Digital Commons Network^™

Nurturing Stability: Exploring The Relationship Between Child Welfare Workers’ Well-Being And The Impact It Has On Retention, Maritza Acosta-Gay

Education Doctoral

Child welfare workers are critical in ensuring the safety and well-being of vulnerable children and families. However, the demanding and emotionally taxing nature of their work has led to high turnover rates, impacting workforce stability and service quality. This study explored the complex relationship between child welfare workers’ well-being and job retention, seeking to uncover factors influencing their decision to remain in or leave the profession.

This qualitative phenomenological study employed one-to-one semi-structured interviews and thematic data analysis to gain an in-depth understanding of the firsthand experiences and insights of child welfare workers regarding their professional challenges and motivations. Participants …

Activities Eligibility: Building A More Equitable Approach To Support Students, Cory Holten

Theses and Dissertations

In this study, the researcher analyzed the impact of traditional cocurricular activityeligibility practices on minoritized students, students with disabilities, and students receiving free and reduced lunches. The researcher issued a survey to staff members at Horizon Middle School in Moorhead, Minnesota to gain an understanding of the perceived impact of participation in cocurricular activities and the impact and observed disparities existing as a result of traditional eligibility practices. As a result of the findings, the researcher proposes an alternative approach focused on identifying lagging skills through the collection of student data related to academic achievement, attendance, and behavior. Instead of …

The Healing Of Stories: International Teachers’ Lived Experiences Of School Culture Using The Hourglass Model For Mindful Reflections, Vesna Radivojevic

Theses and Dissertations

School culture affects all facets of teaching and learning. Starting from individual international teachers’ perspectives and their accounts relating to school culture, new insights and perspectives on the problem of practice were gained. The research focused on answering the questions: What are teachers’ experiences of school culture in international schools? What are teachers’ perspectives on critical components in developing a positive school culture? What was helpful to teachers when experiencing the positive and negative aspects of a school culture? A qualitative narrative research methodology involved interviewing ten international teachers who taught in K-12 grade schools in Australia, Asia, the Middle …

Erasing The Dividing Line Between Race And The Protestant Church: A Phenomenological Comparative Research Study, Janee M. Slade

Education Doctoral

This comparative phenomenological study researched how church leaders impact race relations in emerging multicultural Protestant churches, by analyzing the lived experiences of church members in multicultural churches. This study explored the strategies pastors use to manage race relations through the lens of transformational leadership theory. This comparative study compares the experiences of church members in an urban and suburban church setting. Semi-structured interviews were conducted at two multicultural churches in the Rochester, NY area. The first location included a suburban multicultural church setting with at least 50-75 members. The second location was a larger, more established congregation in an urban …

Speech-Language Pathologist And General Educator Perceptions Of The Inclusive Service Delivery Model, Kellie Rine

Dissertations

The inclusive service delivery model is a philosophy of education that involves changing how educators address disability and provide educational services. Arkansas has recently developed a plan to implement inclusion whenever possible to better comply with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act guidelines for students with disabilities. Preparing for implementation, Arkansas leaders compared data from the Every Student Succeeds Act prior to and following the implementation of inclusive service delivery in pilot schools. Data were positive for increased achievement in literacy and mathematics. Arkansas has created a timeline for implementation, setting a goal for fully inclusive practices in Arkansas by …

Exploring The Integration Of Blockchain In Iot Use Cases: Challenges And Opportunities, Ivannah George

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Blockchain and The Internet of Things (IoT) is a significant paradigm which has gained traction in today’s digital age as two complimentary technologies. The combination of IoT's connectivity with blockchain's security creates new opportunities and solves problems associated with centralized systems. This culminating project aims to delve deeper into the integration of blockchain technology in IoT applications based on select use cases to uncover potential benefits and significant challenges of blockchain integration across different sectors. The research objectives to be addressed are: (RO1) How emerging vulnerabilities manifest in the implementation of blockchain within current IoT ecosystems. (RO2) How current opportunities …

Learning From Burning: Connecting Fire Managers And Fire Scientists, Coleman Lloyd Little

