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Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

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Relationships Between Political Competition And Socioeconomic Status In The United States, Trevor K. Smith Jan 2011

Relationships Between Political Competition And Socioeconomic Status In The United States, Trevor K. Smith

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Over the past 30 years there has been an increase in socioeconomic inequities between Black and White persons in the United States. Some research suggests that political ideology, which in turn impacts political competition levels, may at least partially explain these disparities, though the body of academic literature in this area is sparse. Little is known about how Black political ideology is formed by perceptions of inequality. The purpose of this study was to examine the phenomenon of Black political ideology, political competition, and socioeconomic status to determine how political competition relates to social inequities between Blacks and Whites. The …


A Survey Of Fifth Grade Writing Teachers On Their Instructional Writing Practices, Susan Margaret Muehl Egloff Jan 2011

A Survey Of Fifth Grade Writing Teachers On Their Instructional Writing Practices, Susan Margaret Muehl Egloff

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Writing is an essential skill that students need in order to become successful in school and beyond. Within a school district in the southwestern United States, student writing scores were not at proficient levels, and students were not prepared for graduation or employment. The purpose of this quasi-experimental research study was to compare the distribution of student writing achievement scores for 5th grade teachers who used 7 or more of the 11 components of effective writing instruction outlined by Graham and Perin to those teachers who implemented 6 or fewer of these components. In this study, a survey was given …


The Adoption Of International Accounting Standards For Small- And Medium-Sized Entities, Doris K. Feltham Jan 2011

The Adoption Of International Accounting Standards For Small- And Medium-Sized Entities, Doris K. Feltham

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

U.S. private entities considering adoption of International Standards for Small- and Medium-sized Entities (IFRS for SMEs) need to understand how the new standards will modify financial reporting. However, there has been no determination of the significance of the financial statement impact of changing from United States Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (U.S. GAAP) to IFRS for SMEs. Without this knowledge, private entities in the United States will not be able to make an informed decision as to the benefits or consequences of adopting IFRS for SMEs. Based on stakeholder theory, this study sought to determine how adoption of IFRS for SMEs …


National Music Education Standards And Adherence To Bloom's Revised Taxonomy, Vada M. Coleman Jan 2011

National Music Education Standards And Adherence To Bloom's Revised Taxonomy, Vada M. Coleman

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Pressures from education reforms have contributed to the need for music educators to embrace new and diverse instructional strategies to enhance the learning environment. Music teachers need to understand the pedagogy of teaching and learning and how these affect their praxis. The purpose of this multiple case evaluative study was to investigate the instructional methods used in 10 middle school general music programs to assist students in obtaining the National Standards for Music Education. Bloom's revised taxonomy was the theoretical framework used to evaluate the teaching praxis of the participating teachers. The research questions for the study addressed the effectiveness …


Church Leaders' Financial Coping Strategies During A Recession, Cecil Williams Jan 2011

Church Leaders' Financial Coping Strategies During A Recession, Cecil Williams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

An economic recession can disproportionately affect the financial stability of churches because their income relies primarily on voluntary contributions. The purpose of this phenomenological study, framed by servant leadership theory, was to explore lived experiences and perceptions related to church leaders' strategies for coping with the economic downturn in 2008. A purposive sample of 20 church leaders from Tennessee was recruited to explore the changes that have been made in church operational strategies in order to cope with the recession. The interview data were iteratively examined by using keywords, phrases, and concepts and were coded into categories, which led to …


The Influence Of Trust And Affective Organizational Commitment On Intent To Leave, Melvin, Jr. Sinclair Jan 2011

The Influence Of Trust And Affective Organizational Commitment On Intent To Leave, Melvin, Jr. Sinclair

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

As global competition has increased and organizations have become more competitive, a reliance on knowledge workers for innovation, initiative, and commitment is necessary. Having the ability to predict personnel intent to leave (ITL) provides business leaders the opportunity to reduce turnover and retain institutional knowledge. In the current study, a structural equation model was used to examine the degree to which organizational trust and commitment, as correlated variables, predicted ITL. Organizational citizenship behavior, social exchange, and organizational commitment theories formed the theoretical basis for the study. Data were gathered using online surveys from 423 participants at 5 financial institutions located …


Kindergarten Teachers' Perceptions Of Barriers English Language Learners Face In Mathematics, Martha A. Franklin Jan 2011

