We explored the factors that influence consumers to adopt over-the-top (OTT) services. The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) served as the main framework for this research. To develop our seven hypotheses, we used entertainment, cost (price value), and quality variables, in addition to the four TAM variables – perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, intention to use, and adoption of OTT services. We employed regression models to analyze the dataset, composed of a sample of 115 responses from public university students in the New England region. Our initial analysis showed no statistical significance for the overall model. Yet, when we limited our response group to only young adults between 18 to 24 years old, we found statistical significance with regard to price value, entertainment, and quality variables.

Keywords: over-the-top service, perception, Technology Acceptance Model

Interpersonal relationships depend upon trust for maintenance and positive relational outcomes. But what is trust, and what happens when that trust is violated? This paper explores the effects of trust violation in previous relationships on perceptions and metaperceptions of the partner in current relationships. Utilizing an empirical phenomenological approach, the researcher interviewed adults regarding their life experiences of interpersonal trust, trust violation and “dark” perceptions of other’s motivations. This paper offers a reflexive, and self-reflexive, response to the question “To what degree do my perceptions of the other affect relational outcomes?” This paper also offers possible explanations to how negative experiences of past relationships can and do influence behavior in current relationships which may be destructive or otherwise unhealthy to the relationship. It is proposed that “dark” perception occurs when an individual judges intent or motivations for the other’s behaviors based upon their experiences with a third party. In determining the source of “dark” perception, scholars and practitioners may offer guidance for improvement on relational outcomes.

Keywords: trust violation, perceptions, relational outcomes

This empirical study aimed at finding an answer to a question regarding university professors’ leadership style: “is there a relationship between professors’ Psychological Capital (Hope, Optimism, Resilience, Self-Efficacy-attitudinal) and Psychological Ownership (Territoriality, Ease of Belonging, Accountability, Self-Efficacy-behavioral, and Self-Identity)? Three theories of leadership styles were used as a basis in search of an answer to the aforementioned question: 1. Transformational Leadership, 2. Transactional Leadership, and 3. Passive Avoidant Leadership. Three research instruments were utilized in this investigation. Psychological Capital and Psychological Ownership were the independent variables of interest, which were measured respectively by Psychological Capital Questionnaire (PCQ) and Psychological Ownership Questionnaire (POQ). The third instrument, Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) measured the dependent variable or criterion variable of Transformational Leadership, Transactional Leadership, and Passive Avoidant Leadership. Multiple regression technique was used to examine the relationships between the independent variables of interest (PsyCap and PsyGown) and the dependent variables of interest (Transformational Leadership, Transactional Leadership, and Passive Avoidant Leadership), while controlling for demographic variables including Gender (dichotomous), Ethnicity (categorical), Education (categorical) and Age (continuous). The findings of the study revealed that both Psychological Capital (PsyCap) and Psychological Ownership (PsyGown) acted as predictors of Transformational Leadership.

Keywords: leadership style, academic culture, performance

Difficulties in the management of water have made clear that “technical fixes”, not taking into account social, political and cultural contexts, fail to address the root of problems and lead to unsustainability of the resource. This paper examines whether Portuguese water research is constructing interdisciplinary knowledge and how it integrates social science contributions. To explore the prevalence and nature of interdisciplinarity the co-authorships of a random selection of papers were assessed. The use of social network analysis reveals a divide between the social and the physical sciences as well as the asymmetric epistemological power between the fields.

Keywords: interdisciplinarity, social versus physical science, social network analysis

Throughout academia, there lacks an existence of commonly utilized interdisciplinary theories to aid in understanding the interconnectedness of our outside world. This paper provides a sample of the current state of interdisciplinarity in research and the need for interdisciplinary theory development. The health belief model (HBM) is provided as a theoretical framework that lacks interdisciplinary characteristics in comparison with the interdisciplinary nature of systems theory and game theory. Through the comparative analysis of the HBM, game theory and systems theory, guidelines to developing interdisciplinary theory are proposed for scholars to consider when crafting theory constructs and descriptors. These guidelines are applied to show that the HBM can be redefined to explain nonprofit volunteer behaviors, demonstrating the power and impact of interdisciplinarity.

Keywords: interdisciplinarity, nonprofit volunteer behaviors, Health Belief Model

This study complements previous research regarding the influence of word of mouth on the success of Hollywood movies. In the absence of a formula that studios can use to guarantee a predictable return on investment for movies, word of mouth has been shown to be the best determinant of a film’s success. However, there are obviously other variables that play a role in this process. Therefore, as part of a series of studies intended to analyze the impact of these other variables, this study focuses on the influence of film critics on movie outcomes. Our findings show that film critics have a moderate influence on wide releases and a weak influence on limited releases based on reviews from Rotten Tomatoes. Also, negative reviews had more of an impact than positive reviews on both types of movies. This research further found that this moderate influence could have a significant impact on box office revenue.

