Conference Journal
Articles
Educational Technology Integration with Web 2.0 Applications
Shannon Vasseur (Educational Studies: Library Media)
Dr. Deborah Jesseman, Faculty Mentor, Educational Studies: K-12 and Secondary Programs
With the advent of Web 2.0 applications such as, blogging, podcasting, online discussions, and wikis, media specialists have new tools that have enabled them to collaborate with teachers to create innovative and exciting learning opportunities for their students. In the literature review, each Web 2.0 application was reviewed and analyzed based on the following criteria: effective classroom uses, benefits of incorporating the application in the classroom, and the limitations of incorporating the application in the classroom. Numerous benefits of effective classroom use included: increased collaboration, increased participation, flexibility, and portability. Limitations were also discussed and included: a lack of technological support, aging equipment, increased informal writing, and feeling overwhelmed with messages. In addition, a Web 2.0 handbook was developed that included step-by-step instructions for each application. It was designed to be used by media specialists and collaborating classroom teachers who would like to integrate Web 2.0 applications in the classroom.
Big, Bigger, Biggest: The Social Implications and Portrayal of Overweight Women in Contemporary Theater
Nikki Swoboda (MFA Directing: Theatre and Dance)
Dr. Heather Hamilton, Faculty Advisor, Theatre and Dance
At the turn of the new millennium, body image became a huge focus of contemporary American society with media, politicians and the artistic community weighing in on the importance of being thin and the faux pas of being overweight. Through three examples of live theater, evidence that overweight women, specifically, have gone from exploring their bodies as emotional and political vehicles to being objectified in a sort of benevolent racism—a “size-ism” instead—is apparent. The material explored to prove the notion ranges over the past fifteen years in varying genre, style, and venue. First, The Most Massive Woman Wins, an abstract comedy in one act, was produced as a part of the Young Playwrights Festival in New York City in 1994. Next Fat Pig, a full-length drama, was produced Off-Broadway in 2004 at the Manhattan Class Company Theatre. Finally, Hairspray, a two-act Broadway musical, opened in 2002 and ran for 2,642 performances at the Neil Simon Theatre. Taking into account the size of the productions, appeal to the masses, and messages about overweight women within the shows, conclusions are drawn through textual analysis and critical response that American can accept, and even love, plump females…as long as they are never asked to see them as anything but just plain fat girls.
Challenges of Non-Native Speakers with Reading and Writing in Composition 101 Classes
Ahmet Dursun (English)
Dr. Stephen Stoynoff, Faculty Advisor, English
It is a fact that many non-native international students, who want to pursue their education in US universities, are required to take a composition course in their first year. Moreover, some universities encourage these students to register for the non-native (ESL) sections of English 101 (Composition). Teachers in these classes are challenged to prepare students for academic writing because the students have different social, cultural, and academic backgrounds. Researchers and coursebook writers have advocated many methods for teaching writing and reading to this group of students. The current study explored some of the challenges that first-year international students face in developing their writing and reading practices in composition classes. The researcher interviewed three international students who were enrolled in an ESL composition course at a public university in Minnesota, US. The results suggest that ESL students‟ performance in composition classes for non-native speakers is heavily affected by the students‟ background knowledge, use of English, and familiarity with new writing genres. Possible solutions for these problems are presented.
Mother-Daughter Relationships in Kim Ronyoung's Clay Walls and An Na's A Step from Heaven: Meeting Identity Challenges of the Immigrant Experience
Kelly L. Meyer (English)
Dr. Anne O’Meara, Faculty Advisor, English
Kim Ronyoung’s novel Clay Walls and An Na’s novel A Step from Heaven both depict Korean families undergoing the trials of an American immigrant experience. Through a close textual analysis, I identify a shifting of traditional family roles, especially for the husband and wife, that paves the way for the mother-daughter relationship to become the core of the family and the center of the novels. Of particular note is both authors’ use of female adolescent narrators, who describe their families’ difficult experiences and articulate their own identity-related struggles. As each daughter navigates her complex identity as a Korean American adolescent, her relationship with her mother becomes the most important influence in her life. The exchange of the mother-daughter relationship in both novels is ultimately mutual: The mothers are able to reconcile their conflicted identities as immigrant women through these daughters who have grown to value their mothers’ cultural identities and embrace their mothers’ legacies of strength.
