Arts and Humanities Commons^™

The Portrayal Of Grandparents As Caregivers In Young Adult Fiction, Susan Christine Bunch

Graduate Research Papers

The number of children and young adults being raised primarily by their grandparents continues to increase (Landry-Meyer & Newman, 2004). If either the grandchild or grandparent is suddenly thrust into a different family structure it can create challenges. Some young adults turn to the characters in literature as models for how to cope with life challenges (Hughes-Hassell & Rodge, 2007). It was the purpose of this quantitative study to explore physical health, mental and emotional health, and lifestyle and social challenges faced by grandparents and grandchildren when the grandparents are the primary caregivers, and how those challenges are portrayed in …

Playing The Part: An Actress Prepares The Role Of Cathy In The Last Five Years, Katy Slaven

Honors Program Theses

My honors thesis project took the creative/performance-oriented form. I embarked on (in the words of my advisor, Jay Edelnant) a "self-pedagogical case-study centered on role preparation." My task was to prepare the role of Cathy from the musical The Last Five Years using a process I developed based on combining my musical and theatre training with outside resources.

I chose to do this project for my honors thesis for many reasons. First of all, I was always looking for more opportunities to do musical theatre. I have learned that in order to get anything you want in life, and especially …

Evaluation: Writing, Performing, And Producing A Comedy Show To Critically Examine Social Issues, Eva Elizabeth Andersen

Honors Program Theses

Upon completion of my experience in the UNI Honors Program, I wanted to create a thesis project that demonstrated my performance skills gained in communication coursework at UNI, as well as my capability as a writer, director, and producer. For me, a creative project was an obvious choice. I wanted nothing more than to have a tangible, professional piece of work to hand to entertainment industry producers and be able to say, "I created this during my undergraduate career at the University of Northern Iowa."

In order to fulfill these goals, I chose to create a show that was intelligent …

The Impact Drama Has On Enabling International University Students To Assimilate Into The American Culture, Julie Baldwin

Honors Program Theses

We often take for granted how accepted we are by others around us. Without realizing it, we may forget we belong to a larger community connected by the culture of the United States that shapes the way we understand the world. Culture plays an invaluable role in much of how we live. According to Marcelle E. DuPraw and Marya Axne, authors of the article, "Working on Common Cross-Cultural Communication Challenge, "our culture "influences how we approach problems, and how we participate in groups and in communities" by shaping our communication and decision-making styles, attitudes toward conflict and disclosure, and approaches …

Playing Like A Girl: An Analysis Of The Role Of Gender In Trumpet Performance, Leslie Ellen Aboud

Honors Program Theses

The area of classical trumpet performance has been primarily regarded as a masculine profession and many are surprised to be informed of or stumble upon some of the great female trumpeters of our time. Since the gender of trumpet players is seemingly one-sided, it is important to note to what degree, if any, gender impacts this profession. The goal of this research is to use experiences and opinions of prominent female trumpet players to identify the role of gender in classical trumpet performance from the standpoint of musical expression and approaches to performance. In order to carry out these goals, …

Musically Mainstreamed: Mainstreaming In Elementary General Music Classrooms, Kelsey Rae Ternes

Honors Program Theses

Music educators interact with a wide range of students with varying levels of abilities. Numerous research studies outline a variety of teaching models and methods aimed at creating a successful classroom environment for all children, regardless of their capabilities. This survey research investigated current practices in which special education teaching methods pertain to elementary music educators in Iowa and the relationship of these practices to the current research literature. Research participants anonymously responded online regarding the atmosphere of special education in their school and music classroom, the support given to them in regards to mainstreaming efforts, and the strategies that …

A Collection Of Original Music, Hanna Van Hemert

Honors Program Theses

The thesis project, 'A Collection of Original Music', is a creative/performative project comprised of composing, rehearsing, performing, recording, and notating original music. Designed to be completed as a collaboration between two musicians, Kelsey and I worked together during each of the tasks of the project. Consisting of four original pieces for piano/voice, and ukulele/voice, the compositions were performed at a live concert/thesis presentation, recorded at a later date, and transcribed for posterity.

