Digital Commons Network^™

Therapeutic Communication Skills For Nurses Working With People Living With Hiv, Charaine Ferguson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Internalized stigma experienced by people living with HIV (PLWH) has been associated with numerous untoward health outcomes. Nurses' and healthcare professionals’ ability to effectively communicate can significantly affect the experience of stigma in PLWH. The practice-focused question was whether an interactive educational project could improve the knowledge and intent to use collective communication skills in nurses. This project uses concepts from Peplau's interpersonal relationship theory, principles of therapeutic communication, and unconscious bias. Online training content included patient testimonials related to stigma, discussions of unconscious bias by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and Mayo Clinic professionals, review of Harvard University’s Implicit …

Middle School Teachers’ Use Of Technology To Transform Mathematics Instruction, Camille Georgia James

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractIncorporating technology into instructional practices is needed to cultivate learners who are digitally competent to function in a society in which technology keeps evolving. The problem that exists at the study site is that although technology is available, it is primarily being used to enhance learning rather than transform learning. Transforming the teaching- learning process, requires the use of technology to modify and redefine learning. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to explore the extent to which middle school mathematics teachers in a PreK–8 independent day school in Denver, Colorado use digital technology as a transformative learning tool in …

Ethics Of Collection And Use Of Consumer Information On The Internet, Thanh M. Pham

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Consumer online activities can generate massive volumes of data that private companies may collect and use for business purposes. Consumer personal data need to be protected from unauthorized access and misuse. The specific problem is that consumers have little control regarding their data being collected and used by private companies. The purpose of this qualitative archival research was to explore business practices involving collection and use of consumer data without an individual’s consent. This study used the big data ethical conceptual framework to focus on various privacy issues, including those related to ownership, transparency, ethics, and consumer privacy laws. Archival …

The Impact Of Agency Accreditation Or Certification On Police Misconduct, Robert Ellis Rodriguez

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Law enforcement executives have created and implemented department policies and procedures to mitigate misconduct within their agencies, yet there is currently no method to quantify the effectiveness of these measures. The purpose of this exploratory study was to understand whether written directives, policies, and procedures of nationally accredited or state-certified law enforcement agencies impact reports of police misconduct. Data were collected from 8 Georgia law enforcement agencies: 4 that were nationally accredited or state-certified and 4 that did not hold such status. The data were compiled into 8 categories based on their accumulative number of misconduct incidents per agency and …

Experiences Of Parents Interacting In An Urban Preschool Outreach Program, Sonya Renee Baines-Corey

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractParental engagement supports children academically. However, African American parents engage at lower levels than other parents. The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to understand the experiences of urban preschool parents in a blended parental engagement program. A combination of critical race theory, experiential learning, social learning theory, and andragogy served as the conceptual framework. Data were collected through semi structured face-to-face interviews with eight African American parents, observational field notes, and an archival review of preschool documents in a Southeast U.S. state’s innovative parental engagement program that incorporates technology. Findings from inductive thematic analysis indicated three major themes. …

Parental Perceptions Of Mobile Device Learning For Students In Special Education, Persjha T. Conry

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to explore parents’ perceptions of the use of mobile devices as tools for learning for their children in special education settings. Research literature on mobile-device use in special education indicates that little is known regarding parents’ perception of mlearning. While studies provided information on teachers’ perspectives of mlearning in their special education classrooms, parents’ perspectives on mlearning to support their children’s needs remained unexplored. The conceptual frameworks used included Rogers’s diffusion of innovation theory and Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler’s theory of parental involvement. Individual semistructured interviews of eight parents of elementary students in …

Strategies To Identify And Implement Meaningful Measurements For Nonprofit Organizations, Michael Dillard

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractLeaders of nonprofit organizations lack strategies to identify and implement meaningful measurements to secure funding from their stakeholders. Nonprofit leaders who continue to face challenges with securing funding might fail to achieve their organization's missions. Grounded in the stakeholder theory and the Juran trilogy, the purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore strategies three senior business leaders of a nonprofit organization in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States used to secure funding from their stakeholders. Data were collected from semistructured interviews, documents from the nonprofit organization, and public sources. Using Yin's 5-step thematic analysis process to …

Influence Of Mathematics Teachers' Technology Use On Secondary Students' Motivation, Attitude, And Achievement In Nigeria, Denise Uzoma Ejoh

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Students in Nigeria are not finishing school with the math skills needed for gainful employment and economic self-reliance, possibly due to a lack of technology use in math classes. Specifically, the influence of technology use in math classrooms on students' motivation, attitude, and math achievement in Nigeria was not well understood. Guided by the technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge (TPACK) theoretical framework, the purpose of this ex post facto, causal-comparative study was to compare the differences in student motivation, attitude, and achievement scores between students in math classrooms with low technology use and students in classrooms with high technology use …

