Digital Commons Network^™

Employment With The Northwest Territories Aquatics Program: A Significant Life Event?, Sebastien Denize, Audrey R. Giles

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

For over 60 years, the Northwest Territories Aquatics Program (NWTAP) has employed university students from southern Canada with little to no exposure to northern Canada to run seasonal swimming pools and waterfronts in isolated northern communities. In this article, we examine the impact that working for this program had on nine former employees’ lives and whether or not working for the NWTAP could be categorized as a significant life experience. We used thematic analysis of the data from retrospective semi-structured interviews and open-ended questionnaires and identified four themes: (1) employment by the NWTAP enhanced the employees’ self-confidence, independence, and self-efficacy; …

One Size Does Not Fit All: Understanding Differences In Perceived Organizational Support During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Ruby Daniels, Leslie A. Miller, Michael Zia Mian, Stephanie L. Black

Marketing Faculty Publications (Archived)

The COVID-19 crisis forced organizations to radically rethink how to lead their workforce. Facing an unprecedented drop in consumer demand, business leaders struggled to balance staying financially solvent with the responsibility of supporting their employees during the crisis. Early surveys found many employees did not perceive their organizations communicated a clear plan of action; others questioned whether their employers cared about workers' health and safety. While researchers have examined perceived organizational support, studies are only now starting to examine workers' perceived support during a pandemic. The study used a mixed method design to collect quantitative and qualitative data from 949 …

Learning Styles, Megan Paul

Umbrella Summaries

What are learning styles?

The concept of learning styles is the idea that people differ in the way that they learn best, and instructors should determine each trainee’s optimal style and then use training methods that match the trainee’s style (Pashler, 2009). There are dozens of different learning style classifications, including such styles or dimensions as visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and tactile modality preferences (Dunn & Greggs, 2003, cited in Coffield et al., 2004); concrete vs. abstract and sequential vs. random (Gregorc, 1982a, cited in Coffield et al., 2004); holistic vs. analytic and verbalizer vs. imager (Riding & Raynor, 1998, cited …

What Next For Chaos Theory? From Metaphor To Phase Space, William "Rick" Crandall, Richard E. Crandall, John A. Parnell

The Coastal Business Journal

In the management and social sciences literature, chaos theory has been used primarily as a metaphor to understand organizational phenomena. Using metaphors to understand organizations is a novel idea that has gained much acceptance, thanks to the pioneering work of Morgan (1986). However, chaos theory's value as a metaphor has been overused and offers little that cannot already be explained using existing theories and frameworks. Because chaos theory is a mathematical theory, we believe its mathematical principles offer the greatest application to the management literature. In this paper, we offer the use of phase space, a tool of chaos theory, …

Perceptions Of Employability Skills Of Undergraduate Business Students In A Developing Country: An Exploratory Study, Wise Mainga, Reuben M. Daniel, Luis Alamil

Higher Learning Research Communications

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the relative importance of different employability skills for business graduates seeking initial employment.

Method: Semi-structured survey questionnaires were administered to human resources representatives from industry, business lecturers, and graduating business students to determine gaps in perceptions between the three stakeholder groups.

Results: There was some alignment and moderate discrepancies in perceptions of the relative importance of different employability skills between the three stakeholder groups. There were statistically significant differences in perceived importance of communication, teamwork, and interpersonal skills between graduating students and employers. There is evidence that employers were satisfied with …

Board Of Trustees Minutes, Feb. 18 2022, Indiana State University Board Of Trustees

Board of Trustees

No abstract provided.

2022-February-17-Five Years Of Caring For Patients With Als, University Marketing And Communication, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

A Patient's Perspective

“The clinic has been my lifeline in knowing what to do to help ease the difficulties of this disease.”

Jean Peace, pictured at left with her daughter, Jennifer Humphrey

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Feb. 17, 2022) – Before she was diagnosed with ALS, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, in March 2021, Jean Peace played tennis four days a week and enjoyed an active lifestyle that included power walking, kayaking and paddle boarding.

After her diagnosis, Peace, who lives in Kingsport, had to learn to navigate a new lifestyle – one that will soon include a motorized wheelchair and a …

Trainee Reactions, Megan Paul

Umbrella Summaries

What are trainee reactions?

