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Increasing Hpv Vaccination Rates Among Adolescent Males: A Toolkit For Parents, Lance Everette Hadley

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), there are approximately 14 million new cases of HPV diagnosed each year (men and women combined). The rate of vaccine administration among adolescent males is much less than it is among females. As a result, the CDC has urged health care providers to work with state and local health care providers to improve the utilization of the HPV vaccine. The purpose of this scholarly project was to develop an educational toolkit, one guided by Ajzen and Fishbein's theory of reasoned action, regarding the value of the HPV vaccine. The toolkit …

Talent Retention In Organizations Facing Staff Reductions Via Layoffs, George Edward Lightfoot

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

High voluntary attrition threatens the future of downsizing organizations. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore how employee layoff announcements reduces the perception of organizational commitment to experienced, skilled workers in central Wisconsin. The conceptual framework integrated stress response theories including Cannon's cognitive activation theory of stress. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 20 journeyman level artisans who had witnessed the layoff process within 50 miles of Wausau Wisconsin. These interviews were analyzed via the modified van Kaam method to code, cluster, and group the findings into significant themes. Nine themes emerged from the analyses suggesting layoff implementation strategies …

Factors Associated With Chlamydia Trachomatis Reinfection Among Puerto Rican Adolescents 2008-2012, Flavia Rosado

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between Chlamydia trachomatis reinfection rates of Puerto Rican adolescents and failure to follow the retesting protocol, failure of sexual partners to receive treatment, and failure to participate in the sexual orientation program about risk factors. Secondary data analysis, from a historical prospective study from the Health Department of Puerto Rico, was used in this study. Data analysis was restricted to adolescents 15 to 19-years-old who had a positive chlamydia result and reinfection pattern since January 2008 through December 2012. Multiple logistic regression analyses were run to predict Chlamydia trachomatis reinfection. …

Knowledge, Attitude, Lifestyle Practices, And Quality Of Life In Sporadic Lymphangioleiomyomatosis Patients, Shahpar Vafamand

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM) is a rare lung disease recognized by abnormal growth of smooth muscle cells proliferating in lungs parenchyma, developing benign tumors, migrating to the other organs, and ultimately leading to respiratory failure and death. Despite existing literature mainly on clinical aspects of LAM, there is a gap of literature in regards to the knowledge, attitude, and lifestyle practices (KAPs) of LAM patients and their effects on their quality of life. The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate the KAPs of the sporadic LAM patients as measured by the Bristol Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Knowledge Questionnaire, Beliefs and …

Owner-Manager Separation And The Structure Of It Governance In Small Business, Jeffrey S. Saffer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Small business owners and small business managers tend to favor different information technology (IT) governance structures. Such differences can lead to ineffective management and control of IT in small businesses. The purpose of this correlational study was to examine the extent and nature of the association between owner-manager separation in small businesses and the structure of IT governance in the businesses. Agency theory formed the theoretical framework of this study. Data were collected using a web-based survey and randomly sampled 3,697 small business owners and managers located in New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Chi-square statistics indicated no significant association between owner-manager …

An Analysis Of Teachers Who Teach Struggling Students, Brett Rankin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

After many years of reform efforts, educators are still searching for ways to better serve the needs of struggling students. The purpose of this study was to develop a grounded theory (GT) that reflects teachers' perceptions of students' behavior, students' need for support, and students' skill deficiencies. Discovering the ways in which teachers address students' needs could sharpen teacher practices and promote support for struggling students. Guided by Weimer's research on learner-centered teaching, this GT study created a conceptual understanding of classroom experiences from teachers' perspective. Twenty teacher interviews began with the grand tour question, "Talk about teaching struggling students …

Self-Efficacy, Self-Determination, And Self-Regulation: The Role Of The Fitness Professional In Social Change Agency, Joshua M. Garrin

Journal of Sustainable Social Impact

Current epidemiological data reported by governing health authorities reveal the biopsychosocial complexity of health maintenance in the 21st century. As statistics reflect the insidious, worldwide impact of chronic disease and psychosocial stress, the medical domain continues to endorse multidisciplinary approaches to support the myriad systems that underpin health and well-being. With their scope of practice continually expanding to accommodate such needs, fitness professionals (FPs) have become a mainstay on the front lines of health behavior management in recent years. Beyond their role in facilitating physical health gains, contemporary FPs undertake the challenge of instilling health self-efficacy beliefs, reinforcing autonomy and …

