Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Promotion To Fire Officer: Ems Is An Essential Component Of Promotional Testing, Brenda Kay Farlow

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

For the past 25 years, the number of fire department responses to structure fires nationally has gone down. Structure fires now reflect less than ten percent of the responses of the fire service. In the same period, emergency medical services (EMS) have become the overwhelming activity of most fire departments. The problem is the promotional process focuses on firefighting knowledge and skills while ignoring the absolute need for EMS competencies, in some capacity, for a supervisory position. The lack of change in the promotional process is related to the organizational culture of the individual fire departments and the collective difficulty …

The Interrelationship Between Sensorimotor Deficits And Maladaptive Behavior In The Classroom, L B Marie Filion

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Mainstreaming special education students has created challenges for teachers, resulting in significant lesson time allocated to classroom disruptions related to maladaptive behavior. This correlational study examined the extent to which specific sensorimotor deficits predict maladaptive behavior among special education students (aged 8-12 years) based on archival data of teacher assessments in New Zealand. Piaget’s cognitive and affective development theory was used as the theoretical foundation. Results from standard multiple regression demonstrated that higher levels of sensorimotor deficits (vision, touch, taste and smell, body awareness, balance and motion) predicted high levels of maladaptive behavior (internalizing, externalizing, and overall maladaptive behavior indices); …

Relationship Between African American Professionals’ Acculturation, Racial Identity, And Experienced Stereotype Threat, Erica Regina Griffin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There is considerable research on acculturation, identity formation, and stereotype threat experiences of African American children and college students. However, little research has been conducted exploring these factors once college graduates have entered the workforce. Furthermore, the previous research has treated these variables separately or combining no more than two at a time. The purpose of this quantitative, cross-sectional study was to learn more about African American professionals’ acculturation, racial identity, and stereotype threat experiences. Seller’s Model of Racial Identity, Berry’s acculturation theory, and Shapiro’s Multi-threat framework provided the basis of this study. The research question addressed whether the type …

Filipino Americans’ Attitudes And Experiences With Mental Health And Help-Seeking Behaviors, Kelsey Guerrero

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Filipino Americans suffer from mental illness at an alarming rate and have a low rate of seeking mental health treatment. Because Filipino Americans are underrepresented in social science research, psychologists do not understand how to resolve this issue within the Filipino American population. The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to describe the experiences with mental health and treatment of Filipino Americans. Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model theory and Latane’s social impact theory served as the theoretical foundation for the study. A sample of 12 Filipino Americans was interviewed using a semistructured interview design. Participants were asked 10 questions addressing their …

The Experiences Of Women Executive Leaders In A Leadership Development Program, Angela Ivy Gustus

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The host organization is a nonprofit that has a mission of supporting the work of 19 other separate organizations, 47% of which are run by women. The problem addressed in this research is the host organization’s lack of knowledge related to how to create a leadership development program that will maintain or increase the current gender diversity. The purpose of this research was to gather information about the current leaders to inform the creation of a leadership development program for the host organization based on research conducted at Harvard University. The aim was to understand the experiences of the women …

Understanding The Impact Of Special Education Programs On African American Males, Jacques Houssou

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractAfrican American males placed in special education programs their entire time in high school often experience stigmatizing feelings of lack of self-worth and self-esteem as adults. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore and better understand the influence special education programs may have on African American males’ self-esteem and self-worth. Becker’s and Lemert’s labeling theory and Baumgartner and Jones’s and Gould and Eldredge’s punctuated equilibrium theory guided this study. The focus of the research questions was the influence of special education programs on African American males’ learning experiences and the changes needed. Purposive and snowball sampling techniques …

A Phenomenological Exploration Of Academic Mediation And Modifiability: The Progression From Ged® To Phd, Heather E. Hoyt

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Researchers have identified the importance of academic mediation and modification within a student’s thought process as it encourages academic achievement in early education, college, and advanced degrees. However, there is a gap in the research regarding the academic mediation and modification in individuals who have progressed from GED to PhD. The purpose of this study was to (a) explore the personal experiences of doctoral alumni on their achievement during the progression from GED to PhD; (b) to understand what experiences, if any, related to receiving academic mediation and modification which led to doctoral success; and (c) to contribute to the …

A Case Study Of Joint Accountability Mechanism And Interorganizational Collaboration In Post-Earthquake Haiti, Jude J. Jean-Gilles

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Abstract: The earthquake that hit Haiti on January 12, 2010, caused massive destruction of its capital city Port-au-Prince and its suburbs and killed over a quarter of million people. The recovery period that followed required effectiveness to plan and mobilize resources. The magnitude of the destruction, lack of local recovery plans or previous disaster experience, and scarcity of local resources inspired the creation of the Interim Haiti Recovery Commission (IHRC), a compilation of local and international stakeholders who agreed to collaboratively address the recovery challenges. Several studies have examined post-earthquake recovery initiatives under the leadership of local governments, but having …

