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Volume 48, 2025, Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal, Front Matter
No full textFront matter and Table of Contents for Volume 48 (2025) of the Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal
Verbal Aggressiveness and Argumentativeness in College Forensics Students
No full textRoth (2017) found competitive parliamentary debate participants score lower in verbal aggressiveness than those who have not competed in parliamentary debate. While there is some research regarding verbal aggressiveness in academic debate, there is not much in terms of individual events. This study examines verbal aggressiveness and argumentativeness in both debate and individual event college students. Results indicate debate students to have higher levels of verbal aggressiveness than IE students when trying to influence students not in forensics. Male students scored higher on verbal aggressiveness as did seniors. Conclusions about college forensics are drawn and suggestions are made for future research
Sincerely, Harriet [book review]
No full textSincerly, Harriet follows Harriet as she moves to a new city and her adventures trying to adjust to her new neighbor, her new family dynamic, and her new diagnosis
Growing Up Online: Children, Family Vlogs, and the Monetization of Childhood
No full textAs family life continues to enter and unfold on YouTube, the boundaries between intimacy, entertainment, and monetization have become strikingly blurred. This thesis examines how YouTube family vloggers construct and monetize their families through curated portrayals of authenticity, care, and morality. Using a qualitative content analysis of 100 videos from ten of the most popular YouTuber family channels of 2023, this study investigates how families and children are presented, how performances of authenticity are constructed and perceived, and how advertisements and sponsorships shape the narratives that these families produce. The analysis considers how parents act as both narrators and producers of family content, creating an image of domestic warmth and moral virtue while navigating the online commercial demands. Altogether, this research highlights how YouTube families merge faith, care, and consumerism into a cohesive brand identity that blurs the boundary between private life and public performance. By situating family vlogging into the broader discussions of digital labor, authenticity, and commercialization, this study reveals how online family content reflects and reshapes our current understanding of childhood, intimacy, and family life in the digital age
RIPPLES: An Automated Embedding Generation Algorithm for the Forward-Forward Algorithm
No full textThe Forward-Forward algorithm (FF) is yet another novel invention by Geoffrey Hinton, the creator of the famous backpropagation algorithm (BP). Since its proposal, many papers have been published exploring its potential, and good progress has been made in increasing its viability. Though FF continually falls short of BP, its purpose is not to replace BP and preliminary research shows that there is plenty of room for growth. In this paper, we present a literature review for FF algorithms applied to Convolution Neural Networks (CNN) for image classification tasks and set the stage for applying FF to more complex datasets. The proposed Ripple algorithm creates spatially distributed class representations that maintain label visibility throughout convolutional layers, addressing a key limitation in applying FF to CNN architectures. Our Ripple algorithm plays a key role in expanding the embedding space which provides the goodness function greater flexibility to fit the data. We evaluate our approach using the MNIST and CIFAR-10 datasets. Our experimental results demonstrate that the Ripples technique enables FF-trained CNNs to achieve competitive performance while maintaining the theoretical advantages of forward-only learning
Impact of Digital Courseware Use on Online Student Sense of Belonging and Potential for Building an Online Community of Inquiry
No full textThough interest in online education is rising, online programs have a lower retention rate than do in-person programs and a correspondingly higher dropout rate. One factor that drives online student retention is the degree to which students feel a sense of belonging in their online courses. As more interest in online education leads to larger course sizes and more online sections, instructors may turn to digital courseware offered by publishing companies to increase student engagement and provide formative assessment. Yet research shows little consistency in the impact of digital courseware use on course grades. The studies in this thesis explored the extent to which student belongingness and potential to build a Community of Inquiry (a framework designed to foster student connections and critical thinking) was affected