Happiness In Public Policy, Laura Musikanski

Journal of Sustainable Social Impact

The happiness movement represents a new paradigm where social, economic, and environmental systems are structured to encourage human well-being in a sustainable environment. Bhutan has adopted Gross National Happiness (GNH) as a way of determining its society’s success in contrast to purely economic goals and the singular use of the gross domestic product indicator. Bhutanese policy promulgation includes use of a GNH screening tool. In the United Kingdom, happiness indicators are being used to collect data and the government is starting to explore their application to policy. The Bhutanese GNH policy screening tool has been adapted for the grassroots activists, …

Book Review: New Age Globalization: Meaning And Metaphor By Aqueil Ahmad, Susan H. Jespersen

Journal of Sustainable Social Impact

New Age Globalization examines interdependent and interconnected global society in terms of its structure, including both functional and process characteristics, with an underlying concern for global consciousness resulting in global social change for human welfare. The theoretical framework provides for analysis of history, culture, economics, demographics, political systems, conflicts, knowledge, and religions of regions throughout the world. This is a well-researched book with information on complex topics for the global researcher, corporate planning executive, human resource manager, and educator, among others seeking to understand social and organizational systems in our global world.

An Investigation Of “Circle Of Friends” Peer-Mediated Intervention For Students With Autism, Mary Schlieder, Nancy Maldonado, Beate Baltes

Journal of Sustainable Social Impact

The dramatic rise in children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is accompanied by a substantial increase in public school inclusion. A growing body of research supports the need for teachers proficient in evidence-based practices to support such students. One strategy involves using peer support networks like Circle of Friends (CoF) for ASD adolescents. A collective case study was used to investigate experiences of stakeholders relative to a CoF community. Four themes emerged from a cross-case analysis: the influence a CoF partnership initiative has on inclusion, social skills improvement, empowerment, and sense of wellbeing. For the purposes of this article, …

Effects Of A Classroom Curriculum On Physical Activity And Its Psychological Predictors In High School Students, John Trinity Edd, James J. Annesi Ph.D.

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

Recent research indicates that recommended amounts of physical activity suggested for health benefits are rarely met in high-school–age adolescents. A pilot study was conducted to investigate the effects of a classroom health-education–based curriculum intervention on the physical activity of high school students. A within-group research design was used on data from a sample of ninth grade boys and girls (N = 104) who received six classroom health education lessons over 5 weeks based on social cognitive theory. The lessons focused on improvements in the theory-based psychological variables of mood, body satisfaction, physical self-concept, and exercise self-efficacy. Mixed-model repeated-measures ANOVAs …

Hiv-Positive Parents’ Accounts On Disclosure Preparation Activities In Kenya, Grace Gachanja, Gary Burkholder, Aimee Ferraro

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

HIV disclosure from parent to child is a complex and challenging issue that plagues parents and healthcare professionals. Little is known about how HIV-positive parents prepare themselves and their children for full disclosure and what resources they need. This study was conducted to understand the lived experiences of HIV-positive parents and their children during the disclosure process in Kenya, particularly the activities performed by parents in preparation for HIV disclosure. Qualitative phenomenological data was collected via in-depth semistructured interviews conducted with 16 HIV-positive parents with biological children aged 8–17 years who had no, partial, or full disclosure of their parent’s …

The Sexual History Polygraph Examination And Its Influences On Recidivism, Roger Cook, William Barkley, Peter B. Anderson

Journal of Sustainable Social Impact

The polygraph in postconviction sex offender testing is used to assist in the treatment and supervision of convicted sex offenders by more than 70% of the jurisdictions that supervise these offenders in the United States. Prior researchers have failed to convincingly demonstrate how the polygraph can be used to target risk behaviors and reduce recidivism. Consequently, the use of the sexual history polygraph examination (SHPE) has not been demonstrated to reduce recidivism. We sought answers as to how the SHPE influences the behaviors of sexual offenders required to undergo a SHPE, and whether or not there is a difference in …

Health Promotion And Education Among Refugee Women: A Literature Review, Eunice Kimunai

Journal of Sustainable Social Impact

The aims of this literature review were to (1) identify a comprehensive range of issues surrounding female refugee physical health and (2) identify strategies addressing most of the critical physical health issues surrounding female refugee heath through dynamic and community-based approaches. Articles published from 1996 through 2011 were located online using United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, World Health Organization, EBSCOhost, PubMed, CINAHL, and OVID MEDLINE. Keywords used for searching included “refugee health,” “refugees’ health promotion,” and “refugees.” Inclusion criteria were female refugees and studies involving extensive exploration of refugee population. Exclusion criteria were studies that involve mental psychological issues …

The Will To Lead: The Dynamic Integration Of Intrinsic Motivation And Social Change Leadership, Joshua M. Garrin

