Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Women, Art, And Community: A Proposal For A Non-Profit Pottery Program In Appalachia., Lahla K. Deakins

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Many Appalachian women are creative individuals who enjoy making and sharing quilts, songs, paintings, poetry, and other art. However, many women in rural areas of Central Appalachia lack access to basic resources because of poverty.

While many agencies help poor women find shelter, clothing, and food, there are few that help them find their creative voices. I assert that women who are given the tools to practice creative expression can overcome the mental oppression of poverty to become self-assured individuals who benefit their communities.

This thesis examines the socioeconomic condition of women in Central Appalachia and the positive impacts of …

Using Spatial Visualization Software To Influence Cancer Control Policy: A Case Study Of Prostate Cancer In South Carolina., Shannon Amelia Shropshire

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Prostate cancer in the United States shows great disparities among race and socioeconomic status. Disparities in cancer rates in South Carolina are severe. Cancer control policies are lacking in ways to identify reasons for high risk populations and cost-effective ways to do so. An innovative spatial visualization program called the GeoViz Toolkit was used to determine areas of high Prostate Cancer incidence and mortality in South Carolina (rates obtained from the South Carolina Central Cancer Registry) compared with socioeconomic variables (education, income, lack of health insurance, and living in rural areas) and race. From there, recommendations were made using the …

The Impact Of Demographic And Perceptual Variables On A Young Adult's Decision To Purchase Health Private Insurance, John Cantiello

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Each year the number of uninsured individuals in the United States continues to grow. This unfortunate occurrence creates negative consequences for those who are uninsured, but also for those who are covered by health insurance plans. Through cost-shifting practices, hospitals and other healthcare organizations are increasing the cost of other healthcare services to help subsidize the care they must provide for those who cannot pay for that care. There have been attempts to solve this problem, but a successful solution has not been implemented. Rather than attempt to study the entire uninsured population, this study seeks to determine precisely why …

Health Transitions And The Aging Population: A Framework To Measure The Value Of Rapid Rehabilitation, Dianne Ross

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Healthcare services for the aging population in the United States are a complex configuration of acute healthcare organizations, and post acute nursing facilities, home healthcare, and community based services. The system encompasses all services that imply the need for clinical, medical, or professional judgment (Baldrige National Quality Program, 2006). Most Americans believe the system exists to provide preventive services, management for chronic conditions, and health care services to meet the needs of the people (National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), 2004). However, the healthcare delivery system is fragmented across a broad array of settings (Coleman, Smith, Frank, Min, Parry, & …

Determinants Of Human Resources Management Performance On County Efficiencies: A Study Of Florida Counties, Janet Davis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Performance measurement has been adopted and implemented in the private sector as a tool to measure and improve performance. Performance measurement is relatively new to the public sector, yet counties could benefit from establishing performance measures. This study uses the 67 Florida counties to compare Human Resource performance measures to county efficiency measures through path analysis to assess the contribution compensation and recruitment practices have on county efficiency measures of fiscal, process and technical efficiencies. It includes county contextual variables in the models. The data was collected via professional publications and organizations, survey and personal contacts and entered into a …

Determinants Of The Well-Being Of Police Officers In The Turkish National Police, Serdar Yildiz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This research evaluates the relationships of time balance, social relations, role conflict, perception of work environment, and fourteen control variables to police officers' well-being in Turkish National Police. Well-being is identified in the management literature as having a strong relationship with performance. Therefore, by finding the factors affecting well-being, this research seeks to identify intervention strategies, which can promote a healthy workforce and police performance. Such interventions, in addition, may improve police performance through improved well-being. Individual police officers were analyzed to better understand the relationship between work environment on family life, social life, and the well-being of the police …

An Analytical Understanding Of Administrative Practices Minimizing Vicarious Traumatization In Domestic Violence Organizations I, Katharine Campbell

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Working within the field of domestic violence can result in the occurrence of vicarious traumatization. The literature supports that collegial support and supervision are effective tools organizations can implement to assist in minimizing vicarious trauma. This study, guided by constructive self development theory and feminist theory, examines whether the level of vicarious trauma is impacted by knowledge base, collegial support, and supervision. Staff within certified shelters in the state of Florida were surveyed using a research designed instrument and the Trauma and Attachment Belief Scale. A total of 112 participants were recruited using the Tailor Design Method of surveying. Findings …

