Business Commons^™

Financial Inclusion And Poverty Reduction In Nigeria: The Role Of Microfinance Institutions, Okwudili W. Ugwuoke, Oliver E. Ogbonna, Aye-Agele Freeman

CBN Journal of Applied Statistics (JAS)

This study investigates the role of microfinance institutions as a vehicle for driving financial inclusion and alleviating poverty in Nigeria using the EFinA 2018 household survey data. The probit model, propensity score matching, and average treatment effect methods are applied for the analyses. The study finds that financial inclusion driven by access to, and usage of products/services provided by microfinance institutions reduces poverty. The study recommends among others the need for increased access to microfinance products/services and an integrated poverty reduction policies that identifies microfinance institutions as a critical enabler

The Role Of Leaders In Implementing Effective Leadership Strategies Towards The Educational Barriers Of Us-Based Refugee Students: A Qualitative Case Study Of Congolese Refugee Students, Faustin Busane

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This qualitative research study explored the experiences of three families of refugee school students, two school officials (a Superintendent and a Principal), three teachers, and one humanitarian agent all living in a Southeastern U.S. city. The results of the study revealed that the language barrier is the main academic challenge that refugee students encounter when they enroll in U.S. schools. The study also found that educators conceptualize their responsibilities toward refugee children by emphasizing the importance of high-quality teaching, and establishing through establishing strong relationships between parents, school officials, and exercising patience in the process. This study poses important implications …

Impact Management Discipline: The Key To Effective Impact Investing And Grantmaking, Sarah Gelfand, Carli Roth, Mya Stanislas, Alexandra Zoueva

The Foundation Review

Foundations have a long history of putting impact at the center of their decision-making when allocating resources for grantmaking. Effective grantmaking follows clear processes that have similarities to the best practices employed by the impact investing community for effectively deploying and managing an impact investing portfolio. This is exemplified by the Operating Principles for Impact Management, a leading market standard for how to integrate impact considerations throughout the investment life cycle.

As a growing number of foundations embrace impact investing, understanding and comparing the impact management approach for grants (where it is enabled through monitoring, evaluation, and learning) versus that …

A Framework For Creating Systems Change, William Brown, Wynn Rosser

The Foundation Review

This article draws on a system-change framework developed by the Nicholson Foundation as part of a 20-year initiative to substantively change the state of New Jersey’s health and social welfare systems, and modifies and expands a single case study on system change to align with related ideas and concepts. A results-based accountability approach is integrated into the model to draw attention to the importance of monitoring and evaluation of population-based outcomes.

Drawing on extensive literature from systems change and performance management, the discussion provides insight and perspective on contemporary frameworks in systems change and the role of grantmaking foundations. The …

Leading With Shared Values: Developing A Charter Of Principles For Philanthropic Partnerships, Cheryl A. Maurana, John R. Raymond, Christopher Stawski, Joseph E. Kerschner, James C. Rahn

The Foundation Review

The rise of greater individuality in giving — in diversity of beliefs and donor preferences — has resulted in a need to ensure alignment of values and expectations between those entering into funding relationships, and therefore a need to return to giving that recognizes the importance of conditions and considerations that undergird the partnership between the philanthropic organization and awardee.

The Kern Family Foundation’s nearly $88 million investment in the Medical College of Wisconsin represents one example where creating a charter was pivotal to a partnership’s effectiveness. Their charter describes a commitment to shared values, including character, caring, and practical …

College Girl's Guide To Fayetteville, Ar, Sydney Johnson

Human Nutrition and Hospitality Management Undergraduate Honors Theses

The mission behind creating the College Girl’s Guide to Fayetteville, AR was to ease the adjustment from high school to college for females attending the University of Arkansas. This is one of life’s most monumental transitions, often resulting in anxiety, depression, and loneliness, specifically among the female demographic. With that in mind, the intent of the guidebook was to develop culture, confidence, and community on campus. In the aftermath of Covid-19, loneliness on college campuses has become an epidemic in need of a university-wide solution to increase student satisfaction and retention. A research aspect that heavily impacted the project was …

United Express Strategic Audit, Ryan Hakim

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

United Express is the regional brand of United Airlines, a worldwide airline from the United States. United Express provides excellent domestic and international service from smaller airports to United Airlines hubs. With a volatile and solid industry of vast competition and operational styles, this report seeks to give an industry analysis of the regional airline industry with relation to United Express’ position. It surveys the industry using a PESTLE analysis along with Michael E. Porter’s Five Competitive Forces Model. United Express has many resources and competitive advantages which headline the advantages it boasts to be a regional airline industry leader. …

The Covid-19 Pandemic And Work From Home 2019-2021, Maryam Raja, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Undergraduate Research Symposium Lightning Talks

Research Background and Methods: The ACS reports that by 2021 around 27.6 million individuals (17.9% of workers) worked from home. Pandemic affected commuting patterns and workplace systems.

