The Effects of Resource Dependency on Decisions by University Public Service Administrators for Service to the State through Local Government Training

Jones, Stacy Bishop ProQuest Dissertations & Theses University of Geor 2019 해외박사(DDOD)

University public service administrators consider a range of factors in their decisions to revise or implement local government training programs in service to their state. Major among these factors are the influence of external stakeholders, university mission, metrics, labor and financial resources, and university location. Resource dependency also impacts the administrator’s decisions as revealed in organizational effectiveness, environmental awareness, and environmental constraints. The decline in state government dollars to support training local government officials affects the public service administrators' decisions as they experience external and internal forces in their environment.Interviews of public service organization senior administrators, directors, and managers at three research universities, combined with document analysis from the universities' websites and document analysis from training profiles from the Consortium of University Public Service Organizations, uncovered that administrators experience the influence of external stakeholders. These external actors interact with the administrators' awareness of university mission, metrics of effectiveness, labor and financial resource availability, and their own organizational placement in the university infrastructure for public service. This study concludes that university public service organization administrators make decisions on local government training within a metaphorical box of influences that is impacted by strong external influences from the state legislature and local government associations.

Teaching with Cultural Responsiveness: Foundations, Policy, and Practice

Carrier, Danielle M ProQuest Dissertations & Theses University of Geor 2022 해외박사(DDOD)

This dissertation is a multi-method study that investigates the concepts of culturally responsive teaching and culturally relevant pedagogy in theory, policy, and practice. It examines the roots of culturally responsive and relevant education as originally conceptualized by educational scholars Gevena Gay and Gloria Ladson-Billings. Through autoethnography, critical discourse analysis, and interviews with student teachers, this study brings to light some of the tensions in teaching with cultural responsiveness when these theories come into contact with Whiteness and are expressed through individuals, policy, and in schools. Chapter 2 exemplifies Black excellence in Washington, DC through autoethnography that decenters and replaces Whiteness with Blackness. Chapter 3 shows opportunity for race-conscious policy through a discourse analysis of states’ professional teaching standards’ that shows that states are not explicit enough in directly addressing educational inequality. Chapter 4 describes some of the challenges and opportunities that student teachers in one university-based teacher preparation program experienced learning about culturally responsive teaching. This dissertation is one contribution to the work of other critically-minded scholars concerned about educating all students living in the U.S. and the future of our democratic society.

Understanding Innovation in Mega-Sport Event Organizing Committees

Hoff, Kristina J ProQuest Dissertations & Theses University of Geor 2022 해외박사(DDOD)

The purpose of this dissertation was to explore innovation in mega-sport event organizing committees. Using an embedded multiple-case study design, the 2024 Paris Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (POCOG), the 2028 Los Angeles Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (LAOCOG), and the 2026 Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup host organizing committee (United 26) were analyzed. More specifically, this project advanced three primary research questions: (1) In what ways are mega-sport event organizing committees being innovative? (2) Why are mega-sport event organizing committees innovating? and (3) How do mega-sport event organizing committees undergo the innovation process? Three interconnected studies, each focused on a specific research question, formed the basis of this dissertation.The first study employed the 3D-model of innovation as a framework to identify the multidimensional types of innovative practices pursued by POCOG, LAOCOG, and United 26. Six multidimensional types of innovations were identified: fan experience technical products, commercial technical products, environmental administrative processes, environmental technical products, social administrative process, and organizational administrative processes. This study also highlighted similarities and differences between innovations pursued by contemporary (i.e., Olympic Games) and a more traditional mega-sport events (i.e., FIFA World Cup). Focusing on POCOG and LAOCOG, the second study utilized organizational innovation as a theoretical framework. In doing so, results revealed OCOGs experience various environmental, organizational, and individual drivers toward innovation in addition to barriers (e.g., managing intangible resources and resistance to radical innovation) that hinder implementation of new practices. Using the innovation process as a framework, the third study of this dissertation explored the innovation process undergone by POCOG, LAOCOG, and United 26. Data analysis suggested the innovation process for mega-sport event organizing committees includes four main phases: initiation, adoption decision, implementation, and transfer.Cumulatively, this dissertation extended our understanding and knowledge of sport event management, and more specifically the phenomenon that is sport event innovation. As a result, numerous theoretical and practical implications about innovation in mega-sport event organizing committees are proposed. Moreover, this dissertation also illuminated the abundance of opportunities for meaningful future research pertaining to innovation in mega-sport event organizations.

