Doctor of Philosophy, Case Western Reserve University, 2017, Organizational Behavior

This dissertation is composed of three sequential and complementary studies, and focuses on extending theory in the field of positive organization development (POD)—an approach to organizational change that uses the power of positivity and appreciation to enable flourishing states in organizations. The guiding theme of the research project is the study of appreciative organizing (AO), which I define as a dynamic state of reflection and action that configures flexible—yet stable—patterns of interaction that enable the emergence of a life-enhancing collective functioning. I explore this phenomenon by conducting a team development intervention in ten construction projects teams—five of them implementing a traditional diagnostic approach (control group), and five of them implementing an appreciative process of team development. To build theory around AO, I used the principles of action research as the method for intervening in teams, and grounded theory methods for data collection and theory building. In Study 1, I explore the developmental mechanisms of an appreciative process of team development, in order to understand the effect of appreciation at the level of team interactions/processes. This study extends current theory by proposing an alternative way of reaching higher levels of group maturity and performance, where positivity—instead of conflict/problem resolution—is the main catalyst of the developmental process. In Study 2, I build a theoretical elaboration of a diagnostic (problem-based) and an appreciative (strengths-based) mode of organizing. This study extends current theory by illuminating the unique features that might characterize AO, and by proposing a path to integrate—at the micro level of interactions and narratives—both diagnostic and appreciative approaches. In Study 3, I explore the concept of flourishing as an appreciative process of organizing rather than an outcome or end state (i.e. a dynamic perspective). This study provides empirical eviden (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: David Cooperrider Dr. (Advisor); Stephens John Paul Dr. (Committee Member); Laszlo Chris Dr. (Committee Member); Peck Simon Dr. (Committee Member); Spreitzer Gretchen Dr. (Committee Member); Bright David Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Behavioral Sciences; Business Administration; Management; Organization Theory; Organizational Behavior

EdD, University of Cincinnati, 2016, Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services: Curriculum and Instruction

Over the past decade higher education has undergone a pivotal transformation as enrollment in online class offerings has increased at a pace that has exceeded growth in traditional face-to-face offerings. The number of institutions offering online classes and degrees grows annually and will require more faculty to teach in this modality. Institutions that offer extensive online learning, struggle to provide faculty with the support and training necessary for them to be successful online instructors. This study examined an institution of higher education's plan and progress in supporting faculty who teach online. A qualitative embedded case study design was used to investigate four units (central eLearning offices and three colleges) professional development offerings within a single university. This research design permitted a holistic look inside the institution's infrastructure, processes, and professional development offerings in an effort to confirm alignment. Galbraith's (1995) Star Model of Organization Design framed the study and an investigation of the five key tenets - strategy, structure, processes, rewards, and people practices were explored. A total of eleven academic leaders participated in semi-structured interviews offering insight to the operational practices regarding faculty professional development within their respective units. The participants revealed that the institution was going through a transition in leadership, both at the central and college levels, and that faculty representation in online governance needed to expand. Evidence of orientation and ongoing professional development for faculty transitioning to online instruction was prevalent in all units. However, the design, development, and delivery of professional development were not strategically collaborative or universally implemented. In essence, the units operated in silos. Participants also expressed the need to offer a scaffolded approach to faculty development throug (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Holly Johnson Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Jonathan M Breiner Ph.D. (Committee Member); Carlee Escue Ph.D. (Committee Member); Carla Johnson Ed.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Higher Education Administration

EdD, University of Cincinnati, 2006, Education : Curriculum and Instruction

This study examines the effectiveness of faculty learning communities in one institution of higher education. Specifically, the study examined the changes in teaching methodology, epistemology, scholarship and service made by faculty members who participated in a year-long faculty learning community initiative. It also examined the role of the faculty learning community as a structure that helps to facilitate those changes. The study used survey research and qualitative techniques. All thirty-nine members of the faculty learning community initiative were surveyed to determine their perspective on the role of the learning community in their academic career. Ninety-two percent of the respondents report the learning community experience was moderately to highly useful in their academic careers. Seventy-nine percent reported a great to moderate amount of change in their teaching methods. Eighty-seven percent reported a change in their epistemological beliefs. Seventy-nine percent reported scholarship and 62 % reported service activities directly linked to the faculty learning community experience. Seven faculty members were followed to determine the extent of changes that were made in teaching, service, and scholarship. The participants were interviewed, were observed in their classrooms, and had their syllabi examined for evidence of change. Six of the seven participants made changes in their teaching methods that paralleled the pedagogy studied in their learning community. Six of the seven participants also showed increases in service and scholarship directly related to their faculty learning community experience. In all cases, the scholarship was the scholarship of teaching and learning rather than disciplinary scholarship. All seven participants reported the learning community was vital to making changes. The learning community provided moral support and shared ideas and procedures. None of the seven participants appeared to have changed their epistemological belief (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Dr. Glenn Markle (Advisor) Subjects:

