UDSpace

The repository is a service of the University of Dallas library and archives. Research and scholarly output, as well as UD's intellectual history, are included here.

 

Recent Submissions

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EXAMINING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN COACHING LEADERSHIP STYLE, ATTRIBUTION OF INSTRUCTOR BEHAVIOR, AND INTENTION TO PERSIST: A MEDIATION ANALYSIS OF CAREER DECIDEDNESS IN AVIATION
(2024-08-14) Turner, S. Scott
A major challenge confronting the pilot shortage crisis is the high dropout rate among pilots during their flight training. Although the issue of retaining flight students is well-known, little attention has been given to the impact of the instructor-student relationship on attrition. This study examines that relationship, the application of the coaching leadership style (CLS), and how attribution of instructor behavior (AoIB) influences students' intention to persist (ITP) through the mediation of career decidedness (CD). Tinto's Model of Institutional Departure serves as the theoretical framework to understand better the factors leading to flight student dropout. The study also examines Attribution Theory to explore how people interpret the causes behind behaviors and how these interpretations influence their reactions. The hypotheses explore how altruistic perceptions and leadership activities can boost students' confidence and competence. The research investigates CLS and AoIB within a proposed model and its beneficial effects on persistence, drawing parallels between the manager-employee and instructor-student relationships. It is recommended that flight schools invest in coaching programs for instructors to enhance student reevaluation of career choice and reduce attrition. Persistence is analyzed across various contexts, including workplaces and higher education. Finally, the study highlights the positive influence of instructor support and instrumental value on students' intentions to continue their flight training. This research holds important implications for education and training, particularly in understanding the nuances of instructor-student relationships. By leveraging insights from CLS and Attribution Theory, retention rates in flight training programs could be significantly improved.
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Call Us Ishmael: Divinity, Identity, and Mystery in Herman Melville's Moby-Dick
(2024-05) McCoy, Zachary Sloan
Often, critics addressing the multiplicity of religious allusions in Moby-Dick; or, the Whale (1851) try to determine what Herman Melville believed rather than assess how religion functions within the logic of the novel: namely, that the manners in which Ishmael, Ahab, and Queequeg conceptualize the supernatural relates to how they understand themselves. Therefore, after cataloging the religions alluded to throughout the novel, this dissertation analyzes these three characters’ interweaving concepts of God and self. Ishmael approaches the divine with sublime wonder, investigating the mysteries he encounters without requiring an answer. Ahab, however, seeks knowledge to determine or somehow define the supernatural: mystery is a problem to solve not an event to experience. Queequeg is content with mystery, but, unlike Ishmael, he prefers to remain incurious toward it rather than investigate it, dutifully practicing his religion with a sense of utility or practicality. Moby-Dick presents these three attitudes toward the divine as distinct methods whereby one can reflect upon one’s experience, ultimately concluding that Ishmael’s complex narrative poses a similar problem to the careful reader, challenging us to contemplate how we, too, make sense of our lives.
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YOLKING THE END TO ITS SOURCE: CIRCULAR GEOMETRY AND MOTION AS AN IMAGE OF DIVINE ASCENT IN DANTE'S DIVINA COMMEDIA
(2024-05) Austin, Kevin Timothy
Dante's Divina Commedia is one of the most renowned works extant from the medieval era. His poetry is imbued with striking images which characterize the relationship between God, man, and His entire created order. Central to these images is la via (the way) which, for Dante, marks the path of man's return to his creator. This return is typified by a geometric image of perfection, i.e., a circle, since God is perfect unity and the rejoining of man with his source consequently follows a circular path. Dante suggests that the circle, being an image of perfection, is concomitant to the image of God Himself, and further that He imprinted this image upon man and the cosmos. Such a suggestion warrants further investigation into the circular mode of man's return to the divine in the Commedia, to examine the imprint of the divine image upon man through the creative act of God. This examination of Dante's Commedia seeks to outline the structure of Dante's cosmos as principally circular, focusing not only on the overt presence of circular structures but also on the motion of Dante the pilgrim in and through those structures. Further, it endeavors to establish this circular organization, which is formed by Wisdom, Love, and the Good, as a theological image of man's return to 'the way' and his motion toward God.
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Laps of Loyalty: Drive to Survive and the Growth of Formula 1 Fandom in the United States
(2024-01-12) Ellis, J. Major
Formula 1 racing, a global sensation, has historically grappled with securing a substantial viewership in the United States, where domestic racing genres like NASCAR have reigned supreme. Recent trends, however, reveal a burgeoning American F1 fanbase, most notably after the Netflix documentary series Drive to Survive. This research delves into this intriguing transition, highlighting the relationship between the documentary's premiere and a notable spike in U.S. F1 viewership. Using the Psychological Continuum Model, this study explores the relationship between viewer connectedness to a TV show and fan engagement with the sport. After surveying 101 Drive to Survive Netflix viewers, we found that connectedness components such as escape and imitation influenced fans' psychological and behavioral engagement. In addition, components of consumer involvement, including hedonic value, centrality, and symbolic value, either fully mediated or partially mediated the relationship. Our results offer invaluable insights for marketers and media strategists eyeing the American sports market. In addition, this research adds to the academic literature by further exploring the dynamics of fan attitudes and behaviors through a consumer behavior lens.
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To Discover, Communicate, and Defend the Truth: A Thomistic Response to the New Natural Law Theorists
(2024-07) Berquist, James Norman
My thesis is twofold. (a) The foundation of every properly human act is the inclination to the fullness of truth, and (b) all morality is rooted in the common goodness of the fullness of truth. This dissertation proceeds along two interwoven threads. The first is the critique of the NNL theorists’ central positions. The second is the development of a more Thomistic account of the foundations of human action with reference to the critique of the NNL theorists’ four central positions. Chapters 1-2 critique the NNL theorists’ position on the incommensurability of the basic goods. Chapters 3-4 critique their account of the ultimate end. Chapter 5 reformulates the NNL theorists’ doctrine on the ultimate end in light of a deeper consideration of happiness. Chapter 6 critiques the NNL theorists’ view on how the first precept directs human action. Chapter 7 addresses the NNL position on the first principles of morality. Simultaneously, Chapters 1-2 show that there is indeed a hierarchy of goods and proposes Thomas’s position that happiness with God is the good of the first precept, though this is only vaguely understood. Chapters 3-4 show that God Himself must be the final object of the human will, and all desire must be rooted in the desire for God. Chapter 5 follows Thomas’s proposal that the contemplation of God is the ultimate end, and that this is the good of the whole man. Chapter 6 argues that the inclination to the fullness of truth is the ground of human agency. Thus, God is the good of the first precept of practical reason, but He is inclined to as the fullness of truth, and this good is the ground of all human agency. Chapter 7 completes this thread, showing how the inclination to the fullness of truth instantiates a moral precept.