Digital Commons Network^™

Sustainable Trail Management: A Transdisciplinary Approach, Sinead O'Connor-Gotra

Theses, Doctoral

The research reported has created a holistic model for sustainable trail management that is broader than the quantitative assessment of ecological trail degradation. The range of quantitative and qualitative results gathered show that a more realistic treatment of sustainable trail management needs is achieved through a qualitative, participative and flexible research process. The investigation focuses primarily on the assessment of trail degradation in the uplands of Co. Wicklow, Ireland where signs of deterioration have been observed as a consequence of recreational use. The nature and extent of trail degradation was assessed using a variety of techniques including qualitative and quantitative …

Distance Learning Librarians: Their Shared Vision, Anne M. Casey

Staff Works - Hunt Library

Shared vision is a component of leadership that fosters innovation through buy-in at all levels of the organization. It is often evident in circumstances people see a need for innovation but do not have the power to make changes on their own. Many librarians in academic institutions that were early adopters of distance learning envisioned a need for new services that were tailored to off-campus students. This study examines shared vision among librarians through a content analysis of planning documents from early distance learning library programs. It offers a shared vision model relevant to the study and application of leadership.

Supply Chain Perspective, Volume 10, Issue 2, National Institute For Transport And Logistics

Issues

No abstract provided.

Review Article Of Dynamic Supply Chain Alignment:A New Business Model For Peak Performance In Enterprise Supply Chains Across All Geographies, Edward Sweeney, Daniel Park

Reviews

No abstract provided.

Quantitative Evaluation On Indigent Criminal Defense Funding, Ralph E. Mckinney, Lawrence P. Shao

Management Faculty Research

This article takes a quantitative approach to build upon McKinney and Shao's (2008) qualitative contribution concerning resource a/location of indigent criminal defense programs. By compating public funds of multiple societies over time, we are able to add important knowledge surrounding property rights valuations using a new concept called GDP Indexed Purchasing Power Parity. The findings of this study show that GDP-PPP provides for better indigent criminal defense analysis than per capita figures.

Ua94/6/1 Student / Alumni Personal Papers Western Kentucky University Small Collections, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Small collections of personal papers and oral histories relating to the Western Kentucky University.

Turning The Ship: Moving From Clinical Treatment To Environmental Prevention: A Health Disparities Policy Advocacy Initiative, Mary Kreger, Claire D. Brindis, Abigail Arons, Katherine Sargent, Annalisa Robles, Astrid Hendricks, Mona Jhawar, Marion Standish

The Foundation Review

· This article examines success factors for a statewide initiative to reduce health disparities by establishing environmental policies to reduce asthma risk factors for school-aged children.

· Twelve local coalitions and a statewide network focused on schools, housing, and outdoor air policies.

· Multiple types and levels of policy advocacy were encouraged by the Initiative so that issues at the local level linked to larger issues across the state, and conversely state-level policies supported local endeavors.

· Factors that contributed to the success of the initiative included: structuring the initiative on a systems change model; employing multiple technical assistance providers …

Taking The Ballgame Out To The World: An Analysis Of The World Baseball Classic As A Global Branding Promotional Strategy For Major League Baseball, Benjamin D. Goss

Journal of Applied Sport Management

This paper analyzes the 2006 World Baseball Classic as a promotional strategy by Major League Baseball to further its global branding pursuits. The WBC is qualified as a global sport event that is a marketing function of MLB in its efforts to emerge as an international brand; elements of the WBC are examined in the context of a global brand strategy. WBC promotional execution elements are studied in light of dimensions upon which consumers evaluate global brands. Four customer segments targeted through the WBC are characterized before the paper examines future WBC marketing approaches in the context of cultural production.

Ada News Convention Daily - 2009 Day 4, American Dental Association, Publishing Division

ADA News

The ADA News Daily (also called the ADA News Convention Daily) is a special edition of the ADA News published each day during American Dental Association Annual Sessions.

Organizational Alignment And Supply Chain Governance Structure: Introduction And Construct Validation, Bryan Ashenbaum, Arnold Maltz, Lisa Ellram, Mark Barratt

Management Faculty Research and Publications

Purpose

– The purpose of this paper is to introduce and validate two new constructs with the potential to sharpen our understanding of how and why firms integrate their internal supply chains and assess the governance structure of their supply chains. The first construct, organizational alignment (OA), is a reflective scale measuring the extent to which upper management attempts to foster integration between internal supply chain functions. The second, supply chain governance structure (SCGS), is a formative index, and is a first attempt at developing a measurement instrument to assess SCGS along multiple dimensions.

