Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

How Many Barack Obamas Does It Take: An Analysis Of The Effect Of Charter Schools On Real Estate And Crime, Aananditaa Kakkar

CMC Senior Theses

This study looks at the relationship between charter school presence and neighborhood quality in Los Angeles. Using data from the Los Angeles Department of Education, Zillow Real Estate, and the Los Angeles Sheriff, this paper attempts to find whether changes in charter presence influence the price of surrounding real estate or the occurrence of serious and petty crimes. The results find that charter schools tend to be associated with a decrease in home sale prices. The results on crime imply that crime increases upon the opening of charter schools, however they are statistically insignificant.

Explaining The “Explained”: An Examination Of The Gender-Based Education Gap In India And Its Impact On The Wage Gap, Kanupriya Rungta

CMC Senior Theses

Analysis of the National Sample Survey Data from 2011-2012 shows that a gender-based education gap exists. Women are more likely than men to be illiterate. Some parents continue to view household duties as more important than education in the case of girls, causing some to drop out in primary and middle school, which leads to lower experience accumulation. However, females are almost equally as likely as males to be enrolled in school, and an equal proportion of males and females earn higher education degrees. More importantly, the difference in resource allocation seems to be minimal. Although education has a strong, …

Arab-Israelis And The Israeli Defense Force, Catherine K. Blakelock

CMC Senior Theses

Arab-Israelis make up a growing portion of Israel's population. While they are legal citizens of the state of Israel they are not held to the same standards as their Jewish-Israeli counterparts. Jewish-Israelis are mandated to serve in the Israeli Defense Force, while the Arab-Israelis are not. Even without conscription a small number of Arab-Israelis choose to serve every year. This paper examines how individual and community identity play into the decision to join the IDF. The key factor in why Arab-Israelis join the IDF stems from putting the love of country over the love of any other community or identity.

Reducing Employee Turnover In The Big Four Public Accounting Firms, Erin L. Maclean

CMC Senior Theses

Employee turnover is extremely costly to any business in terms of training costs and loss of pertinent knowledge and experience. This paper explores the contributors to the high rates of employee turnover seen in public accounting by focusing on the Big Four accounting firms, Deloitte, EY, KPMG, and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Employee retention is a factor of corresponding employee motivation, as seen through the analysis of popular motivational theories and their applications to a career in public accounting. This paper also delves into the possible contributors to the differences in retention rates between males and females in this occupation. Lastly, an analysis …

The Residential Real-Estate Industry In India: Investigating Evidence For An Asset Bubble, Nikhita Narendran

CMC Senior Theses

The objective of this thesis is to examine the differences in residential property prices across different cities in India. Soaring prices have led to increasingly unaffordable property prices in large metropolitan cities. As a result, there has been academic discourse about the existence of a housing bubble in recent years. In the past, empirical research has focused on national level trends due to a lack of city-level data. I investigate the city-fixed effects on growth in house prices across fifteen different cities. Although different empirical models suggest different conclusions about these effects, point estimates suggest above-normal growth in house prices …

The Declining Natural Fish Stock: A Proposed Solution To Public Fear And Perceptions Of Genetically Modified Fish, Morgan Beltz

CMC Senior Theses

The global fish population is declining. Aquaculture production is saturated and the global fish stock is operating at an unsustainable level. Genetically modified (GM) fish is a potential solution to relieve the natural fish stock, if the FDA grants the approval. The global fish population is harmed by environmental conditions and the inability for fish to adapt to changing conditions and human interactions. Genetic modification is a growing technology that has the ability to alleviate the fishing industry by modifying fish to grow faster, be disease tolerant, eat plant-based food, and be more nutritious. However, the approval process has been …

Simultaneity Bias In Campaign Spending Games, Chloe Whang

CMC Senior Theses

In this paper, I replicate Erikson and Palfrey (2000) who propose that the simultaneity problem in measuring the effects of candidate spending can be resolved by restricting the sample to close elections. Vote-on-spending effects, which vary with the expected closeness of the election outcome in a systematic way, determine the extent of simultaneity bias. The simultaneity bias becomes progressively more severe as the anticipated vote margin decreases, plaguing the estimates of spending-on-vote effects on the full sample. In the range of a 50-50 expected vote, however, the vote-on-spending effects approach zero. Thus, by restricting the sample to extremely close races, …

Unemployment Rates During The Not-So-Great Recovery: How Much Is Structural Versus Cyclical?, Nicole Appleton

CMC Senior Theses

This paper presents evidence that the majority of the high post-recession unemployment rates is the result of an increase in the natural rate, rather than cyclical deviations from it. Moreover, I discuss the likely causes of the recent increases in the natural rate. Since most of the theorized causes of increases appear transitory in nature, I expect that the natural rate will soon decline, followed closely by a decrease in actual unemployment rates.

