Digital Commons Network^™

Institutional Factors Contributing To The Under-Representation Of African American Women In Higher Education: Perceptions Of Women In Leadership Positions, Kimberly Ann Robinson

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

he purpose of this basic qualitative study was to examine the lived experiences of African American women who have obtained senior leadership positions in Predominantly White Higher Education Institutions. Data were collected through open-ended, phenomenological-oriented interviews with 12 African American women holding senior level positions in both academic and student affairs in the north and southeast parts of the United States. This study focused on the perceived institutional barriers that have contributed to the under-representation of African American women in higher education senior administration and strategies that were used to overcome perceived barriers. Critical Race Theory was used as a …

Emerging 21st-Century Educational Challenges And Opportunities: An Appreciative Inquiry Of Public Education In The U.S. Virgin Islands, Sheree Necole Bryant

Doctoral Dissertations

This study explored the critical challenges and opportunities in K–12 public education in the U.S. Virgins Islands (USVI). Specifically, this study sought to understand the USVI education leaders’ experiences in their public education system as a whole, the challenges and opportunities they faced, their perceptions of the institution’s greatest strengths, and their perceptions on the future of education in the territory. This research also explored which factors influence educational-leadership success in the USVI.

The study employed appreciative inquiry as a theoretical framework. Application of the core principles of appreciative inquiry laid the foundation for a narrative-based qualitative inquiry into educational …

Exploratory Study Of Preferred Learning Styles Of Maine Family Forest Owners, Kevin D. Doran

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

The purpose of this exploratory study was to provide natural resource educators with an understanding of Maine family forest owners’ preferred learning styles. The problem was that despite a legislative mandate to provide information and education to Maine family forest owners, students, and adults in a manner that leads to informed decisions regarding their forests, limited research existed about instructional best practices to accomplish this mandate. A major tenet of andragogy, the art and science of teaching adults, is that content geared to the specific learning needs of an individual results in more effective education. By determining preferred learning styles …

Novice Principals’ Perceptions Of Effective Leadership Practices And Their Principal Preparation Programs, Melissa Y. Wilson

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine novice principals’ perceptions of effective leadership practices and the elements of their principal preparation program that prepared them for the role of school leader. A mixed-methods study was utilized by the researcher to gather quantitative data through the use of an online survey and to gather qualitative data through subsequent focus-group interviews to address the proposal’s three research questions: (a) What are the differences (if any) between the perceptions of novice elementary, middle, and high school principals regarding the five instructional leadership practices identified by Kouzes and Posner (2003; i.e., challenging the …

Measuring The Performance Of Partnerships: Why, What, How, When?, C Kelly

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

Partnerships have become increasingly prevalent across a wide range of sectors for the delivery of services and implementation of policy. Partnerships are seen as a more effective way of delivering policy interventions than state-led or ‘top-down’ approaches. Evaluating partnership performance is therefore crucial in order to determine whether partnerships really are better than more traditional methods of policy implementation. To date, however, partnership effectiveness has often been conceptualised as cumulative; the result of a set of variables acting in a one dimensional, linear way which results in the ability (or not) of a partnership to achieve its goals. This paper …

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

Conference Papers

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

Determining The Relationship Between Employee Morale And Management Practices Of An Organization In The Aerospace Industry, Balenda F. Fulton

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

The applied dissertation was designed to measure employee morale and to examine the relationship between employee morale and employee perceptions of the effectiveness of the morale intervention and management practices. The managers of the repair facility at an organization in the aerospace industry disputed the accuracy of the results of the 2008 company survey that indicated the majority of employees had low satisfaction levels with the work environment and managers. In 2009, the managers of the repair facility implemented an employee morale-intervention program to increase employees’ satisfaction levels and ultimately improve worker morale.

A correlational design was utilized to explore …

A Strategic Model For Ingo Accountability Systems, Sarah Elizabeth Wardwell

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis reconstructs the concept of International Non-Governmental Organization (INGO) accountability to beneficiaries through the development of a strategic model for INGO accountability to beneficiaries. It works through the history and arguments surrounding the rise of the debate around whether INGOs should be held accountable to their beneficiary populations. Unique definitions are developed for the terms and concepts related to this topic and a framework for understanding the strategic model for INGO accountability to beneficiaries is outlined: Accountable to whom? Accountable for what? Accountable how? A practical example of an internal assessment for measuring an INGO's accountability to beneficiaries is …

A Study Of Attitudes Of Faculty And Administrators Towards Interprofessionaleducation, Catherine Christine Delnat

