Scholars @Bentley (Bentley University)
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Under-representation of Hispanics in Gifted Education : A Look across State Lines
Get PDFThis paper is the first to test a national panel data set of Hispanic enrollments in gifted education. Using data from 2002-2010, it is found that lower education budgets have a disproportionately negative impact on Hispanics and differences across states in learning disability programs may lower Hispanic gifted enrollments. Larger Hispanic student populations do not seem to be a significant factor across states, but have a negative effect within states over time. Graduating a high percentage of Hispanic students increases gifted program enrollments. Identification of students as learning disabled needs to be reexamined in the context of race/ethnicity as well. JEL Classification: I21, I2
Air Traffic Communications in Routine and Emergency Contexts: A Case Study of Flight 1549 ‘Miracle on the Hudson’
Get PDFThis paper is a conversation analytic investigation of Air Traffic Control (ATC) communications with U.S. Air Flight 1549 and other flights before, during, and after a critical emergency in which the plane (safely) landed in the Hudson River. While foundational conversation analytic research on air traffic communications has already been done, this method has not yet been systematically applied to air traffic communications during actual emergencies. This project will therefore fill a gap in previous research by analyzing ATC/plane interactions during an actual emergency and investigating whether routinized procedures alone are the most effective when emergency situations occur. I will show how routine interactional conventions in this work setting (e.g., the use of scripted talk and ‘positional’ grammar) help participants to maintain the safe flow of air traffic and to accommodate emergencies when they occur. I will show that during the critical emergency the ATCO and the pilot of Flight 1549 switched from a routinized (scripted) form of interaction to a conversational form of interaction, and at times to a ‘hybrid’ format which combined elements of routine ATC talk with elements of the speech exchange system of ordinary conversation
Essays on Networks of Influence - Discovering Insight through Social Network Analysis
Get PDFSocial network analysis (SNA) is a set of methods used for the examination of the relations found in social structures. While SNA has been used to study business for over 100 years, with early work showing the structure of organizational charts, it has experienced resurgent interest recently with the advances in computing power that allow for much more complex examination of these networks.
This research demonstrates how the use of SNA yields novel insights in three different situations. In study 1 we apply SNA to take a fresh look at U.S. State gubernatorial power. We introduce and implement a weighted network model by which state agency appointments can be examined. Instead of taking a governor-centric approach, as has been the practice, we construct and examine the whole appointment network. Our work shows that continuing with the existing practices will yield misleading results; we propose an alternative and more holistic view of these networks which better illustrates the changing nature of the structure of state government. In study 2 we explore and compare interlocked corporate boards in the U.S. and Europe over a period of 10 years (2001-2010). This longitudinal study examines, through the lens of the interlocked board network, whether the Mizruchi hypothesis, according to which the power of the corporate elite is disintegrating, holds. In study 3, we continue with the theme of interlocked boards but now consider the problem of how to test for statistical significance in network change over time. Our proposed model extends a Bayesian model beyond a pairwise analysis and allows for testing over a multi-year period. We apply and test our model with the interlocked director network in the U.S. over a period of 10 years (2001-2010), but this model is domain independent and can be applied anywhere a network is being examined longitudinally
The Place of the Dog in the Family: A Comparative Case Study of Dog Adoption
Get PDFThis paper explores how perspectives on the appropriate place of the dog in the family shape the practice and experience of dog adoption. This research is based on a comparative case study of a traditional shelter and an independent animal rescue organization. The data were collected through participant observation and interviews with directors and volunteers at these organizations, and with people who adopted dogs through shelter or independent animal rescue organizations. The independent rescue organizations tended to use “dog-centric” discourse to describe the relationship between the dog and its prospective family, while the traditional animal shelter and some adoptive families used “human-centric” discourse. These perspectives were tied to the adoption practices of the organizations and individuals’ experiences while adopting a dog. The implications of these findings for the practice of dog adoption are discussed, and suggestions for shelters and animal rescue organizations are presented
Is \u27Equal Pay for Equal Work\u27 Merely a Principle of Nondiscrimination?
