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Uni Impact: Faculty/Staff Scholarly Publications And Featured Awards Newsletter, V3i2, 2024, Rod Library. Research & Sponsored Programs. Uni Foundation. University Of Northern Iowa.

UNI Impact: Faculty/Staff Scholarly Publications and Featured Awards Newsletter

Highlights the scholarship, research, and other scholarly work produced by University of Northern Iowa faculty, students, and staff.

This issue covers the period of July - December 2024.

Insights From The Front Line: Uplifting Stories Of The Covid-19 Pandemic Through The Eyes Of The Public Health Workforce In Iowa, Heidi Haines, Amanda Sursely, Hanh Pham, Rylee Beltran, Daniel K. Sewell, Lina Tucker Reinders, Natoshia Askelson, Sarah Dixon, Kaitlin Emrich, Christine Estle, Michelle Lewis, Jimmy Reyes

Faculty Publications

Introduction: SARS-CoV-2 was declared a pandemic in March 2020. Studies have characterized some of the negative impact of the pandemic on public health workers (PHW), but few have explored the strength and coping strategies used. Our study documents the experiences of PHW in Iowa during the pandemic. Methods: We used an innovative mixed methods data collection tool, SenseMaker^® to gather stories from PHW in Iowa between March and July 2022. Participants provided additional data about their story via structured follow-up questions. We conducted descriptive analyses of the quantitative questions. A qualitative thematic and sentiment analysis was applied to all …

Creatine Monohydrate Supplementation For Older Adults And Clinical Populations, Darren G. Candow, Sergej M. Ostojic, Philip D. Chilibeck, Igor Longobardi, Bruno Gualano, Mark A. Tarnopolsky, Theo Wallimann, Terence Moriarty, Richard B. Kreider, Scott C. Forbes, Uwe Schlattner, Jose Antonio

Faculty Publications

Background: The biological process of aging is typically associated with a decrease in muscle quantity, muscle performance (primarily strength), bone mass and architecture, functionality and neurological/cognitive function. From a healthy aging perspective, interventions that have the potential to overcome or attenuate these decrements are clinically relevant.

Methods: We conducted a narrative review on the efficacy of creatine monohydrate supplementation (CrM) in older adults. Results: Accumulating research shows that CrM, primarily when combined with exercise training, is safe and has beneficial effects on measures of whole-body lean body mass, regional muscle size, muscle strength, bone area and thickness, functional ability, glucose …

‘They Say There’S More Equality…’: Women’S Perspectives On Progress And Setbacks In Gender Equality In Northern Iceland During Times Of Crisis, Marya Rozanova-Smith, Embla Eir Oddsdóttir, Andrey N. Petrov

Faculty Publications

Enabling gender equality through the empowerment of women to fully participate in modern society is one of the most critical steps toward sustainable development. However, recent UN reports indicate that the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have jeopardized the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 5 by 2030 in many countries worldwide, including Iceland, which has consistently been ranked as a global leader in gender equality. The main objective of this qualitative study is to examine the gendered impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic by exploring women’s lived experiences during the crisis and its aftermath across the primary domains of gender equality—personal …

The Economic Effects Of Deportation On The U.S. Labor Market, Abigayle Lantz

Proceedings of the Jepson Undergraduate Conference on International Economics

The potential economic consequences of mass deportation policies on the U.S. economy, specifically those reliant on immigrant labor, are examined. Evidence from economic models and various studies reveals that mass deportation would result in significant disruptions, including labor shortages, decreased productivity, and higher costs for firms and people. Contrary to claims that native-born workers would benefit from increased job opportunities and higher wages, the evidence shows that mass deportation would harm native workers. Historical precedents, such as the Secure Communities initiative indicate that deportation efforts in the past have led to detrimental economic outcomes and disproportionately affected native workers. Additionally, …

Health Insurance Benefits As A Tool For Employee Attraction And Retention: Evidence From The Nursing Industry, J. T. Garcia

Proceedings of the Jepson Undergraduate Conference on International Economics

This paper explores the critical role of employer-provided health insurance in employee recruitment and retention, focusing on the nursing industry in Iowa. As labor markets grow increasingly competitive, especially in industries such as healthcare, non-wage benefits like health insurance can be an important factor influencing job choice and employee loyalty. This paper connects labor economic theory with employment data from Iowa nursing homes, to demonstrate that health insurance can significantly enhance employee satisfaction and reduce turnover and can do so more effectively than wage increases alone. The paper argues that in professions especially with high demand, such as nursing, investment …

Uni Impact: Faculty/Staff Scholarly Publications And Featured Awards Newsletter, V3i1, 2024, Rod Library. Research & Sponsored Programs. Uni Foundation. University Of Northern Iowa.

