Business Commons^™

Aurora Athletics: A Sustainable Active Wear Brand., Molly Gram

Senior Honors Projects

The apparel industry has had a compounded annual growth rate of 2.5% over the past ten years. Much of that is due to the tremendous demand from consumers for active and athleisure apparel. Demand for more casual apparel has resulted from various cultural shifts, like more casual dress codes in the workplace. There is a lot of competition between businesses in this industry. In the globalized apparel industry, a brand’s supply chain is a major influencer of its success. What if a brand could keep up with competitors while also addressing growing consumer demands for ethically sound product? Meet Aurora …

In A World Where We Are Constantly Connected, How Connected Are We?, Samantha Valenza

Senior Honors Projects

Social media in today’s world is common amongst millennials (trend-setting young adults born 1980-2002) as a source of news and networking. Social media has yielded benefits, including the ability to connect with geographically dispersed, like-minded individuals for entertainment, employment opportunities, or to engage in activism. However, the popularity of social media, as well as the frequency of its use, raises questions about its effects on our lifestyles, habits, and interpersonal relationships. Despite its benefits, social media usage may have a darker side. Extreme cases involving addiction, fake news, identity theft, cyber-bullying, and other criminal activities have received some attention. Less …

Senior Business Seminar Proposal, Alex C. Mcgrainer

Senior Honors Projects

How could a single idea increase the value of a university’s college of business? My project aims to do this through the successful implementation of a single class. It addresses some of the most important factors that current and prospective students should consider while they undergo their college searches, such as the post-graduation employment rate and starting salary across majors of interest.

My inspiration for the topic came from students struggling to find a job. I realized that every year around March, they would begin to suffer due to the self-inflicted pressure of being unemployed after commencement. I immediately knew …

Changefest: Creating Significant Positive Change In Just One Day, Elana Rivkin

Senior Honors Projects

Upon getting involved with, and eventually becoming the President of, the student organization, Thrive, I felt a spark of innovation within me. Thrive is an entrepreneurial organization centered around helping students create socially impactful projects. While each member initially worked on their own individual projects, we capitalized on the connections and resources we had mutually to create something bigger than ourselves as a group. That is where the idea for ChangeFest came about. ChangeFest is a day-long event where students have the power to make substantial change on their campuses. Many college students lack the intrinsic motivation to push themselves …

Start The Ruckus: The Influence Of Fan Organizations, Taylor Kohler

Senior Honors Projects

Sports are a prevalent aspect of our lives. We tend to find a team that we passionately follow and support, through the good and bad. At the college level, there is an extra amount of pride while cheering on your school’s team. Whether that be a basketball, football, or any other team, we feel excitement and passion towards our alma mater. At the University of Rhode Island, students, faculty, and community members feel this way towards our men’s basketball team. Rhody Basketball brings excitement, school spirit, and so much more to our community each and every season.

For the 2016-17 …

Now Presenting: Uri Theatre, Allyson Schiller

Senior Honors Projects

Honors Project Abstract

In my years as a theatre student and practitioner, I have learned that the most creative people aren’t necessarily found center stage. For every actor taking a bow, there are numerous support staff who created the production that will bring actors acclaim. Without an audience, the work of these artists will remain unseen and unappreciated. Therefore, those who promote the performances are certainly an integral part of the theatrical process. Often referred to as “show business”, the ticket sales and revenue are essential to the health and well being of any theatrical organization. URI Theatre, like any …

Soul Simplicity: An Inquiry Into Dance, Women And Islam, Mariam T. Odetunde

Senior Honors Projects

Islam has guidelines and rules that its followers must abide by in order to fulfill the tenets of the religion. Lawful acts are labeled “al-halal” and the unlawful and prohibited are “al-haram.” Many al-haram activities affect Muslim women specifically – particularly some leisure activities, such as listening to music and dancing. For example, Islam does not permit activities that can be perceived as “erotic” or “arousing male passions.” Elder Muslim women guide and supervise younger women in order to pass along religious morals and values from generation to generation. I am the product of this tradition and my research is …

#Keepvolunteeringcool - A Marketing Analysis Of The Uri Service Corps, Caroline L. Hacunda

Senior Honors Projects

Since 2009, the University of Rhode Island has offered Alternative Spring Break trips to students who are passionate about service and want to become more involved within the community doing meaningful and engaging volunteer work. These trips are completely student planned and fundraised with the guidance of a group of student leaders for each trip. Over the years, this program has exponentially grown, leading to our biggest year yet with two trips staying in Rhode Island and three out of state trips offered in 2017. In the past, the spring break trips were hosted by URI S.A.V.E.S and URI Habitat …

