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

The purpose of this study is to address the lack of student engagement at Northeast High school by addressing the following research questions: (1) What are the current student engagement levels at Northeast High School? (2) How can the level of student engagement at Northeast High School be improved? For this study, student engagement consists of Appleton et al.'s (2008) four subtypes of student engagement: academic engagement, behavioral engagement, cognitive engagement, and affective engagement. Northeast High School has experienced a myriad of challenges that are affecting student engagement, such as the school's chronic absenteeism, lack of academic achievement, and increased discipline infractions. The proposed study employed the Check & Connect conceptual framework, which is informed by the theoretical frameworks of Resilience Theory, Cognitive-Behavioral Theory, Systems Theory, and Intrinsic Motivation Theory (Anderson et al., 2004; Christenson et. al., 2012). This study employed an action research design that used a mixed-method approach and examined several quantitative, qualitative, and phenomenological data sources. The study administered the Student Engagement Instrument (SEI) to measure student engagement. The study also collected artifacts such as student attendance records, report cards, discipline records, and stakeholder interviews to look deeper into the student engagement results of the Student Engagement Instrument (SEI). I collected quantitative data for this study from 500 students in the ninth through twelfth grades at Northeast High School. I collected qualitative data for this study by focusing on a purposive homogeneous non-probability sample of 10 students. I used descriptive analysis to calculate the levels of student engagement at Northeast High School. Once I determined the student engagement levels, I designed the Cougar Time Initiative to address and improve the student engagement levels at Northeast High School through fostering g (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), University of Dayton, 2023, Educational Leadership

As fewer recent high school graduates apply to four-year colleges, Catholic postsecondary institutions like other types of higher education institutions will need to expand their reach into new or previously under-realized markets by recruiting a more diverse pool of potential undergraduate students, including those who are considered adult learners. Understanding how adult learners engage with peers, faculty, and the Catholic postsecondary environment is a critical step in expanding outreach to potential adult students. Using data from the 2019 administration of the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) Senior Survey, this quantitative ex post facto correlational study sought to determine whether and how levels of engagement in educationally purposeful activities predict self-reported learning gains among adult undergraduates at Catholic postsecondary institutions. Results showed that adult learners hold many characteristics distinguishing them from younger peers and that they engage differently with faculty, peers, and the college environment. Regression analyses showed that certain engagement indicators may predict self-reported learning gains in solving complex real-world problems, interacting with individuals from backgrounds different than one's own, and gaining work-related knowledge or skills. Scholars and practitioners at Catholic postsecondary institutions should consider these findings as they seek ways to recruit and educate adult learners from diverse backgrounds.

PHD, Kent State University, 2023, College of Business and Entrepreneurship, Ambassador Crawford / Department of Management and Information Systems

One of the most prolific research streams in individual level information systems (IS) research has been the study of technology adoption and use. The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM; Davis, 1989) has set the stage for much of the current study of technology adoption. Over the years, other theories such as the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT; Venkatesh et al., 2003) have improved upon TAM by incorporating additional key factors, but the goal has always remained the same: improving our understanding of factors impacting technology adoption. Research such as Jasperson et al. (2005) has pushed the research agenda further towards a more holistic view of technology use, by incorporating post-adoption behaviors such as the exploration and adaptation of particular technology features (e.g., Sun, 2012). Later researchers (e.g., Ahuja & Thatcher, 2005; Carter et al., 2020; Maruping & Magni, 2015; Sun, 2012) have investigated the exploration, exploitation, adaptation, and extension of IT features to better understand how individuals innovate with IT. Other researchers have studied IS use through the lenses of cognitive absorption (Agarwal & Karahanna, 2000), mindfulness (Thatcher et al., 2018), and flow (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990). My dissertation seeks to further contribute to the post-adoption literature, by specifically investigating how individuals and groups engage with technology. In the first essay, I investigate the current state of the engagement literature and summarize the key areas of research including two major literature streams (Khan, 1990; O'Brian and Toms, 2008). The key findings from this review point towards an incomplete understanding of individual level engagement in the literature, and an almost desolate research stream on group level engagement. I then propose a comprehensive model for simultaneously investigating engagement at both the individual and group levels with both a focal task and the technology used to support it. T (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Education, Ashland University, 2020, College of Education

