Digital Commons Network^™

Methods And Evaluation Outcomes In Speech, Language, And Hearing Camps, Lindsey Paige Carter

Honors Program Theses

This investigation explores survey information on speech, language, and hearing camps throughout the United States. Thirty-seven speech-language pathologists from the United States agreed to complete the survey about their camp and thirteen completed the entire survey. These camps are growing in popularity and express benefits of attendance. There is currently limited research on assessment measures taken pre- and post- camp to determine the effectiveness of these camps. The purpose of this study was to investigate the structure of these camps, pre- and post- camp evaluation methods, how success is defined, and the impact these camps have. Results from the survey …

Pre-Service Students Understanding Of Professional Roles, Anne Whalen Gradoville

Honors Program Theses

This study aims to begin understanding how well pre-service speech-language pathologists and teachers understand their roles in collaboration in the schools. Data were collected from a survey completed by undergraduate and graduate students in the Communication Sciences and Disorders and Education departments at one middle-sized university in the Midwest. Results indicated a wide range of understanding and preparedness. Several themes emerged as to what students feel confident about in terms of collaboration, as well as what they believe they still need to learn before they can be confident in collaborating in the schools. The data provides insight into what pre-service …

Multicultural Education And Attitudes Towards Immigrant Groups In The United States, Anika Marie Lillegard-Bouton

Honors Program Theses

Individuals with higher levels of education tend to have more positive attitudes towards immigrant groups as well as immigration in general (Hainmueller & Hiscox, 2007). This study examined the relationship between one particular type of education and attitudes towards Arab, Chinese, and Mexican immigrant groups in the United States. As a part of a larger, ongoing study on attitudes of college students towards immigrant groups, participants completed measures of their multicultural education experiences. I hypothesized that individuals with higher levels of multicultural education experiences would report more positive attitudes towards Arab, Chinese, and Mexican immigrant groups and that attitudes towards …

Ministry Matters: A Study Of The Relationship Between Campus Ministry And Socialization, Rachel Jean Kitrell

Honors Program Theses

The present study investigated the relationship between involvement in campus ministry and students’ socialization to the university. Campus ministry participants (N=62) representing eight of eleven registered campus ministries completed an online 39-question Qualtrics survey that sought to evaluate their involvement in ministry activities, social involvement in their campus ministry, social involvement in their university, and socialization to the university through history, politics, and goals and values. A significant positive correlation was found between involvement in ministry activities and social involvement in campus ministry as well as between each of the three socialization variables. There were also significant positive correlations found …

The Idolization Of Ada Lovelace And Its Necessity, Autumn Lauen

Honors Program Theses

Ada Lovelace is a recognizable name in the field of computer science, but few people know and truly understand why. It is common knowledge that Ada Lovelace is known as the world’s first computer programmer. A simple Google search would also show that her contributions occurred in the mid-1800s. This is where any logical person may become confused and rightfully inquire how a person in the Victorian era has become so closely associated with modern computer science. The answer to that question is exactly as complicated and disputed as expected.

Ada Lovelace’s fame stems from her work with Charles Babbage …

Applying The Education Debt To Waterloo, Iowa, Baylee Renae Smith

Honors Program Theses

The Education Debt is largely overlooked in the world of academia. This is despite the fact the Education Debt offers a new lens through which to look at the multiple factors explaining differences in testing scores. While many scholars acknowledge and draw from the Education Debt in their works, it is still often viewed as supplementary to the larger problem of the achievement gap. The purpose of this study is to analyze if Ladson-Billings’ concept is just as applicable and relevant as when she first proposed it. To understand if the Education Debt is still a relevant issue within the …

Artistic Expression, Permanence And Change In A F*Cked Up World: Coping With The "Sounds Of Silence", Brianna L. Pruitt

Honors Program Theses

I believe my role as an artist is to process the world around me and articulate my analysis in visual forms that are aesthetically interesting. My proposed project will manifest as sculptures, painting, performance, sound, video and installation art combined to create a visual representation of my mind and emotions in the present. The central element of this work, which happens to be my car “Kevin,” will set the stage for three humanoid sculptures to be displayed. Each figurative sculpture represents a different type of motion: permanence, change, and coping. I will be creating performances with the sculptures separately where …

Exploring Eating Disorders In Athletes: A Literature Review And Analysis Of Prevention Strategies, Emily Schotzko

Honors Program Theses

Both clinical and subclinical eating disorders (ED) are marked by body image disturbance and preoccupation with food, weight, and body shape, and lead to harmful weight management behaviors if not prevented or treated (Bratland-Sanda & Sundgot-Borgen, 2013). While there is a multitude of risk factors that influence the likelihood of developing an ED, one particular factor that has garnered significant attention recently is participation in athletics. Studies show that while athletics can build self-esteem and promote overall well-being,there is evidence that athletes are at an elevated risk for ED development (Hinton & Kubas, 2005). Researchers suggest this risk can be …

