25 years of internships

The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston has provided mentoring and paid internships to inner-city high school students since 1982. The most recent initiative, FinTech Scholars, prepares young people specifically for careers in financial services.Federal Reserve Bank of Boston ; Student internships

What’s Wrong with Dodd-Frank 1502? Conflict Minerals, Civilian Livelihoods, and the Unintended Consequences of Western Advocacy- Working Paper 284

Although its provisions have yet to be implemented, section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act is already having a profound effect on the Congolese mining sector. Nicknamed “Obama’s Law” by the Congolese, section 1502 has created a de facto ban on Congolese mineral exports, put anywhere from tens of thousands up to 2 million Congolese miners out of work in the eastern Congo, and, despite ending most of the trade in Congolese conflict minerals, done little to improve the security situation or the daily lives of most Congolese. In this report, Laura Seay traces the development of section 1502 with respect to the pursuit of a conflict minerals-based strategy by U.S. advocates, examines the effects of the legislation, and recommends new courses of action to move forward in a way that both promotes accountability and transparency and allows Congolese artisanal miners to earn a living. Length: 32 pages

A Flexible Design Case Study: Leveraging Traits to Identify, Develop and Retain High-Potential Officers in the United States Air Force

This article details a single case study on the topic of identifying, developing, and retaining high-potential (HiPo) United States Air Force (USAF) officers. A model is proposed for organizations to better identify, develop and monitor, and retain HiPos. The case study conducted included 23 active or retired (less than 10 years) USAF colonels and general officers in the financial management career field as participants. Each participant was given a 20-question survey, a Big Five personality test, and an 11-question, hour-long interview. From the collected data, a total of six themes related to USAF HiPo management were discovered. Furthermore, the quantitative analysis that was conducted on the Big Five Personality Test result findings showed that statistically significant results were achieved. Specifically, the research found that the results for Openness to Experience, Conscientiousness, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism were statistically significant, while Extraversion was not. This article focuses on the findings regarding HiPo identification, the benefits of the practice, and how traits and trait theory can be related to leadership potential. The article also provides a Christian perspective on the business problem and the study’s findings

Making Resources Available - A Capstone Project

This project began as an attempt to make connections within my community. Connections between people in need, and the resources and services available to them. Making these connections involved research, discovering all of the wonderful organizations available locally and statewide and compiling those into an organized list with contact information. From there, I built a website that was easy to navigate and provided anyone who wanted access, every resource I had found. This website assists not only those who are looking for a little extra help, but also those who are trying to do good within their community. Those who have something to offer, if only they can be found. The website has been published and made accessible to my local community and the feedback has been wonderful. It is allowing community members to help one another, and there is little more that I can ask of a project like this

Financial Reporting Manipulation And The Role Of Religious Ownership: Evidence From Nonprofit Hospitals

Empirical evidence (e.g. Eldenburg and Vines 2004; Leone and Van Horn 2005; Ballantine et al. 2007; Eldenburg et al. 2011) demonstrates that nonprofit hospital managers respond to competing institutional and regulatory pressures by engaging in various forms of financial reporting manipulation. While some recent research in accounting (e.g. Dyreng et al. 2012; McGuire et al. 2012) shows that religious social norms can deter this undesirable behavior, these studies focus on the private, for-profit sector and use a location-based measure of religiosity. This study extends this line of research by using a more direct measure of religious social norms, the ownership affiliation of a hospital, in a nonprofit setting. Using quarterly and annual data for all nonprofit hospitals in the state of California, this study empirically examines the relationship between the nature of hospital ownership (i.e. secular vs. religious) and two types of financial reporting manipulation: earnings management and classification management. Consistent with social norm theory, findings indicate that religious hospitals manage earnings to a lesser extent than secular hospitals. However, religious and secular hospitals do not appear to differ with respect to strategic charity care classification. Supplemental tests indicate that the earnings management result is driven by fourth-quarter differences and that the effect is especially pronounced for the Medicaid payor. Additional analyses also consider a potential shock to managerial incentives as a result of recent healthcare regulatory changes. Although overall earnings management appears to be greater after the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in 2010, there is no evidence to suggest that the effect of hospital ownership on financial reporting changed as a result of the legislation. This study contributes to the growing literature on the influence of religious affiliation on corporate behavior, as well as the nature, timing, and extent of financial reporting decisions of nonprofit hospitals. Furthermore, it has important implications for audit firms, creditors, potential donors, accounting researchers, and other hospital stakeholders. Finally, results from this research should generalize to other large industries within the nonprofit sector (e.g. higher education)

