Digital Commons Network^™

Rule Breaking In Corporations: Does Leadership And Seriousness Make A Difference?, Marissa T. Montagna, Ellen S. Cohn

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

Group Occupational Therapy Sessions Using Hippotherapy: Growth Of Resilience And Leadership In Youth Facing Adversity, Marra I. Robert, Julie Jacob, Gerry Conti, Laura Alegre

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy

Background: Youth experiencing adversity face significant challenges and are more likely to experience mental health concerns, low self-confidence, and difficulty with leadership skills, impacting their future occupational potential. This study examined the impact of using hippotherapy in a group occupational therapy intervention on the resilience, mental health, and leadership of youth facing adversity.

Method: Twenty-one youth experiencing adversity participated in a 10-week group occupational therapy intervention. Using a single-group pretest/posttest mixed-methods design, the Resilience Scale for Children and Adolescents (RSCA) was administered pr and postintervention alongside structured interviews.

Results: Quantitative results indicated statistically significant improvements in emotional …

Distributed Leadership For Mission Integration, Mark J. Laboe D.Min.

Vincentian Studies

As Catholic and Vincentian institutions navigate increasing religious pluralism, declining numbers of vowed religious, and changing expectations about leadership, new models of mission leadership are needed. This article proposes distributed leadership for mission as a framework for sustaining Catholic and Vincentian identity in higher education. Drawing from the history of Vincent de Paul, Louise de Marillac, and the Vincentian Family, as well as contemporary scholarship on leadership and organizational effectiveness, it argues that mission is best carried forward through intentional networks of leaders who share responsibility for cultivating institutional culture and advancing a common purpose. The article explores the theoretical …

Job Satisfaction Among Latina Female Administrators In Higher Education: A Phenomenological Study, Susana Garcia

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to describe the job satisfaction experiences for Latina female administrators at higher education institutions in the Central California region. The theory guiding this study was Herzberg’s two-factor theory. The central research question was: What are the descriptions of the lived experiences related to job satisfaction among Latina female administrators in higher education institutions in the Central California region? The sub-questions focused on the motivators and hygiene experiences that lead to job satisfaction among the participants. A transcendental-phenomenological qualitative design was selected for the study to examine the job satisfaction experiences of 14 …

Interpreting Visibility: Leadership And Employee Perspectives On Performance, Trust, And Commitment In Hierarchical Organizations, Joshua A. Hart

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative multiple-case study was to examine how leaders and employees interpreted workplace visibility and presence within hierarchical organizations. The researcher conducted semistructured interviews with 30 participants, including 15 leaders and 15 employees, across nongovernmental, civilian government, and military cases. The researcher organized 43 codes into seven themes. Participants described workplace visibility as selective access to employee activity rather than complete evidence of performance, commitment, reliability, motivation, or engagement. They described attendance, responsiveness, communication, and visible output as more perceptible aspects of work, while preparation, technical reasoning, informal coordination, and internal experience were less apparent. Participants depicted …

Strengthening Communities With Extension's People Empowering People Program, Stacey F. Stearns, Faye Griffiths-Smith

Journal of Extension

Programs that encourage personal growth, community connections, and civic engagement are even more essential as digital technology and virtual platforms disconnect residents from communities. The University of Connecticut People Empowering People (UConn PEP) program is one option. It strengthens individuals and communities through a 10-week facilitated program, hosted by the community, and taught by UConn-trained facilitators. UConn PEP has expanded to other states, was translated to Spanish, Arabic, and Portuguese, and three other countries expressed interest in offering the PEP curriculum. Programs such as this are an area for continuous expansion as Extension adapts to the changing needs of audiences.

Leadership Dynamics, Transparency, & Governance During Crisis In Religious Organizations: Discussing The Roman Catholic Church’S Centralized Authority, John D. Rudnick Jr, Raymond L. Enzweiler, Srecko Koralija

Interdisciplinary Journal of Leadership Studies

Abstract
This article considers two high-profile crises inside the Roman Catholic Church. The rejection of the Vatican audit in 2015 and the financial loss from a large investment in London real estate exemplify tension and balance between centralized, hierarchical leadership and institutional accountability. These cases examine leadership patterns relative to transparency, communication, and governance, evaluating the efficacy of centralized power under financial distress. The discussion is organized across pre-crisis, active crisis, and post-crisis phases by integrating insights from transactional, transformational, servant, and adaptive leadership style models. Performance improvement (PI) tools such as Before Action Reviews (BARs), After Action Reviews (AARs), …

Training Apart, Together: Team Dynamics In Individual Sports And Surgical Residency, W. Jack Palmer, Dylan Bertoni, Elizabeth E. Cottrill, Colin T. Huntley

Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery Faculty Papers

Surgeons in training share notable parallels with competitive athletes, including rigorous training, skill specialization, and functioning under pressure. Surgical educators have leveraged this comparison, incorporating techniques from sports psychology, such as mental imagery and mindfulness, to improve trainees' individual performance and well-being. Surgical trainees and athletes both rely on effective teamwork for optimal outcomes, suggesting that residency leaders can glean valuable team-level insights from sports psychology. This article examines how the structure of surgical residency influences team dynamics, using concepts from sports psychology to identify evidence-based strategies for improving program cohesion and resident well-being. The surgical literature typically conceptualizes surgery …

"A View From Mid-Field": Preparing Middle Managers For The Communication Paradoxes Of Change Management, Jennifer A. Sandoval, Robert S. Littlefield

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

In this study, 20 middle managers are interviewed about the increasing need for flexibility, responsiveness, and change management skills at a large, diverse, and public Southeastern university. The data reveal the middle managers identifying and coping with four paradoxical aspects of their change management role: the cognitive/internal paradoxes of capacity and knowledge and the behavior/external paradoxes of advocacy and process. The results demonstrate how these academic administrators managed the shifting terrain through internal agency (knowledge) and external agency (behavior). These paradoxes reveal the complexity of their role as a multihyphenate in today’s academic landscape as well as an overarching tension …

Outside The Church Walls: An Empirical Exploration Of Organizational Culture And Pastoral Leadership In Two Urban Churches, Althea P. Gordon-Scott, Joshua D. Henson, Bethany D. Peters, Katrina Hutchins

Great Commission Research Journal

A mini-ethnographic case study explored the interconnections of organizational culture and pastoral leadership with sustainable outreach in two very different churches that focus on ministry to people with life-controlling issues and economic need: a small, primarily Black church in the Great Lakes region and a large, primarily White and Hispanic church in the western United States. Despite their differences, the churches shared similar espoused values and leadership characteristics that facilitated their outreach initiatives. Themes derived from the data include altruistic foundations, the value of relationships, exemplary pastoral leadership, organizational challenges, agile organizational systems, and the centrality of God.

The Role Of Hardiness On Leadership In Big-Box Retail Managers, Cari Alvarez

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Retail managers face constant customer demands, unpredictable staffing, and high-pressure performance expectations, yet little research has examined how these leaders sustain effectiveness under such conditions. This qualitative descriptive study explored how big-box retail managers in the United States described their development and use of hardiness across the constructs of control, commitment, and challenge to lead in a complex retail environment, an area not previously examined in the literature. Hardiness theory served as the theoretical framework for the study. Data were collected through 12 semistructured interviews with retail managers and an online questionnaire completed by 45 qualifying respondents. Interview data were …

Compassionate Care As Nursing Leadership For Mitigating Fatigue And Boosting Thriving Environments, Chizimuzo T.C. Okoli

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Background: Globally, nurses experience high rates of compassion fatigue (CF) and low compassion satisfaction (CS), especially in Asian regions (Xie et al., 2021). As a core feature of professional nursing identity, compassionate care delivery fosters positive patient outcomes, workforce productivity and growth, and organizational thriving (Ghafourifard et al., 2022; Robinson et al., 2024). Compassionate leadership is a dynamic process that engenders an organizational culture that values compassion for the betterment of others (Ramachandran et al., 2024; Shuck et al., 2019). There is a crucial need to understand factors associated with CS and CF while examining nursing leadership styles that can …

The Lack Of Social Interaction In The Full-Time Remote Work Environment And Career Development, Tiphany Moguel-Young

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore the lack of social interaction in the full-time remote work environment and its influence on career development for remote workers at a U.S.-based financial services organization in Dallas, Texas. The theory that guided this study was social cognitive career theory. The central research question was, “What attributes of social interactions do remote workers perceive as assisting or hindering their career development?” Data collection consisted of semistructured interviews with nonmanagerial remote workers, a focus group with managers, and anonymous open-ended survey responses and reflective journaling from all participants. The data …

