Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Community And Cultural Reentry: Exploring Reverse Culture Shock Among Returning Missionaries Of The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints, Sydney Pond

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Considerable research asserts that individuals who have immersive experiences in foreign cultures may experience mental and emotional challenges upon returning home, a phenomenon known as reverse culture shock. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints annually sends tens of thousands of proselytizing missionaries to various locations around the globe, and the nature of their missionary service places them at risk of experiencing problems during reentry. Despite this risk, reverse culture shock among returning Latter-day Saint missionaries remains relatively unexplored. The aim of this study was to examine how former Latter-day Saint missionaries made sense of their experiences returning to …

Compassionate Support Training For Adults Impacted By Mental Illness: A Workshop Series Using Transformative Learning Pedagogy, Lindsay Bennett

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This professional project aims to translate current compassion academic research and scholarship for my client partner, the Cache County chapter of NAMI, to aid the family members of loved ones who live with mental illness.

Allyship Training Programs In Higher Education: Creating A Critical Curriculum Of Change, Macy Marin Keith

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Allies Training Programs (also known as Safe Space/Zone training) are found in many institutions of higher education. Usually provided by an LGBTQA+ or Gender and Sexuality Center staff, the goal is to prepare participants for an allyship role in hopes of promoting safe spaces on campus and decrease instances of queerphobia. This thesis examined current allies training programs to determine what content is being presented and compare to the latest critiques and definitions. After analysis it is determined that current allyship trainings are inadequately preparing higher education staff and faculty for an ally role. Using the results of this study …

Associations Between Adolescent And Parent Media Connection And Perceptions Of Emotional Climate In The Home, Laura A. Woodland

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

An overwhelming increase in technology and media use this past decade has been found to affect family relationships in various ways. Devices such as cell phones, tablets, and computers, have been found to both be the means of bringing family members closer together by communicating from a distance, while also disrupting and straining family connection, in particular the adolescent to parent relationship. Data from the Flourishing Families Project was used to analyze the varying perceptions of adolescent and parents regarding technology communication with one another and their personal perception of the emotional climate in the home. Results from this study …

The Relationship Between Social Skills And Coping Drinking Motives: A Test Of The Social Skills Deficit Vulnerability Model, Jaimee A. Smart

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Because drinking alcohol to cope has many negative outcomes (e.g., alcohol use disorder, problematic drinking patterns, etc.), it is vital to understand what contributes to drinking to cope. Having adequate social skills and social support has been found to help overall mental health. As such, it was logical to reason that social skills and social support could also impact physical health. Specifically, social skills and social support were examined as potential ways to buffer coping drinking development. This study utilized information from 176 adults living in the United States to understand the role social skills and social support play in …

Snake Mind, Wolf Body, Panther Courage: Jojo Rabbit As A Critique Of Hegemonic Masculinity, Christian W. Lippert

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In 2019, the movie Jojo Rabbit (Waititi, 2019) was released to theaters. Because the film uses comedy and satire to tell a story about Jojo, a young Nazi who has Hitler as an imaginary friend, it received mix reviews. This analysis focuses on how the movie sheds light on the negative influence of hegemonic masculinity. Hegemonic masculinity refers to the messages and actions that place men above women or types of masculinity above femininity and other masculinities. Jojo’s desire to be a Nazi is deeply connected to his desire to be man. This analysis examines how hegemonic masculinity a) can …

Antimicrobial Activity Of Artemisia Tridentata, David Suisse, Kayla Suisse

Student Research Symposium

Many plants and fungi secrete substances to adjust their environment to be more favorable to their needs. These secondary metabolites include chemicals emitted to kill other plants or microbes that would otherwise endanger or compete with the original plant. One such example is that of penicillin—extracted from a mold by Alexander Fleming in the 1920s. Fleming found that the growth of staphylococci, a bacterium, which shared the plate with the mold was inhibited. Penicillin, a secondary metabolite created by the mold, quickly became a well-known and useful antimicrobial agent and an ingredient in many drugs. Aspirin has a similar, if …

Sharing Science Through Shared Values, Goals, And Stories: An Evidence-Based Approach To Making Science Matter, Bethann Garramon Merkle, Evelyn Valdez-Ward, Priya Shukla, Skylar R. Bayer

Human–Wildlife Interactions

Scientists in and beyond academia face considerable challenges to effectively sharing science, including lack of time and training, systemic disincentives, and the complexity of the modern media/attention landscape. Considering these constraints, 3 achievable shifts in mindset and practice can substantively enhance science communication efforts. Here, we provide evidence-based and experientially informed advice on how to center shared values, articulate science communication goals, and leverage the power of stories to advance our communication goals in connection with the values we share with our stakeholders. In addition to a discussion of relevant, foundational principles in science communication, we provide actionable recommendations and …

