Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Burnout Syndrome Among Minority Women Leading Community Health Centers: A Phenomenological Study, Thelma Christine Sardin

Ed.D. Dissertations

Community health center leaders have potential burnout exposure due to occupational and personal stressors. The transcendental phenomenological study delved into the experiences of minority female community health center leaders, examining how the COVID-19 pandemic, diversity, equity, and inclusion issues influenced their burnout syndrome compared to their peers. The focus of the study was on 17 community health leaders in the Midwestern U.S., including minority and non-minority leaders. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews, demographic screening, and field notes. Three themes emerged: Leader characteristics with training and experience, Stressors that impact burnout, and Diversity, equity, and inclusion issues impacting burnout. The …

Optimism And Spirituality On Burnout In Educators, Mackenzie Coats

Honors Program Projects

Burnout in educators can be attributed to high stress, increased demands, and a lack of resources, leading to high levels of turnover. Personal resources, such as optimism and spirituality, have been shown to individually have a negative correlation with burnout but have not been evaluated jointly to predict burnout in an educational setting. This research determines the relative contribution of optimism and spirituality to the three facets of burnout: emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment. An electronic survey consisting of the Maslach Burnout Inventory, the Life Orientation Test-Revised, and the Spirituality at Work Scale was completed by educators of …

Therapeutic Use Of Music For Geriatric Dementia Patients, Katelynn E. Roscioli

Honors Program Projects

Dementia impacts millions of individuals and their families worldwide, yet many caregivers remain untrained, unpaid, and unable to maintain their own health while caring for their patients. Despite the need for support, limited resources exist to aid these caregivers in combatting this progressive, debilitating disease. One possibility lies in practices rooted in music therapy, which have been shown to restore memory retention, personhood, and quality of life in dementia patients. However, individuals outside of music therapists, especially those with limited musical backgrounds, may not consider implementing music therapy within their care plan. To make this approach more accessible, a website …

The Big Bills Are Still There: What Stands Between Credentials And Calling?, Paul R. Koch

Scholar Week 2016 - present

In 1996, the late Mancur Olson, of the University of Maryland, wrote an article in the Journal of Economic Perspectives entitled "Big Bills Left on the Sidewalk." The title refers to an old joke among economists about whether or not market processes of voluntary exchange exhaust all possibilities for mutually beneficial trades. Olson went on to draw a distinction between marketable human capital, where the development of skills and habits normally increases money income in a direct manner, and public good human capital, where income is affected indirectly through the effect on public policies and institutions. Consistent with the traditional …

Child Development Degree Program: Careers Spotlight & Panel Discussion, Amanda Chorak, Jenae Pratscher, Dajah Bibbs, Brittany Alsvig, Kayla Deubel, Margaret Landis, Savannah Vaughan, Abigail Gentry, Alexa Gonzalez, Kaitlyn Fish, Ashley Camden, Kathleen Hammerberg, Sarah O’Neal, Kenzy Mallard, Sutton Bate, Kara Vallarta

Scholar Week 2016 - present

Join session via Microsoft Teams.

The Child Development program within the School of Education has continued to grow and strengthen its identity over the recent years. Students currently seek diverse career paths working with children and families following completion and graduation from the B.S. Child Development program. A group of undergraduate students from the spring 2024 CDEV 490 Senior Seminar will facilitate a discussion with a panel of helping professionals connected to the Child Development degree program. The panel discussion will give spotlight to the variety of career paths the degree prepares individuals for and will include both ONU Child …

The Effect Of Adverse Childhood Experiences On The Self-Esteem Of College Students, Maggie J. Van Heemst

ELAIA

Background Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are known to predict negative health and mental health effects later in life. One in two Americans has experienced at least one ACE. This issue is prevalent across class, race, and ethnicity. However, little is known about ACEs and the young adult population. Methods A survey was conducted to measure ACEs and self-esteem in fifty college students. The hypothesis was a negative correlation between ACE and self-esteem scores. Results A small negative correlation was found between ACEs and self-esteem in college students. The average ACE score was 3.9 and the average self-esteem score was 16.78. …

