Business Commons^™

Donor-Advised Funds And Impact Investing: A Practitioner’S View, Sam Marks

The Foundation Review

Any discussion of foundations embracing impact investing must include some discussion of one of the largest — and growing — sources of philanthropic capital: donor-advised funds. These philanthropic accounts allow donors of all sizes to access many of the functions of a private foundation, including the potential to invest for impact. Sponsors of these funds, however, face unique challenges in catalyzing impact investments.

Like the larger institutional foundations that have led the way as mission investors, sponsors must often educate and inspire governance boards and investment committees. Unlike foundations with professional program staff, decisions regarding philanthropic resources at sponsors of …

The Field-Building And Grantee Experimentation Role Of Foundations In Impact Investing As Illustrated By A Gender-Lens Investing Case Example, Courtney Bolinson, Laura Allan

The Foundation Review

This article argues for foundations to play two critical roles in the impact investing ecosystem: to commission and/or support research that helps build more equitable and socially just impact investing and to fund grantee-specific experimentation in areas of impact investing and social enterprise that are nascent or developing.

To illustrate what this can look like, this article presents action research conducted on gender-lens investing, describing in detail a 2019 Mastercard Foundation grant to Engineers Without Borders Canada. The project involved two main goals: testing and developing gender-lens investing tools and processes with seed-stage investees during pre- or post-investment phases and …

Tfr 14.4 Full Issue

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Executive Summaries

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

The Ford Foundation’S Work To Build The Field Of Impact Investing, Margot Brandenburg, Abeda Iqbal

The Foundation Review

Impact investing has grown dramatically over the past 15 years, with foundations playing a critical role through their program-related and, increasingly, mission-related investments. A smaller number, including the Ford Foundation, have dedicated grant and other programmatic resources toward growing the field. Without this funding, the metrics, engagement, policies, and norms needed to underpin capital markets at scale will be slow to materialize.

This article looks back at the long history of aligning financial investments with social values; touches on the Ford Foundation’s pioneering role in the emergence of PRIs as a tool to stretch grantmaking budgets; and details the impact …

2022-12-01 Faculty Senate Newsletter, Morehead State University. Faculty Senate.

Faculty Senate Records

Faculty Senate newsletter from December 1, 2022.

Pickup And Multi-Delivery Problem With Time Windows, Pham Tuan Anh, Aldy Gunawan, Vincent F. Yu, Tuan C. Chau

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

This paper addresses a new variant of Pickup and Delivery Problem with Time Windows (PDPTW) for enhancing customer satisfaction. In particular, a huge number of requests is served in the system, where each request includes a pickup node and several delivery nodes instead of a pair of pickup and delivery nodes. It is named Pickup and Multi-Delivery Problem with Time Windows (PMDPTW). A mixed-integer programming model is formulated with the objective of minimizing total travel costs. Computational experiments are conducted to test the correctness of the model with a newly generated benchmark based on the PDPTW benchmark instances. Results show …

What Should Streamers Communicate In Livestream E-Commerce? The Effects Of Social Interactions On Live Streaming Performance, Danyang Song, Xi Chen, Zhiling Guo, Xiao Liu Liu, Ruijin. Jin

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Compared with traditional e-commerce, livestreaming e-commerce is characterized by direct and intimate communication between streamers and consumers that stimulates instant social interactions. This study focuses on streamers’ three types of information exchange (i.e., product information, social conversation, and social solicitation) and examines their roles in driving both short-term and long-term livestreaming performance (i.e., sales and customer base growth). We find that the informational role of product information (nonpromotional and promotional) is beneficial not only to sales performance, but also to the growth of the customer base. We also find that social conversation has a relationship-building effect that positively impacts both …

2022-12-01 Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes, Morehead State University. Faculty Senate.

Faculty Senate Records

Faculty Senate meeting minutes from December 1, 2022.

