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Effect Of Violent And Nonviolent Risk Factors On Depression In Postpartum Mothers, Brandi Reliance Spaulding Jan 2016

Effect Of Violent And Nonviolent Risk Factors On Depression In Postpartum Mothers, Brandi Reliance Spaulding

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this quantitative, nonexperimental study was to analyze and explore the predictors for postpartum depression (PPD) and the strength of these predictors using a secondary data set from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study from Princeton, Pennsylvania State, and Columbia Universities. By incorporating the biopsychosocial model and feminist theory as the theoretical frameworks for this research, PPD was conceptualized as a serious, multidimensional psychological condition. Using logistic regression, many predictors were identified as etiological for PPD, including subjective attitudes about ideal and introjected characteristics ascribed to women as primary caretakers. These beliefs prevent the extension and acceptance …


Exploring Leadership Strategy Influence On Nursing Personnel Retention Within Safety-Net Hospitals, Carl Brown Jan 2016

Exploring Leadership Strategy Influence On Nursing Personnel Retention Within Safety-Net Hospitals, Carl Brown

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Frequent turnover among a hospital's nursing staff can profoundly impact organizational operating costs. With a national turnover rate of 17% in 2015, understanding the impact of management approaches on nurse attrition is vital to business success. Guided by Homan's social exchange theory, the purpose of this single case study was to explore leadership strategies used by safety-net hospital leaders to increase nursing personnel retention. Data collection consisted of semistructured interviews from a purposive snowball sampling of 8 senior directors working at a safety-net hospital in southern Maryland. Additional information collected involved documents and artifacts related to human resources management policies …


Traffic Enforcement, Policing, And Crime Rates, Marc Weiss Weiss Jan 2016

Traffic Enforcement, Policing, And Crime Rates, Marc Weiss Weiss

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Law enforcement agencies believe that traffic enforcement, in addition to reducing fatalities associated with automobile collisions, may also reduce the incidence of public order crimes. The academic literature, though, has largely failed to address this phenomenon. The purpose of this correlational study was to use Kelling and Wilson's broken windows theory to evaluate whether a statistically significant relationship exists between traffic enforcement rates and public order crimes in South Carolina. Secondary data from 5 counties were acquired from the South Carolina Department of Public Safety and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division for the time period 2008 through 2012. Statistically …


Teaching Through The Lens Of Humane Education In U.S. Schools, Kristine Cecilia Tucker Jan 2016

Teaching Through The Lens Of Humane Education In U.S. Schools, Kristine Cecilia Tucker

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Humane education (HE) is a specialized niche in higher education and adult learning. HE provides a curricular framework positioning environmental ethics, animal protection, human rights, media literacy, culture, and change processes as the nexus for understanding and inspiring social change. Research-derived experiences illuminating how educators conceptualize and implement HE in U.S. schools are absent from the scholarly literature. Facing this gap, practitioners and administrators of HE programs cannot access nor apply research-derived practices to inform instruction. To address this gap, a conceptual framework was advanced weaving together HE teaching experience, Freirean philosophy, hyphenated selves, reflection-in-action, transformative learning, and transformative education …


Psychological Empowerment And Customer Orientation In The Grocery Industry, Christopher Nestico Jan 2016

Psychological Empowerment And Customer Orientation In The Grocery Industry, Christopher Nestico

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Organizations incur $83 billion per year in losses because of negative consumer experiences. Leadership behaviors and the various aspects of organizational life affect employee-customer interactions. With psychological empowerment theory as a theoretical framework, the purpose of this correlational study was to investigate the relationship between the independent variables of psychological empowerment (PE), dimensions of PE (e.g., meaning, self-efficacy, influence), tenure, education, and the dependent variable of customer orientation (CO). Employees of a regional grocery retailer in the northeastern United States comprised the population of the study. Data collection involved the use of paper surveys to measure individual worker levels of …


K-12 Educational Technology Implementations: A Delphi Study, Jennie L. Vandykgibson Jan 2016

K-12 Educational Technology Implementations: A Delphi Study, Jennie L. Vandykgibson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The use of educational technologies is a key component of education reform. In its current national technology plan, Future Ready Learning: Reimagining the Role of Technology in Education, the U.S. Department of Education asserts that educational technologies can transform student learning. Successful integration of educational technology could increase student achievement and transform the setting to bring about positive social change. The purpose of this study was to provide a group of expert panelists an opportunity to identify strategies and guidelines to create an effective educational technology plan. Data were gathered using a modified Delphi technique from 7 teachers, 8 administrators, …


