Digital Commons Network^™

The Relationship Among Demographics And Risk Attitude In Predicting Health Plan Enrollment, Stephen Gage

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Age, salary, family status, and health status are reported to be linked to high deductible health plan (HDHP) enrollment for pre-Affordable Care Act (ACA) health plans. There has been little research on HDHP enrollment post-ACA. This study quantitatively examined the demographic variables and attitude toward risk that contribute to enrollment in a HDHP that conforms to the ACA minimum essential coverage standards. Risk taking was measured by the Domain Specific Risk Taking Scale. Other independent variables were participant age, annual salary, employee status, enrollment tier, and gender. There were 144 participants recruited from the Amazon Mechanical Turk platform who participated …

Employee Retention Strategies In The Information Technology Industry, Corey Harris

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Productivity declines when employees voluntarily leave an organization. The purpose of this case study was to explore strategies that business leaders use to reduce turnover among their skilled information technology (IT) professionals in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Six business leaders were selected because they had implemented strategies to retain skilled IT professionals. Herzberg's 2-factor theory was the conceptual framework for this doctoral study. Data were collected from semistructured interviews and review of the organization's policies, procedures, and personnel handbook. Data analysis consisted of assembling the data, organizing the data into codes, compiling the data into themes, and interpreting and disclosing …

Teacher Descriptions Of Oppositional Defiant Disorder And Bully-Victim Behavior Among Middle School Male Students, Randy Heller

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

While current psychological theory and research suggest conceptual associations between bullying and behavioral disorders, there is a gap in the literature examining such relationships. Although contemporary theories of aggression describe emotional, social, and cognitive risk factors that are common both, associations between bully-victim patterns and ODD have not been studied to date. This exploratory study addressed this gap by surveying 27 teachers to assess their reports of aggressive behaviors and socioemotional patterns of 58 male middle school students who were identified through school investigations as involved in bullying incidents. Between-group differences for students classified as bullies, victims, or bully-victims were …

Perinatal Residents' Perceptions Of Confidence Gained Through Their Preceptors, Veritta Henderson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The importance of preceptorships, as a mechanism to transfer knowledge of evidence-based nursing practices and developing confidence in nurses, is well-known. However, the effectiveness of preceptorships to develop confidence in perinatal nurses who provide safe care to childbearing women is unknown. Guided by Kolb's model of experiential learning and using a narrative analysis approach, this study examined perinatal nurse residents' perceptions of experiences that enhanced learning and developed confidence during preceptorship. Twenty nurses who completed a perinatal nurse residency of 18 weeks or more in the past 12 months participated in audiotaped, structured interviews. Their answers were transcribed and data …

Effects Of Cinema On Juror Decision Making, Jededia Higgins

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Previous research has demonstrated how different forms of media, such as news, television, and music, can affect an individual's perceptions and attitudes. However, little research exists on how these effects may have an impact in the courtroom beyond pre-trial publicity. This could pose a threat to the constitutional right of a fair trial; and understanding this threat may be vital to impartiality in the trial process. Using cultivation theory and the CSI effect as a theoretical basis, this study examined how attitudes toward, and perceptions about, mock trial vignettes were affected by exposure to entertainment media in the form of …

Etiology Of Water Quality Perceptions And Beverage Preferences Of Black Children And Adolescents, Forkpayea K. Johnson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to examine the etiology of water quality perceptions and beverage preferences of Black children and adolescents, which addressed a current gap in the literature on this topic. This study was guided by Festinger's social comparison theory, which supports the notion that children and adolescents' perceptions and preferences are influenced by their social network and those with whom they have a close association. In this study, children and adolescents' water quality perceptions were examined as well as the development and factors affecting those perceptions. Whether social factors such as peer or parental influence …

Hotel Manager Strategies To Reduce Voluntary Employee Turnover, Christl Arwen Kroeten

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The voluntary turnover rate in the United States hotel industry is among the highest of all industries, resulting in lost revenue. The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies hotel managers use to reduce voluntary employee turnover. The targeted population consisted of 6 managers from hotel businesses operating in the MidAtlantic region of the United States who successfully used strategies to reduce voluntary employee turnover. Job embeddedness theory, this study's theoretical framework, was used to describe reasons employees remained in organizations. Data were gathered via semistructured interviews, observational notes, and public business records regarding turnover or retention …

