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Exploring Discipline Policy Problems In Mississippi Pre-K, Briana A. O'Neil

Honors Theses

This thesis seeks to examine the current state of discipline in publicly funded pre-K in Mississippi to determine policy that state policymakers can implement to prevent excessive suspensions and expulsions. This thesis also takes into account racial disparities found in disciplining pre-K students and explores methods that Mississippi can add to pre-K discipline policy as a preventive measure. Two case studies on North Carolina and Tennessee are utilized to identify potential strategies that Mississippi education can learn from. After analyzing both states, I realized that positive behavior reinforcement had success in both states. North Carolina's Positive Behavior Support and Intervention …

A Comparison Of Mitragyna Speciosa And Mitragynine Against Opioids On Thermal Nociception In Rats, Catherine Criddle

Honors Theses

The purpose of this experiment is to compare Mitragyna speciosa (M. speciosa) and its active component, mitragynine, a known µ-opioid receptor (MOR) agonist, against well-known and commonly abused opioids, morphine and oxycodone. Another goal of this research is to determine if these compounds are also active when administered orally as is typical in human users. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were administered M. speciosa and mitragynine both intraperitoneally (IP) and orally and their antinociceptive effects were evaluated on the hotplate. Mitragynine exhibited antinociceptive effects similar to oxycodone when administered both IP and orally. M. speciosa exhibited a trend towards antinociceptive effects when …

Unemployment Insurance In A Post-2008 America: Lessons From Chile, Channing Lansdell

Honors Theses

Unemployment Insurance (UI), in its many forms, has historically been a cornerstone of developed countries' social policy. However, since the financial crisis and following recession in 2008, the American schema of UI has experienced great strain and scrutiny. This undergraduate thesis explores the detailed intricacies of the United States's approach to UI in a post-2008 America, and looks to the Chilean Unemployment Insurance system as a source of potential reform ideas. The paper details the current operations and conceptual underpinnings of the two programs through in-depth case studies, and offers trans-national suggestions for reform. In the case studies, I explain …

The Way I See It: An Exploration Of College Preparation And Student Aspirations In Mississippi Public High Schools, Christine Dickason

Honors Theses

The Way I See It, conducted with a peer, Kaitlyn Barton, explores college preparation and student aspirations in Mississippi public high schools. In order to gain a thorough understanding of college preparation and student aspirations in the state, we decided to split the thesis into three main components: 1) a survey, distributed to juniors at three high schools in Mississippi, to collect quantitative data; 2) a documentary film, to delve into the qualitative, human side of the issue; and, 3) the written thesis. In my written thesis, I focused on issues of college preparation. Overall, Mississippi high school students are …

Revisiting The Ghosts Of Vatican Ii: Gender In Catholic Horror Cinema Of The American 60s And 70s, Currie D. Mckinley

Honors Theses

This thesis contextualizes 1960s and 1970s American horror films against the historical backdrop of Vatican II with the intent of discovering how the texts, reception, and legacies of the films could illuminate the gender politics of the various changes implemented over the course of Vatican II. The first chapter analyzes the text of Rosemary's Baby as a metaphor for restrictive policies on birth control on the part of the post-Vatican II papacy. The second chapter considers the implications of disagreements between the author and director of The Exorcist with regard to how different individuals wanted the Catholic Church to present …

The Acute Effect Of A Mandibular Repositioning Appliance On Force Production During An Isometric Clean Pull In Recreationally Trained Males, Daniel L. Hartman

Honors Theses

The use of a performance mouthpiece may cause notable performance changes in an isometric mid-thigh clean pull (iMTCP) due to altered muscular force production. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of wearing various mouthpieces coupled with a clenching of the jaw on iMTCP force production. Three recreationally trained college-aged males (Age: 26.67 ± 2.89) volunteered to participate in three testing sessions separated by one week each. In the three sessions, the subject performed repetitions of an iMTCP under the following conditions: performance mouthpiece with jaw clenched (PMP-JC), performance mouthpiece with no clench (PMP-NC), traditional mouthpiece with …

Investigating The Effects Of Alternative Footwear On Balance, David S. May

Honors Theses

Falls are one of the leading causes of injuries and unintentional deaths in the United States, with 27,800 fatalities attributed to falls in 2012 (National Safety Council, 2014). With two thirds of our body mass located two thirds of our body height above the ground, humans require constant work from balance control systems to prevent these falls (Winter, 1995). Because shoes can alter somatosensory input from the mechanoreceptors on the bottom of the foot and affect these balance control systems (Menant et al, 2008), they must be taken into account when looking into the causes of falls. Traditional footwear designs …

Resiliency And Maternal Self-Efficacy Of Single African American Mothers: A Qualitative Study, Danielle Beatrice Massey

