Digital Commons Network^™

Attachment And Delayed Gratification In The Technological Age, Susan G. Pomerantz

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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Style And Substance: Isabel Archer As A New Type Of "Lady", Sandra Gulbicki

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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The Limited Effects Of Rem Sleep Deprivation On The Acquisition, Extinction, And Reinstatement Of A Methamphetamine-Induced Conditioned Place, Christopher J. Cagna

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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Nurse Manager Caring And Workplace Bullying In Nursing : The Relationship Between Staff Nurses' Perceptions Of Nurse Manager Caring Behaviors And Their Perception Of Exposure To Workplace Bullying Within Multiple Healthcare Settings, Lynda Diana Olender

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

This study examined the relationship between staff nurses’ perception of nurse manager caring behaviors and their perceived exposure to workplace bullying within multiple healthcare settings. It was based on the theoretical position that caring promotes reciprocal caring and healing for each other and for the larger universe as informed by Watson’s theory of human caring (1979, 2006, 2008). Results indicated a statistically significant, negative, linear relationship between the CFS-CM and the NAQ-R (r = -.534, p < .001), meaning that as staff nurses’ perceptions of their nurse manager caring increased, their perception of exposure to negative acts (meeting the definition of workplace bullying) significantly decreased. The sample consisted of primarily older, more experienced, staff nurses who worked 10 years or longer within their work environment. Data analysis also revealed that staff nurses who were females and those who worked in Medical/Surgical settings were significantly more likely to perceive their managers as caring (p < .05 respectively) and that a high workload significantly influenced the staff nurses perception of exposure to workplace bullying (p < .05). In view of the predicted nursing shortages as baby-boomer nurses retire at the same time the demand for health care is rising (AACN, 2009), these findings highlight the importance of caring leadership for the health and availability of nurses at the bedside, and may lead to shifting work priorities for nurse managers. Study findings may also foster the design and implementation of a caring curriculum and caring competencies applicable for the nurse managers’ role either within nursing academic or clinical settings.

A Study Of Assistant Principals’ Perceptions Of The Principalship And Their Career Aspirations, James Dewitt Oliver Iii

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

The importance of attracting, selecting, and retaining effective principals is essential. Due to the negative perceptions of the principalship, there are concerns about who will fill these vacancies. Therefore, this study focused on perceptions of second and third year assistant principals toward the principalship and their career aspirations. The following research questions guided this study: (a) How do assistant principals perceive the role of the principal? (b) What are the factors that influence assistant principals’ motivation to seek or not to seek a position as a school principal? The research design used a qualitative approach to ascertain in-depth information to …

Icanlearn: A Mobile Application For Creating Flashcards And Social StoriesTm For Children With Autistm, Aaron Zaffke

Master's Theses (2009 -)

The number of children being diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is on the rise, presenting new challenges for their parents and teachers to overcome. At the same time, mobile computing has been seeping its way into every aspect of our lives in the form of smartphones and tablet computers. It seems only natural to harness the unique medium these devices provide and use it in treatment and intervention for children with autism.

This thesis discusses and evaluates iCanLearn, an iOS flashcard app with enough versatility to construct Social Stories^TM. iCanLearn provides an engaging, individualized learning experience to …

Skinny Secrets: Promoting The "Less Is More" Ideology In Women's Diet Books, Cassidy Felker Garbutt

Master's Theses (2009 -)

This thesis uses textual analysis to explore and analyze messages in six popular women's diet self-help books published between 2005 and 2012. This work is grounded in feminist theory and discusses the ways in which women's diet books encourage readers to think about women and weight loss. Findings of the study indicate that women's diet books do three things: first, they discourage women from dieting, while simultaneously promoting diet-like strategies for them to follow; second, they create and reinforce a "naturally thin" ideal for women; third, they use empowerment rhetoric to place the responsibility and burden of weight loss on …

The Impurity Truth: How Popular Media Taught Millennial Males To Get Laid And "Do It" As Early As Possible, Patrick Raymond Johnson

Master's Theses (2009 -)

This thesis is the story millennial males told about their experiences with media serving as an educator during their adolescence and beyond. By using depth interviews, an oral history was developed and a concept I have called the impurity truth, where media are teaching the millennials that their virginity is a gatekeeper to becoming a man, was crafted from the narratives. Twelve males, ages 18 to 24, from geographically, racially, and sexually diverse backgrounds, were interviewed. A fantasy theme analysis of the interview transcripts revealed a masculine hierarchy where the millennial males decoded a media message that men should cast …

Follow Me: A Network Analysis Of Marquette University's Twitter Network, Angela Elaine Swenson

Master's Theses (2009 -)

