Digital Commons Network^™

A Policy Advocating For Turnaround Reform To Improve Failing Schools: Policy Advocacy Document, Kenyatta Starks

Dissertations

ABSTRACT

I am advocating for the districts to adopt Turnaround reform. This reform would be available to all schools that are considered failing in the district and not showing sufficient academic improvement. The district has implemented many initiatives to reform schools including turnaround. The implication and effectiveness of turnaround reform if done with fidelity and monitoring can be successful. There is ample research that supports turnaround reform and the positive academic gains and improvement in discipline, attendance, and teacher quality. My research and experience in this work has led me to understand that specific concept are vital to Turnaround success, …

District-Wide Instructional Initiative Framework, Jessica Charles, Tracy Fray Oliver, Doug Knecht, Emily Sharrock

All Faculty and Staff Papers and Presentations

Describes the Bank Street Education Center's District-wide Instructional Initiative Framework, a tool that guides the Center's partnership work with school districts who are engaged in a process of instructional improvement. The Framework was developed out of research on district improvement, organizational development, school leadership, and professional learning, as well as the Center's own experience implementing large-scale district reform in the largest school district in the nation: New York City.

Building An Evidence-Based, Holistic Approach For Moving Integrated Employment Forward, John Butterworth, Jaimie Ciulla Timmons, Jason Billehus, Thinkwork! At The Institute For Community Inclusion At Umass Boston

ThinkWork! Publications

No abstract provided.

What Does It Take To Become A Partner At A Big 4 Accounting Firm? Insights From Singapore’S Experience, Gary Pan, Poh Sun Seow, Yang Hoong Pang, Kwong Sin Leong

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

Due to the shift in partner’s identity, there have been growing interests in understanding characteristics, skills and behaviours of accounting partners. Given that Big 4 Accounting firms are supposedly international accounting firms that are organized in similar structures, an interesting question of whether the same partner qualities can be applied in the Big 4 accounting firms for a non-western context such as Asia. As far as we know, no such study has been conducted in an Asian context. We argue this could be of great interest to the Big 4 Accounting firms as Asia is one of their fastest growing …

Delivering Government Solutions In The 21st Century: Reform Plan And Reorganization Recommendations, United States: Executive Office Of The President

Documents

No abstract provided.

A Plan To Improve Implementation For Professional Learning For Teachers That Is Sustainable And Effective, Kenyatta Starks

Dissertations

Every school seeks to heighten student achievement. Committed and skilled teachers are instrumental in reaching this goal. Focused professional learning opportunities help support the ongoing growth of all staff. Unfortunately, a number of factors, including finances, teacher turnover, and an absence of trust, work against efforts to implement sound professional learning strategies with fidelity at Lady Academy.

This change plan sought to develop a sustainable plan to address that issue. Surveys with fourth-grade teachers revealed several key steps that must be taken. First, professional learning should be individualized for teachers but developed collaboratively. In addition, Lady Academy should work to …

An Evaluation And Implementation Of Small Groups Using Specific Reading Strategies, Kenyatta Starks

Dissertations

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this program evaluation was to inform best practice for reading instruction in small groups of 4th-grade students using specific reading strategies. There were six teachers involved, all of whom were 4th-grade teachers. The evaluation also examined the implementation of targeted professional learning to improve elementary student reading performance; this treatment was applied to all groups. The teachers were divided into two groups. Group one consisted of three teachers who were responsible for implementing three reading strategies: predicting, making connections, and inferring. Group two consisted of three teachers who were responsible for implementing three different reading strategies: …

Leveraging Engagement Through Diversity, Gordon Haley

Publications

• Through dialogue and interaction, members begin to characterize their world. They may see it as malleable or fixed, filled with opportunities or threats. As with external adaptation, there are important issues.
• These include a series of membership issues: Who is a group member, what behavior is acceptable, who is a friend?

