Digital Commons Network^™

The Future Of Mediation: Mcluhanisms For The Quantum Era, Erik Gustafson

Iowa Journal of Communication

The 21st century has been characterized as a time of expansive and rapid technological change, particularly regarding the internet, digital technologies, and now artificial intelligence. Both scholarly and popular conversations have rushed to make sense of the technological phenomenon as they occur. Now, the “second quantum revolution” and the race for “quantum supremacy” threaten to push technological knowledge and applications even further from public understanding. As such, the present article sought to provide a host of theoretical and practical tools that may aid the public and scholars alike in understanding and combatting the overwhelming features of technology that may come …

Uni Panthers 2024-25 Wrestling Media Guide, University Of Northern Iowa

Athletics Media Guides

Contents:

Contents / Staff / Schedule --- 2
Quick Facts / Media Information --- 3
Roster --- 4
2023-24 Recap / 2024-25 Preview --- 5
The Panther Program --- 6
Media Protocols --- 7
Parking Map --- 8
Big 12 Conference --- 9
2024 Big 12 Championships --- 10
2024 NCAA Championships --- 11
McLeod Center --- 12
Head Coach Doug Schwab --- 14-17
Coaching Staff --- 18
Athlete Bios 20-63
2023-24 Dual Results --- 64
2023-24 Tournament Results --- 65
Conference Championships/Honors --- 66-67
Career / Season Leaders --- 68
Awards --- 69
NCAA Champions --- 70
All-Americans --- …

Weavers And Deceivers: Spiders In Le Guin’S Writings, Kris Swank

UKL: The Journal of Ursula K. Le Guin Studies

The spider was one of Le Guin’s principal symbols which she used in her novels, short stories, poems and essays. Unlike Tolkien’s spiders—which are uniformly huge, black, predatory, devouring and feminized— Le Guin’s various spiders, rather, exhibit an interplay of male and female, dark and light. Le Guin’s male spider figures largely derive their characteristics from negative medieval European perceptions, while her female spider figures are largely derived from positive Native American legends of Spider Woman, the mother and nurturer of humankind. Among her multiple interpretations of the spider is also a naturalistic one of the web-spinner and innate artist, …

Graduate Portfolio, Addy Kaune

Graduate Research Papers

No abstract provided.

Representation Of Lgbtq+ Characters In The 2019 To 2022 Iowa Teen Award Books, Jamie Thompson

Graduate Research Papers

This qualitative literary content analysis examines the representation of LGBTQ+ themes in the student-nominated Iowa Teen Award (ITA) books from the past three years to help librarians and classroom teachers build an inclusive library collection. The research question posed in this study is: In what ways are LGBTQ+ characters represented in the Iowa Teen Award books? The analysis of eight middle-grade books (Appendix A) using the book analysis tool (Appendix B) identified three themes: Transformation of Understanding, Hopefulness, and Richness of Plot. Results showed that while all the books had a complex storyline, only five of the books showed a …

Gamification And Engagement In A 3rd Grade Classroom, Ellen Braet

Graduate Research Papers

Structural gamification is the addition of elements traditionally found in games into a classroom environment. This research examines the effects of gamification on student engagement in 3rd grade in a math classroom. In this mixed-methods research, a group of 3rd grade students were taught both gamified and non-gamified lessons. At the end of each lesson, the students were given surveys to assess their thoughts on both lesson formats and were observed for on-task and off-task behaviors. This research found that gamified lessons were more effective at improving engagement compared to non-gamified lessons. Future research on gamification in elementary classrooms was …

Body Image In College Athletics, Tyrell Gordon

Graduate Research Papers

Body image dissatisfaction of college athletes is a real problem and it is affecting female athletes at an alarming rate compared to their male counterparts. Body image is a multidimensional construct involving perceptions and attitudes of the body’s functional capabilities and physical appearance. Although women experience a greater level of body dissatisfaction than men, previous research shows that men are experiencing greater levels of negative body image than in the past. The dominant explanation for this trend is one of two things, the first of which is that women participate in more aesthetically pleasing sports such as soccer, gymnastics, volleyball, …

