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Using Case-Based Reasoning For Simulation Modeling In Healthcare, Khaled Alshareef Jan 2016

Using Case-Based Reasoning For Simulation Modeling In Healthcare, Khaled Alshareef

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The healthcare system is always defined as a complex system. At its core, it is a system composed of people and processes and requires performance of different tasks and duties. This complexity means that the healthcare system has many stakeholders with different interests, resulting in the emergence of many problems such as increasing healthcare costs, limited resources and low utilization, limited facilities and workforce, and poor quality of services. The use of simulation techniques to aid in solving healthcare problems is not new, but it has increased in recent years. This application faces many challenges, including a lack of real …


Collaboration Between Academic Affairs And Student Affairs At Public State Colleges In The Southern United States, Geoffrey Fortunato Jan 2016

Collaboration Between Academic Affairs And Student Affairs At Public State Colleges In The Southern United States, Geoffrey Fortunato

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Throughout history, higher education has reiterated the importance and significance of collaboration between all institutional divisions and departments (Kezar, 2003). As the responsibilities and operational functions of each division have increasingly become more specialized and complex, effective collaboration remains a barrier in the optimal functioning of institutions throughout the country (Kezar). The purpose of this qualitative research study was to explore the current perceptions and practices of collaboration between the Academic Affairs and Student Affairs divisions at state colleges geographically located in the Southern region of the United States, through the lens of Morten T. Hansen's T-shaped model of disciplined …


Overcoming Beginning Teacher Attrition, Neva Husko Jan 2016

Overcoming Beginning Teacher Attrition, Neva Husko

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this research was to increase the retention of beginning teachers in a large urban public school district in Central Florida through the refinement of the current induction program. In order to understand the needs of beginning teachers, four key stakeholders were surveyed using an online pilot survey developed by the researchers. Beginning teachers, mentors, instructional coaches, and principals each provided their perspective and perceptions on the needs of beginning teachers. Through the analysis of the qualitative results, several commonalities emerged. These themes included discrepancies regarding knowledge and completion of district induction requirements, as well as between the …


The Effect Of Baldrige Performance Excellence Program On Organization's Innovation/Dynamic Capabilities, Mohammed Alomairy Jan 2016

The Effect Of Baldrige Performance Excellence Program On Organization's Innovation/Dynamic Capabilities, Mohammed Alomairy

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation investigated the effect of Baldrige performance excellence program on organization's innovation/dynamic capabilities improvement. According to the literature, there is little or no practical method for building dynamic/innovation capabilities within organizations. The study hypothesizes that Baldrige performance excellence program helps organizations to systematically develop the required dynamic/innovation capabilities for innovation. Twenty-four organizations that had implemented Baldrige program over the past five years participated in this research study. Two types of data were measured/collected from these organizations; Performance excellence data and Innovation capabilities data. To avoid bias in the data collection, the two data were measured and collected at different …


Overcoming Beginning Teacher Attrition, Jill Adcock Jan 2016

Overcoming Beginning Teacher Attrition, Jill Adcock

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this research was to increase the retention of beginning teachers in a large urban public school district in Central Florida through the refinement of the current induction program. In order to understand the needs of beginning teachers, four key stakeholders were surveyed using an online pilot survey developed by the researchers. Beginning teachers, mentors, instructional coaches, and principals each provided their perspective and perceptions on the needs of beginning teachers. Through the analysis of the qualitative results, several commonalities emerged. These themes included discrepancies regarding knowledge and completion of district induction requirements, as well as between the …


Job Satisfaction Of Full-Time Faculty Members At A For-Profit University, Joanna Leck Jan 2016

Job Satisfaction Of Full-Time Faculty Members At A For-Profit University, Joanna Leck

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The focus of this research was to gain an understanding of the levels of job satisfaction of full-time faculty members at a for-profit university. There has been a paucity in the study of job satisfaction for faculty working in this sector of higher education (Kinser, 2006). Job satisfaction was measured by using the Job Descriptive Index (Stanton, Sinar, Balzer & Smith, 2002a) within the conceptual framework of faculty job satisfaction developed by Hagedorn (2000). The facets selected for study were: the work itself, salary, advancement, administration, and collegial relationships. The findings indicated that the job-satisfaction facets with the highest scores …


Inclusion: A Question Of Practice, Stance, Values And Culture, June Sellers Jan 2016

