Digital Commons Network^™

Exploring The Therapeutic Alliance And Rupture Repair Within The Context Of Trauma Discussion: A Case Study, Karina G. Campos

Theses and Dissertations

At present, there is a lack of research on how the rupture and repair process transpires within the context of interpersonal trauma discussion in psychotherapy. Therefore, this study employed a case study approach to qualitatively understand Safran and Muran's (1996; 2000) model of rupture and repair with a 28 year-old African-American, Christian female client who discussed her interpersonal traumatic experiences in individual psychotherapy at a community counseling clinic. The treatment lasted 21 sessions and of the 15 videotaped sessions, six contained discussions of childhood sexual abuse and workplace psychological harassment. Safran and Muran's (1996; 2000) model of rupture and repair …

The Journal Project: Written Expression Of Trauma As Intervention For High School Students In Ayacucho, Peru, Shannon J. Curry

Theses and Dissertations

This between groups quasi experimental study examined the efficacy of Pennebaker's Written Expression Paradigm (WEP; Pennebaker & Beall, 1986) as a multiculturally responsive therapeutic intervention among Peruvian high school students who grew up in Ayacucho during the Sendero Luminoso's guerilla insurgency. Journaling about prior traumatic experiences eludes many of the cultural and contextual limitations of the traditional Euro therapeutic model; enabling a person to disclose their deepest thoughts and emotions privately, without expense, and at the time and location they choose. It was hypothesized that written expression would be perceived by local participants as less value threatening than traditional psychotherapy, …

Special Education In Christian Schools: Post-Professional Development Support, Julie M. Lane

Theses and Dissertations

Private schools are not required to provide special education services to students who have been identified as needing such services. No prior research shows what programs exist in Christian private schools and how services are provided. This study sought to understand Christian educators' experiences and obstacles when developing a special education program. Participants attended a 1-week summer institute that provided instruction in key areas of special education services, disabilities, and instruction pertinent to serving children with special needs. Participants demonstrated an increase in knowledge and skills following the institute. The institute coordinator provided afterward 3 months of support through a …

A Comparative Case Study Of Microfinance Organizations Serving Los Angeles County, Melinda Louise Valente

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine which organizational characteristics, if any, play a role in the success of microfinance organizations currently serving Los Angeles county. According to the FIELD directory from 2008, there are currently seven MFIs serving the citizens of Los Angeles county. At the time of this study six out of the seven organizations continue to operate. Members from each of these six organizations were interviewed for the study. In order to determine whether or not lending-specific aspects of each organization had bearing on their success, leaders from two non-lending organizations were also interviewed. Responses were …

Assessing The Impacts Of A Leadership Development Program On Skill Development And Organizational Performance, Gina Paone

Theses and Dissertations

The quality of an organization's leaders substantially influences organizational effectiveness (Bass, 1990. One way organizations seek to enhance the quality of their leaders is to conduct leadership development training. However, training and development does not automatically produce results (Cook, 2006). Too many organizations conduct training based on the implicit belief that it is beneficial, rather than upon quantifiable evidence. It is important to evaluate what tangible benefits actually can be associated with the training. This study assessed the impact of a leadership development program on one multinational organization, particularly as it concerned skill development and organizational outcomes. This study used …

Women And Work-Life Balance: A Phenomenological Qualitative Analysis Of Identity, Relational Style, Adaptive Style, And Drive And Motivation, And The Role Of Faith From The Narrative Life-Story Framework, Elizabeth Krymis

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to review the literature regarding the plurality of roles of women, including work-life balance issues. The purpose of this study is also to share insights regarding the role of faith in women's identity, relational style, drive and motivation, and adaptive style. This phenomenological study used the narrative life-course framework to gain understanding of eleven women's lives as they seek balance in work and life. Four themes were selected based on a previous study by Giele, and include identity, relational style, drive and motivation, and adaptive style. The findings indicate that for those who value …

Exploring Individual Self-Awareness As It Relates To Self-Acceptance And The Quality Of Interpersonal Relationships, Camille Fung

Theses and Dissertations

Most people spend a significant amount of time at work. Because many workplaces steer away from individual work toward collaboration, the need for high-quality, productive workplace relationships continues to increase. This study examined self-awareness, self-acceptance, and relationship quality to determine the implications for organizations. The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of self-awareness and how it relates to an individual's degree of self-acceptance and quality of relationship with others. The research questions were: 1. Do people who show higher degrees of self-awareness report higher degrees of self-acceptance? 2. Do people who show higher degrees of self-awareness …

