Digital Commons Network^™

Examining Personal And Organizational Factors Leading To Police Officers’ Underutilization Of Employee Assistance Programs, Michael David Leary

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Police officers routinely get exposed to stressful or traumatic events throughout the tenure of their careers, which can lead to a build-up of emotions and internal stress. Consequently, research has shown that police officers have a higher suicide rate than the general public. Previous studies demonstrated that the majority of police officers have little knowledge about their provided employee assistance programs (EAP), and fewer yet have used the programs. The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine whether a significant relationship existed between and among factors such as self-stigma of seeking help, social stigma of receiving psychological help, attitudes …

Strategies To Gain A Social License To Operate In The Mining Industry, Luis Llaque

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Failure to gain a social license to operate (SLTO) in the mining industry often leads to mine closures and increased risk exposure that negatively impacts profitability. Mining project managers who do not obtain an SLTO risk project, which can affect profitability. Grounded in general systems theory, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore strategies used by mining project managers to gain an SLTO to improve profitability effectively. Data were collected from semistructured interviews and document reviews. Participants comprised eight project managers at five mining companies in the Republic of Peru who implemented successful strategies to obtain …

Differences In Students' First-Year Composition Grades Based On First-Year Composition Instructors' Employment Status, Karen Mariana Lynn

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem addressed in this study was the trend of decrease in first-time-in-college (FTIC) degree-seeking student cohort fall-to-fall (FTF) retention rates at a community college located in a southern state. Reversing the trend of decrease in FTIC FTF retention rates requires determining factors that may have influenced the trend. Researchers have found instructor employment status and gateway course success may influence student achievement and therefore can affect student retention. At the research site, most FTIC students take first-year-composition (FYC), the gateway English course for most community colleges, from adjuncts. The purpose and research question of the study were to determine …

Knowledge Workers’ Daily Experiences With Technostress And Presenteeism: A Single Case Study, Teresa Himes Mcgovern

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite the prominence of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT)-enabled technostress in organizations, there is a gap in the literature on how knowledge workers cope with technostress, and managers know little about the interface of ICT-induced presenteeism on employee productivity. The overarching research question was developed to address the purpose of this qualitative single case study with embedded units, which was to understand the perceptions of knowledge workers on the interface of technostress and ICT-induced presenteeism on their work productivity. This study was framed by the concept of presenteeism developed by Lohaus and Habermann within their comprehensive presenteeism model, a decision-integrated …

African American Blended Parent Strategies’ And The Influence On Children’S School Performance, Christine Li'chele' Moore

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractDue to increasing divorce rates, the number of Americans living in blended family households have increased over the decades. Studies have revealed that some school-aged children who experience family structural changes due to blending families may experience stress that negatively affects their school performance. The purpose of this study was to determine what strategies African American parents in blended family units used to lessen the impact of family structure change on their school-aged children’s school performance. Bowen’s family system’s theory was used to guide this research. A generic qualitative design was used to obtain data from eight participants residing in …

Mentoring Strategies To Enhance Employee Engagement In The Retail Industry, Cynthia June Moss

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

High levels of employee disengagement can lead to high attrition rates that impact customer satisfaction. Retail industry leaders who lack mentoring strategies can experience a decrease in productivity because of employee disengagement. Grounded in transformational leadership theory, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore mentoring strategies used by three retail industry leaders in the state of Virginia, who have improved employee engagement. Data were collected through semistructured interviews and the review of organizational documents that included a mentoring guide, company newsletter, and mentee core assessments. The themes that emerged from the thematic analysis were mentoring practices, …

Emergency Department Utilization And Length Of Stay Among Sickle Cell Patients, Rushali Naik

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) utilize the emergency department (ED) frequently due to limited access to adult health care providers. Few providers are knowledgeable about caring for patients with sickle cell disease. This quantitative study’s purpose and research questions addressed whether there was a correlation between ED utilization and ED length of stay (LOS) pre- and post-enrollment in an adult comprehensive sickle cell clinic between the years of 2012 and 2017. The Donabedian framework was used to examine the structure, process, and outcomes related to the benefits of care in a sickle cell center. The independent variables of pre- …

