Digital Commons Network^™

Implementation Strategies For Modeling And Simulation In Military Organizations, Cody Lynn Taylor

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Some IT project managers working for U.S. military organizations are struggling to implement modern modeling and simulation (M&S) technology. Implementation strategies are needed to help IT practitioners deliver meaningful simulations and models that ultimately help senior leaders make logical and science-based decisions. Grounded in the extended technology acceptance model, the purpose of this qualitative multiple-case study was to explore strategies some IT project managers supporting U.S. military organizations use to implement modern M&S technology. The participants included 10 civil servants who successfully implemented modeling and simulation technology for military organizations located in the United States eastern region. Data was collected …

Challenges, Practices, And Preferences Of Postsecondary Accessibility Service Providers In Alberta When Implementing Accommodations For Invisible Disabilities, Tara-Jean M. Wenc

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Although the last few decades have seen an improvement in postsecondary opportunities for students with invisible disabilities in Alberta, service providers at postsecondary institutions continue to struggle to ensure they provide reasonable accommodations in a timely manner. Research questions explored the current practices and challenges of postsecondary accessibility services providers in Alberta, Canada, and their preferences for verification documentation for students requesting accommodations for invisible disabilities. The conceptual framework was based upon the medical and social models of disability, as well as the emerging justice theory of disability. Data were collected via semistructured interviews with 13 participants. A constant comparative …

Witnessed Intimate Partner Abuse And Later Perpetration: The Maternal Attachment Influence, Kendra Lee Wiechart

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Witnessing intimate partner abuse (IPA) as a child is linked to later perpetration as an adult. Questions remain regarding why some men who witnessed abuse go on to perpetrate, while others do not. The influence maternal attachment has on IPA perpetration after witnessed IPA has not been thoroughly researched. Maternal attachment is a complex variable grounded in attachment theory and may explain why some men fail to relate to their victimized mothers. The purpose of this study was to assess the influence maternal attachment has on men who witnessed IPA as a child and later perpetrated IPA as an adult. …

Multiple Case Analysis Exploration Of Prenatal Substance Exposure On Juvenile Adjudicative Competence, Danielle Leigh Williams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Research into the neurological and cognitive factors influencing juveniles’ adjudicative competence psycholegal abilities is needed to ensure their due process rights and help inform qualified forensic mental health examiners offering their opinions on adjudicative competence in courts. The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of prenatal substance exposure on neurological factors related to juveniles’ abilities to understand the charges against them and participate in legal proceedings. Jean Piaget’s cognitive developmental theory was the theoretical framework for this study. Concrete operational and formal operational stages of cognitive development were addressed to help frame juveniles’ factual and rational understanding …

Urban School District Principals’ Perceptions Of Job Satisfaction, Darcy Lynn Woodcock

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Principals in urban school districts directly and indirectly affect school communitiesthrough student achievement, teacher retention, and school climate. When a high-quality school principal leaves a school, it can negatively affect these areas due to the interruption of progress toward school improvement goals to increase student achievement. Seeking to address this issue, the purpose of this qualitative case study was to investigate the perceptions of job satisfaction among urban school district principals. The conceptual framework was Herzberg’s motivation-hygiene theory. The key research question concerned investigating the perceptions of job satisfaction among urban school district principals. Qualitative data were collected via virtual, …

The Thoughts And Feelings Of African Americans Toward The Use Of The Word Nigger By African Americans And By Caucasians, Sylvester Earl Baker

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractThe word nigger has a troublesome history in America for many African Americans. It represents a strong connection to centuries of slavery, the Jim Crow era, discrimination, racism, and oppression. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the specific thoughts and feelings of African Americans toward the use of the word nigger by African Americans and by Caucasians. Although credible research in the area of racial images and racial slurs has been conducted, research has yet to specifically explore the thoughts and feelings African Americans have about the use of the word nigger by African Americans and Caucasians. …

Health Care Provider Program On The Management Of Obesity, Erlinda P. Bhat

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Research has shown that educational programs have led to developing the professional skills and behaviors of front-line health care providers who care for overweight or at-risk obese patients. The purpose of this project was to provide an educational program on best practices for weight management to health care providers at a large military clinic. The project question was developed to assess whether the educational program increased the knowledge and confidence of health care providers in the management of obesity. Utilizing Pender's health promotion model, a quasi-experimental study was conducted in which 15 health care providers, including licensed and unlicensed personnel …

How Federal Mortgage Programs Affect Homeownership Outcomes Of Low-Income Households, Lawanda Alexia Brown