Evaluating College Students’ Health Literacyand Its Effects On Their Perceptions Of Informationconcerning Mask-Wearing In The Covid-19 Pandemic, Hannah S. Ketchum

ELAIA

Background Mask-wearing was a controversial and polarizing phenomenon during the COVID-19 pandemic. Beliefs concerning mask-wearing differed depending on sources of information concerning the pandemic, levels of health literacy, political leaning, demographics, or other factors. This project attempted to connect college students’ level of health literacy to their understanding of and adherence to mask-wearing in the COVID- 19 pandemic. There is a gap in research connecting health literacy to understanding information concerning pandemics and an even bigger lack of studies conducted that relate college students’ health literacy to their perception of illnesses or pandemics. It is important to understand the impact …

A Curriculum Designed To Teach Elementary-Age Children In Diverse Settings The Kingdom Concept Of Loving One’S Neighbor, Abigail J. Flood

ELAIA

United States Census data from 2020 show that the country is becoming increasingly diverse and urbanized. Other research shows children are aware of race from an early age and can pick up biases and stereotypes by watching the adults around them. However, there are no children’s ministry curricula that specifically address how children should navigate differences from a biblical perspective. To fill this gap, a children’s ministry curriculum was written to model how children can love their neighbors like Jesus did, especially those who look different from themselves. The curriculum is comprised of an introduction for the ministry leader, five …

The Effect Of Education On Support For Tnr As A Method Of Feral Cat Management, Kaitlyn F. Bishop

ELAIA

A feral cat is a cat that is untamed and not suitable for placement in a home. Through their naturally high rate of reproduction and lack of population management, feral cat populations have grown exponentially, leading to overpopulation. Feral cats effect their communities through their impact on wildlife, financial burden, and health risk to both humans and other animals. Due to the impact feral cats place on their communities, multiple management methods have been suggested. Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) is a humane, effective method of management; however, controversy surrounds its use. Existing studies have determined that age, gender, and past experiences with …

Kankakee In Deindustrialization: An Oral History Approach, Rachel H. Shepard

ELAIA

The City of Kankakee was an industrialized city that prospered economically for decades. Throughout the late 1970s and 1980s, economic trends shifted for Kankakee and the surrounding communities. The major factories, such as Roper Corporation and A.O. Smith, migrated their source of production from Kankakee to other regions of the United States and abroad during the 1970s and 1980s. As a result, the declining industrial economic activity led to changing community perceptions. Kankakee is an example of the “Rust Belt” region, a region in the Midwestern and Northeastern States of the United States where declining industrial activity occurred throughout the …

Impact Of Mindfulness Training On Test Anxiety In College Students, Lindsay Alcock

ELAIA

Background Mindfulness is defined as the state of giving full attention to a stimulus, internal or external, without inducing judgment or becoming reactional about the feelings experienced, positive or negative (Davis & Hayes, 2012). Previous studies have investigated the relationship between mindfulness techniques and the reduction of anxiety (Chambers et al., 2008; Macdonald & Olsen, 2020); a smaller number of studies have considered test anxiety (Cho et al., 2016; Sparks, 2017). Prior research has used multiple mindfulness techniques to measure the impact on test anxiety, but few have isolated mindfulness trainings to compare the relative impact of each type on …

History Lessons From Esther: The Leopold Von Ranke Lecture Delivered At The Phi Alpha Theta Induction Ceremony, Kent R. Olney

Scholarship – Academic Affairs Office

The German historian, Leopold Von Ranke, noted the following: “Every epoch is immediate to God, and its value is not based on what emerges from it, but on its very existence.” My assignment was to respond to Von Ranke’s thoughts. I have done so by drawing on four observations made from the OT book of Esther. These observations pertain to truth, years, obscurity, and heroes; all of them matter to God and all of them should matter to the historian. In a sense, these four elements are the raw materials, or building blocks, of history in any generation. I conclude …