Redefining “Success”: Toward A Community Minded Restaurant Industry, Molly Bennett

Senior Honors Projects

Restaurants are at the heart of communities across the United States. They contribute to the local culture, provide space for families and neighbors to gather, and help shape the identity of towns, and cities. Restaurants should reflect not just the culture, but the values and priorities of the communities where they are located. Whether it’s in terms of the treatment of their workers, the environmental impact of their daily operations, or the health implications of their food, I believe that restaurants should reflect the values of a community. As a student graduating with a major in supply chain management, my …

Tour Guides Take Technology: Mobilizing The Coverage Process, Cassie Jes Jacob

Senior Honors Projects

Technology has progressed more in the past decade than it has in the past century, and it has changed the way we live. To succeed in this society, innovation is a necessity. A recent phenomenon in technology is the use of mobile applications designed to make our lives and daily activities, such as note-taking and scheduling, more convenient.

This project explores the use of mobile applications in a business. At URI, the Tour Guide team acts as a business that manages over 100 employees as they lead visits around campus for prospective students.

These employees are college-age students raised in …

A Process For Field Studies In Behavioral Economics, Victoria Ferraro

Senior Honors Projects

Field experiments enable economists to test whether theory adequately captures behavior in natural settings, or whether evidence supports reevaluating the reasoned abstractions comprising the theory. Economics, and social science more generally, has increasingly valued the evidence provided by field studies. These studies typically require a relationship with an external partner site providing the environment for the study, but existent research offers little guidance for developing these relationships and designing procedures for effective collaboration. The purpose of this paper is to provide greater insight into what is necessary to conduct field experiments in economics, particularly behavioral economics in private market settings. …

Microloans, Macro Impact, Kelly M. Frank

Senior Honors Projects

Nearly half of today’s population is living in poverty, meaning that they are living on less than $2.50 a day. The lack of capital creates a vicious cycle for those in poverty. The less fortunate do not have sufficient access to education, healthcare, proper nutrition and loans. This forces those living in poverty to focus on getting by one day at a time instead of looking to the future. Those with a lack of sufficient income can’t get access to loans because of the risk associated with lending to subprime borrowers.

However, microfinance loans change this. They are unique because …

Organization Restructuring And Leadership Development, Elizabeth Rogers, Danielle Wolf

Senior Honors Projects

The University of Rhode Island’s chapter of the American Marketing Association (AMA) has progressively grown as a student run organization throughout the past decade. During this period, the leadership team faced the challenge of engaging members and transitioning smoothly from year to year. These two issues were linked to the chapter organizational structure and the leadership transition processes, respectively. In order to improve and become competitive on a national level with other AMA collegiate chapters and marketing degree programs, it is important to continuously reevaluate the chapter’s strategy. This research aims to seek best practices that can be applied for …

Democracy Ends Here: U.S. Collective Bargaining Decline And An Alternative Policy Approach To Business Ownership, Sara Estep

Senior Honors Projects

In the United States, it seems that we cannot talk about democracy without discussing capitalism and vice versa. However, as soon as we step into work these ideals are simply thrown out the door. If we seek to govern our country democratically, should we also not have a democratic governance structure in our day to day workplaces? Unions have existed in the United States for over 150 years, but as the types of jobs that make up our economy and the demographics of the labor force have changed dramatically, the basic concept of the union has remained static. In turn, …

The Interaction Of Involvement, Message Framing, And Brand-Cause Fit In A Cause-Related Marketing Context, Jessica L. Kosak

Senior Honors Projects

Over the past few years, cause-related marketing has become a prevalent aspect of brand building in many businesses. Cause-related marketing (CRM) can be defined as “a strategic positioning and marketing tool which links a company or brand to a relevant social cause or issue, for mutual benefit” (Pringle & Thompson, 1999, pg.1). The key word in this definition is “strategic” because a brand must think strategically about which cause they want to associate with their brand in order to differentiate their brand and be relevant to consumers. In today’s world, consumers want to have a connection and feel confident in …

Short - Term Investing, Matt J. Abraitis

Senior Honors Projects

Launched in March of 1957, The Standard and Poor’s 500 Index (The S&P 500) was the first index to be published daily. Starting with an indicator in 1923 for 233 companies, and then growing to 416 in 1941, today it is used as a common benchmark for the health of the U.S. stock market with 500 companies. These 500 companies offer some of the largest stocks (claims of ownership in public American companies) in the United States although it is not the only index to gauge the health of the economy. In 2012, Standard & Poor’s combined its index operations …