Digital Commons Network^™

Middle School Teachers' Experiences With Cross-Curricular Connections At The Incident Level, Melita M. Penchalk

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many curricular innovations, including cross-curricular teaching, are started in schools without adequate teacher preparation and support, reducing the effectiveness of the interventions in supporting student learning. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to describe the implementation of the cross-curricular connections teaching technique in middle schools. Research questions focused on how middle school teachers experienced implementation of cross-curricular teaching at the incident level and how teachers perceived cross-curricular teaching and its long-term value. Myers-Briggs personality type theory informed the study, supporting the postulation that teachers are more comfortable teaching from their personality types. Data from 10 middle school teachers …

Effect Of Sleep On Vigilance, Short-Term Memory, And Learning In College Students, Ayesha Uddin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite years of research supporting a link between sleep and cognitive functioning, little research has focused on the effect of sleep on cognitive factors in the college population. According to the trace reactivation hypothesis, sleep plays a crucial role in memory consolidation and learning. Cognitivism further indicates that the processing of information is limited when sleep is restricted. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the effect of sleep on vigilance, short-term memory, and learning; an additional goal was to test whether these variables influence grade point average (GPA). Sleep and GPA data were collected using self-report questionnaires. …

College Mission Change And Neoliberalism In A Community And Technical College, Christine Mollenkopf-Pigsley

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Administrators of 2-year colleges are working in an environment where they seek to balance the social development of the student and the community's demand for a trained workforce to achieve economic development. This balance has resulted in ambiguity about the mission and purpose of 2-year colleges. The purpose of this case study was to explore a community college's experiences with mission change by exploring the interaction between a neoliberal public policy environment and the traditional social democratic mission of academia. Harvey's conceptualization of neoliberalism was used as the theoretical framework. Data were collected through 15 semi-structured interviews with members of …

A Qualitative Case Study Of Facebook And Its Perceived Impact On Social Connectivity, Janet Staker Woerner

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

While the number of students using web-based social networks has increased, the effects of such networks on education have been unclear. Therefore, this research used a case study approach to study the relationship between social connectivity and the use of Facebook in a higher education classroom as well as the relationship between age and the use of Facebook. The intent was to understand the perceived impact of the use of a social media tool on bonding, bridging, and linking. The conceptual framework was built around the theories of social capital of Lin, Portes, Putnam, and Woolcock. The research questions addressed …

Differences In Financial Performance And Risk Tolerance At Faith-Based Credit Unions, Bruce J. Toews

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the United States, faith-based and other small credit unions are vanishing at the rate of nearly a credit union each workday. The purpose of this causal-comparative study was to provide managers of faith-based credit unions with information about differences in financial performance and risk tolerance between faith-based and non-faith-based credit unions in order to improve their investment strategy and long-term sustainability. The study included a comparison of ratios measuring the financial performance and risk tolerance of randomly selected faith-based credit unions in the United States with the corresponding ratios of non-faith-based credit unions of similar size and location from …

A Comparison Of Preservice Teachers' Responses To Bullying Scenarios, Cynthia Louise Davis

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This nonexperimental study was conducted to determine differences that exist between PreK to 4th grade preservice teachers' beliefs about the severity of bullying, their empathy with victims of bullying, beliefs about their ability to cope with bullying in the classroom, and their ability to intervene in bullying issues. Bandura's self-efficacy theory and Ajzen's theory of planned behavior provided the study's theoretical base and demonstrated a connection between participants perceived ability to cope with bullying behavior and willingness to intervene. The participants (N = 112) were students in a 2-year community college PreK to 4th grade education transfer degree program. Data …

Providers' Knowledge Of The U.S. Health Care System And Their Medical Practice Choices: A Study Of Physicians, Residents, And Non-Physician Practitioners, Cora Case

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The expansion of health insurance through health care reform has reduced the number of uninsured. but access to providers has not been addressed. Understanding the relationship between practice choices and aptitude of health policy and delivery is essential to determine other factors or motivators that contribute to the development of health care access policies. This descriptive study explored the value-laden elements of health care reform, such as social constructions, to learn whether there are implicit ways to address the issue of access to health care in the United States. Schneider and Ingrams's conceptualization of policy making through social construction was …

Exploring Recruiting Challenges Of The Insurance Industry, Hema Chaurasia

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Insurance companies provide financial protection to the general population, but their workforce challenges may destabilize the companies to the point of financial distress. Senior insurance company leaders lack effective strategies to recruit skilled professionals. With contingency theory and resource-based view theory as the framework, the focus in this multicase study was the exploration of the recruiting strategies of human resources (HR) managers in New York City area insurance companies. Four insurance company HR managers were recruited via a purposeful and snowball sampling method for semistructured interviews. These interviews were analyzed through a reflective interpretation process, which was guided by the …

