Digital Commons Network^™

The Cowl - V.79 - N.17 - Feb 12, 2015

The Cowl

The Cowl - student newspaper of Providence College. Vol 79 - No. 17 - February 12, 2015. 28 pages.

The Cowl - V.79 - N.16 - Feb 5, 2015

The Cowl

The Cowl - student newspaper of Providence College. Vol 79 - No. 16 - February 5, 2015. 20 pages.

A Quick Guide For Building A Successful Bioinformatics Community., Aidan Budd, Manuel Corpas, Michelle D Brazas, Jonathan C Fuller, Jeremy Goecks, Nicola J Mulder, Magali Michaut, B F Francis Ouellette, Aleksandra Pawlik, Niklas Blomberg

Computational Biology Institute

"Scientific community" refers to a group of people collaborating together on scientific-research-related activities who also share common goals, interests, and values. Such communities play a key role in many bioinformatics activities. Communities may be linked to a specific location or institute, or involve people working at many different institutions and locations. Education and training is typically an important component of these communities, providing a valuable context in which to develop skills and expertise, while also strengthening links and relationships within the community. Scientific communities facilitate: (i) the exchange and development of ideas and expertise; (ii) career development; (iii) coordinated funding …

Telling Stories, Saving Lives: Creating Narrative Health Messages, Lauren B. Frank, Sheila T. Murphy, Joyee S. Chatterjee, Meghan B. Moran, Lourdes Baezconde-Garbanati

Communication Faculty Publications and Presentations

Increasingly, health communication practitioners are exploring the use of narrative storytelling to convey health information. For this study, a narrative film was produced to provide information about the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) and cervical cancer prevention. The storyline centered on Lupita, a young woman recently diagnosed with HPV who informs her family about HPV and the availability of the HPV vaccine for her younger sister. The objective was to examine the roles of identification with characters and narrative involvement (made up of three dimensions: involvement, perceived relevance, and immersion) on perceived response efficacy, perceived severity, and perceived susceptibility to HPV and …

It-Enabled Coordination In Electronic Markets: An Experimental Investigation Of The Effects Of Social Communication On Group Buyers, Alexander Pelaez

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Coordination, and the mechanisms by which coordination occurs, represents a significant area of study for economic research, and information technology. Technology enhances communication in both speed and quantity of information and when aligned with appropriate tasks can improve decision-making and task performance. Examining the effect of technology based coordination mechanisms on market platforms provides insight into outcomes as represented by buyer surplus and task completion as well as behaviors, such as network structure and emotional attitudes in economic experiments. Drawing on theory from economics and information systems, larger buyer groups should be able to obtain better prices and extract higher …

The Cowl - V.79 - N.15 - Jan 29, 2015

The Cowl

The Cowl - student newspaper of Providence College. Vol 79 - No. 15 - January 29, 2015. 20 pages.

The Cowl - V.79 - N.14 - Jan 22, 2015

The Cowl

The Cowl - student newspaper of Providence College. Vol 79 - No. 14 - January 22, 2015. 20 pages.

An Increasing Usefulness For Managerial Communication Research On The Main Topics Of Management, Reginald L. Bell, Deborah Roebuck

Faculty Articles

Effective communication is necessary across all management tiers and functions. In addition, it is an integral part of managerial decision-making. Over the last 10 years, interest in the nuances of communication as related to management has intensified. These studies have fostered diverse approaches to linking management and communication. Our investigation, using 2x5 and 2x4 factorial ANOVAs, reveals that differences exist among the means of five professional communication fields. Numerous articles published between 2004 and 2013 were examined, and we found an increasing usefulness for managerial communication research on the main topic of management.

