Digital Commons Network^™

Exploring Potential Associations With The Presidential Discretionary Power Of Fema Funds Dispensation, Matthew Thomas Eagles

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

US presidential approval of Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funding has been the subject of much research that largely has been inconclusive or contradictor as it relates to whether funds may have been distributed in a biased way through the use of presidential discretionary power. The purpose of this study was to explore if or to what degree US presidents acted in a potentially biased manner with the approval of FEMA approvals during election years in election battleground states. This study was an exploration of whether there was presidential political favoritism in approving FEMA funding from 1996-2012. The theoretical constructs …

Dynamically Hedging Oil And Currency Futures Using Receding Horizontal Control And Stochastic Programming, Paul Edward Cottrell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There is a lack of research in the area of hedging future contracts, especially in illiquid or very volatile market conditions. It is important to understand the volatility of the oil and currency markets because reduced fluctuations in these markets could lead to better hedging performance. This study compared different hedging methods by using a hedging error metric, supplementing the Receding Horizontal Control and Stochastic Programming (RHCSP) method by utilizing the London Interbank Offered Rate with the Levy process. The RHCSP hedging method was investigated to determine if improved hedging error was accomplished compared to the Black-Scholes, Leland, and Whalley …

The Use Of A Standardized System Of Communication To Change The Perception Of Handoff Communication In A Psychiatric Setting, Alicia Renee' Plunkett

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The Use of a Standardized System of Communication to Change the Perception of Handoff Communication in a Psychiatric Setting

by

Alicia Renee' Plunkett

MSN, Walden University 2007

MSHA, University of St. Francis, 2005

BSN, University of Memphis, 1995

Project Submitted in Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Degree of

Doctor of Nursing Practice

Walden University

December 2014

The Joint Commission's review of sentinel events indicated that communication errors were the cause of over 65% of the sentinel events occurring in healthcare. The nursing profession has the responsibility of providing 24-hour care in an acute care setting and nurses are …

Frequent Superintendent Succession: The Impact On Personnel Trust And Morale, Edgar Byrum Davis Camacho

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A superintendent is vital to the success of school districts. Stability of an individual in this position is important for building trust and morale for district personnel over time. Small school districts in a large southern state have experienced increased rates of voluntary or involuntary superintendent succession, having had 2 or more superintendent changes within a 6-year period. Participative leadership theory served as the framework for this study. The guiding questions for this study investigated the impact of frequent superintendent succession in small school districts and the levels of trust and morale among district personnel. The variables for the study …

Borrower Experiences With Subprime Mortgage Loans In Gwinnett County, Georgia, Terence Palmer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

When purchasing a home, buyer considerations include price of the home, credit rating, mortgage type, and lending agency. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the loan options successful business leaders consider when shifting loan lending from prime mortgage loans to subprime mortgage loans. Systems theory formed the conceptual framework for the study. A purposive sample of 20 participants from Gwinnett County, Georgia completed semistructured interviews and described their personal experiences. Data analysis incorporated van Kaam's technique to code and cluster information into topics. The following themes emerged from the analysis indicating what these business leaders considered when …

Correlation Between Self-Esteem, Self-Efficacy, Personality, Fear Of Success, And Self-Defeating Behaviors Of Performing Artists, Albert C. Bramante

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There is substantial evidence that self-defeating behaviors appear regularly among populations considered psychologically stable. While there has been abundant research on self-esteem, self-efficacy, personality traits, and fear of success as independent constructs, little is known regarding the combined effect of these constructs on the self-defeating behaviors of performing artists. Examining self-defeating behaviors among performing artists is significant because this population is susceptible to self-sabotaging behaviors, underscoring the need to understand their behaviors. The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to examine whether self-esteem, self-efficacy, personality, and fear of success predicted self-defeating behaviors among performing artists. Bandura's self-efficacy theory and …

Prostate Cancer And Afro-Caribbean Men: Experiences, Perceptions, And Beliefs, Harold Evelyn Taitt

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite the high incidence of prostate cancer (PC) amongst men of African descent, there is a paucity of qualitative data that explores how Afro-Caribbean men perceive their risk, susceptibility to, and management of this disease. This phenomenological study sought to explore and analyze beliefs about PC in a sample of Afro-Caribbean men who reside in the United States (U.S.). The research questions considered the perceptions, beliefs, and lived experiences of participants. The conceptual framework is a synthesis of the health belief model (HBM) and the theory of reasoned action (TRA), primarily because the TRA allows for a culturally-based relevance and …

The Perceptions Of Adults Adjusting To Low Vision And Using General Communications Technologies Including Online Forums, Deborah Forest

