Bibliography: p. 167-193. / This research examined the influence of two socialization strategies, namely Formal and Informal, on the participants in the service encounter; more specifically on service quality. A mail survey by means of self administered questionnaires was conducted among a matched sample of 210 front-line employees and 1050 customers in three major commercial banks with national branch networks in South Africa.

Bibliography: leaves 169-194. / This research was undertaken primarily to develop a conceptual model of service quality showing the Organizational Socialization-Service Quality linkage. Two organizational socialization strategies, namely, Formal and Informal socialization were conceptualized to influence the participants in the service encounter (the service customer and service employee), and the customers' perception of service quality. Since the literature suggested that a number of variables mediate or intervene in the organizational socialization-service quality linkage, the following variables were also included in the conceptual model, namely, organizational climate, role ambiguity and role conflict.

A model of faculty advising suggests that the tasks performed by faculty advisors are explained by three conceptual constructs differing in levels of complexity and type of skill. The three constructs identify a routine set of tasks termed Providing Information and two complex sets of tasks termed Developing Academic and Educational Goals, and Providing Personal Support. However, no empirical data exist to support this model. To test the model, a sample consisting of 481 University of Vermont undergraduate students rated their advisors on the three sets of items. The data were subjected to confirmatory factor analyses using maximum likelihood procedures with the LISREL model. The existence of the three categories of advising tasks was confirmed. The nature and complexity of advising tasks must be addressed when assessing faculty advisor performance and designing development activities for advisors.

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This phenomenological qualitative research study sought to gain insight into the socialization experiences of new vocational technical faculty. Ten Louisiana vocational technical faculty members were interviewed face-to-face. The interviews were audiotaped, transcribed, and analyzed to discover how these new vocational technical faculty members transitioned from industry to academe. Data analysis revealed that participants in the study experienced a similar transitional process into the technical college as twoyear and four-year faculty into community colleges and universities. Like their two-year and four-year counterparts, the participants experienced similar challenges related to their new teaching positions, such as balancing heavy workloads, maintaining industry contacts, and interacting with administration, faculty and students. Similarly, they tended to value teaching, collegial relationships with other faculty and their interactions with students. However, some of the challenges were unique to their new positions as Louisiana vocational technical instructors. These faculty members experienced an anticipatory phase that prepared them for the workplace rather than academe. Many of the participants experienced notable levels of stress as they transitioned from industry to the technical college. The stress seemed to be related to their lack of pedagogical knowledge of teaching and the issues of forging a new academic persona. This research found that new vocational technical faculty members enjoyed formal professional development activities that were discipline specific and advanced their knowledge of their craft. The study also explored the use of Menges' (1999) Model of Faculty Academic Life as it related to the new vocational technical instructor experiences, role conceptualization, and resources that would help the faculty grow and develop as instructors. Through their shared experiences and stories the researcher identified the needs of this subpopulation and made recommendations for future studies.

Registered nurses with experience in the clinical area entering academia go through a transition that may lead to difficulties such as role ambiguity and role strain when beginning a new job. The purpose of this study was to understand the experiences leading to role ambiguity, role strain, difficulty with role transition, and job dissatisfaction among the faculty at colleges of nursing in the mountain region of Western North Carolina. Guided by Kahn's organizational role theory and Schlossberg's transition theory, research questions investigated the nursing faculty experience of role ambiguity, role strain, difficulty transitioning into academia, and job dissatisfaction. A qualitative explanatory case study design using a convenience sample of 12 current full-time and adjunct nursing faculty was implemented for the study. Online anonymous written interviews were conducted for data collection. Data were analyzed and coded using open coding and thematic analysis to identify recurring themes. The results of the study revealed 6 themes: lack of preparation for academic role expectations, lack of awareness of new role requirements or new teaching assignments, difficulty transitioning into academia or a new teaching position, need for orientation and mentoring for nursing faculty, satisfaction related to the desire to stay or leave a position, and nursing faculty love what they do. The study findings informed the project, a professional development program for novice nursing faculty that supports the transition into a new role. Implications for positive social change include retention of nursing faulty, admission of increased numbers of nursing students, and more nurses working in communities with populations in need.

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to examine the effects that faculty who live in residence with college students perceive result from their experience. This study examined the perspectives from current and recent residential faculty members. Data were gathered through individual structured interviews with current and former residential faculty who gave firsthand accounts of how they felt that experience impacted them. Literature consistently showed that faculty-student interaction is very important to the development and success of students (Astin, 1993). Research has clearly demonstrated positive outcomes that result for students. The present study was undertaken because there is a dearth of research, however, regarding this impact on the faculty members themselves. Given the importance of faculty-student interaction outside of the classroom (Lundberg, 2004), it is crucial to recruit faculty for these communities. Thus, more information regarding this experience will be valuable to faculty and administrators considering working with residential colleges. The study was conducted at a mid-sized private university in the Southeastern United States. The reason for this choice was the fact that this school has a 25-year history as a residential college system and utilizes 12-15 residential faculty members yearly. The researcher conducted interviews with 13 faculty members and coded and analyzed the data. The study findings indicated that the faculty perceived great benefits from serving as residential college faculty members. Perceived benefits as described by the participants included increased skill in teaching, feeling a sense of community, stronger relationships with other faculty members and students, and an increased affinity toward the university. While there were some challenges such as lack of training, institutional politics, and loss of privacy all participants in the study felt they gained from the opportunity and would do it again in the same situation. This study enhanced the limited formal knowledge available regarding how faculty experience living in residential colleges with students.

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Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Educational Leadership / Sarah Jane Fishback / This exploratory study investigated the level of satisfaction that faculty members have with their new faculty orientation experiences during their first year of employment at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, in Ft. Leavenworth, KS. The study solicited data from new faculty at this graduate-level military service college to help determine whether new faculty members were satisfied with their new faculty orientation experience; whether there were differences in the dependent variable, satisfaction, for any of the independent variables of campus location, teaching department, employment category, academic rank and educational level; and how the CGSC new faculty orientation program might be improved. Surveys were distributed to 297 new faculty members from January 2006 to December 2007. The survey instrument included Likert-scale questions to support quantitative statistical analysis. The study used non-parametric analysis methods to examine the dependent variable, satisfaction, with respect to independent variables. These results indicated that faculty members were satisfied with their new faculty orientation experiences and that there were no significant differences in satisfaction for campus location, teaching department, employment category, academic rank or educational level. Open-ended questions provided respondents an opportunity to add additional information; these comments were categorized by topic and then examined for themes or trends. Despite their overall satisfaction with the orientation program and processes, 84.80% of respondents indicated that inadequate institutional support was the greatest detractor to their success. They cited delays in meeting fundamental new employee needs such as providing a suitable work location, computer access, and information about institutional policies and procedures. Additionally, 35.67% of respondents indicated that either their sponsor was not helpful or none was assigned. Results of this study provided insight regarding unmet or inadequately fulfilled information and support needs of new faculty members at CGSC, informed further research in the area of faculty orientation, and highlighted areas for improvement of practice at CGSC and comparable institutions.