Browsing by Subject "Self-perception"

Now showing 1 - 9 of 9
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    Alzheimer's Disease Narratives and the Myth of Human Being
    (2012-12-11) Rieske, Tegan Echo; Schultz, Jane E.; Johnson, Karen Ramsay; Tilley, John J.
    The ‘loss of self’ trope is a pervasive shorthand for the prototypical process of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in the popular imagination. Turned into an effect of disease, the disappearance of the self accommodates a biomedical story of progressive deterioration and the further medicalization of AD, a process which has been storied as an organic pathology affecting the brain or, more recently, a matter of genetic calamity. This biomedical discourse of AD provides a generic framework for the disease and is reproduced in its illness narratives. The disappearance of self is a mythic element in AD narratives; it necessarily assumes the existence of a singular and coherent entity which, from the outside, can be counted as both belonging to and representing an individual person. The loss of self, as the rhetorical locus of AD narrative, limits the privatization of the experience and reinscribes cultural storylines---storylines about what it means to be a human person. The loss of self as it occurs in AD narratives functions most effectively in reasserting the presence of the human self, in contrast to an anonymous, inhuman nonself; as AD discourse details a loss of self, it necessarily follows that the thing which is lost (the self) always already existed. The private, narrative self of individual experience thus functions as proxy to a collective human identity predicated upon exceptionalism: an escape from nature and the conditions of the corporeal environment.
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    Borderland Journeys: A Layered Autoethnography
    (2014-02-25) Bankert-Countryman, Janice Elizabeth; Goering, Elizabeth M.; Dobris, Catherine A.; Rhodes, Nancy; Parrish-Sprowl, John
    The collection of pages spread before you now, this story-thesis, is a collection of stories about my journey from cult member to the place in life I am now, stories about those stories, and stories about the people who lived or read them, talked about them, and were changed by the tellings. Most importantly, the goal of this story-thesis is to illustrate how the process of story-making and -telling changes how we interpret our identities and our lifeworlds. I argue that the stories that we share change our identities, and I also argue that how we perceive our identity and the identities of others affects the stories that we share.
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    The Cultural Influences that Provide the Impetus to Create Self-Identity Through Inscribing the Body
    (2010-07-19T15:34:22Z) Doran, Teri Lynn; Dobris, Catherine A.; White-Mills, Kim D.; Parrish-Sprowl, John
    Tattoos, a permanent body modification that has frequently been associated with deviance and lower class sub-cultures, have become increasingly popular in the United States since the early 1990’s. In my thesis I examine the shared worldviews of individuals who obtain tattoos by conducting an analysis of six internet communities that promote this sub-culture in order to understand how cultural influences provide the impetus to create self-identity through inscribing the body. I will argue that individuals who commit to a permanent tattoo may be motivated by the need to create self identity.
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    THE EFFECT OF CURRICULAR SEQUENCING OF HUMAN PATIENT SIMULATION LEARNING EXPERIENCES ON STUDENTS’ SELF-PERCEPTIONS OF CLINICAL REASONING ABILITIES
    (2011-11-18) Jensen, Rebecca Sue; Ebright, Patricia; Pesut, Daniel J.; Fisher, Mary L., Ph.D.; Welch, Janet L.
    It is unknown whether timing of human patient simulation (HPS) in a semester, demographic (age, gender, and ethnicity), and situational (type of program and previous baccalaureate degree and experience in healthcare) variables affects students’ perceptions of their clinical reasoning abilities. Nursing students were divided into two groups, mid and end of semester HPS experiences. Students’ perceptions of clinical reasoning abilities were measured at Baseline (beginning of semester) and Time 2 (end of semester), along with demographic and situational variables. Dependent variable was Difference scores where Baseline scores were subtracted from Time 2 scores to reveal changes in students’ perceptions of clinical reasoning. Students who were older and had previous healthcare experience had higher scores, as well as students in the AS program, indicating larger changes in students’ perceptions of clinical reasoning abilities from Baseline to Time 2. Timing of HPS, mid or end of semester, had no effect on Difference scores, and thus students’ perceptions of clinical reasoning abilities.
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    The Impact of a Lack of Diversity in Leadership Positions on Self-Perceptions and Views of Success in Latino/a/x Youth
    (2022-07-29) Thomas, Jordan; Zeh, Janie; Messmore, Niki
    BACKGROUND: The Boys and Girls Club (BGC) is a national organization that cares for diverse youths ages 6-18. At a national level, BGC states that a commitment to inclusion is a core value. This research explores the demographic makeup of BGC of Tippecanoe County’s staff/volunteer members and analyzes its impact on the Latino/a/x youth that attend the club. METHODS: A 2-part anonymous survey was developed and distributed to all active staff/volunteers that work at BGC of Tippecanoe County. Part 1 consisted of basic demographic questions. Part 2 of the survey had participants answer questions about their Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and an ACEs score was calculated from their responses. RESULTS: Data analysis found that 89% of employees identified as “White/European”. In addition, 100% of responses labeled “English” as their primary language. Data revealed that 94% of respondents listed their sexual orientation as “heterosexual”. 100% of the participants selected either “male” or “female” as their gender identity, showing no divergence from the “male/female” binary at the club. In the final two demographics questions from the survey, 56% of the respondents indicated that their childhood household had an income greater than $50,000 and another 56% stated that they had an education level at or below a high school diploma. POTENTIAL IMPACT/CONCLUSIONS: The demographic makeup of BGC of Tippecanoe County puts Latino/a/x youth at risk of struggling when developing their social-emotional and ethnic identities. The current staff/volunteer list does not put Latino/a/x youth in the best possible developmental environment for cultural appreciation and self-confidence. Several strategic diversity recommendations have been created and passed on to the organization. These aim to increase the engagement level and cultural appreciation of Latino/a/x culture to empower youth that identify with this group.