European Alternative Preschool Philosophies, Styles, And Emergent Literacy Skill Development, Lynne M. Lawson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many American preschool children enter kindergarten without the emergent literacy skills needed to learn to read. To address this problem, this multicase qualitative study investigated the emergent literacy practices at Steiner Waldorf-inspired and Reggio Emilia-inspired schools. The research questions focused on how alternative preschool philosophies help staff cultivate emergent literacy skills in young children. The conceptual framework came from Piaget's cognitive development theory, and Vygotsky's sociocultural theory. The study included eight participants from two Reggio Emilia-inspired and two Steiner Waldorf-inspired preschools. Data were collected through open-ended interviews, observations, and analyses of de-identified student work, then subjected to thematic cross-case analysis. …

An Exploratory Case Study Of How Remote Employees Experience Workplace Engagement, Aaron M. Lee

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the last 10 years, the number of remote workers has increased by 80%. Remote workers are more productive than their traditional in-office colleagues, cheaper to maintain for the organization because of the major decrease in overheard costs, and drastically increase organizational leaders' hiring options. The problem was that over half of the nation's disengaged employees work remotely, contributing significantly to associated annual costs of employee disengagement to businesses of upwards of $550 billion. The purpose of this exploratory case study, using a critical incident technique, was to create a taxonomy of responses to the incidents that are critical for …

After-School Mentorship Program And Self-Efficacy Beliefs In Middle-School Students, Atia D. Mark

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Middle-school students in Nova Scotia are perceived to have low self-efficacy for achieving learning outcomes. Strong self-efficacy beliefs developed through effective curricula have been linked to improved academic performance. However, there is a need for the formal evaluation of effective curricula that aim to improve self-efficacy. The purpose of this project study was to investigate a 10-week, after-school mentorship (ASM) curriculum that has never been evaluated. The outcomes of the curriculum design are to strengthen self-efficacy beliefs via relationship building exercises, public speaking training, and character education. Bandura's theory on self-efficacy, which states that treatment influences can alter the strength …

Custodial Parental Perceptions And Experiences Of Noncustodial Parents And Child Support, Breanne Marie Nguyen

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Child support is a means to financially support children, yet fewer than half of children eligible for child support receive full payment, with many receiving none. Child support nonpayment is a national concern that has led to negative repercussions for non-intact families, the community, and economic system. In some cases, noncustodial parents have an inability to pay. The purpose of this descriptive, phenomenological study was to understand custodial parental perceptions and experiences of noncustodial parent's inability to pay their child support. Social learning theory served as the conceptual framework for the study. In-depth interviews were conducted with a sample of …

Predicting The Nclex-Rn Pass Rate At An Associate Degree Nursing Program, Dawne Devoe Olbrych

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN) first-time pass rate for an associate degree in nursing (ADN) program was below the national mean, presenting a problem for graduates who failed the NCLEX-RN and could not enter the workforce as registered nurses. Knowles's assumptions of adult learning, Ebbinghaus's forgetting curve, and Zull's neuroscience research served as the theoretical frameworks for this study. The purpose of this study was to identify which academic and time-lapse variables predict the graduate's first-time passage for the NCLEX-RN. Archived academic records and NCLEX-RN results for all 786 graduates from one ADN program who took …

The Relationship Between Personality Traits And The Income Of Small Business Owners, Staci Lashawn Parker

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Abstract

Researchers have found that the Big Five personality trait of conscientiousness correlated consistently with high performance across industries. However, previous research was limited to self-reported data collected based on the opinions of the participants and did not include the subtraits of conscientiousness (achievement and dependability). Previous studies also did not provide data specific to entrepreneurs operating as small business owners and did not compare them to their peers. Thus, the purpose of this quantitative, correlational study was to explore whether or not there was a relationship between the personality traits of achievement and dependability and the income of U.S. …

Copreneurs' Coping Strategies For Work-Family Conflict, Eunice Peregrino-Dartey

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Family businesses including copreneurships have a high failure rate. Copreneurs experience work-family conflict (WFC), which can have a negative effect on business sustainability. The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore strategies that copreneurs used in managing WFC to achieve business sustainability for longer than 10 years. Three copreneurs from 3 copreneurial businesses located in the Greater Accra region of Ghana, who have employed effective strategies to cope with WFC to achieve business sustainability longer than 10 years, participated in the study. The WFC model for business/marriage partners (copreneurs) and the reciprocal coping model served as the …

Frequency Of Cell Phone Texting And Social Competency In Adolescents, Anita Marie Phillips

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There is no current research on the relationship between texting frequency, social competency development, and the moderating effect of gender in adolescents. A quantitative study involving a moderation design using multiple regression assisted in determining the relationship between cell phone texting and gender and whether or not the interaction of these variables predicted social competency development. The theoretical base that grounded this study was the taxonomic model of social competence, which identified the importance of examining social awareness abilities such as communication, an essential component for the development of social competency. The study included 74 participants. The participants were parents …

