Digital Commons Network^™

Burnout Syndrome Among Minority Women Leading Community Health Centers: A Phenomenological Study, Thelma Christine Sardin

Ed.D. Dissertations

Community health center leaders have potential burnout exposure due to occupational and personal stressors. The transcendental phenomenological study delved into the experiences of minority female community health center leaders, examining how the COVID-19 pandemic, diversity, equity, and inclusion issues influenced their burnout syndrome compared to their peers. The focus of the study was on 17 community health leaders in the Midwestern U.S., including minority and non-minority leaders. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews, demographic screening, and field notes. Three themes emerged: Leader characteristics with training and experience, Stressors that impact burnout, and Diversity, equity, and inclusion issues impacting burnout. The …

Exploring The Medieval Frontier: The Reconquista, Alex Wolfe

Scholar Week 2016 - present

This project focuses on material history, the study of objects and their role in history, and deriving meaning from artifacts in order to synthesize an applied historical thesis.

The objects studied in this research project are of particular importance to the study of the Reconquista, a unique frontier conflict in the Iberian Peninsula between Christians and Muslims that lasted from the eighth through fifteenth centuries.

The artifacts brought together in this digital exhibit bring into material focus the visible exchanges and borrowings between Christians and Muslims across the frontier of the Reconquista. In their material relationship, they demonstrate the unique …

A Curriculum Designed To Teach Elementary-Age Children In Diverse Settings The Kingdom Concept Of Loving One’S Neighbor, Abigail J. Flood

ELAIA

United States Census data from 2020 show that the country is becoming increasingly diverse and urbanized. Other research shows children are aware of race from an early age and can pick up biases and stereotypes by watching the adults around them. However, there are no children’s ministry curricula that specifically address how children should navigate differences from a biblical perspective. To fill this gap, a children’s ministry curriculum was written to model how children can love their neighbors like Jesus did, especially those who look different from themselves. The curriculum is comprised of an introduction for the ministry leader, five …

Identifying The Optimal Pedagogy For Preparing Undergraduates For The Mcat Exam, Alyssa J. Black

ELAIA

Excelling on the MCAT is an essential step for undergraduate students preparing for a future as a physician in the medical field. Previous research has made links to MCAT performance and success in the medical field, yet there is a lack of research on how to best prepare undergraduate students for this extensive exam. Various research has been done on assessing the most effective studying strategies for undergraduates on typical collegiate exams, which students often translate to their MCAT studying. To assess the effectiveness of these practiced pedagogies on the MCAT, a social science experiment using a pre- and post-test …

Kankakee In Deindustrialization: An Oral History Approach, Rachel H. Shepard

ELAIA

The City of Kankakee was an industrialized city that prospered economically for decades. Throughout the late 1970s and 1980s, economic trends shifted for Kankakee and the surrounding communities. The major factories, such as Roper Corporation and A.O. Smith, migrated their source of production from Kankakee to other regions of the United States and abroad during the 1970s and 1980s. As a result, the declining industrial economic activity led to changing community perceptions. Kankakee is an example of the “Rust Belt” region, a region in the Midwestern and Northeastern States of the United States where declining industrial activity occurred throughout the …

Comments On Budget Cuts & There Effect On The Idnr, J.R. Black

J.R. Black Kankakee River Materials

This is a call to restore the professionalism of the staff and funding for the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, in the era of reduced funding for the C-2000 program and reduced services to citizens (hunting, damping, gun safety, etc.)

Undated document.

History Lessons From Esther: The Leopold Von Ranke Lecture Delivered At The Phi Alpha Theta Induction Ceremony, Kent R. Olney

Scholarship – Academic Affairs Office

The German historian, Leopold Von Ranke, noted the following: “Every epoch is immediate to God, and its value is not based on what emerges from it, but on its very existence.” My assignment was to respond to Von Ranke’s thoughts. I have done so by drawing on four observations made from the OT book of Esther. These observations pertain to truth, years, obscurity, and heroes; all of them matter to God and all of them should matter to the historian. In a sense, these four elements are the raw materials, or building blocks, of history in any generation. I conclude …

