Digital Commons Network^™

Before Facebook And Twitter: The Online Computing Revolution Of The 1980s, David Scott Cooper

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The 1980s was the intersection of technological, economic, and social influences. Computer technology became smaller and more affordable, yet this alone did not spark online connectivity. Businesses experienced the available computers and online capabilities dating to 1950. Academic usage increased from the early 1970s. What made the 1980s the first computer generation was a combination of technological improvements, consumerism, business advertising, video games, and two-income households. Consumers were introduced to home computing through video game consoles, and the game console market crash of 1983 allowed home computers to increase sales. Computer manufacturers changed marketing strategies to educate the population on …

Celebrity Affect, Social Media Fandom, And Parasocial Interactions: A Thematic Analysis Of Fan Reactions To Kris Wu’S Sexual Scandals In China, Yan Zhao

Communication ETDs

In this thesis, the rise and fall of a popular Chinese celebrity, Kris Wu, provided the context to examine fans’ negotiation of parasocial and affective relationships in online interactions with the celebrity and other fans. On the basis of a thematic analysis of Chinese fans’ comments on social media before and after Wu’s arrest and conviction for rape and other sexual crimes in 2022, I highlight the fluidity of fans’ positive and negative parasocial interactions and emotional attachments to a celebrity. The analysis suggests how fans can prioritize their continued support and admiration for a celebrity above matters of morality …

Introduction To The “Festschrift For Willibald Ruch”, Sonja Heintz, Jennifer Hofmann, Tracey Platt, René T. Proyer

School of Psychology

This introduction to the “Festschrift for Willibald Ruch” outlines his impressive achievements in humor research, especially in the areas of measurement, individual differences as well as models and theories. Though mostly focusing on the psychology of humor and the sense of humor, Willibald also pioneered interdisciplinary and cross-cultural humor studies. This Festschrift comprises seven invited commentaries and eight articles, which expand areas of research that Willibald significantly shaped and advanced, including humor appreciation, comprehension and production, cheerfulness, dispositions towards laughter and being laughed at, as well as comic styles and humor dimensions.

Gambling And Experiences With Spending Money In Games – Children From State Schools Across The Uk, Anca-Maria Gherghel

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

In partnership with WHYSUP and Teen Tips, EPIC Risk Management delivered testimonial education seminars aimed to educate children across the UK on the potential harms of gambling and gambling in gaming. Using an online survey, the organisation investigated their gambling experiences and motivations, views and experiences with gaming and spending money on in-game purchases. The seminar was delivered to 84 state schools across the UK, reaching 13,821 pupils, of which 2,393 completed the survey between August 2021 and July 2022.

The survey results show that 29% of respondents participated in loot boxes/skins betting and that 38% believe spending money on …

Searching For A Dialogic Pedagogy With More-Than-The-Human Beings In A Teacher Education Classroom: “I Make My Way To The Sun...”, Olga Shugurova

i.e.: inquiry in education

In this reflective poetic narrative inquiry, I explore a possibility, or rather a search, for dialogic pedagogy with a focus on more-than-human beings in my teacher education classroom. I am curious to learn from my students’ lived experience with my experimental and environmental dialogic activity and ask: What does a dialogue with more-than-human others mean to teacher candidates? My inquiry reveals that these dialogues emerge from the unique, ontological place of being as the poetic and reflective encounter with nature. Yet the concept of nature remains a mystery that resists definitions. More specifically, students’ notes reveal two main themes of …

Similarities And Differences In Crypto Trading And Gambling Discourses And Practices: Why Should Scholars Of Gambling Be Interested?, Riitta Matilainen, Jani Kinnunen

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

Cryptocurrency trading is an action of selling and/or buying of virtual or digital currencies for profit. The value of many cryptocurrencies has fluctuated greatly, which has led to enormous winnings and losses for some traders. The presentation focuses on the similarities and differences in discourses and practices towards crypto trading and gambling. In addition, the presentation discusses why scholars of gambling should pay closer attention to cryptocurrency trading and the consequences it may have for the gambling industry and regulation. Historical examples of previous divisions between gambling, finance, and speculation are also presented.

The presentation is based on an Internet …

Monetary Consumption In Gambling, Digital Gaming And Their Converged Forms: Findings From The Finnish Player Barometer 2022 Study, Jani Kinnunen

International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking

In the Finnish Player Barometer study gambling games and other types of games, including non-digital and digital game genres, are studied together. This nationally representative study differs from many other studies, which usually concentrate either on gambling or on other types of gaming. The study also includes many of converged forms between gambling and gaming.

