Digital Commons Network^™

Successful Strategies Used For Volunteer Retention In Nonprofit Organizations, Sheraaron Nicole Hurt

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The inability to retain volunteers critically undermines nonprofit leaders’ capacity to deliver consistent and effective services to vulnerable community populations, threatening organizational stability and mission fulfillment. Persistent challenges with volunteer retention hinder nonprofit leaders’ operations, reduce program reach, and drive up recruitment costs, weakening organizational sustainability. Grounded in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, this qualitative multiple case study explored effective strategies that nonprofit leaders use to retain volunteers and support organizational sustainability. Five nonprofit leaders from the U.S. East Coast were participants and selected because each demonstrated success in volunteer retention. The themes that emerged from thematically analyzing semistructured interviews and …

Probation Officers' Experiences Working With Individuals Who Have Antisocial Personality Traits, Katherine Ore

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In fulfilling their role of monitoring individuals outside of a prison setting, probation officers may encounter individuals who have antisocial personality disorder (ASPD) or antisocial personality (ASP) traits. Individuals who have ASP traits and are not diagnosed with ASPD are still impacted by recommendations of punishment, higher recidivism rates, and a lack of treatment resources provided. Individuals in the criminal justice system with ASP traits are not a new phenomenon, but there is a lack of research on the probation officers' experience working with these individuals. The purpose of this study was to examine and explore the experiences of probation …

Effects Of Foster Care Placement With Kin Or Nonkin On Opiate Abuse And Criminality, Pamela Bouyer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Opioid abuse has remained a public health crisis with far-reaching economic and social consequences that include costs associated with healthcare and increased foster care placements. Children placed into foster care are at risk themselves for opioid use and delinquency. The purpose of this quantitative research was to explore the causal-comparative relationship between foster care placement with kin (family) or nonkin (nonfamily) and its impacts on opiate abuse and criminal behavior. The Attachment Theory guided this study. Data were collected using a web-based, retrospective survey distributed at behavioral health agencies in Northeast Ohio, social media platforms, and Centiment, an online survey …

Shared Family Identity And Emotional Abuse From A Childhood Caregiver As Predictors Of Self-Censorship Willingness, Jillian Theryon

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Childhood emotional abuse may be underreported and unnoticed. The purpose of this quantitative cross-sectional study was to examine whether shared family identity (SFI) with an emotionally abusive childhood caregiver was linked to self-censorship of social and political opinions in adulthood. The study also examined whether this relationship is intensified among those with a strong sense of SFI with that caregiver. Linear multiple regression analysis of survey data collected from 119 participants, recruited through Survey Monkey Audience, revealed that willingness to self-censor was significantly shaped by the interaction between SFI and emotional abuse, especially overcontrol. Although SFI is often seen as …

Grade 6–8 Teacher Perceptions Regarding Teacher Resiliency Factors In A Northeastern State’S Public Middle Schools, Melanie Totten-Jonas

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Teacher attrition presents a significant challenge for Northeastern State Middle School Districts (NSMSD), threatening educational stability and student outcomes. This qualitative study examined Grade 6–8 teachers’ perceptions of resilience as a factor influencing their decisions to remain in the teaching profession. Grounded in resilience theory, the study explored how teachers overcame professional challenges and identified supports that promoted retention, addressing a gap in existing research. Using a basic qualitative design, semistructured interviews were conducted with 14 purposefully selected middle school teachers from NSMSD. Reflexive thematic analysis using open coding revealed five key themes: individual resilience factors, relational supports and collegial …

Clinicians’ Perceptions Of Restorative Justice And Community-Based Intervention Programs For Juvenile Offenders, Jacque Timberlake

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The main goals of restorative justice and community-based intervention programs include reducing reoffending behavior, successful reintegration, and yielding greater satisfaction among participants. Although clinicians play a vital role in conducting rehabilitation methods for youth offenders, the problem was a lack of literature that explored clinicians’ perceptions of implementing more effective alternatives such as restorative justice and community-based intervention programs. The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to explore clinicians’ perceptions of administering rehabilitative interventions for youth offenders, specifically in reducing recidivism, adequately addressing mental health concerns, and evaluating overall program effectiveness. The risk-need responsivity model and the good lives …

