Digital Commons Network^™

Leadership Development Training: Its Impact On Middle Managers In Law Enforcement, David P. Wedlick

Education Doctoral

The purpose of this study was to explore leadership development training as it relates to the attributes and skills of middle managers in law enforcement agencies. The Skills Approach theory will be discussed relating to how middle managers in a county in New York State, with no middle management leadership development training, assume their positions. A qualitative method was used to capture data about the need for leadership development training versus the attributes and skills law enforcement middle managers already possess. The result of this study revealed that leadership development for this county is cultivated, not through formal training, but …

Employee Work Attitudes Post Merger And Acquisition, Adam Sorenson

Theses and Dissertations

The airline industry has faced a devastating past decade with a loss of $60 billion, and 150,000 jobs, the worst financial performance among any major industry, along with 186 bankruptcies over the last 30 years (The proposed United-Continental merger, 2010). Mergers and acquisitions have been the most recent remedy to the financial turmoil and instability. However, 70-80% of mergers fail to produce the benefits originally anticipated, often due to employee concerns (Selden & Colvin, 2003). The purpose of this research is to conduct a quantitative study on job satisfaction and organizational commitment with employees from a major airline after recently …

The Church Of Craiglockhart: Wilfred Owen And Siegfried Sassoon‘S Critique And Use Of Religion In Their World War I Poetry, Brian Karsten

Masters Theses

Throughout history, faith and religious principles have been used as motivation for war. Accordingly, political leaders, religious leaders, and writers all used religion-themed propaganda to encourage enlistment in World War I. Two soldier poets, Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen, after meeting in the asylum of Craiglockhart, together recognized the injustice represented in using faith to promote warfare. Subsequently, they wrote poetry which criticized the religious and political hierarchy, countered the theology used in propaganda, and attempted to reveal the atrocities in battle. Although Sassoon‘s poetry remained satirical of the use of religion, Owen recognized its power and used religion and …

The African-American Struggle For Equality: Two Divergent Approaches, Steven Washington

Honors College Theses

This paper focuses on two leaders and how their divergent strategies for one goal led to them working together without actively coordinating their efforts. The research conducted in the paper is based primarily on the writings of Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. Du Bois. It examines their upbringing and their views on education, labor and voting rights.

Mountain Monitor-3rd Quarter 2012, Mark Muro, Kenan Fikri

Mountain Monitor Quarterly

The major metropolitan areas of the Intermountain West finally put the housing bust behind them in the third quarter of 2012 and in most places made solid progress. House prices rose in all 10 major metropolitan markets in the months from June to September for the first time since the recession began. Likewise, output growth accelerated and the unemployment rate continued to fall. Unfortunately none of this prevented the region’s already feeble jobs recovery from slowing.

Junior Recital, Andrew Granelli, Max Feld

Junior Recitals

List of performers and performances.

Junior Recital, Gyasi Greer, Julian Tanaka, Nick Schmitt

Junior Recitals

List of performers and performances.

Junior Recital, K.C. Singer, Jae Ahn-Benton, Garrison Gillham

Junior Recitals

List of performers and performances.

Doctoral Recital, Glenn Webb

Graduate Student Recitals

List of performers and performances.

The Utah Model: Lessons For Regional Planning, Brenda C. Scheer

Brookings Mountain West Publications

Utah has become an unlikely leader in regional planning through a voluntary partnership of key leaders, agencies, local government, and the general public. Given that regional planning efforts around the nation have generally evoked strong reactions from residents concerned about losing local control, the success of Envision Utah—the organization that emerged as a key driver of regional planning in Utah—in building a consensus around regional growth management holds lessons for other regions.