Research Findings: The data presented in Table 1 account for all workers aged 16 and above. Among Mountain West states, Nevada reported the smallest percentage of home-based workers in both 2019 (tied with Colorado) and 2021. Table 2 presents population data for Mountain West MSAs with populations of 1 million or more and percentage of home-based workers with a margin of error in both 2019 and 2021.

Addressing Challenges Faced By Public Organizations: The Central Role Of Agility At The Federal Level During The Covid-19 Crisis, Shuktika Chatterjee

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This dissertation investigates the role of organizational agility in public organizations (such as the United States Federal Agencies) and demonstrates how agility works in public institutions. This study explores how organizational agility within public institutions can lead to successes and prevent failures stemming from underutilized agility, identifies the societal demographics impacted by these outcomes, and offers recommendations for effectively implementing agility to enhance efficiency and societal progress. Agility in sum, is adaptability and proactiveness. If developed and practiced by public organizations, this process can avert prominent institutional failings that impede the dispersal of services and resources that would promote social …

Diver Perceived Value And Satisfaction On The Mississippi Gulf Coast, Ka'lon Duncanson

Honors Theses

The Mississippi Gulf Coast is known for its coastal beauty and the tourism that comes from the recreational activities associated with the water. However, there appears to be an underserved segment of the tourism industry. The coast provides opportunities for local scuba divers to take part in a range of diving activities, but there is minimal support for this tourism activity in Mississippi. There is a need for greater understanding about what local divers value in their diving experiences and how this might lead to greater satisfaction with this activity. Along with overall perceived value, the argument is made that …

Staff Matters: Holiday Celebrations That Engage And Appreciate Employees, Jodi Schafer Sphr, Shrm-Scp

The Journal of the Michigan Dental Association

This Staff Matters column addresses a dentist's concerns about organizing inclusive end-of-year holiday celebrations for the staff. The response emphasizes the importance of recognizing diverse religious practices and fostering camaraderie. Suggestions include a themed recipe exchange, outdoor activities, community service, or involving staff in event planning. Emphasizing the need for initial guidance to align with goals, the column encourages inclusive celebrations that contribute to staff satisfaction, retention, and a positive workplace atmosphere.

Be A Leader In Your Practice: What’S Your Style?, William Chase Dds, Maom

The Journal of the Michigan Dental Association

In this Leadership Development feature, the author draws from a wealth of leadership experience in Rotary to explore the importance of leadership in dentistry. Emphasizing the need for self-evaluation through emotional intelligence, the article delves into five key aspects: self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills. The author introduces three leadership styles — Transformational Leadership, Situational Leadership, and Servant Leadership — highlighting their characteristics and benefits. Encouraging readers to adopt diverse leadership styles, the piece underlines the significance of effective leadership in dental practice, community engagement, and organized dentistry.

"Maybe I Shouldn't Have Worn Such High Heels" Examining Self-Presentation Expectations For Corporate Women Using Communication Theory Of Identity, Taylor E. Mack

Theses and Dissertations

The present study examines how corporate women use self-presentation in the workplace to communicate professionalism. The study utilizes Communication Theory of Identity (CTI) to consider the self-presentation experiences of corporate women. CTI identifies four identity layers: personal, relational, enacted, and communal, which interact and influence each other as individuals attempt to define themselves. Through semi-structured, in-depth interviews with corporate women, the present study found the following results: women often receive communication regarding self-presentation standards from peers rather than formal policies, self-presentation expectations have become more casual and diverse, women still encounter challenges resulting in the need to (re)negotiate their identity, …

An Analysis On The Efficiency Of Philippine Microfinance Institutions: A Stochastic Frontier Approach, Ryan Lou Dio, Elijah Jacob Mendoza, Lunette Clarisse Nunez, Ma. Ellory Villanueva, Myrna S. Austria, Tereso S. Tullao Jr

Angelo King Institute for Economic and Business Studies (AKI)

Microfinance institutions (MFIs) were created to provide loans and financial services for the poor as commercial banks have requirements that are not accessible to them. The Philippines government soon started using MFIs as a poverty alleviation tool to answer the market failure created by the commercial banking industry since it cannot accommodate the needs of low-income earners due to the high costs attached to it. However, recent studies have shown that MFIs are “mission drifting,” which means that they are deviating from their original social purpose and becoming more financially driven. As a result, this paper estimates the financial and …

