Digital Commons Network^™

Aït Khbach Nomads And A Thousand Plateaus: An Investigation Into The Challenges Of Nomadism Using Concepts From Deleuze And Guattari, Ryder Hobbs

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

The Aït Khbach nomads of Drâa-Tafilalet Region in Morocco face several challenges to their lifestyle. Namely, their obstacles relate directly to desertification and the state. Through interviews with the Aït Khbach, this paper seeks to present their narratives. Additionally, this paper grapples with the metaphysics of nomadism and the groundwork of its praxis. In their work, A Thousand Plateaus, Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari construct concepts, such as smooth space, the state apparatus, and nomadism, which can be utilized pragmatically to complement and explore the narratives of Aït Khbach nomads.

The Role Of Moroccan Street Art In Decolonial Discourse And Binary Deconstruction, Taylor Rokala

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

As a country historically subjected to French colonialism and currently the site of a burgeoning street art scene, Morocco is a locus for street art that contributes to the decolonial project and deconstruction of remaining colonial structures left by the French. Drawing from Edward Said’s concept of orientalism, the idea of gaze, and bell hooks’s counter concept of oppositional gaze, this paper seeks to understand how Moroccan street artists use their art to challenge the binary opposition between tradition and modernity constructed during the French Protectorate. I will discuss the theme of temporality, because of street art’s ephemeral nature and …

Zero Textbook Cost Syllabus For Com 3064 (Classical Rhetoric), Jamel Coy Hudson

Open Educational Resources

Rhetoric has fallen on hard times today. When it isn't disparaged as "empty," it is dismissed as "mere." And so, we have empty rhetoric and mere rhetoric. We have politicians accused by their opponents of delivering campaign speeches full of … rhetoric. The accusation, if it sticks, is usually devastating to the accused. No one, least of all our politicians, appears capable of defending that rhetoric is a prerequisite for democratic government.

But it wasn't always so. This is a class about better times for rhetoric. Times when the greatest heroes of the day—like the fictional Achilles and the very …

The Pornography Industry's Disinformation Campaign On Addiction Recovery Resources, Darryl Mead

Dignity: A Journal of Analysis of Exploitation and Violence

As pornography became increasingly popular online, many unsuspecting consumers reported adverse effects. These included sexual dysfunctions, such as lack of response with real partners, delayed ejaculation, erectile difficulties, and sexual compulsivity. Some pornography consumers began congregating in online self-help portals (forums and websites) to assist one another in quitting or reducing problematic pornography use. The popularity of the self-help resources and their potential to dampen the profits of a lucrative industry resulted in disinformation campaigns run by individuals connected to the pornography industry. In this article, I examine how a paper containing significant inaccuracies about the people organising the online …

Review Essay: Enjoyment And Ideology Surplus-Enjoyment: A Guide For The Non-Perplexed Slavoj Žižek. London: Bloomsbury Academic. 2022. Pp. 400., Edward Sankowski, Betty J. Harris

International Dialogue

Slavoj Žižek’s Surplus-Enjoyment-A Guide for the Non-Perplexed is a difficult book. Reading it requires a different approach from what is usual with what seems to us more standardized philosophical or social scientific prose. Our approach initially at least no doubt assumes as our starting point a deploying of our shared norms, shaped by our backgrounds as U.S. based scholars aiming to advance dialogue with Žižek and some of the wide variety of authors with whom Žižek himself engages.

A Word From The Writing Team (October 2023), Pam Walter, Mfa, Liz Declan, Ma, Mfa

A Word From the Writing Team (Newsletter)

This issue includes:

• Join Us for First Friday Writing Retreats Starting October 6^th
• Creative Writing Publication Opportunity: LGBTQ+ Theme
• Publication Spotlight
• Reminders
• Consultations Available
• Scott Memorial Library Renovations
• Wiley Open Access Fees Waived for Jefferson Authors

Assessing The Threat Of Social Media To National Security: Information Operations In The 21st Century, Brendan M. Cullen

