Business Commons^™

Inaccessible Interpolated Imagery: How Coffee Farmers In The State Of Chiapas Might Access Political Economic Opportunity Through Representation, Paolo Fiann Bicchieri

Master's Theses

Here is a useful parable to boil down the idea of this project and set the tone: when one goes to the bar to tell a story about a fight at the bar, they would never venture to place themselves as the hero of the brawl, taking out three drunkards in a single punch, unless they were really in the bar, at that time, fighting a good fight. One would never do this as the bartender, locals, and regulars would all know if this were the case or not. Yet transnational corporations, governments, and even consumers do this all the …

A Pandemic Of Greed And A Disease Of Poverty In Edgar Allan Poe's "The Masque Of The Red Death", Benjamin Herrick

Master's Theses

The breakers tripped. Again. The breakers, a mandatory halt to trading on the floor of the stock exchange in response to the S&P falling more than 7% from the previous close. This was instituted after the Crash of 1987 to calm the markets before trading is allowed to resume. They are supposed to mitigate a drastic crash. They have only ever triggered once before, in 1997. Not for the tech bubble. Not even in the crash of 2008. All trading stops for fifteen minutes when the Level One breaker trips. If it drops further in the same day, the Level …

Mentoring Female Entrepreneurs: Revenue Analysis, Candy M. Moreno Garcia

Master's Theses

Throughout the world, significantly less women own businesses than their male counterparts. In addition, they tend to own businesses that are smaller, have less growth, are less profitable and have lower sales turnover than those of men. Supporting female entrepreneurs is crucial as they tend to spend more on the health of the household, nutrition and education. This paper uses a randomized controlled trial to determine the impact of a mentorship program between experienced female entrepreneurs and inexperienced entrepreneurs, specifically focusing on the impact to profits. I use data collected from three rounds of survey over the course of six …

Empowering Female Entrepreneurs Through Mentorship In Medellin, Colombia: Results From The Field, Theresa Solenski

Master's Theses

Utilizing the power of local knowledge and peer networking, this study attempts to quantify the impacts of mentorship among female micro-entrepreneurs in Medellin, Colombia on empowerment. Developing countries such as Colombia have disproportionately high rates of unprofitable micro-businesses, many of which are managed by women. Internal constraints, such as disempowerment, play a central role in perpetuating poverty. We implement a 6-month mentoring intervention by pairing 18 successful entrepreneurs with 52 disadvantaged female, micro-entrepreneurs in Medellin, Colombia to measure the additional benefit of localized knowledge to micro-borrowers. Using a process of random assignment, I measure the change in female empowerment, measured …

Are You Happy? Local Economic Development In Northern Thailand, Katherine Sorensen

Master's Theses

Thailand has had a long history of economic development. In recent years, Thailand began to focus on economic development initiatives a local level. The implementation process has been slow, but the introduction of social enterprise programs has proven a promising strategy in local economic development. Successful examples of economic development can be found in Thailand wherein this paper argues through collaboration between government agencies and local communities lies the key to success.

Qualitative techniques including a two months of fieldwork in Thailand, first hand observations, and appreciative inquiry interviews are used to analyze economic development initiatives in the communities of …

Do Marketing Strategies Impact Condom Sales In Uganda?, Meyhar Mohammed

Master's Theses

What attracts people to buy condoms? HIV/AIDS remain one of the biggest health dangers of the world, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. A lot of efforts have been pursued in the past two decades to drastically reduce prevalence of HIV and increase awareness about preventive mechanisms. In order to prevent relapse of success achieved so far, it is important to recognize transformation of consumer behavior due to growth in social networks, education and awareness over time. There are a lot of behavioral triggers captured by social marketing interventions in the field of public health. In an attempt to investigate the role …

Bank Specific Determinants Of Profitability In Turkish Banks, Ahmet Karakuza

Master's Theses

This paper examines the profitability of Turkish commercial banks during the period 2005 – 2014. We use bank – specific determinants to predict the following years’ profitability measured by return on assets (ROA). Among the performance measures, the amount of net interest income as a proportion of total operating income is positive related to profitability. It remains important for banks to loan money out at a rate higher than their cost of capital. Non-interest income as a proportion of total assets is strongly positively related to profitability. Consumer loans as a proportion of total loans is negatively related to profitability. …

