Business Commons^™

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

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & 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 …

Natural Gas Service Expansion Criteria In Maine, Kevin Mahaffey

Muskie School Capstones and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to gain an understanding of the framework used by Maine’s natural gas utilities in making decisions to expand natural gas infrastructure and service to new customers,and then to apply this knowledge in an attempt to identify municipalities that are potentially attractive candidates for service expansion within Maine.

This study is not a precise model for gas utilities, but is meant rather to be a reconnaissance study for finding viable and attractive candidates for service.This study was limited both by resources and the inaccessibility of proprietary information.

Corporate Strategy And Its Use In Solving Issues In The Accounting Field Of The Financial Services Industry, Clark Lisa

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Financial Reporting In Division I College Athletics, Anish Sharma

Honors Theses

The purpose of this study is to determine whether financial reporting standards used in Division I college athletics are comparable, consistent, and complete. The study compares the principles that athletics departments must use in adherence to the Department of Education's Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act (EADA) report with the principles that athletics departments must also use in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) report. Additionally, the two reporting standards will be compared to the conceptual framework of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). Through surveys from Division I athletics departments throughout the country, interviews, and financial databases, the study aims to …

An Examination Of The Stockholder Response To Corporate Religiosity And Religiosity's Effects On Operational And Financial Reporting Quality, Katrina Marie Briscoe

Honors Theses

Religion has been shown to influence decision makers at both the individual and business level. In this paper, I examine the stockholder response to corporate religiosity and religiosity's effects on operational and financial reporting quality. Industry adjusted return on assets and industry adjusted accruals are my measures for operational and financial reporting quality, respectively. Using religiosity data from Dyreng, Mayew, and Williams, I evaluate the 1999 and 2006 mean stock returns by degree of religiosity and return on assets and by degree of religiosity and accruals earnings management. I find that stockholders favor the least religious companies with the highest …

Croatia In The European Union: A Study On Foreign Direct Investment, Unemployment, And Infrastructure, Mary Grace Boland

Honors Theses

This study aims to determine the possible economic success or failure of Croatia in the European Union based on three economic indicators: foreign direct investment (FDI), unemployment, and infrastructure. It also seeks to compare other economic indicators such as GDP growth and inflation of Croatia to the other 27 member-states of the European Union. The goal of this paper is not to predict the future of Croatia, but to discover areas of potential reform and to support existing research on determinants of economic success in the EU. The three chapters that focus on FDI, unemployment, and infrastructure explore the respective …

Influences On Reported Nonprofit Lobbying Efforts, Alyson Partain

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

The nonprofit sector holds an interesting role in democracy, as this segment balances the powers of government and business by providing a way to cultivate social justice and afford people a means of acting and promoting interests outside of the government and private sectors. Nonprofit organizations therefore allow people to join together in providing services and programs that strengthen the communities in which they act. Advocacy involves identifying, embracing, and promoting a cause, especially by educating the public about their organization, whether this is through public engagement, coalition building, or lobbying.

Lobbying is a specific but critical component of general …

Small Business Crews As High Performance Work Teams: The Role Of Vertical And Horizontal Familiarity, Foster Brett Roberts

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research focused on the influence of vertical team familiarity (past work experience between leader and members) and horizontal team familiarity (past work experience between members) on fluid team financial job performance. Utilizing role theory (Foa & Foa, 1974), leader-member exchange (Graen & Scandura, 1984) and team-member exchange (Seers, 1989) theories, within Grant's (2007) relational job design model, a conceptual model is developed and then empirically tested. It is proposed that through vertical team familiarity and horizontal team familiarity resource exchange relationships develop which influence team financial job performance. The effect of vertical team familiarity on team financial job performance …

There Is No "I" In Team: An Investigation Of Team Dynamics In The Buyer-Seller Interaction, Katerina Hybnerova

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The importance of sales team composition and the necessary team competencies is examined in this research. This research uses team intelligence, role expectancy, team cohesion, and improvisation to build an Input-Process-Output model for sales team composition. A strategic plan is devised for the sales team presentation process through three important phases, (1) team composition (2) presentation preparation, and (3) presentation execution. The team composition process, or the formation of the team, will illuminate the competencies necessary for the salespeople who will be responsible for the presentation to the buyer in the buyer-seller interaction (i.e. the initial sales pitch). Through the …