Barriers To The Successful Implementation Of Laws In Saint Lucia, Confia Samantha Jn Paul-Samuel

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractSaint Lucia experiences barriers to successfully implementing some of its enacted laws. As a developing country, when legislative efforts are hampered, the law enactment process is negatively impacted. The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand the potential barriers to the successful implementation of laws in Saint Lucia by examining any effective emerging practices to develop new and innovative approaches and methods in addressing the various issues involved. The conceptual framework for this study comprised parliamentary engagement, public participation and policy making in the law enactment process in similar parliamentary jurisdictions. The research questions focused on understanding the potential …

Leadership's Impact On Employee Work Motivation And Performance, Tonia Marilu Joseph-Armstrong

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractLeadership is a major factor in terms of motivating employees, leading to enhanced performance. A study was conducted to examine the influence of supervisory leadership style on employee work motivation and job performance in organizations, specifically in a K-12 school setting. The main goal was to determine if there is a relationship between type of leadership demonstrated by school administrators and its impact on the teaching staff’s motivation and performance. Data for this quantitative study were gathered and analyzed from various public and private schools and included a sample of 100 participants. The predictor variable leadership was assessed using the …

The Reconciliation Of Cognitive Dissonance Among Social Workers In Substance Use Treatment Settings, Miranda Ashley Kieler

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Although harm reduction (HR) and abstinence-based treatment approaches are both useful in addiction treatment, the former is less accepted and integrated into practice. Social workers who embrace an HR approach but who work at substance abuse treatment facilities that are abstinence based may experience cognitive dissonance because they perceive their work role to be incompatible with social work practice values and education. Little was known regarding how practitioners with a Master of Social Work (MSW) degree experience and reconcile cognitive dissonance related to their HR education and abstinence-only practice in substance use treatment centers. To address this gap in the …

Relationship Experiences Of Long-Term Partners Of Individuals With Narcissistic Traits, Tamara Betty-Jean Knott

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The phenomenon of narcissism is well-documented and has garnered much attention from the scientific community. However, a facet of this subject that has been largely unstudied involves the consequences that narcissistic relationships have on intimates. Typically, an individual with narcissistic traits (INT) most negatively affects the romantic partner. Still, there has been very little in the way of academic knowledge, understanding of partner experiences, or how to help from a mental health standpoint. Research has implied that partnering with an INT entails distinct forms of emotional abuse (EA), resulting in the development of unique psychological distress. This qualitative narrative study …

Gang Diversion Programs In The Success Of Reducing Youth Gang Membership, Francis Songtiib Laari

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The rate of youth involvement in gang membership and crime has become a problem in Fairfax County, Virginia. It has increased violent crimes, drug trade, and incarceration rates for youths and decreased child school graduation rates. Youth gang membership is a significant public issue with broad mental and psychological implications for the child, family, and community because of the potential to commit a crime. Early exposure to gangs and violent neighborhoods can profoundly and negatively impact the residents. Researchers have explored why many children join gangs, but none have examined gang diversion programs' success in reducing youth gang membership. In …

Impact On Retention For Students Participating In Supplemental Instruction At A Community College, Jacqueline Ann Larry

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractTitle III Strengthening Institutions Program is a supplemental grant that was designed to help eligible higher education institutions improve and strengthen academic quality, institutional management, and fiscal stability of eligible institutions. A community college in the Midsouth region was the focus of this quantitative study. Graduation and retention rates have steadily declined, and there are significant achievement gaps in terms of ethnicity and race, program completion, and failure rates in high-enrolled courses among first-year students. Using the retention model, this study involved examining the impact on retention for students participating in supplemental instruction upon entering college during their freshman year. …

The Impact Of Economic Uncertainty On Nonprofit Leaders’ Decision To Expand Services, Shawndra Maine

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Nonprofit organizations (NPOs) play a pivotal role in lower socioeconomic communities. Leaders of nonprofits are frequently faced with multiple, complex, and often-competing objectives. This qualitative case study was conducted to explore and understand how economic uncertainties impact an NPO and, specifically, how economic uncertainty has affected nonprofit executives’ development of strategies and decision making regarding expanding services. Data were collected through interviews and review of secondary data and the organization’s website from the executive director, president/chief executive officer, and funders. The Baldrige Framework of Excellence was used to support the foundations of this study. The collected data were analyzed, and …

