Digital Commons Network^™

Now Presenting: Uri Theatre, Allyson Schiller

Senior Honors Projects

Honors Project Abstract

In my years as a theatre student and practitioner, I have learned that the most creative people aren’t necessarily found center stage. For every actor taking a bow, there are numerous support staff who created the production that will bring actors acclaim. Without an audience, the work of these artists will remain unseen and unappreciated. Therefore, those who promote the performances are certainly an integral part of the theatrical process. Often referred to as “show business”, the ticket sales and revenue are essential to the health and well being of any theatrical organization. URI Theatre, like any …

Soul Simplicity: An Inquiry Into Dance, Women And Islam, Mariam T. Odetunde

Senior Honors Projects

Islam has guidelines and rules that its followers must abide by in order to fulfill the tenets of the religion. Lawful acts are labeled “al-halal” and the unlawful and prohibited are “al-haram.” Many al-haram activities affect Muslim women specifically – particularly some leisure activities, such as listening to music and dancing. For example, Islam does not permit activities that can be perceived as “erotic” or “arousing male passions.” Elder Muslim women guide and supervise younger women in order to pass along religious morals and values from generation to generation. I am the product of this tradition and my research is …

2017-May-01-Displaying Our Work, University Marketing And Communications, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

No abstract provided.

Is There A Link Between Fantasy Sports Players And Sports Bettors?, Wayman Wittman

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This paper will explore the consumer base playing fantasy sports and comparing it with the consumer base that is currently betting on sports. According to the Fantasy Sport Trade Association, (FSTA), there are an estimated 41 million people that actively participate in fantasy sports in the United States of America and Canada (Dwyer, Achen & Lupninek, 2016). The FSTA also estimated that $1 billion was spend directly on fantasy products with an additional $4 billion spent on related services such as media (Dwyer, et al., 2016). If there is a link between playing fantasy sports and sports betting, then being …

Exploring Effects Of Organizational Culture Upon Implementation Of Information Security Awareness And Training Programs Within The Defense Industry Located In The Tennessee Valley Region, Robert Luther Grant

Theses and Dissertations

Data breaches due to social engineering attacks and employee negligence are on the rise. The only known defense against social engineering attacks and employee negligence is information security awareness and training. However, implementation of awareness and training programs within organizations are lagging in priority. This research used the constructivist grounded theory methodology to explore the effects organizational culture had upon the implementation of information security awareness and training programs and to discover why those programs were lagging in priority within the defense industry located in the Tennessee valley region.

Volume 3, Full Contents

Butler Journal of Undergraduate Research

No abstract provided.

Women’S Work: Labor Market Outcomes And Female Entrepreneurship In Ghana, Loretta Agyemang

Butler Journal of Undergraduate Research

This paper is an investigation of female entrepreneurship in Ghana. It seeks to answer the following question: Why are Ghanaian women so heavily concentrated in microenterprise in the informal economy? The literature review explores labor market trends for women on three different scales including an overview of developing countries, Sub-Saharan Africa regional, and Ghana-specific analysis. After exploring issues women face in formal employment, the study delves into business operations of informal, urban-based market participants by analyzing data pertaining to Ghanaian microenterprise. Additionally, the paper details the experiences and views of female entrepreneurs through in-depth interviews and participant observations with thirty …

Table Of Contents

Butler Journal of Undergraduate Research

Front cover, a list of the article contents in this issue, and editorial information.

2017-April-28-Dr. William N. Duncan, University Marketing And Communications, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

No abstract provided.

Exposition Of St. Francis Xavier’S Holy Relics In Goa: An Importance-Performance Analysis, Subhash Kizhakanveatil Bhaskaran Pillai, Kaustubh Kamat, Miriam Scaglione, Carmelita D'Mello, Klaus Weiermair

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Pilgrimage Tourism, one of the oldest forms of travelling, is the largest tourism sector in India; annually more than 70% of domestic tourist movement is for religious purposes which comes to 250 million pilgrims (Jachowski, 2000, Singh, 2016) and accounts for 20% of the revenue generated in the tourism industry (Dewan et al., 2008), hence, making it significant religiously, economically, politically, as well as sociologically. The present study was based on a survey conducted among the visitors who came for the 17th Exposition of St Francis Xavier’s holy relics, a Christian religious event, from 22nd November 2014 to 4th January …

Living Like A Monk: Motivations And Experiences Of International Participants In Templestay, Byunggil Chun, Eugene Y. Roh, Samuel Arvin Spralls

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Templestay has transformed the perception and traditional role of Buddhist monasteries into a hybrid form of leisure and recreational dwelling that transcends religious boundaries. We identify four domains of motivational variables including learning, self-growth, being with nature, and relaxation. Based on data from 299 international participants in Templestay, empirical tests of the hypotheses revealed that motivational domains such as self-growth, nature, and learning exhibited significant differences based on the various socio-demographic backgrounds of international participants. Strategies are suggested for crafting Templestay as a cultural and monastic experience as well as segmenting and targeting international participants based on their needs.

