Civic Osmosis: The Social Impact of Media

We swim in a vast sea of news and information, a gestalt of communication channels where the whole is indeed much greater than the sum of its parts. In this process of learning about the world around us through a continuous process of civic osmosis, the Internet and a growing host of electronic devices add dynamic and major channels to this gestalt. However, in the scholarly examination of communication effects, there is a tendency to emphasize individual media more than the communication media collectively as a system. To mix metaphors – to analyze the trees, but not to admire the forest. Individual media, especially the growing array of new channels in the communication landscape, are intriguing and important. But that is not all the story. The impact of individual media on individuals and society often are highly situational. For example, this particularly can be the case in elections where the mix of candidates and concerns of the day create a vastly different political communication culture from election to election. To cite two American examples from the early days of agenda setting research, in the Charlotte study of the 1972 U.S. presidential election, newspapers demonstrated stronger agenda setting effects than television news . However, in the 1976 U.S. presidential election study of three cities, television was the dominant agenda setter . Sometimes a particular medium holds center stage. More often, the media collectively share center stage. If we were to construct a web site for agenda-setting theory and research, a prominent FAQ – to use the contemporary jargon of the Internet – would be whether newspapers or television are the stronger agenda-setter. And the answer to this question is telling. About half the time, there is no discernible difference in the agenda-setting influence of newspapers and television news. The other half of the time newspapers have the edge by a ratio of roughly two to one. Sometimes a particular medium holds center stage. More frequently, the communication media collectively hold center stage. The perspective and approach to agenda-setting research outlined here, civic osmosis, emphasizes the collective role of the communication media. And the proliferation of new media adds a rich variety of dynamic channels to this communication gestalt. Increasingly, we swim in a vast sea of diversity, and we need to understand the currents in this sea, both those that enhance communication across our communities and nations and those currents that pollute the sea. But above all, we need to understand the sea as whole and how it changes and shifts over time

Comparison of Corded and Cordless Handpieces on Forearm Muscle Activity, Procedure Time and Ease of Use During Simulated Tooth Polishing

Purpose: Dental professionals suffer from a high prevalence of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSD). Dental hygienists in particular have a high prevalence of pain in the forearms and hands. The objective of this study was to compare 1 cordless handpiece to 2 corded handpieces during simulated tooth polishing in terms of the muscle loads (recorded as electromyography (EMG) activity), duration of polishing procedure, and dental hygienist opinion about ease of use. Methods: EMG was used to quantify muscle electrical activity of 4 forearm muscles during simulated dental polishing with 2 corded handpieces (HP-A and HP-B) and 1 cordless handpiece (HP-C). A convenience sample of 30 dental hygienists (23 to 57 years of age) with 1 to 20+ years of clinical practice experience completed the study. Each participant spent approximately 5 minutes polishing 3 predetermined teeth in each of the 4 quadrants. The sequence of the handpieces was randomly assigned. At the end of the study, participants completed a subjective end user evaluation of handpiece preference. Results: Muscle activity levels of 10th, 50th and 90th percentiles did not differ significantly between the 3 handpieces tested (p\u3e0.05). However, total muscle workload (integrated EMG) was lowest for the cordless handpiece (HP-C), but this was only significantly less than HP-A (p\u3c0.05). Polishing using the cordless handpiece (HP-C) (M=257 seconds, SD=112 seconds) took significantly less time than either the HP-A corded (M=290 seconds, SD=137 seconds) or HP-B corded handpiece (M=290 seconds, SD=126 seconds) (p\u3c0.05). Overall, 50% of the study participants preferred the cordless handpiece, 37% preferred HP-A and 13% preferred HP-B (p\u3c0.05). Conclusion: Use of the cordless handpiece reduced the duration of polishing, which in turn led to less total muscle activity, but not muscle intensity. Overall, dental hygienists preferred the cordless handpiece

Personal Agenda-Public Agenda Congruency: A Contingent Condition for Agenda-setting Effects

This paper focuses on the concept of the impact area as the intersection between the common issues of the personal agenda and the public agenda. Expanding the concept of agenda-setting effects, which focuses mainly on the relation between the public and media agendas, we have examined the congruity of the public agenda and the personal agenda as a contingent condition for the strength of these effects. The concept also distinguishes between the top-priority issues of the public and personal agendas, setting out that the general public’s search for information about these top-priority issues highlights the need for orientation. We used data from Spain to focus on the national elections (2011, 2015 and 2019), plus the beginning of the pandemic (2020). The study includes a content analysis of the El País daily newspaper for the four periods and a variety of surveys and representative electoral barometers. To those data we have added an analysis of the main search topics on Google Trends for each of the four years. The results reveal that variations in the relationship between the public and personal agendas are linked to the strength of the agenda-setting effect between the media and public agendas