An Exploration Of Different Motivations Between Stakeholders And Visitors Of The Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail, Colin Mccormack

Human Movement Studies & Special Education Theses & Dissertations

Visitors have different motivations associated with parks and protected areas, and the people who run those areas are also different from visitors due to their unique positions. This is especially true for the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail (POHE), where stakeholders – ranging from park managers and Department of Transportation planners to volunteers of nonprofits and historical societies collaborate to manage sections along the 822-mile extent of the trail. Building on previous work itemizing the diversity of motivations for visitation to parks and protected areas, this study investigates similarities and differences in stakeholder and manager Recreation Experience Preferences by clustering …

Analysis For An Efficient Operation Of Solar Power Plants In India Using Different Variables/Parameters, Sonal Bansi Shinde

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Vast renewable energy facilities rely heavily on accurate predictions of future solar power output.  This study investigated the various factors causing poor, inefficient operation of Solar Plants and different methods to identify underperforming equipment. The main questions are: Q1: How can we predict electricity generation over the next several days so that the plant can run at peak efficiency? Q2: How can we figure out the exact maintenance needs of any power plant?  Q3: How do we identify faulty equipment to improve its efficiency to improve overall performance? and Q4: What are the different factors that are causing an inefficient …

A Study Of Heart Disease Diagnosis Using Machine Learning And Data Mining, Intisar Ahmed

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Heart disease is the leading cause of death for people around the world today. Diagnosis for various forms of heart disease can be detected with numerous medical tests, however, predicting heart disease without such tests is very difficult. Machine learning can help process medical big data and provide hidden knowledge which otherwise would not be possible with the naked eye. The aim of this project is to explore how machine learning algorithms can be used in predicting heart disease by building an optimized model. The research questions are; 1) What Machine learning algorithms are used in the diagnosis of heart …

Analysis Of Automated Vehicle Accidents Across The U.S., Anissa Rocio Quintero

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Car Accidents are a significant public safety hazard to everyone all over the world. Recently, car manufacturers have tried to implement Automated Driving Systems into their vehicles to help drivers and decrease the accident rate. This culminating project analyzed whether Automated Driving Systems have decreased or increased the accident rate in the United States using automated vehicle data collected by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The analysis platform was built using RStudio and Excel. The research questions were: Q1: What amount of autonomous vehicle accidents occurred in each state between 2021 and 2022? Q2: What manufacturer and maker have …

Big Data For Comprehensive Analysis Of Real Estate Market, Yonglin Xiao

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This Culminating Experience Project explored the application of big data in the real estate industry in order to address the problem of analyzing the accurate property estimates value. The research questions were: (Q1): What are the benefits and advantages of utilizing big data in the real estate market? (Q2): What are the trends in the application of big data in the real estate market? (Q3): What are the challenges in applying big data in the real estate market? (Q4): What are the methods and processes of applying big data in appraisal of assets in the real estate market? To answer …

Novel Technologies And Their Effect On The Customer Journey: Customers' Sentiment With Tesla App, Andrew Jaymes

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This culminating experience project explores how novel technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), and virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR), impact customer experience. The customer journey framework was used to analyze customers' responses to interactions with novel Technologies integrated into Tesla electric vehicles. After gathering customer response data from the Tesla Motors subreddit page, we were able to score customer experiences with the Tesla app, over-the-air software updates, and full self-driving features, using the NRC sentiment lexicon. Our results showed customers tended to express more positive sentiments than negative sentiments when describing their experiences with these …

Deliberately Developmental Leadership In Organizational Settings, Glenn Allen Nixon

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate leadership development strategies in organizations in North Texas needed to create prepared, competent leaders who can become and help create deliberately developmental leaders. Open-ended and semistructured interviews were used to collect data, with questions centered on effective leadership development strategies for creating competent leaders and effective leadership strategies for creating deliberately developmental leaders. The idea was to understand if organization’s leadership focused on the need for leadership development, if organizational members were being identified for leadership, and if systems exist to address future organizational leadership needs. Three types of organizations were …

Common Weights Analysis Of Renewable Energy Efficiency Of Oecd Countries, Reza Kiani Mavi, Neda Kiani Mavi, Reza Farzipoor Saen, Mark Goh

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Arising from the recent COP26 climate change conference, many governments have emphasised carbon neutrality targets for environmental sustainability by increasing renewable energy efficiency. This study develops a common set of weights (CSW) model for the additive model in data envelopment analysis using goal programming to analyse the energy efficiency of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. The CSW model, which has better discrimination power, places Iceland as the most renewable energy-efficient member country in the OECD, followed by Luxemburg and Norway. Our findings suggest that OECD countries should increase their renewable energy consumption and reduce municipal waste …

Factors Affecting The Growth Of Small Privately-Owned Financial Planning Businesses, Darren A. Pawski, Robert J. Powell, Anna Golab