Inclusion: A Question Of Practice, Stance, Values And Culture, June Sellers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Exclusionary practices based on a deficit perspective of disability are not supported by law and are inconsistent with the rigorous standards for teaching, learning, and accountability in our public schools. Moreover, consequences of failed change will continue to have significant negative effects on the performance of educational organizations. The purpose of this mixed-methods phenomenological research (MMPR) study was to explore the lived experience of teachers who identify as champions of inclusion, including their views, perceptions and appraisal of the status of inclusion in a large urban school system. The research questions were designed to generate insight and recommendations for establishing …


Team Cohesion In The Restaurant Industry: The Influence Of Core Evaluations, Marissa Orlowski Jan 2016

Team Cohesion In The Restaurant Industry: The Influence Of Core Evaluations, Marissa Orlowski

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Team cohesion has been clearly established in the literature as an essential component of effective work teams, yet little research has been conducted in regard to what factors lead to cohesion within a restaurant management team. What is currently known about the antecedents of cohesion indicates that it emerges from individual team member attitudes and perceptions as a collective property of the team. This, in turn, suggests cohesion is influenced by the dispositional traits of team members. The core evaluations construct, which represents a model of dispositional traits existing within each individual at the most basic level, offers implications for …


A Meta-Analytic Integration Of What Matters In Training Transfer, Ashley Hughes Jan 2016

A Meta-Analytic Integration Of What Matters In Training Transfer, Ashley Hughes

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Estimates demonstrate that 52- 92% of acquired learning is lost within a year following training (Arthur, Bennett, Stanush, & McNelly, 1997; Saks, 2002), wasting billions in organizational spending on training each year (Miller, 2012, 2013, 2014). As such, research on training transfer has garnered attention from theoretical and empirical research alike (e.g., Baldwin & Ford, 1988; Blume, Ford, Baldwin, & Huang, 2010; Ford & Weissbein, 1997; Tracey, Tannenbaum, & Kavanagh, 1995) to better understand the factors which enhance the process of training transfer. Among the various factors that have been identified as important, factors of the work environment have received …


Falling Behind In Pay: A Longitudinal Test Of Equity Theory Among Florida Municipal Police Agencies' Salaries, Robert Lord Jan 2016

Falling Behind In Pay: A Longitudinal Test Of Equity Theory Among Florida Municipal Police Agencies' Salaries, Robert Lord

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Prior research has found equity theory explains employee responses to falling wages in relation to other comparable workers. The present research attempts to contribute to the criminal justice literature by directly testing equity theory within the policing context, something no study has done to date. Applied to policing, equity theory predicts sworn officers employed by departments with falling or inequitable salaries (i.e., their salaries fail to keep up with those at other regional agencies) will reduce their work input (i.e., discretionary arrests) and/or quit in higher numbers than before (i.e., increase attrition). The present study also attempts to quantify how …


Effects Of A Software Program Vs. Constant Time Delay In The Acquisition Of Sight Words For A Student With Significant Disabilities, Turkie Ali Algharbie Dec 2015

Effects Of A Software Program Vs. Constant Time Delay In The Acquisition Of Sight Words For A Student With Significant Disabilities, Turkie Ali Algharbie

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The development of sight words is essential for individuals with significant disability. There is a plethora of research highlighting the acquisition of sight words for this population but to date, most focus on teacher led interventions (Browder, Algrim-Delzell, Spooner, Mims, & Baker, 2009). This study investigated the use of computer technology vs. one-on-one instruction targeting sight words acquisition for a student with a significant disability. Results showed the participant indicated improved performance using the computer based intervention versus the constant time delay instructor led intervention.


Higher Education Governance Structures And Operational Efficiency And Effectiveness Of 4 -Year Public Institutions, Angela H. Claxton-Freeman Dec 2015

Higher Education Governance Structures And Operational Efficiency And Effectiveness Of 4 -Year Public Institutions, Angela H. Claxton-Freeman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study benchmarks 4-year public institutions in the Southern Regional Education Board to determine if there are significant differences between the institutions based on efficiency and effectiveness scores within the types of governance structures in operation among the states. Efficiency and effectiveness scores are also used to determine if there are significant differences between institutions based on state appropriation levels. In this quantitative study, data envelopment analysis (DEA) was used to collapse selected institutional data reported to IPEDS into effectiveness and efficiency scores which were then used as the dependent variables. The variable returns to scale (VRS) model was used …


Exploring Organizational Capacity In A Sport For Development And Peace Setting., Per G. Svensson May 2015

