Leadership Studies Commons^™

Handmaiden And Queen: What Philosophers Find In The Question: "What Is A Leader?", Joanne B. Ciulla

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

The word “philosophy” was born when the Greek philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras of Samos (572-497 BC) was asked if he thought he was a wise man. He answered no, he was merely a lover of wisdom – a phileo sophia. The philosophers who came after him were not as humble. Since philosophy was the study of just about everything, they dubbed it the “queen of the sciences”. Philosophy reigned supreme until Christian times when the theologian Clement of Alexandria (150–215?AD) demoted philosophy from the “queen” of the sciences to the “handmaid of theology”. The Enlightenment philosopher John Locke (1632–1704) also …

Review Of The Heidegger Reader, RóIsíN Lally

Leadership Studies Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

An Investigation Of How Elementary School Teachers Make Data-Driven Instructional Decisions In Literacy, Cheryl Carangian Pham Edd

Dissertations

The purpose of this mixed methods phenomenological study was to explore the data-driven instructional decisions that elementary teachers make in literacy. Educators have moved towards a culture of being data-driven, and have declared data use in schools to be significant to school improvement and accountability. Yet, as school districts make great strides in creating a culture of data-driven decision making – collecting, analyzing and interpreting data – little is known about how individual teachers make sense of data and how they use the data to inform instruction. To explore the data-driven instructional decisions made by classroom teachers using literacy assessment …

Optimization Strategies For Successful Ehr Adoption, Erin Faverty

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

The healthcare industry is experiencing a shift in care delivery and documentation as the nation moves toward electronic health record adoption (EHR). This project examines the benefits and hurdles to adoption faced within the industry and provides a detailed curriculum guide of strategies, approaches and materials for consultants assisting healthcare organizations in EHR implementation. The recommendations provided by this project are grounded in the theories of organizational culture as presented by Clifford Geertz (1977) and Michael Packanowsky (Griffin 2009, p. 252), as well as insights on the impacts of computer-mediated communication, as discussed by Joseph Walthers (Barrow, 2010). Materials presented …

Emergent Leadership In Virtual Work Teams, Natalie Learned

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

This dual method (quantitative and qualitative) study sought to discover the perceptions of leadership in virtual work teams. The ability to communicate among team members, in this environment, becomes increasingly difficult. Specifically, this study analyzed emergent leadership characteristics, as identified by participants, in a virtual work environment. The philosophical framework for this study is based on Boster’s (2006) concept “communication results in social influence.” This study is grounded in the theoretical work of Walther’s (1992) Social Information Processing CMC model, and Graen and Uhl-Bien’s (1995) relationship-based LMX model. The data obtained for this study was achieved through a survey of …

Surrealism Is Not Dead: A Look At Surrealism In Contemporary Mass Communication Via Analysis Of Modern Popular Films, Joi Deanne Chadwick

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

This study examined three modern films - Toy Story 3, Alice in Wonderland, and Iron Man 2 - to understand the place of Surrealism in contemporary communication. The thesis began with a review of literature regarding Surrealism's revolutionary propensities and its flow into the mainstream. The review's basis was postmodernist philosophy rooted in Roland Barthes's and Umberto Eco's semiotics and Stuart Hall's cultural studies. This underlying philosophy asserted the complexity and mutability of signs and styles, a media role in acceptance and mutation of signs/styles, and endurance of ideas through cultural shifts. Semiotic analysis was crucial methodology in this study …

Interpretations And Anxiety During Initial Encounters In A Formal Business Networking Setting, Justin Hunter

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

Many business professionals explore opportunities to develop relationships with others in their industry during coordinated business networking functions to potentially increase their clientele and strengthen their presence in their respective industry. This study analyzes initial interactions among business professionals during a business networking function utilizing symbolic interactionism and the theory of anxiety/uncertainty management. Both theories have been separately implemented in an abundance of theses over several decades to analyze the nature and implications with interpersonal communication among strangers; however, there is a significant lack of research dedicated to how strangers engage during initial business interactions at networking functions. This study …