Factors That Influence Whether Mexican Americans With Depression Seek Treatment, Irene Rodriguez

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Mexican Americans, the largest Hispanic subgroup in the United States, tend to underuse mental health services. Grounded in Andersen's behavioral model of health services use, the purpose of this nonexperimental study was to examine the likelihood of birth country, education, income, and insurance predicting which respondents would report seeking mental health services to treat depression. The Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview was used to diagnose depression in 203 Mexican Americans whose data was archived from the primary study. This archived data was analyzed within this study. The results of the 2 x 2 chi-square tests of independence indicated a significant association …

Nurse Practitioners' Experiences With Role Transition: Supporting The Learning Curve Through Preceptorship, Viktoriya Y. Pleshkan

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The nurse practitioner (NP) role transition is difficult and ill-supported before and after graduation. Although preceptorships are essential in supporting a NP's role transition, there is a paucity of data on student and novice NPs' experiences with their role transition and how it is supported through preceptorships. The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological study was to understand and describe the meaning of NPs' role transition experiences while in a preceptorship before and after graduation. Schlossberg's transition theory and the cognitive apprenticeship models were used to guide the exploration of concepts of role transition and preceptorship. One face-to-face, 3 Skype, and …

Perceptions And Interpretations Of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Among Cambodian Immigrant Community, Raksmey Arun Roeum Castleman

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) affects more than 60% of Cambodian immigrants in the United States. However, researchers do not yet know why less than 5% of Cambodian immigrants are accessing mental health services. This qualitative study involved investigation of participants' perceptions of how PTSD is manifested in the Cambodian immigrant community to understand barriers to mental health services access. The social ecological theory provided a frame for understanding how traditions, values, culture, and beliefs affect Cambodian immigrants' perceptions of PTSD and the mental health system. Data was collected from semi structured interviews of 13 participants, 18 to 70 years of …

Teaching Experience And How It Relates To Teacher Impressions Of Work Intensification, Shannon Warren

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Changes in schools can cause teachers to experience an intensification of work as they strive to meet expectations of students, parents, and administrations. This study includes an examination of factors that may lead to work intensification (WI) for teachers. The study also includes an examination of how years of experience and teacher perceptions of administrative support may moderate the relationship between teachers' impressions of WI and their job satisfaction. Based on equity theory, data were collected using a Likert-type scale survey distributed to 9 public high schools in southern California. A test for correlation was performed followed by a hierarchal …

Management Of Postoperative Pain In The Total Joint Replacement Patient, Angela Washington

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Managing postoperative pain continues to be a challenging public health problem. The organization under study was experiencing a prolonged length of hospital stay (LOS) in the post-total knee and hip replacement surgery population that was causing system-wide patient flow issues. The purpose of this quality improvement project was to educate patients through an established education class on pain expectations, strategies on managing pain, discharge planning, and physical therapy expectations with a goal of reducing pain and LOS. The health belief model was used as a guide to incorporate new content into the educational program that addressed patient knowledge on pain, …

Career Challenges Faced By Professional Black Women In Sweden, Herta Boakye-Yiadom Dahl

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Academically and professionally qualified Black women who immigrated to Sweden from the United States and the continent of Africa encounter barriers that may hinder their career opportunities. The unstable labor market position of foreigners required efforts by the Swedish government to address the problem. Little is known about the unique and specific challenges that qualified Black immigrant women experience when integrating into the Swedish labor market with foreign qualifications and professional experience. Guided by Durkheim's social integration theory, the purpose of this phenomenological study was to evaluate the lived experiences of Black immigrant women as they integrated into the Swedish …

Effect Of Technology On Community College Developmental Mathematics Course Completion Rates, Mandi Leigh Bradford

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Students who enter community colleges in need of developmental education are often at high risk of failure due to identities or perceptions of self, that do not conform to college expectations that can be problematized by age, gender, and ethnicity. Additionally, students' efficacy for using technology may affect completion rates which was examined at Midwest Community College (MCC) through observing a program shifting from teacher-directed course designs with greater teacher-student interaction to technology-directed course designs with greater technology-student interactions. The theoretical foundation of this study was Tinto's theory of student retention based on the belief that student success is facilitated …

Association Of Dietary Intake With Suicidal Ideation Or Suicide Attempts In Adolescents, Zenobia J. Bryant

