Digital Commons Network^™

Exercise Science Pre-Pt, Kinesiology, Sport, And Recreation

Program Revisions/Additions

No abstract provided.

Chemistry Ba, Chemistry And Biochemistry

Program Revisions/Additions

No abstract provided.

Geoscience, Geology And Geography

Program Revisions/Additions

No abstract provided.

Cds 2800 : Speech And Hearing Science, Cds

Approved Course Proposals

No abstract provided.

Cds 4300 : Introduction To Audiology, Cds

Approved Course Proposals

No abstract provided.

Chm 4920 : Advanced Physical Chemistry, Chemistry And Biochemistry

Approved Course Proposals

No abstract provided.

Een 4150 : Mentored Research In Engineering, Physics

Approved Course Proposals

No abstract provided.

Sed 4335 : Effective Teaching Environments In Secondary Schools, Teaching, Learning, And Foundations

Approved Course Proposals

No abstract provided.

Cmn 2920g : Strategic Communication & Advocacy In Today's World, Communication And Journalism

Approved Course Proposals

No abstract provided.

Chm 3910 : Physical Chemistry Foundations, Chemistry And Biochemistry

Approved Course Proposals

No abstract provided.

Ulg Alignment, General Education Subcommittee

Program Revisions/Additions

No abstract provided.

Exercise Science Pre-Ot, Kinesiology, Sport, And Recreation

Program Revisions/Additions

No abstract provided.

Exercise Science Pre-At, Kinesiology, Sport, And Recreation

Program Revisions/Additions

No abstract provided.

Physics Computational Physics Option, Physics

Program Revisions/Additions

No abstract provided.

Physics Bs, Physics

Program Revisions/Additions

No abstract provided.

Biochemistry Bs, Chemistry And Biochemistry

Program Revisions/Additions

No abstract provided.

Human Geography Bs, Geology And Geography

Program Revisions/Additions

No abstract provided.

Compositional And Functional Shifts In Fish Community Structure In Response To Low-Head Dam Removals, Joshua D. Bruegge

Masters Theses

Low-head dams serve as intermittent barriers to aquatic connectivity and directly alter both upstream and downstream habitats and biotic communities. In 2018 and 2019, two low-head dams in the Vermilion River watershed of eastern Illinois were removed, reconnecting over 1,700 kilometers of upstream habitat within the basin. To determine the impacts of these dam removals, fish community surveys were conducted at 12 fixed sites across three reaches in two rivers from 2012-2022. This study assessed reach-specific temporal responses of the fish community and habitat characteristics. I linked trait expressions within the fish community to abiotic variables using the co-inertia RLQ …

Teachers' Perceptions Of Proactive And Reactive Behavior Management Strategies, Anna Wilzbach

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to expand the praise literature by examining K-12 teachers’ preferences for proactive behavior management strategies (e.g., praise, acknowledgement, rewards). In addition, teachers’ opinions on the efficacy of proactive strategies were assessed to see if efficacy of strategies decreased as grade level increased. Teacher opinions of efficacy and preferences for proactive strategies and reprimand were collected through the Teacher Praise and Reprimand Preference Survey (TPRPS). A total of 93 teachers from rural and suburban school districts completed the TPRPS survey. Results indicated as grade level increased, teachers found praise less effective for managing student appropriate …

You’Re Gonna Be Popular: A Semiotic Exploration Of Meaningful Tools Used To Promote Popular Music Artists, Maya Raye Kurth

Masters Theses

I have been to dozens of concerts, but after experiencing The Era’s Tour I became a Swiftie so quickly and passionately that I was looking for comparable concerts and fan experiences and found very few. It made me wonder how and why this fan experience stuck with me and what made it so special. With that question in mind, I started this project with the question of how successful indie music is marketed.

To answer this question, I used semiotics as the driving theory behind this study. Semiotics allowed me to establish a binary between organic and manufactured and allowed …

International Students Experience Show: A Television Content To Prepare African Students For Study In The United States., Eric Atsu Senyo

Masters Theses

For many African students, studying in the United States begins with hope but often leads to confusion, isolation, and unmet expectations. This creative thesis presents International Students Experience Show, a 26-minute television shows designed to prepare African students for the realities of studying in the U.S. Grounded in Uses and Gratifications Theory, the project positions media as an active tool for empowerment through storytelling, practical guidance, and emotional engagement.

The series addresses key challenges, housing, transportation, mobile communication and daily life experiences through a hybrid format of personal testimonies, panel discussions, expert interviews, and field segments. Featuring nine African international …

The Final Boys' Club: Conceptualizing A Final Boy Of 1980s Horror, Ej Newton

Masters Theses

Carol J Clover’s (2015) Final Girl, the female slasher protagonist who survives to the end of the movie, has become a staple of horror scholarship, providing insight into the function of gender within the genre as well as our cultural beliefs surrounding femininity. Given the attention paid to horror’s leading ladies, however, another fascinating figure has gone unexplored: the Final Boy. This project analyzes nine horror films from the 1980s with young male protagonists in order to conceptualize and critique this previously unidentified trope. Utilizing McKerrow’s (1989) critical rhetoric as a guide, this research not only provides a thorough definition …

