Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Lost Wisdom Of The Elders, Miamichelle Abad

Capstones

This capstone project explores the gap of Intergenerational communication and why people should connect and interact with the older people in their lives. Social science experts say that the gap is caused by negative stereotypes of older people that younger people have.

Older people possess knowledge gained through experience—things that can’t be learned from a textbook. Parents, uncles and aunts and other older relatives can pass down life lessons, skills, and stories—from a secret family recipe for fried chicken to how to change a tire or save for retirement.

This knowledge can provide benefits that go beyond the practical, shaping …

A Guatemalan Trans Woman Navigates New York City In Hopes Of A Better Future, Manolo Morales

Capstones

Jamileeth, 25, is a trans woman from Guatemala. She's been in New York City for about 3 months. Before coming to NYC, she spent 26 days in a detention center in Cibola, New Mexico. Today she is navigating her way in the Big Apple to seek asylum.

Link to capstone: https://medium.com/@manolo.morales/a-guatemalan-tans-woman-navigates-new-york-city-in-hopes-of-a-better-life-bdfc5796f9d4

Green Card Veterans - Deported And Forgotten, Vicki Adame

Capstones

Green card holders are allowed to serve in the US military, but once discharged, if they commit a felony they will be deported. There is no firm number of how many veterans have been deported, estimates range from 300 to 3000.

https://vickiadame.com/

Mixed Feelings: Growing Up Biracial In America, Alexandra Boothe

Capstones

My mom is the daughter of 2^nd generation Swedish and Danish immigrants and my dad is the son of Jamaican immigrants, who settled in the segregated city of Baltimore just months before his birth in a black-only hospital. In the eyes of Americans, they were a white woman and a black man embarking on a relationship that was less than palatable to many in this country-- including my mom’s own family.

Growing up, society was constantly forcing me to question my identity, but it was also true within the context of my mom’s side of the family. There was …

The Shunned Speak Out: Former Members On Life In The Jehovah's Witnesses And After, Nour Saudi, Joy Notoma

Capstones

"The Shunned Speak Out" is an interactive feature that explores the practice of religious shunning among Jehovah's Witnesses. When Jehovah's Witnesses opt to leave the group or are punished for an indiscretion, they are shunned and have to completely start their lives over without their families and the only community they have known. This piece profiles 13 former Jehovah's Witnesses, including their journeys and the emotional repercussions of shunning. Their personal stories are weaved in with expert voices and research on the organization.

https://jwshunning.github.io/jw/

Hahn Teaches, Studies The Ways People Communicate, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

“When I was in middle school, I joined the policy debate team, and I really enjoyed it. I enjoyed the research process, but I also enjoyed the ways we were taught to examine multiple opinions and to use what’s called ‘dissoi logoi,’ or the ability to examine standpoints that you don’t understand and to defend them so that you understand your own standpoint much better.”

That is how Dr. Allison Hahn, an assistant professor in the Department of Communication Studies of the Weissman School of Arts and Sciences at Baruch College, explains how she became interested in communication studies. This …

An Exploratory Study Of Mobile Messaging Preferences By Age: Middle-Aged And Older Adults Compared To Younger Adults, Alexis Kuerbis, Katherine Van Stolk-Cooke, Frederick Muench

Publications and Research

Introduction: Mobile technologies, such as short message service or text messaging, can be an important way to reach individuals with medical and behavioral health problems who are homebound or geographically isolated. Optimally tailoring messages in short message service interventions according to preferences can enhance engagement and positive health outcomes; however, little is known about the messaging preferences of middle-aged and older adults.

Methods: Utilizing secondary data, global messaging preferences were examined to inform the development of short message service interventions for adults of all ages. Two hundred and seventy-seven adults were recruited through an online labor market. They completed an …

Speech Analysis Paper [Communication Studies], Nancy Bandiera

Open Educational Resources

This assignment was used in a Public Speaking course where students learned to build a variety of public speeches. The assignment aims to enable students to make connections to experience, to reflect and self-asses their learning. In line with the integrative learning core competency, they are also encouraged to make connections between and among academic disciplines. At the same time, it gives them the opportunity to broaden the possibilities for connections in their analyses, allowing them the ability to adapt & apply learning across diverse contexts.

