Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Communication Skills: Listening And Speaking, Andrew P. Johnson

Elementary and Literacy Education Department Publications

Human communication involves reading, writing, speaking, and listening. The short article describes how to use two of these, speaking and listening, in any subject area.

American Nursing Students' Immersion Experience In Ghana: A Qualitative Study, Srijana Bhandari

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Health care providers are more than ever challenged to care for patients due to multicultural nature of American society. Studies report that health care disparities widely exist in our health care system and patients of different racial and cultural backgrounds do not receive adequate health care. Nurses are in the position to prevent and eliminate such disparities by providing individualized care to these patients. Nurses must be well equipped with knowledge and training to deliver care that is relevant and within the cultural context of patients they encounter. Studies have identified study abroad program as one of the approaches to …

Enterprise Content Management In Technical Communication, Kristen Bledsoe-Fritz

Technical Communication Capstone Course

The goal of this project is to examine how the evolution of Enterprise Content Management (ECM) is helping to shape the role of Technical Communicator. Technical communicators are often at the forefront of Enterprise Content Management, as their job involves the creation, utilization, and distribution of most corporate content. The research conducted for this project examines the impact that Enterprise Content Management, influenced by evolving technology, has had on the expectation associated with the skillset of a technical communicator. Additionally, how technical communicators can grow and expand their skillset to serve as leaders in an ever-evolving industry is explored.

College Males' Attitudes Toward Sexually-Explicit Material: An Experimental Study, Cody Schulte

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Sexually explicit materials (SEM) are an ever-growing presence in our society. The ramifications of these types of images and videos have been studied in depth, and the field is still researching whether these materials have harmful effects to individuals who view them or not. Regardless of these findings, sexually explicit videos are used in educational and therapeutic settings with an educational intent behind the usage. While these materials are being used there is little, to no, data on the attitudes that the clients or participants viewing these videos hold. This study will examine the attitudes that collegiate males hold towards …

Race, Stigma, And The Politics Of Black Girls Hair, Vanessa King

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Historically, black girls and women has been subjected to high public scrutiny that represents their bodies and hair styles as deviant from a European standard of beauty and respectability. Black women have endured many social pressures that have shaped their hair choices in various ways. I will explore assimilation theories of culture and the construction of dominant ideals of worth and respectability within K-12 settings, to document the ways in which black girls' hairstyles have been stigmatized. For this this study, I conducted a media and discourse analysis to document the language that is used to stigmatize black women's hair, …

The Effects Of A Cognitive Training Program For Cognitively Intact Older Adults, Caroline Kinskey

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Cognitive training is a term used to describe programs that provide guided practice on tasks requiring different cognitive abilities such as memory or language. It is assumed that regular practice will improve or maintain functioning in a particular cognitive domain (e.g., memory) and those results will generalize beyond the context of training. Results have been mixed in the existing literature that has evaluated the potential benefits of cognitive training on cognitive and emotional functioning in cognitively intact older adults. This study investigated the effectiveness of a cognitive training program for older adults with no to very minimal cognitive decline. Nine …

The Criminalization Of Poverty: The Impact Of Cash Bail System On Black Women In New Orleans, Salome Kushindana

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Research on bail practices has shown that most of the people are in jail because of their inability to pay bail set by the court. A 2016 study by the Vera Institute of Justice concluded that the use of the cash bail system disproportionately impacts poor black people in Orleans Parish Prison, the entity that serves as the principal driver of the mass incarceration. With a focus on poor black people in Orleans Parish Prison, the experiences of the impact of the cash bail system on poor black women are still missing.

Using semi-structured interviews and qualitative method of data …

A Study Of The Soft Skills That Contribute To The Success Of Newly Graduated Business Students In The Workplace, Promeet Jaswant Singh

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This quantitative study is focused on assessing the soft skills that newly graduated business students possess. Using the first and only skills inventory in the United States that has been endorsed by Department of Labor, the study seeks to determine what sets employees apart based on their level of performance on the job. The main purpose was to assess and interpret the soft skills that employees bring to the workplace soon after graduating. The population for the current study was human resources professionals from a variety of industry sectors in the state of Minnesota. The businesses represented a range of …

Evaluating Stigmatizing Attitudes Among Clinicians Toward People With Abdl And Pedophilic Interests, Katlyn Hanson