Envision Utah adopted several strategies that have distinguished Utah’s regional planning efforts from other regions and given rise to what can be called the “Utah model” of collaborative …

Participatory Methods In Sociolinguistic Sign Language Survey: A Case Study In El Salvador, Julia Ciupek-Reed

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis describes a three-week sociolinguistic survey of El Salvador's Deaf community that was carried out in June and July 2009. The survey utilized various traditional tools that have been used in previous sign language surveys, as well as some new tools derived from participatory research methodology. Results from the various tools were analyzed to form conclusions about the language community and its goals for language development. El Salvador's Deaf community uses Salvadoran Sign Language (LESSA) most commonly, but various subgroups also use American Sign Language (ASL), and Costa Rican Sign Language (LESCO), as well as switching between language varieties …

Anesthetic Considerations For The Child Patient With Cerebral Palsy, Elizabeth A. Mcbride

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Ciliary Neurotrophic Factor Signaling In The Magnocellular Neurosecretory System : Mechanisms Of Neuronal Survival And Sprouting, Jason Michael Askvig

Theses and Dissertations

While it is well-known that ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) promotes the survival of a myriad of neuronal phenotypes, little is understood on the specific CNTF-induced neuroprotective mechanisms in the central nervous system (CNS). Elucidation of these mechanisms may provide insight that would assist in the development of future therapeutic strategies. Therefore, the goal of my research is to determine the mechanisms underlying the neuroprotective effects of CNTF within the rat magnocellular neurosecretory system. The central hypothesis of my research is that CNTF acts as both a neuronal survival and sprouting factor for hypothalamic magnocellular neurons in vitro and in vivo. …

E-Learning In Multi-Cultural Environments: An Analysis Of Online Cabin Crew Training, Jose Felix De Brito Neto

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Throughout the first decade of this century, the airline industry struggled with many challenges stemming from unstable oil prices and natural disasters. Attention was given to people as tools for competitive advantage. The airline industry focused on Human Resource Management and, as a result, e-learning gained increasing attention as it imparted knowledge on an asynchronous and global basis with substantially reduced costs. However, while focusing on learning technologies, organizations failed to acknowledge learners needs and cultural backgrounds by creating neutral e-learning environments, which resulted in ineffective training and reduced performance improvement. This thesis aimed to study the perceptions of a …

What Are The Effects On Parish Relations When Adding Digital Communication To Catholic Ministry?, Kristina Collmann Costello

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

This qualitative study sought to understand the effects on parish relations when those leading Catholic ministry efforts added digital communication to their programs. This study, based on Buber’s philosophy that it is a person’s full commitment and presence in a dialogue that contributes to intimacy, will aim to illustrate that the level of richness in a dialogue relies more on the quality of the information, or messages shared, than the medium used to conduct the dialogue. The study is grounded in the Social Information Processing Theory and the Social Presence Theory. The data for this study was garnered through personal …

Examination Of Employee Work-Life Balance Within Healthy Organizational Cultures, Cari Ann Lyle

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

This study examined the work-life balance of employees within the U.S. communications industry, specifically focusing on how employees can build collaborative relationships with their colleagues while maintaining active lifestyles outside the office. The effects of a healthy work-life balance on organizational culture has become a popular topic in American organizations during the past decade, and this research used focus groups and interviews to help determine how leaders can encourage employees to prioritize their professional and personal obligations. Study participants were asked questions developed around Edgar Schein’s organizational culture research, Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, and communication theories about balance and …

Television And Fanfiction Online: Finding Identity, Meaning, And Community, Erin B. Waggoner

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

This study focuses on fanfiction culture online, particularly how the stories relate to television fandoms and a need to participate or reinterpret a text on an individual and a global level to find meaning in the encoded messages. The study follows theoretical groundwork from Stuart Hall’s encoding/decoding and Walter R. Fisher’s narrative paradigm. Philosophical considerations are given to communitarian ethics and how humans innately need community to successfully fulfill the need to communicate with others. Through ethnographic research, the study discovers how and why fanfiction is being used to uncover and discover identity, meaning, and community by exploring a community …

Tragedy And Touchdowns: Media Coverage And The Impact On Disaster Recovery, Christa Clark Bell

