The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship of international students' media use and their community integration in their current host society. After starting from the community integration theory, this study broadened its research perspective to internationalstudents' media use, acculturation, uses and gratifications, English anxiety, and the Internet as an informative media. On the basis of previous study results, use of American originated media was expected to have a positiverelationship with community integration, while, to the contrary, home country-originated media was expected to have a negative relationship with community integration.Data was collected with an online survey. A total of 117 international students who were registered for the Ball State University summer semester in 2005 participated in the survey.Correlation and t-tests largely supported the hypothesis, revealing a strong correlation between the university newspaper and community integration. Home country-originated media showed a number of negative correlations to community integration. In addition, data analysis found that different levels of community integration were associated with each other, indicating that community integration on a certain community level can be extended to other levels of community integration. The Internet was found to be a negative factor in community integration. Theoretical and methodological implications of the findings were discussed for future research. / Department of Journalism

To analyze the impact multicultural factors had on skills international graduate students at Ball State University's classrooms, two independent variables (professors' behavior and students' participation) and three dependent variables (language skills, cultural awareness, and group support) were utilized in this study.The primary goal of this thesis, an analysis of the impact that multicultural factors: language skills, cultural awareness, participation, group support, and professors' behavior had on international graduate students' participation in classrooms, revealed that:First, English language proficiency and language (speaking,reading, writing, and understanding) limited international graduate students' participation.Second, no relationship was found between the time international students lived in the United States and their cultural awareness hierarchy; but international students were aware of "other" cultural values and aspects beyond their own culture.Third, the level of group support provided to international students affected international graduate students' frequency of participation in classroom. Group support was provided basically by professors through encouragement and feedback.Fourth, although English proficiency limited international students participation, it was found that frequency participation ranked from "some times (30%)" and "always (30%) ", to "most of the time (33%)".Fifth, within 9 variables of professors' behavior, all of which were perceived as positive to some degree, forty-seven percent of (n=83) international graduate students reported that they perceived feedback as "always" positive.The second goal of this thesis, a comparison between students from developed and developing countries regarding their English language proficiency revealed that:Students from developing countries were 70 percent of the sample while students from developed countries made up 30%;Males were in a majority overall and more males than females were enrolled in master's programs. However, more females than males were enrolled in doctoral programs.Marital status did not affect English proficiency, but unmarried students showed higher levels of language- skills (speaking, reading, etc.) than married students.The third goal of this study, a description of how both family and friend relationships affected international graduate students' English proficiency revealed that both relationships limited international students' English proficiency. / Department of Educational Leadership

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of television violence and cultural identity on international students' perceived vulnerability. A total of 73 international students who registered at Ball State University spring semester 1999 participated in the survey research project. MANOVA revealed a significant relationship between perceived vulnerability and television exposure. Although no significant relationship was found between perceived vulnerability and cultural identity levels, there was a significant interaction effect between television exposure and cultural identity. International students who were heavy viewers and had assimilated identity exhibited the greatest perceived vulnerability. Theoretical and methodological implications of the findings were discussed for future research. / Department of Speech Communication

University admission criteria for graduate and undergraduate non-native English speaking students often include a minimum score on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). The relationships among academic success (here defined as first semester university grade point average), TOEFL test score, and other variables were analyzed by means of multiple regression analysis for a sample size of 159. The other variables examined were grade point average in the final semester of pre-university study-of-English courses, native language, major area of study and interactions of TOEFL score with native language, major area of study, and graduate/undergraduate status. Data on grade point average in the final semester of pre-university English language study were obtainable because students in the sample had studied English in a full-time non-credit pre-university English language program prior to beginning university course work. In addition first semester university grade point average data from a separate group of similar subjects were separately analyzed using identical procedures in an effort to validate the results of the study sample analysis. As another validation procedure, graduate and undergraduate data were also analyzed separately for each sample. Results indicated that graduate and undergraduate students in the study sample admitted with TOEFL scores of less than 500 were able to achieve at an acceptable level in the first semester of university course work. TOEFL test score and grade point average in the final semester of pre-university study-of-English courses were related to first semester undergraduate academic success but not to graduate academic success. The grade point average in the final semester of study-of-English courses accounted for 10% of the undergraduate first semester university grade point average, which was twice the variance accounted for by TOEFL test score. Native language was not related to first semester university grade point average in the study sample although there was a relationship in the validation sample. Major area of study was significantly related to first semester university grade point average for graduate students in the study sample but not for graduate students in the validation sample. All interactions tested were not significant. The results, including conflicting outcomes, were discussed.

