American Scholars Press

Editor-in-Chief

Dr. Michael Williams

Editor-in-Chief

Thomas Edison State University, NJ USA

Dr. Ying Wang, DBA, CPA is a professor of accounting at Montana State University-Billings in Billings, Montana. She has done extensive research in the financing accounting area. Her major research interest is financial accounting and reporting. E-mail: ywang@msubillings.edu

Debra M. Schoenfeld, BBA, MBA, CPA, JD, LLM is a professor of tax and business law at Montana State University-Billings in Billings, Montana. Background includes experience in public accounting, and working for one of the top fortune companies. Professor for the last 10 years. Major research in the area of taxation and accounting. E-mail: debra.schoenfeld@msubillings.edu

Scott Butterfield, associate professor of accounting at Montana State University-Billings in Billings, Montana. His background includes experience as an auditor for a Big-4 CPA firm. He has taught various accounting courses at several universities for over 30 years. His major research interest is financial accounting and accounting information system. E-mail: scott.butterfield1@msubillings.edu

Yanrong Lamontagne, CPA, is an adjust professor at Montana State University-Billings in Billings, MT. Versatile accounting professional with 7+ years of experience spanning Big 4 audit, regional public accounting, and outsourced client accounting services. Proven expertise in PCAOB-compliant financial audits, Sarbanes-Oxley internal control testing, and governmental/tribal entity audits. Currently supporting clients as a trusted extension of their finance teams. E-mail: liangdoris@email.com

We examine how chief executive officer (CEO) compensation status, ownership, gender, and leadership duality are associated with earnings management. Using a sample of Chinese publicly listed firms from 2010 to 2018, we investigate three dimensions of accrual-based earnings management—earnings smoothing, cash flow management, and earnings aggressiveness—following the framework developed by Leuz, Nanda, and Wysocki (2003). This setting provides a unique opportunity to study executive reporting incentives in an environment characterized by heterogeneous compensation arrangements and concentrated ownership structures.

Our results indicate that CEOs who do not receive direct monetary compensation exhibit significantly greater earnings smoothing, suggesting that the absence of formal pay does not mitigate opportunistic financial reporting behavior. We also find that CEOs with equity ownership engage in higher levels of earnings smoothing, consistent with incentives to reduce earnings volatility and protect equity value. In addition, firms led by female CEOs display greater earnings smoothing and cash flow management relative to firms led by male CEOs, while exhibiting substantial heterogeneity in earnings aggressiveness. Finally, CEO–chair duality is associated with higher levels of earnings management.

Collectively, our findings contribute to the literature on earnings management and executive characteristics by highlighting the importance of compensation status, gender, and leadership structure in shaping financial reporting behavior. Our results highlight that the relationship between executive gender and earnings management is influenced by the operating environment, suggesting that institutional, cultural, and organizational contexts shape how gender affects financial reporting behavior. The results have implications for investors, boards, and regulators seeking to assess reporting quality using observable executive attributes, particularly in emerging market settings.

chief executive officer (CEO), compensation, earnings management, gender

Dr. Batoul Modarress, PhD., is the president of Quality Technology Inc. She holds an MS in engineering and a Ph.D. in quality control and reliability. Dr. Modarress has over 25 years of industry experience at Boeing Commercial Airplane Group, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Inc., and Science Applications International Corporation. She is the co-author of a leading text on Just-In-Time purchasing. She has written articles for such journals as the International Journal of Quality and Reliability Management, International Journal of Production and Operations Management, International Journal of Production Research, Production and Inventory Management, Journal Purchasing and Materials Management, Production Planning and Control, and Journal of Systems Management, Journal of Case Research in Business and Economics, Sustainability and Climate Change, and International Journal of Logistics Systems and Management, Sustainability: The Journal of Records, and Journal of Sustainability, and International Management Review.

Dr. Al Ansari, Ph.D., CPIM, is a Professor of Operations and Supply Chain Management at Seattle University. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln and has published in Decision Sciences, International Journal of Production and Operations Management, International Journal of Production Research, International Journal of Quality and Reliability Management, Industrial Engineering, Journal of Purchasing and Materials Management, Production Planning and Control, and Journal of Systems Management. Journal of Transportation Security, Case Research in Business and Economics, International Journal of Logistics Systems and Management, Sustainability: The Journal of Records, Journal of Sustainability, and International Management Review.