Kindergarten Teachers' Perceptions Of Barriers English Language Learners Face In Mathematics, Martha A. Franklin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There is a disparity of mathematics achievement between native English speakers and English language learners (ELL). This study sought to understand the barriers ELL kindergarten students faced in being successful in mathematics. The purpose of this qualitative, instrumental case study was to explore kindergarten teachers' perceptions regarding English language learner's access to the mathematics curriculum and instruction. The conceptual foundation for this study drew from social development theory, which contends social interaction using language is necessary for cognitive development such as learning mathematics concepts. Individual interviews of 8 kindergarten teachers were conducted to understand kindergarten teachers' perceptions of the barriers …


Self-Hypnosis And Volitional Control Of Finger Temperature Among Adults, Joseph Swope Jan 2011

Self-Hypnosis And Volitional Control Of Finger Temperature Among Adults, Joseph Swope

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Raynaud's disease is a condition in which circulation to the hands becomes restricted, causing an uncomfortable sense of cold and occasionally injury. The cause of Raynaud's disease is unknown. Earlier studies have shown that hetero-hypnosis is effective in the treatment of Raynaud's disease. Cost and access to providers limit such a treatment's availability. Theories of hypnosis suggest that self-hypnosis underlies all hypnotic processes. This study examined the utility of self-hypnosis and focused attention on the volitional control of hand temperature. Forty-three adult participants ranging in age from 19 to 77 years with no hypnosis experience were randomly divided into 2 …


Emotional Intelligence And Graduate Student Satisfaction At Online Institutions Of Higher Education, Christa Thompson Jan 2011

Emotional Intelligence And Graduate Student Satisfaction At Online Institutions Of Higher Education, Christa Thompson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The effect of emotional intelligence (EI) among students in education settings could prove essential to determining the needs of student satisfaction leading to retention and graduation. However, lack of research has yet to determine whether EI is an important factor of student satisfaction. The purpose of this quantitative survey study was to determine whether a relationship exists between EI in graduate students and satisfaction with their overall academic experience at their online institution of higher education. Participants included graduate students enrolled in a masters' or doctoral program at an online institution of higher education. They were surveyed to measure their …


The Effect Of Elementary Mathematics Coaching On Student Achievement In Fourth, Fifth, And Sixth Grade, Stewart, Merita Trimuel Stewart Jan 2011

The Effect Of Elementary Mathematics Coaching On Student Achievement In Fourth, Fifth, And Sixth Grade, Stewart, Merita Trimuel Stewart

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Due to recent waivers and current expectations of teacher performance, schools have been tasked to close their student achievement gaps in mathematics by 2014. Yet students still have not performed well in mathematics, which may be a direct link to teachers' instructional practices. Identifying a coaching model to improve student achievement and teachers' instructional practices is important to district leaders, school administrators, and teachers. The purpose of this study was to evaluate how a coaching practice with teachers affected student achievement in elementary mathematics. The theoretical foundation of this study was the coaching model, first used by Joyce and Showers, …


The Relationship Between Depression And Cognitive Deterioration In Older Adults, Rakesh Chand Jan 2011

The Relationship Between Depression And Cognitive Deterioration In Older Adults, Rakesh Chand

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The population structure of the United States is changing; the older age group is increasing in size relative to the younger generation. The trend is expected to continue, especially starting in 2020, when the baby boomer population---estimated at 80 million---will be reaching their 65 th birthday, a time associated with increasing health complications, including depression and dementia. The study employed a holistic paradigm as the conceptual framework to examine the association between depression and dementia in older adults, and generated a grounded theory to illuminate the relationship between depression and dementia. This theory was then used to assess the efficacy …


Attachment, Parentally Bereaved Adolescents, And High School Outcomes In A Large Inner-City High School, Silvana Amar Jan 2011

Attachment, Parentally Bereaved Adolescents, And High School Outcomes In A Large Inner-City High School, Silvana Amar

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

U.S. and world communities face the challenges of understanding how children grieve and of giving them sufficient social and educational support. Inner-city minority adolescents have not been represented well in the bereavement and attachment literature. The purpose of the quantitative study was to use the attachment theory to understand the impact of parental bereavement on these adolescents. Data were collected using the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI), the Piers-Harris Children's Self- Concept Scale (2nd ed.), and school records. MANOVAs were used to analyze the influence of attachment organization, bereavement status, and gender on self-concept and academic and behavioral functioning in school. …