Keywords: film criticism, movie outcomes, buzz

A growing number of organizations have difficulty scaling-up their IT infrastructure to handle their growing needs and increased resource demands. Digital Technology Platforms (DTPs) have been identified by Gartner, Inc. as one of the top 10 strategic technology trends of 2017. While DTPs may be mainstream and easily adopted by large enterprise-sized organizations, there is an opportunity for such platforms within Small and Mid-Size Businesses (SMBs). The bottom line is that computing and server hardware is expensive for SMBs. Furthermore, it may be difficult for SMBs to assess and price the labor and resources needed for a company to have acceptable performance while controlling costs. The purpose of this paper is to examine how cloud computing technologies are adopted by SMBs and the respective drivers associated with costs and capability that may reduce costs for an organization. This paper explores how four variables – Robust Capability, Limited Capability, Cost Constraint, and Resource Abundance interact to impact the adoption of DTPs within SMBs. Adopters of DTPs are classified as Efficient, Proactive, Resistive, and Reactive. With respect to adoption efficacy, a model is proposed for assessing the capability and resource readiness as correlated to SMB adoption of DTPs. A study of 12 SMBs and the implementations of DTPs is presented and posited with the proposed adoption model. Due to the extensive investments required in procuring infrastructure services –adoption enablement is imperative for SMB-sized organizations to realize a return on investment. Implications are discussed.

Keywords: cloud computing, small and mid-sized business, digital technology platforms

This paper explores the foundations upon which modern Ecuadorian leadership culture is based by examining the historical elements of the Ecuadorian leadership cultural system from a contingency perspective, beginning with an overview of the historical context followed by an exploration of leadership and followership within this context. In so doing, it lays a foundation for further examination of leadership culture in Ecuador.

Keywords: leadership, followership, contingency perspective

Security problems through time have become the area of responsibility for the most important institutions of states and their experts. The world has never been safe for small states because history has shown that it is very easy for major powers to manipulate these states, both economically as well as militarily. Small countries cannot finance wars on their own, so, to avoid or reduce the risk of conflict, small countries must use diplomacy. Uncertainty in international relations is much greater for a small country than for a large country. The best means to avoid uncertainty is for small countries to associate with international institutions. This paper suggests that for small states of the western Balkans, the most logical strategic choice is the Euro-Atlantic integration.

Keywords: security, nation integration, diplomacy

This paper examines the usage of Scrum as a holistic approach in a software engineering course. The research strives to realize the following two objectives: a) to investigate whether adoption of Scrum framework works better to achieve learning goals, and b) to investigate whether engaging in Scrum helps college instructors find more alternative ways to examine the effectiveness of teaching and learning experience. A self-report survey that evaluates the perception and usability of Scrum was conducted. The analysis result from students’ self-report indicated that Scrum helped students to take ownership and accountability in delivering a working software based on the expected project outcomes. The results also indicated that employing Scrum empowers and frees students to determine how to accomplish the assigned tasks. Overall, the result suggests that employing agile practices in a college environment could help students gain industry level experience.

Keywords: Scrum framework, agile software development, course development

The fight for global talent has forced nations and corporations to compete for knowledge workers as they strive to boost competitiveness. One new pattern of labor movement that needs further investigation is the growing self-initiated movement of skilled workers from advanced industrialized economies to emerging market countries and regions for career development or career expansion purposes. A major goal of the paper was to present a set of factors that helped to identify the individuals likely to consider this type of self-initiated career development move. One important finding was that compared to those with technical, science and liberal arts backgrounds, business majors had the most positive view of the career attractiveness of emerging markets. This paper is not only an extension of the research on employee mobility and the fight for global talent; it also examines the increasing importance of emerging markets as potential locations for international career development.

Keywords: career development, international markets, competition

The relationship between reality and perception gets tested regularly in the management of any large organization. In the case of an academic department, faculty perceptions often run counter to the realities of daily administration. This case study examines how the structural characteristics of horizontal communication between colleagues and vertical communication between superiors and subordinates influences, and potentially exacerbates the conflict of perceptions between faculty and administrators in a state-sponsored, research university. Issues addressed in this paper include: 1) To what degree does a department chair have latitude in setting or enforcing policy, 2) To what degree do differences in interpretation of policy between faculty and administrators influence departmental management, and 3) How does a department chair serve as both a colleague and a supervisor to other faculty. The analysis of data for the study is based on Barry and Crant’s (2000) Attribution/Expectancy Aproach.

Keywords: academic departments, perception, Attribution/Expectancy Aproach

Culture influences perception, perception influences behavior and behavior affects the success of a business collaboration. This article focuses on person perception, with regard to Germany and India. Differences in person perception are a key risk factor when conducting business in or with India and can lead to conflicts and misunderstandings for the individuals involved. Running a successful Indian-German co-operation requires managers who possess a high degree of awareness about each other’s person perception. Managers who possess this awareness can anticipate reactions better and avoid such conflicts and misunderstandings, thus maximizing business performance. This article intends to help German and Indian managers in creating successful co- operations and bridging cultural differences by pinpointing areas with perception gaps and explaining why they occur.

Keywords: business collaboration, perception, success

This research explores the differences between two Wins Above Replacement (WAR) metrics as predictors of the expected baseball team salaries and overall team win percentage. The two different metrics calculate a different value for an individual player’s WAR score, which is used to evaluate a player’s total contribution to their team’s success. Utilizing data from 1996 through 2015 from a popular baseball database, simple regression model results indicate that both the bWAR from Baseball-reference.com and fWAR from FanGraphs.com metrics significantly predict both team salaries and team performance. The research found that the fWAR metric was a better predictor of team performance.

