Digital Commons Network^™

Support Of Maternity Care Practices To Increase Breastfeeding Among First-Time Mothers, Jessica Strauch

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Breastfeeding offers numerous health benefits to both the mother and infant, yet it is not routinely practiced due to a number of internal and external factors that influence the mother's decision. Guided by the social ecological model, the purpose of this study was to examine the effect of required reporting to The Joint Commission on perinatal measures, a proxy measure for maternity care practices, and those professional effects on breastfeeding initiation and exclusivity for first-time mothers. The hypotheses were that the mandatory reporting, and thus an increase in maternity care practices, would increase the initiation of breastfeeding and exclusive breastfeeding …

Outcome Evaluation Of A School-Based Program For Pregnant And Parenting Girls, Angela Lynn Glynn

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Research has indicated that effective parenting programs for pregnant and parenting teens greatly improve educational and career opportunities for teen parents. Such research underscores the need for schools to use these programs in their efforts to increase high school graduation rates for this population. The aim of this case study was to assess if a school-based parenting program was successful and, if so, how elements of this program might be useful to educators who are planning similar programs. The study included an examination of archived program data, which included end-of-year reports related to the program and participants, and interviews with …

Social Studies Teachers' Use Of Twitter And #Edchats For Collaboration, Eric Langhorst

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Past studies have indicated that teachers in the United States have limited opportunities to collaborate with peers; this limitation has been found to be particularly problematic for social studies teachers. An increasing number of educators are using the social media application Twitter to collaborate. Little research exists concerning social studies teachers' use of #edchats, a weekly recurring Twitter session. The focus of this qualitative case study was the collaboration that exists among social studies teachers participating in Twitter edchats. The theoretical framework was communities of practice. Transcripts of 10 edchat sessions in 2013 were coded with an a priori strategy, …

Secondary School Teachers' Perceptions Of The Integration Of Laptops In The Classroom, Alfreda Justice Smith

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The district under study performed in the lowest academic growth percentage of the state for 5 consecutive years. Although the district received funding for technology resources, effective technology use in the classroom continued to be lacking. The purpose of this case study was to explore the perceptions of teachers at the middle and high school under study in integrating and enhancing instructional technology practices in a 1-to-1 classroom through professional development. In the 1-to-1 classroom, each student was assigned an individual laptop. The framework guiding the study was constructivist instructional methods that promoted best practices for student-centered technology integrated classrooms. …

Aligning Sales Promotion Strategies With Buying Attitudes In A Recession, Paulin Adjagbodjou

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Some managers lack an effective strategy for aligning sales promotion strategies with consumers' buying attitudes in a recession. The intent of this comparative design was to determine the most effective sales promotion strategy for sales improvement and business sustainability during a recession. The theories of (a) sales promotions, (b) consumer behavioral metrics, (c) price reductions, and (d) strategy in a competitive environment represented the theoretical framework that grounded and complemented this research. Using a confidential paper-based survey and random sampling method, preference data were obtained from 287 consumers in retail stores located in a city in the southern United States. …

Strategies To Retain Tacit Knowledge From Baby Boomers, Rhonda Jean Corwin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Baby boomer employees who leave the workplace without sharing tacit knowledge create a knowledge gap within the organization. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore strategies local government leaders use to retain tacit knowledge of baby boomer employees. Six government leaders who worked in the Midwest United States participated in the study and shared their experiences and perceptions. Building upon systems theory, transformational leadership theory, and knowledge management theory, research was conducted to identify strategies to retain tacit knowledge from retiring baby boomers. Physical artifacts and participant interview data were collected and analyzed using traditional text analysis. …

Gender, Instructional Method, And Graduate Social Science Students' Motivation And Learning Strategies, Mae Lynn Spahr

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of the current study was to learn how gender and learning method affect motivation and learning strategies in psychology, counseling, and social work graduate students. The variables of gender, learning method, motivation, and learning strategies are used by the self-regulation model to learning and the theory of independent learning to measure a student's academic success. Increasing the knowledge of these variables will be of interest to academic institutions and to the field of educational psychology because little is known about their interaction. The study's design was factorial quasi-experimental; it used a cross sectional survey consisting of a 2 …

Motivating Higher Education Faculty For Technology Integration: A Private College's Approach, Jacinth Coultman

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Some faculty in higher education are not embracing technology in their face-to-face classes. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to identify and describe faculty members' techniques for improving the technological integration within the curriculum at an urban college. This study investigated the incorporation of professional development activities within the college structure to determine if these mandated requirements resulted in enhanced technology use. Interview and observation data on technology integration practices were collected from 15 faculty members who taught within 5 departments of an urban college for 5 or more years. A combination of open and axial topic and …

