What’s Right (Leaning) With Kansas Media: The Cultivation of Misinformation in Rural America

Vogts, Todd R Kansas State University ProQuest Dissertations & T 2023 해외박사(DDOD)

소속기관이 구독 중이 아닌 경우 오후 4시부터 익일 오전 9시까지 원문보기가 가능합니다.

Misinformation and disinformation have shown the potential to fertilize distrust in the news (Kalogeropoulos et al., 2019; Karlsen & Aalberg, 2021; Swart & Broersma, 2022), which can allow democracy-damaging polarization to grow within the United States. This polarization often takes root due to the erosion of reliable information that can be exacerbated by confirmation bias that may cultivate filter bubbles and echo chambers (Flaxman et al., 2016; Lee et al., 2021; Nechushtai & Lewis, 2019; Pearson & Knobloch-Westerwick, 2019).In many cases, politically motivated individuals and media outlets plant these seeds of misinformation and disinformation intentionally, leaving members of society to graze on the subsequent silage of content. If it lacks nutrients, this information constructs a skewed perception of society. This weakens the social capital bonds that germinate a functioning democracy, which sprouts from reliable and public knowledge (Belair-Gagnon et al., 2019; Lewis et al., 2014; Putnam, 2001). In order to prune misinformation and disinformation from the fields of democracy that are irrigated by journalism’s flow of truth, the pathways to news that individuals take and lead them to the invasive species of information must be considered.This risk is particularly important as it relates to the news consumption habits of rural Americans, who largely live and work in agrarian communities and exist as an important voting block as was evident in the 2016 election of President Donald Trump and the controversy surrounding the outcome of the 2020 election. However, most current research does not examine this group in specific focus or simply largely ignores this swath of the United States population as just “fly-over” country.Thus, with the purpose of filling a crucial gap in the literature, this study investigated the pathways to news for individuals living and working in rural areas of the country, specifically rural Kansas. As the investigative focal point, rural Kansas provides a vital case study to explore how rural citizens come to believe in, and potentially further spread misinformation and disinformation, including conspiracy theories spread by partisan media outlets that include, but are not limited to, talk radio, cable television, and social media.Through the implementation of interviews and an online survey that collected data from these individuals, this dissertation reports how individuals in rural Kansas access and use news in ways that stimulate political division and set the stage for polarization to flourish (Bail et al., 2018; Darr et al., 2021; Gaultney et al., 2022; Talisse, 2021), which can lead to a bruised and battered democracy. This method of inquiry sprouts from the social constructionism perspective of reality. This dissertation thereby positions the media effects theories of Cultivation Theory (CT), Uses and Gratifications Theory (U&G), and Communication Infrastructure Theory (CIT) as the optimal lenses through which to examine the pervasive problem of misinformation and disinformation by seeking the root cause of this noxious information’s spread.To that end, this study found that social media and news websites, television, and radio are the primary pathways to news for rural Kansans. The bulk of the content being consumed via these media comes from national and partisan sources, and, in many cases, it consists of opinion-based material. Driven by the state’s strong religious alignment (Wuthnow, 2012) and predominantly conservative political stance (Kansas Secretary of State, 2023), the media messages align with the previously held beliefs of the residents, even if the information is inaccurate. This leads to those beliefs becoming more entrenched, and the misinformation and disinformation spreads when individuals discuss the news with their peers. The fact that individuals do not recognize inaccurate or false information for what it is indicates a deficiency in terms of media literacy skills. Such a finding was made even more evident by several participants expressing their deeply held beliefs in various conspiracy theories. Compounding this issue is the pervasive lack of trust in the media reported by the respondents. In most cases, individuals said they have little to no trust that they are receiving accurate and complete information from news outlets. This was particularly true in terms of national outlets, and although confidence still wasn’t high, local news was found to be more trustworthy.Still, the overall results suggested that rural Kansans desire more reliable news and information, especially at the local level. Individuals indicated they believed journalism was important for society, and this was even more true locally because study participants suggested engaging socially and politically at that level proved to be more impactful than at the national level. Therefore, the implications of this study are multifaceted. First, misinformation and disinformation are being cultivated in rural Kansas because of the residents’ media consumption homogeneity. Also, media literacy skills need to be improved, which can be achieved through educational initiatives. Furthermore, rural Kansans need to be given better news options, and a primary way to achieve this is to improve local news and access to local news across modalities.

