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Ho'oponopono: Assessing The Effects Of A Traditional Hawaiian Forgiveness Technique On Unforgiveness, Matthew B. James

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This study expanded on the existing empirical research on forgiveness and specifically ho'oponopono, a traditional Hawaiian forgiveness process. An extensive literature review revealed that while forgiveness has gained in popularity among researchers and clinicians, few therapeutic process-based models have been researched. Furthermore, ho'oponopono has not been studied as a process-based approach to forgiveness. Therefore, the purpose of the present between-groups, within-groups, repeated measures study was to assess the effects of the application of ho'oponopono (focused on a specific transgressor) on levels of unforgiveness, as measured by the Transgression-Related Interpersonal Motivations Inventory (TRIM). The participants (N = 79) were randomly divided …

Prognostic Factors Of Varying Treatment Outcomes For Onychomycosis (Nail Fungal Infection) Patients, Bin Cai

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Prevalence of onychomycosis, as high as 26.9% in the general population, can be reduced by improving current antifungal treatment. This could be accomplished by understanding prognostic factors, especially healthy nail growth, associated with achieving complete cure. This population-based study aimed to evaluate if healthy nail length or percentage of total full nail length as healthy can be early indictors for complete cure. Logistics regression analyses were performed by comparing variables between a population who achieved the complete cure and a population who failed after both populations received the same antifungal treatment in two large randomized double-blinded clinical trials that assessed …

The Impact Of Visual Art Instruction On Student Creativity, Jeanie S. Parker

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This researcher examined the relationship between visual arts programs and creative thinking skills of high school students taking a foundations of music course and an introductory visual art course. A gap existed in the current literature concerning visual art experience and creativity among high school students. This study was based upon the theories of Eisner, Gardner, and Csikszentmihalyi concerning creativity and art experiences. This researcher used a quasi-experimental, nonequivalent control group design. A convenience sample of 2 high school fine arts classes was comprised of 1 visual art class and 1 foundations of music class, giving a sample of 50 …

Treatment Practices Of Childhood Sexual Abuse: A Developmental Psychopathology Perspective, Deborah Watson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) occurs in up to 9.9 % of the general population. Clinical implications of CSA are lasting and warrant treatment utilizing suitable approaches. Although the developmental psychopathology model encourages clinicians to evaluate disorders in the context of risk/protective factors, cultural issues and development, there is a gap in current research regarding the utilization of developmental theory among clinicians working with this population. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine consistent patterns in treatment practices employed by therapists with CSA patients. The primary research question in this study was to determine how closely therapists' actual treatment …

Friendship In Young Adult Heterosexual Romantic Relationships, Billy Kidd

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Friendship is one of the pillars that supports satisfying, long-term, romantic relationships and marriage. Yet little is known about how romantic friendship is contextually experienced. This lack of knowledge limits the options of researchers and therapists. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to further substantiate a romantic friendship construct. The research question asked how friendship is experienced in heterosexual romantic relationships. Participants in two West Coast metropolitan areas, ages 18 to 29, were selected by convenience sampling. As per Giorgi's phenomenological method, themes were abstracted from the transcripts of focus group and individual interviews. The themes were then shortened …

Educators' Perceptions Of Characteristics Of Male And Female Bullies, Melissa Marie Cafaro

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Educators perceive female bullies differently than male bullies. Despite evidence that bullying is a serious problem within schools in the United States, there is little research which focuses on how educators perceive differences and similarities of adolescent bullies based upon the gender of the bully. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine how educators perceive male and female bullies when they are described as exhibiting identical behavior. Goffman's theory of frames formed the theoretical foundation for this study. The independent variable of this study was gender of bully, and the three dependent variables were internalizing behavior, externalizing behavior, …

The Impact Of A Professional Learning Community On Student Achievement, Brandon S. Carter

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Professional learning communities (PLC) have the potential to strengthen students' academic achievement. An academic pyramid of interventions, one aspect of PLCs, may be especially helpful in schools where subgroups of students are underperforming relative to other students on standardized testing. This quantitative, one-group, pretest-posttest study examined the impact of implementing an academic pyramid of interventions as part of a PLC on middle school student academic achievement. The 100 students from grade 7 and 8 who participated in the study were identified by teachers as being at-risk for success on the Criterion Referenced Competency Test (CRCT). The reading and math test …

The Effects Of Prayer And Glossolalia On The Mental Health Status Of Protestants, Recco S. Richardson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The resurgence of prayer and glossolalia (speaking in tongues) within Protestant denominations in the United States of America has stimulated widespread psychological and theological debate. Previous research has indicated that religiosity has both a negative and positive effect on mental health functioning. However, there remains an important gap in the current literature regarding the relationships between specific religious practices and mental health. Therefore the purpose of the proposed study is to report on the growing number of religious persons who pray/glossolate and the conflicting messages in the literature regarding the relationship between religiosity and mental illness. A total of 10 …

