Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Black-Market Commodification Of Human Organs And Bones: A Marxist Perspective, Erik Schulz

Nebraska Anthropologist

The trade and treatment of human remains, while seemingly straightforward, have increasingly become subjects of ethical and moral debate. Over time and in light of recent events, questions have emerged regarding the appropriateness of how human remains are handled and exchanged. This paper examines these issues through the lens of Marxist framework and the perspective of forensic anthropology. The objective is to provide contextual understanding and encourage a reevaluation of current practices, particularly within academic settings, to ensure that human morals, dignity and ethical standards are upheld.

Deportations And Debt: How The Trump Administration’S Immigration Policies Affect The United States’ National Debt Situation, James D. Webster

Honors Theses and Capstones

The value of the United States’ national debt measured as a share of its economic output, otherwise known as its debt-to-GDP ratio, is projected to reach an all-time high and continue to climb over the span of the next 30 years. This can be attributed to a combination of tax and spending policies which generate annual budget deficits as well as a projected slowdown of economic growth. A major factor contributing to this situation is the slowing growth of the labor force in the United States. As time goes on, the growth of the U.S. population slows, and immigration becomes …

The Game Of Going Public: Market Timing, Information Asymmetry, And The Signaling Effects Of Initial Public Offerings (Ipos) In The Technology Industry, Kiana Seva

Scripps Senior Theses

My thesis explores the game of going public in the technology industry, specifically the strategic decision-making process of issuing an initial public offering (IPO), the advantages a company may gain from its market timing, and the signaling effects of its IPO. Existing research on this subject is vast but fragmented into areas that focus on the decision to go public, game theoretical analysis of the advantages, analysis of the advantages using quantitative data, and signaling effects. To address this gap, I developed and analyzed three game theoretic models which account for all these factors that affect the success of an …

Reporting And Underreporting Of Sex Harassment In United States Public Schools: A Mixed Methods Analysis, Erica S. Matthisen

Scripps Senior Theses

Using mixed methods, I assess the factors that contribute to the underreporting of sex harassment in elementary and secondary educational environments. I first use regional Title IX data to assess the impacts of Title IX resource access on several indicator variables, finding a positive impact on allegations and discipline cases when a harassment/bullying policy was made available online. Next, I seek to identify other factors that contribute to reporting or underreporting. To that end, I conduct organizational analysis and informational interviews. From the organizational analysis, I identify factors that contribute to the normalization and underreporting of sex harassment and strategies …

Where Does The Money Go? Three Essays On Intergovernmental Transfers, Spending, And Poverty In Indonesia, Jacobus Cd Rijoly

Theses and Dissertations--Public Policy and Administration

Indonesia allocates substantial intergovernmental transfers to local governments; nonetheless, the decrease in poverty remains limited. This dissertation posits that the binding constraint is institutional, specifically the regulations and incentives that dictate the extent to which funds are allocated from the government to designated programs. Institutional pass-through refers to the fraction of a transfer that is allocated to a program expenditure. The three essays integrate estimation, budget composition evidence, and a formal model to explain both modest average effects and heterogeneity across regions and programs.

The first essay evaluates the impact of transfers on provincial poverty from 2001 to 2022 by …

Institutionalisation And Institutional Evolution: A Model Of Selecting Government Officials In Ancient China, Haiwen Zhou

Economics Faculty Publications

The evolution of institutions in selecting government officials in ancient China reflected efficiency considerations and increased power concentration in the hands of the ruler. Selecting government officials in ancient China became more rule‐based over time, and standardisation and centralisation were some key features of this process. In this dynamic model, a higher volume of transactions, shown as the number of candidates needed to be evaluated, leads to institutionalisation, which has a higher fixed cost but a lower marginal cost in processing each transaction. In the steady state, a ruler with a more encompassing interest chooses a higher level of institutionalisation. …

Impact Of Geography On Institutions In Agricultural And Nomadic Societies, Haiwen Zhou

Economics Faculty Publications

How geography affects the choice of institutions is studied in a theoretical model. In this model, nations are located around a circle. Rulers compete through choosing tax rates, the level of military spending, and the degree of formality of institutions. Geographic condition is captured by population density. It is shown that societies with higher population densities choose lower tax rates, establish more formal institutions, and give government officials lower levels of autonomies than those with lower population densities do. A higher level of external threats induces a ruler to choose a higher level of autonomy for officials. The model is …