The Lived Experiences Of Women Postdrug Court: A Phenomenological Study, Cantrell Ward

Ed.D. Dissertations

Despite a negative stigma about drug treatment courts, researchers have indicated that drug courts are essential to reducing recidivism and helping offenders reintegrate into various communities. Although there is extensive research concerning recidivism in men, less is known about recidivism in women, leaving a gap in the literature on formerly incarcerated women and their experiences completing drug treatment court, the role of familial support system, and recidivism. This qualitative phenomenological study aimed to understand how previously incarcerated women who had completed a drug treatment program described the role of family support systems in preventing recidivism. Five formerly incarcerated women who …

Can You Talk Your Way Out Of This? An Educational Escape Room, Leslie Moyar

Ed.D. Dissertations

Despite being a top healthcare priority, patient safety remains a problem in the U.S. with hundreds of thousands of annual patient deaths due to medical errors. Communication breakdowns within the healthcare team are a key factor in poor patient outcomes and in relatively low retention rates among healthcare professionals, especially nurses. To prepare nursing students for a successful entry into the profession, nurse educators must consider alternate strategies for teaching communication skills to a new generation of students. This qualitative study explored the use of a game-based escape room as part of a multi-part communication lesson plan and its impact …

Remote Learning: Impacting The Future Of Education, Jessica Hollewell

Ed.D. Dissertations

The Coronavirus-19 pandemic impacted society as well as multiple industries, including education. This qualitative research project aims to explore the perceptions of faculty in a small, Midwestern, private K-12 Christian school during the school shutdowns and subsequent remote learning time period from March 2020 to June 2020. Additionally, this research project aims to increase the awareness of the changing needs of students, educators, and families as well as facilitating the needed adjustments to trainings, planning, and resources for future remote learning sessions. The data for this case study was collected through semi-structured interviews at one school building with six faculty …

The Intersection Of Healthcare Marketing Communications And Patient Experience: A Qualitative Study, Megan O’Erin Yore

Ed.D. Dissertations

Providing a positive experience to patients at healthcare organizations is a complex undertaking and a continuous process due to staff turnover and the ever-changing industry. Positive patient experiences are an important part of the healing process as they relate to better outcomes in quality assessments. The purpose of this case study was to examine the nature of collaboration between clinical and marketing communications teams working to improve patient experience. To uncover lived experience, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 18 participants–nine clinicians and nine marketing communications professionals–from 10 organizations. The study sought to understand how marketing communications teams collaborated with clinicians, …

First-Generation Black Male Students’ Experiences, And Relationships That Shaped College – To - Career Transition, Regina K. Smith

Ed.D. Dissertations

First-generation, Black, male students continue to lag behind their continuing-generation peers in degree attainment, leaving them deficient in obtaining the social and financial upward mobility higher education is expected to afford. Research finds that, despite Black males entering college with higher degree aspirations than their White peers, they were 6 times less likely to achieve them, and only 5% of Black males would eventually graduate with a degree or certificate within three years of enrollment, compared with 32% of White males (Center for Community College Student Engagement, 2014). To close this persistent gap, this research sought to understand the activities, …

The Effect Of Education On Support For Tnr As A Method Of Feral Cat Management, Kaitlyn F. Bishop

Honors Program Projects

A feral cat is a cat that is untamed and not suitable for placement in a home. Through their naturally high rate of reproduction and lack of population management, feral cat populations have grown exponentially, leading to overpopulation. Feral cats effect their communities through their impact on wildlife, financial burden, and health risk to both humans and other animals. Due to the impact feral cats place on their communities, multiple management methods have been suggested. Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) is a humane, effective method of management; however, controversy surrounds its use. Existing studies have determined that age, gender, and past experiences with …

The Effect Of Adverse Childhood Experiences On The Self-Esteem Of College Students, Maggie Van Heemst

Honors Program Projects

Background: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are known to predict negative health and mental health effects later in life. One in two Americans has experienced at least one ACE. This issue is prevalent across class, race, and ethnicity. However, little is known about ACEs and the young adult population.

