Technology and Innovation Commons^™

Assessing Public-Sector Readiness For Artificial Intelligence In Egypt, Renad Ahmed Anwar

Theses and Dissertations

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly adopted in public-sector contexts, yet successful implementation depends on organizational readiness, particularly in developing countries. This study assesses the readiness of Egypt’s public sector for AI adoption using a qualitative expert opinion methodology. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with senior professionals from global technology firms with extensive experience working with public-sector entities in Egypt.

Guided by by an integrated framework combining organizational readiness theory, the Technology–Organization–Environment (TOE) framework, and public value and governance perspectives, the study examines strategic, organizational, human, technological, societal, and governance dimensions of AI readiness. The findings indicate that while Egypt demonstrates strong …

Three Essays On Green Innovation, Saha Iqbal Hossain

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the strategic role of green innovation in addressing escalating environmental challenges. Comprising of three interrelated essays, the study integrates computational, theoretical, and empirical approaches to provide a comprehensive understanding of the antecedents, mechanisms, and outcomes of green innovation at the firm level. The first essay conducts a systematic literature review employing advanced computation tools, including topic modeling (LDA and BERTopic) and scientometric analysis to elucidate the intellectual framework, thematic evolution, and central knowledge areas and flows within the green innovation research field. The second essay empirically investigates how internal firm resources- research & development (R&D) intensity, acquisition …

Rural Entrepreneurship In Upper Egyptian Communities: Exploring The Intervention Of Agri-Tech Startups, Marwa Wael Abohamda Hulail

Theses and Dissertations

Climate change and economic disturbance have changed the state of the world and increased the dependence on digitization in running people's daily life. In Egypt, the economic instability and climate change have affected people’s standard of living, making it challenging to sustain their life, especially in the agriculture sector. Farmers have been affected by the risks of climate change, economic shocks, and trends of digitization, which have impacted their profit, employability, and livelihood.

Several Egyptian Agri-tech startups were launched to support the farmers in the digital revolution that came to agriculture, attempting to make a change in the Egyptian farming …

Analysis Of Technology Skill Requirements For Entry-Level Accountants, Jiane Louella Tolentino Rabara

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the evolving impact of emerging technologies on skill requirements for entry-level accountants. Using a mixed-method approach that combines literature review and quantitative analysis of 2,257,082 job postings from 2021 to 2024 provided by the Butler Center for Research and Economic Development, the study evaluates trends in employer expectations across firm sizes and time. Chi-square tests revealed significant changes in the proportion of postings requiring technological skills (χ² = 117,672, df = 3, p < .001), indicating a shift in how technology-related competencies are presented in job ads. Specifically, while previous job postings often included general technical skills alongside traditional accounting tasks, recent job postings increasingly emphasize advanced or specialized technologies—such as ERP systems, cloud accounting platforms, and automation tools. This shift suggests that employers are moving away from broad technical expectations toward more targeted skill sets, reflecting the evolving technological demands of the profession. A separate chi-square test found a significant relationship between technological skill requirements and job ad duration (χ² = 2,309.57, df = 4, p < .001). However, no consistent pattern of longer posting duration was observed for technology-oriented roles. Literature-based synthesis further showed that large accounting firms continue to demand more advanced technological competencies than smaller firms. Overall, while traditional accounting skills remain predominant, the findings indicate a transition toward more specialized technological expectations in the entry-level accounting role.

Tech-Forward Learning: Text-To-Speech Impact On Catholic High School Students, Dennise A. Leyva

Theses and Dissertations

This phenomenological study was conducted to improve instructional support for diverse learners in a Southeast Florida Catholic high school by exploring teachers’ use of the Apple iPad accessibility feature, text-to-speech (TTS). Although this Catholic high school implemented a 1:1 iPad program, many teachers had limited experience using the built-in TTS feature to meet the diverse needs of students, including English Language Learners and those with reading difficulties. Teachers often used conventional approaches that failed to integrate assistive technology for inclusive and equitable learning.