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Because child sexual abuse continues to be covered by mainstream media, the public has become more aware of the paraphilic interest pedophilia. While there is no definitive correlation between an individual with pedophilic interests and offenses against a child, strong public stigmatization toward these individuals remain. Additionally, stigmatizing attitudes have been found toward other paraphilic interests such as fetishes. This is the first study to evaluate and compare clinicians' attitudes toward the paraphilic interest pedophilia and the fetish interest community of Adult Baby/Diaper Lovers (ABDL). Clinicians were randomly assigned to one of three survey conditions assessing their attitudes toward people …

Motivations, Expectations And Experiences Of Genital Piercings In The Transgender Community: An Exploratory Study, Haley Peterson

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Purpose. Motivations and experiences of people who have body modifications has been studied over the past several decades. However, the majority of these studies may include, but do not exclusively, study the motivations and experiences of genital piercings in the transgender community. This study uses a qualitative design to explore the motivations, expectations, and experiences of getting a genital piercing within the transgender community, as well as how genital piercings relate to transgender identities. Methods. Participants were required to be at least 18, have a genital piercing, and identify as transgender. Recruitment was conducted through Facebook and a professional piercer. …

Alton Sterling, My Dad, And Me: An Autoethnographic Exploration Of Race Based Trauma, Balencia Crosby

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Trauma is often an undetectable and imperceptible agony experienced and re-experienced by individuals. Capable of transcending both; time and space, trauma(s) can trigger physical/psychological discomforts. Recognizing, individual (, or collective) trauma through the lens of persons of color is mostly disregarded. Therefore, a vital contribution found within this text is a shared intrapersonal account of race based trauma. Auto ethnography, as a method of exploring (RBT) is used as a tool of dialogue between author and reader - by which familiarity is established. This limited account of anecdotal recollections is meant to incite further dialogue centering the recognition of racialized …

Self-Disclosure, Gender, And Patient Satisfaction In The Doctor-Patient Relationship, Khadiza Tul Jannat

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

It has been well established that the doctor-patient relationship is integral for providing quality health care and sustaining patient satisfaction. Additionally, research has indicated that doctors' self-disclosure is considered as an essential interpersonal component of relational development. In terms of the doctor-patient interaction, previous research has produced numerous studies investigating the relationship between doctors' communication behaviors and patient satisfaction. Scholars have also explored how communication styles are associated with doctors' gender, and patient satisfaction. However, there is still a gap in the existing research concerning the connections between doctors' self-disclosure, gender, and patient satisfaction in doctor-patient interactions. My qualitative study …

Understanding Complex Late And Terminal Woodland Sites In The Red Wing, Minnesota, Area, Jaclyn Ann Skinner

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The Late Woodland and Terminal Woodland traditions encompass a number of Native American cultural groups living in the Upper Midwest United States, dating between A.D. 400/500 and 1100/1200. Although archeological work has been done on many Woodland and Terminal Woodland sites in Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Wisconsin, comparatively little has been done in Minnesota, and only a small amount has been done in southeastern Minnesota. As a result, Late Woodland and Terminal Woodland pottery complexes in the Red Wing, Minnesota area are still poorly understood.

Pottery types are the single most important artifact class used to identify population segments and trace …

Racial Identities On Social Media: Projecting Racial Identities On Facebook, Instagram, And Twitter, Nolan Brinkman

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Because social networks are an important aspect of the lived realities of those who participate in them, this study examined the way racial identity was signified, indicated, or displayed on social networks. A survey was distributed to 347 college students from a medium sized Midwestern university to assess ways in which participants depicted their racial identity on social media. The study looked at the use of photos, textual communication, concealment of racial identity, and interactions with race related content to assess how participants projected racial identity on social networks. Results suggested that racial identity is not intentionally projected on social …

L1 Use In L2 Writing: A Case Of Multilingual Undergraduates In A Basic Writing Course, Lal Bahadur Rana

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The study entitled "L1 Use in L2 Writing: A Case of Multilingual Undergraduates in a Basic Writing Course" is a qualitative case study research carried out to find out the purposes for which undergraduate students use their L1s in an L2 Basic Writing course in the US university context, their perceptions regarding the effects of their use of L1s in L2 writing, and the ways they utilize their prior experience of writing academic essays while they are writing similar types of texts in L2. To these ends, the data were collected from the students enrolled in the Basic Writing course …

Assessing Historical Planform Channel Change In An Altered Watershed With Quantification Of Error And Uncertainty Present In A Gis/Aerial Photography-Based Analysis; Case Study: Minnesota River, Minnesota, Usa., Devon Libby

