Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Public Radio Listener Data Analysis: Mass Communication Research Course Student Projects, Jeremy Harris Lipschultz, Michael L. Hilt

Communication Faculty Publications

Faculty across the country are becoming increasingly aware of the usefulness of survey data in communication courses (Thorpe, 2000). Perhaps nowhere is this more important than in the quantitatively oriented research skills course (Bolding, 1996), particularly in the development of teaching models (Poindexter, 1998). The purpose of this article is to show how one public radio listener survey was used to instruct undergraduate mass communication students about the research process.

A Framework For Assessing The Global Diffusion Of The Internet, Peter Wolcott, Larry Press, William Mchenry, Seymour E. Goodman, William Foster

Information Systems and Quantitative Analysis Faculty Publications

This paper presents a comprehensive framework for describing the diffusion of the Internet in a country. It incorporates insights gained from in-depth studies of about 25 countries undertaken since 1997. The framework characterizes diffusion using six dimensions, defining them in detail, and examines how the six dimensions relate to underlying bodies of theory from the national systems of innovation and diffusion of innovations approaches. It addresses how to apply the framework in practice, highlighting Internet diffusion determinants. This framework is useful for business stakeholders wanting to make use of and invest in the Internet, for policy makers debating how to …

Student Ownership Of Service-Learning Projects: Including Ourselves In Our Community, Tammy V. Abernathy, Kathryn M. Obenchain

Disabilities

Service-learning projects can be an effective tool to actively engage students with learning disabilities while also providing needed community service. This article details a five-phase construction plan designed to guide students through the process of planning service learning projects with students responsible for all steps and the teacher assuming the role of facilitator and guide. Service-learning projects are encouraged as a means of including students with disabilities in their community while building academic skills and assuming personal responsibility.

The Missing Link: Democratic Citizenship In Service Learning A Case Study Of Undergraduate Course Offerings At A Large Urban University, Michael S. Bittner

Thesis, Dissertations, Student Creative Activity, and Scholarship

The purpose of this study was to explore a discrete set of service-learning courses to determine. (1) were they of the type conducive to fostering democratic citizens. and (2) did the coordinating center that supported service-learning advocate it for democratic Citizenship. Sixteen university instructors and two administrative staff members from a coordinating center were interviewed, and documents describing the courses and coordinating center were reviewed. Drawing from the literature. a list of ten criteria for democratic citizenship was assembled, and two sets of questions-one for the instructors and another for the administrative staff-were devised to prompt the response of the …

Increasing Basic Writers' Thinking About And Understanding Of Literacy Through Literacy-Based Service-Learning, Suzanne Dena Gates

Thesis, Dissertations, Student Creative Activity, and Scholarship

This project aligned a community college basic writing class with student-performed community service that was specifically literacy-based. The sample consisted of two writing classes, with data collected through an eighteen-week semester. The study was conducted according to qualitative methods and thus allowed for a close look at students' thinking about and understanding of literacy, and how changes in students' thinking about literacy reflected in their class experiences. One basic writing class was designated the service-Iearning class; the other basic writing class was designated the comparison class. Both classes shared the same instructor, texts, in-class activities and writing prompts. The service-learning …

Analysis Of Urban And Rural Data For Various Nebraska Geographies: 2000, David J. Drozd

Past Publications

Value-added analysis of urban/rural for various Nebraska geographies: 2000

2000 Nebraska Population Reports, Uno Center For Public Affairs Research

Past Publications

These reports are a series of tables that were developed using 2000 Census data.

Value-Added Analysis Of Urban/Rural For Various Nebraska Geographies: 2000, David Drozd

Past Publications

Source: Census 2000 Summary File 1 (SF 1) 100-Percent Data Table P2; U.S. Census Bureau

Introduction: Fear And Loathing Of Evolutionary Psychology In The Social Sciences, Daniel Leger, Alan Kamil, Jeffrey French

Psychology Faculty Publications

When one looks at the intellectual landscape of the modern university, at the scholarly and scientific interests of its faculty, the panorama is seamless. There are no discontinuities. The interests of physicists transmogrify into those of chemists, those of chemists into those of biologists, and so on. The lines, the divisions, between departments have been created out of administrative, not intellectual, necessity.

