The purpose of this study was to identify some environmental and overt behavioral factors which are characteristic of drug users. This was attempted to enable individuals who work with adolescents to identify potential users.

This investigation is an attempt to apply the principles of the experimental analysis of behavior to the stuttering behavior of two clinical subjects. The experimental manipulations were performed in order to bring about a decrement in the stuttering rate of the two subjects.

The purpose of this study was to test the effectiveness of the use of free time as a positive reinforcer in the management of study behavior in an aversive educational environment. It was hypothesized that the presentation of free time contingent upon completion of the study assignment would result in maintained study behavior and reduced student absenteeism.

The purpose of this study was to determine if a relationship exists between extraversion-introversion and the sexual behavior of college students. Five predictions were proposed based on previous research which indicated the possibility of a relationship of the personality types of extraversion and introversion with some aspects of sexual behavior.

This study examined the validity and reliability of the Extended Version of the Multidimensional Sportspersonship Orientation Scale (EMSOS; Stornes & Bru, 2002; Vallerand, Briere, Blanchard, & Provencher, 1997) for use among college athletes. The problem addressed by this study was the need for a well substantiated tool which demonstrates reliable and valid assessments of sportspersonship attitudes among U.S. collegiate athletes. Measuring tendencies towards good sporting behavior is valuable and necessary for the on-going study of the phenomenon of sportspersonship. There was a gap in the literature, however, as no instrument specific to the measurement of sportspersonship tendencies among U.S. college athletes had been validated for use among that population. This was a case study involving a Catholic, liberal arts, residential, NCAA Division II college in New England, with an enrollment of approximately 2,000 students and a student-athlete population of 352. The survey was administered at team meetings by a research assistant not affiliated with the athletics program. The participants were assured of the anonymity and confidentiality of their responses and their ability to terminate participation at any time and for any reason without repercussion. Results indicated that the EMSOS demonstrated acceptable validity and reliability among most subscales and as an overall instrument. The exception included one subscale, that of the “negative approach”. This subscale relates to participating in sport for extrinsic reasons, making excuses for poor performance, and being a poor sport. The negative approach subscale had unacceptable reliability and very weak correlation to the corresponding subscale, indicating weak construct validity. In addition, it appears that the addition of the sixth subscale (instrumental aggression) to the original version of the tool (the MSOS), improved the psychometrics of the instrument. Sportspersonship factors that emerged from the principal component analysis included “social convention & respect for rules/officials”, “instrumental aggression”, and “respect for opponents”. Relationships between demographic variables and the global sportspersonship index were examined both with the EMSOS intact as well as with the “negative approach” subscale removed. These results, both with and without the “negative approach” subscale, suggested that male athletes, contact sport athletes, team athletes, and athletes with 15 or more years of involvement in competitive sports are more likely to have a negative sportspersonship orientation. The data also indicated that class year, age, and scholarship status did not necessarily result in different sportspersonship orientations. This current study supports a modification of the EMSOS to exclude the “negative approach” subscale. This recommendation is made based on the problematic reliability and validity findings of that subscale. This study should provide researchers and practitioners with the knowledge that the revised EMOS appears to be a valid and reliable instrument that can be used to assess the sportspersonship orientations of U.S. collegiate athletes. The complexities and paradoxes surrounding the evaluation of sportspersonship are discussed in detail. Suggestions for future research to further explore sportspersonship in the collegiate setting are also provided.

<p> The purpose of this study is to identify best leadership practices in retaining direct-care staff in residential treatment centers. While research exists on employee retention, there is a lack of research focused on employee retention in residential care. How leaders engage with direct-care staff members in residential care can have a significant influence on increasing employee retention rate. The literature review revealed transformational leadership theory as the theoretical framework, including 4 components: idealized influence, individualized consideration, inspirational motivation, and intellectual stimulation. </p><p> The design for this research was a qualitative case study. The residential treatment center was selected as the study case because of its exemplar performance reporting a 73% employee retention rate in contrast to the national retention rate of 40%. The theoretical framework served as a foundation for the purpose and research questions. Semistructured questions were developed to interview leaders at a residential treatment center in order to identify best practices. In combination with a thorough review of the literature, an expert panel of researchers established the validity of the interview instrument. Content analysis was applied to code themes and a 2nd reviewer provided reliability. </p><p> Participants responses revealed 9 best practices in 4 categories: 3 best practices linked to idealized influence, 2 best practices connected to individualized consideration, 2 best practices aligned with inspirational motivation, and 2 best practices specific to intellectual stimulation. In addition to correlating with the 4 components of transformational leadership, more than 100 authors supported the 4 theoretical components. The results of the study highlight the influence leaders can have on retaining employees. The identified best practices represent key approaches that health care leaders can apply. This study is helpful in identifying leadership practices in the health care field that will assist in increasing employee retention. Consequently, the results of this study can assist other residential treatment center leaders to consider these leadership practices in an effort to improve employee retention. </p>

