Other Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Power Of Prayer, Victoria Dawn Thompson

Capstone Collection

If words are arbitrary, how does prayer have power?” is the question of inquiry in this paper. An unobtrusive Content Analysis inquiry methodology was used to answer this question. The answer lies in the finding that words and thoughts are not the same thing, and our thoughts expand beyond the audible and visible. The implication for professional practice these findings present is that a deeper awareness of “Self” is needed to understand people’s miraculous way of resolving conflict via prayer.

Bridges Out Of Poverty As An Anti-Poverty Strategy In Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, Katlyn M. Uhler

Capstone Collection

This paper explores the initial results of the Bridges Out of Poverty (“Bridges”) community framework as implemented by the organization Kennett Area Community Service in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. The aim of this research is to provide perspective on Bridges Out of Poverty’s contribution to the understanding of poverty in the United States and its potential as an antipoverty intervention. It does so first through an exploration of the historical and current discussion on poverty and anti-poverty interventions in the United States, followed by research on the Bridges model itself and its implementation in Kennett Square. This latter research includes content …

Digital Mindfulness: An Emerging Field Of Inquiry And Practice, Sherri Henderson

Mindfulness Studies Theses

This two-part paper explores digital mindfulness as an emerging field of inquiry and practice into the integration of technology and contemplative practices. The first part surveys the growing research on the effects of technology on health and well-being. Investigating Buddhist teachings leads to a more balanced and aware approach towards integrating mindfulness with the digital world. Digital mindfulness encourages meaningful engagement while online. It also encourages thoughtfulness, awareness and intention. Digital mindfulness also reshapes and encourages conversations in our homes, schools, and proposes digital responsibility and digital citizenship. The second part of the paper proposes a framework for a workshop …

Girls Are Us: A Collection Of Oral Histories From The Jmu Community, Anne M. Sherman

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

On a campus where women make up a majority of the student population, it is especially important that female voices are heard and given a platform on which they can control their own narrative. I wanted to give those female-identifying voices that platform. I conducted a series of interviews to examine how college-aged female-identifying students feel about their identity and how they construct that identity within the climate of the JMU community. I was particularly interested in the intersections of gender, race, ethnicity, class, sexual preference, and ability. I asked each person to share their stories of times when they …

Bridging The Gap Between National And Local Safety Through A Comprehensive Review Of Emergency Preparedness Plans In A Large, Urban High School Located In Delray Beach, Florida Within The Palm Beach County School District, Retha Prescod

Theses & Dissertations

Each year almost 60 million elementary, middle and high school children attend school across the United States. Each day on campus holds the possibility that these students may suffer from an encounter that causes them long-term physical, emotional, psychological impact. Unfortunately, hundreds of victims from this vulnerable population have suffered each time a school was unprepared for an emergency event that occurred on campus. Currently, there are no mandatory specifications in place for school preparedness plans. The government has mandated that schools develop a framework to address hazards that affect schools, but have not made any of these requirements mandatory. …

Foreign Business Entrepreneurship In Cape Town: How To Start A Business - Stories Of 6 Cape Town Based Immigrants, Aleksandra Bogoevska

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

South Africa has become a shelter for immigrants from all over the world (Wilkinson, 2015). Combined with its internationally recognized economy, it is a tempting location for foreigners to establish a business (“Starting a Business in South Africa as a Foreigner – A Complete Guide”, n.d.). With this in mind, the intent of this study is twofold. First, this project aims at analyzing how foreigners establish businesses in Cape Town. Its objective is to trace the entrepreneurial process from the initial stages to its recent development. Second, it aims at outlining their experiences in Cape Town, thus serve as a …

How To Conduct A Mini-Ethnographic Case Study: A Guide For Novice Researchers, Patricia I. Fusch Ph.D., Gene E. Fusch, Lawrence R. Ness

The Qualitative Report

The authors present how to construct a mini-ethnographic case study design with the benefit of an ethnographic approach bounded within a case study protocol that is more feasible for a student researcher with limited time and finances. The novice researcher should choose a design that enables one to best answer the research question. Secondly, one should choose the design that assists the researcher in reaching data saturation. Finally, the novice researcher must choose the design in which one can complete the study within a reasonable time frame with minimal cost. This is particularly important for student researchers. One can blend …

Capturing The Attention Of Caregivers: Variability In Infant Vocalizations, Catharine A. Castelluccio De Diesbach

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The effect of variability in infant vocalizations on potential caregivers’ heart rate variability (HRV), facial expressions, and subjective ratings on emotional reactions and desire to approach the baby was examined in an evolutionary context. Recordings of non-canonical, canonical, fussing, and crying vocalizations were utilized to elicit physiological and self-reported reactions from sixty participants. Breastfeeding mothers, non-mothers at high estradiol point in menstrual cycle, non-mothers at low estradiol point in menstrual cycle, fathers, and non-fathers were included in the study. Participants wore Polar RS800 heart rate monitors, were video recorded for facial expression analysis, and filled out 11 point self-rating forms …

Life Coaching -- Rising In Popularity Should It Be Regulated? A Look Into The Life And Work Of Emerging Life Coaching Star Gina Devee, Victoria R. Edwards

Capstones

The lifestyle and business coaching field is an international industry that grosses more than $2 billion, but it has no outside regulation. Some critics worry that without regulation harm can be brought to clients, but others say regulation would bring too much restriction into this growing industry.

