Digital Commons Network^™

The Relationship Between Socio-Economic Status And The Academic Achievement Of Culturally Diverse Students, Yvette P. Ford

Dissertations, Theses and Capstone Projects (Full IR Collection)

Test results have shown that culturally diverse students from both high and low socioeconomic groups have continued to underperform when compared to the dominant group.

The study focused on high achieving minority students in order to gain deeper insight of factors that lead to high academic achievement of culturally diverse students (Hispanics and Blacks) from both high and low socio-economic groups. The data for this study included the 2012 CRCT of middle school students, and interview records with 4 students, 4 parents and 4 teachers. The quantitative data were analyzed and sought to answer the following research questions: (a) Does …

The Cowl - V.78 - N.4 - Sep 26, 2013

The Cowl

The Cowl - student newspaper of Providence College. Volume 78 - No. 4 - September 26, 2013. 28 pages.

A Qualitative Exploration Of Emerging Adults’ And Parents’ Perspectives On Communicating Adulthood Status, Jessica F. Jablonski, Sara Dettinger Martino

The Qualitative Report

In this study the authors examine parent - child communication in Emerging Adulthood. Thirty - seven college students and one or both of their parents completed written questionnaires assessing whether the parent had verbally communicated or did some action to acknowledge the Emerging Adult’s maturity. Communication about changes in the parent - child relationship, as well as the Emerging Adult’s decision - making abilities, obligations to the family, and financial responsibilities were also assessed. The responses to the open ended questions were qualitatively analyzed using grounded theory. The findings indicated that the Emerging Adults’ and parents’ responses were very similar, …

The Cowl - V.78 - N.2 - Sep 12, 2013

The Cowl

The Cowl - student newspaper of Providence College. Volume 78 - No. 2 - September 12, 2013. 20 pages.

The Long Term Effects Of Racial Socialization Of African American Sons Through Communication Patterns From Their Mothers, Jacqueline A. Johnson

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

This study explored the long-term effects of racial socialization patterns from African American mothers to their sons to discover whether they are enhancing or impeding the wellbeing the African American males. While several distinct socialization types emerge throughout the literature with egalitarian, and barrier socialization messages predominating, the measures have focused primarily on the effects of racial socialization on academic performance. This qualitative study attempted to illuminate a gap in the literature: the long-term effects of mother to son racial socialization messages as evidenced by the limited research examining the later life experiences of adult African American men. The results …

The Cowl - V. 78 - N. 1 - Sep 5, 2013

The Cowl

The Cowl - student newspaper of Providence College. September 5, 2013. 20 pages.

Executive And Nonverbal Contributions To Pragmatic Language In Autism Spectrum Disorder, Ashley B. De Marchena Ph.D.

Doctoral Dissertations

Pragmatic language deficits are universal in individuals with autism spectrum disorders. Pragmatic language skills require the integration of multiple communicative and social skills, and as such represent an intersection of two of the three major domains of impairment in ASD: communication and social interaction. Data from typically developing (TD) populations also suggests that pragmatic language is supported by complex skills such as gesture and the executive functions. Here we investigate common ground, a pragmatic language skill in which speakers adjust the contents of their speech based on their listener’s perceived knowledge, in adolescents with ASD and TD. We designed an …

Maternal Territoriality Achieved Through Shaking And Lunging: An Investigation Of Patterns In Associated Behaviors And Substratevibrations In A Colonial Embiopteran, Antipaluria Urichi, Khaaliq A. Dejan, John M. Fresquez, Annika M. Meyer, Janice Edgerly-Rooks

Biology

Substrate vibration communication is displayed by a variety of insects that rely on silk for shelter. Such signaling is often associated with territoriality and social interactions. The goal in this study was to explore the use of substrate vibration by subsocial insects of the little-studied order Embi-optera (also known as Embiidina). Antipaluria urichi (Saussure) (Embioptera: Clothodidae) from Trinidad and Tobago, a large embiopteran, exhibits maternal care and facultatively colonial behavior. Previous observations suggested that they were aggressive while guarding eggs but gregarious when not. Egg-guarders in particular have been observed shaking and lunging their bodies, but to date these putative …

Variance In Patient Access To Support Persons By Race/Ethnicity And Language Preference: An Analysis Of Patient Survey Data, Andrew J. Jager, Matthew K. Wynia