This dissertation explores the leadership strategies that, according to those interviewed, are most successful for engaging with a multigenerational workforce. Current research shows the multifaceted dynamics of multiple generations on a single team; each generation places value on different behaviors and attitudes in the workplace which impacts engagement (Bano, Vyas, & Gupta, 2015; Barbuto, Fritz, Matkin, & Marx, 2007; Becton, Walker, & Jones-Farmer, 2014; Pitt-Catsouphes & Matz-Costa, 2008; Twenge & Campbell, 2008). Due to these differences, various generational cohorts require specific leadership styles to support full engagement, requiring leaders to understand how to manage a multigenerational workforce in a way that engages each individual and increase engagement (Becton et al., 2014; Pitt-Catsouphes & Matz-Costa, 2009). This dissertation utilized Strauss-Howe Generational Cohort theory, Kahn's engagement theory, and Mannheim's Generation theory for the framework for the study (Howe & Strauss, 1991; Kahn, 1990; Mannheim, 1952). The qualitative study provides an understanding of the difference between various generational cohorts and how successful leaders effectively increase engagement and outlines which leadership strategies are most successful when engaging with a multigenerational workforce.

Doctor of Education (Educational Leadership), Youngstown State University, 2020, Department of Teacher Education and Leadership Studies

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between student engagement and institutional strategies at Youngstown State University using National Survey for Student Engagement (NSSE) data collected by the Office of Assessment for the years of 2010, 2013, 2016 and 2018. A longitudinal analysis was conducted to determine if there was a statistically significant difference in the level of student engagement between 2010 and 2013 (pre-Student Experience) and 2016 and 2018 (with-Student Experience). The study also examined differences within student types (nontraditional, LGBTQI, students of color, international, commuter and residential students) and engagement outcomes. Thirty-six questions, from the NSSE survey, were identified which correlated to motivation, engagement, participation, academic participation, demographics, and strategy. Results revealed no change in engagement, motivation, and participation based on the institutional strategies for 2010, 2013, 2016, and 2018. However, when comparing results from 2010 and 2013 (pre-Student Experience) and 2016 and 2018 (with-Student Experience) there was a significant increase in pre-graduation engagement for with-Student Experience based on the NSSE data. Additional results showed that when grouping NSSE questions by categories different student types responded to engagement strategies differently.

Master of Arts, University of Akron, 2016, Theatre Arts-Arts Administration

The purpose of this study is to explore audience engagement efforts by local arts organizations, Neos Dance Theatre and Summit Choral Society, to determine the most impactful strategies for building and sustaining audiences for New World Performance Laboratory. This thesis also discusses the definition of development and engagement strategies in the 21st century, relationship between arts and community, and motivations and barriers related to arts attendance in order to obtain a broader knowledge of audience engagement. The strategies learned from local arts organizations may inspire other arts organizations to develop more creative strategies and to enrich the arts in the Akron community.

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), University of Dayton, 2014, Educational Leadership