The Influence Of Location Of Firm Ownership On Consumers, C. Clifton Eason

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

An increasing number of consumers are making consumption decisions based on perceptions of a firm's social performance. In other words, many consumers take into account a firm's impact on society and the environment when deciding where they will spend their money. Thus, it is important for firms to understand what these consumers perceive to be important indicators of a firm's social performance. A potential element of social performance that has yet to be studied is local ownership as well as its influence on consumers' store perceptions and consumption decisions. As large, national chains increasingly threaten the existence of smaller, locally-owned …

Initial Online Consumer Trust (Ioct): The Influence Of Third-Party Service Provider Reputation, Website Utility, Electronic Word-Of-Mouth, And Previous Experience With Similar Websites, Surma Mukhopadhyay

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Objectives: The objectives of the study were 1) to conceptualize Initial Online Consumer Trust (IOCT) and 2) to examine the effects of website utility, electronic word-of-mouth, consumer past experiences with similar websites, and third-party service providers' reputation on the development of IOCT. Methods: To explore the research objectives, the study deployed a 2X3 experimental design that involved six experimental groups. Subjects were recruited from the undergraduate student pool at the University of Mississippi, School of Business. The vignettes used in the study was hypothetical book selling websites, one with the presence of third-party service providers and the other without any …

The Road Taken: A Between And Within Subjects Study Of Intervention Selection Decisions By Performance Improvement Professionals, Hillary Leigh

Wayne State University Dissertations

Background: In performance improvement, intervention selection is a complex decision that ought to be based on the best available evidence. Despite this, there is little research into what sources of evidence are used in intervention selection and what changes in belief occur during performance improvement professionals' decisions. Framed in decision theory, this study aims to resolve these problems. Methods: Sixty-one Certified Performance Technologists completed a dynamic, Web-delivered questionnaire where they provided a general assessment of intervention success (Pr₁), then responded to 12 performance improvement scenarios; by selecting an intervention, providing a prior probability (Pr₂), receiving additional …

Financial Reporting Manipulation And The Role Of Religious Ownership: Evidence From Nonprofit Hospitals, Ryan Seay

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Empirical evidence (e.g. Eldenburg and Vines 2004; Leone and Van Horn 2005; Ballantine et al. 2007; Eldenburg et al. 2011) demonstrates that nonprofit hospital managers respond to competing institutional and regulatory pressures by engaging in various forms of financial reporting manipulation. While some recent research in accounting (e.g. Dyreng et al. 2012; McGuire et al. 2012) shows that religious social norms can deter this undesirable behavior, these studies focus on the private, for-profit sector and use a location-based measure of religiosity. This study extends this line of research by using a more direct measure of religious social norms, the ownership …

Top Management Team Attention To The Threats From Technological Disasters: Evidence From Polluters In The S&P 1500, Jaemin Kim

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Increased public attention to environmental disasters is reducing the likelihood firms can ascribe the consequential damages of stakeholders to "acts of Nature". This phenomenon indicates that the absence of top management team (TMT) attention to natural environmental issues leads a firm to control-reducing and likely-loss threats, but less is known about whether firms engage in environmental actions in response to technological disasters and why some firms actively undertake environmental action, while others do not. Drawing on the attention-based view, I propose that technological disasters that happen in a focal firm's affiliated industry cause a TMT to increase a firm's environmental …

Mr Hyde Or Dr. Jekyll? Characteristics Of The Information Systems Security Mindset, David Pumphrey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Information security professionals have a unique challenge in today's connected world. They are charged with protecting digital assets from individuals, groups, and even foreign governments with little or no restrictions limiting their behavior. To be successful, security experts must have the mindset and skills of those who seek to harm their organization, but most are not alloto retaliate, in kind. Instead, they must use these skills only to predict and to prevent future attacks; thus using their technical prowess for good and not for evil. In a survey of 330 information security professionals, the data reveals six mindsets of security …

Analysis Of The Current Public Relations Practices Within The Irish Luxury Hotel Sector And The Importance Of These Practices To The Industry., Aoife Ducatta Lohse

Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate the current knowledge, importance and application of public relations within Irish Luxury Hotels. Another aim was to find out how the public relations theories of relationship management, strategic management and communications are used in the sector.