Impact of “IMAGINE” Educational Program on Conflict Resolution on the Program Participants
Nargiz Hajiyeva (Educational Leadership)
Dr. Jerry Robicheau, Faculty Advisor, Educational Leadership
The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of a conflict resolution
educational program called IMAGINE on the program’s participants. This educational
program engages students and young professionals from two countries with historical
conflicts: Armenia and Azerbaijan. Thorough post-IMAGINE evaluations had been
completed by the program participants to determine the impact of the program
immediately following the conclusion of each event. For this study, an additional
questionnaire was completed by ten participants six to eighteen months following the
conclusion of each event. When analyzing the results, it was found that students have
been impacted by their participation in IMAGINE and their level of trust has been
improved, as well as opinions about the opposing side and conflict resolution skills,
though the program’s impact has not been fully sustained over time.
The Festival of Dionysus: A Civic Event
Megan Gredesky (MFA Theatre – Directing)
Dr. Heather Hamilton, Faculty Advisor, Theatre and Dance
In Poetics, Aristotle defined the function of tragedy as the “catharsis” of emotions, their “purgation” or “purification. However, other interpretations defined catharsis as an accidental result of tragedy. The Athenian government would have identified the best audience for a tragedy, in terms of its emotional effect, as a group of people who were emotionally disturbed. Because Athenian political leaders placed great emphasis on controlling citizens in this state of mind in order to prevent civil conflict, catharsis, or the purging of the emotions, both pity and fear, was a way for the Athenian democracy to prevent chaos. The performance of tragedies at the festival of Dionysus provided the citizens with this cathartic outlet. The tragedies also exposed audiences to issues that identified the consequences of acting out in rage, making the festival, undoubtedly a civic event.
Pilot Test of a Quality Rating and Improvement System in Early Education Programs in Magadan, Russian Federation and in Minnesota, USA
Vera Grigoryevna Azarova (Educational Studies: Elementary and Early Childhood)
Dr. Elizabeth Sandell, Faculty Advisor, Educational Studies: Elementary and Early Childhood
This study examined two questions: (1) What quality rating and improvement System (QRIS) will be useful for improving early childhood education programs in Magadan Region, RU and in Minnesota, USA? and (2) What is the agreement among raters in the US and in Russia, using scores on a QRIS for early childhood education programs in Magadan Region, RU and in Minnesota, USA? The study included translation of the Global Guidelines Assessment (GGA) (ACEI, 2008) into Russian. One quality review was completed for one early education program in each country. Completed reviews by eleven reviewers were delivered to Minnesota State University, Mankato for data entry and analysis. The report includes: (1) descriptive data for reviewers and for early education programs and (2) inter-rater agreement (consistency among assessors). This study concluded that there was excellent inter-rater agreement among reviewers in Russia and in the US. As a result of this investigation, this study concluded that the Global Guidelines Assessment will be useful for comparing early childhood education programs in Magadan, Russian Federation and in Minnesota, USA because the GGA is easy, affordable, and reliable to use for quality improvement of early education throughout the world. Now the GGA may be used in Russia as well.
Discrepancies in the Frequency and Motivation for Body Appearance Comparisons in Clinical and Nonclinical populations of Women
Erika George (Psychology)
Barry Ries, Faculty Advisor, Psychology
Social comparison theory postulates that varying levels of body image disturbance are accounted for by individual differences in comparison tendencies. Research indicates appearance based social comparisons have a mediating role in body dissatisfaction and eating disorders. The purpose of the current study is to investigate whether clinically diagnosed women with eating disorders differ on their self-reported frequency, motives, and choices for comparison targets in social comparisons, relative to a nonclinical sample of college women consisting of both asymptomatic and symptomatic types. A series of questionnaires examined the frequency, motivation, and targets of comparison in these women. Preliminary analyses indicate that the clinical and symptomatic categories of women differ on the frequency and selection of comparison targets. Clinical and symptomatic types are more likely to compare themselves to other women who are thinner and compare on a more frequent basis, in contrast to asymptomatic types. Specifically, clinical types and symptomatic types differ from asymptomatic types in the overall frequency of social comparisons occurring on an hourly and weekly basis. The current study shows that differences exist in comparison tendencies for women clinically diagnosed with eating disorders and women who categorized as symptomatic or asymptomatic based on DSM-IV-TR criteria. Such findings provide researchers with data on body appearance comparison tendencies of women currently in treatment for an eating disorder and women from a non-clinical population. Specifically, these findings highlight the need to tailor the intervention process around reducing body appearance comparison tendencies in clinical treatment.