The number of students with disabilities accessing higher education continues to increase, yet persistence and graduation rates for this population of students are considerably lower than those of students without disabilities. Previous research suggests that a key factor in improving post-secondary outcomes is increasing the level with which students engage in educationally purposeful activities on college campuses. It is with this in mind that this study set out to examine the connection between disability type and student engagement using data from the 2009-2010 administration of the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE). Four purposes guided this study. First, this study aimed to build a profile of students with disabilities at baccalaureate higher education institutions. The second purpose was to determine whether the four disability categories (sensory, mobility, learning, and mental) identified in The College Student Report relate to responses to questions in the five NSSE benchmarks of effective educational practice (Level of Academic Challenge, Active and Collaborative Learning, Student-Faculty Interaction, Enriching Educational Experiences, Supportive Campus Environment), as well as institutional enrollment size. The third purpose was to determine how well disability category, age, gender, race/ethnicity, and enrollment size of the institution predicted student engagement for part-time and full-time, first-year students. The final purpose was to examine how well disability category, age, gender, race/ethnicity, and enrollment size of the institution predicted student engagement for part-time and full-time, senior-level students. The samples consisted of 361 part-time and 5,927 full-time, first-year students, as well as 1,197 part-time and 6,016 full-time, senior-level students with disabilities at four-year baccalaureate higher education institutions. Pearson correlation analyses results indicated that relationships did exist between (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2010, EDU Policy and Leadership

A quasi-experiment was carried out in a college success strategies course to evaluate the impact of structured interpersonal interaction on undergraduate students' Academic Engagement and Academic Achievement. The course, EPL 259: Individual Learning and Motivation, employs a blended learning instructional model – Active Discovery and Participation through Technology (ADAPT; Tuckman, 2002) – that requires students to spend the majority of class time working independently on online activities. In the quasi-experiment, students in six treatment sections were exposed to some combination of two types of interpersonal interaction: Student-Student Interaction and Student-Instructor Interaction. Student-Student Interaction was facilitated in two different formats: (1) through in-class, cooperative learning activities, and (2) through online, asynchronous discussion board activities. Two sections of EPL 259 received the first Student-Student Interaction format, two sections received the second format, and two sections received neither format. In addition, in each of these three pairs of sections, one section also received Student-Instructor Interaction, facilitated through weekly, one-on-one meetings between each student and his or her instructor. The desired outcomes, Academic Engagement and Academic Achievement, were each measured in two ways. Academic Engagement was measured: (1) through analysis of data on students' course-related behaviors, including rates of attendance, tardiness, submission of assignments, and late submission of papers, and (2) through students' scores on a multifactor survey of course engagement. Academic Achievement was measured: (1) through total points earned on written assignments and online activities, and (2) through grades on the comprehensive final examination. A series of Analyses of Covariance (ANCOVAs), utilizing participants' Prior Cumulative GPA and measures of Conscientiousness and Extraversion as covariates, was carried out to assess (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2008, Leadership Studies

The purpose of the present study was to explore relationships between personality and engagement among human services professionals and paraprofessionals. In particular, the present study investigated relationships between the five factor model of personality (FFM) and William Kahn's model of employee engagement encompassing physical (energy, effort), emotional (enthusiasm, pride), and cognitive (concentration, focus) components. The independent variables were five personality traits: need for stability (tolerance to stress, tendency to worry), extraversion (sociability, enthusiasm, energy), originality (imagination, complexity, tolerance to “newness”), accommodation (service orientation, comfort with “not having one's way”), and consolidation (focus, concentration, discipline). These traits were measured by the WorkPlace Big Five ProFile™ or WPB5 (Howard and Howard, 2001). The dependent variable was employee engagement as measured by Bruce Rich's (2006) Job Engagement Survey (JES).The present study sought to answer the following four questions: a) What is the strength and direction of the relationships between the five factors of personality and employee engagement, b) what is the combination of personality trait scores that best predicts engagement, c) what are the differences in employee engagement across the personalities of employees in the three organizations, and d) what are the differences in employee engagement across the personalities and between the paraprofessionals and professionals. A single survey combining the WPB5 and the JES questions was electronically mailed to 890 human services professionals employed by three social services agencies in the Midwest of the United States. A total of 420 surveys were returned, with an overall response rate of 47 percent. The results of the present study suggested that two personality traits are significant predictors of engagement: extraversion and consolidation. These two traits were also positively correlate (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Nursing Practice, Mount St. Joseph University , 2024, Department of Nursing

In 2022, an engagement survey showed that a local organization's regional float pool was low. This quality improvement project examines whether implementing a unit-based council for the regional float pool will affect nurse engagement scores and improve patient satisfaction. A pre-and post-survey, prior to implementation of the unit-based council and after implementation, was given, and it had a 4-point Likert scale. Additionally, patient satisfaction scores regarding nurses' communication were evaluated pre- and post-implementation using results from an established patient survey routinely used by the hospital system. This project contributes to the existing literature that supports the implementation of unit-based councils and improved nurse engagement and patient satisfaction.

