Digital Commons Network^™

Adding Glamour To Theory: Experiencing Theory In The Basic Course In Interpersonal Communication, Thomas Joseph Socha

Communication & Theatre Arts Faculty Publications

Focusing on the use of popular magazines in interpersonal communication instruction, this paper argues that such magazines can provide a rich source for application and criticism of interpersonal communication processes in everyday life. The first section of the paper reviews research and criticism dealing with the content of magazine articles that offer advice on interpersonal relationships and related topics, noting that such research and criticism are rare in the field. The second section provides a framework for integrating popular literature into the interpersonal course by discussing three methods of integration: critique application, discussion application, and role-play application. The third section …

An Analysis Of Factors Affecting The Effective Use Of Knowledge Management In Counter Improvised Explosive Device (C-Ied) Operations, Umit Gencer, Rafael E. Landaeta, Resit Unal, C. Ariel Pinto, Gokay Sursal

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

Improvised Explosive Device (IED) is a weapon of choice and is likely to remain a major component of the Global War on Terrorism. It is critical that gaps in knowledge transfer are quickly addressed in order to more effectively equip personnel to counter IED (C-IED) threat. Therefore, the military must analyze the current Knowledge Management (KM) programs in C-IED arena in order to maximize transfer of knowledge derived from experience and skill to staffs and finally to commanders. This study investigates the factors that influence effective use of KM in C-IED operations in the military. The study suggests that effective …

Effectiveness In Executive Decision-Making Bodies: The Role Of Conflict, Chris L. Day, Pilar Pazos

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

The theory and practice related to team processes such as communication, coordination, conflict, and their impact on team performance and effectiveness has been focused on principles applied to teams in general and to specific subsets of teams/situations. Executive decision-making bodies are a specialized subset of teams charged with managing strategic and enterprise-wide change typically consisting of talented team members who make decisions having a broad impact on the organizations they lead. Executive decision-making bodies have been largely unexplored in the team research literature. This study presents an in-depth review of prior research exploring the role of input factors and conflict …

Positive Youth Development: A Resiliency Based Afterschool Program Case Study, Lindsey Brown, Eddie Hill, Amy Shellman, Edwin Gomez

Human Movement Studies & Special Education Faculty Publications

This study examined the impact of an afterschool program on resilience in youth at an elementary school in Central NY. The goals of the program were to: (a) increase resiliency among participants, and (b) reduce the occurrence of aggressive behaviors (i.e., bullying) in 5th and 6th graders. Of the 79 students who completed the survey, 19 participants were able to be matched with pre- and posttests. In the study, 13 as participants in the afterschool program, and six as non-participants. Results of paired samples t-tests indicated that those who participated in the afterschool program showed a significant increase (p= 0.05) …

Partial Word Knowledge: Frontier Words In The L2 Mental Lexicon, Alla Zareva

English Faculty Publications

The study set out to examine the partial word knowledge of native speakers, L2 advanced, and intermediate learners of English with regard to four word features from Richards' (1976) taxonomy of aspects describing what knowing a word entails. To capture partial familiarity, the participants completed in writing a test containing low and mid frequency content words, accompanied by a word knowledge scale. The analysis showed that there were three distinctive patterns of partially familiar vocabulary but their distribution across the three groups was quite different, which indicated that partial knowledge was linked to different word features across the three proficiency …

The Vital Non-Action Of Occupation, Offline And Online, Dylan E. Wittkower

Philosophy Faculty Publications

Using an Arendtian framework, I argue that we can understand distinctive and effective elements of the #OWS movements as forms of non-action related to prior strategies of non-violence, the propaganda of the deed, and coalitions of affinity rather than identity. This understanding allows us to see that, while the use of social media in the movement does not provide the same affordances for building and maintaining power as physical occupation, and while online community clearly cannot substitute for physical community in many relevant and consequential ways, Facebook does nonetheless provide a platform well suited to maintaining power through these distinctive …

"Friend" Is A Verb, Dylan E. Wittkower

Philosophy Faculty Publications

An argument against the Aristotelian emphasis on formal and final causes in understanding friendship, and in favor of efficient and material causes. Attempts to establish that social media communications constitute a secondary literacy in the context of a shared asynchronous experience at a distance, and addresses "the sandwich problem:" how we can charitably account for the practice of photographing and sharing one's lunch.

