Browsing by Subject "Qualitative"
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Item Behavioral Aspects of Supply Chain Integration: Macro and Micro Level Perspectives(2014-08-08) Verghese, Anto JohnSupply chain integration (SCI) among customers and suppliers is widely touted as a panacea that can resolve a variety of supply chain challenges and create new opportunities. Yet, there is little understanding about SCI. My first research question pertains to identifying the idiosyncratic behavioral nuances associated with SCI. I employ Grounded Theory (GT) methodology to analyze data obtained from interviews with individuals at seven companies. This work suggests that firms engaging in SCI exhibit a set of six behavioral patterns, which vary in degree. I then conjecture that SCI might exist at three different levels: coordination, collaboration, and internalization. Furthermore, very few studies have examined SCI?s antecedents from the supplier?s standpoint. I examine the role of customer leadership behavior which has hardly been the subject of empirical inquiry in this domain. I also empirically study the operant sequence that relates customer leadership behavior to SCI. I develop a theoretical framework and test it using data obtained from 207 firms via survey methodology. My results suggest that a customer?s transformational leadership behavior appears to positively influence trust which impacts affective commitment. Affective commitment is found to engender high levels of SCI. Also, the extant empirical research on SCI is examined from an organizational, and rather impersonal level, as if an invisible hand calls the shots. The role of individual in decision making in largely ignored. I synthesize the Behavioral Agency Model (BAM) and Behavioral Approach and Inhibition Model (BAIM), specify two variables (i.e., Variability in Pay and Socioemotional Wealth) as potential explanatory variables of executive decision making. The main findings reported in this study are based on 125 usable responses obtained by employing a 2x2 experimental design. I find evidence to suggest that only the main effect of variability in pay is positive and statistically significant. This suggests that individuals experiencing high levels of variability in pay are more likely to seek the highest level of SCI A post-hoc analysis, which involved splitting the sample by age (i.e., low & high) groups, yielded interesting findings as the results varied significantly between the two age groups.Item Challenges impacting professional capacity to assess the social-emotional functioning of deaf and hard of hearing youth : a qualitative study(2014-12) Schoffstall, Sarah Joanna; Cawthon, Stephanie W.The role of the practitioner assessing social-emotional functioning of deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) youth is complex and requires extensive cultural, linguistic, and educational training. The range of required competencies, the insufficient number of professionals currently in practice, the dire need for service provision, and the ultimate influence of service provision on youth functioning merit deeper exploration of the challenges faced while assessing social-emotional functioning. This study employs a grounded theory approach to analyze semi-structured interview data from 13 school- and community-based professionals to explore challenges related to the assessment and conceptualization of social-emotional functioning of DHH youth. Seven key categories emerged from the data: challenges in early training and supervision, challenges in gathering sufficient background information, dual challenges in employing specialized assessment and therapy techniques, challenges in writing descriptions of youth functioning, challenges in working with interpreters, and the need for professional support. Future directions and implications for future generations of practitioners are discussed.Item Clinical Continuing Professional Education in Dental Hygiene Practice Using Kolb?s Experiential Learning Theory(2014-07-29) Henson, Harold AlonsoThe purpose of this qualitative study was to understand how learning is facilitated in a dental hygiene clinical continuing education course designed using Kolb?s experiential learning model. This study assessed the effectiveness of an experiential learning model of continuing professional education (CPE) for dental hygienists. A complimentary one-day, six-hour, hands-on clinical dental hygiene continuing education course on ultrasonic instrumentation was presented to 25 registered dental hygienists. Twelve participants were interviewed in the two weeks following the course; these interviews were audio-taped and transcribed. Designing a CPE course using Kolb?s model of learning proved to be effective because participants reflected upon their past practice, were introduced to new information, and then were asked to develop an action plan to implement what they had learned. Three findings emerged from the study. First, designing an interactive CPE format by taking the participants through their past, present, and future proved to be an excellent teaching method. Second, communities of practice played a crucial role in solidifying their learning. And third, there are barriers encountered when trying to implement what is learned from CPE programs when