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The number of individuals facing vision loss as adults is increasing, and the need for these adults to have access to training and skills to aid in their adjustment process is prevalent. Guided by the tenets of connectivism, this phenomenological study examined current trends in social networking and the possibilities that are available to adults adjusting to low vision by using technology as a means for continued learning, social interaction, and professional connections. The main research question focused on the participants' perception of the adjustment process and their ability to learn and use technology. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews …

Evaluation Of A Supplemental Kinesthetic-Based Reading Program For Disabled Students, Kenneth W. Hodges

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This research study addressed the need for an evaluation of the effectiveness of teacher-written supplemental reading lesson plans for elementary students with significant disabilities. The participating elementary school implemented the supplemental kinesthetic-based reading program in the 2010-2011 school year in order to improve the reading test scores of these disabled students. The theories of Howard Gardner's multiple intelligences and Maria Montessori's individualized learning process guided this research. The research question focused on exploring the effectiveness of the lesson plans. Participants included 6 students and their parents, 3 teachers, and 1 principal. Closed- and open-ended survey responses were collected from each …

Instructional Writing Practices In Grade Five, Susan Elaine Newberry

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Nationally and locally, a paucity of students are effective writers. The purpose of this exploratory, sequential mixed methods study was to explore effective research-based writing strategies and influences on writing skills of 5th grade students. Guided by Vygotsky's zone of proximal development theory, the research questions investigated teachers' perceptions of the best instructional writing practices, the effect of writing practices on students' state writing scores, the relationship between student attendance and performance on the state writing test, and the amount of instructional planning dedicated to best writing practices. Data were collected from interviews with 5th grade teachers (N = 5), …

Perceptions Of High School Teachers On Integrating Technology Following Professional Development, Charnice Starks Ray

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Teachers integrate technology to make the learning environment interactive and appealing to students. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore perceptions of teachers at one high school working to integrate technology into instruction following participation in professional development. Guided by Dewey's constructivist theory and Mishra and Koehler's technological pedagogical content knowledge model, this study explored teachers' perceptions of pedagogy and technology integration following participation in professional development and the strategies they used to overcome barriers to integrating technology. Twelve purposefully selected high school teachers from English, social studies, mathematics, science, electives, health education, and special education provided …

Strategies To Overcome Barriers To A More Effective Leadership Style, David Barnwell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Disengaged employees and leaders lacking the skills to engage their employees account for an estimated $300 billion annual loss through lowered productivity. This study focused on a leader's understanding of employee engagement as a means of increasing productivity. Utilizing the theory of leadership styles and expectancy theory for the conceptual framework, this descriptive study explored strategies small business leaders have used to develop effective leadership styles to improve workplace engagement. Interviews with a purposive sample of 20 highest-ranking executives at small businesses with between 50 and 250 employees in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States were analyzed using the …

The Center For Total Health: Healthcare Reform In Cook County, Illinois, James Leon Miles

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) of 2010 requires hospital systems in the United States to shift the culture of patient care from a focus on sick-care to a focus on prevention and wellness care. Little is known about how hospital systems will make this culture shift while retaining quality patient care. The purpose of this case study of a pioneering hospital-based PPACA-compliant initiative was to answer the research question of how Wallace's revitalization movement theory (RMT) "a rapid culture change model"could serve as a transferable evaluation framework for PPACA prevention and wellness care compliance in hospital-based programs. …

Career Goals For Joining Law Enforcement And Subsequent Stress, Earl Riggins

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Police officers experience stress from operational and organizational demands which are extrinsic in nature. Officers may also experience stress from not being able to attain their personal goals for becoming a police officer, which is referred to as goal negation. The purpose of this mixed model, exploratory study was to examine if stress from goal negation is an intrinsic moderating factor of police officers' overall experience of career-related stress that may be adding to the health risks of the profession. The framework for the study included the concept of goal negation and the theory of operational and organizational or intrinsic …

K-12 Teachers' Perceptions Of The Tesa Program And Its Impact On Teacher-Student Relationships, Kathy Rena Howard

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Administrators in a school district in north central Kansas implemented the Teacher Expectation and Student Achievement (TESA) professional development program (PD) to address ineffective instructional practices of K-12 teachers. TESA PD was designed to build and promote teacher-student interactions, enhance students' academic performance, teach students self-discipline, and improve the class environment so that students can work and study in diverse settings. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the classroom experiences and perceptions of 10 teachers who integrated teaching interactions from the TESA program into their daily lessons. Brophy and Good's expectation theory holds that teacher interactions …

The Deterrent Effect Of Disciplinary Segregation On Prison Inmate Misconduct, Joseph William Lucas