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

Media coverage of natural disasters informs audiences, but it also can serve as a catalyst for the formation of rhetorical communities, groups of people who subscribe to the rhetorical vision purveyed in media coverage of events. Existing research literature on communities and on the role of communities in disaster recovery points to the need for community as a basic part of the recovery process. National media coverage of the April 27, 2011, tornadoes that struck Tuscaloosa, Ala., contained fantasy themes that constructed a rhetorical vision of hope and survival. A fantasy theme analysis of three national sports media articles, when …

Listening To Organizational Change: Exploring Dialogue During Sensemaking, Dianna L. Stratton

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

This qualitative study explored the role of dialogue during sensemaking and how that affects receptivity to organizational change. The philosophical framework for this study comes from Buber’s (1958) I and Thou dialogue theories concerning the value of existential acknowledgement. Both communication and organizational study theories grounded this research. Bohm (1996) and Isaacs’ (1999) dialogue theories converge with Weick’s (1995) sensemaking theories as a means to explore the role of listening during organizational change. Data was obtained through ethnographic observation and interview. A cultural research framework provided the means to explore the relationships between dialogue, sensemaking and organizational change. The results …

Ethical Sales And Marketing For Small Businesses, Margaret E. Gonzalez

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

This thesis examines the importance of ethical sales and marketing in relation to small businesses. Most research in this area has focused on large businesses and therefore ignores the importance of factors such as financial and time limitations. Because of these limitations, many small businesses are viewed as having cutthroat sales and marketing teams that ignore basic ethics and are primarily motivated by business and financial growth. The thesis examines ethical marketing in relation to Kant’s Categorical Imperative, Habermas’ Discourse Ethics, and Pearce’s Coordinated Management of Meaning (CMM). A content analysis was completed to determine how small businesses can ethically …

Examination Of How One's Perceived Online Identity On Social Media Affects One's Perceived Real-Life Identity, Kelly Marie Mccarty

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

Over the past few decades, the internet has become an important aspect of people's social lives. It has created a place where individuals can express themselves and define themselves to much more than those they live around. A whole new world has been opened for individuals to connect and remain in contact with others. This has created new environments in which to play at identity. Social identity theory states that how one perceives his or her own identity is affected by the environment and those that individual is around. Participation in social media, therefore, should have some effect on how …

Organizational Socialization Practices For Successful Newcomer Adjustment, Stacey L. Holleran

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

This research study examines the practices organizational leaders can employ to assist newcomers in their adjustment to the organization, thereby creating an increase in the number of successful, long-term employees. In the workplace setting, organizational newcomers who fail to properly adapt are at risk for early “turnover” or an extended period of disengagement, producing an extremely costly scenario for the organization. Literature in the area of organizational socialization and successful newcomer adjustment suggests myriad ways to positively influence the newcomer’s experience; however, no single source offers a comprehensive approach that can be universally applied. Grounded by interpersonal communication theory and …

Gender, Hegemony, And Country Music, Ashley R. Richards

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

Since its inception, country music has proven to be a powerful medium of communication and expression in contemporary culture. Reining as the most popular musical format in radio today, the themes expressed by contemporary country musicians, particularly female country musicians, are diverse and varied, proving the importance of evolution in this once considered homogeneous format. This study explores how modern female country musicians use their lyrics as tools for highlighting dominant, hegemonic gender roles in culture. Guided by Stuart Hall’s encoding and decoding theory (1980) and feminist communication theory (Rakow & Wackwitz, 2004) this study utilizes Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) …

The Propaganda Model: Corporate And Political Collusion In The Creation Of An Oligopolistic Mainstream U.S. Media, Frank Mccloy

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

The mass media in the United States have a wide breadth of power and influence over society. Yet, despite the crucial role the media play they are controlled by only six companies that are mega transcultural conglomerates. (Legislation has been passed, namely) The Telecommunications Act of 1996 has encouraged and enabled the rash of media consolidations that has led to the dense concentration of media ownership today. This thesis utilized the Propaganda Model as the theoretical foundation to examine the relationships between the elites of the corporate and political sectors integral to the creation of the current media landscape. A …

