Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2006. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-11, Section: A, page: 4242. Adviser: Mark E. Peecher. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 55-63) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Psychological and Brain Sciences and Cognitive Science, 2006. / "Title from dissertation home page (viewed July 10, 2007)." Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-08, Section: B, page: 4736. Adviser: Richard M. Shiffrin.

<p> Addressing the Development of Selves in LGBTQIA+ Individuals: A Voice Dialogue Perspective by Melanie Battaglia Moir This qualitative thesis combines heuristic and alchemical hermeneutic methodologies along with elements of intuitive inquiry and participatory epistemology to address the internal development of selves in the consciousness of LGBTQIA+ individuals. These selves are created by interactions with family and society and by the unique, personal experiences of people on this spectrum who do not identify as heteronormative or exclusively heterosexual. From a depth psychological perspective, the author discusses implications for achieving healing and wholeness when making contact with these inner selves that carry the true nature of each human being but are repressed due to cultural programming, family modeling, and imprinting. Voice Dialogue is explored as an approach to identifying and understanding these selves in LGBTQIA+ individuals. Insights from the author&rsquo;s own experience of being <i>queer</i> (an umbrella term for living life as a sexual or gender minority) are included.</p><p>

<p> This dissertation seeks to understand how five women currently enrolled in doctoral level psychology programs emotionally and relationally experience the process of recovery from an eating disorder. Contemporary interdisciplinary discourses are inconsistent in their discussion of recovery, with differing accounts of what constitutes recovery and the typical course of recovery. Using a voice-centered and relational approach, I interviewed five female doctoral-level students in the fields of clinical and counseling psychology about their experience of recovering from eating disorders. Interview data was analyzed using the Listening Guide Method (Brown &amp; Gilligan, 1992; Gilligan, 2015) in order to emphasize the emotional and relational qualities of informant voices. My interest in this subject is, in part, inspired by my personal eating disorder history and doctoral training experiences. Although my personal experiences no doubt shaped what I asked and how I listened to the women in this study, I found that these courageous and honest women independently corroborated three interrelated themes. One, these women&rsquo;s stories each directly addressed a controversial issue in the literature: What is the nature of eating disorder recovery? Is it an end-state or an ongoing process? Two, connection and disconnection from the self and others, which in many respects is perpetuated by societal pressures and expectations placed on women, plays a critical role in the development of eating disorders. And three, the informants highlighted the potentially critical role of self-disclosure in addressing the sensed disconnections from self and others, within both clinical-therapeutic and professional-academic relationships.</p>

<p> The Links that Transition Ambition to Action: Analysis of African American Military Officers Transitioning from the Lower Class Louis C. Hare III, B.S., M.A. M.A. Communication, Hawaii Pacific University, Department of Communication May 2017 Thesis Advisor: Dr. John Barnum The notion of &ldquo;The American dream&rdquo; can perhaps be described by one word: &ldquo;opportunity.&rdquo; This study identifies differentiating factors that affect someone&rsquo;s ambition (motivation) as an adolescent and young adult, and what factors drive a person to seek and achieve their piece of the &ldquo;American dream.&rdquo; More importantly, the primary focus is to identify factors that offer an explanation as to why some people can rise from being raised in a state of poverty to eventually be flourishing members of society, while others (given comparable cultural, socioeconomic, religious, and educational backgrounds) have no such success. The results of this discussion allow for a juxtaposition of these factors, and also inform future efforts to bridge the gap between adolescent ambition and prosperity in America. This study gleans feedback primarily from African American United States Service Academy Graduates, of urban upbringing, ranging from recent college graduates to senior citizens and consists of a mixed-method approach.</p><p>

