Digital Commons Network^™

Pilgrimage And Tourism Marketing Concepts, Prospects, And Challenges In Two Developing Countries: Bangladesh And Ghana, Md. Javed Kawsar, Michael Evans, Rashed Khan

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

This contextual paper analyses the significance of pilgrimage and tourism marketing concepts, prospects, and challenges in two developing countries, Ghana in the West of Africa, and Bangladesh in the South of Asia. The focus of this study is to assess the present marketing and promotion of tourism in the two countries which are different in population size, economy, and tourism contribution towards each country’s GDP.

Within the context of nature-based tourism initiatives in Bangladesh, it is imperative to measure future prospects of tourism marketing ventures related to pilgrimage. The development of marketing for tourism can be helpful for delivering stability …

2024-12-02 Letter From The Dean Of The College Of Arts, Humanities, & Social Sciences, Morehead State University. Faculty Senate., Sylvia Henneberg

Faculty Senate Records

A memo sent by Sylvia Henneberg, Dean of the College of Arts, Humanities, & Social Sciences, to faculty members of the college on December 2, 2024, titled "Changes/Transition in Caudill."

Passion Plays And Their Touristic Utilisation: Authenticity Or Commercialisation?, Dimitrios Mylonopoulos, Polyxeni Moira, Elli Terzoglou

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Tourism development and the economic benefits that come from tourism have led to the increase and revival of religious celebrations and festivals in the form of events and performances, especially during the Holy Week. Many events such as Passion Plays of Jesus, due to their enduring existence in time, ‘authenticity’, particularities, originality and the emotions they evoke, capture the attention of both religious people and tourists. These Passion Plays are specific religious-cultural events that consist of depictions of scenes from Jesus Christ’s passion, following the biblical narrations (e.g. the Teaching, the Passion, the Crucifixion, the Resurrection). According to UNESCO (2014), …

Impact Analysis Of Religious Events: Medjugorje As A Pilgrimage Destination, Igor Stamenkovic, Ivan Dodig, Dajana Vukojević

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Medjugorje is one of the most well-known and attractive pilgrimage sites for Roman Catholics. The phenomenon of Medjugorje is linked to the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary to six children, which, according to the children’s claims, began in June 1981, after which this town has become one of the most visited destinations in the whole of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Tens of thousands of pilgrims attend the International Youth Festival “Mladifest”, a religious gathering that has been going on for more than thirty years. The purpose of this paper is to research and explain how this religious event impacts a …

Increasing The Attractiveness Of Hungarian Religious Pilgrimage Routes, The Case Of Rurallure, Ákos Lencsés, Ildikó Kádárné Kelemen, Ildikó Csepregi, Zsófia Galgócziné Szabó

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

The paper discusses the regional variations and attractiveness of pilgrimage routes in Europe, focusing on the Way of Mary. The Horizon Europe project rurAllure aims to use innovative techniques, such as narrative techniques of cultural heritage and mapping non-religious points of interests, to expand the area around the route and attract younger and spiritually-seeking pilgrims. The study introduces the selection criteria, workflow, and technologies used to enhance the tourism experience along the route, exploring alternative route variants and narrative creating techniques. For this, we describe and analyse the data of Points of Interest (POIs), narratives, and recommended trips generated as …

Bank Competition Amid Digital Disruption: Implications For Financial Inclusion, Erica Xuewei Jiang, Yang Gloria Yu, Jinyuan Zhang

Sim Kee Boon Institute for Financial Economics

We study how digital disruption impacts bank competition, considering consumers’ heterogeneous digital preferences. We find that the rollout of 3G networks contracts bank branch networks and leads to divergence in branching and pricing strategies across banks. These developments benefit young consumers but increase the unbanked rate for poorer and older consumers. A structural model shows that the higher perceived digital quality by younger borrowers mainly prompts these adjustments, causing significant surplus losses for older savers. Counterfactual exercises illustrate that subsidizing older savers opting for mobile banking effectively offsets these disparities at minimal cost, facilitating a smoother digital transition.

Fixed Income Fund Report, December 2024, Archway Investment Fund

Archway Investment Fund

No abstract provided.

