Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Essays On Corporate Debt Structure, Kyuyoung Oh

Theses and Dissertations--Finance and Quantitative Methods

The dissertation consists of three chapters exploring three different facets of corporate debt structure choice. In the first chapter, “Risk Management and the Choice between Secured and Unsecured Debt: Evidence from Natural Experiment,” I study whether and how corporate hedging affects firms’ choice between secured and unsecured debt. Exploiting the introduction of steel futures as a natural experiment, I provide causal evidence that risk management enables firms to switch from secured to unsecured debt without sacrificing debt capacity. Cross-sectional evidence supports the interpretation that risk management drives the results. The effects are stronger for firms that are more likely to …

Three Essays On Health, Food, And Agricultural Economics, Saber Feizy

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

This dissertation comprises three distinct but interrelated projects that explore the intersection of agriculture, nutrition, and economics. The first project investigates the impact of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) food programs on the health outcomes of its participants. Using fixed effects models and a matching algorithm, the study finds that while conventional fixed effects models indicate a significant effect of CSA participation on diet-related medical expenditures, our modified time-heterogenous fixed effects model did not find a meaningful effect. The results of the matching method are consistent with those of our modified model.

The second project examines racial disparities in the prevalence …

Consumers’ Responses To New Technologies In The Marketplace, Umair Usman

Theses and Dissertations--Marketing and Supply Chain

Chapter 1. This research examines whether the use of blockchain technology to back a brand’s claims (i.e., blockchain augmented claims) influences consumer preference for sustainable products. Consumers are demanding higher levels of transparency from brands and are also showing keen interest in consuming sustainable products, which includes products that promote social, environmental and economic sustainability. Recent advancement in digital technology, specifically blockchain, is offering an opportunity for brands to meet both these consumer demands. In five laboratory studies, I demonstrate that blockchain augmented claims, as compared to traditional industry practices (i.e., use of third-party labels and brand’s self-made claims), increases …

Consumer Measures Of Local Food System Performance And Shopping Behavior Across Covid, Azita Varziri

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

This dissertation consists of three essays: In the first essay, we utilize a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to measure the residents’ perceptions of the local food system performance. Local food system (LFS) components are classified into related measures that may help explain the overall performance scores provided. LFS performance measures are explored across 15 different communities in the U.S. South. The second essay explores the awareness and performance differences toward farmers markets, including the markets themselves and the corresponding local food product quality, product diversity, and markets infrastructure across different age-range groups and community sizes in Southern states. Finally, in …

The Role Of Organizational Leaders In Employee Self-Care: A Change Management Approach, Olivia Dawn Honaker

DSW Capstone Projects

Although literature demonstrates that helping professionals have had high levels of stress and burnout for decades, the COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated the issue. The already burdened healthcare workers, now facing increased workloads, long hours, and high-level exposure to trauma, have created an urgency to address this significant risk to helping professionals. The current capstone will bring awareness to organizational leaders regarding the importance of employee self-care and the benefits of implementing employee self-care programs. First, a systematic literature review will examine self-care in helping professions and explore how organizational leaders operationalize employee self-care programs. In addition, the capstone aims …

Pray And Play: The Impact Of Fellowship Of Christian Athletes Among Di African American Collegiate Football Players In Kentucky, Rasheed Flowers

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation

Participation in athletics provides student-athletes with opportunities to further themselves outside of athletics through academic assistance, educational opportunities and experiences, physical wellness, and personal/professional development. One often overlooked portion of this holistic development is spiritual development. As demonstrated in the name student-athlete, it implies a dual identity. Few student-athletes navigate multiple identities and a myriad of additional challenges in their collegiate journey than African American football student-athletes (AAFSAs). Spiritual development is vital for student-athletes; the literature validates that student-athletes growing in their faith may be better equipped to navigate the tension of multiple identity roles and cope with various circumstances. …

Three Essays On Price Analysis And International Trade, Wei Zhang

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

The first chapter of this dissertation examines price discovery and volatility spillovers in the coffee spot-futures commodity market over the post-ICA period by employing the PT-IS and bivariate EGARCH models. This research covers two actively traded coffee types, Arabica and Robusta, and utilizes daily time-series price data over 1990:01-2020:04 for Arabica and over 2008:01-2020:04 for Robusta. The empirical results indicate that coffee spot markets play a dominant role in the coffee price discovery for both Arabica and Robusta. The results also show volatility spillovers take place from the coffee spot market to the futures markets. This study helps small-scale coffee …

Political Economy Of The Production Of Heritage Space In A Centro Histórico: Attracting Real Estate Capital, Expelling People. The Case Of Cartagena (Colombia), Camilo Rey-Sabogal

