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Fpdr And Portland: A Concerned Accountant's Perspective, Noah Roth

University Honors Theses

Established in 1942, the Fire and Police Disability and Retirement (FPDR) fund was intended to attract young men to serve as firefighters and police officers in the city of Portland. FPDR provides defined benefit retirement payments to some 2000 retirees from Portland Fire and Rescue and the Portland Police Bureau. Portlanders are obligated to pay these benefits through a property tax levy determined by the proprietors of the Fund itself. The overall liability owed to these retirees, and current employees, accounts for more than half of all liabilities owed by the city of Portland, representing a fiscal burden that calls …

Risk Analysis In Financial Statements, A Comparative Study Of Ai Vs Human Risk Assessment, Andre Denegri

University Honors Theses

This theses explores the transformative potential of artificial intelligence (AI) in the auditing industry, focusing on its implications for audit quality, efficiency, and the evolving role of human auditors. A comprehensive review of relevant literature highlights the integration of AI-driven tools such as machine learning, deep learning, and natural language processing in audit processes, emphasizing their capabilities in enhancing risk assessment, fraud detection, and data analytics.

The experimental design features an innovative approach to compare the efficacy of AI and human auditors in conducting risk analysis for three companies--Blockbuster, Enron, and Lehman Brothers--presented anonymously with pre-bankruptcy financial information. The findings …

Ecological Momentary Assessment Of Digital Food And Beverage Marketing Exposure And Impact In Young Adults: A Feasibility Study, Clare Whitton, Yvonne H. M. Wong, Jerrald Lau, Xin H. Chua, Andre M. Müller, Chuen S. Tan, Rob M. Van Dam, Falk Müller-Riemenschneider, Salome A. Rebello

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Unhealthy food marketing is contributing to the obesity epidemic, but real-time insights into the mechanisms of this relationship are under-studied. Digital marketing is growing and following food and beverage (F&B) brands on social media is common, but measurement of exposure and impact of such marketing presents novel challenges. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of collecting data on exposure and impact of digital F&B marketing (DFM) using a smartphone-based ecological momentary assessment (EMA) methodology. We hypothesized that DFM-induced food cravings would vary based on whether (or not) participants engaged with F&B brands online. Participants were Singapore residents (n …

Business Capstone Review: Team Dynamic Effects On Business Decision-Making, Lauren Mann

University Honors Theses

This thesis focuses on team dynamics and how they affect business decision-making when finding solutions collectively. It analyzes new team dynamics in relation to Tuckman's model of the five stages of team development. While much-existing research measures team dynamics and leadership styles, the purpose of this study is to highlight the characteristics and processes created in teams that lead to the strongest results. The constructive cohesion of team members comes from building a specific culture based on attitudes and guidelines. This knowledge is valuable because it can lead to the success or failure of decisions. This thesis argues that relationship-building …

Condiciones Laborales De La Floricultura En Colombia, Alexander Thibado

University Honors Theses

This thesis analyzes the laboral conditions and the socioeconomic implications of the Colombian floriculture industry. The proportion of employment opportunities for rural Colombian peasant women is examined and how it challenges traditional gender structures in Colombia and the empowerment of the female workers. Likewise the controversy of domestic violence is addressed and how workshops given in flower farms contribute to its prevention and addressing. In addition, the usage of pesticides in flower production and its significance for the health of the workers is examined, highlighting the associated risks with long-term exposure to chemical pesticides and the importance of protection and …

¿Qué Hace Un Líder Ignaciano? Reflexiones En Las Prácticas Y Sabiduría Jesuita, Michelle Wheatley

Jesuit Higher Education: A Journal

Existen suficientes recursos con respecto a la historia de la sociedad de Jesús (los jesuitas) la espiritualidad ignaciana y la educación jesuita. Sin embargo, muchos colegas se preguntan, cómo aplicarían mejor los principios ignacianos en su trabajo diario y su liderazgo, especialmente cuando se trata de desafíos adaptativos y desacuerdos. En ese sentido, este artículo busca edificar un puente entre la sabiduría ignaciana y estrategias concretamente personales, interpersonales y organizacionales, particularmente al traer recursos fundamentales jesuitas a la conversación de teorías y prácticas de liderazgo. Con cuatro áreas emergentes del estudio, relaciones, rezar y un deseo de ser una ayuda, …

Financial Time Series Fusion, Completion, And Prediction With Deep Neural Networks, Dan Zhou