All Theses

The fire community is one of transparency and learning, and embedded in its culture is an openness of sharing successes and failures in order to learn and adapt. United by a shared desire to effectively understand and utilize controlled burns to successfully extinguish wildfires and research their lasting effects, fire managers and fire scientists coexist in partnerships commonly referred to as knowledge exchange networks. This research examines one such network, the Consortium of Appalachian Fire Managers and Scientists (CAFMS), through the experiences of some of its members, serving to develop an understanding of how the consortium functions as a knowledge …

Activist Scholars: Faculty Of Color Navigating Institutional Rewards And Punishments, Mai H. Vang

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Faculty of color (FoC) often engage in social justice scholarship that focuses on the needs of minoritized communities. Yet, FoC often are subjected to suspicion and scrutiny over concerns of objectivity and academic rigor. Despite these barriers, FoC have demonstrated successfully navigating traditional institutional reward systems while making significant contributions to social justice knowledge and knowledge production at research-intensive higher education institutions. Exploring how tenured FoC at research intensive higher education institutions have earned academic success while engaging non-traditional approaches to knowledge production is important to higher education’s mission to broaden scholarship to be practical, political, and beneficial to society. …

How Teachers Perceive Teacher Leadership In A Massachusetts Urban Turnaround High School: A Concurrent Mixed-Methods Case Study, Matthew Lawrence Mccarthy

Graduate Doctoral Dissertations

Turnaround schools represent a strategy for swiftly revitalizing underperforming educational institutions. This study examined how teachers perceived the role of teacher leadership within one urban turnaround high school. The study addressed the following research questions: 1. How do teachers within an urban turnaround high school conceptualize the role of teacher leadership? 2. In what ways does teacher leadership influence and contribute to the improvement of student performance in turnaround schools? This research was conducted through a concurrent mixed-methods case study that involved one urban turnaround high school. The findings offer valuable insights into teachers' perceptions of teacher leadership and its …

A Document Analysis On The Role Of Innovation In The Strategic Plans Of Small Private Liberal Arts Institutions, Jillain Kaye Veil-Ehnert

Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative study provides interpretations of the nature of strategic plans at small private liberal arts institutions. The study explored the concepts of innovation, entrepreneurship, and transformation detailed in the plans. This study included a specific cohort of eight United States small private liberal arts colleges with similar characteristics regarding academic programs, enrollment, and fiscal stability. The research was conducted through document analysis of the institutions’ publicly available strategic plans. The data collected illustrates what the documents indicates about innovation, entrepreneurship, and transformation at small private liberal arts colleges. Key findings on innovations in the plans included a focus on …

The Effect Of Employee-Oriented Hrm On Employee Downsizing Following Mergers & Acquisitions, Pingshu Li, Mengwei Li, Hyesook Chung, Clint Chadwick

Management Faculty Publications

Firms have increasingly engaged in Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) activities in recent years. A common strategy following M&A is employee downsizing that aims at achieving strategic goals and enhancing performance. This approach, however, raises concerns from a strategic human resource management (HRM) perspective. Research suggests that downsizing may breach employees' psychological contracts and hinder the development of firm-specific human capital. While this viewpoint has an intuitive appeal, we reconsider it by suggesting that, in the M&A context wherein employees expect significant organizational changes, downsizing does not necessarily lead employees to negative reactions. Instead, if acquiring firms have strong employee-oriented HRM …

Law Enforcement Attitudes, Decisions, And Behaviors In Encounters With The Mentally Ill, Melissa L. Griffin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Law enforcement officers frequently encounter challenges when interacting with mentally ill individuals, often resulting in negative outcomes. In this generic qualitative study, the attitudes, decision making process, and behaviors of law enforcement officers in such interactions were investigated, with a focus on identifying facilitators and barriers to peaceful interactions. Additionally, the goal was to explore how police officer training could be improved to enhance outcomes in dealing with mentally ill individuals. Using a generic qualitative approach, data was collected through in-depth individual interviews and analysis of relevant documents from police forces. Participants, selected through snowball sampling from Police Departments, shared …

