Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Impact Of Hiv Prevention Education In School On Young Men Who Have Sex With Men, Michael Edward Tachet

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Sex education through the public school system has been identified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as an excellent vehicle by which HIV prevention education can be presented to students, thereby decreasing the rate of HIV infection among young men who have sex with men (YMSM). However, YMSM continue to be at high risk for HIV infection in the United States despite educational efforts to prevent infection. The purpose of this qualitative study using a phenomenological approach was to explore what impact school-based HIV prevention education had on YMSM in the past, and what effect that education has …

Policy Diffusion Assistance In The Amelioration Of Homelessness On The Island Of O`Ahu, Hawai`I, Anita Tanner

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The issue of homelessness is one that many cities and states in the United States have to contend with; however, the issue of homelessness on an island can be even more difficult to find viable solutions. The homeless problem on the island of O`ahu is one that affects not only residents but also tourists. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to reveal the perceptions of policy makers on the island of O`ahu, Hawai`i if diffusing public policy from Salt Lake City, Utah, would help ameliorate homelessness on the island. The theoretical framework was the diffusion theory and diffusions …

Repercussions Of The Mechanistic Dehumanization Of Muslim Americans, Resilience, And Sustainable Communities, Melvin Walters

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There is a lack of research on the relationship between dehumanization of minority religious groups and affiliation with terrorism, which suggests a need to consider the consequences of dehumanization perceptions beyond promoting aggression. This qualitative case study addresses whether dehumanization embedded in public policies influences Muslim Americans 18 to 25 years of age, native and nonnative, to engage in homegrown terrorism. Using Schneider and Ingram’s social constructions of target populations as the foundation, research questions focused on how perceptions of mechanistic dehumanization in policy design influence homegrown terrorism among Muslim- American adults. Data were acquired through archival data that included …

Lived Experiences Of Caregivers For Individuals With Serious Mental Illness In Rural Communities, Jennifer Way

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

More than ten million American adults live with a serious mental illness (SMI). Given the deinstitutionalization of psychiatric facilities, caregivers and family members are often needed to care for these individuals. Due to SMI individuals’ extensive needs, caregivers frequently face unique challenges and experiences. Although research has been conducted on caring for individuals with SMI, less information exists about the experiences of rural caregivers of SMI individuals. The purpose of this study was to fill this gap in research by exploring the lived experiences of caregivers of SMI individuals in rural areas with the intention of understanding this population’s unique …

Leadership Issues And Organizational Dynamics That Shaped The 2016 Republican Primaries, Favour Chidex Awuzu

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Importance of leadership in fostering cohesion within organizations has received increased scholarly attention. Researchers have shown that leadership can lose its legitimacy by pursuing unpopular policies or negating the common interest of the group. However, researchers have not yet been able to establish the leadership issues that shaped the 2016 Republican primaries as President Trump's victory (despite not having the support of any living past United States president both Republican and Democrat), was indicative of masses' frustration with the political establishment, and desire for change. Using complex leadership theory as a focal lens, the purpose of this phenomenological study was …

Maintaining Confidentiality Among Hiv Infected Couples: Physicians' Patterns Of Decision In Nigeria, Francess Uju Ayaebene

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Policies mandating HIV status disclosure to decrease incidence create ethical challenges for physicians on whether to breach or maintain infected patients' confidentiality. In Sub-Saharan Africa where HIV incidence is high, there is a need for clear guidelines/policies on making confidentiality decisions. The purpose of this quantitative quasi experiment was to determine whether the gender, gender orientation, and sexual relationship of an infected patient and physicians' demographics predicted physicians' decisions to breach confidentiality. In Plateau State, Nigeria, 222 physicians were given vignette questionnaires containing 6 different descriptions of gender, gender orientation, and sexual relationships of a hypothetical patient. Each physician decided …

Relationship Between Stress Management Self-Efficacy, Stress Mindset, And Vocational Student Success, Minda J. Brown

