Matching Items (12)
Description
There is little research on volunteer tourism to primate sanctuaries. The purpose of this study was to help fill this knowledge gap and gain insights into how animal sanctuaries with volunteers in Costa Rica can be improved operationally to strengthen their conservation efforts. My research questions were: 1. How does volunteer tourism with primates in Costa Rica affect volunteers? 2. How does this volunteer tourism affect Costa Rica’s environment? The methodology used was an exploratory qualitative design that included a literature review of previous research and case studies and a visit with interviews at a primate sanctuary in Costa Rica. The findings did not generate sufficient data to answer the first research question. I did find that altruism was a key factor in recruiting effective volunteers. The study also found that conservation in Costa Rica relies on volunteer tourism to fill a human resource gap. This research will allow sanctuaries in Costa Rica to respond better to protect biodiversity.
ContributorsCavalier, Rebecca (Author) / Chhetri, Nalini (Thesis director) / Castillo, Elizabeth (Committee member) / College of Integrative Sciences and Arts (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
The rate of vaccinations has been consistently decreasing in the past years in children of ages 0-18. Multiple factors and barriers contribute to these low rates. This comparative case study investigated the accessibility of information regarding childhood vaccinations to parents in areas with differing poverty levels in the greater Phoenix region, specifically in the West Valley, Downtown Phoenix, and the East Valley. Pediatric clinics, public elementary schools, and public libraries were visited in each area to assess how much information was available where. The analysis produced unexpected results: the West Valley, which had the highest poverty level, contained the most amount of accessible information for parents in many languages, while the East Valley, with a low poverty level, had almost no information accessible to parents of these children. Implications for future research, policy, and practice are discussed. Based on these unexpected results, one recommendation is to develop a pamphlet that could be distributed to these public places to raise awareness of the importance of vaccinations in children to parents.
ContributorsShah, Veedhi (Author) / Bates, Denise (Thesis director) / Castillo, Elizabeth (Committee member) / College of Health Solutions (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Alexis de Tocqueville, French political theorist and scientist, theorized in the 19th century that “France cannot reform except through revolution” (Heisbourg, 2016). As France continues to face a strained economy with high unemployment and stalled growth, the OECD recommends that France should implement labor reform “to promote job growth” (OECD, 2015). Labor reform refers to removing labor protections for French employees, resulting in an increase in firing and hiring flexibility for employers.
Recent governments in France have failed to bring about meaningful labor reform, faced with opposition in the streets or within their own political party. The election of Emanuel Macron, viewed as a political outsider who had never held elected office created his own political party, En Marche, seemed like the catalyst to lasting economic reform. However, if high unemployment and slow economic growth to comparable economies have been concerns for France since the beginning of the 21st century, why were past governments unsuccessful in implementing legislative actions to address labor reform?
This paper will argue that the election of Macron and the establishment of En Marche was caused by a shift in power that allowed Macron enough support to sway the political landscape of France and implement labor market reform. This largely has to do with the power struggle between France’s Outsiders, “those without secure employment, Insiders, “those with secure employment” and the Upscale group, “employers, the upper middle class, and the business and financial community” (Rudea, 2007). However, the degree and preservation of Macron’s reform plans are threatened by Insiders who have been stripped of employee protections.
Recent governments in France have failed to bring about meaningful labor reform, faced with opposition in the streets or within their own political party. The election of Emanuel Macron, viewed as a political outsider who had never held elected office created his own political party, En Marche, seemed like the catalyst to lasting economic reform. However, if high unemployment and slow economic growth to comparable economies have been concerns for France since the beginning of the 21st century, why were past governments unsuccessful in implementing legislative actions to address labor reform?
This paper will argue that the election of Macron and the establishment of En Marche was caused by a shift in power that allowed Macron enough support to sway the political landscape of France and implement labor market reform. This largely has to do with the power struggle between France’s Outsiders, “those without secure employment, Insiders, “those with secure employment” and the Upscale group, “employers, the upper middle class, and the business and financial community” (Rudea, 2007). However, the degree and preservation of Macron’s reform plans are threatened by Insiders who have been stripped of employee protections.