The Influence Of Social Media Technology On Generation Iy's Ability To Communicate Face To Face In Their Academic Careers, James Howard Henry

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

This thesis investigates how Generation iY students perceive that social media and / or texting technology has influenced their ability to track and comprehend the subtleties of face-toface communication within an academic setting. Generation iY is defined as those born between the years 1982 to 2004. Also involved in this study are members of the faculty and staff that teach Generation iY. The theories being applied and examined in this study include, Postman’s Technology Ecology, McLuhan’s Media Ecology, and Ong’s Orality and Literacy. These theories while addressing different aspects of technological change, all agree that the change is all encompassing …

Challenges To Increasing Usage Of New Technology In An Aging Workforce, Leslie Ann Yuenger

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

Explanatory qualitative research has primarily focused on resistance to information and communication technologies (ICT) due to age of the user, computerphobia, lack of trust in computer usage, socio-economic barriers, organizational politics, and non-alphabetical language. Global organizations are utilizing ICT as their primary means of communicating with their workforce. Human communication has evolved as man has evolved and in today’s world communication is via multiple mediums. Verbal, Face-to-Face, non-verbal, written and electronic communications may all take place between one pair of individuals and their circle of friends, family and total strangers. Social Information Processing (SIP) theory by J. B. Walthers was …

Cmc, Communication Skills And The Millennial Generation, Carmelyn Daley-Hinkens

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

This qualitative, phenomenological study explored both the lived experiences of Millennial journalists’ preferred style of intra-organizational communication with stakeholders from other generations, and non-Millennial supervisors’ preferred styles of interpersonal communication in the workplace. The primary theoretical framework for this project was guided by Buber’s philosophy of dialogic ethics and Philipsen’s speech codes theory as both focus on better understanding how interlocutors speak to each other and form unique, lasting relationships. Data collection involved guided face-to-face or phone interviews with 10 Millennial journalists and 10 non-Millennial supervisors. Data analysis followed constant comparison analysis (Glaser & Strauss, 1967). Five themes emerged from …

Effects Of Alternative Framing On The Publics Perceived Importance Of Environmental Conservation, Amanda E. Sorensen, Daniel Clark, Rebecca C. Jordan

School of Natural Resources: Faculty Publications

Effective communication of science to the general public is important for numerous reasons, including support for policy, funding, informed public decision making, among others. Prior research has found that scientists participating in public policy and public communication must frame their communication efforts in order to connect with audiences. A frame is the mechanism that individuals use to understand and interpret the world around them. Framing can encourage specific interpretations and reference points for a particular issue or event; especially when meaning is negotiated between the media and public audiences. In this study, we looked at the effect of framing within …

2015 Research & Innovation Day Program, Holly Morris, Brittany May, Samantha Germaniuk, John Paul Thomas, Fredy Rodriguez, Grace Merrifield, Shannon Cross, Rebecca Dyck, Emily Matlovich, Michell Naujokaitis, Kristen Vauthier, Colleen Mctavish, Susan Snobelen, Amanda Borland, Alvan D'Souza, Sara Lindsay, Nick Broadley, Kalene Van Boven, Maggie Kozlowski, Sydnie Nauss, Jesse Milley, Lucas Morrish, Julie Marie Service, Lauren Marie Nicholson, Caitlyn O'Driscoll, Alexander Ormsby, Jocelyn Van Herk, Tanya Naha, Ronak Zareardalan, Hatty Verberne, Matthew Christie, Johanna Garzon, Linnea Smith, Teah Jazey, Ian Hoekstra, Christine Fandrich, Tyler Durand, Aimee Deluce, Colin Catten, Ashley Taylor, Jerry Uzoma, Deion Farrington, Ryan Figueiredo, Jasmine Therrien, Sarah Broadfoot, Cassandra Marks, Christopher Robins, Amanda Piskorski, Ben Sandiford, Kyla Trac, Coutrney Rayment, Mitchell Richardson, Alexander Howie, Mojgan Esfahaninejad, Catherine Lai, Tanweer Malik, Anand Singh, Dylan Wallace, Walter Gramajo, David Krent, Samuel Garcia, Ryan Mchale, Jodi Hall, Mary Wilk, Gary Mitchell, Karen Johnson, Catherine Webber, Magdalene Carter, Carol Butler, Gail Brown, Donna Sevenpifer, Tina Bonnett, Helen Symons, Leona English, Karla Van Kessel, Megan Anderson, Krista Vogt, Farveh Ghafouri, Sandra Lackenbauer, Tanya Naha, Maureen Cullen, Kelsey Fischer, Alyssa Churchill, Elizabeth Lorusso, Lyndsay Fitzgeorge, Jenna Lorusso, Daniel Lorusso, Erin E. Mcdonald, Natalia Aguillon, Robert Haaf, John Bennett, Sam Roodi, Masoud Farahmandfar, Seyed Goosheh, Peter Sturm, Glen Worobets, Mona Khadelwal, Annette Woloszyn, Jennifer Stewart, Shannon Webb