Ph.D., Antioch University, 2012, Leadership and Change

Given the rapid changes that 21st century museums must manage, flexible thinking about leadership forms and purposes is needed. Today's complex leadership landscape necessitates that staff engage in enacting leadership with positional leaders. Limited empirical literature exists that describes how the next generation of museum leaders is being nurtured and developed. The purpose of this study was to: describe museum professionals' perceptions of leadership practices; investigate museums as sites of organizational and leadership learning; and consider the experiences of museum professionals who have participated in leader development programs. The study involved an on-line survey with 310 professionals working in U.S. museums and follow-up interviews with a subset of 13 survey participants. Bolman and Deal's (1990) Leadership Orientations Inventory (BDLO) was used to assess museum leadership practices; Marsick and Watkins (1999) 21-item version Dimensions of a Learning Organization Questionnaire (DLOQ-A) was used to assess supports for learning in the museum. Findings based on bivariate correlation and multiple regression analysis show a significant relationship between ratings for leadership effectiveness at the department and organization levels and scores on the BDLO and the DLOQ-A. While leadership effectiveness at both levels tended to be positive, over 60% of middle and non-managers did not perceive their museum's leadership as mastering any of the BDLO Leadership Orientations Inventory frames. Statistically significant differences in the perception of museums as learning organizations were found with decreasing support from senior managers to middle managers to non-managers. With regard to learning leadership, findings indicate that the DLOQ-A Strategic Leadership for Learning dimension, Organization Support, and Peer Support are important for facilitating continued learning and application of new knowledge and skills derived from leader development programs. (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Carol Baron PhD (Committee Chair); Cynthia McCauley PhD (Committee Member); Lize Booysen DBL (Committee Member); Claudine K. Brown JD (Committee Member); Michelle C. Bligh PhD (Other) Subjects: Adult Education; Arts Management; Management; Museum Studies; Museums

Ph.D., Antioch University, 2010, Leadership and Change

The researcher developed the concept of an edge leader—that is, one who can mindfully turn around a troubled business to sustain it for the future. In an increasingly turbulent and competitive climate, more edge leaders must be developed to sustain their organizations for the benefit of shareholders, employees, communities, and society. The researcher's review of the classic and contemporary leadership and change literatures suggested that four elements are necessary to develop leaders capable of leading even basic beneficial change. They include: having broad, successful experience; being emotionally and socially aware; having the ability to think differently about priorities and paradoxes when progressing through organizational levels; and having the competencies to fill a role. However, the researcher asserted that those elements, while necessary, are not sufficient to develop edge leaders. Specifically, two additional elements are required to fill the gap between basic change leader development and turnaround leader development: instilling a zest for continuous learning and developing the ability to mindfully apply a balance of transactional and transformational leadership practices. The researcher's review of the classic, contemporary, and empirical leadership literature, along with several preparatory studies, suggested that the edge leadership concept merited further study. The dissertation research further substantiated the concept in three ways within a turnaround case study. The researcher used additional analysis of the literature along with Q methodology, a constructivist approach combining qualitative interview data gathering, researcher interpretation to define the range of participants' perspectives, and quantitative factor analysis to develop conclusions. Based on interview data from a company leader and eight cross-functional senior staff members, the researcher first found that the leader's development profile compared well to the six conceptual el (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Mitchell Kusy PhD (Committee Chair); Jon Wergin PhD (Committee Member); Cynthia McCauley PhD (Committee Member); Kerry Bunker PhD (Other) Subjects: Adult Education; Business Community; Business Education; Continuing Education; Educational Theory; Higher Education; Management; Occupational Psychology; Organization Theory; Organizational Behavior; Social Psychology

Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 2013, EDU Policy and Leadership

The purpose of this constructivist narrative study was to explore how Asian American student leaders of ethnic student organizations (ESOs) experience their ethnic and racial identities in the context of their ESO and the classroom. The primary research questions guiding this study were: (a) How do Asian American student leaders of ESOs experience and make sense of their ethnic and racial identities within the context of their involvement with their ESO; (b) How do Asian American student leaders of ESOs experience and make sense of their ethnic and racial identities within the classroom? Data collection included semi-structured interviews with six participants. Data was analyzed through Clandinin and Connelly's (2000) three dimensional narrative inquiry space for elements of interaction, continuity, and situation. Restories of each participants' narrative were presented. Findings from this study include: (1) Complex and varied understandings and negotiations of ethnic and racial identities within the ESO context; and (2) Salience of ethnic and racial identity in the classroom associated with negative, challenging, and positive experiences.

Committee: Susan Jones (Advisor); Tatiana Suspitsyna (Committee Member) Subjects: Asian American Studies; Education; Higher Education; Higher Education Administration

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in Leadership Studies, Xavier University, 2023, Leadership Studies and Human Resource Development

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) are concepts many nonprofit and for-profit boards have struggled with for decades. Corporate America has been under increased pressure to diversify the boardroom from federal and state governments, the stock exchanges, and stakeholders. Volunteer professional and trade associations have also suffered from the deficit of gender and ethnic/racial minorities within the leadership ranks, specifically on boards of directors. Even though progress has been made, the composition of most professional and trade association boards still does not reflect the diversity of the U.S. population, or in many cases, the membership at large. The purpose of this non-representative descriptive study was to assess the perceived significance of barriers to DEI among Executive Officers (EOs) of Home Builders Associations (HBAs) and Building Industry Associations (BIAs), and to document the strategies these organizations report previously implementing to increase gender and ethnic diversity on their boards of directors. Data were analyzed and reported both in the aggregate and by geographic regions and membership size. Quantitative analysis was conducted by the Dissertation Advisor, while qualitative responses were coded by the principal investigator. Results revealed no differences in the perceived significance of barriers to either women and racial/ethnic minority board membership, based on region or size. Based on analysis of composite scores, none of the barriers to gender diversity were perceived as more significant than not significant, while four barriers related to availability were rated as at least somewhat significant by a slight majority of respondents. With respect to racial/ethnic diversity, four barriers, all related to availability, were rated as more significant than not significant, based on composite scores, while nine barriers were rated as at least somewhat significant by a majority of respondents. The most frequently reported stra (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Gail F. Latta Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Peter Mallow Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Business Administration; Organizational Behavior

Doctor of Organization Development & Change (D.O.D.C.), Bowling Green State University, 2023, Organization Development

Title IX regulations have been in place for five decades, and various studies have examined the impact of these regulations on athletics, adjudication, and the experiences of complainants and respondents involved in cases. Although Title IX has evolved, skeptics and supporters have debated whether the regulations are effective. As of late, each presidential administration has revised guidance and steepened the risks for those responsible for Title IX compliance. The Department of Education, through the Office for Civil Rights, requires that institutions of higher education have Title IX coordinators. Results of surveys conducted on the state of the profession have signaled there may be high attrition in Title IX roles, yet limited research has focused on Title IX administrators. The purpose of this study was to understand career commitment influences for Title IX administrators in higher education, with a specific focus on the role of institutional resources. Career entrenchment (Carson et al., 1995; Wilson et al., 2016) and career commitment (Wilson et al., 2016) form the conceptual framework of the study. Additionally, I explored how organization development and change principles may intersect with Title IX work. Career and organizational commitment, as well as resources, are all central to how organizations develop and change. The research questions were: (1) What influences career commitment for Title IX administrators navigating case management and compliance? (2) What role do institutional resources play in Title IX administrators' ongoing career and organizational commitment? I used generalized inductive qualitative research and conducted semi-structured interviews with ten participants with a minimum of three years of experience in Title IX investigation, adjudication, or compliance at Ohio college or university campuses. Seven themes emerged to explain what influenced the participants' career commitment: “Sweat Equity”: Profession (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Maureen Wilson Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Steven Cady Ph.D. (Committee Member); Tiffany Davis Ph.D. (Committee Member); Patrick Pauken J.D., Ph.D. (Committee Member); Danielle Kuhl Ph.D. (Other) Subjects: Education Policy; Higher Education; Higher Education Administration; Organization Theory

