Digital Commons Network^™

Design And Production Of A Carbon Fiber Longboard, John R. Beebe, Jacob Williams, Julia Stradinger, Vince Fitchtel, Jordan Cochran

Honors Theses

This thesis contains an overview of the design, prototyping, and manufacturing of a carbon fiber long board. The purpose of this capstone was to create a viable product for the real-world market and then determine how to manufacture it at scale with sustainable financial practices. In order to accomplish this task, engineering, accounting, and manufacturing challenges had to be overcome throughout all stages. The production process involved the carbon fiber layup, baking, water jet cutting, and assembly of the carbon fiber longboard. In order to optimize this process, continuous improvement and lean manufacturing problem solving techniques were applied. After a …

Unearthing Potential: Impact Investors’ Perspectives On Egypt’S Social Enterprise Market, Yousef Hesham Shoukry

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines impact investing in Egypt from the vantage point of the impact investors, revealing that Egypt's constraint is not the availability of capital but its direction, as the absence of legal recognition, coordinated intermediaries, and a shared impact-measurement standard keeps capital out of a market otherwise rich in social enterprise potential. The study employed a constructivist grounded theory approach, drawing on eleven semi-structured interviews with impact fund managers, ecosystem enablers, and public-sector policy advisors operating in or considering Egypt's social enterprise market. Data revealed that practitioners converge on the founding principles of impact investment (combined financial and social …

Bridging The Gap Between Career Expectations Versus Labor Market Realities, Reinette P. Madrid, Grethel T. Ledesma, Ignatius Aryono Putranto, Jyro B. Triviño

Leadership and Strategy Faculty Publications

Most students lack awareness regarding the labor market outcomes for their chosen college majors. This study aims to answer what factors affect the career expectations of graduating students at Quezon City University and how these expectations align with the prevailing labor market situation. It employed descriptive, causal, and explanatory research using a sample of 108 respondents from fourth-year information technology students for the school year 2021 to 2022. Eight of the nine null hypotheses were rejected by employing multinomial logistic and linear regression. Student fixed effects and other labor market outcomes significantly predicted salary, estimated stability, and estimated skills in …

Public Procurement’S Role In Shaping Supply Markets: A Taxonomy Of Local Contracting Authorities’ Approaches Using The Awareness-Motivation-Capability Framework, Steven Borobia, Frederik G.S. Vos, Louise Knight, Esmee Peters, Fons Wijnhoven, Niels Uenk

Business Faculty Publications and Presentations

Purpose: Public procurement is increasingly recognised as a tool for governing and shaping supply markets. Yet we still know little about how local authorities engage in market shaping through contracting practices, especially in newly decentralized markets. This study investigates the role of awareness, motivation and capabilities (AMC) in how municipalities influence (or fail to influence) social care markets, and how these dynamics manifest in contracting practice. Design/methodology/approach We combine secondary data with semi-structured interviews conducted with procurement professionals across municipalities, regional consortia, and expert organizations. The case context is Dutch social services procurement, which transitioned to a decentralised market in …

Firms’ Darq Readiness And Marketing Implications: A Systematic Literature Review, Ali N. Tehrani, K. Roy, Richard Gruner

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Purpose – This study aims to systematically review literature across diverse disciplines, including marketing, management and information systems, to synthesise insights on firms’ readiness to adopt and implement DARQ technologies and their marketing implications. DARQ technologies are emerging and cutting-edge technologies, including Distributed Ledger Technology, Artificial Intelligence, Extended Reality and Quantum Computing (hence, DARQ). Design/methodology/approach – Through a systematic review of over 2, 500 papers across three databases, this study distilled a focused sample of 88 papers. It comprehensively explores the reported dimensions, antecedents, outcomes and marketing implications of firms’ readiness for DARQ technologies. Findings – This study identified three …

Social Procurement As A Catalyst For Dei In Construction: Some Takeaways For Hrm?, Jennifer Waterhouse, Robyn Keast, Judy Lundy, Martin Loosemore

