‘Making’ as a Catalyst for Engaging Young Female Adolescents in STEM Learning

STEM enrichment programs have demonstrated positive impacts on young female adolescents’ interest and aptitude in STEM, personal/social-psychological well-being, and educational aspirations. Introducing STEM knowledge and skills in an environment of ‘making,’ that is, in a setting of hands-on activities, may further enhance adolescent girls’ engagement in STEM learning. The maker movement, defined as the convergence of technology and traditional artistry, has generated interest among educators for its potential to nurture STEM learning, including its capacity to engage diverse populations of youths in the making of creative objects through experimentation in science, technology, engineering, and math (i.e., STEM-based making). STEM-based making is a way to support young girls, who often approach making from an esthetic or personal expression perspective, to more fully integrate systems and technologies that advance critical thinking, innovative prototyping, and problem-solving into the making process. Insights are presented as to how STEM-based making designed for young female adolescents—a group that has traditionally had limited access to extracurricular STEM experiences as well as to makerspaces—may foster greater access to, and equity in, STEM learning. The role of universities in facilitating access to and equity in STEM-based making also is addressed

Consumer Attitudes towards LGBT Homeless Youth Cause Related Marketing Campaign: Application of Self Schema Theory

The purpose of this study was to explore consumers\u27 attitudes toward a somewhat socially controversial cause in the context of a CRM campaign, specifically the cause of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) homeless youth. It investigated the effects of positive and negative message framing and the use of guilt appeals on consumer attitudes. Self-schema theory and elaboration likelihood model informed the objectives of this study. Experimental design was used alongwith regression and ANOVA were used to analyze the data. The analysis indicated that attitudes toward the brand, and attitudes toward the cause, positively predicted consumers\u27 purchase intentions. Findings provide support for the idea that consumer-cause fit is an important factor in determining consumer response to a CRM campaign. Consumers evaluate the brand more positively in a cause-brand alliance when they feel the cause is relevant to their self-schema

Evaluating the Outcomes of Fashion FUNdamentals: A STEM Education Program for Middle School Girls

The purpose of this work was to evaluate the outcomes of Fashion FUNdamentals, a youth enrichment program that invokes fashion as a catalyst to ignite middle school girls\u27 interest in STEM learning. FF is a two-week, no-cost, summer program (M-F, 9 am-5 pm) that targets underserved middle school girls (aged 11-14). The program addresses the multifaceted educational and developmental needs of middle school girls through both technical programming (i.e., STEM-based education in fiber/textile science; digital textile printing; apparel engineering; and apparel costing and pricing) and social programming (i.e., esteem-based education in body image/media literacy, nutrition, physical activity, anti-bullying, and Internet safety). Findings provide evidence that Fashion FUNdamentals has the potential to build girls\u27 interest in math and science as well as their self-esteem. Girls who enter the program with either low or high self-esteem may benefit from participation relative to increased interest as an outcome

Educational and Social Psychological Outcomes of a STEM Program for Adolescent Girls

The purpose of this research was to explore how participation in Fashion FUNdamentals (FF) shaped girls\u27 interest and confidence in the STEM disciplines, their STEM learning, and their feelings about themselves. FF is a two-week, no-cost, summer program (M-F, 9 am-5 pm) targeting underserved adolescent girls aged 10-13 years. Fashion FUNdamentals is a unique STEM program insomuch as it frames STEM learning within the context of fashion and includes both technical and social programming. FF has been offered three times (2015-2017) and has served 129 girls. At the conclusion of each year\u27s program, the FF team conducted focus groups with participants. Analysis of focus group data revealed five themes. Findings demonstrate that participating in FF can support girls\u27 STEM interest/confidence/comprehension as well as their self-confidence and educational and career preparedness, suggesting that adopting a lens of fashion to explore the STEM disciplines can promote girls\u27 academic and personal development

Determining Effective Approaches to Promoting Consumption of Slow Fashion Apparel: The Impact of Message Framing and Message Content on Consumer Responses to Advertisements

