Digital Commons Network^™

All Aboard! Is Space Tourism Still A Fantasy Or A Reality: An Investigation On Turkish Market, Emrah Tasarer, Vahit O. Kiper, Orhan Batman, Oguz Turkay

University of South Florida (USF) M3 Publishing

This paper aims to investigate the spending limit of space enthusiasts in Turkey. To determine this, space tourism activities are divided into 3 sections as earth-based space tourism activities, suborbital and orbital space tourism activities. Data were collected through one of the biggest open-air events held yearly by space enthusiasts. In addition to that, researchers reached social media groups which are solely focused about space tourism. 1041 questionnaires were collected which are available for analyses. According to additional variables about interest on space tourism, the sample of this research is highly interested in space tourism although they have limited budget …

The Effects Of Organizational Culture On Information Sharing Attitude, Mohammadi L. Nasrin, Cicek Isik

University of South Florida (USF) M3 Publishing

The effect of technology on businesses and organizations has made it even more important to use the information, which is used as an input in business processes, to achieve the desired organizational goals. Especially in the service sector, organizational culture becomes important as an institutional variation in the use of information in accordance with organizational purposes. With the increasing importance of teamwork, individuals' attitudes towards information sharing in working groups play a critical role in the emergence of group synergy in the IT sector. The increase in the level of task interdependency in the business processes, the increase in the …

Tourism And Women Empowerment: Empirical Findings From Past Experience And Predictions For The Post-Covid Era, Burcu Turkcan

University of South Florida (USF) M3 Publishing

Tourism industry is one of the major industries of today’s world and hence it is in the forefront of current national and international policies. Tourism is perceived as one of the fundamental engines of economic growth and development due to the fact that it has many contributions to the economy. Moreover, tourism has a dimension of women empowerment which is one of the critical issues of modern world. Hence, researchers and policymakers have begun to pay more attention to the issue of gender discrimination and tourism relationships. There are some direct linkages between tourism and women empowerment, and what is …

Proceedings Of The Global Conference On Services Management: Volume 2, Cihan Cobanoglu, Valentina Della Corte

University of South Florida (USF) M3 Publishing

This is the second volume of the Global Conference on Services Management Proceedings Series.

ISSN: 2641-5062

The Effect Of Authentic Task-Oriented Applications On Problem-Solving Skills In Robotic Programming Teaching, Yunus E. Ozenoglu, Sehnaz Baltaci

University of South Florida (USF) M3 Publishing

This study aims to examine the effect of authentic tasks in group programming education on the problem-solving skills of secondary school 5^th-grade students. A weak experimental single-group pretest-posttest model was applied to gather data. The study participants consisted of 56 5th grade students, 25 girls, and 31 boys, studying in a private secondary school in the 2018-2019 academic year. The "problem-solving skill scale" was applied as a pre-test and post-test to define the participants' problem-solving skills. There is no statistically significant difference in students' problem-solving skills (p = 0.657) according to related (dependent) samples t-test results. The effect …

An Entrepreneurship Innovative Curricular Module For Non-Business Students, Ponmalar N. Alagappar, Payam Ansari, Logaiswari Indiran

University of South Florida (USF) M3 Publishing

With growing popularity of start-ups and entrepreneurial businesses in various sectors and the government's support towards graduate entrepreneurship, entrepreneurship education for non-business disciplines has been expanding in higher education institutes. To infuse entrepreneurial skills among non-business students, entrepreneurship education should be more specific and discipline-based. The relevant medium in the teaching and learning process is a module, which is a resource that contains materials, methods, limitations, and evaluation systematically arranged to best capture the student’s interest. In this paper, we will describe an innovative curricular model that was tested in developing an entrepreneurship module for students of social sciences. The …

Socio-Intercultural Entrepreneurship: A Case On A Postgraduate Program In Economics And International Business Of An Indigenous University, Ernesto Guerra-Garcia, Jose G. Vargas-Hernandez

