Digital Commons Network^™

Hip Hop Is Dead: The Rhetoric Of Hip Hop, Kalyana Champlain

Senior Honors Projects

There is no doubt that Hip Hop has become a most influential international force. This animal has had many faces: two of these faces have been as a political tool as displayed by Public Enemy, and as a therapeutic release-- as I discovered while in AmeriCorps interning at AS220 for a program called Hip Hop 220, in which we took underprivileged youth and helped them to channel their energy through this art form. However, there is a dark side to this culture that includes extreme misogyny, self- sabotage, hatred, and an unhealthy obsession with status. As I reflected on these …

The Cowl - V. 72 - N. 24 - May 1, 2008

The Cowl

The Cowl - student newspaper of Providence College. Volume 72 - Number 24 - May 1, 2008. 28 pages.

Cancer Rumor Effects On Sense Making, Nicole M. Robinson

Theses

A cancer rumor is collective sense making in response to uncertainty or threat regarding a cancer diagnosis. This study explored the types of cancer rumors in circulation, how these rumors spread, why people believed them, and how people made sense of these rumors in order to cope. Web survey responses from 188 participants found that both negative and positive rumors were spread. These rumors were believed due to perceived source credibility and plausibility. While participants held more faith in medical sources, 71 percent changed their behavior after hearing a rumor from a non-medical person. Results suggested that rumor participation aided …

Living A Tattooed Life: The Female Experience, Kara G. Cleveland

Communication

The present research is rooted in Human Science, and employed the epistemology of Constructionism, as well as the theoretical perspective of Social Construction of Reality. I used Narrative Inquiry as methodology and conversational interviewing as my method of collecting data. I interviewed six women who provided narratives of their lived experience of constructing their identities through tattoos. Three emergent themes, along with three sub-themes, are discussed in regards to the lived experiences of tattooed women: (1) becoming tattooed constructs who you are; (2) becoming tattooed develops relational identity with (a) friends, (b) the tattoo community, (c) family; and (3) the …

Keeping The Home Fires Burning: The Effects Of Military Induced Separations On Marital Intimacy From A Female Perspective, Deborah J. Cynar

Communication

In this study, a convenience sample of 56 female, married, military wives in northwestern community responded to a survey questionnaire concerning intimacy promoting communication skills, marital satisfaction, and military induced separations. The results indicated a strong correlation between marital satisfaction and intimacy promoting communication skills. This study also explores the difference between the type and frequency of military induced separations and their influence on marital satisfaction and intimacy promoting communication skills. To further describe this military population, several post hoc tests for difference found significance between military branch affiliation, and between those who had or had not received premarital counseling …

Who Is In Charge Here? A Feminist Communicology Of Followership And Leadership In An Academic Organization, Robert Locke Jordan

Communication

This feminist critical study explicates the ways that followership is conceptualized at an academic organization in the Pacific Northwest. Through the use of qualitative methods, stories were solicited providing descriptions of events that define the hegemonically masculine ways that followership is conceptualized, suggesting the need for a feminist critical analysis and revisioning. A number of themes emerged from conversational interviews including: conceptual verisimilitude, archetypes of leadership, alternative conceptions of followership, the role of action in leadership and followership, and the emergent organization. The capta gathered from this qualitative study suggest a revisioning of human organization and recognizes leadership and followership …

Major League Baseball Franchises And Their Minor League Players, Maintaining A Relationship On And Off The Field, Michelle Keating

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

In today's professional arena, organized sports have grown to become institutionalized and highly organized through corporations in a multi-billion dollar industry. Through the use of in depth interviews completed online, this study investigated the role franchise communication plays in the development of nineteen minor league players' relationships within the Major League Baseball (MLB) sports industry. Results found that players feel their organizations disproportionately help some players achieve success over others and withhold information. As players, they felt they have a limited voice regarding the direction of their careers. Despite a difficult working environment, the players' desire to achieve success and …

The Cowl - V. 72 - N. 20 - Apr 3, 2008

The Cowl

The Cowl - student newspaper of Providence College. Volume 72 - Number 20 - April 3, 2008. 28 pages.

The Impact Of Change Messages On The Commitment To A Change: An Analysis Of It Professionals In India And Malaysia, Humayun Rashid

Student Scholarship

Affective commitment of individuals is critical for the success of an organizational change initiative. In order to secure this desired form of commitment, managers spend a great deal of time and money implementing elaborate change management and communication strategies, often with little success. Three important types of change messages that are expected to drive commitment to change are:: (1) the organizational need for change (discrepancy), (2) the support of organizational leaders (principal support), and (3) the benefit of the change to the individual (personal valence). In this quantitative survey-based study conducted at a large global bank, we analyzed the perceptions …

Putting Together The Pieces At Your Library: Your Library Is More Than The Sum Of Its Departments, Angela J. Kroeger

Criss Library Faculty Proceedings & Presentations

No abstract provided.