ContributorsLoonam, Daniel Francis (Author) / Thomson, Henry (Thesis director) / Kirsch, Robert (Committee member) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, countries took serious measures to control its spread and reduce its effect on health, social, and economic aspects. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has taken unprecedented preventive measures against the spread of COVID-19, including complete lockdowns and the closing of some businesses. Therefore, 27% of companies expected to lose their businesses within a month, while 43% of companies expected to go out of business within six months. This was not only due to the countrywide lockdown, or the impacts caused by the pandemic, but also due to the bad leadership of some leaders during this crisis. There are little of studies and data that discuss the consequences of these decisions on businesses, and it will be helpful to measure the consequences over three years. This study answers the following question: How much did myopic staffing and compensation decisions in the context of COVID-19 affect companies’ performance? To answer this question, I use agent-based modeling (ABM) supported by secondary data to create a simulation to study the consequences of myopic decisions made on employees’ performance in the private sector in the United Arab Emirates starting from the 2020 year and through an anticipated period of 3 years . The study found that under the assumptions that pay deductions, layoffs, and unpaid leaves, are myopic decisions and in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the companies’ performance, there is a huge affect on companies’ performance over the study period which is 3 years.
Keywords: bad leadership, myopic decisions, companies, businesses, COVID-19, agent-based model.
ContributorsAlsaleh, Mohammad (Author) / Trinh, Mai P. (Thesis advisor) / Castillo, Elizabeth (Committee member) / Wallace, L. Marie (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
Employee Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB) can have a significant impact on organizational performance. The frequency of employee OCB is positively related to transformational leadership. This study utilized this established positive relationship between transformational leadership and employee OCB, and rigor tested if this relationship was impacted by the size of the organization. Size as a moderating factor hasn’t really been studied between this relationship of transformational leadership and OCB in the US. I proposed size as a moderating variable because access to an employee’s leader can have an impact on the frequency and quality of employee OCB. Participants (N=131) were invited to respond to an online survey about the frequency of their own OCB as well as their interactions with their transformational leader. Participants were provided definitions for both OCB and transformational leadership to receive accurate results. Results showed that the effects of transformational leadership on employee OCB matter substantially in larger organizations when compared to small organizations. Findings revealed that employees in larger organizations tend to perform acts of OCB less often when they didn’t perceive that their transformational leader was accessible. This study sets the ground for further research into this phenomenon of whether size impacts employee OCB when they have a transformational leader in the United States. Further research is recommended to investigate whether this impact is exclusive to transformational leadership or are other types of leadership also impacted. Keywords: transformational leadership, Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB), leadership behavior, organizational size.
ContributorsWagadia, Tejal (Author) / Trinh, Mai P (Thesis advisor) / McCain, Kate (Committee member) / Kirsch, Robert (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
First-generation and low-income high school students have historicallyexperienced disadvantages to enrolling in post-secondary education. While there are many programs that assist first-generation and low-income high school students in enrolling and achieving post-secondary education, it is unclear if these programs create equitable opportunities for their target populations. This study explores the realities of the people, and policies in practice at an Upward Bound program to understand if the program creates opportunities for first-generation and low-income students in the program, or if the realities of the people and policies in practice in the program create opportunity gaps thus impacting first-generation and low-income students in the program. The study was conducted through the opportunity gap explanatory framework which provided a framework to understand the educational practices that construct opportunity gaps. The perspective of two administrators and three educators from one rural Upward Bound program was captured. Ethnographic interviews were conducted to collect data and thematic analysis was used to analyze and describe the opportunities and opportunity gaps that existed within the program. The data suggest that both opportunities and opportunity gaps co-exist within one rural Upward Bound program.
