Digital Commons Network^™

Video Game Cultivation: Sowing The Seeds Of Consumer Behavior, Jonathan K. Mattson

Masters Theses

George Gerbner (1998) dedicated a significant amount of this life attempting to understand the creation and impact of mass media messages on viewers. Out of this research sprang cultivation theory, which holds viewers' realities can be impacted over time by the media environment they inhabit and its overarching messages. While often applied to television, cultivation theory has largely ignored other mediums, specifically video games. Video games have evolved as a medium since the public arcades of the 1980's and now run on high-powered, internet-enabled consoles. These consoles allow producers into the home of the consumer, saturating them with messages. This …

Juvenile Delinquency: A Comparative Analysis Between Divorced And Married Homes, Cristina R. Prestin-Latham

Masters Theses

The purpose of this research was to determine if children being raised in divorced homes are more likely to be juvenile delinquents that children being raised in married homes. Additionally, this study sought to determine if the age of the child during the divorce further contributes to the likelihood of delinquent behavior. The majority of previous studies indicate children from divorced homes are more prone to juvenile delinquency than children from married homes. The sample in this study consisted of 544 participants. Using a self-reporting, anonymous questionnaire, participants were asked questions about their childhood home structure and their adolescent delinquent …

A Phenomenological Analysis Of The Perceptions Of Housing Staff's Current Practices And Aspirational Desires Of Managing Mental Health Needs On A College Campus, Rebecca Maday

Masters Theses

Housing staffs perceptions were analyzed concerning current practices for identifying and managing mental health needs in residence halls. Six participants were interviewed, including undergraduate resident assistants and graduate hall directors. The results showed that there are four major themes when dealing with mental health training at a large four-year, primarily residential public school. Themes included Training Information, Improvements for Training, Interpersonal Feelings, and Barriers for Referral. Themes and implications for student affairs professionals were discussed.

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of The All Power Labs Power Pallet As A Training Tool For Biomass Gasification Education, Christopher Che Frederick

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to provide a better understanding of classroom training with regard to renewable energies. A lecture series and survey were developed by the principle researcher and presented to students in the Alternative and Renewable Energy Systems class and Machine Design class at Eastern Illinois University. The lecture series introduced students to biomass gasification and its application at Eastern Illinois University. The survey analyzed participant's level of knowledge of gasification technologies. The survey's pre and post test scores were used to validate the effectiveness of the training.

The All Power Labs Power Pallet was utilized as …

Cup Size Effects On Soda Consumption, Lisa Heiser

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Is Nigeria's Conflict Ethnic Or Religious?: Resolving The Escalating Conflict In Nigeria, Ejikeme Nonso Alo

Masters Theses

The history and politics in Nigeria have often been characterized and marred with conflict, ranging from political to religious, ethnic and electoral violence. In this study, Edward Azar's Protracted Social Conflict theory which advocates for a multidimensional analysis of conflict was adopted in an attempt to properly understanding the nature and manifestation of the current Boko Haram insurgence in Nigeria. Methodologically, both the qualitative and quantitative methods were deployed. Survey's (questionnaires and evidence from social media) was conducted in the three regions with the aim of comparing and contrasting various perspectives on the root cause of the conflict. While lack …

The Construction Of Spiritual Identity: Cmm And Conversion To Catholicism, Stephanie Gruner

Masters Theses

This study uses the Coordinated Management of Meaning (CMM) to examine the spiritual stories of six people who were not raised Catholic, but joined the Catholic faith as adults. The participants' experiences reveal that their spiritual identities have both personal and communal aspects and that they view their identities as both fixed and changing. Additionally, when communicating their spiritualities to others these individuals must balance relationship concerns with the desire to express their spiritual identities. Applying CMM's hierarchy of meaning to the data shows that the levels work together in shaping the participants' understandings of their identities. The participants' relationships …

Speaking Silence Fluently: Encouraging Student Understanding Of Counterhegemonic Strategies In African American Literature, Kathleen S. Decker

Masters Theses

This thesis suggests that while mainstream multicultural education claims to promote both diversity and equality, it fails to adequately address, let alone improve, the living conditions of minority students. It further suggests that when teachers help students read through the lenses of critical multiculturalism and critical whiteness studies, students can better see that both canonical and non-canonical African American authors deliberately employ nuanced strategies to resist white supremacy. Specifically through the use of purposeful and discreet silences, these authors serve to promote new and actively counterhegemonic ways of thinking in the classroom.

