Digital Commons Network^™

Determining Criteria For Distinguishing States Of Consciousness, Barry Matthew Klein

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Even though there are many views on consciousness theory in the pertinent literature, there remains a need for a unifying framework for specifying the features of specific states of consciousness. In order to know what kinds of experiences conscious states have in common, researchers need to elicit testimony that is more direct and finer-grained than has been previously available. This dissertation endeavors to fill a gap in current research by addressing concepts and methods for making requisite distinctions. This research illuminates the question of whether specific states of consciousness can be reliably and validly distinguished from each other. In order …

Financial Crowding Out Of Ghanaian Private Sector Corporations, Andrews Kwablah

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The government of Ghana borrows from both domestic and foreign sources to finance the budget deficit. By the year 2013, the domestic debt was 55% of the public debt. Government domestic borrowing is competitive and can potentially crowd out the private corporate sector. Therefore, the specific research problem addressed in this study was whether the Ghanaian government's domestic debt (DEBT) caused financial crowding out (FCO) in Ghana. FCO theory is not conclusive and not proven specifically for Ghana, so the purpose of this research was to investigate its presence in Ghana. The neoclassical theory of FCO underpinned the research. The …

User Interface Challenges Of Banking Atm Systems In Nigeria, Felix Chukwuma Aguboshim

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The use of banking automated teller machine (ATM) technological innovations have significant importance and benefits in Nigeria, but numerous investigations have shown that illiterate and semiliterate Nigerians do not perceive them as useful or easy-to-use. Developing easy-to-use banking ATM system interfaces is essential to accommodate over 40% illiterate and semiliterate Nigerians, who are potential users of banking ATM systems. The purpose of this study was to identify strategies software developers of banking ATM systems in Nigeria use to create easy-to-use banking ATM system interfaces for a variety of people with varying abilities and literacy levels. The technology acceptance model was …

Relationship Between Federal Compliance Complexities And Internal Control Infraction, Laurence Richard Brown

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the nonprofit industry, lapses in internal controls and low levels of accountability have resulted in many organizations becoming insolvent. Grounded in the agency theory, the purpose of this correlational study was to examine the relationship between federal compliance requirement, executive compensation, nonprofit size, nonprofit type, and internal control infraction. Archival data were collected from 144 nonprofit organizations in the southeast United States. The results of the multiple regression analyses indicated the model was able to predict the relationship between federal compliance requirement, executive compensation, nonprofit size, nonprofit type, and internal control infraction, F(7, 136) = 6.559, p < .001, R2 = .252, with non-profit type (hospitals), (β = -9.392, t = 7.191, p <0.050), accounting for a higher contribution to the model than executive compensation, (β = -0.049, t = 1.96, p <0.050). Federal compliance requirement and nonprofit size did not explain any significant variation in internal control infraction. The implications for positive social change included the potential for a better understanding by nonprofit managers of the importance of internal controls, leading to the effective and efficient provision of goods and services needed by members of society.

Teacher Perceptions Of Parental Involvement At An Inner-City K-8 Center In The United States, Latonya Eaford

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Educators and researchers have long considered parental involvement to be an integral factor in the success of students. However, parental involvement is low in many U.S. schools. Guided by Epstein's parental model, the purpose of this case study was to examine teachers' perceptions and experiences of parental involvement at an inner-city K-8 center in the United States which has had low parental involvement over the last 5 years. The overarching research question concerned teacher perceptions and experiences regarding communicating with parents, encouraging learning at home, and parents volunteering. Data sources consisted of interviews, questionnaires, and unobtrusive data. Purposeful sampling was …

Effective Strategies For Managing Continuous Consultant Turnover In It Project Teams, Nicholas K. Jury

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Information Technology project managers have found that collective turnover of consultants lowers code quality, increases knowledge loss and negatively impacts team performance. Within the last decade, companies have begun to see that offshore consultants have a turnover rate greater than 26%, more than double the rates for the rest of the IT consulting industry. Collective turnover also puts additional pressure on the project team, causing work exhaustion and thus additional turnover. The purpose of this single case study was to explore strategies that 6 successful project managers utilized to limit and reduce the impact of collective turnover of their hybrid …

Successful Climate Change Strategies In Corporate Farming In North America, Deann Renee Reaves

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The impact of climate change on agriculture is evident in changing growing seasons, crop yield, crop quality, and even complete crop losses. Changing climate conditions negatively affect the profitability of agricultural organizations. This study was a single descriptive case of one agricultural corporation in the western United States. The purpose was to identify and explore successful climate change-based sustainability strategies. The conceptual framework for this study was legitimacy theory. The data collection methods consisted of a semistructured interview of a corporate exectutive and obtaining corporate documents, including the annual report from the company's website. Data were analyzed using content analysis …

