Digital Commons Network^™

Transitional Experiences Of Post-Secondary Students With Non-Disclosed Disabilities, Sierra E. Headrick

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine the transitional experiences of undergraduate students with non-disclosed disabilities and gain insight on the intentions of students choosing the route of non-disclosure in higher education. It was found that students with non-disclosed disabilities have significant challenges with managing their workloads and stress in their transition into college. Additionally, changes in support from high school to college have a significant influence on self-disclosure of disabilities. With parental guidance lacking from the participants’ support systems in post-secondary education, it was found that changes in support among the group’s transition into college may be a …

Single Sport Specialization: Ncaa Di Collegiate Student Athlete Perceptions, Jordyn Blood

Masters Theses

This study seeks to understand the experience and perception of current, NCAA DI athletes with regard to sport specialization. By learning more about their level of specialization prior to their life as an NCAA DI athlete, as well as their perception on the importance of specialization, this study seeks to contribute to the growing body of literature in sport specialization. Specifically, this study will help inform aspiring athletes, coaches and parents about the role and perceptions of sport specialization in today's elite level athlete. Using paper surveys, the perceptions of 138 current 2019-2020 season NCAA DI athletes at a mid-major …

Making The Dream Become A Reality: How Student Affairs Professionals Support Undocumented Students, Jacqueline R. Garcia

Masters Theses

There are complex challenges undocumented students in higher education face including the legal system, psychological stressors, campus climate, and financial assistance. This qualitative study was designed to look at how student affairs professionals support undocumented students and their critical role in supporting these students in navigating higher education. Four semi-structured interviews were conducted with participants whose professional position was specifically focused on working with undocumented students. From this study, the researcher identified the challenges undocumented students faced, beneficial resources that supported them, and additional needs that were not being met on these campuses. Recommendations for programs and services for student …

Social Media's Impact On College Student Activism: Senior Student Affairs Professional's Perspectives, Louis Soltysiak

Masters Theses

Activism has been an ever present on college campuses throughout history. The student activist has been a part of some of the biggest movements in American history, such as, the Anti-Vietnam War movement, the Civil Rights Movement, the Kent State Massacre, and the #MeToo movement. This study seeks to understand student activism on college campuses and how activism has changed in our new digital era. The internet’s social media platforms have created new meeting places and areas for idea sharing for college activists. These social media platforms mean that students can remotely plan, organize, and execute their protests, demonstrations, or …

Field Composition And Home Field Advantage In Ncaa Division 1 Men’S Soccer, Carlos Sendin Castelao

Masters Theses

Home Field Advantage (HFA) is a well-established and documented phenomenon at both the collegiate and professional levels. There are many factors that contribute to home field advantage such as crowd involvement, travel considerations, and environmental factors. This research explores a couple of basic underlying mechanisms of HFA by focusing on how important field composition is in determining HFA in NCAA Division I men’s soccer. Field composition is thought of here in terms of surface type (i.e., artificial turf v. natural grass) and field dimensions (i.e., field length, field width and overall size). This study analyzes the …

Effect Of Religious Support And Perception Of Available Social Support On Seeking Formal Psychotherapy, Adaeze W. Akubueze

Masters Theses

This study sought to investigate the relationship between perceived availability of social support and religious support on willingness to seek professional mental health counseling. Sixty-five (41 females and 18 males, 6 gender unspecified) students at Eastern Illinois University completed measures of religiosity (the Duke University Religion Index; DUREL), perceived availability of social support (the Late Adolescent Social Support Inventory; LASSI), religious support (from God, from religious leaders, from fellow religious participants; the Multi-Faith Religious Support Scale; MFRSS) and willingness to seek counseling (Willingness to See a Counselor scale; WSC). Religiosity did not play a significant role in influencing the willingness …

Using Sport Identification & Rhetorical Strategy: Evaluating An Ncaa D1 Collegiate Football Team’S Social Media Presence, Maria Baldwin

Masters Theses

Using social media platforms to build identification amongst stakeholders is of increasing importance for a growing range of organizations. Social media represents a powerful tool for marketing and developing business. In sports organizations, the use of social media can build identification amongst a fanbase by using George Cheney’s (1983) rhetorical strategies. The purpose of this study was to explore the content of a regional D1 university football team’s twitter and Instagram platforms, using a content analysis to clarify the organization’s use of rhetorical strategies and design elements to foster sport identification amongst their social media fanbase. Many sports organizations use …