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Purpose: Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives aim to foster workplaces where all employees feel valued and can add value. Increasingly, the success of these initiatives is influenced by environments and interactions beyond organisational boundaries, including recent backlash. Despite this, most DEI research remains focused on intra-organisational aspects and human resource management (HRM) activities. The purpose of this paper is to introduce social procurement as a novel and promising framework for advancing DEI in theory and practice through a collaborative, inter-organisational approach that has the potential to overcome institutional barriers and mitigate backlash. Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected through 15 in-depth …

Integrating Machine Learning And Explainable Ai For Employee Attrition Prediction In Hr Analytics, Maytha Al-Ali, Majed Alwateer, Shatha Abed Alsaedi, Hossam Magdy Balaha, Mahmoud Badawy, Mostafa A. Elhosseini

All Works

Employee attrition poses significant challenges to organizations, impacting productivity, morale, and financial stability. Predicting attrition and understanding its underlying drivers are critical for implementing effective retention strategies. In this study, we propose a comprehensive framework that utilizes advanced machine learning techniques to predict employee attrition and job change likelihood. The framework integrates robust preprocessing pipelines, state-of-the-art predictive models, and explainability tools such as SHAP (SHapley Additive exPlanations) to ensure transparency and fairness in HR analytics. By addressing key challenges such as class imbalance, feature selection, and model interpretability, our approach provides actionable insights for proactive talent management. We evaluate the …

Generative Ai Adoption And Solvers' Popularity On Supply-Driven Crowdsourcing Platforms: The Dual Role Of Price Signals, Zimeng Zhu, Carol Hsu, Fiona Fui-Hoon Nah, Na Liu

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Purpose – We investigate the effect of solvers’ adoption of Generative AI (GenAI) on their popularity in a supply-driven crowdsourcing platform. We also examine the impact of price signals as well as their heterogeneous impact based on the solvers’ membership duration on the platform. Design/methodology/approach – Our analysis focuses on solvers who adopt GenAI for design-related gigs on the supply-driven crowdsourcing platform. By combining propensity score matching (PSM) with multi-period difference-in-differences (DID), we examine how GenAI adoption impacts solvers’ popularity and how price signals affect this main effect. Findings – Our findings reveal that solvers who adopt GenAI tend to …

Innovation Ecosystem Model To Achieve Sustainability In Palm-Oil Biofuel Development In Indonesia, Fanny Rahmadhitya, Avanti Fontana, Ignatius Heruwasto

Journal of Environmental Science and Sustainable Development

Achieving sustainable expansion of Indonesia’s palm-oil biofuel sector requires overcoming two interconnected challenges: ecological limits on feedstock expansion and weak translation of research into industry adoption. Although innovation ecosystem research emphasizes multi-actor collaboration, existing innovation ecosystem research provides limited understanding of how governance and innovation intermediation can bridge these gaps in the palm oil biofuel sector. Using a constructivist grounded theory approach, the study draws on 12 semi-structured interviews with key policymakers, industry practitioners, and researchers, analyzed using constructivist grounded theory (CGT) and triangulated with policy documents and a structured comparison with Malaysia. The findings reveal two interconnected bottlenecks. First, …

Research On Quantitative Assessment And Optimization Path Of China's Future Industrial Policy From The Three-Dimensional Perspective Of "Theme-Tool-Effectiveness", Xiao Liu, Lei Wu, Yanfei Song, Xintong Huang

Journal of Scientific Information Research

[Purpose/significance] Policies serve as a critical safeguard for guiding cutting-edge technological innovation and fostering a modern industrial system. Systematically evaluating the future industrial policy system and exploring its optimization paths are of great significance for enhancing the scientificity of policies and strengthening industrial competitive advantages. [Method/process] Based on a three-dimensional of framework "theme-tool-effectiveness", this study conducts a systematic quantitative assessment of 19 provincial-level future industry policies in China using a combination of content analysis, LDA-based topic modeling, and the PMC index approach. [Result/conclusion] The research indicate that while the thematic coverage is comprehensive, coordination is fragmented. Stronger links are needed …

