Sociology Commons^™

Uniting For Important Paws: The Independent Cat Society And S.H.I.N.E., Kayla Vasilko

Purdue Journal of Service-Learning and International Engagement

Homeless pets outnumber homeless people 5 to 1; only 1 in 10 animals in animal shelters are spayed or neutered; thus, organizations like the Independent Cat Society (ICS), a non-profit, cage-less, no kill cat shelter are vital community resources (Gaille, 2017). At the ICS, every cat admitted is spayed or neutered and updated on any needed medical treatment; feline overpopulation is addressed through trap, neuter, release (TNR), and additional programs to educate the public on responsible animal care practices (“About the ICS,” 2019). Through volunteerism and two Purdue Service-Learning grants, the Purdue University Northwest student organization S.H.I.N.E (students helping ignite …

Understanding Motivations Among Sustained Cooperative Extension Partners For Obesity Prevention In Rural Louisiana, Catherine R. Losavio

LSU Master's Theses

Louisiana consistently has one of the highest rates of obesity in the nation with higher concentrations of obesity in many rural parishes (i.e., counties). Due to over a century of visibility and engagement in rural communities, Cooperative Extension (Extension) is uniquely poised to reach remote rural communities disproportionately impacted by obesity. As Extension increases its use of community coalitions and implements its new National Framework for Health Equity and Well-Being, understanding motivations and communication preferences among long-term rural coalition partners for obesity prevention and health promotion has become essential for duplicating successful local-level policy, system, and environmental (PSE) changes. This …

University Media Coverage Of Rape Cases And Its Contribution To Victim Blaming, Chelsea Cheyenne Hays

Student Theses and Dissertations

In this study I focus on whether the media has any effect on victim-blaming in the universities setting. I looked particularly at Ivy league universities due to their prestige. I focus on how they handled the assault, the language used by the media for the perpetrator and the survivor. In this study the university that I studied were Duke University, Vanderbilt University, and Stanford University. I used a critical content to analysis to find emerging themes throughout national newspapers, The New York Times and USA Today. I also looked at the student newspaper for each university. My findings concluded that …

From #Stopthesteal To An Insurrection: A Fantasy Theme Analysis Of The Discourse Surrounding The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election, Guy Riggins

Student Theses and Dissertations

The focus of this thesis is to understand the ways in which Donald Trump perpetuated widespread claims of election fraud throughout the 2020 election. I use Fantasy Theme Analysis to examine connections between the rhetorical strategies of #StopTheSteal and the speech Trump gave on January 6, 2021. I argue that Trump facilitated the development and evolution of a shared rhetorical vision of a democracy under attack by perpetuating the fantasy themes of a biased media and an imminent unlawful transfer of power. I argue that the rhetorical strategies developed by #StopTheSteal were evoked during Trump’s speech at The Ellipse, which …

The Communication Discipline And Peace Education: A Valuable Intersection For Disrupting Violence In Communication Centers, Victoria Mcdermott, Cortney Smith, Amy R. May

Journal of Communication Pedagogy

Violence is a significant issue impacting the physical, mental, social, and economic health of our learning communities. For decades the discipline of peace education has explored the effects of nonphysical violence on students and educators, as well as ways to create more peaceful, less violent, and equitable educational practices. While communication frameworks have been used in peace education research, no research found has theorized the potential value of peace education for the communication discipline. Using the contextual background of communication centers, this piece seeks to disrupt steadfast norms and practices within communication centers from the perspective of peace education. We …

Full Issue, Winthrop Mcnair Research Bulletin

The Winthrop McNair Research Bulletin

Winthrop McNair Research Bulletin Volume 5, Full Issue

Familial And Community Influences On The Sports Socialization Of Black Boys: A Case Study, Timothy Smith

The Winthrop McNair Research Bulletin

From an early age, many children are engaged in or connected to various sporting activities. In a recent study, the Aspen Institute (2018) reported that 61.1% of males between the ages of six and 12 had played a team sport at least one day in 2016. Statistical data on racial differences and child involvement in sport activities is sparse. However, while the research on Black sports socialization is limited, Stodolska, Shinew, Floyd, and Walker (2014) were able to link Black sport involvement to cultural and gendered forms of socialization, which is often perpetuated through interpersonal relationships and interactions. Despite the …

