Business Commons^™

Essays On Credit Default Swaps And Debtor-Creditor Relationships, Cihan Uzmanoglu

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Over the last decade, markets for credit insurance have developed dramatically and credit default swaps (CDS) have become the instrument of choice when it comes to hedging credit risks. The expanded hedging opportunities CDS provide and the allied benefits of better risk-sharing notwithstanding, concerns over the economic role of CDS arise from their ability to engender “empty” creditors – joint holders of the bond and CDS, and the role such creditors play in distress situations. Financially distressed firms often restructure their debt through out-of-court renegotiations with creditors to avoid formal default. In addition to the going concern value of the …

Reevaluating The "Magic Spell' : Examining Empowerment, Stress, And Workplace Outcomes, Yun-Chen Tsai Morgan

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Empowerment has long been believed to positively influence workplace outcomes such as performance and satisfaction, but empirical and anecdotal evidence suggest this influence is frequently weak. The present study explores the theoretical links among aspects of structural and psychological empowerment, challenge and hindrance stress appraisals, and employee performance and well-being within workplace settings. Hypotheses were tested with data obtained from individual employees and their supervisors from a diverse range of industries and organizations. Results demonstrate that accountability positively affects appraisals of challenge and hindrance stress; felt hindrance stress adversely affects employee well-being; proactive personality moderates the relationship between authority-sharing and …

Investigating Soil Property And Quality Changes From Samples Submitted To The Lsu Agcenter Soil Testing Laboratory, Mark A. Williams

LSU Master's Theses

The primary purpose of the study is to investigate the trends in soil nutrient levels from soil samples submitted to the LSU AgCenter soil testing and plant analysis laboratory during 2008 to 2012. This study indicates the trend for soil pH, soil phosphorus and soil potassium for corn, cotton, rice, grain sorghum, soybeans, and sugarcane. These six crops were analyzed in this study because of the economic significance to the Louisiana agricultural industry. The trend in soil nutrients studied were generally within the recommended levels for sustainability and environmental stewardship. This study describes the trends for soil pH, soil phosphorus …

Technology Argument Frames : Examining The Impact Of Argumentation On The Development Of A Health Information Exchange Initiative, David Murithi Murungi

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation applies the Technology Frames of Reference (TFR) theoretical lens to examine the implementation of a health information exchange (HIE) initiative in southeast USA. It extends the TFR lens by developing Toulminian argument maps to depict frame structure and employing the argument theories of Toulmin, Habermas and Perelman Olbrechts-Tyteca to help analyze the role that argumentation plays in the emergence and development of the technology frames that characterized this HIE endeavor. The argument maps developed in this dissertation helped to assess the level of argumentation within frames and to compare argumentation across frame domains. The argument maps were also …

Impact Of The S.T.R.I.P.E.S. Extended Orientation Program On Student Satisfaction And Retention, Melissa Megan Korduner

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This study investigated the impact participating in S.T.R.I.P.E.S., an extended orientation program, had on student satisfaction and retention. Student satisfaction was determined through a calculated total score on the College Student Satisfaction Evaluation. Retention was determined based on a student’s enrollment status beginning with their first fall semester and continued to the beginning of their second fall semester. In addition, the study investigated the relationship between student satisfaction and retention. Finally, the study sought to determine if selected variables explained a substantial portion of student satisfaction and contributed to the predictability of retention. The target population was all first time, …

Use And Access Of Emerging Technology Impact: A Study Of Startup Women Entrepreneurs In The United States, Erastus Ndinguri

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between the extent of use and access of emerging technology in business and different characteristics that motivate entrepreneurial women in the United States to generate business ideas and/or foam businesses. Based on a literature review, Use and Access of emerging technology was conceptualized as repeated or perceived behavior emanating from using emerging technology as well as knowledge of the technology. A new instrument Emerging Technology Entrepreneur Survey was developed and administered online to 283 entrepreneurial women who had provided usable emails in the Women in Business Program seminar event. The …

Factors Affecting Teaching Efficacy Of Beginning Secondary Agricultural Education Teachers, Marshall Swafford

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Teacher efficacy studies in agricultural education have primarily focused on documenting the perceived teaching efficacy of agriculture teachers. A limited number of studies have focused upon the factors that may help shape those efficacy beliefs. Therefore, the primary purpose of this study was to investigate the factors that may contribute to the teaching efficacy beliefs of beginning agriculture education teachers. These factors included perceived collective efficacy, perceived principal support, and perceived teacher preparation program quality. The population for this study included all agriculture teachers in Missouri and Kansas (N=213) who had not completed more than five years teaching agricultural education …

Essays On Institutional Trading Behavior With Conflicts Of Interest And Information Sharing, Hyoseok Hwang

