Digital Commons Network^™

Studying The Effects Of High School Athletics Social Media, Justin Scott

Honors Theses

This research project focuses on high school athletics social media pages and their relevance to high school communication audiences and institutional communication goals.

I conducted two in-depth interviews with school officials from a large Michigan high school, a survey of the high school sports social media followers, and an analysis of data from that high school’s Facebook page.

I was able to determine that seeing social media content from high school athletics pages had a positive relationship with how the school’s quality of social media communication was perceived, intentions to attend athletic events, and an increased awareness of the school’s …

Opportunity Recognition: A Comparative Analysis Of Nascent Student Entrepreneurs And Non-Nascent Students, Daniel C. Glover

Honors Theses

This study investigates differences between undergraduate nascent student entrepreneurs and non-nascent students’ opportunity recognition and entrepreneurial self-efficacy. Four hypotheses were presented and after collecting and analyzing 150 student responses two of the four hypotheses were partially or fully supported. Results showed that nascent student entrepreneurs exhibited higher levels of entrepreneurial self-efficacy than non-nascent students, and that nascent student entrepreneurs exhibited higher levels of entrepreneurial alertness than non-nascent students, and the difference was significant. However, non-nascent students had higher levels of opportunity recognition. This study supports previous research and adds an important demographic, undergraduate students, to the existing research.

Fair Labor Practices: Are Workers Truly Protected?, Xiaofei Xie

Honors Theses

Private businesses often claim that they employ fair labor practices and care about employees' well being. However, firms may face contradictory situations since fair labor practices can result in cost increases and lower profit. In this thesis, I examine historic and contemporary workers’ conditions and fair labor practices. Workers’ conditions during the Industrial Revolution and the basis of relevant Marxist theories are examined. Contemporary labor practices are also examined and a secondary analysis of data on worker attitudes in two major companies is conducted. Results and discussion suggest that although progresses in worker conditions have been made, there still needs …

Religious Commitment, Job Satisfaction, And Social Acceptability Among Religious Groups, Kathryn E. Dozier

Honors Theses

This study seeks to develop a better understanding of the relationships between religious commitment, social support, and job satisfaction. This research specifically investigated the correlations between religious commitment and social support, religious commitment and job satisfaction, and social support and job satisfaction. After surveying undergraduate students from a southern university, there was no statistical evidence supporting the idea that the indicated combinations contributed to job satisfaction. The research did demonstrate, however, a correlation between religious commitment and social support. In addition, groups were tested for significant differences in levels of religious commitment, social support, and job satisfaction; the groups based …

The Implications Of Rising Turnover And Voluntary Turnover Within The Federal Government, Laura E. Kirkman

Honors Theses

Human Resources (HR) is a dynamic, changing, and vital part of every business whether commercial or governmental. HR is also often left to deal with voluntary turnover and the difficulties it brings. This study focuses on the implications of rising turnover/voluntary turnover within the federal government. The aim of this study was to analyze the data collected by the United States Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to determine the connections between turnover/voluntary turnover and demographic factors, workplace satisfaction factors, and organizational/relational factors within the federal government. This analysis examined the Fed Scope data from 2011 through 2016, and employee surveys …

Sustainability Of Direct Sellers In Marketing, Ashten N. Holloway

Honors Theses

This paper examines the characteristics of people who are a good fit for a career in direct selling marketing as well as the characteristics of those who are not. It is also an examination of the motivations to join direct selling and the different levels of “success” that some may find in their careers as direct sellers. Some of the motivators for success came from emotional drives while some were situational. Analysis of the questionnaires given to each participant led to the discovery of three common determinants of what does make a successful direct seller and four determinants of characteristics …

The Sustainable Future Of The Modern Fashion Industry, Zhanna Kutsenkova

Honors Theses

Sustainable fashion is a recent movement within the fashion industry that aims to reduce textile waste and environmental depletion while increasing ethical treatment of workers; the goal is to slow down the global production and consumption process in order to form an industry that will be more sustainable in the long run. Along with the development of more socially and eco-conscious production and marketing practices, there is still room for the sustainable fashion movement to grow beyond its current scope. With the support of growing information networks and brand transparency consumers will be better equipped than ever before to make …

I Love My Team! Factors Leading To Relationship Formation With A Sports Team, Carly L. Odom

