Critical and Cultural Studies Commons^™

Designing A Loving Robot: A Social Construction Analysis Of A Sex Robot Creator’S Vision, Annette Masterson

Human-Machine Communication

In 2018, one of the world’s first sex robots was released by CEO Matt McMullen and his company, RealDoll. With artificial intelligence capabilities, the Harmony model is meant to support and converse with users. Using a social construction of technology theory lens, this study develops the theory’s fourth level of analysis, emphasizing mass media’s construction abilities. A critical discourse analysis of 38 publicity interviews found a tendency to emphasize the companionship of sex robots while envisioning a future where integration is normalized, and a sentient robot is possible. As the creator, McMullen’s vision could determine the future of robotic design, …

S7e10: ‘The Maine Question’ Season Seven Recap, Ron Lisnet

The Maine Question

Season seven of “The Maine Question” podcast covered a broad variety of subjects in research and higher education. Topics ranged from archaeology to space research, and from the challenges in K–12 education to toxic forever chemicals and efforts to mitigate them.

In the 10th and final episode this season, host Ron Lisnet looks back on the big UMaine stories he shared, all of which reflect the extensive research activity, learning opportunities and public outreach generated by Maine’s public, R1-designated institution.

Making In Media Education: An Activity-Oriented Approach To Digital Literacy, Thomas Knaus

Journal of Media Literacy Education

Why is maker education a suitable approach for giving learners the 21st century skills they need to cope with the digital transformation? This article provides an answer and represents a defense of maker education in the field of educational science. Taking a human-media-machine interaction model as the basis for discussion, this article highlights the growing importance of digital technology as well as technological principles for human communication and interaction. Communication technology and the influence of technology on culture and society require a broad understanding of media literacy in the sense of digital literacy. By broadening the theoretical basis of media …

Reconnecting With The Truth: Conspiracies, Perspective Taking, And Misinformation, Scott Sellnow-Richmond, Mili Pinski

Discourse: The Journal of the SCASD

“I’ve done my research.” Misinformation has become a prevalent topic in communication courses, particularly those focused on argumentation, public speaking, or even interpersonal and family communication. Students thus benefit from adapting public speaking-focused assignments to illuminate how to understand - and thus combat- disinformation in their own lives. This assignment works toward this goal in two stages, allowing students to argue not just against misinformation and conspiracies, but also to argue for them as an act of empathy and understanding. The applied nature of this exercise also empowers instructors with a way to concretely address this issue in the classroom. …

Front Matter

Discourse: The Journal of the SCASD

No abstract provided.

S7e9: What New Frontiers Await For Maine’S Space Economy?, Ron Lisnet, Ali Abedi, Joseph Patton

The Maine Question

University of Maine research and education have ascended beyond Earth’s atmosphere since the 1990s. For example, UMaine scientists have tested the latest hypervelocity decelerators for NASA space travel and created a wireless leak detection system for the International Space Station. Through its latest inventions and studies, and scholarship and fellowship programs, UMaine plays a critical role in advancing the state’s space economy and training future leaders in the aerospace industry. But the university is far from reaching its final frontier.

In recent years, UMaine researchers have been developing the state’s first small research satellite with the University of Southern Maine …

¿Aviso O Alerta? Developing Effective, Inclusive, And Consistent Watch And Warning Translations For U.S. Spanish Speakers, Joseph E. Trujillo-Falcón, América R. Gaviria Pabón, Joseph T. Ripberger, Abby Bitterman, Jonathan B. Thornton, Mackenzie J. Krocak, Sean R. Ernst, Estilita Cassiani Obeso, John Lipski

NOAA Technical Reports and Related Materials

Spanish-speaking populations in the United States are more vulnerable in disaster contexts due to inequities, such as language barriers, that prevent them from receiving life-saving information. For the past couple of decades, governmental organizations have addressed these issues by translating weather watches, warnings, and advisories into Spanish. Previous studies suggest that these Spanish translations do not communicate the same level of urgency as their English counterparts. To identify whether these translated products result in inequities between English and Spanish speaker reception and comprehension of forecast information, we asked a representative sample of U.S. English (n = 1,550) and Spanish (n …

Black Female Athletes’ Use Of Social Media For Activism: An Intersectional And Cyberfeminist Analysis Of U.S. Hammer-Thrower, Gwen Berry's 2019 And 2021 Podium Protests, Ariel Newell

