Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Leader Self-Awareness: Inception, Progress And Future, Frankie Rayis

CMC Senior Theses

This paper examines the theoretical and empirical literature on the field of leader self-awareness, in an effort to provide an overarching review of the inception, development, and potential future of the theory. The concept’s origins of managerial self-awareness (MSA) and self-other agreement (SOA) are considered, as is the progress of leader-self awareness through a variety of updated metrics. Relationships with organizational outcomes and the ability to develop leader self-awareness in individuals are investigated, and the paper concludes with my assessment of the theory in a discussion of the field’s limitations and recommendations for future research, hopefully providing direction that will …

What Is The Effect Of Social Capital On Community Resiliency Against Social Decay?, James Dail

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis builds off of the work of Robert Putnam and Charles Murray by using a fixed effects regression model and a first difference regression model to see if there is a relationship between the number of community institutions within a county and that county’s resiliency against social decay. Historically, it has been difficult to determine if there is a causal relationship in either direction between these variables because they are endogenous. That is, the underlying factors that determine whether a county will have low levels of social capital also determine whether the same county will have high levels of …

Air Pollution’S Effect On The Labor Force At The State Level, Benjamin Culberson

CMC Senior Theses

The health effects of air pollution are well established, ranging from increased rates of cancer to cardiovascular disease. Furthermore, a growing body of literature shows that air pollution has a tangible, negative impact on the labor force. However, in their efforts to avoid the endogeneity of air pollution and labor production, the current literature focuses on specific industries at a local level. The objective of this thesis is to expand this research to a state level by using naturally occurring weather events called air stagnations as a proxy for air pollution. These air stagnations correlate with increased levels of air …

The Streaming Wars: The Future Of Entertainment, Alexander D. Kenworthy

CMC Senior Theses

The Streaming Wars are the competition between Over-The-Top online streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, and HBO Max. This paper seeks to analyze the market through a literature review of factors which will influence in the market as well as an empirical analysis on the relationship between Netflix and the cable industry over time and how that relationship has changed. I find that Netflix’s revenue growth has had a negative impact on the cable industry’s revenue growth, but that relationship has diminished over time. I interpret this as a new market emerging for streaming services where multihoming will play …

Observing The Effects Of Antimalarial Drug Availability On Women’S Work Absenteeism, Rei Imada

CMC Senior Theses

This study aims to provide insight on how availability of antimalarial drugs can help alleviate the economic burden of malaria. Much of the existing literature that looks into the effects of antimalarial drug availability focuses on the associated health benefits, but fails to draw a link to the economic benefits that may also be incurred. Using data from the 2015-2016 Tanzania Demographic and Health Survey and Malaria Indicator Survey, this study performs a series of multiple regressions to observe how increased availability of artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs), a front-line antimalarial drug in most African countries, affects likelihood of work absenteeism …

Formal Savings Uptake As A Catalyst For Remittances In Sub-Saharan Africa, Jordan Kouassi

CMC Senior Theses

This paper explores the effects of savings account ownership on remittances and payment services in Sub-Saharan Africa through the lens of a field experiment executed in Central Malawi. Remittances are a major form of financial support for SSA and Sub-Saharan Africans. Through the use of a cross section analysis I find a positive significant relationship between account ownership and the likelihood to send and receive a remittance. Specifically, I find account ownership can increase the likelihood of sending a remittance by 8.75 times and increase the likelihood of receiving a remittance by 10.18 times.

Escaping The Snowstorm: Legal Rights And Economics In The Developing World, Zane Tolchinsky

CMC Senior Theses

In this thesis, I seek to provide a framework for developing nations making policy-decisions about legal rights, as in the realm of Rawlsian ideal theory, prescriptions for governments not living in conditions of moderate scarcity is lacking. I first springboard off Stephen Holmes and Cass R. Sunstein’s conclusion that “all legal rights are positive,” from their book, The Cost of Rights, to argue for the value of considering the economic implications of rights protections. I then propose that Holmes and Sunstein’s conclusion means that we can think of legal rights as goods to be purchased by governments. Next, I …

The Necessity For Sustainable Development In Indonesia: A Governmental Analysis And Carbon Neutral Coliving Recommendation, Michael Wirth

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis explores two distinct topics: first, Indonesia’s current emissions and implementation of sustainability practices; second, the current state of coliving spaces and a proposal of a sustainable space in Indonesia,. The two topics are connected by the fact that the implementation of sustainability practices within Indonesia are necessary from more than just an environmental standpoint, but also from the economic and governmental perspectives.

