Digital Commons Network^™

A Critical Ethnographic Study Of The Sociological And Educational Factors That Contribute To Scholastic Disengagement Prior To Adolescence And The Nexus To The School To Prison Pipeline, David Diehl

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this critical ethnographic study was to examine the lived experiences of formerly or currently incarcerated, Hispanic males who attended elementary school in Central Coast County (pseudonym), and affiliated, or previously affiliated with, one of the two major Mexican gangs in the State of California. This study sought to investigate what influence or impact, if any, a student's educational experience prior to entering middle school may have on a desire to become involved with the gang culture. The unusually high teenage homicide rate occurring in a non-urban setting has garnered national attention. Teachers, school administrators, a probation officer, …

Homicidal Loss And Disenfranchised Grief, Mothers Of Murdered Descendants: An Exploratory Qualitative Study, Michael Wayne Eagle

Theses and Dissertations

Violent acts of homicide committed against youth or children can lead to prolonged, devastating, and painful effects on their surviving mothers. Sudden unexpected deaths of descendants can lead to anger, guilt, sorrow, and isolation affecting survivors both emotionally and physically. Descendants’ deaths before the mothers’ deaths are unnatural and can lead to a decline in a survivor’s social actions, a rise in hospitalization rates, higher cases of mortality, complicated grief, and symptoms of PTSD. Cases of disenfranchised grief can surface after a survivor’s loss is ignored or no longer culturally allowed. Instances of empathic failure can result when empathy from …

A Case Study On Co-Teaching In A High-Performing Urban High School In Southern California, Natalie Jean Hofland

Theses and Dissertations

The Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) component of IDEIA 2004, NCLB requirements, and research indicating increased achievement for students with disabilities in the general education environment, have led to the inclusion of students with disabilities into the general education classroom and the use of co-teaching model is increasing throughout the United States. Research indicates that, for inclusion to be successful, administrators and general education teachers need to receive adequate training in special education, supports, and resources to implement successful integration and inclusion of students with disabilities in the general education setting (Ainscow, 2000; Burton & Pace, 2009; Cox, 2008; Praisner, 2003; …

Impact Of Sickle Cell Disease On Executive Functioning In An Adult Population, Christina Wade

Theses and Dissertations

Children diagnosed with sickle cell disease (SCD) struggle with executive functions (EF); however, there is a paucity of research on neuropsychological outcomes in adults with SCD. This study aimed to examine differences in EF between adults with SCD and healthy controls. Thirty- one patients with SCD and 34 healthy controls (ages 18-45) participating in an IRB-approved Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) study of cerebral blood flow underwent neuropsychological evaluation using the Delis–Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS) Trail Making and Color Word Interference Tests and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale - Fourth Edition (WAIS-IV) Digit Span subtest to assess various aspects …

Self-Actualized Leadership: Exploring The Intersection Of Inclusive Leadership And Workplace Spirituality At A Faith-Based Institution Of Higher Education, Kerri Cissna

Theses and Dissertations

Today’s leaders are facing complex business problems that require a moral compass and more than one person to solve. Bill Gates extols that organizations must innovate or die (Lee, 2013) and it is becoming widely accepted that diversity and inclusion are key factors in cultivating the innovative workplace (Kurschner & Schmidt, 2017). Although religion has been relegated to the margins of organizational leadership studies, a new era of globalization has ushered in opportunities for spirituality to become a conduit for self-actualization and inclusive leadership. Therefore, inclusive leadership and workplace spirituality are needed to address some of these pressing matters.

