Business Commons^™

Alternate Models For Forecasting Hedge Fund Returns, Michael A. Holden

Senior Honors Projects

Alternate Models for Forecasting Hedge Fund Returns

Michael Holden

Faculty Sponsor: Gordon Dash, Finance and Decision Sciences

Investors have always wanted to improve the efficiency of modeling realized volatility to maximize directional trading returns and substantially improve profitability. As proposed, this honors project will provide evidence from hedge fund returns that a Radial-Basis Function (RBF) artificial neural network (ANN), specifically the Kajiji-4 RBF-ANN dominates other forecast methods in producing one-period ahead change-of-direction when forecasting the expected returns of various hedge fund indexes.

I began this project by collecting historical economic data in monthly increments to serve as the dependent variables. …

Bond Volatility Transmissions Between United States And European Markets, Seth Kulman

Senior Honors Projects

Bond Volatility Transmissions Between United States and European Markets

Seth Kulman

Faculty Sponsor: Gordon Dash, Finance and Decision Sciences

Recent events have illustrated the degree of connection between the world’s economies. Economic events occurring in one country are felt in countless others, most vividly demonstrated by the onset of a worldwide recession following the financial collapse in the United States. Volatility no longer stays contained within one local economy.

The purpose of this study is to examine volatility spillovers between the United States and European bond markets. To identify volatility effects in a given country, we will be using a …

Development For The Past, Present, And Future: Defining And Measuring Sustainable Development, Max Cantor

Senior Honors Projects

In 1987, the United Nations released the Brundtland Report, which defined sustainable development as “development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” While this definition provides a relatively stable theoretical base from which development economists and political scientists can begin to tackle issues surrounding sustainable development, the inherently amorphous nature of this definition has also created a fair amount of ambiguity in both the economic literature surrounding sustainable development and the subsequent attempts by economists to measure it.

Historically, those interested in the science of development have typically …

Marketing For A Non-Profit, Katerina Foutsitzis

Senior Honors Projects

I am a senior Marketing major, and I wanted to incorporate what I have learned the past four years into my honors project. Acting as a consultant to a local non-profit here in Rhode Island, I developed a marketing plan to help The Welcome House target their local affluent community. The mission of Welcome House is to provide emergency shelter to homeless men, women & families of Washington County, and to provide transitional, supported, permanent, affordable and safe housing to the poor of the community.

Homelessness is becoming a tiring and depressing subject due to its repetitive negative exposure and …

Exceling On The Job, Micah Schwartz

Senior Honors Projects

Graduating and seeking employment in this current economy can be a daunting challenge. However, when armed with the right tools, securing full-time employment is possible. In order to set oneself apart, it is essential to have a broader skill-set than that of other candidates.

As a Finance major here at the College of Business, I became interested in developing a set of “how to” tutorials for using advanced features of Microsoft Excel in order to better prepare students who will be entering the job market. Through a series of professional internships, I have picked up some crucial skills and have …

The Psychology And Behavior Of Consumers In The Fashion Industry, Jessica Delace

Senior Honors Projects

I have always been interested in all aspects of the fashion industry, from apparel production to retail sales. After interning in the sales department of a New York based designer, I became fascinated by the customers who spent over $10,000 to revamp their wardrobe every season. Were these women buying their clothes based on their own preferences, or did they buy the original $3,000 design to fit their lifestyle as a New York City socialite?

After completing a literature review on the psychology of apparel consumers, I wanted to determine if shoppers’ preferences were based on their own opinions, or …

Library Marketing And Graphic Design, John M. Passa

Senior Honors Projects

As the University of RI moves into the new millennium, it has created its brand, “Think Big, We Do”. This brand requires different collaborative marketing strategies for different units within the university. Academic libraries provide intellectual products, consumed by a specific audience.

