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How Educators Use Dogs To Support Children's Social, Emotional, And Behavioral Development, Michelle Renee Roberts-Schneider

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Children's undeveloped social, emotional, and behavioral skills have long been a concern in early childhood classrooms. Numerous studies have illuminated how therapy dogs in pedagogical settings support children's holistic development, yet there is scant data on the integration of therapy dogs into the early childhood classroom. This study was guided by the progressive education theory and the concept of the human-animal bond, which collectively lay the foundation for how young children develop critical life skills in the presence of a therapy dog. A qualitative collective case study was used to examine how 3 early childhood educators used therapy dogs and …

Understanding Caregivers' Perceptions Of Childhood Immunization, Oliver Anyabolu

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Low immunization in Nigeria is associated with high prevalence of childhood diseases. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to describe caregivers' perceptions of routine immunization of their children ages 24 to 36 months. Caregivers' attitudes, cultural beliefs, and knowledge regarding immunization were examined. The health belief model was used to guide study. Interviews were conducted with 5 caregivers of fully immunized and 5 caregivers of partially and nonimmunized children. Digital recordings were analyzed using NVivo 10 to identify themes and subthemes. Attitudes of caregivers with fully immunized children included both perceived barriers (distance to health center, lack of …

Marketing Strategies Used By Franchise Small Businesses To Retain Customers, Hilda Jordan Arline

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Franchised small businesses will not survive their first 5 years if they cannot implement marketing strategies that appeal to their customers. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the marketing strategies that successful franchise small business leaders used to retain customers. The population comprised 4 business leaders at franchise small businesses in North Carolina. Competitive advantage theory and blue ocean theory grounded this study. Data were collected using semistructured face-to-face interviews and review of company marketing materials. Data were thematically analyzed, and 6 themes emerged: personalization of customer service, market segmentation, innovative advertising, networking, brand identity, and …

Experiences Of Nonincarcerated African American Male Youth With An Incarcerated Male Sibling, Fred Nana Biney

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Approximately half of all incarcerated individuals in the United States are young African American men. Researchers have documented that nonincarcerated siblings may commit a crime when their sibling is in prison. The current study addressed literature regarding the experiences, and coping strategies of nonincarcerated young African American men who live in the inner city, and have a male sibling in prison. Guided by Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory, this interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) study explored the lived experiences and coping strategies of African

American male youth with a brother in incarceration. Purposive sampling was used to select 3 nonincarcerated African American …

Social Stereotyping And Self-Esteem Of Miss America Pageant Contestants, Ebony Bowers

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Miss America Pageant contestants (MAPCs) have been negatively stereotyped socially for their perceived lack of intelligence and nonconformance to feminist gender stereotypes of women. Stereotypes could affect an individual's social psyche and establish stigma, which could prevent a group from achieving their full potential. Stereotypes could also result in women having mental health disorders, low self-esteem, a decrease in self-efficacy, body image dissatisfaction, and eating disorders. The problem this study addressed was that women who participate in the Miss America Organization (MAO) preliminary pageants risk social stigma for taking part in a seemingly nonfeminist activity. Intercultural communication research (ICR) was …

A Qualitative Phenomenological Study Of Employee Perceptions Of The Impact Of Layoffs, Linda Carrington

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Millions of Americans were terminated from their employment in massive layoffs in 2013, which not only created outrage among employees. but also opened the door for retaliatory lawsuits. However, profitable companies are still engaged in restructuring and layoffs, which have a negative effect on employees, managers, and survivors. Such actions create mistrust in management and continue to plague the workforce and the economy. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the impacts that layoffs and downsizing have on employees' trust, work performance, behavior, and health. Informed by Sarker's theory on management and employee trust, the research questions explored …

Healthy Work Environment: Essentials For Outcome Improvement, Lisa Cuff

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this project was to identify the standards for the American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN). The employees of a 39-bed medical surgical unit within a 697-bed metropolitan medical center were selected through collaboration with the practicum site. Out of 68 allocated positions for this unit, only permanent employees were selected to participate. An employee presented the purpose of the project, the survey process, and inferred consent represented by online login to complete the survey. Following the online assessment, the employee explained the AACN healthy work environment standards in a subsequent presentation. The online healthy work environment …

Effects Of Acculturation Gap And Attachment Style On South Asian Adolescent Well-Being, Malliga Delaney Delaney

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

South Asian (SA) adolescents experience the added challenges of identity development and coping as a minority population of color in a predominantly White host culture. Adolescent attachment style (AS) with their parents, along with an acculturation gap (AG) with their parents, can either add to or alleviate their struggles. A matched acculturation style and secure AS with their parents were hypothesized to result in higher ethnic identity and adaptive coping. The Brief COPE, Multiethnic Identity Measure, Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment, and the Bicultural Inquiry Questionnaire were used to measure the independent (AG and AS) and dependent variables (identity …

