Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Reconnecting With The Truth: Conspiracies, Perspective Taking, And Misinformation, Scott Sellnow-Richmond, Mili Pinski

Discourse: The Journal of the SCASD

“I’ve done my research.” Misinformation has become a prevalent topic in communication courses, particularly those focused on argumentation, public speaking, or even interpersonal and family communication. Students thus benefit from adapting public speaking-focused assignments to illuminate how to understand - and thus combat- disinformation in their own lives. This assignment works toward this goal in two stages, allowing students to argue not just against misinformation and conspiracies, but also to argue for them as an act of empathy and understanding. The applied nature of this exercise also empowers instructors with a way to concretely address this issue in the classroom. …

Differentiating Between Irony And Sarcasm: An Illustration Of Sarcasm’S Negative Impact On Audiences, Brent Kice

Discourse: The Journal of the SCASD

The following in-class activity helps students differentiate between ironic and sarcastic messages. In turn, students will recognize the negative impact of sarcastic messaging identified by Dynel (2013) and Averbeck (2013) in an effort for students to improve their own messages when attempting to persuade audiences.

“People Don’T Always Show Up The Way You Want Them To”: Utilizing The Hunger Games To Differentiate Between Persuasion, Coercion, Propaganda, And Manipulation, Nancy Bressler

Discourse: The Journal of the SCASD

The ability to define and conceptualize persuasion and its nuances without engaging in coercion, propaganda, and/or manipulation can be difficult for students at first. This activity centralizes the fine points among these persuasive concepts. Students also recognize the role of their audience in the persuasive messages that they create. Rather than only having a conversation about the common characteristics of these terms and how they differ, students can observe them within the fictional movie The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 (Lawrence, 2014). After discussing these ideas with their classmates, students then apply what they have learned by creating persuasive messages …

“Number Of Nonverbal Delivery Techniques”: Innovative Approaches To Gestures, Movement, And Vocal Delivery, Nancy Bressler

Discourse: The Journal of the SCASD

Through this activity, students consider to what extent gestures, movement, and vocal inflection affect a speech. Using the same speech content as the rest of their group, each student is provided a prompt requiring them to adapt their speech delivery differently. Through these differences, students can better understand how to incorporate nonverbal speech delivery that is natural, balanced, communicates emotion, and effectively communicates the message of the speech. Students discover the importance of nonverbal delivery while using an entertaining speech they may have seen in a television show. Overall, students learn how planned versus natural speech delivery can alter nonverbal …

Listen Up!: Measuring And Mitigating College Students’ Most Commonly-Reported Listening Challenges, Karla Hunter, Erin Lionberger, Ashley Phillips, Kaitlyn Luebbert, Andrea N. Briggs

Discourse: The Journal of the SCASD

This study updates the existing literature on listening education in two ways: 1) by providing an assessment of an effective listening education intervention and 2) by identifying what college students' self-assessment and reflection revealed as their most common barriers to listening and the actions that helped mitigate those challenges. Through content analysis, five graduate student coders analyzed six consecutive pre-Covid-19 semesters of student submissions to a Listening Log Self-Assessment assignment in an online interpersonal communication course (n = 186). This experiential activity was designed to motivate students' metacognitions to elicit accurate self-appraisals based on reflections of students' current listening encounters …

Front Matter

Discourse: The Journal of the SCASD

No abstract provided.

College Of Natural Sciences Newsletter, September & October 2022, College Of Natural Sciences

College of Natural Sciences Newsletters and Reports

Volume 3, Issue 6

Page 1 Dean's Message
Page 2 Awards & Recognition
Page 3 Midwest Regional ACS Meeting
Page 4 North Central ASM Meeting
Page 5 Geography Department Travel
Page 6-7 Media Coverage of CNS
Page 7 REMAST Program at SDState receives national spotlight
Page 8 Celebrating the lives of those who touched the College
Page 9 Innovative Learning Spaces
Page 10 Open PRAIRIE Data
Page 11 2022 CNS Scholarship Brunch
Page 12-14 Fall 2022 Outreach Events

