Digital Commons Network^™

Correctional Officers’ Lived Experiences Of Stress When Working In Solitary Confinement Units In U.S. Prisons, Labianca Q. Champion

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This qualitative phenomenological study was conducted to shed light on the lived experiences related to the stressors that a sample of nine correctional officers (COs) encountered while working in solitary confinement (SC) units in U.S. prisons. Cognitive behavioral theory served as the theoretical framework to help to explain different ways that COs can manage their work stressors. These stressors, including lack of a sense of belonging, lack of reward, negative perceptions of policies and procedures while conducting daily duties, lack of independent decision making, and perceived danger, were addressed by the research question. Data were obtained from a semistructured online …

Strategies Small-Business Leaders Use To Prevent Employee Fraud, Israel Chand

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Employee fraud is a crime committed against an employer and results in the loss of a small business's assets, revenues, and reputation. Leaders of small businesses who fail to prevent employee fraud may experience decreased profitability and reputational loss in their community. Grounded in Bandura’s social cogitative theory, the purpose of this qualitative multiple-case study was to explore strategies that leaders of small businesses use to prevent employee fraud. Data were collected from five small-business leaders in the southeastern United States who applied strategies to prevent employee fraud through interviews and reviews of business documents and archival records. Applying Akinyode …

Women Superintendents’ Mentoring Experiences And Attainment Of The Superintendency, Araceli Chavarín

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The underrepresentation of women in the school superintendency in the United States may be attributed to a lack of role models, mentoring, and educational networking. The problem that this study addressed is the lack of insight into how mentoring influences women’s attainment of the superintendency. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to understand the mentoring experiences women superintendents identified as important in their lives and work. The conceptual framework of this study was based on Higgins and Kram’s developmental network. The research questions in the study explored how women superintendents describe mentorship experiences in their careers and describe …

Probation Department Culture And Promotion Policies, Paul Chavez

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

With management influence evolving in organizations, changes occur slower than anticipated. The problem in my study addressed how management controls promotional policies for probation officers. The purpose of this qualitative study was to investigate whether management has control over probation promotional policies. Maslov’s theory of self-realization was incorporated into the theoretical framework for my research. Audio interviews were conducted with 15 participants who were non managerial probation officers who had no subordinates. Data analysis included key elements impacting morale in the workplace, employee evaluations, training, and communications. The conclusion showed there was a need to improve several promotional policies based …

Teachers’ Experiences Using Phonics Instruction In Korean Elementary School Classrooms, Jung-Hye Choi

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Public elementary schools in the Republic of Korea (Korea) do not reliably include phonics in their third and fourth grade English language curriculum. Therefore, examining how teachers are currently including phonics instructions in the classroom could significantly impact the level of reading skills acquired in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classes in Korea. This basic qualitative study addressed what teachers needed to reliably and competently teach phonics in Korean public elementary school districts, what difficulties they encountered, and what kind of support could effectively ameliorate said difficulties. The conceptual framework for this research was provided by Vygotsky's sociocultural theory …

Infrastructure As Code Strategies And Benefits In Cloud Computing, Jeffrey Chijioke-Uche

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Hybrid and multicloud infrastructure implementation without automation and versioning strategy can negatively impact organizations’ productivity. Organization leaders must ensure that infrastructures are implemented using the infrastructure as code (IaC) strategy because implementation solutions, including automated and DevOps procedures, provide assets for repeatable infrastructure implementation use cases. Grounded in the disruptive innovation theory, the purpose of this qualitative pragmatic inquiry study was to explore strategies solution architects use to implement IaC architecture using repeatable assets with DevOps procedures in cloud computing. The participants were seven solution architects in the information technology (IT) industry within the United States who have successfully implemented …

An Educational Program For Hospice Nurses About End-Of-Life Protocols, Rhonda Coleman

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Abstract Palliative care is specialized care for people living with a serious illness. This type of care is centered on providing relief from the symptoms and stress of the illness with a primary goal to improve the quality of life for both the patient and the family. A gap in nursing practice was identified in a hospice facility in the South Central United States.; the nurses did not use palliative care or end-of-life (EoL) protocols. This project focused, therefore, on the development of a nursing staff education program for hospice nurses to increase knowledge about the use of EoL protocols. …

The Relationship Between Community College Instructors’ Perception Of Andragogical Orientation And Instructional Style., Renea P. Coley