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Regulatory and accreditation organizations have advocated open visitation policies and allowance of support persons of patients’ choosing, but it is unknown if support is allowed equitably. Data from hospitalized patients were analyzed to determine access to support persons, stratified by patient-reported race/ethnicity, language, sex, age, and education. A multivariate regression model was constructed using race and language, controlling for site and patient sex, education and age. Additionally, sites’ policies explicitly allowing support persons were correlated to reports of allowance of support persons. Among 1,196 respondents, 17% reported not being allowed a support person or being unsure. African American patients had …

"Take A Sad Song And Make It Better": Exploring Rewards Related To Liking Unfamiliar Sad Music, John Hogue

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis tested some of Levinson's (1997) ideas on why people like music that makes them sad. A path model of this effect was interpreted from Levinson's theory, and 5 of the paths were tested. These paths were that music would directly create a communion with the song, that happiness and sadness would mediate this effect, that absorption would moderate the direct path, that absorption would moderate the songs' ability to evoke the emotions, and that satisfaction would moderate the emotions' influence on liking the songs.

A pilot study was conducted to determine if the songs evoked their intended emotions. …

Meeting The Communities Standard Through Language Exchange Via Video-Based Synchronous Computer-Mediated Communication And Effects On Motivation Of First-Year Spanish Language Learners, Emily Andrews

Theses and Dissertations

Current research supports a link between the foreign language Communities standard, learner motivation, and the use of computer-mediated communication in the language classroom. The Communities standard, although it is the least addressed in classrooms, calls for learners to interact with the target language community. Research into motivation has found that learners react positively to the use of communication technologies in the classroom and the opportunity to use the target language for authentic communication with native speakers. However, few studies have been done to assess how connecting with target language community members through online video-based conversation affects learner motivation. This study …

The Effect Of Robot-Child Interactions On Social Attention And Verbalization Patterns Of Typically Developing Children And Children With Autism Between 4 And 8 Years, Sudha Srinivasan, Anjana Bhat

Open Access Author Fund Awardees' Articles

Background: There is anecdotal evidence for the use of robots to facilitate prosocial behaviors such as joint attention and verbalization in children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs). However, there have been no normative data in typically developing children to evaluate the effects of robot-child interactions on social and communication skills. Objectives: The aim of our study was to evaluate the changes in social attention and verbalization skills of 15 typically developing (TD) children, using a structured 8-session imitation protocol within a robot-adult-child context. We further extended this imitation protocol to two children with ASDs. Methods: Pretest, session1, session 4, session …

Military & Media: A Close Contexual Analysis Of Moveon.Org's Controversial Attack Ad Of General David Petraeus, Joseph Jordan Vignolo

Communication Studies

No abstract provided.

Observing Culture: Differences In U.S.-American And German Team Meeting Behaviors, Nale Lehmann-Willenbrock, Joseph A. Allen, Annika L. Meinecke

Psychology Faculty Publications

Although previous research has theorized about team interaction differences between the German and U.S. cultures, actual behavioral observations of such differences are sparse. This study explores team meetings as a context for examining intercultural differences. We analyzed a total of 5,188 meeting behaviors in German and U.S. student teams. All teams discussed the same task to consensus. Results from behavioral process analyses showed that German teams focused significantly more on problem analysis, whereas U.S. teams focused more on solution production. Moreover, U.S. teams showed significantly more positive socioemotional meeting behavior than German teams. Finally, German teams showed significantly more counteractive …

Women In Engineering: Identity Communication In Social Media, Dongni Wang

All Theses

This thesis examines women engineers' experience in social media with a focus on identity communication. Framing as a case study, this study attempts to explore women engineers' online presence and how they utilize social media in their daily activities. Using the concept of intersectionality, this study addresses the differences of social media usage among women engineers in terms of the use of social media by professional organizations of women engineers and the use of individual women engineers. Thematic analysis was conducted to analyze the public available data from a Facebook page maintain by a well-known women engineers' professional organization. Online …

Assessing Preservice Teachers’ Presentation Capabilities: Contrasting The Modes Of Communication With The Constructed Impression, Matt G. Bower, Robyn A. Moloney, Michael S. Cavanagh, Naomi Sweller

Australian Journal of Teacher Education

A research-based understanding of how to develop and assess classroom presentation skills is vital for the effective development of pre-service teacher communication capabilities. This paper identifies and compares two different models of assessing pre-service teachers’ presentation performance – one based on the Modes of Communication (voice, body language, words, and alignment between those elements) and another based on features of the Constructed Impression of the communication acts (confidence, clarity, engagement and appropriateness). The Modes of Communication and the Constructed Impression of 164 pre-service teacher presentations were rated. The Constructed Impression model provided a better fit to data, while averaging of …

