Digital Commons Network^™

Factors Associated With Steady Employment Among Felons, Rosalind Holley

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Research has shown that a felony conviction record negatively impacts an individual’s employment prospects. Although stable employment has been shown to reduce recidivism, the stigma associated with being labeled a felon is a significant barrier to employment for this population. This phenomenological study, guided by Roy’s adaptation model, labeling theory, and social identity theory, explored the lived experiences of individuals with a felony conviction in seeking and obtaining employment postconviction. Participants were recruited from the Adult Probation offices of the Community Supervision and Corrections Department of Brazoria County near Houston, Texas. Six adult males who were currently on adult community …

Intrinsic Motivations And Perceived Benefits Of U.S. Males For Taking Dimethyltryptamine, Timothy Raymond Kazmarek

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Dimethyltryptamine (DMT) is a psychedelic drug which has a rapidly increasing user rate, giving rise to concern amongst law enforcement and public health officials around the world. While previous researchers have primarily focused their examinations of motivations for DMT use internationally with diverse populations, this study was an investigation of DMT use in the United States among its most prevalent user demographic, adult men. The purpose of this study was to bridge the gap between knowledge of motivations for DMT use internationally and lack of knowledge domestically. The theoretical foundation for this study was comprised of the self-efficacy theory and …

Obesity, Physical Activity, And The Place Of Residence Among Latinos, Chanda Mcneal

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Obesity is one of the most costly chronic, but preventable, diseases that has increased in prevalence in the United States. Obesity is known to be related to a lack of physical activity and the conditions in which people are born and live. Although adult Latino men and women have the second highest obesity rate in the United States, researchers have not explored place of residence as a factor in understanding Latinos’ health status. Therefore, the purpose of this correlational quantitative study was to determine if there is a relationship between obesity and Latinos’ place of residence and physical activity, and …

Qualitative Inquiry Of Resilience In Veterans Transitioning To Civilian Life, Brenda D. Nicholson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This qualitative phenomenological research focused on the resilience of 10 veterans transitioning back to civilian life. An increase in suicide rates among veterans over the last 10 years has become a major concern for the U.S. Congress and Department of Defense (DoD). The theoretical frameworks guiding the study are Durkheim’s suicide theory, Lindenberg and Frey’s social production function theory, and Diener’s deindividuation theory. Many veterans have no self-awareness of their need for psychological and transitional assistance, leaving them vulnerable during a time of potentially increased and unfamiliar stress. Understanding the need for effective psychological adjustment and resilience in military members …

Experiences Of Long-Term Stay Among Homeless Millennials In New York City Shelters, Xellex Z. Rivera

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The number of homeless millennials seeking shelter in New York City (NYC) increases

nightly. Aside from seeking shelter services, millennial adults are also staying in shelters longer than the time allotted by the city. Their extended stay places a burden on city resources and taxpayers. Although there is research on the millennial generation and homelessness in NYC, more research is needed on the experiences of single, millennial adults who stay in shelters for extended periods of time. The purpose of this qualitative, multiple case study was to explore the experiences of 4 long-term-stay millennials, 25 to 34 years of age, …

Teachers’ Attitudes, Beliefs, And Confidence Levels And Technology Integration In Urban Schools, Renée Rousey

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many K–12 schools do not exploit the advantages of technology, despite the influx of equipment that can enhance pedagogy and student success. A gap exists in the literature about the extent to which urban teachers’ perceptions influence technology use in the classroom. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the ABCs of K–12 teachers regarding technology integration in their classrooms. Rogers’ diffusion of innovation theory and the technological pedagogical content knowledge model were the frameworks for this study. The research questions examined teachers’ intrinsic factors that impact the integration of technology in the urban classroom and the perceptions …

Mindfulness In Healthcare: Exploring The Gap Between Leadership Practice And Employee Burnout, Bryn Saunders

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A healthcare employee’s ability to provide proficient, or quality, care to patients is impeded by burnout. Previous studies showed high levels of burnout is a common problem in healthcare, indicating there is a lack of support for employee health. The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine whether mindfulness training reduced burnout in healthcare professionals. The study focused on increasing knowledge between the leadership practices and programs used to improve healthcare proficiency by analyzing the relationship between mindfulness and three measures of burnout: sense of efficacy, depersonalization, and emotional exhaustion. The Western concept of mindfulness that emphasizes self-awareness and …

Caseworkers' Perspectives On Female Juvenile Delinquent Rehabilitation Based On Age Groups, Cynthia Stephens

