Digital Commons Network^™

Parent Stress Adaptation Among Caregivers Of Youth With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Victoria M. Ambrus

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This study was a nonexperimental correlational study that took a strengths-based approach and utilized family systems theories to examine parenting stress, as measured by the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form, and posttraumatic growth (PTG), as measured by the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory, and the relationship between the two constructs. The study was conducted with a national sample of 136 maternal caregivers of transition-age youth on the autism spectrum (ASD), ages 14 to 22 years, recruited through social media, flyers, and referrals. Participants were primarily biological mothers (83.9%), White (87.5%), and resided in the South (68.4%); the mean age of the adolescent with …

The Effect Of Self-Esteem, Bullying, And Harassment On Nurse Turnover Intention, Joyce Richelle Arand

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Currently there is a high rate of registered nurse (RN) turnover due in part to bullying and harassment among peers; which fosters lower quality nursing care, jeopardizes patient safety, and increases healthcare costs. The purpose of this quantitative nonexperimental study was to examine the relationship between inpatient nurses' individual self-esteem and reported bullying and harassment with their intent to leave their job. Two theories were used to provide structure to this work: cognitive experimental self theory and oppressed group theory. Data were collected using the Negative Acts Questionnaire, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and the Turnover Intentions Measure. All RNs in …

Emergency Preparedness And Community Policing Within Campus Law Enforcement Agencies, Sherah L. Basham

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Campus law enforcement agencies are an essential component of the campus community, and the greater criminal justice system. While policing research has focused on the activities and organizational structure of municipal police, much less attention has been given to campus agencies. This study builds on existing research by examining the activities and organizational structures of campus law enforcement agencies. The purpose of this quantitative nonexperimental study was to analyze the variation in emergency preparedness across campus law enforcement agencies using Meyer and Rowan's institutional theory. The research questions addressed the extent to which emergency preparedness was influenced by organizational structural, …

Adult Clients' Experience Of Walk-And-Talk Therapy, Denice Crowe Clark

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Standards of healthcare exist to promote beneficent treatment; however, treatment approaches are sometimes not supported by research, creating potential ethical issues for clinicians expected to use evidence-based practices. For example, walk-and-talk therapy, where therapy sessions incorporate physical activity in an outdoor setting, is being offered at increasing rates, but research regarding the practice is sparse and primarily reflects the therapists' experiences. Thus, the purpose of this interpretative phenomenological analytic study was to explore the clients' experience of the altered frame of walk-and-talk therapy through the conceptual lenses of therapeutic frame and the biopsychosocial model of well-being. Data were collected through …

Success Strategies Of Small And Medium-Sized Retail Enterprises In North Dakota, David Frantsvog

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Entrepreneurial organizations are an integral part of the United States economy. Despite the importance of sustainable businesses operations, nearly 50% of entrepreneurial ventures fail within the first 5 years of operation. The purpose of this multiple case study was to determine the effective strategies that some owners of small and medium-sized retail firms in North Dakota used to maintain profitable business operations for more than 5 years. General systems theory was the conceptual framework for this study. The population was 5 owners of profitable small and medium-sized retail firms in North Dakota who have been in operation for a minimum …

Management Of Social Media Usage By Microenterprises In Rural Trinidad And Tobago, Cheryl-Ann Henry

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Microenterprise owners in developing countries may be uncertain although aware of how to use technologies, such as social media, to advance their economic interests. The purpose of this qualitative single case study was to determine how microenterprise owners in Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) can benefit from social media usage in their business operations. The conceptual framework was Rogers's innovation decision process. The overarching research question for this study was how microenterprise owners in rural T&T could overcome the uncertainty of using social media for business growth and competitiveness. Data collection involved the administration of a business demographic survey and semistructured …

High School Students' Perceptions Of Safety Concerns Predicts School Avoidance, Ann Marie Howard

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

School violence is a growing concern and an impending danger for American youth. Students' perceptions of violent school incidents may lead to fear and this fear may lead to school avoidance. Although researchers have found that teenage pregnancy and working to support family are two of the main reasons that students stay home from school, there has been no research conducted on whether students' perceptions of safety concerns, solely focusing on the presence of guns, gangs, student bullying, and fear of victimization, predict their decision to stay home from school. Therefore, based on social disorganization and resilience theories, the purpose …

The Relationship Between Methods Of Calculating The Ahi And Daytime Sleepiness, Severity Of Sleep Apnea, And Cpap Pressure Settings, Kathryn J. Kane

