Business Commons^™

The Future Of Community Banks And Their Role In The Changing Economy, Alisha R. Defatta

Honors Theses

This paper is a survey of the current literature concerning community banks, the current challenges faced by community banks, and the role community banks play in the economy. Currently technological and regulatory changes are creating challenges for community banks. To combat these issues many community banks are increasing their merger and acquisition activity to avoid closing. This objective of this paper is to discuss the reasons community banks are so important to our economy and to define the hardships they are currently facing. It is also important to identify the next steps we should take to ensure the stability of …

An Analysis Of The Relationship Between Study Styles And Demographics Across Multiple Accounting Class Levels, Savannah B. Hooper

Honors Theses

Approaches to learning are elemental to a student’s learning outcomes. Prior research indicates that accounting students with a deep learning approach have a more successful student learning outcome than do accounting students with a surface learning approach. Accounting accreditation and regulatory agencies have recommended that coursework be directed towards more critical thinking and real-life preparation of students. These characteristics are indicative of the deep learning approach. After ascertaining the learning approach adopted by introductory, intermediate, and advance accounting students at a public university with a main and satellite campus, this paper reports on demographic characteristics that may impact a student’s …

Black And White Advertising In Fashion Magazines, Lauren E. Necaise

Honors Theses

This thesis consists of a quantitative analysis with respect to black and white advertising in select women’s fashion magazines. There were five research questions outlined.

A code sheet was created to obtain data with regard to factors including: number of black and white and total advertisements, product/service category, setting, advertisement size, percent of black and white of the ad, position, product/user, black and white visual and verbal (words/ information), emotional/intellectual appeal. This allowed the research questions to be answered. A qualitative analysis was also performed on repeat advertisements for products that used both color and black and white advertising with …

Factors Affecting Guest Satisfaction In The Restaurant Industry Of South Mississippi, Kinsey M. Eiland

Honors Theses

The purpose of this study is to examine the factors that affect guest services in the restaurant industry of South Mississippi as examined from the line level employee. This satisfaction can include things in the servicescape (e.g. noise level, parking availability) as well as the service support that a waiter receives from their coworkers and supervisors. By combining a research model that examines the guest server exchange with a typical guest satisfaction questionnaire, the researcher developed a two part internet survey to be administered to both restaurant patrons as well as line level employees working in the restaurant industry. The …

Terrorized Tourists: A Study Of The Impact Of Terrorism On Tourism, Caroline M. Depuma

Honors Theses

Tourism is one of the largest sectors in the world; it is also one of the first to take a hit when terrorist attacks happen. Terrorism data has become more important to the tourism and travel industry since the attacks on September 11, 2001. This study looks at the impact that terrorism has on tourism levels, Gross Domestic Product, and Foreign Direct Investment in the countries of Brazil, Egypt, India, Russia, and the United Kingdom. The results of this study show that terrorism affects the daily operations of these countries, by impacting the amounts of GDP, FDI, and the number …

Measuring Financial Literacy: A Comparative Study Across Two Collegiate Groups, Emma Floyd

Honors Theses

This study analyzed the financial literacy of students in the College of Business versus that of students in other colleges at the University of Southern Mississippi. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between demographic characteristics, financial literacy, and financial experience. The financial literacy of the students was assessed using a selection of questions from the Jump$tart Coalition Survey of Personal Financial Literacy. The financial literacy of the students was determined based upon the number of questions answered correctly on the survey; however, there was no passing or failing number. Instead, each demographic group was said to …

Revenue Recognition – Milestone Method (Topic 605) 2010 Amendment: From The R&D Industry Perspective, Sofia I. Tent

Honors Theses

This paper examines the Revenue Recognition – Milestone Method (RRMM), FASB codification amendment of 2010 and its effect on the health of firms heavily dependent on the Research and Development (R&D), as evidenced by the operating profit margin. By utilizing a two-stage OLS model developed by Lev and Sougiannis (1996), this study measures the effect of the adoption of the RRMM on operating profit margin. The sample includes U.S. firms with significant R&D expenses (a R&D expenses/Sales ratio greater than 2%) for the years 2006-2013. Due to the more rapid recognition of income using the RRMM, I expect the operating …