As a result of changing demographic trends in today's workforce, employees of all ages can now be found in all career stages. Consequently, the pairing of a younger supervisor with a relatively older employee is becoming increasingly more common. Research in the United States has shown that such demographically "non-normative" pairings have negative implications for employee attitudes and behaviors, and thus for employee performance management. However, little is known about the effects of such pairings in other nations and cultures, despite the fact that these demographic shifts are occurring on a global level. As such, this study examined the effects of these pairings on employee reactions to formal performance feedback episodes in a large organization in China, due to the nation's similarly shifting demographic trends and its economic power in today's global economy. A series of path analyses showed that being paired with a relatively younger supervisor did predict reduced employee feedback satisfaction and perceptions of feedback utility; but, contrary to the proposed model, these effects did not occur because of reduced interactional justice perceptions or reduced perceptions of leader-member exchange (LMX). Further, LMX did not moderate the study outcomes, demonstrating that having a better relationship with one's supervisor did not alleviate the effects of supervisor relative age on employee feedback reactions. The conceptual and practical implications of these results are discussed in light of a rapidly changing workforce, and of cultural differences, in China.

Using a youth-led participatory action inquiry and photovoice methodology, this study investigated the self-perceptions of Black girls in a suburban area of Northern California. The objective of the project was to explore the perspectives and lives of Black girls. It is through gained insight from their lived experiences that we can come to understand their needs and develop approaches to advance their own holistic empowerment. By gathering self-perceptions of Black girls using photovoice, the project aimed to inform youth workers, educators, and youth-serving organizations such as Magic Black Girls Leadership Institute (MBG) on how to meet the needs and cultivate developmental assets among Black girls. Magic Black Girls was conceived to empower young, Black women to create their own space to grow, become personally aware of their own worth, and stand in their own power. The findings of this study indicate a need for positive counterspaces in which Black girls can generate a counter narrative, gain cultural awareness, experience a sense of community, experience joy, and build skills of activist leadership. The developmental tasks of adolescence for Black young people are complicated by the added context of oppression and racial discrimination which makes it essential to recognize and take action to create supportive environment that nurtures the positive development of Black girls. Further, the findings of this study contended that the use of innovative, holistic youth empowerment strategies are essential in the formation of spaces dedicated to encouraging, enlightening and empowering of young Black girls.

According to current U.S. labor statistics, Black male executives are underrepresented in every major industry in the United States. Common impediments preventing Black males from occupying executive positions include workplace white supremacy, biculturalism, repressive structures, and disparate career development. Using critical race theory as a framework, this basic qualitative study investigated the experiences of eight male executives, five Black and three white, from various industries to understand their perceptions and perspectives on race and racism, and examined their workplace lived experiences to study why there are not more Black males in the e-suite. Moreover, strategies to increase Black male representation in executive leadership positions were explored. The results of this study indicated white supremacy and norms are ubiquitous and dominant in the workplace. Consequently, this prevailing workplace ideology determines an organization’s culture, policies and practices, and, altogether, trigger traumas for Black males. Black male participants associated many of their workplace experiences with traumas in the forms of white favoritism, marginalization, stereotyping, microinvalidation, and compulsive assimilation. As a coping mechanism, they found support and organizational belonging through social networking in peer relationships and affinity groups, but their white counterparts almost exclusively used networking for career advancement.5 An emergent strategy from this study to increase Black male representation in the e-suite was the notion of a designed relationship model between aspiring Black male executives and equity-minded white male executives. However, because scholarship concerning career barriers impeding Black males from executive leadership positions is limited, future research is required to better understand the relationship between their workplace traumas and their underrepresentation.

