<p> This thesis introduces the question of how to intentionally build a sustainable adventure movement, which is a grassroots effort to intentionally and significantly increase the use of outdoor adventure education as an innovative educational tool for schools, communities and businesses in perpetuity. Taking a whole-systems approach and applying leading social movement and diffusion theories, the Adventure Movement Project (AMP) seeks to develop a framework for integrating outdoor adventure education into whole communities to inspire servant leadership, achieve sustainability, and drive innovation. A socially just and sustainable planet can thrive with outdoor adventure education acting as a highly effective catalyst, which drives social, economic, educational, and environmental change. To that end, this thesis presents original applications of diffusion models and social movement theories to outdoor adventure education. The research used an original Delphi study&mdash;of outdoor adventure education experts&mdash;which explored how to build a sustainable adventure movement. The study aimed to understand ideas related to best practices and successful strategies for expanding outdoor adventure education participation. Findings exemplified for increasing outdoor adventure education include embracing a clear, unified message that establishes why outdoor adventure education matters as a tool, which can lead to achieving sustainability, driving innovation, and inspiring servant leadership. A second key finding calls for outdoor adventure education to be part of something larger and through integration into the larger experiential education and sustainability movements it may reach critical mass.</p><p> <i>Key Words:</i> outdoor adventure education, sustainability, servant leadership, innovation, social movement, experiential education</p>

<p> Due to the increase in corporate bankruptcy, financial distress studies have flourished since 1968. Firms do find themselves in financially distressful situations because of several factors including changing economic environment such as a decrease in aggregate demand, an increase in the cost of borrowed funds, and changes in government regulation. In addition to the Altman's z-score model, the sustainable growth rate (SGR) is another tool that is used primarily for financial planning. The problem with Altman's z-score model is that it does not consider whether a firm can be financially distressed or not if the sustainable growth rate of the firm is in fact higher than the growth rate of the firm's reported revenues. The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate the efficacy of using ltman's z-score in forecasting financial distress of a firm when the sustainable growth rate was higher than the growth rate of the reported revenues. The sample for this study was drawn from all non-financial firms traded on the NYSE. The research question was investigated using two group design in two phases. Phase 1 involved the calculation of the sustainable growth rate (SGR), the growth rate of reported revenues, and the calculation of Altman's z-score. The Altman's z-score of the two groups were compared using Mann-Whitney <i>U</i> test to determine whether a statistically significant difference exists in the z-score. Phase 2 involved the correlation between the values of SGR and the values of Altman's z-score to determine if there was a statistically significant relationship between the two scores. The result of this research indicates that the Alman's z-score and the sustainable growth rate are conceptually independent and both can be used to ascertain whether a firm is financially distressed or not. In addition, result of this study provide practical application that could help management of firms reach important financial and managerial decisions. While the result of this study provided useful information and added to existing knowledge on financial distress, additional research using more than one year of financial data is recommended in order to confirm the results of this study.</p>

<p> This dissertation investigates the dairy farming industry in the Northeastern United States and, in particular, the key drivers of economic viability and competitive advantage for small and midscale commercial dairy producers. The research approach employed was a literature review combined with primary case study observation and data collection. Historical perspective has been presented to provide an overarching contextual framework for this study. Four dairy farms were purposefully selected for case study research because they represented various aspects of a pre-defined set of variables and because they demonstrated relevant similarities as well as significant differences in terms of alternative business strategy. The classical business opportunity analytical process has been customized for practical use application by small and midscale dairy farmers. This tailored process has been validated using research findings; it offers a fresh way of identifying a strategic approach in pursuit of economic viability and competitive advantage that best fits an operation's unique set of characteristics. This process is intended for practical use application on a broader scale by dairy farmers in the Northeast to facilitate their understanding of challenging industry dynamics, of emergent market opportunity and inherent potency, and of both internal and external hurdles to be overcome. Finally, recommendations for next steps have been presented.</p>

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Kelley School of Business, 2007. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-09, Section: A, page: 3966. Adviser: Eric B. Rasmusen. Title from dissertation home page (viewed May 5, 2008).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Kelley School of Business, 2007. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-07, Section: A, page: 3030. Adviser: Alan M. Rugman. Title from dissertation home page (viewed Apr. 9, 2008).

<p> Females have emerged in the field of entrepreneurship, and have proven that they are here to stay. The field of entrepreneurship was previously dominated by men, but in recent years females have emerged and are facing success in rapid numbers. Currently, 55% of businesses launched in the United States are launched and run by women (Statistical Abstract of the United States Census Bureau, 2007). The phenomenon of entrepreneurial women being successful is not as common or known in other countries of the world as it is in the USA. Women are launching businesses at a rapid rate, and many women are doing so without assistance. Female solo entrepreneurs are launching their own ventures and dreams without the help of business partners or teams. Entrepreneurs that launch their own business from the ground up without the assistance of business partners, investors, or employees are known as solo entrepreneurs. According to the <i>Statistical Abstract of the United States Census Bureau</i> (2007), 2.9 million new business ventures begin every year in the United States, of which females own 1.6 million. According to Chavern and McKernan (2013), 90% of women owned businesses have no other employees other than the business owner. This qualitative study focused on females as successful solo entrepreneurs in the United States. The purpose of this study was to identify the top 10 traits of successful female solo entrepreneurs. This qualitative study included telephone interviews with 10 successful female solo entrepreneurs. The top 10 traits discovered included independence, confidence, value of time, desire for risk, aversion to limits and barriers, aversion to authority, desire for excitement, control, ability and desire to learn, and perseverance.</p>

