St. Bonaventure Scholarly Research

Dr. Megan Walsh has been invited to join the Editorial Board of the peer-reviewed journal Early American Studies, published by the University of Pennsylvania Press.

Dr. Anne Foerst was invited to present via Skype a paper at the 9th Conference on Social Robotics (ICSR 2017) titled "Building Robots as Prayer."

Dr. Carol Fischer published an article in the November 2017 issue of The CPA Journal. The article, titled “Overcoming Obstacles with the Right Tax Software: 2017 Annual Survey of New York State Practitioners,” was co-authored with Susan Anders, a professor at Midwestern State University who previously was on the faculty at St. Bonaventure. This publication is the 16th annual survey conducted by Fischer and Anders, whose questions have changed to reflect current issues and methodology has evolved to take advantage of technological advancements. They were assisted in research by Abby O’Connell, St. Bonaventure University senior, who contributed to data analysis in support of the paper. O'Connell was a McQuade intern for the accounting department in summer 2017.

Together with Dr. Mike Fisher, Dr. Carol Fischer also made a presentation at the Academy of Business Research conference in San Antonio, Texas, during the first weekend in November. The presentation was titled “FASB Staff Project: An Exercise in Accounting Theory & Research,” and described a project that they developed and implemented in the MBA capstone course for the Professional Accountancy program when they team-taught the course in 2016 and 2017.

The two, along with senior accounting major Jordan Urbanski, a McQuade intern in summer 2017, presented a research project titled “Should Sustainability Disclosures Be Required? An Analysis of Comments on SEC Concept Release No. 33-10064” at the Academy of Business Research conference in San Antonio, Texas, during the first weekend in November. This paper involved a content analysis of comment letters submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission related to sustainability disclosures. The purpose of the project was to determine whether respondents supported mandatory sustainability reporting; in addition, the researchers compared the positions of different constituent groups to the proposal.

On Nov. 2, Fr. John B. Couturier, O.F.M. Cap., presented a workshop at the Resource Center for Religious Institutes National Conference in St. Louis titled "The Church Unconscious: Managing Disruptive Innovation in Religious Institutions." The workshop was attended by more than 150 participants interested in strategic planning and managing "unconscious expectations" of participants in innovation endeavors in organizations.

Dr. Michael Chiariello, Professor Emeritus, organized and chaired a series of panels to discuss the findings of a newly published volume, Gli Affreschi delle Palazze. Una storia fra Umbria and America (The Palazze Frescoes. A Tale between Umbria and America). The book, edited by professors Tommaso Di Carpegna Falconieri and Grazia Maria Fachechi, University of Urbino, Italy, offers the first full study and digital reconstruction of one of the most important fresco cycles in Italy, before Giotto. These frescoes were originally painted, at the end of the 13th century, in the ancient convent of Poor Clares of Santa Maria Inter Angelos, known as Le Palazze, near Spoleto, in Umbria. In the 1920s, the frescoes were removed, divided, and purchased by five American museums: the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the Wadsworth Athenaeum in Hartford, the Worcester Art Museum, the Fogg Museum at Harvard, and the Glencairn Museum in Bryn Athyn, Pa. The bilingual book is richly illustrated with essays by scholars from both the U.S. and Italy. It contains a DVD that offers the reader a virtual tour of the cycle in its original site on the walls of the convent, thus virtually reuniting what has been dispersed and at the same time advancing a fuller understanding of the cycle’s artistic context. The October presentations were held at The College of the Holy Cross, the Worcester Art Museum, Temple University, and the Glencairn Museum. The lead researchers, Di Carpegna and Fachechi, were joined by Dr. Jonathan Kline of Temple University in sessions chaired by Chiariello, who is a board member of the Romeyne Robert and Uguccione Sorbello Foundation, which supported the project.

On Nov. 2, Fr. David B. Couturier, O.F.M. Cap., presented a workshop at the Resource Center for Religious Institutes National Conference in St. Louis titled "The Church Unconscious: Managing Disruptive Innovation in Religious Institutions." The workshop was attended by more than 150 participants interested in strategic planning and managing "unconscious expectations" of participants in innovation endeavors in organizations.

On Nov. 11, Dr. René Hauser conducted a disability workshop for 30 ski instructors in the Lounsbury Adaptive Ski Program at Holiday Valley, reviewing the characteristics of several disabilities, the impact of those disabilities, and methods and techniques for the instructors to use when teaching people with those disabilities.