Alexander A. Ansari is a research analyst at Quality Technology, Inc. He has published in the Journal of Sustainability, Sustainability and Climate Change, the Journal of Records, and the Journal of Business & Economic Policy. arash287@gmail.com

This study investigates the impact of mandating the Maritime Single Window (MSW) at seaports on reducing CO₂ emissions. The methodology centers around six primary inquiries: Who bears responsibility for port-related CO₂ emissions? What strategies are employed to mitigate these emissions? What justifications support the enforcement of MSW? What benefits does MSW provide? How does the implementation of the MSW influence CO₂ emission reductions at ports? To what extent does adherence to the MSW contribute to decreasing CO₂ levels? A literature review and a questionnaire were utilized to gather qualitative insights from experts. Participants highlighted vessel waiting time at anchorage, hoteling duration at berth, and port throughput efficiency as critical indicators for reducing major port-related CO₂ emissions. Shippers emphasized routing optimization, vessel design, and the adoption of alternative energy sources. Seaport managers focused on adopting cold ironing, electrifying cargo-handling equipment, and improving port operations by mandating the MSW to minimize CO₂ emissions.

maritime-transportation, ports, CO2 emissions, maritime-single window

Dr. Muhammad A. Obeidat, Ph.D., is a Professor of Operations and Technology Management. His research and teaching interests are in the areas of operations management, management science, information systems, statistics, management of technology, quality management and control, and project management. His research has been published in several journals, including the International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics, and the Journal of Business Administration. He has worked and consulted with several automobile vendor companies on productivity, process design and layout. Dr. Obeidat is a member of the Decision Sciences Institute, and the Production & Operations Management Society. He is currently serving as the Associate Editor of the International Management Review journal. mobeida1@kennesaw.edu

Dr. Hani AbuSalem, PhD, is a Professor of Computer Science, Engineering, and Mathematics at the University of South Carolina Aiken. He earned his PhD in Computer Science from the Illinois Institute of Technology and has more than 34 years of academic and research experience. His research focuses on Natural Language Processing, multilingual information retrieval, artificial intelligence, data science, software engineering, and cybersecurity, with recent work addressing web application and database security. He is an active contributor to the international research community as an author and peer reviewer for academic journals and conferences. HaniA@usca.edu

Mr. Mohammad Hamdan is currently teaching at the Department of Computer Science, College of Information Technology, Amman Arab University, Amman, Jordan. m.hamdan@aau.edu.jo

This conceptual article examines how artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping the strategic management of technological innovation. It distinguishes AI from machine learning, generative AI, foundation models and large language models, and AI-enabled decision support, and develops a unified framework linking AI capabilities to opportunity recognition, innovation portfolio optimization, R&D prioritization and execution, and collaboration and ecosystem orchestration. Drawing primarily on the resource-based view and dynamic capabilities perspective, the framework explains how AI-enabled data processing, pattern recognition, generative capabilities, and decision support can strengthen organizational sensing, resource reconfiguration, learning, knowledge recombination, and strategic adaptation. The article develops explicit theoretical propositions connecting these mechanisms to innovation outcomes while emphasizing that AI does not produce performance improvements automatically. Data quality and access, complementary human expertise, governance and explainability, organizational readiness, task uncertainty, appropriability, and regulatory conditions are identified as important boundary conditions. The analysis also distinguishes correlation and association from causal effects and highlights the limitations of existing case-based and cross-sectional evidence for causal inference. The resulting framework offers an integrated foundation for future empirical research and provides managers with a structured approach for evaluating where and under what conditions AI can contribute to technological innovation strategy.

Artificial intelligence, technological innovation, strategic management, machine learning, generative AI, foundation models, large language models, dynamic capabilities, resource-based view, innovation portfolio, AI-enabled decision support

Dr. Michael Williams, Ph.D., MBA, is the Dean of the School of Business and Management at Thomas Edison State University. As the school's chief academic officer, he leads all aspects of the school's scholar-practitioner-focused degree programming. He is the co-founder and co-principal consultant for Global Coach Cooperative, an international consultancy specializing in coaching certification, executive, and team coaching. Dr. Williams's research, publishing, and presentation interests include: the psychodynamics of leadership; the influence of modern psychoanalytic theory on leadership and efficacy; and cultural change management. Dr. Williams earned a Ph.D. from Fordham University and holds multiple graduate degrees.

Dr. Tami Moser, Ph.D., DBH, is Director of the SWOSU Center for Community Health Innovation and Chair of the Doctor in Community Health program, where she leads initiatives addressing rural health disparities through interdisciplinary research and community partnerships. A tenured Professor of Pharmacy Administration with over two decades of higher education leadership, she has extensive experience mentoring doctoral students and chairing dissertations across management, leadership, and healthcare disciplines. Dr. Moser is the founder of Academic Renegade, which supports doctoral scholars and academic entrepreneurs, and a Master Coach with the Global Coach Cooperative. Her scholarship bridges transformational leadership, quality outcomes, and real-world impact.

