Too Much of a Good Thing: The Relationship between Money and Happiness in a Post-Industrial Society

By Alison Dalton Smith

Happiness is considered a universal human aspiration, but the means to achieving happiness has become inexorably entangled with gaining material possessions.  In common paradigms of economic development, Gross Domestic Product is used as a proxy for measuring the well-being of a nation’s citizens.  While this is often true in impoverished nations where basic needs are not met, there is a threshold point past which increasing economic gains no longer necessarily deliver increases in human well-being.  Beyond this threshold, economic measures are no longer adequate for accurate measurement of a nation’s human well-being. In fact, this myopic focus on economic growth has created an unsustainable way of life that is increasingly unfulfilling for those that are engaged in the cycles of consumption.  In this paper, I will address both recent patterns in human well-being in industrialized nations and more comprehensive indexes that quantify human well-being.

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Environmental Management of Multinational Corporations in India: The Case of PepsiCo.

By Manjyot Bhan

Abstract

Before the 1980s, environmental regulation in India was almost non-existent. In pursuit of economic development, the Government of India (GoI) kept environmental regulation of multinational corporations to a minimum in order to attract foreign direct investment. Multinational corporations have often been blamed for taking advantage of weak enforcements in India; however, in recent years, many of them have started to self-regulate and often set their environmental standards above the minimum compliances enforced by the GoI. My research will investigate the change in environmental management of PepsiCo, India—an American large food and beverage multinational corporation.

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Bus Rapid Transit as a Sustainable Public Transit Alternative

By Neal Humphrey

Abstract

In order to investigate the potential growth of public transit for the creation of a more sustainable transit paradigm, this paper seeks to explore the features of a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system, and compare them to the costs and benefits of other public transit options. BRT is often viewed as an intermediary transit option, providing many of the benefits of light rail systems that normal buses cannot provide, yet doing so with reduced cost and, therefore, greater potential service. As growing cities seek to meet their transit needs, Bus Rapid Transit can provide many of the benefits of both light-rail and bus services and as such may prove to be the most effective public transportation option in many communities.

This paper presents the five main components comprising the definition of a BRT system, as summarized from a variety of presentations. It discusses the implementation of these five components, related costs, and potential benefits. Importantly, it provides context of why a BRT system must be viewed as separate from a standard bus system. BRT systems can be a valuable tool to broaden public transportation accessibility, increasing the sustainability of our increasingly urban population. … Continue Reading