Digital Commons Network^™

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 …

The Relationship Between Nonprofit Capacity Building, Organizational Learning And Organizational Effectiveness: A Case Study Of Strengthening Communities Fund Program In Central Florida, M L. Broxton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Nonprofit capacity building programs and program activities positively influence perceived organizational effectiveness. Being able to link nonprofit capacity building to organizational effectiveness is a paramount concern for both nonprofits seeking capacity building programming and those entities, be it foundations or government that fund capacity building initiatives and programs. Therefore being able to link nonprofit capacity building to organizational effectiveness and higher performance is crucial to ensure that both nonprofit organizations and funders continue to pursue and support capacity building programming. Through an examination of the developing hollow state and the resulting nonprofit capacity disparity this study demonstrates the purposeful need …

Implementing Sustainability Initiatives: A Study Of U.S. Local Governments, Nick Lebredo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Sustainability has been framed by the World Commission on Environment and Development as a fundamental concept in human society and by Fiorino (2010) as a critical conceptual focus for public administration over the next decade. A large number of U.S. local governments have implemented sustainability initiatives. Nevertheless, relatively few studies have comprehensively examined sustainability implementation by local governments. This study makes a concerted effort to examine sustainability implementation in U.S. local governments, which have taken the lead in many areas of sustainability. This study also develops a capacity building model to empirically evaluate how organizational strategies and capacities influence sustainability …

Empowering Advisors To Facilitate Change, Melissa R. Shehane, Michael Baumhardt, Michael E. Shehane, Sherry L. Early Phd

Leadership Studies Faculty Research

Advancing group dynamics is difficult. In order for students to learn, develop, and grow within an organization, they need to be empowered by their advisor to feel that their ideas and contributions are both important and valuable. This concept of empowerment means providing freedom for people to do successfully what they want to do, rather than getting them to do what you want them to do (Whetten & Cameron, 2011). As an advisor to a student-led organization, it is important to empower students to identify specific actions and strategies that facilitate change and achieve the outcomes of the organization.

Maintaining Or Disrupting Inequality: Diversity Statements In The University, Linda A. Merkl

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of my study was to identify whether university Diversity Statements aid in maintaining or disrupting inequality in the university. Using critical discourse analysis, I analyzed an initial sample of eleven Diversity Statements to develop a list of common themes found within the diversity statements. Using a maximum variation method, I then reduced my sample to four universities to provide breadth of information for the final study (Miles & Huberman, 1994). In my case analysis, I first conducted an individual analysis of each of the four Diversity Statements using the common themes from my critical case analysis, common functions …

Exploratory Study On Explanations And Theories Of How Telecentres And Other Community-Based E-Inclusion Actors Operate And Have An Impact On Digital And Social Inclusion Policy Goals, M. Garrido, A. Sey, Tabitha B. Hart, L. Santana

Faculty Publications

This report includes the results of the research project ‘Exploratory study on explanations and theories of how Telecentres and other community-based e-Inclusion actors operate and have an impact on digital and social inclusion policy goals’. This study was commissioned by IPTS to feed into a forthcoming 2-year research project: Measuring the impact of eInclusion actors on Digital Literacy, Skills and Inclusion goals (MIREIA). The literature review presented in this report was designed to capture the theories and explanations represented in the existing body of research in order to: provide a comprehensive and multidisciplinary landscape on theories and analytical frameworks; analyze …

Attitudes About Sexual Intimacy In The Veterans Home Of California-Barstow, Eric Efren Reyes

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study was to measure staff attitudes about sexual intimacy in the Veterans Home of California-Barstow (VHCB). Participants were twenty-seven VHCB staff members. The data collected was used for the purpose of understanding, and then formulating suggestions for implementing better institutional interventions and policy in the VHCB.

Organizational Behavior In Mental Health Services: A Needs Assessment, Geovana Varela

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study was to know the needs of non-profit organizations that will help increase their effectiveness and enhance the delivery of mental health services.

Papers From The 4th International Conference On Public Management In The 21st Century: Opportunities And Challenges, Dale Krane, Zhikui Lu

Faculty Books and Monographs

Paper, "The Attractions and Challenges of Collaborative Public Management," co-written by Dale Krane, UNO faculty member.