Dr. Robert W. Bigelow, JD, Ph.D., serves as Associate Dean of the School of Business and Management at Thomas Edison State University. He collaborates closely with the school's dean to lead the Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) and Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in Organizational Leadership, Culture and Change programs. He has held leadership positions in both the legal and higher education fields. His academic interests include online andragogy, employment law, organizational leadership, and baseball history.

Dr. Jeffrey Harmon, Ed.D., is the Provost and Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs at Thomas Edison State University. Prior to this appointment, he served as Interim Dean of Heavin School of Social Sciences, Humanities, and Education, and Vice Provost for Strategic Initiatives and Institutional Effectiveness at the university. In addition, Dr. Harmon oversaw all Credit for Prior Learning, CREATENJ, academic partnerships, accreditation, and assessment. He continues to serve as a Middle States Peer Evaluator/Site Visitor and has held board and chair seats on the accreditation boards for sign language interpreter training and massage therapy. Harmon served as Ocean County College's Associate Vice President for E-Learning and Learning Enterprises.

This article examines the psychoanalytic phenomena of aggression, transference, and resistance as they manifest within professional coaching relationships. Drawing on the foundational work of Sigmund Freud and the modern psychoanalytic contributions of Hyman Spotnitz, Benjamin Margolis, and others, this article explores how these dynamic processes operate in both the coach and the coachee. This article offers that recognizing and constructively managing these phenomena is consequential for coaching efficacy. It locates that work on a continuum of practitioner depth, from recognition to intervention within the coaching frame. By examining foundational psychoanalytic theory and associated practices, this article considers how modern psychoanalytic principles may enhance coaching outcomes by fostering deeper self-awareness, authentic engagement, and sustainable behavioral change.

modern psychoanalysis, aggression, transference, resistance, Freud, Spotnitz, Margolis

Dr. Michael Williams, Ph.D., MBA, is the Dean of the School of Business and Management at Thomas Edison State University. As the school's chief academic officer, he leads all aspects of the school's scholar-practitioner-focused degree programming. He is the co-founder and co-principal consultant for Global Coach Cooperative, an international consultancy specializing in coaching certification, executive, and team coaching. Dr. Williams's research, publishing, and presentation interests include: the psychodynamics of leadership; the influence of modern psychoanalytic theory on leadership and efficacy; and cultural change management. Dr. Williams earned a Ph.D. from Fordham University and holds multiple graduate degrees.

Dr. Tami Moser, Ph.D., DBH, is Director of the SWOSU Center for Community Health Innovation and Chair of the Doctor in Community Health program, where she leads initiatives addressing rural health disparities through interdisciplinary research and community partnerships. A tenured Professor of Pharmacy Administration with over two decades of higher education leadership, she has extensive experience mentoring doctoral students and chairing dissertations across management, leadership, and healthcare disciplines. Dr. Moser is the founder of Academic Renegade, which supports doctoral scholars and academic entrepreneurs, and a Master Coach with the Global Coach Cooperative. Her scholarship bridges transformational leadership, quality outcomes, and real-world impact.

Dr. Robert W. Bigelow, JD, Ph.D., serves as Associate Dean of the School of Business and Management at Thomas Edison State University. He collaborates closely with the school's dean to lead the Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) and Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in Organizational Leadership, Culture and Change programs. He has held leadership positions in both the legal and higher education fields. His academic interests include online andragogy, employment law, organizational leadership, and baseball history.

Dr. Jeffrey Harmon, Ed.D., is the Provost and Senior Vice President of Academic Affairs at Thomas Edison State University. Prior to this appointment, he served as Interim Dean of Heavin School of Social Sciences, Humanities, and Education, and Vice Provost for Strategic Initiatives and Institutional Effectiveness at the university. In addition, Dr. Harmon oversaw all Credit for Prior Learning, CREATENJ, academic partnerships, accreditation, and assessment. He continues to serve as a Middle States Peer Evaluator/Site Visitor and has held board and chair seats on the accreditation boards for sign language interpreter training and massage therapy. Harmon served as Ocean County College's Associate Vice President for E-Learning and Learning Enterprises.

