Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Understanding The Benefits Of Experiential Learning For Executive Leader Development: A Mixed Methods Approach, Bruce Loveless

Dissertations

This study sought to understand the benefits of using experiential learning methods (such as outdoor activities) for executive leader development from the perspective of senior corporate, government, and nonprofit leaders. Increasingly, executive development programs are embracing “learning by doing” by incorporating experiential activities. Although most programs are influenced by developmental psychology (such as stage theory), this study integrated perspectives from adult, transformative, and experiential learning with common practices in outdoor adventure education into a new conceptual framework for experiential leader development with four types of experiences: intrapersonal, interpersonal, managerial, and environmental. This study fills a gap in research literature regarding …

Head Of School Retention In Independent Schools, Kevin Yaley

Dissertations

According to the National Association of Independent Schools (2020), independent schools across the country continue to experience an increasing number of head-of-school vacancies, both expected and unexpected. Save for the departures by heads who are retiring or obviously chasing greener pastures, the reasons why an increasing number of heads are departing at a disquieting rate are as enigmatic as the departures themselves.

As part of its governance responsibilities, the board has unconditional authority over the employment of the head, including, most especially, the ability to influence the retention of the head. Unfortunately, since these boards of trustees operate independently, there …

Does Winning Matter? An Examination Of The Impact Of Success On Former Student-Athlete Philanthropic Giving, Zach Harris

Dissertations

Intercollegiate athletic departments (ICAs) rely on philanthropic giving to remain relevant in the “arms race” that is college athletics. Donations provide the necessary resources (scholarships, upgraded facilities, etc.) to compete with rival programs for prospective student-athletes and fans. Previous research in ICA philanthropy has found that team success is one of the key factors driving donations to athletic programs. However, much of the research in this field has centered on athletic giving on a macro-level, focusing on the overall alumni population of an institution. While this research is important for colleges and universities, it misses on measuring the impact that …

Strategies Superintendents Use To Build Leadership Capacity With Executive Teams, Andrew Leonard Giannini

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative, multiple case study was to describe how exemplary superintendents build leadership capacity with their executive teams using Kirtman’s (2014) Seven Competencies for School Leadership.

Methodology: This multiple case study used purposeful criterion sampling and recommendations from a panel of experts to identify seven superintendents throughout the United States to participate in the study. Each superintendent was interviewed with questions developed and field-tested by the researcher and provided artifacts. Collected data was coded using case-based, cross-case analysis to identify themes in how superintendents build leadership capacity with their executive teams.

Findings: The findings identified 21 …

Community Foundations As Community Leaders, Colton Strawser

Dissertations

Community foundations claim to play an integral role in fostering philanthropy at a community level all across the United States. Community foundations have three distinct operational roles, including asset building, grantmaking, and community leadership. While asset building and grantmaking have methods available to quantify and measure their impact, community leadership has remained an elusive concept for community foundations for many years.

This study investigates the idea of community leadership in the context of 81 community foundations based in California. The first part develops a conceptual framework of community leadership based on existing studies and practical guidelines, including the use of …

The Lived Experiences Of African American Counselors: An Exploration Of Their Reactions To Trauma Survivors, Zanovia P. Tucker

Dissertations

Nearly 83% of Americans are exposed to a traumatic event (Benjet et al., 2016). Given this, every counselor will more than likely work with trauma survivors (Trippany et al., 2004). Because of the high percentage of exposure to trauma, mental health professions who service individuals who experience trauma are at risk for secondary trauma (Ivicic & Motta, 2016), vicarious traumatization (Culver et al., 2011), and shared trauma (Hope & Edward, 2013). African American counselors have not been recognized in the counseling literature; thus their work with trauma survivors and their training experiences remain relatively unknown. Most of the research pertaining …

Psychological Wellbeing And Sense Of Community Among African Americans: Does Purpose In Life Matter?, Yatesha D. Robinson