Academic Incentives Impact On Increasing Seventh -Graders Physical Activity During Leisure Time, Jeffrey Scott Brinker

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Recent research clearly demonstrates that a decrease of physical activity has occurred among young people. Hence, the purpose of this study was to examine the impact of external motivation on physical activity. Drawn from self-determination theory, the specific research question examined if academic incentives effectively motivated 7th grade students to participate in a 3-week fitness program. A quasi-experimental pre-post design examined treatment and control groups drawn from a sample of 24 students from three physical education classes. The treatment group received academic incentives whereas the control group received no external incentives but were asked to complete the same fitness Program. …

Beliefs, Perceptions, And Preferences For Treatment In Latinas With Breast Cancer, Barbara Ann Kreling

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Research documents that breast cancer is the leading cause of death in Latina females. The exact numbers are unknown, but studies reveal that Latinas with breast cancer underuse recommended follow-up chemotherapy, decreasing their rates of survival. Although several factors may be responsible, cultural influences are a possible barrier. However, there is a gap in the literature about how culture affects decisions about breast cancer treatment. This focused ethnographic study examined the role of cultural beliefs and perceptions in the decision-making process for Latina women about whether or not to receive chemotherapy following a breast cancer diagnosis. Drawing from Douglas' cultural …

The Relationship Between Learning Style Preference And Achievement In The Adult Student In A Multicultural College., Matilde E. Roig

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Minority college students have varied learning styles and process information from distinct background and cultural perspectives, which influences their learning. Accordingly, the way faculty approach teaching affects student achievement. Few minorities are in scientific fields, with a shortage of scientists predicted. A problem exists in understanding the relationship between learning style preferences and achievement of minority college students. The purpose of the study was to investigate this relationship in adult minority students in a South Florida college's biology courses. Research questions pertained to relationships between learning style preferences, race, ethnicity and grades. This quantitative study used the online Felder-Soloman Inventory …

Predictors Of Middle School Girls' Engagement In Suspendable School Offenses., Barbara Harlow Cavanaugh

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite research evidence that social context and personal characteristics are related to girls' violent behavior, little is known about the relative contribution of such antecedents. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess the relative strength of predictors of school violence among a sample of middle school girls. Of special interest were the intervening variables, because knowledge of their relative strength could enable schools to design targeted interventions to reduce school violence. Social learning theory formed the theoretical foundation for the study. A four-part survey consisting of sociodemographic items, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, an amended version of the Attitudes …

Intimate Partner Violence Among Male And Female U.S. Community College Students, Shakiera Benson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Intimate partner violence affects a significant portion of college-aged individuals, but researchers know little about how the intersection of age, race, class, and gender influence intimate partner violence among community college students in the United States. In this quantitative correlational study, I examined the relationship between intimate partner violence and gender, race, age, class, marital status, and past abuse among community college students using the intersectionality theory. I used the Abusive Behavior Inventory and a demographic survey to collect data via a convenience sample of the target population of men (n = 220) and women (n = 330) attending a …

Public Humiliation As A Mitigator In Criminal Sentencing, Barbara Benoliel

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This study examined the relationship between the public humiliation and shaming of offenders in the sentencing portion of a criminal trial and the subsequent severity of the sentence the offender receives. Judicial moral shaming of offenders is returning to popularity in the courts, influencing the final sentence outcome as an under-identified mitigator, that substitutes for judges’ other punitive sanctions. Support for this shaming is found in Heider’s attribution theory and in Homans’ theory of social exchange; however Braithwaite found this form of shaming is overly punitive and ineffective. This four phase study used a sequential, mixed method, exploratory research design. …

A Study Of The Decision To Remove Children From Their Parents By Child Welfare Supervisors, Charles F. Lorbeer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A STUDY OF THE DECISION TO REMOVE CHILDREN FROM THEIR PARENTS BY CHILD WELFARE SUPERVISORS

by Charles F. Lorbeer

Dissertation Chair: Dr. Aqueil Ahmad

Committee Members: Dr. Aqueil Ahmad, Dr. Robert Butters, and Dr. Ashakant Nimbark,

The goal of this study was to analyze the decision by child welfare supervisors to remove children from their parents. This was accomplished by studying the effect that three specific factors have on that decision. The three factors were 1) physical abuse, 2) domestic violence and substance abuse, and 3) availability of services to help the family.