This …

#Livingwhileblack: A Mixed-Method Exploratory Analysis Of The Social Media Documentation Of Racism Via Twitter And Interviews, Judy A. Jackson

Theses and Dissertations

African Americans have endured marginalization related to racial and cultural disparities. #LivingWhileBlack has become a unique repository of all related experiences that Black people are encountering, while performing every day, seemingly mundane tasks and activities. The #LivingWhileBlack hashtag went viral on Twitter (https://twitter.com/), allowing users, including Black Twitter (https://twitter.com/), to use the international platform to share their own Black story and experience. The three research questions that were explored included the following. First: How are profiling events related to #LivingWhileBlack events documented, reported and expressed by Social Media Users? Second: How are others/people using Twitter (https://twitter.com/); affected by various incidences …

The Kairos Model: Best Leadership Practices For Small-To-Medium Sized Management Consulting Firms, Edward Eng

Theses and Dissertations

Breakthrough technologies and ever-increasing customer demands are paving the way for new entrants to disrupt the traditional management industry. With their capacious resources, industry incumbents have mitigated these emergent forces by integrating digital capabilities into their arsenal of services. Without the capacity of market leaders, small and medium-sized business consultants are struggling to compete effectively. To fill this research gap, this study strove to develop a practical framework to help small- to medium-sized business consultants act more purposefully amidst growing competitive pressures.

The researcher chose a qualitative grounded theory design to collect data through face-to- face, semi-structured interview questions. Insights …

Building Change Agility Within Teams, Tiffany N. Bersos

Theses and Dissertations

Change is necessary for an organization to be successful. However, poorly executed change, with ill-equipped leaders and unprepared teams, often result in failed efforts. Leaders can have a direct impact on their team's change agility and successful change initiatives. This study looked at team leaders and individual contributors across a variety of industries and explored ways that team leaders can build change agility. This study addressed three research questions: how participants defined the role of a leader, what individuals observed about themselves when at their best during a change, and what practices they believed would aid in building change agility …

Economically Empowering Women As Foreign Policy: A Phenomenological Study On Building Peace In Northern Uganda Through Social Enterprise, Lisa Liberatore Maracine

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation advocates for the role of social enterprise in building sustainable peace by giving women agency and power in their communities. It examines this phenomenon through the lens of a social enterprise non-governmental organization, 31 Bits, that offers a valuable case study in the post-conflict Northern Uganda town of Gulu where over 100 women have been employed in the last ten years in a five-year training program that equips them to become fully self-sustainable through the creation of jewelry handmade from recycled paper. The holistic approach moves beyond the nonprofit model of charity and survival to giving their beneficiaries …

Best Teaching Practices To Increase Student Interest In Stem Subjects, Talar Gullapyan

Theses and Dissertations

More than ever, jobs at all levels, not just for scientists, are requiring STEM knowledge and specific abilities that are associated with a STEM education (Lacey & Wright, 2009; Rothwell, 2013). Additionally, The Bureau of Labor and Statistics (Vilorio, 2014) reports that STEM occupations will continue to grow faster than other occupations. While the demand for jobs in STEM fields continues to grow, many of these positions remained unfilled due to an unskilled labor force. Students in the U.S. also pursue far fewer degrees in STEM subjects compared to other competitive countries (National Science Board, 2012). The results from the …

Relationship Education With College Students: Patterns Of Participation, Recruitment, And Benefits Gained, Diana Velez

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to contribute to the research on the use of relationship education programs with emerging adult college students in a university setting. The study examined the demographics of the individuals who participate in an on-campus relationship education program, recruitment procedures, and the potential gains in knowledge and skills among the emerging adults after participating in the program. The study also examined the association between the benefits gained and the participants’ demographic characteristics, and the association between recruitment strategies and participants’ demographic characteristics. Self-report date were collected from 31 emerging adult college students at a private …

Development Of A Resilience-Oriented Stress Management Group Intervention For Mothers Experiencing Homelessness, Lily Danielle Rowland

