Ph.D., Antioch University, 2024, Leadership and Change

The persistent tension and power struggle between healthcare executives and physicians is a prevalent issue in healthcare organizations, often leading to a culture of organizational mistrust. This dynamic stems from perceived conflicting goals: executives are frequently seen as primarily focused on financial outcomes, while physicians are viewed as resistant to change. This study explored how physician fulfillment is experienced at work, with the ultimate goal of identifying potential interventions to bridge the gap between these groups. There is vast research and literature available regarding burnout in healthcare; this research focused on understanding what physicians find fulfilling in their work and identifying actionable factors healthcare system leaders can address to enhance their fulfillment. Key factors identified from the literature include meaningful patient contact, quality of professional relationships, and organizational decision-making input. At the same time, challenges such as administrative burden and loss of autonomy were noted as detriments to fulfillment. After conducting and transcribing semi-structured phenomenological interviews with physicians, the data were coded for meaning, resulting in 169 codes. The prevalence of these broad themes varied concerning each research question, reflecting the complex and multifaceted nature of physician fulfillment. By identifying patterns and connections in the physicians' experiences, this study highlighted the importance of addressing both systemic and individual factors to enhance professional fulfillment. Key findings of the study include the importance of humanizing healthcare goals and several directions for iv healthcare organizations: addressing moral injury, improving patient outcomes, obtaining and utilizing physician input consistently, fostering a supportive culture, and creating time and space for peer support. Targeted interventions to enhance physi (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Mitch Kusy PhD (Committee Chair); Beth Mabry PhD (Committee Member); Alan Rosenstein MD (Committee Member) Subjects: Ethics; Health Care; Health Care Management; Health Sciences; Management; Medicine; Public Health

Doctor of Business Administration (D.B.A.), Franklin University, 2023, Business Administration

As technology changes constantly, so does the need for organizations to adapt by promptly and effectively implementing technological improvements to gain a competitive edge. Information systems in the information technology (IT) industry are continually seeing new innovations, and business leaders must be prepared to adopt these technological options to strengthen their organizations' information system infrastructure. This dissertation study aims to define the variables that contribute to organizational readiness for change (ORC) to determine information system implementation decisions for companies in the IT industry using a quantitative methodology and an existing decision model as the theory. Behavioral intention is the construct that measures and helps ascertain whether employees are prepared for change. Based on the Pare model, this dissertation study theorized that 10 independent variables are positively related to ORC. Following completion of the survey-based process, the analysis process used partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). This study should benefit the IT industry, which struggles with change management activities within its departments and organizations.

Committee: Todd Whittaker (Committee Chair); Michael Powers (Committee Member); Dail Fields (Committee Member) Subjects: Business Administration

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2014, Arts and Sciences: Geography

Changes in land use and climate have substantial environmental consequences, especially on water resources. In this research, the effects of urbanization and climate change on water resources were investigated. Moreover, a tool was derived to examine land use change and to postulate future land use patterns. Most importantly, the effectiveness of Best Management Practices (BMPs) in reducing stormwater runoff was explored. This dissertation consisted of three articles based on different case studies at varying spatial locations and spatial scales. Comprehensive geospatial methods were used throughout the entire research, which included modeling and analyzing land use change, landscape patterns, population growth, climate change, hydrologic process, and the cost-effectiveness of BMPs. The first two articles were pilot studies of this research. They focused on developing a population-coupled Markov Cellular Automata (CA-Markov) land use change model. The reliability and applicability of the model were ascertained by generating land use maps for the Little Miami River Watershed in Ohio and the Las Vegas Wash Watershed in Nevada. The third article was a continuation of the first two pilot studies. Using the techniques developed earlier, future land use scenarios were generated for a smaller subwatershed of the Las Vegas Wash Watershed, the Duck Creek Watershed. Together with the future climate scenarios postulated by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), they were used to assess the future hydrologic conditions in this hot, arid, and urbanized watershed. System for Urban Stormwater Treatment and Analysis Integration (SUSTAIN) was further used as a geospatial decision support system to model the watershed hydrologic process and the cost-effectiveness of BMPs in reducing potential stormwater runoff under future scenarios of climate and land use changes. This research contributes to the advancement of watershed studies using integrated geospatial (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Tak Yung Tong Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Jeffrey Yang Ph.D. (Committee Member); Richard Beck Ph.D. (Committee Member); Nicholas Dunning Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Geography

