Factors Affecting Master’s Counseling Students Pursuing Doctoral Degrees

Leadership identity is the most critical challenge for mental health counseling students. The Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) does not mandate courses in leadership development. This quantitative study investigated master’s level mental health counselor student leadership identity and factors for pursuing a doctoral degree. Results indicated that the variable gender predicted socially responsible leadership yet did not predict intent to pursue a doctoral degree. Based on these results, master’s level counseling students could benefit from leadership curriculum as preparation for leadership positions within the field and influence pursuance of higher learning. Recommended Citation Godfrey, C. A. (2020, October 1-2). Factors affecting master’s counseling students pursuing doctoral degrees [Poster presentation]. Walden University Research Conference 2020 (online). https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/researchconference/2020/posters/28

Achieve Organisational Effectiveness by Decentralisation

The study seeks to determine the extent of the relationship between decentralization and organizational effectiveness, identify the types of decentralization applicable in public sector organisations, determine the extent of the relationship between empowerment and job satisfaction and assess the extent of decentralization in public sector organizations. The study was carried out primarily through the survey method and interview of employees in three public sector organizations in Nigeria. Secondary data were obtained through books, journals, and internet. A sample size of 286 was obtained from the population of 1000 at 5% error tolerance and 95% degree of freedom. Empirical works of other scholars were consulted. The implication of the study is that decentralizing authority makes an organization and its employees to behave in a flexible way even as the organization grows and become taller. Nevertheless, too much decentralization has certain disadvantages: if divisions, functions, or teams are given too much decision-making authority, they may begin to pursue their goals at the expense of organizational goals. If managers are in a stable environment, using well understood technology then there could be no need to decentralize authority and managers at the top can maintain control of organizational decision making. However, in an uncertain, changing environment, top managers must empower employees and allow teams to make important strategic decisions so that the organization can keep up with the changes taking place. The advisability of decentralization must be considered in terms of: the nature of the product or service provided, policy making, the day-to-day management of the organization, and the need for standardization of procedures, or conditions or terms of employment of staff. Key Words: Decentralisation, Organisational Effectiveness, Empowerment and Job Satisfaction.

Monitoring for Delirium in the Intensive Care Unit Following the Introduction of the Confusion Assessment Method for the Intensive Care Unit

PURPOSE: The goals of this study were to: improve delirium recognition by implementing the Confusion Assessment Method for the ICU (CAM-ICU), evaluate adherence to routine delirium monitoring, measure the incidence of CAM-positive patients, and measure the use of analgesic and sedative medications in ICU patients. METHODS: This study was a single-center post-implementation retrospective medical record review examining the adherence and incidence of delirium after the introduction of the CAM-ICU assessment on the surgical ICU. Prior to the beginning of the study the surgical ICU nurses were educated on how to assess for delirium using the CAM-ICU instrument. During the six week study the following data were collected: adherence to delirium monitoring through documentation, incidence of CAM-positive patients, and sedation and analgesic medication usage. The sample consisted of seventy-six patients that were admitted to the surgical ICU between September 6, 2016 and October 18, 2016. RESULTS: Thirty-two (58.1%) patients had the CAM-ICU assessment completed once a shift at the 48-hour evaluation and twenty-two (81.4%) patients during the 96-hour evaluation. Five (9%) patients were CAM-positive at the 48-hour and one (3.7%) at the 96-hour evaluation. The 48-hour time interval had the highest average number of dosages for analgesic medications at 2.3 (29.4%) for CAM-negative patients. CAM-positive analgesic medications usage increased progressively, peaking at the 72-hour interval with the average dose at 3.6 (32.1%). With regards to sedative medications, CAM-negative patients had the highest average number of dosages, 1.9 (30.2%), at the 48-hour interval. For CAM-positive patients the use of sedative medications peaked at the 24-hour interval and then decreased at the 48-hour time frame; after which sedative medication usage rose steadily from the 48 through 96-hour interval. CONCLUSION: Required routine delirium monitoring should occur per evidence-based practice guidelines for all ICU patients. The incidence of delirium in this study was found to be low, at 9%, when compared to previous studies on delirium. No statistically significant conclusions could be drawn from this study. Factors that could have contributed to this low incidence of delirium in these specific patients could have been the relative young age of the patients (mean age of 53.2) and the possible lower severity of illness, both of these factors influence the risk of delirium development. In conclusion, this single study may have found a low incidence of delirium among these specific ICU patients but many previous studies have determined that the incidence of delirium is much higher

