Digital Commons Network^™

Cultural Diversity Impact On The Decision-Making Of Leaders Within Organizations, Ahmedin Pasic

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This case study explored and analyzed cultural diversity’s impact in the workplace and in the overall performance of multicultural or multinational organizations in Richmond, Virginia. The principal investigator’s original intent was to examine its implications for the decision-making of leaders within two or three multinational corporations. However, due to the impact of the COVID-19 worldwide pandemic, he pursued a single case study in one local multicultural organization. This study targeted both leaders’ and employees’ perceptions regarding cultural diversity and integrating their insights into the implications that cultural diversity has for them and the body of knowledge on the topic. The …

An Automated Feedback System To Support Student Learning Of Conceptual Knowledge In Writing-To-Learn Activities, Ye Xiong

Dissertations

As a pedagogical strategy, Writing-to-Learn (WTL) intends to use writing to improve students’ understanding of course content. However, most of the existing feedback systems for writing are mainly focused on improving students’ writing skills rather than their conceptual development. In this dissertation, an automatic approach is proposed to generate timely, actionable, and individualized feedback based on comparing knowledge representations extracted from lecture slides and individual students’ writing assignments. The novelty of the proposed approach lies in the feedback generation: to help students assimilate new knowledge into their existing knowledge better, their current knowledge is modeled as a set of matching …

A Phenomenological Study: A Pre-Departure Study Abroad Course Interrupted By The Covid-19 Outbreak, James G. Ward Ed.D., Michael Martin Ph.D., Yaprak Dalat Ward Ed.D.

Applied Business Faculty Publications

The original plan of this research was to collect multiple sets of data from business students in a 2020 spring study abroad program including the pre-departure course, the experiential learning in Thailand and post experience. When the World Health Organization (2020c) categorized the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic, the predeparture course was interrupted, resulting in the remaining sections of the program to be cancelled. To date, since no previous research was available on a pre-departure course interrupted by a pandemic of this kind, the experiences of the two faculty members teaching the course became central to the research making this study …

Human Factors Analysis Of Marine Accidents Based On Hfacs By Nvivo, Chen Liu

World Maritime University Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Mount Banahaw’S Enigma Of Power: A Personal Reflection On Signs And Symbols At The Santa Lucia Complex, Katherine B. Arceta

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

In the Philippines, Mount Banahaw in Quezon province is a pilgrimage site for locals and believers alike. Considered a holy mountain or even a ‘new’ Jerusalem in a mystical sense, people flock to its forested sacred sites or puwestos. The objectives of this study are (1) to identify signs and symbols within the sacred space of Mount Banahaw; (2) to explain how signs and symbols within the mountain are able to convey various religious meanings to the worshippers and; (3) to understand how pilgrims derive and interpret the meanings associated with these signs and symbols. The author retraces a pilgrim’s …

The Imprint Of The Pilgrimage An Ethnography Of A Tattoo Studio In Jerusalem, Mustafa Diktaş

International Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage

Several major religions exhibit complex attitudes towards self-mutilation and adornment. Judaism, Islam, and Christianity forbid marking the body and associate it with sin. Still, many people apparently have continued to feel a need for confirmation of their religion and their religious journeys by marking their bodies. This ethnographic study focuses on the recent situation in pilgrimage tattooing, utilising the local and daily processes of a tattoo shop called Razzouk Tattoo located in the Christian quarter of the old city of Jerusalem. The aim of this paper is not only to give a panoptic view of the tattoo studio but also …

2020-August-13-Dept Of Audiology And Speech-Language Pathology Welcomes New Chair, University Marketing And Communication, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

JOHNSON CITY (Aug. 13, 2020) – East Tennessee State University’s College of Clinical and Rehabilitative Health Sciences (CCRHS) recently announced the appointment of Dr. Bess Sirmon-Taylor as chair of the Department of Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology.

