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The communication of an organizational change vision is a key to the success of organizational transformation. Theorists have prescribed models of how to make change vision communication successful but these models have no empirical data to support them. The purpose of this study was to explore the efficacy of change agents in communicating a change vision that compels employees to accept a perception of reality (mental model) that aligned with the change agents' vision. A case study of the merger of two metropolitan agencies was conducted to examine the relationship between the communication of a change vision and its effect on organizational change. The primary change agent and several organizational members affected by the transformation were interviewed. Primary and secondary organizational documents concerning the merger were collected. Mental models from organizational members were compared for similarity to the change agent's vision. Written and oral materials communicating the change vision were analyzed using Automap text analysis software as a measure of effectiveness and to determine which type of communication was most effective. Findings suggest that the change agent's vision was poorly defined and communicated yet the transformation succeeded because organizational members created their own compensating change vision. Social change implications of this study may include challenging unproductive methods of organizational change that have wasted resources and led to organizational misalignment. A better understanding of the communication of change visions will lead to cost savings and more effective and efficient change efforts that benefit managers, employees and the customers of public agency services.

Research literature identifies ethical leadership, a leadership grounded in ethical norms and practice, as a critical vehicle for achieving organizational goals and fostering good governance. However, little research on leadership has focused on the public sector, leaving a gap in the literature. Leadership in governance is a concern in local government in Nigeria; in spite of the 1976 reforms, the country still lacks good governance and corresponding socioeconomic development. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore an ethical leadership model, and determine how such a model could inspire and sustain good governance in Nigerian local government administration. Ethical theories of utilitarianism, deontology, and virtue ethics comprised the theoretical frameworks for this study. Research questions focused on the ways in which Nigerian local council officials attempted to foster and sustain good governance via ethical leadership. Face-to-face interviews with open-ended questions were conducted with 25 civil service employees purposefully selected from a local government. Data were analyzed by identifying themes utilizing constant comparison; these themes included honesty, concern for people, citizen participation, accountability, transparency, and rule of law. Results indicated a preference for an ethical leadership style, with the potential to harness resources to develop Nigeria's socioeconomic situation and improve the quality of governance. The implications for positive social change lie in informing public officials of the value and attributes of an ethical leadership style as well as training institutional leaders on this model. As ethical leadership is fostered in public administration, socioeconomic and human development may follow.

Innovative approaches to communicating with the masses continue to evolve in the private sector, while accessibility of goods, services, and public information within federal, state, and local government organizations has been declining for decades. This situation has resulted in a lack of trust and sense of isolation from communities. At the same time, the implementation and use of social media have increased exponentially. Despite the simultaneous occurrence of these events, limited research has explored the connection between them. Specifically, the purpose of this case study was to address the central research question of whether the adoption of social media platforms results in increased accessibility of goods and services within the public sector. Rogers's diffusion of innovations theory founded the framework for this study. Data were collected within a local government organization through semistructured interviews with 15 employees and 15 clients, observations of daily operations, and analyses of postings made on selected social media platforms. Inductive coding and a comparative method of analysis generated emerging themes and patterns. Key findings of this study indicated significant increases in public accessibility of goods and services as the result of the implementation and use of social media. Relative to diffusion of innovations theory, findings illustrated the spread of new technology through certain channels among employees and clients. Recommendations focus on establishing strategies to ensure widespread diffusion of social media and to address socioeconomic disparities. Government agencies can use this research as a means to advance social change through open communication, an engaged workforce, and increased transparency.

In 2015, 78% of Detroit's city council was African American--the highest percentage in the country. For decades, there had been an assumption in the academic and activist fields that a legislative body with such a high percentage of minority presence would produce incredible policy gains for that group (i.e. African American Detroiters). Instead, the council passed no Black racial policy. In a city where there were ostensibly no barriers for passing racial policy -- there were no subsequent policy gains. Though running contrary to existing scholarship, Detroit is not an anomaly; it is an indicator of the larger trend. Using a mixed methods approach, I consider the impact of descriptive representation (i.e. presence of a minority group) on representation in policy (i.e. policy outcomes). The thesis that emerges from my examination is that the relationship between descriptive representation and representation in policy is not static, as has been suggested, but dynamic. The amount of representation in policy that a group achieves is a function of descriptive representation, but the relationship is not linear. More descriptive representation does not always predict more representation in policy. And indeed, cities with the most descriptive representation often have relatively low levels of representation in policy. This work challenges the current body of literature and calls for substantial revision of seminal theory.