The Relationship Between A Supervisor’S Emotional Intelligence, Employee Engagement, And Turnover Intention, Sloan Leane Rawhoof

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Employee turnover costs employers billions of dollars annually, negatively impacting an organization’s bottom line. Business leaders must align employee engagement and supervisor emotional intelligence to reduce turnover and improve profitability. Grounded in employee engagement theory, the purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to examine the relationships between employee engagement, supervisor emotional intelligence, and turnover intention. Data were collected from 74 hourly employees and seven supervisors in a manufacturing company in Georgia using two paper surveys for hourly employees and one online survey for supervisors. Multiple regression analysis was performed on the data, assumptions were evaluated, and no violations were …

Cultural Differences Among Psychologists In Pursuit Of Self-Care, Lisa Paliotta

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Psychologists experience a myriad of professional stressors and barriers to self-care that can affect their well-being and ability to offer effective care to patients. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between demographic variables, professional stressors, barriers to treatment and help-seeking behaviors among psychologists. Using a revised Bearse survey and the professional quality of life measurement, data were collected and analyzed using analysis of variance and hierarchical multiple regression. The 235 respondents comprised 74% women, 62.3% European American, and 56.2% reported having a PhD in psychology. Findings indicated significant differences between non-European American and European American ethnic …

Increasing Nurse Knowledge Of The Underutilization Of Hospice Services For African Americans, Vicki Schmidt

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The focus of this doctoral project was increasing knowledge of underutilization ofhospice services for African Americans (AAs) and the need to increase cultural competence among nurses regarding this issue. The identified gap in practice was nurses’ lack of cultural competence and knowledge regarding the underutilization of hospice specific to AAs. The practice-focused question focused on whether a staff educational intervention increased nurses’ knowledge of the cultural implications regarding the introduction of hospice services for AAs. The education was guided by the Purnell model for culturally competent health care, Healthy People 2030, and the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organizations AA …

Educating Staff To Improve Colorectal Cancer Screening In A Primary Care Setting, Angela Kenyata Rayborn

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractThe practice problem for this Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) project deals with the lack of education regarding colorectal cancer that is not being routinely screened by nursing staff within the primary care clinic setting. It is important that nursing staff is knowledgeable of current screenings for current health issues within their community in order to decrease prevalence and utilize preventive measures that can improve population health outcomes. Therefore, the purpose of this project was to conduct a staff education project to increase nursing knowledge about routine colorectal screenings. The model used for evaluation of this staff education project is …

The Impact Of Far-Right Groups On The Lives Of Latinas/Os In Gwinnett County Georgia, Collins Uhuangho

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractThe research problem that this study sought to address was the effects of far-right groups on the lives of Latinas/os. The research problem is important as far-right groups can spread racism- and violence-related propaganda and assault, insult, and racially discriminate against minorities and immigrants, which likely negatively impacts the lives of the victimized individuals. The purpose of the study was to explore how the Latina/o population living in the County are impacted by far-right groups in Gwinnett County, Georgia. The main research question was: To what extent are Latinas/os living in Gwinnett County, Georgia, affected by the presence of racism- …

Increasing Access To Diabetic Self-Management Education Using Telehealth In Rural Kentucky, Gina Good

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The lack of diabetic self-management education (DSME) can affect generations of families who have suffered from diabetes. More than 80% of Appalachian Kentucky counties lack access to DSME and care due to high incidence of diabetes. The purpose of this quality improvement project was to determine whether the use of telehealth increased patient access to DSME in Southeast Kentucky. Application of Peplau’s theory of interpersonal relations to patient relationships in nursing practice provided a framework for the project. De-identified retrospective data 6 weeks before intervention and 6 weeks postintervention were collected by the project facility for secondary data analysis to …

