Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Ordinary Spirits In An Extraordinary Town: Finding Identity In Personal Images And Resurrected Memories In Lily Dale, New York, Mary Catherine Gaydos Gabriel

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Every summer, Lily Dale, New York, a community founded on spiritualist beliefs and steeped in an eccentric explosive past, hosts thousands of visitors seeking to communicate with dead friends and relatives, while the residents lead ordinary lives in the midst of the supernatural hype permeating their town. Their stories are considered by most to be secondary to the illustrious trappings of the community in which they occurred. My research employs oral histories prompted by personal photographs to showcase the residents' everyday experiences amidst the town's infamy, illuminating the undervalued individual experience of those living in communities of such extraordinary repute. …

Common Characteristics Of Young People Who Text: The Connection To Autonomy, Identity And Self-Esteem, Elizabeth M. Davis

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This study examined the relationship between adolescents' use of texting and their level of identity development, cognitive autonomy, and self-esteem. One hundred and nineteen Utah State University students participated in this study by filling out a questionnaire that included a section designed specifically to learn the texting habits of the participants, and also included sections derived from previously existing measures on identity, autonomy, and self-esteem.

The results show statistical significance of age and texting. Participants who were 23 years+ sent significantly less than those participants who were 19-22 years. Areas of gender, identity, and self-esteem were also analyzed. Implications of …

Your Second Selves: Avatar Designs And Identity Play, Y. B. Kafai, Deborah A. Fields, M. S. Cook

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

Avatars in online games and worlds are seen as players’ key representations in interactions with each other. In this article, we investigate the avatar design and identity play within a large-scale tween virtual world called Whyville.net, with more than 1.5 million registered players of ages 816. One unique feature of Whyville is the players’ ability to customize their avatars with various face parts and accessories, all designed and sold by other players in Whyville. Our findings report on the expressive resources available for avatar construction, individual tween players’ choices and rationales in creating their avatars, and online postings about avatar …