Economics Commons^™

Quick Facts About South Omaha, Office Of Latino/Latin American Studies (Ollas)

Latino/Latin American Studies Other Publications

Quick facts about South Omaha, produced by OLLAS for the Midwest Sociological Society (MSS) Annual Meetings, which took place at the Hilton Omaha, Thursday, April 3 - Saturday, April 5. The MSS hosted a tour of South Omaha on Saturday, April 5 from 9:30-11:00am.

The Story We Find Ourselves In: Nurturing Christian Identity In A Consumer Culture, Terri L. Elton

Faculty Publications

Consumerism has become society’s prevailing story, the story in which young people cultivate their identity. If ministry leaders are to help young people nurture their identity as children of God and help them discover a faith that speaks into the current culture, it will be important to help them shift from viewing themselves as objects within a consumer society to seeing themselves as subjects and agents of God’s love.

The Post-Industrial And The Urban Village: A Study Of Land And Space In Beijing’S Caochangdi Art District, Ke Li

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Arts districts have traditionally been associated with industrial areas that have been reconstructed to fit post-industrial economies. From Tate Modern in the U.K. to 798 in Beijing, abandoned factories have been refitted into cultural clusters. Yet, there is a research gap when concerning arts district in less traditional spaces. This study examines how this framework applies in Beijing’s Caochangdi art district, aiming to understand how place-specific factors influence the development of an arts district and what Western gentrification theory looks like in a Chinese light. During the month of May 2014, I conducted twenty interviews, including nine with members of …

Credit Card System In Ghana: An Investigation Of Why Credit Cardsare Not Widely Used In Ghana And How Widespread Use May Be Implemented, Emmanuel Andoh

Masters Theses

Credit card systems offer economic advantages to many families and individuals across the globe. In economically developed countries and most emerging ones, the credit card system helps individuals, businesses, and even government agencies, speed up business transactions and access to short term loans. However in developing countries such as Ghana this is not the case. The result is that many people find it very difficult to buy goods and services without having cash at hand. Moreover a vast majority of people have to carry bags of money to travel across cities, towns and villages in the country to trade and …

The Hong Kong-Zhu Hai-Macau Bridge: Impacts On The Greater Pearl River Delta, Jun He

Open Access Theses

This research looks at the impacts of megaprojects on their host regions through a case study of the Hong Kong-Zhu Hai-Macau Bridge (HZMB). The purpose of this study is to analyze the potential economic impact of the HZMB on the region through existing data and stakeholder interviews. The research will specifically focus on megaprojects' impacts on tourism industry and economic development in general. The research results are aimed to address the four research objectives of the study, which are similarities and differences between the HZBM and other megaprojects, common issues involved in developing megaprojects, the future impacts of the HZMB …

Economic Voting, Sociotropic Vs. Checkbook: Cases From Greece And Germany, Matthew Coen-Tuff

Political Science Theses and Capstones

Economic voting, the theory that when the economy is good the party in control gains support and when the economy is bad the party in power suffers. This is a simplistic definition and economic voting is so much more. In this paper I seek to prove how economic voting can be broken down into two categories, sociotropic and checkbook. I do this by looking at two countries in very different situation. Greece is a country going through economic turmoil and is constantly changing which party is in control of the government. It has been suffering especially hard from a debt …

Economic Underpinning Of Renaissance Italian Art, Katherine Jacobson

Undergraduate Research Symposium 2014

In 1902, art historian, Aby Warburg, asserted that in Renaissance Italy, "works of art owed their making to the mutual understanding between patrons and artists. The works were, from the outset, the results of a negotiation between client and executant". This research seeks to examine patronage relationships in the context of politically fragmented Renaissance Italy to further our understanding of art's ability to promote political, ideological, or religious agendas. By referencing renowned works of art from the Italian Renaissance, I attempt to identify the significance of using culture and art as a rhetorical tool, rather than other more direct avenues, …

The World Of Goods In Pre-Revolutionary Virginia, Ronald C. Merritt Jr.

History Theses & Dissertations

This paper will study the effects that the expansion of consumerism and nonimportation had in the colony of Virginia. It will analyze the validity of the arguments made by T. H. Breen's The Marketplace of Revolution. Breen's first contention was that a world of goods had been formed in the American colonies and that this consumer culture helped unite the colonists. This second contention was that the non-importation and non-consumption associations were successful in unifying the colonies and quelling opposition to the Continental cause.