Criminology And Violent Extremist Radicalization, Starlett Michele Martin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, research on foreign terrorism became extensive in the United States while research on domestic terrorism and violent extremist radicalization was lacking. Despite the research that has been done, there was a lapse in scholarship analyzing terrorism radicalization and its relationship with criminology. The purpose of this general qualitative study was to analyze the perceptions of experts in terrorism and criminology about how factors of criminology can explain violent extremist radicalization. This study used two conceptual models of terrorism radicalization: (a) the staircase to terrorism and the (b) 4-stage model of the terrorist mindset. In addition, …

Factors For Lgbt College Students That Predict Academic Success, Jonathan Mccormick

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Much research has been done on LGBT students in relation to campus climate and academic achievement, which suggested that a positive campus climate may positively influence students’ academic success. However, no research has yet been done to understand the value of campus climate, student levels of depression anxiety and stress, and student level of outness for predicting academic success. This quantitative study examined campus climate, depression, anxiety, and stress levels, and student level of outness together in their ability to predict self-reported grade point average of LGBT college students. Basic Psychological Needs Theory, a sub theory of Self-Determination Theory, was …

Caucasian Social Workers’ Cultural Competence Regarding Advance Care Planning Among Southern African Americans, Lisa Mitchell

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Caucasian social workers who work in healthcare and implement advance care planning (ACP) may not be competent regarding African Americans’ reluctance to complete advance directives. Research is lacking on how Caucasian social workers in Louisiana are increasing their cultural competence regarding the interplay of historical trauma, past medical mistrust, and spiritual beliefs on African Americans’ use of ACP. This study explored how Caucasian social workers are increasing their cultural competence regarding the interplay of historical trauma, past medical mistrust, and spiritual beliefs on African Americans’ use of ACP. The conceptual framework that guided this study was the cultural competence model. …

Logistics Leader Strategies For Retaining Employees, Sandra Northern

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Low employee retention can lead to a lack of the knowledge, skills, and abilities required for sustainable logistics operations. Logistics leaders are concerned with employee retention because turnover increases business costs, reduces operational efficiency, and decreases profitability. Grounded in Herzberg’s two-factor theory, the purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore strategies logistics leaders use to increase employee retention. The participants were three senior leaders from a logistics organization in the northeast region of the United States who possessed knowledge and experience of the research phenomena. Data were collected through semistructured interviews, company documents, publicly available data, and …

Local Leadership Strategies To Mitigate The Effects Of The Public Charge Rule And Covid-19 Among Undocumented Immigrants, Amos Onyango Oketch

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractScholars have focused on the effects of implementing the federal-level Public Charge Rule (PCR) and COVID-19 on undocumented immigrants' health and socioeconomic well-being. Researchers have demonstrated that many federal assistance programs that benefit the general population in the wake of the pandemic exclude undocumented immigrants due to PCR restrictions; thus, they are disproportionately affected and suffer social and socioeconomic disparity. Researchers have yet to establish consensus strategies and interventions at the local and state levels to fill the gap and support disadvantaged communities during the pandemic to ensure equitable care and mitigate harm. Thus, this study aimed to identify the …

Exploring Jury Nullification: Its Political History, Current, And Potential Impact On Policy, David Harold Penny

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Jury nullification (JN) is when a jury knows a defendant is legally guilty, but states they are not guilty, believing that their verdict better serves justice in that case. The problem is the violation of the Constitution’s equal protection clause for all citizens, caused by the intentional omission in most judges’ instructions to juries of JN. The purpose of the study was to fill the gap in the literature on jury behavior and address the problem of JN. The study framework is chaos theory as applied by Horowitz to jury behavior. It describes judges and lawmakers mistrust of juries associated …

Examining Help-Seeking Intentions Among Female Veterans With Military Sexual Trauma, Elizabeth Pirone

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

An estimated 38.4% of military women have experienced military sexual trauma (MST) at some point in their careers. Because MST experiences can be confounding, navigating beliefs toward treatment resources and seeking help can be challenging. The problem under study was that no literature examined multiple constructs of the health belief model (HBM) together as a foundational tool to identify perceptions of help-seeking intentions among female veterans with MST experiences. Guided by the HBM, the purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between health motives, perceived severity of emotional or nervous problems, perceived benefits of getting help for emotional …

Understanding The Connection Between Male Intimate Relationship Narratives And Domestic Violence Convictions, Stephanie Purdy

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Domestic violence (DV) continues to be a serious social challenge throughout the world. DV and recidivism rates are continuing to rise among individuals involved with intimate or familial relationships, with victims and perpetrators of all genders. This narrative inquiry study utilized narratives of intimate relationships among adult men, 18 years and older, who were convicted of domestically violent behaviors. The research question investigated participant experiences with female intimacy and how this was connected to domestically violent behaviors. The theoretical and conceptual frameworks were led by attachment and social learning theories, which were linked to understanding challenges with forming a less-than-positive …

