Digital Commons Network^™

The Malawi Project: From Conventional To Holistic Decision Making, Grace Wetmore

Animal Science

How the Cal Poly Malawi Appropriate Technologies Team, and other development groups, can use Holistic Management to aid developing countries in an effort towards a sustainable future.

The Impact Of Entrepreneurs’ Personal Wealth Allocations In Determining Their Firms’ Capital Structures, Tianning Li

Doctoral Dissertations

We study the effect of entrepreneurs’ wealth allocations on their firm level capital structure by using a sample of small privately owned firms from the 2003 Surveys of Small Business Finance. We find that financial leverage decreases as entrepreneurs allocate more wealth on their firm investments. We also find that wealth allocation only affects capital structure in limited liability firms. Lastly, we show that the effect of wealth allocation on capital structure does not disappear after adjusting for collateral and personal guarantees.

Emotional Branding: Obama’S Bottom-Up Campaign, Genevieve Ann Munoz

Communication Studies

No abstract provided.

Will Retail Travel Agencies In Singapore Survive: Comparison Between Retail Travel Agencies And Online Reservation Services, Yan Xin Low

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Over the last two decades, the tourism industry has grown rapidly. But its evolution has been influenced by various factors such as culture and environmental changes including economic status and competition. Some of these factors, culture for instance, act as constants, providing some form of predictability to the evolution of the tourism industry within a specific society. While other factors, such as economic status and competition, act as variables that drive the industry to reach its potential. Hofstede defined “culture” as a collective programming of the human mind that distinguishes the members of one group or category of people from …

Bone Rattlers Bar & Grill Business Plan, Lovedy Ann Zie Carroll

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Independent restaurants are important in communities. Not only can restaurants provide the basic need of an enjoyable meal but restaurants also serve as gathering places for social and recreational purposes. People can celebrate special occasions, spend time with family or friends, and/or enjoy the atmosphere at restaurants. A restaurateur must have a solid business plan and understanding of what it means to run a restaurant business in both strong and weak economies. Lack of job security has many Americans leaving the corporate world to start their own businesses and make their own future (Cohn, 2009). According to the U.S. Small …

Characteristic Leadership Traits Most Admired By Supervisors In An Organizational Culture, Juan Odio

Graduate Student Dissertations, Theses, Capstones, and Portfolios

This critical analysis reviews literature on characteristic leadership traits desired in leaders by male and female supervisors. The majority of the literature on leadership has focused on the characteristic leadership traits most admired by supervisors as it relates to organizational culture without distinguishing gender. The assumption that both gender groups have similar beliefs is perceived when there is a lack of clarity in the literature. Furthermore, only a few studies have examined how females as a separate gender feel about their leaders. This topic is of great significance because it seeks to understand whether females feel the same as males …

The Sacred And The Secular: Blending Borders To Maximize Product Success, Karen R. Deross

Journalism

In a society where a person can choose anything he wants from a vast literary buffet, the products that appeal to varied audiences with differing values and interests stand out among the masses. The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren is a prominent example of a product that became explosively successful in two starkly differing markets: the secular and the religious.

This research paper explores the history and controversy surrounding the combination of these two markets and the implications they have for each. The triumph of The Purpose Driven Life, as well as other prominent Christian titles, is focused on …

A Comparison Of Gambling Motivation Factors Between Chinese And Western Casino Players, Lu Ye

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This paper explored literature on gambling motivation of Western and Chinese casino players to find out the similarities and differences of their motivation factors. Study found that they are motivated in similar ways by the desire to win, social and early memories. However, the Chinese gamblers exhibit severer cognitive errors, stronger risk-taking tendency and higher level of stress and depression, which explained the common findings of literature that Chinese have higher gambling and problem gambling rates than other ethnic groups. The findings would benefit casino operators in making marketing strategy at the Chinese players as well as problem gambling treatment …

Pornography As A Leisure Behavior: An Investigation Of Pornography Use And Leisure Boredom, Casey B. Schenk