Media And The Covid-19 Infodemic, Alek Nelson

Fall Student Research Symposium 2020

With the recent COVID-19 outbreak, many challenges have arisen across the world. From overloaded hospitals to economic fallout to mental health issues, this pandemic is a new challenge for many people. Among the difficulties faced is the increase in misinformation, information "that is false due to lack of scientifically reliable evidence," regarding treatment, prevention, and the virus itself (Bahrami et al., 2019). An online survey was conducted during June 2020 to determine how media sources affects belief in COVID-19 misinformation. The results of the survey show that people are either using bad news sources, mainstream news is reiterating disinformation, and/or …

Pretendians, Settler Collectors, And #Nativetwitter: Indigenous Rhetorical Sovereignty, Carly Schaelling

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This thesis paper uses thematic analysis to find and report themes in the minority online community space of #NativeTwitter. Drawing from Lisa King’s theory of rhetorical sovereignty, this paper outlines how Indigenous people use Twitter to assert and take back control of their voices and images, as well as build community and connect with each other. This paper outlines three major themes within #NativeTwitter, as analyzed from a group of tweets pulled from the community from October 28-31st in 2018. The themes are: Calling out and Calling in, Community Building and Fostering Connection, and Cultural Preservation. Examples for each of …

Rewriting The Unwritten: Decorum As A Tool For Social Justice In Technical Communication, Jennifer L. Scucchi

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

With the recent turn to social justice in Technical and Professional Communication (TPC), it is important to develop a variety of theories and methods that can address issues of power and oppression within TPC. Additionally, some of these theories and methods should work to engage resistant audiences and persuade them to not only be aware, but to also take meaningful action for change. Social justice efforts should also consider the intersectionality that occurs when multiple marginalizing factors intersect, compounding the experiences of oppression for those who fall into each unique category. In this dissertation, I present a theory and method …

Extending Ethos In Digital Rhetorics, Andrew J. Hillen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This dissertation researched the concept of ethos, or appeal to authority or trust, on the social media platform, Twitter. Looking at collections of tweets, I found that the characteristics of the Twitter platform, as well as the general qualities of writing online, pushed users to use short cuts to trust, such as focusing in on specific buzz words, or through referencing well known organizations and individuals. Users also used internet culture as its own source of authority. They demonstrated that they were up to date on the latest trends and memes, and so were trustworthy accounts to follow. Users appealed …

“To Ask Freedom For Women”: The Night Of Terror And Public Memory, Candi Carter Olsen

Journalism and Communication Faculty Publications

On the night of November 14, 1917, 31 suffragists and members of the National Woman’s Party (“NWP”) were taken to Occoquan Workhouse in Virginia and tortured and beaten. This so-called “Night of Terror” captured national headlines at the time and has been memorialized through digital sites today. This article examines versions of the Night of Terror from the NWP’s official newspaper, The Suffragist, national newspapers of the day gathered from the Chronicling America database, and modern digital memorials of the event to understand the ways that the mediated telling of events create the fractured popular memories that are retold …

Reviewing Family Communication Scholarship: Toward A Framework For Conceptualizing A Communicative Perspective On Family Identity, Kaitlin E. Phillips, Jordan Soliz

Languages, Philosophy, and Communication Studies Faculty Publications

In this manuscript we review multiple approaches to family communication research, and provide directions for future research as they relate to family culture. Specifically, we review family communication research that is either explicitly or implicitly tied to family culture. Given the importance of families and understanding the first social group that individuals often belong to, it is necessary to synthesize programs of research related to family culture. Thus, in order to further the progression of family research we provide an overview of where current research on family communication converges, present additional factors for family scholars to include in their work, …

New Perspectives On Promoting Efl Teaching And Learning In Oman, Jihan Sulaiman Al Naabi

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This portfolio is an accumulation of work that the author accomplished during her study in the program of Master of Second Language Teaching at Utah State University. It is an outcome of the author’s personal teaching experiences, insights gained from her master’s study, and several class observations as well.

