An Integrated Approach to the Role of Control in Child Maltreatment and Delinquency

The purpose of this thesis is to integrate the labeling perspective and social support perspective into the central causal process of Charles Tittle\u27s control balance theory. This will explain the linkages between child maltreatment and delinquency. The child maltreatment experience and the consequent label of victim affect a youth\u27s self concept which in turn affects how a provoking event will be interpreted. The child maltreatment experience lessens the amount of control imbalance necessary for a provoking event to be interpreted as humiliating. The victim label also affects motivation for deviance indirectly through its effects on the control ratio and opportunity for deviance as described in control balance theory. The presence of social support works to reverse the affects of stigmatization due to labeling. Consequently, social support becomes a mediating variable in the link between child maltreatment and delinquency. A discussion of all these theories is included along with a review of pertinent literature on the theories. Application of the control balancing process to staff and youth interactions in residential settings is also included

Skilling up for CRM: qualifications for CRM professionals in the Fourth Industrial Revolution

The 4th industrial revolution (4IR) describes a series of innovations in artificial intelligence, ubiquitous internet connectivity, and robotics, along with the subsequent disruption to the means of production. The impact of 4IR on industry reveals a construct called Industry 4.0. Higher education, too, is called to transform to respond to the disruption of 4IR, to meet the needs of industry, and to maximize human flourishing. Education 4.0 describes 4IR’s impact or predicted impact or intended impact on higher education, including prescriptions for HE’s transformation to realize these challenges. Industry 4.0 requires a highly skilled workforce, and a 4IR world raises questions about skills portability, durability, and lifespan. Every vertical within industry will be impacted by 4IR and such impact will manifest in needs for diverse employees possessing distinct competencies. Customer relationship management (CRM) describes the use of information systems to implement a customer-centric strategy and to practice relationship marketing (RM). Salesforce, a market leading CRM vendor, proposes its products alone will generate 9 million new jobs and $1.6 trillion in new revenues for Salesforce customers by 2024. Despite the strong market for CRM skills, a recent paper in a prominent IS journal claims higher education is not preparing students for CRM careers. In order to supply the CRM domain with skilled workers, it is imperative that higher education develop curricula oriented toward the CRM professional. Assessing skills needed for specific industry roles has long been an important task in IS pedagogy, but we did not find a paper in our literature review that explored the Salesforce administrator role. In this paper, we report the background, methodology, and results of a content analysis of Salesforce Administrator job postings retrieved from popular job sites. We further report the results of semi-structured interviews with industry experts, which served to validate, revise, and extend the content analysis framework. Our resulting skills framework serves as a foundation for CRM curriculum development and our resulting analysis incorporates elements of Education 4.0 to provide a roadmap for educating students to be successful with CRM in a 4IR world

When Blockchain Meets CRM: An Evaluation of Enterprise CRM Vendor Blockchain Capabilities

The emergence of Blockchain technology has begun to manifest in various business and technical domains. Despite the transformative potential of Blockchain and other distributed ledger technologies, the distributed paradigm is markedly different than the relational database model underlying prototypical CRM systems, presenting a novel integration challenge. Resolving CRM-Blockchain integration challenges is a precondition to realizing the emergent paradigm known as CRM 4.0. The top 6 CRM vendors are identified, and their Blockchain capabilities are investigated. We conclude that while many of these vendors once implemented Blockchain capabilities, such capabilities have since largely been deprioritized, obfuscated, or outright abandoned. This paper extends the existing literature on CRM and Blockchain through the lens of industry

A Systematic Review of Blockchain-based Loyalty Programs

Customer loyalty programs, the incentive structures designed to reward and retain customers for purchases and other activities, have struggled to maximize their intended goals. Academics and industry practitioners have advocated for the use of blockchain technology as a vehicle to revolutionize loyalty programs. Despite this hype, we have yet to see an examination of existing blockchain-based loyalty solutions. This paper identifies, reviews, and classifies tokenized loyalty solutions. Using a web-scraping method, we systematically retrieved 9,642 tokens listed on the coinmarketcap.com website. Multiple applications of inclusion/exclusion criteria resulted in 21 active loyalty programs based on blockchain, which we evaluated in depth. Our findings confirm that the domain is nascent yet more actualized than previous research has suggested. This analysis fills a much-needed role in the blockchain-loyalty literature by providing an industry lens into the realities of blockchain as a loyalty solution

In Search of the Optimal CRM Curriculum: A Skills Framework for the Salesforce Administrator Role

Customer relationship management (CRM) systems, the enterprise systems used to digitize aspects of the sales, support, & marketing functions, are heavily adopted throughout industry, resulting in demand for skilled employees. Higher education is generally expected to respond to industry needs, and assessing these needs is a long-standing task in Information Systems (IS) pedagogy. A recent paper suggests that CRM curricula in higher education is often inadequate and proposes a skills framework for a CRM Analyst. We leverage this skills framework to perform a content analysis of 61 job listings for Salesforce Administrator roles. Our framework indicates that a CRM curriculum should generate student competence in the categories of data & middleware, soft skills, project management & business analysis skills, and to obtain a baseline Salesforce Administrator certification. These findings can assist instructors in developing CRM courses and programs and expand our existing understanding of CRM pedagogy

