Quantifying Overconsumption In The United States: A Multiple Linear Regression Analysis, Morgan Davis

Honors Projects

This study examines overconsumption in the United States by analyzing how socioeconomic factors influence household spending relative to income. Overconsumption is defined as elevated discretionary spending relative to income, with a focus on categories such as apparel, entertainment, and food away from home. Using 2024 Consumer Expenditure Survey (CEX) data, three multiple linear regression models were created to evaluate predictors of overall consumption, discretionary consumption, and apparel spending as proportions of income.

Results show that income is the most significant predictor across all models, with higher-income households consistently spending a smaller share of their income. Age and household size also …

Advancing Sustainability In The Indonesian Oil Field Services Landscape, Firmansyah Arifin, Sudarso Kaderi Wiryono, Sylviana Maya Damayanti, Gatot Yudoko

The Qualitative Report

This study examines sustainability practices in Indonesia's drilling and oil field services (OFS) industry, addressing a critical research gap from a business and management perspective. Using a qualitative case study approach, ten in-depth interviews with industry leaders identified key performance variables and developed a sustainability model specifically designed for the OFS drilling sector. The findings highlight three core dimensions: Internal Variables (e.g., Employee Health and Safety, CSR Initiatives, ESG Performance, Cost Savings, Energy Efficiency, Carbon Footprint Reduction), External Variables (e.g., Green Financing, Stakeholder Engagement, Community Welfare), and Performance. Novel contributions include operationalizing advanced HSE technologies like cyber rigs and tailored …

2026 - The Thirtieth Annual Symposium Of Student Scholars

Symposium of Student Scholars Program Books

The full program book from the 30th Annual Symposium of Student Scholars, held on April 22-24, 2026. Includes abstracts from the presentations and posters.

Youth Basketball Development Camp: Planning, Implementation, And Reflection, Jaden Ty Mathis

Whittier Scholars Program

Basketball has always been a huge part of my life, shaping who I am both on and off the court. As a senior at Whittier College and captain of the basketball team, I have experienced firsthand how powerful the game can be in teaching discipline, teamwork, and leadership. From a young age, I spent countless hours practicing, learning from my coaches, and growing as a teammate. Through these experiences, I learned that success does not happen overnight. It requires patience, consistency, and a willingness to work through challenges.

I was fortunate to have mentors who believed in me and pushed …

Navigating Study Abroad: Improving Western Michigan University Students' Understanding Of University-Approved Provider Programs Through A Website Redesign, Gillian Gold

Honors Theses

Study abroad is a valuable opportunity for students' personal and professional development and is offered in various study abroad models and frameworks, including university-run or externally-run. Western Michigan University offers various options, including Faculty-Led Programs, WMU Exchange Programs, Partner Study Abroad Programs, University-Approved Provider Programs, International Internships, and Independent Study Abroad Opportunities. The University-Approved Provider Programs option at WMU allows students to study abroad through a provider that could more directly meet their interests and goals due to the personalized options available. Despite the benefits of the University-Approved Provider Programs, participation in these programs is low. The information about this …

An Exploratory Analysis Of A Regional Nonprofit & Family Services Organization, Alison Schrumpf, Eleri Tye, Hailey Veninga

2026 Student Academic Showcase

Nonprofit organizations are essential in supporting youth's mental health in their communities, and the data they collect allows us to evaluate program effectiveness and how services can be improved to better support their communities. This project aims to evaluate program and provider outcomes, client demographics, and assessment scores for a regional nonprofit and family services organization to better understand client success, program effectiveness, and the impact of COVID-19. The dataset includes client demographic information, programs, zip codes, first and last session assessment dates and scores, discharge types, and provider IDs. To investigate score changes, we are analyzing the correlation between …

Factors That Affect African American Representation In Cybersecurity Academic Programs In The United States, Damon Walker

Dissertations

The U.S. cybersecurity workforce continues to experience a critical talent shortage alongside persistent inequities in racial representation, particularly at the faculty level within higher education. This mixed-methods dissertation examines African American representation among faculty in cybersecurity academic programs designated by the National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity (NCAE-C) and investigates the factors that influence recruitment, retention, and advancement. Grounded in a transformative research framework, the study integrates quantitative analysis of national institutional data with qualitative interviews to illuminate structural patterns and lived experiences shaping representation.

