DTheses (Athabasca University)
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LEADERSHIP LEGITIMACY AND DAUGHTER-SUCCESSORS OF FAMILY BUSINESSES
Full text linkWith the increasing acceptance of women in leadership positions, more daughters are being appointed to take over family businesses from their, typically, father-owners upon retirement. However, daughter-successors face significant challenges, particularly in establishing their legitimacy as family business leaders. Leader legitimacy is critical for any organization’s success and is especially vital in family businesses, where smooth leadership transitions are necessary for long-term viability.
Despite its importance, why daughter-successors struggle to gain leadership legitimacy and how they can do so is under-researched. This study addressed two research questions: (1) Why is it difficult for daughter-successors to achieve legitimacy as family business leaders? and (2) How can daughter-successors negotiate their legitimacy as family business leaders? Semi-structured interviews were conducted with fifteen daughter-successors who inherited their family businesses from their fathers. Using a critical realist methodology and integrating social constructionist feminist theory and patriarchy as a theoretical lens, the study explored the social structures and mechanisms impacting daughters' leadership legitimacy.
Findings revealed that societal gender norms and embedded patriarchal structures prevent daughter-successors from being viewed as legitimate leaders. Gender norms construct leadership as masculine, portraying daughters as lacking the traits needed for the role. Patriarchy within the business world compounds this problem, fostering the perception that daughters are “non-natural” leaders.
The daughter-successors used several key strategies to overcome these obstacles and negotiate their legitimacy. First, they focused on gaining status by highlighting their education and experience while proving their competence and dispelling notions of nepotism. Second, they adopted a masculine, take-charge leadership approach by asserting authority and dismissing detractors while simultaneously implementing a feminine, collaborative management style that aligned with their femininity. This dual approach helped them construct a leader identity, enhancing both their self-perception and external recognition as leaders. Finally, they strategically managed the “father paradox” by using endorsement from their fathers, necessary to gain leadership legitimacy, while simultaneously encouraging them to exit the leadership role.
This research highlights the link between gender and leadership legitimacy in family businesses, offering practical strategies for daughter-successors, their families, and women leaders in general to address legitimacy challenges and promote inclusive leadership.2025-0
COMPETENCY IN GST FOR CHARTERED PROFESSIONAL ACCOUNTANTS: ANALYZING AN EXPECTATION-PERFORMANCE GAP
Full text linkThis study investigates the extent to which Canadian accountants meet the day-to-day needs of stakeholders, with a specific focus on the goods and services tax (GST) competencies expected of accountants. There is a noteworthy absence of academic research on technical competencies in taxation, such as GST. A mixed methods analysis of survey data from newly designated accountants, based on a theoretical proposition of an expectation-performance gap, examines the competencies expected by stakeholders and the actual competencies demonstrated by newly designated accountants. A hypothesized expectation-performance gap analysis of newly trained accountants in GST competence concluded that, overall, there is none. When breaking down expectation-performance gaps by specific GST competencies, some gaps emerged. The role of the work experience for newly designated accountants was then examined as a co-occurring factor, and further gaps were revealed when considering employment experience. The study also sought to understand how accountants close gaps from the accounting qualification process in technical GST competency through continuing professional development. The research concluded why accountants engage in continuing professional development in GST and how the industry and educators can address accountants’ needs through ongoing GST education.2025-0
DEXTROSE GEL FOR THE TREATMENT OF NEONATAL HYPOGLYCEMIA: A RAPID REVIEW
Full text linkNeonatal hypoglycemia (NH) is a common issue for newborns that can lead to brain damage or
death if not promptly treated. Treatment for NH may involve separating the newborn from their family for admission to a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) for intravenous (IV) dextrose therapy. Oral dextrose gel is an alternate treatment to IV dextrose
therapy that may help to prevent NICU admissions, however, the evidence from existing systematic reviews to support this therapy is mixed. Using a rapid review, literature published since 2021 was examined to assess the efficacy of dextrose gel
for treating NH. Data from nine eligible studies were synthesized narratively, with six studies (three of high-quality evidence, one moderate-quality, two low-quality) demonstrating a significant decrease in NICU admissions and/or IV dextrose
use with dextrose gel treatment, one study showed no significant differences (low-quality evidence), and two were
deemed to be inconclusive (both low-quality evidence).2025-0
DESIGN OF A GOVERNMENT OF ALBERTA BUSINESS UNIT RELEVANT BALANCED SCORECARD