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Numerous laws and policies have been enacted to aid economic recovery and housing growth after the 2008 housing

crisis in the United States; however, concern remains that low-income families interested in homeownership are in poor

housing situations due to inadequate access to federal homeownership policies and program information. The purpose of

this quantitative study was to analyze the relationship between the variables of income, race, and access to federal

mortgage program policy information and dependent variable HEC on homeownership outcomes for aggregate years

2007 to 2018. Using a quasi-experimental design, the chi-square test of independence was used to test N …

Relationships Among Residential Instability, Poverty, And Index Crimes In Rural New York, Justine Case-Fitzgerald

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The lack of empirical literature on rural crime limits the ability to fully understand the driving force behind criminality in nonmetropolitan areas. Predominantly urban theories such as social disorganization theory have been used as a general description for crime causation; however, most social disorganization research has been conducted in urban settings without reference to the mediating rural characteristics present. This simplified view of crime, which does not reflect existing variables within the areas studied, has weakened the ability to identify the most efficient and effective crime-control strategies. The research questions in this study addressed the need to understand how unique …

Canadian Policymaker Experiences On Reducing Syndemic Stigma For Hiv And Substance Use Disorder, Nickolas James Cherwinski

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

People living with HIV (PLWH) and substance use disorder (SUD) experience highly stigmatized lives fraught by influences such as criminal law and stigmatizing public policies. Despite free access to antiretroviral therapy (ART) and mental health services for all Canadian citizens, suboptimal adherence to ART and administratively cumbersome mental health interventions still exist. Many researchers have found the health services for both HIV and SUD to be dynamic, costly, and difficult to maintain; as such, the purpose of this study was to explore the knowledge gap related to the policy implications of syndemic stigma experienced by PLWH and SUD in Canada. …

Instructional Strategies That Foster High School Students’ Achievement In Blended Learning, Cindy Fuhrer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Blended learning has become an alternative method to promote student achievement in a technology-orientated society. Students enrolled in blended learning classes in a midwestern suburban high school are outperforming students in the traditional face-to-face classes on standardized tests, yet there was little information about the instructional strategies used in the blended learning classroom that result in higher student achievement. The purpose of this qualitative instrumental case study was to explore what instructional strategies were implemented to foster student achievement in a successful high school English and social studies blended learning program. The focus of the study was to understand which …

Online Instructor Perceptions Of New Instructor Training, Heather D. Gunn

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

While institutions offering asynchronous courses provide training to help new instructors develop the skills necessary to facilitate learner-centered, asynchronous courses, little is known about how online instructors perceive the training they receive. Knowing more about how online instructors perceive the training they receive to prepare them to facilitate learner-centered, asynchronous courses can inform the improvement/enhancement of new instructor training. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore online instructors’ perceptions of new instructor training at an online university in the Western United States. Mezirow’s transformative learning theory guided this study. Research questions were designed to explore how instructors …

Basic Qualitative Investigation Of Teachers’ Preparedness, Perceptions, And Experiences Regarding Inquiry-Based Instruction, Wilhelmina M. Jordan

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

At an urban high school in Georgia, test scores of incoming ninth graders were especially low. The purpose of this basic qualitative research study was to explore language art teachers' preparedness for, perceptions of, and experiences with inquiry-based teaching at that school to determine if inclusion of such methods could improve student learning. Identifying means of improving students’ English language arts proficiency is important to not only academic success but also to success in the workplace later in life. The conceptual framework for this study was based on the discovery learning theory of Bruner. Research questions guiding this study focused …

Perceptions And Experiences Of Sickle Cell Disease Patients And Parents/Caretakers On Alternative Treatment Options For Pain Management, Elizabeth Hagan Asamoah

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is marked by excruciating chronic pain, commonly known as pain crisis. SCD healthcare practitioners (HCPs) have been employing palliative care as a mainstream treatment option to manage SCD pain crises using mainly opioid analgesics for years. Due to the current opioid crisis, however, it has become imperative to explore alternative regimens to manage the pain and associated comorbidities of SCD. Thus, the goals of this study included exploring alternative treatment options for SCD pain crisis management with the intent of decreasing SCD patients’ dependency on opioid-based or related analgesics while reducing the frequency of pain crises …

The Experience Of Women With Opioid Use Disorder Accessing Methadone Treatment, Lizette Cristine Keenan

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The number of women experiencing opioid use disorder (OUD) in Canada has increased exponentially. In Canada, healthcare is socialized and free for all citizens and often medications like methadone are free as well, yet few individuals with OUD access treatment services. The purpose of this study was to describe the lived experiences of Canadian women with OUD who were receiving methadone treatment. Interpretive phenomenology was used to investigate the treatment experiences of seven women with OUD. The conceptual framework of self-care of chronic illness was used examine this phenomenon. Data was analyzed using a seven step process of interpretive phenomenological …