Doctor of Organization Development & Change (D.O.D.C.), Bowling Green State University, 2022, Organization Development

Self-awareness is considered one of the most important skills an Organization Development Practitioner (ODP) can develop to best serve their clients. However, there is limited knowledge about ODPs' levels and practices of self-awareness. Additionally, past research on self-awareness has focused on the component of self in the activation of self-awareness. In this study, ODPs were surveyed to understand if there is a difference in general and work-focused self-awareness. The situational self-awareness scale (SSAS) by Govern and Marsch (2001) and the self-awareness in nursing practice (SAN) scale by Rasheed, Sundus, and Younas (2020) were used to measure general and work-focused self-awareness respectively. In Phase 1 of the study, 76 ODPs were rated using both instruments. Results indicated that the work-focused self-awareness score was higher than the general self-awareness score for ODPs. While there was no significant difference in the general self-awareness of ODPs by gender, the results showed that males' work-focused self-awareness was lower than females'. In addition, the results indicated a significant positive relationship between years of experience and work-focused self-awareness and between work-focused self-awareness and general self-awareness. In Phase 2, seven ODPs identified (via open-ended questions) possible self-awareness topics and words associated with these topics. Results from Phase 2 revealed the following: (1) an overall positive sentiment scores associated with ODPs work-focused self-awareness; and (2) the topic modeling revealed that the words associated with the three topics are mainly work-related terms.

Committee: Michelle Brodke Ph.D. (Committee Chair); David Jamieson Ph.D. (Committee Member); Michael Zikar Ph.D. (Committee Member); HeeSoon Lee Ph.D. (Other) Subjects: Behavioral Sciences; Business Administration; Organization Theory; Organizational Behavior

PhD, University of Cincinnati, 2020, Arts and Sciences: Philosophy

Traditional approaches to cognition take it to be a fundamentally brain-based phenomenon. On this view, the brain functions as a type of information processing center, making cognition a matter of computational processing and representational symbol manipulation. In contrast, embodied, enactive approaches to cognition emphasize the role of the body in cognition and non-representational perception-action dynamics. While the embodied and enactive paradigm has been gaining in popularity, it has yet to adequately engage with complementary approaches in biology that aim to define the organizational structure of organismal life. In this dissertation, I argue that an enactive approach to cognition in nature can be enriched by incorporating the central tenets of both developmental systems theory and extended interpretations of evolutionary biology. This framework, which I term biological enactivism, defines organisms as cognizing systems structured by both their internal dynamics and their dynamic relations with environmental features corresponding to their sensorimotor capacities, developed as a result of their coupled interactions with their environments over both developmental and, on a population scale, evolutionary time.

Committee: Anthony Chemero Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Angela Potochnik Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Nathan Morehouse Ph.D. (Committee Member); Thomas Polger Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Philosophy of Science

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2017, Environment and Natural Resources

Food Policy Councils (FPCs) have proliferated rapidly across the United States during the last ten to fifteen years. However, FPCs manifest through a wide array of governance structures and organizational characteristics. This includes, but is not limited to, classification as a 1) nonprofit organization, 2) grassroots coalition, or 3) government- embedded council. I seek to identify whether there are differences between these three types of FPCs in terms of their institutional and organizational characteristics, discourses, and strategies. Due to the diversity and growth of the FPC movement, implications of these differences in governance structure are not well understood. While some studies cite important benefits of formal government support, others have found that independence from government agencies allows FPCs greater ideological freedom. I analyze 24 case studies, which combines 2015 survey data with analysis of the missions, visions, goals, activities, and membership/partner information as found on FPC websites. Bivariate analyses using the same survey data, but with a larger sample of 173 FPCs, complement and provide context for the case studies. This research aims to contribute to the literature about FPCs, as well as agrifood movements generally, while providing a deepened understanding of the activities and dynamics of these unique community-government collaborations towards improved food policy.