The Representation Of A Scandal: A Case Study Of The Jerry Sandusky Sex Abuse Scandal, Rhiannon Rossi

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

Crises on a college campus can be especially destructive, as the audience includes students, families, and important stakeholders. The Jerry Sandusky sex abuse scandal burst into the scene on November 5, 2011, when initial charges were filed against Sandusky for his alleged acts against minors. The scandal rocked the culture and reputation of Penn State University, causing the release of head football coach Joe Paterno and university president Graham Spanier, as well as the charging of perjury against Tim Curley and Gary Schultz in their apparent roles in the incident. Benoit’s Image Repair Theory (1995) is the main theoretical basis …

Communication Between Generation X And Generation Jackass: Creating Communication Rules For Teens And Parents, Aimee Irene Finney

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

Technologically addicted teenagers are facing challenges not even imagined by those accepting the challenge of parenthood. Using Deborah Tannen’s Genderlect theory and the phenomenological approach of data gathering, teens and parents were asked about their experiences in communicating with each other. With regards to Gerry Philispen’s Theory of Speech Codes, the patterns of communication with teens and parents were considered. Communication technologies will continue to change at a lightning quick speeds; the importance of collaborative communication patterns continues to remain crucial to open and honest sharing of information between parents and teens. The desire to discover how to create open …

The Impact Of Mergers On Those Left Behind - Maintaining Employee Engagement After Merger-Based Restructuring In A Financial Services Firm, Victoria L. Basinger

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

This study explored the impact of organizational restructuring on associate engagement in a financial services firm due to a merger. It determined how much weight interpersonal relationships carry on associate opinions of the new organization, and what the new organization can do to reduce uncertainty and re-engage their newly acquired associates. The literature review looked at Uncertainty Reduction Theory, Belongingness and principles from Social Information Processing Theory to identify solutions for a decrease in engagement. A survey distributed to all associates at a financial services firm that recently underwent a merger yielded data for this study, as did five individual …

Tabloidization And The Role Of Agenda Setting, Brooke Brander

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

Tabloidization of the news has received a fare amount of attention in the late twentieth century and early twenty-¬‐first century. The reason and cause for the tabloidization of the news is a subject of debate as well as the possible effects on the public. The news media are a gateway to the world around us. Tabloid-¬‐style news does not inform the public of local, national and/or world event, but rather informs the public of celebrity happenings and gossip, failing to be the voice of democracy and instead being the voice of gossip. Tabloid-¬‐style news may be diverting the public’s attention …

Image Management: How Do Fort Mcmurray's Community Leaders Address Their Town's External Media Image, Kiran Malik-Khan

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

This thesis examines how community leaders in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo - Fort McMurray, an oil sands town in northern Alberta, Canada, address the issue of image management when it comes to negative coverage of their community via external media outlets. The ethnographical study employs Goffman’s image management theory, McCombs and Shaw’s agenda-setting theory and Christians’ media ethics theory as its foundation for the need of telling a balanced story about the municipality. In addition, narratives of several other cities around the world have been examined for similar issues. A content analysis of a few of these highlighted …

Practices In Interpersonal Communication To Help Integrate Foster Children Into, Adrielle L. Devora

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

This thesis explored the question: What effect do familial communication practices and activities have on positive integration of a foster child into their adoptive family? The focus was on foster children adopted between the approximate ages of 3 and 17, as it has been shown they can have more difficulties than children adopted as infants (Barth & Miller, 2000). This research brings practical wisdom and empirically researched data to families, social workers, psychologists, teachers, and anyone who works with families in this challenging category. The research was based in the “I-Thou” interpersonal communication philosophy (Buber, 1923/1984) and utilized recommendations from …