Comparative Pricing Analysis Of Mecca’S Religious Tourism, Said M. Ladki, Rayan A. Mazeh

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

This study compares the costing practices of three religious tourists groups. Specifically, the study compares the costs of Islamic religious tourism to Mecca among three groups: 1) Indonesia and India, 2) Lebanon and Tunisia, 3) Dubai and Qatar. The selection of the three groups was based on the following principle: Group 1: Represents the most populated and less affluent Islamic countries. Group 2: Represents the less affluent Arab States with moderate income Group 3: Represents the richest Arab Islamic countries in the world. Results indicate that countries with wealthy economies charge much higher prices for Hajj packages than those with …

Information Use And Quality Service Of The Nigerian Police, Olajumoke R. Olawoyin,, Ezinwanyi Madukoma Dr., Ugwunwa Chinyere Esse

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Information use of police force occurs when information acquired by the police to satisfy an information need based on task assigned to them is actually put to use. Information is therefore useful and valuable if after receiving it, it changes things, decisions, behaviour or one’s character and solves the problem for which the information is sought.

Survey research design was adopted for the study. The study population comprised 2,305 police officers in Alimosho Local Government Police Division. Stratified random sampling method was used to select 227 police officers. Questionnaire was the instrument used for data collection. Data collected was analyzed …

How To Plan, Budget, Write, And Implement A Student Sustainability Grant, Annalisa Wilder

Honors Theses

The Student Sustainability Grant program was created to give students valuable grant writing experience and to promote a culture of sustainability on Western Michigan University’s campus. Despite the enormous opportunity that this program provides, few students apply for the grants with their sustainable ideas. Even fewer students are able to fully complete the projects, research, and initiatives that receive funding. In order to help increase the number of grants that are fully implemented and to provide students interested in writing a grant with a useful resource, this guide was created. This ‘how-to manual’ provides an undergraduate student’s perspective on the …

2017 - The Twenty-Second Annual Symposium Of Student Scholars

Symposium of Student Scholars Program Books

The full program book from the Twenty-second Annual Symposium of Student Scholars, held on April 20, 2017. Includes abstracts from the presentations and posters.

Asset Owner Governance And Fiduciary Effectiveness: The Case Of Public Pension Plans, Christopher Kinne Merker

Dissertations (1934 -)

Purpose: The U.S. and many developed countries are currently facing a retirement savings crisis. The governance of institutional funds, such as public pension plans, is coming under greater scrutiny in light of systematic chronic underfunding, declining investment returns and shifts into higher risk asset classes. A disconnect exists between an organization’s process under the standards, and the outcome of this process, the overall effectiveness of the organization and, in particular, its investment performance and funding status. Methodology: In 2012, there were approximately 6,300 public retirement systems in the United States with over $3 trillion in assets. We collected financial, governance …

Community-Level Market Responsiveness To Tourism, Les Hollingsworth

Journal of Applied Marketing Theory

The present case study examines a community’s market responsiveness to tourism. The current axiom in business is that individual organizations must be responsive to customer needs; whether the same holds true for communities as a unified tourist offering is less clear. A mixed methods approach is used to determine whether an award-winning tourism community exhibits the three criteria for market orientation (Slater & Narver, 1999). The findings suggest that market responsiveness as described in the literature may not be a requirement for success when examining communities rather than individual firms.

An Investigation Into Perceived Productivity And Its Influence On The Relationship Between Organizational Climate And Affective Commitment, Kaitlynn Marie Castelle

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to investigate the influence of individually perceived productivity on the relationship between individually assessed organizational climate and affective commitment, from heterogeneous survey participant data. A theoretical framework is adopted to explain how organizational climate shapes employee perception and how this relationship is moderated by a perceived productivity. This is a relatively unexplored concept in the defined context and has been developed by the researcher. Perceived productivity was measured using an instrument developed in this research to gauge respondents’ perception of their productivity. The instrument, named the General Measure of Perceived Productivity (GMPP), was developed …

The Business Of Brandy: The Changing Roles Of Women In Apple Brandy Production In Lower Mustang, Nepal, Madeline Sachs

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Lower Mustang, Nepal is famous across the country for its well-known trekking circuit and an agricultural climate especially suitable to apple cultivation. Home to the indigenous Thakali ethnic group, the region was made accessible by motor vehicle via the Jomsom-Beni road just ten years ago. While before the road transportation of fresh apples was nearly impossible, necessitating the production of dried apples and apple brandy, now farmers make a lucrative profit off of high demand throughout the country. Additionally, the production of apple brandy has boomed, and the region has four to six distilleries in production at any one time. …

Foreign Business Entrepreneurship In Cape Town: How To Start A Business - Stories Of 6 Cape Town Based Immigrants, Aleksandra Bogoevska

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

South Africa has become a shelter for immigrants from all over the world (Wilkinson, 2015). Combined with its internationally recognized economy, it is a tempting location for foreigners to establish a business (“Starting a Business in South Africa as a Foreigner – A Complete Guide”, n.d.). With this in mind, the intent of this study is twofold. First, this project aims at analyzing how foreigners establish businesses in Cape Town. Its objective is to trace the entrepreneurial process from the initial stages to its recent development. Second, it aims at outlining their experiences in Cape Town, thus serve as a …

Oral History Conversation With Rasto Ivanic (Groupsolver), Andreas Breitenberg-Scavuzzo, Courtney Abbassian, Devon Parikh, Majid Bouresli

Philosophy: All Student Work

Interview with the co-founder and CEO of Groupsolver, Rasto Ivanic. In the interview he answers questions about his early life and how he became involved in this social venture. He discusses some of the trials and tribulations associated with Social Entrepreneurship. Groupsolver is a service that collects feedback from customers/constituents and supplies it to the relevant party.

How To Conduct A Mini-Ethnographic Case Study: A Guide For Novice Researchers, Patricia I. Fusch Ph.D., Gene E. Fusch, Lawrence R. Ness

The Qualitative Report

The authors present how to construct a mini-ethnographic case study design with the benefit of an ethnographic approach bounded within a case study protocol that is more feasible for a student researcher with limited time and finances. The novice researcher should choose a design that enables one to best answer the research question. Secondly, one should choose the design that assists the researcher in reaching data saturation. Finally, the novice researcher must choose the design in which one can complete the study within a reasonable time frame with minimal cost. This is particularly important for student researchers. One can blend …

2017-March-03-Gun Violence, University Marketing And Communications, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

No abstract provided.

Why Men Trophy Hunt, Chris T. Darimont, Brian F. Codding, Kristen Hawkes

Big-Game and Trophy Hunting Collection

The killing of Cecil the lion (Panthera leo) ignited enduring and increasingly global discussion about trophy hunting. Yet, policy debate about its benefits and costs focuses only on the hunted species and biodiversity, not the unique behaviour of hunters. Some contemporary recreational hunters from the developed world behave curiously, commonly targeting ‘trophies’: individuals within populations with large body or ornament size, as well as rare and/or inedible species, like carnivores. Although contemporary hunters have been classified according to implied motivation (i.e. for meat, recreation, trophy or population control, as well the ‘multiple satisfactions’ they seek while hunting (affiliation, …

The Effect Of Locus Of Control And Autonomy On Motivation In The Workplace, Kelley K. Nekota

Social Sciences

The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of locus of control and autonomy on motivation in the workplace. A sample size of 414 employed individuals was obtained; however, only 243 individuals completed the questionnaire in its entirety over the course of one week. The survey included Rotter’s thirteen question scale on locus of control, and a variety of questions relevant to autonomy and motivation in the workplace. Gender, age, ethnicity, organization size, and hierarchy within the workplace were controlled for. The data showed a significant correlation between locus of control and motivation, independent of autonomy. Autonomy, too, …

2017-March-01-Caroline Drury, University Marketing And Communications, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

No abstract provided.

Proceedings (Abstracts) From The 2nd Annual Student Research Symposium “Meeting Of The Minds” And The 27th Annual Csusb Student Research Competition

OSRI Journal of Student Research and Innovation

No abstract provided.

Pitfalls Of Over-Legalization: When The Law Crowds Out And Spills Over, Mark Kawakami

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

While some academics argue that enforcing voluntary corporate codes of conduct with private law backed sanctions can improve the working conditions of marginalized workers in the global supply chain, there are various risks associated with this "legalization" process. Relying on evidence from the fields of sociology, psychology, and evolutionary anthropology, this contribution will discuss how external incentives like threats of legal sanctions can actually be detrimental to the intrinsic motivations of companies that want to be socially responsible. This paper will also analyze how the crowding out effect and the spillover effect that come with legalizing otherwise voluntary norms could …

2017-February-08-Women On Wednesdays, University Marketing And Communications, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

No abstract provided.

Dehumanization: A Case Study, Regina Varthi

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The capstone “Dehumanization” is divided into three main parts.

The first part contains a brief presentation on the UN family (or UN system), showing its role through its organizational and managerial structures. All data are derived from UN corresponding websites.

The second part, “Homelessness,” focuses on the SDG 11 of the 2030 GA Agenda. In 2014 the United Nations Human Rights Council appointed Leilani Farha Special Rapporteur on adequate housing in order to conduct research on the subject of homelessness as a violation of human rights. In her report, presented at the Human Rights Council in March 2016, Farha claims …