Human stability and the likelihood of falling: A comparison of walking and skiing locomotion

Vogt, Andrew Peter The University of Utah 2013 해외박사(DDOD)

소속기관이 구독 중이 아닌 경우 오후 4시부터 익일 오전 9시까지 원문보기가 가능합니다.

This thesis analyzed biped stability through a qualitative likelihood of falling and quantitative Potential to Fall (PF) analysis. Both analyses were applied to walking and skiing to better understand behaviors across a wider spectrum of bipedal gaits. For both walking and skiing, two types of locomotion were analyzed. Walking studies compared normal locomotion (gait) to an unexpected slip. Skiing studies compared wedge style locomotion (more common to beginning and intermediate skiers) to parallel style locomotion (more common to advanced and expert skiers). Two mediums of data collection were used. A motion capture laboratory with stereographic cameras and force plates were used for walking studies, and instrumented insoles, capable of force and inertial measurement, were used for skiing studies. Both kinematics and kinetics were used to evaluate the likelihood of falling. The PF metric, based on root mean squared error, was used to quantify the likelihood of falling for multiple subjects both in walking and skiing. PF was based on foot kinematics for walking and skiing studies. PF also included center of pressure for skiing studies. The PF was lower for normal gaits in walking studies and wedge style locomotion for skiing studies.

A comparative study of the sibling relationship, coping and adaptation of school-age children with insulin dependent diabetes mellitus and their siblings

Vogt, Marjorie Ann The Ohio State University 2000 해외박사(DDOD)

소속기관이 구독 중이 아닌 경우 오후 4시부터 익일 오전 9시까지 원문보기가 가능합니다.

Insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) is the most common metabolic condition in children. Research has focused on the child with IDDM or the parents with little attention given to siblings. Sibling relationships are important reciprocal influences that foster cognitive and social development. Few researchers have studied the sibling relationship, coping and adaptation of children with diabetes and their siblings. The purpose of this study was to compare perceptions of the sibling relationship, coping and adaptation in school-age children with diabetes and their siblings. The framework that guided this study was a combination of theoretical models developed by Stoneman and Brody (1993) for sibling relations and by Lazarus and Folkman (1984) on coping and adaptation. A convenient sample of 53 sibling dyads and their parents was studied using an exploratory, cross-sectional descriptive design. Siblings were between the ages of 8 and 14 years and recruited through mass mailings and presentations. The families were primarily Caucasian, intact nuclear families comprised of married, educated, professional parents, with two or more children, and an average or above average socioeconomic status. The siblings were similar in age, academic/sport achievements, and friendships. Despite the parental perception of diabetes as a serious disease, the parents indicated the child with diabetes had average or excellent control of the disease. Data were collected from the siblings through the use of the Sibling Relationship Questionnaire (Furman and Buhrmester,1985) and the Schoolagers Coping Strategies Inventory (Ryan-Wenger, 1990). A parent completed the Child Behavior Checklist (Achenbach,1991) for each child and a background information questionnaire. Data analysis using paired t-tests revealed no significant differences between the children in their perceptions of the sibling relationship, and the number, frequency, or effectiveness of coping strategies used. There was a statistically significant difference between the children in terms of total behavior, externalizing behavior and social competency scores, but not internalizing behavior scores. The children with diabetes had higher scores for the behaviors and lower competency scores. Pearson correlation coefficients indicated significant interrelationships. The warmth factor of the SRQ was positively correlated with the number, frequency and effectiveness coping scores and negatively correlated with the conflict factor of the SRQ for all children. The conflict subscale of the SRQ was negatively correlated with the social competency scores for the children with diabetes and the warmth factor of the SRQ for the siblings. These findings contribute to the knowledge of children with diabetes and their siblings. Future research needs to examine sibling characteristics, and develop assessment and intervention strategies for use in the clinical arena.

Mechanisms of land-cover change in Uganda: Longer-term analyses of the role of institutional arrangements

Vogt, Nathan Indiana University 2005 해외박사(DDOD)

소속기관이 구독 중이 아닌 경우 오후 4시부터 익일 오전 9시까지 원문보기가 가능합니다.