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Traditionally, research involving single African American mothers (SAAMs) has been conducted using problem-focused or cultural deficit models with the emphases on the disadvantages. Consequently, little is known about how these women view their experiences as single mothers concerning their resilience and maternal self-efficacy. Using a snowball sampling method, 15 SAAMs were recruited to participate in this phenomenological study. This study employed a subject-intensive theoretical framework. Face-to-face interviews (using a questionnaire), participant observation, and a focus group were the methods used to capture the essence of the SAAMs' abilities to thrive despite the challenges associated with single parenting. All encounters were …

Acceptance And Uptake Of Influenza Vaccination By Health Care Workers, Leshonda Wallace

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Influenza is a preventable infectious disease, against which vaccination is the primary means of protection. Health care workers (HCW) are among the most vulnerable to the illness and are likely to be sources of infection transmission while caring for patients. Circumstantial evidence suggests higher rates of vaccination coverage by HCW will coincide with a lower incidence of influenza transmission, yet a gap remains in the literature regarding governing health agencies' (i.e., licensing boards, medical and nursing associations) influence on the influenza vaccination practices of their constituents. Moreover, discrepancies exist between governing health agencies' and the National Vaccine Advisory Committee's recommendations …

Educational Intervention To Impact Parental Decisions To Consent To Human Papillomavirus Vaccine, Tawa Bimbola Ibikunle-Salami

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Educational Intervention to Impact Parental Decisions to Consent to Human Papillomavirus Vaccine

by

Tawa B. Ibikunle-Salami

MSN, Indiana Wesleyan University, 2010

BSN, Indiana Wesleyan University, 2005

Project Submitted in Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Degree of

Doctor of Nursing Practice

Walden University

September 2015

Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is a global health issue that is transmitted sexually and affects both genders. Evidence shows that approximately 79 million people are affected in the United States with 14 million newly affected yearly. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicates that teens and young adults under age 25 are at particular …

Consumer Perceptions Of Eco-Friendly Products, Sheik M. Isaacs

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The rate of failure to manage e-waste and the business sectors' failure to produce more eco-friendly products is high. These failure rates cause companies to lose profits on expanding an eco-friendly customer market. The central research question addressed by this correlational design examined the quality, price, and brand loyalty of eco-friendly products related to customers' willingness to recycle e-products. Consumer and buying behavior theories served as the theoretical framework in this investigation. SurveyMonkey was used to distribute the researcher-developed survey to the participants for the collection of the data. The collection data instrument was validated by performing a pilot test …

Transforming Vulnerable Interactions To Effective Communication: An Application Of Evidence For The Tele-Intensive Care Unit Nurse, Bethann Mendez

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Tele-intensive care collaboration in care of critically ill patients improves both the safety and quality of nursing care. However, the full benefits of the telemedicine service may not be realized unless tele-critical care nurses have the ability to communicate clearly with their remote nursing peers. The purpose of this DNP project was to create and validate an acronym style communication tool to assist the tele-critical care nurses with their communication. The relational coordination theory was the primary communication theory utilized for tool development. The tool creation phase of the project included informal observations and discussion with a convenience sample of …

Conducting A Needs Assessment At Outpatient Medical Clinic, Fidelia Ijeuru Ukah

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Colorectal cancer is one of the most common cancers in the United States and confronting its challenges has remained a problem to the United States health sector, especially among outpatient clinics. Guided by health belief model, the purpose of this needs assessment was to identify patients age 50 and older in outpatient clinic located in a large metropolitan city in Texas who should receive information on the need for colorectal cancer screening based on their risk for developing colorectal cancer as outlined by American Cancer Society. A sample of 70 charts of patients age 50-75 years was randomly selected and …

The Effects Of A Concept-Based Curriculum On Nursing Students' Nclex-Rn Exam Scores, Patricia Allen Edwards

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The Institute of Medicine and the National League of Nursing have called for curricular reform that promotes high first-time pass rates on the National Counsel of Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN). A campus in the southeastern region of the United States implemented a concept-based curriculum; however, the effect on the first-time NCLEX-RN pass rates was unknown. The purpose of this comparative study was to determine if the concept-based curriculum improved student scores on the NCLEX-RN. Dreyfus' model of learning guided this study because of the andragogy tenets, which in turn supported the concept-based curricula. The research questions examined the …

Race/Ethnicity, Diet, And Physical Activity Behavior Among College Students, Ronda Herbert

