Digital Commons Network^™

The Influence Of Self-Determined Motivation On Security Education Training And Awareness (Seta) Programs, Philip Roy Menard

Theses and Dissertations

Despite the best efforts of many organizations, protection of information assets continues to be a major problem for a number of firms. A large portion of data breaches can be attributed to employees of the organization, who have been commonly identified as the weakest link in an organization’s overall security profile. Organizations implement security policies to give their employees guidelines for appropriate behavior related to information protection. For policies to be effective, employees must exhibit adequate comprehension of the secure behaviors described in the policy. Security Education, Training, and Awareness (SETA) programs have been utilized as an organizational mechanism for …

School Reform And Coaching: Identifying Structures For Successful Implementation Of A Data Informed Decision-Making Program, Kristan D. Parman

Dissertations and Theses

During the past 50 years, the landscape of education shifted from a rank order model to a system where all students are expected to achieve at a minimum level. This led to reforms in the way schools operate and teachers teach. One change to teaching is the use of data to inform instructional practices and student groupings. The need for teachers to increase their data use and change their instruction has prompted the need for professional development practices to be more effective. Coaching has been shown to be an effective professional development strategy to help teachers transfer new skills into …

From Dandelion Seed To Cottage Garden: The Transformation Of User Experience In The Msu Libraries, Christine Tobias

Re-think it: Libraries for a New Age

The user experience movement is gaining momentum in public and academic libraries. While it is not a new phenomenon, its adoption and adaptation into a library’s organizational culture can bring unexpected challenges. In June 2014, the MSU Libraries created a User Experience (UX) unit in the Public Services division and in a short time, has established a solid and reputable team of UX practitioners. This success, however, was not achieved overnight.

The transformation of user experience at the MSU Libraries began as a solo effort of one librarian who understood the importance of assessment practices in library services. Through planting …

Caring For The Land, Serving People: Creating A Multicultural Forest Service In The Civil Rights Era, Donna Lynn Sinclair

Dissertations and Theses

This qualitative study of representative bureaucracy examines the extension and limitations of liberal democratic rights by connecting environmental and social history with policy, individual decision making, gender, race, and class in American history. It documents major cultural shifts in a homogeneous patriarchal organization, constraints, advancement, and the historical agency of women and minorities. "Creating a Multicultural Forest Service" identifies a relationship between natural and human resources and tells a story of expanding and contracting civil liberties that shifted over time from women and people of color to include the differently-abled and LGBT communities. It includes oral history as a key …

The Case For Change: Rethinking Library Services, Staffing, And Spaces, Elliot Felix

Re-think it: Libraries for a New Age

No abstract provided.

Women's Entrepreneurship Development In Ethiopia A Case Study Of Women In Self Employment (Wise), Melat Tekletsadik Haile Ms

Capstone Collection

The objective of the study is to assess the level of effectiveness and impact of a civil society organization in addressing challenges of women’s entrepreneurs in the informal sector in Ethiopia, particularly in the city of Addis Ababa in their efforts to grow their businesses.

A qualitative case study of a civil society organization named Women in Self Employment Organization (WISE) was used. Desk reviews of the organization’s strategic plans and reports including evaluation reports are made. Questionnaire was administered to the organization’s executive director as a context builder. This is critically examined against theories on gender and development particularly …

The Influence Of Job Insecurity On Performance Outcomes Among Chinese, German And U.S. Employees : Evidence From Self-Reported And Observational Studies, Lara Christina Roll

Lingnan Theses

Since the 1980s our economy has been quickly evolving. Mergers, downsizing, privatizations and the recent economic crisis have exposed employees to a growing sense of uncertainty about their job future. Both quantitative and qualitative job insecurity has been linked to numerous negative performance and health outcomes for employees, negatively impacting organizations. Negative effects include burnout, reduced work engagement and decreased safety motivation and compliance. Most studies on job insecurity only look at one country, usually a Western country, and rely exclusively on self-reports. Therefore, the aims of the present research (including two studies) are to a) examine both qualitative and …

Educational Leaders' And Teachers' Opinions About Changes In The Turkish Education System: A Qualitative Case Study, Mustafa Samancioglu, Murat Baglibel, Fatih Bozbayindir, Mahmut Kalman