Solutions to problems confronting public officials increasingly require the creation of collaborative arrangements not only among public agencies, horizontally and vertically, but also with nonprofit organizations and/or for-profit enterprises. This shift to collaborative public management is propelled by claims it will remedy the pathologies associated with hierarchical bureaucracies, inter-jurisdictional conflicts, increased problem complexity, resource deficiencies, and lack of citizen participation in policy decisions. This paper reviews the emergence of the movement toward collaborative public management, the efforts to conceptualize and model collaboration, and the …

Leadership And The Use Of Power: Shaping An Ethical Climate, Donna M. Randall

Journal of Applied Christian Leadership

No abstract provided.

Using Single-Case Participatory Action Research As A Methodology To Explore Appalachian Summer Camp Communities, Barry A. Garst, Nancy K. Franz, Brian Peters, Chris Smith, Sarah Baughman

Publications

Community educators have long known the value of direct experience in the learning process. Participatory action research extends this philosophy to the realm of research. This article examines the value of involving front line camp staff, members of the camp community in Appalachia as practitioner researchers with university scientists in studying the type and conditions of transformative learning in young adult camp staff. A young adult who was a camp community member assisted the researchers with methodology, data analysis, data interpretation, and dissemination of findings. This resulted in a more accurate, richer, and thicker description of the camp community member’s …

Government-To-Government E-Government: A Case Study Of A Federal Financial Program, Olu Faokunla

School of Public Policy and Administration (SPPA) Dissertation Award

The problem with the study of the concept of electronic government (e-Gov) is that scholars in the field have not adequately explored various dimensions ofthe concept. Literature on e-Gov is replete with works on the form of government to consumer e-Gov. Much less work had been done on the government to government (G2G) e-Gov. This qualitative case study was predicated on the concepts of intergovernmental relations and intergovernmental management, and it sought to fill the gap in the literature by providing a clear understanding of G2G e-Gov by exploring a federal program in the United States. The central research question …

Driving Employee Engagement: Contemporary Trends In Engagement, Sarah A. Nelson

Theses and Graduate Projects

Employee engagement is an important concept in today's workforce. Engaged employees work harder and more efficiently, while disengaged workers may in fact work against the company's mission. Employee engagement can be increased with a number of different interventions and initiatives. Internal social media platforms promote communication and collaboration among employees. Employees who have had additional training and development are more engaged, as well as employees who receive feedback from managers. Promoting a balance between work and life also leads to more engaged employees, as well as recognizing employees for the work they do. Managers can also learn ways to increase …

The Patient Protection And Affordable Care Act And Medicaid Expansion: Leadership Strategies For Effective Change Management In Managed Care Organizations, Emily Aurand

Theses and Graduate Projects

As a result of tlie 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), eligibility requirements for the Medicaid program were revised resulting in a greater number of people eligible to enroll in tlie government healthcare program. These circumstances require numerous organizational changes for Medicaid managed care organizations (MCOs) that administer the Medicaid program in order to accommodate the healthcare needs of the growing Medicaid population and comply with applicable regulatory requirements. This case study sought to identify effective leadership strategies employed by Minnesota Medicaid MCO change leaders guiding organizational change processes and seeking quality change outcomes, resulting from the externally …

Shaping The Operations Research Agenda For Antiretroviral-Based Prevention Products For Women: Gels And Rings, Martha Brady, C. Elizabeth Mcgrory

HIV and AIDS

This report summarizes discussions from a two-day international experts consultation meeting in 2012 on preparing for the successful introduction of women-centered antiretroviral-based HIV prevention methods. It examines the limits and expectations of operations research in antiretroviral health technologies.

The Roles Of Flourishing And Spirituality In Millenials’ Leadership Development Activity, Allison L. O'Malley, Denise E, Williams

Scholarship and Professional Work - LAS

Confronted by today’s epidemic of corporate meltdowns, broken institutional paradigms, unethical decision-making, and demand for innovative competencies in order to remain competitive, educators and researchers are challenged to examine how today’s future leaders develop the skill and will to be effective. Whether labeled GenY, Generation Next, Generation Tech or Millennials (i.e. individuals born between 1982 and 2003), this group of change agents differs in attitudes, behaviors, and intrinsic and extrinsic motivations from older generations (e.g. Taylor & Keeter, 2010; Twenge, Campbell & Freeman, 2012). The scholarly debate on the role of meaning making (Park, 2005) describes the Millennial on a …

Case Study: Evaluating Performance Outcomes Of A Technology Change Management Initiative In A Health Care Organization, Dion Nathanial Johnson