Quantitative findings revealed pronounced underrepresentation: African American faculty comprise 2.57% (130 of 5,051) of …

Distilled Identities: The History And Gender Politics Of The Perfume Industry, Emma Shaffer

Honors Projects

This paper analyzes the use of gendered perfume marketing in the West. Drawing upon the work of Joe Schwartz, Sarah Evrett, and others, I examine the history of this phenomenon and the politics keeping the perfume market segregated by gender. How long has perfume existed? Has it always been so strict on who wears what fragrance? My results found that perfume has only been gendered since the Victorian era, dispelling the myth that gendered fragrance is the only way to market perfume. However, I also found that when gender neutral fragrances have been introduced, they have not had much staying …

The Evolution And Impact Of Fashion Marketing In The Age Of Social Media, Lillie L. Warrington

Honors Theses

This research paper aims to analyze the effect of social media on consumer behavior in fashion marketing by investigating how fashion brands have adapted their strategies to leverage social media platforms effectively and exploring the role of social media influencers in shaping brand perception and consumer loyalty. By addressing these objectives, this research seeks to contribute to the growing body of knowledge on digital marketing in the fashion industry, offering valuable insights.

The study will be conducted through a comprehensive review of existing research and primary research, including a survey of 143 participants, to better understand how social media affects …

Scientific Research In Cuba: A General Analysis With A Special Focus On Energy, Agriculture And Technology, Henri Dou, Pierre Fournie

International Journal of Islands Research

An analysis of science in Cuba is carried out using data from the OpenAlex database. Examples are developed: agriculture, rice, technology in relation to the current situation: national food supply, energy and medicine. The predominance of research in biology and medicine and the low commitment in the fields of agriculture, energy, medicinal plants and technology are highlighted. Various development schemes are proposed. The conclusion is that research must be directed towards strategic areas: food and energy, must be less dispersed and that technology must be better taken into account. Three proposals are made: the development of a chemical analysis platform …

Sowing Imbalance From The Start: Power, Role Socialization, And Graduate Assistants In Ncaa Division I Power Four Athletic Departments, Kaitlin Pericak, Daniel Springer, Brittany Washington, Rachel Silva

Journal of Issues in Intercollegiate Athletics

Graduate assistantships represent early entry points into intercollegiate athletics and serve as critical sites of professional socialization. Guided by Mead’s (1934) role theory and Foucault’s (1975/1977) concept of power, this study examined how graduate assistants (GAs) negotiated their dual roles as students and employees within Division I Power Four athletic departments. Semi-structured interviews with 10 current GAs revealed how organizational expectations normalized overwork, positioned the master’s degree as a compulsory credential, and sowed imbalance that shaped participants’ identities and well-being. Findings demonstrate how GAs internalized structured constraints and reproduced organizational norms, framing overwork as a necessary rite of passage. These …

Foreign Pedagogy In Education: Theoretical Foundations, Cross-Cultural Dynamics, And Implications For Global Learning, Chitra Venugopal, Prabhakar Rontala Subramaniam

Journal of Global Management Research

This conceptual paper examines foreign pedagogy as a critical lens for understanding how teaching philosophies, instructional strategies, and educational values travel across cultural and national boundaries. Drawing on comparative education, sociocultural theory, and postcolonial scholarship, the paper investigates the processes by which pedagogical models are borrowed, adapted, or imposed between educational systems. It argues that foreign pedagogy is not a neutral transfer of knowledge but a deeply ideological practice shaped by power, cultural epistemology, and institutional context. The paper identifies five central themes: the philosophical roots of major global pedagogical traditions, the mechanisms of pedagogical transfer and borrowing, the tensions …

Green Corporate Responsibility And Sustainable Human Resource Management (Hrm) Functions, Sundara Boopathi R, Shanmugam Sundararajan

Journal of Global Management Research

In order to encourage employee sustainability behavior and achieve long-term organizational success, Green Corporate Responsibility and Sustainable Human Resource Management (HRM) departments place a strong emphasis on incorporating environmental principles into HR processes. Within the context of Green Corporate Social Responsibility (GCSR), this study investigates how Sustainable Human Resource Management (Green HRM) functions affect Organizational Sustainability through the mediating roles of Pro-environmental Behavior (PEB) and Pro-environmental Psychological Climate (PEPC). based on the Resource-Based View (RBV), Social Exchange Theory (SET), and Ability-Motivation-Opportunity (AMO) theory. By incorporating six essentials Green HRM practices-green hiring and selection, green training and development, green performance evaluation, …

Identifying Skill Gaps And Upskilling Priorities For C-Level Executives Using The Analytic Hierarchy Process (Ahp) Analysis, Mohamed Riyazhkhan, Mohsin Aziz, Krishna Murthy, Abdul Azeez K M, George Anthony Fernando