The Experiences Of Female Sexual Minority Service Members After 2013, Ada I. Rivera

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In 2010, the United States Armed Forces ended the policy Don’t Ask, Don’t Tellthat excluded sexual minorities from being able to serve openly in the military. Full military benefits were extended to them and their family members in 2013. Despite these changes, victimization, stigma, and discrimination have continued to impact the lives of service members who identify as a sexual minority, as the result of microaggressions due to their sexual orientation. Past literature has examined experiences of sexual minorities, but little research has focuses on sexual minority women whose minority gender identity creates greater risk to experience micro assaults with …

Influence Of Staffing Shortages On Safety And Communication In Behavioral Health, Raven Brittany Robinson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

At the selected behavioral health organization (BHO), leaders desire to improve patient safety and staff communication to provide quality mental health services. They need strategies to achieve these goals. The Baldrige Excellence Framework was used to identify the workforce challenges and practices that facility leaders can potentially use to improve performance to help achieve success, sustainability, and the mission of the BHO. The data sources consisted of (a) semistructured interviews with the CEO, the leader of the intake department, an intake therapist, an intake coordinator, and an RN and (b) reviews of the BHO’s website, and pertinent academic literature. Data …

Adult Learners With Learning Disabilities’ Motivation To Succeed In Higher Education Online Learning During Covid19, Sara Michelle Rodriguez

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many students had to transition to online learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic while other students were already enrolled in online education. Online study may hold additional struggles for students with learning disabilities. The problem addressed in this qualitative, phenomenological study was the motivating factors of online higher education students who have a learning disability during the COVID-19 pandemic. The theoretical foundation was Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Data were gathered through 10 semistructured interviews and then analyzed through the thematic analysis yielding five themes: (a) lack of professional support, (b) resources, (c) support system, (d) consistent motivation, and (e) low …

Gender-Based Pay Inequality In The Canadian Insurance Companies, Mostafa Shayangogani

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractThe problem in this study was gender-based pay inequality among women at Canadian insurance companies. The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological study was to understand gender-based pay inequality for women at Canadian insurance companies. Aigner's, Cain's, Arrow's, and Phelps' statistical discrimination theory guided the study. The theoretical foundation also included the human capital theory by Becker and Schultz. The research questions focused on understanding C-suite and V-level executives’ lived experiences of gender-based pay inequality and identifying effective strategies that should be adopted to overcome the problem at Canadian insurance companies. This study used purposeful sampling to recruit 15 C-suite and …

Professional Counselor Identity Development Relative To Professional Recognition, Brandon Shurn

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This descriptive phenomenological study was conducted to explore how professional counselors described their professional identity development and if professional recognition from psychologists, social workers, psychiatrists, and other professional organizations contributed to professional identity development. Phenomenology was developed by Edmund Husserl and explores insights from others based on their experiences. Licensed clinical professional counselors in Maryland formed the purposive sample that included six participants; each participated in a semi-structured interview. Thematic coding highlighted themes that emerged and included (a) the importance of the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP), (b) licensure as a stressful process, (c) professional …

Cultural Competence: Minoritized Student Experiences With Faculty In Counselor Education And Supervision Programs, Mariangelly Sierra

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Minoritized students face additional challenges that contribute to poor experiences in higher education when compared to dominant populations. Multiculturally-competent faculty behaviors positively influence minoritized students’ lived experiences in higher education and promote culturally-responsive learning environments. This study investigated minoritized students’ experiences working with faculty teaching in Counselor Education and Supervision (CES) programs accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) guided by the principles of Heidegger’s hermeneutic philosophy and Crenshaw’s theory of intersectionality. The specific research question of this study was about minoritized students lived experiences with faculty teaching in CACREP-accredited CES programs. Data were …

Understanding The Lack Of Communication Between Communities And Law Enforcement Through A Community Policing Program, Patrick B. Skoczek

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Abstract

Inequitable treatment by law enforcement officers has deeply impacted minority communities in the United States. Public incidents of abuse of power, discriminatory treatment, and excessive use of force have received increased attention, creating increased community mistrust of law enforcement officers. To help bridge the gap between communities and law enforcement agencies, this qualitative phenomenological study was conducted to examine the use and impact of the Policing and Public Safety Problem-Solving Programs. Data were collected through interviews with 12 retired police officers and 12 community members. Interview questions were related to participants’ perceptions regarding a breakdown in trust between law …