Digital Commons Network^™

Affirmative Action As A Dimension Of Diversity Management: Perceptions Of South African Sport Federations, Anneliese Goslin, Darlene Kluka

Journal of Global Initiatives: Policy, Pedagogy, Perspective

Affirmative action in the transformation process of South African sport aims at balancing the concerns of white sport participants with the aspirations of participants of color. The aims of this study are to determine perceptions of South African sport federations in diversity management and the affirmative action profile of South African sport federations, and to suggest strategies to manage affirmative action. A Likert scale questionnaire evaluated perceptions of 32 sport federations on affirmative action factors. Below-average scores were recorded on affirmative action policy and the provision of specialized training opportunities. Political rather than managerial reasons are regarded as the leading …

How Farmers Learn: Implications For Agricultural Educators, Nancy Franz, Fred Piercy, Joseph Donaldson, Robert Richard, Johnnie Westbrook

Journal of Rural Social Sciences

In this participatory action research, guided by a steering committee of farmers and agricultural educators, we examined how farmers learn and identified implications for agricultural educators. Since most educators teach the way they prefer to learn, this research could shape agricultural educators’ practice with farmers. Focus group interviews and surveys with 115 farmers and agricultural educators helped us understand how and why farmers learn and the role of agricultural educators, especially Extension educators, in farmer learning. Farmers articulated a learning process that relies mostly on first-hand experiences motivated by saving time and money, learning about cutting edge research, and engaging …

Naccs 37th Annual Conference, National Association For Chicana And Chicano Studies

NACCS Conference Programs

Chicana/o Environmental Justics Struggles for a Post-Neoliberal Age
April 7-10, 2010
Grand Hyatt

Racial Conflicts In Schools, Michael J. Martinez

Counselor Education and Counseling Psychology Research Exchange Conference

That racially motivated conflicts occur in schools is an indisputable fact that becomes evident upon review of both academic literature and popular media. Events such as the Jena 6 incident (Maxwell & Zehr, 2007), school wide racially motivated riots (latimes.com), and court rulings (theithican.org) are distressing examples that racial barriers are real and potentially dangerous for many students in this country. However, little is written about the nature of racial conflicts, including the actual process school leaders engage in when determining how or even whether to intervene in racial conflicts, and the affect those racial conflicts have on the school …

Adaptive Capacity And Social Change. Introduction: A Conceptual Framework. Organizational Learning And Long-Term Stability, Nancy Strichman, Fathi Marshood

New England Journal of Public Policy

If there is one kind of certainty for social-change nonprofits such as those participating in the Haifa–Boston Learning Exchange, it is that they will continually be challenged to cope with periods of instability and possible crises. The ability to adapt to changing environments, learn from experience, and perform in conditions of uncertainty are considered critical tools for organizations in order to ensure sustainability. Developing this “adaptive capacity” is a particular challenge for nonprofits at the start-up or growth phase of their organizational development, as are many of the Haifa–Boston Learning Exchange participants. This discussion presents a conceptual framework for adaptive …

Lessons From The Field, Mary Nee

New England Journal of Public Policy

Organizational growth can fundamentally undermine the social-change mission of a nonprofit organization if the adaptive responses to growth are not continually checked against mission and vision. As the executive director of a U.S. nonprofit created in response to the crisis of homelessness, I have observed that this danger is particularly acute when an organization evolves from advocacy to service delivery.

Killings Of Police In U.S. Cities Since 1980: An Examination Of Environmental And Political Explanations, Stephanie L. Kent

Sociology & Criminology Faculty Publications

Most research on killings of police in urban areas attempted to link lethal violence against officers to the violence and disorder in the communities they work.Yet support for this relationship is inconsistent. Fewer studies considered whether local political arrangements affect killings of police. This study attempts to remedy this gap by using recent data to investigate the relationship between the political conditions of large U.S. cities and the number of homicides of police officers in the line of duty in the years 1980, 1990, and 2000. Negative binomial regression analyses suggest that racial income inequality and the size of the …

Assessing The Impact Of A Modernized Application Process On Florida’S Food Stamp Caseload, Colleen Heflin, Peter Mueser

University of Kentucky Center for Poverty Research Discussion Paper Series

In 2005, Florida implemented an internet-based service delivery system for eligibility determination in public assistance programs, including the Food Stamp, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and the Medicaid programs. At the same time, Florida switched from a caseworker model to a technology-driven model and decreased staffing levels of employees involved in social service delivery. We conduct an evaluative case study of the effects of these policy changes on the Food Stamp caseload. In particular, we consider the impact on applications and the flows onto and off of the program. To answer these questions, we use administrative data from the …

