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2023 Annual Report, Tennessee. Governor's Office Of Diversity Business Enterprise, Tennessee. Department Of General Services

Annual Reports

This annual report highlights the purchases and contract awards of the Governor's Office of Diversity Business Enterprise for the fiscal year.

Using Input From Administrative Staff To Make Cost-Effective Decisions For Telecommuting, Technology, And Productivity During The Covid-19 Era, Chika Egemba

West Chester University Doctoral Projects

The purpose of this research was to examine if collaborative technologies enhance productivity in the face of remote work during the COVID-19 era using the diffusion of innovation framework. Dothan Housing is a Moving to Work (MTW) Expansion Agency under the Landlord Incentive Cohort #3. This means the agency was granted certain flexibility to pursue innovation. This research study used a post-positivist philosophy and a quantitative research design to investigate the thoughts, opinions, and feelings of Dothan Housing administrative staff about their experience with telecommuting during the COVID-19 pandemic. The participants were selected from among Dothan Housing staff who were …

It Is Time To Change The Way We Change, Thane Keller

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Seventy percent of organizational change initiatives fail. Among organizations where change and adaptation are necessary for survival, the U.S. military stands at the top. The disparity between desired health and fitness behaviors and actual behaviors is a glaring reminder that change is difficult to implement and that current change systems struggle. Merit-based systems offer a solution by rewarding and reinforcing good behavior to generate lasting change. This paper evaluates Kotter's Change Model and Nudge Theory and found them insufficient because they do not sufficiently address reinforcement learning or the temporal tie between behaviors and rewards for reinforcement. This paper then …

A Design Concept For A Tourism Recommender System For Regional Development, Leyla Gamidullaeva, Alexey Finogeev, Mikhail Kataev, Larisa Bulysheva

Information Technology & Decision Sciences Faculty Publications

Despite of tourism infrastructure and software, the development of tourism is hampered due to the lack of information support, which encapsulates various aspects of travel implementation. This paper highlights a demand for integrating various approaches and methods to develop a universal tourism information recommender system when building individual tourist routes. The study objective is proposing a concept of a universal information recommender system for building a personalized tourist route. The developed design concept for such a system involves a procedure for data collection and preparation for tourism product synthesis; a methodology for tourism product formation according to user preferences; the …

An Experimental Mixed Methods Pilot Study For U.S. Army Infantry Soldiers - Higher Levels Of Combined Immersion And Embodiment In Simulation-Based Training Capabilities Show Positive Effects On Emotional Impact And Relationships To Learning Outcomes, Fred Martin, Jr

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

This pilot study examines the impact of combined immersion and embodiment on learning and emotional outcomes. The results are intended to better enable U.S. Army senior leaders to decide if dismounted infantry Soldiers would benefit from a more immersive simulation-based training capability. The experiment's between-subject design included a sample of 15 participants randomly assigned to one of three system configurations representing different levels of combined immersion and embodiment. The control group was a typical desktop, and the two experimental groups were a typical configuration of a Virtual Reality headset (VR) and a novel configuration using VR supported by an omnidirectional …

Protecting Low-Income Consumers In The Era Of Digital Grocery Shopping: Implications For Wic Online Ordering, Qi Zhang, Priyanka Patel, Caitlin M. Lowery

Community & Environmental Health Faculty Publications

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) is now expected to allow participants to redeem their food benefits online, i.e., via online ordering, rather than only in-store. However, it is unclear how this new benefit redemption model may impact participants’ welfare since vendors may have an asymmetric information advantage compared with WIC customers. The WIC online ordering environment may also change the landscape for WIC vendors, which will eventually affect WIC participants. To protect WIC consumers’ rights in the new online ordering model, policymakers need an appropriate legal and regulatory framework. This narrative review provides that …

A Systematic Review Of Marketing Practices Used In Online Grocery Shopping: Implications For Wic Online Ordering, Leslie Hodges, Caitlin M. Lowery, Priyanka Patel, Joleen Mcinnis, Qi Zhang

Community & Environmental Health Faculty Publications

The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) plans to allow participants to redeem their food package benefits online, i.e., online ordering. As grocery shopping online has become more common, companies have developed strategies to market food products to customers using online (or mobile) grocery shopping platforms. There is a significant knowledge gap in how these strategies may influence WIC participants who choose to shop for WIC foods online. This review examines the relevant literature to (1) identify food marketing strategies used in online grocery shopping platforms, (2) understand how these strategies influence consumer behavior and consumer …

Impact Of Targeted Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion (Dei) Initiatives On The Retention And Graduation Rates Of Students Of Color At Community Colleges, Momoh Sekou Dudu

