The purpose of this study was to investigate teacher perceptions of their empowerment. Six school systems in the Northeast Tennessee region were used in the study. Of the 600 teachers who were surveyed, 312 responded (52%). The Psychological Empowerment Instrument was used to survey the sample. Research supported the notion that teacher empowerment could be influenced by organizational structure, relationships, communication, conflict resolution, emotional intelligence, motivation, job satisfaction, and transformational leadership. Teacher empowerment also involved servant leadership. One research question guided the study. From this question, 12 null hypotheses were generated. Means were compared for the 4 dimensions of the PEI (Meaning, Competence, Impact and Self-Determination). The grouping variables were years of experience, gender, and level of education. ANOVAs and independent samples t tests were computed to evaluate the data. The results of ANOVA and Independent Samples t tests were that there were significant differences in the 4 dimensions with teacher years of experience but not with gender or level of education. Findings suggested that seasoned teachers often showed a higher level of empowerment than beginning teachers. The findings also suggested that gender and level of education did little to influence teacher empowerment in their schools. From the results of the study, conclusions and recommendations for future research were formulated. It was suggested that teachers be involved in a mentoring program. It was also suggested that administrators determine teacher empowerment through faculty assessments and follow up with professional development to ensure the continued empowerment of their staff.

This thesis addresses the Burley Tobacco Buyout Program and its impact on three local economies. Data collection involved obtaining information from government reports, internet sources, public documents, agriculture offices, federal agriculture officials, and books. Personal interviews were conducted with 32 farmers in Sullivan County, Tennessee; Washington County, Virginia; and Watauga County, North Carolina. This study is significant because it addresses not only the decline of an agricultural product but also changes in a way of life in Southern Appalachia. The future of burley tobacco growing in this region appears to be bleak because of foreign market competition and decreasing domestic demand. From the personal interviews, many farmers had already abandoned tobacco production and older respondents were often planning to stop all farming practices. Specifics of the federal government-mandated Buyout Program to compensate quota holders and growers are presented, as well as the experiences and opinions of farmers regarding this program.

This study was undertaken to better understand inmate concerns of the prison environment across 8 dimensions. The 8 dimensions examined in this study were activity, emotional feedback, freedom, privacy, safety, social, structure, and support. To determine the importance of these dimensions among inmates, secondary data were used in an attempt to replicate and validate the findings from Wright's (1985) study which used a prison environment inventory instrument to assess inmate concerns. The secondary data consisted of an inmate sample of 1,054 taken from 30 prisons of minimum, medium, maximum and close security across the states of Tennessee, Kentucky, and Ohio. Principal component analysis did not support Wright's findings of 8 dimensions but indicated that safety was the primary dimension of concern. Confirmatory factor analysis using structural equation modeling did find support for Wright's thesis.

Mentoring has been suggested as a means to assist with role transition, career planning, and retention in the profession by providing opportunities for personal and professional growth lead to satisfaction. Satisfaction is especially crucial for the retention of Registered Nurses in a time when the profession has been experiencing a critical shortage. This quantitative study examined the influence of mentoring for RNs who have been employed in acute care facilities for the first time for less than 2 years. Using Bouquillon's mentoring instrument and based in the frameworks of King and Kram, the study suggests mentoring is occurring among new nurses (protégés). The protégés reported mentoring antecedents, and both the psychosocial and the career development functions that Kram states are important to be present if mentoring is to occur. These RNs clearly describe an individual as a "mentor". In this study, those nurses who achieved a higher level of goal attainment (mean ≥ 36) and were in a mentoring relationship had greater levels of role satisfaction.

