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  Foreign Business: Entering Brazil

  Evan Cody

  Evan Cody, HON 400: All College Honors Colloquium
  Faculty Mentors: Professor Yew Wah Chow, Business and Professor Michael Johnson, Honors

  
  My scholarly project creates a document that contains the basic cultural, economic, political, geographical, and regulatory information needed to start a business in Brazil. Getting involved in international business can be extremely complicated. Most countries have obscure regulations or cultural differences that can hamper a business’s international prospects. For instance, in Brazil a bill of lading will only be accepted in a certain ink color. In my research, I use sources and websites provided to me from a previous international business class. Some of the most significant observations I've made regard to how serious the Brazilian people take their cultural beliefs and practices. For example, Brazilians will break off potential business partnerships if they feel their cultural isn't being accepted or appreciated, whereas Americans are more or less willing to ignore those types of issues.

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  Pictorial of Buffalo Architecture

  Kayla Davidson

  Kayla Davidson, BUS 389: Rijeka Bound Community Service
  Faculty Mentor: Professor Christine Lai, Business

  My original goal was to observe and document the history of Rijeka, Croatia through various architectural structures in and around the city. Due to Covid-19 strictures, I have transformed my project into a similar historical pictorial of Buffalo architecture. I use photographs of numerous buildings significant in Buffalo history: Emerson Place Row (1893); Annunciation School (1928); Birge-Horton House (1895); Blessed Trinity Roman Catholic Church (1923-28); Buffalo Central Terminal (1929); Buffalo City Hall (1931); H.H. Richardson Complex (1870); Buffalo Tennis and Squash Club (1915-16); Colonel William Kelly House (1937); Connecticut Street Armory (1899); Erie County Hall (1871-75); Darwin D. Martin House (1903-5); and others of architectural importance.

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  Sense and Sustainability- Current Data and Future Trends in ACPHA Accredited Hospitality Programs

  Julianna Kraft

  Julianna Kraft, Hospitality and Tourism
  Faculty Mentor: Professor Chenchen Huang, Business
  
  Today’s Hospitality Industry is dominated by environmentally friendly initiatives. Most literature up to this point has focused on WHY we need to teach sustainability in hospitality programs or how we SHOULD be teaching sustainability in hospitality programs; however, there is a surprising lack of context and data detailing what is happening in Hospitality education today. This project utilizes descriptive and evaluation research methods in order to assess the scope of sustainable education in Hospitality programs. The project sets out to answer three research questions: Is sustainability in Hospitality Education a growing, shrinking, or stagnant movement? What methods are being utilized to teach sustainability in Hospitality Education? How does Buffalo State's curriculum compare to other accredited programs around the nation? In order to answer these questions, the study consulted institutional websites and course catalogues, and completed a phone interview with department chairs from SUNY Buffalo State and Bradley University. The results indicate that sustainability is a growing movement within the curriculum and that a holistic incorporation is the most prevalent approach.

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  Historic Prints as Design Inspiration: Practice-Led Research

  Kayla Lackie

  Kayla Lackie, Fashion and Textile Technology
  Faculty Mentor: Professor Arlesa Shephard, Fashion and Textile Technology
  
  Practice-led research is a structure for documenting and understanding the creative process. This research contributes to the gap in knowledge of creative design, which is in high demand in the textile design field. The purpose of this project is to better understand how practice-led research can be used by textile designers to draw inspiration from historic textiles when designing contemporary textile prints. For this research, historic textiles held in museum collections in the Western New York and New England areas were viewed, documented, and photographed. The researcher/designer’s experiences in viewing these textiles were captured through journaling following each museum visit. The analysis of the journals provides insight into the creative process, which has the potential to be instructive for other designers in creative fields of study. A literature review was conducted by means of research articles and books on historic prints, dyes used, and printing methods. Extensive journaling on prints seen throughout the research visits have been broken down and categorized. Further analyzation on thoughts behind the design process were documented from these journal entries, as well as sketches and paintings completed based on historic textile inspiration. The repeating and reoccurring themes pulled from these analyzed entries are reported to help better understand the design process in developing original printed textiles from historic inspiration. Themes resulting from analysis focused on motif inspiration, colors, and design ideas (i.e. techniques, colors, and patterns). The development of a portfolio of contemporary prints inspired by historic textiles is ongoing.