This research compared structured physical activity patterns to changes in body mass index (BMI) of Chinese university students. Chinese students attending Midwestern universities completed a 26-itemized, validated and reliable physical activity questionnaire. The questionnaire assessed demographics, time spent in various physical activities, BMI, and perceived barriers to exercise prior to and after residing in the U.S. for at least three months. Analysis of variance revealed that, after residing in the U.S., males had a greater increase in time spent in moderate-intensity physical activity compared to females (p < .01), while females had a greater increase in time spent in vigorous-intensity physical activity when compared to males (p < .01). Also, students 21 years of age or older were more likely to increase their time spent in moderate- and vigorous-intensity physical activities combined than those 20 years of age or younger. Lastly, change in BMI appeared to be affected by geographical region of origin (p < .05), where participants from the Eastern region of China had a greater increase in BMI than those from the Western, Northern, and Southern regions. Overall, educating Chinese university students on the importance of incorporating structured physical activities may help prevent future increases in BMI after immersion into the U.S lifestyle. / Department of Family and Consumer Sciences

The present exploratory study focused on international graduate students who might experience some difficulties with major life transitions and studying in a different culture. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between personal assertiveness and social support satisfaction among international graduate students. The researcher hypothesized that assertive international graduate students would report higher levels of seeking out and marshalling social support. Thus, they would more likely be satisfied with their perceived social support. The present study also examined several demographic variables such as ethnicity, sex, TOEFL scores, GPA, and length of stay in the U.S., as possible factors affecting their assertiveness and perceived social support satisfaction. The major findings indicated that assertiveness did not always augment social support satisfaction in the current sample. However, the results of the study demonstrated the effects of ethnicity and several other variables in predicting the levels of assertiveness and perceived social support satisfaction among international graduate students. The study also suggested several implications for future research regarding the relationship between interpersonal variables and perceived social support satisfaction. / Department of Psychological Science

The purpose of this study is to examine the adjustment issues facing international students attending American colleges and universities and the types of social support in an era post 9-11. Student-athletes face a variety of challenges when playing competitive sport. Foreign student-athletes have additional heavy burdens with physical training and language problems. International students and international student-athletes attending one of five universities in the State of Indiana (N = 102) completed a survey packet including Demographic, Social Support Survey (SSS) and Acculturative Stress Scale for International Students (ASSIS).The findings of this study would suggest that the participating international students, including talented foreign student-athletes, had low acculturative stress despite studying abroad in the United States in a post 9-11 era. Social support may not be related to acculturative stress for the participants in this study. However, there is no doubt that it is important for international students to immediately adjust to a new environment to minimize the potential of adjustment issues arising. This study may be helpful in identifying international students potentially at need of special assistance and support service. Coaches or academic counselors should pay more attention on the support services and acculturative stress of international students in their initial period. / School of Physical Education

This thesis has been an investigation of the applicability of the middleman minority theory with reference to foreign students studying in the United States.Results of the study showed that the returning students generally corresponded with the criteria of the sojourners. Non-returning students however, did not fulfill all the conditions which apply to the middleman minority group residing in the host country. It was concluded that middleman minority is not a discrete category, but falls into the end of a continuum, which starts with the sojourners. In utilizing the middleman minority theory, two factors were excluded from the theory. These were that foreign students act as middleman between the elite and the masses in a society, and that they prefer to work in liquidable occupations.

This study is an exploration of the educational experiences of women from the Caribbean island of Barbados who traveled to the USA to pursue higher education. An autoethnography research methodology was used in order to capture each woman’s educational experiences. Autoethnography also supported the inclusion of the researcher’s voice and interpretations as a Barbadian woman fitting the criteria for participation. These educational journeys represented the field and cultural world under study. Through analysis, themes emerged from each woman's description of Influential Others; Protagonist Self; and Educational Settings within her storied journey. Storied experiences in relation to race, ethnicity, and being women and the role American Higher Education had in each woman's life were also analyzed. The emergent themes supported the existence of a web of interacting narratives spun first in Barbados and extending to American Higher Education. Through the educational settings each woman interacted with, this web of narratives linked her educational journey to the narratives of the people who went before her; beside her; and after her. This web of narratives also supports each woman’s storied understanding of self, others, and settings within that journey. / Access to thesis permanently restricted to Ball State community only / Department of Educational Studies

There is no abstract available for this dissertation.