Digital Commons Network^™

Impacts Of Online Debate On Ipda Inter-Team Communication, Ethan Riley Arbuckle

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This paper looks to analyze the differences in inter-team communication created by the International Public Debate Association’s (IPDA) switch to the virtual debate format. The analysis includes a breakdown of literature covering virtual communication, the history of the IPDA, and virtual debate. Literature has shown negative gender representation, and that virtual communication has significant internal batters to the same function as face-to-face communication. Given the impacts that virtual communication has had on connectivity, and speech patterns this research attempts to find if those impacts have been consistent in its application to the IPDA. The study uses a quantitative survey methodology …

Argentine Women’S Narratives Of Leadership, Ileana Andrea Mocciola

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The present study investigated and examined the narratives of Argentine women leaders while obtaining and exercising leadership positions. This research was based on narrative theory and the feminist standpoint theory. Argentine female participants (N = 10) were subject to interviews that overall lasted 600 minutes and were conducted through the Zoom platform. Fifty-five pages of single-spaced transcripts were analyzed and studied. The results of this study revealed that Argentine women face major challenges when it comes to tokenism, exclusion, mentorship, and stereotypes that prevent and limit them from reaching and succeeding in leadership positions.

Resale Hdb Price Prediction Considering Covid-19 Through Sentiment Analysis, Srinaath Anbu Durai, Zhaoxia Wang

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

Twitter sentiment has been used as a predictor to predict price values or trends in both the stock market and housing market. The pioneering works in this stream of research drew upon works in behavioural economics to show that sentiment or emotions impact economic decisions. Latest works in this stream focus on the algorithm used as opposed to the data used. A literature review of works in this stream through the lens of data used shows that there is a paucity of work that considers the impact of sentiments caused due to an external factor on either the stock or …

With Generative Ai, Do We Still Need Unis?, Lily Kong, Sun Sun Lim

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

In a commentary, SMU President Professor Lily Kong and SMU Vice President of Partnerships and Engagement and Professor of Communication & Technology Lim Sun Sun discussed why there is a need for universities even as generative artificial intelligence (AI) may increasingly cause job displacement. They believe a university education can make all the difference in a world infused with innovations like generative AI, as it allows people to hone their human instincts and people skills to augment the rich substantive knowledge they will acquire. They also shared how universities, with their diverse and stimulating learning environments, can prepare individuals for …

Shifting The Paradigm With Wednesday Addams: Why Nuanced, Intersectional Portrayals Of Autistic People Matter, Camille Alyse Bassett

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

For decades, Autistic people have been portrayed in the media through dehumanizing stereotypes such as the robot, the superhuman savant, and the empty shell. Through these stereotypes, Autistic people are construed as non-human, above-human, and sub-human but never as human beings with complexity, authenticity, and dignity. In addition to being stereotypical, depictions of Autistic people have historically featured white and male characters, a longstanding pattern that erases Autistic women and people of color, among others. In 2022, however, Netflix’s spinoff series of The Addams Family, Wednesday, brought to the screen one of the very first autistic-coded …

Grounded In Reality: An Exploration Of Acceptance In Relational Conflict, Audrey Johansen

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Acceptance work encompasses “the processes that allow us to be fully grounded in reality” (Canfield, 2023). It allows individuals to embrace what truly is, both the good and the bad. It enables them to be at peace with what they can’t control, so that they can put their energy into changing what is within their power.

This project explores how acceptance work connects with other aspects of conflict process, including grieving, emotional regulation, and other concepts. Research was conducted by studying materials on communication and conflict processes, and by applying the materials to the author’s life. The author explores how …

Toward A Better Understanding Of Social Network Site Engagement In Influencing Health Behaviors: An Examination Of The Relationship Between Message Framing, Endorsement Cues, And User Engagement, Shawn Chunhsien Chiang

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The use of social network sites (SNS) to deliver health interventions has been on the rise in recent years due to their popularity among the general population and functionalities that facilitate interactions with the content, or with other users of SNS. Despite that, scholars have noted challenges, including low engagement, associated with SNS-delivered interventions. This dissertation’s overall purpose is 1) to document the current state of measuring engagement within SNS-delivered health interventions, and 2) to empirically examine the interplay between message framing, social endorsement and engagement in a randomized experiment using Instagram. Results from the scoping review showed that a …