<p> Donor behavior in the non-profit organizational environment is a complex matrix of social influences that include social expectations from social media sites, direct cohort and peer influence, and perceptions of organizational performance, transparency and fundraising expenditures. A widespread general problem in non-profit organizations (NPOs) is that organizational members (cohorts) can exert an influence on the donor behavior of others, and organizational fundraising objectives can be adversely impacted. The purpose of this research was to identify those predictor characteristics that negatively influence donor behavior and would assist in minimizing costs associated with fundraising. I employed a quantitative study using a correlational design of multivariate analyses to identify a set of predictor characteristics originating from the influence of organizational cohorts on donor behavior. This study used a modified original survey to collect data from 244 non-randomized participants from the State of Colorado who donated to non-profit organizations (NPOs) in the last year. </p><p> A series of backward regressions produced five statistically significant models that showed positive correlations among the fifteen dependent variables that were included in the survey. In addition, the statistical evidence (p >.001) provided additional support for the three alternate hypotheses in all three research questions. In this study, I attempt to provide correlations that serve as predictor characteristics of cohort influence in the non-profit organizational environment. This data also provides additional information on donation behavior patterns for the three-key areas of interest: Donation Amounts, donation frequency, and volunteer hours. Additional research across other demographic and geographic areas is recommended.</p><p>

Identifying effective strategies for encouraging individuals to disclose their personal information on the Internet is important for marketers. In today's information-based economy, access to consumer data is imperative for organizations in conducting marketing activities. However, the extant privacy literature has found conflicting results regarding the effectiveness of safety cues (e.g., privacy policies) and rewards (e.g., discounts) for encouraging consumers to provide their personal information to Web sites (Andrade et al. 2002). There is also scant research on the implications of compensating consumers for their information, and its subsequent impact on privacy control expectations. This dissertation consists of two essays that examine how consumers respond to marketers' strategies for encouraging self-disclosure on the Internet, and how these strategies affect expectations for privacy control. Essay 1 employs regulatory focus theory for investigating the impact of consumers' goals (privacy protection vs. acquisition of benefits) on how they respond to marketers' online influence strategies and brand reputation. The use of safety cues, rewards, and brand reputation have been identified in the privacy literature as important factors that influence consumers' trust, privacy concern, and willingness to provide personal information (Milne and Culnan 2004). Essay 2 draws on theories of social exchange and social contracts for examining how the value and type of compensation received influences the degree to which consumers believe they own the information provided to marketers and their expectations for control over how their information is used. Although consumers frequently trade their personal information for benefits online, it has been suggested in the privacy literature that the point at which consumers own and control information about themselves and when that information becomes the property of marketers is unclear (Sheehan and Hoy 2000). This dissertation employs a mixed methods approach that includes a series of scenario-based experiments using survey panel data, and in-depth interviews. The results of essay 1 provide evidence of the importance of consumer goals in decisions to disclose personal information to marketers. Findings from essay 2 reveal that privacy exchanges may affect the degree to which consumers believe ownership and control over their information is shared with marketers.

Puerto Rico has endured horrendous natural disasters in the last few years, leaving thousands to cope with the aftermath; a mental health crisis. Therefore, understanding how Puerto Ricans navigate adversities, be that childhood adversity, natural disasters or daily stress is of utmost importance. Understanding the role resilience and drinking play in Puerto Rico will help us to further understand how they navigate adversities. Hence the reason why in this study we looked at how Adverse Childhood Experiences, Perceived Stress, Natural Disaster Adversity and Shame relate to each other and to Drinking behaviors and Resiliency. Data were collected on Puerto Rico via an online survey. Several individuals participated in the study (N = 189). Modifying variables included, age, place of residence on the island, gender, ethnicity, education, occupation and socio economic status. The results demonstrated significant differences between some modifying variables. Differences were seen between men and women in levels of Shame and ACES. No significant differences were found between ethnicities in levels of Shame, Stress, ACES, Hurricane Adversities and Resiliency. Similarly, no relationship was found between respondents level of drinking and SES. When looking at the sample as a whole there was no relationship between ACES and hurricane adversities as well as with drinking. However, there appears to be a positive relationship between ACES and Shame, and a small positive relationship between drinking and Shame. On the other hand, a negative relationship was found between Shame, ACES and Resiliency. However, a small positive relationship was found between the number of drinks people have and Resiliency. Additional analysis was conducted to further understand these variables and their relationships. Additional research, exploratory research, is needed to understand the variables and the relationship between them. Exploratory research is needed as a way to further understand the role culture plays in understanding Shame, ACES, Stress, Hurricane Adversities, Drinking and Resiliency in Puerto Rico.