Emotional Dysregulation And Adaptive Skills Among Siblings Of Bipolar Children, Nikki Marie Woller Jan 2016

Emotional Dysregulation And Adaptive Skills Among Siblings Of Bipolar Children, Nikki Marie Woller

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this study was to understand the effects of pediatric bipolar disorder on child siblings. A quantitative quasi-experimental research design was used. According to family systems theory, which was used in the formation of this study, all family members are interconnected and affect each other in a variety of ways. The research questions investigated whether children demonstrated more emotional dysregulation and fewer adaptive skills when a bipolar sibling was living in the home than when there was no bipolar sibling. The matched comparison study used 2 groups of children: those with bipolar siblings and those without bipolar siblings. …


Criminal Justice College Instructors' Experiences, Perceptions, And Teaching Strategies Related To Undergraduate Plagiarism, Mark William Bond Jan 2016

Criminal Justice College Instructors' Experiences, Perceptions, And Teaching Strategies Related To Undergraduate Plagiarism, Mark William Bond

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The criminal justice program in a community college located in the southwestern United States had experienced an increase in student plagiarism. However, the current teaching practices of criminal justice instructors to prevent and manage the increased student plagiarism have not been effective. The purpose of this study was to explore criminal justice college instructors' experiences, perceptions, and teaching strategies related to undergraduate student plagiarism using Goleman's emotional intelligence theory and Daloz's mentoring theory. Employing a qualitative instrumental case study design, data were collected through semistructured interviews with 10 criminal justice college instructors. Member checking and reflective journaling ensured accuracy and …


Knowledge, Attitudes, And Beliefs About Preconception Care Among American Adolescent Females, Lynette Collins Collins Jan 2016

Knowledge, Attitudes, And Beliefs About Preconception Care Among American Adolescent Females, Lynette Collins Collins

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite an initiative to provide preconception care (PCC) and reproductive life planning (RLP) for all women of childbearing age, many women, especially those with low incomes, are not receiving it. As a result, there continues to be a high rate of infant morbidity and mortality in this population. Furthermore, low income adolescent females have not been adequately studied regarding this phenomenon. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore low income adolescent females' knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about PCC and RLP in order to serve them more effectively. Five low income adolescent females, aged 18 to 21, were recruited …


Female Police Officers' Perceptions And Experiences With Marginalization: A Phenomenological Study, Dr. Arlether Ann Wilson Jan 2016

Female Police Officers' Perceptions And Experiences With Marginalization: A Phenomenological Study, Dr. Arlether Ann Wilson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There is a lack of female police officer representation in police departments nationwide. Women's position, or lack thereof, in law enforcement is a topic of discussion in many police literature reviews. However, there were minimal studies detailing female police officers' personal experiences in the law enforcement profession. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to describe and understand the perceptions and lived experiences of female police officers, as well as the impact those experiences had on their careers. Female participants from 3 police departments formed the purposive sample that included 8 full-time female police officers. The feminist theory helped to …


A Composite Index To Measure Integration Of Global Business Citizenship, Linda L. Sanner Jan 2016

A Composite Index To Measure Integration Of Global Business Citizenship, Linda L. Sanner

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Among the top Fortune 100 U.S. companies, 97% claim to be global business citizens, primarily based on self-evaluated qualitative criteria. The purpose of this quantitative cross-sectional survey design study was to develop a self-administered survey and apply it to calculate a composite index rating that assesses the maturity level a company has attained toward becoming a global business citizen. The theoretical framework underpinning the research was based on the theory of global business citizenship (GBC) and accompanying four-step implementation process. The GBC theory was utilized to develop the research survey consisting of 1 qualifying question and 22 Likert-type questions. The …


Multiculturalism In United States Higher Education Institutions: The Lived Experiences Of Enrolled International Students, Loretta Arian Ragsdell Jan 2016

Multiculturalism In United States Higher Education Institutions: The Lived Experiences Of Enrolled International Students, Loretta Arian Ragsdell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Since 2006, international student enrollment in U.S. higher education institutions has increased significantly, which has precipitated an increase in the institutions' multiculturalism. A mechanism to facilitate the integration of students of different cultures within a multicultural institution would be valuable to fostering positive educational experiences for all students. The purpose of this phenomenological study was the inclusion of multiculturalism within U.S. higher education institutions. Banks' multiculturalism theory provided the study's conceptual framework. Six international students were interviewed, and their responses were analyzed to answer 2 research questions concerning the lived experiences of international students enrolled in U.S. higher education institutions …


