Digital Commons Network^™

The Effectiveness Of The Israeli Digital Diplomacy Targeting The Arab Public On Social Media Platforms, Moeen Koa, Hiba Nassar

An-Najah University Journal for Research - B (Humanities)

This study assessed the effectiveness of the Israeli occupation state's digital diplomacy directed at the Arab public according to a three-dimensional framework. The study employed content analysis to analyze a sample of posts from two Israeli official pages on Facebook from October 13 to November 13, 2022, based on three dimensions proposed by Bjola and Jiang (2015): agenda-setting, presence-expansion, and conversation-generating. The results showed that despite the effectiveness of the occupying state's digital diplomacy according to these dimensions, the authors see these dimensions as superficial metrics that do not express the efficacy of this type of diplomacy. The high number …

Teaching And Developing Deliberative Capacities: An Integrated Approach To Peer-To-Peer, Playful, And Authentic Discussion-Based Learning, Rousiley Celi Moreira Maia, Gabriella Hauber, Danila Cal, Augusto Veloso Leão

Democracy & Education

Drawing on theories of deliberative democracy, this article analyzes initiatives in educational settings to develop deliberative capabilities—defined here as a person's motivation and abilities to explain their views based on thoughtful considerations, reciprocal engagement, and more inclusive and respectful communication. Building and expanding on previous education experiences and citizen assemblies, we propose an integrated approach that includes: (a) peer learning, (b) playful and performative activities, and (c) authentic discussions about controversial political issues in small groups. Our field experiment involving more than 500 public school students in Brazil is used to illustrate combinations of methods to develop conceptual understandings and …

"Because They Recognized Us": Triangulated Perspectives Of Syrian Mothers' Resettlement Experiences In The Eastern United States., Kayte Thomas

Journal of Applied Disciplines

Research indicates that post-resettlement experiences can be particularly challenging for people with refugee status. Despite finding safety in and adjusting to their new home, former refugees have indicated that this time can be stressful and even traumatic. The current Syrian crisis has created the largest wave of refugees ever known, and Syrian women are amongst the most vulnerable. However, women’s needs and preferences are often not taken into consideration during the resettlement journey and when they are, there is no distinction between mothers and their childless counterparts. As social workers strive to empower the individual person within their environment, it …

Designing Future Agriculture: Design For Complex Systems And Cross-Cultural Interactions, Karina Madzari

Dartmouth College Master’s Theses

Climate change is now recognized by businesses as a major challenge, prompting the agribusiness sector to transform to meet sustainability goals. However, there are many ways to achieve sustainability. Precision agriculture and agroecology are two concepts that evolved from conventional and regenerative approaches respectively, and offer distinct perspectives on sustainability attainment. Precision agriculture relies on technological solutions like artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, gene editing, and carbon dioxide removal technologies (CDR) and aims to revolutionize industry operations through automatization. Agroecology, on the other hand, creates a symbiotic relationship between farming practices and ecosystem services. It aims to replace non-renewable resources with …

Understanding Older People’S Voice Interactions With Smart Voice Assistants: A New Modified Rule-Based Natural Language Processing Model With Human Input, Zhengxu Yan, Victoria Dube, Judith Heselton, Kate Johnson, Changmin Yan, Valerie Jones, Julie Blaskewicz Boron, Marcia Shade

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Faculty Publications

The COVID-19 pandemic has expedited the integration of Smart Voice Assistants (SVA) among older people. The qualitative data derived from user commands on SVA is pivotal for elucidating the engagement patterns of older individuals with such systems. However, the sheer volume of user-generated voice interaction data presents a formidable challenge for manual coding. Compounding this issue, age-related cognitive decline and alterations in speech patterns further complicate the interpretation of older users’ SVA voice interactions. Conventional dictionary-based textual analysis tools, which count word frequencies, are inadequate in capturing the evolving and communicative essence of these interactions that unfold over a series …

Building A Cinematic World For Queer: Ways Of Winking Back At Barbie (2023), Diana Durk

Theses - ALL

This essay examines Reddit commentary of the new Barbie film that gave a space for some audience members to connect themselves to the film through queering its plot and characters. Through Reddit commentary, users explored the character design and how characters perform identity within this film and how it relates to their own experiences of gender and identity. This essay excavates how gender identity is communicated within popular culture and the need to queer a film to create one’s own representation. Through the importance of understanding the harm of a binary lens and how the binary gaze creates a stereotypical …