Analysis On The Credit Accessibility And Growth Of Manufacturing Firms In The Cases Of Indonesia, Philippines, And Vietnam, Sophia Angela Jimenez, Kamille Daquinag, Maria Regina Victoria Sagrit, Brian Irvin Chan, Albert Lamberte, Maria Zunally Rapada, Krista Danielle Yu

Angelo King Institute for Economic and Business Studies (AKI)

Micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) contribute to income and employment generation, poverty reduction, and industry growth in the ASEAN region (Mendoza, 2015). Their significant contributions to economies have led countries to emphasize the importance of firm growth, which is influenced by credit accessibility. Majority of existing enterprises in Indonesia, the Philippines, and Vietnam are composed of MSMEs with limited financial resources to foster growth (Paratama, 2019). This hinders the potential of manufacturing MSMEs to have sufficient funding. However, existing literature suggests that credit access significantly provides a positive impact on firm growth only until a certain threshold point (Nizam …

Practicing And Marketing With Empathy In Libraries, Wren Daniel Ambroise

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

In 2017, Abigail Phillips, a postdoctoral fellow at Utah State University wrote, “The role of empathy in the library has been infrequently researched in library and information science (LIS) literature. However, as demonstrated in the reactions of libraries and librarians during recent social movements, empathy is a critical component of librarianship and routine library work” (Phillips 1). Over the last twenty years, numerous researchers have argued the same; this paper enters into conversation several texts from the late 2000s to the early 2020s that conceptualize the intersections between empathy marketing and librarianship and/or put them into practice. It first defines …

Modelling Sentiment And Trader Aggressiveness In Cryptocurrency Markets: An Empirical Analysis Of The Bitcoin Limit Order Book., Angelique Nicole Huei Yin Thang

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

Cryptocurrency assets are inherently susceptible to social sentiment. Due to emotional contagion, extreme emotions influence and drive traders’ order execution behaviour. This study aims to empirically model the relationship between sentiment and trader aggressiveness for two types of traders: Whales and Retails. Additionally, I uncover the mediating roles of momentum, mean reversion, and market timing underpinning the dynamics of the off-chain Bitcoin market. Time series data collected from the Coinbase level 3 Bitcoin limit order book is first reconstructed to access its core structure. Next, sentiment data from Reddit is extracted and processed using an internal Natural Language Processing pipeline. …

The Relationship Between Reits Industry Characteristics And Project Performance: The Moderating Role Of Macroeconomic Fluctuations, Ying Cai

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

As a distinct investment vehicle, Publicly Listed Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) projects enable real estate projects to be listed on the stock market. This study begins with the industry attributes of the underlying assets of Publicly Listed REITs projects. Using econometric methods, it analyzes the variances in market performance between growth and defensive REITs, based on annual data from 1,674 REITs products in the United States from 2005 to 2022 and 27 listed REITs in China from Q3 2021 to Q1 2023. The study also leverages the data from China to explore the moderating effects of macroeconomic factors such …

Should State Land In Southern California Be Allocated To Warehousing Goods Or Housing People? Analyzing Transportation, Climate, And Unintended Consequences Of Supply Chain Solutions, Tianjun Lu, Jian-Yu Ke, Azure Fisher, Mahmoud Salari, Patricia Valladolid, Fynnwin Prager

Mineta Transportation Institute

In response to COVID-19 pandemic supply chain issues, the State of California issued Executive Order (EO) N-19-21 to use state land to increase warehousing capacity. This highlights a land-use paradox between economic and environmental goals: adding warehouse capacity increases climate pollution and traffic congestion around the ports and warehouses, while there is a deficit of affordable housing and high homeless rates in port-adjacent underserved communities. This study aims to inform regional policymakers and community stakeholders about these trade-offs by identifying current and future supply of and demand for warehousing and housing in Southern California through 2040. The study uses statistical …

Assessing The Effectiveness Of A Chatbot Workshop As Experiential Teaching And Learning Tool To Engage Undergraduate Students, Kyong Jin Shim, Thomas Menkhoff, Ying Qian Teo, Clement Shi Qi Ong

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

In this paper, we empirically examine and assess the effectiveness of a chatbot workshop as experiential teaching and learning tool to engage undergraduate students enrolled in an elective course “Doing Business with A.I.” in the Lee Kong Chian School of Business (LKCSB) at Singapore Management University. The chatbot workshop provides non-STEM students with an opportunity to acquire basic skills to build a chatbot prototype using the ‘Dialogflow’ program. The workshop and the experiential learning activity are designed to impart conversation and user-centric design know how and know why to students. A key didactical aspect which informs the design and flow …

The Value Of Official Website Information In The Credit Risk Evaluation Of Smes, Cuiqing Jiang, Chang Yin, Qian Tang, Zhao Wang