LaGuardia’s Core Competencies and Communication Abilities

Main Course Learning Objectives:

• Students demonstrate their ability …

Leftist Militant Songs And War Of Position In Lebanon (1975-1977), Mohamad J. Hodeib

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This essay looks at the emergence of a generation of leftist militant songwriters against the backdrop of a revolutionary moment that influenced political and cultural landscapes in Beirut during the 1970s. After the Arab military defeat against Israel in 1967, the conjuncture of the Lebanese and Palestinian revolutionary movements in Lebanon fostered a revolutionary moment that manifested itself on different levels, including art and cultural expression. I look at the development of leftist militant songs, a genre, attitude, and approach to song production and performance that came to be at the intersection of radical theatre, poetry, and music. Productions by …

Readability Of Colorectal Cancer Online Information: A Brief Report, Corey Basch, Danna Ethan, Sarah A. Maclean, Philip Garcia, Charles E. Basch

Publications and Research

Purpose: Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the third leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States. A decline in deaths caused by CRC has been largely attributable to screening and prompt treatment. Motivation, shown to influence cancer-related screening and treatment decisions, can be shaped by information from the Internet. The extent to which this information is easily readable on cancer-related websites is not known. The purpose of this study was to assess the readability levels of CRC information on 100 websites.

Methods: Using methods from a prior study, the keyword, “colorectal cancer,” was searched on a cleared Internet browser. Scores …

Goodman Teaches How Corporations Should Communicate, Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

Michael Goodman never thought he would become an expert in corporate communication. In fact, his degrees are all in English, from his bachelor’s at the University of Texas in Austin to his master’s and doctorate in literature from the State University of New York (SUNY) at Stony Brook. “I like to tell people that anyone who can read and understand, interpret, analyze and then comment on Moby Dick and the novels of Mark Twain and Faulkner should be able to figure out annual reports and memos and things like that,” he says.

Before he obtained his doctorate, Goodman did some …

The Queer Allure Of Digital Sociality, Benjamin Parrish Haber

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation explores the resonance between queer sociality and emergent forms of digital communication. Drawing from queer theory and LGBTQ social histories, this dissertation charts the convergence of digital social modulation with the polyvalence, promiscuity, and mutability of queer sociality. A close analysis of the infrastructure and design of Facebook, Snapchat, Grindr, and other queered social media platforms demonstrates how digital capitalism’s desire for lifelong compulsive engagement is in part facilitated by an appropriation of the ongoingness of queer sexuality and relationality. In highlighting the key role of temporality, aesthetic, and affect in regulating the creation and circulation of digital …

Who Posts Selfies And Why?: Personality, Attachment Style, And Mentalization As Predictors Of Selfie Posting On Social Media, Nancy Adler

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This study examines the phenomenon of selfie posting on social media and its relationship to narcissism, the Dark Triad, impulsivity, attachment style, rejection sensitivity, and reflective functioning. The sample was made up of 499 participants who completed an online survey consisting of personality measures and open- and closed-ended questions about selfie posting behavior. Data were analyzed using a negative binomial regression model.

Results: The study found that individuals with high levels of the Dark Triad trait of psychopathy post more selfies on social media than do individuals with low levels of the trait. The Dark Triad trait of narcissism was …

Medved Studies Communication At Home And At Work., Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

“Through language, through communication, we create our world. We come to understand who we are through relationships. How you come to understand who you are, it all happens through language and through communication.” That is how Dr. Caryn Medved answers when asked why she chose communications as an academic field.

Medved, a native of Toledo, Ohio, has had an interest in communications since she was young. She decided to pursue a bachelor’s degree in the subject at Michigan State University and later a master’s in labor-industrial relations at the same institution, not a bad choice since the university has one …

Zero Textbook Cost Syllabus For Com 3076 (International Communication), Rianne Subijanto

Open Educational Resources

This course provides an overview of the development of research and theorizing on international communication. In the first half of the semester, we will trace the intellectual trajectory of international communication, covering international development and cultural imperialism. We will critically examine responses to these ideas, including work on the global turn, postcolonial studies, multiple modernities, and hybridity. The second half of the semester will bring these theories to life with case studies of production, distribution, and reception of media and communication from across the globe, covering the Middle East, India, Africa, Asia, and Latin America. These case studies will help …

Blogs As Channels For Disseminating Health Technology Innovations, Ashish Joshi, Rinzin Wangmo, Chioma Amadi

Publications and Research

Objectives: The objective of this study was to describe the features of health informatics blogs on the Internet.