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Due to the passage of the Gainful Employment Rule of 2015, for-profit schools must ensure graduate employability, which forces vocational schools to make student success a priority. The concepts of stress mindset from the cognitive activation theory of stress and stress management self-efficacy from social cognitive theory were used in this study to assess the relationship of each to the employability of graduates. This study utilized a nonrandomized convenience sampling method and a multiple logistic regression with categorical dependent/criterion variables (gainful employment versus not) and continuous predictor variables (stress management self-efficacy, stress mindset) to compare the relationships. Stress mindset levels …

Corporate Money And Direct Democracy Measures: A Case Study, Dena M. Hester

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Direct democracy was adopted by states to balance the influence and power of corporate

interests. Although corporate money has always been a part of American democracy,

dark money expenditures have increased significantly since the Citizens United v. FEC

case. Corporate money in elections poses a problem because it inconsistent with the

tenants of direct democracy. Little published literature addresses the influence of

corporate money on direct democracy measures. Using Kingdon's multiple streams

approach as the foundation, the purpose of this case study was to investigate the

perceived influence of corporate money on the 2018 ballot initiative and referendum

measures in …

Strategies For Increasing Self-Efficacy In Long-Term Welfare Recipients, Crystal Mcclure

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

With the imposition of lifetime limitations on an individual's ability to receive cash assistance, there is a group of long-term Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients that have approached the lifetime limitation without becoming gainfully employed. Many long term TANF recipients report low levels of self-efficacy which inhibits their ability to successfully transition off welfare and into the workforce. However, most welfare-to-work programs do not address the emotional or psychological well-being of their clients, instead they focus on job placement and job readiness skills. The purpose of this sequential–exploratory mixed methods study is to identify the primary barriers to …

Effect Of Access To Health Services On Neonatal Mortality In Uganda, Imelda Atai Madgalene Musana

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Since 2006, Uganda has experienced a nonchanging neonatal mortality rate of 27 out of 1,000 live births, which is higher than the global average of 19 deaths for every 1,000 live births. The purpose of this retrospective cross-sectional study was to determine factors affecting access to health services and their impact on newborn deaths in Uganda. Mosley and Chen's model for child survival in developing nations provided the framework for the study. Secondary data from the 2016 demographic and health survey (UDHS) collected by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOs) was used. A total of 7,538 cases were used and …

Effectiveness Of Yoga Therapy On Pain And Related Depression, Anxiety, Perceived Stress, And Quality Of Life, Karen Romani

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Individuals are becoming more dependent on medication for conditions such as chronic-pain, anxiety, and depression. It is reported that patients are often overprescribed medication while health outcomes do not improve. The medicalization of society is distracting attention from the possibility of other therapies such as complementary or alternative medicine (CAMs) that can improve health outcomes if they were as supported as pharmacological research and better received by the medical community. Yoga and meditation, the components of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and yoga therapy, have been shown as effective CAMs for cases of anxiety and depression related to chronic illness …

Counter-Ideology As A Wider Strategy For Defeating The Boko Haram Terrorist Group, Kwesi Ayima

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There is a need to address current military strategies to defeat the resilience of the Boko Haram Terrorist (BHT) group. The purpose of this qualitative study was to provide a counter-ideology framework as an alternative strategy to defeat the group. The relational/vengeance and relative deprivation theories provided the theoretical foundation for the study, and the research question addressed the extent to which counter-ideology strategies can be instituted to defeat the BHT group. Data were collected through semi structured interviews from 20 participants who were Muslim clerics, community leaders, and military personnel, and data were analyzed using Nvivo software. The themes …

Separated By The Child Welfare System: The Journey Of One Set Of Fraternal Twins, Jocelyne Coan Bond

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This study explored the separation of twins in foster care and examined how their lived experiences relate to their interpersonal relationships as adults. Many researchers have studied the long-term impact of nontwin sibling separation in foster care, but little is known about the separation of twins, leaving a significant gap in existing literature. The purpose of this study was to examine the lived experiences twins who were separated in foster care as relates to their interpersonal relationships during adulthood. A qualitative, narrative approach was used to gather the lived experiences of one set of twins. The research questions examined how …

