Digital Commons Network^™

The Use Of Human And Conspecific Gestures By Capuchin Monkeys To Solve An Object-Choice Task, Lindsay Paige Schwartz

Honors Theses

Most primates live in highly complex social systems, and therefore have evolved similarly complex methods of communicating with each other. One type of communication is the use of manual gestures, which are only found in primates. No substantial evidence exists indicating that monkeys use communicative gestures in the wild. However, monkeys may demonstrate the ability to learn and/or use gestures in certain experimental paradigms since they¿ve been shown to use other visual cues such as gaze. The purpose of this study was to investigate if ten brown capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) were able to use gestural cues from monkeys and …

Seeking Survival, Justice, And Recovery: Citizen Critics’ Therapeutic Interpretation Of Alice Sebold’S Lucky, Sarah Stone Watt

All Faculty Open Access Publications

This essay explores reader reviews of Alice Sebold’s memoir, Lucky, which describes her rape in college while simultaneously employing and confronting dominant rape scripts. Even so, reviews of the memoir on Amazon.com employ a therapeutic interpretation of the story that emphasizes Sebold’s ability to survive, seek justice, and recover. I argue that readers’ reliance on therapeutic rhetoric reinforces the myth that rape is a problem for individual women, rather than society as a whole, and reflects an ongoing barrier to the success of feminist anti-rape efforts.

Linking Pre-Meeting Communication To Meeting Effectiveness, Joseph A. Allen, Nale Lehmann-Willenbrock, Nicole Landowski

Psychology Faculty Publications

Purpose – This study investigates the importance of communication that occurs just before workplace meetings (i.e., pre-meeting talk). We explore how four specific types of pre-meeting talk (small talk, work talk, meeting preparatory talk, and shop talk) impact participants' experiences of meeting effectiveness. Moreover, we investigate the role of participants’ personality in the link between pre-meeting talk and perceived meeting effectiveness.

Design/methodology/approach – Data were obtained using an online survey of working adults (N = 252). Because pre-meeting talk has not been studied previously, a new survey measure of meeting talk was developed.

Findings – Pre-meeting small talk was a …

Talking Back: Mathematics Teachers Supporting Students' Engagement In A Common Core Standard For Mathematical Practice: A Case Study, Mercedes Sotillo Turner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The researcher in this case study sought to determine the ways in which teachers support their students to create viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others (SMP3). In order to achieve this goal, the self-conceived classroom roles of two teachers, one experienced and one novice, were elicited and then compared to their actualized roles observed in the classroom. Both teachers were provided with professional development focused on supporting student engagement in SMP3. This professional development was informed by the guidelines that describe the behaviors students should exhibit as they are engaged in the standards for mathematical practice contained in …

Characteristics Of Effective Communication About Mental Health In An African American Urban Community: A Qualitative Analysis, Jeannette Porter

Theses and Dissertations

Research has shown African Americans experience mental health issues at the same rate as the general population but seek treatment at only one-third that rate. Eleven African American low-income urban community leaders with basic training in mental health issues were interviewed about their perceptions of African American patterns of communication on mental health issues. Findings included a general consensus that the topic is generally not discussed, although passing references to a party’s perceived mental illness may be made using humor. When such discussion does take place, it happens only in a “safe space” with a trusted dialogue partner. Non-verbal cues …

A Theme Analysis Of Experiences Reported By Adult Children Of Alcoholics In Online Support Forums, Marie Haverfield, Jennifer Theiss

Faculty Publications

Growing up with an alcoholic parent can have a lasting effect on children and contribute to a variety of challenging outcomes in adulthood. This study identified the various experiences that adult children of alcoholics (ACoA) discuss with their peers in online support groups. Trained coders conducted a thematic analysis of 504 message board posts collected over a period of 60 days from three different online support groups to identify issues that children of alcoholics face in adulthood. Seven themes emerged from the analysis: (a) empowerment through support, (b) interference of parent in adulthood, (c) connection to inner child and need …

Communication Channels: The Effects Of Frequency, Duration, And Function On Gratification Obtained, Laura Zizka

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The way people choose to communicate can affect current and future relationships between sender and receiver. Business professionals communicate internally and externally using a variety of communication channels, such as e-mail, letters, phone, or face-to-face and must choose the best channel for the message they are trying to convey. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine how business professionals choose between the available channels, the premise being that users choose communication channels due to the gratification obtained (GO). Guided by gratifications theory, which proposes that choice of a communication channel depends upon the GO, this study assessed 15 …

From Alarm To Action: Closing The Gap Between Belief And Behavior In Response To Climate Change, Kathryn Laing Doherty

