Other Business Commons^™

A Horrible Hundred 2013: Problem Puppy Mills In The United States, The Humane Society Of The United States

PUPPY MILL INFORMATION

This report is a list of some of the nation’s dog breeding kennels that are of high concern to The HSUS due to repeated problems with animal health or animal care. It is not a list of all puppy mills, nor a list of all problematic facilities. The list does not include other problematic puppy mill dealers, such as brokers and pet stores, unless the operators are also breeding dogs.

Investigating Virtual Worlds, Patricia D. Sobczak

VCU Libraries Faculty and Staff Presentations

The global phenomena of online gaming engages millions of people, some playing over 45 hours a week - the equivalent of a second full-time job. Our children are logging over 10,000 hours of gaming time before they are 21 years old; the equivalent of the time children spend in formal classrooms from grades five through 12. Players in one of the most popular online games have logged over 5.3 million years of play time since 2004.

These statistics show that virtual worlds, including online games, have become an important component of modern culture, but their impact on society has yet …

Actions, Practices, And Workplace Conditions That Characterize High-Engagement Workgroups In A Hospital Environment, Barbette Weimer-Elder

Dissertations

In the United States a large number of people are not engaged at work. The lack of engagement affects the service outcomes as well as financial bottom line of organizations. The cost of actively disengaged employees in the U.S. is about $300 billion a year. Research cites the importance of examining business units that scored high on employee engagement to learn about actions and practices that drive business outcomes.

Between 2005-2010 The Community Hospital (TCH), part of a Healthcare Corporation in Valley Town, USA (pseudonym), assessed employee engagement using Gallup’s Q12 survey. Some groups scored in the top quartile and …

The Pros And Cons Of Outsourcing, Angela Smith

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Outsourcing has become increasingly popular to the public since the mid-20th century and has become more controversial in the last decade. The United States economy has been under the microscope for the last 4 years due to an economic recession. Outsourcing has been a subject of interest that has been brought up numerous times by economists. Offshore outsourcing is the main type of outsourcing that is of concern in relation to the United States economy. This topic is highly debated because of the unemployment rate in America.

Authentic Leadership, Leader–Member Exchange, And Organizational Citizenship Behavior: A Multilevel Analysis, Heather M. Stewart Wherry

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This field study examined the relationship between leaders’ authentic leadership (as rated by leader and follower) and five constructs of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) (altruism, civic virtue, conscientiousness, courtesy, and sportsmanship) as moderated by leader-member exchange.

Data were collected from 32 leader participants and 243 raters from seven for-profit organizations in the Midwest. A multilevel data analysis was conducted using Hierarchical Linear Modeling. Three of the five OCB constructs (conscientiousness, courtesy, and civic virtue) were analyzed as multi-level. Altruism and sportsmanship were analyzed using regression.

First, the direct effect of the leader’s level of authentic leadership was tested on each …

Medicare: What Is In Store For Future Generations?, Karen L. Poon

Honors Scholar Theses

Medicare is the health insurance coverage provided to all senior citizens over the age of 65. It has been around since 1965. This paper takes an in-depth look into the Medicare program. First, the history behind Social Security is introduced. The Medicare program was created as an addition to Social Security, and its history follows. Although the ideas and goals of the Medicare program have good intentions, there are many issues with it. These problems are discussed in detail in the current issues portion of the paper. As a follow up, I have expanded upon and come up with some …

Designing An "Information-Experience" Using Creativity Science Theory And Tools, Stephanie Belhomme

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

An “information-experience” encapsulated by a technological/digital audio-visual tool presents data and potentially meaningful information to prompt actionable knowledge concerning: “unspoken creative process elements;” their profound impacts on both how well our “physiology of creativity” functions; but also on how well foundational creative thinking and behavioral prerequisites (energy, motivation, imagination, and ownership) are leveraged.

The product: 1) introduces the user to one component of the CPS (Creative Problem Solving) Facilitation Process - Exploring the Challenge; 2) features a content specific component which prompts exploration of the many correlations between societal, organizational / community, human physiological / behavioral data, and the direct …

Puppy Buyer Complaints: A Five-Year Summary, 2007‐2011, The Humane Society Of The United States

PUPPY MILL REPORTS

The Humane Society of the United States receives complaints about sick puppies on a daily basis. Over a five-year period (2007-2011), our puppy mills campaign received 2,479 puppy buyer complaints. The complaint came to The HSUS via our website complaint form (www.humanesociety.org/puppycomplaint), by email, and through our puppy mills tip line. Buyers complained about sick puppies sold by a variety of sources, including pet stores, breeders (both in person and online), or middleman dealers (sometimes known as brokers). Unsatisfied buyers contact The HSUS for many reasons; some are seeking information about how to pursue their consumer complaint, others …

