The purpose of this study was to describe the perceived emotional effects of the seven Medical Case Managers who moved from the role of consultants of a Railway to employees of a Managed Health Care Company in order to maintain employment within their field of telephonic disability case management of railway employees. This research followed the path of an unintended change with two interviews, 2003 and 2010. The participants were seven Medical Case Managers with a combined institutional knowledge base of over fifty years. The study was a qualitative study based on in-depth interviews. Results showed that the Medical Case Managers viewed the change from consultant to employee as an involuntary change or unintended change. The perceived emotional effects were issues of anxiety, stress, fear, betrayal, mistrust and distrust aimed at the Railway. As the change progressed, the perceived emotional effects became focused on the Managed Health Care Company with those emotions noted as mistrust, distrust, frustration, and ambivalence. These feelings led to what was in essence were a time of transitional turmoil and chaos. The Medical Case Managers did not feel that they had moved past the turmoil until they separated employment with the Managed Health Care Company and individually made a new career choice. The results also highlighted several interesting aspects. The Railway missed an opportunity for a smooth transition as did the Managed Health Care Company as they failed to acknowledge the stress and turmoil of the change. Either not being aware of the existence of emotional effects that surround change or ignoring them had far reaching consequences, the very least being the loss of over fifty years of institutional knowledge. This research has suggested that organizations need to be aware of change and the emotional effects that surround the process. By doing so, there exists an opportunity for well thought out process to aid in the practice of unintended change. Researchers, also, have an opportunity to expand theory by taking a look at significant career experiences, focusing on multidisciplinary emotional components as they impact both the individual and the organizational aspects of the workplace.

The purpose of this study is to explore the type of social media technology utilized by 4-H field and state faculty to communicate with 4-H members, volunteers, and advisory board members. As youth increase their use of technology for communications it is critical for youth development agents to adapt to new communication methods Qualitative research methods were used to explore this topic. Guiding questions were developed from the empirical literature. Responsive interviewing technique was used to gather data. A purposeful sample was chosen for this study. The sample consisted of field and state 4-H Cooperative Extension Service faculty located in a southeastern state in United States. Personal interviews were conducted with individuals who utilized various forms of social media to communicate with their youth, volunteers, and stakeholder. The results of the study found that all the respondents communicate using social media and e-mail. All of the respondents communicate with youth by text-messaging and Facebook. Youth choose to use social media to communicate with youth development agents and volunteer. Youth will use phone calls as a last resort to communicate. Volunteers communicate with respondents mostly by e-mails and phone calls. Over half of the respondents communicate with their advisory board members through mail-outs and e-mails. All state and field faculty respondents continue to send newsletters, mail-outs and meet face to face with all of their cliental. This research indicates that faculty use various types of technology to communicate with youth, volunteer, and stakeholders.. Most of the information necessary for youth to participate in various events are available in several different formats in order to reach all youth. Facebook was used to inform and recruit new volunteers and advisory board members. Twitter and Facebook were also used state and field faculty to keep parents abreast of their childrens welfare during field trips and summer camp. If Cooperative Extension is going to have an impact on the youth they must adopt the new technology and communication styles utilized by youth. All Cooperative Extension employees should be mandated to take professional development courses on utilizing technology in order to communicate with their stakeholders.

Disparities exist in health care quality among racial and ethnic minority groups. Minority Americans receive lower quality health care than non-minorities even after adjustment for insurance status and income. A leading cause of these disparities is the biases and prejudices of health care providers. The primary purpose of this study was to determine if a relationship exists between levels of cultural intelligence (CQ) and selected demographic and biographical characteristics among mid-level managers of home health care systems throughout the United States. This research provides an understanding of factors influencing cultural intelligence among site directors in home health care. An examination of selected characteristics to determine their relationship with CQ revealed 13 variables related to overall cultural intelligence levels. International experience presented the strongest relationship with cultural intelligence, a finding consistent with prior literature. Regional variation was found between cultural intelligence levels of site directors in the East South Central division and the West South Central, South Atlantic, and Pacific divisions. Three clinical specialty areas including case management, general nursing practice, and nurse executive also related to cultural intelligence. Results found five models existed that explain a significant portion of the variance in each of four subscales and overall cultural intelligence levels. Characteristics that positively related in multiple models included prior international work experience and duration of international work and non-work experience. Prior clinical experience in general nursing positively correlated to cultural intelligence in four of the models, and a negative relationship between the East South Central division and cultural intelligence existed in four models. These results provide insight on antecedents of cultural intelligence and allow for greater understanding of cultural intelligence within the context of health care.