Design And Evaluation Of A Nonverbal Communication Platform Between Assistive Robots And Their Users, Anthony Threatt

All Dissertations

Assistive robotics will become integral to the everyday lives of a human population that is increasingly mobile, older, urban-centric and networked. The overwhelming demands on healthcare delivery alone will compel the adoption of assistive robotics. How will we communicate with such robots, and how will they communicate with us? This research makes the case for a relatively 'artificial' mode of nonverbal human-robot communication that is non-disruptive, non-competitive, and non-invasive human-robot communication that we envision will be willingly invited into our private and working lives over time. This research proposes a non-verbal communication (NVC) platform be conveyed by familiar lights and …

Meta-Knowledge Of Culture Promotes Cultural Competence, Angela K.-Y. Leung, Sau-Lai Lee, Chi-Yue Chiu

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

A behavioral signature of cross-cultural competence is discriminative use of culturally appropriate behavioral strategies in different cultural contexts. Given the central role communication plays in cross-cultural adjustment and adaptation, the present investigation examines how meta-knowledge of culture—defined as knowledge of what members of a certain culture know—affects culturally competent cross-cultural communication. We reported two studies that examined display of discriminative, culturally sensitive use of cross-cultural communication strategies by bicultural Hong Kong Chinese (Study 1), Chinese students in the United States and European Americans (Study 2). Results showed that individuals formulating a communicative message for a member of a certain culture …

Rhetorical Invention, Leadership, And Dialogue: Dorothy Day's Extemporaneous Encounters, Tracy Ann Stockwell

Dissertations (1934 -)

Dorothy Day, the co-founder and pragmatic leader of The Catholic Worker Movement, delivered extemporaneous speeches from the inception of the movement in 1933 until her death in 1980. Selected digitized, archival copies of her public discourse are analyzed for the first time through a newly developed framework for rhetorical communication and leadership entitledEncounter Rhetoric.

A hybrid model synthesizing the theory of invitational rhetoric, transformational leadership theory, and social movement theory is developed and employed to conduct a critical analysis of 17 speeches delivered by Day between 1958 and 1975. This analysis reveals the rhetorical strategies employed by Day as a …

Crusading Quilts: Social Reform And The Woman's Christian Temperance Union, Amanda Lensch

Department of Textiles, Merchandising and Fashion Design: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Crusading Quilts: Social Reform and the Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) is an online exhibition about quilts related to the WCTU. This paper is the research behind the exhibition. The goal was to identify quilts connected to the WCTU and identify how they fit into the larger quilting for a cause phenomenon. Ultimately WCTU quilts represented a way for women to communicate their ideas as well as a way to create a community.

Advisor: Patricia Crews

Depression, Social Anxiety, And Attachment As Predictors Of The Use And Quality Of Cyber Communication, Stefan E. Latulip

Psychology Theses & Dissertations

This study examined the influence of depression symptoms, social anxiety symptoms, and adult attachment style on the use and the perceptions of the quality of cyber communications with close friends, romantic partners, and family members. One hundred thirty-five individuals completed an initial survey, with sixty five of the original group completing a follow-up survey five weeks later. Results indicated that anxious attachment was associated with a greater reported usage of social networking sites, whereas avoidant attachment predicted less instant message use over time. Depression symptoms and avoidant attachment were generally associated with perceptions of higher negativity and lower positivity with …

The Influence Of Leadership On Communications, Job Satisfaction, And Oganization Commitment In Bangking Industry, Rachmad Hidayat

Makara Human Behavior Studies in Asia

The paper presents an analysis of the leadership effect, communication, and job satisfaction to organizational commitment in the banking firm. The Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) is used to analyze the causality pattern of the involved variables. In addition, to measure the influence among the variables defined, survey method is implemented. The population used was all staff of state and private banks in East Java Area with 200 respondents. The study result shows that the direct effect of leadership gives significant positive impact to the organizational communication and organizational commitment. On the other hand, there is no significance impact of the …

Learning To Change In Autism, Tiffani Newton, Dr. Mikle South

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The autism spectrum disorders (ASD) include a collection of severe neurodevelopmental symptoms related to social interaction and communication. In addition to these core symptoms, co-occurring anxiety is seen in up to 70% of diagnosed individuals (Reaven, 2010). Anxiety-inducing situations for ASD individuals include changes to the environment or daily routines. Difficulties responding to such changes may lead to debilitating and negative consequences for ASD children and their families. Understanding the mechanisms that lead to such difficulties may improve the specificity of treatment for these symptoms.