The Process Of Enduring Prolonged Undiagnosed Ptsd And The Impact Of Treatment Expressed By Women, Kelli Elaine Hudgins

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Prolonged undiagnosed posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been examined from various perspectives and represents a significant medical concern across diverse populations. Research on PTSD often targets specific groups, such as postpartum women or military veterans. This narrow focus in much of the literature tends to obscure the broader impact of prolonged undiagnosed PTSD on the general population, thereby overlooking the critical need to highlight systemic shortcomings that hinder effective interventions and reform. Furthermore, personal narratives detailing the challenges individuals face when seeking help or treatment – factors that contribute to delays in care – and the subsequent effects on their …

Hiv/Aids Among Young People In South Sudan: Assessing Misconceptions About Transmission, Healthcare Access, And Cultural/Religious Factors, John Valent Abore

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The HIV/AIDS epidemic continues to be a significant public health challenge among young people in South Sudan (SSD). Despite global efforts to curb the spread of HIV, misconceptions about HIV transmission, barriers to access to healthcare services, and cultural/religious factors that affect the epidemic persist in South Sudan, and it is not obvious how these factors interact to impact outcomes. This quantitative cross-sectional study investigated whether there is a relationship between misconceptions about HIV transmission and HIV/AIDS status and whether access to healthcare and cultural/religious factors mediate this relationship among young people (aged 18–35) in SSD. A secondary data analysis …

Excessive Expulsions And School Suspensions Of Black Children, Lasharee O. Rogers

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

While national and state-level literature has documented racial inequities in school discipline, limited research has focused on how these policies are specifically implemented and perceived within the Charlotte Metropolitan Statistical Region School. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to examine factors related to higher rate of expulsions and school suspensions of Black high school students in the CMSR Schools in comparison to their peers through the lens of the critical race theory. This research was used to engage teachers and administrators on current school suspension and expulsion policies while encouraging modifications to those policies that warranted equity and …

Teachers’ Perspectives On The Use Of Real-Time Online Assessment Tools In Urban Elementary Schools, Sally Adam

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Student response systems (SRS) and audience response systems (ARS) in the elementary classroom are sometimes used to assess students while keeping them engaged and offering them immediate feedback. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore teachers’ perspectives on challenges of and resources needed to implement SRS and ARS in urban elementary schools in the Northeast United States. The conceptual framework for this study included the technology acceptance model and the theory of planned behavior. Semistructured interviews with 12 urban elementary school teachers from the Northeast United States were analyzed using a qualitative data analysis procedure by coding, …

High School Instructional Staff Perspectives On Effective Strategies For Increasing Enrollment In The Career And Technical Education Pathway, Briana O'Brien

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem addressed in this study was the challenges of enrolling students in the career and technical education (CTE) pathway at a northeastern high school, despite local and national commitments to expanding CTE opportunities. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore high school instructional staff perceptions of the challenges in enrolling students in the CTE pathway and the strategies they suggest would increase enrollment. The study was grounded in the conceptual framework of the concerns-based adoption model and the expectancy-value theory, which allowed for an understanding of staff concerns, motivations, and perceptions in relation to student enrollment …

Business Intelligence Architectures And Implementation Strategies, Christopher Ziebert

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Organizations often make inferior decisions without business intelligence (BI) architectures. Information technology (IT) managers are increasingly concerned that without effective BI architectures, they forfeit data-driven intelligence, hindering organizational competitiveness, innovation capacity, and broader economic progress within their industries and communities. Grounded in the technology-organization-environment (TOE) framework, the purpose of this qualitative pragmatic inquiry was to explore the strategies used by data architects to implement BI architectures in the financial industry. The participants were six data architects who had successfully implemented BI architectures in the financial industry in the southwestern United States. Data were collected using semistructured interviews, field notes, and …

