Digital Commons Network^™

The Effects Of Indian-Accented English And Need For Cognition On Message Evaluation: A Field Study, Duoc V. Nguyen

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Research has shown that Americans rate non-accented English speakers more favorably than accented English speakers (e.g., Cargile & Giles, 1997; Frumkin, 2007); however this is not always the case ( e.g., Cargile, 2000; Singer & Eder, 1988). Other factors may be involved when people are processing other people's messages. One motivating factor may be the extent to which people like to think, or have a high need for cognition (NCS; Cacioppo & Petty, 1982). As call center jobs continue to be outsourced to other countries such as India, it is important to ascertain how people with varying degrees of motivation …

Captivating Emotions: Sentiment And The Work Of Rhetorical Drag In Colonial And Early National Captivity Narrative, Gleidson Gouveia

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Captivity narrative, the American genre initiated early in the seventeenth century, tells the story of Europeans abducted by Native Americans in the New England frontier. These texts, however, do not simply tell the subjects' experiences of confinement among the Indians but reveal important relations of power, religion, and politics that took place in Early America. This work analyzes the captivity narratives of Mary Rowlandson, Mary Swarton, John Williams, Mary Jemison, and John Tanner to understand how their experiences were appropriated by third parties in order to meet religious and political ends of their respective times. Following scholars of captivity narrative …

A Test Of Tmt: Mortality Salience And Avoidance Of Worldview Threats, Taylor Wayne Wadian

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Imagine playing a game of catch with three people, and all the things that would influence to whom you throw. Were thoughts of death included as one of those factors? The hypothesis that mortality salience motivates avoidant behavior toward a worldviewthreatening target was empirically tested on a sample of 200 undergraduate Caucasian college students from a Midwestern university. I induced participants to write about either their own death or dental pain, and presented them with summer descriptions of three fictitious male African American targets that they believed they were going to interact with later in the study. Targets' descriptions were …

The Impact Of An International Healthcare Mission Experience On Healthcare Professional Students At The University Of Northern Iowa, Evelyn Adom-Boateng

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

U.S. Demographic changes have had an impact on health education, care, and promotion. The best health education, promotion, and care can be delivered by culturally sensitive health professionals. The importance of addressing the issue of culture is widely acclaimed by educators from various health disciplines. Participation in an international healthcare mission (IHM) is one means to expand cultural awareness and sensitivity. Little research exists regarding methods for preparing culturally sensitive healthcare professionals. Little published research documents the impact of an IHM experience on the preparation of healthcare professionals.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of an …

Voluntary Simplicity And Its Effects On Personal Identity, Family Life, And Relationships, Julie Ann Fox

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

With the seemingly endless advance of technology and the resulting cheaper material goods, consumption levels have risen to record highs. Over-consumption is having devastating effects on the environment, as well as on families and societies. We are encouraged by the advertising industry to consume at every turn, and buying things has become a substitute source of self-worth for many people. But an abundance of material items has not brought personal fulfillment for most Americans. A growing number of people have begun to question the hollow promises of consumerism, searching instead for alternative ways to find contentment, meaning, and purpose in …

Characteristics Of Highly Effective Teachers: A Perspective From Students With Disabilities, David J. Smith

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Teacher quality is a widely discussed topic in education. States, districts, schools, parents, and other stakeholders want to know how to measure, improve, and reward teacher quality. A major factor in the rise in interest about teacher quality is clear evidence that individual teachers are able to positively affect student achievement, specifically in relationship to students' standardized test scores (No Child Left Behind Legislation). Even a cursory look at statewide student achievement data reveals that students with disabilities are achieving at lower levels in comparison to their peers without disabilities.

While several researchers have asked students to identify characteristics of …

The Effect Of Learning Styles And Attitude On Preservice Elementary Teachers' Conceptual Understanding Of Chemistry And The Nature Of Matter In A Simulation-Based Learning Environment, Mo H. Al-Jaroudi

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

This causal-comparative descriptive study investigated the achievement of pre-service elementary teachers taking an introductory physical science course that integrates inquiry-based instruction with computer simulations. The study was intended to explore if pre-service elementary teachers with different attitudes towards science as well as students with different learning styles would benefit differentially. Four research questions including four hypotheses were developed. The first major question consist of four specific hypothesis that addressed preservice elementary teachers' learning styles (Active/Reflective, Sensing/Intuitive, Visual/Verbal, and Sequential/Global) and their conceptual understanding of chemistry and the particulate nature of matter in a science class which use hands-on learning integrated …

An Exploratory Case Study Of Students' Perceptions Of Online Graduate Education, Hou Chun Kuong

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of this study was to investigate graduate students' perceptions of online education. Online learning has grown tremendously over the past several years and has made learning and teaching opportunities more available to many people throughout the world. As an increased number of higher education institutions use online education as a means of delivering courses and programs, educational researchers have been working tirelessly to uncover and delineate the factors that facilitate and enhance success in online learning. One major factor that researchers (e.g., Pérez Cereijo, 2006) have established as a predictor of success is students' perceptions of online learning. …

