Digital Commons Network^™

Orchestra Sketch, Lei Li

Masters Theses

This orchestra piece consists of two movements inspired by the beauty and power of nature. The entire piece uses colorful orchestration and sensitive harmonic language as a palette to draw nature's colors.

As I began sketching out the first movement in early spring, every living creature was gradually emerging from its winter slumber, bringing bright colors into the world. The green grass appeared under the white snow, brown trees tum green, and many yellow daffodils and white tulips started to blossom. This first movement uses lyrical dialogues between strings and the orchestra to express the romantic emotions of spring's blossoms. …

A Computer Aided Diagnosis System For Breast Cancer Using Independent Component Analysis And Fuzzy Classifier, Fadi Abu-Amara

Masters Theses

Screening mammograms by a radiologist is a repetitive task that causes fatigue and eye strain. For every thousand cases analyzed by a radiologist, only 3 to 4 are cancerous and thus an abnormality may be overlooked. Computer-Aided Detection (CAD) algorithms have been developed to assist radiologists in detecting mammographic lesions. CAD algorithms have improved total radiologists' detection accuracy of cancerous tissues. In this thesis, a computer aided detection and diagnosis (CADD) system for breast cancer is developed. The algorithm framework is based on combining principal component analysis (PCA), independent component analysis (ICA), and fuzzy classifier to identify and label suspicious …

Transcriptional Regulation Of Glucose-6-Phosphate Dehydrogenase (G6pdh) By Glucose, Pramod U. Thekkat

Masters Theses

In liver, insulin and glucose regulate the expression of important genes for lipid and carbohydrate homeostasis. Studies on the effects of glucose and insulin, including effects on cell signaling, are vital since deficiencies in glucose utilization in cells and/or insulin secretion contribute to conditions like obesity and diabetes. In liver, the pentose phosphate pathway is one of the primary pathways that can utilize the excess carbohydrate. Glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH) is an important rate limiting enzyme in this pathway. Our laboratory has shown that both insulin and glucose induce the expression of G6PDH, although the mechanism by which this transcriptional regulation …

Biochemical Characterization Of Disease-Causing Mutation In N-Terminal Wilson Protein Domain Six, Patrick Ochieng

Masters Theses

Wilson protein (ATP7B) is a copper-transporting P-type ATPase that regulates copper homeostasis and secretion of copper-containing enzymes in the liver. In hepatocytes, ATP7B delivers copper to apoceruloplasmin and mediates the excretion of excess copper into bile. Mutation in the gene coding for Wilson protein leads to Wilson disease. Several mutations in Wilson protein have been identified and of particular interest, mutations affecting the N-metal binding region significantly interfere with the ability of Wilson protein to transport copper to its target in the copper-trafficking pathway. In an attempt to characterize the disease-causing mutation (G591D) in Wilson protein domain 6 (WLN6), we …

The Effects Of A Still-Photo Computer Module Without Feedback On Ergonomic Behaviors, Rhiannon M. Fante

Masters Theses

The purpose of the present study was to examine the effects of a still-photo computer training module without feedback on safe positioning of individuals performing an assembly task and a lifting task using a multiple baseline design across behaviors and tasks. The study took place in an analogue office setting and participants were 6 college students. The dependent variable was the percentage of observations scored as safe and each session was recorded via a hidden camera. During each session, participants completed a 5 minute assembly task followed by 2 lifts and this task sequence was repeated a minimum of four …

Occupations, Habits And Routines: A Case Study Of An African-American Woman, Michelle Leigh Velting

Masters Theses

Obesity is a growing problem in the United States. African-American women make up a large portion of the obese population in the United States, however, the treatment techniques available have had limited success with this group. Although many health professionals are involved with the treatment of obesity, literature involving the value of occupational therapy with this population is limited. This mixed-methods case study identified the daily occupations, habits, and routines of a middle-class obese African-American woman. The participant was selected via a health care professional in the area of Grand Rapids, MI. The Occupational Questionnaire (OQ), Model of Human Occupation …

The Role Of Latinidad In The Worship And Formation Of Identity Of A U.S. Hispanic, Pentecostal Church, Kristina Arellano

Masters Theses

This case study examines how culture influenced the worship of one U.S. Hispanic church made up of thirteen different nationalities. I examined how Latinidad, a unified Latino identity, assisted in the construction of Iglesia Ebenezer’s collective identity enabling them to worship together despite their diversity. I observed several worship services and interviewed eleven participants during my fieldwork: three pastors, two youth leaders, and six worship-team musicians. I compared and contrasted case studies of the musicians to construct a collective identity of this small group. A final analysis compared my fieldwork observations and the perspectives of all eleven individuals to establish …

The Music Of A Kalinga Peace-Pact Celebration: Making Place Through The Soundscape, Glenn Ress Stallsmith

