Browsing by Author "Rudd, Rickie Duane"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    Case study of perceived positive youth development inputs and outcomes in 4-H dog programs as identified by 4-H members, parents, leaders and agents
    McGraw, Carolyn Marie (Virginia Tech, 2025-01-06)
    There is a recognized need for additional research that produces empirical data on positive youth development (PYD) frameworks, as well as PYD impacts and roles amongst human-animal interactions (HAI) and youth. This study used inputs and outcomes from the 4-H Formula for Success to identify and describe components of the 4-H dog program within one state as case studies. Inputs included skill-building, meaningful leadership, and long-term relationships with caring adults. Outcomes included the 5 C's: caring, character, confidence, connection and competence. Three counties (cases) were identified, and participants were interviewed about their 4-H dog program experiences. 4-H youth, parents, volunteers and agents were included. A total of 19 interviews were transcribed and coded for themes that fit within the 4-H Formula for Success within the context of each case. Findings indicate a strong presence of inputs that are specific to dog programming, as well as some outcomes and emergent themes, including accessibility, motivation to join and COVID implications. Dog industry professionals greatly contributed to the skill-building and meaningful leadership opportunities for 4-H youth. Connection and Competence were the most frequently coded outcomes across the cases. Participants described the 4-H dog program as accessible due to cost, small size and simple housing requirements, compared to livestock or equine projects. A shared interest in dogs was the primary motivation to join 4-H dog clubs and led to strong connections or bonds between members. Limitations of this study are related to a low participant pool in one case, and recall accuracy and cognitive ability of 4-H youth to recognize and name their perceived outcomes. Recommendations for practice are included for 4-H agents and 4-H volunteers to start, promote or strengthen 4-H dog programs in any location by being intentional when recruiting 4-H volunteers, and planning educational programming. This program can be promoted as more accessible compared to large animal science 4-H programs such as livestock or equine based on data provided by participants in all three cases within diverse contexts. There are several recommendations for further research beyond this study including a longitudinal continuation of this model, replicating this study in other states to examine other 4-H dog programs, or replicating this study for other 4-H program areas.
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    Exploring the Impact of Personality Awareness and Personality-based Influencing Preferences on the Perceived Influence Capacity of New Leaders in Higher Education Community-engaged Practice
    Thompson, Crissy Loraine (Virginia Tech, 2025-01-23)
    This dissertation explores the leadership development needs of new administrators engaged in community-engaged scholarship (CES) within higher education institutions. As these individuals transition from entrepreneurial, autonomous roles to formal administrative positions, they often lack essential competencies in areas such as project coordination, conflict resolution, interdisciplinary collaboration, and managing university-community partnerships. Addressing this competency gap is critical to enhancing their effectiveness as leaders who can bridge institutional and community interests. The study investigates the potential for the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) to enhance perceived influence and leadership effectiveness among emerging CES leaders. A professional development program was implemented, incorporating MBTI assessments, specialized workshops, and individualized coaching aimed at strengthening influence-building strategies. Results indicate that increased self-awareness of personality traits, particularly among extroverted participants, was linked to enhanced perceived influence competencies. However, introverted participants did not consistently report lower influence capacity. The integration of personality assessments, developmental workshops, and coaching significantly improved participants' self-efficacy, critical thinking, and application of influence strategies in practice. Notably, coaching was perceived as a key factor in translating theoretical insights into actionable leadership behaviors, resulting in improved job satisfaction and performance. These findings highlight the importance of personality-based professional development in strengthening leadership capacities for CES roles. By fostering selfawareness and adaptive influence strategies, higher education institutions can better equip new leaders to serve as effective agents of community change and institutional collaborators, thereby enhancing university-community partnerships and advancing social equity initiatives.