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation explores a controversial issue of institutional trading behavior with conflicts of interest and information sharing. Using firms sued for alleged financial misreporting, the first essay examines whether analyst-affiliated institutions reduce the portfolio weights of sued firms prior to their analysts releasing the information through downgrade revisions – trading huddles. Empirical evidence is consistent with this behavior, particularly among the institutions with investment banking operations but without underwriting relationships with sued firms. Institutions with underwriting relationships only reduce portfolio weights significantly when their analysts are the first to provide downgrades during the class period, which is a proxy for …

Utilizing Community Media To Facilitate Cross-Cultural Communication Between Lsu Agcenter Field And State Agents And Louisiana Agricultural Producers, Ava Denise Attaway

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The primary purpose of this study was to determine how Louisiana agricultural producers get information related to their crops. Specifically, this study examined how Louisiana agricultural producers used the Louisiana State University AgCenter’s website and other media sources so that it could be determined which form of community media could be used to facilitate cross-cultural communication between LSU AgCenter field and state agents and Louisiana agricultural producers. Data for this study were obtained from 187 usable surveys completed by Louisiana agricultural produceragricultural producers. The data were analyzed to determine if producers utilized the LSU AgCenter website, the frequency they utilized …

The Power Of Affective Factors (Self-Efficacy, Motivation And Gender) To Predict Chemistry Achievement With The Benefits Of Knowledge Surveys On Metacognition Level, Xin Wu

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Self-efficacy, gender, and motivation are subjective predictors of students' academic achievement. Self-assessment prompted by knowledge surveys involves metacognition, i.e., students' awareness of how they learn. Knowledge surveys can be used to measure changes in students' achievement level and to assist students in content review and inspire reflection on one's ability to learn. In this work, I combined the above predictors into the survey to determine whether achievement in general chemistry can be foreseen. My proposed research will be conducted on 426 students enrolled in General Chemistry I classes (Chemistry for science majors) during a regular 15-week semester at Louisiana State …

What's Love Got To Do With It? The Role Of Brand Love In Brand Community Experience, Phillip M. Hartley

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The work presented here explores and conceptually documents the consumer’s experience of brand communities—groups of people brought together by their mutual appreciation of a commercial brand. The relationships between individuals’ motives for joining, their participation, and the social and brand-related outcomes associated with such groups are tested. In addition, the role of Brand Love in the individual’s experience is assessed. The results of the research indicate that Participation may reduce the influence of a person’s original reasons for joining the community on the ultimate outcomes of membership. Further, a person’s degree of love for the underlying brand influences the likelihood …

From Engagement To Alignment : Exploring Enterprise Architecture Through The Lens Of Design Science, Matthew Lloyd Levy

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Information Systems Design Science (ISDS) as a research community is limited by a small number of research frameworks with considerable influence. The small triad of influential ISDS research, consisting of Walls, et al (1992), March and Smith (1995), and Hevner et al (2004) have primarily limited ISDS research to the positivist paradigm and the IT artifact. In contrast, Herbert Simon’s intentions for design science never had such restrictions and intended a broader perspective. This dissertation explores Simon’s intentions for design science, the Simonian stream of thought that includes The Sciences of the Artificial, as well as much of his most …

Consistency Between Earnings Forecasts And Stock Recommendations : The Effect Of Political Connections, Elio Alfonso

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Financial analysts’ earnings forecasts are more consistent with stock recommendations when their earnings forecasts are more accurate (Loh and Mian 2006, Ertimur et al. 2007). This suggests that analysts use other information in their private valuation models in addition to earnings forecasts especially when earnings have greater uncertainty. Recent studies show that political connections are important for firm valuation and are associated with future positive returns and future positive operating performance (Faccio 2006, Cooper et al. 2010). In this study, I examine how a firm’s political connections affect stock recommendation informativeness as well as the efficiency with which analysts translate …

The Relationship Between Faculty Salary Outlays And Student Retention In Public Four-Year Universities In The Sixteen States Of The Southern Regional Education Board, Belinda Powell Aaron

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of the study was to determine if the allocation of faculty salary expenditures has an influence on first-time, full time freshmen retention rates. The population for this study was all public degree granting undergraduate four-year postsecondary institutions accredited by the Southern Region Education Board in the 16 member states with information reported to the U.S Department of Education’s Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System database. An inverse relationship exists between first-time, full time student retention and average undergraduate student age. A model exists to predict student retention rates using the regional comparable wage index to suggest this variable can …

Assessing A Need For A One-Stop Shop Disaster Management Mobile Application By Identifying The Perceptions And Utilization Of Current Disaster Preparedness Resources In Southern Louisiana, Regina B. Leingang

