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Effects Of Ceo Changes On Senior Management Leadership Teams Of U.S. Airports, Gale Larine Laroche

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Changes in the top leadership position in U.S. airports occur frequently. The purpose of the present phenomenological study was to understand the shared, lived experiences of senior managers who work in a U.S. airport and who have undergone a change in the top leadership position. Airports are of critical importance to their local regions and communities and are economic engines for their respective regions. The results of the study may provide positive social change for airport staff and the surrounding community by drawing attention to the complexity in leadership transition. The study was grounded in organizational stress, uncertainty theory of …

Examining The Relationship Between Emotional Intelligence And Interpersonal Forgiveness Among Internet Users, Noelle Lowry

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Emotional Intelligence (EI) and forgiveness both involve interpreting emotional content. Empirical study of a relationship between these two constructs is lacking. This is a problem as many psychological studies infer a relationship between these two constructs. The purposes of this study were to explore whether EI and forgiveness are correlated and to identify whether predictor variables (empathy, life satisfaction, emotional management, and emotional understanding) contribute to the probability of forgiveness within an interpersonal relationship. A quantitative, nonexperimental research design, based on the theory of mind, was used to answer two research questions: Does a correlational relationship exist between the two …

Risk Factors Associated With Severe Acute Respiratory Infections Cases, Ryan Gatdula Ortiguerra

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The close proximity of the United States to the Mexican border poses a concern for communicable diseases because of the high flow of population movement. The purpose of this retrospective, quantitative study was to identify risks associated with respiratory diseases using an analysis of archived data from the Severe Acute Respiratory Illness (SARI) surveillance program. Based on the epidemiologic triangle theory, demographic and etiologic factors were analyzed to examine any associations with SARI in this population. Between 2010 and 2012, 798 subjects enrolled in this program, with 336 (42.1%) testing positive for respiratory pathogens. Chi square analysis determined that age …

Strategies To Retain Employees In Clinical Laboratories, Amber Rose Phipps

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

With 30 million citizens gaining access to U.S. healthcare through the Affordable Care Act by 2016, healthcare managers need preanalytic employees to ensure quality healthcare services can be provided. The purpose of this qualitative single case study explored strategies used to retain preanalytic employees. The target population consisted of 10 clinical laboratory managers in a single community-based clinical laboratory in the mid-southern United States, selected because of prior success in improved employee retention strategies. The conceptual framework grounding this study was the theory of work adjustment. Data triangulation occurred from using semistructured interviews and company documents. All interpretations from the …

Exploring Women's Lived Experiences And Expectations With In-Patient Maternity Care Within The U.S. Military Healthcare System, Michelle Ashley Recame

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Satisfaction with in-patient maternity care within the Military Healthcare System (MHS) continues to score significantly below national benchmarks when compared to civilian hospitals and doctors. Lack of independent, qualitative research in this area has left the MHS with few answers as to why patients are satisfied, but still unhappy, with specific aspects of care. Discrepancy theory was used in conjunction with grounded theory as the foundation and framework for understanding the expectations and experiences of women who have given birth in the MHS within the past year. Using grounded theory and a hermeneutical approach to interview participants, qualitative data were …

Middle School Teachers' Professional Development Needs For Ict Literacy Integration, Melanie Lynn Park

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This qualitative case study explored U.S. middle school teachers' professional development needs in Information, Communication, and Technology (ICT) literacy integration. Past literature has suggested that teachers should improve classroom practices that promote ICT literacy, but few studies have addressed educators' specific training needs. This study was designed to identify the unique professional development needs of academic teachers in a Midwestern middle school using focus groups and interviews to explore teacher perceptions of current technology usage as well as the barriers and/or facilitators of ICT literacy integration. The conceptual framework was based on Knowles's theory of adult learning, which suggested that …

Workplace Bullying: A Quantitative Study Of Adult Victims, Joyce Lynn Walker

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Workplace bullying has gained widespread attention as contributing to the increase in organizational costs and the reduction in employee productivity. Organizations and human resource departments have conducted studies and developed prevention programs to address bullies, but few studies or programs have focused on the role of victims in the onset of bullying. This quantitative study examined the relationship between bullying victimization in the workplace, focusing on personality traits, specific problem solving, and a victim's locus of control belief. A sample (N = 94) of male and female college students completed the Negative Acts Questionnaire-Revised, Heppner's Problem-Solving Inventory, Levenson's Locus of …

Transforming Christian Schools Using Sustainable Model Of Organizational Change And Performance Improvement, Abraham Adhanom

