Digital Commons Network^™

Variation In Leaf Morphology Of An Alpine Shrub Community Along Environmental Gradients, Abdulssalam Khafsha

Masters Theses

Mountains represent complex environment gradients which strongly affect local temperature regimes and rainfall. These changes in climate conditions drive a diversity of plant responses. As alpine environments are expected to change dramatically in response to climate change, understanding plant responses to environmental variation is critical in these environments. Although they are a critical component of alpine communities, the environmental responses of shrubs have been much less examined than trees, representing an important knowledge gap. Leaves, as the primary photosynthetic organs on plants, would be expected to respond strongly to local climate conditions. In this study, I documented how the leaf …

Perception Of The Residence Hall Conduct Process At A Small Private Institution, Brigette Anokwa

Masters Theses

The code of conduct process at small institutions can be difficult to manage. The purpose of the study, using a qualitative approach, was to research residents' and Conduct Officers' perception of the resident housing code of conduct process at a small private institution. Research participants included three residents who participated in the conduct process and three Conduct Officers who were involved in the hearings. Results revealed that residents who were sanctioned found the process to be inconsistent and too long. As a result, the impact of the sanctions varied. Conduct Officers involved in the hearings perceived the conduct process to …

(Dis)Respect In The Classroom: A Gendered Perspective Of Academia, Abriana Nichole Vesconte

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine gendered practices and the experiences of women instructors within academia. Women face different challenges than men in the classroom, and many times, they are challenged by their students. In order to complete this study, I conducted narrative interviews with women faculty ranging from Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs), contractual instructors, as well as tenured and untenured professors at a Midwest university. I was able to interview eight women faculty members of varying positions. After completing the interviews and analyzing the data from each instructor, three prominent themes emerged. These themes are: (1) public …

The Historical Representation Of Abraham Lincoln Within Trade Books Written Between The Time Frame Of 1930 And 1970, Emily Griswell

Masters Theses

As educators learn to amend to the Common Core State Standards, they are left with little-to-no time for subjects like science and social studies as the focus is primarily on reading and English language arts. History is slowly becoming a background routine for educators and is falling behind centerfold curriculum in classrooms across the country. This is inclusive of the studies of individuals who helped shape our country and nation. This study analyzes a data sample of 11 children and young adult literature trade books about Abraham Lincoln, our sixteenth president, in search of patterns and common representations. Within the …

White Grub In Bluegill In The Sangamon River: Impact Of Sewage Effluent And Flow Regime On Infection Parameters, Miranda White

Masters Theses

White grub (Posthodiplostomum minimum) is a digenetic trematode that uses a piscivorous bird, a pulmonate snail, and a centrarchid fish to complete its life cycle. To assess the impact of impoundment and sewage effluent on white grub infection parameters, infections in bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) were monitored in 3 reaches of the Sangamon River near Decatur, Illinois: Reach 1- free-flowing river upstream of Lake Decatur Dam, unimpacted by sewage effluent, Reach 2- impounded flow below Lake Decatur Dam, unimpacted by sewage effluent, and Reach 3- free-flowing river downstream of Sanitary District of Decatur, impacted by sewage effluent. Liver and kidney abundances …

"Mystery Meat" And "Bulldyke": Disciplining Gender And Silencing Women Sports Reporters On Reddit, Kayla J. Peterson

Masters Theses

Most of the sports industry is a male dominated space where women are very rarely accepted. We see men in the field, whether they work or play, defend the space and tell women reporters to “stay in their lane.” This study focuses on an online news-sharing site, reddit, and examines how sports fans take it upon themselves to defend sports as a male space. Reporters, such as Sarah Spain, Jemele Hill, and Doris Burke, are subjected to hundreds of comments that silence them and discipline them based on their gender. This study emphasizes the need for gender equality in what …

Ela And Esl Educators’ Lived Experiences In Urban, Middle Level, Mainstream Classrooms, Georgia Danos

