Digital Commons Network^™

Assessment Of Vitamin D Levels And Depression Among Adults In The United States, Troy Jean-Luc Owens

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Vitamin D is essential to optimizing health; vitamin D deficiency (VDD) can increase risk of hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and insulin resistance. VDD occurs when individuals do not receive sufficient oral intake or obtain adequate sun exposure. Previous researchers indicated there is a relationship between VDD and depression, while others have indicated there is no relationship. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between vitamin D levels and depression, and how this relationship might be moderated by an individual's demographic characteristics (gender, age, smoking status, or marital status). This study was a quantitative data analysis of archival data …

Growing Diversity: Urban Renewal, Community Activism, And The Politics Of Cultural Diversity In Uptown Chicago, 1940-1970, Devin Hunter

Dissertations

“Growing Diversity: Urban Renewal, Community Activism, and the Politics of Cultural Diversity in Uptown Chicago, 1940-1971” examines the development of one of the nation’s most culturally and economically diverse neighborhoods. This character resulted from a historical process centered on the shifting politics of cultural diversity itself. Boosters, urban renewal and redevelopment advocates, community activists, and low-income residents defined diversity on their own—often competing—terms. These dynamics manifested in urban planning and architecture, working-class and middle-class leisure, radical community organizing, and film. Beyond the demographic development of social and economic heterogeneity, “Growing Diversity” traces the ways that historical processes influenced the ways …

Road Management System And Road Safety In Uganda, Paul Gudoi Zanule

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Traffic collisions cost Uganda millions of dollars each year. The purpose of this descriptive case study was to describe the strategies and processes needed to implement a road management system. Such a system would significantly reduce the fatalities and accidents in Uganda, improve the transportation within Kampala's business district, and increase business profitability. Three conceptual theories framed the research study: management theory, strategic management theory, and criminology theory. Using a snowball sampling strategy, data were collected from open-ended interviews, questionnaires, observations, and archived documents from 20 administrative participants in the government and organizational leaders involved in the transport operations and …

Research And Reality: Towards Responsible Medical Research For Catholic Universities, Michael Patrick Mccarthy

Dissertations

It is frequently noted that 90% of medical research stands to benefit only 10% of the population. While others dispute the numbers, there is little doubt that disparities exist in the global agenda for medical research. One needs no clearer example of research—not to mention public health and health care delivery—disparities than the Ebola outbreak that plagues West Africa. Despite these disparities, Catholic universities continue to engage in the social practice of medical research that deviates very little from the national funding priorities established through the National Institute for Health.

This dissertation argues that these unjust disparities are perpetuated by …

Why Latino American Community College Students Drop Out After One Semester, Rosa Delia Smith

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to investigate why many Latino America students at an urban community college in the state of Maryland who were enrolled at least part-time and were U.S. citizens or permanent residents did not continue their education into the second semester. Guided by Tinto's model of student integration and student persistence, this study explored the reasons these students dropped-out using the students' words to describe barriers to success, factors that influenced their decisions not to return for their second semester, and what they believed could have made a difference in their decisions. Five Latino …

Family Law And Nonmarital Families, Clare Huntington

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Children’S Health In A Legal Framework, Clare Huntington, Elizabeth S. Scott

Faculty Scholarship

The interdisciplinary periodical Future of Children has dedicated an issue to children’s health policy. This contribution to the issue maps the legal landscape influencing policy choices. The authors demonstrate that in the U.S. legal system, parents have robust rights, grounded in the Constitution, to make decisions concerning their children’s health and medical treatment. Following from its commitment to parental rights, the system typically assumes the interests of parents and children are aligned, even when that assumption seems questionable. Thus, for example, parents who would limit their children’s access to health care on the basis of the parents’ religious belief have …

The Rise Of The Security State, Wang Yuhua, Carl F. Minzner

Faculty Scholarship

Over the past two decades, the Chinese domestic security apparatus has expanded dramatically. “Stability maintenance” operations have become a priority for local Chinese authorities. We argue that the birth of these trends dates to the early 1990s, when central Party authorities adopted new governance models that differed dramatically from those that of the 1980s. They increased the bureaucratic rank of public security chiefs within the Party apparatus, expanded the reach of the Party political-legal apparatus into a broader range of governance issues, and altered cadre evaluation standards to increase the sensitivity of local authorities to social protest. We show that …