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The incidence of female juvenile delinquency is increasing and, along with it, the need for effective age-appropriate rehabilitation. The purpose of this study was to address the lack of research regarding age-appropriate rehabilitation programs for female juvenile delinquents. This basic qualitative approach was used to uncover the perspectives of experienced caseworkers on the best practices and success of age-differentiated rehabilitation programming for female juvenile delinquents. Data were collected to answer the following guiding research question: What are the perspectives of caseworkers on rehabilitation programming for female juvenile delinquents, taking into account the age differences among the incarcerated youth population? Bronfenbrenner’s …

Association Between Childhood Secondhand Smoke Exposure And Inflammatory Bowel Disease Development, Stephanie Eve Walsh

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a group of diseases that affect the gastrointestinal tract. Environmental factors, such as smoking, have been shown to play a role in the development of IBD; however, minimal research regarding secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure and the development of IBD has been conducted. The purpose of this study was to examine whether there was a relationship between childhood SHS exposure and the development of IBD. Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory was used in this study as a basis that the environment can aid in the development of disease. The research questions addressed the potential association between childhood …

Practitioners’ Perceptions Of Medical Compliance Among Homeless Clients With Hiv And A Mental Health Diagnosis, Kyle Samuel Berkley

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Previous research on HIV medical adherence has focused on incentive-based interventions, while previous research with the chronically homeless has focused on substance abuse, mental illness, and health disparities. This qualitative study focused on the experiences and perceptions of medical providers in a metropolitan area who work on medical adherence with homeless people living with HIV and mental illness. Ecological systems theory provided foundation to explore how medical providers form interventions based on clients’ ecosystems. The data were collected via audio-recorded, semi-structured interviews with 15 case managers, mental health therapists, nurses, and primary care physicians who worked at outpatient medical centers. …

An Interpretive Phenomenological Study Of Adult Students’ Subjective Theories Of Critical Thinking In Anatomy And Physiology, Elizabeth Anne Dubofsky-Porter

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Critical thinking is a vital skill for the success of recent graduates, both to increase academic success and improve employability after graduation, especially in health science fields. However, many adult students fail to engage in critical thinking, especially in core courses such as anatomy and physiology (A&P). The purpose of this interpretive phenomenological qualitative study was to better understand adult students’ subjective theories regarding critical thinking and how adult students perceive the use of and any barriers or challenges to critical thinking in A&P while enrolled at Technical University. The theoretical framework that grounded this study was the Paul-Elder theory …

Single-Parent Upbringing As A Predictor Of Long-Term Violence Scale In Solo Male Serial Killers, Jennifer E. Francis

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Growing up in a single-parent household has been associated with exposure to adverse childhood experiences that contribute to negative short- and long-term psychological and behavioral outcomes, including violent behavior. It is unclear, however, whether a single-parent upbringing predicts the scale of a perpetrator’s violence. The current study examined the scale of violence through measures of frequency and duration, correlated with a single-parent upbringing among male serial killers who operated alone in the United States. In a nonexperimental, cross-sectional design, I used a multivariate analysis of variance to compare 85 male serial killers raised by a single parent with 85 male …

How Crime-Based Media Affect Perceptions Of Crime, Race, And Fear Of Crime, Sharonda Cage Hatter

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The effects of crime-based media have long been an area of study among scholars. The problem addressed in this study is the media’s representation of how crimes are perpetrated and processed within the criminal justice system; it is difficult for society to separate and understand factual depictions from fictional portrayals. Researchers have demonstrated that media negatively influences society’s perceptions of police officers’ violent encounters with individuals, particularly African American men, but they have not established wide-ranging contributing factors. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore whether crime-based media influences society’s perceptions of others based on crime, race, …

The Coping Behaviors Of Adult Children After Treatment For Parental Alienation, Anissa J. Michaud

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

High conflict divorce and the alienation of a parent after a divorce causes minimal mental health issues and unhealthy coping skills in children. Without treatment programs that focus on PA, psychologists will continue to only treat the symptoms or rebuild the family system rather than treating the individual’s with healthy coping skills. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to compare personal experiences from adult male and females suffering with parental alienation after a parent’s high conflict divorce. Bowen’s theory of family systems was used as a theoretical approach to understand the comparisons of adult children on the basis of …

Recognition, Classification, And Help-Seeking Behavior Of Nigerian Immigrants In Minnesota, Frederick Nnabuchionye

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Immigrants from non-Western cultures are known to underutilize mental health services in the United States. Part of the problem is in the way how cultures recognize and classify symptoms as a mental disorder. A report from the Minnesota Ombudsman's Office for Mental Health showed that out of every 6 suicide-related deaths in Anoka Regional Treatment Center in Minnesota, 4 are of African descent. The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate the cultural view of depressive symptoms as possible predictors of attitude toward seeking professional psychiatric help. The theory of reasoned action/ theory of planned behavior provided the framework …

