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Articles 1 - 12 of 12
Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
California Charter School Closures: Perspectives And Advice From Nine Former Charter School Directors, Jennifer Reiter-Cook Edd
California Charter School Closures: Perspectives And Advice From Nine Former Charter School Directors, Jennifer Reiter-Cook Edd
Dissertations
Charter schools have been categorized as "everyone's reform" (Bracey, 2004); they are a type of public school, first established in 1992, that normally has fewer restrictions than most public schools and that serves a student body that, in many circumstances, has consciously opted to attend the school. Charter schools have promised high student achievement and program options that would create healthy competition in the American educational market. Currently, in California alone, there are approximately 800 active charter schools that serve more than 340,000 pupils. As we close in on nearly twenty years of charter school reform, many charter schools could …
Revitalization, Reinvigoration And Motivation Of Survivors In Changed, Restructured And Downsized Organizations: A Study Of Leadership Challenges In Local Government, Ronald L. Baza Edd
Revitalization, Reinvigoration And Motivation Of Survivors In Changed, Restructured And Downsized Organizations: A Study Of Leadership Challenges In Local Government, Ronald L. Baza Edd
Dissertations
Over the past two-plus decades, corporate mergers, government consolidations, workforce downsizings and plant closures have increased dramatically; as a consequence, millions of workers around the nation have lost their jobs. Not surprisingly, researchers have begun to focus considerable attention on downsizing, restructuring and revitalization efforts as a means for understanding organizations undergoing major transformation. Although the studies that have been conducted have dealt with a wide range of issues associated with organizational downsizing and restructuring, there is an absence of research examining mid and upper level managers' perceptions of the efficacy of their efforts to revitalize their downsized organizations and, …
Understanding Charter School Governance: A Case Study Of A Conversion Charter School Board Of Directors, David Mark Silver Phd
Understanding Charter School Governance: A Case Study Of A Conversion Charter School Board Of Directors, David Mark Silver Phd
Dissertations
The charter school movement has been at the forefront of educational reform since the 1990s. The majority of charter school research has focused on academic achievement and issues of access, equity, and funding. Less attention has focused on charter school governance, yet evidence suggests that governance challenges represent a significant impediment to the long-term sustainability of this movement. This qualitative case study examined the operations of a board of directors in a conversion charter school. The study included observations of monthly board of directors meetings over a 16-month period (February 2008–June 2009), interviews with members of the board of directors …
Social Capital And Economic Empowerment: A Longitudinal Analysis Of The Relationship Between Changes In The Value Of Accumulated Assets And Measures Of Social Capital Among Rural South African Women, Robert Charles Gailey Phd
Social Capital And Economic Empowerment: A Longitudinal Analysis Of The Relationship Between Changes In The Value Of Accumulated Assets And Measures Of Social Capital Among Rural South African Women, Robert Charles Gailey Phd
Dissertations
This longitudinal study explored the relationship between household asset accumulation over time and measures of social capital among impoverished rural South African women. The study re-analyzed an existing data set from a 2001–2005 study done in eight villages in South Africa. The original study investigated the impact of a microfinance and education intervention on the prevalence of HIV/AIDS and intimate partner violence. This study re-analyzed interview responses from 739 households in the original data set and used multiple regression analysis to explore the relationship between measures of cognitive social capital (CSC) and structural social capital (SSC) and household economic welfare …
Indigenous Leadership: A Talking-Circle Dialogue With Cree Leaders, Julia L. Buchanan Phd
Indigenous Leadership: A Talking-Circle Dialogue With Cree Leaders, Julia L. Buchanan Phd
Dissertations
The study of leadership is gaining popularity as evidenced by the increasing number of leadership development programs in both corporate and academic environments. Therefore, the way that leadership is defined becomes important. Unfortunately, the majority of literature on leadership emphasizes a Eurocentric or Western perspective. This study explored the leadership-related thinking and practices embraced by a First Nations population in Canada: nehiyawak or the Cree people. As the research evolved, the study also ended up exploring both cultural differences with respect to knowledge and knowing and the ethical issues involved with permitting non-native researchers to study native groups. The latter …
Strategic Planning: Contextual Factors That Facilitated And/Or Challenged The Implementation Of Strategic Planning In Two Nonprofit Organizations, Devadhasan Masilamony Phd
Strategic Planning: Contextual Factors That Facilitated And/Or Challenged The Implementation Of Strategic Planning In Two Nonprofit Organizations, Devadhasan Masilamony Phd
Dissertations
As the nonprofit sector continues to grow in size and importance in American society, successful organizations proactively initiate strategic planning so they can be more responsive to changing circumstances, underlying trends, and shifting demands. At times, however, organizations develop elaborate plans that are never implemented. Unfortunately, there is less systematic research about strategic planning in the nonprofit sector than in the for-profit sector and even less research documenting whether or not the plans that get developed in nonprofit organizations actually get implemented. The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand how strategic planning improves the effectiveness of two nonprofit …