Relationship Between Social Media Screen Time, Sedentariness, And Bmi Among Young Adults, Helen Golod

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Obesity has quickly become an epidemic that affects adults and youth not only in the United States, but also increasingly elsewhere in the global community. Research suggests that most children and adolescents spend a significant amount of time indulging in screen-based leisure, especially on social media. Such behavior may also be linked to sedentary lifestyle, which can impact an individual’s body mass index (BMI). There is a lack of understanding concerning how sedentary behavior moderates the relationship between screen time spent on different types of social media and BMI among young adults in the United States. To address this research …

How Supply Chain Managers Develop Agile Capability Strategies In The Workforce, Bethany Iris Grace

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Ineffective change management strategies lead to poor organizational performance. Higher levels of agile capabilities have been shown to improve success in managing change. The research problem was that supply chain managers do not have coherent strategies to develop agile capabilities in the workforce. The purpose of this qualitative, exploratory multiple case study was to investigate how supply chain managers develop strategies to build agile capabilities in the workforce. The conceptual framework that grounded this study includes resource-based view theory and leader-member exchange theory. The research question explored how supply chain managers develop strategies for building agile capabilities in the workforce. …

Removing Carbon Dioxide Through Ocean Alkalinity Enhancement: Legal Challenges And Opportunities, Romany M. Webb, Korey Silverman-Roati, Michael B. Gerrard

Faculty Scholarship

Many scientists now agree that achieving the 2015 Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting global warming to “well below” 2°C, and ideally to 1.5°C, above pre-industrial levels will require both major reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and the removal of massive amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Various terrestrial and ocean-based carbon dioxide removal techniques have been proposed, but further research is needed to evaluate their relative benefits and drawbacks. Initial studies suggest that terrestrial carbon dioxide removal techniques, such as bioenergy with carbon capture and storage, may require large amounts of land, which could lead to conflicts with other …

Why Supervise Banks? The Foundations Of The American Monetary Settlement, Lev Menand

Faculty Scholarship

Administrative agencies are generally designed to operate at arm’s length, making rules and adjudicating cases. But the banking agencies are different: they are designed to supervise. They work cooperatively with banks and their remedial powers are so extensive they rarely use them. Oversight proceeds through informal, confidential dialogue.

Today, supervision is under threat: banks oppose it, the banking agencies restrict it, and scholars misconstrue it. Recently, the critique has turned legal. Supervision’s skeptics draw on a uniform, flattened view of administrative law to argue that supervision is inconsistent with norms of due process and transparency. These arguments erode the intellectual …

Ending At-Will Employment: A Guide For Just Cause Reform, Kate Andrias, Alexander Hertel-Fernandez

Faculty Scholarship

In the United States, the vast majority of private-sector employers have free rein to discipline or fire workers for good reasons (for harassing other workers), bad reasons (a personal dislike of the worker or a worker’s off-duty activities), or even no reason at all so long as the employers’ justification is not otherwise barred by law. And even if a worker suspects they have been fired for an illegal reason – for instance, because of their race, ethnicity, or gender – the burden is on the worker, not the employer, to collect the necessary evidence, prove discriminatory intent, and mount …

Invited Dialogue: Mapping The Intersections Of Religion, Literacy, And Public Schooling For Displaced, Immigrant, And Refugee Children: A Conversation With Loukia K. Sarroub, Jennifer D. Turner, Loukia K. Sarroub

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

Drawing on her award-winning research, Dr. Loukia K. Sarroub explains how teachers can help displaced, immigrant, and refugee youth navigate literacy, religion, and success in public schools.