Differences In Attitudes Among Therapists In Suburban Versus Urban Settings Regarding Evidence-Based Treatments, Bennie Lamont Kyle

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractPrevious research has indicated that evidence-based treatments have proven effective in clinical trials. However, the transfer of desired outcomes from research settings to practice settings reflects a gap in the literature. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine whether differences exist between the attitudes of therapists who work in suburban versus urban settings and who do and not use evidence-based treatments in their attitudes toward evidence-based treatments and perceptions of treatment characteristics. The theoretical framework for this study was the theory of planned behavior. This quantitative study used the evidence-based practice attitude scale to assess therapist attitudes toward …

Retail Store Managers’ Emotional Intelligence And Employee Engagement, Amala Luncheon

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Emotional intelligence is an essential trait for managers to possess to be effective and successful in organizations. Soft skills are becoming as crucial as making quotas. Scholarly literature lacks research on emotional intelligence and employee engagement in retail in St. Lucia. Engaged employees could stay motivated during adversity and help maintain an organization’s culture. The purpose of this exploratory case study was to examine how retail store managers in St. Lucia perceived their emotional intelligence influences employee engagement. The conceptual framework that grounded the study was emotional intelligence and employee engagement from an organizational performance perspective. The data collection process …

Teacher Perceptions About Instructional Delivery For Chinese International Students, Valerie Lorraine Marchione

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem that prompted this study was that teachers at a local private school werestruggling to identify and implement appropriate instructional strategies to promote international student academic and social engagement. The purpose of this study was to examine teacher perceptions and experiences about instructing international students. The conceptual framework of this study was based on Vygotsky’s theory of social constructivism. The research questions explored teachers’ perceptions about their knowledge, experiences, and perceptions of students’ school acculturation and teachers’ instructional processes. A case study design was used to capture the insights of 12 high school teachers of international students through semistructured …

Preparing Staff Nurses For Timely Management Of Hypertension In Acute Ischemic Stroke, Nneoma Oguguo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

When a blood clot obstructs the flow of blood and oxygen to the brain, it can cause an ischemic stroke. Hypertension is the most important risk factor for ischemic stroke because it causes damage to the arteries, making them easy to burst or clog and subsequently increases the risk of stroke. Advanced treatments have been developed to dissolve clots and restore blood flow to the brain. Tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) has been clinically beneficial in acute ischemic stroke if it is given early and under the right conditions. Nurses can improve patient care through application of evidenced-based management. The purpose …

Examining Teachers’ School Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions And Support Practices To Improve The Behaviors Of Students With Disabilities, Lolita Michele Owens

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractThe problem at a high school in the southeastern United States is that students with disabilities struggle to demonstrate appropriate behaviors despite the implementation of School-Wide Positive Behavioral Intervention and Supports (SWPBIS). Current research findings have suggested that although SWPBIS includes strategies for students with disabilities, the behaviors of students with learning disabilities have not improved during SWPBIS implementation. There was a need to explore teachers’ implementation of SWPBIS for students with learning disabilities. In this basic qualitative study, how teachers at the research site high school were implementing SWPBIS for students with learning disabilities toward improving maladaptive behaviors was …

Social Work Practice With Children Identified As Having Disabilities In Elementary School, Tamara Cindy Pierre

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

School social workers provide services and resources for children with disabilities and protect their rights. The National Association of Social Work (NASW) Code of Ethics provides the school social workers’ responsibilities to clients in the promotion of well-being. The present research involved identifying the school social workers’ role in ensuring a conducive learning environment for students with disabilities. Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory was used in this study to investigate the person-in-environment experiences of school social workers within an elementary class setting. Data consisted of six school social workers’ responses to semi-structured questions obtained in one-on-one interviews conducted via the Zoom web-based …

Pulmonary Rehabilitation And Hospital Readmissions Among Individuals With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, Nicholas Prush

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Due to policies that penalize hospitals for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) readmissions and the health problems faced by individuals who are readmitted due to COPD, it is critical to identify treatments and strategies that can help reduce the likelihood of readmission. The purpose of this study was to assess the association of pulmonary rehabilitation and demographic variables (age, gender, and BMI) on 30-day hospital readmissions for patients with COPD. Shearer’s health empowerment theory was the theoretical framework for this quantitative study. Secondary data were obtained from a hospital and the sample was comprised of 253 COPD patients admitted between …