Investigations in this portfolio of manuscripts broadly advance understanding of how institutional arrangements influence impacts of population growth and integration into non-local markets on forest and tree-cover change. This research integrates methods of the natural and social sciences including remote sensing, geographical information systems, vegetation plot analysis, key informant interviews, and archival research. In combination, these methods are applied for longer-term analyses of the role of institutional arrangements in land-cover change in West Mengo, Uganda. Over the past fifty years, tree cover on settled areas (cultivated and grazed lands and home-gardens) in West Mengo has increased while forest cover (particularly outside of state reserves) is more diffuse. One finding is that the underlying, traditional sociopolitical structure in West Mengo does facilitate, on aggregate, customary arrangements in identifying diverse strategies to maintain the flow of forest products and benefits under growing population and market pressures (avoiding local tragedies). But, these customary arrangements may or may not be able to maintain ecosystem services (produced from large-scale forest patches) outside of the local sociopolitical unit under these conditions. Boundaries of state forest reserves in West Mengo were found to have remained stable for over fifty years despite population and market pressures. Another finding is that formal state arrangements can, but don't always, stem deforestation under conditions of high population and market pressures. When design principles for robust, large-scale commons are adopted in the process of creating adaptive arrangements for governance of large extents of working forests that the arrangements and desired outcomes (e.g., stable forest cover and flow of subsistence products in the West Mengo case) may endure over the long term. And, when not adopted, you may find a relatively fast breakdown in the institutional arrangement resulting in unintended outcomes for some or all stakeholders (e.g., forest degradation and loss for foresters in the Kikuyu case).

Black-White differences in social support and mental health among adolescents: Is neighborhood context important?

Vogt Yuan, Anastasia Sue The Ohio State University 2002 해외박사(DDOD)

소속기관이 구독 중이 아닌 경우 오후 4시부터 익일 오전 9시까지 원문보기가 가능합니다.

Much controversy exists in the research literature regarding whether Blacks have more or less social support than Whites and what effect these differences have on their mental health. Further, controversy also exists regarding whether neighborhood context is important to this relationship. I focus on these Black-White differences in social support and mental health among adolescents using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. I determine that Black adolescents have more social support in some ways by having more neighborhood social ties, more emotional social support from adults, and more overall positive social support while they have lower social support in other ways by receiving less emotional social support from friends and more relationship strain. Neighborhood context both mediates and moderates the Black-White difference in social support among adolescents, but mainly for neighborhood social ties and emotional social support from friends. Black-White differences in mental health also exist. Social support is an important mediator for the Black-White difference in adolescent depression while neighborhood context has more of an impact on the Black-White difference in adolescent problem drinking behavior. Black adolescents are more depressed than White adolescents. This difference is both explained and exacerbated by Black-White differences in social support while neighborhood context is not important to this relationship. Black adolescents have lower problem drinking behavior compared to White adolescents. A small amount of this relationship is explained by social support differences whereas neighborhood context acts as both a mediator and a moderator between race and adolescent problem drinking behavior. I conclude that racial differences in social support are important for adolescent mental health although these racial differences often act in contradictory ways (since they are sometimes beneficial and sometimes detrimental). Further, neighborhood context acts as a mediator and a moderator between race and its effects on social support and mental health among adolescents, but these effects are specific to certain types of social support and certain aspects of mental health. Future research needs to expand upon this research by exploring the inter-relationship between race and neighborhoods for other racial-ethnic groups as well as exploring a greater variety of mental health outcomes.

Evaluating the helpfulness of a teacher-mentoring program: A study of the perceptions of beginning teachers

Vogt, Eric J Temple University 2004 해외박사(DDOD)

소속기관이 구독 중이 아닌 경우 오후 4시부터 익일 오전 9시까지 원문보기가 가능합니다.