Consuming Direct-To-Consumer Genetic Tests: The Role Of Genetic Literacy And Knowledge Calibration, Yvette E. Pearson, Yuping Liu-Thompkins

Philosophy Faculty Publications

As direct-to-consumer marketing of medical genetic tests grows in popularity, there is an increasing need to better understand the ethical and public policy implications of such products. The complexity of genetic tests raises serious concerns about whether consumers possess the knowledge to make sound decisions about their use. This research examines the effects of educational intervention and feedback on consumers' genetic literacy and calibration -- the gap between consumers' actual knowledge and how much they think they know. The authors find that consumers' genetic knowledge was generally low and that people tended to underestimate their knowledge level. Furthermore, consumers' perceived …

The Role Of Technology In Enabling Sales Support, Aaron D. Arndt, Jason Harkins

Marketing Faculty Publications

The purpose of this research is to develop a framework explaining how technology can enable sales support. Sales support technology is often used to assist salespeople with a variety of transaction activities, such as prospecting, communicating, scheduling appointments, and processing orders. Sales support technology can be categorized as automation and facilitative technology. Our framework explains when a technology is appropriate for a particular sales activity based on workload and customization. It also proposes who should use a technology based on orientation towards sales revenue or cost control goals. Then, we develop managerial recommendations and propose directions for future research.

Prevalence And Correlates For School Truancy Among Pupils In Grades 7-10: Results From The 2004 Zambia Global School-Based Health Survey, Adamson S. Muula, Emmanuel Rudatsikira, Olusegun Babaniyi, Peter Songolo, Seter Siziya

Community & Environmental Health Faculty Publications

Background

There are limited data on the prevalence and associated factors of truancy in southern Africa. Yet truancy should attract the attention of public health professionals, educators and policy makers as it may be associated with adolescent problem behaviours. The objectives of the study were to estimate the prevalence and determine correlates of school truancy among pupils in Zambia.

Findings

We used data collected in 2004 in the Zambia Global School-based Health Survey. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to identify factors associated with truancy. A total of 2257 pupils participated in the survey of whom 53.9% were male. Overall 58.8% …

Contrasting Effects Of Errorless Naming Treatment And Gestural Facilitation For Word Retrieval In Aphasia, Anastasia M. Raymer, Beth Mchose, Kimberly G. Smith, Lisa Iman, Alexis Ambrose, Colleen Casselton

Communication Disorders & Special Education Faculty Publications

Purpose- We compared the effects of two treatments for aphasic word retrieval impairments, errorless naming treatment (ENT) and gestural facilitation of naming (GES), within the same individuals, anticipating that the use of gesture would enhance the effect of treatment over errorless treatment alone. In addition to picture naming, we evaluated results for other outcome measures that were largely untested in earlier ENT studies.

Methods- In a single participant crossover treatment design, we examined the effects of ENT and GES in eight individuals with stroke-induced aphasia and word retrieval impairments (three semantic anomia, five phonological anomia) in counterbalanced phases across participants. …

Epistemic Uncertainty Analysis: An Approach Using Expert Judgment And Evidential Credibility, Patrick Hester

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

When dealing with complex systems, all decision making occurs under some level of uncertainty. This is due to the physical attributes of the system being analyzed, the environment in which the system operates, and the individuals which operate the system. Techniques for decision making that rely on traditional probability theory have been extensively pursued to incorporate these inherent aleatory uncertainties. However, complex problems also typically include epistemic uncertainties that result from lack of knowledge. These problems are fundamentally different and cannot be addressed in the same fashion. In these instances, decision makers typically use subject matter expert judgment to assist …

Identification And Implementation Of Patterns Towards A Model Of Environmental Sustainability, S. Jimmy Gandhi, Santiago Perez, Danial Rushton, Robert Cloutier, Ipek Bozkurt, C. Ariel Pinto