Politicians As Persuaders: A Field Experiment On Messenger Effects And Social Program Uptake, Syon Bhanot

Economics Faculty Works

Accessing public sector programs often involves onerous administrative processes for citizens, which can demotivate program applicants and discourage uptake. In this study, I worked with the Philadelphia Housing Development Corporation (PHDC) to test an intervention to boost uptake of PHDC’s Basic System Repair Program (BSRP) by using local political leaders to persuade citizens to complete the program’s onboarding process. Specifically, I randomly assigned 2,575 BSRP applicants to either receive a motivational mailer from PHDC directly, or from the office of that citizen’s representative on the Philadelphia City Council. While I find that the average response rate for individuals who received …

The Implications Of A Rise In The Minimum Wage: Evidence From Female Workers In Mexico, Isabella Cardenas Padilla

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis analyzes the 2019 minimum wage reform in Mexico, evaluating its impact on female labor market outcomes, including labor force participation, formal employment, and informal employment. This reform introduced a new geographic minimum wage zone along municipalities bordering the United States, accompanied by fiscal incentives, creating a natural experiment for analysis. Using difference-in-differences regression specifications, the study finds that the minimum wage increase was associated with a rise in formal sector employment and a corresponding decline in informal employment among women with low educational attainment. This study finds a magnitude of 6 percentage points in each direction, an economically …

Synthetic Statocracy - Pakistan’S Self-Created Inferno: Examining The Causes And Consequences Of Military Dominance In Pakistan, Umer Lakhani

CMC Senior Theses

This paper examines the history of military rule in Pakistan. Applying the framework of Johannes Gerschewski in The Three Pillars of Stability: Legitimation, Repression and Co-Optation in Autocratic Regimes, this paper looks to explain how military rulers who presided over the three periods of military rule in Pakistan consolidated and maintained their power, as well as the effects that these periods of rule had on Pakistani society. This paper will also supplement Gerschewski’s general framework by applying the findings of various established authors who have been published extensively on Pakistan’s political history, economy and relationship with the military. Such authors …

Bitcoin Adoption And Beliefs In Canada: A Reply To Van Hove (Journal Of Comments And Replications In Economics, 2025), Daniela Balutel, Christopher Henry, Jorge Vásquez, Marcel Voia

Economics: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

A Geopolitical Economy Analysis Of China And India’S Approaches To Transnational Data Governance, Yujia He, Ka Zeng

Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce Faculty Publications

Recent literature on the behavior of rising powers in digital trade and data governance highlights their discourses of data sovereignty and desire to preserve domestic policy autonomy. This article contributes to the literature by employing a political economy lens that shifts the focus from the nation-state/inter-state framework towards the dynamics of state–capital relations, allowing for a more historical and contextual understanding of the geopolitics of data governance in emerging economies. Using China and India—two of the largest emerging economies—as comparative cases, and drawing on secondary data from government documents and other sources, the article argues that the interplay between the …

One Of The Magnificent Seven Is Coming: Amazon Arrives In East Texas, Manuel Reyes-Loya, Cecilia Cuellar

Hibbs Brief

In this issue of the Hibbs Brief, the arrival of Amazon in East Texas is examined, detailing the company's plans to build a new delivery station in Tyler and estimating its potential economic impact on the region. The brief explains how Amazon's logistics infrastructure works and highlights that the new facility — a roughly 140,000‑square‑foot delivery station — is expected to generate more than 100 full‑time jobs, several hundred part‑time positions, and significant construction‑related employment and economic activity, while broadening the local tax base. By embedding Amazon's presence in the East Texas economy, the analysis shows promising prospects for job …

Exploring Perceived Value: An Analysis Of Belmont University's Dining Options, Joshua Schonland, Delaney King

SPARK Symposium Presentations

Belmont University has a number of dining options available for its students, faculty, staff, and the public. These on-campus dining options include well-known fast food restaurant chains in the United States such as Starbucks Coffee, Chick-fil-a, and Einstein Bros. Bagels. Members of Belmont University who pay for a specific 'meal plan ' have full access to these on-campus options in addition to an all-inclusive dining hall, which is also open to the public for $12.50.