Coalitions Members' Perceived Methods To Prevent Adolescent Marijuana Usage After Legalization, Lanise A. Hutchins

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Community coalitions have had successful reductions in adolescent substance abuse, and the legalization of marijuana presents an opportunity for these coalitions to re-evaluate their current methods and messages for preventing adolescent marijuana usage. Using the theory of planned behavior, the purpose of this qualitative study was to determine how legalization of marijuana for recreational purposes affects the methods and messages of coalitions and how the coalition members perceive their efforts to reduce adolescent marijuana usage post-legalization in Colorado. Participants were obtained by recommendations from the executive director in each of four coalitions. A purposive sample of 12 coalition members was …

The Complexities Of Female Sexuality: Narratives Of Women Who Have Experienced Both Heterosexual And Same-Sex Marriages, Krista Anne Butland

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Due to social stigma, millions of sexual minorities have concealed their true sexual identities by entering into heterosexual relationships and marriages. Eventually, some transition to same-sex relationships and are able to live authentic lives. This latter group had identified as genuinely heterosexual, never questioning their sexuality until a particular time in their lives when same-sex desires spontaneously appeared. The experiences of transitioning from heterosexual to same-sex partners are not well known, particularly for women who have been legally married to both men and women. Diamond's dynamical systems theory for same-sex sexuality and McCarn and Fassinger's lesbian identity formation model provided …

Exploring Yoga As A Holistic Lifestyle For Sustainable Human And Environmental Health, Julia A. Leischner

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Improved health indicators, mental and physical health outcomes, and sustainable lifestyle practices have been found among yoga practitioners. The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of mixed styles of yoga practice on the health and behaviors of yoga practitioners. The relationship between yoga and body mass index (BMI), self-reported disease diagnosis, participation in other types of physical activity, adoption of healthy and sustainable lifestyle and dietary behaviors, perceived improvements in medical conditions that yoga was used to treat, quality of life resulting from yoga practice, and the reasons for beginning and continuing yoga were observed and tested …

Mortality Salience Effects On Gender Stereotype Attitudes And Sexism, And The Moderating Effect Of Gender Role Conflicts, Gary Evan Leka

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Research on existential mortality fears has indicated that death reminders impact individuals at the cognitive and behavioral levels. One way people cope with this threat is through cherishing cultural values that provide life with meaning. However, little research has explored how death reminders impact cultural standards regarding gender. These cultural values often manifest through various means by male and female groups. Guided by terror management theory, which posits that people address threats to their existence by engaging in culturally-sanctioned behaviors to enhance their self-esteem, the purpose of this study was to examine the effect of mortality salience (MS) on male …

Correctional Nurses' Knowledge And Perceptions Of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus, Deborah Winbush

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Since 1999, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) outbreaks have occurred in many correctional facilities. Even after the Federal Bureau of Prisons developed clinical practice guidelines on the management of MRSA within correctional facilities, the prevalence of MRSA decreased only insignificantly. Other researchers suggested infection control compliance was equally as important as developing clinical practice guidelines in reducing the incidence of MRSA. Several studies identified the healthcare professionals' nonadherence and inconsistencies to clinical practice guidelines as contributors to MRSA transmission. Accordingly, this project was designed to develop evidence-based recommendations for improving nurse professionals' adherence to MRSA practice guidelines in correctional settings. Using …

Probe Method's Impact On Students' Motivation And Critical Thinking Skills, Diane Marie Specht

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The probe method (PM) is a learning model that equips students with essential learning strategies and skills so they can be successful and competitive in a highly diverse technological global workforce. Although research indicates this learning model was successful at the elementary school level with improving students' motivation to learn, their critical thinking skills, and their ability to solve complex problems, little research has examined the impact of this method at the high school level for students who participated in a career and technical education (CTE) program. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to fill a gap in …

Why Some Women Eat Too Much: A Qualitative Study Of Food-Dependent Women, Gigi Van Ostrand

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Obesity has become a worldwide epidemic and limiting one's food intake, or dieting, is usually unsuccessful. The purpose of the study was to explore the effect of food addiction (FA) on the current clinical and behavioral epidemic of obesity. FA, synonymous with food-dependency, is tentatively defined as an eating disorder based on substance dependence, as defined by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Measurement of FA has been operationalized by the Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS) by applying the diagnostic criteria of substance dependence to eating behaviors. This study was based on the biological theory of chemical addiction …