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Faculty and administrator's attitudes are believed to be important in planning and implementing successful interprofessionalEducation in the academic environment with the goal of increasing health sciences students' competencies in interprofessional collaborative practice. The purpose of this study was to examine attitudes toward interprofessionalEducation and identify attributes that may have an impact on those attitudes. A survey was distributed to all faculty and administrators in the health care sciences field at this institution. Using scales adopted from peer-reviewed literature, respondents were asked questions designed to rate their attitudes toward health care teams, interprofessionalEducation, and interprofessional learning in the academic setting. Information …

Developing A Government Guideline For Drafting Concept Papers : [Presentation Given May 22, 2012), Leonora Rrahmani

Theses

Not provided.

Mentoring As A Tool For Leadership Development In The Redeemed Christian Church Of God, Nigeria, Oladimeji Babatunde

ATS Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Internationalization Of An African University In The Post-Colonial Era: A Case Study Of The University Of Nairobi, Iddah A. Otieno

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation

This case study uses post-colonial and dependency theoretical lenses to investigate the forces influencing policy, procedures, and participation in international activity in the post-colonial African university environment of Kenya’s first national public university—the University of Nairobi (UoN). The research addresses (1) the approaches and strategies adopted by UoN to engage in international activity; (2) the changes that have taken place over time in international activity engagement at UoN since the attainment of political independence by the Republic of Kenya; and (3) the rationales driving participation in international activity. This investigation included library research, document analysis, multiple campus visits, and 20 …

The Influence Of Corporate Leadership And Management Practices On A Public School District, Randall Paul Napier Jr.

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Leadership Studies

The purpose of this case study is to understand how management and leadership ideas that were present in Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky influenced management and leadership practices adopted by Scott County Public Schools during 2002-2011. Data for the study were collected during the summer of 2011, using individual and focus group interviews including teachers, administrators, community and Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky employees; on-site participant observations, and documents.

This study examined Scott County Public Schools implementation of the Quest for Useful Employment Skills for Tomorrow, the formation of The Center for Quality People and Organizations, changes in Science Technology Engineering Math …

Measuring Job Satisfaction Among Kentucky Head Principals Using The Rasch Rating Scale Model, Xavier J. Webb

Theses and Dissertations--Educational Leadership Studies

The continued expansion of principals' responsibilities is having a detrimental effect on their job satisfaction; therefore, it is increasingly challenging to retain these important leaders. Effective principals can impact student learning and other vital outcomes; thus, it is important to be able to retain effective school leaders. Examining the perceived sources of principals’ satisfaction and dissatisfaction with their work has strong implications for policies and practices that can be implemented to increase principal retention.

The purpose of this study was to measure the job satisfaction of head principals in Kentucky. The research conducted was an exploratory study using survey research …

It Outsourcing Governance: A Conceptual Framework For Theory And Practice, Santiago Pena

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The objective of this study is to improve our understanding of IT Outsourcing Governance, which has become an increasingly significant topic in recent years. In order to gain an understanding of this topic, an extensive literature review was performed and analyzed with argument mapping. The data yielded from the argument maps was used to create a comprehensive framework for IT Outsourcing Governance. What resulted was a new conceptualization of IT Outsourcing Governance, focused not only on governance structures and decision rights, but also on relationship management. This conceptualization not only provides a better understanding, but also presents a sharp contrast …

Understanding Involuntary Job Loss Among Former Newspaper Staff Photographers, Ryan K. Morris

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examines former newspaper photographers' experience with being laid-off from their staff positions. The purpose was to identify emerging themes within the context of involuntary job loss, job satisfaction, and occupational identity via interviews with 8 photojournalists who experienced the phenomenon of being laid-off. The newspaper industry has long been considered both the starting point for young and aspiring photojournalism careers and the most consistent and stable venue for an income. Yet recent changes in the media landscape, particularly economic stress on traditional business models and rapid adoption of digital technology sway the occupational future of photojournalism within newsrooms. …

The Mediating Role Of Regulatory Focus In The Relationship Between Transformational/Transactional Leadership And Follower Work Outcomes, Erin J. Walker

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research was to integrate the areas of leadership and motivation by examining how leaders' behaviors affect their followers' regulatory foci. Specifically, a separate laboratory experiment and field survey were conducted to determine whether leader transformational and transactional behaviors shape followers' work-based promotion and prevention regulatory foci, which in turn affect followers' outcomes at work. Overall, there was limited evidence that inspirational motivation and contingent reward leader behaviors were related to follower work-based regulatory focus, and work-based regulatory focus was related to several work-related outcomes. The moderating role of chronic regulatory focus on the relationship between leader …