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

Much like the Quality Revolution did in the 1980's, corporate sustainability has the potential to drive significant changes in the processes and structure of various organizations in the coming decade. With a rapidly growing global population and an ever increasing global demand for resources (Population-Resource-Center, 2012). Sustainability has emerged as one of the primary challenges that organizations will have to deal with in the 21st century. An increasing realization among business executives that profitability by itself is not enough as a measure of success is also driving the increased adoption of sustainable practices in the corporate world (Lowitt and Grimsley, …

Research Methodologies: A Look At The Underlying Philosophical Foundations Of Research, Nathapon Siangchokyoo, Andres Sousa-Poza

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

Quantitative and qualitative research methodologies have had their greatest share of debates dating back to the 1970s. Researchers have long argued over the underlying philosophical features between the two methodologies and their ability to derive knowledge (Onwuegbuzie & Leech, 2005, Sale, Lohfeld, & Brazil, 2002; Powell, Mihalas, Onwuegbuzie, Suldo and Daley, 2008; Sechrest and Sidani, 1995). More recently, modern researchers have argued that the integration of quantitative and qualitative methods into a single methodology (known simply as mixed methods research) allows researchers to answer questions otherwise unobtainable (Carey, 1993). The emergence of mixed methods research has gained increasing popularities in …

What Is Talmud? The Art Of Disagreement, David Metzger

English Faculty Publications

Review of What is Talmud? The Art of Disagreement, by Sergey Dolgopolski. New York: Fordham University Press, 2009.

Editor's Introduction: Playing For Keeps: Games And Cultural Resistance [Special Issue], Marc A. Ouellette, Jason Thompson

English Faculty Publications

This edition is as much about Game Studies as it about the games being studied. At its heart there are really two impulses behind the collection of critical thought we have been fortunate enough to gather for this issue of Reconstruction. First, there is the sense that games can’t do anything. Second, there is the sense that games don’t do anything. Their origin (and the underlying biases) makes these sentiments particularly intriguing. In the simplest terms, these premises delineate competing camps, as well. Roger Ebert notoriously asserts that video games will never be art (Ebert). Similarly, and yet quite differently, …

What Tattoos Tell Customers About Salespeople: The Role Of Gender Norms, Aaron D. Arndt, Myron Glassman

Marketing Faculty Publications

This study looks at how the meaning of visible tattoos impacts customer ratings of salespeople. Given the prevalence of tattoos, sales managers can no longer have a "no tattoo" policy. As such, they must understand how customers view different types of tattoos on salespeople. To this end, we examine the meaning and appropriateness of highly masculine and highly feminine tattoos on salespeople in two industries, real estate and automobile sales. Overall, people with tattoos trust and are more willing to work with tattooed salespeople than people who do not have tattoos. Furthermore, salespeople with masculine tattoos are considered more masculine …

Facebooking In Distance Education: Constructing Virtual Communities Of Practice, Virginia M. Tucker

English Faculty Publications

The growth of distance education warrants a closer look at how virtual communities of practice form in asynchronous online classrooms. Prior studies have sought to identify a process to virtual community formation, which may vary depending upon the media used for collaboration. This microstudy examines how one student group in a distance writing course used the popular social media site Facebook to construct community and whether the stages of virtual community development were observed in this setting. Findings suggest that revisions might be made to our current understanding of the process of building virtual community within small groups. “Othering” and …

Transnational Oswald: Relocating Delillo’S Libra, Michael Mirabile

Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture

In Libra (1988) Don DeLillo displaces Lee Harvey Oswald’s contradictory life story and the elusive event of the JFK assassination from their immediate national and domestic contexts to relocate them amidst various transnational contexts. A key to DeLillo’s remapping or deterritorialization is found in his inscription in his narrative of figural equivalents of technical means of reproduction. While Oswald’s life appears as a cinematic montage, a rapid shuffling of places of residence and projected identities, the assassination is rendered in accordance with the processes of the photographic, filmic, and televisual construction of images. Through his unconventional portrait, DeLillo acquires an …

