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Articles 5341 - 5370 of 11013

Full-Text Articles in Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration

Law Enforcement Officer Knowledge Of Mental Illness, Nashira Funn Jan 2017

Law Enforcement Officer Knowledge Of Mental Illness, Nashira Funn

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Media and activist groups have recently exposed the problem of negative interactions between law enforcement officers and civilians. Many of these civilians have a mental illness. Various researchers attribute these negative interactions to insufficient officer knowledge of mental illness due to a lack of training, education, and personal experiences. Very little research addresses how insufficient knowledge of mental illness may influence interactions. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore and analyze self reported law enforcement knowledge using Malcolm Knowles' conceptualization of adult learning theory and andragogy as the theoretical framework. This framework bases self-directed learning/training on a needs …

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A Case Study Of Rural Community Colleges' Transition To Entrepreneurship, James D. Genandt Jan 2017

A Case Study Of Rural Community Colleges' Transition To Entrepreneurship, James D. Genandt

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The traditional role of workforce training by community colleges in support of regional economic development is insufficient to help rural areas survive in a global economy. Rural community colleges are uniquely positioned to provide enhanced economic development support through entrepreneurship and small business development programs. Using Woolcock and Narayan's conceptualization of social capital, the purpose of this case study of 4 community colleges in a midwest state was to identify specific entrepreneurship strategies rural community colleges use relative to economic development. The data were collected via email and telephone interviews with 11 employees connected to leadership and/or economic development from …

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Combat Service And Posttraumatic Stress Disorder As A Violent Crimes Predictor In Oef/Oif Veterans, Rachel L. Ivory Jan 2017

Combat Service And Posttraumatic Stress Disorder As A Violent Crimes Predictor In Oef/Oif Veterans, Rachel L. Ivory

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There is an established link between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and criminal activity. Of every 100 veterans who served during Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF)/Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), 11 to 20 percent are diagnosed with PTSD each year. Previous research has documented that veterans are incarcerated at higher percentages compared to nonveteran inmates, though little published research examines incidence of PTSD relative to violent crime. Using Agnew's general strain theory as the foundation, the purpose of this correlational study was to examine combat service, PTSD, and specific violent crimes as defined by the FBI as murder and nonnegligent manslaughter, forcible rape, …

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Spiritual Well-Being, Intelligence, And Job Satisfaction Among U.S. Federal Employees, Jesse Earl Moore Jan 2017

Spiritual Well-Being, Intelligence, And Job Satisfaction Among U.S. Federal Employees, Jesse Earl Moore

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Until a slight 1% increase in FY2015, job satisfaction within the United States federal government had decreased between 2010 and 2014. However, even with the slight increase, the job satisfaction level was low which presents a cause for concern for federal government agencies. A growing body of research has indicated that employees are looking for ways to express their spiritual essence in the workplace. Research in this area has suggested that when organizations allow their employees to exercise their spiritual essence in the workplace it not only increases job satisfaction for the employee but also increases job performance. This study …

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Mitigating Underage Marriage Of Girls In Bo Town, Sierra Leone, Anne-Marie Kumba Kamanda Jan 2017

Mitigating Underage Marriage Of Girls In Bo Town, Sierra Leone, Anne-Marie Kumba Kamanda

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The underage marriage of girls (UMG) practice by some parents continues to occur in Bo Town, Sierra Leone, and it is a problem. Regardless of the negative consequences, parents continue to marry off their young girls who become wives of rebels and participate in the civil war. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore the perceptions of adult women between 18 and 24 who experienced child marriage, parents who married off their young girls, and community leaders to understand why the UMG persisted in Bo Town. The theoretical frameworks used in this study were the social cognitive …

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An Examination Of Factors Contributing To The Effectiveness Of Female Administrators In Corrections, Daisy Lee Crockett Jan 2017

An Examination Of Factors Contributing To The Effectiveness Of Female Administrators In Corrections, Daisy Lee Crockett

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Correctional leadership, especially by women, has been under examined by researchers and scholars. Some researchers have suggested that women may be more likely to exhibit transformational leadership styles, which may be effective for addressing the uniquely stressful corrections work environment and improving working conditions, yet women in corrections have remained relatively excluded from correctional leadership. Increasing women's participation in correctional leadership may involve transformational leadership and training in leadership skills, as well as gender bias relating to the correctional profession. The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to examine the relationship between transformational leadership, leadership training, and traditional gender …

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A Quantitative Study Examining How Training Enhances Policy Compliance, Therese C. Bensch Jan 2017