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The degree to which the climate continues to change will largely be determined by choices made by individuals and nations regarding greenhouse gas emissions. Many Americans engage in energy conservation actions. But, the political will in the United States to adopt emissions reduction policies is unlikely to exist without public demand. Therefore, public mitigation actions of individuals (e.g., contacting elected officials in support of emissions reduction) are critical to induce legislative response. The majority of individuals who are most concerned about climate change (the “Alarmed” segment) do not engage in public mitigation actions, but some do. The purpose of this …

End-Of-Life Discussions In Nonmalignant Respiratory Disease In The United Kingdom And Canada, Nicole Stephen

School of Nursing and Midwifery Theses

Nonmalignant respiratory diseases (NMRD), such as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), are a leading cause of morbidity worldwide. Research has shown that patients with NMRD in the UK, Canada and the US have less access to palliative care services than patients with other respiratory diseases such as lung cancer. Discussing preferences for end-of-life care in NMRD can be difficult for patients, carers and health professionals, however it is essential to ensure that the patient’s wishes are met, particularly when resources are scarce. Despite similar nationalised health care systems in the UK and Canada, a recent report by the Economist Intelligence …

“Rampant Signs And Symbols”: Artifacts Of Language In J.D. Salinger’S “For Esmé—With Love And Squalor” And Glass Family Stories, Courtney Sviatko

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the use of language in J.D. Salinger’s “For Esmé—With Love and Squalor,” “A Perfect Day for Bananafish,” and Raise High the Roofbeam, Carpenters. It establishes a narrative pattern in which sensitive individuals such as Seymour Glass and Sergeant X are isolated by the insensitivity of the superficial modern world, attempt to communicate their concerns to others through an exchange of language in material forms, and ultimately find relief in silence. By analyzing various examples of linguistic artifacts and the impact they have on both sender and receiver, this thesis identifies criteria for successful communication as well as …

Efficacy Of Cultural-Based Psychoeducational Group Therapy For Increasing Marital Satisfaction Among Latino Couples, Maria Jesus Ampuero

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Previous research has indicated the importance of providing marriage education to ethnic minority couples who are struggling with their marital relationships. Despite this known importance, significantly fewer resources are available for Latino couples, who have a high rate of divorce. The purpose of this quantitative, randomized, wait-list control group trial design was to determine whether Couples in Contact, a culturally-based, psychoeducational intervention group program for Latino couples, increases marital satisfaction, as measured by the Marital Satisfaction Inventory, Revised (MSI-R). This study drew on cognitive behavioral therapy applied to couples, and the supportive theories underlying family systems theory and Gottman's theory. …

Effects Of Personality, Communication, And Cross-Training On Virtual Team Performance, Jennifer L. Morgan

Theses

As use of virtual teams continues to grow, it is important to the success of businesses that the most effective individuals are selected for these teams. The present study explored which personality traits influenced the formality of communication and language use in virtual team communication. Additionally, the effects of virtual communication characteristics and cross-training styles on virtual team performance were also examined. Participants (N = 210) worked in teams of three as a team of Vice Presidents at a fictional Hollywood movie studio in the business simulation Tinsel Town to maximize profit for a simulated business year. The results of …

Social Media In The Financial Services Industry, Nathaniel Gibbs, Perry Haan

AMTP Proceedings 2014

Innovative strategies set a company apart from its competitors. Lindsay and Hopkins (2010) said strategy is making the most of a current situation and devising a plan for the future. Likewise, if banks and other financial organizations want to enhance their brands, reduce costs, increase customer satisfaction, boost innovation, increase revenue, and maintain their competitive positions, they need to embrace social media. Social networks are used by marketers to connect and communicate with customers (Mangold & Faulds, 2009). Organizations must be receptive and flexible to remain relevant in the business environment (Bouckenooghe, Devos, & Van den Broeck, 2009). The environment …

Reporting On The Seminar - Risk Interpretation And Action (Ria): Decision Making Under Conditions Of Uncertainty, Emma E. Doyle, Shabana Khan, Carolina Adler, Ryan C. Alaniz, Simone Athayde, Kuan H. Lin, Wendy Saunders, Todd Schenk, Fabiola Sosarodriguez, Victoria Sword-Daniels, Olayinka Akanle, Marie A. Baudoin, Chiung T. Chang, Karianne D. De Bruin, Riyanti Djalante, Christine Eriksen, Hsiang C. Lee, Jyoti Mishra, Victor O. Okorie, David R. Olanya, Goda Perlaviciute, Naxhelli Ruizrivera, Suzanne Vallance, Xinlu Xie, Lun Yin, Sarah Beaven, Charles Ebikeme, Richard Eiser, David Johnston, Christine Kenney, Douglas Paton, Sarah Schweizer, Vivi Stavrou

