Digital Commons Network^™

The U.S. National Park Service: Organizational Adaptation In An Era Of Complexity, Uncertainty, And Change, Anna Christina Mills

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Conservation agencies worldwide are facing rapid, volatile social and ecological change, which is especially problematic for bureaucratic, hierarchical conservation organizations that are designed to be stable and resistant to change. The current science and management paradigm based on Progressive era ideology is proving to be inadequate to deal with this change, and the need for a new paradigm that embraces complexity and uncertainty in our social ecological systems is emerging. The National Park Service (NPS) is one of these organizations that has acknowledged the need to better adapt to a changing environment. An external science committee recommends in Revisiting Leopold: …

Exploring The Responsibilities Of Wildlife Law Enforcement Officers: An Examination Of Citations Issued By Kentucky Conservation Officers, Conrad Morgan Lanham

Online Theses and Dissertations

Conservation officers are law enforcement agents whose primary responsibility is the enforcement of statutes regarding wildlife. Several bodies of research have noted the expansion of law enforcement capabilities and responsibilities of conservation officers to include the enforcement of general laws that fall outside the conservation officers' original mandate. The purpose of this study is to explore the work roles of contemporary conservation officers in Kentucky. Using data from citations issued by Kentucky conservation officers from 2006 to 2011, this research examines patterns of wildlife violations, boating violations, and general violations across time and space. Comparisons of these types of violations …

Leadership Characteristics And Practices Of American Association Of School Administrators (Aasa) Superintendents Of The Year And Finalists, Doris Lynette Crawford

Online Theses and Dissertations

Houston (2007) concluded, "To preserve the possibilities for our children requires leadership, and that leadership is also a critical condition for success. While the educational journey takes place in the classroom and school, the trip is planned, the fuel is acquired, and the steering is done in the superintendent's office" (p. 432). The purpose of this study was to determine the key characteristics and practices needed by school district superintendents to meet the demands of this position in the twenty-first century. The key characteristics were identified by exemplary superintendents who had been recognized for their effectiveness. 55% of the population …

Collaborative Trust: A Case Study Of Trust Evolution In A Public/Nonprofit Partnership, Maria Stella Odumodu

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Lack of trust between nonprofit organizations and the communities in which they are located is a well-documented problem in the academic literature. The nature of this mistrust is far less understood, and little is known how community-nonprofit collaborations can overcome these gaps in trust. Guided by Simmel's theory of trust, this study examined the role of collaborative trust between public and non-profit organizations with a focus on better understanding how trust evolves. The research questions focused on how trust was defined and the factors that enhanced and inhibited trust evolution within the context of collaborations between nonprofit organizations and communities. …

Employing Provider Mentoring/Coaching To Improve Preventive Quality Ordering, Julie Knox-Woodward

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Preventive quality ordering is a provider intervention aimed at disease prevention through the ordering of industry-recommended health maintenance tests. This pilot study evaluated the effectiveness of provider mentoring/coaching to improve preventive quality ordering using the 2014 Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality best practice preventive clinical services guidelines. Literature indicates provider inconsistency in preventive and quality ordering as the primary cause of disparate health outcomes. Guided by theories of modeling and role-modeling, as well as the theory of cognitive continuum, this pilot study offered provider mentoring/coaching to encourage timely preventative quality ordering. Routinely monitored historic provider practice patterns in a …

Principals' Perceptions Of The Most Important Components In An Effective Principal Preparation Program, Frank Alcorta Zavala

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Researchers in educational leadership have identified a need to improve principal preparation programs to meet today's educational demands. According to school administrators in the local area, not all leadership preparation programs used the same pedagogies to prepare future leaders, and principals were critical of existing leadership practices. School districts, students, parents, and community stakeholders would benefit from well-prepared administrators who can apply the most effective habits of principalship. The conceptual framework of the study was derived from J. Davis and Jazzar's 7 habits of an effective principal preparation program. For this qualitative case study, 16 principals were interviewed to find …

Expanding The Circle: People Who Care About Ending Racism. We Need Your Help, Ann Curry-Stevens

School of Social Work Faculty Publications and Presentations

This 24-page booklet is a collection of tools and resources that are designed to assist white learners understand our racist history and the details of 21st century racism in Canada.

Drawing often from tools of educators in Canada and in the USA, the booklet is designed to take learners through a journey of self-discovery, gently asking probing questions and helping white learners come to understand the ways in which they both gain and lose through racism.

