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Bias, Politics, and Identity in the News and YouTube
Get PDFRecently, with the rise of technology, there has been a generational shift regarding where people get their news, from television to social media. The implications of this shift are relevant to the fields of Rhetoric, Communication, and Media Studies and have impacts on even broader audiences. This research paper focuses on how political media bias, the shift of television news media to social media, and YouTube, specifically, have impacted or could impact audience identity, power relations, and the genre of news itself. Drawing upon the theoretical lenses of genre theory, political communication, naïve realism and the analytical frameworks of power and identity, this study analyzes four news channels, two television stations and two YouTube channels, to determine ways that they portray their bias. Following this analysis, the paper concludes with a discussion of the ethics of polarization and social media and how the shift of television to social media relates to political identities and what that means, ethically, for the future of the news genre, communication, and polarization
*WINNER* The Mirrored Self: Fragmented Narrative in Tim O’Brien’s In the Lake of the Woods
No full textMy paper explores Tim O’Brien’s In the Lake of the Woods as a text that divulges the effects of trauma on personal narratives. Rather than simply telling the story of a man broken by the tragedy of the Vietnam war, O’Brien crafts a text that reveals one man’s creation of self and how various traumas work to untether him from that self and reality at large. O’Brien employees the use of mirrors and narrativization to underscore the importance of narrative in creating our identities. I argue that O’Brien shows how such narration, made unstable by trauma, can collapse and leave a traumatized individual with no way to discern between fiction and reality. Furthermore, I explore how the failure to integrate stories of trauma into an individual’s narrative creates fractures in their identity and stunts recovery. This type of reading envisions a new way of interpreting the impact of trauma on affected individuals by offering a fresh perspective on how the self is created and maintained through narrative.I wrote this paper for my undergraduate Topics in American Literature: Trauma and the Nation class. I presented this paper at the 30th Annual Mardi Gras Conference at Louisiana State University in February 2020. I received a CAS Graduate Student Travel Fund grant to attend this conference
The Impact of AS 3101 and CAMs on Audit Fees
No full textAuditor's Reports have often been perceived as a necessity of compliance with little intrinsic value to a company. Beginning in 2019, the goal of Auditing Standard 3101 includes enhancing transparency about the audit process by including the disclosure of Critical Audit Matters (CAMs) in the Auditor's Report. Billed as one of the biggest changes to hit the Auditor's Report in over seventy years, CAMs are explanatory paragraphs about the audit process that relates to accounts or disclosures that are 1) material to the financial statements and 2) involved especially challenging, subjective, or complex auditor judgment. The hope is that CAM disclosure will provide clarity and powerful signals of the financial performance of companies. Does it come at an additional cost? We examine the cost of providing this information. Using established models, we investigate the impact of five categories of CAMs (Revenue Recognition, Allowance for Credit Accounts, Acquisitions, Liabilities & Goodwill) on Audit Fees. We find evidence that the number of CAMs included in an Audit Report is significantly associated with a higher Audit Fee. Throughout this process, we use several dependent variables to test the impact on the Audit Fees. Some of these variables were: Auditor size, Auditor Tenure, Revenue Size, and Assets. Multiple regression analyses were run to test if the CAM had an impact on the Audit Fee. Furthermore, we found these variables to be individually significant with the Audit Fee Model
Sustainability in Rural Areas
Get PDFThe very infrastructure of rural America is inherently unsustainable. However, there are ways to make everyday life more sustainable in these small towns through recycling, sustainable energy sources, and community involvement. The key is that local governments have to create an incentive to make people want to lead more sustainable lives while making sustainability attainable. According to environmental sustainability experts, the goal would be to create rural areas with a zero waste system. While this may be difficult to achieve, it is not impossible. If local governments implemented accessible public transportation, encouraged sustainable waste practices such as recycling, started take-back plans, and repurposed old buildings with energy efficient utilities, it could create a whole new stream of revenue for the area while saving the local towns and citizens tax money. This all begins with a six step plan for community mobilization with six types of capital: cultural, social, human, economic, physical, and natural. The purpose would be to make improved and sustainable rural areas that benefit the environment and quality of life of those who inhabit them
The Effects of Domestic Violence on Children
No full textWhat is the correlation between domestic violence and children's development? Witnessing domestic violence leads children to have a variety of age-dependent negative effects. The objective of this research is to determine the negative effects of domestic violence on children. Case studies would be the most beneficial method of research. Most studies that have been conducted on domestic violence do not consider the effects on secondary victims, such as children, this project explores the effects on secondary victims. Researchers looked at a range of age groups, to gain an accurate representation of the developmental effects on each age group. The findings showed us that children who witness domestic violence in the home are more likely to exhibit similar psychological effects. Children who experience domestic violence are at a greater risk for negative internalized and externalized behaviors. Research also revealed that there are several variables that can provide some prevention strategies in order to try to minimize the negative effects that come along with witnessing domestic violence. In this presentation, I will be sharing information on the differences between the age groups, and providing examples of some possible regressions that are associated with each age group. I will also be sharing information on the resilience in children, to discuss the possible positive outcomes that can occur if the proper help is given to the child. This synthesis clearly indicates that the research that was conducted proves that there are developmental issues that can be directly related to witnessing domestic violence