Senior Theses

The ubiquity of social media has enabled an unprecedented amount of personal data to be accessible to various entities. Social media platforms leverage this data to optimize algorithmic recommendation systems, persuade users to engage, and promote monetization. The social media ecosystem’s business model demands continuous engagement and the relentless collection of user data to grow and scale. Not only is social media massively popular around the world, but it has integrated heavily into users’ daily lives. This integration is driven by social platforms’ deliberate architectures and affordances. The intentionality of social media can be exploited by state and non-state actors …

Rooted In Grant County, Jenna Gerig

Public Relations Student Projects

Because the goal of this campaign is to promote Grant County assets, initial research sought to assess communication throughout the county, gather insight on the impact of churches, and accumulate information on how to best retain its college students. Research also sought to identify the personas of Grant County residents to discover their values and beliefs. Additional research helped determine the most appealing assets, including churches and nonprofits, universities, parks and venues, events, and affordable living. Additionally, a survey was conducted to understand why students who attend colleges in Grant County choose to leave the county upon graduation.

In Customer Service, When Is A Full Refund Justified?, Hannah H. Chang

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

In a commentary, SMU Associate Professor of Marketing Hannah Chang discussed the challenges in achieving balance between making genuine amends for the specific incident and strategic reputation management when customers complain. She also noted the challenges in balancing between offering genuine redress and not setting precedents that encourage unreasonable demands. Assoc Prof Chang also shared how companies can take preventive measures by setting clear policies for refunds or compensation, and monitoring online sentiment to stay ahead of brewing issues, thus allowing businesses to address concerns in real time.

Environmental Loss, Displacement, And Anxiety In Portugal: Analyzing News Articles To Differentiate Manifestations Of Environmental Distress, Robin Greene

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Expressions of environmental distress can take different forms, with different symptoms, causes, and treatments. Existing literature generally identifies three primary categories of environmental distress responses: environmental grief, solastalgia, and eco-anxiety. This paper explores these distinctions and identifies words typically associated with each category in Portuguese news articles using Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA). LDA is a Natural Language Processing (NLP) technique that groups words into topics and identifies connections between those words based on how often those words appear together in sequences. This paper uses a modified LDA algorithm called GuidedLDA to identify additional keywords within topics defined by a list …

‘Unbelievable’: Perspectives On The Digital World In Manang, Alex Halaby

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

Manang lies one hundred miles northwest of Kathmandu in a valley called Nyeshang. Until a major road was constructed in 2014, the challenge of importing goods in and out of the town slowed the development of digital infrastructures supporting internet use. Consequently, the widespread use of the internet and digital communication is a relatively new phenomenon. Already, its effects are visible in classrooms, health clinics, hotels, and social structures. This paper investigates how Manangis learn about themselves, each other, and the world outside the valley in this new digital space. Emphasis is not placed on quantifications, but rather on the …

Experiences Of Autistic Twitch Livestreamers: “I Have Made Easily The Most Meaningful And Impactful Relationships”, Terrance Mok, Anthony Tang, Adam Mccrimmon, Lora Oehlberg

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

We present perspectives from 10 autistic Twitch streamers regarding their experiences as livestreamers and how autism uniquely colors their experiences. Livestreaming offers a social online experience distinct from in-person, face-to-face communication, where autistic people tend to encounter challenges. Our reflexive thematic analysis of interviews with 10 participants showcases autistic livestreamers’ perspectives in their own words. Our findings center on the importance of having streamers establishing connections with other, sharing autistic identities, controlling a space for social interaction, personal growth, and accessibility challenges. In our discussion, we highlight the crucial value of having a medium for autistic representation, as well as …

Multisensory Virtual Reality Artists And Media Dimensions Toward Immersion: A Framework Of Mediology For Understanding Professional Communication Rhetorics, D’An Knowles Ball

English Theses & Dissertations

Multisensory elements are increasingly being added to virtual reality (VR) environments, allowing for higher levels of immersion for users as well as expanded creative media opportunities for multisensory VR artists. Recognizing multisensory VR as a networked ecology between the designer, the system, and the user, this dissertation addresses a distinct absence of resources on design principles and artistic professional practices specifically for composing multisensory VR environments. In investigating processes of invention, choices, tools, and methods on the parts of the artists, this dissertation fills scholarly gaps across disciplines that tend to focus on systems and tools or the user’s experiences …

Towards Agile Academia: An Approach To Scientific Paper Writing Inspired By Software Engineering, Tyler Procko

