Digital Commons Network^™

The Irrelevance Of Filing Speed: Evidence From A Regulatory Reporting Discontinuity, Bryson Mumford

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Does faster financial reporting increase firm value? I exploit the $700 million public float threshold in SEC Rule 12b-2, which imposes a 60-day Form 10-K filing deadline for large accelerated filers relative to 75 days for accelerated filers. Using a fuzzy regression discontinuity design, I show that crossing the threshold sharply increases the likelihood of Large Accelerated Filer status and reduces filing lags by approximately one week, with no evidence of concurrent changes in mandated audit quality. Despite this exogenous acceleration in information disclosure, I fail to reject the null hypothesis that there are no effects on firm valuation (Tobin’s …

Beyond The Flames: A Comparative Analysis Of Wildfire Preparedness And Relief In California, Ej Smith

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Wildfires in California have devastated homes and communities, with the 2024–2025 Los Angeles fires ranking among the deadliest in state history, killing 31 people and burning more than 37,000 acres across densely populated neighborhoods. In response to these fires, fire services, municipal governments, and nongovernmental organizations coordinated immediate relief efforts across multiple jurisdictions. This research uses a multiple-case study approach to examine the Eaton, Palisades, Line, and Bridge fires to identify practices that supported life safety and response effectiveness, as well as challenges that constrained response operations. Findings indicate that when environmental conditions exceeded suppression capacity, response outcomes within responder …

Strategic Parallels: How Historic Military Tactics Inform Modern Business Strategy, Eli S. Nelson

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The field of business strategy emerged out of military strategy during the mid- twentieth century. Despite this shared DNA, the connection between the two fields has been limited to broad conceptual comparisons and abstract motivational framing. No prior research has paired a specific military history case with a specific modern business case to analyze the parallels between these disciplines in detail.

This research addresses that gap by comparing the German Blitzkrieg campaign during the 1940 invasion of France and the transformation of Ryanair in the early 1990s. Despite being separated by fifty years and operating in completely different domains, the …

Stacking Moves: How Digital Platforms Sequence Value Creation, Jonathan M. Dickson

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis examines how large digital platform firms evolve by adding new platform types over time. Using the four-type framework developed by Bryce, Dyer, and Van Alstyne—transaction, connection, innovation, and collaboration—I trace the platform histories of seven firms: Apple, Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, Tencent, and Alibaba. For each firm, I classify every qualifying platform event as a base platform, a stacking move (a new interaction that draws on an existing platform's users or architecture), or a standalone platform (a new platform that operates independently). Across seventy-plus events, four findings emerge:

1. Firms stack new platform types in predictable sequences shaped by …

The Mediterranean Diet As A Protective Factor Against Tobacco-Induced Lung Cancer: Insights From The Italian Population, Morgan V. Roundy

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Lung cancer is the second most commonly diagnosed cancer among men and the third among women in Italy, representing a major public health concern. This ecological, cross-sectional study examined and analyzed regional patterns of smoking prevalence, Mediterranean diet adherence, and age-adjusted lung cancer incidence across Italy, stratified by sex, using publicly available regional and macro-regional data and accounting for age structure and air quality. Smoking prevalence and lung cancer incidence were higher among males than females nationwide, although regional lung cancer patterns did not consistently mirror smoking prevalence, particularly among females. High adherence to the Mediterranean diet was low across …

Full Issue

Newsletter of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

No abstract provided.

Personal Memories Of Nicolai Gedda, Calle Friedner

Newsletter of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

On 11 June, Nicolai Gedda, one of the foremost Swedish lyrical tenors after Jussi Björling, would have become 100 years old. Calle Friedner heard and met him several times and remembers him warmly.

During the 1950s, it was on the radio one generally heard a singer for the first time, particularly if you didn’t live in Stockholm, which I didn’t then. And that was the case for me concerning Nicolai Gedda.

What I heard was a radio broadcast of a performance at the Stockholm Opera of Adolph Adam’s opera comedy, Le postillon de Lonjumeau. If my memory isn’t wrong, the …

Three Gentlemen In Berlin, Briefly, Ray Harsant, Norm Krasne, Dan Shea

Newsletter of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

Here’s a tale of three friends, longtime members of the USA’s Jussi Björling Society and each eager during late summer 2024 for some insight on the upcoming opera scene of winter 2024-25, especially in Berlin with its three world-class houses: the premier Deutsche Oper Berlin (“DOB” below), the Staatsoper Berlin, and the Komische Oper – (currently not in its usual hall and missed by us due to our time constraints).

Our main guide to the available musical choices was the UK’s Opera magazine, where the sheer volume of offerings available in Berlin week after week was impressive. Our personal schedules …

65 Years Ago, Janel E. Lundgren

Newsletter of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

“When Jussi Björling was suddenly taken from us on 9 September 1960, there was intense dismay and great sorrow, for he was one of the greatest singers of our time, a fact to which an enormous and always enraptured public bore witness. His audiences were to be found not only in the opera houses and concert halls of the world’s great cities, but also in Swedish amusement parks and in front of hundreds of thousands of radio sets. He was humble before the art of music and, in the truth and meticulousness of his work, a true artist, something to …

Full Issue

Newsletter of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

No abstract provided.