Information Withholding And The Management Of Productivity In Teams, Dolores Drumheller Jan 2011

Information Withholding And The Management Of Productivity In Teams, Dolores Drumheller

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The importance of good communications between team members has been well documented. Yet previous studies on communications between team members have neglected to focus on reasons for information withholding between people working on teams. The purpose of this case study of 16 engineers and 6 educators was to understand why team members withhold information when working together. A convenience sample was selected from a software engineering organization. Collective intelligence theory in a modern communications environment was used as the theoretical foundation. This theory posits that the synergy of full group collaboration results in enhanced performance and the spread of new …


Protocol Use In A Professional Learning Community: Teachers' Perceptions Of Instructional Design And Understanding Of Students' Critical Thinking, Jeffery D. Rieck Jan 2011

Protocol Use In A Professional Learning Community: Teachers' Perceptions Of Instructional Design And Understanding Of Students' Critical Thinking, Jeffery D. Rieck

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Leaders in business, government, and education have sought to improve students' ability to think critically. While research on professional learning communities (PLCs) suggests PLCs positively impact standardized test scores and teacher efficacy, there is little evidence of how PLCs using inquiry protocols influence teachers' perceptions of instructional design for critical thinking and understanding students' critical thinking. Demands for critical thinking instruction rather than test preparation, plus teachers' misunderstanding of their students' critical thinking, support the purpose for this case study. This study examined how PLCs using inquiry protocols influence teachers' perceptions of instructional design for critical thinking and understanding students' …


Divided Timed And Continuous Timed Assessment Protocols And Academic Performance, David Perucca Jan 2011

Divided Timed And Continuous Timed Assessment Protocols And Academic Performance, David Perucca

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Children from a low socioeconomic status (SES) are exposed to numerous stress factors that are negatively associated with sustained attention and academic performance. This association suggests that the timed component of lengthy assessments may be unfair for students from such backgrounds, as they may have an inability to sustain attention during lengthy tests. Research has also found academic disparities between gender. The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to investigate the relationship between continuous and divided timed tests in terms of student test scores, with additional assessments incorporating gender. Two charter schools from a suburban Idaho school district were the …


Navy Downsizing And Its Effect On Active Enlisted Navy Personnel, Eden Velasco Castro Jan 2011

Navy Downsizing And Its Effect On Active Enlisted Navy Personnel, Eden Velasco Castro

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The overall scope of naval missions has remained largely unchanged despite the loss of more than 8,000 naval personnel each year since 2002. The downsized naval workforce experienced an overload in work assignments and an increase of health-related issues resulting in lowered morale, motivation, job satisfaction, and productivity. Maslow's theory of hierarchy of needs links personal satisfaction to work productivity, which is critical for naval personnel to protect national security, provide humanitarian services, and respond to international crises effectively. This phenomenological study included semi-structured interviews with military and civilian leaders at naval bases located in San Diego and El Centro, …


Helping Educators Foster A Growth Mindset In Community College Classrooms, Marianne Adams Auten Jan 2011

Helping Educators Foster A Growth Mindset In Community College Classrooms, Marianne Adams Auten

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Current research shows that students with a growth mindset are more motivated to learn, want to work harder, are less discouraged by difficulty, use more effective strategies for learning, and have higher academic performance in comparison to students without this mindset. Despite these promising findings, a growth mindset is sometimes not reinforced or is even refuted by classroom conditions. The purpose of this intrinsic case study was to explore how community college educators create classroom environments that foster a growth mindset. The conceptual framework for this study was a social constructivist approach where the interviewer and the participants co-constructed the …


The Effects Of Seductive Details In An Inflatable Planetarium, Sean Gillette Jan 2011

The Effects Of Seductive Details In An Inflatable Planetarium, Sean Gillette

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Astronomy is becoming a forgotten science, which is evident by its relatively low enrollment figures compared to biology, chemistry, and physics. A portable inflatable planetarium brings relevance back to astronomy and offers support to students and educators by simulating realistic astronomical environments. This study sought to determine if learning is improved in an inflatable planetarium by adhering to the design principles of the cognitive theory of multimedia learning (CTML), specifically the coherence principle, in an authentic classroom. Two groups of 5th grade students of similar ability were purposefully assigned using a 1-teacher-to-many-students format with mean lesson lengths of 34 minutes. …


Wage Equality Among Internationally Educated Nurses Working In The United States, Sat Ananda Hayden Jan 2011

