Digital Commons Network^™

George C. Roberts Award Recipients

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

The Survival Of Sugar In Post-Emancipation British Guiana: East Indian Indentured Immigration And The Cheapening Of Labor, Wazir Mohamed

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

This Paper revisits the post-emancipation changes in the labor market of British Guiana. British Guiana, Mauritius, Trinidad and Tobago, Fiji, and several other locations were spaces where East Indian Indentured Immigrants from Idia became pivotal in the economy.[1] In the decade after emancipation (1838-1848), the rise of global free trade in sugar spurred by the equalization of duties in sugar factored in the search for a cheaper and the importation of a more pliable labor force to keep the wheels of sugar turning in British Guiana. With this background in mind this paper focuses on indentured immigration of East …

Submission Guidelines

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

Leadership Dynamics, Transparency, & Governance During Crisis In Religious Organizations: Discussing The Roman Catholic Church’S Centralized Authority, John D. Rudnick Jr, Raymond L. Enzweiler, Srecko Koralija

Interdisciplinary Journal of Leadership Studies

Abstract
This article considers two high-profile crises inside the Roman Catholic Church. The rejection of the Vatican audit in 2015 and the financial loss from a large investment in London real estate exemplify tension and balance between centralized, hierarchical leadership and institutional accountability. These cases examine leadership patterns relative to transparency, communication, and governance, evaluating the efficacy of centralized power under financial distress. The discussion is organized across pre-crisis, active crisis, and post-crisis phases by integrating insights from transactional, transformational, servant, and adaptive leadership style models. Performance improvement (PI) tools such as Before Action Reviews (BARs), After Action Reviews (AARs), …

Statement From The Indiana Academy Of The Social Sciences And Board Of Directors

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

Mission And Editorial Policy

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

Volume 29, Issue 1 Full Contents

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

Learning By Doing To Teach Research Skills In Econometrics, Christie Byun

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

This paper examines a revision in an introductory econometrics course at an undergraduate liberal arts college. The instructors have incorporated extensive use of data from the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series from the Current Population Survey (IPUMS-CPS), with applied examples that demonstrate econometric theory. The key element is a short empirical paper assignment in which all students work on a common research question, but with different data sets. The paper assignment includes a series of scaffolding assignments using IPUMS-CPS data. This approach has several benefits, including ease of implementation into any course that has an empirical paper component, significantly streamlined …

Author Biographical Notes

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

Reviewers And Referees

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

Eating Disorders & Meat Consumption: A Meta-Analytic Review, Urska Dobersek, Laurel Standiford-Reyes, Tyler Robinson, Alex Antony Edwin, Sarah Siebers

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

In this meta-analytic review, we examined the current evidence on eating disorders in relation to meat consumption and meat abstention. We systematically searched six online databases in December 2025 for primary research on eating disorder-related variables in meat consumers and meat abstainers. Fifty-one studies with 55,984 participants (n_{meat consumers} = 44,282, n_{meat abstainers} = 9,751) met the inclusion/exclusion criteria. The outcomes were eating disorders and orthorexia nervosa. Meat consumption was associated with lower eating disorder (g = 0.20, 95% CI [0.08, 0.32], p = .001) and orthorexia nervosa symptomology (g = 0.47, 95% CI [0.33, …

Call For Papers

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

Front And Back Matter

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Full Issue

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

From Rhetoric To Reality: Piloting Conversation-Based Reporting On Systems Change, Laura Rana Englert

The Foundation Review

The Climate Emergency Collaboration Group (CECG) is a philanthropic regranter aiming to unlock the power of international moments and systems to deliver a step-change in global response to the climate emergency. Both CECG’s work and the systems to which it contributes are characterised by complexity, non-linearity, and unpredictability.

CECG transformed its approach to reporting from traditional written reports using predetermined indicators to a conversation-based reporting (CBR) process prioritising depth over breadth and meaningful two-way exchange. CECG uses CBR to explore collective contributions to system change and drive evidence-informed decision-making.