The Perceptions of College Teachers and Students Toward Non Native English Speaking Teachers’ Language Proficiency in English Dominant Environments
Leping Yu (English)
Dr. Karen Lybeck, Faculty Mentor, English
Considering the importance of Non-native English Speaking Teachers (NNESTs) in the field of English language teaching and the ever-increasing NNESTs teaching in English dominant environments, this qualitative research aims to explore the perceptions of college students and teachers toward NNEST’s language proficiency the potential challenges/opportunities that NNESTs may face in English dominant environment. The research instrument applied was three multi-item interview question lists, correspondently for students, NNESTs and their supervisors. The questions were divided into four sections. The first section contains questions about the basic information of participants’ language learning and teaching experience or supervision experience. The second section is about their general concepts of NNESTs and NESTs, including the definition and the main differences. The third section comprises questions about their perceptions toward NNESTs’ language proficiency. The fourth section contains questions about how NNESTs’ language proficiency influences their practical teaching and the potential challenges/opportunities of NNESTs in English dominant environments. The individual interviews and data analysis are all in the process and the research is scheduled to be completed in April 2009.
Muse or Medusa: The Double-Edged Nature of Activism in the History of Community-Based Theatre
Christine Marmor Thompson (Theatre Arts)
Dr. Heather Hamilton, Faculty Advisor, Theatre and Dance
Today, many artists within the contemporary community-based theatre movement champion theatre for social justice—activist theatre—as empowering. Yet, whenever one person attempts to influence another, a thin line arises between empowerment and coercion. This paper explored the delineation between these disparate, yet closely related faces of activism. Beginning with a theoretical investigation, this research used Paulo Freire’s seminal work, Pedagogy of the Oppressed, to develop a three-fold distinction between these opposing forces. It then applied this Freirian-based model to theatre history. An analysis of activism’s role on the late medieval stage of the Chambers of Rhetoric and in the American pageantry movement of the early 1900s illustrated activism’s dual nature—when it is an empowering muse and when it is a coercive Medusa. By laying these theoretical and historical foundations, this research hoped to offer the initial resources necessary for theatre practitioners to better understand activism’s double-edged nature so that if they choose to use it, they can wield it wisely.
The Effects of Massage Therapy as a Complementary Therapy for Cancer Patients
Bonnie Frisk (Health Sciences)
Dr. Dawn Larsen, Faculty Advisor, Health Science
This literature review attempts to show the advantages of using massage therapy to care for cancer patients. The results of the studies support massage therapy as a positive complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) when treating cancer patients. The studies consistently showed that cancer patients who received massage therapy demonstrated reduced stress levels. Patient’s pain was reduced with the use of massage therapy. Results support massage therapy as a useful CAM for enhancing the quality of life in all cancer patients. It is inexpensive, non-invasive and free of side effects. The effects of massage therapy were immediate but short of duration. Nursing and or health care givers can assist patients by coordinating therapy services as a supportive care intervention.
The Effect of a Group-Mediated Cognitive-Behavioral Intervention on Dietary Choices of a Phase IV Cardiac Rehabilitation Program
Katija Opitz (Human Performance)
Dr. Kenneth Ecker, Faculty Advisor, Human Performance
The purpose of this study was to determine whether significant dietary and behavioral differences existed between treatment and control groups of a phase IV cardiac rehabilitation program. Over a 3-month period, each group completed a MEDFICTS(MF)questionnaire, 3-day dietary recall, and MedGem(MG)testing. The treatment group also participated in 12 weekly cognitive-behavioral intervention sessions. The treatment group had significantly higher fat and saturated fat percent of total kilocalories, and cholesterol intake at baseline in comparison to the control group. There were no significant differences between groups for post-study data (p > .05). For the treatment group, significant correlations existed between MF values and weight, and both fat and saturated fat with daily attendance. A significant correlation was also found between MG and predicted REE of both groups combined (p > .05). Therefore, weekly cognitive-behavioral intervention sessions positively influenced nutritional choices and dietary behaviors of cardiac rehabilitation participants.
Creative Works
Seamless Intertextuality: I Kissed a Girl
Megan Orcholski (Speech Communication)
Dr. Leah White, Faculty Advisor, Speech Communication
This scholarly inquiry utilized performance theory in order to explore burlesquing bisexuality, or straight women engaging sexual behavior with other straight women in order to appeal to a male audience. Intertextualizing several different texts, working them together in order to create a new text, the performance argues that burlesquing bisexuality marginalizes gay and bisexual women. The recorded version of the performance used of video clips, pictures, music, news articles, and literature, creating a new text out of textual fragments which inform one another in order to make a more powerful argument than any one text can make on its own. In so doing, the performance not only engages with Rayme McKerrow called a ‘critique of domination’ by challenging an increasingly significant trend in the sexual behavior of women but also demonstrated the use and applicability of seamless intertextuality. The author’s reflection on the performance is included. Click Here For Transcript