The Role Of Higher Education In Advancing Nurse Practitioners: A Look At The Institutional Decision Calculus Of A Health Sciences University, Debra Jo Johnson Phd
The Role Of Higher Education In Advancing Nurse Practitioners: A Look At The Institutional Decision Calculus Of A Health Sciences University, Debra Jo Johnson Phd
Dissertations
In 2004, professional nursing joined the ranks of other health professions by altering accreditation standards for nurse practitioners, which now mandate that their terminal degree advance beyond the master's degree currently required for the doctor of nursing practice (DNP). This research examines the decision-making process involved in implementing a web-based DNP program in 2008 at a college of graduate nursing embedded in a health sciences university. Findings from two case studies, one of faculty and one of administrators, provide a narrative description of the institution, the decision process, and then describe how institutional and external factors influenced the process. Institutional …
Postconflict Community Development In Sierra Leone: Western, Cultural, And National Influences, Whitney Mclntyre Miller Phd
Postconflict Community Development In Sierra Leone: Western, Cultural, And National Influences, Whitney Mclntyre Miller Phd
Dissertations
Sierra Leone was torn apart by a terrible eleven-year civil war. Rebel forces raped and murdered civilians, burned down crops and villages, and looted homes and community structures in a quest to overturn the long-corrupt government. Since 2002 communities have begun the process of developing toward a sustainable peace. Using grounded theory and inductive analysis, this qualitative research study conducted during the summer of 2009 examines the development efforts of two communities in the Northern provinces of Sierra Leone, Lungi and Makeni. Findings reveal that there are three influences playing a role in their development: western, cultural, and national. This …
Balancing Act: A Study Of International School Heads' Efforts To Manage The Professional And Personal Aspects Of Their Lives, Christiane Pj Sorenson Edd
Balancing Act: A Study Of International School Heads' Efforts To Manage The Professional And Personal Aspects Of Their Lives, Christiane Pj Sorenson Edd
Dissertations
Interest in the topic of professional and personal life balance has increased exponentially over the past several decades. The topic even is listed by the current First Lady of the United States as a priority item to be addressed during her husband's first four years in office. While studies have been conducted about the professional/personal balance of corporate executives and other professionals, including government employees, there has been almost no direct study of balance in educational professionals' lives. This study investigated school heads' perceptions about the factors that impact their ability to achieve balance between their professional and personal lives. …
The Contributions Of The Unwanted, Claudia Estela Chavez Mckay Phd
The Contributions Of The Unwanted, Claudia Estela Chavez Mckay Phd
Dissertations
According to the U.S. Constitution as construed by the Plyler v. Doe, 457 U.S. 202 (1982) Supreme Court Case, all children in the United States - from kindergarten through grade twelve - have a right to a free public education regardless of citizenship; however, undocumented students seeking to continue their education beyond high school face multiple barriers. Little is known about the actual experiences of undocumented students who have acquired a university degree. The purpose of this study was to understand the collegiate experiences of undocumented students, specifically the process of persisting through college graduation and their contributions to society …
An Empirical Look At The Relationship Between Personality Type And The Challenges Of Telecommuting, Jacquelyn E. Brown Phd
An Empirical Look At The Relationship Between Personality Type And The Challenges Of Telecommuting, Jacquelyn E. Brown Phd
Dissertations
The concept of telecommuting dates to the early 1970s when Dr. Jack Nilles, who coined the phrase telecommuting, realized that many of the commuters contributing to rush-hour traffic congestion simply went to an office, sat at a desk and used a phone to conduct their business. Since then, telecommuting has become a viable alternative work arrangement for approximately 45 million individuals in the United States. Despite the popularity of this arrangement, there has been little empirical work done to investigate the advantages and challenges associated with telecommuters; to address this issue this dissertation used two survey instruments to electronically gather …
Women And Authority: Transitioning Into A Role Of Assigned Authority As A Graduate Teaching Assistant In A Leadership Class, Lorri L. Sulpizio Phd
Women And Authority: Transitioning Into A Role Of Assigned Authority As A Graduate Teaching Assistant In A Leadership Class, Lorri L. Sulpizio Phd
Dissertations
Women are assuming positions with significant formal authority, yet women still remain underrepresented in many areas of the public sector (Kellerman & Rhode, 2007). Additionally, women in formal positions of authority have increased opportunities to exercise leadership and address challenges while mobilizing people toward change. Formal positions of authority include the role of mother, schoolteacher, senator, or senior executive. It is rare for women to receive any practice for the authority roles they assume and as such may find the roles accompanied by interactions and processes that are unfamiliar to them. The role of Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) provides women …