Risk Factors For Hypertension Among African-Born Immigrants In The United States, John Ojih Jan 2016

Risk Factors For Hypertension Among African-Born Immigrants In The United States, John Ojih

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Essential hypertension (HTN) has been and continues to be a serious public health problem across the globe, particularly among Black races, with an estimated morbidity rate of over 1 billion people and an estimated mortality rate of 9.4 million people worldwide. Essential HTN can lead to a host of chronic diseases including cardiovascular disease (CVD), stroke, myocardial infarction, brain damage, kidney failure, and retinopathy. The main purpose of this quantitative, descriptive, nonexperimental study was to investigate the association of physical inactivity, length of stay in the United States, immigrants' health status, and food security as risk indicators in the development …


Successful Enterprise Resource Planning System Implementation: A Higher Education Managerial Perspective, Elizabeth A. Arthur Jan 2016

Successful Enterprise Resource Planning System Implementation: A Higher Education Managerial Perspective, Elizabeth A. Arthur

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The overall success rate of implementing enterprise resource planning systems is about 30%. Guided by systems theory, the purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore the strategies used to ensure a successful implementation by information technology managers working in higher education settings. The data were derived from semistructured interviews of 6 managers and documentation from a higher education institution in the northeastern United States that successfully implemented an ERP system. Data analysis consisted of reviewing interview transcripts, from which themes and patterns were identified and coded. Three recurring factors arose throughout the analysis involved commitment, communication, and …


Exploring Generation Y Leaders' Motivation And Retention Within The Service Industry, Jason Earl Wiggins Jan 2016

Exploring Generation Y Leaders' Motivation And Retention Within The Service Industry, Jason Earl Wiggins

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The retention of millennial leaders continues to be a concern for executive leadership. The problem addressed in this study was the gap in research regarding how the motivation of Generation Y leaders affects employee satisfaction and retention factors. The purpose of this phenomenological inquiry was to explore the retention rate for 20 Generation Y service leaders in the southwestern United States to illuminate patterns of satisfied millennial leaders by drawing from employers' role in motivating and retaining millennial leaders in the service industry. Herzberg's 2-factor theory, Vroom's expectancy theory, Adams's equity theory, and Maslow's hierarchy of needs comprised the conceptual …


The Perception Of Obesity Among African American Women 35 Years And Older In Houston, Texas, Bernadette Ebere Osuji Jan 2016

The Perception Of Obesity Among African American Women 35 Years And Older In Houston, Texas, Bernadette Ebere Osuji

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

As obesity has reached an epidemic level, the female population age 35 years and older is struggling with increased risks of death from type 2 diabetes, hypertension, coronary heart disease, stroke, and certain cancers. The purpose of this study was to explore the perception of overweight and obesity among African American women 35 years and older in Houston, Texas. A phenomenological approach was adopted for this study to explore the perception of overweight and obesity among African American women 35 years and older in Houston, Texas. This study was also guided by the Health Belief Model as a conceptual framework …


Perceived Effects Of The Affordable Care Act On Emergency Preparedness, Tanya Marie Scherr Jan 2016

Perceived Effects Of The Affordable Care Act On Emergency Preparedness, Tanya Marie Scherr

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

National healthcare as executed through the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) was introduced in 2010, but was discussed for several decades prior to its enactment. Section 5210 of the ACA established funding for a Regular and Ready Reserve Corps (RRRC) to provide support to local healthcare entities with emergency preparedness. It is unknown what impact Section 5210 of the ACA has had on local emergency preparedness, as well as what obstacles are encountered with implementing this piece of legislation at the local level. The purpose of this case study was to understand the obstacles encountered at a local …


Rural Obese African American Women And Depression, Food Culture, And Binge Eating, Tracee Tamiko Smith Jan 2016

Rural Obese African American Women And Depression, Food Culture, And Binge Eating, Tracee Tamiko Smith

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The rural African American population has a high incidence of severe psychosocial problems and a skewed perception of obesity, despite obesity's extremely high prevalence rate in this population. Despite the acknowledgements of these problems, there is a gap in literature relative to the effective treatments for obese African Americans diagnosed with depression. This study measured correlations between obesity and depression, binge eating, and food culture amongst African American women residing in Jefferson County, MS. The health belief model was used to guide an assessment of beliefs, perceptions, susceptibility, cues to action, and self-efficacy. A cross-sectional design was used based on …


