Barriers to Employment: A Substance Abuse Story

Whilst prior research is available on substance abuse and resources have been allocated from various governmental agencies and private organizations, the effects of substance abuse issues continue to persist within Appalachia. A constant variable in mitigating recidivism in substance abuse is employment. Moreover, the economy and culture of Appalachia is distinctly different with limited research in the field having focused on these issues. The purpose of this study is to identify barriers (e.g., criminal convictions, financial resources, and jobseeker KSAO (Knowledge, Skills, Abilities and Other Characteristics)) in obtaining sustainable employment that individuals may experience as a result of an association with substance abuse

Enhanced Expense Practices for Higher Education: Enduring Continuous Reductions in State Appropriation

The way forward for higher education to survive and to endure reductions in state appropriations is the enrichment of practices associated with traditional expenses. Because consistent reductions in state appropriations threaten to cause major changes to educational services within Higher Education, this paper advocates enhancement to program management and changes to teaching practices without sacrificing students\u27 expectations. In fact, these practices strengthen learning through practical and team teaching environments while promoting unity of colleges and integration of courses. Module learning and transition programs encourage students to complete degrees faster and step up to the next advance degree. Flexibility can be obtained in a traditionally rigid environment without surrendering core programs

The evolution of gift cards in secondary markets and money services

This paper reviews gift cards and the regulations associated with these instruments in financial transactions. One important consideration of gift cards involves secondary markets and money services business. While the accounting of gift cards by retailers is easy when they are redeemed, gift cards become problematic when breakage (non-redemption) occurs. In addition to large organized exchanges for gift cards, many prospective sellers and buyers have turned to non-mainstream dealers to handle situations relating to the non-redemption of the gift card. This has caused gift cards to become an increasingly important player in the secondary market. Another important observation with these instruments involves the true cost to buyers. Most consumers fail to consider opportunity costs and alternatives. Since gift cards are perceived differently than cash, opportunity cost consideration should be viewed differently to determine the effective price value

Quantitative evaluation on indigent criminal defense funding

This article takes a quantitative approach to build upon McKinney and Shao\u27s (2008) qualitative contribution concerning resource a/location of indigent criminal defense programs. By compating public funds of multiple societies over time, we are able to add important knowledge surrounding property rights valuations using a new concept called GDP Indexed Purchasing Power Parity. The findings of this study show that GDP-PPP provides for better indigent criminal defense analysis than per capita figures

Rapid Experimentation: The Silicon Valley Method of Success

The methodology of rapid experimentation focuses on discovering a problem’s solutions through leap-offaith assumptions that will delight the end users. Rapid experimentation has been used by Silicon Valley in developing products and services that have excited consumers and changed business expectations. Developers need to have high functioning team members that are open to new experiences and that can deliver experiences to customers from products and services that not only exceed customer expectations, but delight them. In this paper, we present a case using this Silicon Valley methodology of rapid experimentation in solving the problem of substance abuse. We reflect on two team’s efforts in finding a solution to the problem of substance abuse. Starting at the same time, using the same resources, and having access to the same information, each team found a different solution. Both solutions are valid as both exceeded and delighted the users. Furthermore, this case illustrates that the application of rapid experimentation can be injected into classrooms to develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills

Partnering with Corporate Entrepreneurs on an Experiential Design Thinking Project

This article offers faculty an innovative teaching approach for an experiential class project centered around design thinking. The basic processes of the project are detailed using a running example where the entrepreneurship instructor partners with corporate entrepreneurs from a leading financial technology firm to develop, teach, and team with student groups to design think solutions for three of the community’s greatest challenges: substance abuse, youth education, and technology. Learning objectives are identified and measures of the program’s effectiveness at achieving the learning objectives are collected, assessed, and reported. Analysis of the data suggests the program is effective at enhancing student empathy, complex problem-solving skills, felt-responsibility, and community self-efficacy. Further, students perceive that the corporate entrepreneurs properly supported them in the project and they were quite satisfied with working with real customers, the corporate entrepreneurs, and the program overall

The Impact of Intervention Measures on Sexual Harassment in the Film and Television Industry

Since 2017, increased sexual harassment incidents have been reported in Hollywood; yet, little guidance has been offered on how organizations, which are informally governed by their network members, can effectively reduce sexual harassment. Building upon the theory of network governance, this paper suggests social mechanisms, which are used to coordinate and safeguard exchanges between Hollywood organizations, are more effective at reducing incidents of workplace sexual harassment than traditional strategies. These social mechanisms direct change to the macroculture through collective sanctions that damage the perpetrators reputation and restrict access to network opportunities. In essence, perpetrators become toxic assets that Hollywood avoids and this avoidance is similar to economic sanctions that can deter sexual harassment

Challenges and Opportunities in Business Higher Education

The catchphrase “Today’s Challenges Lead to Tomorrow’s Opportunities” succinctly describes the environment currently relevant to the area of business higher education. The future of business higher education in the 21st Century will involve dramatic changes that will lead to a vastly different business education environment than we have today. By recognizing opportunities and preparing strategies to embrace these changes, business schools will be better able to prepare for what lies ahead. There will be new opportunities to try strategic initiatives that could not have been previously attempted. Business schools must look for new alternatives and utilize a proactive approach for the “new non-normal” environment that is the future of business education. This paper will examine the major challenges and opportunities in business education. A discussion will also be provided on possible solutions to the problems facing business schools. It is important to realize that, the challenges and opportunities facing business higher education include technical as well as nontechnical influences. Recent technological advancements also offer both tremendous challengesand significant opportunities for business school administrators as they guide their institutions into the future

Microchips: Technology that can Change Medical Services

Healthcare costs have increased greatly over the last few years. The result is a tremendous burden for businesses and private individuals. Experts say there is no end in sight to this increase. This situation has forced the federal government, state governments, and private industry, to investigate methods to slow down and reduce this constant increase in healthcare costs. Microchip technologies have been presented as a means to ensure better patient care while a/so reducing costs and errors resulting from the current system of healthcare. This paper presents an overview of microchip technology programs, issues with implementation, and future considerations for evolving programs