Simple Rules Leaders Use To Guide Their Organizations During Times Of Rapid Change, Kristine Quade

Theses and Dissertations

Few leaders would refer to their organization as a complex adaptive system (CAS)--one that is irreversible and unpredictable. They might say their organization contains diverse elements and is constantly learning--the other two aspects of a CAS. Few top leaders rarely are able to identify the self-organizing patterns as they emerge. This study involved 58 senior leaders in five 5 market sectors who were guiding their organizations during times of rapid change. Using a Delphi method, the intent was to identify what simple rules the leaders used to shape the speed, direction and outcomes of self-organizing patterns. A simple rule expands …

An Exploration Of The Influence Of The Psychological Contract As An Explicit Agreement In Executive Teams In Mexico, Bortoni Alejandro J. Molina

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to explore the perceptions of members of executive teams in Mexico regarding the influence of the psychological contract as an explicit agreement within their teams. This study was conducted with members of executive teams who have participated in the process of making a psychological contract explicit in a 6-step model the researcher created. The research question is: What is the perception of members of executive teams in Mexico regarding the influence of the psychological contract as an explicit agreement within their teams? The related findings are presented in this research and conclusions, implications, and …

Examining The Occurrence Of Verbal And Non-Verbal Positive Emotional Expression During Discussion Of Interpersonal Trauma In Psychotherapy: A Case Study, Whitney A. Dicterow

Theses and Dissertations

Recent theories of positive emotion, including the broaden and build theory, propose that positive emotion can broaden one's range of thoughts and actions and build long-lasting personal resources (Folkman & Moskowitz, 2000; Fredrickson & Levenson, 1998). However, little research exists on how positive emotion is expressed in the context of discussing interpersonal trauma in psychotherapy. The current study explored the expression of positive emotion during discussions of interpersonal trauma over the course of an individual case of psychotherapy as related to the broaden and build theory. The client-participant in this single-case study was a 28-year-old African American female who presented …

The Perceptions Of Middle And High School Students Participating In A School-Based Mentoring Program, Annette Marie Marshall

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative descriptive study included a pool of 22 middle and high school students who participated in the Stand By Me Mentoring Program during the 2010-2011 school year, exploring their perceptions related to the positive and negative aspects of their mentoring relationship, the positive and negative aspects of the impact of their mentoring relationship, and the positive and negative aspects of the mentoring program. Focus group interviews were used to collect data from the participants. Questions asked during the focus group interviews were modified with permission from What's Working? Tools For Evaluating Your Mentor Program, by Saito (2001) for The …

Nonprofit Capacity: A Comparative Case Study Of Capacity Building In Community-Based Organizations, Valerie K. Wright

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to understand the relationship between capacity-building activities and the capacity found in community-based organizations. This qualitative study examined the impact of capacity-building activities such as board development, staff training, fundraising, and leadership development to understand what factors were present and if they increased the level of capacity. The literature revealed that little to no agreement exists in the field of capacity building around the frameworks for successful development of capacity in community-based organizations. This subgroup of nonprofits was rarely identified as such in the literature. Definitions of capacity building can be summed up as …

Supervisory Alliance And Countertransference Disclosure Of Psychology Doctoral Students, Shirley N. Pakdaman

Theses and Dissertations

Exploration of countertransference reactions is a critical component of effective supervision (Falender & Shafranske, 2004). This study investigated the supervisor-supervisee relationship (working alliance) and its influence on supervisee countertransference disclosures. Three hundred thirty-two doctoral students responded to a recruitment invitation, forwarded by e-mail by their directors of clinical training. Participants completed the Working Alliance Inventory - Supervisee form (WAI-S) (Bahrick, 1990), a demographic questionnaire, and a Personal Reaction Disclosure Questionnaire, which asked about the respondent's comfort and likelihood of disclosing countertransference in vignettes of 8 commonly reported personal reactions of psychotherapists (Betan, Heim, Conklin, & Westen, 2005). Results indicated that …

The Relationship Between Emotional Intelligence And Pastor Leadership In Turnaround Churches, Jared Roth