Permission Granted? Navigating Ai Use In Graduate Speech-Language Pathology Education, Megann Mcgill, Ana Rivera Rodriguez, Alayna Townsend, Kelly Roy, Christine Fiestas

Teaching and Learning in Communication Sciences & Disorders

The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence (AI), particularly generative AI (GenAI), is transforming higher education and raising important questions about its role in graduate professional training. Speech-language pathology (SLP) programs face the dual challenge of preparing students to engage with AI technologies that are increasingly present in clinical and academic environments while also safeguarding academic integrity, ethical practice, and skill development. This tutorial paper describes the development and delivery of a one-hour, synchronous virtual AI training created for graduate students in a hybrid online Master of Science in SLP program at the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences. The …

A Qualitative Content Analysis Of The Personal Branding Practices Of Forbes 30 Under 30 Honorees, Hannah Naylor Regitz

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This qualitative study examines the personal branding practices of 10 honorees from the Forbes 2025 North American 30 Under 30 list. Through a thematic content analysis of Instagram, the honorees’ posts, captions, and the conversation climate of their comments from October 2025 were analyzed to determine patterns and similarities in their personal branding practices. Grounded in cultivation theory, this study explored how repeated exposure to curated content of these high-achieving young professionals shapes their personal brand perception. Additionally, it explored their interaction with commenters and the types of comments they engaged with. The analysis revealed seven themes that were present …

Modelling The Financial Viability Of Offshore Aquaculture Using A Case Study Of A Sea Bass Farm In The Bay Of Lion, France, Jeremy Van Dyken, Houshang Habibniya, Suzan Dsouza, Tyler Sclodnick

Journal of Ocean and Coastal Economics

The extension of net pen aquaculture to open ocean sites provides many advantages to the industry including opportunity for expansion, utilization of high energy sites, and better resilience to certain near shore or surface-associated stressors. The industry has been slow to develop due to high perceived risks and a lack of operating farms to provide financial information for open ocean farm operations. A model was developed to evaluate the economic viability of a hypothetical sea bass aquaculture venture in the open French Mediterranean Sea that utilizes open ocean submersible farming systems. Advanced open ocean equipment, including submersible net pens, environmental …

Sustainable Utilization Challenges And Opportunities Of The Blue Economy Resources In Bangladesh, Tasnia Bahar Chowdhury

Journal of Ocean and Coastal Economics

Bangladesh’s Blue Economy, emphasizing the sustainable use of ocean and coastal resources, presents both immense opportunities and pressing challenges. Following maritime boundary settlements with India and Myanmar, the country gained an exclusive economic zone of 118,813 km² and an extended continental shelf of 37,000 km² in the Bay of Bengal, offering substantial potential in fisheries, aquaculture, renewable energy, tourism, shipping, and marine biotechnology.

The study synthesizes secondary data to examine the sustainable utilization of resources under the blue economy. Marine fisheries contribute 17% of national fish production, supporting millions of livelihoods, while ecosystems such as the Sundarbans and Saint Martin’s …

Specification And Internal Assessment Of A Self Reported Protective Application Use Composite Among Computer Science Undergraduates In Enugu State Nigeria, Adesegun Nurudeen Osijirin, Leonard C. Anigbo, Oliver Okechukwu

Journal of Cybersecurity Education, Research and Practice

This study specifies a Protective Application Use Composite restricted to self-reported protective application use. A cross-sectional survey provided 364 complete records from Computer Science undergraduates at four universities in Enugu State, Nigeria, from 393 distributed questionnaires. The score is the equal-weight average of five questionnaire categories: antivirus, firewall, encryption, multi-factor authentication, and virtual private network use. Reanalysis of the author-supplied item records yielded category means from 2.097 to 2.376 and internal-consistency coefficients from 0.958 to 0.971. The composite mean was 2.170, with a standard deviation of 0.469. The first component of the category-score correlation matrix explained 50.98 percent of variance. …