Evidence of the growth of consumerism in mid-eighteenth century America will be analyzed and a …

El Mundo Del Tejido: Concepciones De Identidad Femenina Y Roles De Genero En Chinchero, Cusco, Perú, Jamie Wollum

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Esta investigación, usando una estrategia feminista que enfoque en facetas sociales y económicas de la sociedad Peruana, identifica y analiza las maneras en que el tejido afecta la identidad femenina y los roles de género en la comunidad del pueblo Chinchero del Cusco, Perú. 1 En adelante lo mencionaré como ISP. J.Wollum 4 Los fines del estudio tratan de establecer una manera en que podemos desafiar el estado subordinado de la mujer con un análisis de su identidad. Examina las mujeres involucradas en la producción, venta, y compra de los tejidos en este pueblo como actores elementales en la construcción …

Putting A Human Face On The Minimum Wage, Christopher R. Fee

English Faculty Publications

What is a “livable wage,” and should we strive to raise wages for American workers?

There are lots of conflicting studies and reports. The Congressional Budget Office projects that an increase in the minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $10.10 an hour would eliminate 500,000 jobs while raising the incomes of nearly 17 million Americans.

Even prominent economists like David Card and David Neumark diametrically disagree on the likely consequences of raising the minimum wage, and their studies of results in New Jersey have consistently yielded conflicting results for decades. [excerpt]

Conservative Evolution, Sustainability, And Culture, Gábor Náray-Szabó

CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture

In his article "Conservative Evolution, Sustainability, and Culture" Gábor Náray-Szabó argues that evolution is conservative in the sense that throughout the history of the universe old constructs like elementary particles, amino acids, and living cells remained conserved while the world evolved/evolves in complexity. A similar process can be observed in cultural evolution as components of society and culture continue to evolve. Considering the increasing pressure on natural resources by material consumption, a close alliance between past, present, and future generations is unavoidable and thus Náray-Szabó posits that concepts of conservative evolution and sustainability are related. However, in order to avoid …

The Efficacy Of Mathematics Education, Eric Geimer

The Transdisciplinary STEAM+ Journal

Evidence supports the notion that mathematics education in the United States is inadequate. There is also evidence that mathematics education deficiencies extend internationally. The worldwide mathematics education deficit appears large enough that improving student performance in this educational problem area could yield great economic benefit. To improve the efficacy of mathematics education, education’s root problems must first be understood. Often supposed educational root problems are considered and contrasted against potential deficiencies of mathematics methodologies and curricula that are based on mainstream educational philosophies. The educational philosophies utilized to form early-grade mathematics methodologies and related curricula are judged to be the …

Thomas Pinckney, Agent At Virginia, Tennessee And Georgia Air Line (Railroad), Inquires With W.G. Macdowell, Treasurer Of N.& W. Railroad (Norfolk & Western?), As To The Status Of A Claim Made By Shippers Compress Co., Thomas Pinckney

Broadus R. Littlejohn, Jr. Manuscript and Ephemera Collection

Thomas Pinckney, agent at Virginia, Tennessee and Georgia Air Line (railroad), inquires with W.G. Macdowell, treasurer of N.& W. Railroad (Norfolk & Western?), as to whether or not a claim of $1690.33 made by Shippers Compress Company has been paid to N. & W. October 25, 1887.

Quick Facts On Inequality, Office Of Latino/Latin American Studies (Ollas), Lourdes Gouveia

Latino/Latin American Studies Other Publications

Data about inequality and Latinos in Nebraska. This information was presented by Dr. Lourdes Gouveia, OLLAS Director and Professor of Sociology, at a special screening of the film Inequality for All on February 6, 2014.

Feisty Kids On The Conservative Block: How Business Mobilized Against Organized Labor In The Seventies, Ryan Eustace

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

No abstract provided.