A Quantitative Study Examining How Training Enhances Policy Compliance, Therese C. Bensch

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

For decades, the Department of Defense has been plagued by persistent cost, schedule, and performance problems in defense acquisition programs. Recent changes in Department of Defense acquisition policy were intended to improve efficiency and are demonstrating some improvement in terms of overall cost improvements, yet little is understood about whether training efforts related to the new policies are producing policy-compliant behavior on the job. Using Edgar Schein's 'Onion Model' of organizational change as the theoretical construct, the purpose of this study was to examine through an ex post facto, cross-sectional longitudinal study whether there is a significant relationship between learning …

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Keeping The Children: Nonviolent Women Offenders In Two Michigan Residential Programs, Denise Smith Allen Jan 2017

Keeping The Children: Nonviolent Women Offenders In Two Michigan Residential Programs, Denise Smith Allen

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Seventy-five percent of women offenders confined to prison, jails, or residential treatment programs are custodial parents of minor children at the time of their separation. Little is known, though, about how prosocial networks are used to address the effects of separation from children. Using Bui and Morash's conceptualization of the theory of gendered pathways, the purpose of this phenomenological study was to better understand, from the perspective of incarcerated women, the experience of using prosocial networks to cope with the effects of separation. Data were collected through interviews with 10 mothers from 2 residential treatment programs in Michigan. Interview data …

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Community-Oriented Policing And Crime Rates And Crime Clearance Rates In North Carolina, Elizabeth Wrenn Johnson Jan 2017

Community-Oriented Policing And Crime Rates And Crime Clearance Rates In North Carolina, Elizabeth Wrenn Johnson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

While community-oriented policing was touted as a new paradigm in American policing, little data reflects its success in reducing crime and/or increasing crime clearance rates. Researchers have failed to definitively describe community policing as a successful style of policing, leaving much more research to be done on its effectiveness as a crime reduction method. Using Trojanowicz's seminal conceptualization of community-oriented policing as the foundation, the purpose of this correlational study was to determine whether there are statistically significant associations between community-oriented policing, crime rates, and crime clearance rates for the 9 municipalities of Carteret County, North Carolina. Data for community-oriented …

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Factors Affecting Hampton Roads, Virginia, Elected Official Emergency Management Recovery Policy Decisions, William Francis Reiske Jan 2017

Factors Affecting Hampton Roads, Virginia, Elected Official Emergency Management Recovery Policy Decisions, William Francis Reiske

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

For many regions and local governments, budgetary restraints limit funds appropriated for emergency management activities to inadequate levels, and little guidance exists related to decision factors used by elected officials in identifying budget and ordinance priorities. Using Kwon, Choi, and Bae's conceptualization of punctuated equilibrium theory, the purpose of this case study was to examine how decision factors influenced Hampton Roads, Virginia, elected official disaster recovery policy between 2003 and 2012. Data were collected through review of 1,310 city documents and 10 semistructured interviews with elected officials. Data were inductively coded and analyzed using a thematic analysis procedure. Data analysis …

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The Effects Of Policy Gaps On Governance In Ghana, Jojo Benin Jan 2017

The Effects Of Policy Gaps On Governance In Ghana, Jojo Benin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The need for governance institutions in Ghana to focus on policy results that impact directly on citizen's wellbeing rather than results that are achieved immediately after implementing program of activities has become more relevant than ever before due to widening policy gaps (the difference between policy intention and policy outcome) in Ghana. Defective policy implementation by the Ghanaian Civil Service is widening policy gaps in Ghana. With the aid of the institutional analysis and development framework, this quantitative study examined the relationship between policy gaps and governance in Ghana. Empirical data were collected from 539 Civil Servants in Ghana using …

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Safe Quality Food Certification And Producing Safe And Quality Food Products, Adeniyi Adedayo Odugbemi Jan 2017

Safe Quality Food Certification And Producing Safe And Quality Food Products, Adeniyi Adedayo Odugbemi

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The food sector accounts for $1 of every $6 in the U.S. economy, with more than $700 billion in revenue every year. However, incidents of food safety and substandard quality continue to rise. Consumers are beginning to mistrust and have lower confidence in the food supply chain. Food manufacturers need to address this issue to remain profitable. One approach includes the introduction of food policy programs that allow for independent auditing and certifications such as the Safe Quality Food (SQF) certification. The SQF certification was established as a rigorous and credible benchmark for food handlers to enforce food safety and …

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Environmental Relocation Policy As Experienced By One Eastern Missouri Dioxin-Contaminated Community, Susan Annette Olsen Jan 2017