Precursors To Human Trafficking, Aleta J. Eldridge

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractThe problem addressed in this phenomenological study was the lack of documentation of the supported lived experiences of the precursors that children exhibit prior to being groomed by a sex trafficker into human sex trafficking. The purpose of this study was to explore the lived experiences of adults, whom as a child, were groomed into sex trafficking due to being bullied, experienced familial abuse and had used illegal drugs, concurrent. Using Ostrom's institutional analysis theory (IAT) and Shaw and McKay's social disorganization theory (SDT), this study examined the three precursors of human trafficking that occurred, concurrently, prior and during the …

Treatment Disparities In Black And Hispanic Children With Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorders, Charlotte Seiji Frey

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Disparity in diagnosis and treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) among children has been studied; however, no known studies examining disparities based on severity of symptoms have been investigated. The purpose of this study was to assess the racial disparities in diagnosis and treatment that exist among children based on severity of symptoms. This cross-sectional quantitative analysis used data from the 2016 National Survey of Children's Health and the theoretical foundation was guided by the behavioral model of healthcare utilization and help-seeking behavior for ADHD. Binomial logistic regression analysis showed an overall association between race and the diagnosis and …

Identifying Factors Contributing To Hospital Readmission Of Patients With Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases, Marcia Hector

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is one of the leading causes of hospital readmission within 30 days of discharge. However, the factors that contribute to early readmission of COPD patients are not well understood, nor is it clear how to reduce readmission. This study used a qualitative phenomenological approach to examine COPD patients' experience on factors that contribute to the COPD readmission rate and practices that might reduce it. In depth interviews with 10 COPD patients were conducted to explore their lived experiences of factors contributing to hospital readmission with COPD exacerbation. Questions were asked on issues known to affect …

Strategies For Improving Parent-School Partnerships To Enhance Private Schools' Profitability, Jenaya Hope Ingram

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Private primary schools in the United States have experienced a decline in parent-school partnerships, along with a reduction in income. School leaders need to understand the benefits parent-school partnerships have on parent engagement, acquire additional strategies to increase parent-school partnerships, and increase profitability. Grounded in Epstein's parent involvement partnership model, the purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore the strategies school leaders use to enhance parent-school partnerships to increase profitability. The participants comprised 3 leaders of a private, faith-based elementary school in Maryland with at least 5 years of experience in the education sector, including membership in …

Understanding The Young Adult African American Male's Perceptions Of Civic Engagement, Carl Lee Jackson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractCivic engagement and political involvement of the greater portion of the population of democratic societies are important to the maintenance of the quality of life of all members. Although 100% participation in these activities is rare, higher levels of involvement across all affected demographic groups will support a more equitable political environment in urban communities. In the midwestern metropolitan community that is the focus of this study, young adult African American males were found to participate in all forms of civic engagement at lower rates than any other demographic group. Using a critical race theory foundation, the purpose of the …

Strategies To Stimulate Innovation For Improving The Financial Performance Of Small And Medium Enterprises, Jefferson Lawrence

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

While small and medium enterprises (SMEs) contribute significantly to job creation, failure rates among SMEs within the first 5 years are as much as 40%. Leaders of SMEs could benefit from strategies to effectively integrate innovation into their business practices to avoid financial failure. Grounded in Christensen's disruptive innovation theory, the purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore strategies leaders of SMEs use to effectively integrate innovation into their business practices to avoid financial failure. The participants comprised 3 business leaders in Trinidad and Tobago with successful experience integrating innovation into their business practices to avoid financial …

The “Foul” Protection For A Photographer’S Original And Creative Choices In A Photograph: Exploring The Implications Of Rentmeester V. Nike, Inc. On Creativity In Photography, Olivia Lattanza

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Growth And Need For Veterans Treatment Courts, Chad Lennon

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Just How Reliable Is The Human Memory? The Admissibility Of Recovered Repressed Memories In Criminal Proceedings, Shannon L. Malone

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Law Of Obscenity In Comic Books, Rachel Silverstein

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Arms Dealer Who Cries, :“First Amendment”, Gustave Passanante

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

How Actions Affirm: Reflections On The Question Of Affirmative Action, Doron Menashe

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Food Insecurity And Eating Disorders: A Review Of Emerging Evidence, V. M. Hazzard, K. A. Loth, L. Hooper, Carolyn Black Becker

Psychology Faculty Research

Purpose of Review: This review summarizes emerging evidence for the relationship between food insecurity and eating disorder (ED) pathology, outlines priorities for future research in this area, and comments on considerations for clinical and public health practice.

Recent Findings: Among adults, food insecurity is cross-sectionally associated with higher levels of overall ED pathology, binge eating, compensatory behaviors, binge-eating disorder, and bulimia nervosa. Evidence for similar relationships among adolescents has been less robust; however, compared to studies of adults, there have been substantially fewer studies conducted in adolescents to date.

Summary: Emerging evidence consistently indicates that food insecurity …

The Student Experience Of Final Year In An Undergraduate Degree Programme In Education Studies., Roisin Donnelly, Julie Ui Choistealbha, Marian Fitzmaurice

Journal Articles

This case study explores the student experience of the final year of a four-year undergraduate degree in ‘Education Studies’, with a focus on the perceived impact of curriculum design of the programme. The context is an Irish college of education, and the programme structure has been designed to allow for flexibility to accommodate varying student interests and professional pathways. As the first full iteration of the programme came to a close, it was considered an opportune time to ascertain if the programme was meeting its curriculum design objectives in terms of preparation for the chosen professional pathway post-graduation from both …

Milkweed And Me, Michael Wade

Wraparound South (Archived)

No abstract provided.