Finance And Empire: 'Gentlemanly Capitalism' In Britain's Occupation Of Egypt, Jared Paul Iacolucci

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Toward the beginning of the nineteenth century, Egypt was being led by Mehmed Ali, a reformer eager to build his own dynastic state separate from the Ottoman Empire. Despite his achievements, by the end of the nineteenth century Egypt had been occupied by Great Britain for nearly two decades. This paper will examine the developments in Egypt and Great Britain that drew the two together, with particular emphasis on the growth and expansion of international finance into foreign government lending. As finance became an increasingly profitable career in Britain, financiers entered the gentlemanly class and socialized with the political elite. …

For Right And Might: The Militarization Of The Cold War And The Remaking Of American Democracy, Michael Brenes

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation examines how Cold War defense spending shaped the evolution of American political culture and public policy from the 1940s until the 1990s. It argues that the Cold War economy contributed to the realignment of American politics in the postwar era. The fight against global communism abroad altered the structure, purpose, and public perception of the federal government following World War II, but also subsidized corporations, suburban communities, and individuals affected by defense spending. The militarization of the Cold War therefore created various dependents of America's military and defense apparatus that continuously pressed for more defense spending during the …

Game Theory Meets The Humanities And Both Win Or Book Review: Game Theory And The Humanities: Bridging Two Worlds, By Steven J. Brams, Karl-Dieter Crisman

Journal of Humanistic Mathematics

This review discusses Brams' wide-ranging book Game Theory and the Humanities and gives some basic examples of the methodology and style, including how the Theory of Moves contributes to understanding such games.

Dialogues With The Informal City: Latin America And The Caribbean, Ariel C. Armony, Adib Cure, Carie Penabad

Center for Latin American Studies Publications

This publication, based on the symposium Dialogues with the Informal City: Latin America and the Caribbean, connects a range of fundamental themes affecting the current conditions and future of Latin America’s growing informal cities and, by extension, the rising global urban population. Informal cities can be described as settlements frequently characterized by organic physical patterns built incrementally over time as the needs and circumstances of a community change. While undeniably precarious in construction, informal cities exhibit underlying urban and architectural patterns of remarkable resilience; moreover, they reflect their inhabitants’ enduring cultural values. While seriously affected by poverty and violence, …

Money, Religion, And Tyranny: God And The Demonic In Luther's Antifragile Theology, Guillermo C. Hansen

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Creating Knowledge, Volume 7, 2014

Creating Knowledge

Dear Students, Faculty Colleagues and Friends, It is my great pleasure to introduce the seventh volume of the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences’ Creating Knowledge—our undergraduate student scholarship and research journal. First published in 2008, the journal is the outcome of an initiative to enhance and enrich the academic quality of the student experience within the college. Through this publication, the college seeks to encourage students to become actively engaged in creating scholarship and research and gives them a venue for the publication of their essays.

Beginning with the sixth volume of the journal, we instituted a major …

The Globalization Of Human Rights In Post-Genocide Rwanda, Sadara Shine

Bridges: A Journal of Student Research

In the past two decades, Rwanda has been through major changes, from a conflict-ridden society with deep divisions between the two main ethnic groups–Hutus and Tutsis–to a case of impressive economic growth. Despite the progress, deep divisions and human rights issues exist. To avoid the recurrence of any conflict, both state and non-state actors are playing varied roles in a post-genocide Rwanda. Based on both primary and secondary sources, this article argues that in an era of globalization and postgenocide in Rwanda, non-state actors like international non-governmental organizations have the most impact in the preservation of human rights. So, in …

Shibusawa Eiichi, Dai Ichi Bank, And The Spirit Of Japanese Capitalism, 1860-1930, John Sagers

Faculty Publications

Shibusawa Eiichi (1840-1931) has been called the “father of Japanese capitalism” and was associated with nearly five hundred business enterprises in his lifetime. From his main position as head of Dai Ichi Bank, Shibusawa was a strong advocate for business interests when the Japanese government was generally preoccupied with military concerns. He also consistently argued that business leaders should look to Confucian principle for moral guidance if they were to maintain the public's trust. Through an analysis of Shibusawa's public statements and his legacy in subsequent historical scholarship, particularly Dai Ichi Bank's 1957 official company history, we see that appeals …

Differences Between The Early Stages Of The Unemployment Rates: The Great Recession Vs. The Great Depression, Lall Ramrattan, Michael Szenberg

Lander College of Arts and Sciences Publications and Research

We test for differences between the Great Recession and the Great Depression in the US, using unemployment rates. The test used is ANOVA. The hypothesis advanced is that the early phases of the recession and depression are non-different. At first we reject the hypothesis. But by incorporating government involvement for the two periods, we obtain moderate arguments for the acceptance of the hypothesis. The paper starts out with background ideas of the two periods, then proceeds to the testing based on actual data, deviation of actual from normal or NAIRU rates, and adjusted data for government capital injection and subsidies.