International Journal of Leadership and Change

This qualitative case study discusses the opinions of teachers and principals (educational leaders) working at primary schools regarding recent changes implemented in the Turkish education system. “E-okul,” the “FATIH project,” and “MEBBIS,” which are technology-focused changes; and “girls’ education,” “the unfragmented 8-year compulsory education,” “children’s school participation,” and “promotion of literacy” and “students’ clothing” are changes that broaden the boundaries of the teaching and learning processes and are viewed as successful. However, “the new elective courses,” a component of the 12-year compulsory education reform, were perceived as a failed change. The most striking finding of the study indicated no agreement …

Leading And Managing The 21st Century Research University: Creating, Implementing, And Sustaining Strategic Change, Paul W. Ferguson, Gene E. Hall, Julie D. Hopwood

International Journal of Leadership and Change

Universities are competing in an environment in which only the most adaptable to sustainable change will prosper. In order to evolve in this challenging time, universities must embrace strategies for transformational change. This paper reviews two case studies that illustrate the universal applicability of theories of Change Science for achieving sustainable change in stressful times of prosperity and austerity. Understanding the phases of the Change Process that include Creating Vision, Implementing Vision, and Sustaining Vision can promote sustainable change directly related to the culture and mission of the institution.

Performance In The Chaordic Age: By Design Or By Destiny?, Raymond L. Forbes

All Faculty and Staff Scholarship

This paper discusses the challenge of performance in an age characterized by high levels of both organizational and environmental uncertainty. Today, business, not-for-profit, and governmental institutions all find themselves besieged by difficult-to-predict periods of disorder and relative certitude. A new structural form, called the chaordic organization, has arisen as one means of operating in such a turbulent and indeterminate environment. This article will consider the chaos-certainty question, examine the concepts of performance and potential, deliberate whether performance can be influenced by calculated design measures, and look at current thinking related to motivation and its relationship to organizational performance. Additionally, a …

Green Skills, David Popp, Francesco Vona, Giovanni Marin, Davide Consoli

Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei Working Papers

While policymakers talk of ‘green skills’, there is little systematic empirical research on the demand for skills that will be needed to operate and develop green technology. We propose a data-driven methodology to identify green skills and to gauge the ways in which the demand for these competences respond to environmental regulation. We find that green skills are high-level analytical and technical know-how related to the design, production, management and monitoring of technology. Environmental regulation triggers technological and organizational changes that increase the demand for these skills. Our analysis suggests also that this is not just a compositional change in …

Public Relations In Government-Based Public Health: Testing Contingency Theory During H1n1 Response, 2009-2010, Terri Lea Sasser

Dissertations

The primary purpose of this study is to describe public relations programs in state and local government-based health departments nationwide. Using the H1N1 communications and public relations activities as a frame, or basis of comparison, this study will further seek to identify if Contingency Theory of public relations may be an apt descriptor of public relations activities during this particular response effort. This study uses Contingency Theory as a theoretical perspective to explain the strategic management of the organization-public relationships and add to the body of knowledge about Contingency Theory of public relations in the field of health communications. Contingency …

Lindenwood University New Academic Appointments,, Lindenwood University

New Faculty Booklets

No abstract provided.

Pathways To Student Success: A Multiple Case Study On Four-Year Colleges’ Organizational Change In Performance Funding States, Lindsay K. Wayt

Department of Educational Administration: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Federal and state policies have recently moved the higher education accountability focus from access to completion. As completion and other student success accountability measures are put in place, institutions are going through organizational change to accommodate these new policies and to adjust their focus onto student success measures such as retention and graduation rates. This multiple case study’s purpose was to describe the institutional efforts and changes at small- to medium-sized, four-year public institutions in states where at least 20% or more of state funds are or are planned to soon be allocated based on performance metrics. The findings of …

Training Needs Of A Worldwide Military Exchange Salesforce, Chelsea Camarda

OTS Master's Level Projects & Papers

The problem of this study was to determine the training needs of a worldwide military exchange salesforce to enhance their ability to train store personnel on product knowledge and customer service at military exchange stores.

