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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Attack At Fort Hood: Experiences And Suggestions For Security, William P. Moravits Jan 2017

Attack At Fort Hood: Experiences And Suggestions For Security, William P. Moravits

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the past 8 years, at least 4 lone wolf terrorists have targeted military bases or recruiting centers in the United States and research suggests attack on the US military are increasing globally. The problem was that research had not addressed the lived experiences of survivors of lone wolf attacks or how they could inform procedures regarding a sense of security for military men and women. The purpose of this research was to establish a need to address threats to the security of the military from these attacks, to provide a rich description of survivors' experiences of the attack at …


Rural Colorado Drug Courts: A Program Evaluation Of Two Different Modalities, Arthur Kleinschmidt Kleinschmidt Jan 2017

Rural Colorado Drug Courts: A Program Evaluation Of Two Different Modalities, Arthur Kleinschmidt Kleinschmidt

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

According to the Colorado Judicial Branch, 78 problem-solving courts operate in the 20 judicial districts in Colorado. The Summit County and Eagle County drug court programs are located in Colorado's Fifth Judicial District and have not been previously studied. Evaluating treatment programs for effectiveness contributes to social change because it ensures individuals in need of treatment are receiving the proper services. The Eagle County drug court program had 117 participants and the Summit County drug court program had 33 participants. The Summit County Drug Court used 2 cognitive behavioral therapies: moral reconation therapy and strategies for self-improvement and change. The …


Paralleled Support Models For Young Adults With Intellectual And Developmental Disabilities, Lucy Ellen Klym Jan 2017

Paralleled Support Models For Young Adults With Intellectual And Developmental Disabilities, Lucy Ellen Klym

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the State of Indiana, for students over the age of 14 who have been diagnosed with intellectual or developmental disabilities, the transition from special education to Medicaid waiver oversight should occur seamlessly, but gaps in integrated and aligned goal development strategies remain. As a consequence, students who need adult-based support may not be receiving the full scope of services to which they are entitled. Using common-pool resource theory as a foundation, the purpose of this explanatory case study of transitional services to Indiana Medicaid was to understand, from the perspective of disability support service staff, the barriers to effective …


A Case Study Exploration Of Teachers' Perspectives On Children's Mental Health Service Needs In Title I Elementary Schools, Natalie Denise Yates Jan 2017

A Case Study Exploration Of Teachers' Perspectives On Children's Mental Health Service Needs In Title I Elementary Schools, Natalie Denise Yates

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Children go to school for approximately 32 hours each week of an academic year. Many children who are in need of mental health treatment do not get the services they need because of barriers such as lack of access and stigma. Teachers are one of the primary sources of referrals for children's mental health services, and they often make referrals based on their perceptions of their students' mental health needs. Although teachers are typically the primary source of referrals for mental health services, they usually do not have any specialized mental health training. The purpose of this study was to …


Attracting, Recruiting, And Retaining Qualified Faculty At Community Colleges In Sierra Leone, Gloria Betts Jan 2017

Attracting, Recruiting, And Retaining Qualified Faculty At Community Colleges In Sierra Leone, Gloria Betts

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This case study was designed to explore policies that were in place to attract, recruit, and retain qualified faculty for 4 community colleges in Sierra Leone. The research was necessitated by the apparent inability of Sierra Leone educators to train and retain faculty possessing the required academic credentials. The research questions were designed to address the policies and strategies used to attract and recruit faculty, better prepare faculty, improve the quality of classroom instruction, and retain qualified faculty at community colleges. The literature review yielded results about the benefits of community colleges in developing countries, thus reinforcing the need for …


Education Management Organizations' Collaborative Leadership Practices For Low-Performing Urban Charter Schools, Calvin C. Cupidore Jr. Jan 2017

Education Management Organizations' Collaborative Leadership Practices For Low-Performing Urban Charter Schools, Calvin C. Cupidore Jr.