UNI Impact: Faculty/Staff Scholarly Publications and Featured Awards Newsletter

Highlights the scholarship, research, and other scholarly work produced by University of Northern Iowa faculty, students, and staff.

This issue covers the period of January - June 2024.

2025-2026 Global Feedback Report: Uni Scholarworks, University Of Northern Iowa, Rod Library

Library Documents & Reports (entire collection)

This library report was prepared by the Digital Scholarship Librarian at the University of Northern Iowa as part of assessment efforts demonstrating the reach and impact of departments and programs at the University of Northern Iowa. The global input is related to specific works found in UNI's institutional repository, UNI ScholarWorks (http://www.scholarworks.uni.edu.)

From Disruption To Integration: Cryptocurrency Prices, Financial Fluctuations, And Macroeconomy, Zhengyang Chen

Faculty Publications

This paper examines cryptocurrency shock transmission to financial markets and the macroeconomy using a Bayesian structural VAR with Pandemic Priors from 2015 to 2024. By affecting overall risk appetite, cryptocurrency price shocks generate positive financial market spillovers, accounting for 18% of equity and 27% of commodity price fluctuations. Real economic effects are significant in driving investment but remain limited, contributing only 4% to unemployment and 6% to industrial production variance. However, cryptocurrency shocks explain 18% of price-level forecast error variance at long horizons. Narrative analysis reveals sentiment and technology as primary shock drivers. These findings demonstrate cryptocurrency's deep financial system …

Portrayals Of Disabilities In Picturebooks With The Schneider Family Award, Sohyun Meacham

Faculty Publications

This study analyzed the portrayal of disabilities in picturebooks that have received the Schneider Family Award, a well-known children’s literature award in the United States focused on disability representation. The purpose of the study was to conduct an intersectional analysis of these picturebooks to explore how characters are positioned across multiple categories such as disability, race/ethnicity, gender, class, age, and language. Using the Rating Scale for Quality Characterizations of Individuals with Disabilities in Children’s Literature, the study analyzed all 17 picturebooks appropriate for early childhood that received the Schneider Family Award from 2004 to 2020. The analysis found that these …

Land Of The Free, Home Of The Blazed: Legalized Recreational Cannabis Among Undergraduate College Students, Pietro A. Sasso, Shelley Price-Williams

Faculty Publications

Within the United States, attitudes toward cannabis consumption, especially among college students, have grown increasingly positive. Parallel to this trend, various additional social, cultural, and legal shifts have continued to occur in support of open cannabis consumption, though not without potential consequences. This phenomenological qualitative study explored undergraduate college students’ (n = 22) a priori experiences with cannabis use in states with legalized recreational cannabis. Findings in this study suggested a general lack of knowledge regarding cannabis consumption within the surrounding legal framework but a desire to practice safe consumption and receive a more meaningful education. Recommendations for practice included …

Changes In Aggressive Behaviors Over Time In Children With Adverse Childhood Experiences: Focusing On The Role Of School Connectedness, Sei-Young Lee, Mijin Choi

Faculty Publications

Previous research has found the link between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and externalizing behaviors later in adolescence and adulthood. However, limited studies have explored longitudinal trajectories of aggressive behaviors affected by ACEs. This study aimed to investigate how aggressive behaviors change over time and compare the trajectories of aggressive behaviors between children with three or fewer (low-risk ACEs) and those with four or more ACEs (high-risk ACEs) with the role of school connectedness on the trajectories of aggressive behaviors over time. The study sample consisted of 4231 children collected by the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study, a longitudinal …

On The Concepts Of Culture, Education, And Language, Augusto Boal

Spect-actor: A Journal of Pedagogy & Theatre of the Oppressed

No abstract provided.

On The Concepts Of Modern And Archaic, Augusto Boal

Spect-actor: A Journal of Pedagogy & Theatre of the Oppressed

No abstract provided.