Journal of Sustainable Social Impact

Discourse on the psychosocial substrates of human motivation reflects a hot-button theme in contemporary leadership research circles. For many aspiring leaders, role models and social support provide an undercurrent for instilling leadership attributes. Yet for others, the drive to optimize leadership potentials is a naturally occurring, internally guided event that is continually reinforced through self-regulatory processes. As such, questions remain as to which intrinsic motives underpin the leadership potentials that have implications for social change agency. To date, the extant literature fails to offer a comprehensive model that highlights (a) the self-motives that have preeminent applicability to intrinsic motivation, (b) …

The Power Of Workplace Wellness: A Theoretical Model For Social Change Agency, Joshua M. Garrin

Journal of Sustainable Social Impact

As millions of individuals face the complex challenge of adopting prohealth behavior as a core lifestyle attribute, there is an ever-increasing need to take an opportunistic approach to practicing and internalizing such behavior. Time constraints, prioritization, and time mismanagement widely contribute to the perceived inability of individuals to adhere to prohealth behavior. Given vocation as a demand that constitutes approximately one third of daily life activity, the organizational setting has emerged as a context that can potentially offer a vast array of viable workplace wellness (WW) opportunities. Such initiatives go beyond framing organizations as vehicles for health behavior promotion—instead, the …

The Taiwanese Student Happiness Initiative: Fulfilling Lives And Success In The Future, David R. Pendery

Journal of Sustainable Social Impact

This research examines happiness levels in a group of Taiwanese students and extrapolates what the data may mean for government and educational policy. I conducted this research by allowing students at universities in Taiwan to access the Seattle-based Happiness Alliance Gross National Happiness Index Survey, which measures happiness. I examine happiness levels in the students, compare them with global happiness survey results, and then recommend policy developments that can be taken by Taiwanese government and educational institutions. This data and the recommendations may have far-reaching implications in Taiwanese society. I focus my recommendations on areas where the students scored lower …

Decreasing Central Line Complications With A Dedicated Team Approach, Donna Degennaro

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Central-line catheters save lives, but they can also bring about complications, such as hospital-acquired infections. The Institute of Healthcare Improvement has collected data indicating that using proper insertion techniques and maintenance care, known as "the bundle," can prevent bloodstream infections associated with central lines. Progress has been made toward that end: The bundle has been used in intensive care units in a variety of hospitals and reportable central-line infections have decreased by 38%. However, because infections continue to occur inside and outside intensive care units, more needs to be done to protect all patients from these deadly infections. The purpose …

Longevity Of Women Superintendents, Kim C. Sethna

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Public schools are facing a leadership crisis regarding the lack of women superintendents in the United States. Although, historically, women have dominated the positions of classroom teachers and outnumbered men in receiving administrative leadership certificates, there is a disproportion in the number of men and women superintendents leading the nation's approximate 14,000 public schools. While current researchers describe the complex roles that the superintendency entails, there is little data on gender differences, specifically, how women superintendents achieve longevity in this role. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the longevity of women superintendents in public school …

An Examination Of Perceived Discrimination And Stress In Interracial Relatinships, Sharon Sirmons Conger

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

An Examination of Perceived Discrimination and Stress

in Interracial Relationships

by

Sharon Sirmons Conger

MS, Troy University, Florida Campus, 2006

BA, Baptist College of Florida, 2003

Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Degree of

Doctor of Philosophy

General Psychology

Walden University

February 2015

There is a potential increase in stress for White women in interracial relationships with Black men due to perceived racial discrimination that may not have been previously experienced. The purpose of this quantitative study was to measure stress before and after the relationship due to perceived racial discrimination for these women. Guided by …

Middle School Teachers' Perspectives Of Classroom Bullying, Sareta Valdez Brown

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Teachers are faced with numerous interruptive bullying behaviors in middle school classrooms, which brought the quality of education into question. Bullying victims have shown decreased rates of academic success, measured by lower grades, compared to those not involved in bullying. The purpose of this basic interpretative qualitative study was to explore the phenomenon of classroom bullying from the perspectives and experiences of 10 middle school teachers. The research questions examined teachers' experiences in witnessing bullying in their classrooms and the strategies they used to identify and effectively avert bullying in school. Bandura's theories of moral disengagement and social learning theory …

Symbolic Imprisonment, Grief, And Coping Theory: African American Women With Incarcerated Mates, Avon Marie Hart-Johnson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

African American men have been incarcerated at unprecedented rates in the United States over the past 30 years. This study explored how African American females experience adverse psychosocial responses to separation from an incarcerated mate. The purpose of this qualitative grounded theory (GT) study was to construct a theory to explain their responses to separation and loss. Given the paucity of literature on this topic, helping professionals may not understand this problem or know how to support these women. Disenfranchised grief and the dual process model of bereavement were used as a theoretical lens for this study. Data were collected …