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Educators have regarded building leader-member relationships using collaboration as a fundamental component to successfully improve students' academic achievement. Ineffective collaborative leadership practices may lead to achievement deficits particularly for many urban charter schools operated by educational management organizations. The purpose of this case study was to explore collaborative leadership practices educational management organization leaders need to assist school principals in low-performing K-12 urban charter schools to improve academic achievement. Guided by Fiedler's contingency theory, this case study explored the successful collaborative leadership practices of educational management organization leaders and school principals in a midwestern urban charter school to improve academic …


Familial Factors Predicting Attitudes Toward Domestic Violence In African American Adolescents, Cassandra Clarke-Williams Jan 2017

Familial Factors Predicting Attitudes Toward Domestic Violence In African American Adolescents, Cassandra Clarke-Williams

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Teen dating violence is more prevalent among African Americans than any other racial group in the United States leading to serious health consequences for victims. However, limited data exists on how African American adolescents' attitudes and perceptions regarding dating violence are formed, and whether they are influenced by family members. The purpose of this nonexperimental correlational study was to determine whether nonverbal or verbal communication from family members predicted adolescents' attitudes and perceptions toward dating violence. Survey data from 84 African American men and women ages 18 to 24 were collected using the Normative Beliefs About Aggression Scale, the Acceptance …


Leadership Strategies For Developing And Implementing Organizational Change, Hardy L. Delay Iv Jan 2017

Leadership Strategies For Developing And Implementing Organizational Change, Hardy L. Delay Iv

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Leaders in some narcotics treatment programs struggle with change development and implementation. The objective of this single-case study was to explore strategies used by leaders in a narcotics treatment program to develop and implement organizational change initiatives successfully. Participants included 4 leaders who had developed and implemented successful change initiatives repeatedly for more than 10 years in a narcotics treatment program in the southeastern United States. Bertalanffy's general systems theory was the basis for the conceptual framework. Data collection included semistructured interviews of leaders of a narcotics treatment program and collection of archival data, such as reports relating to strategic …


'Stand By Me' Designated Tobacco Areas On U.S. Military Installations, Robert Thomas Gobble Jan 2017

'Stand By Me' Designated Tobacco Areas On U.S. Military Installations, Robert Thomas Gobble

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

U.S. Air Force (USAF) active duty Airmenshowunusually high tobacco prevalence rates (TPR); i.e., smoke, smokeless, both(SSL-B), when compared to civilian publics in the United States. Tobacco control efforts have proven largely ineffective inlowering nicotine habits among Airmen, while outdoor designated tobacco areas (DTAs) sited near worksites and popular localeson USAF bases (USAFBs) likelyswayAirmen to continue riskynicotine habits. The aim of this inquiry was to assess whetherquantities of DTAs on USAFBs and U.S. airbases (USABs) with 4 mediator variables(quality of DTAs,sites of DTAs, execution of a tobacco cessation program, and types of tobacco cessation programs) wereassociated with TPR (SSL-B) among Airmen …


Racial Ethnic Health Disparities: A Phenomenological Exploration Of African American Adults With Diabetes Complications., Florence A. Okombo Jan 2017

Racial Ethnic Health Disparities: A Phenomenological Exploration Of African American Adults With Diabetes Complications., Florence A. Okombo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Racial/ethnic minority groups experience a higher mortality rate, a lower life expectancy, and worse mental health outcomes than non-Hispanic in the United States. There is a scarcity of qualitative studies on racial/ethnic health disparities. The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological study was to explore the personal experiences, attitudes, and perspectives of 6 African American adults with chronic health issues related to diabetes through a face-to-face interview. Social cognitive theory and health belief model guided the study. The participants were recruited through purposeful sampling. The data were coded using axial and thematic coding and subsequently analyzed through phenomenological interpretive inquiry. The …


The Effects Of Structured Health Policy Education On Connecticut Registered Nurses' Clinical Documentation, Rosale Lobo Jan 2017

The Effects Of Structured Health Policy Education On Connecticut Registered Nurses' Clinical Documentation, Rosale Lobo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Registered Nurses use clinical documentation to describe care planning processes, measure quality outcomes, support reimbursement, and defend litigation. The Connecticut Department of Health, guided by federal Conditions of Participation, defines state-level healthcare policy to include required care planning processes. Nurses are educated in care planning process standards, however no policy-required competency verification processes in academia or employers exists. Guided by the advocacy coalition framework, the purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to determine if the quality of nurse coalition actors’ clinical documentation, a relatively stable parameter, would increase after attending policy-centered structured education. Data were extracted from 272 electronic medical …


Terrorism And Parents' Experience Of Children's Schooling In Nigeria: A Phenomenological Study., James Ovu Urien Jan 2017

Terrorism And Parents' Experience Of Children's Schooling In Nigeria: A Phenomenological Study., James Ovu Urien

