Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Evaluation Of Library Media Specialists In Iowa Schools, Bonnie Rawding

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this study was to determine the criteria and procedures used in the evaluation of library media specialists in Iowa. Of particular concern was the inclusion of the roles and responsibilities of library media specialists as established in "Information Power" in evaluation instruments. The sample of 100 library media specialists was asked to fill in a questionnaire and return a blank copy of their evaluation instrument. The return rate was 70%.

Seventy-seven percent of library media specialists in the sample are evaluated as teachers. Sixty-nine percent of the 13 library media specialist evaluation instruments contained 50% or more …

The Portrayal Of Iowa In Fiction Books For Children And Youth, Jeanette Gerrietts

Graduate Research Papers

This research study examined the content of books read by children and youth in grades three through twelve to determine how Iowa is portrayed in books published in the period from 1980 to the present. Questions studied were:

1. What characteristics of Iowa are found most frequently in fiction books for children and youth?

2. How accurate are these portrayals in reflecting the actual 3 characteristics of the state as reported in the 1980 and 1990 census?

The Relationship Between Precompetition State Anxiety And Self-Efficacy Among Female Soccer Athletes, Pamela J. Schurott

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between self-efficacy and precompetition state anxiety (A-state) in female soccer athletes. University of Colorado and University of Northern Iowa female soccer players (n = 17, n = 13, respectively) served as subjects in the study. Subjects responded to three questionnaires prior to a midseason soccer game. A subject information questionnaire requested personal and background information. The Competitive State Anxiety Inventory-2 (CSAI2) measured cognitive A-state, somatic A-state, and self-confidence. Finally, the Soccer Self-Efficacy Scale (SSES) measured the self-efficacy of each subject regarding her specific soccer skills. UNI subjects also responded to …

Culture And Cognition: The African American Thinker In The Classroom, Steve K. Hunt

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

In recent years, the importance of recognizing the unique characteristics of different cultures has drawn increased attention. In fact, many scholars have suggested that educators must be especially concerned with understanding the implications of cultural diversity in the classroom. Specifically, educators are becoming increasingly aware that different cultural groups may utilize different cognitive styles in the classroom. The purpose, of this study was to identify the cognitive styles utilized by African American students in the classroom. The participants in this study were students of a large urban high school in an Iowa community of approximately 95,000. The 43 students who …

Participation Motivation: Stable Vs. Transient Youth Populations, Christopher Berne Denison

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of this study was to investigate differences in participation motivation factors influencing transient youth populations and stable youth populations in baseball programs. It was also the intent of the study to investigate the difference in participation motivational factors between ages 10, 11, and 12. A participation motivation questionnaire consisting of 31 questions was distributed to children living in a transient youth population (n = 32) located in Tokyo, Japan and a stable youth population (n = 64) located in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Mean scores were calculated for the 31 participation motivation factors by type of environment and age …

Responsibilities Of Worksite Health Promotion Directors, Anne Bernice Mcgown Patneaude

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of this study was to identify the areas of responsibility that were perceived by worksite health promotion directors as most important to the success of their organization's health promotion program. A survey instrument was designed and mailed to 111 health promotion directors in the state of Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin that were 1992 members of the Association of Fitness in Business (AFB). Subjects were asked to rate the importance that 27 responsibilities associated with four areas of competence receive within their organization. The results are based on the responses of 23 (20.72%) of these directors. Females represented 7 …

Differences In Attributions Between College-Age Female Recreational Players And Scholarship Athletes, Leanne Rae Wagner

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of skill level on the attributions made by recreational players and scholarship athletes. The subjects consisted of volunteers from the general population of St. Ambrose University (n = 11) and the University of Northern Iowa intercollegiate volleyball team (n = 12). The subjects were asked to perform two individual skill tests. The scores from the skill tests were recorded but not used in the analysis. Performance feedback was manipulated to create a ·perception of success in one skill test and failure in the second skill test. After completing each of …

A Descriptive Study Of Delinquent Youth Treatment Programs In Iowa, Patrick J. Henry

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of this study was to identify the specific areas of focus in juvenile delinquent treatment programs in Iowa. Also, this study identified the characteristics of the directors of these programs and profiled the youth currently in treatment. The design of the study was a non-experimental descriptive study. A self-administered questionnaire was sent to 69 program directors randomly selected from youth treatment programs in Iowa. Forty-one questionnaires were returned providing a 59% response rate. Twenty-seven (65.8%) of the responding directors were female and 97.5% were Caucasian. The mean age of all responding directors (n = 41) was 39.71. Thirty …

Examining The Existence Of Burnout In Municipal Leisure Service Organizations In The State Of Iowa, Ronald D. Ramsing

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The term burnout was developed to describe a phenomenon modern work forces were experiencing. Organizations were facing high rates of absenteeism, low productivity, low quality, and reduced economic gains because of this phenomenon. In the later stages of burnout, employees were facing increased levels of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and a sense of diminished accomplishment in their jobs. Although large amounts of research have been conducted in professions such as nursing, teaching, and social work, very little exploration of burnout has occured [sic] in municipal leisure service organizations. The purpose of this study was to explore the existence of burnout within …

