Digital Commons Network^™

Farmers’ Perspectives Toward Organizing A Cotton Producers’ Union In Şanlıurfa, Türkiye, Ismail Efe, Mehmet Cançelik, Mehmet Reşit Sevinç

The Philippine Agricultural Scientist

This study examines the attitudes of cotton producers in Şanlıurfa toward establishing a producers’ union to address structural challenges in Türkiye’s leading cotton production region. Şanlıurfa contributes approximately 40% of Türkiye’s cotton output, yet lacks organizational frameworks for its nearly 20,000 producers who face significant risks including price volatility, high input costs, and limited market access. The research utilized primary data collected through face-to-face surveys with 165 cotton producers selected via convenience sampling. Data analysis employed descriptive statistics, exploratory factor analysis using Principal Component Analysis (PCA), independent samples t-tests, and one-way ANOVA. The findings revealed a significant paradox: while …

The Hidden Cost Of Performative Culture In Learning Organizations Introduction, Coby Dillard

Human Resource Development Student Publications and Presentations

Purpose

The aim of this article is to present a viewpoint that performative culture disrupts organizational learning by eroding alignment between espoused values, system design, and lived experience. Design/methodology/approach

This article adopts a conceptual and practitioner-oriented approach, drawing on foundational theories of organizational culture and learning to examine how misalignment between values and systems shapes organizational behavior. The discussion integrates insights from organizational culture and learning frameworks to reinterpret performative culture as a system design issue. Findings

The article identifies that performative culture undermines organizational learning in three key ways: by eroding trust through inconsistent signals, fragmenting systems and reducing …

Farmers’ Perspectives Toward Organizing A Cotton Producers’ Union In Şanlıurfa, Türkiye, Ismail Efe, Mehmet Cançelik, Mehmet Reşit Sevinç

The Philippine Agricultural Scientist

This study examines the attitudes of cotton producers in Şanlıurfa toward establishing a producers’ union to address structural challenges in Türkiye’s leading cotton production region. Şanlıurfa contributes approximately 40% of Türkiye’s cotton output, yet lacks organizational frameworks for its nearly 20,000 producers who face significant risks including price volatility, high input costs, and limited market access. The research utilized primary data collected through face-to-face surveys with 165 cotton producers selected via convenience sampling. Data analysis employed descriptive statistics, exploratory factor analysis using Principal Component Analysis (PCA), independent samples t-tests, and one-way ANOVA. The findings revealed a significant paradox: while producers …

To Swear Or Not To Swear: Exploring The Role Of Profanity In Influencer Marketing, Mahdi Niknejad Moghadam, Vijay Mahajan

Marketing Faculty Publications and Presentations

Influencers play a central role in promoting products and services on digital platforms. Understanding the impact of their linguistic choices, including the use of profanity, is therefore important for marketers seeking to engage target audiences. This study investigates how influencers’ profanity usage shapes user engagement. The authors analyze videos shared by influencers on a popular video-sharing platform and extract auditory, visual, and verbal features using a range of machinelearning tools. The findings indicate that profanity in focal content is associated with lower engagement, with a substantially larger effect in categories where profanity is less normatively expected. This negative effect is …

Regulatory Cost Of Production In Napa County Vineyards, Lynn Hamilton, Michael Mccullough

Agribusiness

Regulatory costs are an increasing concern for California growers. Recent studies in Salinas Valley lettuce and San Joaquin Valley fruit, vegetable and row crops show that regulatory costs are growing at a much faster rate than costs of production. Napa County Farm Bureau contacted Cal Poly to conduct a case study of regulations accruing to Napa Valley vineyards. We interviewed one large (1000-acre) and one small (200-acre) vineyard in 2025 and documented the costs of complying with regulations in the following categories:

• Education and Training for Regulatory Compliance
• Air Quality
• Water Quality
• Surface and Groundwater Regulations …

The Disney Adult: A Consumer That Creates Free Marketing, Emily Elizabeth Kempf

Theses

This research looks at the evolving complex relationship between the Walt Disney Company, The Disney Adult content creators and the fan base. It focuses on how user-generated content (UGC) and social media can play a large role in contemporary marketing strategies. As the target audience has expanded to include Disney Adult, this new audience has become a central part in the company’s marketing strategy encouraging fan engagement across all social media platforms. This research is a qualitative case study on the Disney Adult and how social media content can be used as a core marketing strategy. The Disney Adult influencer …