We exemplify the necessity for sustainable transition within the country through three critical points: first, we show that Indonesia’s exceptional tourist growth is highly dependent on sustaining the natural wonders within the country; second, current coal …

Optimal Execution In Cryptocurrency Markets, Ethan Kurz

CMC Senior Theses

The purpose of this paper is to study the Almgren and Chriss model on the optimal execution of large block orders both on the NYSE and in cryptocurrency exchanges. Their model minimizes execution costs, which include linear temporary and permanent price impacts. We focus on how the stock market microstructure differs from a cryptocurrency exchange microstructure and what that means for how the model functions. Once the model and microstructures are explained, we examine how the Almgren-Chriss model functions with stocks from the NYSE, looking at specifically selling a large number of shares. We then investigate how a large "wholesale" …

The Impact Of Production Budgets On Theatrical Vs. Non-Theatrical Revenues In The Movie Industry, Naveen Shastri

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis discusses the impact of movie production budgets on various revenue ratios. An OLS regression equation was created that compares the production budget of a movie to one of three movie revenue ratios. These ratios can be attributed to the relative elasticities of each revenue metric (domestic DVD sales, domestic box office revenues, and foreign box office revenues). Among other results, it seems that the elasticity for domestic DVD sales was relatively greater than the one representing domestic box office revenues. Also, foreign box office elasticities were relatively larger than either domestic revenue variable. These results imply different trends …

Children’S Development And Crisis: Comparing Developmental Best Practices Against Aid Program Curricula, Martha Baker

CMC Senior Theses

Using the monitoring, evaluation and learning for adaptive management model (MEL4AM), this paper examines how international organizations translate productive criteria for early childhood development (ECD) into emergency response programming for children. Early childhood is a crucial developmental time in individual’s lives and adverse experiences undermine, among other things, language development, self-regulatory capabilities, and child-caregiver interactions. International aid organizations are operationalizing the research on ECD best practices into site-level programming. This thesis examines whether the developmental needs of these children in crisis are being met through these efforts and offers two in-depth case studies: Sesame Workshop’s intervention for Syrian refugee children …

The Erosion Of Press Freedom: An Examination Of Hong Kong’S Book Publishing And Journalism Industries Post-Handover, Salonee Goel

CMC Senior Theses

Hong Kong was once touted for the openness of its press and its vibrant independent publishing scene. Now, seemingly reputable news organizations, such as the South China Morning Post, are undergoing editorial shifts and engaging in self-censorship while independent book publishers are being replaced by Chinese state-owned companies. These changes are a result of years of direct and indirect pressure on these industries by the Chinese government, which began even before the 1997 handover. In the past decade, these tactics have become more overt and their effects on the city’s news organizations and book publishers are increasingly visible. Through interviews …

Republicanism’S Globalist Problem: How The Inevitability Of International Engagement Undermines States’ Capacity For Self-Governance, Andrew R. Ciacci

CMC Senior Theses

This thesis examines the difficulties philosophical theories have in adapting to international issues. This work primarily focuses on the philosophical theory of government known as “Republicanism”. According to republicanism, the government’s overarching goal is to promote freedom, which republicans understand as the ability to pursue choices without being under the arbitrary power of others. After establishing its merits, I lay out the core principles of republicanism as are most clearly articulated in Phillip Pettit’s work, Republicanism: A Theory of Freedom and Government. The second chapter then examines how Pettit applies his own view to analyze the state of Republican freedom …

The Road To Human Emancipation - The Moral And Political Foundations Of Markets, William Shi

CMC Senior Theses

The thesis aims to provide both a real public ideology and the legal and socioeconomic structures to realize Karl Marx’s ideal of human emancipation. Marx argues that in capitalist society, the legal and political superstructure forces the ruling class to represent its interest as the public interest, which legitimizes the massive inequality in resources and social power. To demonstrate how to realize the substantive public interest, the two parts of the thesis have two goals. The first part aims to formulate a rightful candidate to the public ideology of human emancipation, which represents the substantive public interest rather than the …

Investigating The Municipal Nudge Unit: How Behavioral Interventions Have Quietly Emerged And Made Their Mark On American Cities, Melanie Wolfe

CMC Senior Theses

Since Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein published Nudge in 2008, policy makers and behavioral economists have applied their theory of behavioral interventions in offices called nudge units across the world. In the U.S., three models of operating nudge units have emerged in cities, and their work helps generate revenue and improve the welfare of citizens. However, the limited media attention and academic analysis dedicated to municipal nudge units has left many unresolved questions about the ethical implications and empirical challenges associated with government-sponsored behavioral interventions. Analyzing the behavioral design teams in New York City, Chicago, and Philadelphia reveals a lack …

Healthy And Unhealthy Responses To American Democratic Institutional Failure, Thomas D'Anieri

