Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Everything Old Is Q Again: X Activity About #Pizzagate Increased 9501.5% After Musk Boosted The Conspiracy, Bond Benton, Daniela Peterka-Benton

School of Communication and Media Scholarship and Creative Works

The QAnon conspiracy is largely an extension of several older conspiracies. A particularly influential conspiracy includes PizzaGate, which alleged that coded words and symbols found in hacked emails of John Podesta, chairman of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign, point to a secret child trafficking ring in the basement of the Washington, D.C. pizza restaurant, Comet Ping Pong (Benton and Peterka-Benton, 2021). While the conspiracy was dismissed as absurd (there is no basement in the pizzeria targeted), Edgar Maddison Welch accepted it as true driving to Washington D.C. from North Carolina armed with an AR-15 rifle and a .38 calibre handgun …

Sound Of Freedom: A Summer Blockbuster Movie With An Edge, Daniela Peterka-Benton

Department of Justice Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

No abstract provided.

Halloween 2023: It’S A Barbie World!, Jin-A Choi, Yi Luo, Bond Benton

School of Communication and Media Scholarship and Creative Works

Encapsulated in pink, Barbie epitomizes a dreamland that stimulates feelings of nostalgia, joy, and imagination, fulfilling individuals’ desire to escape. Mattel, the parent company of Barbie, and Warner Bros. through 100 or more brand collaborations (del Barco, 2023), has relentlessly swept the world with a blitz of Barbie-themed merchandises, such as Barbie dreamhouse rentals, Barbie gaming consoles, Barbie pasta, Barbie pink suitcases, Barbie apparels, bright fuchsia Xbox, Barbie boat cruise, pink burger, etc. Staggering surge for online sales of Barbie-themed products affirms the impressive upswing of online consumers’ interest in Barbie.

With the significance of Halloween, the popularity of Barbie, …

The Kelce/Swift Phenomena: Real-Time Analysis Of Social Media Activity During The October 1st Chiefs/Jets Game, Yi Luo Montclair State University, Jin-A Choi, Bond Benton

School of Communication and Media Scholarship and Creative Works

When the Kansas City Chiefs played the New York Jets in one of the world's major media centers, it presented a unique opportunity to study the phenomena of public interest in the Travis Kelce/Taylor Swift “romance.” A nationally televised game provides a specific timeframe and a moment of public visibility that invites dialogue and interaction. The space specifically built for such real time dialogue and interaction about a topic is social media. With that in mind, an investigation into the social media activity occurring in-game related to Kelce/Swift is merited

Will Idaho’S “Abortion Trafficking” Law Hinder Efforts To Prevent Human Trafficking?, Daniela Peterka-Benton, Bond Benton

School of Communication and Media Scholarship and Creative Works

No abstract provided.

#Pumpkinspice Report: On The 20th Anniversary Of Its Pumpkin Spice Latte, Starbucks Still Dominates The Social Media Conversation Around The Polarizing Fall Cultural Phenomenon, Jin-A Choi, Yi Luo, Bond Benton, Keith Green

School of Communication and Media Scholarship and Creative Works

The mix of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, and cloves has produced a magical combination that changed the world. Like Einstein or Col. Sanders, a powerful formula was found in the right combination of elements- in this case pumpkin spice. It might be assumed that pumpkin spice has a history and tradition dating back well into previous centuries, but pumpkin spice is a relatively new construct. Nosowitz (2022) contends the pumpkin spice trend was largely created by Starbucks’ introduction of the famous pumpkin spice latte in 2003.