Full text linkThis research was conducted in the domain of performance measurement, focusing specifically on the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) model as applied to a public sector business unit. Critical issues offering opportunities through this research included exploring the feasibility of implementing a BSC in the public sector, addressing change and resistance, and the need for relevance to minimize barriers to implementation. The research question was, “How can a public sector business unit design a BSC that is relevant and valuable to both the business unit and its stakeholders, and effectively measure performance?” The research discussed here facilitated the development of an effective, relevant, and valid BSC design, and implementation presented opportunities for future research. The approach included collection and analysis of relevant responses from a survey among staff and an inventory of the business unit’s processes related to the perspectives of the BSC. The questionnaire responses (values) informed the illustration of causal relationships among strategic objectives between the four perspectives (strategy mapping) of the BSC: financial, customer (or stakeholder, for the public sector), internal business processes, and learning & growth perspectives. A linkage model with a number of strengths was developed. Criterion-related validation of the BSC design was performed using correlation analysis and showed significant relations between internal business processes and stakeholder perspectives (ρ = .22, p < .0001), financial and stakeholder perspectives (ρ = .13, p = .01), and internal business processes and learning & growth perspectives (ρ = .11, p = .014).2025-0
REGISTERED NURSES' EXPERIENCE WITH ONLINE EDUCATION AND ROLE TRANSITION TO CLINICAL INSTRUCTORS
Full text linkThis research study is a descriptive qualitative case study aimed at addressing the issue of insufficient preparation of Registered Nurses (RNs) for the role of academic Clinical Nursing Instructors (CNIs) in undergraduate nursing programs in North America. CNIs are usually clinical nursing experts with little or no formal preparation related to teaching methods and pedagogy. Reports of CNIs feeling unprepared for the role of clinical teaching are well documented in the literature. This descriptive case study describes the experiences of RNs with an online Academic Clinical Nurse Educator Preparation Program (ACNEPP) and its influence on their preparation for the role of CNIs. The target population for this study was part-time CNIs in undergraduate nursing programs in the United States of America (USA) who had taken the online ACNEPP. Qualitative data collection was conducted through the review of the online ACNEPP, demographic questionnaires, and semi-structured interviews to elicit participants’ experiences with the online ACNEPP and its impact on their clinical teaching practice. Findings from this study indicate that RN to CNI role transition remains challenging; they also highlight content and design features of the online ACNEPP that enhanced the participants’ clinical teaching practice and facilitated their role transition. These findings provide direction for improving preparation of academic CNIs by designing short, flexible, online and on-demand professional development and onboarding programs to help support the transition of RNs to CNIs. The findings can also contribute to addressing the global nursing shortage by preparing more CNIs to support a greater number of nursing students in completing their education.2025-0
LYSINS AS POTENTIAL ANTIBIOTICS: IDENTIFICATON OF CANDIDATE LYSINS WITH PROPOSED ANTIMICROBIAL PEPTIDE-LIKE PROPERTIES THAT TARGET PSEUDOMONAS AERUGINOSA
Full text linkIntroduction
The discovery of bacteriophages that have specific antimicrobial activity against bacteria was prior to the turn of the 20th century. More recently, viral components of bacteriophages, such as lysin, have been described for their lytic activity against antibiotic resistant bacteria. Given the widespread antibiotic resistance in the most common bacterial pathogens, this project aims to better understand how lysins kill bacteria and to identify new lysin candidates that may function as better antimicrobials. Due to an almost infinite number of bacteriophages on the planet, obtaining specific lysins for application in clinical research for use against antibiotic resistant pathogens requires further understanding of their structure and function. Lysins have demonstrated antimicrobial activity in the laboratory setting, and when applied in animal models of infection. Lysins are enzymes that are produced and assembled inside a host bacterium during phage infection. These enzymes typically degrade the bacterial cell wall, with access from the interior of the infected cell. We hypothesized that the C-terminus of lysins from Gram-negative phages will have more antimicrobial peptide properties than Gram-positive phage lysins, which should promote enhanced killing of Gram-negative bacteria. Lysins that can disrupt the outer membrane can gain access to the cell wall from both sides of the membrane.
Methods
Using the PhaLP database of predicted phage proteins, we recovered all lysin proteins from the model Gram-negative and Gram-positive pathogens, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus, respectively. The total number of lysins was reduced by removing all duplicate lysin sequences, as identical lysins were common. Next, we examined the hydrophobicity, net charge, as well as the arginine to tryptophan frequency in the C-terminal 50 amino acids of all lysins, to determine if there was a difference between lysins from Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria.
Results
This analysis indicated that the C-terminal portion of lysins from P. aeruginosa contained more hydrophobic amino acids, higher net positive charge and a higher ratio of lysin/arginine amino acids when compared to S. aureus lysins. Secondary structure analysis of priority lysins had predicted alpha helical structure, which is characteristic of antimicrobial peptides.
