Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Ethnicity in Communication Commons^™

Measuring Classroom Engagement By Comparing Instructor Expectations With Students’ Perceptions, Paul Savory, Amy Goodburn, Jody Koenig Kellas

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

Even instructors who can demonstrate student success in their courses can be challenged to document which practices are most effective in engaging student learning. National surveys designed to assess student engagement do not provide individual faculty with information that can help them assess their individual teaching efforts. This paper highlights a survey designed to help individual faculty members learn about their students and provides a comparison of instructors’ expectations with students’ perceptions. This paper illustrates the value of such a survey through an extended example of the insights that an instructor gained by using it in her course.

Genesis In Hyperreality: Legitimizing Disingenuous Controversy At The Creation Museum, Casey Ryan Kelly, Kristen E. Hoerl

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

This essay analyzes the argumentative structure of the “Answers in Genesis” ministry’s Creation Museum in Petersburg, Kentucky. Founded by a $27 million grant, the 70,000-square-foot museum appropriates the stylistic and authoritative signifiers of natural history museums, complete with technically proficient hyperreal displays and modern curatorial techniques. In this essay, we argue that the museum provides a culturally authoritative space in which Young Earth Creationists can visually craft the appearance that there is an ongoing scientific controversy over matters long settled in the scientific community (evolution), or what scholars call a disingenuous or manufactured controversy. We analyze the displays and layout …

Public Relations In Kenya: An Exploration Of Models And Cultural Influences, Dane M. Kiambi, Marjorie Keeshan Nadler

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Faculty Publications

This pioneer study explores the public relations models that inform the practice of public relations in Kenya, and the cultural values that influence this practice. Results show the personal influence model as the most used by practitioners in Kenya, while individualism is the most experienced cultural value. The strong correlation between personal influence model and Hofstede’s cultural value of femininity points to the practitioners’ strong desire for good interpersonal relationships with colleagues, supervisors, clients and key publics.

The Gendered Body In Virtual Space : Sexuality, Performance And Play In Four Second Life Spaces, Judith Elund

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This work is principally an investigation into visual and screen culture, using four specific regions of the three-dimensional virtual world of ‘Second Life’ as case studies. The analysis follows a thematic application of discourse analysis as a basis for critiquing Western screen culture, most importantly the cultural and social conditions that replicate dominant paradigms of power and agency. Of particular pertinence to this study are the framing, representational and spatial practices of gendered and sexual identities within ‘Second Life’ spaces. As is typical of the internet, sexual freedom is a given, yet representational performance (how one appears through their embodied …

Military Women A Content Analysis Of United States And United Kingdom Newspapers Portrayal During The Iraq War., Audra Jaclyn Fritz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to determine how the tone and roles of women serving in the Iraq War were portrayed in newspaper articles. Issues of how women in the military were portrayed in terms of page and story prominence were also of importance.

A content analysis was conducted in order to determine the tone, roles, story, and page placement of newspaper articles published in the United States and the United Kingdom over a 7-year time period. Newspaper articles related to the topic were retrieved from the LexisNexis database and analyzed.

The results showed that mentions of military women …

Fathers And Their Views On Discussing Sex And Sexuality With Their Daughters, Kindann M. Stone

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research project was to identify characteristics and perceptions of fathers associated with discussions about sex and sexuality with their daughters. Parental communication, education, and value sharing reduces the risk of STD's and teen pregnancy. Participants were fathers (N=108) who were recruited by their daughters who were attending a Southeastern University. Demographics were utilized and researcher developed modified scales used in previous studies (citation). The newly developed scales were the Sexual Knowledge Inventory (SKI), Value of Self-Efficacy of Sexuality Communication (VSESC), Safe Sex of Self Efficacy of Sexuality Communication (SSSESC), Father's Role as Sex Educators Outcome Expectancy …

Alone In The Trenches: An Evening With Esera Tuaolo Event Flyer 2011, Joseph A. Santiago, Keith Labelle

Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer Center

Come hear Esera Tuaolo's searing story of terror and hope on Monday, November 28, 2011 at 7:30 PM in Edwards Hall Auditorium. Tuaolo, a Samoan raised on a Hawaiian banana plantation, had a natural talent, football. He went on to play for five NFL teams: the Green Bay Packers, the Minnesota Vikings, the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Carolina Panthers, and the Atlanta Falcons in the 1999 Super Bowl. But for the nine years he played professional football he lived in terror that when his face flashed upon the TV screen, someone would divulge his darkest secret. Esera Tuaolo is gay. …

Gender Roles And Their Influence On Life Prospects For Women In Urban Karachi, Pakistan: A Qualitative Study, Tazeen S. Ali, Gunilla Krantz, Raisa Gul, Nargis Asad, Eva Johansson, Ingrid Mogren

School of Nursing & Midwifery

BACKGROUND: Pakistan is a patriarchal society where men are the primary authority figures and women are subordinate. This has serious implications on women's and men's life prospects.
OBJECTIVE: The aim was to explore current gender roles in urban Pakistan, how these are reproduced and maintained and influence men's and women's life circumstances.
DESIGN: Five focus group discussions were conducted, including 28 women representing employed, unemployed, educated and uneducated women from different socio-economic strata. Manifest and latent content analyses were applied.
FINDINGS: TWO MAJOR THEMES EMERGED DURING ANALYSIS: 'Reiteration of gender roles' and 'Agents of change'. The first theme included perceptions …

Uri Glbt Center Halloween Party Flyer 2011, Joseph A. Santiago

Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer Center

This post contains the URI GLBT Center Halloween Party Flyer for 2011.

Uri Lgbtq Community To Screen It Gets Better At Uri: Coming Out For Change Video 2011, Joseph A. Santiago

Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer Center

This is the press release for the It Gets Better At URI: Coming Out for Change video screening in 2011.

Diversity Week 2011 - The Lgbt Community In The Workplace: Status Of Legal And Organizational Policies, Joseph A. Santiago, Multicultural Center

Multicultural Student Services Center

The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Community in the Workplace: The Current Status of Legal and Organizational Policies. Atty. Martha Holt, Privacy and Security Officer, Blue Cross and Blue Shield; Bryan Schneidmuller, Manager, Human Resources, Raytheon; and Joe Santiago, Coordinator, LGBT Programs and Services. Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people (LGBT) face many challenges in having their sexual orientation respected in the workplace. Although President Bill Clinton, in 1998, issued Executive Order 13087, prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation for most civilian workers in the federal legislation, protecting LGBT workers has not been successfully enacted by the U.S. Congress. The …

What Is The Impact Of Gender-Responsive Treatment On Women Offenders?, Melody N. Joiner

Professional Projects

This study uses research literature and results from a qualitative project to discuss how gender-responsive programming would be beneficial to women offenders, both while incarcerated and upon returning to the community. Research proves that women offenders are different from their male counterparts regarding life factors and pathways to crime. The literature identifies how female criminality is heavily influenced by the life circumstances and experiences of women offenders. Recent studies stress the importance of considering the demographics and history of the female offender population, as well as how life factors impact women’s patterns of offending. Most women in the criminal justice …

Blood-Speak: Ward Churchill And The Racialization Of American Indian Identity, Casey Ryan Kelly

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

After publishing a controversial essay on 9/11, Professor Ward Churchill’s scholarship and personal identity were subjected to a hostile public investigation. Evidence that Churchill had invented his American Indian identity created vehemence among many professors and tribal leaders who dismissed Churchill because he was not a “real Indian.” This essay examines the discourses of racial authenticity employed to distance Churchill from tribal communities and American Indian scholarship. Responses to Churchill’s academic and ethnic self-identification have retrenched a racialized definition of tribal identity defined by a narrow concept of blood. Employing what I term blood-speak, Churchill’s opponents harness a biological concept …

Lgbt 101: Liaisons & Safe Spaces 15 Min Trainer Booklet 2011, Joseph A. Santiago

Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer Center

LGBT 101: Liaisons & Safe Spaces 15 Min Trainer Booklet was designed to be a short introduction to LGBT trainings that could be used at orientation or in hall meetings.

