Diabetes self-management has clear benefits in reducing diabetes symptoms and complications and improving the health, wellbeing and quality of life of people with diabetes. Successful intervention programs focus on the development of diabetes self-efficacy, which promotes the capacity of people with diabetes to perform diabetes self-management even in the face of difficulty. Diabetes self-management, however, presents considerable challenges for health systems that have been structured to provide acute, rather than chronic care, and health professionals who have been trained to cure illness, rather than manage behaviour. It presents further challenges for people with diabetes who live in socioeconomically disadvantaged circumstances and have limited financial resources for diabetes care and therapies, and poor access to resources for diabetes self-management, such as clean, safe exercise areas and healthy foods at low-cost. These sociostructural determinants of diabetes self-management, defined here as GP care and socioeconomic resources, have the potential to impede the uptake and effective dissemination of diabetes self-management policy and intervention. This research thesis investigated the impact of sociostructural determinants on diabetes self-management using a model developed from self-efficacy theory. The model was empirically examined using a mixed quantitative and qualitative methodology, where qualitative data were used to illuminate the findings of quantitative data. The quantitative component comprised a random cross-sectional survey of 105 people with diabetes subjected to hierarchical multiple regression with tests for moderator effects. The qualitative component comprised three group interviews of 27 English-speaking, Vietnamese-speaking and Arabic-speaking people with diabetes, analysed using the phenomenological method. Findings provided partial support for the model. Relationships between sociostructural determinants and diabetes self-management were complex. While good quality GP care facilitated diabetes self-management, it also acted as a barrier to self-monitoring of blood glucose for people with low levels of diabetes self-efficacy. Having limited access to socioeconomic resources did not impede diabetes self-management, even for people with low levels of diabetes self-efficacy, although this may have been masked by access to public health schemes and welfare support. The findings from this small-scale exploratory study suggest that self-efficacy may exert an impact on diabetes self-management, even in the face of sociostructural determinants.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Dept. of Couseling and Educational Psychology, 2009. / Title from PDF t.p. (viewed on Feb. 10, 2010). Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 70-06, Section: A, page: . Adviser: Rex Stockton.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2009. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 70-06, Section: A, page: . Adviser: John J. Lawler. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 231-238) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

<p> The onset or inception of organizational decline has been largely bypassed in management research over the past two decades, even though understanding this fundamental typology is key to mitigating organizational failure, while also providing important insight regarding how managers respond to phenomena that they may neither expect or understand. Understanding how managers observe, decide, and act in times of uncertainty, and how organizational culture and other factors may shape that environment, are important for scholars and practitioners alike to understand. This dissertation argues that corporate decline has largely been misunderstood from the perspective of onset or initiation; that the manager's decision-making process in times of decline must be considered in relation to the actual causes and factors associated with decline, and that the fundamental definition of organizational decline must be revised in light of advances in our understanding in management over the past three decades. This qualitative empirical descriptive study reviews literature regarding organizational decline with emphasis on the onset of decline, presents an equation for understanding a firm's propensity for decline, provides a revised definition of organizational decline, and examines the decision-making process of management when faced with decline based on symbolic interactionism theory.</p>

<p> Volunteers provide valuable human resource assets in many areas of society and are critical to the success of non-profit organizations. The Volunteer Functions Inventory (VFI) has been used for over ten years and has received the most attention from researchers who cite the theoretical basis, the predictive nature, and the general purpose application of the inventory as major strengths. However, there are several shortcoming of the instrument which limits its value to organizations that use volunteers. Several researchers have suggested that additional functions should be included in the VFI. The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify missing functions that should be part of this inventory in order to improve its effectiveness as a tool for identifying volunteer motivations. The problem was that the VFL is an incomplete survey of functions for volunteer motivations, which limits its usefulness to practitioners and researchers. This research study was a qualitative multiple case study analysis which included interviews with volunteers, informant feedback, and focus group review of the coding of excerpts. A total of twelve volunteers from three volunteer organizations were purposefully selected for maximum variation. Questions were field tested with four experts and the researcher conducted face-to-face interviews with each participant. Informant feedback was used to verify the transcription and the analysis of the results, and a focus group performed a sorting procedure to verify the results. The analysis supported use of the six functions included in the VFI, and found considerable support for the concepts of civic responsibility and debt or obligation as functions that provide motivation for volunteerism. There were a notable number of comments by the participants that aligned with these two functions, and were validated through the triangulation methods of participant feedback and the focus group. Based on this study, the researcher concludes that civic responsibility and debt or obligation are functions that should be included in the VFI. The researcher recommends that additional studies should be conducted to develop a modified VFI including these functions. This includes creating and validating questions for the two additional functions, and a testing and validating a revised inventory.</p>