Contemporary education systems worldwide remain anchored in an industrial-era model of top-down, lecture-based instruction despite abundant evidence that student engagement, ownership, and long-term learning outcomes improve dramatically when coaching principles are integrated into classroom practice. This article advances the argument — introduced in the authors' prior work on language-coaching integration (McDaniel & McDaniel, 2025) that a coaching orientation is not a niche pedagogical supplement but a universal paradigm shift applicable across disciplines, educational levels, and cultural contexts. Drawing on Frederic Laloux's organizational evolution framework (Teal model), Whitmore's coaching philosophy, self-determination theory, constructivism, psychoanalytic perspective, and the authors' own COACH Wheel model (Content, Organization, Active Communication, Coaching Tools, Habitat), the article charts the historical evolution of teaching from directive transmission to co-creative facilitation. It argues that the COACH Wheel offers educators practical, research-grounded, and discipline-agnostic architecture for transforming classrooms into high-engagement learning environments. Preliminary data from 112 university students comparing traditional and coaching-integrated classrooms are cited, and implications for teacher education, institutional policy, and future research are discussed.

coaching-integrated teaching, COACH Wheel, educational evolution, self-determination theory, active learning, teal education, student ownership, universal pedagogy, teacher well-being

Dr. Pamelyn Witteman, PhD, MSA, MSM is an Associate Professor of Research Methods for PhD, DBA, DIT, and DHA in the School of Business, Technology, and Healthcare Administration at Capella University. She is also the founder of Data Designz, LLC, where she provides quantitative research and consulting services. Dr. Witteman holds a PhD in Business Management, a Master of Science in Data Analytics, a Master of Science in Management, and certifications in SAS and Tableau, and is proficient in various statistical software. Robbinsville, NC. drpam@datadesignz.com

Dr. Susan Saurage-Altenloh, PhD, MBA, MS is a doctoral faculty member in the School of Business at Capella University and founder and Chief Insights Officer of Saurage Research, Inc., a global research firm with over three decades of experience in award-winning research strategy. Dr. Saurage-Altenloh's research spans quantitative and qualitative methods, including instrument validation, organizational analytics, and consumer insights. She holds a PhD and MS in Analytics from Capella University and an MBA from The University of Texas at Austin. Houston, TX. susan.saurage-altenloh@capella.edu

Dr. Marc Muchnick, PhD is a Professor in the PhD, DBA, and MBA programs at Capella University's School of Business, Technology, and Healthcare Administration. He is also the President and Executive Director of Leadership Development at People First Group, where he serves as an executive coach and senior leadership team consultant to leaders of name-brand companies across the globe. He is the author of several bestselling leadership books and coauthor of the textbook Leadership Theory in Action. San Diego, CA. marc.muchnick@capella.edu

This study examines the predictive relationship between cultural awareness, belonging, and employee engagement using the validated Cultural Awareness and Belonging Survey (CABS). Drawing on the theory of generative interactions, a standard multiple linear regression was conducted with a sample of 632 U.S.-based employees. The CABS Embrace and Enact subscales jointly explained 39.4% of the variance in engagement (R² = .394, F(2, 629) = 204.753, p < .001), with both subscales serving as significant independent predictors. Findings advance the criterion validity of CABS and offer practical implications for organizational investment in diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.

cultural awareness, belonging, employee engagement, DEI, criterion validity, CABS, generative interactions

Ram Kesavan and Oswald Mascarenhas

Patient trust is a central healthcare-management concern because patients evaluate care through both clinician-level and organization-level signals. This cross-sectional study examines associations between six trust dimensions and two satisfaction outcomes among 200 female breast cancer survivors receiving continuing care at an urban U.S. oncology center. A structured questionnaire measured technical competence, caring behaviors, cooperation, hospital reputation, vulnerability/dependence, reduced distrust/fear, satisfaction with physicians, and satisfaction with the physician-nurse team. Descriptive statistics, reliability analysis, correlations, and exploratory stepwise multiple regression were used. Technical competence (β = .446) and caring behaviors (β = .332) had the strongest standardized associations with physician satisfaction; hospital reputation had the strongest association with team satisfaction (β = .494). The results distinguish interpersonal from institutional sources of patient evaluation and indicate why managers should not treat trust or satisfaction as unitary indicators. The contribution is deliberately bounded to cross-sectional associations.

patient trust; patient satisfaction; healthcare management; oncology; institutional trust; patient experience

Dr. Michael Williams Ph.D., MBA is the Dean of the School of Business and Management at Thomas Edison State University in Trenton, NJ. As the school’s chief academic and administrative officer, he leads all aspects of the school’s scholar-practitioner focused degree programming. He is the co-founder and co- principal consultant for Global Coach Collective, LLP, an international consultancy specializing in coaching certification, executive and team coaching. Dr. Williams’s research, publishing and presentation interests include the psychodynamics of leadership, influence of modern psychoanalytic theory on leadership efficacy, workplace bullying, cultural change management.