A Narrative-Driven, Socratic Instructional Framework For Teaching Adversarial Cognition In Cybersecurity, Joshua K. Goossen

Journal of Cybersecurity Education, Research and Practice

The Socratic method has demonstrated, in studies across law, medicine, and nursing, that dialectic structured questioning improves expert reasoning. Cybersecurity currently teaches tools and techniques but lacks Socratic dialogic leaving graduates underprepared for novel scenarios requiring cross-domain reasoning. Because law, medicine and nursing cultivate similar reasoning as security there is principled reason to expect reasoning benefits could transfer to security students. This paper argues that the correspondence warrants investigation. Investigation requires a named, teachable reasoning target analogous to clinical reasoning and we specify that target as adversarial cognition, a framework integrating adversary features, system architecture, implementation logic, governance structure, human …

Ai-Generated Phishing Attacks: Emerging Threats And Detection Strategies For Security Operations Centers, Bahzad Khalid

Journal of Cybersecurity Education, Research and Practice

Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming cybersecurity by strengthening defensive capabilities while simultaneously enabling more sophisticated phishing attacks. AI generated phishing emails increasingly evade traditional detection methods through improved grammar, contextual relevance and realistic communication styles creating significant challenges for Security Operations Centers (SOCs). This study investigates the effectiveness of current email security systems in detecting AI generated phishing emails compared with traditional phishing emails. A mixed method experimental approach was employed using controlled Gmail and Outlook environments to evaluate the detection and classification of multiple phishing scenarios. The results demonstrate that several AI generated phishing emails successfully bypassed initial security …

Muscle Shoals: A Plan For The Use Of The United States Properties On The Tennessee Power By Private Industry For Of "The Manufacture Of Fertilizers And Other Useful Products", Muscle Shoals Commission, United States Government Printing Office Washington: 1931

Documents

A plan created by the Muscle Shoals commission for instituting a series of fertilizer production operations in the Tennessee Valley area. In addition to written analysis, the document contains multiple images, illustrations, charts, graphs, and maps of the area to illustrate the reasoning of the plan.

Although the plan was never fully brought to fruition, it represents a crucial piece of agricultural and infrastructural history in the Shoals, Alabama alongside existent history on the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and the development of the nitrate plants.

Where Shoppers Look First: How Navigation Bar Design Shapes Visual Attention Online, James Coyle, Linh Nguyen, Lee Hillman

Atlantic Marketing Journal

Abstract

Despite the crucial role that a website navigation bar can play in affecting consumer behavior, there has been a lack of theory-driven studies to investigate how to most effectively design navigation bars. Grounded in cognitive fit theory and visual attention theory, this study investigates how the effects of navigation bar design and content can influence visual processing of an unfamiliar online retailer’s website. A total of 40 subjects participated in a controlled experiment in which we gathered eye-tracking data. We find that navigation bar placement strongly affects how quickly participants locate the navigation bar: an unexpected placement more than …

Impact Of Corporate Governance On Achieving Desired Corporate Hedging Outcomes, Shweta Chitalia

Harrisburg University Dissertations and Theses

Corporate derivative hedging is intended to manage financial exposures, stabilize cash flows, and support organizational risk-management objectives; however, limited public evidence exists regarding how governance structures influence hedge evaluation, approval, and timely execution. This qualitative descriptive study examined how corporate governance was publicly described in relation to derivative hedging among large U.S. nonfinancial corporations. The study analyzed one publicly available Form 10-K filing from each of 25 purposively selected S&P 500 nonfinancial firms reporting active derivative hedging programs. Data were collected from SEC filings and organized in an Excel-based audit trail containing a document log, excerpt-level coding records, codebook, firm …

Climate Change Evidence: Driving Value-Added Use For Better Decisions, Tim Larson, Marina Lahowin, Sarah Hanck

The Foundation Review

This article examines the evolving ecosystem of climate solution evidence tools and distinguishes the different functions they serve, including evidence aggregation, assessment of evidence strength, comparison of solution options, spatial targeting, policy benchmarking, and adaptive management.