Joker Forum Theatre As A Classroom Teacher: Qualitative Research Data., Nadarajan Thambu

Spect-actor: A Journal of Pedagogy & Theatre of the Oppressed

The task of maintaining the focus and interest of students on the teaching and learning process in the classroom is still a challenge for teachers of Moral Education subject. Students who do not pay attention, cannot understand moral values, accept and show commitment to them. The failure of students to focus will also fail the effort to produce moral human beings. Meanwhile, the role of theater in the field of education is also undeniable. Therefore, a form of community theater named Forum Theatre has been used as a pedagogy of teaching Moral Education among preservice teachers. In the context of …

The Very Fine Line: Utilitarian Aesthetics And Threshold Politics In Now You See Me Moria, Nik Rye

Spect-actor: A Journal of Pedagogy & Theatre of the Oppressed

Now You See Me Moria (est. August 2020) is an international socially engaged art collective that brings visibility to the inhumane conditions of the Moria refugee camp, aiming to influence European Union migration policies. This paper examines the collective’s work across digital and physical gallery spaces, analyzing the role of utilitarian aesthetics in both image and process, and situating the project alongside the migratory journey of a specific member. The resonance of this initiative, and the actions it has catalyzed, reveals a societal push to disrupt the contemporary art mainstream in favor of an emergent movement that privileges lived experience …

This Is Theatre: Deconstructed Repetition And Theatre-In-Education During Covid-19, Subbah Mir

Spect-actor: A Journal of Pedagogy & Theatre of the Oppressed

This project report is a practical application of deconstructed repetition model, I devised by merging Augusto Boal and Baz Kershaw, in an undergraduate Composition Writing class in Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, U.S. As the facilitator Deconstructed repetition means cost-effective repetition of personal and local stories for introspection in order to engage the community members, address the oppression, and celebrate the local culture. The four stipulations of the models are: avoiding the Western canon (or hegemonic voice), making the audience(s) see direct and indirect oppression, circumventing commodification while maintaining audience interest, and celebrating local culture instead of downright criticizing it. …

Isto É Teatro: Repetição Desconstruída E Teatro Na Educação Durante A Covid-19, Subbah Mir

Spect-actor: A Journal of Pedagogy & Theatre of the Oppressed

Neste artigo, discuto o uso do círculo de narrativas (Roadside Theatre, 1999) denominado como um "modelo de repetição desconstruída" para o ativismo comunitário, capaz de conectar os problemas pessoais dos alunos com as questões sociais/comunitárias. Iniciei este projeto com um curso síncrono online de Redação de Textos para alunos de graduação. Ao final do semestre, os alunos participaram dinamicamente do ativismo comunitário por meio da exploração de questões socio-pessoais, o que levou a diversas iniciativas empreendidas posteriormente pelo Grêmio Estudantil da universidade. Este projeto foi conduzido para testar o Modelo de Repetição Desconstruída desenvolvido como uma ferramenta eficaz de ativismo …

O Que Há De Tão Engraçado No Teatro Do Oprimido?, Jennifer Schaupp

Spect-actor: A Journal of Pedagogy & Theatre of the Oppressed

Este artigo analisa meu workshop virtual da Conferência Pedagogia e Teatro do Oprimido de 2023, no contexto da comédia e da corporeidade. Considera as atividades que facilitei e suas origens, juntamente com minha percepção da reação dos participantes, para que outros educadores e facilitadores as adaptem às suas próprias experiências educacionais.

What's So Funny About Theatre Of The Oppressed?, Jennifer Schaupp

Spect-actor: A Journal of Pedagogy & Theatre of the Oppressed

This article examines my 2023 Pedagogy and Theatre of the Oppressed Conference virtual workshop within the framework of comedy and embodiment. It considers the activities I facilitated and their origins along with my perception of participant reaction for other educators and facilitators to adapt for their own educational experiences.

Enraizados No Amor E Na Solidariedade: Acampamentos Estudantis Por Uma Universidade Popular, Robin Brandehoff

Spect-actor: A Journal of Pedagogy & Theatre of the Oppressed

No semestre acadêmico do outono de 2023, universidades em todo o país testemunharam uma onda de acampamentos estudantis pedindo o cancelamento de verbas universitárias a Israel e suas operações militares (Reeve, 2023). Esses acampamentos incitaram prisões de estudantes, professores e membros da comunidade acadêmica; brigas violentas entre manifestantes e contramanifestantes mascarados; e cancelamentos de formaturas universitárias para a geração da COVID-19 que também não conseguiu vivenciar a formatura do ensino médio. No entanto, esses acampamentos também criaram aulas no campus, oportunidades para alunos e administradores aprenderem uns com os outros e para a construção de comunidades no campus que se …