Guided by family/work border theory, this phenomenological study explored the effects of stress while attempting to balance work and home through the lens of six high school female principals from the Central and Northern parts of California. This qualitative study used a phenomenological approach to examine the effects stress had on the physical and mental health of participants. Phenomenological interviews provided a rich description of the lived experiences of female high school principals. A thorough analysis of data exposed six distinct themes: (a) work became the priority, (b) coping mechanisms, (c) implications of being a woman, (d) lonely at the top, (e) blurred boundaries, and (f) the need for more support. Study participants’ experiences provide insight into the primary sources of stress, how stress affected their physical and mental health, the effect their stress had on their home domain, and how participants coped with the stress. Findings from this study address ways stress can be minimized to better balance work and home.

This qualitative case study was designed to determine the perceptions about female leadership among female faculty and administrators at East Tennessee State University. Participants were asked about the motivating and prohibiting factors (barriers) that affected their leadership capabilities at the institution. They cited motivating factors that led them to optimal performance. These included family support, mentoring practices, affirmative action, collegial working atmosphere, support from the top leadership, and encouragement from their colleagues. The dissertation was also to investigate how female leaders perceived their leadership roles and the factors that enhanced female leadership and the barriers that hindered female leadership at ETSU. The women in this study talked about the impediments or barriers of their upward movement. These included salaries that were lower than those of their male colleagues, stereotyped thinking within the community with biases against females, family chores vis-à-vis work schedules, sexual discrimination, lack of role models, etc. The findings were: (a) Female leadership was uniquely relationship-oriented; (b) female leaders combined work and family and managed the two fairly well; (c) female leaders were more likely to mentor other women but also were often mentored by men; (d) female leaders worked at a more relaxed pace with details in mind and did not have the target of the big picture as a priority; (e) they worked hard to attain the positions previously held by men and are now at par in higher positions both in faculty and administration; (f) they worked hard to surmount the barriers placed in their way as they moved up the ladder in faculty and administrative positions; (g) they volunteered for positions in the staff and faculty senates without considering financial gains; (h) they were the majority in the lower ranks of the administrative ladder of the university and played crucial supportive roles; and (i) their leadership styles were more humanitarian and on the relationship philosophy than were the leadership styles of their male counterparts.

Stockton is a city suffering from the sudden realization that it is no longer a small farm town, end that in the process of becoming a moderate-sized city, a community faces inevitable growing pains. The municipal recreation phase of city government well illustrates this fact. Because of the great need for expansion in this field, and because the city is now just beginning to rise to meet the occasion, a study of the Recreational Department and the program of the Metropolitan Recreation Commission in Stockton City Government and San Joaquin County, is a particularly interesting activity. In contrast to many theses which are based upon research in books and periodicals, this thesis has been the outgrowth of investigation based largely upon interviews with persons concerned with this phase of city government and upon personal observation, as well as reports and newspaper accounts of activities. As a resident of Stockton during much of the time covered in this report, as an attendant at periodic meetings of both the Junior Youth Council and the Stockton Youth Council, as a participant in some of the Recreation Department's activities, and as a former employee of a Stockton group work agency, the author has had to guard against subjective reporting in writing this paper. She has. attempted to record evaluations which she considered valid and to include facts and sources on which her opinions were based.

Food insecurity among postsecondary students and especially community colleges is a persistent social problem, but the prevalence continues despite much research. Postsecondary students experience food insecurity slightly differently from the general population and they are held to different rules to qualify for food support such as the supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP). In this research I examine the prevalence, frequency, and duration of food insecurity experiences among Mississippi community college students. I begin with a discussion of the literature of food insecurity and policy used to address food insecurity. I draw upon Bourdieu’s theory of social fields, capital, and habitus to frame the experiences community college students navigate in their goal of credentialed human capital. I use an online survey and in-depth interviews to explore the connections between food insecurity, social capital, and cultural capital. I also examine dietary diversity as a predictor of food insecurity. This research found GPA, financial aid, social capital adequacy and adequate dietary diversity, were significant predictors of food insecurity and adequate dietary diversity was a significant predictor of food insecurity frequency. Policy implications and directions for future research are discussed.

