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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons

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Articles 1 - 11 of 11

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Msu Students' Use Of The Msu Web Site, Kristin Ruder Aug 2014

Msu Students' Use Of The Msu Web Site, Kristin Ruder

Journal of Undergraduate Research at Minnesota State University, Mankato

As part of ongoing usability studies of the MSU Web site, survey data was collected from convenience samples of MSU students to evaluate their self-assessed expertise using the Internet as well as their use of and satisfaction with the MSU Web site.


Project Close At Hand: Addressing Homelessness Through Community Engagement, Kristin Wibben Aug 2014

Project Close At Hand: Addressing Homelessness Through Community Engagement, Kristin Wibben

Journal of Undergraduate Research at Minnesota State University, Mankato

This project examines the power of college students to positively sensitize their host community’s residents to the problem of homelessness and to implement “Project Close at Hand”, a project that focuses on breaking down the stereotypes associated with homelessness and collecting donations sufficient to save a local men’s homeless shelter from closing.


The Effects Of Room Color On Stress Perception: Red Versus Green Environments, Teresa M. Kutchma Aug 2014

The Effects Of Room Color On Stress Perception: Red Versus Green Environments, Teresa M. Kutchma

Journal of Undergraduate Research at Minnesota State University, Mankato

The purpose of the study was to investigate the effects of red versus green room colors on individual perception of stress. Room color was found through previous studies to have specific effects on psychomotor activity and emotional states. Correlations were found between red room color and emotional and physical stimulation, while green was associated with inhibitory effects. Additionally, Goldstein’s theory of color perception showed that red has stimulating effects on human behavior. Subjects consisted of 15 female and 15 male college freshmen at Minnesota State University, Mankato. An experimental booth was used for red, green and white room conditions. Subjects …


Correlation Between Health And Stress, Hang Wu Aug 2014

Correlation Between Health And Stress, Hang Wu

Journal of Undergraduate Research at Minnesota State University, Mankato

This study examined participants’ level of stress and their perceived level of stress and success in school. The subjects were given the stress questionnaire in order to determine the level of stress they were experiencing and the frequency of health issues experienced during the previous year. The results of the study suggest that although level of stress may be similar between individuals, how they perceived the stress impacted their health level. Students who perceived the stress in a negative fashion were more likely to be sick than individuals who were less impacted by the stress. By identifying the correlation between …


A Burkian Pentadic Analysis Of Msu Riot Narratives, Joseph Mohrfeld Aug 2014

A Burkian Pentadic Analysis Of Msu Riot Narratives, Joseph Mohrfeld

Journal of Undergraduate Research at Minnesota State University, Mankato

In the fall of 2003 a riot occurred very near the Minnesota State University, Mankato campus and in its aftermath many different narratives emerged describing the events. Using Kenneth Burke's pentad, this project examines those narratives in order to discover how different groups construct their accounts and which narrative elements different groups emphasize. By understanding how the narrative accounts given by these agents are influenced by their situation, the research allows us to see how riots emerge out of tensions within the conflicting productive contexts.


Distinguishing Observed Inattentive Behaviors In The College Classroom As They Correlate To Brain Wave Activity Utilizing A Wireless Electroencephalograph, Christopher J. Aura, Matthew R. Stanton Aug 2014

Distinguishing Observed Inattentive Behaviors In The College Classroom As They Correlate To Brain Wave Activity Utilizing A Wireless Electroencephalograph, Christopher J. Aura, Matthew R. Stanton

Journal of Undergraduate Research at Minnesota State University, Mankato

A significant amount of research has been devoted to the behavioral correlates of inattention in children (A.P.A., 2000; Arnold, 2000; Gordon & Barkley, 1998). It is proposed by the authors that college students, in their several years of experience, are much more capable of masking these trademark behaviors. When a child loses interest they will begin to openly look around the room, shift in their seat, or chat with their neighbors (Sandberg, Rutter & Taylor, 1978; Arnold, 2000). College students however, are proposed to candidly fidget, shift in their seat, or even maintain eye contact with their instructor while “daydreaming”. …


Campus Paper Waste, Joshua E. Randall Aug 2014

Campus Paper Waste, Joshua E. Randall

Journal of Undergraduate Research at Minnesota State University, Mankato

The fall of 2004 at Minnesota State University, a new program called MavPrint was introduced. The user submits a document to be printed at a computer, the expense is deducted from their account, and then their document can be retrieved from any MavPrint station. In years past printing had been free, but seeing how according to Bryan Schneider, the director of Technical Services at Minnesota State University – Mankato, from the year 2003 to the year 2004 the printing costs for the University rose 200 percent, they felt it was time to make a change. MSU students printed out over …


Communication Apprehension And Its Relationship To Gender And College Year, Jodi Frantz, Amber Marlow, Jennifer Wathen Aug 2014

Communication Apprehension And Its Relationship To Gender And College Year, Jodi Frantz, Amber Marlow, Jennifer Wathen

Journal of Undergraduate Research at Minnesota State University, Mankato

This study examined the differences between communication apprehension, one’s gender, and his or her year in college. Participants included a convenience sample of full-time undergraduate students at a Midwestern, liberal arts, private Christian college. The students were asked to complete the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension (PRCA-24), a self-report measure of communication apprehension. It was predicted that females would have higher communication apprehension levels than males and that as class standing increases, communication apprehension decreases. A statistically significant difference was found between males and females with respect to their overall CA score. The results also showed no significant difference between …


Reflections On The Conduct Of Research With Human Subjects Across Two Cultures, Kimberly Maas Aug 2014

Reflections On The Conduct Of Research With Human Subjects Across Two Cultures, Kimberly Maas

Journal of Undergraduate Research at Minnesota State University, Mankato

This study examined the potential benefits, challenges, and barriers faced by university students and research colleagues who were involved in international partnerships for cross-cultural research projects between the USA and Russia. In scholarly investigations in the USA, research subjects must be informed of the precautions that will be taken to protect their safety and their privacy (Amdur & Bankfert, 2002). Particularly in Russia, there are no corresponding policies for working with human subjects that compare to the procedures followed by American university Institutional Review Boards. Furthermore, international partnerships have faced new challenges as a result of the restructuring of American …


Impact Of Text Messaging On Communication, Heidi Hemmer Aug 2014

Impact Of Text Messaging On Communication, Heidi Hemmer

Journal of Undergraduate Research at Minnesota State University, Mankato

This study used two focus groups to learn about college students and their use of text messages. All of the students were from the Arts and Humanities College at Minnesota State University. One focus group contained five females and other focus group contained five males. The main focus of this study was to find if text messages displaced face-to-face communication. The results of this study suggest text messages do have a displacing effect on face-to-face communication. But text messaging is not the only technology that has the displacement effect. This study also suggests males and females view text messages differently. …


Roommate Rants: Understanding Roommate Conflicts Among Msu Students, Kimberly Halpin Aug 2014

Roommate Rants: Understanding Roommate Conflicts Among Msu Students, Kimberly Halpin

Journal of Undergraduate Research at Minnesota State University, Mankato

Roommates seem to go hand in hand with the college experience. Conflicts are inevitable in life and when a pair or small group of college students live together, conflict is likely to occur. The purpose of this study was to find out what conflicts roommates experience, how they communicate those conflicts, and how they resolve those conflicts. All conflicts would involve a Minnesota State University, Mankato (MSU) student and their roommate(s). An online survey, consisting of twenty questions, was created and administered to Dr. Kristen Treinen's SPEE 100: Fundamentals of Speech Communication class; twenty out of 750 students responded. The …