Masters Theses

Music and place are two phenomena that have been objectified by researchers in the past. This thesis treats both as social processes created by subjects in local, specific contexts. The Kalinga peace pact system forms an intricate web of bilateral agreements between forty or more culture groups in the northern Philippines. Each agreement is celebrated when it is formed or when a peace pact holder from one group passes the responsibility on to his son. This thesis examines eight musical scenes at one peace pact ceremony celebrated in the Mangali culture area in April 2005. It analyzes the music performances …

Development Of A Needs Assessment For Youth Violence Prevention Programs In A Large Midwestern City, Laura Lynn Savel

Masters Theses

This research project was designed to examine the relationship between the needs for violence prevention programs and the qualities of occupational therapists. A needs assessment relevant to violence prevention program could not be located. One was therefore created based on the literature available as well as professional input. A pilot study was conducted, revisions were made and the needs assessment was distributed when approval was granted. The assessment was distributed to elementary, middle and high school principals, assistant principals, occupational therapists, guidance counselors/psychologists, and support staff from two western Michigan school systems. A model program was created based on the …

Performance Evaluation Of Existing Analytical Methods To Compute The Shear Contribution Provided By Externally Bonded Frp Sheets In Concrete Structures, Rocio Patricia Tumialan

Masters Theses

"External application of FRP composites has been adopted for strengthening and/or repair of concrete structures in many applications during the last two decades. However, the research into shear strengthening using FRP composites has not been widely conducted as compared to flexural strengthening and axial load capacity increase, and the results obtained thus far are scarce and sometimes controversial. This study presents a review of analytical studies and design guidelines on shear strengthening of concrete structures with externally-bonded FRP laminates, and their assessment with experimental data collected from the literature. The strengths and weaknesses of each model and design guidelines/codes/specifications are …

Physicochemical Properties Of Individual And Mixed Oxides Of Sio2, Al203, Tio2‚ And Photocatalytic Behaviour Of Organosilane Modified St Samples, Kalyani Gude

Masters Theses

A variety of oxides such as silica, alumina, titania and mixed oxides such as silica/alumina (SA), silica/titania (ST) and alumina/silica/titania (AST) are investigated by TGA and FTIR. These mixed oxides are analyzed because of their applications as catalysts. Thermogravimetric analysis is done on all the samples to determine the temperature at which the weakly adsorbed water is lost and the surface is left with only surface hydroxyls. TGA data showed the loss of most of the adsorbed water at around 100°C.

From the diffuse reflectance FTIR spectra taken at 200 and 300°C the silanol content is estimated from the 3740 …

Coming Out In The Workplace: Stigma And Boundary Management For Homosexual Men, Eric A. Evans

Masters Theses

Disclosing their sexuality is an experience that is unique to homosexuals. At times disclosure can be a difficult decision, including disclosing in the workplace. This study explores how gay men manage the privacy boundaries of their sexual orientation in the workplace. The core of this study is the dialectical tension of disclosing or concealing their sexuality. Stigma, coming out and Communication Privacy Management Theory provided the framework for this study. Interviews with gay men were conducted and then analyzed using the Grounded Theory. The social phenomenon of coming out in the workplace for gay men is explored in this study.

Fathers' And Young Sons' Everyday Talk: A Conversation Analytic Study Of Topic Initiation And Development, Stacia Jayne Ozier

Masters Theses

As Floyd and Morman (1999) argue, "there are few male-male relationships that may be more socially significant than that between father and son"(p. 310). This study is an introduction to the exploration of topic in father-young son interaction. Using the method of conversation analysis we have identified how three father-young son groups initiate topic in actual everyday conversation. Both fathers and sons used aspects of the physical environment and social activities as resources for topic initiation. In addition, one father used other-focused questions to initiate topics with his young sons. In the examination of the practices used by the fathers …

The Role Of Men In Nontraditional Roles: Male Sorority Advisors, Brian Thomas Clarke

Masters Theses

The researcher's experience as a male sorority advisor served as the impetus for the present study, specifically relating to the struggles and difficulties experienced by male chapter advisors in gaining respect, trust, and acceptance from undergraduate and alumnae sorority members.

The purpose of the study was to explore the phenomenon of men as sorority advisors of historically white sororities. Naturalistic methodology (McMillan & Schumacher, 2001) was used to collect the data for the present study. All data were collected through one-on-one qualitative interviews. Participants in the current study were males who have and/or currently serve in an advisory role for …

Gender, Race, And Membership Status: Perceptions Of Hazing On A University Campus, Robyn Bethany Paige

Masters Theses

This thesis addressed the issue of hazing and specifically the potential relationship of three demographic factors, race, gender, and membership status, on student attitudes about hazing. This research to improve the understanding about what motivates individuals to engage in such behavior is designed to provide help to practitioners in creating better prevention and education about hazing.