The major focus of this research study was to evaluate the perceived helpfulness of a school district's teacher-mentoring program. The district's mentoring program is one component of a teacher-induction process designed to assist new educators during their first year(s) of service. The perceived helpfulness of the overall program was examined along with the helpfulness of the three major areas of teaching that the program is designed to provide assistance with: (1) Classroom Management, (2) Parent-Teacher Relationships, and (3) Effective Instruction. In addition, data from the study were analyzed to determine if significant differences existed regarding the various aspects of the program between male and female or elementary and secondary teachers. The data collection instrument designed for this study was distributed to the approximate 250 teachers of the district that went through the mentoring program. Of this targeted population, data from 160 teachers were collected and analyzed. Statistical analysis of the data collected from the study's participants indicated that the mentoring program did provide a fair amount of help to its new teachers. Analysis of the data also determined that the Parent-Teacher Relationships component of the study was perceived to be significantly less helpful than the Classroom Management and the Effective Instruction components. In addition, it was determined that the perceived helpfulness of the program, or any of its components, did not differ significantly regarding the gender of or the grade level taught by the teacher. Further interpretations of this data and recommendations for ways to possibly improve upon the current program are cited in this study. Additionally, the limitations of the study, the implications for practice, and suggestions for future research are presented.

Mechanisms of Protective Activity of West Nile Virus Anti-Envelope Antibodies In vitro and In vivo

Vogt, Matthew Raymond Washington University in St. Louis 2013 해외박사(DDOD)

소속기관이 구독 중이 아닌 경우 오후 4시부터 익일 오전 9시까지 원문보기가 가능합니다.

West Nile virus (WNV) is a neurotropic flavivirus capable of causing severe disease and death in humans. Studies in mice have demonstrated that the humoral immune response against WNV limits primary infection and protects against a secondary challenge. Accordingly, passive transfer of immune serum or monoclonal antibodies (MAb) against the envelope (E) protein either prior to WNV infection or shortly thereafter is sufficient to protect mice from disease. The E protein is an immunodominant antigen in the antibody response to WNV infection, and the most potent neutralizing MAbs recognize an epitope on the lateral ridge of domain III (DIII-LR) of the E protein. However, studies with serum from human patients show that antibodies against the DIII-LR epitope comprise at best, a minor component of the human anti-WNV antibody response. Rather, the human anti-E protein response is more dominantly directed against an epitope on the fusion loop of domain II (DII-FL), and antibodies against this epitope neutralize infection poorly in vitro. The studies described in this thesis examined how the antibody response to WNV is protective despite being skewed away from the most potently neutralizing epitope (DIII-LR). In the first section, two WNV-specific human MAbs that were isolated from B cell populations of convalescent patients that strongly neutralized WNV infection in vitro and protected mice against lethal infection in vivo were characterized in detail. The MAbs were localized to E protein epitopes that are present only on intact WNV virions and subviral particles, and neutralization of infection occurred through a viral fusion blockade mechanism, similar to DIII-LR MAbs. This suggests that WNV infection may indeed induce strongly neutralizing antibodies, which simply go undetected by current epitope-specific diagnostics that utilize recombinant, monomeric E protein. Subsequently, a DII-FL mouse MAb that was non-neutralizing in vitro was shown to protect mice from WNV infection in vivo via its Fc effector functions, requiring C1q, Fc-gamma receptor III (CD16), and phagocytic cells. This highlights the limitations of current in vitro surrogate markers of protection, which cannot account for the beneficial effects conferred by immunodominant DII-FL antibodies. Overall, these studies provide an enhanced understanding of the mechanisms of protection of the human anti-WNV antibody response.

Ghosts of the plantation: Historical representations and cultural difference among Martinique's white elite

Vogt, Emily A The University of Chicago 2005 해외박사(DDOD)

소속기관이 구독 중이 아닌 경우 오후 4시부터 익일 오전 9시까지 원문보기가 가능합니다.

This dissertation looks ethnographically at the white planter class in Martinique (called Bekes), and questions the group's ever-changing relationship to the plantation past. The plantation is an institution which figures heavily into conversations about the whole Caribbean region. It also serves as a focal point around which Martinicans today center their own cultural self-understandings. Having lost its productive role in the economy, the plantation has left behind its spatial form---sometimes in ruins, sometimes not---which is now filled with particular readings of the past as people use this form as a site through which to negotiate history. This dissertation examines the cultural and historical relationship of the Bekes to their plantation past, specifically in terms of the ways that historical narratives about the plantation serve as a means through which to articulate difference and draw boundaries between themselves and either non-white Martinicans or French metropolitains in the present. Insofar as hierarchies of class and color which organize this society are based upon principles of distinction, this dissertation questions the way that historical representations, or uses of the past, enter in to inform these kinds of distinctions. The present is experienced by the Bekes as constituting a kind of crisis: as Martinique experiences rapid shifts in the material basis for social reproduction because of escalating consumerism, an increase in the flow of goods and people and ideas across borders, and the ever-penetrating role of the French government, the relationship that planters once had to the land has undergone a radical transformation, which in turn has created new meanings and values as well as new relationships to other Martinicans. The move of embracing a particular version of history serves to create a kind of moral authority---which is especially important in a moment of seeming crisis---to back up claims of authenticity and cultural authority, and tends to emphasize racial distinctions over other points of closeness.