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Much attention has been paid to Black male athlete activism both historically and in the contemporary movement for black lives. Black female athletes have also made historic contributions as activists, and they continue to do so. However, Black female athlete activism has not always been acknowledged or heard. This is a problem, as Black women in American sports and society face overlapping racial and gender inequities and injustices that distinctly marginalize and oppress them. However, some Black female athlete activists (BFAAs) have begun using social media to challenge media narratives about themselves, to redefine what it means to be a …

S7e8: What Is The Legacy And Future Of The Climate Change Institute?, Ron Lisnet, Paul A. Mayewski, Daniel Sandweiss, Cynthia Isenhour

The Maine Question

The nation’s first multi- and inter-disciplinary research institute to study Earth’s recent and long-term climate variability was founded in 1972 at the University of Maine. That institute, now known as the Climate Change Institute, is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, a milestone that honors the many groundbreaking discoveries its scientists have made in the field of climate science.

CCI have scientists first mapped the difference between climate during the Ice Age and today in the 1970s; discovered the importance of marine-based ice sheets in the 1980s; connected acid rain to human causes in the mid-1980s; uncovered the concept of …

S7e7: How Can Business Savvy Help Maine Farmers Succeed?, Ron Lisnet, Erin Percival Carter

The Maine Question

Like opening any business, starting and operating a farm can be challenging without any in-depth entrepreneurial knowledge or skills. To help strengthen support for farmers’ business skills, University of Maine faculty members Erin Percival Carter and Stephanie Welcomer established the Business, Agriculture, and Rural Development (BARD) technical assistance training program in the Maine Business School.

The BARD program trains UMaine students to serve as consultants for farmers and operators of other small-scale and sustainable agricultural businesses. These students can assist agribusinesses with various aspects of commerce, such as data-management, price-setting, marketing, financial and strategic forecasting, market segmentation, product development, market …

The Comedy Of Cancel Culture In A Post-Carlin United States: On The Politics Of Cultural Interpretation, Bryant W. Sculos

Class, Race and Corporate Power

Taking the form of a critical review of the HBO documentary George Carlin's American Dream, this essay explores the character of George Carlin's political and cultural criticism, its implications for contemporary debates about so-called "cancel culture," and the broader political significance of cultural interpretation.

S7e6: What Is Living On A College Campus Like In 2022?, Ron Lisnet, Benjamin Evans, Lauri Sidelki

The Maine Question

There are about 3,500 students living on the University of Maine campus, many of whom have spent much of their high school or early college years learning remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, the transition to in-person learning and socializing has been daunting to some first-year and returning students.

In recent years, the Division of Student Life has retooled and doubled down on their services to help students adjust to college life during the pandemic and preserve a sense of community on campus. According to the division, participation in on-campus activities has significantly increased this fall compared …

S7e5: How Can Studying The Humanities Benefit Society?, Ron Lisnet, Beth Wiemann

The Maine Question

For 10 years, the McGillicuddy Humanities Center has bolstered student and faculty creative works and research in history, geography, language, social sciences and the arts. It funds and supports fellowships, lectures, symposia, panels, performances and exhibitions.

In this week’s episode of “The Maine Question,” Center director Beth Wiemann, discusses her team’s work and the benefits humanities scholarship provides to society.

S7e4: How Can We Eliminate Pfas?, Ron Lisnet, Onur Apul

The Maine Question

In recent years, communities across Maine and the U.S. have discovered the presence of toxic chemicals called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, in their land and water. Also known as forever chemicals because they are difficult to destroy, PFAS have been incorporated in various products, including food containers, clothing, rugs, teflon pans, fabrics and dental floss, for decades. Emerging research, however, has linked PFAS to several health issues, including weakened immune systems, increased risk of obesity and multiple cancers, developmental problems in children and harm to negative effects on reproduction.

Onur Apul, assistant professor of environmental engineering at the …

Respawning Jihadist: Isis Recruiting Through Online Gaming Communities, Alexander J. Ham-Kucharski

Student Work

The purpose of my research is to educate and bring awareness of ISIS’s (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) recruiting programs through social media and video games. As stated by Lakomy (2019): “Cyber jihadis nowadays rightly perceived as a rising threat to international security” (2019, p. 383). ISIS targets individuals as young as teenagers through games such as Call of Duty, Far Cry, Halo, ARMA3, and Grand Theft Auto as to recruit those from the Western world for their Jihad. ISIS Recruiters use these platforms to attract initiates via the gaming world through imagery that …

S7e3: What’S It Like To Be An Archaeologist?, Ron Lisnet, Daniel Sandweiss

The Maine Question

Daniel Sandweiss’s archaelogy career doesn’t mirror depictions of those in movies like “Indiana Jones,” but for him, it’s been equally as exciting. Over the years, Sandweiss, a University of Maine professor in the Anthropology Department and Climate Change Institute, has uncovered extensive evidence into how ancient civilization dealt with natural disasters, such as climate change, and how they adapted to living in a desert environment next to a rich fishery. His passion, coupled with a commitment to student success, inspired many who took his classes to advance their studies and pursue careers in archaeology.