“Policymaking from Disadvantage”: The Politics of Technology-Based Economic Development in Emerging States

Moore, Nathan Alexander ProQuest Dissertations & Theses University of Geor 2020 해외박사(DDOD)

Over the past four decades, higher education has assumed amplified importance in states’ economic development efforts. Known as technology-based economic development (TBED), state economic growth policies explicitly involving postsecondary institutions have undergone a remarkable degree of both innovation and institutionalization as science has assumed greater commercial relevance. TBED efforts now comprise the largest and most expensive items in some states’ development arsenals and these policies have broadly impacted public higher education, particularly research universities. While analyses of TBED policies show that large, wealthy states most aggressively invest in TBED programs, recent research reveals that disadvantaged states pursue a variety of TBED strategies, as well. Given their touted capacity to lift impecunious states to new economic heights, along with their significant up-front costs, how these policies come to occupy governmental agendas in disadvantaged states is an important question. A conspicuous gap in the literature exists, however, with respect to how developing states come to embrace TBED policies – strategies which are often particularly ambitious and expensive given these states’ educational and financial profiles. This gap engenders important questions. How do TBED policies arrive on the governmental agendas of developing states? Given the panoply of options, why are distinctive TBED policies embraced? How do theoretical frameworks of the policymaking process encapsulate this activity? To answer these questions, a comparative case study of West Virginia (WV) and Mississippi (MS) is employed using three theoretical frameworks that encapsulate the policymaking process.

Choosing to Attend a Public Two-Year College: A Survey of Student Decision Making

Meyer, Stephanie Lynn ProQuest Dissertations & Theses University of Geor 2019 해외박사(DDOD)

Public two-year colleges play a critical role in providing students with access to higher education. Some students attend these institutions to obtain skills needed for employment, while others enroll with the intent to transfer to another college or university. The factors influencing students’ selection of and enrollment in a public two-year college are numerous. However, comprehensive studies regarding the level of influence of these factors on the college-choice process in this context are limited. This quantitative study utilized a researcher-developed instrument in an effort to identify these factors. The survey instrument was developed based on a systematic process that included interviews with professionals in higher education, interviews with current students, and an extensive review of college choice literature and models. This study set out to answer five research questions: (1) To what extent do the opinions of others influence college choice? (2) To what extent do college recruitment efforts influence college choice? (3) To what extent do college characteristics influence college choice? (4) To what extent do financial factors influence college choice? (5) To what extent do student characteristics predict the amount of influence the following four areas have on college choice: (a) opinions of others, (b) recruitment efforts, (c) college characteristics, and (d) financial factors? Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) was utilized for data collection. The total sample consisted of 306 participants from 45 states in the United States. The findings suggested the following: (a) financial factors had the strongest influence on the decision to enroll in a public two-year college, (b) characteristics related to personal fit were the most influential college characteristics in the decision to enroll in a public two-year college, (c) the opinions of others influenced the decision to enroll in a public two-year college, with opinions of parents being most influential, and (d) the most influential recruitment efforts were those that could be self-accessed by the student. These findings extend the understanding of the characteristics of today’s public two-year college student and help inform recruitment efforts and policies related to public two-year college access.

Understanding Differences in Study Abroad Administration Structures and Policies

Gunter, Rebecca E ProQuest Dissertations & Theses University of Geor 2019 해외박사(DDOD)

A wide variety of organizational and fiscal structures and policies are utilized in the administration of postsecondary study abroad programs. This study sought to understand the reasons for and effects of these differences. Guided by Pfeffer and Salancik’s (1978/2003) resource dependency theory and Knight’s (1994) internationalization cycle, three research question were developed. The research questions were: 1) what organizational, fiscal, and administrative structures and policies do senior study abroad professionals perceive to differ across the study abroad programs of colleges and universities?; 2) what factors do senior study abroad professionals perceive to be relevant to decisions regarding organizational, fiscal, and administrative structures and policies for study abroad?; and 3) what do senior study abroad professionals perceive to be the outcome- and process-based effects of organizational, fiscal, and administrative structures and policies related to study abroad? Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 senior study abroad professionals from 12 different institutions. An analysis process that consisted of open and analytic coding of the data resulted in the identification of seven themes related to: 1) different study abroad structures and policies available to international educators and institutional leaders; 2) the ways in which students and institutional type, leadership, culture, and finances affect study abroad structures and policies; 3) the ways in which study abroad structures and policies affect student and faculty decisions about and opinions toward study abroad; and 4) the idea that there is no single set of best practices for study abroad administration. This study identifies key issues for college and university leaders and study abroad administrators to consider within the context of their own institutions when making decisions about study abroad structures and policies.