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this sequential explanatory mixed method study was to assess the need for a “one-stop shop” disaster management mobile application. This was done by identifying the perceptions and utilization of current disaster preparedness resources in the southern region of the United States. The perceptions and utilization levels were measured by obtaining statistical, quantitative results from the Leingang Disaster Preparedness and Utilization survey. Individuals at four universities in the Southern disaster prone area of Louisiana were surveyed. The survey yielded a preparedness score for each survey participant. The preparedness score was achieved based on subsequent scores in three categories: …

The Effect On Earnings Persistence And The Market's Reaction To The Alignment Of Employee And Customer Relations With Competitive Strategy, Robert Stephen Hogan

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Prior literature suggests that a focus on employee and customer relations alone improves financial performance. However, I find that a focus on employee and customer relations alone is not related to higher earnings persistence, but rather I hypothesize and find that the alignment of employee and customer relations with competitive strategy is related to higher earnings persistence. I further explore this relation by examining the contextual environment in which the firm operates. I consider the moderating variables of firm size, leverage, growth, and corporate governance and find that alignment impacts the persistence of earnings for leverage and governance but not …

African American Women Superintendents : Pathways To Success, Kimberly Gales Johnson

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Historically, women and minorities have been underrepresented in executive school leadership. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe the lived experiences of Five African American women who in spite of historical statistics became superintendents. The pathways taken by African American women superintendents have failed to manifest educational leadership literature. Researchers, who have chosen to study African American women in leadership, focus mostly on the barriers they face. Findings from this study may be used to inform minority women with superintendent aspirations of experiences that led others to the top. The findings may also be use to support efforts …

Classroom Observation, Self-Assessment Of Efficacy, And Student Perceptions Of Engagement As Predictors Of Value-Added Scores, Leslie Davis Blanchard

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine which has the strongest correlation to student achievement as measured by value-added test scores: Principal Observations, Teachers Self-Efficacy Ratings, or Student Perceptions of Teacher Effectiveness. 68 teachers from a K-12 public school in the southeast region of the United States agreed to participate in the study. The Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES) was utilized to measure the teachers in terms of their own reports of self efficacy. The School Improvement Model (SIM) of Iowa State University instruments were used to measure the students’ perceptions of teacher effectiveness. The Teacher Advancement Program …

Partnerships Between Hospitals And Community: A Qualitative Study On Collaboration For Spiritual Care In Healthcare, Angela E. Schmidt

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Partnerships between Hospitals and Community: A Qualitative Study on Collaboration for Spiritual Care in Healthcare

Abstract:

Hospital-Community Collaborative (HCC) arrangements for the provision of spiritual care have been brokered in certain Ontario hospitals with varying degrees of success. The current study investigated how a community based organization could effectively partner with a healthcare institution to ensure spiritual care support for hospital patients. It asked the question: What factors are essential to make a hospital-community collaboration function well as a model for the provision of spiritual care? Qualitative research was conducted with four hospital corporations with HCC partnerships to ascertain the …

Analyzing The Presence Of Marketing In Campus Recreation Departments, Amy Gibson

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

The University of Kentucky’s Campus Recreation department is currently operating without professional marketing personnel to promote the programs and services the facility offers. With the university expanding campus housing for incoming students, the question of how activity spaces will accommodate and reach out to these students is certainly one to consider.

I conducted this research with the aim of analyzing the importance of marketing in Campus Recreation facilities and to see if marketing efforts have an effect on facility usage by participants. The department began conducting surveys in 2010 to assess its programs and services in order to determine student …

Disaster Response And Individuals With Disabilities: An Examination Of Kentucky's Red Cross Shelters, Kandace Bright

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Emergency management consists of four phases—mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. Sheltering is an aspect of the response phase. Response involves activities from many different organizations—local, volunteer, state, and federal. The initial response to a disaster is from local emergency management organizations. The American Red Cross, as chartered by the federal government, is primarily responsible for providing initial shelter and food to the affected population during a disaster.

Planning shelter capacity for individuals with disabilities has been historically problematic. It continues to be an issue as claims of inaccessible shelters occur with each new major disaster. Shelters can be accessible or …

Exploring I.T. Innovation In A Sample Of Kentucky Nonprofits, Candice Rider

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Nonprofit organizations today face an increasingly competitive landscape and often operate under the motto of “doing more with less.” As nonprofits struggle to balance mission fulfillment with financial support, information technology [IT] is usually deemed a luxury or acquired as-needed. I posit, however, that technological innovation must be considered a crucial element to staying competitive, efficient, accountable, and engaged with supporters.

