Digital Commons Network^™

An Examination Of The Effects Of Body Mapping Instruction On Singers’ Static Standing Posture And Posture While Singing, Amanda Moreno

Theses and Dissertations

Physical posture is one of the fundamental aspects of vocal technique, and voice pedagogues suggest that effective alignment is necessary for healthy vocal production. Body Mapping (BMG) is a somatic method that focuses on the understanding and correction of errors in a person’s body map to facilitate effective movement for musical activity. Because this method has balance, physical alignment, and posture as foundational, it may be an effective way to begin to instruct students. This study investigated whether the use of the BMG method, which teaches posture through movement, scientific pictures, and anatomical models, would result in a significant difference …

Mosquito Fauna And Prevalence Of Avian Malaria In The Turtle Mountains, North Dakota, Kelsey J. Morin

Theses and Dissertations

Avian malaria is a disease caused by intracellular parasites transmitted by mosquitoes and is detrimental to individual birds and their populations. Although it is sub-lethal in most instances, avian malaria can result in anemia, lower fertility, and reduced migration ability. The Turtle Mountains is a unique ecoregion in North Dakota and provides habitat for various bird and mosquito species that differ from other parts of the state. Previous research has defined the mosquito fauna and occurrence of avian malaria in the Red River Valley region of eastern North Dakota and Northwest Minnesota; however, no research has been conducted in the …

Behavioral Responses Of Breeding Ducks To Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Surveys And Best Practices For Breeding Waterfowl Surveys Using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, Mason Ryckman

Theses and Dissertations

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have become a popular wildlife survey tool. As such, biologists are exploring the use of UAVs for surveying waterfowl. The most cited benefit of using UAVs over traditional methods is the idea of reduced disturbance, but this has had limited formal evaluation across species. We conducted UAV surveys with associated behavioral observations of ducks on wetlands and on nests during the 2019 – 2020 breeding seasons. We found species-specific behaviors among blue-winged teal (Spatula discors), northern shoveler (Spatula clypeata), and gadwall (Mareca strepera) including ducks noticing the aircraft, but reactions were generally less than traditional ground …

Phylogenetic Relationships Of Noctuoid Moths With An Examination Of Complex Characteristics, Melissa Sisson

Theses and Dissertations

The tribe Noctuini comprise over 520 species; many are economically important species that impact human agriculture. Despite their diversity and relevance, relationships of the Noctuini have been difficult to resolve. There are extensive morphological revisions of these taxa (e.g., Agrotis, Euxoa); however, there are no studies that focus exclusively on the phylogenetic relationships of the Noctuini. Currently, the Noctuini are separated into two subtribes, the Agrotina and Noctuina, which each are further subdivided into two subgenera. In this study, we tested previous classification schemes using three loci. We sampled three outgroup taxa and 54 noctuine species that represent the majority …

A Survey Of Research Administrators To Identify Areas Of Administrative Burden In Federal Research Grant Management, Jessica Lynn Schiller

Theses and Dissertations

Many processes in higher education are complicated by administrative burden and proceduralinefficiencies. The federal government and research universities partner to advance science and technology, but the federal research grant process is criticized for its lack of efficient and streamlined procedures. Staff and faculty alike lament losing valuable time to bureaucratic regulations, cumbersome processes, and burgeoning reporting standards. As the cost of higher education is increasingly scrutinized, current procedures must be analyzed to identify areas of excessive administrative burden and redesigned to maximize efficiency. To address this issue, a Qualtrics survey was deployed to research administrators to identify areas of administrative …

Primary Care Physicians’ Participation, Knowledge, And Views Of Nutrition Counseling For Weight Management, Carl Schlesser

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractAn estimated 70% of the United States population is considered overweight or obese, which has led to an epidemic. Primary care physicians (PCPs) are considered the first line of defense to help fight obesity through weight management by providing nutrition care to patients. With little known about how PCPs engage with their patients on nutrition care combined with changing guidelines on treating obese patients, there is a gap in research on how PCPs help patients with weight management and what tools PCPs use to accomplish this. Guided by the health promotion model, the purpose of this qualitative study was to …

Understanding The Lived Experiences Of Bystanders And Upstanders During A Bullying Episode, Dr James Torino

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

School-age bullying is a social problem negatively affecting more than 11% of the student body in the United States alone. The purpose of this study was to develop a better understanding of the lived experiences of bystanders, who witness a bullying event but do not intervene, and upstanders, who witness the event and intervene on behalf of the victim. To answer to the research question addressing the purpose of this qualitative study, 10 individuals between the ages of 18–20 years old who self-identified as both a bystander and an upstander during a bullying episode were interviewed using the lens of …