Wayne State University Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to examine a case study by evaluating performance outcomes of a technology change management initiative in a health care organization. This study was developed with an array of issues surrounding change management programs with technology platforms, the management of complex change and the amount of criticism that became the impetus behind the implementation of the Electronic Health Records Management Systems (EHRMS) across the healthcare industry and its long-term transformative effects. Despite recognition that user response largely determined the success of a technology implementation or change management program and the fact significant resources are spent …

Financial Development And Economic Growth In Kentucky Counties, John D. Conley

Theses and Dissertations--Agricultural Economics

There is a broad literature on the finance-growth nexus in the macroeconomics literature. Is there evidence for the finance-growth nexus at the sub-national region? If so, can macroeconomic finance and growth methods be extended to sub-national regions? Joseph Schumpeter argued that banks promote economic growth by choosing which projects to fund, by mobilizing underutilized capital, by managing risk and by monitoring managers.

This dissertation proposes a modified Martin and Ottaviano (2001) model that allows for borrowing to form new firms or to expand existing firms. The model shows that if borrowing across regional lines is costly, above and beyond the …

Best Outcomes For Indian Children, Loa L. Porter, Patina Park Zink, Angela R. Gebhardt, Mark Ells, Michelle Graef

Center on Children, Families, and the Law: Faculty Publications

The Wisconsin Department of Children and Families and the Midwest Child Welfare Implementation Center are collaborating with Wisconsin's tribes and county child welfare agencies to improve outcomes for Indian children by systemically implementing the Wisconsin Indian Child Welfare Act (WICWA).This groundbreaking coUaboration wiU increase practitioners' understanding ofthe requirements of WICWA and the need for those requirements, enhance communication and coordination between all stakeholders responsible for the welfare of Indian children in Wisconsin; it is designed to effect the systemic integration of the philosophical underpinnings of WICWA.

In December 2009, Governor James Doyle signed the Wisconsin Indian Child Welfare Act, signaling …

Reconsidering Consultants’ Strategic Use Of The Business Case For Diversity, Jennifer Mease (Also Peeksmease)

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

The business case for diversity—the practice of connecting human differences to an organization’s bottom line—has been critiqued for its compromised treatment of human difference. Through a grounded in action discursive analysis of 19 interviews with diversity consultants, this research identifies three occupational demands that prompted consultants to use the business case: organizational access, motivation, and emotion work. The analysis also identifies strategies consultants used that met these demands without relying on the business case: connecting to mission statements, connecting to individual tasks, appealing to personal experience, sequencing, combining, balancing discourses of emotion and business, drawing on spiritual grounding, and using …

Group Supervision Attitudes: Supervisory Practices Fostering Resistance To Adoption Of Evidence-Based Practices, Charles T. Brooks, David A. Patterson, Patrick M. Mckiernan

The Qualitative Report

The focus of this study was to qualitatively evaluate worker’s attitudes about clinical supervision. It is believed that poor attitudes toward clinical supervision can create barriers during supervision sessions. Fifty-one participants within a social services organization completed an open-ended questionnaire regarding their clinical supervision experiences. Results suggest four key areas which appear to be strong factors in workers’ experiences and attitudes regarding group supervision: a. facilitator’s skill level; b. creativity; c. utilization of technology; and d. applicability. For organizations interested in overcoming potential barriers to adopting best practices, effectively addressing workers’ negative attitudes toward group supervision would be a worthy …

Academic Librarians In Second Life, Denise Cote, Beth Kraemer, Diane Nahl, Robin Ashford

Library Faculty and Staff Publications

The multi-user virtual world Second Life is an online software platform that allows users to jointly explore realistic three-dimensional environments via avatar characters, communicate via voice and text chat, and collaborate using shared creation tools. Librarians and educators have been developing academic content and services in Second Life for use with students and other constituency groups since 2005. This study surveyed academic librarians working in Second Life to discover their perceptions of virtual world environments for teaching and learning and to gauge the impact of this technology on their work with faculty and students. Sixty-two librarians provided details on various …

High School Graduation And Dropout Rates In Nevada, Tiffany G. Tyler, Sandra D. Owens

Social Health of Nevada Reports

The causes and consequences of high school dropout rates are multifaceted and of great importance to society, and that is why this problem has been the subject of close scrutiny by educators, researchers, administrators, politicians and laypersons. Experts do not always agree on the nature of this social problem, but they have pinpointed its economic and social costs, identified key risk factors, and outlined most promising policy options for improving high school graduation rates in our society.

