Innovative classroom-tested approaches to cross-cultural communication—diversity, equity, and inclusion—and personal and professional development are featured. Readers can explore 10 teaching creations debuted at the 2023 My Favorite Assignment sessions at the Association for Business Communication Annual International Conference held in Denver, Colorado, USA.

This applied analysis addresses issues and concepts of capital budgeting for sustainability-related projects by SMEs. It reviews literature on SME characteristics, sustainability for SMEs, and capital budgeting for investments in sustainability-related projects. A discussion of the implications of capital budgeting for sustainability-related projects by SME managers, policy makers, and future research is included.

This My Favorite Assignment (MFA) article features 11 teaching innovations first presented at the 2023 Association for Business Communication Annual International Conference held Denver, Colorado, USA. These assignments are designed to boost students’ writing, persuasion, crisis management skills, and personal and professional development.

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of blockchain technology on taxpayer compliance among U.S. taxpayers, using it as a case study. It aims to explore the critical factors affecting blockchain technology applications in tax compliance systems. We first utilized a panel data model to establish empirical parameters linking audit intensity and qualification rates of Internal Revenue Service (IRS) tax returns. We then applied these parameters to an agent-based simulation model powered by artificial intelligence. We showed that integrating blockchain technology can effectively address noncooperative behavior and reduce the tax gap. Moreover, we identified two key factors—the improvement of the IRS’s efficiency and increased punishment—that can accelerate the development of blockchain technology in the tax compliance system. Our research adds to the existing literature on applications of agent-based simulation models in tax compliance systems and provides policy implications for promoting the use of blockchain technology. Data Availability: Data are available from the public sources cited in the text.

Artificial intelligence assignments lead this article’s 11 teaching innovations selected from the My Favorite Assignments presented at the 2023 Association for Business Communication’s Annual International Conference held in Denver, Colorado. USA. Pedagogy presented here also includes ideas to enhance student engagement and techniques to transform learning via gamification.

Abstract Rationale, Aims and Objectives: To examine the relationship between nurse employment setting and nurse job change as related to work stress. Method: A retrospective quantitative analysis. The secondary data was from the 2008 National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses (NSSRN). The outcome measure was job change related to nursing work stress (yes vs. no). The independent variable was nurse work settings, including covariates. Results: Nurses working in medical/physician practice, an insurance company or other private claims/benefits/utilization, and other settings, including nurses who were neither satisfied nor dissatisfied, moderately dissatisfied, and extremely dissatisfied, had higher odds for job change due to stress when compared to inpatient unit community hospital /medical center, non-federal and moderately satisfied the reference category, respectively. Nurses who were unsure and had no plans to remain in the profession had higher odds for job change due to stress than a nurse who said yes to staying in the profession, the reference category. However, nurses in the 65 to 69 age cohort had substantially lower ([OR] = .482, p = .003) odds for not changing jobs due to stress compared to the age group between 50 to 54, the reference category. Conclusion: Among nurses, workplace job dissatisfaction translates to job change related to nursing work stress, while nurses aged 65 to 69 stayed at the job despite work stress. Given the current coronavirus (COVID-19) high-stress pandemic environment, healthcare organizations must do more to mitigate work-related job stress to prevent attrition and job change. KEYWORDS nurses, job change, work stress, and workplace

This chapter examines the productivity of the public sectors throughout the United States from 1992 through 2022. Because there is heterogeneity across states regarding public services provided, this could impact its productivity and efficiency. The services provided by the public sector have come under increased scrutiny with the ongoing reform process in recent years. In the public sector, unlike the private sector, and the information and incentives provided by these markets, performance information, particularly comparative performance measures, have been used to gauge the productivity of the public service sector. This chapter examines the productivity of the public sector across states using the standard date envelopment analysis (DEA) and efficiency measures given by the Malmquist productivity index. Then, the DEA analysis was followed by panel regression analysis.

The Strategic Consequences of Chinese Racism: A Strategic Asymmetry for the United States is a book-length academic research article written by Dr. Bradley Thayer and commissioned by Andrew Marshal, director of the Department of Defense Office of Net Assessment (ONA). Owing to both the significant policymaking power of the ONA, as well as the unique topic of the article, it is the belief of this author that Strategic Consequences is in need of examination by the international community. This paper is the first known academic investigation of Strategic Consequences and seeks to provide a critical lens of analysis. This paper examines the three most significant arguments made by Thayer and cross-examines them against existing datasets and literature to determine their relative degree of veracity. First, this paper examines Thayer’s argument that Chinese society is more racist than U.S. society, and finds that this argument is likely correct. Second, this paper examines Thayer’s argument that Chinese racism acts as a stabilizing force for the Chinese government, and finds that this argument is also likely correct. Finally, this paper examines Thayer’s argument that U.S. anti-racist culture acts as a useful tool of soft-power influence in Africa, and finds that this argument is likely incorrect.

Facility operations and maintenance are defined as the functions, duties, and labor required daily to operate and preserve a facility asset to ensure its original function is available for its primary use and its functions are maintained throughout the facility's life. Organizations, facility management professionals, and their stakeholders expend billions of dollars annually to perform this function in the United States. Much of the cost is on inadequate facility operations that may be avoided. Utilizing the theoretical lens of the adaptive structuration theory, this rapid evidence assessment shall review the current body of scholarly literature to identify how artificial intelligence can be used with predictive maintenance to reduce a facility operations program's operations and maintenance costs. Through an organized systematic review process, this research shall utilize peer-reviewed scholarly articles published within the last 5 years to perform a rapid evidence assessment of predictive maintenance and artificial intelligence in facility operations. Through this rapid evidence assessment, the research finds three common themes that respond to the research question. The most significant theme is artificial intelligence, once implemented in the process, provides unbiased investment and repair recommendations from the analyzed data. An unanticipated discovery of interest is that the current body of literature identifies insufficient data as the number one barrier to the full implementation of artificial intelligence within a facility operations program.

Financial misconduct is a growing issue in the financial sector, leading to increased regulations. The increased need to comply with these regulations preceded the need for regulatory technology. Regulatory technology (RegTech) helps the financial industry comply with regulations. This study aims to identify regulatory technology’s impact on financial misconduct within the United States banking industry. This study uses an evidence-based approach to help make informed decisions on adopting regulatory technology to control financial misconduct. The researcher used the qualitative, Rapid Evidence Assessment methodology to find ten articles (quantitative and qualitative), critically appraise, code, and synthesize them to provide findings and recommendations to the United States banking industry, regulatory agencies, and regulatory technology solution providers. Data from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority annual reports and Financial Crime Enforcement statistics helped triangulate the findings from the evidence synthesis to increase the study's validity. The results indicated that the adoption of RegTech provided advanced risk assessment and monitoring capabilities that increased compliance with regulations, minimized financial misconduct, and improved the stability and profitability of the United States banking system though it introduced information privacy risk.