<p>High levels of unemployment have resulted from the recent economic downturn. Job search related research has been limited with respect to the impact of psychological capacities in relation to job search intensity. The purpose of this non-experimental quantitative study was to test the theory of Psychological Capital (PsyCap) that relates PsyCap to preparatory and active job search behaviors. This study focused on active job searchers receiving outplacement services at an international organization for outplacement services. Two research hypotheses were tested: the four subscales of the psychological capital assessment do predict preparatory job search behaviors and the four subscales of the psychological capital assessment do predict active job search behaviors. The findings from an analysis of the results from this study did not provide results that were statistically significant in support of the first hypothesis. The results from the second hypothesis, however, reflected statistical significance in support of the second hypothesis. This study expands the research on positivity as it relates to job search intensity and contributes to the field of Organization and Management by analyzing the impact of PsyCap on job search intensity. The identification of job searchers&rsquo; PsyCap provides an opportunity to expand on the theoretical framework of positive psychology as it relates to the reemployment process. PsyCap is also &ldquo;developable&rdquo; (Luthans &amp; Youssef, 2007), which provides a basis for unemployment consultants in strengthening job searchers&rsquo; overall PsyCap and increasing their intensity levels. This strengthening of job searcher PsyCap should facilitate faster return to employment. </p>

<p> The purpose of this quantitative descriptive correlational research study using the Emotional Competence Inventory (ECI) survey instrument was to examine to what extent a relationship exists between a project leader&rsquo;s emotional intelligence (EI) and project success (Hay Group, McClelland Center for Research and Innovation &amp; Wolff, 2006). Literature reviewed found a gap existed regarding relationships between emotional intelligence of a project leader and project success. The survey sample consisted of project managers, project leaders, or other project management designation. The survey sample contained 60 respondents self-identified within the project management profession and others providing multi-rater reviews of survey participants. The study, using the ECI, Spearman&rsquo;s correlation, chi-square statistical analysis, and other descriptive statistics was to examine relationships between the independent and dependent variables. Results suggested no correlation between emotional intelligence of project leaders and project success but do suggest emotional intelligence is a factor to consider within project leadership.</p>

<p> Emerging research has shown that, in the last twenty years, dramatic corporate and workforce changes have taken place in terms of when and where work is performed. Telework has emerged as a popular mode of work design, characteristic of a modernizing workforce. As a flexible work arrangement, telework options have been linked with improved work-life balance, feelings of autonomy, and intrinsic satisfaction for employees. However, concerns for employees' lack of presence and distance from the office and how individuals remain connected to the organization and its members continue to surface. More particularly, increasing time being physically away from the organization can impact employees' feelings of becoming invisible, isolated, and less able to identify with the organization. This is noteworthy because a sense of connectedness and feelings of belonging at work have been linked to engagement, productivity, and performance. To date, however, no studies have focused on what happens to individuals' sense of belonging when they engage in high-intensity telework, consistently working from home more than sixty percent of the time. The purpose of this phenomenological study, then, was to describe and understand the essence of the high-intensity teleworkers' experience of organizational belonging. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten individuals who were employed in full-time roles across different organizations, who worked from home at least three days a week, and had been doing so for at least six months. The findings reveal especially unique and important perspectives on the employee-supervisor relationship, how high-intensity teleworkers engage from a distance, and how a sense of belonging is realized. Notions of identity fulfillment surface as central to how organizational belonging is experienced by high-intensity teleworkers. An identity-based definition of organizational belonging is also offered. Recommendations for further research and practical suggestions for organizations employing high-intensity teleworkers are highlighted. </p>

<p> The purpose of the study was to understand, analyze, and interpret the defining factors that attributed to the decision strategy of highly educated successful career women to stay home upon the birth of a child. As well, the study ascertained the impact on the women&rsquo;s lives once they stayed home full-time. This research study utilized the qualitative methodology based on a case study approach. The individual interview yielded complex dimensions according to the decision strategies the women employed. As a result of staying home, these women encountered internal and external changes. Additionally, their cultural upbringing influenced their style of mothering. The demographic questionnaire captured their individual profile. Discussion of the study and recommendations for future research were also explored.</p>

<p> Increased competitive and regulatory pressures are requiring American universities to find new and innovative models to improve student academic success and college value. Previous research has noted that the introduction of mobile or tablet-based devices into education pedagogies can support learning activities if implemented effectively. This study provides an empirical analysis on the relationship between instructor iPad adoption in classroom learning activities and instructor perceived improvement in student retention rates. An adapted version of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model was used as the theoretical model to assess this relationship along with regression analysis to estimate the variance. Overall, the findings validate the application of the UTAUT model towards instructor adoption of iPad technologies in classroom learning activities, and support the supposition that instructors who more readily adopt the use of iPads technologies in their classroom activities also perceive that student retention outcomes can improve by doing so. Social influence and performance expectancy were determined to be the largest factors influencing instructor adoption. Furthermore, the personality traits of versatility, creativity and emotional control were found to have no bearing on the relationship between instructor technology adoption and perceived improvement to student retention. Recommendations for further research included: (a) extending this study to other educational institutions, (b) exploring the relationship between instructor adoption of iPad technology and actual, as opposed to perceived, student retention outcomes, and (c) adapting the theoretical framework used in this study to include perceived student retention as a predictor of intent to adopt.</p>