Playing Goddess: A Study of Roman Women Associated with the Goddess Venus

Thesis (B.A. in History, Minor in Classical Studies)--John Cabot University, Spring 2025.Throughout the years of the empire, and a few before its establishment, Roman women were associated with the goddess Venus in ways that seem to contradict the expectations placed on them by society. This thesis explores the seemingly odd ways that women in the Roman empire were portrayed in the guise of or associated with the goddess Venus across different mediums. Previous scholarship considers the depictions separately but does not consider them together as a narrative being told largely in the city of Rome. This inquiry aims to fill this gap by exploring the connections between the different depictions and the way that ancient Romans may have considered these seemingly odd depictions as a normal occurrence. It does this by considering a variety of different case studies in literature, numismatics and statuary. This research aims to show that these depictions of women as Venus not only make sense within a larger narrative but that, upon further inspection, they were not odd for the Romans

Blending Digital and Physical Experiences in Luxury Wine Hospitality: An Experiential Approach to Technology Integration

Purpose – This study explores luxury wine hospitality by considering physical activities and activities created by integrating the physical domain with digital technology. In doing so, it aims to identify the different types of wine tourism-related luxury experiences and build a framework for interpreting hybrid luxury experiences in wine hospitality in the digital era. Design/methodology/approach – An explorative mixed-methods approach was adopted to investigate types of luxury wine hospitality using cluster analysis and in-depth interviews with producers of wines with controlled and guaranteed designation of origin in Italy’s Sangiovese area. Findings – This study presents a framework for understanding hybrid digital and physical experiences in wine hospitality by examining the core components of luxury experiences. We identify six types of luxury experiences in wine hospitality that combine a physical experiential component with varying degrees of integration with digital technologies. Practical implications – Our findings provide wine businesses operating in hospitality within the luxury segment with a useful tool for optimising the integration of digital technology into physical experiences to add value to visitors’ activities and highlight the importance of digital skills for wineries that organise luxury experiences. Originality/value – This study systematises the integration of digital technologies into physical activities related to wine hospitality. It presents a hybrid physical–digital analytical framework that adopts an experiential outline of the strategic design of wine hospitality businesses

La sfida del discredito: la risposta strategica del movimento cooperativo sociale a Mafia capitale

Questo studio esamina l’impatto dello scandalo Mafia Capitale sul sistema cooperativo italiano e il modo in cui la stigmatizzazione che ne è derivata si è rapidamente diffusa all’intero movimento delle cooperative sociali. La ricerca esplora inoltre i meccanismi attraverso cui il movimento cooperativo ha reagito a questa crisi, volti ad affrontare la stigmatizzazione e ripristinare la legittimità del movimento. Lo studio evidenzia in particolare come il “lavoro istituzionale” messo in opera collettivamente abbia innescato un meccanismo di revisione del modo in cui il movimento traduce i propri principi in modelli operativi, andando a riallineare valori e pratiche, e rimuovendo infine la stigmatizzazione

Igbo Identity Disrupted: The Exponential Effects of Colonialism on Igbo People in Achebe’s African Trilogy

Thesis (B.A. in English Literature, Minor in Creative Writing & Communications)--John Cabot University, Spring 2025.This thesis looks at the intersection of narrative and archiving in Chinua Achebe’s African Trilogy. Primarily detailing how the novels are archives of colonial history in Igboland from the late 19th century to the late 1950’s. Through textual analysis, the research highlights how colonialism affects psycho-social, cultural, linguistic, and identity politics for the Igbo. Drawing from post-colonial theory, historic records of British colonialism in Igboland and Nigeria, and linguistic theory, the paper illustrates how Achebe covertly and overtly alludes to the destruction of Igbo society’s socio-cultural construction, gender relations, philosophy, theology, linguistics, and epistemology. The Trilogy will be placed in conversation with wa Thiongo’s Decolonising the Mind: The Politics of Language in African Literature, Frantz Fanon’s Black Skin, White Masks and The Wretched of the Earth, Paolo Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed, and Achebe’s The Education of a British-Protected Child in order to contextualise the novels as not only post-colonial literature but also quasi-theoretical in how the narrative points to an analytical study of colonialism’s impact. Thus, positing that while the novels are works of fiction, their subject matter points towards cultural studies. Therefore, making them cardinal texts both in African literature and in decolonial studies

Revisiting the Pollock Myth: The Canon of American Modernism and the Museum of Modern Art's 1957 Retrospective

