Power and change: examining individual and setting level characteristics in relation to perceived influence in council settings and collaborative outcomes

Walden, Angela L.

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/29766 Copy

Description

Title

Power and change: examining individual and setting level characteristics in relation to perceived influence in council settings and collaborative outcomes

Author(s)

Walden, Angela L.

Issue Date

2012-02-06T20:15:10Z

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

Allen, Nicole E.

Department of Study

Psychology

Discipline

Psychology

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

M.A.

Degree Level

Thesis

Keyword(s)

• Collaboration
• Collaborative Settings
• Power
• Individual influence

Abstract

Ideally, collaborative work involves combining multiple stakeholders’ resources and efforts to achieve common goals. Attention to power dynamics within a collaborative setting and efforts to foster power sharing among members has been identified as a “key ingredient” for relational capacity building in collaborative coalitions (Foster-Fishman, Berkowitz, Lounsbury, Jacobson, & Allen, 2001). Despite the general attention that power has received in the collaboration literature, the current understanding of the relative contributions of individual- and setting-level characteristics and their association with members’ perceived influence within collaborative settings is limited. Along these lines, our understanding of how perceived power and its distribution within collaborative settings, in turn, is related to perceived community change has not been explored. The present study examined data collected from Family Violence Councils (FVC) to examine ways in which member- and council-level characteristics of these collaborative efforts are associated with members’ perceived ability to influence the direction of the council (i.e., power within the setting) and, in turn, ways that members’ perceptions of their individual power within the council is related to their perceptions of the ability of the council to affect community change. The current study found that member and setting characteristics were related to members’ perceived power within the council and that perceived power and setting characteristics were related to perceptions of the councils’ achievement of community change. Additionally, individuals’ perceptions of their influence within the council and characterization of the council as engaging in conflict resolution were positively associated with their perception that the council had achieved community change. At the council level, higher variation in perceived power within the council and perceived conflict resolution was positively associated with perceptions of community change.

Graduation Semester

2011-12

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http://hdl.handle.net/2142/29766

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2011 Angela L. Walden

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