Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Spartan Daily, April 25, 2023, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2023

Volume 160, Issue 35

Assessing Corporate Social Responsibility And Sustainability In The Small Businesses Of Bridgewater, Ma, Ryan Mannett

Honors Program Theses and Projects

This thesis examines the extent to which small, local businesses in Bridgewater, MA generate social value for their community by engaging in socially responsible and sustainable corporate practices. After conducting an examination of local businesses to determine those that utilize such strategies, members of the selected organizations were contacted via email and asked to participate in a survey intended to generate qualitative data relating to corporate sustainability. Factors such as community impacts, internal benefits, motivations, and communication strategies pertaining to sustainability were all evaluated. Results indicate that Bridgewater businesses practicing sustainability not only generate internal value for the organization by …

Ouachita Baptist University's Elrod Center Hosts 52nd Tiger Serve Day, Coleman Callan, Ouachita News Bureau

Press Releases

The Ben M. Elrod Center for Family & Community at Ouachita Baptist University held its 52^nd Tiger Serve Day on Saturday, April 1. More than 600 Ouachita students, faculty and staff divided into 87 teams to complete 89 service projects at homes, non-profit organizations and churches in the Arkadelphia area.

“Tiger Serve Day is a particularly humbling experience for those who serve. It is a huge part of the Ouachita tradition, and I am so glad to be a part of the team that puts the day together,” said Allie Graves, a junior community and family services major from …

Cultural Health Literacy: A Case Study Of Somali Refugee's Information-Seeking Behavior And Health Communication Praxis, Andrea Mckinnon

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This case study examines Somalian refugees who have sought health information from a trusted source and how it affected their health decision. Health literacy, the ability to find, understand, and use health information and make health decisions, is an understood barrier to achieving optimal health. Social determinants affect an individual’s ability to access and appropriately use the information for decision-making. The communication inequality theory states that health disparities occur when communication inequalities transpire across the communication continuum, and inequitable access to learning manifests within specific individuals or groups. Research data was collected using a sociodemographic and SNS use questionnaire and …

Reflections On The X Factor (Ouachita Fosters Deep Bonds, Complex Community), Felley Lawson, Office Of Communications & Marketing

Press Releases

When Ouachita turned 100, the marketing around the 1986 centennial celebration promised that the university offers The Best of Life – an audacious claim, if you think about it. As a student, though, I wouldn’t have pushed back on it. Life on campus was the best I could imagine right then, or ever.

The singular experience of attending Ouachita shaped me at my core. It afforded me an outstanding liberal arts education provided by accomplished, accessible professors who were preternaturally genius at striking the delicate balance between nurturing and challenging their students. They cared if I showed up, helped me …

Mothers’ Use Of Internal State Words With Toddlers With And Without Hearing Loss During Natural Play, Sarah D. Screnock

Honors Capstones

This study examined differences between mothers’ use of internal state words with toddlers with hearing loss and toddlers without hearing loss. Mothers’ speech to toddlers without hearing loss and mothers of toddlers with hearing loss while engaging in natural play was transcribed and analyzed using Systematic Analysis of Language Transcripts (SALT) software. Twelve toddlers with hearing loss were age matched with 12 toddlers without hearing loss and were also language matched with twelve additional toddlers without hearing loss to create three participant groups- hearing loss, age matched, and MLU matched controls. Mothers’ internal state words were identified and categorized by …

Sara (Wheeler) Mcdaniel '98 (Renovation Takes Root), Jon Merryman

Press Releases

If you’ve ever wondered why Minden, La., is called “the friendliest city in the South,” one visit with Sara McDaniel ’98 explains it all. She is genuine, friendly, humble and kind – much like others you’ll meet in this sweet, Southern town.

After teaching elementary students in Texas for 10 years, McDaniel shifted to a career that supported teachers through educational sales and consulting. During this time, she went through a difficult divorce, struggling with what was next.

After feeling the Lord leading her to return home to Louisiana in 2014, McDaniel set her sights on restoring a cottage built …

Ann (Owen) Chami '83 (Caring Builds Connection), Felley Lawson, Office Of Communications & Marketing

Press Releases

It’s often been said that you can’t kid a kidder. Ann Chami ’83 would say that you can’t kid a kid.

“Children have the unique ability to discern how adults feel about them,” said Chami, a veteran educator who serves as head of lower school at Little Rock Christian Academy. “If they know you genuinely care for them and love them, they will do anything for you.”