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Sleep apnea impacts one's mental and physical health, and has social consequences which affect all of society. Not only is there is a weak correlation between the severity of sleep apnea and daytime sleepiness as reported on the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), but there is also a weak correlation between the severity of sleep apnea and prescribed treatment as indicated by 95th percentile pressure on a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine. This poses difficulty for providers as well as patients throughout screening and treatment. The purpose of this study was to use a biopsychosocial approach to perform a within-subjects …

Level Of Technology Implementation And The Personality Traits Of Adventist School Principals, Gustavo Martin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Previous studies analyzed how personality traits relate to education, but not in relation to technology implementation. Limited knowledge can lead to inadequate professional development. This study provided insight on the “level of technology implementation” (LoTi) and the personality traits of private school principals. The theoretical frameworks of this research were the Big Five Personality Trait Model and Concerns-Based Adoption Model. The research study answered the question of the relationship, using Kendall's Tau-b, between the LoTi and each of the personality traits: extraversion, openness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and agreeableness of Adventist school principals using a quantitative, non-parametric, correlational study approach. Every Adventist …

Post-Hurricane Sandy Coping Strategies And Resilience Factors Among People With Disabilities, Miriam Mukasa

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

People with disabilities are likely to experience difficulties overcoming the impact of natural disasters. Few scholars have focused on this population's ability to recover and handle stress following a natural disaster. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore and describe coping strategies and resilience factors that people with physical or mental disabilities used in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. Resilience theory was used as the theoretical framework. Through face-to-face interviews, 10 persons with disabilities shared their experiences of coping and resilience. A lens of interpretative phenomenological analysis was used to identify emergent themes related to persons with disabilities' …

Substance Use Treatment Needs For Survivors Of Commercial Sexual Exploitation Of Children, Emma Elisa Riley-Horvath

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC) is the sexual exploitation of minors

for commercial profit. The intersection between sex trafficking victimization and substance use has not yet been explored in clinical research and is not reflected in current clinical treatment of survivors when they exit their exploitation. The research question explored in this study focused on the substance use treatment considerations and challenges clinical social workers face when treating survivors of CSEC living in Massachusetts. Subquestions included understanding how cumulative trauma from CSEC impacts substance use treatment and how the coercive use of substances aimed at maintaining victim submission impacts …

The Regulatory Transformation In Using Medicinal Cannabis To Treat Disease In The United States, Kevin Rubin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Therapeutic benefits of medicinal cannabis are well documented in the treatment of a variety of medical conditions. There is not, however, a nationally consistent delivery system, which has prevented many patients from realizing these benefits. Using policy feedback theory as the foundation, the purpose of this general qualitative study was to better understand how state-level regulatory efforts in medicinal cannabis may provide guidance on formulating national public policies that are beneficial to patients. This study compared 3 core tenets of NORML, an authority in the cannabis industry, against the policies of 3 states with exemplary state medical cannabis programs. The …

Influence Of Trial By Media On The Criminal Justice System In India, V.V.L.N. Sastry

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Media exercises incredible influence on the public; in India media appears to interfere with court proceedings. The purpose of this mixed-methods quasi-experimental study was to explore the effect of media trials on the Indian criminal justice system and to examine the relationship between court verdicts and media trials in India. The narrative policy framework was used to guide the study. Qualitative data were gathered from a variety of sources, including the court cases and the related verdicts reported by the media as media trials from 2005 to 2015. Subsequently, interviews were also conducted to collect qualitative data. Quantitative data were …

Police Officers' Perceptions Of Spirituality For Managing Occupational Stress And Job Performance, Licole Robinson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Police officers are exposed to occupational stressors that can negatively affect their job performance. Spirituality has received scholarly attention as a potential therapeutic strategy to assist individuals working under stressful conditions. Research indicated that police culture often overlooks the spiritual well-being of police officers. Much of the police literature on stress and spirituality has been examined using quantitative methods of inquiry. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore police officers' perceptions regarding the use of spirituality to manage occupational stress and job performance. Fry's spiritual leadership theory provided the framework for the study. Semistructured interviews with a …

Examining Cultural Humility And Intersectionality In Mental Health Treatment, Sandra Y. Herrera-Spinelli

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Cultural awareness is an ethical standard in the social work profession and, as the diversity in the United States continues to grow, it is a social work practice problem when cultural awareness is not implemented in mental health settings. The National Association of Social Workers revised the cultural awareness standards to include cultural humility and intersectionality as practice indicators. The purpose of this action research study was to examine how clinical social workers demonstrated cultural humility and intersectionality in mental health settings. Person-centered theory guided this study and a total of 17 clinical social workers in New Mexico participated in …

