Digital Commons Network^™

The Impact Of Case Management Intervention For Insured Asthma Patients In Louisiana, An Empirical Study, Mohamed Mohamed Ohaiba

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Asthma is a chronic condition whose symptoms are managed/prevented using medication and interventions. The overarching objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of patients' demographics on case management enrollment and healthcare utilization, as well as to develop machine learning models to predict high-cost patients.

To accomplish these goals, the Man-Whiteness test, the chi-squares test, logistic regression and odds ratios, and machine learning models were implemented. The average cost of the non-enrolled CM group was significantly higher than the enrolled group (p-value .0001). In addition, the non-enrolled groups had considerably more visits to the emergency department than the other …

An Exploration Of Black Women Faculty Members' Faculty Development And Career Advancement Experiences Within A Pwi, Monica N. Guient

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

At a large, research-intensive, predominantly White university, in this qualitative case study, Black women faculty members’ experiences with and perceptions of institutionally sponsored faculty development activities in relation to career advancement was explored. The career advancement of faculty members from underrepresented and minoritized populations—particularly Black women—is ultimately impacted by the racialized and gendered disparities among tenure-track and tenured professors in research, service, and teaching. Unique to this study is the exploration of how Black women faculty members experience the human resource development practice of faculty development while also gathering information from the institutional leaders who oversee and guide institutionally sponsored …

Understanding Consumers' Use Experience On Electrically Heated Jacket: A Study On Online Review Using Topic Modeling, Md Nakib-Ul Hasan

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The demand for heated jackets is anticipated to be fuelled by frequent temperature drops, severe winter weather, and increasing outdoor activities. Electrically heated jackets (EHJ) are primarily marketed through online distribution channels and expansion of online sales channels is expected to boost the global market. Consumers are increasingly relying on online reviews from other consumers to help them decide what to buy. Businesses also actively monitor and manage their online reviews to build trust in their brand and make it more likely that customers will buy. Traditional approaches for assessing customer behavior, such as market research surveys and focus groups, …

Exploring Shared Leadership And Multi-Organizational Collaboration In Sport For Development And Peace, Seungmin Kang

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Although multi-organizational collaborations have become a trend in the Sport for Development and Peace (SDP) sector, existing research remains limited to collaborations between two organizations. Further, researchers continue to report managerial challenges of the multi-organizational collaborations and emphasize leadership as a key component for achieving desired outcomes in SDP collaborations. Thus, the purpose of this research was to explore the role of shared leadership in multi-organizational SDP collaboratives. Three research questions guided this study to explore the role of shared leadership through the lived experiences of SDP practitioners: (a) How is leadership shared between members in multi-organizational SDP collaboratives?, (b) …

Innovation And Competitiveness Of The Wood Furniture Industry In Kenya, Gilbert Osoro Ototo

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The wood furniture industry in Kenya has been growing rapidly despite a decline in domestic timber supply. Although most furniture is made locally, a larger share is increasingly being imported from other countries, creating competition for domestic manufacturers. The government aims at shifting most of the demand to domestic producers to protect the sector and create jobs. However, lack of innovation has been cited as the main cause of diminishing competitiveness of the sector. Studies have shown that innovation plays a key role in creating new products, improving production processes, and establishing better business systems.

Innovation in the furniture sector …

Ceo Political Ideology: Implications For Firm Innovation, Samira Fallah

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In this dissertation, I examine the influence of CEO political ideology on firm’s innovation strategy and outcomes. In my theorizing, I draw on upper-echelons theory that underscores the role of executives’ personal orientations on their decisions as well as the scholarship in political psychology that demonstrates the different values and psychological needs of liberals and conservatives. Given liberals’ lower need to manage uncertainty and their openness to new experiences, I propose that a firm with a more liberal CEO is likely to develop more innovations, pursue exploratory innovations and develop innovations with extreme quality (high and low). I also build …

Identifying Human Trafficking Networks In Louisiana By Using Authorship Attribution And Network Modeling, Hassan Marzoughi Ardakani

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Human trafficking or modern slavery is a problem that has plagued every U.S. state, in both urban and rural areas. During the past decades, online advertisements for sex trafficking have rapidly increased in numbers. The advancement of the Internet and smart phones have made it easier for sex traffickers to contact and recruit their victims and advertise and sell them online. Also, they have made it more difficult for law enforcement to trace the victims and identify the traffickers. Sadly, more than fifty percent of the victims of sex trafficking are children, many of which are exploited through the Internet. …

Exploring The Role Of Engagement Among Sport Volunteers At College Football Bowl Games, Marcella Otto

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Recent scholars noted the need for an engaged workforce to achieve optimal performance in various institutional fields. Within the sports industry, organizations often rely heavily on volunteers as a vital resource to accomplish goals and missions (Cuskelly, 2004; Doherty, 2009). The sport volunteer literature demonstrates the broadness of the field but also shows the increased demand for volunteers to aid staging events, even as the recruitment pool of volunteers is generally decreasing. Relatedly, it is in the best interest of organizations to maintain and manage volunteers to stay efficient (Chelladurai, 2006) because the need for this human resource continues to …

Systems Approach To Evaluating Mih-Cp (Mobile Integrated Healthcare – Community Paramedicine): A Case Study Of East Baton Rouge Parish (Ebrp) Emergency Medical Services (Ems) Community Paramedicine Program Initiative, Oluwakemi Aiyedun

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study applied a holistic method of healthcare program assessment, known as systems approach, to evaluate the efficacy of the East Baton Rouge Parish (EBRP) EMS Community-integrated Health Program (CIHP). The author developed assessment metrics following the Quadruple Aim Framework: IHI (Institute for Healthcare Improvement) Triple Aim + Provider Experience.

Results showed that the CP program in this study delivers high ratings on patient experience and provided a 51% return on investment (ROI) through reduced emergency service utilization, ED visits and inpatient hospital admissions. However, findings did not demonstrate meaningful improvement in patients’ health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and self-efficacy …

Antecedents Of Apparel Subscription Box Choice: Understanding Predictors To Use Apparel Subscription Service, Md Abdullahil Kafi

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

With the rise of online shopping apparel merchandising and retailing has experienced tremendous reformation. In this regard, the online apparel subscription services have become an important trend in a global retailing context. In the U.S. apparel subscription service retailers reported that the market grew by more than 100 percent from 2013 to 2018 and it continues to grow steadily.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the antecedents of online apparel subscription services, and to better understand consumers’ attitudes towards online subscription service items in the context of the extended Unified Theory of Technology Acceptance and Usage (UTAUT2). This …

Aging In The Workplace: A Cross Case Analysis In Jamaica's Finance Sector, Malaika Tahirah Edwards

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Along with the increase in the number of older people globally, is an increase in the number of older people in the labor force. Older adults increasingly represent a large segment of the working population. The purpose of this study was therefore to explore workplace aging, with specific reference to Jamaica’s finance sector, in relation to organizational preparedness for the aging workforce.

This study examined aging from an organizational perspective, a national perspective, and an individual perspective, through the lens of Baby Boomers. The study was framed through the lens of the Four Frames Model, and the Metaperspectives Theory, which …

Measurement Of Visual Cues And Their Effects On Online Users: An Image Mining Approach, Shuya Lu

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Textual marketing communication is effective in various contexts such as print advertising, user-generated content, and social media (Diamond 1968; Ludwig et al. 2013; Nam and Kannan 2014). However, visual marketing communication studies are limited in the context of print advertising (e.g., Hagtvedt and Brasel 2017). This dissertation includes two essays to examine the visual communication effectiveness online.