An on-line survey was used to collect data from students at a large, public, Research I institution in the Mid-west. The survey was based on Sedlacek and Brook's (1970) Situational Attitudes Scale. The original instrument was modified to fit the topic of hazing. It …

Assessing Levels Of Hope And Motivation In Two Groups Of At-Risk Undergraduate College Students, Victoria M. Zeter

Masters Theses

Among the many prominent motivational theories addressed in this study, one was central to the research - hope theory. Hope is a goal directed cognitive process that involves three components: goals, pathway thinking, and agency thinking (Snyder, Feldman, Shorey, & Rand, 2002). The focus of this study was to assess the levels of hope and motivation of two at-risk undergraduate student populations attending Eastern Illinois University (EIU). All of the subjects were participants in one of two student support programs: a) Gateway, an alternative admissions program designed to provide access to higher education to underrepresented and disadvantaged students; and b) …

The Effectiveness Of Support Groups In A Community Diabetes Prevention Program, Traci Worby

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of a support group in a community Diabetes Prevention Program. The research questions to be answered were: (1) did participation in the intervention group result in better outcomes compared to the participants in the control group, (2) did the participants in the intervention group and the control group feel that the Diabetes Prevention Program's exercise program helped them make positive changes in their life and taught them the importance of continued exercise to help reduce the risk of diabetes according to statements answered on the survey, (3) did the participants …

Presenting Problems And Treatment Outcome Of College Counseling Center Clients: The Role Of Gender And Academic Major, Erik Lennart Timothy Fister

Masters Theses

The current study examined whether gender and/or academic specialization had any relationship to students presenting issues, symptom severity, and treatment outcome at a university counseling center. The participants were 484 clients and the data were collected at an East Coast university counseling center. Clients were included for the analyses if they were a new intake, clearly fit into one of six categories for academic major, and attended more than one session. Each client filled out both the Personal Information Form (PIF) and Behavioral Health Questionnaire (BHQ) at intake, and was administered the BHQ prior to each subsequent session. Based on …

School-Related Predictors Of Test Anxiety In Middle-School Students, Jayme Holt

Masters Theses

Test anxiety has been associated with many school-related factors. In the present study, the presence of an academic label was expected to be a better predictor of test anxiety than memory, study habits, or grade point average in a sample of middle-school students. A total of 48 middle-school students, 19 with academic labels, were administered the Survey of Study Habits & Attitudes (Brown & Holtzman, 1967), Test Anxiety Inventory (Spielberger, 1980), and the Children's Memory Scale (Cohen, 1997), while teachers supplied each student's current G.P.A. The hypothesis that an academic label would be a better predictor of test anxiety was …

Science And Application: A Comparison Of Graduate Training In Counseling And Clinical Psychology, Nupur Jain

Masters Theses

Often times, when considering training and careers in psychology, students have difficulty deciding whether to pursue clinical psychology or counseling psychology as a career. The decision made might be a result of limited or biased information. Additionally, students often fail to make important distinctions between counseling psychology and the professional field of counseling, which has implications for the career path they pursue. The purpose of the current literature review is to provide readers with the range of knowledge and ideas, including contrasting perspectives and viewpoints that have been established in this area.

Students also often fail to make important distinctions …

Evaluation Of Year Round Education: Does It Increase Isat Reading Scores In Third And Eighth Grade Students?, Kristy Marlett

Masters Theses

Little is known about how a modified school calendar influences student achievement in reading. The present study investigated how students performed on the ISAT reading test after the district switched to a year-round calendar when compared to scores when the district was using a traditional school calendar. In other words, this longitudinal study attempted to answer if performance on the ISAT is related to the type of calendar, gender, grade level, and receiving special education services. Participants were 900 students in the third and eighth grades of one Illinois school district that transitioned from traditional school calendar to Year Round …

The Relation Of Teacher Burnout To Teachers' Expectation Of An Elementary Student's Outcome, Megan Brianne Mcdowell

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine what aspect(s) of teacher burnout, if any, predicted a teacher's expectation for a student's academic outcome, a teacher's expectation for a student's behavior outcome, and the teacher's ability to work with that student. Thirty-four K through 6th grade teachers, from four rural Illinois schools, completed the Maslach Burnout Inventory - Educators Survey (MBI - ES; Maslach, Jackson, & Schwab, 1986) and the Teacher Expectation Questionnaire (TEQ; Aloia & Aloia, 1983). Results suggested that only the Emotional Exhaustion subscale of the MBI - ES predicted the three scales of the TEQ: Teacher's Expectation …

Calibration Of Reading Self-Efficacy Beliefs Of Students With Reading Disabilities, Melissa Mickelson

