Digital Commons Network^™

Media And Mindfulness: Associations Between Adolescent Mindful Social Media Use, Chenae Christensen-Duerden, Sarah Coyne

Journal of Youth Development

The objective of this study is to examine social media mindfulness and other social media habits as predictors of depression in adolescents. As depression and poor mental health increase for American adolescents, so does the research surrounding the positive outcomes associated with mindfulness. It is possible that mindfulness could be an effective tool in managing individual social media habits, however, very little research exists exploring the effects of mindfulness on media use. The sample for the current study includes a national quota sample of 1,158 adolescents (between the ages of 10 and 17 years old) from the United States. Participants …

Covid-19 Adolescent Technology Use And Physical Activities: Cluster Analysis For Mental Health, Chunling Niu, Rui Jin, Ashley Love, Sohelia Sadeghi, Loren Cossette, Marissa Molina

Journal of Youth Development

This study examined how COVID-19 disrupted adolescent education, social interactions, and mental health by conducting exploratory cluster analysis to identify distinct profiles of technology use and physical activities, then comparing resulting clusters on demographics, social support, and mental health dimensions. Using the first wave of the longitudinal Oxford Achieving Resilience during COVID-19 (ARC) study of 1,196 United Kingdom adolescents aged 13-18, three clustering algorithms (k-means, k-medoids, and agglomerative hierarchical) identified optimal groupings validated both statistically and empirically. Three distinct clusters emerged: Cluster 1 (n = 380) characterized by low media use and moderate activity; Cluster 2 (n = 153) showing …

Culturally Responsive Stem Education: Integrating Mapping Techniques And Drone Technology For Youth, Mayra Rodriguez Gonzalez, Kevin G. Torres Garrido

Journal of Youth Development

Integrating drone and geospatial technologies with participatory techniques offers a promising approach to culturally responsive STEM education. However, these areas are rarely combined in existing literature. Drone and geospatial education for youth generally focuses on technical skills, while participatory methods in youth-led initiatives often aim to foster community connection and a sense of place. Unfortunately, these approaches typically exist in isolation within youth programming. This disconnect limits the potential to engage underrepresented youth in STEM by not linking spatial data to local contexts and culturally meaningful narratives. By combining these approaches, both technical learning and personal engagement could be enhanced, …

Best Practices For Hybrid Positive Youth Development Programming, William Wilton, Claudia Mincemoyer, Jill Lingard, Maria Walker

Journal of Youth Development

CLOVER by 4-H is an online learning platform that creates a space for youth to explore interactive learning experiences across a range of 4-H program areas. This article provides an overview of a pilot conducted around the implementation of CLOVER by 4-H to provide positive youth-development experiences in 4-H programming. As a result of the pilot, three distinct models for hybrid program delivery and a set of seven best practices for hybrid positive youth development have been identified. This article outlines the hybrid models that were examined and discusses the best practices for hybrid PYD with examples from the pilot …

Beyond The Data: Establishing Relationships, Honoring Lived Experience, And Highlighting Qualitative Community Research With Military-Connected Families As An Exemplar, Georgia L. Mckown, Abigail T. Stephan

Publications

Qualitative research inquiry that centers vulnerable communities requires more than methodological rigor—it necessitates deep, authentic engagement with the populations involved. This paper explores strategies qualitative researchers can use to foster meaningful, ethical, and transparent relationships with participants and community partners throughout the research process. Illustrated through applied vignettes from our experience carrying out focus group research with military-connected teens and families, we share strategies for conducting community research through intentional preparation, thoughtful recruitment, innovative data collection, reflexive analyses, and sustained follow-up efforts that contribute to community trust and the co-production of knowledge. We highlight the importance of meeting communities where …

2025 Annual Accountability Report, Clemson University

Accountability Reports

No abstract provided.