Keywords: Wins Above Replacement, team salaries, team performance

Agile software development describes a set of software engineering management methodologies in which solutions evolve through collaboration between self-organizing, cross-functional teams. It promotes adaptive planning, evolutionary development, early delivery, continuous improvement and encourages rapid and flexible response to change (Beck et al., 2001a). The Agile Manifesto specifies four key value propositions for the agile development framework. Since development of the Agile Manifesto, the use of agile methods has moved into other areas such as project management and marketing. The authors compare extant management, quality, and knowledge worker literature with the Agile Manifesto to build the case for using components of the agile framework in managing non-IT knowledge workers, from finance to health care professionals and beyond. This paper examines each concept and describe how each relates to traditional management thought, with a special emphasis on leadership in the agile framework. Using traditional management language, the authors create a new Knowledge Worker Manifesto, utilizing agile but aplying it more broadly to all knowledge workers. The paper proposes leadership as a significant moderating variable to the earlier manifesto concepts.

Keywords: agile development framework, project management, leadership

McDonald’s is a global leader in the fast food industry with over 36,000 restaurants located in more than 100 countries. Throughout the U.S. McDonald’s is famous for consistency. A consumer can go into any McDonald’s in the U.S. and the French Fries are not only prepared the same, but they will also taste the same. Most other menu items in U.S. have the same uniformity. As McDonald’s expands to other countries this consistency feature starts to waver. McDonald’s locations outside of the U.S. have altered their menus to reflect regional tastes. These menu variations are a result of: religious tenets, food trends (organic, gluten free, vegetarian), and localization (sourcing of indigenous ingredients). The assimilation of McDonald’s worldwide has presented significant conversation concerning overall perception, food adaptation, food preference, cultural dominance, and business practices. This paper attempts to shed light on some of these matters by looking at McDonald’s menu offerings both in the U.S. and abroad.

Keywords: fast-food industry, cultural assimilation, consumer perception

Previous research has found that word of mouth is perhaps the best predictor of a movie’s success. This is evident by the absence of a formula to guarantee a predictable return on investment and the lack of other reliable predictors such as genre, cast and budget. As a result, recommendations from moviegoers, whether positive or negative, can have a significant impact on a movie’s performance. Several studies have focused on how social media can be used to predict movie box office revenue. However, this has primarily been based on activity levels or the amount of buzz generated by these films. As a result, this study examines sentiment analysis on Twitter to determine the impact of word of mouth on a movie’s success. It also evaluates the effect of tweet rate after a movie’s release and its relationship to sentiment analysis.

Keywords: viral communication, buzz, advertisement

The paper examines constraints faced by women-owned businesses in Ethiopia and Ghana. Both countries are have recently posted impressive economic growth rates. However, there is still an untaped potential that could be made by women but which are not being realized because of institutional and social obstacles. The paper addresses some pertinent questions related to access to credit with a view to identifying some constraints women may face because of their gender. The paper uses descriptive statistics and probit analysis to investigate whether businesses owned by men and women differ in their access to finance. The results suggest that in both countries, only a small percentage of businesses have loans and this access does not vary by gender. One counterintuitive result is that many businesses claim to have no need for a loan, while many others claim that access to finance is a big problem faced by their business

Keywords: entrepreneurism, gender, women-owned business

This study compared the learning outcomes for undergraduate students taking an introductory managerial accounting course in a flipped class (N = 77) and students who took the same course in a traditional class (N = 78). Student learning outcomes were measured using scores from twelve weekly online assignments, midterm and final examinations held on campus, and overall course performance. The results showed that students registered in the flipped class were not as successful as students enrolled in the traditional class. The findings suggest that Flipped-class pedagogy is not merely a change in the delivery mode. To be successful, it needs intense preparation. The heart of the Flipped Classroom is student engagement, including his/her realization of the responsibility for self-learning. No pedagogical approach, of course, fits all students alike. Students should not, therefore, be in any doubt about what to expect before registering for the class. Since the acquisition of critical reasoning skills is not a single-step process, but is a continuum, future researchers need to focus on senior students with exposure to this pedagogical approach from the beginning of their university studies.

Keywords: flipped classrooms, traditional classrooms, student performance

Our work borrows broadly from the efficiency wage theory of economics. The intent of this approach is to provide a unique method of answering this quandary. Although psychologists often criticized economists for ignoring important variables and simplifying individual goals (Lewin, 1996), major achievements have often come from the application of careful and specific interdisciplinary efforts, e.g., Vernon, 1991. By bringing in efficiency wage theory, our goal is to propose a fresh perspective that explains the job satisfaction and job performance causal relationship. Three sections are discussed: Section one, we briefly review the prior investigations of the job satisfaction and job performance relationship, and discuss the associated theoretical limitations that could be complimented by our perspective. Section two, we develop propositions regarding the job satisfaction and job performance relationship based on efficiency wage theory. Finally, we discuss the implications and propose future research directions/implications.