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Suicide is among the leading cause of adolescent deaths worldwide and thus a significant public health concern. Risk factors for suicidal behavior include drinking alcohol, smoking, and engaging in risky sexual behaviors. One area of concern is dietary patterns and their association with depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation. Bandura's social cognitive theory emphasizes the assumption that one can perform specific actions to bring about desired outcomes. The primary research questions for this quantitative, retrospective, cross-sectional study concerned whether there is a statistically significant interaction between fruit and vegetable intake and suicidal ideation or suicide attempts. Data from 71,776 adolescents in …

Executive Succession In Community Action Agencies In A Southern State, Johnnie Faye Campbell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Without adequate succession planning (SP) for executive directors, nonprofit organizations risk losing their mission and direction and their ability to sustain the quality of program and services and maintain superior leadership. The purpose of this study was to determine the degree to which SP was being developed and implemented in community action agencies (CAAs) in a southern state. This study also focused on the challenges that these organizations experienced from not implementing SP. This single case study design was based on the theoretical framework of organizational change, using Lewin's 3-stage model. Identified through purposive and snowball sampling, 17 participants from …

Phenomenological Dynamic Of How Adhd Student Recidivism Affects Alternative Education Teacher Services, Lisa A. Charette

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The research problem in this study involved the student cycling, or recidivism, problem associated with specialized education environments. In particular, alternative education students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are cycling in and out of alternative and regular education at a concerning frequency. This student recidivism problem affects the services of teachers who are trying to transform them into permanent regular education learners. The purpose of this study was to obtain specific information from these teachers, via the research questions, as it applies to the theoretical foundation of Bandura's self-efficacy construct, and methodological design of the study. The qualitative method of …

The Underrepresentation Of Low Socioeconomic Status Children In Gifted And Talented Programs, Teresa Clark-Massey

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem is children from low socioeconomic status households are often underrepresented in gifted and talented programs. Only a small percentage of these students is selected to participate in the district's gifted program. The purpose of the study was to help appropriately identify and include low SES children in the district's gifted program. The social constructivist foundation was applied for a better understanding of how the environment affects a child's learning and how social factors contribute to cognitive development, which could possibly alter the perceptions of how successful children can be. The guiding questions revolved around the teachers' perceptions of …

Effective Strategies To Reduce Employee Turnover In The Retail Industry, Robert Clayton

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Employee turnover negatively affects retail organizations and can lead to poor financial performance, a decrease in competitive advantage, loss of productivity, deficiencies in retaining external customers, and economic failures. The purpose of this single case study was to explore strategies that retail store leaders from the Illinois area of the United States use to reduce frontline employee turnover. Herzberg's 2-factor theory provided the framework for the study. Data were collected from documents pertaining to retention methods and through face-to-face semistructured interviews with 7 leaders of a retail company in the Illinois area who had experience with effective employee retention strategies. …

Mediating Effect Of Academic Self-Efficacy Between Teachers' Attitudes And Achievement Of Low-Income High School Students, Nickole Marie Cottrill

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Researchers have found that low-income students have greatly suffered academically, yet there have been no advancements causing the academic achievement gap to close for any length of time. Using Bandura's social cognitive, self-efficacy, and academic self-efficacy theories as the foundation, this study explored the mediating effect of academic self-efficacy in the relationship between perceived teacher attitudes and perceived academic achievement in low-income high school students. Data were collected from 145 low-income high school students via an online survey geared towards their parents to ensure full parental consent. The survey included demographic questions, a perceived academic achievement question, the Classroom Teacher-Student …

Recidivism Rates Among Biological Fathers And Parental Figures Who Commit Child Sexual Abuse In Hawai'i, Stephanie Dixon Dixon

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Sex offenders are commonly grouped into categories based on the characteristics (e.g., victim age, relationship to offender) of their victims for criminal sentencing and treatment purposes. The purpose of this quantitative, quasi-experimental study was to address the gap in the lack of literature comparing recidivism rates among biological fathers and male parental figures who committed incestuous child sexual abuse in Hawai'i against children 15 years or younger. This study was the first attempt in the state to examine the number of inmates who had completed their maximum sentences and were later returned to prison for new felony incest offenses. Secondary …

Assessing The Effects Of Career Exploration Among African-American Urban Adolescents, Mia Flowers

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Deficits in career decision making self-efficacy, career decidedness, and academic motivation have contributed to prolonged cycles of poverty, an increase in the number of years it takes to complete an undergraduate degree, and an upsurge in the amount of financial debt incurred. Recurrently, students are saddled with large amounts of debt for a degree that was never attained. One group heavily affected by this phenomenon is African American urban adolescents (AAUA). This quantitative study used a social cognitive career theory framework and a repeated-measures research design to examine whether a significant change in scores occurred from Time 1 to Time …