Prior to joining ETSU’s faculty this summer, Sirmon-Taylor served as associate dean for academic affairs at University of Texas at El Paso, College of Health Sciences.

She is a licensed and nationally certified speech-language pathologist and worked as a clinical practitioner for more than 25 years before becoming a full-time academic. Her research interests focus on concussion management and analysis of ethics in health …

Ronald E. Mcnair Scholars Program Profiles And Abstracts 2020, Mcnair Scholars Program

McNair Symposium

This is the complete event program and provides presentation abstracts and biographies of McNair scholars and their mentors.

2020-August-10-Etsu Pharmacy School Receives Grant To Support Esl Students, University Marketing And Communication, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

JOHNSON CITY (Aug. 10, 2020) – Continuing its focus on promoting a diverse and inclusive student culture, East Tennessee State University Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy received a grant of over $45,000 to support mentoring, engagement and retention efforts for pharmacy students whose first or best language is not English (E2 students).

The project, PEER-E2, stands for Promoting Engagement, Excellence, and Retention for E2 students and focuses on six main areas:

•           Specialized tutoring

•           Weekly language lab

•           Peer mentoring

•           Monthly culture and language exchange events

•           Focused recruiting of linguistically diverse students

•           Funding for participants to …

Giving And Receiving: A Study Of Barriers And Enablers In Asian Philanthropy, Dalvin Sidhu, Jinwen Chen

Lien Centre for Social Innovation: Research

This report provides an insight into Asian philanthropy through engaging with philanthropic entities (PEs) in Greater China, India and Indonesia. Issues pertinent to this research include (1) challenges and opportunities for philanthropy in the region, (2) the interest and readiness of PEs to address common regional problems, (3) identifying support and platforms that would effectively help translate giving strategies into impact, (4) the interest and readiness of PEs to explore and engage in innovative ways, and (5) identifying the major areas in which these PEs are involved.

Predictors Of Organizational Decoupling In The Context Of Corporate Sustainability, Ajith Venugopal

Management Dissertations - Archive

The gap between what firms say and what they do is referred to as organizational decoupling. Despite the fact that decoupling is a widespread phenomenon, there is a paucity of empirical studies that have examined individual level predictors of organizational decoupling, especially in the context of corporate sustainability. In this dissertation, utilizing upper echelon theory, I examine how CEO psychological charactersitics predict policy-practice decoupling in the environmental and social dimensions of corporate sustainability. Using a sample of U.S.manufacturing companies from S&P 1500 during the period 2009-2018, I test the relationship between CEO personality (FFM traits), CEO value (self-transcendence), and CEO …

An Examination Of The Role Of Online Reviews For Niche Restaurant Segments: Casino Buffet Restaurants, Tevfik Demirciftci

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This dissertation applied hygiene factor (two-factor theory) and rational choice theory to investigate the factors which influence satisfaction for iconic, niche casino buffet restaurants, determine if the factors that impact satisfaction also impact WTP in the same direction and with the same weight, and examine the relationship between those items mentioned in online reviews and WTP in a buffet setting. Two studies were conducted to discover the key attributes of the casino buffet restaurant. In the first study, a qualitative-text analysis-was made to discover satisfiers and dissatisfiers for casino buffet restaurants. In the second study, a quantitative analysis -conjoint analysis-was …

Blame Avoidance And Image Restoration Strategies In The Mh370 Press Conferences, Ravinthar Thilaga

Student Works (2020-2029)

This study focused on the relationship between the field of crisis communication and discourse analysis. The crisis of MH370 was used as a medium to explore the blame avoidance strategies opted by four public figures in addressing the public. The public figures who were used in this research were Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, Acting Transport Minister Datuk Seri Hishammudin Hussein, Director of Civil Aviation Dato’ Sri Azharuddin Abdul Rahman and MAS CEO Mr Ahmad Jauhari. The main focus of the study was to explore the press release and to illustrate the blame avoidance strategies opted during the …