Elevating The Performance Of Software Development Teams By Leveraging Emotional Intelligence Through Improved Knowledge Sharing, Rajiv Sabherwal, Mary M. Dunaway

Information Systems Faculty Publications and Presentations

Emotional intelligence (EI) plays a crucial role in managing emotions within software development (SD) teams, which often face challenges such as stress and anxiety. EI can enhance knowledge sharing (KS) and team performance, contributing to the success of SD projects. This paper examines EI in terms of four aspects - awareness and management of own and others' emotions - and investigates how they affect KS and team performance. The study is based on survey data from 357 individuals in 86 teams at seven large companies in the United States. Multilevel modeling, specifically using Generalized Structural Equation Modeling in Stata 19, …

What Are We Learning About The Research-Practice Gap From Hrd Scholars And Hrd Scholar-Practitioners?, Kelly Moore, Yonjoo Cho

Human Resource Development Faculty Publications and Presentations

The research-practice gap (the gap) in HRD remains a significant challenge, hindering the application of academic research to practice and the integration of workplace challenges into research efforts. It is critical for HRD research to address the gap to develop evidence-based solutions for learning and organizational performance. The purpose of this study was to explore how HRD scholars and scholar-practitioners define, motivate, address barriers to, and recommend strategies for bridging the gap in HRD. Building on the study by Moore and Cho (2024) from the perspective of HRD practitioners, we investigated the perspectives of HRD scholars and scholar-practitioners to examine …

Epi Dataset, Nancy Tran

Finance Faculty Publications

EPI Dataset.

A Data-Guided Analytical Framework For Assessing The Value Of Additional Variables In Heart Transplant Decision Making, Ali Dag, Hamidreza Ahady Dolatsara, Abdullah Asilkalkan, Joseph Ekong, Kamil Ciftci, Ugur Kucuk, Ozlem Cosgun

School of Business

Heart transplantation is a life-saving procedure for patients with end-stage heart failure. The United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), which administers the US organ allocation system, substantially expanded the number of clinical and demographic variables collected in its database in 2004. This study examines whether these newly added variables improve the ability to predict survival outcomes for patients on the heart transplant waiting list. An information-gain-based feature selection approach, supported by an extensive review of prior studies, was combined with survival analysis and regularized regression to identify the most influential predictors. Using the selected variables, several classification models, including tree-augmented …

Mda Advocacy: Advocacy Continues Despite A Challenging Climate, James Budd Mpp

The Journal of the Michigan Dental Association

This update reviews the MDA's legislative efforts during a period of significant gridlock in the Michigan Legislature. It highlights key priorities such as bills addressing virtual credit card payments and dental specialty advertising. The source emphasizes that advocacy remains essential even when progress is slow, as it builds the relationships necessary for future success. Additionally, it outlines the "MDA Service Promise" and announces an upcoming PAC competition at the Annual Session to support the association's political activities.

When Toxic Behaviors Sneak Into Practice, Amrita Patel, Dds

The Journal of the Michigan Dental Association

This article addresses the challenge for new dentists in identifying and managing toxic workplace behaviors. It details common red flags such as chronic negativity, poor communication, "blame culture," and excessive production pressure that compromises ethics. The author explains how these environments can lead to burnout and practicing defensively rather than confidently. The source emphasizes the importance of developing self-awareness, seeking external mentorship, and establishing professional boundaries. It concludes that recognizing when to leave an unhealthy practice is an act of professional self-respect and essential for long-term career satisfaction.

Farmers Markets As Community Infrastructure: Evidence From A Three-Year Statewide Data Project In Utah, Jaclyn Pace, Roslynn Mccann, Blue Cook, Steven Price, Lorali Smith, Dianna Parkynn, Joshua Cafferty

Outcomes and Impact Quarterly

Utah farmers markets play a critical role in food access, small business viability, and community connection, yet limited statewide data document their impact. The Utah Farmers Market Network (UFMN) and Utah State University (USU) Extension conducted a mixed-methods evaluation (2023–2025) and found that farmers markets make valuable contributions to the community.

