Online Activism and Connective Mourning:An Examination of the #EndSARSMemorial Protests in Nigeria

This study explores how Nigerians used social media platforms to mourn and memorialize protesters who were killed during the 2020 EndSARS protests in Nigeria. Data for this study are from tweets (N = 67,678) that were scraped from the hashtags, “#EndSARSMemorial2” and “LekkiMassacre” and online semi-structured interviews (N = 30) with digital activists in Nigeria. Results show that the most frequently tweeted words were “rest in peace,” “heroes,” “who gave the order,” and “#EndSARSMemorial2.” Five themes emerged from the interview data, and they include anger and sympathy, mourning and remembering, connecting in the shared humanity of the deceased, and pledges to be better humans and citizens. The paper shows that high centrality, high density of reciprocity, and low modularity illustrate online mourners’ ability to stimulate commonality through decentralized and loose networks that allow for solidarity building during mourning and the personalization of mourning. Evoking some aspects of crisis network effects theory, this study concludes that when collective mourning occurs, individuals have more reciprocal relationships on a dyadic level and that the network has low modularity as such a network effect occurs when there is a shock that creates uncertainty in the system.</p

Analog Tools in Digital History Classrooms: An Activity-Theory Case Study of Learning Opportunities in Digital Humanities

Digital humanities is often presented as classroom savior, a narrative that competes against the idea that technology virtually guarantees student distraction. However, these arguments are often based on advocacy and anecdote, so we lack systematic research that explores the effect of digital-humanities tools and techniques such as text mining, Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and network analysis have on learning outcomes. This study applies activity theory in a case study of a history classroom in order to understand how introducing digital-history methodology using analog tools like posters and whiteboards can improve student appropriation of history-specific disciplinary skills. The end goal is to provide clear direction for humanities instructors with varied access to technology as they seek to understand how digital humanities tools might still fit within the larger pedagogical practices of higher education classrooms and within the push toward digital methodologies in traditional humanities classrooms

Evaluation of guided visualizations and the relationships among perceived stress, differentiation of self, sense of coherence, dyadic satisfaction and quality of life

This study focused on three main areas. These areas involved (1) the relationship among perceived stress, global orientation to life and indicators of physical, psychological and dyadic relational distress, (2) the effect of a brief CBT-based relaxation/guided visualization intervention on these outcome indicators of distress, and (3) changes in physiological indicators during the intervention sessions. The study population was drawn from couples who perceived themselves as living highly stressed lifestyles. Results suggested that global orientation to life as reflected by differentiation of self inventory (DSI) and sense of coherence scale (SOCS) scale scores mediated the relationship between stress and distress. More specifically, individuals with higher DSI and SOCS scores showed lower levels of physical, psychological and relational distress related to their relatively high levels of perceived stress. Results also indicated that after the three session intervention, participants showed lower levels of perceived stress, dyadic distress, physical and psychological complaints, and higher scores on the DSI and SOCS. Monitoring of physiological parameters (breathing rate, heart rate variability and salivary cortisol) during the intervention sessions suggested relationships among controlled breathing instruction, breathing rates and heart rate variability (an indicator of sympathetic / parasympathetic nervous system balance). Clinical implications of these results within the framework of an integrated theoretical approach might suggest the use of relaxation / guided visualization techniques in conjunction with couple therapy in cases where couples report high levels of perceived stress

The Sensory and Haptic Nature of Art Therapy Materials With Young Children Ages 0-5yrs Old of Complex Trauma

This survey study with an art response aims to further understand how the sensory and haptic nature of art therapy materials can aid in healing within the therapeutic process. Specifically, it will explore young children, ages 0-5yrs old, of complex trauma and how they respond to art materials within the therapeutic process. Surveys were distributed to mental health therapists working with the 0-5 year old population in order to gather baseline information about how young children who have experienced trauma, respond to methods of interventions, including art materials. Through analysis of the participants’ survey responses and artwork, emergent themes revealed insight for further research and reinforced the importance of a consistent, nurturing caregiving relationship. These findings and themes illuminated the importance of relationship and revealed inquiries about the sensory and haptic nature of art materials being utilized for assessment in dyadic therapy with children 0-5 years old