Marketing academic libraries entails a market analysis of the target audience, creating a strategic plan to address the library’s marketing audience, and designing a marketing instrument. The target audience of the University Libraries was identified as college students under the age of 25 because of academic requirements, cost of textual materials, and access to electronic resources. Using library …

Ethical Orientation Of Future Business Leaders, John Rooney

Senior Honors Projects

Ethics are a set of moral behaviors and beliefs that guide people in everything they do. Ethics play a very important role in the field of business. In recent years, the business world has been plagued by many unethical decisions. Consider Enron, for example. The unethical decisions by company leaders caused huge losses and hardships to thousands of people. In the future, company leaders will continue to face ethical dilemmas and today’s college students need to be prepared to handle them. This project analyzes whether College of Business students at URI are ethically prepared to lead the business world. A …

Campaigns From The Classroom To The Boardroom, Kathleen Slocum

Senior Honors Projects

“Don’t just sell yourself and your ideas; sell the concept of public relations as a top management function – then prove that it works.” This quote by John W. Felton, retired vice president for corporate communications at McCormick & Company, Inc, expresses the notion that organizations should not consider public relations an afterthought to management processes. Public relations should be an essential concern in all top-level management decisions. The Public Relations Society of America defines public relations as “a management function that involves counseling at the highest level and being involved in strategic planning for the organization.” Others define the …

Designing A Model Of An Online Business And Writing A Business Plan, Katherine Swick

Senior Honors Projects

The best way to determine the success of a new business is to develop a business plan for the company. The plan will build a foundation for the business and will present all of the potential strengths, issues, and strategies that may be used and faced. The plan acts as a calling card for the company, while allowing the entrepreneur to see the business through an investor’s eyes. It should be completed in a way that is presentable, understandable, and encouraging to the investor who is considering helping in your venture. It is also a decision tool for the entrepreneur …

An Examination Of Accounting Education In Mexico And The United States, Jaime Eastman

Senior Honors Projects

In order to gain a better understanding of accounting education in Mexico and the United States, this study examines how differences in the countries’ business culture, economic history and financial market structure affect accounting education at the university level. A literature review was first conducted of each country’s economic history, business culture, and capital markets. This review then served as the basis for the construction of an interview questionnaire which concerned how differences in the countries’ business environments affect accounting education. The questionnaire focused on several aspects of accounting education, including the accounting curriculum, the professional exam (required to practice …

Campus Consignment, Krista Deangelo

Senior Honors Projects

As environmental awareness and sustainability have become more widely promoted, it has resulted in an increase in the importance of recycling. A consignment store, by definition, is a second-hand store that offers previously owned goods, both used and unused, for a lower price than that of new products. Consignment stores provide consumers with an outlet through which they can recycle items, by selling those that they no longer use and purchasing products that have been previously owned. Along with their environmental benefits, these businesses present creative designers with the chance to sell their original work. My experience working at a …

The Evolution Of Outsourcing, Michael L. Videira

Senior Honors Projects

The purpose of this project is to evaluate different criteria taken into consideration when making outsourcing decisions and to investigate which countries can best accommodate various outsourcing projects. First, we examine the reasons for outsourcing and whether companies are outsourcing for the right desired outcomes. Then, we evaluate why and how China has become the country of choice for companies offshoring portions of their business activities. Lastly, we use the measures we develop to evaluate and predict the economic potential of several developing countries as destinations for outsourced business activities

Likely Outcomes In The National Debate Over Greenhouse Gas Emissions -A Public Policy Analysis, Maureen Coyle

Senior Honors Projects

In 2005, the Convention on Climate Change took many conceptual ideas regarding greenhouse gas emissions, best practices, and national environmental policies and committed the 192 member countries to legislation known as the Kyoto Protocol. The United States signed this protocol but it was not ratified, and therefore the United States need not and has not, been bound to the protocol. However, the new administration, under President Barack Obama, promises the United States is now ready to assume leadership in tackling climate change.

