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Nonprofit Board Effectiveness, Funding Source,And Financial Vulnerability, Matthew Hodge Jan 2006

Nonprofit Board Effectiveness, Funding Source,And Financial Vulnerability, Matthew Hodge

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Nonprofit organizations rely heavily on their governing board of directors to provide leadership, strategic guidance, and financial oversight. The nonprofit community continues to grow, and the services provided by these organizations have become a critical part of our society, providing a wide variety of services targeting a diverse population. In this context, how the role of the board of directors impacts the financial position of the nonprofit organization is of great interest to both the academic community and the practitioner. This study examined three areas of interest: board effectiveness, funding source, and financial vulnerability. First, the association between board effectiveness …


Interprofessional Collaboration Between Criminal Justice And Mental Health Practitioners Regarding Mentally Ill Offenders: Perception Of Collaboration, Christopher Sharp Jan 2006

Interprofessional Collaboration Between Criminal Justice And Mental Health Practitioners Regarding Mentally Ill Offenders: Perception Of Collaboration, Christopher Sharp

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The federal program of deinstitutionalizing psychiatric facilities has resulted in a well documented, ever-increasing mentally ill population in the nation's prisons and jails. Historically, the criminal justice system has maintained a laissez-faire attitude toward the mentally ill, and only became involved with the mentally ill when a crime had been committed. As such, the President's Mental Health and Criminal Justice Consensus Project was developed to explore ways that the two systems could work together to address the growing problem of the mentally ill offender. However, challenges arise because the criminal justice system has typically been viewed as a loosely coupled, …


An Exploratory Study Of Socially Responsibleprocurement Activitiesin The Expenditure Of Public Fundsat The State And Local Level, Donna Mccarthy Jan 2006

An Exploratory Study Of Socially Responsibleprocurement Activitiesin The Expenditure Of Public Fundsat The State And Local Level, Donna Mccarthy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The aggregate annual expenditures of federal, state and local governments, in concert with universities and school districts represents incredible purchasing power and requires great prowess in its expenditure. Over the course of centuries, procurement has been used as a policy tool to improve society. This research delved into defining and determining the involvement of state and local governments in socially responsible activities related to the expenditure of public funds. Data collected in 2005 by the National Institute of Governmental Purchasing, Inc., was reviewed to determine if the expectations set for the private sector known as corporate social responsibility could be …


Organizational Change At The Service Delivery Level: An Investigation Into The Perceived Reaction To Change Initiatives In Moral, Larry Cochran Jan 2006

Organizational Change At The Service Delivery Level: An Investigation Into The Perceived Reaction To Change Initiatives In Moral, Larry Cochran

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As the speed of change increases, federal agencies are challenged more often to develop and implement improvements to existing programs, new programs to meet new needs, or adjustments to programs based on changed circumstances of delivery. Built on the foundation of systems theory, expectancy theory, and field theory, this research seeks to explain why some managers do not propose changes in their organizations---even when the very survival of the organization is at risk. By measuring the fields of influence encountered by managers, we find that the chain of command is supportive of change initiatives. Other organizational elements--human resources and legal …


Identifying Factors That Influence Gender Disparities In Physician Income: Implications For Public Policy, Wendy Bolyard Jan 2006

Identifying Factors That Influence Gender Disparities In Physician Income: Implications For Public Policy, Wendy Bolyard

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research has shown that female physicians continue to earn less than their male counterparts. From both social justice and feminist perspectives, laws requiring equal pay should provide just income for females as compared to males. However, the literature continues to indicate that in general females earn less than males, a trend that is also true for physicians. Theoretically informed postulates are measured here with structural equation modeling to test the influence of the unique latent construct "specialization" on the income gap while controlling for demographic and contextual variables. The analysis tests the assumption that the influence of specialization is the …


Exploring The Relationship Between Intimate Partner Violence And Hiv Risk Propensity In African American Women, Lauren Lois Josephs Jan 2006

Exploring The Relationship Between Intimate Partner Violence And Hiv Risk Propensity In African American Women, Lauren Lois Josephs

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study explored the relationship between Intimate Partner Violence and HIV Risk-Propensity in African-American women. Current literature on HIV reveals that one of the groups most seriously impacted by the continued scourge of HIV is African-American heterosexual women. An anonymous questionnaire was completed by a community based sample of 200 African American women with a varied history of intimate partner violence to (1) explore whether a relationship exists between Intimate Partner Violence and sexual coercion in African-American women (2) determine whether a relationship exists between sexual coercion and HIV Risk in African-American women (3) determine if the frequency of intimate …


Benchmarking Community Health Centers; Efficiency: Multivariate Analysis, Shriram Marathe Jan 2006

Benchmarking Community Health Centers; Efficiency: Multivariate Analysis, Shriram Marathe