The available meal plans for students, faculty, and staff vary in value and offerings. Some variations offer a fixed number of ‘swipes’, which is a …

Evaluating Visitor Valuation Of Urban Green Spaces By Modality, Vicky J. Gao, Adam Fulton, Ross Andrew

SPARK Symposium Presentations

Abstract: Urban green spaces play a critical role in enhancing the well-being of city residents by providing recreational opportunities, environmental benefits, and a social setting. While still in its early stages—focused on analyzing findings from a pilot survey—this study aims to investigate how visitors value urban green spaces through surveys conducted in Warner Parks in Nashville, with plans to expand to other significant urban green spaces in neighboring states.

For the purposes of SPARK, this study presents the findings of the pilot survey. The survey collected data on variables such as primary park activity, distance travelled to local parks, perceived …

Fiscal Citizenship And Taxpayer Privacy, Alex Zhang

Faculty Articles

Should individual tax data be public or confidential? Within the United States, secrecy has been the rule since the Tax Reform Act of 1976. But at three critical junctures—the Civil War, the 1920s, and the 1930s—Congress made individual tax records open for public inspection, and newspapers published the incomes of the billionaires of the time. Today, Finland, Norway, and Sweden all mandate significant transparency for individual tax information.

This Essay intervenes in the tax-confidentiality debate by building a new analytical framework of fiscal citizenship. Until now, scholars have focused on compliance—whether disclosure incentivizes honest reporting of income, and if it …

การศึกษาความเต็มใจที่จะจ่ายในการรับเทคโนโลยีในการทำประมงพื้นบ้านในจังหวัดชลบุรี, ชนากานต์ ศุภศิริสมบัติ

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

การวิจัยนี้มีวัตถุประสงค์เพื่อประเมินมูลค่าความเต็มใจที่จะจ่ายในการรับเทคโนโลยีของชาวประมงพื้นบ้านในจังหวัดชลบุรี โดยใช้วิธีการประเมินมูลค่าภายใต้สถานการณ์สมมติ และศึกษาปัจจัยที่มีผลต่อ การกำหนดมูลค่าความเต็มใจที่จะจ่ายของชาวประมงพื้นบ้านในจังหวัดชลบุรีสำหรับการรับเทคโนโลยีเข้ามาช่วยในการทำประมงพื้นบ้านอย่างมีนัยสำคัญทางสถิติ โดยใช้แบบจำลอง Ordered Logistic Regression ในการวิเคราะห์ข้อมูล กลุ่มตัวอย่างของการศึกษา ได้แก่ ชาวประมงพื้นบ้านในจังหวัดชลบุรี จำนวน 454 คน และเทคโนโลยีที่ใช้ในการศึกษามี 3 ประเภท ได้แก่ เทคโนโลยีติดตามเรือประมง นวัตกรรมกระชังปลาอัจฉริยะ และนวัตกรรมอวนประมงติดหลอดไฟ LED จากผลการศึกษา พบว่า ตัวแปรที่ส่งผลต่อความเต็มใจที่จะจ่ายในการรับเทคโนโลยีในการทำประมงพื้นบ้านในจังหวัดชลบุรี โดยมีนัยสำคัญทางสถิติที่ระดับความเชื่อมั่นร้อยละ 95 ได้แก่ ตัวแปรระดับราคาที่เสนอครั้งแรก ระดับการให้ความสำคัญกับค่าใช้จ่ายในการบำรุงรักษาเครื่องมือที่ใช้ ในการทำประมงพื้นบ้าน ระดับการให้ความสำคัญกับการได้รับการสนับสนุนจากหน่วยงานภาครัฐ ระดับความรู้เรื่องเทคโนโลยีที่ประยุกต์ใช้ในเครื่องมือประมงพื้นบ้าน และระดับความรู้เรื่องการบำรุงรักษาเทคโนโลยีที่ประยุกต์ใช้ในเครื่องมือประมงพื้นบ้าน โดยมีข้อเสนอแนะเชิงนโยบายกับภาครัฐในด้านมาตรการส่งเสริมชาวประมงพื้นบ้านในการทำประมง ได้แก่ มาตรการการสนับสนุนผลิตภัณฑ์สัตว์น้ำทะเลคุณภาพ มาตรการ ให้เช่ายืมเครื่องมือและเทคโนโลยีในการทำประมงพื้นบ้าน มาตรการการรับรองสัตว์น้ำทะเลและส่งเสริมการตลาดสัตว์น้ำทะเลจากประมงพื้นบ้าน

Rational Decision-Making Model: Ap Micro, Ar Macro, A-Level Economics, And Ib Economics, Nasiwat Thanathitiphuwaphat