Reinstated Students: The Experiences And Perceptions Of Academic Dismissal And Reinstatement, Kiona Webber

Masters Theses

The researcher used a qualitative method to study reinstated students who were previously on academic dismissal from the institution of research. Through the use of semi-structured, individual video calls, the researcher explored what academic and non-academic factors contributed to the participants being placed on academic dismissal, and their decisions to reinstate into the institution. The factors identified as contributing to their academic dismissal includes, challenging family cohesions; participants having to balancing work, school, and parenting; and lacking a supportive network. This study identified the participants biggest contributions to the persistence and motivation to reinstate were their family and support networks.

A Pilot Study On The Effects Of Comparative Feedback And Performance On Students’ Self-Efficacy And Self-Esteem, Claire Schneider

Masters Theses

This study compared the effects that academic performance and comparative feedback have on student self-efficacy and self-esteem. Through mobile device polling, participants were able to complete in-class multiple-choice conceptual questions. Participants included 35 college students in two psychology classes assigned to a control and experimental group. For the control group, the class was shown a graph of student responses following each question and the experimental group was not shown how their peers performed. This allowed individuals in the control group to compare their own scores to peer scores while the experimental condition was not provided the comparative feedback. Data were …

"There Is Nothing Else Like It": The Innovative Personality Of Lowney Turner Handy, Nathan Crews

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Identification And Analysis Of Genes With Differential And Tissue-Specific Expression In Poplars, Bailey Mitchell

Masters Theses

Poplars have become one of the most frequently studied plant species for their applications in biotechnology, commercial benefits, and ecological importance. Microarray analysis is commonly used to analyze differential gene expression in many organisms. Investigations have examined differential gene expression and performed functional analyses on a single tissue or organ within poplar trees or a closely related set of tissues and organs, but usually do not broadly analyze gene expression across a large number of tissues and organs in poplar. This thesis work aims to generate data on the most differentially expressed genes for the major groups of tissues and …

How Thick Is The Stained-Glass Ceiling?: An Exploration Of Heteronormativity In Religious Circles, Hannah Rae Smothers

Masters Theses

The 2012 National Congregations Study found that only 11.4% of the total clergy in the United States were women (ARDA 2012). As the congregation size grows, that number declines further, with data indicating only 3.4% of congregations with 1,000 or more members have a female leader. The number of women religious leaders increased by less than one percent between 1998 and 2012. These statistics work well to outline a phenomenon for female religious leaders, their inability to break the stained-glass ceiling. Many religious groups in the United States allow women to become ordained leaders. However, some of the largest religious …

An Assessment Of Schools' Wellness Policies And Teachers’ Perspectives And Confidence In Teaching Nutrition In Elementary Schools In Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Asma Yahya

Masters Theses

Nutrition education in school can provide students with the knowledge and skills to improve their eating behavior and overall health. This study aimed to evaluate the content of school wellness policies and understand teacher perspectives about teaching nutrition education at their schools in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. In 2020, electronic surveys were used to evaluate the wellness policies in 11 elementary all-female government schools and teachers’ perspectives about the nutrition education offered in three elementary all-female government schools. Sixty-one teachers and eleven principals participated in this study. Fisher’s exact tests were used to test the differences between teachers’ perspectives and their …

Relationship Between One’S Motive For Curiosity And Meaning In Life, Charles Reither

Masters Theses

Meaning in life as a psychological construct has many demonstrated benefits for psychological well-being and optimal functioning (Steger, 2013), and the treatment of clinical populations (Thir & Batthyány, 2016). This study investigated in greater detail than is currently available in the psychological literature how meaning in life is related to curiosity. Meaning in life was explored using top-down (the presence of and the search for meaning) and bottom-up (the specific sources of meaning) approaches. Curiosity was examined in its two motivation-based forms: curiosity motivated by the anticipation and enjoyment of discovery (an appetitive interest-type of curiosity) and curiosity motivated by …

The Living Mission: Mission Statements Evidenced In The Student Experience, Darek D. Hollis

Masters Theses

Mission statements are thought to be documents that hold the core purposes of an organization. While several studies have examined the various aspects of higher education mission statements, few have explored how the themes within mission statements are transferred to those the institutions is serves, it’s students. This qualitative studied used semi-structured interviews with graduating senior students at a mid-sized, Midwest institution to examine whether or not the missional themes were evident in and valuable to the students’ experience. The result of the study found that the missional themes were in general present and valuable in the students’ experience. The …