An Analysis Of The Contract Year Phenomenon In The Nba: Do Players Perform Better Or Worse, Tyler Gaffaney

CMC Senior Theses

The present study uses a novel measure of over performance (percent deviation from career average) to analyze the contract year phenomenon in the NBA. Historically, the literature has pointed toward over performance across almost all statistical measures of performance. However, previous research has assumed that all players are universally affected by the presence of a contract year in the same manner. The present study finds significant results that contradict previous research by dividing the sample of players into subgroups by age, career PER and position. Furthermore, the results of this paper’s statistical analysis illustrate the first examples of systematic underperformance …

The Effectiveness Of Asean Under External Pressure: Cases Of Myanmar's Accession And The South China Sea Disputes, Timothy Rotolo

CMC Senior Theses

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is guided by a collection of principles known as the ASEAN Way, which emphasizes sovereignty and consensus. When external pressures have forced ASEAN to face contentious issues, internal divisions have torn at the group’s cohesion, and consensus has proved difficult to reach. When Myanmar’s military dictatorship was put on the fast track to ASEAN membership in the mid-1990s, democratic Thailand and the Philippines objected, and strong Western pressure to delay Burmese accession put the group in a difficult spot. Fifteen years later, territorial disputes in the South China Sea pitted ASEAN claimant states …

State Level Earned Income Tax Credit’S Effects On Race And Age: An Effective Poverty Reduction Policy, Anthony J. Barone

CMC Senior Theses

In this paper, I analyze the effectiveness of state level Earned Income Tax Credit programs on improving of poverty levels. I conducted this analysis for the years 1991 through 2011 using a panel data model with fixed effects. The main independent variables of interest were the state and federal EITC rates, minimum wage, gross state product, population, and unemployment all by state. I determined increases to the state EITC rates provided only a slight decrease to both the overall white below-poverty population and the corresponding white childhood population under 18, while both the overall and the under-18 black population for …

Presidential Politics: The Social Media Revolution, Alexandra P. Toohey

CMC Senior Theses

Throughout the course of history, presidential campaigning has evolved commensurate with the advancements in technology. FDR mastered the radio, JFK the television and President Barack Obama, the Internet. In both the 2008 and 2012 Presidential campaigns, President Barack Obama used social media via the Internet to understand the voter better than any candidate before his time. Through revolutionary data collection techniques, both offline and online, the Obama campaign obtained vital electorate information. This data was used by the campaign to: target online social media users who were most likely to become politically engaged; and attempt to influence their voting habits, …

The Effect Of Organized Sports On Academic Achievement And Youth Development, Nicole Franklin

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis explores the relationship between sports, academics, and youth development, in 5^th- 9^th grade boys and girls from low-income families. This exploration includes an analysis of a non-profit organization called “Rainier Athletes.” This program underwrites the cost of organized sports for low-income children with the belief that sports help empower students so that they make positive choices inside the classroom and in the future. Rainier Athletes uses a token economy design in the classroom where students earn points by fulfilling academic expectations and displaying positive behavior.

Researchers concluded that sports participation had a beneficial effect on …

Accessories Of Modern Mayan Grinding Stones, Michael T. Searcy

Faculty Publications

The mano and metate are seen as natural companion pieces in the archaeological record. Ethnographic resources suggest there may have been other tools associated with daily grinding activities including biconically drilled (donut) stones and wooden boards. This paper presents evidence for these findings and explores their archaeological implications. It also demonstrates the valuable information that can be gleaned from the modern Mayan groups living in Highland Guatemala today.

An Examination Of The Interest Rate Sensitivity Of Business Development Company (Bdc) Stock Returns, Timothy Park

CMC Senior Theses

This paper examines the interest rate sensitivity of Business Development Companies (BDCs). The results of this study are intended to lend insight to investors about the viability and timing of investments in BDCs during the business cycle. Similar to previous research that has examined interest rate sensitivity of financial companies, this paper employs a two-factor market model to see whether BDCs are responsive to changes in short, medium, and long-term interest rates. My particular interest in BDCs is motivated by their unique asset-liability structure and requirements, as well as their high dividend payouts. Monthly data is drawn from the period …

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (Ptsd) In The Latino Culture: A Proposed Culturally-Responsive Intervention Program For Latinas, Rochelle N. Welsh