Get PDFShould people who perform equal work receive equal pay? Most would say ‘yes’, at least insofar as this question is understood to be asking whether employers should be permitted to discriminate against employees on the basis of race or sex. But suppose the employees belong to all of the same traditionally protected groups. Is (what I call) nondiscriminatory unequal pay for equal work wrong? Drawing an analogy with price discrimination, I argue that it is not intrinsically wrong, but it can be deceptive, in which case it is wrong
The Expansion of Conscious Capitalism into the Marketing World: Do Marketing Managers Practice \u27Conscious\u27 Marketing?
Get PDFConscious capitalism is a business philosophy that, through its four foundational principles – higher purpose, stakeholder integration, conscious leadership, and conscious culture and management – reflects a move to elevating marketing to a higher level. Combining the axioms of service-dominant (S-D) logic with the tenets of conscious capitalism, the construct “conscious marketing” is developed. Conscious marketing is the manifestation of conscious capitalism in a marketing context, seen through the lens of S-D logic and influenced by a stakeholder orientation to marketing.
This research defines and delves into the meaning of the conscious marketing construct informed by extant literature, and develops a model of the determinants, consequences, and dichotomies of conscious marketing based on qualitative field research with senior executives of conscious capitalism companies. Using a theoretical sampling and theories-in-use approach, this research contributes new theory that both reflects marketing practice in firms, and informs the continuing evolution of that practice. xi The overarching question to be answered by this research is ‘How do marketing managers practice conscious marketing?’ The first essay contains a thorough review of the S-D logic and conscious capitalism literature from which the conscious marketing construct is developed. The conscious marketing construct is defined and explained: it is a firm’s capability to assume responsibility for, direct activity towards, and effectively communicate the long term value-in-use of its offerings and contributions to the well-being of its entire network of stakeholders. The second essay addresses how “conscious” marketers view and treat customers and other stakeholders. Qualitative interview data and a theory-in-use approach are used to construct a conscious marketing model, consisting of determinants and consequences of a conscious approach to marketing. This research also resulted in the discovery of tensions or dichotomies resulting from a firm’s application of conscious capitalism principles to marketing. The third essay develops measurement items for the key factors that determine the degree of conscious marketing within firms. It lays the foundation for the construction of a Conscious Marketing Index, presenting the results of a pretest and item purification process and the resulting multiple indicators and multiple causes (MIMIC) model
Correlates of Ethical Sensitivity and Reasoning and Their Potential Influence on Accounting Education
Get PDFThis dissertation consists of three studies investigating the impact of accounting ethics interventions on graduate students in accountancy. This dissertation relies primarily on neo-Kohlbergian theory and Rest’s framework of ethical behavior (Rest 1979, 1986) because this framework has figured prominently in the body of accounting and auditing research on ethics and professionalism.
The first study reviews and synthesizes the current state of the literature regarding accounting ethics. This literature review starts with definitions and follows with a history and evolution of ethics theories, with an emphasis on neo-Kohlbergian theory, Rest’s Four Component Model of ethical behavior, the Defining Issues Test (DIT) for the empirical measure of ethical behavior components, and the application of this theory, model, and measurement method to accounting ethics research. This review concludes by identifying gaps that need to be addressed in DIT related accounting research literature, including examining DIT metrics not previously applied in accounting ethics research studies, and further investigating the relationship between ethical sensitivity and reasoning.
The second study examines the changes in graduate accounting students’ ethical reasoning as a result of an ethics educational intervention in a graduate level accounting course by investigating DIT metrics seldom used in the accounting ethics context. These metrics include the Consolidation/Transition development stages, the Utilizer, or U score, Religiosity, and Humanitarian Liberalism. Overall, the results of this study indicate that an ethics intervention improves ethical reasoning, but not with all metrics investigated.
The third study investigates the association between accounting students’ ethical sensitivity using Haywood et al.’s (2004) recently developed Ethics Bingo Game and ethical reasoning using selected DIT metrics. This study finds little support for significant correlation between ethical sensitivity using the Bingo Game results and ethical reasoning using selected DIT metrics. This study also finds group performance to positively and significantly influence ethical sensitivity, and that a high association exists between the best individual performer in a group and overall group performance. This dissertation’s final chapter discusses summary findings, and study limitations, and conclusions, including accounting ethics research opportunities to explore in the future
Information Technology Audits by Internal Auditors: Exploring the Evolution of Integrated IT Audits
Get PDFThe Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) defines integrated auditing as auditing that looks at more than one aspect of the area under review; which may include financial, operational, information technology (IT), compliance, environmental, and/or fraud related audit objectives. I examine the internal auditing function’s (IAF’s) use of integrated IT auditing and provide evidence of how internal auditors’ IT audit activities contribute to IT governance, a critical subset of corporate governance. Importantly, increased understanding of these IT audit practices assists educators in curriculum design reflective of practitioner needs.