This column features Dr. Loukia K. Sarroub and her award-winning research on how Arab Muslim refugee and immigrant youth navigate religion, gender, and literacy in school. Dr. Sarroub is a professor of literacy studies, education, and linguistics, and she serves as the graduate programs chair in the Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She was the recipient of the LRA Edward B. Fry Book Award for All …

Picturing Dual Language And Gentrification: An Analysis Of Visual Media And Their Connection To Language Policy, Edmund T. Hamann, Theresa Catalano

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

Dual language (DL) programs propose to be vehicles of social justice and transformation by valuing an additional language other than the dominant one in a society and thereby contesting language hierarchies and the subordination of those who speak/use a non-dominant language (Flores, Flores, Educational Policy 30:13–38, 2016; Menken and García, Menken, K., & García, O. (2021). Constructing translanguaging school policies and practices. In: CUNY-New York State Initiative on Emergent Bilinguals (Eds.) Translanguaging and transformative teaching for emergent bilingual students. Project. Routledge, New York.). However, Palmer (Henderson, K. I., & Palmer, D. K. (2020). Dual Language Bilingual Education: Teacher Cases and …

What Educators In Mexico And In The United States Need To Know And Acknowledge To Attend To The Educational Needs Of Transnational Students, Edmund T. Hamann, Víctor Zúñiga

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

This chapter from the edited volume "The Students We Share" explains to both US and Mexican audiences that a persistent number and proportion of K-12 students continue to circulate between both countries and thus that it is a challenge for both countries' education systems—including teacher preparation, curriculum, assessment, etc.—to see how students' knowledge and experience from the other system is both salient to their new schooling in a new country and valuable for how it will contribute to their future means for negotiating adulthood.

Teaching And Learning News Media In Politically Unsettled Times, H. James Garrett, Mardi Schmeichel, Joseph Mcanulty, Sonia Janis

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

Our research explores and elaborates the ways preservice teachers come to know and begin conceptualizing ways of teaching about news media. We report on what we interpret as their understandings and, perhaps more importantly, their misunderstandings of media literacy as they relate to their emerging ideas about what it means to teach others about crucial social and political issues of our time. The students with whom the authors worked demonstrated problematic misperceptions and misunderstandings about important media concepts and topics. These preservice teachers misunderstood the ways in which news media is different from other media genres. Additionally, they often indicated …

Influence Of Science Experiences On Preservice Elementary Teachers’ Beliefs, Saiqa Azam, Deepika Menon

Department of Teaching, Learning, and Teacher Education: Faculty Publications

teachers’ science teaching beliefs and explain how these beliefs influence the way these teachers interpret their science teaching and learning experiences. Supported by the theoretical underpinnings of teacher beliefs and drawings as a tool to investigate teacher beliefs, this research utilized qualitative (written science autobiographies and reflections) and quantitative (Draw-a-Science-Teacher-Test-Checklist as a pre and post measure) data collection techniques. A total of 55 preservice elementary teachers participated from two public universities located in the United States and Canada. Quantitative analysis revealed positive shifts in science teaching beliefs of preservice elementary teachers largely in two ways: A small shift representing small …

Characterization And Discovery Of A Selective Small Molecule Modulator Of Mitochondrial Complex I Targeting A Unique Binding Site, Jefin Jose

VCU's Medical Journal Club: The Work of Future Health Professionals

Zhang et al. developed a potential therapeutic drug that selectively binds to the IF site of Complex I, revealing the role of ZCM-I-1 as a potential regulator of ROS species within the mitochondria at moderate concentrations. More importantly, the development of this drug has been used to justify the mitochondria dysfunction hypothesis of Alzheimer's Disease. However, the key mechanism for Alzheimers remains unclear.

Enthusiastic But Inconsistent: Graduate Teaching Assistants’ Perceptions Of Their Role In The Cure Classroom, Erin Shortlidge, Jessica R, Cary, Emma C. Goodwin

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Despite growing evidence of positive student outcomes from course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs), little consideration has been given to employing graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) as CURE instructors. GTAs may be novice researchers and/or teachers and likely vary in their interest in teaching a CURE. Guided by expectancy-value theory, we explored how GTAs’ self-efficacy and values regarding teaching a CURE impact motivation and perceptions of their roles as CURE instructors. Using a multiple case study design, we interviewed nine GTAs who taught a network CURE at one research institution. Though most GTAs held a relatively high value for teaching a CURE …

