Organization Development Commons^™

Healing Words: A Resilience Memoir By The Watsonville Women, Teresa L. Munoz

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Women in Watsonville face preventable health risks exacerbated by limited access to consistent physical activity and holistic wellness practices. This capstone project was conducted in collaboration with a local non-profit organization, Growing Greatness, that provides wellness-focused programming in organized group activities. This program serves Watsonville families and primarily supports women from underserved communities who are at greater risk of chronic health conditions due to socioeconomic and environmental factors. This project developed a memoir that documents the participants' experiences in activities such as bike riding, camping trips, and retreats that include yoga, hiking, tai-chi, meditation and other restorative activities. The purpose …

Beyond Challenging Up: How Organizational Climate Shapes Externally-Oriented Courage In The Workplace, Morgan Chandler

All Dissertations

Employees often face situations that confront them with the decision to do the right thing at work despite risk, which requires courage. This dissertation introduces a new form of workplace courage: challenging-around, which, in the context of the present study, involves pushing back against external stakeholders to uphold issues like ethical standards, organizational integrity, or professional judgement. Guided by Worthwhile Risk Theory, the study examined how organizational climate and moral courage influence this behavior. Results show that supportive, goal-promoting climates increase challenging-around, while moral courage independently predicts challenging-around. Additionally, the study validates a researcher-developed measure of challenging-around. Overall, findings suggest …

Generations At Work: Examining Differences In The Nonprofit Sector, Cory J. Bergeron

Dissertations

This non-experimental quantitative dissertation examined generational differences among non-management employees in the United States nonprofit sector, where multiple generational cohorts work side by side. The problem addressed is that nonprofit leaders’ limited understanding of how distinct generational experiences shape employees’ work-related attitudes and preferences can contribute to conflict, reduced engagement, and costly turnover in already resource-constrained organizations. Grounded in Mannheim’s generational theory and Becker’s human capital theory, the study conceptualized generational cohorts as groups whose shared formative experiences influence what they value in their work context and how those values translate into human capital that affects organizational outcomes.

Using a …

Techno-Imagination: Elevating Creativity Through Xr And Ai, Christopher Spitzer

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

Techno-Imagination: Elevating Creativity Through XR and AI explores the history of creativity and computing technology, supported by research and academic literature, and looks at the possibilities of a convergence between the two. In parallel, a brief biographical story of the author shares how a passion for creativity emerged, along with a growing interest in science and technology—specifically extended reality—which ultimately came together in the creation of this master’s project. The project also highlights how the Creative Problem Solving (CPS) process was used alongside AI bots and twenty research-based creative thinking skills in developing the business model canvas. Finally, the outcome …

Leading The Choreography: Preserving Creative Agency In Ai-Supported Problem-Solving, Mikhaila Ackerbauer

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

As artificial intelligence tools become increasingly present in creative and problem-solving contexts, a critical question emerges: how can users engage with AI in ways that preserve rather than erode their own creative capacity? This project explores that question through research synthesis, practitioner conversations, coursework, international conference presentations, and the development of custom AI chatbots trained in the Creative Problem-Solving process. The central finding is a theoretical triangle comprising three interdependent capacities: autonomy, creative self-efficacy, and critical thinking. Grounded in Rhodes' (1961) Four P's framework, the triangle sits within the Person dimension. Convergent themes across the literature, practitioner conversations, and direct …

Informe Del Programa De Border Fellows Kroc Ipj 2024 — Español, Rebeca Cázares Adame

Kroc IPJ Research and Resources

El Programa de Border Fellows del Kroc reúne a agentes de cambio provenientes del ámbito académico, la sociedad civil, el sector público y el sector privado para construir una región fronteriza México-Estados Unidos más inclusiva y pacífica, a través de investigación orientada a la acción y alianzas comunitarias significativas.

La beca, de carácter no residencial, tiene una duración de 10 meses e incluye apoyo financiero y técnico para proyectos diseñados e implementados por los propios Fellows. Este modelo refleja una convicción fundamental: quienes están más cerca de los desafíos que enfrentan las comunidades fronterizas son quienes mejor pueden desarrollar soluciones …

Kroc Ipj Border Fellows Report 2024 — English, Rebeca Cázares Adame

Kroc IPJ Research and Resources

The Kroc Border Fellows Program brings together change agents from academia, civil society, the public sector, and the private sector to build a more inclusive and peaceful Mexico-U.S. border region through action-oriented research and meaningful community partnerships.

The non-residential fellowship spans 10 months and provides financial and technical support for Fellow-designed and -implemented projects. This model reflects a core belief that those closest to border communities' challenges are best positioned to develop effective solutions — and that lasting change must be built on existing community assets and strengths.