Keywords: job satisfaction, job performance, Efficiency Wage theory

When it comes to predicting the success of Hollywood movies, there’s an adage that “Nobody knows anything.” Even though big data can inform investment decisions, research has found that there is no formula studios can use to guarantee a movie’s success. This is because people don’t know whether they’ll like a movie until they see it. Hence, the best determinant of success is word-of-mouth and whether viewers recommend a film or not. Since there are very few reliable leading indicators in this business, this article analyzes word-of-mouth, or buzz, as a lagging indicator and its impact on a movie’s performance. This article also examines the effects of information cascades, or herd behavior, on movies.

Keywords: viral communication, buzz, information cascades

The current research bridges the theoretical underpinnings of reputation management, nation branding, public relations and public diplomacy. Each area of research brings unique perspectives that either directly or indirectly contribute to a tourism economy’s return on investment. A positive country brand may positively affect travelers’ choices of where to visit and, while visiting, their amount of spending. The purpose of this particular study is to determine how a country’s culture influences its tourism expenditures and tourism visitation. The research was designed to determine if the culture of a country can predict/influence the effectiveness of tourism marketing efforts? To operationalize culture, the following two sets of scores were used: Geert Hofstede’s Model of National Culture and Simon Anholt’s Good Country Index. The dimensions of Hofstede’s Model of National Culture are not significant predictors of a nation’s ability to attract visitors and visitor spending. However, among the Good Country Index dimensions, four in particular stand out for being significantly correlated with the measures of tourism marketing: Culture; Prosperity and Equality; Planet and Climate; and Health and Wellbeing.

Keywords: tourism marketing, cultural values, Good Country Index

Nursing home administrators are caught in a "perfect storm" of rapidly increasing health care costs, decreasing reimbursement, and increasing competition. This paper documents how these pressures create cascading misalignments resulting in compromises of the quality of comfort care. These problems are inevitable, given the increase in unfunded mandates, where performance evaluation is decoupled from actual performance. Ambient technologies are explored as a means of tracking actual care versus reported care. Independent quality of care tracking and documentation of ambient data, coupled with best practice research and rewards, are explored to promote quality care as a marketing advantage. Implications are discussed.

Keywords: quality of comfort, healthcare costs, ambient technology

This paper represents the responses of 423 consumers to a mail survey examining views concerning advertising by optometrists in the United States. Historically, most professions prohibited licensed members from engaging in speech activities that proposed a commercial transaction, i.e., advertising. However, the history of an optometrist’s legal right to advertise is not the main focus of this article. A brief review of the past, present, and possible future of such rights might assist readers in understanding the revolutionary constitutional and commercial speech changes that have occurred over the past three decades. An optometrist’s legal right to advertise in the United States has developed as part of the evolutionary interpretation of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Our purposes for this study were to determine (a) consumers’ attitudes toward advertising by optometrists and (b) whether occupation, age, race, marital status, number of children in household, total family household income, education, and gender of the consumer accounted for any significant differences in consumers’ attitudes concerning optometrists who advertise in the United States. It was the intent of the study to discover information that would be useful to optometrists in planning marketing strategies and improving the quality of their advertising. The study seems to confirm the belief of many marketing professionals that advertising and marketing clearly have a place in the future of optometrists’ services.

Keywords: consumer attitudes, health professions, advertising

This applied research study investigates the current state of online obesity information available to the general public as content on state public health department websites. The study provides insight into whether or not these sites provide access to consumer-targeted obesity prevention information to combat the current obesity epidemic in the United States. The states with the ten highest obesity rates were examined (CDC, 2014). Most of their sites did not mention obesity on the home page, lacked clear navigation for the word “obesity,” or failed to provide current obesity-related consumer information. Health professionals, rather than consumers, were the predominate target audience. Recommendations for improving these sites include: increased focus on obesity information for consumers, links to obesity information on the home page, improved navigation to obesity content, increased quality of obesity content, and more interactive features on the site or on auxiliary sites to engage consumers.

Keywords: public health, social media, obesity

This paper examines the state of social media theory and research by conducting a longitudinal, meta-analysis of public relations research about social media. The current study examines the most recent four years of Public Relations Review, extending a 2011 study that examined social media articles in Public Relations Review from 1998–2011. The essay considers three topics: a brief review or the history of social media technology, a report of data from the longitudinal, meta-analysis, and a discussion about the inconsistency between social media potential and social media practice. The essay also offers public relations professionals and scholars suggestions for moving forward in this research area.

Keywords: social media research, public relations, meta-analysis

This paper argues for the incorporation of public relations courses in the curricula of multiple disciplines, including such programs as business, human resources, justice studies, art history, education, culture and hospitality, political science, and health. This paper specifically explores how cultivating an understanding of basic public relations principles—such as communication strategy, media relations, international corporate responsibility, and reputation management—in a wide variety of disciplines can have a direct impact on a myriad of professions. The inclusion of these courses and key principles is not meant to create new communication professionals, but to instill a deep understanding and apreciation of the need to incorporate public relations in all fields. Introducing additional fields beyond business to what public relations does and how it can be used will expand public relations jobs and opportunities while increasing communications for and between organizations. This paper examines antidotal evidence and presents four key tenets from the excellence theory of public relations underpinning the reason public relation courses should be included into a multitude of applied academic programs: participative culture & diversity, symmetrical communication, sustainability and ethical practices.