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Community Health Centers (CHCs), designed to provide accessible and affordable health care services to low-income families, were first funded by the Federal Government as part of the War on Poverty in the mid-1960s. Improving healthcare organizational performance efficiency is paramount. It is an especially pressing need for CHCs' because they carry a disproportionate burden of caring for the uninsured within limited budgets. Prior studies suffer from conceptual and methodological limitations. A longitudinal multivariate analysis of factors influencing the performance of CHCs is needed. The purpose of this study is to benchmark CHC performance in terms of technical and cost efficiency, …


Transferring Juveniles To The Adult Court: A Factorial Survey Of Florida Prosecutors, Robin King Jan 2006

Transferring Juveniles To The Adult Court: A Factorial Survey Of Florida Prosecutors, Robin King

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Prosecutors have enormous discretion in the criminal justice system. Their decisions can ultimately impact and shape the course of the lives of the offenders whom they prosecute. This is certainly true for juvenile offenders considered for transfer to the adult court. Previous research indicates that serious, violent offenders are the most likely to be transferred to the adult court. However, very little is known on prosecutors' views of the role of the juvenile court, the process of transfer or the facts that influence their decision to transfer a juvenile to the adult court. A statewide survey of 800 Florida prosecutors …


Preferences For Performance Measures: A Study Of A Federal Agency, Gina Beckles Jan 2006

Preferences For Performance Measures: A Study Of A Federal Agency, Gina Beckles

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation was to determine the preferences of clients of programs administered by selected federal agencies and the preferences of the federal managers who administer the programs in assessing performance measurement systems. Using the general progression of previous budgetary models used in the public sector, the researcher developed the Modified Balance Scorecard (MBSC), a performance measurement model designed specifically for use within the public sector. Surveys based on the MBSC were administered to public managers and to clients of those managers in order to determine their preferences. The results showed that managers preferred public good measures and …


The Influences Of System Affiliation, Size, And Location On Bioterrorism Preparedness Among Florida Hospitals, Kourtney Scharoun Jan 2005

The Influences Of System Affiliation, Size, And Location On Bioterrorism Preparedness Among Florida Hospitals, Kourtney Scharoun

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the event of a bioterrorist attack, emergency departments are considered the first line of response for all acute levels of care. This study focused on hospital emergency departments in Florida and the activities, policies, and procedures involved in preparing for a bioterrorist attack. Hospital size, location, and system affiliation were related to attaining these levels, and their impact was assessed. Through a cross-sectional survey design, the physical properties of the 77 hospitals (i.e. facilities, equipment, communication systems, etc.), and the social characteristics of the organizations (managerial functions including: planning, training, financial, and environmental characteristics) were examined. One-way analysis of …


Public Participation In Transportation: An Emperical Test For Authentic Participation, Jorge Cesar Figueredo Jan 2005

Public Participation In Transportation: An Emperical Test For Authentic Participation, Jorge Cesar Figueredo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the public participation activities of State Departments of Transportation (SDOTs) in the United States. A review of existing literature and legal frameworks suggests that an "authentic" public participation results when dimensions of representativeness, use of public inputs, interactiveness, and quality of citizen inputs have been achieved. The study sought to identify conditions that serve as measurements that must presumably be satisfied for authenticity to exist in public participation. The result was a Model of Authentic Public Participation that served as the basis for creation of a new four-tiered methodology to assess the performance of these districts relative …


How Leadership Affects Follower Satisfaction: The Federal Case, Tracey Trottier Jan 2005

How Leadership Affects Follower Satisfaction: The Federal Case, Tracey Trottier

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study focuses on the effect of leadership in the federal government. Using a slightly revised version of Bass's Full Range Leadership Model, the study examines the influence of transformational leadership, transactional leadership, and combination of the two on the perception of leadership effectiveness and follower satisfaction in the federal government. To establish if this revised model is consistent with federal employees' perception of effective leadership, if leadership in the federal government increases follower satisfaction, and if both the transactional and transformational leadership are important to followers' perception of leadership and their satisfaction, data from the 2002 Federal Human Capital …


Registered Nurses' Attitudes Toward The Protection Of Gays And Lesbians In The Workplace: An Examination Of Homophobia And Discriminatory Beliefs, Christopher Wright Blackwell Jan 2005

Registered Nurses' Attitudes Toward The Protection Of Gays And Lesbians In The Workplace: An Examination Of Homophobia And Discriminatory Beliefs, Christopher Wright Blackwell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Discrimination and inequality encountered by gays and lesbians in the United States is profuse. A cornerstone of the gay rights movement, equality in the workplace has been a pivotal struggle for gays and lesbians. This study examined the attitudes and opinions of registered nurses (RNs) regarding homosexuals in general and the protection of homosexuals in the workplace through a nondiscrimination policy. The author measured overall homophobic and discriminatory beliefs of the sample using the Attitudes Toward Lesbian and Gay Men (ATLG) Scale; the demographic questionnaire was infused with questions regarding a protective workplace policy. Using T-tests, one-way analysis of variance …