Essay 1 develops a conceptual framework to examine the visual-based brand perception (VBBP) and related concepts on social media. We propose that the VBBP is a co-creational process between a company and its consumers and exhibits three characteristics: i) a two-way communication that …

Customer Perspectives On Sales Strategies: A Relational Approach, Juliana Catherine White

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Relationship marketing strategies have long been known to affect salespeople and the customers they serve. However, there is still much to learn about the mechanisms that drive such buyer-seller relationships. This research examines how a salesperson’s behavior, relational orientation, and individual disposition dynamically interact to influence customers in the business to business marketing environment. Data collected from the customers’ point of view reveal several unique salesperson competencies and strategies that affect the buyer-seller relationship. The final dataset (n = 206) included customers’ observations about their salesperson and perceptions of relationship quality. The key findings suggest that the perceived quality of …

A Study On The Direct And Moderating Effects Of Leader Facilitated Workplace Learning And Leader-Member Exchange On Employee Engagement, Candi S. Mcelheny

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Employee engagement (EE) is a problem across all industries and is especially troublesome in the nursing profession. However the existing literature, both within and outside nursing professional publications, does not offer explicit solutions for combatting the current EE dilemma. The primary purpose of this study was to test a researcher-developed causal model linking Leader Facilitated Workplace Learning (LFWL), Leader-Member Exchange (LMX), and EE. LFWL, a new construct, was proposed as an antecedent for LMX and EE. Furthermore, LFWL was posited to have a moderating effect on the LMX and EE relationship. The model was tested using structural equation modeling (SEM). …

A Comparison Of Causal Inference Methods And Their Application In Big Data Analytics, Xuan Wang

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

With the rise of Big Data analytics, the new field of causal inference (Pearl, 2009) has received more attention in business research fields such as Accounting (Lawrence, Minutti-Meza, & Zhang, 2011) and Marketing (Manganaris, Bhasin, Reid, & Hermiz Keith, 2010). Traditional statistics focuses on correlation which may lead to misleading conclusions because the estimates can be severely biased even when data sets are large. The objective of causal inference is to obtain estimates from observational data that are unbiased and can thus be interpreted as causal. This study provides a systematic comparison of the performance of four causal inference methods …

The "Missing Audience": A Query Into The Future Of The Orchestra And The Potential Benefits Of Bringing Live Classical Music To The Community Through Informal Performances, Natalie Wei-Ting Chang

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In this dissertation, I discuss the traditional organizational model adopted by symphony orchestras in the United States as non-profit arts organizations that are struggling to maintain solvency within the current philanthropic, political, and digital contexts. As part of the discussion, I conduct field research within the local area of the city of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in providing demonstrations of live and informal classical performance in various businesses and institutions while collecting data via surveys from willing adult participants (ages 18 and above) of all demographics, specifically lower income areas. The survey analysis gives important insights into public perception of symphony …

Ethical Leadership: A Study Of Traits And Behaviors Of Leaders In Higher Education Today, Samuel L. Wyatt

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The primary purpose of this study was to determine the traits and behaviors of an ethical leader as perceived by tenured and tenure-track faculty at a research university (RU/VH) in the southeastern portion of the United States. The researcher utilized a researcher-designed survey instrument which consisted of 44 possible traits and behaviors of an ethical leader and selected demographic characteristics.

Examination of the study results revealed that the majority of respondents were male (66.20%) and tenured (75.00%). Additionally, the largest group were Professors (49.60%), and had been at the study institution for less than l0 years (38.20%). Most of the …

Influences Of Perceived Social Network Structure Characteristics On College Student's Perceptions Of Social Capital Value And Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy, Troy Autin

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The collective group of resources that are accessible to an individual because of people within his/her social network is known as social capital. Social capital becomes more valuable when an individual sees that it can help with goal achievement. This is especially true with college-aged students who are deciding on academic major, career path and if should persist or dropout. The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of social network characteristics on the perceived social capital value (SCV) and career decision-making self-efficacy (CDMSE) among freshman college students enrolled at a research university. This present study examined how …

