Digital Commons Network^™

An Intersectional Analysis Of Male Student-Athletes' Meaning-Making About Masculinity, Michelle Lisack

Masters Theses

Men's athletics is often viewed as an environment where hegemonic masculinity is perpetuated, though some believe this environment provides a safe space for men to break away from hegemonic masculinity. This study was designed to gain an understanding of how male student-athletes experience masculinity and how the context of athletics influences meaning-making about masculinity. Using a phenomenological approach, the researcher interviewed five male student-athletes and observed the practice sessions of two different teams. The participants were student-athletes of junior or senior status from the following sports: tennis, soccer, swimming, baseball, and basketball. Results showed that male student-athletes found it challenging …

Athletic Identity And Career Transitioning Of Former Collegiate Athletes, Cameron Jimenez

Masters Theses

The focus of this study was to try and advance the understanding of athletic identity (AI) and its specific effects on former athletes. Previous studies in the area seem to focus on the relationship between AI, exercise habits, career maturity, and career transitioning of professional athletes. For example: Erpič, Wylleman, and Zupančič, (2004) examined former professional Slovene athletes. While those are important aspects of life former athletes encounter, the primary investigator (PI) felt it was important to understand the effects AI presents upon employment status of collegiate athletes who did not play professionally. Eighty-five former collegiate athletes participated and completed …

This Is Outrageous!: Understanding Consumer Anger And Brand Reputation On Social Media, Kimberly Legocki, Kristen Walker

School of Economics and Business Administration Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

Norway Leads The World In Gender Equality And Work-Life Balance: A Qualitative Life Course Study Of Norwegian Women, Lene Karine Martin

Theses and Dissertations

Norway is one of the world's leading countries in gender equality and work-life balance and therefore proves to be an exceptional model for study to improve gender equality and work–life balance around the world (Strømland, 2009). Norway continues to rank top three in the Global Gender Gap Index in addition to being the happiest country, best country to live, leading country in gender equality and work-life balance, best country for motherhood, and one of the top three countries for business (Badenhausen, 2015; Berglund, 2010; Bradford, 2011; Dresser, 2010; Helman, 2011; McNeil, 2010; “Norway tops ‘best country’ list, U.S. ranks 10th,” …

The Recruitment Of Sexual Minority Students In Higher Education, Jorge El-Azar

Masters Theses

In a time when universities actively recruit diverse groups of applicants, some universities are seeing the need for a diverse student population and advancing their recruitment initiatives to recruit specific groups of students. The LGBTQ+ community has been perceived as an invisible community (Cegler, 2012) by some universities, but other higher education institutions are seeing the value of specifically recruiting students who identify as a part of this community. This study was designed to focus on the initiatives universities are implementing to effectively recruit students who identify as LGBTQ+. Using a qualitative approach, the researcher interviewed six participants who identified …

Design Of An Intrusion Detection System (Ids) And An Intrusion Prevention System (Ips) For The Eiu Cybersecurity Laboratory, Adekunle Adeyemo

Masters Theses

Cyber Security will always be a subject of discussion for a long time to come. Research has shown that there is massive growth of cyber-crime and the currently available number of Cyber Security experts to counter this is limited. Although there are multiple resources discussing Cyber Security, but access to training in practical applications is limited. As an institution, Eastern Illinois University (EIU) is set to start Masters of Science in Cyber Security in Fall 2017. Then the challenge is how EIU will expose students to the practical reality of Cyber Security where they can learn different detection, prevention and …

Transferring Writing Skills To A 3rd Grade Music Classroom, Megan A. Wilson

Masters Theses

The purpose of this action research study was to examine the use of writing skills in a third grade general music classroom. Students wrote narratives based on music they heard, used an interactive notebook to reflect on musical experiences, conducted a short composer research project and wrote a biography about the composer. The study was designed to investigate the following research question: Will the use of writing in the music classroom help the students apply writing skills from their general education classes while learning music content? The duration of the study was for an entire semester and the students attended …

Diversity Of The Beneficial Bacterium Oxalobacter Formigenes Isolated From The Human Gut, Karen Shaw

Masters Theses

Oxalobacter formigenes is an anaerobic, oxalate degrading organism that colonizes in the mammalian intestinal tract. Currently, O. formigenes is divided into two groups via PCR of the oxc gene. Pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) is a technique used to resolve large pieces of DNA. Typically, PFGE is used to identify differences between strains for pathogenic bacteria, but this study sought to use it to further understand the diversity of a probiotic organism. This study aimed to develop a methodology for utilizing PFGE to examine O. formigenes. The methodology involved lysing O. formigenes cells in plugs, first in proteinase K, …