Educator Perceptions On Preparing Students For A Biology I State Assessment, Lila Grooms

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem addressed through this study was that 9th and 10th grade students’ Biology I state assessment scores continued to decline in a suburban South Carolina school district. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore biology teachers’ perceptions of the low success rates on the Biology I state assessment and to identify recommendations for improvement. Vygotsky’s social constructivism theory provided the conceptual framework, emphasizing the role of social engagement and collaborative learning environments. Semistructured interviews with nine high school biology teachers were conducted and using Braun and Clark’s thematic analysis approach. Themes revealed that teachers are: (a) …

The Repeal Of Welfare Lifetime Ban, Sympathy Sutton Huggins

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The Welfare Lifetime Ban imposed severe restrictions on women’s access to essential resources during the critical period following incarceration. By denying housing assistance, food aid, and employment services, the policy created significant barriers to reintegration and undermines both criminal justice and social welfare reform. Little is known about the long-term impacts of the ban or the absence of effective rehabilitative policy alternatives. Few studies have examined its outcomes within the framework of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA). The findings within (PRWORA) enactment briefly stabilized a decline in welfare recipients, and employment rates increased temporarily for single …

Senior Recital: Wallace, Trumpet; October 26, 2025, Lauren Wallace, Grace Eom

School of Music Programs

This is the thirtieth program of the 2025-2026 season.

Kemp Recital Hall

October 26, 2025

Sunday Afternoon

4:30 p.m.

Rattlesnakes And Enlightenment Science: An Unlikely Epistemology Of Early American Herpetology, Sahir Hismiogullari

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the hybrid epistemologies developed by early American naturalists, such as Hans Sloane, Pehr Kalm, John and William Bartram, and Benjamin Smith Barton that blended empirical observation, spiritual frameworks, and Indigenous ecological knowledge. These figures, implicitly or explicitly challenging the dominant mechanistic and reductionist models of Enlightenment science, pioneered a more holistic ecological thinking, even as they operated within colonial power structures.

Through historical and textual analysis based on letters, natural histories, and other written sources, the study reveals how these naturalists synthesized multiple ways of knowing, particularly in their encounters with New World peoples and environments. Within …

The Consciousness Inherent In Chasing Your Tail, Sergio M. Pellis Dr.

Animal Sentience

Who is conscious and how do we know? Complexity in behavior and cognition is certainly a clue that cannot be ignored in identifying this trait, and as Mather’s target article shows, it is hard not to imagine consciousness arising in cephalopods. But how complex is complex? An alternative may be gleaned from the fact that all living things rely on negative feedback to navigate their worlds, and this requires all sentient beings knowing what is to be stabilized in reflection to themselves. If so, consciousness is a universal trait.

Central Line-Associated Bloodstream Infection Prevention Staff Education For Medical- Surgical Nurses, Grace Ann Abustan Porciuncula

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Background: CLABSIs remain a significant cause of morbidity, mortality, and increased healthcare costs, particularly in hospitalized patients requiring long-term vascular access. Despite established guidelines, inconsistent adherence to central line dressing change protocols persists within the DNP project organization, often due to insufficient staff knowledge and variability in practice. This practice gap increases the risk of catheter site contamination and leads to preventable CLABSI events, creating a clear need for intervention. Method: A designed educational program that integrated interactive lectures, case studies, and simulation-based activities. A pre- and post-intervention assessment to measure changes in participants’ knowledge and self-reported confidence in applying …

Leadership Styles, Multigenerational Providers, Motivation, And Satisfaction In Mental Health Workplace Settings, Terri Adeshola

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

A problem confronting organizations, including mental health organizations, is how leadership will address motivation and satisfaction in a diverse, multigenerational workforce. The purpose of this quantitative, cross-sectional correlational study was to examine the relationship between multigenerational licensed clinician providers and perceptions of their supervisors’ leadership style to predict their motivation and job satisfaction in mental health workplace settings. Transformational leadership theory grounded this study. The participants comprised 93 licensed clinician providers from mental health organizations in three generational cohorts, Baby Boomer, Generation X, and Millennial, in the Middle Atlantic, Pacific, South Atlantic, West-South Central, and East-North Central regions of the …