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in Organizational Leadership , Franklin University, 2024, International Institute for Innovative Instruction

The enterprise resource planning (ERP) industry is a billion-dollar software industry with two prominent higher education ERP companies bringing in a combined $14.27 billion the third quarter of their 2024 fiscal years (Oracle, 2023; Workday, 2023). ERP systems stemmed from materials resource planning (MRP) systems in the manufacturing industry (Jacobs & Weston, 2006; Lowson, 2002; Nowak, 2021) and were designed to mitigate risk, centralize data, and create consistency (Albarghouthi et al., 2020; Alhazmi et al., 2022; Kumar et al., 2022; Liu et al., 2023; Rubel et al., 2023). Multiple sources indicate that the failure rate of ERP systems within higher education institutions (HEIs) surpasses that of other sectors, which is why it is essential to examine critical success factors of ERP implementations (Albarghouthi et al., 2020; Alhazmi et al., 2022; Kajbaje & Kamatchi, 2022; Skoumpopolou et al., 2022; Soliman & Noorliza, 2020). This study aimed to explore the practical strategies for ERP success by analyzing lived experiences of leaders at two-year community and technical colleges in the upper Midwest. The exploration was achieved by conducting a qualitative phenomenological study that consisted of semi-structured interviews with 12 leaders at three sites. There were eight interview questions; two were introductory demographic questions. There were six detailed interview questions, with two specifically addressing the research question, and four designed to lead participants into a more in-depth analysis of factors related to leadership approaches and ERP project success factors. Interviews were conducted via Zoom and in-person, based on the participants' preferences. The interview transcriptions were analyzed via Atlas.ti using a thematic coding approach resulting in four themes: (1) project and change management, (2) strategic guidance, (3) resource alignment and allocation, (4) vendor and software. Theme one is comprised of eight sub-themes covering specifics abou (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Patrick Bennett (Committee Chair); Yuerong Sweetland (Committee Member); Tarae Terry (Committee Member) Subjects: Educational Leadership; Educational Software; Educational Technology; Higher Education

Master of Science in Engineering, Youngstown State University, 2024, Department of Civil/Environmental and Chemical Engineering

The Central Lake Erie Basin has been encountering escalating challenges in stormwater management, marked by shifting precipitation patterns and intensified weather extremes due to climate change. Consequently, conventional drainage systems, entrenched in gray infrastructure, have been exacerbating downstream urban flooding, prompting urgent exploration of alternative solutions. Low Impact Development (LID), particularly Green Infrastructure (GI) emerges as a promising avenue to mitigate flooding and enhance stormwater resilience. Since many sustainable stormwater management projects falter due to numerous factors including insufficient community involvement, inadequate consideration of local conditions, and limited resources for maintenance, this study engaged the community extensively to incorporate community input in decision-making for stormwater management. Out of the seven GIs, stakeholders preferred to explore permeable pavement and rain gardens. This study employed a comprehensive approach to evaluate the effectiveness of rain gardens and permeable pavement in stormwater management within the Town of Willoughby. By integrating climate data from Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP) Phases 5 and 6 datasets with hydrological modeling, the research investigated the impacts of evolving precipitation patterns and climate trajectories on stormwater management practices. The developed PCSWMM model encompassed 54 sub-catchments, with permeable pavement applied to 46 of the sub catchments in the parking lots of commercial buildings and public spaces. Additionally, rain gardens were implemented in 35 sub-catchments with one rain garden allocated per residential house. Through rigorous analysis, the research evaluated GI's capacity to address evolving precipitation patterns and climate trajectories, providing nuanced insights into its potential implications for sustainable stormwater management practices. GI measures such as permeable pavements and ra (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Suresh Sharma PhD (Advisor); Sahar Ehsani PhD (Committee Member); Bradley Shellito PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Civil Engineering

Master of Science (M.S.), Xavier University, 2023, Psychology

The current study sought to understand employee perceptions of organizational change and whether changes implemented due to the COVID-19 pandemic would be interpreted differently based on employee mindset and their relationship with their leader. Variables of interest were types of organizational change, growth mindset, leader-member exchange (LMX) relationships, and satisfaction with change. Contrary to the hypothesis, employee growth mindset did not significantly correlate with satisfaction with change. Additionally, although a significant interaction was found between LMX and growth mindset on satisfaction with change, the plotted interaction revealed the observed form of the moderation to be inconsistent with the study's hypothesis. Instead of high LMX strengthening the relationship between growth mindset and satisfaction with change, growth mindset and satisfaction with change were more strongly related when LMX was low. The current study's results extend the theoretical application of mindset theory into the change management domain and provide guidance to organizations related to growth mindset within their workforce and generating leader-member relationships. Limitations and potential areas for future research are discussed.

