Digital Commons Network^™

Sustainable Supply Chain Packaging Increasing Density For High Cube Low Weight Textiles, Caryn Espy

Honors Capstone Projects - All

This thesis explores techniques for efficient, sustainable packaging of high cube, low weight products. It is based on a project initiated at Macy’s Merchandising Group, a product development division of Macy’s Inc. The company challenged its interns to create an environmentally conscious business proposal that would also reduce expenses. This thesis is an extension of the original proposal.

As part of the production of soft goods at Macy’s, samples of each item are sent air freight from overseas manufacturers to theNew York Cityheadquarters. Sample shipping amounts to a significant expense because products are sent via air freight.

In the process …

Safe & Cheap, Moon Li, Brian Burrow

Honors Capstone Projects - All

Summary

Our project bundles investment research reports spanning the authors’ time in the Orange Value Fund (OVF), a student run hedge fund in the Whitman School of Management. Each report exemplifies the fund’s unique, bottoms-up investment style. In contrast to traditional valuation methods that focus exclusively on projecting company earnings, the OVF adopts a micro-level approach to analyzing investment opportunities. Analysts study company documents such as annual reports, credit agreements, and proxy statements to identify safe and cheap opportunities.

Safe

A safe company has access to capital markets, a super-strong financial position, honest and competent management, and an understandable business. …

The Changes In The Portrayal Of Women In Cosmetic Advertisements Throughout The 20th Century, Paulina Han

Honors Capstone Projects - All

Women today have become desensitized to the massive clutter of cosmetic advertisements. In order to compete in the overly saturated market, cosmetic marketers need to start taking a different approach in making cosmetic advertisements appeal to women. The method used for this thesis project was secondary research; past experiments and case studies on women and advertising were examined and analyzed. Many of these were done by psychologists in the field of advertising and organizations and published in places such as the Journal of Advertising Research. Advertising and creative briefs from advertising agencies were also examined, in part, with other work. …

Swaps, Michael Rizzolo

Honors Capstone Projects - All

Swaps are versatile financial derivatives that create contracts to exchange future cash flows. Throughout the last several decades the uses and importance of swaps have grown substantially. This document examines swaps from a historical perspective and includes a discussion on issues such as economic justification, industry standardization, market participation, and day-count conventions. Four main classifications of swaps are discussed: interest rate swaps, currency swaps, equity swaps, and commodity swaps. Interest rate swaps are by far the most common; however, each classification offers unique traits that demonstrate the versatility and efficacy of swaps as an asset class. Each class of swap …

Rationale And Proposal For The Establishment Of A Consumer-Behavior Curriculum And Research Institute At Syracuse University, Carolyn Meitzner

Honors Capstone Projects - All

This thesis project was inspired by a course formerly offered by the Department of Psychology at Syracuse University, which has not been offered since at least 2006 – PSY 377: Consumer Behavior. Circumstances – including that the professor who taught the course left the university and that the Department of Psychology is uncertain about the volume of student interest in the course – led to PSY 377 being taken off the time schedule indefinitely, though it remains in the course catalog. The timing of the course’s cancellation is especially unfortunate, given that revolutionary changes in consumer behavior have occurred over …

The Effectiveness Of The Dove Campaign For Real Beauty In Terms Of Society And The Brand, Lindsey Morel

Honors Capstone Projects - All

The following thesis aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty. The problem is that of measuring the effectiveness of the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty in a form deeper than numbers. As the campaign held a secondary goal of changing women’s perceptions of beauty, so should the evaluation. Thus, two measures will be employed.

First, the following thesis evaluates the campaigns effect on society by examining how the issue of beauty at large was and is communicated. Data was collected on beauty by drawing from experience, researching eating disorders, and exploring a feminist approach to …

Comm.Unity And The Role Of Public Relations In Nonprofit Community Organizations, Carissa Matthews

Honors Capstone Projects - All

Nonprofit community organizations need solid public relations strategies and communications skills to accomplish an array of objectives, ranging from fundraising to increasing awareness to changing public opinion. Not only do many students attending Syracuse University possess these skills, but these individuals are also ready and willing to help nonprofit organizations because they would like to make a difference in the community, as well as add real-life work experience to their resumes and portfolios. Because of these facts, Communications for the Community (comm.UNITY) was created in October 2007 with the mission of connecting students with nonprofit organizations to help them create …

Financial Planning For High School Students, Evan Weissman

Honors Capstone Projects - All

The global financial crisis of the early 21^st century has taught us many things about human nature, our societal goals and the finance industry overall. Perhaps the most surprising finding, however, has been the observance of financial illiteracy among the general public. The combination of greed and ignorance towards financial responsibility has played an important role in the collapse of our financial system.

The financial illiteracy of our society has been an epidemic in our country for some time. Financial planning is a topic that has been rarely taught in high schools. This has lead to an influx of …

The Impact Of The Sarbanes-Oxley Act On Regional Firms, Hyejoon Yoon

Honors Capstone Projects - All

There have been major audit failures involving the largest companies such as Enron, WorldCom and Tyco. As a result of these audit failures, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act was passed in 2002 to establish enhanced standards for oversight of accounting professionals including U.S. public company boards, management, and public accounting firms. After the Sarbanes-Oxley Act was passed, there has been increased attention on major public accounting firms regarding audit quality, audit pricing, independence, risk assessment, and legal liabilities. In order to maintain the independence, three of the four major accounting firms sold their consulting practice, even though consulting practices are again growing …

The Effectiveness Of The Sarbanes-Oxley Act In Constraining Earnings Management, Liwin Troy Lee

Honors Capstone Projects - All

Widespread concern about earnings management, the management of financial information to mislead investors, was one of the key factors leading to the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX). In this study, I investigate whether SOX is effective in limiting earnings management. Earnings management is a concern because misrepresentation of a company’s financial position and the results of its performance can mislead investors into making poor investment decisions. This study examines earnings changes before and after the passage of SOX to see whether small positive earnings changes were less likely in the post-SOX period, supporting the effectiveness of SOX …