The researcher conducted in-depth semi-structured interviews with six high school teachers to examine their experiences implementing the …

Consumers' Acceptance To Buy And Dispose Of Recycling Textile Products, Roa Alsayed

Theses and Dissertations

The textile industry is the second most polluting worldwide, following food manufacturing. It is one of the industries that is rarely scrutinized in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. This work analyzes the fashion industry from the perspective of consumer attitudes towards the purchase and disposal of clothing, and their behavior with regards to old garments. The study was conducted in Saudi Arabia and Egypt, two countries that achieved similar results in the fashion industry. The methodology is divided into three phases. First, the manuscript begins with a review of topics such as sustainability, consumer behavior in the …

Enhancing Marketing Education Through Gamification: Learners’ Characteristics And Motivation In Gamification Strategies, Jagannath Kharel

Theses and Dissertations

The study investigates how the personality traits of marketing students influence their engagement with gamification elements and the resulting learning outcomes. Additionally, it explores how gamification, guided by Self-Determination Theory, enhances these outcomes, and motivates university marketing students. One hundred eleven respondents participated, testing eight hypotheses: seven examined the Big Five traits' influence on attitudes and engagement. At the same time, the final used the self-determination framework to analyze motivation in gamification. Respondents with openness and extraversion favored using gamified learning materials, with no gender differences observed. The study found that gamified learning elements, such as rewards, feedback, levels, challenges, …

An Examination Of Emerging Technologies In Supply Chain Management And Their Impacts On Efficiency In The Automotive Industry, Wafaa A. Barakat

Theses and Dissertations

The automotive supply chain sector is facing immense transformation, particularly with the emerging digital technologies in supply chain management. This paper examines the emerging technologies in supply chain management and their impacts on efficiency in the automotive industry. This research strives to examine the underlying aspects of the automotive supply chain integration in United States companies. For the study, there is the application of the exploratory study. The reason is that there is no vivid perspective of the characteristics and the scope. The study design used is a qualitative analysis of 10 automotive personnel from different multipliers of the automotive …

Assessing The Effect Of Fintech Adoption On Country's Productivity, Mai Metwally

Theses and Dissertations

The relationship between total factor productivity of countries, for both low-income and high-income countries, and Fintech adoption will be examined in this paper. Also, a background on Fintech history will be discussed and explored briefly along with Fintech future risks and opportunities. Starting off with the importance of TFP, it is also known to be "Solow residual" (named after American Economist "Robert Solow"). TFP shows and examines the performance along with efficiency of the entity or country. It shows how well and efficient the firm or country in transforming its inputs to the desired outputs. Moreover, it is the ratio …

Transition Analysis Of Innovative Technologies Into Military Applications, Cristian J. Henandez-Rivera

Theses and Dissertations

The Department of Defense (DoD) invests over 1 billion dollars annually in Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) efforts. These SBIR efforts are similar to venture capital investments, where a transition beyond seed funding is considered a success. A baseline study of 2015-2018 Air Force SBIR investments indicates that 8.8% of the efforts secured long-term funding. Current data allows for an assessment of whether or not a project scores long-term funding; however, there is no measurement of whether or not the technology transitions to DoD usage. Transition is the rate at which SBIR investments are fielded or integrated into a military …

A Survey Of Barriers/Challenges To Improve Sbir Participation & Commercialization Success, Benjamin L. Berezin

Theses and Dissertations

The composition of the U.S. Defense Industrial Base (DIB) is changing. Within the last decade we have witnessed a decline in the percentage of new entrants, especially among Small Businesses. The Department of Defense’s base of small business participants experienced a drop of 23% from 2015-2021. New entrants provide novel capabilities and increase competition, spurring innovation essential for continued economic and military advantage. Small Businesses represent well over 40% of the Nation’s Gross Domestic Product and have vastly outpaced large firms at a magnitude of 16.5 times as many patents per small firm.

