Public Policy Commons^™

False Advertising And Young Girls’ Self Esteem, Caitlin Bohannon

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

It is becoming impossible to recognize the level of photoshop on advertisements. However, little is known how continuous exposure to such images can negatively impact the short- and long-term psyche of young girls aged 6 to 14 years old. The study’s theoretical framework was Benet’s polarities of democracy, emphasizing freedom and authority and human rights and communal obligations. The research question focused on the negative impacts false advertising has on young girls and what public policies could assist in mitigating these short- and long-term impacts. A general qualitative design, with semistructured interviews of seven adult participants with relevant insight on …

The Effect Of Community Health Linkages On Suicide Rates In Veterans, Erica Anderson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Suicide risk is a public health issue. It is a complex and poorly understood mental health and societal threat. This study examined veteran suicide rates and their relationship to family and social support, as measured by the social association rate, mental health funding per capita, and the lethality of the method rate. The interpersonal-psychological theory of suicide and the social-ecological model are the theoretical frameworks that guided the study. Both theories emphasize the complexity surrounding suicide at the state level as it is related to the individual, social, environmental, and political landscape related to veteran suicide. The quantitative bivariate correlation …

California School Psychologists’ Advocacy Efforts Related To Contractual Caseloads, Tess A. Melendrez

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Despite the evolving role of school psychologists, policies have failed to address the high student-to-school psychologist ratios. The purpose of this study was to determine the predictability of contractual caseload advocacy among California school psychologists and their use of resources to engage in policy-oriented learning strategies. A quantitative research design was used, and data were collected from school psychologists in California (N = 138) who completed an online questionnaire. The theoretical foundation was Sabatier and Jenkins-Smith’s advocacy coalition framework. Ordinal logistic regression indicated that school psychologists’ location and job were not statistically significant predictive factors for advocacy for contractual caseloads. …

Evacuation Emergency Management During Hurricane Katrina: A Decision-Making Analysis, Kimberli Roessing-Anderson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Emergency management policy is useful when it involves the stakeholders it serves in the decision-making process. The death toll for Hurricane Katrina in 2005 was almost 2,000 people. Many of the dead and injured lived in low-income communities. There were significant challenges with the evacuation of residents of the Ninth Ward of New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina. Like many public policies, emergency management has evolved over time. Periodically, a catalyst event, such as Hurricane Katrina, shapes public opinion and eventually public policy and its administration. Punctuated equilibrium theory was used to examine the decision-making process of Ninth Ward residents to …

The Impact Of Social Media On Organ Donation, Miguel Enrique Sewer

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Abstract

The organ-donor shortage remains a pressing issue facing the transplant community. There is a significant gap between supply and demand, which continues to broaden. This general qualitative study aimed to provide a road map to define the role of social media and its interrelationship with increasing organ donation. The study utilizes the potential of a communication framework to increase outreach and education, serving as an alternative to increasing organ donors’ participation. The conceptual underpinnings for this study are the Social Representations Theory, the Organ Donation Willingness Model, and the Theory of Planned Behavior. The data was collected using an …

How Public Health Expenditure Affect Health Outcomes In Cameroon, Gilbert Njinju Ayimaleh

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Most African governments, and Cameroon in particular, have identified the reduction of infant mortality and life expectancy in Africa as a critical priority. The United Nations Millennium Development Goals set a target objective of reducing infant mortality by 60% from 1990 to 2015 in less-developed countries. Good health contributes significantly to the attainment of sustainable development and health outcomes. Despite Cameroon’s progress in achieving health-related Millennium Development Goals regarding reducing infant mortality and increasing life expectancy, the country is still worse in respect to health outcomes compared to other Sub-Saharan Countries like Nigeria and Ghana thus more need to be …

Barriers To Effective Public Secondary Education In Rural Areas In Haiti, Marjorie Calixte-Hallworth

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The limited access to public secondary education in rural regions of Haiti has impacted children who want to pursue their education beyond the primary level. The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to explore the perceptions of informed Haitian educators and other educators who were knowledgeable about the lack of access to public secondary education in rural Haiti, specifically through the framework of polarities of democracy theory. Data were gathered by conducting semistructured interviews with 20 educators who were situated in both Haiti and the United States. NVivo 14 was used to organize, code, and analyze the data. Thematic …

