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Browsing by Author "Lynham, Susan, committee member"

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    A phenomenological study of the lived experience of re-entry adjustment of Fulbright FLTA alumni from North Africa and South Asia
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2018) Marquis, George, author; Kuk, Linda, advisor; Berensek, Alexandra, committee member; Jennings, Louise, committee member; Lynham, Susan, committee member
    Sojourners returning to their home countries after working or studying in the United States may face challenges in the re-entry adjustment process. Traditionally, much research on the experience of re-entry adjustment has been survey-based, with researcher-crafted questions not allowing for in-depth and nuanced perspectives of the sojourners. Drawing on in-depth, qualitative interviews from nine North African and South Asian alumni of a Fulbright's Foreign Language Teaching Assistants (FLTA) program, this study employed interpretative phenomenological analysis to capture descriptions of participants' lived experience of re-entry adjustment. Interpretative analysis of unique individual lives combined the situated perspectives of both the participants and researcher. While the in-depth interviews revealed unique lived experiences, careful analysis also revealed four superordinate phenomenological themes of re-entry adjustment: Confidence and a Sense of Empowerment; Comparisons of the Home and Host Countries, Heightened Critical Sensitivity, and Adopting a Re-entry Style. The themes offer a clearer picture of the challenges of returning to areas of the world that are quite different in terms of culture and development from the United States. Descriptions of lived experience were infused with strong feelings and emotions that sometimes typified a process of grieving over separation and loss. Data revealed that the participants struggled to make sense of their current home environment and questioned whether returning home was the correct decision. However, data also revealed participants' strong sense of obligation to family and desires of participants to build on their experiences in the United States and achieve impact. Participants described their desire to transfer knowledge, skills, and new perspectives to their home countries, but expected some resistance. The findings suggest that alumni would benefit from opportunities to discuss their re-entry adjustment challenges in a more supportive home culture environment.
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    Developing and testing of a theory of the business model concept
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2024) Dwyer, David, author; Gloeckner, Gene, advisor; Birmingham, Daniel, committee member; Hanson, Lea, committee member; Lynham, Susan, committee member; Mumford, Troy, committee member
    Business models are a popular term for describing how businesses create, deliver, and monetize the value of their products and services. However, research on the underlying business model concept appears to be primarily based on conceptual frameworks and design tools, rather than a published theoretical framework. The purpose of this study was to address the inadequacy of theoretical research on the business model concept by developing and testing of theoretical framework that makes explicit a theory of the business model concept. The study used Dubin's eight-step theory-building methodology, a theory-then-research strategy, and a quantitative hypothetico-deductive approach to applied theory building. The findings included a theoretical framework for the business model concept, a scientific model with empirical indicators of the units of the theory, and quantitative testing of the independence of indicators of the units. This research study contributes to the existing body of knowledge on business models and the scientific investigation of the business model concept.
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    Hearts and minds in the operating room: co-constructing a shared mental model with surgery teams for more predictable and more highly reliable collaborative voice and response
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2024) Grieser, Skip, author; Gloeckner, Gene, advisor; Lynham, Susan, committee member; Gibbons, Alyssa, committee member; Martelli, Peter, committee member
    Overview: This qualitative case study explored nontechnical human factors—values, beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors—that make it easier or more difficult for surgeons, as team leaders, to encourage team members to voice safety concerns, clinical opinions, and learning questions; for team members to actually speak up; and for surgeons to respond collaboratively. Research site and participants: The research site was a major academic hospital in the western United States. Five surgeons and five anesthesiologists volunteered to participate. Perioperative nurses and surgical technologists were recruited but did not participate. Purpose, methodology, and methods: The purpose of the study was to co-construct, with participants, a shared mental model for collaborative voice and response. The study followed the constructivist inquiry paradigm and methodology, which posits that individuals and groups construct, co-construct, and can reconstruct their social realities. Using adaptive work theory and methods, semi-structured interviews were used to gather data on what values, beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors participants perceived to be essential versus expendable for more collaborative, predictable, and highly reliable voice and response. Thematic content analysis identified six themes, from which a proposed shared mental model was constructed by the researcher. Member checking with participants confirmed that the themes were accurate and comprehensive; that the proposed shared mental model comprehensively reflected the themes; and that, used in practice, the shared mental model could help collaborative voice and response be more predictable and more highly reliable. Results: Themes were let's be best-in-class; respect and be kind to all; value patient safety and well-being of all team members; explicitly encourage and appreciate voice; do speak up; and am I really that approachable? The proposed shared mental model constructed from the themes was represented by the mnemonic REVAT, the first letters of each component: Respect and be kind to all, Encourage voice, Voice (do speak up), Appreciate voice, and Thrive (all of us). The study also identified two subthemes, hierarchical abuses of power and production pressures or time pressures that hinder collaborative voice and response; and should also be understood and well-managed, so that patient safety and clinician well-being are less at risk. Conclusion: Well-being is essential for clinicians' own sakes, for patient safety, and for clinical performance and outcomes. REVAT, the proposed shared mental model for collaborative voice and response, is simply stated as "respect, encourage, voice, appreciate, and thrive." As such, it is a "simple rule" much like "first do no harm," that could help caregivers better succeed in their goals and thrive.
