Digital Commons Network^™

The Critical Need For Human Capital Measurement Standards And Transparency In Healthcare, Heather Whiteman, Solange Charas, Hieu Bui, Lee S. Webster, James Gaskin

Faculty Publications

Despite long histories, the disciplines of healthcare performance analytics and human capital analytics followed parallel but separate tracks during the 19th and 20th centuries. Little has been done to integrate these two analytic disciplines to improve the delivery of medical care and the sustainability of healthcare organizations. Today, there is an increased demand for healthcare to meet the aging world population, spiraling healthcare costs, and a shortage of human resources to meet patient needs. It is imperative that healthcare professionals apply innovations to explore and optimize value from a combined discipline of healthcare human capital measurement and reporting.

The Impact Of Weibo Features On User’S Information Comprehension: The Mediating Role Of Cognitive Load, Ying Xu, Jia-Qiong Xie, Fu-Xing Wang, Rebecca L. Monk, James Gaskin, Jin-Liang Wang

Faculty Publications

Social media, such as Microblogs, have become an important source for people to obtain information. However, we know little about how this would influence our comprehension over online information. Based on the cognitive load theory, this research explores whether and how two important features of Weibo, which are the feedback function and information fragmentation, would increase cognitive load and may in turn hinder users’ information comprehension in Weibo. A 2 (feedback or non-feedback) × 2 (strong-interference or weak-interference information) between-participants experimental design was conducted. Our results revealed that the Weibo feedback function and interference information exerted a negative impact over …

How Certain Robot Attributes Influence Human-To-Robot Social And Emotional Bonds, James Gaskin, P. Thomas Fife, Warren Rosengren

Faculty Publications

A growing population of humans are feeling lonely and isolated and may therefore benefit from social and emotional companionship. However, other humans cannot always be available to fulfill these needs, and such in-need individuals often cannot care for pets. Therefore, we explore how robot companions may be designed to facilitate bonds with humans. Our preliminary examination of 115 participants in a scenario based quasi-experimental study suggests that humans are more likely to develop social and emotional bonds with robots when those robots are good at communicating and conveying emotions. However, robots’ anthropomorphic attributes and responsiveness to external cues were found …

Digital Learning Transformation In Higher Education: International Cases Of University Efforts To Evaluate And Improve Blended Teaching Readiness, Charles R. Graham, Ganbat Danaa, Tserenchimed Purevsuren, Adriana Martínez, Cinthia Bittencourt Spricigo, Barbara Maria Camilotti, Tserenkhand Batsukh

Faculty Publications

The global pandemic of 2019 brought heightened awareness to institutions of higher education of the need to engage in a digital transformation that extends beyond university business operations to the pedagogy of the classroom. This paper is a case study that explores three international cases of universities in Colombia, Brazil, and Mongolia that are at different stages along the path of a digital pedagogical transformation. This article tells each story, including (1) what is driving the local need to engage in digital transformation, (2) what the major challenges and barriers are to achieving a transformation, and (3) what efforts are …

Institutional Support For Academic Engagement In Online And Blended Learning Environments: Exploring Affective, Behavioral, And Cognitive Dimensions, Charles R. Graham, Jered Borup, Sara Tuiloma, Adriana Martínez Arias, Ross Larsen

Faculty Publications

In light of the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, leaders of higher education institutions around the world have been contemplating ways to help their universities engage in a digital transformation that must have student engagement and learning as the foremost considerations. This study reports on the work conducted at a university in Colombia that created an evaluation instrument based on the Academic Communities of Engagement (ACE) framework (Borup et al., 2020) to examine how well the institution was supporting the affective, behavioral, and cognitive (ABC) dimensions of engagement in its online and blended learning course offerings. This survey, the …

Coaching To Support Blended Teaching: A Phenomenological Study Of The Coaching Experiences Of Emerging K–12 Blended Teacher, Michelle Jensen, Charles R. Graham

Faculty Publications

With the growth of blended teaching comes a need to support teachers that are shifting their instruction to this mode of teaching. Coaching is a form of professional development that is growing in K–12 institutions. However, research of coaching specifically intended to support blended teaching practices is lacking. This phenomenological qualitative study seeks to contribute to the body of research by exploring the coaching experiences of four K–12 teachers from second, fifth, junior high, and high school that are new to blended teaching. Through semi-structured interviews we sought to understand how our participants were experiencing the support for blended teaching …