Theses and Dissertations

Preparing, selecting, and training lead pastors for established churches in the United States is a growing challenge as 84% of churches are in attendance decline or are failing to keep up with population growth in their communities. Interest in how leadership qualities influence the turnaround from a declining church into a growing church served as the impetus to explore the conceptual topics of turnaround churches and Emotional Intelligence (EI) competencies of lead pastors. This quantitative study compared the EI of lead pastors of Foursquare churches in the United States using the 15 competencies of the Bar-On EQ-i assessment to determine …

A Study Of The Innovation, Creativity, And Leadership Skills Associated With The College-Level Millennial Generation, Melinda Lester

Theses and Dissertations

As the economy has become increasingly global, organizations whose employees are more creative and innovative compete at a higher level than those who do not. And, organizations that incorporate multi-generations into their workforce will realize more creativity and innovation within their organizations. Now, and in the future, leaders will encounter a new generation of employees that will challenge their leadership ability. The challenges addressed in this study gravitate to these areas: Creativity and innovative abilities that will compete in the global economy; the Millennial Generation and their unrealized creative skills due to the influence of the No Child Left Behind …

A Phenomenological Study Of Competing Priorities And African American Women Striving To Achieve Work-Life Balance, Gayle Colston Barge

Theses and Dissertations

Organizations must address a myriad of issues from diversity initiatives to ensuring that work-life programs are responsive to the needs of its fastest growing segment--women of color of which African American women are the largest minority group. Despite the significance of their presence, research to date on the topic of work-life balance and family issues is based primarily on the experiences of middle-class white women. All women struggle with issues related to work-life conflict. Missing from this dialogue are the voices of African American women. Despite evidence that work is a significant domain in their lives, researchers have limited information …

The Application Of Cultural Values By Contemporary Alaska Native Leaders And Alaska Native Corporations: Individual And Organizational Implications, Lorraine Henry

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the influence of traditional Alaska Native cultural values on current business practices within Alaska Native Corporations (ANCs). Five past and eight current chief executive officers of ANCs were interviewed to determine the impact of traditional Alaska Native cultural values on the ANCs. Key issues were identified by both samples. Basic assumptions of each sample also were determined. Values driving both samples additionally were identified. The study findings revealed substantial similarities from the two sets of leaders. It was concluded that reconciling the two different value systems (Western and Alaska Native) appears to have been achieved by blending …

Community News Service Of The 62nd Montana Legislature, Cody Bloomsburg

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This is my news coverage of one of the strangest and most divisive sessions of the Montana Legislature in the past 30 years. In essence, a Republican-controlled Legislature with a faction of far-right conservatives pitted their agenda of shrinking government and expanding states' rights against the will of Democratic Gov. Brian Schweitzer, the most popular politician in the state at the time. In November, 2010, the GOP harnessed a wave of anti-federal government and anti-Democratic Party sentiment to win a historic, 68-32 majority in the Montana House of Representatives and gain another seat in the Montana Senate to give it …

A Model Of Successful Adaptation To Online Learning For College-Bound Native American High School Students, Collier Kaler

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The primary purpose of this grounded theory study was to shed light on the personal online learning experiences of Native American high school students in Montana. The overarching research question was: What are the conditions for college-bound Native American high school students that result in a successful adaptation to an online learning environment?

Eight Native American students attending high schools on the Flathead and Blackfeet Reservations, and one small urban city, were interviewed two separate times for approximately 45 minutes. All participants had passed online coursework with a grade of C or better, taken through Montana Digital Academy. One hundred …

Opportunities And Constraints To Community Forests For Local Income Generation And Livelihood: A Case Study Of Four Community Forests In Bumthang District, Bhutan, Wangchuk Dorji

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Bhutan has had an active community forestry program since 2000. A key feature of the nationally organized program is the devolution of forest management and use to local residents who participate in a “Community Forestry Management Groups” (CFMG) for managing nearby community forests (CF) according to rules developed by the Department of Forests. These groups are responsible for developing and implementing community forest management plans that entitle them to use locally valuable forest products (fuel wood, construction timber, mushrooms, bamboo etc). Most recently CFMGs have been given the right to sell forest products from their CFs that are not needed …

The Impact Of Celebrity Endorsement On Public Relations And The Consumer, Berenice Geraghty

Theses

Celebrity culture and endorsement has become a huge part of public relations today. Therefore it has become a core tactic within public relations campaigns and is becoming increasingly important as a method for building a long standing relationship with the consumer. The aim of this research study is to discover if celebrity endorsement makes an impact within public relations campaigns - why it is selected as a public relations tactic and how companies select celebrities to go with particular campaigns. The study also aims to discover how celebrity endorsement affects the consumer.