Design/methodology/approach

– Following a literature review, …

Las Vegas: The Perils Of Deception Fueled Growth, William J. Smith, Ahmad Safi

Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Research

There are two types of deception – the deception of others and self-deception. Las Vegas thrives on both. Many would be aware of the importance of the first type of deception for the health of the Las Vegas economy, as they would for Macau, Monte Carlo, etc. Without the symbol of wealth to achieve elite global tourism status, and the ‘moth to the flame’ illusion of the likelihood of visitors to get ‘lucky’ and win great wealth, there would be no Las Vegas as it is known today. There is no other major reason to come to the city. There …

Smes And Competitiveness: The Role Of Information Systems, Pratyush Bharati, Abhijit Chaudhury

Management Science and Information Systems Faculty Publication Series

In this introductory article for the special issue on “SMEs and Competitiveness—The Role of Information Systems,” we provide a review of the current state of research on information systems and SMEs. A framework is provided that illustrates where the research has been concentrated and which areas are just beginning to be explored. The six articles that constitute this special issue are described in terms of this framework. A brief review of the articles is provided in which we indicate the question addressed, the factors taken into account, the nature of the research, and the dominant theory and perspective used in …

Sapphire Award Program: Grants And Awards Given, Blue Cross And Blue Shield Of Florida, Inc.

Florida Blue Archives Printed Materials

An informational document about grants and awards given through the Sapphire Award Program.

The Blind Men And The Elephant: Learning A Little At A Time About Civic Engagement, Melanie Moore Kubo, Ashley Mckenna

The Foundation Review

· This article, written from the perspective of the evaluator, describes what happened in one community in which four noncollaborating funders were supporting community development programs.

· The Treeline Collaborative evolved from grassroots origins to become a leading organization in the community, serving as a one-stop shop for many programs and providing a structure for civic engagement of residents.

· A collaborative evaluation would have enabled a deeper understanding of the Treeline Collaborative, the outcomes it attained and missed, and the multiple roles it plays in the community, perhaps leading to more effective program and funding decisions.

Structural Changes In U.S. Agricultural Production And Productivity, Jennifer S. James, Julian M. Alston, Philip G. Pardey, Matthew A. Andersen

Agribusiness

The structure of U.S. agricultural production changed dramatically during the 20th Century. Major technological innovations transformed the relationship between agricultural inputs and outputs, and contributed to rapid increases in agricultural productivity. However, evidence is mounting that suggests we have entered a new era, with substantially lower rates of productivity growth. In this article, we examine trends and spatial patterns in agricultural input use, production of outputs, and productivity. We focus on productivity growth over the period 1949–2002, and find a statistically significant slowdown in productivity growth after 1990.

Organizational Leadership : A Study Of The Perceptions Of Servant Leadership Practices And Beliefs, And Its Implications For A Private Christian Institution Of Higher Education In Brazil, Jose Iran Miguel

Dissertations

Purpose. This study verified the perceptions of the workers of Brazil Adventist University (UNASP) regarding the beliefs and practices of servant leadership by using data collected online through the instrument called the Organizational Leadership Assessment (OLA), focusing on six key areas of organizational health, according to three independent variables, which are leadership categories, campus, and gender.

Method. As a quantitative comparative study, the relationship between dependent and independent variables was determined by means of a one-way multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and a 2 by 3 factorial design in order to observe significant differences and interactions between variables. …

Cork City : The Untapped Tourism Potential, Frank O'Sullivan

Theses

This research focuses on Cork City and the attributes of the city, which possess the ability to enhance the tourism product, yet remain largely ignored. The study includes the opinions, perceptions and analysis of key figures in the local tourism industry. The study highlights the key promotional bodies representing Cork City as a tourism destination and their shortcomings.

