Competency Modeling As An Organizational Development Intervention, Sarah Michelle Haynes

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

The practice of competency modeling has been widely applied as a strategic human resource initiative in the United States and abroad (Schuler & Jackson, 2005). It is estimated that 70–80% of Fortune 500 companies use some form of competency modeling within their talent management programs to define and/or measure work performance (Stone, Webster & Schoonover, 2013). This widespread popularity is likely explained by the many proposed benefits of competency modeling adoption. Some of these benefits include directly linking future-oriented talent requirements to business objectives and strategies, integrating talent programs across HR functions, and offering a more flexible and adaptable method …

Naturalistic Allocation: Working Memory And Cued-Attention Effects On Resource Allocation, Shanique G. Brown

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

The allocation of resources is a ubiquitous decision making task. In the workplace, resource allocation, in the context of multiple task and/or work demands, is significantly related to task performance as the commitment of more resources generally results in better performance on a given task. I apply both resource and naturalistic decision making theories to better understand resource allocation behavior and related performance. Resource theories suggest that individuals have limited cognitive capacity: limited capacity may limit performance in dynamic situations such as situations that involve the allocation of attentional resources. Additionally, the naturalistic decision making framework highlights the role of …

Examining The Intersection Of Gender And Age On Backlash Effects In Negotiations, Amber Cotton

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Backlash effects are the social and economic sanctions for women, but not men, when exhibiting masculine and agentic traits such as assertiveness. This social disincentive has been suggested to account for women’s decreased likelihood to initiate negotiations relative to men. One question that extends from prior findings is how other demographic characteristics (i.e., age) might intersect with gender differences in the experience of backlash in negotiations. Using role congruity theory, research on backlash effects in negotiations and age stereotypes as additional theoretical underpinnings, the purpose of the current study was to investigate the extent to which an individual’s gender (male …

The Response Of Religious Leaders To Intimate Partner Violence: Overcoming The "Holy Hush", Jaclyn Danielle Houston-Kolnik

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Intimate partner violence (IPV) continues to be a social problem with many survivors seeking assistance from their religious leaders. In order to understand how to improve the response of religious leaders to IPV, this dissertation explores the various ways religious leaders understand and respond to survivors of IPV and the religious beliefs that may contribute to their response. The responses of religious leaders vary as some may deny or justify the abuse while others may link survivors to resources within the religious congregation or local community. Furthermore, these responses may be shaped by particular religious beliefs such as beliefs about …

Thinking About Race: The Development And Implication Of Racial Ideology, Robert E. Gutierrez

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Underlying contemporary discussions of race and race relations in the United States is the concept of racial ideology. Racial ideology comprises the ways in which individuals conceptualize racial identity, race relations, and the practical and ideal roles race plays in our lives. Two dominant models of understanding racial ideologies have emerged: Colorblindness and multiculturalism. Colorblindness advocates a race neutral approach while multiculturalism affirms and values the diversity of racialized experience. Critics of colorblindness argue that inattention to the role race plays in individuals’ lives serves to propagate an unequal status quo, and can actually exacerbate racial inequality. Conversely, critics of …

Effects Of Multinational Team And Team Member Characteristics On Subgroup Formation, Group Identification, And Trust In Team, Gamze Arman-Incioglu

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Multinational teams (MNTs) consist of members from different national backgrounds who work interdependently to achieve a shared objective (Earley & Gibson, 2002). These teams are frequently employed in global organizations because they provide several advantages, such as meeting the needs of customers from different cultures and getting diverse perspectives on how to lead projects and approach problems (Connaughton & Shuffler, 2007; Earley & Mosakowski, 2000). Much of the previous research on MNTs has focused on whether members’ national background diversity has an impact on MNT effectiveness (Connaughton & Shuffler, 2007; Stahl, Mäkelä, Zander, …

An Examination Of The Specificity Of Economic Loss And Deprivation And Community Violence On Depressive Symptoms And Aggressive Behavior In Urban, Low-Income Adolescents, Jarrett T. Lewis

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Based on the current literature examining associations of stress and psychopathology in adolescents, several types of stress (e.g., violence exposure, economic-related stress) have been identified as particularly salient in lowincome, urban adolescent populations (Grant et al., 2003; Natz et al., 2012). This population also has been shown to be at heightened risk for problems including internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Identifying specific pathways through which urban, low-income adolescents develop specific emotional and behavior problems in response to particular stressors would be helpful in the development and selections of as the targets of interventions that disrupt mediators that link particular stressors to …

Exploring The Self-Referent Meaning Mechanisms Of Terror Management Theory And Socioemotional Selectivity Theory, Joseph A. Galluzzo

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Two theories of mortality threat management propose distinct psychological mechanisms to cope with mortality concerns. Terror management theory suggests death prompts existential concern whereas socioemotional selectivity theory suggests a limited lifetime prompts hedonic concerns. Both reminders of the finality of life threaten self-existence, yet only terror management theory research has investigated the capacity for art to reaffirm self-referent meaning compromised by death awareness. In two studies, we explored the potential existential nature within death and limited-lifetime awareness and then examined self-referent meaning reaffirmation through naturalistic and surrealistic art in response to death awareness and limited-lifetime awareness. We found that limited-lifetime …

The Influence Of Parish Factors In Catholic Deacon Ministry Assignments: An Ecological Model Perspective, Danielle S. Vaclavik

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Abstract Permanent deacons are a population within the Catholic Church whose numbers have been growing significantly in the last 50 years, with an estimated 18,000 men serving as deacons in the U.S. alone (Gautier, 2013). Deacons are ministers of charity and social justice, ordained to serve their local community for its religious, economic, and social needs through a commitment to their faith. In their growing importance and influence in the Catholic Church, little research examined permanent deacons as individuals or in relationship to the communities they serve.

For this thesis, data was taken from a larger nationwide study of 1,997 …

Effects If Clarity And Locus Of Control On Outcomes Of Rjps, Gregory F. Fernandes

College of Science and Health Theses and Dissertations

Realistic job previews (RJPs) are a common method of providing information about a job to an employee pre-hire. However, there is little understanding around how the way this information is presented might affect some of the well-research outcomes of RJPs, including decision to accept a job offer and organizational commitment. This study explores two potential issues of information presentation, clarity of the information and the locus of control that it activates, to determine whether they have an effect on job attitude outcomes of RJPs.