By understanding the network structure of social media usage, an organization can gain valuable insight into how to best utilize social media to reach organizational goals. Therefore, the current study seeks to be the first to conduct a network analysis on social media usage. Using Marquette University's Twitter network as a case study, the researcher was able to collect appropriate network data through observation. By conducting a network analysis of this data, the researcher was able to draw conclusions of the current social structure of this network, the diffusion of innovations process within the network, and identify the power figures …

A Robust Wheel Interface With A Novel Adaptive Controller For Computer/Robot-Assisted Motivating Rehabilitation, Andrew R. Theriault

Master's Theses (2009 -)

TheraDrive is a low-cost robotic system for post-stroke upper extremity rehabilitation. This system uses off-the-shelf computer gaming wheels with force feedback to help reduce motor impairment and improve function in the arms of stroke survivors. Preliminary results show that the TheraDrive system lacks a robust mechanical linkage that can withstand the forces exerted by patients, lacks a patient-specific adaptive controller to deliver personalized therapy, and is not capable of delivering effective therapy to severely low-functioning patients.

A new low-cost, high-force haptic robot with a single degree of freedom has been developed to address these concerns. The resulting TheraDrive consists of …

The Faith Lives Of Lesbians And Psychological Health: The Moderating Role Of Internalized Homonegativity, Dane Robert Whicker

Master's Theses (2009 -)

In many cases, having a faith life is associated with positive psychological health outcomes. However, for lesbians, the interplay between religious and sexual identities may be such that the opposite effect occurs, particularly among women who have high levels of internalized homonegativity, i.e internalized negative stigma from society about homosexuality. Previous research suggests that some religious organizations may propagate negative messages about homosexuality, and thus exacerbate the stigma that lesbians may feel about themselves due to their sexual orientation. The present study examined faith factors including views of God as loving and controlling, spirituality, religiosity, and negative faith experiences and …

Energy Efficient Data-Intensive Computing With Mapreduce, Thomas S. Wirtz

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Power and energy consumption are critical constraints in data center design and operation. In data centers, MapReduce data-intensive applications demand significant resources and energy. Recognizing the importance and urgency of optimizing energy usage of MapReduce applications, this work aims to provide instrumental tools to measure and evaluate MapReduce energy efficiency and techniques to conserve energy without impacting performance.

Energy conservation for data-intensive computing requires enabling technology to provide detailed and systemic energy information and to identify in the underlying system hardware and software. To address this need, we present eTune, a fine-grained, scalable energy profiling framework for data-intensive computing on …

Student Interpretations Of Phylogenetic Trees In An Introductory Biology Course, Jonathan Andrew Dees

Biological Sciences

Phylogenetic trees are a common visual representation in biology, and the most important visual representation used in evolutionary biology. Thus, phylogenetic trees have also become an important component of biology education. We sought to determine what forms of reasoning are utilized by introductory biology students to interpret taxa relatedness on phylogenetic trees, what percentage of students correctly interpret taxa relatedness, and how these results alter in response to instruction and over time. Our students demonstrated a tendency for counting synapomorphies and nodes, rather than more common misinterpretations found in current literature. Students also struggled mightily with correctly interpreting phylogenetic trees, …

Online Student Resource Use And The Effect On Student Course Performance, Tonya Greywind

Biological Sciences

The purpose of this study was to identify potential factors of student resource use that could indicate student success in an online course. This would allow instructors to look for in patterns of use to identify students that may not be successful. Statistical components of the course management system, Blackboard, and online lecture resource, Tegrity, were used to collect student resource use (clicks). Duration of access was also available exclusive to the Tegrity resource. The findings of the study indicate students that used online resources more often were more successful. Successful students used online resources nearly twice as often as …

Effects Of Signal Ambiguity And Signal Location On Target Detection Under Varying Degrees Of Time Constraint, Kimberly E. Culley

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of the current study was to investigate the effects of decision-making strategies and tendencies, time constraint, and signal characteristics on decision-making performance utilizing the fuzzy signal detection theory framework. Participants were tasked with deciding whether x-ray images of passenger luggage contained hazardous objects.

The first objective of the study was to develop a methodology for quantifying optimizing versus satisficing tendencies in decision making through direct measurement and observation.

The second objective of the study was to examine how time constraint and specific signal characteristics contribute to decision making. Interestingly, despite having more time available to conduct a comprehensive …

Experiences And Perceptions Of Mental Health Professionals Considered Effective In The Diagnosis And Treatment Of Adults With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Bonita H. Erb

Counseling & Human Services Theses & Dissertations

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a disorder that has been documented in medical and mental health literature for over 100 years (Still, 1902). ADHD is a neurobiological based disorder characterized by three major symptoms identified at clinical levels and validated by diagnostic criteria established for the diagnosis of children before the age of seven (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4 th edition-Text Revision; DSM-IV; American Psychiatric Association, 2000). The three diagnostic criteria are inattention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity that have been observed at clinical levels.