The purpose of the study was to determine which type of message framing and content in an advertising campaign can most effectively influence consumers\u27 knowledge, attitudes, and purchase intentions toward fast fashion apparel, while supporting the purchase of slow fashion apparel. This research was developed based on two variables: message framing and the elaboration likelihood model (ELM). Seventy-one students participated in a 2 (message frame: negative vs. positive) x 2 (peripheral processing/image vs. central processing/text) between-subjects experimental design. Findings suggested that message framing and message content affected participants\u27 future purchase intentions. The positively framed message, looking at the benefits of slow fashion increased future purchase intentions more so than the negatively framed message looking at the harmful effects of fast fashion. Additionally, the peripheral (image based) advertisement increased purchase intentions more so than the central (text based) advertisement. However, message framing and content did not influence participant\u27s knowledge and attitudes

College Students’ Responses to Prosocial Marketing Claims on Apparel Hang Tags

In recent years, it has become increasingly common for apparel companies to include prosocial marketing claims on product hang tags. Such claims have addressed environmentallysound production practices, fair labor/fair trade initiatives, and/or monetary contributions to charitable causes. However, research provides only limited understanding of the benefits to consumers and/or apparel companies derived from including prosocial marketing claims on apparel hang tags. As such, the purpose of this study was to explore consumers’ responses to prosocial marketing claims placed on apparel hang tags

Consumer response to exterior atmospherics at a university-branded merchandise store

The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of landscaping, a store greeter, and an electronic kiosk upon college students’ responses to a university-branded and owned merchandise store located in a downtown shopping district. The research was informed by the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) model (Mehrabian & Russell, 1974), which proposes that consumers\u27 emotional responses to a physical store environment mediate how the environment shapes their patronage behaviors

Evaluating the Outcomes of Fashion FUNdamentals: A STEM Education Program for Middle School Girls

The purpose of this work was to evaluate the outcomes of Fashion FUNdamentals, a youth enrichment program that invokes fashion as a catalyst to ignite middle school girls' interest in STEM learning. FF is a two-week, no-cost, summer program (M-F, 9 am-5 pm) that targets underserved middle school girls (aged 11-14). The program addresses the multifaceted educational and developmental needs of middle school girls through both technical programming (i.e., STEM-based education in fiber/textile science; digital textile printing; apparel engineering; and apparel costing and pricing) and social programming (i.e., esteem-based education in body image/media literacy, nutrition, physical activity, anti-bullying, and Internet safety). Findings provide evidence that Fashion FUNdamentals has the potential to build girls' interest in math and science as well as their self-esteem. Girls who enter the program with either low or high self-esteem may benefit from participation relative to increased interest as an outcome.</p

Millennial consumers' responses to cause-related marketing in support of LGBTQ homeless youth

This study explored Millennial consumers' responses to a cause-related marketing (CRM) initiative for a sensitive social cause—lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) homeless youth. Qualitative and quantitative research methods were employed to examine the effctiveness of CRM in generating financial support for LGBTQ homeless youth. Findings revealed that self-cause congruence may be an important factor in determining Millennial consumers' responses to a CRM initiative for LGBTQ homeless youth; whereas, message frame/appeal may be less important for generating response to such an initiative. Findings also indicated that gender, information processing, guilt, and skepticism influenced Millennial consumers' attitudes toward brand, attitudes toward cause, and behavioral intentions toward the CRM initiative. These findings offer implications for brands/companies that may wish to engage in CRM initiative in support of sensitive social causes. By addressing a sensitive social cause-LGBTQ homeless youth-findings provide an original contribution to the CRM literature. Findings reveal that self-cause congruence is an important predictor of behavioral intention toward the LGBTQ social cause. This provides an implication for marketers who want to target their relationship-building efforts toward individuals who have demonstrated prior engagement with a social cause. Findings also have implications for brands/companies that wish to develop CRM initiatives for controversial causes.Published with support from the Colorado State University Libraries Open Access Research and Scholarship Fund