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Organizational failure in Christian schools is a common phenomenon affecting millions of families in the United States. In the past 2 decades alone, more than 200 Christian schools closed each year; and many continued to struggle for survival. This trend presented significant challenge for the sustainability of faith-based schools that serve over 10% of grade-level students in the country. The purpose of this study was to examine internal and external factors impacting the performance of Christian schools and analyze existing theories of institutional effectiveness leading to the development of a sustainable framework. The research question addressed what type of organizational …

Association Between Haart And Metabolic Syndrome Components Among Hiv-Positive Adults In Southeastern Nigeria, Bridget Okiemute Amechi

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) contributes to metabolic disorders and the growing prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected patients. Hypertension, obesity, and hyperglycemia (components of MetS) are risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Studies have shown that HIV patients on HAART have a 2-fold risk of dying from MetS. There are no such studies in Umuahia; hence the need for this study to fill this gap. Using a sample size of 192 medical records of HIV-infected patients in Federal Medical Centre, Umuahia, and applying metabolic syndrome theory, this study examined the relationships among types of HAART regimen, …

Marketing Strategies Used By Franchise Small Businesses To Retain Customers, Hilda Jordan Arline

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Franchised small businesses will not survive their first 5 years if they cannot implement marketing strategies that appeal to their customers. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the marketing strategies that successful franchise small business leaders used to retain customers. The population comprised 4 business leaders at franchise small businesses in North Carolina. Competitive advantage theory and blue ocean theory grounded this study. Data were collected using semistructured face-to-face interviews and review of company marketing materials. Data were thematically analyzed, and 6 themes emerged: personalization of customer service, market segmentation, innovative advertising, networking, brand identity, and …

Strategies To Improve Employee Performance In The U.S. Aerospace Industry, Nicole Therese Balderrama

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Outsourcing is a sought out practice within business and, in particular, the U.S. aerospace industry; however, some outsourced firms cannot meet client expectations. The purpose of this single case study was to explore what strategies outsourced firm company leaders use to improve the performance of employees. The sample comprised 4 senior managers employed with a firm that has been producing parts for 109 years for a major aerospace company in Southern California. The conceptual framework for this study built upon systems thinking to identify the structure of the outsourcing and supplier relationship and Herzberg's motivation-hygiene theory to understand work motivation …

Understanding Caregivers' Perceptions Of Childhood Immunization, Oliver Anyabolu

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Low immunization in Nigeria is associated with high prevalence of childhood diseases. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to describe caregivers' perceptions of routine immunization of their children ages 24 to 36 months. Caregivers' attitudes, cultural beliefs, and knowledge regarding immunization were examined. The health belief model was used to guide study. Interviews were conducted with 5 caregivers of fully immunized and 5 caregivers of partially and nonimmunized children. Digital recordings were analyzed using NVivo 10 to identify themes and subthemes. Attitudes of caregivers with fully immunized children included both perceived barriers (distance to health center, lack of …

The Relationship Between Male Involvement In Early Childhood Education And Student Academic Achievement, Carla Christinia Barnes

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Researchers have found that the limited involvement of fathers in their children's academic activities may negatively affect children's academic development. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the role of father involvement in the academic achievement of young children in early childhood classes and to assess barriers to such involvement. Guided by Erikson, Vygotsky, and Bronfenbrenner theories of learning and development, the research questions examined fathers' perceived level of educational involvement, barriers to educational involvement, and the relationship between the level of recorded father involvement and student achievement. Data were collected using a modified Parental Involvement Survey that …

Strategies Agency Managers Use To Retain Recruiting Staff, Andrew Edward Borg

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The high rate of employee turnover in the staffing industry is costly and impedes sustainability of employment agencies. The focus of this qualitative single case study explored strategies that 10 human resource managers (HRMs) and 5 HR directors used to retain recruiting staff at one regional recruiting agency in the southeastern region of the United States. The target population and research site were selected because of prior success in employee retention strategies. The conceptual framework grounding this study was sustainability theory. Methodological triangulation was achieved with semistructured interviews and focus group data. Data were thematically analyzed using Atlas.ti7, and all …

Critical Thinking To Justify An Answer In Mathematics Classrooms, Angelique E. Brown

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Students' critical thinking in mathematics was a concern for grade 5 through 8 teachers at a Title 1 public school in the northeastern United States because of the students' poor performance on constructed response questions on the state's mathematics exam. In this exam, students were required to justify their answers in writing. When teachers recognize the connection between writing and critical thinking, they can devise strategies to help students develop mathematical literacy. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore how 5th through 8th grade mathematics teachers use the GoMath mathematics literacy program to teach the critical thinking …

Exploring Critical Success Factors Of Learning Management System Implementations In Membership Associations, Valerie Joan Whitcomb