Understanding How Intentionally Unplugging From Cell Phones Shapes Interpersonal Relationships And The Undergraduate College Experience, Jadelin P. Felipe

Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of what motivated college students—the Unplugged Students—to intentionally use their cell phones less and how they understood the impact that unplugging had on their interpersonal relationships and college experience. Nine undergraduate college students from four private schools were interviewed in one-on-one semi- structured interviews. These students, considered non-users, provided a particularly useful perspective as these students made a conscious choice to counteract social norms and experienced both being plugged in and unplugged. Cell phones and the act of unplugging proved to make up a complex and more nuanced topic than …

Minorities' Perceptions Of Child Protective Services, Vernae Elaine Hicks

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

The study examined minority persons’ views and experiences with Child Protective Services (CPS) in the community. This study used a qualitative design with face‑to‑face interviews with 12 participants in the community. This study used the “Post‑Positivist” data analysis, which is qualitative in evaluation and explained each participant’s subjective reality.

The study found that most participants were satisfied with the results and were dissatisfied with the process in and of itself. Overall the study found that most participants felt that there was some sort of a disconnect with social workers in reference to cultural competency. Miscommunication between the social workers at …

(Between The Streets) In Worcester : Redefining Professional Education In Community Development To Cultivate Empathy Through A Community Theatrical Framework, Chiu Yi Hannah Yukon

Sustainability and Social Justice

This research paper presents an alternative form of conducing Community Development Research. It highlights the gaps that currently exist in professional education with the community development and planning program at Clark University. The research paper employs a theatrical framework to encourage practitioners to ask more illuminating questions that informs the ‘human work’ that sometimes gets overlooked. In order to be authentic in the field of Community Development, practitioners need to be in touch with a less scientifically rational side of themselves, to truly embrace the complexities of the human condition. Drawing from my personal experiences, I wrote a play based …

Avatar Self-Identification, Self-Esteem, And Perceived Social Capital In The Real World: A Study Of World Of Warcraft Players And Their Avatars, Melissa Watts

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study explored the relationship between people who play massively multiplayer online roleplaying games (MMORPGs) and their avatars, as well as the impact on players’ self-esteem and perceived social capital in the real world. To examine these influences of online video gameplay, this research investigated gamers who play the popular MMORPG, World of Warcraft (WoW). This study employed an online survey made available on Reddit, a widely-used news, entertainment, and social-networking website, in which all the content is user-generated. The research questionnaire was intended to reveal the bond between MMORPG players and their avatars; the study examined how this relationship …

Finding Common Ground: Identifying And Eilciting Metacognition In Eportfolios, Susan C. Reed, Julie Bokser, Caryn Chaden, S. Brown, M. Moore, Michelle Navarre Cleary, Eileen Seifert, Kathryn Wozniak, L. B. Zecker

College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences Faculty and Staff Works

Research has suggested ePortfolios reveal and support students’ metacognition, that is, their awareness, tracking, and evaluation of their learning over time. However, due to the wide variety of purposes and audiences for ePortfolios, it has been unclear whether there might be common criteria for identifying and assessing metacognition in ePortfolios across varied contexts. The purpose of this study was to identify evidence of metacognition across ePortfolios of three distinct populations of students: traditional-age undergraduates, graduate Education students, and adults returning to school to complete a bachelor’s degree. We set out to explore if and how ePortfolios could support these different …

Forum Magazine, Spring 2016

Forum Magazine

No abstract provided.

Forum Magazine, Summer 2016

Forum Magazine

No abstract provided.

Forum Magazine, Fall 2016

Forum Magazine

No abstract provided.

White Faces In A Black Movement: Why Their Voices Matter, Chauncey L. Alcorn

Capstones

This story follows the lives of two white activists in New York's Black Lives Matter movement. It examines the largely ignored impact white activists have had on the BLM movement and also explores the history of white activists in the abolitionist and Civil Rights movements. The climax details a highly-publicized spat between rival Black Lives Matter organizations that happened during a Dec. 4 protest to commemorate the one-year anniversary of Officer Daniel Pantaleo's non-indictment in Garner's death. My main character, a white male, was blamed for causing the rift and was asked to step down from his leadership position in …

A Phenomenological Study Of Anticipated Intimacy And Sexual Expression Needs Of Aging Male And Female Baby Boomers., Charles Shawn Oak

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to understand the phenomenon of how heterosexual Baby Boomers define and understand intimacy, sexual expression, along expectations and desires relating to their respective expressions across the lifespan through their individual experiences and reflections. A set of guiding questions were used in a hermeneutic phenomenological qualitative research design. Data was gathered from thirteen subjects (n=13) using the Rappaport Time Line (RTL) that was used to develop individualized semi-structured interviews and follow-up interviews that were professionally transcribed. These were coded to identify emergent themes. Results of the study provided insight into the phenomenon of how heterosexual …

Panic At The Drive-In: Affordance, Moral Panic, And Drive-In Theatres, Maria Chatzifilalithis

Laurier Undergraduate Journal of the Arts

No abstract provided.