Fresh Fruits And Vegetables In A Rural Elementary School: A Mixed-Methods Program Evaluation, Patricia Marie Moore Jan 2016

Fresh Fruits And Vegetables In A Rural Elementary School: A Mixed-Methods Program Evaluation, Patricia Marie Moore

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Program is a federally funded program intended to increase public school students' fruit and vegetable consumption. The purpose of this mixed-method study was to evaluate the implementation of this program at a rural southwestern Title 1 elementary school to determine teacher perceptions of the program and whether the program met federal goals. Social ecological model and social cognitive theory grounded the investigation. The mixed method design included semi-structured interviews with 11 teachers accompanied by an anonymous web-based open response questionnaire and document reviews. Descriptive statistics were reported for Likert scale survey items and invoice documents …


Exploring Best Practices To Utilize Business Intelligence Systems, John James Mchenry Jan 2016

Exploring Best Practices To Utilize Business Intelligence Systems, John James Mchenry

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Organizational leaders who can manage business intelligence system (BIS) resources may achieve sustainable success in economic, political, and corporate environments. The review of professional literature indicated that effective resource management in a BIS environment requires the establishment of best practice. The purpose of this qualitative, single-case study was to explore best practices among 9 BIS practitioners for effective resource management. Participation criteria included the active engagement in BIS professional disciplines and the willingness to share their perspectives. The conceptual framework for this study was the cognitive experiential self-theory (CEST). Five leaders and 4 data analysts at an eastern U.S. county …


Examining Teachers' Lesson Plans Following Universal Design For Learning Training, Georgeann A. Winter Jan 2016

Examining Teachers' Lesson Plans Following Universal Design For Learning Training, Georgeann A. Winter

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

With a growing population of culturally and academically diverse student populations in K -12 education, Universal Design for Learning (UDL) has the potential to improve the quality of teaching and learning for all students. However, there is a lack of research on UDL teacher in-service training to determine whether teachers are more effective at implementing UDL once they receive adequate training. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine changes in teachers' lesson plans following UDL professional training. Seventeen teachers from 5 school districts in the state of Mississippi participated in the study. Teachers' lesson plans were evaluated at …


After-School Activities Policy And The Atlanta Fulton Public Library System, Vincent Chukumah Jan 2016

After-School Activities Policy And The Atlanta Fulton Public Library System, Vincent Chukumah

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Public libraries are evolving from their traditional role as promoters of literacy to a new role as providers of community resources, including after-school activities for teenagers. A policy mandate for such activities appears to be lacking though, which might impact negatively their effectiveness. The purpose of this study was to get a better understanding of the existing policy and implementation mechanisms of after-school activities offered by the Atlanta Fulton Library System in Georgia to at-risk teenaged patrons. Moore's theory of innovation and public value provided the theoretical framework for the study. An embedded case study research design was used to …


Strategies For Real Estate Professionals To Compete With Internet Organizations, Jennifer Dorwart Jan 2016

Strategies For Real Estate Professionals To Compete With Internet Organizations, Jennifer Dorwart

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There has been slow growth among traditional residential real estate organization managers to communicate among the real estate industry successful e-commerce strategies. Grounded in diffusion of innovation theory, the purpose of this descriptive case study was to explore strategies traditional residential real estate managers use to compete with e-commerce real estate managers. The study population comprised traditional real estate office managers in western Nebraska who had at least 5 years' experience in developing successful e-commerce strategies and had sold a home in the past 5 years. I conducted a thematic analysis on the data collected via semistructured interviews and company …


Conflict And Diversity Associated With Four Generations In The Workforce, Rodney S. Milligan Jan 2016

Conflict And Diversity Associated With Four Generations In The Workforce, Rodney S. Milligan

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Four generations of workers share the workforce for the first time in history. Business leaders' failure to address generational conflict may lead to low productivity, high turnover rates, employee frustration, and reduced profits. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the experiences of business leaders, managers, and supervisors in leading a multigenerational workforce within their companies. The conceptual framework was based on McClelland's theory, identifying key motivators that drive characteristics of people, including affiliation. A purposive sample of 20 local employees, spanning 4 generations from the retail grocery industry in Hampton Roads, Virginia, were interviewed to explore general …