Justification of Power as Necessary for Leadership

The study seeks to determine the nature of the relationship between power, leadership, and organizational effectiveness; ascertain the factors which determine the extent to which people can leverage their power; identify the types of power that can assure leadership effectiveness; and determine how power can be acquired. The study was carried out primarily through the survey method and interview of employees in three public sector organizations in Nigeria. Secondary data were obtained through books, journals, and internet. Findings indicate that there is a significant positive relationship between power, leadership, and organizational effectiveness; Centrality, visibility, discretion and non substitutability determine the extent to which people can leverage their power. Organisational power (legitimate, reward, and coercive), expert power and referent power are the types of power which can assure leadership effectiveness. Power can be acquired by exhibition of knowledge and skills, ability and intelligence, ingenuity, and communication competency. One don’t have to be in leadership to have some form of power. In fact the most respect is garnered on those who have personal sources of power (expert and referent). It has been observed that when employees in an organization associate formal power with personal power (expert and referent) they are more engaged, more devoted to the organization and their role within it, and they are willing to go the extra mile to reach organizational goals. Generally, the personal sources of power are strongly related to employees’ job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and job performance than are the organizational power sources. However, one source of organizational power- Coercive power is negatively related to work performance. The various sources of power should not be thought of as being separate from each other. A leader can acquire the five sources of power. Keywords: Power, Leadership, Effectiveness, Ingenuity, Knowledge, and Communication Competenc

What Pushes Your Buttons? How Knowledge about If-Then Personality Profiles Can Benefit Relationships

Past research has debated the benefits of having accurate knowledge about a close other’s personality. However, this research has examined personality knowledge solely in terms of trait knowledge. We hypothesize that within close relationships, accuracy about personality profiles—a person’s “if-then” pattern of responses to situations—may often be more useful than accuracy about personality traits. We provide the first studies of if-then accuracy in close relationships, investigating trigger profiles, which describe a person’s unique pattern of reactivity to various potentially aversive interpersonal situations. For our studies, we first developed the Trigger Profile Questionnaire, consisting of 72 descriptions of potentially bothersome interpersonal behaviours. In Study 1 , friend-pairs rated how much each behaviour triggered them personally, and how much they thought it might trigger their friend. Defining accuracy as self-other agreement, findings demonstrated that having accurate knowledge about a friend’s trigger profile was associated with reduced feelings of relationship conflict for the friend, and increased feelings of depth and support for the self. Study 2 expanded this investigation to include behaviour adjustment as a potential moderator of this association. We predicted that accurate if-then knowledge would only be beneficial if participants used this knowledge to reduce engaging in behaviours that trigger the friend. Results from friend-pairs indicated that if-then accuracy was associated with feelings of depth and support in the relationship, as in Study 1. Participants’ if-then accuracy was not, however, associated with the friend\u27s feelings of conflict. Moreover, there was almost no behaviour adjustment reported in the sample. Nevertheless, participants who did report adjusting their behaviour experienced less conflict in the relationship, as did their friends. No interactions between accuracy and adjustment were significant

Negotiating Desire: Resisting, Reimagining and Reinscribing Normalized Sexuality and Gender in Fan Fiction