Throughout the fellowship, cohort members meet regularly to foster collaboration, mutual learning, …

Attitudes, Behaviors, And Co-Workers Influence Of Those Who Provide Mental Health Support Services To Refugees And Immigrants., Irene Boamah

Doctor of Social Work Capstone Projects

ABSTRACT

ATTITUDES, BEHAVIORS, AND CO-WORKERS INFLUENCE OF THOSE WHO PROVIDE MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT SERVICES TO REFUGEES AND IMMIGRANTS

Irene A. Boamah

April 3, 2026

Refugees and immigrants face a variety of mental health issues, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and anxiety. Despite these mental health issues, there is limited research examining the attitudes, behaviors and coworkers’ influence on those who provide mental health support services to this population. This study examines the relationships between the demographic and professional characteristics of mental health support service providers in Kentucky and the stigmas they may have toward refugees and immigrants.

A cross-sectional …

Assessing Neurodiverse Inclusion In Zoos, Aquariums, And Nature Centers: A Secondary Analysis Of The Mozaics Project, Jennifer N.K. Garcia

All Dissertations

Playful experiences are found to promote positive youth development (Burdette & Whitaker, 2005; Gray, 2011; Sobel, 2018; Watchman & Spencer-Cavaliere, 2017). Additionally, playing in nature can improve attention and mood and reduce stress (Greenleaf, 2014; Kaplan & Kaplan, 1989; Shin & Swank, 2018; Ulrich ,1991). Unfortunately, neurodiverse youth, especially those with autism, can often experience barriers that limit access to play (Pynn et al., 2018; Stern, 2003) specifically play in nature (Barnes, 2007; Wolfberg, 2009). Yet, community organizations that offer playful experiences in nature, such as zoos, aquariums, and nature centers, could be uniquely positioned in the community to support …

From Reactive To Predictive: A Hybrid Trust-Mediated Adoption Framework For Data-Driven Maintenance In Distributed-Authority Aviation Environments, Dustin J. Foote

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

Modern aviation maintenance operates within increasingly data-intensive technological environments, yet the operational integration of predictive maintenance into routine decision-making remains inconsistent across sectors. Contemporary aircraft incorporate centralized maintenance computers and condition monitoring architectures capable of fault aggregation, exceedance capture, and trend-based data collection. Although prognostics and health management research continues to advance detection and prediction methods, implementation outcomes often depend on factors beyond analytical performance alone.

This paper examines predictive maintenance adoption in distributed-authority aviation environments and argues that constraints emerge less from sensing capability than from organizational structure, decision authority dispersion, and institutional trust dynamics. For purposes of analysis, …

Rooted In Purpose: Understanding Volunteer Motivations And Preferences In University Forest Stewardship, Lydia N. Heisel

All Theses

In an era of growing reliance on community support in public lands, this study explores the relationship between volunteer motivations and preferences for engagement in university forest management. The research draws from survey data collected from visitors to the Clemson University Forest (CUF), a 17,500-acre educational and research forest in South Carolina, incorporating the Volunteer Functions Inventory (VFI) to assess six motivational dimensions alongside preferences for volunteer program structures, activity types, communications, and sustained engagement intentions.

Using quantitative segmentation analysis, this study identified five distinct motivational profiles within the CUF visitor population through k-means cluster analysis of approximately 180 forest …

How Managers Build Employability: A Qualitative Study Of Networking Competence And Personal Brand, Weronika Szymkiewicz, Marzena Fryczyńska

European Management Studies

Purpose: The purpose is to explain and assess the connections between phenomena such as manager’s networking competence, personal brand, and employability.

Methodology: A qualitative study (IDI) was conducted using semi-structured interviews. The interviews were carried out using ICT tools among managers in Polish enterprises (N=13) and analysed using MAXQDA software. The data were complemented by literature review. Inductive reasoning was used.

Findings: Professional networks are used to reach new job offers or allow to skip some stages of recruitment. Competences, knowledge and experience turned out to be more important for keeping employment. Personal brand was more often …

What Makes Leaders In Human Services Effective? A Pilot Study Linking Systems Thinking, Perspective-Taking, And Leadership Success, Ryan Witterschein

Journal of Nonprofit Innovation

Leadership effectiveness is a persistent challenge in human services nonprofits, where organizations serving individuals with disabilities and complex needs have grown dramatically but lack validated tools for assessing the cognitive competencies that distinguish effective leaders. This quantitative pilot study introduces the ABA Leadership Assessment Tool version 2.0 (ABLA 2.0), a 48-item instrument integrating transformational and transactional leadership frameworks with three constructs from Relational Frame Theory—perspective-taking, temporal reasoning, and systems thinking. Eight Board Certified Behavior Analysts in organizational leadership roles completed the assessment, yielding 100% completion and strong preliminary reliability across all subscales (α = .71–.94). Leaders who demonstrated stronger cognitive …