Dissertations

Time-series analysis is essential for a wide range of financial applications, including but not limited to bond valuation, firm earnings forecasts, firm fundamentals predictions, and firm characteristics imputations. Given its considerable value, the financial community has shown a strong interest in refining and advancing time-series analysis techniques. The study in this dissertation contributes to this field by employing advanced machine learning approaches, specifically graph neural networks, deep neural networks, and matrix/tensor methods. The primary objectives are twofold: first, to reveal complex correlations within financial time series to improve prediction accuracy, and second, to enhance the process of integrating and imputing …

Sensing With Integrity: Responsible Sensor Systems In An Era Of Ai, David Eisenberg

Dissertations

Deep and machine learning now offer immense benefits for consumer choice, decision-making, medicine, mental health and education, smart cities, and intelligent transportation and driver safety. However, as communication and Internet technology further advances, these benefits have the potential to be outweighed by compromises to privacy, personal freedom, consumer trust, and discrimination. While ethical consequences for personal freedom and equity rise from these technological advances, the issue may not be the technology itself but a lack of regulation and policy that allow abuses to occur. A first study examines how emerging sensor-based technologies, limited to only accelerometer and gyroscope data from …

Abortion, Citizenship, And The Right To Travel, Rebecca E. Zietlow

Employee Rights and Employment Policy Journal

This article considers the changed landscape for abortion rights since the United States Supreme Court’s opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health. Before Dobbs, the right to choose an abortion was a fundamental right under federal law, enforceable against all state governments. After Dobbs, the scope of one’s right to choose an abortion depends on the state in which one lives, and if abortion is illegal in their home state, their right to travel to another state where abortion is legal. The right to travel is particularly important for workers who must live in an anti-abortion state because their …

Labor Law's Impact On The Post-Dobbs Workplace, Jeffrey M. Hirsch

Employee Rights and Employment Policy Journal

The Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision has left many workers, especially in states with restrictive abortion-related laws, in a precarious position. Labor laws and unions, however, provide one avenue for providing these workers with more protections. Unions can demand bargaining to protect or expand health care, leave, and other terms of employment that give workers with means to obtain abortion-related care. Unions can also provide members legal defense and other support if they face prosecutions. Additionally, both union and non-union workers who make up the vast majority of workers in states with restrictive laws may have labor law protection for discussing …

An Inaugural Forum On Epidemiological Modeling For Public Health Stakeholders In Arizona, Joseph R. Mihalijevic, Carmenlita Chief, Mehreen Malik, Kayode Oshinubi, Eck Doerry, Esma Gel, Crystal Hepp, Tim Lant, Sanjay Mehrotra, Samantha Sabo

Department of Supply Chain Management and Analytics: Faculty Publications

Epidemiological models—which help us understand and forecast the spread of infectious disease—can be valuable tools for public health. However, barriers exist that can make it difficult to employ epidemiological models routinely within the repertoire of public health planning. These barriers include technical challenges associated with constructing the models, challenges in obtaining appropriate data for model parameterization, and problems with clear communication of modeling outputs and uncertainty. To learn about the unique barriers and opportunities within the state of Arizona, we gathered a diverse set of 48 public health stakeholders for a day-and-a-half forum. Our research group was motivated specifically by …

Tied Together With Ticketmaster: Analyzing The Exclusive Contracts Of Ticketmaster Through The Lens Of Antitrust Scholars, Jenna Gillam

Honors Projects

The Eras Tour Verified Fan Sale in 2022 revealed major flaws in the ticket-buying process, which many attributed to Ticketmaster's dominant industry position. The exclusive contracts of Ticketmaster have been their source of gaining a competitive advantage in the ticketing industry, but many have been critical of these contracts for restricting competition in this industry. This research analyzes the effect of the exclusive contracts of the merged Ticketmaster-Live Nation entity on competition in the ticketing industry through the lens of prominent antitrust scholars. Previous literature reveals differing ideas about whether exclusive contracts are an exclusionary practice and literature identifies the …

Mindful Military Leadership: Leveraging Critical And Creative Thinking To Navigate Modern Generational Dynamics In Teams, Kenneth E. Dowd

Critical and Creative Thinking Capstones Collection

Contemporary military leadership faces a pressing challenge in reconciling traditional doctrine with the evolving needs and characteristics of Generation Z service members. This paper explores the vital importance of integrating critical and creative thinking skills into military small group dynamics to effectively prepare leaders for the complexities of their responsibilities as both decision makers and facilitators of successful teams. Drawing on a diverse range of sources, including academic literature, military publications, and firsthand experiences, the paper examines the inherent tensions between traditional military practices and the demands of a rapidly changing world. Through a synthesis of insights and recommendations, it …

Orienting Volunteers On Cultural Awareness And Empathy While Working With Refugees, Sangya Dhungana