Physical Activity, Healthcare Use, And Medication Use In Diabetes Patients, Julie Kwon Evans

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Physical Activity, Healthcare Use, and Medication Use in Diabetes Patients

by

Julie Kwon Evans

MS, The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, 2013

Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for the Degree of

Doctor of Philosophy

Psychology

Walden University

November 2019

Education Program For Critical Care Nurses On Preventing Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infections, Olatunde Olatunji

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTIs) are the most frequently reported hospital-acquired condition, affecting more than 560,000 patients each year. CAUTIs prolong hospital stays and increase health care costs, and they can result in patient morbidity and mortality. Nurses can be empowered by receiving education and knowledge to manage and identify urinary catheters that are not clinically indicated. The purpose of this project was to develop an education program on CAUTI prevention for critical care nurses using the teach-back method. The conceptual framework that guided this project was Knowles's adult learning theory. The theoretical model was based on 4 fundamental assumptions …

Law Enforcement Perception Of Social Media As An Influence In Mass Shootings, Jazma Mekelle Parker

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Mass shootings have been a persistent issue in the United States, and the underlying factors that continue to influence this crime are not yet evident. This study explored the effects of social media as an influence on mass shootings in the United States. Its purpose was to address the role of social media in spreading opinionated ideologies. The research question addressed the role of social media in influencing the actions of perpetrators of mass shootings in the United States. The study framework was based on the social-ecological model to facilitate classification of the susceptibilities of social media users to adverse …

Mental Health Service Providers' Engagement Experiences Of Homeless Individuals, Tarsha Thomas-Richardson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Limited literature exists regarding best engagement practices of mental health service providers in encouraging the homeless individuals to participate in clinical mental health services in New York City. New York City has a population of more than 8.5 million, and in 2017 more than 129,803 homeless individuals slept in shelters. The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to gain more insight and knowledge about the best engagement practices and experiences of mental health service providers in encouraging homeless individuals to participate in clinical mental health services. The conceptual framework used to guide this study comes from Kearsley and Shneiderman's …

Assessing The Relational Nature Of Child Physical Abuse And Neglect Among 12-Year-Old Girls, Corrine Ann Dale

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

Child maltreatment is a historical and current problem in the United States. Children are exposed to physical abuse, neglect, and sexual abuse in alarming numbers. In 2014, state agencies found an estimated 702,000 victims of child maltreatment. With two thirds of this group representing child neglect victims, research studies and effective interventions are needed for this group in particular. This study examined the relational nature of child neglect versus child physical abuse. The sample population consisted of 68 girls aged 12 years old at the Midwest site of the Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect research project. The secondary …

Through Faculty's Eyes: Teaching Threshold Concepts And The Framework, Lorna M. Dawes

UNL Libraries: Faculty Publications

This study investigates faculty perceptions of teaching information literacy. Using 24 semi-structured interviews, a phenomenographic approach identified four qualitative ways in which faculty experienced teaching information literacy (IL). This paper analyzes the challenging information literacy concepts that faculty identify—known to many librarians as threshold concepts— and their relationship to the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) “Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education.” The study highlights the transdisciplinary nature of IL instruction and indicates that, although unaware of the ACRL Framework, faculty already teach at least three concepts from that document. This finding suggests new opportunities for collaborations between …

Plan Your Impact: Stacking Your Skills To Make Yourself Irreplaceable [Chapter 12], Kiyomi D. Deards, Leo S. Lo

UNL Libraries: Faculty Publications

After reading this chapter, you will be able to:

• construct and maintain a professional reputation in order to advance in the profession and be sought after for service and scholarship opportunities;

• describe effective methods of becoming involved in professional associations in order to bypass the barrier of needing-to-have-experience-to-get-experience; and

• construct effective narratives in order to effectively advocate for promotion and/or tenure.

