Business Commons^™

Hiv/Aids In The Latino Community Of San Francisco: Past And Present, Jessica Da Silva

School of Professional Studies

There are approximately 122,000 people of Latino origin in San Francisco, which account for 15% of the total population (Census, 2010). Historically, Latinos have and still face several barriers to access healthcare and improvements in health (Aguirre-Molina, Molina & Zambrana, 2001). When the world was exposed to the spread of a new and unknown virus, the broader population suffered from the epidemic. The Latino community in San Francisco was and still is one of the hardest hit by the virus.

Changing The Current Perception Of Affordable Housing In Worcester, Simone Mcguinness, William Roberts, Vaske Gjino, Tong Zhou, Mengxin Ma, Sarawadee Sonpuak

School of Professional Studies

One of Worcester Interfaith’s goals is to eradicate the stigma of affordable housing in Worcester. Currently, the perception of affordable housing is of an image of unkept and old residences filled with destitute citizens who cannot afford basic needs to live in a city, let alone housing. This image is perpetuated by media, stigma, and a lack of education of the true reality of affordable housing and who its recipients are. Affordable housing-qualified citizens represent a range of educations, professions, age, race, and income levels. Affordable housing units, too, represent a variety of homes, many of which are extremely well-kept …

The Effect Of Foreign Direct Investment On Food Security: A Case Study From Rural Mozambique, Kali Fleming

Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness Undergraduate Honors Theses

Poverty and food insecurity in the sub-Saharan African region have been exacerbated by the worst drought in 23 years, which impacted 25 countries in Southern and Eastern Africa from 2015-2016. In Mozambique alone it was estimated that the 2015-2016 drought resulted in over 1.5 million people becoming food insecure (FAO, 2016). To mitigate the increasing problem of household food insecurity in sub-Saharan Africa, the World Food Program recommends job creation to target the most vulnerable populations. Job creation is often the result of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). However, critics of FDI often cite concerns of human rights abuses, inadequate working …

Identifying Arkansas Food Desert Blocks Suitable For A Peer-To-Peer Modeled Food Redistribution Program, Emily King

Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness Undergraduate Honors Theses

Abstract

­­­­­­­­­ Nearly 10% of Americans reside in low-income urban food deserts which are low-income areas that lack access to affordable and nutritious foods. Food deserts in Arkansas contribute to a food insecurity rate above the national average, making it one of the most food insecure states in the country. Efforts to alleviate food deserts have included working with supermarkets to construct stores in underserved areas, encouraging the growth of farmers’ markets, and passing the Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI). The inability of these programs to provide food desert residents with a variety of accessible and affordable food items year-round …

Selling Childhood: How The Middle Class Used Children In The Anti-Tuberculosis Movement (1930s-1940s), Hannah Fisher

Senior Theses

During the anti-tuberculosis movement of the 1930s and 1940s, children were chosen as focal points, with their roles shaped by society’s changing view of childhood, the emergence of the middle class, and the socioeconomic and political climate. Children were used by middle-class reformers as conduits through which to disseminate information and enact controls on the working class. Health education in schools had two main goals: (1) for educated children to become educated adults, and (2) for educated children to transform the behaviors of adults around them. Although researchers have studied middle-class interventions into children’s health, few have analyzed the role …

A Study Of The Effectiveness Of Ethics Instruction To Accounting Students At East Tennessee State University, Elizabeth Brackins

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Strong ethics are critical to the success of each member of the business world, especially accountants. Because the work of accountants is utilized by both internal and external users and can have such widespread effect on the business community, it is imperative that this work is performed with the utmost accuracy, integrity and morality. The foundation for strong ethics begins before the accountant enters the workforce, and many colleges require dedicated ethics courses for accounting majors. The purpose of this project is to analyze the effectiveness of the ethics instruction, specifically in the absence of a required dedicated ethics course, …

Behavioral Explanations Of Investors’ Trading In Financial Markets, Mohammed Saad H Alhashim

Finance and Real Estate Dissertations - Archive

In the first essay, I examine the effect of social media sentiment on the trading behavior of individual investors. I document a positive association between sentiment and retail order imbalances (i.e., individual investors tend to buy more than they sell as they become more optimistic about stocks). The association between retail investor activity and sentiment is stronger for hard-to-value stocks (small cap, low institutional ownership, and low analyst coverage firms). Finally, the association between retail order imbalances and stock returns exists only in conjunction with investor sentiment. In the second essay, I consider the effect of firm-level sentiment extracted from …

Two Essays On The Effect Of Power Distance Belief On Consumers’ Decision Making In The Retailing Context, Han Ma