Each chapter pairs two texts--one canonical and one …

Conceptualizing Identity As Performance In Young Adult Dystopian Literature, Kelly F. Franklin

Masters Theses

Young Adult Literature has historically been read as a genre that encourages singular identity formation. Scholars have argued that this literature inspires young adult readers to find their true identity by showcasing characters in the process of identity construction. However, when read through the lens of performance theory - a vast field that encompasses many disciplines such as sociology, psychology, anthropology, literature and theatre - it becomes evident that YAL actually encourages the formation of multiple roles and identities. This genre features characters trying on new roles, casting assigned roles aside, and assuming new identities to best suit their settings. …

Knowing One's Place In The Post-Millennial, South African Novels Of Van Niekerk, Wicomb, And Matlwa, Stephen C. Poggendorf

Masters Theses

The literature of post-apartheid South Africa suggests that the atrocities of the past still linger and continue to shape the mentality of the nation. Grace and hope often mix with resentment, bitterness, and vexation in the pages of contemporary South African novels. Marlene van Niekerk's The Way of the Women (2004), Zoë Wicomb's Playing in the Light (2006), and Kopano Matlwa's Spilt Milk (2010), each reflects on intersections of race, space, and gender as they occur in specific locations. These novels all unfold in South Africa, and involve highly particularized settings that conjure up specific moments from the country's history; …

Upvoting The Audience: A Burkean Analysis Of Reddit, Doug Urbanski

Masters Theses

My thesis examines the Internet community Reddit through the rhetorical framework of Kenneth Burke, specifically his work with identification between individuals and how identification shapes communities. I focused on three sections of Reddit: World News, Ask Reddit, and Politics, and analyzed the best-voted comments of top posts from each section, focusing on how anonymous users communicate with one another and how their anonymity might influence the ways they interact. Additionally, I propose a method for instructors to use Reddit in the classroom, taking advantage of the medium's systematic anonymity.

Fantasy's Weight: A Tale Of Zaria Dekarthan, Heather Wohltman

Masters Theses

Kurt Vonnegut says in his novel, Player Piano, "I want to stay as close to the edge as I can without going over. Out on the edge you see all kinds of things you can't see from the center" (84). Laurence Yep, Marie Colleen Cruz, and Kate B. Pollock all argue that fantasy stands as an important vehicle of learning for those who cannot understand reality without taking a step out of it. George Slusser asserts that the "concept of 'reality' [needs] a firm sense of non-reality ( or fantasy) in order to define itself as a distinct entity" (24). …

Imprisonment, Punishment, And Progress In Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, Ashley Breanne Waggoner

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Daily Eastern News: December 07, 2012, Eastern Illinois University

December

No abstract provided.

2010 Conference Program

Journal of Collective Bargaining in the Academy

No abstract provided.

Daily Eastern News: November 29, 2012, Eastern Illinois University

November

No abstract provided.

Daily Eastern News: November 28, 2012, Eastern Illinois University

November

No abstract provided.

Daily Eastern News: November 27, 2012, Eastern Illinois University

November

No abstract provided.

Diversity Challenges In The Csu: One Union's Response - Handouts, Theresa Montano

Journal of Collective Bargaining in the Academy

No abstract provided.

Trends In Tenure And Temporary Faculty At California State University, Margaret Merryfield

Journal of Collective Bargaining in the Academy

No abstract provided.

Michigan State University's Collaborative Approach To Contain Health Care Costs, Theodore Curry

Journal of Collective Bargaining in the Academy

No abstract provided.

Conference Program

Journal of Collective Bargaining in the Academy

No abstract provided.

Lessons Learned From The Virginia Tech Tragedy, Marcus L. Martin

Journal of Collective Bargaining in the Academy

On April 16, 2007, Seung Hui Cho, a psychologically disturbed student at Virginia Tech, shot to death 32 students and faculty, wounded 17 more, and then killed himself. Three days later, Virginia Governor Tim Kaine appointed a panel to review the events leading up to this tragedy; the handling of the incident by public safety officials, emergency services providers, and the University; and the services subsequently provided to families, survivors, caregivers and the community.

Four Trends That Affect Public Higher Education, Matthew Goldstein

Journal of Collective Bargaining in the Academy

In 2008, public universities, entrusted with the same important public mission that they have always had, are challenged to meet that mission in a very different marketplace. I refer not simply to what is happening in Albany, for those of us here in New York, but to what is happening nationally and globally. This year’s conference theme is “New Models,” and in that spirit, I’d like to offer four trends that push us to rethink established models of public higher education, and discuss how those trends will affect our futures and our collective bargaining.

Annual Legal Update, Rachel Levinson Esq.

Journal of Collective Bargaining in the Academy

No abstract provided.

Pensions At Risk, Retiree Health Benefits At Risk: Retirement At Risk?, Valerie Martin Conley

Journal of Collective Bargaining in the Academy

There is mounting evidence to suggest there is cause for concern regarding the ability of pensions to provide the primary source of income in retirement for members of an aging U.S. workforce. Furthermore, the rising cost of health care and changes in accounting rules may put additional strains on the system, resulting in the erosion of retirement as a social institution as we now know it.

Daily Eastern News: November 07, 2012, Eastern Illinois University

November

No abstract provided.

2012 Graduate Thesis Award Winners, Graduate School

Graduate Thesis Awards

No abstract provided.

Daily Eastern News: October 30, 2012, Eastern Illinois University

October

No abstract provided.

Daily Eastern News: October 29, 2012, Eastern Illinois University

October

No abstract provided.