Physiological Positioning And Its Effects On Seated Vs. Standing Workers, Carlos Gautreaux

Theses & Dissertations

In the digital era, distractions in the working environment significantly impede professionals’ ability to maintain attention during the workday. Recent studies underscore the benefits of adjustable desks that allow for transitions between sitting and standing, highlighting improvements in workers’ physical and psychological health. Specifically, it has been noted that standing enhances cognitive function, focus, and mental acuity while alleviating stress. Despite these insights, research has yet to systematically explore the impact of standing while working on attentional performance. Moreover, the effect of standing while working may vary between on-site and remote working environments due to differences in ambient distractions. This …

Financing White Rule: How Luxembourg Became A Banker For The Belgian Congo And Apartheid South Africa, Samuel Weeks

College of Humanities and Sciences Faculty Papers

In this article, I offer a historical analysis of how bankers in Luxembourg came to be important service providers to borrowers in the Belgian Congo and Apartheid South Africa. I demonstrate how a series of unique political and cultural factors linking Luxembourg and these two (neo)colonial regimes account for the financial activities that developed between the three jurisdictions. As such, I show that officials in the Belgian Congo and Apartheid South Africa were able to count on their Luxembourg-based bankers for a variety of finance-related services, including the provision of Eurocurrency loans and the formation of offshore companies. In doing …

Innovating Under Pressure? Regulatory Intensity And Corporate Innovation, Christy Mak

Honors Projects in Finance

We investigate the impact of regulatory intensity on innovation outcomes. We examine U.S. publicly listed firms, utilizing a novel firm-level measure of exposure to all federal regulations. The study reveals that highly regulated companies tend to exhibit lower patent value, a reduction in patent filings, and a decrease in patent citations. The results suggest additional costs imposed on firms burdened by heavy regulations. Furthermore, financial distress and political connections mitigate this negative effect. Overall, the paper uncovers a previously undiscovered connection between regulation at an aggregate level and innovation, emphasizing circumstances where regulations may impose costs that outweigh potential benefits.

Everyone Brings Something To The Table: A Culturally Sustaining Analysis Of Teacher Candidates’ Mixed Reality Teaching Simulations, Erin Scott

Faculty Publications

Discussions of HBCU students’ content knowledge have centered around developing high impact, asset-based approaches to learning (Williams et al, 2022). So, HBCU teacher preparation providers (TPPs) can also focus efforts on culturally sustaining approaches to developing candidates’ content knowledge and researching how high impact practices, like teaching simulations, can help prepare candidates for classrooms. This exploratory case study uses critical cases (n=2); findings suggest candidates have a developing understanding of content, which forms a solid basis for increasing their knowledge. MRTSs are addressed as a potential high impact, culturally sustaining practice for building candidates’ content knowledge. Further, HBCU TPPs can …

Proceedings Of The Global Conference On Education And Research: Volume 5, Waynne B. James, Muhittin Cavusoglu, Cihan Cobanoglu

University of South Florida (USF) M3 Publishing

This is the fifth volume of the Global Conference on Education and Research Proceedings Series.

ISSN: 2572-6374

Issue 7, Dark Academia, Janell Gamboa

Thrive

No abstract provided.

Audit Firms' Entry Into H-Share Audit Market And Mainland Audit Pricing: Evidence From China, Rui Zhang, Gaoliang Tian, Zichen Tian, Liuchuang Li

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

Purpose: This study aims to investigate whether mainland Chinese audit firms’ entry into the H-share market to provide audit services affects their mainland audit pricing. Design/methodology/approach: Using data on A-share listed companies in China from 2008 to 2018, a difference-in-differences model to test the research question is designed. Robustness tests are conducted to rule out alternative explanations and additional tests to shed light on the extent and inner workings of the main effect. Findings: The entry of mainland audit firms into the H-share audit market leads to a significant decrease in mainland audit pricing. Moreover, this main effect is (i) …

Do Commercial Ties Influence Esg Ratings? Evidence From Moody's And S&P, Xuanbo Li, Yun Lou, Liandong Zhang

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

We provide the first evidence that conflicts of interest arising from commercial ties lead to bias in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) ratings. Using the acquisitions of Vigeo Eiris and RobecoSAM by Moody's and S&P as shocks to the commercial ties between ESG rating agencies and their rated firms, we show that, after their acquisitions by the credit rating agencies (CRAs), ESG rating agencies issue higher ratings to existing paying clients of the CRAs. This effect is greater for firms that have more intensive business relationships with the CRAs, but weaker for firms with more transparent ESG disclosures or higher …

Advances In Global Education And Research: Volume 5, Waynne B. James, Cihan Cobanoglu, Muhittin Cavusoglu

University of South Florida (USF) M3 Publishing

This is the fifth volume of the Advances in Global Education and Research Book Series.

ISBN 978-1-955833-12-7

The following chapters are included in the the fifth volume of the Advances in Global Education and Research Book Series.