Aids Knowledge And Homophobia In Community Active Elderly, Lydia Heyel Adams

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of this study was to identify the level of AIDS knowledge and presence of homophobia among a group of community active elderly in the Cedar Falls-Waterloo area. Demographic factors including gender, age, education level, annual income, religious faith, level of religious activity, personal knowledge of a person who is gay, personal knowledge of a person with HIV/AIDS, history of a blood transfusion, and history of HIV testing were also assessed to determine if they had a statistically significant effect on AIDS knowledge and homophobia. The relationship between AIDS knowledge and homophobia was also examined to determine if they …

China’S Military Modernization: Implications And Prospects For The Future, Sarah J. Diel-Hunt

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of this research was to address the contradiction between China's statements that indicate that it now feels more secure, given the changes in the international environment in the post-Cold War era, and China's efforts to rapidly modernize the People's Liberation Army. This purpose emerged after reviewing the statements from Chinese leadership on China's security perceptions in the post-Cold War era and examining the recent trends toward increased military budgets and modernization of the Air Force and the Navy. In order to understand and analyze the contradiction, an in-depth discussion of China's security perceptions, or the motivations behind the …

The Effectiveness Of Discis Books When Used To Improve Reading Scores Of Kinesthetic, Below Grade-Level Learners, Michelle Bentler

Graduate Research Papers

A reading comprehension study using Discis Books and below grade level sixth grade readers at Harmony Middle School, Farmington, Iowa, testing positive as kinesthetic learners, was carried out in a nine week time period. The study's participants completed a learning styles inventory and a comprehension reading inventory. Students were then randomly divided into experimental and control groups. The control group participated in classroom instruction and independent silent reading. The experimental group participated in classroom instruction and computer­ assisted instruction. A post comprehension inventory was administered.

Data were collected to determine if kinesthetic learners improved reading comprehension through the use of …

The Effects Of Booktalking Upon The Circulation Of Undercirculating Children’S Fiction, Janis Reisetter

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of booktalks in order to increase circulation of quality fiction books that had circulated one time or not at all from the Dunkerton, Iowa, Elementary School Library from August, 1993, to the end of February, 1994. The fifteen titles to be booktalked met specific controls and were required to be included in one of four recommended bibliographies of children's literature.

The hypothesis of this study predicted that 50% of the titles would circulate immediately upon being presented to the fifth grade students, and that the majority of the titles would …

Race And The Selection Of Picture Books, Susan Schmitt

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of the study was to investigate preference among kindergarten and second grade children's selection of picture books. The study was conducted with a bi-racial student population of kindergarten and second grade students. The students were given free choice selection of white character books and black character books. Results indicated a difference between kindergarten and second grade students. Kindergarten children significantly preferred books of like-race characters. In second grade, there was no significant difference in the preference of books. The combined data of kindergarten and second grade showed a significant difference in the preference of books.

A Cross-Cultural Anthology Of Mythological Flood Stories, Gayle R. Kelley

Graduate Research Papers

This project is a literary production of mythological flood stories to help children better understand cultural diversity. Candidate stories for this project were reviewed through the application of several sets of filtering criteria developed by the author and based on tests described in the literature, to determine which stories would be used. The accompanying document includes nine stories from six continents, as rewritten by the project author. With each mythological flood story is a short narrative describing the background of the story, its cultural roots, or anything else that would bring life and interest to the retelling. This anthology will …

The Relationship Between Parental Involvement And Adolescents’ Alcohol Use, Chad A. Jensen

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of this study was to determine if there was a significant effect between adolescent alcohol use and parental involvement. The sample consisted of 354 students who were enrolled in a northwest Iowa school. All students were involved in physical education classes. The Adolescent Alcohol Involvement Scale by John Mayer and William J. Filstead was used to measure alcohol usage among students. A questionnaire designed by the researcher entitled Parental Involvement Scale was constructed to ascertain parental involvement in an adolescent's life. Responses show that there was a considerable amount of alcohol usage in this school system. Two hundred …

A Descriptive Study Identifying Job Satisfaction, Tenure, And Professional Identification Among Nonschool Youth Professionals, Susan L. Hanzelka

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

A movement to professionalize the field of non-school youth development is stymied by low salaries and even lower educational standards (Howard, 1993b). This movement is suffering due to a lack of professional preparation of its employees, and to the temporary nature of the work. These conditions have a direct effect on job satisfaction and employee tenure. The purpose of this study was to describe selected elements which positively and negatively impact job satisfaction, length of tenure, and professional identification of professionals working with and for youth in selected non-school community-based programs. Those surveyed in this non-experimental descriptive study were college-degreed …

Use Of The Experiential Learning Model With Adolescent County 4-H Council Members, Vanette M. Grover