In December of this year, the United Nations Climate Change Conference will take place in Copenhagen, Denmark to …

A Winding Rhode: An Event Planning Manual For Every Rhody Ram, Jennifer Nussinow

Senior Honors Projects

The University of Rhode Island has given me four outstanding years of an undergraduate experience. Throughout this time I have taken many classes, joined sports teams and clubs, and had jobs. In each of these opportunities I have had the pleasure of putting together numerous events as well as being a participant. As I began my journey of planning different functions, I ran into many problems, but more importantly found numerous solutions. However, the process was inefficient and required much time and effort. The system presently in place to help plan affairs was ineffective and rarely used. I found that …

Evaluating Long Term Political Consequences Of Economic Restructuring Programs, James Mcgee

Senior Honors Projects

Development assistance loans provided by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund are accompanied by structural adjustment programs that must be implemented as a condition of receiving the loan. These economic reforms often include currency devaluation, inflation control, increased taxation, market liberalization, decreased expenditure, and a decrease in the size of government. Populations within countries are drastically effected by these structural economic reforms as social welfare programs are often cut, government workers laid off, and the domestic economy struggles to compete in the global marketplace. The implementation of restructuring programs also constrains the policy options that are available to the …

Corporate Ethics And Ceo Compensation, Martin Mack

Senior Honors Projects

Corporate ethics and chief executive officer (CEO) compensation will be forever linked together. The dramatic increase in recent corporate scandals has driven increased scrutiny of the enormous executive salaries that CEOs collect each year. The connection between these two topics led me to explore how executive compensation plans are designed and how ethics affect executives’ decision making. In this paper I try to determine which financial factors are the best indicators of a CEO’s compensation. I also examine how profitable a company is with an ethical CEO compared to a company with an unethical CEO. The companies I use are …

Building A Non-Profit Organization: Project Venue, Alanna K. Green

Senior Honors Projects

When I talk with people about myself and what I study here at The University of Rhode Island, most people look at me with a confused yet intrigued face. For many people my study of both Marketing and Philosophy is a strange dichotomy, for me; however, it is the perfect combination. When I infuse these fields of study with my passion for the arts, it was easy to see the path for my Senior Honors project. In doing this project I am combining my practical business skills, my need to make a difference and my interest in the arts to …

Promoting Locally Grown Foods In Schools Through Developed Classroom Curriculum And Foodservice Educational Tools, Meredith F. Carter

Senior Honors Projects

The Massachusetts’ Farm-to-School Project has worked for years to bring local farmers and school districts together. Focused on improving the markets and economic stability of farmers, while also improving the quality of foods available to students, the project implemented the first annual “Massachusetts Harvest for Students Week” during the week of September 24, 2007. As part of Harvest Week, selected schools in Massachusetts purchased and served foods grown and made by local farmers. Marketing materials were used in the participating school cafeterias, and classroom education regarding local agriculture, nutrition, and sustainability was provided. Harvest Week had the potential to improve …

Give The People What They Want, When They Want It, And They Won’T Sit All The Time: Consumer Behavior In The Online Music Market, Maxwell Mathews

Senior Honors Projects

Since the introduction of the first peer-to-peer file sharing programs in the late twentieth century, sales of traditional music media have plummeted. Sales of CDs peaked in 2000 and have since returned to levels reached in the mid 1990s. The future of music marketing is certainly going to move toward complete online sales. However, online music sales will not increase unless more consumers who illegally download music or purchase CDs and other tangible music products move to online purchases. To determine how to draw more consumers to the online music market, this project attempted to gauge current music consumer behavior …

China And Latin America: A Match Made In Trade Heaven Or Dependency Reloaded?, Meghan Skira

Senior Honors Projects

China’s economy is expanding rapidly, and the emerging powerhouse is searching for energy resources, raw materials, and markets to maintain its economic growth. China has shown an insatiable appetite for Latin American natural resources, commodities, and agricultural products, from oil to lumber to copper to soybeans. Trade values between the two regions increased greatly from $1.3 billion in 1980 to about $13 billion in 2000 to over $50 billion in 2005. Latin America has the raw materials that China needs to fuel its economic expansion and offers a large market for cheap Chinese manufactured goods. Many analysts claim that Sino-Latin …

La Mondialisation Qui Menace L’Identité Française Et Ses Relations Avec Le Commerce, Kelly Mcbrien

