Digital Commons Network^™

The Impactful Research Appointment: Combating Research Anxiety And Library Stereotypes, Meika E. Matook

Library Staff Publications

The academic library research appointment provides invaluable benefits to both the academic library and the student, such as improved information literacy skills, trust, and a sense of community. Based on the rewards that the scheduled consultation can potentially yield, it is a service that should not be overlooked. A highly impactful research appointment derives from the librarian’s behavior. Throughout the consultation, the librarian must employ interpersonal skills and practice empathy. In doing so, they will dissolve the user’s research anxiety and negative library stereotypes, allowing information literacy capabilities to develop. In this opportune setting, it is the librarian’s responsibility to …

The Balancing Act: Tipping The Scales Of Interdependence, Happiness, And Identity Through Food In Dueling Cultural Identities Within The Asian-American Experience, Jessica Eng

Honors Theses - Providence Campus

The Balancing Act takes an in-depth look at the challenges faced by Asian-Americans regarding differences in dueling cultures, and the many factors and facets that connect to identity formation and self-expression within society. This will include all Asian-Americans that

were born in America, as well as Asian immigrants that have assimilated into the Western world. Within this analysis, the imbalance between individualistic and collectivistic cultures for Asian- Americans in all aspects of their lives, from family relations, will be discussed, along with the impact this negotiation of identities has created between oneself, family, and friends. This mediation between independence and …

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words: Social Media's Approach To Comfort Food, Isabella Paul

Honors Theses - Providence Campus

My thesis essentially explores the ways social media reveals subconscious connections to food. Research indicates that there is an existing connection between food consumption and nostalgia, which transports a person back to their childhood and its association with comfort. This concept of nostalgia helps us understand how people in their everyday lives share their personal comforts with the general public, and how the general public responds. To explore this phenomenon I conduct primary research in the form of collecting and analyzing Instagram posts relating to comfort food, using the hashtags #comfortfood, #nostalgia, and #foodnostalgia. I use this research to identify …

Jwu Library Providence Campus Annual Report 2019-2020, Rosita E. Hopper

About the Library

No abstract provided.

Jwu Library By The Numbers 2019-2020, Rosita E. Hopper

About the Library

No abstract provided.

Jwu Library Providence Campus Annual Report 2017-2018, Rosita E. Hopper

About the Library

No abstract provided.

Experiences Building, Training, And Deploying A Chatbot In An Academic Library, David Meincke

Library Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

The Uses Of The Internet: Improving Health Conditions, Thu Nguyen

MBA Student Scholarship

The purpose of this research proposal is to determine three uses of the Internet in enhancing health conditions among a sample of 670 educated people who are divided into two groups— a student group and an employee group. The method of this research is a cross-sectional study. Six hundred and seventy subjects need to complete two questionnaires that relate to data storing habits and health information seeking habits, and answer one interview about how they feel if they use the Internet to memorize, and look for health information. The research concludes that the more the subjects spend time on using …

Family Involvement - Influence On Change Management, Value And Performance Of Small And Medium Scale Businesses - A Research Proposal, Abimbola Mary Ojo

MBA Student Scholarship

The aim of this research proposal is to analyze the impact of family involvement over change and performance of small and medium size family businesses. Three family business theories mostly used by previous researchers namely: entrepreneurial, stakeholder and stewardship theories will be used to explore relationships between ownership, change management and the performance objectives of family firms. This study will examine the relationship between Familiness (that is, family ownership) and firm performance by considering the influence of family management, family control, and firm size using the family influence scale (the familiness-power, experience, and culture scale [F-PEC]) presented by Klein, Astrachan, …

Proper Nutrition And Its Potential As Alternative Treatment Of Depression, Delaney Passmore

Honors Theses – Charlotte Campus

Within the last two decades, a lot of research has been conducted to determine the factors that cause and prevent depression. This is important because the diagnostic count for mental diseases is rapidly increasing due to the stresses and unhealthy habits of many people. So far, researchers have come up with causes such as life-altering events, genetics, chemical imbalances in the brain, and lack of nutritional requirements. Many argue that all of these factors have something to do with why a person starts experiencing depressive symptoms. During tragic or uncontrollable events, such as a death in the family, it is …

Incivility And Dysfunction In The Library Workplace: Perceptions And Feedback From The Field, Richard J. Moniz Jr.