Queerform/Ing, Matthew Solon-Lee Weimer

Art Theses and Dissertations

My artwork is situated within and around vessels and the Queer Homoerotic World and explores sexuality as a Demisexual within them. This is accomplished through the two processes of my creation, Minivague and Queerform/ing: balancing sexual tension and explicit expression, while subverting traditional norms and stereotypes with queerness to distance oneself from stereotypical Gay Art. Altering/emphasizing makes the artwork more romantic, lighter, whimsical, softer, and tender than the figure/s and the situations actually are. The process is also emphasizing what one sees or wants to be seen. The Pink Boy becomes a celebration of intimacy of any form. I discuss …

Get It Out Of My Head: The Psychological Effects Of Music In Strategic Advertising Practices, Brady Jonah Wood

Honors Theses

For generations, music has served as a powerful marketing tool. When radio reigned supreme as the go-to source of household entertainment, savvy advertisers employed any means necessary to capture the listener's attention. Even today, music remains a powerful force in shaping culture, driving, and reinforcing consumer behavior.

This study aims to explore how brands leverage music in their advertisements to enhance consumers' recall of their products. By utilizing music as a marketing tool, advertisers can effectively ingrain their products in consumers' minds. Selected advertisements are examined to determine how the effect of advertising jingles can create a consistent and memorable …

Translanguaging And Ethnolinguistic Identity: A Case Study Of A Hispanic Latine Family, Destiny Zhinin

Undergraduate University Honors Capstones

This case study focuses on the impact of the presence or absence of translanguaging in the educational environments of a Hispanic Latine family on their self-perceived ethnolinguistic identities. Translanguaging is the process where multilinguals use the full potential of their linguistic repertoire in their discourses. This includes the various vocabulary words, dialects, gestures, and other characteristics of their languages (Garcia, 2012, pg. 311). English monolingualism (knowing or only using English) discriminates against racial and ethnic minorities, labeling them incompetent, inferior, or even “un-American,” regardless of how systematically correct their English is. In contrast, translanguaging maximizes the opportunity for teachers of …

Using Multimedia To Help Agricultural Producers Communicate With Consumers About Gmos, Stacey F. Stearns, Jennifer E. Cushman, Joseph A. Bonelli, Bonnie E. Burr

Journal of Extension

Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and their uses are often misunderstood. Consumers are regularly unsure what GMOs are, or if they are safe for consumption and the environment. Contradictory and sometimes inaccurate information is available from numerous sources, and challenges consumers and others to separate the facts from sensationalized stories. Agricultural producers often communicate with consumers, neighbors, and members of the general public; however, they do not have information to share about GMOs. Multimedia resources can provide agricultural producers with science-based information to share with consumers. Agricultural communicators and Extension educators can create science-based multimedia resources to bridge the communication gap.

Into The Wild: A Journey Paddling The Lower Mississippi River With Quapaw Canoe Company, Sarah Caroline Crall

Honors Theses

Humanity’s profound relationship with water is undeniable. From our reliance on it for sustenance and transportation to the recreation it provides, water is a fundamental aspect of our existence. Yet, in our contemporary era, we find ourselves increasingly disconnected from this life-giving source that shapes us and our surroundings. The Mississippi River stands as a prime example of this detachment. Often overlooked as a lifeless river, nothing more than the backdrop to our daily lives, its significance as the heart of America is underappreciated and misunderstood by many. This thesis embarks on a journey to share the true reality that …

Ua12/2/1 College Heights Herald: Ways Of The Future, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

Magazine edition of the College Heights Herald for the period April 8 - May 5, 2024.

• Anderson, Alexandria. Letter from the Editor – Science, Technology & Business
• Anderson, Alexandria. Women in STEM Make Advances
• Novoselia, Mariia. Turnover on Fountain Square: Local Businesses Share Concerns & Success Stories
• SOKY Rentals Offers New Apartments
• Walk2Campus: Where Home Meets Community
• Bush, Camden. Can a Baseball Team Reduce Their Goals to a Math Problem?
• Hawkins, Kaylee. Student Business Owners Share Experiences – Gatara Townsend, Andrew Garrett, Brittiny Sadler
• Ivory, Larkin. Bikewalk BG, WKU CHHS Offer Chances for Healthy Lifestyle – Health & Human Services

Experiences Of Dyslexic Students Learning A Second Language: A Review Of The Literature, Lauren Ricci

Senior Honors Theses

A systematic review of the literature was conducted to explore the experiences that college students with dyslexia face learning a second language in the classroom setting while studying at a private institution in Central Virginia. This literature review offers an analysis of the scholarly research related to this topic. The processability theory is discussed in the first section, followed by a review of recent literature on how dyslexia affects the brain’s processing, specific experiences of students, and how to best support these students in second language acquisition (SLA). Lastly, the literature surrounds phonological processing, working memory, specific struggles in the …

Los Intérpretes Médicos Son Un Derecho, No Un Privilegio, Morgan Uesseler

World Languages and Cultures Senior Capstones

This essay explores medical interpretation as a right, not a privilege. It argues that medical interpretation is a vital service that should be required in all healthcare settings, not just in those that are funded by the government. Themes addressed include the difference between interpretation and translation, face-to-face interpretation versus telecommunication, liabilities and risks associated with untrained and uncertified medical interpreters, and the federal law Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Challenges experienced during any medical session are underscored, while giving special focus to limited English proficient Hispanic patients whose healthcare literacy is in Spanish, not English.

