Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Governors And Public Higher Education: A Multiple Case Study Of Governors Bill Haslam And Paul Patton, Shannon W. Gilkey

Dissertations

Governors can impose tremendous influence on public policy. In their attempt to address issues that their states face, and in order to sustain and improve the present and long-term health of its citizenry, some governors invest significant resources to shape the direction of their state’s postsecondary system of education. This study examined the critical elements that led two different governors to enact large-scale impact on state postsecondary education by investigating three research questions through a qualitative multiple-instrument case study: (a) How do governors’ vision for their state intersect with their view of postsecondary education as a key policy priority area …

Implementation Of The Focus Act In Tennessee: A Case Study, Carol Byrd Clark

Dissertations

The purpose of this single-case holistic descriptive case study was to document and describe the implementation of the FOCUS Act from the perspective of presidents and senior leaders at the Tennessee universities that transitioned from system-level governance by the Tennessee Board of Regents to governance by institutional boards of trustees. The decentralization of governance mandated by the FOCUS Act is an infrequent occurrence in higher education and presented a unique opportunity to examine how the universities prepared for the governance change and how university leaders viewed the governance change after implementation.

The central research question of this study was: What …

A Collaborative Perspectives Approach For Understanding Effective Care Coordination In Autism Spectrum Disorder, Rachel Severs

Dissertations

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that causes significant impairment in social and communication areas. The severity of the disorder can often result in a substantial degree and amount of service access and expenditures relating to a child’s needs. This study examined the experiences of how family caregivers and service providers of children with ASD view service delivery using a basic qualitative research design. For the study, 10 participants (five family caregivers and five service providers) were enrolled and interviewed. Interview data were collected and coded to produce a qualitative analysis of the experiences of these individuals who …

Joint-Admissions Explored: Determining The Existence Of A Transfer-Affirming Culture Between Owensboro Community And Technical College And Western Kentucky University-Owensboro, Angela Loretta Higdon

Dissertations

A growing number of postsecondary students transfer from a two-year to a four-year institution. The joint admissions program between Owensboro Community and Technical College (OCTC) and Western Kentucky University-Owensboro (WKU-O) is a unique example of such a transfer relationship. Research is needed to understand the nature of the joint admissions relationship. The purpose of this case study was to explore the joint admissions relationship between OCTC and WKU-O, in order to determine the existence of a transfer-affirming culture, in accordance with Handel’s (2011) transfer-affirming conceptual framework.

The case study was bounded by time, including the previous three academic years (2014-2015, …

Emotional Intelligence And Leader Development: Measuring Trait Emotional Intelligence Scores Of Mid- Career Commissioned U.S. Army Officers, Stephan Lorentz Walters

Dissertations

The United States Army is preparing for the ambiguous and consistently changing realities of the modern world by developing leaders who are adaptive, mentally agile, and open to change. However, without instruments or tools that purposefully measure adaptability within each individual leader, it is challenging to determine the U.S. Army’s effectiveness at the strategic goal to develop adaptive and self-aware leaders.

The dependent variables of interest are the trait emotional intelligence scores of commissioned U.S. Army leaders who have at least 10 years of military experience. This quantitative survey based study samples (N = 28) mid-career U.S. Army Majors using …

A Narrative Policy Analysis Of The Responses To Tennessee Promise And Plans For Transfer Receptivity By Six Tennessee Public Universities' Presidents And Provosts, Lori Elliott Buchanan

Dissertations

The Tennessee Promise scholarship and mentoring program broadened access and affordability to postsecondary education in Tennessee. This policy innovation increased the number of students seeking to engage in postsecondary education. It also shifted some of the state’s students to the more affordable community colleges and colleges of applied technology for their first two years of college. Equally important, Tennessee Promise incentivized the presidents and provosts of the six public universities under review to expand existing transfer receptivity efforts as their universities prepared to receive and support Tennessee Promise community college student transfers.

The purpose of this narrative policy analysis based …

Litigation In Search Of Educational Opportunity: An Analysis Of Abbeville County School District Et Al. V. The State Of South Carolina Et Al., Jennifer Michelle Hein

Dissertations

Like many southern states, South Carolina has a history permeated by issues related to race, equity, and educational opportunity. As early as the 1949 South Carolina court case, Briggs v. Elliott, South Carolina has had to address issues of equity and educational opportunity among its disenfranchised and marginalized citizenry. More than 60 years later, in Abbeville County School District et al. v. the State of South Carolina et al., sectors of rural South Carolina, predominantly black and poverty laden, would unite and engage in a legal battle with the State over equity in public education and by judicial mandate, be …

A Comparative Analysis Of The Relationship Between Employee Perceptions Of An Organizational Leader's Commitment To Safety And Actual Injury Rates In A University Setting, David E. Oliver

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore the correlation between employee perceptions of their supervisor’s commitment to safety (safety climate) and the actual rate of occupational injuries among the same employees. The study also aimed to examine the relationship between the employee perceptions of their supervisor’s leadership practices and the supervisor’s safety climate rating. In addition, this study examined the potential influence of employee demographic factors on their responses to survey questions. This research study sought to answer three primary questions: (1) Does a significant correlation exist between employee perceptions of his supervisor’s commitment to the health and safety …

Assessing The Efficacy Of A Modified Therapeutic Community On The Reduction Of Institutional Write-Ups In A Medium Security Prison, Lee Maglinger

Dissertations

This study explored the impact a modified Therapeutic Community (TC) had on reducing institutional disorder as documented by institutional write-ups. Substance abuse treatment programs are typically evaluated in terms of their ability to prevent relapse and reduce recidivism. The current study examined the efficacy of a modified TC in relation to these parameters but also explored its overall impact on prison safety and security for both the inmates and staff of a medium security prison located in Kentucky. Specifically, the number of institutional write-ups exhibited by clients participating in a modified Therapeutic Community was compared with the number of write-ups …

An Analysis Of Peer Leadership Competencies And Skills, John P. Baker

Dissertations

A significant leadership challenge exists while leading others without legitimate or formal authority. Leading without legitimate authority may require different and limited leadership skills and competencies, especially when leading peers. This quantitative study analyzed the leader competencies and skills needed for effective peer leadership.
A literature review identified four competencies cited frequently as important: (a) communication; (b) support; (c) mental/hard work ethic; and (d) reflection/feedback. Analysis of an ROTC leadership assessment database provided convergent validity for the literature review while adding one additional competency, physical. The lack of existing instruments measuring peer leadership competencies and skills necessitated the development of …