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

Should students take high school economics? They face choices among Advanced Placement (AP), Advanced Level (AL), and International Baccalaureate (IB) Economics programs, which are equivalent to college-level economics coursework. While students value their initial exposure to economics, whether high school economics provides optimal utility remains uncertain. We employ a rational decision-making model to guide students in choosing an appropriate economics education. We emphasize the importance of achieving high grade, as AP, AL, or IB Economics can enhance college admission prospects, improve the economics learning experience, and allow for credit transfer. Students must first identify exam availability and financial constraints before …

Wage Gap And Wage Discrimination Among Persons With Disabilities: Empirical Evidence From Thailand, Natthavit Wongsrithanasarn

Chulalongkorn University Theses and Dissertations (Chula ETD)

This study provides a comprehensive quantitative analysis of the disability wage gap and potential wage discrimination in Thailand. Utilizing data from the 2017 and 2022 Thailand Disability Surveys, this research employs the Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition technique to examine wage disparities between workers with and without physical or cognitive disabilities. The results reveal a substantial wage gap, with non-disabled workers, on average, earning approximately 50% more than persons with physical disabilities and more than twice as much as persons with cognitive disabilities. The decomposition analysis indicates that while over 75% of the wage gap for persons with physical disabilities is explained by …

Exploring Dominican University Nursing Student’S Perceptions Of Economic Barriers To Accessing Essential Women’S Health Products, Annabelle E. Burke

Nursing | Student Research Posters

Access to essential feminine hygiene products, including menstrual supplies and hygiene items, is a growing economic and public health issue. Rising product prices and reliance on costly disposable products contribute to financial strain for many women. Period poverty is the lack of access to menstrual products, education, and hygiene facilities due to financial constraints, and it negatively affects women’s physical and mental health, particularly among students and low-income populations. Research shows that limited access to menstrual products affects dignity, sanitation, and emotional well-being and is compounded by social stigma and cultural silence surrounding menstruation (Brinkley & Niebuhr, 2023). Findings from …

Art As Asset: The Rise Of The Financialized Art Market And The Abstraction Of Value, Kenneth Knothe

Pitzer Senior Theses

This thesis investigates the financialization of art through the expanding use of art-backed loans and institutional involvement. It focuses on how artworks—once primarily valued for their aesthetic or cultural significance—are now routinely treated as financial assets within the art market. The paper uses case studies from Sotheby’s Financial Services and Mitchell F. Chan’s blockchain-based reinterpretation of Yves Klein’s Zones of Immaterial Pictorial Sensibility. Drawing on the work of Walter Benjamin, Pierre Bourdieu, and Wendy Brown, it argues that this shift undermines museums’ roles as cultural stewards and redefines the meaning of value in the art world to something more quantifiable. …

High-Resolution Modeling Of Extreme Heat Events With Socioeconomic Consideration: A Real-Case Wrf-Les Approach, Maryam Golbazi, Frank Liu, Yin-Hsuen Chen, Timothy W. Juliano, Heather Richter

ODU Articles

The overarching goals of this work is to explore best practices for micro-scale modeling of a real case, identify relevant phenomena by using high-resolution modeling, and to explore their implications for public health, and climate resilience strategies in Hampton Roads, VA, USA. This project employs the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model to conduct a comprehensive study of Hampton Roads, utilizing a coupled mesoscale to microscale modeling capable of resolving boundary layer turbulence. This study has three primary objectives: (1) to establish the optimal mesoscale to Large-Eddy Simulation (LES) configurations for complex geographical regions such as the Hampton Roads (HR) …

Equipping Financial Coaches: Training And Resource Department At Western Kentucky University Center For Financial Success, Lily Martin

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Established in 2011, The Center for Financial Success (CFS) housed in the Gordon Ford College of Business at Western Kentucky University, seeks to aid the university and regional community in becoming financially informed and independent. This is achieved through peer-to-peer coaching and applied financial education. The student financial coaches are at the heart of this project, as they are essential to the CFS fulfilling its mission. Their responsibilities include conducting one-on-one financial coaching sessions with students, managing an applied personal budgeting experience for the Personal Finance class (FIN 161), and delivering presentations on financial literacy topics to various organizations, both …

Adam Smith And The Division Of Labor, Maria Pia Paganelli

Economics Faculty Research

For Adam Smith, people need to be free to receive the fruits of their labor both because it is their right and also because it will give incentives to produce more and innovate more. Increased production and innovation will generate the prosperity that brings people out of absolute poverty. They create the means to support a growing population, and a cheerful society.

