Business Commons^™

Are Prize-Linked Savings Accounts The Solution To Arkansas' Savings Problem?, Mckenzie Wages

Accounting Undergraduate Honors Theses

This research finds that access to prize-linked savings could improve the financial security of Arkansans. Prize-linked savings (PLS) accounts are nontraditional savings products that offer depositors the chance to win cash prizes instead of a typical interest rate return. Given the low median incomes, high liquid asset poverty rates, and high levels of underbanked and undereducated individuals in Arkansas, there is a need for an innovative savings solution like PLS in the state. PLS accounts capitalize on individuals’ propensity for lottery-like risk-taking to inspire the productive behavior of personal saving. A wide range of individuals, especially those who could stand …

Beyond Numbers: How Investment Managers Accommodate Societal Issues In Financial Decisions, Diane-Laure Arjaliès, Pratima Bansal

Business Publications

Investment managers use financial numbers to assess the quality of their portfolios, which requires them to estimate the market value of their assets—i.e., the priced trading of such assets. Prior research has shown that investment managers tend to disregard information that does not easily integrate into financial numbers, such as environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria. We argue that when investment managers use visuals to incarnate ESG criteria, they are more likely to accommodate societal issues in their financial decisions. We undertook a three-year ethnography of an asset management company to better understand how investment managers respond to ESG criteria. …

Iba Newsletter [May 2018], Communications & Public Affairs Department

IBA News

No abstract provided.

Consumer Preferences For Gm Food Labeling: A Market Segments Analysis, Colton Henderson

Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness Undergraduate Honors Theses

Consumer demand for labeling information regarding the genetically modified (GM) content of foods has increased in recent years. This had led to a growing number of products labeled as non-GMO in the marketplace under a voluntary GM labeling program. However, many consumers support stricter regulation in the food industry via a mandatory labeling program for GM ingredients. Although considerable research exists documenting consumers’ willingness to pay to avoid GM foods, less in known about how two such labeling programs affect individual decision making in the marketplace. The goal of this project is to better understand how individuals value GM foods, …

High Returns And Low Volatility: The Case For Mid-Cap Stocks, Ryan Lynch

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This study examines excess risk-adjusted returns generated by mid-cap firms with an average market equity between $2.4 billion and $5.5 billion in 2017. Researchers have heavily studied the small-firm effect since its identification in the early 1980s, leading investors to overweight small-cap securities. Additional investments in the small-cap segment caused the small-cap anomaly to weaken. This study finds that excess returns of small-cap firms compared to mid-cap firms are not statistically significant in the periods 1946 – 2017 and 1982 -2017. However, mid-cap firms generate significantly higher 3-year average returns relative to small and large-cap firms after the initial identification …

Uri Theatre Presents: Rob Neill And The Neo-Futurists, Caitlyn Sloan

Senior Honors Projects

The University of Rhode Island has given me the opportunity to explore and recognize many different interests that I never knew I previously had. While at the university I discovered my love for Theatre and the talent I have as a manager, as well as a love for event planning through my employment with University Events. These passions drove my desire to create an Honors Project that would help me learn more about management and planning on a scale that could have a large impact. When the theatre department won the Distinguished Visiting Artist Grant for 2017, I seized the …

Overt And Covert Retaliation Of Service Employees Against Customers Who Mistreat Them, Agnieszka Shepard

Wayne State University Dissertations

Mistreatment of service employees by customers who are demanding and aggressive has become a problem for service organizations. However, it has been the subject of very little research in the organizational behavior literature (Bedi & Schat, 2007). The few studies that have examined service employees’ reactions to such mistreatment (e.g., Doorman & Zapf, 2004, Grandey et al., 2004; Skarlicki, van Jaarsveld, & Walker, 2008; Yagil, 2008, Wang et al., 2014) found that that when service employees believe they have been mistreated, they become angry and upset, and reciprocate the unfair treatment in order to punish unpleasant customers. However, these researchers …

Combatting Labor Exploitation In The United States By Modifying Visas For Migrant Workers, Paige Herrmann

Brigham Young University Prelaw Review

The current statutes addressing labor trafficking in the United States are insufficient in protecting migrant workers from labor exploitation. A solution to this often overlooked problem is to introduce flexible visas which allow migrant workers who have been victims of labor exploitation to seek new employment in the United States while remaining in valid legal status, affording them freedom from abusive employers.