<p>Community participation has been identified as a key facilitator of community health among marginalized populations in international health statements. However, knowledge gaps in the community participation literature regarding marginalized populations has been attributed to the lack of consistent definitions of community participation, ambiguity about the features of community participation initiatives (e.g., methods and strategies) that are appropriate for marginalized populations, and limitations of existing community participation frameworks in specifying the ways and means in which different marginalized populations might effectively participate, as well as in recognizing that community participation is highly contextual and situational. All of these factors have made it difficult to draw broader conclusions about the impact of participation methods and strategies for marginalized populations from evaluations of participation initiatives.</p> <p>The overall purpose of this thesis is to better understand how to involve marginalized populations in the planning and decision-making for local health services. First, a critical interpretive synthesis (CIS) was conducted to better understand the role of community development principles used in community participation initiatives with marginalized populations and the factors contributing to the influence of the principles in enabling the participation of these populations. Second, an in-depth comparative case study of four community participation initiatives in Ontario Community Health Centres (CHCs)—which are primary health care organizations serving 74 high-risk communities throughout the Province of Ontario—was conducted to identify the core features of participation initiatives with marginalized populations, and reflect on the particular challenges of engaging marginalized populations. Third, four focus groups were held at four Ontario CHCs to examine the role of frameworks as mechanisms for translating knowledge about community participation practice with marginalized populations. Overall, this thesis broadens our understanding of community participation with marginalized populations in the context of local health services planning and decision making. Specifically, this thesis contributes a theoretical basis for future research and provides practical knowledge for planning and evaluating community participation initiatives with marginalized populations.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

In the digital domain, virtual teams within organizations and corporations are becoming common. Restructuring an organization or corporation is vital because competition and globalization are increasing. In this era of globalization, distributed working groups need to develop a competitive advantage in these ever-changing environments. Historically, teams had experienced problems stemming from geographical and temporal limitations. With the increase of technology in telecommunications, organizations are increasingly forming virtual teams, which have become critical to the survival of nearly any corporate entity. Virtual teams have some of the same problems that regular teams have. One of the key challenges is the method of forming teams, while such challenge is exacerbated in digital environments. Despite the difficulties, the digital environment has made successful team development all the more challenging. The variation in people's skills makes the formation of teams even more difficult. This is why organizations cannot determine in advance if a virtual team will be a success. To evaluate the success of team formation in a virtual setting, this research study assessed the role of different computer-mediated communications (CMC) levels employed (no-CMC/face-to-face, online learning system, online learning system + social networking site) on the success of team formation measured by the level of task performance (TP), team cohesiveness (TC), computer skills (CS) and social bond (SB), while assessing the differences on such relationships when controlled for demographic information such as gender, age, education level, academic major, as well as academic year. Empirical data was collected from students at the Medical Sciences Campus in the University of Puerto Rico with 140 usable records. Using three teams and 140 participants, the results indicated that there is a statistically significance difference in the role of CMC levels employed (no-CMC/face-to-face, online learning system, online learning system + social networking site) on the level of perception of CS in team formation. Significant differences were also found in the role of CMC levels employed on the levels of TP, when controlled for gender. In addition, there is a significance difference in the role of CMC levels employed (no-CMC/face-to-face, online learning system, online learning system + social networking site) on the levels of CS, when controlled for education, academic major and academic year. The outcomes of the study contributed to the body of knowledge for both practice and research, to help organizations identify ways to support effective team formations in virtual environments.

Determining the effects of military service on those who volunteer is of vital importance in an age when service may lead to the loss of bodily function or life. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of military service with consideration for the demographic statuses of race, gender, and educational attainment on economic outcomes. Data for this study came from the Current Population Survey July 2010 with Veterans Supplement (N=83,000). Results from this study suggest that some veterans, namely those of minority racial status and lower educational attainment benefit from their military serve by achieving increased levels of household income as compared to similar non-veterans. Conversely, non-Hispanic White veterans and those with higher levels of educational attainment suffer negative consequences to levels of household income. Furthermore, differences among veterans were assessed. These results provide further insight into the experiences of veterans in the United States.