Digital Commons Network^™

Religiosity, Role Theory, And Self-Esteem, Melissa R. Mccarthy

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between religion, religiosity, archetypal roles and self-esteem. The sample consisted of 61 students at a Midwestern university. The participants completed a series of surveys including two measures of religiosity, a self-esteem measure, and a Female Archetype Scale. The findings indicated that religions differ on levels of religiosity and female archetypes. In addition, there were correlations between religiosity and archetype, and self-esteem and religiosity. The significant correlations for the feminine archetypes were that were that Sekhmet was positively correlated with intrinsic religiosity, and negatively correlated with extrinsic religiosity and Connectedness; Demeter …

Cover, Copy And Compare Method Versus Copy, Cover, And Compare Method For Teaching Mathematics: A Comparative Analysis, Joel Grafman

Masters Theses

This study compared the fluency and accuracy rates produced when using the Cover, Copy, and Compare and Copy, Cover, and Compare interventions to complete subtraction math problems. Two second grade classrooms consisting of 20 or more students participated in the study. Participants were administered a pretest, Cover, Copy, and Compare worksheet, Copy, Cover, and Compare worksheet, and a posttest. Results revealed significantly higher digits correct per second (i.e. fluency) scores on the posttest and Cover, Copy, and Compare worksheets when compared to the pretest and Copy, Cover, and Compare worksheets with no difference in the errors per second (i.e. accuracy) …

Inventory Management Improvement Techniques, James Lanman

Masters Theses

An inventory management system that does not ensure inventory record accuracy greatly reduces the ability of a company to control inventory levels and fulfill customer requirements. This study investigated how two principles of inventory management affected three business metrics: on-time delivery, inventory record accuracy, and inventory level management.

Eight manufacturers of aircraft parts and equipment in northeastern lllinois responded to a survey created to analyze the effects of ABC classification of inventory and cycle counting techniques on inventory management. Survey data were collected via teleconference with a representative of each manufacturer.

Half of the manufacturers reported using ABC inventory classification …

Land-Use Changes And Stream Productivity: Effects On Stream Communities And Food-Chain Length, Christopher A. North

Masters Theses

In recent years stream ecologists have come to realize that in order to better understand the processes that occur within streams it is important to incorporate some knowledge of the surrounding landscape into their studies. Previous work on Hurricane Creek indicated that agricultural activities and the proportion of cropland has an impact on stream water chemistry and community metabolism within Hurricane Creek, Illinois. Thus, this study examined stream community composition and food-chain length to ascertain the effects of water quality differences resulting from agricultural land-use practices. The four sites chosen for this study on Hurricane Creek were sampled four times …

Seasonal Movements And Habitat Selection Of Raccoons In A Grassland-Agricultural Landscape, Roberta K. Newbury

Masters Theses

Raccoon (Procyon lotor) populations are very high in Illinois due in part to low pelt value and reduced hunting pressure (Gehrt et al., 2002); furthermore, Illinois' agricultural landscape is conducive to high raccoon densities. Such agricultural areas are known to provide a large, reliable food source for raccoons (Pedlar et al., 1997), and higher predator abundance (e.g. raccoons) at northern latitudes may reflect a greater abundance in cropland (Dijak and Thompson, 2000). Other factors known to increase raccoon numbers are edge effects due to habitat fragmentation and the suppression or eradication of top predators (Soulé et al., 1988; Pedlar et …

Benthic Algal Community Structure And Bioaccumulation Of Mercury In A Coastal Watershed, Lucie Novoveska

Masters Theses

Largemouth bass in the Fish River watershed of coastal Alabama are known to contain relatively high concentrations of mercury (>1 µg g¹). g the source of which is unknown. I used benthic microalgal assemblages in effort to assess spatial distribution of mercury in the Fish River and its tributaries. Artificial substrates were deployed for 3-week exposure periods at 13 sites on 4 separate occasions. When analyzed by cold vapor atomic absorption spectroscopy. mercury concentrations in periphyton ranged from 0.066 µg g (Pensacola Branch) to 0.493 µg g¹ (Barner Branch). Principal component analysis indicated that physical and chemical environments among …

Resilience Of An Amphibian Community Following The Removal Of Introduced Fish, Leroy J. Walston

Masters Theses

Introduced species have become one of the most important anthropogenic impacts in aquatic ecosystems and are implicated in the declines of many native amphibian populations. Despite the effects of introduced species on amphibian populations, there is little information concerning the responses of amphibians following the removal of introduced fish. I conducted a field experiment to assess the amphibian community-level responses to the removal of introduced fish, and determine the effects of fish removal on smallmouth salamander (Ambystoma texanum) larval dynamics. Species diversity of the amphibian community and smallmouth salamander juvenile recruitment improved following the removal of fish. My results indicate …

An Assessment Of Speech-Language Pathologists, ' Special Educators, ' And Elementary Teachers' Language Knowledge Related To Reading Instruction, Jessica Catto

Masters Theses

An assessment was designed from Louisa Cook Moats' (1996, 2000) research and questions to assess the knowledge of elementary education teachers (grades 1-3), special education teachers, and speech language pathologists in regard to several areas of reading instruction including phonemic awareness, phonics, and vocabulary/morphology.