Development And Evaluation Of The Havuc (Hostility, Ambiguity, Volatility, Uncertainty, & Complexity) Environment Fitness Scale (Hefs), Phillip Thomas

Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the psychometric properties of a newly developed scale to measure individuals’ attitudes toward hostile, ambiguous, volatile, uncertain, and complex (HAVUC) environments—the HAVUC Environment Fitness Scale (HEFS). The 30-item summated scale consists of five 6-item subscales representing each element of HAVUC, utilizing a 7-point Likert scale ranging from one (1-strongly disagree) to seven (7-strongly agree). This study serves a need to better understand antecedents of individuals’ intentions and behavior (e.g., attitudes toward the environment) when operating in turbulent environments, aside from individual traits and the general notion of personenvironment (PE) fit. The study follows Spector’s (1992) recommendations for …

The Role Of Online And Social Media In Combating Sexual Harassment In Egypt, Mariam Saleh

Theses and Dissertations

Violence against women - particularly sexual harassment is a widespread problem faced by women around the world. In Egypt, research shows that a large number of women have been harassed at least once in their lifetime. The Egyptian Government, international organizations and non-governmental organizations have been working for several years on interventions and activities to combat sexual harassment. With the widespread use of online and social media in Egypt, this new media became a better and easily accessible form of conveying combating sexual harassment messages. This study, thus, aims to identify ways through which online and social media could be …

Barriers To Recruiting Native American Foster Homes In Urban Areas, Shirley Mae Begay, Jennifer Lynn Wilczynski

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of the current practice of and barriers specific to recruiting Native American foster homes in urban areas. The literature review suggested that historical, cultural, and bureaucratic barriers to recruitment existed. The study used a qualitative, exploratory design. The data was obtained from in-depth interviews with 10 individuals whose job it is or has been to recruit Native American foster homes. The participants were employed with either a foster family agency, county child welfare agency, or a supporting organization servicing Los Angeles County and/or the San Francisco Bay Area. The …

The Effects Of A Blind Selection Process On Gender Discrimination In Applicant Selection, Stephanie Ann Ingalls

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The purpose of the current study was to examine the effect of a blind selection process on gender discrimination. Due to persistent gender discrimination in selection processes, the intention of the current study was to investigate a blind selection process as a means to decrease gender discrimination against women. A total of 391 individuals were recruited through SONA and convenience sampling to participate in the current study. Materials included a selection scenario, three applicant résumés with applicant names and three with applicant ID numbers, a rank order form, and measures for procedural justice and fairness, modern sexism inventory, and the …

Unpacking The Role Of Data In Philanthropy: Prospects For An Integrated Framework, R. Patrick Bixler, Marisa Zappone, Lin Rui Li, Samer Atshan

The Foundation Review

This article reports qualitative research that explores the role of data in philanthropy and proposes an integrated framework. Interviews with charitable foundations in central Texas, including members of a regional evaluation and learning collaborative, reveal an orientation toward data that is becoming increasingly institutionalized.

The research suggests that data are generated and used in a multiplicity of ways, including identifying populations and geographies in need of investment, informing funding decisions for service delivery as well as policy research and advocacy; evaluation and learning; and measuring community impact.

This article discusses these thematic findings, notes specific practices, and presents six principles …

Temporal Trajectories Of Enacted Complexity In Creative Project Teams, Kenneth T. Goh, Brian T. Pentland

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

With technologies to capture fine-grained measures of behavior now more ubiquitous, organizational researchers are now able to consider networks of actions performed by multiple actors as a unit of analysis. We apply the action network construct as a measure of enacted complexity. Because previous conceptualizations of complexity viewed the construct as a descriptive organizational property, capturing this property over time was a non-issue. But given the emergent nature of enacted complexity, questions about how complexity unfolds over time become meaningful. This paper thus examines how enacted complexity unfolds over time by investigating the temporal trajectory of actors and actions. We …

Teaching Internal Control Using A Student-Generated Video Project, Poh Sun Seow, Gary Pan

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

Educators consider the video learning approach an effective method to deliver educational content as compared to the traditional method of books and written materials. This paper presents a project that involves student-generated videos to learn internal control in an undergraduate accounting information systems course. We believe that this video learning approach is an engaging way for students to be self-directed learners in learning internal control and complements the written materials in the textbook. The survey results show that most of the respondents viewed the learning experience of the video project positively. The results also indicate that the video project helps …

Validation Of The Professional Quality Of Life Model Among Correctional Officers, Tiffany Arrows

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Stress has significant effects on correctional officers’ physical and mental health. Given the risks involved in a career in corrections, development and implementation of preventive programs to address work-related stress has become a recognized need, and subsequently a call for increased research using standardized, established, and theoretically-driven models and instruments. This study sought to establish the Professional Quality of Life model as a valid and reliable measure among correctional officers, linking the population to the greater literature base of first responders and health care workers along the constructs of compassion fatigue, burnout, secondary traumatic stress, and compassion satisfaction. Research questions …

President’S Forum, Jeffrey A. Harley

Naval War College Review

The nature of the challenges we foresee for the Navy and the nation in the decades ahead has resulted in a series of organizational changes and realignments at the Naval War College since the summer of 2016.