University of South Florida (USF) M3 Publishing

This article presents a critical approach to the proposal of socio-intercultural entrepreneurship. The concept of cultural and social entrepreneurship and that which has been as a product of neoliberalism is limited, so a framework analysis is necessary to improve the understanding of socioeconomic realities. Through an exploratory and analytical research methodology, a review of pertinent literature and the exemplification of the specific case of a postgraduate program in economics and international business at the Universidad Autónoma Indígena de México, it is concluded that socio-intercultural entrepreneurship presents a theoretical and methodological frame that allows entrepreneurs to have a major perception of …

Ethical Perceptions Of Housekeeping Department Employees: A Study In Izmir Province, Tuba Turkmendag, Bayram Sahin

University of South Florida (USF) M3 Publishing

This study aims to determine the ethical perceptions of housekeeping employees. The field research in the study was conducted with the housekeeping department employees of the hotel enterprises operating in the central district of İzmir in Turkey. The quantitative research method was used in the research and the convenience sampling method was used in collecting the data. The frequency analysis, difference analysis, and relationship analysis were conducted through Jamovi software. Research findings show that the ethical perceptions of housekeeping department employees are high. Further, male employees' perceptions of ethics were higher and there was no significant difference according to their …

Factors That Prevent Participation Of Tourists In Online Co-Creation Activities, Resat Arica, Feridun Duman, Abdulkadir Corbaci

University of South Florida (USF) M3 Publishing

The study aimed to identify the factors that prevent tourists from participating in online co-creation activities. With this aim, the study sample was selected from the tourists who travelled to Istanbul, who did not participate in co-creation. The data were collected through the questionnaire technique, then, analyzed with descriptive and exploratory factor analysis. The findings of the study showed that three factors prevented the tourists from participating in online co-creation activities. These factors were named as (i) lack of knowledge, (ii) lack of participation in social communication networks, and (iii) personal perceptions of co-creation. Lack of knowledge is the most …

The Effect Of The Usage Of Virtual Reality In Tourism Education On Learning Motivation, Sarp T. Kumlu, Emrah Ozkul

University of South Florida (USF) M3 Publishing

Humanity has developed with technology by following the new products that emerge throughout their lives. Technology, especially in education, enables students to show interest by having different and fun experiences in the course. It is thought that technology in applied and theoretical courses is also considered to be important in tourism education just as it is in engineering, architecture, and medicine as an effective tool for students to enjoy and succeed in the course. Besides that, it is possible to say that it is easier for students to access information and save time with technological tools. In the 21st century, …

The Influence Of Study Travel On Quality-Oriented Education: The Case Of Handan, China, Wang Jingya, Alaa N. Abukhalifeh

University of South Florida (USF) M3 Publishing

In recent years, the State has vigorously promoted quality-oriented education and thoroughly improved the comprehensive quality of primary and middle school students’ learning. Study travel is an important way to promote quality-oriented education in primary and middle schools and has received wide attention from all sectors of the community. At the end of 2016, the Ministry of Education and 11 other departments officially issued the Opinions on Promoting Primary and Middle School Students Study Travel, which was officially included in the primary and secondary school education and teaching plan. As a new teaching form, how does study travel develop, …

Perceived Usefulness, Ease Of Use, Online Trust And Online Purchase Intention: Mediating Role Of Attitude Towards Online Purchase, Muhammed Yazeed, Mohammed A. Dantsoho, Adamu A. Abubakar

University of South Florida (USF) M3 Publishing

Despite this significant breakthrough on the emergence of e-commerce due to the proliferation of the Internet, little work has explored whether attitude towards online purchase can mediate the relationship between perceived usefulness (PU), Ease of Use (EU), Online Trust (OT) and Online Purchase Intention (OPI). This study was set to examine the mediating role of attitude towards online purchase on the relationship between PU, EU, OT and OPI. A cross-sectional research design was used to gather data from the research respondents using a simple random sampling procedure. 441 useful responses were used to analyse the data using partial least square …

The Effect Of Corporate Social Responsibility On Consumer-Based Brand Equity: A Research On Automobile Brands, Ali Koroglu, Ibrahim Avci