This article provides a practice-based case study of CECG’s experience piloting …

Feedback Loops In Practice: A Case Study On Evaluating A Climate Collaborative, Mansi Shah, Amy Sherwood, Abbie Turiansky, Drew Koleros, Axum Teferra

The Foundation Review

Philanthropic support to address the climate crisis has grown substantially, yet it remains unclear how effectively philanthropies are learning from their investments, from each other, and from other actors about what generates meaningful impact. Evaluations have come under scrutiny, as conventional approaches often struggle to account for complexity and provide the timely insights needed for adaptive management.

In this article, the authors present the learning journey of a complex, systems-focused climate philanthropy initiative that uses structured feedback loops as an evaluation design. They describe how these loops were implemented over a two-year evaluation; discuss the choice of complexity-aware methods; and …

Spend-Down To Scale Up: Limited-Life Giving In The Climate Crisis, Madeleine C. Mckinnon, Samuel Rogers, David Gunsberg, Emma Mcintosh

The Foundation Review

This article shares first-hand experiences of a charitable foundation operating under a spend-down model, illustrating how a fixed time horizon shapes philanthropic and programmatic behavior. The authors discuss three conditions that a spend-down horizon reliably forces: the imperative to fund quickly, collaboratively, and boldly on shared goals; the discipline to concentrate capital with strategic focus; and the emphasis on learning and collaboration as both a means to optimize for impact now and to sustain and scale impact over the long term.

Authors explore the influence of these conditions in a series of case studies working towards a clean energy transition …

A Commentary On Hong And Thoroughgood (2025): Exclusion Signaling As A Complementary Mechanism In Third-Party Reactions To Witnessed Gratitude, Farzaneh Fouladi, S. R. Aurora

Management Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

The Quality Dimensions Of Ai Robo-Advisors And Their Effect On Stock Market Investor Retention; The Mediator Effect Of Source Credibility., Hossam A. Deraz Dr.

Business Administration

The current study explores how AI robo-advisors (AIRA) platforms retain stock market investors over time. It examines how system reliability (REL), seamless system user interface navigation (SIN), application informativeness (INF), and perceived conversational quality (CON) affect investor retention (RET) in an emerging capital market through perceived source credibility (SCR). This empirical study included survey data from 413 Egyptian financial and investing community retail stock investors. For this study, SEM using AMOS 26 assessed direct structural routes, model fit, and indirect mediation effects after confirmatory factor analysis confirmed construct validity and reliability. Variance accounted for (VAF) calculations measuring mediation strength across …

Service Robots With Low Anthropomorphism In Restaurants: Consumer Reactions And Implications, Ferhat Eren, Volkan Genc

Journal of Global Hospitality and Tourism

This study investigates consumer responses to low-anthropomorphic service robots in restaurant front of-house roles using the AIDUA (Artificially Intelligent Device Use Acceptance). Data from 1,268  participants were analysed using PLS-SEM. The results revealed that social impact and  anthropomorphism significantly influenced both performance and effort expectancy, while hedonic  motivation influenced only performance expectancy. Performance expectancy strongly influenced  emotions, which in turn significantly influenced both the willingness to use service robots and objections  to their use. However, effort expectancy did not significantly influence emotions. The findings validate the  AIDUA model in this context and offer practical insights for robot design and implementation.

Covid-19 Impact On The Swiss Hotel Industry: A Time Series Analysis On 4-Stars Hotels, Yann Queckenstedt, Tianshu Zheng

Journal of Global Hospitality and Tourism

This study investigates the impact of COVID-19 on Swiss 4-star hotel arrivals using time series analysis and forecasts future demand through 2025. Employing a seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average model with intervention analysis, monthly arrival data from January 2005 to December 2022 were analyzed to quantify pandemic-related disruptions. Forecasts from January 2023 to December 2025 suggest a full recovery by March 2023, marking a 36-month rebound period. The pandemic’s economic impact mirrored downturns last seen in the 1970s, underscoring its severity. Findings offer actionable insights for hotel managers and tourism stakeholders, particularly in revenue management and strategic planning. Unlike prior …

