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The goal of this paper is to determine whether or not multiple economic and societal changes have or have not made retirement in America, an easier, or harder goal to achieve. My hypothesis is that these changes have created an environment in which retiring and preparing for retirement is much, much more difficult. The analysis considers multiple economic and social changes between May, 1985 and May, 2019, a 34-year span. <br/><br/>In this paper, I will be comparing the average 1985 college graduate to the average 2019 college graduate. The 8 major factors I look at are, annual salary, average student debt (assuming a 120-month repayment period), average housing cost (assuming a 360-month payment period), average car expenses (assuming a 60-month payment period), and average annual food, clothing, taxes and medical insurance costs. All of these figures look at the end points, looking at figures for the average 1985 graduate, and the figures for the average 2019 graduate. The 1985 figures are then put into 2019 dollars, and subtracted from the original salary figure. This will give us an objective way to compare savings, and therefore ability to save for retirement. <br/><br/>My analysis demonstrates that it is actually easier for people today to prepare for retirement than it was 34 years ago. The average 2019 graduate had $4,178.96 remaining at the end of a year. Comparatively, the 1985 graduate had a debt of $12,837.94. This is an effective difference of $17,016.91, benefiting the 2019 graduate by far.
This paper discusses merger arbitrage as a trading strategy, the benefits of allocating it into a diversified portfolio, and a method of replicating its returns through an alternative investment strategy (writing uncovered index put options). It discusses the approach to implementation, along with the risk and reward profile of the strategy. The paper entitled Characteristics of Risk and Return in Merger arbitrage is used as a basis for the research approach. An up-to-date time series analysis is constructed utilizing the HFRMAI index (a hedge fund index that mirrors a sizable sample of merger risk arbitrage transactions) as a benchmark for testing the effectiveness of the replication strategy (PUT index). Lastly, a live merger arbitrage strategy is executed on a current M&A transaction (the LVMH and Tiffany & Co. acquisition) to assess the acquirer and target firms’ stock volatility and profits or losses.
This research examines the similarities and differences between relationships developed through interpersonal interactions within online fandom communities and those relationships developed through traditional in-person interactions such as those found within education or the workplace. Beyond the similarities and differences between the two forms of relationships, I discover phenomenologically what happens in the moment that two online friends meet in-person. To be precise, I analyze how individuals within fandoms categorize their relationships in terms of their willingness to confide in each other, their perceived honesty of themselves, and their mental image of one another and how it may have changed over the course of their relationship. We might expect that individuals maintaining a relationship through interactions within online fandom may maintain idealized images of their respective partners due to the aspect of self-censorship that is derived from asynchronous communication. Additionally, we might expect that while trust may be built upon this exaggerated image of one’s partner, a disruption in this image formed through an in-person interaction could potentially result in said trust crumbling. Using a qualitative analysis of three individuals participating within various fandom communities. Thus, we predict that individuals within online relationships take steps to build an idealized version of oneself that might not fully reflect an individual’s actual physical or mental character.
"FIJI's Shave to Save" took place in Fall 2021 when 47 members of Phi Gamma Delta (FIJI) at Arizona State University got their heads shaved as a public demonstration of the fraternity's commitment to the mission of the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) and their Center for Rare Childhood Disorders (the Center). Through tremendous community support, the majority of which came from members' families, FIJI alumni, and participating member sororities of Arizona State University's Panhellenic Council, we collectively raised $63,640 for the Center. These funds are directed towards the Center's groundbreaking research and efforts to improve the lives of children with rare disorders through genomic sequencing. Aside from the lives impacted by the fundraiser, this news was highlighted in publications from multiple media outlets and exhibited the positive impact that Greek Life is capable of. Months prior to this initiative, Taylor Dintzner (2021 Chapter President) and Cameron Chew (2021 Philanthropy Chairman) were lost and did not know how to approach the execution of a successful fundraiser. In December 2021, they met with Rob Caudill, Executive Director at the International Headquarters of Phi Gamma Delta (FIJI), to discuss international publicity for the initiative. The verdict was that other FIJI Chapters may benefit from a "toolkit" that details how FIJI at Arizona State University was able to raise $63,500 for TGen. "FIJI's Shave to Save: A Toolkit for Successful Fundraising by Charitable Organizations" is intended to be a resource that encourages FIJI Chapters internationally to execute their own "FIJI's Shave to Save" initiative, giving them all of the tools necessary to follow a similar format and raise funds for TGen's Center for Rare Childhood Disorders. Media Highlighting FIJI at Arizona State University's Community Impact: https://linktr.ee/fijigraduatechapter
For our Barrett Honors thesis, our team decided to complete the Founders Lab thesis pathway. Founders Lab offers Barrett students the opportunity to spend their year working on developing entrepreneurial ideas into innovative new businesses by designing not only a business model, but the marketing, sales, and financial models of it as well. This team-based thesis/creative project empowers Barrett students to find solutions to a challenge and gain valuable experience launching a new business of their own.
Literature review of existing prison-based programs meant to reduce the post-release likelihood of recidivism. Upon completion of the literature, this paper leverages criminology theories to explore the potential causes of program correlations to recidivism.