Digital Commons Network^™

The Lived Experiences Of Adult Male Trauma Survivors With Dance Movement Therapy, Jeanne Langston

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the United States, approximately 7.7 million individuals are affected by posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at any given time. Though women are likelier to develop PTSD symptoms, men are exposed to more traumatic events in their lifetimes. Empirically- supported PTSD options exist, however clinical application of these treatments may not consistently culminate in beneficial outcomes. Dance Movement Therapy (DMT) has demonstrated positive treatment outcomes for a variety of mental and physical disorders. Nonetheless, there is a lack of robust research related to the treatment experiences of men who have participated in DMT for trauma-related symptoms. The purpose of this phenomenological …

Jail Administrators' Compliance With The Prison Rape Elimination Act, Leone M. Lee

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Correctional institutions across the United States continue to experience prisoner sexual assault despite the enactment of the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 (PREA). The purpose of this correlational study was to examine the association between jail administrators' difficulty complying with the PREA and their transformational leadership styles. The theories of punctuated equilibrium theory and general strain theory formed the theoretical framework of the study. The data were collected through an Internet-based survey from 22 local and regional jail administrators from the East Coast. Data analysis using Pearson's correlation coefficient was performed on leadership scores to test the hypotheses. There …

The Meaning Of Instagram Use For Rheumatoid Arthritis Information, Deborah Lewis

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Social media use related to chronic disease has become pervasive, yet few researchers have examined the influence of social media on health care message dissemination and health care outcomes. In this study, the use of Instagram, an image-rich social media platform, for sharing health information was examined. Nurses, as key providers of patient information, need to understand the relative effectiveness of different types of social media for health information, how social media is currently used by health care consumers, and how to best use various social media platforms to improve patient outcomes. The purpose of this study was to gain …

Analyzing Small Businesses' Adoption Of Big Data Security Analytics, Henry Mathias

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite the increased cost of data breaches due to advanced, persistent threats from malicious sources, the adoption of big data security analytics among U.S. small businesses has been slow. Anchored in a diffusion of innovation theory, the purpose of this correlational study was to examine ways to increase the adoption of big data security analytics among small businesses in the United States by examining the relationship between small business leaders' perceptions of big data security analytics and their adoption. The research questions were developed to determine how to increase the adoption of big data security analytics, which can be measured …

Millennial Retail Employees Experiences And Perceptions Of Leaders With Body Image Modifications, Jennifer Mcclure

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Millennials in retail account for a large portion of the U.S. workforce and have the highest number of body image modifications from tattoos, piercings, and/or gauges. Following Moustakas concept of perception, the purpose of this transcendental phenomenology study was to explore how Millennial-aged retail employees describe and experience leaders with body image modifications from tattoos, piercings, and/or gauges. Participants were sought from various retail locations and were required to be born between 1981 and 1996. Data were collected through interviews with 6 participants and the data were analyzed using Moustakas modification of the Van Kamm Method. The results showed that …

Small Business Sustainability Strategies In The Tanzanian Construction Materials Industry, Seraphia Robert Mgembe

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Small business owners in the construction materials industry play a significant role in economic development through gross domestic product and employment. However, like other small business owners, many owners of small businesses in the construction materials industry close their businesses within 5 years. The purpose of this multiple case study grounded in the resource-based theory was to explore the strategies that owners of small businesses in the construction materials industry operating in Tanzania used to sustain business for longer than 5 years. Data were collected using semistructured interviews with 4 purposefully selected owners of small businesses in the construction materials …

Perceptions Of Barriers To Oral Care Among African American Families In Durham, North Carolina, Samuel Motto

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Dental caries is one of the biggest issues of concern for healthcare providers in Durham, North Carolina due to the high prevalence of dental caries in African Americans. Many researchers have identified socio-economic, low income, poor education, psychological behavior, awareness, allied diseases, environment, unhealthy diet, obesity, type II diabetes, and inadequate health facilities as the possible reasons for its high prevalence, yet literature lacks information regarding how African Americans perceive the problem of oral health. Knowledge of the perceived factors may help to identify the actual cause of dental caries through the eyes of African Americans. The purpose of this …

Human Trafficking Crime Awareness Among Remote Communities In Central Vietnam, Ngoc Tb Nguyen

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Human trafficking crime is rising globally at an alarming rate, and Vietnam is one of the nations with the highest prevalence of trafficking female victims for forced sex services and forced marriages. This study explored human trafficking awareness in remote communities of central Vietnam and the factors for young girls dropping out of school for work at an early age. The study also investigated the link between gender inequality and the child labor problem in these communities. There is no extant empirical research pertaining to human trafficking awareness in the remote communities of central Vietnam. This research fills this gap …