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    Moving Beyond Work-Family: Establishing Domains Relevant to Work-Life Conflict
    (2013-03-06) Crask, Erin M.; Boyd, Elizabeth; Williams, Jane R.; Salyers, Michelle P.
    Theoretically, inter-role conflict can occur between any life domains that place competing demands on an individual. However, inter-role conflict research has mainly focused on the conflict between only two domains: work and family. This limited focus is problematic because it has excluded many other potential life domains in which people participate. In order to focus more attention on other life domains, however, it is necessary to understand which life domains people are participating in. As such, the goal of the present qualitative research was to identify and define the full spectrum of life domains by asking two questions: What life domains are relevant to work-life conflict, and how do people value the various life domains in which they are involved? A total of 13 life domains emerged from the data. Participants engaged in an average of 9 of these domains, indicating that people engage in many activities in life outside just work and family.
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    Self-Esteem, Communicator Style and Classroom Satisfaction
    (2011-11-18) Sisson, Angela J.; Goering, Elizabeth M.; Sandwina, Ronald M.; Rhodes, Nancy
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    The Utility of the Implicit Association Test in the Measurement of Pain and Self-schema Enmeshment in Fibromyalgia Patients
    (2011-03-09) Steiner, Jennifer Leah; Bigatti, Silvia M.; Stewart, Jesse C.; Ashburn-Nardo, Leslie
    Fibromyalgia Syndrome (FMS) is a chronic, painful rheumatic condition characterized by recurrent musculoskeletal pain, fatigue, and nonrestorative sleep, for which there is currently no biological marker. People who suffer from fibromyalgia are extremely susceptible to the effects of psychological stressors which may in turn exacerbate the symptoms of the disease. As unrelenting pain is the main symptom of fibromyalgia, it follows that patients would experience personal losses and changes in their self-schemas or the way in which they view themselves as a result. This study was particularly focused on identifying the enmeshment of self-schemas and pain-schemas, and the extent to which women with fibromyalgia experience pain and self-schema enmeshment (PSSE). Additionally, this study sought to determine the utility of using the Implicit Association Test as a measure of PSSE. The present study compared FMS patients to a group of diabetes patients on several measures of schema enmeshment, including the IAT. It was hypothesized that the two disease groups would differ significantly on the level of PSSE indicated by the IAT, and the two disease groups would not differ on enmeshment with illness indicated by the IAT. Additionally it was hypothesized that the IAT would be correlated with explicit measures of PSSE. Results did not support either of these hypotheses; however the sample size and statistical power necessary to test these hypotheses was severely lacking and thus they could not be evaluated in an appropriate manner. Results did not support the hypothesis that the IAT would be highly correlated with the explicit measures of PSSE. Based on these results and the existing literature, it is still somewhat unclear as to whether or not the IAT would be an acceptable/feasible tool in assessing PSSE in fibromyalgia patients.
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    Veterans and non-veterans with schizophrenia : a grounded theory comparison of perceptions of self, illness, and treatment
    (2014-07-31) Firmin, Ruth L.; Salyers, Michelle P.; McGrew, John H., 1953-; Boyd, Elizabeth; Lysaker, Paul H.; Grahame, Nicholas J.
    This study investigates differences between Veterans and non-Veterans with severe mental illness (SMI) regarding perceptions of their illness, themselves, and treatment. I compare patient interviews (using the Indiana Psychiatric Illness Interview, IPII) of Veterans (N=20) and non-Veterans (N=26). Modified grounded theory and qualitative coding software Atlas-TI were used to develop codebooks for each group, and these were compared for differences. I examined differences in both code frequency and meaning. Statistically, more Veterans were male, employed, married, had higher income, and had higher education. Statistical differences in code frequency included: more Veterans discussing boredom, regret/guilt/loss, and wanting to be “normal.” More non-Veterans had codes of pessimism and religion/spirituality, wanting a different future, bringing up mental health, family, future: no change, life goals, and relapse. Key differences in narrative themes included: (1) Veterans’ “military mindset”/discussion of anger as part of mental illness, (2) non-Veterans’ focus on mental-illness, (3) differing attitudes regarding stigma, (4) active versus passive attitudes toward treatment, and (5) degree of optimism regarding the future. Differences are described and then potential relationships and interactions are proposed. Veterans appear to have several protective factors (i.e., finances, employment, marriage). Additionally, Veterans’ military-mindset seems to encourage greater stigma-resistance, and thereby also facilitate Veterans being more active and optimistic toward treatment and recovery. By contrast, non-Veteran focus on mental illness may be related to increased self-stigma, passive and pessimistic attitudes. I propose that Veteran identity can serve as an additional protective factor against stigma, pessimism, and passivity. Veteran-identity may also be a useful framework clinically, to help promote active approaches to treatment (e.g., “fighting symptoms”). Further, Veterans emphasized issues relating to anger as important and part of their mental health. It may be that Veterans are more comfortable discussing mental health in the language of “anger,” given stigma. Finally, findings suggest that helping individuals in both groups engage in meaningful, non-mental illness-related life activities may help shape self-perception, and thereby responses to stigma, attitudes toward treatment, and hope for the future.