Shut Up And Dribble: How Twitter Users Attempt To Mute Athlete Opinion, Monejah Black

The Winthrop McNair Research Bulletin

Professional athletes have engaged in several methods of activism to show their discontent with President Donald Trump, including forgoing the traditional White House visit for teams who win national championships. This form of protest has headlined the national media, especially since President Trump has personally uninvited players and teams through Twitter. NBA superstars, such as LeBron James, also took to Twitter to attack and criticize the president, resulting in a cascade of tweets from NBA players with disparaging remarks about the president. This research will analyze and categorize Twitter users’ replies to these tweets. Results show that most of the …

Ua68/17/1 Wku Dance: Creating | Thinking | Artists, Wku Theatre & Dance

WKU Administration Documents

Newsletter by and about the WKU Dance Program. Articles:

• Dance on the Hill
• Potter College of Arts & Letters Collaborations
• Guest Speakers: Naila Ansari, Shyama Iyer, Jill Flanders
• Guest Artists: Tyler Gilstrap
• WinterDance
• Last Chance to Dance
• National Dance Education Organization

Ua12/2/2 Talisman: Forge, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Administration Documents

Fall 2022 Talisman:

• Our Mission
• Hunter, Leah. Forge
• Coles, Jack. Fakes
• Richer, Caily. Trailblazers – Kiara Braxton-Davis, Ashley Garrett, Torales Guadalupe
• Clifton, Zachary & Audrey Plescia. Built By Discipline – Bodybuilders, Meg Boshaw, Michelle Jones
• Jones, Michelle. Healthy Fried Rice
• Booth, Pandora. A Silent Strike – Quiet Quitting
• Moore, Emily. Strawberry Sun
• Fleshman, McKenna. Humans of WKU – Sada Jewel, Alaina Webber, Michael Ballard, Amara Danturthi
• Sandlin, Ellie. Forged in Fire – Zechariah Nelson
• Price, Devon. Not Too Pretty – Women in New Roles
• Whitsitt, Ashley. Ghost in Training
• Meyers, Jeffrey. Identity in Ink – Tattoos
• Hunter, Leah. After the …

Ua3/10 President's Messages - Fall Semester, Wku President's Office - Caboni

WKU Administration Documents

President's Message emails sent by Timothy Caboni to faculty & staff during fall semester, 2022.

• Budget Executive Committee
• College Heights Foundation
• Commencement
• Commencement Traffic
• Compensation Analysis
• Convocation
• Homecoming
• MASTER Plan
• Parent & Family Weekend
• Regional Campuses
• Semester Kickoff
• Summer at WKU

Ua19/16/2 Women's Basketball Press Releases, Wku Athletic Media Relations

WKU Administration Documents

Press releases, photos and game statistics for WKU women's basketball team from August to December 2022.

Ua19/16/2 Basketball Press Releases, Wku Athletic Media Relations

WKU Administration Documents

Press releases, photos and game statistics for WKU men's basketball team from August to December 2022.

The Rinpoche Sent Me A Friend Request: The Roles And Perceptions Of Social Media In Buddhist Religious Life, Solveigh Barney

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

When I first heard about His Eminence the 8th Chokyong Palga Rinpoche, I didn’t expect to find an Instagram page consisting of gym pics and sunglass selfies. As I kept scrolling through Instagram, I soon found out that Palga Rinpoche is not alone in this influencer-like social media façade; he is a part of a younger generation of Buddhist monastics who are trying to be what some call monkfluencers. These monastics are growing up in the digital world of social media, making it more accessible to share with the outside world the #monklife. My goal is to investigate the relationship …

Abandonados Por Los Estados Unidos: Migrantes Venezolanos Llenan Los Vacíos En La Comunicación De La Política Migratoria, Ingrid Piña

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

El 12 de octubre de 2022, los Estados Unidos (los EE. UU.) cambió la política migratoria respecto a los inmigrantes venezolanos, sin previo aviso. “El nuevo proceso de control migratorio” extendió a los venezolanos la orden de salud pública debido al COVID-19, “Título 42,” que expulsa migrantes por cruzar la frontera y niega el derecho humano de solicitar asilo, y el programa humanitario“Uniting for Ukraine” por cuál han entrado refugiados de Ucrania desde abril de 2022. Efectivo inmediatamente, la nueva política puso en riesgo a los migrantes venezolanos ya en camino a los EE. UU. Entre los migrantes recientemente expulsados …

