Digital Commons Network^™

How Does An Advanced Educator Utilize Digital Language Teaching And Learning By Integrating Linguistic, Cultural, And Business Life Perspectives?, Hely Westerholm, Pirjo Takanen-Körperich, Ph.D.

International Journal for Business Education

This paper explores advanced educators’ digital working capabilities in online language teaching, with a particular focus on sharing Finnish language and culture in a foreign context. Cultural and linguistic knowledge play a significant role in enhancing students’ motivation to study foreign languages. In today’s educational environment, digitalisation and globalisation exert an increasing influence on foreign language teaching and learning.

The digital learning environment has brought about a paradigm shift in foreign language didactics. Digital language learning is both challenging and holistic in nature. Continued foreign language learning is simultaneously an individual and a social process, as digital learning cultures impose …

Memory Processes In Older Adults With Hearling, Camryn L. Kirkham

AuD Capstone Projects - Communication Sciences and Disorders

Emerging research has shown links between hearing loss in older adults and memory declines; however, findings remain mixed. The present study examined differences in memory performance between older adults with hearing loss and normal-hearing peers, as well as associations between hearing ability and memory. An exploratory analysis of associations between high-frequency hearing ability and memory performance was also conducted. Participants included 38 older adults with hearing loss (n=20) and normal hearing (n=18) who completed audiologic testing and memory tasks assessing working, semantic, and episodic memory. Contrary to expectations, no significant group differences in memory performance were observed between the hearing …

Community Resources For Older Adults With Age-Related Disabilities And Chronic Conditions: A Scoping Review, Oejin Shin, Sojung Park, Soobin Park, Sarah Sunghye Kang, Sunghei Han, Eunsun Kwon, Seoyeon Ahn, Borin Kim

Faculty Publications - Social Work

Community resources are essential for supporting older adults with disabilities and chronic conditions, yet how these resources are conceptualized and evaluated across the empirical literature remains unclear. This scoping review synthesizes U.S.-based research on community resources for older adults with age-related disabilities and chronic conditions, guided by the PAGER framework. Following PRISMA-ScR guidelines, we searched MEDLINE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, and Web of Science, ultimately including 21 peer-reviewed studies. Findings reveal four primary resource domains: healthcare-based services, home- and community-based services (HCBS), behavioral health supports, and environmental or structural resources. Accessibility and utilization emerged as the most consistently examined dimensions, while quality …

End-Of-Life Resources And Place Of Death By Community-Based Housing Type, Sojung Park, Borin Kim, Oejin Shin, Jihye Baek, Byeongju Ryu

Faculty Publications - Social Work

As chronic conditions dominate mortality trends, the place of death has emerged as a key marker of end-of-life (EoL) care quality. Although many older adults wish to die at home, structural barriers often lead to institutional deaths, especially among socioeconomically disadvantaged groups. This study investigates how housing types, defined by economic status, affordability, and congregate features, affect place of death in older adults. Drawing on National Health and Aging Trends Study data (N = 3,145), we examine links between housing type, EoL resource access, unmet needs, and death location. Residents of Subsidized Senior Housing (SSH) report more formal support yet …

The Effects Of A Work-Strengths Affirmation Intervention On Death Anxiety, Begüm Orhan, Margaret M. Nauta

Faculty Publications – Psychology

Meaning Management Theory suggests that engaging with meaning-related resources helps individuals constructively regulate consciously experienced death anxiety. Consistent with that theory, we tested whether a single-session, online work-strengths affirmation intervention reduces college students’ (N = 201) death anxiety. Participants completed baseline measures of death anxiety, meaning in life, and self-esteem. One week later, they were randomly assigned to complete either a work-related strengths reflection exercise or a neutral writing task. We assessed outcomes immediately post-intervention and two weeks later. The intervention did not significantly reduce death anxiety in the full sample. Exploratory analyses showed small, immediate reductions among participants …

