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Strategic Discourse Across Organizational Meetings:Towards A Systems Perspective., Brendan K. O'Rourke, Martin Duffy

Conference Papers

Strategic Discourse across Organizational meetings: Towards a Systems Perspective Abstract This paper presents a tentative theoretical conception of how organizational meetings may be viewed as a system rather than as individual events. Perspectives from process metaphysics(Langley and Tsoukas, 2010), meso-discourse analysis (Alvesson and Karreman, 2000, 2011) and systems thinking (von Bertalanffy, 1969) are adopted, to explore and expand the theoretical resources available to conceptualise a ‘system of meetings’. The primary data draws from 130+ hours of recorded meeting proceedings, spanning 58 meeting events, from multiple sub-groups within a medium sized company.

David Palfreyman And Ted Tapper. Structuring Mass Higher Education: The Role Of Elite Institutions. New York: Routledge Press. 2009., Ryan Guffey Ph.D.

Journal of International and Global Studies

No abstract provided.

Learning From Consistently High Performing And Improving Schools For English Language Learners In Boston Public Schools, Rosann Tung, Virginia Diez, Laurie Gagnon, Miren Uriarte, Pamela Stazesky, Eileen De Los Reyes, Antonieta Bolomey

Gastón Institute Publications

Against a backdrop of increasing BPS ELL enrollment, district ELL leadership transitions, state and federal policies affecting ELL education, and with the knowledge that many teachers and administrators within the Boston Public Schools are expert practitioners with ELL students, we addressed the following research questions:

• In which BPS schools were ELL students performing at a consistently high level or showing steady improvement during SY2006-SY2009?
• What were some of the practices that these schools’ staffs credited with their success with ELL students during SY2006-SY2009?
• Which of the practices identified by school staff were shared among the selected schools?

Through case study …

Participatory And Action-Oriented Dissertations: The Challenges And Importance Of Community-Engaged Graduate Research, Emily Van Der Meulen

The Qualitative Report

Graduate students commonly experience isolation and estrangement when conducting their final research projects, which can contribute to difficulties in completion. A creative and socially beneficial way to offset academic isolation is for graduate students to engage in participatory and action-oriented research projects with local communities. Facilitating a research study with a local partner can be a richly rewarding experience. This article argues that students who enjoy working in collaborative environments and want their final research projects to lead to beneficial social change can find fulfillment in action research (AR) methodologies. Critiqued by some for its lack of tangible and practical …

Factors To Consider For Optimal Span Of Control In Community Supervision Evidence-Based Practice Environments, Gaylene Armstrong

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

In the face of budgetary constraints, legislative discussions in Iowa have focused on fiscal savings through an increased probation/parole supervisor to officer ratio, resulting in a reduced number of supervisory staff. Ramifications of this change, given the concurrent implementation of evidence-based practices (EBP), are unknown, given the lack of existing research on rubric for span of control decisions within community corrections agencies. Interviews with stakeholders in both Iowa and a national convenience sample led to a development of factors that should be considered in the future, including an agency’s level of task complexity, the workforce skill level, and the work …

Police Community Partnerships: A Review Of The Literature, Portland State University. Criminology And Criminal Justice Senior Capstone

Criminology and Criminal Justice Senior Capstone Project

To better understand community/police collaborations, this study researched several different types of successful partnerships. Our objective was to learn why the partnerships were formed and who was involved. Our research also sought to determine the goals of the partnerships, and the methods used to achieve those goals. The study also highlights several practices used by police agencies successfully to solve community problems.

Language In The Name Of National Security: The Transformation Of Arabic Language Instruction In U.S. Institutions Of Higher Education, Evelyn Daugherty

Sociology Honors Projects

Government designation of Arabic as a “strategic language” following WWII transformed Arabic language instruction in U.S. institutions of higher education. Funding from the government created a shift away from teaching students to read and translate classical Arabic for academic purposes and toward teaching modern varieties of the language for communication.  I employ a three-pronged institutional analysis that takes into account the role of government, the role of professional associations, and the role of individual instructors in the redefinition of norms governing Arabic language instruction during the past seventy years. I find that coercive pressure stemming from government interest affected Arabic …

Assessing The Implementation Of A Non-Profit Organizational Change Initiative Using Kotter’S (1995) 8 Step Change Model., Anna Lora Richesin

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Increased emphasis on process improvements in all organizations challenges leaders to institute change. Using a case study approach, the current research examined an organizational change initiative embarked on by the leadership of a local non-profit organization to obtain improvement in service delivery and acquire outcome measurements. There is little in the literature concerning organizational change initiatives and the use of change models in the non-profit sector. This study examined staff perception of an organizational change initiative using Kotter’s (1995) 8 step change model as benchmarks of success. Kotter’s (1995) 8 Steps for Change is a popular change model often used …