Stress Levels Of Parents Of Homeschooled Versus Public-Schooled Special Needs Children, Lorrance Ann Wehrmann

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Although all families in the United States experience stress, families of children with special needs frequently experience prolonged periods of stress. Prolonged exposure to stressful circumstances increases their vulnerability to financial, physical, and social strain. With the continuing increase in the prevalence of children who have special needs, it is vital to examine the efficacy of different educational approaches on parental stress. It is unclear whether there are differences in stress levels for families of homeschooled versus public-schooled children with special needs. Using the family adjustment and adaptation response model, the purpose of this quantitative, ex post facto study was …

Program Evaluation: A Federal Agency's Air Traffic Control Train-The-Trainer Program, Lisa Marie Mercer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In 2014, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) highlighted to the U.S. Senate the need to focus on air traffic control (ATC) training to meet job qualification and attrition rates within the career field. One U.S. Department of Defense military service assists the FAA in providing worldwide ATC services. This service is referred to as the agency throughout this paper to ensure confidentiality. The agency's ATC career field manager echoed the FAA's call for action in his 2014 Strategic/Action Plan. In August 2013, the agency's ATC trainer program was published. As of December 2015, the program had not been evaluated. The …

Diabetes Self-Management Education Program, Lesa Faye Williams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Diabetes is a devastating disease in American. The disease can cause chronic health comorbidities, and untreated diabetes has negative consequences for individuals and on our nation's economy. Newly diagnosed diabetics often have a lack of knowledge about the disease process. The purpose of this project was to design and implement a diabetes educational program to enhance participants' knowledge about diabetes management and self-care using the Health Belief Model. Diabetes Self-Management Education (DSME) is critical in improving patient outcomes and the prevention of diabetes related complications. Participation in a standardized diabetic educational intervention will improve patient knowledge, as measured by a …

An Evaluation Of Military Education Assistance Programs From Participants Perspectives, Ella Bolling-Harris

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

An Evaluation of Military Education Assistance Programs From ParticipantsF Perspectives

by

Ella Bolling-Harris

MS, Capella University, 2008

MS, Capella University, 2004

BS, Park University, 2000

Doctoral Study Submitted in Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Degree of

Doctor of Education

Walden University

August 2015

Military education programs exist to assist military members in completing their college education prior to exiting the military. At a southwestern United States Army Installation, members have expressed dissatisfaction with the education programs. The purpose of this case study was to examine the education programs from the participants' perspectives. Mezirow's transformative learning theory was used …

Using Appreciative Inquiry To Improve Rn Retention In A Clinical Float Pool, Janet Buck

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In an Idaho-based hospital, the registered nurse (RN) turnover rate in the float pool was excessively high. The purpose of this project was to examine the effect of Appreciative Inquiry (AI) on a RN's sense of community (SOC) in a float pool and an RN's intent to stay employed after attending an AI event. Although much had been written about nursing retention, AI, and SOC separately, there was nothing on how AI could be used to increase a RN's SOC or intent to stay employed. AI is a change management framework that has been used to engage employees in a …

Diabetes Education Tailored Towards English Speaking Caribbean Immigrants, Joanna A. Dunk

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The prevalence of diabetes is increasing among persons of Caribbean ancestry in the United States, yet there is little research on the differences in the health and nutrition patterns of diabetics from this population. This study created a culturally-sensitive diabetes education program for the staff of an internal medicine practice that treated patients from the English-speaking Caribbean. The project was guided by the health belief model, as well as Leininger's theory of transcultural nursing. Methodology of project had a quality improvement focus. The comprehensive curriculum included diabetes medications, physical activity, culturally-tailored medical nutrition therapy, complications, self-care behavior, problem solving, and …

The Mediating Role Of Payout In The Relationship Between Private Foundations And Grantee Organizations' Financial Health, Angie Kim

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Although private foundations are assumed to be beneficial, their impact on grantee organizations is not well understood. This quantitative research explored how private, nonoperating foundations influence grantees' financial capacity to pursue their missions. Principal-agent theory was applied to rationalize foundations' social good purpose, along with subsidy theory of public charities' need for capital accumulation, thus comprising a unique framework for identifying pathways of relationships amongst influencer variables of foundations' operating characteristics; the outcome of grantees' months of unrestricted, liquid net assets (MULNA); and the mediator of foundations' payout rate. Multiple regression and indirect effects analyses of data on 612 cases …

The Role Of Religious Vaccination Exemptions In The Ocean County, New Jersey Pertussis Outbreak, Siobhan Bridget Pappas