On The Diversity And Distribution Of A Data Deficient Habitat In A Poorly Mapped Region: The Case Of Sabellaria Alveolata L. In Ireland, Louise B. Firth, Amelia Curd, Stephen J. Hawkins, Antony M. Knights, Julie A. Blaze, Michael T. Burrows, Stanislas F. Dubois, Hugh Edwards, Andy Foggo, Paul E. Gribben, Lisa Grant, Daniel Harris, Nova Mieszkowska, Flavia L.D. Nunes, Julia D. Nunn, Anne Marie Power, Ruth M. O'Riordan, David Mcgrath, Christina Simkanin, Nessa E. O'Connor

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Data that can be used to monitor biodiversity through time are essential for conservation and management. The reef-forming worm, Sabellaria alveolata (L. 1767) is currently classed as ‘Data Deficient’ due to an imbalance in the spread of data on its distribution. Little is known about the distribution of this species around Ireland. Using data archaeology, we collated past and present distribution records and discovered that S. alveolata has a discontinuous distribution with large gaps between populations. Many regions lack data and should be targeted for sampling. Biodiversity surveys revealed that S. alveolata supported diverse epibiotic algal communities. Retrograding (declining) reefs …

Staff Education: Nonpharmacological Interventions For Pain In Older Adults With Osteoarthritis, Rachel 'Seunayo Ilesanmi

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Osteoarthritis (OA) pain is a major social problem for older adults and has psychological and physical implications. In the clinic where the project was implemented, the family nurse practitioners (FNPs) are not addressing the OA pain of the older adult patients according to the evidence-based practice (EBP) guidelines. The purpose of this project was to educate FNPs on EBP guidelines regarding nonpharmacological intervention for chronic pain in OA patients. Knowles’ adult learning theory guided the development of the education program specific to the unique learning style of the FNPs. Fourteen FNPs who treat patients with OA in 3 clinic settings …

Parents' Perceptions Of And Reactions To Their Child's Intergroup Marriage, Theresa Aikens

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Researchers have found that parental support and acceptance are integral to the success of interracial romantic relationships (IRRs) and well-being of interracial romantic relationship participants (IRRPs). Research on couples involved in IRRs is prevalent, but researchers neglected to include the perspectives of the parents of the IRRPs. The lived experiences of parents of adult children involved in Black-White IRRs and their perceptions of societal reactions to the IRR were explored to better understand the mechanisms behind parental support or disapproval of IRRs. Bronfenbrenner's PPCT model of bioecological theory allowed for a focus on a parent's development within the parent-child relationship …

The Impact Of Assertiveness And Religiosity On The Expression Of Dissent Among U.S. Immigrant Nigerian Workers, Peter Osiabia Azorji

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractScholars have studied dissent in general, but few have focused on the impact of cultural contexts and characteristics on dissent. Literature on the influence of cultural factors on expression of disagreement in organizations, by immigrant Nigerian workers in the US has not received adequate attention. There is therefore a compelling need to bridge this gap. This quantitative nonexperimental correlation study examined the impact of assertiveness and religiosity (variables that may be influenced by culture), on expression of minority dissent among Nigerian immigrant workers in the United States. The inquiry was based on two theoretical models: Bourhis et al.’s interactive acculturation …

Understanding Successful Strategies Human Service First-Level Managers Utilize When Addressing Workplace Incivility, Mary Elizabeth Barlow

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The social problem of workplace incivility is a well-researched issue that impacts employees, work groups, and organizations across the nation. The purpose of this study was to understand how first-level human service managers describe employee turnover in relation to workplace incivility and what first-level human service managers view as successful strategies they have used to address workplace incivility. The theoretical framework utilized for this study was incivility spiral theory, as described by Andersson and Pearson. The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to gain an understanding of successful strategies that first-level human service managers utilize when addressing workplace incivility …