Methods: A survey was conducted to measure ACEs and self-esteem in fifty college students. The hypothesis was a negative correlation between ACE and self-esteem scores.

Results: A small negative correlation was found between ACEs and self-esteem in college students. The average ACE score was 3.9 and the average self-esteem score was 16.78. …

Evaluating College Students’ Health Literacy And Its Effects On Their Perceptions Of Information Concerning Mask-Wearing In The Covid-19 Pandemic, Hannah Ketchum

Scholar Week 2016 - present

BACKGROUND: Mask-wearing was a controversial and polarizing phenomenon during the COVID-19 pandemic. Beliefs concerning mask-wearing differed, depending on sources of information concerning the pandemic, levels of health literacy, political leaning, demographics, or other factors. This project attempted to connect college students’ level of health literacy to their understanding of and adherence to mask-wearing in the COVID-19 pandemic. There is a gap in research connecting health literacy to understanding information concerning pandemics, and an even bigger lack of studies conducted that relate college students’ health literacy to their perception of illnesses or pandemics. It is important to understand the impact of …

[Phi Delta Lambda Sponsored Session] "Scholar Adventures": Bibliographic Detective Work As An Academic Librarian, Emily Spunaugle, Karen Knudson

Scholar Week 2016 - present

Academic librarians support the research of their college or university community, but also conduct their own research. This presentation focuses on the intersection of the two, featuring the presenter's experience solving bibliographic mysteries of unique 18th century pamphlets and tracking down books heisted from her library 30 years ago.

Emily D. Spunaugle is Assistant Professor, Humanities and Rare Books Librarian at Oakland University in Rochester, MI. Her research is at the intersection of book history and women's writings of the long eighteenth century and appears in Papers of the Bibliographical Society of America, Romantic Circles, Libraries: Culture, History, and …

Strategies For Supporting College Students Experiencing Grief, Rachel A. Guimond

Scholar Week 2016 - present

Grief and loss are a shared human experience. However, lacking cultural awareness of the impact of grief and insufficient social support can make managing the loss of a loved one very challenging for students. One strategy to support students who experience loss during college is the development of a course that addresses content related to the experience within supportive academic relationships. This presentation will explore research findings about student experiences of grief on college campuses and evidence-based practices for the development and implementation of an academic course on grief.

It May Work In Practice, But Does It Work In Theory? Explaining The Trend Towards “Do-It-Yourself” Economics, Paul R. Koch

Scholar Week 2016 - present

In 1986, the late David Henderson, the former chief economist at the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD), published a book entitled Innocence and Design: The Influence of Economic Ideas on Policy, which were based on his Reith Lectures from the previous year. In this book, he outlined the elements of a concept which he defined as “do-it-yourself economics,” which emphasized a case-by-case approach to economic policy, as opposed to one that was associated with a comprehensive vision or theory. Some of the following statements constitute examples of “DIY economics” at work:

• Industries or activities can be classified as …

Best Leadership Practices Of Senior Pastors In The Church Of The Nazarene, David Thornhill

Ed.D. Dissertations

The current study explored the leadership style and practices of 12 senior pastors in the Church of the Nazarene in the United States whose churches had experienced numerical growth under their leadership. The researcher theorized that uncovering the common leadership style and common leadership practices of these pastors would lead to suggesting growth strategies that may be taught to clergy and applied to churches in the USA region of the Church of the Nazarene. This qualitative collective case study revealed collaboration as the common leadership style among pastors of growing churches. This study also identified 11 common leadership practices among …