Dairy, Democracy, & Pr: A Political Economic Analysis Of Associated Milk Producers, Inc. 1988-1989, Anna L. Percival

Masters Theses

This paper, using a political economic approach, explores the communication techniques used during a second-wave of consolidation in the dairy industry in the 1980s. After providing a historical context of the dairy industry and its connections with federal policy, this paper follows the story of a large dairy cooperative: Association Milk Producers, Inc. (AMPI) and how it influenced public policy and consumption through interconnected dairy organizations like the National Milk Producers Federation and by using a political action committee. This paper provides an example of Carey's (1997) treetops propaganda by way of the powerful political action committee C-TAPE and the …

Development Of Learning Objectives For An Undergraduate Computer-Aided Drafting And Design Animation Using The Delphi Technique, Gavin M. Wilk

Masters Theses

This study reflects on learning objectives created for an advanced computer aided drafting (CAD) learning module(s) or course with the emphasis on simulation and engineering animations. These objectives were derived by using the Delphi technique by access the support of a panel of subject matter experts (SME) from academia and industry that are interested in CAD. The results of this study are intended for the use of creating instructional modules for undergraduate studies.

A panel of experts were chosen through an electronic listserv of engineering and technology supporters. Two rounds of two different Delphi survey instruments were utilized to complete …

A Summer Bridge Program's Impact: Social Engagement And The Building Of Self-Efficacy, Stephen L. Roach

Masters Theses

This two phase study sought to investigate the impact that a summer bridge program (SIHL) at a midsized, public institution at had on participants' academic success through an examination of its effect on their self-efficacy. In addition, this study sought to gain an increased understanding of how the program impacted self-efficacy, by providing a new conceptual model for examining the program and similar programs. Lastly, this study expanded on the research conducted by Lucas (2012), by incorporating both quantitative and qualitative methods. Participants in Phase 1, the quantitative phase, were 322 students of varying ages, races and ethnicities, genders, and …

Empathy, Perceived Popularity And Social Anxiety: Predicting Bystander Intervention Among Middle School Students, Nicole Menolascino

Masters Theses

Bullying is a prevalent issue in today's schools, and the importance of bystanders has been recognized; however, there are few studies that examine personal characteristics that relate to the five bystander behaviors within Latané and Darley's (1970) Bystander Intervention Model (notice the event, interpret as an emergency, accept responsibility, know what to do, and act). This study examined personal characteristics (i.e., cognitive and affective empathy, perceived popularity, and social anxiety) and their relation to each of the five steps of the Bystander Intervention Model in Bullying (Nickerson, Aloe, Livingston, & Feeley, 2014), as well as exploring gender as a moderator …

Impact Of Transcription Factors On Fibroblast Specific Gene Silencing In Somatic Cell Hybrids, Tania Ray

Masters Theses

As totipotent cells differentiate to specific cell types in multicellular organisms, certain sets of genes are turned off (gene silencing/gene extinction) while others are turned on (gene activation). Cell type specific gene silencing and gene activation is the basis of cell differentiation. Somatic cell hybrids which are produced by fusing different types of somatic cells from two different tissues have been used as a valuable resource to discern the phenomenon of lineage- specific gene extinction. Identification of regulatory factors that mediate gene extinction in hybrids are key to understanding regulatory mechanisms that govern cell differentiation in a multicellular organism. Transcription …

Contributors, W. Scott Howard

Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture

Information about contributors to articles in volume 16, issue 1 of Reconstruction.

Less Is More: Procedural Efficacy In Vindicating Civil Rights, Jennifer Bennett Shinall

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

Eradicating discrimination is a lofty goal, and since the second half of the twentieth century, the United States has largely relied upon the legal system to achieve this goal. Yet a great deal of scholarship suggests that the legal system may not always do a credible job. Scholars have documented multiple instances of discrimination laws' inaccessibility to discrimination victims individually and inability to improve the labor market prospects of victims as a whole. Still missing from the literature, however, is an assessment of what separates effective discrimination laws from ineffective ones. This Article fills this gap, using both qualitative and …

College Football Coaches' Pay And Contracts: Are They Overpaid And Unduly Privileged?, Randall S. Thomas, R. Lawrence Van Horn

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

College football coaches' employment contracts and compensation garner public attention and scrutiny in much the same way as those of corporate CEOs. In both cases, the public perception is that they must be overpaid and pampered Economic theory claims that for coaches and CEOs to be overpaid, they must be receiving compensation in excess of the value they create for their organizations. However, both receive pay-for-performance compensation, which structurally aligns their compensation with value creation. This means we need to examine the underlying structure of the contract that gives rise to the observed compensation to determine whether they are appropriately …

