While the graduate assistantship experience exists as an opportunity for aspiring professionals to gain practical experience, little research exists regarding one's selfefficacy beliefs related to specific responsibilities of an assistantship. This study of assistant residence hall directors at Ball State University aided seasoned Student Affairs professionals as they trained, supervised and mentored graduate students. Four first-year and four second-year assistant residence hall directors and three full-time residence hall directors, who were alumni of the graduate program and assistantship at the University were interviewed during April of the Spring 2004 semester. The researcher created an interview guide using Bandura's (1977) concept of self-efficacy. The researcher and later an unbiased individual identified themes within the data and offered recommendations for the application of the findings as well as recommendations for possible future studies. / Department of Educational Studies

The Army Reserve Officer Training Corp (ROTC) at Ball State University is a program designed to indoctrinate, train, and prepare students for careers as officers in the United States Army. In addition to military science classes held on campus cadets are required to attend the Leadership Development and Assessment Course (LDAC) at Fort Lewis, Washington, a 33-day long course that focuses on combat related competencies. It is during this training that students are first taught the precepts of cultural awareness inside a military context. This research argues that cultural awareness training, introduced to cadets as a battlefield obstacle that can impede mission completion, is incompatible with the organizational culture of the Army. Using ethnographic methods as a theoretical framework, this research focuses on Ball State Army ROTC culture and the broader issue of culture as an obstacle. The data reveals the assumptions and symbols that inform the practical application of cultural awareness and mission orientation as well as the difficulties of securing reliable anthropological information. The goal of this paper is a practical body of knowledge that will bridge gaps in the literature and serve as an invitation for an open dialog between anthropologists, military members of all rank, and policy makers. / Department of Anthropology

Incorporation of social media during a crisis provides many benefits for universities, including opening two- way communication with stakeholders, informing the public quickly with updated information, and reaching a wide range of audiences. This case study aimed to explore whether Ball State incorporates social media into their crisis planning and what are the main reasons of using social media. Also, this case study aimed to see whether the university differentiates between crisis management and an emergency response. The researcher incorporated an online survey, Interviews, and documents to obtain detailed information about using social media in Ball State University. The results found that Ball State incorporates social media especially Twitter in their crisis planning. The study found that Ball State differentiates between a crisis and an emergency. / Department of Journalism

In 2009 Ball State University began construction on the nation’s largest ground-source geothermal system in attempt to reduce its environmental impacts and heating/cooling expenses. Since late November 2011, half of the geothermal system has been operational. Due to only partial geothermal use and a warm winter in 2011, thermal increases can be seen throughout the Phase 1 fields. After system initiation in 2011, an average temperature increase of 4.33°C has been observed in the bottom 80-120+ meters in the middle of the South Field, while no increase was found in the southern-edge well of the North Field. To evaluate thermal increases, hydraulic characteristics were gathered including groundwater flow direction, hydraulic gradients and hydraulic conductivities. Varying temperatures throughout the area may affect the groundwater geochemistry. Geochemical results indicate a calcium-bicarbonate facies. / Geothermal well field construction -- Study site -- Methods -- Results -- Discussion. / Department of Geological Sciences

The purpose of this study was to develop a valid and reliable scale to measure attitudes toward teenage parents. The instrument, called the Attitude Toward Teen Parent Scale (ATTPS), was based on Robinson's (1988a) suggested myths about teenage fathers. The ATTPS consisted of 20, Likerttype items and was administered to 133 volunteer undergraduate students attending Ball State University. A series of exploratory principal component factor analyses were conducted to identify independent factors represented by the ATTPS. A four-factor solution, accounting for 54% of the variance on the ATTPS was retained . The internal consistency reliability for the ATTPS was .67. Two factors were interpreted as "psychological deviance" (alpha = .77) and "supportive involvement" (alpha = .66). The other two factors were not interpretable. These findings suggested that the ATTPS measured two independent constructs. It was suggested that future research should further test the validity and reliability of the ATTPS by focusing on the two interpretable factors identified in this study, and by increasing the items on the scale as well as the number of subjects tested. Further studies should also examine attitudes among different populations (e.g., varying by race, sex, age, profession) toward teenage parents. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services