Theme And Authenticity: Experiencing Heritage At The Venetian, Marta Soligo, Brett Abarbanel

International Gaming Institute Faculty Research

Purpose This article analyzes the concepts of experience economy and promotion of authenticity at The Venetian Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas by exploring the resort's tangible and intangible heritage use in design and marketing strategies. Design/methodology/approach This qualitative study conducts a content analysis of marketing material, historical documents, and site observations. Findings Visitors' active involvement, combined with The Venetian's use of tangible and intangible heritage, is used in creating an authentic themed experience. In addition, our study suggests that authenticity constitutes a key concept for today's hospitality industry. Research limitations/implications This study centers on a single case study, and …

The Coronavirus Pandemic Supports The Case For Benevolent Authoritarian Leadership, Mark Manolopoulos

The Journal of Values-Based Leadership

[Excerpt] What, if anything, has the coronavirus taught us about leadership? In Australia, at both the federal and state levels, governments have shown unusually strong leadership during the pandemic. Unlike the UK and the USA, our governments responded quite quickly. They speedily and quite uniformly implemented the standard measures (border closures, traveler quarantine, physical distancing, massive financial support to the unemployed and at-risk businesses, etc.). The state and federal governments even formed a “National Cabinet”: whatever the practical benefits, it also showed a front of unity between governments whose relations are typically marked by bickering and disunity.

Motivating Language And Employee Outcomes: A Multinational Investigation, Cau Ngoc Nguyen, Wei Ning, Albi Alikaj, Quoc Nam Tran

Research, Publications & Creative Work

Purpose – This study aims to examine the impact of managerial use of motivating language on employee absenteeism, turnover intention, job satisfaction and job performance for employees from three nations: India, the USA and Vietnam.

Design/methodology/approach – Data is collected from 614 employees working in India, the USA and Vietnam. A variance-based partial least squares structural equation modeling technique is used to test the hypotheses. In addition, a statistical test is used to examine the statistical differences in the results across the three nations.

Findings – The findings are consistent with the motivating language theory, in that managerial use of …

What Makes Your Movies More Engaging For Backers? A Text Analysis Of Kickstarter Projects, Shuman Liu

Lingnan Theses (MPhil & PhD)

Crowdfunding has become an increasingly popular channel for entrepreneurs to raise funds from the crowd to support their startup projects. However, the percentage of crowdfunding projects that can reach their funding goals is relatively small among all crowdfunding websites. Although previous studies have examined various factors such as individual project attributes, social ties that might influence the fund-raising outcomes, the project pitches, as a key part of any crowdfunding proposal, have rarely been studied for their role in driving the crowdfunding success.

In this research, we study a corpus of 1559 movie projects from Kickstarter up to the end of …

Justice And Righteousness For Creation, Renita Reed-Thomson

Business as Mission Theses and Dissertations

A hymn entitled “This Is My Father’s World,” written by Maltbie Davenport Babcock around the year 1901, includes the words: “This Is My Father’s World, O let me ne’er forget…” Unfortunately, many Christians seem to have forgotten that this world belongs to their Heavenly Father. Justice for the poor and the environment has been neglected as Christians pursue economic and material gain, as well as the church’s pursuit of converts over disciples. That the Protestant Evangelical Church may have forgotten the creation may be a surprising point for some given that it has a reputation for caring for the poor …

Merchants Without Borders: Qusman Traders In The Arabian Gulf And Indian Ocean, C. 1850-1950, Mansour Alsharidah

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is a history of the economic, social, and political life in Arabia, the Arabian Gulf, and the Indian Subcontinent from the mid-nineteenth to the mid-twentieth centuries. It draws on materials from al-Qasim, Kuwait, Bahrain, Karachi, Bombay, Calcutta, and London, in addition to travelers’ accounts. These materials and accounts are used to explore the extent and significance of al-Qasim’s international trade between Arabia and India through the Arabian Gulf. It further examines how Qasimi merchants mobilized commodities and traded in the port cities of the Arabian Gulf and the Indian Ocean, taking advantage of changing regional and global political …