Theses and Dissertations

Family homelessness, particularly of mothers and their children, continues to remain an unfortunate epidemic throughout the United States. Personal, relational, and systemic adversity and trauma leave this population at high risk for instability, physical and mental health challenges, and impaired wellbeing. However, despite these difficulties, research strongly suggests that positive functioning can remain in families experiencing homelessness and that many go on to leave shelters and maintain stability, particularly when mothers have effective strategies to manage stress in contexts of adversity. In addition to identifying the needs of mothers experiencing homelessness, the literature also has highlighted factors of individual and …

The Power Of Artistic Activism, Julio Hanson

Theses and Dissertations

This phenomenological study highlights the ability of artistic activists to utilize art for political, creative, and social change. Artistic activism is a tool that can be used to mobilize people from different backgrounds to achieve a goal or challenge injustices (Mouffe, 2007). The best practices of artistic activists can be shared with others to positively transform society and address sensitive issues. Increased access to the internet and social media has facilitated the proliferation of art, politics, and culture which has caused a greater influence on people on local, national, and worldwide levels. This influence can have profound effects on the …

Resource For A Brief Early Somatic Intervention To Reduce Symptoms Of Post-Traumatic Stress For Victims Of Violence Crime In Acute Hospital Settings In Southeast Los Angeles, Jamie Gamboa

Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this dissertation was to create an intervention resource guide containing recommendations that can be utilized by the South Los Angeles Trauma Recovery Center (SLATRC) to implement a brief early somatic intervention for victims of violent crime in acute hospital settings in Southeast Los Angeles. It was decided that an intervention based upon the Trauma Resiliency Model/Community Resiliency Model (TRM/CRM) would best fit the needs of the population. First, a systematic literature review was conducted to increase the efficacy of the resource by gathering information on similar interventions. The specific questions guiding this review were as follows: (1) …

The Relationship Of Internship Setting To Internship Directors' Perspectives On Cultural Competence In Psychological Assessment, Micharra Joshua

Theses and Dissertations

Psychological assessment represents a core competency and a highly specialized skill in professional psychology that is central to the identity of many practicing psychologists. However, more research is needed on the quality of assessment training that psychology doctoral students receive, particularly in relation to developing competence in the assessment of diverse individuals and groups. Moreover, diversity-related considerations for assessment should be broad and incorporate dimensions that include age, gender, gender identity, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, disability, language, socioeconomic status, and other factors. This clinical dissertation consisted of an archival study that examined predoctoral internship directors' perspectives on their interns' preparation …

The Relationship Of Legal History To Mood And Substance Abuse Symptoms Among Homeless Men And Women In A Residential Recovery Program, Lily A. Mkhitarian

Theses and Dissertations

Homelessness is a devastating experience that impacts hundreds of thousands of individuals in the U.S. each day. It has been widely reported that homeless persons experience higher rates of mental disorder, substance abuse, and physical illness than domiciled individuals. Homelessness is also associated with increased risk of exposure to trauma. In addition, about a quarter of homeless individuals in the U.S. report a history of incarceration. Certainly there are multiple pathways to both homelessness and incarceration. More research is needed on the implications and consequences of having a legal history on homeless persons. The purpose of this archival study was …

Managing The Affective Responses Of Employees During Organizational Change In Higher Education, Brad Kennington

Theses and Dissertations

Higher education is facing a period of continual change driven by numerous external and internal forces. Consequently, higher education leaders are faced with the frequent and daunting task of planning and managing organizational change in higher education institutions, which are both complex and dynamic in nature. Adding difficulty to this task is the fact that employees often react to change with emotional responses that are both challenging to understand and complicated and to manage. Managing affective dimensions of change can be overwhelming to leaders, which can lead to failed organizational change efforts. This study explored and answered (a) how a …

Establishing And Sustaining No-Kill Communities: Best Practices For Animal Services Directors, Kristin R. Barney

Theses and Dissertations

The relationship between humans and non-human animals in the United States has evolved from the capturing and impounding of stray livestock found in colonial times to the billion-dollar industry supporting companion animals that exists today (Irvine, 2002; Zawistowski & Morris, 2013). As people's perceptions and attitudes about the treatment of non-human animals have evolved over time, so have the expectations of the organizations that are in place to care for them. A current movement exists to end the killing of healthy and treatable pets within the United States. Known as the no-kill movement, shelter directors and community stakeholders around the …