Tunable Multiphase Dynamics Of Arginine And Lysine Liquid Condensates, Rachel S. Fisher, Shana Elbaum-Garfinkle

Advanced Science Research Center

Liquid phase separation into two or more coexisting phases has emerged as a new paradigm for understanding subcellular organization, prebiotic life, and the origins of disease. The design principles underlying biomolecular phase separation have the potential to drive the development of novel liquid-based organelles and therapeutics, however, an understanding of how individual molecules contribute to emergent material properties, and approaches to directly manipulate phase dynamics are lacking. Here, using microrheology, we demonstrate that droplets of poly-arginine coassembled with mono/polynucleotides have approximately 100 fold greater viscosity than comparable lysine droplets, both of which can be finer tuned by polymer length. We …

Assessing Cervical Cancer Knowledge Among High-Risk Women Living In The Us-Mexico Border Region In El Paso, Tx, Crystal Costa

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Despite major decreases in cervical cancer incidence rates in the U.S. over the past several decades, certain populations of women continue to be disproportionately affected by it. One of these groups includes US Latina/Hispanic women who have the highest cervical cancer incidence rates as compared to their racial/ethnic counterparts. To improve detection and prevention in US Latina/Hispanic women, it is important to first understand their current knowledge and health literacy with regard to cervical cancer.

This cross-sectional study examined perceived self-knowledge of cervical cancer and cervical cancer functional health literacy in high-risk Hispanic women living in the El Paso, Texas …

Race, Gender And Mediated Representations In The Farah Strike, Matthew Desiderio Minnich

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

May 1972, 4,000 garment workers at Farah Manufacturing Company in El Paso went out on strike for the right to be represented by a union. The strike against Farah was the first major social movement in the El Paso area in modern times. Over 80% of the striking workers were Latina. The female employees at Farah were at the forefront of the Chicana feminist movement. The labor battle at Farah proves the organic link between Chicana feminism and class struggle. The Farah strike caused a new family dynamic to rise from the ashes of the traditional Mexican household. Using Burke's …

Analyzing Voter Participation In El Paso County, Texas, Samantha Romero

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This Thesis seeks to analyze and understand voting patterns in El Paso County, Texas, based on a study of voter turnout in the November 2015 Uniform Election and three key research objectives. The first objective is to provide a systematic statistical evaluation of a local endeavor, the Student Voter Initiative (SVI), to increase voter turnout among youth, specifically 18-year-olds, in the November 2015 Uniform Election. The second objective is to estimate voter turnout by age group (generation) and investigate whether younger voters were underrepresented in the November 2015 Uniform Election compared to older generations, based on generational categories defined by …

Constructing Community At The Border: Perspectives From Korean-Origin Residents In El Paso, Texas, Josue E. Lopez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Studies of communities at the U.S.-Mexico border have usually contrasted their views on living at the border with wider U.S. perspectives which understand the border mainly in terms of security concerns. This Thesis aims to extend such studies through focusing on the Korean-origin community in El Paso, Texas, in order to examine how border perspectives are shaped through global comparisons. The study is organized around two central questions: (1) How do Korean residents experience and construct community in El Paso? (2) How do notions of the Korean border shape or remain separate from notions of the U.S.-Mexico border? Through interviews …

Towards Making Videos Accessible For Low Vision Screen Magnifier Users, Ali Selman Aydin, Shirin Feiz, Vikas Ashok, Iv Ramakrishnan

Computer Science Faculty Publications

People with low vision who use screen magnifiers to interact with computing devices find it very challenging to interact with dynamically changing digital content such as videos, since they do not have the luxury of time to manually move, i.e., pan the magnifier lens to different regions of interest (ROIs) or zoom into these ROIs before the content changes across frames.

In this paper, we present SViM, a first of its kind screen-magnifier interface for such users that leverages advances in computer vision, particularly video saliency models, to identify salient ROIs in videos. SViM's interface allows users to zoom in/out …

Impact Of Cryptococcus Neoformans Polysaccharide Capsule On Astrocytes, Yeon Hwa Woo

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Cryptococcus neoformans is a neurotropic, opportunistic, encapsulated, yeast-like fungus that causes life-threatening meningoencephalitis in both healthy and immunocompromised individuals. C. neoformans infects 1,000,000 people and causes 210,000 deaths worldwide annually, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa. The polysaccharide capsule of C. neoformans is the fungus major virulent factor. Glucuronoxylomannan (GXM), the main component of the capsule is abundantly released into brain tissue during C. neoformans infection, causing immunosuppressive defects in the host. C. neoformans is inhaled from the environment, disseminate via bloodstream, and crosses the blood brain barrier (BBB) to cause cryptococcal meningoencephalitis (CM). Although CM causes significant mortality in HIV/AIDS patients, …