Drawing from research on evidence-informed policymaking and climate decision science, the authors identify persistent barriers to evidence use, including misalignment with decision needs, deep uncertainty, institutional incentives, and limited capacity for collective sensemaking.

The article argues philanthropy’s greatest leverage lies not in increasing the supply of evidence alone, but in strengthening the systems through which evidence is interpreted, governed, and embedded in decision processes. …

From Innovation To Impact: Evaluation Of The Shape Accelerator Cohort, Iryna V. Lendel, Chloe Wieber

Upjohn Institute Technical Reports

The Solutions Hub for an Alternative Packaging Ecosystem (SHAPE), a Michigan-Ohio partnership operated by the Michigan State University Research Foundation as part of a National Science Foundation Regional Innovation Engine, co-funded a special cohort of the NextCycle Accelerator focused on sustainable packaging and circular economy ventures. This report evaluates how the accelerator contributed to firm-level advancement and ecosystem-level change, drawing on program data and interviews with participating companies, program facilitators, stakeholders, and SHAPE management.  Participants most consistently credited coaching, network connections, and the Pitch Showcase with meaningfully impacting their business trajectory, gaining market traction, advancing technology readiness, and gaining access …

Bridging The Intention-Behavior Gap In Adopting Zero-Waste Grocery Retail Store, Elizabeth Jacob, Salil Sahadevan

Asia Marketing Journal

Growing interest in sustainability within marketing has renewed attention to zero-waste retail, yet it remains largely niche. This study investigates the challenges limiting zero-waste retail adoption and explores consumer expectations through key stakeholder interviews and a large-scale consumer survey in India. Building on earlier work that focused primarily on individual barriers, it incorporates structural factors and the interconnected nature of these obstacles. Adoption of zero-waste shopping practices is constrained by emotional labor, cognitive overload, and systemic friction. Cultural norms favoring convenience and hygiene reinforce disposability, and the lack of conventional packaging creates logistical hurdles. In this connection, the study identifies …

Bright Shadows, Fresh Appeal: How Shadow Brightness Shapes Perceptions Of Fresh Products, Jonghee Kum, Hyewon Cho, Hyejin Lee

Asia Marketing Journal

This study examines how shadow brightness (light vs. dark) influences consumer responses to fresh products across four studies. Studies 1a and 1b demonstrate that consumers evaluate fresh products with light shadows more favorably compared to those with dark shadows. Study 2 identifies the underlying mechanism, showing that light shadows increase perceived wholesomeness, which positively affects consumer responses. Study 3 tests a boundary condition, revealing that the positive impact of light (vs. dark) shadows is pronounced for uncooked products but reduced for cooked products. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the influential role of visual elements in shaping consumer …

The Impact Of Organizational Ergonomics On Job Burnout: Evidence From Higher Education Institutions In Iraq, Zainab Shakir Jubair Al-Zalmi

Journal of Economics and Administrative Sciences

This research aims to examine organizational ergonomics and its impact on job burnout among a random sample of teaching and administrative staff employed at universities, colleges, and institutes within higher education institutions in Iraq. This topic is of considerable importance because improving organizational ergonomics can enhance the work environment, increase job performance, and promote employee well-being. The research also seeks to address the problem of occupational stress and excessive workloads resulting from increasing teaching and administrative tasks assigned to employees in higher education institutions. These pressures contribute to higher levels of job burnout and adversely affect employee performance and job …

The Impact Of Flexible Work Arrangements On Employee Performance: Evidence From Private Universities In Baghdad, Mariam Adeeb Rasheed, Noor Khalil Ibrahim