Are College Presidents Like Football Coaches? Evidence From Their Employment Contracts, Randall Thomas, Lawrence R. Van Horn

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

College presidents and football coaches are frequently criticized for their high compensation. In this paper, we argue that these criticisms are unmerited, as the markets for both college presidents and football coaches exhibit properties consistent with a competitive labor market. Both parties compensation varies in sensible ways related to the size of the programs they manage, as well as their potential for value creation. Successful college presidents and football coaches can greatly increase the value of their schools well beyond the amount they receive in compensation. If these higher education executives' compensation is the result of a competitive labor market, …

Introduction: Is The Supreme Court Failing At Its Job, Or Are We Failing At Ours?, Suzanna Sherry

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

It is a pleasure and a privilege to write an introduction to this Symposium celebrating Dean Erwin Chemerinsky's important new book, The Case Against the Supreme Court. Chemerinsky is one of the leading constitutional scholars of our time and a frequent advocate before the U.S. Supreme Court. If he thinks there is a case to be made against the Court, we should all take it very seriously indeed. Chemerinsky's thesis may be stated in a few sentences. The primary role of the Supreme Court, in his view, is to "protect the rights of minorities who cannot rely on the political …

Is The Supreme Court Failing At Its Job, Or Are We Failing At Ours, Suzanna Sherry

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

Sanford Levinson calls for a new constitutional convention in Our Undemocratic Constitution: Where the Constitution Goes Wrong (and How We the People Can Correct It). This review explains how Levinson overstates the Constitution's defects and understates the risks of submitting it to a constitutional convention for revision. It exposes the hidden biases in Levinson's analysis and defends the counter-majoritarian aspects of the Constitution that Levinson criticizes. Chemerinsky is one of the leading constitutional scholars of our time and a frequent advocate before the U.S. Supreme Court. If he thinks there is a case to be made against the Court, we …

An Investigation Of Information Literacy Of International Graduate Students: Skills, Challenges, And Needs, Yousef Ayoub

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Information literacy at higher education institutions is an important issue at the local and national levels. In 2000, the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) created a set of information literacy standards and asked academic institutions to incorporate them into their college curricula (ACRL, 2000). The ACRL states that, to be considered information literate, a person must be able to recognize when information is needed and be able to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information (ACRL, 2000). Academic institutions follow these standards to teach their students information literacy skills and assist them to become lifelong learners. Library …

An Examination Of The Lived Curiosity Experiences Of Traditionally-Aged Freshmen Pursuing And Education Degree, Susan Kelly

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The benefits of being curious continue beyond infancy and early childhood. Curiosity has been linked to academic achievement, memory, and lifelong learning. Yet curiosity type behaviors in academic settings are infrequently observed. This is a concern because some of the students graduating from the educational system will be the teachers responsible for fostering conditions that spark curiosity and exploration for future students. These prospective teachers' lived curiosity experiences will influence their future teaching beliefs and practices. Yet few studies have been conducted that illuminate the lived curiosity experiences of prospective teachers. The research question that guided this study was, what …

Ubiquitous Computing In Public Education: The Effects Of One-To-One Computer Initiatives On Student Achievement On Florida Standardized Assessments, Fernando Lobeto

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of one-to-one computer initiatives on student achievement in reading and mathematics. This study compared the differences in FCAT 2.0 Reading and Mathematics scores between schools implementing one-to-one computer initiatives and schools implementing traditional modes of instruction. A second purpose of this study was to determine what effects one-to-one computer initiatives had on student FCAT 2.0 scores overall and by grade level, gender, and socio-economic status. The study used an independent-samples t-test, a repeated measures ANOVA, and a factorial ANCOVA to answer four research questions in order to achieve the purpose …

Setting The Agenda For Stem Literacy In Higher Education: A Content Analysis Of The Chronicle Of Higher Education, Maya Abdallah

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Enhancing achievement in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) is a long-standing national concern. The current national agenda, to instill an "all hands on deck" approach to creating a STEM literate citizenry, calls for broadening the scope of inclusion in STEM efforts. A critical population, higher education administrators, faculty, and staff are a valuable resource to advancing this agenda. Under the proposed Agenda Setting Communication Theory (ASCT) model developed for this study, their level of exposure to needed information is an important indicator of their potential participation in this agenda. As the leading news medium for the higher education community, …