Language Analysis Of "Gaslight" And "Narcissist" As Seen On Tiktok, Aaren Fernandez

Journal of Research Initiatives

TikTok is a popular social media platform from which users frequently obtain information. Specifically, psychological concepts such as anxiety, depression, and related conditions are becoming popular vernacular on TikTok through trends such as "story times." However, the accuracy of these terms' usage requires examination. In this qualitative analysis of TikTok posts and comments under the hashtags #gaslight and #narcissist, it was found that videos under these hashtags often originated from users attempting to warn viewers about psychological traits that align with common diagnostic language. However, comments under these videos tended to use these terms in a more casual sense than …

Beyond Words: Unraveling The Influence Of Rhetorical Structure On Information Sharing And Backers’ Support In Crowdfunding, Ehsan Ghasemi, Alireza Sheikh-Zadeh, Jaeki Song

Information Systems Faculty Publications

Effective communication is critical in crowdfunding, where information asymmetry poses a significant challenge. While prior research has emphasized the persuasive power of rhetorical content, less is known about how the structure of rhetoric—beyond its content—shapes backers’ cognitive and behavioral responses. This study examines the role of hierarchical rhetoric in crowdfunding and its impact on actual funding outcomes, backers’ elaboration, perceived information sharing quality, and their willingness to fund. Drawing on computational linguistics and dual-process theories of information processing, we conducted a multiphase investigation that combines observational data from the Kickstarter platform with controlled experiments. Our findings show that the use …

Research On The Influence Mechanism Of Digital Transformation On The International Competitiveness Of The Srdi Smes In China, Bo Sun

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

With the continuous advancement of digital technologies, the digital economy is increasingly becoming the dominant force in the global economic landscape. Against this backdrop, the digital transformation of China's specialized, refined, distinctive, and innovative (SRDI) small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) has transcended beyond mere technological upgrades and evolved into a crucial strategy for these enterprises to build core competitiveness. Despite SRDI SMEs' strong willingness to pursue digital transformation, research is still lacking on how digital transformation efforts translate into international competitiveness Additionally, existing studies on the degree of digitalization have focused on large enterprises or general SMEs, leaving an academic …

Organizational Characteristics And Business Transformation: An Investigation On Corporate Transformation In The Construction Industry, Wei Chen

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

Draw on a structural decline in demand triggered by selective real estate industrial policies, this study explores how construction companies drive business transformation through organizational characteristics in environmental uncertainties. Extant research has largely focused on the independent impact of single organizational factors or capabilities on transformation, lacking a systematic exploration of the interactions between organizational characteristics and the external environment. Take a typical construction group as an example, this study adopts a mixed-methods approach, through interviews and questionnaires, to systematically examine the impact of organizational characteristics on business transformation. The key findings are: in environmental uncertainties, an organic organizational structure …

The Role Of Negotiable And Non Negotiable Dimensions In Brand Revitalization: The Case Of Whisky Packaging Design, Liang Wang

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

In consumer sectors such as digital appliances, apparel, cosmetics, and food and beverages, the number of brands has grown explosively, intensifying market competition. As the primary touchpoint between brands and consumers, product packaging design directly shapes consumer attitudes. Adjustments to packaging elements can catalyze brand growth but may also trigger trust crises. Although recent studies have explored the role of packaging design in brand revitalization, research remains insufficient regarding its “negotiable” and “non-negotiable” dimensions and the mechanisms through which it influences consumer attitudes.

Drawing on brand life cycle theory, brand image theory, and consumer behavior theory, this dissertation investigates how …

Middle Plaza Redesign, Marlo Lavacude-Klenck

City and Regional Planning

Middle Plaza Redesign presents a conceptual redevelopment of Middle Plaza, an 8.43-acre site located at 500 El Camino Real in Menlo Park, California. Originally developed as a mixed-use project in the 2010s, the redesign evaluates the site through the regulatory atmosphere, market conditions, and housing needs of 2025.

