Honors Theses, Ohio Dominican University, 2023, Honors Theses

It is crucial to analyze the relationship between formal institutions and the informal sector to gain a better understanding of the challenges that certain informal industries face. Given the wide-ranging nature of the informal economy, this paper will focus on the food sector, specifically street food vending in three Colombian cities–Barranquilla, Bogota, and Medellin–which has garnered considerable social and cultural significance over time. This paper will employ a political economy research approach. A surveying method will be the primary source of data collection. Insights obtained from first-person accounts provide invaluable information regarding the reality of the challenges that small-scale informal vendors face. This study posits that the majority of the businesses surveyed surpass the upper-middle income economy poverty line and minimum wage. The majority of businesses responded that they have attained education up to the secondary level. Additionally, the tenure exhibited spans from 8 years of age to someone who has been informally operating for a period as short as 5 months. The study highlights that women in the informal sector face higher financial barriers, especially in regard to the low supply of microcredits. Finally, the data suggest that males are more likely to become formally recognized businesses compared to females, although both genders present a high disposition toward formalization. This exploratory research may furnish policymakers with pertinent information on how to introduce incentives to expand the economic activities of the informal food sector while improving the transition process from informality to formality.

Committee: Kenneth Fah (Advisor); Michael Dougherty (Committee Member); Douglas Ruml (Committee Member) Subjects: Behavioral Sciences; Cultural Anthropology; Demography; Economic Theory; Economics; Political Science; Public Policy; Social Structure; Statistics; Urban Planning

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2010, Computer Science and Engineering

The application of agile software development is primarily an art. Not only is the performance of successive iterations difficult to compare, the results of agile adoption case studies are also difficult to compare as they vary in the levels of application of agile methodology (most use only a subset of agile practices). We formalize the customer-driven integrated „Agility Performance Framework‟ and illustrate its performance-based utility in a) facilitating better negotiation between the client and the development team by bringing justification through traceability of decisions, b) identifying key performance indicators for better prioritization and status, c) understanding the sources of performance deficiency and managing variability and d) building a more standardized profile to compare across iterations and projects to help learn from history. We claim that the framework and continuous measurements of explicit metrics with feedback makes software development „leaner„, resulting in a higher business value delivery and reduced risk. We illustrate the application of the framework on an in-house project and identify lessons learned from it. Also we use the framework to profile projects from a partner organization allowing comparisons and aiding in the decision making process. This helps substantiate the applicability and completeness of the framework.

Committee: Rajiv Ramnath Dr. (Advisor); Jayashree Ramnathan Dr. (Committee Member); Paul Sivilotti Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Computer Science