University of South Florida (USF) M3 Publishing

One of the important issues that businesses emphasize in order to gain advantage in today's competitive environment is corporate social responsibility. Because the consumers' expectations from businesses are not only products and services, but also they expect them to behave responsibly towards society. Consumers care about the corporate social responsibility of businesses and brands of businesses with corporate social responsibility are more accepted by consumers. The aim of the research is to examine the effect of corporate social responsibility on consumer-based brand equity dimensions and the effects of these dimensions on purchasing intention. In this context, an online survey form …

Affective Commitment In New Hires’ Onboarding? The Role Of Organizational Socialization In The Fashion Retail Industry, Pui S. Chan, Ho C. Ching, Pui Y. Ng, Annie Ko

University of South Florida (USF) M3 Publishing

Fashion retail companies often lack a well-structured onboarding program which consequently result in lower staff commitment and a higher turnover rate. Organizational socialization plays an important role to acculture new hires learn about their work, organizational value, and adjust to the workplace. This study examined the content dimensions of organizational socialization and investigated new hires’ attitudes towards such areas. The results of exploratory factor analysis revealed seven dimensions of organizational socialization in the domain of the fashion retail industry. Regression analysis suggested a 4-factor model for improving new hires’ affective commitment to the organization. These factors are permeation with organizational …

A Qualitative Study Of Perceptions Of The Residents Of Sidon, Lebanon Regarding The Economic Effect On Sidon With Reference To Repatriation Of The Palestinian Refugees, Raja El Majzoub, Karen Howells

University of South Florida (USF) M3 Publishing

From 1948 onwards, hundreds of thousands of Palestinian refugees settled in Lebanon, in both United Nations camps and private accommodation. Until today, various peace initiatives have taken place to solve this humanitarian crisis, to no avail. The Palestinians in Sidon have integrated into Lebanese society, become intertwined into the community, as both entrepreneurs and employees. Considering the "right of return" for Palestinian refugees, the consequences of the repatriation of the refugees needs to be considered. In this context, this research aims to understand the perceptions of the residents of Sidon on what they believe will happen to the economy of …

Covid-19 Effect On Fdi Motivation And Their Impact On Service Sector: Case Of Georgia, Vakhtang Charaia, Mariam Lashkhi

University of South Florida (USF) M3 Publishing

Based on the Scott-Kennel’s model of local industry upgrade through foreign direct investments, this paper analyses if investments are always positively benefiting the host economy, or if they are not promoting local/host economies at all, or to which exact level. This paper is focused on service sector oriented investments and answers the questions important to analyse for the successful investment policy creation, which could benefit both the local economy and foreign investors. In other words, only aggregated per year foreign investment numbers are not enough for the comprehensive picture creation and in some cases could even suggest incorrect strategic decisions. …

Comparative Analysis Of Tools For Matching Work-Related Skill Profiles With Cv Data And Other Unstructured Data, Florian Buttiker, Stefan Roth, Tobias Steinacher, Thomas Hanne

University of South Florida (USF) M3 Publishing

Matching job candidates with job offerings is one of the most important business tasks and is crucial to the success of a company. But there is not much knowledge available about the quality of matchings processed automatically by software. With a specifically developed scoring system it becomes possible to make a statement about the quality of the matching results generated by three different tools, i.e., Textkernel, Joinvision and Sovren. A series of resumes is being matched against two concrete open job positions, one by Google and one by the University of Zurich. The results are then compared in detail with …

Influence Of Psychological Empowerment On Employee Competence In Nigerian Universal Basic Education System: The Mediating Role Of Work Engagement, Isah Sani, Rashidah B. M. Ibrahim, Fazida Karim

University of South Florida (USF) M3 Publishing

The main purpose of this paper is to examine the mediating role of work engagement (WE) on the link between psychological empowerment and employee competence (EC). The Ability Motivation Theory (AMO) stress the importance of practices that are capable of enhancing individual’s competence towards the achievement of organizational objectives. While considering psychological empowerment as one of the best practices influencing employee competence in an organization, some previous studies only considered other internal resources such like human resource practices. Studies that attempt to investigate the effect of psychological empowerment on EC and the mechanism through which it influences employee’s competence seem …

