Sharon Lauricella

Exploring the Benefits and Challenges of Using Laptop Computers in Higher Education Classrooms: A Formative Analysis

Because of decreased prices, increased convenience, and wireless access, an increasing number of college and university students are using laptop computers in their classrooms. This recent trend has forced instructors to address the educational consequences of using these mobile devices. The purpose of the current study was to analyze and assess beneficial and challenging laptop behaviours in higher education classrooms. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected from 177 undergraduate university students (89 males, 88 females). Key benefits observed include note-taking activities, in-class laptop-based academic tasks, collaboration, increased focus, improved organization and efficiency, and addressing special needs. Key challenges noted include other student’s distracting laptop behaviours, instant messaging, surfing the web, playing games, watching movies, and decreased focus. Nearly three-quarters of the students claimed that laptops were useful in supporting their academic experience. Twice as many benefits were reported compared to challenges. It is speculated that the integration of meaningful laptop activities is a critical determinant of benefits and challenges experienced in higher education classrooms.

Unstructured vs. Structured Use of Laptops in Higher Education

A majority of today’s higher education students have been nurtured on a steady diet of technology and Internet access, leading to the increased presence of laptops in higher education classrooms. However, many instructors are unsure whether or how to assimilate this technology into their lessons. The purpose of the following study was to examine the impact of unstructured (limited use) vs. structured (active use) use of laptops for 177 university students (89 males, 88 females). Both on-task (note taking, academic activities) and off-task (email, instant messaging, games, movies) behaviours were examined by surveying students. Paired-t-tests revealed that structured use of laptops resulted in significantly more time spent on note taking and academic activities and significantly less time spent on sending personal emails, instant messages and playing games during class. It is concluded that future research needs to focus on evaluating specific strategies that maximize the benefits and minimize the distractions of using laptops.

Teach peace: assessing instruction of the nonviolent communication and peace course

This paper assesses the efficacy of teaching a new course in the communication curriculum entitled Nonviolent Communication and Peace. Three studies are included: two pilot studies at a large Eastern US university and a final study which also included data from a concurrent study at a large Canadian university. Results from a pre-post instructional design show modest changes in the predicted direction of greater peace for three areas of assessment: (1) greater elaboration and integration of definitions for peace, (2) more agreement with statements about peaceful beliefs and behaviors related to the practice of peace in everyday life, and (3) increased recall for the number of peace role models. Future research includes recommendations for continued development of the peace assessment measure.

Voice from Rikers: Spirituality in Hip Hop Artist Lil' Wayne's Prison Blog

While incarcerated on Rikers Island, Grammy award-winning rapper Lil’ Wayne posted letters to a blog to maintain contact with fans. The blog entries and comments from fans express gratitude, positivity, encouragement, and a pervasive sense of spirituality and religiousness. This paper considers the content of Lil’ Wayne’s letters from Rikers, together with posted comments to the blog, in the context of spiritual communication and participatory media.

Assessing Predictions of Relational Prayer Theory: Media and Interpersonal Inputs, Public and Private Prayer Processes, and Spiritual Health

Theoretical linkages between communication sources (mediated and interpersonal), prayer (public and private), and spiritual health are derived from Relational Prayer theory. These relationships are empirically investigated using quantitative and qualitative methodologies. Participants (N = 151) completed a written survey for extra credit. Mediated sources predicted frequency of private and public prayer better than interpersonal sources. Private and public prayers predicted better levels of spiritual health (closeness to God and strength of religious/spiritual identity). Overall, results provide initial support for the theoretical linkages. Suggestions for future research include expanding types of mediated sources to include new media technologies and exploring the dynamics of interpersonal prayer relationships.