The Effect Of Self-Efficacy And Psychosocial Development On The Factors That Influence Major Changing Behavior, Karen Cunningham

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

This quantitative research study sought to determine the factors that distinguish those students who are classified as “major-changers” from those who are classified as “relatively stable” (never changing their initial major or changing only once or twice). Participants of this study were full-time undergraduate students attending the University of Northern Iowa. The following variables were measured as possible factors influencing major-changing behavior: (a) level of psychosocial development, (b) level of self-efficacy, and (c) level of parental education. The Life-Skills Inventory–College Form (LSDI-CF) was used to measure students' level of psychosocial development and the General Self-efficacy Scale (GSES) was used to …

Secondary Preservice Teachers' Understanding Of Euclidean Geometry, Karen Sabey

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The lack of mathematical understanding of elementary preservice teachers with respect to many mathematical topics has been well documented. Far fewer studies have been conducted on any content area of knowledge of secondary teachers and even less in the mathematics content area. The assumption by the general population is that mathematics majors are adequately prepared to teach the content of secondary mathematics because they major in mathematics. Mathematics educators, however, note the lack of conceptual understandings in many content areas in these mathematics teaching majors. While mathematics educators are aware of this deficiency, there is little research data at the …

The Effectiveness Of Colored Overlays On Reading Achievement And Attitudes Toward Reading For Students With Scotopic Sensitive Syndrome, Hanan Ali Bagabas

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

This study investigated the effects on students identified with Scotopic Sensitivity Syndrome (SSS) or Irlen Syndrome (IS) when using colored overlays as an intervention (immediately and over time) to assess reading performance (rate, accuracy, and comprehension); to measure visual-motor integration; and to assess attitude toward reading. SSS/IS is a visual perceptual problem related to a collection of symptoms that affects an individual's performance when reading. Three participants, all males (one 3rd -grade student, one 4th -grade student, and one 5th -grade student), were identified as having SSS/IS and other learning disabilities.

The study involved five test instruments (Irlen Reading Perceptual …

Interview No. 1540, Fred Loya

Combined Interviews

Fred Loya was born to immigrant parents in Santa, California. His mother had a well-established family and his father worked different jobs through his life until he financed his own grocery store. Loya worked on his family ranch right out of college, he was able to do book keeping and started buying cattle for the ranch. Through buying cattle, he met Bill Bur who became Loya’s employer. Bur later lost his business and became an insurance agent with Farmers Insurance. He influenced Loya to become an agent as well, despite objection from his wife. Loya became one of the most …

A Pilot Study Evaluating Use Of A Computer-Assisted Neurorehabilitation Platform For Upper-Extremity Stroke Assessment, Xin Feng, Jack Winters

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Research and Publications

Background

There is a need to develop cost-effective, sensitive stroke assessment instruments. One approach is examining kinematic measures derived from goal-directed tasks, which can potentially be sensitive to the subtle changes in the stroke rehabilitation process. This paper presents the findings from a pilot study that uses a computer-assisted neurorehabilitation platform, interfaced with a conventional force-reflecting joystick, to examine the assessment capability of the system by various types of goal-directed tasks.

Methods

Both stroke subjects with hemiparesis and able-bodied subjects used the force-reflecting joystick to complete a suite of goal-directed tasks under various task settings. Kinematic metrics, developed for specific …

The Essentials Of Good Hitting: Commonalities Among Different Hitting Theories, Joseph Lewis Blake

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this paper was to define the essentials of good hitting by comparing the commonalities among different hitting theories. To achieve this goal, the following questions were answered. How is hitting performance evaluated? What are the phases of the baseball swing? What are the different philosophies of hitting? What are the psychological aspects of hitting?

The Civil Market: Medieval Franciscan Ideas To Solve 21st Century Economic Problems, Stefano Zamagni

Clemens Lecture Series

No abstract provided.

Laboratory Schools Annual Report, 2008-2009, Laboratory Schools, Illinois State University

Annual Reports – Laboratory Schools

Illinois State University Laboratory Schools annual report

Youth Volunteerism: By Looking At Who Volunteers And Why Organizations May Be Able To Recruit Youth To Become Long-Standing Volunteers, Kathryn M. Zimmerly

Graduate Research Papers

In 1835 Alexis de Tocqueville suggested volunteerism could reduce antisocial or criminal behavior (Uggen and Janikula, 1999). When looking at volunteerism today researchers have concluded similar aspects; for example, Uggen and Janikula found in their 1999 research that volunteers had increased self -acceptance, instrumentality, and civic identity.

