Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Print Propaganda Art In World War Ii America, Zeynep Kazmaz

Honors Projects in History and Social Sciences

Print Propaganda Art in World War II America World War II started in Europe with Germany’s invasion of Poland on September 1st 1939. Many major countries around the globe were involved in the Second World War. The major Axis Powers were Germany, Japan, and Italy. The major Allied Powers, on the other hand, were Great Britain and France, joined by the Soviet Union in June 1941. The U.S., after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7 1941, would also join the war and become a crucial member of the Allies. During the Second World War, Americans often followed …

50 Takes On Trump – Rhode Island, Richard Holtzman

History and Social Sciences Faculty Journal Articles

No abstract provided.

Inch By Inch: Making Our Gardens Grow, Rita Beck Neal, Nanci Weinberger

Applied Psychology Department Faculty Journal Articles

Why bring gardens to early education programs? School garden success has a long history, but this success has been found primarily in elementary schools (Blair 2009). Yet child care centers are typically open year-round and therefore are better prepared to enjoy the full bounty that gardens may provide.

Gardening with young children isn’t new (McFarland 2005), but a small national “farm to child care movement” that supports garden programs is growing (Berkenkamp and Mader 2012).

Unfortunately, many teachers are not familiar with gardening and plant science (Blair 2009). The novelty of gardening may be one of the obstacles in bringing …

Exploring Investor Attention In Financial Models, Anna Rodier

Honors Projects in Finance

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether stock prices are influenced by investor attention and how this, in turn, can be used to better advise the financial decisions of the everyday investor. Using weekly adjusted close data, weekly traded volumes, and weekly company searches using Google Trends, I tested my hypothesis that including the frequency of company searches, found through consumers using Google, in financial models will help better predict stock returns. Using S&P 500 company data from February 2012 to February 2017, frequency is a better predictor of price in comparison to trading volumes. But, to maximize …

Can Tweets Predict Intraday Stock Price Movements?, Diwas Puri

Honors Projects in Finance

Twitter is a microblogging platform where over 320 million people post about things that matter to them in less than 140 characters. People post about their happiness, sadness, pride, disappointments, love, hate, expectations and other feelings. Nowadays, a popular trend has come up in which data from Twitter, can be gathered and analyzed in real time to see how people react to a particular situation including changes in stock markets. This research focuses on looking into the relationship, if any, between public mood from Twitter and the stock market returns by analyzing the Tweets about four major companies in consumer …

The Value Of A Win: Analysis Of Playoff Structures, Matthew Orsi

Honors Projects in Mathematics

The purpose of this Senior Capstone project is to analyze the distinctions between existing playoff systems. In particular, we are looking to analyze the differences between the standard single-elimination tournament (which the NCAA has used since the inception of the tournament) and other potential options: double-elimination and multiple game series. Popular sports such as Major League Baseball and the National Basketball Association all use multiple game series for their playoffs. This project will use probability theory and simulation to determine the likelihood of different seeds winning a championship as well as the expected number of victories by seed in each …

Self-Presentation Of Male And Female Athletes On Instagram: A Continuation Of Gender Roles Found In Advertisements?, Kelsey Gainor

Honors Projects in Communication

Social media has brought with it a closing of the relational distance between players and fans; athletes have an important decision to make about the way they want to be viewed, not only as athletes, but also in the many other facets of their lives, such as being a parent, friend or role model. By applying the differing gender expectations for males versus females to an athletic context, this research study aims to gain a better understanding of how these gender expectations for male versus female professional athletes are exhibited through self-presentation on social media, specifically Instagram. The athletes’ own …

Challenging The Stereotype – Greek Life In The Media, Briana Trifiro

Honors Projects in Communication

Stereotypes are an undeniable aspect of today’s society. As demonstrated through a variety of mass communication theories, stereotypes are often formed as a result of exposure to mass media images. This concept is especially important today, as media messages permeate daily life in a variety of ways. From the news, to social media, to movies and television – media messaging is everywhere and impacts people on a daily basis. The purpose of this study is to produce a documentary video which demonstrates how negative media portrayals of Greek life lead to the formulation of stereotypes about college students affiliated with …

Miss Olympic Athlete? A Content Analysis Of Nbc’S Primetime Interviews During The 2016 Summer Olympic Games, Caroline Butts

Honors Projects in Communication

The 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro has further exposed the difference in sports reporting between sexes. Creating social media controversy, viewers called out the sexist commentary directed towards women athletes emphasizing their relationship status, how many children they have, and male athlete accomplishments over the female’s athletic ability. This content analysis will dive deeper into NBC’s prime-time coverage of the twenty-third Olympiad, examining the sport and non-sport questions brought up during interviews with the male and female athletes. With reporters possessing more control over what is discussed on-air, when compared to live commentators, the goal of this …

Talking The Talk: The Effect Of Vocalics In An Interview, Marilena Phillips

Honors Projects in Communication

Our voices carry more than just content. People continuously make assumptions of one’s intelligence, credibility, personality, and other characteristics merely based on the way we talk. As the diversity of individuals in the workplace increases, so too do the differences in how those individuals talk. It is important that we understand how these different ways of speaking are being perceived in the workplace. More specifically, how are individuals being perceived prior to being hired via the interview process? This Honors Capstone project aims to understand the impact that vocal characteristics in an individual have on the interviewer’s perception of the …

A Quantitative Content Analysis On Food-Based Advergames Aimed At Children, Emiko Barker

Honors Projects in Communication

No abstract provided.

