Digital Commons Network^™

Can Shorts Predict Returns? A Global Perspective, Ekkehart Boehmer, Zsuzsa R. Huszar, Yanchu Wang, Xiaoyan Zhang, Xinran Zhang

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Using multiple short-sale measures, we examine the predictive power of short sales for future stock returns in 38 countries from July 2006 to December 2014. We find that the days-to-cover ratio and the utilization ratio measures have the most robust predictive power for future stock returns in the global capital market. Our results display significant cross-country and cross-firm differences in the predictive power of alternative short-sale measures. The predictive power of shorts is stronger in countries with nonprohibitive short sale regulations and for stocks with relatively low liquidity, high shorting fees, and low price efficiency.

Employer And Internal Branding Research: A Bibliometric Analysis Of 25 Years, Gordhan K. Saini, Filip Lievens, Mukta Srivastava

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Purpose: In the past 25 years, employer and internal branding have grown significantly. Prior reviews tended to focus on either one of these domains. This study aims to map the intellectual structure of research on both employer branding and internal branding, thereby identifying impactful authors and journals, current and evolving themes and avenues for future research. Design/methodology/approach: Using VOSviewer and Biblioshiny software packages, a bibliometric analysis of 739 articles was conducted using various methods such as citation analysis, bibliographic coupling, cluster analysis, keyword analysis and three-field plot. The Scopus results were further validated using 297 articles produced by the Web …

A Black-Scholes User's Guide To The Bachelier Model, Jaehyuk Choi, Minsuk Kwak, Chyng Wen Tee, Yumeng Wang

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

To cope with the negative oil futures price caused by the COVID-19 recession, global commodity futures exchanges switched the option model from Black-Scholes to Bachelier in April 2020. This study reviews the literature on Bachelier's pioneering option pricing model and summarizes the practical results on volatility conversion, risk management, stochastic volatility, and barrier options pricing to facilitate the model transition. In particular, using the displaced Black-Scholes model as a model family with the Black-Scholes and Bachelier models as special cases, we not only connect the two models but also present a continuous spectrum of model choices.

Recurrent Parotid Adenocarcinoma Presenting As Diffuse Myocardial Metastatic Disease, Edward A El-Am, Upasana Jarori, Sara J Grethlein, Ronald Mastouri, Abhishek Khemka

The Texas Heart Institute Journal

A 64-year-old man who had undergone treatment for left parotid adenocarcinoma presented with progressive exertional shortness of breath. Evaluation revealed metastatic invasion of the myocardium as a rare presentation of recurrent parotid adenocarcinoma. This case highlights the importance of using multimodal imaging methods in diagnostic evaluation and a collaborative multidisciplinary approach in managing patient care.

Abnormal Electrocardiogram In A Man Presenting With Dyspnea And Chest Pain, Daniel W Nelson, Ryley Mcpeters, Atul Singla

The Texas Heart Institute Journal

No abstract provided.

A Model For The Pastor Search Process For Free Will Baptist Churches, Timothy Buckley York

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This project sought to help the pastor shortage in the National Association of Free Will Baptists by creating and implementing a tool to assist churches in their search for a pastor and help pastors find a new church to serve. Each church in the association is autonomous and selects its own pastor. The tool is actually two surveys that mirror each other. The churches seeking a pastor completes the church survey. And the candidate seeking a church to pastor completes the pastor survey. The tool gives information and views of ministry roles, preferences, non-negotiables, and negotiables. It is designed to …

Creating A Multiplying Micro Group Discipleship Model Beyond The Church Building, Keisha Battle Spivey

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The proposed thesis project on discipleship presents an effective discipleship making plan in fulfillment of the Great Commission through a parachurch ministry. The researcher believes that many churches have replaced disciple-making efforts with programs and platitudes. The purpose of this project is to establish a strategy that cultivates healthy disciples who recognize their Christian responsibility to make disciples through micro group ministries. It consists of three stages. Stage one consists of the research design component, stage two includes the intervention design component, and stage three involves the intervention delivery process. The goals of this project include teaching believers the biblical …

Resiliency In Nursing: An Integrative Review, Valerie Yvonne Moke

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Nurses have been placed under tremendous pressure throughout their careers and the culmination of this pressure was the COVID-19 pandemic. Nurses had to remain stoic despite longer hours, heavier workloads, lack of PPE and the fear of becoming infected or infecting their families. A review of the current literature was accessed to see how nurses built their stamina to withstand those pressures and create interventions to improve patient outcomes. The research was used to evaluate ways to improve nurse retention, reduce nursing shortages, and improve job satisfaction for those nurses and future nurses. The evidence showed that nurses with support, …

