published_or_final_version / Architecture / Master / Master of Architecture

The purpose of this study was to assess the leadership practices of President Jay Kesler during his 15-year tenure at Taylor University. Practices were determined using the theoretical perspective of Kouzes and Posner (2003) by administering the Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI) and interviewing respondents regarding Kelser's practices. This research gives evidence of how often Kesler used each of the five practices of Modeling the Way, Inspiring a Shared Vision, Challenging the Process, Enabling Others to Act and Encouraging the Heart, as determined by the LPI. It also examines the depth of Kesler's usage of these practices through respondent reports.A case study methodology was used for this research. It entailed both a quantitative element in the administration of the LPI and a qualitative element in the interviews. Kesler and nine people who were associated with him during his tenure at Taylor responded to the LPI and were then interviewed. The LPI was considered a structured interview, according to the Fraenkel and Wallen (1996) method of interviewing. Retrospective interviews were then conducted with each respondent, and archival data were consulted to add support and validity to the research.Conclusions drawn as a result of this study were:Kesler did use all five practices in the Kouzes and Posner model. The order of frequency in which he used the practices is: 1) Inspiring a Shared Vision; 2) Encouraging the Heart; 3) Enabling Others to Act; 4) Modeling the Way; and 5) Challenging the Process.Kesler's avoidance of conflict and his treatment of women in leadership were leadership challenges he faced. Respondents' evaluations of Kesler did not correlate with his self-evaluation, presumably due to the fact that Kesler was opposed to formal performance evaluations.Kesler did demonstrate characteristics of humility and excellent communication that contributed to the success of Taylor University under his tenure.Results of this study were not generalized beyond studying Kesler's leadership practices. This study, however, contributes new information to the field of leadership research and could be used with a series of other case studies to make generalizations about how university presidents effect change. It also is significant to the institution by providing historical documentation of Kesler's leadership during his tenure at Taylor University. / Department of Educational Studies

This thesis observes and critiques leadership and crisis management by seven of the presidents of the United States, starting in the mid 20th century and ending right before our current president’s term. The paper analyzes presidential policies and decision-making, and assesses (grades) their overall performance on how they managed crises. The paper will look at the historical aspects of each crisis and view them through the governmental lens the presidency, and then apply leadership concepts to each president for a final analysis.

Thesis (M.S.)--Rochester Institute of Technology, 2008. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 48-55).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Alabama, 2006. / Typescript. A gap exists in understanding and modeling the Vietnam War era for lack of quantitative studies that examine the political effect of the military draft. Using presidential approval ratings as a proxy for political support, this study seeks to fill the void by evaluating the effects of the Vietnam-era draft on presidential approval between 1954 and 1975. With a basis in rational theory, it uses Autoregressive Moving Average time series analysis, both bivariate and multivariate, in a quasi-experimental design to detect significant impacts of the draft as operationalized by induction rates. This work also provides a synopsis of the U.S. presence in Vietnam as well as a short history of the modern, military draft in America. It finds significant direct effects of the draft upon presidential approval that vary by period. The draft shifts from having no impact on aggregated approval ratings to a negative impact as the conflict mounts, suggesting public resistance grew as conflict costs increased. In the post-test period, the draft showed some tertiary effects, but yielded nothing indisputable for the final multivariate model. In modeling the entire conflict period, only economic and presidential series proved significant suggesting the difficulty of sustaining long-term attention by the public. Granger Causality Testing helped further confirm the importance of the draft by returning evidence of causal relationships in three of the four periods evaluated. Overall, inductions outperformed casualties as a direct influence upon presidential approval. Tests for interactive effects of the draft and casualties did not prove significant. These results pertain to historical studies as well as subsequent examinations of involuntary conscription, either directly in a military draft or indirectly through executive policy directing the use of active or reserve military forces. There may also be some relevance for other federal service programs. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 172-211).

Thesis (Ed.D.)--University of Tulsa, 1976. / Bibliography: leaves 85-89.

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Wyoming, 1970. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves [100]-104).

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2008. / Title from title screen (site viewed Oct. 21, 2008). PDF text: 196 p. ; 960 K. UMI publication number: AAT 3308322. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in microfilm and microfiche formats.

Thesis (Ed.D.)--University of Central Florida, 2008. / Advisers: Rosemarye Taylor, Debbie Hahs-Vaughn. Includes bibliographical references (p. 206-214).

Thesis (D. Min.)--Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, 2006. / Abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 187-201).