College Of Natural Sciences Newsletter, July & August 2022, College Of Natural Sciences

College of Natural Sciences Newsletters and Reports

Volume 3, Issue 5

Page 1 Dean's Message
Page 2 Awards & Recognition
Page 3 Resources for Student Success
Page 4 Welcome to New Faculty & Staff
Page 5 Summer Activities in CNS
Page 9 Celebrating the lives of those who touched the College
Page 10 Media Coverage of CNS
Page 12 Open PRAIRIE Data
Page 13 Snaps from he start of the semester
Page 14 Science as Art Competition

The Shakedown Of Warm-Ups: An Assessment Of Pre-Speech Exercises' Impact On Public Speaking Anxiety, Joshua Westwick, Kelli J. Chromey, Karla Hunter, Andrea Carlile

Communication Studies Publications

Academics have suggested that the use of warm-up exercises like those used by forensics competitors before a competition may reduce students’ public speaking anxiety (PSA). However, little empirical work has assessed these anecdotal claims. Thus, to assess the impact of using warm-up exercises in the foundational course, we developed and tested a uniform warm-up protocol for students enrolled in our standardized, multi-section public speaking course. This study sought to discover whether students who engaged in physical and vocal function exercises prior to speech delivery would have lower speaking anxiety over the course of the semester than students in the control …

2021 Midwestern Producer Survey Descriptive Results, Tong Wang, Stephen Cheye

Midwestern Farm and Producer Surveys

From July to September 2021, researchers from South Dakota State University, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, North Dakota State University, University of Minnesota and University of Nebraska - Lincoln conducted a survey among farmers in four U.S. Midwestern states, namely North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, and Nebraska. This survey aimed to better understand how farmers are using conservation practices and precision technologies and any issues with using them.

College Of Natural Sciences Newsletter, May & June 2022, College Of Natural Sciences

College of Natural Sciences Newsletters and Reports

Volume 3, Issue 4

Page 1 Dean's Message
Page 2 Awards and Recognition
Page 3-4 The path to a Doctorate Degree
Page 4 American Indian Student Center Native Graduate Honoring Ceremony
Page 5 Celebrating the lives of those who touched the College
Page 6 Media coverage of CNS
Page 7 Open PRAIRIE
Page 8-10 CNS Graduation Festivities
Page 11-14 Spring 2022 Dean's List
Page 16 Richard and Janice Vetter Endowed Professorship in Biotechnology.position

Multiculturalism In Advertising: A Look At Non-Diversification And Stereotyping In The Advertising Industry., Elise Heesch

Honors Capstone Projects

If a surveyor was to ask, how does advertising make one feel, would the responses depend on the participant’s disposition, race, and gender? All the responses would potentially be different depending on whether a white male, young Indigenous person, or black female answered. Advertising contributes a significant portion of what society is exposed to. The general population takes advertisements for granted but the message is there to sell a product. Consumers do not always realize the fabricated messages that are present in most advertisements. Desensitization has taken place in response to the strategies that the marketers use. Numerous stereotypes are …

College Of Natural Sciences Newsletter, March & April 2022, College Of Natural Sciences

College of Natural Sciences Newsletters and Reports

Volume 3, Issue 3

Page 1 Dean's Message
Page 2-3 Awards and Recognition
Page 4 2022 URSCAD - CNS Snaps
Page 5 Geography Convention Recap
Page 6 Attention Students!
Page 7-8 Media Coverage of CNS
Page 9 Spring Break Outreach, Adopt the Pantry,
Page 10 Discovery on Tap Event
Page 11 CNS Students Visit State Capital
Page 12 Celebrating 50 Years of Sally
Page 13 Open PRAIRIE Data
Page 14 Grants Awarded and Bio-Micro Day of Scholars
Page 15 -17 2022 Geography Convention Snaps
Page 18 Sally Krueger's 50th Work Anniversary

Book Review: Thinking The Unthinkable: The Riddle Of Classical Social Theories By Charles Lemert, Thomas C. Langham

Great Plains Sociologist

Lemert, Charles. Thinking the Unthinkable: TheRiddle of Classical Social Theories. Boulder, CO: Paradigm, 2007. 195 pp. $60.00 cloth, $22.95 paper.