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

This study empirically investigated correlations between work engagement and transfer interest. The study examined the two variables and their respective disaggregated dimensions. The study involved 69 faculty (29) and staff (40) from five K-12 nonprofit schools in the Tanzanian cities of Dar es Salaam, Dodoma, and Arusha. Data were collected online using two previously validated self-report assessment instruments: Gegenfurtner et al's (2020) 10-item Transfer Interest Questionnaire (TIQ) and Utrecht's 9-item Work Engagement Scale (UWES) (Seppala et al, 2020). Of the 165 eligible participants,101 respondents consented to participate in the study. After deleting the incomplete responses, a sample of 69 remained. Data were transferred from Qualtrics to Excel for analysis. The dissertation supervisor used t-tests to assess whether there were significant differences between faculty and staff regarding work engagement and transfer interest, then performed Pearson correlation analysis to assess linear relationships among the variables. Hypotheses 1, 2, and 3 were supported by the data, while hypotheses 4 and 5 were partially supported. There was no significant difference between faculty and staff on either dedication or vigor, while faculty were significantly more absorbed than staff. Training content and interest in training transfer were each positively correlated with both vigor and dedication, but not with absorption.

Doctor of Education , University of Dayton, 2023, Educational Administration

The focus of this study is on commuter students in higher education. Commuter students make up a majority of today's college campuses so focusing on their success is key to running a successful institution. Commuter students are not getting involved in campus activities and rarely utilizing campus resources. Commuter students can be described as low in engagement which predicts relatively poorer academic and graduation outcomes. The goal of this project is to learn more about the barriers and disincentives to commuter student engagement.

Doctor of Education , University of Dayton, 2023, Educational Administration

The purpose of this study is to identify and evaluate how organizations are able to create a sense of community and support teams within remote work environments, especially within times of crisis. The study emphasizes the need for BAC Consulting leadership teams to assess and understand the demographic and cultural makeup of the organization as a means for determining its specific needs. Details from BAC Consulting Baseline Sustainment team members' lived experiences will also be gathered to gain an understanding of the individual and collective challenges they have faced as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The goal of the study is to aid in the fostering of a sustainable partnership between employees and leadership as they work to improve employee engagement and create a thriving organizational culture. This qualitative participatory action research study will add to the developing knowledge base while also being a useful tool for administrators interested in making impactful organizational change during times of crises. This study utilized Funds of Knowledge (FoK) and William Kahn's Theory of Employee Engagement as guiding frameworks for improving the employee experience and creating a greater sense of belonging. To collect relevant qualitative data, participants in the study were interviewed individually and also contributed to a working group session. The results were analyzed and common themes were identified. The information was valuable in developing an effective action plan and organizational checklist. These tools were designed to aid in fostering organizational change by providing greater access to training and company resources while increasing employee engagement and team collaboration.