Associations Between Adolescent Perceptions Of Parental Interactions And Adolescent Sexual Behaviors, Shakesha (Shai) Fairley

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Sexual risk behaviors among U.S. adolescents is a major public health concern. Adolescents are contracting sexually transmitted diseases at alarming rates. The purpose of this research was to identify factors related to parent-child interactions that influence adolescent sexual behaviors. A combination of attachment theory and family systems theory was used to help explain how adolescent sexual choices (age of sexual debut, use of birth control, use of condoms, multiple sex partners in a 12-month period) are affected by the perceived quality of parent-child interactions (maternal/parental closeness, monitoring, communication, and involvement). Archival data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics National …

Women Entrepreneurs: Keys To Successful Business Development And Sustainability Beyond Five Years, Delores Duncan Foster

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Women-owned businesses are one of the fastest growing entrepreneurial populations, accounting for 8 million of the 28 million small businesses in the United States. Small businesses fail at a rate of 55% by the 5th year of operation and women, who own over 30% of all small businesses, contribute significantly to the 55% small business failure rate. Using Schumpeter's framework, this single exploratory case study investigated how women entrepreneurial small business owners use strategies to sustain their business operation beyond 5 years. A purposeful sample identified 2 women salon small business owners located in the Macon, Georgia metro area. Data …

Marketing Strategies For Increasing Latino Enrollment In Higher Education, Melissa Rocio Gomez De La Fuente

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many leaders of higher education institutions in the United States face changes in student demographics, tightened regulatory environments, and reduced state funding. University leaders have an opportunity to leverage targeted marketing strategies in order to increase their institutions' market share in the Latino student segment. The purpose of this study was to explore the strategies that some university leaders use to increase Latino student enrollment in higher education programs. The marketing mix and the Ps of marketing theory comprised the study's conceptual framework. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 3 marketing experts from the higher education sector, who were selected by …

Lived Experiences Of Exonerated Individuals 1 Year Or Longer After Release, Claudette M. Grooms

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The majority of information related to the postprison experiences of exonerated individuals is frequently found in reports by journalists, or based on the findings of scholars on systematic factors that contribute to wrongful incarcerations. There is a lack of social science research on the unexplored meanings and essence of the postprison lived experiences of exonerees exclusively from their perspectives. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand and describe the postprison lived experiences of exonerated individuals, 1 year or longer after their prison release. The conceptual framework was guided by Tajfel's social identity theory and Becker's social reaction theory. …

Small Aviation Business Success Strategies For Profitability, Christina Hiers

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Ninety-five percent of all aviation businesses are small businesses; from 2009-2012, small aviation business operations decreased by 10.2% and resulted in a loss of $4.4 billion in revenue. The purpose for this multiunit case study was to explore what strategies small aviation businesses leaders used to reduce or control operating expenses for profitability. The sample comprised 3 small aviation businesses located in Middle Tennessee. The conceptual framework for this study built upon systems theory and sustainability theory. The data were collected through semistructured interviews and company documents. Member checking was completed to strengthen creditability and trustworthiness. Based on the methodological …

Health Science Adminstrators' Perception Of Remediation With Students In The Professional Track Programs, Yvonne Jackson Jackson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Remediation to improve student retention is rapidly becoming an important part of health science programs in higher education. A career college located in the midwestern United States implemented remediation for students to address declining enrollment health science professional-track programs. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore how remediation was carried out by college instructors and their perceptions of instructional best practices for students in health science programs in the context of current research. The conceptual framework that guided this study was based on constructivism and adult learning theory. Research questions focused on how instructors were carrying out …

Strategies That Make Entrepreneurs Sucessful On A Second Business Launch, Willie Joseph Johnson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Fifty percent of small businesses launched survive 5 years or more and about 33.3 percent continue operating for 10 years or longer. This transcendental phenomenological study included Cantillion's theory of entrepreneurship to explore strategies used by successful second-time business owners after a failed first launch. Face-to-face interviews took place with 12 successful second-time business owners in Fairfax County, Virginia, whose first business had failed. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed using a modified Van Kaam method to identify strategies small business owners used to succeed beyond 5 years after a failed first business venture. Data analysis revealed 4 themes: (a) owners …

Doing Qualitative Research Online Book Review, Donna M. Busarow

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

A recent addition to qualitative instruction is Salmon's (2016) book, Doing Qualitative Research Online. This book review examines the book as an educational tool for student researchers.