Political Speech: The Influence Of Speaker Sex And Verbal Aggression On Message Perception, Amanda Magusiak

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examined political messaging. More specifically, I considered the influence of the sex of the speaker and the use of verbal aggression on overall message perception. One hundred and six college-aged students read eight excerpts of political speech where sex of the speaker (male; female) and level of aggression (aggressive; nonaggressive) were manipulated. Participants then completed measures assessing their agreement with the political message, the speaker’s credibility, the speaker’s communicative appropriateness, and the speaker’s level of verbal aggressiveness. Results indicated that male and female political speakers were evaluated similarly on measures of agreeableness, credibility, and appropriateness. In addition, aggressive …

Men, Women, And Italians: The Masquerade Of Narrative And Identity In Richardson's Sir Charles Grandison, Ruth A. Holmes

English Theses & Dissertations

The chaotic masquerades that proliferated during the British long eighteenth century punctuated the period’s preoccupation with order and categorization. The identity categories that the masquerade disrupted, the novel reinforced, or perhaps even created. It was in the middle of this period, in the political center of Britain, that Samuel Richardson published his third and final novel, The History of Sir Charles Grandison (1753), a novel which centers England and was also centered by England, a national treasure entangled in literary and cultural history. Tracing the nexus of gender and nationalism in Grandison then becomes important given the novel’s active entanglement …

Information And Communications Technology Within Coastal Resilience Planning Frameworks: The Case Of Jamaica, A Small Island Developing State, Ren-Neasha R. Blake Gilmore

School of Public Service Theses & Dissertations

Coastal areas increasingly grapple with coastal hazards like hurricanes, tropical storms, sea level rise, and flooding. Proactive and agile coastal resilience solutions are necessary to reduce such risks and their associated socio-economic and environmental impacts. For these reasons, global coastal planners are pursuing climate action through multi-sector collaborations, innovative hybrid natural and manufactured solutions, and feasible mid to long-term coastal resilience strategies. While climate action is high on governments’ agenda globally, integrating information and communications technology has diffused widely within the coastal planning space in small island developing states, drawing on more technology-driven solutions. Very few empirical studies in the …

Supporting Account-Based Queries For Archived Instagram Posts, Himarsha R. Jayanetti

Computer Science Theses & Dissertations

Social media has become one of the primary modes of communication in recent times, with popular platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram leading the way. Despite its popularity, Instagram has not received as much attention in academic research compared to Facebook and Twitter, and its significant role in contemporary society is often overlooked. Web archives are making efforts to preserve social media content despite the challenges posed by the dynamic nature of these sites. The goal of our research is to facilitate the easy discovery of archived copies, or mementos, of all posts belonging to a specific Instagram account …

Inner Portraits, Bethany Salisbury

Graduate Theses

This paper investigates the many interconnected layers of women’s mental health through portraiture and how animal and plant symbolism can represent the way women's hormones and bodily health affect their mental health. I reveal how the artwork created presents these connections and inner mental health narratives to the viewer, creating a space of empathy, destigmatization, and self-reflection. This body of portraiture art connects five women through a series of both two-and three-dimensional portraits based on interviews using my own adaptation of Sara Lawrence-Lightfoots’ (1983) portrait methodology.

Women and non-binary individuals have always dealt with difficult interactions of bodily and mental …

Research And Scholarship Studies In Media Literacy - How The Umsl Community Knows What It Knows, Joshua Preston, Vince Costa

Undergraduate Research Symposium

The topic of news literacy has climbed in public interest, more and more every year for decades. In recent years, Missouri SB 678 from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education established a pilot program from 2024-2026 to implement pilot news literacy education programs in Missouri school districts and report findings at its conclusion.