Cultural Incubators And Spread Of Innovation, Enrico R. Crema, Mark W. Lake

Human Biology Open Access Pre-Prints

Several forms of social learning rely on the direct or indirect evaluation of the fitness of cultural traits. Here we argue, via a simple agent-based model, that payoff uncertainty, that is the correlation between a trait and the signal used to evaluate its fitness, plays a pivotal role in the spread of beneficial innovation. More specifically, we examine how this correlation affects the evolutionary dynamics of different forms of social learning and how each can generate divergent historical trajectories depending on the size of the sample pool. In particular, we demonstrate that social learning by copying the best model is …

A Primer On Grant Writing For Foundation Support For First-Time Grant Writers In Academic Libraries: Challenges And Opportunities, Peter L. Kraus

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

In a majority of academic disciplines, grant writing is a skill that is often self-taught or acquired informally by trial and error. Few academic disciplines have grant writing as standard part of their curriculum at the graduate level. In the past, grant writing has received little or no emphasis in traditional library education since library science faculty themselves have a poor record of pursuing external funding. Yet, grant writing is a critical skill for new and experienced librarians. For many librarians, the prospect and challenge of writing a grant can seem daunting; however, with institutional support and the support of …

7 Tips To Grow Your Rural Business With Purpose And Meaning, Connie I. Reimers-Hild, Alyssa Dye

Community Vitality Initiative

No one can predict the future; however, rural entrepreneurs and business owners can use a future-focused leadership approach, which includes examining megatrends, to shape the future of their businesses. Megatrends are global shifts that influence society, the economy and the environment. The purpose of this article is to help rural entrepreneurs discover ways to grow their businesses with Living with Purpose and Meaning Megatrend.

The Influence Of Instagram On Exercise And Eating Behavior, Bridgette Kosek

Honors Projects in Marketing

The use of social media, specifically Instagram, of 305 Bryant University students ages 18-28 was investigated through student completion of an online survey to examine how following exercise and food related Instagram accounts impacts behavior. Both male and females use Instagram fairly equally, though males are more responsive to food Instagram accounts than females, who have no significant difference in behavior. Both males and females who follow exercise Instagram accounts are significantly more active than those who do not follow exercise Instagram accounts. Given the recent explosive use of Instagram in the population, the implications for this study are enormous, …

Facebook Frets: The Role Of Social Media Use In Predicting Social And Facebook-Specific Anxiety, Lee Farquhar, Theresa Davidson

Scholarship and Professional Work - Communication

Theory suggests that Facebook users may experience anxiety due to accessibility of their self-presentations to their entire networks. This project examines the impact of Facebook use on general social anxiety and Facebook-specific anxiety. Predictors we consider include the intensity of Facebook use, role conflict experienced during Facebook use, self-monitoring activities of the user, and religiosity of the user. Findings indicate that Facebook may, indeed, be increasing anxiety. Role conflict and religiosity can also increase Facebook-specific anxiety. Self-monitoring decreases Facebook-specific anxiety but increases general social anxiety. These findings suggest that, under certain circumstances, Facebook use may lead to heightened anxiety.

Forum Magazine, Spring 2015

Forum Magazine

No abstract provided.

Forum Magazine, Summer 2015

Forum Magazine

No abstract provided.

Complete Issue, Volume 34, Issue 2

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

This is the complete issue for Volume 34, Issue 2 of the Journal of the Association for Communication Administration.

Examining Endorsement And Viewership Effects On The Source Credibility Of Youtubers, Stephanie Fred

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The growth of YouTube has resulted in the industrialization of a platform that redefines mainstream success. Success measures such as endorsements and viewership are serving as motivational factors for YouTubers. YouTubers and brands want more views, but are those motivations effecting perception? While much research has focused on the effects that YouTube has on the brand, this study focuses on the effects that the brand has on the YouTuber. It also determines whether viewership affects YouTuber perception and whether it‟s a success measure worth using. Using the constructs of the source credibility theory, this study assessed the main effect of …

Indie Rock And Mainstream Pop Are Thematically, Instrumentally, And Structurally Analogous, Sean D. Pritchard

UROP Posters

Millennials have inconsistently defined indie rock since it was thrust onto the mainstream in 2004 with the breakout success of Modest Mouse’s Float On, Franz Ferdinand’s Take Me Out, and Zach Braff’s Garden State. Indie rock is not defined by its sound, thereby disqualifying it as a pure genre. Indie rock is defined by its aesthetic qualities: anti-mainstream appeal, style, promotion, etc. Indie rock is flexibly defined person to person as they perceive it. Consumers define indie rock by its themes being implicitly anti-mainstream and a less-produced sound while producers define indie rock by a musician’s creative control over the …