The Effect Of Collective Efficacy On Stress Among Elementary Teachers, Tiffany Annette Rich

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Stress among teachers has been an area of increasing concern in education. This study was designed to examine the role of collective efficacy on negative stress effects experienced by elementary general and special education teachers and to determine the difference between effects, if any, in both groups. This topic is important to school leaders and teachers because many teachers are leaving the field, resulting in a shortage of teachers across the United States. The study’s theoretical framework consisted of social cognitive theory, the theory of collective efficacy, and equity theory. Data were collected using the Collective Efficacy Scale, Short Form, …

Sociodemographic Factors, Culture, And Suicide In Guyana, Kay Shako

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Suicide in younger populations is a major public health concern and it significantly impacts third world countries like Guyana. Some challenges related to suicide are poor recording of suicide risk factors and customized prevention programs to address this significant issue. The purpose of this study was to examine which sociodemographic factors (age, gender, occupation, method of suicide, and region) are associated with suicide and method of suicide among people aged ≥ 15 years in Guyana. Also, because studies show that culture plays a pivotal role in suicide, this study investigated if there is a link between culture (ethnicity/race and religion) …

Rethinking Young Adults’ Entrepreneurial Program Policies And Barriers On Enterprise Performance In Nigeria, Olorunyomi Akinboyo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

One of the primary goals of government policies globally is to improve the standard of living of its citizenry through effective utilization of available resources. With the number of students that graduate from Nigerian tertiary institutions on yearly basis, without a commensurate increase in job creation, youths in Nigeria without entrepreneurial skills and resilience, tend to face greater challenges entering into the labor market. Existing policies have not made remarkable achievement in addressing youth unemployment due largely to absence of research on the causal factors. The main research question that guided this study was how government policies by the Federal …

Influences On Ethical Decision-Making By Nurses Employed In Federal Health Care Facilities, Cecil Dean Blount

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Healthcare professionals are tasked with making key decisions involving new and controversial approaches such as organ transplantation and life-prolonging technologies and treatments that raise various ethical issues. Suboptimal ethical choices by nurses can lead to negative patient outcomes and lower the quality of life in federal healthcare facilities. The purpose of this nonexperimental quantitative correlational study was to identify the factors that influence nurses’ ethical decision-making processes in U.S. federal healthcare facilities. The theoretical framework was based on Beauchamp and Childress’ ethical system of principlism. Three research questions addressed the nature and extent of the relationship between nurses’ Ethical Behavior …

Managerial Strategies To Encourage Learning From Experience, Olena Khomenko

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In a fast-paced, volatile global economic environment, the ability to learn from successful experiences and failures is critical for the improvement of business performance. The problem is that organizational managers often fail to improve performance because they lack strategies to encourage learning from project teams’ positive and negative experiences. Grounded in the conceptual framework of experiential learning, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore managerial strategies to encourage and facilitate learning from experience in teams. The participants were 7 managers from multinational organizations in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Switzerland who had …

Veterans' Perceptions Of Behavioral Health Services For Posttraumatic Stress, Larence Kirby

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Behavioral health services exist for Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF)/Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) veterans diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD); yet, untreated diagnoses may lead to the risk of compromised behavioral health. The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological study was to understand the lived experiences of OEF/OIF veterans regarding their decision to seek and retain behavioral health services for addressing PTSD. The research focus and questions were employed through the theoretical concepts of Heidegger’s hermeneutic phenomenological theory, Heider’s attribution theory, and Beck’s cognitive behavioral theory. In-person interviews were conducted to collect data from 8 OEF/OIF veterans who had encounters with behavioral …

Mortality Disparities Among Puerto Rican Infants In 2015, Maria Del Carmen Medina

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There is a well-established disparity between infant mortality rates among women residing in rural areas in Puerto Rico in comparison with woman residing in urban areas of Puerto Rico. There is a significant amount of research that connects infant mortality to low birth weight, congenital malformations, and premature births. The purpose of this study was to determine infant mortality and its relationship with the geographical location of Puerto Rican mothers. The study also examined whether there is a relationship between infant mortality and the area of residence (rural/urban) of the mother, marital status, race, and education level of the mother. …

Association Of Landfall Atlantic Tropical Storms And Human Cases Of Locally Acquired West Nile Virus Infection In Florida, Jackson G. Mosley