Continuity Of Care In Crisis Stabilization Centers, Brian West-Pearson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractCrisis stabilization centers (CSCs) were designed to provide individuals with substance use disorders (SUDs), the treatment they needed to get well, manage their addiction, and prevent future abuse of their substance of choice. Realizing these objectives requires proper patient referrals and assessment of the patient’s condition. The Tobacco, Alcohol, Prescription medication, and other Substance use (TAPS) assessment screening tool helps to provide critical health information about the patients that can help enhance continuity of care. The TAPS assessment tool included age, gender, substance use history, housing status, legal concerns, family support, employment status, education level, and medical and psychiatric status. …

Lived Experience Of Albanian Migrants Who Became Obese After Moving To The United States, Briseida Xhelaj

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The problem of obesity is significant in the United States, and more information is needed about the factors that increase the risk for obesity among migrant populations like Albanian Americans. The purpose of this study was to discover the lived experience of Albanian migrants who became obese after moving to the United States. This study was guided by the social ecological model. The research questions were used to examine how individual, relationship, community, and societal level factors impacted lifestyle changes and obesity for Albanian American migrants after moving to the United States. This qualitative study involved the use of a …

Fourth Amendment Privacy In Public: A Fundamental Theory With Application To Location Tracking, Jordan Wallace-Wolf

Law Faculty Scholarship

When we walk out our front door, we are in public and other people may look at us. But intuitively, we don’t open ourselves up to unlimited scrutiny just by going outside. We retain some privacy, even in public. What is the source of this residual public-privacy, and how should the law recognize it without degrading the open character of public space?

The answer given by commentators, and most recently by the Supreme Court in Carpenter v. U.S., comes in the form of two related claims. The first is the chilling theory of the Fourth Amendment. According to this idea, …

Validation Of The Knowledge Of Genome Sequencing (Kogs) Scale In Cancer Patients, P Butow, C Napier, R Campbell, N Bartley, Megan Best, M L. Ballinger

IES Papers and Journal Articles

Introduction: The Knowledge of Genome Sequencing (KOGS) questionnaire was recently developed to measure knowledge of genomic sequencing (GS), with preliminary psychometric data supporting its reliability and validity. The aim of this study was to test the reliability and validity of the KOGS in a larger sample, and to confirm its utility in a cancer setting.

Methods: The Genetic Cancer Risk in the Young (RisC) study recruits participants with a personal history of cancer, to investigate heritable cancer causes and future cancer risk using germline GS. Participants (n = 261) in a psychosocial substudy of RisC completed a questionnaire after consent …

Adoptive Parents Are Socially Affected By The Behaviors Of Adolescents With Reactive Attachment Disorder, Latoya C. Geter

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Research regarding the experiences of adoptive parents in the Midwest has revealed feelings of social isolation. Further research is warranted focusing on social issues adoptive parents of reactive attachment disorder (RAD) youth experience in the South. This could serve as a comparison to the findings from research focused on the Midwest. There is a gap in the research and knowledge regarding the social issues adoptive parents of RAD youth experience in Arkansas. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the daily, lived experiences of adoptive parents of adolescents with RAD living in rural areas. Attachment theory was the …

Perceptions Of Female Divinity Students Regarding Gender Bias And Career Aspirations, Monique C. Norton

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Gender bias plays a significant role in ministry and could prevent churches and congregations from benefitting from the values female ministers bring to the church in a leadership capacity. This bias can also prevent female ministers from accomplishing their career goals. The purpose of this generic qualitative study was to explore the perceptions of gender bias held by female Master of Divinity (MDiv) students and whether they perceive gender bias has an effect on their choice of a career as a ministerial leader. Social cognitive career theory provided the framework for the study. The research question focused on gathering the …

Strategies Small-Business Leaders Use To Prevent Employee Fraud, Israel Chand

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Employee fraud is a crime committed against an employer and results in the loss of a small business's assets, revenues, and reputation. Leaders of small businesses who fail to prevent employee fraud may experience decreased profitability and reputational loss in their community. Grounded in Bandura’s social cogitative theory, the purpose of this qualitative multiple-case study was to explore strategies that leaders of small businesses use to prevent employee fraud. Data were collected from five small-business leaders in the southeastern United States who applied strategies to prevent employee fraud through interviews and reviews of business documents and archival records. Applying Akinyode …

Caregiver Perceptions Of The Helping Families In Mental Health Crisis Act, Odinakachi Chigewe