Person Factors Affecting Student Persistence In College Reading And Writing Remediation, Loretta J. Morris Barr

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The United States has the highest college attrition rate among industrialized nations. Community college students face a much higher risk, particularly those who lack requisite reading/writing skills. Using the theory of planned behavior and self-determination theory, this study explored the relationship between persistence in college for students in traditional or corequisite remediation. Person factors under study were frustration discomfort, academic motivation, and self-reported symptoms of adult attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). After 7 semesters, 72 adult student volunteers from the 2 remediation programs were recruited from 2 community colleges. They completed an online survey, which included a demographics questionnaire, the Frustration …

Coteachers' Perceptions About Collaborating To Implement Instructional Strategies For Students With Disabilities, Claudia B. Morris

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

During 2012-2016, students with disabilities (SWDs) in Grades 3-5 in an urban elementary school in New York City did not meet the New York State English Language Arts (ELA) standards. The scores had been consistently low for SWDs when compared to their nondisabled peers. SWDs are placed in the inclusion classrooms with an Individual Education Plan that consists of the necessary accommodations that each student requires to access the general education curriculum. The purpose of this case study was to determine if the low ELA test scores for SWDs relate to lack of collaborative practices between coteachers in the inclusion …

Lipid-Coated Magnesium Phosphate Nanoparticles For Intrapulmonary Protein Delivery In Mice, Mallika Vadlamudi

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Proteins are a diverse category of biomolecules with great therapeutic potential. Intracellular delivery of proteins can augment the deficient activities of dysfunctional or poorly expressed innate proteins and therefore represents a promising strategy to treat the associated diseases. One major barrier to intracellular protein delivery is the translocation of the protein across the cellular membrane. Endocytosis provides an important pathway for protein nanocarriers to enter cells across the plasma membrane. However, the cargo protein must then promptly escape from the endosomes to avoid degradation in the lysosome and to exert its cellular function.

Previously, we reported a cationic lipid-coated magnesium …

Development Of A New Class Of Ligand-Targeted Chemotherapeutics With Enhanced Safety And Efficacy Profile, Arindom Pal

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The hydrophobicity of many chemotherapeutic agents usually results in their nonselective passive distribution into healthy cells and organs causing collateral toxicity. Ligand-targeted drugs (LTDs) are a promising class of targeted anticancer agents. The hydrophilicity of the targeting ligands in LTDs limits its nonselective passive tissue distribution and toxicity to healthy cells. In addition, the small size of LTDs allows for better tumor penetration, especially in the case of solid tumors. However, the short circulation half-life of LTDs, due to their hydrophilicity and small size, remains a significant challenge for achieving their full therapeutic potential. Therefore, extending the circulation half-life of …

Teachers' And Students' Perspectives About Patterns Of Interaction, Ena Smith

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Social interaction is key to students' learning in blending learning discussions. Although there is research on interactions in online courses and traditional classes, there is little on whether blended learning discussions are meeting students' social interaction and educational development needs. The purpose of this multicase study was to examine attitudes of first-year and final-year business and technology students and faculty members for patterns of interaction and knowledge construction. The study was conducted in the northeastern United States. Piaget's cognitive constructivism, Vygotsky's social constructivism, and Knowles's andragogy constituted the conceptual framework. Using maximum variation sampling, participants were 8 students and 4 …

Diffusion Of Innovations And Labor Market Challenges: A Multiple Case Study From Angola, Édney Marco Cardoso Dos Santos

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A gap exists in the literature between general diffusion of technological innovations and socioeconomic development that results in an ambiguous connection between theory, academia, and professional practice. To inform governments in sub-Saharan Africa on how to achieve the diffusion of innovation for economic development through the voices of regional stakeholders, this qualitative multiple case study was conducted to gain deeper understanding on the views of stakeholders on rapid technology diffusion and its implication on labor market challenges within their regions of Angola. Information from semistructured interviews with 8 adult participants, male and female, born and residing in impoverished communities in …

Teachers' And Principals' Perceptions Of Antibullying Programs In A U.S. Middle School, Nneka Uzoma

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

School bullying has become a serious issue in U.S. schools, with children being harassed, hurt, and even killed or driven to suicide or homicide as a result of being bullied. Bullying in schools has persisted despite the various intervention measures taken to curtail the phenomenon. The purpose of this phenomenological exploration was to explore how teachers and principals at a U.S. middle school perceive the school's existing bullying programs and elicit recommendations about how to improve the programs. The theoretical basis of this investigation was Bandura's social learning theory. Data were collected through interviews with 4 principles and 6 teachers. …