dentistry governs the practice of dental hygiene. This study concluded by presenting a series of recommendations to assist CPE providers in incorporating Kolb?s experiential learning theory into CPE courses.Item Data-driven decision making in physical education : a case study(2014-05) Dauenhauer, Brian Daniel; Keating, Xiaofen; Lambdin, Dolly, 1951-The purpose of this study was to explore the data-driven decision making process within the context of K-12 physical education. Although the topic has received extraordinary attention in other areas of education, it has yet to be investigated directly in physical education settings. A conceptual framework proposed by Mandinach, Honey, Light, and Brunner (2008) guided the investigation. Using a multi-site case study design, one school district previously awarded a Carol M. White Physical Education Program Grant served as the overarching case and eight schools within the district served as embedded cases. Eight physical education teachers, three district coordinators, one principal, and one school counselor participated in the study. Evidence was gathered through interviews, observations, documents, archival records, and artifacts. Analytic strategies such as pattern matching, examining rival explanations, and drawing diagrams were utilized to generate common themes within the data. Overall, findings indicated that physical education teachers collected substantial amounts of physical activity and fitness data aligned with policy requirements, often at the expense of data related to other important teaching domains. Evidence also indicated that teachers rarely transformed collected data into actionable knowledge. It seemed as though teachers were only collecting data because they were required to and held little value in the data once they were collected. Teachers reported that the data collection process was time-consuming and challenges associated with pedometers and information management systems served as barriers to the collection/organization process. In addition, professional development was not utilized to help teachers use data for effective teaching as district coordinators had limited access to teachers on designated professional development days. It is important to note that teachers had substantial concerns surrounding the validity and reliability of the data that were collected. This likely contributed to the low value that was placed upon data. Based upon the findings, ten recommendations for the enhancement of the DDDM process in physical education were generated. One of the most important recommendations is to provide physical education teachers with support in developing data literacy skills so they can take full advantage of the data they collect for the benefit of student learning.Item Defining the role and experiences of service-learning faculty : a qualitative study at The University of Texas at Austin(2014-05) Ortego Pritchett, Katie Elizabeth; Reddick, Richard, 1972-Over the past two decades researchers have analyzed motivating factors and institutional barriers that influenced a professor's initial decision to utilize a service-learning pedagogy. The majority of this research has been quantitative in nature, surveying faculty members' initial attitudes around service-learning. However, the extant literature fails to qualitatively examine the experiences of faculty members who successfully integrate service-learning, especially at a public research institution with civic-engaged mission. Because a public institution relies upon a critical mass of faculty members to support its civic engagement mission, this study focused on explaining the lived experience of exemplar professors in service-learning to understanding their motivations, barriers, and experiences. Faculty members are important to study because service-learning is a form of community engagement that cannot happen without sustainable efforts from professors. Moreover, students and communities cannot derive the benefits of service-learning, nor can civically minded institutions achieve their goal, if faculty members do not incorporate service-learning into their classrooms. Thus, the purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study is to understand the experiences of service-learning faculty members at a four-year public research institution where community engagement is a stated priority. Utilizing a recently developed faculty engagement model (Demb & Wade, 2012) as the guiding theoretical framework, this research study seeks to understand the lived experience of faculty members at The University of Texas at Austin by inquiring 1) how faculty members implement meaningful community engagement through their service-learning classes, 2) how service-learning may shape a faculty members' professional and personal identity at a research institution, and 3) how service-learning fits into faculty members' larger scholarship agenda.Item The dual credit teaching experience on high school and college campuses from the perspective of community college faculty(2012-05) Hinds, David Meade; Roueche, John E.; Ellis, Martha M.; Reddick, Richard J.; Holme, Jennifer J.; Eastin, Matthew S.Hundreds of thousands of students earn credit toward both high school and college each year through dual credit programs. This research project used