Digital Commons Network^™

Relationship Between Maternal Language And Use Of Electronic Cigarettes In Pregnancy, Tara Halpern

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Tobacco use has been a long-standing known modifiable risk factor to maternal health. Although there have been many efforts to encourage smoking cessation, use of electronic cigarettes in pregnancy has been increasing over the years. Understanding potential factors that may play a role in the increased use of electronic cigarettes is important to improve maternal and fetal health outcomes. The social ecological model provides the theoretical framework for this study. The purpose of this study is to determine whether a woman’s primary language and pregnancy health care factors (i.e., access to health care 12 months prior to pregnancy, access to …

The Lived Experiences Of Young Adults Moving From Juvenile Detention Centers To Employment Or Education, Tramyna B. Harris

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There are not many young adults who experience a successful turnaround after they leave a juvenile detention center. Many young adults who leave juvenile detention centers are at risk of reoffending and returning to the system due to a paucity of resources. It is vital to recognize the positive and successful experiences of those young adults who do not re-enter the criminal justice system. The purpose of this research study was to understand (a) the different experiences of certain young adults involving their successful turnaround story, (b) why the young adults engaged in criminal activity, and (c) what interventions worked …

Far-Right Extremist Influence On American Immigration Policy, Christopher Joseph Heinrich

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There is little information on the increase in far-right extremist influence on policymakers’ ideology that affect immigration law. The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand how far-right extremists influence American policymakers in supporting the perspective that immigrants are replacing White Americans and how that affects non-White and/or non-Christian immigration. The framework for this study was based on policy feedback theory by Mettler and SoRelle. Research questions focused on federal legislation that supports anti-immigration between 2017 and 2021 and far-right extremist ideology. Document analysis was done through purposive sampling to select public records of individuals, groups, and laws. Data …

Strategies For Improving The Interoperability Of Private Practices’ Electronic Health Care Systems, Anasa N. Holden

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractCommunication of data exchange is essential for all healthcare service lines to ensure the highest quality of care. For a long time, private practices and small businesses have needed help implementing electronic healthcare systems interoperability. Grounded in the technology acceptance model, the purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore strategies private practices and small businesses use to sustain electronic healthcare systems with interoperability effectively. The participants were six CEOs, managers, and leaders of private practices and small businesses in Detroit, Michigan, with direct healthcare service lines that effectively sustained electronic healthcare systems with interoperability. Data were collected …

Beliefs Of Higher Education Online Faculty Regarding The Integration Of Multimedia, Kimberly Diane Hoyt

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Integration of multimedia resources in higher education curricula continues to be a concern for today’s teachers, especially in identifying effective, efficient, and engaging resources that provide individualized instruction and meet a variety of learning needs. However, there was a gap in the literature regarding teachers' beliefs about multimedia integration within the context of adult learning in online higher education. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore the benefits and challenges higher education online teachers experienced when integrating multimedia resources into their courses. The research question explored the beliefs of higher education online instructors about their experiences when …

An Examination Of Chronic Homelessness From The Perspective Of Counseling Professionals In Southeast Florida, Tonia Jackson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Homelessness continues to be a serious social problem in the United States. Despite the public and private resources expended to address homelessness, the crisis still exists. This phenomenological study was framed in Maslow’s human needs approach. Maslow created a list of basic five human needs to gain a better understanding of human behavior and motivation. The human behavior theory can also be applied to homelessness to provide a deeper understanding of the phenomenon. The research question addressed the strongest factors that counseling professionals consider to be related with chronic homelessness in Southeast Florida. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews of …

Resilience Characteristics In Law Enforcement Officers, Jocelyn Grace Jameson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Resilience characteristics in law enforcement officers have been a focus of scholars for several decades. Repetitive trauma requires officers to establish coping mechanisms and manufacture varying resilience factors. Researchers have demonstrated that interventions to improve resilience may result in a higher demand for psychoeducation, training and well-being, and stress management. Researchers have yet to establish what shared characteristics are among law enforcement officers that promote resilience. The purpose of this study was to examine the lived experiences of law enforcement officers’ experiences, beliefs, and knowledge about their exposure to repetitive traumatic events. The resilience theory supported the research. A qualitative, …

Evaluation Of Recovery Level And Surgical Site Infection For Hip Replacement Surgeries, Misha Foster

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Surgical site infection (SSI) is one of the most common healthcare associated infections and is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. Existing studies have focused primarily on perioperative intervention strategies to reduce infection risks following total joint replacement (TJA) procedures. However, postoperative (post-op) SSI risk factors may account for a significant percentage of hospital readmissions due to infections at the surgical site. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the association between post-op recovery level and SSI among patients who underwent primary hip arthroplasty procedures. Using the social ecological model, which conceptualizes health broadly and focuses on …