Understanding Law Enforcement Counterterrorism Information Sharing In Homegrown Violent Extremism Cases, Danielle Corry

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Local law enforcement agencies are charged with the responsibility to prevent terrorist events in the United States, including the emerging threat of homegrown violent extremism. Without the use of the terrorism prevention tool of information sharing, with other applicable state and federal law enforcement agencies, there continues to be a breakdown in the ability to prevent terrorist events, especially those associated with homegrown violent extremists, in the United States. This qualitative case study explores the information sharing process in law enforcement agencies by examining the recent Boston Marathon Bombing in Boston, Massachusetts that occurred in 2013. Five themes emerged from …

Fostering Electricity Access In Cameroon: Impeding Factors And Cost-Effective Model, Jean-Jacques A. Enow

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Abstract Due to irregularities and shortages in electricity generation and distribution, 95% of Cameroon’s population suffers from debilitating effects on national economic security, public health, education, safety, and quality of life. Cameroon needs a sustainable, efficient, and innovative electricity source and policy system. Failure to meet this demand forestalls the much-needed socio-economic and political development of the country. The purpose of the present study was to explore inadequacies of the current hydroelectric supply system in Cameroon, putting into perspective factors that impeded the development of a sustainable electricity supply system, strategies to alleviate these impediments, and the most cost-effective framework …

Impact Of Resilience On Quality Of Life In Spinal Cord Injured Clients, Crystal D. Glover

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Abstract Impact of Resilience on Quality of Life in Spinal Cord Injured Clients by Crystal D. Glover

MSM, Troy University, 2006BSN, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 1995

Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Public Health

Walden University August 2023

Workplace Experiences Of Blind College-Educated Women, Lynne Koral

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractBecause of the limited research on workplace experiences of blind college-educated women, policies have not been implemented that will lead to greater equity for this group. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the workplace experiences of blind college-educated women using the social construction theory. Data were collected from semi structured interviews with 11 blind college-educated women. Results indicated that accessibility in college or at work with websites and job applications presented the greatest obstacle to successful job seeking. State rehabilitative agencies were not considered to be effective in job development, placement, or promotion. Working from home was …

Human Resource Professionals’ Perceptions Of Employee Recruitment And Retention Using Linking Total Compensation To Performance Theory, Roshanda Tipton Smiley

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Public sector employers experience challenges with recruiting and retaining qualified candidates. The expectations of employees in today’s market challenge traditional methods and practices of the conventional workplace and provide an opportunity for innovation. In this qualitative study, the lived experiences of seven public sector human resource professionals (HRPs) in employee recruitment and retention were explored using Weldon’s linking total compensation to performance theory to frame the study. Data were collected from open ended, semi structured interviews with seven public sector HRPs. The collected data were thematically coded, resulting in the emergent themes of organizational culture, COVID-19 pandemic, work environment, recognition, …

Examining The U.S. Disaster Management Program: A Case Study Of The U.S. Virgin Islands Hurricanes Irma And Maria Evacuation, Victoria F. Vachon

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractWhether from natural or human causes, every global community is at risk for overwhelming, destabilizing incidents. Hurricanes Irma and Maria devastated the U.S. Virgin Islands in late August and early September 2017, necessitating the urgent evacuation of hemodialysis patients over 1000 miles to the U.S. mainland. Because the damage and response to the U.S. territory were unprecedented, the public health implications of the government’s strategies on the evacuated population subset were unexplored. However, available information suggested that some evacuees sustained avoidable harm while in the protracted care and custody of the government. This qualitative case study, conceptually framed by Bronfenbrenner’s …

Self-Care And Psychosocial Factors That Predict Sickle Cell Disease-Related Outcomes Among African Americans In The Usa, Datonye Agina-Obu

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Existing beliefs and conceptions regarding sickle cell disease (SCD) have had a significant impact on the appropriate management of the condition, including self-care and psychosocial factors, particularly among African Americans. The aim of this study was to examine the influence of self-care and psychosocial factors on SCD-related outcomes among African Americans in the United States. The study was grounded in the self-care management theory and employed a cross-sectional, quantitative design. Regression analyses were conducted to explore the associations between self-care and psychosocial factors and SCD-related outcomes sample of 180 individuals. The results indicated three factors showed significant relationships for sickle …

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 …

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 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 …

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. …