The research delves into the initiatives and projects charged with enhancing the tourism product. The access providers are examined in terms of their significance and contribution to the local tourism market. The impact of the European Capital of Culture is analysed. Cork …

Technical Efficiency Estimates Of Cherokee Agriculture: A Pre- And Post-Removal Analysis, Matthew T. Gregg

Business Faculty Publications

Although there is a large literature on the pre-removal Cherokee acculturation during the early nineteenth century there are no estimates of the technical efficiency of Cherokee agriculture. In this paper two sets of nineteenth century farming data on Cherokee households are used to estimate Shephard output distance functions and to model the determinants of Cherokee technical efficiency. Controlling for farm size, spatial heterogeneity, market orientation, and experience, technical efficiency was between 7% and 9% greater in mixed-blooded households than in full-blooded households. However, using pooled time series data of post-removal Cherokee farm households in North Carolina, Cherokee technical efficiency ranged …

Examining Successful Recuritment Strategies Utilized By Volunteer Alumni, James Eric Prudhomme

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to describe the manner in which volunteer alumni recruiters at a flagship institution were able to recruit prospective students both in and out of the formal recruitment setting. Due to the challenges facing Louisiana State University with out-of-state recruitment, volunteer alumni recruiters provide a cost-effective alternative to assist this effort. Findings of this study can be used to expand the current alumni volunteer recruitment effort by providing insight into the strategies that result in success in the recruitment process, all the while encouraging fellow alumni to assist their effort. The methodology for …

Flexible Global Software Development (Gsd): Antecedents Of Success In Requirements Analysis, Vanita Yadav, Monica Adya, Varadharajan Sridhar, Dhruv Nath

Management Faculty Research and Publications

Globalization of software development has resulted in a rapid shift away from the traditional collocated, on-site development model, to the offshoring model. Emerging trends indicate an increasing interest in offshoring even in early phases like requirements analysis. Additionally, the flexibility offered by the agile development approach makes it attractive for adaptation in globally distributed software work. A question of significance then is what impacts the success of offshoring earlier phases, like requirements analysis, in a flexible and globally distributed environment? This article incorporates the stance of control theory to posit a research model that examines antecedent factors such as requirements …

Knowledge Management In An Organisational Climate Of Uncertainty And Change: A Longitudinal Case Study Of An Australian University, Denise Gengatharen, Craig Standing, Shirlee-Ann Knight

Research outputs pre 2011

Universities are in the knowledge business and are expected to be at the forefront of knowledge management (KM). However, KM in a university is complex given the diversity of stakeholder groups. This is exacerbated in the Australian context by the changing climate of rationalisation, corporatisation and marketisation universities faced in the past decade. This paper investigates KM strategies in an Australian university to uncover barriers to knowledge-sharing among academics. Although the organisational infrastructure supports KM, many academics have not actively embraced it. One reason is that they struggle with KM for operational excellence in the increasing administrative aspects of the …

Satellite Photography: Instrumental, Rhetorical, Affective?, Irangi Kaushalya Egodapitiya

Masters Theses

"This study examines how tsunami satellite images operate and could provoke various interpretations. The goal of this research project is to study whether the interpretation of tsunami satellite images could extend beyond scientific features to affective messages. Primarily based on the satellite images of Sri Lanka taken before and during the 2004 tsunami, this study analyses: How could mechanical satellite images, taken automatically by a machine in orbit, become an object of profound emotional meaning?; How do viewer's experiences, knowledge, and discourse affect their interpretations of mechanical artifacts?; How are tsunami satellite images connected to affective responses by viewers?; How …

The State Of Research On Multinationals And Emerging Markets, Rajesh K. Pillania, Marc Fetscherin

Faculty Publications

Emerging markets are increasingly becoming the growth drivers of the global economy and there is increased scrutiny and interest in emerging markets since the 1990s. The interest can be viewed from a demand and supply perspective. With a huge population and increasing income, emerging economies provide a big market for goods and services. Also, with talented manpower and low costs, emerging economies are supplying more and more goods and services to the world (Pillania, 2009). Multinational corporations (MNCs) play a very important role in global business and economy. There is an increased interest in research and explanation for emerging markets …

Transformation Paradox: A Framework For The Analysis Of Politics In Enterprise Transformations, Cindy S. Miller

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to develop a theoretical framework for the analysis of politics in enterprise transformations using a dialectical analysis approach (Hegel, 1989; Heraclitus, 1979; Pinkard, 1988; Skinner, 1978a, 1978b) and conduct an evaluation of the framework validity. The framework is constructed using a dialectical analysis of concepts stemming from the work of Alford and Friedland (1992) and considers four theoretical perspectives: autocratic, bureaucratic, pluralistic, and cognitive. The framework is then validated by means of qualitative metrics and adherence to critical ideology.