Exploring Perspectives Of African American Pentecostal Clergy Scripture Teachings Regarding Mental Illness, Phyllis Bethea Foye

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Previous literature has noted that African American Pentecostals (AAP) avoid seeking secular care for mental health concerns. The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to explore the lived experiences of AAP pastors’ beliefs and teachings associated with mental health care as well as stigmas regarding that care, using Niebuhr’s synthesis theory, Arnheim’s convergence theory, and Bronfenbrenner’s ecological system theory of human development. Sixteen AAP senior pastors were interviewed to explore four research questions regarding their beliefs about secular mental health care, Bible Scripture teachings, seeking support from clergy, and mental health education that may impact the acceptance of secular …

Examining The Relationship Between Undergraduate Female Students Marijuana Use And Gpas, Darrel E. Hicks

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Marijuana use has been linked to poor undergraduate student academic performance, yet cannabis continues to be the substance most often used by college students. The purpose of the current research was to add to the limited body of literature about the relationship between female undergraduate marijuana use and lower GPAs. The study explored how marijuana use impacted the GPAs of undergraduate African American females. The research question addressed whether a significant relationship exists between marijuana use and lower GPAs for this population. Complex adaptive systems theory was the lens used to better understand the phenomenon during a time of rapid …

Educating Oncology Nurses On Identifying And Managing Cancer-Related Distress, Rosemary Vivella Irish

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractUp to 50% of patients diagnosed with cancer will experience significant levels of distress. Cancer is related to psychological distress and can negatively impact recovery from surgery, increase treatment side effects, and decrease overall quality of life. The National Comprehensive Cancer Network recommended screening for distress as part of comprehensive cancer care. In the practice setting, there was a need for better assessment of distress in cancer patients. The purpose of this staff education project was to address a gap in practice regarding the lack of knowledge of screening for distress by providing education to oncology nurses on how to …

Evaluating The Efficacy Of Video Self-Modeling Social Skills In Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Brittany Londer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The inability to display social reciprocity is a hallmark criterion of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This lack of proper social skills (i.e., eye contact, cooperative play, and reciprocal interaction) indicates the importance of purposeful interaction, about which a research gap exists. The theoretical framework for this study was social learning theory, by which Bandura (1977) posited that learning occurs by observing the behavior of others. The current study involved examining the effectiveness of an intervention conducted with children who have ASD. The purpose of the intervention was to increase children’s playground social skills by having them watch themselves at play …

Open, Organized, And Onerous: Understanding And Recognizing The Labors Of Open Science, Nick Bowman, Patric R. Spence, Lindsay Hahn

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

In the face of high-profile cases of scientific fraud, there has been a renewed call among scholars to reconsider current best practices in academic publishing. Prominent in these discussions is a set of open science practices that ask scholars to “publish more” of their research—not in terms of manuscripts, but in terms of supplemental materials to the scientific enterprise. Through creating, curating, and publishing artifacts such as study materials (experimental stimuli, survey texts, etc.), datasets and analysis code, and other content, the scientific process is made more transparent for readers. However, such practices involve a substantial labor cost to researchers …

A Comparison By Ethnicity Of Usage Of Medication, Intubation Use, And Mortality Rates Of Covid-19 Patients In An Urban Hospital, Howard Rubin Baruch

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Evidence from an urban hospital initially revealed that ethnicity had no bearing on treatment modalities or mortality among patients admitted and diagnosed with COVID-19 symptoms from January 1, 2020 to January 1, 2021. The purpose of this study was focused on answering three principal research questions concerning evidence at one hospital of differences in medication used, whether intubation was used, and mortality by ethnicity for those treated for COVID-19 while controlling for age, gender, and co-morbidities. The health belief model served as the theoretical framework. Data was collected from 1188 patient charts, and binary logistic regression was used to test …

Clinical Social Workers’ Perceptions And Experiences Of Parental Alienation, Martinek Evans

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This qualitative research study aimed to explore clinical social workers’ perceptions and experiences of parental alienation (PA). Using Bowen’s family system theory as the framework, the research questions examined the problem from multiple levels of practice, including individual, family, institutional, and systematic. The individual interview approach aligned with the study goal by allowing participants opportunities to share their perspectives and experiences working with PA. The study used a purposive and snowball sampling of eight participants who were licensed social workers in the United States. Individual interview responses were transcribed and coded. Thematic content analysis was also used to analyze the …

Educating Oncology Nurses On Identifying And Managing Cancer-Related Distress, Rosemary Vivella Irish

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractUp to 50% of patients diagnosed with cancer will experience significant levels of distress. Cancer is related to psychological distress and can negatively impact recovery from surgery, increase treatment side effects, and decrease overall quality of life. The National Comprehensive Cancer Network recommended screening for distress as part of comprehensive cancer care. In the practice setting, there was a need for better assessment of distress in cancer patients. The purpose of this staff education project was to address a gap in practice regarding the lack of knowledge of screening for distress by providing education to oncology nurses on how to …