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Over the past 10 years, there have been many financial scandals in the financial advice industry, which has caused substantial losses for investors. Large wealth institutions controlled by major Australian banks have significantly contributed to investor losses by promoting their products which were not always in the best interests of clients. The aim of this study was to explore the factors affecting the current and future growth of small privately-owned financial planning businesses as a competitive marketplace provides better consumer outcomes. The study undertook a qualitative approach using an exploratory research design which involved the recruitment of 51 privately-owned financial …

Analyzing The Past Five Years Of Equinox Week* Programs Focused On Sustainable Development Goals Within A Collection Of Local And Global Initiatives To Support A Proposal For The Publication Of A Comprehensive Book, Abdoulaye Idrissa

Symposium of Student Scholars

Many undergraduate students are not familiar with the research process involved in a book publication proposal. Through this multidisciplinary collaborative research, the faculty intends to minimize this gap by engaging the students in such a process from the early phase of proposal preparation. The student will research and review the past five years of EQUINOX Week* programs focused on Sustainable Development Goals within a collection of local and global initiatives to support a proposal for the EQUINOX proceeding publication.

With an extensive set of qualitative and quantitative data gathered over a span of 5 years. The student will be …

Systematic Scoping Literature Review To Study The Impact Of Leabnese Financial Crisis 2019-2020 On The Banking Sector, Nour Mohamad Fayad

BAU Journal - Creative Sustainable Development

Over the last thirty years, blunders have been committed in the Lebanese financial sector. Besides, mistakes made with good faith, and the financial and economic crisis of years 2019 and 2020, on the other hand, has resulted in much greater deficiencies of trust and rises in the emotional distance between Lebanese people and their banks than the previous crisis. One collateral effect of the crisis and the, at times, scorching antagonisms that have afflicted banks and their customers has been an unfathomable reluctance on the part of banks to interact with their consumers. Therefore, this research spots the light on …

How Big Data Will Be An Added Value To Scm?, Rawad Issam Jaber-Chehayeb

BAU Journal - Creative Sustainable Development

It is the era of digital information technology where almost everything is going smart. Thus, organizations move towards digitalization that cause the emergent of Big Data. Analyzing big data is the big challenge today. Being smart puts the world under a big challenge to adapt, change, and upgrade systems to analyze the Big Data using the high technology. Challenges are growing with the market and appears in different forms. Many of these challenges can be hard or difficult to handle on your own if you are a small to medium size business without the help of supply chain management system. …

The Effect Of The Syrian Crisis On The Profitability Of The Country's Private Banking Sector, Osama Alyousef

BAU Journal - Creative Sustainable Development

This research analyses the effect of the Syrian crisis on the profitability of local private banks during the period from 2011 to 2018 using fixed effects estimator on panel data. The research studies all of the 14 Syrian private banks and includes bank-specific variables calculated from the published quarterly and annual reports of all the banks, as well as a variable for the Syrian crisis measured by the following macro-economic factors: the number of crisis-related casualties, the number of Syrians who fled the country as refugees or asylum seekers, and the Syrian Pound exchange rate against U.S. Dollar during the …

Studying Changes And Addressing The Effects Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On Restaurants, Nael Mohamed Nabil Alsarrag

BAU Journal - Creative Sustainable Development

Several everyday activities were majorly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, adapting these activities to become safe for people to perform and become "covid-friendly" required many studies. Dining out in restaurants was one of the major activities that were affected by this pandemic. Permanently or partially closed, restaurants adapted quickly to sidewalk pickups, and excessive delivery demand, and accordingly, their menus and even the staffing were shortened. Several months later, the foodservice industry was one of the first to move a step forward against coronavirus and positively adapt by coming up with creative and innovative ways to be able to re-open …

Wellness Practices’ Contribution To Social Sustainability: A Review Of The Literature, Zeina Mazloum

BAU Journal - Creative Sustainable Development

Despite being emphasized as one of the main pillars of global sustainable development, social sustainability has been vastly neglected in research, and its importance has been undervalued. This paper aims to highlight the important role that wellness practices play in enhancing social sustainability by uplifting individuals and progressing communities. In turn, social sustainability strengthens the circular economy, resulting in global sustainable development. The paper also raises questions about future sustainable communities, quality of life, and wellness programs, which open up new avenues for future research and implications.