Subjects consisted of a total of 57 educational professionals, 19 subjects in each group. Results revealed that speech-language pathologists scored significantly higher on the phonemic awareness portion of the assessment as well as total test score, when compared with elementary and special education teachers. Mean scores on the total test ranged from 78-89% accuracy. Mean scores …

The Effectiveness Of The Alcohol Response-Ability Judicial Sanction At A Mid-Sized Comprehensive University, Nancy Ann Betzel Mathewson

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study is to determine the effectiveness of the Alcohol ResponseAbility Program (ARP) that is currently used by the Health Education Resource Center at a mid-sized comprehensive university of 11,500 students. A review of literature revealed that individualized feedback and motivational interviewing seem to be more effective than other alcohol prevention methods. Literature also suggested that challenging students' perceptions of campus drinking norms could effectively reduce binge drinking rates on campus. The Alcohol Response-Ability Program, a combination of motivational interviewing and an online educational program including online feedback, incorporates a challenge to students perceptions of campus drinking …

On Campus Non-Traditional Student Use Of And Satisfaction With Support Services At Eastern Illinois University, Nancy J. Crone

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate the use of student support services by the on-campus non-traditional student population at Eastern Illinois University and to determine the students' satisfaction with the services they received. This study attempted to increase university awareness of the needs of this particular student population.

Participants responded to an online survey that asked about their use of and satisfaction with student support services. The survey also provided the respondents an opportunity to make suggestions regarding current services and recommendations for new services.

The overall findings of this study suggest that the on-campus non-traditional student population …

A Formative Evaluation Of The Alpha Sigma Tau Sorority's National Recruitment Program In Its Inaugural Year, Colleen Elizabeth Coffey

Masters Theses

This study was conducted as a formative evaluation of the Alpha Sigma Tau sorority's national recruitment program. The researcher sought to determine the effectiveness of all aspects of the program over the course of the last year, to discover any perceived needs among undergraduate members and chapters that were not met over the course of the last year, and to create recommendations for the program to be implemented during the 2006-2008 biennial term. Through a mixed method design the study evaluated the program using qualitative and quantitative survey data, focus groups, and existing data on membership intake from the National …

Condom Use And College Students: The Relationship Of Condom Use Between Condom Club Members And Non-Condom Club Members At A Comprehensive Midwestern University, Jerilyn Jean Reed

Masters Theses

Risky sexual behavior is prevalent on campuses across the nation. Due to an increase in sexually transmitted infections among individuals 25 and under, unsafe sex puts the college population at great risk. The purpose of the present study was to examine whether Condom Club Members demonstrated more knowledge regarding condoms, had been tested more for STIs, used condoms more frequently when engaging in sexual activity than Non-Condom Club Members, and whether Condom Club Members selfreported more, the same, or fewer sexual partners or sexual relations than did NonCondom Club Members at a comprehensive state university in the Midwest.

A posttest-only …

Perceptions Of Governance In Higher Education: Comparing Two-Year College Full-Time And Part-Time Faculty, Karissa Kay Patefield

Masters Theses

Community colleges in the United States serve many student populations and purposes. In order to be successful, these institutions of higher education have hired both full-time and part-time faculty members. Between 1970 and 1993, the number of parttime faculty members hired increased by 355 percent (Morphew, 1999). The present study examined the differences in perceptions between full-time and part-time faculty members in regards to their view on shared governance. In order to study these differential perceptions, faculty members at a Midwestern community college were surveyed. A total of 225 full-time faculty members and 395 part-time faculty members were surveyed via …

The Perceptions Of Muslim International Students On The Roles Of Muslim Women, Kevin Vicker

Masters Theses

The purpose of the present study was to examine perspectives of Muslim international students on the roles of Muslim women based upon the length of the students' exposure to Western societal culture and values. Prior research explored varying Muslim perceptions and beliefs regarding Muslim women, American stereotypes of Muslims and Muslim beliefs, and general problems faced by Muslim international students studying in the United States. No research specifically analyzed Muslim international students' perceptions regarding Muslim women. The present study was conducted using in-depth life history interviews with four devout Muslim international students. The sample included two students from Pakistan, one …

