Teresa Steffen, Ph.D., PT is currently conducting research entitled "Wellness for Groups with Disabilities: An Exercise Program for People with Parkinson’s Disease.” According to Steffen, “As the population with Parkinson’s Disease increases and people live longer with their disabilities, it is important for us to understand the value of ongoing treatment interventions including the effects of exercise.”
Dr. Steve Cope, Ph.D. OT is working with the Medical College of Wisconsin and Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin on a project which is entitled, “Functional magnetic resonance imaging before and after constraint induced movement therapy in children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy: A pilot study”. Dr. Cope's research interests include: 1) Motor control and motor learning in children with and without neuromuscular conditions; 2) effectiveness of pediatric rehabilitation interventions for children with brain injury and underlying brain mechanisms for recovery; and 3) evidence-based rehabilitation practice.
Kevin E. Voss, M.Div., D.V.M., Director of the Concordia Bioethics Institute, is working on a Ph.D. dissertation entitled, “Religious Beliefs and Reproductive Counseling Practices of Catholic, Jewish, and Lutheran Clergy.” He has completed a survey study of 1,300 Lutheran Pastors, Catholic Priests, and Jewish Rabbis asking them their opinions concerning the moral status of the human embryo and their views of in vitro fertilization (IVF) and prenatal genetic testing (PGT). He also asked what their specific counseling practices were when parishioners come to them for advice about human reproduction or genetics issues. Dr. Voss is also working on an edited book about the implications of the image of God and bioethics.
Janice Campanelli, Nursing is part of a research team headed by Dr. Pat Stevens (PI) from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee College of Nursing conducting a study entitled "An In-Depth Longitudinal Study of HIV-Infected Women." (2000-2004) National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Institute of Nursing Research. R01 NR004840-05. Campanelli is working on one arm of this study that involves an analysis of the subjects narratives related to their drug and alchohol history and patterns of use and recovery.
Janice Campanelli, Nursing is working on a pilot study to test the efficacy of journaling as a data collection method for part of a larger study titled: "Women's Experience of the Menstrual Cycle." This work comes from observations over the years of women's response to additional knowledge of the menstrual cycle. In working with groups of women recovering from drug and alcohol addictions it was discovered by Professor Campanelli that knowledge about the menstrual cycle had a positive impact on relapse prevention work. As a member of the Society for Menstrual Cycle Research, Prof. Campanelli has been encouraged to further these findings.
Cheryl Peterson and Chris Zimmermann, Ph.D., are working on a joint project entitled "The Examination of Measurement Error and Test-Retest Reliability of Trunk Reposition.” According to Peterson, the research involves testing of a new device for use in the Physical Therapy clinical setting. The device is designed to provide measurements of a patient’s ability to position their spine in a precise orientation on repeated trials. Many spine problems are associated with an inability to position and maintain the spine in an appropriate alignment. The new device will most likely be used to document a patient’s ability to position their spine precisely following physical therapy spinal intervention programs.
Jeffrey Walz, Ph.D. is currently looking at how pastors provide (or fail to provide) valuable political cues to their parishioners in sermons, Bible studies, confirmation classes, and even casual conversation. Building upon Guth et al., Dr. Walz and Dr. Steven Montreal are examining the nexus between Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod pastors and politics in the wake of the 2000 elections.
Mark J. P. Wolf, Ph.D. is studying the building of imaginary worlds (what Tolkien referred to as “subcreation”). In popular culture there are many imaginary worlds (such as Tolkien’s Middle Earth, or the Stars Wars or Star Trek galaxies) which contain many stories within them and span multiple media, and often involve the work of more than one author or designer. These worlds have been overlooked in media studies, where objects of study tend to remain single works, and analyses tend to be medium-specific.
Dr. Wolf is also currently working on the following books:
J. R. R. Tolkien: Imagination and Subcreation (a book about Tolkien’s character and legacy)
Video Game History (tentative title, a book about the history of video games)
The Seven Stones (a novel set in its own imaginary world)
Ruth Gresley, Ph.D. is conducting research entitled "Building Clinical Skills in Nurse Educator Students". The purpose of this qualitative study is to evaluate the effectiveness of a graduate nurse educator clinical skill building practicum from the student perspective. In the current climate of a nursing shortage, the lack of well qualified nursing faculty to prepare more nurses is a significant problem. A debate has ensued over educating new nursing faculty members, which revolves around the skills needed to be good teachers of nursing. An assumption for this study is that nurse educators need advanced practice clinical skills as well as high quality teaching skills that are based on evidence about effectiveness.
Dr. Nathan Jastram, Ph.D. Theology is conducting research on the biblical book of Numbers. He is working on books for the Oxford Hebrew Bible project, the Concordia Commentary series, the Bible at Qumran series, and the Biblia Qumranica project.
Dr. David Jarratt has two main areas of research: 1) U.S. Supreme Court decisions on freedom of religion issues and 2) The role of Christians in the German resistance movement during World War II.
