Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Exploring How Philippine American Nonprofit Leaders Build Trust With Their Staff And Volunteers, Dominic Fernando Laureano

Dissertations

Purpose: Although a considerable amount of literature exists regarding leadership and trust, little research focuses on Philippine American nonprofit organizations and their leadership. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore how Philippine American nonprofit leaders build trust with staff and volunteers using the five domains of competency, consistency, concern, candor, and connection.

Methodology: This phenomenological qualitative study collected data via semi-structured interviews, participant observations, and review of artifacts. The study sample was comprised of 10 Philippine American nonprofit leaders from Southern California. Weisman’s Trust Model served at the theoretical framework of the study and guided data collection and …

Winning Public Hearts And Minds: Security And Development Aid In The 21st Century, Mohammad Ashraf

Dissertations

In the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 attacks against the United States, foreign aid has focused on winning public hearts and minds in the aid recipient states as a hedge against insecurity and means to achieve progress in the “war on terror.” Western donors, especially the United States, argue foreign aid is an effective tool to expand government capacity and control over territory, win public hearts and minds, and ultimately mitigate the need and significant military costs of deployment to counter insecurity, extremism, and terrorism in weak, fragile and failing states.

This dissertation uses case studies to explore the …

Accessibility To Resources For Homeless Documented Immigrant Families: A Case Study, Antaniece P. Carter

Dissertations

This study seeks to explore the experience of a homeless documented immigrant family attempting to access school and community resources. Research has shown that due to disadvantages including but not limited to lack of economic mobility, employment access, lone parent families, and cultural background, some immigrant families may face challenges accessing services (Arnold, 2004). Difficulty accessing services then can inhibit adjustment and may lead to homelessness.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the issue of homelessness as experienced by immigrants within an urban community. A case study will highlight the experience of a homeless immigrant family, as defined …

Technology, Resources, Institutional Filters And State Capacity: Variations In Latin America, Ted D. Ellis

Dissertations

This dissertation explores the effects of information and communication technology (ICT), education, and political institutionalization on fiscal state capacity in countries classified by the World Bank as upper middle, middle and low income. It presents a metric to explore how changes in information distributions through ICT, education, and political institutionalization mechanisms influence fiscal state capacity. To explore interrelated aspects of distinct information distribution conduits, the dissertation constructs a metric to analyze the effects of information distributions through ICT, educational participation and political institutionalization on fiscal state capacity, the dependent variable. It also explores joint and parallel effects of primary commodities …

Europe Rising (Again): A Comparative Study Of The Dynamics And Types Of Modern European Nationalisms, 1989-2018, Timea Varga

Dissertations

Nationalism is nothing new to Europe. While theoretical explanations of the catalysts of post-1989 European nationalist phenomena remain contested along material and non-material lines, this dissertation posits that it is the interaction of economic insecurities, societal fears, and populism over time that have shaped the rise and types of post-1989 European nationalisms. Fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) is combined with a collective case study design to examine: 1) how forces – political, economic, societal, or other – have dominated the formation and latest surge of European nationalisms since the end of European Communism in 1989; and 2) whether different, context-dependent …

The Importance Of Leadership Motivational Activities In Encouraging International Students To Return To Their Tier 1 Universities, Eric Hall

Dissertations

Abstract

The problem is international students are not returning to their undergraduate Tier 1 institutions during a period when quality student enrollment is essential, and there is scant research on academic advising strategies that can be used to combat international student attrition at these universities (O’Keefe, 2013). Studies have often lumped all international students together and made efforts to attract more international students, but the reasons why international students chose research universities, and returned, were not being investigated in this manner (Hegarty, 2014).

The purpose of this proposed study was to gain an understanding of the decision-making and reasoning processes …

A Tale Of Two Influences: An Exploration Of Downward Accountability In World Vision International, Elena Mccollim

Dissertations

International nongovernmental organizations (INGOs) face increasing accountability challenges stemming from past scandals and their claims to advance the public good. Since the 1990s, INGOs have responded with numerous reforms. The creation of the Humanitarian Accountability Partnership in 2003 and the INGO Accountability Charter in 2009 reflect sector-wide efforts to enhance accountability to mission, intended beneficiaries, and peer organizations.

Many INGOs have adopted a broad range of accountability reforms. This dissertation focuses on how World Vision, the world’s largest INGO, has done so. Downward accountability remains elusive due to such factors as INGOs’ lack of transparency toward beneficiaries; the power imbalance …

Descriptive To Substantive Representation: A Study Of Gender Quotas In The National Assembly Of Pakistan, 2002-2018, Ameena Zia

Dissertations

Women’s political representation is linked to the empowerment of women in society. In efforts to alleviate women’s disenfranchisement from the political discourse, the international development framework included gender quotas as mechanisms to facilitate an increase in the presence of women in parliaments. Existing research has examined the link between Hanna F. Pitkin’s conceptualization of descriptive representation and substantive representation with a focus on performative measures of women parliamentarians. This longitudinal study expands the scope of existing inquiry and captures the transformational change in power relations as an outcome of the increase in women members of parliaments. This research provides an …