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Staff Education Intervention To Enhance Care Planning For Older Adults, Mozhgan Peiravi

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The increased prevalence of cognitive deterioration has increased the challenges of caring for older adults. This study's project site offers a psychiatric program for older adults with customized care for complex geriatric mental health patients. Clinical assessment and care management are often overlooked in geriatric mental health patients diagnosed with behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD). The purpose of this project was to deliver an education program developed from the Staff Training in Assisted Living Residences-Veterans Administration, P.I.E.C.E.S model and the Castle framework to 42 nursing and allied health staff of the project site. The project question explored whether …

Reduction Of Centers For Medicare And Medicaid Services Reimbursement Penalty Risk, Christopher Douglas Poteet

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Healthcare centers face increasing revenue risk under the Medicare Access and Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act (MACRA). The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies that successful leaders of healthcare centers use to mitigate the risk of reimbursement penalties under MACRA. The conceptual framework of this study was Generation 3 cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT-III), and the analysis process used was Yin's recursive and iterative phases. Participants of this study were 6 leaders of healthcare centers in the United States identified as having high quality and low cost via the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid public use …

Living Arrangements, Referral Source And Young Adult Admissions To Drug Treatment, Daniel Samaila

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Abuse of painkiller drugs and non-medical use of drugs among young adults continues to be a public health crisis in the United States. Living arrangements and source of treatment referral were considered as the social context that could contribute to increased admissions to treatment for drug abuse. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between, independent living arrangement, the principal source of referral, and abuse of opioid, heroin, and cocaine. Steered by the conceptual framework of the biopsychosocial model, this study used the data from the 2015 Treatment Episode Data Set: Admissions managed by the Substance Abuse …

Perceptions Of Homeland Security Policing In An Urban Midwestern Community, Sukeena Stephens

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Since the terrorist attacks on the United States of America on September 11, 2001, approach to policing has observably been shifted across the country. Utilizing a qualitative methodology, this study explored the perceptions of community members from a Chicago, Illinois community regarding the shift in policing style post 9/11. Cooley's theory of the looking glass self, coupled with a phenomenological approach to understand the deeper meaning associated with the perceptions of the residents and the shift in policing styles in Chicago communities. The data were obtained from participants who were at least 40 years old and held a residence for …

African American Masculinity And Its Influence On Hypertension-Related Behaviors, Tangee Denise Thomas

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

High blood pressure (hypertension) is known to be one of the leading factors that directly contributes to heart disease and stroke, which are the first and third leading causes of disabilities and death in the general U.S. population. The prevalence of high blood pressure among African American men in the United States ranks as one of the highest in the world. Research indicates the roots of this phenomenon are found in physiological, psychosocial, cultural, and socioeconomic factors differentially affecting the African American population. The purpose of this study was to examine the interaction between African American males' masculine perspective and …

The Role Of The Economic Community Of West African States In Counterinsurgency And Conflict Resolution, Muhammed Touray

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

From 1991 to 2002, the Sierra Leone government and the Revolutionary United Front waged war against each other, subjecting Sierra Leone to a civil war. This war devastated the nation and resulted in many human casualties. Although many researchers have investigated the role of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in counterinsurgency and conflict resolution, few studies have been conducted on the specific role of strategic processing tools used by ECOWAS during the Sierra Leone war to sustain a durable peace resolution in the country. Using Galula's conceptualization of counterinsurgency and conflict resolution as a guide, the purpose …

Intake Case Managers' Perspectives On Rural Veteran Homelessness, Amanda Eun Jee Webreck

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Homeless research has focused on the service-directed approach, but few qualitative studies have focused on the critical and sensitive nature of the intake process. Staff in rural and remote communities struggle to refer services and mainstream resources to homeless veterans. The purpose of this case study was to explore case managers' perspectives on intake procedures in rural Pennsylvania communities. Lewin's force field analysis was used as a theoretical basis to examine the rationale for behaviors and forces that impact an individual's state. Six case managers and 1 supervisor were selected for face-to-face interviews based on their experience, job duties, and …

Women, Domestic Violence Service Providers, And Knowledge Of Technology-Related Abuse, Nadine White

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many victims of domestic violence face continued exposure to abuse through technology because intimate partners may use technology as weapon against them. Some domestic violence service professionals lack necessary information or training to educate victims. The impact on victims has not been thoroughly examined. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to assess the impact on women when domestic violence service providers do not provide current information about technology-related abuse to promote safety when providing service to victims. The conceptual framework was the Duluth model of power and control and the feminist perspective on intimate partner violence. The primary …