Early Christian Perspectives On The Catechetical Process, Mark A. Frisius

Center for Faith & Family

The goal of this paper is to provide a brief overview of findings related to the catechetical practices or early Christianity. This approach was occasioned by the observations that 1) the United States is headed toward a post-Christian reality, where Christianity can no longer be assumed as the dominant force in American culture, and 2). that it would be possible to gain insight from Christians who lived in a pre-Christian environment. This paper is organized around themes and is not meant to be read straight through. Instead, each theme contains a series of lettered or numbered observations designed to help …

Evaluating College Students’ Health Literacy And Its Effects On Their Perceptions Of Information Concerning Mask-Wearing In The Covid-19 Pandemic Ve Information Concerning Mask-Wearing In The Covid-19 Pandemic, Hannah S. Ketchum

Honors Program Projects

Background: Mask-wearing was a controversial and polarizing phenomenon during the COVID-19 pandemic. Beliefs concerning mask-wearing differed depending on sources of information concerning the pandemic, levels of health literacy, political leaning, demographics, or other factors. This project attempted to connect college students’ level of health literacy to their understanding of and adherence to mask-wearing in the COVID-19 pandemic. There is a gap in research connecting health literacy to understanding information concerning pandemics and an even bigger lack of studies conducted that relate college students’ health literacy to their perception of illnesses or pandemics. It is important to understand the impact of …

Advocating For The Middle Man: An Explication Of Chair Perceptions On Overcoming Emotion At Work, Brittany Armstrong

Ed.D. Dissertations

The researcher’s study aimed to understand the perceptions of private university department chairs when engaging with emotional intelligence (EQ) at work. The qualitative approach provided the boundaries for the voice and the experience of the participants as the researcher collected interviews, department meeting minutes, and department program reviews from a sample of five department chairs across three, private universities. The following departments served as the study’s population: mathematics, family and consumer science, business, education, and modern languages. Findings revealed participants perceived job satisfaction through the mediator of emotion. Participants identified the emotional challenges of department chair and perceived emotion within …

Time To Stop Worrying: A Correlational Study On Individualist Versus Collectivist Time Perspectives And Anxiety, Anna Waldron

ELAIA

Purpose Research has indicated a significant relationship between anxiety and time perspective (TP), which is the way one views life in terms of the past, present or future. TP is broken down into five facets based on the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory (ZTPI), including past negative (PN), past positive (PP), present fatalistic (PF), present hedonistic (PH), and future (F) time perspectives (Zimbardo & Boyd, 1999). Time perspective is thought to be impacted by one’s culture, although there is a lack of representation in studies on TP cross-culturally, which makes it difficult to generalize. In order to add to the research …

Religiosity And Relational Anxiety: A Cross-Denominational Study, Timothy Steininger

ELAIA

Background: Prior research has provided evidence for a correlation between religiosity and anxiety, quantifiable differences between denominations, and a somewhat equivocal link between religiosity and social trust. Methods: This present study seeks to extend the existing body of knowledge by assessing the relationship between intrinsic religiosity and both trait and relational anxiety across denominational groups and by measuring the relationship between relational anxiety and social trust. Participants (N = 1,905) were asked to provide their informed consent as well as basic demographic information and answers to four surveys. Results: Analysis revealed a modest negative relationship between intrinsic religiosity and trait …

The Reliability And Validity Of The Open Enneagram Of Personality Scales, Kayleigh Kastelein

ELAIA

The purpose of this study is to assess the reliability and validity of the thirty-six-item Open Enneagram of Personality Scales (OEPS). Our general hypothesis was that the OEPS would show adequate reliability evidence but not validity evidence. Participants were acquired through a small denominationally affiliated Midwest university, Amazon Mechanical Turk, and social media. Test-retest reliability was done with 249 participants, whereas internal consistency reliability, factor analysis, and correlations with the Big Five Inventory (BFI; John, Donahue, & Kentle, 1991) were done using 1,039 participants. An average Pearson’s correlation of .68 (range: 0.54 - 0.75) showed inadequate test-retest reliability for the …