Substrate-Dependent Signaling Success In The Wolf Spider, Schizocosa Retrorsa, Eileen Hebets, Damian O. Elias, Andrew C. Mason, Gary L. Miller, Gail E. Stratton

Eileen Hebets Publications

Signals used in communication are often hypothesized to be optimally designed for their signaling environment. Here, we explore the importance of signaling substrate on seismic signal efficacy and reproductive behavior in the wolf spider, Schizocosa retrorsa: a species found on multiple signaling substrates (pine litter and/or red clay or sand). In this multimodal signaling species, simultaneous with conspicuous visual displays, males produce percussive seismic signals via an impulse mechanism which tends to excite a substrate evenly across a wide band of frequencies. We first quantified the transmission characteristics of this broadband percussive signal by playing recorded signals back across three …

Are They For Real? Activism And Ironic Identities, Amber Day

English and Cultural Studies Journal Articles

A new breed of political activist has begun to appear on the streets and in the news. They are no longer trying to out-shout their opponents, but are agreeing with them instead, enthusiastically taking their adversary’s position to exaggerated extremes. It is a practice here termed “identity-nabbing,” in which participants pretend to be someone they are not, appearing in public as exaggerated caricatures of their opponents or ambiguously co-opting some of their power. This paper focuses on three groups in particular: The Billionaires for Bush, Reverend Billy, and the Yes Men. Each group stages elaborate, ironically humorous stunts as a …

Communication Management And Trust: Their Role In Building Resilience To “Surprises” Such As Natural Disasters, Pandemic Flu, And Terrorism, P. H. Longstaff, Sung-Un Yang

All UNF Research

In times of public danger such as natural disasters and health emergencies, a country’s communication systems will be some of its most important assets because access to information will make individuals and groups more resilient. Communication by those charged with dealing with the situation is often critical. We analyzed reports from a wide variety of crisis incidents and found a direct correlation between trust and an organization’s preparedness and internal coordination of crisis communication and the effectiveness of its leadership. Thus, trust is one of the most important variables in effective communication management in times of “surprise.”

Worship Styles, Music And Social Identity, Terri Lynne Johnson

ETD Archive

This study explored worship style, music and social identity from a communication perspective. Specifically, this study was interested in understanding the variables that influence worship music preference. Results indicated that Missouri Synod Lutherans who prefer traditional worship components identify more strongly with the larger organization, the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS). Moreover, music preference strongly predicts worship style preference. In addition, parishioners perception of self-disclosure in hymns and praise songs was also examined. Results indicated that certain dimensions of self-disclosure are more prevalent in hymns and praise songs than others and perceived self-disclosure is stronger with those who attend a …

Improving Communication Among Healthcare Providers: Preparing Student Nurses For Practice, Lorretta Krautscheid

Faculty Publications - College of Nursing

Communication errors are identified by the Joint Commission as the primary root cause of sentinel events across all categories. In addition, improving the effectiveness of communication among healthcare providers is listed as one of the Joint Commission’s 2008 National Patient Safety Goals. Nursing programs are expected to graduate practice-ready nurses who demonstrate quality and safety in patient care, which includes interdisciplinary communication. Through objectively structured clinical assessment simulations, faculty evaluate each nursing student’s ability to perform many aspects of care, including the ability to communicate effectively with physicians via telephone in an emergent situation. This quality improvement project reports the …

Exploring Interdisciplinary Prayer Research In A Health Context, E. James Baesler

Communication & Theatre Arts Faculty Publications

Communication, Psychology, and Sociology are three leading academic disciplines engaged in the social scientific study of prayer, the spiritual communication between a believer(s) and God, but rarely do these disciplines collaborate in interdisciplinary prayer scholarship. Possibilities for interdisciplinary prayer research in a health context are explored through a review of the literature and academic interviews. Interdisciplinary linkages in the prayer-health context are organized in an integral "all-quadrant" theoretical model, and an assessment of the viability of interdisciplinary prayer-health research is considered.

Seismic Signal Dominance In The Multimodal Courtship Display Of The Wolf Spider Schizocosa Stridulans Stratton 1991, Eileen Hebets

Eileen Hebets Publications

Unraveling the function and evolutionary history of multimodal signaling is a difficult, yet common task of much research in animal communication. Here, I investigated multimodal signal function in the visual and seismic courtship display of the wolf spider Schizocosa stridulans and found that only the seismic courtship signal was important for mating success. First, copulation frequency was assessed in the presence/ absence of both visual and seismic courtship signals. The seismic signal was sufficient for successful copulation, whereas the visual signal was neither necessary nor sufficient, suggesting that the signals are not redundant and do not function as backups. Next, …

Communication As Prevention To Tragedy: Ferpa In A Society Of School Violence, Megan M. Davoren

Saint Louis University Journal of Health Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Development Of Seventh Grade Pre-Algebra Students' Mathematical Problem Solving Through Written Explanations And Justificati, Rebecca Jones

