This paper investigates the hypothesis of rational addiction theory as it pertains to Bulimia Nervosa. Bulimia is currently classified as a mental health disorder, and while psychological studies often allude to the addictive nature of the disorder, it is imperative to reinforce theory with empirical data. A rational addiction model is derived through the maximization of the agent’s utility function, which incorporates measures of bulimia and bulimic risk factors that are supported by the existing literature. The theoretical model was tested on an empirical data set collected from a study conducted by the National Heart Lung and Blood institute. The dependent variable was an index constructed for the purpose of measuring one’s severity of bulimic behaviors and tendencies. Emphasis was placed on the significance of the lagged variable on bulimia as a method of capturing persistence in behavior over time. The results found that lagged and lead variables of the bulimic index each accounted for about 12% - 20% of current bulimic behavior.
The use of business credit has become deeply-rooted within the majority of all business in the United States Economy. Proper accounts receivable management aids in the primary goal of any business, which is to return a profit. If a firm’s accounts receivable management is inefficient, and credit extended is unable to be collected, a bad debt expense is incurred and the company loses money. The necessity for an efficient system of accounts receivable management becomes even more important during recessionary downturns as all firms endure a tightening of capital available within the economy. This thesis will analyze the impact of the recession on accounts receivable, and how firms utilize different collection techniques to avoid bad debt expenses.
This paper analyses the behavior of users of the website Geocaching.com. The study provides an insight on how internet services can relate to hobbies, sports, and leisure. In particular, this research analyzes the consumers’ inclination to become addicted to the type of services offered by the webpage. With the assumptions made in this study, no patterns of addiction to the services offered by Geocaching.com are identified. This research also examines the characteristics of the new market niche created by Groundspeak with the introduction of the website. This innovative business model is now followed by an array of other companies. This work ends with suggestions of successful business strategies for companies entering or already positioned in the market niche.
This study provides an analysis of variables affecting crime from year 2006-2009, in all counties of Colorado. A literature review of relevant studies is included as background on crime issues in Colorado. The study itself uses data collected from The Colorado Department of Education, The Colorado Bureau of Investigation, KIDS COUNT DATA CENTER and The Colorado Bureau of Labor Statistics. An economic model is used to discover the statistical significance among the variables, with the data changing depending on what year or set of years is being examined. The model finds that the Unemployment and Median Family Income variables are the most significant predictors of county crime, and that the other factors, dropout rates and control’s, are less than ideal for fitting the model.
With an economic impact of $9.8 billion in the 2008-09 season alone, Broadway as an industry which should be economically studied. Currently there is a large gap in scholarly literature about Broadway with only three quantitative studies having been performed. This thesis aims to help fill this gap by building off of these three studies to determine which factors influence the success- measured as total days on Broadway from opening to closing night- of a Broadway musical. This thesis focuses specifically on musicals as they have been shown in all three empirical studies to have longer runs and a larger economic impact than Broadway plays. The econometric analysis finds many variables such as a movie version of the musical being released, and winning the Tony for Best Musical- that are predictive of longer run times. Revivals are found to have substantially shorter run times than original runs and over time, musicals are lasting longer.
Previous research has effectively shown how in connection with race, and free-agency, performance statistics have affected the value of the baseball card market. However, examination has not been done on how a player's performance directly relates to their popularity and card value. This study attempts to determine which performance statistics for pitchers and batters significantly affect their rookie card value in the card trading market. The abundance of statistical data from the MLB allows an evaluation through regression based analysis to determine what attributes from Hall of Fame players are determinants. The implications from this research used correctly can aid collectors in determining which cards to invest in.
The efficient market hypothesis fails to fully explain market behavior. Behavioral economics is a new field that contributes insights to stock market analysis. Throughout history there have been many panics and crashes, with the most recent one being the 2008 housing bubble. This thesis seeks to find evidence and explain, through behavioral economic theory, why investors panic and behave irrationally to bad news. It will utilize the asymmetric utility function along with other behavioral economic theory to find evidence through the market reaction to good quarterly earnings reports and bad quarterly earnings reports. This thesis hopes to show that good news and bad news of equal magnitude result in different reactions in the stock market, as measured through share price and trading volume.
This paper investigates whether or not attractiveness plays a role in player salary in the National Hockey League (NHL). In this study equations are constructed with variables that attempt to explain why players make the money they do. Beauty is the variable of interest as it aims to find whether forwards, defensemen, and goalies benefit from being aesthetically pleasing. Studies show attractive people make more money than their less pleasing counterparts but no study proves this bias in professional sports. Results from the regressions are used to make conclusions on determinants of NHL player salary. The results show forwards get paid more for being beautiful, while defensemen get paid less for being attractive. Goaltenders salaries show no sign of correlation with good looks.
