Student Research Conference Presentations

Session 1: Coaches and Effects of Stress on Happiness, Luke Blochowski The main points of his psychology presentation was the stress great influences the player's happiness. He found statistical significance in the level of stress and player happiness to be negative correlated. The data was collected through the use of surveys being passed out to both coaches and players on Heidelberg's campus. The key findings were that if a coach is more stressed it will negatively effect the player morale on that team. He also found that the biggest variable that plays into happiness of players is actually winning on the field. What I took away from the presentation was that coaches need to pay closer attention to the stress they are putting on themselves and their teams. Session 2: Exchange Rate Determination, Nicole Millar The points highlighted in this economics presentation was that there are many factors that play a role in exchange rate determinations of foreign countries. Another point was that the effects on exchange rate determination can be in the short, medium or long run. Data was analyzed from an Excel spreadsheet and a regression was run over two variables. The variables that were tested was the money supply growth and price index. What she found interesting was that on their own the money supply growth was significant but the price index was not but together it was statistically significant. The information I found most intriguing was how each time period can have varying effects on the exchange and the multitudes of factors that are used to find the rate.

Super Bowl Commercials

An ad that I found effective was the Jeep portrait commercial. This commercial seemed like an instant classic. The nostalgia that came with this ad was undeniable. It really portrayed the American spirit with the captivating portraits they used. A commercial I found to be ineffective was the "Puppy-Monkey-Baby" commercial by Mountain Dew Kick Start. From the beginning it was just awkward and you could never really understand what was being said. I just found that it was distracting from the brand and did not really draw me into the brand but rather away. Those were the two commercials that I found effective and ineffective during the Super Bowl.

Doritos Commercial- "Swipe for Doritos"

The commercial that I voted for was the "Swipe for Doritos" advertisement. I preferred it over the others because I thought that it played well on the social media side with a spin on apps such as Tinder. The ad was very effective in humor as I found myself laughing several times during the ad. The app was also likable because you may find similarities between people portrayed in the ad and people in your own life. The ad is effective at selling Doritos because it emphasizes that Doritos are the most important thing in life even romance. The target market is those who are on dating apps or who know what they are. It uses pop culture humor by alluring to mobile or online dating apps. They are targeting a younger age group with this ad probably between the ages of 18-30 years old.