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Previous studies have indicated that feedback improves staff compliance with preventive practices in health care settings. This study examined the steps needed to establish frequent use of feedback by supervisors to direct service workers about infection control practices in a head-injury treatment program. Nurses were trained to provide written feedback to nursing assistants about the use of gloves to avoid contact with body fluids. The primary dependent variables were the number and content of forms completed by nurses. Training for nurses was followed by low rates of written feedback. A weekly intervention provided nurses with group and individual goals and feedback and contingent letters of appreciation to managers. This process-focused condition increased nurses' use of feedback forms. However, feedback was used by nurses primarily to mention unobserved aspects of infection-control practice. Additional information was included in the weekly intervention: Nurses were shown grouped data on assistants' accuracy in specific performances and the number of feedback forms nurses completed to mention these performances. This process and outcome focused condition resulted in some changes in the forms completed by nurses. Increased completion of feedback forms by nurses was correlated with increased numbers of gloves supplied to the unit. Individual use of gloves also increased in some cases. Observations of assistants' performances showed some signs of improvement as well. Thus, feedback by nurses was judged to be an effective intervention. However, difficulties in measuring infection control practices limited the assessment of the influence of feedback from nurses about specific performances. The written feedback format was very useful in making otherwise private interactions partially measurable. In a survey at the end of the project, assistants rated the feedback from nurses as being accurate and said that they would appreciate receiving feedback in the future. However, both most subjects indicated a preference for oral instead of written and oral feedback from nurses.

Master of Science / Department of Hospitality Management and Dietetics / Kevin L. Sauer / Understanding what motivates food handlers is important for developing effective interventions to increase compliance with food safety guidelines. Traditional food safety training techniques improve knowledge, but do not always result in improved performance in the workplace. Studies have consistently demonstrated the persuasive power of stories to influence beliefs and behavior. Transportation into a narrative world is a state of immersion into a story. When individuals are transported into the world of a story, they integrate story information into their real-world beliefs and behavior. In this study, foodservice employees were shown a brief video dramatizing a foodborne illness outbreak. Behavioral intent to comply with food safety guidelines was measured both before and after watching the video. Transportation into the story and story-specific beliefs were measured as well. Study results confirmed previous findings involving narrative transportation. Participants who were highly transported into the story of Glenda’s Horrible Day reported stronger food safety behavioral intent, specifically in areas highlighted by the story, after viewing the video. Highly transported participants also reported stronger agreement with food safety messages after viewing the video. For participants who experienced low transportation into the story, there were no significant increases in behavioral intent or story-specific beliefs after viewing the video. Highly transported participants were those who (a) were familiar with the story topic, (b) were mentally engaged with the story, (c) responded emotionally to the story, and (d) identified with and felt empathy for the story characters.

This thesis empirically examines the career orientations inventory (COI) as a measure of career anchors and then, using this measure, it goes on to investigate the relationship between career anchor congruence and work related outcomes, specifically job satisfaction and organisational commitment. The psychometric properties of the 40 item COI (presented by Igbaria and Baroudi, 1993) were explored by the administration of the measure to a sample of 658 individuals from 27 organisations in the UK. Through factor analysis an eight factor structure was demonstrated in line with that proposed by Schein (1993). The factor structure was replicated with a second sample. The COI demonstrated good levels of internal consistency (.59-.83) and test retest reliability (.68-.90). Similarly it was deemed to have acceptable levels of face validity and construct validity when compared to Mantech’s (1983) Work Values Questionnaire (WVQ). An analysis of the prevalence of career anchors and the demographic differences within the current sample was undertaken. This analysis provided evidence to suggest that certain career anchors may be increasing in prevalence while others are decreasing. These findings are in line with current research on the way in which workplace changes are impacting upon careers (Baruch, 2004). Evidence was found that indicated gender differences in scores on the COI subscales. Specifically women were found to score higher on the lifestyle anchor and men to score higher on the general management anchor. Differences were also found between the age groups considered in this study in the general management, creativity, pure challenge and lifestyle anchors. Interaction effects for age and gender were found for the general management and sense of service anchors. The COI was then used to develop a commensurate measure of job career anchors. This job career anchor measure discriminated between jobs within one police organisation. The measure was then used to explore the relationship between career anchors, career anchor congruence (congruence between individual and job career anchors), job satisfaction and organisational commitment. Evidence was found to suggest that career anchors and career anchor congruence have a direct effect on job satisfaction (predicting 10% and 4% of the variance respectively). The analysis also showed support for the role of career anchor congruence as a moderator to the relationship between career anchors and job satisfaction. This thesis makes full consideration of the academic contributions and practical implications of the research presented whilst also considering its limitations. A number of suggestions for the direction of future research have been made.