Evaluating College Students' Attitudes And Understanding Of Recycling, Taylor Shipley

Honors Program Theses

Individuals have different habits, beliefs, and knowledge regarding recycling. These can be due to a variety of reasons such as peers, upbringing, accessibility of recycling, or prior knowledge of what can be recycled. A school setting, in particular, can be influential to a student’s motivation to recycle; schools can provide an environment for students to learn about the importance of recycling and other various sustainability initiatives. Like most campuses, students’ recycling behaviors on the University of Northern Iowa’s (UNI) campus are likely to be affected to some degree by the reasons listed above as well as other life experiences.

Recycling …

A Workbook Presenting Fluency Shaping And Narrative Therapy Strategies For School-Age Children Who Stutter, Bailey Nicole Rustad

Honors Program Theses

Stuttering occurs when there are frequent and effortful disfluencies in speech. People who stutter may have individual difficulties with particular sounds, but the research showed that some commonalities exist. Fluency shaping may be a helpful strategy for those who stutter to reduce the occurrence and frequency of and tension in stuttering. The majority of struggles that people who stutter have are related to negative thoughts and feelings about their stuttering, so this is also important to be targeted in therapy. Narrative therapy is a possible option to reduce these negative thoughts and feelings.

In order to provide a resource for …

Exploring Voting Habits And Attitudes Of Lgbtq+ College Students In The United States, Jordan Weber

Honors Program Theses

Citizens of the United States are regularly reminded of the importance of voting in elections. However, data shows the youngest voters turnout at the polls in far fewer numbers than older generations. The same cannot be said for marginalized and minority groups, such as members of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) community. Past studies have shown that these individuals are more likely to vote than their peers who are not members of this community. While there is information about voting habits of both the youngest voters and LGBTQ citizens, there has been little research done about the …

Impacts Of Theatre On The Mental Health Of High School Students, Madeline Ludwig

Honors Program Theses

This thesis explores the effects of participation in theatre on mental health in high school students. Though there has been more research since 2008 on mental health and its relation to the arts, there have been very few focused on mental health and theatre. However, the majority of these studies are centered around adults or young children. There is a lack of research centered around the impacts that theatre and drama have on the mental health of high school students. This study specifically focused on college students at the University of Northern Iowa and their reflection on their time in …

A Descriptive Analysis Of Intuitive Eating On The Uni Campus, Natalee Jeanne Lyons

Honors Program Theses

Over the course of this project, we will send out a cross-sectional survey to undergraduate students living on UNI’s campus. Included in the survey are questions regarding nutritional campus climate, student’s food preferences and eating habits, as well as the complete second edition of the Intuitive Eating Scale (Tylka & Kroon Van Diest, 2013).

This survey will then be analyzed utilizing SPSS software to draw conclusions regarding this target population (IBM Corp, 2016). Upon completion of this data analysis, our research 2 team hopes to address the following questions: What factors influence the eating behaviors of college students living on …

Trouble Brewing: An Exploration In Parasocial Relationships With Fictional Characters, Isabelle Zeimetz

Honors Program Theses

In the 1940s and 1950s, television and radio had taken over as the dominant form of media (Understanding Media and Culture: an Introduction to Mass Communication). Anthropologist Donald Horton and sociologist R. Wohl noted a strange new relationship developing between the audiences and the hosts under this new dominant media. These relationships ranged from close friendships with radio hosts like Dave Garroway to people wanting to marry fictional characters such as the gal from the radio broadcast, Lonesome Gal. Horton and Wohl realized that these new relationships were not quite the same as interpersonal relationships as they could never be …

Digging Into Selection Criteria For Accelerator Acceptance: What Kind Of Owners Are More Attractive?, Veronika Ermilina, Matthew Farrell, Fatemeh Askarzadeh

Management Faculty Publications

Drawing on signaling theory, we aid in the identification of the rarely acknowledged impact of business owner’s features on acceptance to accelerator programs. Using a multi-national sample of 10,298 observations for startups in 166 countries over 2016-2018, we show that accelerators do not evaluate applicants uniformly. We find that entrepreneurs from developing countries are less likely to be accepted by accelerators than entrepreneurs from developed economies. Counterintuitively, we also find an advantage for female entrepreneurs in accelerator acceptance. Further, our results suggest a positive impact of education. Accelerators are a growing provider of entrepreneurial resources and a main driver of …

The Relationship Between Insurance And Health Outcomes Of Diabetes Mellitus Patients In Maryland: A Retrospective Archival Study, Soo-Hoon Lee, Samuel L. Brown, Andrew A. Bennett

Management Faculty Publications

Background

Past studies examining the health outcomes of diabetes mellitus (DM) patients found that social determinants of health disparities were associated with variabilities in health outcomes. However, improving access to healthcare, such as health insurance, should mitigate negative health outcomes. The aim of the study was to explore the association between four types of health insurance, namely, Medicare Fee-For-Service (FFS), Medicare Managed Care (MC), Private FFS, and Private MC plans, and the health outcomes of DM patients, controlling for patients’ social determinants of health.