Masters Theses

This ethnographic qualitative study explores best practices for English Language Learning (ELL) students by analyzing one particular co-taught 8th grade English Language Arts (ELA) classroom where students received instruction from both a trained ELA teacher and one certified in English as a Second Language (ESL). The results suggest that the ELA mainstream teacher, Mr. Scott, was disengaged in class; disinterested in his students; unaware of his students’ backgrounds and needs; unaware of professional development offered; resistant and resentful towards new pedagogical approaches; tentatively interested in but unaware of best practices; displayed unprofessionalism; and indifferent about students' academic success. The ESL …

The Development Of The Late Adolescent Social Support Inventory And An Examination Of Social Support's Impact On Depression In Adolescents, Margaret Darlene Yeakel

Masters Theses

The current study set out to create the Late Adolescent Social Support Inventory (LASSI), a scale designed to measure adolescents' perception of the availability of social support in each of House's (1981) four types of social support and to explore the relationship between depression and types of social support in adolescents. There were 120 participants recruited from Central Illinois high schools and Eastern Illinois University. Participants completed the LASSI as well as the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale Revised (CESD-R; Eaton, Muntaner, Smith, Tien, & Ybarra, 2004). Due to the low number of participants recruited, we were unable to …

One Way: Miles To Go, Jamie Lynn Golladay

Masters Theses

This creative thesis is a memoir dedicated to a close examination of a childhood taking place in a meth ridden midwestern town, under the supervision of meth addicted parents. Using both prose and poetry to explore small excerpts of memory in a sequential vignette form, this memoir follows the author through early adolescents to middle school, tackling issues such as addiction in the home, prostitution, homelessness, and incarceration as well as more domestic points of interest like sibling bonds, childhood roleplay, and parent/child relationships.

At its core, this narrative looks at the home and the family from the perspective of …

Haplotype Diversity And Population Genetic Structure Of Antistrophus Gall Wasps Associated With Two Silphium Species And Implication For Host Mediated Speciation, Jiaxin Deng

Masters Theses

Gall making insects form a special feeding guild of phytophagous animals, and by manipulating host plant tissue differentiation, are able to avoid plant chemical defenses and thus have no need for counter defense mechanisms. Host plant selection is crucial to the evolution of these insects because successful gall formation is largely dependent on host plant ability to respond to stimuli. In Illinois and neighboring states, Antistrophus gall wasps associated with the rosin weed (S. integrifolium) and the cup plant (S. perfoliatum) are morphologically indistinguishable and thus have been treated as belonging to single species. However, the wasps from the host …

Impact Of Foreign Direct Investment On Export Performance: The Case Of Ethiopia, Wengelawit Kebede Tessema

Masters Theses

This study explores the impact of Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) on Ethiopia's export performance. The topic is motivated by the huge investment Government of Ethiopia is making to attract FDI and its optimistic view regarding the role of FDI in boosting export performance. The vector autoregressive model (VAR) has been adopted to estimate the long run causal relationship among exports, foreign direct investment and GDP. Results for the cointegration test show that there exists a long run equilibrium relationship among exports, FDI and GDP. The estimated Error Correction Model finds FDI negatively affecting exports with a two-year gap. Our findings …

Social Anxiety And Fear Of Evaluation In Middle Schoolers, Leslie Hunt

Masters Theses

Social anxiety can have a significant effect on adults and adolescents alike, causing significant distress and impairment. Fear of negative evaluation has been found to be positively correlated to social anxiety in adults and adolescents. Thus, an individual who has social anxiety tends to worry that they will be judged negatively by others in social situations. More recently, fear of positive evaluation also has correlated positively to social anxiety in adults (Weeks, Heimberg, & Rodebaugh, 2008); thus, adults with social anxiety tend to also fear when they are given positive feedback, such as a compliment. This study examines the links …

Campus Community's Perception Of Victimization And Fear Of Crime Regarding Campus Violence And Safety, Gianna White