Due Process And The Non-Citizen: A Revolution Reconsidered, Joseph Landau

Faculty Scholarship

Mathews v. Eldridge is typically understood to be a ruling limiting due process protections in benefits determinations, but this case of judicial restraint in ordinary domestic law has activist features where non-citizens are concerned. The transplantation of Mathews into the critical areas of immigration and national security has produced a body of law that is slowly ushering in rights-affirming outcomes and weakening conventional doctrines of exceptionalism in immigration and national security. There are two chief reasons for this. First, ever since Mathews required an explicit judicial determination of private interests, courts have used an increasingly particularistic, case-by-case analysis in immigration …

Can Criminal Law Do Without Moralism?, Review Of Crime And Punishment: A Concise Moral Critique By Hyman Gross, Youngjae Lee

Faculty Scholarship

This is a review of Hyman Gross, Crime and Punishment: A Concise Moral Critique (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012).

The War On Drugs And Prison Growth: Limited Importance, And Limited Legislative Options, John F. Pfaff

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

China After The Reform Era, Carl F. Minzner

Faculty Scholarship

China’s reform era is ending. Core factors that characterized it – political stability, ideological openness, and rapid economic growth – are unraveling. In part, this is the result of Beijing’s steadfast refusal to contemplate fundamental political reform. Since the early 1990s, this has fueled the rise of entrenched interests within the Communist Party itself. It has also contributed to the systematic underdevelopment of institutions of governance among state and society at large. Now, to address looming problems confronting the nation, Chinese leaders are progressively cannibalizing institutional norms and practices that have formed the bedrock of the regime's stability in the …

The Long-Term Impact Of Divorce On College Student Autonomy, Amy Jo Carrigan

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This research study examined autonomy in young adult college students who grew up in intact households with 2 biological parents, compared to young adult college students who grew up in nonintact households without 2 biological parents due to divorce, separation, single parenthood, or death. The current literature lacks research regarding the impact of growing up in a nonintact household during childhood or adolescence for young adults. In recent years, there have been fewer young adults who lived in intact households during their childhood and adolescent years. Arnett's developmental theory is that the major task during young adulthood is developing decision-making …

Interagency Coordination Of Security Operations In A Large U.S. Seaport, Edmund Levy

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Protecting U.S. transportation hubs against a wide variety of security threats, while avoiding undue interference with the normal operations of the hubs, is one of the greatest challenges facing security agencies. The problem addressed in this study was the limited information on the contributing factors to seaport security. The purpose of this case study was to explore issues that can inhibit efficiency of security agency operation and collaboration and to identify actions that have enhanced collaboration. Based on theories of organizational development, leadership, and security tradecraft, this study examined the activities related to maintenance of security at a large California …

Gay And Bisexual American Men In South Korea Who Reported Testing Hiv Negative, Tony Lionel Sessoms

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Gay and bisexual men in the United States and South Korea have some of the highest HIV rates in their countries, and both have the fewest sex education programs and policies for gay and bisexual males in secondary and postsecondary school systems. Consequently, many South Koreans do not view HIV as a South Korean problem, and with American gay and bisexual men living in this type of environment, their HIV sexual protection knowledge and practices may be compromised. The purpose of this study was to gain more understanding and insight into the sex education experiences and sexual practices of gay …

Legislation And Regulation In The Core Curriculum: A Virtue Or A Necessity?, James J. Brudney

Faculty Scholarship

The first-year curriculum at American law schools has been remarkably stable for more than 100 years. Many would say ossified. At Harvard, the First-Year Course of Instruction in 1879-80 consisted of Real Property, Contracts, Torts, Criminal Law and Criminal Procedure, and Civil Procedure. These five courses-focused heavily on judge-made common law-dominated Harvard's IL curriculum from the law school's founding into the 21st century. The same five subjects have long commanded the primary attention of first-year students at Fordham, founded in 1905, and at virtually every other U.S. law school throughout the 20th century. Starting in the 1990s, however, a growing …

Local Judges And Local Government, Ethan J. Leib

Faculty Scholarship

This interview-based empirical study explores how local judges view themselves and their crosscutting roles in local and state government. In particular, it considers local judges’ relationships with the public that elects them, the executive and legislative branches of their localities, and the larger statewide judicial bureaucracy of which they are a very large but somewhat disconnected part. The Article reports on the results of interviews with local judges at the county, town, and village levels — and suggests some broader lessons for scholars, officials, and policymakers interested and active in local government law and politics. Those who study local government …