Dissertations

This dissertation examined the relationships between sense of community, purpose in life, and psychological wellbeing among African Americans. It investigated whether purpose in life moderated the relationship between sense of community and psychological wellbeing. Although previous studies have linked a sense of community and purpose in life with wellbeing, few studies have examined these relationships among African Americans using a multidimensional model. The data for the current analysis were drawn from the third wave of the National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States study (MIDUS 3), collected between 2013–2014. The sample included 98 African American men (n …

The Effects Of Token Menu Manipulations On Token Demand, Sean Regnier

Dissertations

Token economies are systems of contingencies that are designed to reinforce targeted behavior. Engaging in a targeted behavior produces conditioned stimuli that can later be exchanged for established reinforcers. A back-up reinforcer is an established reinforcer that can be acquired by exchanging the tokens. A component of token economies that has received little attention in the literature is the composition of the set of back-up reinforcers available for exchange; typically referred to as the menu. When used as part of behavior therapy, the token menu often contains a set of items that has been identified by conducting a preference assessment …

A Study Of Communication Practices Between Office And Field-Based Personnel In Home Healthcare Agencies, Ruth M. Bates-Hill

Dissertations

The population of developed countries is rapidly aging. People want to age in their residence, and as they advance in years, most people will need assistance with activities of daily living and perhaps medical assistance to remain at home. Home health aides provide a large portion of such care. However, the annual turnover rate of home health aides exceeds 60% due to factors such as low wages, poor benefits, and a challenging work environment. Many studies have been conducted to elucidate the factors contributing to job satisfaction in the home health aide population, yet despite decades of research, turnover among …

An Exploration Of The Two-Generation Approach For Single Mother Degree Or Certificate Attainment, Chiquila N. Dolison

Dissertations

Investments in student support services that encompass single mother needs can influence postsecondary degree attainment and increase earning potential that can lead to benefits, including economic self-sufficiency and poverty alleviation (Alssid et al., 2002; Gault, Milli, & Cruse, 2018; Gault, Noll, & Reichilin, 2017; Graham & Bassett, 2011; Kruvelis, Cruse, & Gault, 2017). Despite the benefits of single mothers' college degree attainment, they are least likely to earn them (Gault et al., 2018). In the United States, 8% of single mother undergraduates earn a postsecondary degree within six years of enrollment compared to the 49% of women who are not …

Analysis Of A Rough-Toothed Dolphin (Steno Bredanensis) Introduction In A Human Care Setting, Lindsey Johnson

Dissertations

Rough-toothed dolphins are a rarely studied species of cetaceans found in temperate and tropical waters throughout the world. These dolphins live in fission-fusion societies and are highly social, swimming in tightly-packed and highly synchronized subgroups consisting of 2-10 individuals. The current study documents the introduction of a stranded calf into an existing population of six rough-toothed dolphins living in a human care setting. Specifically, recordings of vocal and non-vocal behaviors were analyzed across the four phases of the study: baseline, day of introduction, post-introduction, and follow-up. Whistles, a vocal signal associated with social contexts, increased from baseline to post-introduction phases …

Consistent Bedtime Routines Are Linked To Better Sleep Outcomes: Why?, Kristy Larsen

Dissertations

Results from nationwide studies estimate that between 81 and 95% of parents in the United States with young children use bedtime routines. This is auspicious given that the use of a consistent bedtime routine is linked with better sleep quality. Indeed, the use of bedtime routines has been determined to have “strong” empirical support for addressing bedtime behavior problems (e.g., bedtime resistance) and for improving children’s sleep. However, it is unclear how, or through what mechanism(s), that a consistent bedtime routine is associated with positive sleep outcomes. We evaluated compliance near bedtime and anxious distress at bedtime as possible mechanisms …

Barriers And Enablers To Building Entrepreneurial Ecosystems As Perceived By Change Agents In The Workplace, Shanda Barrett

Dissertations

This study explores factors that influence entrepreneurial ecosystems. Clifton (2010, 2015) recommends entrepreneurship, better business models, and new business startups as a solution for economic renewal in the United States and specifically identifies disengaged workers and low-energy workplaces as the starting point. The recommendation does not address how to make workplaces conducive to entrepreneurial activity, nor does the recommendation address how to engage entrepreneurial employees.