UMSL’s Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) conducted research of UMSL news literacy habits in partnership with UMSL’s Political Science Academy (PSA). An initial survey in Fall, 2023 sought to identify the news mediums that are most often used through UMSL’s community, perceptions on …

Only 2000 Psi Of Bottom-Time Air: A Case Study Of Diveheart Participant Social Capital, Kirk J. Williams

Nonprofit and NGO Studies Student Projects

Social capital development for many, but not all, is a relatively organic process, and as social creatures, people work together to reach collective goals. The defined interactions related to the practices of societal norms, taboos, and broad cultural acceptance are constructs of communal decisions lending deep credence to the value of any number of the social capital definitions. However, opportunities are not always readily available to individuals living with disabilities, so they can and do get left out to varied degrees. With unsurprising results, previous research relied on comparing survey data from individuals with and without disabilities to identify possible …

Environmental Vs. Social Problems: American Perspectives In The 2020s, Nicholas Eldridge

Undergraduate Research Symposium

This study explores American perspectives on environmental and social issues through an open-ended survey with approximately 10,000 responses. Participants were asked to prioritize between environmental and social issues and to explain their reasoning. The responses were qualitatively coded based on seven main variables: choice between social and environmental concerns, perceived immediacy of effects, motivation (intrinsic or extrinsic), solvability of issues, perceived connection between social and environmental problems, appeal to future generations, and presence of conspiratorial or denial views.

User Polarization From Ai Social Media Algorithms, Theresa Colombini

Undergraduate Research Symposium

This research project delves into the contemporary phenomenon of political polarization exacerbated by artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms in online content consumption using scholarly articles and survey data. The research investigates how AI-driven recommendation systems influence the selection and exposure to politically charged content across various digital platforms. The findings of this study are intended for a deeper understanding of the societal implications of AI algorithms and provide insights into potential strategies for mitigating political polarization in online environments.

Letting The Narrative Unfold: Black Female Storytellers Of The 21st Century, Jalila Waller

Honors Program Theses and Projects

The important aspects of film and television are the stories that are portrayed. Everyone has a story to tell. However, who tells the story is equally important as who portrays the story. This thesis analyzes three Black female auteurs and the work they have created with Black women at the center of those narratives. Shonda Rhimes, Ava DuVernay, and Issa Rae are Black female auteurs because they are Black female storytellers each with their own story to tell. They each have created and produced content that portrays Black women in a three-dimensional light.

Get The Jab Or Else: Examining The Role Of Fear Appeals In The Herman Cain Award Subreddit Using Protection Motivation Theory, Julia May

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

In 2021, I conducted participant observation research on the Herman Cain Award subreddit, examining the effectiveness of fear appeals on social media. In that research, I determined that fear appeals on social media platforms are just as effective as when used on mass media platforms. The research also showed that the fear appeals in the subreddit worked to appeal to the unvaccinated users’ fear of online ridicule rather than a fear of bodily harm. I found this finding interesting and worked to expand my research, now two years later, by further investigating the platform using Protection Motivation Theory, a health …

Tourism Marketing To Southeast Asian Countries Via Social Media And Its Ethical Implications, Emma Parker

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

As the influence of social media on the tourism marketing industry continues to grow, it becomes necessary to analyze how these platforms are being used. This study aims to determine the ways in which the combination of visuals and written copy in an Instagram post work to create an advertisable overall image of Southeast Asian countries as tourist destinations.

Using a qualitative content analysis, twenty seven posts from the official tourism Instagram accounts of Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines were analyzed to determine what overall image is being presented, how this is being accomplished, and if the advertisement of these …

A Rhetorical Criticism Of “Bothsidesism” In Journalism, Jess Kirby

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

In recent years, a term called “bothsidesism” has come into public use as both a critique of journalists participating in false balance and as an expectation that journalists should cover all sides of an issue—no matter if a side’s claims are unfounded. I argue that bothsidesism is problematic because 1) bothsidesism is a fallacious rhetorical tactic that minimizes objective fact; 2) the term “bothsidesism” and the act of practicing it both reinforce bipartisan thought, which stymies political action; 3) false balance is at odds with the role of a journalist; and 4) false balance is perpetuated by comment sections. I …

Social Media: Factors That Impact Sports, John Wilke

Undergraduate Research Symposium Podium Presentations

Sports have been a popular form of entertainment for centuries and have become more refined over time. As new forms of sports entertainment emerges, various factors will play a significant role in how much a participant will earn. This study will focus on social media, specifically Instagram, and how it plays a role in total earnings.

Positive And Negative Attitudes Towards Skincare Products, Jordan Rachelle Barcenas, Jessica Herrera

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

Understanding consumer attitudes about skincare products. Rise in skincare products from COVID. More demand for higher quality products. Examine price sensitivity, brand exclusivity, positive results, and clean ingredient preferences.

Social Media Marketing Related To Nike, Felipe Herrera

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

This research examines positive and negative attitudes about social media marketing within Nike. Understanding consumer attitudes about social media marketing is important because it affects our lives every day and we are exposed to it on a regular basis. Previous research about this product category showed that there are new tactics Nike is using to expand business, how the pandemic affected usage of social media, and the percentages of apps being used by adults in the last year. I conducted three netnography analyses by observing consumer groups on Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit social media platforms on Nike to understand consumer …

What Made You Choose?, Reyes Felix

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

The social, revenue, and other differences between iPhones and Samsung phones are examined through netnography and literature reviews. Individuals were surveyed on their current and previous devices.

Intellectual Humility And Diversity, Emmanuel Gutierrez

Undergraduate Research Symposium Lightning Talks

Intellectual humility has many positive effects which include enhanced perspectives, collaboration & reduced bias, and continued learning & adaptability. Using a personal narrative about the application of intellectual humility, 3 goals will be possible: bringing awareness, increasing collaboration, and encouraging diversity.

The Stylistic Achievement Of Mere Christianity, Gary L. Tandy

Sehnsucht: The C. S. Lewis Journal

This essay will not attempt to explain the cultural, sociological, and theological reasons for the ongoing relevance of Lewis’s Mere Christianity. It will, however, look closely at several aspects of the work in order to assess its rhetorical and literary achievement. It will also suggest that, while Lewis’ understanding of Christian doctrine and his mastery of logical argument are important (and have received the bulk of critical attention), the success of Mere Christianity has more to do with the style through which the author communicated its content. Specifically, Lewis’ rhetorical or apologetic theory led him to focus on the …

Digital Patient Engagement At A Perioperative Surgical Home Implemented Community Hospital, Srinivasan Sridhar, Amy Mount Hunter, Bernadette Mccrory

Patient Experience Journal

Patients in rural areas typically require more perioperative ‘optimization’ for surgery. The rural healthcare systems often overwhelmed with coordinating perioperative services and deliver less than optimal surgical outcomes. This is due to limited supporting microsystems and ability to effectively engage and track patients over the 120-day perioperative period to limit post-surgical complications. The study assessed longitudinal patient engagement within a newly established Perioperative Surgical Home (PSH) at a rural community hospital serving 10+ surrounding counties to identify barriers and best practices for engagement. A digital patient engagement platform was implemented and used to assess longitudinal patient outcomes and engagement from …

Patient Experiences Through Head And Neck Cancer: Information Delivery Combatting Psychological Distress, Eleah Stringer Msc., Julian J. Lum Phd., Jonathan Livergant Dr., Andre Kushniruk Phd.

Patient Experience Journal

As part of a larger study investigating the utility of electronic decision support tools for patients with head and neck cancer (HNC), this article describes the patient experience of receiving cancer treatment in British Columbia, Canada. It aims to give voice to the patient experience and recommend a model of psychological adjustment for clinicians and clinical service management to consider to refine patient centric care pathways for HNC. Based in phenomenology, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 12 survivors of HNC, audio-video recorded, and thematically analyzed. Three themes were identified: (1) patients have high, though varying information needs; (2) an emotional …

Listening As Medicine: A Thematic Analysis, Rachel Kishton M.D., Heta Patel, Divya Saini, Jeffrey Millstein M.D., Aaron Levy Ph.D.

Patient Experience Journal

Realizations of the importance of “the art of medicine” in trust-building and patient satisfaction have resulted in the incorporation of narrative medicine programs into training curricula. By learning how to respond to patient stories as well as communicate their own, healthcare providers can ensure that their patients feel heard and respected. This study seeks to define what constitutes empathetic listening through a qualitative analysis of personal narratives collected from patients, caregivers, and providers across an urban academic healthcare system. Stories (n=41) underwent thematic analysis to note common experiences related to listening during a health system encounter. Eighteen grounded codes were …

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

Spartan Daily, 2023

Volume 160, Issue 37