The Air Force deliberately targets funding for …

Factors Driving Enterprise Adoption Of Blockchain Technology, Matthew C. Foster

Theses and Dissertations

Amidst the rapidly evolving advancement of blockchain technology (BT), enterprises face notable challenges in leveraging its transformative potential, starting with a need to understand the technology and how it can be used for particular applications. Two challenges are that many BT trials have not been successful and large-scale implementations that have led to continued use are scarce. This research provides a comprehensive examination of factors that drive the successful adoption of BT for enterprise use cases. A dual-phased approach was employed. First, I introduce a taxonomy matrix correlating BT design characteristics with use case characteristics, offering a framework for BT …

Supplier Performance Scorecard Utilization In The Medical Device Manufacturing Healthcare Supply Chain, Justin Cardisco

Theses and Dissertations

The medical device manufacturing industry has a deficiency in determining how to improve supplier performance for the components and systems they purchase. Many complex medical devices require components from superb suppliers. But how does a medical device manufacturer (MDM) impartially assess supplier performance to know which suppliers to continuing with (or even boost purchase volumes) and which suppliers they should exit? This study describes which supplier-specific metrics are most important to medical device manufacturers (MDMs) so they can utilize this supplier performance scorecard backed by real-world inputs. This research will focus on five categories to measure MDM supplier performance (Quality, …

The Dark Side Of Artificial Intelligence: Understanding The Role Of Perceived Algorithm Unfairness On Ride-Hailing Driver Discontinuance, Zhenya Tang

Theses and Dissertations

Ride-hailing platforms (RHP) are sharing economy platforms that connect passengers who need to order a private ride or to share a vehicle with drivers who want to share a ride. However, after rapid growth, major RHPs (e.g., Uber, Lyft, and Didi) have begun to face severe driver shortages. Attracting and maintaining a large driver base is critical to the survival and success of any RHP no matter its size. While practitioners are urging to seek suggestions from academia to prevent driver loss, limited research attention has been paid to RHP drivers’ discontinuance. To fill this gap, this dissertation aims to …

From Truth To Trust: The Impact Of Blockchain Traceability On Trust In Product Authenticity, Frank Betz

Theses and Dissertations

In the global marketplace, customers are increasingly unaware of the source, provenance, and authenticity of products. Early research has shown that the introduction of blockchain technology into the supply chain area can make it more transparent and trustworthy. As a platform that supports distributed, cryptographically secure, auditable transactions, blockchain has expanded from the domain of digital cryptocurrency into the domain of physical asset provenance and ownership tracking and tracing. This research examines blockchain support of trust in product authenticity adopting a two-paper dissertation format. In the first conceptual paper, I develop a conceptual framework on blockchain technology's unique features and …

Adoption Of Ai-Enabled Technology: Taking The Bad With The Good, George Dagliyan

Theses and Dissertations

From autonomous vehicles to smart home assistants and telemedicine, artificial intelligence enabled (AI-enabled) technologies are increasingly available in the market. Consumers are saddled between the benefits and the risks of these new technologies, yet prior research has not accounted for the coexistence of inhibitory and faciliatory factors and how they affect intentions to use AI-enabled technology. The current research introduces a conceptual model to address these relationships and integrates the role of subjective ambivalence and brand trust. The model was tested using structural equation modeling with a cross sectional survey of U.S. consumers across three distinct categories of AI: autonomous …

Inquiries In Intelligent Information Systems: New Trajectories And Paradigms, Samaa Elnagar

Theses and Dissertations

Rapid Digital transformation drives organizations to continually revitalize their business models so organizations can excel in such aggressive global competition. Intelligent Information Systems (IIS) have enabled organizations to achieve many strategic and market leverages. Despite the increasing intelligence competencies offered by IIS, they are still limited in many cognitive functions. Elevating the cognitive competencies offered by IIS would impact the organizational strategic positions.