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Pertussis, also known as whooping cough, is a vaccine-preventable disease that is on the rise in the United States, a trend which has been attributed to vaccination exemption. Indeed, the pertussis outbreak that occurred in February, 2012 in Ocean County, New Jersey was associated with vaccine exemption. Considering that pertussis is deadly to young children, it is important to understand why this disease rate is on the rise. The research questions were focused on whether a relationship existed between pertussis status (no, yes) and exemption status (no, yes), sex (male, female), and county type (Middlesex, Ocean, or Other), using a …

Critical Factors In Police Use-Of-Force Decisions, Orville Nickel

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This study investigated law enforcement officers' perceptions of the legal, normative, and practical considerations that are implicit in their decisions when faced with using physical force. Law enforcement officers observe and protect fundamental human rights. A significant problem, however, is that physical force is sometimes misused, impacting public confidence in police services. The study was framed by Durkheim's conflict theory and Beirie's concepts of police corporate culture and social control. It used a grounded theory method and predeveloped case scenarios presented to 2 male focus groups of 7 and 6 participants respectively, and 2 female focus groups of 5 and …

The Expectation Of Emotional Strength And Its Impact On African American Women's Weight, Necole L. Rivers

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

African American (AA) women have the highest rates of obesity and weight-related diseases of any other cultural group in the United States. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between acceptance of the Strong Black Woman (SBW) cultural construct and the following weight-related health factors: body mass index (BMI), high blood pressure, stroke, and diabetes mellitus (DM). The hypothesis was that a positive relationship exists between accepting the SBW persona and weight-related health factors. The theory of womanism was used to guide this study. Convenience sampling was used to recruit 127 AA women to participant in an …

Efficient Management Of Cross-Cultural Manufacturing Teams In The Dominican Republic, Efrain Serrano

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Companies that have moved their operations from the United States to other countries have forced top management to rely on their managers for leading overseas assignments. However, the success rate of expatriate managers is low and is a concern for top management in corporations. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the shared lived experiences of 20 expatriate managers to identify methods which may improve the success rates of expatriate managers asked to participate in overseas assignments. Social learning, cultural shock, and experiential learning were used to support the conceptual framework linking how cross-cultural training, adaptation, problems, and …

Faculty Perspectives On Factors Impacting Work As Nurse Educators, Sharon Shockness

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Job dissatisfaction among nursing faculty could have a significant impact on nursing faculty retention and student enrollment in nursing programs. The purpose of this qualitative instrumental case study was to gain insight into the perspectives of faculty members who teach nursing education in a university program. This study used Herzberg, Mausner, and Snyderman's motivation-hygiene theory to explore employee satisfaction and dissatisfaction in the workplace. The research question focused on the perspectives of nursing educators and challenges they face. Data were collected through individualized interviews with 15 nurse educators, using open-ended questions and reviewing relevant documents. The data were analyzed by …

Restaurant Revenue Management: Examining Reservation Policy Implications At Fine Dining Restaurants, Nanishka Hernandez

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the restaurant industry, some patrons do not honor their reservations, especially on holidays. Grounded in postpositivism and system theories, the purpose of this comparative study was to examine the impact of implementing a credit card payment policy for fine dining restaurants reservations and no shows after implementation of a credit card guarantee policy at a high-end hotel located in the southeast United States. Data were collected from archival records provided by the hotel executives. According to the results of a Wilcoxon Signed Rank test, there was a statistically significant decrease in the number of no shows, p < .001, after the implementation of the credit card guarantee policy. In a paired sample t-test, there was a statistically significant decrease in the number of reservations, p < .001, after implementation of the credit card guarantee policy. The implications for positive social change include the potential to increase understanding of payment policies as they relate to the restaurant industry. Service industry managers can benefit from implementing payment policies that can vary from specific dates, seasons, and type of services. Customers will also benefit by being able to make reservations not originally possible due to demand. The current study adds to service industry knowledge, increasing the understanding of payment policies as they relate to restaurant industry. Conducting a similar study in other service industries in the future may lead to a better understanding of the nature of policies and customers' traits and behaviors.