The Lived Experiences of ICU, Med-surg, and ER Nurses in the United States Attempting to Breastfeed During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Breastfeeding is important to promote the health of both mothers and babies (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2021). Many mothers experience workplace barriers and stress which negatively impact breastfeeding duration (McCardel & Padilla, 2020; Nagel et al., 2022). However, a gap in the literature exists surrounding specific barriers and the impact of stress on U.S. nurses who breastfeed. Specifically, workplace challenges and stress among nurses resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic lack exploration. This interpretive phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of ICU, Med-Surg, and ER nurses who attempted to breastfeed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Roy’s adaptation model was the conceptual framework for this study, and participant experiences were analyzed using Roy’s model. Findings indicate nurses experienced both adaptive and non-adaptive behavior in various modes of Roy’s model. Dissemination of findings to nurse administrators would be important due to the breastfeeding challenges and needs identified by participants within this study. A growing need for nursing professionals requires action to promote the health and well-being of nursing staff, including breastfeeding support, and is important to ensure the job satisfaction of nurses and the provision of safe patient care

Pushing Forward: The Climate for LGBTQ Student Advising in Study Abroad of South Carolina

This study uses quantitative and qualitative analysis to examine issues of lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender, and queer/questioning (LGBTQ) minority undergraduate student inclusivity within the 32 study abroad programs offered within the 51 of the institutions of higher education in the state of South Carolina. Findings in this study suggest that study abroad programs are delivered to students in 1 of 3 ways: Direct Exchange, 3rd Party Provider, and Faculty-Led. Findings in this study also indicate that faculty and study abroad advisers view study abroad as a useful and transformative experience for all students and that these programs should be open and inclusive of everyone. However, the attitudes, policies, and actions of the study abroad programs do not necessarily reflect this professed importance when looking at the specific ways that LGBTQ students are invited, encouraged, prepared, and debriefed throughout their study abroad experience. The issues surrounding the LGBTQ community become particularly important when considering study abroad in countries where suspected homosexuality has been criminalized by imprisonment and in some instances, death. Most advisers were found to see the importance of LGBTQ issues to the study abroad experience, but most programs and policies have not found ways to particularly respond to the study abroad needs of the LGBTQ minority community on campuses. This study looks both the private and public attitudes and policies of particular study abroad programs at all of the institutions of higher education in South Carolina; it does not seek to discover the multiple factors that are causes of this disparity in attitudes and policies

Environmental injustice: a public health problem in Chattanooga

The concept of environmental injustice stems from the building of environmentally harmful infrastructure in minority communities. These communities are disproportionally subjected to increased environmental risk than other areas of society. As there is a large minority and impoverished population on the Southside of Chattanooga these issues are prevalent. Hamilton County was determined as a hotspot for childhood lead poisoning. The EPA began testing the soil for lead, but residents have not seen efforts to completely resolve the issue. In this study, a survey was used to assess community awareness of the lead contaminated soil and to highlight the aspects of environmental injustice effecting Cowart Place and Southside Gardens within the Southside community. In this study none of the residents with children had their children blood tested for lead even though their neighborhood was identified as a hotspot for soil lead contamination. This lack of individual prevention could be a product of the lack of awareness proven by the survey in which only one respondent (9%) was aware of the soil lead contamination. As a result of these findings, recommendations are presented to address the issue and minimize the possibility of reoccurrence. Reasons as to why environmental injustice existed in this community are also explored to better inform the recommendations

Novice, Alternatively Licensed Career and Technical Education Teachers\u27 Perceptions of Professional Development

In this qualitative study, I address novice, alternatively licensed Career Technical Education (CTE) teachers’ perceptions of professional development support in a southeastern school district in the state of Tennessee. The lack of tailored professional development opportunities created issues for CTE teachers because of the complexity of their teaching responsibilities. Research on effective methods of professional development for beginning CTE teachers existed; however, there were few research studies on program implementations and their effectiveness. To gather data, I used a Google survey to establish an initial, two-tiered criterion for participation, and participants who met the criteria participated in one-on-one interviews. Specifically, participants who had novice teaching experience, between one to five years of teaching experience in CTE, and held alternative certification in various subject areas within the context of CTE as defined by the Tennessee State Department of Education met the interview criteria. I identified themes utilizing the data analysis from the survey and interviews which included understanding professional responsibilities, instructional needs, educational jargon, dissatisfaction at the school level, and improved induction. Findings from this study will be useful in evaluating professional development opportunities offered to novice, alternatively licensed CTE teachers and improving the quality of instruction in the CTE classroom