A Social Network Analysis of Race, Class, and Gender Differences in the Online College Classroom

Yoon, Hyungjoo ProQuest Dissertations & Theses University of Geor 2020 해외박사(DDOD)

The purpose of this study is to examine the dynamic of online classroom interaction networks and to determine how such virtual relations are connected to the power relationships along the lines of race, class, and gender. This study analyzes both observed and perceived online classroom interaction networks while answering three major research questions, which are:1.In what specific ways, if any, does asynchronous classroom discussion contribute to a higher level of online student integration?2.How does the observed classroom network differ from the perceived classroom network?3.How is the virtual classroom interaction associated with the power relationships along the lines of race, class, and gender?Qualitative content analysis and social network analysis are employed to analyze the virtual interactions of 21 graduate students at a southeast U.S. university. Three major findings have been drawn from this analysis of the multilayered classroom interaction network data. First, casual interactions, consisting of short social postings, formed the lion’s share of the virtual classroom network, and explain how the students both connected with and disconnected from each other in the virtual environment. Second, women students’ interactions exhibited more reciprocity than did men’s. Third, a significant level of race-based homophily among the majority of White students lurked at the core of the virtual classroom network. Theoretical and practical implications were derived by revisiting feminist and critical theories, with the aim of extending the learning theory-driven approaches dominating current studies of online education. In conclusion, this study argued that power relationships along the lines of race, class, and gender were deeply reflected in the virtual classroom network: white male students were more likely to be respected than other students without substantial course participation, students of color with lower socioeconomic status were the most silent student group, and women’s undervalued reproductive labor sustained the online learning environment.

Development of Instrument Scales to Monitor Self-Regulated Learning Motivational Attributes and Learning Strategy Use of Undergraduate Students in Introductory Chemistry

McDowell, Linda D ProQuest Dissertations & Theses University of Geor 2019 해외박사(DDOD)

Fostering self-regulated learning abilities of students in the college chemistry classroom is useful for improving chemistry education. The self-regulated learner is a student who is motivationally, metacognitively, and behaviorally an active participant in his or her learning. In this study, the Self-Regulated Learning in Chemistry–Student Self-Reported Questionnaire (SLCSSQ) was developed by adapting a prior survey instrument and analyzed using the Rasch rating scale measurement model to create instrument scales for measures of the learning strategy use and motivational attributes of students in a first-year chemistry course. The initial survey containing 31 learning strategy items and 14 motivational attributes items and was given to 102 students enrolled in first-year chemistry courses. Only the measures of motivational attributes were shown to significantly correlate to final exam scores (r = .345, p = .002). A critical review of the literature was used to revise the questionnaire. The revised survey contained 25 learning strategy items and 18 motivational attribute items and was completed by 93 students enrolled in a first-year chemistry course at a mid-sized public university. Again, instrument scales for learning strategy use and motivational attributes were created using the Rasch rating scale measurement model and items were investigated with qualitative interviews for content meaning using volunteers from the survey respondents. Semi- structured interviews revealed concerns of understanding for the terms studying and assignment, interpretations of the items based on the timing of administration, and possible biases for settings and statements of ability and effort. Additional studies to determine the influence of time of administration, to further delve into student interpretations of items, and to use for determining the influence of an instructional intervention are recommended.

The Relationship between South Carolina's Merit-Based Financial Aid and College Completion

Burnside, Ashley Claire ProQuest Dissertations & Theses University of Geor 2019 해외박사(DDOD)

The decrease in financial support to higher education from state governments over time has necessitated changes to more targeted funding models, as has happened in states like South Carolina. These models are necessary to meet states’ increased fiscal demands, such as support for K-12 education and healthcare, while continuing to optimally serve the citizenry. For nearly two decades, merit-based aid has been a politically popular solution to curbing monetary shortfalls, while simultaneously incentivizing academic achievement. However, such incentive may not always yield increased access and equity. This study seeks to examine the relationship between merit-based aid and academic program completion, and identify other factors likely to impact student graduation rates in South Carolina.This quantitative analysis is conducted using year-specific regression models to analyze student-level data from 2002–2012 from the South Carolina Commission of Higher Education (SCCHE) and a logistic regression to examine the 2012–2013 freshman cohort at a mid-sized public university. Through this work, I studied the correlation between college completion and my primary indicator of interest, receipt of one of South Carolina’s three merit-based aid awards, to determine if being a merit-based aid award recipient has a positive association with completion. I establish through multinomial logit regressions that there is a significant and positive relationship between completion and merit aid. Positive relationships among other factors on completion, such as institution type, gender, race, and socioeconomic group, are not uniformly seen.

Cultivating Community to Support New Teachers: Navigating Complexity in a School-University Partnership

Gilbertson, Erica Lynn ProQuest Dissertations & Theses University of Geor 2022 해외박사(DDOD)