Theses and Dissertations--Geography

Cartagena is a South American city whose historical built environment has been recognized as a World Heritage Site due to the preservation of elements of the Spanish military architecture of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. This recognition promoted a tourist and real estate boom in the Centro Histórico and, as a result, its inhabitants have faced gentrification dynamics that are expelling them to other areas of the city. During the last 15 years, these dynamics have shown a strong acceleration. Therefore, the Centro Histórico is experiencing, on the one hand, huge inflows of capital for the purchase of properties …

Essays On Evasion And Enforcement In Value Added Tax (Vat), Syed Jawad Ali Shah

Theses and Dissertations--Public Policy and Administration

Value added tax (VAT) based on credit invoice system is the most common consumption tax in the world. Despite its self-regulating nature, VAT faces challenges in developing countries who have limited state capacity to check evasion and enforce tax on informal sectors of the economy. The tax authorities introduce policy interventions that can target the evasive behavior of firms interacting with informal sectors. My dissertation seeks to provide insight into three such policy reforms in Pakistan’s VAT regime. Therefore, this dissertation is composed of three essays.

In first essay of my dissertation, titled “Using Computerization to enforce VAT: Evidence from …

What You Do Or What You Say? An Examination Of Analyst Reactions To Prototypical And Non-Prototypical Ceos Linguistic And Competitive Behaviors, Courtney Hart

Theses and Dissertations--Management

Non-prototypical CEOs are those that process different demographic characteristics from a target reference group. In the US, a non-prototypical CEO is both white and male. While the negative responses to non-prototypical leaders based on race and gender have been well documented, we know less on what these leaders do that may influence biased evaluations. In this dissertation I took an impression management view to examine analysts’ evaluative bias (AEB) on prototypical and non-prototypical CEOs hiding linguistic behaviors and competitive aggressiveness. Specifically, I examined hiding linguistic behaviors on quarterly conference calls and two attributes of competitive repertoire will be researched. Drawing …

Catalyzing Change In Higher Education: Social Capital And Network Leadership In The Competency-Based Education Network, Bruce William Haupt Jr.

Theses and Dissertations--Education Sciences

Collaborative inter-organizational networks can be effective at catalyzing and supporting the generation and diffusion of new models and practices. With shared purpose, structure, and resources, network organizations can facilitate knowledge exchange and the growth of inter-organizational relationships. In this study, I sought to better understand how network organizations influence social capital and the spread of innovative practices. Of particular interest were the roles of national network and sub-national network organizations (sub-networks), and the interactive learning processes of network newcomers. I focused on the diverse array of colleges and universities involved in the Competency-Based Education Network (C-BEN), and their efforts to …

Becoming Gentrifier/D: Aesthetics, Subjectivities, And Rhythms Of Gentrification In Seoul, South Korea, Myung In Ji

Theses and Dissertations--Geography

Gentrification has been extensively studied beyond Euro-American societies. In particular, previous research of Seoul’s residential gentrification has broadened our understanding of the role of the developmental state and property speculation in urban clearance and renewal. However, little attention has been paid to the contemporary retail gentrification in Seoul that has different aesthetics, subjectivities, and rhythms compared to residential gentrification. In retail gentrification, old urban neighborhoods are no longer demolished but cherished with their nostalgic landscapes and atmospheres. In this context, this dissertation project explores Seochon, a gentrifying neighborhood in Seoul, that was designated as a cultural heritage site in 2010. …

Three Essays On Entry Barriers And Incentives In Labor Markets, Samuel Ingram

Theses and Dissertations--Economics

Occupational choice at the margin depends on both the incentives for entry and barriers to entry. The primary entry barrier determined by regulation is an occupational license. These are government laws determining the minimum qualifications to enter an occupation including education, testing, fees, and background checks. These regulations are currently enforced on 25% of the US labor market. The laws are crafted to protect consumers from unsafe goods and services but also have important consequences in labor market outcomes. The consequences may include fewer workers entering the profession, changes to which workers enter the profession, and altering competition, all of …

Evaluating Kentucky State Pension Plans In The 2000s And Best Practices Moving Forward, Sarah Alegria

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

The Commonwealth of Kentucky sponsors three different pension retirement systems. This includes Kentucky Employee Retirement System, Teacher’s Retirement System, and Kentucky’s Judicial Form of Retirement System. Kentucky has one of the worst funded pension retirement plans and is currently facing shortfalls of about $43 billion (PEW, 2013). Between 1998-2008, Commonwealth of Kentucky’s legislators made many detrimental policy decisions that negatively affected its Pension Retirement System. The most impacting includes:

• Enhancements of Benefits in the Nineties
• Changing Final Compensation from the average of five-years to the average of three-years
• Mandated Yearly Cost of Living Adjustments (COLA)
• Not requiring the State to …

An Analysis Of Mergers And Acquisitions In Non-Profit Organizations, Shakiyla K. Davis

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

This paper hypothesizes that poor planning of merger or acquisitions will lead to increased issues within the organization. To effectively examine the hypothesis, the paper provides an overview of mergers and acquisitions. The paper highlights the process and considerations of a merger and acquisition and uses examples to provide insight on successful and unsuccessful partnerships.