African American Women's Perceptions Of Personal Risks For Heart Disease, Fecelia Laurice Holt

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Heart disease has been the primary cause of death among both men and women in the United States. More African American women are developing and dying from heart disease than any other ethnic group; yet, they are less likely than European American women to know that they have the major risk factors for heart disease. The purpose of this study was to determine the overall knowledge and health beliefs about heart disease among African American women. Five health belief model constructs of perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, and cues to action were applied as the theoretical framework …

The Relationship Between Family, Personal, And School Variables And The Math Achievement Of Elementary Students, Regina Wicker Kerr

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

School administrators and teachers must determine the factors most associated with academic success in order to meet the academic needs of all students. Researchers have identified general risk factors such as student socioeconomic status (SES), but there may be additional unidentified factors correlated to student achievement. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between a set of school, family, and personal demographic variables and students' math achievement. Bandura's social learning theory, Vygotsky's zone of proximal development, and Feurestein's mediated learning experience served as the guiding frameworks for this study. A descriptive correlational design was used to examine …

Impact Of Online Versus Face-To Face Instruction On Appraisal Student's Morality Levels, Samuel Martin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The financial markets have been in a state of chaos for a number of years. Some of the chaos was attributed to appraisers bending under unethical pressure exerted by lenders. The purpose of this study was to explore whether mode of instruction affected appraiser morality when participating in a Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) course, as measured by Rest's Defining Issues Test (DIT-2). The research question examined the difference between the effect on the morality schema of continuing appraisal students taking the 7-hour USPAP CE course online versus students taking the course in a face-to-face environment. The research …

Understanding Causes Of Attrition Of 1st- And 2nd-Year Nursing Students, Catherine Mary Griswold

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Attrition of nursing students has a negative impact on students, university nursing programs, and the heath care community. At a local university, the nursing program and its stakeholders aspire to increase retention of nursing students in order to mitigate the nursing shortage projected over the next decade. The purpose of this study was to examine issues related to high attrition of 1st- and 2nd-year nursing students at a university located in the mid-Atlantic area of the United States. Tinto's model of retention was used as the foundation to explore variables affecting 1st- and 2nd-year nursing students who remained in (n …

Resource Control Or Terrorism: Competing Perspectives On The Conflict In The Niger Delta Region, Nigeria., Peter Ogoegbunem Opone

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A state of conflict has existed in the Niger Delta for fifty years. The nature of the conflict, whether it is terrorism or civil insurrection, has not been resolved by the respective legislative entities. This qualitative case study was designed to explore the nature of the Niger Delta conflict from the perspective of several members of the Nigerian National Assembly and determine whether terrorism in Nigeria is related to the general conflict. Social conflict theory provided the basis for the exploration. An ancillary question explored whether antiterrorism legislation in 2006 alleviated the Niger Delta conflict. Interview data were collected from …

Developing A Lifestyle Modification Toolkit To Prevent And Manage Hypertension Among African American Women, Julia Ugochi Ugorji

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Hypertension is a global public health issue affecting many people in the United States. African American women remain the highest in percentage by race and ethnicity for developing hypertension with poor risk awareness. Hypertension has costly implications for the health care system. Through lifestyle modifications in the form of a nutrition plan called Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension and increased physical activity, hypertension could be prevented. Among African Americans, the incidence of hypertension increases in their late thirties. The purpose of the project was to develop a toolkit of resources for African American women between the ages of 20 to …

Nontraditional Hispanic College Students' Perceptions Of Their Sense Of Belonging At A 2-Year College In Southwest Texas, Ronald Eugene Zawacki-Maldonado

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this study was to understand how a sense of belonging contributes to graduation persistence among nontraditional Hispanic college students. The collectivist culture among these adult learners often results in family and work obligations that curtail their pursuit of higher education. The voices of these students are mostly absent in the current literature and warrant the current research study. Sense of belonging and retention theory formed the conceptual framework for this phenomenological study. A purposeful sample of 16 nontraditional Hispanic students enrolled in a 2-year community college in Southwest Texas participated in interviews. Data analysis focused on themes …

Diminishing Incontinence In Long-Term Care Using Electronic Health Records, Catherine Rodgers

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Urinary incontinence affects up to 70% of residents living in a long-term care facility and can affect their quality of life. Specifically, urinary incontinence has a direct impact on older adults in regards to self-esteem, pressure ulcer development, falls, urinary tract infections, and psychosocial wellbeing. The goal of this quality improvement pilot project was to determine if an electronic health record (EHR) assessment tool could help older adults remain continent longer and assist in maintaining an independent lifestyle. Orem's self-care deficit theory and social cognitive theory were used to determine how the electronic health record incontinence template could be used …