Extending Two-Dimensional Knowledge Management System Theory with Organizational Activity Systems\u27 Workflow Dynamics

Between 2005 and 2010 and across 48 countries, including the United States, an increasing positive correlation emerged between national intellectual capital and gross domestic product per capita. The problem remains organizations operating with increasingly complex knowledge networks often lose intellectual capital resulting from ineffective knowledge management practices. The purpose of this study was to provide management opportunities to reduce intellectual capital loss. The first research question addressed how an enhanced intelligent, complex, and adaptive system (ICAS) model could clarify management\u27s understanding of organizational knowledge transfer. The second research question addressed how interdisciplinary theory could become more meaningfully infused to enhance management practices of the organization\u27s knowledge ecosystem. The nature of this study was phenomenological to gain deeper understanding of individual experiences related to knowledge flow phenomena. Data were collected from a single historical research dataset containing 11 subject interviews and analyzed using Moustakas\u27 heuristic framework. Original interviews were collected in 2012 during research within a military unit, included in this study based on theme alignment. Organizational, knowledge management, emergent systems, and cognition theories were synthesized to enhance understandings of emergent ICAS forces. Individuals create unique ICAS flow emergent force dynamics in relation to micro- and macro-meso sensemaking and sensegiving. Findings indicated individual knowledge work significantly shapes emergent ICAS flow dynamics. Collectively enhancing knowledge stewardship over time could foster positive social change by improving national welfare

AN EXAMINATION OF SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION FOR FORENSIC ENGINEERING AND FORENSIC PATHOLOGY.

Police communication sits at the unique intersection of risk communication, scientific and technical communication, and medical communication, as we see in forensic reports. In this dissertation, I examine the communicative underpinnings of forensic pathology and forensic engineering reports. I argue that there is not only an inherent link between the unpredictability of a written text and the reception of said text by both its intended and unintended audience, but also a link to the broader socio-cultural contexts. I will examine an atypical forensic pathology report (autopsy report) of George Floyd, a more standard forensic pathology report of an inmate who died of lethal injection, John Grant, and a standard forensic engineering report of a fatal collision. Using Voyant Tools, the analysis will show the link between readability index and unpredictability of a text as well as demonstrate how the surrounding, rather charged socio-cultural contexts can have an impact on the text’s underlying structure. Unpredictability will be defined as and examined as a key facet because that is how textual analysis measures a readability index. Through my analysis, building on Claude Shannon and Warren Weaver’s understanding of randomness and unpredictability as entropy in a system, I found that the higher the unpredictability (entropy) in a written communication system, the lower the readability index. Unpredictability in a text can increase noise and contribute to the loss of information in a communicative system. This is especially important as the genre of the forensic report is deeply embedded in the moral economies of police science. It is also deeply impacted by the seeming necessity to remain objective in reports that are intrinsically human centered

Using State Space Grids for Modeling Temporal Team Dynamics

We outline the potential of dynamics systems theory for researching team processes and highlight how state space grids, as a methodological application rooted in the dynamic systems perspective, can help build new knowledge about temporal team dynamics. Specifically, state space grids visualize the relationship between two categorical variables that are synchronized in time, allowing the (team) researcher to track and capture the emerging structure of social processes. In addition to being a visualization tool, state space grids offer various quantifications of the dynamic properties of the team system. These measures tap into both the content and the structure of the dynamic team system. We highlight the implications of the state space grid technique for team science and discuss research areas that could benefit most from the method. To illustrate the various opportunities of state space grids, we provide an application example based on coded team interaction data. Moreover, we provide a step-by-step tutorial for researchers interested in using the state space grid technique and provide an overview of current software options. We close with a discussion of how researchers and practitioners can use state space grids for team training and team development