The Impact Of Public Debt On Infrastructure In Arab Countries, Hoda Alaeddine

BAU Journal - Creative Sustainable Development

The level of public debt as a percentage of GDP (the debt-to-GDP ratio) has expanded in Arab countries as a result of chronically high budget deficits, which undermine the ability of these countries to invest in infrastructure such as healthcare, education, and other productive sectors. This paper uses panel data from 19 Arab countries from 2000 to 2020 to examine the impact of public debt on infrastructure. The Generalized Least Squares regression, in which the Hausman test was used to determine whether the model should follow a random effect or a fixed effect, was employed after the Ordinary Least Squares …

Role Of Knowledge Economy In Economic Growth: “An Empirical Study” On Selected Arab Countries, Soulieka Omar Alaeddine

BAU Journal - Creative Sustainable Development

Despite the mounting importance of the knowledge economy in diversifying Arab economies, the knowledge transition in these countries is still in its early stages, with a long road ahead. The study’s main aim is to examine the role of the knowledge economy in economic growth and to recognize the most influential knowledge pillar for a sample of 11 Arab countries during the period 2000–2020, namely: Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Tunisia. The panel generalized least squares model, with its two methods (fixed-effects model and random-effects model), was performed using an extended version of …

Architectural Representations Of Human Rights, El-Bastawissi Y. Ibtihal, Youssef Maged

BAU Journal - Creative Sustainable Development

The United Nations defines the Human Rights as the rights of all human beings, regardless of race, gender, language, religion, nationality, or any other status. These rights include all claims to live freely, to educate and work in equality, and to inhabit humanistic urban and architectural spaces. Throughout the history of architecture, civilisations have generated different perspectives towards respecting the human rights. Temples of Ancient Egyptian Architecture crushed the human scale to introduce religious experiences to their visitors. Tibetan temples over mountains enforced people to make anti-humanistic journeys to reach them. After thousands of years, the mega-scale palaces and cathedrals …

Mora De Castilla: Cadena De Valor Para Contribuir A La Competitividad De La Provincia Del Sumapaz En Cundinamarca (Colombia, Nelson Enrique Fonseca Carreño

Ciencias Administrativas, Económicas y Contables

La cadena de valor es un instrumento utilizado en las empresas que consiste en analizar las actividades presentes en el ciclo productivo de un producto, con el propósito de identificar fuentes de ventaja competitiva. Bajo esta premisa, esta investigación pretende diagnosticar, caracterizar y diseñar la cadena de valor de la mora de Castilla (Rubus claucus) en la provincia de Sumapaz, Cundinamarca, a través de metodologías de diagnóstico. Se tuvo en cuenta el Modelo de desarrollo agroempresarial de la Cámara de Comercio de Bogotá (CCB), el cual identifica, caracteriza y define las necesidades de todos los agronegocios involucrados en la cadena …

Apuntes Empresariales: Construyendo Región A Partir De La Investigación, Juan Manuel Andrade Navia, Dario Benavides Pava, Diego Edison Quiroga Rojas

Ciencias Administrativas, Económicas y Contables

El presente texto, resultado de investigación, forma parte de la operacionalización del plan estratégico del grupo de investigación Los Acacios, adscrito al programa de Administración de Empresas de la seccional Girardot de la Universidad de Cundinamarca, consignado en la plataforma GrupLac del Ministerio de Ciencia Tecnología e Innovación de la República de Colombia. Una de las líneas de investigación en las que trabajan los investigadores del grupo Los Acacios es precisamente el desarrollo organizacional y regional, cuyo propósito es la apertura de espacios para la discusión académica, política, gremial e institucional que permitan identificar las bases filosóficas, culturales y económicas …

Nebraska Monthly Economic Indicators: November 30, 2022, Eric Thompson

Leading Economic Indicator Reports

The LEI-N fell by 0.12% in October 2022. The leading indicator, which is designed to predict economic growth six months in the future, has fallen in four of the last six months. Such a decline signals a stagnant economy in Nebraska at the beginning of 2023. Four components of the leading indicator worsened during October. There was an increase in initial claims for unemployment insurance, signaling some softening of the Nebraska labor market. There was also an increase in the value of the U.S. Dollar in October. A rising dollar creates challenges for Nebraska businesses that compete in international markets. …