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Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

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Grit, Student Engagement, And Academic Performance At A Historically Black Community College, Sharonica Marie Nelson Jan 2016

Grit, Student Engagement, And Academic Performance At A Historically Black Community College, Sharonica Marie Nelson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Obtaining a college degree benefits individuals and society, yet only 20% of students are graduating from community colleges. At many institutions, graduation rates have decreased over the last 5 years, including one historically Black community college in the southern United States. To explore possible causes of low graduation rates at this unique and understudied type of college, this correlational study examined the relationships among student engagement, academic performance, and grit-persistence and passion toward long-term goals. Tinto's theory of student persistence served as the theoretical framework for this study. The convenience sample included 116 college students who already had a first-year …


Addressing School Failure And Recidivism Among 10-13-Year-Old Incarcerated Juveniles: A Case Study, Beverly Savoy Nolan Jan 2016

Addressing School Failure And Recidivism Among 10-13-Year-Old Incarcerated Juveniles: A Case Study, Beverly Savoy Nolan

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Early involvement in delinquent behavior coupled with large academic deficiencies increase the chances of long-term offending over a lifetime. A 2012 Texas report on recidivism rates and types of judicial-related programs offered showed that 1-year reoffense rates for youth in secure placement rose slightly from 41.9% in 2007 to 43.3% in 2010. The primary purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine how a Texas-based juvenile probation department coordinated services to address the needs of incarcerated juveniles who are at risk of school failure and recidivism. Maslow's hierarchy of needs framework and Moffitt's developmental classification framework served as the …


Referral And Treatment Settings For Pregnant Women, Linda D. O'Daniel Jan 2016

Referral And Treatment Settings For Pregnant Women, Linda D. O'Daniel

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Drug and alcohol addiction in pregnant women is a significant public health issue. The purpose of this study was to assess drug and alcohol addiction in pregnant women and the setting in which they sought service or treatment to determine whether U.S. census regions and race data could predict the type of addiction service or treatment that pregnant addicts chose. The theories of self-efficacy, cognitive behavioral therapy, and rational emotive behavioral therapy were used as the theoretical framework for this study. The research questions were used to examine whether there was a relationship between the source of addiction treatment referral …


Understanding The Influence Of Human Emotions In Organizations: The Emotional Extent Effects, Lambert Ikechi Ofoegbu Jan 2016

Understanding The Influence Of Human Emotions In Organizations: The Emotional Extent Effects, Lambert Ikechi Ofoegbu

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Emotional disengagement of employees may cause poor organizational performance, while emotional commitment of employees may enhance organizational performance. Informed by the theory of psychological ownership in organizations, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore how employee emotional interactions in the workplace related to organizational performance within 3 multinational companies in Nigeria. The 3 selected companies represented the 3 industrial sectors in Nigeria were financial, construction, and oil and gas. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 24 participants with a minimum of 5 years' experience in their respective organizations. Data analysis included transcription, coding, and querying, which produced …


Employee Engagement And Organizational Profitability, Schrita Osborne Jan 2016

Employee Engagement And Organizational Profitability, Schrita Osborne

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Disengaged employees typically cost U.S. corporations $350 billion annually. The purpose of this case study was to explore strategies that some communication business leaders used to engage their employees that resulted in increased profits. The target population consisted of 4 communication business leaders located in Jackson, Mississippi who possessed at least 1 year of successful employee engagement experience. The self-determination theory served as the study's conceptual framework. Semistructured interviews were conducted and the participating company's archived documents were gathered. Patterns were identified through a rigorous process of data familiarization, data coding, and theme development and revision. Interpretations from the data …


A Policy Analysis Of California Veterans Treatment Court Legislation, Larisa Elisabeth Owen Jan 2016

A Policy Analysis Of California Veterans Treatment Court Legislation, Larisa Elisabeth Owen

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Veterans treatment courts (VTCs) and agencies that work with veterans experiencing posttraumatic stress and substance use disorders have been unable to provide evidence-based treatment that includes veterans' families in recovery and treatment. This limitation has resulted in treatment gaps that appear to have had an adverse impact on veterans and their families. The purpose of this qualitative content analysis was to examine the formulation of AB 2371, a 2012 legislative amendment to California code PC 1170.9, and evaluate whether lawmakers considered family-oriented treatment in passing the amendment. Schneider and Ingram's theory of social construction of target populations constituted the theoretical …


Mitigation Strategies Of Technostress On Supply Chain Management, Robert Lewis Penn Jan 2016