A Theory Of Host Country Sentiments: An Illustration In Cross-Border Acquisitions, Daphne W. Yiu, William P. Wan, Xiaocong Tian, Kelly Xing Chen

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Capitalizing on massive sentiment diffusion and mobilization aided by mass media and social media nowadays, we introduce a general theory of host country sentiments to illuminate the granular, context-situated, and time dynamic power of social sentiments. We posit that host country is a value-laden context wherein a foreign entity’s strategic action stimulates host country stakeholders’ social sentiments and engagement in systems of discourses (“sentiment arousal”), mobilizes social sentiments toward the foreign entity (“sentiment competence”), and legitimizes social sentiments and the strategic action of the foreign entity (“sentiment resonance”). To test our theory, we employ a context of inward acquisitions by …

Shame, Guilt, And Behavioral Responses To Conflict In Organizational Life: A Correlational Study, Lori Anne Shaw

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the relationship between self-conscious emotions, namely shame and guilt, and constructive and destructive behavioral responses to conflict among working adults in the United States. Researchers have underscored the importance of task-focused conflict and adaptive leadership in fostering positive conflict outcomes. However, the connection between shame and guilt and behavioral responses has yet to be explored. Drawing upon the Conflict Dynamics Profile and the Test of Self-Conscious Affect-3, this correlational study examined the associations between shame and guilt and 15 distinct behavioral responses to conflict among a sample of 203 participants, mostly women employed full-time. The cross-sectional survey …

Do Social Support, Supervisory Feedback, And Job Stress Matter To An Employee’S Sense Of Ownership? Context In The Lodging Sector, Aladin M. Ibrahim, Zyra R. Cabrera, Rodin S. Pescuela

Journal of Global Hospitality and Tourism

In the face of intensified competition within the hospitality sector, exacerbated by the challenges of post-pandemic recovery, organizations are increasingly focused on re-engaging employees impacted by workforce reductions and retaining those who demonstrate a strong sense of attachment, care, and commitment to their workplace. These ownership behaviors are pivotal in fostering organizational stewardship and driving performance. However, the question arises: how can organizations cultivate and enhance these positive employee behaviors? This study investigates the influence of leader- and work-related factors, including social support, supervisory feedback, and job stress, on employees’ sense of ownership towards their organization. Employing a survey methodology, …

Ilead With An Edi Lens, José Aguiñaga, Rebecca Stallworth

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

This conceptual paper introduces the joint San José State University, School of Information and Simmons University, School of Library and Information Science, IMLS grant planning project: iLead: Preparing Tomorrow’s Library Leaders. During 2023–24, the grant team project members are designing an asynchronous online program where library employees may earn micro-credentials. The online program focuses on developing leadership skills with an equity, diversity, and inclusion lens. Contributions from national, state, and local library partners during the development of this curriculum will assist in applying for a future IMLS implementation grant. For more information on iLead: https://www.ileadedi.org/.

Quality Improvement Project: Evaluating The Impact Of An Intrapreneurial Skill Enhancement Program On Enhancing Innovation Perspectives And Overcoming Obstacles Among Nurse Practitioners At A Midwestern Academic Medical Center, Michael Thorn

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

Nurse practitioners (NPs) face barriers to being innovative in healthcare because of a need for more resources, education, and cultural inclusion compared to physicians and researchers (Joseph et al., 2019). NPs are often disregarded from involvement in the innovation ecosystem and seen as solely end-users of new products and services (Davis & Glasgow, 2020). This Doctor of Nursing Practice project aimed to assess the impact of a 5-week innovation and intrapreneurship course on NPs' perceptions of their ability to innovate at a Midwest academic hospital. The aim was to address the known innovation education gap that NPs rarely receive. Using …

Nursing Shortage Crisis: Can Implementing Supplemental Instruction Impact Nursing Students' Success In Nursing Programs?, Lauren Smith

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

This quality improvement project (QI) aimed to provide nursing students in the traditional Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program with different forms of supplemental instruction (SI). The problem identified considered that nursing students' success rates have been dwindling for years, decreasing the number of nurses available. The purpose was to evaluate the effectiveness of SI in promoting student success throughout the semester. SI was first introduced at the University of Missouri-Kansas City in 1973 and is utilized primarily to improve student success in courses that are often considered "high-risk" for failure (Bowman et al., 2021). When SI is appropriately …

Osland, Joyce S., San Jose State University

Emeritus and Retired Faculty Biographies

Case Western Reserve University, 1990 Ph.D.