The Audit Quality Effects Of Small Audit Firm Mergers In The United States, Brant E. Christensen, Kecia Williams Smith, Dechun Wang, Devin Williams

Faculty Publications

Increased audit regulation, coupled with reports of frequent mergers among smaller audit firms, creates a dynamic environment in which to assess changes in the U.S. audit market. We examine the audit quality consequences of audit firm mergers between small audit firms that audit public clients, a topic about which little is known. Using a sample of small audit firms each involved in a single merger during 2004-2016, we find consistent evidence that post-merger audit quality decreases when PCAOB-identified audit deficiencies and audit fees are used as proxies for audit quality. In addition, we find weak evidence of lower post-merger audit …

Does Audit Regulation Improve The Underlying Information Used By Managers? Evidence From Pcaob Inspection Access And Management Forecast Accuracy, Brant E. Christensen, Lijun (Gillian) Lei, Sydney Qing Shu, Wayne Thomas

Faculty Publications

Survey evidence and academic research raise the possibility that audit regulation can impact not only the information contained in external financial reports but also the internal information used by management. We investigate this possibility by examining the improvement in management forecast accuracy around initiation of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board's (PCAOB) international inspection program. Consistent with managers having improved information, we find that managers issue more accurate forecasts following PCAOB inspection access. Multiple additional analyses support that an improved information environment is the mechanism underlying our results, and this effect is distinct from, and incremental to, any effects of …

Presidential Economic Approval Rating And The Cross-Section Of Stock Returns, Zilin Chen, Zhi Da, Dashan Huang, Liyao Wang

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

We construct a monthly presidential economic approval rating (PEAR) index from 1981 to 2019, by averaging ratings on the president’s handling of the economy across various national polls. In the cross-section, stocks with high betas to changes in the PEAR index significantly under-perform those with low betas by 1.00% per month in the future, on a risk-adjusted basis. The low PEAR beta premium persists up to one year, and is present in various sub-samples and even in other G7 countries. PEAR beta dynamically reveals a firm’s perceived alignment to the incumbent president’s economic policies and investors seem to misprice such …

The Development Of The Process Mining Event Log Generator (Pmelg) Tool, Steven R. Hawkins, Jeffrey Pickerd, Scott L. Summers, David A. Wood

Faculty Publications

Process mining is an emerging technology that allows users to visualize all potential variations of business processes within an organization. It holds significant potential for impacting the field of accounting. However, training professionals and students in its use is challenging due to a lack of event data applicable to accounting and auditing scenarios. To address this issue, we developed an easy-to-use tool called the Process Mining Event Log Generator (PMELG) for generating process mining data files for the order-to-cash process. With the PMELG tool, users can create realistic datasets that incorporate key accounting and auditing concepts, such as segregation of …

Improving Psychological Well-Being Of Young Adults By Conducting Family History Research At A Religious University, Barry M. Lunt, Kelly R. Summers, David A. Wood

Faculty Publications

Prior research suggests that knowledge of one’s family is correlated with, but does not produce, psychological well-being. We test this conjecture, by examining whether participating in family history research (i.e., genealogical research) is associated with psychological well-being above and beyond the effects of knowledge of one’s family, documented in prior research. To test this, we examine whether students enrolled in a university level family history course, improve in family identification, self-esteem, anxiety, resilience, and locus of control more than a control sample. For students enrolled in the family history course, we find an increase in family identification, which in turn …

Spore-Forming Clostridium (Clostridioides) Difficile In Wastewater Treatment Plants In Western Australia, Jessica M. Chisholm, Papanin Putsathit, Thomas V. Riley, Su-Chen Lim

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

There is growing evidence that shows Clostridium (Clostridioides) difficile is a pathogen of One Health importance with a complex dissemination pathway involving animals, humans, and the environment. Thus, environmental discharge and agricultural recycling of human and animal waste have been suspected as factors behind the dissemination of Clostridium difficile in the community. Here, the presence of C. difficile in 12 wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in Western Australia was investigated. Overall, C. difficile was found in 90.5 % (114/126) of raw sewage influent, 48.1 % (50/104) of treated effluent, 40 % (2/5) of reclaimed irrigation water, 100 % (38/38) of untreated …

Going Beyond Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, And Democratic (Weird) Samples And Problems In Organizational Research, Marko Pitesa, Michele J. Gelfand

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

The goal of organizational research is to make inferences about a target population based on samples studied. Most target populations referred to in theories of organizational behavior, whether explicitly or implicitly, tend to be the entire populations of workers or managers, or even the entire human population. A typical sample, however, is convenient, being located where most researchers are, and thus also predominantly from Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic countries (WEIRD; Henrich, Heine, & Norenzayan, 2010).