A Mixed Methodological Examination Of Older Adults’ Psychological Reactance Toward Caregiving Messages From Their Adult Children, Hannah Ball, Keith Weber, Alan K. Goodboy, Christine E. Kunkle, Christa L. Lilly, Scott A. Myers

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

This study extends psychological reactance theory (PRT) to family caregiving by exploring autonomy-threatening messages adult child caregivers use to gain compliance from older adult parents. Results of focus groups and interviews with older adult care recipients (Study One) and caregivers (Study Two) corroborated three types of autonomy-threatening messages, which were used to test PRT (Study Three). Older adults (N = 281) were randomly assigned a caregiving message and answered reactance-related survey questions. Results supported serial mediation: relative to an autonomy-supporting message, two types of autonomy-threatening messages (i.e., offering directives, expressing doubt) triggered greater freedom threat, which amplified reactance. In …

Development And Pretesting Of Prescription Opioid Misuse Prevention Messages: Results And Implications For Practice, Holli H. Seitz, Mary Nelson Robertson, Je'kylynn Steen, Sarah G. Dulaney, David R. Buys

Publications

Well-designed health communication campaigns can contribute to the uptake of preventive behaviors, but there has been a lack of attention on using communication research to develop opioid misuse prevention messages. We report the results of two studies designed to inform the development of prescription opioid misuse prevention messages for adults ages 30–59. In Study 1, 16 adults across 4 counties participated in semi-structured interviews to provide input on message concepts addressing six key prescription opioid misuse prevention behaviors. In Study 2, 1,335 adults completed an online, survey-based between-subjects experiment in which participants were randomized to a no message control condition …

The Great Resignation Among Restaurant Workers: A Content Analysis Of News Sources’ Portrayals Of The Covid-19 Labor Shortage, Mackenzie M. Williams

The Cardinal Edge

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 …

Mass Tourism And The Arctic: The Impacts Of Globalization On Peripheral Communities, Talor Stone

Green Humanities: A Journal of Ecological Thought in Literature, Philosophy & the Arts

[First paragraph of Introduction] In the last 20 years, the number of tourists venturing into remote parts of the Arctic has increased dramatically. This rapid growth has shifted the region from a niche expedition destination reserved for hardy explorers to a popular bucket list item luring tourists with the promise of an exotic adventure to be experienced en masse. Although the phenomenon of mass tourism in the Arctic is relatively new, it fits into broader themes of globalization in which today far more people are aware of distant places, interested in global travel, and are able to afford both the …

Contemporary Art Exhibitions As Places Of Learning About Reflexive Food System Localization, Andrew Bieler

Green Humanities: A Journal of Ecological Thought in Literature, Philosophy & the Arts

[From first paragraph] This paper describes the role of socially engaged art practices in opening up our pedagogical imaginations to foster reflexive and creative approaches to building the local food movement. These contemporary artistic engagements with local food or ‘food system localization’ are in the genre of what has been called social practice artwork or, in other words, art practices that focus less on the production of a singular aesthetic object and more on the relational and experiential aspects of participatory interaction in a creative process (e.g., Kester; Finkerpearl). In this context, I examine social practice artworks that create experimental …

Teaching Qualitative Research Methods In Media And Communication: The Benefits And Limitations Of Digital Learning Objects, Delia Dumitrica, Paulina Jarmula

The Qualitative Report

Teaching qualitative research is often hampered by student uncertainties around how to apply methodological knowledge in practice. Digital learning objects (DLOs) may offer a solution to this problem, although they also come with limitations. This study assessed the student perspective on the strengths and limitations of six qualitative analysis DLOs in the field of media and communication. Drawing from a thematic analysis of 527 written student reflections on the use of these DLOs in learning practices, this paper found that DLOs were helpful in clearing doubts and cementing knowledge. Furthermore, they motivated students by increasing self-regulation and by providing a …

Volume 5, Issue 1 (2022) Migration, Community, And Environment During A Pandemic

International Journal on Responsibility

No abstract provided.

Literaturas En Exhibición: Autores-Show Y Posturas Precarias En El Siglo Xxi Hispanoamericano Neoliberal, Sara Cordon Hornillos

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The consolidation of neoliberalism, the demands of the market, the importance of the image, the possibilities offered by social media, and the ways celebrity is constructed not only favor but also demand the exhibition of the artist.