The Problem Of Unlicensed Puppy Mills, The Humane Society Of The United States

PUPPY MILL REPORTS

Currently the United States Department of Agriculture does not license or inspect large-scale puppy producers who sell puppies over the Internet or directly to the public. Many of these unlicensed facilities sell puppies sight-unseen to unsuspecting buyers who assume they are purchasing from a small family breeder. Hundreds of these “direct” sellers have taken advantage of the pre-Internet language of the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) regulations (otherwise known as the “retail pet stores loophole”) to operate without any federal oversight or inspections. As a result, an increasing number of large-scale unlicensed breeders are not monitored for their animals’ overall health …

Veterinary Problems In Puppy Mill Dogs, The Humane Society Of The United States

PUPPY MILL REPORTS

Dogs in puppy mills often suffer from an array of painful and potentially life-shortening veterinary problems due to overcrowded, unsanitary conditions and the lack of proper oversight or veterinary care. Conditions common to puppy mills, such as the use of stacked, wire cages to house more animals than a given space should reasonably hold, as well as constant exposure to the feces and urine of other dogs, make it difficult for dogs to avoid exposure to common parasites and infectious diseases. In addition, a lack of regular, preventive veterinary care, clean food and water, basic cleaning and grooming, and careful …

The Hsus Investigates: Chicagoland Pet Stores, The Humane Society Of The United States

PUPPY MILL INFORMATION

Over three days (October 29-31, 2012), an HSUS investigator and a local Chicago resident visited 12 Chicagoland pet stores to find out where the cute little puppies in the windows were bred. Again and again, salespeople denied that their puppies came from puppy mills, and most did not comply with a law passed in 2010 by the State requiring pet shops to “post in a conspicuous place in writing on or near the cage of any dog or cat available for sale the information required by subsection (a) of this section.” The information required includes the price, age, health and …

The American Kennel Club: No Longer “The Dog's Champion?”, The Humane Society Of The United States

PUPPY MILL INFORMATION

The AKC has historically billed itself as “The Dog’s Champion,” the gold standard registry for purebred puppies. The AKC's mission includes advocating for advances in “canine health and well- being” and working “to promote responsible dog ownership.”*1 Yet with all its emphasis on proper dog and puppy care, in recent years the AKC has opposed the majority of initiatives designed to prevent cruelty at large-scale breeding facilities known as puppy mills. In contrast to its vague public statements condemning substandard kennels, over the past 5 years the AKC has opposed more than 80 different bills and ordinances designed to require …

Electric Vehicles In Ireland: The Future?, Angela Wright

Dept. of Organisation & Professional Development Publications

This study explores the merits of the Electric Vehicle (EV) as an alternative mode of transportation in Ireland. The EV has been produced for many decades, but never in a mass production capacity. EVs do not require fossil fuels to power them. With fossil fuels being in short supply and as global climate change is deteriorating each year; the EV will help reduce Ireland’s dependence on depleting fossil fuel resources. This current study seeks to establish if the EV can be part of the solution to prevent further un-repairable damage to the environment. The findings of this current study, demonstrate …

Review Of Remaking The Heartland: Middle America Since The 1950s. By Robert Wuthnow, Randolph Cantrell

Great Plains Research: A Journal of Natural and Social Sciences (through 2013)

Shrinking farm numbers, population losses, and empty storefronts on Main Street have come to be seen as symptoms of an inevitable slide to oblivion for many Heartland communities. Empirical evidence of such decline is easily found, making the trend a favorite topic for journalists. In Remaking the Heartland, Robert Wuthnow offers a very different interpretation of the same trends. His central argument is that Middle America (defined as eight states including most of the Great Plains) has been characterized by adaptation to changing social and economic realities in a way that has made the region a "more vibrant contributor …

The Viability And Necessity Of Desertxpress And The Future Of Las Vegas, Charles Alexander Wellington

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Purpose

The purpose of this professional paper is to determine the effects of the DesertXpress, an interstate high-speed rail which will connect Las Vegas, NV and Southern California and will provide critical information as to the viability and economic strength that the high-speed rail will bring to the region.