qualitative methods to elicit the story, the shared reality, of faculty who spend their time with these students. It is an important story to tell as legislators, community college and public school administrators, parents, and students are motivated to see these programs not only continue, but grow. System influence diagrams (SIDs) depicting the dual credit teaching experience on high school and college campuses were developed for two separate groups of community college faculty. The models were used for comparing the high school and college dual credit teaching environments. The results of this study support other research, suggesting there are important differences between the high school and college environments when teaching dual credit students. From an overall perspective, faculty found the community college campus environment superior to teaching on the high school campus for reasons related to facilities and technology, a sense of belonging in the larger organization, and the integration of dual credit students into a more traditional college environment.Item Ethnic identity in health care: Intercultural health communication and physician-patient satisfaction(2006-12) Brown, Jacquee Denise; Scholl, Juliann C.; Olaniran, Bolanle A.; Hughes, Patrick C.The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of ethnic identity on how physicians and patients communicate in the medical interview based on the tenets of the Communication Theory of Identity. Both the physicians and the patients responded to survey measures to determine their effectiveness using intercultural communication as well as their relative levels of satisfaction with these interpersonal encounters. Only some of the physicians and patients were willing to admit that they openly display their ethnic identities in the medical interview. Most of the participants chose not to acknowledge the importance of ethnic identity in these interactions, or they only focus on the impact of communication without ethnicity.Item Exiting poverty: Experiences of resilient Mexican American women(2006-12) Bowman, Victoria L.; Caldera, Yvonne M.; Sharp, Elizabeth A.; Mulsow, MiriamThe primary purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of Mexican American women who self-identified that as children they grew up in poverty and as adults transitioned to the middle class. Through semi-structured interviews, the phenomenological experience of this transition was addressed. Not much is known about individuals who exit poverty and even less is known about Mexican American women who do so. This study thus expands the literature on resilience, ethnic minority groups, and Mexican American women. The present study explores individual, familial, and societal factors, operating and embedded, in the process of exiting poverty. Six Mexican American women between the ages of thirty six and fifty one were interviewed about their experiences and interpretations of their exit from poverty into middle class life. The women were asked to respond to the question, "What was your experience getting out of poverty?" The women's experiences of exiting poverty were interpreted using an interpretive phenomenological analysis. Several themes emerged: the importance of education in making this transition, belief and reliance on God and faith, and teachings from parents/family. Additionally, the women talked about being determined, going against the norm, and making conscious decisions to change their lives. This study therefore illustrates that the women, despite hardships, made the journey from poverty into the middle class.Item "It's like I’m on human layaway" : commitment and marital decisions among long-term heteroseuxal cohabiters(2012-08) Maldonado, Amias Shanti; González-López, Gloria; Christine, Williams L.What keeps long term cohabitating couples together? I began to ask this question as I noticed more and more heterosexual people living together in long term committed relationships outside of marriage. Social commentators have decried cohabitating couples as less committed than married couples, and some research has agreed with this view, yet I personally had not seen this to be the case. As a response to this contradiction, I engage with the overall research question by exploring cohabitation and marriage decisions among ten long term heterosexual cohabitating couples as well as how the construct of commitment operates in their daily lives through a series of individual in-depth interviews. Through their stories, I situate long term heterosexual cohabitation as an outcome of a complex web of motivations, reasons, and rationales that share much in common with all cohabitating couples. I find commitment to be highly valued by these couples and produced through daily processes that bring couples closer together and heighten the cost of ending the relationship, thereby elucidating the socio-cultural factors that make long term cohabitating couples feel like they’re “already married.” By asking couples about their household division of labor and their attitudes towards marriage, I also engage with research that points to long term cohabitating couples as sites of gender egalitarianism. While these couples were more egalitarian in their housework, this was not necessarily a product of a particular affinity for gender