Killings Of Police In U.S. Cities Since 1980: An Examination Of Environmental Andpolitical Explanations, Stephanie L. Kent

Sociology & Criminology Faculty Publications

Most research on killings of police in urban areas attempted to link lethal violence against officers to the violence and disorder in the communities they work. Yet support for this relationship is inconsistent. Fewer studies considered whether local political arrangements affect killings of police. This study attempts to remedy this gap by using recent data to investigate the relationship between the political conditions of large U.S. cities and the number of homicides of police officers in the line of duty in the years 1980, 1990, and 2000. Negative binomial regression analyses suggest that racial income inequality and the size of …

Promoting Strengths, Prevention, Empowerment, And Community Change Through Organizational Development: Lessons For Research, Theory, And Practice, Scotney D. Evans, Ora Prilleltensky, Adrine Mckenzie, Isaac Prilleltensky

All Faculty and Staff Scholarship

SPEC Learning and Changing by Doing is a three-year, action research and organizational change project designed to ultimately promote social justice and well-being in the community. SPEC is an acronym that stands for Strengths, Prevention, Empowerment, and Community Change. The project consists of five organizations tackling internal organizational change in order to better promote justice and well-being in their respective constituencies. In this paper we present a formative evaluation of this multicase study of organizational change in human services. This paper contributes to the empirical and theoretical literature on organizational change in the nonprofit human service milieu.

Correlation Between The Leadership Practices Of Lead Ministers And The Workplace Spirituality Of Their Churches As Reported By Church Members, Richard A. Devost

Dissertations

Purpose. People seek for meaning in their work and lives. Researchers have recently conceptualized the experience of meaning at work under the construct workplace spirituality, which describes people's experience of both their work and their workplaces from a spiritual perspective. Recent research in organizations has found a relationship between the spirituality of the leaders and the workplace spirituality of the work units.

Christians often expect their churches to be spiritual workplaces where work will bring a sense of deep spiritual well-being and meaning. Pastors are spiritual leaders in their congregations. However, it is unclear if the practices associated with positive …

Erasing Mexican Chicago: The Role Of Community Based Organizations And Immigrant Networks In The Gentrifying Neighborhood Of Pilsen, David Orta

Master's Theses

This study explores the effects of gentrification in Chicago's Pilsen neighborhood, a historic port of entry for Mexican immigrants and a basin for community organization and other resources. The research questions of this study first query the effects of gentrification on the informal immigrant networks that make Pilsen a site for community resources for new immigrants. Second, the study explores the effects of gentrification on community-based organizations in a rapidly changing environment. As the racial and economic demographics of the neighborhood shift, community based organizations must adapt. Finally, this study examines the relationship between neighborhood residents and community based organizations. …

(Re)Constructing Reflexivity: A Relational Constructionist Approach, Diane Marie Hosking, Bettine Pluut

The Qualitative Report

This article distinguishes three discourses of reflexivity in relation to human inquiry. One of these arises from a post-modern, relational constructionist perspective which radically re-conceptualizes reflexivity: (a) as a local and co-constructed process oriented towards the question (b) how are we 'going on' together, and therefore paying attention to (c) the realities and relations we are co-creating during the research process and so (d) is concerned with local pragmatic and ethical issues (Gergen & Hosking, 2006; McNamee, 1994) rather than with the quality of truth claims. Regular reflexive dialogues as part of, and directed at, the research process can heighten …

The Impact Of Therapeutic Alliance On Outcomes In Parent-Child Dyadic Interventions, Ryan M. Smith

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

An infant’s attachment relationship with primary caregivers has been demonstrated to have a long-term relationship to an individual’s social and emotional functioning throughout the lifespan. Recognizing the critical importance of this period, interventions to facilitate secure attachment are now being evaluated for treatment efficacy. Evaluation of these treatments has typically focused on the components of treatment, examining changes in maternal sensitivity, parental attachment representations, and concrete support to address basic needs, housing, or other contextual factors, and evidence has been found to support the inclusion of these factors. However, little is known regarding what elements of treatment impact the effectiveness …

Splitting The Academy: The Emotions Of Intersectionality At Work, Helen A. Moore, Katherine Acosta, Gary Perry, Crystal Edwards

Department of Sociology: Faculty Publications

Using labor market theory, we assess how we have constructed the teaching of required courses on diversity, with the potential splitting of the academy into distinctive labor markets. In-depth interviews with instructors of color and nonminorities who teach required diversity-education courses at a predominately white university are qualitatively assessed and describe the differences in the emotional labor attached to this segmented academic market.We identify specific dimensions of diversity teaching that attach to the job conditions of secondary labor markets, including the distortion of work loads and evidence of differential barriers in the emotional labor attached. These labor market conditions may …

