"The long shadow of the emperor: fear and British press during the Napoleonic Wars (1795 –1815)” was a master thesis that combined the history of emotions with the use of quantitative computational techniques. The main objectives of the project were to detect and analyse the fear around the figure of Napoleon Bonaparte in the British press, between 1795 and 1815, and to check the feasibility of the proposed quantitative techniques for the history of emotions. The methodology consisted of the bibliographic collection of terms, web scrapping techniques, the creation of a database of mentions, and the emotional analysis of the subsequent information. The results showed how the emotion of fear was experienced in the British press, and the great explanatory potential of the methodology proposed by the study. The findings have revealed valuable information about international politics, public opinion, and erroneous assumptions in our current understandings of the Napoleonic Wars.

The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of experience staging techniques (personalization through co-creation and multisensory stimuli) on engagement level. This study also explores the possible contribution of experience staging techniques as practical tools that recreation professionals can use to better engage participants in recreation activities and events. A 2-way univariate ANOVA revealed no significant relationship between the use of co-creative and multisensory stimulating techniques and engagement levels in participants (F (3,200) = .263, p = .826, partial η2 = .004). Practical applications for recreation professionals and further research opportunities are discussed.

Leaders focus on the attainment of personal and organizational goals without consideration for the needs of stakeholders, especially those of followers. Ethical leadership (EL) studies' focus on leaders' perspectives represented a research gap that necessitated this study. Followers are the least researched among stakeholders; thus, this study explored EL from their viewpoints. Stakeholder theory, social learning theory, eudaimonia, and utilitarianism were the conceptual frameworks that guided this study. Twenty participants drawn from followers in a public organization in New Jersey were questioned about their experiences and expectations of EL using open-ended interview questions. Participants with shared experiences were selected based on convenience, snowball, and criterion sampling strategies. With the use of the transcendental phenomenological design, the data collected were analyzed with the Stevick-Colaizzi-Keen method and the two-cycle analysis. Knowledge, exemplarity, and democratic decision making were themes of EL that are relevant to followers. Other themes found in this study, including communication, stakeholders' wellbeing, impartiality, honesty, relationship building, responsibility, and humility, concur with extant literature and suggest consistency in the phenomenon. The potential social change implications of this study are an innovative and cooperative work environment, organizational success, and enhanced corporate social responsibility. Organizations and societies may benefit from the inculcation and development of EL in the family, society, tertiary institutions, and organizations through training, mentoring, and the development of an ethical culture.

Increased breach occurrences in healthcare cause concern for health information as reported by the Federal Government. Significant effort, regulations, and safeguards are in place to protect the systems used in the healthcare industry. Employee handling of security remains an area of vulnerability related to security protocols. The unified theory of acceptance and usage of technology (UTAUT) served as the model for this qualitative exploratory study with the purpose of understanding registered nurse (RN) perceptions and lived experiences related to IT security. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 20 participants from the Three Rivers Chapter American Association Critical Care Nurses. Transcribed data were analyzed with a priori codes aligned to the constructs of UTAUT and emergent themes. The emergent themes from the RNs' lived experiences revealed perceptions of IT security mishandling, including walking away from the computer without log-off, and sharing of accounts through single sign on authenticated badges. Strategic planning for the organizational IT security may be strengthened due to the insight about the RNs' workflow related to IT security. Understanding employee perceptions, expressed intentions, and self-reported behaviors to IT security allows for the ability as managers to apply that knowledge to IT security systems, access methods, and implement procedures that will provide for increased organizational IT security and increased patient confidence. The social change from this work may provide contributions to the development of IT infrastructure systems for healthcare helping to create and maintain continued access to and availability of electronic medical records and data for increasing numbers of people who need health maintenance and care.

Small businesses create 50% of all jobs in the United States, but at least 50% of all newly founded small businesses have failed since 2006, and only 1/3 have survived beyond 10 years. Small businesses have a high chance of failure in the first 5 years due to a lack of sustainable strategies. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the strategies small business owners need to sustain their business beyond 5 years in a purposefully chosen county in Michigan. A conceptual framework was constructed based on the stakeholder theory and its derived theories to provide a theoretical background and explore the sustainable business strategies used by the owners. Five small restaurant business owners who sustained their businesses for at least 5 years were purposely sampled. Data were collected via semistructured interviews and member checking was used to ensure the participants concurred with all transcripts; and triangulation was used to analyze a combination of synthesized interview data, reflective interview notes, and business financial documents. Computer software was used to analyze the data and to generate themes with their categories from the data automatically. From the data analysis, 4 themes emerged from the triangulated and analyzed data associated with small restaurant sustainability. The 4 emergent themes were that education enhanced owners' strategies and sustainability, personal traits drove owners to their business success, marketing and seasonal strategies assisted them in strategic planning and brand building, and business growth strategies assisted them in innovation and environmental management. The success of small businesses can generate jobs, stimulate the economy, and increase domestic and government revenue.