This research addresses the problem that there is no holistic theoretical framework for the analysis …

Optimal Defaults And Active Decisions, Gabriel D. Carroll, James J. Choi, David Laibson, Brigitte C. Madrian, Andrew Metrick

Faculty Publications

Defaults often have a large influence on consumer decisions. We identify an overlooked but practical alternative to defaults: requiring individuals to make an explicit choice for themselves. We study such “active decisions” in the context of 401(k) saving. We and that compelling new hires to make active decisions about 401(k) enrollment raises the initial fraction that enroll by 28 percentage points relative to a standard opt-in enrollment procedure, producing a savings distribution three months after hire that would take 30 months to achieve under standard enrollment. We also present a model of 401(k) enrollment and derive conditions under which the …

Understanding The Antecedents And Consequences Of Sales And Use Tax Policy: Evidence From Three Studies, Amy Hageman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation consists of three separate but interrelated studies examining the antecedents and consequences of sales and use tax (SUT) policy. The first study investigates whether elements of the SUT system influence elements of economic development, and tests whether SUT rates and/or bases influence state-aggregated levels of capital expenditures and employment within the manufacturing sector from 1983-2006. Results indicate that elements of the tax base (i.e., SUT exemptions) affect these indicators of economic development, but the same relationship was not seen for SUT rates. The second study examines individual taxpayer compliance across different tax settings (i.e., the state use tax …

Addressing Business Agility Challenges With Enterprise Systems, D. Goodhue, D. Chen, M. C. Boudreau, Ashley R. Davis

Faculty Publications

It is clear that systems agility (i.e., having a responsive IT infrastructure that can be changed quickly to meet changing business needs) has become a critical component of organizational agility. However, skeptics continue to suggest that, despite the benefits enterprise system packages provide, they are constraining choices for firms faced with agility challenges. The reason for this skepticism is that the tight integration between different parts of the business that enables many enterprise systems' benefits also increases the systems' complexity, and this increased complexity, say the skeptics, increases the difficulty of changing systems when business needs change. These persistent concerns …

The Colorado Trust’S Healthy Communities Initiative: Results And Lessons For Comprehensive Community Initiatives, Ross Conner, Doug Easterling

The Foundation Review

· This article summarizes how 29 diverse communities throughout Colorado implemented the Colorado Healthy Communities Initiative (CHCI), which was conceived and funded by The Colorado Trust to engage community residents in the development of locally relevant strategies to improve community health.

· In line with the World Health Organization’s Healthy Cities model, CHCI emphasized (a) inclusive, representative planning; (b) a broad definition of “health”; (c) consensus decision making; and (d) capacity building among local stakeholder groups.

· Communities implemented an array of projects (on average, six per community) that extended well beyond traditional health promotion and disease prevention. The most …

Scope, Scale, And Sustainability: What It Takes To Create Lasting Community Change, Tina R. Trent, David M. Chavis

The Foundation Review

· This article examines success factors that relate specifically to the ability of a comprehensive community initiative (CCI) to achieve the scope and scale required to generate community-level outcomes and to sustain those positive impacts over time.

· The CCIs selected for study represent a wide range of goals, strategies, and organizational structures.

· Six factors were found to cut across scope, scale, and sustainability. These factors include having a single broker or entity that holds the vision of the change effort; clearly defined roles; alignment among interventions, resources, and geography; meaningful community engagement; competent leadership and staff; and strategic, …

The Challenges Of Place, Capacity, And Systems Change: The Story Of Yes We Can!, Pennie Foster-Fishman, Robert Long

The Foundation Review

· Yes we can!, a comprehensive community initiative (CCI) funded by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, was designed to improve educational and economic outcomes within the foundation’s hometown of Battle Creek, Mich. Since 2002, Yes we can! has supported five core strategies designed to trigger the systems changes needed to reduce educational and economic inequities in Battle Creek.

· Yes we can! has achieved some important wins to date; for example, more residents are involved, more neighborhoods have stronger neighborhood associations, and more organizations are engaging residents in their decision-making processes. However, the scale of wins remains small, and the …