Masters Theses

This study was designed to test perceptions and perceived safety and how it relates to fear of crime regarding university campus violence and safety. Faculty, students, and staff were drawn from a Midwestern university of the United States. This research examined vulnerability to stress, gender, age, and status, and its significance to fear of crime in comparison to the participation in precautionary and avoidance behaviors and campus crime statistics. It was hypothesized that there would be a general fear of crime regardless of overall low levels of campus crime and that both men and women would participate in precautionary or …

How First Year Csa Graduate Students Undergraduate Involvement Experiences And Perceptions Align With The Acpa/Naspa Professional Competencies, Alexis Garner

Masters Theses

Using a qualitative methodology. the researcher studied current first-year graduate students in a College Student Affairs program. The researcher looked at skills the students believed they gained from undergraduate involvement, the students' perceptions of what skills are important for professionals to have, and how both of those align with the ACPA/NASPA Professional Competencies. The study was narrowed down to six graduate students based on their responses to a short participant survey to ensure the participants came from diverse types of undergraduate involvement. These participants were interviewed and asked a range of questions about their undergraduate involvement experiences. skills gained from …

Waist Circumference And The Relation To Aerobic Exercise And Perception Of Illness In Adults With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, Bailey J. Huebner

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to observe the relationship between waist circumference (WC), amount of aerobic exercise performed weekly and overall Health Belief Model (HBM) score in adults with diagnosed type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Members from a local Midwest adult fitness program (n = 5) who had been diagnosed T2DM participated in this study. Participants ranged in age from 70 to 80 years with an average age of 74 years. Four of the participants were female and one participant was male. The questions included in this study were 1 .) in those with diagnosed T2DM, was a low …

The Effectiveness Of Personalized Competency-Based Education On Student Engagement At The Secondary Level, Amanda Newmes

Masters Theses

EFFECTIVENESS OF PCBE ON STUDENT ENGAGEMENT ii

Abstract

This study examines the impact of Personalized Competency-Based Education (PCBE) on student engagement across varying ethnicities and grade levels. Personalized Competency-Based Education is built upon the premise that student learning should be based upon the following characteristics: learning is student-owned, learning accommodates flexible pacing, learning shows demonstration of proficiency, students track their own progress, and students determine their own learning pathways and goals. Since current research is limited on the impact of PCBE, especially at the secondary level of education, further study is needed in order to determine how PCBE implementation will …

Role Of Emotion Regulation In The Relationship Between Fears Of Evaluation And Social Anxiety, Jaismeen Dua

Masters Theses

Cognitive components influencing social anxiety have been well-researched for decades, especially fear of negative evaluation (Clark & Wells, 1995; Hofmann, 2007; Rapee & Heimberg, 1997; Schlenker & Leary, 1982). Relatively recent and emerging research has suggested a strong link between fear of negative evaluation and fear of positive evaluation, and how both of them influence social anxiety (Weeks, Heimberg, & Rodebaugh, 2008; Weeks et al., 2007; Weeks & Howell, 2012; Weeks et al., 2009). This study examined social anxiety in relation to both fear of negative evaluation and fear of positive evaluation. Findings from the study replicated previous research results, …

Synthesis, Characterization And Mechanistic Studies Of Biomimetic Dinuclear Copper(Ii) Complexes, Millaniyage Nuwanthaka Prasad Jayaweera

Masters Theses

Dinuclear copper complexes are significant synthetic targets due to their use as model compounds for the active sites of type 3 copper proteins like catechol oxidase. A distinct class of ligands used in these studies are built on a phenol core to witch various donor side-arms were appended at the 2 and 6 positions of the arene ring. In our quest to quantify the influence of electron donating or withdrawing groups attached to the central arene ring, we have designed a set of ligands that, upon coordination to copper(II) centers, would produce complexes of the general structure. During this research …

Developing A Basket-Shaped Host Molecule Based On P-Tert-Butylcalix[4]Arene Featuring Urea Groups For Encapsulating Volatile Guest Molecules, Lokugama Widanelage Vidula Priyadarshana