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

The paper reports on the World Social Science (WSS) Fellows seminar on Risk Interpretation and Action (RIA), undertaken in New Zealand in December, 2013. This seminar was coordinated by the WSS Fellows program of the International Social Science Council (ISSC), the RIA working group of the Integrated Research on Disaster Risk (IRDR) program, the IRDR International Center of Excellence Taipei, the International START Secretariat and the Royal Society of New Zealand. Twenty-five early career researchers from around the world were selected to review the RIA framework under the theme of 'decision-making under conditions of uncertainty', and develop novel theoretical approaches …

(Dis)Abled Gaming: An Autoethnographic Analysis Of Decreasing Accessibility For Disabled Gamers, Kyle David Romano

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Within the context of culture, disability has long existed as a stigmatizing quality (Goffman, 1963). As a result, people with disabilities are often overlooked or completely omitted from various, cultural artifacts. This exclusion of people with disabilities is largely recognized as unproblematic because their disabilities imply an inevitable failing. Through my own experiences as a disabled gamer, I have recognized that video games have also framed gamers with disabilities as problematic. Video games are largely constructed in a one-size-fits-all mentality (Grammenos, 2014), where very specific people, with very specific kinds of bodies, are granted access to play them. Since disabled …

Evaluating The Application Of Research-Based Guidance To The Design Of An Emergency Preparedness Leaflet., E. Hellier, J. Edworthy, L. Newbold, K. Titchener, M. Tucker, E. Gabe-Thomas

School of Psychology

UNLABELLED: Guidelines for the design of emergency communications were derived from primary research and interrogation of the literature. The guidelines were used to re-design a nuclear emergency preparedness leaflet routinely distributed to households in the local area. Pre-test measures of memory for, and self-reported understanding of, nuclear safety information were collected. The findings revealed high levels of non-receipt of the leaflet, and among those who did receive it, memory for safety advice was poor. Subjective evaluations of the trial leaflet suggested that it was preferred and judged easier to understand than the original. Objective measures of memory for the two …

Ambiguity And Inconsistencies In Mathematics Spoken In The Classroom: The Need For Teacher Training And Rules For Communication Of Mathematics, M.D. Isaacson, S. Srinivasan, Lyle Lloyd

Journal of Science Education for Students with Disabilities

Mathematics has the potential for being spoken ambiguously. This is problematic for many students, in particular those who have disabilities that inhibit processing of printed material. This paper documents the magnitude of potential ambiguity arising from textbooks and provides a measure of the degree to which potential ambiguity is actualized through teachers’ speech. Inconsistency among teachers in speaking mathematics is also documented. Evidence is provided that teachers are not adequately aware of ambiguity in speaking mathematics and that they believe that they should have training regarding ambiguity in communication of mathematics and how to speak mathematics non-ambiguously.

Addressing The Challenges Of Cross-Cultural And Virtual Communication In The Workplace, Sarabjit Sundar

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

The move toward a more global or geographically dispersed organization, together with the technology that is being used to enable this, has dramatically changed work and the workplace in the United States and United Kingdom within the last few decades (Ouye, 2011). This is prompting leaders to communicate with teams consisting of vastly different backgrounds, languages and styles, and to essentially ‘work at the same table’ in the absence of physical cues, such as facial expressions and gestures. Leaders of such teams are challenged to create a smooth operation despite the many differences; the possibilities for misunderstandings and cultural blunders …

Mexican-American Anglophile, Lorena A. Saldana

Communication Studies

No abstract provided.

Patient Hand Offs: Facilitating Safe And Effective Transitions Of Care, Amanda Kaye Vandenberg

Master's Projects

Problem: The hand off at the change of shift is a critical time for information exchange which can have significant impact on quality of care and patient safety. The end of shift hand off was identified as an area for improvement on a medical-surgical-acuity adaptable hospital unit. Literature review: Literature suggests that hand offs conducted at the patient’s bedside can help to decrease overtime, improve patient satisfaction scores, and address patient safety/quality issues. Evidence also supports the use of a standardized format for report. Protocol/Intervention: The first step is to provide better education to patients and families on admission regarding …

The Effects On Students' Intercultural Competence From Intensive Intercultural Service-Learning Through The $100 Solution™ Model, Nadia De León Sautú

Dissertations

This study evaluates the effects of an intensive intercultural service-learning program on the intercultural competence of undergraduate students enrolled in Cultural Diversity in the U.S., a general education course at Western Kentucky University. This program utilized The $100 Solution™ model, in which groups of students partnered with local immigrant and refugee families, to teach them about U.S. culture, learn about their cultures, and implement a project to assist them in their integration process. The program included two hours of out-of-classroom work for over twelve weeks. Through the principle of reciprocity, The $100 Solution™ model provided an interaction framework in which …

