Digital Commons Network^™

Exploring Critical Success Factors For Implementing It Modernization Systems In Michigan State Agencies, Luc Armand Kamdem

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Since 2001, most government organizations’ IT modernization programs had failed because of ineffective implementation strategies from IT leaders. The research problem was the absence of effective strategies to modernize IT legacy systems. The purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore effective IT modernization strategies to revolutionize IT legacy systems. The researcher sought to answer how organizations create effective strategies to modernize IT legacy systems. The study used purposeful sampling, including 13 IT leaders, IT technicians, and customers based on their experience in implementing successful IT modernization programs’ strategies. Data were collected using semi-structured interviews and agency documentation. …

Using Agile Strategies To Improve Project Success Rates, Tim Kirkland

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Project failures can be costly to businesses, but on average, program managers’ (PMs’) success rates for managing information technology (IT) projects is less than 35%. Organizational cultures struggle to adapt to agile project management (APM) that provides stakeholder flexibility for dynamic environments. Grounded by project management theory, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore strategies project managers use to reduce IT project failures. The participants consisted of nine project managers in the northeastern United States with APM experience managing successful IT projects. Data were collected from virtual semi-structured interviews and journal notes. Ten open-ended interview questions …

International Baccalaureate Teachers’ Perspectives On Integrating Approaches To Learning Skills To Enhance Transdisciplinary Learning, Nancy Macharia

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Abstract

The International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum recognizes approaches to learning skills(ATLS) as an integral part of the Primary Years Programme (PYP) framework. This vital element of learning is designed to be embedded in the program standards and practices of the inquiry-based IB curriculum. After an evaluation visit by the IB school visit team members in 2017, a report was shared with the international primary school (IPS) study site located in Southeast Asia, which indicated that teachers were encountering challenges in consistent integration of ATLS to enhance transdisciplinary learning, which is the problem of this study. The purpose of this qualitative …

Healthcare Literacy Strategies To Mitigate Healthcare Utilization And Rising Costs, Stella Obiageli Maduka

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Low health literacy can adversely affect individuals and groups without access to health information. Health insurance leaders who lack strategies to decrease low health literacy may lose their ability to provide quality health services and control care costs. Grounded in the health belief model and the Andersen health service model, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to identify the strategies private health insurance leaders use to increase medical utilization to reduce healthcare costs. The three participants were from two private insurance companies in Las Vegas, Nevada. Data were gathered through semistructured, open-ended interviews via videoconferencing, a review …

K-12 Administrators’ Perceptions Of Factors Contributing To Teacher Attrition In Rural Schools, Michelle Mcdonald

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Teacher attrition is a debilitating problem that plagues education, contributes to the teacher shortage, and challenges administrators to staff schools with qualified teachers. The high teacher attrition rates in rural schools in the southeastern United States were the fundamental problem addressed in this qualitative case study. This qualitative case study's purpose was to explore how K–12 administrators perceived the factors influencing teacher attrition in a rural school district in the southeastern United States. Maslow's hierarchy of needs human motivation theory, emphasizing the concepts of the hierarchy of needs, provided support for the two research questions exploring K–12 school and district …

Meaning Of Interpersonal Interaction And Content Mastery In Online Adult Education, Barbara Green Mcwhite

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Working adult students may have difficulty mastering complex concepts when taking courses online. Researchers have argued there is a need for in-person, peer-teacher interaction available in traditional classrooms that is lacking online. The purpose of this dual-focus phenomenological study was to explore the meaning of purposeful interpersonal interaction and the experience of content mastery among undergraduate working students taking online psychology courses. Constructivism and adult learning theory guided the study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 working adults with experience taking online psychology courses within the last 2 years. Data were analyzed using Moustakas’s guidelines. Results indicated that participants experienced …

Optimal Domotic Systems Based On Archival Data Trend Analysis, Bettina Yvette Moore

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Domotics is the integration of technology into building systems. Due to the rapid growth in the use of domotic systems in recent years, the industry is struggling to establish consistency and standardization. The purpose of this archival-based qualitative case study was to identify current trends and patterns in scholarly domotic research to create an instrument to evaluate domotic systems and domotic interrelationships using bibliometric searches. The facilities management and modeling system provided the framework for the study. Archival research data were examined to identify trends and patterns in domotic research and provide visualization of domotic relationships through technology trajectory mapping …

Strategies For Differentiating The Curricula For Online Gifted Students: A Delphi Study, Joy Nehr