Effectiveness Of Physiological Alarm Management Strategies To Prevent Alarm Fatigue, Amy Clemens

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There is limited clinical research on the effectiveness of alarm management strategies and nursing behaviors related to alarms in clinical settings. As many as 76% of physiological monitor alarms are overlooked as clinically insignificant by nursing staff. Excessive alarms may impact patient outcomes and cause cognitive overload for nurses that can result in medical errors and missed patient resuscitations. The purpose of this systematic review was to rate alarm management studies on level of evidence for interventions, nursing responses to alarms, and impact on alarm fatigue behavior. The nursing role effectiveness model guided this project. Twenty-seven studies were reviewed to …

Building A Compassion Fatigue Toolkit, Stephanie C. Correa

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Compassion is an important tenet of nursing care delivery. When compassion is compromised, such as with compassion fatigue (CF), not only is patient care compromised, but also caregivers can be physically and psychologically affected, resulting in stress and burnout. The purpose of this project was to create a web-based educational toolkit focused on prevention of CF, establish the content validity of the elements in this toolkit, and make recommendations regarding its implementation and sustainability. Watson's theory of human caring guided this project. Ten experts with at least 10 years of experience and CF knowledge, a bachelor's degree in nursing, and …

Social Media Marketing Strategies Used By Owners Of Small Retail Businesses, Curtis Dean

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Implementing an effective social media marketing strategy campaign to engage customers and increase sales is a challenge for owners of small retail business owners The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore the social media marketing strategies owners of small retail businesses used to increase sales. The conceptual framework for this study was the social media marketing strategy theory. Data were collected from 5 small retail business owners in North Carolina through semistructured, face-to-face interviews and a review of company documents, websites, and social media sites. Data analysis through Yin's 5-step process of compiling, disassembling, reassembling, interpreting, and …

Mentoring And Retention Of First Year College Students At Brown Community College, Valrey Dawn Francis

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Retention of first year college students has been problematic in many U.S. colleges, and different mentoring frameworks have been explored to help resolve the issue. The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to examine how the mentoring program at Brown Community College (BCC; pseudonym) positively increased retention of first year college students. BCC is a community college located in a metropolitan urban area in a southern state. Tinto's model of social integration and academic success was used to undergird the study. Research questions were developed to understand how BCC's mentoring program was supporting first year students' retention and …

Relationship Of Years Of Experience To Aggression, Empathy, And Alcohol Intake Among Attorneys, Ashley Frantz

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Attorneys are at an increased risk of negative psychological and physical effects due to stressors in their careers. The purpose of this study was to identify if sex crime attorneys and homicide attorneys identify with significant psychological changes throughout their careers. The framework for this study was theoretical in nature and utilized the social cognitive processing theory. This quantitative study (N = 28) included the use of the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire, and the Multi-Dimensional Emotional Empathy Scale. A minimal significance was found correlating a decrease in aggression to years of experience as an attorney. …

Self-Injurious Behavior And Social Media Use By Adolescents, Victoria Lynn Fye

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There is a surprising dearth of research related to the phenomenon of self-injurious behavior/nonsuicidal self-injury (SIB/NSSI), such as cutting. Research conducted on SIB has revealed that this maladaptive behavior is more common among adolescents than other populations. The act of posting SIB on social media deserves research attention, as it seems to contradict what had previously been considered a very private behavior. The goal of this qualitative case study was to better understand why adolescents engage in SIB as well as investigate why they post these behaviors on social media. Merton's theory of social strain and anomie, which focuses on …

Guardians' Experiences With Mental Health Care For Adolescents With Pediatric Bipolar Disorder, Saudia Y. George

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Pediatric bipolar disorder (PBD) is a growing public health problem in the United States, especially among adolescent children. Despite awareness of the diagnosis and the effects that it has on the child, little attention has been given to the effects that PBD has on the guardian. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to explore the factors influencing guardians' experiences related to PBD. Penchansky and Thomas' Theory of Access and Family Systems Theory were used in this study to explore guardians lived experiences of PBD, its effects on the entire family system, and mental health service treatment. This approach …

