Business Commons^™

Charlton Fire Department Resident Expectations: Survey And Analysis, Natalie Omary, Jingxin Wen, Junchen Chen, Denis Kornev

School of Professional Studies

The Town of Charlton is located in the heart of the Massachusetts with a resident population of just under 14,000 people. The Charlton Fire Department serves the town for needs related to fire fighting, fire prevention, burning permits and inspection services along with emergency medical services. The Department has requested the assistance of the Clark University COPACE Capstone students in creating and conducting survey in order to get a sense of what the resident of the town know about the fire department and to better gauge their expectations about what the department can provide for them. The survey was formulated …

A Complement, Not A Competitor: How Public Markets Can Support Business Districts In Worcester, Ron M. Barron

Sustainability and Social Justice

The purpose of this paper is to examine the possible economic and community development impacts of entry-level public markets (e.g. fixed location markets, farmers markets, etc.) on the communities in which they operate. While there is extensive literature around their benefits to vendors, community health and public space, there is comparative little on the interplay between these markets and more traditional brick and mortar businesses. The background and definition of these markets, the basic common characteristics that define them, and some of the benefits they can offer for economic and community development are each explored. It then examines two different …

Social Entrepreneurship As A Response To The Energy Crisis, Climate Change And Women’S Inequality In Developing Countries: Women Managed Solar Cooker Production Business In Rural Haiti, Lelani S. Williams

Sustainability and Social Justice

In developing countries such as Haiti, households heavily rely on charcoal and wood to satisfy their energy needs. The unsustainable use of these fuels accompanies adverse health and women's inequality impacts. As well as have severely altered Haiti’s environmental landscape. Solar cooking is one clean energy alternative to these issues. Despite its multiple benefits; solar cookers have had little traction in developing countries. Most research is focused only on technical improvements of solar cookers. This paper looks at how the utilization of solar cookers can positively impact the problems facing Haiti due to traditional cooking methods (1) environmental, (2) energy …

Comparative Organizational Assessments And Partenship Potential For Sekou Pou Nanm-Yo And Asirans Community Counseling Center, Lauren M. Mawe

Sustainability and Social Justice

This paper assesses the organizational capacity of two small Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) in Port-Au-Prince Haiti. Each NGO has a staff of under 15 members. At the time of the assessment, they were both in early stages of their development, with one in its first year of operations, and the other in its fifth year. Both embody grassroots, community organizations because of their connections to the communities in which they work, their willingness to travel to those communities, and their predominantly Haitian staff. The fieldwork included interviews, focus groups, and three months of participant observation and work with these organizations. In …

Shareholder Advocacy In Corporate Elections: Case Studies In Proxy Voting Websites For Retail Investors, Robin Miller

Sustainability and Social Justice

One of the key rights shareholders retain is the right to vote on issues affecting the companies in which they invest. This voting right is seen as one of the primary means of exercising diligent corporate governance (Cole 2003, Fairfax 2009). Only 28 percent of individual investors vote in corporate elections compared with 91 percent of institutional investors. Informed voting decisions at corporate elections can be very information intensive, and theories of rational apathy and the free rider problem may explain a lack of participation from individual investors.

Many shareholders cannot attend annual corporate meetings, so they …

Information Technology Proposal For The Town Of Spencer, Vijay Basava, Corey Kenyon, Mahdi Soltani

School of Professional Studies

The Town of Spencer came to us looking for a plan to build and maintain their own personal fiber network for connection between departments and to improve data security for important information. After assessing the existing landscape and determining the various paths forward, we created network diagrams and plans for the movement forward of this project.

After assessing a variety of plans, we found that a full single-mode fiber network would be the best system for the implementation in Spencer. While it was the highest cost, it also scored the highest in our assessment.

"Refugee Industrial Complex," Neoliberal Governance Within The Resettlement Industry And Its Effects: Is An Alternative Structure Possible?, Amira F. Al-Dasouqi

Sustainability and Social Justice

Within the current political climate and discussions surrounding displacement, refugee resettlement is a ‘hot-button’ issue. While working at one of the largest resettlement agencies in New England, the author began to analyze how power itself is structured within the Refugee Resettlement Industry (RRI) nationally. This paper argues that the RRI is embedded within neoliberal governance and can be better understood and improved with this understanding. The author argues for the term “Refugee [Resettlement] Industrial Complex,” to more adequately understand the ways that power is enacted through the current structure, and how it inhibits social justice work rooted in advocating for …

Developing An Online Database Of Experts For The Worcester Regional Chamber Of Commerce, Zikan Chen, Douglas Grey, Pranjal Shah

School of Professional Studies

The Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce as part of their mission to attract business to the Worcester area, want to create an online searchable database of industry experts made up of faculty members of the Colleges and Universities in the Worcester area. This online database will be placed on the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce Higher Education – Business Partnership page on their website. The limitations placed on this request are that the Regional Chamber as of this moment have no monetary or Information Technologies resources to provide for the realization of this request.