"Now His Time Really Seems to Have Come": Ideas about Mahler's Music in Late Imperial and First Republic Vienna

In Vienna from about 1918 until the 1930s, contemporaries perceived a high point in the music-historical significance of Mahler's works, with regard to both the history of compositional style and the social history of music. The ideas and meanings that became attached to Mahler's works in this milieu are tied inextricably to the city's political and cultural life. Although the performances of Mahler's works under the auspices of Vienna's Social Democrats are sometimes construed today as mere acts of political appropriation, David Josef Bach's writings suggest that the innovative and controversial aspects of Mahler's works held social value in line with the ideal of Arbeiterbildung. Richard Specht, Arnold Schoenberg, and Theodor Adorno embraced oft-criticized features in Mahler's music, regarding the composer as a prophetic artist whose compositional style was the epitome of faithful adherence to one's inner artistic vision, regardless of its popularity. While all three critics addressed the relationship between detail and whole in Mahler's music, Adorno construed it as an act of subversion. Mahler's popularity also affected Viennese composers during this time in obvious and subtle ways. The formal structure and thematic construction of Berg's Chamber Concerto suggest a compositional approach close to what his student Adorno described a few years later regarding Mahler's music

The feasibility of a patient informed, racially targeted home-based exercise program for black individuals with multiple sclerosis

Background: There has been increasing interest in the occurrence and expression of multiple sclerosis (MS) in minority populations, particularly in black individuals. Black individuals with MS may experience a more aggressive disease course, have a poorer prognosis with disease modifying therapies and have increased odds of physical comorbidities than their white counterparts. There is substantial evidence that suggests exercise training to be a promising approach for managing the manifestations of MS. However, much of this research has been conducted in white individuals. Further, black individuals with MS report lower levels of physical activity compared to white individuals with MS. A randomized controlled trial examining the feasibility of a targeted exercise training program in black individuals with MS is warranted. Objective: The aim of the present study was to assess program feasibility of a three-month, home-based, racially targeted, exercise training program in the four domains of process (e.g., recruitment and retention), recourses (e.g., communication and monetary costs), management (e.g., of data management and safety reporting), and scientific outcomes (e.g., safety, burden, compliance, experience, and treatment effect) in black individuals with MS. Methods: This study recruited 32 black individuals with mild-to-moderate MS related disability to participate in an exercise program. Participants completed a battery of questionnaires assessing demographic and clinical characteristics, and physical activity levels immediately prior to and following the program. Participants received a 3-month, home-based exercise program (i.e., resistance and aerobic training) which contained exercise equipment, a manual, and a log-book. Additionally, participants received periodic newsletters which emphasized social cognitive theory principles for behavior change, and phone calls with a behavioral coach who provided motivation and social accountability. Results: Results indicated that this exercise program was feasible, safe, and well received via data analysis and formative evaluation. Moreover, 24 participants completed post-assessment (75%; two dropped out, six did not return follow up assessments). The exercise program cost a total of \$3,726.57 (personnel costs = \$2128.74 USD,$20.87 USD per/hour; exercise program costs = \$1,597.83 USD, mean cost per person = \$46.93). Total time spent administrating the program was 102 hours. Participants complied with 70% of all exercise sessions via self-reported exercise logs. There was a significant increase (t=-5.1, p <.001, d=-1.0) in self-reported exercise behavior as measured by the Godin Leisure-Time Exercise Questionnaire Health Contribution Score. Conclusion: The results of this study support the feasibility, acceptability, and efficacy of this home-based exercise intervention for black individuals with mild-to-moderate MS

Participant Experiences with a New Online Modified-Delphi Approach for Engaging Patients and Caregivers in Developing Clinical Guidelines

Background Patient engagement in clinical practice guideline (CPG) development has increased significantly in recent years. However, only a few patients and caregivers join CPG development groups. Objective To describe participant experiences with a novel online, scalable approach for patient and caregiver engagement in CPG development. Design We developed and tested the RAND/PPMD Patient-Centeredness Method (RPM), a novel online modified-Delphi approach to patient engagement in CPG development that consists of an optional idea generation round and two rating rounds interspersed with an online discussion round. Setting and Participants Using the online ExpertLens™ system, we ran 2 concurrent panels of patients and caregivers of individuals with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD). Main Outcome Measures We surveyed all 95 panel participants about their participation and satisfaction with the process. We also conducted telephone interviews with 25 participants. Results Participants expressed satisfaction with various ExpertLens™ features, noting that the system fostered lively interaction among them. Panelists also appreciated participating in an educational, interactive and convenient discussion forum that allowed them to share their opinions on the importance and acceptability of different recommendations. The RPM was viewed as empowering by patients and their caregivers who felt it would be useful for CPG developers. Discussion and Conclusion The results of our study show the overall participant satisfaction with a novel, scalable, online approach to engaging patients and caregivers in CPG development, which allows them to share their perspectives and lived experiences using a rigorous, systematic and iterative way that is similar to how clinicians provide their input