2023: The President's Dinner For Faculty And Staff, Olivet Nazarene University

President's Dinner Programs

Tammy and I welcome work colleagues and their spouses to this 73rd President’s Dinner! That’s a long time. Our professional forefathers and mothers attended the original Dinner in the late 1940s, having just been introduced to the Polaroid camera and the 33 rpm vinyl record. Today, we awe over Artificial Intelligence. My, how things have changed. What remains constant, however, is a called, competent, caring workforce for this University community! Not all universities are communities — of sufficient unity around common belief and practice. Our theme tonight is that we are “A Sent and Scented People” — sent by God …

The Lived Experiences Of Women Postdrug Court: A Phenomenological Study, Cantrell Ward

Ed.D. Dissertations

Despite a negative stigma about drug treatment courts, researchers have indicated that drug courts are essential to reducing recidivism and helping offenders reintegrate into various communities. Although there is extensive research concerning recidivism in men, less is known about recidivism in women, leaving a gap in the literature on formerly incarcerated women and their experiences completing drug treatment court, the role of familial support system, and recidivism. This qualitative phenomenological study aimed to understand how previously incarcerated women who had completed a drug treatment program described the role of family support systems in preventing recidivism. Five formerly incarcerated women who …

Can You Talk Your Way Out Of This? An Educational Escape Room, Leslie Moyar

Ed.D. Dissertations

Despite being a top healthcare priority, patient safety remains a problem in the U.S. with hundreds of thousands of annual patient deaths due to medical errors. Communication breakdowns within the healthcare team are a key factor in poor patient outcomes and in relatively low retention rates among healthcare professionals, especially nurses. To prepare nursing students for a successful entry into the profession, nurse educators must consider alternate strategies for teaching communication skills to a new generation of students. This qualitative study explored the use of a game-based escape room as part of a multi-part communication lesson plan and its impact …

Remote Learning: Impacting The Future Of Education, Jessica Hollewell

Ed.D. Dissertations

The Coronavirus-19 pandemic impacted society as well as multiple industries, including education. This qualitative research project aims to explore the perceptions of faculty in a small, Midwestern, private K-12 Christian school during the school shutdowns and subsequent remote learning time period from March 2020 to June 2020. Additionally, this research project aims to increase the awareness of the changing needs of students, educators, and families as well as facilitating the needed adjustments to trainings, planning, and resources for future remote learning sessions. The data for this case study was collected through semi-structured interviews at one school building with six faculty …

Commencement Program 2023, Olivet Nazarene University

Commencement Programs

The 110th annual commencement program of Olivet Nazarene College, Bourbonnais, IL, May 5 & 6, 2023.

The Intersection Of Healthcare Marketing Communications And Patient Experience: A Qualitative Study, Megan O’Erin Yore

Ed.D. Dissertations

Providing a positive experience to patients at healthcare organizations is a complex undertaking and a continuous process due to staff turnover and the ever-changing industry. Positive patient experiences are an important part of the healing process as they relate to better outcomes in quality assessments. The purpose of this case study was to examine the nature of collaboration between clinical and marketing communications teams working to improve patient experience. To uncover lived experience, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 18 participants–nine clinicians and nine marketing communications professionals–from 10 organizations. The study sought to understand how marketing communications teams collaborated with clinicians, …

First-Generation Black Male Students’ Experiences, And Relationships That Shaped College – To - Career Transition, Regina K. Smith

Ed.D. Dissertations

First-generation, Black, male students continue to lag behind their continuing-generation peers in degree attainment, leaving them deficient in obtaining the social and financial upward mobility higher education is expected to afford. Research finds that, despite Black males entering college with higher degree aspirations than their White peers, they were 6 times less likely to achieve them, and only 5% of Black males would eventually graduate with a degree or certificate within three years of enrollment, compared with 32% of White males (Center for Community College Student Engagement, 2014). To close this persistent gap, this research sought to understand the activities, …

Identifying The Optimal Pedagogy For Preparing Undergraduates For The Mcat Exam, Alyssa J. Black

Honors Program Projects

Excelling on the MCAT is an essential step for undergraduate students preparing for a future as a physician in the medical field. Previous research has made links to MCAT performance and success in the medical field, yet there is a lack of research on how to best prepare undergraduate students for this extensive exam. Various research has been done on assessing the most effective studying strategies for undergraduates on typical collegiate exams, which students often translate to their MCAT studying. To assess the effectiveness of these practiced pedagogies on the MCAT, a social science experiment using a pre- and post-test …

Enactus Presentation, Lynda Allen

Scholar Week 2016 - present

Students in Enactus will present the outcomes of our work with entrepreneurs and non-profits in our community this academic year in a 12-minute professional presentation with time for questions from the audience.