Existing literature outlines the known tensions between theory, anecdotal evidence, and the professional practice of building entrepreneurial ecosystems. To date, the term entrepreneurial ecosystem exists as a metaphor in the extant literature. While scholars have …

Examining The Effects Of State Anger On Self-Reported Psychopathic Trait Inventories, Olivia C. Preston

Dissertations

Research indicates that experiencing anger is linked to social undesirability and temporarily induces a host of significant changes within an individual, such as hostile attribution bias, lower trust, increased impulsivity, poorer decision-making, and preferential recall. Such changes theoretically may inflate psychopathy scores due to a greater ability or willingness to endorse attitudes, behaviors, cognitions, and emotions that are regarded as reflective of psychopathic traits and may potentially introduce random error variance into measurement. Such distortion due to mood may bear important implications for applied settings where one individual’s scores are measured at a single time point, rather than research where …

Reconciling Religious And Scientific Epistomologies: Leveraging Mutuality To Enhance Acceptance Of Science And Respect For Religion, Mary Medlin

Dissertations

One prominent factor associated with accepting science as factual includes religiosity, with greater espoused religiosity often associated with less acceptance of scientific facts and greater secularism associated with greater acceptance of science as factual, but often reduced respect of religious beliefs. Such dichotomies exacerbate perceptions that science and religion are mutually exclusive, thereby fostering conflict between individuals with different perspectives and increasing ideological polarization. The current study sought to compare these mutually exclusive articulations of science and religion to a mutualist articulation of science and religion as complementary ways of knowing. Participants were randomly assigned to read one of four …

Higher Education Business And Technology Leaders’ Behaviors That Drive Outcome Alignment, Katherine Lynch-Holmes

Dissertations

Higher education institutions (HEIs) face unprecedented challenges, including capacity alignment, financial sustainability, and even public confidence (Grajeck & Brooks, 2020; Grawe, 2019; Oblinger, 2019; Simone, 2020, Wheeler, 2020, Witt & Coyne, 2019). Financial challenges force HEIs to reduce costs by making decisions like cutting programs, laying off staff or merging institutions to reduce operating costs (Chen et al., 2019; Sellingo, 2017; Witt & Coyne, 2019). Higher education leaders (HELs) must act as trusted partners and broker technology to align processes, support, and outcomes (Luftman 2000; Petkovics, 2018; Reinitz, 2019). Unfortunately, higher education’s business-technology (BITA) alignment remains lower than other national …

Water Elites’ Perceptions Of Water Security In The Middle East And North Africa Region, Ghaleb Akari

Dissertations

The Middle East and North African region continues to face significant water security challenges. The purpose of this dissertation is to gain a deeper understanding of water elites’ perceptions of water security in the MENA region. It is not meant to generalize the findings. Instead, the intention for the research is to identify, explain, and analyze by national elites' contrasting perceptions in Jordan, Iraq, Egypt, and Tunisia.

The study examines water elites’ perceptions in four areas: current knowledge level of water security, water resource management, water service delivery, and water-related risk mitigation. These elites’ perceptions of water security will help …

Applied Microeconomics And Business Intelligence In The Digital Age, Thomas J. Weinandy

Dissertations

The Digital Age is defined by advances in big data, low-cost computing, and modern analytical methods. In three chapters, I apply microeconomic thought to the influence these digital technologies have on business and consumer decision-making.