Committee: Morrie Mullins Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Leann Caudill Ph.D. (Committee Member); Eric Barrett M.A. (Committee Member) Subjects: Organizational Behavior; Psychology

Doctor of Business Administration (D.B.A.), Franklin University, 2023, Business Administration

Seventy percent of organizational change initiatives fail. Yet, successful organizational change is integral to organizational growth, innovativeness, and competitiveness. Employees' uncertainty is one of the leading causes of resistance to change. Research indicates that organizational change environments characterized by effective sensemaking and sensegiving diminish uncertainty. Research also indicates that emotions and emotion management play a critical role in employees' processing of organizational change. This concurrent mixed methods study expands existing literature by examining the unexplored intersections between uncertainty reduction, sensemaking, sensegiving, and emotional intelligence and the implications for increasing support of organizational change. Purposive sampling was used to electronically administer the Self-Report Emotional Intelligence Test to 17 participants. Then, survey respondents participated in a virtual one-on-one interview to determine their sensemaking and sensegiving engagement during an organizational change event occurring in the last three years. The study's findings indicate that individuals with greater emotional intelligence engage more positively in sensemaking during organizational change. Similarly, the study's findings indicate that change leaders with greater emotional intelligence are able to engage in more sufficient sensegiving with their employees during the change process. Results from the study underscore employees' need for effective sensegiving from change leaders to help employees navigate and support the organizational change venture. The study underscores the imperative of involving employees in organizational change planning. The findings also support potential benefits of incorporating emotional intelligence training into organizations' hiring and employee development processes.

Committee: Michelle Thomas (Committee Chair); Steven Martin (Committee Member); Courtney McKim (Committee Member) Subjects: Business Administration

MS, Kent State University, 2023, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Geography

The Colorado River supplies water for over 40 million people throughout the North American Southwest, a region that has experienced prolonged stress on water resources for more than two decades. Through the lens of critical physical geography, this research synthesizes a physical and social science approach to explicate the many human and physical distinctions that are fueling the overuse of this waterway. The Southwest region economically benefits from settler colonialism yet lacks inclusivity of access to natural resources, including water. An investigation into the intricate dynamics of land use, water policy, and climate change in the Colorado River Basin provides a holistic understanding of environmental and climate disparities gripping parts of the region. Mixed-methods consisting of a correlation and trend analysis, along with a policy analysis, were employed to identify these evolving issues. Hydroclimatological patterns over the 1956-2022 period reveal disconcerting trends, further aggravating water supply. Historical water policies from 1922-1968 demonstrate their misalignment with evolving river dynamics and contribute to inequities in resource allocation. By extracting historic to modern-day climate and adaptation data, the evidence of this study leads to the conclusion that previous and modern-day policy not only is unsuitable to withstand the future of climate-induced changes to the hydrologic health of the river, but the impact of water scarcity faced by Indigenous communities across the North American Southwest could persist. The study emphasizes the ongoing importance for policies to be more attuned to the shifting climate and landscape while ensuring equitable resource access for all.

Committee: Chris Post (Advisor); Scott Sheridan (Committee Member); Rebecca Parylak Ruthrauff (Committee Member) Subjects: American History; Climate Change; Environmental Justice; Environmental Studies; Geography; Hydrology; Land Use Planning; Public Policy; Water Resource Management

PHD, Kent State University, 2023, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Earth Sciences