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Although a widely used practice, it was previously unknown whether disciplinary segregation is actually effective at modifying prison behavior. This quantitative, retrospective observational study tested deterrence theory and explored the effectiveness of disciplinary segregation in deterring subsequent prison inmate misconduct among those subjected to it (N = 228). It compared a cohort of male inmates incarcerated by the Oregon Department of Corrections who had spent time in disciplinary segregation in 2011 and/or 2012 with a comparison cohort who had not spent any time in disciplinary segregation. Three models were tested, each with the outcome variable operationalized in a different way: …

Sewer Overflows And The Vector Mosquito Proximity To Human West Nile Virus Infections, Andrea Simone Bowers

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

DeKalb and Fulton Counties, which share the metropolitan Atlanta area, have seen an increase in West Nile infected vector mosquitoes; the increase is associated with close proximity to combined sewer overflow facilities. Despite completion of the remediation system in 2008, the mosquito population testing positive for West Nile virus has increased each year from 2010 through 2012. Guided by the Geographical Information System framework and using spatial analysis and regression analyses, this study described and quantified the relationship between sewer system overflows and amplification of vector mosquitoes; an additional goal was to investigate their proximity to human cases of West …

Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation: A Comparison Of Unlicensed And Licensed Professionals, Pamela A. Morrison

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This study was conducted to comparatively examine child specific expulsion rates and parent satisfaction of children who received early childhood mental health consultation (ECMHC) services delivered in 2 states for the 2012 program year: Maryland (unlicensed) and Delaware (licensed) . This current study examined secondary data to determine whether unlicensed (Maryland) ECMHC professionals are equally or more effective than licensed (Delaware) ECMHC professionals. Of the total number of child specific consultations or cases referred for services in Maryland (unlicensed), N = 370, n = 266 children avoided expulsion and were able to remain at their childcare placements while n = …

Screening And Intervention For Women With Hyperglycemia During Pregnancy, Ladonna Lynn Williams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Gestational diabetes mellitus occurs in up to 10% of pregnancies and often leads to labor and delivery complications for both the mother and the baby. Early identification of gestational diabetes and educational intervention are needed to improve the self-management and knowledge among pregnant women. The purpose of the project was to implement newly established national guidelines to ensure that women with gestational diabetes are identified during the first trimester of pregnancy and begin diabetes education early in gestation. Lewin's planned change theory was selected as the theoretical framework, and the six sigma approach was used to facilitate the change process. …

Emergency Medical Service Worker Knowledge Of And Compliance With Occupational Exposures To Infectious Diseases, Debra Ann Wrentz-Hudson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Firefighter Emergency Medical Service (EMS) responder personnel are at a high risk for occupational exposures to bloodborne and airborne infectious pathogens due to their unpredictable work duties in the pre-hospital environment. Not much is known about the compliance with Universal Precautions (UP) among firefighter EMS responders' personnel with regards to occupational exposures to infectious diseases. The purpose of this cross-sectional research study was to determine the relationship between compliance with UP, knowledge of UP, attitudes towards UP, occupational practices, and occupational exposures to bloodborne and airborne pathogens to prevent transmission of infectious disease among firefighter EMS responder personnel in the …

Developing And Validating A Type 2 Diabetic Patient Drug Telephone Reminder Program, Perpetua E. Okoh

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Research has shown that telephone drug reminder scripts can be an effective way to increase drug adherence and decrease health care costs for persons with Type 2 diabetes. The purpose of this project was to develop and validate a telephone drug reminder script for Type 2 diabetes patients based on evidence-based practice. Following a review of the literature, a telephone drug reminder script was developed for Type 2 diabetic patients to educate and improve drug adherence. Five local experts with at least 10 years' experience in diabetes treatment, education, and or research were asked to participate in the validation of …

Strategies For Developing Interpersonal Communication Skills For Business Students, Sharon A. Pope

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Strategies for Developing Interpersonal Communication Skills for Business Students

by

Sharon A. Pope

M.B.A., Cleveland State University, 1995

M.S.H.P/A., University of Cincinnati, 1983

B.Ed., University of Toledo, 1981

Doctoral Study Submitted in Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Degree of

Doctor of Education

Walden University

December 2015

Research has shown that interpersonal communication skills (ICS) are important for employment success, particularly if they are learned by students during college. A private university in Ohio identified the need to enhance students' ICS; however, the university's faculty lacked strategies to teach those required skills. The purpose of this qualitative case study …

A Survey Of Probation Officers' Opinions: Risk Assessments, Kenika Kiante' Canty

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The U. S. criminal justice system has used risk assessment tools in an effort to reduce recidivism and risk assessment tools are now commonplace. Correctional organizations, however, have struggled with officers' resistance to these tools in spite of the evidence for their utility. There is limited research that explores the impact of resistance to organizational change within the context of correctional agencies. To address that gap, this correlational study used organizational change theory to examine officers' resistance to the use of risk assessment tools based on officers' opinions of the risk assessment tool being used in North Carolina. Data were …

