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Hospitality In The House Of God: Deconstructing Habit And Building Missio Dei, Julia A. Carlson

Doctor of Ministry Theses

This research project addresses neighborliness, change, and hospitality in the life of a mainline church of 1,200 members. It is a congregation that has traditional worship and programming with progressive values. The congregants are not comfortable with change and are coming to terms with the missing Millennial generation. Mixed method Action Research using missional practices of hospitality and neighbor interviews offered new faith formation and relationship growth with neighbors. There were also educational opportunities on change, the missional church movement, and neighborliness. The work relies on the theology of Serene Jones, Kosuke Koyama, and Miroslav Volf.

Decolonial Feminist Theory: Embracing The Gendered Colonial Difference In Management And Organisation Studies, Jennifer Manning

Articles

Feminist theories in management and organization studies, each with their own ontological and epistemological assumptions, offer critical perspectives of the status quo to challenge our idea of progress in the discipline, yet there is limited engagement with ideas, theories, or practices from the lived experiences of Global South women. Decolonial feminism engages with debates pertaining to coloniality/ modernity and indigenous identity and gender in Latin America, while providing a space for the voices and lived experiences of marginalized, non‐Western(ised) women. Positioned in the context of Guatemalan Maya women and deploying critical insights from decolonial feminists, I unpack how the discourse …

People Require Proximity: What The Church Can Do To Create Wholeness For Adolescents, Carrington Phauve Wilson

Seattle Pacific Seminary Projects

Historically, many have attempted to advocate for equality by centering an earthly dominant power to bring about likeness to the majority. Unfortunately, even the most noble of causes excludes those furthest from the center source. Therefore, reconciliation must not focus on human structures of power and equality, but God’s, centering the One who created all things, to be again returned to their truthful spaces. Thus, for reconciliation to be a realized truth, we must not center the dominant source of human power, but the furthest out, realizing the likeness to God that humanity continuously excludes. For this, womanism gives a …

The Congruence Of Teachers’ And Principals’ Perspectives Of Learning-Centered Leadership Behaviors Of Principals Within International Christian Schools And The Impact On Organizational Commitment Of Teachers, Andrea Dawn Rens Dugan

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative study was to explore the degree of congruence between principals’ self-perception of learning-centered leadership behaviors and teachers’ perceptions of learning-centered leadership behaviors of their principals in international Christian schools accredited with the Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI) located in countries outside of North America. If a difference does exist between teachers’ and principals’ perceptions, will teachers’ organizational commitment be impacted? The perspectives of leadership behaviors were determined using the Vanderbilt Assessment of Leadership in Education (VAL-ED) (Goldring, Porter, Murphy, Elliot, & Cravens, 2009). Both principals and their teachers completed the survey online. Teachers also …

Effective Decision-Making Strategies That Support Long-Term Sustainability In Nondenominational Churches, Andre Paul Davis Jr.

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Ineffective financial decision-making has frequently led to nondenominational church failures and contributes to 4,000 to 8,000 churches closing each year in North America. Grounded in stewardship theory, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore effective financial decision-making strategies in nondenominational churches that support long term sustainability. Participants were 10 church leaders who successfully used financial decision-making strategies to support long-term sustainability in Central North Carolina was used for this study. Data were collected from semi structured interviews and internal church documents relating to church leadership's financial decision-making and analyzed using thematic analysis. Four themes emerged: budgeting …

Workplace Spirituality Among University Administrative Employees In Southeastern Georgia, Leo W. Riley Jr

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractWork engagement in the United States is reportedly below 30%, and a 4.6% decline in employee tenure with worker devaluation concerns university management in higher education. The specific management problem was university management’s lack of university worker’s knowledge concerning workplace spirituality’s influence on the lived experiences of university administrative employees who were unsatisfied, depersonalized, and devalued at a university located in Southeastern Georgia. The purpose of this qualitative transcendental phenomenological study was to identify and report the lived experiences of university administrative employees regarding workplace spirituality. The reciprocity theory was the conceptional framework in this study. The study research question …

Exploring The Influences Of Culture On Hand-Hygiene Beliefs Of Foreign-Born Healthcare Workers, Sheila Blanche Davis