Journal of Global Management Research

C-level executives, or chief-level executives, play a significant role in corporate development, and their roles and responsibilities are essential for sustaining organizational effectiveness in an increasingly competitive business environment. They also constitute a fundamental component of organizational management systems (Julie & Emory, 2006). In this research, data were collected exclusively from C-level or C-suite executives (CEO, CFO, COO, and CHRO) from leading corporations in Oman and India. This study investigates three representative cases related to managerial functions across various corporate organizations. The first case examines the job descriptions associated with C-level executives, the second case explores the identification of skill …

The Invisible Fuel: How Corporate Affinity For Technology Drives Resilience, Rachel Gandy

Theses

This paper examines how Corporate Affinity to Technology (CAT) affects organizational resilience among U.S. managers. Based on survey data from 364 managers in the retail, finance, and healthcare industries, this research indicates that the degree of technology use in a firm does not relate to the firm’s level of broadband availability or technology intensity, but rather to the extent to which technology is woven into the fabric of skills development, organizational culture, and the decision-making process. High-CAT firms are resilient under stress; low-CAT firms are fragile, irrespective of the level of technology they have invested in. Recommendations for managers who …

Customer Lifetime Value (Clv): A Qualitative Study From India On How Satisfaction, Relationships, Loyalty And Wom (Word-Of-Mouth) Shape Clv, Sharmistha Bhattacharyya, Mrinmoy Kumar Sarma

Markets, Globalization & Development Review

The study aims to assess the impact of non-financial measures like satisfaction, relationship-related driver, loyalty and word-of-mouth on the lifetime value of customers of small retail businesses. This work is targeted to develop a conceptual phenomenon on the impact of these drivers on customer lifetime value from the viewpoint of owners of the entities. 30 in-depth interviews are conducted. The interviews are analysed following the six-step thematic analysis method. The analysis reveals significant influence of all the four factors. It is found that the participants have their own ways of maintaining these drivers for an enhanced lifetime value. The study …

On Humans And Ai: A Financial Reporting Dilemma, Jeremy Bertomeu, Edwige Cheynel, Radhika Lunawat, Mario Milone

Olin Business School Faculty Research

This study examines the resolution of ethical dilemmas in financial reporting by human participants and large language models. Participants act in the role of a CFO deciding whether to discontinue a prior policy with biased reporting; however, the bias is known and corrected by investors whereas a change may temporarily mislead investors. We find that models are less amenable to competing ethical considerations than humans, and exhibit greater preference for truthful reporting. Moreover, they respond with greater consistency to institutional ethical guidance, while humans become more indecisive under pressure from management. The models exhibit more internal coherence between their moral …

Examination Of The Hiring Process: Bias In Selection, Conor Johanson

Honors Theses

Racial discrimination in the hiring process remains a persistent problem despite decades of anti-discrimination legislation and widespread bias-awareness training. The present study examined whether resume quality and candidate race jointly influence hiring evaluations among human resource professionals, a population with formal training in equitable selection practices. Using a 2 × 2 between-subjects design, 129 HR professionals recruited through Prolific were randomly assigned to evaluate a high- or low-quality resume attributed to either a Black or White candidate. Participant evaluations were assessed across warmth-related and competence-related dimensions derived from the Stereotype Content Model, with Aversive Racism Theory guiding predictions about when …

Critical Decisions Regarding Retirement, Philip Zettlemoyer

Senior Honors Theses

Many retirees in America do not understand the variables and important decisions that go into a retirement plan. These variables, however, have a significant effect on any retiree’s financial wellbeing. This case study explains such variables and decisions, as well as the various rules and regulations from the United States Government around the decisions. It then applies this knowledge of variables and regulations in a practical manner by analyzing a specific case study of a middle-class couple nearing retirement. This analysis includes in-depth projections for the couple’s specific situation which would traditionally be created with the expertise of a financial …

Emergent Dynamics In Multiplex Social Networks: Agent-Based Modeling Of Information Diffusion For Misinformation Control, Harshvardhan Prabhakar Ghongade, Anjali Ashokrao Bhadre, Shivani Agarwal, Harjitkumar Uttamrao Pawar, Harshal Subhash Rane

Northeast Journal of Complex Systems (NEJCS)

Information misrepresentation is widespread in multi-layered social networks which provide multiple avenues to communicate information. As such, it presents significant opportunities for both information integrity and public discourse to be undermined by disinformation. This paper outlines a new agent-based model, developed to capture emergent dynamics of multi-layered social networks and to help identify technical means to mitigate information misrepresentation in complex systems. A key component of this research includes a novel Multi-Layer Information Diffusion Model (MLIDM), integrating both cross-layer communication among agents, as well as heterogeneous agent behaviors and adaptive intervention strategies. Our methods employ a three-stage process to model …