How Nursing Educators Address The Differing Learning Styles Of Students, Kimmie Sue Gore

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Educational research has shown that student learning styles, and educators' consideration of learning styles, significantly influence the academic success of adult learners. This project study was designed to identify the perceptions and attitudes of nursing faculty concerning student learning styles and consideration of student learning styles in their praxis. The study was guided by Malcolm Knowles' theory of andragogy, and investigated nursing educators' knowledge about learning styles and course delivery with regards to students with different learning styles. It used a descriptive multiple case study approach and collected data among nursing educators using the Principles of Adult Learning Survey (PALS) …

Displaced Workers With Low Academic Skills Retraining At A Community College, May Hang Khang

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Community colleges in Western North Carolina have enrolled many displaced workers who lack basic academic skills and are unable to find jobs. This study focused on the problem of displaced workers with low academic skills who rarely advance beyond Adult Basic Education (ABE) classes for retraining in high-tech job skills. The purpose of this single case study was to determine the barriers that prevent functionally illiterate displaced workers or nontraditional students enrolled in ABE programs from completing ABE classes and advancing to retraining programs. The adult learning styles and learning impediments framework were used to study what prevented student advancement …

The Effect Of Applying Design Of Experiments Techniques To Software Performance Testing, Gloria Johnson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Effective software performance testing is essential to the development and delivery of quality software products. Many software testing investigations have reported software performance testing improvements, but few have quantitatively validated measurable software testing performance improvements across an aggregate of studies. This study addressed that gap by conducting a meta-analysis to assess the relationship between applying Design of Experiments (DOE) techniques in the software testing process and the reported software performance testing improvements. Software performance testing theories and DOE techniques composed the theoretical framework for this study. Software testing studies (n = 96) were analyzed, where half had DOE techniques applied …

Influences Of Csi Effect, Daubert Ruling, And Nas Report On Forensic Science Practices, Timothy Patrick Scanlan

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The media exaggerates the capabilities of crime laboratories while it publicizes the wrongdoings of individual forensic scientists. Such portrayals skew the perspectives of jurors and hinder expert witness testimony. Complicating the problem are separate, but related, phenomena that influence how forensic laboratories conduct casework. These phenomena are Cole and Dioso-Villa's conceptualization of the unrealistic expectations of forensic science created by fictional television, known as the CSI Effect; the Daubert ruling on the admissibility of expert testimony; and some federal policy changes as a result of a National Academy of Sciences (NAS) report that impacted requirements for the daily operation of …

A Study On The Relationship Between Emotional Intelligence And Mental Illness Stigma, E. Nicole Armstrong

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Stigmatizing mental illness involves negative perceptions or attitudes about mental illness and the individuals who have mental illness, generating problematic consequences for both the general population and for people with mental illness. The theory of multiple intelligences proposes that intelligence includes skills and abilities in any area; emotional intelligence (EI), therefore, includes an individual's ability to identify, interpret, and regulate emotions and emotional responses. This study was designed to evaluate level of familiarity with mental illness as a potential predictor for stigmatizing mental illness, to assist in evaluating the relationship between stigmatizing mental illness and EI. The study was specifically …

Investigation Of Reasons Children Are Unvaccinated, Tracy L. Clawson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many communicable diseases can be prevented with the use of immunizations. The issue this study addressed was the use of vaccinations and the rise of continued preventable communicable disease. Researchers have recommended that children be vaccinated, a recommendation that is bolstered by the readily available supply of vaccinations worldwide. However, even with vaccine promotions, availability, and education, children continue to be unvaccinated and outbreaks have continued to occur. For this study, data will be collected from the Iowa Registry of Immunization Records and a local community health center pediatric clinic. Examples of data that will be collected are vaccine records, …

Evaluation Of The System Attributes Of Timeliness And Completeness Of The West Virginia Electronic Disease Surveillance System' Nationaledss Based System, Rebecca Lee Fahey

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite technological advances in public health informatics, the evaluation of infectious

disease surveillance systems data remains incomplete. In this study, a thorough

evaluation was performed of the West Virginia Electronic Disease Surveillance System

(WVEDSS, 2007-2010) and the West Virginia Electronic Disease Surveillance System NationalEDSS -Based System (WVEDSS-NBS; March 2012 - March 2014) for Category II infectious diseases in West Virginia. The purpose was to identify key areas in the surveillance system process from disease diagnosis to disease prevention that need improvement. Grounded in the diffusion of innovation theory, a quasi-experimental, interrupted, time-series design was used to evaluate the 2 data …