Digital Commons Network^™

The Impact Of Microfinance On Poverty Reduction In Egypt: An Empirical Study, Hala Elhadidi

Business Administration

Microfnance has become a critical tool in credit markets for poverty reduction and socioeconomic development. Yet its impact is still questioned and varies from one country to another and from urban to rural areas. This article examines the role of Egyptian micro nance on household income. A cross-sectional survey interviewed 780 established and new clients in Greater Cairo and rural areas in Egypt. The strati ed random method was used to collect the data from urban and rural districts. The ndings, using multinomial logistics, reveal that micro nance had a positive impact on the household income of women borrowers who …

Strategies To Reduce Information Technology Employee Absenteeism In The Manufacturing Industry, Camilla Henry

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Employee absenteeism costs organizations billions of dollars annually in losses in revenue and productivity, temporary labor costs, and low morale. The purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore the strategies information technology (IT) managers in the manufacturing industry used to reduce employee absenteeism. The theory of planned behavior provided the conceptual framework for the study. Data collection included semistructured interviews with 5 IT managers in Maryland and a review of organizational documents addressing nutritional education information, employee participation rates in health programs, and physical activity. Data were analyzed using compilation, disassembly, reassembly, interpretation, and development of conclusions. …

The Impact Of Mentoring On Social Excluded Adults In A Small Midwest City, Rose A. Hunt

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Empirical data have indicated that a considerable amount of the world's population, 45.3 million in the United States, live in deplorable conditions, some of which are created by social exclusion. Social exclusion is a disenfranchisement experienced by individuals and families living in poverty conditions created by circumstances such as lack of education, lack of economic sustenance, unemployment, poor health, and other social ills. Mentoring is a multidimensional skills-development opportunity for disadvantaged youth, aspiring new professionals, employed individuals being promoted, and instructor-student relationships. There is the possibility that mentoring could be useful for other societal groups as well, particularly social excluded …

Quitting Together: Formative Research To Develop A Social Marketing Plan For Smoking Cessation Among Women In A Residential Treatment Facility For Substance Abuse Recovery, August D. Anderson

Theses and Dissertations--Communication

Both smoking addiction and illicit substance abuse are prevalent issues in the United States today. Furthermore, these are issues that have significant impact on women’s health and mental state. Despite research that shows that smoking cessation coupled with substance abuse recovery can decrease likelihood of relapse post-recovery, few substance abuse recovery facilities today offer smoking cessation programming options. To address the issue of smoking addiction on top of substance abuse recovery, formative research was conducted through this study to determine the underlying causes of smoking habits coupled with recovery efforts and the attitudes. Through focus group sessions with women in …

Iact Undergraduate Certificate In Applied Creativity (Year 1 - 2018), Brian Laduca

IACT Certificate Program

At the Institute of Applied Creativity for Transformation (IACT) at ArtStreet, we seek to empower a creatively confident 21st-century student with the ability to discover, invent and innovate ambiguous ideas through a disruptive design process that will impact today’s ever-changing global world regardless of degree focus.

IACT is home to the nation’s first undergraduate certificate in Applied Creativity for Transformation. Open to undergraduate students of any major, the certificate is a first step in achieving the University of Dayton’s vision of innovation, applied creativity, entrepreneurship and community engagement for the common good.

The Changing Identity Of Fast Food; A Plant Based Solution, Maggie Niemann

Whittier Scholars Program

The purpose of this study is to create a business plan to assess the feasibility of creating a vegan fast food chain which provides quality food, a low environmental footprint, and social responsibility. To determine this feasibility, my objectives are to look at the market and trends of veganism and fast food, the workability and environmental impact of sourcing food locally, and the social impact a restaurant like this could have. Within my business plan and research, my main product objectives are to offer healthy and satisfying menu options while displaying a less commercial but still appealing marketing strategy. My …

Assessing The Validity And Reliability Of Family Factors On Physical Activity: A Case Study In Turkey, Sharalyn Steenson, Hilal Ozcebe, Umut Arslan, Hande Konsuk Unlu, Ozgur M. Araz, Mahmut Yardim, Sarp Uner, Nazmi Bilir, Terry T.-K. Huang

Department of Supply Chain Management and Analytics: Faculty Publications

Background: Childhood obesity rates have been rising rapidly in developing countries. A better understanding of the risk factors and social context is necessary to inform public health interventions and policies. This paper describes the validation of several measurement scales for use in Turkey, which relate to child and parent perceptions of physical activity (PA) and enablers and barriers of physical activity in the home environment.