Perceived Competency In Grief Counseling: Implications For Counselor Education, Rick Jude Cicchetti, Laurie Mcarthur, Gary M. Szirony, Craig Blum

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

Grief is regarded as a critical life event. Unresolved grief issues can interfere with quality of life and can result in emotional, behavioral, physical and cognitive symptoms, and if unresolved, can result in suicidal ideation. Counselors can be called upon and often do work with grief issues in clients, including U. S. Military veterans. This study examined whether 93 master’s level counselors specializing in rehabilitation counseling reported having been adequately trained to identify and work with clients who are having grief-related issues from loss or disability. Using the Grief Counseling Competency Scale (GCCS), participants showed a wide range of scores …

Book Review Of Cure, David Yells

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

In Cure: A Journey Into The Science of Mind Over Body, Dr. Jo Marchant explores the world of complementary and alternative medicine. The context for her exploration is the limitations of standard, Western medicine. In some cases, traditional Western medicine has been unable to provide reliably effective treatment for medical conditions. In other cases, the treatment may result in intolerable side effects. Marchant addresses approaches such as hypnotherapy, virtual reality, and even the power of belief (as reflected in the placebo effect) in the treatment of such disparate conditions as Parkinson’s disease, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, and Fibromyalgia. She combines …

Board Member Perceptions Of Small Nonprofit Organization Effectiveness, Laura L. Maurer

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

In contemporary American society, the nonprofit board is accountable for ensuring that an organization has sufficient resources to carry out its mission. Filling the gap between demands for services and the resources to meet them is often a struggle for small nonprofit organizations, a problem of nonprofit organization effectiveness. I conducted a hermeneutic phenomenological study that examined how board members of small local nonprofits in the focal community perceived nonprofit organization effectiveness. A review of the literature revealed that nonprofit organization effectiveness involved the action of contributing to the organization and the motivation behind the action, both of which were …

Food Policy: Urban Farming As A Supplemental Food Source, Bessie Didomenica, Mark Gordon

Journal of Sustainable Social Impact

Food policy has a unique role for public, nonprofit, private, and academic stakeholders. Growing food in the city is a challenge worldwide. Food systems can be destroyed by external (weather extremes) and internal (zoning regulations) forces. This study explores urban farms as a secondary food source and their common themes across four sectors. A Northeastern U.S. city was the case study to examine how it implemented its formal urban agriculture program. The positive social change implications of urban farms include greater food visibility and food access in low-income areas and more consumer awareness about growing fresh food. This study contributes …

Citizen Wellbeing And Gdp: Towards More Appropriate Measures Of Namibia's Success And Progress, Justine Braby Dr, Jessica-Jane Lavelle, Johannes Mulunga, Newman Nekwaya, Fikameni Mathias, Angula Angula

Journal of Sustainable Social Impact

Developing nations like Namibia are aiming to industrialize much like developed nations and use the gross domestic product to measure their progress. However, this development path has been largely unsustainable. For Namibia to develop into a sustainable society, a different approach is needed. This study aimed to find entry points toward such an approach. Surveys were conducted in Windhoek, Namibia's capital, to measure human well-being. Generally, as is expected in a developing country, well-being correlated positively along the income line. However, the indicators did illustrate that a more holistic measure would go a long way toward more effective development planning …

Why Culture Matters In Business Research, Gene E. Fusch Ph.D., Christina J. Fusch, Janet M. Booker Dr., Patricia I. Fusch Ph.D.

Journal of Sustainable Social Impact

Organizations today are changing rapidly due to technology, globalization, and cutting-edge production, subsequently morphing into new structures and workflow processes. Organizations are becoming more diverse in terms of gender, age, race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation. The business workplace is not the melting pot that many were taught about, but that of the ethnic salad, blended yet distinct. The core of organizational composition worldwide still remains within the human resource realm for a shared and cohesive culture is behind the success of every company. The study of workplace culture is important for business research to ascertain the construct of the successful …

Life, Liberty, And The Pursuit Of Happiness: Measuring What Matters, Laura Musikanski, Carl Polley

Journal of Sustainable Social Impact

This essay focuses on ways in which the governments of Bhutan and the United Kingdom are measuring subjective well-being as well as on how other governments including Norway, Spain, China, Canada, and New Zealand, are exploring the development of subjective well-being indicators. It concludes with recommended actions to aid in the formation of a consistent and comparable subjective well-being indicator for use by governments globally. The third in a series for which the purpose is to provide information to grassroots activists to foster the happiness movement for a new economic paradigm, this essay builds on the previous essays, Happiness in …