Library Staff Publications

Issues associated with lack of civility, less than ideal functionality and employees that may not self-reflect as much they should are all challenges in the modern workplace and libraries are no exception. The purpose of this study was to determine which issues associated with a lack of civility such as mobbing, bullying, workplace dysfunction, and lack of abilities regarding self-reflection were found in the library workplace and to what extent. The data represents the feedback of 4,168 library employees through a self-reporting survey instrument designed by the authors with the help of the American Library Association. Data is both quantitative …

A Research Proposal: The Relationship Between Seasonal Affective Disorder And Reading Behavior Of Undergraduate College Students, Tsolmon Tsoggerel

MBA Student Scholarship

The purpose of this research proposal is to investigate the relationship between Seasonal Affective Disorder and reading behavior of undergraduate college students of Rhode Island during winter months /Nov-Feb/. Undergraduate students aged between 18-25 from five different colleges are to be the unit of study. The research will aim to: (1) assess the seasonal mood changes in sample units; (2) describe possible prevalence of SAD; (3) investigate the correlation between SAD occurrence and change in reading behavior of students. Upon the completion of the study, college libraries and book businesses will be able to use the research to optimize their …

Cultivating An Alternative Paradigm In Urban Areas To Achieve Greater Food Certainty In The United States, Owen Beatty

Honors Theses – Charlotte Campus

The purpose of this study is to analyze food insecurity in the United States and propose a potential solution by means of increased localized agriculture and urbanized initiatives as new paradigms of relief. The word paradigms in this thesis is used to describe the examples of innovative alternatives to contemporary systems. A wide variety of research was gathered that examines the current U.S. food system and government nutrition assistance programs. The United States Department of Agriculture measures poverty by assessing a family’s cash income with a comparison to their needs. One such need is the cost of food, in which …

Factors That Affect Fast Food Consumption: A Review Of The Literature, Yuchu Song

MBA Student Scholarship

American rates of overweight and obesity are high, and the prevalence of obesity has continued to rise over the past few decades. Excessive consumption of fast food has been one of the multiple contributing factors driving the overweight and obese epidemic. This literature review summarizes the disadvantages of fast food on people's health, reveals common people's average fast food consumption. Based on this background, the paper is to explore factors why some people choose not to consume fast food, as well as factors why some people choose to consume fast food, and to summarize some recommendations that can help reduce …

Preventing Suicide In Discharged Service Members: A Proposed Research Study, Kyri Barilone

Academic Symposium of Undergraduate Scholarship

We have designed this study in order to explore the growing problem of veteran suicide. Recently, suicide has become one of the most common causes of death among service members; however, little is known about how to reduce this growing epidemic. As a result, we have chosen to look into possible ways to reduce depression and suicidal ideation in discharged service members.

A Research Proposal: Analysis Of Intercultural Groups Using Virtual Communication Tools, Mirza R. Berganza

MBA Student Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Smart Environments & The Convergence Of The Veillances: Privacy Violations To Consider, Christine Perakslis, Katina Michael, M.G. Michael

MBA Faculty Conference Papers & Journal Articles

As a vast array of embedded smart devices will connect to the IoT (Internet of Things), society is rapidly moving into the unchartered territory of Pervasive Technology. Networks of devices will be unobtrusive; thereby freeing humans from the effort of human-to-machine (H2M) interactions, as well as elements of everyday decision-making. Technology will be far more intelligent and ubiquitous, thinking and acting for us behind the lines of visibility. The purpose of this paper is to probe the attributes of pervasive technologies (e.g. smart environments) within the context of the rapidly converging four veillances (i.e. surveillance, dataveillance, sousveillance, and uberveillance), so …

Institutional Repository Annual Report: Ay 2014-2015, Erika Gearing

ScholarsArchive@JWU Annual Reports

No abstract provided.

