Digital Commons Network^™

Factors That Influence Faculty Intentions To Support The Community College Baccalaureate, Lori Kielty

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

An increasing number of community colleges in the United States are becoming baccalaureate-granting institutions. Proponents of the community college baccalaureate (CCB) argue that the CCB provides students with access to higher education, while others argue the CCB will compromise the community college's core values.

The purpose of this study is to explore faculty members' intention to support the CCB transition. Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behavior provides the theoretical framework for the study. The theory assumes that changes in behavior are intentional and, therefore, can be planned. This theory posits that attitudes, subjective (social) norms, and perceived behavioral control predict intentions …

Leading Change In Schools: Leadership Practices For A District Supported School-Based Reform Model, Monica C. Verra

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The reauthorization of the Individual with Disabilities Education Act of 2004 strongly encourages the use of a response-to-intervention (RtI) model to reduce the number of students identified as learning disabled, to increase student achievement, and to close learning gaps between subgroups of students. RtI is based on the systematic assessment of students' responses to high-quality research-based instruction and interventions. The implementation of a research-based school-specific intervention model, such as RtI, may result in significant change for schools and districts.

The purpose of this study was to describe perceptions of the level of change the implementation of RtI represents in a …

A Study Of Transformational Change At Three Schools Of Nursing Implementing Healthcare Informatics, Revonda Leota Cornell

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The Health Professions Education: A Bridge to Quality (IOM, 2003) proposed strategies for higher education leaders and faculty to transform their institutions in ways that address the healthcare problems. This study provides higher education leaders and faculty with empirical data about the processes of change involved to implement the core competency of healthcare informatics. I chose the core competency of health care informatics as a base from which to conduct semi-structured interviews with faculty and college leaders at three schools of nursing intending to capture their stories about how healthcare informatics has been implemented, what strategies were used, and why …

The Drama Of Collaborative Creativity: A Rhetorical Analysis Of Hollywood Film Making-Of Documentaries, Robert M. González Jr.

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Current creativity research is dominated by attention to the individual, with increasingly less attention paid to creativity in its context, in groups, and in filmmaking as a collaboratively creative enterprise. This study answers the research call to explore filmmaking as an exemplar for collaborative creativity. Utilizing the stories told on DVD extras on special edition releases of feature films, this study analyzes how collaborative creativity is storied. In turn, these stories reveal specific communication forms, practices, and strategies that enrich theoretical conceptions of collaborative creativity. Following dramatistic concepts elaborated by Kenneth Burke, this rhetorical analysis finds three emergent patterns of …

A Field Quasi-Experiment Of The Effects Of Employee Input In The Development Of Performance Appraisal Systems, Dan Ispas

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of employee input in the development stage of a new performance appraisal system on their attitudes and work behaviors. A field quasi-experiment with pre-test and post-test measures was conducted in two plants of an organization. The results, consistent with the hypotheses, show that the employees in the experimental plant report higher proximal (satisfaction with the performance appraisal system, procedural justice of the performance appraisal system) and distal (organizational satisfaction, fairness of the organization and citizenship behaviors) outcomes. Also, the proximal outcomes were stronger than the distal ones. Implications for theory …

Explaining The Impact Of Work Interference With Family: The Role Of Work-Family Psychological Contract And Cultural Values, Xian Xu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study aims to further understand the mechanisms through which work interference with family (WIF) influences important attitudinal, behavioral, and well-being outcomes. First, the study expands the content of employees' psychological contract through creating a measure of Work-Family Psychological Contract Breach (WFPCB). The study also examines the mediating role of WFPCB in the relations between WIF and work-related outcomes. Finally, the study explores potential cultural influences by looking at the moderating role of individualism-collectivism on the relations between WIF and WFPCB as well as between WFPCB and the outcomes. Research was carried out in three stages: 1) telephone interviews were …

Determining The Quality And Impact Of An E-Mentoring Model On At-Risk Youth, Diane W. Culpepper

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was twofold. Since e-mentoring is relatively new, there have been very few studies that have explored the impact of an e-mentoring program on both the academic and psychological outcomes of its participants. In addition, there is little research on the quality of implementing, or what we will call the working quality, of an e-mentoring model. This study addressed both.

