Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Archway Commencement Issue, May 2014

Archway (1946-2020)

2014 Archway Commencement Issue

Influence Of Family Communication On Organ Donation, Arielle Melino

Honors Projects in Communication

Organ donors are in high demand and although many individuals have a favorable attitude toward organ donation, very few are committed to donating. This study aims to examine the impact of mother-daughter relationships and the conversation that stems from this bond on decisions to donate. Some factors that exist within family communication such as attitudes, willingness to communicate, experience, and knowledge may not just impact the perspectives of adults but also the donation decisions of their college-aged children.

Running And Grit, Rohan H. Vakil

Honors Projects in Applied Psychology

No abstract provided.

Active Vs. Passive Portfolio Management, Timothy Greenhill

Honors Projects in Mathematics

In the finance community there is a huge debate about whether or not active portfolio managers can provide better returns than passive managers. While active managers often provide excess returns, the costs of running an active fund offset whatever gains were made in the market. The objective of this report is to figure out whether or not active funds provide larger returns than passive funds on a cost adjusted basis. This report will identify which type of fund is a more cost effective investment, as well as identify different properties of funds and how they operate. The goal of doing …

Risk Of Eating Disorders And The Pressures To Be Thin: Female College Athletes Vs. Non-Athletes, Lauren Ganim

Honors Projects in History and Social Sciences

The objective of this study is to determine the relative level of risk female college athletes and non-athletes have in developing an eating disorder. In addition, the study identifies the pressures faced by each group and how these contribute to the risk of eating disorders. The study was conducted using two surveys: an EAT-26 test and a pressures questionnaire. The EAT-26 test is a standardized self-measure of symptoms and concerns characteristic of disordered eating (EAT-26 Self-Test). This was used to determine the amount of risk faced by each participant. The pressures questionnaire was used to determine what pressures each group …

The Impact Of European Elections On Their Stock Markets, Andrew Lafortune

Honors Projects in Finance

This paper seeks to provide insight on changes in the European political landscape and how these changes may affect the financial markets in Europe. By analyzing market trends in eight different European countries—Belgium, Austria, France, Germany, Netherlands, Great Britain, Switzerland and Greece—since 1990, this paper attempts to identify any significant relationships between the results of an election and the performances of the major stock indices of these countries. By comparing country index returns starting one hundred days before and ending one hundred days after each election date to a global index, this paper explores the amount of risk in each …

The Economics Of Suicide: An Empirical Study, Andrea J. Bergeron

Honors Projects in Economics

This study uses economic theory to investigate the impact of socioeconomic factors on the

suicide rate in the United States. Using a utility maximization framework based on

Hamermesh and Soss’ 1974 model, a panel data set from 2000-2010 is constructed for the 50

states and District of Columbia. This research adds to the literature in the field by focusing on

the more recent past and providing additional variables consistent with today’s challenges.

The results from the multiple regression analysis can be used to advocate policies that may

reduce the suicide rate in the future.

The National Cancer Institute’S Health Information National Trends Survey [Hints]: A National Cross-Sectional Analysis Of Talking To Your Doctor And Other Healthcare Providers For Health Information, Julie E. Volkman, Tana M. Luger, Kimberly Ll Harvey, Timothy P. Hogan, Stephanie L. Shimada, Daniel Amante, Keith D. Mcinnes, Hua Feng, Thomas K. Houston

Communication Faculty Journal Articles

Background: The need to understand preferred sources of health information remains important to providing patient-centered care. The Internet remains a popular resource for health information, but more traditional sources may still be valid for patients during a recent health need. This study sought to understand the characteristics of patients that turn to their doctor or healthcare provider first for a recent health or medical information need. Methods: Using the national cross-sectional survey, Health Information National Trend Study [HINTS], characteristics of those who sought a doctor or healthcare provider for a recent health information need were compared to other sources. Weighted …

Quitters Referring Smokers: A Quitline Chain-Referral Pilot Study, Kathryn Delaughter, Julie E. Volkman, Barrett D. Phillips, Thomas K. Houston

Communication Faculty Journal Articles

Background: Telephone counseling Quitlines can support smoking cessation, but are under-utilized. We explored the use of smoker peer-referrals to increase use of a Quitline in Mississippi and Alabama.

Findings: Collaborating with the Alabama and Mississippi Quitline, we piloted peer-referrals to Quitlines. Successful ‘quitters’ who had used the Quitline were contacted at routine follow-up and recruited to participate as a peer-referrer and refer their friends and family who smoked to the Quitline. Peer-referrers completed a training session, received a manual and a set of Quitline brochures a peer-referral forms. These peer-referral forms were then returned to the Quitline telephone counselors who …

Flight To Quality For Large Financial Institutions, A. Can Inci, Hsi Li, Joseph Mccarthy

Finance Department Faculty Journal Articles

Local correlation analysis is used to investigate flight to quality among large financial institutions before, during, and after the financial crisis of 2008-2009. While standard correlation captures general overall linear association, local correlation analysis more accurately captures changes in the associations in response to changing market conditions. Using raw, market-adjusted, and industry-adjusted stock returns of individual banks, we investigate the performance of troubled banks and the change in investing behavior. Investors react to noisy information from the financial difficulties encountered by banking institutions. This reaction results in flight to quality. While the traditional Pearson correlations capture general overall linear association, …