Expectancy Violations: Their Impact On Organizational Change Messages, Kristie Ward

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

This study looks at expectancy violation theory (Burgoon, 1978), the application of the theory in organizations, and foundational pieces of organizational communication to address how violations impact the reception of change messages among non-managers. Organizations grow and downsize for various reasons, including business performance and economic climate. Regardless of the reasons, downsizing is a hard message to deliver. It can matter little if it is to the employees who will be leaving the organization or to the „survivors‟ left behind. How the messages are delivered and understood are important for the organization to move their employees through change and move …

The Role Of Communication In Sustainable Development, Tracy Ging

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

As population growth accelerates, there are new strains on agricultural production and a growing consideration for sustainable development. Within the field of sustainable development, collective action models or collaborative processes have been favored as a way to engage multiple stakeholders and address complex issues. Collective and collaborative action studies have emphasized communication, but little specifics have been offered about the role of communication. Using a qualitative interview process and ethnographic analysis, this case study explores the role of communication in collaboration. In addition to developing insights into specific communication practices, the research reveals a significant emphasis on mutually supportive relationships …

Incorporating Aspects Of The 'Emotional Intelligence' Theory To Tactical Fundraising Strategies For Non-Profit Organizations (Npo's) In Recessive Economic Times "Vision Of Hope: Fundraising In Recessive Economic Times", Marc Knutson

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

The global economic picture over the past decade has created tough financial times for nations, individuals, and industry in general. With respect to organizations, there is no one single area more affected by devastating economic stress than non-profits. In economically prosperous times, philanthropists and other donors to non-profit organizations are open to, and regularly schedule, donations. However, as financial situations require belt-tightening and acute frugality, donations to non-profits are reconsidered. In light of the slumping economic times, I suggest that non-profit organizations, specifically those supporting laboratory research of debilitating diseases, review their fundraising strategies defining a differentiation strategy that sets …

Intercultural Virtual Communications: A New Course Proposal, Haléakala

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

Technological advancements have introduced computer mediated communication (CMC) which has come to permeate our lives from the way we work, to the way we learn, to the way we teach. Current studies of CMC tend to ignore the importance of the intercultural factors that affect it. Additionally, CMC studies focus on the technology aspects of communication instead of focusing on the human aspect of CMC. This project puts together CMC research, community need, and business acumen, relates it to human theories of communication, and creates a usable course for teaching intercultural virtual communications in the undergraduate classroom. The findings from …

Global Organizational Psychology: Internationalizing The Training Curriculum, Richard L. Griffith, William Gabrenya, Lisa A. Steelman, Brigitte Armon, Beth Gitlin, Mavis Kung

Psychology Faculty Publications

Due to the rapid of globalization in the Information Age, students must become adept at navigating the complex and ambiguous nature of the global business environment. One major roadblock for training students to become global professionals is the lack of international curriculum within Industrial/Organizational (I/O) Psychology programs at leading post-graduate training institutions. This article examines the methodologies and best practices used in establishing an International I/O Psychology curriculum at the graduate level developed to train students to better understand and work within the complexities of the global business environment. In this article we discuss the process we used to identify …

Shifting Standards : The Effect Of Client Race And Level Of Symptomology On Clinical Judgment, Joeleen Cooper

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

In recent years, increasing attention has been paid to the importance of relevant factors in working with clients from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds. The current study examined how client race and level of symptomology affect the clinical judgments of White counselor trainees using the Shifting Standards theory (Biernat, Manis, & Nelson, 1991; Biernat & Manis, 1994; Biernat, 2003) as a framework. One hundred and eighty four White therapist trainees were randomly assigned into four experimental groups: (1) severely depressed Black client, (2) severely depressed White client, (3) mildly depressed Black client, and (4) mildly depressed White client. The results …

Maintaining And Regaining Organizational Legitimacy : The U.S. Securities And Exchange Commission, Karen R. Bryce

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

Focusing on organizational legitimacy is an essential element to the survival of an organization. Suchman (1995) suggests that "Legitimacy is a generalized perception or assumption that the actions of an entity are desirable, proper, or appropriate within some socially constructed system of norms, values, beliefs, and definitions" (p. 574). Legitimacy must first be gained and then maintained. If lost, legitimacy must be regained or the organization is unlikely to survive. Organizations can use both symbolic and substantive means of gaining, maintaining or regaining legitimacy. This dissertation explores organizational legitimacy by examining the case of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission …