Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Modeling And Analysis Of Social Networks, Robert S. Renfro Ii

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation develops new methods for the modeling and analysis of social networks. Social networks describe the complex relationships of individuals and groups in multiple overlapping contexts. Influence in a social network impacts behavior and decision making in every setting in which individuals participate. This study defines a methodology for modeling and analyzing this complex behavior using a Flow-Model representation. Multiple objectives in an influencing effort targeted at a social network are modeled using Goal Programming. Value Focused Thinking is applied to model influence and predict decisions based on the reaction of the psychological state of individuals to environmental stimuli. …

An Analysis Of Rowan University Fund Raising And Communication Practices, Karen D. Dunnington

Theses and Dissertations

Public colleges and universities need more income than government can provide. States now typically provide less than half the funding for public universities, like Rowan University. Alumni fund raising and other gifts bridge this gap. This study describes variables that affect donor motivation in other schools, and measures those variables among Rowan University subjects. The author applied a 16-question protocol to a purposive sample of 31. The sample was comprised of key fund raising personnel and target study subjects from students to college presidents in seven groups. Extensive individual commentary supplements the sample's small size. The major findings clearly support …

Study Of Small Businesses’ Need For, And Interest In, A Course On How To Produce Effective Publications, Lori Wagoner

Theses and Dissertations

With the advent of PageMaker and other user-friendly publications programs almost anyone can create publications, with or without an understanding of typography or layout and design. These publications represent the organization and affect its image, as well as its bottom line.

These software programs allow an organization to produce its own publications and handle its own publicity. This is a great advantage for small entrepreneurial businesses that may not be able to hire a professional to produce brochures, flyers or newsletters. The problem, however, is that unless the person has an understanding of typography and layout and design, the publication …

Recruiting And Retaining Healthcare Association Members, Ronette Wilson

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to identify popular techniques used to recruit and retain members for healthcare and medical associations. The author compared and contrasted three medical associations and their membership benefits to show which benefits members value most.

Related research indicated recruiting and retaining members has become increasingly competitive among healthcare and medical associations. A new-member survey was conducted for three healthcare associations. Research indicated people primarily join organizations for specialized information, but they also hope to fulfill status-seeking needs.

A successful recruiting and retaining plan involves more than attractive benefits. Members' motivational needs must be included. Based …

Amusement Park Crisis Management, Joe Costal

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis attempts to establish a benchmark for amusement park crisis management through the careful examination of two contrasting crisis response case studies.

The first study, a deadly fire at Six Flags Great Adventure, in Jackson Township, New Jersey, exemplifies the causes, components and effects of improper crisis planning. Analysis of the study closely examines all events leading to and resulting from the fire, with most content coming from the memories of professionals directly involved in the tragedy. Designations of the Six Flags case provided the basis of every amusement crisis plan written since.

The second study, a deadly boat …

The Implications Of The Financial Services Modernization Act On Life Insurance Industry Communications, Michael A. Weinberg

Theses and Dissertations

This study's purpose was to assess the effects of legislation known as The Financial Services Modernization Act on life insurance industry communicators. The November, 1999 legislation effectively broke down the barriers separating the major financial services industries in the U.S. - life insurance, banking, and securities.

An email survey of a random sample of the Life Communicators Association (LCA) U.S. membership was conducted. The LCA is a professional organization of marketing communications, advertising, and public relations professionals working for life insurance and other financial services firms. 242 surveys were emailed.

The results indicated that most of the LCA members were …

Rutgers Camden Center For The Arts Audience Study, Meridith Auerbach

Theses and Dissertations

The Rutgers Camden Center for the Arts strives to serve the regional community with diverse types of programming and to promote a love for the performing arts. The center wants to program events people are interested in attending. Audience likes and dislikes need to be studied and considered when choosing events for a season. The audience's opinion is important because they bring in revenue and therefore play a key role in the success of a theater.

There are factors that may persuade people to attend programs at the Rutgers Camden Center for the Arts. Likewise, audiences may have negative perceptions …

Development Of A Course Of Study For An Undergraduate Course In Global Communication, Kim Lynn Mullikin

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis studies the components of successful undergraduate global communication courses. The thesis examines curriculum of American and European colleges and universities' global communication courses and programs. The author analyzed syllabi and course textbooks and surveyed Rowan University College of Communication staff members to develop a course of study for an undergraduate course in global communication.

The study determined that the top 10 topics to be included in a global communication course are: culture, globalization, politics, adaptation, race, television and film, business, conflict and culture shock.

Culture and globalization were covered in more than 50% of the syllabi studied. Adaptation, …

Branding For Nonprofit Organizations, Shannon Cogan

Theses and Dissertations

In the world, 546,000 nonprofit organizations all compete for the same thing: time and money. With the ease of Internet philanthropic giving, traditional nonprofit organizations must change with the times or be left in the wake. In an age of constant message bombardment, nonprofits must continually reinvent themselves to avoid getting lost in the crowd. Today, many nonprofits have found branding is the answer.