Methods

This is a retrospective cross-sectional archival record study to explore the relationships between types of …

Takin' Care Of Small Business: The Rise Of Stakeholder Influence, William P. Jimenez, Xiaohong (Violet) Xu, Emily D. Campion, Andrew A. Bennett

Management Faculty Publications

In this Exchange, we consider three crucial boundary conditions that Barnett, Henriques, and Husted (2020) overlooked in their model of diminished stakeholder influence. Although we agree that social media platforms have weakened stakeholder influence in certain conditions, such is not the case for all firms, all stakeholders, or all situations. Drawing from socio-cognitive and self-determination theories, we contend that (a) independent, owner-managed small firms present a context wherein information overload is rendered less of an issue because the information about the firm is more salient to locals; (b) stakeholders can be motivated to influence firms via social media platforms, which …

Poverty And Social Security Experiences In Australia: Experiences Of Wellbeing For Recipients Of The 2020 Jobseeker Payment, Kira Huntley

Theses : Honours

The relationship between poverty caused by social security payments below the poverty line and poor wellbeing among recipients has long been established in academic research. In April 2020, recipients of Australia’s main unemployment benefit, Newstart, were temporarily lifted out of poverty due to their transition onto JobSeeker, a payment implemented to support Australian workers affected by the coronavirus pandemic lockdowns in the first wave of the pandemic in 2020. This study sought to understand the experiences of wellbeing that receiving this increased payment and being embedded within a change policy framework engendered for participants who transitioned from Newstart to JobSeeker. …

Supervisors’ Experience Of Emotion Work In Higher Degree By Research Supervision, Natalia Hazell

Theses : Honours

This research explored academic supervisors’ experiences with emotion work specifically related to their role of supervision in higher degree by research (HDR) candidates and how supervisors managed the complexities inherent in the role of student supervision. This study utilised 45 to 90 minute semi-structured interviews with seven HDR supervisors and explored their lived experiences with emotion work, in the context of four Australian universities. A qualitative interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) approach was adopted to elicit a deep and rich understanding of this phenomenon. A comprehensive literature review informed the theoretical discussions and analysis of the data revealed four superordinate themes: …

The Improvisational Art Of Shenzo Gregorio: Exploring His Transition From Classical Violinist To Cross-Genre Improviser, Judith A. Iddison

Theses : Honours

This dissertation examines the musical craft and artistry of innovative Australian violinist/violist Shenzo Gregorio (Shenton Gregory) and his transition from classical violinist to cross-genre improvisor. My research explores mental and practice strategies employed by Gregorio in making this transition, and how he has developed his authentic improvising style. This style draws on an eclectic range of musical genres and incorporates a variety of idiosyncratic extended techniques. Semi-structured interviews and demonstrations were conducted to gain insight into unique aspects of Gregorio’s improvisatory practice. In addition, transcription analyses of five of his recorded performances highlight his improvisational diversity and musical idiolect. Furthermore, …

Changes In The Vertical Stratification Of Neotropical Nymphalidae At Forest Edges In Relation To Light And Temperature Conditions, Brian Koji Oye

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The composition of neotropical fruit-feeding nymphalid butterflies assemblages often varies by location and stratum within a forest. Recent work has shown that vertical stratification in particular may serve as barrier to gene flow, indicating the potential role vertical stratification may play in evolution. At forest edges, the distinction between assemblages has been described to decrease, with species considered to be canopy specialists descending to the forest understory. The similarity in light conditions between the canopy and understory strata at edges or disturbed habitat is hypothesized to be responsible for this phenomenon. We conducted a study using standardized sampling to document …

Human Capital Formation And Return Migration Within Mong Communities In Rural/Semi-Rural Northern California, Chong Yang

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

This research uses computational grounded theory to explore the human capital formation and stay/return migration experiences of well-educated Mong adults living in various rural/semi-rural Northern California localities within Butte, Yuba, and Sutter Counties. Rural vitality is dependent on the return of these well-educated rural-raised adults. Out-migration of rurality’s best and brightest contributes towards a brain drain and the hallowing out of rurality’s human capital. Findings of this research is conveyed using two research articles examining two different points on the continuum of rural vitality. The first article examines 19 Mong adults’ educational experiences within their rural communities and college education. …

