Digital Commons Network^™

Playing Sam Byck: Analysis Of Text And Performance In Sondheim's Assassins, Hyrum Wright Patterson

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores an actor's process of creating a character for a musical

production, specifically, the role of Sam Byck in Stephen Sondheim's Assassins. The production occurred in November of 2011 at the University of North Dakota. The first two chapters of the thesis contain, historical research regarding the character, world events, and the musical, as well as a text analysis of the musical, and given circumstances for the character. The third chapter is a reflection about the production at the production's completion.

Job Satisfaction And Professional Employees' Perceptions Of Ict Use, Cody Ryle Asperheim

Theses and Dissertations

Using data from the Pew Internet & American Life Project's 2008 Networked Workers Survey (N = 306), this study evaluates the relationship between professional employees' perceptions of information and communications technology (ICT) use and job satisfaction. The differential salience approach guides this research by highlighting the importance of resources and demands to employees' experiences at work. Descriptive statistics reveal that professional employees perceive ICT as both a resource and demand. Bivariate correlations and OLS regression demonstrate a statistically significantly association between job satisfaction and ICT as a resource and demand. ICT as a resource is positively associated with job satisfaction …

Perceived Deployment Stressors And Well-Being Among Veterans Of Iraq And Afghanistan, Abigail Fuller

Theses and Dissertations

The current wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are unlike previous wars and present new challenges for service members post deployment. Currently, service members deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan are experiencing a number of stressors that may have implications during their post deployment adjustment (Kline et al., 2010; La Bash et al., 2009; McNulty, 2005). Few studies were found that examined the stressors of deployment and their relationship to the health and well-being of veterans upon return home. Therefore, a more complete understanding of the deployment experiences of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans is needed in order to have an adequate understanding …

Juvenile Male Sex Offenders: The Impact Of Family Involvement In Treatment, Irene Arande Guya-Allen

Theses and Dissertations

Factors that relate to the recidivism of adolescents who commit sexual crimes have received minimal attention in the literature. This study examined the impact of family involvement in treatment variables for adolescent male sex offenders as well as the relationships between family involvement and other treatment variables. The independent variables included a) family environment b) family status c) socioeconomic status d) living status e) levels of offense f) criminal records and g) family involvement in treatment. The dependent measure was recidivism. Data was collected from archival records provided by Hennepin County Home School in Minnetonka, Minnesota. The results indicated that …

Non-Traditional Distance Learners: Student Persistence In A Rural Remote Community, Paula Ann Sundet Wolf

Theses and Dissertations

Cook County Higher Education (CCHE), a non-profit distance education resource center located in rural northeastern Minnesota, has student completion rates of 90% and higher. CCHE has attributed the student persistence to its external support services, such as mentoring, technology support, study skills, attitude, and financial resources. With the national call for increased degrees per capita, there is also increased incentive for higher education institutions to become more creative in offering external support services to their non-traditional distance learning students. This grounded theory method research project explored rural students' perceptions of what motivates them to persist in distance learning programs. Thick, …

Multicultural Efficacy Among White Resident Hall Directors: Predicting White Privilege Attitudes, Sarah Jo Szerlong

Theses and Dissertations

This study contributed to the expanding field of research examining the various aspects of White privilege attitudes. This study extended White privilege research by incorporating the predictive relationships of multicultural efficacy, multicultural empathy, multicultural experience, and multicultural training in assessing White privilege attitudes among a sample of White resident hall directors (N =206). Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used in the current study to examine the mediating effect of multicultural efficacy on White privilege attitudes measured by the White Privilege Attitude Scale, Psychosocial Costs of Racism to Whites, and Color Blind Racial Attitudes Scale. Goodness of fit was not found …

Presidents, Politics, And Policy: How The Apollo And Shuttle Decisions Shaped Nasa, Marc Antony Fusco

Theses and Dissertations

The two most important decisions in the history of NASA after its founding have been John Kennedy's decision to send humans to the moon and Richard Nixon's decision to develop the space shuttle. This study examines the nature of each decision, and illustrates how each decision resulted from a confluence of world events, presidential personalities, and domestic political pressures.