Fan studies has examined how fan fiction resists heteronormativity by challenging depictions of gender and sexuality, but to date, this inquiry has focused disproportionately on slash, to the exclusion of other genres of fan fiction. Additionally, scholars disagree about slash’s subversive effects by setting up a seemingly stable dichotomy—subversive vs. misogynistic—where one does not necessarily exist. In this project, I examine multiple genres of fan fiction—namely, slash arising from bromances; femslash from female friendships; incestuous fan fiction from dysfunctional familial relationships; and polyamorous fics. I chose fics from four televisions shows—NBC’s Revolution, MTV’s Teen Wolf, the CW’s The Vampire Diaries, and its spin-off, The Originals—and closely read them to identify patterns in their representations of gender and sexuality and how they connect to the source texts. Taking a dialogic “both/and” approach, I argue that critics claiming that slash is often not subversive are right to a point, but miss a key potential of fan fiction: its ability to evoke possibility—for new endings, relationships, and sexualities. Heteronormativity often asserts itself in endings; queerness plays in the middles and margins. So, too, does fan fiction. While some individual fics may reinforce elements of heteronormativity, many also actively question and transgress norms of gender, sexuality and love. Further, they embrace fluidity and possibility, and engage with the source texts and larger culture around them in a way that provides a subversive interpretation of both and offers insight into the function of the constructed nature of institutionalized heterosexuality

Justification for Managing Organisational Conflicts

The study seeks to identify some key sources of conflict in the workplace, ascertain the extent to which conflicts are resolved in the workplace, assess how to  resolve conflict between groups, and ascertain how to manage conflict between a boss and a subordinate. The study was carried out primarily through the survey method and interview of employees in three public sector organizations in Nigeria. Secondary data were obtained through books, journals, and internet. Findings indicate that Scarcity of resources, different attitudes, poor communication and lack of teamwork are key sources of conflict in the workplace. Conflicts are always resolved in the workplace.  Conflict between groups can be resolved by collective bargaining, negotiation, mediation, and arbitration while Conflict between a boss and a subordinate can be managed by collaboration and accommodation. Conflict accelerates change in an organization, especially in small businesses, where it is easy to formulate and implement new policies. Conflict prompts modification of policies and operation procedures in the organization. Conflict forces the organization’s leadership to realign its objectives towards common goals in order to foster teamwork amongst competing parties. Conflict that results into healthy competition cultivates innovation and inventiveness amongst employees. When an organization spends much of its time dealing with conflict, members take time away from focusing on the core goals they are tasked with achieving. Conflict sometimes has a destructive effect on the individuals and groups involved. At other times, however, conflict can increase the capacity of those affected to deal with problems, and therefore it can be used as a motivating force toward innovation and change. Keywords: Conflict, Conflict Resolution, Collective Bargaining, Mediation, Arbitration, Accomodation, and Collaboratio

An Attempted Synthesis of a Menadione Derivative via a Diels-Alder Reaction

With menadione and cyclopentadiene as starting materials, a menadione-cyclopentadiene adduct was synthesized via a Diels-Alder reaction. This reaction serves as the first step in a pathway to synthesize a menadione-safranal derivative that could potentially have antioxidant activity

Develop Emotional Intelligence as a MindTool for Leadership Effectiveness and Employee Career Development

The study seeks to ascertain the nature of the relationship between emotional intelligence, cognitive intelligence and work performance, identify where emotional intelligence is mostly utilized, assess the human attributes of emotional intelligence,determine the nature of the relationship between emotional intelligence and leadership, and ascertain how to lead in an emotionally intelligent way.The study was carried out primarily through the survey method and interview of    employees in five public sector organizations in Nigeria. Secondary data were obtained through books, journals, and internet.Findings indicate that there is a significant positive relationship between emotional intelligence, cognitive intelligence and work performance; emotional intelligence is mostly utilized in leader performance, organisational complexities, conflict resolution, and team performance; human attributes of emotional intelligence are empathy, self discipline, social skills, initiative and integrity; there is a significant positive relationship between emotional intelligence and leadership; and leading in an emotionally intelligent way involves creating an inspiring vision, making and announcing tough decisions.Emotional intelligence is vital in the achievement of outstanding performance by leaders and teams as it provides a basis for the establishment of positive relationship, communicative norms, trust and understanding, and openness to adjustment, and support systems. Emotional Intelligence could be an important organisational capability if possessed by business managers and leaders as it could help in understanding the behaviours of individuals at work and further aid in generating the right behaviours at workplace by concentrating at emotions that are right for the business. Keywords: Emotional Intelligence, Cognitive Intelligence, Leadership, and Empathy