Digital Commons Network^™

International, National, And Local Notions Of The Public Library: An Extended Case Study In Namibia, Sarah M. Webb

School of Information Studies - Dissertations

This dissertation is a study of library use in a poor neighborhood in Windhoek, Namibia, to understand the diffusion of public libraries around the world. I used a sociological approach and the Extended Case Method (Burawoy, 1991; 1998). Two theories framed the research: World Society Theory (Meyer et al. 1997) and New Institutional Theory (Powell and DiMaggio, 1991). World Society Theory was developed from evidence of similarities in governmental, health and educational organizations globally that demonstrates the growth of a world culture based on a rationalistic and scientific approach to knowledge. The findings show that international notions of public libraries …

Closures And Consolidation: Schools, Farms, And Population Decline In Rural Illinois, Eric Porter

Master's Theses - Sociology and Anthropology

This thesis reports the results of a year-long quantitative research project that examined the causal relationships between population loss, agricultural consolidation and school closures in rural Illinois—three primary facets of the overall decline in rural America. Conventional wisdom conceptualizes the following progression: a shifting U.S. economy from agriculture to manufacturing moved jobs to urban centers, which along with the reduced need for labor from industrialization in farming, caused out-migration from rural America; eventually this led to many rural schools closing due to dropping enrollment. However, it is hypothesized that these processes create exacerbating feedback loops. Specifically, loss of population leads …

The Acquisition Of Cultural Competence: A Phenomenological Inquiry Highlighting The Processes, Challenges And Triumphs Of Counselor Education Students, Douglas L. Garner

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Although research has effectively isolated and identified the key characteristics of a culturally competent counselor, there are few studies regarding the acquisition of these characteristics. To close the gap between theory and practice, studies are needed researching the emergence and, acquisition of these characteristics. This study explores how Masters-level Counselor Education students narrate the encounters, challenges, triumphs and epiphanies associated with their preliminary attempts to practice in a culturally competent manner. This phenomenological inquiry seeks to shed light students attitudes, beliefs and dispositions; defines the processes related to the acquisition of cognitive awareness and learning, skills and abilities; and illuminates …

Study Of Leadership Characteristics During Transformational Change In Health Care Organizations, Susan Long

Theses and Graduate Projects

This qualitative research study explores the behavior of leaders during transformational change in health care organizations. For this study, health care workers, who had experienced transformational change within their organization in the previous three years, were interviewed about the behaviors of their leader. Findings of this study suggest leaders who regularly communication and support of team members; build organizational culture that supports collaboration and team work; and effectively plan for change initiatives, including providing adequate resources for the change, have more positive change initiatives than leaders who not demonstrate these behaviors

Why Organizational Identification ‘Matters’ As A Communication Variable: A State-Of-The-Art Review Of Past, Present, And Future Trends, Corey Jay Liberman

Proceedings of the New York State Communication Association

The purpose of this paper is to examine the area of identification from an organizational communication perspective. In so doing, the author attempts to achieve three major goals. First is an examination of the concept of organizational identification, where the author examines what this concept means, how scholars have defined this concept, how both the definition and nature of identification have changed over the past several decades, and why both scholars and practitioners should be interested in issues of identification. Second, the author examines how scholars have studied issues of identification and how, methodologically, there seems to have been a …

Library Impact Statement For Prs 300, Margaret J. Keefe

Library Impact Statements

Library Impact Statement for PRS 300. No new resources are required to suppoer the new course. Responding faculty member: Margaret J. Keefe. Requesting faculty member: Lynn Derbyshire.

Spring 2012 Issue Introduction: A New Publisher For Omj And An Issue Filled With Articles About Awareness And Change, William P. Ferris

Organization Management Journal

No abstract provided.