This examination of both primary and secondary historical and policy source materials demonstrates that the individual personalities of each president, especially how each reacted to domestic and international political and economic pressures, played a major role in the formulation of these …

Examining The Likelihood Of Readmission To Inpatient Pulmonary Rehabilitation Using A Variety Of Predictors, Allison Jean Neil

Theses and Dissertations

This study involved examining 5 years of existing medical records for patients previously in pulmonary rehabilitation, producing 333 subjects (180 female). The purpose of this study was to determine if any variables could significantly predict readmission, so a better pulmonary rehabilitation programs could be designed. Thus reducing the cost for the health care system as well as the patients themselves, and for in the patients future it would reduced illness, pain, and human suffering. A discriminant analysis was conducted in order to determine the likelihood of readmission into pulmonary rehabilitation using the independent variables of 6MWT difference, PEFR difference, BMI …

The Impact Of Time Of Day, Sleep, And Nutrition On Age-Related Changes In Cognitive Performance, Jaclyn Reckow

Theses and Dissertations

The present study examined how sleep, nutritional intake, and time of day moderate age-related cognitive changes. Research indicates there are cognitive changes associated with healthy aging. Many studies comparing young and older adults have tested participants at the same time of day. More recently, research has revealed certain cognitive tasks produce a synchrony effect, in which participants perform better during their preferred time of day. Older adults tend to prefer morning activities while younger adults prefer afternoon or evening. Forty-eight young adults, ages 18-35 (M = 20.7) and 25 older adults, ages 60-84 (M= 71.4) completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality …

No Halos For Sex Offenders: An Examination Of The Effects Of Appearance And Gender On The Perception Of Sex Offenders, Adam Charles Austin

Theses and Dissertations

For the last couple of decades, sex offenders have been stereotyped into being strangers to the victim and "dirty old men." However, recent research has shown that the public is no longer endorsing those stereotypes (Fuselier, Durham, & Wurtele, 2002; Levenson, Brannon, Fortney, & Baker, 2007). Instead the public is realizing that there is no stereotypical sex offender and most victims of sex offenses know their assailant to some degree. The purpose of the current study is to look at the judgments made about a teacher being accused of criminal sexual contact with a student, where gender and attractiveness of …

Components Of Memory Function And Attentional Biases In Individuals With Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Contamination Fears And Compulsive Checking Symptoms, Kristin Louise Holland

Theses and Dissertations

Recent research has paid special attention to the memory functioning and attentional abilities of individuals with Obsessive - Compulsive Disorder. The current study recruited 38 participants who possess a significant amount of obsessive - compulsive traits. From those 38 participants, 16 were identified as those whose primary OCD concerns were related to contamination fears, ten were identified as primarily compulsive checkers, and 12 were identified as possessing a significant amount of both contamination fear and compulsive checking symptoms. In addition, 38 participants who reported a low amount of OCD traits were recruited for the control group. Participants were administered a …

Legal Regulation Of Twenty-First-Century Families, Marsha Garrison, Elizabeth S. Scott

Faculty Scholarship

This post includes the table of contents, introduction and our comment as the editors of an interdisciplinary volume that explores the implications for law and policy of changes in marriage and family over the past half century. The volume includes chapters by leading social science researchers and family law scholars whose work focuses on these matters. The book captures the complexity of debates about the regulation of marriage and families and the best policy paths forward, through contributions by authors with widely varying perspectives. But it also aims to inform these debates by situating them in a framework grounded in …

Framing Disability, Elizabeth F. Emens

Faculty Scholarship

Mainstream attitudes toward disability lag behind U.S. law. This tension between attitudes and law reflects a wider gap between the ideas about disability pervasive in mainstream society — what this Article calls the "outside" view — and the ideas about disability common within the disability community — what this Article calls the "inside" view. The outside perspective tends to misunderstand and mischaracterize aspects of the experience, theory, and law of disability.

The law can help to close this gap in attitudes by changing the conditions in which attitudes are formed or reinforced. Thus, this Article proposes using framing rules to …

"Becker On Ewald On Foucault On Becker": American Neoliberalism And Michel Foucault's 1979 Birth Of Biopolitics Lectures, Gary S. Becker, Francois Ewald, Bernard E. Harcourt

Faculty Scholarship

In a series of lectures delivered in 1979 at the Collège de France under the title The Birth of Biopolitics, Michel Foucault conducted a close reading of Gary Becker’s writings on human capital and on crime and punishment, within the context of an elaboration and critique of American neoliberalism. Foucault was assisted at the time, at the Collège de France, by François Ewald. Since then, there has been ongoing debate over Foucault’s views about neoliberalism. In this historic meeting at the University of Chicago between Professors Becker and Ewald, Professor Ewald presents a framework to understand Foucault’s writings on Becker; …

Admonitions Or Accountability?: U.S. Implementation Of The Hague Adoption Convention Requirements For The Collection And Disclosure Of Medical And Social History Of Transnationally Adopted Children, Marianne Blair

Articles, Chapters in Books and Other Contributions to Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

