Due to the development of new technology, there has been a shift in many communication concepts. With consumers now gaining more control in the online environment, more influential consumers, or ‘opinion leaders’, can also gain from this increase in power. However, insufficient research has been conducted regarding the concept of social media opinion leadership, and in particular what the relational nature of these new opinion leaders is. Therefore, this study aims to explore this issue within the social media opinion leadership theory. A qualitative research design was applied to get a more in depth insight to the issue, in where interviews were conducted with followers of specific opinion leader on a social media platform. The empirical data was analyzed through the means of coding and interpretation which then lead into the theory of what possible relationships can be found amongst social media opinion leaders and their followers. Conclusively, three types of relationships emerged as most dominant: the trustworthiness relationship, the friendly relationship and the passive relationship. The theoretical contributions of this paper together with practical implications and suggestion for future research are discussed based on that conclusion.

The work presented in this thesis aims at investigating the attachment of lightning flashes to wind turbines. Modern wind turbines are highly exposed to lightning strikes, due to the increase of their height and the rotation of the blades. Upward lightning is the dominant mechanism of lightning strikes to them. Therefore, this study evaluates the initiation of the initial upward leader discharge and the process of lightning attachment of dart leaders taking place prior to the first return stroke in upward flashes. This work extends the self-consistent leader inception and propagation model (SLIM) to evaluate the lightning attachment of dart and dart-stepped leaders to grounded objects. SLIM was originally proposed to evaluate the lightning attachment of stepped leaders. Unlike the well-studied lightning attachment of stepped leaders, upward connecting leaders initiated in response to dart and dart-stepped leaders develop under a significantly faster change of the ambient electric field. Additionally, these connecting leaders could develop in warm air pre-conditioned by the previous strokes in the same flash. An analytical expression to evaluate the charge required to thermalize the connecting leader per unit length is also developed in the extended model. This model is validated through the analysis of three attachment events recorded in rocket-triggered lightning experiments. Good agreement between the predicted properties of the upward leaders and the measurements has been found. The model is utilized to evaluate the different conditions where connecting leaders can develop prior to the return strokes in upward lightning. The extended model of SLIM is also applied to study the interception of lightning dart leaders by upward connecting leaders initiated from wind turbines. The evaluation considers the influence of the return stroke peak current, the blade rotation and wind on the attachment of lightning dart leaders to wind turbines. The probability of lightning strikes to the receptors along the blade and on the nacelle is calculated for upward lightning flashes. It is shown that the lightning attachment of dart leaders is a mechanism that can explain the lightning damages to the inboard region of the blades (more than 10 meters from the tip) and the nacelle of wind turbines. Furthermore, the critical stabilization electric field required to initiate upward lightning from wind turbines is evaluated for both ‘self-initiated’ and ‘other-triggered’ upward flashes. The calculation shows that the stabilization electric field of an operating wind turbine periodically changes due to the rotation of its blades.  The initiation of upward lightning is greatly facilitated by the electric field change produced by nearby lightning events. However, the rate of rise of the electric field only has a weak impact on the stabilization electric field. The evaluation of the stabilization electric field provides essential information needed for the estimation of the incidence of upward lightning to wind turbines. / <p>QC 20161201</p>

This psychobiography used the framework of Individual Psychology to examine the life style development of the Honorable Ann Richards in order to provide insight into the creation of a life style by a successful, contemporary female leader. This single case study utilized a qualitative/phenomenological research methodology to examine from Ms. Richards' point of view the manner in which a highly visible and well-known individual created her particular style of life.

Doctor of Education / Department of Educational Leadership / Donna Augustine-Shaw / Jessica Holloway / School superintendents have traditionally been removed from the systemic process of learning in a school district and instead of been considered more indirect supporters of student achievement. Now, in the face of changing leadership standards, they are being required to provide leadership that more directly enhances student learning by way of teacher professional development. This case study takes a deeper look into the process of the superintendent’s role in district professional development. This will include a purposeful examination to clearly understand the superintendent’s role in designing, implementing, and monitoring professional development in the school district. The study includes (a) the meaning of professional development; (b) examination of school leadership theories and roles; and (c) analysis of how professional development impacts the classroom design of a district instructional framework for professional development.