Honors Theses

The sports industry is highly profitable, with a large and diverse fan base. Many people claim to be loyal to different teams, but what moves a more ‘casual fan’ to the team ‘fanatic’ status? Prior research in sports marketing focuses on elements such as geography and family history, while general marketing research considers the impact of behavioral and emotional loyalty (Chaudhuri and Holbrook, 2001). This focus on strict loyalty can, however, be limiting. Examining the factors within the larger relationship context gives us more insight into extreme fans (Pimentel & Reynolds, 2004), as well as the more casual fan. Prior …

Green Marketing Effects On The Consumer, Alice O. Townsend

Honors Theses

The purpose of this study is to gauge the influence of green marketing efforts directed at the consumer. Green marketing is a marketing strategy used by businesses that emphasizes the environmental improvements a company has implemented. Green marketing is not a new concept but it is one that is still relevant to consumers and companies alike as concern for the environment continues to grow. This particular study looks at a relatively new frontier for green marketing in how it appears on social media by testing brand perception and purchase intent of an environmentally conscientious social media post by a consumer …

The Internal Revenue Code: A Burden For Taxpayers Or An Instrument For Social Change?, Heather N. Murray

Honors Theses

Social engineering in the tax code has been evident from the beginning of the U.S. tax history. Today, it is as much as ever a part of the fabric of the tax codification, but there is very little research that investigates 1) how social engineering plays a role in the creation of new tax law, and 2) whether tax law is effective in altering taxpayer behavior. This paper streamlines the history of social engineering in the most popular revenue-reducing measures and analyzes how they've affected the U.S. taxpayer, with notes on future policy implications.

Permissions Between Creators And Users: An Investigation Of Particulars In Privacy Policies For Mobile Apps, Abbigail Griffith

Honors Theses

Mobile apps create a space for users to share information with other users and, in doing so, the creators of the applications. Generally, the greater amount of sharing information that occurs between users and creators enhances the experience of the apps for both parties. However, the extent to which mobile apps use this information can cause concerns with users about privacy due to the unknown practices of mobile apps relevant to data collection, data sharing, and data storage.

Documents, such as privacy policies, exist in attempts to moderate these concerns. Additionally, mobile apps offer in-app features for the same reasons. …

Shopping With Strangers: Grocery Shopping Behaviors Of Generation Z, Madelyn Olsen

Honors Theses

Marketers frequently segment different populations by generation to target their products more efficiently. Each generation has its own characteristics and behaviors. Marketers use these characteristics and behaviors to improve ways to get consumers’ attention, increase interactions with brands, and increase purchase of products and services.

In a rapidly changing world, these generations are becoming increasingly visible and identifiable due to the integration of technology and social media into daily life. The generation that this study focuses on is called Generation Z. Generation Z has not been fully identified yet because their group is still emerging. Researchers have found it difficult …

Millennial Attraction To Southwest Michigan – Retaining And Attracting Millennial Talent To Our Region’S Companies, Robert Nyhuis

Honors Theses

Businesses in our region and in our country today have a unique opportunity being presented to them. Four generations of employees are walking through the doors of our companies each day. To expect that each generation can be catered to the same would be ignorant for a CEO or manager to believe. It’s common knowledge that this new generation entering the workforce, the millennials, are unlike any other generation to come before in regards to their workplace necessities and demands. Technology, diversity, and flexibility just scratch the surface when it comes to what the millennial generation is looking for when …

Women Leaders In Marketing: Breaking Through The Glass Ceiling, Hallie Green

Honors Theses

Introduction: During my internships I was able to work with and meet women leaders in marketing. Through our discussions I learned that gender roles are still prevalent in large companies today. Many of the women I worked with talked about struggles women face in their career that men do not. There were strong emotions that women did not get equal treatment for their contributions to the company. I was surprised by these statements, especially from seemingly successful women. This thesis will be an exploration of the difficulties professional female marketers face, and the ways women that are starting their career …

Treat Transparency, Amanda Van Giesen

Honors Theses

Snacking is Growing at an Alarming Rate

As modern lifestyles change, and consumers grow ever busier, snacking is becoming a more important part of the traditional consumer’s schedule. According to Nielsen, global consumers spent roughly $374 billion dollars on snack foods between the years of 2014 and 2015 (Nielsen, 2014).

