College of Behavioral & Social Sciences
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The collections in this community comprise faculty research works, as well as graduate theses and dissertations..
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Item CROSS-CULTURAL COMPETENCE TRAINING EFFECTIVENESS: THE IMACT OF TRAINING TRANSFER AND PREDICTORS OF TRANSFER(2013) Feinberg, Emily Greene; Hanges, Paul; Psychology; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)In order to better understand the many inconsistencies found in previous research on cross-cultural competence (3C) training effectiveness, this study investigated the impact of training transfer (i.e., the extent to which training concepts are applied to the job context) on cross-cultural success outcomes. Predictors of training transfer, unique to 3C training setting, were also examined. Specifically, individual characteristics, such as personality (i.e., openness to experience, tolerance for ambiguity), cultural motivation, and previous international experience, in addition to climate for transfer (home and host organizations), were discussed as important factors that will likely impact the extent to which training transfer occurs. Hypotheses were tested in a sample of Peace Corps volunteers (N=101) who were completing a cross-cultural training course in preparation for foreign assignment. Results found support for training transfer main effects, as well as cultural motivation and home organization climate for transfer as significant predictors of transfer. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.Item Cost Matters: Application and advancement of economic methods to inform policy choice in criminology(2007-05-01) Bierie, David Miles; MacKenzie, Doris L; Criminology and Criminal Justice; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)This project develops and applies a cost-benefit analytic framework to evaluate a specific policy option facing the state of Maryland: To operate an early release program for adult inmates within a therapeutic boot camp facility, or a traditional prison that also emphasizes treatment. Drawing on a randomized experiment in which inmates were assigned to serve six-month terms at one of the two facilities, the study focuses on costs of administering programs and costs of recidivism during the observed 1 - 4 years after release. The data demonstrate the boot camp costs less to operate than the comparison site, and also generates significant reductions in the 'harm' incurred through recidivism. Thus, the data suggest the boot camp option generates a greater net social value for the state and community. These findings are robust to variation in assumptions and computational techniques, both standard to the cost-benefit literature as well as new approaches introduced in this dissertation.