The proliferation of as A Service …

Cybersecurity Awareness Shrewsbury Public Schools, Brittany Crompton, David Thompson, Manuel Reyes, Xueyan Zhao, Xueke Zou

School of Professional Studies

In the 21st Century, technology reaches every aspect of our lives. As “digital citizens” we must be aware of the dangers both to our technological equipment and our personal information stored, transmitted, and processed on this equipment. The Cybersecurity Awareness curriculum developed for the Shrewsbury Public School district is designed to meet this need, as well as foster an interest in technology and ethical computer use.

Analysis Of The Point Of Sales System At Tower Hill Botanical Garden And Suggested Courses Of Action, Brian Dunn, Keerthi Bandi, Chantal Kopwa Epse Kassa, F.N.U Shelly

School of Professional Studies

As Tower Hill Botanic Garden continues to improve on its operations and enhance the experience of its visitors and members, they are on a quest for a new Point-Of-Sale (POS) system that not only works with its existing hardware and interface with Raiser’s Edge, a smartcloud fundraising and relationship management software central to the garden’s operations but also, have a restaurant module and the capability of operating both in a wireless and hard-wired environment.

4 Wynnes Boating Manufacturing Company: A Market Analysis And Business Plan For Northwest Arkansas, Hayden S. Wynne

Accounting Undergraduate Honors Theses

This thesis focuses on a business plan for the opening and developing of a boat manufacturing company in Northwest Arkansas and, specifically, manufacturing of duck hunting boats. South Arkansas and Eastern Arkansas have boat-manufacturing companies, but none exist in Northwest Arkansas. Having developed an interest in duck hunting over the years, I have discovered a tremendous need to bring the boats to where a large portion of Arkansas population exists. The objective of this business is to identify the Northwest Arkansas market viability for a customized duck boat manufacturing company. This analysis and evaluation is meant to provide a business …

The Impact Of A Woman's Physical Attractiveness On The Height Of Her Glass Ceiling, Kelsey L. Wheelhouse

Management Undergraduate Honors Theses

Abstract: The impact of a woman’s physical attractiveness on the height of her glass ceiling

It is the purpose of this thesis to identify whether or not a woman’s level of physical attractiveness has any impact on the height of her glass ceiling. The thesis first provides a comprehensive review of literature and previous studies. It is well established by prior research that attractiveness is beneficial to women pursuing entry-level employment, but there have been mixed conclusions as to whether or not attractiveness is beneficial or detrimental for women seeking employment at the managerial level (Heilman and Saruwatari, 1979; Hosoda, …

The Production And Exportation Of Arkansas Non Gmo Vs Gmo Soybeans To China, Weston Cartwright

Supply Chain Management Undergraduate Honors Theses

In recent years, the increase and shift in China’s population combined with a reduction in useable farmland due to soil contamination has prompted a significant increase in food imports. Soybeans, in particular, have become a significant import, and the United States is one of their prime suppliers. Chinese soybean imports have increased from 18 million bushels in 1996 to 1.171 billion bushels in 2015. Soybeans are used in food products like tofu and cooking oils and also as a base for animal feed. In the United States, soybeans are the second largest field crop, ranking just behind corn. Close to …

Supply Chain Risks: Causes & Mitigation Strategy For The Medical Device Companies, Dipak Patil

Dissertations and Theses

The objective of this research is to profile the risk involved with the external procurement and what risk mitigation strategy need to be in place to avoid any disruptions in the supply chain.

To limit the scope of the research, Focus will be only on the buy items used for building the capital equipment at Medtronic. For research, data is gathered by doing creating the survey which will be distributed among the external suppliers and by doing interviews with people from different functions.