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

The construction of scientific papers is performed in service of the greater scientific community. This iterative process is, in effect, an academic economy, where all members benefit from well-written papers. However, many published scientific papers are poorly written; they often lack sufficient detail to allow replication, there is improper usage of citations or a lack of regard to relevant work, reporting is vague or without linked empirical data to allow verification, figures do not correspond to text or are non-sensical, literary elements, e.g., bulleted lists, are used ineffectively, formatting renders certain sections unreadable, and grammatical errors abound. The issues of …

Understanding Podcast Advertising Processing And Outcomes: An Analysis Of Podcast Ad Types, Message Types, And Media Context On Consumer Responses, Colin Piacentine

Theses and Dissertations

Podcasting is a rapidly growing medium that is increasingly substantially in terms of both audiences and advertising revenue. This study examines the concepts of native advertising, persuasion knowledge, narrative transportation, and media context congruity as they pertain to this emerging media format. Specifically, it examines the effects of ad type (host-read/announcer-read), message type (informative/narrative), and genre (news/true crime), as well as the interactions between them, on consumer responses. Consumer responses are categorized into those relating to the podcast and those relating to the advertisement. A 2 x 2 x 2 full factorial between-subjects online experiment is conducted comparing eight podcast …

To Fee Or Not To Fee: Requester Attitudes Toward Freedom Of Information Charges, A. Jay Wagner, David Cuillier

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

This study seeks to establish a foundation for how FOI fees are received by public record requesters, and how fees influence behavior across demographics and requester types. A survey of 330 public records requesters in the United States revealed sharp disparities in how requesters perceive fees. Private citizens, journalists, academics, and nonprofit requesters were more likely to identify excessive fees as a serious impediment, whereas commercial requesters and lawyers did not. The study also found differences in how fees are experienced at the federal, state, and local levels. Findings suggest that fees are particularly problematic for certain requester types, notably …

Commentary: Black Or White? Wrong Or Right? Don't Rush To Take Sides On Complex Issues Such As Israel-Hamas Conflict, Siow-Heng Ong, Benjamin Joshua Ong

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

While responses to the Israel-Hamas conflict have been bitterly divided, they showcase a common phenomenon of people viewing complex situations in black-and-white terms. But how did we get here?

Social Interaction, Support Preferences, And The Use Of Wearable Health Trackers, Natalie Pennington, Linda Dam

Hank Greenspun School of Journalism and Media Studies Faculty Research

Introduction: Drawing on uses and gratifications theory, social cognitive theory, and related work, this research assessed how social factors relate to reported weekly use and behavioral intentions toward the use of wearable health trackers (WHT).

Methods: Through two studies we surveyed current users of WHT, including smartwatches, to better understand what factors encouraged engagement. Study One (N = 333) consisted of a college student sample. Study Two (N = 319) was conducted through an online panel from Prolific.

Results: For Study One, results suggested that connection, social comparison, and one's comfort with seeking support predicted weekly use, while …

The Cowl - V. 88 N. 19 - September 28, 2023

The Cowl

The Cowl - student newspaper of Providence College. Vol. 88 No. 19 - September 28, 2023. 20 pages.

Preparing Future Leaders In The Arts Through The Community Arts Engagement Certificate Program: What I Learned From Teaching The First Introductory Seminar, Sharon Davis Gratto

Research and Reflection on Learning and Teaching in Higher Education

The University of Dayton’s Community Arts Engagement certificate program was recently launched with the teaching of its first introductory seminar. The program and this course were conceived to be broader in scope for arts majors than the more familiar arts administration minor program. Several of the outcomes of the seminar—both those planned and those unforeseen—can be informative in thinking more expansively about experiential learning and community collaboration in arts education or other disciplines. This article represents a narrative description of the program and its introductory seminar and a personal reflection after teaching the seminar for the first time.