Keywords: public relations, marketing, communication strategy, Excellence theory

Advertising by physicians is a relatively recent phenomenon. Historically, most professions prohibited licensed members from engaging in speech activities that proposed a commercial transaction—advertising. However, the history of a physician’s legal right to advertise is not the main focus of this article. A brief review of the past, present, and possible future of such rights might assist readers in understanding the revolutionary constitutional and commercial speech changes that have occurred over the past three decades. A physician’s legal right to advertise has developed as part of the evolutionary interpretation of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The purposes of this study were to determine (a) consumers’ attitudes toward advertising by physicians and (b) whether age, race, marital status, and sex of the consumer accounted for any significant difference in attitude toward physicians who advertise. The intent was to discover information that would be useful to physicians in planning marketing strategies and improving the quality of their advertising. The study seems to confirm the belief of many marketing professionals that advertising and marketing clearly have a place in the future of health care services.

Keywords: consumer attitudes, health professions, advertising

Today, more and more students are enrolling in online courses because of the flexibility and convenience of having the Internet provide them with the course content. While most faculty agree that using the Internet as a tool for delivering course content may be more convenient for students and provide greater flexibility than teaching in a traditional format, many of these same faculty are concerned about maintaining academic honesty in online courses. In this paper, we first determine what technologies and techniques are available and are actually being used by instructors at different universities in the United States to maintain academic honesty in online courses. Second, we assess the perceptions of online educators about cheating in online courses. Additionally, we recommend ways to preserve the integrity of online degrees.

Keywords: online education, academic honesty, teaching technology

This paper proposes a new model explaining the effects of cultural values on the relationship between personality and job performance based on the five-factor model of personality and Hofstede’s cultural value dimensions. The model focuses on the three personality traits that have been found to be sensitive to situational factors–extraversion, agreeableness, and openness to experience–and the three cultural dimensions that have been shown to influence the personality- performance relationship–collectivism, power distance, and uncertainty avoidance–and explains potential interactions among them. Specifically, the model proposes that the relationship between extraversion and job performance and the relationship between openness to experience and job performance are negatively moderated by the three cultural dimensions, whereas the relationship between agreeableness and job performance are positively moderated by them. The practical implication of this model in terms of employee selection is discussed.

Keywords: cultural values, personality, job performance

This article explores word-of-mouth communication and the gap that exists between viral content or buzz that is generated by communication professionals and its intended return on investment. This research begins with an analysis of Super Bowl commercials from 2015 to determine the extent to which the ads created buzz and the amount of sales they produced then discusses other metrics utilized to analyze the effectiveness of these ads. While Super Bowls ads are the subject of this study, this model can be used to evaluate this so-called “viral gap” in a variety of contexts. The purpose of this research is to better understand this relationship, increase awareness among communication professionals, and improve the effectiveness of communication.

Keywords: viral communication, buzz, advertisement

In disaster situations, Twitter has become a preferred means of transmitting information to the news media and the public. This study examines the inter-relationship among the various parties who share and produce information in a disaster situation. Student case studies of disaster situations serve as the primary database for analysis. A preliminary examination of the case studies and the Twitter trails of information seems to suport the view that Twitter can be a source of gathering and relaying information in a disaster situation, and that first-responder agencies, the media, and the informed public can use Twitter for information they can use in decision-making.

Keywords: social media, disaster communication, public service

Many universities are trying to teach ethics to their graduating business majors by offering a course in business ethics. In this paper, an experiment was designed to test the efficacy of this practice. After about three months of the course, the instructor has the results of exam 1 (an objective test), as well as an essay test on practical applications of ethics, and would like to predict student success. Before the end of the semester the instructor would like to know if he has correctly ranked those students from the combined score of the objective and essay tests (acid tests of ethical knowledge). Before the second and final comprehensive exam, he wants to determine if there is a correlation between the rank-order of performance from test 1 with the final comprehensive exam. He has formed the hypotheses (H0): the rank-order of performance in exam 1 has no relationship to the comprehensive final exam score. This experiment will be tested with alpha of .05.

Keywords: teaching effectiveness, learning outcomes, learning effectiveness

In this study, conversation analysis is used to examine instances of naturally occurring conversations between twin siblings. The following research question guided this study: What communicative patterns are occurring in everyday talk between twin siblings? Findings suggest that there are patterns of analytic interest present in day-to-day conversations between twin siblings. The conversational phenomena discovered included testing and speaking for one’s twin. Twins engaged in testing while conversing alone to show support for their twin. As they engaged in talk with a parent present, that talk served as competition/support, role confirmation/enactment, and identification/de-identification between the twin siblings. Speaking for one’s twin functioned as a competitive move, as support, and as a way to gain attention from a parent.

Keywords: twin communication, support, conversation analysis

Utilizing a data set created by the author that merges data by detailed occupation on employment, earnings, educational attainment, and the importance of 35 separate job skills, the relationship between the importance of each of these skills and average salary in the private sector is explored for 84 different occupations identified as bachelor’s degree dominant occupations. The analysis reveals that several job skills commonly regarded as important do not correlate across the selected occupations with private sector average salary. The largest impact skills are those which involve extensive abstract reasoning and mathematical rigor. For several of these skills, there are substantial differences in forecasted average salary for an occupation if the skill’s importance rises from the 25th to the 75th percentile of its ranking across occupations. These results help to explain the observed large differences in average salary across occupations associated with bachelor’s degree workers.