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to investigate pornography use in the context of leisure boredom. The sample consisted of N = 290 married couples (N = 580 individuals) from a large Northwestern city in the United States. When controlling for demographic variables, leisure boredom accounted for 2.2% of the variance within pornography use. Results suggest leisure boredom as a significant predictor of pornography use in married adults. A quadratic effect was also found, suggesting this relationship to be curvilinear. Findings are discussed around the use of leisure theory in pornography scholarship, in this case leisure boredom. Practical applications …

Taxpayers' Perceptions Of Joint And Several Liability And Equitable Relief Under Sec. 6015, Karen J. Pierce

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation is to ascertain taxpayers' perceptions of joint and several liability and equitable relief. Congress was aware that joint and several liability is not always fair when they passed the first innocent spouse provisions in 1971. In fiscal years 1999-2001, over 152,000 requests were filed for relief from joint and several liability, and it remains one of the top ten most litigated tax issues. The innocent spouse rules were passed to protect the public, and it is important that we understand how ordinary taxpayers feel about this area of the tax code.

For this study, an …

An Empirical Examination Of The Effects Of Ethics, Disclosure, And Signal Theory On Disciplinary Actions Within The Accounting Profession, Benjamin Mcmillan

Doctoral Dissertations

There has been extensive research examining the relationship between the public mission of the accounting profession and the private interests of its professionals. All professions have been offered a special place within society due to the importance of the functions they perform as well as their stated public missions. In exchange, society delegates specific rights to the professions such as exclusivity of practice, self-discipline, and self-selection of their membership. Existing research suggests that the accounting profession's private interests have potentially encroached upon its public mission.

By using the Economic Theory of the Self Regulated Profession, Disclosure Theory, and Signal Theory, …

The Mediating Role Of Ethical Decision Making In The Relationship Between Job Characteristics And Job Outcomes: An Examination Of Business-To-Business Salespeople, G. Alexander Hamwi

Marketing Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to examine how the ethical decision making of a salesperson is influenced by job characteristics, and how ethical decision making then influences job outcomes. This research is important because the field of ethics draws from diverse disciplines that have minimal agreement with each other. While calls have been made for a uniform standard of ethics, a better decision may be for each discipline to look internally to determine both what ethics is and how it functions in relation to other variables on in each disciplines unique field. This study examines first how the exogenous …

In-Group / Out-Group Dynamics And Effectiveness In Partially Distributed Teams, Faina Privman

Dissertations

When organizations collaborate they often do so using partially distributed teams (PDTs). In a Partially Distributed Team there exist at least two distinct sub-groups. In addition, at least one of the sub-groups has two or more members that are geographically co-located. Co-located members can meet face to face; chat in the hallway; have lunch together; and otherwise socialize with one another. On the other hand, remote members must rely on technology to communicate and work together. This distinct characteristic of partially distributed teams makes them especially susceptible to the In-Group / Out Group dynamic (Huang and Ocker, 2006). This dynamic …

Water Purification In Haiti : An Engineers Without Borders Project, Melissa Valoura

Theses

The objective of this thesis was to present the necessary steps to help a town in Haiti develop an organization focused on improving their water quality. It goes through the technology needed to create the organization and explains the procedures for implementing a charitable project in a foreign country. A narrative of the student project in Milot, Haiti, where students from the New Jersey Institute of Technology's Engineers Without Borders Chapter implemented a water purification project, explains the course of action that was taken and gives an example of a successful project. A summary of Haiti and its history paints …

Surveyed Consumer Response To Grocery Store Social Networking Websites, Greg Aszman

Agribusiness

This study was undertaken to determine whether or not people would respond favorably to a grocery store setting up a page on a social networking website (i.e. MySpace) and if so, what people would like to see on the page. Self-addressed, self-stamped envelopes containing a survey and a cover letter were passed out to obtain the information. This project used simple means and frequencies to analyze the whole population and sections of the population; social network users and non-social network users. Independent T-Tests and Chi-Square tests were used to compare the two groups. A statistical program, SPSS, was used to …

Effects Of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program On Nutrient Intakes, Xiaowen Liu