The project examines site conditions, market demand, state and local planning frameworks, and applicable development standards, including recent California housing legislation that eliminates parking minimums and streamlines environmental review. A financial feasibility analysis using proforma modeling evaluates two investment scenarios and demonstrates the economic challenges of delivering high-density rental housing despite regulatory …

Nominal Prices, Retail Investor Participation, And Return Momentum, Jun Du, Dashan Huang, Yu-Jane Liu, Yushui Shi, Avanidhar Subrahmanyam, Huacheng Zhang

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

We employ an identification strategy for retail participation to explore the link between return momentum and investing clientele. This scheme relies on strictly enforced round-lot rules in China, which financially constrain retail investors from participating in stocks with high nominal prices. We find that there is strong momentum in high-priced stocks, but no momentum on aggregate. This result supports the idea that noise trades of retail investors mask momentum, while other, more sophisticated investors contribute to momentum. We validate this notion by showing that retail investors with small (large) portfolios are less (more) prone to participating in stocks with high …

Program Management And Building Partner Capacity: A Tangled Thicket, Phil W. Reynolds

Publications

This chapter explores how the U.S. Department of Defense plans and executes Building Partner Capacity projects in lower-middle and low-income partners. U.S. planners and practitioners rarely understand the effective pre-conditions that influence partner security apparatus and infrastructure. Consequently, security capabilities provided to the partner are rarely sustained and provide questionable security to the affected population. The U.S. Department of Defense uses a three-part approach to building security with partners: training and equipping, building institutional capacity, and monitoring and evaluating. U.S. security planners should manage all three parts concurrently to produce a security capability that the partner uses and sustains and …

Algorithm-Based Pay-For-Performance (Apfp) Systems: Paradoxes In Artificial Intelligence's Influence On Pay-For-Performance Theories, Anthony Nyberg, Dhuha Abdulsalam, Ormonde Cragun, Vijayesvaran Arumugam

Faculty Publications

Although artificial intelligence (AI) and generative AI (GenAI) are increasingly used to assess and reward employees, their implications for foundational pay-for-performance (PFP) theories remain underexplored. Traditional PFP systems are effective in an era of static evaluations and infrequent feedback, but they lack the intelligence and flexibility needed for today's dynamic work environments. In response, we introduce algorithm-based PFP (APFP) systems—PFP systems that leverage AI and GenAI to enable real-time adaptability, predictive capabilities, customization, automated algorithmic recommending, and measurement sophistication. We then use the APFP framework to assess its implications for three foundational PFP theories (equity theory, expectancy theory, and tournament …

Improving Public Transport Through Machine Learning Influence Flow Analysis (Mifa): Southern England Bus Case Study, Benjamin Lee, Wolfgang Garn, Masoud Fakhimi, Nick F. Ryman-Tubb

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

Public transport (PT) is crucial for enhancing the quality of life and enabling sustainable urban development. As part of the UK Transport Investment Strategy, increasing PT usage is critical to achieving efficient and sustainable mobility. This paper introduces Machine Learning Influence Flow Analysis (MIFA), a novel framework for identifying the key influencers of PT usage. Using survey data from bus passengers in Southern England, we evaluate machine learning models. Subsequently, MIFA uncovers that easy payments, e-ticketing, and mobile applications can substantially improve the PT service. MIFA’s implementation demonstrates that strength and importance lead to specific insights into how service characteristics …

Dyadic Trust Congruence And Asymmetry: The Mediating Role Of Psychological Needs On Trust And Performance, Hongyin Cai

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

This thesis examines how trust congruence and trust asymmetry shape leader-subordinate relationships and how these dynamics influence LTS and subordinate job performance. Trust congruence and trust asymmetry are defined by the degree of alignment between STL and SFT. Drawing on Self-Determination Theory, this study investigates these processes from the subordinate’s perspective using a mixed-method design that integrates qualitative interviews and quantitative analysis.