Literature Review Of Practical Insights Into The Use Of Brain Science And Learning Technology To Enhance Stem Student Learning, Keith Schimmel

Scholar Week 2016 - present

In recent years, college students, including those at Olivet Nazarene University, have experienced an increase in mental health challenges such as anxiety and depression. Researchers think technology is a significant contributor to this trend with social media undermining a viewer’s dignity through constant comparison and ruthless competition for attention. However, social media and teaching/learning technologies also have the potential to enhance efficient, effective student learning. This paper will present the best practices for use of social media and teaching/learning technologies based on a literature review in these areas.

The literature review will seek to tie together knowledge and best practices …

Best Leadership Practices Of Senior Pastors In The Church Of The Nazarene, David Thornhill

Ed.D. Dissertations

The current study explored the leadership style and practices of 12 senior pastors in the Church of the Nazarene in the United States whose churches had experienced numerical growth under their leadership. The researcher theorized that uncovering the common leadership style and common leadership practices of these pastors would lead to suggesting growth strategies that may be taught to clergy and applied to churches in the USA region of the Church of the Nazarene. This qualitative collective case study revealed collaboration as the common leadership style among pastors of growing churches. This study also identified 11 common leadership practices among …

Early Christian Perspectives On The Catechetical Process, Mark A. Frisius

Center for Faith & Family

The goal of this paper is to provide a brief overview of findings related to the catechetical practices or early Christianity. This approach was occasioned by the observations that 1) the United States is headed toward a post-Christian reality, where Christianity can no longer be assumed as the dominant force in American culture, and 2). that it would be possible to gain insight from Christians who lived in a pre-Christian environment. This paper is organized around themes and is not meant to be read straight through. Instead, each theme contains a series of lettered or numbered observations designed to help …

2022: The President's Dinner For Faculty And Staff, Olivet Nazarene University

President's Dinner Programs

Tammy and I welcome you to this 72nd President’s Dinner! That’s a long tradition. Just think of how many professional forefathers and mothers held the position you now occupy. Think of their steadfast dedication to our great cause, their grit during challenge, their timely talent consecrated to God through this place and for these people. Thank you for carrying the torch forward, for our time. Tonight we enjoy the theme, “A Fruitful Community.” The tense and sour American culture makes this Olivet community, by contrast, quite life-giving! Yet imagine an even deeper joy as we become an especially fruitful community. …

Advocating For The Middle Man: An Explication Of Chair Perceptions On Overcoming Emotion At Work, Brittany Armstrong

Ed.D. Dissertations

The researcher’s study aimed to understand the perceptions of private university department chairs when engaging with emotional intelligence (EQ) at work. The qualitative approach provided the boundaries for the voice and the experience of the participants as the researcher collected interviews, department meeting minutes, and department program reviews from a sample of five department chairs across three, private universities. The following departments served as the study’s population: mathematics, family and consumer science, business, education, and modern languages. Findings revealed participants perceived job satisfaction through the mediator of emotion. Participants identified the emotional challenges of department chair and perceived emotion within …

Racial Acceptance And Behavior Incidents While Being Educated In An Elementary Dual-Language Classroom, Heather Hodal

Ed.D. Dissertations

Districts and schools are not looking at the data on racial judgments, segregation, and neighborhood quality, along with children’s friendship choices, open-mindedness, and social emotional factors to fully understand and educate others on the benefits of multiculturalism. This case study describes the impact that English-only classrooms and two-way dual language classrooms have on racial acceptance and behavior incidents for kindergarten, first, and second graders in a school located in a Midwest suburb. In utilizing The Child Behavior Checklist (Achenbach & Ruffle, 2000) and Office Discipline Referrals (ODRs) to determine specific behavior problems and the Modified Subtle and Blatant Prejudice Scale …

Commencement Program 2022, Olivet Nazarene University

Commencement Programs

The 109th annual commencement program of Olivet Nazarene College, Bourbonnais, IL, May 6 & 7, 2022.

