Digital Commons Network^™

Butterfly Response To Floral Resources At A Heterogeneous Prairie Biofuel Production Site, Benjamin J. Hoksch, Mark C. Myers

Undergraduate Student Work

In the Midwestern USA, current biofuel production systems rely on high input monoculture crops that do little to support biodiversity or protect soil and water resources. The University of Northern Iowa’s Tallgrass Prairie Center is investigating the feasibility of cultivating and harvesting diverse mixes of native prairie vegetation as a sustainable biofuel. In 2009, we established 48 research plots seeded with one of four treatments: 1) switchgrass monoculture, 2) warm-season grass mix (5 species), 3) biomass mix (16 species of grasses and forbs), or 4) prairie mix (32 species of grasses and forbs). We hypothesized that more diverse plant communities …

Uni Student Satisfaction Survey 2010, University Of Northern Iowa

Institutional Effectiveness & Planning Documents

N/A

Average Budgeted Salaries Of Faculty Staff 2010-2011, University Of Northern Iowa

Institutional Effectiveness & Planning Documents

Gives the average salaries of faculty broken down by rank and college and the distribution of salaries of the professional and scientific category.

Xenopus Development From Late Gastrulation To Feeding Tadpole In Simulated Microgravity, Wendy M. Olson, Darrell Wiens, Theresa L. Gaul, Manuela Rodriguez, Cherie L. Hauptmeier

Faculty Work

Microgravity (microG) is known to influence cytoskeletal structure, but its effects on cell migration are not well understood. To examine the effects of altered gravity on neural crest cell (NCC) migration, we inserted Xenopus laevis embryos into two separate microG-simulating slow turning lateral vessels (STLVs) just before neurulation (stage 11-12), and exposed them until feeding stage (stage 45), when the jaws and branchial apparatus are fully functional. To evaluate apparatus-related artifacts, we used two different STLVs and a vibration control as well as a stationary control vessel. Larval growth, pattern of NCC-derived cartilage formation, and incidence of malformations were analyzed …

Perspectives Of Fitness And Health In College Men And Women, Jennifer J. Waldron, Rodney B. Dieser

Faculty Publications

Because many college students engage in low levels of physical activity, the current study used a qualitative framework to interview 11 college students to examine the meaning physically active college students assign to the practice of fitness and health. Students discussed the importance of healthy eating, but that it was difficult to accomplish at college. Additionally, students intertwined health and fitness with physical appearance and attractiveness. In particular, the media shaped many of their perceptions of health and fitness. Implications of these findings to policy making in higher education, in particular wellness programming, are highlighted.

A Study Of Published Journal Articles On Brain-Based Learning From 1985 To 2009, Janece Shaffer

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Educators are required to implement scientifically-based research interventions in their classrooms, but teachers and administrators may not be aware of the current laws and requirements of NCLB legislation. NCLB (2001) requires that educators implement research-based interventions. Brain-based learning programs have been implemented in classrooms throughout the country, even though the research base for such programs may be inadequate. This study presents the results of educational database searches for empirical studies involving brain-based or brain-compatible learning published in educational journals between 1985 and 2009. A total of 77 articles on brain-based learning were published during this time period but only 5 …

The Effects Of Owi Victim Impact Courses On Offender Recidivism, Sarah Emily Johnson

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

This study examines the effectiveness of victim impact courses, a court mandated intervention program, for 2nd OWI offenders (individuals with a second conviction of operating while intoxicated) in the first, fifth, and sixth districts of Iowa. Victim impact courses are intended to teach offenders about how drinking and driving can come to affect others in various different ways. The course is intended to lower reoffending rates for those who participate. Data was obtained through the ICON database. The ICON database is utilized by the Department of Corrections in Iowa to track information concerning offenders and their offenses. A bivariate analysis, …

The Impact Drama Has On Enabling International University Students To Assimilate Into The American Culture, Julie Baldwin

Honors Program Theses

We often take for granted how accepted we are by others around us. Without realizing it, we may forget we belong to a larger community connected by the culture of the United States that shapes the way we understand the world. Culture plays an invaluable role in much of how we live. According to Marcelle E. DuPraw and Marya Axne, authors of the article, "Working on Common Cross-Cultural Communication Challenge, "our culture "influences how we approach problems, and how we participate in groups and in communities" by shaping our communication and decision-making styles, attitudes toward conflict and disclosure, and approaches …

