Thesis (M.S.)--Boston University / The films studied were directed toward two age groups. The first, "Footsteps of the Pioneers" for elementary and junior high school boys (Boy Scout age) and the second, "This is Exploring" for high school students. Purpose. The purpose of the study was, first to measure the effectiveness of the films in communicating knowledge about and attitudes toward the two Scouting programs and secondly, to develop a simple but accurate measuring devise for use in evaluating films of this type. Data Collection. Research was carried out with boys of the recruitment ages in several public school systems throughout Monmouth County in New Jersey, under the auspices of the National Council of the Boy Scouts of America (Research Service) with the cooperation of the Monmouth Council of Oakhurst, New Jersey and the academic direction of the department of Public Relations at the School of Public Relations and Communications of Boston University [TRUNCATED]

Thesis (M.A.) in History--University of Maine, 2001. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 102-110).

This thesis has explored the balanced management of a value-based, non-profit organization. The District operation of the Boy Scouts of America has been used as the basis of the study. The conflict between values, structure, and results has been discussed in relation to models of structural, scientific, human, and integrative approaches to management. A balanced, rational management system has been explored.The central problem was how to provide a value-based volunteer organization with an effective management system that will achieve program results. The value and significance of the problem arose from the increasing use of volunteers to meet social needs. The method used was a review of selected literature, documents, interviews, and the results of a survey of District-serving professionals in the Boy Scouts of America.

Recreation programs for youth are increasingly being asked to justify their purpose beyond providing fun and games. Stakeholders (e.g., taxpayers, parents, or donors) expect youth programs to develop specific outcomes in young people that will assist them in becoming fully functional adults. More empirical evidence is needed to support the idea that recreational programs indeed provide added educational or developmental benefits. One key outcome that transcends many recreational programs, regardless of setting, is leadership development. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate leadership development in a Boy Scouts of America (BSA) High Adventure Program. Two research objectives guided this study. First, the researcher sought to determine whether youth participants in Philmont’s 12-Day Trek High Adventure Program reported increases in leadership measures as a result of their experiences. Based on the goals of this program, the researcher hypothesized that self-reported leadership qualities would increase after youth had participated in the program. Second, the study went one step further to explore what characteristics of the High Adventure Program potentially promoted or detracted from leadership development within the BSA High Adventure Program. The research design for this study was a non-experimental retrospective research design using quantitative and qualitative data obtained from a single sample of participants at the Philmont Scout Ranch. The method of data collection employed a self-administered survey instrument given to participants upon completion of their program. The survey used the Youth Leadership Life Skills Development Scale in addition to two open-ended questions designed to extract elements that promoted or detracted from leadership development. Results from the Youth Leadership Life Skills Development Scale indicated that there was a statistically significant difference between the mean of participant attitudes before the Philmont experience and the mean of participant attitudes after the Philmont experience. Results from the open-ended questions isolated nine emergent themes that participants reported to promote leadership development and four that detracted from leadership development. Overall, this study provides much needed empirical evidence to contribute to the idea that recreational youth programs, while providing fun leisure experiences, can utilize their settings to make an even bigger contribution to the lives of young people.