Leadership, Complex Adaptive Systems, And Equivocality: The Role Of Managers In Emergent Change, Robert J. Blomme

Organization Management Journal

When managers are confronted with the necessity to change their organization owing to a turbulent and unpredictable environment, their change efforts are often not very successful. As managers are part of the change context itself, they have to act in a way that is different from the traditional role of the administrative leader to become successful change leaders. This article attempts to redefine organizational change using complexity theory and the work of Karl Weick and Ralph Stacey as a basis. Organizational change can be defined as emergent change in complex adaptive systems and is based on self-organizational principles. One important …

Factors Contributing To Successful Transitions Into The Role Of A New Superintendency In Texas: A Mixed Methods Triangulation Convergence Inquiry, Nancy B. Jones

Administrative Issues Journal

The purpose of this study was to examine the factors contributing to a successful transition into the role of a new superintendency in Texas. A triangular designed mixed methodology with a convergence model was employed. The setting was urban, suburban, and rural school districts in Texas. The participants were superintendents of public school districts in Texas. Quantitative data were collected through the use of an electronic survey, while a focus group was conducted to collect the qualitative data. Participating superintendents indicated that the training and education they received had adequately prepared them for the role of a new superintendent and …

Managerial Roles And Implications In Emergent Change, Craig Seal

Organization Management Journal

No abstract provided.

Goals, Challenges, And Successes Of A Girls Development Organization In Kenya : A Case Study Of Moving The Goal Post (Kilifi, Kenya), Madeline Boston

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Girls and Women in Kilifi District, Kenya are some of the world’s poorest and most disadvantaged people. Low retention rates in school, early and unintended pregnancies, and vulnerability to HIV/AIDS trap them in a cycle of intense poverty. Moving the Goalpost (MTG) in Kilifi uses football to empower girls and young women, helping them to fulfill their potential by engaging them in sport and educational development projects. This report analyzes the goals, challenges, and successes of MTG through understanding its organization capacity, and offers recommendations for improvement.

Understanding The Role Of The Veteran Employee: How Organizational Communication May Bridge Gaps Between New And Veteran Employees, Jacqui L. Barker

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

Framed through evaluation of the Uncertainty Reduction Theory (URT), Constructive-Development Theory (CDT), and the Rational-World Paradigm philosophy, this research focused on existing, or veteran, anxieties when a new employee joins an organization‟s group or team. This research surveyed United States Navy federal civil servants employed at two, geographically dispersed, Navy science and technology laboratories and discovered these employees do in fact experience anxieties, and seek various means to manage or reduce the emotion associated with a newly-hired employee by either avoiding, talking about, observing the new person, working with the person or taking a blended approach and incorporating one or …

State Weakness In Post-Communist Romania And The Legacy Of Communism, Marian Negoita

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

This paper examines the, effect of communist regimes on postcommunist state weakness through a detailed case study of the Romanian political system. The central claim is that the totalitarian, NeoStalinist communist Romanian regime was responsible for the postcommunist state weakness. Through such measures as cadre rotation, the "blending" of state and Party structures, and planning, the Romanian state apparatus was transformed into a servile conveyor belt for Nicolae Ceausescu's orders and ensured the hollowing-out of the state. This proved a major factor during the post-communist transformation, paving the way to post-communist patronage networks linking politicians, enterprise managers, and the state.

Striking A Balance: Managing Blogs In Loosely Coupled Systems, Troy A. Swanson, Dennis E. Gregory, Edward E. Raspiller

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Faculty Publications

As the oldest implementation of Web 2.0 technologies, blogs present an opportunity to understand how community college administrators are addressing two conundrums: conundrum of control and the conundrum of adaptability. These problems arise from the need of leaders to put organizational controls in place even as these controls limit the tool's usefulness and the adaptability of the technology. The purpose of this study using a multiple case study method is (1) to further the understanding of how community college administrators and blog authors strike a balance between organizational control and adaptability when implementing and using blog technologies and (2) to …