Masters Theses

Molecular baskets are a group of synthetic host molecules which are designed to govern the inclusion of small guest molecules. The basic structural features of basket-shaped host molecules are a cavity for holding a much smaller guest molecule and tunable gates for keeping the guest molecule inside. These types of gates can be tuned by changing temperature, concentration, pH, etc. In this research group's previous study, a molecular basket of cal ix[ 4]arene with carboxylic acid groups was synthesized by functionalizing calix[4]arene's phenol hydroxyl groups with benzyl bromide building blocks. In the study detailed here, 1 , l '-((5-(bromomethyl)-1,3-phenylene)bis(methylene))bis(3-isopropylurea) was …

The Transcriptional Response Of Phanerochaete Chrysosporium And Trametes Versicolor To Growth On Stems Of Helianthus Argophyllus (Silverleaf Sunflower), Nadh Hamoud Alsubaie

Masters Theses

Traditional physicochemical and physicomechanical pretreatment technologies have improved the deconstruction of lignocellulose, but often require high energy inputs and added chemical reagents. Recent studies have demonstrated the use of white-rot fungi as alternative biological pretreatment agents that can mitigate these concerns. Although, white-rot fungi have been shown to grow on a variety of non-woody substrates, they have not been explored with respect to sunflower, which has the potential to provide raw materials for both biodiesel and bioethanol. In the present study, Silverleaf sunflower stems (Helianthus argophyllus) were used as substrates for the white-rot fungi Phanerochaete chrysosporium and Trametes …

Studying Carbon Dioxide Solvent Properties By Microwave Spectroscopic Investigations Of Vinyl Fluoride/Carbon Dioxide Clusters And Developing New Approaches To Decode Rotational Spectra, Prashansa Kannangara

Masters Theses

Supercritical carbon dioxide (sc-C0₂) is an excellent green solvent, but its properties are not thoroughly understood. For example, fluorinated compounds have higher than expected solubility in sc-C0₂. Microwave spectroscopy is one way to learn more about sc-C0₂ because it can be used to determine detailed structures of small clusters of molecules. The purpose of this investigation was to study weak hydrogen bonding interactions in complexes of fluorinated ethylene (solute) with carbon dioxide (C0₂, solvent). Investigations on dimers with one C0₂ molecule and fluorinated ethylene were carried out previously and found two different …

Creg1: Its Role As A Master Regulator Of Liver Function, Iffat Jahan

Masters Theses

Mammalian development involves a complex system of regulatory signals and reactions resulting in highly differentiated cell types with specific structure and function. The liver is a major organ that has been studied extensively to understand underlying genetic processes responsible for specification, establishment and maintenance of tissue identity. Hepatoma and hepatoma variant cell lines have been used as models to understand genetic networks responsible for liver function. Whole genome microarray analysis of hepatocyte cell lines has revealed candidate genes that may serve as regulators or master regulators of liver specificity. In two previous studies in our lab, the role of candidate …

Surrender Dorothy: A Battle With Alzheimer's, Rebecca Lynn Lawson

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Implementing Reading Strategies With Ell Elementary Students, Nelofar Khamisani

Masters Theses

This study shows the challenges the English Language Learners face in learning reading at the Elementary level; implementing reading strategies for them; and choosing effective strategies for the students to learn reading more easily. The findings of the study show that teachers use different strategies according to the language proficiency level of the students. ELL students face challenges in communication, pronunciation, sound recognition, and vocabulary. As a strategy to overcome these challenges, the teachers emphasize learning phonics and vocabulary. Observations of three teachers in three mainstream classrooms show that teachers implement nearly similar strategies for teaching phonics and vocabulary. The …

Nutrition & Dietetics Minor, Nutrition & Dietetics

Program Revisions/Additions

No abstract provided.

Applied Engineering And Technology Minor, Technology

Program Revisions/Additions

No abstract provided.

Workplace Wellness Minor, Public Health

Program Revisions/Additions

No abstract provided.

Mathematics Ba, Mathematics & Computer Science

Program Revisions/Additions

No abstract provided.

Human Services Program Administration, Human Services

Program Revisions/Additions

No abstract provided.

Nutrition & Dietetics Bs, Nutrition & Dietetics

Program Revisions/Additions

No abstract provided.