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Tales Of Anti-Heroes In The Work Of J.R.R. Tolkien, Phillip Joe Fitzsimmons

Faculty Articles & Research

Article in Mythlore 34.1, Fall/Winter 2015.

Deanotes, College Of Science And Technology, Armstrong State University

College of Science & Technology Dean's Notes (Archived)

No abstract provided.

Social, Emotional, And Academic Impact Of Residual Speech Errors In School-Aged Children: A Survey Study, Elaine Hitchcock, Daphna Harel, Tara Mcallister Byun

Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Children with residual speech errors face an increased risk of social, emotional, and/or academic challenges relative to their peers with typical speech. Previous research has shown that the effects of speech sound disorder may persist into adulthood and span multiple domains of activity limitations and/or participation restrictions, as defined by the World Health Organization's International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health model. However, the nature and extent of these influences varies widely across children. This study aimed to expand the evidence base on the social, emotional, and academic impact of residual speech errors by collecting survey data from parents of …

Social Emotional Learning In A Guatemalan Preschool Sample: Does Socioeconomic Status Moderate The Effects Of A School-Based Prevention Program?, Leihua Edstrom, Heather A. Mildon, Lesliann Davila, Amanda B. Clinton

Faculty Publications - Doctor of Psychology (PsyD) Program

Researchers evaluated the effectiveness of a universal social skills program and compared social emotional knowledge on individual skills interviews with 100 Guatemalan preschool children from resource rich (N = 47) and resource poor (N = 53) backgrounds. Participant ages ranged from 3- to 6-years-old. SEL was evaluated prior and subsequent to receiving a school-based social emotional educational program. Results were analysed in terms of effectiveness of SEL by error type. Data show that preschool children from both poor and wealthy families made significant gains in social-emotional knowledge as a result of SEL instruction. In order to better understand …

Open-Access Policies: Basics And Impact On Content Recruitment, Andrew Wesolek, Paul Royster

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries: Faculty Publications

The allure of passing an institutional open-access (OA) policy as a strategy to populate an institutional repository is clear. After all, educating faculty to retain their rights to their scholarly publications through passage of such a policy, then requiring them to make those publications available through an IR seems a sure path to success. However, this approach of “if you pass it, they will comply” rings eerily similar to the early and decidedly misplaced optimism of populating institutional repositories through a “build it and they will come” proposition (Salo, 2007). The Registry of Open Access Repositories Mandatory Archiving Policies (ROARMAP) …

Traditional Grain Alcohol (Bai Jiu, 白酒) Production And Use In Rural Central China: Implications For Public Health, Ling Qian, Ian M. Newman, Wen Xiong, Yanyu Feng

Department of Educational Psychology: Faculty Publications

Background: An estimated 25 % of the alcohol consumed in China is traditional unrecorded alcohol produced and distributed informally. Consequently there is concern about its safety and its contribution to public health risk. Little has been written about this type of alcohol in China.

Methods: Researchers observed the manufacture of traditional bai jiu in a rural area of Hubei Province, Central China. Two hundred fifty-nine individuals were interviewed, either individually or in small groups, about their use of and attitudes toward bai jiu. Individuals who made or sold bai jiu were interviewed about local production, distribution, and sale. Key community …

Design Of Neuromemristive Systems For Visual Information Processing, Cory E. Merkel

Theses

Neuromemristive systems (NMSs) are brain-inspired, adaptive computer architectures based on emerging resistive memory technology (memristors). NMSs adopt a mixed-signal design approach with closely-coupled memory and processing, resulting in high area and energy efficiencies. Previous work suggests that NMSs could even supplant conventional architectures in niche application domains such as visual information processing. However, given the infancy of the field, there are still several obstacles impeding the transition of these systems from theory to practice. This dissertation advances the state of NMS research by addressing open design problems spanning circuit, architecture, and system levels. Novel synapse, neuron, and plasticity circuits are …

Meaning In Life In Psychotherapy: The Perspective Of Experienced Psychotherapists, Clara E. Hill, Yoshi Kanazawa, Sarah Knox, Iris Schauerman, Darren Loureiro, Danielle James, Imani Carter, Shakeena King, Suad Razzak, Melanie Scarff, Jasmine Moore

College of Education Faculty Research and Publications

Objective

Our goal was to explore the meaning experienced psychotherapists derive from providing psychotherapy, their beliefs about the role of meaning in life (MIL) in psychotherapy, how they worked with MIL with a client who explicitly presented concerns about MIL, and how they worked with a different client for whom MIL was a secondary and more implicit concern.