Mitigation Strategies Of Technostress On Supply Chain Management, Robert Lewis Penn

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Logistics managers work to create practices that reduce technostress, which is associated with diminished productivity in supply chain management. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the mitigation strategies that logistics managers at distribution centers used to reduce technostress with their employees in the Los Angeles County, California area. The conceptual framework included in this study was the sociotechnical systems theory. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 6 logistics managers from large distribution centers who implemented mitigation strategies that demonstrably reduced technostress with their employees. Public documents and physical artifacts reviewed in this study included productivity assessment tools, …


Servant Leadership, Organizational Commitment, And Perceived Organizational Support In The Restaurant Industry, Chee Kiong Piong Jan 2016

Servant Leadership, Organizational Commitment, And Perceived Organizational Support In The Restaurant Industry, Chee Kiong Piong

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The high employee turnover rate in the U.S. restaurant industry constitutes a major expense for restaurants. The research problem for this study was to determine if restaurant employees' perceptions of their supervisor's servant leadership practices were associated with the employees' organizational commitment and perceived organizational support, which have been shown to reduce turnover. Greenleaf's servant leadership theory provided the theoretical framework. The research question for this study was whether restaurant employees' perceptions of their supervisor's servant leadership practices were associated with the employees' organizational commitment and perceived organizational support, thereby potentially reducing employees' turnover rate. A purposive sample of 88 …


Maternal Characteristics And Childhood Immunization Series Completion Rates Among Children 2-Years-Old, Merlene Ramnon Jan 2016

Maternal Characteristics And Childhood Immunization Series Completion Rates Among Children 2-Years-Old, Merlene Ramnon

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Delays in childhood immunization may have adverse health implications. In the United States, childhood immunization among children who are below 3 years of age continues to be below Healthy People 2020 targets for some vaccines such as DTaP, PCV, HIB, Hep A, Rotavirus, and Hep B birth dose. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between maternal characteristics and childhood immunization series completion rates among children 2 years of age. The social learning theory and self-efficacy theory provided the theoretical foundation for the study. Data from the Florida Department of Health Immunization Surveys were used. ANOVA and …


Penalty Enhancement Laws And The Reporting Of Patient Assaults On Emergency Department Nurses, Thomas Runkle Jan 2016

Penalty Enhancement Laws And The Reporting Of Patient Assaults On Emergency Department Nurses, Thomas Runkle

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Assaults on emergency department nurses by patients are higher than any other occupation in the private sector. Professional nursing organizations have lobbied for penalty enhancement laws that increase the categorization of assaulting a nurse on duty from a misdemeanor to a felony. As of 2015, 32 states have implemented these laws. Yet, low assault reporting rates by nurses remains a problem, and little is known about whether penalty enhancements improved reporting rates. The purpose of this correlational study was to evaluate the impact of penalty enhancement laws on self-reporting of assault on emergency department nurses in 6 Mid-Atlantic cities. Constructs …


Strategies To Obtain Maximum Usage Of Enterprise Resource Planning Systems, Edward James Schaffer Jan 2016

Strategies To Obtain Maximum Usage Of Enterprise Resource Planning Systems, Edward James Schaffer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Business organizations invest significant resources implementing enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, yet some organizations utilize less than 75% of the ERP system capabilities. The purpose of this single-site case study was to explore ERP utilization strategies implemented by 4 managers in the information technology (IT) department from 1 organization that uses an ERP system in the Midwest region of the United States. The conceptual framework that grounded this study was the user participation theory. Data were collected through participant interviews and analyzed using traditional text analysis. Member checking was used to strengthen the credibility and trustworthiness of the interpretation of …


The Associated Risk Factors That Lead To The Onset Of Sarcoidosis In Black American Women, Tiffany Mcintyre Simmons Jan 2016

The Associated Risk Factors That Lead To The Onset Of Sarcoidosis In Black American Women, Tiffany Mcintyre Simmons

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Sarcoidosis is a disease characterized as noncaseation granulomas. Granulomas are clusters of cells that form a discrete nodule. This research was important because Black American women develop saroidosis at a higher rate than any other race. The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to examine the impact of sarcoidosis in the lives of Black American women diagnosed with the disease and to consider how occupational experiences may have contributed to participants' development of sarcoidosis. Research states that domestic work such as cleaning, when performed on a daily basis or as an occupation, can contribute to adverse health effects. The …


The Impact Of Co-Teaching On The Graduation Test Scores Of Students With Disabilities, Jeannette Lynn Stach Jan 2016