Critical and Creative Thinking Capstones Collection

It is imperative to recognize that effective volunteer engagement in refugee resettlement hinges upon a deep understanding of cultural dynamics and sensitivities. This paper explores the challenges and complexities of volunteer engagement with refugees, offering insights from the author's experiences, scholarly literature, and theoretical frameworks. The writing highlights the importance of cultural awareness, empathy, and reflective practice in supporting refugees during resettlement while acknowledging the need for ongoing learning and evaluation of volunteer approaches. Relevant concepts and theories from the Critical and Creative Thinking courses are included, integrating perspectives into the author’s analysis of volunteer experiences. Additionally, the paper incorporates …

Exploring The Antecedents Of Green Human Resource Management: A Path Dependence Perspective, Mengwei Li, Javier Martínez-Del-Río, Pingshu Li, James P. Guthrie

Management Faculty Publications

Green HRM (GHRM) delineates organizations’ efforts to address environmental concerns. However, the current research has not thoroughly investigated the antecedents of GHRM. Moreover, the internal structure of GHRM remains unclear, further limiting our understanding of firms’ different approaches to GHRM adoption. Using a sample of Spanish firms, our first study revealed GHRM to be a two-dimensional construct, with one bundle of practices emphasizing employer branding and another bundle emphasizing employee green performance. In our second study, we draw upon path dependence theory to examine the relationship between the use of high-performance work systems (HPWS) and GHRM adoption using a sample …

Neural Operator For Accelerating Coronal Magnetic Field Computations In Bifrost Mhd Model, Yutao Du

Theses

The application of the Tensorized Fourier Neural Operator (TFNO) to significantly enhance the computational efficiency of coronal magnetic field calculations within the Bifrost Magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) model is introduced in this study. Leveraging simulated data from the European Sunrise Science Data Center, the TFNO? an extension of the Fourier Neural Operator (FNO) that incorporates tensor decomposition for improved handling of high-dimensional data?is employed to solve time-varying partial differential equations (PDEs) over a 3D domain. The performance of the TFNO is compared with traditional machine learning methods, including Vision Transformer and CNN-RNN (encoder-decoder) architectures, to demonstrate its accuracy, computational efficiency, and scalability. …

Digital Currencies And Macroeconomic Performance: A Global Perspective, Tirimisiyu F. Oloko, Ahamuefula E. Ogbonna, Idris A. Adediran

Bulletin of Monetary Economics and Banking

In this study, we explore the IS-LM-BP framework in analysing the effect of digital currencies on macroeconomic performance from a global perspective. We augment the global macroeconomic dataset by Mohaddes and Raissi (2020) with digital currencies, and analyse the relationship between 2010Q1 and 2019Q4. Overall, we find digital currencies to have significantly positive short-run and no long-run impact on global output, inflation rate, interest rate, and equity stock return. Our results suggest that digital currencies have enhanced global macroeconomic performance, on average. Thus, we recommend that appropriate regulations, rather than an outright ban on digital currencies, should be implemented.

Learning On The Go: Elements Of A Mobile Learning Strategy, Matt Hales

Critical and Creative Thinking Capstones Collection

As a Learning and Development (L&D) professional working within the context of mobile learning, I spend my time addressing the issue of learning on the go. In this paper, I share the concept of a Mobile Learning Strategy canvas, created to assist a more strategic approach to mobile learning by L&D practitioners. I assert that the ongoing evolution of training and development, specifically within the realm of mobile learning, requires specific strategic frameworks to be effective. As work becomes more technical and more complicated, workers benefit more and more from training and development. I explore both strategy as a solitary …

Circular Economy Thinking, Huia Adkins

Turning The Dial conference

Join us for an engaging session led by Huia Adkins, where we'll explore the principles and practices of circular economy thinking. Huia will provide insights into the importance of shifting from a linear to a circular model of production and consumption, highlighting the benefits for businesses, society, and the environment.

"Been Doin' This 20 Years" - Insights Of A Long-Term Food Recycler, Eric Berrill

Turning The Dial conference

Who we are; how our farming roots with Nindi Feedlots led to current food recycling operations at Nork Solutions, and our very near future of exporting our innovations via NúaTech. Our plans to accelerate our rate of innovation and iterative development via a virtous cycle of R&D in NúaTech, and improvement insights via real-world deployment in Nork Solutions.

A quick look at economic and ethical case for a non-zero level of overproduction of food staples. The benefit for regulation to differentiate between overproduction wasted to landfill, and overproduction reintegrated back into any level of the food supply chain.

The function …

Driving Sustainability With Circular Packaging, Hamoun Aria

Turning The Dial conference

Disrupting Tradition, Empowering Sustainability

Get ready to explore the cutting edge of packaging innovation with Hamoun Aria from C4C Packaging in this dynamic session. Hamoun will guide us through the latest advancements in sustainable packaging solutions, showcasing C4C Packaging's innovative approaches to reducing environmental impact while maintaining product integrity.