To determine the importance of nonprofit branding, the author reviewed all available literature and interviewed a senior-level manager at United Way of America. In addition, the author performed a literature review of all materials obtained from …

Public Relations Efforts To Promote New Graduate Programs, Joe Chambers

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis was to accumulate information relative to the various public relations practices, methods, and procedures utilized by Rowan University, a state institution of higher learning, and comparing and contrasting them with that of a private institution of higher learning. The differences and similarities between public and private institutions of higher learning were examined and a survey of Undergraduate Accounting students at Rowan was evaluated quantitatively.

Twenty-four questions were on the survey that covered the universe of undergraduate Accounting I and Accounting Il students at Rowan University during the fall semester 2000. Of these twenty-four questions, thirteen …

Factors Affecting Exchange Relationships Among Subordinates And Supervisors: A Study Of Military Officers, Laurie K. Richter

Theses and Dissertations

This research examined the effect of organizational structure on the relationships between subordinates and their supervisors using measures of leader-member exchange (LMX), mentoring effectiveness, perceived organizational support (POS), perceived opportunities for promotion, job satisfaction, affective commitment, and intent to remain. The sample obtained included 147 subordinate Air Force traditional Civil Engineer officers, Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) officers, Bioenvironmental Engineer officers, and 27 squadron commanders at 19 Air Force bases. The methods of multiple analysis of variance and structural equation modeling were used to evaluate five research questions and nineteen hypotheses. Overall, no differences were found between the types of subordinate …

Factors Influencing Air Force Members' Tolerance Of Fraternization, Amanda G. Brandau

Theses and Dissertations

AFI 36-2909, provides the current policy on acceptable and unacceptable social interactions between Air Force members. The intent of distinguishing relationships as professional or unprofessional is to preserve proper respect for authority and maintain focus on the mission through professional relationships while avoiding the negative effects of unprofessional relationships. Fraternization is one unacceptable type, which governs relationships between officers and enlisted members. There have long been differences between official policy and actual practice in the area of fraternization. These differences likely influence the acceptance of existing policy, and the amount of tolerance toward behaviors that Air Force policy would consider …

Analysis Of Factors Influencing Tolerance Of Fraternization, George J. Matusak Iii

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores several factors that might explain discrepancies in the tolerance level of fraternization among company grade officers within the Air Force. Factors that may influence implementation may include the nature of the relationship (platonic or sexual), the sex of the participants (same or different gender or gender of the senior person), whether the incident occurred between people in the same chain of command, and whether the survey respondent was ever stationed at a remote location. This research used a survey sent out to a population of company grade officers and comprising of scenarios that varied the combination of …

Influence Of Feedback And Comment Labels On Information Sharing In A Computer Mediated Collaborative Environment, Gary D. Denney

Theses and Dissertations

A group support system (GSS) uses a combination of networked personal computers, software, and human facilitation to improve the group decision-making process. Group support Systems are being used in the Air Force today in a variety of capacities and in particular by the Warner-Robins Air Logistics Center (WR-ALC) to assess acquisition risks. Prior GSS research has found that certain structural and social dimensions of GSS designs might influence whether optimal process improvements take place. However, the dimensions that positively influence group performance have continued to be a matter of debate. This thesis looked at several structural and social contingencies to …

Black And White: A Historical Examination Of Lynching Coverage And Editorial Impact In Select Virginia Newspapers, James E. Hall

Theses and Dissertations

This is a historical examination of how select Virginia newspapers covered lynching during two time periods, 1880 to 1900 and 1920 to 1932. The newspapers include white-owned and black-owned publications. The study features the owners/editors of four papers, one black and one white from each period. They are Joseph Bryan, John Mitchell, Jr., Douglas Southall Freeman and P.B. Young. The study also examines the standards of journalistic conduct that prevailed during the time periods, and how the selected editors met these expectations. The study concludes that white-owned papers, during the early period, reflected the racism that existed in Virginia at …

Fame And Latter-Day Saint Youth: Value Conflicts And The Interpretive Audience, Shellie M. Frey

Theses and Dissertations

Fame is a paradoxical issue: a phenomenon that is both embraced and shunned simultaneously in American culture and particularly within many religious institutions. Leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), for instance, discourage its members (particularly the youth) from seeking out fame as well as famous individuals as role models. Yet they also incorporate positive rhetoric about fame as well in terms of famous LDS people, landmarks or groups. Furthermore, various aspects of the LDS Church (worldwide televised conferences, widely distributed books written by Church leaders, etc.) are highly mediated, thus, integrated with a public venue …