Personnel Selection: A Review Of Ways To Maximize Validity, Diversity, And The Applicant Experience, Chad H. Van Iddekinge, Filip Lievens, Paul R. Sackett

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Personnel Psychology has a long tradition of publishing important research on personnel selection. In this article, we review some of the key questions and findings from studies published in the journal and in the selection literature more broadly. In doing so, we focus on the various decisions organizations face regarding selection procedure development (e.g., use multiple selection procedures, contextualize procedure content), administration (e.g., provide pre-test explanations, reveal target knowledge, skills, abilities, and other characteristics [KSAOs]), and scoring (e.g., weight predictors and criteria, use artificial intelligence). Further, we focus on how these decisions affect the validity of inferences drawn from the …

Leading A Business School, Julie Davis, Howard Thomas, Eric Cornuel, Rolf D. Cremer

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Business schools are critical players in higher education, educating current and future leaders to make a difference in the world. Yet we know surprisingly little about the leaders of business schools. Leading a Business School demystifies this complex and dynamic role, offering international insights into deans’ dilemmas in different contexts and situations. It highlights the importance of deans creating challenging and supportive learning cultures to enhance business and management education, organizations and society more broadly. The book traces the historical evolution of the business school deanship, the current challenges and future sources of disruption. The leadership characteristics and styles of …

Anticipating Environmental Losses: Effects On Place Attachment And Intentions To Move, Zoe Leviston, Justine Dandy, Pierre Horwitz, Deirdre Drake

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Environmental change is often accompanied by non-tangible, non-economic losses, including loss of valued attributes, connection to place, and social cohesion through migration in the face of such changes. Over two studies we sought to test whether imagining the loss of valued environmental characteristics influences intentions to migrate elsewhere and/or engage in place-protective actions, and whether this can be accounted for by changes to place attachment, using the city of Perth, Western Australia as a case study. In Study 1 (N = 148) we found imagined environmental loss significantly increased intentions to move away, and significantly decreased place attachment. There was …

Commentaries On “Scale Use And Abuse: Toward Best Practices In The Deployment Of Scales”, Constantine S. Katsikeas, Shilpa Madan, C. Miguel Brendl, Bobby J. Calder, Donald R. Lehmann, Hans Baumgartner, Bert Weijters, Mo Wang, Chengquan Huang, Joel Huber

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Five comments below provide strong and interesting perspectives on multi-item scale use. They define contexts and research areas where developed scales are valuable and where they are vulnerable. Katsikeas and Madan begin by taking a global perspective on scale use, demonstrating how the use and transferability of scales become even more problematic as researchers move across languages and cultures. They provide guidance for scale use that is particularly relevant to international marketing and marketing strategy research. Brendl and Calder acknowledge the use of well-formed scales as measured variables in psychological experiments, both as independent and dependent variables, but critique the …

Discussion Of "Why Can’T I Trade? Exchange Discretion In Calling Halts", Michael S. Drake

Faculty Publications

Liquidity is an important feature of well-functioning capital markets. While many market frictions exist that constrain liquidity, none are as dramatic as trading halts when trading is suspended altogether. Trading halts became a common feature of US securities markets in the aftermath of Black Monday (October 19, 1987). The hope of regulators was that system-wide trading halts, so-called market circuit breakers, would decrease the likelihood of dramatic sell-offs by allowing markets to cool off. Regulators further argued that security-specific trading halts implemented in advance of a material news release could also reduce volatility and help level the playing field between …

Auditing With Data And Analytics: External Reviewers’ Judgments Of Audit Quality And Effort, Scott A. Emett, Steven E. Kaplan, Elaine G. Mauldin, Jeffrey Pickerd

Faculty Publications

Audit firms hesitate to take full advantage of data and analytics (D&A) audit approaches because they lack certainty about how external reviewers evaluate those approaches. We propose that external reviewers use an effort heuristic when evaluating audit quality, judging less effortful audit procedures as lower quality, which could shape how external reviewers evaluate D&A audit procedures. We conduct two experiments in which experienced external reviewers evaluate one set of audit procedures (D&A or traditional) within an engagement review, while holding constant the procedures’ level of assurance. Our first experiment provides evidence that external reviewers rely on an effort heuristic when …