First, the study examined whether or not e-mentoring had an academic and psychological impact on 32 high school students who were at-risk of dropping out of school. The students were enrolled in a GED Exit Option …

Two Essays On The Conflict Of Interests Within The Financial Services Industry-- Financial Industry Consolidation: The Motivations And Consequences Of The Financial Services Modernization Act (Fsma) And “Down But Not Out” Mutual Fund Manager Turnover Within Fund Families, Lonnie Lashawn Bryant

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this paper is to examine the impact the Financial Services Modernization Act (FSMA) of 1999 has on the consolidation of the banking industry. The FSMA allows banks to simultaneously offer commercial banking, investment, and insurance services. I find a strong positive market response to the announcement of bank acquisition of brokerage firms (10.2 percent) and insurance companies (9.3 percent), but no significant response to bank acquisitions. I also find support for two complimentary hypotheses that explain the long-run returns to the acquiring banks. The "product-market spillover hypothesis" states that the post-consolidation returns of the acquirer are directly …

Narratives And Sensemaking In The New Corporate University: The Socialization Of First Year Communication Faculty, Andrew F. Herrmann

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

I examined what brand new Ph.D.s in Communication experience when they start their first, entry-level, tenure-track assistant professor position at a new university. Through the lens of scocial construction, I review vocational and organizational socialization, individual agency by newcomers, academic socialization processes, and the concept of the academic career in the current climate of university change and transformation. Then, I present the method of research, including the population and sampling method, and rationales for utilizing a narrative approach, interactive interviewing, and autoethnographic writing. After presenting the participants' narratives, I revisit both within- and between-case issues, beginning with socialization from the …

An Exploration Of The Sensemaking Process During The Implementation Of Academic Tracking Systems At Three Public Universities, Jean Mccarthy Gonzalez

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Policy tends to be formulated at the upper level of an organization and handed down to policy actors on the frontline for enactment. Since policy can be vague, ambiguous, or send conflicting messages, it can create uncertainty about its meaning. Moreover, policy is rarely accompanied by explicit instructions for implementation. Therefore, when frontline workers, or streetlevel bureaucrats, are pressed to make sense of policy's meaning in realistic terms, they engage in what Weick describes as sensemaking (1995). Sensemaking is a cognitive process entered into during times of uncertainty or change. Streetlevel bureaucrats engage in sensemaking by drawing on cues in …

Organizational Communication And Change: A Case Study On The Implementation Of An Innovation At A Florida Medical Facility, Erika G. Llenza

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examined how employees at a Florida medical facility felt regarding the upcoming change to a paperless system and whether a training program administered by the organization was effective in reducing anxiety, increasing understanding of the need for the change, increasing employee confidence using the new computer system, changing employee perceptions of the new system, and helping employees view the change as an organizational improvement. The results indicated that the training program marginally reduced anxiety, but did not significantly increase user confidence or understanding of the need for the change. While participants viewed the change as an organizational improvement, …

An Evaluation Of The Technology Acceptance Model As A Means Of Understanding Online Social Networking Behavior, Timothy J. Willis

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Organizations invest sizable amounts of financial and human capital toward developing and implementing innovative technology solutions that will help them achieve organizational objectives. Professionals are now able to use online social networking technology to maintain and grow their network of business contacts virtually, resulting in increased efficiency and the ability to foster relationships with colleagues who otherwise would not be accessible. Organizations can use the benefits of online social networking to their strategic advantage if they understand the nature of the technology and how it is used. The Technology Acceptance Model is often used to explain the acceptance of new …

Time Bending: Temporal Malleability And Organizational Response In Crisis Situations, Gary W. Carson

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The terrorist attacks of 9/11 created a crisis of epic proportions for the airline industry. The attacks, on the heels of the first financial losses in four years, threatened the existence of many airlines. It was incumbent on the CEO to make sense and offer a plan to control the crisis and move forward. There were fewer audiences more attentive to this senemaking activity than the stockholders. On the cusp of the organization, shareholder management is a central job of CEOs in the 21st century. This study focuses on CEO presentations to shareholders for American, Delta and Frontier Airlines before …

Teacher Perceptions Of The Changing Role Of The Secondary Middle School Principal, Dawn E. Coffin

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The focus of this study was to examine perceptions of middle school teachers regarding the changing role of the secondary middle school principal and compare teachers' results with assistant principals' and principals' perceptions of their role, thus adding the voice of teachers, regarding the secondary principal's role, to existing literature.

Data was collected electronically using the survey method in one urban Florida school district. Qualitative and quantitative data were captured using the Principal's Role Questionnaire (PRQ) (Goodwin, 2002). Thirty-six principal role descriptor statements on the PRQ survey requested a level of agreement from research participants regarding changes, current and future …

Interagency Collaboration And Communication: Funders And Service Providers Working Together To Create A Management Service Organization, Beth E. Eschenfelder

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Charitable nonprofit organizations are growing in number and scope, but the body of literature and knowledge about communication within these organizations is limited. Today, charitable organizations face a flurry of economic and environmental factors that challenge their continued survival: growing community needs, mounting funding cuts from all segments of government, increased competition for funding, a limited pool of dedicated community leaders to serve on boards, decreased charitable giving for some causes, and persistent calls for greater accountability. As nonprofits explore new ways of coping with these socioeconomic pressures---such as reorganization, consolidation, mergers, and management service organizations---there is a clear need …

Academic Capitalism In The Social Sciences: Faculty Responses To The Entrepreneurial University, Deanna Barcelona Bullard

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study explores how faculty in the social sciences experience and respond to academic capitalism. Academic capitalism is about market and market-like activity at the university and professorial efforts to secure external money. This research expands existing literature which has focused on the hard or natural sciences, and other areas more closely aligned with the market.