Centre for Research and Innovation Publications

A one day showcase of applied research, social innovation, scholarship projects and activities.

Say What?: The Power Of Language And Communication Demonstrated In Chuck Palahniuk’S Lullaby, Brittany Krantz

Faculty Publications

Throughout Lullaby, Palahniuk manipulates traditional communication by obscuring the roles of speaker and recipient with the culling song, a poem that causes instant death to those who hear it. Despite the obvious incorporation of magic and fantasy, the novel reflects genuine aspects of linguistic functions and indicates authentic applications for the use of language and speech acts in the actual process of communication. The author highlights the impact that language bears upon one’s psyche, as individuals’ thoughts often transpire into words, and consequentially, into threatening actions that jeopardize others’ well-being. Palahniuk’s manipulation of traditional communication is that victims do not …

Slander, Buzz And Spin: Telegrams, Politics And Global Communications In The Uganda Protectorate, 1945-55, Carol Summers

History Faculty Publications

Ugandans, from the earliest days of empire, did not simply receive information and messages from a distant Britain. Instead, with methods rooted in pre-colonial understandings of communications as establishing personal, affective, social closeness and reciprocities, they invested in education, travel and correspondence and built wide-ranging information and communications networks. Networked, they understood imperial institutions and pushed their own priorities via both official and unofficial channels. By the 1940s, political activists combined these information networks with the modern technologies of newspapers, telegrams and global press campaigns to destabilize colonial hierarchies. Generating slanderous allegations, repeating them to generate popular buzz, interpreting and …

Manager Perspectives On Communication And Public Engagement In Ecological Restoration Project Success, Caroline Gottschalk Druschke, Kristen C. Hychka

New Hampshire EPSCoR

We look to a particular social-ecological system, the restoration community in Rhode Island, USA and the rivers, wetlands, marshes, and estuaries they work to protect, to draw connections between communication, community involvement, and ecological restoration project success. Offering real-world examples drawn from interviews with 27 local, state, federal, and nonprofit restoration managers, we synthesize the mechanisms that managers found effective to argue that the communication employed by resource managers in each phase of the restoration process, in prioritization, implementation, and monitoring, and for garnering broad-based support, shapes the quality of public engagement in natural resources management, which, in turn, can …

Teacher Perceptions Of The Impact Of Digital Photo Stories On Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Julia J. Conn

Education Dissertations and Projects

This study employed a qualitative method, multiple case study design to examine teacher perceptions of the impact of digital photo stories used as an instructional strategy with students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Five highly qualified teachers of students with ASD from four public schools in a western North Carolina school district participated in open-ended interviews before and after creating and completing a digital photo story utilizing a digital photo-story tool with students with ASD.

The guiding question for this study was “How does the use of digital photo stories as an instructional tool impact teacher perceptions of students with …

Comparing Business Law In Online And Face-To-Face Formats: A Difference In Student Learning Perception, Mary Catherine Cleaveland, Cristen Dutcher, Kathryn Epps

Faculty Articles

This paper extends the body of research investigating potential differences in face to face and online delivery of a business law course. Using a unique survey, it investigates student perceptions of their learning and understanding of key course concepts, as well as student satisfaction with the course and course instruction. Further, the paper explores the specific characteristics of online versus face to face students that may impact their satisfaction.