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Learning management systems (LMSs) are the technical foundation for online learning programs that offer benefits to learners in a variety of settings. As with many enterprise software systems, LMSs are expensive and carry considerable risk. Exploring critical success factors (CSFs) and using them as a foundation for decisions concerning complex software implementations helps increase the likelihood of success. This study addresses the gap in knowledge concerning CSFs for LMS implementations. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to discover CSFs by exploring the lived experiences of 8 association executives who identified themselves through email communications as having managed a successful …

A Qualitative Case Study Of Strategies For Choosing And Evaluating Alternative Assessments In Online Higher Education, Robert James Streff

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Studies have shown that not all students are assessed effectively using standard testing formats. However, it is unclear what alternative methodology would be useful to determine whether students have acquired the skills necessary for today's global market. This research study's purpose was to understand the processes instructors use when choosing and designing alternative assessments in higher education online courses to measure student performance. Using Gagné's conditions of learning and Bloom's Taxonomy as a framework to understand these processes, this qualitative case study examined 8 participants teaching online at Midwestern public universities. Interview data and course artifacts, including syllabi, rubrics, assessments, …

The Effects Of Participative Leadership Practices On Job Satisfaction For Highly Skilled Virtual Teams, Funda Sinani

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Virtual-team professionals have reported experiencing low job satisfaction due to lack of face-to-face interaction leading to stress, miscommunication, and role-confusion. Dissatisfaction among virtual teams has increased turnover and management costs for organizations. Despite these known associations, there was a gap in the literature investigating efficient leadership practices to improve job satisfaction for highly skilled virtual teams. Participative leadership offers an effective approach to increase job satisfaction among face-to-face teams and innovative teams. This study explored the relationship between participative leadership and job satisfaction among highly skilled virtual teams within the global software industry. A quantitative study with a correlational design …

Mitigating The Effects Of Withdrawal Behavior On Organizations, James Fitzgerald Alexander

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Withdrawal behaviors such as absenteeism, tardiness, turnover intention, and employee disengagement adversely affect organizations, costing billions of dollars annually. However, there is limited research on the best practices for minimizing the effects of employee withdrawal. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore best practices leaders need to mitigate the effects of withdrawal behaviors on organizations. The social learning theory (SLT) served as the conceptual framework for this study. Ten participants were interviewed, including 4 healthcare leaders and 6 health service workers from a correctional facility nursing department in the Southeastern United States. Scholars have indicated that correctional …

The Indian Pharmaceutical Industry's Supply Chain Management Strategies, Prasad Bolineni

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Indian pharmaceutical companies spend one-third of their revenue from supply chain management (SCM) activities due to inherently poor transportation infrastructure. SCM is a vital function for many companies, as it is usually employed to lower expenses and increase sales for the company. SCM costs are higher in India than they are in other areas of the world, amounting to 13% of India's GDP. The purpose of this study was to explore SCM strategies Indian business leaders in the pharmaceutical industry have used to reduce the high costs associated with SCM. This study used a single case study research design and …

How Grant Recipients Can Satisfy Compliance Requirements For U.S. Federal Awards, Thomas Edward Drabczyk

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Improper grants payments stemming from weaknesses in business processes have been a focus of the U.S. president, Congress, and federal and state governments since 2009. Researchers have demonstrated that the internal control weakness at the federal, state, and local government level has contributed to the problem of compliance. The Office of Management and Budget issued federal rules effective in December 2014 to address the problem of federal award compliance. Despite these measures, there is a gap in the literature on strategies for recipients of federal grants to meet compliance requirements. The purpose of the qualitative descriptive study was to explore …

Differences In Treatment-Seeking And Treatment-Adherence Factors For Tuberculosis In Armenian Versus Non-Armenian Populations Of Los Angeles County, Tanya Marie Ferguson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Tuberculosis (TB) is a deadly, yet curable, infectious disease that continues to be a global health threat. Armenia suffers from rising TB incidence and mortality rates. Armenians living in Los Angeles (LA) County, where TB incidence is higher than national averages, is the second largest Armenian community in the world; therefore implications are that many TB cases are attributed to this group. Using the social ecological model as a theoretical framework, this concurrent, mixed-methods study compared Armenians to non-Armenians in LA County about their knowledge of TB and perceived barriers to seeking and adhering to treatment. Bivariate chi-square analysis from …

Perceptions Of Air Force Civilians Regarding Participation In Nonresident Professional Military Education, Edward Hodge