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Educators must meet the needs of the growing online gifted learner population to ensure these students are being appropriately challenged and are receiving the education they deserve. Current gifted education literature does not address the strategies for differentiating the curriculum for online gifted students. The study participants were teachers with at least 5 years’ experience working online or working with gifted students. The purpose of this qualitative study was to determine the best strategies for teachers to use to differentiate the curricula for this population. The theoretical frameworks used were Ward’s differential education and Tomlinson’s differentiated instruction methods. Both theories …

Challenges Of Digital Privacy In Banking Organizations, Okechukwu Innocent Ogudebe

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

As the information and technology age becomes more advanced, digital privacy flaws have become more challenging. Information technology (IT) security managers, chief information security officers, and other stakeholders in banks are concerned with identity-based authentication attacks because identity-theft attacks cause data breaches. Grounded in the protection motivation theory, the purpose of this qualitative pragmatic study was to examine strategies IT security professionals working on internet banking platforms use to mitigate identity-based authentication attacks. The study participants comprised five IT security professionals currently working in the online banking industry from the northeastern United States with at least 5 years of experience …

Relationship Between Cost, Schedule Overruns, And Project Success In The Nuclear Construction Industry In The United Kingdom, Adesegun Francis Osadare

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Failure to achieve project success due to cost and schedule overruns may negatively affect an organization's financial strength, profitability, and competitive advantage. Organizational leaders must constantly monitor and control projects throughout the life cycle to reduce the impact of cost and schedule overruns and ensure project success. Grounded in the triple constraint model, the purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to examine the relationship between cost, schedule overruns, and project success. Data were collected from 66 project managers, project directors, project control, delivery integration managers, and construction project planners. The multiple linear regression analysis results were significant, F (2,63) …

How Investors Relate Portfolio Returns To Investment Performance Using Financial Options, Nurillo Pashshayev

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This quantitative study addressed the absence of a simple investment model for private investors by analyzing the relationship between the portfolio returns and the investment performance using financial options. The purpose was to determine whether the financial options added to a portfolio can positively influence an investor’s portfolio performance when diversified properly. Modern portfolio theory and option pricing theory were tested to relate portfolio returns to the investment performance using financial options for individual investors in the United States. Secondary data from Yahoo Finance, New York Stock Exchange, Chicago Board of Options Exchange, and TD Ameritrade were used to perform …

Challenges And Opportunities For Implementing Sustainable Wind Strategies In The Dominican Republic, Virgil J. Perez

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The difficulties utility managers in the Dominican Republic have implementing sustainable wind strategies threaten the ability to diversify the energy supply and reduce dependence on imported fuels. Grounded in Rogers’s diffusion of innovation theory, the purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore strategies utility managers use to implement renewable wind energy in the Dominican Republic. The participants were five wind energy managers in the Dominican Republic. Data were collected using semistructured, face-to-face interviews and a review of company documents. Three themes emerged through thematic analysis: deconstructing the existing regulatory legal framework for renewable energy development, the fusion …

Teacher Perceptions Of Technology-Enhanced, Collaborative, Project-Based Learning On Students In Mixed-Ability Classrooms, Amy Lauren Pierson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The skill of collaboration is fundamental for every student as a future participant of a global society. Students with learning disabilities feel excluded amongst peers in a traditional classroom setting, specifically elementary students with learning disabilities in the area of collaboration. The overall purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore elementary teacher perceptions of how students in mixed-ability classrooms collaborate using technology in a project-based learning (PBL) environment. Vygotsky’s social constructivism theory informed this study by providing a framework for learning in social groups, specifically collaborative learning practices in a PBL environment. The research question in this study …

Elementary Educators’ Perceptions Of Common Core Mathematics Standards For English Language Learners, Katricia Purnell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A problem exists at the local site that classroom practices are not adequately preparing English language learners (ELLs) for academic success in the area of mathematics, and since the implementation of the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSS-M), there has been a lack of progress in mathematics proficiency for ELLs. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore elementary educators’ perceptions of CCSS-M implementation and its impact on math proficiency for ELLs at a Title I elementary school bordering a large urban area. Perceptions may influence beliefs and attitudes regarding CCSS-M implementation with ELLs, but little research …

The Implementation Of Advanced Digitalization In The Oil And Gas Industry, Ensieh Rezafar

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractThe immature advanced digitalization in the oil and gas industry can limit access to the potential value of mature progressive digitalization. Oil and gas leaders must expedite the implementation of advanced digitalization to increase organizational proficiencies and reduce costs and losses. Grounded in Pettigrew and Whipp’s dimensions of strategic change theory, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore strategies some leaders in the oil and gas industry used to implement advanced digitalization. The participants were seven leaders in two oil service companies in North America involved in the successful implementation of progressive digitalization. Data were collected …