Masters Theses

The socioeconomic determinants of participant in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and effects of the program on nutrient intakes are investigated. The dependent variable is transformed by logarithm which facilitates estimation of the model. Marginal effects of explanatory variables are calculated which make interpretation of the effects of explanatory variables easier. The result suggests SNAP plays a significant role in nutrient intakes. The effects of participation in SNAP are negative on vitamin C and positive on all other nutrients (protein, vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, and iron), for males, females, and both genders combined. Income, household size, presence of …

Americans Abroad: International Hospitality Careers, Julienne Chranowski

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This is an exploratory research paper reviewing international tourism and hospitality careers with a focus on Abu Dhabi, the capitol of the United Arab Emirates. The paper reviews the cultural aspects of business life in the country and gives Americans the necessary steps to finding a career in this foreign land

The Effect Of Holland's Person-Environment Fit On Trait Anger, Interpersonal Conflict At Work, And Workplace Aggression, Aimee Chantelle Pseekos

Dissertations

This study examined the effect of Person-Environment fit, as defined by Holland's (1997) theory, on trait anger, interpersonal conflict at work, and workplace aggression in a sample of employees in the United States. Job satisfaction was also examined with regard to concurrent and discriminant validity information for this sample. Results indicated that there was not a statistically significant effect of Person- Environment fit on trait anger, interpersonal conflict at work, or workplace aggression. The concurrent and discriminant validity of findings was supported through relationships between job satisfaction, Person-Environment fit, and workplace aggression. Limitations and implications for further research related to …

Research On The Establishment Of Food Supply Chain Traceability Systems, Jianmin Zhang

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Consumer Receptivity Of Foreign Products: The Roles Of Country-Of-Origin Image, Consumer Ethnocentrism And Animosity, Larry Lee Carter Jr.

Theses and Dissertations in Business Administration

In business, the survival of a manufacturing firm is dependent upon the consumer's acceptance and purchase of its products. Globalization and the accessibility of markets worldwide have expanded the potential customer base from purely domestic to include international customers. It is imperative for marketing managers to accurately assess consumer product perceptions to forecast foreign market entry acceptance and develop some form of competitive advantage that will be sustainable over the long run. Despite the apparent relevance and importance of analyzing consumer product perceptions, there is a lack of research in modeling the relationships between primary antecedents that influence consumers' receptivity …

Factors Influencing Career Success Of Minority Healthcare Industry Executives, Celesia D. Valentine

Graduate Student Dissertations, Theses, Capstones, and Portfolios

Research has been conducted on the effects of a "glass ceiling" that still exists in US organizations for racial, ethnic, and female executives. A new barrier, defined as a "concrete ceiling" that is more difficult to penetrate, denser and less easily shattered than the glass ceiling has recently been identified as a barrier to progress namely for women of color (Catalyst, 1999,2000,2001; Moore & Jones, 2001).

The primary purpose of this non-experimental, correlational, (explanatory), causal comparative (exploratory) study is to investigate the relationships among ethnicity, race, and gender on career success outcomes of healthcare executives and to examine those factors …

Data Mining To Identify Quality Of Care Factors Associated With Liability Claims And Risk Management Strategies In Florida Nursing Homes, Ernande Fortune

Graduate Student Dissertations, Theses, Capstones, and Portfolios

The challenges facing the nursing home industry are increasingly important to the population of the United States. As the population grows older, the number of people that will require services from a nursing home will increase. In today's environment the nursing home business is facing many challenges that will define the future of the industry. Among them is the plaintiff attorney lawsuit against nursing homes, rising liability costs and vulnerability to lawsuits. A reduction in liability claims should allow nursing homes in Florida to remain solvent and stay in business to take care of those who cannot take care of …

How Color Affects Food Choices, Costa Magoulas

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Color has a very strong influence in the hospitality industry. How much thought has been given to food choices because of color, and how influential is that on customers’ satisfaction of a food product? Staff that prepares food must understand how color and taste work together through presentation and eye appeal to create the WOW factor since customers eat with their eyes first. People associate different foods with different colors. When this perception changes it often has a detrimental effect on the customer’s perception of how that food should taste. Scientific information was gathered on the history of food, the …

The Relationship Between Psychological Capital And Social Venture Program Initiation, Paul L. Van Putten Ii

Graduate Student Dissertations, Theses, Capstones, and Portfolios

Entrepreneurship is viewed as one of the greatest sources of societal productivity in cultural history (Spinosa, Flores, & Dreyfus, 1999), and recently social entrepreneurship has become an increasingly viable method for not-for-profit organizations to garner profit through implementing community enhancing programs (Hopkins, 2005, Morial, 2006; Wickham, 2005).

