Digital Commons Network^™

English Studies Minor, English

Program Revisions/Additions

No abstract provided.

Fashion And Merchandising Design Major, Art + Design

Program Revisions/Additions

No abstract provided.

Fashion And Merchandising Design Minor, Art + Design

Program Revisions/Additions

No abstract provided.

Recreation Administration Therapeutic Recreation Option, Ksr

Program Revisions/Additions

No abstract provided.

Health Promotion To Public Health Prefix And Banner Codes Change, Public Health

Program Revisions/Additions

No abstract provided.

Health Promotion To Public Health Department Name Change, Public Health

Program Revisions/Additions

No abstract provided.

Rec 4710 : Therapeutic Recreation Seminar, Ksr

Approved Course Proposals

No abstract provided.

Investigation Of Glutamate Carboxypeptidase Ii Roles In The Folate Cycle Dependent Reproduction And Development Of Caenorhabditis Elegans, Jessica M. Derham

Masters Theses

Glutamate Carboxypeptidase II (GCPII) is a transmembrane, zinc metallopeptidase that is expressed in a wide range of organisms, including roundworms, mice, and humans. In humans, GCPII is primarily expressed in the prostate, kidneys, small intestine, and central nervous system. Within the small intestine, the expected function of GCPII is to aid in the absorption of dietary folate from the intestinal lumen. GCPII cleaves excess glutamates from folate to yield monoglutamated folate which is then readily transported into the enterocyte. Folate can then be used through the one carbon metabolic cycle for the synthesis of nucleotides, conversion of homocysteine to methionine, …

Design, Synthesis, And Characterization Of Chemical Tools To Study Peroxisomal Import, Jhalak N. Timilsena

Masters Theses

Peroxisomes are dynamic and interconnected single lipid membrane bound organelles found in the eukaryotic cells which are involved in various biochemical processes including the b-oxidation of very long chain and branched chain fatty acids, metabolism of reactive oxygen and nitrogen species, and reduction of hydrogen peroxide among others. These organelles are known to host numerous proteins and enzymes depending on the cellular environment. All of the proteins needed in the peroxisomes are encoded in the nucleus and synthesized in the cytosol which are then transported to the peroxisomes with the help of a sophisticated protein-transport machinery. Pex5 is one of …

Reprograming Neuronal Cells By Overexpression Of Fibroblast-Specific Transcription Factors, Abdulmohsen Alanazi

Masters Theses

In mammals, a complex system of regulatory signals distinguishes tissues, structures and functions. Combinations of transcription factors and co-factors regulate activation and repression of genes that result in cellular differentiation. Whole genome arrays allow the monitoring of genomic expression in specific tissues. Fibroblast microarray studies have shown candidate genes that may be involved in fibroblast identification, including genes that express transcription factors Prrx1, Snai2 and Twist1. A previous study showed that the Prrx1 and Snai2 could reactivate a fibroblast phenotype in hybrid cells that had lost fibroblast identity. Furthermore, overexpression of these factors in liver-derived cells strongly repressed liver gene …

Nest Success In A Grassland Bird Community: Microsite Selection & A Case For Nest Height Manipulation, Matt Kneitel

Masters Theses

Grassland birds are a sensitive community and populations around the country have been declining. They are susceptible to low nest success due to loss of habitat and the small, fragmented patches that remain are often subjected to elevated levels of nest predation. The American goldfinch (Spinus tristis), which uses grasslands for feeding and nesting, is understudied given its abundance, due in part to its late-season nesting habits, and selection of taller woody vegetation as nesting substrate, which is atypical for many grassland nesting birds. American goldfinches were incorporated in this study which included nest height manipulation of goldfinch …

The Transitional Experiences Of International Students Studying In The United States, Philip Fennell

Masters Theses

This study sought to explore the real-life experiences of two international students and the impact on their transition to a United States college. A narrative qualitative approach was used to incorporate the stories of international students as shared by their own words. Their stories were used to identify similarities and differences including resources they utilized and their interactions with others. International students all share different cultural backgrounds and characteristics. Nonetheless, they will each have their own unique experiences, as well as have different ways of reacting and responding to those experiences. We must put in the effort of listening to …

Seasonal Temperature Changes In Three Midwestern Wastewater Streams And The Effects On Fish Assemblages And Physiology, Ryan William Sparks

Masters Theses

Midwestern United States undergo extreme temperature and precipitation fluctuations throughout the year, which leads to changing habitats within Illinois river systems. Wastewater treatment facilities have long been used to treat sewage and reduce the organic products in sewage before releasing it into aquatic environments. Wastewater treatment facilities must maintain optimal conditions, especially temperature, for reproduction and growth of facilitated bacteria that break down organic materials in wastewater. The objectives for this study were to determine the thermal effects of wastewater treatment facilities on receiving waters; and secondly, to investigate the influence of these wastewater facilities on fish abundance and assemblages. …