Item 1: Syllabus Hssj 2200: Civic Leadership, Wendy Wagner

Wendy Wagner, Civic Leadership

This is a course in leadership studies that challenges students to consider the leadership development literature in civic contexts. It is also a service-learning course. While service itself is a form of civic participation, it's important to note that service-learning courses don't always focus on issues of civic identity and engagement as much as one might think. Civic learning is not an inherent outcome of all service-learning experiences. The literature in community engaged scholarship is clear that we do not achieve civic learning outcomes from simply adding ten “service hours” to an otherwise unaltered course. Instead, assignments and classroom discussions …

Item 1: Syllabus: Postcards For The Environment: Pass It On, Suzanne Savaria

Suzanne Savaria, Postcards for the Environment: Pass It On

This curriculum is the first part of a Senior Capstone service-learning based course. The full course is an international-led faculty course that is taught in Portland, Oregon, and in various locations in the region of Catalonia, Spain. In this course, we address some of the important issues of climate change both at home and abroad. In this interaction, we will explore what is being done to address environmental issues in our cities, water, and food sources. In response, we will design, write, and send Postcards for the Environment, creating augmented reality postcards while developing our creative, advocacy, and civic engagement …

Item 6: Assignment 3: Improving Knowledge Of Puerto Rico Through Wikipedia, Leila Rodriguez

Leila Rodriguez, Civic Engagement in/for Puerto Rico (English)

The purpose of this project is for students to improve the content, scope, and quality of information about Puerto Rico in Wikipedia, the world’s largest encyclopedia. The project is conducted in collaboration with Wiki Education, which provides students with additional media and digital literacy skills and training. Students work on the project throughout the entire term.

Item 1: Syllabus - Information Literacy And Civic Responsibility, Troy Martin

Troy Martin, Information Literacy and Civic Responsibility

This is a seven-week unit designed for a first or second-year, undergraduate, general studies program. The American Association of Colleges and Universities includes information literacy as an “essential learning outcome”. This unit highlights pressing questions and problems related to democracy, civic responsibility, the contemporary information ecosystem, information disorder, and information literacy skills. It outlines objectives, resources, learning activities and assignments.

Item 2 And 2.1: Activity 1: Who's Interested In The News? Whose Interests Are In The News?, Troy Martin

Troy Martin, Information Literacy and Civic Responsibility

This activity requires students to compare and contrast characteristics of popular or commercial news stories with public interest news stories. Students will make critical distinctions between different kinds of information that coexist under the broad umbrella of “news” in a contemporary information ecosystem. Instructors should provide students with the worksheet for this activity.

Item 4: Assignment 1: Cultural Immersion: A Group Documentary Project, Salah D. Hassan

Salah D. Hassan, Global Citizenship: Culture and Climate Justice in Indonesia

This assignment asks students to explore how Indonesia is global. Working in small groups of 2 or 3 with an Indonesian student, the group will spend several afternoons and evenings with a host family, documenting local cultural activities in Jambi that are signs of globalization. Each group will prepare a concise documentary project that uses photos and/or video to explore a specific global topic in Jambi. Topics might include food, fashion, entertainment, advertising, automobiles, educational systems, language, religion, ethnicity, etc. Students will explore how the local cultures have incorporated or contributed to the burgeoning global cultures that define Indonesia in …

E. Assignment Four: Scopes Trial History Lesson & Class Activities, Frankie Nicole Weaver

Frankie Nicole Weaver, Comparative Twentieth Century South African and United States Civil Rights and Voting Rights Histories

Build on introductory context and engage with themes tied to the 1925 Scopes trial, particularly highlighting public discourse and civic engagement in culture and politics, TN law and state judicial proceedings, science and technology, religion and Christianity in the US, notions of evolution and human evolution, public education, journalism and media, national politics or political ideologies, and US Constitutional liberties of speech, press, and religion.

Item 5: Assignment 1: Investigate Coverage Of Contested Claims, Troy Martin

Troy Martin, Information Literacy and Civic Responsibility

This is a multistep collaborative investigation and writing assignment designed to practice the SIFT model (Mike Caulfield) for quick source and claim-checking. This assignment should follow earlier introduction and practice using the SIFT model. Students will conduct individual investigations into factual claims followed by group deliberation and report writing.

F. Assignment Five: Scopes Trial Creative Assignment, Frankie Nicole Weaver

Frankie Nicole Weaver, Comparative Twentieth Century South African and United States Civil Rights and Voting Rights Histories

This creative assignment encourages students to reflect on independent exploration, class group learning, discussions, and to use research to think critically and to present their ideas in a 5-6-page essay. Students will also think like educators and create 8-10 PowerPoint slides.