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Community colleges in Northern and Southeastern Virginia have struggled with enrollment and retention of adult learners. Addressing adult learners’ needs is an important focus for instructors, yet few studies have addressed how instructors can use andragogy, the art and science of adult learning, to influence their instructional practices to support adult learners. Based on self-determination theory, this quantitative, cross-sectional study examined the extent that 75 community college instructors’ perceived andragogical orientation predicted an autonomy-supportive instructional style controlling for instructor years of teaching, highest degree earned, and gender. Instructors from 10 community colleges in Northern and Southeastern Virginia teaching in the …

An Operations Manual To Replicate A Playground Program For Children With Special Needs In Global Regions, Terry Collier

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Physical disabilities restrict children’s motor abilities, affecting their participation in physical activities and play. But play area equipment can give children a way to participate in play regardless of their disability. The purpose of the study was to explore the need for an operations manual for nonprofit organizations when designing and developing inclusive play areas for children with special needs worldwide. The research question examined what processes during the design and development of inclusive play areas could be standardized with an operations manual. Interviews were conducted with two members with historical and operational knowledge of the organization. Transcribed data were …

The Role Of Self-Efficacy Against Workplace Stress, The Intent To Leave, And Burnout In Nursing, Alexis Collier

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Healthcare administrators must sustain the nursing workforce by minimizing workplace stress, the intent to leave, and burnout while maintaining a safe, accessible, high-quality, patient-centered care environment. This quantitative study examined the relationship between the independent variable of self-efficacy and the dependent variables of nurse burnout, workplace stress, and the intent to leave. The theory that grounded this study was the theory of self-efficacy. The research questions were formatted to determine the correlation between the self-efficacy levels of nurses and burnout, workplace stress, and the intent to leave. A quantitative, nonexperimental, cross-sectional (analytical) design addressed the research questions. The secondary data …

Lived Experiences Regarding Family Relations Of Latina Undocumented Immigrants, Lissette Colon-Perez

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Familismo is a complex multidimensional core cultural value in Latinx culture. But there is a lack of information related to Latinas who are undocumented immigrants and their experiences of familismo and family relations after the immigration experience. In the present study, a feminist hermeneutic phenomenological approach was used to examine these lived experiences. The purpose of study was to explore family relations as a core value in the lived experiences of Latina undocumented immigrants. The participants consisted of Latina immigrants over 18 years old who immigrated from Central America and who were living in a state from the Northeast without …

Social Workers’ Role In School Discipline Of Black Male Students, Teresa L. Cooper

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

School administrators enforce various forms of school discipline, including office referrals, suspensions, and expulsions, as strategies to maintain safe learning environments for students and staff. Over four decades of research indicate Black male students experience more consequences and receive tougher school discipline than their peers of other races. School discipline potentially causes adverse outcomes for students. Schools employ social workers to support behavior and academic needs of students. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore lived experiences of school social workers in their role in school discipline of Black male students. The theoretical framework used for this study …

Principals’ Leadership Role In Supporting Culturally Responsive English Language Learner Programs, Lawrence Cowger

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

English language learners face different challenges in accessing relevant curriculum content compared to native English speakers. There is limited research on effective strategies that teachers use to ensure learning outcomes among English language learners. The purpose of this case study was to explore the leadership strategies that principals implement to support teachers’ culturally responsive strategies when working with English language learning (ELL) students. Culturally responsive school leadership (CRSL) was the basis of the conceptual framework, using research from Walker and five CRSL concepts. The research questions focused on school leadership and how administrators support teachers of ELL programs using CRSL. …

Relationship Between Mentorship And Career Advancement: African American Women In Higher Education Leadership, Torialyn Draper Crook

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem that was addressed through this study is the underrepresentation of African American women in higher education leadership positions in the United States. The purpose of this quantitative study was to explore to what extent mentorship predicts the career advancement of African American women in higher education leadership positions in the United States. Guided by Kram’s mentoring framework, 74 African American women who applied and obtained career advancement in the past 5 years in higher education leadership positions completed Toland Mentoring survey. The logistic regression model results showed statistical significance X2(1) = 38.911, p < .001, meaning mentoring was a predictor of career advancement for African American women. The Nagelkerke R2 = .54 indicates that 54% of the variation in getting advancement or not was based on mentoring. The recommendations for further study include comparing female and male mentoring, establishing best practices at institutions where the presence of African American women in higher education is increased, and exploring the effectiveness of formal mentoring programs at institutions of higher education. Mentorship can lead to positive social change by cultivating an institutional climate that reflects the overall student population proportionally. From a social change perspective, increasing the mentorship opportunities of African American women within higher education institutions can provide crucial role models and reveal new approaches to address the populations they represent.