The Impact Of Co-Teaching On The Graduation Test Scores Of Students With Disabilities, Jeannette Lynn Stach

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

According to the U.S Department of Education, co-teaching is an intervention used to give students with disabilities access to the general education curriculum while in the general education classroom. It's necessary to evaluate the effectiveness of co-teaching as it relates to academic performance. However, there has been a dearth of research on quantitative studies related to co-teaching and their results have been inconclusive. This quantitative study explored whether co-teaching has a positive effect on academic performance compared to collaborative teaching, and adds to the literature in this area that is considered current. On an annual basis from 2002 to 2011, …


Hospitality Students' Perceptions Regarding The Role Of Paid Employment In Academic Performance, Ruth Annette Smith Jan 2016

Hospitality Students' Perceptions Regarding The Role Of Paid Employment In Academic Performance, Ruth Annette Smith

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Between January and December 2014, 68% of full-time hospitality management students at a southeastern university in the United States worked for pay more than 15 hours each week. Fifty percent of these students had a GPA of 2.5 or below, reflecting poor academic performance as benchmarked by the institution. The purpose of this study was to achieve an understanding of how full-time undergraduate hospitality students perceived the role of paid employment in their academic performance. The study was grounded by Astin's student involvement theory that requires an investment of psychosocial and physical energy by students for a successful college experience. …


Effects Of Academic And Nonacademic Factors On Undergraduate Electronic Engineering Program Retention, Munir Sulaiman Jan 2016

Effects Of Academic And Nonacademic Factors On Undergraduate Electronic Engineering Program Retention, Munir Sulaiman

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programs in higher education institutions, particularly engineering programs, face challenges related to recruitment, retention, and graduation rates. The purpose of this study was to determine whether there are significant relationships among students' major preference, academic skills, nonacademic characteristics and perceptions, and retention to year 2 among students in electronic engineering, other STEM, and non STEM majors. The academic skills considered were study habits, intellectual interest, verbal and writing confidence, and academic assistance. The non-academic factors included academic support, family support, financial support, and student social integration into the campus environment. Tinto's theory of retention …


Diabetes Mellitus Type 2: A Quality Improvement And Patient Safety Initiative, Remeliza Navarrete Tukay Jan 2016

Diabetes Mellitus Type 2: A Quality Improvement And Patient Safety Initiative, Remeliza Navarrete Tukay

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of the quality improvement (QI) project was to examine the relationship between amended nursing education concerning diabetes mellitus (DM) Type 2 self-care management incorporating Tune in, Explore, Assist, Communicate, and Honor (TEACH) and Motivational Interviewing (MI) strategies and techniques and the Glycosylated hemoglobin (HgbA1C) of veteran patients with uncontrolled diabetes. The target sample included the 2 licensed practical nurses and 2 registered nurses assigned to 2 primary care teams, and the 10 purposively sampled patients with uncontrolled DM Type 2 from each team. The nurses' competencies were measured through descriptive comparison before and after nursing education implementation using …


Poverty, Food Insecurity, And Obesity Among Urban And Rural Populations, Tameka Ivory Walls Jan 2016

Poverty, Food Insecurity, And Obesity Among Urban And Rural Populations, Tameka Ivory Walls

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Over 17 million food-insecure households are associated with increasing obesity rates across the United States. Although food insecurity and obesity are distinct social concerns, the two are linked and may be influenced by poverty and geographic location. Public health authorities and state leaders responsible for the health and nutrition of rural populations in particular would benefit from this information. The purpose of this quantitative cross-sectional study was to examine whether poverty mediated the relationship between food insecurity and obesity among urban and rural adults. The study was guided by the poverty, food insecurity, and obesity conceptual framework. The study addressed …


Health Care Leaders' Experiences Of Electronic Medical Record Adoption And Use, Joseph B. Weagraff Jan 2016

Health Care Leaders' Experiences Of Electronic Medical Record Adoption And Use, Joseph B. Weagraff

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Adoption of electronic medical record (EMR) technology systems of meaningful use has been slow despite the mandate by the U.S. government. The purpose of this single case study was to explore strategies used by health care leaders to implement EMR technology systems of meaningful use to take advantage of federal incentive payments. Diffusion of innovation theory provided the conceptual framework for the study. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 6 health care leaders from a military installation in the Southeast United States. Data were analyzed using software, coding, and inductive analyses. The 3 prominent themes were patient, provider, and champion. Alerts …