The Worship Leader: Intentional Worship Equilibrium Of A Christ-Centered Perspective On College Campus And In The Community, Wayne Darrell Ravenell

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Because of the diversity of collegiate cultures, Christ is depicted in various ways on campus; hence this study focuses on the gospel choir leadership influence. The impacts of Christ-centered gospel choir leadership are demonstrated in this qualitative study, as well as how it will lead to academic and community leadership influence. This study investigates the impact of collegiate gospel choir leadership on campus and local community worship. College and university gospel choirs from Charleston, South Carolina, provide the context for this qualitative study. This vital research takes a phenomenological approach to the impacts of mentorship and development of a collegiate …

Standardized Testing: A Comparison Amongst Magnet, Stem, And Traditional Middle Schools, Lori Leigh Horne Wooley

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This quantitative study emphasizes the effectiveness of a middle school learning environment on the Georgia Standardized Assessment (Georgia Milestone Assessment System - GMAS) in the subject of Math. The purpose of this quantitative study is to determine whether there is a difference in the 8th grade Math Georgia Milestone standardized testing scores (adjusted by the covariate) within the three types of middle schools: STEM, magnet and traditional middle schools. This quantitative research study compares the student achievement data of a large urban school system’s STEM school to those of a traditional middle school and magnet middle school in the subject …

Effect Of 1:1 Implementation On Middle School Student Achievement, Dustin White

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this study was to understand which arrangement of technology provided the best results for middle school students. Educators and schools are trying to ensure that students are prepared for jobs that currently do not exist. Previous research has been conducted to look at the achievement of students; however, very little has been done to look at these levels at the middle school level in comparison to other schools in the same district. This quantitative causal comparative study sought to understand if differences exist between two groups of middle school students. One group participated in a 1:1 technology …

Integrated Model For Teaching Multicultural Competence: Incorporating Broaching As A Basic Skill For Counseling Students, Katie Askren

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study is the critical first step in evaluating the Integrated Model for Teaching Multicultural Competence (IMT-MCC), which has the potential to completely revamp the way counselors are trained in multicultural competence (MCC) to be far more effective. By adding the domain of clinical interventions to the well-established MCC domains of awareness, knowledge, and skills, the model lays out a plan for countering current education deficits. Beginning with the Counseling Techniques and Helping Relationship course, this study adds MCC components to each course activity without adding additional work for students. Specific broaching prompts were provided, and each culture reference was …

The Role Of Emotion Dysregulation In The Relationship Between Anhedonia And Opioid Craving, Rachelle Kromash

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research on factors that predict opioid cravings is lacking. Anhedonia may be a predictor of cravings and particularly relevant to cravings when people struggle to regulate emotions but has yet to be examined among justice-involved populations. This study aimed to examine the relationship between anhedonia, opioid cravings, and emotion dysregulation (ED) in this population. Participants completed several measures. The results showed that anhedonia and opioid cravings were significantly related at the bivariate level, but not in moderation models. The DERS-36 total score and ‘DERS Impulse’ subscale had a significant, positive effect on cravings in moderation models. In a higher severity …

Organizational Communication In Community Colleges: Staff Members’ Perspectives, Sinthea Reynolds

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to determine if there was a significant relationship between scores on the Communication Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ) scale of effective managerial communication and scores on the Job Descriptive Index (JDI) scale of job satisfaction for non-faculty staff members at the participating community college.

A total of 75 non-faculty staff members from three separate community colleges in East Tennessee participated in the study. A modified version of the Communication Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ) developed by Downs and Hazen (1977) was used to collect data. The instrument used a Likert-type scale with a 7-point scale with eight dimensions …

Virginia High Schools: Academic And Social Climate Performance Measures And Black Public Secondary School Administrators, Tim Duncan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Data have consistently revealed a major problem with disproportionality in several academic and social climate measures for African American students compared to their White counterparts. Black students tend to have lower end-of-course (EOC) testing scores in mathematics and reading, a greater tendency to be suspended from school, lower average on-time graduation rates, and higher rates of absenteeism. The current investigative study examined the role of same race administrators and performance indicators among African American students.

