Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

V. 83, Issue 10, December 10, 2015

Archway (1946-2020)

No abstract provided.

V. 83, Issue 9, December 3, 2015

Archway (1946-2020)

No abstract provided.

V. 83, Issue 8, November 19, 2015

Archway (1946-2020)

No abstract provided.

V. 83, Issue 7, November 12, 2015

Archway (1946-2020)

No abstract provided.

V. 83, Issue 6, November 5, 2015

Archway (1946-2020)

No abstract provided.

V. 83, Issue 5, October 29, 2015

Archway (1946-2020)

No abstract provided.

V. 83, Issue 4, October 15, 2015

Archway (1946-2020)

No abstract provided.

The Use Of Exemplars In Audio-Based Media To Increase Behavioral Intent In Adopting Preventive Skin-Cancer Behaviors, Christine M. Lemme

Master of Arts in Communication

Skin cancer is a growing concern in the young-adult population due to the popularity of indoor ultraviolet (UV) tanning and the acceptance of numerous myths that skin cancer is not a major health concern. This thesis aims to look at the use of media exemplar perceived to be similar and credible to the target population in order to persuade the target population to adopt preventative skin-cancer behaviors. College students of both genders and various ethnicities (N = 170) were surveyed after listening to different radio exemplars on skin cancer. Results indicated that similarity and credibility play a key role in …

Social Media Marketing In Midterm Political Campaigns & Its Effect On Political Activity, Samantha M. Beaupre

Honors Projects in Marketing

No abstract provided.

The Influence Of Instagram On Exercise And Eating Behavior, Bridgette Kosek

Honors Projects in Marketing

The use of social media, specifically Instagram, of 305 Bryant University students ages 18-28 was investigated through student completion of an online survey to examine how following exercise and food related Instagram accounts impacts behavior. Both male and females use Instagram fairly equally, though males are more responsive to food Instagram accounts than females, who have no significant difference in behavior. Both males and females who follow exercise Instagram accounts are significantly more active than those who do not follow exercise Instagram accounts. Given the recent explosive use of Instagram in the population, the implications for this study are enormous, …

Effects Of Online Sponsored Advertising On Consumer Attitudes, Cassidy Maksy

Honors Projects in Marketing

Effectively utilizing persuasion techniques in advertising is essential for businesses to master in order to stay ahead of its competitors. This research project investigates the ways in which marketers advertise brands and products in the online environment, specifically on the social networking sites Twitter and Facebook. More specifically, the implementation of different techniques and credibility of sources will be examined to help gauge the effectiveness of advertisements. By utilizing the constructs of the Persuasion Knowledge Model and source credibility, the attitudes toward brands and advertisements within the online environment was tested. The goal of this research is to evaluate the …

Intergenerational Groups: How They Benefit The Workplace, Caitlyn May

Honors Projects in Management

With intergenerational groups becoming more common in the workplace, research is still focusing on how to manage working in intergenerational groups rather than how to promote the benefits of using intergenerational groups. Generations have different work values and attitudes. However, it is unclear whether putting diverse generations together will lead to better outcomes in a team setting. Using surveys and interviews of a convenience sample of all age groups, the study examines how generational perception influences the behavior and desire to work with other generations. Although there are stereotypes linked to each generation, respondents still desire to work with multiple …

Framing Group Projects: Leadership And Style In Small Group Dynamics, Jillian Bonafede

Honors Projects in Applied Psychology

The purpose of my Capstone was to look at small group dynamics and the factors that have a profound impact upon them. I used Bryant University’s IDEA Program as the template for my project for, and arena from which I collected my research. The IDEA Program is a three-day ideation and innovation program that all first-year students are required to participate in. I observed, filmed and questioned twenty-five of the first-year students participating in the program. After my research and analysis, I found that there were four factors that greatly influenced the dynamics of a small group, as well as …

Mathematical Modeling Of Trending Topics On Twitter, Jonathan S. Skaza

Honors Projects in Mathematics

Created in 2006, Twitter is an online social networking service in which users share and read 140-character messages called Tweets. The site has approximately 288 million monthly active users who produce about 500 million Tweets per day. This study applies dynamical and statistical modeling strategies to quantify the spread of information on Twitter. Parameter estimates for the rates of infection and recovery are obtained using Bayesian Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods. The methodological strategy employed is an extension of techniques traditionally used in an epidemiological and biomedical context (particularly in the spread of infectious disease). This study, which addresses …

Health Information-Seeking On Behalf Of Others: Characteristics Of "Surrogate Seekers", Sarah L. Cutrona, Kathleen Mazor, Sana Vieux, Tana Luger, Julie E. Volkman, Lila J. Finner Rutten

Communication Faculty Journal Articles

Understanding the behaviors of surrogate seekers (those who seek health information for others) may guide efforts to improve health information transmission. We used 2011-2012 data from the Health Information National Trends Survey to describe behaviors of online surrogate seekers. Respondents were asked about use of the Internet for surrogate-seeking over the prior 12 months. Data were weighted to calculate population estimates. Two thirds (66.6%) reported surrogate-seeking. Compared to those who sought health information online for only themselves, surrogate seekers were more likely to live in households with others (weighted percent 89.4 vs. 82.5% of self-seekers; p < 0.05); no significant differences in sex, race, income or education were observed. Surrogate seekers were more likely to report activities requiring user-generated content: email communication with healthcare providers; visits to social networking sites to read and share about medical topics and participation in online health support groups. On multivariate analysis, those who had looked online for healthcare providers were more likely to be surrogate seekers (OR 1.67, 95% CI 1.08-2.59). In addition to seeking health information, surrogate seekers create and pass along communications that may influence medical care decisions. Research is needed to identify ways to facilitate transmission of accurate health information.

Smoking Status And Pain Intensity Among Oef/Oif/Ond Veterans, Julie E. Volkman, Eric C. Derycke, Mary A. Driscoll, William C. Becker, Cynthia A. Brandt, Kristin M. Mattocks, Sally G. Haskell, Harini Bathulapalli, Joseph L. Goulet, Lori A. Bastian

Communication Faculty Journal Articles

Objective Pain and smoking are highly prevalent among Veterans. Studies in non-Veteran populations have reported higher pain intensity among current smokers compared with nonsmokers and former smokers. We examined the association of smoking status with reported pain intensity among Veterans of Operations Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom, and New Dawn (OEF/OIF/OND).

Design The sample consisted of OEF/OIF/OND Veterans who had at least one visit to Veterans Affairs (2001–2012) with information in the electronic medical record for concurrent smoking status and pain intensity. The primary outcome measure was current pain intensity, categorized as none to mild (0–3); moderate (4–6); or severe (≥7); …

Narratives To Enhance Smoking Cessation Interventions Among African-American Smokers, The Acce Project, Thomas K. Houston, Catarina Kiefe, Heather Kohler, Jessica Williams, Julie E. Volkman, Jeroan Allison, Pamela Foster, Andrea Cherrington

Communication Faculty Journal Articles

Background: Low-income, African-American smokers are less likely to have resources to aid in quitting smoking. Narrative communication may provide an enhancement to traditional smoking cessation interventions like NRT, medications, or behavioral treatments for this audience. After extensive pilot testing of stories and personal experiences with smoking cessation from African-Americans from a low-income community, we conducted a randomized control trial using stories to augment routine inpatient treatment among African-Americans at an urban Southern hospital (N = 300).

Results: Differences in smoking cessation outcomes between the intervention (stories DVD + routine clinical treatment) and control (routine clinical treatment) arms were compared using …