Hispanic immigrants come to the United States with hopes to obtain a better life for their families through perceived better wages and educational opportunities. One source of income for Hispanic immigrants is through employment in crawfish farm operations. Crawfish farm operations benefit from the employment of Hispanic immigrants through government programs that supply workers to the industry. Therefore, many crawfish farm operations in Louisiana employ both Caucasian U.S. citizen and Hispanic immigrant labor to operate efficiently. The purpose of this study was to compare selected characteristics of crawfish farm workers as well as to explore values related to education, monetary values, career expectations, and perceptions of migrant workers held by each ethnic group. The results of this study indicated significant differences associated with Hispanic immigrant and Caucasian U.S. citizen crawfish farmers educational backgrounds, demographics, monetary values, career values, and perceptions of migrant workers. The Hispanic immigrants are younger and have a lower overall educational attainment than the Caucasian U.S. citizens. Also, education is equally important for Caucasian U.S. citizens and Hispanic immigrants. Hispanic immigrants perceive monetary earnings and migrant workers as more important than is perceived by Caucasian U.S. citizens; while Caucasian U.S. citizens perceive career plans and working on crawfish farms as more important than is perceived by Hispanic immigrants. The results of this study can be used by extension services and other educational programs to direct future educational activities based on collected information related to values and perceptions of crawfish farm employees in Louisiana. These activities can enhance the value of extension and educational programs that are meant to serve all populations in Louisiana.

The purpose of this study was to explore the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges role of Accreditation Liaison to (a) explore the characteristics of the professionals who fill the Accreditation Liaison role and (b) understand factors that support or challenge liaisons. Within the theoretical framework of Kurt Lewins Field Theory, a sequential mixed-methods research design was employed to collect data in two phases. The quantitative method in the first phase was an on-line survey. The instrument focused on respondents educational, professional, and demographic characteristics, as well as their roles, responsibilities, and practices as Accreditation Liaisons. The second, qualitative, phase of the study relied on telephone interviews for data collection. Confidential interviews served to clarify survey responses, as needed, and to collect data regarding the factors that drive/support or block/challenge respondents in their roles as Accreditation Liaisons. Research findings are presented for both phases of the study, followed by meta-inferences, recommendations for future research, and considerations for higher education professionals whose work focuses on accreditation.

Previous research indicates a positive relationship between creativity and entrepreneurship. Research also indicates a tendency for successful entrepreneurs to possess certain skills and abilities and to engage in activities that reflect their political astuteness. In addition, numerous studies have supported the importance of behavioral intentions as they relate to actions. Thus, this research endeavor focused on intentions, as it investigated the relationship between creativity and entrepreneurial intentions among female and male students, and attempted to determine whether political skill moderated the relationship. The results revealed that there was a statistically significant positive relationship between creativity and entrepreneurial intentions among both female and male undergraduate students. These results supported the findings of Olawale (2010), Hamidi et al. (2008), Zampetakis and Moustakis (2006), and other researchers in the literature, who concluded that creative students were more likely to have intentions of becoming entrepreneurs in the future. The results also revealed that although political skill did have a positive correlation with entrepreneurial intentions, it did not moderate the relationship between creativity and entrepreneurial intentions. It may be that a sample of undergraduate students does not possess sufficient diversity in terms of age and experience, for political skill to be fully understood, developed, and used, in order to affect the relationship between creativity and entrepreneurial intentions. The researcher concluded that the study should be replicated using older men and women at various stages of their lives, and women in Women in Business programs that are especially tailored to address the challenges and opportunities encountered by female entrepreneurs. Future research should also examine the political skill dimensions separately, to determine whether moderating effects exist for each dimension.

The primary purpose of this study was to determine the influence of selected demographic characteristics on the reading ability of fourth grade students in Louisiana. The dependent variable for this study was reading ability of fourth grade students. Independent variables were demographic characteristics as measured by reading achievement (overall reading score and subscale reading score on the LEAP assessment). The Louisiana Educational Assessment Program (LEAP) exam is a high-stakes test that is administered to fourth grade students in Louisiana. Students must pass specific portions of the test to be promoted to fifth grade. Academic achievement data on the LEAP test were obtained from the Louisiana Department of Education. The sample for the study was all fourth grade students enrolled in public elementary schools in Louisiana during the 2008-2009 school year who were not classified as special education, 504, or Limited English Proficiency. Academic achievement, as measured by Reading, Math and English Language Arts scores on the LEAP, was described and correlated with selected demographic characteristics. Demographic findings of the study showed that the largest groups of subjects were of the Caucasian race and female gender. Findings of the study indicated that African American students scored lower than all other students on all Reading, Math and English Language Arts measures examined. The researcher concluded that the interaction factor between Socioeconomic Status and African American racial status was highly significant in the achievement of fourth grade students. Another conclusion of the study was that the Caucasian race is no longer the majority of fourth grade students in public schools in Louisiana. The researcher recommended that state-level administrators of educational programs in Louisiana develop new courses that would provide more remedial help for low socioeconomic African American students to help them to close the gap that is currently apparent with the other racial groups.