This dissertation examines for the first time how twenty-first-century Latin American and Spanish authors with sexual, ethnic, gender, or class identities traditionally excluded from the realm of literary distinction employ self-exhibition to engage with the public, thus redrawing the limits of literature. Reflecting critically on the commodification and manipulation of the contemporary authorial figure, as well as the possibilities of agency that certain …

Analyzing Fluctuation Of Topics And Public Sentiment Through Social Media Data, Haoyue Liu

Dissertations

Over the past decade years, Internet users were expending rapidly in the world. They form various online social networks through such Internet platforms as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. These platforms provide a fast way that helps their users receive and disseminate information and express personal opinions in virtual space. When dealing with massive and chaotic social media data, how to accurately determine what events or concepts users are discussing is an interesting and important problem.

This dissertation work mainly consists of two parts. First, this research pays attention to mining the hidden topics and user interest trend by analyzing real-world …

Spectral Analysis Of Multiscale Cultural Traits On Twitter, Chandler Squires, Nikhil Kunapuli, Yaneer Bar-Yam, Alfredo Morales

Northeast Journal of Complex Systems (NEJCS)

Understanding and mapping the emergence and boundaries of cultural areas is a challenge for social sciences. In this paper, we present a method for analyzing the cultural composition of regions via Twitter hashtags. Cultures can be described as distinct combination of traits which we capture via principal component analysis (PCA). We investigate the top 8 PCA components of an area including France, Spain, and Portugal, in terms of the geographic distribution of their hashtag composition. We also discuss relationships between components and the insights those relationships can provide into the structure of a cultural space. Finally, we compare the spatial …

The #Metoo Movement: The Interaction Of Disclosing Online And Receiving Support, Elizabeth Brooke Wilson

Student Theses and Dissertations

Research shows the prevalent psychological consequences that follow experiencing sexual trauma, so it is important to seek interventions that decrease those psychological consequences. The current study assessed change in levels of depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after disclosing online and reading #MeToo tweets. Participants consisted of 121 college students who were grouped by history or no history of sexual assault. Initial levels of depression, anxiety, and PTSD were assessed. Then, participants were asked to either disclose their sexual assault or trivial characteristics of their shoes. Afterwards, participants read tweets from the #MeToo movement or neutral tweets. Three days …

Weathering The Storm: Navigating Urban Ecologies Of Communication In Times Of Crisis, Austin Hestdalen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This project explores cities as urban ecologies of communication in which crises emerge and are given significance within the dialogic relations cultivated among public actors attempting to make a living, together, within the shared historical-cultural contexts of everyday life. To describe cities as urban ecologies of communication is to describe them in terms of urban communication and its interdisciplinary foundations in the study of rhetoric, philosophy, planning, policy, architecture, sociology, geography, and media. The first chapter introduces the challenges of urban risk and crisis management within the complex ecologies of communication constituted by cities and reviews how ‘risk’ and ‘crisis’ …

Multivocality As Practice Of Critical Inquiry For Social Justice, Cesar Cisneros

The Qualitative Report

Multivocality has been clearly and in detail present in social science reflection since the impact of the so-called linguistic turn and nowadays it has also presence in the qualitative inquiry current discussion. To explore how multivocality can be a practice of qualitative inquiry for social justice is the goal of this contribution. It is a global picture of epistemic violence that has subjugated knowledge and practices along with executing genocides and exterminations of otherness to build societies without social, epistemic, and cognitive justice that my goal is to unveil the horizon of modern social sciences to get a better understanding …

“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 …

The Belt And Road Initiative Policy: How Chinese Policy Influences Southeast Asia And South Asia, Chendong Wang

Sustainability and Social Justice

This article would be divided into two main parts. In the first part, this article introduces what is the BRI policy and the history of the BRI policy. The BRI policy is a Chinese strategy and network to connect with Chinese partners and potential partners through economic, political, and cultural three perspectives. In the second part, this article describes the BRI policy development and the response from Chinese neighboring countries which mainly include the Southeast and South Asian Countries. Southeast Asian nations and south Asian nations would first be directly impacted by politics, the economy, and culture. Southeast Asian countries …