel & resort industry resist and overcome the new competitive challenge that the sharing economy and Airbnb have imposed on it? This wasn’t a problem up until this past decade, as hotels had long been the world’s main solution for individuals looking for a place to stay in exchange for a fee. That has changed nowadays as the rise of the sharing economy has created a new, fast-growing demand for Airbnb in the hospitality industry. We have witnessed powerful companies die as a result of not taking disruptive technology seriously, as seen with Blockbuster and Kodak; however, we have also seen impressive reactions to disruptive technology in other cases such as Walmart and Alibaba that use it to enhance the customer experience. Hotels arose from humble beginnings and progressively became more than just a place to sleep. This is evidenced by the progression from 16th century humble inns to large luxury hotels in the 19-20th century to many hotels being significant tourist attractions themselves nowadays. While some factors such as security, hygiene, and consistency currently remain on the hotel industry’s side, the main factors fueling the growth of Airbnb are closely tied to consumer preferences and Airbnb’s ability to create unique, authentic experiences. A questionnaire with 756 responses from ASU students was conducted for this project’s primary research. The results concluded that this demographic travels often, slightly prefers hotels over Airbnb, and values location, convenience, and cost the most. Results were consistent with findings discussed in literature, since the bulk of respondents said they look at Airbnb for low-cost options and hotels for high-end options. Hotels reign supreme in the high-end market and benefit from their location and convenience factors, but Airbnb might have an opportunity to leverage their attractive capabilities while also incorporating some of hotels’ best aspects. This can cause the preference of hotels over Airbnb to diminish further going forward. Hotels can combat Airbnb in multiple ways. One is for hotel chains to customize more hotels to fit the local destination like Airbnb rather than keeping a more standardized vibe and design across all locations. Another is to continue focusing on creating unmatched service experiences in the high-end market that are hard for Airbnb to replicate. A third one is to implement more competitive pricing relative to Airbnb during peak seasons across different cities. Finally, given the increased awareness on hygiene and health that the COVID-19 crisis will likely bring after the pandemic, hotels should put greater emphasis on their hygiene factor when conducting publicity efforts, since this remains in favor of hotels rather than Airbnb and can attract customers who are still reeling with fear from the pandemic. All of this can help hotels to retain their crucial competencies while leveraging Airbnb’s competencies to create an incredible customer experience that is the best of both worlds. All of it prevent the hotel industry from going down a darker path than it has gone through before.

This section acts as a guide for newly established nonprofits in creating a marketing plan. Through extensive research on what strategic marketing looks like in the nonprofit sector, we have developed a guide for nonprofits that are attempting to establish their brand and expand their marketing techniques.

First, we created two separate surveys, taking responses from over 1000 individuals at Arizona State University. These surveys focused on building trust in nonprofits, preferred marketing strategies as a consumer, and general awareness for various social issues that affect local and national nonprofits. Second, we conducted professional interviews with marketing leaders at nonprofits. These ranged from smaller, local nonprofits to nonprofits that operate on a national level. Their missions were all geared toward different causes, meaning they offered a diverse set of skills and advice on nonprofit marketing.

After obtaining this data, we created a guide for nonprofit marketing. Because there is a lack of information available on building marketing techniques in the nonprofit sector, we aimed to create a general guideline that could be applied to a variety of nonprofits and develop their marketing strategy. This includes details on how to create an executive summary, conduct a SWOT analysis, and the different strategies a nonprofit organization should implement.

Further, to test this marketing plan, we partnered with a local nonprofit in Arizona, Million Dollar Teacher Project. Million Dollar Teacher Project is a relatively new nonprofit, and focuses on educational inequality in Arizona. After looking over all our research and the nonprofit marketing guide, we were able to develop a plan for increasing engagement, awareness, and trust for Million Dollar Teacher Project. We pinpointed areas of improvement, such as social media, ambassador programs, email marketing, and follow up strategy.

The nonprofit marketing plan, our survey results, interview transcripts, as well as our marketing plan for Million Dollar Teacher Project can be found below.

This section acts as a guide for newly established nonprofits in creating a marketing plan. Through extensive research on what strategic marketing looks like in the nonprofit sector, we have developed a guide for nonprofits that are attempting to establish their brand and expand their marketing techniques.

First, we created two separate surveys, taking responses from over 1000 individuals at Arizona State University. These surveys focused on building trust in nonprofits, preferred marketing strategies as a consumer, and general awareness for various social issues that affect local and national nonprofits. Second, we conducted professional interviews with marketing leaders at nonprofits. These ranged from smaller, local nonprofits to nonprofits that operate on a national level. Their missions were all geared toward different causes, meaning they offered a diverse set of skills and advice on nonprofit marketing.

After obtaining this data, we created a guide for nonprofit marketing. Because there is a lack of information available on building marketing techniques in the nonprofit sector, we aimed to create a general guideline that could be applied to a variety of nonprofits and develop their marketing strategy. This includes details on how to create an executive summary, conduct a SWOT analysis, and the different strategies a nonprofit organization should implement.

Further, to test this marketing plan, we partnered with a local nonprofit in Arizona, Million Dollar Teacher Project. Million Dollar Teacher Project is a relatively new nonprofit, and focuses on educational inequality in Arizona. After looking over all our research and the nonprofit marketing guide, we were able to develop a plan for increasing engagement, awareness, and trust for Million Dollar Teacher Project. We pinpointed areas of improvement, such as social media, ambassador programs, email marketing, and follow up strategy.

The nonprofit marketing plan, our survey results, interview transcripts, as well as our marketing plan for Million Dollar Teacher Project can be found below.