The Effect Of Mental Health Check-Ins On Stigma And Symptoms Of Anxiety, Depression, And Post-Traumatic Stress, Benjamin Joseph Boeke

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This applied quantitative study examined whether participation in structured mental health check-ins was associated with self-stigma toward seeking psychological help and reported symptoms of anxiety, post-traumatic stress, and depression among law enforcement officers. Using a cross-sectional, nonexperimental comparative design, anonymous survey data were collected from 130 active sworn officers across 10 small and mid-sized Iowa law enforcement agencies. The agencies included those with and without mandatory check-in policies; primary comparisons were based on officers’ reported participation in at least one check-in. Measures included the Self-Stigma of Seeking Help Scale, Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, PTSD Checklist for DSM-5, and Patient Health Questionnaire-9. …

Book Review: Nostalgic Virility As A Cause Of War: How Leaders Of Great Powers Cope With Status Decline, Christine C. Cook

Parameters Bookshelf – Online Book Reviews

Author: Matthieu Grandpierron

Reviewed by: Dr. Christine C. Cook, (colonel, US Army Reserve, retired), adjunct professor, US Naval War College

What happens when powerful nations feel their global status slipping away? In Nostalgic Virility as a Cause of War, Matthieu Grandpierron explores how emotional responses—rooted in pride, identity, and historical memory—can drive leaders of great powers toward conflict. This provocative study blends psychology, international relations, and strategic leadership to reveal how nostalgia can become a dangerous force in global politics.

©2026 Christine C. Cook

Leadership To Strengthen Research Culture And Foster Responsible Conduct Of Research: A Case Study, Seán Lacey, Jean Ricken, Stephen Cassidy

Publications

Objective Research performing organizations (RPOs) are increasingly expected to strengthen research culture and support the responsible conduct of research (RCR). Institutional supports are central to advancing research culture across RPOs. To inform development and evaluation of these supports, surveys were conducted within an RPO.

Method Perceptions of research culture and RCR were examined using surveys conducted in 2022 and 2024. Between surveys, accessible training and supports on good research practices were developed and deployed.

Results Awareness of research impact, authorship, and collegial support remained high (p > 0.05), with significant improvements in access to resources and reporting pathways for inappropriate research …

Leading From The Precipice: How Academic Deans Are Navigating Artificial Intelligence In Higher Education, V. Dozier, Sarina Chugani Molina

Copley Library: Faculty Scholarship

This qualitative case study examines how associate deans at a medium-sized Catholic university respond to the rapid integration of generative artificial intelligence (AI). Guided by decolonial and feminist frameworks, the study analyzes survey data from seven academic leaders to understand their concerns, decision-making processes, and emerging practices. Our findings reveal uneven adoption, limited institutional guidance, and ongoing concerns about academic integrity, equity, and bias. The study also highlights the often-unseen relational and emotional labor involved in supporting faculty and students. We conclude by recommending flexible, collaborative approaches to AI governance that attend to context, care, and diverse ways of knowing.

Co-Dominion: The Changing Nature Of The Adamic Covenant In An Age Of Artificial Intelligence, Corey Hastings

Masters Theses

Theologians and religious bodies attest to the rising influence of artificial intelligence (AI) in governments, the economy, and the lives of the people of God. Through the covenant with Adam, God gave humans the blessing of dominion and capabilities unique to creation to till the earth. Today, humans retain the image of God but AI increasingly displaces human functions with coordinated agency. Using Hebrew language exegesis of passages from Genesis, Exodus, and Leviticus, this study compares capabilities gifted to humans with the scope of current and near future AI models. It incorporates direct artifact analysis of a large-language model as …

The Perceptions Of Leadership Styles On Educator Job Satisfaction Leading To Retention In Rural Title I Elementary Schools: A Transcendental Phenomenological Study, Savannah Spotz

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to describe the administration leadership style on job satisfaction retention for elementary educators at rural Title I elementary institutions in Delaware. The problem was that elementary teachers have limited job satisfaction retention influenced by administrator leadership style. This study was guided by Herzberg’s motivation-hygiene theory. The study applied a purposive sampling technique to recruit 10 elementary educators of any race, gender, and ethnicity who have worked for two or more years at a rural Title I institution in a Northern state. Individual semi-structured interviews were used to gather data, along with long-answer …