The Subversion Of Abstract Space In U2’S Rhizomatic 1990s, Anthony Cristofani

Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture

In The Production of Space, Henri Lefebvre analyzes the “geometric—neutral, empty, blank—mental space” that is posited in order to avoid the unpleasant, contradictory nature of social space, which it displaces. Abstract space is “also the locus of all the agitations and disputations of mimesis”, and the space is where books are canonized, genres are fixed, and university departments are calcified, a process that not only hierarchizes texts but fixes their context. Even avant-garde and purportedly subversive art and criticism is easily subsumed in the abstract space required for the functioning of capitalism. As such, I look to a popular …

Technological Innovations For The Human Service Profession, Tara M. Hill, Cassandra Pusateri, Erik Braun, Mueni "Joy" Maweu

Counseling & Human Services Faculty Publications

Many professions are incorporating innovative and affordable technologies such as smart phones, wireless Internet, gaming systems in which the only controller is the human body, and countless software programs and applications to improve efficiency, increase access, and promote themselves. The human service profession is also making strides to utilize new and existing technological mediums in original and creative ways. The article presents ideas for the use of innovative technological approaches in the training of human services students, the dissemination of services to consumers, supervision of human service students and professions, and the everyday operations of human service agencies. The limitations …

The Use Of Empathy In Human Services: Strategies For Diverse Professional Roles, Hannah B. Bayne, Cassandra Pusateri, Lashauna Dean-Nganga

Counseling & Human Services Faculty Publications

Human service professionals must manage a variety of roles and responsibilities in order to meet individual, group, and community needs. Managing these roles often necessitates the use of empathy in order to correctly understand issues, build trusting relationships, and meet the needs of client populations. This article presents a brief overview of empathy and applies it to the human service roles of direct service worker, advocate, administrator, and evaluator. In each professional role, examples are provided of how empathy can help human service workers achieve optimal outcomes. Implications for human services training and professional development are also provided.

Treating Detained Juveniles: Measuring Mental Health Traits And Gender Differences, Todd L. Grande, Janelle M. Hallman, Lee A. Underwood, Kellie M. Warren, Mark Rehfuss

Counseling & Human Services Faculty Publications

An understanding of gender-specific differences between detained male and female youth and how these differences relate to mental health is fundamental to understanding, assessing, and treating this population. This study examined the prevalence of mental health symptoms among a sample of 4,015 incarcerated juveniles who were assessed at intake using the BASC-2, MAYSI-2, and Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children. Significant differences were found between males and females on many of the instruments’ clinical scales, the effect size, however, was small. The prevalence of mental health symptoms varied greatly based on the instrument used (12% and 70% for males; 18% and …

How Web 2.0 Is Changing The Way Students Learn: The Darwikinism And Folksonomy Revolution, Helen Crompton

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

In the 21st century, some argue that we have a new breed of students (Oblinger & Oblinger, 2005; Prensky, 2001). Technologies such as Web 2.0 have been held responsible for these changes as students are now becoming active, critical consumers of information (Klamma, Cao, & Spaniol, 2007). Two components of this Web 2.0 revolution are the ideas behind Darwikinism and folksonomy. Darwikinism is a portmanteau of Darwinism and Wikis, which describes how a system similar to Darwin’s theory of evolution is ordering and processing wiki information. Folksonomy, again a portmanteau of folk and taxonomy, refers to the way in which …

Decorin Expression, Straw-Like Structure, And Differentiation Of Human Costal Cartilage, Michael W. Stacey, Janna Grubb, Anthony Asmar, Julie Pryor, Hani Elsayed-Ali, Ali Beskok, Diganta Dutta, Annie Fecteau, Alice Werner, Dennis A. Darby, Robert Kelly

