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Abstract This study examined the participation of 36 second and third grade students from six Title I schools in a summer school reading incentive program. Students attended the summer program who had not meet the reading requirements for their grade levels by the end of the previous school year. As

Abstract This study examined the participation of 36 second and third grade students from six Title I schools in a summer school reading incentive program. Students attended the summer program who had not meet the reading requirements for their grade levels by the end of the previous school year. As part of the summer reading program students accessed free books on a variety of topics and earned incentives for bringing the books back and completing reading logs. This summer reading program was four sessions, thirty minutes, once a week during the one-month long summer program. Results indicate students' opinions about reading improved over the duration of the program. Likewise, the average number of books students read per week and the average number of minutes students spent reading per day increased from pre to post intervention. Limitations and implications are reported. Key words: summer reading, reading program, incentives, reducing reading gaps
ContributorsMineweaser, Lindsey Michelle (Author) / Oakes, Wendy (Thesis director) / Harris, Pamela (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Division of Teacher Preparation (Contributor)
Created2015-05
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The traditional newspaper industry has been under tremendous pressure in recent years due to the emergence and growth of new media. Experiencing of a fast-shrinking market share, many traditional newspaper companies are either pushed out of business or are forced to innovate and reform. In this thesis, I investigate the

The traditional newspaper industry has been under tremendous pressure in recent years due to the emergence and growth of new media. Experiencing of a fast-shrinking market share, many traditional newspaper companies are either pushed out of business or are forced to innovate and reform. In this thesis, I investigate the organizational changes at one of the largest newspaper groups in China, particularly regarding its incentive systems as the group adjusts its business scopes under both internal and external institutional constraints.

Publishers of newspapers were traditionally considered non-profit organizations or social institutions in China. Because of their focus on social goals, their activities were not market driven, including the incentive systems for editorial staff members who were central to the content of the newspapers. As the competition from market-driven new media companies increased, many traditional newspaper organizations started to transform themselves into profit-seeking companies. To survive and grow stronger in the new environment, the traditional newspaper industry needs to effectively motivate its workforce by implementing an effective incentive system for the editorial staff.

In this study I first explain the difficulities the traditional newspaper organizations face to implement an incentive system that both satisfies media’s social responsibility and creates sufficient incentive for for editorial staff. Next, I provides a brief history of the reforms occurred in the Chinese newspaper industry in general and the reforms in Shanghai in particular. I then conduct in-depth case analyses of the incentive systems adopted by four successful companies, including one U.S. media company, two Chinese media groups, and one private non-media company in China. Based on the findings from these case analyses and a demographic analysis of the challenges in motivating editorial staff, a new incentive system is designed and implemented in a major newspaper/media group in Shanghai, followed by a survey of its effects on the editorial staff months later. According to the survey, I find that editorial staff members are generally positive about the reforms that have been carried out at this media group, reinforcing the confidence of the group’s leaders in continuing to push the reforms forward. This study concludes by proposing a framework that can be used to guide the transformation of the traditional newspaper organizations to market-driven new media companies.
ContributorsQiu, Xin (Author) / Shen, Wei (Thesis advisor) / Hwang, Yuhchang (Committee member) / Zhang, Anming (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016