Digital Commons Network^™

Analyzing Global Utilization And Missed Opportunities In Debt-For-Nature Swaps With Generative Ai, Nataliya Tkachenko, Simon Frieder, Ryan-Rhys Griffiths, Christoph Nedopil

Sim Kee Boon Institute for Financial Economics

We deploy a prompt-augmented GPT-4 model to distill comprehensive datasets on the global application of debt-for-nature swaps (DNS), a pivotal financial tool for environmental conservation. Our analysis includes 195 nations and identifies 21 countries that have not yet used DNS before as prime candidates for DNS. A significant proportion demonstrates consistent commitments to conservation finance (0.86 accuracy as compared to historical swaps records). Conversely, 35 countries previously active in DNS before 2010 have since been identified as unsuitable. Notably, Argentina, grappling with soaring inflation and a substantial sovereign debt crisis, and Poland, which has achieved economic stability and gained access …

Containerization Of Seafarers In The International Shipping Industry: Contemporary Seamanship, Maritime Social Infrastructures, And Mobility Politics Of Global Logistics, Liang Wu

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation discusses the mobility politics of container shipping and argues that technological development, political-economic order, and social infrastructure co-produce one another. Containerization, the use of standardized containers to carry cargo across modes of transportation that is said to have revolutionized and globalized international trade since the late 1950s, has served to expand and extend the power of international coalitions of states and corporations to control the movements of commodities (shipments) and labor (seafarers). The advent and development of containerization was driven by a sociotechnical imaginary and international social contract of seamless shipping and cargo flows. In practice, this liberal, …

Influencers Of Resident Attitudes Towards Tourism: The Shortfall In Our Assessment Methods, Christopher S. Dutt

Journal of Global Hospitality and Tourism

The study of residents’ perceptions and attitudes towards tourism has received considerable interest over the years. While much agreement has been found, there are also several areas of disagreement and noteworthy gaps that affect our understanding of residents’ attitudes toward tourism. This discussion reviews some of the existing findings of past studies, before considering some of the significant gaps. These include the dominance of social exchange theory (SET) as the principal model, the lack of distinction between tourists and tourism, and the impact of tourist typologies on perceptions of tourism.

Tourist Engagement Model Of Regenerative Tourism Destinations: A Case Study Of Egon Buluk Tourism Village, Sikka Regency, East Nusa Tenggara Province, Michael Rudolfus Sawu, Muhammad Ridla

Journal of Global Hospitality and Tourism

The research aims to analyze regenerative tourism components products, tourists’ perceptions, tourists’ experiences, and regenerative tourism development policies while involving tourists as co-creators. The research utilizes a qualitative method with a phenomenological approach. In-depth interviews were conducted with 27 stakeholders related to the tourist engagement model in the development of tourism destinations at the village scale. This research found that the development of regenerative tourism product components showcases uniqueness and beauty on a massive scale due to being situated in conservation areas. However, there is a need for improvement in other components to provide a sense of safety, comfort, and …

Essays On Real Estate, Flood Risk, And Political Sentiment, John P. Orellana

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation consists of three chapters that investigate how climate change, flood risk, and political sentiment influence outcomes in housing markets.

Chapter 1: This chapter offers a brief review and discussion of several recent and seminal papers at the intersection of flood risk, climate change, and real estate, as well as a critique on some of the literature on the effects of sea-level rise on housing outcomes.

Chapter 2: FEMA flood maps serve two functions: they signal risk to homeowners and mandate insurance take-up. How these information and risk transfer mechanisms affect homeowner relocation decisions remains unknown. Combining real estate …

The Relationship Between Traffic Congestion And Quality Of Life, Amer Alhusinan

Journal of Police and Legal Sciences

The problem of traffic congestion is one of the most serious problems that affect people because of the many negative effects it has on the quality of life and well-being of people, which include health, environmental, psychological and aesthetic aspects. With the increase in the number of vehicles and means of transportation, especially in large, densely populated cities, the problem of traffic congestion is exacerbated, which results in many negative effects, such as air pollution resulting from vehicle exhausts, which leads to chest diseases and suffocation, as well as the transfer of toxic substances present in fuel such as lead …

Warmth Of The Welcome: Immigration And Local Housing Returns, Xun Bian, N. Edward Coulson, Xiaojin Sun

Hunt Institute Working Paper Series

We study the effect of immigration on home values in the U.S. Applying a county-level instrument for immigration, we find that immigration increases local house price appreciation and decreases its within-county spatial dispersion. Our estimates suggest that, on average, a one percentage point in- crease in the immigrant share of the local population raises house price appreciation by approximately 7 percent and reduces the dispersion of housing return within a county by about 1.5 percentage points. We also show that such effects are strikingly heterogeneous across counties and appear to be deter- mined by local culture. Using several proxies for …

