Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Social Connectedness In Different Relationship Contexts, Kirsten M. Ask, Carolyn Lowe, Niya Mckinley, Mary C. Minter

Science University Research Symposium (SURS)

While an overwhelming majority of teens still spend time with their friends in person at least occasionally, people have become increasingly reliant on technology for communication and maintaining feelings of social connectedness. Social connectedness is a sense of belonging to an individual or group characterized by satisfaction, perceived level of support, and opportunities for self-disclosure within a particular relationship context. There is consistent evidence that online communication does not foster the same degree of closeness as offline interactions, largely due to the lack of indirect forms of communication like non-verbal cues and tone of voice (Scott et al., 2022a). Offline …

Aerobic Vs. Anaerobic Exercise: The Role Of Exercise Attitudes, Frequency, And Perception Of Effort In Cognitive And Psychological Benefits, Khalil Dabdoub, Michael Oliver

Science University Research Symposium (SURS)

Exercise has been shown to have numerous benefits. Benefits often depend on the type and duration of exercise. Existing research focuses primarily on long-term aerobic exercise with studies showing 20-30 minutes of exercise to be beneficial. What remains unknown is how little exercise can show benefits. Anaerobic exercise has not been studied much, and when it has, findings have been mixed. Research is needed to elucidate the potential cognitive and psychological benefits of anaerobic exercise of different durations. In addition to exercise type, factors such as one’s attitude towards exercising, exercise frequency, and perception of effort may play a role …

Innovating During Times Of Disruption: A Project Management Framework For Transforming A Student Research Symposium To Serve Virtual Communities During Covid-19, Theresa G. Burress, Allison N. Symulevich

USF St. Petersburg Campus Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Bowling Online: Introduction To Social Worlds In Second Life, Hope Mac Donald

Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations

During the ongoing covid pandemic, people with underlying conditions that could become comorbidities were forced to retreat into their homes and were banned from social spaces if they wanted to survive. Those with capital could participate in online social spaces. With the push towards considering Covid an endemic disease, which by definition means repeated outbreaks, immunocompromised people will be forced to continually withdraw from social spaces. Virtual worlds and other digital communities may be helpful in dealing with the social isolation and anxiety caused by having to distance oneself in order to protect themselves. Virtual worlds are not a perfect …

Influence Of Pediatric Patients’ Developmental Or Chronic Health Condition Status As A Predictor Of Parents’ Perceptions Of Patient- And Family-Cen, Grace Ellen Brannon, Madison Ray

Communication Faculty Publications - Archive

Our study aimed to estimate how a pediatric patient’s health condition status influences parents’ perceptions of patient- and family-centered care (PFCC). We analyzed five years (2013–2017) of Medical Expenditure Panel Survey data in efforts to expand understanding of the family influence in pediatric health encounters, using family systems theory as our theoretical lens. The sample included 36,675 parents of children with developmental or chronic health conditions who reported visiting a health-care provider within the past 12 months. The independent variable was a combined measure of any developmental or chronic health conditions previously diagnosed in the child being assessed. Dependent variables …

Sense Of Support: The Impact Of Healthcare Encounters On The Breastfeeding Experiences Of African American Mothers, Olivia M. Rauls

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Although many studies have found a substantial racial disparity in infant feeding habits, the factors contributing to this unique disparity and potential solutions remain unknown. The general importance of social interactions and medical interventions in successful breastfeeding has been studied, but little research addresses the specific experiences of breastfeeding Black mothers interacting with their medical providers. This paper examines the perspectives of Black women with breastfed infants on their encounters with healthcare providers during prenatal, perinatal, and postnatal periods. Using qualitative data from 22 in-depth interviews addressing infant feeding decisions and experiences, this paper analyzes the link between healthcare interactions …

The Grave Barrier Reef, Savannah J. Szamborski

GLO 100 Introduction to Global Studies: Policy Analysis Papers

The Great Barrier Reef, located off the Northern East coast of Australia, has been experiencing significant levels of coral bleaching since 1998 when it experienced its first major bleaching. When water temperatures rise due to climate change, corals lose their bright colors and turn white. Once a coral is bleached, it becomes more vulnerable to other factors, increasing its chance of mortality. Greenhouse gas emissions have been seen to be one of the major factors that lead to climate change. The Australian and Queensland governments have put many different acts and policies into place to protect the Great Barrier Reef …

Annual Report 2022, Tennessee. Department Of General Services

Annual Reports

This annual report briefly describes the business units in General Services and financial transactions made during the fiscal year.