Trainee reactions refer to “subjective evaluations learners make about their training experiences” (Sitzmann et al., 2008, p. 280). Commonly referred to as “level 1” evaluations (e.g., Kirkpatrick, 1998), reactions are the most commonly used type of training evaluation and are measured with post-training surveys. Though measures are occasionally included in published research, there are no universal or even widely used measures. Instead, questions are developed by each organization or trainer based on their particular goals and interests. As a result, there is significant variation in what is measured. Originally, reactions referred only to how well a …

Organizational Change Process Milwaukee - Intervention Overview, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

Other QIC-WD Products

This Intervention Overview draws heavily from Building Cultures and Climates for Effective Human Services: Understanding and Improving Organizational Social Contexts with the ARC model, Oxford University Press (2018). This book was written by Drs. Anthony Hemmelgarn and Charles Glisson based on 20+ years of intensive implementation and research experience within child welfare and mental health organizations. Dr. Hemmelgarn consulted with the QIC-WD on this project and served as the ARC specialist in Milwaukee.

ARC is an organizational change process aimed at improving organizational culture and climate and the availability, responsiveness, and continuity of services in human service organizations. It …

Organizational Change Process Milwaukee - Intervention Background, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

Other QIC-WD Products

What is ARC and why was it selected?

ARC stands for availability, responsiveness, and continuity and is an organizational change process. It is aimed at improving the organizational culture and climate and the availability, responsiveness, and continuity of services provision in human service organizations. ARC involves three primary strategies:

1. embedding five core principles of effective organizations into all aspects of organizational functioning;
2. installing most (but not necessarily all) of 12 key organizational component tools and processes to improve services in accordance with the five principles; and
3. building mental models and shared beliefs that support the successful application of ARC principles …

Examining The Job Satisfaction Of Direct Care Workers During Covid-19: A Quantitative Descriptive Study, Sonja A. Stewart

All Theses And Dissertations

This quantitative descriptive study examined the job satisfaction of 39 Direct Care Workers (DCWs) who worked during the COVID-19 pandemic from March 2020-December 2021 in the United States. This was done not to determine cause and effect between the pandemic and job satisfaction of DCWs: the pandemic was simply used as a timeframe. A REDCap survey was posted to two DCWs groups on Facebook which contained information on the study, an electronic version of the Job Satisfaction Survey (JSS) by Paul Spector (2021) and general demographics questions. Snowball sampling was also encouraged for particpants to share the survey with other …

Addressing Work-Related Traumatic Stress Nebraska - Intervention Background, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

Other QIC-WD Products

What is Secondary Traumatic Stress (STS) and why was an intervention designed to address it?

The Quality Improvement Center for Workforce Development (QIC-WD), in partnership with the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services Division of Children and Family Services (DCFS), conducted several surveys with a sample (40%) of child welfare workers and supervisors in December 2017, as a part of the needs assessment process. One of those surveys assessed the presence of secondary traumatic stress (STS) symptoms. Of the child welfare workers and supervisors that responded, 53% indicated that they had recently experienced elevated levels of STS symptoms. This …

Onboarding Program Eastern Band Of Cherokee Indians - Intervention Background, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

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What is onboarding and why was this intervention selected?

Onboarding (also referred to organizational socialization) is “…the process by which newcomers make the transition from being organizational outsiders to being insiders” (Bauer, et al., 2007, p. 707). The overall goal of onboarding is to facilitate newcomer adjustment (Bauer & Erdogan, 2011), meaning that new employees understand the key tasks of their job (i.e., role clarity), have confidence in their ability to perform the key tasks of their job (i.e., self-efficacy), feel like they are an accepted member of the organization (i.e., social acceptance), and understand the …

2022-January-28-Social Justice Concepts Focus Of Etsu Scholars Talk, University Marketing And Communication, East Tennessee State University

ETSU News

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Jan. 28, 2022) – Dr. Brittany Wilkins of the Social Work Department at East Tennessee State University will open a discussion about using popular culture to encourage student participation in the classroom in “Teaching Social Justice Concepts Using Popular Culture as a Metaphor: Harry Potter” at noon on Wednesday, Feb. 2, via Zoom. The live stream can be viewed here: etsu.zoom.us/j/93629427984.

This free virtual talk is part of the “WGS on Wednesdays” series sponsored by the ETSU Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program.  

Drawing from Dr. Brent Satterly’s work on “the pedagogy of fandom,” Wilkins …

Compensation, Megan Paul

Umbrella Summaries

What is compensation?