Method: The aim of this study was to assess the validity and reliability of several measurement scales in Turkey using a population sample across three socio-economic strata in the Turkish capital, Ankara. Surveys were conducted …

There’S Nowhere To Hide: Artificial Intelligence And Privacy In The Fourth Industrial Revolution, Sarah Denton, Eleonore Pauwels, Yujia He, Walter G. Johnson

Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce Faculty Publications

At its core, artificial intelligence (AI) optimizes data. Machine-learning algorithms, one component of AI, are trained using massive datasets curated by humans to predict various aspects of our daily lives. Such predictive intelligence could be a positive force amplified by continued decentralization of the technology. Or, ubiquitous cognition and surveillance could be a disruptive force amplified by the unregulated proliferation of AI technologies. Yet, though we will certainly see more and more AI systems being integrated into every facet of our infrastructures, homes, and bodies, the proliferation of AI technology isn’t the problem. A privacy-security quagmire arises from the interconnectivity …

Urban Organic Farming For Diversified Agriculture, Jose Santos Carandang, Robert W. Taylor, Josemari S. Calleja, Edito A. Busayong, Eric Camilio R. Punzalan

Angelo King Institute for Economic and Business Studies (AKI)

Urban organic farming had been shown in previous projects as well as the present one to have the potential of addressing the fundamental requirements of food security by addressing issues of availability since production is just in the vicinity, which also addresses the carbon footprint of food production because food need not be transported to far distances. The use of organic methods also contributed to increased food safety. More importantly, the practice of urban agriculture empowers local residents in the stewardship, specifically of their barangay’s green spaces and more broadly the whole urban environment (see Mogk, Kwiatkowski, &Weindorf, 2010). However, …

Preferences For Local And Organic Food: A Comparison Of New Hampshire And Vermont, Victoria Smith Lorvig

Honors Theses and Capstones

Annies bunnies or Kraft elbows? Supermarket or farmers market? Organic and local foods have been on the rise in the global market since the new millennium began (Darnhofer, 2010: 68, Schupp, 2016: 319). The growth in organic is attributed to consumers wanting their food to be healthier and more environmentally friendly (Aschemann-Witzel et. Al, 2017: 211, Van Doorn et. A, 2011: 167). The appeals of local foods are similar, plus the added component of boosting the local economy and building community (Hempel & Hamm, 2016: 732). Income is not the only factor affecting preferences and willingness to pay (WTP). Actors …

Factors Associated With Prolonged Length Of Stay For Elective Hepatobiliary And Neurosurgery Patients: A Retrospective Medical Record Review, Siu Yin Lee, Soo-Hoon Lee, Jenny H.H. Tan, Howard S.L. Foo, Phillip H. Phan, Alfred W.C. Kow, Sein Lwin, Penelope M.Y. Seah, Siti Zubaidah Mordiffi

Management Faculty Publications

Background: Patients with prolonged length of hospital stay (LOS) not only increase their risks of nosocomial infections but also deny other patients access to inpatient care. Hepatobiliary (HPB) malignancies have some of highest incidences in East and Southeast Asia and the management of patients undergoing HPB surgeries have yet to be standardized. With improved neurosurgery techniques for intracranial aneurysms and tumors, neurosurgeries (NS) can be expected to increase. Elective surgeries account for far more operations than emergencies surgeries. Thus, with potentially increased numbers of elective HPB and NS, this study seeks to explore perioperative factors associated with prolonged LOS for …

Influential Factors In Consumer's Adoption Of Innovative Products, Mahdokht Kalantari

Wayne State University Dissertations

This dissertation addresses the challenges involved with the process of diffusion of innovations in the contexts of innovative educational materials and technological innovations.

Chapters 2 and 3 discuss building and using Online Brand Communities (OBCs) to disseminate innovative math educational materials. OBCs are known to be important platforms where consumers can communicate with the brand as well as other consumers. Through the effective use of these platforms, brands could accelerate the process of diffusion of their innovations. However, OBCs will not survive if consumers do not get engaged and participate in these communities. The purpose of this section of the …

Success Factors Of Entrepreneurship In Emerging Rural Economies, Sultan Tahir Mehmood

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

One factor of the leadership stratagem is to account for the core values, operations, and growth of the organization. The purpose of this case study was to ascertain the financial strategies small business leaders incorporate to help ensure growth of small businesses. The conceptual framework of Schumpeter's innovation and entrepreneurship theory and the Grameen model were included to drive the scope and analysis of this study. A purposive sample of 8 leaders from successful small businesses in Islamabad contributed to a focus group session; 4 out of these participants originated from the finance and management department and 4 represented sales …

Making Money And Making Change: Understanding And Overcoming Tension Between Profits And Purpose Within Social Entrepreneurship, Elijah H. Etzioni

