EMPLOYEES\u27 EXPECTATIONS OF LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS AND THEIR EFFECTS ON ANTICIPATED VOLUNTARY EMPLOYEE TURNOVER AND ORGANIZATIONAL COMMITMENT

Employee retention and commitment have gained attention over the past years (Mutsuddi, 2016). Commitment is the link that connects an individual to their organization, thereby decreases the probability of turnover (Allen & Meyer, 1990; Hague et al., 2019). According to Mutsuddi (2016), decreasing employee turnover remains a critical element for sustainment in any organization. However, most organizations invest in policies and practices to increase employee commitment; those same practices can lead to employee turnover (Mutsuddi, 2016). This study explores the effects of leadership development programs and their impact on organizational commitment and anticipated voluntary employee turnover. A qualitative research design was used for this study and allowed the participants to tell their stories through one-on-one interviews. Utilizing this method enabled the researcher to explain the participants’ leadership program development expectations. The results of this study were derived from the analysis of interview transcripts. The researcher conducted 15 one-on-one semi-structured interviews with Gulf Coast Veterans Health Care System (GCVHCS) employees. These employees completed at least one of the following programs within the past ten years: Each Leader Individually Trained to Excel (ELITE), Emerging VA Leaders (EVAL), and Leadership Development Institute (LDI). The researcher conducted a focus group as a method to achieve triangulation. For this study, the focus group participants consisted of six mid-level and upper-level supervisors employed at GCVHCS. Those supervisors approved at least one employee to participate in at least one of the abovementioned programs. The analysis yielded ten themes, four expectations, five perspectives, and one impact on organizational commitment. The perspectives identified include organizational assimilation, personal development, supervisor support, participation, and benefits. The expectations identified include career advancement, leadership development, program follow-up, and ambivalence. The impact on organizational commitment includes enhanced organizational commitment for those that attend leadership courses. This study could improve leadership development programs by addressing employee expectations while developing a plan of action for a follow-up to ensure the skills gained during the programs are used to benefit the employee and the organization

The effectiveness of anger management counseling on recidivism rates of gang-related adolescents in the Project BRIDGE Program

This study explores recidivism rates of gang-related adolescents newly enrolled in the Project BRIDGE (Building Resources for the Intervention and Deterrence of Gang Engagement) Program. The goal of this project is to reduce the incidence of youth gang violence, gang membership, and gang related activities in the city of Riverside, California

Self-censorship by middle school librarians

Middle school librarians are faced with difficult decisions when choosing books for the middle school library collection because of the students\u27 ages, and involvement from the administration, staff, parents and special interest groups who want to protect children from certain material. Middle school librarians may willingly or unwillingly participate in self-censorship to avoid confrontation. Middle school librarians in New Jersey were surveyed to investigate self-censorship practices. They were asked to share information about their library collection, their library policies and procedures and their thought processes during book selection. Based on the results of the study it was concluded that middle school librarians\u27 philosophies of book selection, students\u27 right to read, and censorship vary and that middle school librarians struggle with self-censorship

Factors Influencing Post - High School Graduation Plans Of Students Enrolled In Food Service-Related Courses At California Regional Occupation Centers/Programs (Career Selection, Occupational Choice, Vocational)

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine the degree of influence from various factors on a student\u27s decision to enroll in a food service-related course and whether these factors were affected by post high school graduation plans. Procedure: Sixty-nine percent of the Regional Occupational Centers/ Programs teachers and one section of students instructed by each teacher completed the survey instruments. The questionnaire items queried the respondents concerning demographic information as well as the degree of influence of various person- and job-related factors. Findings and Conclusions: Results of this investigation revealed that the responding student population had a strong interest in pursuing higher education. The major obstacle to enrollment for the non-college bound population was not discovered. Grade point average, course requirements and money were found to be perceived as not limiting their college enrollment. The teacher population rated the influence of various factors differently for six of 19 items and generally higher than the student group. The two populations were generally congruent with respect to the relative order placement of the factors. White and minority populations evaluated the importance of most factors differently from one another . The two gender groups noted some of the influencing factors differently. White and male populations indicated the greatest propensity toward higher education. Most vocational students intend to seek employment in the food service field. The teacher population tended to view students as being primarily job oriented. Vocational program students need to be informed about and, if appropriate, encouraged to pursue higher education. Vocational programs often enroll a disproportionate share of females and minority populations. Attainment of higher education by these group may serve as a vehicle for upward mobility. Students perceive satisfaction with the decision to enroll and with school in general if they note the applicability and relevance of the material they study. Recommendations: 1) Replicate the study using various vocation program students and nationwide to determine the consistency and generalizability of these results. 2) Conduct a follow-up study to determine the rate of actualization of college and job seeking plans. 3) Investigate the discrepancies between teacher and student populations relative to influencing factors and post-graduation plans to determine the sources of these differences

Chaining Kids to the Ever Turning Wheel: Other Contemporary Costs of Juvenile Court Involvement

In this essay, Candace Johnson and Mae Quinn respond to Tamar Birckhead’s important article The New Peonage, based, in part, on their work and experience representing youth in St. Louis, Missouri. They concur with Professor Birckhead’s conclusions about the unfortunate state of affairs in 21st century America— that we use fines, fees, and other prosecution practices to continue to unjustly punish poverty and oppressively regulate racial minorities. Such contemporary processes are far too reminiscent of historic convict leasing and Jim Crow era efforts intended to perpetuate second-class citizenship for persons of color. Johnson and Quinn add to Professor Birckhead’s critique by further focusing on the plight of children of color and surfacing non- financial sanctions in our juvenile courts that similarly marginalize minority youth. They argue these practices— including shackling, intentional and unintentional shaming, and educational deprivation—also work to reproduce a secondary caste in communities across the country

Do Masculinity and Perceived Condom Barriers Predict Heterosexual HIV Risk Behaviors Among Black Substance Abusing Men?

Although HIV prevention during substance abuse treatment is ideal, existing HIV risk-reduction interventions are less effective among Black and other ethnic minority substance abusers. The Sexual Health Model (SHM) and the Person, Extended Family and Neighborhood-3 model (PEN-3) both highlight the importance of increasing our understanding of the relationship of sociocultural factors to sexual-decision making as a step towards developing more HIV prevention interventions for ethnic minorities. However, few studies examine sociocultural factors in the sexual decision-making process of Black substance abusing men. This secondary analysis of data collected in an evaluation of Real Men Are Safe (REMAS), a HIV prevention intervention, in the National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network (CTN) addressed this gap by examining the relation of two specific sociocultural factors (i.e., masculinity and perceived barriers to condom use) to the self-reported sexual behaviors of Black substance abusing men with their main and casual female partners. Analyses of the baseline data of 126 Black men entering substance abuse treatment revealed that the endorsement of both personal and social masculinity predicted more unprotected sexual occasions (USO) with casual partners. The perception that condoms decreased sexual pleasure also predicted higher USO rates with casual partners. However, fewer partner barriers was not associated with USO among casual partners as expected. Neither the endorsement of social or personal masculinity or perceived condom barriers predicted USO with main partners. The findings suggest that interventions that depict condom use as both pleasurable and congruent with Black male perceptions of masculinity may be more effective with Black substance abusing men