This dissertation sought to develop a grounded theory explaining how ENGOs assess the environmental performance of firms, select target industries and firms, and influence those targeted industries and firms. A preliminary model based on research in the fields of social movements, neo-institutional theory, stakeholder theory, and corporate social performance was developed. The model contained 21 propositions: seven regarding assessment, nine regarding targeting, and five regarding influencing. Interviews were conducted with 33 representatives of five ENGOs: Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Greenpeace, Environmental Defense (ED), World Resources Institute (WRI), and Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). NRDC and WRI served as pilot studies. NRDC, Greenpeace, and ED were considered case studies for the purpose of drawing inferences about the propositions. Insufficient interviews were conducted at WRI and UCS to draw inferences from them; however, data from these interviews was included in the dissertation to the extent it provided additional support for the inferences drawn. Qualitative methods were used to analyze the data. Results regarding the propositions were presented, as well as additional findings going beyond the propositions. A grounded theory of how ENGOs assess, target, and influence firms was developed based on the results; a model to accompany the grounded theory was also developed. / Ph. D.

The treatment of eating disorders (EDs) presents many challenges. Therapists' reactions towards clients (countertransference) may further complicate treatment. Countertransference may be partially due to the therapist's own vulnerabilities. Due to the personal connection to the work, countertransference towards ED clients may be pronounced among therapists with eating disorder lived experience (EDLE). Previous research indicates that 25-50% of ED therapists have EDLE; yet, minimal research examines how therapists negotiate their experiences while treating ED clients. The existing literature largely operates from the assumption that EDLE is a liability. While therapists with EDLE have some distinct challenges, therapists with EDLE may also have a unique perspective to offer the ED profession. The present study sought to understand how therapists with EDLE use their EDLE as a resource in their clinical work with ED clients. The study was guided by the theoretical frameworks of social constructivism and symbolic interactionism, as well as the person-of-the-therapist clinical training philosophy. Using constructivist grounded theory methodology, semi-structured interviews (Mtime = 89 minutes) were conducted with 22 therapists with EDLE, who work with ED clients. Participants explored how they use and manage their EDLE during key tasks of treatment with their ED clients. Results revealed that therapists engaged in two, interconnected constellations of processes (systems) in order to use and manage their EDLE in clinical practice. The first system (The Central System) helps therapists transform their personal experiences into clinical guidance that they can use to inform their work. The second system (The Checks and Balances System) helps the therapist find a balance between connecting with the client, while also allowing for differences of experiences to emerge. Lastly, personal processes (personal meaning making, values surrounding authenticity, and stigma surrounding EDLE), existing outside of these systems, were also found to impact the ways in which therapists use and manage themselves. Findings have implications for the EDLE literature, by providing novel ways therapists can use their EDLE. Findings also have implications for the POTT framework by exploring how POTT can be adapted for therapists who share lived experiences with their clients. A POTT-EDLE is proposed for training therapists with EDLE. / Doctor of Philosophy / The treatment of eating disorders (EDs) presents many challenges (e.g., frequent comorbidity, high rates of relapse, and the life-threatening nature of the disorder). Therapists' reactions towards clients (countertransference) may further complicate treatment. Countertransference (e.g., worry, frustration, hopelessness) may be partially due to the therapist's own unresolved issues and vulnerabilities. Due to the personal and professional connections to the work, countertransference towards ED clients may be particularly pronounced among therapists with eating disorder lived experience (EDLE). Previous research indicates that 25-50% of ED therapists have EDLE; yet, minimal research examines how therapists use and manage their experiences while treating ED clients. The existing literature largely operates from the assumption that EDLE is a liability and therapists with EDLE are working from a deficit. While therapists with EDLE have some distinct challenges, therapists with EDLE may also have a unique perspective to offer the ED profession. The study sought to understand how therapists with EDLE use their EDLE as a resource in their clinical work with ED clients. Interviews were conducted with 22 therapists with EDLE who work with ED clients. Results revealed that therapists engaged in two systems in order to use and manage their EDLE in clinical practice. The first system (The Central System) helps therapists transform their personal experiences into clinical guidance that they can use to inform their work. The second system (The Checks and Balances System) helps the therapist find a balance between connecting with the client, while also allowing for differences of experiences to emerge. The Central System and The Checks and Balances System work in tandem in order for the therapist to both use and manage their EDLE. Results describe the multiple processes informing these systems. Lastly, personal processes (personal meaning making, values surrounding authenticity, and stigma surrounding EDLE), existing outside of these systems, were also found to impact the ways in which therapists use and manage themselves. Findings have clinical and training implications for how therapists with EDLE can use and manage their EDLE to inform their clinical work with ED clients.

