Susan M. Fritz

Principles of Sustainable Learning Object Libraries

As the effectiveness of learning objects in enhancing education becomes better understood, it will be critical to more fully develop the predictive characteristics of learning object usage by diverse instructors and their long-term sustainability in learning object repositories. Additionally, the advancement of scholarship in these endeavors – a critical factor for faculty to consider – has frequently been overlooked. In this paper we explore these issues by examining the technical and human aspects of The Library of Crop Technology (http://croptechnology.unl.edu) and other repository models. While studies have been conducted to research the impacts of animations on student learning, teacher perceptions of such learning objects have not been examined. An online survey instrument was created and sent to those who had downloaded animations from the Library of Crop Technology. Data collected indicated that educational, animated, learning objects are an effective and sustainable means of meeting a wide array of educator needs. This study identified a template of science content, organization, creation of interest in the topic, visual appeal, effectiveness for teaching a topic, and ease of use as being important to the overall teacher perception of the learning object’s quality. The very positive evaluation received from the users, coupled with their indication of returning to the site multiple times and recommending it to their colleagues, further suggests that the public repository is a model to continue pursuing. An important, but often overlooked, concept in the development of repositories is the dynamics of long term sustainability and scholarly contributions. A second study researched team development and institutional commitments which play a role in the long term stability of this learning object repository. A model integrating team development, institutional commitments, learning object development and scholarship recognition is proposed.

A Review of Gender and Full-Range Leadership Research and Suggestions for Future Research

In this paper the research on gender and Full-Range Leadership is documented and explored. Included is consideration of research that studied Full-Range Leadership directly as well as indirect study that contributed to the field of research on Full-Range Leadership. The paper culminates in a series of recommendations for future research. It is hoped that these will help to move the field from documenting the differences or similarities of leadership (or perceptions of leadership) between women and men, to studying why these differences might exist. Additional recommendations are included that will help transport the value of this research from the pages of scholarly journals into organizations, communities, and the workplace.

Does Sex of Dyad Members Really Matter? A Review of Leader-Member Exchange

Leader-member exchange (LMX) generally refers to the leadership process centered on the interactions between leaders and direct reports. The basic premise of high quality leader-member exchange relationships holds that direct reports gain tremendous benefits through these partnerships. LMX is perhaps the most commonly researched theory of leadership. However, few studies have specifically examined the role of dyad members’ sex as a predictor of quality LMX. Several studies investigating the role of dyad members’ sex and quality LMX examined the effect of sex in an aggregated variable, demographic similarity, which often included other demographic characteristics such as age, education level and race, yielding mixed results. This article’s purpose is to (a) review the evolution of leader-member exchange theory, (b) examine literature regarding potential effects of sex of dyad members on quality leader-member exchanges, and (c) discuss implications and future research concerning the role of dyad members’ sex and leader-member exchanges.

Healers and Helpers, Unifying the People: A Qualitative Study of Lakota Leadership

Previously, scholars have implied that leadership theory is “universal” enough and can be applied systematically regardless of cultural influences in subcultures. Leadership research has limited its scope of discernment to dominant society, implying that nonmainstream individuals will acquiesce and that cultural differences are inconsequential. Therefore, the intention of this study was to address the disparity between current leadership theories and a subgroup perspective. Specifically, this study explored leadership from a Lakota Sioux perspective. In this qualitative grounded theory study, six major and five minor themes surfaced: Traditional Values and Behaviors, Putting Others First, Lakota Leadership Qualities (Men, Women, and Fallen Leaders), The Red Road, Nation Building (“Real” Natives and Bicultural), and Barriers. These findings reveal that Lakota leadership is not elucidated by current theory. Thus, to effectively illustrate leadership, researchers should broaden contextual aspects to include subcultures.

EXPLORING RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN COLLEGE STUDENTS' LEARNING STYLES AND MOTIVATION ','

A pilot study explored the relationships between learning styles and motivation for a sample of 103 undergraduate and graduate students who completed both the Approaches to Studying Inventory and the Motivation Sources Inventory online. A significant positive but small correlation was found between scores on Surface Apathetic Approach and on Self-concept Internal motivation (r = .32, p < .01). Significant negative correlations were found between scores on Surface Apathetic Approach and on Self-concept External motivation (r = –.32, p < .01), and for Strategic Approach and Self-concept Internal (r = –.37, p < .01). Implications and further research are discussed.

A Survey of Gender-Related Motivation Studies: Subordinate Status, Roles, and Stereotyping

Since the days when women first began entering the work force scholars have studied perceived gender differences related to motivation in organizational settings. This paper first presents a brief overview of motivation theory and then examines the literature tracing gender related motivation-to-manage as it evolves through the 1950s and 1960s to the present. Studies have produced conflicting results with some finding that men have more motivation-to-manage then women and other studies finding the opposite. Such differences appear to be small and closely related to subordinate status and role stereotyping.

Sex differences among five sources of motivation in the motivation sources inventory: Preliminary findings

Paper reports sex differences among five sources of motivation for a sample of 208 undergraduate students who completed the Motivation Sources Inventory. t tests yielded few statistically significant sex differences for the five sources of motivation; however, Instrumental Motivation was higher among men than women, while the remaining four motives showed no sex difference. Implications and research opportunities are discussed.

Reconceptualizing Academic Advising Using The Full Range Leadership Model

Developmental and prescriptive advising styles have been the focus of the academic advising literature for the past 35 years. Academic advising scholars have called for a new paradigm in the field. Drawing from leadership theory, a new model for academic advising is proposed. Full range advising encompasses laissez-faire, management-by-exception, contingent rewards, and transformational behaviors. The long-term impact of transformational advising is one that will likely take years to fully realize, however measures of transformational leadership are both reliable and valid. These measures can be used to determine whether

Continuing Education Needs of Leadership Program Alumni 1

An assessment identifying the leadership education needs of three groups of leadership program alumni was developed through focus group interviews. Respondents (386 of 1,063 or 36%) were most interested in training on: engaging others in a common vision, inspiring others, attracting the right people for the task, and influencing others. They preferred to participate in one or two workshops per year. Face-to-face delivery was the format most preferred by respondents with distance-delivery strategies identified as the preferred means by 34% or less, and respondents preferred to pursue regional collaborations in their state. The results will be the basis for advanced leadership development training for alumni of leadership development programs offered through Cooperative Extension. It was recommended that this study be replicated with community leaders that have not participated in formal leadership programs as the basis for developing initial and advanced training needs.

Exploring the Bermuda Triangle: Review of Gender, Societal, Team and Individual Leadership Theories

The relationship between an individual’s comprehension of his or her role in society, the gender expectations of society, and how these thoughts and stereotypes influence an individual’s behavior in particular settings seem to be separate, yet interrelated. It is for this reason that an analysis of four main theories of gender and leadership must be reviewed for contrasts and comparisons. This paper reviews and analyzes the research literature on Social Role Theory, Implicit Theory, Attribution Theory, and Leader Emergence Theory. Further it draws conclusions and comparisons that will provide recommendations and implications for future research and practice.