Judicial Review Of Government Actions In China, Wei Cui, Jie Cheng, Dominika Wiesner

All Faculty Publications

China’s laws and policies on the judicial review of government actions are often used as a bellwether of the government’s attitude towards the rule of law. Accordingly, in gauging the direction of legal reform in the Xi Jinping era, recent media reports have highlighted changes in litigation against government agencies as evidence of positive movement towards the greater rule of law, albeit only contradicted by other evidence of political repression and increasing authoritarianism. We provide a selective review of changes in China’s administrative litigation system in the last few years, including the amendment in 2014 of the Administrative Litigation Law …

Cognitively Guided Instruction In Elementary Mathematics: Understanding Factors That Influence Classroom Implementation, Teresa A. Conowal

Doctor of Education in Teacher Leadership Dissertations

This study focused on the teaching technique known as cognitively guided instruction (CGI), through which teachers explore the individual learning styles of their students and use the information they gather to teach more complex concepts more effectively. The focus of this study was on 10 elementary mathematics teachers, with the goal of gaining a deeper understanding of the reasons they are making limited use of CGI techniques in their classrooms. The study used interviews and classroom observations of the 10 participants to identify the factors influencing their willingness or reluctance to apply CGI techniques to their instructional practices. The study …

Prevention Of Functional Decline In Hospitalized Geriatric Patients: An Evidence-Based Mobility Pilot Project On An Acute Care Elderly (Ace) Unit, Hannah Grushkowsky

Doctor of Nursing Practice Final Manuscripts

Problem: Functional decline is the leading complication of hospitalization in the elderly. Loss of functional independence during hospitalization results from the inability to maintain function during hospitalization compounded by acute illness. Potential negative outcomes from decreased function include increased length of stay (LOS), morbidity, and added discharges to a skilled nursing facilities (SNF).

Introduction: A mobility-based protocol created by an interdisciplinary team was implemented for three months on an 8 to 12-bed specialized Acute Care Elderly (ACE) medical-surgical floor. The purpose of the project was to evaluate if an evidence-based practice (EBP) mobility protocol can decrease discharges to SNFs, falls, …

Understanding The Decline In Participation In Fraternal Organizations: A Mixed Methods Approach, John Hinck

Dissertations

Once considered the schools of democracy and cornerstones for advancing society, many of the 100,800 fraternal organizations in the U.S. have experienced a decline in participation over the past 60 years and their perceived relevance in contemporary society questioned. To date, existing literature has identified several conflicting explanations for this decline. Numerous scholars disagree as to whether external forces such as markets or the government, or internal factors such as member relations or the inability or refusal of organizational leadership to change, or the interrelatedness of these factors account for the decline. Only a few fraternal organizations have studied this …

Applying Critical Thinking Skills For Successful Pilot Projects, Shawna Flaherty

Critical and Creative Thinking Capstones Collection

Piloting is an approach that can be used when introducing a desired change. It allows for smaller scale trial and leaves room for modification prior to full implementation. When applicable, this approach can be a proactive way to avoiding any potential issues or conflicts relating to the change. As a graduate student in the Critical and Creative Thinking program at UMass Boston, I have explored the concept of pilot projects for three years, planning and implementing, and revising 3 pilot projects. These pilot projects include: Meeting of the Mind’s, a space in which members of the community are invited to …

Growing Together: Personal Reflection And Understanding Can Foster Team Development, Rachael Layne

Critical and Creative Thinking Capstones Collection

This paper describes my journey through the CCT program and how it impacted me as an individual, as an officer in the Air Force, as well as those with whom I interact on a regular basis. I explore the concepts of creative problem-solving, dialogue processes, reflective practices, and research and engagement and how they enabled me to be a better leader. These topics oscillate between introspective ideas and self-development to focusing on how a better understanding of one’s self will allow for a better understanding of group and team dynamics. The final portion of the paper describes the culmination of …

Uncovering The Wisdom Hidden Between The Lines: The Collaborative Reflexive Deliberative Approach., Benjamin F. Crabtree Phd, William L. Miller Md, Ma, Jane M. Gunn Mbbs, Phd Fracgp, William E. Hogg Md, Cathie M. Scott Phd, Jean-Frédéric Levesque Md, Phd, Frcp, Mark F. Harris Mbbs, Md, Sabrina M. Chase Phd, Jenny R. Advocat Phd, Lisa M. Halma Ma, Grant M. Russell Mbbs, Phd, Fracgp

Department of Family Medicine

Background: Meta-analysis and meta-synthesis have been developed to synthesize results across published studies; however, they are still largely grounded in what is already published, missing the tacit 'between the lines' knowledge generated during many research projects that are not intrinsic to the main objectives of studies.