Method

Thirteen experienced psychotherapists were interviewed and data were analyzed using consensual qualitative research.

Results

Therapists derived self-oriented meaning (e.g., feeling gratified, fulfilled, connected) and other-oriented meaning (helping others, making the world a better place) from providing psychotherapy. They believed that MIL …

A Phenomenological Study Of Public School Biology Teachers Who Believe In The Literal Genesis Account Of Creation, Eric Dougherty

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

he purpose of this phenomenological study was to understand the experiences of Christian public high school biology teachers who believe in a literal, young earth account of creation as revealed in the book of Genesis. There is a gap in the literature regarding understanding the teaching experiences of Christians who believe in a strict interpretation of the biblical book of Genesis. This study was conducted by interviewing 11 Christian public school biology teachers from multiple states who met the criteria for being identified as young earth creationists. Data were also collected through a focus group and reflective vignettes. Data were …

Exploring The Relationship Between Attachment Style, Stress Perception, And Religious Coping In The Evangelical Missionary Population, Laurie Tone

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This cross-sectional survey design study examined the relationships between attachment style, stress perception and religious coping in a sample of 267 cross-cultural, evangelical missionaries. No significance for effect for attachment style on perceived stress was found. However, both age and gender demonstrated significant effects on perceived stress. There was also a significant association between perception of stress and religious coping, independent of attachment style. Religious coping accounted for a small amount of the variance in perception of stress. The vast majority of the sample reported patterns of positive religious coping, which was not influenced by attachment style. A new tool …

Decline In Menarcheal Age Among Saudi Girls, Areej A. Ibrahim, Motasim A. Badri, Bassam S. Bin-Abbas

Saudi Medical Journal

Objectives: To estimate age at menarche and to assess trends in menarcheal age among Saudi women. Methods: A prospective longitudinal study was conducted among healthy prepubertal female school children and adolescents from September 2006 to July 2012 in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Study participants were invited from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds. Tanner stage, height, weight, body mass index, and socioeconomic parameters including parent’s level of education were collected. Age at menarche was compared with maternal age at menarche. Results: The study included 265 girls and mothers. Mean±standard deviation (SD) age at menarche for girls was 13.08 ± 1.1 years, and …

Perception Of The Faculty Regarding Problem-Based Learning As An Educational Approach In Northwestern Saudi Arabia, Moutasem Aboonq

Saudi Medical Journal

Objectives: To assess the knowledge, attitudes, and practice of medical teachers regarding problem-based learning (PBL) in Northwestern Saudi Arabia. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study conducted in the College of Medicine, Taibah University, Al Madinah Al Munawarah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, at the beginning of the academic year 2014/2015 where the PBL method had recently been introduced. Medical academic staff (n=110) were invited to participate in the study. Data about staff sociodemographic characteristics, PBL knowledge, attitudes, and practice were collected via a pre-designed structured questionnaire. The collected data were analyzed using appropriate statistical methods. Results: The overall response rate was …

Integrating The Psychological Audit Of Interpersonal Relationships Into Short-Term Pastoral Marital Counseling – Help Or Hindrance?, Floyd Marsh

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This research project was undertaken to determine if integrating the Psychological Audit of Interpersonal Relationships (PAIR) test into a short-term pastoral marital counseling model would help or hinder the busy multi-tasking pastor in economizing his time and improving his effectiveness while counseling couples presenting with mild to moderate dissatisfaction. The PAIR test is a relationship compatibility inventory, used by psychologists, physicians, professional counselors, and licensed clinical social workers, which assesses 20 separate dimensions of interest, personality, behavior, attitudes, and values. The research findings of this study strongly suggest that the PAIR test, when integrated into the counseling plan, will help …

Class Notes

DePaul Magazine

Class notes for fall 2015, including a short article of Professor Emeritus Alexander Davis celebrating his 100th birthday, alumni event recaps, and DePaul Pride and photos.