Implications Of Educational Environments For Gender And Sexually Diverse Adolescents, Margaret J. Staff

Graduate Research Papers

Gender and sexually diverse adolescents (GSD) experience extreme risk to their safety and well-being in all parts of their lives, including in their educational experience (The Trevor Project, 2023). With the risks GSD adolescents experience, it is important to understand the negatives and positives they report. Positive experiences included their self-defined identities, peer connections, and the GSD community and negative experiences surrounded their families, schools, religious institutions, and residential communities (Higa et al., 2014).

Adverse Childhood Experiences Increasing The Likelihood Of Substance Use Disorder, Kelsey L. Cain

Graduate Research Papers

No abstract provided.

The Role Of Parental Divorce In Childhood On Depression Among Adults, Amy Stoermer

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this study is to assess the relationship between parental divorce and depression in emerging young adults who responded to the 2019 BRFSS study. The 2019 BRFSS utilized a Disproportionate Stratified Sample design to gather data across all states in the U.S. by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The final number of participants used in this study was 50,804, ranging in age from 18 through 30. The number of male participants was 27,208 and the number of female participants was 23,596. The race of participants consisted of 31,177 white/non-Hispanic, 4,327 black/non-Hispanic, 3,443 Asian/non-Hispanic, and 2,831 …

Physical Activity And Mental Health Symptoms In Adults, Olivia A. Brecht

Graduate Research Papers

The primary purpose of this research study was to analyze the effect of physical activity on the mental health of adults aged 18-80. Existing research has found a significant relationship between physical activity and mental health in adulthood. The current study utilizes secondary data from the 2019 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). The target population for the BRFSS study consists of noninstitutionalized adults (aged 18 and older) currently living in the United States. Using SPSS, the current study conducted univariate data analysis and bivariate data analysis. This study investigates various factors including the number of poor mental health days, …

The Effects Of Alcohol Consumption On Cognitive Decline, Ashley Highland

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between alcohol use and cognitive decline among young adults. This study is a quantitative study in which secondary data was used as a means to gather information from the 2022 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) database. In this study, the researcher analyzed the data using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics, such as independent sample t-test, correlations analysis, ANOVA, and Chi-Square test. The findings in this research revealed that there is a significant relationship between cognitive decline and binge drinking in young adults. Meaning, young adults who binge drink are …

Adverse Childhood Experiences And Alcohol Use In Adulthood, Callie Franzen

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and alcohol use in adulthood among individuals who responded to the BRFSS 2022 study. Secondary data was used to gather information on adults. The BRFSS 2022 survey was a national survey conducted by the CDC that utilized stratified sampling to create two groups of participants based on phone number type. The final number of participants used in this sample was 445,132 adults aged 18 to 80 with 209,238 males and 235,894 females, and the races consisted of 333,514 Whites, 35,876 Blacks, 20,607 Asians, 42,977 Hispanics, …

Graduate Portfolio, Olivia Campbell

Graduate Research Papers

History is often thought of as big events that happened throughout time. This notion can be seen in the way history is often taught in the high school and often college levels. World history always teaches about events like the world wars and similar conflicts. American history always teaches about events such as the signing of the Declaration of Independence and the Civil War. Because of this, whether intentionally or not, history is often thought of as big events that have happened. History is also often taught through the lens of “great man history”, which focuses on people who had …

Teacher Librarians’ Influence On Information Literacy Skills: A Research Proposal, Amy Diewold, Diana Lord, Sierra Johnson

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this qualitative study is to find out how school librarians and teachers can collaborate on information literacy instruction in order to help students become more careful consumers of information. In what ways do students meet AASL digital citizenship learner competencies, especially the ethical use and evaluation of information sources, through activities meeting learner competencies in a core content area when taught collaboratively by teacher librarians and classroom teachers? Sixty students, twenty each in grades 5, 9, and 11, will be given a questionnaire after receiving instruction in lateral reading to determine what lateral reading skills students are …