After conducting a survey of a sample of Kentucky nonprofits [NPOs], I explore a number of organizational characteristics that might predict the information technology budget, especially with respect to IT innovation. I combine a set of explanatory variables in …

Experiments To Measure The Effects Of Timber Harvesting Equipment On Surface Lithic Scatters, Douglas J. Baughman

All Master's Theses

The importance of cultural resource preservation cannot be overstated; however local economies are at least as important. Due to conservative archaeological site protection practices in Region 5 of the United States Forest Service, the economy of Northeastern California is being adversely affected. In an attempt to help the Forest Service make more informed management decisions and improve the Northeastern California economy, I undertook experiments on the effects of timber harvesting on lithic scatters on Modoc National Forest. The experiments involved placement of 225 glass tiles (proxy lithics) in each of three plots subject to vehicle traffic and log dragging by …

Corporate Social Responsibility In South Africa's Mining Industry: Redressing The Legacy Of Apartheid, Madeleine Busacca

CMC Senior Theses

Corporate Social Responsibility is particularly relevant in the mining industry globally given the industry’s extractive nature. In the mining industry, significant pressure comes from interest groups and nonprofit organizations that have a tendency to target mining companies for their alleged lack of consideration and accountability to the environment and in the communities in which they operate. A push for CSR in the mining industry is especially prevalent in South Africa where mining has dominated the country’s economy for so long. CSR can help rid South Africa’s mining industry of its long history of instability and conflict that characterized class and …

Using Option Prices And Open Interest To Forecast Future Volatility Of A Small Cap Biotech Security Facing A Binary Event, Chris Abbott

Theses

The purpose of this study is to determine the accuracy of price targets set by options traders for small cap biotech companies approaching a Food and Drug (FDA) event. The study also highlights whether or not an increase in open interest improves the accuracy of options traders target price estimates. The thesis for this paper states that the options estimates of future price movement are accurate predictors of the future price one day before the FDA event. This thesis studies small cap biotech stocks with an approaching FDA approval or advisory committee meeting for the time period of December 2007 …

An In-Depth Comparison Of Three Fast Food Industry Giants: How Chick-Fil-A Differs From Mcdonald's And Wendy's In The Growth From Humble Beginnings To Become Multi-Billion Dollar Companies, Jonathan Cardwell

Honors Theses

From humble beginnings to industry giants, three companies have combined for over 163 years of implementing innovative business models and growing sales across the globe. Chick-fil-A, McDonald's, and Wendy's have accounted for tens of billions of dollars in sales revenue since their respective inceptions. Chick-fil-A is a family-owned company started and run by S. Truett Cathy and his children. McDonald's is an industry juggernaut created by Ray Kroc, and Dave Thomas founded Wendy's. Over the years, Chick-fil-A has prioritized its growth by maintaining their high quality standards in exchange for a slower growth rate. McDonald's has grown rapidly to an …

The Differential Effects Of Mandatory And Voluntary Auditor Rotation On Investors' Expectations Of Financial Reporting Aggressiveness And Willingness To Invest, Kelsey Maynord

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.

Spatial Design Thinking In The Age Of Multimedia, Chuan Gao

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

There are several emerging design methods and design thoughts, such as Evidence-Based design, Universal design, and so on, that have been utilized in spatial design. Further, the space design has been changed in the wake of invention of new materials, building technologies, and users' functional needs. Designers need to collect and reorganize a new spectrum of information in order to conduct design. Designer's thinking power plays an important role in creating space. Base on the research results in the realm of human cognitive faculty, synesthesia may hold the key to understanding a mechanism for thinking, cross-sensory perception and association involved …

An Exploration Of Determinants Of Organizational Commitment: Emphasis On The Relationship Between Organizational Democracy And Commitment, Boya Chen

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

In public organizations, organizational commitment plays a significant role in determining both efficiency and efficacy of the organization. Organizational commitment is just like an invisible hand affecting the performance of staff. The degree of organizational commitment can also be a double-edged sword, by which performance outcomes can either be promoted dramatically or impaired greatly. The purpose of the paper is to examine the determinants of organizational commitment, especially the relationship between organizational commitment and organizational democracy.

From the literature review, I build a model including several variables. The dependent variable in my model is organizational commitment. Independent variables in my …

Unrelated Business Income's Impact On Direct Public Support In The Nonprofit Sector, Kelsey Lewis

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Nonprofits today are losing their traditional funding sources for a variety of reasons and are turning to nontraditional ways of finding resources to make sure their organization is able to sustain itself while still meeting its mission. One common non-traditional approach is engaging in unrelated business income activities. Since these activities are not related to a nonprofit’s mission they are subject to taxation. Some question whether these activities help a nonprofit organization meet its mission.

A nonprofit seen not fulfilling its mission can be detrimental to that organization especially where its donors are concerned. If a donor does not support …