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    Job satisfaction in fraternity and sorority advising
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2021) Miller McCarty, Kara S., author; Kuk, Linda, advisor; Hanson, Leah, committee member; Lynham, Susan, committee member; Albert, Lumina, committee member
    The purpose of this mixed methods explanatory sequential design was to more fully understand the experience of those who work as full-time fraternity and sorority advisors on a college campus. Spector's (1985) Job Satisfaction Survey was used in Phase 1 of this study to determine the overall job satisfaction score of fraternity and sorority advisors as well as job satisfaction scores in each of the nine facets: pay, promotion, supervision, fringe benefits, contingent rewards, operating procedures, coworkers, nature of work, and communication. Phase 1 determined fraternity and sorority advisors had an ambivalent job satisfaction score overall. They scored satisfied in: supervision, fringe benefits, coworkers, and nature of work. Participants were dissatisfied with: pay and promotion. Participants scored ambivalent in: contingent rewards, operating procedures, and communication. The author also analyzed differences in overall job satisfaction scores as well as job satisfaction scores in the nine individual facets as they related to gender, age, and years in the field. No significant differences were found in overall job satisfaction and gender, age, or years in the field. There was a statistically significant difference regarding gender in the facet of pay and nature of work. Men scored higher in pay and women scored higher in nature of work. Additionally, in age, the cohort of 22-26 year olds scored significantly higher than the cohort of 36-39 years olds in satisfaction with coworkers. Phase 2 involved interviews with 10 current campus-based fraternity and sorority advisors to determine what the experiences of fraternity and sorority advisors are and how the experiences affect those in the roles. Four themes emerged from this inquiry: Exploring Institutional Fit, Fraternity and Sorority Advising Career as an Identity, Experiencing the Highs and Lows, and Dissatisfaction with Pay and Promotion.
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    Spirituality and atheist social work students: contributions for curriculum content on spirituality
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2016) Fjelstrom, Jo, author; Carlson, Laurie, advisor; Buchan, Victoria, advisor; Lynham, Susan, committee member; Tungate, Susan, committee member
    The purpose of this constructivist study was to gain information about a criterion sample of atheist social work students concerning their experiences and perspectives of spirituality and curriculum content on spirituality. Most of the twenty-two participants formed their atheist worldviews against the tide of a religious upbringing, primarily due to their assessment of a dissonance between their evaluations of reality and religious beliefs. From the findings and the literature, suggestions are made for curriculum content on spirituality: (a) educators should frame worldviews as constructions and treat mystical elements as cultural phenomena; (b) content should have a professional focus with academically appropriate content; (c) curriculum content should be planned around the goal of training social work students to effectively address issues about worldviews in practice; (d) inclusive language and content should be utilized that covers all worldviews, including atheist and other naturalist worldviews; (e) biases, stereotypes, and privilege should be addressed and countered; (f) specific dialogic techniques should be developed for use in the classroom; (g) educators who will teach content on worldviews should have specific training for teaching material on spirituality and worldviews; and (h) a task force should be formed to create guidelines for curriculum content on spirituality.
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    The lived experiences of directors providing leadership to part-time faculty at study abroad centers in Italy: a phenomenological analysis
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2021) Earhart, Alan, author; Gloeckner, Gene, advisor; Kuk, Linda, advisor; Lynham, Susan, committee member; Sample, Pat, committee member
    In the 2017-2018 academic year, 332,727 U.S. university students participated in a study abroad program in a foreign country (Institute of International Education, 2018). Many of these students attend courses taught by part-time faculty, hired locally by study abroad centers with affiliations to U.S. universities. The directors of these centers have responsibility for all aspects of the study abroad programs, including academics and the faculty. The purpose of this interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) study was to investigate how directors of study abroad centers in Italy understand and experience their leadership of part-time faculty. The main research question asked how directors of study abroad centers in Italy understand and experience their leadership of the part-time faculty they supervise? Eight individuals shared their experiences through semi-structured interviews and a follow-up focus group. The participants' essential experience in providing leadership to part-time faculty at study abroad centers in Italy was bridging the gap between different realities. The unique research setting produced results showing that participants employed some practices supporting part-time faculty not found in past research on leading part-time faculty. These included: paying for travel to academic conferences, hosting academic conferences organized by PT faculty, and paying to publish PT faculty scholarship.
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    The social and cultural learning experiences of college students who participate in service learning trips
    (Colorado State University. Libraries, 2013) Bienvenu, Beau, author; Kuk, Linda, advisor; Banman, Nancy, committee member; Lynham, Susan, committee member; Mackelfresh, David, committee member
    To make a service learning trip an effective learning experience, it is important to determine what, if anything, students are learning as a result of the experience. The purpose of this phenomenological study is to contribute to the understanding of the lived social and cultural learning experiences for college students who participate in service learning trips.The qualitative research method, with its focus on a social phenomenon and the meaning this phenomenon has to the people who participate in it, was used to study the lived experience of undergraduate college students participating in service learning experiences. This study used the phenomenological research methodology, with its focus on describing the essences of the lived experience. The specific research approach was hermeneutical phenomenology because of the interpretative, rather than strictly descriptive, nature of this methodology (van Manen, 1990). In this study, interpretation was used when analyzing the data, using Kolb's Theory of Experiential Learning as the theoretical framework. The primary method of data collection for this research study was through semi-structured interviews with eight participants who had participated in at least one service learning trip. Three major themes were revealed as a result of these interviews: Social Learning Experiences, Cultural Learning Experiences, and Self-Learning. The sub-themes that emerged for Social Learning Experiences were Bonding and Developing Leadership Skills. The sub-themes that emerged for Cultural Learning Experiences were Reintegration Issues, Differences between Participants and Those Served and Overcoming Differences. The sub-themes that emerged for Self-Learning were Changes in Perceptions of Others and Awareness of Privilege.A number of recommendations for practice came out of this study. These recommendations, which could be potentially useful to Student Affairs Personnel interested in implementing service learning trips,included ensuring that there is a formal reflection component in service learning trips, ensuring that service learning trip participants have some kind of responsibility around coming up with solutions to the problem that they are there to solve, ensuring that participants have ample opportunities to work with the other people involved in the project, including students from other schools, and ensuring that participants have the opportunity to interact with the people they are serving.