Lgbt 101: Liaisons & Safe Spaces 60 Min Trainer Booklet 2011, Joseph A. Santiago

Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer Center

LGBT 101: Liaisons & Safe Spaces 60 Min Trainer Booklet was designed to be a introduction to LGBT trainings that could be used at breakout sessions for orientation, RA trainings, or in hall meetings.

What Are Microaggressions? 2011, Joseph A. Santiago, Justin Willner

Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer Center

What Are Microaggressions? 2011; Joseph A Santiago and URI; Microaggressions are the subtle ways in which body and verbal language convey oppressive ideology about power or privilege against marginalized identities. To put it simply, it is the way that people act differently in subtle ways around people that make them feel uncomfortable.; What are some examples of microaggressions and how do I spot one?; When a racist person walks on the other side of the road when someone of a difference race is coming towards them. – When an LGBT organization has a booth at an event and people keep …

Navigating Socio-Spatial Difference, Constructing Counter-Space: Insights From Transnational Feminist Praxis, Sarah E. Dempsey, Patricia S. Parker, Kathleen J. Krone

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

In recent years, feminist activists have increasingly transnationalized their struggle against local forms of oppression. Our study explores the contentious nature of feminist transnationalism, asking how transnational feminist networks (TFNs) navigate socio-spatial inequalities within their own practices and as a wider social movement. We argue that: (1) TFNs make socio-spatial differences meaningful in part through their constructions of regional, international, and trans-local imaginaries; and (2) TFNs construct resistant feminist counter-spaces through dialogue and strategies aimed at destabilizing dominant structures. Our findings highlight the central role of spatial praxis within transnational feminism.

Lgbt 101 And Safe Spaces Program 2011, Joseph A. Santiago

Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Queer Center

LGBT 101 and Safe Spaces Program was what Joseph Santiago put together to train the RAs in 2011. The LGBT 101 and Safe Spaces Program was designed to be become a train the trainer program here at URI. Purpose LGBT 101 information is part of a program to create a safer and more receptive campus and work place environment for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and/or questioning people through education and ally development. It is modeled after similar programs at colleges and universities throughout the United States. This short introduction to LGBT 101 and introduction to SafeSpace training will begin to …

How To Be The Best At Everything: The Gendering And Embodiment Of Girl/Boy Advice, Barbara Lesavoy

Journal of Interdisciplinary Feminist Thought

This paper explores the binary divide packaged under the children’s How be the Best at Everything (2007) girl/boy advice books. Postmodern and materialist feminist thought as a lens into media-infused social and class reproduction provide a theoretical framework in interrogating this gender binary. I argue that that the books, as heteronormative nostalgia, operationalize a theory I term “gender retraction,” a phenomenon in which the vast knowledge that informs our identity spectrum propels us into a cultural time warp, where, with an array of socially inscribed possibilities, the binary clarity of age old girl/boy categories has resurging appeal The paper exposes …

Women As Consumers Of Reproductive Technology: Media Representation Versus Reality, Shirley Shalev, Dafna Lemish

Journal of Interdisciplinary Feminist Thought

In light of the growing role of media as a central source of health information, this article evaluates the contribution of television representations to the dissemination of information and social conceptions of women regarding new reproductive practices. The study reported here examined a case study of media representations of surrogacy in a popular television series in Israel, entitled A Touch of Happiness, which has been broadcast repeatedly over the last decade. The analysis compared the televised content with the legal framework and social reality of surrogacy, and found major discrepancies between the two. Thus, this study demonstrates the role media …