Thirty-seven qualitative research interviews were conducted between March and July of 2006 with professors of sociology, criminology, economics at the University of Florida, Florida State University, and the University of South Florida. Results reveal academic capitalism in the social sciences is mostly about grant …

Expansion And Validation Of The Political Skill Inventory (Psi): An Examination Of The Link Between Charisma, Political Skill, And Performance, David R. Coole

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The present research was developed to reexamine the factor structure of the Political Skill Inventory (PSI), expand upon the political skill behavioral taxonomy to include charisma, and provide validity evidence for both the PSI and our new measure of charisma. In study one, using a large undergraduate student sample, confirmatory factor analysis provided evidence for a three factor structure of political skill. Charisma and networking ability were identified as unique factors of the political skill construct domain while PSI dimensions of social astuteness, interpersonal influence, and apparent sincerity collapsed to form a single dimension. Study One results also indicated a …

The Relationship Between Technology Integration And Achievement Using Multi-Level Modeling, Tina N. Hohlfeld

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this longitudinal study was to examine the relationship between technology integration indicators and school level achievement. Four years of school level secondary data from publicly available databases maintained by the Florida Department of Education were combined for all public elementary, middle, and high schools in the state. This study examined approximately 2300 schools that participated each year in the Florida Innovates Survey about technology integration between 2003-04 and 2006-07. Complexity theory supported the use of multi-level modeling to examine the relationships between technology integration and outcomes. Three achievement outcomes (reading, mathematics, and writing) and two mediating behavioral …

The Principal’S Role In Building Teacher Leadership Capacity In High-Performing Elementary Schools: A Qualitative Case Study, Rahim Jamal Jones

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore how public elementary school principals develop teacher leadership capacity within their schools, as well as the effect of this effort on a school's performance. After examining a variety of sources, such as journal articles and web-based search engines, the researcher determined that there was scant information explaining the process principals undergo to create teacher leadership roles in an effort to develop a high-performing school. To accomplish the goals of this study, salient reports in the field of teacher leadership were reviewed. The insights afforded from these reports guided the researcher in developing …

A Case Study Of A Career Ladder Pilot Program Within A Large Florida School District, David Laroche

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In 2003, the Florida legislature appropriated funds to finance pilot programs (1012.231, Florida Statutes) to prepare for the 2004-2005 school year in which pay for performance initiatives were to be implemented in each district. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine and describe the planning, processes, and implications of a pilot career ladder program that was implemented into a large Florida school district in the spring of 2004. During data collection, the program was terminated therefore creating a second purpose that sought to describe residual implications of a program when it is discontinued. Data collected for this study …

Displaced Self And Sense Of Belonging: A Chinese Researcher Studying Chinese Expatriates Working In The United States, Zhong (June) Wang

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In this dissertation, I tell the story of the ethnographic fieldwork I conducted between 1997 and 2005 in which I focused on a group of expatriates sent by one of China's largest multinational corporations to work in the U.S. for extended years. My initial interest was to investigate how this Chinese state-owned multinational company operated its overseas subsidiaries in the U.S. However, as my fieldwork progressed, I became increasingly interested in how the expatriates' and their family members' careers and lives were impacted by globalization, how these Chinese expatriates and family members adjusted, adapted, understood, and tolerated cultural differences inside …

Implementing School-Wide Positive Behavior Support: Exploring The Influence Of Socio-Cultural, Academic, Behavioral, And Implementation Process Variables, Rachel Mara Cohen

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study evaluated the influence of academic, behavioral, and sociocultural variables on the implementation of Schoolwide Positive Behavior Support (SWPBS), a system intended to improve discipline in school buildings. The number of schools that are implementing SWPBS has been increasing dramatically over the years as school violence continues to rise and solutions are needed to improve school climate. This study examined the relationship between three categories of variables and the level of implementation of SWPBS in three multiple regression analyses. The categories were school demographic variables (i.e., ethnicity, socio-economic status, teacher: student ratio, percentage of teachers who are out-of-field), severity …

A Case Study Of A School Implementing A Constructivist Philosophy, Joseph C. Brown