Review Of: Tourism Development, Governance And Sustainability In The Bahamas, Julian Philipp, Julia Schiemann, Hannah Zehren

International Journal of Islands Research

Book Review of: Rolle, S., Minnis, J. and Bethell-Bennett, I. (Eds.) (2020) Tourism Development, Governance and Sustainability in The Bahamas, Abingdon, Routledge

Enhancing Consistency Of Maximal Responding In Behavior Description Interviews: An Exploration Of Priming And Response Length, Allen I. Huffcutt, Satoris S. Howes, Dianne D. Murphy, Sara A. Murphy

Personnel Assessment and Decisions

In a Behavior Description Interview (BDI), candidates are asked to describe past experiences that demonstrate skills and abilities important for the position (Janz, 1982). A recent study by Huffcutt et al. (2020) found that only around half of participants (48.1 percent) describe an experience reflecting maximal performance capability. Random mixing of maximal capability with day-to-day typical performance tendencies is problematic psychometrically because candidates are not all providing comparable information and top candidates could be overlooked. Given notable methodological concerns with Huffcutt et al.’s approach, our first purpose was to provide empirical confirmation that maximal responding in BDIs is, in fact, …

Background & Methods: Research Summary, Susan R. Madsen

Marketing and Strategy Faculty Publications

During the fall of 2023, Utah Women & Leadership Project (UWLP) researchers conducted a statewide study to establish a baseline of public perceptions related to the awareness, understanding, and attitudes around challenges that Utah women and girls face. It focused on the following areas: education (finance, higher education attainment, and K-12 initiatives); community engagement (political representation, boards and commissions, and civic engagement/advocacy); safety and security (child sexual abuse, domestic violence, poverty and homelessness, sexual assault, and sexual harassment and gender-based discrimination); health and wellbeing (health across the lifespan and home and family); and workplace (childcare/pre-K programs, entrepreneurship, gender pay gap, …

Rfid Key Fobs In Vehicles: Unmasking Vulnerabilities & Strengthening Security, Devon Magda, Bryson R. Payne

KSU Proceedings on Cybersecurity Education, Research and Practice

No abstract provided.

English Language Challenges Faced By Licensed Guide Interpreters In Japan, Naoko Tanaka

International Journal of Tour Guiding and Visitor Attraction Research

This study investigates the challenges licensed guide interpreters in Japan encounter related to using the English language by examining foreign language tour guides’ use of English through interviews and surveys. The findings reveal that guides prioritise effectively conveying information and cautionary points to guests. They adjust their speaking speed, pronunciation, volume, vocabulary, and sentence structures to ensure easy understanding. Approximately 80% of the vocabulary used is at or below B2 level of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), indicating the issues which non-native speakings guides face. Moreover, they use various methods to confirm understanding, such as repeating …

Climate Change And Tourism In The Seychelles: Perceptions And Measures, Tatjana Thimm

International Journal of Islands Research

The aim of this paper is to find out in how accommodation providers in the Seychelles perceive climate change and what mitigation and adaptation measures they can provide. In order to answer these questions, a qualitative mixed-method-approach, comprised of twenty semi-structured interviews, an online-survey and participant observation was used. Results show that accommodation providers especially perceive the effects of climate change that directly affect their business and that they have already partly implemented some mitigation and adaptation measures. However, strategies and regulations are needed at the Seychelles’ government level and on a global level to actually achieve CO2 neutral travel.

Religious Tourism At Tana Chirkos & St. Kirstos Semra: Contemporary Issues And Prospects For Sustainable Tourism, Dagnachew Nega

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Religious tourism is not a new phenomenon or new practice. It has recently received considerable attention in both academia and the public at large. However, even though Ethiopia is endowed with a variety of religious tourism activities, its contemporary issues, and future prospects haven’t been utilised, outlined and managed. In the Amhara region, in the South Gondar zone, Tana Chirkos and Kirstos Semra are among the outstanding sites where lots of religious travellers are going and religious tourism activities are held. Thus, this study stands with the general objective of investigating the issues and future prospects of religious tourism development …

Exploring Pilgrims’ Perceptions Of Islamic Tour Operators In The United Kingdom: Insights For Improved Services, Shabir Ahmad, Kamran Siddiqui