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Special Education, Counseling and Student Affairs / Doris Wright Carroll / Learning communities are considered a high impact practice. Most research has focused on the benefits for the students within learning communities. This study sought to explore what learning community leaders learn from their experiences in a learning community. The central research question was: What do student leaders experience in a classroom learning community? A phenomenological qualitative research approach was used to explore this question. Twenty-five students who had recently been a leader of a learning community in a large lecture course at a Midwest landgrant university were interviewed. The participants reflected on their position as a class leader and described in detail their experiences. To analyze the data, significant statements from each of the transcripts were organized into meaning units. The meaning units were used to formulate two codes: (a) learning communities and (b) personal development. Seven themes emerged from the data: 1) environmental elements of a learning community, 2) responsibilities of a class leader, 3) class leader roles within a learning community, 4) caring relationships, 5) self-awareness, 6) vocation, and 7) impact. Participants described learning communities as a small group of diverse students engaged in the process of learning. Participants emphasized the need for a safe learning environment, and an environment that leaders need to cultivate. Skills that were developed from learning community leaders’ responsibilities include time management and small group facilitation and throughout the experience, leaders can look forward to the development of caring and long lasting relationships with students, other peer leaders, and faculty. Participants identified that being a learning community leader impacted one’s affective, cognitive, and behavioral development, all of which resulted in one’s self-understanding and self-confidence. The experience of being a learning community leader shaped or affirmed future plans and goals and strengthened one’s identity formation as a leader. The study explored the experiences of undergraduate student leaders in the classroom. The findings of this study challenged institutions to rethink large lecture classrooms and consider integrating learning communities within large lecture classes while being intentional to provide the necessary resources and support to train peer teachers who would be asked to lead the learning communities.

Thesis advisor: Vincent Cho / Rorrer, Skrla, and Scheurich (2008) proposed a theory that district leaders enact several essential roles when engaging in systemic reform that both improves achievement and equity. Their theory identified reshaping district culture as one of these essential functions in systemic reform.  This case study explored how leaders in one Massachusetts public school district, which has demonstrated signs of improving achievement and equity, attempted to reshape district culture.   Drawing primarily upon semi-structured interviews, this study found that while these leaders reported using a variety of methods to assess the culture, the district has limited systems-level thinking about their culture.  Similarly, these leaders each made their own choices amongst shaping strategies ranging from focusing on subgroup dynamics to empowering early followers. Recommendations include the development of additional training for leaders in the small group facilitation necessary to uncover shared underlying assumptions and the creation of a district-level common language concerning culture. / Thesis (EdD) — Boston College, 2016. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education.

Throughout history women have been excluded from leading positions. Today, however, there is an equal gender distribution among Swedish managers, which by some is seen as a result of the Nordic model. Despite this, current statistics show that women tend to have a greater responsibility over child rearing and household duties. The aim of this study is to examine female leaders’ experiences of combining family and career, the challenges they face, and if these differ from male leaders. Previous research on women’s work commitment has shown that mothers are not less committed to their careers than women without children. At the same time other studies show that working mothers feel guilty over not being good enough parents. This study is based on eight qualitative interviews with female and male leaders in Sweden. The study shows that the female participants face challenges to their careers because of traditional gender norms, however these norms do not disfavour the male participants. This study also illustrates that the female subjects meet greater expectations both in their roles as leaders as well as in their roles as parents. Gender norms regarding motherhood result in that the women are made to feel guilty if traditional expectations go unmet. This is not something experienced by any of the male participants.

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Thesis: M.B.A., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 2019, In conjunction with the Leaders for Global Operations Program at MIT / Thesis: S.M., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 2019, In conjunction with the Leaders for Global Operations Program at MIT / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 99-109). / The majority of current unmanned aircraft system (UAS) research is focusing on small UAS operations at low altitude over rural and underpopulated areas. There is a gap in research about UAS greater than 55 pounds. The first unmanned aircraft to operate in this airspace is likely to be unmanned air cargo vehicles. This paper analyzes the commercial market opportunities for medium- and heavy-lift cargo UAS by developing value propositions for each viable market. A multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) tool was developed to analyze the value proposition for cargo UAS compared to other transportation vehicles. The MCDA tool evaluated the value generated from three different value attributes: cost, time, and vehicle characteristics. These were applied across fourteen different reference missions to assess the potential utilization of cargo UAS in those markets. The results of the analysis showed that a medium-lift cargo UAS is the best transportation vehicle for organ/blood transport, medical equipment transport, urgent delivery, remote delivery, and search and rescue operations. Heavy-lift cargo UAS proved to be the best transportation vehicle for oil rig delivery, HVAC service, and disaster relief. Additional findings showed that the most significant method to reduce cost for medium-lift cargo UAS is by applying autonomy and advanced command & control systems which facilitate the operation of multiple vehicles per operator. The most important consideration to reduce cost for heavy-lift cargo UAS is to increase the specific energy of the batteries used. / by Patrick C. Butler. / M.B.A. / S.M. / M.B.A. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management / S.M. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics