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The Current - Volume 35 Issue 1 (Including Special Section On Sports), Nova Southeastern University

Student Newspapers

No abstract provided.

Binary Gendered Language: A Qualitative Study Of Psu Students, Dakota Abercrombie

University Honors Theses

This study explores experiences of gendered language in use in academia among two marginalized groups: women and those identifying beyond the gender binary. Guided by the theory of linguistic relativity this study attempts to understand specific ways in which gendered language, including generic language may show up and contrasted within these groups. While this data is not generalizable, the findings indicate that both women and nonbinary students experience binary pronoun use in written formats such as syllabi. However, nonbinary students describe more negative feelings associated with this experience. We also noted participants' gender identities intersecting with other identities, leading to …

Changing Landscape Of Liver Transplant In The United States—Time For A New Innovative Way To Define And Utilize The “Non-Standard Liver Allograft”—A Proposal, Rashmi Seth, Kenneth Andreoni

Department of Surgery Faculty Papers

Since the first liver transplant was performed over six decades ago, the landscape of liver transplantation in the US has seen dramatic evolution. Numerous advancements in perioperative and operative techniques have resulted in major improvements in graft and patient survival rates. Despite the increase in transplants performed over the years, the waitlist mortality rate continues to remain high. The obesity epidemic and the resultant metabolic sequelae continue to result in more marginal donors and challenging recipients. In this review, we aim to highlight the changing characteristics of liver transplant recipients and liver allograft donors. We focus on issues relevant in …

A ‘Nuclear Bomb’ Or Just ‘A Joke’? Groundwater Models May Help Communicate Nuanced Risks To The Great Salt Lake, Matthew D. Laplante, Piyush Dahal, Shih-Yu Simon Wang, Kirsti Hakala, Avik Mukherjee

Plants, Soils, and Climate Faculty Publications

The Great Salt Lake entered the zeitgeist of environmental concern in 2022 when a coalition of scientists and activists warned in a highly publicized report that the lake might be just five years away from complete desiccation, a possibility one state official warned was tantamount to an “environmental nuclear bomb”. Shortly thereafter, an unpredicted and unprecedented pluvial winter resulted in an increase in inflow, temporarily halting the lake’s decline and prompting Utah’s governor to mock the dire prediction as “a joke”, an outcome that speaks to the tension between agenda-setting and trust-building that researchers face when sharing worst-case warnings, particularly …

Modeling Knowledge Graphs And Its Applicability In Multi-Source Social Network Data, Abiola Sylvester Akinnubi

Theses and Dissertations

Social network analysis is becoming more relevant with the rise of Large Language Models and other AI frameworks, particularly as online content creation surges. However, analyzing social network data from different platforms to study online opinions and influence campaigns remains challenging. Even more complex is the concept of multi-source social network analysis. Knowledge graphs, an essential part of Web 4.0 and crucial in information modeling and encoding, offer a unique solution. They allow for a more concise encoding of relationships between entities and related discussions. However, there is limited investigation into using multi-source data for examining online information campaigns and …

We're Swarming Again! Swarming, Collectivity, And Trope: The Case Of Extinction Rebellion, Tyler J. Behymer

Department of Communication Studies: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This thesis explores the rhetoric of the eco-movement Extinction Rebellion, focusing on the use of swarming and nature tropes to mobilize collective action and revivify contemporary notions of collectivity. Drawing on rhetoric of social movement scholarship, cultural studies, and psychoanalysis, this essay theorizes swarming as a tropological economy that expands the conditions of propriety in the context of collectivity. Through an analysis of Extinction Rebellion’s discourse, this study demonstrates how the naturalization of swarming tropes works in various ways to rewild conventional political discourse, galvanize disruptive collective assembly, and challenge green neoliberalism.

Advisor: Casey Ryan Kelly

Opportunities To Learn In Rural South Carolina Schools: Rurality, Place, And Passion, Grig Sawyer

All Dissertations

High school principals can change the status quo of the current iniquitous disparities in the education system between South Carolina’s rural high schools and their more populated and affluent suburban schools. Using a non-standard structure and the resources in their control, these school leaders can find solutions so schools can offer rural students advanced math and science programs. Yet, there is a paucity of studies examining how small rural school principals make advanced math and science courses available to their students, particularly in rural South Carolina. Thus, studies must examine how South Carolina school leaders successfully offer advanced math and …

Birds, Bees, And The Babies: Study Of The Influence Of Self-Efficacy On Parent-Child Sex Communication, Cassandra M. Craig

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Previous studies show that parents tend to be uncomfortable discussing sexual topics with their children, such as menstruation, masturbation, and/or condom use. This study offers a look at the part confidence plays in a parent's intentions to talk to their kids about such topics. The results indicated that the confidence parents feel about discussing sexual topics is not related to how much their own parents talked with them about sex. However, the confidence they feel that could be coming from other models, like social media or peers, is related to how much parents intend to talk with their own children …

Motives For And Consequences Of Deception In Romantic Relationships, Breanna De Leeuw

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The goals of this study are twofold. First, I examined the influence of sex, relational intimacy, and face concerns on deploying deceptive communication within romantic relationships. Second, I investigated the impact of deceptive communication on relational commitment and relationship satisfaction. Two hundred twenty-two college-aged students completed self-report measures assessing the variables of interest. Results demonstrated that men and women deceive their romantic relationship partners at similar rates; however, deception is differentially motivated across the sexes. In addition, results indicated that relational intimacy was negatively associated with the frequency of deceit, although relational intimacy was not significantly associated with specific motives …

Suicide And Its Nexus: A Theoretical Reconstruction Of Suicide, Nastiti Soegeng Lestari

Masyarakat: Jurnal Sosiologi

In Indonesia, suicide research has largely overlooked structural factors at the meso and macro levels, whether as primary causes, contributing factors, or considerations for prevention strategies. The dominance of psychological and psychiatric approaches has marginalized sociological perspectives, limiting a more holistic understanding of suicide. Existing heuristic models primarily frame suicide as a consequence of mental health disorders or economic conditions, reinforcing a dichotomy: one perspective views suicide as a psychological and/or psychiatric phenomenon, while the other treats it as a sociological fact. However, suicide encompasses a far more complex reality that transcends this binary. This study offers a comprehensive theoretical …

The Gender Ideology Of State Ibuism And Women’S Roles In Care Practices At The Rawa Panjang Waste Bank, Bojonggede, Bogor, Marini Purnamasari

Masyarakat: Jurnal Sosiologi

This article examines women's involvement in community-based waste management through the Waste Bank program. It argues that women’s participation in managing waste banks reflects the state’s gender ideology, which reinforces the reproduction of female labor and caregiving roles within society. Applying Suryakusuma’s (2011) concept of state ibuism, this study explores women’s roles in the Waste Bank program in Rawa Panjang, Citayam, Bogor Regency. Employing a qualitative approach, it utilizes methods such as observation, focus group discussions (FGDs), photoelicitation interviews, and in-depth interviews. The findings indicate that the Waste Bank program in Rawa Panjang serves as a contemporary manifestation of state …

Bunuh Diri Dan Untai Problematikanya: Sebuah Rekonstruksi Teoritik Atas Bunuh Diri, Nastiti Soegeng Lestari

Masyarakat: Jurnal Sosiologi

In Indonesia, suicide research has largely overlooked structural factors at the meso and macro levels, whether as primary causes, contributing factors, or considerations for prevention strategies. The dominance of psychological and psychiatric approaches has marginalized sociological perspectives, limiting a more holistic understanding of suicide. Existing heuristic models primarily frame suicide as a consequence of mental health disorders or economic conditions, reinforcing a dichotomy: one perspective views suicide as a psychological and/or psychiatric phenomenon, while the other treats it as a sociological fact. However, suicide encompasses a far more complex reality that transcends this binary. This study offers a comprehensive theoretical …

Modeling The Effect Of Human Behavior On Disease Transmission, Katie Yan

Rose-Hulman Undergraduate Mathematics Journal

Many infectious disease models build upon the classic Susceptible-Infected-Recovered (SIR) model, a compartmental system that is used to simulate disease transmission in a population. The SIR model focuses on the transmission of disease but rarely includes behavioral or informational components that explore how disease perception influences transmission. In this paper, we propose a six-compartment behavioral SIR model that further segments the classic SIR system based on knowledge of information about the disease, and we explore how sharing information affects disease transmission. We designate two states as aware and unaware based on whether the relevant information is known by the population. …

Memetic Memory As Vital Conduits Of Troublemakers In Digital Culture, Alexander O. Smith, Jordan Loewen-Colón

School of Information Studies - Post-doc and Student Scholarship

Recent fears of data capitalism and colonialism often argue using implicit assumptions about cybernetic technology’s ability to automate data about culture. As such, the level of data granularity made possible by cybernetic engineering can be used to dominate society and culture. Here we unpack these implicit assumptions about the datafication of culture through memes, which both act as cultural data and cultural memory. Using Alexander Galloway’s critical method of protocological analysis and descriptions of media tactics, we respond to fears of cybernetic domination. Protocols – the source by which cybernetic technologies enable automated datafication – enables us to respond to …

Film As An Educational Media In Building Awareness On Wild Animal Conservation (Case Study: Petualangan Sherina 2), Gumelar Setiaji, Melisa Bunga Altamira

Jurnal Vokasi Indonesia

Currently, films are not only a medium for entertainment, but can also be used as a medium for information, persuasion, and even education. Nature conservation is one of the environmental issues that is currently of concern. In a survey conducted by a non-governmental organization, the public paid sufficient attention to protecting biodiversity, flora, and fauna. Wild animal conservation is an issue that will be addressed in this research. The film "Petualangan Sherina 2" is a musical genre film that focuses on the importance of the conservation of wild animals, namely orangutans. This research will discuss how a film can be …

Breaking The Silence: Autoethnographic Account Of Communication In The Aftermath Of Parental Suicide, Marissa L. Lucero

Communication ETDs

The silence that surrounds the suicide of a parent often masks unresolved feelings of guilt, shame, and powerlessness in families grieving their loss. For children, the long-lasting impact of suppressing communication about parental suicide can endure throughout adulthood. In this autoethnography, I un-salience my voice to reflect on my father’s suicide in the context of my Nuevo Mexicana identity. I assert my Chicana feminist voice through an extraction of gendered and culturally grounded memories, personal journal entries from my childhood, and a review of academic sources on suicide. This thesis is a personal and intellectual engagement with Chicana/o critical theory, …

The Discursive Representations Of Africanness And Blackness In Chinese Cyberspace : A Critical Discourse-Historical Analysis, Jiapei Gu

Lingnan Theses (MPhil & PhD)

Recent years have seen deepened Sino-African ties. However, unlike friendly rhetoric at the state level, racial issues at the individual level are becoming increasingly salient. This study aims to enrich our current understanding of racial issues in China by examining the digital discursive representations of Africanness and Blackness produced by Chinese Weibo users. It investigates three African/Black people-related racial occurrences in China from 2020 to 2021. Those include the release of the draft of the Permanent Residence Law for Foreigners in 2020, the Okonkwonwoye case, where Okonkwonwoye physically assaulted a nurse during quarantine in 2020, and the Abdulmatten murder case …

Connectivity, Presence, And Time: A Pedagogical Experience With Telematic Music, Cássia Carrascoza Bomfim, Alexandre Ficarelli, Danilo Rossetti

Journal of Network Music and Arts

This article aims to discuss the notions of connectivity, presence, and time in the specific context of telematic music. To do so, we describe the work of the Telematic Ensemble LaFlauta, formed by students and professors from the University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto campus, for performance at the NowNet Arts Conference 2023.4 This work involved rehearsals and performances of three compositions dedicated to the group: Virtual Studies (2023) by Paulo C. Chagas, Modules 2 - My Words (2023) by Cássia Carrascoza, and Textural Studies (2023) by Danilo Rossetti. We conclude that the positive results of telematic music in a …

Valuing Trans Lives After Suicide: Rituals Of Commemoration In Digital Social Media Culture, Joe Edward Hatfield

Communication Faculty Publications and Presentations

In 2014, a trans teenager named Leelah Alcorn posted a suicide letter to her public Tumblr account. Almost a decade later, in 2023, Eden Knight, another young trans woman, posted a suicide letter to her public Twitter account. Both suicide letters went viral and inspired memorial hashtags on the platforms where they initially circulated. In this article, I identify similarities between the cases, conceptualizing both as rituals of commemoration aimed toward restoring value to trans lives lost too soon. My analysis shows how ordinary users leverage the connective affordances embedded within popular social media platforms to sustain structured, value-laden acts …

Sibling Bullying Reported By Emerging Adults: Profiling The Prevalence, Roles, And Forms In A Cross-Country Investigation, Kristen Cvancara, Esta Kaal, Maili Pörhölä, M. Beatriz Torres

Communication Studies Department Publications

Prevalence estimates of sibling bullying indicate it occurs more frequently and with more negative consequences than peer bullying, yet many countries do not track or investigate the phenomenon. University students from Argentina, Estonia, and the United States were surveyed to investigate their retrospective experiences involving sibling bullying, how often it occurred, the roles held, and the forms communicated. In the aggregated data, roughly 50 % of the sampled emerging adults (N = 3477) reported experience with sibling bullying, with the dual role of bully-victim being the most frequently reported role held by males and females, with the second role being …

Ocular Gene Transfer In The Spotlight: Implications Of Newspaper Content For Clinical Communications, Shelly Benjaminy, Tania M. Bubela

Office of the Provost

Background: Ocular gene transfer clinical trials are raising hopes for blindness treatments and attracting media attention. News media provide an accessible health information source for patients and the public, but are often criticized for overemphasizing benefits and underplaying risks of novel biomedical interventions. Overly optimistic portrayals of unproven interventions may influence public and patient expectations; the latter may cause patients to downplay risks and over-emphasize benefits, with implications for informed consent for clinical trials. We analyze the news media communications landscape about ocular gene transfer and make recommendations for improving communications between clinicians and potential trial participants in light of …

Medical Practice As Rhetorical Art Functional Medicine’S Therapeutic Partnership, Cristina Elena De León-Menjivar

English Theses & Dissertations

The current rates of provider burnout are at an all-time high, and our healthcare system is currently seeing numerous providers leave the system. The U.S. Surgeon General has deemed burnout rates at crisis levels, creating an exigency for research and work to help ameliorate this issue. One main issue at the heart of provider burnout is the idea of meaning and purpose in one’s professional life, and Functional Medicine methodology argues that it provides the means by which it can mitigate burnout while improving professional fulfillment and joy through deeper connections with patients. Their methodology is rooted in a concept …

First Through The Black Glass Ceiling: Towards Understanding The Communication Of Successful “First” Black Women Of Martinsville, Dasha L. Dillard

Communication & Theatre Arts Theses

The present study investigated the communication Black women ‘firsts’ of Martinsville, Virginia received and how resilience is communicated throughout one’s lives. Seven Black women who once worked or lived in Martinsville, Virginia were interviewed to discover the resilience themes through their professional lives and how resilience was a factor in how these women became ‘firsts’ in their respective fields. The study's findings show that certain personality and communication traits define and equip Black women to succeed and overcome adversities in today’s society. Furthermore, women who exhibited personality qualities such as assertiveness, faith, rebellion, and self-preservation and communication qualities such as …

The Blessed Assembly: Irreplaceable Physical Co-Presence In Worship And Healthy Hybridity Reimagined After The Pandemic In The Digital Age, Yvette, Ying Wai Lau

Doctor of Pastoral Music Projects and Theses

Because of the unprecedented and unexpected force of the pandemic since 2020, most churches around the world have experienced some online worship during the lockdown of their cities or the mandated closure of the church buildings. For many people, online worship seems to be an equivalent, if not better, alternative for gathering together—a physical co-presence in worship—even after the pandemic has ended. As necessary and vital as online worship experiences have been for Christians during the pandemic, the witness of the church from Pentecost throughout Christian history indicates that gathered worship in physical spaces is irreplaceable for faith formation and …

The Colorado Wolf Reintroduction Portrayal In News Media, Megan K. Mcarthur, Monica V. Ogra

Student Publications

The Colorado gray wolf (Canis lupus) reintroduction began in December 2023 in the hope of restoring this once native population to the area, and it has received mixed responses from the media. By answering the research question of 'How has the wolf reintroduction in Colorado been framed in news media?', this research poster looks at the portrayal of the reintroduction in news articles from six months before and after the first wolves were released. Media is an influential factor in people's opinions and it is important to be aware of the information being shared and any bias within them.

What Hmc Teaches Us About Authenticity, Katrin Etzrodt, Jihyun Kim, Margot Van Der Goot, Andrew Prahl, Mina Choi, Matthew Craig, Marco Dehnert, Sven Engesser, Katharina Frehmann, Luis A. Grande, Jindong Liu, Diyi Liu, Sandra Mooshammer, Nathan Rambukkana, Ayanda Rogge, Pieta Sikström, Rachel Son, Nan J. Wilkenfeld, Kun Xu, Renwen Zhang, Ying Zhu, Chad Edwards

Human-Machine Communication

This paper delves into what the application of authenticity to Human-Machine Communication (HMC) can teach us about authenticity and us as HMC researchers and as a com- munity. Inspired by the 2023 pre-conference “HMC: Authenticity in communicating with machines,” two central questions guide the discussion: How does HMC contribute to our understanding of authentic communication with machines? And how can the concept of authenticity contribute to our sense of self as researchers within the HMC field? Through the collaborative effort of 22 authors, the paper explores the re-conceptualization of authenticity and presents recent areas of tension that guide the HMC …

External And Internal Attribution In Human-Agent Interaction: Insights From Neuroscience And Virtual Reality, Nina Lauharatanahirun, Andrea Won, Angel Hsing-Chi Hwang

Human-Machine Communication

Agents are designed in the image of humans, both internally and externally. The internal systems of agents imitate the human brain, both at the levels of hardware (i.e., neuromorphic computing) and software (i.e., neural networks). Furthermore, the external appearance and behaviors of agents are designed by people and based on human data. Sometimes, these humanlike qualities of agents are purposely selected to increase their social influence over human users, and sometimes the human factors that influence perceptions of agents are hidden. Inspired by Blascovich’s “threshold of social influence’, a model designed to explain the effects of different methods of anthropomorphizing …

Feminist Cybernetic, Critical Race, Postcolonial, And Crip Propositions For The Theoretical Future Of Human-Machine Communication, Paula M. Gardner, Jess Rauchberg

Human-Machine Communication

The authors review theoretical trends in HMC research, as well as recent critical interventions in the HMC journal that usefully reshape and expand our research terrain. Conventional research such as positivist and quantified approaches are identified as restraining research questions and delimiting understandings of concepts including subjects, agency and interactivity. Feminist cybernetic, critical race, postcolonial and crip theoretical approaches are offered, examining how they fill research gaps in HMC, expanding content areas explored, and addressing diverse intersectional pressures, situated, and time/space dynamics that impact human machine interaction. The authors suggest these shifts are essential to expanding HMC research to address …

Machine Ex Machina: A Framework Decentering The Human In Ai Design Praxis, Cait Lackey, Zizi Papacharissi

Human-Machine Communication

Artificial intelligence (AI) design typically incorporates intelligence in a manner that is affirmatory of the superiority of human forms of intelligence. In this paper, we draw from relevant research and theory to propose a social-ecological design praxis of machine inclusivity that rejects the presumption of primacy afforded to human-centered AI. We provide new perspectives for how human-machine communication (HMC) scholarship can be synergistically combined with modern neuroscience’s integrated information theory (IIT) of consciousness. We propose an integrated theoretical framework with five design practice recommendations to guide how we might think about responsible and conscious AI environments of the future: symbiotic …

Pastoral Prose And Civic Engagement: Crafting The Call To The Public Square, Christopher Ian Thoma

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This thesis explores the relationship between creative writing techniques employed by pastors and congregational engagement in the public square. The central thesis posits that if pastors incorporate creative writing methods in extended weekly communications with congregants, then the necessary factors for engagement in the public square will be fostered, leading to attitudinal shifts demonstrated by increased congregational interest or participation in civil affairs. Through an extensive literature review, the thesis fairly examines historical and contemporary views of church and state, the Two Kingdoms doctrine, concepts relative to public square participation, Christianity’s waning cultural influence, communication science, developmental theory, literature familiarity, …