Delivering Patient Decision Aids On The Internet: Definitions, Theories, Current Evidence, And Emerging Research Areas, Aubri S. Hoffman, Robert J. Volk, Anton Saarimaki, Christine Stirling, Linda C. Li, Martin Härter, Geetanjali R. Kamath, Hilary Llewellyn-Thomas

Dartmouth Scholarship

Background: In 2005, the International Patient Decision Aids Standards Collaboration identified twelve quality dimensions to guide assessment of patient decision aids. One dimension — the delivery of patient decision aids on the Internet — is relevant when the Internet is used to provide some or all components of a patient decision aid. Building on the original background chapter, this paper provides an updated definition for this dimension, outlines a theoretical rationale, describes current evidence, and discusses emerging research areas. Methods: An international, multidisciplinary panel of authors examined the relevant theoretical literature and empirical evidence through 2012. Results: The updated definition …

Couples Coping With Cancer: An Exploratory Study Of Blame, Perceived Control, And Communication Patterns, Alison Wong

Doctoral Dissertations

Archival abstract submitted

The Cowl - V.78 - N.10 - Nov 14, 2013

The Cowl

The Cowl - student newspaper of Providence College. Volume 78 - No. 10 - November 14, 2013. 24 pages.

Top Management Support, Collective Mindfulness, And Information Systems Performance, Shaji A. Khan, Albert L. Lederer, Dinesh A. Mirchandani

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

Mindfulness is a cognitive process that facilitates the discovery and correction of errors that might escalate. This study applies mindfulness theory to examine the impact of top management support for information systems on collective mindfulness, and that of collective mindfulness on IS performance. It treated such mindfulness in five dimensions, and top management support and IS performance as uni-dimensional. Forty-seven chief executive officers responded to a survey asking their perceptions of the constructs. Top management support predicted four of the dimensions with the strongest effect on sensitivity to IS operations. A negative path from support to commitment to IS resilience …

Behavioral Modeling Of The Individual’S Acceptance And Use Of Internet In Bangladesh: An Analysis Using An Integrated Approach, Md Shah Azam, Mohammed Quaddus, Nasrin Lubna

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

This study attempts to examine individuals’ behavior in the adoption and usage of the Internet for accomplishing various transactions and communication in Bangladesh. A descriptive research design is administered to ascertain the joint impact of the study constructs. A combination of AMOS 18 and PLS graph has been used for structural equation modeling with a cross-sectional dataset of 239 individuals in Bangladesh collected through a questionnaire survey. The proposed model was assessed with two step procedure after scrutiny and correction for non response and subjective response bias. The psychometric properties of the model, convergent and discriminant validity were assessed through …

Outcome-Reporting Bias In Education Research, Terri D. Pigott, Joshua R. Polanin, Jeffery C. Valentine, Ryan T. Williams, Dericka D. Canada

Education: School of Education Faculty Publications and Other Works

Outcome reporting bias occurs when primary studies do not include information about all outcomes measured in a study. When studies omit findings on important measures, efforts to synthesize the research using systematic review techniques will be biased and interpretations of individual studies will be incomplete. Outcome reporting bias has been well-documented in medicine, and has been shown to lead to inaccurate assessments of the effects of medical treatments and, in some cases, to omission of reports of harms. This study examines outcome reporting bias in educational research by comparing the reports of educational interventions from dissertations to their published versions. …

The Cowl - V.78 - N.8 - Oct 31, 2013

The Cowl

The Cowl - student newspaper of Providence College. Vol 78 - No. 8 - October 31, 2013. 24 pages.

Conversations About The Weight Of America's Children: Barriers Which Prevent Healthcare Providers From Discussing Childhood Obesity, Catherine Blow, Alisa Allicock, Carolynn Desandre, Chandra Cooper-Samuels

Journal of Human Sciences and Extension

A systematic review of the literature was conducted to identify the barriers that prevent practitioners from identifying and counseling parents and caregivers of overweight or obese children. Once identified, barriers were organized into thematic categories (parental, provider, and professional barriers) and recommendations were generated to facilitate discussion about childhood obesity between professionals and parents. Childhood obesity is a significant public health problem. Healthcare providers must be able to effectively communicate with caregivers and put childhood obesity at the front of healthcare discussions. This article provides a synthesis of the relevant literature and makes recommendations for healthcare providers to overcome the …

The Cowl - V.78 - N.7 - Oct 24, 2013

The Cowl

The Cowl - student newspaper of Providence College. Vol 78 - No. 7 - October 24, 2013. 24 pages.