Business Commons^™

The Killingly Mascot Case Study, Jordan Lumpkins

School of Professional Studies

In the summer of 2019, in Killingly, Connecticut the local Board of Education voted to retire the "Redmen" mascot name it had used for nearly a century. This legislation was widely opposed and received extensive media coverage. Within a few months, the town experienced a massive political referendum where several local Board of Education members and Councilmen were replaced by single issue politicians promising to reinstate the "Redmen" name. Now holding a majority on the Board of Education, these Board members made Killingly the first school in U.S. history to reinstate a mascot after being deemed "derogatory."

It is the …

How Museum Utilize Social Media On Communication, Jiake Han

School of Professional Studies

With the development of Internet, social media became more and more popular among people. Many industries realize the importance of social media in business. Traditionally, museum concentrates more on personal visual experience, which is hard to be replaced by online media. However, museums now also put more concentrate on social media platform because it expands the way of engagement. Especially, for Coronavirus, many organizations including museums have to close. Therefore, museums have to depend more on social media platforms to communicate with audiences. This research aims at finding how different kind of social media help museum communicate and engage with …

Cvs Covid-19 Screening Website: Test Automation, Savya Rawat

School of Professional Studies

CVS Pharmacy is an American retail corporation, also known as, and originally named, the Consumer Value Store owned by CVS Health, it is headquartered in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. CVS Pharmacy is currently the largest pharmacy chain in the United States by number of locations over 9,600 and total prescription revenue. CVS sells prescription drugs and a wide assortment of general merchandise, including over-the-counter drugs.

Now, coming to the reason why I have selected CVS pharmacy’s website cvs.com as my case study topic is because of CVS’s response to the covid-19 pandemic’s no-cost testing strategy. Whole of the world is suffering …

The Practical Applications Of Video Games Beyond Entertainment, Jack Martin

School of Professional Studies

Much of the attention directed toward video games is focused on their role as entertainment. However, researchers have found that video games can have other, more practical uses for society. This thesis is designed to examine three specific examples of the practical applications of video games: video games in education, video games as accessible technology, and the social uses of video games. This project is based on pre-existing research conducted by professionals studying the aforementioned subtopics. Anecdotal stories from educators, people with disabilities, and developers are also discussed. The thesis explores specific examples of video games being used practically, and …

Transparency And Yielding Of Law Officers Reform (Taylor) Act Of 2020: Proposal For Police Reform, Marwa Alnaal, Matthew L. Anderson, Hannah Brier, Mollie Campbell, Rose Wine

School of Professional Studies

The Transparency and Yielding of Law Officers Reform Act of 2020 (TAYLOR) proposes an example bill for law enforcement reform. During the summer of 2020, the United States witnessed civilian demonstrations nationwide calling for a change to policing. Our proposal is hoping to heed that call, offering a foundation for change that police forces and localities across the United States can utilize to rebuild trust and accountability.

The goal of the TAYLOR Act is not to defund the police; but rather, TAYLOR rethinks the priorities of the police. There can be no denying that the relationship of trust and security …

Higher Education Responses To Crisis: A Case Study Of Clark University And The Pandemic Of 2020, Lisa Gillingham

School of Professional Studies

The COVID-19 pandemic has delivered an existential challenge to universities and other academic institutions at a time when they are already grappling with other weighty issues that may alter the fabric of higher education. COVID-19 has forced these institutions to consider and employ new ways of conducting its work with a sense urgency that is unprecedented in the recent history of the academy. The rate of learning around these models is rapid, and Higher Education is ripe for change.

Clark University has addressed the pandemic with a plan to protect and pivot using strategies that support the continuation of its …

The Brigade Combat Team (Bct): A Revolution In Organizational Structure, Adam Davis

Muskie School Capstones and Dissertations

This paper explores the U.S. Army’s force reorganization around the Brigade Combat Team (BCT), which began in 2002. The BCT shifted how various army units interacted by changing the echelon at which different types of units report to a single commander, essentially creating self-sufficient units of about 2,500 soldiers instead of the previous self-sufficient units of about 15,000 soldiers. This paper utilizes existing organizational theories and research to better understand the implications for such a dramatic change in organizational structure. It contextualizes the army’s reorganization by applying the Rational Actor, Political, and Bureaucratic Models outlined in Essence of Decision by …