Roger Pines To Speak On, Janel E. Lundgren

Newsletter of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

JBS-USA is privileged to present Chicago’s nationally acclaimed opera expert in a special Zoom presentation for the Society on Tuesday, August 6, 2024, at 7:30 pm EDT, which will be repeated on Saturday, August 10 at 12 noon EDT. JBS board member John Haley will serve as moderator.

Mr. Pines will celebrate with audio clips and videos, multiple sopranos who partnered with Jussi over the years, but who were not as utterly identified with him as Milanov, de los Angeles, or Tebaldi. Included in his impressive list are Helga Görlin, Stella Andreva, Gina Cigna, Jarmila Novotná, Brita Hertzberg, Maria Németh, …

Full Issue

Newsletter of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

No abstract provided.

Words Of Remembrance Of Jacob Forsell 1942-2023, Janel E. Lundgren

Newsletter of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

The eminent photographer and writer Jacob Forsell has died at the age of 81. He has been of great importance both to Jussi Björling’s cause as well as to the Jussi Björling Society. He had a strong connection to Jussi via his close kinship with John Forsell: he was the grandson of the renowned singer and opera director, who meant so much to Björling’s early career. Therefore, he seemed specially sent to be the editor of a luxurious gift and anniversary book with the name: Jussi: the Song, the Man, the Pictures, together with Harald Henrysson and Björn Ranelid. This …

Henry Fogel Zoom Presentation For Jbs-Usa On Tuesday, October 24, 2023, On The Topic,, Janel E. Lundgren

Newsletter of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

Arts executive extraordinaire Henry Fogel will conclude the JBS-USA Zoom Series for 2023 with a comparative presentation on Jussi’s live performance and studio recordings, drawing on his exceptional collection of recordings for musical examples. The broadcast will air live on Tuesday, October 24 at 7:30 pm ET, and will be repeated on Saturday, October 28 at 12 noon ET. Members and non-members will be able to register to attend this event on our website beginning September 1.

He Sings In The Spirit Of His Father, Calle Friedner

Newsletter of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

It’s a beautiful summer’s day. We are in Jussi Björling’s and his family’s summer paradise on Siarö in the archipelago north of Stockholm, now divided between the two siblings, Ann- Charlotte and Lars. He has built a house of his own and couple of out-buildings in the part of the site where Jussi’s singing studio is situated. Lars is happy: this day he and his wife Leila have been married for exactly seven weeks. We’ll come back to that.

The outdoor temperature is 77 degrees F, but we are sitting talking in the shadow of the trees. Lars says it …

Full Issue

Newsletter of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

No abstract provided.

Thorborg Biography Published, Christer Eklund

Newsletter of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

Of the many colleagues who sang with Jussi Björling over the course of his career, Kerstin Thorborg was the closest to him in home ground: she also was born in the province of Dalarna, about 50 miles North of Jussi’s birthplace of Borlänge. In many ways, their careers also were similar, since both had major parts of their professional lives in the United States, centered around the Metropolitan Opera. Thorborg was deeply admired for her vocal range as well as for her acting skills in a wide range of roles.

In 2003 I took over managing the archive of the …

Who Is God: Examining Explicit Beliefs About God, Scrupulosity, Suicidal Ideation, And Pscyhopathology, Katelynn L. Payne

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Religion has often been cited as a protective factor against psychopathology and suicidal ideation. However, this pattern does not always hold true. In this study, I sought to understand these exceptions by examining the relationship between explicit beliefs about God, scrupulosity, suicidal ideation, and psychological well-being among members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS). 105 adults were recruited and completed self-report measures related to the study variables. Negative explicit beliefs were positively correlated with scrupulosity, depression, anxiety, stress, and suicidal ideation. Scrupulosity was also positively correlated with depression, anxiety, stress, and suicidal ideation. Positive beliefs were …

Paul’S Porneia: A Lexical Study Of Sexual Ethics And Communal Boundaries In The Pauline Corpus, Robert G. Flores

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis thoroughly examines the Apostle Paul’s use of the Greek term πορνεία within the Pauline corpus to challenge the normative translation of sexual immorality and the accompanying assumptions connected to this broad phrase. Modern scholarship continually isolates individual occurrences of πορνεία leading to inconsistent and reductionistic interpretations. Rather, through sustained philological analysis of πορνεία and its cognates, this thesis aims to situate Paul’s πορνεία within its contemporary cultural, historical, and lexical milieu with the objective of making Paul’s πορνεία distinct. With this background, it is posited that πορνεία functions as a communal boundary marker used to differentiate between the …

