Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Racial Socialization: Relationship Between Black Identity, Perceptions Of Discrimination, And Academic Outcomes, Levar Ammons

Scholar Week 2016 - present

Racial tension in the academic environment has been prevalent in American society since Brown v. The Board of Education. Racial socialization serves as a practice utilized by Black American parents to provide their children with a cultural orientation as to what it means to be Black in America. Educators’ ability to create and maintain meaningful relationships across cultural differences impacts students’ perceptions on how they are being treated. Because perceived discrimination is associated with depressive symptomatology, it is critical to understand how Black American adolescents make racial meaning of themselves, particularly in the learning environment. The researcher utilized a …

Shots Fired: Examining Cues In Polic Use Of Force Encounters, Ronald Gaines Jr.

Scholar Week 2016 - present

Officer-involved shootings lead to a costly process where lives are lost, careers are ruined, and taxpayer dollars are spent on investigation and litigation costs. The purpose of this study was to examine the cues that are associated with incidents that resulted in a police officer’s use of lethal as opposed to less than lethal force to increase awareness, enhance police safety, and improve training and supervision. Through the current quantitative correlational study, the researcher aimed to add to the discussion on police use of force. The researcher collected and analyzed preexisting sets of data from tactical response reports obtained through …

A Descriptive Study Investigating Accounting Students' Job Selection Preferences, Richard Wesley

Scholar Week 2016 - present

Many accounting students are selecting accounting audit firms without exhausting a thorough research about the firms or getting an idea of the firms’ expectation. Moreover, accounting firms are hiring students without getting a clear understanding of the students’ job selection preference. As a result, both the students and employers are finding a cultural mismatch. Often employers and students have different perspectives about the nature of the professional skills that are required for a successful accounting career. Once hired, many students soon leave because they become disillusioned with job-related realities. The value of this research adds to the body of research …

An Analysis Of Underrepresented Minorities' Exposure To Allied Health Fields, Loshay Willis

Scholar Week 2016 - present

Despite a more diverse U.S. population, racial and ethnic minorities are underrepresented in the U.S. healthcare professions. Further, increasing the enrollment of Underrepresented Minority (URM) students in health professions is a challenging and urgent issue. The literature had not explored a comparison of racial and ethnic groups’ exposure to allied health professions. This current study investigated URM and non-URMs’ exposure to and knowledge of allied health fields; in order to determine, whether some of the groups are getting exposed differentially to different methods, and to identify the resources necessary to expose and provide knowledge of allied health professions to recruit …

Attracting Millennials: An Examination Of Millennial Participation In Assembly Of God Churches, Kenneth Hansen

Scholar Week 2016 - present

The greatest decline in church attendance of any age group has occurred among Millennials, which are individuals born between 1980 and the early 2000s. This decline in Millennial church attendance has created great concern among church leaders about the future of the church. Church leaders have struggled to understand Millennials, which has led to an inability to attract and maintain Millennial participation in the church. The purpose of this study was to determine what, if any, characteristics caused Millennials to be attracted to certain Assembly of God churches in Illinois and not others. The population for the current study was …

Examining Police Officer Resistance To Change And Body-Worn Cameras, Wayne Jakobitz Jr.

Scholar Week 2016 - present

Police departments are adopting the body-worn camera as an important tool in the restoration of trust and accountability for police officers. Although body-worn cameras can be beneficial to their work, police officers might resist the use of cameras. The purpose of the current study was to examine whether experiences with technology or the perceived usefulness of body-worn cameras predict resistance to the cameras in order to determine where resistance to body-worn cameras possibly exists. The current study employed a quantitative design that examined 48 (n = 48) police officers’ responses about resistance to body-worn cameras in relationship to the …

Spirituality: Relationship Between Grit, Equanimity, Spiritual Qualities And First-Generation College Students, Janett Cordoves

Scholar Week 2016 - present

This study investigated the relationship between spirituality and first-generation, undergraduate and graduate college students’ grit, equanimity, and spiritual qualities. The researcher, a higher education professional, sought to highlight spirituality, not religion, as an intervention method for first-generation college students’ retention and success at the university. The results indicated a significant relationship between first-generation college students’ level of grit and equanimity as well as a direct relationship between grit and spiritual qualities. These results help inform educators and highlight that first-generation college students are both resilient as well as calm and centered in the midst of adversity and uncertainty. Participants’ narratives …

East African Perspectives Of Family And Community, And How They Can Inform Western Ecclesiology, Ben Strait

Scholar Week 2016 - present

Research into the daily lives of East Africans is either outdated or too narrowly focused. This presentation is the result of field research done in East Africa, especially focusing on how East Africans view and practice family and community living. It answers the questions of: What is "family" to an East African? What does community living look like in East Africa? And how can Westerners apply these intercultural ideas in practical ways?

Evaluation And Revision Of Bsri Trait Selection, Valerie Seehafer

Scholar Week 2016 - present

The Bem Sex-Role Inventory (BSRI) is a tool created by Sandra Bem in the 1970’s aimed at measuring individual’s androgyny. Critiques concerning the theoretical and methodological framework suggest that it may be in need of an update. The purpose of my research was to determine if and what adjustments were needed for the BSRI. An adjusted version of the short form of the BSRI was distributed to undergraduate students on a small Christian university campus in the Midwest. Respondents rated traits from the BSRI in regards to social desirability, personal desirability, and gendered connotation. The results exhibited that three traits, …

Stigma As A Predictor Of Parental Willingness To Seek Mental Health Services For Their Children In Rural America, Reed M. Smith

Scholar Week 2016 - present

Background

Stigma exists in some capacity towards mental illness. This stigma is a barrier to mental health services for some people. Rural populations are known to have more stigma than their urban counterparts. This can be partly attributed to the rural value system and the lack anonymity in the tight-knit communities. This is on top of already lacking access to mental health services. This especially affects children. A 2015 study on low-income, urban, African-Americans found self-stigma as a predictor of help seeking. The first study focusing on parental stigma of seeking mental health services for their children in rural America …

The Relationship Between Musicianship, Academic Motivation, Academic Achievement, And Self-Esteem, Ellie Krumsieg

Scholar Week 2016 - present

Background

Past research indicates that music education has a positive influence on academic achievement and self-esteem. Intrinsic motivation is an accepted predictor of high academic achievement, and research suggests that students involved in music are intrinsically motivated. One study showed that undergraduate musicians possessed high levels of academic intrinsic motivation. This study attempts to explore the motivation, academic achievement, and self-esteem of collegiate musicians as compared to collegiate non-musicians.

Methods and Procedures

A survey link was emailed to all undergraduate students at a small, Christian university in the Midwest. Participants answered questions pertaining to their music involvement prompting for music …