Committee: Jeff Sharp (Advisor); Kerry Ard (Committee Member); Jill Clark (Committee Member) Subjects: Agriculture; Public Policy; Sociology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1984, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Computer Science

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2016, Industrial and Systems Engineering (Engineering and Technology)

The healthcare sector possesses big issues needing to be addressed in a number of nations including the United States. Problems within and effecting healthcare arena are complex as they are interdependent on several factors. It. To cope this situation and find solutions, best of predictions backed by data for effective decision making are required. Even though predictions are made, it takes extreme cautiousness to make claims for policy inaction. The EuroQol five Dimension (EQ-5D) questionnaire developed by the Euro-Qol group is one of the most widespread used tools assessing the generic health status of a population using 5 dimensions namely mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort and anxiety/depression. This thesis develops a methodology to create forecasting models to predict these EQ-5D model indicators using chosen 65 indicators, capable of defining population health, from the World Bank, World Health Organization and the United Nations Development Programme databases. The thesis provides the capability to gauge an insight into the well-being at individual levels of population by maneuvering the macroscopic factors. The analysis involves data from 12 countries namely Argentina, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain and United States, for both sexes with ages ranging from 18 to 75+. The models are created using Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) and are contrasted with statistical models. It is observed that the ANN model with all 65 indicators performed the best and the age group of 75+ was found to be the most correlated with EQ-5D dimensions. Conclusively the research also provides with the countries and indicators that need the most attention to improve the corresponding EQ-5D parameter. This thesis aims at fostering better policy making for increasing well-being of populations by understanding the impact of predominating factors affecting population health.

Committee: Gary Weckman (Advisor); Diana Schwerha (Committee Member); Tao Yuan (Committee Member); Andy Snow (Committee Member) Subjects: Aging; Artificial Intelligence; Behavioral Psychology; Behavioral Sciences; Behaviorial Sciences; Cognitive Psychology; Demographics; Demography; Developmental Psychology; Economics; Educational Tests and Measurements; Evolution and Development; Finance; Gender Studies; Health; Health Care; Health Care Management; Health Sciences; Higher Education; Industrial Engineering; Information Science; Information Systems; Information Technology; Literacy; Mental Health; Public Health; Public Policy; Sanitation; Social Psychology; Social Research; Statistics; Sustainability

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2016, Political Science

In this dissertation I critique the Darwinian perspective on the international system, an important set of assumptions that underlies the foundational claim that the international system is a competitive anarchy. The Darwinian perspective assumes that the international system is a population of states that simultaneously constitutes the primary security environment for individual states, and that the evolution of this population is governed by the logic of Darwinian competition. I challenge this perspective, which is widely shared across the paradigmatic divides of the International Relations (IR) discipline, by offering a complete redescription of the evolutionary origins, organization, structure, and development of the international system. To do so, I draw from three modern biological theory perspectives that have yet to get the attention of IR scholars: Major Evolutionary Transitions to Individuality (METI), Self-Producing Systems, and Developmental Systems Theory (DST). From these perspectives, I argue, the international system appears in the process of becoming an individual superorganism. This claim challenges a number of popular beliefs in IR, such as the belief that Darwinism legitimates Realism's pessimistic take on the international system, that the international structure is at its most fundamental level an anarchy, and that the evolutionary origins of the international system give us straightforward answers to its present and future transformations. In addition to challenging these core assumptions of IR theory and others, the dissertation also subsumes some of the most important and puzzling contemporary phenomena in international politics under a single transformative logic: the decline of inter-state war; the growth of international cooperation, integration, and organization; the displacement of collective security threats from states to non-state actors and phenomena; the growing net benefits from statehood; the persistence, expansion, and entrenchm (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Alexander Wendt Professor/Dr. (Committee Chair); Bear Braumoeller Professor/Dr. (Committee Member); Alexander Thompson Professor/Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Biology; International Relations; Political Science

PHD, Kent State University, 2015, College of Arts and Sciences / Department of Modern and Classical Language Studies