Keynote: The Crisis And Criminal Justice, Bernard Harcourt

Faculty Scholarship

There has been a lot of recent debate over whether the economic crisis presents an opportunity to reduce prison populations and improve the state of criminal justice in this country. Some commentators suggest that the financial crisis has already triggered a move towards reducing the incarcerated population. Some claim that there is a new climate of bipartisanship on punishment. Kara Gotsch of the Sentencing Project, for example, suggests that we are now in a unique political climate embodied by the passage of the Second Chance Act under President George W. Bush – a climate that is substantially different than the …

The Changing Nature Of Friendships Over The Lifespan, Emily Pica, Karri Verno

Modern Psychological Studies

The current study examined differences in friendships between younger adults and older adults. One hundred and fifty eight participants completed various measures, which examined the importance of specific friendship qualities. Peer nominations were used to examine the number of close friends, with an additional component added to assess proximity of one's closest friends. Results indicated that both demographic variables and proximity of equal importance for both younger adults and older adults. Results also indicated that both cohorts chose friends close to their own ages. The researchers conclude there are few cohort differences in what younger and older adults value in …

The Challenges In The Transition To Adulthood For Foster Care Youth: A Literature Review, Megan Steffe, Carolyn Mcnamara Barry

Modern Psychological Studies

The years of emerging adulthood are oftentimes filled with both happiness and anxiety while youth move toward adult roles and responsibilities. According to Courtney and Dworsky (2006), a subset of American emerging adults, those who are transitioning out of foster care face greater vulnerability than do their peers in the general population in a number of issues. As a result, this paper reviewed the literature on the challenges faced by these former foster youth, namely relationships, well-being, substance use, education, employment and finances. Limitations of this extant research are noted along with directions in future research on programs designed to …

Attachment Styles And Anorexia Nervosa: A Literature Review, Lauren Battaglia, Carolyn Mcnamara Barry

Modern Psychological Studies

Anorexia nervosa affects about 1.8 million women in the United States of America. Aside from the direct effects of the disorder, which includes detrimental weight loss, there are a number of related physical effects that are strongly correlated, some of which can be fatal (Birmingham & Treasure, 2010). Research on the etiologies of the disorder has indicated numerous factors ranging from neurobiological to psychological to social. In this paper we focus on the link between parent-child attachment styles and anorexia nervosa. In particular, parental care, connectedness, and control are examined. We also explore the mediating variables (e.g., core beliefs and …

Moti-Faction: Retaining And Engaging Employees Using Motivation Profile-Based Rewards, Gina A. Anderson, Susan Bornstein-Forst

Modern Psychological Studies

Organizations are searching for opportunities to increase job satisfaction, motivation for higher performance, and retaining their top talent. This study explores an assessment tool to aim rewards to individual motivation profiles so that companies can reach their potential. A survey exploring employee's attitudes on these types of rewards and an assessment tool to determine employee's individual motivation profiles was created and tested within a manufacturing corporate office through use of an online survey tool, Survey Monkey. Results showed that motivation profiles are evident and a relationship exists between rewarding based on the motivation profile's reward preferences and employee satisfaction and …

"A Necessary Cost Of Freedom"? The Incoherence Of Sorrell V. Ims, Tamara Piety

Articles, Chapters in Books and Other Contributions to Scholarly Works

No abstract provided.

Improving Online Social Presence Through Asynchronous Video, Jered Borup, Richard E. West, Charles R. Graham

Faculty Publications

Online learning has become a reality for many students in higher education. Unfortunately, something that has also become a reality is a sense of isolation in online courses, and Moore (1980) has warned that students' sense of distance can threaten their ability to learn. The community of inquiry framework (Garrison, Anderson, & Archer, 2000) has provided insight into ways that online interactions can improve students' and instructors' social presence and learning. Emerging video technologies may be able to improve these interactions and thus more easily support the development of communities of inquiry. In this study we interviewed students in three …

Reclaiming Literacy Classroom Through Critical Dialogue, Bob Fecho, Dawan Coombs, Sean Mcauley

Faculty Publications

Tim (all student names are pseudonyms), a young English teacher, took a position in a corporately owned charter school. Despite misgivings—“Just not sure privatization and choice are the saviors of public education”—Tim needed a job and accepted what was offered.