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    A Mixed-Method Approach of Exploring the Ways Food Access Impacts the Quality of Life of College of Agriculture and Life Science Students at Virginia Tech
    Petrie, Lana (Virginia Tech, 2023-06-30)
    Food insecurity has been documented on college campuses. Exploring the barriers that factor into food access can provide insight into how to combat food insecurity in higher education. Furthermore, exploring how these barriers play a role in students' Quality of Life (QoL) can help improve a student's success while in school. Little research has been done on food access and its impact on QoL, and research is completely absent in regard to its effects on agriculture students specifically. As the desire for degrees increases, students from more diverse backgrounds are attracted to college. Many students from underrepresented populations experience barriers to attaining a degree that other students may not. First-generation students, being the first in their family to attend college and have little to no knowledge of how to navigate the challenges of degree attainment., International students experience living in a completely different culture and having to adjust to a new country and a new educational environment. This mixed-method study focused on how food access barriers impact the QoL of first-generation, international, rural, and urban College of Agriculture and Life Science students at Virginia Tech. The study involved a concurrent phase (1) of a cross-sectional survey consisting of multiple choice and open-ended questions. The sequential phase (2) of the study constructed interview questions from themes found in phase 1 and then were used to interview students. Once interviews were completed, phase 1 and phase 2 results were then compared to provide a broad view of how food access impacts QoL for agriculture students. The results from the study showed an adjusted R square explained .277 or 27% of the variance in the dependent variable QoL to be affected by the independent variables. The independent variables of food access, first-generation, Asian, and undergraduate classification of senior were shown to be significant in the first stepwise linear regression model. In the 6 stepwise linear regression models that examined the QoL of students based on department/schools, each model was found to be significant and have food access as significant predictor variable. An additional 6 stepwise linear regression models were completed to examine the significant independent variables from the department/school QoL scores models. The QoL scores explored were Asian, Hispanic/Latino, first-generation, international, rural, and undergraduate senior status and all showed food access as a predictor value to impact QoL. In addition, lack of awareness of resources, lack of options that are affordable and available, demanding schedules, running out of meal plan money, lack of acknowledgment of food access concerns, and environment impacted students' ability to access food. Students also voiced that lack of access to food impacted their QoL in the following ways: concentrating in class, studying, attending social events, maintaining a positive physical and mental health status. The impact of food access is a multidimensional problem that was shown to impact the QoL of CALS students at Virginia Tech. Preventing hunger and overcoming food access barriers are not problems to solve overnight. Finding solutions will take time and dedication from leadership, faculty, staff, and students. In addition, just because you may not be experiencing low food access doesn't mean you never will or that your friends are not going through the situation. Demonstrating love, empathy, and kindness when talking about hunger will be needed to lead the fight against this all-too-prevalent problem.
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    Program planning and evaluation frameworks for programs serving farmers with disabilities: Lessons learned from AgrAbility
    Osman, Nesma (Virginia Tech, 2022-06-08)
    One substantial vision of maintaining agricultural productivity and sustainability is to improve farmers' and communities' well-being and quality of life. Offering disability-inclusive programs can ideally improve agricultural producers' social, environmental, and economic conditions. In turn, it has the potential to accelerate efforts to achieve social justice across varied environments and contexts. Thus, the study explored AgrAbility as an agricultural assistance program serving people with disabilities. A mixed-method approach (survey and interview) was employed to (1) explore and aggregate frameworks used by different State and Regional AgrAbility Projects (SRAP) for planning assistance programs, (2) examine the common types of evaluations used for assessing AgrAbility program impact, and (3) identify good practices for maximizing self-report tools' usability in program evaluation. Sixteen AgrAbility states were included in this study (Iowa, West Virginia, Alaska, California, Colorado, Kansas, Maine, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Wisconsin). Two states (Iowa and West Virginia) represent affiliated projects; the other states represent state/national projects. The planning survey was completed by 16 respondents, followed by interviews with 7 of them. The evaluation survey was completed by 11 respondents, followed by interviews with 7 AgrAbility participants (i.e., clients). Three integrated planning models (the Targeting Outcomes of Programs [TOP] model, Sork's planning domains, and Cervero and Wilson's planning model) were used as a conceptual framework to guide the study questions. The study findings offered a framework that could serve as a guideline to answer the following question: "To what extent is the ethical and social-political domain (i.e., power, interests, negotiation, and responsibilities) addressed or enacted within planning programs serving people with disabilities?" Also, the study findings revealed that self-report tools are very frequently used in evaluating AgrAbility outcomes. Ten recommendations were shared by AgrAbility evaluators and program participants with disabilities to improve self-report tools' usability and response rates, specifically in the disability context.