I have three interrelated studies. The first synthesizes literature through an historical lens to answer the question: “How has the practice of IT auditing evolved within the IAF?” Including literature supporting interrelationships between accounting, technology, regulation, and competing/cooperating classes of auditors; I present a history of internal auditors’ IT audit activities while examining how these interactions reflect Abbott’s (1988) system of professions. I conclude with proposing opportunities for future research.
The second study qualitatively examines current internal auditors’ IT audit practices; triangulating content analysis from an ISACA provided dataset, publicly available interview-based Protiviti reports, and my own exploratory interviews. Results indicate internal auditors’ IT audits are expanding in scope and vary based on organizational context. I argue that integrated IT auditing takes on two forms, parallel with generalist and specialist auditors working simultaneously but separately on the same audit, and fully integrated involving the use of hybridized auditors within the IAF. I also argue that the use of hybridized internal auditors within the US context has grown significantly as a result of Sarbanes-Oxley legislation and growth will continue as demand for IT audit resources exceeds the available supply.
The third study uses a large-scale database, the 2010 Global Internal Audit Common Body of Knowledge from the IIA Research Foundation, to quantitatively examine correlations between organizational, IAF, and CAE characteristics; overall internal audit strategy, and the IAF’s IT audit strategy. I find that practice location and CAE characteristics are strongly related to the selection of an integrated IT audit strategy, as is an IAF strategy of assurance of sound risk management/internal control
An explorer in a cardboard land: emotion, memory, and the embodied experience of doing jigsaw puzzles
Get PDFThe purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how playing a game or engaging in a leisure activity provides the participant with an experience which integrates physical, mental, and emotional elements. I use an autoethnographic approach to study the process of completing jigsaw puzzles. The main focal point of the paper is the connection between engagement in a physical activity (completing a puzzle) and how the mind works and where it goes during the performance of that activity. The goal of the paper is to illustrate the connections between action and thought, and to show how one of the benefits, pleasures or rewards of engagement in leisure activities is the way these activities facilitate the wandering of our minds toward productive thoughts, images, insights, memories and emotions. These findings may aid our understanding of the nature and appeal of playing games or participating in various types of leisure activities
Essays on Marketing Analytics Competition, Connectedness, and Controversy
Get PDFA consensus has been reached nowadays on the importance of data-based decision making for both data-driving pioneers such as web companies, and traditional industries or departments, such as pharmaceutical organizations, or even movie or television production companies, etc. How we collect, process, and make use of larger, fast changing, and diversified data effectively and efficiently is getting attention from statisticians, information engineers, and business analytics practitioners. Aside from thoroughly taking advantage of data on hand, data adventurers seek new data resources, which are potentially messier and more unstructured than more traditional data.
This research provides a road map to practitioners who might wish to implement our methods. We demonstrate in study 1, using a Hidden Markov Chain model, that the unknown advertising activity of a competitor can be estimated using the competitor’s sales volume together with the focal company’s sales volume and advertising expenditures. Conversely, using the same method, a competitor could estimate the focal company’s advertising activity. We introduce in this context the idea of symmetric imputation of competing marketing activity. In study 2, we propose novel methods for extracting a co-publication network of physicians from the PubMed database and for combining data from this network with a more traditional pharmaceutical marketing database. While traditional marketing predictive models assume that actors are independent, the study advances our knowledge of predictive modeling when actors are inter-dependent via a social network. Our work also suggests recommendations to the pharmaceutical industry for a more effective use of marketing dollars, which could potentially lead to reduced costs of drugs to consumers. In study 3, we conduct a text mining and sentiment analysis applied to a dataset of movie reviews. We further propose a novel measure of controversy, compute sentiment scores for each movie review and compare for each movie the numerical rating “controversy” (the standard deviation of numerical reviewer ratings) with our proposed sentiment score-based measure of “controversy”