Thesis (B.A. in Art History)--John Cabot University, Spring 2025.This thesis examines the critical role of the 1957 Museum of Modern Art retrospective of Jackson Pollock, organized by Associate Curator Sam Hunter. It focuses on the ways in which this retrospective solidified the position of Pollock within the canon of American Modernism. The exhibition included thirty-five oil paintings, and a few watercolors and drawings shown publicly for the first time, ranging from the period 1938 to 1956 but concentrating on the last decade of Pollock's career. Autumn Rhythm (Number 30) was, here, celebrated as the premier example of Abstract Expressionism. Building on the curatorial strategies utilized at the retrospective, this research investigates how the exhibition framed Pollock's work, especially Autumn Rhythm (Number 30), to solidify his status as a leading figure in Abstract Expressionism, to the point of becoming synonymous with the heterogenous movement as a whole. Moreover, it goes into the 1998–99 MoMA retrospective, curated by Kirk Varnedoe and Pepe Karmel, which provided an opportunity to reassess Pollock’s work with new analytical and technical approaches, while still reinforcing the museum’s original narrative. While much of the copious scholarship on the artist focuses on his psychological struggles, this thesis instead investigates the institutional role that MoMA played in creating the "Pollock myth." It argues that, through deliberate curatorial decisions, MoMA contributed to a larger American Modernism narrative, still relevant today, by making his work iconic. This thesis is heavily reliant on primary sources, which include press releases and interviews as well as contemporary art criticism, especially by Harold Rosenberg and Clement Greenberg. Their early writings about the movement framed initial interpretations of Pollock's work. Harold Rosenborg saw Jackson Pollock's work as existential action, emphasizing the process of painting as a dramatic, psychological event. reflecting freedom and personal struggle. Clement Greenberg, however, praised Pollock's formal iii innovations as the culmination of modernist abstraction where form and process become content. Later perspectives provided by Rosalind Krauss. Meyer Shapiro, Kirk Varnedoe and Francis Frascina, most notably, question the artist's place within the movement and his role in American High Modernism. Ultimately, through careful analysis of these sources, this thesis aims to bring a fresh perspective on this particular exhibition and its foundational role in establishing the Pollock myth. By critically examining how MoMA's 1957 retrospective on Jackson Pollock helped reposition New York as the center of modern art, it challenges traditional Cold War narratives that identified the New York School, and Pollock in particular. as proof of American freedom and individualism

Anglo-Saxons, Umayyads, and Viking Raids: A Comparative Analysis of Identities and Disparate Representations

Thesis (B.A. in History, Minor in Art History)--John Cabot University, Spring 2025.The Anglo-Saxons of the British Isles and the Umayyads of the Iberian Peninsula differed in many ways. For one, the former was entirely Christian after their conversion in the sixth century, and the latter was predominantly Muslim. As well as geographical separation, they also had a wide array of contrasting social and political systems. However, the commencement of the Viking raids in the eighth and ninth centuries formed a chaotic period in Western medieval history which indirectly connected the two groups via their shared experiences. By doing a comparative analysis of Umayyad and Anglo-Saxon literature through an examination of their respective religious and cultural perspectives, the Vikings are shown to become the antithesis of the societies that they encounter which contrasts the ideals of those they negatively effect. Specific figures in the respective groups, mainly King Alfred and Emir Abd al-Rahman II, conversely embody the positive ideals of the communities that they lead by means of their contributions to their own intellectual and religious worlds. Both Anglo-Saxon and Umayyad scholars form their own identities, taking the undesirable traits of the Viking enemy and redetermining their meaning by juxtaposing them with a culture’s perceived favorable characteristics. Even with the death of the “Viking Age” in the eleventh century, their representation as a violent group remains present centuries after their first interactions, continuing into the modern world

Beyond boundaries: a multidisciplinary approach to understand the relationship between customer satisfaction and behavior in services