Bioelectrics Publications

Costal cartilage is much understudied compared with the load-bearing cartilages. Abnormally grown costal cartilages are associated with the inherited chest wall deformities pectus excavatum and pectus carinatum resulting in sunken and pigeon chests, respectively. A lack of understanding of the ultrastructural and molecular biology of costal cartilage is a major confounder in predicting causes and outcomes of these disorders. This study analyzed the structure of marginal human costal cartilage (ribs 6-10) through scanning electron and atomic force microscopes and identified the presence of straw-like structures running longitudinally. We also demonstrated that chondrocytes tend to occur singly or as doublets and …

Low-Stakes, Reflective Writing: Moving Students Into Their Professional Fields, Joyce Neff, Garrett J. Mcauliffe, Carl Whithaus, Nial P. Quinlan

English Faculty Publications

This study examines low-stakes, written commentaries from a graduate counseling course to better understand the role writing plays in the transition from being a student to becoming a professional practitioner. The cross disciplinary research team used methods from Grounded Theory to analyze 60 commentaries and found that: (1) low-stakes, reflective writing revealed changes in self-awareness from Situational Self-Knowledge to Pattern Self-Knowledge (Weinstein & Alschuler, 1985); (2) low-stakes writing provided evidence of students connecting personally to learning and then connecting learning to professional practice; and (3) low-stakes writing encouraged the instructor to make mid-course adjustments to his teaching methods. This study …

Vital Tooth Whitening Effects On Oral Health-Related Quality Of Life In Older Adults, Ann M. Bruhn, Michele L. Darby, Gayle B. Mccombs, Carleen M. Lynch

Dental Hygiene Faculty Publications

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine if vital tooth whitening affects oral health-related quality of life (OHRQOL) in adults age 50 years and older, and if tooth whitening causes increased participation in social activities.

Methods: Using a 2 group, single blind, randomized, pre-test, multiple post-test design, 62 participants were enrolled. The experimental group used a whitening product twice daily for 3 weeks. The control group used no whitening products. The Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP) served as the pre- and post-test measure. The OHIP measures OHRQOL on 7 subscales: functional factors, psychological disabilities, psychological discomforts, physical disabilities, …

Curriculum Matters: Learning Science-Based Fitness Knowledge In Constructivist Physical Education, Haichun Sun, Ang Chen, Xihe Zhu, Catherine D. Ennis

Human Movement Studies & Special Education Faculty Publications

Teaching fitness-related knowledge has become critical in developing children's healthful living behavior. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a science-based, constructivist physical education curriculum on learning fitness knowledge critical to healthful living in elementary school students. The schools ( N = 30) were randomly selected from one of the largest school districts in the United States and randomly assigned to treatment curriculum and control conditions. Students in third, fourth, and fifth grade ( N = 5,717) were pre- and posttested on a standardized knowledge test on exercise principles and benefits in cardiorespiratory health, muscular capacity, …

Physical Activity: The Forgotten Tool For Type 2 Diabetes Management, Sheri R. Colberg

Human Movement Studies & Special Education Faculty Publications

Individuals who are currently sedentary, unfit, or overweight can benefit metabolically from simply taking breaks from sitting. Since avoidance of sedentary behavior appears to have a large impact on glycemic management, all individuals with type 2 diabetes should be encouraged to minimally engage in greater daily movement to better manage their diabetes and body weight. In addition, engaging in physical activity of any intensity (including low-intensity ones) likely positively impacts insulin action and blood glucose control acutely. Moreover, as long as total caloric expenditure during exercise is matched (i.e., total exercise dose), daily exercise may be done every other day …

System Of Systems Perspective On Risk: Towards A Unified Concept, C. Ariel Pinto, Michael K. Mcshane, Ipek Bozkurt

Finance Faculty Publications

Many systems and projects that concern systems engineers, engineering managers, and business managers today can be defined as system of systems (SoS), which are described as ambiguous, uncertain and dynamic, among others. In addition to the traditional view on risk identification, analysis and management, the concept of risk should be considered with respect to these systems of systems. The purpose of this paper is to analyse both fundamental concepts and recent publications in system of systems, business and engineering management, as well as risk analysis, modelling, and management for the purpose of better describing the concept of risk with respect …