Social Media Policy To Support Employee Productivity In The Finance Industry, David Shaun Rogers

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Business leaders may see social media as a distraction for their workers; however, blocking access could lead to a reduction in productivity. Using social media technologies with knowledge workers could achieve cost reductions for payroll of 30% to 35%. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore how business leaders used a social media policy to support employee productivity. The conceptual framework for this study was social exchange theory, which supports the notion that dyad and small group interactions make up most interactions, and such interactions enhance employees' productivity. The research question was to explore how finance industry …

Teachers' Perceptions Of The Use Of Individualized Differentiated Instruction In Planning, Teaching, And Professional Responsibilities, Hope D. Wright

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Only 4% of the teachers at a southeastern grade school met the differentiated instruction standard in the state's teacher evaluation system. A qualitative case study design was used to examine elementary (K-5) teachers' perceptions of individualized differentiated instruction as it relates to planning and preparation, and teaching and professional responsibilities at one school in a southeastern state. Individualized differentiated instruction is altering instruction to fit students' needs; teachers who lack individualized differentiated instruction skills do not meet students' specific instructional needs. Danielson's framework for teaching guided this study. The sample consisted of 12 regular education, reading or math teachers in …

Identifying Talented And Gifted Students In A Northeastern Middle School, Lucky U. Abu

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The process of identifying talented and gifted (TAG) students in one local northeastern middle school was generally inconsistent with the state and local school district identification policies. The result was that qualified students were not always identified for this program, and this practice became a rationale to conduct a modified policy analysis of the TAG program placement procedures. The local school district policies on TAG are based on the gifted program standards of the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC). Using the NAGC standards as the conceptual framework, the implementation of district policies on identification of students into the TAG …

Elementary Teachers' Self Efficacy For Improving Student Achievement, Regina Ann Epps

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The local problem that prompted this study was declining student achievement scores in the 4th and 5th grades at a Title 1 elementary school in the southeastern U.S. As a result, school administrators initiated an environmental change from a self-contained classroom structure to departmentalization and team teaching for 4th and 5th grades. The purpose of the study was to investigate perspectives of teachers and administrators regarding their needs to address their own self-efficacy for improving student learning, and their perspectives of the team teaching and departmentalization processes in enhancing student achievement. The conceptual framework for this study was Bandura's theory …

Alternative To Proctoring In Introductory Statistics Community College Courses, Lena Feinman

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The credibility of unsupervised exams, one of the biggest challenges of e-learning, is currently maintained by proctoring. However, little has been done to determine whether expensive and inconvenient proctoring is necessary. The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine whether the use of security mechanisms, based on the taxonomy of cheating reduction techniques rooted in the fraud triangle theory, can be an effective alternative to proctoring. A quasi-experimental 1 group sequential design was used to answer the research questions whether the format, proctored versus unproctored, order in which the exams are administered, course delivery mode, and instructor make a …

Healthy Lifestyle Changes And Academic Improvement, Yvette Gail Williams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many children in U.S. K-12 schools struggle with childhood obesity. A healthy lifestyle taught in a child's early years is essential for student learning, and it can set the pace for healthy choices to be made in adulthood. The purpose of this exploratory case study was to explore the experiences of parents in Montgomery County, Ohio, who successfully improved their children's health and academic grades. The transtheoretical model of behavior change grounded this study to evaluate the willingness of children and adults to take action on new health and wellness behaviors that can lead them through the stages of change …

Experiences Of Current Or Former Homeschool Students Who Report Adhd Symptoms, Melissa Felkins

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Homeschooling is currently the fastest-growing educational population in the United States with an estimated 2 million students. Because 11% of school children have been diagnosed with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), there are likely to be many children with ADHD symptoms in the homeschooling population. The purpose of this study was to extend knowledge of the experiences of homeschooling in this population to assist students with ADHD as well as their parents and educators to make informed educational decisions. The multiple intelligences theory provided the theoretical framework for this phenomenological study. The key research question was focused on how current or …

Predicting Certification Success For The Family Nurse Practitioner, Tammy Lee Gravel

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

High-stakes licensure or certification examinations are required for many health professions disciplines to ensure safe entry-level practice. Accrediting agencies set a benchmark for graduates' first-time licensure or certification success as a measure of program effectiveness. Failures of graduates on licensure or certification examinations may directly affect the school's recruitment and retention of qualified students and faculty, as well as institutional financial viability. A health science university has added Health Education System, Inc. (HESI) standardized examinations using computer adaptive testing into the family nurse practitioner (FNP) master's program to support certification success, although research on these advanced practice examinations as related …