Book Review: Reinventing Organizations: A Guide To Creating Organizations Inspired By The Next Stage In Human Consciousness By Frederic Laloux, David K. Banner

Journal of Sustainable Social Impact

Reinventing Organizations: A Guide to Creating Organizations Inspired by the Next Stage of Human Consciousness is a terrific book for anyone interesting in learning about democratizing and debureaucratizing organizations while increasing profits and employee satisfaction, engagement, and well-being. Though this sounds unrealistic and perhaps a bit Utopian, author Frederic Laloux’s thorough research and in-depth reportage of various exemplar organizations around the world, demonstrate that it can be done—but not by anybody. Like any evolutionary system, the forefront of enlightened organizational change begins with a few who become the models and create the systems and conditions for others to follow—when they …

A Phenomenological Investigation Of Leader Development And Mindfulness Meditation, Denise A. Frizzell, Stephanie Hoon, David K. Banner

Journal of Sustainable Social Impact

Regardless of the gap between the demands of the global work environment and the maturity of leaders, minimal research exists on the trend of the practice of mindfulness meditation and the developmental experiences of leaders. Consequently, scholars have little understanding of how an increasing number of leaders experience mindfulness meditation. The purpose of this study was to understand the perceived impact mindfulness meditation had on leader development for 20 manager-leaders who had a regular (at least 3 days a week) mindfulness meditation practice. The primary recruitment strategy included outreach to potential participants affiliated with professionally oriented mindfulness groups on LinkedIn. …

Small Business Leaders' Perceptions Of Strategies Facilitating Positive Performance In Government Contracts, Tamara P. Williams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Past performance ratings of government contractors are becoming a critical pathway to the $300 billion of contract dollars Congress sets aside for small businesses annually. This was a descriptive study exploring leadership strategies small business leaders use to attain positive performance ratings in government contracting, viewed through the lens of the principal-agent theory. The exploration occurred by interviewing 21 small business leaders located within 30 miles of Washington, DC, with favorable performance ratings on at least 3 government contracting opportunities. Clustering themes according to Moustakas's modified van Kaam helped organize, analyze, interpret, and provide meaning to participant accounts of the …

Perceptions Of Highly Recognized Teachers About Approaches To Teacher Leadership, Maryann Woods-Murphy

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

State and regionally recognized New Jersey teachers struggle to use their professional knowledge in their schools and districts in roles other than teaching. The purpose of this study was to discover the perceptions of highly recognized New Jersey teachers who were interested in taking on additional roles and responsibilities in schools. Guided by Sergiovanni's concept of school communities, DuFour's vision of school culture, and Lieberman's professional development practices, this study examined the connection among these 3 concepts and explored approaches to the creation of trusting communities of teachers who work collaboratively to improve schools. The research questions focused on teacher …

The Relationship Between Cultural Intelligence And Work Outcomes Of Expatriates In China, Barbara Joanna Diemer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

International assignment failures cost an organization roughly 3 to 4 times an expatriate's annual salary with the most expatriate failures cited for work assignments in China. Previous scholarly research identified cultural intelligence (CQ) as being influential to expatriate work outcomes. The purpose of this correlational study was to examine the relationships among a subset of CQ predictor variables and work outcome related dependent variables. Quantitative analysis regarding the relationship between CQ and work outcomes for U.S. nationals working in China does not currently exist in the scholarly research. Improvement of expatriate work outcomes and reduction of failed assignment costs is …

Effects Of Academic And Nonacademic Factors On Undergraduate Electronic Engineering Program Retention, Munir Sulaiman

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programs in higher education institutions, particularly engineering programs, face challenges related to recruitment, retention, and graduation rates. The purpose of this study was to determine whether there are significant relationships among students' major preference, academic skills, nonacademic characteristics and perceptions, and retention to year 2 among students in electronic engineering, other STEM, and non STEM majors. The academic skills considered were study habits, intellectual interest, verbal and writing confidence, and academic assistance. The non-academic factors included academic support, family support, financial support, and student social integration into the campus environment. Tinto's theory of retention …

Health Care Leaders' Experiences Of Electronic Medical Record Adoption And Use, Joseph B. Weagraff

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Adoption of electronic medical record (EMR) technology systems of meaningful use has been slow despite the mandate by the U.S. government. The purpose of this single case study was to explore strategies used by health care leaders to implement EMR technology systems of meaningful use to take advantage of federal incentive payments. Diffusion of innovation theory provided the conceptual framework for the study. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 6 health care leaders from a military installation in the Southeast United States. Data were analyzed using software, coding, and inductive analyses. The 3 prominent themes were patient, provider, and champion. Alerts …