Relationship Between Nurses’ Perceptions Of Work Environment And Intent To Stay, Ursula Virginia Roberts-Allen

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Health systems in the United States face a growing shortage of nurses to provide care, including home health agencies looking for approaches to improve retention and reduce attrition. The work environment across all health delivery systems plays a critical role in nurse retention. Studies show increased attrition when nurses perceive their work environment as hostile. This quantitative correlational study guided Watson’s theory of human caring. It explored the relationship between home health nurses’ perceptions of their work environment and their intent to stay in their current position. Archival data from a convenience sample obtained from an extensive multistate multiservice health …

Strategies For Information Technology Small Business Owners To Sustain Beyond The First 5 Years, Edward Alan Rodarte

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Small businesses are the foundation of an economy and spawn innovation, but small business owners fail at an alarming rate because they lack strategies to sustain business operations. Since 50% of small businesses fail within the first 5 years, small business sustainability research is critical to support small business owners. Grounded in entrepreneurial theory, the purpose of this multiple case study was to identify strategies information technology (IT) small business owners use to sustain operation beyond the first 5 years. The participants included four IT small business owners in the Southwestern United States who sustained operations beyond the first 5 …

Experiences Of Teachers Using Student-Centered Approaches In China, Raven Roytblat

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Schoolteachers in China are required by the government to transition from teacher-centered to student-centered instruction. Researchers have shown the challenges of and successes in implementing the instructional changes; however, a gap exists surrounding the challenges and successes of reforms from the perspective of teachers. The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to better understand the experiences of Chinese schoolteachers as the system of education in China transitions from teacher-centered to student-centered classroom instruction. The conceptual framework for this study included Schön’s concept of the reflective practitioner and Liu and Hallinger and Knapp et al.’s work on the role of …

Exploration Of Cybersecurity Managers’ Experiences Protecting Users’ Privacy, Emmanuel Abayomi Segun

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The protection of individual privacy and personal data in cyberspace continues to be a problem. The research problem was that cybersecurity managers must constantly navigate between the adoption of new security laws, new applications, and the internet of things (IoT) to protect the privacy of individual users. The purpose of this descriptive phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of cybersecurity managers who have adopted new security laws, new applications, and the IoT to protect users’ privacy. The conceptual framework that grounded this study was protection motivation theory and cybersecurity awareness. Data were collected through telephone and web-based interviews …

Fractal Dimension As A Predictor Of Organizational Change Success, Thomas Anthony Seitz

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

As many as two thirds of organizational change (OC) initiatives fail to achieve their outcome objectives. Researchers have demonstrated that successful change requires alignment among all levels of an organization. However, contemporary OC models do not quantify the degree of hierarchical alignment during the change process. The purpose of this quantitative, correlational study was to examine whether the fractal dimension of hierarchical alignment (predictor variable) was associated with OC success (criterion variable) as described by the self-organizing fractal theory (SOFT). The research question addressed the association between the fractal dimension related to the alignment of OC beliefs and behavioral intentions …

Strategies To Reduce Entrepreneurial Burnout, Eva Singleton

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Burnout is a threat to small business sustainability. Many small business entrepreneurs start their business endeavors lacking strategies to reduce burnout that could lead to business failure. Grounded in self-leadership theory, the purpose of this qualitative multiple-case study was to explore strategies small business entrepreneurs use to reduce burnout in their initial three years in business. The participants were four South Carolina licensed barbers in business for a minimum of three years who had successfully implemented strategies to reduce burnout. Data were collected from semistructured interviews and public documents from participants’ business websites and social media. Thematic data analysis resulted …

Strategies For Adoption Of Innovative Information Technology For Business Performance Improvement, James Melvin Smith

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Business leaders do not often consider investing in informational technology (IT) to increase performance. These business leaders lack knowledge of innovative IT adoption strategies to expand their revenue and reduce costs to sustain a competitive advantage. Grounded in the technology-organization-environment (TOE) theory, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore IT innovation adoption strategies business leaders use to increase performance. The participants were four successful business leaders selected from finalists for international entrepreneurial awards presented annually in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. The data were collected using semistructured telephone interviews, media releases, and online publications. …

Increasing Nurse Leader Knowledge And Awareness Of Information And Communication Technologies, Cory Stephens

