Business Commons^™

Assessing Performance Optimization Strategies In Cloud-Native Environments Through Containerization And Orchestration Analysis, Daniel E. Ukene

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis comprises three distinct, yet interconnected studies addressing critical aspects of web infrastructure management. We begin by studying containerization via Docker and its impact on web server performance, focusing on Apache and Nginx hosted on virtualized environments. Through meticulous load testing and analysis, we provide insights into the comparative performance of these servers, adding users of this technology know which webservers to leverage when hosting their webservice along alongside the infrastructure to host it on. Next, we expand our focus to examine the performance of caching systems, namely Redis and Memcached, across traditional VMs and Docker containers. By comparing …

Application Of Big Data Technology, Text Classification, And Azure Machine Learning For Financial Risk Management Using Data Science Methodology, Oluwaseyi A. Ijogun

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Data science plays a crucial role in enabling organizations to optimize data-driven opportunities within financial risk management. It involves identifying, assessing, and mitigating risks, ultimately safeguarding investments, reducing uncertainty, ensuring regulatory compliance, enhancing decision-making, and fostering long-term sustainability. This thesis explores three facets of Data Science projects: enhancing customer understanding, fraud prevention, and predictive analysis, with the goal of improving existing tools and enabling more informed decision-making. The first project examined leveraged big data technologies, such as Hadoop and Spark, to enhance financial risk management by accurately predicting loan defaulters and their repayment likelihood. In the second project, we investigated …

Blockchain Securities Issues: Decentralized Identity System With Key Management Perspective, Olalekan O. Adaramola

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Blockchain was created many years ago to solve the problems of data transfer Integrity, several years later the issues persist. Blockchain securities are one of the most important considerations to be investigated, and data integrity is about ensuring the accuracy and validity of messages such that when they are read, they are the same as when they were first written. It is of the opinion that passing information across from one person to another cannot be the same as it was first said at the onset. Our work investigated Blockchain security issues, studying Integrity emanating from transactions across the blocks …

Cloud-Based Machine Learning And Sentiment Analysis, Emmanuel C. Opara

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The role of a Data Scientist is becoming increasingly ubiquitous as companies and institutions see the need to gain additional insights and information from data to make better decisions to improve the quality-of-service delivery to customers. This thesis document contains three aspects of data science projects aimed at improving tools and techniques used in analyzing and evaluating data. The first research study involved the use of a standard cybersecurity dataset and cloud-based auto-machine learning algorithms were applied to detect vulnerabilities in the network traffic data. The performance of the algorithms was measured and compared using standard evaluation metrics. The second …

The Ethicality And Political Skill Of Leaders And Subordinate Job Satisfaction: A Study Of Accounting Faculty, Donald L. Ariail

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Using a sample of 539 accounting faculty teaching in the United States, this study explored perceptions of the ethicality and political skill of their direct supervisors and self-reported levels of job satisfaction. Ethicality was measured with the Ethical Leadership Scale (ELS) and the Behavioral Integrity (BI) Scale. These measures, which were highly correlated, were proxy measures for accounting faculty perceptions of the tone-at-the-top (TATT)—the ethical leadership under which faculty teach and research. The results indicated that while the majority of accounting faculty perceived their direct supervisor as being ethical, about a third (28% BI, 34.8% ELS) of them did not …

Assessing Public Health Workforce Informatics Competencies: A Study Of Three Health Departments In Metro Atlanta, Olatanwa Adewale

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Background: There is a need for the public health workforce to be current and versatile in technology usage. Public health leveraging technology usage in service delivery has the potential to improve efficiency and bring it to the forefront in the provision of healthcare services. The purpose of this study was to assess public health workforce informatics competencies in select Atlanta health districts and determine the correlates of public health informatics proficiency.

Methods: A 10-item instrument adapted from the recommendations of a Working Group document by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the 2015 Informatics Capacity and …

Emotional Intelligence Instruction For Millennials In Undergraduate Education, Jason M. Pollett

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the improvement, if any, of emotional intelligence scores of students who participated in and completed the specified professional development seminar. In addition, this study aimed to examine the relationship between emotional intelligence subscales of students enrolled in a professional development seminar that focuses on enhancing the emotional intelligence. The research design for this study was an ex post facto, quasi-experimental correlational quantitative research design. Data from the 371 students who enrolled in the Professional Development Seminar course during academic years 2015-2017 served as the sample for this study.

