Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Influences Of Instructionally Planned Experiential Learning Strategies On Student Perceptions Of Learning, Katherine L. Friesen

Professional Projects

Research in leadership and education reveals consensus among educators that leadership can be taught. Educators are exploring how leadership should be taught believing that students learn best from personal experiences. Experiential learning provides an instructional framework for student centered learning grounded in student experiences and course content. The purpose of the study is to qualitatively assess the degree to which experiential learning in undergraduate leadership courses, facilitated by faculty planning, influences the perception of student learning. Using a phenomenological research method, one interview with the instructor of an undergraduate leadership course at a private, Midwestern four-year university was conducted about …

Social Media Marketing: How Social Media Has Impacted The Gender Differences That Exist Amongst Sports Fans, And Its Effect Of Marketers, Timothy French

Professional Projects

This professional research study accessed the current relationship between season ticket holders of Marquette University men’s college basketball team and usage of social media. A survey was created based on a modification of the Sport Spectator Identification Scale (or SSIS) as well as the Sport Fandom Questionnaire (or SFQ), and included specific questions related to the individual’s demographics, social media usage, and experience attending collegiate basketball games. Despite the fact that females are continuing to have an increasing presence in the vast world of sports, marketers and organizations continue to place a strong focus on the needs, interests, and desires …

Rural Catholic Schools: Can They Be Saved?, Chad Abler

Professional Projects

This research project examined the numerous factors affecting rural Catholic grade schools in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and their ability to remain a viable educational option for families of rural communities in Southeastern Wisconsin. The literature review provides the history of Catholic education in the United States and details how changing demographics over the past 40 to 50 years within the Catholic population provides significant challenges for this educational model to continue in any geographic setting--inner city, urban, suburban, or rural. The use of interviews assisted with gathering qualitative data to understand the challenges facing the four rural Catholic …

Seeking Care: Mindfulness, Reflexive Struggle, And Puffy Selves In Bullying, Keith Berry

Communication Faculty Publications

What does it mean to become ourselves, to experience who we and others understand us to be? What might the process look like for younger selves who are immersed in the looming problem of bullying, and what is at stake regarding how we respond to its complex storyline? How can we engage ethnographic research that studies ourselves and others in ways that are also more caring than harmful for all persons involved? As senseless bullying continues, I seek meaningful answers to questions of becoming and identities within these intricate relational spaces. Yet as I perform this seeking, the search becomes …

Natural Resources A Curse Or A Blessing: Evidence From Williston, Nd, Alissa Melberg

Undergraduate Research Symposium 2013

The aim of this study was to test the implications of natural resource abundance for regional economic development for Williston, ND. Williston emerged as a natural choice for this study due to the recent crude oil production boom experienced by it post 2007. The implications of natural resource abundance on regional development are rather mixed in literature. While one strand of literature believes that natural resource industries often create forward linkages which supplement regional development, the other strand believes that it impedes regional development by diverting local resources. The prime objective of this study is to test these two strands …

Maladaptive Behaviors Within The Context Of Play, Elizabeth L. Schroeder

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Play-based assessment is an observational technique used to evaluate young children's development. The Play Assessment/Intervention System (PLAIS) is one of the most widely researched play-based assessment models and assesses domains such as exploratory play, simple pretend play, complex pretend play, and non-play. One of the criticisms of early childhood assessments and screening instruments is they neglect to evaluate the social and emotional development of young children. The PLAIS codes for aggressive behavior, but not within the context of play. Given that aggression is typical among young children, this study created an observational supplement to the PLAIS that allows observers to …

Tattoos And Sexual Attraction, Daniel J. Delaney

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This study examines the affect tattoos play on sexual attraction. Due to many health risks which accompany the tattooing process, those who get tattoos without having any negative health effects would thus have healthier immune systems. Over thousands of years of tattooing and sexual mating, humans may have evolved to prefer mates with tattoos due to the fact that body modification signals biological quality. Unique from other research which links sexual attraction and body modification, this study had undergraduate participants rate a series of photos of individuals who did and did not display a tattoo. While we hypothesized that participants …