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

The official websites of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) not only reflect the willingness of an enterprise to disclose information voluntarily, but also can provide information related to the enterprises’ historical operations and performance. This research investigates the value of official website information in the credit risk evaluation of SMEs. To study the effect of different kinds of website information on credit risk evaluation, we propose a framework to mine effective features from two kinds of information disclosed on the official website of a SME—design-based information and content-based information—in predicting its credit risk. We select the SMEs in the software …

Age Differences In Emotion Regulation And Executive Function, Wei Xing Toh, Hwajin Yang

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Age-related improvements in emotion regulation (ER) are thought to account for the relatively healthy levels of well-being observed in late adulthood. However, extant laboratory-based evidence on age differences in the effective implementation of ER strategies―such as reappraisal (i.e., reframing the meaning of an emotion-eliciting event) and distraction (i.e., redirecting attention away from emotional to non-emotional information)―remains equivocal (Isaacowitz, 2022). Moreover, developmental differences in ER monitoring (i.e., adjusting regulatory approach as needed, such as maintaining or switching strategies), and factors that underpin such age-related differences, are poorly understood. Therefore, we investigated how younger and older adults (N = 335) differ in …

The Digital Engine Model: Generating Leads Through The Application Of Dcm And Inbound Marketing, Kyle A. Huggins, John D. Hansen

Journal of Applied Marketing Theory

Digital Content Marketing (DCM) has become a primary tool for marketers in driving lead generation in today’s digital marketing world. Leading brands are creating and curating content trying to build brand equity and trust, connecting content to consumer action through brand story. And while strong theoretical models of content marketing have been discussed in the marketing literature, like Hollebeek and Macky (2019), there is a dearth of understanding about the application and direct impact of organic digital content strategies on marketing directives. This paper investigates an applied model, called The Digital Engine, which provides instruction on proper inbound marketing techniques …

2023 December, Morehead State University. Office Of Communications & Marketing.

Morehead State Press Release Archive, 1961 to the Present

Press releases for December of 2023.

Using Team Rewards And Individual Assessment To Incentivize Collaboration In Team Projects, Prasart Jongjaroenkamol

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

Team projects are commonly used in higher education across different disciplines to promote cooperation among students. However, achieving this objective can be challenging. To address this issue, educators have explored various strategies, such as implementing peer evaluation or having periodic consultations with teams. In this paper, I present a novel approach to team assessment that combines team rewards with individual assessment. In this assessment, each team member independently takes a quiz, and the team's score is determined by the average performance of its members. Consequently, the team reward becomes intricately tied to the individual learning outcomes of all team members. …

Stopping The Revolving Door: Mdp-Based Decision Support For Community Corrections Placement, Xiaoquan Gao, Pengyi Shi, Nan Kong

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Community corrections (CC) programs offer an alternative to incarceration that can reduce jail overcrowding and recidivism rates. The aim is to address the root causes behind criminal behavior, ultimately breaking the cycle of reincarceration. However, placing all eligible individuals in CC may strain case managers, resulting in reduced supervision, increased violations, and higher recidivism rates, which undermines the intended benefits for all participants in the programs. We take the first step in building a comprehensive analytical framework based on a queueing system to support the placement decisions and related decisions such as capacity planning. We develop a Markov Decision Process …

Monetary Transmission And Government Investment In China, Qian Han, Zhaogang Song, Yufei Yuan, Yuanhang Zhao

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

The quantity measure of money supply—the M2 growth, in particular—has been used as the intermediate target of monetary policy in China since 2000. We document three findings on the transmission of money supply shocks to firm investment and financing over the period from 1998 to 2016. First, positive money supply shocks have significant negative effects on firm investment and do not have consistent impacts on firm financing, contradicting the standard monetary transmission mechanism. Second, using short-term global capital flows as an exogenous money supply factor, we recover the standard positive effect of money supply shocks on firm investment and financing, …

Effect Of The Announcement Of Human-To-Human Transmission On Teleconsultation Services In China During Covid-19, Mairehaba Maimaitiming, Jingui Xie, Zhichao Zheng, Yongjian Zhu

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Objectives: Telemedicine enables patients to communicate with physicians effectively, especially during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. However, few studies have explored the use of online health care platforms for a comprehensive range of specialties during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to investigate how telemedicine services were affected by the announcement of human-to-human transmission in China. Methods: Telemedicine data from haodf.com in China were collected. A difference-in-differences analysis compared the number of telemedicine use and the number of active online physicians for different specialties in 2020 with the numbers in 2019, before and after the announcement of human-to-human transmission. Results: …

Front Matter

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Editorial, Teresa R. Behrens

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.