Objective: To develop a novel approach to expand and deepen meta-syntheses using researchers' experience, tacit knowledge and relevant unpublished materials.

Methods: We established new collaborations among primary health care researchers from different contexts based on common interests in reforming primary care service delivery and a diversity of perspectives. Over 2 years, the team met …

Preventing The Leaky Pipeline: Teaching Future Female Leaders To Manage Their Careers And Promote Gender Equality In Organizations, Nicole Böhmer, Heike Schinnenburg

Journal of International Women's Studies

The paradox of Indian women’s declining presence in the labor market despite their advancements in higher education leads to questions regarding how this “leaky pipeline” can be patched and (partly) prevented. At the same time, female educational advancement in Western countries, such as Germany, does not equate to significantly more females in leadership positions or changes in gender role expectations. In both the Indian and German contextual setting, women face hurdles in developing their career and the risk of lifelong dependency or poverty.

This paper clarifies the perspectives of young females on leadership careers and success before they enter the …

Collaborative Leadership In Action, Maureen Scully, Catherine R. Bates

Center for Collaborative Leadership Publications

The 46 fellows in the 2018 cohort of the UMass Boston Emerging Leaders Program worked with seven community partners on projects of strategic importance to these nonprofit and government organizations. The fellows contribute their professional skills and discover collaborative leadership through practice. The theme of our public symposium is “Collaborative Leadership in Action.” The fellows shared their insights about what collaborative leadership involves – its challenges and benefits – and what they take back to their workplaces.

Sustaining Change Towards Racial Equity Through Cycles Of Inquiry, Román Liera, Alicia C. Dowd

Department of Educational Leadership Scholarship and Creative Works

Many national, state, and institutional policies and initiatives advocate for change in higher education through structured forms of data use. The case study of “Old Main University” presented in this article shows how local reformers (n=9) drew on data and data use tools provided by a long-term action research project implemented at the university to advance racial equity goals at their university. The case narrative utilizes practice theory, cultural historical activity theory (CHAT), and narrative inquiry to illustrate how administrative leaders and faculty at Old Main University coordinated their efforts in a sustained manner through two cycles of practitioner inquiry …

A Quantitative Correlational Study Between Transformational Leadership Behavior And Job Satisfaction Among California Card Room Casino Employees, Lydell H. Hall

Dissertations

Purpose: This study had two purposes. The first purpose was to determine if there is a correlation between transformational leadership behavior exhibited by the leadership team and job satisfaction among California card room casino employees. The second purpose of this study was to determine if there is a correlation between transformational, transactional, or laissez-faire leadership styles exhibited by the leadership team and job satisfaction among California card room casino employees.

Methodology: This quantitative, non-experimental, correlational study involved utilizing two Likert-type scale survey instruments to measure leadership styles and employee job satisfaction. Data was collected from 127 card room casino employees …

Military Leaders’ Perceived Importance Of Emotional Intelligence Characteristics When Leading Organizational Change, Wayne Roseberry

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this descriptive, qualitative case study was to identify and describe exemplary military senior leaders’ perceived importance of emotional intelligence (EI) characteristics when leading organizational change. The study explicitly addressed the behavioral characteristics of U.S. Marine leaders associated with the EI framework for emotional competencies using Goleman, Boyatzis, and McKee’s (2002) four EI components: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management competencies.

Methodology: A qualitative multiple-case study method was appropriate for this research due to its focus on analyzing the 12 exemplary senior leaders’ perceived importance of EI characteristics to lead change. The qualitative instrument included an …

(Re)Discovering A Midrashic Biblical Imagination For The Progressive-Liberal Community, Elisabeth R. Jones

Doctor of Ministry Theses

This thesis presents the case for the development of a sustainable community practice of midrashic biblical imagination as a catalyst for transformative engagement with the Bible in progressive Christian congregations. Notes that a midrashic imagination applied to the polyvalent testimonies of the biblical canon is an apt partner for post- modern, progressive congregations, whose theology embraces diversity, plurality, and critique of hegemonic structures. Uses a longitudinal qualitative methodology, with Appreciative Inquiry, to trace the various methods used for cultivating curiosity among Scriptural skeptics over nine years, concluding with the Midrashic Imagination Project, which involves the community in study, worship, preaching …