Orientation programs, while unique in their own design and implementation across campuses, offer incoming students the opportunity to become acquainted with the institutional environment. A particularly important element of orientation programs is the component of orientation leaders who serve as peer mentors and guides to incoming students. These students fulfill several responsibilities of the institution and develop a lasting rapport with incoming students. Orientation leaders have the opportunity to personally develop and gain valuable skills as a result of working the orientation program. Kolbs experiential learning model provides a framework that explains an orientation leaders personal development. Kolbs model consists of a spiral of four modes of learning concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization, and active experimentation. Individuals learn by cycling through each of the four phases. Throughout the summer orientation program, orientation leaders in this study had the opportunity to work seven sessions where they encountered a concrete experience, reflected on those experiences, conceptualized those experiences within group discussions, and actively experimented with new ideas and techniques. In this study, the researcher found that working the orientation program had a significant impact on the personal development of orientation leaders. Themes that emerged corresponded with Chickerings seven vector model of student development. During times in higher education when budgets are tight and funding is limited, it is important to know the lasting effects that orientation programs can have on the orientation leaders. Therefore, colleges and universities must continue to utilize and understand the role of orientation leaders in orientation programs.

Recent tragedies are causing hospitals to more intensively review their strategies and broaden their approach to emergency preparation. The Gulf Coast storms of 2005 and 2008 and other catastrophic events nationwide have illustrated the central role hospitals can and should play in a communitys disaster recovery infrastructure. Given the unpredictability of the world today, with the possibility of a mass casualty crisis constantly threatening, there is an urgent need to seek and achieve higher levels of readiness. If a hospital organization is not investing in emergency preparedness on a continuous basis, that facility and its community are placed at higher risk. After bearing the brunt of several major, damaging storms for the past five years, hospitals along the coast in Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas have heightened their involvement in their own and their communities recoveries, rebuilding their respective facilities and human resources so they can offer quality healthcare services to their communities. This study sought to answer the following research question: What strategies are hospitals in coastal Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas using in their emergency preparedness plans five years since Hurricanes Katrina and Rita to facilitate their ability to respond more effectively under crisis conditions and to maintain critical patient care operations? The researcher took an in-depth look at the many lessons learned by nine Gulf Coast region hospitals during their experiences with Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, Gustav and Ike by interviewing hospital administrators and emergency preparedness personnel. These interactions revealed strategies that the hospitals have implemented and what has yet to be done. Study participants provided an evaluation of their emergency policies and plans, practices and implementation as well as improvements, evacuation versus shelter-in-place strategies, training and drills, supplies, reimbursement, communication and human resource issues. The study sought to identify trends and best practices being used by coastal healthcare facilities and to determine which of these have been put into practice. Finally, the study identified opportunities for future research in hospital emergency preparedness.

The intelligence community is responsible for providing competent analysis and assessments pertaining to the many significant geo-political situations that may potentially or do effect the nations interests. The intelligence community has always experienced challenges living up to that charge, and while it may merely be a case of the nature of the profession, there are always lessons that can be learned and processes that may improve the analytical processes. Critical thinking is a cognitive process that may be able to provide that improvement to the analytical processes, and when an analytical framework is built by applying these cognitive skills, the analytical effort may become more focused and meaningful. This study examined an intelligence analysis framework that was built using specific cognitive critical thinking skills. It was demonstrated that intelligence analysis did improve, specifically with the novice analysts that participated, and there was demonstrated specificity in the respondents analyses. A panel of experts provided insight and content assurance that demonstrated the intelligence analysis and products produced were valuable for operational usage. Finally, successful historical counterinsurgencies were examined in relationship to the analytical framework that was utilized in order to understand how this analysis can lead to operational success.