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

In recent years, religious tourism has gained popularity worldwide, with millions of people travelling to different destinations for religious purposes. The United Kingdom has a growing Muslim population, and Islamic religious tourism is no exception. However, little research has been conducted on the pilgrim’s perceptions of Islamic religious tour operators in the United Kingdom. Understanding these perceptions is essential for tour operators to provide better services and attract more customers. The present study aims to contribute to Islamic tourism research by assessing the perceptions of pilgrims toward religious tour operators in the United Kingdom. Employing a snowball sampling technique, this …

Exploring The Conceptual Structure And Perspectives Of Religious-Spiritual And Wellness Tourism Research From The Destination Community: A Bibliometric Review, Priyanka Babu N, Sherry Abraham

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

The conceptualisation of specific holistic tourism components (religious-spiritual-wellness tourism) and their influence on community well-being in contemporary literature appears complex and needs to be more specific. This research traces critical developments in religious-spiritual-wellness tourism and their relationship with community by reviewing published literature in the Scopus database from 1990 to 2020 using bibliometric analysis. The literature review includes three sub-areas: descriptive analysis, reference publication year spectroscopy, and network analysis. In demonstrating the trends and evolution, the study focuses on the social, conceptual, and intellectual structures in religious-spiritual-wellness tourism (RSWT) and community. The key findings indicate that the RSWT community is …

Impact Of Globalisation On Religious Tourism: The Case Of Vrindavan, India, Charlie Gupta, Ridhu Dhan Gahalot

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

The term ‘religious tourism’ refers to travel that is primarily inspired by spiritual beliefs (Smith, 2012). It serves as one of humanity’s oldest religious practices as well as one of the earliest examples of tourism (Timothy, 2011). Due in the main to the numerous sacred places that are dispersed throughout its vast geographic area, India, which is known for its rich heritage and culture, has attracted attention from throughout the world (Eck, 2011; Singh, 2013). As a result, it has become a well-known location for religious tourism. During the past ten years, this specific type of tourism has seen a …

Tools To Persevere Towards A Challenging Goal: Lessons Learned About Grit Along The Way Of St. James, Ana Rita Nunes, Tânia Moreira, Armanda Pereira, Cleia Zanatta, Luísa Mota Ribeiro, Pedro Rosário

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Understanding the factors contributing to increased perseverance and passion toward long-term goals is an ongoing research challenge. The present study explores the inner drive of individuals to achieve meaningful goals over time, despite setbacks and challenges. The scenario chosen to uncover grit processes was the Way of St. James, a long pilgrimage demanding participants’ perseverance and passion for achieving their goals, despite hardship. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with thirty-one individuals completing the Way of St. James. Thematic analysis indicated three key themes contributing to improve the participants’ perseverance along the walk: behavioural tools (e.g., setting behavioural and time management goals), …

Religious Tourism In An Atheistic Society: The Example Of The Czech Republic, Ivo Jirásek, Tereza Štěrbová

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

For a more accurate understanding of religious tourism, it is useful to distinguish between faith-based tourism, spiritual tourism and tourism in religious spaces. The former is characterized by religious faith (and processes of hierophany), the next by spirituality and transcendence experience, while the latter remains in the secular realm of experience. Based on this conceptual grasp, the paper presents the situation in the highly secular Czech Republic and investigates the opinions of service and offer providers in this type of tourism through interviews (n = 3). A comparison with the demand and preferences of tourism participants was collected through an …

Spiritual Experience At The Arbaeen Pilgrimage: The Case Of Iranian Pilgrims, Ali Movahed, Mehdi Moazzeni, Behnam Kian

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Pilgrimages and other trips with spiritual motivation are one of the first forms of tourism, and today pilgrimage tourism in all its forms has become an important part of the global tourism market. The Arbaeen pilgrimage on foot is a memorable journey on the way to Karbala in Iraq, and most pilgrims, especially Iranians, choose to walk to Karbala from the city of Najaf for this purpose. The purpose of this study is to examine the experiences of Iranian pilgrims who participate in the Arbaeen pilgrimage on foot and to explore what the pilgrims themselves say about their experiences, as …

Review Of: Pilgrimage In The Christian Balkan World: The Path To Touch The Sacred And Holy, Edited By Dorina Dragnea, Emmanouil Ger. Varvounis, Evelyn Reuter, Petko Hristov And Susan Sorek, Igor Stamenkovic

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Book Review of: Pilgrimage in the Christian Balkan World: The Path to Touch the Sacred and Holy, edited by Dorina Dragnea, Emmanouil Ger. Varvounis, Evelyn Reuter, Petko Hristov and Susan Sorek