Factors Community College Faculty Consider Important To Academic Leadership, Juston C. Pate, Lance R. Angell

Kentucky Journal of Higher Education Policy and Practice

Although many of the pressures leaders face come from external sources, the expertise of the faculty should not be ignored when preparing community college leaders. The current study analyzed survey data from community college faculty across the state of Kentucky to determine which attributes they considered important to academic leadership. The faculty members who responded to an online survey regarded most highly factors pertaining to communication, character, decision-making, teamwork, work ethic, and personal relationships.

Attachment Behaviors As Mediators Between Family-Of-Origin Quality And Couple Communication Quality In Marriage: Implications For Couples Therapy, Darin Justin Knapp

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined the mediating impact of couples' attachment behaviors on the relationship between poor quality family-of-origin experiences and marital communication quality. The couple data for this study was collected from the Relationship Evaluation (RELATE) database (see www.relate-institute.org). An Actor Partner Interdependence Model using structural equation modeling was used to evaluate 261 marriage relationships. Results indicated that the relationships between family-of-origin experiences and communication quality are significantly related, with more family-of-origin problems associated with poorer positive communication skills. When attachment behaviors (accessibility, responsiveness, and engagement) were added to the model, it significantly mediated the relationship. Implications for clinicians treating couples …

Researching And Communicating Environmental Issues Among Farmers And Ranchers: Implications For Extension Outreach, Roslynn G. Brain, Tracy A. Irani, Martha C. Monroe

Journal of Extension

The research reported here explored environmental terminology and scale use with farmers/ranchers, and the article provides tips for Extension educators in communicating with these audiences. Following analysis and critique of various environmental scales by six cattle ranchers, a revised environmental scale was developed and tested as a predictor of conservation behavior. A mail survey was administered to 1,000 ranchers, and a 60.2% response-rate was received. Results offer recommendations in measuring environmental identity as well as insight to perceptions of terminology related to environmental issues by farmers/ranchers.

Direct Care Rn Perceptions Of The Healthy Work Environment, M. Anne Longo

Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE)

Session presented on Saturday, April 13, 2013:

The purpose of the qualitative mixed method study was to understand the perceptions of direct care registered nurses (RNs) regarding their work environment. Patricia Benner (1984) applied the Dreyfus Model of Skill Acquisition (1980) to describe and interpret skill acquisition and clinical judgment in nursing practice. Benner's operational definitions for the five levels of her Novice to Expert Practice Model were used by the study participants to self-identify their level of practice. Action research (AR) using Cooperrider's Model of Appreciative Inquiry guided the researcher in understanding the study participants' perception of The American …

The Role Of Family Organization In Family Health History Communication About Cancer, Vivian M. Rodríguez

Theses and Dissertations

Family health history (FHH) has been recognized as an important tool in cancer prevention and health promotion. To date, literature on FHH discussions about cancer have largely focused on patient-physician communication or the dissemination of cancer-specific genetic tests results within the family. Fewer studies have sought to identify family factors that may promote FHH discussions, yet this type of information could be used to identify families needing support in having these conversations. Thus, the present study examined relations between family organization (cohesion and flexibility), communication openness, and FHH communication about cancer within a diverse group of women recruited from an …

Agricultural Communication Lesson Plans For The Agricultural Leadership Class At Elk Grove High School, Chelsea Molina

Agricultural Education and Communication

The purpose of this project was to develop agricultural communication lesson plans for Elk Grove High School’s Agricultural Leadership class. The lesson plans were created after the research of the existing California Agricultural Education and Agricultural Leadership Curriculum standards. The lesson plans were then based off of the FFA Agricultural Communications Career Development Event (CDE) guidelines in order to grasp many of the important details of the CDE. The CDE is offered at the national level but not yet at the state level in California. Providing lesson plans that coincide with the requirements of the CDE will help California FFA …

Communication-Based Teaching For Chinese Language Learners, Hsiao-Mei Tsai

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This portfolio is founded on the author’s principles of communicative teaching for Chinese language learners, which were cultivated and developed in the Master of Second Language Teaching program. The initial part of the portfolio is the teaching philosophy, which contains the author’s beliefs of teacher and student roles and effective teaching approaches in the Chinese as a foreign language classroom. The teaching philosophy is supported by three artifacts, which further clarify how to associate culture, literacy, and linguistics with language learning. The literacy artifact explains the process of Chinese and English biliteracy acquisition. The culture artifact is a comparison of …