Environmental Relocation Policy As Experienced By One Eastern Missouri Dioxin-Contaminated Community, Susan Annette Olsen

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Research on environmental relocation is scant and narrow, focusing on a few aspects of permanent relocation and social impacts of natural disasters. As a result, little is known about the long term social impacts of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) environmental relocation policy. A combined conceptual and theoretical framework of Walter's placeways; Ullberg's disaster memoryscapes; Richardson's remembrance and memorialization; Dynes' social capital; and, Norris, Stevens, Pfefferbaum, Wyche, and Pfefferbaum's work on community resilience guided this phenomenological study with the purpose of better understanding competing and complementary roles of each of these constructs in the context of environmental relocation of one …

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Reducing Runway Incursions At The Nation's Five Busiest Airports, 2009-2011, Theodore Patrick Byrne Jan 2017

Reducing Runway Incursions At The Nation's Five Busiest Airports, 2009-2011, Theodore Patrick Byrne

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

During the last decade, the number of runway incursions at airports in the United States and worldwide has increased. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has developed the Runway Safety Program (RSP) to address these concerns and improve the safety of the National Airspace System (NAS). The purpose of this study was to determine whether the FAA 2009-2011 RSP has effectively reduced runway incursions at the nation's 5 busiest airports using data from 3 years before and 3 years after the RSP. A comparison group interrupted time-series design was used to determine the impact of the RSP. A public policy framework …

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A Determinant Of Child Sex Trafficking In Los Angeles County, California, Elizabeth Ann Cook Jan 2017

A Determinant Of Child Sex Trafficking In Los Angeles County, California, Elizabeth Ann Cook

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In Los Angeles County, California, approximately 2,245 victims of child sex trafficking were identified between 1997 and 2012. Several authors believed that poverty was linked to child sex trafficking because it increased the vulnerability of victims. The purpose of this nonexperimental, correlational study was to explore the question of how poverty was related to child sex trafficking in Los Angeles County, California. Intersectionality from the third wave of feminist theory was used as the theoretical underpinning of this study. Using data from the United States Census Bureau and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, information was collected on 97 counties in …

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A Duty To Share: The Opportunities And Obstacles Of Federal Counterterrorism Intelligence Sharing With Nonfederal Fusion Centers, Jeffrey V. Gardner Jan 2017

A Duty To Share: The Opportunities And Obstacles Of Federal Counterterrorism Intelligence Sharing With Nonfederal Fusion Centers, Jeffrey V. Gardner

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Little is known about how effectively federal agencies share terrorism intelligence with state and local governments through fusion centers. As a result, there is a risk that local governments do not receive critical intelligence that would allow them to collaboratively prevent catastrophic terrorist attacks. Using Dawes' interagency information sharing model, the purpose of this exploratory case study was to evaluate how effectively federal agencies share terrorism intelligence with fusion centers. Data were collected through interviews with 25 senior leaders, federal agents deployed to fusion centers, and intelligence analysts in 5 fusion centers on the East Coast. These data were inductively …

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Eliminating Direct Ground Combat Definition And Assignment Rule: Internal Preparations For Implementation, Steven Justi Jan 2017

Eliminating Direct Ground Combat Definition And Assignment Rule: Internal Preparations For Implementation, Steven Justi

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Decades before the elimination of gender restrictions in the U.S. military, ground combat was an equal opportunity issue for women. Direct combat units, such as infantry and artillery, are now open to female enlistment. The purpose of this study was to examine the efforts, challenges and/or successes, of incorporating women into a U.S. Army combat brigade in a single state. The frame-critical approach was used to outline the competing arguments between supporters and opponents of women in combat. The research questions guiding the study included how gender integration is perceived with regards to strength and survivability of the unit, and …

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An Exploration Of Efforts To Combat Human Trafficking In A Small Community, Shirley Konneh Jan 2017

An Exploration Of Efforts To Combat Human Trafficking In A Small Community, Shirley Konneh

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Human trafficking is a global crime that violates the rights of people by holding them in captivity and coercing them into sexual slavery or strenuous labor. It has become a growing phenomenon on Cape Cod, Massachusetts with no signs of stopping. Using John Kingdon's work on multiple policy streams as the primary theoretical foundation, the purpose of this case study was to identify the perceived barriers to implementing existing Massachusetts's policies targeting human trafficking on Cape Cod as experienced by social service providers and law enforcement. Data were collected from 6 participants through e-mail interview. These data were inductively coded …