This study focused on …

Computing The Role That Women Hold In The Technology And Computing Fields, Rachel L F Mccombs

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research was conducted as a thesis project to study what roles women have played in information technology over time, how those roles have changed over time, and what caused those roles to change. It was also to study how personal life experiences may have affected their roles and careers in the technology field. Influential women in IT of the past were studied and compared to determine any common factors between them.

Regression Tree Construction For Reinforcement Learning Problems With A General Action Space, Anthony S. Bush Jr

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Part of the implementation of Reinforcement Learning is constructing a regression of values against states and actions and using that regression model to optimize over actions for a given state. One such common regression technique is that of a decision tree; or in the case of continuous input, a regression tree. In such a case, we fix the states and optimize over actions; however, standard regression trees do not easily optimize over a subset of the input variables\cite{Card1993}. The technique we propose in this thesis is a hybrid of regression trees and kernel regression. First, a regression tree splits over …

Public Health Workforce Perceived Impact Of Emerging Issues In Public Health, Kristie C. Waterfield

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Background: In an era where public health has been viewed as a global, multi-disciplinary field, the public health workforce has remained united to unfailingly holding fast to the mission of protecting, promoting, and improving the health of the public. However, the practice of public health is consistently evolving, and the workforce is continually facing a mirage of challenges. In order to overcome these challenges, practitioners need to be up-to-date on the necessary knowledge and skills to effectively deliver the core public health services.

Purpose: The purpose of this research was to explore the perceived impact of emerging trends in public …

Let Me Upgrade You: Common Measures In Public Health Accreditation Action Plans, Gurleen K. Roberts

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to understand the success rates for health departments pursuing and achieving accreditation in version 1.0 and 1.5 of the Public Health Accreditation Board (PHAB) standards and measures. During the accreditation process, health departments that present performance gaps are asked to complete an Action Plan to specify how they plan to improve to meet the desired conformity. This study will highlight specific measures that are often included in Action Plans so that health departments pursuing accreditation can be better prepared to address these common pitfalls.

Methods: This study is a non-experimental, secondary …

Exploring Alumni Valuation Of An Undergraduate Leadership Program, John D. Egan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study explored alumni’ valuation of an undergraduate leadership program by gaining an understanding of what leadership learning and leadership behaviors transferred into their work environments. The alumni graduated from the same university in the southeastern United States, and while enrolled completed a four-year, co-curricular leadership program. In this mixed methods study, eight participant alumni engaged in semi-structured interviews as well as completed the Leadership Practices Inventory. Alumni perceived that leadership experiences, learning community, classroom learning, peer coaching, and intentional reflection were the most valuable attributes of the program. The leadership learning that effectively transferred to work environments included collaboration, …

Custom Windows Patching Methodology - Comparative Analysis, Brent Michael Henderson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Windows Server Update Services has been a common mainstay among organizations with a heavy footprint of Windows operating systems since it was originally released as Software Update Services in 2002. While the product has grown in scope, the primary allure remains the same: WSUS offers organizations greater control over the patches that are released to their environment and saves bandwidth by allowing a centralized device to download and offer patches to internal clients rather than having each of those clients download the content they require from the Internet. Unfortunately, the product has a structural limitation in that it lacks the …

Digital Forensic Tools & Cloud-Based Machine Learning For Analyzing Crime Data, Majeed Kayode Raji

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Digital forensics is a branch of forensic science in which we can recreate past events using forensic tools for legal measure. Also, the increase in the availability of mobile devices has led to their use in criminal activities. Moreover, the rate at which data is being generated has been on the increase which has led to big data problems. With cloud computing, data can now be stored, processed and analyzed as they are generated. This thesis documents consists of three studies related to data analysis. The first study involves analyzing data from an android smartphone while making a comparison between …

Examining And Exposing The Darknet, Ton H. Don

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis consists of two studies; the first study is “Diving into the Darknet” and the second is “Exposing the Darknet on Mobile Devices”. The Darknet is a network of hidden sites and services which are built based on anonymity. In “Diving into the Darknet”, we applied different data science methods to establish the relationships between the data in the data set. This data set has information related to seller, drug types, and transactions. Additionally, we used Tableau to visualize the data set. For the second study, we took a digital forensics perspective of the Darknet. Orfox and Orbot, a …