Social Media Influence: Metrics Matter, Juliana Houldcroft

Honors Projects in Marketing

It is imperative for companies to engage in social media marketing as consumers are often dependent on online information and electronic word-of-mouth. Past literature claims that consumers evaluate the influence of communications differently on social media than they would in a traditional environment because of the nature of the internet. This study aims to analyze user’s perceptions of social media marketing influence and determines if user’s perception of influence changes based on the number of social media metrics (likes, comments, and shares) that accompany a Facebook post. The study also investigates if perceptions of influence vary depending on a user’s …

Five Seconds To The Ad: How Program-Induced Mood Affects Ad Countdown Effects, Tiffany Venmahavong

Honors Projects in Marketing

The study examines what effects a five second countdown warning will have on consumer’s attitudes towards the advertisement depending on the main program content. This study builds upon several theoretical models concerning program-induced moods in relation to viewer’s judgment to commercial advertisements. Findings from two studies suggest that program-induced mood systematically influences attitude toward the inserted ad with (vs. without) a five-second countdown: for the negative-affect program, attitude toward the ad was more positive when the ad was preceded by the countdown than when the ad was not preceded by the countdown. However, for the positive-affect program, attitude toward the …

The Impact Of Logistics Performance On The Success Of Trade Agreements, Kevin Arbeiter

Honors Projects in Management

The purpose of this capstone project is to determine whether or not it is possible to predict the success and effectiveness of new trade agreements by looking at fundamental factors associated with efficient supply chain management. Typically, free trade agreements are analyzed using economic factors such as Gross Domestic Product or labor gains and losses. When this is done to determine whether or not a trade agreement is successful, it is usually backwards looking and too late for a country to opt out without economic repercussions. The aim of this study is to determine whether it is possible to predict …

Analysis Of How Companies Should Prepare To Recruit And Manage Generation Z, Corey Pires

Honors Projects in Management

No abstract provided.

Behind Valencia: A Contemporary Play, Emily Charbonneau

Honors Projects in English and Cultural Studies

SYNOPSIS The purpose of this play is to highlight the length that modern females go to in order to maintain a desired appearance, especially across social media. These desired appearances are influenced by the glamorous and unrealistic looks and physiques that are prevalent in the media. Essentially, the primary goal of these characters is to attract the attention of their male counterparts because of the gender roles society promotes. This shallow lifestyle can be completely consuming for impressionable, young females.

Write What You Know: The Process Of Writing A Young Adult Novella, Grace Morgan

Honors Projects in English and Cultural Studies

One tragedy, two lives changed forever. This novella follows the paths of two characters coping with the death of loved ones. It examines the themes of grief, friendship, family, self-discovery and inner strength. Specifically, how these things manifest and change after experiencing extreme loss. The dual narrative compares and contrasts the varying ways people react to grief. This project on creative writing followed the writing process from brainstorming to final draft.

Daily Fantasy Sports: Chance Or Skill?, Danielle Bergner

Honors Projects in Mathematics

Online daily fantasy sports is a billion dollar industry that has caused controversy for the last few years with states debating its legal status. As of today, under the current United States federal laws and regulations, betting money on daily fantasy sports online is considered legal. However, several states have decided to ban these games within their borders believing they are based on chance and should be considered gambling which they have ruled to be illegal online. Each state has the right to make their own rules of what they consider gambling even if the federal government has allowed it. …

Documenting Social Enterprises: A Wider Look Into Best Practices, Jacqueline Calamari

Honors Projects in History and Social Sciences

The Hunger Project is a global, non-profit, strategic organization committed to the sustainable end of world hunger. For my Senior Capstone Project, I applied to collaborate with The Hunger Project who then proposed a project to me. I have gained insight into the eight African countries’ current social enterprises supported by The Hunger Project, evaluated their success, and assessed what could be done to make them more successful. My project included completing three specific tas: first, cataloging the social enterprises, second, rating their profitability and social impact, and third, creating a leverage plan for those in need of improvement. These …

Ex-Dividend Price Behavior In Spanish Speaking Markets: Do Stocks Behave Differently In Spain, Mexico, And Chile?, Kayla E. Nikosey