Item 5: Assignment 2: Community Service And Self Awareness: Illustrated Experiential Learning Journal, Salah D. Hassan

Salah D. Hassan, Global Citizenship: Culture and Climate Justice in Indonesia

This course is grounded in community service and emphasizes experiential learning. Students will be spending significant time outside of the classroom working with local partner organizations and learning from them about the Indonesia cultures and environmental issues in Jambi. In this assignment, students connect their community service experiences with local Indonesian community organizations to their self-awareness as global citizens. The assignment asks students to record in an illustrated journal (a personal photo essay) their knowledge of the organization and the effect of community service on their self-knowledge while in Jambi. Documenting their observations through photos, videos, and a written journal, …

D. Assignment Three: Scopes Trial Introductory Assigned Activities: Learning From Tennessee’S Scopes Trial 100 Years Later, Frankie Nicole Weaver

Frankie Nicole Weaver, Comparative Twentieth Century South African and United States Civil Rights and Voting Rights Histories

This assignment encourages students to engage actively with scaffolded pre-learning necessary for the Scopes Trial unit. Students are introduced to the history of the 1925 Scopes Trial and the folk history connected to Inherit the Wind, in its various forms.

Item 4: Activity 3: Information Disorder And Elections: Discussion Guide For Deadlocked: An Election Story (2024), Troy Martin

Troy Martin, Information Literacy and Civic Responsibility

Using a simulated election role-play recorded in the PBS film Deadlocked: An Election Story (2024), students will discuss common issues between information disorder and election processes. Students will also examine legal and ethical rights, such as freedom of speech and freedom of assembly.

Item 6: Activity 3: Being American And Active Citizenship, Mary Anne K. Clarke

Mary Anne K. Clarke, Democracy, Citizenship, and the Media Course

This activity exposes students to a children’s book from a historical era vastly different from their own which exhibits a different tone and message about America and what it means to be American. Students will then creatively and actively “create a book page” about what it means to be an American now. This activity enables students to compare different historical eras and recognize the importance of language related to America and active citizenship in the modern era.

Item 1: Democracy, Citizenship, And The Media Syllabus, Mary Anne K. Clarke

Mary Anne K. Clarke, Democracy, Citizenship, and the Media Course

This course is appropriate as an introductory course. The course is designed to delve into the topics of democracy, citizenship, and the media, and it examines how the topics intersect and affect citizen participation in the US. This course provides an in-depth analysis of what democracy is, next adding the concept of citizenship, and finally adding the topic of the media to the discussion to demonstrate how the media shapes democratic values and the role of citizenship.

A. Syllabus His 207 Comparative Twentieth Century South African And United States Civil Rights And Voting Rights Histories, Frankie Nicole Weaver

Frankie Nicole Weaver, Comparative Twentieth Century South African and United States Civil Rights and Voting Rights Histories

Originally shared as an in-person comparative upper-level undergraduate history course, this course was adapted for online, virtual use. It works well in either format; however, if you share it virtually, I strongly encourage at least one weekly synchronous class meeting and utilizing breakout rooms to promote discussion. Also, provide discussion questions and randomly enter breakout rooms to facilitate discussion --ensuring that engaging discussions occur. I recommend offering both in-person and virtual office hours, regardless.

Promising Strategies For Impacting Youth Development Systems From Christian Summer Camps, Rachael Botting, Jacob Sorenson, Karen K. Melton, Rob Ribbe Dr.

Journal of Youth Development

As research on summer camp continues to expand and both scholars and practitioners gain a better understanding of the impact of the experience, it has become important to explore how the experience of summer camp is connected to the larger ecology of youth development. This study explores strategies of Christian summer camps for impacting faith in the home through interviews with 20 Christian summer camp leaders across three faith-based camping organizations: Christian Camp and Conference Association (CCCA), Lutheran Outdoor Ministries (LOM), and United Methodist Camp and Retreat Ministries (UMCRM). Using semi-structured interviews and an appreciative inquiry approach, this study identified …

September 9, 2025 Executive Board Meeting Minutes

NASIG Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Full Issue, Volume 20, Issue 3

Journal of Youth Development

No abstract provided.