Crime, Punishment, And Prevention: An Economic Approach, Jeff Arthur

Masters Theses

Gary Becker's seminal paper laid the foundation for the economic analysis of crime. Using this framework, the government has attempted to increase the costs of crime to a level that effectively deters individuals from criminal activity. Despite the relative lack of discussion in economics, Becker's model suggests alternatives to deterrence. Instead of focusing exclusively on increasing the costs of crime, society can increase the benefits of lawful behavior. Rather than punish the crook, reward the citizen. The purpose of this research is to compare the relative effectiveness of prison and police expansion with prevention programs. Prevention programs aimed at increasing …

Poverty And Income Distribution In The Transition Economies Of Central And Eastern Europe And Central Asia, Andreea Chiritescu

Masters Theses

For the transition economies of Eastern and Central Europe and Central Asia, this study reveals that poverty and income distribution move in the same direction. Following a low income inequality and a target of zero poverty before 1989, the transition caused a worsening of distribution of income and wealth, and an increase in absolute poverty.

Using simple trend analysis, some factors that have a positive influence on poverty in these transition economies are the external debt ratio and the population growth rate, and some factors that have a negative influence on poverty are foreign aid, external debt, foreign direct investment, …

Trends Of Employment-Based Health Insurance: Why Did The Coverage For Private-Sector Workers Decrease During Economic Boom, Yan Ni

Masters Theses

After a decade of erosion of employment-based health insurance coverage in the American population, the overall employment-based health insurance coverage increased beginning in the mid-1990s when the strong economy occurred. According to the previous studies, the labor market and health insurance premium are primary determinants of the coverage rate. However, in spite of the tight labor market and non-existent health care cost inflation (the growth of health insurance premiums is close to the growth of wages), the health insurance coverage of private-sector workers continued to decline. Since the private sector workers are the bulk of the population who benefit from …

Effects Of The State Minimum Wages On Youth: Evidence From The States Of Washington And Connecticut, Zhi Su

Masters Theses

Youth aged from 16 to 24 is the group that is most likely to hold minimum wage jobs. A concern of economists and policy makers is: 1) whether the employment opportunities to youth are discouraged by the minimum wage and 2) how the minimum wage influences their choice over work or study. This study advances and combines some ideas from previous studies to examine the effects of the state minimum wages upon youth employment and behavior patterns over school and work. The study concentrates on conditions in the states of Washington and Connecticut during the period of 1998 to 2003, …

The Fool, Jonathan M. Cook

Masters Theses

The Fool is a detective story written in the vein of the crime fiction of the thirties, forties, and fifties. It is a work that simultaneously pays homage to its influences while giving a postmodern update to the genre conventions in an attempt to bring validity to an all-too-often disregarded form of fiction. The story has been written in a minimalist style so that the reader might engage the story on a much more primal level than traditional genre fiction.

This thesis includes the first two chapters of The Fool, along with an outline for the final chapter. A critical …

Bringing Her Fist Down On That Wholeness: Rewriting Gendered Narratives In Zoeìˆ Wicomb's Fiction, Rachel Heicher

Masters Theses

This thesis situates South African writer Zoë Wicomb's fictional work within a critical context of current feminist theory, exploring Wicomb's response to a central problem for poststructuralist feminism-how can we deconstruct femininity while simultaneously conserving a platform for feminist political activism; how can we assert. on the one hand, that there are no "women", and then, on the other, continue to campaign on behalf of "women's" rights? Wicomb's two novels to date, You Can't Get Lost in Cape Town (1987) and David's Story (2000) serve as test studies for a model of gender that fluctuates and purposefully and constructively embodies …

A Focused Study Of The Social Outcast In Literature: A Healing For America's Youth, Darcey A. Voyles

Masters Theses

Adolescence can be a difficult time in life, and today's teenagers face even more difficult situations in the high school atmosphere. A frequent element in the high school social scene is alienation of the "uncool" kids. This social isolation can have devastating effects on the outcasts and school community as a whole. Within this thesis, I reveal my plan for alleviating the emotional trauma of social isolation by bringing the discussion of social outcasts into the literature classroom. Literature reflects society, thereby giving young readers a lens through which to view the alienation in our global world that they may …

Re-Assessing State Writing Assessment, Tracy Wright

Masters Theses

Because standardized testing is the means by which most student skills are assessed, it is important to ensure that such tests are accurately portraying student abilities. In the case of standardized writing tests it has become apparent that such tests are both unreliable and invalid and the tests, are, therefore, not doing what they are intended to do. Standardized writing tests do not create typical representations of student writing and in most cases only lead to the creation of formulaic writing-the five-paragraph essay. To achieve a more reliable and accurate measure of students' abilities to write states should look to …

Cultural And Individual Influences On Foreign Policy, Emine Sunduz Demir

Masters Theses

The principle aim of this thesis is to examine how strategic culture affects foreign policy decision-making, as contrasted to the particular decree of influence the individuals have on the foreign policy process in the concept of an immediate extended deterrence. This thesis is based on three case studies that are tested separately using both Cha's notion of strategic culture and Allison's Bureaucratic Politics Model in order to find which model (if any) best explains foreign policy decision making. Cases are: The SemiVietnamese War in 1979 and Deng Xiaoping, the Taiwan Strait Crisis in 1996 and Jiang Zemin, and the Kosovo …