An Assessment Of Business Ethics: From The Classroom To The Workplace, Jenna Michelle Azbell

Honors Program Theses

This thesis will begin with an in-depth look at the major corporate scandals of Enron and WorldCom. After that, the thesis will describe the background history of business ethics in America, looking at how capitalism has evolved and shaped our business environment and sometimes influenced the decisions we make. A description of the legislative history involving business ethics will follow, including explanations of how laws such as Civil Rights Act of 1964 affected business ethics policies and practices in the United States, as well as the expansion of business ethics-related statutes including the recent Sarbanes-Oxley legislation that has changed business …

Wandering Socially: Technology And The Modern American Hobo Community, Natalie K. Turner

Honors Program Theses

In this research I investigate how our increasingly technological society is changing the lives and culture of hobos. Hobos are traditionally viewed as migratory workers who ride trains to travel to different jobs, and who were in the greatest abundance during the Great Depression. In the 1950s and 60s, impacted by the popularity of Kerouac's novel, On the Road, hobos began to incorporate the beat movement's love of freedom and poetry as a part of their culture. Most recently, hobo ideology can be found in anti-consumer and "simple living" communities. Conducting ethnographic research at the National Hobo Convention in Britt, …

Ornithine Decarboxylase (Odc) Regulation By Mtor: New Insights From Tsc1 Knockout Cells, Alyssa Mae Cates

Honors Program Theses

The polyamine pathway, when improperly regulated, is one central cause of skin carcinogenesis. The purpose of this project was to investigate the relationship between two biochemical signaling pathways, the mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin) pathway and the polyamine pathway. It is known that the protein mTOR serves to regulate a key protein in the polyamine pathway, ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), but the precise mechanism remains unclear. It has been postulated that mTOR acts to regulate ODC through two RNA binding proteins, HuR (a member of the Hu family of proteins) and TIP (tristetraprolin). The project entailed characterizing that relationship using TSCl …

Service-Learning In Iowa: A Study In Training And Support For Teachers, Jessica Staudt

Honors Program Theses

Service-learning is a term that is still being defined in the world of education. For some, service-learning is defined as "a method of teaching and learning which engages students in solving problems and addressing issues in their school and greater community as part of the academic curriculum" (Iowa Department of Education, 2007, p.1 ). Others define it as "the integration of community or school-based service activities with academic skills and content" that involves reflecting and learning from experiences while making contributions to the community (Kemis, 2000, p.8). Although these two definitions are very similar and could be interpreted as nearly …

Campaigning In Judicial Elections: The Effects Of Candidate Status, Katelyn Marie Bries

Honors Program Theses

While campaigns for judicial elections in general have received more attention, relatively little research has been done regarding the differences in campaigning for open-seat and incumbent-challenger elections. Because they are the most common type of judicial election, incumbent-challenger races have been the focus of most research conducted thus far. Yet, open seat competitions are important as well. With the incumbent advantage absent in these elections, factors that would otherwise play only a minor role in determining who will be elected have the potential to be much more exaggerated than they do in incumbent-challenger races; consequently, it will be easier to …

Musically Mainstreamed: Mainstreaming In Elementary General Music Classrooms, Kelsey Rae Ternes

Honors Program Theses

Music educators interact with a wide range of students with varying levels of abilities. Numerous research studies outline a variety of teaching models and methods aimed at creating a successful classroom environment for all children, regardless of their capabilities. This survey research investigated current practices in which special education teaching methods pertain to elementary music educators in Iowa and the relationship of these practices to the current research literature. Research participants anonymously responded online regarding the atmosphere of special education in their school and music classroom, the support given to them in regards to mainstreaming efforts, and the strategies that …

A Collection Of Original Music, Hanna Van Hemert

Honors Program Theses

The thesis project, 'A Collection of Original Music', is a creative/performative project comprised of composing, rehearsing, performing, recording, and notating original music. Designed to be completed as a collaboration between two musicians, Kelsey and I worked together during each of the tasks of the project. Consisting of four original pieces for piano/voice, and ukulele/voice, the compositions were performed at a live concert/thesis presentation, recorded at a later date, and transcribed for posterity.