Methods: A search was conducted in August, 2016 using the search engine, Google, and key words: ‘mobile health blog,’ ‘telehealth/telemedicine blog,’ ‘Electronic Health Record blog,’ ‘personalized health record blog,’ ‘population health decision support system blog,’ and ‘public/population health dashboard blog.’ The first 24 blogs resulting from each key word search were recorded, generating 144 blogs. A total of 109 unique blogs resulted after removing duplicates and non-functional sites.

Results: Blogs with ‘.com’ extensions were most prevalent (72%, n = 79). More than …

Gabor Teaches, Practices Reporting The Truth., Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

In these days when Watergate is being discussed anew, some journalism professors remember that time as an inspiration for their profession. “I grew up on stories about journalism and civil rights and became fascinated. That was also the Watergate era, which influenced many journalists of my generation, so I was very interested in journalism, although my family, like many families, tried to discourage me. But that’s where the roots of my interest really took hold.”

That is how Professor Andrea Gabor explains how she became interested in journalism. This Chicago native went on to obtain a master’s in journalism from …

Patrick Teaches Communication With A Critical Edge., Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

“I think I started because I love to dance, and I really started moving into the area of communication when I started dancing. I danced, I acted, I sang.” That’s how Professor Denise Patrick explains how she became a college faculty member in the area of communication studies.

A native New Yorker, Patrick received a bachelor’s degree in corporate communication from Baruch College and a master’s in Rhetoric and Communication from Temple University in Philadelphia. She would later return home to become a lecturer in the Department of Communication Studies at the Weissman School of Arts and Sciences in Baruch …

Black Models Matter: Challenging The Racism Of Aesthetics And The Facade Of Inclusion In The Fashion Industry, Scarlett L. Newman

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The global fashion market is expanding every day, but often, the global fashion runways do not reflect that reality. On average, black models make up for six percent of models used on the runway during the fashion month calendar. This small percentage is also mirrored in advertisements and editorials featured in popular fashion magazines. In the 1970s, black models were met with great opportunities, and that success trickled down into the 1980s and the 1990s. As the 90s came to a close, top designers opted for an aesthetic that ultimately excluded models of color, but black models beared the brunt …

Open Source Micro Diplomas: New Credentials For New Learning, Jack F. Powers

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The standard model for college in America—a four-year bachelor’s degree that teaches critical thinking, analytic reasoning, and written communication skills—is unaffordable and unattainable for most Americans. Only about a third of citizens aged 25 and over have achieved a baccalaureate degree or better. Two-thirds are left behind in precarious jobs that pay substantially less and that are losing ground. Everyone from politicians to parents repeats the mantra of “college for all”, but the reality is more like “college for the socio-economically gifted.”

At the same time, the modern world of work is evolving into a more complex, technical, and computerized …

A Political Ecology Of Information: Media And The Dilemma Of State Power In China, Michael L. Miller

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In this dissertation, I employ a Weberian concept of social power in order to theorize the challenges posed by, and the varieties of state response to, the dilemma of state power: the need of all states to empower societies with social capacities that may, in turn, threaten state interests. Through a comparison of traditional and new forms of media in China, I show that rather than posing qualitatively new types of challenges to authoritarian states, new media exacerbate the dilemma of state power. They do so because along each of three dimensions of social control, new media shift the relationship …

Embodying Rhythm Nation: Multimodal Hip Hop Dance As A Site For Adolescent Social-Emotional And Political Development, Lauren M. Roygardner

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This exploratory study employed qualitative methodology, specifically values analysis, to learn more about how being involved within Hip hop dance communities positively relates to adolescent development. Adolescence was defined herein as ages 13-23. The study investigated Hip hop dance communities in terms of cultural expertise (i.e. novice, intermediate and advanced/expert) to look specifically at dance narratives (i.e. peak experience narratives and “I dance because” essays) and hip hop dance performances. The primary purpose of this dissertation was to (1) explore how adolescents use multimodal Hip hop dance discourse for social-emotional development and critical consciousness, and to (2) understand how values …

Inferring Personal Economic Status From Social Network Location, Shaojun Luo, Flaviano Morone, Carlos Sarraute, Matias Travizano, Hernan A. Makse

Publications and Research

It is commonly believed that patterns of social ties affect individuals’ economic status. Here we translate this concept into an operational definition at the network level, which allows us to infer the economic well-being of individuals through a measure of their location and influence in the social network.We analyse two large-scale sources: telecommunications and financial data of a whole country’s population. Our results show that an individual’s location, measured as the optimal collective influence to the structural integrity of the social network, is highly correlated with personal economic status. The observed social network patterns of influence mimic the patterns of …

Politics And Journalists' Language, Aaron Barlow

Publications and Research

No abstract provided.