The Jepson School: Liberal Arts As Leadership Studies, Joanne B. Ciulla

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

Around twenty years ago, I joined the faculty of the University of Richmond to help design the Jepson School of Leadership Studies.The easiest way to understand Jepson is as a liberal arts school with an explicit focus on the study of leadership. Our students take courses in history, philosophy, psychology, political science, and so on. These courses draw on the methodology and content of a discipline to understand leadership as a phenomenon and a practice. So as a school, we are multidisciplinary and some of our classes are interdisciplinary. By taking a liberal art approach to leadership studies, the Jepson …

Leadership Ethics, Joanne B. Ciulla, Donelson R. Forsyth

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

A CEO bankrupts the company he is supposed to be leading. A retiree donates thousands of hours to her community. A company's leadership decides not to relocate a factory overseas, for the sake of the residents of an economically challenged town. A president of a club on a college campus encourages members to cheat on their examinations so that the group's members can earn academic honors. An elected public official arranges a tryst with a lover and abandons his duties for days on end.

These behaviors raise questions about motivation, rationality, and intent, but with a difference; these actions cannot …

Leading God's People: Wisdom From The Early Church For Today [Review] / Beeley, Christopher A., Stanley E. Patterson

Journal of Applied Christian Leadership

No abstract provided.

Spiritual Leadership: Moving People On To God's Agenda (Rev. & Expanded Ed.) [Review] / Blackaby, Henry T And Richard Blackaby, Stanley E. Patterson

Journal of Applied Christian Leadership

No abstract provided.

The Mountain Within: Leadership Lessons And Inspiration For Your Climb To The Top [Review] / Von Stiegel, Herta, Erhard Gallos

Journal of Applied Christian Leadership

No abstract provided.

How Leaders Think: Measuring Cognitive Complexity In Leading Organizational Change, Iva Vurdelja

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The ability to lead complex organizational change is considered the most difficult leadership responsibility. Habitual linear thinking based on sequential procedural decision making is insufficient when responding to ambiguous and unpredictable challenges and interpreting systemic variables in the context of unforeseen problems, risks, and invisible interrelationships. The purpose of this exploratory multiple case study was to expand our understanding of the structure of the thinking employed by executive leaders as initiators and enablers of complex, large-scale organizational change. The researcher integrated knowledge of adult cognitive development and organizational leadership to examine the higher forms of reasoning abilities required for dealing …

Socio-Economic Stability And Independence Of Appalachian Women, Michele Dawn Kegley

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This study researched Appalachian women who were in emotional, social, or economic reliant relationships with male spouses and became socio-economically stable and independent. This effort is to give Appalachian women voice and learn from their accounts of how they led change by financially, physically, and socially providing for themselves and their dependent children. Research is limited to a particular group of white middle class Appalachian women in the North-Central sub-region of Appalachia. This group was chosen because they have been largely overlooked in the literature. However, this study does not answer questions of all women‘s experiences and barriers in Appalachia. …

Collaboration And Climate Action At The Local Scale, Linda Lyshall

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

This dissertation encompasses a case study and a Participatory Action Research project. The case study focuses on climate change mitigation activities within King County, Washington and its 39 cities and towns and discusses progress and challenges related to transportation issues, efficiency measures, and sustainability planning. The findings indicate there is a high level of activity in waste reduction, environmental outreach and education, bicycle and pedestrian promotion, tree canopy protection, sustainability policies, and green building. Other categories, such as energy efficiency, electric vehicle infrastructure, and greenhouse gas emission inventories and goal setting are on the rise. Twelve of the cities were …

Communication Channels Utilized By Emirati Females To Enact Leadership, K. Kathleen O'Neill