School of Business Student Theses and Dissertations

In the United States of America, students of color (SOCs) encounter significant barriers when they seek higher education. As a result, many institutions of higher learning pursue diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives to enhance these students’ chances at social and academic attainment. For community colleges across the nation, because they enroll a disproportionately large number of SOCs due to their combination of open enrollment policies, low tuition and geographic proximity, targeted DEI initiatives are a strategy of choice in dealing with their abysmal retention and graduation rates among this student demographic. This dissertation, anchored in sociological-based theoretical frameworks—specifically William …

Improving Financial Resiliency To Provide Accessible Community Services During Emergency Conditions Through Strategic Planning, Maria Elisa Colmenares

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The study site organization lacked financial resilience to ensure the provision of social services to populations reliant on these services, including before, during, and after emergency conditions. The purpose of this mixed-methods case study was to provide strategic planning recommendations to increase financial resilience and describe the unique partnership between the client agency and the nonprofit arm. The study addressed strategies to increase the financial resilience needed to sustain the organization’s core mission, and strategies the agency can use to provide community services before, during, and after emergencies such as COVID-19, hurricanes, or severe storms. A strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and …

The Market For Corporate Criminals, Andrew K. Jennings

Faculty Articles

This Article identifies problems and opportunities at the intersection of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and corporate crime and compliance. In M&A, criminal successor liability is of particular importance, because it is quantitatively less predictable and qualitatively more threatening to buyers than successor liability in tort or contract. Private successor liability requires a buyer to bear bounded economic costs, which can in turn be reallocated to sellers via the contracting process. Criminal successor liability, however, threatens a buyer with non-indemnifiable and potentially ruinous punishment for another firm’s wrongful acts.

This threat may inhibit the marketability of businesses that have criminal exposure, …

How Do Sustainability Stakeholders Seize Climate Risk Premia In The Private Cleantech Sector, Lingyu Li, Xianrong Zheng

Information Technology & Decision Sciences Faculty Publications

This paper explores the strategies and practices of capturing climate risk premia for venture capital (VC) fund managers and entrepreneurs in the private cleantech sector. It also examines the impact of the feed-in tariffs (FITs) policy on the management of cleantech investments. It is shown that a longer investment period, less investment capital in cleantech investment management strategies, and optimistic climate risk management practices will help investors to better capture climate risk premia. In fact, the FITs policy will give rise to VC fund managers and entrepreneurs having a positive view regarding the prospects of the cleantech sector, motivating them …

How A Professional Describes Reasons For Working In And Ultimately Leaving The Foster Care Field In The State Of Missouri: A Case Study, Lauren Williams

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The foster care field continues to have a high turnover rate of the professionals working in the field. While support and work balance are available for some professionals, many face the challenges of heavy workloads, unrealistic expectations, and health sacrifices that lead to many professionals leaving the field. This case study of one former foster care professional’s description of reasons they worked in the field, and reasons they ultimately left the field provides insight of the challenges and support as a foster care professional. The findings of this study are organized into three major themes including “Challenges for Foster Care …

A Case Study Of Joint Accountability Mechanism And Interorganizational Collaboration In Post-Earthquake Haiti, Jude J. Jean-Gilles

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Abstract: The earthquake that hit Haiti on January 12, 2010, caused massive destruction of its capital city Port-au-Prince and its suburbs and killed over a quarter of million people. The recovery period that followed required effectiveness to plan and mobilize resources. The magnitude of the destruction, lack of local recovery plans or previous disaster experience, and scarcity of local resources inspired the creation of the Interim Haiti Recovery Commission (IHRC), a compilation of local and international stakeholders who agreed to collaboratively address the recovery challenges. Several studies have examined post-earthquake recovery initiatives under the leadership of local governments, but having …

Strategies To Reduce The Impact Of Disruptions In Manufacturing Transportation Supply Chains, John Enyabe Ndone

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Abstract

Supply chain managers in the manufacturing transportation industry grapple with reducing the impact of disruptions in transportation supply chains since 50% of U.S. companies have experienced between six to 20 disruptions per year. Ineffective transportation disruption strategies negatively impact the performance and profitability of manufacturing organizations resulting in losses and business failure. Grounded in Goldratt’s philosophy and thinking process of the Theory of Constraints (TOC), the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore successful strategies supply chain managers in the manufacturing transportation industry used to reduce the impact of disruptions in transportation supply chains. The participants …

Public Service Motivation: African American Senior Military Officers Transitioning To Civilian Service, Ansara Todd Burgess

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Motivation plays a crucial role in public organizations in terms of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation as well as moral obligation. While considerable efforts over the past several decades have led to vast improvements in federal workforce diversification, significant problems still exist involving diversity management and racial representation across all levels of federal government employment. The theoretical framework guiding this study was public service motivation. The purpose of this study was to explore the U.S. federal government’s inability to attract and retain senior executive service African Americans through lived experiences of retired African American military officers who currently work for the …