Separating Access Legitimacy From Utilization Analytics: A Two-Layer Evaluation Model For Philanthropy And Development, Stephanie Zabriskie

Journal of Nonprofit Innovation

This article introduces a two-layer evaluation model for philanthropic and development decision-making in access-based interventions. The first layer treats Access as Outcome (AAO) as a recognized outcome when essential goods, services or resources are delivered through a viable delivery pathway, without requiring post-access utilization or compliance to validate legitimacy. The second layer evaluates post-access variation through System Coherence Conditions (SCC), defined as internal alignment across governance and decision-making, distribution and logistics, social accountability and norms, and scarcity management and continuity, which explain differences in utilization, continuity, and downstream effects as signals of system coherence rather than as retroactive worthiness thresholds. …

Framing Digital Donation: Innovation And Audience Engagement In Short Video Fundraising On Douyin, Qiuyi Chen

Journal of Nonprofit Innovation

Short video platforms are increasingly adopted by nonprofit organizations as tools for charitable communication and fundraising. However, limited research has examined how donation appeals are structured and interpreted within these environments. Existing studies focus on emotional appeal, influencer involvement, and algorithmic visibility, yet donation is often treated as a behavioral outcome rather than as a communicative process.

This study conceptualizes charitable donation as a social situation that must be framed and recognized by audiences in short video contexts. Drawing on Goffman’s frame analysis and employing the Visual–Verbal Video Analysis (VVVA) method, the study analyzes 32 publicly available videos from a …

Luja Volume 6: Issue 1 (Full Volume)

Laurier Undergraduate Journal of the Arts

No abstract provided.

Occupational Therapy In Adaptive Sports And Recreational Activities: Addressing Social Skills Deficits In Individuals With Disabilities, Deanna P. Pelfrey

Entry-Level Occupational Therapy Doctorate - Doctoral Capstone Symposium

Adaptive recreation programs promote physical participation, confidence, and overall positive well-being; however, research indicates that social and communication challenges often persist when social skills are not intentionally taught (Crespo‑Eguílaz et al., 2024). Additionally, many community recreation settings lack consistent social skills programming to support meaningful social inclusion (Ristevski et al., 2024). This project aimed to address these gaps by integrating social skills instruction into adaptive recreation programming at a community-based recreational facility serving individuals with disabilities. The primary purpose of the project was to strengthen and enhance athletes’ social participation and success by embedding clear social skills modules into existing …

Barriers And Motivators To Participation In Intramural Sports At Fort Hays State University, Tereus Henry, Dillon Provost, Judson Wiltfong, Samuel Spencer, Taylor Falk, Justin L. Montney

SACAD: Scholarly Activities

Introduction: Intramural sports programs play an important role in promoting physical activity, social connection, and overall well-being among college students; however, participation rates on many campuses remain lower than desired. The purpose of this study was to examine factors influencing student participation in intramural sports at Fort Hays State University and to identify strategies that may enhance engagement.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey design was utilized to collect data from currently enrolled students taking at least six credit hours. Participants were recruited through university communication channels, including course announcements and social media, and completed an online questionnaire assessing perceived barriers …

Ethical Decision-Making Frameworks In Ai-Driven Pharmaceutical Research & Development, Dhaval Dinesh Panchal, Osama Mohd Hash Ansari, Sudha Divya Madhuri Kallam

Harrisburg University Dissertations and Theses

Artificial intelligence is increasingly being utilized in pharmaceutical research and development to speed up drug discovery, enhance clinical trial design, and support regulatory decision-making. However, the increasingly rapid adoption of AI in the pharma industry has outpaced the development of consistent ethical governance, raising concerns related to data privacy, transparency, regulatory compliance, and stakeholder trust. This study explored the methods by which project managers could develop and utilize ethical decision-making frameworks to facilitate responsible AI implementation in pharmaceutical research and development. Guided by the Responsible Innovation framework, this research employed a mixed-methods design combining semi-structured interviews and quantitative surveys with …

Optimizing Project Success In Civil Engineering: Assessing The Impact Of Integrating Agile Methodologies In Large-Scale Construction Projects., Sameerullah Sheik

Harrisburg University Dissertations and Theses

Building and civil engineering projects face numerous challenges during their lifespans. A study was conducted to investigate the use of Agile and hybrid methodologies for improving project performance. The contingency theory was applied to determine the impact of Agile on cost, schedule, quality, and stakeholder engagement. It also explored obstacles and factors in successful implementation. The study used qualitative research design and interviewed 15 construction project professionals from different sectors. The interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis to extract information about Agile and hybrid methodologies. The major findings showed that these methodologies were not used in their pure form. Instead, …