I argue in this dissertation that U.S. rhetorics of national masculinity, while consistently present during the twentieth century, have changed shape in response to economic, social, and political crises. My research begins with the early twentieth-century Boy Scouts of America. It then moves to the late twentieth century, focusing on Ronald Reagan's inaugural speeches and the U.S. Army's campaign brochures, seeking to understand how U.S. national boundaries around masculinity have been drawn and redrawn according to political economies of the body. In these examples, the middle class struggles to define itself against realities of advancing capitalism that threaten the social capital of whiteness, manhood, and middle-class status.In chapter one, I present a literature review of masculinity, gender, and nationalism theories and an overview of my research methods.In chapter two, I present a rhetorical analysis of American masculinist nationalism at the turn of the 20th century, focusing on rhetoric that was used to develop boys and young men into masculine preservers of the nation, including training manuals from the Boy Scouts of America. I particularly concentrate on narratives of the formation and beginnings of the BSA. I connect the rhetoric of these narratives to the concurrent changes in Roosevelt's military goals. In chapter three, I examine how, beginning with President Ronald Reagan, the economy became rhetorically tied to ideals of freedom and democracy. I argue that the effect of this rhetorical shift has been that national projects that were formerly tied to national pride and service can now be executed through calls to improve the national economy or even one's individual economic status.In chapter four, I argue that this rhetorical shift has changed the rhetoric of Army recruiting. I analyze U.S. Army recruiting brochures and surveys to argue that masculinist nationalism in this context maintains elements from early-twentieth-century masculinity, but incorporates rhetoric of economic individualism that stems from Reagan's era.In chapter five, I draw from examples in the three analysis chapters of my dissertation to make observations about the nature of masculinist nationalism in the U.S., and suggest areas for further research stemming from my dissertation.

Thesis (M.S.)--B.Y.U. Department of Sociology and Anthropology.

Thesis (M.A.)--Eastern Illinois University, 2010. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 135-144).

The author conducted a case study for analysis of the Boy Scouts of America's (BSA) "Youth Protection" campaign, a social action campaign, developed to increase awareness and educate members on how to prevent, identify, and deal with child sexual abuse (Scoutmaster Handbook, 1990; "Unacceptables Relevancy Program," 1985).The author looked for evidence of Bandura's social cognitive theory in the campaign by identifying the following elements of the theory: observational learning, modeling, enactive learning, and symbols, in campaign artifacts (Bandura, 1977).The author sought to suggest the use of Bandura's social cognitive theory in the formative research of social action campaigns and to help public relations planners in nonprofit organizations in understanding how social action campaign messages incorporating Bandura's social cognitive theory could be presented and transmitted.Procedures began with an examination of BSA organizational and "Youth Protection" campaign artifacts, supplemented by an interview with Lawrence Potts, Administrative Group Director of the BSA, who was responsible for the development of the campaign, followed by an analysis of the campaign for evidence of Bandura's social cognitive theory.The author followed Miles and Huberman's (1994) guidelines for addressing reliability and validity.The following elements of Bandura's social cognitive theory: observational learning, modeling, enactive learning, and symbols were evident in the campaign. Observational learning, modeling, and imaginal symbols were seen in two of the videos. Enactive learning was identified in a booklet. Verbal symbols were seen in various campaign artifacts. No single artifact was identified as containing all of the elements of the theory. Campaign artifacts targeted to youth contained the most elements. Symbols were identified in all artifacts targeted to youth but only the videos showed observational learning and modeling.The author's recommendations for improving the campaign would be to use observational learning, modeling, and enactive learning for encouraging the desired behaviors and skills of the volunteer leaders and parents, in a similar way these elements were part of the artifacts targeted to youth.Campaign artifacts targeted to volunteer leaders and parents provided a great deal of information about child sexual abuse, but often the information was only stated or printed, rather than coded into verbal or imaginal symbols and demonstrated through observational learning, modeling, or enactive learning. The author would also recommend verbal and imaginal symbols be used to help volunteer leaders and parents remember information about child sexual abuse.The boys serving as models in two of the videos only appeared in these artifacts. The author would further recommend these models be used in all campaign artifacts targeted to youth.Limitations of the study included the legitimacy of qualitative research, that the study may not be considered a case study in the strictest sense, and that BSA campaign planners did not intentionally incorporate elements of Bandura's social cognitive theory in their "Youth Protection" campaign, although elements of the theory were identified in campaign artifacts.Further research on the BSA's "Youth Protection" campaign should be to evaluate its effectiveness. / Department of Journalism

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, San Diego, 2009. / Title from first page of PDF file (viewed June 23, 2009). Available via ProQuest Digital Dissertations. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 393-410).

Thesis (M.S.)--Kutztown University, 1992. / Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 45-06, page: 2722. Typescript. Includes bibliographical reference (leaves 38-39).