Image Repair Strategies And Theories And The Lost Apology In Crisis Communication, Bridget Crowley

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

This research paper examines different image repair strategies and theories, and how well three different real-life examples of recent responses to crisis utilized strategies that are discussed. The literature review covers specific image repair strategies and theories, and then there is the analysis of specific cases where public figures went through a crisis and responded in an effort to clear their names. The findings summarize why each case was not successful, and why people with large followings need to know key image repair strategies that can help save one’s reputation.

The Cowl - V. 88 N. 8 - May 2, 2024

The Cowl

The Cowl - student newspaper of Providence College. Vol. 88 No. 8 - May 2, 2024. 28 pages.

An Open Conversation: Deliberating Perceptions Of Power Through New Media, Abigail Barnes

Dissertations

This research aims to investigate aims to critically assess how mediated participants utilize new media spheres deliberate upon perceptions of power through rhetorical criticism and critical discourse analysis. Since the conception of social media, users have utilized the platforms to network, negotiate, and dissent from controversies through mediated public deliberation. The present study aims to nuance how Habermas’ original conception of deliberative rhetoric has transformed through new media deliberation. To exemplify this change in deliberative rhetoric, the present study will also critically evaluate online social movements through the case study of the AOC Tik Tok Challenge, responses to online controversies …

Effect Of Music On Executive Functioning In Children, Abigail Grace Dame

Communication Science and Disorders Honors Theses

The present study investigates the impact of music listening and singing on sustained attention in typically developing school-aged children. Participants (N=12) were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: music listening, singing, or paced speech, during which they focused on a predetermined keyword presented in two musical pieces. In the listening condition, participants raised their hands when they heard or said the keyword. In the paced speech and singing conditions, the children omitted only that target word while speaking or singing the other lyrics. We measured baseline inhibition and executive functioning (Stroop Color Word test) and attention (Sustained Attention Response …

Modern News Consumption Habits Further Exacerbate Bias And Intellectual Isolation Of Audiences, Gabriella Lee Morando

Communication Science and Disorders Honors Theses

Trends show that users continue to turn to social media as one of, if not their only, source for news. Compared to how legacy news media gives consumers a comprehensive overview of information, social media platforms’ recommender systems and algorithms repeatedly feed users tailored sets of news, or what can be perceived as news. A systematic literature review found that users can adopt the same biased views reflected on their social media feeds as they are placed into echo chambers or “filter bubbles” of information. While social media offers users the allure of feeling informed almost instantaneously, the accuracy and …

Enhancing Speech Production And Emotional Well-Being In People With Non-Fluent Aphasia: Insights From Musical Language Training, Luke Meyer

Communication Science and Disorders Honors Theses

Aphasia, often resulting from stroke, head injury, or other conditions like tumors or diseases, impacts both expression and comprehension of language, written and spoken. This study explores the potential of music in aiding individuals with non-fluent aphasia. The researchers examined if pairing linguistic phrases with a musical structure affects the speech production of individuals with non-fluent aphasia. The researchers gathered a language sample and mood ratings before and after music and speech conditions. The participants’ utterances were longer after undergoing the music condition than the speech condition. The results show that the participants exhibited greater improvement in speech production after …

Multimodal Communication Support For Word Recognition And Literacy In Children With Language Delays, Mackenzie Elizabeth Beal

Communication Science and Disorders Honors Theses

As the definition of being literate transforms from being able to read and write to being able to decipher a variety of mediums (e.g., music, text emojis, and more!), it is necessary that curriculum is adapted to reflect these changes. This paper discusses 11 preschoolers aged 4 to 6 years with language delays and their ability to recognize one-syllable words. Two different interventions assessed word recognition. One intervention paired gestures with five words. The second intervention had participants create self-interpreted drawings for each of the remaining five words. To determine whether or not gestures and drawing were effective literacy strategies, …

Advertising On Snapchat: Exploring The Influence Of Celebrities Among Young Women In Saudi Arabia, Hessah Alqahtani