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Caregivers often experience increased stress when raising children who have a mental illness. Awareness of the various challenges caregivers face enables the offering of improved support. The Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2016 (HR2646) improves and raises the profile of mental health within the government chart. This qualitative phenomenological study was guided by questions aimed at identifying caregiver perceptions of The Act and understanding caregiver input and opinions on the impact of this policy. Howlett’s five stream framework of the policy process and Kingdon’s multiple streams model provide the theoretical framework for this study. Individual telephonic interviews …

Effects Of Superflex Curriculum On Social Skills Of Children With Autism, Charli Elaine Doyle

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Applied behavior analysis (ABA) is considered an applied science under the umbrella of behavior analysis and was accepted into the mainstream science in the mid-1900s. An increase in the prevalence of autism gave rise to the need for evidence-based social skills curricula. Previous research indicated many children respond well to video modeling and positive reinforcement. However, literature on social curricula for children aged 7 to 10 years in a clinical setting versus a school setting was limited. The purpose of this quantitative study with a single-subject design was to examine the effectiveness of Superflex, a superhero social thinking curriculum, on …

A Qualitative Examination Of Single-Parent Matriarchal Homes’ Influence On Gang Membership, Darryl Edwards

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There is a problem in the city of Chicago. Gangs are responsible for a substantial percentage of violent crimes in most jurisdictions. This study examined how and to what extent single-parent matriarchal households influenced African American men between 18 and 25 to join gangs in Chicago. This study’s theoretical foundations were matriarchal theory and critical race theory. This qualitative study’s research design is heuristic phenomenology design. An in-depth interview method was employed using purposeful and snowball sampling of 20 participants; in-depth interviews were conducted using telephone technology. This study, which investigated the connection between being raised in a single-parent matriarchal …

Providers’ Perceptions Of Chiropractic Care In Treatment Of Opioid Addiction, Rebekah Jan Khan

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Fifteen hundred people in the United States die each week from opioid-related overdoses. In addition, the U.S. court system has been inundated with individuals facing legal proceedings, with opioid addiction, impacted competency, and recidivism. There has been a call for alternatives to address the crisis. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the perceptions of (addiction) providers regarding chiropractic treatment in the management of opioid addiction. The health belief theory was used to guide the study. Interview data were collected from six participants via Zoom or phone. Thematic analysis resulted in four emergent themes: lack of knowledge of …

Qualitative Exploration Of The Impact Of Bed Bug Infestation In Rural Settings, Dorota Anna Krotkiewicz

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractBed bugs have been common household insects for centuries and are a challenge to eradicate, but the extent to which bed bug infestations psychologically impact individuals and families is largely uninvestigated. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to investigate the lived experiences of families in rural areas in Nevada who had experienced bed bug infestations. The transactional model of stress and coping was used as a framework for this research. Participants were recruited using posters placed in public areas, and semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten participants to gather data. Major and minor themes and meanings were derived from …

Intra-Racial Bullying Among African American Female Students In Middle School, Lashaunda Cunningham

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractIntra-racial bullying is increasing within the African American population, especially middle school. This specific form of bullying can be difficult for administrators to investigate as it is unlike the typical forms of bullying that school officials observe or witness daily. There was a gap in the literature regarding limited research that has examined intra-racial bullying from the perspectives of teachers, administrators, and hallway monitors. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the patterns, trends, characteristics, and reasons that result in intra-racial bullying among African American female students in middle school from the perspectives of adults who work in …

A Self-Analysis Point Sheet For Classroom Mediation With Disruptive Graduating Seniors, Teresia R. Gridiron

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Researchers and educators recognize the need for an effective in-class mediator to avoid the removal of students from class, to accomplish and achieve positive academic and social change by eliminating classroom disruption. The purpose of this research study was to address this need by examining a classroom mediation using a self-analysis point sheet for disruptive, graduating seniors. The specific focus of this qualitative, phenomenological study was to examine the real-life classroom experience from the perspective of senior high school students as it relates to immediate classroom discipline via a self-analysis point sheet. The main question examined how students experience the …

Emerging Adults' Lived Prenatal Care Experiences As First-Time Mothers: An Interpretive Phenomenological Study, Linda Mcclerklin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractPrenatal care is fundamental in the lives of expectant mothers. Studies have highlighted the prenatal care experiences of mothers ranging from adolescents to older women, which included the experiences of emerging adults. However, emerging adults bring particular social, emotional, and developmental concerns to pregnancy experiences that are distinct from those of their counterparts. This study explored these experiences to answer the question of what are emerging adults’ lived prenatal care experiences are as first-time mothers. Interpretive phenomenology and assumptions from critical race, feminist, communication, and intersectionality theories helped frame the study. Through purposive and snowball sampling, nine participants were selected …