Beginning Teachers' Experiences And Use Of Time, Laura Marie Ahles

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

New teachers in a southeast Texas school district are having difficulty using their time effectively for instruction while balancing a multitude of tasks. New work responsibilities for teachers are contributing to teacher burnout and early attrition. The purpose of this study was to examine new teachers and administrators perceptions of novice teacher practices and their daily use of time. Apple s theory of intensification was used as the conceptual framework for this study. A case study design was employed to answer research questions regarding how procedures and policies affect teachers time, teacher perceptions about prior experiences with managing multiple responsibilities, …

Examination Of Adhd Symptoms In Children Of Traveling Armed Services Members, Giovanda Dewette Norman

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Research has captured a notable increase in the diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in the United States. This increase in ADHD diagnosis is also seen in children in military communities. A gap in the literature exists regarding how military deployment affects the presentation of ADHD symptoms of children aged 3 to 15 in military families. The study examined the effect of military deployment status on children aged 3 to 15 with symptoms of ADHD. Participants were 164 military families, representative of the diversity of the military, from military bases around Southern California. Each participant responded to 2 questionnaires: …

Efficacy Of African American Grandmothers Regarding The Education Of Custodial Grandchildren, Valarie Louise Petty Boyer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The roles of grandparents, from occasional helpers to custodial adults in their grandchildren's lives, often raise levels of social discomfort among those involved,; especially when the children are still in elementary school. A disproportionate number of custodial grandparents are African American women. This phenomenological study explored the lived experiences of 8 custodial African American grandmothers in Delaware regarding the education of their school-aged grandchildren. The theoretical foundation was Carter and McGoldrick's theory of families as interconnected systems, and Sands, Goldberg-Glen, Shin, and Robin's theory that life event changes often lead to stress and coping strategies. Data were collected through in-depth …

Use Of Traditional 3-Hour Lectures In Preparing Students For The Childbearing Clinical Setting, Teresa Pohle

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Following completion of a 4-year nursing program, some graduates have difficulty applying theories learned in the classroom to the clinical environment. This difficulty results in healthcare employers providing additional in-house training to ensure graduates' ability to safely care for their patients. The purpose of this research was to explore how traditional lecture methods have prepared students for the clinical environment. Based on a constructivist theoretical framework, a case study design was used to examine students' learning of theories delivered by traditional lecture methods. The research questions focused on student activities in the classroom and clinical setting, teaching strategies, critical thinking …

Depression And Hiv Risk Among African American Men Who Have Sex With Men, Sonya Anyaka

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

African American men who have sex with men (AAMSM) are at a greater risk of contracting HIV than any other ethnic group, subpopulation, or race. Personal, environmental, and social variables can affect risk behavior. Driven by Beck's cognitive theory of depression, this quantitative study examined the relationship between depression and HIV risk behaviors in a sample of AAMSM (n = 108). Data was gathered via the Beck Depression Inventory and the HIV Risk Behavior Questionnaire. Simple and multiple linear regression analysis were conducted to analyze the data to determine the correlation between HIV risk behavior and depression. According to study …

Disaster Management And Efforts To Mitigate The Destruction Of The Human-Environment, Dorothy Henderson Bell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Natural disasters expose the fact that poverty, race, gender, and other indicators of social disadvantage are linked to the population of citizens who struggle the most to recover after a disaster, yet these factors are not accounted for in public policy that guides decision making related to federal assistance to residents affected by a disaster. This study used neural networks as a research strategy to determine whether the current policies under the Stafford Act related to assistance comply with Congressional intent and law that uses a formula for assistance distribution, and whether human factors such as culture, measured as residing …

Planning For A Community Supported Farmers Market In A Rural Usda Food Desert, Carrie Lynn Engelbright

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A community initiative to develop and sustain a farmer's market can address insufficient access to fresh and affordable fruits and vegetables for individuals working and residing in a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) designated food desert. This project addressed a particular USDA food desert in South Wood County, Wisconsin. The purpose of this project was to develop and plan for implementation and evaluation of a community-supported farmers market in South Wood County, with the goal to increase access to fruits and vegetables. Project objectives included development of a sustainable community infrastructure to support the market, development of policies and …

Racial Identity, Religious/Spiritual Support, Self-Efficacy, And Academic Support In Predicting Black College Students' Academic Performance, Jonathan M. Hudson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Black students in the United States continue to struggle academically as they matriculate into postsecondary education, placing them at risk for missing opportunities for work and social success. Research has identified the dimensions of Black racial identity, as well as other social factors, that may contribute to academic success. What is missing, however, is research grounded in a theory of Black identity that examines how identity and other factors combine to influence academic success. This quantitative online survey research tested 5 hypotheses to ascertain their relative strength in predicting academic success among Black college students: (a) demographics (age, gender, socioeconomic …

Silence Improves Anxiety Levels And Test Scores Among Children With Disabilities, Hanna Matatyaho

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Students with disabilities may experience more anxiety when taking a test than do students without a disability. The purpose of this study was to assess whether a technique called 1-minute of silence reduces anxiety and improves test scores among students with disabilities. The theoretical framework for this study was the theory of planned behavior/reasoned action and the health belief model. Two research questions were used, one to determine the difference in anxiety levels in students with special needs and the other to determine the difference in New York State (NYS) Math posttest scores in children with special needs (no silence, …