This dissertation is composed of three essays in which I examine the influence of formal institutions on entrepreneurs and new firms. In the first essay, "The Influence of Institutions on the Likelihood of Self-Employment: A Multilevel...
Voting research; Press and politics--United States--History--21st century; Mass media--Political aspects--United States--History--20th century; Presidents--United States--Election--2000; Presidents--United States--Election--2004
Scholars have long considered the role media play in shaping levels of political knowledge and voting behavior. The specific context of this study is the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections. It examines the influence of newspaper reading,...
African American teenage boys; Self-efficacy; Blacks--Race identity; Self-perception; Career development
Social Cognitive Career Theory (SCCT) holds that self-efficacy and outcome expectations are primary predictors of career choice goals and actions, with contextual influences moderating those choices and actions. Racial identity research indicates...
Social work education; College teachers--Attitudes; Educational leadership
The purposes of this study are twofold: (1) to describe the leadership styles of social workers in educational administration and (2) to explain possible differences in leadership style by determining if context or gender or a combination of both...
College dropouts--Kentucky; Academic achievement--Kentucky; Private universities and colleges--Kentucky
The persistence and attrition of second year college students is a growing concern of colleges and universities as second year college students face some of the greatest challenges (Gahagan & Hunter, 2006; Lemons & Richmond, 1987; Morgan...
Legal and illegal gambling opportunities are readily available to students on college campuses and surrounding areas (Saum, 1999). College students are at an age that is highly impressionable, experimental, and prime to taking risks while ignoring...
Autistic children--Rehabilitation; Social skills in children; Autistic children--Behavior modification; Group work in education; Peer-group tutoring of students
Social reciprocity deficits are a core feature of the autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and a major source of impairment regardless of cognitive or language ability (Carter, Davis, Klin, & Volkmar, 2005). Since these impairments do not naturally...
Children's literature in mathematics education; Mathematics--Study and teaching (Elementary); Problem youth--Education (Elementary); Mathematics--Remedial teaching
Nationally, there are increasing numbers of students who are at-risk for academic and/or social failure (U.S. Department of Education, 2009). In an attempt to address this trend, the 2004 reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities...
Teaching--Methodology; Universities and colleges--Faculty--Attitudes
Conceptions of teaching and learning held by faculty in higher education broadly reflect two dominant approaches, those that are teacher-focused and content oriented, and those that are student-focused and learner oriented (Entwistle, Skinner,...
Sex offenders--Psychology; Sex offenders--Mental health
Sexual abuse and sexual violence perpetrated against women and children in the United States are social problems that need to be addressed. The United States is one of the most sexually violent societies in the world, having one of the highest...
Hospitals are challenged to understand factors related to staff nurse retention in the context of the nursing shortage slowdown (Huselid, 1995; Mancino, 2008; Mancino, 2009). Leadership is a major factor in organizational success (Gandossy &...
Dropout behavior, Prediction of; Nontraditional college students; College dropouts; Academic achievement
For more than 100 years, nearly half of all undergraduate students have failed to persist to degree completion (ACT, 2010; Tinto, 1993; U.S. Department of Education, 2008). To make matters worse, adult students have consistently been victims of...
Information technology--Study and teaching (Secondary); College preparation programs; Academic achievement
Career and Technical Education (CTE) has a long and rich history of achievement
among diverse populations. Two recent events have added to the complexity of CTE.
First, the accountability movement forces traditional programs to show growth...
College freshmen--Conduct of life; College freshmen--Religious life--Kentucky; College freshmen--Kentucky--Attitudes
Students entering college for the first time are embarking on a life-changing journey like none they have experienced. The potential impact the college experience will have on their lives is extreme. Students will be engaged in class and...
This study investigated teachers' inclusion of racially diverse literature within their classroom libraries, how the representations within the literature compared with the students in the classrooms, the inclusivity of students' book selections,...
African American men--Mental health; Depression in men; Depression, Mental--Social aspects
Background: In any given year depression affects as many as 121 million people worldwide and 20 percent or 19 million people in the U.S. suffer from at least one episode of depression during their lifetime. In the U.S., depression has a substantial...
Mental health facilities--Employees--Rating of; Medical personnel--Rating of
There is a growing shortage of Direct Support Professionals (DSPs) in the field of intellectual and developmental disabilities. This shortage is at a crisis now and will continue to become more of a crisis unless changes are made. This is a crisis...
The concept of quality of life (QOL) has been the topic of many research projects, yet several clinically relevant aspects of this concept have been overlooked. Specifically, few studies have addressed the impact of such demographic variables as...
There is relatively little known about how criminal justice system actors perceive sex
offenders and the fairness, efficacy, and scope of policies aimed at sex offenders.
Similarly, there is sparse research that specifically examines the attitudes,...
Science teachers--Certification; Science--Study and teaching (Elementary)
The purpose of this study was to discern what differences exist between the science inquiry learning environments created by National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs) and non-NBCTs. Four research questions organized the data collection and...