The Effect Of Public And Private Schooling On Anti-Semitism, Jay P. Greene, Cari A. Bogulski

Education Reform Faculty and Graduate Students Publications

Most major American Jewish organizations oppose voucher and other school choice programs based in part on the fear that private, mostly religious, schools do not check the development of anti-Semitism as well as do government-operated public schools. To examine whether private and public schools differ in their effect on the emergence of anti-Semitic attitudes in adults later in life, we conducted a large survey of a nationally representative sample of adults in the United States. Subjects were asked to provide details on the type of school they attended each year between 1st and 12th grade, including whether the school was …

Using Gamification As A Collaboration Motivator For Software Development Teams: A Preliminary Framework, Flavio Steffens, Sabrina Marczak, Fernando Figueira Filho, Christoph Treude, Leif Singer, David Redmiles, Ban Al-Ani

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Gamification is the use of game elements in non-game context to engage and to motivate people to achieve goals. Its use is becoming very popular in software development organizations due to work being based upon human-centric and brain-intensive activity. This paper presents the topics of collaboration and gamification in the context of software engineering, and proposes a framework that identifies the most common collaboration issues that affect software development teams, and how to apply game elements to motivate a change on their behaviors.

The Change Process And Sustainability: The Experience Of School Administrators, Heidi R. Brezinski

Educational Leadership & Workforce Development Theses & Dissertations

The aim of this study was to determine the perceptions and experiences of school administrators with change initiatives in their district to reveal the factors necessary for sustainability of effective change. The study was established on research concerning organizational change and change sustainability. For the purpose of this study, the research on organizational change was examined, while utilizing a lens of Michael Fullan’s Model for Change and Eight Elements of Sustainability. In this design, the perceptions and experiences of the school administrators within Coastal City School District were examined based on a 10-year timeframe of change initiatives within the district. …

Teaching Behavior Questionnaire : Verifying Factor Structure And Investigating Depressive Symptoms In Catholic Middle And High Schools., Caroline M. Pittard, Patrick Pössel, Rosamond J. Smith

Faculty and Staff Scholarship

Teaching behavior impacts student psychopathology. This study explored the associations between teaching behavior types and depressive symptoms in students. The Teaching Behavior Questionnaire (TBQ) and the Center for Epidemiological Studies – Depression Scale (CES-D) were completed by 763 middle and 976 high school students from private Catholic schools. In the middle school sample, a confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the four-factor structure of the TBQ previously found in public high schools. As predicted, a two-level hierarchical linear model (HLM) analysis with the high school sample found that only the Negative Teaching Behavior scale of the TBQ was positively related to CES-D …

Multi-Dimensional Cross-Confessional Approach To The Study Of Religiosity In Belarus: Need And Conceptualization, Svetlana Karassyova

Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe

Construction of a cross-confessional model for studying religiosity is proposed based on a widened definition of religion and its interpretation as a two-part phenomenon including experience (inner part) and a system of presentation of the experience (outer part). The system of religion is understood as a three-dimensional unity of beliefs, activity, and institutions; religiosity as involvement into the system of the named dimensions. Each dimension of involvement is marked with empirical features. Each feature is scaled in a range from formal (outer) involvement to transforming (inner). The combination of involvement into each dimension (set by the features) gives a degree …

Building Global Capacity For Brain And Nervous System Disorders Research., Linda B. Cottler,, Joseph Zunt, Bahr Weiss, Ayeesha Kamran Kamal, Krishna Vaddipart