Student Retention At The Community College Level, Davia Debisha Ramgeet

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Student retention has been a serious issue for many community colleges globally for several decades. In a community college in Jamaica, persistence rates have been steadily declining within the last several years. The purpose of this study was to investigate students’ experiences with the pre-college program that was designed to prepare students to enter and successfully complete college undergraduate programs. Astin’s conceptual framework on involvement was used for this qualitative project study. Key questions for this study included what in-class experiences and what student support services students participating in the pre-college program perceived to be most useful to their college …

Learning Experiences And Goal Setting Strategies From Successful Adult Basic Education Learners, Amanda Christine Sobremesana

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Adults who are unsuccessful in completing their educational program will not receive the needed certification or diploma to be competitive in a global economy and job market. The completion percentage of adult basic education learners remains low at an adult basic education site in a Western state. The purpose of this study was to better understand the various experiences of the successful adult learner and the different ways they used goal setting strategies to complete their programs. This basic qualitative study was guided by Knowles’ theory of andragogy. The guiding research questions asked adult learners what learning experiences and goal …

Preschool Teachers’ Perspectives Of Professional Development Related To The Management Of Challenging Behaviors, Obioma Ijeoma Uche

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractMany young children enter preschool programs exhibiting challenging behaviors and are suspended from preschool at a rate 3 times more than K–12 students. Many preschool students who need help are instead suspended or expelled. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore private preschool teachers’ perspectives on past or existing professional development opportunities related to children with challenging behaviors and the resources/professional development needed to support these students. Knowles’ theory of andragogy served as the conceptual lens for this study. Interview questions were developed to elicit in-depth participant responses to answer the two research questions on preschool teachers’ …

Niger Delta Stakeholders’ Expectations Of Iocs’ Peacebuilding Programs: A Multiple Case Study, Sylvester Ikechukwu Ugwuanyi

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Scholars within the business and peace literature domain identified a knowledge gap in the understanding of community stakeholders’ views and expectations about the specific strategies that support corporate peacebuilding in conflict-ridden host communities. The purpose of this qualitative, multiple case study is to gain a deeper understanding of host community stakeholders’ expectations of international oil companies’ (IOCs’) peacebuilding programs within the Niger Delta. To address the research problem and purpose of the study, qualitative data were collected from multiple sources of evidence including semistructured interviews with eight community stakeholders, archival data, and reflective journaling notes. This study was framed by …

Small And Medium Enterprises Strategies For Winning Mining Contracts For Profitability And Sustainability, Patrick Sipopa Akayombokwa

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Zambia experience annual failure rates of 20%. SME survival is essential for improving national economic development and social benefits. Grounded in a resource-based view and Freeman’s stakeholder theory, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore strategies supply and contracting SME owners used to avoid failure. Data were collected through semistructured interviews from four successful SME owners in Zambia and a review of company documents. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Three themes emerged: competitive quality products, interactive marketing and financial strategies, and resource acquisition and effective utilization. The key recommendations …

Psychological Distress As A Predictor Of Methamphetamine Use Among Racial Minority Women, Sundra Barnett Allen

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractThe scope and magnitude of methamphetamine (MA) use among racial minority women (RMW) created pivotal health concerns due to its highly addictive nature. Despite much available research, the problem of psychological distress (PD) as an attribute of MA use among RMW remained as a gap in the literature. The purpose of the present study was to examine the relevancy between PD and MA use among RMW to determine if distress predicts MA use among this population. The attributes of PD, as defined in the K6, are nervousness, restlessness, hopelessness, feelings of sadness or depression, feelings that suppress effort, and a …

Lived Experiences Of Pakistani American Women Who Sought Mental Health Treatment, Marriam Ashraf

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractDespite the research on how mental illness manifests in the United States, there is more to be known about mental health in the Pakistani American population. The goal of this qualitative phenomenological study was to understand the lived experiences of Pakistani American women who sought mental health treatment. Ecological theory provided the framework for the study. Data were collected from semi structured interviews with 10 participants via telephone and face-to-face conversations. Data were analyzed using managing, reading, memoing, describing, classifying, interpreting, representing, and visualizing techniques. Findings indicated that seeking help for mental health played a positive role in participants being …

Administrator And Practitioner Perspectives On Trauma-Focused Interventions For Incarcerated Male Juvenile Offenders, Tatrina Bailey

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractThe juvenile justice system of the United States has about two million adolescents under the age of 18 years, of which 85% are male. Seventy to ninety percent of juvenile offenders were exposed to some type of trauma, causing the U.S. Department of Justice to a call for instituting trauma-informed procedures in the juvenile justice system. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore facility administrators’ and practitioners’ perceptions of their roles in administering and choosing to administer trauma-focused treatment interventions to incarcerated male juvenile offenders. Using the theory of social construction of policy, the research questions focused on …