Teaching With S2scc-Ai: A Practical Framework For Sport Management Classrooms, Kimberly D. Bynum, Wendy T. Gillis

The COSMA Journal

ABSTRACT

Generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, including tools such as ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity, are radically changing how higher ed students approach their college learning experience. These shifts are especially impactful in undergraduate sport management programs, where employers expect graduates to demonstrate teamwork, critical thinking and digital literacy skills. As AI becomes embedded across sport industry functions such as event operations, marketing, analytics, and fan engagement, higher ed pedagogy must evolve to reflect the professional contexts students are preparing to enter. In this paper, Student-to-Student Co-Creation enhanced by AI (S2SCC-AI) is advanced as a practical, COSMA-aligned pedagogical framework for leveraging …

Eleven Major Challenges Utah Girls And Women Face: A 2026 Update, April Townsend, Susan R. Madsen

Marketing and Strategy Faculty Publications

Decades of research—across Utah, the nation, and the globe—consistently show that reducing the challenges girls and women face begins with clearly identifying the issues.¹ Greater awareness lays the groundwork for meaningful, effective solutions. In Utah, the Utah Women & Leadership Project (UWLP) serves as the state’s primary entity for this work, producing hundreds of research reports that illuminate the barriers, challenges, and opportunities shaping the lives of girls, women, and families.

Visual Attention And User Satisfaction In Ota Platforms: An Eye-Tracking And Big Data Approach, Aura Lydia Riswanto, Seieun Kim, Hak-Seon Kim

Faculty and Student Publications

Purpose – This study aims to investigate how visual attention to online travel agency (OTA) app elements influences user behavior and satisfaction by integrating experimental and real-world data.

Design/methodology/approach – This study used a multi-method approach combining an eye-tracking experiment with 40 participants, a post-experiment survey on usage intention and big data analysis of 5,547 Google Play reviews from five major OTA platforms, using text mining and regression techniques.

Findings – The eye-tracking results showed that users focused most on user reviews and app information, rather than logos or app names. Visual attention to reviews significantly predicted higher usage intention …

The Sixth Sense Garment: A State-Of-The-Art Framework For Sustainable Neurofashion, Andrew Burnstine

Faculty and Staff Publications & Presentations

No abstract provided.

Older Adults And Emerging Technology Fraud In The Ai Deepfake Era, Thiago Neves

Research Days

Artificial intelligence has accelerated faster than society's ability to adapt, leaving older adults extremely vulnerable to AI-generated fraud. Americans over age 60 lost $4.9 billion to scams in 2024, 43% more than the previous year. In this research, I investigate how digital illiteracy, combined with AI-generated deepfakes, creates this crisis. Older adults struggle with three principal vulnerabilities: distinguishing legitimate sites from scams, judging whether online information is truthful, and understanding how algorithms use their data. AI weaponizes these gaps through voice clones, synthetic video calls, and personalized phishing emails that avoid the trust cues seniors tend to rely on. I …

Finding A Home Away From Home: An Accessible Hotel And Short-Term Rental Guide, Atley E. Livingston

Entry-Level Occupational Therapy Doctorate - Doctoral Capstone Symposium

Travel has become a significant part of today’s social culture, allowing individuals to connect with family and friends, explore new environments, and engage in meaningful experiences. However, many wheelchair users report that traveling is often frustrating, inequitable, and difficult. To better understand the limitations of travel on this population, a needs assessment was conducted through a collaboration with a nationwide organization that supports the wheelchair community. Participants identified travel accommodations and the barriers they present as a major limitation to travel. The purpose of this capstone project is to analyze lodging and housing accessibility through the lens of the population, …

‘Ghost Franchises’ And Their Branding Challenges: Have They Eliminated Too Many ‘Touchpoints’?, Marko Grunhagen

Atlantic Marketing Association Proceedings

No abstract provided.

The Effective Use Of Social Media By Universities May Be More Complicated Than We Think: Toward A Better Understanding Of Social Media’S Impact On College-Related Decisions, Julie M. Pharr

Atlantic Marketing Association Proceedings

No abstract provided.

Counterproductive Work Behaviors To Cope With Person-Organization Misfit, Subhra Chakrabarty, Brian R. Kinard

Atlantic Marketing Association Proceedings

No abstract provided.

Insights On How To Align Sales Curriculum With The Modern Sales Environment, Lisa Scribner, Duleep Delpechitre, Matthew Lastner

Atlantic Marketing Association Proceedings

No abstract provided.