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The purpose of this exploratory study was to identify the communication channels six Emirati females concurrently employed in organizations in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates in which they had supervisory responsibilities; formal, legitimate authority; and positional leadership roles recalled using with their direct reports to enact leadership. In particular, the study attempted to ascertain the reasons for the selection of communication channels when engaged in downward communication with organizational subordinates. Data were collected via three interviews with each participant over a four week period. Interviews were conducted both face-to-face and via telephone. Data were analyzed via thematic content analysis to …

From Nominal To Radical Discipleship: One Church’S Approach To Disciple Making, Wayne Berk Walters

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The majority of mainline denomination churches in America have experienced decline in membership, worship attendance, and vitality for over fifty years. As well, church members’ lifestyles, commitments, and habits tend to be not all that unlike Americans who do not attend church. Many church members live relatively nominal Christian lives when compared to the nature of the Christian life and discipleship described by Jesus in the gospels of the New Testament. This nominal understanding and adoption of the Christian life makes church membership and involvement unnecessary or secondary to the many other demands in modern life. Denominational officials, church pastors, …

“Voluntary Sector-Rich” And “Voluntary Sector-Poor”: What Difference Does The Distinction Really Make?, Lindsey M. Mcdougle Phd

Dissertations

Nonprofit organizations serve a distinctive role within American society. Collectively, nonprofits are viewed as major sources of social capital, contributors to the public good, and the value guardians within communities. Nonprofits also have a sizeable (and quite positive) impact on the nation's economy. Despite the social and economic significance of nonprofits, though, research has shown that nonprofit organizations and resources are not always distributed evenly across communities. Indeed, Wolch (1990) has observed that some communities are voluntary sector-rich, while others are voluntary sector-poor. Therefore, many of the benefits often associated with the presence of nonprofits may not be actualized, or …

The Servant-Leader As Healer, Shann Ray Ferch

International Journal of Servant-Leadership

When the phone call from my mother came it made everything seem far away. She told me my cousin, Jacine, a beautiful and intelligent young woman, had been killed in a drug shootout in the streets of Billings, Montana. Jade's life had been marred for some time by the hardened culture that haunts drug use everywhere, but of late she had emerged, married, and begun a new purchase on the kind of life she wanted. We all hoped so much for her, the shock of her death came like a cold dark undertow. But in the days ahead there would …

Life Of Justice And Forgiveness, Greg Smith

International Journal of Servant-Leadership

As an only child, I grew up in a home where love, compassion, forgiveness, and understanding were frequently observed and practiced, but very rarely put into words. Despite the fact that their marriage ended after several years of consistent arguing, my parents made a very concerted effort to raise me in an environment that embraced these unspoken truths. It was not uncommon for a disagreement between me and my parents to be resolved with nothing more than a subtle nod of the head, few brief words, and a hug. To me, growing up in the midst of these intangible notions …

Leadership Development For Today’S Ktunaxa Youth: Command Structure Versus The Crazy Dog Society, Christopher Horsethief

International Journal of Servant-Leadership

Block (2008) opens his book on the structure of belonging with the statement, "[S]ocial fabric of community is formed from an expanding shared sense of belonging...shaped by the idea that only when we are connected and care for the well-being of the whole that a civil and democratic society is created" (p. 9). The concept of belonging has been addressed directly in servant-leadership studies, including belonging to community or organization (Ba Banutu-Gomez, 2004 ), belonging and resiliency (Wheatley & Kellner-Rogers, 1998), belonging through a sharing of humanity with followership (Birkenmeier, Carson, & Carson, 2003). It can also be argued that …

The Connection Between Servant-Leadership And Service-Learning In The Context Of Higher Education, Heather L. Veeder

International Journal of Servant-Leadership

In Vaill's (1998) forward to The Power of Servant Leadership, a challenge is offered to educational institutions: to increase the "sheer number of younger men and women who will be helped to develop as servant-leaders" (p. xiii). Vaill furthers this challenge by pointing out, "We in higher education know that only by accident are we producing visionary young men and women who aspire to leadership, to the extent we are producing them at all. We don't like to admit it. Greenleaf has found us out" (p. xiii). In response, one avenue that may assist in the intentional development of servant-leaders …

Little Dry Creek, Shann Ray

International Journal of Servant-Leadership

A poem by Shann Ray.