Black Males Incarcerated And The Effect Upon Children Left Behind, Cathy Marie Crutchfield

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Black men in the United States have been disproportionately removed from the lives of their families by means of incarceration for generations. Aggressive drug laws, racist policing strategies, and sentence disparities are contributing factors. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenological study was to examine how formerly incarcerated Black males perceived their incarceration affected the children they left behind while incarcerated. The research sample consisted of six former offenders. Each participant was at least eighteen years of age, Black, a parent at the time of incarceration, and a resident of Guilford County, NC, at the time of the offense. Each participant …

Community College Faculty Perceptions Of Online Student Engagement, Teri R. Cruzan

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Low student engagement and high attrition rates in online classes were observed at community colleges in a Western U.S. state. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore online faculty members’ perceptions of student engagement and how they described their teaching practices and experiences. The study was grounded in the community of inquiry, a collaborative and constructivist model, which posits that social, cognitive, and teaching presences are critical to engagement and online learning. Data were collected from 10 online faculty members who provided responses to an online qualitative survey. Data analysis involved coding by hand in several stages to …

Refugee Women’S Post-Resettlement Experiences In The United States, Dr. Kristen M. Curry, Phd

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Local nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and community members of the host country make decisions regarding refugee lifestyles during and post-resettlement rather than the refugee women themselves. This research study informs the development of and provision of multiculturally appropriate counseling services to refugee women living in the United States from the perspective of the refugee women themselves. The purpose of this study was to describe the lived experiences and related meanings of a group of Hmong refugee women living in post-resettlement in the United States. This hermeneutic phenomenological study was developed with a feminist …

Nursing Faculty Experiences With Interactive Games And Gaming And Student Preparedness, Laura S. Dana

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Although instructional strategies to enhance student learning is a critical component of the faculty role, nursing education has been slow to incorporate games and gaming into the learning environment. The primary purpose for this qualitative phenomenological research study was to explore the lived experiences of nursing faculty of associate degree programs, specifically regarding the use of games and gaming as interactive, experiential teaching and learning strategies. This study was designed to answer the question, “What are the lived experiences of faculty who use games and gaming as instructional approaches in associate degree nursing (ADN) education.” Through one-on-one interviews via Zoom …

Experiences Of Maritally Satisfied Black American Couples Serving In Law Enforcement, Amanda Davis-Buie

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological study was to explore the lived experiences of maritally satisfied Black American couples when at least one partner is serving in law enforcement. Members of law enforcement, Black American couples, and members of the counseling profession can gain knowledge from the answering of the research question. A family strengths perspective was used to provide a framework to study the phenomenon of marital satisfaction from a positive perspective. Six Black American couples, who are satisfied in their marriage and employed in law enforcement for a period of a least 6 months during their marriage, participated …

Emergency Department Operational Strategies, Joyce W. Davis

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractEmergency Department Operational Strategies by Joyce W. Davis MBA/MHA, Pfeiffer University, 2011 BS, North Carolina A&T State University, 1980

Doctoral Study Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Business Administration

Walden University December 2022

Federal Managers’ Perceptions On The Implementation Of Remote Work For Employees, Valerie Defeo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Federal employees are not working remotely as frequently as they could be even though it benefits them and the organization. The purpose of this qualitative phenomenology study was to explore the lived experiences of leaders as to whether they adopt remote working. The research was focused on the lived experiences of leaders related to their decision to adopt or not adopt remote working for employees in their organization. The conceptual framework for this study was derived from the work of Hersey and Blanchard’s situational leadership model and Errichiello and Pianese’s organizational control model. Data were collected through semistructured interviews with …

Determinates For Sustainability: Non-Profit Professional Membership Organization, Cindy T. Delu

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Nonprofit professional membership organizations have become increasingly present within specific fields, yet little is known about the capacities of these organizations to accurately represent their members and encourage others to be part of a specific community that offers goal-achieving opportunities. In this qualitative study, a framework was proposed to understand the representations needed in a professional nonprofit to aid in understanding how executive leaders use representation strategies to engage current members and potential prospects. The concepts of representation (COR) theory is a framework centered around five dimensions focused on relationships between the organization and its members to clarify and identify …

Elementary General Education Teachers' Perceptions Of Effective Math Instruction For Students With Disabilities, Donna Denk

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Abstract

Barriers to implementing effective math instruction have been a focus of scholars because they are a problem in

supporting students with disabilities. Researchers have demonstrated that general education teachers often have little

knowledge about effective interventions for students with disabilities and the barriers to achieving such instruction. The

purpose of this study was to investigate and understand general education teachers’ perceptions of effective math

instruction, and barriers to it, for fourth and fifth grade students with disabilities. The conceptual framework was based on