Exploring Sheila Keegan’S World Of Commercial Qualitative Research, Ronald J. Chenail

The Qualitative Report

The world of commercial qualitative research reflects an emergent and exciting area of contemporary qualitative research which might not be all that familiar to academic qualitative researchers. Traditionally mentored in an oral and experiential fashion, the next generation of market qualitative researchers are benefiting from new books such as Sheila Keegan’s Qualitative Research: Good Decision Making through Understanding People, Cultures and Markets to learn how to address their clients’ needs for gaining insights into their customers’ perspectives. Academic-oriented qualitative researchers can also benefit from Keegan’s insights into this similar but different realm of qualitative inquiry

Shifting Priorities: Reflections On Teaching Qualitative Research Methods, Keonya C. Booker

The Qualitative Report

The purpose of this paper is to describe pedagogical approaches to qualitative methodology by an instructor of educational psychology at a large research university. The essay begins with an overview of how my graduate training influenced my orientation to empirical study. Next, I will focus on the obstacles encountered when instructing graduate students who are currently practicing school teachers, counselors, and administrators. Specifically, I will detail how I approach teaching qualitative research methods, ways I deal with resistance from students, and methods for introducing apprehensive learners to the ways of interpretist design. Finally, I conclude with a discussion of how …

Approaches To Qualitative Research: Theory And Its Practical Application (A Guide For Dissertation Students), John Hogan, Paddy Dolan, Paul Donnelly

Books/Book Chapters

Qualitative research is a multifaceted approach that investigates culture, society and behaviour through an analysis and synthesis of people’s words and actions. Qualitative methods produce compelling knowledge of how and why people behave as they do, whether in organisational, family, personal, or other social roles.

The primary objective of this book is to introduce students to the concepts underlying qualitative research and how this kind of research can be conducted in a practical manner. To this end, it discusses various approaches to qualitative research and provides examples of these approaches being carried out in practice. In doing so, the book …

Decentralizing Police Detectives: Increasing Efficiency Of Property Crime Investigations, Jon M. Zeh

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Beginning in November, 2007, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department implemented organizational changes to the Financial/Property Crimes Bureau by decentralizing all property crime detectives. Although no previous research was found on the decentralization of police detectives specifically, there is existing research on similar concepts that suggest at least two benefits of decentralizing police detectives: improved communication with patrol officers and increased efficiency of investigations. With these benefits in mind, the current study examines the following hypotheses: hypothesis 1: decentralizing property crime detectives will lead to improved quality of communication between property crime detectives and patrol officers; hypothesis 2: decentralizing property …

The Road Less Traveled: A Review Of Anfara And Mertz’S Theoretical Frameworks In Qualitative Research, Candace H. Lacey

The Qualitative Report

Editors Anfara and Mertz travel a new road with their tidy little book, Theoretical Frameworks in Qualitative Research. This tightly edited book begins by providing an up-close look at the process of taking a book from the germination of an idea to the delivery of the final product. As noted in the introduction, "To understand a theory is to travel into someone else’s mind." Most of the book clears the path toward that journey by presenting a sampler of chapters focusing on the use of theoretical frameworks in actual qualitative research studies. Finally, the editors bring the book full circle …

Interpretive Research Aiming At Theory Building: Adopting And Adapting The Case Study Design, Antonio Diaz Andrade

The Qualitative Report

Although the advantages of case study design are widely recognised, its original positivist underlying assumptions may mislead interpretive researchers aiming at theory building. The paper discusses the limitations of the case study design for theory building and explains how grounded theory systemic process adds to the case study design. The author reflects upon his experience in conducting research on the articulation of both traditional social networks and new virtual networks in six rural communities in Peru, using both case study design and grounded theory in a combined fashion in order to discover an emergent theory.

Personality, Emotion And Judgment In Virtual Environments: A Theoretical Framework, Steven A. Murphy, Michael J. Hine, Nathaniel C. Lupton, John M. Zelenski

Faculty Publications

As organizations become increasingly reliant on distributive technologies, the processes that underpin the effective functioning of employees in virtual environments require systematic examination. This article provides a theoretical framework for studying personality, emotion and judgment in virtual environments. The communication media characteristics, social context, and individual traits and states are presented to portray the dynamic nature of judgment formation in a virtual environment. We argue that media characteristics, combined with personality, motivation and emergent social contexts serve to shape emotions and resultant judgments. By integrating the Information Systems (IS) and Organizational Behavior/Psychology literatures, we chart a course for research examining …

Seniors' Perceptions And Experiences Of Autonomy In A Health Care Setting, Dianne Rae Goldberg

Theses Digitization Project

The purpose of this study was to develop and implement a process by which nursing home seniors could identify and describe feelings of autonomy. This study assumed that seniors themselves are in the best position to describe their perceptions of autonomy and the factors that contributed to those perceptions.