Almost all Finns play games at least occasionally. In the year 2022, active digital gamers consumed on average 10,6 € per month on digital gaming, including online gambling. High monetary consumption in digital gaming seems to be connected in active gambling, but also those players, …

Novel Microfluidic Devices To Model The Interactions Between Lymphatics And Breast Cancer, Jade Weber

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

The lymphatic system is responsible for immune circulation and fluid balance in the body. It accomplishes this by draining interstitial fluid from local tissue and transferring it to lymph nodes and back into blood circulation. However, this process is implicated in many pathologies, one of the most dangerous being breast cancer metastasis to the lymph nodes. The largest factor in breast cancer patient mortality is metastasis. Lymphangiogenesis, the growth of new lymphatic vessels, has been thought to play a dynamic role in aiding breast cancer metastasis. Breast cancer tumor cells have been shown to remodel the functionality of local lymph …

To Open A Clearing: Cultivating Spaces Of Endurance In The Upper Amazon, Brunno De Melo Meirelles Douat

Masters of Environmental Design Theses

To effectively challenge the policies of extraction implemented by late liberal regimes, the Waorani communities from Upper Amazon have devised spatial strategies to defend their traditional territory. By re-examining the concept of the contact zone and unfolding settler and Indigenous literature, spatialities, and worldviews, this thesis suggests the concept of forest Clearings as a means to explore spatial forms of endurance.

Clearings emerge within the Amazon in sites where encounters between divergent worldviews embody otherwise modes of existence. Through a series of fieldwork reflections, these Clearings are perceived as spaces where ontological negotiations are more likely to occur, strategies of …

Exploring The Motivations And Therapeutic Benefits Of Fandom And Fanart Online Communities: A Literature Review, Miriam Kilian

Expressive Therapies Capstone Theses

Participation in Online Fandom culture has become a highly valued aspect of many individuals' self-expression and how they seek to build social connections with others. Furthermore, within the Fandom community, the phenomenon of creating and sharing fan-based work also plays a significant role in the interactions between group members. These factors are important to acknowledge in a therapeutic context as future practitioners can choose to utilize a client's pre-established fandom involvement to explore their identity and social connections with other fans. This thesis is a literature review that examines the academic journals and individual interviews of Fanart Creators. The topics …

Digital Waves: Communicating Feminist Movements, Shauna M. Macdonald

Feminist Pedagogy

Online learning provides opportunities for pedagogical growth and innovation. When tasked with teaching an undergraduate Gender and Communication class during a virtual semester (amid the COVID-19 pandemic), I sought ways to engage students through online technologies rather than working against or despite them. The Digital Waves (DW) assignment, one that asks students to research and then create digital representations of a particular “wave” of feminism, was one of several strategies I adopted; it quickly evolved into a favorite.

“Civil Dialogue” As Feminist Pedagogy: Engendering Material And Symbolic Movement, Sarah E. Jones

Feminist Pedagogy

In the United States, we are socialized to think in Western dualisms, and these patterns of communication characterize discussion of social issues. Consequently, discussion becomes debate and dominant approaches to inquiry are privileged over experience with persuasion being the end goal. Fostering agency, cultivating empathetic understanding, and facilitating critical thought are made more difficult—outcomes that are neither productive nor edifying in the college classroom. This original teaching activity resists hierarchical forms of debate in favor of visibility and solidarity in discussions of gendered violence. Grounded in principles of invitational rhetoric and provocation, the activity uses a “Civil Dialogue” format to …

Educational Studies And Educational Practice: A Necessary Engagement, Jim Hordern

Plymouth Institute of Education

This paper assesses prospects for the relationship between educational studies and educational practice, with reference to the current institutional and policy context in England. Drawing on the sociology of educational knowledge and practice, it is argued that educational studies can be conceptualised in contrasting ways, by considering internal structures, external relations and how disciplinary problematics are defined, but also by how educational practice is portrayed. To develop the analysis, Bernstein’s work on knowledge structures and academic and professional discourses is articulated with philosophical work that distinguishes between different conceptualisations of practice prevalent in the humanities and social sciences. This enables …