CMC Senior Theses

Using a combination of interviews of social entrepreneurs and secondary research, this paper investigates the strategies that social entrepreneurs use to overcome tension and conflict between the two distinct goals of financial sustainability and mission fulfillment. The results suggest that although some social entrepreneurs can simultaneously achieve revenue generation and mission fulfillment, thus almost entirely eliminating any tension or misalignment, it is the creative responses of social entrepreneurs who have achieved one of these objectives and are attempting to achieve the other that prove the unique value of the practice. Additionally, the results gesture towards the conclusion that different kinds …

Behavioral Household Finance, John Beshears, James J. Choi, David Laibson, Brigitte C. Madrian

Faculty Publications

This chapter provides an overview of household finance. The first part summarizes key facts regarding household financial behavior, emphasizing empirical regularities that are inconsistent with the standard classical economic model and discussing extensions of the classical model and explanations grounded in behavioral economics that can account for the observed patterns. This part covers five topics: consumption and savings, borrowing, payments, asset allocation, and insurance. The second part addresses interventions that firms, governments, and other parties deploy to shape household financial outcomes: education and information, peer effects and social influence, product design, advice and disclosure, choice architecture, and interventions that directly …

Contents, Discovery Editors

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

No abstract provided.

Examining Injury Data Reporting Practices Among Wildland Firefighters, Erin M. Boggs

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Wildland Firefighter (WLFF) Crews lack an injury surveillance program to collect information on non-traumatic and traumatic injuries. Tactical athletes including: police, military and structural firefighters all have a variety of collection systems in place for injury data collection. The lack of injury data prevents WLFF crews from identifying high-risk environments, implementing injury prevention programs, and improving the overall quality of care on the job. Over the last several decades the recent rise in wildfire occurrences and wildfire suppression costs creates a need for healthy and strong individuals in the field. The cost of firefighter salaries and medical care can be …

Agricultural Information Needs And Food Access In The Stann Creek District Of Belize, Sam E. Harris, Donna L. Graham

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

The purpose of this study was to describe agricultural information sources available to farmers and to describe food access and availability for the people of Dangriga, Stann Creek, Belize. This study used descriptive survey research methods with convenience sampling of the general public (n=22) and of farmers (n = 38) in the summer of 2017. Farmers use a variety of agricultural information sources with the extension service cited most often, followed by friends and fellow farmers. Weather, lack of information, pests, and inadequate access to capital were of primary concern for farmers. Face-to-face meetings were used most often by extension …

Determining Millennial Food Buying Preferences: Based On Product Marketing With “Buzzwords”, Victoria N. Hamilton

Theses and Dissertations--Community & Leadership Development

This research focuses on the importance on the Millennial Generation and their perceptions of food buzzwords. Since the Millennial Generation is the largest group purchasing and preparing their own foods, the food industry is becoming dependent on their buying preferences. A survey reflected the participants’ demographics and their buying preferences based on a series of food buzzwords when they are purchasing foods. Results show the Millennial Generation prefers “local” buzzwords. As the Millennial Generation continues to purchase foods for themselves and their families, it can be expected their choices will encourage others to do the same based on their family …

The Impact Of Childhood Socioeconomic Status On Adult Reactions Toward Quantity Surcharges, Wenjing Li

Theses and Dissertations--Marketing and Supply Chain

Quantity surcharges have been widespread in the marketplace for decades. However, little is known about what kinds of consumers and under what conditions they are more likely to be impacted by this pricing practice. The current research contributes to the existing literature by investigating how a person’s childhood socioeconomic status affects their reaction toward quantity surcharges during adulthood. Across four studies, we find that childhood socioeconomic status has a positive impact on the purchase of a large and surcharged package size. However, when the economic conditions are threatening, the positive effect of childhood socioeconomic status disappears. The current research also …

Corporate Wellness Programs, Kenneth L. Ragan

Theses and Dissertations

This study addresses Workplace Wellness Programs (WWP) in large and small businesses to assess if and how they are effective, what employers perceived about WWP, and what components from a WWP are perceived as best for achieving desired results. In order to address this, 10 large and small business in the city of Columbus, Georgia were interviewed. The literature suggested that businesses should consider implementing WWPs. After conducting the interviews, local businesses do in fact support workplace wellness as they perceive a WWP may help reduce stress and an unhealthy lifestyle for employees, and in turn, develop a more productive …

Letter From The Dean, Deacue Fields

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

No abstract provided.