Hybrid Project Management Approach For Software Modernization, Chintan Bhavsar

Dissertations and Theses

Software modernization or legacy modernization, refers to the conversion, rewriting or porting of a legacy system to a modern computer programming language, software libraries, protocols, or hardware platform. Legacy transformation aims to retain and extend the value of the legacy investment through migration to new platforms [1]. Currently, I am working as a Senior Business Analyst with Blue Cross Blue Shield, one of the largest insurance provider in the United States across the health sector. I am deployed to work on their initiative towards software modernization along the healthcare industry through their software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform – “The Healthcare Online Resources …

Net Present Value Model Application For Identification Of Capital Gains/Loss In Athletic Investment, Ricardo Pabon

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This study evaluates whether there is a capital gain yield in the athletic investment decision allocating university resources to any component of athletics (teams, facilities, equipment, etc.) at any institution. The data for testing is analyzed by using the NET PRESENT VALUE MODEL which is composed of initial outlays, operating cash flows at time t, and cost of capital. This analysis will estimate if the investment decisions are correct or not.

Merger Means Of Payment And Analyst Biases Around Merger Announcement Date, Yiling Zhang

Finance and Real Estate Dissertations - Archive

I find strong evidence that analysts report downward-biased earnings estimates on acquiring firms when the earnings announcement date is within a 60-day window prior to the merger and acquisition (M&A) announcement date. Acquiring firm stocks have a greater positive realized forecast error in cash only transactions on the earnings announcement date compared to acquirers involved in pure stock transactions. In addition, analysts are more likely to upgrade their recommendations of acquirer stocks in cash only transactions compared to pure stock transactions within a 90 day window of the M&A announcement date. Finally, an increase in the market-to-book ratio leads to …

Fear And The Housing Market, Sergiy Saydometov

Finance and Real Estate Dissertations - Archive

In this dissertation, I use Google search frequency to construct a new measure of housing market-level sentiment and analyze its relation with housing prices. I term this measure as the Home Price Fear Index, or Fear Index or Fear for short. The Fear Index is based on Google Search volume for certain real estate and economic terms, such as foreclosure, recession, and market value. In the first essay, I examine the relation between the Fear Index at the national level and the Case/Shiller National Home Price Index. I find this relation to be inverse, with an increase in Fear predicting …

The Creative Thinking Field Book: Putting Creative Problem Solving Into The Context Of Research & Development, W. Clayton Bunyard

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

This project focused on creating a supplemental resource guide for people who have recently completed a course on Creative Problem Solving (CPS). This resource guide was designed to go beyond the basic resources of a typical CPS course and provide additional detail and context to enable new students of CPS within my research and development (R&D) organization to more confidently practice deliberate creativity skills and tools in real-world settings. More specifically, this resource guide provides guidance and detailed considerations for how to select divergent and convergent thinking tools for typical R&D collaboration scenarios, as well as how to incorporate deliberate …

Improving Reliability Of Medical Device Tracking Using Unique Device Identification, John A. Bonfanti

Industrial Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The term “disruptive innovation” has been the buzzword of industries looking to create technological advancements in their respective fields ever since the term was first coined in 1995. In order to invest in the future of the industry, companies are beginning to focus on new, innovative ideas that come into the market as a low-cost alternative to the sustaining innovations currently in place. Similar business-models can be seen in the healthcare industry, as physicians look to disruptive innovations to provide methods of diagnosis and treatment that are easier to perform and maintain. Companies, from medical device manufacturers to the hospitals …

Modeling Supply Chain Resiliency, Jeff A. Hazel

Industrial Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Engineered Resilient Systems (ERS) is a Department of Defense (DoD) program focusing on the effective and efficient design and development of complex engineered systems throughout their life cycle. There is a growing literature with qualitative definitions of resilience and quantitative models for systems with one performance measure. This paper uses a quantitative resilience framework (the Framework for ERS) that includes system design options, reliability, threats, vulnerabilities, responses, and consequences assessed in multiple system performance measures. The framework assists in establishing a model for any system to evaluate resiliency. This paper applies this framework using Multiple Objective Decision Analysis (MODA) to …

Pre-Holiday Anomaly: Examining The Pre-Holiday Effect Around Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Scott E. Jones

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This paper looks at the 17 years leading up to Martin Luther King Jr. day becoming a non-traded holiday and the 17 years since to see if this exogenous shock to the market resulted in abnormal rates of return on the day before the holiday (known as the pre-holiday effect). I also look to see if evidence of abnormal returns still exists before Christmas and July 4^th during the same time period. I used daily data on the equally-weighted universe of stocks, the value-weighted universe of stocks, and the S&P 500. I find that while there is some evidence …