Introduction

Success, defined as career progression, is a primary concern for new librarians and library school students in this era of constantly shifting priorities. Stacking your own unique skill sets establishes your professional reputation and can …

The Scholarly Impact Of Books Acquired Via Approval Plan Selection, Librarian Orders, And Patron-Driven Acquisitions As Measured By Citation Counts, David C. Tyler, Brianna D. Hitt, Francis A. Nterful, Mckenna R. Mettling

UNL Libraries: Faculty Publications

Patron-driven acquisition has been an important, if contentious, topic for decades, with numerous programs having been piloted, adopted, and reported on, largely favorably, in the library literature. Still, questions and doubts persist for academic libraries, especially where the composition of vendor plans and packages and the judgment of patrons are concerned. Past literature has approached the assessment of patron-driven acquisition by analyzing circulation/usage, comparing peer-library holdings, seeking patrons’ or librarians’ judgments of utility and suitability, looking for evidence of collection imbalances, and testing for overlap in patrons’ and librarians’ purchases. To contribute to this literature, this study addresses scholarly impact …

Dissemination, Access, Preservation: A Case Study Of Publications From The Organic Agriculture Research And Extension Initiative, Leslie M. Delserone

UNL Libraries: Faculty Publications

The Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative, administered by USDA-NIFA, is the major federal funder of organic agricultural research. Analysis of 733 publications produced during the initiative’s first five years explored the dissemination of this research, and accessibility to and preservation of the publications. Publications associated with conferences (e.g., abstracts) were most numerous (36%). Many publications (69%) were openly accessible online in 2017 but fewer than 10% of these appeared in a stable digital repository. In four of the eight publication categories, access disappeared over time. No program exists to systematically collect and preserve these outputs of organic agricultural research. …

This Is Not A Library! This Is Not A Kwik-E-Mart! The Satire Of Libraries, Librarians And Reference Desk Air-Hockey Tables, Casey D. Hoeve

UNL Libraries: Faculty Publications

Librarians are obsessed with stereotypes. Sometimes even so much so that, according to Gretchen Keer and Andrew Carlos, the fixation has become a stereotype within itself (63). The complexity of the library places the profession in a constant state of transition. Maintaining traditional organization systems while addressing new information trends distorts our image to the outside observer and leaves us vulnerable to mislabeling and stereotypes. Perhaps our greatest fear in recognizing stereotypes is not that we appear invariable but that the public does not fully understand what services we can provide. When we lose our ability to maintain relevancy, we …

Re-Centering Teaching And Learning: Toward Communities Of Practice At The University Of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Erica Defrain, Leslie Delserone, Elizabeth Lorang, Catherine F. Riehle, Toni Anaya

UNL Libraries: Faculty Publications

The scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) presents important opportunities that can transform learning, but many academic librarians at the University of Nebraska- Lincoln (UNL) struggle to find a scholarly center when their teaching roles are frequently that of external collaborator. Challenges such as access to student data, meaningful evaluations of instruction, limited opportunities for funding and professional development, and uncertainty over how to negotiate for these have contributed to librarians remaining on the periphery of SoTL work. Hoping to overcome some of these hurdles, UNL librarians are developing a community of practice (CoP) around teaching and learning.

In the …

The Impact Of Disrupted Caregiving For Juvenile Sexual Offenders, Miranda Sitney, Keith L. Kaufman

Psychology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Research that attempts to understand why young people commit sex crimes points to an array of family factors that may uniquely contribute to sexual offending over general juvenile delinquency. This study examines the potentially moderating role of disrupted caregiving in the relationship between offending and caregiver-child relationship quality. Two distinct moderators were tested: gender of caregiver and biological relationship between caregiver and child. Results indicate that juvenile sexual offenders have particularly poor relationships with their primary caregivers compared to incarcerated non-sexual offenders and community controls. Furthermore, sexual offenders with male caregivers were found to have lower relationship quality scores than …