Resource Development Swot Analysis To Improve Organizational Sustainability For A Grassroots Nonprofit Organization, Felicia Rosetta Frances Wilson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There are approximately 1.54 million nonprofit organizations in the United States. However, without a resource development plan in place, or unforeseen emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic, some nonprofits struggle to meet annual fundraising goals. The purpose of study was to conduct a strength, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis of an organization’s fundraising plans to assist in creating an annual resource development plan. This qualitative case study explored nonprofits within black and brown communities as to what they needed to generate and maintain funding greater than $500,000. Five interviews were conducted among organization leaders, managers, program coordinators, program directors, …

Improving Safety Service Patrol Performance, Mecit Cetin, Hong Yang, Kun Xie, Sherif Ishak, Guocong Zhai, Junqing Wang, Giridhar Kattepogu

Civil & Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Safety Service Patrols (SSPs) provide motorists with assistance free of charge on most freeways and some key primary roads in Virginia. This research project is focused on developing a tool to help the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) optimize SSP routes and schedules (hereafter called SSP-OPT). The computational tool, SSP-OPT, takes readily available data (e.g., corridor and segment lengths, turnaround points, average annual daily traffic) and outputs potential SSP configurations that meet the desired criteria and produce the best possible performance metrics for a given corridor. At a high level, the main components of the developed tool include capabilities to: …

Towards Smart Cities As Innovation Systems: The Case Of Macau Sar, Yujia He

Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce Faculty Publications

Smart cities are emerging as major engines for deploying intelligent systems to enhance urban development and contribute to the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. The rise of smart city initiatives is not only seen in North America and Europe but also increasingly in Asia and across the developing world which faces rapid urbanization and technological change. Home to the UNU Institute in Macau, the city of Macau is a special administrative region (SAR) of China where “the East meets the West” in local governance, economy, and society. Our research article, recently published in the Journal of Urban Affairs, …

Digital Energy Platforms Considering Digital Privacy And Security By Design Principles, Umit Cali, Marthe Fogstad Dynge, Ahmed Idries, Sambeet Mishra, Ivanko Dmytro, Naser Hashemipour, Murat Kuzlu, Aleksandra Mileva (Ed.), Steffen Wendzel (Ed.), Virginia Franqueira (Ed.)

Engineering Technology Faculty Publications

The power system and markets have become increasingly complex, along with efforts to digitalize the energy sector. Accessing flexibility services, in particular, through digital energy platforms, has enabled communication between multiple entities within the energy system and streamlined flexibility market operations. However, digitalizing these vast and complex systems introduces new cybersecurity and privacy concerns, which must be properly addressed during the design of the digital energy platform ecosystems. More specifically, both privacy and cybersecurity measures should be embedded into all phases of the platform design and operation, based on the privacy and security by design principles. In this study, these …

The Negative Impacts Of Border Patrol On The Mental Health Of Migrants, Breyana M. Newton

Pell Scholars and Senior Theses

The research in this paper is a deep dive into the actions of Border Patrol on migrants and refugees and their effects on the individual. This includes impacts on mental health, child development, resettlement prevention, and racism and discrimination within border patrol itself. To understand all of this and how wide reaching all of this goes there needs to be a reflection on the history and policies of Border Patrol and the Government behind it.
The problem with patrolling our borders is that there are consequences on the U.S. as a nation and unintended consequences on those individuals migrating into …

Female Lawyers Don’T Need Pity; They Need A Paycheck, Meagan S. Bilodeau

Pell Scholars and Senior Theses

Whether it's pity or patronization female lawyers have often been criticized. They're visualized on the lower level of the patriarchal hierarchy system in the Hollywood courtroom. However, women that hold emotional intelligence don't need pity. Emotional intelligence encompasses how to set boundaries, stay motivated, hold healthy relationships inside and outside the courtroom, as well as maintain self-regulation. Through analysis of the biographical films Erin Brockovich, On the Basis of Sex, and The Mauritanian this study explores how extensively psychological resilience subfactors are depicted, proving whether or not female lawyers are emotionally prepared to succeed in their noteworthy cases.

A Precedent For Peace: The Role Of All Children Together In The Integration Of Northern Irish Schools, Sarah J. Kraus

Pell Scholars and Senior Theses

Established in County Down, Northern Ireland in the early 1970s, All Children Together was an organization comprised of both Protestant and Catholic parents who wished to see children from both denominations interact and be educated alongside one another. In 1981, the organization successfully established Lagan College, Northern Ireland’s very first school with a shared curriculum designed to accommodate children from both denominations. This work situates the organization within the greater context of the Troubles and examines the extent to which school integration played a role in Northern Irish community relations during a period of political and social upheaval.