Plithogenic Cognitive Maps In Decision Making, Florentin Smarandache, Nivetha Martin

Branch Mathematics and Statistics Faculty and Staff Publications

Plithogenic sets introduced by Smarandache (2018) have disclosed new research vistas and this paper introduces the novel concept of plithogenic cognitive maps (PCM) and its applications in decision making. The new approach of defining instantaneous state neutrosophic vector with the confinement of indeterminacy to (0,1] is proposed to quantify the degree of indeterminacy. The resultant vector is obtained by applying instantaneous state vector through the connection matrix together with plithogenic operators comprising the contradiction degrees. The connection matrix is represented as fuzzy matrix and neutrosophic matrix and the resultant vector is determined by applying plithogenic fuzzy operators and plithogenic neutrosophic …

Metacritiques Of Upper Echelons Theory: Verdicts And Recommendations For Future Research, Brett H. Neely Jr., Jeffrey B. Lovelace, Amanda P. Cowen, Nathan J. Hiller

Department of Management: Faculty Publications

After more than 35 years, Hambrick and Mason’s upper echelons theory (UET) stands as one of the most influential perspectives in management research. However, as the literature and its attendant reviews have become more numerous and specialized, discussion of the fundamental conceptual and methodological critiques leveled against research utilizing the UET perspective has grown fragmented. As such, the first aim of the present review is to identify and synthesize a set of common critiques levied against UET research. In doing so, we unpack important nuance within each critique while establishing a common vocabulary to facilitate greater consistency in how these …

Addressing Barriers To Primary Care Access For Latinos In The U.S.: An Agent-Based Model, Hyunsung Oh, Mai P. Trinh, Cindy Vang, David Becerra

Management Faculty Publications

Objective: Disparities in access to primary health care have led to health disadvantages among Latinos and other non-White racial groups. To better identify and understand which policies are most likely to improve health care for Latinos, we examined differences in access to primary care between Latinos with proficient English language skills and Latinos with limited English proficiency (LEP) and estimated the extent of access to primary care providers (PCPs) among Latinos in the U.S. Method: We used agent-based modeling techniques to estimate the effects of English proficiency, insurance coverage, Latinos with LEP seeking care from English-speaking PCPs, distance to PCP, …

Crowdfunding Platforms: Ecosystem And Evolution, Yee Heng Tan, Srinivas K. Reddy

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Crowdfunding is the practice of seeking support from a large number of backers, each funding a small amount, in order to reach a specific funding goal. This monograph examines: (1) the field of crowdfunding, (2) how it has evolved, (3) the impact crowdfunding has on the fields of innovation, marketing and finance and (4) the factors that can affect crowdfunding outcomes. We view crowdfunding as complementary and transformative, increasing the efficiency of several existing processes such as idea generation and testing, fund raising and collection. We combine practitioner perspectives and research findings to provide insights on this subject. We explore …

Negative Reviews, Positive Impact: Consumer Empathetic Responding To Unfair Word Of Mouth, Thomas Allard, Lea H. Dunn, Katherine White

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

This research documents how negative reviews, when perceived as unfair, can activate feelings of empathy toward firms that have been wronged. Six studies and four supplemental experiments provide converging evidence that this experienced empathy for the firm motivates supportive consumer responses such as paying higher purchase prices and reporting increased patronage intentions. Importantly, this research highlights factors that can increase or decrease empathy toward a firm. For instance, adopting the reviewer's perspective when evaluating an unfair negative review can reduce positive consumer responses to a firm, whereas conditions that enhance the ability to experience empathy-such as when reviews are highly …

Analisis Asosiasi Merek Iphone Pada Mahasiswa Vokasi Ui Di Masa Pandemi, Arius Krypton