Crisis Communication Systems Among K-12 School Principals, Tomicka Nicole Williams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Crisis communication systems (CCS) in educational settings have been challenged by mass casualty events including shootings, natural disasters, and health outbreaks in the United States. The U.S. federal government and the U.S. Department of Education have created safety and security instructions to manage these complex and diverse security issues, yet they do not address the role of school leaders within a CCS. Using complex adaptive systems as the theoretical construct, the purpose of this qualitative case study was to examine CCSs utilized by school leaders within a single public school district in the United States. The research questions are focused …

The Transactional Theory Of Stress And Coping: Predicting Posttraumatic Distress In Telecommunicators, Dana Marie Dillard

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Telecommunicators (e.g., dispatchers and 911 operators) experience firsthand the death and suffering of friends, family, peers, and strangers in a chaotic work environment characterized by chronic stress and lack of support. Previous research has demonstrated telecommunicators are at increased risk for negative health outcomes; however, existing research does not identify predictive pathways to posttrauma symptoms in telecommunicators. In an application of the transactional theory of stress and coping, I used structural equation modeling to examine occupational antecedents, work-family conflict, negative appraising, and coping as predictors of posttraumatic stress symptoms in telecommunicators. A convenience sample of 103 telecommunicators, recruited through agencies …

The Effect Of Community Evaluators On The Selection Of Entry-Level Police Officers, Eric Hutchison

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

As a method of building relationships with the public, some police forces have integrated community members into the candidate assessment and selection process. The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to determine the effect of integrating community evaluators as a new method in the assessment and selection process for police officers in a city police force. Media richness theory and general mental ability were used as a framework, and archival data from a large Midwest department of public safety were collected by filing two public records requests. Data from 2,510 police candidates were included. Quantitative data analysis was conducted …

Employee Engagement Strategies That Healthcare Managers Use To Increase Organizational Performance, Eric Makoni

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The annual cost of low employee engagement in Australian workplaces was $18.7 billion in 2015. Healthcare managers who adopt employee engagement strategies have the potential to achieve robust clinical, operational, and financial results that benefit both the organization and the community as a whole. The purpose of this single case study was to explore effective employee engagement strategies that some healthcare managers used to increase organizational performance. Social exchange theory was the conceptual framework for the study. Data were collected through semi structured interviews with 8 healthcare managers in Queensland, Australia. Participants who implemented successful employee engagement strategies were selected …

Mobile Application Use To Support Family, School, And Community Partnerships, Erin Ortega

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Globally, a phenomenon has transpired involving the fast-paced growth of mobile technology and the rapid adoption of smart technology. As technology continues to become more mobile, it could be beneficial for educational systems to begin to evaluate how mobile applications impact family, school, and community relationships; however, little research exists on this specific topic. The purpose of this qualitative study was to uncover the experiences of district-level administrators during the implementation of mobile applications for a number of school districts. The diffusion of innovation theory, the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology, and various school, family, and community …

Certainty Versus Suspicion: Incapacitated Sexual Assault On Campus, Amanda Ellen Quade

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

One in four women experience sexual assault during college. With rates of sexual assault on college campuses continuing to increase, the need for advanced analysis utilizing contemporary variables is justified. The purpose of this quantitative study was to compare two groups of female college-attending students. One group was certain and the other suspected that they were sexually assaulted while incapacitated (independent variables). Dependent variables compared between groups were offender type (interest on offenders with fraternal affiliations), law enforcement reporting decisions, and barriers to reporting sexual assault. Four research questions measured whether there was a statistically significant difference amongst the dependent …

Exploring Subcultural Perceptions That Influence Change Success Within A Hybrid Organization, Kevin Morgan Sorbello

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Global change-failure rates remain over 70%, despite over a half-century of research, theory development, and mitigation strategies. Although researchers studying the problem of change failure recognize that subcultural perceptions influence change success, especially in hybrid organizations where subcultural differences are more profound, the perceptions that predispose a subculture to support or resist organizational change remain relatively unknown. The purpose of this exploratory case study was to address the problem of the high cost of change failure by identifying perceptions that influence change success within a maritime organization. The study'€™s conceptual framework was founded on the interpretive paradigm and social constructivist …

Central California's Juvenile/Dependency And Criminal Courts' Treatment Of Parent-Child Contact, Cheryl Oslinker Spano