Scoring A Goal Against The "Dumb Jock" Stereotype, Gabrielle Longo

Academic Symposium of Undergraduate Scholarship

The “dumb jock” stereotype prevalence is being questioned, along with its validity throughout this thesis. More negative articles about student-athletes are known by the public, while the successes have been buried beneath them. This thesis will discuss what the “dumb jock” stereotype is, what previous research has been done with it while determining the prevalence of the “dumb jock” stereotype and challenging its accuracy. Multiple student-athletes and non-student athletes from two different athletic divisions institutions were surveyed on the stereotype along with personal experience was pulled together to determine if this is a problem, and if it’s true. A majority …

Barbie: The Real Enemy?, Shelby Wolfinger

Academic Symposium of Undergraduate Scholarship

Barbie has been the subject of many debates about body image dissatisfaction and the negative impacts this doll has on adolescent children; my thesis will expand upon this and explore the possibility that the Barbie Doll can create long lasting effects on women throughout their adulthood. This argument examines the scholarships which suggests that Barbie has negative effects on young children. I then conduct primary research in the form of detailed surveys with women aged twenty-one and over. Using this mixed methods approach, I determine whether or not the problems created by Barbie among young children will affect women in …

Maddening: The Impact Of Genre On Frustration And Aggression, V. B. Stalletti

Academic Symposium of Undergraduate Scholarship

Video games have been thrust into the national spotlight after multiple mass shootings of recent years, begging the question of whether they corrupt our youth. At least three sides to the argument exist: those who believe violent video games result in increased levels of aggression, those who do not, and those who claim that aggression is linked with losing rather than violent content. While there have been plenty of studies focusing on losing and aggression in the action genre of video games, there has yet to be a conclusive study ranking and comparing the impact that other major genres have …

Crazy In Love With A Smooth Criminal: An In-Depth Look At Parasocial Relationships And How Celebrities Affect The Relationship, Alyssa Termini

Academic Symposium of Undergraduate Scholarship

Within this thesis, the celebrity careers of Beyoncé and Michael Jackson will be evaluated while keeping in mind the classic theory of parasocial interaction and parasocial relationships. Donald Horton and Richard Wohl penned the classic parasocial interaction theory in 1956 speaking of the persona, a celebrity, and the one-sided relationships spectators develop with personas. What is not said by Horton and Wohl, and what is said in this thesis, is that although the celebrity persona may not be aware they are involved in a parasocial relationship, their actions contribute to the creation of a parasocial relationship. By examining scholarly articles, …

Not Just Where To Click: Teaching Students How To Think About Information Chapter 14: Librarians And Students: Making The Connections, Joe J. Eshleman, Julie Obst

Library Staff Publications

This chapter explores ways in which different types of students approach the information landscape and how this can impact the tactics and pedagogy of the instruction librarian. More importantly, assignment strategies are presented that connect students to librarians and also push students to think about how they interact with information. A close connection between librarians and students can provide a foundation that can help both. Librarians can expand their understanding of how individual students approach research; students can benefit by gaining a better grasp of the role of the librarian and how librarians can help them.

Book Review On Lying: Moral Choice In Public And Private Life, Erika Dacruz

MBA Student Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Institutional Repository Annual Report: Ay 2013-2014, Erika Gearing

ScholarsArchive@JWU Annual Reports

No abstract provided.

Helin Annual Conference Opening Remarks (2014), Rosita E. Hopper

Library Staff Publications

In the thirtieth anniversary year of the Higher Education Library & Information Network (HELIN), Rhode Island's primary academic library consortium, the chairman of the HELIN Board of Directors reflects on thirty years of progress in librarianship, the timelessness of its core principles, and the conviction that consortium collaborations are key to the continuing success of libraries.

The Costs Of Conflict, Adam Smith

Economics Department Faculty Publications & Research

Violent conflict destroys resources. It generates "destruction costs." These costs have an important effect on individuals’ decisions to cooperate or conflict. We develop two models of conflict: one in which conflict’s destruction costs are independent of individuals’ investments in "arms"—the tools of conflict—and another in which conflict’s destruction costs depend on those investments. Our models demonstrate that when conflict’s destruction costs are arms-dependent, conflict is more costly, making cooperation more likely. We test this prediction with a laboratory experiment in which subjects first choose how heavily to invest in arms and then choose whether to cooperate or conflict in an …

Institutional Repository Annual Report: Ay 2007-2008, Erika Gearing

ScholarsArchive@JWU Annual Reports

No abstract provided.

Institutional Repository Annual Report: Ay 2008-2009, Erika Gearing

ScholarsArchive@JWU Annual Reports

No abstract provided.

Institutional Repository Annual Report: Ay 2009-2010, Erika Gearing

ScholarsArchive@JWU Annual Reports

No abstract provided.