It concludes with several sections on taking action – learning ways in which white people can stand in solidarity with people of colour and …

Longevity Of Women Superintendents, Kim C. Sethna

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Public schools are facing a leadership crisis regarding the lack of women superintendents in the United States. Although, historically, women have dominated the positions of classroom teachers and outnumbered men in receiving administrative leadership certificates, there is a disproportion in the number of men and women superintendents leading the nation's approximate 14,000 public schools. While current researchers describe the complex roles that the superintendency entails, there is little data on gender differences, specifically, how women superintendents achieve longevity in this role. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the longevity of women superintendents in public school …

A Curricular Reform Viewed Through Bolman And Deal’S Organizational Frames, Lucinda J. Lyon, Nader A. Nadershahi, A. Nattestad, P. Kachalia, Daniel A. Hammer

All Dugoni School of Dentistry Faculty Articles

Professions exist to serve the needs of society, communities and, in the case of the dental profession, patients. Academic dental institutions strive to help meet these needs by educating and developing future practitioners, educators, researchers, and citizen leaders who serve the community and shape the changing environment in which they practice and provide care. The American Dental Association Commission on Change and Innovation affirms, “If dental educators are to meet these purposes, change and innovation in dental education must be responsive to evolving societal needs, practice patterns, scientific developments, and economic conditions”(Haden, et al., 2006). Guiding any institution through such …

Whiteness Of A Name: Is “White” The Baseline?, John L. Cotton, Bonnie S. O'Neill, Andrea E.C. Griffin

Management Faculty Research and Publications

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to examine the hypothesis that Whiteness is used as a normative standard when comparing a variety of first names.

Design/methodology/approach– Respondents (full- and part-time business students) evaluated names that sounded common, African-American, Russian, and unusual.

Findings– Results from two studies suggest that “common” or “neutral” names are perceived to be white, and to be more American than African-American, Russian or unusual-sounding names. Results also demonstrate that the common names have more positive attributes, including socio-economic class.

Research limitations/implications– The study found that the basic comparison of American respondents will be to a white …

The New Stem Faculty Profile: Balancing Family And Dual Careers, Patricia Wonch Hill, Mary Anne Holmes, Julia Mcquillan

Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences: Faculty Publications

Purpose — This chapter contrasts “ideal worker” with “real worker” characteristics among STEM faculty in gendered organizations. The gap between the two reveals the need for academic institutions to revise the notion of and the policies for typical faculty members.

Design — All STEM faculty at a Midwestern research intensive university were asked to participate in a mail and web-based survey to study faculty experiences within departments. The response rate was 70%. Faculty were then categorized by their employment, education, and parent status, and by the work status of their spouse/partner, to assess how closely the faculty matched the ideal …

Management Of Content Development And Subject Engagement Through An Arts Matrix Model: A Case Study, Casey D. Hoeve, Ellen R. Urton, Thomas W. Bell

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries: Faculty Publications

From 2007 - 2009, Kansas State University Libraries (K-State Libraries) committed to strategically assess and redevelop their organizational structure. The Libraries’ Strategic Plan and position redistributions commenced in 2007 and 2009 respectively, with adjustments in 2010 to accommodate the university’s “K-State 2025” Strategic Plan. Together, these plans changed the roles of former subject librarians, dividing and transferring responsibilities for outreach, reference, instruction, and collection development. Among the more significant changes was the creation of departments devoted to patron groups, rather than specific academic disciplines. Illustrating how the reorganization changed the roles of traditional library services, this chapter will outline the …

A Web-Based Knowledge Management Tool Utilizing Concept Maps For On-Line Student Advising, Jay M. Lightfoot

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

Increasingly complex program offerings by universities combined with on-line educational opportunities have created a situation where students must deal with an extremely complicated array of curriculum decisions. At the same time, many universities are moving away from the traditional one-on-one advising model toward one that relies heavily on web-based resources. The result of this is that students are often forced to self-advise using complicated and often poorly structured websites. This paper describes a knowledge management tool to mitigate this problem by creating an intuitive, web-based interface to help students navigate directly to the Internet advising materials that are most applicable.

Narcissism: An Integrative Synthesis And Dominance Complementarity Model, Emily Grijalva, Peter D. Harms

P. D. Harms Publications

Narcissism has become an increasingly popular research topic in recent years. We describe why it is beneficial for organizational researchers to study narcissism due to its two strongest organizational correlates: counterproductive work behavior and leadership. We explore why narcissists perform counterproductive work behavior and offer advice on what organizations can do to prevent narcissists’ counterproductivity. Subsequently, we discuss narcissism’s relationship with leadership effectiveness, and propose a Narcissistic Leaders and Dominance Complementarity Model, which examines the dynamic interaction of narcissistic leaders’ characteristics with those of their followers to predict leadership effectiveness. Finally, we suggest four areas of management that may benefit …