An Examination Of Various Factors (Age, Gender, Family Status, Marital Status, And Work Engagement) And Their Relationship To Longevity, Attendance, And Job Performance Of Custodial Staff At A Large Public University, Celena Raquel Trahan

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the various factors (age, gender, family status, marital status, and work engagement) and their relationships between longevity of employment tenure, attendance, and job performance of custodial staff at a large, public university. Correlation analyses, univariate simple linear regressions, and Analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used to analyze the data from 259 custodial employees. Results showed that longevity was influenced by age and marital status. Younger individuals had lower longevity and older individuals had higher longevity. The widowed marital status group had significantly higher longevity than the single and married groups. Attendance was …

La Garza En Bicicleta: Perceptions Of Latina Faculty On The Role Of Organizational Citizenship Behaviors And Institutional Engagement On Tenure And Promotion At Research 1 Doctoral Institutions, Julie Johanna Henriquez

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

A predicted population shift will increase the number of underrepresented groups entering the workforce, with Latinxs accounting for the majority of employees. Consequently, the number of Latinxs enrolled in colleges and universities nationwide will increase. This shift in the college student body demographic will in turn call for an increase in the number of underrepresented faculty members to provide support and mentorship to students. It is concerning to see that only 2% of tenured faculty identified as Latina in 2013-2014. This number will need to increase in order to support the predicted increase in Latinxs pursuing higher education. The purpose …

An Integrated Framework For Self-Disclosure On Social Networking Sites, Asim Shrestha

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Social networking sites usage has shown a meteoric rise over the past decade. Social networking sites survive and thrive based on the information that users disclose. The willingness of users to disclose their information lies at the core and is the driving force of the economies of these sites. This study proposed and tested an integrated theoretical framework for self-disclosure on social networking sites. Drawing from three different theoretical perspectives viz. self-congruency theory, privacy calculus theory, and extension of unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT2), a research model was formulated. The model was tested using survey data …

Gender Bias In Leadership: Do Gender Of Leader, Type Of Error, Diversity Climate, And Gender Of Subordinate Affect Faculty Perceptions Of Academic Leaders' Effectiveness?, Adriana Alfaro

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The cyphers don’t lie: women remain significantly underrepresented in positions of authority across the United States, despite their nearly equal representation in the labor force. Gender bias has been proposed as one of the major reasons for the disparity in leadership roles between men and women. Therefore, the primary purpose of this study was to investigate whether gender bias influenced faculty’s perceptions of leadership effectiveness at a Research 1 (R1) Doctoral institution in the southeastern United States when high-ranking university leaders made mistakes, and how type of error, diversity climate, and gender of subordinate affected this relationship. Two scenarios were …

A Qualitative Analysis Of The Lived Experiences Of Childcare Providers Employed At Non-Accredited Childcare Centers Serving Low Income Families, Chantel M. Ellis Brown

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to examine the lived experiences of childcare providers employed at non-accredited childcare centers serving low income families. This study examined childcare providers and the environment in which they worked. The study sought to obtain an in-depth understanding of the day-to-day experiences, behaviors, perspectives, and attitudes of the participants. Participants were selected based on three factors: 1) Participant must be at least 18 years of age. 2) Participants must be employed full-time (at least 40 hours per week) at a non-accredited childcare center serving low income families 3) Participants must have at least …

A Phenomenological Study Of Louisiana 4-H Agents Perceived Job Expectations, Renee Naquin Castro

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine perceptions related to job expectations as described by 4-H agents in the state of Louisiana. The study explored feelings, skills and knowledge associated with job expectations. This study used a qualitative approach to examine perceptions related to job expectations. A phenomenological study captured the essence of this experience. The participants for this study included LSU AgCenter Extension 4-H agents who work in different parishes located in the state of Louisiana. The state is divided into five regions divided into parishes. Initially two agents from each region were identified to take part in …