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Parties to a legal action of child abuse can be prosecuted criminally as well as charged with allegations within the jurisdiction of juvenile/dependency court. This can lead to seemingly conflicting goals regarding contact and visitation between the two parties (victim and defendant; child and parent). In essence, restraining orders or visitation orders from one court can contradict the case goals of another court. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to (a) determine if there is a pattern of inconsistent goals in cases of concurrent jurisdictional child-abuse cases, (b) evaluate the effect of conflicting court orders on each jurisdiction's …

Leadership Strategies For Reducing Operational Costs In Waste Management Businesses In Liberia, Rita Evelyn Townsend

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Waste is a global composite of organic and inorganic derivatives from human activities. Municipal solid waste consists primarily of plastics from households and e-wastes, creating opportunities for waste management businesses. The purpose of this study was to explore leadership strategies for reducing operational costs in waste management businesses in Liberia. In this multiple case study, 6 business leaders from 6 waste management businesses in Liberia were recruited as participants. The conceptual framework guiding the study was the transformational leadership theory. Each business leader responded to open-ended questions in a semistructured interview. Data were analyzed by iteratively searching recurrent codes to …

Neutralizing Boko Haram Resurgency: Power Of Targeted Holistic Education Policies, Godwin Chinedu Ukwuani

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Boko Haram (BH) insurgency is driven by Islamist ideology and hegemony, nurtured mainly on failed education and sociopolitical policies and less by economic realities in Nigeria. Military counterinsurgency (hard COIN) successes are necessary but not sufficient to neutralize resurgence. The framework for this study was behavior modification by targeted holistic education policy (THEP) over ruminated frustration-aggression of drive theory. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to conduct a survey of educated participants (N = 95), randomly selected from education campuses in Nigeria, to estimate the power (relationship) of THEP over time to neutralize BH resurgence (NBHR). The data from …

The Relation Of Court Appointed Special Advocate Education To Foster Care Outcomes, Leah Danelle York

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program is an organization that utilizes lay volunteers as advocates for children in foster care to improve outcomes for those children. The effectiveness of CASAs in achieving permanency outcomes for children in foster care has been established; however, the literature has significant methodological flaws and is outdated. The purpose of this study, guided by the theory of change and social cognitive theory, was to explore whether CASA self-efficacy, through a proxy measure of education level, is related to permanency outcomes such as reunification with parents and rate of reentry to the foster care system …

Faith-Based Support For Alzheimer's Family Caregivers In Madison County, Alabama, Meredith Lewis

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Alzheimer's disease, the sixth leading cause of death in the United States, is incurable. Because of the extensive long-term care required for patients with Alzheimer's, the typical caregiver is often a middle-aged family member with his or her own health problems. The purpose of this quantitative cross-sectional study was to determine the extent to which there was a difference in the perception of quality of life between Alzheimer's family caregivers who receive tangible faith-based support compared to the Alzheimer's family caregivers who receive no social support. The theoretical basis was social support theory, which suggests that support buffers stress. The …

Recidivism Differences And Measures Of Predictability For Federally Convicted Child Pornographers, Ricardo J. Rodriguez

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There is a gap in research on the effectiveness of mandatory-€minimum sentences on the recidivism rates of federal child pornography offenders, resulting in policy that may be ineffective and costly. Relevant research can further understanding of criminogenic behavior that results in the exploitation of children and aid future policy making decisions. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to better understand the relationship between federal sentencing and federal child pornographer recidivism. Central to this study is the research question of whether there exists a statistically significant difference between the likelihood of recidivism in 2 child pornographer cohorts that receive different …

The Moderating Influence Of Social Media On The Relationship Between Perceptions Of Police And Community Violence Among African American Men, Herman Charles Tucker

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

African American males experience homicides significantly higher than other groups throughout the United States. More African Americans are victims of violence, especially deadly violence, compared to any other racial or ethnic group. While research has been conducted on the association between perceptions of police and violence among African American men ages 18 to 44, no research exists on whether social media use moderates this association among African American men ages 18 to 44. This quantitative, cross-sectional study included 45 African American men. The Past Feelings and Act of Violence (PFAV) instrument, the Perceptions of Police (POP), and the Social Media …

Interpreting Belonging In People With Developmental Disabilities: A Case Study, Photovoice Exploration, Tullio Orlando

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In this qualitative study, the social construct of community citizenship as perceived in the worldviews of adults with developmental disabilities living in a large eastern city was explored. While authors report government-sponsored institutionalization and custodial care is no longer as common, the voices of people with developmental disabilities are still to be heard on what they think about being participating members of their communities rather than segregated as they once were. This study provided a group of adults with developmental disabilities an opportunity to help others better understand their thoughts about belonging. A combined case study and photovoice research approach …