Chami earned a Bachelor of Science in Education degree in early childhood education from Ouachita in 1983 and spent the next 20 years teaching first, second or third grade before becoming an …

Chris Babb '99 (Instructor Of Communications And Director Of Sports Media Productions), Anna Roussel, Office Of Communications & Marketing

Press Releases

As a senior communications major at Ouachita, Chris Babb ’99 sat across the desk from his advisor, Dr. Bill Downs, and told him he might want to teach. He was not sure what was pulling him in that direction but knew his future job also would involve sports.

“Dr. Downs told me, ‘Don’t do that. Go out in the world and get some experience, and then in 20 years if something comes available, you’ll have experience and you can teach,’” Babb said. “That was in the spring of 1999. In the spring of 2019, exactly 20 years later, was when …

Courage To Engage, Brooke Zimny, Office Of Communications & Marketing

Press Releases

Ouachita prides itself in its personal approach to higher education, from the thoughtful attention prospective students receive during their college search, to the ways faculty and staff invest in students’ lives, to our commitment to tight-knit Christian community, which is built in dozens of ways for students whether they live on campus or attend classes online. During the pandemic, this level of engagement was challenged. Physical distance separated us; events, classes and residence life took new approaches.

While life over the last year slowly began to look more like the pre-pandemic world, things came into focus on campus even more …

Quantel Williams (Director Of Residence Life), Felley Lawson, Office Of Communications & Marketing

Press Releases

Hang out in Evans Student Center awhile with Quantel Williams, and it soon becomes obvious why this is his favorite place on campus.

Williams was named Ouachita’s director of residence life in June; he’s also a member of the campus police force, an adjunct professor in Christian studies and a bi-vocational pastor. Engaging with students is an important part of his work.

Before becoming Res Life director, Williams served as resident director at Tollett Hall and then O.C. Bailey Hall. He’s a student favorite among Ouachita staff. Even in a frenetic lunchtime crowd in “the stu,” they seek him out …

Why We Engage, Ben Sells

Press Releases

Contemporary higher education narratives can be negative, often deservedly so. Alternatively, Ouachita’s story is positive – in large part because of our determination to engage.

We engage students. I tell prospective students, “If you don’t want us to know your name, don’t come to Ouachita.” We intend to be a campus where students are known, cultivating a tightly-knit community, believing the personal investment of our lives in students’ lives matters. This ethos helps explain why our four-year graduation rate is almost double the state’s average. Similarly, it explains why our career outcomes rate – the percentage of our grads …

Honoring Firsts (Green-Blevins Rotunda Dedication To Ouachita's First African American Graduates), Felley Lawson, Office Of Communications & Marketing

Press Releases

Carolyn Jean Green and the late Gustine Blevins, who in 1966 became the first African American graduates in Ouachita’s history, were celebrated Nov. 12 when the Green-Blevins Rotunda was dedicated in their honor.

The community-wide service and reception brought a standing-room-only crowd of students, faculty, staff and visitors to the refurbished rotunda in McClellan Hall at 10 a.m. for a program featuring guest speakers Green and Dr. LaJuan Martin, Blevins’ son.

“I have felt like I’m truly coming home,” said Green, the first Black student to live in a Ouachita dorm and pledge a social club, options she didn’t have …

A Fake Future: The Threat Of Foreign Disinformation On The U.S. And Its Allies, Brandon M. Rubsamen

Global Tides

This paper attempts to explain the threat that foreign disinformation poses for the United States Intelligence Community and its allies. The paper examines Russian disinformation from both a historical and contemporary context and how its effect on Western democracies may only be exacerbated in light of Chinese involvement and evolving technologies. Fortunately, the paper also studies practices and strategies that the United States Intelligence Community and its allied foreign counterparts may use to respond. It is hoped that this study will help shed further light on Russian and Chinese disinformation campaigns and explain how the Intelligence Community can efficiently react.

Cybersecurity, National Security Focus Of First Gencyber Camp, Mark D. Weinstein

News Releases

Cedarville University was awarded a grant by the National Security Agency (NSA) to host its first GenCyber Cybersecurity Camp on June 26-30. Students who are interested in attending must APPLY by May 1.