Abstract This dissertation presents a comprehensive translator development evaluation framework that can be used for the evaluation of translator development in translation organizations. The proposed framework consists of three important constructs: a Translator Development Model (TDM), holistic rubrics that present levels of the development of descriptors of translator competences identified in the TDM, and a Translator Career Path (TCP). In this qualitative study, the methodology to collect and analyze the data takes an inductive approach that draws upon the literature to propose a Translator Development Model (TDM). This model is based on descriptors of expert translator performance and best employees' practice documented in the literature. The proposed TDM consists of five categories of translator development: declarative knowledge, procedural knowledge, psycho-physiological abilities, communication abilities, and professional abilities. Each category comprises a number of criteria important for the development of the translator. After these criteria are identified and arranged in the model, they are graded in holistic scales. The Dreyfus Model of Skills Acquisition is the conceptual framework used to build those scales. Each skill in the TDM will be graded as: novice, advanced beginner, competent, proficient, and expert. Consequently, the Translator Career Path (TCP) is built based on the TDM and its holistic scales. Thus, five levels of translator performance are identified in the TCP as five ranks. The first rank is the intern translator, which is equivalent to the novice level. The second rank is the assistant translator, which is equivalent to the advanced beginner level. The third rank is the associate translator, which is equivalent to the competent level. The fourth rank is the translator, which is equivalent to the proficient level. Finally, the fifth rank is the expert translator, which is equivalent to the expert level in the TDM scales. The main (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Keiran Dunne (Advisor); Gregory Shreve (Committee Member); R. Kelly Washbourne (Committee Member); Patrick O’Connor (Committee Member); Susanna Fein (Committee Member) Subjects: Language; Language Arts

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2013, Geography

Revolutions in communications technology, transportation of people and goods, and the reorganization of economic production between the local and global scales have resulted in the spatial re-arrangement of daily human activities in the United States and other parts of the world. Traditionally rural, primary economic activities have waned as local sources of employment and wages due to both low-cost global competition and increasing productivity of capital versus labor. At the same time, the U.S. has shifted to being a service economy with many firms choosing the benefits of locating in, or close to urban agglomerations. Rising household incomes since World War II gave a growing number of people the ability to afford transportation between bucolic, rural residential and recreational locations and their workplaces in large cities or suburbs. Researchers have noted that areas rich in natural amenities, areas of pleasant climates and scenic beauty, have drawn people and jobs into their environs via inter- and intra-regional migration decisions. The result has been the obliteration of clear distinction between urban and rural spaces. Rural landscapes and small towns are now homes to long-distance commuters, recreational entrepreneurs and artisans, retirees, sprawling manufacturing branch plants, back-office service jobs, and tech companies in addition to (or in place of) the farmer, the mining operation, and the lumberjack. Many new terms have been invented to put a name to this emergent face on the landscape, but few have addressed the new arrangement of human activities in addition to the evolving processes and flows that cross the urban-rural continuum. The evaluation of urban and rural changes is important because the spatial organization of human activities impact ecosystems, social relationships, economic dynamism, as well as planning and policymaking. The conceptual toolkits of researchers engaging in spatial science, including geographers, need to be improve (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Darla Munroe (Advisor); Edward Malecki (Committee Member); Daniel Sui (Committee Member) Subjects: Geography

MA, University of Cincinnati, 2007, Arts and Sciences : Psychology

The creation of an epochal recording of program history, from which evaluators and practitioners can learn, is one purpose for conducting evaluation work on Organization Development (OD) interventions (Weiss, 1998). This study created such a recording of an OD intervention in a Veterans Affairs hospital through analysis of standardized instrument data (N pre-intervention = 111, N post-intervention = 183), qualitative interviews conducted as part of the intervention (N ≈ 120, both pre- and post intervention), and interviews conducted retrospectively with practitioners, hospital administrators, and union representatives (N = 11). Quantitative results from the standardized instrument data were mixed and inconclusive. Qualitative results indicated the OD intervention, based primarily on the theories of Argyris (1970, 1985) and Reddy (1994), had an invaluable impact on the struggling facility.