University of Washington, 1972 MSW

Social Welfare, University of Minnesota, 1970 B. A.

Quality Improvement Project Integrating Telemedicine To Reduce Patient No-Shows, Ferdinand Akoko

Doctor of Nursing Practice Projects

No-show among psychiatric outpatient clinic patients is a major problem due to disrupted clinical flow, reduced productivity, and financial losses. This quality improvement project implemented telehealth services to decrease the no-show rates in an outpatient psychiatric clinic in Texas. This project employed quantitative methods to compare the no-show rates pre- and post-intervention for 90 days. The quantitative data were analyzed by paired t-tests. A total of 1,790 appointments were sampled during the implementation period. The obtained results are statistically significant in decreasing the rates of no-shows for all adult appointments from 18% to 13% (p ≈ 0.0067). New appointment no-shows …

Why Take Ap? Access To High School Advanced Placement Courses Long-Term Impact On Career/Workplace Opportunities, Gina Marie Frasca

Theses and Dissertations

This study sought to understand the long-term impact of providing access and equity to highly rigorous Advanced Placement (AP) coursework to underserved and/or underrepresented high school students, and its long-term impacts on career. Using a qualitative approach, this study explored the experiences and opportunities of 6 graduates from a rural public high school in New Jersey with open access to AP courses who are now in a career/workplace environment. All six graduates took at least one AP course while in high school, graduated between 2010 and 2016, and had two or more potential barriers to opportunity while attending high school …

From Steps To Strides: My Evolving Journey Into Social Work, Lacresha N. Ffrench

Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects

This paper reflects on my journey, shaped by my heritage as a first-generation Jamaican-American and my experiences in education. The narrative begins with the story of my parents, Desmond and Pauline Ffrench, who immigrated from Jamaica with the hope of providing me with greater opportunities. Their sacrifices and unwavering support have been instrumental in my success. My career in education began in 2019, where I transitioned through various roles, from an educational assistant to the restorative practices coordinator. These experiences, coupled with my deepening commitment to advocating for students, led me to pursue a master's in social work. Encouraged by …

Deviance And Innovation: Change In A “Society Of Saints”, Thaddeus V. Drake, Derrick L. Mcclain

Joint Force Quarterly

Μilitary innovation and adaptation studies are a growth industry. Since the publication of Barry Posen’s seminal study The Sources of Military Doctrine in the early 1980s, the field has grown extensively. Despite well-known military thinkers’ recent book-length treatments of the topic, most studies of change in the military retain two key commonalities. First, nearly all assume that innovation or adaptation is inherently good and worth pursuing. Second, they agree that militaries are famously resistant to change and accept this as part of the fundamental nature of the military system. This article acknowledges the first point; indeed, modern military leaders continually …

The Relationship Between Planning Process And Job Satisfaction Of Part-Time Personnel, Saskia Azalia, Ali Araafi Akbar

Jurnal Sosial Humaniora Terapan

This research investigates the part-time Human Resource Planning process at the Indonesia International Motor Show (IIMS) 2022 event organized by PT Dyandra Promosindo, alongside the job satisfaction levels of the Human Resources during their tenure. Employing a qualitative approach, we utilized methods such as direct field observations, interviews, and the distribution of questionnaires (surveys) to assess Human Resource performance. The findings indicate that the part-time Human Resource Planning process at PT Dyandra Promosindo encompasses forecasting requirements, identifying the requisite number of Human Resources, determining Human Resource needs, training (briefing), and monitoring and controlling. The job satisfaction levels of the Human …

Leading With Joy: Lessons From The Literature, Jennifer A. Keach, Jenne M. Klotz, Galen J. Talis