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  Corporate Social Responsibility: Do Companies Have a Responsibility to their Employees and their Welfare? The Answer is Yes.

  Ifunanya Nwokedi

  Ifunanya Nwokedi, HON 400: All College Honors Colloquium
  Faculty Mentors: Professor Michael Littman, Business and Professor Michael Johnson, Modern and Classical Languages

  
  More than ever, employees want to work for and with a company with a strong social conscience. Developing a social conscience for your company not only impacts the greater good of society but it has a positive effect on employee morale and customer loyalty. Do companies have a responsibility to their employees? The answer is yes. Companies, no matter the size, do not operate in a bubble. The decisions a company makes impact their employees inherently, especially minimum-wage employees who are often deemed expendable due to the unstable nature of their employment. It is known that businesses are legally obligated to make profits and satisfy their shareholders, but that does not excuse negligence of their employees. The recent outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic has, unfortunately, exposed the inability of some companies to care for their employees in a time of dire need. That being said, where does one draw the line between legal and moral responsibility? Where does fulfilled minimum legal/ ethical obligations towards one’s employees end and true responsibility and care for one’s employees start? How can companies be more socially responsible to their employees not just on paper, but in practice as well? In my research project, I explore these ideas, investigate the ways in which companies have potentially failed their employees, and devise possible solutions to these issues.

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  Oh, The Places You Could Go!

  Carrie Penepent

  Carrie Penepent, BUS 389: Rijeka Bound Community Service
  Faculty Mentor: Professor Christine Lai, Business

  
  My original goal was to visit Europe’s Capital of Culture--Rijeka,Croatia--and engage myself in Rijeka’s cultural community through exploration and research. Due to Covid-19 strictures, I have transformed my project into a similar pictorial of Buffalo, known as the “Queen City." I use photographs of numerous locations significant to life in Buffalo, past and present: the Hotel Henry, Burchfield Penney Art Center, Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Delaware Park and its Rose Garden; Hoyt Lake; the Buffalo History Museum; and others of cultural importance.

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  The Lost City: Fashion Design for A Utopian Future

  Amber Pollock

  Amber Pollock, FTT 451: Senior Project
  Faculty Mentor: Professor Alexandra Eagen, Fashion Textiles and Technology

  
  Originally conceived in Plato’s works Timaeus and Critias, and commonly recognized as a prehistoric utopia, Atlantis met its fateful end, sinking in the depths after losing favor with the Gods for attacking Athens. Pluto’s believed purpose for this tale was to encourage using the story to examine our own ideas of government and power, as well as their limits. To this day Atlantis and its splendor captivate the minds of people around the world without being recognized for its true purpose. So, what should we take away from this acclaimed philosopher? We can acknowledge that we, ourselves, can be like Atlantis. Living in our own reality, our own utopia of a narrow perspective, in which the world, “the Gods” and simply other people revolve around us. This is where world problems begin, in the self. Through a surrealistic approach, mixing various styles, spanning eras, cultures and metaphysical ideologies, The Lost City embodies unification and empowerment. It holds the beauty of the Utopia we all desire to create and thrive in. A world community that prospers together, as we realize we are all the same, only separated by chance and circumstance. I created six dresses that have been described as “Historical, but in the domain of Gods” and “Ethnic in an indescribable way” to empower all women and emphasis that a true Utopia cannot be created without our involvement and ascension into world powers. Through lightweight fabrics like broadcloth, chiffon and organza, and designs centered around draping, The Lost City showcases feminine dynamism.