Baroody’s stages of math fact acquisition, which predicates that three developmental stages should be the basis …

Strategies To Prevent Medicare Claims Fraud Committed By Speech Pathologists, Joseph Densmore

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Fraudulent business activities have the potential for adverse business outcomes. Speech pathology business owners who lack a robust fraud prevention strategy may subject their practices to severe civil and criminal penalties. Grounded in Wilhelm’s eight-stage fraud management lifecycle theory, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore strategies speech pathologist business owners used to prevent Medicare claims fraud. The participants were five speech pathologist business owners from three practices in a western U.S. state who successfully implemented fraud prevention strategies. Data were collected using semistructured interviews and reviewing organization policies and procedures manuals. Three themes emerged using …

Safeguarding Employee Privacy In U.S.-Based Small And Midsized Businesses, Kim De Peiza

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractEmployee privacy is a contentious concern between employees and employers in the United States. Terminating oversurveilled employees may result in sustained claim costs for a company. Grounded in complexity theory and complexity leadership theory, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore strategies small business leaders/agents use to safeguard employee privacy. The participants included three privacy practitioners: one consultant, and two small business leaders/agents of small businesses in the Mid-Atlantic U.S. region who had successfully safeguarded employee privacy. A thematic analysis using primary and secondary sources identified three principal themes: (a) environmental privacy, (b) autonomy privacy, and …

Restorative Justice And Recidivism In Formerly Incarcerated Women, Alfeia B. Devaughn-Goodwin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This study explored the experiences of nonviolent women offenders over the age of 50 of all ethnicities who were formerly incarcerated and their involvement with restorative justice and recidivism from a public policy perspective. Although there was prior research on reentry of ex-offenders, the problem was that few studies focused on the barriers and success factors of reentry services for older female ex-offenders 50 years or older. The purpose of the study was to explore restorative justice and recidivism in formerly incarcerated women who were nonviolent offenders in an East Coast state with a focus on the barriers and success …

Staff Nurse Education To Improve Adherence To Hypertension Management, Veronica Ositadinma Dike

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractAdherence to hypertension management medication(s) and lifestyle modification improve outcomes for patients diagnosed with hypertension. In this project, an educational program was developed to reduce the knowledge gap among staff nurses regarding addressing patients’ nonadherence to hypertension management in an outpatient clinic in the southern United States. Guided by andragogy and the health belief model, the staff nurse educational program was developed from evidence-based clinical practice guidelines and best practices from literature to evaluate the impact of education on improving staff nurses’ knowledge related to addressing patients’ nonadherence to hypertension management with the goal of reducing the associated medical costs, …

Faculty Experiences Using Synchronous Videoconference Technology To Assess Student Psychomotor Performance, Heather Disney

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Psychomotor skills are an essential aspect of physical therapy (PT) education. Recent studies supported using videoconference technology (VCT) for psychomotor instruction, but research on the use of VCT for psychomotor assessments is limited. Determining VCT’s usefulness for psychomotor exams is vital to establish best pedagogical practices. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore the faculty experience using synchronous VCT to assess PT student’s psychomotor skills. The conceptual framework for this study was the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT). The research question investigated how PT educators described the psychomotor skill assessment of students using …

Effects Of Superflex Curriculum On Social Skills Of Children With Autism, Charli Elaine Doyle

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Applied behavior analysis (ABA) is considered an applied science under the umbrella of behavior analysis and was accepted into the mainstream science in the mid-1900s. An increase in the prevalence of autism gave rise to the need for evidence-based social skills curricula. Previous research indicated many children respond well to video modeling and positive reinforcement. However, literature on social curricula for children aged 7 to 10 years in a clinical setting versus a school setting was limited. The purpose of this quantitative study with a single-subject design was to examine the effectiveness of Superflex, a superhero social thinking curriculum, on …

Strategies To Overcome The Truck Driver Shortage In The United States, Erica Duckering

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

High truck driver turnover rates negatively impact company profits, business operations, and customer satisfaction. Oil and gas industry supply chain and logistics leaders who lack strategies to recruit and retain truck drivers experience declines in revenue, operational effectiveness, and customer retention. Grounded in total quality management theory, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to identify and explore strategies used in the oil and gas industry to retain and recruit qualified truck drivers effectively. The participants comprised six oil and gas industry leaders in the greater Houston, Texas area who successfully managed truck driver recruitment and retention strategies …