A New Medical Malpractice Tort System: It's Time To Prioritize The Patient, Jaden Cowdin, Tyler Lindley

Brigham Young University Prelaw Review

The current medical malpractice tort system often promotes inefficiency and perverse incentives for doctors. Attempts at reform, to date, have been largely ineffective or harmful to the patient. A total overhaul—including a state-run medical review board, a centralized no-fault compensation fund, and a publicly accessible black mark database—should be tailored and enacted by each state.

Firm-Specific Information Environment And Analyst Forecast, Wei Hsu

Accounting Dissertations - Archive

I examine how firm-specific private and public information affect analyst forecast revisions. I find that when managers easily beat (struggle to meet) the consensus forecasts in the previous quarter, financial analysts revise their earnings forecasts upward (downward). The revision magnitudes are higher when there is more private information. Similarly, I find that when managers provide upward (downward) earnings guidance, analysts revise their forecasts upward (downward) more when there is more private information. In contrast, the revision magnitudes are lower when there is more public information. Additionally, I find that the magnitudes of analysts’ downward revisions increase with private information prior …

Surprisingly Open Or Openly Surprised? That Is The Question; Using Surprise Experiences To Increase Openness To Experience And Tolerance Of Ambiguity, Anneke Veenendaal-De Kort

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

Using Surprise Experiences to Increase Openness to Experience and Tolerance of Ambiguity

In the fast-changing world in which we are currently living, we constantly come across situations and problems that we have not encountered before. An open mind and the ability to tolerate ambiguity are important skills in uncertain times. People who embrace the unpredictable can develop their resilience and flexibility. Surprisologists Luna and Renninger (2015) have discovered that a great way of dipping into unpredictability is through surprise. For my Master’s Project, I designed experiences that transform people’s openness and tolerance for ambiguity through surprise. This paper begins with …

Managing Media For The Genius Of Warren Buffett, Sydney Edens

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

The main purpose of this project was to provide public relations and marketing services to the Genius of Warren Buffett course and related events. I served as the Account Executive for the Genius of Warren Buffett account in the Spring semester of 2018 for MaverickPR, UNO’s student-run public relations firm. Main tactics included media relations and social media research and strategy. Thesis materials include the PR and marketing plan, news releases, social media content calendars, graphic design materials, documentation of client communication, copy writing and editing, news coverage of stories pitched to the media and administrative documents. I assess the …

Strategic Analysis Of Lifeloop, Llc: Current Positioning And Recommendations For Future Growth, Erin Dabbs

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

LifeLoop is a senior living software company that has the potential to gain market share in a new and growing industry. By making changes to current processes, business level strategy, and corporate level strategy, the company can grow organically, faster. LifeLoop must make these strategic changes to areas of marketing and sales processes now as the industry is changing life cycle stages; the company’s movement in this window of opportunity is critical to their future success. These findings outline where LifeLoop is currently positioned and the first steps needed to grow and develop into a reputation of excellence that will …

Exploring The Role Of Irish Local Authorities In Tourism Development: A Senior Management Perspective On Tourism Development In Cork County Council, Monica Moisuc

Masters

In an Irish context, the government's engagement in tourism and its role in developing the sector is acknowledged across most Irish government publications. However, despite efforts made to highlight the major role of the government in tourism, the number of studies that seek to understand how Irish local governments are engaging in tourism is limited. In an attempt to fill this knowledge gap, this study brings a new contribution to the current relevant literature by exploring the role of the government in developing tourism within a local Irish context.