Exposing Endo: Labor Abuse And Exploitation On Contractual Workers In The Philippines, Olivia M. Fisher

Pell Scholars and Senior Theses

Article 281 states that workers must be put on a probationary period for 6 months of employment before receiving benefits. ENDO-contracting is the situation where corporations hire workers on 5 to 6-month contracts to avoid paying their workers benefits. This research will be conducted using qualitative data from past research publications, court cases, and interviewing anti-ENDO advocates. The historical summary will explain the origins of this law and how it has progressed into common labor practice. ENDO- contracting disproportionately affects the low-wage workforce and deprives them of regular employee benefits. The lack of these benefits has created poor working conditions …

Disparities In Mental Health Technology Among African Americans: Breaking Cultural Inclusion Barriers, Nyoki Cosey-Brown

DSW Capstone Projects

Mental health technology is a healthcare delivery model of the future. The engagement in virtual healthcare was intensified when traditional healthcare methods were inaccessible during the federal restrictions implemented due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Utilizing digital apparatuses for healthcare improved the convenience, efficiency, and accessibility of various mental health services that were inoperable in past healthcare models. However, the historical constructs of stigma, discrimination, inequity, exclusion, and structural racism in mental healthcare were prevalent problems that remained present in virtual mental health platforms concerning the experiences of African-American patients and professionals who utilized the spaces.

This research explored mental health …

A Model Of Build Back Better Utilization: Long-Term Recovery Groups And Post-Disaster Housing Recovery, Eduardo Landaeta, Jesse Richman

Political Science & Geography Faculty Publications

Housing recovery, especially for vulnerable populations, can be a challenging process. Questions regarding whether to rebuild damaged housing and whether to restore it to its previous state or to build back better must be answered. In the United States, Long-Term Recovery Groups (LTRGs) play a crucial role in channeling assistance to vulnerable community members as they embark on housing recovery. However, the experiences of LTRGs have been understudied. To address this gap, the study utilizes interviews with a diverse range of LTRG members and develops an agent-based model following the Overview, Design concepts, and Details (ODD) protocol. The results highlight …

Policy Innovation As The Cornerstone Of Energy Transition: An Analysis Of Energy Policy In The Shipping Economy And Operations, Peyman Ghaforian Masodzadeh

World Maritime University Ph.D. Dissertations

Despite being excluded from most climate change treaties, the maritime sector is expected to manage and reduce carbon emissions in line with global decarbonization goals. Although the IMO's effort has been evident by the adoption of energy regulations and the GHG strategy during the past decade, however, the effectiveness and adequacy of the adopted energy policy remain questionable. This thesis aims to identify problems associated with energy policy in the shipping industry and propose appropriate solutions. Initially, this study was premised on the hypothesis that “energy policy in the shipping industry involves problems associated with policy design, policy implementation, and …

What Gives? Leveraging Marketing Knowledge To Increase Consumers’ Charitable Giving, Caitlin Michael

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Marketing plays a central role in nonprofit organizations that compete for the donations of individual consumers to achieve their respective missions. To this end, marketing researchers and practitioners have devoted much attention to the antecedents of charitable giving and ways in which solicitations may be made more effective and efficient. This gives rise to the questions: “What has the field learned?” and, relatedly, “What novel effects have not yet been explored?” Within this dissertation, three essays address these questions through the use of multiple methodologies.

The first essay seeks to outline what the marketing field has learned about consumers’ charitable …

2023 January, Morehead State University. Office Of Communications & Marketing.

Morehead State Press Release Archive, 1961 to the Present

Press releases for January of 2023.

The Experiences Of Women Executive Leaders In A Leadership Development Program, Angela Ivy Gustus

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The host organization is a nonprofit that has a mission of supporting the work of 19 other separate organizations, 47% of which are run by women. The problem addressed in this research is the host organization’s lack of knowledge related to how to create a leadership development program that will maintain or increase the current gender diversity. The purpose of this research was to gather information about the current leaders to inform the creation of a leadership development program for the host organization based on research conducted at Harvard University. The aim was to understand the experiences of the women …

A Case Study Of Joint Accountability Mechanism And Interorganizational Collaboration In Post-Earthquake Haiti, Jude J. Jean-Gilles

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Abstract: The earthquake that hit Haiti on January 12, 2010, caused massive destruction of its capital city Port-au-Prince and its suburbs and killed over a quarter of million people. The recovery period that followed required effectiveness to plan and mobilize resources. The magnitude of the destruction, lack of local recovery plans or previous disaster experience, and scarcity of local resources inspired the creation of the Interim Haiti Recovery Commission (IHRC), a compilation of local and international stakeholders who agreed to collaboratively address the recovery challenges. Several studies have examined post-earthquake recovery initiatives under the leadership of local governments, but having …