Decision theory provided the conceptual framework for …

The Relationship Of Consideration And Structure Leadership Styles To Employee Job Satisfaction In Nonprofit Child Care Organizations, Stephanie L. Brooke

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This study examined the relationship between leadership style, as measured by the Leadership Opinion Questionnaire, and job satisfaction, global job satisfaction, and satisfaction with supervision, as measured by the Job Satisfaction Survey. Past research suggests that leaders with a considerate style of leadership are associated with greater job satisfaction compared to leaders who initiate structure. Although many studies of leadership style have been conducted in for-profit organizations, the objective of this research was to better understand the relationship of leadership style to job satisfaction in nonprofit child care centers. Eight directors in nonprofit child care centers in Rochester, New York, …

The Correlation Between The Levels Of Education Of Clinical Laboratory Personnel And The Accuracy Of Peripheral Blood Smear Results, Susan J. Leclair

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This study correlated the performance accuracy of peripheral blood differentials evaluated by clinical laboratory scientists and clinical laboratory technicians. Fifty-one senior-year students from four clinical laboratory science baccalaureate programs and 37 second-year students from five clinical laboratory technician programs were given 10 peripheral blood differentials to perform. Results were compared to the values assigned by the Rajamaki method of proficiency testing. There was a significant discrepancy in the levels of accuracy between the two cohorts, suggesting that the results of peripheral blood differentials performed by clinical laboratory technicians is suspect. Facilities wishing to maintain or improve the quality of laboratory …

Parent Satisfaction With Staff Interactions At A Community Based Mental Health Center, Chrisanne Marie Christensen

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This study investigates an important issue in mental health service provision, the level of parental satisfaction with staff interactions at a community based mental health center. A small target population, which included all families who had received services within a one year time frame, were surveyed via mail to determine levels of satisfaction. Parents responded to a questionnaire and data were collected to determine overall satisfaction, areas of service in need of improvement and areas of interaction which were most unsatisfactory. Additionally, data were compared to past study material to determine either an increase or decrease in parent satisfaction within …

Diversity Deprivation Overcome: A Predominately Caucasian Catholic High School Addresses Societal Racial Prejudice, Michele Ray Campbell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This study examines Monsignor Donovan High School, Toms River, Trenton Diocese, New Jersey's situation as a predominately Caucasian environment seeking to prepare students to adapt successfully to an increasingly diverse society. The author identifies the need for the students to gain a broader view of the world than evidenced by their school's population, examines the societal situations that led to the problem of prejudice in American society, explores the role of Catholic education in addressing prejudice and reports on polls of the MDHS Classes of 1994 and 1997 relative to their racial attitudes. Through a qualitative case study, the researcher …

Early Intervention And Parenting Support In The Public Schools: An Inalienable Right For All, Heidi Berlinger

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The present study was designed to document the effects of early intervention and parenting support, and to provide a model program proposal for federal adoption. Specifically, this paper redefines the term "readiness" to recognize the diverse needs of infants and their families.

Research indicates several factors influence school readiness: physical well-being and motor development including proper prenatal, perinatal, and early childhood care and nutrition; social and emotional development; approaches toward learning; language usage; and cognition and general knowledge. Parental understanding of how to facilitate the advancement of young children in these areas is extremely important. Without this knowledge parents are …

The Impact Of A Nursing Case Management Model On Quality Of Care As Defined By Length Of Stay, Health Outcomes, And Patient Satisfaction, Gladeen A. Ayer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this research was to investigate the impact of a nursing case management model versus a traditional modified primary care model on quality of care. Quality of care in this study was defined (by the provider) as length of stay, (by the client) as patient satisfaction and (by the professional) as meeting outcomes of appropriate clinical standards of care.

The study used a quasi-experimental design on the experimental (case managed) and control (modified primary care) groups. A non-random sample was selected for the patient population due to existing hospital protocol. The sample consisted of 100 patients (641 total …

Management Reorganizations In The Thb Global Banks - A Case Study, David Clancy

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The dissertation focuses on the multiple reorganizations of Manufacturers Hanover between March 1985 and June 1991. The research sought to find a relationship with the reorganizations and the stock price and performance measures of the Bank. The purpose was to determine if the reorganizations provided a measurable impact on theperformance of the Bank. The conclusions of this research established that the reorganizations, if intended to improve the performance of the Bank, were not effective.

A Correlational Study Of The Extrinsic Variables That Influence Job Satisfaction In Social Services Workers, Delores B. Cauthen

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This correlational study examined the job satisfaction of seventy eight social service workers in a small unit of a large bureaucratic agency of the Department of Social Services. Extrinsic factors (education, job level, and organizational tenure) were correlated with job satisfaction. Job satisfaction was measured by the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire. The results yielded three scores: intrinsic, extrinsic, and general satisfaction. Pearson's and Spearman's correlations were used. Intrinsic and extrinsic satisfaction were found to be moderately correlated (r=.40). Although the employees' intrinsic and extrinsic percentile rankings were low, the general satisfaction ranking was in the average range.

