Thesis advisor: Michael G. Pratt / Evidence is mounting that recognition from others may play a critical role in shaping an individual’s experience of meaningful work; so how do workers find meaningfulness when their work is “invisible”? I examine this tension through a qualitative, inductive study of the occupation of linemen—the women and men who construct and repair power lines. By examining this invisible occupation, my research explains the conditions that foster the “recognition gap”—a disparity between the recognition linemen believe they deserve and the recognition they actually receive. This recognition gap ultimately produces meaningfulness insecurity—feelings of uncertainty or doubt about the meaningfulness of their work. Moreover, this research also explains how linemen overcome this meaningfulness insecurity through intuitive feelings of pride in beautiful completed work. Through a process motivated by a desire to avoid criticism for ugly work, linemen develop “expert schemas” that allow for intuitive—rapid, nonconscious, and affectively charged—reactions to the appearance of a completed job. When positive, these intuitive judgements foster experiences of meaningfulness. By explaining these processes, this dissertation re-casts meaningfulness from an individual accomplishment to one that is deeply dependent on social cues; and from a process requiring thoughtful reflection to one driven by intuitive judgements. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2023. / Submitted to: Boston College. Carroll School of Management. / Discipline: Management and Organization.

The purpose of this study was to investigate on a national scale the baseline level of p-value fluency of future researchers (i.e., doctoral students). To that end, two research questions were investigated. The first research question, Can a sufficiently reliable and valid measure of p-value misinterpretations (in a research context) be constructed?, was addressed via the development and validation of the Keller P-value Misinterpretation Inventory instrument (KPVMI). An iterative process of expert review, pilot testing, and field testing resulted in an adequately reliable measure (Alpha = .8030) of p-value fluency as assessed across 18 misinterpretations and 2 process levels as well as an independently validated sub-measure of p-value fluency in context as assessed across 18 misinterpretations (Alpha = .8298). The second research question, What do the results of the KPVMI administration tell us about the current level of p-value fluency among doctoral students nationally?, was addressed via analysis of a subset of the field test data (n = 147) with respect to performance on the subset of items considered sufficiently validated as developed in Phases I-III (KPVMI-1). The median score was 10/18 items answered correctly indicating that future researchers on the aggregate struggle to properly interpret and report p-values in context; furthermore, there was insufficient evidence to indicate training and experience are positively correlated with performance. These results aligned with the extant literature regarding the p-value misinterpretations of practicing researchers. / Doctor of Philosophy / The purpose of this study was to investigate on a national scale the baseline level of p-value fluency of future researchers (i.e., doctoral students). To that end, two research questions were investigated. The first research question, Can a sufficiently reliable and valid measure of p-value misinterpretations (in a research context) be constructed?, was addressed via the development and validation of the Keller P-value Misinterpretation Inventory instrument (KPVMI). The second research question, What do the results of the KPVMI administration tell us about the current level of p-value fluency among doctoral students nationally?, was addressed via analysis of a subset of the field test data (n = 147) with respect to performance on the subset of items considered sufficiently validated as developed in Phases I-III (KPVMI-1). Results indicate that future researchers on the aggregate struggle to properly interpret and report p-values in context; furthermore, there was insufficient evidence to indicate training and experience are positively correlated with performance. These results aligned with the extant literature regarding the p-value misinterpretations of practicing researchers.

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yes / The aim of this review is to create awareness about uses of available social research methods and to provide a guideline in adopting appropriate methods specifically in qualitative and mixed methods research genre. Based on the review of contemporary social research methods I believe that mixed methods research produces more accurate results than relying on either qualitative or quantitative methods alone in explaining complex social issues. This paper contributes to the methodological literature in two areas. First, create awareness among social researchers and students about the available research methods in order to help them to adopt suitable research designs in addressing their particular research questions. Second, encourage scholars from all disciplines to theorize further, especially in the field of mixed methods, and engage in a dialogue in order to improve methodological appropriateness for future research in social sciences. / Please Note: The "Publication Date" of 2005 is the date added to the Bradford Scholars Repository. The paper was presented at the Annual PhD Conference, University of Bradford School of Management in June 2014.