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Due to the recent coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, rapid technological innovation and nursing practice transformation exposed a deepening divide in the knowledge and awareness of information and communication technologies (ICT) among nurses. This technological skills gap undermines the benefits of ICT to nursing practice such as increased nurse satisfaction, improved care quality, and reduced costs. Nurse leaders are positioned to promote the use of ICT among nurses but may suffer from the same knowledge deficit of ICT as their followers. Guided by Locsin’s technological competencies as caring in nursing theory, Staggers and Parks’ nurse-computer interaction framework, and Covell’s nursing intellectual …

Relationship In Alaska Native Corporations' Return On Equity From Sector, Gregory Stuckey

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In 1999, Stephen Colt studied the 12 regional corporations formed under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act of 1971 (ANCSA). Colt reviewed the financial data from 1973 to 1993 and found the regional corporations lost approximately $380 million in business operations. However, the regional corporations increased their revenue from $714 million in 1993 to $8.575 billion in 2014. No further study of those subsequent 20 years has been conducted, so a data set to see if Colt’s conclusions hold was created. This multivariate correlational study tested two theories on the regional corporations: the theory of the economic efficiency of lump-sum …

Information Systems Management And Sustainable Urban Development: A Case Study, Endris A. Suraj

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Sustainable Urban Development of Ethiopia lacks strategies to implement information systems management (ISM). Lacking appropriate ISM implementation has influenced the government’s plan on the four indicators of urban sustainability - Water, Air, Climate Change, and Population Growth. Grounded in the conceptual frameworks of Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and Diffusion Of Innovation (DOI), the purpose of this qualitative single case study aims to explore ISM for sustainable urban development in Ethiopia. The participants were 12 Development Associates (DAs) who have been participating in implementing of ISM. Data was collected through a one-to-one interview, National documents, the Environmental Protection Office of Ethiopia, …

Factors Influencing The Effectiveness Of Managing Human–Robot Teams, Theodore B. Terry

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Certain factors can influence the capabilities of a robot–human team by affecting their social and behavioral dynamics in a work environment. But these factors were not known due to the progressive nature of human–robot partnerships and a lack of peer-reviewed literature on the topic. This e-Delphi study aimed to identify and understand these unknown influential factors based on the participants’ insights. The overarching research question asked about the need to determine factors that might influence the effectiveness of managing human-robot teams. The basis for the conceptual framework for this study was the theory of communication used in organizational management. Twelve …

Strategies For Achieving Sustainability Of Small Business Restaurants, Tanisha Thomas-Beard

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many small business restaurant owners perform unprofitably and fail within 5 years of opening. Small business restaurant owners are concerned about sustainability as approximately 50% of small businesses that start up do not last beyond the fifth year. Grounded in the general systems theory, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore strategies small business restaurant owners use to grow and maintain profitability to sustain business beyond 5 years. The participants were five small business restaurant owners in the Southeastern region of the United States who sustained their business beyond 5 years. The data were analyzed using …

Strategies Small-And Medium-Sized Enterprise Leaders Use For Sustainability Beyond 5 Years In Rivers State, Olawe Alaba Tula

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) leaders lacking sustainability strategies experience high rates of business failure through loss of profit. A high rate of SME failure is linked to a lack of competitive advantage, resulting in decreased productivity and profitability. Grounded in resource-based view theory, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore strategies that three SME leaders in Rivers State used to sustain their businesses beyond 5 years. Data were collected from semistructured interviews and company documents, including employee handbooks and annual reports. The three themes that emerged through thematic analysis were strategic management, stakeholder management strategies, …

Employee Training Strategies For New Technology Implementation In Small Business, Eddy Varela

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Failure to implement new technology creates a barrier to success for small businesses. Small business owners must create competitive advantages by implementing new technology as there is a need to maintain an advantage when competing in the local market economy. Grounded in the human capital theory, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore the employee training strategies small business owners use to implement new technology. The participants were five small business owners in Central Florida who used employee training strategies to implement new technologies Data were collected using (a) semistructured interviews, (b) member checking interviews, (c) …

Principals Cultivating Collective Teacher Efficacy, Frank Vetter

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Nationally, collective teacher efficacy (CTE) has been correlated with higher levels of student achievement. The problem addressed through this study was that local school district leaders have been unsuccessful in cultivating CTE through the district’s collaborative planning process. Guided by the enabling conditions of CTE, the purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore how local middle school principals cultivated CTE in their schools through the collaborative planning process. Eight middle school principals with experience using the district’s collaborative planning process completed semistructured interviews. Data analysis employed inductive, open coding to identify themes. Themes indicated that, as part of …