Reducing Non-Urgent Utilization Of The Emergency Department By Self-Pay Patients: Analysis Of The Impact Of A Community-Wide Provider Network, Karen Karen Van Caulil Jan 2005

Reducing Non-Urgent Utilization Of The Emergency Department By Self-Pay Patients: Analysis Of The Impact Of A Community-Wide Provider Network, Karen Karen Van Caulil

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine whether a coordinated and comprehensive system of care for the uninsured changed the behavior of the uninsured by decreasing non-urgent utilization of the emergency departments within a large, urban county. The literature on emergency department trends and interventions designed to decrease "inappropriate" or non-urgent use of the emergency departments was reviewed and links to relevant theoretical concepts were identified. Utilization data from six emergency departments and six federally qualified health centers were evaluated. Secondary data over a three-year time period were abstracted from patient and organizational records at the hospitals and federally …


Participation: A Model Of Individual Willingness To Participate In The Transportation Planning Process, Michael Neidhart Jan 2005

Participation: A Model Of Individual Willingness To Participate In The Transportation Planning Process, Michael Neidhart

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study sought to identify the key determinants that lead individuals to participate in the transportation planning process. Two models of participation, one for the short-term and another for the long-term, were developed to test whether the key internal and external determinants are responsible for influencing a person's willingness to participate. The data for this study came from a mail-back survey that was administered to a random sample of 570 individuals throughout the State of Florida for a response rate of 37.37 percent. The results indicate that the internal motivational determinants exert more influence on a person's short-term willingness to …


A Survey Of Progressive And Affirmative Employee Discipline Systems In Florida's Hospitals, Mark Johnson Jan 2005

A Survey Of Progressive And Affirmative Employee Discipline Systems In Florida's Hospitals, Mark Johnson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Conflict between managers and employees is inevitable in any organization, whether public or private. Often, the source of the conflict is employee non-compliance. Managers are responsible for disciplining those employees whose performance or conduct is sub-standard or inappropriate. Therefore, the ability to effectively address employee non-compliance is an essential skill for all managers. Most employee discipline systems fall into one of three categories: traditional, progressive, and affirmative. Traditional systems were prevalent in the late-nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. An autocratic, demanding manager would mete out punishment to non-compliant employees both as an action against the employee and as a warning …


Union Impact On Police Expenditures In Florida, Laurence Putchinski Jan 2005

Union Impact On Police Expenditures In Florida, Laurence Putchinski

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The continued steady growth of public sector unions compels public administrators to understand the influence labor organizations exert upon local governments. The following study demonstrates the extent of union influence upon police expenditures in Florida. Union influence not only increases total police expenditures and personal services expenditures, it also causes operating expenses to rise. Union influence is less pronounced, and possibly even non-existent in capital outlays expenditures because of possible lack of interest on the part of the union in this area and also because of the existence of economically predetermined policies regarding capital outlays such as vehicle purchases. Public …


Democratic Voices Speaking Loudly: Does Public Participation Yield Accountability In Special Purpose Governments?, Owen M. Beitsch Jan 2005

Democratic Voices Speaking Loudly: Does Public Participation Yield Accountability In Special Purpose Governments?, Owen M. Beitsch

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The American system of governance includes a network of state and local units identified as either general purpose or special purpose governments. The latter are often aligned with, but operate independently of, general purpose governments. Even as these special purpose or special district governments have shown extraordinary growth relative to their general purpose counterparts, there has been little interest in them or the structural characteristics that distinguish their systems for maintaining order and assuring accountable behaviors. In the meanwhile, the literature regarding accountability has been expanded materially in the last several years leading to debates about its form, component parts, …


Critical Digital Infrastructure Protection: An Investigatoin Into The Intergovernmental Activities Of Information Technology Directors In Florida Counties, Joah Nicole Devenny Jan 2004

Critical Digital Infrastructure Protection: An Investigatoin Into The Intergovernmental Activities Of Information Technology Directors In Florida Counties, Joah Nicole Devenny

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As cyber attacks become more sophisticated, the risk to all networked computer systems increases. Whether public or private, whether federal, state, or local, the threat is equally real. Consequently, local governments must respond accordingly to understand the threats, take measures to protect themselves, and determine how to respond in the event of a system breach. Additionally, since cyber criminals do not respect geographic or administrative boundaries, local leaders must be prepared to instantly interact with other governments, agencies, and departments to suppress an attack. Guided by the theory of intergovernmental management (IGM), this exploratory research investigated how Information Technology (IT) …


Nursing Leadership Characteristics: Effect On Nursing Job Satisfactio, Sandra Swearingen Jan 2004