Regenerating Agroecosystems By Overcoming Human Exceptionalism In Designing For Increased Equity Of Benefits From Ecoservices, Ali Loker, Charles A. Francis

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Our commentary explores three critical issues related to ecosystem services. First is how ecoservices are currently designed and implemented primarily for human benefit without concern for how these impact other species. We conclude that awareness of this imbalance is the first step toward meaningful change. Second we observe that human exceptionalism guides most decisions, and ask whether we can overcome this mind-set to embrace ecoregeneration and design of resilient and mutually beneficial agroecosystems. Our attitude toward the challenge and moving toward greater humility about human roles that guide management decisions in the ecosystem is a requisite for change. Third we …

I’M Not A Tragedy: Speaking Up About Ableist Microaggressions, Kasandra Marguerite Colwell

Communication Senior Capstones

Have you heard of ableist microaggressions? Let me tell you about them, as someone who has experienced them. I have a bi-lateral dislocating knee condition that I was born with. I can walk, but sometimes I need additional stability or reduction of pain while getting around, in which case I tend to use a cane. I have had many othering interactions while using a mobility aid in public, whether that be a knee brace, a cane, or crutches. While it often seemed the stranger didn’t mean any harm, the question is how many invasive questions and comments from strangers can …

Non-Verbal Communication, Anxiety, Behavioral Changes Within Covid Regulatory Changes, Sydney Stack, Olivia Mccracken

Communication Senior Capstones

In the current era of education and social communication shifting into a virtual world the students entering the early elementary education system have experienced something that is new to all of us. Within the last two and a half years life as we have known it has vastly shifted. Virtual learning and communication, which is not something that is new, but something that was scarce prior to the Covid-19 pandemic is now the “new normal.” For many of the students affected, this way of learning has shaped much of their educational career. Changes like these are affecting areas of development …

A Critical Analysis Of Mobile Interpersonal Relationships Through Uncertainty Reduction Theory, Rachael L. Kee

Communication Senior Capstones

Through the use of online dating apps, individuals are having the chance to begin, develop, and end interpersonal relationships without ever even meeting the partner in person. It is assumed that this is happening due to the lack of primary tension in initial contact, as uncertainty reduction can take place from behind a screen. This study sought to connect the theories between Uncertainty Reduction Theory and mobile interpersonal relationships. The axioms of Charles Berger’s theory come into play during online dating as the eight key variables of relationship development are utilized in most successful interpersonal relationships to further intimacy, in …

The Power Of A Podcast, Breanna Donlon

Communication Senior Capstones

This paper examines the correlation between the Your Own Backyard podcast and the rebooting of the Kristin Smart missing persons case. This case had gone cold and seemingly ignored for nearly 25 years, until 2019 when the podcast was created. The host conducted immense amounts of research to try and figure out what happened to Kristin, and in doing so, brought her case back to to the public’s attention. The actions of the podcast host caused the police to become more active on the case again. Because of the podcast, the prime suspect was finally arrested and will be held …

Molding Malleable Minds, One Poem At A Time, Rebecca C. Bendzick

Communication 300 Papers

The Neo-Aristotelian approach to Rhetorical Criticism allows individuals with the chance to analyze pieces of rhetoric and evaluate how influential that piece was on its audience members. Maya Angelou was a poet, writer, civil rights activist, and above all a master performer. She captivates her audiences with every complex word or phrase, and has the ability to reach listeners of all backgrounds. By evaluating Maya Angelou’s performances in “On the Pulse of Morning” and “Still I Rise” through the Neo-Aristotelian approach and applying the Five Cannons of Rhetoric were able to uncover many hidden treasures of her work and legacy.

A History Cannabis As A Cultural Communication Artifact, Morgan L. Harper

Communication Senior Capstones

This essay aims to detail the mechanics, structure, history, and ideology of cannabis from a socio-cultural perspective within the United States. However, it does contain some content that I believe will correlate with an international perspective. My emphasis in conducting this research is to look at the ways in which cannabis acts as a societal communication artifact, and in doing so, how it has formed a vast and highly identifiable culture. I believe that Cannabis acts as a communication tool both socially and interpersonally, with both notions being equally important to the culture overall. Cannabis has language, looks, and sounds, …

The Misrepresentation Of Women In The Media And Women’S Rights, Hannah M. Endicott