Strategies For Compliance With Government Regulations In A Pharmaceutical Company, Charles Jagun

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Pharmaceutical companies accrued fines of over $30 billion within 25 years because of noncompliance with regulations. Noncompliance with regulations results in fines and an adverse impact on company profitability. Some pharmaceutical company managers lack effective strategies to ensure overall company compliance with regulation. Based on complexity leadership theory, the purpose of this single case study was to explore strategies pharmaceutical company managers used to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements in Nigeria. The target population was functional managers purposely selected because they had successfully implemented strategies for compliance with the regulatory requirements in Nigeria. Data were collected through face-to-face and telephone …

Perceived Factors That Influence Adult Learners' Persistence And Retention In Adult Basic Education, Evelyn Idoko

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Retaining students, particularly in the 16- to- 24-year-old category, is a constant challenge for adult basic education programs nationwide. Educators need to understand factors that affect adult learners' experiences, have a better understanding of ways to motivate adult students in a nontraditional school setting to enhance their engagement, and apply research-based techniques and targeted, practical strategies to improve student persistence. The primary objective of this case study was to investigate the perceived factors that students considered influential on their persistence and retention in adult basic education programs. Knowles's andragogy theory and Tinto's persistence theory were the theoretical frameworks for this …

Strategies For New Small Businesses To Be Successful Beyond 5 Years, Jamaal Johnston

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the United States, small businesses have a high failure rate, with approximately 50% going out of business during the first 5 years. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies small business owners in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States used to stay in business for more than 5 years. Entrepreneurship theory provided the conceptual framework for the study. A sample of 5 small business owners participated in semistructured face-to-face interviews, and additional data were collected from field notes, observations, and review of artifacts related to small business success and longevity. Data were analyzed using …

Second-Grade Teachers' Brain-Based Teaching Strategies For Struggling Readers, Tong Ba Nguyenguyen

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the era of this 21st Century, there are numerous known and unknown causes of reading impairments which have destructively affected elementary school students. Some causes are linguistic, and others are nonlinguistic. Lack of research on how previous teaching methods and experiences in implementing brain-based teaching (BBT) strategies became critically important, and were the concerns for this study. Developed by Hart's brain-based learning (BBL) theory together with other BBL theorists such as Jensen and Caine, the purpose of this qualitative study was to observe and explore the implementation of BBT strategies from 4 distinct second-grade participant teachers/subjects, located at the …

The Impact Of Valuation Methods On The Likelihood Of Mergers And Acquisitions Of High-Tech Startup Companies In Nigeria, Anthony Okafor

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Walden University

College of Management and Technology

This is to certify that the doctoral dissertation by

Anthony Okafor

has been found to be complete and satisfactory in all respects,

and that any and all revisions required by

the review committee have been made.

Review Committee

Dr. Mohammad Sharifzadeh, Committee Chairperson, Management Faculty

Dr. Javier Fadul, Committee Member, Management Faculty

Dr. Craig Barton, University Reviewer, Management Faculty

Chief Academic Officer

Eric Riedel, Ph.D.

Walden University

2018

Valuing high-tech startups using traditional valuation models has continued to pose valuation challenges to entrepreneurs, investors as well as financial analysts. The complications in valuing …

Improving Access Of Small Business Owners To Microloan From Microfinance Institutions In Nigeria, Hyeladzira Mshelia Ochonogor

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Abstract

Most microloan applicants in Nigeria are denied access to financial services by the commercial banks because of the high risk involved in granting loans to an individual without tangible assets to offer as collateral. The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore small business owners' understanding of suitable funding options from microfinance banks in Nigeria to sustain their businesses beyond the first 5 years. An investigation was conducted on how small business owners could obtain information on funding options most suitable to sustain their business. Guided by the ethical banking operations framework theory, the strategies business …

Leveraging Artificial Intelligence To Improve Provider Documentation In Patient Medical Records, Evangeline C. Ozurigbo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Clinical documentation is at the center of a patient's medical record; this record contains all the information applicable to the care a patient receives in the hospital. The practice problem addressed in this project was the lack of clear, consistent, accurate, and complete patient medical records in a pediatric hospital. Although the occurrence of incomplete medical records has been a known issue for the project hospital, the issue was further intensified following the implementation of the 10th revision of International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) standard for documentation, which resulted in gaps in provider documentation that needed to be filled. Based …

The Wealth Gap A Cross-Sectional Quantitative Analysis Of Self-Esteem And Monetary Power, Willard Edwin Pretlow