Results show that subordinate trust in leader (STL), subordinate felt trust (SFT) and leader trust in subordinate (LTS) are three distinct constructs. Trust asymmetry is prevalent, with subordinate often trusting more than they feel trusted. Asymmetry meaningfully shapes …

Enterprise Digital Transformation: An Analysis Of Value Creation From An Operational Perspective, Weiguo Ling

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

Digital transformation has become a critical pathway for the manufacturing sector to break through growth bottlenecks and reshape its core competitiveness. However, in practice, a large number of enterprises are trapped in the transformation paradox of a “discrepancy between perceived consensus and actual outcomes”. The core issue lies in the fact that traditional investment evaluation methods struggle to effectively measure the multi-dimensional value created by digitalization. From the perspective of operational management, this study focuses on the mechanisms and evaluation methods of digital value creation in different manufacturing contexts. A four-dimensional Value Evaluation Framework is proposed, comprise of Value Identification, …

Governance-By-Support: Non-Financial Incentive, Agency Costs, And Performance In Overseas Projects, Jixiang Lyu

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

As the Belt and Road Initiative continues to advance, multinational corporations from emerging economies have become increasingly reliant on expatriates to oversee overseas project execution, facilitate technology transfer, and manage on-site coordination. However, in contexts characterized by financial constraints, information opacity, and significant geographic and cultural distance, traditional Western models of expatriate management, which emphasize high compensation and tight monitoring, often prove difficult to sustain in practice. In reality, some firms are able to maintain high levels of expatriate commitment and stable overseas project performance even when expatriate compensation is below market levels. This seemingly anomalous phenomenon poses an interesting …

The Impact Of Service Model Innovation Of Woodworking Machinery Equipment Suppliers On Downstream Furniture Industry Enterprises' Competitiveness, Wenquan Jing

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

This study examines the impact of service model innovation by woodworking machinery equipment suppliers on the competitiveness of downstream furniture enterprises, focusing on evolving competitive dynamics in equipment manufacturing within the context of service-oriented manufacturing and digital transformation. In the digital economy era, industrial competition is transitioning from traditional product-centric approaches to a value co-creation-oriented paradigm centered on customer value and service capabilities. As a typical equipment manufacturing subsector, the woodworking machinery industry has long relied on equipment sales and after-sales maintenance models that fail to meet downstream furniture enterprises" demands for flexible production, intelligent operation and maintenance, and end-to-end …

Antecedents And Consequences Of Cognitive And Affective Trust In Wealth Management: Impacts On Wealth Manager Selection And Asset Under Management (Aum) Growth, Ting Hsi Chen

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

Trust is key to wealth management decision-making; there is little empirical clarity on the relationships between different dimensions of trust and client behavior at each stage of the relationship. Previous works differentiated Cognitive trust, based on perceived competence, and Affective trust, based on relational and emotional connections. Nevertheless, the mechanisms under which these trust dimensions act during the pre- and post-account-opening phases have not yet been thoroughly studied. This research addresses this gap by exploring the stage-dependent influence of Cognitive and Affective trust on the central behavioral outcomes in wealth management.

The approach is a quantitative research based on a …

Gen Z Employees’ Characteristics And Their Impacts On Work Motivation And Outcomes: A Comparative Study Of Private Firms And State-Owned Enterprises In China, Yanfang Zheng

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

This study examines the characteristics of Generation Z (Gen Z) employees and investigates how these traits influence work motivation and job-related outcomes within the Chinese organizational context. Specifically, the research compares employees working in state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and private firms, two dominant but structurally distinct organizational forms in China. Drawing upon self-determination theory, generational cohort theory, and organizational behavior literature, the study proposes a conceptual model in which Gen Z characteristics influence job outcomes both directly and indirectly through intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, with organizational type acting as a moderating variable. A quantitative, multi-source survey design was employed. Data were …

The Impact Mechanism Of Low-Carbon Circular Development On Comprehensive Performance: Evidence From Manufacturing Firms, Xuejun Hu

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

The advancement of the dual-carbon goals and the deepening of green transformation have positioned the impact of low-carbon circular development on firm performance as a central issue in corporate sustainabilityresearch. Taking Chinese A-share listed manufacturing firms from2007 to2022 as the research sample, this study constructs an indicator systemof firms’ low-carbon circular development from two dimensions—resource utilizationefficiency and emission control efficiency—and assesses comprehensive performance from financial and non-financial metrics. On this basis, the combined weighting–TOPSIS method is employed to measure the levels of low-carbon circular development and comprehensive performance. Amultidimensional fixed-effects panel model is used to examine their relationship. Furthermore, total …