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

West Nile virus (WNv) is the most widely distributed flavivirus and considered a vector-borne pathogen of global significance. During the study period from 2002 to 2018, WNv had the highest incidence of locally acquired human cases when compared to any other mosquito borne illness in Florida with 373 cases documented during the study period. The purpose of the study is to determine if there is an association between Florida landfall tropical storms (LTS) and the incidence of locally acquired human WNv cases from 2002 through 2018. The study used a retrospective ecological study design guided by the epidemiological triad model …

Examining Barriers Impacting Women’S Promotion Into C-Suite Positions In Higher Education, Lynette Johnson Nelson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The United States Department of Labor indicated that women represent 46.8% and men represent 53.2% of the United States’ 16 years and older civilian labor force. An estimated 52% of adult women compared to 48% of men participating in the civilian labor force held a bachelor’s degree or higher, and women represented 47% of the management and professional sector’s positions. Women occupy 25% of C-suite positions in the Standard & Poor 500 companies. In higher education, 30% of college presidents are women. Women continue to face several barriers as they try to move into senior executive leadership positions. The specific …

Population-Level Determinants Of Cholera Incidence In African Countries, Ngoy Nsenga

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Cholera remains endemic in Africa, with limited access to safe drinking water and inadequate sanitation as 2 of the main drivers of its dissemination. Few studies have examined the impact of health system capacity, even though it plays an important role in prevention, early detection, and response to a cholera outbreak. Grounded in the ecosocial theory of infectious disease dissemination, this quantitative ecological study explored the effect of social vulnerability (as measured by access to safe drinking water and sanitation, rate of open defecation, poverty, income inequality, gender inequality, and adult literacy) and health system (as measured by health financing …

How Older Nigerians View The Impact Of Migration On Their Health, Jayne Nwankwo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Migration into the United States opens windows of opportunity, but also involves difficult experiences that impact the health of migrants. In this qualitative study, the meanings that Nigeria migrants (aged 65–80) placed on their migration experiences were explored in relation to their health and well-being. Literature revealed no prior migration study on this population. The social constructivist approach provided the framework for this study. Purposive sampling was used to recruit 13 participants that fell within the selection criteria. Face to face interview was used to obtain participants’ view of health; their challenges to adaptation to the United States; the impact …

Achieving Sustainability In Global Supply Chains, Parthiv G. Patel

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Most multinational company leaders lack effective strategies to achieve sustainability in their supply chains. Multinational company leaders who struggle to sustain supply chains, experience poor business performance creating risks of business failure. Grounded in systems theory, a qualitative multiple case study was conducted to explore successful strategies that leaders of multinational companies implemented to achieve sustainability throughout their supply chains. The participants comprised 6 business leaders of multinational consumer packaged goods companies in northern Vermont who have successfully implemented strategies for achieving sustainability in their global supply chains. Data were collected through semistructured face-to-face interviews, internal company supply chain documents, …

Exploring The Use Of Familismo To Manage Depression Among Elderly Latino Women, Denise Ramos

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

As the elderly population continues to increase in the United States, so does the concern of major depressive disorder. Despite the need to forcefully recognize and address depression among this age group, efforts have been docile and passive; many elderly individuals continue to go undiagnosed. With the increase of Latino population within the past and upcoming decades and with studies showing that elderly Latinos appear to live longer than non-Latinos, it is critical that differences in treatment interventions be explored. This study aimed to explore the use of familismo (intense importance and attachment the Latino culture places on nuclear and …

Analysis Of The Impact Of Family Structure And Type 2 Diabetes Among Adolescents, Danny Lee Self

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Type 2 diabetes (T2D) has increased among the adolescent population in the United States within the past 30 years. While the increase in T2D is linked to obesity and a lack of physical activity, it lacks contextual analysis within the structure of the non-traditional family unit. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine family structure and prevalence of T2D among adolescents. Krieger’s ecosocial theory guided the study. The research questions were designed to investigate whether family structure directly impacts T2D prevalence or indirectly through socioeconomic status. The research design was quantitative with cross-sectional analysis of secondary data. The …

Strategies To Grow And Expand A Nonprofit Business, Olusegun Abimbola Awode

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Nonprofit organizations make significant contributions to individuals, organizations, communities, the environment, and societies, but many do not survive in the long run. This study is important to business leaders in for-profit and nonprofit organizations who want to implement strategies for the long-term survival of their business, improve business performance, and effect positive social change. Grounded in Penrose’s theory of growth, the purpose of this qualitative single-case study was to explore strategies leaders used to grow and expand a nonprofit business in the midwestern region of the United States. The participants comprised 5 nonprofit leaders with recorded success at growing and …