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Healthier Hospitals?, Debra Gerardi, Dorrie K. Fontaine

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Study Of The Characteristics, Satisfaction, And Organizational Commitment Of Faculty Members At Ten Colleges Affiliated With The Council For Christian Colleges And Universities, Curtis J. Taylor

Faculty Work Comprehensive List

This study examined the reasons why faculty members choose to teach at Christian colleges, their commitment to their institution, and their satisfaction with various job-related issues and values. It analyzed comparisons between the characteristics and satisfaction of faculty members at Christian colleges and faculty members in other types of American institutions of higher education.

An on-line survey was administered to all faculty members at 10 diverse institutions affiliated with the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities. Useable responses were received from 238 full-time faculty members. The response rate was approximately 33%.

Survey items were categorized as follows: demographic variables; researcherdesigned …

We're Not "Free-Loading Jocks" : The Presentation Of The Self In The Everyday Lives Of The Collegiate Level Student Athlete, Katie Leanne Sorrell

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Student-athletes live complex lives because they are expected to maintain a number of master statuses. According to Goffman (1959), individuals perform in frontstage. However, other scholars, building from Goffman, state that this is more complex than this. The backstage also has performance elements in it. These regions for student-athletes can become complicated because they have to manage their impressions depending on their social situation. I conducted 18 in-depth, semi-structured interviews to explore the presentation of self in the everyday lives of collegiate level student athletes. Myths abound surrounding college athletes, such that athletes are surrounded with limitless opportunities, or that …

Using Office Referral Data To Help Understand School-Wide Discipline, Sarah Remakel-Henkels

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Some schools looking to create and maintain a safe and supportive learning environment implement Positive Behavior Supports (PBS). Maintaining a safe and supportive school requires a solid sense of the current school climate and a continuous improvement process for measuring progress and making appropriate corrections. Schools need to be keeping track of whether a safe, supportive learning community is being provided to all students all of the time through key indicator data.

Due to the increased amount of accountability being placed upon schools and states through NCLB, there is also an increased amount of academic data collection required. One school …

The Efficacy Of Writing Course Placement At An Iowa Community College, Kristine D. Owens

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of this study was to investigate the efficacy of writing course placement at an Iowa community college. The following questions were addressed: What indicators, separately or in combination, resulted in an appropriate or inappropriate student writing placement? (a) To what extent did the COMPASS test result in an appropriate placement? (b) To what extent did the self-directed essay result in an appropriate placement? (c) To what extent did a student's preference result in an appropriate placement?

This study was important to understand how the “directed self-placement” model, adapted from Royer and Gilles (1998, p. 1), impacted the institution's …

An Exploration Of Academic Advising Care Groups At An Iowa Private College, Kendra Williams-Perez

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Care Group advising, as it was institutionally developed, is an academic advising method intended to improve the first year experience of undergraduate college students. The purpose of this study was to explore student perceptions of their participation in Care Group advising, as well as faculty and administrative perceptions. The overarching research question was: "How are academic advising Care Groups perceived by students, faculty, and administrators?" From the perspectives of students, faculty, and administrators, the following sub-questions served to guide this study:

1. Are academic advising Care Groups serving their intended purpose?
2. What are the perceived benefits of academic advising Care Groups, …

Teacher Perceptions Of Cross-Cultural Adaptability And Instructional Practices In International Locations, Debra S. Lee

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of the study was to investigate differences in cross-cultural effectiveness between classroom teachers in international settings and classroom teachers in Iowa, and to examine, within a multicultural education framework, instructional practices of international teachers.

It is well documented that in American schools today, classrooms are becoming more diverse in regard to socio-economic status, ethnicity, race, intellectual ability, language, and religious heritage. School children today represent an incredibly diverse population. Conversely, the teacher population continues to be primarily female, White and from a monocultural background. This creates a mismatch between student and teacher backgrounds, perspectives, and cultural understanding, which …

Administrative Strategies That Foster Self-Reflective Practice In Iowa Educators As Perceived By Middle Level Principals And Teachers, Jane Brandt Lindaman

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

With the onset of the Iowa Quality Teacher Legislation, the Iowa Teaching Standards are mandated for use by all school districts in Iowa. These standards call for administrators to assist teachers in becoming self-reflective practitioners. The purpose of this study was to investigate administrative strategies employed by principals to assist teachers in becoming self-reflective toward the Iowa Teaching Standards. A secondary purpose of the study was to investigate the extent to which teachers are currently utilizing self-reflection as a method of improving their instructional effectiveness, as perceived by middle level teachers and principals in Iowa.

Four research questions were examined …

El Dif: Mexico's Social Services System, Gil Villagran

Faculty Research, Scholarly, and Creative Activity

Gil's presentation on child welfare services in Mexico, specifically the role and influence of El Sistema Nacional para el Desarollo Integral de la Familia or The National System for the Integral Development of the Family (DIF).