ContributorsWasem, Leslie Evonne (Author) / Kirsch, Robert (Thesis advisor) / Wallace, Lillian (Thesis advisor) / Veach, Paula (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
Police excessive force, unlawful stops and searches, false arrests, and other forms of misconduct remain significant issues in American law enforcement. Abuses of power by even a few police officers erode public trust, reduce the legitimacy of law enforcement, and expose individual officers and law enforcement agencies to criminal and civil liability. When misconduct occurs, inadequate police leadership and supervision are often cited as contributing causes. First-line supervisors have direct, positional authority to influence the behavior of officers they lead, yet little is known about what actions first-line supervisors are expected to take to prevent misconduct. Federal consent decrees have been a promising area of police reform knowledge for researchers and practitioners. While these documents enumerate dozens of police reform measures in multiple subject areas, the role of the first-line supervisor remains disparate and unclear, ultimately hampering the effectiveness of first-line supervisors in operationalizing the reforms prescribed by these documents. The aim of this study was to develop a conceptual model that enhances understanding of actions police first-line supervisors are expected to take to prevent officer misconduct. A qualitative content analysis of federal consent decrees led to the development of six themes and a conceptual model that describe expected first-line supervisor behavior. This paper contributes to the body of knowledge about police leadership in the context of misconduct prevention and consent decree reform. It proposes a conceptual model helpful to police practitioners seeking to better define the role of first-line supervisors in an unpredictable, complex work environment that leaves little room for error.
ContributorsSmith, Benjamin (Author) / Veach, Paula (Thesis advisor) / Kirsch, Robert (Committee member) / Wallace, Lillian M (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
Beyond Meat revolutionized the meat substitute industry after creating a product similar to real meat in taste, texture, and appearance. Beyond Meat quickly rose to success, but that success brought new competitors, regulatory pushback, and the realization that Beyond Meat's market size is smaller than touted. This paper aims to predict the future financials and valuations of Beyond Meat under different assumptions while detailing the company's rapid growth and subsequent stagnation.
ContributorsPetrie, Kyle (Author) / Simonson, Mark (Thesis director) / Castillo, Elizabeth (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Department of Finance (Contributor)
Created2023-05
Description
As scrutiny of corporate behavior grows, the demand for ESG disclosures rises across the world. In the U.S., public firms voluntarily provided data relevant to their corporate responsibility through highly individualized and non-comparable ESG reports. Even with the existence of the IFRS’s Integrated Report framework, which aims to provide context to an organization's value creation, the adoption of the exemplar guidelines remains minimal. The intended goal of this research project is to explore whether the data that is traditionally found in the is publicly available through other means of disclosure. Specifically, the research focuses on Waste Management’s public disclosures and explores the data available against the framework. Each subsection of the guidelines is used to analyze the content available to investors and scorable based on the level of disclosure. The objective of the research is to understand how well WM disclosed relevant material against the international ESG standard and the challenges investors face when creating the connections found in the . Using the single case study, my research found that WM disclosed isolated information about values, risks, strategies, and opportunities, but ultimately failed to create connections to the process of value creation. As an investor, the information made available by WM was not comprehensive enough to infer value connections, nor was there specific data on governance and performance reporting. As pressure builds from shareholders and stakeholders, the SEC and organizations must define guidelines and adapt reportings.
ContributorsModic, Jared (Author) / Castillo, Elizabeth (Thesis director) / Craft, Aaron (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / School of Accountancy (Contributor)
Created2023-05
Description
The simplicity of everyday living creates opportunities for leadership based on individually curated personal networks that have developed overtime through the act of living and personal experience. These networks are unique to individuals; however, when grouped, they share enough similarities with others in their proximal environment, thus, allowing for the formation of spontaneous self-organized groups, based on either a felt need, a shared history, a common goal, or combination of such. These leadership opportunities heed the call for action within their community because the felt need is proximal. This exploratory ethnographic case study investigates the nature of leadership within self-organized groups and how it differs from other forms of collective action. Participant interviews and observations were used to explore how individuals interpreted their roles in the group along with how they assessed and fulfilled a felt need within their community, and the different meanings of leadership in self-organized groups.
ContributorsKhalifa, Asmaa (Author) / Kirsch, Robert (Thesis advisor, Committee member) / Wallace, Lillian M (Committee member) / Castillo, Elizabeth (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022