The Effect Of State-Level Constitutional Debt Limitations On The Costs Of Capital, Micah Johnson

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Forty-five states have adopted some form of constitutional limitation on their own legislature’s ability to issue debt and raise capital. Eleven states have more than one such limitation. It seems intuitive to assume that constitutional strictures on a state’s ability to manage its fiscal policy would affect that state’s standing in the market, and it seems equally safe to assume that different combinations of the various forms of debt limitation would lead to varying effects in the market from state to state. However, the specific effects arising from the various constitutional provisions have proven to be difficult to measure. This …

Analyzing Public Relations As A Strategic Management Function At Sec Universities, Whitney Harder

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

A changing higher education landscape – rising costs, competition and skepticism – coupled with a changing media and communications landscape – a 24/7 news cycle with fewer local journalists, new technology and the expectation of instant and constant communication – have pushed universities to try to become more effective and efficient in telling their institutional stories to multiple stakeholder groups. Institutional leaders are concerned about how higher education and their institutions present public value and communicate their impact on both the students they graduate and their communities. But how are they using public relations and communications to deliver solutions for …

Analysis Of The Performance Of The Korean Government’S R&D Subsidy For Small Businesses, Soonjae Kwon

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Investment in Research and Development (R&D) is one of the most significant governmental activities. Many countries including Korea continue the R&D investment in various fields such as defense, environment, and medical care. In addition, the Korean government has a plan to significantly expand R&D investment for small businesses because the growth of small businesses is considered as an important factor for economic development such as new job creation. Since the government budget is a finite resource in which various departments compete for the budget, the budget increase of a program can be justified when the government grants lead to better …

The Local Government Financial Response To Natural Disasters In Kentucky, Lucas Taulbee

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

This study seeks to estimate the effect of disasters on the total receipts and total spending of county governments in Kentucky. In addition to estimating the effects of disasters on total receipts and total spending, this study also seeks to estimate the effects of disasters on specific categories of revenue (taxes, intergovernmental, etc.) and spending (transportation, recreation, general government, etc.). These effects are estimated using data on county budgets for 2007 through 2017 from the Kentucky Department for Local Government (DLG) and data on disaster declarations and public assistance grants from FEMA.

The principle findings of this study suggest that: …

An Analysis Of Kentucky School Activity Fund Requirements For Internal Controls And Segregation Of Duties Compared With National Standards And Requirements In Surrounding States, Marla J. Carnes

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Across the United States, K-12 school systems receive and disburse a significant amount of funds at the school level. These funds are classified as school activity funds and may be broken into two distinct categories: 1) student activity funds and 2) district activity funds. Student activity funds are generally derived from fundraising activities of students to support a particular student group or organization such as the Y-Club, senior class, or student council. District activity funds are generated in the normal course of school business and may include funds such as locker fees, parking permit fees, school picture sales, or vending …

Consumer Embarrassment – A Meta-Analytic Review And Experimental Examination, Alexander H. Ziegler

Theses and Dissertations--Marketing and Supply Chain

This dissertation consists of two essays that discuss the influence of embarrassment on consumers. In the first essay, I examine consumers’ coping responses to embarrassment in a meta-analytic review. In essay two, I utilize an experimental approach to investigate the impact of embarrassing encounters on unrelated consumers who merely observe the situation.

In the first essay, the meta-analysis is guided by findings in the literature that demonstrate embarrassment can both promote and detract from consumer well-being. However, despite being investigated for decades, little is known about how consumers cope with embarrassing situations, and when and why consumers respond in positive …

Analyzing The Presence Of State-Run Retirement Plans For Private Sector Employees, Ruthann Froberg

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

State-run retirement plans for non-covered private sector employees are a rapidly growing area of state policy. Since 2010, the majority of states in the U.S. have moved to either examine, enact, or implement these plans. This policy intends to increase private savings in an effort to reduce future reliance on public assistance and Social Security. Despite the current public policy interest, there is a lack of research evaluating the impact of plans or common state characteristics that are associated movement in this policy area. This capstone focuses on answering the latter question. Using state-level demographic, pension, welfare, and policy data, …

Social Media Usages In Small Not-For-Profit Organizations, Sarah Nolan

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Effective social media management takes time, effort, and intentionality. Small not-for-profit organizations would benefit from doing this, but often have difficulty with being able to do so. In order to find out how small not-for-profit organizations use their social media and how social media could best be used to accomplish their mission, the following research questions were asked: What communications policies and procedures are followed by small not-for-profits organizations? Are the current social media practices of these organizations effective? What are the primary needs of these organizations in terms of social media and how can they be addressed?