The Impact Of Alcohol Use On Dating Violence Among Adolescents, Kaygen Kay Deitrick

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between alcohol use and increased rates of dating violence. Additionally, the study proposed potential differences in experienced dating violence rates for sexual minority youth compared to their heterosexual counterparts. This current study utilizes secondary data analysis of the national 2021 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YBRSS). In this study the researcher analyzed data through the use of descriptive statistics that include frequency, mean, standard deviation. The researcher analyzed data through the use of inferential statistics which include independent sample t-test, correlations analysis, ANOVA. The results of this study indicate a …

Examining The Impact Book Promotions Have On Student Book Selection, Chelsea Dearborn

Graduate Research Papers

This qualitative case study reflects the influence a teacher librarian has on students ability to select reading materials. This study was conducted in a small, rural school in Southeast Iowa with a class of 21 4th grade students over a four week period. Students listened to book talks of many different types and then were observed as they made their book selections. The researcher discovered three initial codes in response to the two research questions. The first code is Self Awareness in Book Interests. Initial code two is Librarian Techniques Used to Foster a Desire for Pleasure Reading. The final …

Evaluating The Impact Of Model-Evidence-Link Charts In Seventh-Grade Student’S Ability To Engage In Scientific Argumentation Over Plant Reproductive Structures, Josephine Libby

Graduate Research Papers

The MEL has been utilized in a variety of topics, but not plant reproductive structures. The resource would allow students to form connections between provided scientific text and provided models. The goal is to have students understand the text and connect it to the correct model over the model based on a common misconception.

The study also investigated whether the use of these models would gain student confidence in the area of scientific argumentation. Scientific argumentation is a scientific practice a part of the Next Generation Science Standards that have been adopted by the state of Iowa. The middle school …

The Effects Of Sleep Quality On The Performance And Health Of Athletes, Andy Niese

Graduate Research Papers

The quest for victorious supremacy within competitive athletics is a never-ending battle, a cutthroat process where the more successful athletes are willing to go to the extremes of physical training and nutritional modifications to gain any kind of edge over their opponents, many of whom are countering those efforts with the exact same type of self-fortifying tactics. Yet, the rudimentary human need for sleep is often an underestimated and forgotten weapon in enhancing and maximizing athletic performance. Furthermore, it would not be an exaggeration to categorize the basic existential tenant of sleep as the deal breaker for an athlete’s performance …

Confronting Cte: A Blog Dedicated To Increasing Awareness In Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, Caden Shea

Honors Program Theses

The variation on a creative thesis that I formed was a website and blog that utilized research about Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy and how it affects athletes of all kinds, specifically athletes in the National Football League. The reason that I chose this topic is because the field that I hope to go into is that of sports journalism. One of the biggest problems facing sports leagues all over the world is the issue of safety. One of the biggest safety concerns in sports is that of head injuries, and one of the most prominent head injuries is CTE. I chose …

Orthographic Influences On The Production Of French Nasal Vowels By English-Speaking Learners Of French, Claire Evelyn Tow

Honors Program Theses

The present study investigated acoustic differences (F1F2 vowel space and duration) in French nasal vowel productions by three participants who speak French as a first language (L1-French speakers) and ten participants who speak English as a first language and French as a second language (L2-French speakers). French nasal vowel production by L2-French speakers was acoustically analyzed in two conditions: Auditory-Orthographic (Aud-Ortho) and Auditory-Only (Aud-Only). The results indicated a larger F1F2 vowel space for L2-French speakers in the AudOrtho task compared to the Aud-Only task. French nasal vowel durations were slightly longer for the L2-French speakers. Spectrograms from L2-French speakers revealed …

Characterization Of Zebra Calcite To Better Understand Wind Cave National Park As An Extraterrestrial Analog, Jenna Heinen

Honors Program Theses

No abstract provided.