The Effects Of Television On The Social Construction Of Body Images By Five- And Six-Year-Old Girls, Kristine M. Gruidl

Student Work

Television images influence individuals (Elliott and Slater, 1980). Cognitive learning theory suggests that during the first five to six years of life, children’s behavior patterns will be set (Donohue, 1975). Television has the potential to be a positive influence on learning. However, typical American media and television have been a negative influence on most children (Williams, 1981).

A 1996 study reported thirty-nine-point-one percent of first graders do not like their appearance and would change their looks, given the opportunity. It has been suggested the mass media are responsible and have taught children fat is bad and thin is good (Flannery-Schroeder …

Gender Differences In The Effect Of Child Maltreatment On Criminal Activity Over The Life Course, Ryan E. Spohn

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

This paper adds to a growing body of knowledge regarding the criminal consequences of childhood victimization. A prospective research design is used to compare a group of maltreated youth to a matched control group in order to determine the extent to which child abuse and neglect influence both juvenile delinquency and adult crime. Controlling for race and sex, abused and neglected children are more likely to have a juvenile arrest record. In addition, controlling for involvement in juvenile crime, child maltreatment also influences adult criminality. Motivated by the findings of qualitative studies focusing on female offenders, I examine gender differences …

Service-Learning For Multicultural Teaching Competency: Insights From The Literature For Teacher Educators, Rahima C. Wade

Special Topics, General

The growing disparity between the largely White teacher population and the increasingly diverse student body in the United States (Hodgkinson, 1991;Jordan, 1995) has led to greater interest in how to en­hance pre-service teachers' multicultural competencies (e.g., knowledge of diverse cultures, ability to teach children of color successfully, positive attitudes toward chil­dren and families of color). Given the low expectations for achievement held by White teachers for children of color and White teachers' lack of interest in working with stu­dents (from cultures other than their own (Zeichner, 1993; Zeichner & Melnick, 1996a), it is imperative that teacher educators seek out successful …

Shumer's Self-Assessment For Service Learning, Robert D. Shumer, Pat Duttweiler, Andrew Furco, Madeleine S. Hengel, Gwen Willems

Service Learning, General

The Shumer Self-Assessment for Service-Learning (SSASL) is designed as a self-reflective system for professionals in the service-learning and experiential learning fields. What follows is a series of instruments and analysis worksheets arranged to help individuals evaluate their current service-learning initiatives to improve and strengthen them.

The Internet In Turkey And Pakistan: A Comparative Analysis, Peter Wolcott, Seymour E. Goodman

Information Systems and Quantitative Analysis Faculty Publications

The Global Diffusion of the Internet Project was initiated in 1997 to study the diffusion and absorption of the Internet to, and within, many diverse countries. This research has resulted in an ongoing series of reports and articles that have developed an analytic framework for evaluating the Internet within countries and applied it to more than 25 countries. (Seehttp://mosaic.unomaha.edu/gdi.html for links to some of these reports and articles.)

The current report applies the analytic framework to compare and contrast the Internet experiences of Turkey and Pakistan, through mid-2000. Although historically these countries have not been closely related, there are …

The Douglas County Drug Court: A Comparison Of Recidivism Rates Between Drug Court Participants And Traditionally Adjudicated Drug Offenders, Erika Davis Frenzel

Student Work

Over the years there have been large increases in the number of drug offenders arrested, prosecuted, and sentenced to prison. These increases have lead to an overload of the criminal justice system. This overload prompted states to develop new responses to substance use and drug-related crime. One such innovation is the drug treatment court, which combines accountability and treatment. The goal of these courts is to reduce recidivism and substance use among drug-involved criminal offenders. This study uses data from Douglas County (Nebraska) to compare recidivism rates for participants in the Douglas County Drug Court and traditionally adjudicated drug offenders. …

What Do Students Learn From Service-Learning And How Do We Know It?, Scott A. Chadwick

Special Topics, General

Service-learning presents a unique opportunity for those interested in the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL). This opportunity exists because relatively little empirical research has been conducted on the efficacy of service-learning with respect to the intended learning outcomes designed into the course by the teacher.