Valuation, Pricing, And Performance Of Initial Public Offerings On The Ghana Stock Exchange, Mohammed Sani Abdulai

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In recent years, the initial public offerings (IPOs) on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) witnessed some level of undersubscriptions. The purpose of this research was to investigate the extent to which valuation, pricing, and performance of prior IPOs listed on the GSE contributed to this state of undersubscriptions. The research was informed by the valuation and pricing framework of Roosenboom. The research questions addressed whether IPOs on the GSE were under/overpriced and whether the projected and pre-issue financials were free from forecasting errors and earnings management. A cross-sectional, explanatory research design was employed to examine a dataset of 30 sampled …

Characterization Of The Effect Of Anti-Nogo-A Antibody Treatment On Sensorimotor Recovery After Traumatic Brain Injury, Stephen Nawara

Dissertations

Estimates indicate that over 5 million Americans are currently living with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) related disability. Much effort has been put into enhancing functional recovery with physical therapy and other rehabilitative approaches. These strategies are thought to function by facilitating the brain’s innate capacity for neuroregeneration and neuroplasticity. However, the success of these strategies may be limited due the presence of growth- and plasticity- inhibiting factors expressed in the adult brain.

The presence of the membrane protein Nogo-A has been associated with reduced neurite outgrowth in vitro, identifying it as one such molecule. In addition, rodents treated with antibodies …

Exploring Strategies For Implementing Barcode Medication Administration Systems, Julie A. Frederick

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The number of medication errors associated with preventable deaths in healthcare facilities remains at a high rate for healthcare leaders. Practices of medication delivery remain similar to those 10 years ago. Hospitals that have implemented barcoding medication administration systems have reported a decrease in medication errors ranging from 60% to as high as 93%. Despite this utility of barcoding, only 50% of U.S. hospitals have implemented barcode medication administration. This comparative case study explored the strategies hospital leaders used to implement barcode medication administration systems, utilizing the sociotechnical theory for a conceptual framework. Face-to-face, semistructured interviews were used to identify …

Ethical Insights Of Early 21st-Century Corporate Leaders, Kevin B. Jones

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

From 2001 to 2010, a lack of documented standards within ethics programs inhibited decision making, management practices, and corporate strategies for corporate leaders in the United States. Seminal theories in transformational, charismatic, servant, spiritual, and ethical leadership formed the conceptual framework for this phenomenological study, whose intent was to explore how senior leaders of Fortune 500 companies in Washington, DC integrated ethics into daily business decisions and the role in organizational performance. A convenience sample of 20 Fortune 500 leaders participated in face-to-face semistructured interviews to explore the assessment, definition, and documentation of various ethical standards in the company; the …

Predictors Of Physician Use Of The New Nia Alzheimer's Assessment Protocols, Richard Norman Schultz

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Consensus is lacking on early diagnostic criteria and the exact symptoms of Alzheimer's disease (AD). A new, in-office test may help physicians detect the early symptoms of AD, based upon new National Institute of Aging (NIA) criteria. However, a gap exists in knowledge regarding physicians' current use or intent to use the new protocols. Choreographing the descriptive AD terminology in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV-TR and the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) is recommended. Thus, the purpose of this study was to understand possible contributing factors to physician's use or intent to use of the new …

Female Parents' Attitudes, Beliefs, And Perceptions About Youth Gun Crimes, Karen Annmaurisa Sylva-Givens

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Youth gun crime is an important public health issue that affects many communities in the United States. Since 2012, there were over 30,000 gun-related deaths in the United States. Gun violence remains the leading cause of death for young people ages 15-24. This phenomenological study examined single female parents' attitudes, beliefs, and perceptions of the influences and causes of youth gun crimes. The purposive sample drew from 10 single female parents of youth ages 14-17 charged with gun crimes. Sutherlands' (1974) differential association theory provided the theoretical framework for the study. The mothers participated in a series of in-depth, face-to-face …

The Design And Implementation Of A Relationship-Based Care Delivery Model On A Medical- Surgical Unit, Paula Ann Rodney