CMC Senior Theses

The goal of this dissertation is to investigate the factors that increase risk for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in Latinos. Although the overall rates of psychiatric disorders in the Latino community are similar to Caucasian Americans, the risk for PTSD among Latinos is higher. This thesis discusses the general components of trauma and stress, as well as the prevalence of PTSD in various Latino subgroups. This thesis also covers a number of cultural-specific values, stressors, and help-seeking attitudes that increase the risk of PTSD among Latinos. Moreover, a culturally-responsive intervention program treating PTSD among Latinas who are victims of intimate …

Electric Municipalization In The City Of Boulder: Successful Greening Or Path To Bankruptcy?, Kathryn C. Browning

CMC Senior Theses

Climate change will result in variable – but undeniably severe – changes to our natural world. These changes will lead to extreme human and ecosystem consequences if climate change is not mitigated effectively, efficiently, and rapidly. Increasing the use of renewable energies around the world is seen as one of the most effective and promising mitigation strategies. Several communities around the United States have recently denounced publicly their electrical utilities for their failure to offer the choice to increase the percentage of energy that comes from renewable sources. A growing number are taking action to work with – or sometimes …

Portfolio Company Selection Criteria: Accelerators Vs Venture Capitalists, Cody Chang

CMC Senior Theses

The explosive growth of ‘accelerators’ in the United States has given entrepreneurs and their startups the opportunity to pursue seed-stage financing. While the specific economic role of accelerators remains unclear, a study comparing the selection of portfolio companies between accelerators and venture capitalists was performed. A difference of means was performed on the responses per question between the collected 19 accelerators’ response and the 100 venture capitalists’ response, recorded from a prior study. It is found that venture capitalists place significantly more weight, than accelerators, on the potential of the startup’s product or service to be proprietary, to enter a …

The Price Discounts Of Chinese Cross-Listed Companies And Their Variation Across Sectors, Tom Guo

CMC Senior Theses

This study builds on the paper by Arquette, Brown, and Burdekin (2008) and asks whether the factors which they find to be significant in influencing the differential between the share prices of Chinese securities traded on their home market in Shanghai versus share prices observed offshore in Hong Kong and New York have varying degrees of influence when compared across industries. This paper focuses on Chinese companies listed on both the Shanghai and Hong Kong Stock Exchanges and finds that the proxy variables of expected exchange rate change, relative market sentiment, and relative company sentiment are significant in determining the …

Organized Crime Violence In Mexico, John E. Oliphant

CMC Senior Theses

The following thesis outlines the current social and political situation surrounding organized crime violence in Mexico. Using Samuel P. Huntington’s Political Order in Changing Societies and regression analysis, the purpose is to highlight the lack of subnational data within Mexico. Political science and economic theories guide the reader to better understanding what types of policy change or reform may need to occur in Mexico’s future years.

The Relationship Between Comprehensive Budgeting And Party Polarization In The U.S. Congress, Anna Eames

CMC Senior Theses

The Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 made the production of an annual comprehensive budgetary framework the central focus of the federal budget process. Before 1974, the budget process had allowed legislation from each of the revenue committees and each of the appropriations subcommittees to come to the floor separately. Congress judged the merits of individual programs without considering the overall budget. The 1974 budget act changed the organizational ethos of the budget process from incremental change to comprehensive review and from fragmented, ad hoc decision making to coordinated decision making. It helped sort members into ideologically homogenous …

Conditional Cash Transfers And Child Health: The Case Of Malawi, Ryan F. Boone

CMC Senior Theses

This paper analyzes the impacts of the Malawi Social Cash Transfer Scheme. The goal of this paper is to help improve the design of cash transfers. First of all, I analyze whether the cash transfer positively affects child health variables despite occurring in a region with poor supply side health institutions. I find significant results for many child level variables, such as frequency of illnesses, but insignificant improvements in anthropometric measurements. Secondly, I examine whether female-headed households invest more in child health than male-headed households. The results show that the impacts of the cash transfer did not depend on the …

Grand Strategy In U.S. Foreign Policy: The Carter, Bush, And Obama Doctrines, Sara M. Birkenthal

CMC Senior Theses

This paper seeks to determine under what conditions a U.S. president can implement a grand strategy given the nature of domestic and international opportunities and constraints. It will examine three comparative case studies: Jimmy Carter, George W. Bush, and Barack Obama, with the goal of determining what conditions are necessary at the individual, domestic, and systemic levels of analysis for grand strategy implementation. At the individual level, it will apply operational code analysis, as well as an examination of personal characteristics for each case study. At the domestic level, it will apply a five-prong test for examining factors that are …