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In Nigeria, displaced non-Muslim parents living in refugee camps face difficult decisions regarding the schooling of their teenage daughters, who are potential targets of Boko Haram terrorist activities. The purpose of this interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) was to qualitatively explore a deeper understanding of the lived experience of displaced non-Muslim parents in Nigeria concerning the schooling of their teenage daughters. Prospect theory provided a theoretical foundation for the study. The theory holds that decision-making is based on the perceived value of gains and losses under risk conditions, rather than solely the perceived final outcome of the risk. The research questions …


Relationship Between Eighth Grade Social Science Students, Teacher Diversity And Academic Success, Rachel Elaine Murphy Jan 2017

Relationship Between Eighth Grade Social Science Students, Teacher Diversity And Academic Success, Rachel Elaine Murphy

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Dynamics between student teacher ethnicity and the practices of culturally plural curricula seeks to improve student performance and strives to minimize the achievement gap. This quantitative study explored whether there was a significant difference in the North Carolina Final Exam history-social science test performance between (a) African American and Hispanic students taught by a teacher from a different ethnic makeup and (b) African American and Hispanic students taught by a teacher from a similar ethnic makeup in 8th grade of social science classes. Student's performance is a key factor in evaluating the credibility of a school which is crucial to …


Hopeful Thinking: Conceptualizing A Future Beyond Domestic Abuse, Henri Zombil Jan 2017

Hopeful Thinking: Conceptualizing A Future Beyond Domestic Abuse, Henri Zombil

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Domestic violence is a continuing public health problem. Immigrant women facing domestic violence have additional challenges in dealing with domestic violence and accessing services. Hopeful thinking has been identified as a strategy for intervening and surviving beyond domestic violence. The purpose of this multiple descriptive case study was to explore hopeful thinking in Haitian immigrant women domestic abuse survivors' (HIDAS) conceptualizations of the future beyond domestic abuse. The framework for the study was resilience theory, which emphasizes the individual's ability to bounce back from stressful situations. This framework was used to investigate how HIDAS in the United States experience hopeful …


Competition And Academic Entitlement, Linda L. Parker Jan 2017

Competition And Academic Entitlement, Linda L. Parker

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In a university or college setting, academic entitlement occurs when a student thinks that he or she may deserve an acknowledgement that has not been earned. By understanding the potential contributions, negative effects on the student, faculty, and administration can be avoided. Using the social learning theory and cognitive evaluation theory as the framework, the purpose of this research was to examine the relationship between competition, an activity in which only one or several will win a contest or accolade. Amazon's Mechanical Turk was used for the recruitment of 552 students residing in the United States, from freshman to doctorate …


Motivation Of African American Students To Persevere Academically, Stephen C. Anyaka Jan 2017

Motivation Of African American Students To Persevere Academically, Stephen C. Anyaka

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

African American high school students face considerable personal and circumstantial challenges such as poverty, living in high crime neighborhoods, a lack of positive role models, low socioeconomic status, and social inequity in their efforts to achieve academic success. Finding solutions for persistent academic underperformance and closing the achievement disparity gap for minority children are challenging. This generic qualitative study examined the motivations of high-achieving African American high school students to persevere and achieve academic success despite their personal and circumstantial challenges. Social cognitive theory framed the study. Semistructured interview data were collected from 10 high achieving African American high school …


Students' Decision-Making After Florida Senate Bill 1720: Guiding Students Through Math Placement, Rebecka Jo Sare Jan 2017

Students' Decision-Making After Florida Senate Bill 1720: Guiding Students Through Math Placement, Rebecka Jo Sare

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

After Senate Bill (SB) 1720, exempt students enrolling in colleges in Florida no longer have to take a college placement test or enroll in developmental education courses before enrolling in college-level classes. SB1720 caused Florida colleges to find new methods of placement for incoming students, a concern because incorrect placement can have detrimental effects for the student and institution. Bounded rationality theory and Bahr's interpretation of student typology informed this study. The purpose of this survey study was to compare the exempt students who enrolled in remedial math to those who enrolled in college-level math. Research questions asked what differences …


Perceptions Of Educational Accountability Among Single African American Mothers, Tierra Winston Jan 2017

Perceptions Of Educational Accountability Among Single African American Mothers, Tierra Winston

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The construct of educational accountability formally originated in 2001 as a means to improve education standards by holding teachers accountable for student academic progress; however, the definition of educational accountability for parents continues to be illusive. The purpose of this generic, qualitative study was to explore the perceptions of educational accountability among single, African American mothers of high school-aged children. The research question asked about how the beliefs of educational accountability among single African American mothers related to any involvement in their children's education. Azjen's theory of planned behavior, which outlines the relation of intention to action, was the framework …