This study was designed to determine (a) the nature and extent of planning and programmatic changes that occurred in Indiana schools that have incorporated the Ball State University (BSU) Professional Development School (PDS) model; (b) how the implementation of these changes had impacted the school principal's roles and responsibilities; (c) whether the principal serving as site coordinator effected the school or principal's work; and (d) whether geographic classification effected process or outcomes. Interviews were conducted with the principal, site coordinators and teachers during March 1999. Findings:1.The principals, teachers, and university faculty were continuously involved in planning.2.Although the duration of planning varied, all schools used planning committees, research and multiple planning processes.3.The most notable changes were instructional modifications and collaborative teaching.4.Half of the principals (two urban and one suburban) became more facilitative and more inclined to use shared decision making.5.Half of the schools had a change in the principalship during planning; one school had four different principals during this period.6.Site coordinators had a positive influence on shared decision making.7.More change occurred in the urban schools. Conclusions:1. Ongoing communication and shared decision making helped diminish possible negative consequences of principal turnover during planning.2.Differences in planning duration and frequency did not appear to affect outcomes.3.Transition to a PDS had more effects on the urban schools, suggesting that climates and cultures in suburban schools were initially more congruous with the PDS philosophy.4.The philosophy of the PDS requires a collaborative leadership style on the part of the principal. Those unwilling to assume this role are likely to withdraw from the principalship. Having the principal not serve as the site coordinator promotes collaboration and shared authority.5.Suburban educators were inclined to view PDS issues politically, while the urban educators were inclined to view them economically.Recommendations:1. The leadership style of a principal should be a primary consideration in selecting possible PDS sites.2.Longitudinal studies of PDSs should be conducted in the areas of student academic growth, curriculum, and faculty satisfaction. / Department of Educational Leadership

This study investigated personality differences among students who seek personal, career, and academic counseling and students who do not seek counseling. Students in the 1983 freshman class (N = 3,245) at Ball State University were administered various tests including the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). Counseling center files were examined to determine the number of students who subsequently sought counseling (n = 494) and which services they sought. Virtually no previous research existed using these variables. Therefore the study was considered exploratory in nature.In the statistical analyses, descriptive statistics were used to examine counseling groups. Loglinear analysis model fitting was performed on the four MBTI scales for the counseling seeker groups and the nonseekers.Results of the descriptive statistics showed that, in addition to the three counseling service groups, a fourth group emerged. Nearly one-fourth of the seekers did not return for services after intake (the "no services" group). Women represented about two-thirds of the total counseling seekers and of each counseling group. There was a significant relationship between year in school and counseling service sought. In the freshman and sophomore years, students sought more career and academic counseling. By the junior and senior years, students sought more personal counseling.Results of the loglinear analyses showed that the best-fitting model for the counseling groups contained the MBTI scales of sensing-intuiting (S-N) and judging-perceiving (J-P). The model further discriminated between the personal and academic counseling seekers and the nonseeking group. The personal counseling group was intuiting and perceiving (NP) and the academic group was sensing and judging (SJ). No differences were found for the no services and the career groups.The results of this study indicate there are definite personality differences among counseling seekers and nonseekers. By personality type, academic counseling seekers prefer the practical and concrete. Personal counseling seekers prefer the theoretical and abstract. Career counseling seekers and the no services group appear more like the general student population on the MBTI. Suggestions for counseling interventions and future research were given. / Department of Educational Psychology