Feasibility Of Corn Stover For Biogas Production In Northwestern Illinois: A Case Study Of Jo Daviess And Carroll Counties, Anthony Amotoe-Bondzie

Masters Theses

The growing demand for renewable energy and sustainable waste management has intensified interest in agricultural residues such as bioenergy feedstocks. This study evaluated the feasibility of converting corn stover into biogas through anaerobic digestion (AD) in Jo Daviess and Carroll Counties, Illinois, with consideration of the Savanna Industrial Park as a potential centralized processing hub. Although corn stover represents one of the largest biomass resources in the United States, this research identifies a critical gap between theoretical availability and practically recoverable feedstock. Using a mixed-methods framework, the study integrates biomass quantification, methane yield modeling, economic analysis, and policy assessment. Results …

It Takes A Village: Residents’ Perceptions Of Mount Prospect’S Place Branding, Jenna Strauss

Masters Theses

The Village of Mount Prospect has heard a fair share of negative critiques about the village’s branding; however, officials have not yet taken the initiative to rebrand. As stated by a village official, the village needs to understand what residents think about the branding before considering a rebrand. This knowledge offers valuable insight into what branding elements are liked/valued by residents, but also whether a rebrand would cause resistance or a mini crisis. Place branding literature highlights that residents determine the authenticity of a place brand (Braun et al., 2013), so Mount Prospect officials seek to make future branding decisions …

“To Hell With Words, [Say] Something!”: An Expressivist Manifesto For The Revival Of Authentic Voice Amid Robocolonial Echoes Of Llms In Composition Studies, Dani Rose Fitch

Masters Theses

This article explores the intersection of composition pedagogy and generative artificial intelligence (GenAI), arguing that large language models (LLMs) impose a robocolonial standardization of language. By mass-producing algorithmically predictable text based on Standard American English (SAE), LLMs threaten the tenets of Students’ Right to Their Own Language (SRTOL) and drown out diverse linguistic identities. The author distinguishes between the embodied, intentional discovery of meaning in human intelligence and the voiceless echo of formulaic LLM generation.

Applying Baudrillard’s theory of simulation, the author positions GenAI-produced texts as pure simulacra—copies that have lost all connection to a human referent. By synthesizing Baudrillard’s …

Replication Of The Construct Validity Of The Cas2: Rating Scale, Isabelle Joann Kurowski

Masters Theses

Naglieri et al. (2014) created the Cognitive Assessment System Second Edition: Rating Scale (CAS2: Rating Scale) to assess cognitive functioning of children based on teacher observations for use in Tier I screening purposes. The current study is a replication of Graham (2025) study that assessed the construct validity of the CAS2: Rating Scale by comparing it to the Learning Behaviors Scale (LBS). Based on prior findings from Canivez and Gaboury (2016), this study hypothesized that the Attention and Planning subscales of the CAS2: Rating Scale would be most closely related to the Attention/Persistence and Strategy/Flexibility subscales of the LBS, respectively. …

Acceptability Of The Five In 20 Classroom Observation Tool: A School Administrator Sample, Ciara Krowas

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to expand the research on the social validity of a standardized classroom observation tool (the Five in 20 Classroom Observation Tool; FCOT), that assessed the use of five critical features in effective classroom management strategies. Forty-two school administrators (who had experience providing classroom observations and feedback) were recruited. Participants viewed a 20-minute video of a second-grade teacher’s classroom instruction while simultaneously completing the FCOT. Then, participants completed the modified Behavior Intervention Rating Scale (M-BIRS), which was adapted to measure participants’ acceptability of the FCOT. Most administrators (74%) found the FCOT to be an acceptable …

Hierarchical Analysis Of Predictors Of Public Speaking Anxiety, Ruimin Peng

Masters Theses

Public speaking anxiety (PSA) is a prevalent type of phobia that shares many similarities with social anxiety. This paper examines factors related to social anxiety and PSA. Previous literature has identified self-efficacy, perfectionism, and fear of negative evaluation (FNE) as factors related to both social anxiety and PSA. However, less attention has been given to fear of positive evaluation (FPE) and international status, although these two factors are likely related to PSA. This study employed hierarchical regression analysis to investigate the predictive power of FPE and international status on PSA, while controlling for self-efficacy, perfectionism, and FNE. FPE, academic status, …

Religiosity And Spirituality: The Mental Costs And Benefits Of Belief In A College Setting, Tyler Geis

Masters Theses

The relationship between religiosity and spirituality (R/S) with mental health has been widely discussed in more recent years. This thesis examines factors related to religiosity, spirituality, depression, anxiety, and stress, as well as how various stigmas toward mental health, mental health treatment, and mental health treatment seeking may relate to R/S and mental health. Previous literature has identified religious coping with hardship, positive and negative dimensions of sin and behavior, the structure of different religious groups, and overall spiritual wellbeing as factors related to R/S, mental health, and beliefs about mental health . However, most previous literature come to differing …

Case Study: The Economic And Legal Challenges Moving From A Township To A City, George F. Dierberger Dr., Ibrahim Keita Dr., Cory Erickson

Journal of the North American Management Society

The paper examines the economic and legal challenges moving from a township to a municipality in the state of Minnesota. One of the authors was a member of the township board as they went through the process of educating the citizens on the risks and rewards of changing from a township to a municipality.