Applied Essays In Industrial Organization: Pricing In Short-Term Rental Markets And Policy Implications In Tobacco Consumption, Richard J. Applin

Theses and Dissertations--Economics

Economics 101 teaches that the interaction between supply and demand determines the prices and quantities consumers face. In econometric research, it is critical to remain aware of this canonical fact, as failure to do so can introduce bias in the estimation of economic parameters. This dissertation empirically demonstrates the importance of factoring in economic structure in three applied essays.

In the first essay, I estimate the impact of rating visibility on Airbnb pricing using a two-way fixed effects model. To do so, I primarily rely on an instrumental variables approach that I argue should identify a supply-side relationship. I provide …

Three Essays On The Impacts Of Pollution, Isaiah Chapman Bryant Sheth

Theses and Dissertations--Economics

My dissertation is broadly focused on using data to quantify the consequences of pol- lution and is organized into three chapters. Chapter one estimates the effect on infant health of drinking water contamination attributable to tropical cyclones. Chapter two examines the heterogeneous effects of a policy aimed at reducing air pollution based on pre-existing air quality conditions. Lastly, chapter three investigates how regula- tions aimed at shaping housing development to minimize climate risk impacted the housing market in Houston Texas. Each of these chapters considers different con- sequences of pollution, from direct health costs of pollution exposure to secondary effects …

Essays On The Labor Market Consequences Of Economic Uncertainty, Emographics, And Oil Price Shocks, Linli Zhao

Theses and Dissertations--Economics

This dissertation explores how economic uncertainty and oil price shocks influence the U.S. labor market, focusing on the roles of age distributions, manufacturing characteristics, and labor skills. Chapter One investigates how uncertainty and age distribution affect employment volatility across U.S. states using data from 2000 Q1 to 2017 Q4. The findings show that states with a larger share of prime-aged workers experience lower employment volatility in the face of economic uncertainty. Chapter Two examines how global oil shocks influence manufacturing job flows, drawing on data from the Annual Survey of Manufactures and the Census of Manufacturers between 1980 Q3 and …

Debt Through The Decade: Exploring Connections Between Debt Type, Psychological Stress, Spending Habits, And Life Satisfaction, Emily Johnson

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

Average households in the United States holds $101,915 in consumer debt, contributing to the greater total of America’s $17.3 trillion of total consumer debt (Experian, 2024). Accruing some amount of debt is considered normal throughout a financial lifespan, however, many Americans find themselves completely overwhelmed by keeping up with personal debts and increasing costs of necessities due to inflation. (George & Hansen, 2018; Kim et al., 2019). Following the financial crisis in 2020, many individuals felt increasing financial hardship, with many Americans heavily impacted by their debt holdings. The purpose of the present study is to examine the impact of …

Analyzing Real-Time Behavioral Shifts In Response To Tourism Policy Using Google Trends Data And Advanced Difference-In-Differences (Did) Methods, Aaron Bradley Scott

Doctor of Business Administration Dissertations

Google Trends is a publicly available aggregate search data portal that allows researchers to capture and review search interests. This dissertation analyzes real-time behavioral shifts resulting from tourism policy changes in Venice, Italy using Google Trends data. This work contributes to the current literature in DiD modeling, by using information-seeking behavior that is ahead of observable, lagged, outcomes. Through the integration of recent DiD advancements, this work further extends DiD applications in tourism econometrics, and a case-example of real-world tourism policy assessment. This dissertation highlights changes in search behavior immediately following policy implementation. Additionally, this work highlights Google Trends as …

The Sensitivity Of The Human Development Index To Assumptions About Income, Maria C. Kula, Charles J. Moyer, Priniti Panday

Business Faculty Publications

The Human Development Index (HDI) aims to present a more robust picture of a country’s development status than that suggested by national income per capita. The HDI aggregates dimension indices based on transformed measures for the core values of health, education, and income per capita. Assumptions are made regarding the upper and lower bounds used to re-scale each core value into its dimension index, as well as the functional form used to create the HDI. The treatment of income in the HDI’s construction suggests incompatibilities with its underlying capability theory, which stresses the importance of individuals’ abilities to make their …