Cultural Humility In The Workplace: A Causal-Comparative Study Of Foreign And Local Hire Employees In International Education, Natalie A. Ortiz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cultural humility is recognized as a framework for fostering respectful relationships in culturally diverse workplaces. However, limited research has examined cultural humility within international education in regard to workplace dynamics and power imbalances that may exist between foreign and local hire educators. The purpose of this quantitative causal-comparative study was to examine differences in perceived cultural humility levels between foreign and local hire employees in PreK-12^th grade private international schools in Central Asia and Eastern Europe. The study also examined whether years of international educational experience and the number of international educational assignments influenced perceived cultural humility levels. Data …

When Going Alone Feels Right: The Effect Of Solo Cues On Interest In Attending Cultural Events, Inyoung Lee, Sang-Hoon Kim

Asia Marketing Journal

With the rise of solo consumers, cultural event marketers face a challenge: how can events appeal to solo consumers without marginalizing group consumers? To address this question, the impact of solo cues in marketing communication is examined through the lens of role and script theory. Two experiments demonstrate that solo cues, which signal the inclusion of solo consumers among attendees, increase solo consumers' attendance interest but do not affect group consumers. For solo consumers, the impact of solo cues is driven by anticipated enjoyment and is particularly pronounced for events entailing a high (vs. low) level of social interaction, where …

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 …

Risk, Benefit, And Trust In Emotionally Intense Services: A Moderated Mediation Model Of Home-Based Palliative Care Adoption In China, Cong Zhuang, Wenfeng Wei, Kyung-Min Kim

Asia Marketing Journal

As aging populations expand across Asia, home-based palliative care remains underutilized despite its potential to preserve dignity and emotional well-being. This study examines adoption decisions under emotionally intense uncertainty by testing a moderated mediation model in which perceived risk reduces adoption intention through diminished perceived benefit, and trust conditions the risk–benefit appraisal link. A scenario-based experiment with 400 Chinese participants was analyzed using PROCESS Models 4 and 7 with bias-corrected bootstrapping. Results show that perceived benefit fully mediates the effect of perceived risk on adoption intention. Trust shows evidence of conditioning the association between perceived risk and perceived benefit; however, …

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 …

Smart Tourism Technology And Sustainable Tourism: Creating Vivid Memories To Drive Tourists' Behavioural Intention, Hatane Semuel, Regina Jokom, Trixie Nova Bella Tandijaya, Sienny Thio

Asia Marketing Journal

This study examines the impact of smart tourism technology and sustainable tourism on tourists' behavioural intention, with vivid memory as a mediating variable. Earlier studies have investigated smart tourism technology and sustainability separately, but there is a lack of understanding of how these two perspectives interact with memory theory to influence tourist behaviour. To address this gap, a survey was conducted involving 742 tourists across four major Indonesian cities, and the data were analysed using path analysis with SmartPLS. The findings show that sustainable tourism directly and indirectly shapes behavioural intention, while smart tourism technology influences it only indirectly through …

The Afterlife Of Luxury: Triggers, Intentions, And Channel Preference In China's Resale Boom, Junfeng Shi, Dehua Xia

Asia Marketing Journal

This study examines the factors shaping Chinese consumers' intention to resell used luxury products and their preferences for resale channels, drawing on the extended Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). Data were collected from 381 consumers via an online survey and analyzed using structural equation modelling with confirmatory factor analysis and regression. Results indicate that the primary motivation for reselling is the lack of need when items are no longer useful or suitable. Consumers' resale intentions are driven mainly by internal factors: attitudes, sense of duty, perceived benefits, and behavioral control, while external factors, such as subjective norms, have minimal impact. …

Transfer Pricing Dispute Resolution: How Feasible Is The Implementation Of Safe Harbors In Indonesia?, Daniel Edgar Hirasma Saragi, Antonius Ragil Kuncoro

BISNIS & BIROKRASI: Jurnal Ilmu Administrasi dan Organisasi

This study aims to explore the feasibility of implementing safe harbors in transfer pricing regulations in Indonesia. Safe harbors are alternative tax policies for taxpayers on specific transactions, which can exempt them from general provisions if meets certain specific regulations set by the tax authority (United Nations, 2017). Using a qualitative methodology, this study explores data from various literature and the results of interviews with experts in the field of transfer pricing. Moreover, this research utilizes interpretative paradigm, inductive approach, and descriptive study. With the help of NVIVO software, the researcher conducted a thematic analysis of the data obtained. This …

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 …