Corporate Social Responsibility and Financial Performance of U.S. Manufacturing and Service Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) investment strategies impact the business outcomes of firms of all sizes regardless of investment motives. But for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME), the consequences of CSR investment are more immediate when compared to larger firms due to the condensed lag time between decisions and their respective outcomes. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the management decisions of social or environmental CSR investments for U.S.-based service and manufacturing SMEs are effective as represented by financial performance in their respective business sectors. The theoretical framework of this study was stakeholder and social capital theories. Five research questions were used as the basis for exploring the relationship between the financial performance of service SMEs and the financial performance of manufacturing SMEs when both invested in social and environmental CSR. From a sample of 50 U.S.-based SME firms, the perceptions of owner/managers on the extent of social CSR, environmental CSR, and financial performance were assessed via survey questionnaire and analyzed employing ANCOVA, t statistic, and multiple regression analyses. The results showed significantly higher financial performance for service SMEs than for manufacturing SMEs when both were engaged in workplace and customer CSR activities. Further, combined social and environmental CSR activities suggested a negative but insignificant effect on financial performance, business sector notwithstanding. The findings indicate that U.S. SMEs should consider monitoring their financial performance when making CSR investments, and when optimizing programs that are beneficial to both themselves and to society at large

Growth Mindset for Incoming College Students

The purpose of this study was to examine an educational psychology phenomenon called growth mindset and the influence it may have on first-generation college student transition as measured by first-semester GPA. I invited students attending the orientation first-generation workshop to participate in my study and had 308 participants. I systematically selected one-third of them to participate in a 35-minute intervention that taught them about growth mindset. Students in the control group participated in the session New Student Orientation had in place for years: a simple social-belonging intervention. My study found that students who participated in the control/social-belonging intervention had statistically significant higher GPAs than students who participated in the growth mindset intervention. This is important for institutions to consider when wanting to improve college graduation rates for more vulnerable populations like first-generation college students

MANY DO SUCCEED, YOU KNOW: AFRICAN AMERICAN ADULT STUDENT SUCCESS AND RETENTION IN COMMUNITY COLLEGES

This study explores the factors, attributes, and commitment that contribute to African American adult student success, retention, and completion in the community college environment. This study explores what factors contribute to African American student retention as opposed to those factors that serve as deficit; literature abounds with reasoning why minorities fail at both the two-year and four-year college setting. What then are reasons they succeedare these reasons different from other minorities or the larger non-minority student body? Does gender effect outcomes? To answer these questions of success and retention, these variables were measured by specific components the Community College Student Experience Questionnaire (CCSEQ). The CCSEQ is a student self-assessment instrument that provides information on the quality of students\u27 educational experience as well as students\u27 progress toward important educational goals (Pearson et. al, 2009) based on their effort in academic activities, interaction with faculty, staff, and institution as a whole, and the utilization of resources. The participants in this study were graduates of a large Southeastern community college during the fall of 2019. This quantitative study consisted of an analysis of the data extracted from the CCSEQ. This analysis compared compare graduation participants based on gender and race (as defined as minority or non-minority). The CCSEQ results and matched samples of fall graduate responses were analyzed by ANCOVA addressing seven variables that relate to Tintos theory of retention in three broad categories (internal retention factors, external retention factors, and success factors). The secondary and tertiary purposes of this study are to determine the strength of relationship between the students tendency to persist and their perception of the collegiate environment, perceptions of gains, and quality of effort. While there was no significance found in these seven independent variables, controlling for African American students as a covariate, there was significance found for independent variables minority and gender. The study analyzed the effect of the gender and the minority variables on each score and studied the interaction effect of gender x minority. In addition, this study provides analysis about the effect of being African American (defined as covariate AA Black) on each score. Overall, independent variable minority had an effect on two scores, but not AA Black. AABlack had basically the same effect as the other non-white minorities on these two scores. Otherwise independent variable gender also had an effect on two other scores. Some interaction effect between variables gender and minority was observed on the mean plots, but the variance in each group is too large to detect a statistically significant interaction.Keywords: African American student, covariate, community college, quantitative methodology, retention, success, persistence, CCSEQ, background characteristics, ANCOVA

Cortical Thickness Abnormalities Within the Salience and Reward Networks in Older Depressed Adults with Apathy