Corporate Governance Deviance, Ruth V. Aguilera, William Q. Judge, Siri A. Terjesen

Management Faculty Publications

We develop the concept of corporate governance deviance and seek to understand why, when, and how a firm adopts governance practices that do not conform to the dominant governance logic. Drawing on institutional theory, coupled with both the entrepreneurship and corporate governance literature, we advance a middle-range theory of the antecedents of corporate governance deviance that considers both the institutional context and firm-level agency. Specifically, we highlight the centrality of a firm's entrepreneurial identity as it interacts with the national governance logic to jointly create corporate governance discretion (i.e., the latitude of accessible governance practices) within the firm. We argue …

Instructional Case: Can Management Accounting Help Aid Associations Make Tough Choices In Haiti?, Daniel Gyung Paik, W. Darrell Walden, Kip R. Krumwiede

Accounting Faculty Publications

Based on an actual situation, this case explores the use of management accounting analysis in a difficult make-or-buy decision in the real world of humanitarian aid. An aid organization produces a specially designed, highly nutritious peanut butter medicine to save the lives of Haiti’s malnourished children. The challenge is deciding whether to source the peanuts from Haitian farmers and pay more or from foreign suppliers and pay less. Students perform both quantitative and qualitative cost-benefit, break-even, operating leverage, and product costing analysis. Performance measurement, incentive issues, short-term versus long-term thinking, micro and macroeconomics, and ethical issues are also considered. The …

Risk Perceptions For Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Among College Students, Seth Simmons

Honors Theses

With the number of cases of Type 2 diabetes mellitus on the rise among the world's adolescent population, there is an increasing need for more information concerning the adolescent perceptions of risk to acquire diabetes. While there is an abundance of available data on adult risk perceptions for developing this disease, the research on younger individuals' risk perceptions is scarce. Therefore, this study examines data of risk perceptions of students between the ages of 18 and 25 that are undergraduate students at the University of Mississippi. The specific goal of the survey is to examine which groups of individuals feel …

An Introduction To Case Reports: The Fundamentals Of Accounting, William C. Kemp

Honors Theses

This document is a culmination of twelve case reports completed over the 2016-2017 school year under the direction of Dr. Victoria Dickinson. The cases were assigned in relation to the current topics covered in ACCY 303 and ACCY 304 and were prepared under GAAP and other generally accounting standards. Several cases were a set published by Cambridge Business Publishers, LLC and can be found online. Other cases were provided by Dr. Dickinson. Each case was a series of questions that related to a separate accounting topic, and information in each is not dependent on previous cases. Journal entries, ratios, financial …

Fast Food Business Survivability Beyond 5 Years In Nigeria, Victor Ukorebi

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The lack of manager's effective business strategies contributes to the failure of fast food businesses in Nigeria. The size of the fast food industry in Nigeria grows at the rate of 4% annually with rapid rate of return on investment. The annual value of the fast food business in Nigeria was N250 billion in 2015, which is approximately US$700 million. However, approximately 80% of fast food restaurants launched in Nigeria in 2014 failed to persist for longer than 5 years because of lack of survival strategies. Using the human capital theory, the purpose of this multiple case study was to …

Examining The Impact And Influence Of The Leisure Science Literature, Mat D. Duerden, Michael B. Edwards, Michael C. Goates, Justin Dyer

Faculty Publications

This study explored the impact and influence of the leisure sciences literature through an analysis of highly cited articles. Discriminant function analysis identified whether articles had more exclusive impact inside or outside the field. Research themes and methodologies were examined based on these classifications. Results indicate articles with the greatest impact within the leisure literature tended to be quantitative studies drawing upon survey data and non-experimental designs focused on general leisure and outdoor/forest recreation. Articles with the greatest impact outside the leisure literature were more recent and focused on place attachment, psychological motivation, or community parks and recreation and used …

Three Essays On Financial Collaboration In The Government And Nonprofit Sectors, Saerim Kim

Theses and Dissertations--Public Policy and Administration

The primary objective of this dissertation is to study the management of public and nonprofit resources and financial risk. Governments will be able to use its findings to continue to provide public services in collaboration with other sectors, including the nonprofit sector. Nonprofit financial self-sufficiency and sub-award grant mechanisms between the government and nonprofit sectors are two primary areas to be examined. This dissertation consists of three essays. The first investigates how the diversification of nonprofit revenue portfolios influences extreme revenue risks; the results show that the chance of extreme revenue loss increases when revenue sources are highly correlated to …

Compliance Theory: A Case Study Approach In Understanding Organizational Commitment, Nelson J. Celis

DLSU Business & Economics Review

The Electronic Commerce (e-Commerce) Act of 2000 or Republic Act (RA) No. 8792 mandates all government agencies to transact business and perform government functions using electronic documents within two years from the date of its effectivity in June 2000. Unfortunately, only a handful of government agencies were ready to implement the said law in the year 2002 despite the availability of applicable information technology (IT) resources and appropriated budget. After 17 years, there is considerable improvement in the compliance with the said law, though there are still non-compliances of government offices that could not manage to be at par with …