The research methodology in this study used a mixed method approach. Quantitative research was used in the form of an online questionnaire and qualitative research was used in the form of semi-structured interviews. The online questionnaire was distributed to all luxury four star and five star properties with an online presence in Ireland with an aim …

The Proliferation Of Augmented Reality Applications: Exploring Consumer Adoption And Marketing Applications, Stephen O'Mahony

Theses

In the contemporary landscape, human behaviour is characterised by digitally mediated interactions. Computing power has simultaneously enhanced and miniaturised to the extent that contemporary consumer devices demonstrate power equivalent to or greater than that of personal computers of recent memory. At the same time, network connectivity has proliferated to ubiquitous levels. In this landscape, the concept of augmented reality (AR) has emerged as a way to visualise the pervasive virtual information woven into the physical environment as a result of ubiquitous connectivity, facilitated by ever-increasing device sophistication. However, research on the phenomenon has remained predominantly technical in nature; outside of …

The Significance Of Social Media And Website Use In The Promotion Of Regional Festivals, Áine B. Organ

Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to demonstrate the significance of social media and the use of website in the planning of an event. In any industry, communication is vital to the development process. This communication is especially important in the event planning industry. Communication with suppliers, civil servants, clients and general publics is an element of every event. Promotion falls under the communication process. This promotion can be done via: press releases; fliers; posters; word of mouth; traditional media and social media. Social media is a growing importance in relation to the promoting of events.

Those who have worked …

An Investigation Into The Importance Of Organisational Public Relations For Live Music Festivals In Ireland, Paying Particular Attention To Organisational Identity, Image And Reputation, David Mahy

Theses

This research is concerned with Image and Reputation creation and management within the entertainment sector, specifically with regard to live music festivals and how a Public Relations campaign can successfully create a favourable image with its main target demographics and maintain a positive reputation and corporate identity.

The literature on the subjects of reputation, identity and event management revealed that relationship building and image management with primary groups of stakeholders can be very significant contributors to the success of live music festivals. Successful two way engagement with customers and perspective attendees of the festival can ensure the continued existence of …

What Constitutes The Success Or Failure Of Multinational Corporations (Mncs) In Foreign Markets? A Case Study Of Chinese And American Mncs, Shiwei Jiang

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

Scholars have identified multinational corporations (MNCs) as increasingly important and influential actors in international politics. However, mainstream international studies scholarship has failed to explain why MNCs succeed or fail in entering foreign markets. Market entry is a particularly vexing question for U.S. and Chinese firms seeking to compete for each other's consumers. As this study shows, surprising differences in success among U.S. firms in China, as well as Chinese firms in the U.S., suggest that statist and market factors interact with corporate strategies in confounding ways. Through case studies in the internet, automobile and fast food industries, this dissertation builds …

Is There Sufficient Guidance To Detect, And Obtain A Conviction For, Occupational Fraud In Ireland?, Carmel Buttimer

Masters

There has been an increased focus in the Irish media on fraud, particularly since the collapse of Anglo Irish Bank in 2007. There has however been little academic research undertaken into occupational fraud in Ireland. This study will examine whether or not the current guidance to detect and convict occupational fraud in Ireland is sufficient.

This study achieves its objective by examining the content of press articles reporting thirty-five occupational fraud cases convicted in Ireland in the period 2002 to 2013. It categorises the content of the articles using a framework developed by Cohen et al. (2010), which combines the …

A National System Of Reciprocity In The Fire Service, Bill Hicks

Online Theses and Dissertations

This paper reviews literature from on line, research papers, dissertations, conference proceedings, and monthly periodical sources discussing firefighter certifications to identify the current status of reciprocity in the U.S. Fire Service, as well as the components that make up the necessary steps to achieve a national system of reciprocity for fire service professionals. Accreditation (NFPA, 2011), programs, and agencies (IFSAC, 2012), (ProBoard, 2012) already exists to insure the levels of training set by nationally accepted standards (NFPA, 2013) are being meet by training providers, and are possessed by fire service professional. A model system that the fire service is already …

Two Essays On The Low Volatility Anomaly, Timothy B. Riley

Theses and Dissertations--Finance and Quantitative Methods

I find the low volatility anomaly is present in all but the smallest of stocks. Portfolios can be formed on either total or idiosyncratic volatility to take advantage of this anomaly, but I show measures of idiosyncratic volatility are key. Standard risk-adjusted returns suggest that there is no low volatility anomaly from 1996 through 2011, but I find this result arises from model misspecification. Caution must be taken when analyzing high volatility stocks because their returns have a nonlinear relationship with momentum during market bubbles.