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

During the COVID-19 pandemic, organizations around the world began encouraging the maximization of telework opportunities. As a result of this increased shift in working environments, managerial staff developed concerns associated with how the personality traits of current and future employees might impact their job engagement levels. This research study uses the Big Five personality traits of openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism, to predict how engaged employees are in cognitive, emotional, and physical dimensions of employee engagement. Even when the pandemic declared to be over, managers within the education, healthcare, and government industries (among many others) continue to grapple with what may become the “new normal” for the modern-day workforce. A quantitative approach was used to design a survey that incorporated a combination of the Big Five Inventory (BFI) and Job Engagement Scale (JES) and was deployed for data collection among various professional organizations. The findings of this study suggest positive correlations between the five personality traits and the three dimensions of employee engagement. The results of all five research questions indicate that there is a statistically significant relationship between the dependent and independent variables, ultimately concluding that openness has a positive correlation with cognitive engagement, conscientiousness has a positive correlation with cognitive engagement, extraversion has a positive correlation with physical engagement, agreeableness has a positive correlation with cognitive engagement, and low neuroticism has a positive correlation with emotional engagement.

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

Employee wellbeing is an important construct that can affect several organization-wide outcomes. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of one potential predictor of wellbeing, namely recognition. This study also examined if employee engagement moderated the relationship between recognition and wellbeing. It was hypothesized that participants in the recognition conditions would report significantly higher levels of wellbeing than those in the control condition. It was also hypothesized that engagement would moderate the relationship between recognition and wellbeing, such that this relationship would be stronger for participants high on engagement. Participants were first given a measure of engagement and were then randomly assigned to one of four scripts depicting a conversation with a hypothetical manager in which they were received one of four conditions of recognition: two forms of recognition (acknowledgement and gratitude), only acknowledgement, only gratitude, or neither form of recognition. Then, they completed a measure of wellbeing based on the interaction they read about with their hypothetical manager, as well as a demographics form. Finally, they were debriefed. Results showed that participants who received recognition did not report significantly higher wellbeing than those who did not receive recognition, and that engagement did not significantly moderate this relationship. However, engagement was positively and significantly related to wellbeing. These findings suggest that a simple “thank you” or “good job” statement may not be enough to enhance wellbeing, and that managers should focus on increasing employee engagement instead. Nevertheless, future research should be conducted to re-examine these relationships using employees in an actual organization that has an existing recognition program.

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2023, Educational Studies

The publication of the Family Engagement Core Competencies by the National Association for Family, School, and Community Engagement in 2022 provided a body of knowledge of the work of educators engaging with families, a domain not well-understood previously. Situated in the pandemic recovery phase in U.S. education, this dissertation study aimed to explore the nature of efficacy beliefs of educators in family engagement, a latent construct grounded in social cognitive theory. To achieve this aim, a survey measure was developed, and an interpretation and use argument (IUA) anchored the process of the validation of the interpretation and use of its scores. The study was conducted in five phases. In the first phase, the Family Engagement Efficacy Beliefs of Educators (FEEB-E) survey was drafted based on a review of literature, existing instruments, and subject-matter expert and user feedback. In the second phase, the FEEB-E was piloted with a national sample of educators, and exploratory factor, parallel, and reliability analyses were conducted. In the third phase, the FEEB-E was revised based on findings from the pilot study. In the fourth phase, the FEEB-E was administered to a sample of teachers in two Ohio urban school districts, and confirmatory factor, correlation, and reliability analyses were conducted. In the fifth phase, the IUA was constructed, and the appropriateness of the interpretation and use of the scores from the FEEB-E was determined. The study found that survey items were valid for interpretation as representative of their target domain of self-efficacy beliefs for family engagement. There were no extraneous sources of variability in wording of items and directions, order of items, or the scoring scale. The survey items measured the intended population by reflecting a range of efficacy beliefs around multiple dimensions of family engagement and did so reliably (α = .917). Further, the FEEB-E was found to be valid for use as a research instrum (open full item for complete abstract)

Doctor of Healthcare Administration (D.H.A.), Franklin University, 2023, Health Programs

Employee engagement seems to be at the core of employee productivity and organizational success. Healthcare organizations that lack employee engagement often experience adverse impacts on employee satisfaction and organizational outcomes. This dissertation was an exploration of how executive leadership drives employee engagement in a managed care organization. Semi-structured, qualitative interviews were conducted with 26 executive leaders within a population of 250 executive leadership staff employed at a large managed care organization within the United States. The study examines employee engagement from an executive leadership perspective to understand how their attitudes may influence employee engagement. Findings revealed key insights regarding leaders' perceptions of employee engagement.