Including All Students: Supporting Adolescents With Intellectual Disabilities Who Are Gender Nonconforming, Jennifer Clare

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Educators and school staff often overlook students with intellectual disabilities and students who are LGBTQ+ within public schools. They recognize even less students who identify in both these areas. The purpose of this study is to add to a small pool of research about how to best support students with intellectual disabilities who are gender nonconforming. A review of literature found a gap in understanding the experiences of students with intellectual disabilities who are gender nonconforming. This study uses a qualitative research design and intersectionality as a theoretical framework. The researcher completed interview with four special education staff using open-ended …

Effectiveness Of Social Media Marketing Strategies For Beauty Accounts On Instagram, Gitaine Reis

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Social media content strategies have been created and used for years as a way to advertise and influence market decisions in various industries. The reason for their effectiveness should be adequately studied so that we can have a better understanding of which strategies are successful and which ones are not. This study identifies effective social media content strategies, with a focus on brand and customer-centric strategies. After a content analysis of 251 Instagram posts from Huda Beauty and Glossier’s accounts, the hypotheses stating that brand-centric strategies will be more effective and all the strategies will be a useful way to …

The Effects Of Touchscreen Technology Usage On The Social Emotional Development Of Preschool-Aged Children, Amanda Marie Sharpe

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Technology plays an increasingly significant role in the lives of children and adults, and it is imperative to understand if and how it impacts the development of psychological processes and the subsequent behaviors of preschool-aged children so that we can better understand how to navigate guidelines for use and interventions for overuse. To better understand the relationship between screen time use and a child’s social emotional development, it is important to consider parent time on screens, child time on screens, and any effects an older sibling in the home or parental gender may have on their development. This study gathered …

Teaching Study Skills To College Students Using Checklist Training, Sarah T. Kong

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Deficits in the study skills of college students can lead to lower academic performance and disqualification. Although behavior analytic research has evaluated methods for teaching, structuring in-class notes, increasing attendance, and improving participation, no studies have evaluated methods for improving independent studying outside of the classroom using a single-case design. We evaluated the effects of a study skills training package using a multiple probe design across skills with college students. Sessions took place in a room arranged to emulate the typical study space found in a dorm or library. During sessions, participants were given a 3–6 page reading from a …

Community Gardens: Giving Hope To Southeast Asian Refugees, Yua Thao

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Since 1975, over 1.3 million Southeast Asian refugees have resettled in the United States from the Southeast Asian nations of Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam (Office of Refugee Resettlement, 2014). Many Southeast Asian refugees fled their home countries after the Vietnam War to avoid political persecution. As a result of forced migration, Southeast Asian refugees experience high levels of psychological distress attributed to premigration trauma and postmigration. Stressors may include adjusting to a new culture, finding housing, establishing employment, financial hardship, learning a new language and the feeling of identity loss of their homeland. In considering these stressors, this study sought …

Stress Resilience Development Of Undergraduate Student Leaders At Faith-Based Universities During The Covid-19 Pandemic: A Grounded Theory Study, David Heitman

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Undergraduate student leaders express increasing stress levels, often leaving them unprepared to lead in a complex world of challenge and change. While higher education heavily invests in preparing graduates to think critically and lead successfully, research shows an increasing number of students display low-stress resiliency and risk-aversion while struggling to cope with challenge and failure pre-and post-graduation. This study, conducted at faith-based Christian universities during the COVID-19 pandemic, used grounded theory to generate a generalizable leadership stress resilience model that explains: (a) Why and how undergraduate student leaders experience stress; (b)The influence of stress on student leaders at faith-based institutions; …

Promoting Self-Management Skills Among Students With Disabilities Within The General Education Classroom, Elisabeth A. Pagel

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this action research project was to determine how educators can promote self-management skills among students with disabilities in the general education classroom. Previous studies were used to summarize the current state of social-emotional learning in the American public-school system and to identify strategies that promote self-management skills in special education classrooms. The Delphi method was used to distinguish which of these strategies would promote self-management skills for students with disabilities in the general education classroom. Panelists (N = 18) generated and ranked strategies in three questionnaires, and they created consensus on the top 10 strategies with the …

Barrier To Girls' Education In The Liberian School System And How To Empower Them To Remain In School, Annetta Lahn Nyanama

All Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this thesis was to identify barriers to girls’ education in the fifteen years war in the ravished and impoverished country of Liberia, West Africa. With similar circumstances in developing countries around the world, comparison research is also explored and is clear that the consistent education of girls is often challenging and undervalued compared to the perceived and actual contributions girls make in the home without formal education.