Department of Medicine

The global burden of neurological, neuropsychiatric, substance-use and neurodevelopmental disorders in low- and middle-income countries is worsened, not only by the lack of targeted research funding, but also by the lack of relevant in-country research capacity. Such capacity, from the individual to the national level, is necessary to address the problems within a local context. As for many health issues in these countries, the ability to address this burden requires development of research infrastructure and a trained cadre of clinicians and scientists who can ask the right questions, and conduct, manage, apply and disseminate research for practice and policy. This …

Reflections On Ferguson: What’S Wrong With Black People?, Chuck Henson

Missouri Law Review

After Officer Darren Wilson shot and killed Michael Brown on August 9, 2014, it seemed as if it was the summer of 1967 again. The same series of events that happened in Newark and Detroit in 1967 happened in Ferguson, Missouri, in 2014. A white man shot and killed a black man. The predominantly black population protested, rioted, and looted. The predominantly white police force was overwhelmed. The governor called out the National Guard and imposed a curfew. When these things happened in the summer of 1967, President Lyndon B. Johnson, by Executive Order 11365, established what would become known …

A Global Perspective On The Influence Of Environmental Exposures On The Nervous System, Desire Tshala-Katumbay, Jean-Claude Mwanza, Diane S. Rohlman, Gladys E. Maestre, Reinaldo B. Oria

School of Medicine Publications

Economic transitions in the era of globalization warrant a fresh look at the neurological risks associated with environmental change. These are driven by industrial expansion, transfer and mobility of goods, climate change and population growth. In these contexts, risk of infectious and non-infectious diseases are shared across geographical boundaries. In low- and middle-income countries, the risk of environmentally mediated brain disease is augmented several fold by lack of infrastructure, poor health and safety regulations, and limited measures for environmental protection. Neurological disorders may occur as a result of direct exposure to chemical and/or non-chemical stressors, including but not limited to, …

A Positive-Negative Mode Of Population Covariation Links Brain Connectivity, Demographics And Behavior, Stephen M. Smith, Thomas E. Nichols, Diego Vidaurre, Anderson M. Winkler, Timothy E J Behrens, Matthew F. Glasser, Kamil Ugurbil, Deanna M. Barch, David C. Van Essen, Karla L. Miller

School of Medicine Publications

We investigated the relationship between individual subjects' functional connectomes and 280 behavioral and demographic measures in a single holistic multivariate analysis relating imaging to non-imaging data from 461 subjects in the Human Connectome Project. We identified one strong mode of population co-variation: subjects were predominantly spread along a single 'positive-negative' axis linking lifestyle, demographic and psychometric measures to each other and to a specific pattern of brain connectivity.

Barriers And Facilitators Of Suicide Risk Assessment In Emergency Departments: A Qualitative Study Of Provider Perspectives, Megan L. Petrik, Peter M. Gutierrez, Jon S. Berlin, Stephen M. Saunders

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

Objective

To understand emergency department (ED) providers’ perspectives regarding the barriers and facilitators of suicide risk assessment and to use these perspectives to inform recommendations for best practices in ED suicide risk assessment.

Methods

Ninety-two ED providers from two hospital systems in a Midwestern state responded to open-ended questions via an online survey that assessed their perspectives on the barriers and facilitators to assess suicide risk as well as their preferred assessment methods. Responses were analyzed using an inductive thematic analysis approach.

Results

Qualitative analysis yielded six themes that impact suicide risk assessment. Time, privacy, collaboration and consultation with other …

Improved Cardiorespiratory Fitness Is Associated With Increased Cortical Thickness In Mild Cognitive Impairment, Katherine Reiter, Kristy A. Nielson, Theresa J. Smith, Lauren R. Weiss, Alfonso J. Alfini, J. C. Smith

Psychology Faculty Research and Publications

Cortical atrophy is a biomarker of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) that correlates with clinical symptoms. This study examined changes in cortical thickness from before to after an exercise intervention in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and healthy elders. Thirty physically inactive older adults (14 MCI, 16 healthy controls) underwent MRI before and after participating in a 12-week moderate intensity walking intervention. Participants were between the ages of 61 and 88. Change in cardiorespiratory fitness was assessed using residualized scores of the peak rate of oxygen consumption (V̇O_2peak) from pre- to post-intervention. Structural magnetic resonance images were processed using FreeSurfer v5.1.0. …

The Roles Of Natural Environments In The American Civil War, Cameron Boutin

Armstrong Undergraduate Journal of History

About the author

Cameron Boutin recently graduated with undergraduate degree in History from Northeastern University in Boston. Currently He is in the Master Program at Northeastern. The area of study that he is interested in is the American Civil War.