Keywords: job skills, undergraduate education, average salary

This paper attempts to measure the level of competitiveness in Major League Baseball, the National Football League, and the cell phone industry using an index titled the churn. This analysis found that the difference in the level of competitiveness between the NFL and MLB is smaller than anticipated. The results also indicate that the level of competitiveness varies greatly across divisions in the NFL. The churn was also successfully applied to the cell phone industry. However, the use of the churn to measure industry competitiveness may be limited to mature oligopolistic industries.

Keywords: competitiveness, professional sports, cell phone industry

Technology scholarship is now the biggest area of study in public relations, accounting for more journal submissions than any area—even crisis. This essay argues for a more reflexive approach to social media and new technology in public relations. Using the results of a recent Delphi study of new technology as a guide, this essay explores the implications of some of the trends in new technology and offers suggestions for communication professionals and scholars regarding how to safeguard stakeholders and publics while still moving forward with social media and technology tools as they evolve.

Keywords: public relations, technology, social media

As he addressed the craft of diplomacy, Powell (2004) characterized diplomacy as “persuasion in the shadow of power” (p. 63). Specifically, diplomacy seeks to influence without the use of conflict. Throughout the world, American university professors deliver business education in a manner that has the opportunity to influence students world-wide that is consistent with this characterization. The practices of the international, American-led, business classroom and business conventions are grounded in American ideals. However, many international business instructors have no grounding in diplomacy; faculty members lacking the necessary training to avoid problems in other countries may be at risk. This paper posits that visiting international faculty members are engaged in diplomatic behaviors without adequate preparation and that this needs to change. By developing an approach to more effectively support faculty in international teaching, universities may develop a stronger understanding of the public face that is portrayed by international business educators.

Keywords: public diplomacy, education, internationalism

In 2000, the National Alliance to End Homelessness put out a call for the country to end homelessness in ten years. In 2002, under President Bush the program to end homelessness began. At that time the homeless were living in shelters and on the streets. The shift in federal policy was implemented by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). HUD’s “best practice” was to address a minimal stay in the shelter and a swift transition to self- sufficient living in permanent housing. In 2009 the Homeless Emergency Assistance Act and Rapid Transition to Housing (HEARTH) Act was signed into law including the change in funding to ensure the best practice strategy. During this decade the impact of the economic decline had new entrants to homelessness. As funding declines for the homeless it changes the nature of strategic differentiation and opens a new competitive arena – being a low cost provider as noted by Porter.

Keywords: homelessness, strategic adaptation, HEARTH Act

This study explores the relationship between the usage patterns of Short Message Service (SMS) and the level of perceived interpersonal intimacy. Prior research in computer mediated communication (CMC) suggests that CMC can be impersonal or hyperpersonal depending on the media characteristics, communication goals, and how individuals use the media for communication. Being semi-synchronous and text-based, SMS is capable of relational communication to develop intimate interpersonal relationships. SMS usage patterns are closely related to SMS usage behaviors, communication content, and involvement in SMS experience, and hence may influence relationship intimacy among SMS users. An online survey targeted to the SMS users was conducted to investigate which usage patterns of SMS can enhance relationship intimacy. The study results showed the use of SMS for ubiquitous communication and social communication are significant predictors of relationship intimacy. The study also revealed a positive relationship between the amount of SMS use and relationship intimacy.

Keywords: SMS usage, interpersonal intimacy, computer-mediated communication

This article explores the means whereby academic advising may strengthen its role in higher education by doing what H/R has done in the management world: become a strategic partner in the pursuit of the core mission of an organization. Specific emphasis is placed on the role advising can play in the development of students as leaders in society, which has become a major component of many university mission statements. More specifically, the authors discuss the relationship between advising and leadership development and propose specific educational processes related to coaching, mentoring, and teaching that may be implemented to facilitate student development via academic advising.

Keywords: academic advising, student leadership development, educational process

As innovation and organizational learning have moved into center stage managers are called on to develop two crucial capabilities: improvisation and mindfulness. In attempting to understand organizational and individual improvisation, scholars have turned to artistic forms in which improvisation is foregrounded and organizations have brought in artists to run workshops on improvisation. Mindfulness has similarly attracted attention from both scholars and practitioners. In this article, I discuss a form of improvisational partner dance that ties these two practices together. In doing so, Contact Improvisation also helps bridge the gap between the solitary practice of mindfulness meditation and the interpersonal improvisation of organizational life.

Keywords: organizational learning, mindfulness, improvisation

This empirical research study is comparing students’ performances in an online versus in- classroom setting in an introductory managerial accounting course. The research question is whether there is a significant difference in the learning outcomes. The research methodology used in this study includes scores from 12 weekly online assignments, a final examination held on campus, and total marks. The data collected represents three classes taught in the fall semester of 2011 (two in classrooms and one online). This study confirmed the findings of previous studies that students having only online instruction were as successful as students having classroom instruction. It concluded that course instruction and pedagogy are more important for student learning than the type of media delivery and instructors of online learning environment should focus their effort on quality in designing and developing online courses.