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Little is known about the historic planform channel change of the Minnesota River of south-central Minnesota, USA. This is despite research that demonstrates anthropogenic activities have altered the Minnesota River Basin's hydrology, land use, and climate. In addition, the threat of invasive carp infestation requires an understanding of Minnesota River planform change to assess mitigation strategies. This thesis focuses on the lower Minnesota River (LMR) by measuring planform channel change (lateral channel migration, width, and sinuosity) from 1937 to 2013. Analysis is conducted by utilizing remote/GIS analysis of historic aerial photographs. A secondary focus addresses and quantifies the inherent/introduced error/uncertainly …

Differences In The Perceptions Of Gerotranscendence Between Certified Nursing Assistants And Older Adults, Amanda Perera

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Many theories of aging have been proposed within the field of gerontology to explain both psychological and social changes that occur during the aging process. One of the theories is the theory of gerotranscendence, which explains that as individuals age they develop a new perspective on life that allows the aging individual to shift their conceptualization of the world, from a materialistic and rational view to a more transcendent and universal view. Previous research suggests that some behaviors associated with gerotranscendence have been misinterpreted as pathological. The purpose of this current study was to examine whether there are significant differences …

The Harsh Reality: A Feminist Perspective On The Experiences Of Women Coaching Male Athletes, Emilee Shearer

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This study, using a qualitative approach, examines the impact of patriarchy on females who coach a male-dominated sports team. The purpose of the study is to identify and examine the experiences of females who coach a male-dominated sports team in order to have a better understanding of the impact of the gender binary and patriarchy in the sport field. A qualitative approach was used in this study to gain an understanding of the individual and commonality of the experiences of women coaches. There were five female coaches interviewed; one was a high school basketball coach, two were high school football …

The Mcclelland Site (21gd258) And The Oneota Tradition In The Red Wing Region, Jasmine Koncur

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

There is a long history of Oneota studies in the Red Wing, Minnesota, region, but most have been closely intertwined with the Silvernale phase, either because of site location or actual cultural linking. This has created a literature rife with speculation about the relationship between Silvernale and Oneota. While there are some Oneota sites known to exist near sites with Silvernale phase materials, there are many others away from Silvernale sites that have not yet received detailed analysis. The McClelland site (21GD258) is one of many single component Oneota sites in tributary valleys outside the Mississippi trench. The McClelland assemblage …

Bullying In Senior Living Facilities: Resident Perspectives, Kathryn Ira

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Research associated with resident-to-resident bullying in senior living facilities (i.e., senior bullying), has been growing in recent years due to anecdotal stories in the popular press. Few studies, however, have assessed resident-to-resident bullying from the perspective of residents. Therefore, the purpose of the current study was to better understand the phenomenon of senior bullying as observed by residents in senior living facilities. Nineteen individuals residing in senior living facilities were interviewed about their observations and opinions related to senior bullying at their facility. Results indicated that 52.9% of residents had observed senior bullying at least once. Verbal and social bullying …

To Pass Or Not To Pass? Constructing And Negotiating Biracial Identity, Anthony Peavy

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The purpose of this research is to show how biracial people narrate their identities and how people in society influence biracial individuals' constructions of their self. This is significant because this research obtains perspectives from individuals who simultaneously occupy a privileged and underprivileged identity. In highlighting the experiences of biracial people and their constructions of the self, this research answered questions surrounding how they perform their identities in social situations and how they negotiate passing privileges granted to some based on visual perceptions and/or skin tone.

This research was done using qualitative research methodologies, as these give more insights into …

How Graduate Experience Changes Beliefs In Working With Culturally And Linguistically Diverse Populations: A Survey Study, Stephanie Bove

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Speech-language pathologists work in a variety of settings that require savvy transitions between patients from many cultures and backgrounds. Graduate students may get little practice working with culturally and linguistically diverse populations depending upon where they perform their practicum and internships. Researchers at a mid-western university developed a survey to collect student perspectives regarding cultural competence. A single cohort received the survey at three intervals to track a change in responses from the beginning of their first year of graduate school through their clinical fellowship. Students took a Multicultural Issues class between their first and second survey responses. Data collected …

A Macromorphological Analysis Of End Scrapers From Sites Associated With Two Phases Of The Oneota Tradition, The Blue Earth And Spring Creek, In Southern Minnesota, Joshua Bradley Anderson