Senior Honors Projects

Globalization is an integral part of our society today: economically, socially and politically. Some may see Globalization as the world coming together through the ease and speed of capital, goods, services, ideas, information, and technology across our “shrinking” borders. Others may hold a more negative view of Globalization, and may see it as simply growing conflicts between nations and cultures. One of the central problems of globalization is the fear of homogenization or Americanization. Many cultures see globalization as cultural uniformity. As Benedict Anderson has said, “one man’s imagined community is another mans political prison.” This quote can help to …

Communicating With Students Via E-Mail: Creating No Excuse For “There’S Nothing To Do On Campus”, Jessica Rusack

Senior Honors Projects

In the past decade, technology has transformed how society communicates. From the internet to cell phones to iPods and video games, interactive communication has become the norm. At the University of Rhode Island, students adapt quickly to the constantly changing technology. Yet student organizations and the University as a whole have not adapted as quickly to such changes. This has led to an uninformed and uninterested student body when it comes to programming and events on campus. As students instant message on their laptops and text message on their cell phones (simultaneously, of course), organizations, clubs and athletics struggle to …

Ethical Judgments Of Sexual Appeals In Advertising Image - Based Products To Teens, Daniel Korn

Senior Honors Projects

The use of sexual appeals in advertising is increasingly prevalent in the United States. Perhaps the use is in response to the preponderance of advertisements in everyday life. The advertisements most often featuring such appeals are for image-based products. Actual images in ads can often convey emotions powerfully, which may explain the frequent use in marketing image-based products. These products include: candy, liquor, cigarettes, jewelry, fragrance, cosmetics and fashion goods. It is advertisements for products such as, but not limited to these, that often use sexual appeals. The use of such appeals is constantly scrutinized in terms of ethics, regardless …

Mirror Of Culture: The Study Of A Nineteenth-Century Sewing Diary, Elizabeth M. Dellabadia

Senior Honors Projects

Hidden inside the library of the American Textile History Museum in Lowell, Massachusetts is wonderful resource for the study of late nineteenth-century America. When Ann Eliza Cunningham was middle aged, she compiled a sewing diary that included scraps of material from dresses she wore or China trade fabrics brought home by her father. Ann Eliza not only included assorted swatches; but she associated the fabrics with different events in her life. She includes swatches from dresses she wore on her wedding day in 1856, for Thanksgiving, and for various family celebrations like birthday parties. Similar to the work of a …

An Analysis Of Sea Shipping As Global And Regional Industry, Leslie Miller

Senior Honors Projects

Our hectic world is one filled with constant change through motion: the movement of ideas, political thought, money, people, and cargo all coming together to create an economy of global scale and activity. Transportation is the connection between both these intangible notions and physical bodies. It is through the evolution of one of the fastest growing and most influential transportation industries that we have conquered an international shipping exchange. International trade has dominated as a leader of world economics through the traffic in ports, its ancillary coastal regulations, management of the navigable waterways, and a revolution in containerization. This ‘industry …

A Critical Analysis Of The International Business Degree At The University Of Rhode Island 2002-2006, Brett Glowacki

Senior Honors Projects

International business is a growing field. Corporations worldwide are seeking individuals with language and cross-cultural experience to complement their business skills. It is the job of colleges and universities to prepare students to enter the workforce with as solid an education as those institutions are capable of giving. After holding various internships, an on campus job, and studying abroad, I have come to the conclusion that the University of Rhode Island can do a better job of preparing its international business students for the corporate world. This report critically analyzes the International Business Degree at URI based upon first-hand experience. …

The Developmental Process For Successful Market Penetration Into The Bar Industry In South County, Rhode Island, Toby Johnson

Senior Honors Projects

The Evening Entertainment/Bar Industry in Narragansett is one that is flourishing and has been so for many years. As a college town Narragansett provides students and locals alike with opportunities to spend an evening on the town and enjoy the company of their peers. As a means of service there are a multitude of successful bars in South County that provide customers with just such experiences. The goal of every business venture is to create a positive revenue stream and to maintain this success over the lifetime of the business. In order to do this successfully a business must create …