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The Design and Implementation of a Relationship-Based Care Delivery Model on a Medical- Surgical Unit

by

Paula A. Rodney

MSN, California University of Pennsylvania, 2011

BSN, University of Virginia, 1979

Project Submitted in Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Degree of

Doctor of Nursing Practice

Walden University

April 2015

Patient satisfaction and clinical outcomes have become important issues in healthcare since the introduction of the Value Based Purchasing Program. Patient satisfaction, as measured by Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS) survey, was declining and hospital-acquired pressure ulcers (HAPU), falls, and catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI) were …

Read 180 Evaluation: Balanced Literacy In A Low-Income, Underperforming Urban High School, Daniel Lombardi

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This study investigated the effectiveness of the READ 180 balanced literacy program in addressing the problem of low reading achievement among urban minority high school students. Research has shown low reading achievement to negatively impact academic and economic success. Holdaway's theory of natural literacy, which suggests reading instruction should be purposeful and realistic, supports READ 180 as a remedial intervention. The specific purpose of the study was to evaluate READ 180 in relation to improving classroom reading achievement, standardized language arts test scores, and graduation rates among students in a low-income, high-minority urban high school. Subjects were 2 cohorts of …

Faculty Perceptions Regarding Best Practices In Clinical Dental Hygiene Assessment, Brenda Kaye Walstead

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This qualitative case study explored faculty perceptions regarding best practices and uses of assessment in a dental hygiene program at a small northwestern college. It was discovered that faculty in the program were assessing students in their clinical courses using widely varied methods, designs, and scoring tools. Faculty neither calibrated processes nor communicated about this problem. In addition, a review of the assessments in this local setting indicated a significant gap in the current guidelines for best practices in clinical assessment procedures. Knowles' adult learning theory served as the foundation for this study. Research questions were designed to obtain clinical …

General Education And Special Education Teachers' Attitudes Toward Inclusion, Carmen Yvette Charley

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Educational reformers have mandated inclusion of students with disabilities in the general education classroom. However, general education teachers often do not regularly receive training in inclusive practices, and this lack of training can affect teachers' attitudes and levels of self-efficacy, which may ultimately affect their ability to successfully teach students with disabilities. The purpose of this study was to examine the difference in general education and special education teachers' attitudes towards inclusion of students with disabilities and if levels of self-efficacy (overall and 3 subscales), gender, education level, teacher type, and grade level taught were predictors of Teachers' Attitudes Toward …

Productivity Standards, Marriage And Family Therapist Job Satisfaction, And Turnover Intent, Gilbert Ernest Franco

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Turnover among mental health professionals is high, which can have a direct impact on access to services and continuity of care. Informed by goal-setting theory, social-cognitive theory, and self-efficacy, this quantitative study investigated how California community mental health agency productivity standards were related to self-efficacy, job satisfaction, and marriage and family therapist (MFT) turnover intent among 141 MFTs. Participants completed a Demographic and Productivity Questionnaire, Job Self-Efficacy Scale, Job Satisfaction Scale, and Turnover Intention Scale. The relationship between participant age, gender, experience, number of work hours, licensure status, and job site with job satisfaction and turnover intent were assessed using …

Reading Specialist's Perceptions And Role In Implementing Response To Intervention, Twyla Heindl

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The roles of reading specialists differ from campus to campus throughout the study site due to varied implementations of Response to Intervention (RTI). To ensure that students were receiving consistent interventions based on their needs, the site needed to examine how and when instructional services were delivered to struggling students, as well as the role of the reading specialist in the process. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the perceptions, experiences, and roles of reading specialists as the RTI framework was implemented at the elementary school level. This study was guided by Vygotsky's social constructivist learning …

Women's Experiences With The Follow-Up System For Cervical Cancer In A Developing Country, Christine Carol Richards

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Although Grenada has an extensive health care infrastructure and cervical cancer screening rates are relatively high, Grenada also has a disproportionate rate of morbidity and mortality from cervical cancer. The aim of this study was to explore factors that contribute to these disproportionate rates in Grenada. Using a phenomenological qualitative approach, Andersen's behavioral model of health care utilization and a systems based model for assessing care were used as a guide to explore Grenadian women's follow-up experiences with Pap test and cervical cancer screening. Purposive sampling was used to recruit 8 women for semi-structured in-depth interviews. Data were collected on …