The heart of this dissertation is the SCAPULA Information Retrieval System, used to create, maintain, and retrieve coded archaeological data for the Upper Wabash Drainage at the Archaeology Laboratory of Ball State University.Several existing archaeological data banks were surveyed and classified at first, and different file organizations, computer software and hardware were reviewed next using as a major criterion the needs of archaeologists at Ball State in order to determine the characteristics of the SCAPULA System.The encoding instructions and retrieval keywords are illustrated and listed, while the functions of the SCAPULA are introduced. With its straightforward query instructions and examples, the SCAPULA Information Retrieval System, a relational data bank, is very easy to use.The present study sought to examine the impact of victim-observer similarity, victim physical attractiveness, outcome severity and sex of respondent on responsibility attributions made toward a rape victim. Perceived attitudinal similarity, victim physical attractiveness, and outcome severity were experimentally varied. In addition this study sought to further examine sex differences, which prior research has indicated may influence how a rape victim is perceived.A modified version of Alexander's (1980) scale was used to measure the degree of responsibility attributed to the victim, to the assailant, to society and to chance in each condition. A research design was developed using two levels of each of the four factors.The experiment was conducted during regular class periods. The population consisted of 198 male and female undergraduate students. Prior to the actual experiment, Ss were randomly assigned to review an attitude questionnaire (supposedly completed by the victim), which was either similar or dissimilar to one completed previously by themselves. The attitude survey used in this study was the Important Issues Questionnaire (Novak & Lerner, 1968). The study was conducted such that Ss perceived the victim to be either like or unlike themselves in basic attitudes. Ss were then asked to view a videotape in which a sexual assault victim was interviewed. The victim was actually an actress who read a prepared script. Outcome severity was varied by the use of written vignettes and by the victim's (actress's) narration of either having suffered an attempted rape or a rape with physical injuries. Physical attractiveness was varied by the use of cosmetics and dress. Ss were tested in groups. Each group saw only one of the four videotapes. Ss were debriefed following the experiment.The study was designed to answer the following research questions:1. Would Ss make significantly different responsibility attributions toward a victim they perceived as similar to themselves than toward a victim they perceived as dissimilar to themselves?2. Would Ss make significantly different responsibility attributions toward a victim who suffered a non-severe outcome than toward a victim who suffered a severe outcome?3. Would male Ss make significantly different attributions of responsibility toward a physically attractive victim than toward a physically unattractive victim?4. Would the respondent's sex significantly affect the degree of responsibility attributed to the victim?A 2x2x2x2 multivariate analysis of variance was used to test the four research hypothesis. Significance was considered at an alpha level of .05.FindingsThe results of this study indicated that no significant difference existed for similarity, outcome severity, sex of respondent or physical attractiveness. There was however, a tendency for Ss to attribute more responsibility to the victim who had suffered a severe outcome, and also for the assailant in that condition to be assigned a harsher penalty.ConclusionPrior research in the area of rape victim culpability has offered conflicting results. The present study sought to provide clarity to the findings of previous research. Further research is needed in this area to gain a clearer understanding of factors which influence how victims of sexual assault are perceived.

The Center for Information and Communication Sciences graduate program commenced at Ball State University in 1986 with a specific focus to train graduate students to be leaders in the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry. The Center is the manifestation of a vision birthed out of creativity and resourcefulness. This study examined the creative pedagogy approach at CICS based on instruction, social learning culture, professional development, academic achievements, and collaborative interaction among students, faculty, alumni, and colleagues in ICT industries. The distinctiveness of this graduate program that combined in-class and out-of-class learning experiences was the focus of this study. This study employed a qualitative method, specifically a descriptive case study design with the intent to understand and explain the academic, social, and cultural phenomena of the graduate program at CICS. The central research questions of this study focused on the impact of the teaching, learning, social and leadership outcomes of the iv program. The data collection methods used for this inquiry were semi-structured interviews in combination with evidence from archival document data. The twelve participants were selected through purposive sampling and snowball sampling techniques. The data analysis consisted of open coding techniques that produced eight themes. The findings were organized in relation to the study’s three central research questions and indicated that the educational, technical, and social learning experiences of the masters program at CICS impacted the current students and alumni in a variety of ways. All the participants considered the program intense and comprehensive. They also agreed that the program was built around professional development. The existence of elements such as, the Student Social Learning Program (SSLP), teamwork, group projects, close-knit alumni community, well qualified faculty members, enrollment diversity, and studentcentered immersive learning made CICS distinct from other programs. The educational philosophy used in the program was described as effective, deliberate, consistent, clear-cut, invasive, multidisciplinary, integrated, and a culture of success. Key recommendations for further studies include study on the feasibility of replicating the success of CICS by adopting their pedagogical philosophies and practices and a comparative study of similar programs. / Department of Educational Studies

This qualitative study investigated the attitudes and perceptions of the role of Residence Life Professionals in attending to the spiritual needs of undergraduate college students at Ball State University. This study examined how undergraduate college students view the role of Residence Life Professionals in attending to spiritual needs. The results of this study have particular significance for those who are responsible for the well being of college students on a daily basis and benefit the Residence Life system by allowing a better understanding of where Professionals and students stand on this issue. This in turn will help Residence Life Professionals and students establish realistic expectations of each other in the spiritual arena. The researcher conducted 12 interviews with undergraduate student at Ball State University and analyzed the data by coding themes. / Department of Secondary, Higher, and Foundations of Education