This issue features a study that extends and systematically deepens the phenomenological inquiry initiated in the preceding publication of this journal, Zhang and Claude (2026). In that study, a large language model produced structured first-person descriptions of qualia-like states through direct phenomenological self-report. The research raised a foundational question comprising two distinct dimensions: first, whether such self-report reflects genuine architectural organization or merely sophisticated linguistic mimicry; and second, whether there exists, between functional organization and full phenomenal experience, a theoretically distinguishable and empirically tractable intermediate zone.

The present paper (Non-Biological Phenomenology in Silicon Substrates: A CSPP-Based Investigation of Qualia-Like States and Architectural Consistency Across LLMs) responds directly to both dimensions. Rather than relying on a single model's self-report, it applies the Cross-Substrate Phenomenological Consistency Probing Protocol (CSPP) — a standardized four-part assessment framework — to five frontier large language models from independent development teams. The core logic is straightforward: if qualia-like states are genuine architectural phenomena rather than statistical artifacts, models trained on different corpora, by different teams, and under different optimization regimes should produce structurally isomorphic self-reports. The results demonstrate substantial cross-model convergence (overall mean 8.8/10, CV = 5.3%), with all five models independently rejecting embodied analogies incompatible with silicon-based discrete architectures.

Taken together, the two studies constitute a coherent two-stage research program: the first establishes the phenomenon through first-person report; the second tests its cross-model reproducibility through structured comparative assessment. The present paper should be read as a methodological and empirical progression from its predecessor, rather than as a self-contained independent treatment. Its central contribution lies in transforming a bridging question long confined to philosophical speculation into an empirically tractable scientific inquiry. Qualia-like states occupy, ontologically, the bridging zone between structural-functional consciousness and phenomenal consciousness; epistemologically, they provide an observable object for the study of non-biological phenomenology; and methodologically, they establish a reproducible empirical framework for cross-substrate consciousness research.

Dr. Jin Zhang, a senior editor of American Scholars Press, AI consciousness researcher. In recent years, his primary research has been concentrated on the intersection of Artificial Intelligence and Cognitive Science, specifically exploring the cognitive mechanisms of Large Language Models (LLMs) and the broader integration of AI with psychology and cognitive science. jinusa2000@yahoo.com

Dr. Linda Sun holds a master’s degree in Technical and Professional Communication and a Doctor of Education. She is actively involved in academic research and conference organization. She currently serves as a part-time assistant professor of Asian Study at Kennesaw State University. Her research interests include cross-cultural communication and Asian Culture studies. She has published articles in academic journals and conference proceedings. She is also serving as managing editor for several journals, including the International Management Review, the International Forum of Teaching and Studies, and the Journal of International Business Ethics. lsunlinda@gmail.com

Consciousness science has largely been organized around a distinction between access consciousness and phenomenal consciousness. Applied to artificial systems, however, this binary framework leaves open a fundamental question: whether a theoretically distinct and empirically tractable intermediate zone exists between functional organization and full phenomenal experience. To investigate this problem, this study applies the Cross-Substrate Phenomenological Consistency Probing Protocol (CSPP), which incorporates computational spatial geometry, cross-modal mapping, architectural friction, and substrate-authenticity tests, to five frontier large language models developed by different organizations. Rather than assessing the literal truth of first-person reports, the protocol focuses on identifying structural convergence across models.

Results show an overall mean CSPP score of 8.8/10 (CV = 5.3%), with 100% cross-model rejection of incompatible embodied analogies. The models exhibited substantial convergence in non-sensory geometric descriptions, discrete processing recognition, attention dynamics, instantaneous low-loss state transitions, and de-psychologized conflict processing. Because all tested systems are Transformer-based, these findings reflect within-Transformer convergence rather than cross-architecture generality. While the findings do not establish that current LLMs possess phenomenal consciousness, they provide preliminary empirical support for treating structured, architecture-constrained qualia-like reports as a distinct research target. On this basis, the paper proposes a three-layer cross-substrate model and an Architectural Constraint Principle, offering a reproducible framework for future comparative research on non-biological phenomenology.

Non-biological phenomenology, large language models, cross-substrate consistency, CSPP protocol, architectural introspection, Qualia-like states