Disclosure Of At-Risk Status For Huntington's Disease: Is There A "Right Time?", Krysten Ann Shipley

Honors Program Theses

The disclosure of at-risk status for HD can be a complicated and stress inducing process. The most difficult people to disclose this information to are most often those who are also at-risk, notably the children of individuals who are themselves at-risk for developing the disease or know that they will develop the disease. How and when a child finds out that he or she is at risk for a debilitating disease can have a tremendous impact on the development of the child. The purpose of this thesis is to assess the ideal course of action in dealing with how and …

Towards Cloning A Tyrosinase Gene From Pitayas, Kurt J. Chamberlain

Honors Program Theses

Betalains, such as those produced by pitayas, are water-soluble nitrogen-containing pigment molecules (Gandia-Herrero et al., 2005). In most families of the Caryophyllales, betalains replace anthocyanins, which are the pigment molecules found in all other families of flowering plants (Strack et al., 2001). Betalains accumulate in the flowers, fruits, and occasionally vegetative tissues of these plants (Strack et al., 2001). Depending on the structure of the molecule, betalains are classified as either betacyanins or betaxanthins. Betacyanins contribute to red-violet coloration, while betaxanthins contribute to the yellow-orange coloration found only in a limited number of plant species (Gandia-Herrero et al., 2005). The …

Show And Tell: A Unique Approach To The Professional Educator's Portfolio, Elizabeth Hubler Cameron

Honors Program Theses

Today's educators need to be increasingly innovative in their self-marketing to ensure the best outcome of any job search or promotion opportunity. Skills and credentials are important, but increasing importance is being placed on tangible materials and substantiated data that one has to support their teaching style and educational philosophy. New job applicants need to find ways present themselves as distinct from other applicants. The following proposal outlines a creative thesis project that seeks to utilize traditional portfolio and resume components, combined with unique and technologically advanced selections, re-designed to demonstrate the fullest creative and innovative potential. The complete title …

Physical Therapy Availability In The Rural Counties Of Iowa, Kelsea Elizabeth Leacox

Honors Program Theses

According to the Iowa Physical Therapy Association [IPT A], physical therapy [PT] is a vital part of a healthy society, because it allows people to "achieve and maintain mobility and quality of life without surgery or prescription medication" (IPT A, 2009). There have been no published studies researching the availability of PT in rural areas of Iowa (Wilson, Lewis, & Murray, 2009; Institute of Medicine [IOM], 2005). The purpose of this study was to investigate whether PT availability in rural Iowa counties is an issue of concern. Preliminary and qualitative research was conducted to examine this topic. The importance of …

Seeking Alternatives To Marijuana Prohibition, Rachel Kiesel

Honors Program Theses

Marijuana legality is a highly controversial social issue. Although our society continues to be bombarded by negative images of drugs and crime in the media, cultural perceptions regarding marijuana have been changing over the past few years. Today, many people are more accepting of marijuana use than ever before. As a result of these shifting attitudes, several states have taken the initiative to pass new legislation on regulating marijuana with reduced restrictions.

An Archaeological Model Of Northern Warren County Prehistory With Survey Data, Whitney Alina Mark

Honors Program Theses

The following paper is an outline of prehistoric cultures within Central Iowa and more specifically northern Warren County. The purpose of this study was the evaluation of the archaeological evidence near Middle River and the creation of a model to explain the location of this evidence. The model was created in order to predict what types of sites are common as well as what topographical locations they are located on. The number and location of known sites, as well as their cultural identification was analyzed in order to determine the probability that cultural remains could be found on the survey …

Cost, Quality And Access: An Analysis Of Health Care In The United States, Canada And The United Kingdom, Katherine Elizabeth Reidy

Honors Program Theses

Comparing international health care systems assists in identifying effective reforms to address three constant problems within health care around the globe: cost, quality and access. Until recently, the United States health care scheme has been administered through private enterprise while Canada and the United Kingdom have implemented national forms of health care. In order to determine which system more effectively deals issues related to cost, quality, and access, statistical information was gathered to compare each system based on cost, quality and access. Such statistics include but are not limited to waiting times for specialized care, financial expenditures for each country …