Keywords: online instruction, classroom setting, pedagogy

This paper examines how working-class men’s anxieties about the experience of gender, class, and power gave rise to worker interest in unionization and the Committee of Industrial Organizations (CIO) in western Pennsylvania steel mill towns during the Great Depression. During the 1930s, working men in the Beaver County steel towns of Aliquipa and Ambridge viewed industrial unions and class struggle as ways to more firmly establish manliness and a sense of male authority since they often confronted experiences of powerlessness and subordination in company town politics, workplaces, and sometimes their own homes.

Keywords: unionization, Committee of Industrial Organizations, powerlessness

We investigated the effects of objective and perceived existence of high performance work practices (HPWP) on employee satisfaction in workplace with a Chinese sample. The data showed that perceived existence of high performance work practices moderated the relation between the objective existence of HPWP and employee satisfaction.

Keywords: high performance work practices, employee satisfaction, perception

Many organizations are adopting “green” initiatives to meet public demand, and different types of green strategic initiatives can be categorized using a competing values framework. There is controversy over how to operationalize those strategies, how to measure them, and what standards to set to determine when a product/service can be certifiably "green." Standards vary widely by the source, product lifecycle stage, and whether indirect effects from the supply chain are assessed. Further, the selective nature of streamlined life-cycle studies often result in the neglect of important environmental impacts. When criteria exclude environmentally destructive direct or indirect effects, accusations of “greenwashing” undermine the drive for sustainability. Consequently standards and regulation seem to be both socially constructed retrospective rationalizations as well as empirically-based science. Implications are discussed.

Keywords: sustainability, greenwashing, regulation

Timing is critical when communicating during a crisis. The Clery Act outlines how universities must communicate information regarding a campus crisis to their stakeholders. College students are key stakeholders in the university community who create online social networks in addition to their interpersonal social networks. By including social media in the crisis communications plan, universities can comply with the Clery Act while reaching a key stakeholder group through their online social networks. The purpose of this study was to explore the extent to which differences existed regarding which types of communications media and tools were used to communicate with students during a campus crisis based upon perceptions of use versus perceptions of effectiveness. Results showed that university relations professionals perceived they used communications media and tools that allowed for almost instantaneous dissemination of messages to their student populations during a crisis. Social media were not rated as high as the university website, e-mail, text, and phone notifications.

Keywords: Clery Act, crisis communication, social media

Sense of community has been written about for over fifty years, and in a variety of contexts from rural sociology to psychology. There are many definitions for sense of community, along with a variety of models, constructs, measurements. Very little, however, has been written about the sense of community within academic departments. This article focuses on presenting an overview of the components of psychological sense of community within academic departments. The emphasis is on a long-term administrator’s reflections regarding a variety of behaviors which can have a significant positive or negative influence of sense of community.

Keywords: academic departments, sense of community, administrative self-reflection

Servant leadership is emerging as a major model for leadership practice and education. Nonetheless, little has been written about how the servant nature, or motivation to serve, of servant-leaders may be developed through sound educational practices. This article explores the research on empathy education as a means of promoting servant-leadership development.

Keywords: servant leadership, leadership education, empathy

This study uses a structural functional perspective in examining the form and function of questions in a presidential disaster press conference on May 27, 2010 about the Deepwater BP Oil Spill. Clayman and Heritage (2002) proposed a framework to examine the questions and responses in a press conference while Fisher (1991) offered a method to study media function. These were both applied to the disaster press conference. Findings were used to develop recommendations for public officials and PIOs in working with the media. Despite the fact that this case suggests an adversarial relationship between public officials and the media, public officials need to focus on public information needs in meeting with the press. In addition to questions about the reasons and impact of the disaster, public officials need to be prepared to respond to questions about accountability and responsibility for disasters.

Keywords: disaster response, press coverage, press conferences

Research on the influence of culture on creativity is in its infancy. Organizations world-wide may benefit from such research by implementing work environments that maximize creativity. In this article, we investigate cross-cultural differences in creativity and the cultural values of cognitive uncertainty and desire for change. 383 undergraduates from the University of North Florida (198) and the University of Pretoria in South Africa (185) participated in a study that measured creativity using the Abbreviated Torrance Test for Adults (ATTA; Goff & Torrance, 2002) and the Creative Achievement Questionnaire (CAQ; Carson, Peterson, & Higgins, 2005). In addition to measuring creativity levels in both cultures, the researchers investigated cultural values. Results show significant correlations between Cognitive Uncertainty, Desire for Change, and creative achievement. Results are used for implications in setting creative environments within organizational cultures.

Keywords: cultural values, organizational cultures, cross-cultural differences

This article proposes a research methodology for assessing the convergence between corporate values defined and enacted by management and employees’ perceptions of these values. Since perceptions are volatile, fluctuant, and subjective, this article proposes a mixed-methods approach toward assessing corporate value convergence. This method of assessment consists of the adaptation and quantification of frame analysis, a meaning-making theory. Further on, this methodology is most suitable for assessing value perceptions in online settings. By not distinguishing a clear audience, users of social media and public blogs communicate in a more free flow than in offline settings. This allows for a better assessment of the process through which they internalize and perceive corporate values.