Communication Senior Capstones

This paper is centered around the misrepresentation of women in the media and the implications that it has had on the treatment of women’s rights in society. The media is defined as television, movies, advertisements, etc. Women have been represented as being oversimplified through their stereotypical portrayal as housewives and mothers in the media, alongside being hypersexualized through their clothing and body image. Both of these forms of portrayals have had negative effects on women. Young girls are now being targeted as well through the explicit tones that the advertising of children’s toys creates. This paper aims to demonstrate how …

Ripe For Consumption: Separating Women From Autonomy, Nicole Kasandra Stibbard

Communication Senior Capstones

This proposed position statement privileges the notion that the male gaze is a damning and damaging force for identifying women in both Western societies as well as within patriarchal societies. This particular exploration is driven by my perceived lack of the true effect that this gaze has socially and intrapersonally over women. The male gaze not only strips women of bodily integrity, bodily autonomy, but autonomy holistically. Beyond the stripping of autonomous worth, the male gaze, i.e. objectification and an autonomous reduction to body parts alone, all result in psychological and physiological damage for identifying women. Previous research in the …

Healthy Environmental Communication Practices, Michelle Monique Magana

Communication Senior Capstones

The goal of my academic research is to highlight the importance of appropriate, scientifically correct and accurate communication when discussing Environmental Health. If we want to begin making changes to help our environment to become more sustainable and ultimately provide more years of existence we must stop the lies, propaganda and spread of misinformation. “Communication constructs a social world that is relational, collaborative, strategic, symbolic, and adaptive” (Learning Outcomes in Communication). The objective is to understand the discourse on environmental issues and try to use our communication discipline to engage and dissect this issue from a Communication perspective. Our standards …

Dissecting Ideologies Embedded In Ford Advertisement, Sidney Rain Shabnam Afsarzadeh

Communication Senior Capstones

The goal of this paper is to exemplify rhetorical criticism to examine an artifact. Specifically, this paper will use the method of ideological criticism to identify ideologies embedded in a commercial. In the case of this paper, the commercial being examined is a Ford truck commercial titled, Ford for the Builders, Built for America. This paper will identify and explain the ideologies used to advertise Ford trucks. It is important to be able to identify ideologies embedded in things like commercials in order to not be blind to cultivation theory. Which is a theory created by Professor George Gerber in …

Rhetorical Analysis Of Choosing To Go To The Moon "And Do The Other Things", Skyler M. Kona

Communication 300 Papers

On September 12, 1962, president John F. Kennedy visited Rice University in Houston, Texas, and delivered what is commonly known as one of the most iconic speeches in American history. The speech, titled “Address at Rice University on the Nation's Space Effort”, but more widely known as “We Choose to go to the Moon”, was an attempt to gain further support for the nation's efforts in the Space Race against the Soviet Union. In his speech, Kennedy uses various techniques in order to further boost the audience's understanding of the situation, as well as, crucially, inspiring them to lend their …

How Biden Wants Us To Think About Ukraine’S Conflict, Rainer Shea

Communication 300 Papers

President Joe Biden’s rhetorical style when talking to the American people about the conflict in Ukraine is one which can be compared to that of President George W. Bush in regards to the perpetrators of the September 11, 2001 attacks. During Biden’s speech about Ukraine in March of 2022, he conveyed an idea parallel to that which Bush conveyed: an enemy of the United States has committed a transgression which can’t go unpunished, and the “free world” needs to fight back at any cost. In order to make this case, Biden used the speech to counter Putin’s arguments for a …

Children’S Film Media’S Influence On Gender, Race, And Identity, Sara M. Kovis

Communication Senior Capstones

Whether conscious of it or not, media images have been working our entire lives to construct our attitudes, beliefs, and perceptions of the world around us. What is the significance of the relationship between media consumption and how we interact in society? Applying communication theories and research into traditional and digital media is vital in understanding the realities around us. It explains where societal norms and values stimulate and how they trigger new behavioral changes. Ideologies are the mixed concepts and elements that create meaning in society. Today, people's ideological feelings produce pre-dated ideologies rather than their ideas. These are …

Challenges Faced By Recently Emancipated Youth, Williams Peña, Jerry Walter Butkiewicz Iii

Communication Senior Capstones

In this academic research paper, we will be exploring the challenges faced by recently emancipated youth. We chose this topic because of the fact that this is not often spoken about or taught to the general public. This lack of attention to these issues creates hurdles when attempting to solve these sensitive issues. Considering this, we thought it would be a strong choice for further research and review. We explored many obstacles these new adults face. One such issue that we would like to touch on is the unstable housing situation of these recently emancipated individuals. Another prudent example is …