The portfolio comprises three primary portions: (1) teaching perspectives, (2) research perspectives, and (3) an annotated bibliography. The teaching perspectives revolve around the author’s beliefs on the role of both teachers and students in L2 classrooms, the communicative teaching of grammar, and the value of a positive learning environment. The research …

Student-Centered, Interaction-Based, Community-Driven Language Teaching, Sharon Lyman

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

This portfolio is a compilation that highlights some of the author’s accomplished work while in the Master of Second Language Teaching (MSLT) program at Utah State University (USU). Organized into sections that reflect the author’s teaching and research perspectives as a MSLT graduate student and instructor, who taught intensive English reading, writing, and conversation courses for the Intensive English Language Institute (IELI).

In the first section, teaching perspectives, the author describes her desired professional environment, shares her personal teaching philosophy statement, and accounts for her professional development through classroom observations. In the second section, research perspectives, two research papers and …

Building Engagement In Facebook: A Case Study With Utah State University Extension Sustainability, Kenna Kesler

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to explore how Utah State University (USU) Extension Sustainability uses Facebook to engage followers. The researcher conducted a quantitative content analysis of 504 messages posted to the USU Extension Sustainability Facebook page. Graphics and links were the most common post characteristics used. Text-only posts and posts containing videos were used the least. Food was the most common area of sustainability discussed on the page. Posts containing videos, shared content, or that tagged other pages in Facebook messages experienced statistically significantly higher user engagement than posts without those characteristics. Posts containing hashtags experienced statistically significantly …

Get Out, Hiroki Tanaka: Asian-American Characters In Black Films And Black Activism, Naomi Yoko Ward

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship Asian-Americans have with black Americans in order to determine how Asian Americans navigate their role in American racial discourse. Additionally, this study considers the causes and effects of Asian-American participation in movements like Black Lives Matter (BLM). This topic is explored through the analysis of Asian-American characters in black stories told through four films: Fruitvale Station, Get Out, The Hate U Give, and Sorry to Bother You. To narrow the scope of this research, I placed focus on characters in works that have been published since 2013, when the …

Extension Needs Outreach Innovation Free From The Harms Of Social Media, Jonathan J. Swinton

Extension Research

Despite the outreach-building benefits of social media for Extension, it is time for Extension professionals to find new innovative ways to reach out that do not involve social media. An increasing body of research has demonstrated the harms social media use imparts on the health and well-being of those in our communities. Our future use of social media as a primary method of outreach may perpetuate these harms, requiring our best efforts to develop new methods of outreach that do not negatively affect those we serve.

How Adolescents Use Text Messaging Through Their High School Years, Samuel E. Ehrenreich, Kurt J. Beron, Kaitlyn Burnell, Diana J. Meter, Marion K. Underwood

Human Development and Family Studies Faculty Publications

Co‐construction theory suggests adolescents use digital communication to address developmental challenges. For a sample of 214 ethnically diverse adolescents, this research used direct observation to investigate the frequency, content, and timing of texting with parents, peers, and romantic partners through grades 9–12. Analyses showed that texting frequency follows a curvilinear trajectory, peaking in eleventh grade. Adolescents discussed a range of topics, predominantly with peers. Communication with parents was less frequent, but consistent over time. Approximately 45‐65% of adolescents communicated with romantic partners, texting heavily and about topics similar to those discussed with peers. Texting may help adolescents navigate key developmental …

After The Choosing Ceremony: Using Role-Play To Teach Organizational Socialization, Kaitlin E. Phillips, Katherine E. Forsythe

Languages, Philosophy, and Communication Studies Faculty Publications

Course: Organizational Communication.

Objectives: The goal of this activity is to teach students about the stages of organizational socialization and how individuals might be socialized into an organization based on the given identity of that organization.

Children With Autism In The Somali Population: Exploring The Inter-Relatedness Of The Somali Immigrant And Refugee Experience Navigating Speech-Language Pathology Resources, Rebecca Houston

Undergraduate Research and Creative Opportunities (URCO) Grant Program

Approximately 15,711 Somali immigrants resettled in Minnesota in 2016 (Rush, 2016). According to the Rochester Post Bulletin, the Med City ranks fourth place in number of Somali immigrants, 333, behind Minneapolis at 3,450, St. Cloud at 1,393, and St. Paul at 960 (Post Bulletin, 2017). In a study conducted by the Minnesota Department of Health in 2008, the most common services needed by Somali families was first housing, followed by speech therapy second (Minnesota Department of Health, 2014). In a study conducted by the Minnesota Department of Health in 2008, the most common family or individual challenges associated with late …

The Relationship Between Narrative Proficiency And Syntactic Complexity Of Spontaneously Generated Stories Elicited From Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder As Compared To Those Elicited From Children With Developmental Language Disorder, Samantha Winward

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of a narrative intervention on narrative proficiency and the use of complex sentences for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD).