The Effects Of Tribal Governments On Reservation Poverty Rates, Heather Raisch

Political Science Theses and Capstones

Poverty rates on Indian reservations are far higher than the national average. Since Tribal Governments have at least some control over these reservations, to what extent are they to blame for these higher than average poverty rates? I look at each reservation and their type of government, constitution, policies and demographics to analyze the causes of their poverty as it relates to tribal government. There are many other pieces of research that are similar to this, but none looking specifically at the overall effects the government has on its community. My hypothesis is that communities with higher poverty rates tend …

Employment Of Command And Control Systems Within The U.S. Marine Corps, Aaron B. Lang

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to identify potential barriers to the effective employment of command and control (C2) systems to enhance warfighter readiness. Five research hypotheses guided this study, which addressed the perception of the effective employment of Marine Corps C2 systems based on demographic characteristics, which included: organization, occupational field, experience, rank, and recent deployment experience.

The population of the study included Active and Reserve Staff Non-Commissioned Officers (SNCOs) and Officers that now serve, or have recently served in an infantry unit within the Operating Forces, and the Marines and civilian employees involved in the capability development, acquisition, …

A Systems-Based Approach To Intelligence Reform, Austen Givens

Journal of Strategic Security

The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 prompted the most comprehensive changes to the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC) since its creation via the National Security Act of 1947. Recent structural and organizational reforms, such as efforts to enhance information sharing and recruit speakers of hard-target languages, have also triggered new challenges to successful transformation. In light of the systemic problems facing the IC, this paper argues that systems engineering, a discipline increasingly useful in organizational change, offers a more efficient, holistic approach to the intelligence reform process than the status quo. Systems engineering views the IC as an integrated and …

Government Contracting: How To Tackle Rapid Growth And Hiring For Conference And Event Planner Positions, Karen Francisco

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This paper plans to explore the issue of how conference project managers and other leaders working in government contractor positions can best approach the issue of rapid growth and hiring individuals for event and conference planning roles. In order to more thoroughly explore this problem, this paper will employ several strategies.

Predictors And Predictive Effects Of Attitudinal Inconsistency Towards Organizational Change, Scott T. Drylie

Theses and Dissertations

Studies have largely portrayed individual resistance as a pervasive, irrational, and problematic response to organizational change initiatives. The current study confronts this interpretation with a model of attitudinal inconsistency that provides a more holistic perspective of the individual during times of change. Inconsistency reveals the degree to which the mental evaluations of a change initiative may conflict and produce weak attitudinal foundations to govern behavior. Measuring affective-cognitive consistency, the tests in this study demonstrate that employees may form inconsistent attitudes towards a change initiative. Inconsistency relates negatively to the perceived quality of management transition techniques such as participation, communication, structured …

If You Build It, Will They Come? Building The Collaborative Infrastructure And The Ohiolink Collaborates Toolbox, Barbara J. Strauss, Margaret Maurer, Julie Gedeon

Michael Schwartz Library Publications

This research examines how libraries are collaborating, why libraries collaborate, and seeks the environmental conditions that foster successful cross-institutional collaborations. The Ohio Library and Information Network (OhioLINK) Consortium’s CollaboraTeS Project is examined, to inventory expertise and needs within the OhioLINK community and the members’ willingness to share, barter or contract their expertise with other OhioLINK institutions. This is followed by an examination of a sample of North American collaborative projects to identify environmental conditions that foster collaborations in North American libraries. A brief survey within the OhioLINK environment was then conducted that validated anecdotal evidence that the CollaboraTeS Toolbox has …

Management Of Electronic Resources By Cataloguers In Nigerian Federal University Libraries, Michael Onuchukwu Okoye, Chijioke F. Ugwuanyi

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Library has been a collection of information materials for ages and print media have been the bulk of the library resources. However the advent of information technology in the early 1990s led to the emergence and continuous exponential growth of digitally or electronically borne information resources. (Parker, 2007). Other factors such as provision of space economy; ease of access through numerous metadata, search engines, online catalogues, O.P.A.Cs, and protocols; access which is not hindered by distance or boundaries and simultaneous consultation of the same e- resources by many users, provided the pre-eminence of e-resources over print format. Electronic resources include …

