dc.contributor.author	Culbertson, Phenix Joseph
dc.date.accessioned	2025-06-04T17:17:16Z
dc.date.available	2025-06-04T17:17:16Z
dc.date.issued	2025-05-20
dc.identifier.other	0386ae75-0459-4a20-bcff-7d054bef0dc8	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	https://hdl.handle.net/10428/7442
dc.description.abstract	This dissertation explores career center leaders' perceptions of integrating virtual reality(VR) and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies for job and internship interview training. Grounded in Rogers' (2003) Diffusion of Innovations theory, the study examines how higher education institutions can adopt these innovations to address challenges of providing scalable, “high-touch” experiences in career services. The study uses quantitative and qualitative analyses to investigate the acceptability, appropriateness, and expected feasibility of VR and AI implementation in career centers. The research team collected data from nine career center leaders representing diverse higher education institutions. The analysis examines the influence of institutional characteristics, such as public versus private institutions and centralized versus decentralized career center models, on perceptions of technology adoption through univariate, bivariate, and multivariate analyses. Although the small sample size limits statistical significance, the findings provide valuable qualitative insights into the nuanced perceptions of career center leaders. The results show that career center leaders generally perceive VR and AI as acceptable and appropriate for enhancing interview skills through immersive training simulations. However, participants expressed concerns about feasibility, including resource constraints and staff training needs, which present barriers to adoption. The study identifies strategies such as public-private partnerships and pilot programs as potential solutions. These findings, aligned with trends in public administration emphasizing innovation in service delivery, highlight the importance of transferability over generalizability. The implications extend beyond higher education, suggesting that VR and AI could enhance workforce development programs and contribute to economic development by preparing students for modern job market demands.	en_US
dc.format.extent	1 electronic record. PDF/A document, 197 pages, 13774490 bytes.	en_US
dc.format.mimetype	application/pdf	en_US
dc.language.iso	en_US	en_US
dc.rights	This dissertation is protected by the Copyright Laws of the United States (Public Law 94-553, revised in 1976). Consistent with fair use as defined in the Copyright Laws, brief quotations from this material are allowed with proper acknowledgement. Use of the materials for financial gain with the author's expressed written permissions is not allowed.	en_US
dc.subject	Artificial intelligence	en_US
dc.subject	Artificial intelligence--Educational applications	en_US
dc.subject	Career development	en_US
dc.subject	Career education	en_US
dc.subject	College placement services	en_US
dc.subject	Diffusion of innovations	en_US
dc.subject	Dissertations, Academic--United States	en_US
dc.subject	Education, Higher--Administration	en_US
dc.subject	Educational innovations	en_US
dc.subject	Educational technology--Evaluation	en_US
dc.subject	Employment interviewing--Study and teaching	en_US
dc.subject	Human-computer interaction	en_US
dc.subject	Job hunting	en_US
dc.subject	Public administration	en_US
dc.subject	Technological innovations	en_US
dc.subject	Virtual reality in education	en_US
dc.subject	Vocational guidance	en_US
dc.title	Diffusion of Virtual Reality (VR) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) Innovations in Career Centers: Perceptions of Acceptability, Appropriateness, and Expected Feasibility of Implementation	en_US
dc.type	Dissertation	en_US
dc.contributor.department	Department of Political Science of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences	en_US
dc.description.advisor	Wright, John
dc.description.committee	Smith, Matthew
dc.description.committee	Lee, Keith
dc.description.degree	D.P.A.	en_US
dc.description.major	Political Science	en_US