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Incident Traffic Management Respone, Debroah Lynn Leonard Jan 2017

Incident Traffic Management Respone, Debroah Lynn Leonard

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The North Carolina State Highway Patrol (NCSHP) and the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) are often called upon to assist in traffic incidents. Yet little systematic research has examined the extent to which these two agencies collaborate. This gap in understanding is problematic, as a lack of collaboration may result in significant delays in the clearing of traffic incidents. The purpose of this correlational study was to investigate circumstances when the two agencies collaborated in clearing major traffic incidents, and the efficiency of the clearance of the incidents, through the measurement of normal traffic flow. The theory of the …

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Effect Of The National Accelerated Agricultural Inputs Access Subsidy Program On Fertilizer Usage And Food Production In Kakamega County, Western Kenya, Abednego Kiwia Mavuthu Jan 2017

Effect Of The National Accelerated Agricultural Inputs Access Subsidy Program On Fertilizer Usage And Food Production In Kakamega County, Western Kenya, Abednego Kiwia Mavuthu

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite 25 years of concerted efforts by African governments to adopt consistent policies for increasing food production, hunger and poverty are still prevalent in the continent. Using Bernanke's conceptualization of the credit channel theory of monetary policy, the purpose of this correlational study was to investigate whether a subsidy program, the National Accelerated Agricultural Inputs Access Program (NAAIAP), affected the rates of fertilizer usage and food production in Kakamega County, Western Kenya. Purposive stratified sampling was used to select 114 participants consisting of 72 farmers in each of the 2 groups: NAAIAP beneficiaries and nonbeneficiaries. Participants completed a survey on …

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The Adequacy And Perceived Impact Of Nigeria's Health Policy, Kennedy Magoma Ongwae Jan 2017

The Adequacy And Perceived Impact Of Nigeria's Health Policy, Kennedy Magoma Ongwae

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

From 2004 to 2015, the health sector in Nigeria was substantially underfunded despite the existence of a federal health policy committing 15% of the national budget to health care financing. The purpose of this narrative and phenomenological study was to explore the nature and significance of economic claims made in this policy. The central research question examined the extent to which these economic claims were perceived to be realistic, attainable, and successful in meeting their intended policy objectives and impact. The study's conceptual framework combined Kingdon's ambiguity and multiple streams theory, Roe's narrative policy analysis, and Skocpol's policy feedback theory. …

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Oversight And Quality Assurance Of Academic Programs Under F-1 Visas, Faye Janine Pleso Jan 2017

Oversight And Quality Assurance Of Academic Programs Under F-1 Visas, Faye Janine Pleso

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

An F-1 academic visa is required for foreign students studying at academic institutions in the United States. While requirements for acquiring the F-1 visa are a matter of federal policy, some of the principles regulating orientations, host families, and home-stays do not align with best practices found at the university level, which include quality student orientations and thorough trainings with a vetting process for host families and home-stays. This lack of regulation may place visiting students at risk in terms of personal safety and wellbeing and have negative impacts for program credibility and lost revenue. Using Stone's regime theory as …

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Compliance Of Caregivers With Polio Vaccine Dosages And Timelines In Lagos State Nigeria, Grace Olubunmi Salako Smith Jan 2017

Compliance Of Caregivers With Polio Vaccine Dosages And Timelines In Lagos State Nigeria, Grace Olubunmi Salako Smith

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Caregivers' compliance with polio vaccine regimens and timely receipt of the recommended 4 doses of polio vaccine are pivotal to eliminating polio. This cross sectional study, conducted in Lagos State, Nigeria, examined polio vaccine compliance and demographic attributes of caregivers' for statistically significant associations. Using an adapted health belief model theoretical framework, 1,200 participants were recruited from well-baby clinics in 8 local government areas in Lagos State. Participants completed a brief demographic survey providing data on caregivers' age, gender, residence (rural or urban), and their level of education as well as records from their children's immunization cards. Data obtained were …

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Researchers', Stakeholders', And Investors' Perceptions Of U.S. Stem Cell Research Policy, Dorothy King-Moore Jan 2017

Researchers', Stakeholders', And Investors' Perceptions Of U.S. Stem Cell Research Policy, Dorothy King-Moore

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Federal support and funding for human embryonic stem cell (hESC) research in the United States lags behind stem cell programs in many countries because of the divisive debate over hESC research and the continually evolving federal policies that have hindered research efforts. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the perceptions of stem cell researchers, stakeholders, and investors in the United States about the effects of the current federal stem cell policy on stem cell research in the United States, the moral disagreement with stem cell research, and their recommendations to improve stem cell research policy in the …