Honors Projects in Finance

The main focus of this thesis is to analyze the behavior of stock price on ex-dividend day of ADRs in Spain, Mexico, and Chile. Announcement date, and ex-dividend date for each ADR is collected to be analyzed against the other ADRs. One would expect different behaviors in the different markets because of different tax treatments in Chile, Mexico, and Spain. Traditional event testing is being used to analyze the stock price behavior on and around ex-dividend days. The event test measures the impact of regulatory events and allows for abnormal changes in stock prices that occur in conjunction with dividend …

When Video Meets Health: Vaccine Awareness For Millennials, Alexandra Dickie

Honors Projects in Communication

The unique intersection of communication/video and science/health will be demonstrated through this honors project. The goal of the vaccine video is to inform Millennials about how vaccines work and the significance of vaccines to the community. The storyboard for a video was especially designed to communicate this information to those not in the science field, as well as those who are vaccine hesitant. The extensive process of information gathering required for the pre-production of the vaccine video will be discussed in depth – including the secondary research from the literature and the results from the formative survey and focus group …

Weather Variability And The Tourism Industry: A Panel Data Analysis, Carmela Coppola

Honors Projects in Economics

Increasing weather variability around the world has led to many researchers examining the impacts of weather variability on vulnerable industries. For example, the tourism industry can make up a large portion of an economy’s growth, with some of the most dependent countries relying on tourism for over 40% of GDP (World Travel & Tourism Council 2014). In an attempt to better understand the relationship between weather variability and the tourism industry at the country level, this study employs a series of fixed effects panel regression models to analyze the impact of rainfall and temperature on tourism levels and growth rates …

Determinants Of Health Expenditures In Oecd Countries, Giang Phi

Honors Projects in Economics

Around the world, governments are coping with spiraling health care spending. This spurs the need for further insight in the determinants of such expenditures. This study investigates the determinants of health care expenditures for a sample of thirty five countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) from 2000 to 2013 in order to understand the impact of different factors on health care spending growth. Besides Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the study accounts for many different driving forces such as demographics, medical progress, health system characteristics, public financing, and other non-medical determinants of health spending such as alcohol …

A Bottom-Up Approach To Effectively Implementing A Good Samaritan Policy At Bryant University, Jessica Fleet

Honors Projects in History and Social Sciences

The rising numbers of substance consumption on college campuses are becoming a public concern for higher educational institutions across the United States. The thesis studies the relationship between state laws and private higher education institution laws in regards to substance abuse. Examining state laws and private universities Medical Amnesty and Good Samaritan laws were used to determine what would effectively replace Bryant University’s current Substance Abuse Policy. The current policy lacks an educational element along with stressing the word of mouth ideology that students are protected when in need of drug or alcohol assistance in a medical situation. This is …

Facing Racial Discrimination In The Labor Environment, Ya Xu

Honors Projects in History and Social Sciences

Almost 50 years after the signing of the 1968 Civil Rights Act, and over 150 years after the official end of slavery in the US, the labor market is still far from equal. Minorities, especially those who racially identify as black and Latino, still face higher unemployment rates, lower median salaries (Wilson, 2015), and higher difficulty in obtaining interview opportunities (Bertrand and Mullainathan, 2004). The overarching question for my Capstone is as follows: How does perceived racial discrimination affect a person in the labor environment1? To investigate this question, I conducted a survey for Bryant University alumni which asked the …

The Gordian Knot: How The United States, The European Union, And Organization For Economic Cooperation And Development Took Action Against Corporate Tax Avoidance, Katlyn Twomey

Honors Projects in History and Social Sciences

In 2016, the United States had the highest corporate tax rate in the world. Perhaps, the high tax rate could be why American corporations are holding an estimated $2.5 trillion abroad (Cox 2016). According to a study by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. firms pay a measly 3% in tax to foreign governments on those profits, rather than the 35% U.S. corporate tax rate. How are these corporations able to legally avoid paying taxes on a large percentage of their profits? Many use various loopholes in the laws to shift profits into other countries or U.S. states referred to …

African American Veterans Storytelling A Multisite Randomized Trial To Improve Hypertension, Thomas K. Houston, Gemmae M. Fix, Stephanie L. Shimada, Judith Long, Howard S. Gordon, Charlene Pope, Julie E. Volkman, Jeroan Allison, Kathryn Delaughter, Michelle Orner, Barbara G. Bokhour

Communication Faculty Journal Articles

Background: Disparities in hypertension control persist for African American Veterans.

Objective: To enhance cultural relevance of hypertension control self-management education, in a multisite, stratified randomized trial, we tested an interactive Veteran-to-Veteran storytelling digital video disk (DVD) intervention created with Veteran partners, versus an education-only DVD comparison.

Methods: At 3 VA facilities, African American Veterans with uncontrolled hypertension were randomized to storytelling DVD intervention or didactic comparison DVD and followed for 6 months. We hypothesized that follow-up blood pressure (BP) would be lower among Veterans in the intervention group.

Results: African American Veterans (N=619) were 92% male, 39% over age 65, …