Understanding Red Nichols' Career Through Biographical Study Of His Early Life From 1905-1927, Carter Glass

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis examines Utah-born hot jazz cornetist Ernest “Red” Nichols’ early life through a biographical lens. Using resources that include the University of Utah Historical Newspaper Database, the thesis provides details about Nichols’ childhood as a performer, and as the son of Utah music professor and clarinetist Ernest W. Nichols. These details include information on tours and performances Red and his siblings performed across the state of Utah. Additionally, the thesis argues that the music Nichols played throughout his childhood, including on his tours, was highly influential on the style of solo playing Nichols used in his early recording career. …

“I Know He Would Do Anything If I Asked”: To All The Boys I’Ve Loved Before, Female Power Fantasy, And The Ya Romance, Ilse Eskelsen

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The female power fantasy in which a powerless woman conquers a powerful man, thereby symbolically winning his status within the patriarchy for herself, is a classic feature of adult romance. It is visible, too, in YA romances like Jenny Han’s To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. Sitting in tension with this inheritance from adult romance is the fact that YA is generally expected to be pedagogical, teaching young readers how to live and love well. In blending pedagogy with power fantasy and its associated escapism, To All the Boys essentially upcycles the tropes of adult romance for young …

Repurpose, Reuse, Recycle: Exploring Sustainability Solutions With Denim, Larissa Otterstrom

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This literature review and recommendation report was created in order to compile the current research surrounding sustainable fashion, denim textiles, and textile waste. The review is focused on the current state of the fashion industry, specifically with denim textiles. Denim is a high-use fabric, known for its durability and versatility. However, with the rise of the fast fashion industry, in which textiles are being produced at a faster rate but at a lower quality, and denim is no longer being designed to last. There is limited research on how this shift in consumption patterns has impacted textile creation and the …

Full Issue

Journal of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

No abstract provided.

When The Muses Went Silent And Almost Died:, Thomas M. Hines

Journal of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

What would life be like if there were no fine or performing arts? If music could not be heard in public, if great paintings of famous artists of the past and present could not be seen—in other words, how would we adjust in an esthetically deprived existence? In truth, we could continue to see and hear; nature would still be around us, but the interpretative acuity of our senses would be dulled. Opportunities to witness works of art would not be readily available. Our creative images would be internalized and not reflective of visual or auditory models. It would be …

Jussi’S Live Performances On Cd:, Kristian Krogholm

Journal of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

We are very fortunate that a very large number of Jussi Björling`s live recordings have been issued on cd. We have every reason to be grateful for every single recording which has been made available to us. The people to thank for this are of course mainly those behind the Jussi Björling societies and in particular those behind the Bluebell JB series. Two men need to be mentioned here, Frank Hedman and Harald Henrysson. What treasures they have given us through that Swedish label, and almost everything from original tapes and in superb sound.

Also it deserves to be mentioned …

Elisabeth Söderström, Calle Friedner

Journal of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

Elisabeth Söderström was one of Sweden’s foremost and most versatile sopranos. Her early intention was to become an actress, and acting was something she highly mastered. She admitted herself to have a “little” voice, and the beauty of its sound could vary, but what possibly might have lacked in her voice she compensated very well with musicality and brilliant acting that sometimes could be so good, that the audience would wonder if it was real.

A Glistening Record – The Conferences Of Jbs-Usa, Walter B. Rudolph, Dan Shea, Sue Flaster

Journal of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

At the end of 1998, two years of preliminary organizational work finally had led to the existence of a USA chapter of the Jussi Björling Society. This new group of enthusiasts from North and South America, Europe – and the whole English-speaking world – felt ready to join forces with the British Appreciation Society and the Swedish Sällskap in studying and honoring the career of Jussi Björling.

We were connected by the newsletters that our first leaders published, and also very much by a new feature of those times: the newly popular internet with individuals forming all sorts of specialty …

From The President, Janel E. Lundgren

Journal of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

No abstract provided.

New Release Of Maria Callas Live Copenhagen Concert Of June 9, 1963, John H. Haley

Journal of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

Members of the Society will recall the 2016 CD release of Jussi Björling’s wonderful October 15, 1959 recital in Copenhagen at Falkoner Centret, the existence of which was previously unknown. The tape for that release was one of a number I acquired of live concerts recorded at that venue by the hall itself, all in fine sound. I have just released another important one, Maria Callas’ live concert there on June 9, 1963, with the Danish Radio Symphony conducted by Georges Prêtre. Callas became much less active on the opera stage starting in 1962, making her last performances in 1965. …

Three Important Books From Jbs-Usa

Journal of the Jussi Björling Societies of the USA & UK

Among the tasks taken up by JBS-USA has been the publication and distribution of books which amplify and explore the legacy of Jussi Björling, as well as the efforts in research and organization which make that exploration possible. In the last several years, three important books have been published by the Society which contribute significantly to understanding both the legacy of the great tenor, and the efforts made in supporting that legacy.