Changing The Way We See Ourselves In The World: Critical Youth Participatory Action Research Investigating Intergenerational Trauma And Macro-Cultural Influences With Adolescent Girls, Raja Sinjab

Counseling and Psychology Dissertations

This study explores the social-ecological experience of human development in adolescent girls in attempts to better understand what young people may need. Five adolescent girls participated in a three-month long critical youth participatory action research study utilizing a photovoice method to investigate environmental messages that impact their identity. Specific themes of intergenerational trauma and macro-cultural influences were identified through a co-generated data analysis process, which contributed to a community action plan. The data generated with the co-researchers provided thematic information for the researcher to apply in a critical discussion exploring the influence of social power structures on families and youth. …

Law School News: Commencement 2023: Rwu Graduates Urged To 'Work Hard And Dream Big Dreams' 5-19-2023, Jill Pais, Roger Williams University School Of Law

Life of the Law School (1993- )

No abstract provided.

2023 Roger Williams University School Of Law Commencement, Roger Williams University School Of Law

School of Law Commencement (1996- )

No abstract provided.

Liberté, Égalité, Identité: Media And The Construction Of French National Identity, Hannah D. Lahey

Master's Theses

In 2015, France was rocked by a series of terror attacks that seemed to act as a tipping point for the fears and tensions that had been brewing in Europe in the months leading up to the strike. These attacks, and the subsequent responses to them, point to the influence of a much longer history of French involvement in the Middle East, and the lasting impact that colonization has on French national identity formation. With the creation of French national identity, and therefore the creation of the group that is deemed necessarily outside of this identity, the moral values and …

Library Workers On The Front Lines Of Conspiracy Theories In The Us: One Nationwide Survey, Stephanie Beene, Katie Greer

University Libraries & Learning Sciences Faculty and Staff Publications

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether and in what ways library workers in the United States encountered patrons espousing beliefs in conspiracy theories and, if so, to explore the effectiveness of the strategies they used to address information disorder during the interactions.

Design/methodology/approach

The study was designed with an exploratory qualitative approach. Data were collected via an online survey posted to national and state library association listservs, utilizing a self-selected sampling method. Researchers inductively and deductively analyzed results, developing predetermined themes based on the research questions, then iteratively integrating unexpected data during coding.

Findings

A total …

Liberté, Égalité, Identité: Media And The Construction Of French National Identity, Hannah D. Lahey

Master's Theses

In 2015, France was rocked by a series of terror attacks that seemed to act as a tipping point for the fears and tensions that had been brewing in Europe in the months leading up to the strike. These attacks, and the subsequent responses to them, point to the influence of a much longer history of French involvement in the Middle East, and the lasting impact that colonization has on French national identity formation. With the creation of French national identity, and therefore the creation of the group that is deemed necessarily outside of this identity, the moral values and …

A Path For Cooperation Between Law Schools In China And The United States, Bryant Walker Smith, Ying Wang, Leighton Carlock, Karman Lucero

Penn State Journal of Law & International Affairs (2012 - Present)

No abstract provided.

Sovereign Disasters: How Alaska's Tribes Participate In Government-To-Government Relations In A Post-Disaster Environment, John E. Pennington

Indigenous Studies

Alaska's Tribes face complex challenges after disasters occur when contrasted with Native American Tribes in the continental United States. Federal disaster policies crafted under the Robert T. Stafford Act of 1988 were designed to streamline the coordination of disaster response and recovery for states, tribes, and local governments. These federal policies and their respective programs, though well intended, were conceptually designed to assist tribal governments and organizational structures most resembling those geographically located in the continental United States. They are not broadly applicable to the numerous organizational structures and distinct cultures of Alaska Natives today. In practice, most Alaska Tribes …

College Professors As Servant Leaders: Promoting Student Dignity In The Classroom, Garfield R. Benjamin

Journal of Vincentian Social Action

The COVID-19 pandemic brought great disparities to society as a whole. In the education sector, teachers were forced to deliver content while exploring new ways to do so through new or unfamiliar technologies, working in various modalities, while keeping students engaged. This change called for instructors to be flexible, be aware, have empathy, have foresight, build community, communicate, and care for students in this new, mostly virtual, environment. This research explores the idea of college educators as servant leaders by examining definitions of servant leadership, exploring how a servant leader empowers those they lead in times of crisis, examining implications …

Faculty Handbook Section Iii - College Of Liberal Arts Policies And Procedures - Updated 5/15/2023, All Faculty

Faculty Handbooks

No abstract provided.