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Case-Control Study: Past Chemical Exposures And The Measurement Of The Red Blood Cell Acetylcholinesterase Reactivity In Vitro When Challenged At Various Dosages By Chlorpyrifos-Oxon, Naomi J. Bienfang

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of this study was to analyze the red blood cell acetylcholinesterase (RBC AChE) reactivity levels among persons with amyothropic lateral sclerosis (PALS) (cases) and their controls when challenged with the oxon form of the organophosphate insecticide chlorpyrifos. The ultimate objective was to determine if a correlation exists between the RBC AChE reactivity level and the participants' disease status and/or exposure to toxins through occupations and hobbies.

Cases in this study were individuals diagnosed by a neurologist with sporadic ALS. Controls were individuals who were not genetically related to the PALS and were neuromuscular disease free. Controls were a …

A Descriptive Study Of The Frequency And Intensity Of Physical Activity Among Incoming First-Year Students At Luther College, Kristi Leonard

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Young adults are not as active as they should be in comparison to national standards. They are more overweight than is healthy. The purpose of this study was to describe the physical activity volume (frequency + intensity) of incoming first-year students at an Iowa liberal arts college. Did certain demographic characteristics, such as gender; projected major area of study; age; native language; religious preference; ethnic background; and past high school and projected college athletic, theater/drama, and music participation of these students make a difference in their volume of physical activity? This study focused on the examination of exercise behaviors of …

Effective Advising In Student Organizations, James Wyman George Barnes

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of this research study was to discover how effective student organization advisors influence student organization success on a residential midwestern campus. Although the roles, skills, and importance of advising have been noted in higher education, leadership studies and business management literature, the advisors' perspective on the importance and practical use of these attributes had not been studied. This inquiry was guided by the following research questions: What constitutes effective advising of a student organization on a four-year residential campus? To what roles, practices, and values do advisors most strongly attribute to their success? A qualitative approach was employed …

Russian Immigration To The Usa, 1990-2003, Alexandra Mikhailovna Bozheva

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The last decade of the 20th century was marked by an important event on the European political map, the USSR's disintegration and the formation of new states. The collapse of the Soviet Union and consequent changes in the economic and social lives of its former population caused an increase in migration between former republics, and migration flow abroad. Regarding the Russian Federation, international emigration from its territory was directed mostly toward three countries: Germany, Israel and the USA. The period 1990-1991 can be called the starting point of a new wave of Russian emigration, and this is true in relation …

Does Storybook Intervention Provide A Meaningful Improvement In Language Impaired Children, Diana Patrice Burns

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of this study was to determine if storybook based intervention improved language skills in language impaired children. Eight children from a local Head Start Program participated in the study, four of whom caused the teacher language concerns and four of whom did not. On pretesting, six of the children demonstrated scores consistent with language impairment and two scored within normal limits. The four children who scored the lowest in the testing were chosen to participate in storybook intervention. Participants received individual instruction in 30-minute sessions twice weekly for 6 weeks. A teacher questionnaire report was completed by the …

Implementation Of The Student Services Center: A Case Study Of The University Of Northern Iowa, Jana Lynne Chmelar

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Every student who attends a college or university will use at least one of the following offices in student service before they graduate: academic advising, admissions, the business office, career services, financial aid, or the office of the registrar. The literature has shown that a number of colleges or universities found through assessment that their services were organized in a way that was cumbersome for the students. A new approach to student services, referred to as an integrated student service center (ISSC), or a "one-stop" shop, is designed to allow students to access answers, solutions, and knowledge from a central …

Perceptions Of Luck And Gambling Patterns, Dustin Daugherty

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Current research examining situations that elicit gambling behaviors have tended to focus on many structural features such as the "near miss" phenomenon. This is the idea that individuals will play longer on a slot machine that almost lands on a jackpot symbol than one that does not. Until now this research has focused mainly on a near "win" situation and ignored what will be called a near "loss" situation. Previous findings indicate that by experiencing a near loss, a participant will perceive that he/she has more personal good luck than those individuals who experience a near win. The study presented …

The Spring Break Effect: The Relationship Between Individual Self-Objectification And Physical Fitness Behavior, Brett Dobesh

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Research findings focusing on the theoretical foundation for self-objectification suggests that women are more likely to have high levels of objectification for a variety of reasons. To extend this body of research the purpose of this investigation is two-fold: (1) to assess the influence that spring break attendance may have on levels of self-objectification for fraternity and sorority members, and (2) to observe the connections between SO levels and increased levels of physical fitness. This study consisted of (n = 153) college students actively involved in the Greek System at two Mid-west universities. The students were asked to complete three …