The Determinants Of Sectoral Employment In Nepal, Thaman P. Bastola

Masters Theses

This paper uses the data from 1991 to 2019 to analyze the determinants of employment in agriculture, industrial, and service sectors of Nepal. The data are gotten from the world development indicators (WDI), human development indicators (HDI) and Nepal Rastra Bank (NRB). The results show that significant determinants of employment in Nepal areeducation, health, population growth, interest rate, inflation rate and political conflict.The education, health, population growth, and inflation are inversely related to the employment of agricultural sectors employment. Likewise, the industrial sector employment is positively affected by the health and political conflict, and negatively affected by the level of …

Representations Of Africa In Us Media: A Semiotic Analysis Of Ebola: The Doctor’S Story And Body Team 12, Olubusola Akinpelu

Masters Theses

The Western media has often been criticized for biased coverage of happenings in and around Africa. The 2014 Ebola outbreak created a lot of media attention for West Africa, and by extension, the entire continent. This study examined to what extent postcolonial discourses were infused in two films from the HBO Trilogy: Ebola: The Doctor’s Story (2015) and Body Team 12 (2015). To analyze these texts, I took a semiotic approach by identifying, describing and interpreting the signs in both films, to discuss the postcolonial discourses in three broad themes. Ebola: The Doctor’s Story (2015) was analyzed in the …

Adjustment To Life In America: Black African Graduate Level Students, Denver Daniels

Masters Theses

The purpose of the study was to examine what challenges Black African graduate students face when adjusting to life in the United States. A secondary concern was to examine what coping strategies were used during the transition. A qualitative approach was used to interview the participants and through coding, develop themes related to their time as graduate students.

This study concluded that there were a number of issues that Black African graduate students face. The students reported that they experienced homesickness, culture shock, and discrimination during their time at school. Specific themes also emerged as to how they coped with …

Financial Development In Developing Countries, Obinna Franklin Ezeibekwe

Masters Theses

What are the economic, political, institutional, socio-cultural, and geographical determinants of financial development in developing countries? This paper uses the two-way fixed effects (with clustered standard errors) and annual panel data from 1980 to 2018 for 69 developing countries in sub-Saharan Africa, Middle East and North Africa, East and South Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean to address this question. The principal component analysis is employed to construct a financial development index based on three financial development indicators. This study builds on previous studies by introducing new potential determinants of financial development, such as the perception of corruption, and by …

Panhellenic Women's Leadership Development And Self-Efficacy, Caitlyn Gastfield

Masters Theses

Substantial research has been done on self-efficacy as well as a growing amount of research on women in leadership. This qualitative study examined the perceived relationship between leadership development opportunities given to Panhellenic women and their perceived level of self-efficacy. Three semi-structured interviews were conducted at a regional, mid-sized institution in the Midwest with undergraduate women holding leadership positions in their respective Panhellenic organizations. The results found in this study support many of the previous findings in research in relation to the importance of leadership development and self-efficacy. Many types of leadership development opportunities emerged, from informal peer support to …

The Path To Persistence: How Highly-At-Risk Students Persevere To Graduation Day, Alexis Kaine Straub

Masters Theses

This phenomenological study looked at highly-at-risk college seniors who exhibited four out of the eight risk factors defined by the institution where the study took place. The purpose was to gain insight into how highly-at-risk college seniors persist to graduation by discovering what protective factors they utilized in their college career as well as the role resiliency and/or grit may have played. The participants were five undergraduate students who were enrolled at a mid-sized, public university in the rural Midwest. They responded to questions in one semi-structured interview designed to capture their experiences about college starting from high school until …

Important Factors Influencing Attendance At Northwoods League Games, Ryan Eiche

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine the importance of various factors as they related to attendance at Northwoods League baseball games. This league was an ideal fit for the study as little research has been conducted on this level of baseball. A survey was sent out via the Facebook page of the Lakeshore Chinooks to gather responses from fans on what factors encouraged attendance. Fans were asked to then rate how important each factor was on a five-point sliding scale. The research revealed that situational factors such as convenience, day and time, and weather of the game were …

Aging Techniques & Population Dynamics Of Blue Suckers (Cycleptus Elongatus) In The Lower Wabash River, Dakota S. Radford

Masters Theses

The Blue Sucker, Cycleptus elongatus, occurs in large rivers primarily in the Mississippi River basin. Their imperiled status has called attention to the need for its management and protection. Estimating age is crucial for directing management, but past studies have varied in their choice of hard structure, resulting in uncertainty regarding the basic life history of this species. Because the Wabash River Blue Sucker population may be one of few surveyable populations with high abundance and successful reproduction, their demographics can provide a benchmark against which threatened populations can be compared. We harvested Blue Suckers (n = 168) …

First-Generation Black Males’ Challenges In Attending A Pwi: Understanding What Makes Them Persist, Shakeitra Simmons

Masters Theses

Using qualitative methodology, the researcher studied the challenges and persistence factors for undergraduate First-generation Black males to persist at a Predominantly White Institution. Through conducting six one-on-one semi-structured interviews, the researcher identified the challenges faced by this group of students as mental health, lack of support, and racism/microaggressions. The researcher also identified the factors for persistence at the PWI to be upward mobility, family and school personnel support, and campus involvement.