Using a qualitative case-study approach, the particular entity under investigation is …

Fair Trade And Its Value In Today’S Globalized Economy, Kristen Unangst

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

My capstone examines how fair trade can operate in today’s globalized economy and how it can aid in solving some of the large problems that globalization has created. This paper is structured in the following way. It first examines globalization and the ways that it has advanced the world today. Then, it ventures into the problems that globalization has created and how they can be repaired using fair trade. This paper also looks into how fair trade has been successful in the recent past and how it can be improved in the future. It especially highlights how profitable fair trade …

The Psychology Of Consumer Resistance To Advertising, Chi-Ching Lam

Renée Crown University Honors Thesis Projects - All

Advertising has been used for a long time to support the large amount of content that people consume every day. However, the negative stigma associated with advertising has lead to increasing amounts of consumer resistance towards advertising, such as the problem of ad avoidance. Through a literature review, this paper answers the following question: how can understanding consumer resistance inspire more effective advertising? First reviewing the psychology literature, this paper explores the the origin and manifestation of consumer skepticism in response to attempts at persuasion. Cialdini’s weapons of influence provide a basis for the persuasive techniques commonly used. Counterarguing, attitude …

Cost-Benefit Analysis Of Retirement Plans, Hunter Rhea

Finance Undergraduate Honors Theses

In my research, I’ve compared the cost and benefits of defined benefit and defined contribution plans consisting of 401(k)s, IRAs, 403(b)s, and S&P 500 ETFs. A model was used to forecast future value of plans at retirement based on years till maturity, contribution amounts, and plan type. Based on the results, it’s beneficial for an individual to invest in a diversified mix of retirement plans to reduce the risk associated with one plan. The future value of each plan witnessed a direct increase in value for an increase in contribution amount and years till plan maturity.

The Role Of Time Horizons In Shaping The Antecedents And Consequences Of Hedge Fund Activism, Anna Obedkova

Management Dissertations - Archive

While the general stream of shareholder activism literature examines the antecedents and consequences of hedge fund activism, this dissertation investigates this phenomenon from a different angle. I examine the impact of time-related antecedents on the choice of campaigns initiated by hedge fund activists and the consequences of such interventions. To be specific, I study the impact of the shareholder mix, i.e. long-term (dedicated) vs. short-term (transient) ownership, and firm investment horizon on the choice of two most common hedge fund demands: governance changes and business strategy-related changes. Building on prior research, I argue that governance changes are associated with long-term …

Attributes And Economic Impact Of The Exhibitors At The Annual Ozark Empire Fair On The Local Economy, Raysha E. Tate

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The main objective of this research is to evaluate the economic impacts of spending by the exhibitors during the 2016 Ozark Empire Fair. Surveys were collected from commercial and livestock exhibitors. Respondents reported the amount of money spent on various items including material and supplies, rental for the space within the fair, hotel, restaurant, shopping, and attractions outside the fair. SPSS and IMPLAN software were used to analyze and interpret the results. Impacts were measured in terms of total output and jobs (full-time equivalent) created. Livestock and commercial exhibitors generated a total economic output of $854,386 and $845,836, respectively. Similarly, …

The Development And Validation Of Implicit Measures Of Emotional Intelligence, Ricardo R. Brooks

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Emotional intelligence (EI) has attracted much attention in the decades since Goleman’s (1995) claim that EI is important for success in a wide range of social and professional roles. With this interest has come much debate about whether EI should be defined and measured as a set of abilities or as a set of dispositional self-perceptions. The latter is typically assessed with self-report measures that are susceptible to contamination related to inaccurate self-knowledge and impression management artifacts – problems that may be mitigated by implicit measures. This research used Implicit Association Test (IAT) procedures to develop implicit measures of EI …

The Effects Of Food Security On Socioeconomic Mobility In The United States: A Case Study In Allendale County, South Carolina, Taylor St Clarke

Senior Theses

This thesis examines the relationship between food security – defined as accessibility to an affordable, nutritious, and sustainable source of food – and socioeconomic mobility in the continental United States. This thesis is primarily focused on the effects of food insecurity on both individuals and communities, examining the chronic long-term effects of such insecurity on areas known as “food deserts,” which are often given status as areas of persistent poverty. This research further examines the effects of a sustained poor diet, brought about by food insecurity, on the individual and overarching community in a food desert and how such a …

Corporate Social Responsibility: Examining The Effects Of A Lean And Green Supply Chain On Bottom Line Costs And Market Valuation, Sharon Maskin

Senior Theses

This paper examines the link between a firm’s adoption of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practices and the resulting monetary benefits. Specifically, it addresses four major areas of business operations that present great opportunities for supply chain cost reduction and a simultaneous decrease in environmental impact. These four areas include traditional/open-loop supply chains, product packaging waste, pollution at the manufacturing site, and logistics inefficiencies. The paper then identifies several business cases in which companies have addressed several environmental issues and driven down bottom-line costs in each of the four areas through innovation and increased resource productivity. Along with cost benefits, it …