There is convincing evidence in the literature that the civil war fought in Sierra Leone beginning in 1991 was the result of social and political grievances between the 3 dominant ethnic groups, Krio, Mende, and Temne. Hitherto, there were no studies which explored their collaboration on postconflict sustainable peacebuilding efforts. By closely examining the political behaviors of these groups, this qualitative expert study was designed to create understanding of how collaboration between them supported postconflict sustainable peace-building efforts. Data consisted of observational notes and semistructured interviews of 21 Sierra Leonean experts living in the United States. Data were analyzed using the method of content analysis and cross-verified through the process of data source triangulation. Results indicate the 3 dominant groups have divergent political ideologies, views, practices, and participations. However, it was also found they have convergent national interest in supporting sustainable peacebuilding in Sierra Leone. The results may change how sustainable peace-building initiatives are conceptualized through ethnic group collaboration. The contention of this study is that the nexus between development and security in a nation emerging from conflict is ethnic group cooperation. Hence, implications for social change are linked to opening new channels for discourse between dominant ethnic groups in a conflict-prone nation to avoid future conflicts. Therefore, knowledge from this study may be useful for governments, policy makers, the United Nations, and the international community at large because their actions may run parallel to ethnic group dynamics.

Based on the Government Performance and Results Act, the United States Air Force is transforming its business through e-government, the adoption of information technology enabled enterprise business systems. The problem this research addressed was the lack of theory on implementation success of enterprise business systems, especially when users perceive that organizational mission and the value of the systems differ from the enterprise vision and goals. The purpose of the study was to conceptualize the acceptance of enterprise business systems by internal users. The research was based on theories about the influence and interaction of drivers of technology adoption and user acceptance. The critical research questions involved exploring the internal users' perceptions of the value of the systems, what users need, and how those perceptions align with the vision and goals of their organization and the enterprise business systems. Grounded theory was used to construct a theory of the value and acceptance of the enterprise systems from the users' perspectives and experiences. Data were collected from twelve study participants using open-ended and semi-structured interview questions. The data were analyzed using an iterative comparative process to derive commonalities and differences among user value. The findings demonstrated that when internal users value an enterprise business system, shared understanding of the vision the system will be effective and efficient and will meet organizational goals. These findings can be used to improve the alignment of the Air Force systems' value for the user and the enterprise, increase the transparency in IT transformations, and enhance the effectiveness of enterprise system change initiatives, thus resulting in overall reduced business costs.

Teen dating violence is a national epidemic with prevalence similar to levels of adult dating and domestic violence. Some states order of protection laws currently fails to protect most teen victims experiencing dating violence. The purpose of this experimental, quantitative study was to determine to what extent domestic violence statutes impact the reporting of teen dating violence in states that provide statutory protection of teen dating violence victims. The advocacy coalition framework was used for the study's theoretical foundation. The research questions focused on differences between the strength of state's advocacy coalition programs, and the prevalence of female teens reporting dating violence. One-way ANOVAs and Games-Howell post hoc tests were used to analyze existing data acquired from Center for Disease Control 2011 State Youth Risk Behavioral Survey of 39,184 high school females from 43 states; 2010 Break the Cycle State Law Report Cards, and 2011-2015 Domestic Violence Counts: National Census of Domestic Violence Services. Findings indicate a statistically significant difference between states that do not provide statutory protection for teen victims and states that do provide statutory protection (p < .001) and implied that stronger state advocacy and coalition programs resulted in higher reported incidents of physical dating violence among female teens. Implications for positive social change include recommendations to lawmakers and crime prevention specialists to consider changes in domestic violence statutes to protect teen victims, provide specific statutory remedy for teen victims and reduce the frequency of teen dating violence as result of increased reporting.

Abstract Following the increase in foreclosures across the United States from 2007 to 2009, there was concern that foreclosed homes could lead to higher rates of crime in certain neighborhoods. Using social disorganization theory, the purpose of this difference-in-difference research design was to study the link between foreclosure levels, and crime rates in neighborhoods in Charlotte, North Carolina. Propensity score matching was used to examine whether neighborhood foreclosure rates have an impact on neighborhood crime level while controlling for neighborhood conditions. Data were acquired from Charlotte Neighborhood Quality of Life Studies, conducted biannually in 173 neighborhoods in Charlotte, North Carolina. Data for the years 2004 and 2010 were used for the analysis. The sample included 54 neighborhoods exposed to foreclosures (n = 27), and neighborhoods not exposed to foreclosure (n = 27). Data were also acquired from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department and housing authorities for the same years. Using hierarchical multiple regression analysis, a significant relationship was found between neighborhood foreclosure level and neighborhood crime level, and school dropout levels and neighborhood crime level (p <.05). The positive social change stemming from this study includes recommendations to local policy makers and law enforcement agencies to consider policies and strategies that reduce crime and address larger neighborhood problems such as school dropouts and unemployment. Addressing these policies may result in crime reductions, and improve the quality of life for neighborhood residents.