As organizations struggle to become and remain competitive, the engagement of employees may be a critical enabler in achieving organizational goals, enhancing organizational competitiveness, and improving employee well-being. To this end, scholars have identified a continuing need for research focused on organizational factors within the purview of managers to improve the engagement of employees (Alagaraja & Shuck, 2015; Coyle-Shapiro & Shore, 2007; Eldor & Vigoda-Gadot, 2017; Oswick, 2015; Whittington et al., 2017; Whittington & Galpin, 2010). Using the employee engagement framework proposed by Shuck and Reio (2011), this research examined the relation among employee alignment, perceived organizational support, and employee engagement in an organizational context. The research site was the human resources department of a not-for-profit health care organization located in the southern region of the United States. Census sampling was used to identify the actual sample (Fritz & Morgan, 2010) of 109 full-time nonsupervisory employees whose data was used in the analysis. Three self-report survey instruments were used: (a) the Employee Engagement Scale (Shuck, Adelson, et al., 2017), (b) the Stringer Strategic Alignment Scale (Stringer, 2007), and (c) the Survey of Perceived Organizational Support (Eisenberger et al., 1986). Bivariate correlation and multiple regression analyses were used to test the research hypotheses. The results provided evidence of partial support for the researcher’s hypotheses, with four of the seven hypotheses supported. Evidence was found for a positive relation among employee alignment, perceived organizational support, and employee engagement, as well as the statistically significant contribution of employee alignment in explaining unique variance in employee engagement (i.e., 23.4%). Contrary to expectations, the results did not provide evidence that perceived organizational support had a statistically significant direct effect on employee engagement. Additionally, the results did not provide statistically significant evidence of either a moderation or mediation effect of perceived organizational support on the relation between employee alignment and employee engagement. This study provides preliminary evidence that suggests that employee alignment, and to a lesser extent perceived organizational support, are two factors within the purview of managers that can be useful in creating the requisite organizational environment in which engagement may thrive.

Control in organizations has drawn attention from those seeking to achieve greater efficiencies and productivity in organizations as well as from those skeptical and critical of organizational practices of control. However, despite the conflicting interests, both bodies of research acknowledge that control is fundamental to organizing and both see managers as 'agents of control', i.e., individuals in organizations who are vested with varying degrees of authority to achieve control. But neither has yet examined control from the perspective of these 'agents of control' to provide an understanding of how managers construe control, their attitudes and preferences towards varying aspects of control. To address that gap in the existing literature on organization control, this dissertation examines managerial conceptions of control in organizations. This study used Q-methodology, a research method that uses both quantitative and qualitative techniques to study human subjectivity. In the first phase of the study, fifteen participants from the US and fifteen participants from India were interviewed. In the second phase of this study, a Q-sort was developed from these interviews and from secondary literature. Fifteen participants from the US and fifteen participants from India sorted these Q-sorts online. The sorts were then factor analyzed. The resulting five factors were interpreted as five conceptions of control that were labeled as Autocratic, Bureaucratic, Technocratic, Sociocratic and Democratic perspectives of control. The autocratic perspective of control is characterized by the Theory X assumptions and the classic command and control worldview - "you do as I tell you to do". Lack of trust, close supervision of subordinates and personal power and authority marks this perspective of control. In the bureaucratic perspective of control, the center of control shifts from the individual to the organization and the means of control become more formal. The technocratic perspective takes a cybernetic-like technical approach to control in which the organizational framework, founded on rational rules and policies, is held supreme and everyone in the organization is seen as subordinated to that framework. Formal means of control are preferred, and having technical skills are held as important as having people skills for a manager to achieve control at the workplace. The sociocratic perspective too holds organizational framework as important but does not completely subordinate individuals to that framework; it leaves room for individual discretion and personal values in decision making. It relies on the organizational framework to gain legitimate authority but relies on social informal means to achieve control. The democratic perspective is relationship oriented, is skeptical regarding the effectiveness of formal means of control such as hierarchy and organizational policies, accords greater importance to relationships and trust, and relies on a more participative style of governance.