Enhancing Medication Adherence In Primary Care Settings Through Staff Education, Sabita Bhusal

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This Doctor of Nursing Practice project was an evidence-based staff education initiative addressing medication nonadherence in hypertension, a critical issue that contributes to poor health outcomes, uncontrolled blood pressure, preventable hospitalizations, and increased healthcare costs. The identified gap in practice was defined by limited staff knowledge, lack of structured training, and inconsistent application of evidence-based adherence counseling strategies. The practice-focused question was: In a primary care clinic, will an evidence-based staff education program on medication adherence increase staff knowledge? A structured training intervention was implemented and then evaluated for its effectiveness. Descriptive statistics and a paired t test comparing pre- …

Exploring Public Health Nurses’ Perceptions Of Syringe Services Programs In Southern Rural Areas, Joel Lowery

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Public health nurses are potentially key stakeholders in syringe services program (SSP) implementation in rural areas, where they can act as liaisons between public health, private healthcare, and the community. However, little research reflects an in-depth understanding of how public health nurses perceive SSPs in rural areas. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the perceptions of syringe services programs held by public health nurses practicing in rural areas with no existing SSPs in southern states and ascertain their potential roles in facilitating harm reduction for people who inject drugs. This study was guided by a conceptual framework …

Business Incubator Managers’ Strategic Approaches To Enhance Sustainable Competitive Advantage For Nigerian Startups, Adekunle Seye Ogunniyi

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The inability of many Nigerian startups to sustain operations beyond their first five years remains a critical challenge for startup leaders. Startup leaders who lack effective strategies and capabilities to outperform competitors risk extinction within the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Grounded in the resource-based view (RBV) and Porter’s five forces (P5F) framework, the purpose of this qualitative pragmatic inquiry was to explore the strategies employed by business incubator managers to enhance sustainable competitive advantage for Nigerian startups. The participants included six business incubator managers in Nigeria who had successfully implemented strategies that supported the survival and growth of startups beyond five years. …

Moderating Effect Of Age And Supervisory Status On Telework And Job Satisfaction Among Federal Employees, Chelsea Eckert

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The postpandemic U.S. federal workforce has experienced shifts in policies and practices about telework, with mixed empirical evidence on its relationship with job satisfaction. Federal government leaders must understand this impact on telework and job satisfaction. Guided by self-determination theory and socioemotional selectivity theory, the purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to examine the relationship between telework usage and job satisfaction among federal employees, with age and supervisory status as moderating variables. Secondary data were from the 2023 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey, with approximately 625,000 participants. The results of the multiple linear regression were statistically significant, F(11, 552,670) = …

Cancer Screening Disparities Among Women With Disabilities In The United States, Kathleen Young

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Breast and cervical cancer screening reduces mortality; however, women with disabilities and mental health challenges experience persistent disparities in access to preventive services. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the relationships between self-reported serious difficulty hearing, serious difficulty seeing, and frequent mental distress with breast (mammogram) and cervical (Pap test) cancer screening use among women in the United States (mammogram model, n = 844; Pap model n = 774), using the 2023 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System dataset. The social-ecological model provided the framework. Two logistic regression models were conducted, adjusting for age, race/ethnicity, education, income, marital …

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Livia L. Klein

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

: A lack of knowledge among nurses and healthcare staff in providing evidence-based practice (EBP) medication treatment and patient care for individuals who have attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) was evident at a Midwest substance use and mental health facility. For nurses and staff caring for those with ADHD, appropriate patient treatment is essential in helping patients avoid struggles in their daily lives. To address this problem, I developed, implemented, and evaluated a staff education program on ADHD treatment in the project. The practice question focused on whether participants of the education program improved their knowledge of medication and treatment management, as …