Wage Equality Among Internationally Educated Nurses Working In The United States, Sat Ananda Hayden

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Discrimination against immigrants based on country of origin, gender, or race is known to contribute to wage inequality, lower morale, and decrease worker satisfaction. Healthcare leaders are just beginning to study the impact of gender and race on the wages of internationally educated nurses (IENs). Grounded in Becker's theory of discrimination, this cross-sectional study examined nursing wages for evidence of wage inequality among IENs working in the United States using secondary data collected in the 2008 quadrennial National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses. Ordinary least square regression coupled with the Blinder-Oaxaca wage decomposition was used to analyze the wages of …


Adult Outpatients With Major Depressive Disorder Forming Positive Responses During Challenging Events, Michelle Renee Victoria Jan 2011

Adult Outpatients With Major Depressive Disorder Forming Positive Responses During Challenging Events, Michelle Renee Victoria

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Previous empirical research demonstrated that major depressive disorder (MDD) had a profound impact on adults. What remained unaddressed in the research was the ability of those with MDD to form positive responses during challenging life events. The purpose of this exploratory quantitative study was to examine the cognitive ability of MDD patients to form positive responses on a standardized psychological assessment. This study, guided by Beck's cognitive theory of depression, was designed to determine whether depressed individuals were prone to negativity and had decreased ability to form positive responses to challenging situations. A 2x2 ANOVA was used to analyze 116 …


Factors That Influence Special Education Teachers' Career Decisions In A Rural School District In Southern Indiana, Theresa Lemons Jan 2011

Factors That Influence Special Education Teachers' Career Decisions In A Rural School District In Southern Indiana, Theresa Lemons

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Attrition of special education teachers is a national problem resulting in lost monetary resources, school climate discontinuity, and lower student achievement. Within a small, rural district in southern Indiana, special education teacher attrition has risen since 2008 and continues to rise. District administrators want to retain teachers to ensure a continuity of instructional services for students with special needs. To explore this problem, an intrinsic qualitative case study was employed, guided by a research question that investigated the factors that special education teachers and administrators perceived as influencing special educators' career decisions. Herzberg's motivation-hygiene theory and Billingsley's schematic representation of …


Criminal History And Lsi-R Scores Of Rsat Participants In The State Of Massachusetts: Impact Of Offender Age On Program Completion And Rates Of Offender Recidivism, Jewell E. Hankins Jan 2011

Criminal History And Lsi-R Scores Of Rsat Participants In The State Of Massachusetts: Impact Of Offender Age On Program Completion And Rates Of Offender Recidivism, Jewell E. Hankins

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this study was to understand how offender age impacted residential substance abuse treatment (RSAT) program success in reducing rates of recidivism for offenders exiting the judicial system. Despite passing legislation in the 1980s and 1990s, which increased the penalties for certain crimes, offender recidivism remains high, with no apparent drop in the number of incarcerations and re-incarcerations, resulting in high costs and threats to the safety and quality of life experienced within communities. Social learning theory, behavioral decision theory, and biologically based theories of behavior were the theoretical foundations. Archival data collected from a RSAT grant program …


Interactive Technology And Engaging Learners In The Mathematics Classroom, Phyllis Camara Jan 2011

Interactive Technology And Engaging Learners In The Mathematics Classroom, Phyllis Camara

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The Program for International Assessment tested students in mathematics from 41 countries and found that students in the United States ranked in the lowest percentile. This struggle with math among youth in the United States prompted this quasi-experimental quantitative study about using interactive technology to engage and motivate 9th grade students in an Algebra classroom. The theoretical basis of this study was a constructivist perspective, using the Piagetian concept of action as an intellect builder. A convenience sample of 76 students was divided into 4 groups: Group 1, the control group, used no technology and consisted of 21 students; Group …


Religious-Base Social Relationship And The Psychological Well-Being Of The Elderly: Gender And Race Variations, Eugene C. Uche Jan 2011

Religious-Base Social Relationship And The Psychological Well-Being Of The Elderly: Gender And Race Variations, Eugene C. Uche

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

More people in the United States are approaching retirement age, a trend which has resulted in increased study on life satisfaction and psychological well-being of the elderly. Previous researchers have focused on the relationship between religious social support and life satisfaction; however, there remains a gap in the literature regarding how race and gender may influence this association. Knowledge of interactions between religiosity, gender, and race will enable counselors working with different groups of religiously inclined clients to develop and implement religious-based interventions specific to their clients. Guided by the social ecological model, the purpose of this study was to …