The findings demonstrated that significant differences between Black and White students existed in end-of-course testing in reading and math. The research also indicated significant relationships …

Positive And Negative Deviant Counties: Identification Of Factors Associated With Health Outcomes, Olivia Egen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Rural counties in the United States vary drastically on metrics related to socioeconomic status and dominant economic industry as well as health behaviors and outcomes. This study sought to understand the underlying structural reasons why some rural counties have better or worse than expected health outcomes using a positive deviance (PD) approach. The study aimed to: 1) create an area deprivation index and divide counties into quartiles using the index; 2) identify positive, negative, and non-deviant counties using health outcome metrics; 3) analyze differences between deviance on a variety of local public health system metrics; and 4) analyze differences between …

The Contribution Of Early Postsecondary Opportunities To Retention And Graduation Rates At One Community College In Tennessee, Joe Wingate

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this non-experimental, quantitative, comparative study was to determine whether there were significant differences in fall-to-fall retention and graduation rates, between first-time, full-time students who engaged in at least one early post-secondary opportunity (EPSO) while in high school and those who did not. Archival data for this study were collected from the participating community college between 2015 and 2018. The sample for this study included 2,911 students enrolled in academic programs at the community college and included retention rates and graduation rates for students who participated in EPSOs (N = 622) and those who did not participate in …

Loving The Mountains, Leaving The Mountains: The Appalachian Dilemma And Jim Wayne Miller’S The Brier Poems, Madeline Dawson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

For decades now, the Appalachian community has been internally combatting two equally strong feelings—an inherently rich love of the mountains and a conflicting urge to leave the mountains. In recent years, Appalachian writers have produced a new literary tradition of identifying, discussing, and remedying this dilemma. Jim Wayne Miller’s 1997 The Brier Poems unapologetically explores the Appalachian community’s complicated relationship to its region. bell hooks’ 2012 Appalachian Elegy: Poetry and Place and Savannah Sipple’s 2019 WWJD and Other Poems then expand Miller’s exploration as both hooks and Sipple collectively represent voices that have often been left out of the stereotypical …

Dental Students' Perceptions Of Dental Hygienists' Education And Scope Of Practice, Cynthia Metzger

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Oral health is strongly correlated to systemic health in the United States. Dental professionals play a significant role in addressing the oral health and prevention of disease for populations in the United States. Because many areas in the United States lack access to dental care, the federal government considers dental hygienists part of the solution. It is now paying attention to restrictive dental hygiene scope of practice rules in each state. State dental boards, comprised mainly of dentists, make these rules based on their perception of dental hygienists' lack of education. This study explored fourth-year dental students' perceptions of the …

John Horton Conway: The Man And His Knot Theory, Dillon Ketron

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

John Horton Conway was a British mathematician in the twentieth century. He made notable achievements in fields such as algebra, number theory, and knot theory. He was a renowned professor at Cambridge University and later Princeton. His contributions to algebra include his discovery of the Conway group, a group in twenty-four dimensions, and the Conway Constellation. He contributed to number theory with his development of the surreal numbers. His Game of Life earned him long-lasting fame. He contributed to knot theory with his developments of the Conway polynomial, Conway sphere, and Conway notation.

Cyberspace Vs Green Space: Nature’S Psychological Influence In Neuromancer, Blade Runner 2049, And The Stone Gods, Zackery Castle

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Cyberpunk science fiction is often set in dystopian futures where capitalism and rapid technological growth have rendered the planet ecologically devastated. The people of these worlds are host to numerous mental illnesses that many attempt to cure with drugs, entertainment, or other aspects of their fast-paced existences, but these solutions are rarely successful. When characters come to embrace the remnants of the natural world, however, they typically show signs of mental healing as the result of exposure to nature. This thesis analyzes William Gibson’s Neuromancer, Denis Villeneuve’s Blade Runner 2049, and Jeanette Winterson’s The Stone Gods alongside research …

Posthumanism In The Early Modern Period: Jonson, Marlowe, And Shakespeare, Kayli Compton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the existence of posthumanism in the dramas of Ben Jonson, Christopher Marlowe, and William Shakespeare – the three most prominent playwrights of the early modern period. Posthumanist theory, which gives scholars the opportunity to look at past works in a new and unique way, attempts to re-locate the human in the diverse creatures and objects in the world we inhabit. By applying posthumanist theory to older works, we can better understand the early modern period and its writers as well as their relevance to the present. Their plays’ messages serve as warnings that work to guide humanity …

A Lesson In Mourning: The Evolution Of The English Anti-Elegy, K. Matthew Bennett

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis analyzes the evolution of the anti-elegy originating with Thomas Hardy’s elegiac sequence in memory of his wife Emma; Poems of 1912-1913. Using French post-structuralist Georges Bataille’s The Accursed Share as a theoretical lens, Hardy’s anti-elegies are analyzed and rhetorically connected to English war poet Siegfried Sassoon’s anti-elegies. Hardy’s anti-sentimentality, fatalistic outlook on death, and rejection of the Christian afterlife seeps into the language of Sassoon’s war poems which serve as a protest to the dehumanizing effects of late capitalism witnessed during the First World War. Hardy and Sassoon’s anti-elegies, with their hyper-focus on the elegized body, are …