equality. Furthermore, the ways in which they spoke about housework as well as the ways they valued marriage and weddings demonstrate that traditional gender roles still play an influential role in intercouple interactions. In the final chapter, I offer a theoretical way forward for future research on heterosexual cohabitation and identify gaps in the research that this study helps to identify.Item Mr and Mrs: How 'I Do' Impacts Physical Activity in Married Individuals(2012-07-16) Michel, Kacy L.This dissertation presents three separate studies designed to investigate the relationship between marriage and physical activity behavior. First, a systematic literature review of nineteen articles presents qualitative and quantitative articles from 2000 to 2010 that focus on the relationship between marriage and physical activity and/or exercise. Based on the findings from the review, social support (or lack of support), culturally-determined gender roles, environmental factors such as income level, and intrapersonal factors such as self-efficacy each influenced spousal physical activity. Secondly, a qualitative study based on interviews and photographs from twenty-four married individuals utilized Social Cognitive Theory to explore the mechanisms, determinants, and influences of spousal physical activity. Findings indicate verbal persuasion by husbands encouraged wives, yet verbal persuasion by wives was perceived as nagging by men. While verbal persuasion by husbands increased a small number of wives' sense of self-efficacy, the majority of women felt that persuasion increased motivation, not necessarily confidence. Findings also highlighted the power of modeling to increase husbands' physical activity. Overwhelmingly, men reacted more positively to modeling than verbal persuasion. Lastly, a second qualitative piece employed General Systems Theory to conceive of the marital unit as a type of system working within other broader systems. Findings highlighted the desire for increased quality time as a motivator for physical activity within the marital system. Also, the larger cultural, occupational, and familial systems greatly influenced marital dyads. Cultural expectations to be the primary caregiver negatively impacted wives while occupational pressures negatively influenced both parts of the marital dyad. Regarding the familial system, parents cited the influence of their own parents as well as a desire to "pass on" exemplary physical activity habits to their children. Finally, couples with children highlighted an increase in exercise frequency yet decrease in exercise intensity.Item Qualitative descriptive study of Mexican Americans health-seeking experience during myocardial infarction(2013-12) Sanderson, Jennifer Dawn MaLyssa; Carter, Patricia A.Premature death due to cardiovascular disease, including myocardial infarction, is higher in Hispanics (23.5%) than non-Hispanic White (16.5%) adults. Delaying treatment over 60 minutes increases the risk of sudden death by 50%. The purpose of this study was to describe the perceived benefits and barriers to seeking cardiac emergency care including emergency medical services (EMS) activation during an acute myocardial infarction (MI) in Mexican American adults. A qualitative descriptive design was used wherein semi-structured interviews and sociodemographic questionnaire were conducted with 12 Mexican Americans who had experienced an MI in the last two years. Qualitative conventional content analysis was used to uncover unique perceptions of Mexican Americans seeking emergency care. The overall theme that arose was degree of perceived threat leads to action. This theme was comprised five categories: perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived barriers, perceived benefits, and learned behavior. Perceived severity was closely intertwined with perceived susceptibility. Recent appointments with HCPs facilitated low perceived susceptibility to an MI and acted as a barrier leading to ix decreased initiation of emergency services for MI. Participants attempted self-treatment and evaluation which was a barrier to immediate emergency care. Perceived benefits to initiation of emergency care were using EMS to achieve rapid treatment of MI symptoms. Though several participants initially stated they would activate EMS, further inquiry revealed calling EMS was considered a last resort if the participant were alone. The findings suggest education of lay people and HCPs needs to emphasize that MIs can present in a variety of ways from slow-onset to fast-onset. A goal for nursing practice is to include regular screening on cardiac risk factors along with interventions and evaluation among patients and family. Future research should aim at finding the most successful format to provide public education to Mexican Americans on MI symptom and rapid initiation of EMS.Item Sexually active adolescents: Breaking their silence(2007-08) Sherley, Lauren E.; Zvonkovic, Anisa M.; Sharp, Elizabeth A.; Bell, Nancy J.The purpose of this study was to evaluate how communication occurs between adolescent sexual partners about the prevention of pregnancy and/or sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Grounded theory methodology was utilized to conduct qualitative interviews and then analyze the results. Analysis