The Potential Of Ivf, Jae Anderson

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

As in-vitro fertilization (IVF) has become more available and more affordable, it has become one of the top breeding technologies in the beef and dairy industry. Intermountain Embryonics of Twin Falls, Idaho has made it an available technology for producers in Idaho and parts of surrounding states. Intermountain Embryonics has struggled to show potential clients the financial potential IVF has to offer. This study shows the revenues, expenses, and risks involved in IVF. This study looks at the comparison of breeding natural service with a bull, artificial insemination, and in-vitro fertilization. The comparison shows that natural service comes with the …

Testing Investment Strategies For Superior Predictive Ability, Jack K. Baldwin

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

When different models are tested on one data sample and repeatedly altered in order to be found significant, the results are likely spurious. This is data-snooping – an ever-growing problem in the finance industry likely due to fierce competition and developments in data processing capacity. In academia, although recognized as a deplorable practice, data-snooping is likewise pervasive perhaps as a result of poor incentive structures at both the university and publisher levels. I manifest the problem of data-snooping through multiple academic and industry examples and then summarize Halbert White and Peter Hansen’s offered solutions, White’s Reality Check and Hansen’s Test …

The Corporate Venture Dyad: A Study Of The Impact Of Cultural Distance On Venture Performance., Tommie R. Welcher

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Even though corporate ventures (CVs) provide many benefits to established corporations, they continue to fail at a high rate. Whereas research supports that a corporation can gain a parenting advantage over its competitors (Campbell et al., 1995), there is no evidence to support that starting more CVs leads to more successful CVs. Parenting advantage theory postulates that if a corporation with a parenting advantage starts a venture then that venture will be more successful than if any of their competitors had started the same venture (Campbell et al., 1995). CVs are typified by dynamism and innovation, but established corporations have …

Online Strategies For Small Businesses Affected By Covid-19: A Social Media And Social Commerce Approach, Julianne Itliong

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The Covid-19 pandemic has altered the way many US citizens work, live, and interact with one another. Many rules and regulations have been put in place by government officials to slow the spread of the virus because of how contagious it is in social settings. Because of these rules and regulations, many small businesses were forced to temporarily close their doors to the public in order to comply with the rules of social distancing and the ban on large gatherings. For some businesses, this shift from physical sales to digital sales has always been a part of their business models, …

Retaining Ownership Of Calves- Obendorf Farms, Gabrielle Bishop

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Retaining Ownership is when a producer chooses to obtain ownership of their calves until they have reached a finished weight and are ready to be sent to slaughter. Cow-calf producers generally sell their calves at weaning time or within a few months of weaning. Every operation as their own way of doing things and sometimes change is hard to come by. Obendorf Farms wanted to evaluate, at what point in time would it be best to sell their 2020 calf crop? Four different scenarios were analyzed. The first scenario involved no change from previous years which, is selling their calves …

Employee Engagement As A Shared Responsibility: A Study Of Engagement Strategies Employed By Legal Assistants, Thomas A. Steele

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to identify strategies used by legal assistants to engage, stay engaged, and reengage, when appropriate, in their work, in particular when common organizational efforts fall short or do not exist. Constructivism and job demands-resources (JD-R) were the primary frameworks for understanding and analyzing the phenomenon of developing engagement strategies.

Qualitative data were drawn through semi-structured interviews with 16 legal assistants. The interviews were recorded and transcribed. Trustworthiness and validity were enhanced by using multiple respondents and allowing each to review the transcripts for accuracy, fairness, and clarity. The transcriptions were then analyzed for themes. …

Economic Analysis Of Backgrounding Calves, Jayden Gunnell

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

The purpose of this thesis is to allow beef producers a better insight into the costs and benefits associated with carrying over fall calves to yearling weight and selling them the following spring. Producers are usually seen as risk-averse when it comes to selling their livestock. (Feuz, Fausti 1995) Cattle producers face several decisions during the year when it comes to calf input costs and the premium to be received for fall calves, with the final decision coming at the last minute, when making the decision to keep or sell calves. Said calves might be sold in the fall or …

An Economic Analysis Of Using Retired Vessels To Create Artificial Reefs In Costa Rica, Josué González

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

ABSTRACT

The Republic of Costa Rica is a Central American country with only 0.03% of the world’s landmass, but 5% of the world’s biodiversity, making it a leading ecotourism destination. Ecotourism is one of the main sources of revenue for the country, but the degradation of coastal reefs has resulted in a significant loss of financial income for developing areas. As a result, many of these areas are searching for methods to revert the degradation of coral reefs.