Climate change is threatening urban areas, including by exacerbating impacts from stormwater runoff on urban streams. Understanding the uncertainties associated with climate change impacts and the resilience of current adaptation strategies are challenging, but this understanding is the key for effective urban water management. Green infrastructure is commonly used to mitigate the effects of stormwater runoff, and it is considered an important climate adaptation strategy. The hydrologic impacts of green infrastructure are poorly understood at the watershed scale, because most of the decisions relating to stormwater management are not optimized and made on the parcel or neighborhood scale. Therefore, the main aim of this research is to quantify the impacts of climate change under different uncertainties and optimized green infrastructure on the flow regime of urban streams by using numerical modeling approaches, which in turn will be helpful for informing decisions by stormwater managers and policy makers. In this dissertation, I first quantified climate change impacts and compared multiple sources of uncertainty within and between climate and hydrological models for an urban watershed near Cleveland, Ohio. One hundred years continuous streamflow obtained from a distributed hydrological model was divided into historical, initial, mid, and late 21st century shows that there will be an increase in future streamflows with exceedance probabilities of 0.5%-50%. Flood with all return periods will increase through the 21st century for most climate projections and parameter sets. For this watershed, hydrological model parameter uncertainty was large relative to inter-climate model spread, for near term moderate to high flows and for many flood frequencies. Optimizations of bioretention cells, swales, and permeable pavements at 14%, 42% and 70% treatment levels were completed using the simulation-optimization tool OSTRICH-SWMM in two urban watersheds located in Cleveland (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Anne Jefferson (Committee Co-Chair); David Singer (Committee Co-Chair); Kuldeep Singh (Committee Member); David Costello (Committee Member); Aditi Bhaskar (Committee Member) Subjects: Civil Engineering; Climate Change; Geology; Hydrologic Sciences; Hydrology; Water Resource Management

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2023, Plant Biology (Arts and Sciences)

Global climate change and human management practices are strong external forces that shape the compositions of our forests. My dissertation aimed to determine how these forces are influencing eastern North American forests, specifically focusing critically important, hickories (Carya) and oaks (Quercus). First, the impacts of forest mesophication on hickory populations and broader forest compositions were examined. While long-lived forest overstories remain stable, major compositional shifts in the forest midstory towards mesic-adapted species highlight the speed at which mesophication can alter forests. Next, the impacts of climate variability on hickory were assessed. Among three hickory species (Carya glabra, Carya ovata, and Carya tomentosa), all appear sensitive to summer growing season precipitation and site water balance. However, hickory growth-climate relationships appear to be undergoing a temporal shift to be more important earlier in the growing season. Additionally, the presence of strong growth-climate relationships in understory hickory appears highly-species specific and may indicate valuable species for studying climate impacts on forest understory environments. Finally, the long-term success of sustained forest management practices was evaluated. Hickories and oaks exhibit positive regeneration responses to repeated burning and overstory thinning, although to a varying degree. Overall, my dissertation highlights the potential impacts of climate change and human management on forest ecosystems and the need to recognize and adapt forest research and management to these major forces.

Committee: Brian McCarthy (Advisor); Rebecca Snell (Advisor); Jared DeForest (Committee Member); James Dyer (Committee Member) Subjects: Biology; Climate Change; Ecology; Forestry

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in Organizational Leadership , Franklin University, 2023, Business Administration

Change is difficult. A process inherently challenging and uniquely individual, change involves transitioning individuals from a state of comfort and normalcy to an uncomfortable and stressful period of transition, ultimately leading to a new, often unfamiliar future state. This difficulty is exacerbated during crises when clarity and trust become paramount. This study employs a descriptive phenomenological approach to examine the lived experiences of change management employees navigating change within organizations. Four overarching themes emerged from the analysis. First, inconsistent messaging from different management levels engendered confusion and uncertainty. Second, the perceived lack of transparency and honesty in leadership communications resulted in mistrust, misinformation, and erosion of leadership credibility. Third, regardless of the content of the communication, the chosen channel and its frequency emerged as key indicators shaping participant perceptions. Finally, the study revealed that how leadership conveyed messages and treated employees in terms of perceived honesty, responsiveness, and prioritization strongly reinforced participants' existing crisis-related perceptions. Additional findings were also examined, including how the participants reported distinct perspectives on leadership, communication, and organizational performance during crises. In response to the findings, the author introduces a unified crisis communications model to optimize leadership communication strategies and employee experiences during crisis events. This model integrates key elements derived from the study, emphasizing consistency, transparency, and strategic use of communication channels. By addressing the identified challenges and leveraging the model, organizations may enhance their ability to navigate change during crises, fostering resilience and sustaining stakeholder trust.