Far From Home, Daniela Matta Chang

Honors Theses

Far From Home is a video documentary that focuses on International Students and their experiences of studying abroad. This documentary explores certain aspects of moving to the US for college, such as the motivation behind this significant decision, while shedding light on potential challenges that these students may encounter along their journey. Participants from different countries share their personal experiences and thoughts. Through candid interviews, they answer questions addressing a wide range of topics, including education, culture, language, social life and work opportunities. The participants in the documentary are all college students who moved to the United States specifically to …

Building Before: Community Resiliency As Emergency Management, Alexandria Rinne

Honors Theses

This project seeks to address gaps in emergency preparedness education related to tornado response. Through an examination of current research about best practices for tornado emergency management response and an examination of the needs of FEMA Regions 7 and 8, the author has identified key strategies and stakeholders to increase positive outcome through building community engagement and resiliency. Three presentations were created for delivery to key community stakeholders—local government officials; non-governmental organizations, social networks, and associations; and individual private citizens. The project offers an overview of background research and provides presentation slide decks, scripts, and discussion guides, all created with …

Humanizing Hunger: Impacts Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On Food And Healthcare Access In Northern New England, Malarie B. Mcgalliard

Food Systems Master's Project Reports

Rural communities have historically faced higher levels of food insecurity and lower healthcare access than their urban counterparts. The COVID-19 pandemic has further exacerbated the challenges of accessing adequate and equitable food and healthcare resources, especially in rural pockets of poverty. Maine and Vermont are the most rural states in the US with over 61% of both populations living in rural areas. Drawing from recent 2022 survey data collected by the National Food Access COVID Research Team (NFACT), this project will seek to contextualize the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on food and healthcare accessibility in Northern New England. The …

Can Feminism And Christianity Coexist According To 40 Christian Women?, Riley George

Liberty University Research Week

Graduate

Applied

Student Expectations Of Grace And Compassion From Faculty Based On Their Enneagram, Kate Clinton Ndikumagenge

Liberty University Research Week

Graduate

Three Minute Thesis

The Netflix Effect, Caleb Barnes

Liberty University Research Week

Undergraduate

Textual or Investigative

Cognitive Dissonance Theory: Cassian Andor's Conflicted Personal Self In Rogue One: Star Wars Story, Jennifer Berkebile

Liberty University Research Week

Undergraduate

Textual or Investigative

God And Devil Terms: Adolf Hitler's Rhetorical Impact Upon The Shifting Mindset Of The German People, Jennifer Berkebile

Liberty University Research Week

Undergraduate

Textual or Investigative

Cross-Cultural Travel: A Study Of How International Travel At A Young Age Impacts Communication Skills As An Adult, Allison Clark

Liberty University Research Week

Graduate

Applied

S8e8: How Will Ai Impact Our Lives?, Ron Lisnet, Salimeh Sekeh, Vikas Dhiman

The Maine Question

Artificial intelligence, or “AI,” is a hot topic in 2023. AI and machine learning make headlines every day, with stories ranging from the technology’s helpful capabilities, like self-driving cars, to its scariest potential — think “deep fake” videos fooling the public, or human workers being made obsolete by tools like ChatGPT.

At the University of Maine, AI is central to research and classroom activities across disciplines, from forestry and farming to sensors and satellites.

In this episode, we speak with two UMaine researchers who are at the forefront of AI research. Salimeh Sekeh is an assistant professor of computer science …

Extracting Information From Twitter Screenshots, Tarannum Zaki, Michael L. Nelson, Michele C. Weigle

Modeling, Simulation and Visualization Student Capstone Conference

Screenshots are prevalent on social media as a common approach for information sharing. Users rarely verify before sharing screenshots whether they are fake or real. Information sharing through fake screenshots can be highly responsible for misinformation and disinformation spread on social media. There are services of the live web and web archives that could be used to validate the content of a screenshot. We are going to develop a tool that would automatically provide a probability whether a screenshot is fake by using the services of the live web and web archives.

Fiscal Management: Cedarville Students Manage College Debt, Mark D. Weinstein

News Releases

Much has been made in the media about the cost of higher education. Tuition costs continue to climb, causing students to take out larger amounts of loans to pay for their education.

Spartan Daily, April 20, 2023, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2023

Volume 160, Issue 34

Ivermectin: Covid-19 "Miracle Cure?": A Case Study On Public Health Communication To Combat Disinformation, Ashley Dittmar

Honors Theses

Communicating accurate health information to the public has always been a vital role of public health professionals. This role became especially prominent in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, when public health professionals had the challenge of sharing up-to-date information about a novel coronavirus while other messages about the virus - both true and false - were being spread by other entities. This paper focuses on one case of intentionally incorrect information (disinformation) that was spread during the COVID-19 pandemic, purporting anti-parasitic drug ivermectin as a “miracle cure” for COVID-19. This case study is analyzed through the lens of the Media …

The Cowl - V. 87 N. 16 - April 20, 2023

The Cowl

The Cowl - student newspaper of Providence College. Vol. 87 No. 16 - April 20, 2023. 24 pages.