Modeling, Analysis, And Prediction Of Covid-19 Dynamics With Interacting Subpopulations And Implicit Behavior Using Physics-Informed Neural Networks, Naima Aubry-Romero, Alonso Ogueda-Oliva, Padmanabhan Seshaiyer

Spora: A Journal of Biomathematics

In this paper, we consider an extended SEIR compartmental model that incorporates young and old interacting subpopulations, allowing for cross-group transmission dynamics. Implicit behavioral changes are included to determine the influence of social behavior on coronavirus transmission dynamics. The basic reproduction number, the average number of secondary cases of infection produced by a single primary case, is derived for both the explicit and implicit model using the next-generation matrix method. We solve the associated differential equation systems and estimate useful parameters in the explicit model using physics-informed neural networks (PINNs). Our results point to how the PINNs approach offers an …

An Agent-Based Model Of Microglia And Neuron Interaction: Implications In Neurodegenerative Disease, Cheyenne Ty, Amanda Case, Emmanuel Mezzulo, Abigail Penland, Kamila Larripa

Spora: A Journal of Biomathematics

Whether immune cells protect or harm the brain is an open question depending on context, and their role is implicated in multiple diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, dementia, and other neurological disorders. Microglia, a specific type of immune cell in the central nervous system, play a key role in homeostasis, and genes associated with an elevated risk of Alzheimer's disease correspond with deficiencies in their behavior. We created an agent-based model that incorporates inflammatory signaling, chemotaxis, and phagocytosis of damaged neurons and allows the exploration of crucial pathways in the maintenance of brain health. We specifically investigated pathways related to …

Digital Health Literacy On Diabetes Knowledge Among Older Adults In The United States, Jung Eun Kim, Susana J. Calderon, Myoungjin Kim

Faculty Publications - Mennonite College of Nursing

Purpose

This study examines the relationship between selected socio-demographics and digital health literacy on diabetes knowledge among older adults in the United States.

Design

Cross-sectional study

Methods

The eHealth Literacy Scale and the Short Diabetes Knowledge Instrument were used. Descriptive statistics, Pearson’s r, point-biserial correlation coefficient, Kendall’s tau, ANOVA, and Poisson regression were used for data analysis.

Findings

The mean age was 71. The mean sum score for digital health literacy was 28.32 (SD = 7.95; range, 8–40), and the mean score for diabetes knowledge was 8.8 (SD = 2.3; range, 2–13). The education level, annual income, number of digital …

Material, Health, And Social Vulnerability And Loneliness Among Older Adults: From The Welfare Regime Perspective, Ji Young Kang, Oejin Shin, Sojung Park, Jihye Baek, Minyoung Kwak

Faculty Publications - Social Work

Loneliness in later life is a significant global public health issue that negatively impacts well-being, life satisfaction, and mental health. This study investigates how material, health, and social vulnerabilities contribute to loneliness among older adults using a welfare regime framework. It examines the link between vulnerability and loneliness in the United States, Korea, Sweden, Spain, and Germany using the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) alongside its international sister studies, encompassing both Western and East Asian welfare states. Findings indicate that older adults in less generous welfare regimes experience higher levels of loneliness and material vulnerability. A multidimensional approach reveals that …

A Survey Of Early-Career Speech-Language Pathologists: Determining Perceived Readiness For Clinical Management Of Adults With Dysphagia After Completing Graduate School, Christine A. Lee, Ashwini Namasivayam-Macdonald, Zuleikha Wadhwaniya, Juliana Mclaren, Rebecca H. Affoo

Teaching and Learning in Communication Sciences & Disorders

Several studies have identified a recurring trend that speech-language pathologists (S-LPs) in countries such as the United States (Caesar & Kitila, 2020), South Africa (Singh et al., 2015), and Malaysia (Kamal et al., 2012) report lower levels of confidence in dysphagia management, whether in comparison to other practice areas or in certain skill areas within the specialty of dysphagia. No data currently exists exploring self-perceptions of Canadian S-LP graduates with regards to clinical management of adults with dysphagia. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the self-reported readiness of recently graduated Canadian S-LPs who manage dysphagia. Our survey …