Method: Two multiple-baseline across participants studies were conducted. Five participants with ASD ages 8 to 12 and six participants with DLD ages 6;7 to 10;4 participated in each study. Narrative proficiency and syntactic complexity were examined during baseline, intervention, and follow-up periods.

Results: All of the children in the ASD increased in narrative and syntactic complexity by the end of the study. …

“Are You A Good Witch Or A Bad Witch?”: An Exercise In Suspending Judgment When Interacting With “Difficult” People, John S. Seiter, Christian R. Seiter

Languages, Philosophy, and Communication Studies Faculty Publications

Courses:

Interpersonal Communication, Health Communication

Objectives:

In this single-class activity, students gain awareness and practice in suspending judgments about “difficult” people in order to understand the reasoning behind certain objectionable behavior.

Assessing Speech & Swallowing Therapy Needs Of Childhood Cancer Survivors, Kierstin Dewey

Research on Capitol Hill

Approximately 420,000 childhood cancer survivors are currently living in the United States. The rise in survival rates makes the need for professionals to help improve quality of life for pediatric cancer survivors a high priority.

Speech and swallowing can be largely impacted In children receiving radiation therapy for cancers of the head, neck, or brain (hereafter referred to as HNBC). Cancer tumors themselves, as well as cancer treatments, cause acute and long-term side effects that cause pain, restricted range of motion, and decrease in overall function of the structures necessary to communicate, eat, and drink.

To help design interventions to …

Workplace Democracy And The Problem Of Equality, Jared Sterling Colton, Avery C. Edenfield, Steve Holmes

English Faculty Publications

Purpose: Professional communicators are becoming more invested in unique configurations of power in organizations, including non-hierarchical and democratic workplaces. While organizations dedicated to democratic processes may enact power differently than conventional organizations, they may fall short of practicing equality. This article explains the differences in non-hierarchical workplaces, considers businesses where democracy is a goal, and argues for considering equality as a habitual practice, particularly when writing regulatory documents.

Method: We conduct a review of the literature on non-hierarchical workplaces and organizational democracy, applying Jacques Rancière’s concept of equality to two examples (one using primary data collection and one using secondary …

Communicating Information On Nature-Related Topics: Preferred Information Channels And Trust In Sources, Emily J. Wilkins, Holly M. Miller, Elizabeth Tilak, Rudy M. Schuster

Environment and Society Student Research

How information is communicated influences the public’s environmental perceptions and behaviors. Information channels and sources both play an important role in the dissemination of information. Trust in a source is often used as a proxy for whether a particular piece of information is credible. To determine preferences for information channels and trust in various sources for information on nature-related topics, a mail-out survey was sent to randomly selected U.S. addresses (n = 1,030). Diverse groups of people may have differing communication preferences. Therefore, we explored differences in channel preferences and trust by demographics using regression models. Overall, the most preferred …

Talking Stories: An Analysis Of Haolewood's Attempts To Tell Hawai'i'S Stories Through Movie Trailers, Pono R. Suganuma

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

This study investigated how Native Hawaiians and Hawai'i are represented by the media, specifically in movies and their accompanying trailers. Thirty movie trailers from movies released between 1939 and 2016 were analyzed. These movies represented the various movie genres of romantic comedy, thriller, war, animation, drama, historical, and more. The aim of the study was to compile evidence of various themes such as stereotyping, white-washing and language pronunciation within movie trailers in order to validate or extend conceptually the theoretical framework or theory about the lack of accurate representation of Native Hawaiians. This is a feasibility study that could help …

Wildlife As Pets: Reshaping Public Perceptions Through Targeted Communication, Rosanna M. Vail

Human–Wildlife Interactions

No abstract provided.

Parenting And Youth Adjustment Across Deployment, Allison E. Flittner O'Grady, Shawn D. Whiteman, Jean-François Cardin, Shelley M. Macdermid Wadsworth

Human Development and Family Studies Faculty Publications

This study examined how changes in at‐home parents' mental health and parenting practices related to changes in their children's adjustment throughout the course of a service members' military deployment. Participants included at‐home parents from 114 National Guard families who were interviewed at four different occasions across the deployment cycle. The results revealed changes across the deployment cycle among the following three indicators: parental warmth, depressive symptoms, and children's externalizing behaviors. Changes in parental warmth were associated with changes in children's adjustment. Overall, these findings indicate that during parental separation, at‐home parents' responses to children have important implications for children's adjustment.