Communication And Sustainability Science Teams As Complex Systems, Bridie Mcgreavy, Laura Lindenfeld, Karen Hutchins Bieluch, Linda Silka, Jessica Leahy, Bill Zoellick

New Hampshire EPSCoR

Communication is essential to resilience, as interactions among humans influence how social-ecological systems (SES) respond to change. Our research focuses on how specific communication interactions on sustainability science teams, such as how people meet with each other; the ways in which they categorize themselves and others; the decision-making models they use; and their communication competencies affect outcomes. We describe research from a two-year study of communication in Maine's Sustainability Solutions Initiative, a statewide network of sustainability science teams. Our results demonstrate that decision making and communication competencies influenced mutual understanding, inclusion of diverse ideas, and progress toward sustainability-related goals. We …

Communication In Cyberspace, Nancy Leong, Joanne Morando

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

This Article examines a problem in cybercrime law that is both persistent and pervasive. What counts as “communication” on the Internet? Defining the term is particularly important for crimes such as cyberstalking, cyberharassment, and cyberbullying, where most statutes require a showing that the alleged perpetrator “communicated” with the victim or impose a similar requirement through slightly different language.

This Article takes up the important task of defining communication. As a foundation to our discussion, we provide the first comprehensive survey of state statutes and case law relating to cyberstalking, cyberharassment, and cyberbullying. We then examine the realities of the way …

Lights, Camera, Emotion!: An Examination On Film Lighting And Its Impact On Audiences' Emotional Response, Jennifer Lee Poland

ETD Archive

The current study examined the impact of three film lighting styles on participants' emotional responses. The light styles - High Key, Low Key, and Available Light ́⁰₃ were selected based on Film theory. Thus, this study combines Media Effects and Film literature to empirically study the impact of structural elements of film on media audiences. An experiment was conducted manipulating three levels of lighting. The According to film theory, a film presented in high key will cause audiences to feel higher levels of uplifting emotions such as happiness, joy, or humor, a film in low key will cause more feelings …

Effects Of Alternative Framing On The Publics Perceived Importance Of Environmental Conservation, Amanda E. Sorensen, Daniel Clark, Rebecca C. Jordan

Nebraska Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit: Staff Publications

Effective communication of science to the general public is important for numerous reasons, including support for policy, funding, informed public decision making, among others. Prior research has found that scientists participating in public policy and public communication must frame their communication efforts in order to connect with audiences. A frame is the mechanism that individuals use to understand and interpret the world around them. Framing can encourage specific interpretations and reference points for a particular issue or event; especially when meaning is negotiated between the media and public audiences. In this study, we looked at the effect of framing within …

Can You Please Put Your Phone Away? Examining How The Fomo Phenomenon And Mobile Phone Addiction Affect Human Relationships, Laila A. Chaudhry

UROP Posters

This study attempts to identify how attachment to social media as well as attachment to other forms of communication technology can lead to addiction to mobile devices and affect non-virtual interpersonal communication. I examined the phenomenon known as the fear of missing out, or FOMO, which can be defined as apprehension that others might be having rewarding experiences from which one is absent. Experiencing FOMO can lead to overuse of and even addiction to social media, another category I examined, because addicted individuals want to stay more up-to-date with social networks and social media is the most efficient way to …

Let's Talk About Sex: Sexual Health And Communication In Romantic Partners Based On Attachment Style, Elizabeth Grace Davis

Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection

Though research has explored the domain of attachment style in regards to romantic relationships and sexual behavior, little has been done to connect the two areas of study. Studies indicate that an individual's attachment style can influence their level of sexual intimacy (Hazan & Shaver, 1987; Feeney & Noller, 1990; Bogaert & Sadava, 2002; Gentzler & Kerns, 2004; Birnbaum et aI., 2006) as well as their sexual health behaviors (Gentzler & Kerns, 2004; Davis et aI., 2006; Butzer & Campbell, 2008). However, the current literature has not examined these findings in light of other variables that influence sexual satisfaction, sexual …

Politicized Climate Change Communication: An Integrative Complexity Analysis, Meredith A. Repke

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The vast majority of scientists agree that anthropogenic activities have caused the level of CO₂ in the atmosphere to rise at an unprecedented rate, and that the consequences of such a rise may very well be extreme. Despite these warnings, the American people do not possess, on average, the same level of concern towards climate change as scientists. The polarization of media in recent decades, the prevalence of selective exposure, and the general position on climate change of the two major political parties have led to liberals and conservatives consuming different information relevant to climate science. While evidence exists …

Ethical Considerations For Digital Manipulation Of Sports Photography, Jeffrey A. Garrison

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

The idea that photos can be manipulated has been around nearly as long as the art itself. In the days of the darkroom photos were burned, dodged, cropped and even spliced together to create a desired image. Today photos are taken digitally and easily manipulated through the use of computer software programs like Adobe Photoshop. This ease of manipulation brings ethical considerations into question more than ever as photographers and photo editors can now manipulated an image in ways that not only change the message of the photo, but can also alter the reality the photo once represented at the …

Promoting Transformation In Listeners Through The Utilization Of Strategic Public Speaking, Shawn Vanover

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

This thesis identifies how transformational speakers, through the art of public speaking, are able to communicate in a way that enables transformation within the listener. Public speaking is essential for influencing an audience; therefore it is imperative to explore and identify the most effective communication strategies and techniques for delivering transformational speeches to empower and deeply impact listeners. The thesis analyzes Steve Jobs’s 2005 Stanford Commencement speech to understand how transformational leaders deliver transformational speeches to a given audience, and to further study how speakers utilize the social penetration theory to build a connection with the audience to create a …

The Silent Dimension Of A Healthcare Narrative: How Patients Perceive Practitioners’ Nonverbal Cues, Sarah Steele

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

This study examines patient perceptions of medical practitioners’ nonverbal behavior. The philosophical framework is based on Buber’s (1923/1958) work on “dialogic ethics,” and grounded in Giles’ (1987) communication accommodation theory. Both quantitative and qualitative data were gathered by means of survey research, and examined through correlational and content analysis. Results show a significant positive correlation between patient perceptions of practitioner nonverbal immediacy and subsequent satisfaction. Analysis of survey comments revealed listening as the nonverbal behavior most valued and noted by patients. These findings serve to inform medical professionals on how to maximize patient satisfaction and care through effective use of …

Mobile Learning In The Uk Today: Successes, Failures, Future, John Traxler, Helen Crompton

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

In the last decade, mobile learning has taken an exponential rise in both the scholarly and practitioner community in the United Kingdom (UK). This rise has stemmed from the development of new mobile technologies with unique affordances that offers opportunities to extend pedagogical boundaries. This short paper provides experts perceptions on the mobile learning movement across the UK. The paper beings with a look back in recent history from the first mLearn conference in Birmingham in 2002, then the second part of the paper offers a brief look into the future of mobile learning.

L1, L2, And Cognitive Development: Exploring Relationships, Troy L. Cox, Dan P. Dewey, Ray Clifford

Faculty Publications

Second language learners often express frustration over the reality that their limited second language (L2) skills prevent them from full participation in intellectual discussions, and some have exclaimed, “Hey, I’m smarter than I sound!” Those who have had this experience recognize that a relationship exists between one’s language ability and other’s perceptions of one’s cognitive abilities. In daily life, this relationship between language and cognition is so prevalent that it is often ignored, or the abilities are simply conflated. For example, calls by employers to improve the critical thinking skills of college graduates are typically exemplified by statements about language …