Rooted In Love And Solidarity: Student Encampments For A Popular University, Robin Brandehoff

Spect-actor: A Journal of Pedagogy & Theatre of the Oppressed

In the spring academic semester of 2024, universities across the nation saw an uptick of student encampments asking for a divestment of university funds from Israel and its military operations (Reeve, 2023). These encampments have incited arrests of students, faculty, and community members; violent brawls between protesters and masked counter-protesters; cancellations of university graduations for the COVID-19 generation who did not get to experience their high school graduation either—and yet these encampments have also created on-campus teach-ins, opportunities for students and administrators to learn from another, and for the building of campus communities which extend beyond the classroom and school-sanctioned …

People Powered Legislative Theatre Playbook: O Sonho, A Jornada, Os Meios, Oluchi Igili, Katy Rubin

Spect-actor: A Journal of Pedagogy & Theatre of the Oppressed

No abstract provided.

People Powered Legislative Theatre Playbook: The Dream, The Journey, The Resource, Oluchi Igili, Katy Rubin

Spect-actor: A Journal of Pedagogy & Theatre of the Oppressed

No abstract provided.

Editors' Introduction To The 8th Volume Of The Pto Journal, Pto Journal Editor

Spect-actor: A Journal of Pedagogy & Theatre of the Oppressed

No abstract provided.

Report On 2024-2025 Compliance With Continuous Quality Improvement Legislation, University Of Northern Iowa

Institutional Effectiveness & Planning Documents

A report provided to the Iowa Board of Regents regarding continuous improvement processes in courses at the University of Northern Iowa.

7 Million Global Downloads: Expanding The Reach & Impact Of The University Of Northern Iowa, Ellen Neuhaus

Library Documents & Reports (entire collection)

UNI ScholarWorks, UNI’s institutional repository, reached 7 million global downloads on June 2, 2025! The repository showcases the knowledge, creativity, and innovative spirit of UNI. UNI ScholarWorks demonstrates the global reach and impact of campus departments and programs. Works by UNI authors are being used to help solve global societal issues and challenges. The repository contains over 51,000 works and receives over 1.5 million downloads per year. The top downloaded work is a student article, “Factors Affecting Economic Growth in Developing Countries” in Major Themes in Economics, by Parash Upreti, which has over 88,000 downloads. The Graduate Studies page …

Uni Political Science Newsletter, V20, 2024-25, University Of Northern Iowa. Department Of Political Science.

Political Science Newsletter

Contents:

--- From the Department Head
--- UNI Creates Center for Civic Education, Hires Director
--- Panthers Vote Recognized
--- Deputy Secretary of State Visits Campus
--- Celebrating Leaders in Public Service
--- Women in Public Service
--- You're Next Leadership Conference 2025
--- Model UN
--- Vajpeyi Fellowship
--- Iowa Human Rights Research Conference
--- Student Research
--- Montalvo Receives Lux Service Award
--- Purple & Old Gold Award
--- Congratulations 2024-25 Graduates
--- Faculty Updates
--- Keller Receives Gold & Bold Award
--- Alumni, Friends Recognized with President's Distinguished Award
--- Alumni Updates

Integrating Social-Emotional Learning And Standards-Based Grading: Principles, Barriers, And Future Directions, Nicole R. Skaar, Matt Townsley

Faculty Publications

Classroom grading reform and students’ whole child development are two important and timely topics in today's schools. In this article, the authors draw parallels between CASEL's five core competencies of social and emotional learning and the guiding principles of standards-based grading (SBG). This article helps educators understand SEL competencies and SBG principles as well as barriers to implementation. The authors outline how explicitly developing students’ social-emotional learning skills and implementing SBG are complementary. Implications for practice and research are discussed. Impact Statement: As schools are tasked with continuous improvement through systemic reform, school personnel can feel overwhelmed by the number …

Media And Power, Bettina Fabos, Christopher R. Martin, Catherine H. Palczewski

Faculty Book Gallery

This handbook guides students through concepts, content, and exercises that help them develop media literacy by understanding media and power. The authors want students to not only gain the ability to critically analyze the languages and discourses – textual, visual, audio, and code – that people use to create and interpret media content, but also to understand the overarching context: media possess immense power in contemporary societies around the world.