A Need For Picture Books Showing Girls Playing Organized Team Sports, Lisa A. Heiden

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this project was to create a children's picture storybook depicting female characters participating in competitive team athletics. The book shows a young girl learning about the game of basketball and sharing the experience with her older sister. The researcher has a long history of athletic participation and a deep passion for sports. These experiences allowed the researcher to capture the essence of the sport of basketball and create a picture book for children that engages the reader and possibly encourages participation in athletics for children of various ages. The book gives young, athletic girls an early experience …

Steamboat Bill : William J. Peterson: Iowa's River Historian, Nathan J. Gruber

Undergraduate Student Work

A biography of William J. Petersen, a superintendent of the State Historical Society of Iowa.

Fifth Grade Student Learning And Interest In The American Revolution Through Reading Graphic Novels Compared To Reading Biography Or Other Nonfiction Books, Kari Bosma

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this study was to examine student recall of facts, along with enjoyment of reading and interest in the topic when using graphic novels as compared to illustrated nonfiction prose in social studies content area reading. Twenty-two fifth grade students (13 f, 9 m) in a public school in a Midwestern state participated in the study. Half of the students read about the Boston Massacre and Patrick Henry through graphic novels and read about Paul Revere and the Boston Tea Party with illustrated nonfiction texts, with the other half doing the opposite. The mean number of correct ideas …

Hidden Alphabet On The Farm: Can You Find It? : A Research Project, Sandra Greufe

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this research project was to introduce young children to agriculture and provide a new and interesting way of looking at the alphabet. Researching the use of alphabet books to introduce children to agriculture shows that presenting the alphabet in a new and exciting way is beneficial to teaching children the alphabet (Norton, 2007). Studies show the movement of people to urban areas corresponds with decreased knowledge of agriculture ( AFBF A, 2006c). Hidden Alphabet on the Farm: Can You Find It? presents the alphabet to young children in a new and exciting way and teaches children about …

Laughter And Tears: A Qualitative Content Analysis, Apra Loomis

Graduate Research Papers

Young adult literature often focuses on different problems associated with adolescence. Humor may provide a strategy for alleviating the tension associated with such problems in realistic fiction. The purpose of this study was to describe the use of humor in current, positively reviewed young adult literature in dark topics such as depression, death and suicide. Themes that emerged included humor as a coping device, self-defeating humor, and affiliative humor. Humor as a coping device was shown to increase with age as a way to deal with stressful situations in a study by Fuhr (2002). In a study by Erickson & …

Promoting A Desire To Read With Graphic Novels, Alexis Woodward

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this research project was to create a graphic novel to encourage reluctant 4th grade boys to become interested in reading. This research questioned the graphics in graphic novels that appeal to reluctant readers, the type of content that would appeal particularly to boys who lack interest in reading, and the method of balance needed between text and graphics to capture the interest of boys who lack motivation to read. The researcher focused on graphic novels and their use in the classroom, different ways graphic novels can motivate reluctant readers to become interested in reading, the concept of …

Conception And Other Stories: A Collection Of Short Fiction, Samuel Nicholas Edsill

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The following is a collection of short stories I have written or revised over the past two years. These stories explore love, fear, life, death, friendship, hope, uncertainty, the creation and dissolution of families, and the Midwestern Diaspora. They are stories about characters coming to grips with a life that does not meet their expectations.

A Collection Of Original Music, Kelsey Staudacher

Honors Program Theses

No abstract provided.