Healthcare Communication Networks: The Dissemination Of Employee Information For Hospital Security, Jennifer Sumner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Healthcare in the United States is a system that, organizationally speaking, is fragmented. Each hospital facility is independently operated and is responsible for the hiring of its own employees. However, corrupt individuals can take advantage of this fragmentation and move from hospital to hospital, gaining employment while hiding previous employment history. Traditionally, hospitals have been reluctant to share information on their previous employees, even with other hospitals, for fear of issues surrounding defamation, negligent hiring, and violation of the employee's privacy. However, growth in healthcare services is expected to rise exponentially in the near future, increasing the demand for employees. …

The Impact Of Policy On Student Success In Secondary Online Education: A Case Study Of Florida Virtual School, Rhonda Mcpherson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Florida Virtual School (FLVS) was established in 1997 as an online education alternative for the residents of Florida. The purpose of this study was to identify policy changes at the organizational, state, and federal levels that had the propensity to impact student success (as measured by student's final letter grade) at FLVS. In addition, this study identified which type of institutional isomporphic policy (coercive, mimetic, or normative) best classified major policy changes in the organization from 1997-2007. The use of institutional theory as the guiding framework for this study proved to be beneficial and enabled the researcher to conclude which …

Perceptions Of Risk And Need In The Classification And Supervision Of Offenders In The Community Corrections Setting: The Role O, Laurie Gould

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Risk has emerged as a defining feature of punishment in the United States. Feeley and Simon (1992) note that contemporary punishment is increasingly moving away from rehabilitation (the old penology) and moving toward the management and control of offenders (the new penology), often though actuarial techniques. While the profusion of risk assessment instruments, now entering their fourth generation, provides some support for the assertion that risk is indeed an important element in corrections, it was previously unknown if the risk model applied to all offenders, particularly female offenders. This dissertation addressed that gap by examining whether the risk model applied …

Organizational Conflict Within The Department Of Homeland Security, M. Katherine Manderson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis seeks to explain why the Department of Homeland Security had difficulty fulfilling its roles when it was formed, specifically its role as grant administrator. Role theory surmises that conflict arises from unclear expectations, conflicting expectations, and too many roles. This study utilized various public testimonies, legislation, and other government documents to examine how the missions of the twenty-two agencies that were merged together to make up DHS changed. Even though DHS has changed continually over the five years since its existence most employees seem to be clear on the mission of the organization in which they work. However, …

Japan's Missile Defense, Norifumi Namatame

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

For some years, Japan has pursued its own missile defense system in cooperation with the United States. The Japanese government claims that the missile defense (JMD) program is purely defensive and will not pose a threat to other countries. JMD may seem justified by North Korea's development of ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons. However, neighboring states regarded it as a sign of military ambition and revival of Japan's prewar militarism. The development and deployment of JMD could have grave implications for regional and global security. This dissertation focuses on these implications, domestic and international political considerations and the future direction …

The Impact Of Higher Education On The Job Preparedness And Job Performance Of Turkish National Police Officers, Erhan Beyhan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The Turkish National Police converted its 9-month Police Training Schools to 2-year college degree programs in 2001 in their pursuit to improve the quality of police officers' job performance, police job preparedness levels, and the police service as a whole. The purpose of this study is to investigate the actual benefits of this higher education policy by empirically measuring and comparing the job preparedness and job performance of police officers with higher education and police officers without higher education. This study consists of two quantitative parts. The first part measured the job performance construct with multiple indicators, including performance evaluation …

The Influence Of Medical Education On The Frequency And Type Of Medical Board Discipline Received By Licensed Florida Physicians, Richard Bonnell Iii

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

It has been estimated that in the United States, between 44,000 to 98,000 patients succumb to medical errors each year. Due to a shortage of graduates of domestic medical schools, many graduates of foreign medical schools are practicing in the United States. The medical education received in foreign medical schools may not be equivalent to the medical education received in domestic medical schools, which are schools located in the United States, Puerto Rico and Canada. Differences due to the educational backgrounds of the foreign-schooled physicians may contribute to an increase in medical board disciplining. Furthermore, graduates of medical schools where …