Spartan Daily, September 27, 2023, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2023

Volume 161, Issue 16

The Prospector, September 26, 2023, Student Publications

The Prospector

Headline: El Paso Reaches 'Breaking Point' as Migrants Flood Downtown

Selection Homophily And Peer Influence For Adolescents’ Smoking And Vaping Norms And Outcomes In High And Middle-Income Settings, Jennifer M. Murray, Sharon Sánchez-Franco, Olga L. Sarmiento, Erik O. Kimbrough, Christopher Tate, Shannon C. Montgomery, Rajnish Kumar, Laura Dunne, Abhijit Ramalingam, Erin L. Krupka, Felipe Montes, Huiyu Zhou, Laurence Moore, Linda Bauld, Blanca Llorente, Frank Kee, Ruth F. Hunter

Economics Faculty Articles and Research

The MECHANISMS study investigates how social norms for adolescent smoking and vaping are transmitted through school friendship networks, and is the first study to use behavioral economics methodology to assess smoking-related social norms. Here, we investigate the effects of selection homophily (the tendency to form friendships with similar peers) and peer influence (a social process whereby an individual’s behavior or attitudes are affected by peers acting as reference points for the individual) on experimentally measured smoking and vaping norms, and other smoking outcomes, in adolescents from high and middle-income settings. Full school year groups in six secondary schools in Northern …

Comparative Analysis Of Covid-19 Non-Pharmaceutical Intervention Videos On Facebook: Insights From Nigeria And Benin Republic, Jimme Matyek, Sheba Umbule Tayo-Garbson, Philomena Effiong Umoren Phd, Benmun Paul, Emeka Williams Etumnu

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Facebook has been adopted by public health organisations for health promotion, psychoeducation and behaviour change campaigns. Studies have underscored the potential advantages of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) in decelerating the transmission of COVID-19 and mitigating its severe health consequences. However, these studies did not content analyse these NPI messages especially on Facebook. This study sought to investigate the phenomenon of NPI COVID-19 videos on Facebook that were viewed by Nigerians and Beninese. This study used quantitative content analysis as the research design and analysed 56 Nigerian videos and 36 Beninese videos totalling 92 on Facebook with an inter-rater reliability of 96%. …

Climate Change Journalism In Pakistan: Ethical Deliberations, Muhammad Ittefaq, Shafiq Ahmad Kamboh, Ayesha Ashfaq

School of Communication Studies - Faculty Scholarship

In the 21st century, research on climate journalism has received exponential growth globally. However, the media’s ethical role in covering climate change has not sufficiently been explored enough. In this chapter, we provide a broad overview of climate change journalism in Pakistan, the role of stakeholders that are directly involved in this crisis, and further highlighted the need to follow the UNESCO-led ethical principles and deliberations by the local climate journalism. We conclude that though a great deal of attention has been paid by the local scholars and scientists to highlight different dimensions of climate emergency, however, the findings of …

The Current - Volume 34 Issue 2, Nova Southeastern University

Student Newspapers

No abstract provided.

Connecting With The Outside World: Psychosocially Supportive Aspects Of Operational Communication Between Isolated Crews In Space And Mission Control On The Ground, Dennis J. Frederiksen

Journal of Human Performance in Extreme Environments

Radio-based communication between crew members in space and mission control centers on the ground has the operational purpose of supporting the safe and effective execution of missions in space. Space-to-ground communication also, however, constitutes one of the relatively few interpersonal relationships astronauts have during missions and in addition to its operational purpose, this communication can support astronauts’ wellbeing. The purpose of this paper is to identify psychosocially supportive aspects of operational space-to-ground communication between astronauts in space and spacecraft communicators on the ground. Through qualitative analysis of authentic mission communication, this paper identifies two supportive aspects and develops a terminology …

The Cowl - V. 88 N. 18 - September 21, 2023

The Cowl

The Cowl - student newspaper of Providence College. Vol. 88 No. 18 - September 21, 2023. 20 pages.

Spartan Daily, September 19, 2023, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2023

Volume 161, Issue 12

Chimes: September 18, 2023, Calvin University

Chimes

Calvin's total student body grows for the first time in a decade by Savannah Shustack

Compass College closing sends many new students to Calvin by Maya Oeverman & Savannah Shustack

Tech Week Grand Rapids offers unique experience for STEM students by Jacob Westra

Scooters offer transportation, but parking issues have caused challenges during rollout by Grace Buller

New sports facilities provide new opportunities for student athletes by Dillion Baumchen

Calvin students can now keep waste out of the landfill by Ethan Meyers