Slavery Is Bad For Business: Analyzing The Impact Of Slavery On National Economies, Monti Narayan Datta, Kevin Bales

Political Science Faculty Publications

This article, using a novel dataset, demonstrates that slavery is empirically bad for business. Building upon the work of Robert Smith, the authors analysis examines the relationship between the prevalence of slavery in a country (in terms of the proportion of the population enslaved) and several economic measures (the United Nations Human Development Index, growth domestic product in terms of purchasing power parity, access to financial services, and the Gini coefficient). In each instance, controlling for alternative explanations, greater levels of slavery are associated with a decline in economic growth and human development. The findings imply that beyond the morality …

Neither Slavery Nor Involuntary Servitude, Monti Narayan Datta

Political Science Faculty Publications

The sex trade grabs headlines, but modern-day slavery takes many forms across the globe, spreading like a cancer in the 21st century. Scholars estimate that there are as many as 27 million slaves today; the majority are not in forced prostitution, but instead in other heinous forms of exploitation (though rape and/or other forms of torture are often tools of coercion).

Slavery permeates northern India, where children, to help pay off their family's exorbitantly high debts to corrupt local businessmen, hunch over in the dark for hours at a stretch as they weave carpets on looms until their small, delicate …

Because I Said So: Constructing Identities In Argentina's Dirty War, Danielle N. Olean

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

Justice Across The Hemispheres: The Effect Of The Pinochet Arrest On Domestic Courts In Chile And Spain, Audrey A. Hansen

Honors Theses and Capstones

This study examines whether the 1998 arrest, by order of a Spanish judge, of former Chilean President Augusto Pinochet in London for crimes of genocide and terrorism impacted the attitude of Chilean and Spanish courts toward prosecuting their own country’s human rights violations. It argues that after 1998 Chile’s judiciary increased prosecutions against former regime officials, while the Spanish judiciary upheld Spain’s 1977 Amnesty Law and declined to participate in the national discourse on the country’s past human rights violations. This research includes a comparative case study of Chile and Spain, their recent histories, their judiciaries’ attitudes towards prosecution of …

What Are The Relations Among Stress Perception, Health Perception And Activity Participation In School-Aged Children?, Allison Caplin

Honors Theses and Capstones

This correlational study examined possible relations among children’s activity patterns, perceived stress, and perceived health. A variety of self-report questionnaires were administered to a sample of 33 school age children. The Pediatric Activity Sort (PACS) was used to measure activity participation, a health questionnaire was used to assess health, and the Childhood Stress Questionnaire (CSQ) was used to measure perceived stress. Correlations showed no significant relationships between stress level and the amount of reported activity participation. The absence of significant relationships may be due to testing a sample of middle to upper class, Caucasian children, as there was a skewed …

Perception Of Disease Risk And Vulnerability As A Function Of Proximity To National Park Boundaries In East Africa, Irene Bridget Feretti

Honors Theses and Capstones

Studies suggest households closest to parks and protected areas (PAs) are more likely to sustain park-related losses, but the relationship between human sickness and PAs has not been fully explored. Existing literature primarily focuses on human-wildlife conflicts (i.e. crop raiding) and the potential for zoonotic disease spillover and emergence at the human-livestock-wildlife interface at PA boundaries. Understanding local perceptions of disease risk and vulnerability is essential for assessing human health relative to conservation areas. This understanding will promote better-informed consideration of human health impacts in decision making for conservation. Data from surveys taken at 301 households around Kibale National Park …

The Stage Stop Inn: A Case Study On The Impact Of Small Hotels On Communities, Christine Oschell

Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research Publications

The purpose of this study was to understand more about the impact of the Stage Stop Inn on the community of Choteau. Specifically, the objectives were to learn more about the characteristics of overnight guests to the Stage Stop Inn, to determine reasons why people chose to stay at the Stage Stop Inn, and to determine the spending patterns of overnight guests to the Stage Stop Inn in the community of Choteau.