Social Hierarchies And The Formation Of Customary Property Law In Pre-Industrial China And England, Taisu Zhang

Faculty Scholarship

Comparative lawyers and economists have often assumed that traditional Chinese laws and customs reinforced the economic and political dominance of elites and, therefore, were unusually “despotic” towards the poor. Such assumptions are highly questionable: Quite the opposite, one of the most striking characteristics of Qing and Republican property institutions is that they often gave significantly greater economic protection to the poorer segments of society than comparable institutions in early modern England. In particular, Chinese property customs afforded much stronger powers of redemption to landowners who had pawned their land. In both societies, land-pawning occurred far more frequently among poorer households …

Historical Overview, Maksim Storchevoi, Jeffrey K. Hass

Sociology and Anthropology Faculty Publications

The goal of this chapter is to discuss key values and archetypes of Russian culture that have developed over several centuries of Russian history. This fundamental introduction is important because these values and archetypes have successfully manifested themselves through various institutions of the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union and post-Soviet Russia. What are they and what are their roots? Answers to these questions can help us better understand Russian economic and business culture that shapes the behaviour of entrepreneurs, investors and employees in the current economy, and also political and legal traditions that play enormous roles in establishing and running …

Household Economies : The Production And Consumption Of Plumbate At Miguel AlemáN, The Conquista Campesina Complex And The PiñUela Complex, Marx Navarro-Castillo

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

The Soconusco region of Chiapas, Mexico, where the sites of Miguel Alemán, the Conquista Campesina Complex (Conq-18) and the Piñuela Complex (PIN) are located, has been an object of study by archaeologists since the beginning of the nineteenth century. My project focused at this locale is concerned with craft production as related to the organization and the development of hierarchical social relations and how this relationship is reflected through diverse indexes. Although Plumbate ceramics are my principal source of information, I studied other ceramic types as well.

Democracy, Political Externalities & The Labour-Process, Nicholas Alan Partyka

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

My dissertation focuses on elaborating a problem for democratic political institutions posed by an externality of the capitalist labour-process, particularly for more participatory conceptions of democracy and democratic citizenship. I argue that the labour-process under capitalism causes a transformation in the skill-level and personality of worker-citizens. In the main, the direction of this transformation is towards workers who lack important deliberative skills enabling them to effectively participate in democratic politics. If one is committed to democracy as a means of collective self-government, then this negative transformation, or deformation, should be troubling. If the labour-process under capitalism deprives workers of the …

The Evolutionary Fitness Of Personality Traits In A Small-Scale Subsistence Society, Michael Gurven, Christopher Von Rueden, Jonathan Stieglitz, Hillard Kaplan, Daniel Eid Rodriguez

ESI Publications

"Personality, or “behavioral syndromes”, are relatively stable dispositional traits and behaviors that have now been identified in a myriad of social species (Gosling, 2001; Sih et al., 2004), and with clear consequences on fitness (Smith & Blumstein, 2008). The canalization of personality during development and relative stability thereafter, despite varying circumstances over the life course that might otherwise favor greater plasticity, is an important problem attracting much theoretical and empirical attention (Dall et al., 2004; Dingemanse et al., 2010). Further, personality is highly heritable, yet how heritable genetic variation in personality traits is maintained over generations remains another conundrum (Buss …

[Introduction To] Universal Rights And The Constitution, Stephen A. Simon

Bookshelf

Are constitutional rights based exclusively in uniquely American considerations, or are they based at least in part on principles that transcend the boundaries of any particular country, such as the requirements of freedom or dignity? By viewing constitutional law through the prism of this fundamental question, Universal Rights and the Constitution exposes an overlooked difficulty with opinions rendered by the Supreme Court, namely, an inherent ambiguity about the kinds of arguments that count in constitutional interpretation, which weakens the foundations of our most cherished rights.

Rejecting current debates over constitutional interpretation as flawed, Stephen A. Simon offers an innovative framework …