Boutique Branding: Televisually Signifying The Feminine Business-Owner, Payton Blakney

Masters Theses

While women-owned businesses continue to grow, increasing 58 percent from 2007 to 2018 (Guidant Financial, 2019),producing on-brand communication content remains a challenge. Adding to the challenge, this branded communication must combat the societal narrative that women are less capable of running a business than men and utilize the complex mode of televisual storytelling. The purpose of this creative thesis was to incorporate the work of woman television producers and writers from the comedy-drama genre with semiotics theory to create five webisodes of branded entertainment that married the contradictory sign systems of woman and business owner. By analyzing and implementing the …

How Christian College Student Leaders Discover Purpose, Emmanuel Ayiku

Masters Theses

Among college students, research has revealed that 76% of them reported that they search for meaning in life (Dunn & Hammer, 2015). Spirituality is one specific way in which students begin their search for meaning. A qualitative approach was used to examine the perspectives of how six Christian college student leaders from three different campus ministries found their purpose. By examining and understanding purpose from one subset of religious students who serve in a leadership position, we may gain insight into the interplay of meaning-making, purpose, and leadership. This study concluded that faith or spirituality played an important role in …

Narrativizing The Holidays: Event Branding Through Commodity Narrative Campaigns, Peighton Hinote

Masters Theses

Event planning and coordination often view events to be standalone, existing only until the event has passed. However, this thesis looks to serialize events to exist long after a single event takes place. Through the application of narrative, myth, and floating signification through the lens of semiotics theory, this thesis aims to create evergreen content for public relations practitioners in their efforts to promote events. The contents of this thesis focus on theory and application, allowing the two to enrich one another. Furthermore, this thesis practically applies foundational concepts from scholars like Fiske (1987, 1990) and Barthes (1957, 1970, 1978) …

Growth Mindset: A Key To Motivating Students In Reading, Jenny M. Reid

Masters Theses

If students believe the possibilities for attaining knowledge are boundless, they will be capable of reaching those heights. However, if students feel as though they are restricted by what nature and genetics have gifted them, their learning will remain within those boundaries. This is what stands as the difference between a growth and fixed mindset, which affects will be analyzed pertaining to student progress and motivation in literacy. A third-grade class was observed over six weeks to explore what the teacher believes about her students’ reading abilities as well as what the students believe about their reading abilities. These beliefs …

Construct Validity Of The Behavior Assessment System For Children-Third Edition Teacher Rating Scales (Basc-3 Trs): Comparisons With The Adjustment Scales For Children And Adolescents (Asca), Shannon Burback

Masters Theses

The Behavior Assessment Scale for Children-Third Edition Teacher Rating Scale Child Form (BASC-3 TRS-C) and the Adjustment Scales for Children and Adolescents (ASCA) are both teacher rating scales which may be used by school psychologist to assess youth behavior problems. The BASC, BASC-2, and BASC-3 have limited replicated research of the studies reported in their respective manuals. Therefore, it was important to empirically compare the BASC-3 TRS-C with the ASCA to examine construct validity (convergent, discriminant, and divergent) as there were, at present, no published studies replicating BASC-3 Manual research. The present study analyzed BASC-3 TRS-C and ACSA ratings which …

Middle School And High School Educators’ Knowledge And Acceptability Of Praise, Zachary Yehling

Masters Theses

Praise is a simple strategy, that when used correctly reduces student inappropriate behavior. Furthermore, praise is a key strategy used within the School-wide Positive Behavior Intervention Supports (SWPBIS) framework. All staff are expected to participate in SWPBIS and therefore, it is important for staff to know how use praise effectively. However, few studies have examined educators’ knowledge of effective praise use. In the current study, 201 educators completed the Praise Knowledge Assessment of Teachers and Educators (PKATE) and the Behavior Intervention Rating System for Praise (BIRS-P). The PKATE was created by the author to assess educators’ knowledge of effective praise …

The Impact Of Testing On Students, Teachers, And Families, Ashley Retz

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

How All In Are We Really?: An Examination Of Eastern Illinois University’S “All In” Branding Campaign’S Impact On Tenured Faculty Members’ Organizational Identification And Commitment, Melissa A. Stone

Masters Theses

Organizations are constantly putting out messages to the world, and many of these external messages speak on behalf of the organization’s internal members. While organizations often thoroughly examine whether these messages have the intended effect on target audiences, current research lacks answers to how internal members perceive and are impacted by these messages. To gain greater insight into the relationship between an organization’s external messages and the impact those messages have on internal members, this thesis examines Eastern Illinois University’s “All In” branding campaign and its perceived effect on tenured faculty members’ organizational identification and commitment. Ten tenured-faculty members were …