This thesis examines the emerging role of emotional labour in the context of Further Education (FE) colleges in England. These colleges provide Initial Teacher Training (ITT) courses of study for Further Education teachers who are training to become qualified practitioners in the English lifelong learning sector. Using four teacher trainees and four teacher trainers, the thesis explores the nature and scope of how emotional labour can impact on teacher trainees’ learning and the well-being of both teacher trainees and teacher trainers in order to investigate how the insights gleaned would help to develop practice in the field of English ITT in English FE. The findings evidenced that when teaching, a relationship can form. This can be a professional relationship or a relationship that exceeds the boundaries of professionalism. Over a six-month period in 2013/2014 the teacher trainee participants completed an autobiographical life-grid, whilst both trainees and trainers completed a diary and end interview. An exploratory study using two FE colleges and analysis of data using thematic analysis was used to explore the role of emotions in ITT in FE colleges. Two significant findings presented themselves within this thesis. Firstly, the emotional dimensions of a) FE teaching are explored, and b) it is recommended that the support that is given for new teachers in FE in England become an explicit part of the curricula and of staff development in ITT delivery. Secondly, in supporting teaching staff to alleviate the burden of emotional labour, social sharing (i.e. talking about emotional aspects with peers, colleagues) should be encouraged.

Current literature has suggested that the role of the college president has perhaps become too ambiguous, complex and demanding for an individual to perform for an extended period of time. The purpose of the study was to assess the relationship between perceived role ambiguity, role conflict, role frustration and job satisfaction of selected private college presidents in the Southeastern United States. The method of the study was correlational in design. Using a thirty-seven item questionnaire developed by the author, data were collected from 141 college presidents of institutions within the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. The institutions were private in governmental structure, with an enrollment not exceeding 2500 students. Limited demographic data pertaining to each college president were also collected. Multiple regression was used to determine if relationships existed between role ambiguity, role conflict, role frustration, job satisfaction and the demographic variables of age, race, number of years served as a college president, years of administrative experience, years president at their current institution, and if their current presidency was their first presidency. Results of the study suggest there are significant relationships between role ambiguity and role conflict (r =.22), role ambiguity and role frustration (r =.23), role ambiguity and job satisfaction (r = $-$.46), role conflict and role frustration (r =.67), role conflict and job satisfaction (r = $-$.43), role frustration and job satisfaction (r = $-$.43). However, role ambiguity was not perceived by the respondents in this study to be detrimental to the performance of their job. Role conflict and role frustration were perceived to be a concern to the respondents. Even with the diverse demands of the president's office, respondents in this study seem to be satisfied with the position of president, based on the composite analysis of individual questions on the instrument designed to measure job satisfaction.