Science Scores In Title I Elementary Schools In North Georgia: A Project Study, Ramon Frias Jan 2011

Science Scores In Title I Elementary Schools In North Georgia: A Project Study, Ramon Frias

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB)'s emphasis of reading, language arts, and mathematics (RLA&M) and its de-emphasis of science has been a source of great concern among educators. Through an objectivist and constructionist framework, this study explored the unforeseen effects of the NCLB on public science education among Title I (TI) and non-Title I (NTI) students. The research questions focused on the effects of NCLB on Criterion Referenced Competency Test (CRCT) scores in the high-stakes subjects of reading, language arts, mathematics and the low stakes subject of science among TI and NTI 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students in …


The Influence Of Community Support Services In Reducing Potentially Preventable Readmissions, Camille Rose Bash Jan 2011

The Influence Of Community Support Services In Reducing Potentially Preventable Readmissions, Camille Rose Bash

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Recently, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) ranked all hospitals based on Medicare readmission rates for heart attacks, heart failure, and pneumonia. CMS offered subsidies to hospitals ranked in the 4th quartile to develop community support services to reduce the problem of potentially preventable readmissions (PPRs). CMS cited 4 of the 5 hospitals in Prince George's County in the 4th quartile. The purpose of this quantitative research study was to investigate the relationship between community support services and the reduction of PPRs in Prince George's County. The Evans and Stoddart field model of health and well-being guided this …


Internationalization Of Family Businesses In Saudi Arabia, Farid Fouad Bouges Jan 2011

Internationalization Of Family Businesses In Saudi Arabia, Farid Fouad Bouges

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Family businesses represent a key economical asset in the global economy. Leaders of family businesses have implemented internationalization as a key strategy to enhance sustainability and increase profitability in a hypercompetitive global marketplace. Guided by the Uppsala model, the purpose of this case study was to explore how Saudi family business leaders have planned and implemented internationalization. Three leaders from different international Saudi family businesses participated in semistructured interviews. The participants described their experience in achieving successful internationalization for their family businesses. After analyzing the interview data and validating through member checking, 3 main themes emerged: (a) the characteristics of …


Racial Profiling Policy And Its Relation To Pro-Active Policing, Bradley R. Anders Jan 2011

Racial Profiling Policy And Its Relation To Pro-Active Policing, Bradley R. Anders

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

To address the primary problem of racial profiling by police, many states have passed legislation that require police departments to collect demographic data on those with whom the officer comes into contact; these data are later evaluated by supervisors. The problem lies in the possibility for police officers to disengage, or depolice, when faced with data collection policies that may be viewed as lessening the officer's discretion. It was this potential to depolice as related to policy interpretation that formed the conceptual framework for this study. As a result, implementation of racial profiling policies may negatively impact the very minorities …


Efficacy Of A Summer Intervention To Improve Gateway Mathematics Examination Scores, Arthur Wesley Jackson Jan 2011

Efficacy Of A Summer Intervention To Improve Gateway Mathematics Examination Scores, Arthur Wesley Jackson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Less than 50% of students from an inner-city high school in a southeastern US state who took the GATEWAY mathematics exam (2001-2007) earned a passing score on the first attempt, prompting teachers at the school to begin a summer intervention program based on Bandura's Self Efficacy Theory, to help them succeed on a subsequent reexamination. The program featured (a) extended learning time, (b) mastery learning, (c) direct instruction, (d) single-sex grouping, and (e) teacher collaboration. A survey of recent scholarly literature indicated that these 5 characteristics positively impact student learning and performance. The goal was to increase student understanding of …


Implementing Core Values In The High-Tech Industry, Arthur J. Smith Jan 2011

Implementing Core Values In The High-Tech Industry, Arthur J. Smith

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Previous research has indicated that the path-goal theory is an effective way to study leadership behavior; however, a gap exists in the literature with respect to its achievement-oriented and participative leadership dimensions in high-tech organizations. In this quantitative study, the effects of a core values intervention on the four leadership dimensions of House's path-goal theory were evaluated at a semiconductor manufacturer with a focus on the differences between supervisors and non-supervisory personnel. Data were gathered from the validated, company-developed Corporate Culture Survey that was administered pre and post intervention. Data were also gathered from a categorization task that sorted the …