revealed five main categories that influenced how such communication occurred, including: reasons for communication, topics of conversation, communication technique, level of communication over time, and seriousness of the relationship. The seriousness of the relationship was the main theme and was found to be most influential in determining how and when communication about pregnancy/STI prevention occurred. Discussion in the study relates these categories to the existing literature and provides implications based on the findings of the study that will be important to the sexual health of the adolescent and young adult population.Item Teacher perceptions of the needs of preschool students with autism(Texas Tech University, 2006-12) Brown, Donna; Lock, Robin; Hendricks, Bret; Layton, Carol A.The purpose of this study was to examine the perceptions of preschool special education teachers regarding the needs of their young students with autism within the classroom. The study provided helpful information to those who are responsible for providing training and support to the self-contained Preschool Program for Children with Disability (PPCD) teachers and PPCD Head Start inclusion specialists within the public school systems. The perceptions examined include student characteristics within the classroom setting, how well prepared the teachers feel to provide appropriate programming for young students with autism, and what supports they feel are, or would be, helpful to them. The results provided valuable, enlightening information from the "field" regarding the perceptions of teachers about their young students with autism. This qualitative case study examined teacher perceptions within one school system. Information was gathered using personal, paper-based interviews, classroom observations, and photographs of teaching materials and classroom arrangements. "The use of qualitative case study enables researchers to let others hear their participants' voices" (Mendaglio, 2003, p. 163). The research focused on uncovering the "lived experiences" of teachers of young students with autism. The overriding themes that emerged from the research were very similar to the information that was addressed in the current literature. The prevailing themes regarding the needs of young students with autism within the classroom setting were: Language and Communication; Behavior; Sensory issues; Need for Structure and Predictability; Individualized Attention and Instruction; Social and Self-Help skills and, Inclusion Opportunities. Four themes emerged from the questions regarding the challenges that the teachers face in meeting the needs of the students in their classrooms. These issues included: Time; Behaviors; Staffing; and, Teacher Stress – with the potential for burn-out. Three overriding themes emerged from the interviews regarding supports that the teachers feel they need to meet the needs of young student with autism: the need for additional training, including access to the training; the need for more and better classroom technology, and the need for various types of systematic support from educational specialists and administrators.Item Teen pregnancy in Mexican American girls(2005-08) Aguero-Reyes, Zenaida Victoria; Caldera, Yvonne M.; Bell, Nancy J.; Reifman, AlanThe study explored Mexican-American adolescent girls’ feelings and thoughts about factors that contributed to teen pregnancy. Eight girls were recruited in West Texas city. The ages of the teens were 16-20. Brofenbrenner was used as a framework to classify the themes that emerged from the transcripts. The themes were organized under the microsystem and macrosystem. The results indicated that they did not plan on having a baby that it was an unplanned event. Although some parents did provide information regarding contraception, they still made the choice not to continue to take them. There is discussion on how her development of adolescence attributes to her unplanned pregnancy.Item Teen pregnancy in Mexican American girls(Texas Tech University, 2005-08) Aguero-Reyes, Zenaida Victoria; Caldera, Yvonne M.; Bell, Nancy J.; Reifman, AlanThe study explored Mexican-American adolescent girls’ feelings and thoughts about factors that contributed to teen pregnancy. Eight girls were recruited in West Texas city. The ages of the teens were 16-20. Brofenbrenner was used as a framework to classify the themes that emerged from the transcripts. The themes were organized under the microsystem and macrosystem. The results indicated that they did not plan on having a baby that it was an unplanned event. Although some parents did provide information regarding contraception, they still made the choice not to continue to take them. There is discussion on how her development of adolescence attributes to her unplanned pregnancy.Item The impact of mentoring on female acience and engineering faculty members(2009-05) Hartin, Laura A.; Dunham, Charlotte C.; Wasserman, JasonThe culture of science and engineering is a masculine one (Robinson and McIlwee 1991). A preliminary set of interviews conducted during the Fall of 2007 in conjunction with an NSF ADVANCE-PAID PoWERS grant sought to understand the significance of mentoring relationships for female faculty in science and engineering. A second set of interviews was launched with the purpose