Midwest Consumers’ Beliefs And Attitudes Regarding Agricultural Biotechnology: An Executive Summary, Ronald G. Stover, Donna A. Hess, Gary Goreham, George A. Youngs, Stephen G. Sapp

Great Plains Sociologist

As part of a project investigating the social, economic, and ethical issues related to the application of biotechnology to food production and to the adoption or rejection of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), we conducted a survey using a questionnaire mailed to a randomly selected sample of consumers in five Midwestern states—Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. This report highlights the responses of the 458 respondents to that completed and returned questionnaire.

Agricultural Producers’ Use Of Genetically Modified Organisms, Michael E. Lawson, Donna A. Hess, Satoko Hirai

Great Plains Sociologist

A random sample of agricultural producers from North and South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin is used to examine producers’ decisions to use or not use genetically modified organisms. Using the rational choice theoretical framework to guide analyses, the associations between proportion of genetically modified corn acres grown by agricultural producers and perceived cost, perceived risk, and perceived benefit. Results indicated that 1) perceived cost was significantly, negatively associated with proportion of GM corn acres planted; 2) perceived risk was significantly, negatively associated with proportion of GM corn acres planted; and 3) perceived benefit was significantly, positively associated with proportion …

Multicultural Education: Work Yet To Be Done, A. Olu Oyinlade

Great Plains Sociologist

This paper brings to the surface for review, discussion, and debate, some critical issues for which multicultural education specialists need to provide useful theoretical frameworks that may guide our explanations to these issues. With the embracing of the ideology of multicultural education in the United States, practically every institution of formal learning, from the grade school to the university, is rapidly subscribing or has already subscribed to multicultural curricula. By embracing the multicultural agenda, educational institutions are demonstrating a commitment to broadening students' views of American subcultures (and world cultures). By exposing students to these subcultures, their histories, experiences and …

Challenges Of Good Governance In Post-Conflict Liberia, Kebba Darboe

Great Plains Sociologist

Drawing on Max Weber’s theory of bureaucracy, this paper employs a conceptual framework to examine the challenges of good governance in post-conflict Liberia. Good governance is the sound exercise of administrative authority to manage a country’s resources for development (Astillero and Mangahas, 2002). Government, a pre-condition to governance, is the dominant decision-making arm of a given state. From 1989 to 1996, and 1999 to 2003, Liberia, a West African country, was involved in two civil wars which destroyed most of its’ social institutions. Study reveals that the challenges to good governance are political, administrative, and economic.

Dramaturgical History: The Roman Triumph, Gabe Kilzer

Great Plains Sociologist

This paper examines an ancient Roman ceremony, the Triumph, and explains the effect this ritual had on Roman civilization during the Empire and the effects it still has on our historical interpretation of that society. Using Erving Goffman’s theory of dramaturgy, I compare the leaders of Rome to actors on a stage playing to an audience. In this paper, I argue that the Triumph, which was a ceremony dedicated to the creation of a “God amongst men” in a conquering general, fueled a reciprocal relationship between the actions of society and the way in which we remember the Empire. Achieving …

Front Matter

Great Plains Sociologist

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How Does Class Status Influence Perceptions Of Individual Mental Health?, Brie Willert

Great Plains Sociologist

Individuals in lower socioeconomic classes are said to have higher stress levels than those in higher classes, which in turn causes poor mental health for these individuals. Studies have shown that low income is associated with both low life evaluation and low emotional well-being. The present study worked to find support for this theory using the research question: How does class status influence perceptions of individual mental health? This study uses data from the 2010 General Social Survey (N= 1149) in which individuals between 18-89 years of age participated. Analyses of the results through multiple regression suggested individuals in lower …

Factors Of Academic Misconduct: Polish And Russian Students’ Attitudes, Marina Makarova