Parental Ses And Geographic Location As Predictors Of Graduations In Southeastern High Schools Before And After Covid-19, Marcy J. Watkins

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

African American students in the United States have long faced systemic barriers to high school completion, which were further intensified by the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this quantitative, correlational-predictive study was to examine the extent to which parental SES and school location predict graduation outcomes among African American students in southeastern public high schools from 2019 to 2024. Grounded in Bandura’s social learning theory, the study explored how environmental and socioeconomic contexts influence academic achievement. Three research questions guided the study: (1) To what extent do parental SES and location combined predict the number of African American graduates? (2) …

Bifurcated In-Stent In Situ Technique For Creation Of A Bifurcated Bridging Stent-Graft System To 2 Target Vessels Using A Single Directional Branch: A Report Of 2 Cases, Gustavo Paludetto, Lethicia Mesquita, Bruno Pagnin Schmid, Lucas Ruiter Kanamori, Dora Babocs, Thanila A Macedo, Gustavo S Oderich

Faculty, Staff and Students Publications

Objective: The objective of the study is to describe a novel bifurcated in-stent in situ technique (BIS2T) for creation of a bifurcated bridging stent-graft system to target 2 vessels using a single directional branch during complex endovascular aortic aneurysm.

Technique: The technique uses 3 balloon-expandable stent-grafts. The first supporting stent-graft is deployed from the directional branch into the first target vessel or aneurysm sac. A reentry catheter is used to create an in situ fenestration in the first stent-graft, which is predilatated with a 3 mm 0.014 inch angioplasty balloon. This is exchanged for a 0.035 inch 5 Fr catheter …

Fragile Balance: Managing Bone Health In People With Intellectual Disability And Epilepsy, An English Multi-Site Study, Rohit Shankar

Peninsula Medical School

BackgroundPeople with intellectual disability (ID) experience poorer health outcomes than the general population, with epilepsy and polypharmacy contributing to further risks. Bone health is a neglected area, despite the established association between antiseizure medications (ASMs), especially those cautioned by the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), and reduced bone mineral density. We aimed to evaluate prescribing practices, fracture risk, and bone health management in adults with ID and epilepsy attending specialist ID services.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted across three English specialist ID epilepsy services between August 2021–August 2022. Data were collected from case-note review, including ASM prescribing, falls …

Development Of A Digital Career Literacy-Based Gamification Application To Improve Career Readiness Of Students With Special Needs, Agus Afriliyanto, Vesti Dwi Cahyaningrum, Ratna Wulandari, Mohamad Da'i

Buletin Konseling Inovatif

The development of digital technology has opened up new opportunities in education, including for students with special needs who often face obstacles in acquiring career skills, resulting in low career literacy and impacting their career readiness. This study aims to develop a digital career literacy-based gamification application as an innovative learning medium to improve the career readiness of students with special needs, with a scope covering design, development, and testing in accordance with their cognitive characteristics and learning needs. The study used a simplified Borg & Gall R&D model consisting of five stages, involving 30 students with special needs from …

Protocol For Assessing And Managing Radon Gas Exposure Risks In Caves: A Case Study Of Altamira And Paleolithic Cave Art Of Northern Spain World Heritage Site, Sergio Sanchez-Moral, Javier Lario, Soledad Cuezva, Juan Carlos Cañaveras, Tamara Martín-Pozas, Angel Fernández-Cortés

International Journal of Speleology

Exposure to radon and its progeny poses a significant health risk for workers in tourist caves. Implementing protective measures is challenging due to increasingly strict gas concentration and dose limits in new regulations. This study evaluates the annual effective radiation doses received by workers and researchers, considering seasonal and spatial radon variability. Radon levels, temperature, and ventilation patterns were continuously monitored for at least one year in each cave. Results show significant radon fluctuations influenced by seasonal ventilation regimes driven by thermal gradients between the cave and external atmosphere. Using International Commission on Radiological Protection guidelines, the study calculates the …