Single Stock Futures And Stock Options: Complement Or Substitutes, Cuyler Strong

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Are single stock futures and stock options complement or substitute goods? In this study, I test this research question by examining option trading activity (option volume and open interest) surrounding an arguably exogenous introduction of single stock futures. This event study provides a natural experiment that allows us to make causal inferences about how the presence of single stock futures affects the options market. While it is commonly thought that single stock futures and options are substitute goods, my evidence instead suggests that they are complements. While I observe very little change in option volume surrounding the introduction of single …

Object-Oriented Programming: A Method For Pricing Options, Leonard Stewart Higham

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

In the world of finance, it’s becoming necessary to obtain computer programming knowledge and experience, a marketable skill that prepares one conduct quantitative analysis. The objective of this thesis is to utilize concepts in finance and computer science together to form a pricing library for financial derivatives, thus, develop a strong skillset in a specific area of financial computational methods. Through implementation of object-oriented programming and specific design patterns in Python, I develop a pricing engine for many types of options, from plain vanilla to unique and complex options, with the focus on the ability to reuse and extend various …

Hedging In Energy: The Case Of Linn Energy, Llc, Riley E. Nelson

Finance Undergraduate Honors Theses

This paper is a case study of LINN Energy, LLC over the period of Q1 2013 to Q4 2015. Due to volatility in commodity prices, energy companies choose to hedge their future production using forwards, futures, swaps, and options strategies. I selected LINN Energy as the subject for this study due to the breadth of detailed historical hedging information available through the company’s website. LINN Energy disclosed much more than is required for independent oil and gas companies, making them the perfect case study for this thesis. LINN Energy, LLC is one of the few publicly traded LLC’s and is …

The Opm Data Breach: Lessons Learned, Michael Wheat

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

In 2015 the federal government announced the largest data breach in United States government history. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) was hacked, and the personal information of more than 25 million American people was lost to foreign attackers. This incident has spawned concern and outrage about the security of government data in the emerging digital age.

Moving forward from the breach questions remain about how this event happened. It's clear that there were weaknesses that were taken advantage of by malicious threats abroad, and investigations into the attack have yielded surprising results. Not only was the security in place …

Entrepreneurship: The Why And How Of Starting Your Own Business, Braiden Coleman

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

What resources are available to the new entrepreneur? How do I know if my business idea is a good idea? What are the tax advantages of starting your own business? My research answers each of these questions in addition to many other questions the new entrepreneur might have. Part of my research insights were gained by experiential learning: I took a business idea of my own and took it through several key processes such as business idea generation, business model creation, market research, and advertising. I sought to learn more about the resources available to the new entrepreneur. In addition …

Intergenerational Care: A Strategic Approach To Senior Care, Amanda Lundholm Stadel

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Our society has become increasingly segregated between generations, specifically with senior adults. During the last years of a senior adult's life, he or she may often feel socially isolated which is closely correlated to depression, mental health challenges, and physical decline. These challenges may likely increase considering the number of adults age 65 and older is predicted to double within the next 25 years.

Intergenerational care is an innovative model that combines both child and senior care in a way that bridges the gap between generations. Studies have shown that implementing this model can benefit residents in ways that other …

An Investigation Of Virtual Golf In The Republic Of Korea From A Marketing Perspective., Chulhwan Choi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Just as advances in technology have drastically changed daily life, the entire sport business industry has been altered by the latest technology (Lee, Cheon, Judge, Shin, & Kim, 2012). A virtual sport, called "screen golf", has offered a virtual reality via simulators and has seen enormous growth in the Republic of Korea (Kim, Seo, Kim, & Chang, 2014), not just as an alternative to the existing sport but as an entirely new type of sport entertainment (Han, Beak, Lee, & Huh, 2014). Knowing that there are significant gaps in consumer behaviors between existing sports and emerging sports (Ko, Park, & …

Nike Pulls Away: An Analysis Of Nike's "The Jogger" Advertisement And Other Marketing Strategies, Michael Sean Dingilian

Communication Studies

Over the course of the last 3 decades, Nike has been the most dominant sports company in the world. Rival companies like Reebok, Adidas, and Under Armour have all failed to equal to match Nike's popularity amongst athletes and the public. This project is an analysis of how Nike has remained on top for so many years through commercials like "The Jogger" and other marketing strategies.