<p>Using the Ontario processed tomato industry as a case study, this dissertation examines how the situation facing hired labour in Ontario agriculture is influenced by the growth of agribusiness. The trend to mechanize harvest operations symbolizes the development of agribusiness. Explanations for changes in labour markets, labour process, and control and organization of work activity that accompany mechanization are explained with reference to established models for change in contemporary agricultural structure. The utility of these models, which include evolutionist, integrationist, and historicist perspectives, is tested with original data. In general, the evolutionist model is found to be the most satisfactory.</p> <p>Data were gathered during 1988-1989 by various methods: historical research, interviews, and participant and non-participant observation. This study concludes that, with mechanization, the farm labour market changes and takes on features similar to the labour market for work classified as unskilled and low status in non-farm industries. It is also evident that hired agricultural workers (and many of the growers who employ them) lose control over work activity and conditions when tomatoes are machine harvested. The primary benefactors from such changes are the major processing firms whose influence continues to dominate the agro-food industry.</p> <p>This investigation into hired farm labour and agribusiness is significant because it is among the first to address the situation facing hired agricultural workers in Ontario. As well, it not only adds new material to scholarly debates about changes in agricultural structure, but also contributes to Canadian political economy studies.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

In response to the millennial job-hopping fad and increasingly low retention rates organizations are facing, it is more important than ever that the best-fit candidate is chosen for the position and the organization. There are two common ways fit is typically defined: person-organization (P-O) fit is the congruence between an employee and the characteristics of a company; person-job (P-J) fit is the match between an employee’s knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) and the requirements of the job in the organization (Edwards, 1991; Kristof, 1996). A large pharmaceutical company developed a quality of new hire criterion measure as a function of both P-O fit and P-J fit; that measure is examined in the current study. Results were limited because there were only six quality of hire ratings for managers included in the data set. Furthermore, no significant differences were found in quality of hire ratings for individual contributors based on their division (i.e., human health, support function, scientist, manufacturing, or animal health). Because of limitations (e.g., small sample size) many ideas for future research are discussed.

Since the passage of No Child Left Behind, the output of education has been measured through student achievement on standardized tests. School ratings, student graduation, teacher jobs and school charters are all tied to these tests. This study analyzes the extent to which math and science public high school teachers in New Orleans focus on critical thinking and creativity, skills needed to be successful in the future. Through a framework of Richard Paul’s model of critical thinking and Theresa Amabile’s social psychology of creativity, this study evaluates support for critical thinking and creativity through classroom observations, analysis of instructional materials and teacher interviews. Findings indicate that teachers at academically selective schools are more likely to support critical thinking and creativity in their classrooms than teachers at open enrollment schools. Classroom tests of participating teachers mainly focus on assessing basic knowledge and skills, not critical thinking and creativity.

This research was designed to develop an understanding of today's multigenerational workforce with respect to a preferred styles or characteristics of followership and leadership. Specifically this research sought to determine if there was a relationship between an individual's generational cohort and the preferred styles of leadership and followership, as measured by implicit theories of leadership and followership. Therefore, this study draws upon generational theory (Mannheim, 1952), implicit theories of leadership (Epitropaki & Martin, 2004) and implicit theories of followership (Sy, 2010). The changes in the composition of the US workforce which have occurred, and which will continue to occur in the near future, make it appropriate and timely to jointly examine followership and leadership, particularly from a generational perspective. By examining the various US workforce generational cohorts, the potential exists to uncover additional insight that has been absent from the extant literature. The sample population consisted of Baby Boomer, Gen X and Millennial employees drawn from individuals working for an integrated delivery and financing system in the Northeastern US, as well as individuals recruited via social media (N = 249). The implicit leadership scale (Epitropaki & Martin, 2004) was utilized to measure participant's preferred characteristics of leaders. The implicit followership scale (Sy, 2010) was utilized to measure participant's preferred characteristics of followers. Data analysis was conducted utilizing principal components analysis (PCA) to determine the factor structures of both leadership and followership. A one-way ANOVA was conducted on the results of these factor analyses to test whether there were any differences which could be attributed to membership in a generational cohort. Cluster analysis was also conducted. The results indicated that generation does not significantly influence an individual's preferred characteristics of leaders or followers. Implications for theory, practice and further research are also discussed.