The Psychological Impact Of Distal Combat On Veterans, Candrick C. Darkashade Jan 2016

The Psychological Impact Of Distal Combat On Veterans, Candrick C. Darkashade

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Researchers and military organizations have defined military conflicts as being fought in two principal combat environments, namely, close proximity, or the proximal combat environment, and distant proximity, or the distal combat environment. This study used Gal and Jones's psychological model of combat stress as the theoretical framework. The study also used Merriam's generic interpretative qualitative research method, including open-ended interviewing and document review, to obtain data. The study used inductive thematic analysis to analyze the narratives of 10 distal combat veterans who were recruited for the study. The research questions were designed to identify the characteristics of distal combat and …


A Regression Analysis Of A Local Freshman Interest Group Program At A Public University, Faith Christine Graham Jan 2016

A Regression Analysis Of A Local Freshman Interest Group Program At A Public University, Faith Christine Graham

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Freshmen Interest Groups (FIG) programs 'peer support systems for entering students at a public university in the northeast' were believed to contribute to positive retention outcomes, but had not been evaluated to determine their impact on student retention. The rationale for this project study was the absence of formal evaluations to determine retention program effectiveness. The results are important to enrollment management staff and academic program coordinators whose job responsibilities are tied to student retention. Bean's nine themes of college student retention provided the conceptual framework for this study. Research questions considered the likelihood that retention and persistence to graduation …


The Effect Of Acculturative In The Psychological Adjustment Of Immigrant Hispanic Parents, Estela Garcia Jan 2016

The Effect Of Acculturative In The Psychological Adjustment Of Immigrant Hispanic Parents, Estela Garcia

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Hispanic immigrant parents are a growing yet understudied population. Few studies have addressed the relationship between Hispanic immigrant parents and the acculturation process. The purpose of this study was to determine how acculturative stress, racism, language proficiency, poor coping style, and low levels of social support affect the psychological adjustment of Hispanic immigrant parents. Using the framework of acculturation theory, this quantitative study examined 92 immigrant Hispanic parents from an urban northeast school in the United States. Several established instruments that measured racism, coping style, language proficiency, social support, and psychological distress were used. The results of the multiple regression …


Pharmacy Stores Profitability And Sustainability In Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, Augustine Khoza Jan 2016

Pharmacy Stores Profitability And Sustainability In Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, Augustine Khoza

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Zimbabwe's catastrophic economic decline resulted in a high unemployment rate (95%), declining socioeconomic indicators, pharmacy stores' unprofitability and lower sustainability. Profitable pharmacy stores play a fundamental role in ensuring public access to medication. Lack of pharmacy profitability leads to poor healthcare delivery, resulting in increased morbidity and mortality. A healthy population is panacea to economic growth and prosperity and enhances human dignity, social cohesion, and the quality of life. In this qualitative, descriptive multicase study design, using Porter's business strategies theory and the Deming process of quality assurance as conceptual frameworks, data from 11 pharmacy stores leaders in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe …


Socioeconomic Status As A Predictor Of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, Hilaire Saint-Pierre Jan 2016

Socioeconomic Status As A Predictor Of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, Hilaire Saint-Pierre

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

While epidemiological research has generated new knowledge about the treatment and prevention of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) through smoking secession, the socioeconomic status (SES) of people with the disease has been under investigated. Thus, the purpose of this study was to determine the predictability of association between SES and COPD. This study was based on the ecological theory, which states that health and disease may have multiple underlying factors. This study was a secondary analysis of archived data from the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR). The dataset was collected for the National Survey of Midlife Development …


Improving Perinatal Team Communication To Decrease Patient Harm With Team Strategies And Tools To Enhance Performance And Patient Safety Training, Raquel Maria Walker Jan 2016

Improving Perinatal Team Communication To Decrease Patient Harm With Team Strategies And Tools To Enhance Performance And Patient Safety Training, Raquel Maria Walker

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

During childbirth, multiple providers deliver care at the bedside that requires optimal teamwork and communication to prevent patient harm. The complexity of caring for obstetrical patient demands a well-coordinated team to relay information and respond to conditions that can change quickly during childbirth. A patient safety strategy to prevent perinatal harm is Team Strategies and Tools to Enhance Performance and Patient Safety (TeamSTEPPS) training. TeamSTEPPS is an evidence-based program based on crew resource management (CRM) principles developed in the aviation and military industries. This process improvement project used the Plan-Do-Study-Act framework and Kotter's change theory to implement TeamSTEPPS training after …