Corporate Political Activism And Information Transfers, Dane M. Christensen, Hengda Jin, Joshua A. Lee, Suhas A. Sridharan, Laura A. Wellman

Faculty Publications

Prior research suggests that: (1) politically active firms have an information advantage over firms that do not engage in the political process, but also that (2) politically active firms are more likely to disclose policy-related information. We examine whether there are externalities associated with the processing of political information by politically active firms. We study this question in the setting of intra-industry information transfers around earnings announcements. Measuring firms’ political activism using campaign contributions, we find stronger intra-industry information transfers from politically active firms to their industry peers. These information transfers are stronger when there is more discussion during conference …

Data Visualization In 10-K Filings, Theodore E. Christensen, Karson E. Fronk, Joshua A. Lee, Karen K. Nelson

Faculty Publications

The Securities and Exchange Commission encourages the presentation of information or data in graphical form to improve users’ ability to understand financial disclosures. We find a dramatic increase in the disclosure of both qualitative and quantitative infographics in 10-K filings over time and substantial cross-sectional variation in firms’ choices regarding image types, data content, and the placement of infographics within 10-Ks. We provide evidence on factors associated with firms’ use of infographics and explore the persistence with which they are disclosed over time. Finally, we investigate the relation between the use of infographics and uncertainty in capital markets.

Measurement Error, Fixed Effects, And False Positives In Accounting Research, Jared Jennings, Jung Min Kim, Joshua A. Lee, Daniel Taylor

Faculty Publications

We show theoretically and empirically that measurement error can bias in favor of falsely rejecting a true null hypothesis (i.e., a “false positive”) and that regression models with high-dimensional fixed effects can exacerbate measurement error bias and increase the likelihood of false positives. We replicate inferences from prior work in a setting where we can directly observe the amount of measurement error and show that the combination of measurement error and fixed effects materially inflates coefficients and distorts inferences. We provide researchers with a simple diagnostic tool to assess the possibility that the combination of measurement error and fixed effects …

Ethnic Minority Analysts’ Participation In Public Earnings Conference Calls, Rachel W. Flam, Jeremiah Green, Joshua A. Lee, Nathan Y. Sharp

Faculty Publications

We investigate ethnic minority and non-minority sell-side analysts’ participation in public earnings conference calls. We find that minority analysts are underrepresented in conference call Q&A sessions, and minority analysts who do participate on the calls experience lower levels of prioritization than do nonminority analysts. Minority analysts’ lower participation rates are partially but not fully mediated by characteristics such as experience, work environment, and stock rating favorability. Additionally, firm and conference call fixed effects mediate approximately half the magnitude of lower minority participation rates. Extroverted minority analysts participate at higher rates, but the negative association between minority status and conference call …

Managers’ Use Of Humor On Public Earnings Conference Calls, Andrew C. Call, Rachel W> Flam, Joshua A. Lee, Nathan Y. Sharp

Faculty Publications

Despite the prevalence and importance of humor in interpersonal communication, the disclosure literature is silent on the use of humor in the context of corporate communication. Using a sophisticated machine learning algorithm, we identify managers’ successful uses of humor during public earnings conference calls. When managers use humor on an earnings call, stock market returns and analyst forecast revisions following the call are more positive, primarily because of a muted response to negative earnings news. Consistent with managers’ successful use of humor being a favorable signal of future firm performance, we find no evidence of a return reversal over the …

Earth Observations Into Action: The Systemic Integration Of Earth Observation Applications Into National Risk Reduction Decision Structures, David Eley Borges, Steven Ramage, David Green, Christina Justice, Catherine Nakalembe, Alyssa Whitcraft, Brian Barker, Inbal Becker-Reshef, Charles Balagizi, Stefano Salvi, Vincent Ambrosia, Jesus San-Miguel-Ayanz, Luigi Boschetti, Robert Field, Louis Giglio, Laila Kuhle, Fabian Low, Albert Kettner, Guy Schumann, G. Robert Brakenridge, Robert Adler, Haris Kontoes, Helene De Boissezon, Andrew Eddy, Dalia Kirschbaum, Robert Emberson, Savannah Cooley, Simone Lloyd, Cecille Blake, Kelsey Reichenbach

AES Faculty Publications and Presentations

Purpose - As stated in the United Nations Global Assessment Report 2022 Concept Note, decision-makers everywhere need data and statistics that are accurate, timely, sufficiently disaggregated, relevant, accessible and easy to use. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate scalable and replicable methods to advance and integrate the use of earth observation (EO), specifically ongoing efforts within the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) Work Programme and the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) Work Plan, to support risk-informed decision-making, based on documented national and subnational needs and requirements.