Heart Attack Related Firefighter Fatalities And Compliance With Nfpa 1582, Ernest Lindqvist

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Heart attacks have been the leading cause of on-duty firefighter fatalities for many years. Firefighters are subjected to health risks due to occupational practices and exposure to hazards. Firefighter fatality investigative reports suggest that comprehensive medical screenings consistent with the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 1582 standard would reduce deaths from heart attacks. The purpose of this study was to explore the extent to which fire departments comply with the NFPA 1582 standard. Using contextual interaction theory and a generic qualitative inquiry design, data were collected from fire departments that had a heart attack-related firefighter fatality incident. Semistructured interviews were …

Teachers’ Perceptions Of Social Emotional Learning Instruction And High Residential Mobility Students’ Reading Literacy, Janel Dorene Morris

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Based on recommendations from research, leaders in a north Texas public school district implemented social emotional learning (SEL) to address academic gaps among high residential mobility (HRM) students. Incorporating SEL instruction improves academic achievement 11 percentile points on average; however, in Adoniram School District (ASD), 2021 passing rates fell 8% from 2019 despite adopting SEL curriculum. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore how ASD elementary teachers instructed SEL, and their perceptions of how SEL techniques influenced HRM elementary students’ reading literacy development. The study on social and emotional skills (SSES) conceptual framework guided this study because …

Examining Psychosocial Characteristics Of Female Serial Murderers, Rachael Strebel

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Previous studies of serial murderers have focused primarily on male serial murderers.The reason for this is unknown, but is primarily reflective of media patterns, gender roles, and social norms that often exclude females from conversations surrounding female serial murder. This study focused on the psychosocial characteristics of female serial murderers. Both solo female serial murderers and serial murderers who worked with one partner were studied. Using a grounded theory approach, based on the review of 11 secondary data case studies, 12 female serial murderers were studied; six who murdered individually and six who murdered within a team. Six main themes …

Development Of Two Disease Specific Scales To Assess The Impact Of Severe Asthma On Patients' Lives, Joseph Lanario

School of Psychology Theses

Joseph W Lanario Title: Development of two disease specific scales to assess the impact of severe asthma on patients’ lives Asthma is a disease of the airways, characterised by airway obstruction, inflammation, and hyper-responsiveness resulting in symptoms of breathlessness, wheeze, shortness of breath and chest tightness. Severe asthma is distinct from mild/moderate asthma in terms of symptom severity, frequency of exacerbations, medication side effects and disruption to life. The increasing availability of biologic treatments have revolutionised the treatment of severe asthma. Randomised Controlled Trials (RCTs) provide evidence of their efficacy at improving objective outcomes, e.g., lung function. However, scores of …

What Relationships Exist Between Words In The Lexical-Semantic Systems Of Toddlers?, Nadine Fitzpatrick

School of Psychology Theses

Investigating how infants first establish relationships between words is a necessary step towards understanding the qualitative shift children make to an organised and complex interconnected network of semantic relationships which characterises a mature, adult lexical-semantic system. Since little is known about the word-word associations in infants that establish this network of meanings (Arias-Trejo & Plunkett, 2009), this thesis sought to, first, document the word associations (WA)s that young monolingual and bilingual children produce and then compare these to adult WAs. A concurrent aim was to establish a database of child-specific WAs as a resource for future studies. Second, to understand …

The Phonetic Specificity Of British English-Learning Infants’ Word Form Recognition In Their First Year Of Life, Paul Ratnage

School of Psychology Theses

Consonants and vowels have been proposed to have distinct functions in speech perception: a consonant bias for lexical processing and a vowel bias for syntactic/prosodic processing (Nespor et al., 2003). Research in adults has consistently demonstrated that consonants have a privileged role in various lexical-level experiments across most languages. However, cross-linguistic differences have been found in the developmental trajectory of the consonant bias. For example, whilst French-learning infants display a consonant advantage in lexical processing tasks by their first birthday (e.g., Poltrock & Nazzi, 2015), British English-learning infants show an equal sensitivity to consonants and vowels until the age of …

Examining The Sociolinguistic Expression Of Moral Disgust, And Investigating The Role Of The Emotion In Inter- And Intra-Group Processes., Ryan Statton

School of Psychology Theses

Informed by Tybur et al’s (2009) Three Domains of Disgust Model, I used a combination of qualitative and quantitative methodologies to develop and test a prototypical model of Moral Disgust and investigate how the emotion functions in both intra- and inter-group processes. I conducted thematic analysis to construct a two-factor model of Moral Disgust informed by the sociolinguistic perspective (Sankoff, 1982). The new model identified the sub-factors Hierarchical Disgust and Third-Party Disgust and extend Giner-Sorolla et al.’s (2018) two-factor model by including considerations of group and third-party protection. The new model of Moral Disgust also supports an extension of the …