Exploring Organizational Capacity In A Sport For Development And Peace Setting., Per G. Svensson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Recent Sport for Development and Peace (SDP) scholarship has noted the need for exploring organizational aspects in order to advance SDP theory and practice. One particular unexplored aspect of SDP is organizational capacity. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to explore elements of organizational capacity in SDP organizations operating programming in urban settings outside the top three metropolitan areas (New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago) of the United States. The researcher conducted semistructured interviews with Executive Directors of 17 nonprofit organizations. This qualitative inquiry was guided by Hall et al.’s (2003) three-dimensional framework on organizational capacity. Those three dimensions …


Internationalization: Utilizing The University Museum, Adrienne Turnbull-Reilly Jan 2015

Internationalization: Utilizing The University Museum, Adrienne Turnbull-Reilly

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

A review of the literature on the nature of international education in the United States reveals that although most international students want to engage socially and academically with their peers, many encounter cultural, linguistic, and institutional obstacles. Using this information to guide interview questions and format workshops, the author explored the question of how university museums can contribute to a more holistic and enriching educational experience for international students on American campuses, using the University of Denver as a case study. Findings from workshops and interviews conducted by the author reveal similar obstacles (cultural, linguistic, and institutional) when engaging students …


Role Of Greenhouse Gas Inventories In Climate Change Mitigation At Institutions Of Higher Education, Sadaf Tehmina Jan 2015

Role Of Greenhouse Gas Inventories In Climate Change Mitigation At Institutions Of Higher Education, Sadaf Tehmina

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Despite hundreds of Institutions of Higher Education (IHE) pledging action against climate change, there is little research on how to effectively enable these initiatives. This study utilizes a survey to analyze the role of greenhouse gas inventories (GHGI) in climate change mitigation within IHE. Among 62 responses, 46 indicated GHGI was helpful in decisions regarding emission reduction measures; 54 reported having a climate action plan (CAP) or sustainability policy (SP); 49 used GHGI in forming the CAP/SP. 95% of the respondents signed the ACUPCC pledge. When GHGI was used the IHE was more likely to have higher emission reductions (above …


Examining The Impact Of A Fatigue Intervention On Job Performance: A Longitudinal Study Across United States Hospitals, Megan Gregory Jan 2015

Examining The Impact Of A Fatigue Intervention On Job Performance: A Longitudinal Study Across United States Hospitals, Megan Gregory

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Fatigue in healthcare providers has been linked to dangerous outcomes for patients, including medical errors, surgical complications, and accidents. Resident physicians, who traditionally work long hours on minimal sleep, are among the most fatigued. In attempt to mitigate the impact of fatigue on resident physician performance and improve patient safety, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) implemented a fatigue intervention program in 2011 for medical residency programs in the United States. This caused a significant decrease in the number of hours that first-year residents were permitted to work, compared with hours worked by first-year residents in prior years. …


Online Knowledge Sharing: Investigating The Community Of Inquiry Framework And Its Effect On Knowledge Sharing Behavior In Online Learning Environments, Anne Doring Jan 2015

Online Knowledge Sharing: Investigating The Community Of Inquiry Framework And Its Effect On Knowledge Sharing Behavior In Online Learning Environments, Anne Doring

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine whether the CoI framework can predict self-reported knowledge sharing behaviors within graduate-level online courses. The overall goal was to determine if high levels of social, teaching, and cognitive presence can lead to increased knowledge distribution within online learning environments, leading to the co-construction of knowledge among learners. As part of the study, graduate students from the field of education were asked to complete a survey, which combined Swan et al.'s (2008) CoI survey instrument and Yu, Lu, & Liu's (2010) knowledge sharing survey tool. The survey assessed students' perceptions of social, teaching, …


The Design Plan For A Comprehensive Financial Literacy Program, Karemah Manselle Jan 2015

The Design Plan For A Comprehensive Financial Literacy Program, Karemah Manselle

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The need for financial literacy among Americans has become a national topic of interest. Economists, financial professionals, educators, and government officials recognize there is an overall deficit of financial knowledge. More specifically, higher education administrators have become increasingly concerned with ensuring that financial literacy tools are available to college students. Students of today face higher tuition and education-related costs, are less likely to receive grant funding to assist with their educational expenses, and are more likely to be in debt, carrying higher student debt loads than previous generations. Further, students lack the financial knowledge needed to make sound financial decisions. …


Leadership Orientation Frame Preferences Of School Boards In Mississippi, Patrick Laquincy Washington Jan 2015

