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Despite the growing prevalence of cyberbullying in India, there is a lack of empirical research available to guide school-based interventions. Employing a survey of 402 teachers in Indian schools, the present study utilized the theory of planned behavior (TPB) as a framework to examine the factors influential in encouraging teachers to intervene in school cyberbullying situations. The results reveal that attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control collectively explain 40.9% of the variance in intentions. Perceived responsibility accounts for additional variance explained. Conclusions inform the design of school-based interventions that aim to motivate teachers and provide them the resources necessary to mitigate the impact of cyberbullying in Indian schools.

McLaughlin, Gotlieb, and Mills introduced the concept of problematic news consumption (PNC) in their 2023 study, finding that those classified as having severely problematic news consumption (16.5% of the sample) exhibited significantly greater levels of mental and physical ill-being. These results were the product of a single cross-sectional survey, however. Using a two-wave longitudinal survey, we sought to replicate their findings. In the current study, we found support for the factor structure of the PNC scale and the 4-profile solution, although the severely problematic news consumption profile represented a substantially smaller portion of the sample (7.5%) than in the initial study. Additionally, we found support for greater levels of mental and physical ill-being among those in the severely problematic news consumption profile in the Wave 1 cross-sectional model. However, while we found greater levels of mental ill-being among these participants in the autoregressive model, we did not find greater levels of physical ill-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In contrast to previous years, enrollments in journalism and mass communication programs in the United States were relatively stable from 2015 to 2018. Although strategic communication sequences remained the most popular, the percentage of undergraduates enrolled in journalism sequences increased since the previous survey, whereas the percentage enrolled in strategic communication sequences decreased slightly. In addition, the demographic composition of journalism and mass communication programs is changing, as the survey found an increase in the percentage of minority students enrolled in undergraduate and graduate programs. The 2018 survey also revealed growth in online offerings, both at the undergraduate and master's level.

This research note draws from the social identity model of deindividuation effects (SIDE), uncertainty-identity theory, and intergroup threat theory to investigate the conditions under which members of online political networks are likely to endorse extremism. Using a national survey of 717 U.S. adults who self-identify as members of an online group comprising politically like-minded others, we find that when perceived group threat is high, group cohesion relates to radicalism intentions. Moreover, additional analysis suggests this relationship was particularly concentrated among conservatives. We argue that this may relate to the different ways in which conservatives and liberals manage uncertainty and threat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Progressive retinal atrophies (PRAs) are a genetically heterogeneous group of inherited eye diseases that affect over 100 breeds of dog. The initial clinical sign is visual impairment in scotopic conditions, as a consequence of rod photoreceptor cell degeneration. Photopic vision degeneration then follows, due to progression of the disease to the cone photoreceptors, and ultimately results in complete blindness. Two full-sibling English Shepherds were diagnosed with PRA at approximately 5 years old and tested clear of all published PRA genetic variants. This study sought to identify the novel PRA-associated variant segregating in the breed. We utilised a combined approach of whole genome sequencing of the probands and homozygosity mapping of four cases and 22 controls and identified a short interspersed nuclear element within an alternatively spliced exon in FAM161A. The XP_005626197.1 c.17929_ins210 variant was homozygous in six PRA cases and heterozygous or absent in control dogs, consistent with a recessive mode of inheritance. The insertion is predicted to extend exon 4 by 39 aberrant amino acids followed by an early termination stop codon. PRA is intractable to treatment, so the development of a genetic screening test, based on the associated variant, is significant, because it provides dog breeders/owners with a means of reducing the frequency of the disease variant within this breed as well as minimising the risk of breeding puppies that will develop this blinding disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As with previous years, enrollments in journalism and mass communication programs in the United States have continued to decline. In 2015, such decline among undergraduate student enrollments was particularly prevalent in journalism sequences; in contrast, undergraduate enrollments in strategic communication sequences have seen some growth since 2013. Findings also reveal potential for journalism and mass communication programs regarding the growth and emergence of online degree programs and online course offerings, the development of the competencies and skills desired by employers, and other opportunities for the professional development of today's practically minded students.