Research by the Independent Sector suggests that 70 percent of youth volunteers feel volunteering is important because it gives them a new perspective, allows them to participate for a good cause, and gives them a greater respect for the people they are helping. Youth volunteer levels have increased (to 70 percent from 59 …

The Communicating Dance, Alison Plevey

Theses : Honours

Does dance have the ability to communicate universally to all observers at some level of human engagement? This paper discusses theatre dance as a human communicative medium, the characteristics of how it communicates and to a certain degree why and what it communicates. In doing so the intentions of the communicating dancer and choreographer are considered alongside that of the receptive and responsive audience. The thesis compiles a survey of textual sources pin pointing the unique communicative abilities of dance, as an artistic, expressive and meaningful form of non-verbal communication establishing suggestions of the ways it may be universally communicable.

Anatomy/ Physiology Lab, B Mcconchie

Syllabus Repository

No abstract provided.

Essentials Of Anatomy & Physiology, Steelman Library, B Mcconchie Dr.

Syllabus Repository

No abstract provided.

Assisting And Protecting Refugee Women: A Policy Analysis, Barbara J. Kampa, Raphael Nawrotzki

Faculty Publications

The number of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) has risen sharply over the last decade. This trend is the result of several causes such as the impact of climatic change, conflicts over diminishing resources, and religious and ethical disagreements. The largest and most vulnerable subgroup among refugees is women and their dependent children, and they are frequently subject to abuse and neglect. To address protection issues, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) released the Policy on Refugee Women in 1990. The authors provide a comprehensive policy analysis, building on an exploration of the historical background and a …

Peer Network Emergence And Change In The Classroom: A Multiple Systems Perspective, Nicole Ann Sage

Dissertations and Theses

This study examined peer group processes in the classroom that can potentially explain how motivationally "rich" children get "richer" whereas motivationally "poor" children get "poorer." In contrast to research on group processes which focuses on socialization from group to individual, this study focuses on contributions from the individual to his/her group. The viewpoint taken for this study is that children actively choose group members based on their own self-system state, thereby creating their own peer environments in which they develop.Viewed as open complex systems, children's natural peer groups were examined using data collected from students and their teachers at five …

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder And Sleep Disturbances: Consideration Of Familial Influences, Gretchen Stuckert Noble

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The present study examined the extent to which parenting influences problems with sleep in children referred for an evaluation of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Data was collected from parents and/or legal guardians of sixty-three 4- to 12-year old children referred for assessment at an ADHD Evaluation Clinic located at a Midwestern university. Previous literature linking sleep problems to ADHD has typically derived from community and pediatric sleep clinic samples and has largely overlooked children with sub-clinical sleep impairments and/or those whose sleep problems stem from alternate etiologies. More than 60% of parents/caregivers in the current study reported significant child sleep difficulties. …

Stressful Life Events And Interpersonal, Religious, And Spiritual Changes, Paul Murdock

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Survivors of stressful life events and traumatic experiences often report positive psychological changes “...as a result of the struggle with highly challenging life circumstances” (Tedeschi & Calhoun, 2004, p. 1). Three often reported areas of growth include having a greater appreciation for life in general, new priorities, and an increased significance placed on interpersonal, spiritual or religious issues. Despite reports of positive changes, the literature on stress-related growth (SRG) is inconclusive as to whether SRG is an illusion or represents actual change. For example, no studies to date appear to use longitudinal data, objective indictors, or behavioral measures of change. …

The Nature Of People's Perceptions Of Wolves, Laura Briana Nobel

Dissertations and Theses

European immigrants once regarded wolves as the "devil in disguise" (Lopez, 1978, p.40). With our growing awareness of other cultural perspectives and flourishing body of scientific knowledge with regard to wolves' behavior, our perceptions of wolves have become more complicated and nuanced. Our collective awareness of the environment in which we live also gathers complexity. I examine these issues in this study. Wolves are returning to Oregon. The arrival of wolf B-45 in 1999 heralded the beginning of the return of wild wolves to Oregon. More wolves are expected to cross the border as young sub-adults disperse from the growing …

Finding The ‘World’ In Biblical Studies: God-Talk, Culture, And Hermeneutics In The Study (And Teaching) Of Faith, Gerald A. Klingbeil

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Artists And Social Change, Curtis Carter

Philosophy Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Taming Augustine’S Monstrosity: Aquinas’S Notion Of Use In The Struggle For Moral Growth, Theresa W. Tobin

Philosophy Faculty Research and Publications

In Book VI of his Confessions, Saint Augustine offers a detailed description of one of the most famous cases of weakness of will in the history of philosophy. Augustine characterizes his experience as a monstrous situation in which he both wills and does not will moral growth, but he is at odds to explain this phenomenon. In this paper, I argue that Aquinas’s action theory offers important resources for explaining Augustine’s monstrosity. On Aquinas’s schema, human acts are composed of various operations of intellect and will, and thus are subject to disintegration. In order to capture the gap in …

Gender And Violence In Focus: A Background For Gender Justice In Reparations, Margaret Urban Walker

Philosophy Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

The Rhetoric Of Parody In Plato’S Menexenus, Franco Trivigno

Philosophy Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.