The United Nations negotiations on climate change have focused their attention on a set of policies for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+). This paper explores the potential of REDD+ to reduce CO2 emissions and protect tropical biodiversity. The study uses ArcGIS to model forest areas under threat of deforestation in 59 tropical developing countries. A constrained linear optimization model, implemented with linear optimization software, is used to construct a Conservation Possibilities Frontier (CPF). The CPF shows the potential of REDD+ to achieve emission reductions and species conservation under limited budgets. I use linear optimization to construct marginal abatement cost curves under various policy scenarios and estimate the costs of generating biodiversity co-benefits from REDD+. An international mechanism mainly designed to reduce emissions at least cost will provide low conservation benefits. Incorporating provisions for biodiversity co-benefits in the REDD+ framework can protect a high number of rare and threatened forest species at a relatively low cost.
As the composition of the workforce grows to at least fifty percent women, female executives remain the exception to the rule. Facing unique obstacles in advancement, women stagnate as they move up the corporate “ladder.” Companies that lack women in the highest levels lose competitive edge, and as research emerges as to the importance of women in the executive suite, companies explore strategies for retaining and advancing females. Using case study analysis and interviews with female employees to analyze specific organizational strategies at Deloitte and General Mills, this thesis explores best practices and corporate strategies for advancing executive women. Bridging cultural and structural strategies, Deloitte and General Mills are considered two of the top companies for promoting women. These companies build strong business cases, demonstrate a commitment through action over rhetoric, create strong accountability mechanisms, maintain CEO-level advocacy and support, and drive change through continual improvement. Using these companies as models, the thesis elucidates these five themes as well as ten best practices for developing a targeted program for advancing executive women.
Recurring famines and droughts have weakened the Ethiopian agricultural sector since the 1970s. A number of theories addressing food security affirm that hunger and destitution in rural areas are caused by shortages in food supply. This thesis argues that the fragile food security status of Ethiopia is a result of inadequate land management systems. Land tenure policies play a key role in the livelihood stability of rural communities. This study hypothesizes that improvements in land tenure security can create resilient livelihood systems. The Agro-Ecological Zones model developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization serves as a theoretical framework for the research. A multidimensional regression model assesses the impact of the current land registration initiative being pursued by the Ethiopian government on the value of food crops.
Global climate change is quite possibly the most serious challenge that faces us today. Consumers and businesses alike are thinking more seriously about their environmental impact and what they can do to reduce their carbon footprint. One industry uniquely tied to the environment and concerned with its well-being is the ski industry and one way to achieve this reduction is through carbon offsets. Using data collected through a contingent valuation study regarding consumer behavior, this thesis analyzes the factors that affect consumers' willingness to pay (WTP) for carbon offsets in the ski industry. The study finds that age, gender, and climate knowledge are highly influential on WTP, and that the use of tax credits as an incentive provides the greatest increase in consumer WTP.
In 2006, the most extreme housing bubble the United States has ever faced popped, rocking financial industries to their knees. Losses were expected to be contained to the subprime sector but the losses due to defaults were massive as exposure to mortgage default proved to permeate the balance sheets of investors globally. This paper strives to illuminate the causes of how such a catastrophic market came to pass.
The following thesis examines an incumbent firm affected by change. It seeks to deepen the understanding of the dynamic capabilities model by proposing cognition and not previous resource deployment is the limit of change. Two similar companies, Eastman Kodak and Polaroid will be compared during the shift from film to digital photography to determine what separated the two companies.
In the year 2005 the National Basketball Association (NBA) implemented a new policy to its collective bargaining agreement (CBA). This new policy, Article X, said that a player entering the NBA draft must be at least 19 years old and a calendar year has passed since his graduation from high school for him to be eligible to enter the NBA Draft. This new policy forced many talented high school athletes to attend one year of college before entering the professional game, hence the “one and done rule.” This influx of talented freshman into college basketball may have shifted the competitive balance of NCAA Division I men’s basketball. A cross sectional time series analysis is used to investigate this claim, that the introduction of Article X affected the competitive balance of college basketball. The deviation of the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index of average conference winning percentage is used as the dependent measure of competitive balance in the regression equation. The main purpose of this study is to discover whether competitive balance in collegiate sports is affected by policies of their professional counterparts.
The world is attempting to become more sustainable while at the same time enhance economic and social wellbeing. Part of this movement is the support of consumer interest in small local farms. Through a contingent valuation we see that Virginia consumers are willing to pay an average premium of about 20% for in-state produce and animal products. Results show that 58% of Virginia consumers are willing to purchase in-state produce and 59% are willing to purchase in-state animal products at the 20% premium. Consumers are willing to pay more for local goods depending on certain demographics and personal preferences. Premiums for local products are subjective to gender, age, income, residential location, certain perceptions of local products, and other important factors. Our findings from analyzing these variables show that farming locally can be beneficial for the consumers, producers, local economy, and the environment.