The purpose of this study was to identify personality types among dental hygiene school administrators and faculty and to determine if correlations existed between leader style, ideologies of leader style, perceived effectiveness, and personality type. Selected demographic variables were also examined. The dimensions of personality investigated were derived from the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator: extroversion, introversion, sensing, intuition, thinking, feeling, judging, and perceiving. The leadership behavior dimensions were the two dimensions of the real and ideal Leadership Behavior Description Questionnaires: consideration and initiating structure. Effectiveness was measured by a 39 item Likert-type instrument based on Tucker's (1981) categorical listing of chairperson activities and responsibilities. The study was conducted using a random sample of faculty and administrators from 32 dental hygiene programs across the United States. Thirty-two administrators and 148 faculty were surveyed. Responses were received from 23 administrators (71.9 percent) and 96 faculty (64.8 percent). Personality type was correlated with subordinate perception of leader style, ideal leader style, and effectiveness, with the strength of the relationships ranging from weakly negative to moderately positive. Among the correlations observed, those between real initiating structure and introversion, thinking and feeling were significant at the.05 level, as were the relationships between ideal consideration, and thinking and feeling. Relationships significant at the.05 level were also found between instruction and extroversion, introversion, sensing, intuition, and judging and between budget and resources and extroversion. Gender of the administrator and length of tenure did not account for significant differences in leader behavior ratings or effectiveness scores. Age of the administrator, however, was found to account for significant differences in leader behavior ratings, but not effectiveness ratings. A negative relationship was observed between amount of administrative training and effectiveness scores indicating that as administrative training increased effectiveness decreased. Ideal scores reported by faculty were significantly higher than real scores reported by faculty, but no significant difference was observed between the real and ideal scores reported by administrators. Administrators rating low on real consideration and real initiating structure received the lowest effectiveness ratings.

This study sought to examine leadership through the medium of film, specifically the genre of the western. The western is iconographic; representative of the American ethos, the western embodied the "frontier myth." The purposes of this study were to examine how leadership was portrayed in a selected sample of western films dating from 1945 to 1995, and to categorize and characterize the leadership methods exhibited in each film. Qualitative in design, the study was concerned with broad description and discovery. Using observation as the data collection technique and content analysis as the research method, the study examined a sample of 29 pre-selected western films released between 1945 and 1995. Individual samples displaying leadership dynamics were drawn from each film through the use of verbatims and character analysis. Each film was examined for examples of leadership in order to gain a better understanding of the role that leadership played in the western and to ascertain leadership models exhibited in the genre. Conclusions of the study emphasized the diverse portrayals of leadership exhibited through this genre. The western showed a depth of character in relation to leadership, displaying a variety of styles, motifs, and characteristics representative of several leadership theories. Some of the concepts of leadership, and the underlying theories and styles portrayed, revealed a universal quality about leadership that transcended theoretical research. The western was a multi-faceted venue through which to study leadership, providing a unique perspective on the dynamics involved in the leadership process both through theory and by praxis.

<p> This study examined the influence of personal networks on the career decision-making of African-American professional women through the lens of social cognitive career theory. A review of the career development literature shows growing interest in social networks, both online and face-to-face, and their relationship to individual career development. While research has been conducted on the career development of African-American women, the network research on African-American women is relatively scarce (Combs, 2003; Young, 2013). Combs (2003) noted that informal socialization activities impact career advancement and that few studies have examined the intersection of race and gender on informal networks. This study sought to address that gap. Furthermore, research on the influence of personal networks on the career decision-making of African-American women could both add to the network literature on African-American women and have implications for the career counseling of African-American women.</p><p> The primary research question addressed in this study was: What is the relationship, if any, between informal personal networks and the career decision-making of African-American professional women? A basic qualitative study was conducted with semi-structured interviews serving as the primary method of data collection. Ten African-American women with at least ten years of professional experience and a minimum of two career decision points were purposefully selected for this study.</p><p> Data was analyzed using coding and thematic analysis to understand and interpret the meaning that each participant construed from their experiences with career decision-making and their personal networks. Themes emerged in four primary areas: (1) the career decision-making process, (2) the composition of the participants' personal networks, (3) the influence participants' personal networks had on their career decisions, and (4) key learnings. Based on the findings, conclusions and recommendations for future research and practice are presented.</p>