The dissemination of information related to agronomic crop production is crucial to the success of the agriculture industry in Louisiana. This information is distributed by various sources and through multiple methods. The primary purpose of this study was to determine the preferences of Louisiana agronomic crop producers and crop consultants in regards to acquiring information related to their agricultural operations. A secondary purpose was to determine how agronomic crop producers perceived selected LSU AgCenter information sources on accuracy, awareness and frequency of use. Data for the study were obtained through surveys completed by 176 agronomic crop producers and 32 crop consultants. The data were analyzed to determine the two groups perceptions of various information sources on issues of usefulness, frequency of use and the preference of particular sources. The participants perceptions of selected LSU AgCenter information sources were also analyzed for awareness, frequency of use and accuracy. The majority of agronomic crop producers were white (99.4%). Their average age was 48.6 years old, and they had been farming agronomic crops for an average of 25.2 years. The majority of the crop consultants in the study were white (100%), male (96.9%) and were college graduates (96.9%). The findings indicated that both groups actively used many of the information sources featured in the study. Consultants were the most preferred source for agronomic crop producers followed closely by sources affiliated with the LSU AgCenter. For consultants, LSU AgCenter personnel were the most preferred source followed closely by other crop consultants and LSU AgCenter print materials. Both groups had a similar preference toward interpersonal information sources. Mass media sources were scored lower by both groups. Because both groups had a preference toward interpersonal communication, organizations that plan to communicate with these two groups should include an interpersonal communication component in any information campaigns. Additionally, it is important for a source to be perceived by agronomic crop producers as a source that disseminates accurate information. According to producers, accuracy is a crucial characteristic in terms of the usage of an information source.

The purpose of this study was to determine the awareness and knowledge of Celiac Disease/Gluten Intolerance (CD/GI), among clients of a medical facility in the southern portion of the United States. A researcher-designed awareness/knowledge instrument was used to study a random sample of clients of a medical facility. Data were collected from 404 clients at the medical facility. Data collected included whether or not participants were aware of the disease, a 30-item knowledge instrument, and their demographic characteristics. Exploratory factor analysis revealed four identifiable subscales in the knowledge instrument: Symptomology, Diagnosis, Treatment, and Interaction with Other Conditions and Overall Knowledge Score. Multiple Regression analysis was used to determine the amount of variance in the knowledge subscales explained by the demographic characteristics. Results showed that a majority of the participants (53.2%) was unaware of CD/GI. The majority of participants did not know or inaccurately responded to 18 of the 30 statements in the knowledge of CD/GI instrument. Variables related to Awareness included Ethnicity, Marital Status, Highest Level of Education, Annual Family Income, and Physical Examination by their Primary Care Physician (PCP). Variables related to one or more knowledge subscales were Gender, Whether or Not Participants had Children, Highest Level of Education, Physical Examination by their PCP, and Distance Traveled from Home to Medical Facility. The variances explained in the knowledge subscale scores and the overall knowledge score from selected demographic variables ranged from 18.2%-22.4%. It was concluded from the study that there is a lack of awareness and minimal knowledge of CD/GI among the clients of the medical facility. Also, knowledge of CD/GI is a multi-factor concept which offers future research and application opportunities. Recommendations included research on designing and implementing more robust knowledge assessment instruments, education and publicity programs to increase awareness of CD/GI among the general public and enabling physicians to improve their diagnostic skills. The study was considered significant because the results could enable medical and health professionals and nonprofit organizations to direct their education and research efforts to address the many issues that arise from the disease, from heightening awareness, to amelioration, to treatment, to drug therapy.

Organizational leaders seek monetary returns on their investments (ROI). Thus, making decisions to invest in human capital, such as in leadership development interventions, are often difficult due to the lack of research demonstrating monetary returns on development investment (RODI). Further, little research has been conducted on the diffusion effects of leadership development intervention, or returns on leadership diffusion (ROLD). This research expands on previous research conducted by Avolio, Avey & Quinsenberry (2010), which was the first attempt to estimate RODI using utility analysis. This study is unique in that it uses computer simulation modeling along with current research data to generate random distributions of each utility analysis variable to estimate RODI. Comparisons of RODI methods are conducted. Further, the study incorporates a logistical growth model based on exponential growth theory and Diffusion of Innovation theory to estimate the returns from leadership diffusion.