Digital Commons Network^™

Grounded In Reality: An Exploration Of Acceptance In Relational Conflict, Audrey Johansen

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Acceptance work encompasses “the processes that allow us to be fully grounded in reality” (Canfield, 2023). It allows individuals to embrace what truly is, both the good and the bad. It enables them to be at peace with what they can’t control, so that they can put their energy into changing what is within their power.

This project explores how acceptance work connects with other aspects of conflict process, including grieving, emotional regulation, and other concepts. Research was conducted by studying materials on communication and conflict processes, and by applying the materials to the author’s life. The author explores how …

Compassionate Support Training For Adults Impacted By Mental Illness: A Workshop Series Using Transformative Learning Pedagogy, Lindsay Bennett

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This professional project aims to translate current compassion academic research and scholarship for my client partner, the Cache County chapter of NAMI, to aid the family members of loved ones who live with mental illness.

Communicating About Computational Thinking: Understanding Affordances Of Portfolios For Assessing High School Students’ Computational Thinking And Participation Practices, Deborah A. Fields, Debora Lui, Yasmin Kafai, Gayithri Jayathirtha, Justice Walker, Mia Shaw

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

Background and Context: While assessment of computational thinking concepts, practices, and perspectives is at the forefront of K-12 CS education, supporting student communication about computation has received relatively little attention.

Objective: To examine the usability of process-based portfolios for capturing students’ communication about their computational practices regarding the process of making electronic textile projects.

Method: We examined the portfolios of 248 high school students in 15 introductory CS classrooms from largely underserved communities, using a formal rubric (top-down) to code computational communication and an open-coding scheme (bottom-up) to identify computational practices described.

Findings: Students demonstrated stronger …

The Changing Face Of The Wildlife Profession: Tools For Creating Women Leaders, Wendy S. Anderson

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Women continue to be underrepresented in the natural resource sciences arena, including the field of wildlife biology. The gender gap widens further with advancement to higher level positions. This paper explores potential reasons behind the lack of women in leadership and the array of challenges that women may face in their career paths. A variety of tools are proposed to support and encourage career advancement for women. Studies show that organizations with higher numbers of women in leadership roles perform better and diverse teams are more dedicated and committed to the mission. Understanding gender issues and generating organizational change is …

How Adolescents Use Text Messaging Through Their High School Years, Samuel E. Ehrenreich, Kurt J. Beron, Kaitlyn Burnell, Diana J. Meter, Marion K. Underwood

Human Development and Family Studies Faculty Publications

Co‐construction theory suggests adolescents use digital communication to address developmental challenges. For a sample of 214 ethnically diverse adolescents, this research used direct observation to investigate the frequency, content, and timing of texting with parents, peers, and romantic partners through grades 9–12. Analyses showed that texting frequency follows a curvilinear trajectory, peaking in eleventh grade. Adolescents discussed a range of topics, predominantly with peers. Communication with parents was less frequent, but consistent over time. Approximately 45‐65% of adolescents communicated with romantic partners, texting heavily and about topics similar to those discussed with peers. Texting may help adolescents navigate key developmental …

Communicating Computational Concepts And Practices Within High School Students’ Portfolios Of Making Electronic Textiles, Debora Lui, Justice T. Walker, Sheri Hanna, Yasmin B. Kafai, Deborah A. Fields, Gayithri Jayathirtha

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

Portfolios have recently gained traction within computer science education as a way to assess students’ computational thinking and practices. Whereas traditional assessments such as exams tend to capture learning within artificial settings at a single point in time, portfolios provide more authentic opportunities to document a trajectory of students’ learning and practices in everyday contexts. Furthermore, because communication itself has been defined as an important computational thinking practice, portfolios give students a place to practice this skill in the classroom. In this study, we report on the implementation of a digital portfolio with a class of 21 high school students …

Workplace Democracy And The Problem Of Equality, Jared Sterling Colton, Avery C. Edenfield, Steve Holmes

English Faculty Publications

Purpose: Professional communicators are becoming more invested in unique configurations of power in organizations, including non-hierarchical and democratic workplaces. While organizations dedicated to democratic processes may enact power differently than conventional organizations, they may fall short of practicing equality. This article explains the differences in non-hierarchical workplaces, considers businesses where democracy is a goal, and argues for considering equality as a habitual practice, particularly when writing regulatory documents.