A Self-Study Of Frn Olivet: A Student-Led Food Recovery Model On A University Campus, Madeira Sherwood

ELAIA

An alarming amount of unserved food, which emits carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, is thrown away daily on university campuses. In those same college communities, there is likely a large food insecure population that is going to bed hungry every night. The Food Recovery Network (FRN) is a network of colleges and universities across the United States that seeks to bridge this gap. The FRN chapter at Olivet Nazarene University, established in October 2017, encountered challenges in its first couple years of operation because there were not yet many resources that laid out best practices for a food recovery program …

Gender Roles Reviewed Through Shakespeare’S Twelfth Night With Twenty-First Century Applications, Hannah Lewis

ELAIA

This thesis accompanies a modern-day adaptation of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night, which aims to emphasize the importance of gender equality as a moral imperative in the twenty-first century. In his original play, Shakespeare drew attention to gender stereotypes in the Elizabethan age through character representation. Although Shakespeare does not put much emphasis on gender equality in Twelfth Night, this equality is an important factor in the modern adaptation, in which a young woman named Vivian pursues her desire to start a business but is faced with financial issues and seeks a job under a misogynistic boss named Owen. Owen questions her …

Mothers And Sons: Queen Mothers Of Judah And The Religious Trends That Develop During Their Sons’ Reigns, Brian Bowen

ELAIA

This thesis studies the implicit relationship between the early gĕbîrôt of the Judaean Monarchy and the religious trends during the reigns of their sons. Though previous studies noted a relationship between the origins of the gĕbîrâ and the religious evaluation of her son, a systematic treatment on this subject has not yet been written. This study systematically analyzes the first three queen mothers of Judah—Bathsheba, Naamah, and Maacah—in view of their ethnic or national origins, the theophoric nature of their sons’ names, and their implicit religious and political effects upon their sons’ reigns. In a final section, it compares these …

Kankakee County In Deindustrialization: An Oral History Approach, Rachel Shepard

Honors Program Projects

The City of Kankakee was an industrialized city which prospered economically for decades. Throughout the late 1970s and 1980s, economic trends shifted for Kankakee and the surrounding communities. The major factories, such as Roper Corporation and A.O. Smith, migrated their source of production from Kankakee to other regions of the United States and abroad. As a result, the declining industrial economic activity led to changing community perceptions. Kankakee is an example of the “Rust Belt” region, a region in the Midwestern and Northeastern States of the United States where declining industrial activity occurred throughout the 1970s and 1980s. The paper …

A Curriculum Designed To Teach Elementary-Age Children In Diverse Settings The Kingdom Concept Of Loving One's Neighbor, Abigail J. Flood

Honors Program Projects

United States Census data from 2020 show that the country is becoming increasingly diverse and urbanized. Other research shows children are aware of race from an early age and can pick up biases and stereotypes by watching the adults around them. However, there are no children’s ministry curricula that specifically address how children should navigate differences from a biblical perspective. To fill this gap, a children’s ministry curriculum was written to model how children can love their neighbors like Jesus did, especially those who look different from themselves. The curriculum is comprised of an introduction for the ministry leader, five …

A Correlational Study Exploring The Relationship Between The Teaching Of Ethics In Business Schools And The Ethical Behavior Of College Students In Those Schools, Jeffrey Horwitz

Scholar Week 2016 - present

Online presentation: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/7795013240
Zoom Room ID: 779 501 3240

The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to discover how colleges and universities impact the moral development of their undergraduate school of business students through the method by which they teach ethics in their curricula. To address the stated problem of understanding the impact of ethics and its effect on the moral development of students, the research question that drove this study involved discovering if there was a relationship between the ethical decisions undergraduate college business students make (like deciding whether to cheat on exams and/or assignments) and the way …

Advocating For The Middle Man: An Explication Of Chair Perceptions On Overcoming Emotion At Work, Brittany Armstrong

Scholar Week 2016 - present

The researcher’s study aimed to understand the perceptions of private university department chairs when engaging with emotional intelligence (EQ) at work. The qualitative approach provided the boundaries for the voice and the experience of the participants as the researcher collected interviews, department meeting minutes, and department program reviews from a sample of five department chairs across three, private universities. The following departments served as the study’s population: mathematics, family and consumer science, business, education, and modern languages. Findings revealed participants perceived job satisfaction through the mediator of emotion. Participants identified the emotional challenges of department chair and perceived emotion within …