Between Kin and King: Social Aspects of Western Zhou Ritual

Vogt, Paul Nicholas Columbia University 2012 해외박사(DDOD)

소속기관이 구독 중이 아닌 경우 오후 4시부터 익일 오전 9시까지 원문보기가 가능합니다.

The Western Zhou period (ca. 1045-771 BCE) saw the dissemination of a particular style of ancestral ritual across North China, as the Zhou royal faction leveraged its familiarity with the ritual techniques of the conquered Shang culture to complement its project of state formation. Looking back on this era as the golden age of governance, Eastern Zhou and Han thinkers sought to codify its ritual in comprehensive textual treatments collectively known as the Sanli and, in particular, the Zhouli, or "Rites of Zhou." Later scholarship has consistently drawn on the Sanli as a reference point and assumed standard for the characterization of Western Zhou rites. Current understandings of the formative era of early Chinese ritual are thus informed by the syncretic and classicizing tendencies of the early empires. To redress this issue, the present study explores the ritual practices of the Western Zhou based on their records on inscribed bronzes, the most extensive source of textual information on the period. It characterizes Western Zhou ancestral rites as fluid phenomena subject to continued redefinition, adoption, cooption, and abandonment as warranted by the different interests of Western Zhou elites. Separate discussions consider the role of ancestral rites and inscribed bronzes in materializing the royal presence within the interaction spheres of elite lineages; the evolution of ritual performances of Zhou kingship, and their relationship to the military and political circumstances of the royal house; the emergence of new ritual contexts of patronage, recognition, and reward that differentiated between members of expanding lineages and intensified royal control over key resources; and the combination of multiple ritual techniques with royal hospitality provision to create major ritual event assemblies. A final synthesis brings these discussions together into a sequential analysis of Western Zhou ritual, relating them to the evolving political situation of the Zhou royal house.

The Structure and Dynamics of Jupiter's Magnetosphere

Vogt, Marissa Farland University of California, Los Angeles 2012 해외박사(DDOD)

소속기관이 구독 중이 아닌 경우 오후 4시부터 익일 오전 9시까지 원문보기가 가능합니다.

Eight spacecraft have now visited the Jovian system and obtained a wealth of information about Jupiter's magnetosphere and aurora, both of which have proved to be very different from what we observe at the Earth. These differences are due in part to unique features such as large magnetospheric scale sizes, an internal plasma source from the moon Io, and a rapid planetary rotation period. These features have important influences on Jupiter's magnetosphere structure and dynamics, which are the focus of the three studies described in this dissertation. The first study is a survey of magnetometer data from the Jovian magnetotail to search for signatures of magnetic reconnection, an important dynamic process in planetary magnetospheres. Reconnection is thought to be predominantly internally driven at Jupiter. We have identified 249 reconnection events from the magnetometer data, and have analyzed their spatial distribution and periodicity to establish where and how often reconnection occurs at Jupiter. Results, including the location of a statistical separatrix, are compared to previous studies of flow bursts and particle anisotropies. The second study establishes a new model for relating auroral features to sources in the middle and outer magnetosphere. At Jupiter the polar aurora mapping is highly uncertain because global field models are inaccurate beyond ∼30 Jovian radii. The open/closed field line boundary is also not well defined because Jupiter's main auroral emissions are associated with the breakdown of plasma corotation rather than the polar cap. Therefore our mapping model, which uses a flux equivalence calculation rather than tracing global models, provides a more precise mapping of the polar aurora and allows us to identify the size and location of Jupiter's polar cap. In the final study, we use a large scale kinetic simulation to examine the effects of centrifugal forces arising from Jupiter's rapid rotation and non-adiabatic field line stretching in the noon to dusk local time sector. We examine changes to the pitch angle and energy distributions and conclude that the changes arising from the non-adiabatic stretching effects could account for the field dipolarization and plasma sheet thickening observed between noon and dusk.