The Ancient-Turned-New Concept of “Spiritual Hygiene”: An Investigation of Media Coverage of Meditation from 1979 to 2014

A spiritual—yet not religious—practice, meditation has been touted as beneficial to boosting the immune system, lowering blood pressure, alleviating migraines, and increasing gray matter in parts of the brain. While scientific research on meditation is beginning to quantify its benefits, there is increasing concern among the scientific community that news outlets glorify the potential benefits of meditation. This paper considers coverage of meditation in mainstream print media by analyzing 764 articles printed in English from worldwide media outlets from 1979 to 2014. Frame theory analysis is employed to better understand how meditation is presented in print media and how the perception of the practice is interpreted by readers. Results indicate that articles reflect the health and wellness challenges present in contemporary culture, together with a desire for personal relief from such issues. The paper suggests that the practice of meditation as “spiritual hygiene” is indicative of a sociocultural shift in which meditative techniques are becoming increasingly recognized, encouraged, and practiced.

Assessing laptop use in higher education: The Laptop Use Scale

Abstract The laptop computer is considered one of the most used and important technological devices in higher education, yet limited systematic research has been conducted to develop a measure of laptop use in college and university. The purpose of the following study was to develop a research-based, theoretically grounded scale to assess student use of laptops inside and outside higher education classrooms. The Laptop Use Scale addressed four key areas: in-class academic use, in-class non-academic use, outside of class academic use, and outside of class non-academic use. Tested on 156 higher education students using laptops computers, the Laptop Use Scale showed acceptable internal reliability and good validity (face, content, construct, and convergent validity). It is argued that this scale can help assess and calibrate pedagogical strategies used to integrate laptops into higher education classrooms. Suggestions for future research on assessing student use of laptops are offered including a focus on multi-tasking behavior.

An Analysis of Anti-Black Crime Reporting in Toronto: Evidence from News Frames and Critical Race Theory

Modern media representations of Blacks as violent and criminal (Crichlow 2009, 2014) have contributed to the construction of Blacks, and particularly Black males, as ensconced in a life of crime, poverty, and violence. The issue of media depiction of Black males is particularly important in the present age—coined “post-racial”—after Barack Obama’s presidential victory in 2008. Politics constitutes a variant of the post-racial era in Canada, where political parties have sought out racial minority candidates in predominantly Black, ethnic, and racialised communities. This was most evident in the appointment of Canada’s first Black Governor, General Michaelle Jean, in 2005. In general, however, media reports about Toronto’s Black communities address violence, gangs, and crime, and are anecdotally recognised as reporting Blacks as academic underachievers, recipients of child welfare, overrepresented in youth correctional facilities, and living in abject poverty (Crichlow 2014). Entman and Rojecki (2000) suggest that print media and television visually construct poverty as nearly synonymous with Blacks and that surveys show that whites typically accept this view. In this sense, news—whether print or visual—encourages the acceptance of the prototypical Black as poor and the prototypical poor person as Black (Entman and Rojecki 2000, p. 102). These anti-black working class racist stereotypes besmirch the image of Black men who are either not poor or are from middle and upper class groups (Collins 2004; Poindexter et al. 2003).

The safe tweet: social media use by Ontario fire services

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine how fire services use social media to educate the public about safety and fire prevention. Design/methodology/approach Grounded theoretical methods were employed in a rigorous qualitative analysis of five significant fire services’ Twitter accounts in Ontario, Canada. Findings Seven main themes emerged from the data, with an overarching conclusion that tweets made by fire service organisations and professionals do not focus primarily on fire safety. Research limitations/implications This paper addresses a gap in the literature in terms of understanding how social media communicates information about all three lines of defence against fire, with a focus on the first two: public fire safety education, fire safety standards and enforcement and emergency response. Practical implications The authors suggest that fire services need to employ a more segmented approach to social media posts with an objective to engage and educate the public. Originality/value This paper is the first extensive qualitative analysis to consider the particulars of fire services’ social media presence.

The States of Spiritual Communication (in Part): Exploring the Sharing of Meaning

Contemporary work on spirituality in the field of communication and media studies consists of three principal areas: theoretical development, field praxis and pedagogy. Fundamental is the conceptualization of spirituality as the creation of meaning, the sharing of which defines the parameters of communication. In an age in which communication is increasingly practiced via social media, people are beginning to find, and to share, their own voices for gathering and disseminating news, creative arts, and community engagement and development.