Marketing Dissertations - Archive

Power distance belief (PDB) refers to the extent to which individuals expect and accept inequality and hierarchy. Recently studies have revealed that PDB impacts numerous aspects of consumer-related behaviors, such as impulsive buying, price-quality judgment, status consumption, and charitable behaviors. This dissertation aims to advance our knowledge of the effect of PDB on various consumer behaviors in the context of retailing. Specifically, Essay 1 explores the relationship between PDB and variety-seeking behavior. Using six studies with different operationalizations of PDB and variety seeking, I found the consistent result that high PDB consumers have a higher preference for the variety seeking …

“Because I Care I Risk”: How Ceo Free Market Orientation Affects The Extent And Type Of Income Smoothing, Mirzokhidjon S. Abdurakhmonov

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The executive political ideology literature suffers from a lack of conceptual clarity because social and economic issues are conflated. This has created an inconsistency in empirical findings with the theoretical predictions of the political ideology construct. In this dissertation, I identify a distinct economic component, free market orientation, based on support for economic individualism, competition, and property rights to reconcile these inconsistencies. Specifically, I argue that these indicators of free market orientation will have a unique impact on the way executives run their organizations. I develop a novel scale that measures CEO economic values that I term free market orientation …

Curating Culture Through Social Media In The 21st Century: Orlando As A Case Study For Arts Participation And Engagement Among Millennials, Wendy Givoglu

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The American non-profit arts sector is faced with challenges including shifting audience demographics, competition for patrons due to evolving new media and entertainment technologies, changes in donors, and the discontinuation of federal and state funding sources. Savvy arts organizations are rebooting for long-term sustainability and relevancy to their communities, while some organizations adhere to unchanged practices and modes of operation. Amidst the 21st century digital landscape, arts engagement that yields personal and community impact and sustainability for the future is indeed attainable. Characteristics of participatory culture and democratization rooted in emerging digital entertainment and social media communications technology, coupled with …

Peloton: A Different Kind Of Ride, David Carlson

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

Peloton is a highly successful company. The fitness industry is growing steadily. People are becoming more and more aware of their health and how exercise can help them live better as well as longer leading to the growth we have seen. The at home fitness industry has increasingly become about personalization and taking everything that was originally in a fitness center and putting it in a customer’s home.

While delivery drivers are under stress at Peloton, Peloton finds itself in great grace with a high valuation and a cult-like following. Peloton has made its money off high margins on its …

The Performance Of Military Defense Contracted Companies After September 11th, 2001: The Case Of Politically Connected Companies, Derek J. Larsen

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This paper examines the effect that the terrorist attacks on September 11^th, 2001 had on the stock prices of companies within the military defense industry. In addition, this paper studies the effect of the defense firms’ political engagement (through lobbying activities) and how this affected the stock price response to the terrorist attacks. Our study finds that the cumulative abnormal returns of these companies are positively significant and that companies who lobbied experienced higher returns relative to those who did not lobby.

Better, Busier, Or Stressed Out? Exploring Social Media-Induced Technostress In A Sales Context, Hayam Qasem Alnakhli

Marketing Dissertations - Archive

In this dissertation the "salesperson-technology environment interaction model" is deployed to explore the stress experienced by salespeople while using social media for work. Even though social media has numerous benefits for salespeople, an increasing number of salespeople perceive technology use as a source of stress, (i.e., technostress). Since such technostress can decrease employees' well-being (Tarafdar et al., 2015), it is important to understand what creates it. Drawing on the transaction based-model of stress (Lazarus, 1984) this dissertation investigates the direct effect of social media technology use as an antecedent of technostress, examines the stress imposed by the use of social …

Blockholder Heterogeneity And Corporate Textual Disclosure Quality, Xiaoxiao Yu

Accounting Dissertations - Archive

This study investigates whether and how different types of blockholders affect a firm’s textual disclosure quality. Using a hand-collected blockholder-firm panel sample from 2011 to 2016, I find that, on average, both the aggregate blockholder ownership and the total number of blockholders are negatively associated with the readability of firms’ 10-K reports, after controlling for the numerical quality of earnings. When blockholders are categorized into different groups based on their filing choices and their affiliations with management, I find that firms with greater number of unaffiliated 13D filers write more readable 10-K reports while firms with both greater number and …

An Empirical Test Of Learning In Management Earnings Forecasts, Yuan Shi

Accounting Dissertations - Archive

My dissertation examines whether managers issuing earnings guidance learn from the forecast errors in prior earnings guidance issued by them. Using data on quarterly earnings forecasts issued by managers during the period from 2001 to 2016, I find results that are consistent with managers learning from their previous forecast errors to improve their forecast accuracy. However, the intensity of the managers' reactions to previous forecast errors is asymmetric. Consistent with prior literature that emphasizes the importance of meeting or beating forecasts for managers, certain managers that miss their own forecasts tend to be conservative enough in their future forecasts to …