Professor Darwin King, together with Dr. Carl J. Case, professor of business information systems, and Julianna R. Carney, MBA student, had a paper titled “Fortune 100 Mission Statement Content: 2001 and 2016 Similarities and Differences" published in the Academic and Business Research Institute 2017 St. Louis International Conference Proceedings.

Also, King and Edward D. King published an article in the September issue of the Oil, Gas & Energy Quarterly. The article was titled "Employee or Independent Contractor?" This article reviewed regulations to properly categorize a worker for payroll and tax purposes. This question was reviewed from three aspects. First, the common law principles that determine whether a worker is an employee or not. Second, the definition of an employee according to the U.S. Department of Labor's Fair Labor Standards Act. Third, the article reviewed recent court decisions that determined if a worker was an employee or independent contractor. This question has been actively debated since the Fair Labor Standards Act was originally passed in 1938.

Dr. Paul G. Barretta has been invited with his colleague Yi-Chia Wu, assistant professor of marketing at Tarleton State University in Texas, to be guest editors of a special issue of the International Journal of e-Business Research (IJEBR) titled " Contemporary Perspectives of Decision-Making in e-Business." IJEBR is a Cabell's listed and SCOPUS indexed journal. Details about the issue and instructions for submitting can be found here (located in the page's second Call For Papers section): https://www.igi-global.com/calls-for-papers-special/international-journal-business-research-ijebr/1088.

Dr. William Magnus Northington, together with Dr. Andrew Lindridge (Newcastle University) and Dr. Sharon Beatty (University of Alabama), recently had an article accepted to Qualitative Marketing Research: An International Journal. The article, "Do Gambling Choices Reflect a Recreational Gambler's Motivations," assesses whether gaming choice is a function of one's personal motivations or simply a desire to gamble in general regardless of game choice among recreational gamblers. Applying two motivation theories, hedonic consumption theory and motivation disposition theory, this theme is explored by considering "illusion of control" whereby luck and skill may mediate gambling motivation. The findings indicate that for recreational gamblers, gaming choice is a function of personal motives. Hence, gamblers chose games that reflect their needs or motives, focusing on the game or games that best allow them to achieve their goals and desires.

Along with Dr. Jacob Hiler (Ohio University) and Dr. Laurel Cook (West Virginia University), Northington also had a film, "Searching for RNGesus: A Study on the Use of Randomization in Video Games," screened at the Association for Consumer Research conference in San Diego, Calif. This film focuses on studying intentional randomization in consumer experiences, notably in the video game industry. The focus of this study is to explore both how randomization is employed by developers in video games as well as how it is experienced and perceived on the part of their consumers. As Kozinets (2015) suggests in Netnography Redefined, more netnographic attention needs to be placed on video websites such as YouTube and Twitch rather than textual data in online forums and communities, especially since many online communities and much of the discourse are moving to more video-based discussions. Thus, using this netnographic videography approach, the filmmakers immersed themselves in more than 25 hours of user-generated video content shared publicly on YouTube and Twitch, and various user-generated text commenting on the nature of the random across various forums, comment sections, and Reddit. The trailer for the film may be found here: https://vimeo.com/232284505

Working with Hiler and Cook, Northington also had a peer-reviewed article accepted to the Journal of Consumer Marketing. The article, "Making Inconsistent Worlds: A Conceptual Framework for Co-Competition," investigates the phenomenon of co-competition, within service-dominant logic, whereby multiple parties compete for the rights to co-create with a firm. Qualitatively, using the context of a massively multiplayer online role-playing game, this study finds that co-competition arises when heterogeneous segments of consumers attempt different co-creation strategies with the firm. Furthermore, the outcomes of this process could have significant financial and reputational impacts for the firm resultant from alienating both types of consumers competing for the rights to co-create. The conceptual framework established in the study provides a guide through which further investigation of co-creative forces can occur.

Dr. Donika Kelly was awarded a Zora Neale Hurston/Richard Wright Foundation Legacy award for her debut poetry collection BESTIARY. More than 200 literary stars and representatives of the publishing industry, media, arts, politics, and academia attended the Legacy Awards ceremony on Friday, Oct. 20, in Washington, D.C.