The Influence Of Enrollment In Career And Technical Education Courses On The Achievement Of High School Special Education Students, Melinda Simoneaux Partin

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation joins a conversation in the special education arena about the academic and vocational agenda for special education high school students. It explores the influence of enrollment in Career Technical Education (CTE) courses on the achievement of high school special education (SPED) students. The purpose of this study was to compare the achievement of special education (SPED) students enrolled in Career Technical Education (CTE) courses with special education (SPED) students who were not enrolled in Career Technical Education (CTE) courses. The study was designed to determine whether or not SPED students enrolled in CTE improved on the academic scores …

The Influence Of Selected Academic And Demographic Characteristics On The Success Of First-Year Students Enrolled In A Baccalaureate Nursing Program, Scelitta F. Bond

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The primary purpose of the study was to determine the influence of selected demographic and academic characteristics on success in nursing education among first year baccalaureate nursing students enrolled in a private college in the Southern region of the United States. The participants in the study were 102 baccalaureate students admitted to the nursing program in Fall, 2013. For the purpose of the study, success was defined as a grade of C or higher in two clinical nursing courses in the first year of the nursing program. Academic and demographic criteria were examined and compared using means, standard deviations, Independent …

Silent Suffering: A Phenomenological Study Of African American Women Facing Infertility & Lessons Learned For Work-Life Balance, Kimberley Faye Williams

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Although African American women represent the largest female demographic in the workforce (NABCP, 2014) and have the highest rates of infertility (Chandra, Copen & Stephen, 2013), their career and life experiences remain underrepresented in scholarship. Framed through the critical lens of Intersectionality, this phenomenological qualitative study explored the lived experiences of 11 African American women as they struggled with infertility and the competing demands of work and family life. The two major themes that emerged were: (1) silent suffering, and (2) lack of sensitivity and support in the workplace. The subthemes that supported silent suffering included: (1) emotional distress and …

Succession In Family Owned Businesses: The Influence Of Succession Planning And Demographic Characteristics On Succession Success, Steven Thomas Perret

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The primary purpose of this study was to determine the influence selected aspects of succession planning and selected demographic characteristics had on the level of success in the succession of family owned businesses (FOB¡¯s) in south Louisiana. To achieve this, the researcher designed a survey instrument to collect data. A total of 61 FOB¡¯s responded indicating they completed succession; however, only 23 or (38%) completed a planned succession to the next generation. An important finding was that having a high quality succession plan had a positive influence on the perceptions of family owned business owners and managers. Another important finding …

The Certifying Triangle Of Financial Reports, Dong Li

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This research provides theoretical, regulatory, and empirical underpinnings that financial reports are the joint representation of the certifying triangle (i.e., CEO-CFO-Auditor). This research also finds that replacement of the CEO tends to reduce the survival rate of the CFO with the firm, and vice versa; replacement of the CFO reduces the survival rate of the auditor, and vice versa. However, an association does not exist between the survival rate of the CEO and the auditor. Moreover, while a single realignment of the certifying triangle does not reduce the year-end ERC, a double (CEO-CFO) realignment significantly decreases the ERC. This negative …

Factors Influencing The Perceived Effectiveness Of The Transition Assistance Program Among Exiting Military Servicemembers At Military Installations In Louisiana, Timothy L. Rose

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

As proven in the aftermath of World War II, whenever the U.S. government shifts its efforts from wartime mobilization to peacetime demobilization, the Department of Defense (DoD) faces the complex task of transitioning military personnel to civilian life. In March of 2015, the researcher began an exploratory evaluation of the Transition Assistance Program (TAP) employment workshops. The primary purpose of this study was to determine the influence of selected personal and professional demographic characteristics on the perceptions of the effectiveness of the Transition Assistance Program (TAP) in accomplishing its stated purposes among exiting military servicemembers at military installations in Louisiana. …