Committee: Patrick Bennett (Committee Chair); Jeffrey Ferezan (Committee Member); Yuerong Sweetland (Committee Member) Subjects: Communication; Management; Organization Theory; Organizational Behavior

Ed.D., Antioch University, 2023, Education

My research inquiry is centered on the larger project of building a transformational, empowerment model of worker voice in workplaces. The purpose of my research is to explore/illuminate the question, “How can I use workers' stories to center and advance collaborative worker voice on the job through peer-driven training initiatives?” I frame this general research inquiry around two key questions: (a) How do I create authentic spaces for workers' stories to emerge from the heart? (b) How do I use workers' stories to create the environment needed for workers to become peer teachers/leaders of their own training initiatives? This study's intended audience is any practitioner who seeks to center workers' experiences/stories as the fulcrum for transformational workplace change. My research method is Scholarly Personal Narrative (SPN). SPN is a sustained exploration of one's own narrative experiences of dealing with a particular question, problem, or dynamic that has broader social significance. It entails analyzing that experience through the lens of relevant research and theory. I have chosen a hybrid video/written format for my SPN, to create a first-person storytelling experience for the viewer/reader that replicates my methodology with workers at their worksites. The video segments of this dissertation can be found at http://debmoy.weebly.com/. My findings document the key elements needed to be an effective change agent supporting organic leadership in organizations through workers' stories. My dissertation can influence the effectiveness of California Transit Works (CTW), the statewide consortium bringing my approach to scale nationally. My dissertation can bring academic recognition to key roles that third-party neutrals, or “intermediaries,” can play in building worker voice empowerment within labor/management partnerships. Finally, I hope this dissertation inspires and guides workers and change agents to take an holistic view of what it means to have our own voic (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Stephen Brookfield Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Michael Raffanti Ed.D. (Committee Member); Laura Dresser Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Adult Education; Labor Relations; Organizational Behavior; Transportation; Vocational Education

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2023, Earth Sciences

Drought overwhelmingly impacts humans, varying significantly over both time and space. Such variability influences water availability across all components of the water cycle (Ross & Lott, 2003). Drought is most often referred to as a deficiency problem, either of precipitation or moisture. Fundamentally, drought monitoring relies on these indicators of precipitation of moisture from in situ measurements to derive drought status and data visualization in the forms of maps. Across the Southwest region of the United States, the influences of climate change have exacerbated drought conditions and impacts. The Navajo Nation, one of the largest tribal entities in the United States is situated in the center of this region and faces the consequences of drought more intensely than previously measured. The Navajo Nation is highly dependent on the resources directly related to precipitation and moisture like that of agriculture, water generated energy resources, and water resources (Navajo Nation Department of Water Resources, 2011). The need for innovative drought monitoring has led to the development of remote sensing techniques to supplement the sparse climatological data necessary for decision making related to drought. Here, additions to the current drought monitoring efforts are analyzed to begin to build an understanding of the overlooked evaporative demand and evapotranspiration (ET) as well as aid in the effectiveness of drought identification and quantification in the Navajo Nation through remote sensing.

Committee: Michael Durand (Advisor); Wendy Panero (Committee Member); Ann Cook (Committee Member) Subjects: Remote Sensing

Doctor of Management, Case Western Reserve University, 2023, Weatherhead School of Management

We examine business transformation projects and ask why their success rate continues to be low. Past research suggests that business transformation is enabled by the level of alignment between the business unit-information technology (BU-IT) department and related novel orchestration of capabilities. We conduct a mixed-methods study to understand the role and impact of BU-IT alignment in affecting the success of business transformation projects. The complexity of the problem and the lack of improvement in business transformation (BT) success rates suggest that a mixed-methods approach is appropriate to study this problem. We focus on identifying to what extent organizational unit and project-level activities converge and to what extent project managers can flexibly respond to external events. Additionally, we look at the impact of centralized IT decision making and the importance of unit-level organizational change management activities in affecting BT project success.