Design/methodology/approach - Promotion of open data sharing and geospatial technology solutions …

Autonomy Versus Support: Self-Reliance And Help-Seeking For Mental Health Problems In Young People, Amelia Ishikawa, Debra Rickwood, Emily Bariola, Navjot Bhullar

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Purpose:

Many young people with mental ill-health do not seek support, and developmental growth in self-reliance may be a barrier to help-seeking. Increasing autonomy is a positive developmental task for youth and a key aspect of resilience. This study examined the influence of perceived social support and resilience on the previously unexamined relationship between self-reliance and intentions to seek help from informal, professional, and self-help sources for mental health problems.

Methods:

An online survey was completed by a representative Australian community sample of 5,203 young people aged 12–25 years (half female), in May–June 2020.

Results:

Path analysis showed the hypothesised …

Solidarity Tourism: A Pathway To Revitalising The Health Of Vulnerable War-Affected Populations?, Jun Wen, Fangli Hu, Danni Zheng, Ian Phau, Metin Kozak, Haifeng Hou, Wei Wang

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

The struggles of war are felt by all who occupy an affected region (and beyond), irrespective of whether they are in active combat. This experience has physical effects (e.g. injury, illness, malnutrition, disability, sexual violence, and/or death) and emotional impacts (e.g. posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety) [1-3]. The terror associated with war disrupts lives and relationships, leaving individuals, families, and communities distressed. Due to such immediate and long-term adverse outcomes, war represents a highly destructive and enduring public health emergency [4]. . . .

The Compressive Strength And Microstructure Of Alkali-Activated Mortars Utilizing By-Product-Based Binary-Blended Precursors, Otman M. M. Elbasir, Megat A. M. Johari, Zainal A. Ahmad, Nuha S. Mashaan, Abdalrhman Milad

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Researchers have investigated the feasibility of using ultrafine palm oil fuel ash (u-POFA) as a cement replacement material because of its potential to reduce the environmental impact of concrete production. u-POFA, a by-product of palm oil fuel combustion, is a suitable replacement for Portland cement in concrete mixes because of its sustainability and cost-effectiveness. This study investigated the microstructural and compressive strengths of alkali-activated mortars (AAMs) based on fly ash (FA) and granulated blast-furnace slag (GBFS) being added with varying percentages of u-POFA. The mixture samples were prepared in eighteen mortars using sodium metasilicate (Na2SiO3) as the source material and …

Hydrogen-Wettability Alteration Of Indiana Limestone In The Presence Of Organic Acids And Nanofluid, Mirhasan Hosseini, Rossen Sedev, Mujahid Ali, Muhammad Ali, Jalal Fahimpour, Alireza Keshavarz, Sefan Iglauer

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

This study focuses on the wettability alteration (changing from a hydrophobic state to a hydrophilic state) of Indiana limestone for hydrogen (H₂) geological storage. We examine the effect of hexanoic acid C₆, lauric acid C₁₂, and stearic acid C₁₈, on the wettability of Indiana limestone at ambient (298 K and 0.1 MPa) and reservoir (323 K and 8.27 MPa) conditions. The effects of silica nanofluids (silica with deionized water) at various concentrations (0.1 wt%, 0.25 wt%, and 0.5 wt%) on the wettability reversal of stearic-aged samples were tested at ambient and reservoir …

The Role Of Personality, Self-Disclosure, And Envy In Maladaptive Social Media Engagement, Doreen E. Shanahan, Cristel A. Russell, Jillian R. Alderman

All Faculty Open Access Publications

Through online social networks, individuals establish and maintain social connections to satisfy their need to belong. Recent research suggests that taken too far, one’s need to belong can increase envy and lead to maladaptive social media behavior aligned with obsessive-compulsive disorder. This study examines the role of two personality traits, one’s intrinsic need to belong and trait reactance, on feelings of envy and the self-disclosure processes that lead to obsessive-compulsive disorder on social networks. A sample of 354 U.S. adult users of Facebook completed a survey measuring individuals’ need to belong, trait reactance, envy, self-disclosure, and online social network obsessive-compulsive …