Waiting For Weighted Navigation, David Stern

Faculty and Staff Publications – Milner Library

The article looks at the potential technical navigation changes that will improve web search experience based on U.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information data. The data stated that experienced searchers used methods that improve searching of online entries through refining results according to known quality journals, famous key authors, and major institutions. OSTI applied Google Analytics to evaluate access statistics for its resources from primary libraries.

Newsletter Catholic Deaf Of Detroit, April 2013

Newsletter Catholic Deaf of Detroit

A newsletter published for Deaf Catholics in Detroit, MI

Newsletter Catholic Deaf of Detroit Finding Aid

Exploring Relationships Between Global, National And Local Actors: A Case Study Approach To Ingos In Post-Reform Vietnam, Alyssa L. Bosold

Student Publications

In 1986, the Vietnamese government undertook a series of reforms known as doi moi. These reforms were mainly economic adjustments that encouraged globalization through capitalism, international trade, and foreign investment. They restructured Vietnam’s economy from a centrally-planned system to a market economy with a socialist orientation. This study focuses on the political and cultural aspects of globalization after doi moi, and analyzes the development of international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) in Vietnam. Specifically, it seeks to address the following research question: How has the INGO sector changed with increasing globalization in Vietnam after the 1986 doi moi reforms, and what are …

Doing Digital Preservation At Gvsu, Max Eckard

Presentations

Max Eckard, Metadata & Digital Curation Librarian at Grand Valley State University will provide a case study demonstrating how his institution manages digital preservation. Topics will include workflow, working with various media types, incorporating OAIS, and the various tools they use.

Rev Up Your Résumé: Determining Factors In The Race For An Academic Library Position, Ashley Rosener, Lindy Scripps-Hoekstra, Max Eckard

Presentations

Like Indianapolis 500 drivers preparing for the race, LIS students today are gearing up for a job search in a tight market. We are examining how certain choices impact a graduate’s success in the job market. Our survey of recent graduates determines the extent to which program rankings, coursework, activities, and internships provide a competitive edge in the academic library job market.

Mapping Standards To Content: Creating Research Guides Using Acrl’S Psychology Information Literacy Standards, Annie Armstrong, Kimberly D. Pendell

Library Faculty and Staff Publications and Presentations

Although librarians have embraced online research guides (typically SpringShare’s LibGuides) as a mechanism for informing students of key resources across the disciplines, to what degree have they leveraged the full potential of these guides for delivering and supporting instruction? Guided by disciplinary information literacy standards, how could librarians create more instructionally robust guides which both promote and support the development of disciplinary research competencies?

Montana Nonresident Traveler Expenditure Profiles: Quarter 4, 2012, Kara Grau

Institute for Tourism and Recreation Research Publications

This report examines spending profiles of nonresident travelers to Montana. It displays the average daily expenditures by purpose of trip for different spending categories during the fourth quarter of 2012.

Parenting Styles And Self-Esteem, Lucy C. Driscoll

Scripps Senior Theses

Data from 183 participants were collected through an online survey focusing on the relationship between parenting styles and self-esteem across a specific age range. Parenting styles were assessed using a four-factor model while self-esteem was evaluated using two different scales. Multiple analyses were completed to find that self-esteem changed across the age range, and across parenting styles. The study looks at the ways in which these two variables changed. Implications, limitations and future research opportunities are discussed.