Ethnicity And Religion: An Inquiry Into The Origin And Nature Of Conflicts In Nigeria, Ugochukwu Chrys. Nwabueze

Masters Theses

The policy goal of a Pax Nigeriana in the African continent is hardly realizable without a focused confrontation by Nigeria of its own security deficits. A security and politically deficient Nigeria will have nothing to offer the African continent in terms of peace and political stability if it cannot by example overcome its own accidental and structural flaws.

With this in mind, the work sets out to address the origin, nature and resolution of conflict in Nigeria. Before adequate resolution therapy could be recommended for violent conflicts in Nigeria, any intending researcher must of necessity address the origin and nature …

Great Expectations: An Examination Of The Defense Spending And Military Modernization Of Poland, Hungary, And The Czech Republic Form 2002-2004, Kyle Raney

Masters Theses

In 1999 at the Madrid Summit, NATO officially opened its doors to three new states. Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic were the first states to enter NATO since the end of the Cold War. The idea of NATO expansion has been heavily contested and critics argue that these new members do not have the capabilities to be strong contributors to the alliance and are unable to produce modern defense systems. Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic have all taken unique paths on the way into the alliance and all three states since their induction have in some form attempted …

Don't Forget About The Me In Afscme: An Analysis Of Collective Bargaining In Municipalities, Michael L. Woods Jr.

Masters Theses

Collective bargaining in the public sector is inherently political. Public unions negotiate either directly or indirectly with elected public officials. This thesis explores the political bargaining strategies adopted by municipal public unions and the inherent factors that surround the collective bargaining process (e.g. trust, state of the economy, community interest groups, and media). The intentions of this study were to see if these variables influenced negotiated wage increases and the likelihood of experiencing bargaining impasses. The findings suggest that public union political bargaining strategies positively affect negotiated wage increases. Trust, however, seems to evolve as the most important variable. Building …

Comparison Of The Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test-Second Edition And The Wechsler Intelligence Scale For Children-Fourth Edition, Ryan L. Mitchell

Masters Theses

Past research on the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test (K-BIT; Kaufman & Kaufman, 1990) and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Third Edition (WISC-III; Wechsler, 1991) have shown good reliability and validity between the scales. However, recently, the KBIT-2 and the WISC-IV have been published. The purpose of the current study was to independently evaluate the construct validity of the KBIT-2 with the WISC-IV. The participants in this study consisted of 48 students enrolled in kindergarten through ninth grade from school districts in central Illinois, who were referred for initial or triennial multidisciplinary evaluation. The results were as hypothesized, with high statistically …

Implementation Of An Open Source Enterprise Resource Planning (Erp) System, Jing Shao

Masters Theses

Characterized with free access, free distribution and high adaptability, open source ERP system provides an alternative to the high cost of adopting an ERP system in small and medium-sized business (SMB). This research explored the possibility of adopting open source ERP system in SMB, with Compiere -- a typical open source ERP system. The ERP system was designed and customized for a fictitious computer manufacturing company. Major processes including partner relations, quote to invoice, requisition to invoice, material management, and project management were implemented.

Through this research, it was realized that necessary procedures of implementing an open source ERP system …

Burnout And Job Dissatisfaction Among Practicing Illinois School Psychologists: A 1994 To 2004 Comparison, Nikolaus J. Hoffman

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to identify the primary variables associated with burnout among practicing Illinois school psychologists. More specifically, the purpose was to determine if the same variables that correlated highly with Illinois school psychologists burnout levels in a 1994 study by Niebrugge have held constant over the last decade. Survey materials used in the 1994 study, including the Maslach Burnout Inventory, a School Psychologists Stress Inventory, and a specially designed job satisfaction questionnaire were completed by a random sample of members of the Illinois School Psychologists Association (N = 52). As in the 1994 study, results suggested …

Natal Dispersal Of Beavers In The Embarras River Watershed In Central Illinois, Erin A. Cleere

Masters Theses

Dispersal is an important mechanism influencing the dynamics, genetics, spatial distribution and size of wildlife populations (Gese and Mech 1991). Natal dispersal may afford individuals breeding opportunities and access to resources, while reducing inbreeding and competition with family members. However, dispersal also can be risky if mortality rates are high or if mates or suitable habitat are unavailable. When dispersal costs are high, subadults may be better off remaining in their natal territory.

Although a number of previous studies have investigated natal dispersal in beavers (Castor canadensis), conclusions regarding the percentage of subadults that disperse, timing of dispersal, evidence of …