For the purposes of this review, compensation is defined in two primary ways: a) pay and b) pay satisfaction. Pay refers to “the amount of money an individual receives for their job” (Rubenstein et al., 2017, p. 6). It is sometimes measured as the exact amount or in terms of pay levels (Judge et al., 2010). Pay satisfaction is about an employee’s feelings about their pay, either in general or in terms of more specific aspects. Depending on how it is measured, pay satisfaction often also includes feelings about benefits, which might be more appropriately called compensation …

Cognitive Offloading Strategies And Decrements In Learning: Lessons From Aviation And Aerospace Crises, D. Christopher Kayes, Jeewhan Yoon

Journal of Human Performance in Extreme Environments

Examples from aviation and aerospace illustrate the potential consequences that emerge when organizations replace learning from experience with technology, a process referred to as a cognitive offloading strategy (COS). Examples include the Air France Flight 447 crash involving an Airbus 330-203 and the Lion Air Flight 610 crash involving a Boeing 737 Max. From the perspective of human performance in extreme environments, COS represents an underexplored source of organizational vulnerability which presents a particular challenge for learning in organizations. Decrements in learning result from COS because COS creates gaps in procedural knowledge and deprives operators of opportunities to learn in …

Reply To Komatsu Et Al.: From Local Social Mindfulness To Global Sustainability Efforts?, Niels J. Van Doesum, Ryan O. Murphy, Marcello Gallucci, Efrat Aharonov-Majar, Ursula Athenstaedt, Wing Tung Au, Liying Bai, Robert Böhm, Inna Bovina, Nancy R. Buchan, Xiao-Ping Chen, Kitty B. Dumont, Jan B. Engelmann, Kimmo Eriksson, Hyun Euh, Susann Fiedler, Justin Friesen, Simon Gächter, Camilo Garcia, Roberto González, Et. Al.

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Numeracy And Financial Wellbeing During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Nora Wikoff

Numeracy

This paper examines the role of numeracy in smoothing financial difficulties during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results show that numeracy was associated with a 30% reduction in late or non-payment of bills and a 20% reduction in the odds of feeling financially squeezed. The effect of numeracy on financial wellbeing was remarkably consistent across levels of education, ethnicity, and gender, suggesting that improving numeracy levels in the population may be an effective strategy to increase financial capability across the board. However, while numerate individuals were less likely to experience financial difficulty, high numeracy did not predict narrower gaps between Whites …

Full Issue - Human Trafficking Awareness

Journal of Nonprofit Innovation

What are the latest data points about human trafficking and the efforts being made to reduce it in our community? This issue addresses what's happening in the anti-trafficking community.

HUMAN TRAFFICKING DEFINED: The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, as amended (TVPA), defines “severe forms of trafficking in persons” as:

• sex trafficking in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such an act has not attained 18 years of age; or

• the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services, …

Fighting Human Trafficking By Better Understanding Nonprofit Collaboration, Angie Holzer

Journal of Nonprofit Innovation

Abstract: This research study examines nonprofit organizations and how collaboration plays a part in the human trafficking efforts within the United States. A descriptive study was conducted analyzing data from a quantitative, survey-based research method. Using a sample of 29 nonprofit leaders working in fighting human trafficking, data was collected on 1) what challenges nonprofits face in collaborating, 2) what technology tools nonprofits use to collaborate, and 3) how many other groups a single nonprofit works with in combating human trafficking. The findings show that the main challenges are 1) limited time, and 2) competition and/or lack of trust.

Healing Racial Injustice With Mindfulness Research, Training, & Practice, Danielle "Danae" Laura

Mindfulness Studies Theses

This thesis offers a collection of authors and studies in support of improved research, training, and practice connecting mindfulness with racial justice through intergroup applications. The paper identifies barriers at work (e.g., colorblindness, spiritual bypass, white fragility, and implicit bias) in contemplative science, Western Buddhist communities, and secular mindfulness centers, which block the sizeable contributions possible in studying the intergroup application of mindfulness practice—specifically Lovingkindness Meditation, among others—when used as an intervention with anti-racist aims. Through secondary qualitative research, I reviewed six key works from Black authors on mindfulness and race, as well as six sample studies on the prosocial …

Diversity And Inclusion Climates, Megan Paul

Umbrella Summaries

What are diversity and inclusion climates?