With the advent of Deep Learning (DL), IoT, and Edge Computing, IISs has witnessed a leap in their intelligence competencies. DL has been applied to many business areas and many industries such as real estate and manufacturing. …

Why We Use A New Currency: The Role Of Trust And Control In Explaining The Perception And Usage Of Bitcoin, Joseph B. Walton

Theses and Dissertations

Social media, e-commerce, global peer-to-peer technologies, and the near ubiquity of computers and smartphones allow people to interact, trust, and exchange value across traditional socio-economic control boundaries and over significant distances. Since the creation in 2008 of a new cryptographic currency system called Bitcoin, a financial technology market sector of about 250 billion USD has rapidly emerged, raising questions about the nature of currency in society and whether new types of non-national money are warranted and viable. This debate has pitted heterodox economic interests against orthodox economic interests while it has rekindled interest in theories that view money as a …

Towards Developing A Goal-Driven Data Integration Framework For Counter-Terrorism Analytics, Dapeng Liu

Theses and Dissertations

Terrorist attacks can cause massive casualties and severe property damage, resulting in terrorism crises surging across the world; accordingly, counter-terrorism analytics that take advantage of big data have been attracting increasing attention. The knowledge and clues essential for analyzing terrorist activities are often spread across heterogeneous data sources, which calls for an effective data integration solution. In this study, employing the goal definition template in the Goal-Question-Metric approach, we design and implement an automated goal-driven data integration framework for counter-terrorism analytics. The proposed design elicits and ontologizes an input user goal of counter-terrorism analytics; recognizes goal-relevant datasets; and addresses semantic …

Comparison Of Hiring Strategies Of Orthodontic Private Practitioners, Steven C. Petritz

Theses and Dissertations

COMPARISON OF HIRING STRATEGIES OF ORTHODONTIC PRIVATE PRACTITIONERS

By Steven C. Petritz, D.D.S.

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Dentistry at Virginia Commonwealth University

Virginia Commonwealth University, 2018

Thesis Director: Bhavna Shroff, D.D.S., M.Dent.Sc., M.P.A.

Virginia Commonwealth University Department of Orthodontics Program Director

Purpose: Evaluate factors that influence hiring outcomes of clinical and non-clinical staff in orthodontic private practices.

Methods: Orthodontists (n=1968) were surveyed regarding their hiring methods and outcomes. Responses were summarized using descriptive statistics. Chi-square tests were used to compare between hiring strategies and outcomes. …

Good Game, Greyory Blake

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis and its corresponding art installation, Lessons from Ziggy, attempts to deconstruct the variables prevalent within several complex systems, analyze their transformations, and propose a methodology for reasserting the soap box within the display pedestal. In this text, there are several key and specific examples of the transformation of various signifiers (i.e. media-bred fear’s transformation into a political tactic of surveillance, contemporary freneticism’s transformation into complacency, and community’s transformation into nationalism as a state weapon). In this essay, all of these concepts are contextualized within the exponential growth of new technologies. That is to say, all of these semiotic …

Consuming Digital Debris In The Plasticene, Stephen R. Parks

Theses and Dissertations

Claims of customization and control by socio-technical industries are altering the role of consumer and producer. These narratives are often misleading attempts to engage consumers with new forms of technology. By addressing capitalist intent, material, and the reproduction limits of 3-D printed objects’, I observe the aspirational promise of becoming a producer of my own belongings through new networks of production. I am interested in gaining a better understanding of the data consumed that perpetuates hyper-consumptive tendencies for new technological apparatuses. My role as a designer focuses on the resolution of not only the surface of the object through 3-D …

The Innovation Makerspace: Geographies Of Digital Fabrication Innovation In Greater New York City, Kathryn Dickerson

Theses and Dissertations

Desktop digital fabrication technology has the potential to powerfully alter the economics, geography, and sociology of production. The desktop technology cannot reach its potential for widespread impact until it improves in quality and decreases in price. Makerspaces have emerged in the United States in the last eight years as informal social organizations where innovation in this technology may be occurring. This study examines whether innovation in digital fabrication technology has occurred, or has the potential to occur, at makerspaces in the New York City area.

A Web Personalization Artifact For Utility-Sensitive Review Analysis, Long Flory Mrs.