Committee: Kalle Lyytinen Ph.D. (Advisor); James Gaskin Ph.D. (Advisor); Philip Cola Ph.D. (Advisor) Subjects: Information Technology

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), University of Dayton, 2023, Mechanical Engineering

Paraffin phase change materials (PCMs) are often used for thermal energy storage due to their high gravimetric latent heat values and low cost. However, they are not well suited for high heat transfer rate applications where their low thermal conductivities limit use. Additionally, applications in which there are volume restrictions may drive material selection toward metallic phase change materials, where the volumetric latent heat can be higher than those of paraffins with comparable melting points. Gallium, for example, has over twice the volumetric latent heat and a thermal conductivity that is two orders of magnitude greater than that of octadecane. The use of gallium is not without issue. Gallium is known to experience supercooling which is often viewed as a detrimental property. Thus, an improved understanding of supercooled gallium nucleation is useful. One purpose in this study is to explore the effects of the thermal history and mass on the supercooling of gallium. In this work, differential scanning calorimetry and a thermal cycling chamber were used to characterize these effects. Material overheating was found to have the largest impact. Additionally, an active control methodology was created to successfully activate solidification without significantly affecting the bulk material temperature. While the previously mentioned active control methodology demonstrated successful nucleation of supercooled gallium using a vortex-tube/cold-finger design, the time (>10 min) and level of support equipment required (e.g., compressor) allows for improved design. Thus, a thermoelectric cooling approach, using electric current to rapidly remove heat from the supercooled gallium, was investigated. In this work, a two-stage thermoelectric cooler and cold-finger design was implemented to decrease the required nucleation time, and increase the effectiveness of the nucleation process. An order of magnitude decrease in time needed for nucleation (~10 s) was achieved for al (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Jamie Ervin (Advisor); Larry Byrd (Committee Member); Jun-Ki Choi (Committee Member); Andrew Chiasson (Committee Member) Subjects: Mechanical Engineering

Doctor of Management, Case Western Reserve University, 2023, Weatherhead School of Management

Although emergency departments (EDs) are often the only sites of care for patients with opioid use disorder (OUD), a proven medication, buprenorphine, is underutilized by community emergency physicians when patients present with OUD. To explore this further, we first performed a qualitative study of 30 community emergency physicians. We then conducted a quantitative analysis of a national database of emergency department visits based on one of our main qualitative findings. Finally, we evaluated the results of the quantitative study in the context of our other main qualitative findings, exploring the Familiarity Principle and how it explained our quantitative findings in light of our qualitative results. The integrative analysis demonstrates that it is not the population of patients with OUD but rather the disease of OUD towards which stigma exists. Our original model for community emergency physician (CEP) prescription of buprenorphine to patients with OUD suggested that four themes predominantly factored into decision-making: (1) physician professional identity; (2) the image of (and stigma towards) patients with OUD; (3) physician education and professional development; and (4) additional resources for care. While some of these findings had been described previously, the concept of stigma appeared to be novel and so formed the basis for a confirmatory quantitative study. To explore ideas further, we performed a quantitative analysis of a national database of 267 million ED visits over four years. We found that ED resource utilization for patients with OUD who presented because of typical ED complaints (chest and abdominal pain) was similar to ED resource utilization for patients without OUD. This finding suggested that any CEP bias towards this population did not translate into less care during ED visits for non-OUD concerns. To further understand the counterintuitive results, we returned to our qualitative findings. We analyzed them in the light of the Fam (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Philip Cola Ph.D. (Advisor) Subjects: Health Care Management; Medical Ethics; Medicine

Doctor of Education , University of Dayton, 2022, Educational Leadership

The pivotal role Ed-Tech facilitates as an industry is increasing in education. As education evolves, the emergence of Ed-Tech in the classroom, data collection, curriculum, assessment, and student information continues to drive new initiatives, projects, and solutions in the school. The cross-sectional relationship between education and organizational culture during the COVID pandemic identified emerging themes of the increasing reliance on education and the emphasis society and education place on technology. This study analyzes and developed an action plan to address the disconnect between educational stakeholders and client organizational engagement. This qualitative study focuses on the role of the organizational culture of Ed-Tech organizations in improving practices of engagement, user experience, and internal client success practices.