Beyond World War I: Post-War Trauma In Agatha Christie’S The Mysterious Affair At Styles, Alayna Puckett

All Theses

This thesis reexamines Agatha Christie’s The Mysterious Affair at Styles as a literary response and representation to World War I, arguing that it deserves recognition as a novel of wartime trauma rather than being confined solely to the realm of popular detective fiction. Influenced by Christie’s firsthand experiences as a wartime nurse, the novel subtly weaves themes of personal wartime experience and trauma into its plot, characters, and setting. Christie’s protagonist, Mr. Hastings, represents the returning soldier attempting to reintegrate into society, while Hercule Poirot—a Belgian refugee—embodies the war’s broader displacement and disruption. Set during World War I in a …

Using Tier 1 Multi-Tiered Systems Of Support (Mtss) For Student Behavior To Decrease Discipline Referrals Among Black Ninth-Grade Students, Lauren L. Merck

All Dissertations

I begin this dissertation with an introduction to a problem of practice that affects many schools in America- inequity in school discipline. After reviewing literature that explains why this is an important research topic, I share information about the research site, Mountain View High School (MVHS). It was seen that majority of the discipline referrals written over the school year was from ninth-grade students. When looking closer at the ninth-grade students, it also was determined that Black/ African American students were also receiving a disproportionate amount of discipline referrals compared to their White peers. After introducing the problem of practice …

Cultivation Of Botryococcus Braunii For The Production Of Hydrocarbons Suitable For Fuel Use, Bryan C. Carroll

All Theses

Energy security, rural poverty, and climate change are pressing issues of our time. Biofuels provide a solution to these issues, with a focus on sustainable aviation fuel, SAF, due to compatibility with aircraft infrastructure and energy density. This research aims to review and produce knowledge about a specific microalga, Botryococcus braunii, for its potential for SAF. First a literature review on the process was conducted followed by an experimental study on the impact of aqueous media and inorganic carbon its growth and hydrocarbon content. The literature review found the process consists of cultivation followed by lipid extraction or hydrothermal …

Do Themes Improve Visitor Outcomes In Interpretive Programs?, Amber K. Hawes

All Theses

Thematic interpretation is widely promoted as being integral to an effective interpretive program. Some studies have suggested that thematic interpretation may enhance visitor outcomes; however, park visitor demographics have changed over the last decade, and others have suggested alternative approaches. In this study, we systematically observed live interpretive programs at 330 programs at 52 National Parks across the United States, monitored the extent and characteristics of theme usage, and collected visitor surveys immediately following each program. We used these data to determine the influence of the presence and characteristics of themes and theme questions on visitor outcomes. The results suggest …

Commodity Diversification, Technological Innovation, And Market Dynamics: Insights Into Beef Cattle Production And Feeder Cattle Basis In The United States, Nik Berg

All Theses

The beef cattle industry plays an important role in the agricultural economy, contributing to both domestic food supply and global trade. The United States is one of the world's largest producers of beef, with production systems varying widely across regions largely due to differences in available resources and market structures. Market conditions, technological advancements, and policy interventions shape the way producers operate, making research into these factors essential for both industry stakeholders and policymakers.

Producers are continuously adapting to changing economic conditions, environmental challenges, and evolving consumer preferences. By analyzing these factors, researchers can provide insights to support informed decision-making …

Evaluating (Bio)Degradation Of Carbon Tetrachloride In Fe(Iii)-Reducing Environments, Adam Rogers

All Theses

Understanding degradation of carbon tetrachloride in-situ is vital for many remediation projects across the world, yet conclusive evidence of its feasibility is lacking in previous studies.

The main objective of this research is to assess the potential for carbon tetrachloride attenuation by biological, abiotic, and combined processes in a Fe(III)-reducing aquifer. In doing so, it assesses the effect of pH and stoichiometric ratio on abiotic degradation of carbon tetrachloride using various reducing agents, evaluates iron-mediated versus direct biotic degradation of carbon tetrachloride using pure cultures under resting and growth conditions, and characterizes the effects of culture strain, electron acceptors and …