This study examined how TikTok use relates to political engagement and aggression. Due to different imagined audiences , we expected TikTok use to be more strongly related with contentious political engagement than use of other social media platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter. In order to test these expectations, we conducted a survey with 700 U.S. adults. Results show that TikTok, Facebook, and Twitter use is positively related to online political engagement, but the nature of this engagement is very different. Facebook use is related to talking politics with friends and family, while TikTok use is related to talking with those who hold opposing views. Further, Facebook use is negatively related to agreeing that it is acceptable to be aggressive in political conversations, while TikTok use is positively related to believing that it is acceptable to be aggressive and to holding feelings of hatred for political opponents. Twitter use is unrelated to these outcome variables. These results suggest that TikTok users are more likely to partake in derisive and contentious political engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multiocular defect has been described in different canine breeds, including the Old English Sheepdog. Affected dogs typically present with multiple and various ocular abnormalities. We carried out whole genome sequencing on an Old English Sheepdog that had been diagnosed with hereditary cataracts at the age of five and then referred to a board-certified veterinary ophthalmologist due to owner-reported visual deterioration. An ophthalmic assessment revealed that there was bilateral vitreal degeneration, macrophthalmos, and spherophakia in addition to cataracts. Follow-up consultations revealed cataract progression, retinal detachment, uveitis and secondary glaucoma. Whole genome sequence filtered variants private to the case, shared with another Old English Sheepdog genome and predicted to be deleterious were genotyped in an initial cohort of six Old English Sheepdogs (three affected by multiocular defect and three control dogs without evidence of inherited eye disease). Only one of the twenty-two variants segregated correctly with multiocular defect. The variant is a single nucleotide substitution, located in the collagen-type gene COL11A1, c.1775T>C, that causes an amino acid change, p.Phe1592Ser. Genotyping of an additional 14 Old English Sheepdogs affected by multiocular defect revealed a dominant mode of inheritance with four cases heterozygous for the variant. Further genotyping of hereditary cataract-affected Old English Sheepdogs revealed segregation of the variant in eight out of nine dogs. In humans, variants in the COL11A1 gene are associated with Stickler syndrome type II, also dominantly inherited. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study adds to the growing body of literature on problematic media behavior by introducing and explicating the concept of problematic news consumption, which we define as involving transportation, preoccupation, misregulation, underregulation, and interference. Using survey data from a national sample of U.S. adults, we examine the factor structure of a problematic news consumption measure, the existence of latent classes derived from the expected factors, and differences in mental and physical health across the emerging classes. Results show support for the proposed factor structure as well as the existence of four latent classes, which appear to be stratified according to severity of problematic news consumption. Results also show greater mental and physical ill-being among those with higher levels of problematic news consumption compared to those with lower levels, even after controlling for demographics, personality traits, and overall news use. Implications for designing effective media literacy campaigns to raise awareness of the potential for news consumption to develop into a problematic behavior as well as the development of intervention strategies are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explored whether boundary expansion is related to increased life satisfaction. In order to examine this possibility, we conducted two studies. In Study 1, we used an experiment to promote either state boundary expansion or state escapism. Although the manipulation was unsuccessful, we did find a positive correlation between expansion and life satisfaction, while escape was not related to life satisfaction. Study 2 examined the relationship between trait boundary expansion and life satisfaction using a large national survey. Results showed that boundary expansion was positively related to life satisfaction and escape was negatively related to life satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In contrast to 2018, the 2021 Survey of Journalism & Mass Communication Enrollments showed a decrease in undergraduate student enrollment in journalism and mass communication programs as well as decreases in the percentage of minority undergraduate and graduate students enrolled. In addition, it showed an increase in the percentage of programs reporting decreases in their operating budgets and increases in hiring freezes for faculty and staff. These findings, which undoubtedly were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, reflect overall trends in student enrollment and finances at colleges and universities nationwide. However, on a more positive note, the 2021 survey also showed increases in graduate student enrollment as well as continued growth in the percentage of programs offering online degrees and the percentage of students enrolled in journalism sequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the role political villains play in individuals' political imagination, which can then lead to political violence. When there is a threatening villain, partisans should become more likely to construct elaborate narratives about the political world, which can lead them to believe the violence against the opposition is justified. Study 1 uses a survey to provide evidence that exposure to partisan news sources cultivates the perception that opposing candidate pose a grave danger to America, which leads to more narrative thought. In Study 2, an experiment demonstrates that imagining threatening villains creates more narrative thought, which is then related to support for political violence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In our research examining how people think and talk about immigration, we consistently find that people want to have a reasonable conversation about politics, but they often decide that productive conversations are not possible because other people are uninformed, irrational, close-minded, and uncivil. We argue that self-serving biases and phenomenological experiences lead to the biased perception that the self is far