The Effectiveness Of Two Types Of Adjunct Acupuncture Exposures On In Vitro Fertilization Outcomes, Lindsey Vacovsky

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

One out of every 8 couples experiences infertility. Few publications exist examining the association between the addition of adjunctive therapies when applied to the in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedure and pregnancy outcome. The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of 2 types of adjunct acupuncture exposures on IVF outcomes by applying the concept of the epidemiology triad. The association between the type of adjunct acupuncture exposure received (the independent variable) and pregnancy (the outcome) was determined via binary logistic regression using SPSS software. Medical records of women having received the IVF procedure along with adjunct acupuncture were …

The Effects Of Sexual Education On Sexual Behaviors Of Adolescents In Rural Jamaica, Deborah Simmonds

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Adolescent pregnancy and the sexual behaviors of adolescents continue to be robust public health and social problems in Caribbean countries such as Jamaica. Numerous researchers have conducted studies on the impact of sex education on sexual behaviors and pregnancy patterns among adolescents with mixed results (i.e., a lack of knowledge) especially in rural communities. The purpose of this study was to ascertain the impact of school- or home-based sex education on sexual behavior and pregnancy patterns of adolescents aged 15 —19 years in the rural community of St. Thomas, Jamaica. The parental expansion of the theory of planned behavior and …

Factors Affecting Employee Intentions To Comply With Password Policies, Ernest Tamanji Anye

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Password policy compliance is a vital component of organizational information security. Although many organizations make substantial investments in information security, employee-related security breaches are prevalent, with many breaches being caused by negative password behavior such as password sharing and the use of weak passwords. The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to examine the relationship between employees’ attitudes towards password policies, information security awareness, password self-efficacy, and employee intentions to comply with password policies. This study was grounded in the theory of planned behavior and social cognitive theory. A cross-sectional survey was administered online to a random sample of …

Impact Of Work-Related Electronic Communications Behavior Outside Of Normal Working Hours, Beulah Lavell Williams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Employers' reliance on asynchronous electronic communications, connective technology devices, and remote work arrangements has led employees to feel preoccupied with staying connected after-hours to be responsive to work-related demands. The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to describe the lived experiences of professional workers who coped with constant pressure to monitor and immediately respond to work-related electronic communications during nonwork hours. The conceptual framework was supported by boundary and border theory and the constructs of work-life balance, flexible work arrangements, information and communication technology. Data were collected using semistructured interviews with 16 professional workers near Washington, DC. Moustakas's modified …

Successful Operational Cyber Security Strategies For Small Businesses, Wileen Barosy

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Cybercriminals threaten strategic and efficient use of the Internet within the business environment. Each year, cybercrimes in the United States cost business leaders approximately $6 billion, and globally, $445 billion. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the operational strategies chief information security officers of high-technology companies used to protect their businesses from cyberattacks. Organizational learning theory was the conceptual framework for the study. The population of the study was 3 high-technology business owners operating in Florida who have Internet expertise and successfully protected their businesses from cyberattacks. Member checking and methodological triangulation were used to valid …

Gang Injunctions Effects: The Experiences Of Residents And Enjoined Gang Members, Natasha R. Burnett

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Civil gang injunctions (CGIs) are bans on nuisance behavior that have been enacted against gang members. Numerous studies conducted on the efficacy of CGIs have proven that they have little to no long-term effects on the communities in which they are implemented, nor on the gang members enjoined under them and their gang activities. The purpose of this empirical, phenomenological interpretative analysis study was to (a) determine the sociofamilial effects of CGIs on community residents; (b) determine the effects of CGIs on the behaviors and activities of enjoined gang members; and (c) determine the overall efficacy of CGIs based on …

Experiences Of Parents With Chronically Ill Children Regarding The Affordable Care Act, Kimberly Vaunterice Bracey

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Ways in which the implementation of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) affect parents with chronically ill children are not well understood. The purpose of this phenomenographic study was to gain greater insight into the perceived experiences of parents of chronically ill children regarding implementation of the ACA in a southern state. Argyris's intervention theory provided the framework for the study. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with a purposeful sample of 12 female parents who are caregivers of chronically ill children. Data were analyzed and coded to identify categories and themes. Findings indicated that parents view physicians and policymakers …

