Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

On Reason, Michael Christison

The Intellectual Standard

It challenges us to face the truth. It tells us when we are wrong. It can sometimes bewilder us with its brutal simplicity. Some call it logic or rational thinking. Others refer to it as "pure reason:' Whatever you want to call it, we have no choice but to utilize this cognitive ability if we want to achieve our goals. Few, however, tend to figure out what it is that they are doing. If you cannot explain reason, it becomes that much harder to justify any given action. If an action is not taken according to reason, a justification will …

The Learning Process: Inspiration For Computer Scientists, Nick A. Nichols

The Intellectual Standard

The human brain is capable of tasks with which the most com­plex computers have trouble. Comprehending language, a task that chil­dren can begin to develop by their second or third birthday, has only just reached a consistently usable level. Even with years of research, IBM's Wat­son, which competed against two all-time Jeopardy! contestants, was un­able to detect many of the nuances of human communication. Puns, con­text clues, and more are critical parts of communication, but given several of Watson's "confused" answers, they were clearly misinterpreted.1 From this, an important question becomes apparent, "What makes a human able to understand this …

Finding The Consistent Self, Jacob Comer

The Intellectual Standard

Individual identity is absurd in itself. It is excessively complex. Each one of us has our own, so identity is not uniform between people. In fact, we generally think that its purpose is to distinguish ourselves from others as well as from just being that guy or girl over there. Sometimes, our identity is tied to another person, object, circumstance, or idea. Some­times, it is just a feeling, a presence. And as time passes, the item to which we think our identity is bound changes. Perhaps, as adults, we will all find that thing that is "me': or so we …

Making Human Rights Really Real, Jake K. Bates

The Intellectual Standard

In lieu of Illinois Wesleyan's "Making Human Rights Real" endeav­ors this school year, questions arise concerning the meaning of human rights and how we can effectively apply such a concept in the world around us. The discussion of human rights has long been one of the most contested among political philosophers and ordinary citizens alike. And rightfully so, because its conclusions hold drastic implications for individuals every­where at all times. In order to avoid a muddled debate on the subject, it is critical to concretely define human rights. Thus, the concept of a "human;' the concept of a "right:' and …

Knowledge, Application, And The Impact Of Nutrition Education Of Portion Sizes In Female Adolescents, Denise Fearday

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Nutrition Facts Panel Components: Utilization By Consumers, Caitlin A. Huth

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Polarization In Congressional Committees, Andrew Age

Masters Theses

This thesis analyzes whether polarization is occurring in congressional committees, both the House of Representatives and the Senate standing committees, from 1970-2010. Sean Theirault's (2006) research of polarization on the floor of Congress is the foundation for identifying similar results in the standing committees. In addition, committees will be separated into three different types: regional, national, and power. These types are based on previous categorizing strategies by Glenn Parker and Suzanne Parker (1979), Keith Krebhiel (1990), Garry Young and Valerie Heitshusen (2003), and Gary Cox and Matthew McCubbins (2007). The separation of committees is to find if some committees polarize …

Understanding French Foreign Policy After The Second World War, Christophe D. Amegan

Masters Theses

This thesis is about providing a general understanding of French foreign policy since the end of the Second World War as suggested by the existing literature on soft power, military interventions, and the promotion of democracy. Even though France came out of the war very weakened, the country over the years has found ways to remain influential on the international scene. France's preference for diplomacy, its reliance on an international institution such as Francophonie, its readiness to intervene militarily when needed, and its support to the promotion of democracy internationally, have all work to preserve France's standing as a middle …

Sources Of Media Bias In Coverage Of The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: The 2010 Gaza Flotilla Raid In German, British, And U.S. Newspapers, Michael Neureiter

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

African American Male Student Leaders And Matriculation: A Qualitative Evaluation, Alexandra Leann Finley

Masters Theses

The current study was designed to identify the correlations between leadership, academic success, and matriculation within the African American male community at a predominantly White institution. Within separate one-on-one interviews, six participants were asked a set of pre-determined questions regarding their involvement and educational experiences at their university. Through coding and analyzing participant responses, five themes emerged, including: 1) academic success as an African American male student leader, (2) leadership skills learned and developed, (3) skills obtained for general success as an African American male student leader at a PWI, (4) the importance of mentoring on shaping an African American …

Hegemonic Peter?: A Critical Analysis Of Hegemonic Masculinity In Family Guy, Justin Danowski

Masters Theses

Hegemonic masculinity is a constantly evolving and highly nuanced theory. The original definition was designed to study the oppression males exert over females. Later definitions expanded on the original to include young, effeminate or gay men. In the realm of television, hegemonic masculine forces are perpetuated by not only male characters but marginalized groups as well. This creates gender stereotypes to be accepted and embraced as the norm in a culture. This project takes a critical look at the animated television comedy Family Guy and explains how hegemonic masculinity is portrayed throughout the episode "Family Gay". To accomplish this, the …

Technology Mediated Recruitment: An Exploration Of How Students Used Social Media To Choose College, Ashley Nicole Cooper

Masters Theses

This qualitative study explored the use of social media as a tool to recruit prospective college students. Social media was defined as any electronic media that serves as a networking tool with the ability to educate prospective and current college students about an institution of higher education (i.e. Twitter, Facebook, Blogs, etc.). The researcher met with two focus groups comprised of current college students to discuss their use of social media during their college search process.