I then find that mutual funds with low return volatility in the prior year outperform …

Three Essays On Investments, Xin Hong

Theses and Dissertations--Finance and Quantitative Methods

This dissertation consists of three essays on investments. The first essay examines the incidence, determinants, and consequences of hedge fund share restriction changes. This paper finds that nearly one in five hedge funds change their share restrictions (e.g., lockup) over the period of 2007-2012. Share restriction changes are not random. Fund’s asset illiquidity, liquidity risk, and performance are related to share restriction changes. A hazard model indicates that funds who actively manage liquidity concerns live longer by adjusting share restrictions. The paper examines whether changes in share restrictions create an endogeneity bias in the share illiquidity premium (Aragon, 2007) and …

Two Essays On Nonbank Financial Institutions, Di Kang

Theses and Dissertations--Finance and Quantitative Methods

Evidence shows that nonbanks, which are now significant participants in the corporate loan market, exploit information gained from lending to trade in public securities. In the first essay, I examine whether these institutions use loan-based information to facilitate merger and acquisition (M&A) deals. I find that firms are more likely to become targets if they borrow from nonbanks rather than banks. Borrowing from a larger number of nonbanks or from those with a sizeable client network also enhances a firm’s acquisition prospects. When nonbanks gain more information about borrowers through loan amendments or multiple loans, the impact of nonbank lending …

Collaborative Trust: A Case Study Of Trust Evolution In A Public/Nonprofit Partnership, Maria Stella Odumodu

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Lack of trust between nonprofit organizations and the communities in which they are located is a well-documented problem in the academic literature. The nature of this mistrust is far less understood, and little is known how community-nonprofit collaborations can overcome these gaps in trust. Guided by Simmel's theory of trust, this study examined the role of collaborative trust between public and non-profit organizations with a focus on better understanding how trust evolves. The research questions focused on how trust was defined and the factors that enhanced and inhibited trust evolution within the context of collaborations between nonprofit organizations and communities. …

Physician Well Being And Patient Satisfaction Among Employed Physicians, Deanna Santana-Cebollero

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Understanding physician well-being may help prevent physician burnout, improve the quality of care they provide to their patients, reduce medical errors, and improve patient satisfaction. Using the biopsychosocial-spiritual theory as the conceptual framework, this quantitative study examined the relationship between: (a) physician well-being and patient satisfaction, (b) physician gender and physician well-being, (c) primary care providers' and specialists' well-being, (d) patient satisfaction based on physician specialty, and (e) the duration of practice and physician well-being. All of the 87 employed physicians in a Florida regional hospital were invited to respond to a physician well-being questionnaire; a response rate of 58.4% …

Mission Statement Clarity And Organizational Behavior At An Art-Focused High School, Michael Allen Mitchell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many new institutions struggle with issues of identity and purpose, which can create instability and lack of growth. Mission statements are often used to clearly identify the characteristics that make an organization unique. This study was informed by theories of organizational management, art integration constructivism, and Bronfenbrenner's cultural ecology. The literature indicates that there is a strong connection between a clear and concise mission statement and the organization's behaviors. This study examined a small Southeast Michigan charter school devoted to integrating arts and academic curricula to determine how the stated mission was understood and implemented by its stakeholders. An applied, …

Prioritizing Offshore Vendor Selection Criteria For The North American Geospatial Industry, Simon Wolfgang Musaeus

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The U.S. market for geospatial services totaled US $2.2 billion in 2010, representing 50% of the global market. Data-processing firms subcontract labor-intensive portions of data services to offshore providers in South and East Asia and Eastern Europe. In general, half of all offshore contracts fail within the first 5 years because one or more parties consider the relationship unsuccessful. Despite the high failure rates, no study has examined the offshore vendor selection process in the geospatial industry. The purpose of this study was to determine the list of key offshore vendor selection criteria and the efficacy of the analytic hierarchy …

Sex Tourism In St. Thomas, United States Virgin Islands: An Exploratory Study, Elizabeth Estes

Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

St. Thomas, United States Virgin Islands, is similar to other tourism dependent Caribbean nations where the tourism industry is dependent upon the `4 S's'- sun, sand, sea, and sex. This researcher posited that the phenomenon of sex tourism exists in St. Thomas as it does in other tourist destinations in the Caribbean like Jamaica, Belize, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic and Barbados (Bailey and Ricketts, 2003; de Albuquerque, 1998; Munshi, 2006; Ryan and Kinder, 1996). The lacuna of any U.S. Virgin Islands sex tourism literature prompted this researcher to conduct an exploratory case study in St. Thomas to learn whether or …