Opportunity/Threat Spirals In The U.S. Women's Suffrage And German Anti-Immigration Movements, Roger Karapin

Publications and Research

Many have noted that protesters sometimes expand political opportunities for later protests, but there has been little analysis of how this occurs. The problem can be addressed by analyzing opportunity/threat spirals, which involve positive feedback among: actions by challengers (bold protests and the formation of alliances between challenger groups); opportunity-increasing actions by authorities and elites (elite divisions and support, procedural reforms, substantive concessions, and police inaction); and threat-increasing actions by authorities and elites (new grievance production and excessive repression). Interactions among these eight mechanisms are demonstrated in two cases of social movement growth, the U.S. women's suffrage movement of the …

The Relationship Among Emotional Intelligence And Leadership Styles Of Law Enforcement Executives, Gregory, Jr. Campbell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Policing in the 21st century is becoming more complex and dynamic as law enforcement executives deal with operational, political, and economic challenges. Organizational theory and research indicate positive relationships among emotional intelligence (EI), leadership effectiveness, leadership styles, and employee outcomes. But these relationships have not been investigated in law enforcement organizations. The purpose of this quantitative study was to fill this knowledge gap by exploring the above relationships in a sample of law enforcement executives. Situational leadership theory, full range leadership model, and trait EI theory comprised the theoretical framework for this study. Data were collected from 139 law enforcement …

Discovering The Potential Of Service Learning In Perugia, Italy: An Evaluation Of The Umbra Institute’S La Famiglia Italiana Project, Julie Falk

Capstone Collection

Today, American study abroad programs are increasingly shifting their focus to students’ community engagement efforts, one approach of which is service learning (Stone, 2008). Service learning principles and approach, however, are not always quickly and easily transported into other cultures. As an American pedagogical export, service learning in the study abroad context has the potential to overlook essential factors such as reciprocity, sustainability, and evaluation of student, faculty, and community partner experiences. This type of learning remains unexplored territory in many countries including Italy (Tosi, 2000). As the only American study abroad program of its kind in Perugia, Italy, The …

Transforming Lives And Communities: A Case Study On Building Partnerships In The Philippines Through Appreciative Inquiry, Rizalina L. Ababa

Capstone Collection

The growing number of poor in the Philippines is alarming. Neither the national government nor any individual organization acting alone has been able to alleviate the rising percentage of poverty. With this prevalent need in the country, networks, alliances and partnerships among several organizations, including faith-based organizations, have been established to help respond to the needs of those living in poverty.

OM Philippines–Cebu Ministries, a faith-based Christian organization was started in 2001. It has worked specifically among the poor through children’s programs in partnership with local Protestant churches. Like many NGOs, OM Philippines has been exploring new strategies to expand …

Blue-Collar Discourses Of Workplace Dignity: Using Outgroup Comparisons To Construct Positive Identities, Kristen Lucas

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

People generally possess a strong desire to construct positive, dignified work identities. However, this goal may be more challenging for some people, such as blue-collar workers, whose occupations may not offer qualities typically associated with workplace dignity. Interviews with 37 people from a blue-collar mining community reveal three central identity discourses about workplace dignity: All jobs are important and valuable; dignity is located in the quality of the job performed; and dignity emerges from the way people treat and are treated by others. Participants communicated these themes by backgrounding their own occupations and drawing comparisons between two outgroups, low-status, low-paid …

Finding The Right Fit: How Alternative Staffing Affects Worker Outcomes, Françoise Carré, Brandynn Holgate, Helen Levine

Center for Social Policy Publications

This report reviews our findings from two and one-half years of monitoring and evaluating the activities of four alternative staffing organizations (ASOs). ASOs are worker-centered, socialpurpose businesses created by community-based organizations and national nonprofits. These fee-for-service organizations use the model of temporary staffing services to help job seekers who face labor market barriers access work experience and potential employers. They place job seekers in temporary and “temp-to-perm” assignments with customer businesses, charging their customers a wage-based markup fee. This field of practice first emerged in the 1970s and grew rapidly in the 1990s; it now includes over 50 ASOs. Alternative …

Full Participation: Building The Architecture For Diversity And Public Engagement In Higher Education, Susan P. Sturm, Timothy Eatman, John Saltmarsh, Adam Bush