Roles Of Information Technology In Supply Chain Management, Akhadian S. Harnowo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Supply Chain Information Technology (SCIT) is a key enabler of effective supply chain management (SCM) activities. In 2013, $300 billion was spent on SCIT by firms globally, an increase by 1.8% and 3.8% compared to 2012 and 2011, respectively. With such significant investments, firms face risks of eroded financial performance if SCIT does not perform as expected. In fact, there is a mix of evidence with some firms benefiting from SCIT while others failing to benefit from investing in SCIT. Despite substantial research relating to utilizing information technology in a SCM context, the impact of SCIT on firm performance remains …

The Project Shop, Lindsey Sullivan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Project Shop is a Do-It-Yourself (DIY) brand designed to promote a value-creating activity that impacts the lives and personal development for those who participate. The strategic culmination of research, marketing, and graphic design generated during the creation of this brand is intended to attract a target demographic of 18-24 year olds. This target market is identified as a transient population often typified by being civic-minded and pragmatically idealist.

The Project Shop caters to the needs of its target market by concentrating on habits and particular styles of living. This demographic often seeks DIY projects that are customizable due to …

The Successful Implementation Of Supply Chain Management Technology Initiatives: Technological Readiness As A Key Indicator, Scott R. Cox

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The emergence of what is modern supply chain management (SCM) can be attributed to the revolutionary advances in information technology over the past three decades. Despite significant investment in supply chain management technology (SCMT) and the implementation process, many companies still experience considerable complications during SCMT implementation. There is a dearth of research concerning the implementation of SCMT. A proven path to supply chain technology implementation has yet to be established. In an effort to address this gap, this dissertation considers the role of technological readiness as a part of a comprehensive model for SCMT implementation. A model is proposed …

The Impact Of Cloud Computing In Supply Chain Collaborative Relationships, Collaborative Advantage And Relational Outcomes, Maria E. Aviles

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to explore the collaborative advantages and relational outcomes that organizations obtain from having strong collaborative relationships. With business competing as supply chains of multiple relationships, the reliance on inter-firm relationships has increased and become central strategy for organizations. Logistics computing technologies in the cloud may facilitate collaboration in the supply chain, although there are conflicting viewpoints regarding cloud viability. This study also evaluates the effect that cloud computing technology has on collaborative advantage and relational outcomes in small and large organizations. The model developed here is based on a cross-disciplinary theoretical perspective, which combines …

The Effect Of Executive Style On Risk Management: A Healthcare Supply Chain Context, Stephen R. Spulick

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation attempts to determine the effect of managerial Executive on healthcare supply chain risk management maturity. The healthcare industry is faced with constant risk to its supply chain and operates under the expectation that healthcare will continue to be delivered even under the most severe and disruptive of conditions. The effect of a manager, who operationalizes firm strategy, may impact the maturity level of a hospital’s risk management efforts. Through multi-method research, this study seeks to understand the effects of management on healthcare risk management maturity. Survey and interview methods were used to understand the relationship between healthcare supply …

The Landwarnet School, The Army Learning Model, And Appreciative Inquiry: How Is A Centralized Training Organization Improved By Introducing Decentralization?, Lisa Jayne Stamper

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This exploratory, qualitative case study describes how a centralized training organization (LandWarNet School) was improved by introducing decentralization (Army Learning Model) toward “the best competitive position” or "sweet spot," defined by Brafman and Beckstrom (2006) as “enough decentralization for creativity, but sufficient structure and controls to ensure consistency” (pp. 189, 191). Any presence of the six chaordic elements of a decentralized organization, as described by Hock (1999), was also considered.

LandWarNet School (LWNS) trains approximately 6000 US Army Soldiers annually and is centrally organized. The new Army Learning Model (ALM) is a vision for a more decentralized training approach where …

A Federated Architecture For Heuristics Packet Filtering In Cloud Networks, Ibrahim M. Waziri Jr

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The rapid expansion in networking has provided tremendous opportunities to access an unparalleled amount of information. Everyone connects to a network to gain access and to share this information. However when someone connects to a public network, his private network and information becomes vulnerable to hackers and all kinds of security threats. Today, all networks needs to be secured, and one of the best security policies is firewall implementation.