Becoming The Corporate Native...Virtually: An Ethnography And Corporate Culture Assessment Of A Virtual Organization, Jennifer Laurel Avery

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation presents an investigation of a rarely studied business entity in the cross disciplinary literature on organizational culture, a completely virtually organized firm. Subscribing to a conviction that any culture can only be understood through an approach that uncovers the lived experiences of its members, I employ the traditional anthropological method of participant observation as my foundational data gathering technique. In an effort to help engage anthropology with the cross disciplinary organizational culture literature generally, I also use two well-known methods of corporate culture assessment from the management sciences. I provide a number of recommendations to the sponsors of …

Impact Of Occupational Health Interventions In Indonesia, Hanifa Maher Denny

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Although the Ministry of Health, Indonesia, has achieved some successful occupational health interventions, published literature on such interventions in Indonesia remains scarce.

This study utilized mixed methods of qualitative and quantitative research for the years 2010 and 2011. The qualitative study covered respondents in West, Central, and East Java Provinces to gather stakeholders' perspectives on the impact, effectiveness, adoption, implementation, maintenance, and barriers of occupational health services for informal sectors in Indonesia. The quantitative portion measured the impact of occupational health training for community health officers using Reach, Efficacy, Adoption, Implementation and Maintenance (RE-AIM) dimensions. West Java, as a province …

Application Of Reference Models In Technology Management, Farshad Madani

Engineering and Technology Management Student Projects

Reference models, sometimes called with other different words, prepare a general model from a specific view of the related environment. Reference models are considered as a basic foundation to create: 1) a common language among specialists 2) a reference for the entities such as processes 3) relationships among entities 4) tools and decision making procedures for the real world.

In this report, it's tried the definitions of reference model in the selected papers have been reviewed. It's noticeable that in many papers the term of framework is used instead of reference model. Also, applications of reference models are reviewed and …

The Effects Of Scenario Planning On Participant Perceptions Of Learning Organization Characteristics, Melissa Haeffner, Deanna Leone, Laura Coons, Thomas Chermack

Environmental Science and Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

Scenario planning is often used by organizations to think about future uncertainties. However, what it does in terms of changing perceptions is diffi cult to assess and quantify. To address this need, this article builds on previous studies documenting the effectiveness of scenario planning. Specifi cally, this article contributes to the data on perceptions of learning organization characteristics. This study compiles quantitative data gathered from 133 individuals working in 10 United States companies who participated in scenario planning. The Dimensions of the Learning Organization Questionnaire (DLOQ) instrument was used in a pre- and post-test research design and differences were analyzed …

Explanatory Style And Innovativeness: Use Of Web 2.0 Tools In Education, Michelle Rogers-Estable

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

People may have either a more positive or more negative explanatory style, and their explanatory style consequently leads to behavior choices. Explanatory style may be a primary intrinsic factor underlying optimistic or pessimistic attitudes that directly affect technology adoption by faculty. Research has already found some links among optimism, positive attitudes, and technology adoption. This dissertation therefore analyzed the relationship between explanatory style and individual innovativeness among higher education faculty as measured by the use of emerging Web 2.0 technologies in higher education with the intent to better understand how optimism and pessimism affect choices to use technology in education. …

Don’T Touch That String! There Went The Databases, Dee Baldwin, Michael Kucsak, Alice Eng

Library Faculty Presentations & Publications

Web discovery tools can change not only the way users search and retrieve information, but also, how libraries and librarians work with information. When the University of North Florida implemented web scale discovery tools, we discovered that the technical implementation was challenging, but the most difficult changes were related to the library culture. Our students were “early adopters” moving from over 26 different entry points to finding most library materials in one search. But our staff and faculty were more resistant to the change.

Technical challenges related to implementation included coordinating the various technology pieces to customize the search interface, …

A Study Of The Leadership Dimensions Of National Distinguished Principals, Judith Mccollum

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education ETD Archive

The identification and recruitment of effective school principals who can transform schools in the midst of today’s chaotic economic, social, and global environments require a thorough understanding of the research on effective leadership. Current research indicates that principals who exhibit transformational leadership and, most recently, instructional leadership, are the most successful by all measures, including school climate, teacher empowerment, community support, and high student performance results.

This study focused on a sample of principals from a population who recently received the distinction of a National Distinguished Principal (NDP) to determine if a correlation existed between their leadership dimensions and that …