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Analytic Tradecraft In The U.S. Intelligence Community, John Joseph Borek Jan 2017

Analytic Tradecraft In The U.S. Intelligence Community, John Joseph Borek

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act of 2004 addressed the belief that weak analytic tradecraft had been an underlying cause of intelligence failures in the U.S. by requiring the Director of National Intelligence to establish and enforce tradecraft standards throughout the U.S. intelligence community (IC). However, analytic tradecraft-the innate abilities and learned skills of intelligence analysts, combined with the tools and technology needed to conduct analysis-is an understudied and poorly understood concept and a decade later, the frequency of intelligence failures has not improved. Using actor-network theory (ANT) as the foundation, the purpose of this qualitative narrative study was …

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Employee Perceptions Of Merit Pay And Its Influence On Work Performance, Michael John Mcknight, Sr. Jan 2017

Employee Perceptions Of Merit Pay And Its Influence On Work Performance, Michael John Mcknight, Sr.

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The work performance of employees remains a vital factor both in an organization's viability as well as in the prosperity of its employees. Merit pay can influence employee performance and is one of the most frequently used monetary reward incentives for motivating employees to achieve a higher level of performance. The problem is the limited knowledge on how state employees in a southern state perceive merit pay and how those perceptions may influence employee work performance. Using a conceptual framework built from elements of various motivational theories including Maslow's hierarchy of needs and Herzberg's 2 factor theory, the purpose of …

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Understanding The Role Of Federal Procurement Policy In Federal Social Policy, Howard Wilson Pierce Jan 2017

Understanding The Role Of Federal Procurement Policy In Federal Social Policy, Howard Wilson Pierce

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Human sex trafficking is a significant issue in the modern world. The International Labor Organization has estimated that 4.5 million people are the victims of forced commercial sexual exploitation worldwide. The United States' laws on human sex trafficking can be found in 22 U.S.C. -§7104 Prevention of Trafficking, and promulgate the strategy of prevention of trafficking, protection of trafficking victims, and punishment of traffickers. Under the terms of 22 U.S.C. -§7104, federal contractors can be penalized if any of their employees or subcontractor employees engage in a commercial sex act. The reliance on the private sector to curb sex trafficking …

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The Impact Of Three-Dimensional Organizational Change On Laos Electrification, Xaypaseuth Phomsoupha Jan 2017

The Impact Of Three-Dimensional Organizational Change On Laos Electrification, Xaypaseuth Phomsoupha

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The government of Laos has carried out regressive organizational changes in its electric power sector including deregulation, decentralization, and devolution. As governmental agencies attempt to improve their organization, little is understood about the impact these changes have on the electric sector. Using Burke's organization change theory as the foundation, the purpose of this qualitative study was to explain the impact of organizational change on rural electrification in the Champassak Province, Laos. Data were collected through semistructured interviews with 20 participants representing governmental agencies, private entities, and nongovernmental organizations. Data were also collected through observation of a public consultative meeting and …

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Perceptions Of Homeless Shelter Staff Workers On Chronic Homeless Individuals, Jimmy L. Griffith Jan 2017

Perceptions Of Homeless Shelter Staff Workers On Chronic Homeless Individuals, Jimmy L. Griffith

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

While researchers have identified the Housing First model of putting homeless persons into permanent housing as the best means of improving the quality of life for chronically homeless individuals, few studies have examined the perceptions of shelter staff workers on the barriers the homeless face in obtaining and maintaining long-term housing. This case study of 2 homeless shelters in New Jersey examined the relationship that fair and just democratic processes play in supporting or undermining Housing First. Data came from New Jersey's annual Point in Time counts of the number of homeless individuals and families and the causes and service …

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Promoting Policy Advocacy In Nursing Via Education, Carolyn Sue Jurns Jan 2017

Promoting Policy Advocacy In Nursing Via Education, Carolyn Sue Jurns

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Nurses have a professional, ethical, and social responsibility to advocate for optimal healthcare and an optimal professional environment. However, nurses often default on that responsibility. Leadership at a national nursing organization's state affiliate (SNO) perceived a need to optimize its members' policy advocacy. To meet that need, the Policy Advocacy Toolkit for Nurses (PATN) was developed for this doctoral project. The evidence-based PATN relied on established theories and frameworks, notably Knowles' adult education theory and Kingdon's multiple streams approach; research specific to this project; evidence from other researchers, healthcare organizations, and government websites; and input from a statistician, nursing education …

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