Libraries

This article provides an introduction for library leaders at all levels to support equitable conditions for joy in the workplace, as well as for anyone who wants to develop their personal practice of joy through lessons discovered in popular, academic, and professional writing and multimedia. Joy has a place in contemporary libraries’ conversations about burnout, vocational awe, and care. The article begins with a guide to the annotated bibliography which explores five themes: defining joy, finding individual joy, work and organizational joy, empowering change with joy, and joy-adjacent emotions. The thematic guide may be read alone or used as an …

Improving Patient Awareness And Compliance With Telephone Follow-Up Calls Post Visit, Ajibola Kutti

Student Scholarly Projects

Practice Problem: In a high-volume clinic without current follow up practices post visit, a telephone follow-up (TFU) intervention was implemented within three days of patient outpatient appointments.

PICOT: The PICOT question that guided this project was: In adult patients in a high-volume clinic (P), does the implementation of telephone follow-up calls by nurses (I) compared to current practices (C) improve patient compliance and post-office follow-up visits (O) over 10-weeks (T)?

Evidence: The literature provided recommendations and evidence that supported the effectiveness of following up with patients within three days of leaving the healthcare clinic. TFU’s are a cost-effective intervention that …

Artificial Intelligence As A Tool Supporting Organizational Entrepreneurship – Theoretical Problems And Case Analysis, Jerzy Kisielnicki, Jan Zadrożny, Sebastian Fabisiak

European Management Studies

Purpose: This article aims to present the results of qualitative research on the analysis of the relationship between artificial intelligence (AI) and organizational entrepreneurship. The purpose of this research is to determine, in terms of qualitative analysis, what kind of relationships are taking place. AI is part of a new trend in the development of digital technology, defined by the acronym DARQ. Its elements are the following digital systems: Distributed Ledger, Artificial Intelligence, Extended Reality, Quantum Computing. Methodology: The research procedure consists of the following stages: a literature analysis, qualitative research in the focus group, evaluation by experts, and the …

Social Entrepreneurship And Entrepreneurial Ecosystems: Do They Fit?, Patrycja Klimas, Martyna Wronka-Pośpiech

European Management Studies

Purpose: This paper attempts to answer the question to what extent the entrepreneurial ecosystems theory fits in with the social entrepreneurship phenomenon. The objective is to fill this gap by presenting findings from an integrative review of prior systematic reviews available in the entrepreneurial ecosystems literature. Design/methodology/approach: In the paper, we apply a scoping review and an umbrella review focused on an in-depth analysis of findings obtained in previous reviews, thus taking the form of a review aiming for theory development. Findings: Our paper contributes to addressing the gaps in the current literature on social entrepreneurship and ecosystems. First, it …

Effective Strategies For Building Traditional Church Membership, Carlos Blake

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A dwindling number of congregational members poses a significant risk to the continuity of U.S. churches. Leaders in traditional congregations need effective tactics for membership expansion. Drawing upon Bolman and Deal’s four-frame theory, the purpose of this qualitative pragmatic inquiry was to explore effective strategies leaders of traditional churches use to build membership. The participants were six leaders from traditional churches situated in the Southern and Eastern parts of the United States. Data were collected by conducting semistructured interviews and archival documents. Thematic analysis of the data revealed four prominent themes: influential leadership, community involvement, use of technology and social …

Using Home Telehealth To Reduce Hospital Readmission Rates In Heart Failure Patients In The Emergency Room, Margaret Ashby

Student Scholarly Projects

Practice Problem: In one hospital, the readmission rates and emergency room visit for patients who are diagnosed with heart failure (HF) was increasing.

PICOT: Among veterans who are hospitalized for HF (P) does the enrollment into a care coordination program for these veterans (I) compared to current practices (C), reduce the hospital readmission rates and emergency department visits (O) within 10-weeks (T)?

Evidence: The literature supports the idea that home telehealth as a home monitoring program for patients who have chronic diseases such as heart failure (HF) and has had success in patients with hypertension amongst patients. Transition strategies from …