Gwas Of Qrs Duration Identifies New Loci Specific To Hispanic/Latino Populations, Brenton R Swenson, Tin Louie, Henry J Lin, Raúl Méndez-Giráldez, Jennifer E Below, Cathy C Laurie, Kathleen F Kerr, Heather Highland, Timothy A Thornton, Kelli K Ryckman, Charles Kooperberg, Elsayed Z Soliman, Amanda A Seyerle, Xiuqing Guo, Kent D Taylor, Jie Yao, Susan R Heckbert, Dawood Darbar, Lauren E Petty, Barbara Mcknight, Susan Cheng, Natalie A Bello, Eric A Whitsel, Craig L Hanis, Mike A Nalls, Daniel S Evans, Jerome I Rotter, Tamar Sofer, Christy L Avery, Nona Sotoodehnia

Student and Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: The electrocardiographically quantified QRS duration measures ventricular depolarization and conduction. QRS prolongation has been associated with poor heart failure prognosis and cardiovascular mortality, including sudden death. While previous genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified 32 QRS SNPs across 26 loci among European, African, and Asian-descent populations, the genetics of QRS among Hispanics/Latinos has not been previously explored.

METHODS: We performed a GWAS of QRS duration among Hispanic/Latino ancestry populations (n = 15,124) from four studies using 1000 Genomes imputed genotype data (adjusted for age, sex, global ancestry, clinical and study-specific covariates). Study-specific results were combined using fixed-effects, inverse variance-weighted …

Who Runs The World: The Impact Of The Gender Of Clerks On The Legal Profession, Taylor Bernstein

Honors Theses

This paper investigates the role of gender on law clerks from the federal appellate clerks. There has been significant scholarship on the importance of the gender of judges and on the role and influence of law clerks; however, to this date there has been no analysis of how the gender of law clerks may or may not influence the clerkship experience. This honors thesis seeks to address that question and shed light on important aspects of the federal judiciary and the legal profession. I have approached this inquiry through descriptive and qualitative analysis, focusing on law clerks from this millennium. …

Covert Singing In Anticipatory Auditory Imagery, Tim A. Pruitt, Andrea R. Halpern, P. Q. Pfordresher

Faculty Journal Articles

To date, several fMRI studies reveal activation in motor planning areas during musical auditory imagery. We addressed whether such activations may give rise to peripheral motor activity, termed subvocalization or covert singing, using surface electromyography. sensors placed on extrinsic laryngeal muscles, facial muscles, and a control site on the bicep measured muscle activity during auditory imagery that preceded singing, as well as during the completion of a visual imagery task. Greater activation was found in laryngeal and lip muscles for auditory than for visual imagery tasks, whereas no differences across tasks were found for other sensors. Furthermore, less accurate singers …

'Fresh Seal Blood Looks Like Beauty And Life': #Sealfies And Subsistence In Nunavut, Edmund Searles

Faculty Journal Articles

In this paper, I analyze the various functions, meanings and affects associated with seal hunting, eating and sharing seal meat, wearing sealskin clothing and posting #sealfies. Drawing on several decades of research with hunting and gathering families in the eastern Canadian Arctic, and starting with the cultural premise that hunting seals unites the worlds of humans, animals, and spirits, I argue that the seal is a prominent metaphor for the Inuit self. By extension, I examine how Inuit use #sealfies as an extension of other subsistence practices, as a way of making identity (personal and collective), and as a way …

A Hybrid Cognitive Architecture With Primal Affect And Physiology, Christopher L. Dancy

Faculty Journal Articles

Though computational cognitive architectures have been used to study several processes associated with human behavior, the study of integration of affect and emotion in these processes has been relatively sparse. Theory from affective science and affective neuroscience can be used to systematically integrate affect into cognitive architectures, particularly in areas where cognitive system behavior is known to be associated with physiological structure and behavior. I introduce a unified theory and model of human behavior that integrates physiology and primal affect with cognitive processes in a cognitive architecture. This new architecture gives a more tractable, mechanistic way to simulate affect-cognition interactions …