Artificial reefs play an important ecological role in marine ecosystems due to their complexity and size. They help in the development of …

Critical Followership: Faculty And Leader Relations Impact On Leadership Turnover At A California Community College, Erik William Christianson

Doctoral Dissertations

Community colleges are experiencing higher levels of executive leader (chancellor, vice chancellor, and dean) turnover than four-year universities. Many different factors account for the high turnover and low retention: the need for dynamic leaders, the leadership succession process, the lack of professional training and development, as well as stakeholders and outside forces. The relationship dynamic between faculty and leaders as a contributing factor has not been previously studied. The purpose of this mixed methods study was to examine leaders’ misperceptions of faculty’s needs. Surveys and interviews were utilized to cross-examine data and perceptions from faculty and leaders. Through the lens …

Insider Trading Enforcement And The Private Information Environment: Evidence From The Newman Ruling, Andrew T. Pierce

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

I exploit a shock to U.S. insider trading law to investigate whether a reduction in the enforceability of tipper-tippee insider trading restrictions leads to changes in information parity among investors and the efficiency of price discovery. The December 2014 Federal Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in US v. Newman constrained enforcement by restricting the types of exchanges between managers and investors that trigger tipper-tippee insider trading liability. Following Newman, I find that Second Circuit hedge funds experienced a significant increase in their stock picking ability of Second Circuit stocks in terms of preempting future earnings announcement returns and future …

The Effect Of Endorser Credibility On Purchase Intention Based On Golf Products’ Attribute: Elaboration Likelihood Model Perspective. Golf Equipment Vs. Golf Apparel, Jongyeol Yoo

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of the study is to examine the main features of a sport celebrity which make them credible as an endorser such that it influences the consumer’s purchase intention based on the products’ attributes. The study used a non-probability sample, a convenient sample method, limiting the generalization possibilities. A total of 401 surveys were collected for a golf apparel study while a total of 397 surveys were collected for a golf equipment study.

Findings of the golf apparel study indicated that trustworthiness, attitude toward advertisement, and involvement in golf positively influence on purchase intentions. On the other hand, attractiveness, …

The Possibilities Are Limitless: A Case Study Of The Best Practices Of User Experience For Apple Inc., Chloe Richardson

Experience Industry Management

In recent years, society has followed the development of user experience practices in technology companies. User experiences contribute to emotional connections between the company and the consumer, memorable experiences associated with the brand, and the design of products. The purpose of this study was to examine the best practices of user experience for Apple Inc. The research for this study was conducted using a best practice case study guide developed by the researcher that examined the user experience Apple provides. The results of this study indicate there are numerous ways Apple creates user experiences. Apple was recognized as a leading …

Authentication Based On Blockchain, Norah Alilwit

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Across past decade online services have enabled individuals and organizations to perform different types of transactions such as banking, government transactions etc. The online services have also enabled more developments of applications, at cheap cost with elastic and scalable, fault tolerant system. These online services are offered by services providers which are use authentication, authorization and accounting framework based on client-server model. Though this model has been used over decades, study shows it is vulnerable to different hacks and it is also inconvenient to use for the end users. In addition, the services provider has total control over user data …

A Content Analysis Of Dissertations On Business Topics: A Quantitative Study, Kat Yamamoto

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Many students explore business topics in their dissertations because they are relevant research areas for future scholar-practitioners such as leaders, educators, researchers, and consultants. Nevertheless, there is limited scholarship on the content of dissertations from PhD and practitioner doctoral programs. Dissertation research methodology choices, page lengths, and research topics have not been studied extensively. Few studies have been conducted to explore the differences and similarities between researcher-oriented and practitioner-oriented dissertations. This study examined dissertations written on business topics in the recent ten years using content analysis to address these gaps. A sample of dissertations uploaded in the years 2010, 2015, …

Kids These Days: Corporate Social Responsibility And Generational Influence On Consumer Intention, Maya Mathis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Millennials are known for being a unique generation that places a high value on improving their community. They are also unlike any other generation because they are harder to market to since they are more aware of common marketing strategies used by companies today. Millennials want to improve the community and expect others to do the same. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a popular topic and has gained momentum in research over the years; understanding the relationship between CSR and millennials is important due to the generational shifts. Therefore, this study examines the importance of CSR to different generations and …

Docs_On_Blocks – A Defense In Depth Strategy For E-Healthcare, Saad Mohammed

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

With the increase in the data breaches and cyber hacks, organizations have come to realize that cyber security alone would not help as the attacks are becoming more sophisticated and complex than ever. E-Healthcare industry has shown a promising improvement in terms of security over the past, but the threat remains. Thus, the E-Healthcare industries are aiming towards a Defense in Depth Strategy approach.