Unreliable Narrators; Origins And Impact, Lauren Fetzer

Honors Program Theses

Unreliable narrators can be found in every source of information. They mediate the text for the reader and raise our perceptions of stories, news articles, and forms of receiving facts. While they can be seen in a variety of different genres and forms of literature over the span of many decades, the understanding and acceptance of unreliable narrators have shifted over time. During the late nineteenth century, many authors utilized neutral narrators, intended to be without opinions or bias, when discussing social issues. In Stephen Crane’s 1893 novella Maggie: a Girl of the Streets the narrator is not the main …

An Analysis Of Crash Factors On Total Property Damage, Erica Peters

Honors Program Theses

Vehicle accidents occur across the world every day. Rain or shine, night or day accidents will always occur. While each accident has its own set of unique characteristics, a statistical data analysis can help identify important factors, trends and overall patterns that explain and predict the total property damage incurred after a car crash. As a result, the primary goal of this research is to employ a regression analysis to identify which environmental and collision variables are most important in explaining and predicting the dependent variable – total property damage that results from auto accidents.

This research will also explore …

A Case Study Of The Influence Of The Teacher Librarian On Middle And High School Student Book Selection, Hilary Peyton, Lindsay Salinas, Josie Smock, Meg Tisinger

Graduate Research Papers

This study examines the influence of the teacher librarian on middle and high school student book selection through library programming that includes teacher librarian book promotion strategies, specifically book talks, book displays, and genrefication in a school library. This qualitative case study of 60 Iowa middle and high school students aims to answer two questions: 1) What strategies do middle and high school students use for selecting books for pleasure reading? 2) How do teacher librarian book promotion strategies influence student selection of books for pleasure reading? Using participant surveys and interviews the study revealed 3 major themes: 1) Most …

Teacher Librarian Book Promotion: Bringing Motivation To The Forefront: A Research Proposal, Christy Bartels, Bree Dickens, Chris Frimml, Jennifer George, Kristel Groenewold

Graduate Research Papers

No abstract provided.

Increasing Reading Fluency In Ell Learners, Jennifer N. Patton

Graduate Research Papers

I am creating a project on how to effectively teach fluency to ELL students. To do so, I had to first research. Recent researches have revealed that English Language Learners (ELLs) face certain challenges that threaten their academic success, especially their reading fluency, and as a result, make learning difficult. To achieve the purpose of this research, this chapter is focused on providing a deeper analysis into the problem of fluency and how it affects ELLs. The target with this is to review shared knowledge around reading fluency development in ELLs. This chapter, therefore, entails reviews of the literature on …

Biology News 2024, University Of Northern Iowa. Department Of Biology.

Biology News

Contents:

Letter from the Department Head --- 2
Bolton Award Winner --- 3
Goldwater Scholarship Winner --- 3
Purple and Old Gold Award Winner --- 3
Faculty News Roundup --- 4
New Hires --- 6
UNI Botanical Center --- 7
Alumni Information Request --- 7
Support Our Programs --- 8
Floyd Fellowship Award Winner --- 8

Csbs Statements, V25, 2023-24, University Of Northern Iowa. College Of Social And Behavioral Sciences.

CSBS Statements

Contents:

From the Dean --- 3
A New Home for Health --- 4
Becoming Part of the Solution --- 7
Thriving Through Movement --- 10
Support Across the Lifespan --- 12
Atmosphere of Empathy: Path to Healing --- 14
College News --- 16
Student Spotlight --- 20
Alumni Highlights --- 24
Donor Spotlight --- 30
Annual Giving --- 34
Class Notes --- 38

Personalized Website Design For Differentiated Instruction: Emerging Research And Opportunities, Congcong Wang

Faculty Book Gallery

Technology has changed how people learn, socialize, and communicate. It is a vehicle which allows teachers and learners to reach their teaching and learning destination faster. Today’s educators have access to a flourishing array of learning options and tools daily; they are not blind digital followers but critical and independent thinkers, analysts, and decision makers. By deepening our understanding of technologic trends, this book further explores what these new trends mean in terms of how educators may rethink teaching and learning to keep up with the pace of technology and a changing society.