Access To Urban Leisure: Investigating Mobility Justice For Transgender And Gender Diverse People On Public Transport, Shahin Shakibaei, Oscar Vorobjovas-Pinta

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Literature on mobility justice suggest that socially disadvantaged people experience uneven access to movement. The theme of diversity in terms of gender and its interplay with mobility and leisure have attracted some scholarly attention. However, research into transgender and gender diverse mobilities and its impact to leisure access remains limited, particularly from non-Western perspectives. This paper endeavors to fill this gap by investigating transgender and gender diverse mobilities in Istanbul, Turkey. Drawing upon 49 qualitative interviews with gender diverse and transgender public transport users in Istanbul, this study contributes to a scholarly discussion exploring the relationship between gender diversity, mobility, …

2024 Guide To Planned Giving Booklet, Morehead State University. Office Of Communications & Marketing.

Communications and Marketing Publications Archive

2024 Morehead State University Guide to Planned Giving Booklet.

Machine Intelligence With Associative Memory And Event-Driven Transaction History, Rao Mikkilineni, W. Patrick Kelly

Barowsky School of Business | Faculty Scholarship

Digital machine intelligence has evolved from its inception in the form of computation of numbers to AI, which is centered around performing cognitive tasks that humans can perform, such as predictive reasoning or complex calculations. The state of the art includes tasks that are easily described by a list of formal, mathematical rules or a sequence of event-driven actions such as modeling, simulation, business workflows, interaction with devices, etc., and also tasks that are easy to do “intuitively”, but are hard to describe formally or as a sequence of event-driven actions such as recognizing spoken words or faces. While these …

Floor Plan Posters, Judy Schmitt

Library Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

Worker's Rights, Vijay Pereira, Daicy Vaz, Arup Varma

School of Business: Faculty Publications and Other Works

This chapter discusses the rights of workers. It focuses on Bangladesh, China, India, and Vietnam.

System Of Systems Engineering: A Literature Review And Research Frontiers, Charles B. Keating, Polinpapilinho F. Katina, James C. Pyne

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

System of Systems Engineering (SoSE) has existed and been developing for well over 2 decades. The time is appropriate to take a reflective look at the past and examine the future evolution of this nascent field. To address this challenge, this paper is focused on two primary objectives. First, a literature review of the SoSE field is conducted. This literature review (1) organizes the SoSE body of knowledge and provides a synthesis of major crosscutting themes, and (2) provides a scholarly critique and identifies gaps in the current state of the SoSE field. The second objective is focused on providing …

The Role Of Trauma-Informed Care In Sustaining The Well-Being Of Refugee Entrepreneurs, Arielle Badger Newman, Lisa Jones Christensen

Faculty Publications

Many international aid organisations encourage refugees to engage in entrepreneurship after relocation to a new host country. Yet, this encouragement may be based on data about entrepreneurship from non-refugee populations, particularly those who do not experience the common traumas of forced relocation. This chapter addresses the topic of trauma and refugee entrepreneurship by asking the following question: How can support organisations encourage well-being (or mitigate ill-being) for entrepreneurial refugees? In doing so, we propose how organisations supporting refugee entrepreneurship can incorporate trauma-informed practices. Specifically, there are four “Rs” to being trauma-informed, which correspond to: realisation, recognition, response, and resistance to …

Tax Sentiment And Compliance: Evidence From Social Media, Andrew Belnap, Jacob Thornock, Kevin Standridge, Braden Williams

Faculty Publications

Motivations for voluntary tax compliance that fall outside of a standard, rational model can be intrinsic or extrinsic. We use social media rhetoric about taxes to create a measure of tax sentiment that reflects taxpayers’ extrinsic, behavioral motivations for voluntary compliance, and then examine the association between public tax sentiment and tax compliance. Our machinelearning based approach for measuring sentiment uses millions of tax-related tweets, which vary by time and geography. We find that tax sentiment is negatively associated with tax compliance. Our main findings and cross-sectional tests are consistent with the notion that paying one’s taxes is a way …

Taking Flight Or Taking A Pass? Exploring Factors Influencing Consumer Willingness To Pay For Evtol Travel, David C. Ison

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

The Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) industry is experiencing significant growth due to technological advancements and increasing demand for efficient travel experiences. The market is expected to reach $45 billion by 2030, with major players like Joby, Archer, Beta, and Wisk dominating. This study aimed to assess public willingness to pay for AAM services using eVTOLs, using Amazon's Mechanical Turk platform. The survey yielded a response rate of 85.8%, with 1,622 completed surveys. The study found that younger urban consumers were more willing to pay higher prices for AAM electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft trips than older participants, possibly …