Exploring Hopes And Fears From Supply Chain Innovations: An Analysis Of Antecedents And Consequences Of Supply Chain Knowledge Exchanges, Eman Nasr

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This dissertation sheds light on severalhopes and fears from supply chain innovation in three distinct papers. Paper one introduces the concept of Process Innovation Propagation as an appropriation technique helping to extract the most returns out of a process innovation by exporting to supply chain partners. Paper two devises and empirically tests knowledge properties that best lead to radical and incremental supply chain innovative capabilities. Lastly, paper three conducts an exploratory study that introduces factors affecting a firm’s optimum supply chain innovation strategy. The dissertation makes a strong argument that supply chain innovation is most prominently governed by power …

Advertising Higher Education In Romania, Anca C. Micu, Madalina Moraru

WCBT Faculty Publications

Romania, a former communist country in Eastern Europe, saw the iron curtain lifted in 1989, and started at that time the transition to a free market economy. The past couple of decades encompass extraordinary changes in the economic structure and environment, with state monopolies being dissolved and private companies entering the market and competing in western manner. The Romanian conversion from central planning to a market-oriented economy provides a fascinating laboratory for research in economic theory and practice (Hefner and Woodward 1999). With the advent of a free market economy and a competitive environment, advertising exited its dormant communist stage …

Corporate Revenue Miscalculations & The Impact On Stakeholders, Karen Cascini, Alan L. Delfavero, Ryan Bezner

WCBT Faculty Publications

Corporate earnings restatements are regarded as one of the most significant issues in accounting today. While there are various factors that can influence profitability, revenue is the key contributor to a business’ net income. During the 2000s, a multitude of domestic and multinational corporations faced significant issues with their revenue recognition practices. Although the investing public might regard any revenue restatement as laden with possible fraud, this is not always the case. Multinational firms face dual accounting systems, such as U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). Currently, similarities and differences between the accounting systems …

The Role Of Followership During Periods Of Absent Leadership, Robert Alan Leonard

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

With a culture focused on leadership, the purpose in this study was to explore untested assumptions about followers and their being ignored as independent productive actors in the workplace. The lived experience of followers and their impact on the success or failure of organizations during periods of absent leadership was explored via 4 independent situations. A qualitative, phenomenological research design based primarily on the theoretical framework of Moustakas and the research design of Patton guided the study. The 3 key research questions were explored with regard to followers during periods of absent leadership: how they respond, what actions they take …

Strategies For Creating A Unique Culture In Preparation For Campus Relocation: A Process Evaluation, Dana Ague

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The relationship between a college and its founding church changed as the college developed its liberal arts programs and leaders sought to create an independent new culture from the church. Using Clark's organizational saga framework, the purpose of this study was to assess the effects of culture change on this institution. The research questions examined strategies that leaders used to transition the campus to its new reality. A formative, qualitative, process-oriented evaluation was used to collect interview data from 22 institutional leaders and other key stakeholders; data were also collected from institutional documents. The data were then coded and analyzed …

Impact Of Middle-Level Managers' Well-Being And Happiness On Direct Reports' Performance, Respent Green Iii

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The happy productive worker (HPW) theory states that happy employees perform at higher levels than unhappy employees do. Despite the explanatory power of the HPW theory, it was unknown if a happy middle-level manager would be associated with productive direct reports. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to address that gap by exploring the impact of middle-level managers' well-being and happiness on the performance of their direct reports. Key research questions examined how middle-level managers' well-being and happiness influenced the performance of their direct reports and how middle-level managers' application of the HPW theory influenced social change. Twenty middle-level …

Emergency Nurses' Knowledge Of Pediatric Complaints, Kari J. Blackburn

DNP Projects

Each year there are more than 25 million pediatric emergency department (ED) visits, with 37-60% of the complaints being non-urgent (Brosseau, Hoffman, Nattinger, Flores, Zhang and Gorelick, 2007). Injury is the number one reason children present to the ED and is strongly associated with a complaint of pain (AHRQ, 2013). While pain is a high volume reason for visiting the ED, there are other presentation causes that may pose a high risk to pediatric patients. Nausea and vomiting is not typically viewed as a high risk complaint, yet there are some high risk etiologies resulting in nausea and vomiting that …

Aboriginal Food Security In Northern Canada: An Assessment Of The State Of Knowledge, Harriet Kuhnlein, Fikret Berkes, Laurie Hing Man Chan, Treena Wasonti:Io Delormier, Asbjørn Eide, Chris Furgal, Murray Humphries, Henry Huntington, Constance Macintosh, Ian Mauro, David Natcher, Barry Prentice, Chantelle Richmond, Cecilia Rocha, Kue Young