Recommendations were developed for student affairs professionals and for future research. General themes and categories from participant responses were evaluated. The findings suggest that …

Trade Openness In North America: The Impacts Of Nafta, Mohammed Dawood

Masters Theses

The objective of this paper is to examine the impacts of the creation of NAFTA on trade openness in the North American region as a whole. We first assess these impacts of on NAFTA on individual member countries- namely, the United States, Canada and Mexico. Then we explore the impacts of NAFTA on North America as a bloc. Towards our goal we develop an empirical model that includes several independent variables to control, among others, for productivity, inflation, capital formation, per capita income, monetary policy and the existence of NAFTA. We collect annual time series data on all variables from …

Inflation And Growth: An Estimate Of The Threshold Level Of Inflation In The U.S., Hio Loi

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Evaluation Of Knowledge, Beliefs And Use Of Nutritional Ergogenic Aids Among Collegiate Athletes, Mekenzie Lewis

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Adolescent Athletes' Use Of And Attitudes Toward Performance Enhancing Supplements, Stephanie R. Smith

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

"Have You Forgotten Us?": An Analysis Of Resources For Non-Traditional Students, Theresa Lindsay

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Winning The Un-Winnable In Afghanistan? Counterinsurgency And Ethnic Strife, Joseph P. Bell

Masters Theses

After pursuing military actions in both Iraq and Afghanistan, the United States adopted a counterinsurgency policy to properly address these conflicts. After implementing this new strategy, it appears that the United States has been able to succeed against the insurgency, while losing more and more ground in Afghanistan. Upon examination, it was determined that the ethnic fractionalization in Afghanistan presented a unique challenge to the counterinsurgency effort that had not been present in Iraq.

The effects of this ethnic fractionalization were then analyzed on local counterinsurgency tactics and the overall nation building strategy in Afghanistan. Local counterinsurgency tactics had largely …

Advocacy Coalitions In Iowa And Illinois: Examining Same-Sex Policy Subsystems, Heather (Aiden) Ethington

Masters Theses

Literature on LGBT politics and rights has been limited. at best. Little information exists as to how coalitions form and build on successes and failures. Seeking to expand the body of research. this study examined the interest group coalitions active on either side of the highly divisive issue of same-sex marriage. Through a comparative case study, the research showed that at the subnational level many issues affect coalition success, including political culture, divisiveness, and in what arena policy change is occurring. Unsurprisingly, the study shows that perturbations in the subsystem led to the greatest response from coalitions, which led to …

Regional Voting Patterns In Contemporary Presidential Elections: The Effect Of Race, Income And Abortion Viewpoint, John W.T. Megson

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Ir Theory And State Cooperation On Blood Diamonds, Holly Thomas

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Predicting Rumination From The Five Facets Of Mindfulness, Allen Creamean

Masters Theses

Mindfulness is defined as a process of paying attention to the moment-by-moment experience of thoughts and feelings. It is a non-elaborative, non-judgmental, present-centered awareness in which each thought, feeling or sensation that arises in the attentional field is acknowledged and accepted (Kabat-Zinn, 1990; 1998). The concept of mindfulness adopted in Western therapeutic contexts was derived from Eastern spiritual and philosophical Buddhist teachings. Since its introduction nearly 20 years ago, mindfulness-based treatments have evolved towards altering the relationship between the self and internal/external sensations to reduce multiple forms of psychological and physical morbidity (Bishop et al., 2004). Currently, it is used …

Effects Of Varied Meaningfulness On The Load Theory Of Attention, Hannah Mason

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

The Relationship Between Cyberbullying And Depression In Adolescents, Meredith Mcdermott

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Middle School Teachers' Perceptions Of Strategies That Provide Social Support To Students, Heather Moore

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

The Development Of Horizontality And Verticality In Children With Visual Impairments, Rita E. Schnarr

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Necessary Competencies For Computer-Based Construction Estimating Curriculum: Delphi Study Of An Expert Panel, Ryan Schulz

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

International Image Repair: Integrating Culture Into Image Repair Discourse, Nicole Mangiaracina

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

An Empirical Analysis Of The Service Sector Transformation In Safta Member Countries, Md. Tanvir Pavel

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Does Menu Labeling Effect [Sic] Consumer Choices?, Ashley R. Waters

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.