Quantifying and Typifying Image Use in Television News Coverage of Mass Shootings

Increasing research supports the presence of a contagion effect among mass shootings, wherein extensive media coverage of mass shootings may inspire future mass shooters, many of whom view this coverage as a form of reward. Furthermore, two awareness campaigns–one from the private sector and one from law enforcement–have advocated against naming and depicting the shooter in media coverage of mass shootings. This study is theoretically grounded in second-level agenda-setting as the basis for a content analysis of three days of television news coverage of two mass shootings in the United States (one in El Paso, Texas and one in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) across six channels. News segments were coded for how often they depicted the shooter, first responders, victims (those in the facility during the shooting who survived the event), deceased, and the shooter’s manifesto. Segments were also coded for whether they contained graphic imagery and whether they depicted dead bodies. The results of this analysis show that while the shooter was the least frequently depicted of the individuals coded, mentions of the shooter reached a mean of 8 depictions per segment. Findings on graphic image use suggest that in the shooting where use of graphic imagery is high (El Paso), it was significantly higher on the first two days of coverage than on the third

Great expectations – A Finnish perspective on international students’ choice of university-level craft courses

University students have different motives and expectations when it comes to going on exchange and taking university courses in another country. Similarly, different motives and requirements impact course choices. Some exchange students who come to Finland choose to participate in craft courses. Craft as a school subject can be a new and foreign experience for many of them. The aim of this study is to investigate international students’ rationales for taking craft courses during their university studies in Finland. It also focuses on what kinds of expectations they have from a craft course and how they are met. This was a qualitative study. Data was collected through questionnaires at the beginning (n=26) and end (n=15) of a craft course in which both international students and Finnish students had enrolled. Only international students’ answers were reported. Students answered open-ended questions about why they chose the course and their expectations from the course. At the end of the course, they were asked how it met their expectations. Themes for motives and expectations were identified using reflexive thematic analysis. Motives for the students’ choices related to their interests in the craft subject, their development, benefits in future work, new opportunities and practical studio work. Expectations related to, among other things, participants’ learning and development, learning from and helping each other, and learning things that would be useful in future work. The findings suggest that the content of craft courses is important and relevant to learn among students with diverse cultural backgrounds, regardless of whether they have similar subjects in their home countries

Measurement of concrete permeability

A comparison was made between a number of laboratory and in-situ concrete permeability test methods. The laboratory tests used measured air, water, and water vapour permeability, whilst the in-situ tests used were the Initial surface absorption test, the Figg air and water tests, and a new in-situ method called the Egg test; a non-destructive surface test which measures air permeability properties. An initial set of tests were carried out on six concrete mixes with water: cement(w/c) ratios between 0.3 and 0.8. These tests showed that problems existed with both the laboratory and in-situ test methods. Some of these problems arose from the preparation of specimens or test procedures and these were overcome with practice or by modifying the test methods. However, it was found that a major problem is moisture in the concrete which decreases it's measured permeability. Further tests were carried out on a second set of concrete specimens with the same mix proportions as the first and a set of mortar specimens with w/c ratios ranging from 0.3 to 1.1 and cement: sand (c: s) ratios from 1: 1 to 1: 5. Results from tests on oven dry specimens were used to compare the different methods and showed that few simple relationships existed between the different methods. Comparing the test results with the mix proportions showed that in the majority of cases, the measured permeability values increased as the w/c ratio increased, but the relationships between the tests results and c: s ratio were more complicated. After these tests had been completed, specimens from twenty six of the mixes were retested after being conditioned to various different moisture contents. The results of these tests showed that in most cases there was a rapid increase in measured permeability as the specimens dried, followed by a slower increase (in some cases a decrease) as the specimens approached an oven dry condition. To complement this study a number of methods were examined for measuring in-situ moisture content. The most promising of these was a non-destructive method which operated by measuring the electrical permittivity of the material it was placed against. Because the electrical permittivity varies with the amount of water in the concrete, it is largely independent of the type material being tested. Results from this test showed a shallow linear drop from saturated to approximately half of the saturated moisture content, followed by a steep drop towards the oven dry condition

Social Anxiety and the Nature and Function of Social Pain

Humans have a fundamental need to belong that drives many of our present-day emotions and behaviours. When the need to belong becomes threatened, people experience “social pain,” which has been conceptualized as an adaptive alarm signal that can motivate people to restore their sense of security within their social community. The current dissertation examines the impact of social pain on individuals with high trait social anxiety (HSA). Past research has shown that HSAs are less likely to engage in increased affiliative efforts following painful exclusion, and more often exhibit signs of withdrawal or aggression, which may disrupt their ability to effectively restore belongingness. However, little is known about the psychological mechanisms that may link the experience of social pain with negative emotional and behavioural outcomes for HSAs. A series of studies were conducted to investigate whether over-sensitivity to social pain and/or maladaptive appraisals about social threat and reward might impact HSAs’ motivation to initiate or benefit from affiliative repair. Study 1 found that HSAs’ social pain sensitivity was pervasive and not limited to contexts in which they experienced an explicit, relational rupture, suggesting HSAs’ threat biases may inhibit their ability to recognize and act upon social opportunities to reconnect after facing a painful exclusion. Consistent with this interpretation, Study 2 found that HSAs experienced down-regulated affiliative desire in the face of social pain. Results suggested that social opportunities that are pursued in the aftermath of heightened social pain may be attractive because they introduce emotional rewards such as heightened positive affect; however, only those individuals with low, but not high trait SA appeared motivated to pursue such rewards following a painful exclusion. This idea was further tested in Study 3, which replicated Study 2 data showing that participants responded to the pain of exclusion with heightened desire to affiliate and greater downstream positive affect, and extended Study 2 by revealing that this process was driven by increased curiosity and attention to social rewards. HSA participants in Study 3 reported lower curiosity, reward sensitivity, desire for affiliation, and positive affect, irrespective of their reported levels of social pain. Furthermore, diminished reward sensitivity accounted for HSAs’ low desire for affiliation, whereas heightened threat sensitivity did not. These data align with current theories that suggest low reward sensitivity is a distinct symptom-maintaining feature of social anxiety disorder (SAD) that interferes with approach motivation. Implications are discussed from the perspective of learning and memory models that inform SAD symptom maintenance and treatment