Journal of Economics and Administrative Sciences

This study examines the effect of Flexible Work Arrangements (FWAs) (flexible scheduling, compressed workweek, and telecommuting) on employee performance among administrative leaders in private universities in Baghdad. Addressing inconsistent findings in prior research regarding whether different forms of workplace flexibility contribute equally to employee performance. Guided by Social Exchange Theory, a quantitative cross-sectional design was employed using data collected from 321 administrative leaders across 15 private universities in Baghdad. Measurement reliability, convergent validity, discriminant validity, and confirmatory factor analysis were assessed using the covariance-based structural equation modeling (CB-SEM) procedure in SmartPLS4. The proposed hypotheses were subsequently tested through structural model …

The Impact Of Ai-Driven Customer Relationship Management On Sustainable Performance: The Mediating Role Of Digital Customer Experience, Muhammad Ibrahim Jawad Al-Dulaimi

Journal of Economics and Administrative Sciences

This paper addresses the limited understanding of how Artificial Intelligence–driven Customer Relationship Management (AI-CRM) influences sustainable performance in emerging economies, particularly through the mediating role of digital customer experience. The study aims to examine the effect of AI-CRM on sustainable performance and investigate whether digital customer experience mediates this relationship. AI-CRM is operationalized through predictive and operational analytics, while sustainable performance is measured using the triple bottom line dimensions: economic, environmental, and social. A quantitative, cross-sectional research design was adopted. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire administered to 168 customers of hypermarkets affiliated with the Iraqi Ministry of Trade …

Key Factors Affecting Arable Land Areas In Iraq: An Analytical Economic Study (1990–2021), Duaa Emad Ahmed, Osamah Kadhim Jbara, Kais Hassan Alwan

Journal of Economics and Administrative Sciences

This paper aims to measure and analyze the factors affecting arable land areas in Iraq during the period (1990–2021), to determine the nature of the relationship between these factors in the short and long term. The study analyzed the relationship between the quantity of nitrogen and phosphate fertilizers used in agriculture, the volume of water inflow from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, and investment allocations for land reclamation projects. It evaluated their impact on arable land areas in Iraq. Results using the ARDL methodology indicated a long-term cointegration relationship between the variables through the bounds test. The F-value reached 7.597. …

Diagnosing Influential Observations Via Hybrid Secretary–Osprey Optimization Algorithm (Hsooa) In Gamma Regression Models For Fasting Blood Glucose Data, Luay Adil Abduljabbar, Sabah Manfi Ridha

Journal of Economics and Administrative Sciences

Influence diagnostics are essential for identifying influential observations that may affect the estimation accuracy of regression models. Classical diagnostic measures such as Cook's Distance and DFFITS may become less effective in complex or highly dispersed datasets. In this study, a new Hybrid Secretary–Osprey Optimization Algorithm (HSOOA), based on the integration of the Secretary Bird Optimization Algorithm (SBOA) and the Osprey Optimization Algorithm (OOA), is proposed for influential observation detection in the Gamma Regression Model (GRM). This optimization framework successfully achieves an optimal balance between global exploration and local exploitation. The proposed HSOOA framework was applied to a real medical dataset …

Random Forest Algorithm Vs. Linear Regression For Financial Performance Determinants: Evidence From Iraqi Mixed-Sector Firms, Odaiy Obaid Zeidan, Mustafa Habib Mahdi

Journal of Economics and Administrative Sciences

This paper examines the predictive factors of financial performance among Iraqi mixed-sector firms, comparing the predictive power of traditional Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression with the Random Forest (RF) machine learning algorithm. Utilizing annual data from 11 firms over the period 2015–2020, the study measures financial performance using Return on Assets (ROA), Return on Equity (ROE), and Return on Sales (ROS). OLS regression identified the directional relationships and p-values, whereas Random Forest evaluated predictive accuracy and modeled nonlinear relationships. The OLS results indicate that firm size, liquidity, productivity, and cash-to-asset ratio have significant positive effects on financial performance, while the …