Masters Theses

A study was conducted to measure self-efficacy calibration, or accuracy of performance beliefs, in reading by high school students with reading disabilities. This study examined participant's reading metacognitive skills, reading self-concept, reading comprehension, and reading self-efficacy. Fifty-two participants were placed into a group of students with reading disabilities and a comparison group of normal achieving students. These students completed all measures and group results were compared to determine the degree of calibration, metacognitive abilities, and self-concept of students with reading disabilities as compared to normal achieving students. Results of the study found that students with reading disabilities did not significantly …

Punk'd Lives: Or, The Effects Of White Folks, Black Folks, And Breeders On Punks, Maurice L. Tracy

Masters Theses

Punk'd Lives: Or the Effects of White Folks, Black Folks, and Breeders on Punks is a collection of short stories in the vein of Langston Hughes' The Ways of White Folks; each story looks at contemporary American, mainly middle class, society and exposes some particular, and not always pleasant, truth about those represented within its few pages. As a collective whole and at its core, Punk'd Lives examines what it means to be a young homosexual African-American male living inside of the larger (mainstream) American culture that is often White and always heterosexual.

Black, White, And Gray: The Veiled Politics Of Race And Slavery In Antebellum Literature, Emily Ramage

Masters Theses

The American slavery crisis reached a pinnacle during the time from postrevolution to the mid-nineteenth century, resulting in the most devastating loss of American life to date - the Civil War. Emotions about race and slavery ran high during this antebellum period, and many extremists on both sides of the Mason-Dixon Line used the power of written language for their cause; many Americans, conversely, appeared indifferent to a race of people who neither directly affected them nor engaged their interest. That indifference itself played a role in the debate of race and slavery, which progressively reached a vast audience in …

The Interdialect Approach To Second Dialect Acquisition: Theory, Process, And Results, Shauna K. Cromwell

Masters Theses

This project outlines the theory, process, and results behind an original approach to second dialect acquisition termed the "Interdialect Approach." To begin, the historical origins and development of the non-standard dialect African-American English (AAE) are outlined, focusing particularly on the evolution of the dialect and the importance of its historical examination in relation to current studies, research, and emerging nontraditional teaching methods for second dialect acquisition. This multi-faceted approach is clearly defined and offered as an effective method for teaching non-standard English speakers, particularly AAE speakers as is noted in the discussion of two dialect studies in which the "Interdialect …

The Philosophical Quest Of Tom Joad In The Grapes Of Wrath, Eun-Young Lim

Masters Theses

When the merciless Dust Bowl sweeps through Oklahoma in The Grapes of Wrath, the major questions of what can be achieved by thinking and how can ordinary men overcome these critical circumstances pervade the entire novel. This thesis focuses on how Tom Joad, the protagonist in this novel, grows in his philosophical quest, based mainly on Steinbeck's assertion that "Need is the stimulus to concept, concept to action."

Although Tom Joad is portrayed as a cynical, convicted killer who responds to stimuli or from impulse at first, he undergoes his journey both literally and metaphorically from Oklahoma to the promised …

Perceptions Of Sororities Among Sorority Women, Deborah Denise Appleby

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine sorority women's perception ons on certain aspects of sororities and how they believe sororities are perceived by non-sorority women and faculty. The benefits of the study include awareness of the perceptions that sorority women hold of sororities, improvements can be made in areas that haveе negative perceptions, and the positive aspects of sororities can be promoted more.

A survey was used to collect data and SPSS statistical software wavas used to analyze data. Eight of the nine Panhellenic sororities at Eastern Illinois Universi versity were surveyed, providing 395 respondents. Their ages ranged …

Media's Portrayal Of Women: Impact On Aggressive Attitudes And Beliefs, Danielle Trezek

Masters Theses

The purpose of this quasi-experimental quantitative study was to examine images in magazine advertisements and the impact of these images on aggressive attitudes and beliefs towards women. The three research objectives were: 1) to explore the appeal of the portrayals of women in magazine advertisements to males and females, 2) to examind the attitudes and acceptances of violence, gender-roles, and gender stereotypes of the participants after viewing the different portrayals, and 3) to compare the results of males and females to explore the differences in aggression between genders. The participants consisted of 71 college males and females from a Midwestern …

The Influence Of Physical Activity, Eating Habits, And Social Physique Anxiety On Obesity In Adolescent Females, Rachel Marie Hardesty

Masters Theses

Childhood obesity is becoming a more serious problem as time goes by. A large part of the problem is adolescent children are less active, have poor eating habits, and have negative feelings regarding their body shape. PURPOSE: In order to identify those factors most closely associated with obesity. This study compared the eating patterns, activity patterns, and social physique anxiety in non-obese to over weight and obese adolescent females. Also, this study investigated the relationships between eating patterns, activity patterns, and social physique anxiety to body mass index in adolescent females in order to identify those factors most closely associated …