Generation Z’S Perception Of Leadership Effectiveness, Lauren Seamon

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The newest generation entering the workforce, Generation Z, has unique characteristics and workplace preferences that distinguish this generation from previous generations. The specific management problem is that current organizational leaders lack knowledge regarding which leadership style Generation Z employees perceive as most effective and risk not providing a productive and supportive workplace climate. The purpose of this quantitative correlational study was to examine leadership style preferences as perceived among Generation Z office employees as most effective for providing a productive and supportive workplace climate. Generational theory and social exchange theory comprised the theoretical framework. The research questions were designed to …

Predictors Of Hiv-Related Risky Sexual Behaviors Among High School Students: Socioecological Perspective, Gizachew Kebede Bassore

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

AbstractAn increase in risky sexual behaviors among high school students in Ethiopia has led to an increase in risk for contracting human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) among this population. A knowledge gap exists regarding the predictors of HIV-related risky sexual behaviors among high school students in the predominantly rural and underserved area of southern Ethiopia. The socioecological model was the theoretical framework for this research. A quantitative cross-sectional design was employed to examine the association between a set of independent variables, including personal, parental, religious factors, and risky sexual behaviors among a sample of high school students. Primary data were collected …

Administrator Perceptions Of Truancy Support For Rural Elementary Students, Jennifer Lynn Douthit

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This study focused on the support administrators give to truant elementary rural students in a southeastern state using a qualitative approach. Students must be accustomed to attending school daily. Chronic absence in kindergarten foretells low classroom success levels at the end of 5th grade. The problem addressed in this study was that administrators are challenged to support students with a high rate of truancy in rural elementary schools in the southeastern United States. The purpose and research question of this study was to investigate how administrators support truant elementary rural students in a southeastern state. The situational leadership theory was …

Marketing Segmentation Strategies For The Nonprofit Sector, Neffie Gatewood

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many nonprofit leaders lack innovative marketing strategies to secure funding from their target audience. Nonprofit leaders who do not continue to expand on their marketing strategies may fail to secure multiple funding streams, leading to an inability to attain their mission. Grounded in the segmentation, targeting, and positioning theory, this qualitative single case study was conducted to explore the traditional and social media marketing strategies used by nonprofit leaders to secure funding from their target audience. The participants were two senior leaders from a nonprofit organization in the U.S. Midwest region. Data were gathered using semistructured interviews, financial data, organizational …

Attitudes Of State Public Health Laboratory Directors Towards Iso/Iec 17025 Accreditation, Christine Kilonzo

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The impact of ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation in state public health laboratories (SPHLs) is understudied. There is a scarcity of research on SPHLs involving behavioral intent regarding ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation. The theory of planned behavior (TPB) was utilized to evaluate SPHL directors’ attitudes towards and intent to seek or maintain ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation. To test the questions of whether the three constructs of the TPB, attitude, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control are significant predictors of intent to seek or maintain ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation, and whether there are significant differences in these constructs towards the accreditation between SPHL directors based on …

Improving Racial Diversity In The Americorps Saint Louis Emergency Response Team (Ert), Michael Mclemore

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

There is currently a significant lack of racial diversity in the fields of environmental conservation and emergency management. The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify sustainable recommendations to address the lack of racial diversity amongst members of the AmeriCorps Saint Louis Emergency Response Team (ERT). Trend analysis of the racial makeup of past ERT memberships identified a far less diverse ERT in its earlier cohorts, while illustrating improved racial diversity over the past 10 years. As a result of interviews with ERT administrators, alumni, team leaders, and current members recommendations were identified that aim to sustainably increase African …

Annual Report Of The Registrar 2021/2022, University Of Northern Iowa

Institutional Effectiveness & Planning Documents

Contents:

--Definitions
--Some Comparisons
--Annual Report Data
--Summary of Attendance
--Attendance by Session
--Degrees Granted 2021/22
--Degree Summary 2021/22
--Program Certificates 2021/22
--Miscellaneous Enrollment Information
--Degrees Granted by College, Degree and Racial/Ethnic Classification

2021-2022 Graduate Program Survey Report, University Of Northern Iowa. Office Of Institutional Effectiveness & Planning.

Institutional Effectiveness & Planning Documents

Contents:

Graduate College Staff --- 3
Survey Methodology --- 4
Degrees Awarded 2021 - 2022 --- 5
Post-Graduation Activity --- 7
Activity During UNI Experience --- 8
Reasons to Attend UNI --- 9
Academic Experience --- 10
Graduate Education Finance --- 12
IE&P Office Information --- 15