To explore how social media users have discussed topics related to pumpkin spice, researchers …

Online Radicalization Case Study Of A Mass Shooting: The Payton Gendron Manifesto, Daniela Peterka-Benton, Bond Benton

Department of Justice Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

On May 14th, 2022, 18-year-old Payton S. Gendron of Conklin, New York, drove his car more than 200 miles to a predominantly black neighborhood in Buffalo, New York. At around 2:30 p.m., Gendron arrived at a Tops supermarket wearing body armor, tactical gear and a helmet with a video camera attached. He utilized the camera to livestream the event and carried an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle because of its proven deadly nature. He began firing his assaultrifle in the parking lot of the supermarket, killing three victims. He then went inside the store where he killed a security guard and nine …

Louisiana Academic Library Workers And Workplace Bullying, Catherine Baird, Andrea Hebert, Justin Savage

Sprague Library Scholarship and Creative Works

Workplace bullying is a problem in many work environments and can take different forms, including spreading gossip, criticism of work, unreasonable workloads, and being excluded. It can cause physical, psychological, and emotional stress, manifesting as depression, anxiety, self-esteem issues, exhaustion, feelings of rage/despair, and in some cases, post-traumatic stress disorder or suicide. Little is known, however, about the prevalence of bullying amongst library workers in academic libraries. This comprehensive state-wide study provides a replicable model to explore workplace bullying in a systematic manner amongst all academic library workers, not just librarians.

The Art Of Not Being Freshened: The Everyday Politics Of Infrastructure In The Mekong Delta, Timothy Gorman

Department of Sociology Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

With the growing threat of climate change, states are increasingly turning to large-scale infrastructure projects in order to control environmental conditions, especially in coastal areas. These projects are often planned and implemented in a centralized, top-down manner and sometimes fail to achieve their stated objectives in the face of “everyday resistance” from local residents and farmers. This study draws on interviews and secondary research to examine the contentious everyday politics of infrastructure in the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam, focusing specifically on how small-scale, surreptitious acts of “counter-infrastructuring” on the part of farmers, such as the construction of illicit wells …

“It’S Just Hard Reaching Out”: Factors Affecting Help-Seeking Behaviors Among Independent College Students., Beth Sapiro, Svetlana Shpiegel, Silvia Ramirez Quiroz, Marissa Ventola, Oomi Helen Nwankwo, Tariro Munyereyi

Department of Social Work and Child Advocacy Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Foster care alumni and other independent students experience considerable difficulties in pursuit of higher education, due to a lack of family support, financial problems, and the impacts of their experiences of maltreatment and system involvement. Nonetheless, many of these students are reluctant to reach out for help when they encounter academic or personal challenges. The purpose of the present study was to examine factors affecting help seeking behaviors among foster care alumni and other independent students enrolled in a four-year university. We conducted in-depth, individual interviews with 23 independent students ages 18-23, as well as 5 university staff connected to …

What About Love? Does The Over- Commercialization Of Valentine’S Day On Social Media Leave Us Living In A Sadder, Material World?, Jin-A Choi, Bond Benton, Yi Luo, Keith Green

School of Communication and Media Scholarship and Creative Works

No abstract provided.

Perceptions Of Lengthy Sentences For Youth: A Survey Of Michigan Residents, Tarika Daftary Kapur, Aliya Brimbaum, Miguel Murillo

Department of Justice Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

No abstract provided.

From The Legal Literature: Virtual Testimony Post-Covid, Francesca Laguardia

Department of Justice Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

No abstract provided.

From The Legal Literature: Examining The Spread Of Plea Bargaining, Francesca Laguardia

Department of Justice Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

No abstract provided.

From The Legal Literature: Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Over Abortion, Francesca Laguardia

Department of Justice Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

No abstract provided.

From The Legal Literature; Judicial Resistance To New York’S 2020 Criminal Legal Reforms, Francesca Laguardia

Department of Justice Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

No abstract provided.

From The Legal Literature: Private Prosecutions, Francesca Laguardia

Department of Justice Studies Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

No abstract provided.

Halloween 2023: It's A Barbie World!, Jin-A Choi, Yi Luo, Bond Benton, Keith Green

School of Communication and Media Scholarship and Creative Works

Move over, black and orange, and step aside for the color that is going to dominate Halloween this year, “Barbie Pink.” And yes, Ken, “it won’t matter what you do, you will always be number two,” at least when it comes to Halloween costumes in 2023. And those wildly popular Star Wars and Marvel character costumes traditionally seen during the “spookiest” time of the year? It seems they won’t match the popularity of the fictional character, Barbie, who reemerged this year on the pop culture scene after the incredible success of the Warner Bros. film “Barbie” released in July.

Based …