The purpose of the study was to examine students' perceptions of frequency of clinical teacher behaviors and whether those perceptions change by class level. The theoretical framework for the study was Bevis' paradigm of curriculum revolution.In 1993, Marilyn Simons, DNS gathered data from nursing students enrolled in clinical nursing courses at a Midwestern university. The convenience sample totaled 88 (100%). The data was not analyzed or reported. The current study was a retrospective analysis of that data.Findings of the study showed that students perceived faculty as demonstrating professional competence and interpersonal relationship behaviors in the clinical setting. No significant differences were found in these perceptions by class level on either then total scale or on the subscales.The conclusion from the study was that faculty at this particular university are perceived as practicing emancipatory education as proposed by Bevis. It was also concluded that faculty perform at the same level of competency and use similar approaches without regard to class level, and that students perceived that faculty related to them in similar ways across classes.The study was significant because it helps nurse educators understand the student perspective of clinical teacher behavior. The Clinical Teacher Behavior Tool used in the study could be used to help design a cooperative clinical learning model different from the traditional education approach and in accordance with Bevis' paradigm. / School of Nursing

This heuristic study of web credibility, considered education as a previously determined demographic to compare the user based data of this study to previous findings in the literature of web credibility and source credibility. By conducting focus groups of college undergraduates, graduate students, and faculty and using grounded theory analysis, 12 categories emerged from the data. These twelve factors were used in developing a process model of web credibility to explain the data in this study. After comparing this data and model to previous findings, several implications and suggestions for future research emerged. The most significant finding was that authority may be highly undervalued in the web credibility literature. Also the data in this study shows that undergraduates reacted much differently in terms of web credibility than did the more educated participants. The data furthermore implies that the disparity between groups hinges more on training in web development than education. / Department of Communication Studies

African-Americans are disproportionately affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the United States. Previous research has shown that many African-Americans endorsed HIV/AIDS conspiracy beliefs. However, no previous research has investigated the relationship of these beliefs to attitudes about condom use among African-American college students. This study was designed to determine if there was a relationship between conspiracy beliefs about HIV/AIDS to attitudes about condom use in African-American college students. A convenience sample of 93 African-American college students (aged 18 to 31; 68.8% female) from student based organizations at a Midwestern University participated in the study. A non-experimental, cross-sectional survey design was used. A written self-report, 20-item questionnaire was completed by the participants (Bogart & Thorburn, 2005). From the analysis of the data it was determined that there was no statistical significant correlation between HIV/AIDS conspiracy beliefs and attitudes toward condom use in this population. Findings suggest that African-American college students are less likely to endorse HIV/AIDS conspiracy beliefs, thus making HIV prevention programs likely to be more effective with this population. / Department of Physiology and Health Science

With numerous local economies previously driven by manufacturing, Indiana was strongly affected by the economic downturn from 2007 until 2009. One suggestion to facilitate economic growth has been Richard Florida’s “creative class” theory, which asserts that talented and educated people choose to live in creative places. College graduates represent one part of Florida’s “creative class.” Current students at Ball State University were surveyed to understand the importance of place-related factors for where students wanted to live after they graduated. The survey responses indicated that students are most concerned with income potential, cost of living, and distance to family. Alumni residence data from Ball State and three other Indiana universities were also mapped and compared to county-level measures of income, housing, distance from home, and creativity index. This analysis supports the survey findings that economic factors and family connections are likely motivating factors in where graduates have chosen to live and stands in contrast to the overall logic of the creative place theory of development. / Department of Geography

There is a need in the field of international education to form sound assessment practices to provide support for the study abroad experience. This study conducted assessment research using the CrossCultural Adaptability Inventory (CCAI) as a pre and post-test as well as structured interviews to assess the impact and determine the cultural learning outcomes of the two main types of study abroad programs at Ball State University.According to the CCAI, there was meaningful cultural learning that occurred for the students who participated in study abroad programs for the Fall 2001 semester. The interviews revealed that the student participants experienced gains in self-perception, communication skills, and worldview concepts. Further implications include the continuation of assessment in the international education field and the move towards learning based study abroad models. / Department of Educational Studies

This study was designed to examine the effect amount of exercise has on men's self-esteem and body satisfaction. It was hypothesized that there would be a negative relationship between the amount of exercise performed weekly and an individual's self-esteem and a negative relationship between the amount of exercise performed weekly and body satisfaction which were measured by Drive for Thinness and Body Dissatisfaction. Data were analyzed by conducting a multiple regression analysis. Results indicated that there was no relationship between the amount of exercise and self-esteem and body satisfaction in college men. Implications of this study for research and practice are discussed. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services

This study examines attitudes regarding general violence, violence against women, gender roles, and rape myth and how they relate to music preference. Surveys were completed by 321 students from two large introductory sociology classes at a midsize Midwestern university. Data were analyzed using Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression. The results indicate that those who listen to predominantly rap and r&b music are more accepting of general violence and violence against women. Also, findings support the idea that amount of music videos viewed affects views on gender roles. Results show no support for a relationship between attitudes about rape myth and listening to rap and r&b music. / Department of Sociology

Training staff to better meet the needs of a diverse study body is an important component of housing and residence life programs. This study at Ball State University identified the role and effectiveness of the Multicultural Advisor Program and provides suggestions on how to improve. Six focus groups allowed the researcher to explore the Multicultural Advisor Program from Resident Assistants, Multicultural Advisors, Hall Directors, and students perspectives during fall 2003 semester. / Department of Educational Leadership

A quasi-experimental study was implemented to investigate student achievement, time-on-task, and attitude toward microcomputer instruction in relation to the Meyers-Briggs psychological subgroup types of IN, EN, IS, and ES as they interact simultaneously. A pretest-posttest nonrandomized control-group design study comprised of 52 control group subjects and 39 experimental group subjects was carried out during four separate quarters of instruction in a college introductory genetics course during a unit on Mendelian genetics. The control group was instructed with a conventional lecture, discussion, and laboratory method that was based on identified conceptual blocks that are guided by clearly defined learning objectives. The experimental group was taught using the same conceptual blocks and learning objectives, but this group's instruction emphasized the supplementary use of microcomputers to generate genetic cross data with a software program called CATLAB in place of actual fruit fly crosses. Additionally, the experimental group used a microcomputer tutorial programmed by the investigator from a Mendelian genetic programmed instruction book used regularly in the course. This investigator taught both groups throughout the study of Mendelian genetics.Psychological type equivalency between the two groups was established through the use of computer software called the Selection Ratio Type Table PC program (SRTT). No significant differences were identified between the control and experimental group with respect to the Meyers-Briggs Type Indicator (Form G) testing either in relation to the sixteen main classes or to their subgroupings.A MANOVA statistical analysis was carried out on the data and was performed to test for significant differences between vectors of means for the three dependent measures of time-on-task, posttest achievement, and attitudes toward the instruction given with microcomputers. There was no significant difference between the two treatments toward the instruction given with regard to time-on-task, achievement, and attitude, when considered simultaneously, F(3,72) = 2.58 and p < .06. Further, when the MBTI subgroups of IN, EN, IS, and ES were considered simultaneously in relation to the three dependent measures as vectors of means, no significant differences toward the instruction given were discovered among the types in the treatment samples, F(9,175) = 1.47 and p < .16. / Department of Biology

There is no abstract available for this dissertation. / Department of Educational Leadership