The Relationship Between Just Culture, Trust And Patient Safety, Linda Ann Paradiso, Nancy Sweeney

Publications and Research

PROBLEM: Medical errors are now considered to be the third leading cause of death in the United States, estimated at more than 250,000 deaths per year. The Institute of Medicine’s landmark report, To Err is Human, identified that errors are not the fault of individuals, but systems, processes, and various conditions. In healthcare, the cornerstone of the process by which we learn from errors has been voluntary reporting. The primary barrier to reporting errors is the negative response from administrators, and the potential risk of disciplinary action. An environment of trust and fairness is known as “Just Culture” and …

Merchandise, Promotion, And Accessibility: Keith Haring’S Pop Shop, Amy L. Raffel

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

During the peak of his career in New York, Keith Haring took his highly recognizable artistic style and distributed it in the form of merchandise in his Pop Shop, established in 1986. Stemming from his early work displayed on the New York streets, directly within public space, and his explorations into mass media strategies, he learned he could make his work accessible to new audiences outside contemporary art institutions and art circles. He translated his work across several surfaces: from subways or canvases, to everyday functional merchandise, such as buttons, t-shirts, and bags sold in his shop. Responding to a …

Capturing The Attention Of Caregivers: Variability In Infant Vocalizations, Catharine A. Castelluccio De Diesbach

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The effect of variability in infant vocalizations on potential caregivers’ heart rate variability (HRV), facial expressions, and subjective ratings on emotional reactions and desire to approach the baby was examined in an evolutionary context. Recordings of non-canonical, canonical, fussing, and crying vocalizations were utilized to elicit physiological and self-reported reactions from sixty participants. Breastfeeding mothers, non-mothers at high estradiol point in menstrual cycle, non-mothers at low estradiol point in menstrual cycle, fathers, and non-fathers were included in the study. Participants wore Polar RS800 heart rate monitors, were video recorded for facial expression analysis, and filled out 11 point self-rating forms …

Griffiths Looks At The Way Movies Portray People., Aldemaro Romero Jr.

Publications and Research

Movies are in one way or another works of fiction even when they try to narrate reality. Yet movies can help us understand how society looks at people, places, and times, opening windows onto other worlds.

Dr. Alison Griffiths studies the ways that cinema forms those windows. A professor in the Department of Communication Studies in the Weissman School of Arts and Sciences at Baruch College of the City University of New York, she has spent her entire professional career analyzing how movies represent realities.

Privacy, Trust, And Data Sharing In Web-Based And Mobile Research: Participant Perspectives In A Large Nationwide Sample Of Men Who Have Sex With Men In The United States, H. Jonathon Rendina, Brian Mustanski

Publications and Research

Background: Modern research is heavily reliant on online and mobile technologies, which is particularly true among historically hard-to-reach populations such as gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (GBMSM). Despite this, very little empirical research has been published on participant perspectives about issues such as privacy, trust, and data sharing.

Objective: The objective of our study was to analyze data from an online sample of 11,032 GBMSM in the United States to examine their trust in and perspectives on privacy and data sharing within online and mobile research.

Methods: Participants were recruited via a social networking site …

The Limits Of Transparency: Data Brokers And Commodification, Matthew Crain

Publications and Research

In the United States the prevailing public policy approach to mitigating the harms of internet surveillance is grounded in the liberal democratic value of transparency. While a laudable goal, transparency runs up against insurmountable structural constraints within the political economy of commercial surveillance. A case study of the data broker industry reveals the limits of transparency and shows that commodification of personal information is at the root of the power imbalances that transparency-based strategies of consumer empowerment seek to rectify. Despite significant challenges, privacy policy must be more centrally informed by a critical political economy of commercial surveillance.