Reports & Public Policy Documents

As the world’s population increases, as global markets become more interconnected, and as the effects of climate change become clearer, the issue of food insecurity is gaining traction at local, national, and international levels. The recent global economic crisis and increased food prices have drawn attention to the urgent situation of the world’s 870 million chronically undernourished people who face the number one worldwide risk to health: hunger and malnutrition. Although about 75% of the world’s undernourished people live in low-income, rural regions of developing countries, hunger is also an issue in Canada. In 2011, 1.6 million Canadian households, or …

The Strategy Dilemma: Why Big Business Moves Seldom Pan Out As Planned, Niceto S. Poblador

DLSU Business & Economics Review

This article looks at the complex dynamics that underlie organizational change and attempts to explain why, under present uncertain environmental conditions, it is not possible to determine in advance the results of strategic moves made by businesses and other types of organizations. It discusses an alternative approach to strategy in today’s world of business and explores the practical applications of experimental methods to the management of change in today’s highly complex, extensively interconnected, and knowledge-driven world.

Teaching Cultural Competency In Legal Clinics, Cynthia Pay

Journal of Law and Social Policy

Aims to identify various models of cultural competency training, and to reflect on ways to appropriately and effectively address this subject in a clinical legal education setting.

Conceptualizing Reflective Practice For Legal Professionals, Michele Leering

Journal of Law and Social Policy

This article examines the meaning, purpose, and promise of reflective practice in the context of the legal profession and at this critical juncture in the profession’s history. The imperatives for enhancing the reflective capacity of the profession are explored and the benefits of endorsing reflective practice as a core professional competency are reviewed. Reporting on a portion of an action research project designed to encourage reflective practice in a Canadian law school, the author synthesizes the results of a review of reflective practice literature, largely drawn from other professions, with the results of qualitative interviews with eight professors from the …

Historically Marginalized Groups In Psychological Science, Celeste Caviness

Open Access Dissertations

Over the past thirty years there has been a concerted effort to evaluate the inclusion of historically marginalized groups (HMG) – women, racial, ethnic, and sexual minorities, and low-income individuals – in research. This has been done through content analyses of research literature published in top-tier psychological journals. The purpose of this study was to examine the research literature to assess the degree to which the current literature includes ethnic, racial, and sexual minorities, women, and those of varying socioeconomic status and whether research questions focusing on historically marginalized groups are being examined within mainstream journals. Six issues from 2012 …

Janet K. Poley Biography & Curriculum Vita, Janet K. Poley

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communication: Faculty Publications

Janet Poley just retired as CEO and President of the American Distance Education Consortium (ADEC) an ancillary of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a 501(c)3 incorporated in Nebraska. She has developed collaborative distance education initiatives and conducts research and education programs related to technology access and applications with state and land-grant university members and international affiliates. She was a pioneer in the use of video, satellite and digital technologies to create access to higher education of all types. She has worked in more than 40 countries to develop agricultural education and communication programs and maintains a large network of associations …

How The Narrative Paradigm Affects Military Stories, Richard Irving Mcnamara

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

This project defines how the narrative paradigm can be used with military storytelling to improve the credibility of the U.S. military. Furthermore, it outlines how the American Forces Network (AFN) can model its training with the narrative paradigm to become an innovative organization. The literature review examines the rules that the military has to follow with their stories, the narrative paradigm, transformational leadership and the path to innovation with the intent of creating a path for military Public Affairs leaders to follow while leading an AFN, or any story producing unit. The primary purpose of this project is a completed …

Surviving The Digital Age, David Franklin Meland

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

This project provides a look at educational studies, theories, and principles to help people understand the enhancing and diminishing characteristics of contemporary communication technologies. The project uses the theoretical framework of media ecology to show that through an understanding of today’s media environments, society can better grasp just how media technology has been, and continues to be, an influential part of everyday life. The primary feature of the project is a comprehensive website – titled Surviving the Digital Age (http://melandd.wix.com/survivingdigitalage) – which also serves as a way to show how media plays an enormous role in shaping who we are …

Using General Systems Theory To Evaluate Channels Of Feedback In A Law Enforcement Agency, Trent Aaron Gerbers

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

The principles of General Systems Theory and Management Cybernetics have been used, not only to analyze and evaluate organizational communication, but also to help improve communicative efficiency through the strengthening of message sending/receiving channels. This thesis continues the exploration of channel efficiency and feedback by examining the principles of General Systems Theory and Management Cybernetics through the daily interactions that occur at a municipal police department. The unique ranking structure and paramilitary nature of the law enforcement agency dictates policy that regulates the means of vertical communication between employees, but measuring the department’s current communication system against the principles of …