Strategies To Recover From Satellite Communication Failures, Charles Lomotey

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In natural and manmade disasters, inadequate strategies to recover from satellite communication (SATCOM) failures can affect the ability of humanitarian organizations to provide timely assistance to the affected populations. This single case study explored strategies used by network administrators (NAs) to recover from SATCOM failures in humanitarian operations. The study population were NAs in Asia, the Middle East, Central Africa, East Africa, and West Africa. Data were collected from semistructured interviews with 9 NAs and an analysis of network statistics for their locations. The resource-based view was used as the conceptual framework for the study. Using inductive analysis, 3 themes …

African American Parents' Perceptions Of Childhood Obesity In Broward County, Kenol Aris

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Children may become overweight or obese for different reasons, and childhood obesity may have health consequences such as Type 2 diabetes and asthma. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to describe the perceptions of African American parents of elementary-age children with obesity living in Broward County, Florida about the causes and consequences of childhood obesity. The health belief model (HBM) guided this study. Interview data were gathered from 9 participants who met the criteria of being African American parents of elementary-age children with obesity living in Broward County, Florida. Moustakas- steps to analyze the data collected led to …

Police Culture And Perceived Service Value: Officer Perspectives On Psychological Services Utilization, Kymberli Copeland Barker

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There is a noted discrepancy between police psychological services offered and services utilized. It is important to understand reasons for underutilization when creating services for officers. The purpose of this study was providing empirical evidence from the officers-perspectives to answer this question. The conceptual foundation was officers may refuse participation due to police culture. The conceptual framework was represented in research questions focused on officers- perspectives regarding psychological services provided by psychologists without law enforcement (LE) experience. The participants were employed law enforcement officers (LEOs) from regions across the United States. Officer participation from all 50 states was targeted to …

Disruptive Innovation Within The Legal Services Ecosystem, Dr. Donald G. Billings

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Most law firms have done little to address the opportunities and threats related to potentially disruptive technology (DT), such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). The purpose of this multiple case study was to explore strategies that law firm leaders in the United States used to address the potentially detrimental influences of DT, such as AI and ML, on their organizations. The systems approach to management was employed as the conceptual framework. Data were collected from 6 participants at 2 international law firms with offices in California using semistructured interviews and organizational artifacts. Data were analyzed using Miles, …

Rational Choice Theory For Financial Strategy In Rural Michigan Community Colleges, Nicholas John Brege

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Since 2011, drastic declines in tuition revenue for many rural community colleges have hindered institutional budgets and have been the primary driver for the financial strategy decisions made by college leaders. Recent declines in revenue for rural community colleges have created a constrained fiscal environment causing college leaders to increase focus on internal operations. The aim of this research was to expand the understanding of how management decisions influence tuition revenue when demand fluctuates. Data from multiple archival sources including several national and state statistical databases were used. This study used a multiple regression analysis to investigate the relationships between …

Parents' Knowledge Of Child-Passenger Safety And Child-Passenger Restraint Usage, Amanda Cadore

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Although occupant protection laws exist, limited research has been conducted on how current child passenger safety (CPS) issues and CPS marketing strategies relate to child passenger safety seat (CPSS) usage. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to analyze the relationship between parents' perception and knowledge of CPS issues and CPSS usage rates. The diffusion of innovation and the social marketing theories provided the frameworks for this study. The overall research question for the study examined the correlation between parents' knowledge of CPS issues and CPSS usage. Data (participants' surveys, car seat check-up information, and observational statistics) were collected from …

Time And Transitions As Predictors Of Effective Postdeployment Resilience, Ricarlos Marcell Caldwell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Since 9/11 over 2.77 million U.S. service members have deployed 5.4 million times to a theater of war with the majority serving in the U.S. Army. The increased stress inherent in a single combat deployment grows exponentially with each subsequent deployment, resulting in behavioral issues and suicide attempts and ideations. This study's purpose, following resilience theory, was to explore the associations of military life experiences (permanent changes of station, promotions, retirements, etc.) and deployment characteristics (number of deployments, operational specialties, combined lengths of deployments, etc.) to postdeployment resilience in U.S. military personnel. The study's design was a quantitative correlational research …

Lived Experiences Of Hmong Refugees In America, Rocky Lo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Hmong refugees immigrated to the United States and have since experienced cultural differences that challenged their traditional way of living. The research problem for this study was Hmong refugees'€™ lived experiences in America because their experience was unknown and unexplored. Addressing this research problem was significant because it provided insight into their experiences and its impact on acculturation as well as distinct cultural experiences not acknowledged or noticeable with monolithic studies. The purpose of this study was to explore Hmong refugees'€™ lived experiences in America using Grove and Torbion's theory of sojourners as the theoretical …