The House That Credit Built: How Advertising Shaped A Culture Of Borrowing In The Decade Of Prosperity., Morgan Folden

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is an examination of the visual rhetoric of the advertisements in 1920s America that encouraged consumers to implement payment plans to purchase commodities. It begins with an analysis of a standard advertisement found in a popular subscription journal and describes the ad’s reliance on an editorial-style layout to appeal to the rationality of the viewer, a theme common among marketing schemes of the surrounding decades. It uses an art historical approach to provide a new lens in studying capitalist economics and the provocative issue of empowerment versus confinement in the general visual representation of American housewives. The latter …

Eyes In The Field, A Seat At The Table, A Voice At The Ranch : A Study On Optimal Farm Labor Conditions., Christine Wiggins-Romesburg

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The field of human resource development has twin obligations to promote the performance of organizations and the satisfaction and welfare of all workers. Nevertheless, agriculture appears to be an understudied industry in the field, despite this obligation and the potential for suffering experienced by workers performing crop work. This case study sought to understand the process through which a single agricultural operation fosters optimal conditions for workers engaged in labor-intensive crop production. This study found employees experienced better treatment compared to other agricultural operations, and that conditions were rich in both intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Intrinsic factors were marked by …

Essays On Anomalies In Asset Pricing, Xinrui Duan

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

In Chapter 1, we examine whether various anomalies can be driven by two common behavioral forces, namely, "subjective" sentiment (representing investors' subjective biased beliefs) and "objective" limited attention (representing investors' objective cognitive constraints). While sentiment explains well many anomalies that are more speculative on the short-leg, it fails to explain anomalies that are equally speculative on the long and short-leg, including momentum and post-earnings announcement drift. Market-wide attention shifts, proxied by number of news averaged across stocks, significantly attenuates underreaction-driven anomalies, beyond the effect of sentiment. Our findings suggest that increase in market-wide attention can temporarily reduce the cost of …

Women In Innovation: Challenges And Opportunities, Mengzi Jin

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

Innovation and creativity are the engines of social and economic progress. What roles do women play in innovation? Emerging evidence reveals that fewer women than men enter and succeed in innovation-related fields. Tackling gender inequality at work has always been one of the grand societal challenges, however little is known about gender issues specific to innovation achievements. This dissertation attempts to explain gender gaps in the innovation and creativity context. Innovation typically involves generating multiple novel and useful ideas, selecting the most promising one for implementation, and persistently championing the idea through implementation. I theorize and unpack the gender effect …

How Ties With Family Members Influence Professionals' Creativity In Family Businesses: The Role Of Hive Effect And Trust, Rameshwari Ramachandra

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

Many Asian enterprises are family businesses. In recent years, there has been a growing body of research on creativity in Asian firms, but few studies on the creativity of the professionals working in Asian family businesses. Given the importance of creativity in family businesses for their continued success, I examined how a professional’s ties to family members in a family business influenced their creativity. I proposed that the number of family members in a professional’s network would positively predict the professional’s creativity, and that this effect would be mediated by the family members’ affective and cognitive trust in the professional. …

Shared Leadership And Team Motivation: An Exploratory Study, Yufeng Chi

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

Despite the importance of team innovation for organizations, the conditions that foster team innovation are still not well understood. In this dissertation, I propose a theoretical model in which the impact of shared leadership on team innovation is mediated by information sharing and team potency. I utilize a two-wave longitudinal, multi-method and multi-source research design to examine the research hypotheses. I argue that shared leadership not only improves a team’s information sharing and team potency, but also generates cognitive and motivational advantages that are conducive to innovation. In addition, I show that the relationship between shared leadership and team innovation …

Battling Counterfeits In A Massive Market: Designing And Evaluating An Id-Tag Based Solution For Electronic Product Monitoring And Controlling, Xiao Ying Chen

Dissertations and Theses Collection (Open Access)

The problem of counterfeit and shoddy goods in China has been rampant and persistent one. The complexity of the Chinese market makes solving this problem extremely difficult. Three government agencies have tried to combat this problem extensively, from market entrance permission for prior-processing, sampling and inspection for in-processing, and punishment for post-processing. The responsibility division among agencies, however, created the cracks and holes in dealing with the problem. The existing government solution is too slow in response and too sparse in coverage to be effective and efficient. Anti-counterfeit labels and their derivatives are employed for counterfeit identification and prevention. Their …