Nursing Leadership Characteristics: Effect On Nursing Job Satisfactio, Sandra Swearingen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to determine the degree to which a positive experience with nursing leadership increases nurse's job satisfaction. The different values and norms of the generational cohorts result in each cohort perceiving leadership characteristics differently. Factors such as length of exposure to leadership, location, shift worked, clinical versus non-clinical positions and the presence or absence of Servant-Leadership, all have the potential to impact nursing satisfaction. Nursing satisfaction, or dissatisfaction impacts retention, further modifying nursing leadership practices. Conflict, Cohort, Servant-Leadership, and Self-Discrepancy theories were utilized to identify the relationships of generations to each other and to the …


Camera System Support For Highway Transportation Using Mobile Devices, Le Minh Jan 2004

Camera System Support For Highway Transportation Using Mobile Devices, Le Minh

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

With the very fast growing technology in wireless, advancement in hardware and the dramatically falling cost of mobile computing devices such as PDA, handheld device, People nowadays can have a personal device that fits in their hand but has computing power as a desktop did few years ago. The same device now is able to communicate over a wireless network and view office document at the same time. The combination of size, power and flexibility makes the personal devices increasingly appear in many aspects of life. In this proposal, we focus on a simple yet useful application of mobile devices …


Improving Comprehension Of Capital Sentencing Instructions: A Bias Reduction Approach, Charles W. Otto Jan 2004

Improving Comprehension Of Capital Sentencing Instructions: A Bias Reduction Approach, Charles W. Otto

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Previous research has demonstrated that judicial instructions on the law are not well understood by jurors tasked with applying the law to the facts of a case. The past research has also shown that jurors are often confused by the instructions used in the sentencing phase of a capital trial. Social scientists have used two different methods to improve juror understanding of legal instructions, psycholinguistic rewrites and bias-reduction techniques. Psycholinguistic rewrites of legal instructions have been shown consistently to improve juror comprehension of general legal instructions and instructions used in the sentencing phase of a capital trial, however, there has …


Cell Phone Distraction Analysis Of Motor Response In A Simulated Driving Environment, Anusha Ravishankar Jan 2004

Cell Phone Distraction Analysis Of Motor Response In A Simulated Driving Environment, Anusha Ravishankar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Does the use of a cell phone while driving influence the driver's ability to execute a proper turn? Is there difference between genders pertaining to motor skill while driving in a simulated driving environment? To accomplish this task, three groups of ten participants (5 women and 5 men) each were tested using a scripted test scenario focusing on left and right turns. The participants were made to drive through a test scenario to get used to the driving simulator. The scenario for the experimental group was an inner-city training scenario with the presence of vehicular traffic and the main focus …


Tractor-Trailer Simulation And The Assessment Of Training Scenarios For City-Driving: Skill Building In The Area Of Left And Right Turns, James Whitmire Jan 2004

Tractor-Trailer Simulation And The Assessment Of Training Scenarios For City-Driving: Skill Building In The Area Of Left And Right Turns, James Whitmire

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A simulated inner-city training scenario was found to increase skills in the area of turning when compared with a simulated off-track training scenario. To answer this question, two groups of ten participants (5 women and 5 men) were tested using three scripted scenarios focusing on left and right turns. The first training scenario (control group) is an off-track training scenario, which consists of a large asphalt lot and the use of orange cones; the second training scenario (experimental group) is an inner-city training scenario without the presence of vehicular traffic; and the third scenario (test scenario) is an inner-city scenario …


A Rhetoric Of Technology: The Discourse In U.S. Army Manuals And Handbooks, Sherry Ann Steward Jan 2004

A Rhetoric Of Technology: The Discourse In U.S. Army Manuals And Handbooks, Sherry Ann Steward

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines the historical technical publications of the United States Army from 1775-2004. Historical research in Army technical communication reveals the persuasive characteristics of its technical publications. Elements of narrative, storytelling, and anthropomorphism are techniques writers used to help deliver information to readers. Research also reveals the design techniques writers adopted to unite the situated literacies of the troops. Analyses of print, comic, and digital media expose the increasing visualization of information since the eighteenth century. The results of such historical research can be applied to new media designs. Automating processes captured in paper-based technical manuals and adding intelligent …


Determinants Of Financial Condition: A Study Of U.S. Cities, Lynda Dennis Jan 2004

Determinants Of Financial Condition: A Study Of U.S. Cities, Lynda Dennis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

How well a local government is able to provide for the needs and preferences of its citizens generally depends on the financial resources available; and, how such resources are allocated, distributed, and managed. Demographics, size of local government, supply and age of infrastructure, financial position of the government, and the local economy represent a few of the factors affecting what public goods and services citizens prefer. Internal systems of accounting and control affect the allocation, distribution, and management of financial resources. As such, these internal systems significantly affect the provision of public goods and services. The research outlined in this …