Religion In The Classroom, Allison Kay Carey

Honors Program Theses

When most people hear that one wants to increase the study of religions in a public high school most think that it will infringe on the constitutional rights of the students, but this is not the case. "Teaching about religion in the schools is often confused with the teaching of religion, or religious advocacy and indoctrination." This quotation describes why the study of religion has been left out, but it is imperative to understand why the study of religion is so important in a 21st century education. Diane L. Moore gave five main reasons why she felt students need to …

Creating Units For Second Grade Learners Of English As A Foreign Language, Laura Elizabeth Messerly

Honors Program Theses

Teaching English as a Foreign Language is becoming more popular as English is in high demand in countries throughout the world because of globalization (Niklov, 2006). The chief difference between English as a Foreign Language (EFL) and English as a Second Language (ESL) is that the language is being learned in a non-English speaking community (.EFL) versus an English speaking community (ESL). These non-English speaking communities are being affected by multinational corporations. As businesses grow and globalize, flourishing across continents, factories and branches are sprouting up in places all over the world. Technology, too, has contributed to the spread of …

The Impact Of Perceived Importance Of An Ethical Situation (Pie) On Ethical Judgment And Intention: Beyond Moral Intensity, Monica Marie Johnston

Honors Program Theses

The importance of ethics to the accounting profession is well established (Turpen and Witmer, 1997; Abdolmohammadi, Read, and Scarbrough, 2003; Guffey and McCartney, 2008). In accounting, a commitment to ethical behavior is regarded as the basis for all other performance standards, (Turpen et al., 1997), and historically most agree that accountants practice honest principles (Leitsch, 2006). However, business headlines such as those related to the collapse of Enron and its auditor, Arthur Andersen, raise concerns about ethical actions of accountants (Abdolmohammadi et al., 2003). Additionally, accountants and auditors have more recently come under fire due to issues related to the …

Paternal Religiosity And Parenting Style: Influence On The Quality Of Daughter's Friendships, Abigail Anne Buenneke

Honors Program Theses

Research shows that parenting styles fall into three basic categories: authoritarian, authoritative, and permissive (Baumrind, 1971). Also, a high amount of parental involvement has been found to exert a positive influence on children’s academic performance and personality development (Heaven & Ciarrochi, 2008). This study examines the hypothesis that a daughter who reports that her father figure only allows her to develop highly regulated friendships will have a more negative perception of her father figure than a girl who is given more freedom in developing friendships. Secondly, the study examines the hypothesis that a daughter who reports highly regulated friendships will …

Primary Source Use In High School History Classrooms: Categories, Frequency, And Assessment, Michaela Goblirsch

Honors Program Theses

Throughout this thesis project, I will research the many various forms of primary sources as well as a variety of assessment styles. By reviewing literature and analyzing results from a survey of high school history teachers, I will discover the manner and scope in which primary sources are used in history classes. Also, I hope to determine which primary sources students respond best to, taking into account their age and gender. Teachers will be able to use this information to construct more engaging and challenging lesson plans featuring primary sources. Knowing which types of primary sources are most effective for …

Race, Colonialism, Gender And The Rwandan Genocide, Jessica Patrice Braccio

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

In 1994 Rwanda erupted in a genocide, which targeted primarily the Tutsi and any of their sympathizers. At the end of the conflict an estimated 800,000 Rwandans were dead and some Hutu offenders still face prosecution today. Proponents of the genocide justified their violence by asserting that the Tutsi had privileged lot in life, compared with the Hutu. These ideas can be seen as a reaction against ideas of Tutsi racial superiority over the Hutu which originated in European, specifically German and Belgian, colonial thought about race and gender. Even though very little is known about Rwanda prior to European …

Women's Labor Force Participation In Spain: An Analysis From Dictatorship To Democracy, Kristi Philips

Honors Program Theses

In Spain, women’s labor force participation has drastically shifted in the decades since Francisco Franco’s dictatorship collapsed. Changes in government policy and evolving social attitudes have affected the treatment of women and their access to economic opportunities. Using The World Bank and OECD labor force statistics for Spain, this study compares Spain’s historical data with that of France, Germany and Portugal. My results suggest that the dictatorship inhibited women’s labor force participation in Spain in contrast to nearby countries over the same period.

Hull Iowa: Yesterday And Today, Lisa Jansma

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this research project was to teach the history of Hull, Iowa through an informational book for the elementary students. The research created a history book of Hull, Iowa that will be used to supplement the upper elementary Iowa History Unit at the Boyden-Hull Elementary School and others in the surrounding area.