Development Of Interprofessional Socialization In A Multifaceted Live Action Clinical Role-Play Simulation For Speech-Language Pathology And Social Work Students, Cody Marie Busch, Jennifer Anderson, Lynn Gilbertson, Sarah Hessenauer

Teaching and Learning in Communication Sciences & Disorders

Live action clinical role-plays are one of many types of simulated learning experiences that can be crafted for undergraduate and graduate students alike when learning to collaborate interprofessionally. This mixed methods exploratory research project partnered four academic instructors from the disciplines of speech-language pathology and social work, with several additional community members adding their expertise to enrich the experience of a live-action clinical role-play. Students (N = 32) participated in a two-part multifaceted interprofessional education (IPE) experience with the first part consisting of eight hours of online asynchronous training and the second part consisting of eight hours of a multifaceted …

Champagne Wishes And A Domestic Beer Budget: Assessing And Supporting Serials Access At A Carnegie R2, Chad E. Buckley, Julie Murphy, Rachel E. Scott, Cassie Thayer-Styes, Anne Shelley

Faculty and Staff Publications – Milner Library

As library budgets are cut or remain flat, librarians asked to do more with less are considering diverse data to investigate how best to invest limited funds. The data available to librarians are extensive but they may also be contradictory. In this presentation, we contextualize findings from interviews conducted with Illinois State University faculty with institutional and collections data. Using the words of faculty members across disciplines, we highlight some of the tensions around discovery and access to scholarly literature, perceptions of urgency, and engagement with open access. The interview results--triangulated with institutional usage and cost data—suggest a variety of …

Retirement Transition Sequences And Well-Being Among Older Workers Focusing On Gender Differences, Oejin Shin, Sojung Park, Borin Kim, Chi-Fang Wu

Faculty Publications - Social Work

This study examines retirement transition patterns and well-being in later life, focusing on gender differences using data from the 2004–2016 Health and Retirement Study (HRS) with1,653 older workers. Sequence analysis identifies key retirement patterns, showing that men predominantly transitioned from full-time to mid-time voluntary retirement, while women experienced more gradual involuntary retirement. Involuntary retirees, both men and women, had precarious work histories and poorer mental health. The findings highlight gender-specific implications for social policy and emphasize the need for support in promoting successful aging and reducing social inequities among involuntary retirees.

Evaluation Of The Performance Of A Card Game To Introduce Students To Interprofessional Collaboration: A Randomized 2-Group Comparison Study, Antony Joseph, Valerie M. Wright, Susan M. Watkins, Stacy E. Goddard, Daniel D. Mast

Faculty Publications - Mennonite College of Nursing

Background:

Gamification is an approach that can be used to introduce interprofessional collaboration in nursing and health science. Card games are an effective and convenient way to educate students about clinical professions.

Purpose:

We compared the perception of an experimental group of students who played an educational card game to a control group that played an uninstructive card game.

Methods:

College students (n = 148) from nursing and health science majors consented to play a 30-minute card game and complete a 13-item survey.

Results:

Perceptions of the card game were significantly better for students in the experimental group who played …

Proximal Discourses In Residential Facility Care Providers’ Sense-Making Of Their Communication With Family Members Of A Loved One With Alzheimer’S Disease, Aimee E. Miller-Ott, Tristin Evans

Faculty Publications - Communications

Families often stay involved in the care of a loved one with Alzheimer’s disease even after relocation to a residential care facility, and through this transition, communication between the residential care providers and families becomes integral to keeping family informed and providing good care to the patient. However, care providers of people with Alzheimer’s living in residential facilities find themselves overwhelmed by expectations related to their caregiving role and struggle with making sense of their experiences. Fifteen care providers of people with Alzheimer’s disease living in a residential facility participated in qualitative, semi-structured interviews. Using relational dialectics theory as the …