Leadership Orientation Frame Preferences Of School Boards In Mississippi, Patrick Laquincy Washington

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The work of schools is becoming more complex and demanding. Administrators, teachers and parents are often at the core of the educational debate about what is needed to improve schools. The demand for better results in America's schools has led to many efforts to improve the quality of teaching and learning that mainly rested on the shoulders of teachers and school leaders. The past decade has led to added accountability measures that also include local school boards. Accountability for the school board calls for an in-depth look at school board capacity. This research looks at the role of the school …


Development Of The Readiness To Teach Online Scale, Angel Chi Jan 2015

Development Of The Readiness To Teach Online Scale, Angel Chi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Despite the growing importance of online education, faculty acceptance has remained unchanged. Training programs developed for faculty to teach online have often focused on assessing their cognitive rather than affective and behavioral outcomes. The Readiness To Teach Online scale was developed as part of a multiphase mixed method research project to measure faculty perceptions and motivations toward teaching online. Items in the subcategory Teaching and Learning measured perceptions of technology and online teaching, and motivations regarding resources and other external factors. Items in the subcategories Social and Student Engagement, Faculty and Technology Support, Course Development and Instructional Design, and Evaluation …


Organizational Ethics For Sponsorship And Governance In Catholic Healthcare, Alex Garvey Jan 2015

Organizational Ethics For Sponsorship And Governance In Catholic Healthcare, Alex Garvey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Catholic healthcare in the U.S. is distinctive in its organizational structure insofar as it typically has Sponsorship as well as Governance oversight, reflecting the Catholic social tradition and organizational ethics to engage both patient care and the public good. Sponsorship deals with the mission and identity of Catholic organizations to ensure that they implement the Catholic social tradition. Governance deals with organizational ethics to ensure that the organization's values (reflecting its mission and identity) influence all aspects of the institution. Because these are intricately connected, the dissertation deals with them in an integrated manner, hence the combined focus upon Sponsorship …


Designing Games For Learning: An Investigation Of Instructional Designers, Game Designers, And Teachers Design Decisions And Epistemological Beliefs, Michelle Kepple Jan 2015

Designing Games For Learning: An Investigation Of Instructional Designers, Game Designers, And Teachers Design Decisions And Epistemological Beliefs, Michelle Kepple

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Fields within education and training have been exploring the use of educational computer-based games, often referred to as serious games (SG), in multiple disciplines of academic research including the affective, cognitive, and psychomotor domains. Traditionally, game designers tend to represent a different viewpoint about learning than instructional designers, or even teachers. More so, one of the fundamental roles designers play in making decisions is based on multiple factors, which include personal assumptions about constraints and perceived constraints in instructional practice. In order for games to be successful in classroom environments, classroom teachers need to be involved in the design process …


Phenomenological Study Of Urban Elementary Principals: Reading-Proficient Students With Learning Disabilities, Elizabeth Theis Jan 2015

Phenomenological Study Of Urban Elementary Principals: Reading-Proficient Students With Learning Disabilities, Elizabeth Theis

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Changes in the demands on educational leaders have necessitated shifts in the roles and responsibilities of school principals. Meeting the needs of students with disabilities is among the critical challenges that administrators face today. The purpose of this study was to examine the lived experiences of elementary school principals where students with Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD) demonstrate reading proficiency. Phenomenological research was conducted to identify the themes associated with effective school leadership, related to this specific population, students with SLD. Informal, non evaluative observations were conducted in conjunction with analysis of leadership summaries that were submitted by teachers who were …


Closing The Gaps In Professional Development: A Tool For School-Based Leadership Teams, Sandra Sampayo Jan 2015

Closing The Gaps In Professional Development: A Tool For School-Based Leadership Teams, Sandra Sampayo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The field of professional learning in education has been studied and added to extensively in the last few decades. Because the importance of learning in authentic contexts through professional dialogue has become so important, high quality, school-based professional learning is vital to building capacity at the school level. Unfortunately, the literature on professional development (PD) does not provide much guidance on how to bridge theory and practice at the school level, creating a gap. With the goal of PD ultimately being to improve teacher performance and student learning, the problem with this gap is that school-level professional development is arbitrarily …


"Build Your Own Adventure" Act Prep Manual: Beating The Odds Of High-Stakes Standardized Assessments, Natalie Holter Jan 2015

"Build Your Own Adventure" Act Prep Manual: Beating The Odds Of High-Stakes Standardized Assessments, Natalie Holter