Black entrepreneurs in the state of Texas reported that they did not achieve the same level of success as nonminority enterprises. Many Black entrepreneurs have obtained education from top tier institutions and have the managerial experiences, skills, and working knowledge that facilitate business success, but they are not able to sustain business growth. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of Black Texan entrepreneurs. This research was established using the conceptual framework of human capital. The overarching research question concerned the lived experiences of Black Texas entrepreneurs who were not as successful in business as their counterparts. Data were collected in the form of semistructured face-to-face interviews with 14 Black participants, using the African American Chamber of Commerce to facilitate networking among Black entrepreneurs. NVivo 11 software was used for data codification and thematic reduction. Emergent themes included (a) feeling good about being in business, (b) resourcefulness in business, (c) network advertising systems, (d) education, (e) having alternative plans if business closes, (f) feeling independent, and (g) activeness in business. The implications for positive social change include the potential for advising researchers on barriers confronted by Black entrepreneurs and potential steps to overcome those barriers. Additionally, scholars have recognized the need for greater understanding of how businesses are structured and managed by Black business-owners because this knowledge is vital to creating business prosperity for Black entrepreneurs who have dreams of becoming business owners.

Stakeholders are increasingly insistent that companies increase firm value. The problem is that stakeholders of financial services firms are unable to accurately determine firm value. The purpose of this correlational study was to examine the accuracy of 4 valuation models in predicting the market value of equity of commercial finance companies. Study participating companies were 8 listed U.S. or Canadian commercial finance companies. The theoretical constructs of the study included the accuracy of valuation models, modern portfolio theory, and the correlation of book value of equity to market value of equity. Financial information on participating companies obtained from public filings were input data in 4 valuation models. Multiple regression analysis of valuation model results and book value of equity (the predictor variables) were used to determine the accuracy of the models in predicting the market value of equity (response variable). The findings of the study showed that all 4 valuation models in combination with the book value of equity were statistically significant predictors of the market value of equity of the participating companies at the p < .05 level. However, the dividend discount model (DDM) and residual income model (RIM) were statistically more accurate without the combination of book value of equity (p = .000 and p = .000, respectively) than the discounted cash flow and risk-adjusted discounted cash flow valuation models (p = .371 and p = .904, respectively). The results of this study contribute to positive social change by providing business leaders an ability to measure the effectiveness of their actions in creating firm value. Corporate social responsibility activities correlate to value creation for firms that engage in promoting employee welfare and other stakeholder welfare.

The high employee turnover rate in the U.S. restaurant industry constitutes a major expense for restaurants. The research problem for this study was to determine if restaurant employees' perceptions of their supervisor's servant leadership practices were associated with the employees' organizational commitment and perceived organizational support, which have been shown to reduce turnover. Greenleaf's servant leadership theory provided the theoretical framework. The research question for this study was whether restaurant employees' perceptions of their supervisor's servant leadership practices were associated with the employees' organizational commitment and perceived organizational support, thereby potentially reducing employees' turnover rate. A purposive sample of 88 nonsupervisory employees of several South Florida casual dining restaurants completed a demographic questionnaire, short forms of the Servant Leadership Scale and Survey of Perceived Organizational Support, and the Organizational Commitment Scale. Correlation analysis was used to determine any significant (p < 0.5) relationships between the independent and dependent variables. The study correlation results suggested that instituting a servant leadership approach may enable casual dining restaurants to raise their nonsupervisory employees' organizational commitment and perceived perception of organizational support, thereby possibly retaining them longer. The findings have implications for social change because they may motivate casual dining restaurants to institute servant leadership, thereby potentially increasing the well-being and job satisfaction of their employees and the service experience of their customers.

Leaders support many workplace configurations that do not rely on the collocation of leaders and followers and may exhibit different interaction competencies with employees. There was limited understanding about these leadership competencies required in virtual work environments. The purpose of this nonexperimental study was to examine the relationship between the percentages of time spent weekly as a virtual leader (IV) and 6 leadership competencies (DVs), such as a leader's vision and values. The theoretical framework was based on Sandstrom and Smith's legacy leadership model. Study participants were randomly selected from LinkedIn.com forums (N = 93). Data were collected using the Legacy Leadership Competency Inventory LLCI instrument and analyzed using linear regression to assess the effect of percentage of work time as a virtual leader on a summative score for all answers on the LLCI and each of 5 competency indicators. Significant relationships between the IV and 2 DVs were identified: supporting leadership inspiration through communication and diverse team leadership. Findings may assist managers to improve leadership development, hiring, and support with global teams. One recommendation would be to extend the study participation to more diverse population groups to obtain better data. Implications of positive social change could be a reduction in costs to employers based on improved leadership competencies leading to more effective management. Employees could benefit from more enlightened leadership leading to a healthier workplace. Finally, customers might benefit from lower costs from more effective organizations.

Small businesses in the United States experience a high rate of failure. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to identify and explore consistent strategies small business owners in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania used to lead successful companies. Transformational leadership theory formed the conceptual framework for this study. A mixed purposive sample of 20 small business owners participated in semistructured face- to-face and telephone interviews. Each of the participants possessed a minimum of 3 years of successful business operation and employed fewer than 500 individuals. Using Moustakas' modified van Kaam analyses, 6 main themes emerged: characteristics and experiences, leadership behaviors, managing operations, managing employees, employee behaviors, and achieving success. The study findings highlighted the need for small business owners to nurture the leader-follower relationship to inspire and motivate employees. Further, the results indicated the importance of utilizing integrated business practices to influence employee and business performance. The findings in this study promote positive social change by identifying strategies to empower nascent and existing entrepreneurs. Small business owners can apply these results to improve the leader- follower relationship within their organizations, and boost overall business success.