Identical twins John and Edward Grimes (artist name "Jedward") have been active for six years and have a heterogeneous following of fans. This thesis aims to investigate how and in which situations fans think about Jedward as part of their everyday life. Each of the three informants, plus the author, kept diaries recording the above for the course of one week. The diaries were subsequently coded into the groups Traditional Fandom, Social Media, Music, Places, Family & Friends, Interests & Hobbies, Studies, Film & TV and Food & Drink respectively. Auto-ethnographic method was implemented and combined with work within the spheres of fandom and music. At a later date informants were asked if there are any products or causes that they associate with John and Edward; in lieu of comprehensive answers, the author compiled such a list. For the fours fans taking part, John and Edward are experienced as being close to them in many different situations during their day-to-day lives, in much the same way as a close friend or loved one. The conclusion is that through aiming to portray my own interpretation of fandom, it has been possible to see just how creative and imaginative fans are, an enlightening reflection contrary to those which in many cases have been none too positive.

This research was a triangulated study of student attitudes towards instructors' rapport-building traits and their preferences amongst instructors' rapport-building practices in online learning environments. Participants were undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in courses within an educational technology program at a central Texas university. The study employed a mixed-methods approach involving the Likert-item assessment of learners' attitudes, the identification and prioritization of learner preferences through pairwise comparisons, and semi-structured interviews that provided richer, more detailed information. Findings indicated a strong preference for instructor-based traits and practices over pedagogically-based ones. These traits and practices loaded into the components of social presence, enjoyable interaction, and personal connection.

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of requirements for the degree of Master of Science. Johannesburg, 2015. / Exploratory data analysis (EDA) methods such as Principal Component Analysis (PCA) play an important role in statistical analysis. The analysis assumes that a complete dataset is observed. If the underlying data contains missing observations, the analysis cannot be completed immediately as a method to handle these missing observations must first be implemented. Missing data are a problem in any area of research, but researchers tend to ignore the problem, even though the missing observations can lead to incorrect conclusions and results. Many methods exist in the statistical literature for handling missing data. There are many methods in the context of PCA with missing data, but few studies have focused on a comparison of these methods in order to determine the most effective method. In this study the effectiveness of the Expectation Maximisation (EM) algorithm and the iterative PCA (iPCA) algorithm are assessed and compared against the well-known yet flawed methods of case-wise deletion (CW) and mean imputation. Two techniques for the application of the multiple imputation (MI) method of Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) with the EM algorithm in a PCA context are suggested and their effectiveness is evaluated compared to the other methods. The analysis is based on a simulated dataset and the effectiveness of the methods analysed using the sum of squared deviations (SSD) and the Rv coefficient, a measure of similarity between two datasets. The results show that the MI technique applying PCA in the calculation of the final imputed values and the iPCA algorithm are the most effective techniques, compared to the other techniques in the analysis.

Methodology: The Behavioral and Environmental Safety Program (B.E. Safe) for Early Childhood Professionals is being developed in response to Federal Safety regulations for childcare procedures and addresses social and emotional safety concerns. The curriculum includes Family Life Education content areas focusing on diversity, inclusion, social and emotional health, bullying prevention, supporting children with special needs, building relationships with parents, and understanding children’s behavior. Discussion of existing research: Research states that high quality childcare and education benefits all children (DHSS, 2015). Best practices indicate that Early Childhood Professionals need high quality training to be equipped to understand child development, strategies for working with families, and having the resources for supports when including children with disabilities in early childcare programs (DHSS, 2015). Not only should Early Childhood Professionals be equipped with the tools and resources to understand children’s behavior, educators need to demonstrate competency in state regulations, environmental safety for children, and playground safety (Sheridan, Edwards, Marvin & Knoche, 2009). B.E. Safe allows Early Childhood Professionals to engage in a research-based training that will help to ensure safety within their center. Connection to Theory: Behavior theories of child development incorporate environmental influences on behavior (Shute & Slee, 2015). A child’s early learning environment and the adults influence of children affects emotional, social, and physical development. B.E. Safe relates to Vygotsky’s Sociocultural Theory (1978) suggesting that children learn actively through hands on experiences. The Sociocultural Theory suggest that parents, caregivers, and a child’s environment from a young age is largely responsible for higher order functions (Shute & Slee, 2015). Proficiency in Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) will allow participants to grasp how traumatic events can affect a child’s developmental process. Educating early childcare professionals on ACEs will allow for adults to be aware of what to look for, and how to keep children protected from adverse experiences (Sacks, Murphey & Moore, 2014). How will the study add to knowledge/innovative practice? Family Scientists will gain knowledge on best practices for providing Family Life Education to Early Childhood Professionals. Specifically, participants will gain knowledge on promoting inclusion, understanding behavior issues, developmental delays, and how to keep children safe from potential environmental hazards.

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