This research study explored the theoretical underpinnings of implementing government reform in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), specifically focusing on a management philosophy called Faster, Better, Cheaper (FBC). It is situated within the broader context of Government reform efforts that attempt to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of government organizations in their delivery of products and services to the public. This study employed the Grounded Theory qualitative research methodology that concentrates on a central phenomenon and generates a theory from a category or construct-oriented approach. The objective is to generate a substantive-level theory that describes the practice of FBC within NASA and is grounded in the data collected from the organization. The following research questions guided this study: 1.What is the meaning of Faster, Better, Cheaper for Public Professionals in the NASA organizational environment? 2.What are the interrelationships between concepts of faster, better, and cheaper? 3.How does the technical and cultural structure of NASA influence the implementation of Faster, Better, Cheaper? 4.What are the required workforce capabilities to perform Faster, Better, Cheaper in NASA? The theoretical sample for this study consisted of interviews scheduled with NASA personnel involved in Faster, Better, Cheaper projects. NASA documents and reports were analyzed to saturate the initial 29 provisional categories. A representation of the phenomenon of FBC was developed following the data analysis, including causal conditions, strategies, environmental conditions and context, and consequences. Several findings addressed the meaning of FBC, the interrelationships between the concepts, the impact of organizational infrastructure, and required workforce capabilities. Topics for future research are the nature of risk in public organizations, tools for aligning and measuring public policy alignment and implementation, leadership of public sector teams, and generalizing the findings to other organizations. / Ph. D.

The dissertation focuses on understanding the mothering experience of three internal organizational development consultant/managers who perceive that their experience informed their professional functioning. The questions that guided the study were: (a) What is the mothering experience of the internal organizational development consultant/manager who perceives that her experience informed her professional functioning? and (b) How does the mothering experience inform the professional functioning of the internal organizational development consultant/manager? A case study method using the grounded theory method of data analysis produced three narratives that suggested how the mothering experience influenced consulting and managerial functioning. Three themes emerged; namely: "being fully present," "protecting by fighting for trust and safety / Ph. D.

With people living longer and coming into old age with more diverse relational experiences than previous cohorts (e.g., divorce, cohabitation), researchers anticipate that the so-called baby boomers will be more interested in pursuing romantic relationships in later life than their predecessors. On the other hand, we know that the experience of aging varies among people on the basis of their social locations (e.g., racial, gender, class). As central Appalachia is a place characterized by persistent poverty, I interviewed single, midlife White women from a community in West Virginia (N=11) to investigate (a) their experiences with family life and (b) their expectations for romantic relationships in later life. I used grounded theory methodology to develop a theory of intimacy and family life in central Appalachia. I found that the women who were more integrated into their families of origin had little or no interest in romantic relationships, regardless of their past relationship history. Women who perceived their childhoods as traumatic were less integrated into their families of origin and had a weaker sense of place, but had more interest in finding a romantic partner in later life. I concluded for those with a strong sense of place the importance of the family of origin persisted through midlife and into old age. / Ph. D.

Ship groundings are a low probability event, but can create severe environmental and financial consequences. The objective of this thesis is to provide knowledge and understanding of the grounded ship condition to salvors and ship owners so they can reduce the possible negative consequences of future ship groundings. There has been very little research on the motions of and loads on a grounded ship in waves. In this thesis, a model of the ground reaction forces due to the steady state motions of a grounded ship is developed. This model is derived from civil engineering applications but tailored to the stranded ship problem. The ground reaction sub-model is part of a ship motion model that predicts grounded ship motions and loads in waves. The model input specifies the static grounded equilibrium condition and static grounded forces. The model calculates steady state motions and loads around the equilibrium condition. This thesis describes a preliminary version of the full six degree of freedom model in which soil reactions are accounted for in two degrees of freedom, heave and pitch, assuming a rectangular shaped hull. Bottom types are categorized as sand, mud, coral and rock. The ship can be embedded or resting on the surface of the bottom. / Master of Science

Approaches to projects and development have undergone considerable change in the last decade with significant policy shifts on governance, gender, poverty eradication, and environmental issues. Most recently this has led to the adoption and promotion of the sustainable livelihood (SL) approach. The adoption of the SL approach presents challenges to development interventions including: the future of projects and programmes, and sector wide approaches (SWAPs) and direct budgetary support.This paper `A livelihoods-grounded audit of the Sexual Health and Rights Programme (SHARP!) in Southern Africa¿ is the tenth in the series of project working papers. / Department for International Development

Approaches to projects and development have undergone considerable change in the last decade with significant policy shifts on governance, gender, poverty eradication, and environmental issues. Most recently this has led to the adoption and promotion of the sustainable livelihood (SL) approach. The adoption of the SL approach presents challenges to development interventions including: the future of projects and programmes, and sector wide approaches (SWAPs) and direct budgetary support.This paper `A livelihoods-grounded audit of the `Training for Environmental and Agricultural Management (TEAM) project in Lesotho¿ is the eleventh in the series of project working papers. / Department for International Development