Congregational Aid: North American Protestant Engagement In International Relief And Development, Monty Lynn

Management Sciences

A review of large North American Protestant congregations (n = 423) engaging in global relief and development, or ‘holistic mission’ (HM), suggests that half engage in HM activities per year, with the majority of those activities focused on human and physical sectors. Most activities are led by religious NGOs or missionaries and about half are short-term. A mix of proximity, poverty, population, and policy variables direct short- and long-term aid. Findings provide a benchmark for enhancing learning and partnerships among churches, NGOs, and development scholars, ultimately enhancing the efficacy of Protestant aid.

Rrh Library Newsletter, August 2015, Libraries At Rochester Regional Health

Rochester Regional Health authored publications and proceedings

Newsletter sections include: Health Literacy; Sign up for New Issue Alerts in ClinicalKey®; Used Book Sale

A Structurational Approach To Organizational Change: Exploring Idaho’S Students Come First Initiative, Matthew Aaron Mccarter

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

This study embraces a structuration approach to explore how the staff at the Idaho State Education Agency (SEA) reacted to implementing a unique and sweeping K-12 education reform package commonly known as “Students Come First.” By embracing a communicative perspective to studying change in public education, this study provides insights to how public sector employees at an SEA who work in a field governed by a unique set of features (politically-driven policies from elected officials and outcome expectations from the electorate), and who are driven by a passion to serve children engaged in changes that challenged their everyday understandings of …

Life Balance In Nurse Educators: A Mixed Methods Study, Joan Marie Owens

Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Autism Spectrum Disorders: Available Public Education Programming And The Influence Of Professional Perceptions, Heather Wilmot

All Theses And Dissertations

A mixed-methods research study was conducted in a small, rural western Maine school department. The intent of this research was to reveal what kind of programming is available to students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and how the availability of programming is influenced by the perceptions of educators and leaders in a public school department. In addition, the research addressed how the background and professional development of the employees impacted the availability of programming for students with ASD. Forced survey questions included quality indicators for programming for students with ASD and pre-selected follow-up focus groups questions were used.

Data analysis …

A Case Study Of Complex Systems In Leadership In Higher Education Fundraising, J. Michael Bonnette

All Dissertations

Institutions of higher education are more focused on raising private funds today than ever before. This need to increase funding has provided opportunity for emergent behavior among all levels of the institution and has provided an opportunity for the study of leadership among those responsible for managing the fundraising operation. This study will endeavor to understand the emergent enabling and adapting leadership in an institution of higher education during a change to a centralized fundraising model. A case study approach will build a narrative of interaction among those involved in the change and develop insight through the lens of Complexity …

Education Management And Design System: Use Of Internet Based Social Learning Network As A Tool To Support High School Teaching Staff In Kuwait, Ahmad Alfailakawi

Dissertations

In an attempt to explore better learning opportunities for students, research indicates that teachers must actively pursue their own professional development. With advanced social media options available, an affordable, accessible social learning tool such as Edmodo could be used for teachers’ professional development as well as communicating, motivating, and collaborating with students. Interactive online environments with their peers encourage educators to they can initiate evidence-based learning strategies. This study was designed to examine the relevance of web-based professional development for teachers. The study focused on evaluating how teachers’ professional development activities could be conducted through social networking sites, specifically Edmodo. …

Organizational Adaptation In Local Stormwater Governance, Andrea Armstrong

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Much of the past research and policy analysis on issues of western water has focused on inter-basin river agreements, large infrastructure that captures and distributes water, and conflict between agricultural and urban water demands. My dissertation asks a set of different questions:

How is water governed and managed within communities of Utah?

How are the organizations that manage water responding to changes in population, water availability, and water quality policy?

The answers to these questions are essential for understanding the ways in which changes to water quantity and quality will be addressed in the present and coming years. To better …

The Relationship Between Toxic Leadership, Organizational Citizenship, And Turnover Behaviors Among San Diego Nonprofit Paid Staff, Melanie J. Hitchcock

Dissertations

Toxic leadership is associated with a number of negative consequences to the long-term health and welfare of people in organizations. Destructive leader styles redirect employee efforts from mission accomplishment to self-protection and survival behaviors, undermining the organization. Increased demand and decreased funding are characteristic of the nonprofit sector. Therefore, successful nonprofit organizations tend to rely on creativity and innovation to ensure their communities are appropriately and sufficiently sustained. Supportive, not toxic, leadership helps foster organizational environments that encourage prudent risk-taking and innovation.