Faculty Scholarship

This catalyst paper offers a conceptual framework for connecting a set of conversations about change in higher education that often proceed separately but need to be brought together to gain traction within both the institutional and national policy arenas. By offering a framework to integrate projects and people working under the umbrella of equity, diversity, and inclusion with those working under the umbrella of community, public, and civic engagement, we aim to integrate both of these change agendas with efforts on campus to address the access and success of traditionally underserved students. We also hope to connect efforts targeting students, …

Exploiting Borders: The Political Economy Of Local Backlash Against Undocumented Immigrants, Jamie Longazel, Benjamin Fleury-Steiner

Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work Faculty Publications

Four years prior to Arizona's passage of one of the most far-reaching pieces of anti-Latino immigrant legislation signed into law in decades,3 demands to "seal off the border"4 were being made thousands of miles from the U.S.-Mexico divide. In 2006, Hazleton, Pennsylvania, passed equally harsh legislation aimed at keeping undocumented immigrants out of their community. During this time, commentators described the local backlash in Hazleton and other small cities across the United States as akin to "the opening of a deep and profound fissure in the American landscape" 5 wherein "all immigration politics is local." 6 Yet, as the so-called …

Unionists, Loyalists, And Conflict Transformation In Northern Ireland, Lee A. Smithey

Sociology & Anthropology Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

Exploring Justice For Crime Victims: Characteristics And Contexts Of Crime Victims' Experiences With The Criminal Justice System, Phillip James Stevenson

Dissertations

During the last three decades, crime victims have increasingly been recognized by the criminal justice system as more than just witnesses for the prosecution. For example, in all 50 states crime victims are afforded specific statutory rights ranging from being treated with dignity and respect to having the opportunity to participate in the justice process, the latter most commonly seen during the sentencing phase where victims address the court and their offenders and describes how the crime has impacted their lives. Additionally, an increase in the number and type of programs based on the philosophy of restorative justice in recent …

Female Drug Offenders Reflect On Their Experiences With A County Drug Court Program, James C. Roberts, Loreen Wolfer

The Qualitative Report

This paper examines the experiences of a group of female drug offenders who successfully completed a county drug court program in northeast Pennsylvania. Using the constant comparative method, we analyzed interviews with these women for thematic patterns in order to provide an evaluation of this program based on participants' subjective perceptions of its strengths and weaknesses. While other drug court evaluations identify rewards for good behavior and compassionate program staff as important contributing factors to participants' success, women in this study credited their recovery and successful completion of the program primarily to fear of punishment and program structure. Our analysis …

The Quipped Project: Exploring Relevance And Rigor Of Action Research Using Established Principles And Criteria, Christine Chapman, Margo Paterson, Jennifer M. Medves

The Qualitative Report

This paper is the last in a series of three manuscripts published in the TQR journal over the past few years. This work is part of a larger program of research that has been carried out by a team of researchers detailing various aspects of a three year action research project carried out from 2005 and 2008. This particular paper addresses issues of quality in action research by critiquing our research against five interdependent principles and criteria raised in the literature specifically by Davison, Martinson and Kock which was published in 2004. Our action research project aimed to facilitate interprofessional …

Qualitative Researchers In The Blogosphere: Using Blogs As Diaries And Data, Ronald J. Chenail

The Qualitative Report

Weblogs or blogs can provide qualitative researchers with a medium for expressing their thoughts and opinions on qualitative research methods and products as well as serving as the source of data for qualitative studies. Present examples serve as exemplary guides to the potential value of this virtual communication application.

Urban League Of Central Carolinas – Civil Rights Organizations In A New Era: An Action Research Study Of One Organization’S Pursuit Of New Strategies, Harry L. Alston

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

What leadership approaches and operational strategies should traditional civil rights organizations, like the Urban League, undertake to in this post-civil rights era? Specifically at the local level, what expectations must the Urban League of Central Carolinas satisfy to reassert its leadership in Charlotte? In recent years, an increasing array of social enterprises across different sectors has emerged to address failures in civil society. Civil rights organizations have long served a niche in the battle for an equitable society. However, the role of civil rights organizations in community revitalization has been diffuse and subject to fundraising constraints. I undertook this action …

The Relationship Of Financial Performance, Quality Indicators, And The Role Of Nurse Executives In Virginia Nursing Homes, Jeany V. Murphy

Health Services Research Dissertations

Problem statement. The dynamic nature of the healthcare industry has triggered changes in nurse executive functions. The job has expanded into entrepreneurial roles to be able to provide the most cost effective services while maintaining good quality outcomes for the residents. The new responsibility requires a different set of knowledge and competencies that is usually achieved through advanced education. It is not known whether nurse executives in long term care in Virginia possess the skills to influence both the financial and quality outcomes of the facility.