Perceptions Of Pakistani Users About Library Service Quality: Libqual Comments, Shafiq Ur Rehman, Widad Mustafa El Hadi

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

There are at least eleven ways to listen the customers: transactional surveys, mystery shopping, new declining and lost customer surveys, focus group interviews, customer advisory panels, service reviews, customer complaint, com­ment, inquiry capture, total market surveys, employee field reporting, employee surveys and service operating data capture (Parasuraman as cited in Cook, Heath, Thompson, & Thompson, 2001).The French writer François de la Rochefoucauld said that "Il est plus nécessaire d'étudier les hommes que les livres" (It is more important to study people than books).The LibQUAL qualitative comments provide very rich information on user's perception about library service quality. It gives unique …

Full Report- Re-Thinking The Future Of Cleveland's Neighborhood Developers: Interim Report, Norman Krumholz, Kathryn Hexter

All Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs Publications

No abstract provided.

Spe Members' Views On Sustainability: A Survey, Bonnie Bachman, Shristy Bashyal, Margaret Baumann

Economics Faculty Research & Creative Works

The results of the research conducted to understand sustainability in the plastics industry, initiated with the membership of the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE). are presented. The implications of sustainability to the plastics industry are discussed. An online survey was created with a set of 27 questions including demographics. The survey was distributed to the Society of Plastics Engineers (SPE) membership via an emails. When asked about the organization-wide definition of sustainability, 45% of the senior managers believed sustainability refers to addressing issues from a long term perspective. When asked who is responsible for addressing sustainability issues, most of the …

The Beacon - Vol 10 No. 9 - February 17, 2012, Merrimack College

The Beacon

The Beacon - the student newspaper of Merrimack College. Volume 10, Number 9 - February 17, 2012. 12 pages

The Impact Of Eu Oversight On Corporate Governance In The German Auto Industry, Jason Gorn

Claremont-UC Undergraduate Research Conference on the European Union

No abstract provided.

Addressing The Failure Of Abstinence-Only Sex Education Programs: An Emerging Leadership Perspective, Cedric Harville Ii

Florida Public Health Review

Over the past 15 years, abstinence-only sex education has been the sole method of education supported by the federal government as it relates to adolescent sexual health. Despite the exponential increase offunding provided for abstinence-only sex education, few tangible positive results have surfaced. At high rates, teens still take part in risky sexual behaviors, and are at high risks for teen pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, and HIV/AIDS. As a result, it is necessary to take an alternative approach that provides adolescents with a comprehensive view of sex education in order to effectively reduce these negative outcomes. A comprehensive education will …

The Heart And Soul Of Change Management, Jennifer A. Bartlett

Library Faculty and Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Beyond Leadership, Kees Rietsema, Daryl Watkins

Publications

Organizational leadership must evolve beyond a focus on those occupying the positions of organizational leadership. Complex systems provide the opportunity to rethink the leadership function in terms which are holistic and comprehensive. Applying the principles of complexity may provide the basis for a more collaborative, distributed and productive “way of being” for today’s organizations.

Management Of Change In The 21st Century Libraries And Information Centres, Samuel Olu Adeyoyin, Abayomi Imam, Taofik Olatunde Bello

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Long before Johnson's 1998 celebrated story Who Moved My Cheese? a best-selling text on change was published, Charles Darwin in the Origin of Species (1859), documented compelling scientific evidence on species that became extinct because of mal-adaptation or resistance to change. It is intriguing to discover in today's business world, that most businesses that are making waves never existed beyond few decades. In the same vein, most organizations in the past, that roamed their environments like dinosaurs, are today extinct or too flaccid to make earth-breaking impact. Change has caused all these. Organizations that have realized the inevitability of change …