Challenging economic times and increasingly complex social contexts intensify the demand for organizations to focus on areas of human resource development that positively contribute to developmental relationships of employees. One such method is the implementation of a formal mentoring program. Mentoring is especially important for 4-H youth educators. Youth educators are usually specialized in program development among other areas and plan, implement, and evaluate programs with the intent of bettering the quality of life for youth. The dynamics of working with todays youth mandate effective professional development and developmental relationships for career enhancement. This study was developed for the researcher to take an in-depth look into mentoring relationships for new 4-H youth educators. The following research questions were investigated: How do Extension educators perceive the value of mentoring Extension educators in Louisiana? How do Extension educators perceive the value of formal and informal mentoring programs in Louisiana? Seven 4-H youth educators, hired within the past one to five years, participated in this study and were interviewed by the researcher. This communication and interaction provided details and explanations regarding the formal mentoring program and tendencies for new 4-H youth educators within the organization to find informal mentors. The participants shared personal and professional expectations, hopes, and needs as novice 4-H youth educators. Several components that contribute to successful, professional developmental relationships were found to be lacking with formal mentors among participants despite finding these elements in developmental relationships with informal mentors. The findings of this study contributed to suggestions for an effective and efficient formal mentoring program for 4-H youth educators. In addition, the researcher concluded there are numerous implications that reinforce the need for the development and implementation of a revised formal mentoring program in the organization.

Many job satisfaction studies have been done on faculty in higher education, but very little research has focused on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) faculty. Through these studies, very little consensus has been reached on the satisfaction levels of male and female faculty. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the job satisfaction of tenured and tenure-track male and female STEM faculty at research institutions in six states. Moreover, the study sought to examine the relationship between STEM faculty job satisfaction and potential explanatory factors: gender, rank, tenure, salary, family status, whether or not there are children living in the home, number of children living in the home, and work-family conflict. The instruments used in the study were the Job Satisfaction Survey and the Work-family Conflict Scale, both of which are six item Likert-type scales. A negative statistically significant relationship existed between work-family conflict and job satisfaction. Faculty who reported lower work-family conflict reported significantly higher job satisfaction than faculty with high work-family conflict. In addition, a negative statistically significant relationship existed between work interference with family (WIF) and job satisfaction. The correlation between WIF and job satisfaction shows that as work interference with family increases, job satisfaction decreases. Multiple regression analysis revealed that two factors, work interference with family and family status (married or not married), accounted for 13.6% of the variance, which indicates that there are other factors that affect university STEM faculty job satisfaction than the ones that were identified in this study. The results of this study can be used by administrators to aid in making organizational decisions that may lead to increased STEM faculty job satisfaction. Some of these decisions might include implementing family-friendly policies and programs to increase the supportiveness of the work-family culture.

<p> This dissertation seeks to address the facilitation of difficult knowledges in the classroom. I employ constructs of poststructural feminism to critique rationalist-only frameworks that limit the forms of knowledge that "count" in the construction of knowledge. In response to these critiques, this dissertation constructs an alternative pedagogical framework from a psychoanalytic and poststructural feminist lens that emphasizes the bordered landscapes of the un/conscious. This approach is named Intimate Transgressive Pedagogy (ITP). Additionally, this dissertation introduces an empirical study that explored one semester of classroom teaching using Intimate Transgressive Pedagogy. Student and teacher experiences are analyzed through the theoretical concepts of ITP with a further discussion of the implications of the pedagogical concepts and empirical findings for multicultural teacher education.</p>

The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and employee engagement on the intent to leave of public school teachers in South Louisiana. The teachers were described on those psychological measures as well as the demographic characteristics of age, gender, marital status, education level, years experience in education, years experience in their current school system and years until eligible for retirement. In order to collect the necessary data, the following instruments were utilized: the Job Descriptive Index/Job In General, the Organizational Commitment Questionnaire, the Utrecht Work and Well Being Survey, three-point Intent to Leave instrument, and a demographic survey. A total of 244 useable responses to these instruments were completed by participating teachers. Findings revealed that the largest group of teachers were of the Generation X age category. The majority of the teachers surveyed were female, married and had earned a Bachelor of Science degree, and the largest group had over 20 years experience in education. There were few significant relationships between the psychological variables and the demographic variables. Findings also indicated that the teachers were generally satisfied with their overall jobs. Negative correlations were found between scores for each of the three psychological measures of Job in General, Organizational Commitment, and Employee Engagement; and Intent to Leave. A model was found that explained 45.2% of the variance in intent to leave among public school teachers in South Louisiana from selected psychological and demographic measures. Based on these findings, the researcher concluded that the teachers were found to be satisfied with their jobs, particularly their co-workers and the work itself; committed to their xiii organization, engaged, and to possess very little intent to leave. The teachers were found to be dissatisfied with their pay and with their opportunities for promotion.