The Impact Of Criminal Justice Involvement: Examining Experiences In A Housing First Program., Amanda N. Denton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Individuals who come into contact with the criminal justice system are more likely to experience housing instability and homelessness, which, in turn, increases the likelihood of subsequent criminal justice involvement. Due to a lack of federal funding, as well as disjointed and inconsistent policies regarding eligibility criteria, people with criminal records are unlikely to receive federal rental assistance. While the exclusion of people with criminal histories is presented as necessary to protect communities and residents from crime, improving access to stable housing may reduce recidivism, incarceration rates, and correctional costs and increase public safety. The present study examined the differences …

Rapid Annealing Of Perovskite Solar Cell Thin Film Materials Through Intense Pulse Light., Amir Hossein Ghahremani

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have garnered a great attention due to their rapid efficiency improvement using cheap and solution processable materials that can be adapted for scalable high-speed automated manufacturing. Thin film perovskite photovoltaics (PVs) are typically fabricated in an inert environment, such as nitrogen glovebox, through a set of deposition and annealing steps, each playing a significant role on the power conversion efficiency (PCE), reproducibility, and stability of devices. However, atmospheric processing of PSCs would achieve lucrative commercialization. Therefore, it is necessary to utilize materials and methods that enable successful fabrication of efficient PSCs in the ambient environment. The …

Community Structure And Dynamics Of Benthic Macroinvertebrates In A Recreated Headwater Stream System On A Valley Fill In A Retrofitted Watershed Located In The Appalachian Coalfields Of Southeastern Kentucky (U.S.A.), Steven W. Bailey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The extraction of coal from steep-gradient surface mining sites such as in the Appalachian Coalfields of the U.S. produces excess debris that is often placed in adjacent valleys resulting in the creation of valley fills. Not only are headwater streams buried in the process, but watershed functions are either destroyed outright, or become fragmented and disconnected from adjacent ecosystems resulting in adverse effects to downstream biological communities. In this dissertation, the dynamics of stream macroinvertebrate community structure, composition, diversity, and biotic integrity are assessed at a “proof of concept” stream system recreated on a retrofitted valley fill. For comparison, two …

Peculiarities And Paradoxes Of Neoliberal Higher Education In Kazakhstan

Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education

No abstract provided.

Synthetic Essentiality Of Tdo2 In Apc-Mutated Colorectal Cancer, Rumi Lee

Dissertations and Theses (Open Access)

Inactivation of the adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) tumor suppressor is

common genetic event across many cancers and serves a critical initiating

event in the majority of sporadic colorectal cancers (CRC). The WNT/APC

pathway remains an elusive target for cancer, prompting us to explore

orthogonal strategies to identify specific vulnerabilities for APC-deficient

CRC and other cancers. Using the concept of synthetic essentiality (SE), we

sought to identify essential effectors of APC deficiency with the goal of

expanding targetable vulnerabilities in CRC. We identified Tryptophan 2,3-

dioxygenase 2 (TDO2) as an SE gene for APC-deficient cancers.

Mechanistically, APC loss results in TCF4/b-catenin-mediated …

Development Of High Value Oil Traits Using The Model Oilseed Crop Camelina Sativa, Evan Updike

Department of Biochemistry: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Plant oils are an important source of food, fuel, and feed in our society today. The oil found in the seeds of plants is composed almost entirely of triacylglycerol (TAG) molecules, which consist of three fatty acids esterified to a glycerol backbone. As crude oil supplies decline, vegetable oils are gaining traction as a renewable substitute to petroleum-based materials in fuels, lubricants, and specialty oleochemicals. However, as it currently stands vegetable oils do not possess the properties necessary to fill the void of a petroleum free world.