Diversity climate and inclusion climate are separate but related concepts, and there are various definitions of each. For the purposes of this review, diversity climate refers to “employees’ shared perceptions that an employer utilizes fair personnel practices and socially integrates underrepresented employees into the work environment” (McKay et al., 2008, p. 350). Inclusion climate goes one step farther to value and leverage diversity, such that “individuals of all backgrounds—not just members of historically powerful identity groups—are fairly treated, valued for who they are, and included in core decision making” (Nishii, 2013, p. 1754). A …

Technology, Case Practice, And Turnover: Early Findings From Virginia, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

Other QIC-WD Products

Listening sessions conducted by Virginia Department of Social Services (VDSS) staff with child welfare staff across the state and exit survey results from the 120 local departments of social services (LDSS) found that the biggest complaint among caseworkers, particularly those leaving their jobs, was the lack of technological supports and flexibility to help them complete administrative tasks more quickly. VDSS, in partnership with the Quality Improvement Center for Workforce Development (QICWD), designed a multi-phase case-supportive technology intervention to help child welfare caseworkers complete their case notes and other administrative tasks required as part of their job. The goals of the …

Untapped Potential For Child Welfare Administrative Data, Dana Hollinshead

QIC-Takes

Although a lot of data are captured through child welfare management information systems, there is much we still need to learn about the experiences of children and families involved in child protective services, and especially why some fare better than others. This is especially true with respect to dynamics that may influence caseworkers’ decisions, actions, and case outcomes. For example, are there certain caseworkers or service providers who are more effective in engaging families? Is there something about the type or dosage of services that makes a difference? Which workers or supervisory units are more likely to place a child …

Worker Turnover Is A Persistent Child Welfare Challenge--So Is Measuring It, Megan Paul, Courtney Harrison, Jonathan Litt, Michelle Graef

QIC-Takes

Turnover and other workforce challenges for child welfare professionals have been the subject of attention for many years. Consider this statement from a study published by the Children’s Bureau in 1960, “Turnover of staff in social agencies has been a serious concern of agency administrators for at least the past 10 years. Repeatedly, at conferences and in the professional journals, the complaint has been heard that staff turnover (1) handicaps the agency in its efforts to provide effective social services for clients; (2) is costly and unproductively time consuming; and (3) is responsible for the weary cycle of recruitmentemployment-orientation-production-resignation …” …

Supervision In A Virtual Workplace, Cynthia F. Parry

QIC-Takes

Some agencies have increased their use of telework due to office closures, a desire to decrease their carbon footprint, or because of the pandemic. This can add stress on supervisors as they have to manage staff virtually. Remote supervision requires changes in communication (both styles and tools) which can result in staff feeling micromanaged or neglected. Navigating these and other issues have been difficult for many child welfare agencies. The QIC-WD sites, like other child welfare agencies around the country, pivoted to virtual supervision quickly due to the pandemic. Most supervisors were unprepared for managing a virtual workforce and are …

Addressing Work-Related Traumatic Stress Nebraska - Theory Of Change, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

Other QIC-WD Products

Several workforce challenges were discussed as opportunities for intervention during the needs assessment process conducted partnership with the Nebraska Department of Children and Family Services’ (DCFS) to address child welfare workforce turnover. Through a series of steps and causal links, a theory of change provides a roadmap to address the root causes of an identified workforce problem and describes how and why changes are expected to lead to the desired outcomes. Ultimately, two theories of change were developed to step through the “if, then” logic:

1. building resiliency skills within child welfare workers and supervisors; and
2. implementing a debriefing protocol focused …

Organizational Change Process Milwaukee - Theory Of Change, Quality Improvement Center For Workforce Development

Other QIC-WD Products

Through a series of steps and causal links, a theory of change provides a roadmap to address the root causes of an identified workforce problem and describes how and why changes are expected to lead to the desired outcomes. In Milwaukee, the theory of change was driven by the results of the Organizational Social Context (OSC) Measure administered during the needs assessment process. More specifically, the OSC showed that there were several aspects of both culture and climate that were in need of improvement, including 1) a hierarchical and rigid decision-making structure, 2) high role conflict and change resistance within …

Ua35/3 Memoranda, Wku Provost

WKU Administration Documents

2022 memoranda issued by the WKU Provost to faculty & staff via email.

• Call for Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) Proposals
• Provost's Message
• Congratulations to Our College-level Faculty Award Winners
• University Distinguished Professor & University Faculty Award Winners
• Mental Health First Aid Training

2022-2023 Operating Budget, Morehead State University. Budget & Financial Planning Office.

Morehead State University Operating Budgets Archive

2022-2023 Operating Budget of Morehead State University.