• Elevating the online learners’ experience by cultivating social presence in the online learning environment
  • Lori Doyle and Tanya M. Tarbutton
• The role of family in Chinese students’ English language learning and key suggestions
  • Bohui (Hollie) Liu and Jia Wei
• The World Bank's new approach to human capital model and education
  • Ozlem Kucuk and Cihan Cobanoglu
• Training in ecological thinking: Narrative practices for educational …

Corporate Disclosures For Green Supply Chains: Evidence From Scope 3 Emissions Disclosure, Young Jun Cho, Jungbae Kim, Holly I. Yang, Mengjie Yang

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

A firm's decision to initiate Scope 3 emissions disclosure not only reflects their sustainability efforts but also signals their commitment to decarbonizing its value chain, fostering collaboration among suppliers in promoting greener supply chains. Using a generalized difference-in-differences research design, we find that suppliers reduced greenhouse gas emissions following their customers’ initiation of Scope 3 emissions disclosures. This reduction in emissions is more pronounced when the supplier poses greater climate risk and when the customer has a greater need to restore public trust for its climate-related behavior. We also find that this effect varies with the strength of the customer-supplier …

Liberalizing Home-Based Business, Sumit Agarwal, Tien Foo Sing, Changcheng Song, Jian Zhang

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Working at home benefits entrepreneurs by lowering fixed costs and allowing them to engage in joint market and household production. We evaluate a large-scale reform in Singapore, the Home Office Scheme, that allowed business creation at one's residential property and study whether home-based entrepreneurship spurs entrepreneurial activities. The difference-in-differences estimate shows that the reform led to a significantly higher level of business creation and that the firms newly created in response to the reform had a higher survival rate. The effect is more pronounced for low-income female individuals and industries with high startup capital, implying that financial constraints and nonpecuniary …

Smart Heuristics In Business Relationships: Toward A Typology, Jochen Reb, Nilotpal Jha

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop a typology of heuristics in business relationships. We distinguish between four categories: (1) general heuristics used in the context of a business relationship but that may also (and are often) used in other contexts; (2) relational context heuristics that are typically used in a relational context; (3) relational information heuristics that rely on relational information and (4) genuine relational heuristics that use relational information and are applied in relational contexts. Design/methodology/approach – We draw on existing literature on heuristics and business relationships to inform our conceptual paper. Findings – We …

21st Century Community Learning Centers: Program Evaluation Evidence From Texas, Rosilyn Jackson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Texas afterschool programs strive to enhance academic performance and meet students' needs, yet gaps in program quality persist. This study evaluated 21st Century Community Learning Centers’ performance in reading, math, GPA, attendance, in-school suspension, and engagement, both within these categories and against program goals and demographics. Theoretical frameworks used in this study include the logic model, social justice theory, and cultural relevance theory. This quantitative study utilized a nonexperimental and secondary data research design which utilized five statistical tests: the Pearson Product-Moment Correlation, One-Way repeated ANOVA, Spearman Correlation, the Independent Samples t-Test, and the Mann-Whitney U Test. Results showed that …

Multinational Platforms And Legitimacy Spillovers, Sali Li, Maximilian Stallkamp, Noman Shaheer, Liang Chen

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Multinational platforms (MNPs), such as TikTok, Grab, and Airbnb, are facing sig nificant legitimacy challenges in foreign markets. While some of these challenges are similar to those experienced by conventional multinational enterprises (MNEs), the platform-based business models of MNPs, which create value primarily through networks of external users and complementors, rather than through hierarchically controlled foreign subsidiaries, lead to unique legitimacy challenges and open up novel strategies for overcoming them. We explore how MNPs can leverage legiti macy spillovers from their complementors to overcome legitimacy challenges and establish credibility in new markets. We propose that effective governance and stra tegic …

Short-Term Personality Development And Early Career Success: Two Longitudinal Studies During The Post-Graduation Transition, Mary-Louise Hotze, Zihan Liu, Chu Chu, Erica Baranski, Kevin A. Hoff

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Objective: Investigate short-term personality development during the post-graduation transition. Background: Prior research indicates that long-term personality development matters for employment outcomes. However, this evidence is primarily limited to multi-year longitudinal studies. This research switches the focus to personality changes during a shorter, impactful life transition. Method: We examined how short-term personality development during the 14-month post-graduation transition relates to early career outcomes among two diverse samples of graduates from universities (N = 816) and community colleges (N = 567). We used latent growth curve models to examine associations between career outcomes measured 14 months after graduation with initial personality levels …

Generative Artificial Intelligence In Business Higher Education: A Focus Group Study, Xuenan Huo, Keng Siau

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

This research investigates the opportunities and challenges of integrating generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) into business higher education, drawing insights from an asynchronous focus group research study with doctoral students who serve dual roles as both learners and educators. Key opportunities identified through thematic analysis include knowledge acquisition, intelligent co-ideation, supportive augmentation, and personalized learning. Challenges identified include AI trustworthiness, cognitive dependency, human value, policy and instruction, assessment integrity, and identity management. This study clarifies GenAI’s specific role in business education and provides practical insights for effectively integrating GenAI to enhance learning outcomes and address emerging challenges. An analysis theory on …