The Grand Paris Express: An Analysis Of Social And Political Trends Towards Mass Transit Planning In The Île-De-France Region, Charlotte M. Leasia

Scripps Senior Theses

This thesis examines the Grand Paris Express project currently underway in the Île-de-France. The basis of this project is a series of new and renovated railway lines to connect and span across the entirety of the region. They are being planned with the hopes to improve urbanization for the outlying suburbs. The Île-de-France is the wealthiest region in France, but it has high economic inequality between its departments. One hard hit area is Seine-St-Denis. This is the area I will be focusing primarily on. Department number 93, its urban landscape holds histories of rioting, unemployment, and large immigrant populations. In …

How Do We Know Occupational Labor Shortages Exist?, Burt S. Barnow, John Trutko, Jaclyn Schede Piatak

Employment Research Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Revolutionary Betrayal: The Fall Of King George Iii In The Experience Of Politicians, Planters, And Preachers, Benjamin J. Barlowe

Masters Theses

When describing the imperial crisis of 1763-1776 between the British government and the American colonists, historians often refer to Great Britain as a united entity unto itself, a single character in the imperial conflict. While this offers rhetorical benefits, it oversimplifies the complex constitutional relationship between the American periphery and the British center. Instead, the path to independence is a story of how Americans rejected the authority of each part of the central British government in turn. Americans drew a clear distinction between protesting the authority of the British Parliament and that of King George III himself. Rather than recalling …

Using Self-Regulated Strategy Development With At-Risk Writers With Asperger Syndrome, Lindsay M. Booker

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of implementing the Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) model of instruction (Graham & Harris, 2005; Harris & Graham, 1996) with a population of middle school students with Asperger syndrome (AS). A multiple-baseline design across participants was used to examine the effectiveness of the SRSD instructional intervention on writing skills and self-regulation, attitudes, self-efficacy, and social validity. Each participant was taught SRSD story writing strategies, and wrote stories in response to story prompts during the baseline, instruction, post-instruction, and maintenance phases. Stories were assessed for writing quantity (TWW), writing quality (%CWS), and …

Do Students Understand What Researchers Mean By Bullying?, Kristin E. Bieber

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The definition of bullying most often used by researchers incorporates three key elements: repetition, intent to harm, and a power imbalance (Olweus, 2010). Past studies have found that students may not understand how this definition of bullying is different from general peer aggression, and that they may report their involvement in instances of aggression that occur only once, or happen among individuals of equal power, when they are asked about their involvement in bullying (Monks & Smith, 2006).

This dissertation examined: a) grade differences in students’ abilities to accurately apply the definition of bullying when determining if a behavior is …

Emotion And Public Attention To Political Issues, Michael W. Gruszczynski

Department of Political Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Which mechanisms underlie the orientation of public attention to political issues? Though research on media agenda-setting has been one of the most successful enterprises in political communication and behavior, little is known of the actual processes that drive this phenomenon. I hypothesize that inherent in all environmental stimuli is emotional information, and that it is this information that drives the linkages between media and public agendas. Using a combination of large-scale automated content analyses of several political issues in the New York Times and public search attention data, I demonstrate that negatively-valenced and arousing coverage work concurrently with the volume …

Building Upon Common-Pool Resource Theory To Explore Success In Transitioning Water Management Institutions, Christina M. Hoffman

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Nebraska, like many regions around the world, is faced with the challenge of adapting to a new era in water management. Increasing demands for water resources, mounting concerns over threatened and endangered species, and obligations to abide by interstate water allocation agreements have motivated Nebraska to revisit traditional water management approaches. However, although Nebraska’s water management institutions have undergone much change, little research exists on the influence these changes have had on the ability of water institutions to successfully manage water allocations. This research (1) qualitatively explores the perspectives and experiences of stakeholders in the overappropriated region of the Platte …

Sins Of Our Fathers (And Mothers): Impact Of Parental Incarceration Upon Education Outcomes, Patrick Habecker

Department of Sociology: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

In 2007, it was estimated that 2.3% of all children in the U.S. under the age of 18 had a parent currently in prison or jail (Glaze and Maruschak 2008). A growing body of research on the experiences of children who have had a parent to go prison or jail has exposed a number of detrimental outcomes associated with parental incarceration, including lower education outcomes (Foster and Hagan 2007), higher risk of mental health problems (Farrington et al. 2001), and increased contact with the criminal justice system later in life (Huebner and Gustafson 2007). This study used data from the …