The project here describes how a Defense in Depth Strategy for E-Healthcare system can provide an environment for better security of the data and peer-to-peer interaction with stakeholders. The legacy systems have at some point failed …

Three Essays On Organizational Socialization From Dissimilar Employee’S Perspective, Lu Yu

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation consists of 3 essays all of which seek to examine the socialization experiences of newcomers who perceive themselves to be dissimilar from their work colleagues before, during, and after they start their jobs. I define the perceived dissimilarity as the degree to which individuals perceived themselves to be different from most others in the organization. The first essay provides a comprehensive review of the theoretical and empirical literature on organizational socialization, identifies four dominant theoretical perspectives and their gaps, and sets the stage for the research model developed for this dissertation. At the end of the first essay, …

Speaker Prototyping Design, Andrew Lathe

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Audio design is a pertinent industry in today’s world, with an extremely large market including leaders such as Bose, Harman International, and Sennheiser. This project is designed to explore the processes that are necessary to create a new type of product in this market. The end goal is to have a functioning, high–quality set of speakers to prove various concepts of design and prototyping.

The steps involved in this project go through the entire design process from initial choice of product to a finished prototype. Processes include the selection of outsourced components such as drivers and necessary connectors. The design …

An Analysis Of Robotic Process Automation For Accountants, Olivia Sturgill

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The objective of this thesis paper is to answer the question: is robotic process automation efficient/beneficial and should accountants consider its implementation? For accountants, robotic process automation is a software that “perform[s] tasks such as processing sales and financial transactions, managing data, communicating between different systems, and access management, as well as monitoring and reporting” (Seasongood, 2016). In order to determine whether or not RPA should be implemented, a survey was found that had over 500 responses from varying companies currently using RPA. A statistical analysis will be performed in order to determine if any statistical significances exist between questions …

Diversification Using International Exchange-Traded Funds, Alese K. Jones

Honors Theses

Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) are diversified portfolios of assets which trade like stocks and track a benchmark index. This manuscript looks at the diversification and return benefits a U.S. investor would receive by investing in Emerging market (EEM) and Total World (DGT) ETFs over the period of June 2003 to July 2019. We use S&P 500 ETF IVV as a proxy for U.S. market. EEM had the highest absolute return but also the highest risk. However, the U.S. ETF IVV had the greatest risk-adjusted return and the lowest tracking error. International ETFs were also highly correlated with the S&P 500. Overall, …

Nato And The Ifrc: A Comparative Case Study, Abigail Kosiak

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

This research analyzes the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) Multinational Telemedicine System (MnTS) Project and works to answer five main questions:

1) What challenges did the NATO MnTS Project face that are directly related to the fact that the project included members from different countries and worked to create a system that operates across national borders?

2) How do these challenges compare to those faced by a non-governmental organization (NGO) like the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC)?

3) What successes has the IFRC had with its current operational model?

4) In what ways could …

Comparative Views On Age Discrimination Within Appellate Court Decisions: Utilizing Werner And Bolino’S Framework, Daniel Trinkle

Undergraduate Honors Theses

The manner by which courts view performance appraisals in relation to the outcome of case is certainly a topic worthy of discussion. Utilizing the framework used within the work of Werner and Bolino (1997), the following study was able to accomplish two main goals: (1) update the information of Werner and Bolino (1997) by evaluating modern cases, and (2) to evaluate new data regarding age discrimination utilizing the same framework as Werner and Bolino (1997). Utilizing chi-square analysis to test all of the hypotheses, it was demonstrated that there was statistical significance in performance appraisals with the presence of a …

The Role Of Employee Proactive Behaviors In Influencing Supervisors’ Trust In Employees, Ngai Meng Ho

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

In organizations, proactive employees make things happen. They anticipate, initiate, and drive meaningful changes for a better future. Such proactive behaviors can be manifested in different forms. Initiating work improvements and voicing for changes are examples of the different proactive behaviors commonly demonstrated by employees.

Empirical studies have associated proactive behaviors at work with a range of positive workplace outcomes. However, only limited research has examined how proactive behaviors might be related to one particularly important outcome, trust, i.e., whether an employee’s proactive behaviors will influence the supervisor’s trust toward the employee. Accordingly, in this present research, I conducted two …