The Effects Of Differentiated Instruction On The Achievement Scores Of Struggling Fourth Grade Readers, Carol Elaine Boges

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Identifying an effective instructional strategy to remediate struggling readers is a goal for educators. Differentiated instruction (DI) has received much attention as a possible strategy to rectify literacy problems, but quantitative research on its effectiveness is limited. This quantitative study used a quasi-experimental, nonequivalent, pretest-posttest design to determine if DI provided a significant difference in reading comprehension scores between struggling readers instructed with DI strategies and students instructed with whole group strategies. Philosophies grounded in cognitive constructivism constituted the theoretical framework for this study which examined the archival STAR reading assessment pre- and posttest instructional reading level scores of 120 …

Transgender Identity Development In A Rural Area: A Multiple Case Study, Nicholaus Lee Erber

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A transgender person develops an identity over time and must overcome several obstacles such as stigma, transphobia, discrimination, and sexism, which can be even more difficult for transgender people who choose to come out and transition in a rural area. Grounded in queer theory, social constructivism, and rural identity development theory, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore the lived experiences of 4 transgender persons who came out and transitioned in a rural area, and who accessed online communities as a source of information during their identity development. A 4-stage process was used to collect data, …

Teachers' Experiences Concerning The Rise In Student Aggression, Doris Massey Works

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This research study addressed the problem of aggressive and disruptive behaviors for kindergarten through Grade 12 students in a school district located in Southeastern United States. The study examined classroom teachers' daily lived experiences with student aggression. Using a phenomenological design and guided by the frustration aggression theory and the social learning theory, the research questions explored teachers' responses to what can be done to help with disruptive and aggressive students and how social learning could help students with these behaviors. Data were collected from interviews with 5 individual teachers who had experienced aggressive and disruptive behaviors; data were also …

Practice Guidelines For Self-Management Of Osteoarthritis Pain In The Home-Based Settings, Oyesola Omowunmi Akintan

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a debilitating chronic illness that can prevent older adults from accomplishing their activities of daily living or ambulate without pain. The project's purpose was to develop and disseminate multidisciplinary educational practice guidelines to nurses for use in older homebound male Veteran's Administration OA patients to improve home-based pain management and self-care preventative strategies. Orem's theory of self-care management constituted the theoretical framework. The design was a quality improvement project and involved formation of 6 panels of interdisciplinary teams who reviewed the American Society of Anesthesiologist (ASA) and Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI) guidelines. The ASA and OARSI …

Facilitating Weight Tolerance Among Health And Fitness Majors Toward Obese Persons, Stephanie Boss

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Weight bias exists in some health-related degree programs. Overweight and obese persons who experience weight bias in health-related services often delay or avoid medical attention altogether. Guided by the attribution theory, the purpose of this sequential explanatory study was to examine weight bias among health majors at a southwest regional university to illuminate how attitudes can affect the level of care provided to overweight persons. The Attitudes toward Obese Persons (ATOP) scores from a convenience sample of 184 health majors revealed that participants' scores were found to be significantly lower than the midpoint (60) of the ATOP scale, M = …

Correlations Between Childhood Obesity And Obesogenic Environmental Variables Within Durham County, North Carolina, Eureka Capri Daye

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The application of geographic information systems was used to map obesogenic conditions by zip code tabulation areas in Durham County, North Carolina and evaluated associations between those conditions and the understudied area of early childhood obesity. Of the thirty one percent of the children in Durham County, North Carolina who were considered obese in 2010, four hundred and thirty three (1:5) 2 - 4 year old children who received supplemental nutrition services for women, infants and children were obese with BMI levels greater or equal to the 95th percentile and were used as the criterion variable in the study (N=433). …

Business Governance Best Practices Of Virtual Project Teams, William James Hamersly

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The steady increase in project failure rates is leaving businesses searching for better integration techniques to virtualize their project environments. Through virtualization, organizations may have positive impacts on communities across geographical boundaries and resource constraints. The focus of this phenomenological study was to explore, via the experiences of successful project management practitioners, best practice strategies for integrating virtual project teams through data analysis. The conceptual framework included von Bertalanffy's general systems theory, decomposition model of business process and project management frameworks, and the recomposition approach. Twenty-two senior project managers with more than 5 years of experience managing virtual project environments …

Impact Of Computer-Mediated Communication Duration On Adolescent Social Self-Efficacy, Social Anxiety, And Depression, Melaney Laine Davis-Mcshan