This study examined the process of design for general classroom facilities in American four-year public higher education institutions. Combining grounded theory, case study methods, visual methods, and portions of the Authentic, Action-Oriented, Framing for Environmental Shifts Method (Watt, 2015), I was able to address the four research questions posed in this study. I conducted interviews with participants involved in specific general classroom facilities design/construction while asking participants to co-create a diagram of the steps of the process. The data collected from this process produced the Train Model of Design for General Classroom Facilities. The process begins with the specifics of the institution or college and its chosen direction. The conditions specific to the institution act as a departing station for the process. The conditions specific to the wider context function as the rails on which the train moves. The rails are held together by crossties consisting of the constant collaboration of the triumvirate and stakeholders. A triumvirate consisting of the project manager, the construction manager, and the representative from the academic department move the project through each phase of the design process. These decision-makers functions as the conductor of the train, driving the process while feeding it two distinct types of fuel: budget and time. The triumvirate must continuously monitor the fuel supply to reach the end of the process. In addition, the triumvirate continuously monitors the passengers, to incorporate their feedback into the trip. The stages of the process function similarly to boarding and disembarking on a train. In Stage 1 you prepare to leave the station. You make a case for what travels on the train with you and what gets left at home. You also determine the fuel needs of the train by setting the project budget and schedule. Stage 2, or Making the Space, consists of the travel to the final destination, carrying along those well-laid plans from Stage 1. The triumvirate drives the train while carefully monitoring the fuel levels. You can make a few minor adjustments once you have left the stations, based on feedback from the passengers, but drastically altering the plans is not a viable option. The type of train you drive represents the different ways in which the process can play out at specific campuses. A passenger train works differently compared to a freight train. The number and sequence of steps in the process of design will vary depending on the type of project you are undertaking (new construction vs. renovation), the available state procedures, and the timing of your procurement of a construction management firm (i.e. the different types of trains you can take). The final destination of the train is the completed general classroom facility. / Ph. D.

For many decades, school leadership has been conceptualized in a variety of ways attempting to identify the critical elements necessary for effective school leadership. The expertise required for today's schools appears to be different from that required in the past, particularly as school leaders are expected to initiate change and "restructure" in order to obtain new and improved educational results. Traditional managerial skills, once deemed appropriate and effective for school administration, are now being replaced by styles that focus on cooperation and consideration, community building, open communication, and involvement with others. These behaviors appear to be present in women as they demonstrate their effectiveness in leadership roles as principals and superintendents. This descriptive study offers an in-depth look at the administrative behavior of three women. It documents their experiences and perspectives as high school principals. The purpose of the study is to contribute to the growing body of research on female leaders necessary to challenge the existing theories on school administration, which are based on traditional business management theory and formulated using an androcentric conceptual framework. Naturalistic inquiry guided the present study, which employed qualitative research methodology. Participant observations, complemented by interviews and reflective conversations, provided the data for analysis using grounded theory. A computer software program Ethnograph (Qualis, 1998) facilitated the organization and analysis of data. Case narratives, case reports, and a cross-case analysis report three women's behavior in their role as high school principals. Major conclusions include: (a) Each principal demonstrated a unique style of administrative behavior which seemed effectively matched to the needs of the school organization; (b) Each principal demonstrated a strong set of collegial or relational behaviors that focused on building community in order to support the school programs; and (c) Each principal demonstrated an ethic of care informed by a sense of fairness and loyalty to the policies and procedures associated with their bureaucratic organizational environment. The ethic of care that guided each principal's style suggests that these principals exercise a kind of power associated more with "effective agency" than with "command and control" power typically associated with traditional leadership. Additional research is needed to document the female leadership experience in schools in order to challenge and transform current administrative theory; research is also needed to explore the notion of "effective agency" as power. Practitioners, researchers, and other interested educational professionals are invited to use the behaviors identified in this study to reflect upon their own styles, because changing our schools is inevitably bound up with changing ourselves. / Ph. D.

British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver has been an active voice among those striving for food reform, directly influencing attitudes and behaviors among the culture of food around the world. Oliver's most recent campaign, Jamie's Food Revolution, can be considered one of his most successful attempts at influencing modern day food practices. The mission of the campaign is 'to create a strong sustainable movement to educate every child about food, inspire families to cook again and empower people everywhere to fight obesity' (Home Jamie's Food Revolution, n.d.). In addition to the campaign website, Jamie's Food Revolution campaign has a Facebook page, an Instagram page, a Twitter page, and a YouTube page, which are all used to contact with people around the world. The purpose of this thesis is to explore how the Instagram page, @foodrev, is used to post content that aligns with the mission and offers dialogic opportunities for publics to engage with the campaign through a grounded theory methodological approach and application of dialogic theory. More specifically, this thesis will: 1) highlight how the content of the @foodrev Instagram account represents the mission statement of Jamie's Food Revolution; 2) address whether the content posted to the Instagram account generates opportunities for dialogic engagement; 3)reveal whether the content posted to the Instagram account actually generates dialogic responses from other Instagram users; and4) reveal features of dialogic theory that transfer to social media, specifically Instagram, and what aspect of the platform provides dialogic affordances not already explained by dialogic theory. / Master of Arts