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractThe hand-hygiene practices of nonadherent health care workers (HCWs) are a major threat to patient safety and thus continue to be a concern for healthcare leaders and administrators worldwide. Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs), which are linked to HCWs' unclean hands, are prevalent throughout global healthcare settings. Global migration in the nursing profession and intercontinental travel among direct patient care providers make it challenging for healthcare leaders to sustain HCWs' adherence to hand-hygiene practices. The purpose of this grounded study was to explore the influence of the cultural beliefs about hand-hygiene practices of foreign-born HCWs. The theory of planned behavior was used …

Investigating And Increasing The Efficiency And Effectiveness Of The Children’S Ministry At Victory Church Of Melbourne, Florida, Stanley R. Patton

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of the children’s ministry at Victory Church of Melbourne, Florida, a growing multicultural and multigenerational church. Conversations with the children’s ministry team, parents, child participants, and the senior pastor of Victory indicated that changes needed to be implemented in order to grow the ministry. This project used a case study methodology, focusing on a church with similar demographics as Victory, to discover the underlying factors needed to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of Victory’s children’s ministry. To test the working theory that an increase in resources, team leadership, …

To Burn Or Bury? That Is The Question : The Late Bronze Age And Iron Age In Northern Europe, Petra N. Peretin

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Changes in social organization can be studied through several different avenues one ofwhich is through mortuary patterns. Here we will be looking at changes in social organization during the Late Bronze Age and Iron Age in Northern Europe using mortuary and osteological data. If we study how each community interacts, mourns, stores, transports, and buries their dead then we can learn about the underlying mechanisms that transform and maintain a society, and gain insight into the societal and economical shifts of the Late Bronze Age and Iron Age in this region. These changes will be determined by analyzing the distribution …

Regulatory Competition And State Capacity, Martin W. Sybblis

Faculty Articles

This Article explores an underlying tension in the regulatory competition literature regarding why some jurisdictions are more attractive to firms than others. It pays special attention to offshore financial centers (OFCs). OFCs court the business of nonresidents, offer business friendly regulatory environments, and provide for minimal, if any, taxation on their customers. On the one extreme, OFCs are theorized as merely products of legislative capture— thereby lacking any meaningful agency of their own. On the other hand, OFCs are conceptualized as well-governed jurisdictions that attract investment because of the high quality of their laws and legal institutions—indicating some ability to …

Evaluating A Need For Somatic Access To Classical Objects In Public Museums, Jerod G. Peitsmeyer

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Physical experiences with ancient art objects in museums are rare. Display paradigms in most public institutions continue to propagate systems of participant interaction that reinforces unequal power structures. The Montana Musuem of Art and Culture (MMAC) is the current custodian of an ancient, Rhodian wine amphora that provides an opportunity to examine a novel system of somatic participation. This proposal upends traditional gatekeeping practices and serves as a powerful and progressive, humanist touchstone; an olive branch extended to the general public from behind the walls of higher education and the ramparts of privileged scholarship. This study reimagines the amphora's future …

Corporate Venturing In The Media & Entertainment Industry: Contextual Factors That Influence Corporate Venture Decision Making, Graylind R. Wherry

Theses and Dissertations

This research study focuses on Corporate Venturing (CV) within the Media and Entertainment(M&E) industry and investigates factors that influence CV decision-making. CV provides a viable strategy to facilitate innovation and organizational change within companies; however, this area is understudied within the M&E industry. Companies that make up the entertainment industry may not have specific insight into how best to exploit this opportunity. Specifically, this study looks at the influence of firm characteristics, industry characteristics, and other outside factors using the PESTLE strategy model characteristics impacting the parent or venture unit's CV decision-making within the M&E industry. In terms of this …

Examining Approaches For Peacebuilding In Post-Conflict, Post-Good Northern Ireland, Evan Wiley Smith

All ETDs from UAB

In this paper, I broadly describe the timeline of the conflict in Northern Ireland, examine negative and positive peace approaches to peacebuilding including political (or consociationalism-based), human rights-based, and reconciliation-based methods, and present my own conclusions based on the literature review I conducted as to the most efficacious strategy for ensuring long-lasting peace in Northern Ireland. To do this, I reviewed numerous articles, papers, and chapters on the conflict in Northern Ireland, approaches in post-conflict reconciliation, and conflict resolution theory. Because the conflict in Northern Ireland ended approximately twenty years ago, much of the research referenced in this paper is …