Disney movies are a vehicle for American culture; however, Disney has lagged behind in representing queer people in their films as protagonists. For this reason, critical scholarship is necessary to understand Disney's role in building, replicating or changing culture. Although some critical work on Disney has focused on gender or race, queer theory is underutilized to understand Disney films, especially in the field of communication. Though much research exists on movies from the Disney Renaissance, relatively few have examined the films released in the past decade in a systematic way, focusing on how the movies may be relatable to queer experiences. This analysis combines a queer theory lens and a grounded theory approach to examine where queer people can find their experiences reflected in the most recent Disney movies, even without openly queer protagonists. The study resulted in the formation of six categories that describe instances of queering and queerness in Disney movies: queering of Disney logic, queering of "appropriate" through mature themes, queering of power and violence, villainous queerness, heroic queerness and queer acceptance. Previous literature and the new categories from this study as a whole suggest that the Walt Disney Company is taking small steps to offer more diverse narratives and subvert expectations in ways that allow queer people to read their experiences in the characters on screen. / Master of Arts / Disney movies are a multi-billion dollar industry (Vary, 2020), and the company has taken steps in recent years to feature more diverse storylines and characters in their animated movies. Despite this, there is yet to be an openly queer protagonist in a Disney animated film. With this fact in mind, this study seeks to find places where queer people can still see themselves and their experiences reflected in the Disney films release in the last decade. These instances range from ambiguity that allows audiences to read a character as similar to themselves to moments that question the power structures that push certain people to the margins of society in the first place. Six categories were created after analysis to describe these moments: the queering of Disney logic, the queering of "appropriate" through mature themes, the queering of power and violence, villainous queerness, heroic queerness and queer acceptance. Taken together, these findings and the previous research on Disney suggests the company is slowly moving to open up storylines to allow more people to see their experiences reflected in the movies.

Given the increasing evidence of the benefits of father involvement, this study examined the process of fathering and the contributions to supporting father involvement and father identity. Emerging research in fathering suggests a complex set of contextual factors as influences on father identity and behavior. Social location, identities, and life events provide an opportunity to study variation and change in fathering. Guided by an integrated framework of symbolic interactionism and intersectionality theories, this study examined fathers' needs and desires in parenting programs. To address these needs in the literature, grounded theory methods were employed to analyze data from semi-structured interviews of 50 fathers of infants residing in the Appalachian region of Virginia. Results revealed a process model of fathering consisting of interactions within and between themes of intrapersonal, interpersonal, and institutional and sociocultural domains. The factors of these three domains relate to father identity, meaning making in fatherhood, and enactment of fathering. Within a model of vulnerabilities and resiliencies, two typologies of fathers emerged: the thriving father and the evolving father. Implications for family strengthening programs and future research are explored. / Ph. D. / Father involvement and father identity are areas of interest in family development due to the evidence of increasing benefits of father involvement. This study examined the process of fathering and the contributions to supporting father involvement and father identity. This study examined fathering within the fathers’ social contexts, identities, and life events. Through interviews with fathers of infants living in rural Appalachia Virginia, this study examined variation and change in fathering. Additionally, this study examined fathers’ needs and desires in parenting programs. Qualitative grounded theory methods were employed to analyze data from semi-structured interviews of 50 fathers of infants residing in the Appalachian region of Virginia. Results revealed a process model of fathering that emphasizes interactions within and between themes of intrapersonal, interpersonal, and institutional and sociocultural domains. The factors of these three domains relate to father identity, meaning making in fatherhood, and fathering behaviors. Utilizing a model that addresses vulnerabilities and resiliencies, two typologies of fathers emerged: the thriving father and the evolving father. Implications for family strengthening programs and future research are explored.

Yes / We contribute to research on cooperative resilience by examining how their main advantage of social foundations may facilitate the assembly of resilience capabilities. Drawing from the social capital literature, we focus on the strategies and activities of a nationally known rural cooperative in Indonesia to reveal social capital mechanisms, specifically channeling and targeting social capital, that underlie diverse sets of resilience capabilities. By conceptualizing cooperative resilience according to cooperatives’ dual objectives of economic and social viability, we build an empirically grounded framework that encompasses social capital-driven mechanisms that underlie cooperative resilience. Economically, strengthening social capital (channeling) may result in organizational transparency and collaborative work, while widening social networks (targeting) develops velocity and flexibility. Socially, both mechanisms lead to the emergence of individual-level resilience capabilities. Our study informs business research on resilience by conceptualizing it in the context of cooperatives and shedding light on its underlying social capital-driven mechanisms.

"Coming out" is a unique experience for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and other sexual minority individuals (LGB+), yet it remains ill-defined within scholarship and is individually focused. This study investigates how same-gender couples negotiate relationship visibility and what motivates them to come out to others. A queer theoretical framework was used to explore how partners do outness. To address the needs of the literature, constructivist grounded theory methods were employed in analyzing the data. These findings showed that the majority of couples believed they had a "mutual understanding" of the rules and boundaries in place for relational visibility. In addition, the ways in which different individuals felt compelled to come out or stay in was impacted by their connection to the historical context of the Gay Rights movement. Clinical implications to help clinicians between in assessment and conceptualization in their work with members of the population were determined. / Ph. D. / “Coming out” is a unique experience for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and other sexual minority individuals (LGB+), yet the motivations for why individuals may choose to come out are underexplored. In addition, what it means to come out varies. This study investigates how same-gender couples negotiate their relational visibility and what motivates them to come out to others. To represent the strong influence of history and the oppression faced by LGB+ individuals and communities, a queer theoretical framework was used to guide this study and attend to the influences of power and privilege. These findings showed that the majority of couples believed they had a “mutual understanding” of the rules and boundaries in place for relational visibility and shared motivations in coming out. Clinical implications to help mental health professionals better serve these individuals, couples, and families were determined.