Contributors, David Law, Nora Domínguez

Making Connections

List of contributors for Making Connections: A Handbook for Effective Formal Mentoring Programs in Academia.

Women And Children’S Victims Of Violence Case Management During Covid-19 Pandemic, Eti Sumiati, Elvy M. Manurung Dr., Indraswari - Ph. D

The Qualitative Report

Many studies have been conducted to prove the threat of violence against children and women during COVID-19. Unlike other studies, this study focuses more on government services in receiving complaints from victims of violence experienced by women and children during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using case studies as a qualitative method, documentary studies and in-depth interviews have been conducted on 13 informants from various parties in Bandung Regency, West Java, Indonesia. The results showed that the use of digital technology during the pandemic sometimes hampered the follow-up process for complaints of violence by victims due to a lack of equipment and …

Enhancing Student Leadership Skills Through Project-Based Learning In The Postgraduate Research Experience, Enung Hasanah, M Ikhsan Al Ghazi, M. Ikhwan Al Badar, Fauzia Fauzia M.A.

The Qualitative Report

Project-based learning (PjBL) is one of the learning models recognized by education experts as an effective method of achieving learning objectives in developing process skills; however, few studies have examined its potential for fostering leadership skills. This study aims to investigate postgraduate teacher students' experiences with project-based learning as a means of developing students leadership skills. The research involved 24 postgraduate students and utilized a qualitative approach to data collection and analysis. The findings reveal that while some aspects of project-based learning were perceived as straightforward, other steps were deemed challenging, particularly those that involved higher order thinking skill and …

Development And Maturation Of Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Derived Pancreatic Islets, Punn Augsornworawat

McKelvey School of Engineering Graduate Student Theses & Dissertations

Cell replacement therapy for severe diabetes is a promising strategy to restore long term normoglycemia. With limited availability of cadaveric islets from compatible donors, cellular engineering via human pluripotent stem cells differentiation to insulin-secreting stem cell derived islets (SC-islets) provides a useful alternative as they can be generated in unlimited supply. Nonetheless, SC-islets generated with current protocols are not as well performing when compared to native human islets due to poor β cell yields and low mature β cell genes expression. Herein, I use single-cell technologies and bioinformatics to uncover mechanisms associated with pancreatic development to recapitulate β cell differentiations. …

How Activated Self-Concepts Influence Selection And Processing Of Body-Positive Narratives, Melissa J. Robinson, Megan A. Vendemia

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

Guided by the self- and affect–management (SESAM) model, the current study employed a selective exposure quasi-experimental design in which women (N = 381; M_age = 31.50, SD = 4.89) chose a narrative genre (romance or career) they would like to read, featuring a thin or large character with low or high body esteem, to examine individual differences that influence story selections and subsequent impacts on their self-concepts. Results indicated participants’ salient self-concepts pertaining to romance and career predicted story genre selection. Participants with higher BMI were more inclined to read narratives featuring a large character. Those who read …

Iterative Machine Learning Of A Cis-Regulatory Grammar, Ryan Z. Friedman

Arts & Sciences Graduate Student Theses and Dissertations

Gene regulation allows for the quantitative control of gene expression. Gene regulation is a complex process encoded through cis-regulatory sequences, short DNA sequences containing clusters of transcription factor binding sites. Each binding site can occur millions of times in multicellular genomes, and seemingly similar collections of binding sites can have very different activities. A leading model to explain these degeneracies is that cis-regulatory sequences follow a “grammar” defined by the number, identity, strength, arrangement, and/or context of the underlying binding sites. Understanding cis-regulatory grammar requires high-throughput technology, quantitative measurements, and computational modeling. This thesis describes an iterative machine learning approach …

Political Theory And The Volunteer: Lessons From Kahn’S Ethnography Of ‘Our Unhappy Politics’, Benjamin Berger

All Papers

This article offers a reading of Paul Kahn’s Democracy in Our America that places this intimate “work of local political theory” in a central position in the landscape of his political thought. The article argues that the figure of the volunteer, as it appears in the volume, holds a space for love and meaning—and for political happiness—that secures for it a critical role in the system of beliefs and practices that sustain self-government in the United States. That framing draws the volunteer into relationship with Kahn’s thinking about the family, the veteran, and law. But it also means that the …