This article investigates the complex relationship between customer satisfaction and behavior in services, aiming to provide actionable insights for managers seeking to leverage satisfaction for improved business outcomes. The link between satisfaction and behavior is characterized by anomalies and complexities, such as satisfed customers switching brands, a disproportionate efect of low levels of dissatisfaction on behavior, non-linearity, asymmetry, and zones of low behavioral response. While these insights have signifcantly advanced scholarly discourse, they are often difcult to apply in practice, as they tend to focus narrowly on specifc aspects—such as non-linearity or the role of emotions—or prioritize satisfaction over dissatisfaction, leaving managers without a holistic framework to navigate these dynamics. This study emphasizes the need for a comprehensive understanding of how varying satisfaction levels, from extreme dissatisfaction to extreme satisfaction, infuence customer buying behavior. Using a longitudinal case study of a Fortune 500 fnancial services company, and adopting a multidisciplinary approach that integrates the above-mentioned fndings with insights from behavioral economics, neuroscience and brand equity, this article proposes a preliminary integrative model of the satisfaction-behavior curve that explains its non-linearity and asymmetry, as well as the cognitive and emotional factors that drive its infection points. Managerial implications include prioritizing actions that move customers beyond the “indiference zone”; addressing promptly and proactively even minor dissatisfaction episodes; closely monitoring defection rates and their underlying causes. As these early fndings are based on a single case study in an industry characterized by high involvement, future research should validate the proposed curve across industries and contexts, and considering moderating variables like culture, competition, and market maturity

Analyzing the Annona: a Source of Imperial Power

Thesis (B.A. in History, Minor in Art History, Minor in Classical Studies)--John Cabot University, Spring 2025.One of the earliest forms of social welfare could be found in Ancient Imperial Rome, known as the grain dole, it featured a state-run allotment of grain to every adult male citizen in the city of Rome. The successes of the dole encouraged the emperors to expand their roles in managing bureaucratic affairs as the empire expanded and reacted positively to their influence. Previously, the dominant research conducted on the grain trade and dole of Ancient Rome focused primarily on the scale of the economy and the processes in which grain was distributed to the various neighborhoods of Rome. In this thesis, I will examine how the grain dole became integral to the idea of the empire from the rule of Augustus to emperor Trajan – and why the decades-long facilitation of the grain dole became a legitimizing factor in proving each emperor’s link to divinity and their competence in ruling the empire. This study will utilize a combination of analysis of the dominant secondary literature, evidence of archaeological remains, and examination of primary literature in order to demonstrate the key factors of the grain dole and to tease out the dole’s role in Imperial statecraft. Overall, the analysis will demonstrate how the first emperor, Augustus, established a lasting bureaucratic system for the facilitation of the grain dole, followed by his successors who adapted his system in order to better their own political position and to assuage the fear of famine. Therefore, by the time of emperor Trajan, the grain dole had become a sure sign of a civilized state due to its continual success in spite of its scale of production and distribution and through its abilities to calm the populace of Rome

What do we really mean by “purpose-driven businesses”?

Frame of the research: The concept of Purpose-driven Businesses (PDBs) has emerged as a response to pressing global challenges, including climate change, social inequality, and biodiversity loss, which call for a fundamental rethinking of the role of businesses in addressing societal and environmental needs. While the term has gained significant traction, its precise meaning remains ambiguous, often overlapping with existing constructs in management literature, such as Corporate Social Responsibility and Shared Value Creation. This study operates at the intersection of these theoretical perspectives, aiming to provide a structured analytical framework for understanding how PDBs incorporate social and environmental values into their strategies and balance the diverse expectations of stakeholders. Purpose of the paper: This paper is the end product of an extended conversation and debate between a number of business management scholars with a particular interest in the concept of Purpose. This concept has been increasingly used to characterise businesses which do not only have a conventional commercial purpose but also a social one. Despite the popularity of the term, the precise meaning of “purpose” remains somewhat unclear, especially when compared to the wide set of constructs which have already been used in business management literature to refer to similar types of business. A deeper analysis of the differences and similarities with other related concepts is thus needed. This paper summarizes the results of this discussion and provides a detailed definition of PDBs. Methodology: This paper is the result of an open debate on the concept of Purpose, which began with a series of face-to-face and online discussions between management scholars with an interest in this area. Firstly, the group of scholars who participated identified the existing literature on purpose-driven businesses. Next, the theoretical approaches that were most closely aligned with this concept were identified and each one of them was assigned to the person with the most expertise in that area so that they could examine it in more detail for the purposes of this article. Finally, an agreed definition of PDBs was produced. Findings: This paper sets out the differences between PDBs and other similar concepts. Further, we provide a list of characteristics that PDBs must have, may have, and cannot have. Research limitations: This article discusses theoretical approaches and is the result of collaboration between a number of scholars who specialize in the field. Our theoretical findings may suggest a way forward for future empirical studies. Practical implications: This paper provides a more nuanced and comprehensive understanding of what is meant by PDBs, with practical implications for managers working at both day-to-day and strategic levels. Originality of the paper: This analysis was the result of a process of discussion between scholars working in the area of PDBs. The checklist of the elements that characterise PDBs is intended to be a useful point of reference for scholars and professionals working in this field