Because many signs of the disorder were believed to discontinue …

Burkean Framing Of The University Of Northern Iowa Budget Crisis, Joshua E. Young

Iowa Journal of Communication

Many studies have employed the use of Kenneth Burke's framing methodology to explain a plethora of communication events. Few, however, track changes in those frames. Of those studies tracking frame changes, none articulate how those changes happen through Burke's frames of transition. This essay uses previous scholarship and Burke's transition frames to explain framing of the 2009-2012 budget crisis at the University of Northern Iowa. Stake holders at UNI were faced with huge deficits and were forced to make cuts to remain financially solvent. Instead of framing the issue in the comic frame where the budget would have been seen …

Convergence Analysis Of Markov Chain Monte Carlo Linear Solvers Using Ulam--Von Neumann Algorithm, Hao Ji, Michael Mascagni, Yaohang Li

Computer Science Faculty Publications

The convergence of Markov chain--based Monte Carlo linear solvers using the Ulam--von Neumann algorithm for a linear system of the form x = Hx + b is investigated in this paper. We analyze the convergence of the Monte Carlo solver based on the original Ulam--von Neumann algorithm under the conditions that ||H|| < 1 as well as ρ(H) < 1, where ρ(H) is the spectral radius of H. We find that although the Monte Carlo solver is based on sampling the Neumann series, the convergence of Neumann series is not a sufficient condition for the convergence of the Monte Carlo solver. Actually, properties of H are not the only factors determining the convergence of the Monte Carlo solver; the underlying transition probability matrix plays an important role. An improper selection of the transition matrix may result in divergence even though the condition ||H|| <1 holds. However, if the condition ||H|| < 1 is satisfied, we show that there always exist certain transition matrices that guarantee convergence of the Monte Carlo solver. On the other hand, if ρ(H) <1 but ||H|| ≥ 1, the Monte Carlo linear solver may or may not converge. In particular, if the row sum ∑ n/j= 1|H_ij > 1 for every row in H or, more generally, ρ(H⁺) >1, where H⁺ is the nonnegative matrix where H+_ij = |H_ij|, we show that transition matrices leading to convergence of the Monte Carlo solver do not exist. Finally, given …

A Technical Framework For Resource Synchronization, Martin Klein, Robert Sanderson, Herbert Van De Sompel, Simeon Warner, Bernhard Haslhofer, Carl Lagoze, Michael L. Nelson

Computer Science Faculty Publications

This is the second paper in D-Lib Magazine about the ResourceSync effort conducted by the National Information Standards Organization (NISO) and the Open Archives Initiative (OAI). The first part provided a perspective on the resource synchronization problem and introduced a template that organized possible components of a resource synchronization framework in a modular manner. This paper details a technical framework devised using that template.

Front Matter - Table Of Contents

Iowa Journal of Communication

No abstract provided.

Fashioning Race, Class, And Gender: A Critique Of Dior's 2007 "Oriental" Collection, Keeley M. Buehler Hunter

Iowa Journal of Communication

This project seeks to parse out the connections between consumption and identities by focusing on the effects of the way fashion represents Asian culture and identities, examining how consuming fashion represents, and consequently shapes and limits, Asian-American identities. To this end, the work critically examines Dior's 2007 Spring/Summer fashion collection and the blogger/media conversations that contextualize this collection. The author evaluates the praise and criticisms of this collection with attention to fashion's portrayal of race/ethnicity, class, and gender as viewers consume the product, the art, or the spectacle of fashion and also a culture. The author argues high fashion, as …

Student Reward Programs In Collegiate Athletics, Danielle N. Bakken

Graduate Research Papers

Incentive marketing is becoming increasingly popular among many brands, companies, and even sports teams. Incentive marketing uses motivational campaigns to promote the consumption or sale of merchandise or services. It encourages consumers to become repeat buyers and/or to become more loyal toward a specific product, brand, or company. An aspect of incentive marketing that is emerging within the sports industry is reward programs; specifically with students of universities or colleges. The goals of student reward programs include increasing awareness and attendance of all athletic events on campus, as well as the possibility of students remaining loyal and purchasing season tickets …

Philanthropy And Health Care Reform: An Examination Of The Pertinent Literature Of Philanthropy And Healthcare And How The Two Should Intersect In Today’S Dynamic Healthcare Environment, Mayme Patthoff