Catalysts To Transformational Leadership Between Managers And Analysts In Public Service, Eugene Davis Stevenson Iii

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Transformational leadership (TL) is the ability of a leader to convince a subordinate or follower to adopt organizational goals as their goals. Transformational leaders utilize intellectual stimulation, individualized consideration, inspirational motivation, and idealized influence to engage and mold their employees. Within the sphere of public management, current leadership research acknowledges the effect of TL but is still incomplete or inconsistent on how to catalyze TL consistently. The focus of this study was how TL is used between managers and analysts within California state public service. The theoretical framework for this study is complexity theory. Complexity theory states that the world …

Administrator And Practitioner Perspectives On Trauma-Focused Interventions For Incarcerated Male Juvenile Offenders, Tatrina Bailey

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractThe juvenile justice system of the United States has about two million adolescents under the age of 18 years, of which 85% are male. Seventy to ninety percent of juvenile offenders were exposed to some type of trauma, causing the U.S. Department of Justice to a call for instituting trauma-informed procedures in the juvenile justice system. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore facility administrators’ and practitioners’ perceptions of their roles in administering and choosing to administer trauma-focused treatment interventions to incarcerated male juvenile offenders. Using the theory of social construction of policy, the research questions focused on …

Workplace Spirituality: A Study Of Human Resource Practices Promoting Employee Engagement, Terri Denise James

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Workplace spirituality is a growing phenomenon, yet a research problem exists because many organizational leaders do not fully understand how workplace spirituality can be used to improve employee engagement, and no clear workplace guidelines exist for U.S. human resource (HR) professionals to follow. The study’s purpose was to examine how HR practices can support workplace spirituality and improve employee engagement. The research question focused on how HR professionals practice servant leadership to support employees’ internal and external workplace spirituality needs and promote employee engagement. A snowball sampling approach was used to select participants who are HR professionals with 5 years …

Perceptions Of Nasa As A Gendered Organization, Sade' Reynolds

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the United States government, gender inequality is a major issue. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the phenomenon of a gendered organization by interpreting the experiences of National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) employees. The collected data were used to determine if NASA should be considered a gendered organization. In this study, key characteristics of a gendered organization were identified and explored. The research questions focused on exploring perceived career barriers, gender inequality, and their contributors to better understand the phenomena of gendered organization in the federal government workplace. The theoretical framework for this study was …

Shifting Paradigms: Using Action Research To Redefine Engagement In Faith Formation In Unitarian Universalism, Amy Huntereece

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The issues that this research addressed were the changes related to engagement in religious education (RE) in the Unitarian Universalist (UU) church in the past several decades. To address this problem, the purpose of this research was to innovatively problem-solve with other religious professionals and consider how to redefine engagement to support families in their faith formation. The research aims to answer the question: How could UU RE professionals more effectively engage families in faith formation opportunities designed to meet the desired outcomes of RE parents/caregivers? To gather data, interviews with seven Millennial and Generation X parents/caregivers from the Baja …

Educating For Global Competence: Co-Constructing Outcomes In The Field: An Action Research Project, Kristina A. Van Winkle

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Capacity building for globally competent educators is a 21st Century imperative to address contemporary complex and constantly changing challenges. This action research project is grounded in positive psychology, positive organizational scholarship, relational cultural theory, and relational leadership practices. It sought to identify adaptive challenges educators face as they try to integrate globally competent teaching practices into their curricula, demonstrate learning and growth experienced by the educators in this project, and provide guidance and solutions to the challenges globally competent educators face. Six educators participated in this three-phase project, which included focus groups, reflective journal entries, and an exit interview. Data …

Assessing The Applicability Of Three Approaches To Design-Oriented Research, Jing Zhou, Christopher Kueh, Yi Lin

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

The three main approaches in inquisitive research design are qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods [1]. However, recent developments in the research field have resulted in multiple other approaches, borrowing ideas from a broad range of fields. One such approach is the practice-led approach. This approach involves an efficient design process, novel qualitative interviewing methods, together with data mining procedures from quantitative data collection [2]. This paper assesses the practice-led approach used in user experience (UX) design, together with three approaches: co-design, service design, and reflective practice.