Methods. This descriptive research study examined the relationship of the nurse executives' technical, human, …

Coaching Efficacy With Academic Leaders: A Phenomenological Investigation, Deanna Lee Vansickel-Peterson

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The purpose of this psychological phenomenological research was to understand the efficacy of life coaching from the perspective of academic leaders. To date, not one investigation or attempt has been made towards the above stated purpose. This study includes a theoretical overview and a review of the coaching literature from Socrates (469-399 BC) to current day Humanistic theory presented in part by Roger (1902-1987). This process included data collection from five academic leaders who have been coached for at least two years. Levels of analysis of 365 statements, quote and/or comments produced finding of efficacy in life coaching with academic …

The Evolution Of A Coding Schema In A Paced Program Of Research, Charlene A. Winters, Shirley Curney, Therese Sullivan

The Qualitative Report

A major task involved in the management, analysis, and integration of qualitative data is the development of a coding schema to facilitate the analytic process. Described in this paper is the evolution of a coding schema that was used in the analysis of qualitative data generated from online forums of middle-aged women with chronic conditions who participated in a computer support intervention in the rural west. The coding schema evolved over three phases of the research project and included coding tree nodes based on study-driven categories and nodes that arose from the data and changes in conceptual thinking. This paper …

The Growing Latino Population Of Massachusetts: A Demographic And Economic Portrait, Phillip Granberry, María Idalí Torres

Gastón Institute Publications

This report highlights the growing number, and increasing diversity, of Latinos in Massachusetts. In this state, as well as nationally, Latinos’ share of the population continues to increase, in contrast to the aging non-Latino white population. If Massachusetts were to keep all its congressional seats in the reapportionment that will follow the 2010 Census, it would be chiefly due to the growth in its Latino and Asian population.The Latino population is young, with a high rate of dependent children and a very low rate of dependent elders. Its work- force composition remains stable: Latinos continue to be over-represented in blue-collar …

A Hermeneutic Reading Into "What Strategy Is": Ambiguous Means-End Relationship, Ali Bakir, Milar Todorovic

The Qualitative Report

Given the underutilization of hermeneutic research in organizations and the recognition that we do not know what strategy is, we undertake a hermeneutic reading of authorial texts to develop a robust understanding of strategy. We enter into a self-reflexive dialogue with the text to accomplish a fusion of horizons where we hope to turn our prejudices into productive prejudices. In this dialogue, we utilize competing strategy paradigms within a framework that treats the means-end relationship and its underpinning rationality as central to our understanding. This study portrays strategy as a series of intended actions operating along the instrumental/objective - interpretive/subjective …

Experienced Secondary Teachers' Perceptions Of Engagement And Effectiveness: A Guide To Professional Development, Denise Meister

The Qualitative Report

The purpose of this research is to describe a qualitative research study of experienced high school educators who have remained motivated and highly engaged in their teaching. Ten high school teachers who have been called "the best" by their administrators and fellow teachers were interviewed to ascertain common traits that can serve as a framework for providing professional development to assist teachers in the work force, as well as bring their voice to the National Reform Movement. The following themes emerged: teachers are ambivalent to administrative leadership as an important influence in their work; colleagues are their support network; and …

Using Message Boards To Conduct Online Focus Groups, David Deggs, Kenda Grover, Kit Kacirek

The Qualitative Report

Geographic dispersion of research subjects can make traditional face-to-face focus groups difficult if not impractical to conduct. Online focus groups have many advantages such as enabling researchers to save costs, allowing for more efficient collection of data, and allowing researchers to accommodate research subjects' schedules. However, online focus groups require greater skill on the part of the researcher and research subjects alike. This manuscript chronicles the process that we recently used to conduct an online focus group using a message board system with graduate students enrolled in an online degree program. We explain the processes that were followed in conducting …

The Key Drivers Of Innovation In Malaysia., Seyed Amirhossein Taherizadeh

Student Works (2010-2019)

The day-by-day increase in competitive pressures keeps companies on their toes to continuously adapt, develop and innovate in order to excel in the stifling ocean of competition. Moreover, in today’s borderless world where boundaries are no longer relevant, where accessibility to knowledge, expertise and technology is far advanced, innovation has become a necessity rather than a luxury (Kaplan &Warren, 2007). Malaysia, among all of the developing countries in the world, is often held up as one of the few countries whose economic policies might be worth emulating. Its rapid economic growth following the industrial transformation that took place in the …