Esg Ratings In The Mining Industry: Factors And Implications, Mahelet G. Fikru, Jennifer Brodmann, Lili Eng, J. Andrew Grant

Economics Faculty Research & Creative Works

While previous research explores the relationship between ESG ratings, firm size, and financial outcomes, there is a lack of comprehensive analysis comparing multiple ESG ratings within the mining industry. This gap is crucial given the increasing focus on ESG in mining operations and its potential impact on company performance. Based on proprietary financial and ESG ratings data from 200 mining companies, this study investigates the relationship between two different ESG ratings and firm characteristics. We compare ESG-rated firms with unrated firms in terms of firm size, and financial performance indicators, and explore country-level patterns in ESG ratings. Findings reveal that …

Securing Mobile Payments: The Impact Of Blockchain Technology On Transaction Integrity, Snehal Chaudhari

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This study investigates how blockchain, tokenization, and smart contracts improve security and transparency in mobile payment systems, addressing critical vulnerabilities in the increasing mobile payments industry. The main research questions are: (RO1) How can integrating blockchain technology improve the transparency and security of mobile payments? (RO2) Why do tokenization and smart contracts play a crucial role in improving security for mobile payments?

Case study outcomes include: (RO1) Shido Wallet's decentralized blockchain provides more control and transparency over their financial transactions, overcoming traditional security and trust concerns. Project Khokha illustrates blockchain's scalability and efficiency by allowing for high-speed, confidential interbank transactions. …

Suspicious Activity Recognition Using Computer Vision, Chaitanya Krishna Karanam

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This culminating experience project explored innovative methods for enhancing anomaly detection in video surveillance systems, a vital concern for public safety and security management. The research questions addressed were: Q1) What emergent approaches in Activity-based Human Action Recognition (AbHAR) lead to significant advancements in surveillance technology driven by human cognition? Q2) How can the processing and detection phases of video monitoring systems be optimized for improved efficiency? Q3) What are the advantages of ensemble approaches over individual algorithms in enhancing the robustness and accuracy of anomaly detection systems in video surveillance?

The findings were: (Q1), That deep learning methodologies, particularly …

Research On The Influence Of Complementary Assets On Innovation Performance Of New R&D Institutions, Yong Li

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

Since the development of new R&D institutions in China in the 1990s, they have received advocacy and support from both national and local governments. After more than 20 years of exploration and development, new R&D institutions have gradually developed characteristics such as diversified investment sources, flexible organizational structures, market-oriented operations, and multi-functional coordination. These institutions have increasingly played an active role in promoting scientific and technological innovation and regional economic development. In the research on the development and evolution, modes and mechanisms, and performance and evaluation of new R&D institutions, numerous results have been generated, promoting the construction and development …

The Effect Of Private Placement On Investment Efficiency: Empirical Evidence From The New Refinancing Regulations, Zhiyong Han

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

Compared with public offerings, private placements are more attractive to investors due to a lower threshold, a simpler procedure, and a higher success rate of issuance. These advantages make private placements the preferred choice for listed companies seeking to issue additional shares in many capital markets. With the increased prevalence of private placements as a refinancing method, how to effectively leverage raised funds and improve investment efficiency has emerged as a topic under discussion within the academic community. However, whether private placements can affect investment efficiency remains controversial. Moreover, previous studies lack systematic empirical evidence, and endogeneity issues hinder an …

Unravel The University-Enterprise Research Collaboration: Evidence From Multiple Cases, Lihua Luo

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

This study elucidates the pivotal determinants of industry-university research collaboration within the chemical industry and delineates its operational modalities, which can offer valuable insights for pertinent theoretical research and practical applications. By employing grounded theory, an in-depth qualitative analysis of several collaborative cases between chemical enterprises and higher education institutions was conducted, which culminated in the construction of a theoretical model for industry–university research collaboration. The findings reveal that the government plays a significant intermediary role in industry–university partnerships by facilitating the smooth progression and commercialization of collaborative endeavors through policy support, financial subsidies, and performance evaluation.

Moreover, the complementarity …

The Double-Edged Effect Of Ceo Maximizing Values And Corporate Litigation Risk, Qing Xu

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

Based on the higher-order theoretical perspective, this study explores the nonlinear influence mechanism of CEO value maximization tendency on corporate litigation risk and its boundary conditions. Based on the survey data of 225 CEOs in the Chinese context, it is found that CEO value maximization has a significant U-shaped relationship with corporate litigation risk, which indicates that moderate value pursuit can reduce litigation risk, but excessive pursuit will increase the possibility of risk, verifying the “dual governance effect”. Environmental uncertainty, redundant resources and CEO tenure moderated the U-shaped relationship between CEO value maximization and corporate litigation risk.

The theoretical contribution …