How do news frames influence mass political polarization?

Communication scholars are beginning to pay more attention to the role of media in political polarization with studies on the effects of partisan media and selective exposure on polarization. However, the way media portray political reality may also cause mass political polarization. This dissertation attempts to explore how journalistic routine leads to political polarization. News media and journalists tend to focus on political conflicts between major parties rather than on issue content. Does this concerning news reporting behavior encourage the psychological processes of polarization? By linking framing effect theory with social identity and self-categorization theories, this study explores how news frames affect political polarization of audiences through party identification processes. The theories of social identity and self-categorization suggest that intergroup conflict makes group identity salient, and when group identity is salient, it becomes a basis for perception and judgment. Based on that, this dissertation empirically examined the process of [political conflict news frame à party identity salience à political polarization] by manipulating group cue and level of conflict in a news story about genetically modified foods in a 2 (group cue: political frame vs. scientific frame) × 2 (level of conflict: conflict frame vs. consensus frame) web-based experiment (N = 367). The results showed that political conflict news frame positively affected party identity salience, perceived polarization, and attitude polarization, but did not influence affective polarization. In addition, mediation tests suggested that party identity salience did mediate the effects of political conflict news frame on perceived polarization and attitude polarization. However, a mediating effect of party identity salience on affective polarization was not found. This study empirically showed that news frames can accentuate party identity salience when partisan audiences process the news story and that party identity salience is a key factor in explaining partisan audiences’ political polarization over an issue. Political conflict news frame plays an important role as a contextual/situational factor that momentarily increases people’s political identity salience, resulting in perceptual and attitudinal political polarization. Theoretical and practical implications as well as directions for future study are discussed. (Published By University of Alabama Libraries

Motivational orientation: manipulation through films of affective expression

In two studies we examined whether people can “catch” the motivations and emotions expressed by another person. In the Study 1, participants viewed three videos of an individual demonstrating fear, excitement, and neutral reactions while electromyography (EMG) was recorded. After each video, they completed a manikin task where they approached or avoided positive or negative pictures. Participants showed less corrugator activity—associated with negative emotional stimuli and negative mood state—after viewing the excitement video condition. Participants were faster to approach positive pictures after the excitement video than after the fear video. In contrast, participants were faster to approach negative pictures after the fear video than after the excitement video. In study two, participants watched the same videos and then rated their response to the positive and negative pictures used in Study 1. Here, we found that the videos consistently affected the participants to respond complimentary to the pictures. (Published By University of Alabama Libraries

Lost lightnin’: moonshine in Alabama as represented in the archaeological record

Moonshine stills are commonly discovered during archaeological surveys and excavations across the southeastern United States, where moonshine production holds historical economic importance. These sites are recorded occasionally, but little investigative research is done because of a prevailing assumption that stills can offer nothing of historical significance. The present thesis, however, seeks to demonstrate that this assumption is not correct. Alabama is an ideal state for the archaeological study of moonshine still sites. Stills are recorded in the Alabama State Site File and some preliminary investigations of moonshine were completed in the late 1970’s, thus providing a base of information to facilitate further investigation toward the goals of this these. The major objectives of this thesis include establishing a chronology and typology of stills, identifying settlement patterns, and determining land use patterns associated with still locations across Alabama. The results of this thesis reveal that moonshine stills can be sorted into types and dated, and that settlement and land use patterns are identifiable in the archaeological record. I conclude that transitions in the legal status and socioeconomic importance of moonshine production in Alabama are clearly demonstrated and can be identified in the archaeological record. This research contributes to the study of historic archaeology in Alabama, as well as the anthropological investigation of alcohol and its production and distribution. (Published By University of Alabama Libraries

The establishment of enterprise state community college: the first twenty-five years (1965-1990)

Community Colleges often fail to document their own local histories. Local leaders involved in the establishment of their local community colleges stories have not been told about their institutions. This is especially the case for the Alabama Community College System. Alabama lacks documented histories of its two- year institutions. As of today, the Alabama Community College System history consists of three written local histories: Carlton Kelly’s The History and Development of John C. Calhoun State Community College, Alta Milican’s history of Snead State Junior College and Reginald William Hall’s The History of Alexander City State Junior College: Its Beginning, Foundation and Progress, which is today Central Alabama Community College. In 1988, twenty- five years after the system was established, the system grew to include 41 two- year institutions. Members of local community colleges have the potential to write the histories of their institutions, either established or merged from the Alabama Trade School and Junior College Authority. Since 1979-2005, Alabama has merged the system from 41 institutions to 25 community colleges. Alabama has witnessed over 50 years of establishing a two- year system of junior colleges, technical colleges and community colleges. Many of these institutions will celebrate their 50TH Anniversary in 2015. They will celebrate without a history, including Enterprise State Community College (ESCC). This study will fill the void. (Published By University of Alabama Libraries