Retention Of Minority Students In A Bridge Program: Student Perceptions On Their Successes And Challenges, Chadwick Biermeier Jan 2017

Retention Of Minority Students In A Bridge Program: Student Perceptions On Their Successes And Challenges, Chadwick Biermeier

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This study was an examination of the minority student retention rate in a year-long bridge program. The retention rate of these students is 25%. University administration was concerned about the retention rate and its impact on future enrollment. Using Jack Mezirow's transformative learning as a framework of understanding, the purpose of this study was to identify successes and challenges that minority students experienced in the bridge program and how those experiences affected future decisions on retention. A qualitative case-study design was implemented and 9 of the 140 bridge students were purposefully selected for individual interviews. Data analysis was conducted using …


Relationship Quality Associations Family Values For Online Graduate Students With Intimate Partners, Tracy J. Jones-Garcia Jan 2017

Relationship Quality Associations Family Values For Online Graduate Students With Intimate Partners, Tracy J. Jones-Garcia

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Previous research found that relationship quality (RQ) for intimate couples may be adversely effected in times of stress, potentially decreasing marital satisfaction up to 36% during a four-year period for high stress couples. Previous research indicated family values (FV) may mediate RQ in stressful times; however, no research has examined this relationship for online/blended program graduate students. Students in these programs experience unique stress, change, and at times, physical distance from an intimate partner. Coombs's theory on values consensus postulated that the more alike family values are in a relationship, the better the RQ will be. The purpose of this …


Teachers' And Parents' Perceptions Of Special Education Referral For African American Students, Darlene Smith Jan 2017

Teachers' And Parents' Perceptions Of Special Education Referral For African American Students, Darlene Smith

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Patterns of representation of African Americans in K-12 special education programs vary across the United States. A school district in Arizona has a 13% African American population, yet the African American special education representation is 17%. The purpose of this grounded theory study was to generate an understanding of the processes related to special education referral and assignment of African American elementary students as perceived by 7 teachers and 6 parents in the school district. Inductive analysis including open, axial, and selective coding led to the categorization of three themes: complexity in the referral process, inadequate teacher-parent communication and lack …


Staff Member Perceptions Of Bullying In An Afterschool Center, Sherrich Monsher Thegg Jan 2017

Staff Member Perceptions Of Bullying In An Afterschool Center, Sherrich Monsher Thegg

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Peer-to-peer bullying negatively impacts over 20% of school-aged children annually. While much literature exists on bullying on school premises, peer-to-peer bullying outside of the classroom is still relatively understudied. Despite states' implementation of antibullying legislation, peer-to-peer bullying has continued in schools and other areas such as afterschool centers. The purpose of this qualitative study was to evaluate staff perceptions of peer-to-peer bullying in afterschool centers. It specifically investigated bullying and the hierarchical imbalance of power using Sidanius and Pratto's social dominance theory. The research questions were designed to investigate the staff members' knowledge of bullying at the Boys and Girls …


The Effect Of Emotionally Validating And Invalidating Responses On Emotional Self-Efficacy, Gregory Witkowski Jan 2017

The Effect Of Emotionally Validating And Invalidating Responses On Emotional Self-Efficacy, Gregory Witkowski

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The power of abuse, either in childhood or in adulthood, is clear in many cases. Yet certain types of abuse are harder to detect and understand. Emotional invalidation is one type of abuse that is characterized by an incongruence or minimization of another person's emotions. This experimental study explored effects of emotional invalidation and emotional validation on people's level of emotional self-efficacy. Participants (n = 230) were recruited through Quest Mindshare using a survey created through SurveyMonkey, and randomly placed into 3 groups. All participants were given a survey that asked them to choose how certain pictures made them feel. …


Effect Of Summer Bridge Programming On Students' Performance On The Texas Success Initiative Assessment, Consuela Michelle Cooper Jan 2017

Effect Of Summer Bridge Programming On Students' Performance On The Texas Success Initiative Assessment, Consuela Michelle Cooper

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Summer bridge programs (SBPs) have been used as a means of increasing students' college readiness and academic skills. University Southeast implemented a SBP in 2013 for students placing into developmental courses on the Texas Success Initiative Assessment (TSIA). However, researchers have found mixed results when evaluating the effectiveness of SBPs, and at University Southeast, it has not been investigated. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the difference in TSIA score gains between first-time-in-college students with developmental-level test scores who attended a three-week SBP and those who did not. Tinto's longitudinal model of student departure guided the study …