Toward A "New Diversity" And The Revitalization Of Hte "Campus Spirit:" A "Bandung 2000" Conference For Students, Staff And Faculty, Michael C. Stelly, Harriet D. Washington, Carlos Talkington, Michael Payne

Public Administration Faculty Proceedings & Presentations

In this session, "New Diversity" programs are designed and proposed, aimed at enabling minority staff, students and faculty the kind of "cultural inoculation" needed to be able to address the concerns which plague most campuses.

Reading The Lives Of Others: The Winton Homes Library Project A Cultural Studies Analysis Of Critical Service Learning For Education, Matt Musucci, Adam Renner

Service Learning, General

This article examines the value and usefulness of expanding a particular approach to service learning in an educational setting. As a result of participating in a graduate seminar that combined cultural studies with service learning, reflecting on involvement in a service project, and a careful reading of relevant literature, the authors advocate for a more critical engagement with the reality of overwhelming social injustice. Moreover, the authors suggest a four-step framework (critical service learning), which is informed by both cultural studies and critical pedagogy. Finally, the authors argue for the adaptation of this framework into the school curriculum-thereby providing students …

The Community College Conscience: Service-Learning And Training Tomorrow's Teachers, Robert Franco

Service Learning, General

Across the landscape of American higher education, one senses the increasing intellectual colonization of higher education by advocates of accountability and gurus of management. Business and private-sector terms, such as "risk taking," "restructuring," "client focused" and "responsive to market demands" weave their way through what many call the "creeping vocationalism" of higher education.

At the same time, universities, colleges, nonprofit organizations and private business extol the virtues of thoughtful "mission statements" designed to focus energy and activities within the organization and represent the organization to its "clientele." Rarely, however, does one hear about or challenge the "conscience"1 of organizations in …

Strategic Directions For Service-Learning Research: A Presidential Perspective, Judith Ramaley

Higher Education

Service-learning can be viewed as a form of pedagogy designed to enhance learning and promote civic responsibility as well as one of a set of strategies to link the capacity of a college or university to the needs of society. A commitment to service-learning can become the avenue for a larger transformational change agenda by providing a focus and a reason to consider significant changes in campus priorities, faculty roles and rewards, resource utilization and university-community relationships. The case is made for the role of the scholar/practitioner president and the importance of a legitimate scholarly base to effect institutional change, …

Death And Disability In The Heartland: Corporate (Mis)Conduct, Regulatory Responses, And The Plight Of Latino Workers In The Meatpacking Industry, Anna-Maria Wahl, Steven E. Gunkel, Thomas W. Sanchez

Sociology and Anthropology Faculty Publications

Death and disability remain serious problems in the meatpacking industry, which increasingly depends on Latino workers. Here we examine these problems and the dynamics that heighten and minimize the hazards encountered in meatpacking plants. Drawing from published and unpublished sources, we provide statistical profiles and ethnographic accounts to capture the health and safety risks Latino workers face in the meatpacking plants of Iowa, Kansas, and Nebraska. Guided by recent research in labor market segmentation and the politics of social regulation, we trace the increased risk of injury and illness for Latinos to three intersecting dynamics: corporate conduct and misconduct on …

Using Hypermedia And Multimedia To Promote Project-Based Learning Of At-Risk High School Students, Tracy Carr, Asha K. Jitendra

Special Topics, General

The term at-risk in this article refers to those students who are in danger of dropping out of school (Rodriguez, 199i). Often, these students have low self-esteem resulting from persistently low academic achievement. One possible reason for academic failure is a mismatch between the student's needs and the curricular expectations. Consequently, it is important to plan to meet individual student needs appropriately and minimize the rate of dropouts. Planning more appropriately requires individualization of goals and curricula.