Keywords: organizational values, corporate values, meaning-making

In the field of experimental social psychology, social facilitation, the theory originated as a means of explaining individual’s behavior in social situations. Social facilitation is described as enhancing one’s dominant response simply by being in the presence of others. Social facilitation, while not widely applied to consumer behavior, holds hope of becoming an interesting and useful tool in attempting to predict consumers’ behavior, specifically, behavior in particular buying situations. This paper examines social facilitation theory, where the presence of others is central, as a good predictor of consumer behavior in buying situations, like: store crowding and waiting in line. Thus, this paper seeks to explore the impact of the mere presence of others on buying behavior. The paper explores topics, like: distraction-conflict, evaluation apprehension, and crowding. Before these areas can be applied, it is necessary to investigate the origin of social facilitation, the theory.

Keywords: social facilitation, buying behavior, consumer attitude

In this paper, we discuss the use of Business Intelligence (BI) for competitive advantages by Beaumont Independent School District (BISD) in Texas. First, we define Business Intelligence and its development in school districts in Texas. Second, we discuss how BISD gathers business intelligence and what the drivers of BI are. Third, we report what kind of tools and technologies and data analyses are being used. Finally, we discuss the competitive advantages achieved by BISD from the use of BI and the possible future options, that they may expand on and how other school districts may benefit from following BISD’s example.

Keywords: business intelligence, data analysis, public school systems

The construct of social media is relatively new in terms of the Internet, World Wide Web, and Communication. In less than ten years social media went from something that no-one ever heard of, to something that many cannot live without. It has challenged both the traditional business marketing and interpersonal communication models. It is an evolving form of communication that has been adopted by the young and the old, individuals and organizations, education and entertainment. As social media is being adopted unintended consequences have become visible. This paper discusses the roots of social media; some of the major reasons individuals and business use it, and some of its problems. The paper also suggests some possible solutions on how to manage social media.

Keywords: social media, unintended consequences, communication models

This paper explores the nature of interpersonal trust development in relationship to cognitive style. The authors propose that individuals build trust according to internal schemata in accordance with personal cognitive styles, along with influence from affective and cognitive components guiding a dynamic process. Further, the authors develop propositions concerning specific issues and strategies for building interpersonal trust. The paper concludes with a series of research questions designed for future study.

Keywords: interpersonal trust development, cognitive style, schemata

Much recent attention has been given to classroom incivilities reflecting student behavior, however, instructor care and respect toward students has received little attention. We examine perceptions of three groups (undergraduate accounting students, MBA students, and corporate trainees) regarding instructor care and respect. College instructor care and respect toward students is clarified by (1) explaining such behavior and the lack of it; (2) providing information from learner samples; (3) exploring (a) caring, respectful behaviors and (b) uncaring, disrespectful behaviors; and (4) specifying instructor behaviors which may convey that students are respected and cared about, and which help build positive, inclusive classroom environments.

Keywords: student-faculty relationships, pedagogy, instructor care

The Marcellus Shale extends from southern New York across Pennsylvania, and into western Maryland, West Virginia, and eastern Ohio. The production of commercial quantities of gas from this shale requires large volumes of water to drill and hydraulically fracture the rock. Concerns about the availability of water supplies needed for gas production and questions about waste water disposal have been raised by water-resource agencies and citizens throughout the Marcellus Shale region. Both activist and energy-company coalitions are engaged in communication with the goal of establishing the legitimacy of their positions. This paper 1) reviews activism theory and issue management literature, 2) provides background on the Marcellus Shale issue and the coalitions involved in the public debate, 3) examines the coalitions’ website messages and media coverage in their attempts to establish the legitimacy of the issue positions, and 4) advances understanding of activist and corporate communication and adaptation.

Keywords: Activism theory, issue management, public issues

The purpose of this study was to determine to what extent participating in a virtual community contributes to the success rate when overcoming a societal problem, as compared to other factors such as the sex, age and motivation of an individual. The German community of practice stop- simply.com, which seeks to support individuals who wish to quit smoking, was used as a basis for the study. The value of this study lies in highlighting the growing impact of virtual communities in affecting behavioral change. The study suggests that social marketing with a clear focus on virtual communities can prove to be an effective strategy on tackling social issues.

Keywords: virtual communities, social marketing, behavioral change

Although it is generally accepted that supervisors and managers should avoid punishment for its supposed negative side effects, this paper illustrates that once again conventional wisdom with respect to correcting worker misbehavior is wrong and that truth is not always politically correct or as reassuring as one would like. Given that disciplining employee misconduct can be helpful in numerous workplace contexts, a set of guidelines contributing to more effective application of negative sanctions for business is presented.

Keywords: workplace discipline, supervision, worker misbehavior

The aim of this research is to test the main message-driven factors influencing consumer attitude and acceptance of mobile advertising. A conceptual model is developed – and empirically tested to examine the influence of four message-driven factors (informativeness, ubiquity, frequency, and personalization) as antecedents of consumer attitude and behavior towards mobile advertising messages. Data is collected – through a personal survey – from 355 Spanish teenagers in Spain, who are users of mobile services. We use structural equation modeling via EQS 6.1 to test the model. Data analysis shows that frequency is the dimension accounting the most – and significantly – of the four message-driven factors analyzed on attitude toward mobile advertising. Attitude has a significant effect on acceptance of mobile advertising messages.

Keywords: mobile advertising, consumer attitude, structural equation modeling