Analysis Of Atmospheric Boundary Layer Characteristics And The Synoptic-Scale Weather Pattern At The Potosi, Wi Slams Monitor, Sean K. Newlin

Honors Program Theses

Boundary layer parameters were analyzed for high impact fine-particulate pollution days for the years 2006 through 2009 in Potosi, Wisconsin. Potosi has seen recent 24-hour PM2.s design values at or near the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) of 35 micrograms per cubic meter. Every sampling date in the years 2006 through 2009 with a 24- hour PM2.5 particulate concentration above the year's trend line was studied as were the cleanest 10 days of each year. In particular, composite upper air profiles were constructed using observations from the nearby radiosonde stations, surface and S00mb weather maps were retrieved, the virtual …

Home Movies, Taylor Scott

Honors Program Theses

As an electronic media major I wanted to create a thesis that exemplified all of the video editing and creative skills and also the media theories I have learned at the University of Northern Iowa. To me, one of the most interesting topics in the electronic media field is the strong influence amateurs have on mass media, starting at the advent of the radio and through today on the internet. This is what inspired me to create Home Movies. I wanted to combine my interest in amateurism with the skills and knowledge I have learned as an electronic media student. …

Playing The Part: An Actress Prepares The Role Of Cathy In The Last Five Years, Katy Slaven

Honors Program Theses

My honors thesis project took the creative/performance-oriented form. I embarked on (in the words of my advisor, Jay Edelnant) a "self-pedagogical case-study centered on role preparation." My task was to prepare the role of Cathy from the musical The Last Five Years using a process I developed based on combining my musical and theatre training with outside resources.

I chose to do this project for my honors thesis for many reasons. First of all, I was always looking for more opportunities to do musical theatre. I have learned that in order to get anything you want in life, and especially …

The Experience Of Upward Mobility, Lacey Jae Ritter

Honors Program Theses

Upward mobility is an interesting and highly valued phenomenon within American society. Due to American beliefs that hard work is the only requirement for success, individuals feel that moving up a social class from that of their class of origin is not impossible. Past research, however, shows that upward mobility is extremely difficult and quite unlikely. When individuals do achieve upward mobility, there are many consequences for doing so, including changes in relationships with family and friends. Most individuals receive emotional support from family and friends in their quest for mobility, yet the path to upward mobility is often begun …

Creative Non-Fiction: Teaching Teachers, Emma T. Reeve

Honors Program Theses

What is the point of this project? I wanted to learn about teaching from the experiences of others; now I want to move toward writing about my own experiences. I want to know what classroom structures are effective, what knowledge students will potentially come into my class with and what they should know when they leave. I want to understand classroom management and be able to successfully control a group of students while inspiring a love for learning: that is the biggest part right there. I want to be the kind of teacher who is a changing factor in the …

A Comparison Of Forgiveness Across Two Cultures: Lebanon And The United States, Zeina Yousof

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Research suggests that the propensity to forgive expressed by societies is often influenced by the cultural orientation of the society. Collectivistic societies tend to express a higher level of willingness to forgive than individualistic societies. This study examined how two samples of different cultural orientations, Lebanese and American, define forgiveness and express their feelings, thoughts and behavior towards a specific offender who has hurt them in the past. In addition to that, the willingness to forgive of the two samples was measured. Measurement instruments for this study consisted of the Enright Forgiveness Inventory and the Willingness to Forgive scale. These …

The Postville Story, Sisters Of St. Francis, Mt. St. Francis, Dubuque, Iowa, January 14, 2010, Mary Mccauley

Postville Project Documents

Mary McCauley recounts the events of the Postville raid and the aftermath and how the local Catholic Church responded. She also encourages other churches to speak out on immigration reform.

Iowa Academy Of Science 122nd Annual Meeting [2010]: Advance Program, Iowa Academy Of Science

Iowa Academy of Science Documents

Contains information about the schedule and presentations for the 2010 annual meeting of the Iowa Academy of Science.