Assessing and Increasing Graduate Students’ Use of Reflective Practices: An Empirical Study

The Ignatian Pedagogy Paradigm (IPP) has primarily been conceptualized and applied with regards to high school and undergraduate education. However graduate students constitute one-third of the total enrollment at Jesuit universities in the United States. This article describes an initiative to infuse one aspect of the IPP – namely, reflection – into the curricula of three graduate programs, and the development of a brief self-report measure of reflective practices. Self-report data collected from 130 graduate students in three human services programs (pastoral counseling, psychology, and speech/language pathology) indicated that their understanding and use of reflection as a pedagogical tool increased significantly during their first year in their respective programs. This article discusses future plans to continue infusing the IPP into graduate curricula

Fibromyalgia Syndrome: Considerations for Dental Hygienists

PURPOSE: Fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) is a neurosensory disorder characterized by widespread musculoskeletal pain. Typically persistent fatigue, depression, limb stiffness, non-refreshing sleep and cognitive deficiencies are also experienced. Oral symptoms and pain are common, requiring adaptations in patient management strategies and treatment interventions. Appropriate dental hygiene care of patients suffering with this disorder is contingent upon an understanding of disease epidemiology, pathophysiology, clinical characteristics, oral signs and symptoms, as well as treatment approaches. With this information dental hygienists will be better prepared to provide appropriate and effective treatment to patients with FMS

Oil Pulling: An Ancient Practice for a Modern Time

The practice of oil pulling or oil swishing is a time-honored Indian folk remedy that involves swishing edible oil in the mouth for oral and systemic health benefits. Oil pulling offers a naturalistic approach to oral health care for a growing body of individuals who desire alternative and complementary medicine. The purpose of this paper was to summarize published research on the effectiveness of oil pulling on oral health. Literature was retrieved from 1992-2011 through databases including Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Education Resources Information Center (ERIC), Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online (MEDLINE), and Google Scholar. To date, studies have assessed the effectiveness of oil pulling on plaque, gingivitis, xerostomia, dental caries and malodor. Within the scope of this review, research suggests that oil pulling may hold certain advantages over other commercially available products in reducing various oral conditions, yet there is insufficient scientific evidence to support its effectiveness

Real STEM: Scientific Research for Rural Georgia High School Students

This is the story of creating a STEM research experience for students through a partnership between research institutes, University Faculty and high school teachers. The story of Real STEM will include a discussion of how the grant work is structured, barriers to implementation and successes that spur us on to continue to bring STEM experiences to rural, southeast Georgia

Vital Tooth Whitening Effects on Oral Health-Related Quality of Life in Older Adults

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine if vital tooth whitening affects oral health-related quality of life (OHRQOL) in adults age 50 years and older, and if tooth whitening causes increased participation in social activities. Methods: Using a 2 group, single blind, randomized, pre-test, multiple post-test design, 62 participants were enrolled. The experimental group used a whitening product twice daily for 3 weeks. The control group used no whitening products. The Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP) served as the pre- and post-test measure. The OHIP measures OHRQOL on 7 subscales: functional factors, psychological disabilities, psychological discomforts, physical disabilities, social disabilities, handicaps and physical pain. Additional questions measured the subjects\u27 social activities at baseline, 3 weeks and 3 months. Data from 53 participants, who completed the study, were analyzed using paired t-tests and ANOVA at p=0.05. Results: Statistical significance was observed for the OHIP physical pain subscale (p=0.0029) and the handicap subscale (p=0.05). Pre- to post-test means of the physical pain subscale increased in the experimental group (4.84 to 7.10), suggesting a lower OHRQOL, most likely related to tooth sensitivity experienced by the experimental group. Means from pre- to post-test of the handicap subscale (1.96 to 1.19) reveal that the experimental group reported an improved OHRQOL and felt they were more willing to work. Repeated measures ANOVA and Tukey\u27s post-hoc tests revealed that the experimental group reported significantly less (p=0.04) social activities at the 3 month post-test (3.92 to 3.45). No statistically significant between-group differences were observed in the overall OHIP score for functional factors, psychological disabilities, psychological discomforts, physical disabilities and social disabilities. Conclusion: Results indicate that vital tooth whitening does not improve overall OHRQOL in older adults