Background and Significance: Apathy is a common comorbidity in late-life depression. Among older depressed adults, apathy is associated with a number of adverse outcomes, including increased disability, comorbid illness, and mortality. The etiological substrates of apathy in late-life depression nonetheless remain poorly understood, and little is known about its optimal treatment. To this end, the aim of the current study was to examine cortical abnormalities within the salience (SN) and reward networks (RN), two brain systems involved in the processing of incentive salience that may underlie the syndrome of apathy in older depressed adults. Methods: We examined the association between apathy and cortical thickness of the right insula, caudal anterior cingulate cortex (cACC), rostral anterior cingulate cortex (rACC), medial orbitofrontal cortex (mOFC), and lateral orbitofrontal cortex (lOFC) in 49 individuals with late-life depression before and after 12 weeks of antidepressant treatment with the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) escitalopram. Apathy was quantified using the Apathy Evaluation Scale (AES). Cortical thickness was computed using FreeSurfer. Regions of interest (ROIs) were parcellated using the Desikan-Killiany atlas. Results: Within the SN, cortical thickness of the insula was significantly associated with response of apathy symptoms to escitalopram, as well as persistence of apathy symptoms after 12 weeks of treatment. Thickness of the cACC, which is involved in both salience and reward processing, was not associated with apathy at any time. Within the RN, thickness of the rACC was significantly related to apathy at baseline. Thickness of the mOFC and lOFC was not associated with apathy at any time. Exploratory analyses examining the association between cognitive functions and apathy revealed a relationship between response of apathy to treatment and several aspects of cognition, including processing speed, executive functioning (i.e., set shifting and source monitoring), and memory (i.e., retrieval of verbal information). Conclusions: The results of this study suggest a role for abnormalities within both the SN and RN in older depressed adults with apathy. Given the interplay between structures of the SN and RN in processing of incentive salience, older depressed adults with apathy may have a decreased ability to associate an anticipated outcome with the experience of desire, thereby decreasing motivated, goal-directed activity

An Experimental Investigation of Productivity Stratification and Knowledge Transfer in an Electronically Mediated Environment

The idea of anywhere and anytime learning is enticing from a military standpoint, given the high deployment rates in the current operational environment. Electronic-based learning is seen as an answer to this requirement. Currently there are many variations in electronic-based instructional media, and little has been done to determine which format or combination of formats is most conducive to facilitating knowledge transfer and learning. The research project explores, through the use of an experiment, three primary constructs of media richness, content flexibility, and forced engagement, in their relation to effectiveness or productivity in facilitating learning in the experimental participants. The instructional subject matter of choice in this experimental research was the art of detecting deceptive communication. Within the confines of this study, little empirical evidence was found to support the idea that any of the specific variations of electronic training medium outperformed the others in facilitating knowledge transfer

THE IMPACT OF MIDTERM COLLEGE MATHEMATICS PERFORMANCE ON RETENTION AND GRADUATION OF STEM STUDENTS

The purpose of this study sought to examine how midterm math performance can impact a student’s final math performance, STEM performance, overall performance, as well as retention and graduation with a STEM major. The sample consisted of 283 first-time full-time undergraduate students who were admitted in Fall 2014 as STEM majors within a liberal arts and sciences college at a private, not-for-profit, urban, highly diverse university located in the northeast. Academic record data from between September 2014 – May 2020 was obtained. Multiple and logistic regression analyses were performed, as well as independent samples t-tests. Results of the study revealed that while midterm math performance was not a direct predictor of retention and graduation when taking all college performance variables into account, it could be considered as an indirect predictor due to its positive relationship with cumulative GPA, where increasing cumulative GPA increased a student’s chance of being retained and graduated as STEM. Similar results were found in relation to final math performance and STEM GPA. Furthermore, it was found that students who graduated in STEM had, on average, higher midterm and final math GPAs compared to students who leave or change their major out of STEM. This study also revealed the importance of not only looking at the retention into the second year but also retention into the third year, where underrepresented minorities in STEM had a substantial attrition rate during this transition. The need for STEM graduates continues to be a priority and this study will add to the literature on how institutions can target formerly well-performing high school students but begin to perform poorly once matriculated as early as possible

Parenting Stress as A Moderator of the Relationship Between Child Emotional and Behavioral Problems and Parental Readiness for Change