This study examines what factors influence decisions to purchase products associated with their companies’ corporate social responsibility (CSR) campaigns. The study highlights the discrepancy that exists between consumers’ stated intent to purchase products associated with CSR practices and their actual buying habits. The thesis then develops a model in which both personal values and awareness of CSR campaigns are tested as influences on consumers’ purchase decisions. This model is unique because it measures these two factors with respect to consumers’ brand loyalty of various products associated with CSR campaigns. The study collects survey and focus group data to answer three questions: (1) to what extent do brand loyalty, values, and awareness influence consumers’ decisions to purchase products associated with CSR campaigns, (2) how do demographic variables influence consumers’ values and awareness of CSR campaigns, and (3) why are consumers either influenced by or indifferent to products associated with corporate philanthropy campaigns?
Many measures of course value are centered on student evaluations of teaching. Colorado College provides a unique opportunity to explore another method of valuing courses by looking at the Block Plan course auction. Kirby Nelson pioneered Block Plan bidding research last year by examining the relationship between Academic Departments and points bid on courses. One factor in course selection that remained unexamined was Professor. A multiple regression analysis is used to study the bidding data provided by the Colorado College Registrar. This thesis investigates the relationship between the professor teaching the course and the amount of points that students bid.
In similar fashion to the craft brewing industry, craft distilled spirits are beginning to establish themselves as a player in the distilled spirits industry. For decades the distilled spirits industry has been dominated by large corporations with enormous advertising budgets. Propagating the dominance of large firms is the three-tier system put in place post-prohibition to thwart vertical integration in the alcoholic beverage industry. As a craft producer of distilled spirits the three-tier system often serves as a hindrance towards establishing a firm on the national and/or regional level. To address how craft producers should approach the established industry, this thesis enlists the frameworks of Michael Porter. In combination with Porter’s literature, case studies are conducted on four craft producers who have either successfully established, or are in the process of establishing themselves in the market. Small legal victories are beginning to take place and must be exploited along with a heavy focus towards differentiation for small producers to gain entrance into the highly competitive distilled spirits market.
This thesis analyses a sample of 434 non-financial firms from the Standard and Poor 500 to investigate the relationship between derivative usage and firm value. The empirical tests do not produce any statistically significant results that suggest a negative relationship between the fair value of derivative instruments and firm value. These results, although not a part of a the original purpose of this thesis, suggest that investors value predictable non-extreme outcomes of risk exposures regardless of the firm's position in its derivative contracts hedging the same exposures.
India accounts for one in four of the under-five deaths in the world. Almost 300 million of its people live on less than 25 cents a day. This paper examines the determinants of child mortality in order to aid development strategies that aim to decrease mortality and increase human capital. I use a multivariate regression model examine the effect on child mortality of fertility, female literacy, health expenditure, education expenditures, GDP growth, per capita income, male literacy and vaccination rates across all 28 states in India. The majority of data used is from the third National Family Health Survey of India. The initial results were mixed and further testing shows influences of severe multicollinearity on the data. Due to the large range in child mortality rates across states, a dummy variable test examines the variation in two groups of states caused be either “high” or “low” child mortality.
This study examines record breaks in swimming in order to determine the factors of athletic success. We use a regression analysis to observe the impact of several variables on the frequency of record breaks ranging from 1969-2009. The study specifically focuses on how innovations affect records when introduced to the competitive swimming world. Proving a strong relationship between technology and record breaks, analysis of the data shows the introduction of one average new technology results in .345 new broken records. It also finds the following factors to have a positive significance on the total number of record breaks: star athletes, a nation’s accessibility to sea, and cold nations.
The HIV/AIDS epidemic is one of the greatest challenges facing economic and social development in sub-Saharan Africa. Women of reproductive age (15-49) have the greatest risk and prevalence of HIV in this region. Increased female vulnerability to HIV stems from limited access to health care and lack of autonomy to make decisions regarding sexual health and education. Using Demographic and Health Surveys data from nine sub-Saharan African countries, this paper found several key determinants in women’s empowerment and HIV status. Women who know more about sexual health knowledge in terms of contraceptive methods, fertility, and sexually transmitted diseases are more likely to be empowered than women with no understanding of sexual health. Similarly, women who are empowered are less likely to be HIV positive. This paper has important implications for future policies aiming to lower HIV incidence and improve women’s rights in sub-Saharan Africa.
The purpose of this study is to explore the factors that affect theme park attendance. Some of these factors are theme park specific, such as the type of attractions offered. Other factors are geographic and locational, such as the population of the city and the weather. Through the study of 86 theme parks around the world, this paper presents a model that estimates the changes in attendance caused by a variety of factors.
Often, elective programs such as art and physical education are the first items cut when middle school budgets become strained. The American Educational system places higher value on core curriculum classes such as math and science and there has been little research done on the importance of electives for student achievement. This thesis seeks to explore the benefits of elective courses for student achievement and a student’s education in general. The two motivational theories used to explore the relationship between electives, student achievement, and student motivation are Social Learning Theory and Job Characteristics Theory. A survey was sent out to a select sample of middle school administrators in Colorado to obtain rich qualitative data on the topic of electives in the middle school curriculum. The surveyed schools varied from high achieving schools to low achieving schools (achievement measured in standardized test scores) and across different districts in Colorado. The data was analyzed and found to be consistent with many of the characteristics of Social Learning Theory and Job Characteristics Theory.