Committee: Dr. Steven Howe (Advisor) Subjects:

MCP, University of Cincinnati, 2002, Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning : Community Planning

This thesis is to formulate the implementation process and the organizational structure of an enterprise GIS in local government. Management issues are the focus of the thesis. Enterprise GIS is a coordinated geographic information system that supports and promotes coordinated geo-spatial data development across jurisdictional and organizational boundaries. Enterprise GIS is a revolution in local government. To achieve the advantages of an enterprise GIS, several important issues must be addressed: policy, management, and technology. The most efficient way to design an enterprise GIS is to consider the development process as a cycle of several stages with emphasis on organizational structure. The phases of an implementation plan allow an organization to establish a clear set of tasks and responsibilities within an understandable decision-making framework. Organizational restructuring is both a precursor and response to successfully adopting enterprise GIS. Cincinnati Area GIS (CAGIS) is an enterprise GIS implemented to improve service delivery and decision support across various businesses of its participants. CAGIS pioneered the concept of multi-agency cooperation in the development of geographic systems and sharing geographic data in Cincinnati Area. Like other large GIS projects, CAGIS has had both successes and failures. CAGIS is a successful enterprise GIS in terms of improved efficiency, effectiveness and enterprise benefits.

Committee: Xinhao Wang (Advisor) Subjects:

Master of Science, The Ohio State University, 2009, Rural Sociology

The pressures of globalization and urbanization upon communities at the rural-urban interface are often presumed to degrade community self-sufficiency and threaten agricultural production. Yet many communities are responding to these pressures through resistance. These communities are actively developing their local food systems by organizing themselves to engage in community-problem solving through local working groups and food policy councils to promote direct marketing and increase the viability of local agriculture. The central goal of this research is to bridge and build upon both the local food system literature and community development literature to provide a better picture of what kinds of communities are able to effectively organize around local foods, and to explore whether organization makes a difference in terms of increased local food system development activities within communities. From the community development literature, it is clear that a level of organization is essential to the capacity of communities to shape the direction of local development. However, the local food system literature does not provide a good picture of what kind of communities are able to effectively organize around local foods, nor to what degree organization makes a difference in local food system development. Data for this study come from the 2008 survey Agricultural Change, Land Use, and Economic Development at the Rural-Urban Interface as well as the 1997 and the 2007 USDA-NASS Census of Agriculture and the 1990 and 2000 United States Census. The study finds that there are significant differences which distinguish counties with high levels of farming and food system organizational development from those counties with no organization. More organized communities tend to have higher levels of agricultural social infrastructure, which includes the flow of agricultural information, high quality agricultural leadership, and high quality social interaction and trust within the (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Jeff Sharp PhD (Advisor); Tom Koontz PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Agriculture; Sociology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2008, Interdisciplinary Programs

The dimensionalities of engineering design evolved from designing a product that worked, to designing in addition for aesthetics, reliability, maintainability, recyclability, etc. Technology transfer includes three components: the product, the entities interfacing as offeror and offeree, and the transactional framework. This work extends design to new dimension - transferability, i.e., how to improve transfer of technologies by design. Case studies are developed on promising new technologies - the cold chain for biologicals, renewable energy, and wireless access - involving several types of local and global transfers: entrepreneurial technology development, organizational adoption, and mass diffusion; all have implications for dealing with the chaos of the underdeveloped, and complacency of the developed alike. The cases are analyzed using qualitative interpretative techniques (grounded theory) and complemented with contextual data for connecting the substantive findings with industry norms and institutional environment. The simultaneously diffusing technologies considered here seemed to be interrelated and were ushering in (or governed by) a trend characterized by personalization, localization, collectivization, sustainability, and integrating markets enabling actors to remain where they belong, obviating relocation without necessity, for higher capital productivity. It was found that technology transfer or diffusion can be viewed as building an enterprise consisting of a chain of interactions, with each ending in the offeree's accepting an offer based on the offeror's presentation and creation of conditions favorable to acceptance, which is generally invariant to what is being transferred. In enterprise building the only concern is finding a fit between how an offer is made and how the offeree interprets it. Established networks and hierarchies are therefore utilized; hence each offeree is preconditioned and the interactions are also not random. Further, personali (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Robert Bailey PhD (Advisor); Paul Evans PhD (Committee Member); Curt Haugtvedt PhD (Committee Member); Richard Miller PhD (Committee Member); Kathy Northern JD (Committee Member) Subjects: Engineering; Management; Organization Theory; Systems Design