Based on the premises of "Equity Theory" (Adams, 1963), this study evaluated the Virginia Community College System compensation rates and compared the salaries of similarly ranked and similarly qualified male and female faculty members. A quantitative analysis was conducted of the reported salaries of all full-time instructional faculty members in the Virginia Community College System in the Fall of 2006. The specific areas examined included salary, rank, highest degree earned, and full- or parttime employment status. Using the tenets of Equity Theory as a foundation, this study evaluated any differences in the compensation and rank between male and female faculty members to determine the "fairness" of salary policies. The population of this study included all instructional faculty members employed during academic year 2006-2007 in the 23 community colleges in the state of Virginia. Results of this analysis indicated that there were differences based on gender in the mean salaries of faculty members of the Virginia Community College System at the professor faculty rank for VCCS faculty members outside of Northern Virginia Community College and at the associate professor rank at Northern Virginia Community College. Findings of this study further indicated that faculty members in the Virginia Community College system overall were slightly more likely to be female, hold master's degrees, and hold assistant professor rank. Findings indicated that both males and females were equally likely to be employed as part-time faculty members in the Virginia Community College System and that both education and experience contributed significantly to salary in the Virginia Community College System.

The University of Kentucky (UK) and University of Michigan (UM) present very different patterns in terms of black student enrollments and completions from 2000 to 2012 because of a structural explanation, a qualitative explanation, and a statistical explanation. Unfortunately, the patterns at the University of Western Ontario (UWO) are partial due to a lack of data. First, the structural explanation is that UK, as a university in the state of Kentucky, was under a mandate from the U.S. Department of Education to desegregate because they were in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. The Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education (KCPE) gave specific goals related to black student enrollment and completions. Substantial progress was made from 2000-2012, primarily during the time when Lee Todd Jr. created the President’s Commission on Diversity (PCD) which implemented strategies to achieve the goals. While the same federal laws applied to UM, as a northern state they were not under the same federal scrutiny regarding desegregation. UM was taking an aggressive approach with regards to increasing black student enrollments and completions under president Lee Bollinger, and he passed the process along to Mary Sue Coleman, but UM was faced with a negative response and resistance in terms of lawsuits in 2003 and legislation in 2006 (the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative or MCRI) which banned the consideration of race for all public colleges and universities in admissions. UM is highly selective, and a legacy of social movements by black students was stronger at UM than at UK, which may have increased media scrutiny and negative reactions. Essentially, UK’s success was based on an externally monitored topdown approach with little media scrutiny. Second, archived university websites from 2000-2012 and interviews with 21 key informants at the three universities showed a difference in the way diversity initiatives were framed. The Kentucky Plan, the desegregation mandate, had concrete and explicit language in terms of requirements related to black student enrollment at UK. The implementation at UK, although sometimes using broad and general language, was accountable to the explicit requirements of the mandate and black student enrollments and completions increased during that timeframe. At UM, during the Mary Sue Coleman administration, what began as explicit policy under Lee Bollinger became more general and vague policy after the 2003 lawsuits and 2006 legislation banning affirmative action, corresponding with a decline in black student enrollments and completions. Under Coleman, some have questioned whether the legislation was truly an obstacle, or an excuse to rationalize inaction with regards to black student enrollments and completions as they declined. In Ontario the language was typically general, and race tended to be absent, with diversity often conceptualized in terms of internationalizing the student body. Third, the statistical explanation is based on the cross-sectional examination of available National Center for Education Statistics’ Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) data available for the universities in both states in the U.S.A. in 2000, 2003, 2006, 2009, and 2012. Before 2006, state-level politics do not explain enrollments or completions. In 2009 and 2012, a variable representing the MCRI for four-year public universities in Michigan is significant in explaining decreased black student completions, however it was not significant for enrollments. This applies not only to two universities, it applies to the four-year public institutions in both states, but it does not apply to community colleges since they are primarily open enrollment. Finally, the cross-national comparison between the U.S. and Canada does not have concrete data because UWO, like all Canadian universities from 2000-2012, did not collect student data based on race. However, interview data and the framing of policies in this study shows significant problems with racial incidents and low black student enrollments. So under the Canadian multiculturalist regime, the common neglect of collecting racial statistics suggest the possibility of a multiculturalist parallel to colorblind racism that I call racism-blind multiculturalism.