Nur-tegin, Kanybek

Sarasota County, Florida is a region that is predominantly reliant on the tourism industry. The
Southwest County is subjected to negative issues associated with an algal bloom, most
particularly, Red Tide. This condition can promote a significantly negative impact on Sarasota
County’s economy. Existing literature and its subsequent analysis provide evidence of the
associated issues of the bloom. The research will provide evidence of how the detrimental algae
has affected other Southwest counties. This study demonstrates the existence of severe Red Tide
outbreaks in Sarasota County: 2005, 2006, and 2018. However, it aims to show a comparison on
how the bloom affected direct and indirect tourism factors for 2006 and 2018 through impacts of
visitor spending.

Real estate agents charge their clients a percentage on every property sold and this percentage, or commission, can range from five to six percent. The reason for this difference is unclear. Using an ordinary least squares regression, I attempt to find a connection between real estate agent performance and the amount commission which he or she charges. The premium agent effect assumes that more efficient, or “successful”, agents charge more for their services because they are overall better than the agents who charge a lower commission. Efficiency in this paper is determined by the percent difference in the listing price and sold price as well as the total days the property is on the market. My preliminary results provide strong evidence of the existence of the premium agent effect when agent performance is measured in terms of the percent difference in the listing price and the sold price, but not when measured using the total number of days the property is on the market.

Real estate transactions are fraught with risks and costs. Transaction delay and failure are risks directly linked to loan approval. Real estate sellers tend to prefer the proceeds from the sale of their home with immediacy and surety rather than with a delay but waiting for loan approval causes such a delay. Using an ordinary least squares regression analysis, I assess whether home sellers are willing to concede discounts to buyers who offer to pay cash, to avoid the risks of transaction failure and delay of payment. I claim that, in contrast to a loan, a cash offer reduces the risk of a failed transaction, and this reduced risk is reflected as a discount on the price of the house greater than any discounts for loan-based transactions. This paper will also assess the magnitude of any discounts as a percentage of the home’s last list price on the market.

In the lingering shadow of colonialism, African states have sprouted shallow, unstable democratic roots; the success of which is reliant upon the collective engagement of African citizens. In this paper, the socioeconomic determinants of political participation are analyzed econometrically. We use the Afrobarometer 5th Round dataset which provides large-scale data of 55,000 individuals across 34 African countries (Afrobarometer, 2015). The data analysis includes traditional political participation determinants, or those found to be significant in previous literature, as baseline control. Additional independent variables, like perceived corruption, party affiliation, and democratic perceptions, are then tested for significant participatory influence.

Online reviews play an important role in contemporary society, having been used to predict market trends and influence industry changes. In addition, many consumers depend on online reviews when deciding which products to buy. Recently, a large group of online venders have started incentivizing shoppers by providing product discounts in exchange for reviews. Some researchers believe that reviewers who are compensated for writing reviews will publish higher-than-average reviews, which may diminish the overall usefulness of online reviews as genuine predictors of product quality and purchaser satisfaction. First, this paper establishes a method for differentiating and isolating incentivized reviews. Then, this paper analyzes incentivized reviews to determine if they are in fact inflated, compared to nonincentivized reviews. Finally, a few methods are discussed for combating incentivized review bias in order to preserve the usefulness of online reviews as a predictive tool.

Homelessness is a systemic issue in the United States, which significantly impacts both the individuals who are homeless and society as a whole. One of the major factors that drives homelessness is the loss of employment or the failure to maintain steady employment. Homeless individuals also have difficulty regaining steady employment or entering the workforce as their opportunities are often limited by their criminal records, limited employment history, and lack of a permanent address. This creates a vicious cycle keeping homeless individuals homeless. This paper argues that it is in the best interest of local governments and communities to end homelessness by providing a path towards steady employment. This paper will introduce the social enterprise model as a method of achieving this goal, specifically discussing the startup, growth, viability, and success of a landscaping social enterprise.

In this thesis, I compare the sustainability of two United States supermarket chains by means of the composite sustainable development index proposed by Krajnc and Glavic. The performance comparison is carried out based on the three pillars of sustainability postulated by the World Commission on Environment and Development: environmental impact, economic performance, and social responsibility. Using data from company annual reports and from sustainability and social responsibility publications, I systematically identify the deficiencies and successes in the environmental, economic, and social performances of one supermarket chain against the other. With more data this analysis can be extended to a large number of supermarkets, other businesses, and other public entities in order to construct a global best practices benchmark, or performance frontier, in all three dimensions of sustainability and in an overall measure of sustainability.

Gopher tortoise populations, declining due to habitat fragmentation and degradation, are in need of revised management practices that take into account the individual site’s needs and limitations. The site of concern in this research is the Greenway in Jupiter, FL, which is suffering habitat degradation due to overgrowth driven by a lack of controlled burns or alternative management methods on site. A simple econometric model is developed characterizing the effects of environmental factors that influence the occupancy of burrows by gopher tortoises. A greater understanding of environmental factors affecting gopher tortoise habitat will allow land management practices to best meet the needs of this keystone species at the Greenway nature area.

Several countries are experiencing a new demographic trend called “population aging” that can significantly impact housing markets. Countries such as the United States and Japan are observing their share of elderly people expand. I use regression analysis to determine the relationship between house prices and population in the United States and Japan to assess the impacts of populating aging on housing. I then use the parameters estimated by the regression analyses along with population projections for the period 2015-2050 to simulate house price trends for these two countries. These regression and simulation tests merge aspects of past models on population aging and housing, compare the effects of population on real house prices in the United States and Japan, and support the claim that population aging lowers real house prices. The results of my model also predict that, compared to the United States, Japan’s real house prices will fall more dramatically.