By listening to peoples' constructed stories of special places, the average person begins to understand why and how attachments to places form. This study concerns the attachments residents of Isle au Haut, Maine possess on the remote island, which borders part of Acadia National Park. The purpose of this study is to uncover social components of both place attachment and place identity among island residents as well as explain the process by which those residents form attachments. Twelve interviews were conducted both on Isle au Haut as well as nearby Mount Desert Island. Qualitative data were collected from a purposive sample of island residents and National Park Service employees who are responsible for managing the park on the island. In-depth interviews were the sole means of data collection and provided detailed stories of life on the island and attachments that have formed. This study uses grounded theory techniques in data analysis to ultimately form a theory grounded in the collected data. The findings from this study indicate that social interaction is key to residents forming an attachment to Isle au Haut. Further, three major social constructs emerged from the data analysis. Those constructs are sense of community, shared purpose, and shared history, all of which were found to contribute to place identity and place attachment among the residents. The results also suggest place identity as more salient than place dependence in residents' narratives concerning their attachment to the island. / Master of Science

The salience of racial socialization among African American families has received considerable attention in the literature; however, few scholars have examined how the process of racial socialization unfolds in families with very young children. This study investigated how African American mothers of preschool-age children approached the process of racial socialization. I interviewed African American mothers who were at least age 18 (N=12) with biological children between the ages of three and five to explore the following: (a) the strategies and messages used during the racial socialization process, (b) how mothers' perceptions of colorism influenced the content of messages, and (c) mothers' perceptions of external forces that influenced their children's racial socialization experiences. I applied an integrated Black feminist-child development theoretical framework and grounded theory methodology to examine how African American mothers negotiated intersectionality when racially socializing their preschool-age children. Four major themes emerged from data analysis: motherwork as conscientization, bidirectional process in maternal racial socialization, skin tone politics in maternal racial socialization, and defining African American motherhood. From these themes, I concluded that mothers preferred to use cultural and egalitarian strategies and messages with their preschool-age children. Maternal racial socialization has a bidirectional component that involves mother-child conversations about race that occur when the child notices differences in people based on skin color, a race-related situation occurs, or the child initiates it. Colorism did not directly influence the content of racial socialization messages but did inform maternal interactions with extended family members. For African American women, motherhood is characterized by societal expectations and pressures for African American children. / Ph. D.

No / The Hospital Personnel, Nursing Care and Dying Patients study, undertaken in California in the mid 1960s, generated a body of work that continues to be influential in end of life care research. Key points from the study are summarised, as are contributions from researchers who have responded to Glaser and Strauss invitation to examine further settings and, in so doing, provide data that helps refine their theory. The example of people with heart failure in the contemporary UK is considered. Changes since the 1960s in the epidemiology of chronic illness, the pattern of service provision and in social and professional attitudes have reduced the contemporary relevance of Glaser and Strauss's insights into the ceremonial and temporal order of the clinic. However their findings about awareness contexts and a reluctance to discuss prognosis remain highly relevant.

Yes / The reuse of existing datasets to identify mechanisms for improving healthcare quality has been widely encouraged. There has been limited application within dementia care. Dementia Care Mapping (DCM) is an observational tool in widespread use, predominantly to assess and improve quality of care in single organisations. DCM data has the potential to be used for secondary purposes to improve quality of care. However, its suitability for such use requires careful evaluation. This study conducted in-depth interviews with 29 DCM users to identify issues, concerns and challenges regarding the secondary use of DCM data. Data was analysed using modified Grounded Theory. Major themes identified included the need to collect complimentary contextual data in addition to DCM data, to reassure users regarding ethical issues associated with storage and reuse of care related data and the need to assess and specify data quality for any data that might be available for secondary analysis. / This study was funded by the Faculty of Health Studies, University of Bradford.

No / Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. There is growing emphasis on sharing and reusing dementia care-related datasets to improve the quality of dementia care. Consequently, there is a need to develop data management solutions for collecting, integrating and storing these data in formats that enhance opportunities for reuse. Dementia Care Mapping (DCM) is an observational tool that is in widespread use internationally. It produces rich, evidence-based data on dementia care quality. Currently, that data is primarily used locally, within dementia care services, to assess and improve quality of care. Information-rich DCM data provides opportunities for secondary use including research into improving the quality of dementia care. But an effective data management solution is required to facilitate this. A rationale for the warehousing of DCM data as a technical data management solution is suggested. The authors also propose a data model for a DCM data warehouse and present user-identified challenges for reusing DCM data within a warehouse.