Join Hamoun's speech, discover how C4C's innovative approach is redefining packaging, creating a more sustainable future for the beverage industry, and providing Australian businesses with a competitive edge in the global marketplace.

Innovation - Packaging, Eduard Alcordo

Turning The Dial conference

Join us for an exciting session with Eduard Alcordo from FP Paradigm, where we'll explore groundbreaking advancements in food and beverage packaging technology. Eduard will provide insights into FP Paradigm's transformational mission and vision, highlighting their commitment to developing breakthrough technology aimed at reducing reliance on fossil fuel-based plastics.

Breakout - Sustainable Packaging: The Balance Between 2025 & 2030 Targets, Nerida Kelton, David Kilpatrick, Michael Dosser, Bonnie Marshall

Turning The Dial conference

This session will bring together four experts that come from fibre and renewables, active & intelligent packaging, Single Use Packaging regulations, Save Food Packaging Design and Sustainable Packaging Design. Together they will discuss how to navigate the food waste and packaging waste paradox and how to design the optimum packaging with the lowest environmental impacts without unintended consequences.

Speakers

• Nerida Kelton, AIP
• David Kilpatrick, Zipform
• Michael Dossor, Result Group, Managing Director
• Bonnie Marshall, National Retail Association, Communications Manager, Policy team

Breakout - Food Waste: What More Could We Do?, Janet Howieson Dr, Lynne Loo, Shy Vishnumohan Dr

Turning The Dial conference

Dive deep into the critical issue of food waste and explore practical solutions to maximise value-adding opportunities within the food and beverage manufacturing sector. Speakers

• Sam Oakden, End Food Waste Aus
• Phil May, DPIRD
• Fran Ferreira, Foodbank WA, Chief Operating Officer
• Janet Howieson, Curtin University
• Hayley Borissow, Sodexo, Sustainability & Decarbonisation Manager

Breakout - Practicalities Of Esg – How To Prepare, Plan And Respond To The Green Economy, Karen Erasmus, Elizabeth Ploetz

Turning The Dial conference

This workshop is designed to help businesses respond to growing demands to disclose not only emissions data, but broader ESG information.

While there is a major focus on carbon emissions and disclosure, there is increased pressure to disclose supply chain impacts on topics such as waste, water management, packaging, sourcing/procurement, employment practices, and customer/employee health and safety.

This 90-minute workshop will focus on four key areas:

• An overview of the ESG landscape and how it is reshaping trade lines and competition.
• The ESG essentials including stakeholder expectations, reporting landscape, data, strategy and communication.
• Case study discussion on energy transition, climate-related …

Breakout - Esg: Co-Designing Sustainability Solutions For The Wa F&B Manufacturing Sector, Min Teah

Turning The Dial conference

This workshop is tailored for participants interested in exploring global best practice sustainability in food and beverage manufacturing, and connecting with likeminded stakeholders to co-design their own solutions for greener value chains.

Professor Min Teah will present leading examples from around the world and offer opportunity to hear perspectives from local businesses on their different approaches to tackling common challenges, improving sustainability outcomes, and moving from sustainability as a niche concept and additional expense to a requirement for market access and basis for improved business and commercial outcomes.

Participants will be able ask questions; identify, brainstorm and problem-solve shared challenges; …

Wa Best Practice In Packaging, Jacqui Kay

Turning The Dial conference

Join us for an insightful session led by Jacqui Kay, Agricultural Produce Commission Communications Officer, as we explore best practices in packaging within Western Australia.

Jacqui has been working in FMCG for 20 years and has seen the evolution of consumer packaging over the years.

Now is the time for brands to work with strategic partners to find more sustainable packaging solutions. Jacqui will talk through an award winning case study from WA that demonstrates what is being achieved.

Innovations In Packaging, Vikas Ahuja

Turning The Dial conference

What will the most sustainable food & beverage packages of the future be? Discover some trends towards the the future of packaging with Vikas. What are the roadblocks and how do we get to high recycling rates in Australia?

Sustainable Packaging - A Global Perspective, Nerida Kelton, David Kilpatrick, Michael Dossor, Bonnie Marshall

Turning The Dial conference

Nerida will provide a global view on what sustainable packaging really looks like for WPO Members. There are many pieces to the jigsaw puzzle when discussing Sustainable Packaging and there is no silver bullet as every product needs a fit-for-purpose, functional solution.

Food Waste - An Industry Perspective, Matthew Kronborg

Turning The Dial conference

Join us for an eye-opening session led by Matthew Kronborg from Grainstone, as we explore the issue of food waste from an industry perspective.