Method: We conduct a review of the literature on non-hierarchical workplaces and organizational democracy, applying Jacques Rancière’s concept of equality to two examples (one using primary data collection and one using secondary …

Analyzing Stakeholders’ Workshop Dialogue For Evidence Of Social Learning, Amanda L. Bentley Brymer, J. D. Wulfhorst, Mark W. Brunson

Environment and Society Faculty Publications

After much debate and synthesis, social learning scholarship is entering an era of empirical research. Given the range across individual-, network-, and systems-level perspectives and scales, clear documentation of social learning processes is critical for making claims about social learning outcomes and their impacts. Past studies have relied on participant recall and concept maps to document perceptions of social learning process and outcome. Using an individual-centric perspective and importing ideas from communication and psychology on question-answer learning through conversational agents, we contribute an expanded conceptual framework and qualitative analytical strategy for assessing stakeholder dialogue for evidence of social learning. We …

The How And Why Of Mentoring, Alison H. Stankrauff, Tom Sommer, Michelle Ganz

Journal of Western Archives

Mentoring those in the archival field is critical to the development of any professional, or budding professional archivist. The mentoring relationship is one that has the potential to inform, nurture, encourage those on both sides of the relationship. This article explores that relationship and the frameworks that foster such mentoring programs. Discussed are mentoring to undergraduates, graduate archival program students, peer-to-peer mentoring of archivists at different institutions, as well as mentoring in the tenure process. This article is meant to be at once informative about such programs as well as offering guidance for those wanting to create a similar mentoring …

Problem Solving Communication And Interpersonal Power Among Latino Adolescent Couples, Annel Cordero

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Few studies exist that examine Latino romantic relationships; even fewer assess interpersonal power among romantically involved Latino adolescent couples. This observational study investigated interaction, negotiation of power, and communication styles of Latino adolescents in current romantic relationships. Twenty-nine participating couples (ages 14-21) were recruited from a small Rocky Mountain community; all identified as being of Latino decent. Couples were digitally videotaped during problem solving conversations and completed a video recall procedure administered directly following the recording. The Quality of Relationship Inventory (QRI) was completed by all couple members as a measure of their overall relationship quality. In addition to this, …

An Examination Of Citizens United: Where We're Going And How We Got There, Stephanie M. Lewis

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Citizens United v. Federal Elections Commission (2010) has been touted as both champion and destroyer of First Amendment free speech rights. It remains a controversial decision of which we are only beginning to see its true effects. The case brought rise to the Super PACs commonly denounced in the media and the vast amount of money that comes with them. We have seen negative and positive campaign ads that candidates for election don’t have to answer to. In order to truly understand these effects, I examined the Supreme Court’s decision to determine its line of reasoning as well as media …

Latinos' Collectivism And Self-Disclosure In Intercultural And Intracultural Friendships And Acquaintanceships, Audrey Liz Schwartz

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Self-disclosure is the process of sharing personal information with others and varies according to relationship intimacy, cultural norms, and personal values. Collectivism, defined as the tendency to define oneself in terms of social/cultural roles, may impact self-disclosure in intercultural relationships. The present study investigated whether Latinos/as reliably self-disclose more in intracultural versus intercultural friendships and acquaintanceships. An additional question was whether cultural variables such as collectivism, ethnic identity, and acculturation are related to self-disclosure differences. Data were collected via an online survey from internationally born Latinos and Latino Americans. Results of linear mixed effects model testing revealed that relationship type …

Anthropology And Ethnography: Contributions To Integrated Marketing Communications, Claudia M. Wright

Sociology, Social Work and Anthropology Student Research

This paper explores the ways in which anthropological research, specifically ethnography, can be useful in an Integrated Marketing Communication approach. Starting from a brief description of the different ways in which the discipline of anthropology has studied consumption, the paper turns to review how it can serve effectively to understand both the corporate as well as the consumer culture. Furthermore, the role that the anthropological discipline plays for Integrated Marketing Communication strategies is presented along with some examples of how different firms have used it. This paper is an approach to understanding ethnography not only as a market research methodology, …

Communication Management And Trust: Their Role In Building Resilience To “Surprises” Such As Natural Disasters, Pandemic Flu, And Terrorism, P. H. Longstaff, Sung-Un Yang

All UNF Research

In times of public danger such as natural disasters and health emergencies, a country’s communication systems will be some of its most important assets because access to information will make individuals and groups more resilient. Communication by those charged with dealing with the situation is often critical. We analyzed reports from a wide variety of crisis incidents and found a direct correlation between trust and an organization’s preparedness and internal coordination of crisis communication and the effectiveness of its leadership. Thus, trust is one of the most important variables in effective communication management in times of “surprise.”