Dr. Chris Mackowski, professor of journalism and mass communication, has appeared several times on C-SPAN over the past three months. His appearances have been with Emerging Civil War, a consortium of public historians he cofounded in 2011. On July 1, for the anniversary of the battle of Gettysburg, Mackowski moderated a panel of historians at Gettysburg Heritage Center. The panel discussed the current state of Civil War public history, including the recent contentious debate about Confederate heritage and monumentation. C-SPAN first aired the discussion on Sept. 30. It can be found on C-SPAN’s website here: https://www.c-span.org/video/?430759-5/interpreting-civil-war-public On Aug. 5, C-SPAN covered the Fourth Annual Emerging Civil War Symposium at Stevenson Ridge on the Spotsylvania Courthouse battlefield in Virginia. Mackowski served as emcee for the weekend event. C-SPAN aired Saturday’s proceedings live, and it has aired individual talks from Friday and Saturday several times this fall. The line-up of talks can be found on C-SPAN’s website here: https://www.c-span.org/organization/?116939/Emerging-Civil-War

Fr. David B. Couturier, OFM Cap., presented a public lecture titled “Franciscan Values and a Healthy World Economy” at Alvernia University’s Founders Day Celebration on Sept. 25. He also presented at a convocation held at Hilbert College on October 2, highlighting the college’s annual Francis Week with the lecture “Franciscan Values and Millennials.” His article, “Signs of Readiness for Religious Community,” will be published in the November issue of Horizons. His presentation titled “DACA and the Deportation of Dreamers: A Franciscan-Ethical Perspective” was featured on the website of the Franciscan Action Network, an advocacy group located in Washington, D.C. The DACA article is presently being translated for circulation and study in Italy.

Dr. Carol Wittmeyer was an invited speaker for the Albany Family Business Owners' Forum on Tuesday, Oct. 11, at the Capital Region Chamber of Commerce Schenectady Office. Her talk was titled "Planning for the Unexpected."

Dr. Carl J. Case, professor of business information systems, and Darwin L. King, professor of accounting, had their paper titled “Internet Trolling Victimization: An Empirical Examination of Incidence in Undergraduate Business Students" published in the Academic and Business Research Institute 2017 St. Louis International Conference Proceedings.

Dr. Paul G. Barretta, along with Professor Kristen Ryan, both of the Marketing Department in the School of Business, had a case study accepted by Sage Business Cases, a database of academic case studies used by universities worldwide. "Perry’s Ice Cream Distribution Strategy and Strategic Alliances: The 800-Pound Gorilla" is based on Ryan's experience working for Perry's Ice Cream as well as her experience teaching full time for more than five years at St. Bonaventure. Marketing graduate and current MBA student DJ Mitchell also contributed to the case study. The case was developed with support from a Martine-Keenan Research Grant.

As part of his "My Brother's Keeper" Series, Dr. Charles Walker recently delivered an address to the faculty and students of Villa Maria College on "Compassion & Happiness: Creating Well-being for Yourself & Others."

Dr. Anne Foerst gave the annual John Calvin McNair Lecture on Science and Theology at St. Andrews College, N.C., on Oct. 17, titled "Loving Robots? Invite Yet Another Stranger In."

An article titled "An Analysis of Skinhead Websites and Social Networks, A Decade Later" by Dr. Robin Valeri, Nicole Sweazy (SBU 2017), and Dr. Kevin Borgeson will appear in the Fall 2017 Issue of Michigan Sociological Review. The research examined five Skinhead identities (Traditional, Skinheads Against Racial Prejudice (S.H.A.R.P.), Racist/Nationalist, Gay, and Other) and cultures as presented on the web and on social networks. On the web, Traditional Skinheads followed by Gay Skinheads and Racist/Nationalist Skinheads are the most prevalent. On social networks, Traditional Skinheads and Racist/Nationalists are the most prevalent. The most dominant cultural element, regardless of Skinhead identity, was music, with references to beer, clothes, scooters, and tattoos varying by group. Racist/Nationalist webpages were more likely than any other group to have been updated recently, include recruitment information, and have links to Other Skinhead groups. The results suggest a diversity and complexity to Skinhead culture. As is demonstrated by the diversity of Skinhead groups on the web, in terms of nationality and ideology, the Skinhead movement has proven that it can adapt to incorporate newer social issues such as the vegan, animal rights Skinhead group while retaining ties to older ideals and political movements, as reflected in the continued presence of Traditional Skinheads, Racist/Nationalist Skinheads, and S.H.A.R.P.s. Given their ability to stay connected technologically with youth, their tough and proud image, and the social/political adaptability of the movement, we predict a long future for the Skinhead movement.

Dr. Donika Kelly's new book of poetry has been published by fivehundred places. http://fivehundred-places.com/work/#/donika-kelly/