Great Plains Sociologist

The main factors of students’ cheating, such as individual and contextual factors are considered in this article. The institutional level of contextual factors exercises the most significant influence on academic misconduct and corruption in the academic field. There are factors of social microenvironment and normative backgrounds, which assume such forms of behavior as considered normal and obvious. In 2015 surveys of students from a Russian and a Polish university were conducted. Polish and Russian students have the same attitudes about cheating, which in both countries is part of the student culture. There are many similarities in the individual factors of …

Bullying Victimization As A Predictor Of Suicidality Among South Dakota Adolescents: A Secondary Data Analysis Using The 2015 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, Trenton Ellis, Breanna Brass

Great Plains Sociologist

Bullying is a form of peer victimization with a well-established link to suicidality among adolescents in the United States (Holt et al. 2015). Few studies focus explicitly on examining bullying at the state-level, including South Dakota. We argue that state-level data are valuable for policymakers wishing to better understand adolescent bullying and suicidality at a local level. Using a secondary data analysis of 2015 Youth Risk Behavior Survey data from South Dakota and U.S. samples, this study provided a description of bullying victimization and suicidality in South Dakota and tested bullying victimization as a predictor of suicidality among adolescents in …

Tsunami 2004, India And International Impacts, International Disaster Management, Tania Arseculeratne, Austin Ritch, Russell Wicklund

Great Plains Sociologist

This article studies the international impacts of the 2004 tsunami event in India. Among the four main phases of emergency management, what are the local and international impacts of the 2004 tsunami event focusing on India? The study is divided into two main categories: Natural Aspect; and Cultural and Administrative Aspect. Within the Natural Aspect are the natural cascading events leading up to and following the event and the requirements/intensity levels for qualifying to compare with the actual data of the event. Within the Cultural and Administrative Aspect are the man-made international impacts such as economic, cultural, and political. India …

Case Studies In The Development Of Reliable And Valid Social Problems Source Data, Rich Braunstein

Great Plains Sociologist

Keynote Address for the 2016 Great Plains Sociological Association Annual Conference

Editor's Note

Great Plains Sociologist

Editor’s Note

Book Review: Evicted: Poverty And Profit In The American City By Matthew Desmond, Alan Fejzic

Great Plains Sociologist

Desmond, M. Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City . New York: Crown Publishers, 2016. 432 pp. $28.00 paperback.

Book Review: Assigned: Life With Gender Edited By Lisa Wade With Douglas Hartmann And Christopher Uggen, William T. Cockrell

Great Plains Sociologist

Wade, Lisa (Editor) with Douglas Hartmann and Christopher Uggen (Series Editors). Assigned: Life with Gender (The Society Pages). New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2017. 272 pp. $15.00 paper.

Understanding The Importance Of Leadership In Rural Communities, Owino Jonix, Mariah Bartholomay, Mitchell Calkins

Great Plains Sociologist

This research project attempts to provide a better understanding of how rural leaders emerge, the kinds of activities in which they are involved, and how they address the challenges they face. Rural communities tend to be at risk for public issues that may rise, which are central to the micro-levels of leadership roles and opportunities. Individuals who hold or have held leadership positions were interviewed, and a better understanding of the different stages throughout their leadership careers and the overall cycle of leadership within their rural Minnesota community was investigated. This study creates a preliminary model to be used for …

Mixed Feelings: Identity Development Of Biracial People, Ronald Ferguson

Great Plains Sociologist

Multiracial people traditionally have been categorized as monoracial, thus creating limitations to their identity development (Gibbs 1987; Davis 1991). However, recent societal shifts concerning race have left mixed race individuals with an array of racial identity choices (Huffman 1994; Townsend et al. 2012). To explore such a phenomenon, this study consisted of in-depth interviews with 15 adult Biracial respondents on questions surrounding their experiences as a mixed-race person. The results indicate that Biracial persons come to develop a variety of distinctive racial identities ranging from monoracial to Multiracial. Additionally, the respondents identified three distinct stages in their development of a …