LD2668 .T4 1950 C377 / Master of Science

<p> With the continuing rise of globalization, organizations face a variety of unique and complex challenges which require significant changes. One of the greatest challenges is the need to develop leaders with higher levels of global competence. Despite the abundance of research supporting the use of intercultural leadership development experiences, existing research has shown that not all leaders benefit equally from these experiences. Given that adults have differing learning style preferences, the results of this research provide useful insights into how a leaders learning style may be associated with the development of global competence. </p><p> This study examined the relationship between the levels of global competence and preferred learning styles of a group of leaders from multinational organizations. For this study, the Kolb Experiential Learning Styles instrument was used to categorize respondents into one of four learning styles, and the Global Competencies Inventory to measure 16 global competencies. Findings indicate a relationship between three of the learning styles and four of the 16 global competencies. Conclusions from this study reflect that those with an Accommodating learning style are more likely to have lower competence in Nonjudgmentalness, Self Awareness, and Stress Management, but higher competence in Interest Flexibility. Those with an Assimilating learning style demonstrate lower competence in Interest Flexibility, and those with a Converging learning style showed lower competence with Stress Management.</p>

<p> Organizational culture has been a topic of interest throughout all industries and has become a phrase studied in business and academic literature. With the Millennial generation now in the workforce, organizations employ workers of various age groups and generations. With increased scrutiny on organizational culture, the widely varying age ranges of employees, and a competitive workforce, it is not surprising that organizations are considering the role their organizational cultures play in both recruitment and retention. This case study examined the impact of organizational culture on workers&rsquo; decisions to join, stay, or leave an organization. This study included an examination of literature on gender and generational needs, differences, and similarities. Additionally, this case study examined the extent to which organizational culture plays a role in workers&rsquo; decision-making processes. The qualitative data used to support this case study was collected from interviews with a gender-balanced sample of 12 individuals (four Baby Boomers, four Generation X participants, and four Generation Y participants). Although the interview questions were consistent across participants, questions were open-ended to allow for emergent dialogue. After the interviews were completed, the data were analyzed to identify themes. This case study finished with summarizing the key themes found in the qualitative data that supported or refuted the literature review. Study limitations, conclusions, and recommendations also were identified.</p>

<p> This study describes and explicates the nuanced nature of commonly adopted buzzwords such as innovation by analyzing how innovation is defined and embedded structurally within a single organization. Working to uncover how the individual construction of a local definition of innovation within the global context of a quasi-academic organization changes as organizational priorities and practices evolve over time, I present the varied framings of innovation at the micro, meso, and macro levels, through two research phases (a) the definition phase and (b) the practice phase over the course of one year. </p><p> This thesis project is situated within a single Mid-Western quasi-academic organization specializing in informatics and health care research, and implementing targeted innovation strategies at the time of this study. Through the use of a mutli-methodological approach I layered the elements of d/D discourse inherent in interview data within the organizational context to present a glimpse into socially constructed view of commonly used buzzword innovation. By analyzing the interviews of 25 individuals at all organizational levels, with prior social network analyses and modified Delphi Method results, I found that employees shift their framing of innovation to align individual meanings with organizational perceived meaning (funded action and executive activities), individuals almost unanimously agreed that the organization by its nature of existence was innovative, but often struggled to name an innovation produced in the last year. Second, investigator-level innovation and staff-level innovation varied in its examples with investigators naming products and people. In addition, there are several possible rationales for why the definition of innovation changes over time but the reliance upon federal funding bodies may strongly shape perceptions at all levels. This study contributes to understanding how the changing nature of individual, organizational, and societal language and institutional structures affect and, in turn, are affected by employees&rsquo; lived experiences and organizing processes, practices, and texts. Specifically, this study provides a case study of such changes by developing understandings about how innovation is framed or defined by the individuals within the organization and how this definition changes in practice as it is applied within the organizational context. Additionally, this study contributes to the innovation discourse and materialities in addition to its pragmatic contribution to organizations that seek to engage in the innovation market to obtain competitive advantage. </p>