RESEARCH Business Archives 2006

TOPICS: Business | Economy

BUSINESS
Materialism: “Materialism has long been of interest to consumer researchers, but research has centered on adult consumers, not children or teens,” says Lan Nguyen Chaplin, a professor of marketing in the U. of I. College of Business. (12/11/06)

File Sharing: Online file-sharing communities have experienced explosive growth in recent years. YouTube, started in May 2005 so that people could share and download videos, now attracts 100 million visitors a day, while Gnutella and Kazaa, for music sharing, are attracting users at an increasing pace. These sites differ from traditional chat-room and other message-based Internet communities in two ways, according to Mu Xia, a professor of business administration at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. (9/28/06)

Advertising: In the current world of product placement, cross-promotion, pop-up ads, and ad-driven politics, it’s hard to imagine there was ever a time when advertising as an institution was severely challenged. (6/26/06)

Bankruptcy Law: In attempting to crack down on irresponsible debtors, the new federal bankruptcy law is also likely to ensnare entrepreneurs and other self-employed Americans whose ideas and inventions can become engines for economic growth and job creation, according to a University of Illinois scholar. (6/23/06)

Bankruptcy: Early signs of the effect of the new bankruptcy act on consumers and the courts are not encouraging, according to an expert on bankruptcy law at the University of Illinois. (6/16/06)

Mad cow disease: The U.S. Agriculture Department’s mad cow disease-testing program is wholly inadequate and the agency’s refusal to let processors do their own testing further undercuts the safety of American beef, a University of Illinois scholar writes. (5/15/06)

'Enterprise Zones':Since Ronald Reagan's presidency in the 1980s, attempts to alleviate proverty have shifted away from urban renewal and centralized government planing so-called "market-based solutions." But the verdict on these programs is decidedly mixed. (2/20/06)

ECONOMY
Credit Cards: Are credit cards hazardous to your health and safety under the principles of product liability? Several features of credit cards make them different from traditional forms of lending and encourage high levels of consumer debt by taking advantage of “consumers’ cognitive and behavioral vulnerabilities,” Adam J. Goldstein wrote in the latest issue of the University of Illinois Law Review. Goldstein is a former editor at the review who now works for a Chicago law firm.(10/26/06)

State of the State: A look at the state’s changing demographics offers some clues as to how Illinois lawmakers may handle public policy choices in the future, according to researchers at the University of Illinois. (5/17/06)

Flash Index: The University of Illinois Flash Economic Index rose slightly in December to 106.6 from its 106.4 level in November. (1/3/06)

LABOR AND INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS

LAW
Bankruptcy: Bankruptcy filings by American households are likely to return to the levels they were at before Congress passed a law last year aimed at curbing “abusive” filings, a statistical study by a University of Illinois expert indicates. (10/9/06)

Death Tax: The old saw about death and taxes has taken on new meaning as state governments grapple with the confusion spawned by the 2001 federal tax cut. (5/5/06)

Age discrimination: A potential legal hurdle for corporations seeking to cut costs through mandatory or voluntary layoffs was lifted when the U.S. Supreme Court gave its latest interpretation of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA). (3/24/06)