Theses and Dissertations

Online customer reviews are web content voluntarily posted by the users of a product (e.g. camera) or service (e.g. hotel) to express their opinions about the product or service. Online reviews are important resources for businesses and consumers. This dissertation focuses on the important consumer concern of review utility, i.e., the helpfulness or usefulness of online reviews to inform consumer purchase decisions. Review utility concerns consumers since not all online reviews are useful or helpful. And, the quantity of the online reviews of a product/service tends to be very large. Manual assessment of review utility is not only time consuming …

Cloud Privacy Audit Framework: A Value-Based Design, David Coss

Theses and Dissertations

The rapid expansion of cloud technology provides enormous capacity, which allows for the collection, dissemination and re-identification of personal information. It is the cloud’s resource capabilities such as these that fuel the concern for privacy. The impetus of these concerns are not too far removed from those expressed by Mason in 1986, when he identified privacy as one of the biggest ethical issues facing the information age. There seems to be continuous ebb and flow relationship with respect to privacy concerns and the development of new information communication technologies such as cloud computing. Privacy issues are a concern to all …

The Emergence Of A Content Acceptance Model (Cam): New Thoughts Regarding The Trial, Adoption, And Usage Of New Media, Ryan G. Walinski

Theses and Dissertations

New Media is defined not by the technology that it is based on but rather on individual level attributes that contribute to the development of new artifacts, practices and social arrangements. However, existing technology adoption models tend to stress technology and organizational level attributes over such individual level characteristics. This suggests that new models are required in order to fully capture how the New Media adoption process works. We are moving away from organizational and technology adoption focus and towards an individual and content adoption focus. A review of existing technology acceptance models reveals that the content provided by these …

The Art And Science Of Discontinuous Innovation: A Case Study In Product Reinvention, Daniel C. Smoot

Theses and Dissertations

Divergence of new and old technologies is a source of tremendous innovation potential. As the dizzying pace of technological innovation accelerates indefinitely into tomorrow, not only do new paths diverge exponentially; doors already opened are increasingly abandoned for the allure of things undiscovered. Mature, late-stage life-cycle products left behind in today's fast-paced world open the floodgates to reinvention. This paper tests the hypothesis that innovativeness can be encouraged through the learning and application of universal innovation principles and processes. The implications of this research area are far-reaching. If innovation can be encouraged, then it can likely be taught. If it …

Coming Full Circle With Boyd's Ooda Loop Ideas: An Analysis Of Innovation Diffusion And Evolution, William S. Angerman

Theses and Dissertations

The Observe-Orient-Decide-Act (OODA) Loop ideas of Air Force Colonel John Boyd have impacted the Department of Defense (DoD), influenced military thought, paved the way for operational change, and helped to shape fighting doctrines. A wide variety of OODA Loop ideas and interpretations exist in the literature, but are unorganized and have not undergone holistic study to determine how Boyd's ideas have spread or changed over time. As such, this research analyzed a quarter century (1976-2003) sample of the OODA Loop literature to examine the diffusion and evolution of OODA Loop ideas since Boyd's original conceptualizations. This research used qualitative data …

Towards A Framework For Understanding Innovation Implementation In The Air Force, Howard E. Byrd Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

Innovation is a major way organizations deal with changes in their competitive environment. The Department of Defense (DoD) too is facing incredible changes and challenges within its competitive environments. This situation is requiring the adopting and implementing of many new innovations in an effort to transform the forces to meet the challenges. A key component of the DoD's efforts to transform is in Air Force acquisition and sustainment processes. Digital technical orders are an example of such a sustainment process. The Air Force has mandated it will transform from a paper based technical data environment to a digital one. The …

Factors Affecting Innovation Within Aeronautical Systems Center (Asc) Organizations - An Inductive Study, Eric D. Feil

Theses and Dissertations

In response to the Air Force transformation movement there is currently a lot of high level interest in instilling cultures that promote innovation and intelligent risk taking in Air Force organizations. This thesis analyzed data collected during the 2002 Chief of Staff of the Air Force Organizational Climate Survey to identify factors that affect innovation within Aeronautical Systems Center (ASC) organizations. A secondary purpose of this study was to identify current enablers or barriers to innovation within these organizations. The first part of the study utilized multiple linear regression to identify the factors within the survey that were most related …