The Effect Of Participative Management On Workplace Belonging, Hannah Nichols

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to examine how participation affects employee perceptions of belonging within nonprofit organizations. A mixed-methods design was utilized that included a survey of 24 employees' perception of participation, belonging, and relationship with their supervisor, and 10 semi-structured interviews. A regression analysis showed that participation had a strong positive relationship to workplace belonging and that generally interviewees felt invested in and supported because of their participation. There was also a strong positive correlation between perceived participation and the quality of the supervisor-employee relationship. The main conclusions of the study were participative management affects workplace belonging and …

Team Building Challenges And Opportunities After A Public Agency Merger, Andrea A. Severson

Theses and Dissertations

This study used a mixed-method design to gather data about team building after a public agency merger. This study found that teamwork, role clarity, and clear decision processes were the most important factors impacting goal accomplishment post-merger. Prioritizing team building before, during, and after a public agency merger can address some of the most common challenges presented by a merger or acquisition.

What Goes Into Successful Diversity And Inclusion Initiatives In Entertainment? Lessons From Advocates Of Creative Talent, Lindsey Sands

Theses and Dissertations

Entertainment offers a powerful medium in reducing bias and prejudice. Therefore, its critical role in shaping bias through on-screen representation needs to be explored through people who work directly with writers, directors, and actors. This qualitative study aimed to determine the impact of diversity and inclusion approaches by interviewing 14 advocates of creative talent in the entertainment industry. The study explored the types of Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) initiatives prevalent in entertainment, the correlation between bias and prejudice reduction, and the perceived impact of these initiatives in improving environments. The study found that six themes emerged: access to relationships, highlighting …

Treatment Of Infidelity As A Clinical Issue In Couple Therapy: A Critical Review Of The Literature, Wilhelmina Emma Stamps

Theses and Dissertations

Infidelity is perhaps the most challenging issue confronting couple therapists and has a high prevalence amongst couples in both clinical and community settings. Despite significant expansion of this field of research in recent years, there has not been a comprehensive review of the literature since 2005. Without such a review, it is problematic for clinicians and researchers to determine best practices and areas needing further inquiry. This article builds on the two most recent reviews (Allen et al., 2005; Blow & Hartnett, 2005) and provides a systematic critical review of the literature on infidelity published in the last 15 years. …

How Does Eye Movement Desensitization And Reprocessing (Emdr) Work? An Examination Of The Potential Mechanisms Of Action, Sara Forster

Theses and Dissertations

A mounting body of evidence suggests that Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing therapy (EMDR) is successful in reducing the impact of posttraumatic symptoms. Although the exact mechanisms of action remain unknown, theories from the psychological to the neuroscientific continue to emerge, expand, and evolve. This study will examine four of the most prominent theories to date and weigh the evidence for and against each one. It will also review, compare, and contrast the theories, evaluate the research supporting each one, and propose the most likely explanation for EMDR's success given the state of the research. Neurobiological mechanisms and correlates as …

What Drives Educators: A Mixed Methods Study On The Impact Of Motivations And Attitudes On Technology Integration Practices In The K-8 Classroom Setting, Janel Ann Reyneke

Theses and Dissertations

Due to the rapid pace at which emerging technologies are evolving, many educators fell apprehensive toward shifting their pedagogy to stay relevant with technology adoption practices and 21st Century learning expectations. There is limited research connecting the adoption practices of early and late adopters to individual inherent motivational preferences. The goal of this multi-phase sequential explanatory mixed methods study sought to produce detailed findings of early and late adopters' tendencies and establish a connection to their motivation and integration practices. Additionally, this research sought to discover the impact that attitudes and perceived/actual barriers have on resistance to technology integration.