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Isaacson's (2004) dissertation chronicles the implementation of a constructivist instructional approach at Southwood Elementary School. Southwood's faculty experienced a change of principals, which the Tri-Partite Theory of Organizational Change and Succession, a theory of organizational entropy, predicts could lead to organizational entropy. This study examines the dynamics of the change in principal, as well as Isaacson's recommendation to study teachers' perceptions regarding the maintenance of the constructivist approach. This study answers three questions: 1) Are faculty still using constructivist strategies? 2) What are teacher perceptions regarding the maintenance and support of constructivist philosophy? 3) Is there congruence between what literature …

An Instrumental Case Study Of The Phenomenon Of Collaboration In The Process Of Improving Community College Developmental Reading And Writing Instruction, Patricia C. Gordin

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Focusing upon the intersections between community college faculty and assessment professionals (e.g., institutional researchers) in improving student learning outcomes, the purpose of this study was to describe, analyze, and interpret the experiences of these professionals as they planned for and conducted student learning outcomes assessment in developmental reading, writing, and study skills courses. This instrumental case study at one particular community college in Florida investigated the roles played by these individuals within the larger college effort to develop a Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP), an essential component of a regional accreditation review. The methodology included individual interviews, a focus group interview, …

The Information Technology Professional’S Psychological Contract Viewed Through Their Employment Arrangement And The Relationship To Organizational Behaviors, Sandra Kay Newton

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Information technology (IT) professionals are continually placed in diverse employment arrangements as organizations continually look for ways to cut costs, enhance performance and maximize organizational goals. Organizations are using strategies beyond hiring permanent employees to achieve objectives in alternative sourcing. Even though the cost differential is positive when employing non-permanent individuals instead of permanent employees, little is known about the effects on the IT professional.This field study was designed to test the effects of employment arrangements on the IT professional's psychological contract and the effects of the level of fulfillment of their psychological contract on their organizational citizenship and innovative …

Leadership Predictors Of Proactive Organizational Behavior: Facilitating Personal Initiative, Voice Behavior, And Exceptional Service Performance, Johannes Rank

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Proactive organizational behavior is characterized by self-started and long-term oriented activities involving forward thinking and the intention to effect change in one's work environment. The primary objective of this research was to investigate relationships of supervisory behaviors with subordinates' personal initiative, voice behavior, and proactive service performance and to reveal moderators and mediators of these associations. Whereas personal initiative represents a wide range of proactive behaviors, voice behavior specifically reflects challenging and constructive forms of change-oriented communication. Drawing on the proactivity, service, and performance literatures, the proactive service performance construct was newly conceptualized as self-started and long-term oriented service behavior …

A Case Study Of The Perceived Decision-Making Practices And Patterns Of Secondary Administrators Using Four Scenarios, Elizabeth M. Tuten

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This research study explored practitioners' perceived understanding and situational use of seven decision-making models of educational administration. In examining the extant literature of the field, the following research problem emerged to guide this study: scholars and practitioners struggle to understand how school administrators make workplace decisions, and how school leaders perceive their decision-making strategies and actions. Based upon Pettigrew's (1985) Conceptual Framework of Organizational Change and relevant literature (see chapter 2), the researcher developed a series of questions in order to explore the aforementioned purpose and problem. Specifically, three principals, three assistant principals of curriculum, and three assistant principals for …

An Examination Of User Resistance In Mandatory Adoption Of Enterprise Systems, Timothy Paul Klaus

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

User resistance is an important issue in the implementation of an Enterprise System (ES). However, despite the prevalence of user adoption literature, user resistance literature is scarce. Although some studies have conceptualized user resistance as the opposite of user adoption, a mandatory, role-transforming system such as an ES clearly shows that users may use a system while resisting it. Although this area is highly relevant, it is theoretically underdeveloped. This study examines user resistance at the individual level of analysis to determine the underlying reasons for user resistance, the types of resistant behaviors, and the management strategies to minimize resistance. …

A Quantitative Assessment Of Internal Publics Perception Of Their Relationship With The Organization, Lindsay C. Smith

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study focuses on relationships. Specifically, it measures the relationship between the administration of a large public university in the southeastern United States, USF, and its primary internal public the faculty. The purpose of this study is to measure the quality and type of relationship between an organization and it public, as perceived by the public. This study seeks to replicate and extend previous relational research by examining how the variables of trust, commitment, control mutuality, and satisfaction are related to the quality of relationships in organizations. In addition, the type of relationshipcommunal or exchangethat the faculty has with the …

School-Based Mental Health Services Delivered By School Psychologists, Emily Luis

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study involved analyses of an existing database conducted for the purposes of identifying and understanding factors that are associated with the delivery of school-based mental health services by school psychologists. The study examined the average number of hours per week in which school psychologists engage in mental health services and the types of mental health services in which they engage. Factors such as training, desire to deliver mental health services, time available and support for mental health services were investigated. The database that served as the basis for these analyses had been created by mailing a survey to 1000 …