Stories That Matter: Making And Preserving Black Spaces Andplaces, Kiesha Warren-Gordon, Emily Ruth Rutter

The North Meridian Review

No abstract provided.

Modern-Day Korahites In Crisis: Causes And Consequences Of Moral Failure In Worship Leaders, Adely Thelus Charles

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

In the Bible and throughout the history of Christianity, examples of moral failure in ministry leadership demonstrate a negative impact on the leader's family, congregations, faith traditions, and ministry efficacy. This qualitative study examines the causes and consequences of moral failure in worship leadership by considering the biblical account of Old Testament leaders who morally failed and apply psychological principles to assess moral fragility that may be faced by some worship leaders. Finally, this study offers biblical principles and practical strategies that target the potential pitfalls of leadership in an effort to hinder moral failure among worship leaders.

Gamification Strategies For Music Educators: An Online Continuing Education Course, Luis Enrique Espinosa

Masters Theses

This curriculum project is designed to provide music educators in the public and private sector with introductory knowledge about the topic of gamification and game-based learning, framed within the scope of an online continuing education course. It is meant for adult learners who teach young musicians in the K-12 range. The course offers a set of strategies and step-based processes that help transform a traditional music lesson plan into an interactive and meaningful learning experience that leverages games. The games created by the students in the course can serve to motivate music students by incorporating a sense of competition and …

​Burned Out But Barely Begun: A Qualitative Study On Newer Clergy And Communication Surrounding Emotional Labor And Personal Well-Being In South Mississippi, Lauren Noll

Master's Theses

This study provides an overview of the concepts surrounding clergy burnout,

organizational culture, and emotional labor theory. Furthermore, it explains the need

for  clearer understanding of clergy perceptions of their own personal

experiences with burnout and their emotional wellbeing in relation to their organizational environment and careers as clergy members. The methodology of qualitative interviews sought to understand the narratives and experiences of clergy members from their own words and worldviews rather than from a statistical basis or analysis.

This research found answers to key questions involving communication about burnout in the context of organizational culture and emotional labor, including …

Contribution Warfare: Sweden's Lessons From The War In Afghanistan, Jan Ångström

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

Book Reviews, Usawc Parameters

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.

Spirit-Empowered Leadership: Exploring Three Dimensions, Jay Gary

Spiritus: ORU Journal of Theology

How should colleges and universities within the Spirit-empowered Movement develop Spirit-empowered leadership among their students, staff, or faculty? To spur on thinking by those who frame university learning outcomes, this case study from Oral Roberts University defines Spirit-empowered leadership in terms of three dimensions: personal development, interpersonal influence, and generational emergence. It concludes with a call to create the frameworks of leadership needed for the future of the church and society, in light of A.D. 2033, the 2,000th anniversary of Pentecost.

Authors' Biographical Notes, Mssj Staff

Midwest Social Sciences Journal

No abstract provided.

A Prized Memento Of The Civil Way: Joseph Abbott's "Lightning Brigade" Medal, James Brenner

Student Projects from the Archives

This silver medal commemorates Joseph N. Abbott's Civil War service with Wilder's Lightning Brigade, 1861-1865. The engraving on the reverse reads, "Jos. N. Abbott, Co. B, 98th Illinois. Dating to about 1887, these medals were features at post-war veterans' reunions.

From Ideology To Implementation: Moving One Church Staff From An Aspirational Mindset Of Developing Leaders To An Actionable Movement Of Leadership Development, Trevor Blake Hislop

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

According to a recent article on “The Paradox of Leadership” from Harvard University, there are more than 15,000 books in print on the topic of leadership, and the number of works written about leadership in the past decade is greater than the total number of works ever written. So, if leadership is so highly valued in our culture today, then why is there a decline in leadership development in the church? Additionally, there are a growing number of churches that have detailed programs for leadership development; however, few churches are producing new leaders. Church at Viera in Viera, Florida, embraces …