The Role Of The Teacher Librarian Engaged In Collaboration With A Classroom Teacher During Implementation Of A Pilot Iowa Core Curriculum Unit, Mary Beth Janssen

Graduate Research Papers

This action research study was a mixed methods investigation of a previously taught Native American unit modified to include Iowa Core Curriculum (ICC) content and 21^st Century Learning standards, planned and implemented via a collaborative effort between a rural school district K-12 teacher librarian (TL) and a 5^th grade classroom social studies teacher. The two research questions being investigated asked what TL-led collaborative looks like during implementation of an ICC unit and who benefits from an ICC unit led by a TL in collaborative with a classroom teacher written interview, field notes of the TL and classroom teacher, …

Importance Of Reader's Advisory Interview In Graphic Novel Promotion, Lori Petersen

Graduate Research Papers

Web sites, magazine articles, books, and even summer library programs are promoting graphic novels as an almost magic cure for those children who struggle with the written word or who may be simply lack interest in reading. Much of the appeal of the graphic novel for teachers and librarians is based on the pictures, and it is easy to assume this makes reading easier.

This research sought to explore the graphic novel reading experiences for young readers to ascertain (1) the nature of their understanding of the graphic novel; (2) their tendency to draw inference and interpretation from text and …

Katelyn's Story: Using Fiction To Combat High School Dropout, Cecilia La France

Graduate Research Papers

High school dropout continues to be a problem for schools, communities, and the individuals who leave an academic high school program. High school dropouts suffer in greater health problems, economic struggles, and legal issues than those who complete a high school program. Despite the persistence of the high school problem in American culture, young adult literature doesn't keep pace in representation of the subject. Additionally, among the limited number of books addressing the topic of high school dropout, female protagonists lack representation reflecting their percentage of the dropout rates.

Young adult literature provides readers a learning and reflection opportunity in …

Creating Salsa, Claiming Salsa: Identity, Location, And Authenticity In Global Popular Music, William Guthrie Legrand

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Although Latin American ethnomusicological scholarship in the last twenty years has addressed much of the Caribbean, particularly Cuba, the popular genre salsa has often been treated as a side project of scholars with other specialties. Much of previous Latin American scholarship has favored nation-based, particularly folkloric, genres, while current trends have largely moved toward either re-engaging nation-based scholarship within postmodern critical contexts or addressing reggaeton as part of the scholarly fascination with global hip-hop culture. Salsa, which has always been created, contested, and claimed. through transnational/global routes, has therefore often been marginalized through its continued association with Latin American musical …

Graduate Recital, Jazz Pedagogy, Jenna Hardy

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The Jazz Pedagogy Master's degree requires students to develop their skills in improvisation, arranging, composition, pedagogy and general rhythm section instrumental performance. Certain aspects of this degree are to be presented in the form of a graduate recital with an accompanying abstract. The first half of my recital and abstract will focus on my work with learning the piano, bass guitar and drum set. The second half pertains to my primary instrument, the vibraphone, and how it can be showcased in a variety of ensemble settings. Each piece is described according to its historical context, arrangement or compositional techniques and …

Locating Henry In The “Un-”: Proto-Postmodern Negation Of Character, Allusion, Narrative And Structure In John Berryman’S The Dream Songs, Joseph Russell Hendryx

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

John Berryman's The Dream Songs encompasses an extensive and complex negation of characterization and structure, offering a method of interpretation that focuses on the negations and the absences expressed in and presented by the song cycle. Through his nonlinear account of his life and through the historical and literary allusions he uses to express himself, Henry obscures any effort for readers to discover a stable, absolute identity. Like Henry himself, his unnamed companion unsuccessfully fulfills a variety of roles that critics have attempted to prescribe for him; he fails to perform any notable thematic or structural purpose for the poem, …

Student Chamber Music Concert, December 1, 2009 [Program], University Of Northern Iowa. School Of Music.

Music Recital Programs

Program of a music recital given by faculty, students, or guest artists from the School of Music at the University of Northern Iowa.