Ph.D., Antioch University, 2022, Leadership and Change

The purpose of this concurrent mixed-methods study is to explore the use of student engagement and cocurricular student philanthropy education as an approach to awareness raising and as a mechanism for creating a culture of philanthropy among college students. This dissertation is a synthesis of the review with a consensus that student engagement and cocurricular student philanthropy education create greater awareness, learning, and intentions around philanthropy and prosocial behavior, as well as increased instances of making charitable contributions and civic engagement. The study concludes that student engagement and cocurricular philanthropy education are effective mechanisms for creating a culture of giving. Therefore, emerging from this study is a call for college and universities to consider the use of cocurricular student philanthropy education as an approach to life-long engagement and giving. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA (https://aura.antioch.edu) and OhioLINK ETD Center, (https://etd.ohiolink.edu).

MS, University of Cincinnati, 2022, Medicine: Clinical and Translational Research

Background: Learning health networks are thought to improve outcomes by enabling all stakeholders to collaborate in the common goal of improving health and care. An important mechanism of action is creation and sharing of resources so that more people can get what is needed, when it's needed, to act in ways that improves health and health care. We hypothesize that as patients and families engage at a high-level in the network, resources are created. Methods: We evaluated the relationship between resources and engagement in ImproveCareNow, a pediatric inflammatory bowel disease learning health network. We counted patient and family directed resources from imporvecarenow.org, newsletters, and community conferences from August 2017 to December 2021 and used existing behavioral indicators of engagement to track the number of highly engaged patients and families during this time period. Results: Both resources and patient and family engagement increased in ImproveCareNow. There is an association between new resources and new high-level engagement with a cross-correlation of 0.38 at a 1-month lag. This cross-correlation is not significant when excluding community conference sessions. A mean(±sd) of 17.2±8.8 patients and family members were highly engaged in the network per new resource. Conclusions: New resource production and new high-level patient and family engagement are associated in a learning health network, and community conferences are an important factor in the association. Networks need to have many highly engaged patients and family members for new resource production. Further study is needed to determine ways in which individual patients and family members act to produce resources over time.

Bachelor of Arts, Walsh University, 2022, Honors

Each year social media usage increases which creates new opportunities for marketers to promote their products and brands. Sports teams and athletes are joining social media platforms and creating their own unique accounts (Cooper, 2015). Fans and followers, new and old, are discovering these teams and athletes while building relationships (Kentrin, 2020). Social media has also proven to be a useful tool in building two-way relationships between teams and spectators (Joanna & Zuzanna, 2020). This has also reigned true in building a team or personal athlete brand (Witz, 2020). Through different sports marketing social media strategies, marketers are learning how to engage fans, increase attendance, and stand apart from other teams (O'Hallarn et al., 2016). The manner in which a fan behaves and engages with different teams and athletes is influenced by social interactions, deals, promotions, giveaways, and relationships with teams and athletes (Fink et al., 2002; Perrault, 2016). Through new applications (apps), athletes and fans are spending more time online (Samet, 2020). These apps allow fans to witness new sides to athletes and teams through increased content which, consequently, helps form connections between fans and athletes (Sharpe et al., 2020). This research analyzed the relationships between teams' and leagues' social media presence on fan behavior by conducting in-depth one-on-one interviews with professionals working in the sports industry at the professional and collegiate levels. A total of eight professionals were interviewed from eight different sports. Questions asked specifically addressed how social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok have affected ticket sales, fan attendance/tune-in rates, engagement, brand loyalty, and merchandise purchases. Using content analysis, best practices were determined for increasing engagement and fan behavior and understanding the relationships crea (open full item for complete abstract)