of understanding how and if mentoring assists female faculty in adjusting to the masculine culture of the field. This research reports findings from the second set of interviews. The same female faculty members in science and engineering departments at Texas Tech University, a total of 20, were re-interviewed. The data from the second set of interviews explore the extent to which isolation impacts both their professional life and examined two strategies, dress and mentoring, used to combat that isolation. The decision to highlight or disguise her gender through dress was greatly affected by her rank. It was noted that tenured faculty, when asked about their dress, tended to remark on its genderless qualities. While untenured faculty apparel tended to reflect their femininity. The style of dress chosen either accentuated one’s femininity perhaps with the intent of legitimizing female presence in science and engineering or camouflaged one so she would not been seen as different from the male faculty. Mentoring served as another way to combat isolation, because a mentoring relationship provides one with professional advice and support as well as networking opportunities.Item The Religiosity of Vietnamese Americans(2012-07-16) Le, Jennifer LinhReligion is a deeply important tradition in many people's lives, especially for those forced to leave abruptly their homes and loved ones and resettle in a foreign land. Religion not only provides spiritual guidance but also social networks, comfort, and moral standards, among many others things. I chose to study the beliefs and practices of Vietnamese American Buddhists and Catholics as well as the relationship between those two groups in the U.S. The Vietnamese present an interesting case because of their collective status as a well-publicized immigrant, formerly refugee, population that is now well-established in this country. With my research, I was able to test five hypotheses. I wanted to determine the degree of transnationality, tension between the religious groups, conversion, and ancestor worship. Secondarily, I assessed any differences regionally. In order to test my hypotheses, I conducted 60 quantitative surveys. I sampled from the Houston and Minneapolis-St. Paul Vietnamese communities. Transnationality, or ties to the homeland, was more prevalent for Buddhists than Catholics as I had hypothesized. There was a minute degree of tension present, however, generally with older members of the first generation cohort. Traditional Vietnamese ancestor worship was not more prevalent with Buddhists than with Catholics. I was unable to sample enough religious converts in order to test my conversion hypothesis. In terms of differences across regions, all variables other than national identity as well as an indicator of transnationality were statistically insignificant. This data helps fill a nearly 30-year gap in the research in this area and focuses specifically on the Vietnamese population which many studies have been unable to do. In addition to my quantitative study, I also conducted qualitative fieldwork at four primary research and three secondary research sites in the Minneapolis-St. Paul and Houston metropolitan areas. Twenty-five to thirty hours were spent at each primary location observing the members, volunteers, dress, interactions, normative and deviant behaviors during services, socialization, languages spoken, attentiveness, racial diversity, and additional activities provided by the religious organization to the membership. This fieldwork gave me a better understanding of this community in a religious context.Item Working for the competition : an analysis of the local news pool(2012-05) West, Katharine Elizabeth; Coleman, Renita; Poindexter, Paula; Browning, Larry; Strover, Sharon; Chyi, IrisThe Local News Pool or “LNP” as it’s referred to concerns competing television news stations within a single market forming a cooperative partnership in order to share content such as video and interviews. This study used depth interviews with assignment editors, producers, and photographers in Austin, Texas, Tampa, Florida, and Denver, Colorado, and incorporated a quantitative content analysis of news stories assigned to the LNP in Austin to discover how this convergence model operates, its effects on workers, and the potential for homogenization. This study discovered that by incorporating this convergence model into a newsroom and categorizing certain stories as “shared” it altered the level of importance photographers and producers placed on the story. By these journalists having prior knowledge that the competition might use or have an interest in a certain story, it altered the value placed on it to one of something “extra” or “filler” and not highly desired for the news broadcast. In addition, this study provides an updated look at the multilayer gatekeeping process by incorporating competing organizations within this decision making process. This study found gatekeepers cooperate on stories each find would produce similar content if their station were to send their own crews. The aspect of competition becomes present when gatekeepers request stories not intended for the LNP such as breaking news. The level of cooperation is often based on ratings and perception of one’s willingness to reciprocate if needed.