The Chasm Between Two Parallel Worlds, Brandi Harline

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

In much of the research conducted on military issues, problems are identified years, sometimes decades, before the military publicly acknowledges these concerns; an example of this is sexual assault, which scholars discussed for over thirty years before the military acknowledged the issue. In this paper, I study the value differences between the military leadership and the scholars who study military topics and how these different values may hinder effective communication between the two groups. The method I use in identifying the standards by which the two groups identify problems is content analysis on articles published by the two communities, calculating …

Marital Happiness: Undergraduate University Students Assess Their Parents' Marriage Regarding Communication, Power, Education, And Religiosity, Margaret F. Oak

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study was designed to investigate undergraduate university students' appraisals of their parents' marital happiness, and how those views affect respondents' current attitudes toward marriage. The sample included 1,437 undergraduate students between the years 1970 and 1999. The dependent variable was perceived marital happiness in the family of origin. The independent variables were perceived communication quality, perceived level of egalitarianism, level of education, and perceived religious activity of the respondents' parents as reported by the respondents. Respondents' desire to have a communication situation in their own marriage similar to that of the parents' marriage, and desire to have a power …

The Effect Of Biofeedback Training On Marital Communication And Physiological Arousal, Kent E. Nabers

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

It is well documented that the communication patterns of distressed couples are characterized by more negative and fewer positive behaviors. It has also been postulated that there is an association between physiological arousal and negative behaviors. According to this theory, as individuals become increasingly aroused, the number of negative behaviors also increases. This study explored the relationship between physiological arousal and marital communication. The three couples participating in the study received intensive biofeedback training with the hypothesis that an ability to control physiological arousal would result in improved marital communications. The Rapid Couples Interaction Scoring System was employed as a …

Online, On Trial: Pornography, The Constitution And The Communications Decency Act Of 1996, Brian E. Bowcut

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Cyberspace, in its present condition has a lot in common with the 19th Century West. It is vast, unmapped, culturally and legally ambiguous ... hard to get around in, and up for grabs. ...It is, of course, a perfect breeding ground for both outlaws and new ideas about liberty...1

So assesses Grateful Dead lyricist-turned-cyberguru John Perry Barlow the new frontier, that vast expanse of computer networks known as the Internet. Yet, in recent months, the law has come to this chaotic domain, where anything goes and nothing remains unsaid. With the passage of the Communications Decency Act of 1996 (CDA), …

Fulfillment Of Marital Expectations In Relation To Communication Style And Parents' Marital Interactions, Shawn Corey Edgington

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships of communication variables and parent marital variables with the fulfillment of marital expectations among newlyweds. Little research has been done on newlywed expectations and communication. This is an exploratory study conducted to determine how newlyweds' exposure to parents' marital interactions and communication styles correlated with newlyweds' fulfillment of marital expectations. Fifty newlywed couples (married 3-6 months) filled out the Marital Comparison Level Index (MCLI) questionnaire about their level of fulfillment of expectations. Couples were then videotaped talking to one another about the strengths of their marriage followed by a discussion …

Effects Of Therapist Gender On Client Communications In Marital Therapy, Laurel C. Agee

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to explore how therapist and client gender are associated with communication behaviors of males and females in marital therapy. The majority of research on therapist gender issues has been conducted with individual clients. Few data exist on the effects of therapist gender within marital therapy. This study examined the communication patterns of couples within a marital therapy setting and the influence of therapist gender on those patterns. Forty-six 10-minute videotape segments of marital therapy were coded for communication patterns. Coded verbal statement categories included the verbal behaviors of agreement, supportive, solution of problems, and …

Pubertal Development, Parent-Teen Communication, And Sexual Values As Predictors Of Adolescent Sexual Intentions And Sexually Related Behaviors, Cynthia R. Christopherson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Adolescent sexual intercourse can be viewed as a normal developmental experience, but intercourse also is linked to unplanned pregnancies, Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs), and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). Consequently, there continues to be a high level of scientific interest in understanding antecedents of adolescent sexual behavior, especially early and more risky sexual intercourse. This study examined several key antecedents of adolescent sexual intentions and behavior, including pubertal development (pubertal status, change over time, and pubertal timing), parent/teen communication, and teen sexual values. Analyses were based on longitudinal data collected in 1991, 1992, and 1993 from parents and teens during …