Analysis Of Examples Of Servant-Leadership In The Grapes Of Wrath, Susan Dunfield

International Journal of Servant-Leadership

The award-winning film The Grapes of Wrath, obviously based on John Steinbeck's Dust Bowl-era novel, follows the Joad family in their travels from their homeland to the "Promised Land" of California, only to discover that their destination is not "flowing with milk and honey" but, instead, leaves them facing severe poverty, injustice, illness, and death.

[Introduction To] Soy Un Bravo Piloto De La Nueva China, Ernesto Seman

Bookshelf

A novel by Ernesto Seman. The narrative centers around three themes: 1) Reuben, a geologist who lives abroad and returns to Argentina to accompany his mother during his last weeks of life 2) A collective-decker submarine led by women, whose tour is Buenos Aires-La Pampa-California, whose final destination is an infinite island run by a diabolical partner and 3) The routine of a detention camp during the dictatorship.

[Introduction To] American Indian Politics And The American Political System, Third Edition, David E. Wilkins, Heidi Kiiwetinepinesiik Stark

Bookshelf

Now in its third edition, American Indian Politics is the most comprehensive study written from a political science perspective that analyzes the structures and functions of indigenous governments (including Alaskan Native communities and Hawaiian Natives) and the distinctive legal and political rights these nations exercise internally, while also examining the fascinating intergovernmental relationship that exists between native nations, the states, and the federal government. The third edition contains a number of important modifications. First, it is now co-authored by Heidi Kiiwetinepinesiik Stark, who brings a spirited new voice to the study. Second, it contains ample discussion of how President Obama's …

[Introduction To] The Hank Adams Reader: An Exemplary Native Activist And The Unleashing Of Indigenous Sovereignty, David E. Wilkins (Editor)

Bookshelf

Vine Deloria once said that Hank Adams was the most important Native American in the country. From his treaty rights work to his mediation of disputes between AIM and the US government in the 1970s, Adams shaped modern Native activism. For the first time, Adams' writings are collected, evidencing his unparalleled role in Indian affairs and beyond.

[Introduction To] The Legal Universe: Observations On The Foundations Of American Law, Vine Deloria, Jr., David E. Wilkins

Bookshelf

According to Deloria and Wilkins, "Whenever American minorities have raised voices of protest, they have been admonished to work within the legal system that seek its abolition." This essential work examines the historical evolution of the legal rights of various minority groups and the relationship between these rights and the philosophical intent of the American founders.

Buenos Aires Cultural Exchange, Ernesto Seman

Jepson School of Leadership Studies articles, book chapters and other publications

En algún momento pareció que todas las noches tiraban gente de los trenes. Otras veces, que violaban chicas en los parques. O asaltaban kioscos. Y remataban a alguien randomly en algún lugar público. O robaban restaurantes en los que, siempre, mataban algún comensal. O secuestraban al azar a quien tuviera un auto bueno, o una ropa cara o una cara bonita. ¿Qué pasa con todas esas historias? ¿Dejan de existir cuando desaparecen de los diarios? ¿O nunca existieron?

[Introduction To] Heroes: What They Do & Why We Need Them, Scott T. Allison, George R. Goethals

Bookshelf

Abraham Lincoln, Princess Diana, Rick in Casablanca--why do we perceive certain people as heroes? What qualities do we see in them? What must they do to win our admiration? In Heroes, Scott T. Allison and George R. Goethals offer a stimulating tour of the psychology of heroism, shedding light on what heroism and villainy mean to most people and why heroes--both real people and fictional characters--are so vital to our lives. The book discusses a broad range of heroes, including Eleanor Roosevelt, Walt Kowalski in Gran Torino, Senator Ted Kennedy, and explorer Ernest Shackleton, plus villains such …