Design of a dual-expander aerospike nozzle rocket engine

The University of Alabama’s Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics Department is developing a computational dual-expander aerospike nozzle (DEAN) upper stage rocket engine to demonstrate the engine’s performance capabilities and to establish a model by which the DEAN can be built. This research expands the base model developed by the Air Force Institute of Technology to more accurately represent the physics involved in both the fluid flow and geometrical properties of the engine. The DEAN engine was modeled using NASA’s Numerical Propulsion System Simulation (NPSS) and Chemical Equilibrium with Applications (CEA) software. The methodology implemented in this research was validated by modeling the RL-10A-3-3A upper stage engine in NPSS and comparing resulting outputs with NASA’s ROCket Engine Transient Simulator (ROCETS) analysis. The DEAN uses liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen as its propellant and is being designed to produce a thrust of 30,000 [lbf] and a specific impulse of at least 465.5 [s], at an oxidizer-to-fuel ratio of 5.88, while also remaining within the size envelope of the RL-10B-2 upper stage engine. The performance and size objectives were established to meet the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Advanced Upper Stage Engine Program (AUSEP) need for an upper stage rocket engine to replace the aging RL-10 series engines that have been in production since the 1960s. Results indicate that optimal performance for the feasible solution space examined in this research occurs at an expansion ratio of 30, a throat area of 23 [in2], and a characteristic length, L*, of 90 [in]. The optimal DEAN design point was shown to achieve a thrust of more than 5,000 [lbf] greater than the RL-10B-2, a Isp of 1.8 [s] greater, and a significantly reduced size envelope. (Published By University of Alabama Libraries

On the harmonic and geometric maximal operators

In this dissertation, we attempt to characterize the boundedness of two operators over certain spaces of functions. The operators in question, the harmonic maximal operator and the geometric maximal operator, arise naturally from consideration of the paradigmatic maximal operator, the Hardy-Littlewood maximal function, and from consideration of well-known analogues of the simple arithmetic mean. In particular, we seek to improve upon earlier work by removing certain unwieldy assumptions, thus moving closer to a complete characterization of the $L^p$-boundedness of both our operators for a pair of weights. This work primarily concerns weighted norm inequalities for two operators, the harmonic maximal operator and geometric maximal operator, given either a dyadic basis or a general basis. For any basis of cubes $Q$, we define those operators as follows. The harmonic maximal operator, M_{-1}f(x)=\sup_{Q\ni x} \left(\avgQ |f|^{-1} \right)^{-1} and the geometric maximal operator M_{0}f(x)=\sup_{Q\ni x} \exp \left(\avgQ \log |f| \right) \, . We begin by considering our two operators restricted to the dyadic basis. The geometry of this basis allows us to decompose and recompose integrals of our operators taken over $\R^n$, a kind of discretization that simplifies the methods necessary for characterization. Within this framework we are able to remove the technical obstacles that lead to the unwieldy doubling conditions found in previous work. Having achieved a complete characterization in our well-behaved dyadic basis, we turn to a more difficult situation: that of a general basis. The principles necessary to treat our maximal operators in the standard basis of cubes or the dyadic basis can be abstracted further, leading to more general results that apply to a large extent to any measure regardless of its geometry. We conclude by investigating the necessary geometric theory to recover the standard basis results from our dyadic results. (Published By University of Alabama Libraries

Investigation of magnetic relaxation mechanisms and dynamic magnetic properties in thin films using ferromagnetic resonance (fmr) technique