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Research suggests that Internet and cell phone overuse may result in lower levels of social skills and encourage isolation from peers. Less clear is whether the duration of computer-mediated communication (CMC) influences adolescent perception of their social skills competency or emotional health. This research was guided by the social cognitive theory, which suggests that social self-efficacy (SSE), the belief that they have the skills to engage successfully with others in conversation and social activities, develops from mastery experiences that regulate thought, motivation, and action. This quantitative cross-sectional survey design utilized a convenience sample of 49 adolescents ages 11-19, living in …

Veterans In Transition: A Correlational Investigation Of Career Adaptability, Confidence, And Readiness, Schleurious Lavan Gaiter

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Thousands of service persons and veterans may be leaving military service annually without required skills and not receiving timely career counseling and interventions needed to aid in their career transitions. Knowledge about service persons' career adaptability, confidence, and readiness could enhance the actions of all stakeholders to address the challenges that accompany career transitions and may aid in identifying needed counseling and interventions. Using a survey containing the Career Transitions Inventory and the Career Futures Inventory-Revised, perspectives were obtained from service persons (N = 264) while attending Transition Assistance Program workshops. Two research questions for the study examined associations between …

A Qualitative Assessment: Adult Perceptions Of Collaboration As Mitigation For Statistics Anxiety, Karl James Kinkead

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Math anxiety, defined as feelings of apprehension and fear of courses involving mathematics, often interferes with student learning in a variety of college-level courses. A related phenomenon, statistics anxiety, affects the performance of many students in statistics courses. Researchers have found evidence that including collaborative problem solving as an instructional methodology is effective at reducing the negative effects of statistics anxiety. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore adult perceptions of collaborative problem solving as an instructional methodology focused on improving the learning environment in a business statistics course. Behaviorist, constructivist, and adult learning theories provided the …

Math Teacher Perceptions Of Professional Development And Student Mathematics Performance, Michael Edward Smith

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Math Teacher Perceptions of Professional Development

and Student Mathematics Performance

by

Michael Edward Smith

EdS, Tennessee Technical University, 2007

MA, Tennessee Technical University, 2006

BS, University of Tennessee Chattanooga, 2003

Doctoral Study Submitted in Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Degree of

Doctor of Education

Walden University

February 2015

The standardized math test scores at a Tennessee high school have trended below the state and national averages. One strategy to improve math performance is a pedagogical structure that facilitates peer interaction and discovery learning. A program of professional development (PD) designed to foster such interactive learning was delivered to …

A Case Study Of Blue-Collar Worker Retirement Investment Decisions, Mark Eldridge Griffin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The finances of blue-collar workers were the most acutely impacted as these workers lost their jobs during the Great Recession of 2007 through 2009. The literature revealed a minimal understanding of how blue-collar workers allocated funds for their retirement, and what their investments might be when they invested. To address this problem, the current qualitative study addressed (a) how blue-collar workers chose to invest or not invest for retirement and (b) how blue-collar workers diversified their portfolio if they chose to invest. Theoretical foundations of the study were based on regret theory and prospect theory. A nonrandom purposeful sample of …

Engaging College Students In Online Remedial Mathematics Courses With Video Instruction, Elizabeth Henley

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many students entering college in the United States need assistance in at least one academic area, causing remedial courses to be commonplace in higher education. This study evaluated the impact of video instruction in learning the content found in an online remedial math course. The instructional videos were created using the guidelines of Universal Design and cognitive load theory. A quantitative, quasi-experimental method was used to evaluate a dataset made available by a regionally accredited private New England college's online division. The online division offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs and certifications, and the students are located all over the …

The Self-Perception And Campus Experiences Of Traditional Age Female Muslim American Students, Carol Warren Koller

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Religion and spirituality have been found to contribute to the well-being of American university students. Although practiced by a small minority, Islam is the fastest growing faith in the United States, indicating a growing campus presence. The purpose of this study was to identify campus experiences that influenced the identity perception of traditional age Muslim American women. The conceptual framework included theories of identity negotiation, intergroup contact, and religious identity as well as campus climate structures developed to improve diversity. This phenomenological study took place at 2 public 4-year universities in California and included interviews with 6 participants. Interview protocol …

A Comparison Of Regional Health Care Structures For Emergency Preparedness, Leslie Porth

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Since 2001, increased policy attention and federal funding mechanisms have required more effective disaster response by government actors and private sector organizations, including the health care system. However, there is limited scholarly evidence documenting which structural elements have been associated with efficacious regional coalitions. This study addressed the gap by examining whether the number of different participating disciplines (a proxy for coalition roles), community setting, and prior weather-related disaster declaration influenced the number of activities (a proxy for coalition responsibilities) conducted by the health care coalition. Social network theory was the theoretical lens with which the study results were used …