Engagement Behaviors' Impact On Course Success And Persistence Rates Of Community College Students, Van F. Whaley Jan 2016

Engagement Behaviors' Impact On Course Success And Persistence Rates Of Community College Students, Van F. Whaley

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

As enrollment in U.S. community colleges increased, both the percentage of students successfully completing courses and the percentage of students persisting to their second year decreased. This study focused on the problem of low student course success and persistence rates at a community college. The purpose of the study was to determine whether students who demonstrated engagement behavior by visiting a Center for Academic Success (CAS) either passed more courses, persisted more often, or both, than students who did not visit a CAS. Tinto's engagement theory was the theoretical framework as it postulated that students who interacted with school support …


Extending Two-Dimensional Knowledge Management System Theory With Organizational Activity Systems' Workflow Dynamics, Dana Forrest Ladd Jan 2016

Extending Two-Dimensional Knowledge Management System Theory With Organizational Activity Systems' Workflow Dynamics, Dana Forrest Ladd

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Between 2005 and 2010 and across 48 countries, including the United States, an increasing positive correlation emerged between national intellectual capital and gross domestic product per capita. The problem remains organizations operating with increasingly complex knowledge networks often lose intellectual capital resulting from ineffective knowledge management practices. The purpose of this study was to provide management opportunities to reduce intellectual capital loss. The first research question addressed how an enhanced intelligent, complex, and adaptive system (ICAS) model could clarify management's understanding of organizational knowledge transfer. The second research question addressed how interdisciplinary theory could become more meaningfully infused to enhance …


A Modified Program Evaluation Of Training For Employer Compliance With Health Insurance Requirements, Joanneandi Davenport Jan 2016

A Modified Program Evaluation Of Training For Employer Compliance With Health Insurance Requirements, Joanneandi Davenport

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A training program was established in the Midwestern United States to help employers understand compliance requirements of the health insurance industry. The purpose of this study was to conduct a modified program evaluation of the effectiveness of Pay or Play, a portion of a larger Benefit Compliance Program. The reason for the evaluation was the high percentage of remediation needed for administrators of employee health insurance following Pay or Play seminar sessions, which posed the question of program effectiveness in education of participants. This study is important because administrators of employee health insurance are responsible for understanding compliance regulations and …


Validation Of Parsons' Structural Functionalism Theory Within A Multicultural Human, Sandra Simone Minott Jan 2016

Validation Of Parsons' Structural Functionalism Theory Within A Multicultural Human, Sandra Simone Minott

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Shared values and norms are at the core for unifying different cultures socializing or working to fulfill the goals and mission of organizations. Researchers have not examined how employees representing different cultures socialize via shared norms and values in human service companies. The purpose of this ethnography study was to explore the process of 8 culturally different employees working together at a human service organization. Using purposeful sampling, multicultural employees were selected from 4 departments within the human service company. Face-to-face interviews, field notes, questionnaire, and participant observation were the tools for collecting the data. Descriptive coding, value coding, and …


Exploration Of Practice Managers' Decision-Making Strategies In A Managed-Care Paradigm, Lawrence Randolph Ford Jan 2016

Exploration Of Practice Managers' Decision-Making Strategies In A Managed-Care Paradigm, Lawrence Randolph Ford

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Practice managers are facing challenging expectations when deploying a managed-care paradigm. The problem addressed in this study was a gap in knowledge regarding practice managers' decision-making strategies that affect, or could be perceived to affect, a climate of excellence with business and client relationships, primary health care, physicians, and patients in a managed-care paradigm. The purpose of the qualitative exploratory study was to explore practice managers' decision-making strategies affecting primary health care, physicians, and patients. Guided by Simon's ideology of decision-making strategies in a management environment, the overarching research question and 3 subquestions centered on how practice managers delineate their …


Personality And Promotion: An Analysis Of The Structured Rank Of Female Officers, Kelly S. Treece Jan 2016

Personality And Promotion: An Analysis Of The Structured Rank Of Female Officers, Kelly S. Treece

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Female law enforcement officers remain an underrepresented population in ranking positions within police organizations in the United States. Current research focuses on systemic factors that inhibit female law enforcement officers within the United States from achieving positions of rank. Grounded in Costa and McCrae's five factor model of personality, this study examined female law enforcement officers' personality traits and their relation to achieved rank. This quantitative study used multiple regression analysis of survey data to determine whether the personality traits of openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and/or neuroticism alone or in combination predict rank. American female law enforcement officers in both …