Self-Measured Blood Pressure Monitoring In Hypertension Control: The Role Of Social Determinants Of Health, Current State In The United States, And Future Directions, Adekunle Oke

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Hypertension, a medical condition, predisposes to other cardiovascular diseases, and can be impacted by the social determinants of health (SDOH). Self-measured blood pressure monitoring (SMBP) is an evidence-based approach to hypertension control, but not much is known about the influence of SDOH on SMBP. This dissertation aims to: 1) highlight the SDOH factors whose relationship with SMBP have been explored in research studies; 2) examine the relationship between SDOH and SMBP among United States (U.S.) adults with high blood pressure; and 3) examine the current state of SMBP in the U.S., highlight policy implications from the empirical study and provide …

Academic Performance Among First-Year College Freshmen Following Participation In A Summer Bridge Program, Gregory Anderson Cross

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The primary purpose of this study was to determine the differences in the academic outcomes of first-year academically underprepared TN Promise-eligible college freshmen who participated in a college bridge program. A comparative research design was applied to existing data, including first-semester GPA, first-semester credit completion rate, first college-level mathematics course GPA, first college-level English course GPA, and fall-to-fall persistence rates. A random sample of 412 first-time freshman college students from five cohorts was analyzed using descriptive statistics for eight research questions. These findings indicated that there were no significant differences among college bridge participants and non-bridge participants. Non-bridge program participants …

Assessing Best Practices, Perceptions, And Barriers To Breastfeeding In The Appalachian Region, Melissa White

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Background: Breastfeeding protects against a variety of adverse health outcomes for mothers and babies. Global best practices, known as the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI), have been developed to support the initiation and exclusivity of breastfeeding during the post-delivery hospital stay. The aims of this study were to explore the literature related to the impact of the BFHI on breastfeeding disparities in the U.S.; compare the impact of exposure to these best practices on exclusive breastfeeding rates in Appalachian and non-Appalachian hospitals; and to understand knowledge, perceptions, and barriers to breastfeeding of postpartum mothers receiving care in a Northeast Tennessee OB/GYN …

Accepting Or Opposing The Status Quo: A Look At The Women Characters In Mariama Bâ’S So Long A Letter (1981) And Chimamanda Adichie’S Purple Hibiscus (2003), Omolola Giwa

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

What exactly is the status quo of women in Africa? Women’s selfhood has been systematically subordinated or outright denied by law, customary practices, and cultural stereotypes. Scholars like Judith Bennet suggest that religious practices and colonial rule subjugate African women. Patriarchal ideologies guide the society’s discrimination against women and this has influenced the status of women, especially married women and the way they respond in times of affliction.

Authors like Chimamanda Adichie and Mariama Ba in their fictional novels The Purple Hibiscus and So Long a Letter focus on capturing the struggles and conditions of women in the Western African …

Searching For Hades In Archaic Greek Literature, Daniel Stoll

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

No single volume of mythological or philological research exists for Hades. In the one moment Hades appears in archaic Greek literature, speaking for only ten lines, Hermes stands nearby. Thus, to understand and journey to Hades is to reckon with Hermes’ close presence. As I synthesize research by writers from several different disciplines, may some light be brought into the depths. May we analyze Hades’ brief appearance in archaic Greek literature, examining how what I define as the “Hermetic” emits from his breath in the one moment he physically appears and speaks.

Operatic Mysticisms: Mountains, Deserts, Waterscapes, Andrew Demczuk

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Operatic Mysticisms: Mountains, Deserts, Waterscapes examines the ways we encounter environments as readers/viewers of operas, literature, film, and sound recordings, and how each medium requires different detail-gathering techniques. Respective to the previously mentioned mediums, Sun & Sea (2017), Mount Analogue (1952), El Mar La Mar (2017), and Energy Field (2010) are analyzed by engaging with environmental media studies and invention. Reflecting the nature of each landscape—summits of mountains, aporias of deserts, and mysteries of waterscapes—an elemental approach is taken in investigating how these spaces may be noticed, internalized, recorded, and traversed by both the artist and viewer. …

Visions Of Christ In The Dollmaker, Ray Fine

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Through the characters’ ideas of religion as seen in The Dollmaker by Harriette Arnow, a full image of who Christ is in World War II America is shown. While the text appears to critique certain images of Christ through the characters’ representations, the greater, more conclusive argument advocating religious diversity is proven. The characters, instead of having their representation of Christ based in only the Christian denomination from which they come, represent Christ through their character traits.