A Novel Digital Digit-Symbol Substitution Test Measuring Processing Speed In Adults At Risk For Alzheimer Disease: Validation Study, Anthony Campitelli, Sally Paulson, Josh L. Gills, Megan D. Jones, Erica N. Madero, Jennifer Myers, Jordan M. Glenn, Michelle Gray

Health, Human Performance and Recreation Faculty Publications and Presentations

Background: Assessing cognitive constructs affected by Alzheimer disease, such as processing speed (PS), is important to screen for potential disease and allow for early detection. Digital PS assessments have been developed to provide widespread, efficient cognitive testing, but all have been validated only based on the correlation between test scores. Best statistical practices dictate that concurrent validity should be assessed for agreement or equivalence rather than using correlation alone.

Objective: This study aimed to assess the concurrent validity of a novel digital PS assessment against a gold-standard measure of PS.

Methods: Adults aged 45-75 years (n=191) participated in this study. …

Challenges With Multicultural Leadership For Project Managers: A Qualitative Multiple Case Study, Harrison Nnaemeka Nnaji

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Culturally diverse teams are becoming the norm with the rising trend of globalization. The phenomenon has been associated with a rise in the number of multicultural teams with diversified team members. The central problem addressed in this study relates to inadequate understanding of challenges posed to project managers of multicultural software development teams operating in Nigeria. The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to explore challenges faced by this population. Avruch’s theory of culture, the Human needs theory by Burton, and the cross-cultural adaptation theory by Kim were the conceptual frameworks for this study. Participants included 15 project …

Employer Perceptions Of The Skills Gap In College Graduates’ Written Communication, Julie Minnaugh

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

U.S. employers have reported that many college graduates are underprepared in written communication when hired and that lack of preparedness hinders these graduates’ employment success. Higher education institution (HEI) administrators need information regarding which writing skills should be taught across the curriculum to improve student outcomes. The purpose of this study was to investigate employers’ perspectives on the written communication skills gap that hinders college graduates from being successful in their professional practice. Swales’s six characteristics of a discourse community provided a conceptual lens for the study, as graduates commencing employment represent newcomers to a discourse community. A basic qualitative …

Mindfulness Skills And Retention Risk In First-Generation Undergraduate Students, Tim Morenz

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

First-generation college students experience more negative emotional states and higher stress levels than their continuing generation peers, take approximately two years longer to complete undergraduate degree programs, and are less than one percent likely to re-enroll in college. Mindfulness skills have been reported to alleviate anxiety and stress, improve adjustment to college, and improve academic performance, but a gap in the literature existed specific to first-generation college students. Guided by the theory of planned behavior and the monitor and acceptance theory, the purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the relationship between trait mindfulness skills and retention risk in …

Fathers’ Perceptions Of Stress And Resiliency In Raising Children With Down Syndrome: A Qualitative Study, Latanya M. Randolph

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Little was known about how fathers perceived stress and resiliency when parenting children diagnosed with Down syndrome. Therefore, the purpose of this generic qualitative study was to explore perceptions involving stress and resiliency among fathers whose children had been diagnosed with Down syndrome and understand how stress and resiliency affected the parenting skills of those fathers who resided in Prince George's County, Charles County, or St. Mary's County in Maryland. This involved recruiting eight participants who completed semi-structured interviews where they were asked the same 10 open-ended questions. This study involved using a qualitative thematic analysis, was guided by the …

Personal Resilience As An Interventional Strategy To Reduce Physician Burnout, Towahna D. Rhim

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractPhysician burnout is prevalent in healthcare today. Contributing factors include emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and a sense of loss of autonomy. Physician burnout negatively affects a physician’s ability to provide high quality patient care. Physician burnout indicators include poor behavior, mental decline, depression, narcotics and alcohol abuse, suicidal ideation, and suicide completion. Given the negative impact of physician burnout, it is necessary to understand what can counter this phenomenon. Through lived experiences of physicians who self-identified as burned out, the purpose of this study was to explore personal resilience as an interventional strategy to reduce physician burnout. Personal resilience is adapting …

Nurses’ Experiences With Trauma-Informed Care In Patients With Psychological Trauma, Ade J. Vinton

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The COVID-19 pandemic increased the need for research and discussions about trauma, trauma-informed care (TIC), and care delivery processes. Little is known about how nurses recognize, assess, treat, and support patients who experience trauma although knowledge of TIC is important for delivering care to trauma survivors. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to explore nurses’ perceptions of TIC principles and their experiences delivering care to patients with psychological trauma. Harris and Fallot’s TIC theory was used to guide the study. Purposeful sampling was used to recruit ten nurses for individual semi structured interviews using open-ended questions conducted via …