Lithium And The Foreseeable Future, Paolo Vargas

Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

This paper aims to clarify the uncertainties regarding worldwide lithium resource availability in the years to come. Previous studies made on the subject are presented with some ambiguity and this work intends to fill the gaps. The information and data presented throughout this script with respect to global lithium resources and reserves are mostly based on data released by the United States Geological Survey (USGS). Lithium resource availability in the future is a point of paramount significance primarily for the automotive, portable electronics, and the power generation industry. Since, a change of supply would ultimately affect the price of lithium, …

2018-May-01-Ben Johnson, University Marketing And Communications, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

No abstract provided.

2018-May-01-Carter Railroad Excursion, University Marketing And Communications, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

No abstract provided.

2018-May-01-Digital Commons, University Marketing And Communications, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

No abstract provided.

2018-May-Graphic Design Students Win Aaf And At The Nsac Awards.Pdf, College Of Arts And Sciences, East Tennessee State University, University Marketing And Communication, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

Congratulations to the Graphic Design, Media+Communication, and Digital Media students and Graphic Design faculty member Kelly Porter who won awards at the American Advertising Federation and the National Student Advertising Competition.

Art & Design students in Kelly Porters Graphic Design Special Topics class alongside Dr. Stephen Marshall's Media+Communications students and Jon Hounshell's Digital Media students took 1st Place in the district level of the National Student Advertising Competition in Jackson, Mississippi. Bailey Eshbach and Olivia Ellis, two graduating Graphic Design BFA majors, were on the presentation team for the event with top overall student presenter, Chance Powell from Media+Communication. The …

Trump's Tax Plan...Will It Make America Great Again?, William Pollock

Accounting Undergraduate Honors Theses

The research and analysis is presented in order to develop an understanding of the new tax law and its implications to the individual tax payer. To gain perspective on tax reform, a brief history of the origin of tax and its development over time in the United States is given. After a basic understanding of tax and its reform is gained, I go on to present the major changes contained in the law. This paper concentrates on the policy changes to individuals as opposed to businesses. I included charts that I believe support the analysis that is provided. Following the …

Roli I Kulturës Në Ndërmarrësi: Analizë E Rastit Të Kosovës Përmes Indeksit Kulturor Të Hofstede, Ardit Berisha

Theses and Dissertations

Në vitet e fundit vërehet një ndërgjegjësim në rritje për rëndesinë e aktivitetit sipërmarrës me qëllim të zhvillimit ekonomik. Kjo ka nxitur kërkime shkencore apo debate mbi bazat e ndërmarrësisë dhe elementet kryesore që mundësojnë vendet në zhvillim të adoptojnë modelet e suksesshme. Dallimet ndërmjet kombeve të ndryshme në nivel të ndryshem të aktivitetit sipërmarrës mund të shpjegohen përmes një game të gjerë faktoresh, siç janë ata: ekonomik, teknologjik, kulturor apo institucional. Ndikimi i institucioneve informale dhe vlerave kulturore ka tërhequr më pak vëmendje. Sidoqoftë, pas publikimit të studimeve mbi dismensionet kulturore dhe ndërmarrësinë të Hofstede është intensifikuar kërkimi aplikativ …

Papunësia Dhe Zhvillimi Ekonomik, Elena Desku

Theses and Dissertations

Qëllimi kryesor i këtij punimi është studimi poashtu analiza e papunësisë dhe zhvillimit ekonomik në shoqëri. Në hyrje janë të paraqitura termet dhe kuptimi i tyre, pastaj ndërlidhja që këto nocione kanë me njëra tjetrën.

Papunësia konsiderohet si një fenomen social për shkak të efekteve që ka në strukturën sociale të shoqërisë. Një ndër qështjet më të rëndësishme sociale ka qenë gjithmonë punësimi , për shkak që e afekton zhvillimin ekonomik të shoqërisë dhe stabilitetin shoqëror. Punësimi rezulton në prodhim, ndërsa prodhimi krijon të ardhura dhe të ardhurat rezultojnë në kërkesë për produkte, kështu duke krijuar një zinxhir. Padyshim që …