<p>Agricultural system in Ghana underperformed because of limited financing, which constrained some small-scale maize and cassava farmers. The purpose of this case study design was to explore the methods that some small-scale maize and cassava farmers in Amankwakrom Subdistrict used in obtaining farm financing. Two themes from the literature review were a lack of collateral for small-scale farm financing and the small-scale farmers cooperative associations? role in farm financing. Regional-scale management sustainability index formed the conceptual framework for this study. Data collection included semistructured face-to-face interviews with 8 fluent English speaking small-scale maize and cassava farmers who have obtained farm financing in the previous years. Using the Microsoft Excel and Non-numerical unstructured data indexing and theorizing software program for data analysis method, 3 major themes emerged: the farmer?s membership benefits of working in cooperative associations; farmer?s ability to provide the collateral requirements for the financial institutions; and farmer?s good loan repayment history. The study findings indicated that some small-scale maize and cassava farmers obtained farm loans because they used the cooperative associations as their collateral assets in order to satisfy for the requirements of the financial institutions. Social implications include the potential to guide the small-scale maize and cassava farmers to access farm credits to use in expanding their farm sizes. Expansion in farm sizes may result in more maize and cassava production that can help eliminate hunger and reduce poverty in the Amankwakrom Subdistrict of Ghana.

<p> This study employed a qualitative case study methodology to examine some of the challenges that are hindering the fragile state of Liberia from benefiting from the use of country public financial management (PFM) systems for donor-financed projects. The study also examined the effects that these challenges pose to the fragile state. It then explored recommended strategies and policies to resolve the challenges. The data for the study was collected from 15 participants through individual in-depth interviews. The cases of the 15 participants were cross-analyzed based on 4 themes and 13 patterns that arose from the participants' data for the challenges, 4 themes and 6 patterns that emerged from the effects of the challenges, and 5 themes and 13 patterns that emerged from the recommended strategies and policies of the participants. The findings revealed the cardinal or major challenges that, as the participants pointed out, obstruct or hinder the effective use of country PFM systems for donor-financed projects in Liberia. Amid the challenges, some were directly linked to government and others to donors. Moreover, the study observed that some of the challenges were interrelated. In addition, the findings also showed the effects that these challenges could pose to the country's future prospect in regards to country PFM systems use. The study then examined the various recommended strategies and policies for government and donors alike that could help solve the challenges the fragile state faces. The findings of this study fill a gap in practical research on fragile states, specifically Liberia, with regards to country PFM systems and add valuable information on how to effectively and efficiently deal with challenges for eventual full PFM adoption.</p>

<p>This research analyzes the internal capital allocation decisions in Mexican family business groups using a novel approach in which allocation decisions are not only influenced by efficiency (firm performance) but also by the social connections among the managers of the funded firms and the family that controls the group. The results suggest that family ownership and group affiliation have economically large effects on firm performance, meaning that family firms outperform non-family firms and, within family firms, those affiliated with a business group exhibit higher performance than those standing alone. These findings also indicate that professional-managed firms outperform family-managed firms, except when the CEO is the founder of the firm; implying that founders have a personal bias toward their offspring because more competent individuals are not considered to manage the firm. Additional analysis reveals that the internal capital allocation process in Mexico is inefficient because there are strong nepotism practices that favor family managers over non-family managers. These socialist tendencies are aligned with the dark side theories of internal capital allocation, in which weak-performing firms receive too much capital (family-managed firms) and strong-performing firms receive too little (non-family-managed firms). </p><p> Keywords: Capital allocation, family business groups, social connections, corporate governance. </p>

<p> Environmental activists are questioning the management strategies of the invasive Indo-Pacific lionfish (a species complex of <i>Pterois volitans </i> and <i>P. miles</i>) in the western North Atlantic, due to the species' rapidly expanding invasion and steadily growing population. The invasive lionfish species ecological effects are of great concern, as impacts on marine and terrestrial ecosystems trigger population and biodiversity declines. Awareness and research supporting the need for better managerial techniques and response strategies are surfacing among academic groups, forcing critical thought on the best methods of containment and population management.</p><p> In response to the lack of information on the marketability of the lionfish species, I propose a thesis that focuses on the creation of a privately funded non-governmental organization (NGO) that will offer a more promising solution for the control of lionfish through the application of effective marketing and educational outreach strategies. An NGO design and program provides more options and greater flexibility than the federal response to date, which as previously mentioned has not been efficient in the management of the lionfish invasion, as it is incredibly difficult for federal agencies to conduct the public promotion and supply-chain building necessary to properly found this operation. The NGO will work to initiate interest in the lionfish through public education and cooperation and incentivize its capture and consumption, by appealing to the supply and demand ends of the culinary market. The overarching goal is to demonstrate how an NGO can successfully alleviate environmental impacts and increase sustainability through the use of market-based initiatives and inter-party cooperation.</p>