The Creative Coach: Exploring The Synergies Between Creative Problem Solving: Thinking Skills Model And Non-Directive Coaching, Trevor J. Mcalpine

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

This project looks at the similarities and differences between the most recent version of Creative Problem Solving called Creative Problem Solving: Thinking Skills Model and the approach to coaching known as Non-Directive Coaching. Creativity practitioners are challenged to find opportunities of engaging in formal full-blown, group-based Creative Problem Solving sessions. There is a need to find other, less formal ways of helping people use their creativity. The Thinking Skills Model’s design allows it to mesh with the creative process in other content areas by making the basic concepts of Creative Problem Solving transferable to those other contexts. Non-Directive Coaching …

Canada’S Commercial Seal Hunt: It’S More Than A Question Of Humane Killing, David M. Lavigne, William S. Lynn

Animal Welfare Collection

No abstract provided.

The Politics Of Subsidizing Sports: Legislative Voting For Three Minnesota Sports Venues, Dave Hitchcock

Political Science Theses and Capstones

Since 1998 the State of Minnesota has funded the building of the Xcel Energy Center, Target Field, and TCF Bank Stadium. The focus of this research is to locate voting trends within the Minnesota House of Representatives towards these venues. I recorded the votes of each member on the legislation approving these venues from the Minnesota Journal of the House and then constructed data sets for all three buildings. From this data, trends emerge potentially linking the voting tendencies of members based on party, gender, and geographical location of their district. Initial analysis supports a fairly strong relationship between district …

Sectoral Changes And The Increase In Women's Labor Force Participation, Rahşan Akbulut

Business Faculty Articles and Research

Throughout the second half of the 20th century, women in the United States decided to move increasingly into the labor market. This paper investigates the growth of the service sector as an explanation for the increase in women's employment. It develops an economic model that can account for the increase in women's employment and the growth of the service sector at the same time. A growth model with two sectors and a home production technology is constructed in order to quantitatively assess the contribution of sectoral productivity differences to the change in women's employment decision. The sectoral productivities are taken …

Target Industry Study: An Empirical Analysis Of Intertemporal Trends In Regional Industrial Base Composition, David M. Smith

Undergraduate Theses and Capstone Projects

This paper follows existing literature on local industrial conditions and agglomeration economies in an adapted shift-share framework. The purpose of this study is to develop a cost-efficient empirical model that meets the needs of local government in analyzing changes in industrial composition. The data for this model is obtained from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) with nondisclosed data provided by the Virginia Employment Commission which is sorted by North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS) 2-digit industrial sectors. The model developed in this paper identifies certain industrial sectors which exert significant influence on the …

What's Your Pitch? The Power Of Wow! (Worksheet For The Webinar On January 18, 2011), Connie I. Reimers-Hild

Kimmel Education and Research Center: Faculty and Staff Publications

Elevator pitches are created to sell your idea, business, product or service in 30 seconds or less (the time it takes to go from the first floor to the top of the building in an elevator). A great pitch has the power to help anyone...from a University employee to a new entrepreneur to a team working in a high-growth firm.

It’s important to develop and practice an effective pitch, complete with an awesome "Wow Factor," so you are ready to use it under fire (pretend you just stepped onto an elevator with Warren Buffett or Bill Gates)!

This interactive webinar …

International Comparisons Of Bank Regulation, Liberalization, And Banking Crises, Puspa Amri, Apanard P. Angkinand, Clas Wihlborg

Business Faculty Articles and Research

Purpose: The recurrence of banking crises throughout the 1980s and 1990s, and in the more recent 2008-09 global financial crisis, has led to an expanding empirical literature on crisis explanation and prediction. This paper provides an analytical review of proxies for and important determinants of banking crises − credit growth, financial liberalization, bank regulation and supervision.

Design/Methodology/Approach: The study surveys the banking crisis literature by comparing proxies for and measures of banking crises and policy-related variables in the literature. Advantages and disadvantages of different proxies are discussed.

Findings: Disagreements about determinants of banking crises are in part …

The Effects Of The Attacks Of 9/11 On Organizational Policies, Employee Attitudes And Workers’ Psychological States, Amy E. Hurley-Hanson, Cristina M. Giannantonio, Heidi Carlos, Jessica Harnett, Melanie Jetta, Madeline Mercier

Business Faculty Articles and Research

Problem statement: The attacks of September 11, 2001 (9/11) on the United States have had a profound effect on organizations and their employees. These effects occurred in the days and weeks immediately following the attacks, as well as in the years since the attacks occurred. In commemoration of the tenth anniversary of 9/11, this study focuses on the impact that the attacks of September 11, 2001 have had on organizational policies, employee attitudes and workers’ psychological states. Approach: Managers were surveyed regarding the effects of 9/11 on these issues. Results: The results of the study indicate that …