Education, organizational tenure, and …

The Influence Of Antimicrobial Use On Bacterial Resistance, James T. Griffith

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Antimicrobial resistance is becoming an increasingly serious problem accompanied by relatively few studies examining the relationship between use and resistance. The present study undertakes a twenty year analysis of antimicrobial production and factors affecting antimicrobial use for a particular microorganism (Stp. faecalis)/antimicrobial agent (Cephalothin) combination. The period is inclusive of the market introduction of the agent and considerate of prescribing practices to the present time. The accumulated data reveal that there is indeed a relationship between total drug availability (medicinal, agricultural) and increased antimicrobial resistance. The data also suggest that national (or global) use changes would likely have a long …

The Role Of Small To Medium-Size Private Companies As Change Agents In Manpower Development In The Eastern Province Of Saudi Arabia, Abdulrahman Mohammed Al-Kadi

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of the study was to explore in depth the problem of the skilled Saudi labor shortage in Saudi Arabia. More specifically, it investigated the role of small to medium-size private companies in developing manpower for the kingdom. To investigate this role, the study sought to answer the following research questions:

1. To what extent do small and medium-size firms attract Saudi youth to work in practical skill areas?

2. Do small and medium-size firms offering training take traditional values or customs into consideration when determining training needs?

3. Is Saudization a factor when determining training needs?

4. Are …

Perceived Effect Of Personal Use Of Managerial Workstations On Individual Productivity, Katherine Stewart Allen

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this research was to determine the extent of penetration of managerial workstations into the management ranks; and whether age, education and exposure to automation do affect perceptions and subsequent productivity gains from workstation utilization.

Are the attitudes and beliefs of older managers the key factor in slowing progress in implementing change and reaping the benefits of productivity? Or, are companies failing in their implementation strategies and participative management approaches?

A descriptive-survey design was utilized. The cover letter and three-page questionnaire were circulated to 490 companies in the five-county metropolitan Atlanta area. Represented in this sample was a …

The Effects Of A Psychologically Based Training Program Upon Athletic Performance, Bertram Burke

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this study was to develop a psychologically based training technique that would help maximize athletic performance. The technique entitled the Six Step Technique was then experimentally tested to determine its effect on lowering state anxiety and improving foul shooting under experimental conditions.

Specifically three schools were randomly selected from a suburban athletic conference and their Varsity and Junior Varsity male basketball teams comprised the samples of the study. The three schools were then randomly assigned to an experimental treatment group, a placebo treatment group and a control treatment group. Prior to the start of treatment(s) the. groups …

To What Extent Current In Service Education Programs At Hospital Level In Puerto Rico Help The Newly Professional And Technical Nurse In The Development Of Practical Nursing Skills, Andrea Guzman Berrios

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

THE PROBLEM

This study was directed to determine to What Extent Inservice Educational Programs in Puerto Rico help the Newly Professional and Technical Nurse in the Development of Practical Nursing skills and Fulfillment of Needs.

PROCEDURE

Eight current inservice educational programs were analyzed from four private and four state hospitals. The sample was composed of two hundred professional and technical nurses both sexes, plus a number of forty seven administrative nursing personnel included in the study, based on their relationship within inservice programs and graduate nurses' performance in practice. The main instrument used in the study was a questionnaire validated …

The Frontier Nursing Service As An Agent Of Change, Nancy Dammann

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this dissertation was to analyze the influence of the Frontier Nursing Service (FNS) on the area in which it operated. Mary Breckinridge founded the FNS in 1925 to demonstrate a method of delivering health care in an isolated rural area. She selected Leslie County in southeast Kentucky for its locale because of its isolation; there were no roads in the county and no licensed physicians.

The FNS program centered on nurse-midwives who provided health care from decentralized district clinics so situated that no family was more than an hour's horseback or jeep ride away. A hospital and …

To Determin Whether Or Not Significant Change In Spirituality Occurred In Persons Who Attended A Kubler-Ross Life, Death, And Transition Workshop During The Period June 1977 Through February 1979, John B. Alexander

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The Problem. The problem was to determine whether or not significant change in spirituality occurred in people who attended a Life, Death, and Transition workshop during the period June 1977 through February 1979.

Procedures. To measure change in spirituality, an instrument, the Spirituality Change Survey, was designed and tested. The instrument, which contained seven open-ended items and eleven semantic differential items, was determined to have moderately high internal reliability, 0.759, based on Coefficient Alpha. Two forms of the instrument were used, Eighty-seven participants from two workshops responded to a pretest- posttest mode, while 157 participants from eleven additional workshops responded …