In this week’s episode of “The …

S7e2: What Is The Legacy And Future Of Umaine Engineering? Featuring Dana Humphrey, Ron Lisnet, Dana Humphrey

The Maine Question

Dana Humphrey has hung up his hard hat after 36 years of serving the University of Maine as a faculty member and dean of the College of Engineering. During his tenure, the college has undergone tremendous growth, most recently with the opening of the Ferland Engineering Education and Design Center on Aug. 24. The $78 million facility — the largest project of its kind in UMaine history — has the capacity to increase engineering enrollment by 600 additional students a year, and will help advance the university’s education and research to meet the needs of students, employers and the Maine …

S7e1: What Is The State Of K–12 Education?, Ron Lisnet, Penny Bishop, Jim Artesani, Courtney Angelosante

The Maine Question

The average school day today looks different than in years past. K–12 educators face a myriad of challenges this year, including teacher and other staffing shortages, distance learning, the politicization of curricula, calls for book bans and the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the first episode of Season 7 of “The Maine Question,” we speak with Penny Bishop, dean of the University of Maine College of Education and Human Development; Jim Artesani, associate dean of graduate studies, research and outreach for the college; and Courtney Angelosante, coordinate of the Positive Behavior Supports & Interventions (PBIS) Initiative, to discuss the …

Pumpkin Spice And Everything Nice? An Assessment Of Social Media Mentions Of Pumpkin Spice, Jin-A Choi, Bond Benton, Yi Luo, Harlan Cruz, Paulette Gando-Duenas, Jennnifer Russo, Therese Sheridan, Rayanne Yamout

School of Communication and Media Scholarship and Creative Works

Pumpkin spice may only be a mix of a blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, and cloves, but it has become an enduring staple of the transition to autumn for both consumers and brands. Cumulatively, pumpkin spice has a unique cultural space enhanced by the emergence of specific demographics, supported by sensory aspects of the trend, driven by nostalgia, and fostered by the illusion of scarcity from its time-bound availability. With that in mind, evaluating pumpkin spice’s space in terms of activities in social media is an important area of investigation for researchers and consumer brands. To that end, this …

Searching For A Solution To Political Polarization In The U.S. Through A Feminist Ethics Of Care, Marissa Smith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

American politics have seen growing polarization in the past few years (Serrano-Contreras et al., 2020; Wojcieszak & Warner, 2020). Polarization is generally defined as “the distance between opposing political views” (Serrano-Contreras et al., 2020, p. 65). With focus on college students, this thesis considers ways to bridge the political divide in the United States and to promote generative engagement with differences across the political spectrum. The specific research questions this study explored were: 1) How do Ethics of Care principles and practices appear in and impact conversations on politically-charged topics among college students? and 2) How does participating in a …

“It's So Normal, And … Meaningful.” Playing With Narrative, Artifacts, And Cultural Difference In Florence, Dheepa Sundaram, Owen Gottlieb

Articles

This article considers how player interactions with religious and ethnic markers, create

a globalized game space in the mobile game Florence (2018). Florence is a multiaward-

winning interactive novella game with story-integrated minigames that weave

play experiences into the narrative. The game, in part, explores love, loss, and

rejuvenation as relatable experiences. Simultaneously, the game produces a unique

experience for each player, as they can refract the game narrative through their own

cultural, identitarian lens. The game assumes the shared cultural space of the player,

the player-character (PC), and the non-player-character (NPC) while blurring the

boundaries between each of these …

Symbolic Annihilation And Stereotyping Of Native American Women In News: A Content Analysis Of Health, Safety, And Economic Status Related News, Shreyoshi Ghosh

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Professional Projects

This is an exploratory study on the safety, economic, and health challenges of Native American women who constitute about 1.5% of the American population. With the symbolic annihilation and stereotyping of Native American people and women of color, there was a need to study the portrayal of Native American women in news. The findings indicated there was a growth in news coverage during 2018-19 and safety, including missing and murdered, emerged as a key topic. But symbolic annihilation in health and economic status including pay gap news was significant. Health news mostly covered maternal health and deaths but excluded most …

