Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Captivity Of Opportunity: The Conversation Surrounding Church-Going Hispanic Immigrants, Nicolet Hopper Bell

Master's Theses

Immigration is a long-standing topic of discussion in the United States. Hispanic immigrants, or families of Hispanic immigrants, living in America face unique challenges. Through focus group interviews, participants from a predominantly Hispanic Protestant church narrated their experience of living in the United States. Guided grounded theory data analysis revealed three categories and 14 subcategories, or themes of conversation, surrounding this hot topic. Participants shed light on the distinctive challenges they faced, how these challenges affected them, and how they attempted to overcome these difficulties. By exploring these results through the lens of social stigma theory (Goffman, 2009) and intergroup …

Group Empowerment Capacity And Capability In Associate Degree Schools Of Nursing In The United States, Christy Lee Savell

Dissertations

The purpose of conducting this research was to determine the perception of group empowerment capacity (EC) and group empowerment capability (E) among faculty and administrators in associate degree nursing programs (ADN) in the United States (U.S.), whether there was a significant difference in the scores of EC and E between the two groups and if there was a significant relationship between the mediating variables and EC. The study was conducted online with administrators and faculty of ADN programs throughout the United States (U.S.). Information letters with questionnaire links were sent to all members of the Organization of Associate Degree Nurses …

Instructor-Student Classroom Interactions: An Experimental Study Of Language, Sex-Differences, And Student Perceptions Of Instructors, Carl Joseph Brown

Dissertations

Higher education instructors must establish meaningful relationships with students in order to be effective. Student ratings of instructor dynamism, approachability, and credibility impact overall evaluations of instructors. Instructor use of strategic language choices, such as slang use in the classroom, impact these student evaluations. Here, the outcome of language choices’ impact on student evaluations is explored. To do so, both instructor and student sex main effects and interactions are tested. Last, specific methods, findings, as well as meaning and application are covered. Overall, instructor use of slang impacts student evaluations.

Seeing Is Believing, But Is It The Truth? Reality Vs. Representation Of Men In Contemporary Magazine Advertisements, 1980-2010, Dana Ann Lopez Coleman

Dissertations

McQuail (1994) observed, “The entire study of mass communication is based onthe premise that the media have significant effects” (p. 327). Many of these studies in mass communication have focused specifically on the various consequences that are believed to be a result of advertising. These images and perceptions can also become an individual’s reality which serves to shape society and their day-to-day environment. As Rudy, Popova, and Linz (2010) wrote, “Extensive media exposure leads audience members to adopt media reality as their own, and these altered conceptions of reality can in turn influence behavior” (p. 708). Understanding these visual representations, …

Why Do People Continue Using Facebook: An Empirical Study From The Perspectives Of Technology Adoption And Social Contract, Chen-Wei Chang

Dissertations

Online stalking, identity theft, and other privacy-related issues have become the major reasons that impede users from continuously using their Facebook accounts. To better understand how privacy risks, among other factors, have come into play, in terms of affecting users’ intention to continue using social networking sites, the present study applies three theories (i.e., the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology 2, social contract theory, and technology continuance theory) to develop a new model for Facebook use continuance. An online survey (N = 450) was performed by administrating a random sampling method in January and February of 2014. …

Social Media As A Tool To Effectively Communicate With Stakeholders: School Administrators And Superintendents' Perceptions, Steven Coleman Hampton

Dissertations

This quantitative research study analyzed the perceptions of school administrators on the effectiveness of using social media outlets to communicate with stakeholders. School administrators throughout the State of Mississippi completed an online survey developed by the researcher identifying the social media outlets they use to communicate with their stakeholders and the effectiveness of using social media outlets. Superintendents, Assistant Superintendents, Principals, Assistant Principals, and Public Relations Directors with various years of experience completed the survey. The study revealed there was a statistical significant difference between age groups of the school administrators with the concerns of using social media outlets as …

The Voice And Action Of Service: Exploring Nonprofit Volunteerism From A Dual Perspective, Colleen L. Mestayer

Dissertations

Key factors emerged for communicating with volunteers and staff in the nonprofit sector using a mixed methods approach in two phases. Phase I sought to explain volunteer satisfaction through the development of a new model that included motivation, identification with the nonprofit organization, attachment to the nonprofit organization and its mission, and the impact of interpersonal relationships formed between staff members and volunteers. Findings indicated that the model was an accurate predictor of volunteer satisfaction, and all variables were significantly correlated to volunteer satisfaction. Phase II sought to discover the communication patterns used by internal stakeholders of the nonprofit organization …

Family Communication Motivating Athletics Over Generations: A Mixed Method Expansion Of Self-Determination Theory, Elizabeth Hanson Smith

Dissertations

Mixed methods were utilized to test the communication within a model of self-determination (Deci & Ryan, 1985) in a multi-generational sports framework in order to argue for an update to self-determination theory (SDT) that includes a communication element. Fourteen qualitative research questions were posed to examine how communication functioned to move tennis players, golfers, and runners from the initial family influence in participating, to integrating family values to the extent that participants modeled athletic values to offspring and community members. Three hypotheses correlating the variables of self-efficacy, autonomy-controlling and autonomy-supportive family communication supported the argument that communication functioned to develop …

Our Voice, Our Choice: Race, Politics And Community Building On The Pages Of Five Historically Black College And University Newspapers From 1930 To 1959, Sheryl Monique Kennedy Haydel

Dissertations

From 1930 to 1959, the black college student-run press was a prolific voice leading discussions about ways to eradicate racial discrimination, amass political currency, and nurture communal solidarity. Embedded in their mission was a desire to awaken their readers intellectually and emotionally to join a mounting movement toward racial liberation. Yet, historians have ignored this expansive network of black collegian editors and writers, who were a philosophical extension of the professional Black Press.

Like their mentors in the Black Press, black college student editors and writers vigorously advocated for racial equality, took a combative stance against political gerrymandering that left …

Time-Shifting Vs. Appointment Viewing: The Role Of Fear Of Missing Out Within Tv Consumption Behaviors, Lindsey Conlin, Andrew C. Billings, Lauren Averset

Faculty Publications

The current study employed a national sample in order to investigate the phenomenon of fear-of-missing-out (FoMO), the apprehension associated with the fear that other people are having a pleasurable experience that one is not a part of. The current study investigated the role that FoMO plays in TV viewing habits, particularly binge-watching and the consumption of one-time megaevents. Results indicated that FoMO predicts the pace at which people choose to watch TV, social media use as it relates to TV, and whether they are likely to watch some one-time TV programs—such as sporting events like the Super Bowl.