K-8 …

An Evaluation Of A Transorganizational Development Process Promoting Positive Social Change, Erin Hall

Theses and Dissertations

Humanity's largest and most complex social problems are not going to be adequately addressed by one organization working alone. This study addressed two research questions: (1) what ingredients enable successful transorganization collaboration seeking positive social change? and (2) what roles does trust play? Using a case study methodology, participants and observers were interviewed. The data was analyzed using Ainsworth and Feyerhem's diagnostic model of transorganzational systems and Vangen and Huxham's trust-building and trust-sustaining theory. The findings emphasize the interdependence of transorganizational system (TS) design components and, in particular, of trust with each of the components.

Understanding Gender Roles In The Workplace: A Qualitative Research Study, Andrea Michel

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study explored female leaders' experiences with gender norms, implicit bias and microaggressions that they have experienced over the course of their careers. Research questions explored what gender norms exist, how they show up behaviorally in the workplace, and how gender norms, implicit bias and microaggressions impact women. 12 women participated in the study and were asked 12 interview questions. Participants' answers to these questions were coded to highlight themes. Themes were identified as communication diplomacy, leadership style, family commitments, physical appearance, and pink roles for data analysis. Key themes were summarized, and key research findings were discussed. Key …

Assessing Best Practices For The Virtual Onboarding Of New Hires In The Technology Industry, Kaitlyn Pavlina

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study explored the recent virtual onboarding experiences of new hires at companies in the technology industry. The present study sought to answer two research questions: to identify the current practices of technology companies for virtually onboarding new hires and to understanding the self-identified needs of recent new hires in this industry around virtual onboarding. The study found that tech companies focus most heavily on formal orientation sessions, one-on-one meetings, and group meetings when virtually onboarding new hires. Additionally, four key themes emerged when exploring what new hires find most important during virtual onboarding. This study details each of …

Developing Ei: Leadership Journeys In Emotional Intelligence, Erin Bric

Theses and Dissertations

Emotional intelligence (EI) has been deemed a critical competency for leaders in today's world. However, there is little information to help OD practitioners, leaders, and organizations understand how leaders can develop these skills in ways that meaningfully and positively impact their teams and organizations. This study examined the journeys of senior leaders as they developed their emotional intelligence. The study addressed two research questions: how leaders perceive they have developed their emotional intelligence throughout their lifetimes and how leaders are continuing to develop their emotional intelligence in their lives and careers. Key themes emerged out of leader interviews and were …

Assessing The Impacts Of Work-Related Applications Of Improvisation Training On Psychological Safety In Teams, Marne Maykowskyj Nordean

Theses and Dissertations

This paper discusses improvisational training (IMPT) and psychological safety and seeks to find if the former impacts the latter. For this study, improvisation has four main tenets: ensemble / co-creating, 'yes, and' / accept and heighten, authenticity / celebrating failure, and listening and communication skills. Psychological safety is defined as the shared belief held by members of a team that the team is safe for interpersonal risk-taking and a sense of confidence that the team will not embarrass, reject or punish someone for speaking up. This confidence stems from mutual respect and trust among team members. It is described as …

A Quantitative Descriptive Study Of The Self-Perception Of Southern Oregon Entrepreneurial Leaders, Rebecca Williams

Theses and Dissertations

The study helped to identify what are the leadership styles of adult entrepreneurs, and what if any factors contribute to an entrepreneurs' leadership style. The study focused on entrepreneurial leaders, over the age of 18, who own and started their own business. These entrepreneurs are a member of one of the following Southern Oregon-based business networking groups: Southern Oregon Regional Economic Development, Inc. (SOREDI), and the Small Business Development Center (SBDC) of Southern Oregon. The study explored the self-perceived leadership styles of entrepreneurs in Southern Oregon through a quantitative descriptive survey method that utilized a 45-question, Likert scale from the …