An Analysis Of Mongolia’S Resource-Led Development: The Impact Of Foreign Direct Investment In The Extraction Industry, Belguun Bat-Erdene

Master's Theses

It has been 26 years since Mongolia transitioned to democracy. I decided to evaluate the progress of Mongolia’s development since the transition to evaluate whether the country of only 3 million people with vast land and natural resources successfully implemented policies to attain growth and societal wellbeing. In order to evaluate Mongolia’s development progress, this thesis uses FDI in Mongolian development since 1990 as a case study to examine the relationship between FDI, state development strategies, and development outcomes. My research questions encompass a series of interrelated inquiries including 1) whether human development can be achieved through extraction industries 2) …

The Relevance Of Economic, Institutional And Cultural Determinants For Venture Capital Investments. A Us-Europe Comparison., Nadja Benes

Master's Theses

This study analyzes the determinants of early-stage VC investments by identifying characteristics in the economic, institutional, as well as cultural framework that could explain the diverging levels of early-stage VC investments across countries. Data was assembled for 16 countries during the period from 1995 until 2013. The results indicate that countries that are more open to trade are associated with higher levels in early-stage venture capital. A higher unemployment rate negatively affects a country’s level of early-stage VC funds. Higher R&D expenditures as a proxy for the technological and innovation capacity in a country as well as a higher value …

Bicycle Tourism Plan For Economic Development: A Template For Rural Agricultural Towns And A Case Study For The City Of Winters, California, Marisa Rene Lee

Master's Theses

Bicycling is a method of tourism transportation that is healthy, non-invasive, environmentally responsible, and economically sustainable. It allows freedom, mobility, and sightseeing potential that is not made possible by other modes of transit. Thousands of bicycle tourists travel from all over the globe annually to explore California on touring bikes via established cycling routes and robust determination. Thousands of additional domestic and international visitors take weekend trips, plan family vacations, travel for business, or tour California from abroad, many of whom are excellent candidates for local and regional bicycle touring at a more gentle intensity level.

The increasing popularity and …

Hip-Hop, Medellín And Social Change, Veronica Henao Posada

Master's Theses

This study explores the ways in which the Hip-hop movement is producing social change in Medellín, Colombia. Looking specifically at a Hip-hop school called Cuatro Elementos Skuela, which exists autonomously and with very little state support in the Medellín neighborhood of Aranjuez, I argue that young people are contributing to the reconstruction of the city’s social, cultural and economic fabric. I start by explaining the historical context of Medellín, describing the different sets of conflicts that unleashed high levels of violence and caused the fragmentation of the social, cultural and economic fabric. Moreover, I review the role of the …

Franklin Boulevard Redevelopment Project Area Market Analysis, Joshua Chapman

Master's Theses

The following Market Analysis is an analysis of the Franklin Boulevard Redevelopment Project Area. The analysis is divided into the following four sections: ♦ Planning Context ♦ Real Estate Market Conditions ♦ Emerging Market Opportunities & Case Studies ♦ Conclusion The report serves as an opportunity to aide stakeholders of the Franklin Boulevard Redevelopment Project Area. Stakeholders include residents, business owners, the City of Sacramento, County of Sacramento, Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency (SHRA), and the North Franklin District Business Association (NFDBA). The stakeholders are continually searching for data and creative examples of how to transform the area into a …

Fraternal Life Insurance With Special Reference To Kansas, Dollie B. Thomas

Master's Theses

It is the purpose of this thesis to present a discussion of the history and development of the fraternal beneficiary societies, which make up one of the few distinct types of organizations that offer protection from financial loss resulting from physical disability or premature death. Chapter II will give a brief resume of the age-old principle of fraternalism, or brotherhood, from pre-historic times to the present. A general history of fraternal life insurance organizations in the United States will make up Chapter III. A study of the fraternal insurance law of the State of Kansas , including state regulation and …

The Kansas Court Of Industrial Relations, Jack W. Rodgers

Master's Theses

The Kansas Industrial Court Act has the distinction of being the only one of its kind ever passed. The things it attempted to do had never been done before in just the same way, nor have they ever since been imitated. But, to many people, there had been previous experiments closely resembling the Kansas act of 1920. They pointed to various acts passed in the latter part of the 19th. century, and the early part of the 20th, in such places as New Zealand, Australia, Canada, and even in parts of the United States as being forerunners of the Kansas …

The Economic Development Of Cowley County, Kansas, Richard J. Chisum

Master's Theses

This thesis is a survey of the history of Cowley County, Kansas from 1870 through 1947 focusing on the economic development of the county.