by the use of digital courseware. In Study 1, students reported their level of belongingness with classmates and their faculty in a past online course. In Study 2, archival data analysis of online course syllabi posted on the internet explored the potential for each course to develop a Community of Inquiry. No hypotheses were supported; presence of courseware in an online course did not affect students’ level of belongingness with their classmates or faculty (Study 1), nor did it impact the potential to build a Community of Inquiry in online courses (Study 2). Though the hypotheses were unsupported, exploratory analyses indicate additional sites of inquiry, including the separate impacts of belongingness among classmates and faculty and the role of synchronous instruction in online courses
Effect of Exogenous Iodide Treatments After Sodium Perchlorate Exposure on Behavior and Brain Development in Zebrafish (Danio rerio)
No full textPerchlorate (ClO4-) is a ubiquitous endocrine disrupting compound that competitively inhibits iodide at the sodium-iodide symporter by blocking iodide uptake into the thyroid follicle. Limited thyroid hormone production early in development can result in altered morphologies and behavior. Two predominant models in perchlorate research have been in zebrafish (Danio rerio) and in threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus). Previous perchlorate trials in zebrafish and stickleback showed decreased swimming performance, alterations to behavior, and perchlorate-induced histopathologies at all life stages and specifically in stickleback, a decrease in breeding performance. This study aimed to determine efficacy of exogenous iodide rescues in ameliorating symptoms associated with altered behavior, swimming performance, and physiology due to perchlorate exposure. For behavior trials, chronically exposed zebrafish from fertilization with perchlorate at environmentally relevant concentrations (10ppm, 100ppm) or control water, with or without sodium iodide (70ppb). Fish were filmed with the yolk sac present (5dpf) and with yolk sac absent and actively foraging (10dpf) for analysis with Noldus EthoVision to determine activity and behavior during early development. At 90dpf, adult fish were filmed and analyzed with Noldus EthoVision again prior to swimming performance trials. Post-filmed 90dpf fish completed critical swimming performance trials to determine critical swimming velocity (Ucrit ). Fish were euthanized and fixed in formalin for histology. Adults were then analyzed for any histological abnormalities. The data from this research will provide further understanding of the mechanism of action on behavior that perchlorate has on fishes and if these effects are thyroidally mediated
From Enrollment to Graduation: How Social Support Shapes Latino Educational Trajectories in Minnesota
No full textLatino students represent the fastest-growing racial/ethnic group in the United States, yet their post-secondary completion rates remain significantly lower than those of other student populations. This study explores the educational trajectories of Latino students in Minnesota, focusing on the role of social support networks in shaping persistence and attainment. The research identifies peer and family support as the strongest predictors of Latino students\u27 confidence to graduate (p \u3c .001), underscoring the central role of close personal networks in persistence. Findings suggest that while financial and structural barriers continue to hinder success, culturally responsive support systems can positively influence degree attainment. Although centered on Minnesota, the study offers broader implications for higher education policy and practice, highlighting the importance of targeted interventions and institutional accountability in addressing equity gaps. Strengthening support for Latino students is essential to advancing educational and economic opportunity nationwide
Pregnancy & Elite Athletes: Hamby Alleges Discrimination in Suit Against the WNBA and Las Vegas Aces
Get PDFIn August of 2024, Dearica Hamby sued the WNBA and Las Vegas Aces alleging Pregnancy Discrimination under both Title VII and Nevada state law. While this case might be novel for a WNBA player, issues surrounding pregnancy and elite women\u27s sport are not. High profile cases such as Brady v. Sacred Heart in 2003, Castergine v. New York Mets in 2015, and even Allyson Felix’s contract dispute with Nike starting in 2017 (after Kara Goucher’s previous pregnancy-related contract issues) all have highlighted a need for sensible, and non-punishing, pregnancy-related policies for female athletes. The purpose of this presentation is to examine existing WNBA policies, as well as Hamby’s lawsuit, with an eye towards recommending best practices going forward
April 2025 Library & Learning Newsletter
Get PDFPDF version of the April 2025 (Volume 3, Issue 6) Library & Learning Newsletter