Multicultural Psychosocial Education And The Malleability Of The Epistemic Essentialist Entitativity Processes, Kathryn Marie Davis Jan 2017

Multicultural Psychosocial Education And The Malleability Of The Epistemic Essentialist Entitativity Processes, Kathryn Marie Davis

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Cognitive epistemic systems are reasoning structures that promote an individual's categorization of group members through processes known as cognitive epistemic essentialist entitativity (EEE). The propensity of these processes to become stagnant is known to lead to stereotyping and prejudiced behaviors when individuals are presented with ambiguous information about outgroup members. Educational materials about the contributions, cultural patterns, and social customs of ethnic and cultural groups can reduce stereotyping and prejudiced behaviors. However, whether being presented this material through multicultural psychosocial education in a formal setting is an effective strategy to influence the malleability of EEE processes has not been addressed …


Differentiation Of Self As A Predictor Of Vicarious Trauma In Mental Health Professionals, Denise Purvis Jan 2017

Differentiation Of Self As A Predictor Of Vicarious Trauma In Mental Health Professionals, Denise Purvis

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Mental health professionals in all settings work with clients who are affected by trauma. Traumatic events expose mental health professionals to the negative psychological and emotional impact of witnessing and listening to client stories. Vicarious trauma is the emotional consequence of this empathic engagement with clients. The purpose of this correlational study was to identify predictors of vicarious trauma in mental health professionals that had not been studied before. The theoretical framework guiding the study was the Bowen family systems theory and the construct of differentiation of self. A regression analysis was conducted with a purposive sample of 83 licensed …


Gender Differences In Discussion Strategies Of Asynchronous Online Undergraduate Psychology Major Students, Shawna Marie Burtis Jan 2017

Gender Differences In Discussion Strategies Of Asynchronous Online Undergraduate Psychology Major Students, Shawna Marie Burtis

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Numerous studies have focused on gender differences in communication in various learning settings and have found that men and women typically communicate in different ways; however, no studies have directly investigated undergraduate psychology major students. Based on symbolic convergence theory, a survey design was in this quantitative study to examine gender differences in online discussion strategies among undergraduate psychology student majors at online universities. Focusing on 4 asynchronous online discussion strategies, the research questions addressed gender differences in discussion strategies while controlling for students' previous experience with online learning and level of study in their current program. A convenience sample …


Guided Imagery Relaxation Effects On South Texas Public School Teachers' Stress, Elsa Nora Garcia Jan 2017

Guided Imagery Relaxation Effects On South Texas Public School Teachers' Stress, Elsa Nora Garcia

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Public school teachers face a great amount of stress, and that stress may lead to other adverse health outcomes. This study examined elementary public school teachers' stress levels before and after the use of guided imagery relaxation. Guided by the transactional model of stress and coping as the theoretical framework, the purpose of this research was to evaluate the use of guided imagery as an effective technique in the stress reduction of elementary public school teachers, thus enhancing the learning experience of students and creating healthier public school teachers. Eighty-one teachers (71 women, 10 men) participated in this study by …


Mindfulness Meditation Practice By Individuals With Substance Dependent Behavior, Quyen Ho Jan 2017

Mindfulness Meditation Practice By Individuals With Substance Dependent Behavior, Quyen Ho

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many people in the United States suffer from substance dependence, which leads to depression, anxiety, work impairment, difficulties in interpersonal relationships, crime, and health care problems. Mindfulness meditation has been applied in many aspects of mental health treatment and all belief systems. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore substance dependents' experiences related to their mindfulness meditation practice of at least 6 months and up to 3 years. A constructivist conceptual framework, which states that human beings create systems for understanding reality based on their individual beliefs, emotions, and interpretations, was used for this study. Research questions focused …


Inclusion In Jamaican Primary Schools: Teachers' Self-Efficacy, Attitudes, And Concerns, Jillian Samms Jan 2017

Inclusion In Jamaican Primary Schools: Teachers' Self-Efficacy, Attitudes, And Concerns, Jillian Samms

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Inclusive education has become an international phenomenon; however, many developing countries struggle with its implementation. At last assessment of the Jamaican educational system in 2004, findings revealed exclusionary practices which are in contrast to international standards on education. Many children with special needs may not be receiving adequate support for education. Using Bandura's social learning theory as a foundation, this study examined whether there is a predictive relationship between grade level, type of school, location of school, access to support resources, perceived school climate, pedagogical beliefs, extent of inclusion training, attitudes to inclusion, and teachers' ratings of self-efficacy for inclusive …