The purpose of this study was to determine which has the strongest correlation to student achievement as measured by value-added test scores: Principal Observations, Teachers Self-Efficacy Ratings, or Student Perceptions of Teacher Effectiveness. 68 teachers from a K-12 public school in the southeast region of the United States agreed to participate in the study. The Teachers Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES) was utilized to measure the teachers in terms of their own reports of self efficacy. The School Improvement Model (SIM) of Iowa State University instruments were used to measure the students perceptions of teacher effectiveness. The Teacher Advancement Program (TAP) model observation protocol was used to measure the principals/supervisors observation scores. These three measures were run in a multiple regression correlation to determine which of the three was the strongest predictor of student outcomes. An analysis of Pearsons Moment Correlation among all three variables revealed that the principal observation scores were the only statistically significantly correlated measures that could be inferred to have any predictive impact on student achievement as measured by Value Added Scores.

The purpose of this study was to describe southern region 4-H educators training experiences and attitudes, demographics, and leadership beliefs and attitudes. Based on a review of literature, most youth development workers tend to bring similar beliefs and attitudes to their work (Huebner, 2003). The Brumbaugh Youth Leadership Development Questionnaire, a twenty seven item survey, including multiple choice, open-ended, ranking, likert scale, and demographic questions, was developed and distributed online to all 4-H agents in the following United States southern regional states: Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. Overall, southern region youth educators viewed youth leadership development training as very or somewhat important. The most attended youth leadership development training method by youth educators was workshops. Youth educators most preferred face to face type trainings, such as workshops and district/regional/area trainings. Southern region youth educators ranked the ability of a leader to make decisions as the highest item in the leadership belief and attitude, which could be very helpful when teaching about youth and adult partnerships during a youth leadership development training. Youth educators felt that group leaders did not have to be knowledgeable about leadership theory, which would suggest that youth leadership development clubs tend to focus on context rather than content. The majority of the respondents were Caucasian and female. It was found that southern region youth educators hold rather similar views about leadership, regardless of age, gender, office location, level of education and years of service.

The primary purpose of this study was to determine how Louisiana agricultural producers get information related to their crops. Specifically, this study examined how Louisiana agricultural producers used the Louisiana State University AgCenters website and other media sources so that it could be determined which form of community media could be used to facilitate cross-cultural communication between LSU AgCenter field and state agents and Louisiana agricultural producers. Data for this study were obtained from 187 usable surveys completed by Louisiana agricultural produceragricultural producers. The data were analyzed to determine if producers utilized the LSU AgCenter website, the frequency they utilized it, detect the trust Louisiana producers had in information provided by the LSU AgCenter on its website, ascertain what additional information Louisiana producers would like to see provided on the LSU AgCenters website, determine if social media was an acceptable means of communicating with producers, and identify factors related to how and when information provided by the LSU AgCenter was used in Community media vehicles. The studys findings indicated The Delta Farm Press was the source producers used to get agriculture-related information. Ag consultants were the second most used source that Louisiana agricultural producers used to receive information. LSU AgCenter agents/offices were the third highest source and the Louisiana Farm Bureau Federation was listed as the fourth highest source for agriculture-related information. It was also found that the largest number of producers who accessed the LSU AgCenters website did so on a monthly basis and that they trusted material provided by the LSU AgCenter. In addition, the study found Louisiana producers wanted a mobile weather application, as well as more information about markets, more interactive material, and information available in Spanish. In addition, several of the producers indicated they were not aware of all of the services offered on the LSU AgCenters website. For instance, weather information is one of the services producers indicated they would like to see on the website. Weather information is available on the website, but it may not be structured so that it is easily found by visitors to the website.