Investigating the damping processes and the behavior of dynamic magnetic properties in ferromagnetic thin films has been an important key towards design and fabrication of different microwave and magnetic recording devices. This thesis discusses the dynamic magnetic properties and also the physics behind different relaxation mechanisms in ferromagnetic thin films using comprehensive experimental investigations by means of broadband ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) technique. In chapter one the basics of ferromagnetic resonance technique and the experimental features of the FMR setup used in this study are discussed, also the FMR data analysis is explained. Chapter two is devoted to the study of the interfacial perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) and damping parameter in Co2FeAl thin films. In chapter three broadband temperature dependent FMR measurements were carried out on Ni80Fe20/Gd thin films to investigate the behavior of ferromagnetic relaxation, and gyromagnetic ratio as the system goes through the Curie temperature of Gd. In chapter four, the ferromagnetic relaxation mechanisms in ferrites are discussed. The low loss Nikel Ferrite and Lithium ferrite single crystal, thin and ultra-thin films were characterized by detailed FMR measurements to investigate the effect of microstructural defects on the magnetization relaxation. A comprehensive study on the interlayer exchange coupling strength in Co90Fe10/Ru/ Co90Fe10 multilayers is the subject of chapter five, in which the mutual spin pumping is discussed as a recently discovered channel for relaxation in exchange coupled multilayers. (Published By University of Alabama Libraries

Thinking through transition: USAF doctrine, technology and the F-111A

The dynamic created in the USAF between technological advances and strategic bombardment doctrine dates from the earliest systematic attempts to codify air doctrine after World War I. These ideas seemed to be validated by the advent of atomic weapons and long range bombers during World War II. By the 1950s, strategic bombardment and technologically advanced aircraft had become the lens through which airmen viewed modern warfare. Airmen were generally persuaded that war was total, and would be fought with nuclear weapons, despite a growing body of evidence that the geostrategic environment had changed since World War II. This dissertation uses the F-111A as a case study to demonstrate the consistency of USAF thinking concerning doctrine and technology, which ultimately affected procurement decisions. As envisioned in 1959, the F-111A was the product of not only the latest aircraft technology available, but also a persistent preference for strategic bombardment doctrine within the USAF. Acquired as a long-range high-speed tactical nuclear fighter-bomber to counter the Soviet nuclear threat in a general war, the F-111A was sent to Southeast Asia in 1968, and again in 1972, to face an insurgent threat in a limited war. Enamored with technology, airmen believed that the F-111A, with its advanced systems, could solve the tactical problems encountered in Southeast Asia that were unforeseen in institutional doctrine. The complicated history of the F-111A serves to illustrate the pitfalls of static doctrine in an ever-changing strategic environment. This study addresses why the USAF arrived in Southeast Asia equipped for a general war in Europe, and illuminates the continuing challenge of matching technology and doctrine. (Published By University of Alabama Libraries

The need for cognition and the adoption of new technology: a study of how the elaboration likelihood impacts diffusion of innovation

The Elaboration Likelihood Model and Diffusion of Innovation are theories that describe decision-making processes. Diffusion of innovation explains the time it takes for individuals to learn about an innovation, try the innovation, and make the decision to adopt or reject it. The ELM suggests individuals use a dual process of thinking. The route to persuasion changes depending on how the person thinks. Each route targets different levels of thinking. This thesis investigates the relationship between the ELM and diffusion of innovation. (Published By University of Alabama Libraries

Shattering the illusion: an examination of underlying cognitive and affective mechanisms of self-affirmation and their influence on reducing inflated perceived competence and aggression

The goal of the current study was to examine whether the use of a value-affirmation manipulation can reduce the effects of ego threat in children with the positive illusory bias. Possible underlying cognitive and affective mechanisms of the value-affirmation task were also explored. No research, to date, has directly examined whether effects of the positive illusory bias can be decreased through intervention. Participants were 56 aggressive youth who were identified as having the positive illusory bias (overestimation of their social competence compared to teacher-report) and were randomly assigned to condition. Children in the experimental condition completed a value affirmation task while children in the control condition completed an unrelated written task. Findings from the current study did not support the proposed hypotheses. Children in the value affirmation condition did not report significantly lower social competence scores, nor did they exhibit lower levels of aggression. Notably, a significant change on self-reported behavioral competence was observed, with children in the value affirmation group reporting higher levels of behavioral competence. Additionally, children across conditions who did evidence a decrease in social competence scores reported higher levels of sadness following the negative feedback. This has important clinical implications, indicating that as children become more accurately aware of their status with peers, they may experience feelings of sadness. Targeting skill acquisition to adaptively express and regulate emotions, specifically sadness, may be indicated in the treatment of aggressive youth with the positive illusory bias. Finally, there was no evidence to suggest the cognitive and affective processes examined were active mechanisms of the value affirmation. (Published By University of Alabama Libraries