Interpersonal Communication From Student To Host Family, Tajma R. Magee

Communication Senior Capstones

This research project aims to improve interpersonal communication between international students and their host families. Existing research and data shows that students can have a difficult time adjusting to their life abroad, whether it be within their host home or within the institution they are studying at. This can greatly affect their overall studying abroad experience and can affect the way they communicate with the members of their host family. Factors like the student’s academic performance in school and behavior in school may be affected as well. Identifying the issues that contribute to a negative experience in a host family’s …

Data Capitalism, Digital Health, And Marxism, Samantha C. Stanger

Communication Senior Capstones

Abstract

When immersed in a capitalist society individuals often fail to see the ways in which they are exploited, and when these discussions do come into discourse they are often geared toward workplace labor. Less commonly do we consider the ways in which these problems arise in conjunction with free labor, mainly performed in digital spaces. While less often considered or discussed, the exploitation occurring in the digital world is real and has substantial consequences, particularly when the digital spaces involve sensitive information and data. This paper aims to address how data capitalism functions in three different digital health spaces: …

Towards A Psychological Science Of Abolition Democracy: Insights For Improving Theory And Research On Race And Public Safety, Cynthia J. Najdowski, Phillip Atiba Goff

Psychology Faculty Scholarship

We call for psychologists to expand their thinking on fair and just public safety by engaging with the “Abolition Democracy” framework that Du Bois (1935) articulated as the need to dissolve slavery while simultaneously taking affirmative steps to rid its toxic consequences from the body politic. Because the legacies of slavery continue to produce disparities in public safety in the U.S, both harming Black people and the institutions that could keep them safe, psychologists must take seriously questions of history and structure in addition to immediate situations. In the present article, we consider the state of knowledge regarding psychological processes …

“Labor For Love, Labor To Heal:” Human Rights Activism As A Politics Of Refusal, Angela E. Fillingim

Societies Without Borders

The literature on social movements centers demands made on the state and theorizes collective action as rooted in specific times and the nation-state. I ague that this literature is analogous to “the veil,” a concept developed by W.E.B. Du Bois. Indigenous theorizations of a “politics of refusal” provides us with a foundation see beyond the veil. This paper brings together “Du Boisian Sociology,” Latina Feminisms, and indigenous theories of collective action to develop a robust theorization of human rights activism, and social movements more broadly. This paper asks: What can we gain from analyzing movements from beyond the veil by …

The State, The Udhr, And The Social Construction Of Family In Human Rights: The Case Of The Scarborough 11, Abbey S. Willis, Mary C. Burke, Davita Silfen Glasberg

Societies Without Borders

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) (UN 1947:34) declares in Article 16(3) that “the family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to the full protection by society and the state.” However, the UDHR does not define family, but rather presumes it is defined by traditional heteronormative marriage in a nuclear family. The failure of the UDHR to consider a more expansive view of family leaves the definition of family centrally in the hands of the state, and affects the ability of all but traditional nuclear family forms to access other human rights. We …

Transforming Sociology Courses With Human Rights Education: Curriculum, Pedagogy, And Classroom Environment Considerations, Karie Jo Peralta

Societies Without Borders

Sociology courses have significant potential to liberate students. A promising way to achieve this aim is by grounding courses in human rights principles such as respect, equity, equality, and democratic participation. Using a college-level, introductory sociology course as an example, this paper explores how a human rights education (HRE) framework can serve as a foundation for the teaching of sociology. The purpose is to show how sociology educators can relatively easily embed HRE into the learning experience. To begin, I will present a HRE framework. Then, I will illustrate how common course topics, teaching methods, and classroom conditions can be …

Would An India-Us Trade Agreement Be Beneficial For India?, Neetu Kaushik, Niloufer Sohrabji

International Review of Business and Economics

This paper examines the potential impact of an India-U.S. FTA on India’s trade. We use two approaches to estimate trade effects, compound annual growth analysis and Gravity model estimation. Our sample spans the period from 1992 to 2019 and consists of seven bilateral trade agreements and three multilateral trade agreements which include 24 countries as our treatment group. In both cases we compare the impact on India’s trade following a trade agreement with a control group which we create by including those countries whose trade share exceeds one percent of India’s total trade (in 2019). Our CAGR analysis shows that …