Bigheaded Carp Spatial Reproductive Dynamics And Population Genetics In Large River Tributaries, Samuel J. Schaick

Masters Theses

Fisheries managers are devoting considerable effort, time, and funding towards limiting the spread of invasive Bighead and Silver (bigheaded) Carp. A better understanding of factors that influence spatial patterns of bigheaded carp reproduction can help fisheries managers prevent their spread. To examine factors that influence spatial patterns of reproduction, we sampled ichthyoplankton using drift nets and larval push nets in three tributaries of the Illinois and Wabash Rivers March-September 2016-2018. We compared relative abundances of bigheaded carp eggs and larvae among tributaries using catch per unit effort (CPUE). Abiotic data were analyzed from individual study tributaries and pooled among tributaries …

Construct Validity Of The Teate Depression Inventory: Convergent And Discriminant Validity And Equivalence For Black/African American And White/Caucasian Samples, Dylin Coons

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to replicate the construct validity of a new measure of depression, the Teate Depression Inventory (TDI; Balsamo & Saggino, 2013), with the primary focus on Black/African American participants. Research has purported that Black/African Americans experience inequality in obtaining mental health care for internalizing disorders. This may partially be caused by errors in diagnosing these individuals with symptoms. Correctly diagnosing internalizing disorders is a critical step in obtaining appropriate treatment. More research on depression and anxiety is needed to enhance mental health practices by addressing the need for professionals to be culturally competent and conscious …

Exploring Secondary Students’ Abilities In Judging The Credibility Of Digital Content On The Internet, Katie Dailey

Masters Theses

The shift from print to digital environments has created an opportunity and responsibility for educators to focus on instructional planning and practices that reflects the growing complexity of online texts students helping to ensure that their students are information literate. The purpose of this qualitative study is to explore the how 83 eleventh grade high school English students judge the credibility of information on the internet. The researcher used methodological triangulation to qualitatively analyze by comparing and aligning data from the survey results, observations of students during class discussions, responses to class assignments, and the quality ratings of students’ think-aloud …

Teachers’ Use Of Diverse Praise: A Middle And High School Sample, Aubrey Toosley

Masters Theses

The current study examined teachers’ use of diverse praise or the use of verbal statements or gestures of approval that are delivered in a variety of distinguishable ways in response to desired student behavior. Verbatim general praise and behavior-specific praise data collected during the 2017-18 academic year were analyzed from a larger study where a total of 1,320 observed minutes were collected across 66 middle and high school classrooms. Teachers used an average of 1.7 total diverse praise categories per observation. Both middle and high school teachers used more general diverse praise categories compared to behavior-specific diverse praise categories. The …

Daily Eastern News: December 09, 2019, Eastern Illinois University

December

No abstract provided.

Daily Eastern News: December 05, 2019, Eastern Illinois University

December

No abstract provided.

Daily Eastern News: November 21, 2019, Eastern Illinois University

November

No abstract provided.

Daily Eastern News: November 20, 2019, Eastern Illinois University

November

No abstract provided.

Daily Eastern News: November 19, 2019, Eastern Illinois University

November

No abstract provided.

November 14, 2019, Caa

Minutes

No abstract provided.

Daily Eastern News: November 11, 2019, Eastern Illinois University

November

No abstract provided.

Daily Eastern News: November 08, 2019, Eastern Illinois University

November

No abstract provided.

Daily Eastern News: October 31, 2019, Eastern Illinois University

October

No abstract provided.

2019 Celebration Of Scholarship, Creativity, And Engagement, Beth Heldebrandt, Todd Bruns, Seth Yeakel, Matthew Eifrid

Programs

Scholarship, creativity, innovation, and the many forms of collaborative engagement that shape faculty life and student learning are central to the mission of Eastern Illinois University. For that reason, our faculty, department chairs, college deans, the Provost, and the entire campus community celebrate the achievements and outstanding contributions of our colleagues and students to their disciplines and professions every year. And, as the following pages illustrate, faculty engaged in continuing scholarly and creative activities that have provided outstanding mentoring experiences for our undergraduate and graduate students.

In addition to recognizing faculty performances, shows, publications, grants and other professional efforts, the …

Daily Eastern News: October 24, 2019, Eastern Illinois University

October

No abstract provided.