Understanding the Decline in Participation in Fraternal Organizations: A Mixed Methods Approach

Once considered the schools of democracy and cornerstones for advancing society, many of the 100,800 fraternal organizations in the U.S. have experienced a decline in participation over the past 60 years and their perceived relevance in contemporary society questioned. To date, existing literature has identified several conflicting explanations for this decline. Numerous scholars disagree as to whether external forces such as markets or the government, or internal factors such as member relations or the inability or refusal of organizational leadership to change, or the interrelatedness of these factors account for the decline. Only a few fraternal organizations have studied this issue and even fewer have made their results public. This study examines the decline in participation in fraternal organizations by employing a two-phased, modified exploratory sequential design. Using California Masonry as a representative case of fraternal organizations, twenty interviews of individuals with diverse membership status (nonmembers, former, and current) were conducted. Results from the interviews indicated that participation is influenced by several factors internal to the Masons such the extent to which individuals share a common objective, the organization’s focus on making a difference in community, the extent to which enacted and espoused values match, and how members feel valued and trusted influenced participation. External factors such as family and job commitment, and interaction with internal factors, also impacted willingness to participate in the Masons. These qualitative results contributed to the development of a new survey instrument, which was pilot tested and refined into the Participation Assessment Tool-Fraternal Organizations. Finally, conditions were set to administer the new survey to a stratified sampling of 28 of the 373 Masonic Lodges in California. This study contributes importantly to the identification of and the interrelatedness of the internal and external factors that have contributed to the decline in California Masonry. It provides important information to aid similar fraternal organizations in understanding this problem. The research also provides recommendations for interventions that can have a meaningful influence on organizational leaders’ ability to strengthen membership practices and more generally, to our understanding of fraternal organizations, organizational leadership and organizational change

Background Nonverbal Disagreement during Televised Political Debates: A Strategic Maneuvering Approach

Since the 1960 Kennedy-Nixon presidential debates, interest in the impact of televised debates on political campaigns has grown steadily among scholars of argumentation and rhetorical communication. In addition to communicating policy positions of a candidate, televised debates provide the voting public one of the few opportunities to build or solidify impressions of candidates based on a (at least semi-) spontaneous social performance in which candidates meet face-to-face to discuss their differences. The strategies candidates use to communicate their policies and their desired image during a debate can influence the direction of public opinion toward them. We claim in this essay that arguments candidates make nonverbally in televised debates are significant in creating and sustaining their image as presidential candidates

Creating a Virtual Leader Development Course Using the Design Thinking Process for Innovation

[EN] This paper examines how a U.S. Air Force (USAF) faculty team reimagined and redesigned an in-person Leader Development Course (LDC) to a virtual version (vLDC). Using the Design Thinking Process for Innovation (DTPI) and action research methods, a new, virtual course was imagined, designed, tested, and improved over a six-cycle-process. Data was collected via multiple sources from 121 participants (19 faculty/staff and 102 students) and analyzed using manual coding and NVivo Software. Results are organized into 22 categories under four themes (general course design, student experience, instructor experience and faculty development, and technology experience) showing a progressive refinement with key lessons learned that led to the final creation of the new virtual course. Of the five key features in action research (actions matter, context-specific research, multiple cycles and phases, inclusion of people as research target, and reflections), participants reported that multiple cycles and reflections were most important in relation to the DTPI so that change could be enacted that reflected participant voices in the design process of the virtual course. The application of the DTPI using action research methods produced results and lessons learned in the design process that contribute to the theory and practice on developing and teaching in a virtual learning environment. The study fills a gap in the scholarly field and informs other institutions on the process, failures, and successes of course redesign to a virtual version.Hinck, J.; Davis, S.; Longmire, J.; Byrnes, J. (2021). Creating a Virtual Leader Development Course Using the Design Thinking Process for Innovation. En 7th International Conference on Higher Education Advances (HEAd'21). Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 1323-1331. https://doi.org/10.4995/HEAd21.2021.13004OCS1323133

Creating and curating an archive: Bury St Edmunds and its Anglo-Saxon past

This contribution explores the mechanisms by which the Benedictine foundation of Bury St Edmunds sought to legitimise and preserve their spurious pre-Conquest privileges and holdings throughout the Middle Ages. The archive is extraordinary in terms of the large number of surviving registers and cartularies which contain copies of Anglo-Saxon charters, many of which are wholly or partly in Old English. The essay charts the changing use to which these ancient documents were put in response to threats to the foundation's continued enjoyment of its liberties. The focus throughout the essay is to demonstrate how pragmatic considerations at every stage affects the development of the archive and the ways in which these linguistically challenging texts were presented, re-presented, and represented during the Abbey’s history

The Effect of Association Value of Nonsense Syllables on List and Paired Associate Verbal Learning

Abstract not availabl

Understanding the Decline in Participation in Fraternal Organizations: A Mixed Methods Approach

Once considered the schools of democracy and cornerstones for advancing society, many of the 100,800 fraternal organizations in the U.S. have experienced a decline in participation over the past 60 years and their perceived relevance in contemporary society questioned. To date, existing literature has identified several conflicting explanations for this decline. Numerous scholars disagree as to whether external forces such as markets or the government, or internal factors such as member relations or the inability or refusal of organizational leadership to change, or the interrelatedness of these factors account for the decline. Only a few fraternal organizations have studied this issue and even fewer have made their results public. This study examines the decline in participation in fraternal organizations by employing a two-phased, modified exploratory sequential design. Using California Masonry as a representative case of fraternal organizations, twenty interviews of individuals with diverse membership status (nonmembers, former, and current) were conducted. Results from the interviews indicated that participation is influenced by several factors internal to the Masons such the extent to which individuals share a common objective, the organization’s focus on making a difference in community, the extent to which enacted and espoused values match, and how members feel valued and trusted influenced participation. External factors such as family and job commitment, and interaction with internal factors, also impacted willingness to participate in the Masons. These qualitative results contributed to the development of a new survey instrument, which was pilot tested and refined into the Participation Assessment Tool-Fraternal Organizations. Finally, conditions were set to administer the new survey to a stratified sampling of 28 of the 373 Masonic Lodges in California. This study contributes importantly to the identification of and the interrelatedness of the internal and external factors that have contributed to the decline in California Masonry. It provides important information to aid similar fraternal organizations in understanding this problem. The research also provides recommendations for interventions that can have a meaningful influence on organizational leaders’ ability to strengthen membership practices and more generally, to our understanding of fraternal organizations, organizational leadership and organizational change