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Scarce knowledge exists about the lifestyle of college students from heterogeneous racial/ethnic backgrounds and how race/ethnicity may influence their diet and physical activity behaviors. College students, especially those who are members of minority groups, are at risk for unhealthy lifestyles resulting in negative health outcomes. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the role of racial diversity on dietary and physical activity habits. The study was guided by social cognitive theory, and the research questions examined the relationship between race/ethnicity on diet and physical activity in a multiracial ethnic population. The study research design was a quantitative cross-sectional …

Speech-Language Pathologists On Multicultural Counseling Competency, Denise Moore Revel

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite reports of speech-language pathology graduate-level programs focusing on multicultural competence, the literature suggests speech-language pathologists are not adequately educated and trained to be culturally competent. The purpose of this study was to examine the experiences of public school-based speech-language pathologists' graduate-level academic instruction and the clinical practicum experiences in multicultural competence, specifically in the area of multicultural counseling. Guided by the theory of multicultural counseling and therapy, this study used a phenomenological approach, employing semistructured, in-person interviews with 7 participants. The inclusion criteria used for selecting study participants included: having a master's degree in speech-language pathology, graduation from an …

Implementing An Evidence-Based Educational Module On Nurses' Role On Management Of Postpartum Hemorrhage, Stella Motanya

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Postpartum hemorrhage is the second leading cause of maternal death in the United States. According to American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, postpartum hemorrhage is an obstetric emergency. Between 2012 and 2013, a medical facility reported 369 postpartum hemorrhages, a 4.7% increase from previous years. It is important to address this practice issue because postpartum hemorrhage can lead to maternal mortality. The purpose of this project was to increase staff nurses' awareness and knowledge of their role on the management of postpartum hemorrhage. The outcome of the project paper was implementation of an educational module on postpartum hemorrhage at this …

Alarm Safety In A Regional Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Piper Probst

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Alarm fatigue is a practice problem that applies to hospitalized patients and the nurses who care for them. Addressing alarm fatigue is important to promote alarm safety and to decrease the risk of patient harm or death. The purpose of this study was to decrease alarm fatigue and improve alarm safety in a regional neonatal intensive care unit (RNICU). Guided by the conceptual model for alarm fatigue and alarm safety, this study addressed whether or not alarm management protocols designed to decrease false and nuisance alarms in the physiological monitoring of neonates improve alarm safety via decreased alarm burden and …

The Effect Of Pay Banding On Generational Cohort Perceptions Of Job Satisfaction, Charles Terence Polk

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

For over 3 decades, the federal government has attempted to introduce pay-for-performance into the federal workforce. It is important for federal agencies to understand the impact of pay-for-performance, specifically pay banding, on job satisfaction and retention of frontline managers as agencies face the exodus of the retiring Baby Boomer generation. The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of pay banding on job satisfaction and intention of frontline managers to leave the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The theoretical foundation for this study was Adams's equity theory as viewed through the lens of Mannheim's generational theory. The overarching research …

Strategies To Prevent The Unintentional Retention Of Foreign Objects In Surgical Patients, Leonard Harichand Ramdas

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The Institute of Medicine's report in 2000, To Err Is Human: Building a Safer Health

System, highlighted the seriousness of medical errors in the U.S. health care system. The unintentional retention of foreign objects in surgical patients is one of those errors. At the time of this study, there was no standardized counting policy and process across operating rooms in the United States. The purpose of this project was to develop a best practice educational counting program to help prevent the unintentional retention of foreign objects in surgical patients. The Logic Model was used to guide the design of the …

Self-Perception As A Predictor Of Academic Performance In Adolescents With Learning Disabilities, Kirk Lamar Rhodes

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Adolescents often suffer with negative feelings and low self-esteem, leading to an overall negative self-perception. Prior researchers have linked adolescent self-perception, academic performance, and learning disabilities, but more research is required. This quantitative study examined relationships between self-perception of reading, writing, spelling, and mathematics competence. In addition, global self-worth was examined through the Harter-Renick Self-Perception Profile for Learning Disabled Students (HRSPP). Student academic performance as measured by Stanford Achievement Test-10 Total Reading (SATrd) and Total Math (SATmh) scores among adolescents with learning disabilities were also examined. Student records from the Green School were gathered (n = 128), with their perceived …

Social Skills Comparison Of Online And Traditional High School Students, Jo Shaw

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Online education has evolved over the last 18 years as technology continues to advance. Starting at age 5, children are able to forego traditional classrooms and begin attending school from a computer in their homes. Research has not identified significant academic differences between traditional and online schools; however, there is limited research on differences in social competency in these settings. Bandura's social learning theory was used as a framework to compare social competency skills in traditional (n = 113) and online (n = 28) high school students living in Pennsylvania using the Social Skills Inventory (SSI). Participants were recruited using …

Effect Of A Lifetime Health And Fitness Class On College Students, Tiffany Tara Young Klockziem