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The median wealth of Blacks is lower than that of Whites by 90 percent. The corresponding median income for Blacks is 40 percent below Whites. Additional research has revealed that Blacks tend to invest in low-yielding assets and borrow at high interest rates. The alarming problem is that financial outcomes and behaviors can be associated with race. In this cross-sectional quantitative study, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem and the Money Attitude Scale, both are Likert-type scales, served as survey instruments to collect data from Blacks and Whites about their individual financial behaviors. The purpose of this survey was to explore the relationship …

The Relationship Between Georgia Public School Educational Funding Sources And Academic Achievement, Rosalind Ray

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the United States, state educational finance systems are required to ensure that every student obtains an adequate and equitable education. The purpose of this quantitative study was to evaluate the financial management aspect of public funding and the consequences of Georgia's reliance on local property tax revenue for financing its public school districts and attaining student academic achievement outcomes. The research questions examined whether there was a difference in student academic achievement levels of economically disadvantaged (ED) students based on the total 8th grade student population, annual property valuations, and median home sale prices during the 2006-2014 school terms. …

Management Strategies For Adopting Agile Methods Of Software Development In Distributed Teams, Igor A. Schtein

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Between 2003 and 2015, more than 61% of U.S. software development teams failed to satisfy project requirements, budgets, or timelines. Failed projects cost the software industry an estimated 60 billion dollars. Lost opportunities and misused resources are often the result of software development leaders failing to implement appropriate methods for managing software projects. The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore strategies software development managers use in adopting Agile methodology in the context of distributed teams. The tenets of Agile approach are individual interaction over tools, working software over documentation, and collaboration over a contract. The conceptual …

Urban And Suburban Differences In Cultural Identification, Life-Guiding Principles, And Person-Organization Fit, Joseph Edigin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Diversity practitioners in the United States have taken steps to implement programs for integration of people in organizations from across the socioeconomic and demographic spectrum. Despite changes in U.S. discrimination laws and work by diversity practitioners, maintaining equitable workplace diversity continues to be a problem in U.S. corporations. This correlational study was conducted to examine differences in life-guiding principles, urban identification, and person-organization fit between urban and suburban residents. A purposive sample of 180 adults was drawn in a voluntary online survey from industries in two U.S. representative counties with a mix of urban and suburban sprawl. This study was …

U.S. Corporate Energy Productivity, Greenhouse Gas Productivity, And Return On Equity, Terry Geonnie Tate

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Corporate leaders are expected to engage in corporate social responsibility by some stakeholders, but there is no consistent evidence that corporate social performance relates to financial performance. Grounded in instrumental stakeholder theory, the purpose of this correlational study was to examine the relationship among energy productivity, greenhouse gas productivity, and return on equity. The 2016 Newsweek Green Ranking U.S. 500 was the population for this study, which consisted of the largest companies in the United States with the highest corporate social performance scores. The secondary data were collected from Newsweek.com and Morningstar.com for this study. The multiple linear regression was …

Perceptions Regarding The Use Of Common Planning Time At Three High-Achieving Elementary Schools, Christopher Ray Tickell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The literature shows that collaboration is a critical part of a professional learning community and leads to higher student achievement. However, there is limited research on what collaboration actually looks like in a school setting. The purpose of this study was to examine the beliefs and strategies of elementary teachers and elementary administrators of three high achieving elementary schools utilizing a weekly common planning period for collaboration. Research questions for the study inquired strategies utilized by classroom teachers and principals to capture specific actions and beliefs regarding collaboration to increase student achievement. A phenomenological qualitative method was utilized through interviewing …

Sustainability Strategies For Successful Small Businesses, Barbara Stovall

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Small businesses struggle to survive for longer than 5 years because owners lack knowledge of strategies to sustain financial capital. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies small business owners used to maintain financial capital to ensure survivability for longer than 5 years. The sample included 3 successful service- related small business owners located in the southeastern United States. Systems theory and the theory of entrepreneurship provided the conceptual framework for the study. Data collection involved face-to-face, semistructured interviews and a review of company websites and organizational documents. Member checking enhanced the credibility of the findings. …

Eighth-Grade Students With Low Academic Performance In Middle School Science, Tennille Heath Fowler

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem of low achievement and failure of 8th-grade students to attain state proficiency level in science in a local school district was addressed in this case study. Data from 2012-2016 revealed that 93% of 8th-grade students in 2 suburban middle schools in the targeted state failed to meet science proficiency standards on the science Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests and the state's Milestone Assessments. The purpose of conducting this qualitative case study was to develop an understanding of teachers' perceptions regarding high failure rate of 8th-grade students to meet state mandated standards in science. Piaget's constructs of developmental and operational learning …