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In this action research, the interactions of seventh grade pre-algebra students in a mathematics classroom shared their explanation and justification processes through group work. Prior to the start of the study students were given a written pre-test to determine current conceptual thinking in mathematics. Over the next nine weeks, the teacher engaged the students in problem solving activities that included reasoning skills, communication and making connections through discussion with their peers. Following nine weeks of written and verbal discourse, students were provided a post-test to determine changes in their conceptual thinking. Overall students' grades, journal writings and test scores showed …

Exhibition Next: The Future Of Exhibition Design, Santanu Majumdar

LSU Master's Theses

ABSTRACT The ubiquitous presence of design guides our day-to-day actions, determining our awareness, configuring our environment, and modifying our lives. We must acknowledge the power and the opportunity of this dynamic force of design. “At the very least,” Peter Lunenfeld says, “design research saves us from reinventing the wheel. At its best, a lively research methodology can reinvigorate the passion that so often fades after designers join the profession.” Lunenfeld inspires me to consider the evolution of exhibition design. My thesis is about the future of exhibition design, enabling me to explore the changes this area of design is now …

Technology Support For The Classroom: Technology Alternatives To The Traditional Classroom, Michael L. Gibson, Mari W. Buche, Jerry J. Waite

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

As technology continues to advance, instructors in higher education are able to enhance course instruction. Course support tools can be customized to meet the needs of the instructor, including file sharing, grade tracking, communicating, and making announcements. Blended learning advances course enhancements to include integrated solutions such as links to electronic textbooks and assignments. The most advanced use of technology for educational purposes is found in the distance learning format. This paper describes various uses of technology to support classroom instruction. Examples are provided.

Brothers & Sisters: A New Impetus For Social Construction And Its Impact On Traditional Cultivation Analysis, Scott Elmore

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Scholars recognize television's ability to influence culture. According to Gerbner, television creates socially constructed realities through the cultivation of its viewers. Television is designed to satisfy the diverse needs of large audiences. The mainstream messages conveyed via television have power to alter perceptions and change culture. Gerbner's theory was constructed from the analysis of crime dramas with single plot lines. Using the ABC television program Brothers & Sisters, this thesis explores the theoretical implications dramas with multiple plot lines have on traditional notions of cultivation theory. Through a content analysis and focus groups, evidence was acquired to suggest that cultivation …

Communicative Feedback And Its Influence On Leadership In A Rural School Setting, Debora Zamorano

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Bulach, Boothe, and Pickett (1998), identified that most of the shortcomings educational administrators make fall into the category of poor human relations, and one of the categories of mistakes identified by the researchers is poor-interpersonal communication skills. Bulack and colleagues found that ineffective principals had interpersonal communication problems in the areas of providing and receiving feedback. Cannon and Witherspoon (2005) point out that providing feedback involves describing observed behaviors, as well as the reactions created.

Reeves (2004) also suggests that poor communication and ineffective feedback is relatively constant within the realm of educational leadership. Reeves notes that in terms of …

Enriching Or Depleting: An Investigation Of Communication And Behavior Within The Family Business, Joyceia Marie Banner

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Despite the prevalence of family firms, researchers often ignore the significant impact of the family on the business. Thus, if organizational scholars do not account for the family as a variable in their research, they will not account for a significant number of the organizations they purport to understand. The fact that family businesses comprise such a large percentage of organizations proves that the family business context deserves more attention from both organizational and organizational communication scholars. With this in mind, the original intent of this dissertation was to explore the impact of family relationships on communication practices and behaviors …

Pamela On Directing Three The Hard Way: An Exploration Of Theatrical And Communicative Processes., Pamela S. Adolphi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The direction of the play Three the Hard Way by Linda Eisenstein achieved the playwright's intent and the super objective of the play. The application of theatrical and communicative processes facilitated the direction of the desired metacommunicatations associated with the family's dynamics by expressing the struggles and perceptions associated with the family and their relationships. The implementation of the director's prompt book illustrates the use of proxemics in creating picturizations for the stage. In addition, the exploration of the directing process and the progression of the production are examined in daily journal entries. The successes of the directorial approach and …

Using The Lever Of Technology To Improve The Quality Of Education Through Cooperation, David Brown

Research Publications (2006 to 2010)

A radical change in the organisation and administration of factual education is suggested.The change is a shift from the localisation of resources and content to a widespread cooperative organisation supporting the assimilation of cooperatively-produced technology-delivered materials of a common international syllabus through local tutors.

The Cowl - V. 72 - N. 9 - Nov 1, 2007

The Cowl

The Cowl - student newspaper of Providence College. Volume 72 - Number 9 - November 1, 2007. 24 pages.

The Cowl - V. 72 - N. 7 - Oct 18, 2007

The Cowl

The Cowl - student newspaper of Providence College. Volume 72 - Number 7 - October 18, 2007. 24 pages.

The Cowl - V. 72 - N. 3 - Sept 27, 2007

The Cowl

The Cowl - student newspaper of Providence College. Volume 72 - Number 3 - September 27, 2007. 24 pages.

Propaganda: Can A Word Decide A War?, Dennis M. Murphy, James F. White

The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters

No abstract provided.