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Physical inactivity and obesity, both of which are modifiable cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors, increase substantially during the transition from adolescence to young adulthood. CVD is the 5th leading cause of death in people ages 18 to 29. This disease has enormous social and financial repercussions; however, many college age students do not see chronic disease as a personal threat. Few researchers have examined chronic disease risk in young adults or used a consistent, objective measurement of physical activity. A pre-post, quasi-experimental study was conducted to evaluate the association between a health and fitness class, physical education 215 (PHED 215) …

Increasing Knowledge About Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency In The Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Population, Maureen Ann Wentink Barta

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of the project was to increase awareness about alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD) in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), particularly among those with a familial history of genetic factor AATD; an additional goal was to understand its relationship to COPD. COPD is the third leading cause of death in the United States, with more than half of COPD patients experiencing significant disabilities. Major causes for COPD include smoking, air pollution, secondary smoke, upper respiratory infections, hereditary factors, occupational factors, environmental factors, and socioeconomic factors. Genetic factors, however, also play a significant role in early onset COPD and in those …

Concordance Of Genotyping And Phenotyping In The Classification Of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus, Ali M. Bazzi

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains have spread in Saudi Arabia, increasing morbidity, mortality, and financial burdens. Recent studies have suggested the phenotyping methods typically used to classify MRSA as either health care MRSA (HA-MRSA) or community-associated MRSA (CA-MRSA) cases are unreliable, because they lack concordance with the results of genotyping. Yet the expense associated with genotyping precludes its use in the Saudi Aramco population in Saudi Arabia. The absence of a standardized and affordable method to classify MRSA into CA-MRSA and HA-MRSA has been a challenge for infection control programs in Saudi Arabia. The objective of this quantitative, secondary data …

Development Of Mentors To Facilitate Evidence-Based Practice In A Nurse Residency, Susan Annette Breit

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Evidence-based practice has resulted in better patient outcomes, higher patient satisfaction, and effective patient-centered care. Leadership of a large teaching hospital determined that new nurses lacked the education and experience to design and implement an evidence-based project at the bedside, which was an expected outcome for completion of the established nurse residency program. The purpose of this project was to develop a design-only project in which Masters of Science in Nursing-prepared mentors were added to the residency program to establish the required evidence-based project. A mentor workshop was developed to guide the mentors in this role using Benner's novice to …

Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia Prevention Bundle, Patricia Cal

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is a serious complication in critically ill patients; it can prolong intubation, increase intensive care unit and hospital length of stay, and increase mortality to twice the level of patients who do not develop VAP. The purpose of this project was to determine the effect of an evidence-based educational program to prevent VAP on ICU nurses' actual and documented practices for preventing VAP. The research questions addressed whether an educational program focused on VAP prevention will affect critical care nurses' compliance with a VAP prevention bundle, and whether the education will result in maintenance of a rate …

The Impact Of Peer-Mediated Video Modeling On The Mathematics Achievement Of High School Students, Keriann Currlin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A significant percentage of US students are not reaching expected proficiency on mathematics content. As a response, educators have been urged to use more evidence-based practices; however, due to the lack of readily available strategies, these efforts have been thwarted. In related fields, video modeling (VM) has been successful in teaching behavioral skills through edited video clips that allow target populations to observe models successfully performing featured tasks. Stemming from Bandura's social learning theory, the intent of VM is to increase the frequency of the modeled behavior through observational learning. Despite the many studies that have shown success with VM, …

Educators' Perceptions Of High-Stakes Testing In Low And High Poverty Schools, Natasha Marie Domond

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Since the development and implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2002, educators have received pressure from local, state, and federal policyholders for students to achieve academically and for schools to make adequate yearly progress to avoid state and federal sanctions. The purpose of this study was to examine educators' perceptions of the effects of high-stakes testing and the accountability policies in high poverty and low poverty schools. The theoretical frameworks were conservation of resources theory, jobs demands-resources model, and job autonomy and control theory. Research questions focused on understanding educators' perception of high-stakes testing regarding curricula, …

Exploring Critical Success Factors Of The Redesigned Military Transitioning Program, Gloria Jean Edwards

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A task force commissioned by President Obama overhauled the U.S. Military Transitioning Program (MTP) in 2012-2013. U.S. veterans have continued to struggle with military transitions following the MTP restructuring. The purpose of this phenomenological inquiry was to explore the critical success factors of the MTP after the redesign based on perceptions of 20 military officers intending to transition to the civilian sector in the National Capital Region. The problem studied was that there was no indication that the redesigned MTP was effective in helping officers transition to the civilian workforce. The study included 3 research questions and semistructured interviews were …