Why Students?

With college students potentially becoming customers as they begin to make their own purchase decisions, an analysis of this group and their relationships with snacks is key for manufacturers. According to my study, 73.5% of survey respondents indicated that they have consumed seven or more snacks during the …

Sustainable Portfolios To Maximize Alpha, Douglas Stephen Carey

Honors Theses

There has been a new movement for investment funds to align with investor morals. They are known as Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) funds, and have become a strong focus for asset management firms. Currently these funds have a negative stigma because most investors believe that due to added constraints on these portfolios, they will not be able to outperform non-sustainable portfolios. This is why the sustainable investment portfolios will be created. The portfolios undergo two focuses. The first portfolio employs a negative screening, which means that the portfolio will exclude specific industries that are deemed unsustainable. The other portfolio …

Mothers As Career Leaders: Do Maternity Leave Laws Make A Difference?, Briar Rose Smith

Honors Theses

On a national level, the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) of 1993 is the only law that provides certain qualifying individuals with 12 weeks of unpaid, job protected maternity leave, although some states and private firms have implemented forms of paid maternity leave. Previous research indicates that female employees, regardless of their parental status, receive fewer promotions due to information asymmetry after the FMLA (Thomas 2015). In addition, some research finds that particular industries are more family friendly due to access to flexible work schedules for mothers (Goldin 2014). This thesis expands on both findings using data from the …

Lsu Students’ Perceptions Of And Reactions To The Declining Funding Of The Tops Program, Rachel Gravois

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Cross Cultural Study Of Food And Cpg Products In A New Market: Case Study In The United States Vs Thailand, Mariel Dehn

Honors Theses

This study examines whether there are differences in consumers’ shopping behavior due to cultural orientation. The study uses comparing samples of American and Thai culture on two occasions. Theory suggests that these two cultural groups have dramatically different shopping practices. Thai, raised in a collectivist society that values price consciousness and sophistication in money handling, differ from Americans raised in an individualist society that traditionally do not have the same values (Ackerman and Tellis 2001).

We argue that differences in culture provide the most likely explanation for the differences in prices between the two types of super markets. The overall …

Work Engagement: Antecedents And Effects On Student Employee Academic Engagement, Chase V. Moore

Honors Theses

Drawing on the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model, this study explores the effect of the resources student employees receive from management and from the nature of their work on their engagement at work and their engagement in academic pursuits. Student workers make up a significant pool of workers in our institutions of higher education and supporting academic achievement of student workers is consistent with our institutions' missions. Accordingly, the purpose of this study is to examine the antecedents (supervisory support, supervisory feedback, person-organization fit, and person-job fit) that affect levels of work engagement of students employed in educationally-situated work environments, and …

Path From Paper To Paperless At Abana O&P, Stephanie Lutfallah

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Protecting The Whistleblower: An Evolving Understanding Of The Role Of The Whistleblower, Alan Harrington

Honors Theses

This thesis will provide a background for whistleblower protection policies and explore the evolution of whistleblower protection policies in the United States in relation to publicly traded companies.

Surfaces In A Digital Age: Marketing Strategies For Software Startup Company Myra Mirrors, Georgia Norfleet

Honors Theses

This thesis will highlight the strategies and tactics used to promote and launch software startup Myra Mirrors' first consumer product, Myra mini, a luxury home smart mirror. Myra mini is a real product that is currently in the prototyping phase of development and will be launched this summer on the crowd funding site Kickstarter. While the smart home industry has been reported to have incredible potential, it has failed as of yet to reach mass market penetration. The industry has seen a great deal of criticism for producing products that are over priced and difficult to install and sync with …

An Analysis Of The Financial Literacy Of Senior Students Across Fields Of Study At The University Of Mississippi, Robert Hollis Burrow

Honors Theses

This thesis examines the financial literacy of senior students at the University of Mississippi, as well as which variables influence a student's financial literacy level. Financial literacy is crucial for both an individual's current and long-term well-being and financial health. Students in various major fields of study participated in a multiple-choice survey, including demographic, socioeconomic, and financial literacy questions. The student's answers were analyzed using univariate analyses, an ordinary least squares stepwise regression, and a logistic stepwise regression. The study found that the average student score of 2.75 out of five financial literacy questions was comparable to the national average …