The Fixation Thesis: The Role Of Historical Fact In Original Meaning, Lawrence B. Solum

Faculty Scholarship

The central debate in contemporary constitutional theory is the clash between originalists and living constitutionalists. Originalism is the view that the original meaning of the constitutional text should constrain or bind constitutional practice — paradigmatically, the decision of constitutional cases by the United States Supreme Court. Living constitutionalists contend that the content of constitutional law should evolve over time in response to changing values and circumstances. One of the central questions in this debate is over the question whether the meaning of the constitutional text is fixed or changeable. This essay makes the case for the Fixation Thesis — the …

“There’S Still That Window That’S Open”: The Problem With “Grit”, Noah Asher Golden

Education Faculty Articles and Research

This narrative analysis case study challenges the education reform movement’s fascination with “grit,” the notion that a non-cognitive trait like persistence is at the core of disparate educational outcomes and the answer to our inequitable education system. Through analysis of the narratives and meaning-making processes of Elijah, a 20-year-old African American seeking his High School Equivalency diploma, this case study explores linkages among dominant discourses on meritocracy, opportunity, personal responsibility, and group blame. Specifically, exposition of the figured worlds present in Elijah’s narratives points to the attempted obfuscation of social inequities present in the current educational reform movement and our …

Pengembangan Model Pembelajaran Hypnoteaching Untuk Meningkatkan Motivasi Dan Hasil Belajar Biologi Siswa Sma/Ma, Hepta Bungsu Agung Jayawardana, Djukri Djukri

Jurnal Inovasi Pendidikan IPA

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui: (1) validitas model pembelajaran hypnoteaching beserta perangkat pembelajarannya; (2) pengaruh model pembelajaran hypnoteaching terhadap peningkatan motivasi belajar siswa; dan (3) pengaruh model pembelajaran hypnoteaching terhadap peningkatan hasil belajar biologi siswa kelas XI SMA/MA. Prosedur pengembangan dalam penelitian ini diadaptasi dari Model Borg & Gall yang meliputi studi pendahuluan dan pengumpulan informasi, perencanaan dan perancangan, penyusunan draf model pembelajaran dan validasi, uji coba terbatas dan revisi, uji coba diperluas dan penyempurnaan produk, serta diseminasi dan implementasi produk. Teknik analisis data yang digunakan yaitu statistik deskriptif dan statistik inferensial dengan menggunakan uji multivariat (MANOVA). Hasil penelitian adalah …

Pengembangan Media Pembelajaran Kimia Berbasis Android Untuk Meningkatkan Motivasi Belajar Dan Prestasi Kognitif Peserta Didik Sma, Isma Ramadhani Lubis, Jaslin Ikhsan

Jurnal Inovasi Pendidikan IPA

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengembangkan media pembelajaran kimia berbasis android dan mengetahui karakteristik, kualitas dan efektifitas dari media pembelajaran berbasis android. Jenis penelitian ini merupakan penelitian dan pengembangan. Penilaian produk dilakukan oleh ahli media, ahli materi, pendidik kimia, peer reviewers dan uji coba peserta didik. Data penelitian dikumpulkan melalui angket penilaian media, angket motivasi dan tes, kemudian dianalisis dengan Manova. Hasil dari penelitian ini adalah: (1) media pembelajaran kimia berbasis android memiliki karakteristik, yaitu visualisasi menarik, praktis dan fleksibel serta evaluasi soal yang variatif, (2) media pembelajaran kimia berbasis android dinilai layak digunakan dalam pembelajaran, ditinjau dari aspek materi, aspek …