Committee: Corinne Brion (Committee Chair); Darren Akerman (Committee Member); Elizabeth Essex (Committee Member) Subjects: Educational Software; Educational Technology; Instructional Design; Organizational Behavior

Doctor of Education , University of Dayton, 2022, Educational Leadership

A mutually-collaborative phenomenological action research study, rooted in the organizational values of the Catholic Marianist tradition, which engages empowerment concepts and positive organization theories to create a framework for the evaluation and iterative improvement of student-employing organizations. This study addresses a lack of intentional connectivity within student-employing organizations at the University of Dayton, which results in an organization's inability to capitalize on the successes of their peers. Student employees participated in a series of surveys, focus groups, and interviews, by which qualitative and quantitative data was gathered and reviewed. The results provided insights into the construction of empowering spaces for student employees. Through the student voice, these insights were distilled to create a series of best practices, which have been formatted into documents which will allow organizations to leverage University-wide high performing elements to construct policy and procedures that most fully empower student employees. These documents are customized to the needs of the organization in such a way that they will facilitate the planning and development of next steps, allowing for inherently flexible, iterative, process change.

Committee: Matthew Witenstein (Advisor); Peter Titlebaum (Committee Member); Corinne Daprano (Committee Member) Subjects: Business Administration; Educational Leadership; Higher Education Administration; Management; Organization Theory; Organizational Behavior

Doctor of Business Administration (D.B.A.), Franklin University, 2022, Business Administration

The practical sense of business in female entrepreneurship as it relates to the concept of intrinsic and extrinsic creative behaviors of female entrepreneurs working in the United States is the main focus of this study. The field of female entrepreneurship is growing with the participation of women with or without full-time jobs in standard employment, with or without formal business education, and with or without equal access to financial resources compared to their male counterparts. This study aims to capture the definition of success and how female entrepreneurs perceive success. Utilizing convenience sampling, this qualitative study conducted semi-structured interviews with 15 successful female entrepreneurs in a major Midwest metropolitan area. With dual roles in work and family, the female entrepreneurs engage in a role of chaotic business management and self-branding with a quest for work/life balance. Their pursuit of a lifestyle business brings about a direction of working within an area of great interest, commonly called a passion. This passion allows for exploring what the female entrepreneur enjoys and a quest to produce a profit from that inspiration. Emergent themes resulting from this study are definitions of success, pandemic challenges, entrepreneurial credibility, social networking, business investment, brand management, creativity, innovation, profit design, and authentic leadership. One core result of this qualitative study is a theory called female entrepreneurial design. The female entrepreneur creates an organizational life unique to her personal style and business brand through personal self-care and professional investment.

Committee: Kenneth Knox (Committee Chair); Bora Pajo (Committee Member); Timothy Reymann (Committee Member) Subjects: Business Administration; Business Community; Business Education; Communication; Design; Educational Leadership; Entrepreneurship; Management; Organization Theory; Organizational Behavior; Social Research; Systems Design; Womens Studies

Doctor of Education (EdD), Ohio University, 2022, Educational Administration (Education)

Academic leaders at community and technical colleges must balance institutional projects, student success initiatives, and academic programs. Many of the tasks associated with these endeavors involve faculty and staff members. As academic leaders plan for change, it is wise to involve faculty in a positive way. The goal of faculty members' involvement would be to increase their understanding of college operations, encourage their participation in decision making, and motivate their support for new projects or recommendations for change. Ultimately, an academic leader would be wise to invest the time in building a collaborative culture of shared governance to make wise decisions and meaningful change. Creating an environment of shared governance must be an intentional effort by college leaders. Research has noted that faculty desired to be a part of decision-making but believed that their leaders were operating the college using a corporate business model that did not allow for shared governance (Kater, 2017). As budgets tighten and state support fluctuates, leaders are tempted to centralize decision-making. However, the cost of such governance could be the lack of support from faculty and staff members and possibly failure of projects, initiatives, and academic programs. The purpose of this study is to explore methods that leaders may use to share information with faculty and staff about budgets in the process of strategic planning for change. Specifically, this qualitative study sought to understand the effect of the development and use of a return on investment (ROI) tool during an academic program review process. This study examined how the use of the ROI tool impacted communication, planning, and shared governance at a two-year college. Results of this study indicate that the development and use of an ROI tool increased communication between academic leaders and faculty members. Further, it necessitated further education regarding the institution's budg (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: William Larson (Committee Chair) Subjects: Educational Leadership; Organizational Behavior