Roli Dhe Ndikimi I Madhësisë Së Tregut Në Tërheqjen E Investimeve Të Huaja Direkte, Edona Krasniqi

Theses and Dissertations

Për të kuptuar ndikimin e Investimeve të Huaja Direkte (IHD) në një vend dhe ndikimin e madhësisë së tregut në tërheqjen e këtyre të fundit, duhet të mirren parasysh GDP, GDP për kokë banori, infrastruktura, kapitali njerzor, marrëveshjet tregtare të një vendi në raport me vendet tjera, flukset e teknologjisë, lëvizjet e punës, burimet e vendit, etj. Një qasje e tillë nënkupton jo vetëm që eksportet dhe importet e mallrave dhe shërbimeve nuk janë më forma ekzekutive të transaksioneve ekonomike midis shteteve kombëtare, por gjithashtu që dimensionet e ndryshme të ekonomisë botërore janë të ndërlidhura fort. Prandaj është paksa e …

Investimet E Huaja Në Kosovë, Entor Kecmezi

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Tatimet Në Komunën E Gjilanit – Analizë Empirike, Kushtrim Agushi

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Ngritja E Efiçiencës Në Fushën E Prokurimit Publik Përmes Aplikimit Të E – Prokurimit, Mimoza Ramadani

Theses and Dissertations

Prokurimi publik në përgjithësi është një fushë dhe aktivitet i ri që paraqitet në shtetet bashkëkohore, e sidomos në shtetet të cilat kanë pasur trendë të zhvillimit të hovshëm nga ekonomia e planifikuar në ekonominë e tregut. Paraqitja e prokurimit publik është nevojë imanente për qeveritë e shteteve moderne dhe bashkëkohore, sepse çdo qeveri është blerëse e madhe e mallrave, shërbimeve dhe kryerjes së punëve. Nocionin e prokurimit publik kanë arritur ta përpunojnë shumë shkencëtarë nga fusha e ekonomisë dhe e financave, punëtorë shkencor, profesorë të universiteteve të ndryshme të botës, ekspert ligjor të cilët punojnë në hartimin e ligjeve …

The Evolution And Revolution Of Financial Accounting, Divonte Lumpkin

Honor’s College Freeman Research Journal

Accounting services are one of the primary reasons why companies are able to serve its customers and perform at high levels. The emergence of Artificial Intelligence has become an additional resource that have revolutionized the accounting world not only in the financial services industry, but the oil and gas industry)as well. Within the oil and gas industry, fair value impairment and financial reporting methods are analyzed to elaborate on how generally accepted accounting principles impact companies' assets which are vital to financial statements. However, accounting services are generally overshadowed with the technical aspects it provides. Demonstrating integrity and ethical standards …

To Tweet Or Not Totweet: That Is The Professional Social Media Question, John Bauer

Accounting Undergraduate Honors Theses

As university and corporate programs continue to encourage their professional faculty to post on social media as a means of spreading positive publicity, the consequences that follow social media by employees must also be inspected. This study focuses on appraising the opinion of professionals in regards to social media posts and the perceived responsibility for maintaining ethical content while posting on the web. To do this, a survey was distributed and the resulting data collected. The data shed light on the climate surrounding social media use and workplace expectations for it, as well as the degree of responsibility assumed by …

Benchmarking Oecd Countries’ Sustainable Development Performance: A Goal-Specific Pca Approach, Shyam Lamichhane

Master's Theses

In this thesis, the current status of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries’ sustainable development performance towards reaching the recently announced 2030 Agenda (17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)) was investigated. Over 90 social, economic and environmental sustainability indicators were considered for the performance assessment of OECD countries towards reaching the targeted SDGs. The current weighted averaging approach used in the recent SDG Index and Dashboards Report was used as the benchmark and its limitations were discussed. To overcome the limitations, a novel Goal Specific Principal Component Analysis (GS-PCA) approach was proposed to create composite sustainability index …

Exploring Workplace Spirituality In The Context Of Work Teams, Nandini O. Mcclurg

Human Resource Development Theses and Dissertations

The topic of spirituality has been widely explored by scholars, researchers, and organizations in an effort to understand human responses to life endeavors and to individuals’ relationships to society at large and to work environments more specifically (Giacalone & Jurkiewicz, 2010a, 2010b). Spirituality has been associated with a person’s desire to perform meaningful work and to feel connected with the community that is being served through this work (Chalofsky, 2003; Fagley & Adler, 2012). Since most adults spend a large amount of their productive hours at work pursuing meaning and purpose in their jobs (Madden, 2015), the concept of workplace …