The Relationship Between The Working Environment And Quality Of Life Among Home Health Aides: Focusing On The Mediation Role Of Burnout, Sehyun Baek, Oejin Shin, Soobin Park, Ahra Ko, Sojung Park, Eun-Na Kang

Faculty Publications - Social Work

As South Korea’s population rapidly ages, there is an increasing demand for home aides. However, little is known about how the caregiving environment affects HHAs. Guided by the environment comfort model, we examined the association between care recipients’ home environment and HHA’s quality of life, focusing on how burnout mediates this relationship. Our data came from a national survey of home health aides in 2020 (N = 786). We conducted an exploratory factor analysis to identify six factors related to the care environment in three dimensions: physical (1. space; 2. indoor/outdoor conditions), functional (3. home appliances; 4. heating/air conditioning), and …

The Flame, 2023-2024, Mennonite College Of Nursing

The Flame (1985-present)

The Flame is a newsletter of Illinois State University's Mennonite College of Nursing

Signs & Symbols, Fall 2023, Illinois State University, Department Of Sociology And Anthropology

Signs & Symbols

Newsletter of the Illinois State University Department of Sociology and Anthropology. An email newsletter version of this document is available at https://web.archive.org/web/20260223213535/https://news.illinoisstate.edu/newsletters/signs-symbols-fall-23/.

Minoritized Graduate Students’ Recommendations To Communication Sciences And Disorders Programs To Improve Inclusion Of Minoritized Students, Teresa M. Roberts

Teaching and Learning in Communication Sciences & Disorders

Minoritized students in Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) programs have unique insights into inclusion and diversity initiatives based on their lived experiences. In this study, the researcher examined and analyzed recommendations that minorized CSD graduate students provided to programs to increase inclusion. The researcher identified themes within the recommendations using discourse analysis to analyze how students positioned themselves and faculty in relationship to diversity and inclusion. A total of 104 minoritized CSD graduate students across 28 states completed a survey that included demographic information and a writing prompt for recommendations to programs. The study found that students valued broad and …

State: The Magazine Of Illinois State University, Spring 2023, Illinois State University, University Marketing And Communications

State: The Magazine of Illinois State University (1999-present)

Illinois State University alumni magazine

Speech Pathology Student Perspectives On Virtual Reality To Learn A Clinical Skill, Bridget Kelly, Joanne Walters, Rachael Unicomb

Teaching and Learning in Communication Sciences & Disorders

Evidence supports the use of simulation in educating speech pathology (SP) students, however most of the research has centered on low fidelity techniques as opposed to high fidelity and immersive technologies like virtual reality (VR). Whilst there has been research on the use of VR to teach clinical skills to students in other health disciplines (e.g., dentistry, nursing), use of VR in SP has focused mainly on its use in client intervention. There is an opportunity to use VR to teach clinical skills to SP students, particularly in response to barriers to clinical placement opportunities like the COVID 19 pandemic. …

Teaching End-Of-Life Care In Speech-Language Pathology: A Tutorial, Amanda Stead, Sara Haynie, Monica Vinson

Teaching and Learning in Communication Sciences & Disorders

Speech-language pathologists often lack preparation for working with patients near the end of life (EoL). Few academic training programs offer dedicated or sufficient content in the area of end-of-life care (EoLC). Furthermore, traditional knowledge-focused outcomes are not the most effective pedagogical strategy in teaching EoL and palliative care to students. Instead, a focus on self-awareness and personal beliefs in relation to death and dying have been shown to have a positive effect on attitudes toward EoLC. The purposes of this paper are three-fold: First, to explore what is known about the teaching and training of EoL in the discipline of …

Long-Term Health Effects Of Work Trajectories Among Middle-Aged And Older Adults: The Mediating Role Of Work, Material, And Social Environments, Oejin Shin, Ji Young Kang, Seoyeon Ahn, Borin Kim, Sojung Park