Strategies For Improving Data Protection To Reduce Data Loss From Cyberattacks, Jennifer Elizabeth Cannon

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Accidental and targeted data breaches threaten sustainable business practices and personal privacy, exposing all types of businesses to increased data loss and financial impacts. This single case study was conducted in a medium-sized enterprise located in Brevard County, Florida, to explore the successful data protection strategies employed by the information system and information technology business leaders. Actor-network theory was the conceptual framework for the study with a graphical syntax to model data protection strategies. Data were collected from semistructured interviews of 3 business leaders, archival documents, and field notes. Data were analyzed using thematic, analytic, and software analysis, and methodological …

Multicase Historic Studies Of Innovative Work Behavior Among Intellectually Gifted Adults, Karen Denise Gaskins

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

ABSTRACT

This qualitative research study was conducted to examine whether investing in innovation and gifted intelligence would improve America's economic well-being. The investment issue became a problem because educational researchers researched innovation as creativity rather than as productive behavior. Moreover, in the literature, adult giftedness was perceived as negative development rather than as alternate normative behavior. The purpose of this research study was to generate new knowledge about innovation and adult giftedness. WICS (wisdom, intelligence, creativity, synthesized) theory of intelligence provided the theoretical framework because intelligence is a measure of human productivity potential. The neuropsychological conceptual framework facilitated a cognitive …

Considering Gender In Intimate Partner Violence Prevention For Youth, Lori Ann Hertel

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is considered a pressing public health concern. Adolescent victims of IPV are at risk of a number of severe consequences which can lead to poorer academic performance, relationship problems, and being revictimized by or perpetrating IPV later in life. The purpose of this study was to conduct a qualitative case study on the Love Doesn’t Hurt (LDH) program run in 100 schools in Kansas to understand the professional viewpoints of the counselors/teachers who led the program, determine whether they saw improvements among the male adolescent population, obtain knowledge of ways the program worked or did not …

Examining The Lived Experiences Of Divorce Among Hispanic Parents, Maria Rosa Perez

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Parental divorce does not have the same effect on all children, and the cultural background of families may have an impact on children's experience of divorce. The purpose of this research was to investigate the lived experiences of Hispanic parents of school-aged children who are divorced or are going through the divorce process in order to examine how their children adjust to this family change. Crisis theory and critical race theory were used as theoretical frameworks, and a phenomenological approach was used to collect data from 13 parents through semi-structured interviews. Twenty-seven themes (six minor, five major, 14 subthemes, and …

Evaluating U.S. Counterterrorism Policy On Domestic Terrorism Using The Global Terrorism Database, Colleen Michelle Kennedy

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The United States has a long history of domestic terrorism, yet U.S. counterterrorism policy has focused almost completely on the threat from international terrorism. The gap in the literature was the absence of an empirical evaluation of U.S. counterterrorism policy on domestic terrorism in general. The purpose of this quantitative study was to describe the impact of 21st century U.S. counterterrorism policy on incidence, lethality, and cost of domestic terrorism using data from the Global Terrorism Database. The multiple streams framework and the power elite theory were used. In this longitudinal trend study using secondary data analysis, domestic terrorism data …

Practicing Self-Efficacy And Transparency To Achieve Long-Term Recovery And Reduce Recidivism, Lisa Kent

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There is limited data about the positive application of self-efficacy and the practice of transparency for individuals in recovery to achieve long-term recovery from substance addiction and criminal recidivism. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to gain more insight and knowledge about how the application of self-efficacy and the practice of transparency help individuals in recovery achieve long-term recovery from substance addiction and criminal recidivism for two or more years. The conceptual framework used to guide this study was Albert Bandura's self-efficacy theory. This study is significant because it explains that long-term recovery is not an easy task …

Admission Predictors Of Student Success On The Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam, Thomas Frank Moore

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In 2009, a local physician assistant (PA) program lost accreditation due to decreased success in licensure pass rates on the Physician Assistant National Certification Examination (PANCE). In response, the program's admissions committee required additional metrics for accepting quality candidates more likely to pass the licensure examination on the first attempt. The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of these metrics, specifically the relationship between demographics, prerequisite admission requirements, and PANCE success. The theoretical framework and conceptual model shaping this study was Bordage's illumination and magnify framework and Swail's geometric model of student persistence and achievement. The …