Facilitating Acceptance Of Alternative Communication Devices In Classrooms By Teachers, Tracie Empey

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

There exists a number of persons who lack adequate speech for communicative purposes. Many of the non-vocal children and adults from these populations have benefitted from the development of various alternative communication devices. The non-vocal individual is one whose speech does not provide a functional means of meeting communication needs. However, this does not necessarily mean that the non-vocal individual has no speech or vocalization at all, nor does it mean that the individual may not develop fully functional speech in the future. (Vanderheiden, 1975). The devices used with these people allow an increase in the abilities to meet various …

Parent-Adolescent Communication And Adolescents' Sexual Intentions, Julie A. Bullen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study investigated the quality and quantity of sexual communication between teens and parents in relation to the teens' sexual intentions. Perceptions about communication were examined of parents and adolescents of both genders separately. Both same- and cross-gender effects of parental communication on adolescent sexual intent ions were explored. Approximately 290 families (target teen and parent) were measured in pre- and posttests. Parents perceived higher quality communication with teens than teens did, but not necessarily more frequent sexual communication. As teens' perceptions of quality of communication with mother and father went up, teens' sexual intentions went down. The higher sons' …

Cross Cultural Understanding Through Language, Shaun Bradley Roundy

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Much has been done to discover the place that language holds in the development of our communication and thought patterns. The methods through which members of various societies learn different attitudes and how their respective languages reflect and reinforce such patterns have also been studied in some depth with a number of world cultures. The interpersonal barriers and misunderstandings brought about by the dissimilarities between unconscious but powerful forces that culture has upon our thinking are understandably difficult to discern and thereby surmount. In this paper, I will demonstrate how the chances of achieving this aim may be enhanced through …

Valuing Diversity In Business, Kimberly Nalder

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

The purpose of this project was to create, plan, and implement an original instructional module on the topic of valuing diversity in business. My areas of emphasis were gender, sex role issues, and communication.

My responsibilities included: coordination with the instructor in all stages of planning and implementation; researching appropriate learning models for such a course; identifying topics of greatest significance within diversity; preparing and presenting one complete day of instruction; adapting cases and worksheets for both the course introduction and the gender issues/ communication sections; conducting personal interviews with appropriate resource individuals; creating an original group project; arranging for …

The Effects Of A Social Skills Training Program On Interpersonal Communications In Parent Adolescent Dyads, Patrick Sean Noble

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this thesis was two fold. First, there was an experiment in which the independent variable was the behavioral skill levels of parents and their adolescents on a social skills training program and the dependent variable was the parent and adolescent perceptions of their interpersonal relationship regarding communication and problem solving. Second, there was an experiment comparing instructional styles wherein the independent variable was the length of time used to present the social skills training program and the dependent variable was the resulting scores on the behavioral measures of the program. A modified pretest -post-test control group design …

Communication And Job Satisfaction Attitudes Within The Utah Division Of Parks And Recreation, Brian J. Vachowski

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Communication patterns and job satisfaction are important components in understanding organizational behavior. Further, research evidence indicates relationships among communication, job satisfaction, and organization effectiveness.

After attitude indices were devised from questionnaire items administered to Utah Division of Parks and Recreation personnel, Pearson correlation coefficients were used to determine the degree of relationship between attitudes toward communication and each of the following attitude indices for field operations employees: (1) degree of responsibility and participation in decision making; (2) career opportunities, security and training and (3) a combined index of the preceding two indices. Moderate but statistically significant correlations were found.

Analysis …

Facilitating Effective Communication Between Foreigners And Americans At Utah State University, Aruneeprabha Homsettee

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

As one of the foreign students in this country, I have had a lot of problems while studying here. For example , how should I express myself, how should I behave when going to an American party and participating in other traditional occasions such as Halloween, Christmas, Thanksgiving, etc. Also, how can I learn about Americans' activities and manners? Some of them I can solve by learning from others or by myself. Many Americans have trouble when communicating with foreigners. They try hard, but they often do not understand each other.

Information from both Americans and foreigners indicates that if …