Faculty Publications - Social Work

Using data from 14 waves (2003–2016) of the Korean Labor and Income Panel Study (KLIPS) (N = 1,627 individuals aged 45–64; 22778 observations), in this study, we conducted sequence analysis and a multi-categorical variable mediation analysis (1) to examine to what extent long-term work histories exhibit varying degrees of de-standardization and precariousness using sequence analysis (2) to explore the potential mediating effects of work, material, and social environments in the association between multiple work sequences and self-rated health. We found the coexistence of a relatively stable long-term employment pattern and a high prevalence of precariousness. The health and economic …

The Flame, 2022-2023, Mennonite College Of Nursing

The Flame (1985-present)

The Flame is a newsletter of Illinois State University's Mennonite College of Nursing

African American Family Members’ Needs And Experiences During A Loved One’S End-Of-Life, Kelley Obringer

Theses and Dissertations

This study aimed to explore African American family members’ needs and experiences during their loved one’s end-of-life. In Chapter 1, a literature review was conducted to review the current state of the literature regarding African American family members’ needs and experiences during their loved one’s end-of-life. Chapter 2 includes a qualitative exploratory study of African American family members’ needs and experiences during their loved one’s end-of-life. The study sample consisted of family members of African Americans being cared for through services provided by an outpatient palliative care facility in the Southeastern United States. Family members answered five open-ended interview questions …

Speech-Language Pathology Graduate Student Clinicians’ Self-Perceived Competency In Dysphagia Management, R. Jordan Hazelwood, Erin D. Bouldin, Indigo R. Burford, Emily A. Steffen

Teaching and Learning in Communication Sciences & Disorders

Speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are the preferred healthcare providers for managing the direct clinical care of patients with dysphagia. By assessing self-perceived competency during academic training, SLP graduate student clinicians may increase their understanding of their skills in dysphagia management. We modified the Dysphagia Competency Verification Tool (DCVT) to use a 5-point ordinal scale to explore how SLP graduate student clinicians’ self-perception of competency in dysphagia management changes over time and to determine the impact of clinical practicum experiences. Seventy-two SLP graduate student clinicians rated their self-perceived competency for four DCVT domains. We used Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE) models to analyze …

The Regulation Of Oxidative Stress In Age-Related Diseases, Jesica Burkhart

Theses and Dissertations

Oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction have been linked to multiple age-related diseases including common neurodegenerative diseases Alzheimer's disease (AD) and Parkinson’s disease (PD). A gene found to regulated oxidative stress and aging is a stress response gene p38 MAPK (p38K). Oxidative stress arises when the over production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) from within the cell or from environmental stimuli outweighs its clearance by antioxidants. This cascade leads to DNA damage, mitochondrial damage, and cell death. Mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress are markers for biological aging. As we age mitochondrial DNA becomes more sensitive to damages and mutations. When the …

Vocabulary & Academic Success In University Undergraduate Students, Sandra Irvin, Kathryn Guillot Blankenship

Teaching and Learning in Communication Sciences & Disorders

Thirty- nine students at a four-year university participated in this two-part study. One part investigated the relationship between maternal education and vocabulary while also looking at the relationship between vocabulary and academic success. The second portion looked at the relationship between vocabulary and word learning. Results from the study indicate that vocabulary knowledge is significantly correlated with GPA and students’ ability to learn words in a limited amount of time. Students with higher vocabulary scores earned higher gain scores and GPA. Maternal education was not significantly correlated with PPVT scores, contrary to what prior literature would suggest.

Illinois State University Undergraduate Course Catalog, 2023-2024, Illinois State University

Course Catalogs

Illinois State University Undergraduate Course Catalog, 2023-2024. Effective May 16, 2022.

Mennonite College Of Nursing Annual Report, Fiscal Year 2022, Judy Neubrander

Annual Reports - Mennonite College of Nursing

Annual report of the Mennonite College of Nursing at Illinois State University