Jurnal Administrasi Bisnis Terapan

This article highlights the integrated marketing communication strategy used by Iphone as a premium smartphone brand facing the competition with other brand during the pandemic.This research will discuss how Iphone is associated by its customer. The theory used on this research is consumer based research by Heding, Knudtzen and Mogens. In depth interviews took place to several Iphone users Vokasi UI college students as a data collecting method. All informants associated the Iphone brand not only for its high price but also from its product quality, shape, features, user experience and symbolic meaning are the result of this research. Consumer …

Fuzzy Logic Velocity Optimization Of Autonomous Vehicles Based On Road Bump Geometry, Yassine Zein, Mohamad Darwiche

BAU Journal - Science and Technology

In today’s world of fast developing technologies, semi-autonomous vehicles are becoming a common sight and increasing in numbers. Some feature autopilot systems that drive the vehicle without any intervention from the driver in certain situations or warn the driver of dangers ahead. A fully autonomous vehicle is yet to come due to old fashioned road infrastructures that would convey challenging scenarios for it. From speed bumps and traffic lights to road lanes and warning signs, current autopilot systems will have to cope with all. A system that ensures safe crossing of speed bumps when in autopilot mode is discussed in …

Credibility And Nationalism In Narrative Economics, Dong Wang

Lingnan Theses (MPhil & PhD)

Narratives such as news, messages and stories can affect people’s thinking and become significant factors in decision-making. Shiller (2017) uses the term “narrative economics” to describe a new economic subfield that studies how stories people tell each other affect economic fluctuations. This thesis considers the economic and political role of narratives in newspapers and social media. It consists of three chapters. Chapter 2 examines how information credibility affects the asset pricing of stocks and cryptocurrencies under news shocks. We first apply well-trained multiclassification algorithms in machine learning to analyse data drawn from newspapers and social media. Then we calculate the …

The Priest, The Sex Worker, And The Ceo: Measuring Motivation By Job Type, Jan Ketil Arnulf, Kim Nimon, Kai Rune Larsen, Christiane V. Hovland

Human Resource Development Faculty Publications and Presentations

This study uses latent semantic analysis (LSA) to explore how prevalent measures of motivation are interpreted across very diverse job types. Building on the Semantic Theory of Survey Response (STSR), we calculate "semantic compliance" as the degree to which an individual's responses follow a semantically predictable pattern. This allows us to examine how context, in the form of job type, influences respondent interpretations of items. In total, 399 respondents from 18 widely different job types (from CEOs through lawyers, priests and artists to sex workers and professional soldiers) self-rated their work motivation on eight commonly applied scales from research on …

A Fine-Grained Sentiment Analysis Of Online Guest Reviews Of Economy Hotels In China, Jiaqi Luo, Songshan Huang, Renwu Wang

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

This study aims to investigate the experiences of Chinese economy hotel guests by applying deep learning fine-grained sentiment analysis on 363,723 Chinese-text online reviews. Findings reveal that location is the domain that most of the positive sentiments are associated, followed by facilities, service, price, image, and reservation experience. Prominent features with negative sentiments include sound insulation, air conditioning, beddings, windows, toilets, TV sets, WiFi signals, towels, elevators, hair dryers, slippers, toilet bowls, return cash, invoices. Positive and negative sentiments are compared. This research offers an alternative approach and a more comprehensive understanding of the experiences and sentiments of Chinese economy …

E-Commerce And Web Design For Small Businesses: Using Blogs To Build Engaging Consumer Marketing, Emma N. Tomlin

Journalism

The following study explores how to develop a successful website for an E-Commerce store that is user-friendly and engaging to consumers. A key concept that this study will discuss, is how a blog can create engaging consumer marketing. This study is focused on Moondoggies Beach Club, a surf shop with two brick-and-mortar locations in San Luis Obispo, California. A Cal Poly student saw the need for their existing online presence to be reevaluated and recreated. This paper will address the importance of well-done web design for E-Commerce, including ways to achieve user-friendly, easily accessible, well thought out web design; as …