Chapter One considers how Transportation Network Companies (TNCs) like Uber and Lyft impact the relationship between the quantity of car service trips and fuel prices. I find that a single day 1% increase in fuel prices is associated with a 0.367 to 0.486% decrease in the number of TNC trips and a 0.033 to 0.088% increase in the number of taxi trips, even though the …

Creating Appropriate Clinical Guidelines For The Bilingual Population With Acquired Brain Injuries, Sophia L. Pena

Dissertations

While there is a growing bilingual demographic in the United States, relatively little is known about treating this population should they experience a brain injury. This is a growing area of interest, as research has demonstrated that the acquisition of a second language promotes neuroplastic changes that then impact brain functioning pre- and post-brain-injury. Given bilingualism’s cognitive complexity, clinicians are left with challenges on how best to tailor treatment for brain-injured bilingual populations. Therefore, the focus of this review was to provide clinical recommendations to clinicians performing assessments with bilingual individuals with acquired brain injuries. The goal was for the …

Evaluation Of Telehealth Training To Teach The Stimulus Identification Questionnaire And Multiple Stimulus Without Replacement, Andrea Perez

Dissertations

The field of behavioral gerontology has seen a paucity in literature within the past 15 years focused on updating training technology and teaching best practice skills to staff. Specifically, there is a need to expand the breadth of training research focus areas could more broadly the elderly population (e.g., increasing engagement), to ensure that trainings are designed to equip caregivers with the skills to be independent, and finally, given the frequent staffing challenges experienced by aging settings (Harrington et al., 2020), to explore effective and efficient training techniques that are alternatives to lengthy, in-person training modalities. Given the personnel challenges, …

The Impact Of The Advisor-Advisee Relationship Among Black And Latino/A/X Stem Graduate Students At Predominantly White Institutions, Tasia C. Bryson

Dissertations

An advisor is often the most central and powerful person influencing a student’s trajectory through graduate school (Barnes & Austin, 2009). This dissertation consisted of three articles that focused on the impact of the advisor-advisee relationship among Black and Latino/a/x students in STEM graduate programs at predominantly White institutions (PWIs) from the student perspective. Two frameworks were used to analyze data and guide the research: Black Feminist Thought (BFT) and Critical Race Theory (CRT). BFT was used to explore Black women’s experiences at Predominately White institutions as it provides an in-depth understanding of Black women’s perspectives. CRT was used when …

Behavioral Economic Modeling Of The Effects Of Symptom, Severity, And Cost On Seeking Medical Care, Mark J. Rzeszutek

Dissertations

While the United States has some of the highest healthcare spending in the world, it has some of the worst health outcomes. For example, maternal mortality in the United States is almost five times as high as in other similarly wealthy countries. It also has the highest rates of avoidable deaths. One of the reasons for this may be the cost of accessing healthcare due to privatized insurance. For example, Americans may avoid important preventive medical visits and other health screeners due to cost. While lack of health insurance has been correlated with decreased health utilization, a precise understanding of …

Program Evaluation Of Restorative Practices At One Elementary School, Nicholas X. Samuels

Dissertations

The rationale for this study was to evaluate the use of restorative practices at One Elementary School. During this evaluation process, I sought to discover the pros and cons of the Restorative Practices program being implemented at this school. Additionally, I sought out responses to my secondary/sub-questions to discover ways that the program’s effectiveness could be enhanced. Furthermore, my desire was to discern the effects that the program’s implementation had on the school's African American/At-Risk population. The data embedded within this study reflects the results of the Restorative Practices program implementation. My findings support the efficacy of Restorative Practices at …

Remote Neuropsychological Assessment: Does Mode Of Administration Matter?, Renee Dematteis

Dissertations

Neuropsychology relies heavily on standardization of administration to increase the validity, reliability, sensitivity, and specificity of an assessment instrument. The COVID-19 pandemic has rapidly increased the need to be able to provide neuropsychological assessments remotely. Teleneuropsychology can be conducted through various avenues, including telephone, computerized, and televideo modalities. Given neuropsychology's reliance on standardization for proper use of normative data that accompanies individual assessments, the question arises how mode of administration impacts the validity, reliability, sensitivity, and specificity of an assessment instrument. The literature review summarizes the research conducted regarding the validity, reliability, sensitivity, and specificity of telephone neuropsychological assessments, computerized …

Considerations For Acquiring Excess Military Equipment By Police Leaders, Michael P. Mendenhall

Dissertations

Police departments across the United States have been able to acquire excess military equipment from the 1033 program since 1997. Although several studies have examined police militarization, including the 1033 program, this is the first study that has surveyed police leaders at the local level to understand the determinants of 1033 acquisitions in Michigan. Using an open systems framework, this dissertation will examine both the internal and external factors that contribute to police leaders’ decisions to acquire or not acquire equipment for their departments. These determinants include internal factors such as budgetary considerations, perceptions of the profession, and knowledge of …

Leadership Strategies That Exemplary K-12 Latina Superintendents In California Use To Create An Organizational Culture Of Inclusiveness Using Kennedy’S Five Leadership Qualities Of Cultural Differences, Martha Martín Pérez

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this sequential explanatory mixed methods study was to identify and describe the leadership strategies that Latina superintendents in California use to create an organizational culture of inclusiveness using Kennedy’s (2008) 5 leadership qualities of cultural differences.

Methodology: This sequential explanatory mixed methods study analyzed quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews to identify and describe strategies found when analyzing the data. This study summarized the findings that emerged to identify and describe strategies that create an organizational culture of inclusiveness.

Findings: Examination of mixed methods data from the 15 Latina superintendents in California participating in this study indicated …

From Barriers To Success: How Elementary School Principals Strategically Lead Schools To Become 21st Century Learning Exemplar Schools, Heather Gold

Dissertations

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to examine the barriers and support systems elementary principals describe, through the lens of Activity Theory, they experienced while leading their schools to achieve 21st century learning exemplar status.

Methodology: This phenomenological study examined the perceptions of 15 elementary and K-8 principals and their respective assistant principals regarding the barriers and support systems they experienced while leading their schools to achieve 21st century learning exemplar status. Participants were selected based on the criteria that they had been identified as exemplary by the Partnership for 21st Century Learning (P21); were public, non-private, …

Confronting And Dismantling Whiteness In Higher Education: A Grassroots Approach, Winnie Needham

Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative research study was to investigate how an Educational Studies department in a small, Midwestern liberal arts college might confront and dismantle whiteness in curricular, pedagogical, and policy choices. Utilizing a critical participatory action research design, five higher education faculty engaged in a critical conversation inquiry group (Schieble et al., 2020) to develop their critical literacy (Rogers and Mosley, 2014). This study was designed to answer the following questions: How do faculty within an Educational Studies department think about their racial identities and the relevance of racial identity to the program, the institution, and higher education? …

Is United States’ Economic Power In Decline? Can China Replace The U.S. As The World’S Next Economic Superpower?, Islam Bakirci

Dissertations

The decline of American economic power has been passionately debated for decades. Starting from the Kennedy administration, there were many cases that declinist scholars interpreted as the beginning of American economic power decline. The financial crisis of 2007-09 is the latest case of the same debate. However, unlike the previous cases, declinist scholars who support the idea of U.S. economic power is in decline after the financial crisis, strongly believe that this time the decline is different. This time the decline is real. In addition, the same scholars also argue that China, as an economic challenger which is different from …

Oneida College Lacrosse Players’ Perspectives Of The Sacred Game Of Lacrosse, Thomas Reed

Dissertations

Oneida college lacrosse players have an important perspective on the sacred game of lacrosse that needs to be heard. The Oneida are one of six tribes of the Haudenosaunee, or also known as, the Iroquois. Lacrosse is one of the fastest growing sports in the world and the style played today is most similar to the Haudenosaunee style. Oneidas are traditionally orators and lacrosse players. There is a lack of literature on the Oneida, lacrosse, and education. Oneida college lacrosse players face a problem in attempting to preserve their traditional Indigenous knowledge at their respective university communities, while also seeking …