An Ethical Discussion About The Responsibility For Protection Of Minors In The Digital Environment: A State-Of-The-Art Review, Charles Alves De Castro, Aiden Carthy, Isobel Oreilly Dr

Articles

Many ethical questions have been raised regarding the use of social media and the internet, mainly related to the protection of young people in the digital environment. In order to critically address the research question "who is responsible for ethically protecting minors in the digital environment?", this paper will review the main literature available to understand the role of parents, the government, and companies in protecting young people within the digital environment. We employed a holistic process that covers a state-of-the-art review and desk research. The article is divided into four sessions; (1) Government Policies from the European Union (EU) …

Inaccessible Interpolated Imagery: How Coffee Farmers In The State Of Chiapas Might Access Political Economic Opportunity Through Representation, Paolo Fiann Bicchieri

Master's Theses

Here is a useful parable to boil down the idea of this project and set the tone: when one goes to the bar to tell a story about a fight at the bar, they would never venture to place themselves as the hero of the brawl, taking out three drunkards in a single punch, unless they were really in the bar, at that time, fighting a good fight. One would never do this as the bartender, locals, and regulars would all know if this were the case or not. Yet transnational corporations, governments, and even consumers do this all the …

Because Potato, Candice Evers

MFA in Illustration & Visual Culture

This thesis project explores the phenomenological qualities of the internet; asking, since the internet is difficult to grasp, what other modes of investigation might we have available? Using an investigative framework set forth by Jack Halberstam, this thesis declines to come to knowledge solely through understanding the formal, the structural, the highly visible and mainstream. The literature that I have gathered provides a range of modes for interrogating the simultaneously central and inconsequential subject of my thesis itself: the potato. Juxtaposing the physical, political and material conditions of the potato the internet’s least academic mode of knowing: the meme. Analyzing …

Reporting On Athletes And Mental Health: An Evolution In Language And Lexicon From 1970 To 2019, Vivian Ferris

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the spring and summer of 2021, several athletes made headlines for seemingly prioritizing mental health over the status quo of sports society. For example, in May 2021, during the French Open, professional U.S. tennis player Naomi Osaka announced she would not appear at press conferences, despite threats of fines, citing on social media it was for her mental health. The controversy surrounding Osaka and others led to further questions. Looking through the lens of agenda setting and framing theories, the purpose of this study is to better understand the frequency, variety, and evolution of language in journalistic coverage of …

Teaching Feminist Media Studies In A Post-Weinstein Era, Gigi Mcnamara

Feminist Pedagogy

In this critical commentary, I will address the concept of witnessing as it relates to contemporary feminist empowerment while also properly situating Weinstein-produced films as historical mediated texts.

A More Equitable Film Pedagogy: Including Media Literacy In Higher Education Film Classrooms To Result In Better Media Practitioners, Alexis Romero Walker

Journal of Media Literacy Education

This article explains the importance of including critical media literacy practices in skills-based classrooms in film education. Students continue to use methods of filmmaking that are inherently biased because they continue to be taught an age-old set of skills that do not engage in critical analysis. With the convergence of contemporary film theory in the classroom, educators can help students learn new methods of filmmaking that are representative for all communities and people. Through textual analysis of three films, this article shows why educators in higher education film programs must include critical media literacy in the skills course curriculum and …

The Great Resignation: A Content Analysis Of News Sources' Portrayals Of The Covid-19 Labor Shortage., Mackenzie Williams

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

When workers left the labor market in large numbers during the COVID-19 pandemic, proclamations of a labor shortage emerged extensively throughout the news. In this study, I analyze the coverage of the worker shortage among three news sources with different political orientations. Several themes emerged from analyzing a total of 75 articles. The findings showed that the perspective shown in the article, the cause of the labor shortage, restaurant worker portrayal, support of solutions, and opinion of the labor shortage all differed based on the political identity of the news source. This research supports previous findings that show there is …

If A Tree Falls In The Forest: Presidential Press Conferences And Early Media Narratives About The Covid-19 Crisis, Masha Krupenkin, Kai Zhu, Dylan Walker, David Rothschild

Business Faculty Articles and Research

Throughout the COVID-19 crisis, as we confronted questions about social distancing, masking wearing, and vaccines, public safety experts warned that the consequences of a misinformed population would be particularly dire due to the serious nature of the threat and necessity of severe collective action to keep the population safe. Thus, the media and the political elites (e.g., President of the United States) who possess the power to set the information agenda around COVID-19 bear a huge responsibility for the general welfare. Through automated text analysis of complete transcripts of national cable, network, and local news, we explore their narratives surrounding …