The current study applied the Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change (Prochaska & DiClemente, 1983) to parenting behavior, as past research has suggested that increasing parental motivation and readiness for change is associated with greater client participation and improved therapeutic outcomes (Dowell & Ogles, 2010; Karver et al., 2006). The current study attempted to replicate Jones et al.’s (2017) primary findings and add to the current body of literature on parental readiness for change by examining parenting stress as a moderator of the relationship between internalizing and externalizing child problems and parental readiness for change (Jones et al., 2017; Wade & Andrade, 2015). Data was collected at a medium-sized outpatient child, adolescent, and family therapy clinic in the Appalachian region. Guardians completed the Behavior Assessment System for Children, Third Edition (BASC-3), Parenting Readiness for Change Scale (PRFCS), Parenting Stress Index Fourth Edition (PSI-4)/Parenting Stress Index, Fourth Edition Short-Form (PSI-4-SF) or the Stress Index for Parents of Adolescents (SIPA; Sheras et al., 1998). The moderator was not examined due to the violation of multicollinearity and an insufficient number of participants in the high-stress parenting group. The current study found that after controlling for child age and family court status, child internalizing problems, externalizing problems, and parenting stress did not predict level of parental readiness for change. An exploratory analysis found that externalizing problems predicted parenting stress over and above just internalizing problems

An Investigation of How Previous Diagnoses Affect the Developmental Functioning of Children at Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder

Research has shown that children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often have co-occurring medical and/or psychiatric disorders. This current study aimed to investigate how previous diagnoses, which may become comorbidities of ASD if diagnosed, affect the developmental functioning of children presenting as at risk for ASD compared to those presenting with no risk. Developmental areas such as communication, motor, adaptive, cognitive and social, as well as overall developmental functioning, were considered in the analysis. 11,970 children under the age of three were studied. Results found that the presence of previous diagnoses significantly predicted developmental functioning, particularly in the motor functioning of those not at risk for ASD. The results also demonstrated that the presence of two or more of these conditions significantly impact overall developmental functioning. These results have implications for early assessment and treatment for ASD and its common comorbidities. Limitations and conclusions were then discussed

Maternal Diet Quality as a Predictor of Child Adiposity Among New York City Head Start Families

Childhood obesity disproportionately affects low-income families and those of Hispanic origin. Obesity is prevalent even among preschool children, and effective preventive interventions remain to be developed. Mothers, through their food choices and modeling behaviors, exert powerful influence over children’s diets and may therefore be ideal targets for such interventions. The purpose of this study was to assess the association between maternal diet quality and children’s body size. Data came from a study of Endotoxin, Obesity, and Asthma in NYC Head Start, to which African American and Hispanic families were recruited. Mothers answered a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) and a questionnaire about maternal and child characteristics. Children’s body size was measured by child’s BMI z-score and percentile, child’s Waist-to-Height Ratio (WHtR), and child’s triceps and subscapular skinfold thicknesses. For the dissertation, we assessed maternal diet quality measured by HEI-2015 Total Score, and children’s adiposity at baseline and at one- and two-year follow-ups. This secondary analysis used data from 380 mother-child dyads with complete exposure and outcome data at baseline and, of those dyads, 167 mothers and 235 children who provided data at one-year follow-up, and 73 mothers and 110 children who did so at two-year follow-up. Mean HEI-2015 total score at baseline was 64.3±8.7 of 100, but 69.8±8.6 for Dominican and 60.2±6.5 for Mexican mothers. HEI scores were also associated with mothers’ marital status. Of the children, 44% were considered overweight or obese and 75% had WHtR > 0.5. Children of Mexican descent had higher WHtR than other groups. Maternal diet quality was not associated with any of the adiposity variables (BMI z-score, Triceps nor Subscapular z-score, or WHtR) at baseline or one-year follow-up. In regression models, Mexican ethnicity and younger age were associated with greater WHtR at baseline, but not one year later. Although HEI-2015 score was not related to child adiposity, it was related to national origin, which was related to adiposity. Maternal diet quality needs further study and consideration as a target for intervention; it may be an important indicator of family health

The Impact Of Nested Testing On Experiment-Wise Type I Error Rate

When conducting a statistical test the initial risk that must be considered is a Type I error, also known as a false positive. The Type I error rate is set by nominal alpha, assuming all underlying conditions of the statistic are met. Experiment-wise Type I error inflation occurs when multiple tests are conducted overall for a single experiment. There is a growing trend in the social and behavioral sciences utilizing nested designs. A Monte Carlo study was conducted using a two layer design. Five theoretical distributions and four real datasets taken from Micceri (1989) were used, each with five different samples sizes and conducted with nominal alpha set to 0.05 and 0.01. These were conducted both unconditionally and conditionally. All permutations were executed for 1,000,000 repetitions. It was found that when conducted unconditionally, the experiment-wise Type I error rate increases from alpha = 0.05 to 0.10 and 0.01 increases to 0.02. Conditionally, it is extremely unlikely to ever find results for the factor, as it requires a statistically significant nest as a precursor, which leads to extremely reduced power. Hence, caution should be used when interpreting nested designs