The Trend Of Farm Population And Land Ownership In Smith County, Kansas, From 1900 And 1940, Charles Casper Easterly

Master's Theses

All through their history the American people have lived and developed in the presence of abundant land. If a farm failed to produce profitably the occupants would merely move to the frontier and take up new land. In the few years prior to nineteen hundred the frontier, as a large determining factor in the life of our people, ceased to exist. Many farm problems arose. The spread of the machine process has raised many problems which we have to puzzle over. Power farm machinery has made it possible for one man to do the work which formerly required the services …

Real Property Assessment Variations In Dickinson County, Kansas, And Their Effect On School Finance, Robert B. Gilkison

Master's Theses

The problem of this thesis is indicated in the title, "Real Property Assessment Variations in Dickinson County Kansas and Their effect on School Finance.” This problem will be considered under two major phases: (1) a critical analysis of the 1938 assessment of all rural real property in Dickinson County, Kansas to determine what irregularities exist and what the cause for these irregularities appear to be, and (2) to ascertain the effect of these inequalities upon the financing of the public schools of the county. The schools in the two second class cities of the county will not be included in …

A Comparison Of The Personal Property Tax Burden Of Five Separate Groups Of Business In Norton County, Hobart E. Rader

Master's Theses

The subject of this thesis, "A Comparison of the Personal Property tax burden of Five Separate Groups of Business in Norton County", was selected after much consideration and investigation. The purpose of the investigation is to find to what extent the personal property tax burden is borne by business and what group bears the heaviest burden. The first four chapters of this thesis cover materiel and data considered essential in discussing the problem of personal property tax burden of business in the state as it might be expected to affect Norton County. These chapters lay the background concerning the wealth …

The Economic Development Of Gray County, Kansas, Marvin A. Hubert

Master's Theses

This thesis is a study of the economic development of Gray County, Kansas from the time of the organization of the county in 1887 to the year 1939. Historical facts and economic trends which tend to show progress or retardation have been organized in an attempt to show significant phases of the problem. Even though the study is limited to a period of fifty years, important events in the history of the territory prior to this time are not ruled out insofar as they have a bearing on the future development of the county.

Trends In Social Thinking, 1910-1935, Mary Elizabeth Williams

Master's Theses

This topic has been chosen because of an interest in the economic and social conditions of the present day and a desire to know just how much the changing events of the world’s history during the past twenty five years have affected our attitudes toward certain economic problems. In order to do this, five fields of interest were chosen. These are, banking practice and legislation, agriculture, public finance, labor problems and trusts. I have attempted to draw some conclusions which will show a definite trend toward certain attitudes of thinking of the present day which are different from the attitudes …

John Ruskin, His Social Philosophy, Frank Willis Cunningham

Master's Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to set forth the teachings of John Ruskin, to explain them in the light of the day in which he lived, to compare them with recent economic thought, and to point out their influence on the trend of economic thought. With this in mind the author set out first , to develop briefly, the social and economic doctrines preceding and during the time of John Ruskin in order to better understand Ruskin’s social philosophy. To still further enlighten the reader concerning the philosophy of Ruskin a brief biography is presented in which the influence …

The Trend Of Financing Urban Property, Irvine F. Wilson

Master's Theses

This thesis is intended as a survey of terns in financing urban property. Urban property as construed by this study includes all incorporated cities, towns, and villages. This interpretation is used firstly, in order that a more complete analysis might be pictured, and secondly, because investments in property are not necessarily restricted because of the number of inhabitants in a particular town or city.

Trends In Kansas State Government Revenue And Expenditure, 1880-1934, Vernon Thomas Clover

Master's Theses

The main purpose of this thesis is to point out the significant trends in governmental revenue receipts and expenditures in Kansas during the period from 1880 through 1934. Especial attention is given to the state government as opposed to the local governments. The discussion in connection with the latter is confined to property tax levies, expenditures for roads, streets and bridges, and for education. Few new or startling facts are presented. The trends shown however, are based upon definite statistics and therefore give the conclusions that are drawn the element of accuracy which has usually been lacking in the popular …