A qualitative research design was chosen as there …

Does Marketing Have An Image Problem? An Empirical Study In To The Opinion Of Marketing From The Perspective Of Business And Consumers., Tony Ferguson

Theses

In the 50 year period since the marketing concept was first introduced to business strategy, we have witnessed a shift from the post-World War 2 austerity of supply shortages, to a modern day consumerist society, where maturing markets and an excess supply of goods and services pose serious challenges, in a highly competitive business environment. As competition has intensified, businesses have endeavoured to differentiate themselves from their competitors. Billions of dollars have been invested in research to gain an insight in to what motivates a highly sophisticated and increasingly cynical consumer. These challenges have been exacerbated since 2008, by the …

Teleworking: An Examination Of The Irish Dichotomy, Deirdre Donovan

Theses

Changing demographics and labour market structures are placing increased pressure on identifying work/life balance solutions, while global competition is forcing companies to look beyond traditional solutions to search for competitive advantage. Recent rapid technology developments facilitate a strategic application of teleworking, which, in suitable organisations, would appear to alleviate both of these issues. Despite this, the limited evidence that exists in the telework literature indicates a dearth of telework in Irish companies, and recent research on the reasons for this, form a gap in the literature.

This study, therefore, empirically examines the key factors that influence the extent of telework …

Characterisation Of Bacterial Extracellular Polysaccharides (Eps) And Other Complex Carbohydrates With Prebiotic Potential, Padraigin Murphy

Theses

Prebiotics are selectively fermented ingredient that allows specific changes, both in the composition and/or activity in the gastrointestinal microbiota that confers benefits upon host well-being and health’ It is not the prebiotic by itself but rather the changes induced in microflora composition that is responsible for its effects. Several sources of prebiotic were used in this study, namely extracellular polysaccharides (EPS) originating from Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB), barley, oat. Laminaria digitata. Laminaria hyperborea and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. EPS-producing LAB were isolated from a wide variety of environmental and gastrointestinal niches. The strains were typed and classified according to their EPS-producing ability …

Fundraising In Changing Times: The Pr And Media Relations Tactics That Non Profit Organisations Use In Their Fundraising Campaigns - A Case Study Analysis, Sharon Louise Noonan

Theses

This study aims to explore the public relations (PR) tactics that non-profit organisations (NPO’s) are using in their fundraising campaigns. The two case studies that were researched were the Cork Simon Community and the Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind. (IGDB) The lack of current research into this topic as well as the changing nature of NPO’s and the PR industry was of great interest to the author, thus prompting the idea for this study.

The literature review defines PR, media relations and fundraising whilst providing the opinions and perspectives of professionals on the topic in question.

A qualitative research …

Exploring The Impact Of Social Media On Regional Festivals In Ireland: A Public Relations Perspective, Niamh Mccarthy

Theses

This study looks into the area of social media use in Irish festivals from a public relations perspective. The aim of the study is to provide an understanding of the effect social media is having on the regional festival industry in Ireland.

The study also accesses how social media has affected the public relations industry and reveals the predicted future of social media in Ireland. I’he study used a qualitative method of research through use of semi-structured interviews. Interviews were carried out face-to-face, online and on the telephone. All interviewees in the study had relevant experience in the social media …

China's Turn Against Law, Carl F. Minzner

Faculty Scholarship

Chinese authorities are reconsidering legal reforms they enacted in the 1980s and 1990s. These reforms had emphasized law, litigation, and courts as institutions for resolving civil grievances between citizens and administrative grievances against the state. But social stability concerns have led top leaders to question these earlier reforms. Central Party leaders now fault legal reforms for insufficiently responding to (or even generating) surging numbers of petitions and protests.

Chinese authorities have now drastically altered course. Substantively, they are de-emphasizing the role of formal law and court adjudication. They are attempting to revive pre-1978 Maoist-style court mediation practices. Procedurally, Chinese authorities …

President's Message, Kia Jane Richmond

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

No abstract provided.

Read 180: Policy Gone Wrong, Suzanne Whitford

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

No abstract provided.

Investigating Critical Numeracy, Phyllis Whitin, David Whitin

Language Arts Journal of Michigan

No abstract provided.