Conclusion
By examining the C-terminal domain of phage lysins, we identified more features of antimicrobial peptides in lysins that originate in phages that kill Gram-negative bacteria. Two primary lysins were identified as the lead candidates, as well as six additional candidate lysins for future experimental research to test their antimicrobial efficiency. This work supports and extends the observations that lysins contain domains in their C-terminus that might function to disrupt the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria, thereby enhancing the antimicrobial activity of phage lysins. With this potentially new domain, lysins can access the cell wall from the interior or exterior of a Gram-negative bacterium, and therefore should result in stronger antimicrobial activity. This research has identified antimicrobial enzyme candidates to combat the inherently antibiotic resistant Gram-negative pathogen, P. aeruginosa.2025-0
RACIALIZED STUDENTS’ WELL-BEING: CRITICAL INCIDENTS OF RACIAL (IN)EQUITY IN CANADIAN COUNSELLOR EDUCATION
Full text linkThis study investigated factors that helped, hindered, and were wished for by racialized graduate students to promote their well-being in Canadian counselling psychology programs. Using the Enhanced Critical Incident Technique (ECIT) through a transformative and social constructivist lens, eight racialized graduate students were interviewed about their experiences of racial equity and inequity in Canadian counsellor education. Participants shared 52 critical incidents, consisting of 37 racially inequitable events that hindered well-being and 15 racially equitable events that helped well-being. Additionally, participants provided 34 wish list items for improving their well-being. Inadequate cultural safety and ruptures in trust emerged as primary barriers, while cultural safety and repair of trust served as key facilitators. Nine categories and subcategories of hindering incidents and six categories and subcategories of helping incidents were identified. Recommendations for academic institutions, particularly in counselling education, included challenging colonial practices, increasing diversity and representation, implementing anti-racist curricula, fostering intentional allyship and community support, and facilitating race-conscious dialogue and action. These findings aimed to address identified barriers and highlight actionable changes to cultivate positive transformation in counselling psychology education for racialized students.2025-0
EXPERIENCES OF AUTISTIC STUDENTS IN A CANADIAN NEURO-AFFIRMING BLENDED-LEARNING CENTRE
No full textThis phenomenological study explored the experiences of five Autistic students who attended a Canadian neuro-affirming blended-learning centre and assessed its impact on their mental wellness. Specifically, the study aimed to answer two main questions: 1) What was the experience of K-12 autistic students who withdrew from brick-and-mortar public schools and then attended a neuro-affirming blended-learning centre?; and 2) How was the mental well-being of autistic students affected when they withdrew from brick-and-mortar public schools and then attended a neuro-affirming blended-learning centre? Findings indicate that participants had positive experiences, would recommend the program, and reported improved mental health. Despite a limited sample size, the research suggests that prioritizing mental health and utilizing multidisciplinary approaches are crucial steps to reducing suicidal ideation and self-harm among Autistic youth. The participants’ voices highlight the importance of choice and support in educational settings, opening pathways for further research into best practices for the well-being of autistic students.December 1, 202
STUDENT FACING LEARNING DASHBOARD DESIGN FOR ONLINE LEARNERS
Full text linkThe shift from traditional classrooms to online learning has highlighted the need for self-regulated learning. This study investigates how learning analytics dashboards (LADs) can enhance self-regulation by visualizing performance data. An intelligent student-facing learning analytics dashboard (SF-LAD) was developed and evaluated to support online learners by improving planning, organization, and engagement. Key features include tracking progress over time, comparing performance with peers, analyzing discussion board sentiment, and monitoring login patterns to boost self-awareness. Findings show that younger students (<30) find dashboards more beneficial for self-reflection and engagement, though some features, like peer comparison and sentiment analysis, received mixed feedback, suggesting a need for customization. While the dashboard demonstrated usability within the 50th percentile, the net promoter score (-6%) indicated room for improvement, such as adding "call-to-action" prompts. Overall, SF-LADs proved effective for managing time, motivating action, and creating visibility, offering valuable insights for future iterations.2024-1
PEDAGOGICAL DECISION-MAKING IN ONLINE COURSES: A LOCALIZED THEORY
Full text linkThis research study developed a localized theory describing what factors influenced pedagogical decision-making in online courses and how these factors might be related. Using a Critical Realist Grounded Theory methodology, this research project developed the Contextually Grounded Decision-Making theory to explain decision-making structures, mechanisms, and the relationship between these components. This study used interview data, product reviews, and focus group data from full- and part-time faculty to ensure the emerging theory was meaningful to the research site and data participants. This theory will open areas for faculty reflection and empowerment, institutional change, and further research into understanding the tensions of digital transformation in higher education, identifying points of influence to intervene in pedagogical decisions through the structural components or mechanisms. Although the specific structural components and mechanisms of the resulting theory are limited to the research site, the contribution to the scholarship of this project is the general critical realist-based theoretical model and a process for developing a localized theory across areas of decision-making (including pedagogical) within any given institution.2025-0