In order …

Three Essays On The Application Of Machine Learning Methods In Economics, Abdelaziz Lawani

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

Over the last decades, economics as a field has experienced a profound transformation from theoretical work toward an emphasis on empirical research (Hamermesh, 2013). One common constraint of empirical studies is the access to data, the quality of the data and the time span it covers. In general, applied studies rely on surveys, administrative or private sector data. These data are limited and rarely have universal or near universal population coverage. The growth of the internet has made available a vast amount of digital information. These big digital data are generated through social networks, sensors, and online platforms. These data …

Quitting Together: Formative Research To Develop A Social Marketing Plan For Smoking Cessation Among Women In A Residential Treatment Facility For Substance Abuse Recovery, August D. Anderson

Theses and Dissertations--Communication

Both smoking addiction and illicit substance abuse are prevalent issues in the United States today. Furthermore, these are issues that have significant impact on women’s health and mental state. Despite research that shows that smoking cessation coupled with substance abuse recovery can decrease likelihood of relapse post-recovery, few substance abuse recovery facilities today offer smoking cessation programming options. To address the issue of smoking addiction on top of substance abuse recovery, formative research was conducted through this study to determine the underlying causes of smoking habits coupled with recovery efforts and the attitudes. Through focus group sessions with women in …

Budweiser In The 2017 Super Bowl: Dialectic Values Advocacy And The Rhetorical Stakeholder, Benjamin P. Windholz

Theses and Dissertations--Communication

Organizational-public relations discourse is changing given the advent of social media, and corporate statements are evaluated under different criteria in the digital age. Grounding Budweiser’s response to controversy over their 2017 Super Bowl advertisement in terms of consumer expectations for corporate social responsibility provides a new perspective for approaching Bostdorff and Vibbert’s (1994) conceptualization of values advocacy. This study recognizes the power of the rhetorical stakeholder, a discursively created public, and demands re-evaluation of the values common to society from a co-creational OPR perspective. Conceptualizing dialectic values advocacy outlines the changing values among contemporary, common stakeholders as well as the …

School Day Extension And Female Labor Supply: The Case Of The Dominican Republic, Patricia Mones

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Since 2012 the Dominican education authorities have been transitioning the schools from a four-hour to an eight-hour per day schedule. As time spent in school is a proxy of childcare, the extension translates into a childcare cost reduction for participating families. Considering the long-studied relationship between childcare costs and mothers’ labor decisions, this study explores the effect of the implementation of the new school schedule on female labor supply both to the extensive and to the intensive margins in the Dominican Republic. Results suggest higher shares of students attending the new schedule within a municipal district are associated with a …

Three Essays On Financial Collaboration In The Government And Nonprofit Sectors, Saerim Kim

Theses and Dissertations--Public Policy and Administration

The primary objective of this dissertation is to study the management of public and nonprofit resources and financial risk. Governments will be able to use its findings to continue to provide public services in collaboration with other sectors, including the nonprofit sector. Nonprofit financial self-sufficiency and sub-award grant mechanisms between the government and nonprofit sectors are two primary areas to be examined. This dissertation consists of three essays. The first investigates how the diversification of nonprofit revenue portfolios influences extreme revenue risks; the results show that the chance of extreme revenue loss increases when revenue sources are highly correlated to …

Municipal Responses To The Shifting Environment Of Shopping Mall Retail, Paul Kleier Iii

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

Economic development is a vital local government responsibility because it guides the provision of jobs for residents, markets for the purchase of goods, and revenue for the government itself. Shopping malls have been key drivers of local economic activity for decades, but their viability going forward has become uncertain since the turn of the century. This paper considers both reasons for this uncertainty and strategies that have been or can be implemented to improve mall sustainability and profitability. While literature addressing this topic focuses almost exclusively on the role played by mall management, this paper places special emphasis on the …

Determining Millennial Food Buying Preferences: Based On Product Marketing With “Buzzwords”, Victoria N. Hamilton

Theses and Dissertations--Community & Leadership Development

This research focuses on the importance on the Millennial Generation and their perceptions of food buzzwords. Since the Millennial Generation is the largest group purchasing and preparing their own foods, the food industry is becoming dependent on their buying preferences. A survey reflected the participants’ demographics and their buying preferences based on a series of food buzzwords when they are purchasing foods. Results show the Millennial Generation prefers “local” buzzwords. As the Millennial Generation continues to purchase foods for themselves and their families, it can be expected their choices will encourage others to do the same based on their family …