Gender Mainstreaming In International News: A Case Study Of The Inter Press Service, Margaretha Geertsema-Sligh

Scholarship and Professional Work - Communication

From 1994 to 1999, the global news agency Inter Press Service (IPS) implemented a gender mainstreaming policy in its newsrooms. This study examined organizational changes and news coverage that IPS advocated, as well as methods employed to bring about these changes. It shows that IPS has not been able to mainstream gender into all aspects of the organization and news coverage, and it considers reasons for the lacking implementation of the policy, while documenting IPS's efforts to improve women's access and representation in international news.

Youth Reproductive Health: Investing In The Future, Frontiers In Reproductive Health

Reproductive Health

Youth—young people aged 10–24—constitute about a quarter of the world's population. Nearly three-quarters of these young people live in the developing world, and they suffer a disproportionate share of unplanned pregnancies, STIs including HIV, and other reproductive health (RH) problems. Research undertaken by FRONTIERS has shed light on numerous aspects of youth RH, including the information needs of young people, married adolescents, and parents and guardians. Findings from over 20 studies on youth RH provide important lessons about which interventions are effective, what kind of impact is possible, and what approaches have limited impact. This paper focuses on engaging all …

Balancing Multiple Roles: A Pilot Study Exploring The Complexity Of Role Balance In Working Mothers With Primary School Aged Children, Katherine Prince

Theses : Honours

For working mothers, maintaining a balance between work and parenting roles is a challenge. Each role presents its own set of physical, mental and temporal demands which frequently compete for the limited personal and environmental resources available to the mother. These competing demands can create conflict and stress, which prompts a coping response. The coping response initiated is a physiological reaction to the mother's appraisal of her situational conflict, and follows a process of appraisal. Firstly the working mother appraises the conflict itself. This is followed by the appraisal of the personal and environmental resources, constraints and demands. Finally, a …

Understanding Deviant Behaviors Through Coercion And Social Support Theory, Maria Nicte-Ha Uribe

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Mark Colvin, Francis T. Cullen and Thomas Vander Ven (2002) developed an integrated theory of crime called "coercion, social support, and crime" which hypothesizes that coercion and social support are inversely related and that these variables have direct effects on criminal and deviant behavior as well as a combined effect. Specifically if an imbalance between coercion and social support exists, crime is more likely to occur because coercion induces weak social bonds and low self control thereby increasing crime. On the other hand, social support prevents criminal involvement through organized networks of human relations that assist people in meeting their …

Focusing On Process And History: Path Dependence, Paul Donnelly

Articles

In recognition of the calls for more processual and historically informed organizational theorizing, this chapter considers the notion of path dependency, an approach which holds that a historical path of choices has the character of a branching process with a self-reinforcing dynamic such that preceding steps in a particular direction induce further movement in the same direction, thereby making the possibility of switching to some other previously credible alternative more difficult. Path dependence seeks to assess how process, sequence and temporality can be best incorporated into explanation, the focus of the researcher being on particular outcomes, temporal sequencing and the …

Original Curriculum For Encouraging Meaningful Community Service In High School Students, Elizabeth H. Naylor

Critical and Creative Thinking Capstones Collection

In this paper I have explored the importance of community service experiences and ultimately created a guide for implementing a high quality and meaningful community service program at the high school level. This paper begins with an initial discussion of my personal experiences in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, when I discovered firsthand the importance of personal reflection and sharing. I have defined community as a group of people with common place and common interest. Community service is an action within the community that betters the community in some way. The reader will find examples of communities coming together to …

Temporary Organizational Change And Uncertainty: Applying Uncertainty Reduction Theory And Style Analyses To Email, Vicki Rhodes

All Theses

This study explores how employees express uncertainty and enact uncertainty reduction techniques through electronic communication, specifically email, during temporary inter-organizational change. The context of the study is within the work environment of a nonprofit entity in the Southern region of the United States that employs just under 20 staff members and coordinates with approximately 135 partner staff affiliates on a daily basis. The Executive Director's medical leave of about three months requires that job responsibilities and organizational roles be temporarily restructured. Because email is the preferred and primary method of communication in this organization, such communications were chosen as the …