Dissertation: Professionalism In Trinidad And Tobago's Early Childhood Sector: A Case Study, Cynthia Juliana Celestin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This case study explored early childhood practitioners' response to government mandates for increased professionalism in Trinidad and Tobago; the impact of mandates on their personal and professional lives; and their conceptions of professionalism. The study addressed government concerns about lack of professionalism in Early Childhood Care and Education; informed policymakers of the myriad challenges therein; and included practitioners' voices in international discourse on professionalism. Change theory, systems thinking, and voice elicitation formed the conceptual framework for understanding changes needed to increase professionalism in the sector. The meaning of professionalism as defined in mandates; difference between practitioners and officials' definitions of …

Using Simulations To Prepare For College And Careers In Information Technology, Kathy Michelle Landers

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

While simulators can be used in place of hands-on hardware, there was not a significant body of quantitative research supporting the use of simulators for college and career success at the secondary level in information technology (IT). The purpose of this quantitative, nonexperimental study was to determine if there was a significant difference in college and career readiness of New York state high school students in approved IT content cluster high school programs, between those who use simulations and those who use hands-on hardware. Kolb's theory of experiential learning was the theoretical foundation for this research. The research questions examined …

Effective Nurse Recruitment Methods For Long-Term Care Facilities, Keith Laprade

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Nurse recruitment is a challenge for long-term care (LTC) leaders. Some owners of LTC businesses lack knowledge of how to attract, market, and hire qualified nurses to help ensure success. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the methods and strategies LTC leaders used to recruit nurses. The target population consisted of leaders of 3 LTC facilities who were responsible for recruiting nurses. This selection was based on findings that organization leaders experienced a downsizing of more than 20% of their personnel. The conceptual framework was the motivation-hygiene theory. Working conditions were influenced by Herzberg's 2-factor principles …

Corporate Image Branding Strategies To Attract Engineering Talent, A'Shawn Lora Mitchell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Aerospace and defense leaders need corporate image branding strategies to improve their attraction of engineering talent to the industry. The purpose of this single case study was to explore corporate image branding strategies leaders use at an aerospace and defense company to attract talent and increase competitive advantage. The framework for this study was the recruitment equity model. The sample population consisted of 5 marketing leaders and 5 talent acquisition leaders of an aerospace and defense company in the eastern region of the United States. The study participants had a minimum of 5 years of experience attracting engineering talent using …

Effective Human Resources Recruiting And Hiring Practices For Improving Organizational Performance, Marcus Karl Wardlaw

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this single case study was to explore the recruiting and hiring practices used by human resources (HR) and recruitment managers to support organizational goals for performance improvement. Data were collected from semistructured interviews with 4 HR and recruitment managers from a vegetation management company in Pennsylvania and review of organizational documents. Bertalanffy's general systems theory (GST) and Thelen and Smith's dynamic systems theory (DST) were the basis for the study's conceptual framework. Data reliability and validity were achieved through an interview protocol, member checks, interview transcriptions, and methodological triangulation. The study included an inductive analysis of interviewees' …

Instructional Rounds And Problem-Solving: An Evaluative Case Study, Cheryl Ann Scalzo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the target district, instructional rounds (IR), were implemented to reform district-wide educational practices to increase student problem-solving skills over time. This evaluative case study investigated the perceived efficacy of IRs as a model to address student problem-solving. Specifically, the study examined the influences, if any, that the IR process has had on problem-solving, academics, and pedagogy since implementation. The study was framed by Bandura's social learning theory as it states that behavior is learned from one's environment through the process of observation. Qualitative data were collected from 86 stakeholders through a district-wide questionnaire, semi-structured interviews with 8 administrators, and …

Strategies To Obtain Loans For Black-Owned Small Businesses, Trenessa Baker

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Less than 30% of Black business owners successfully obtain small business loans to sustain their businesses longer than 5 years when compared to evidence that shows that more than 65% of White small business owners obtain small business loans to sustain their businesses longer than 5 years. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the experiences of 3 Black owners of small businesses who successfully obtained small business loans and maintained operations longer than 5 years in the Research Triangle Park area of North Carolina. The conceptual framework for this study was systems theory and contingency theory. …

Closing The Gaps In Rural Healthcare In Texas: A Formative Bounded Case Study, Marianne Bogel

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Maldistribution of healthcare professionals persists in remote and rural communities throughout the world. Adoption of a Community Paramedic (CP) program could improve access to quality healthcare for rural communities. The conceptual framework defined rural communities by their distinct characteristics — community efficacy, weaknesses, attitudes, assets, deficits, local culture, and the driving and restraining forces — and not defined by their small populations or distances to cities. The theoretical foundation was a synthesis of theories of Bandura, Rogers, and Lewin. This study assessed community characteristics that may influence the likelihood of success, sustainability, or program failure of the Australian CP model …