Community Service: Mandatory Or Voluntary?, Diane Loup

School K-12

School districts struggle to find the best approach for bringing a real-world aspect to learning.

After The Summit: Building Community Networks For America’S Youth, Sabrina Burke

Special Topics, General

The purpose of this research project is to provide a guide for local coordinators and organizers of America’s Promise and other national initiatives. It looks at the new paradigm of community youth development how it is changing the ways that social organizations are conducting business. It explores how to create community networks as a way for communities to better serve their young people. In this project, a community network is defined as an association of individuals representing different organizations and associations working together (collaborating) to achieve a common long term vision or goal. Although there is a rich diversity among …

The Effects Of Service Learning, Shelley H. Billig

Service Learning, General

Research, while limited, finds that students who help others help themselves academically and socially.

Costs And Benefits And Service Learning, Alan Melchior

Service Learning, General

A growing body of evidence points to school-based service learning as an effective means of achieving a variety of critical school and community goals. But what do we know about the costs of service learning?

Service Learning In An Age Of Standards, Terry L. Pickeral, Judy Bray

Service Learning, General

"The new standards have to do with application of basic learning. Students take things that at one time they simply memorized and instead take them into real-life settings. The graduation standards offer the opportunity for every student and teacher to bring learning to a higher level. Application, synthesis, analysis and integration of information are what real learning is all about."

Jim Grimmer, a teacher of philosophy at Richfield High School in Richfield, Minn., articulates one view of the connection between service learning and academic standards. At a time when academic standards, along with assessments and accountability, represent the big-dog reform …

Importation And Deprivation Explanations Of Juveniles’ Adjustment To Correctional Facilities, Angela Gover, Doris Layton Mackenzie, Gaylene Armstrong

Criminology and Criminal Justice Faculty Publications

Two theoretical explanations, importation and deprivation, are commonly used to explain inmate adjustment to the correctional environment. This study examined the relation- ship of selected importation and deprivation factors on juveniles’ anxiety levels while they were confined to institutions. Self-reported data collected from 3,986 juveniles and aggregate level data collected from interviews with administrators at 48 U.S. correctional facilities were used in a probit regression analysis. Importation and deprivation factors were found to have a significant impact on juveniles’ anxiety levels. Youth who were younger, White, or had a history of exposure to family violence experienced more anxiety. Youth confined …

Development Of Commitment In Young Children's Best Friendships, Andrea L. Kelp

Student Work

Although the amount of research conducted on children’s friendships is large, the specific characteristic of friendship commitment has received little attention to date. At what age and to what extent commitment is present in children’s friendships is the main focus of this study. Students in grades 2 through 7 completed a demographic questionnaire, the Commitment and Satisfaction Scale, the Children’s Self-Efficacy for Peer Interaction Scale, The Network of Relationships Inventory, and they also responded to hypothetical vignettes. Of particular interest were the effects of children’s age, gender, friendship reciprocity, self-efficacy and friendship satisfaction on their friendship commitment levels. Analyses of …

Sedimentologic And Paleogeomorphologic Character Of The Western Beteiha Plain, Israel, Laura Baker

Student Work

The geographical problem addressed in this study was to reconstruct the paleogeography of the western Beteiha Plain, located between Bethsaida and the Sea of Galilee and determine its sedimentologic and paleogeomorphologic character. Grain size analysis of sediments, along with sediment color was used to reconstruct the landscape and identify areas such as estuaries or lagoons.

Sediment samples were collected throughout the Beteiha Plain at selected locations. Excavation and collection was accomplished with hand-driven core equipment and backhoe trenches.

The multidisciplinary approach used in this project included fieldwork for sediment collection, laboratory analysis for the production of the data necessary to …