This concurrent mixed methods study explored the relationship between toxic leadership and organizational citizenship and turnover behaviors among …

Requirements High Commitment Management To Achieve Entrepreneurship Strategic In Business Organization: Field Research In Iraqi Construction Companies, Shihab Aldin Hamad Alnuaimi, Reem Muhannad Hamid

Journal of Economics and Administrative Sciences

This research came to shed light on the relationship between the requirements of (practices) high commitment management (participative decision making،information sharing، training and development،team working،rewards،selective staffing،job security ) and strategic entrepreneurship dimensions (entrepreneurial culture،entrepreneurial leadership،entrepreneurial mindset، strategic management resources ) Sought to achieve the number of goals the knowledge and applied, and tested the relationship and impact between variables in a sample size of 100 directors of personnel departments and divisions and their associates in the Iraqi contractors in Baghdad (Hamorabi، Mutassim، AL Rasheed، AL Mansour )، focused research problem is the existence of a distinct lack of application high …

A Comparison Of Fish Communities In Southwestern Lake Ontario Tributaries From One Century Ago, Ben Carson

Theses

I evaluated a study performed by Albert Hazen Wright between 1902 and 1904, on the Tributaries of Lake Ontario in Monroe County, NY. I extracted data from Wright's original graphical analysis, and analyzed these data with Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA), to assess the value of these data for use as historical benchmarks for future studies on the same tributaries. Wright identified 52 species of fish within his distribution diagrams, eight of the species were rare species and were not analyzed with the CCA. Of the 44 remaining species analyzed, 37 matched very well between Wright's interpretations of his data, and …

Food Challenge: Serving Up 4-H To Non-Traditional Audiences, Sara Dodd, Holly E. Follmer-Reece, Erin Kostina-Ritchey, Roxanna Reyna

Journal of Extension

This article describes a novel approach for introducing 4-H to non-traditional/diverse audiences using 4-H Food Challenge. Set in a low SES and minority-serving rural school, Food Challenge was presented during the school day to all 7th grade students, with almost half voluntarily participating in an after-school club component. Program design supported school-level STEM enrichment and career development priorities. Topics addressed ranged from food handling/safety to nutrition and cost analysis. Conclusions include a summary of student outcomes and recommendations for school and adult partnerships. Implications for reaching non-traditional 4-H audiences through non-competition formats are discussed.

The Use Of Focus Groups To Evaluate The Volunteer Conference Of Southern States, Ken Culp Iii, Harriet C. Edwards, Jenny W. Jordan

Journal of Extension

Round table focus groups were used to evaluate the 2013 Volunteer Conference of Southern States. All 144 conference attendees were randomly assigned to one of 18 different round tables. A series of seven questions were discussed by the focus groups, which were moderated by a member of the Southern Region 4-H Volunteer Advisory Group. A recorder captured the discussion on a Mac Notebook. The responses from 18 networked were assimilated into a Word document, grouped by question. Qualitative data were analyzed by three raters as outlined by Culp & Pilat (1988). Input received was instrumental in planning the 2014 conference.

Multiskilling: The Quiet Revolution In Healthcare Education And Training, Jenny Auger Maw, Catherine M. Sleezer Ph.D.

Journal of Health Occupations Education

This paper examines the topic of multiskilling in three areas: (a) healthcare trends that drive the need for multiskilling, (b) perspectives from the multiskilling literature, and (c) a case study describing the use of multiskilling and patient-focused care in one organization. Trends facing healthcare providers include cost containment, mergers and alliances, and consumerism. Integrated, these trends cause a fundamental reshaping of the field. One strategy that healthcare providers are using to adapt to the changing business environment is multiskilling. This strategy can lower costs, facilitate collaboration among those providing care and increase patient satisfaction.

Guardianship Of Adults With Mental Retardation: Towards A Presumption Of Competence, Amie L. Bruggeman

Akron Law Review

Statutes should be revised so that people with varying levels of mental retardation are allowed to live as independently as they are able. To achieve this goal, legislators and members of the legal community must become aware of the nature of mental retardation, consider the individual personhood of one having this condition, and devise a legal framework with enough flexibility to accommodate both the individual and society. Ohio's guardianship laws and their relationship to adults with mental retardation require analysis. Although progress has been made in Ohio towards the goal of facilitating maximum enjoyment of independence, the present guardianship laws …