more capable of adhering to the ideals of rational deliberation than others, a process that we refer to as deliberative bias. In Study 1, we use data from in-depth interviews to develop the concept of deliberative bias. In Study 2, we use a survey to demonstrate that perceptions that other people are uninformed, irrational, close-minded, and uncivil are related to a decreased likelihood of talking politics with loose ties or those with opposing perspectives. These results suggest that deliberative bias may be a significant impediment to productive political conversations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic caused major disruptions to political campaigns during the 2020 election. There was a stark contrast between how the two major parties approached campaigning during COVID-19, including the election in Texas, a deep red state that some thought might present opportunities for Democratic Party candidates. Using interviews with 13 campaign operatives, this study examines how Republican candidates in Texas navigated their campaigns in the context of a pandemic. Our results suggest the unique context of campaigning during COVID-19 gave Republicans key advantages over Democrats. Decisions to embrace a more organic, bottom-up approach led to more flexible campaign strategies. Democratic Party candidates followed the lead of Joe Biden's presidential campaign and mostly refrained from direct voter contact, like door knocking. Through experimentation, many Republican campaigns felt comfortable embracing a ground game and deployed complete field operations. Consultants argued this played an important role in helping Texas Republicans exceed expectations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Instances of political incivility and aggression are becoming increasingly common in the United States. This manuscript contributes to our understanding of why partisans increasingly condone verbal aggression and antagonism by examining how immersion into media narratives about political conflict can affect a citizen's feelings of political efficacy. Three experimental studies were designed to test the expectations that when partisans are immersed in a news narrative about political battles, media depictions in which their party is likely to lose the battle should lead to lower levels of political efficacy, which then leads to increased acceptance of verbal aggression and support for political antagonism. Results in all three studies provided support for the moderated mediation model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of an increasingly divided populace, this article considered how the emotions (enthusiasm and anxiety) partisans feel toward U.S. presidential candidates may heighten or diminish affective polarization. In Study 1 (American National Election Studies [ANES] 2008–2009 panel data), we found that enthusiasm for the in-group candidate and anxiety about the out-group candidate were related to higher levels of affective polarization, whereas enthusiasm for the out-group candidate was related to lower levels of affective polarization. In Study 2 (2016 panel data), we found that in-group enthusiasm was related to higher levels of affective polarization and out-group enthusiasm was related to lower levels of affective polarization, but neither in-group nor out-group anxiety was significantly related to affective polarization. These findings highlight that enthusiasm about out-group candidates may have a unique ability to disrupt affective polarization and that it is important to consider the source of an emotion response, not just the type of emotion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In contrast to previous years, enrollments in journalism and mass communication programs in the United States were relatively stable from 2015 to 2018. Although strategic communication sequences remained the most popular, the percentage of undergraduates enrolled in journalism sequences increased since the previous survey, whereas the percentage enrolled in strategic communication sequences decreased slightly. In addition, the demographic composition of journalism and mass communication programs is changing, as the survey found an increase in the percentage of minority students enrolled in undergraduate and graduate programs. The 2018 survey also revealed growth in online offerings, both at the undergraduate and master's level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although electrogastrography (EGG) could be a critical tool in the diagnosis of patients with gastrointestinal (GI) disease, it remains under-utilized. The lack of spatial and temporal resolution using current EGG methods presents a significant roadblock to more widespread usage. Human and preclinical studies have shown that GI myoelectric electrodes can record signals containing significantly more information than can be derived from abdominal surface electrodes. The current study sought to assess the efficacy of multi-electrode arrays, surgically implanted on the serosal surface of the GI tract, from gastric fundus-to-duodenum, in recording myoelectric signals. It also examines the potential for machine learning algorithms to predict functional states, such as retching and emesis, from GI signal features. Studies were performed using ferrets, a gold standard model for emesis testing. Our results include simultaneous recordings from up to six GI recording sites in both anesthetized and chronically implanted free-moving ferrets. Testing conditions to produce different gastric states included gastric distension, intragastric infusion of emetine (a prototypical emetic agent), and feeding. Despite the observed variability in GI signals, machine learning algorithms, including k-nearest neighbors and support vector machines, were able to detect the state of the stomach with high overall accuracy (>75%). The present study is the first demonstration of machine learning algorithms to detect the physiological state of the stomach and onset of retching, which could provide a methodology to diagnose GI diseases and symptoms such as nausea and vomiting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While exposure to stereotyped minority characters reinforces prejudice, when viewers identify with counter-stereotyped characters prejudice tends to decrease. This study examines the juxtaposition of identifying with either a counter-stereotyped Black protagonist or a stereotyped supporting cast. Participants read a prompt (group vs. individual salience), watched an episode of Luke Cage, then reported their identification with the Black protagonist (Cage) and the social group (the Black community of Harlem). Findings suggest that individual identification with a counter-stereotype reduces symbolic racism, while social identification with a stereotyped group does not. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Political candidates increasingly use social media to tell their stories, share their thoughts and feelings and chronicle an unfolding election. We argue that the concept of identification—the process through which an audience member cognitively assumes the perspective of a media personality—can help illuminate how online campaigns can increase citizen support. This study employed a two-wave survey with a U.S. national sample conducted prior to the 2016 presidential election. Results of our analysis support our expectations that following Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump on social media leads to increased identification with that candidate, which then affects candidate support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers how citizens process and experience political narratives. We start by providing a general overview of political narratives. Next, we discuss how citizens mentally represent narratives, how individual stories interact with pre-existing knowledge, and how citizens use diverse sources of information to construct seemingly cohesive mental models of the political story world. Third, we describe how citizens become transported into political plotlines, simulating direct experience of distal political worlds. Further, we explain how citizens can draw upon their mental representations of the political story world to construct self-generated narratives – and how citizens can subsequently become transported into these self-generated narratives. Finally, we discuss how political narratives can affect political attitudes, beliefs, identities, and behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines political transportation—the construction of mental models that represent a political world and result in the absorption and positioning of oneself within the constructed world. Specifically, we propose that when citizens become immersed in the political narrative crafted by a politician, they become more likely to see the political world as personally relevant and, subsequently, become more committed to supporting that candidate. Further, the degree of political immersion should depend upon which media platform a campaign message is delivered through. These expectations were tested using an experiment where partisans were exposed to a campaign message delivered in the form of a television ad, a political e-mail, or a series of tweets. Results demonstrate that Twitter was the least likely to lead to political immersion. Further, results provide support for our theoretical model, where there is an indirect effect of campaign messages on political attitudes and behavior through immersion and perceived personal relevance. Taken together, this study demonstrates the utility of applying the concept of narrative transportation to politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article applies the concept of stereotyped identification--the idea that cognitively and emotionally identifying with fictional minority characters can simultaneously increase acceptance of minorities while reinforcing stereotypes about how they look, act, and talk--to the context of Latina television characters. Specifically, we employed a national survey measuring participants' exposure to Latina TV characters; levels of identification with TV characters; and attitudes toward, and stereotypes about, Latinas. Results are consistent with the prediction that through identification, exposure to Latina TV characters is related to more favorable feelings toward Latinas, as well as higher levels of stereotyped views of Latinas as sexualized and melodramatic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study draws attention to a largely overlooked, but crucial, facet of modern politics—the political e-mail. A mixed-method analysis of 1 year’s worth of political e-mails was used to compare and contrast how the Democratic and Republican parties employed e-mails during the 2014 election. Results reveal both parties placed a clear emphasis on fundraising and voter mobilization but also utilized distinct appeals, calls to action, and political narratives. Republican e-mails employed more interactive features and offered rewards that reinforced political hierarchies. The Republican narrative portrayed the ideal America as a relic of the past that must be reclaimed. Republicans asked readers to donate money in order to empower Republican leaders to win the war against President Obama—characterized as an unconstitutional and deceitful imperialist. Democrats were more aggressive in their request for donations, employed more personalized appeals and rewards, and asked readers to get involved with grassroots organizing. The Democratic narrative portrayed the ideal America as an inclusive, utopian society that exists in the future. Democrats encouraged readers to view themselves as central characters in the narrative, where their actions can and will have direct consequences for America’s future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Scholars are increasingly concerned about the rising level of negativity in social media sites. This negativity has found its way into sites that are supposedly intended for prosocial civic engagement. To examine how hostility impacts behavior in a user-generated, prosocial context, an experimental study was conducted using an online petition modeled after those posted to the website Change.org. This study examines whether negativity causes a contagion effect leading to more negativity and the different types of negativity that may occur. Results suggest that when users read negative-toned petitions, a contagion effect increases both anger and anxiety. However, our findings are not consistent with previous literature that argues anger leads to increased proactive behavior. Instead, we find that while anxiety leads to an increase in petition-related action, anger does not. These findings have important theoretical and practical implications for scholars and those looking to participate in social justice via online platforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In accordance with self-categorization theory, this study predicts that because elite cues affect partisans' perceptions of group norms, news coverage of political gridlock should influence partisans' willingness to endorse compromise. Results of two experimental studies, where Republican and Democratic samples read a news story in which group leaders were either willing or unwilling to compromise, largely support our expectations. However, we also find evidence that willingness to compromise can depend on the specific issue context, as well as pre-existing attitudes. These results further our understanding of how media coverage affects the functioning of democracy in the United States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]