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Experiential learning can be traced to centuries ago, but actual models were not developed until the 1970s and beyond. The Iowa 4-H and Youth program, which is part of the Extension Service United States Department of Agriculture, has had experiential learning as its foundation since its inception early in the 20th century. Yet even 4-H, with it's well-known "learn-by-doing" philosophy, did not have a specific process with which to model learning experiences until 1992. This study examined the effectiveness of a cooperative training session which utilized the experiential learning model given to high school age leaders of the Northeast Iowa …

Parental Involvement: Home-School-Community Relationship From The Urban Minority Perspective, Richard Wheeler

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The purpose of this study was to describe attitudes of minority parents who have children in primary and secondary schools in New Orleans. This study was conducted to examine how parents believed they were perceived by teachers and school administrators of the New Orleans school system. The subjects selected were 130 Afrikan-American parents of children in grades K-12. The sample population was selected based on the random intercept method. This survey method lets the researcher select adults walking in the general area randomly {by choice). This survey was conducted in the New Orleans central Business/Medical district. The adults walking in …

Benefits Of Formal Mentoring, Kimberly Hein Hutzell

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

The development of capable and result-oriented employees is of critical necessity in the business world. During a period of cutbacks and mergers, as well as demanding work schedules and skill qualifications, corporations must identify methods of support and training which not only maintain, but increase and maximize production levels of employees. One method to address these conditions is formal mentoring. Formal mentoring is a deliberate job training partnership which seeks to increase employee performance as well as improve an organization's competitiveness. While this form of experiential learning has a history in the education sector, it has been introduced and implemented …

Silky Ears And Secret Letters, Denise Larae Kuethe-Strudthoff

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this graduate project was for the writer to finish Silky Ears and Secret Letters, a chapter book for readers in grades three through seven. The main character in the story is Marcie Hargate, a sixth grader who does not fit in with her peers and who endures her classmates' taunting. Marcie's only friend is her basset hound, Rutherford. Rutherford is Marcie's confidante; and when she starts to receive letters signed by "Ghost Girl," the basset hound is the first to know. The letters from Ghost Girl worry Marcie because Ghost Girl often suggests in her letters that …

Computer-Based Technology In Aea 7 Schools, 1994, Julie Heitland

Graduate Research Papers

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which school library media centers in one Area Education Agency region (AEA 7) in northeast Iowa are selecting, funding, and making available the new computer-based technologies. A confidential questionnaire was sent to 110 public and non-public schools in May, 1994. Media specialists in 77 schools responded. The results of the survey showed that a) the top-ranked determinant used in selecting computer-based technology was curriculum need, b) the top-ranked source of funding for the purchase of new technology was the local school budget, c) the most widely available computer-based technology …

The Current Staffing Status Of Library Media Center Personnel In Iowa Public Schools, Roberta Dennison

Graduate Research Papers

The issue of staffing school library media centers in Iowa public schools is the focus of this study. A survey instrument requesting data about the numbers of attendance centers at various grade levels, average enrollment, certificated staff and noncertificated support staff, adult volunteers and shared certificated personnel was sent to superintendents in all public school districts in the state of Iowa. Data from respondents were analyzed to determine how staffing in Iowa school library media centers compared to current staffing guidelines as outlined in Plan for Progress PK-12. a 1992 document published by the Iowa Department of Education, and the …

Personal Values In Advertisements Found In Magazines Read By Teenagers In Southeast Iowa, Joni S. Erland

Graduate Research Papers

This study analyzes the types of personal values represented in advertisements contained in magazines read by teenagers. A survey of Southeast Iowa high school media specialists was conducted to identify popular magazines read by students in grades nine through twelve. The five magazines named most frequently in the survey results, Seventeen , People . Teen . Hot Rod and Sports Illustrated, were used to collect data. The researcher analyzed the advertisements contained in January May and September issues to off-set cyclical fluctuations in advertising. Using a list of sixteen personal values, each advertisement was categorized according to its primary value …

Reunion Ii Let The Fun And Games Begin [Flier], University Of Northern Iowa. Gender & Sexuality Services, Uni Proud.

UNI Proud Documents

A flier promoting 1993 Reunion II games event.

Political Science Today, Spring 1993, University Of Northern Iowa. Department Of Political Science.

Political Science Newsletter

Contents:

--- From Head's Desk
--- Notable Notes
--- Other News
--- Guest Lecturer from Lithuania
--- Political Science Department Networks Internationally
--- Three Hurrahs for Political Science Alumnus Paul F. Kilmer
--- Political Science Majors Win
--- Students Attend Inauguration
--- Symposium in Washington D.C.
--- A Major Learns Law through Co-op Program
--- Tim Powers Writes about: Internship Program
--- Scholarship, Awards and Honors
--- Graduate Program
--- Former Student Mentors Political Science Pre-Law Students
--- Faculty News
--- Adjunct Faculty
--- Curriculum Changes
--- Russian Students from St. Petersburg Learn about America
--- Ten Years of Political …

Front Matter

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

No abstract provided.

Cover - Table Of Contents

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

No abstract provided.

Editorial Board & Iowa Academy Of Science Officers And Directors

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

No abstract provided.

Back Cover

Journal of the Iowa Academy of Science: JIAS

No abstract provided.