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The relationships and distinctions between Oneota tradition groups in southern Minnesota are not well understood. Two contemporaneous phases of the Oneota tradition in southern Minnesota, the Blue Earth and Spring Creek, which date, minimally, to the 14th and early 15th centuries, are represented by clusters of sites along the Blue Earth River Valley (the Center and Willow Creek localities) and near the junction of the Mississippi and Cannon rivers (the Red Wing region). This thesis attempts to address some basic questions with regards to the differences and similarities between Spring Creek and Blue Earth phase groups in terms of end …

Cemetery Management In A Gis Framework: A Case Study Of Woodland Hills Memorial Park, Maureen Schmidt

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

his paper aims to examine the potential uses and applications of geospatial technologies for cemetery management. The Woodland Hills Memorial Park in Mankato, Minnesota, was used as a case study. The hard copy, handwritten records of the Woodland Hills Memorial Park were converted to digital formats, and then combined with GPS gathered data using GIS. The traditional method of storing and keeping these records is time consuming, as the curator must hand write all the information into the physical books. The maps of the park are also hand-drawn, which makes their examination and upkeep tedious. By creating digital copies of …

Psychosocial Interventions For Individuals With Infertility, Margaret Bach

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Over one-fifth of individuals diagnosed with infertility or undergoing infertility treatment show symptoms of depression, anxiety, distress, and relationship discord. Psychosocial interventions are often offered to these individuals. This literature review was conducted to determine if psychosocial interventions have an impact on anxiety, depression, and relationships in individuals with infertility. An electronic search was performed using keywords in relevant search engines. Studies were identified based on their titles and abstracts and then further reviewed for inclusion. Studies were included if they had a sample population of infertile individuals or couples, men and/or women, and where outcomes of psychosocial interventions or …

Intimate Partner Violence: A Systematic Literature Review, Shailynn Shipley

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Intimate partner violence (IPV) and domestic violence have devastating effects on the health and well-being of people exposed to abuse. It is known that up to 75% of IPV episodes occur after a woman leaves her abuser, and women who seek help are most likely to suffer aggravated assaults or murder when trying to leave an abusive relationship (Cook & Nash, 2017). IPV screening has been well-studied as evidenced by the prolific research literature, however a synthesis of primary care actions that support the safety and well-being of women experiencing IPV is lacking. This systematic review compares traditional primary care …

Effective Characteristics Of Rural English Learner Programs, Sarah Huseby

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine specific characteristics of English learner programs in a rural areas in order to determine possible factors that promoted higher English language proficiency growth for English learners. The subjects in this study were English learner teachers and administrators from five micropolitan school districts in a rural Midwestern state. The school districts in this study were identified and recruited based on two specific criteria: a mircopolitan community and a student population of English language learners. The study utilized both survey and archival data. The survey was administered to all EL teachers and administrators …

Assessing The Relationship Between Parenting Styles And Dietary Behaviors Among Young Adults, Breanna Tofteland

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Food continues to be the focus of lifelong dietary and social habits. Past studies have shown the importance of creating healthy habits in childhood to increase the probability of healthy dietary behaviors as adults. A concern nationwide is that unhealthy dietary habits formed as a child translates to habits practiced as an adult, resulting in obesity (CDC, 2016). Past studies have shown that parenting styles are one of the contributing factors that influence how young adults view and interact with food. Branen & Fletcher's study concluded that there are significant correlations between habits formed in childhood that are still happening …

The Symbolic U.S. Dollar: An Exploration Of Transforming Meanings, Dylann Ward

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The currency used in the United States (U.S.) is called the dollar. Repeatedly individuals holding lawful positions, within the U.S. government, have used their legal power to change the meanings attached to the U.S. dollar. This study was able to show how a U.S. dollar transforming event can be understood as action taken on the part of individuals holding lawful positions, within the U.S. government, to fundamentally change the meaning attached to the U.S. dollar in efforts to either maintain or elevate the position of the U.S. relative to other countries within the international field. Such was the case in …

Gender Differences In Development Center Performance In A Healthcare Organization, Samuel Lawson

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Over the past 50 years, the assessment center has evolved into a tool used for making selection and job placement decisions, as well as for identifying development areas among incumbents to promote skill and competency development where gaps exist. The present study examined the latter, that of development centers, to address potential gender differences in performance on a variety of exercise and competency areas within a development center context. Research efforts were also directed toward the exercises and competencies themselves and the relationships between them. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to investigate exercise-competency relationships, while t-tests were conducted to investigate …