Typically for Tim, he threw himself into his teaching, getting additionally involved in class sponsorship and student government. As an offshoot of these activities, Tim asked his sophomore classes to write about, and then discuss, the seeming lack of school spirit and what they could do about it:

Publication Benchmarking Data Based On Faculty Promoted At The Top 75 Us Accounting Research Institutions, Steven M. Glover, Douglas F. Prawitt, Scott L. Summers, David A. Wood

Faculty Publications

The primary purpose of this study is to update the Glover et al. (2006) publication benchmarking study by providing benchmarking statistics of faculty promoted to associate and/or full professor from 2004 to 2009. We also extend Glover et al. (2006) by examining new benchmarking metrics and by investigating publication productivity differences between studies. Our results indicate that, on average, faculty promoted from 2004 to 2009 had more publications in leading accounting journals at the time of promotion than faculty promoted from 1995 to 2003. We explore possible explanations for the increase in publication productivity. We find that increases in the …

The Effects Of Preventive And Detective Controls On Employee Performance And Motivation, Margaret H. Christ, Scott A. Emett, Scott L. Summers, David A. Wood

Faculty Publications

We examine how two attributes of preventive and detective controls affect employee performance and employee motivation. Specifically, we examine how the extent to which controls (1) restrict employees’ autonomy, and (2) provide more or less timely feedback impacts employees’ performance and intrinsic motivation. These characteristics are the defining differences between preventive and detective controls in that preventive controls restrict employee autonomy relative to detective controls and preventive controls always provide immediate feedback; whereas, detective controls can provide either immediate feedback or delayed feedback. We conduct an experiment to examine how and why these two types of formal controls impact employees’ …

Mountain-Plains Consortium Annual Report 2012

UGPTI Mountain Plains Consortium Annual Reports

No abstract provided.

Association Between C-Reactive Protein And Cognitive Deficits In Elderly Men And Women: A Meta-Analysis, Bruce L. Brown, Dawson W. Hedges, Thomas J. Farrer

Faculty Publications

Abstract

Background: Certain risk factors for cognitive decline appear modifiable. A potentially modifiable marker of inflammation, C-reactive protein may be associated with cognitive deficits, although not all studies have found a relationship between C-reactive protein and cognitive ability. Further, few research papers have examined whether gender may affect any association between C-reactive protein and cognitive deficit.

Methods: To better understand the association between C-reactive protein, cognitive deficit, and gender in elderly people, we meta-analyzed cross-sectional studies that reported cognitive ability assessed by the Mini-Mental State Examination or an equivalent measure, C-reactive protein concentrations, and gender.

Results: While we identified no …

Evaluative Threat And Ambulatory Blood Pressure: Cardiovascular Effects Of Social Stress In Daily Experience, Wendy C. Birmingham, Timothy W. Smith, Bert N. Uchino

Faculty Publications

Objective—Physiological effects of social evaluation are central in models of psychosocial influences on physical health. Experimental manipulations of evaluative threat evoke substantial cardiovascular and neuroendocrine responses in laboratory studies, but only preliminary evidence is available regarding naturally-occurring evaluative threats in daily life. In such non-experimental ambulatory studies, it is essential to distinguish effects of evaluative threat from related constructs known to alter stress, such as ability perceptions and concerns about appearance. Methods—94 married, working couples (mean age 29.2 years) completed a one-day (8am to 10pm) ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) protocol with random interval-contingent measurements using a Suntech monitor and Palm …

Psychological Pathways Linking Social Support To Health Outcomes: A Visit With The “Ghosts” Of Research Past, Present, And Future, Wendy C. Birmingham, Bert N. Uchino, Kimberly Bowen, Mckenzie Carlisle

Faculty Publications

Contemporary models postulate the importance of psychological mechanisms linking perceived and received social support to physical health outcomes. In this review, we examine studies that directly tested the potential psychological mechanisms responsible for links between social support and health-relevant physiological processes (1980s to 2010). Inconsistent with existing theoretical models, no evidence was found that psychological mechanisms such as depression, perceived stress, and other affective processes are directly responsible for links between support and health. We discuss the importance of considering statistical/design issues, emerging conceptual perspectives, and limitations of our existing models for future research aimed at elucidating the psychological mechanisms …

Specific Dimensions Of Perceived Support And Ambulatory Blood Pressure: Which Support Functions Appear Most Beneficial And For Whom?, Wendy C. Birmingham, Kimberly S. Bowen, Bert N. Uchino, Mckenzie Carlisle, Timothy W. Smith, Kathleen C. Light

Faculty Publications

Perceived support has been related to lower cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. However, little is known about the specific functional components of support responsible for such links. We tested if emotional, informational, tangible, and belonging support predicted ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) and interpersonal interactions (e.g., responsiveness), and if such links were moderated by gender. In this study, 94 married couples underwent 12 h of ABP monitoring during daily life which included a night at home with their spouse. They completed a short-form of the interpersonal support evaluation list that provides information on total (global) support, as well as specific dimensions of …