Firewalls can be hardware or cloud based. Hardware based firewalls offer the advantage of faster response time, whereas cloud based firewalls are more flexible. In reality the best form of firewall …

Sustainability Strategies In Supply Chain Management, Amit Arora

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Managers no longer view sustainability of organizations only in terms of profitability and economic growth of shareholders. Various competitive pressures are forcing managers to broaden the scope of sustainability to include explicit environmental and societal objectives too. These pressures are emanating from various sources such as depleting natural resources, regulatory policies from governments, erratic weather cycles, demanding customers and brand damage due to exposure about poor working conditions in supplier factories located in other countries. This dissertation consists of three essays that contribute to the practice and literature of strategic sustainable supply chain management by examining its four aspects: measure, …

Organizational Identification And Supply Chain Orientation: Examining A Supply Chain Integration Paradox, Jessica L. Robinson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The current approach to operationalizing supply chain management relies on the premise that there are stages in which an organization extends internal integration to external integration by means of implementing integrative mechanisms. Although important developments have been made in identifying the common antecedents and practices for achieving internal integration and external integration, complex relational behaviors as well as integration barriers that occur within an organization, and their solutions, are the next phase to understand and integrate supply chains. Accordingly, given the internal-to-external implementation approach to supply chain integration, this dissertation examines the Social Identity construct, organizational identification, as a source …

Consumers' Perceptions Towards Sustainability: A Cross-Cultural Analysis, Mertcan Tascioglu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Sustainability has become a subject of increasing concern to academics and practitioners in recent years. Increasing consumer demand for socially responsible products encouraged supply chains to put increasing emphasis on sustainability. In adapting sustainability practices consumers play a very important role for supply chains. Thus this dissertation examines consumers’ perceptions towards sustainability practices. Although most previous research has examined environmental sustainability practices, the social dimension of sustainability has received little attention. This dissertation attempts to explore both environmental and social sustainability and their effects on consumer perceptions in different cultural contexts and price levels. Two scenario based experiments are utilized. …

Competitive Versus Collaborative: Exploring The Negotiation Strategy Impact On Relational Outcomes In Ongoing Buyer-Supplier Relationships, Stephanie Powell Thomas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Negotiations are important interactions in ongoing buyer-supplier relationships. Previous research has identified two commonly utilized types of negotiation strategies that are incorporated into buyer-supplier negotiation encounters. The collaborative strategy seeks to achieve an outcome that is mutually beneficial, while a competitive strategy is focused on individual outcomes. The purpose of this dissertation is to utilize a multi-method research approach to examine the relational impact of negotiation strategies choices. Study One utilized a scenario based experiment methodology. A priori hypotheses were developed based on Social Exchange Theory and its reciprocity tenet. The experimental results indicate that the use of a competitive …

The Industrial Dynamics Of Order Rationing, Shortage Gaming, And Retail Promotions Demand Shock: A Discrete Event Simulation Experiment, Uio In Sara Liao-Troth

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research investigates the impact of order rationing strategies, shortage gaming responses, and retail promotions demand shock on the long-term system performance of the inventory ordering and fulfillment process between competing retailers and a shared upstream manufacturer. The research addresses a need to understand the horizontal dynamics of competition for supply inventory among interconnected entities within business systems. It also expands understanding of the interactions between various manufacturer order rationing strategies and retailer shortage gaming responses, in the context of supply capacity constraints arising from a retail promotions demand shock.

A discrete event simulation based on a US major appliance …

The Distribution Of Individual Stock Returns In A Modified Black-Scholes Option Pricing Model, Daniel Lee Richey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Author's abstract: There have been many attempts to find a model that can accurately price options. These models are built on many assumptions, including which probability distribution stock returns follow. In this paper, we test several distributions to see which best fit the log returns of 20 different companies over a period between November 1, 2006 to October 31, 2011. If a "best" distribution is found, a modified Black-Scholes model will be defined by modifying the Weiner process. We use Monte Carlo simulations to generate estimated prices under specified parameters, and compare these prices to those simulated by the model …