Digital Commons Network^™

Self-Direction And Technology Use Among New Workforce Entrants, Lila Louise Holt

Doctoral Dissertations

With the knowledge age evolving, colleges and universities should be ever vigilant to assure that the pedagogies practiced are adequately preparing future workers with skills required to keep pace (Scardamalia & Bereiter, 2006). Business managers have identified self-direction and technology use as increasingly important in the 21^st century (Partnership for 21st Century Skills, 2006), yet a gap in research of pedagogies that advance self-directedness and promote technology use has been found. To help identify new pedagogies, the purpose of this study was to identify the relationship between self-directed learning (SDL) and technology use of people …

Incorporating Ethics Into Accounting Education: A Proposal For An Undergraduate Accounting Ethics Course For The University Of Tennessee, Knoxville, Courtney Michaluk

Chancellor’s Honors Program Projects

No abstract provided.

The Relationship Between Racial Identity And The Socialization Of Black Ph.D. Students At Predominantly White Institutions, Ferlin Garbe Mcgaskey

Doctoral Dissertations

Successful graduate student socialization has been characterized as the acceptance and adoption of disciplinary values and beliefs into the students’ identity (Bragg, 1976; Weidman, Twale, & Stein, 2001). Some scholars assert that assimilating the values and beliefs of the discipline may be difficult for Blacks students as their cultural beliefs and values may be incongruent (Antony, 2002; Tierney & Rhoads, 1994). Surprisingly, there appears to be no empirical studies exploring this assertion for Black Ph.D. students. The purpose of this study was to determine if cultural beliefs and values influence the socialization experiences of Black Ph.D. students. Specifically, using racial …

Optimal Experience: An Analysis Of Flow Among Intramural Officials At The University Of Tennessee, Knoxville, Victor Alexander Martin

Masters Theses

The occurrence of flow in a number of leisure and sport activities has been well documented, yet the question of whether sports officials experience flow has not been addressed in the literature. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the occurrence and nature of flow among sport officials, specifically intramural officials. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six University of Tennessee, Knoxville intramural officials. The interviews were transcribed by an independent transcriptionist; the data were reviewed, coded and analyzed using QDA Miner software. Subsequently, five themes emerged: (1) experience/expertise of crewmates and self; (2) motivation of crewmates and self; …

Knowledge And Perceptions Of Agriculture In Tennessee Through Fall Agritourism Experiences, Jessica Jarrell Poore

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to identify the key educational components of agritourism in Tennessee. The study strived to identify if knowledge of the agricultural industry increased due to agritourism experiences and if perception of the agriculture industry changed due to the experience. Additionally, the research sought to describe visitor demographics and characteristics.Following a pilot study in 2009, three agritourism venues throughout the state of Tennessee were used to collect surveys to create a pool of respondents and to identify their original knowledge of perceptions of the agriculture industry for the 2010 study. Additional data was gathered through an …

The Role Of Extension In Community Resource And Economic Development As Perceived By Administrators And Directors Of The Cooperative Extension Service, Seth Charles Urbanowitz

Masters Theses

Clearly understanding and specifying Extension’s role in community resource and economic development (CRED) programming will allow Extension to more effectively serve the communities in which it operates and communicate a clear purpose to stakeholders. All levels of management might not know how CRED efforts are defined at the national/regional or state level, how much human and financial support is allocated, or what upper level administrators think might be some external/internal constraints. A valid image of national and regional organizational capacities in community resource and economic development will allow for clearer understanding and communication of this programmatic area to potential partners …

In Their Own Words: Perspectives On Hbcu Institutional Quality From Hbcu Administrators, Chutney Nichole Walton

Doctoral Dissertations

College rankings such as US News & World Report (USNWR) are used as benchmarks for measuring quality in higher education (McManus-Howard, 2002). These ranking systems utilize traditional measures of academic excellence such as academic reputation, student selectivity, and financial resources, to assess institutional quality in higher education, which appear to disadvantage institutions with specialized missions such as historically Black colleges and universities. The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe indicators of the institutional quality of historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) as identified by administrators at four different HBCUs.

Data were collected from 12 in-depth interviews with administrators …