Literature suggests that psychological capital has an impact on an entrepreneurial administrators' ability to implement new programs, but few studies have investigated the relationship between the not-for-profit administrators' psychological capital and their ability to initiate social venture programs (Jensen & Luthans, 2006; Olson, & Bosserman, 2001).

This dissertation study developed a theoretical framework …

Marital Satisfaction Among Married Couples In Which One Or Both Members Play A Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (Mmorpg), A Michelle Elton Ahlstrom

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of the gaming behaviors of married individuals and couples who play Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game(s) (MMORPGs) including gaming addiction, time spent gaming, satisfaction in gaming participation, gaming interaction (between joint gaming spouses), and socio-demographic variables and the subsequent marital satisfaction levels of both individuals in the couple. Hypotheses were generally supported, excluding the hours spent gaming. 685 couples were separated and analyzed according to whether both individuals in the marriage gamed or just one individual gamed (couple-gaming type). Couples in which only one individual gamed (individual-gamer couples) had …

Does Student Leadership Participation Enhance The Development Of Emotional Intelligence, Michelle Breanne Curro

Master's Theses

Emotional Intelligence is believed to explain how emotions may be used, monitored, and measured to predict workplace success and failure, the suggestion that if individuals can balance the emotions within themselves and others, they can use their skills to better their organization. This study explored the development of Emotional Intelligence in the ASI Student Manager Team in comparison to Student Government members at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly) during the fall 2008 quarter. The Bar-On Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-i) was used to assess student leaders’ Emotional Intelligence (EI) development (N = 27). A two sample t-test …

Perceptions About Rollersoccer Youth Programs, June Solomon

Master's Projects and Capstones

The purpose of this research was to investigate the demand for structured

RollerSoccer Youth Programs and to examine the perceptions about this type of

Program. The market for RollerSoccer is untapped and unrepresented in the

world of sports. To date, there are no articles about the development of

RollerSoccer Youth Programs or scholarly work on marketing the emerging sport

of RollerSoccer. The RollerSoccer International Federation (RSIF), the governing

body for this fast‐paced, high scoring hybrid sport aims to expand its reach to

youth in diverse communities by developing this sports initiative.

Three hundred and ten youth participants from selected schools …

Mission Statements: The Soul Of An Organization, Brian Johns

Honors Theses

When a culture is created or decisions are made, the presence of a viable mission statement is critical. This document can be used as a tool to create a business environment employees are attracted to, as a model for how decisions should be made, and is an image of who the company is and what it does. This paper looks to explore the makeup of a good mission statement through scholarly articles and research and the effect it has on corporate culture through real life examples of top companies in a variety of industries, supported by first-hand experience from the …

Exploring Calvin And Hobbes: Comic Strip Illuminates Issues Surrounding Family Recreation, Christijan D. Draper

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to inductively examine the content of the popular comic strip Calvin and Hobbes by analyzing its latent and subjective meaning to discover basic social psychological issues associated with family recreation. The entire collection of 1,360 Calvin and Hobbes strips was evaluated using Grounded Theory techniques influenced by the art scholarship evaluation tool iconography. Review of the strip suggests one way to assess the meaning associated with time use is through preemptive retrospection by which a person looks at current experiences through the lens of an anticipated future to estimate how meaningful that time will …

Social Ties And Team-Member Exchange As Antecedents To Performance In Networking Groups, Jeffrey Pollack

Theses and Dissertations

The present research examines the role of social ties and team-member exchange quality (TMX) in enabling small business owners involved in formal networking groups to gain access to new business. I report on data from two studies. First, initial data from a pilot study of 23 small business owners in networking groups revealed that more numerous social ties and more positive perceptions of team-member exchange quality (TMX) predicted performance outcomes. Specifically, individuals who had more numerous social ties within a networking group, and who reported higher TMX perceptions of their group, received significantly more referrals to potential clients compared to …