Construction of Potentiostat for Educational Lab Use
No full textAnalytical equipment for electrochemistry is extremely expensive and not always accessible, to not only higher education campuses, but especially secondary education. In order to make electrochemistry education more available at all levels, a homemade potentiostat has been developed to accomplish this. Literature shows that construction of a DStat potentiostat by undergraduates can be accomplished for under $100. The goal of this research is test if this procedure is achievable in an undergraduate setting. Individual parts for the circuit board were obtained and used for construction. The containment area for the board was 3D printed using CAD schematics. The Dstat was designed to be computer compatible via USB. The benefits of a project like this can be a deeper understanding of electrochemistry instrumentation and principles in basic electrochemistry. It can also broaden student knowledge in circuit boards, schematics, and other construction techniques. Once construction is completed, a sample experiment will be run comparing the professionally constructed equipment to the DStat. The sample experiment will determine the amount of acetaminophen in children’s medicine. A calibration curve will be constructed from known amounts of stock solution to compare against an unknown. The accuracy and precision from both procedures on each respective instrument can be compared
Cohesion in Blended Families with a Blended Concept for Clinical Practice
No full textThe blended family has become increasingly prevalent in our society. It has transitioned from an alternative family type to one of common occurrence. A review of pertinent literature has been assembled to examine the conditions that are conducive to the cohesion of blended families. Two types of models for understanding blended family formation are considered as a prelude to a discussion of the various trajectories blended family formation can take. The review is synthesized by combining a research methodology with counseling theory for a conceptualized clinical practice approach. The fusion of ethnographic interviewing with structural family therapy represents a means of integrating research and theory into clinical practice. The result allows for the application of two approaches simultaneously for support of clinical work with blended families or other populations as well.
KEYWORDS: blended families, trajectories of blended family development, ethnography, structural family therap
*WINNER* What is the Relationship Between Balance and Core Strength?
No full textBalance is a key factor in sports rehabilitation, training, and performance. It has been suggested that strengthening the core muscles may improve balance. Studies have reported (Ambegaonkar et al., 2014; Kahle & Gribble, 2009) that core strength may be related to balance; however, other studies (Gordon et al., 2013; Ozmen, 2016) have stated that further research is needed to determine the correlation. The purpose of the study was to determine if there was a relationship between balance and core strength. Twenty-one Tennessee Tech Exercise Science students were selected to participate, with ages ranging from 20 to 25 years old; additionally, seven Division 1 athletes were included in our sample. All participants performed a modified version of the Star Excursion Balance Test (SEBT), a functional screening tool to assess balance, in addition to the McGill’s Lateral Musculature Plank Test, which evaluates the strength of the core muscles essential to stabilizing the back. The authors hypothesized that there would be a positive correlation between balance and core strength, and our results justified that by showing an r-value of 0.33, which was positive and weak. The r-value of 0.33 was not significant at alpha = .05. While further research should be conducted with a larger sample size to determine what other factor(s) provide a higher degree of explanatory value, our findings will benefit individuals or sports professionals, such as coaches or rehabilitation therapists, who are looking for more information about how balance relates to core strength
Photocatalytic Degradation of Acetaminophen in Water Via Ultraviolet Radiation and Titanium Dioxide Thin Films
Get PDFTraditional Waste Water Treatment Plants (WWTP) have not been designed to handle pharmaceutical-based contaminants and, therefore, cannot completely eliminate drugs residues. As a result, pharmaceutical metabolites can be found in ground water, surface water and in drinking water in low concentrations. The application of titanium dioxide (TiO2) photocatalysis, for water purification, is widespread technique due to it is chemically inert, cost-effective, non-toxic, and environmentally friendly. In this contribution, transparent, anatase-form TiO2 thin films were prepared via the sol-gel method and deposited onto glass microscope slides, using a novel spraying technique, with coatings ranging from one to ten. Furthermore, characterization of the coated TiO2 thin film slides was performed by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and x-ray diffraction (XRD). The slides were used to determine the photocatalytic degradation rate of acetaminophen with different pH ranges (acidic, basic and neutral), different contaminant concentration, and different slides conditions. It was observed that over a period of 90- minute intervals the increase in number of thin film slides displayed a considerable increase in the degradation rate due to the increase in surface area, that helps to form more active sites. However, these results are sensitivity to the pH of the media with the neutral one being the most favorable for the degradation. The global reaction rate constants for both four and six thin film glass slides increase with the increases in the coating layers. Key results with systematic statistically analysis and concluding remarks will be presented. Finally, suggestions for future work will be offered