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Today's focus on high-stakes standardized tests has had a massive impact on education throughout America, and standardized test preparation is one of the ugly, open secrets of education. Ever since 2001 when President Bush signed into law No Child Left Behind (NCLB), a bipartisan reauthorization of Johnson's landmark Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, students have been bombarded with standardized tests from the earliest grades. Politicians believe these measures are the only way to remedy the perceived weaknesses in the education system because "stringent accountability mandates… [provide] vital levers of change, inclusiveness, and transparency of results" (Education Week, 2011, …


Institutionalizing Service-Learning As A Best Practice Of Community Engagement In Higher Education: Intra- And Inter-Institutional Comparisons Of The Carnegie Community Engagement Elective Classification Framework, Jarrad Plante Jan 2015

Institutionalizing Service-Learning As A Best Practice Of Community Engagement In Higher Education: Intra- And Inter-Institutional Comparisons Of The Carnegie Community Engagement Elective Classification Framework, Jarrad Plante

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Service-learning, with a longstanding history in American higher education (Burkhardt & Pasque, 2005), includes three key tenets: superior academic learning, meaningful and relevant community service, and persistent civic learning (McGoldrick and Ziegert, 2002). The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching has created an elective classification system – Carnegie Community Engagement Classification – for institutions of higher education to demonstrate the breadth and depth of student involvement and learning through partnerships and engagement in the community (Dalton & Crosby, 2011; Hurtado & DeAngelo, 2012; Kuh et al., 2008; Pryor, Hurtado, Saenz, Santos, & Korn, 2007). Community engagement "is in the …


An Investigation Of The Information Practices Of Education Doctoral Students, Corinne Bishop Jan 2015

An Investigation Of The Information Practices Of Education Doctoral Students, Corinne Bishop

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Academic libraries are increasingly re-envisioning their services to provide expanded outreach and segmented programming for specific user groups. Many academic libraries offer segmented services and programming for undergraduate groups such as first-year experience programs and general education programs. Currently, academic libraries are also identifying and expanding their services and programming to meet the unique needs of graduate groups. In conjunction with this focus, the roles of academic librarians are also expanding in the area of outreach. In essence, academic librarians are becoming more directly involved in aligning library services and programming with academic programs and promoting change within their institutions. …


A Historical Analysis Of The Evolution Of The Administrative And Organizational Structure Of The University Of Central Florida As It Relates To Growth, Boyd Lindsley Jan 2015

A Historical Analysis Of The Evolution Of The Administrative And Organizational Structure Of The University Of Central Florida As It Relates To Growth, Boyd Lindsley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This was a qualitative historical study, which was recounted chronologically and organized around the terms of the four full-time presidents of the university. The review addressed the processes associated with the establishment and development of Florida Technological University beginning in 1963 through its name change to the University of Central Florida in 1979, concluding in 2013. The organization's mission, vision, and goals, how they evolved and the impact they had on the university were of particular interest. The study was focused on the administrative actions and organizational changes that took place within the university to assist faculty in teaching, research, …


Examining Practices Of Elementary School Principals: Selection Of Co-Teaching Teams, Jeannette Tejeda Jan 2015

Examining Practices Of Elementary School Principals: Selection Of Co-Teaching Teams, Jeannette Tejeda

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experiences of urban elementary school principals in relation to co-teaching and their co-teacher selection process. Three elementary school principals who exemplify characteristics of shared, ethical, and transformational leadership from a large urban school district in the southern United States were interviewed. The findings from the interviews were utilized to create a Likert-type survey to be administered to select co-teachers and select teachers not co-teaching at each of the three schools. The interview data were examined using Hycner's guidelines for phenomenological analysis. The Likert-type surveys administered to co-teachers and teachers not …


Nurse Managers, Work Environment Factors And Workplace Bullying, Joy Parchment Jan 2015

Nurse Managers, Work Environment Factors And Workplace Bullying, Joy Parchment

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation is to explore relationships between authentic leadership style, global social power, job demand, job control, and workplace bullying of nurse managers in acute care settings across the United States. Over 30 years of workplace bullying research exists. Consequences are linked to intent to leave, turnover, and harmful emotional and physical effects. Published studies identifying nurse managers as targets of workplace bullying and work environment factors that contribute to nurse managers being recipients of workplace bullying either, downward from their leaders, horizontally from their nurse manager peers, and upwards from their clinical nurses were not identified. …