Hsus Investigates: New York Puppy Stores, The Humane Society Of The United States

PUPPY MILL INFORMATION

In response to concerns about the sources of puppies in New York pet stores, The HSUS’s Investigations unit conducted a hidden-camera investigation of 11 New York pet stores, visited many of their puppy suppliers, and studied interstate puppy shipping documents for more than 100 New York pet stores in all. Our investigation concluded that, regardless of what pet stores’ sales staff tell shoppers about their puppy sources, all of the stores investigated were buying from inhumane mass-breeding facilities known as puppy mills -- including some of the worst known puppy mills in Missouri and other top puppy mill states.

Update Report: Missouri’S Dirty Dozen, The Humane Society Of The United States

PUPPY MILL INFORMATION

Late last year, researchers at The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) spent weeks poring over state and federal inspection reports, investigators’ photographs, and enforcement records to compile a list of some of the worst puppy mills in Missouri, known as “Missouri’s Dirty Dozen.” The report included direct quotes detailing horrific care violations documented in the facilities’ federal and/or state kennel inspection reports. The violations included thin-coated breeds like Italian greyhounds found shivering in the cold in temperatures as low as 9 degrees, dogs with open, oozing or bleeding sores, underweight dogs with their entire skeletal structures showing, and …

Examining The Regulatory Value Of Multi-Route Mammalian Acute Systemic Toxicity Studies, Troy Seidle, Pilar Prieto, Anna Bulgheroni

Experimentation Collection

Regulatory information requirements for pesticides call for submission of acute systemic toxicity data for up to three different exposure routes (oral, dermal, inhalation) for both active ingredients and formulated products. Similar multi-route testing is required in the European Union and elsewhere for industrial chemicals. To determine the value of acute toxicity testing by more than one route, oral-dermal and oralinhalation concordances among regulatory classifications were examined for large data sets of chemicals and pesticide active ingredients. Across all sectors examined, oral acute toxicity classifications for pure active substances were more severe than those derived from dermal data in more than …

Sweet Diversity: Colonial Goods And The Welfare Gains From Trade After 1492, Jonathan Hersh, Hans-Joachim Voth

Economics Faculty Articles and Research

When did overseas trade start to matter for living standards? Traditional real-wage indices suggest that living standards in Europe stagnated before 1800. In this paper, we argue that welfare rose substantially, but surreptitiously, because of an influx of new goods as a result of overseas trade. Colonial luxuries such as tea, coffee, and sugar transformed European diets after the discovery of America and the rounding of the Cape of Good Hope. These goods became household items in many countries by the end of the 18th century. We use three different methods to calculate welfare gains based on price data and …

Firm Bidding Behavior In Highway Procurement Auctions: An Analysis Of Single-Bid Contracts, Tacit Collusion, And The Financial Impact On Kentucky, David R. Barrus

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Recently, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) indicated lack of competition and single-bid contracts in asphalt paving as a major issue facing state transportation departments. Single-bid contracts indicate a lack of competition which increases costs to state and local governments. During the period from 2005-2007 in Kentucky, 42 percent of all bids were awarded with only one firm bidding on the project. Of the asphalt paving jobs, 63 percent of those jobs were awarded to a single bidder.

The analysis of this dissertation focuses on detecting tacit collusion in asphalt paving jobs in Kentucky. A focal …

Greenleaf's 'Best Test' Of Servant Leadership: A Multilevel Analysis, Robert W. Hayden

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This study empirically tests Robert Greenleaf’s (1970) seminal articulation of servant leadership. The four personal outcomes he theorized (health, wisdom, freedom-autonomy, and service orientation) were tested against established dimensions of servant leadership. All correlations were significant and positive. Using multilevel analysis, the predictive strength of these servant leadership dimensions were assessed at two levels within an organization, and explained. Implications and future direction of research were discussed.

Running Backs In The Nfl Draft And Nfl Combine: Can Performance Be Predicted?, Chris Blees

CMC Senior Theses

Berri and Simmons (2009) investigate the relationship between the NFL Combine and the NFL Draft. They find that a quarterback’s performance in the Combine can have a significant impact on that player’s draft position. However, they find that no known aspect of a quarterback before they are drafted is an indicator of success in the NFL. I examine if these relationships exist for the Running Back position. I find similar results to Berri and Simmons: that performance in the Combine does have an effect on that player’s draft position, but that no aspect of a running back’s pre-draft characteristics can …