The Intersectionality Of Juvenile Justice And Education: A Comparative Study Of Educational Governance Typologies Within The Juvenile Justice System, Domonique Mckenzie-Charles

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Each year, a number of youths find themselves at an intersection between the school-to-prison pipeline (SPP) and the criminal justice system. This research study examined the relationship between educational governance typologies of juvenile justice systems and juvenile recidivism in 10 U.S. states, with a centralized focus on the model of internalized governance. The purpose of this research study was to develop a comparative typology of educational governance through the evaluation of leadership structures, to assess the association between educational governance typologies and rehabilitative outcomes. The following comparative study discovered how educational governance typologies differ across states and whether these differences …

The Lived Experiences Of Special Education Teachers Regarding The Influence Of Transformational Leadership: A Phenomenological Study, Jaleesa Glover

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological study was to understand the lived experiences of school leadership among special education teachers in inner-city charter schools in the United States. At this stage in the research, the lived experience of school leadership support is generally defined as how special educators perceived, interpreted, and responded to the leadership behaviors of their school administrators within their professional roles. The theory guiding this study was Burns’ transformational leadership theory. The central research question addressed in this study was: What are the lived experiences of special education teachers in inner-city schools with school leadership support? Data …

Fostering Future Difference-Makers: The Integration Of Leadership Training In Law Schools, Leah Teague

Journal of Legal Education

No abstract provided.

Obeying In Advance Will Not Save You: How Adaptive Leadership Can Help Legal Education Stay Mission Driven In Times Of Authoritarianism And Fear, Tania Luma

Journal of Legal Education

No abstract provided.

What Do We Do At The End Of A World?: Cultivating Emergent Leadership In A Time Of Collapse, Brent Godfrey

Journal of Legal Education

No abstract provided.

Conviction, Character, Courage: The Case For Integrating Values Into The Professional Identity Formation Of Tomorrow's Lawyer-Leaders, Katya S. Cronin

Journal of Legal Education

No abstract provided.

Moral Virtues, Professional Identity, And Leadership, Timothy W. Floyd

Journal of Legal Education

No abstract provided.

The Large Impact Of Small Groups On The Character-Based Leadership Development Of Law Students, Benjamin Rigney, Janice Craft

Journal of Legal Education

No abstract provided.

Strategies Human Resource Leaders Use To Implement Holistic Wellness Programs To Reduce Absenteeism And Increase Profitability, Diane Hardy

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Human resources (HR) leaders struggle to reduce employee absenteeism and increase organizational profitability due to a lack of effective strategies for implementing holistic wellness programs. Identifying effective strategies for implementing holistic wellness programs is essential for helping HR leaders address absenteeism and strengthen organizational profitability. Grounded in the Pender health promotion model, the purpose of this qualitative pragmatic inquiry was to identify and explore effective strategies for implementing holistic wellness programs to reduce employee absenteeism and increase organizational profitability. Participants were nine HR leaders from medium- to large-sized organizations across the United States who implemented holistic wellness programs to reduce …

J Mich Dent Assoc August 2026

The Journal of the Michigan Dental Association

Each month, the Journal of the Michigan Dental Association delivers news, information, and features about Michigan dentistry to our state's oral health community and the MDA's 6,200-plus members. It remains the main publication reaching Michigan dentists and is available worldwide through ADA Commons.

The August 2026 (Volume 108, No. 8) issue of the Journal is published in print format to provide updates and insights for Michigan's oral health community and MDA members. Print editions occur every other month beginning with January.

The August 2026 issue of the Journal of the Michigan Dental Association explores clinical, professional, legal, leadership, and public …

"Building Something Great!": Fifth-Grade Teachers Nurturing Hope Through Professional Learning Communities – A Telling Case, Matthew H. Huffaker

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Teachers and educational leaders face numerous obstacles that can seem insurmountable but overcome through collaboration. “High-hope thinking provides a special advantage when we face obstacles in our goal attainment” (Snyder, 1994). Effective PLCs provide the fertile ground for teacher collaboration, influencing schoolwide communities and student learning (DuFour et al., 2016; Hord, 2004; van Es, 2012). Collaboratively identifying challenges and coming up with solutions with the support of others (what effective PLCs do) is an ideal setting for observing hope.

This study explored how hope is fostered among teachers during their weekly professional learning community meetings. Further, this study examined how …