CMC Senior Theses

I have set out on the hunch that politics in America “feels different,” that we are frustrated both with our institutions as well as with one another. First, I will seek to empirically verify this claim beyond mere “feelings.” If it can be shown that these kinds of discontent genuinely exist to the extent that I believe they do, I will then explain why people feel this way and why things are different this time from the economic, political, and social points of view. Next, I will examine two potential responses, what I will call the populist and the institutional …

@Usa Vs. @Realdonaldtrump: The Decline Of Democracy In 280 Characters Or Less, Bryn Edwards

CMC Senior Theses

From threats, to hate speech, to potential criminal statements, Donald Trump has made use of Twitter like no president or world leader before him. His presidency and communication strategy have been defined by his “tweetstorms” and a consequent slew of legal issues. The prolific rate of his tweeting has made large-scale analyses difficult as they quickly become dated.

Nevertheless, this thesis has aimed for a more holistic analysis by uniquely linking trends in his tweeting to its perceived social consequences, situating this work in a long line of analyses of presidential rhetoric and media strategies. Moreover, it assesses Trump’s use …

K-Means Stock Clustering Analysis Based On Historical Price Movements And Financial Ratios, Shu Bin

CMC Senior Theses

The 2015 article Creating Diversified Portfolios Using Cluster Analysis proposes an algorithm that uses the Sharpe ratio and results from K-means clustering conducted on companies' historical financial ratios to generate stock market portfolios. This project seeks to evaluate the performance of the portfolio-building algorithm during the beginning period of the COVID-19 recession. S&P 500 companies' historical stock price movement and their historical return on assets and asset turnover ratios are used as dissimilarity metrics for K-means clustering. After clustering, stock with the highest Sharpe ratio from each cluster is picked to become a part of the portfolio. The economic and …

Policies And Politics Of Reform : The Governmentality Of Structural Adjustment In Urban And Rural Egypt, Gabriel Gluskin-Braun

CMC Senior Theses

This analysis explores the unique and tumultuous approach to reform in Egypt and addresses

the effects of the implementation of neoliberal policy tools. These tools included privatization, price

liberalization, deregulation, and land reform in both urban and rural areas. Based on these effects, this

analysis will argue that the benefits accrued by the political-economic elite created opportunities for

new patronage networks that upheld elite economic privilege through the process of liberalization

while a wide swath of Egyptians suffered the loss of limited privileges and protections from the state

established by Nasr and upheld by his successors. Consequently, the socialist-statist ‘social …

Nearly Halfway There: The Future Of Hong Kong, China, And One Country Two Systems, Lery Hiciano

CMC Senior Theses

The 2019 Hong Kong Protests mark a critical juncture in the history of Hong Kong. Although they started due to an extradition bill, the demonstrations are deeply rooted in larger concerns regarding Hong Kong’s place within China and its future. The global responses to the protest, from Beijing to London, reveal a complex web of relationships and interests. As the Chinese Communist Party continues to expand its global footprint, the bridge between domestic and international concerns will widen. Ultimately, that makes the Hong Kong situation a balancing act, one that observers can use as a litmus test for the Chinese …

Moral Hazards And Negative Externalities Of Lifesaving Programs: How Naloxone Access Laws And Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs Affect Hiv Transmission, Jeremy Horn

CMC Senior Theses

This paper looks at naloxone access laws and prescription drug monitering programs and see how these programs affect HIV transmission and drug overdose deaths. Using an OLS regression I find that NAL reduces HIV and increases overdose deaths. I also find reducing the number of drug prescriptions increase HIV and overdose deaths because users switch to intravenous methods.

Mobilization And Polarization: American Jewish Politics Following The 2016 Election, Jennifer Gurev

CMC Senior Theses

The 2016 election sparked fundamental changes in American politics. From the rise of Donald Trump’s popularity to the growth of progressive protests in response to his election and subsequent policies, this paper explores how fundamental changes stemming from the 2016 election directly impacted American Jewish interest groups and political stances, particularly on the issue of Israel. Prior to the 2016 election, the American Jewish community was growing increasingly divided on Israel primarily due to the disparate experiences between young Jews and that of older generations, as well as increasingly right-wing Israeli politics. However, the election of Trump—and his alignment with …

Leading In Leaderless Teams: Exploring The Effect Of A Skills Mindset On Shared Leadership And Implicit Mental Models, Hayley Giffin

CMC Senior Theses

Employees, students, and individuals are currently expected to perform leadership behaviors more than ever, even when their formal roles do not indicate a leadership position. In this climate, developing transferable leadership skills has become a critical capability. This study explores the effect of maintaining a skills mindset on the display of shared leadership behaviors in leaderless teams. I hypothesize that a skills mindset will lead to more shared leadership behaviors than a roles mindset, that this effect will be explained by increased leadership self-efficacy (LSE) and increased leader identity (LI), and that this effect will be stronger for participants with …