To address this problem, plant biotechnologists have done extensive work on genetic engineering …

Development Of Tractor Instrumentation System: Hydraulics, And Controller Area Network (Can) Data Analysis Of Agricultural Machinery, Chee Town Liew

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The tractor is a very important piece of machinery in agriculture, and it has been evolving and progressing over the years with improved and increasingly complex functionality. Controller Area Network (CAN) has been incorporated into tractors and other machinery with SAE J1939 and ISO 11783 standards, serving as the communication bus for various on-board electronic controller units (ECUs), and carries various machine operation data that can be used for analyzing machine performance. Investigation of data extraction from CAN messages was conducted by examining the SAE J1939 and ISO 11783 standards. A case study on CAN bus data analysis for a …

Tractor Instrumentation System: Hitch And Pto, And Row Crop Tractor Electrification Considerations, Andrew Donesky

Department of Agricultural and Biological Systems Engineering: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Power sources used for vehicles are advancing at a fast pace. Electric batteries are becoming more power dense, thus allowing them to be used with electric motors in place of a diesel or gas powered systems. There are several ways that energy use and storage size can be computed for agricultural field operations, such as planting, using theoretical predictions, gathering engine load data from tractor’s Controller Area Network (CAN) bus, or integrating the CAN data to determine the actual power used by implements.

While measuring data from the CAN bus is a great way to capture actual tractor use information, …

Tangibility As Technology, Joao Marinotti

Georgia State University Law Review

Property law has traditionally relied on tangible boundaries to delineate legal thinghood and to inform the bounds of in rem rights and duties. Unfortunately, property doctrines have fossilized around tangibility, causing fragmentation in the legal treatment of digital assets. In the United States, for example, cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) may simultaneously be classified as commodities, securities, currencies, assets, or not property at all, depending on the jurisdiction, domain, or specific asset in question. This fragmented system of overlapping legal treatments increases the information cost of using digital assets, decreases efficiency, and ultimately hinders future innovation. In this Article, I …

History Of The College Of The Holy Cross Naval Rotc Unit, The O'Callahan Society, College Of The Holy Cross

75th Anniversary of NROTC at Holy Cross

This history begins with an overview of the Naval ROTC Unit at the College of the Holy Cross, and includes several appendices that provide data on the Unit’s graduates, those killed on active duty, and awards for combat heroism. It also calls attention to transition points in the Unit’s history: the Vietnam War crisis in 1970 and 1971, the introduction of women to the Unit, the transition from a Holy Cross-only Unit to one based on the Worcester Consortium for Higher Education, the Peace Dividend years of the 1990s, the role of the Marine Officer Instructor, and the value of …

A Combined Theoretical And Photoelectron Spectroscopy Study Of Al3hn- (N=1-9) Clusters, Jing Xu, Xinxing Zhang, Haopeng Wang, Lijuan Fu, Xiang Li, Andrej Grubisic, Rachel M. Harris, Bryan Eichhorn, Gerd Gantefoer, Yihong Ding, Boggavarapu Kiran, Anil K. Kandalam, Kit H. Bowen

Physics & Engineering Faculty Publications

Combined photoelectron spectroscopic experiments and computational studies have been performed on Al3Hn- (n=1-9) clusters. Three modes of hydrogen bonding to the Al-3 moiety have been observed: terminal, bridging, and capping. Among various hydrides, Al3H5- and Al3H8- clusters have highest HOMO-LUMO gap and largest electron affinity, respectively. Our studies indicate that as the number of hydrogen atoms increase the presence of AlH2 groups, representing the tetrahedral coordination of the Al atom, which in turn led to the stoichiometric ring structure.

Planning, Aging, And Loneliness: Reviewing Evidence About Built Environment Effects, Yingying Lyu, Ann Forsyth

Geography & Planning Faculty Publications

Large numbers of people in many countries report being lonely with rates highest among the very old. Does the built environment affect loneliness among older people and if so, how? Using a scoping review, we examined associations between loneliness and built environments at the block, neighborhood, and city scales The (a) neighborhood environment has received most attention. Research has also examined (b) urban contexts, (c) housing, and (d) transportation access. Findings are mixed with the stronger evidence that local resources, walkability, overall environment quality, housing options, and nearby transportation alternatives can help combat loneliness.