Evaluation Of The Expectancy Challenge Alcohol Literacy Curriculum (Ecalc) For High School Students, Alyssa Dietz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Prevention efforts targeted at children and adolescents are important because alcohol consumption contributes to the three leading causes of death in this among 12-20 year-olds: unintentional injury, homicide, and suicide. Research on the causes of alcohol misuse traditionally focused on pharmacological and genetic explanations, but models have expanded to include cognitive processes in the development of alcohol use patterns. Alcohol expectancies, or beliefs about the effects of alcohol, are an important influence on drinking behavior. Expectancies exist prior to the initial drinking experience, predict the onset of alcohol consumption, differentiate both children and adults in terms of light- and heavy-drinking …

Investigating The Predictive Power Of Student Characteristics On Success In Studio-Mode, Algebra-Based Introductory Physics Courses, Jarrad Pond

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

As part of a project to explore the differential success of similar implementations of the studio-mode of physics instruction, the objective of this work is to investigate the characteristics of students enrolled in algebra-based, studio-mode introductory physics courses at various universities in order to evaluate what effects these characteristics have on different measures of student success, such as gains in conceptual knowledge, shifts to more favorable attitudes toward physics, and final course grades. In my analysis, I explore the strategic self-regulatory, motivational, and demographic characteristics of students in algebra-based, studio-mode physics courses at three universities: the University of Central Florida …

Superwholock: An Analysis Of Subculture In A Microblogging Setting, Dean Short

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

While subcultural research has always been a common focus of sociological research, most such studies focus on deviant subcultures. This has led to a glut of information on countercultures and criminal subcultures, but relatively little study of less visible subcultures. While there is a great deal of research on the sociology of sport, including sport fandom, there is very little on other fandom subcultures. While this makes sense, as they are niche subcultures, the popularity of formerly niche entertainment is expanding rapidly. Much of this fandom renaissance owes its existence to the Internet, and its ability to bring geographically separate …

Joining The "Big Leagues": Politics, Race, And The Pursuit Of Nba Franchises In Miami And Orlando, 1982-1987, Garrett Hillyer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis analyzes the formation of two National Basketball Association (NBA) franchises—the Miami Heat and the Orlando Magic—and the efforts of groups representing both cities to procure those franchises between 1982 and 1987. Drawing primarily from discourse found in local newspapers, this thesis serves as a case study of the dual nature of sport to both unite and divide communities. While proponents of the NBA in Miami and Orlando preached the social, cultural, and economic benefits of sport, they ignored the ways in which the pursuit of sport divided local governments and perpetuated historic hostility toward African-American residents in each …

Examining The Role Of Music Streaming Motives, Social Identification, And Technological Engagement In Digital Music Streaming Service Use, Heidi Bolduc

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

According to the Nielsen Music 360 Research Report, 67% of all music consumers in the United States used digital music streaming services to listen, discover, and share music online in 2014 (The Nielsen Company, 2014). As such, communications scholars and music industry professionals are beginning to recognize the importance of understanding the factors that influence digital music listener behavior. Therefore, this study proposes an expanded theory of planned behavior model (TPB) by incorporating music streaming motives, social identification, and technological engagement into the original TPB model framework in an effort to gain a better understanding of people's intentions to use …

Applying The Technology Acceptance Model To Predict And Explain Elementary And Secondary Preservice Teachers' Continuance Behavioral Intentions And Pedagogical Usage Of Twitter To Build Professional Capital: A Structural Equation Modeling Inquiry, Nandita Gurjar

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research study was to predict and explain elementary and secondary preservice teachers' continuance behavioral intentions and pedagogical usage of Twitter, a web based social networking, microblogging platform, to build professional growth and capital. The objective of the research study was to examine preservice teachers' beliefs associated with the specified constructs that formed the latent variables of the hypothesized research model; these latent variables were then measured with their associated indicators or manifest variables, and the relationship between the manifest variables was examined through the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) process. A non-experimental empirical research study was conducted …

Role Of Sleep In Exposure Therapy For Posttraumatic Stress Disorder In Oif/Oef Combat Veterans, Franklin Mesa

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Exposure therapy is theorized to reduce posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptomatology by promoting habituation/extinction of fear responses to trauma-related cues. Empirical evidence indicates that emotional memory, including habituation/extinction learning, is enhanced by sleep. However, service members with combat-related PTSD often report disturbed sleep. In this study, quality of sleep and indicators of extinction learning were examined in veterans of recent wars who had completed an exposure-based PTSD intervention. Fifty-five participants were categorized into two groups based on self-reported quality of sleep: low sleep disruption severity (LSDS; N = 29) and high sleep disruption severity (HSDS; N = 26). Participants in …