Humanization Is Liberation: ‘Emorational Morality’ In The Mitigation Of Inequitable, Dehumanizing, Domestic Educational Policies, Nirel Jonesmitchell

CMC Senior Theses

Top researchers in the field of critical pedagogy signify that humanization--the process of understanding and connecting with the humanity of another individual—literally liberates the brain from fear. This allows for student creativity and higher-order thinking; without cultural awareness and empathy, researchers claim, educational apartheid will persist. American notions of both teacher and student intelligences as well as ideas of ‘proper’ teacher-student relationships are contextualized by the political philosopher John Locke who delineated a capitalistic political framework based on his interpretation of human motivations: reason and the pursuit of happiness. The corresponding narrow conceptions of intellect, educational success, morality, and emotionality …

Bilingual Versus Monolingual Performance Within Memory Suppression, Santiago David

CMC Senior Theses

Bilingual participants have been argued to have a cognitive inhibitory advantage over monolinguals resulting in a faster ability to inhibit information. However, the advantage has not been studied using the item-method within the Directed Forgetting (DF) paradigm, which is suggested to cause inhibition through remember and forget instructions. As the DF paradigm uses a recall and then recognition task format, the current study also investigated the possibility of retrieval-practice effects of the recall task on recognition. By utilizing the item-method with recall and no-recall conditions, the possible bilingual cognitive advantage, role of inhibition in DF, and potential retrieval-practice effects were …

Industrial Policy For Regional Development In Lithuania, Guoda Terleckaite

CMC Senior Theses

Lithuania is internationally recognized as a high-income developed country, but the high standard of living is limited only to a small minority of citizens. While the capital is emerging as a financial center and a hub for information technology, cities in the Western and Central parts of Lithuania are rapidly declining. Formerly industrial regions, Šiauliai, Panevėžys, Alytus, Utena, Tauragė, Telšiai and Marijampolė, now suffer from massive emigration, brain drain, high unemployment rates, and an increased risk of poverty and social exclusion among residents. Unlike larger cities, poorer counties have not been magnets for foreign direct investment and have benefited little …

The Political Economy Of State Minimum Wage Laws And Legislator Voting Behavior, Sophia Helland

CMC Senior Theses

The Median Voter Theorem is a key concept in political economy, one that has been tested numerous times in the literature. However, it remains unclear the extent to which legislators respond to the needs of their district on a bill-by-bill basis. This paper seeks to understand the role of ideology and of local economic pressures that a state legislator faces when deciding how to vote on minimum wage legislation. Although some papers have examined legislator voting behavior on specific issues, this paper uses state legislatures and minimum wage bills to innovate on this existing literature in two key ways. First, …

“It’S The Procedure, Stupid!”: Amendment Procedures And Their Effects On Constitutional Stability, Joseph Noss

CMC Senior Theses

Constitutions must change. No human can stop time from marching forward, nor the social, economic, cultural, and technological developments associated. As a result, constitutions necessitate mechanisms that allow for their own progress. The amendment procedure of a constitution—the rules that govern what changes can occur—is therefore fundamental to any constitutional system. Importantly, scholars, politicians, and citizens alike fail to take into account the significance of these amendment processes and their effects on the constitutions they govern. While usually treated as a constitutional after-thought, amendment procedures have one of the most pronounced, substantive effects on the permanence of a constitutional order. …

The Noxious Market Of Division 1 College Football, Bryan Carlen

CMC Senior Theses

This paper is made up of four sections. The first will explain Satz’ framework for identifying and treating noxious markets, as well as how it was developed, and the second will make the case for viewing D1 football as a labor market. The second section will lay out who’s involved, what their incentives are, and what they must do to earn these incentives. The third section will then apply Satz’ framework to the market at hand, as well as address a gap in her theory regarding her concept of weak agency. The paper will then conclude with policy guidelines that, …

Desperate For Democracy: A Comparison Between Hong Kong’S 2014 Umbrella Movement And 2019 Antielab Protests, Annette Wong

CMC Senior Theses

Within the last five years, the special administrative region of Hong Kong found itself embroiled in two major anti-government protests that brought the entire city to a standstill. While both the 2014 Umbrella Movement and the 2019 AntiELAB Protests were similar in pro-democracy rhetoric and substantive collective action, the 2019 protests devolved into a much more violent and radical movement than that of 2014. This study investigates the factors that contributed to the differing protest cultures of the Umbrella Movement and the AntiELAB Protests. This study first explores the language of the Joint Declaration and Basic Law, and investigates British …