The purpose of this study was to determine what relationship exists between the degree of an eating disorder or "disordered eating" pattern and athletic performance. The subjects were 30 female collegiate swimmers, between the ages of 18 and 22 years, at Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana. The subjects completed the Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI) questionnaire, which assesses several psychological and behavioral traits associated with bulimia nervosa and anorexia nervosa, and the Bulimia Test-Revised (BULIT-R) questionnaire which measures symptoms of bulimia in adolescents and adults. A performance score was calculated from each swimmer's best event.The results of this study supported the research hypothesis that there would be a negative relationship between the swimming performance of athletes and degree of eating disorder or "disordered eating" pattern as measured by the two questionnaires. "Disordered eating" patterns predicted 20 percent of the variance in athletic performance. / School of Physical Education

Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder that occurs almost exclusively in women, with its prominent features being caloric restriction, excessive exercise, and emaciation. Research has found that women with anorexia nervosa generally have less sexual experience and more negative sexual attitudes when compared to "normal" women. There has been little research, however, on the potential relationship between sexuality and anorexic-like symptoms among women who do not meet diagnostic criteria for an eating disorder. Therefore, this study employed a population of college women to investigate the hypothesis that anorexic-like symptoms would be related to less sexual experience and more negative sexual attitudes. The correlations that were obtained did not support the hypotheses. Results are discussed with regard to directions for future research. / Department of Psychological Science

The purpose of this investigation was to study the relationship between perceived barriers and participation or non-participation by undergraduate females in recreational programming at Ball State University. For the purposes of this study, anything that reinforces a decision not to participate in a program or activity was considered a barrier. Participants were selected from various college units on campus. They were also grouped based upon on campus or off campus residency and whether they were participants or non-participants in programs sponsored by the Office of Recreation Programs at Ball State University. Each participant (n=160) completed two written surveys: survey one: the Leisure Diagnostic Battery (LDB) and survey two: the Perceived Barriers Survey. Data were analyzed using multiple t-tests and associations were revealed at the .05 level on each of the three scales of the LDB (Barriers to Leisure Experience Scale, Depth of Leisure Involvement Scale and the Perceived Leisure Competence Scale). Many perceived personality traits influenced whether a female student participated in campus recreational programming. Survey two also presented associations at the .05 level for the following specific perceived barriers: discomfort; lack of motivation; fatigue; feelings about one's body; other people; pain; lack of time available; inconvenient hours; body image; school responsibilities and a lack of knowledge about what programs were available. Each of these barriers represents a call to action for recreation professionals. Several program strategies were suggested to minimize or eliminate these barriers, and to recruit and retain more female students in campus recreational programming. / Fisher Institute for Wellness

A semester-long study examined the problems and needs of non-traditional women students. The subjects were a non-traditional undergraduate student enrolled in a beginning composition class and a non-traditional graduate student enrolled in an advanced composition class. The study argues that since universities and colleges are actively recruiting older students, these institutions should be more responsive to the unique problems posed by non-traditional women students, which are different from traditional-aged students. The study addresses non-traditional women students' reasons for returning to school and the personal and academic barriers they run into. The two case studies discuss their expectations relating to their composition classes in particular and fitting into the university system generally. In conclusion, recommendations are made in the specific areas of university systems, pedagogy, and future research. / Department of English

The purpose of this study is to identify how low-SES women who are providing primary childcare for children ages 0-10 experience higher education. In-depth phenomenological interviewing combined with document analysis were the methods utilized. This exploration used a purposive/ snowball sample of low-SES mothers who were making satisfactory progress toward a degree. Participants were screened using the following inclusion criteria: enrolled at least half-time, degree-seeking, minimum 2.5 G.P.A., Pell eligible and first-generation, had one or more children ages 0-10 living in the home. There were seven total participants in the study. Five themes emerged from the participant data: support systems, lack of college preparation, family as a priority, education as self-fulfillment, and balance. The themes were consistent with the findings in the literature. Each of the participants had full and busy lives with multiple responsibilities necessitating, for the most part, a part-time schedule as a student. None of them had entered community college directly out of high school and if they had attempted higher education immediately following high school at another institution, they were unsuccessful. Independent students are most clearly different from their dependent counterparts in their family and work responsibilities and this was found to be absolutely true for the participants in this study whose primary responsibility was to their family and that their pursuit of higher education was something they were doing to further their family’s future. While participants indicated that education was partially for self-fulfillment, they viewed this as an almost unexpected positive side effect of the path to a better job, higher income and benefits to themselves and their children. The “good mother—bad mother” dualism that is a part of our cultural script was evident in the self-sacrificing long-term goals and daily routines of the participants. / Department of Educational Studies

Much research has been conducted about domestic violence using heterosexual women samples. This study investigated how heterosexual and lesbian women make attributions about domestic violence, as well as their myth endorsement behaviors. It also looked at the effect of participants’ egalitarianism on their victim blaming behaviors and the effect of their own victimization on their perpetrator blaming behaviors. Analyses were also conducted to examine the relationship between attribution behaviors and myth endorsement behaviors. ANOVA results indicated that heterosexual and lesbian women tend to exhibit similar patterns in the attributions of blame behaviors, though heterosexual women engaged in greater victim blame and situational blame than did lesbian women. ANCOVA results suggested a relationship between egalitarianism and victim blaming behaviors, but not between victimization history and perpetrator blaming behaviors. Pearson correlation analyses showed that relationships did exist between some attributions and myths, though not between all of them. Finally, ANOVA results indicated that heterosexual and lesbian women engage in similar myth endorsement behaviors, with heterosexual women endorsing myths more than lesbian Heterosexual and Lesbian Women’s ix women. Strengths, limitations, directions for future research, and implications for practice are also discussed. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services

This study analyzes the nature of pre-service teachers’ conceptual models of various electromagnetic phenomena, specifically electrical current, electrical resistance, and light/matter interactions. This is achieved through the students answering the three questions on electromagnetism using a free response approach including both verbal and pictorial representation. The student responses are then analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively utilizing a multi-tiered approach. These analyses include epistemological representation, misconceptions, correct conceptions, and the impact of high school physics exposure on student conceptions. This study is unique in three primary respects; the free response questionnaire approach, a subject group that consists of pre-service teachers, and a primarily female demographic. / Department of Physics and Astronomy

The current study sought to extend knowledge on effectiveness of Electronic Response Systems (ERS) or “clickers” in a college classroom by comparing student assessment performance between two sections (n = 41 & 42) of a Biblical Studies course in a small evangelical university. Student characteristics were virtually identical in the classes, taught by the same instructor. In one section, the instructor used ERS two to four times a week to administer quizzes or start discussions. Results showed no statistically significant evidence of improved performance in the ERS class, measured on a wide variety of assignment, quiz, and exam scores, including pre-test/post-test improvement in knowledge. Gender, prior GPA, and other demographic differences did not interact with the manipulation. It was speculated that use of ERS may have failed to make a difference in the current study because the system was not used frequently enough or for engaging activities, or because the use of ERS in a small class may not have provided benefits beyond the usual class experience. Interestingly, however, a student survey given at the beginning and end of the semester showed that students in the ERS class significantly improved their opinion of the system, indicating that they felt they had performed better as a result of using the clickers. (Students’ opinions in the control class declined.) Thus, students believed that ERS had improved their performance, although objectively it had not. It was concluded that relying on student opinions on the benefits of ERS may be misleading. / Department of Educational Studies

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 42-48). / viii, 48 leaves, bound ill. 29 cm

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Hawaii at Manoa, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 92-93). / ix, 93 leaves, bound col. ill. 29 cm