Dissertations

This study explored the influence of Snapchat celebrities on the purchase decisions of young women in Saudi Arabia. Uses and Gratifications theory and Source Credibility theory were used to investigate motivations for and factors that affect engagement with Snapchat celebrities. An online survey was conducted among 467 social media users. It was found that most Saudi women (62.9%) were motivated to engage with Snapchat celebrities to seek information.They would likely to purchase products endorsed by celebrities who were deemed trustworthy, attractive, and experts in the field. They also responded more favorably to celebrities who they believe are a fit for …

Ai And Advocacy: Maximizing Potential, Minimizing Risk, Matthew Salzano, Nicholas Fung, Ada Lin, Sofia Marchetta, Faith Colombo, Kaylah Davis, John Flynn, Carlos Fuentes, Fion Li, Malar Paavi Muthukumaran, Angelica Paramoshin, Chrisanne Pearce, Vianney Ramos, Charles St. Hilaire, Xi Zheng, Wei Zhuang

School of Communication and Journalism Faculty Publications

New Generative AI tools are revolutionizing writing and communication. This report focuses on AI and advocacy, the act of influencing public policy and resource allocation decisions within political, economic, and social systems and institutions. This report identifies three major opportunities and accompanying risks, plus one strong recommendation for advocates considering using AI. We argue that AI can be useful for advocates, but they must be careful to center human judgment and avoid risks that could distract from their important work or even contribute to societal harms.

“Vacation, All I Ever Wanted?” A Qualitative Analysis Of Travel Narratives From Interabled Families, Mary Heather Johnson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The present study researched and investigated the travel narratives of 13 interabled families through qualitative research methods of thematic and contrapuntal analysis. Participants were parents who have at least one dependent with a disability in their family unit. Theories used to guide this study include narrative theory, family systems theory, and relational dialectics theory. Narrative theory laid the groundwork for understanding how stories function to communicate and construct identity. Family systems theory provided definitions and terms for how to understand dynamics within families. Relational dialectics theory guided the understanding for what tensions are at play for interabled families and how …

Misinformation In U.S. Food And Agriculture: A Policy Analysis Of Impacts And Recommended Solutions, Jamie Woodside

Journal of Food Law & Policy

This paper aims to review the current state of play of misinformation in the U.S. food and agriculture sectors—delving into the roots of misinformation, its propagation through social media and traditional channels, and its consequences for the agricultural sector and society at large. Additionally, through an examination of existing laws, regulations, and potential legal remedies, this paper aims to shed light on the challenges posed by misinformation and offers recommendations for mitigating its harmful effects.

Recovery Heros: Recruiting Recovery Coaches And Peer Support Specialists At The Coulee Recovery Center, Sascha S. Cromheecke

Strategic Communication Master of Arts Thesis Projects

No abstract provided.

A Parent's Guide To Social Media Safety, Catherine Grimley

Gator Team Child Juvenile Law Clinic

The goal of this White Paper is to provide parents and other caregivers with a compilation of literature from some of the most popular social media platforms in one convenient place. It aims to help parents understand what parental controls and account settings are available, so they can facilitate important conversations with their teens regarding social media safety.

The Media’S Representation Of Female Athletes During Drug Scandals, Cassandra Leigh Lavigne

Honors Program Theses and Projects

No abstract provided.

Multimodal Communication Support For Word Recognition And Literacy In Children With Language Delays, Mackenzie Elizabeth Beal

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

As the definition of being literate transforms from being able to read and write to being able to decipher a variety of mediums (e.g., music, text emojis, and more!), it is necessary that curriculum is adapted to reflect these changes. This paper discusses 11 preschoolers aged 4 to 6 years with language delays and their ability to recognize one-syllable words. Two different interventions assessed word recognition. One intervention paired gestures with five words. The second intervention had participants create self-interpreted drawings for each of the remaining five words. To determine whether or not gestures and drawing were effective literacy strategies, …

Deliberative Democracy, Political Strategy, And The Gop: A Habermasian Discourse Analysis Surrounding The Israel-Hamas War, William Nunley

All Theses

The realm of the digital public sphere remains an area of interest for scholarship concerned with the democratic project. Technology once promised an upward trajectory for democratic conversation and the transmission of ideas, yet the actualization of those technologies seemingly undermines the promises of a time passed. This thesis is concerned with social media, namely X (Twitter), as a realm for political engagement and the implications of digital discourse. I start by tracking deliberative democracy theory, as an ideal, and the practical functionalities of the theory outlined in the twenty-first century. For the process of deliberation to unfold, a healthy …