An Examination Of School Culture And English Language Learner Achievement, Tawanda Blackshear Hunter Jan 2016

An Examination Of School Culture And English Language Learner Achievement, Tawanda Blackshear Hunter

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

English Language Learners (ELLs) do not achieve sufficiently on standardized tests, as required by federal law. Fourth grade ELLs at a suburban elementary school in the Southern United States experienced similar problems in the failure rate on the state standardized test. Still, this school outperformed several of the schools in the same area of the county. In this sequential, explanatory study, teacher and administrator perceptions of school culture and its impact on the achievement of ELLs in a Southern elementary school were examined. Vygotsky's cultural-historical theory provided the theoretical framework to ground this study, as culture within a school could …


Faculty Knowledge And Use Of Best Practices In Online Professional Continuing Education, Gladys Montane Jan 2016

Faculty Knowledge And Use Of Best Practices In Online Professional Continuing Education, Gladys Montane

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A recent mandate by the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists requires that U.S. radiologic technologists complete continuous qualification requirements (CQR). This study examined faculty skills and practices at an American university that developed online CQR courses in response to this mandate. It was specifically designed to assess the knowledge and skills of this university's faculty with regard to best practices in an online learning environment, so as to provide the basis for meeting faculty needs in distance education. Dewey's work on constructivism served as the framework guiding this study. A qualitative, intrinsic case study was employed to collect data using …


Maximizing Feedback For Self-Regulated Learning, Jodie Maria Hemerda Jan 2016

Maximizing Feedback For Self-Regulated Learning, Jodie Maria Hemerda

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Application of clearly defined feedback types, which have been correlated with improved student performance, has great potential for maximizing instructor use of feedback and its effect on a learner's self-regulatory learning (SRL) for optimized learning. Within SRL, where learner performance is influenced by a recursive internal process, instructional feedback plays a critical role. Yet, the characteristics of external feedback that influence SRL to improve performance are unclear in the literature. Within a theoretical framework where feedback catalyzes self-regulation, this quantitative study sought to integrate feedback type research to expand the SRL model. Data were graded assignments from 23 undergraduate level …


Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy For Veteran Survivors With Full Or Partial Ptsd, Mark Aaron Mayfield Jan 2016

Equine Facilitated Psychotherapy For Veteran Survivors With Full Or Partial Ptsd, Mark Aaron Mayfield

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Symptom severity among veteran survivors with partial or full posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) continues to increase, with approximately 40% of U.S. veterans reporting significant symptomology 10 years after initial onset of the condition. Veteran survivors often struggle to find therapeutic interventions that meet their specific needs and have a difficult time maintaining a therapy that is both equitable and evidenced based. Grounded in the Rogerian, client-centered theory, the purpose of this qualitative collective exploratory case study was to explore the effects of equine-facilitated psychotherapy with 3 veteran survivors with partial or full PTSD. A 4-stage process was used to collect …


Development Of A Patient And Family Educational Document Following Cancer Treatment, Debbie Slipkovich Jan 2016

Development Of A Patient And Family Educational Document Following Cancer Treatment, Debbie Slipkovich

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

New pharmacological interventions for oncology patients have resulted in longer lifespans after treatment completion and a large population of cancer survivors in communities. When patients complete treatment regimens for cancer, they leave the oncology practice with minimal knowledge of community resources that may assist them during this time of transition. These patients may not interact with care providers again until they return for a surveillance appointment in the future. Guided by Bandura's social cognitive theory, this project's aim was to develop a community-specific brochure that described the variety of services available to oncology patients and their families. The practice-focused question …


Identity-Based Cultural Paradigms, Trauma, And Interethnic Conflict In South Sudan, John Maluk Yak Jan 2016

Identity-Based Cultural Paradigms, Trauma, And Interethnic Conflict In South Sudan, John Maluk Yak

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In 2011, South Sudan became independent through the agreement and implementation of the comprehensive peace agreement (CPA). However, interethnic conflict also escalated. This cycle of violence impacts the psychological and physical health of local society. When violence between ethnic groups escalates, civilians may be forced to flee their homes. This study employed a phenomenological research approach that examined the views and experiences of the recruited 13 members from the state of Jonglei; 5 members of the Dinka, 3 members of the Murle, and 5 members of the Nuer ethnic groups residing in the United States. In an attempt to understand …