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In spite of a 2009 memorandum from senior Air Force leaders calling for civilian employees to participate in nonresident Professional Military Education (PME) courses, employees' PME completion rates have remained low. This qualitative study investigated the perceptions of nonresident PME held by 12 employees at an installation with a nonresident PME completion rate of less than 3% in 2013. The theories of reasoned action and planned behavior guided the 5 main questions that asked participants to describe their familiarity with nonresident PME course content, availability, and structure; as well as their perceptions of organizational support for PME course participation, their …

Predictors Of U.S. Teachers' Use Of Metacognition In Mathematics Instruction, Regina Lewis

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

American schools have been struggling with improving achievement in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics for decades. For the last four decades, the overall mathematics performance of 17 year-olds on the National Assessment of Educational Progress has not shown any significant improvement. Mathematics teachers can use metacognitive techniques to make immediate adjustments in instruction that may assist students in becoming more skillful problem solvers. The purpose of this study was to provide new knowledge about the potential predictors of mathematics teachers' use of the six subfactors of the Metacognitive Awareness Inventory for Teachers. The inventory was administered to 120 K-12 grade …

Decreasing Surgical Site Infections In Vascular Surgery Patients, Charlene Knight Little

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Postoperative surgical site infections are common complications in the operating room. Infections prolong hospital stays, heighten costs, and increase morbidity and mortality. The purpose of this evidence-based quality improvement project was to develop policy, program, and practice guidelines to prevent surgical site infections in vascular surgery patients. Rosswurm and Larrabee's change model was used to develop materials using the best evidence for the recommended practice changes. The Plan, Do, Check, Act model was selected to guide quality improvement. The project goal was to decrease the surgical site infection rate to below the national average. Products of the project include policy, …

African American Single Mothers' Perceptions Of Physical Activity, Sheryl Lynn Richard

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Insufficient physical activity detracts from healthy living and has a disparate impact on African American women and their female children. The extensive body of prior research addressing preventable chronic disease and other consequences of insufficient physical activity includes limited information specific to African American single mothers. The purpose of this descriptive phenomenological study was to gain an understanding of African American single mothers' perceptions of physical activity. Specifically investigated were African American women's familial influences and potential effects of these influences on their children's health behaviors. The health belief model served as the theoretical framework for this study and provided …

Role Of Outsourcing In Stress And Job Satisfaction Of Information Technology Professionals, Janell Renee Robinson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Information technology (IT) outsourcing poses a potential job loss threat to IT professionals, which can decrease job security, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment. The problem that this study addressed was the perceived role of IT outsourcing in the job stress, job dissatisfaction, and turnover intention of IT professionals. The purpose of this study was to explore how job-related stress, job dissatisfaction, and turnover intention within the IT profession are influenced by outsourcing as perceived by IT workers themselves. Phenomenology was the methodology used, and the person-environment fit theory formed the theoretical framework for this study. The research questions addressed outsourcing …

Perceptions Of Leader Emotional Intelligence And Subordinate Turnover Intentions In Substance Abuse Treatment Centers, Suzanne L. Jafferian

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Substance abuse is a persistent social problem contributing to family disruption; domestic abuse; school failure; and financial costs relating to criminal prosecution, incarceration, treatment, and lost productivity and wages. Substance abuse is amenable to treatment, including psychotherapy. A client-therapist relationship is broken if the therapist leaves the organization; therefore, employee retention is especially important in treatment centers. Employee retention has been studied, but how it is affected by supervisees' perceptions of their managers' emotional intelligence has been a neglected area. The purpose of this nonexperimental, correlational study was to determine the relationship between employee turnover intention and perceived emotional intelligence …

What Is The Process Of Relational Work Of The Nurse?, Daniela Terrizzi Defrino

Dissertations

The process of how nurses work in relationships to accomplish their work is presented in this dissertation. This study has made the relational work process of nurses explicit. While research demonstrates that increased nurse staffing is associated with better patient outcomes and with nurses experiencing less burnout and job dissatisfaction, the process is not explored in the empirical literature.

The research question was: “What is the process of relational work of the nurse?” Data collection and analysis conformed to the process of classical grounded theory. Interviews were face to face with 23 registered nurses working as direct care staff nurses …

No Taxation Without Discrimination: The Racial Politics Of American Property Taxes, Kasey Henricks

Dissertations

No longer is it acceptable to rationalize racial hierarchy in explicit terms. Today’s ideology substitutes these explanations for cultural ones that diminish racial oppression. Though recent studies uncover the slippery, covert, and seemingly nonracial discourse of colorblindness, claims of ideological progression are offered without empirical verification. Examining debate surrounding the three-fifths clause of the U.S Constitution, I complete a “historical ethnographic content analysis” that transplants colorblind ideology into historical soil some presume it does not belong. The data derive from “A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation” and consist of 1,493 pages of congressional record. My findings reveal how …