Graduate Research Papers

Many factors are diminishing the reimbursements hospitals receive from private (corporate) and public (Medicare and Medicaid) sources. To remain competitive while dealing with these factors, medical centers have begun looking for alternative funding sources to make up for lost revenues. Supplemental funding is needed to advance patient care, conduct innovative research, and educate the next generation of healthcare workers. The purpose of this study is to conduct a comprehensive literature review to explore how healthcare systems across the country are thinking about philanthropy and implementing strategic development practices to gain and retain grateful patients and community donors to ensure the …

Preferred Instructional Design Strategies For Preparation Of Pre-Service Teachers Of Integrated Stem Education, Amanda Shackleford Roberts

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to identify the preferred instructional design strategies for the preparation of pre-service teachers who will deliver integrated STEM lessons. The research objectives were threefold and included identifying a preferred definition of integrated STEM education, developing its purpose statement, and creating a list of instructional design strategies that could be used for designing, planning, delivering, and assessing integrated STEM instruction.

The Delphi method was selected as the optimum approach for data collection, since STEM education is still a growing phenomenon lacking consensus in its interpretations of meaning and practice. Gaining group consensus from expert teacher …

Teacher Beliefs, Teacher Concerns, And School Leadership Support As Influences On School Readiness For Implementing A Research-Based Reform Model, Elizabeth Hoag Carhart

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

Federal policy makers and school leaders increasingly recognize middle school math as a turning point in students' academic success. An i3 scale-up grant allowed grant partners to conduct a large-scale implementation of Power Teaching (PT), a research-based reform to increase student math achievement. In a mixed-methods study during the pilot phase of the project, eight schools' readiness for reform was explored. Teacher questionnaires; interviews with project managers, school leaders, and teachers; classroom observations; and school evaluation forms were used to describe school characteristics that affected variability in initial implementation of the PT model. A cluster analysis demonstrated the relative importance …

Annual Report Of The Registrar 2012/2013, University Of Northern Iowa

Institutional Effectiveness & Planning Documents

Contents:

--- Definitions
--- Some Comparisons
--- Annual Report Data
--- Summary of Attendance
--- Attendance by Session
--- Full-Time Equivalency Enrollment
--- Degrees Granted 2012/13
--- Degree Summary 2012/13
--- Program Certificates 2012/13
--- Miscellaneous Enrollment Information
--- Degrees Granted by College, Degree and Racial/Ethnic Classification

The Economic Impact Of Des Moines Parks & Recreation Services, Kristine Fleming, Oksana Grybovych, Brian Gedlinske, Wade P. Kooiman, Jill Lankford, Sam Lankford

Other Faculty and Staff Publications

Park and recreation programs provided by the City of Des Moines deliver services that have a range of benefits or values to residents, businesses, economy, and local government. Many of these benefits are often overlooked and rarely quantified. The purpose of this effort is to quantify the economic value received due to the operation of the City of Des Moines’ Parks and Recreation Department. These values are arranged to reflect factors that produce revenue for the city government, wealth increasing factors for citizens and businesses, cost saving factors to citizens, and cost saving factors for the city government.

Included in …

Gender, Difference And Urban Change: Implications For Promotion Of Well-Being?, Julian Walker, Alexandre A. Frediani, Jean-Francois Trani

Brown School Faculty Publications

This article examines the impacts of urban change on the well-being of women and men, and girls and boys, living in cities, and explores how gender intersects with other social relations to differentiate these impacts. It then considers the implications of intersectionality for organisations aiming to promote the interests of specific social groups (such as women, or people with disabilities) vis-a-vis urban change by looking at the experience of Leonard Cheshire’s Asha project, working with girls and boys with disabilities in Mumbai. It concludes that organisations working to promote the interest of identity based constituents should (a) base their strategies …

Virtual Assembly, John D. Inazu

Scholarship@WashULaw

This Article provides one of the first scholarly considerations of the constitutional boundaries for online groups. It explores both why and how we should protect these groups by asking two related questions. The first question is theoretical: do online groups implicate the kinds of values that warrant elevated constitutional protection. The second question is doctrinal: what is the best framework for providing constitutional protection to these groups. The Article argues that we should protect online groups because they advance important First Amendment values and because the line between our offline and our online groups is collapsing. Turning to the doctrinal …

University Of Northern Iowa Graduating Senior Survey Report 2012-2013, University Of Northern Iowa

Institutional Effectiveness & Planning Documents

Contents:

2012-2013 Survey Highlights --- 1

Survey Administration --- 2

Distribution of Respondents by College --- 3

Plans Following Graduation --- 4

Characteristics of Respondents --- 6

Institutional Summary of Results --- 8

Summary of Responses by College --- 10

Multiple Year Comparison --- 18

Appendix A --- 26