An Empirical Analysis Of Differences In Environmental Transparency Across Firms, Sean Robert Smith

CMC Senior Theses

In recent years, many firms have voluntarily taken actions to gradually increase the transparency of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts. Using data on a sample of U.S. firms, this paper empirically examines the factors that encourage firms to choose different levels of CSR transparency. This adds to the previous literature that has focused only on the binary decision to engage or not to engage in CSR, as opposed to the extent and comprehensiveness of voluntary CSR reporting. Environmental transparency data are collected from the Roberts Environmental Center (REC) at Claremont McKenna College, while data for firm characteristics and toxic …

Una Propuesta De Planificación Para Afrontar Los Efectos Del Cambio Climático En El Sector Agrícola De Jalisco, México, Isabelle A. Heilman

CMC Senior Theses

Jalisco es un estado altamente vulnerable a los efectos del cambio climático. El estado es vulnerable a sequías en el norte e inundaciones en las costas. Jalisco también es un estado con un sector agrícola de alta producción. Los efectos del cambio climático ponen en riesgo esta producción agrícola, que en turno tendría efectos negativos en las familias agrícolas y la economía del estado. A través de varias estrategias de adaptación al nivel del agricultor y del gobierno, se puede crear un sector agrícola con posibilidades para afrontar los efectos del cambio climático con éxito. Para crear estas estrategias de …

Understanding How Deciding And Relationship Confidence Predict Relationship Satisfaction, Elise M. Yoshida

CMC Senior Theses

This study examines how gender, deciding, and relationship confidence predict romantic relationship satisfaction using the Relationship Deciding Scale (Vennum & Fincham, 2011). Deciding refers to the thoughtfulness regarding the decisions made in and about relationships. Relationship confidence is the confidence a person has toward their ability to maintain a healthy relationship and handle conflicts in the relationship. Using an online survey, participants (age range: 18-22 years) answered questions about relationship confidence, deciding, and relationship satisfaction. They rated relationship satisfaction using their most recent relationship, so single people were included in the study. Multiple regression determined that deciding and relationship confidence …

Fossil Fuel Subsidies: Impacts And Reform Strategies, Jennifer E. Good

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis uses cross-country panel regressions to identify the effects of fossil-fuel subsidies for both oil importers and oil exporters on GDP growth, industry growth, crowding out of government expenditures in education, health, and infrastructure, government debt, carbon dioxide emissions, inequality and poverty. Fossil-fuel subsidies are found to be associated with lower levels of growth and industry growth, less government expenditure on health and education, poorer infrastructure quality, more government debt, and higher rates of carbon dioxide emissions. No relationship is found between fossil fuel subsidies and poverty and inequality. These results confirm the arguments of those that argue that …

Social Piracy In Colonial And Contemporary Southeast Asia, Miles T. Bird

CMC Senior Theses

According to the firsthand account of James Brooke, Rajah of Sarawak, it appears that piracy in the state of British Malaya in the mid-1800s was community-driven and egalitarian, led by the interests of heroic figures like the Malayan pirate Si Rahman. These heroic figures share traits with Eric Hobsbawm’s social bandit, and in this case may be ascribed as social pirates. In contrast, late 20^th-century and early 21^st-century pirates in the region operate in loosely structured, hierarchical groups beholden to transnational criminal syndicates. Evidence suggests that contemporary pirates do not form the egalitarian communities of their …

Introducing The Stability Theory In Alliance Politics: The Us, Japan, And South Korea, Rachel Cone

CMC Senior Theses

Analyzing the current state of the United States' alliances with both Japan and South Korea underscores the failure of the traditional alliance theory concepts, realism, liberalism, and constructivism, to adequately describe their continuation. Introducing a concept termed the stability theory to alliance theory explains the current trajectories of the US-Japan and US-South Korea alliances. Stability theory is an extension of the conception of the three aforementioned theories and hedging, and is based in part upon the inherent inertia resisting change, in a long-standing alliance. In setting the stage for the introduction of stability theory, the past, present, and future of …

Googling To Forget: The Cognitive Processing Of Internet Search, Elizabeth T. Friede

CMC Senior Theses

Technology is currently extremely integrated with everyday life. Popular media has made bold claims that the internet is making us “dumber” and people struggle to remember information more now than they ever have in the past. Scientific research on the effect of internet search on cognition and memory is still in its infancy. This research will analyze the literature and theories discussing memory and the internet. Based on an original experiment by Sparrow, Liu, and Wegner. 20 participants (10 young adults and 10 older adults) performed a typing task with twenty trivia statements, followed by a recall and recognition memory …