Letteratura scientifica selezionata sul tema "College students – Political activity – United States"

Increasing college students’ exposure to global contexts and improving their intercultural competency remain challenging educational objectives, especially at the community college level. Fortunately, the recent shift in higher education from study abroad opportunities toward so-called “internationalization at home” initiatives, where students interact with people from cultures outside their own while remaining on their home campuses, offers new options. In this article, we describe a virtual exchange activity that we conducted between our sociology courses at a community college in the United States and two universities in Japan. We show through our assessment of the students’ experiences that a well-coordinated, carefully crafted, technology-enhanced internationalization at home activity has the potential to offer important global learning opportunities and intercultural competency development for sociology students who may otherwise lack the means to participate in study abroad.

This article describes a simulation activity designed to teach students about the wage gap. The wage gap is an important topic in many sociology classrooms, but it can be difficult to convey the accumulated disadvantage experienced by women and racial/ethnic minorities to students using in-class discussions, lectures, or assigned readings alone. This is particularly true on college campuses that may draw their students from more affluent areas. Classroom simulations, however, provide an opportunity for students with all types of backgrounds to engage their sociological imaginations. In our simulation—Intersectionopoly—we use a modified version of Monopoly based on the wage gap and racial/ethnic minorities’ experiences of everyday life to illustrate how members of different racial and gender groups experience disparities in earnings. Unlike other versions of stratified Monopoly, this simulation more closely mirrors the subtle nature of discrimination in the contemporary United States.

The development of democratic citizenship and youth leadership requires an ability to collaborate with others in ways that are jointly empowering. In this study, we sought to understand how students at an urban liberal arts college in the United States framed their own and others’ efficacy and responsibility in narrative accounts of situations they faced in civic and community engagement. We were interested in how young people learn and work alongside local stakeholders, rather than serve on behalf of people and communities considered to be in need. We aimed to gain insight into occasions in which collaborative agency emerged, or failed to emerge, in the coordinated activity of individuals engaged in the creation of intersubjectivity, shared commitments, and perceptions of group accomplishment. We collected narratives over a 4-year period from 123 Bonner Scholars, campus leaders whose scholarship includes a substantial weekly commitment to service. Our analysis of stories featuring or problematizing collaborative agency showed students grappling with limits of collaborative agency, but also generativity and interdependence. They described civic agency and leadership with other students, non-profit partners, and citizens. In some settings, we heard students striving for a collaborative solidarity, moving beyond collaborative agency toward relationships affording mutual empowerment.

A Review of: Evanson, C., & Sponsel, J. (2019). From syndication to misinformation: How undergraduate students engage with and evaluate digital news. Communications in Information Literacy, 13(2), 228-250. https://doi.org/10.15760/comminfolit.2019.13.2.6 Abstract Objective – To determine how new undergraduate students access, share, and evaluate the credibility of digital news. Design – Asynchronous online survey and activity. Setting – A small private, liberal arts college in the southeastern United States of America. Subjects – Participants included 511 incoming first-year college students. Methods – Using the Moodle Learning Management System, incoming first-year students completed a mandatory questionnaire that included multiple choice, Likert scale, open-ended, and true/false questions related to news consumption. Two questions asked students to identify which news sources and social networking sites they have used recently, and the next two questions asked students to define fake news and rate the degree to which fake news impacts them personally and the degree to which it impacts society. The end of the survey presented students with screenshots of three news stories and asked them to reflect on how they would evaluate the claim in the story, their confidence level in the claim, and whether or not they would share this news item on social media. The three items chosen represent certain situations that commonly cause confusion for news consumers: (a) a heading that does not match the text of the article, (b) a syndicated news story, and (c) an impostor URL and fake news story. Researchers coded the student responses using both preset and emergent codes. Main Results – Eighty-two percent of students reported using at least one social media site to access political news in the previous seven days. Students reported believing that fake news is a worrying trend for society, with 86% labelling it either a “moderate” or “extreme” barrier to society’s ability to recognize accurate information. However, they expressed less concern about their own ability to navigate an information environment in which fake news is prevalent, with 51% agreeing that it has only somewhat of an effect on their own ability to effectively navigate digital information. Of the three news items presented to them, students expressed the least confidence (an average of 1.55/4) and least interest in sharing (12%) the first news item, in which the heading does not match the text. However, only 14% of respondents noted this mismatch. In evaluations of the second item, an AP news item on the Breitbart website, 35% of students noted the website on which the article was found, but fewer noted that the original source is the Associated Press. Student responses to the third article, a fake news item from a website masquerading as an NBC website, show that 37% of students believed the source to come from a legitimate NBC source. Only 7% of students recognized the unusual URL, and 24% of respondents indicated that they might share this news item on social media. Conclusion – The study finds that impostor URLs and syndicated news items might confuse students into misevaluating the information before them, and that librarians and other instructors should raise awareness of these tactics.

Background:Vigorous physical activity (VPA) declines from adolescence into adulthood and social disparities in VPA exist. Physical activity is understudied in the college setting.Methods:VPA during high school and college was examined among 10,437 students attending 119 four-year colleges using gender-stratified logistic regression analyses.Results:Fewer students engaged in VPA in college compared with high school (males 74% to 52%; females 68% to 44%). Athletics was associated with VPA, but 51% participated in high school and 15% in college. Among females, African Americans, Asians, and students of lower socioeconomic position (SEP) were less likely to engage in VPA in college, adjusting for high school VPA. Among males, Asians and older students were less likely to engage in VPA.Conclusions:VPA declines from high school to college. Athletic participation is a determinant of VPA, but few participate in collegiate athletics. Social disparities in VPA emerge in college, an important setting for promoting VPA and addressing health disparities. Regular physical activity is an important contributor to human health. It is positively associated with longevity and may prevent or help manage diabetes, metabolic syndrome, overweight, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and colon cancer.1-8 Among children and adolescents, lack of physical activity is associated with higher body mass index.9-10 Physical activity is also associated with positive mood, self-esteem, and decreased anxiety.11-14

In the last decade, negative attitudes towards the United States have increased throughout the world. Though the United States and East Asian countries have relatively had harmonious relationships, anti-Americanism is still prevalent for various reasons. In spite of China’s increasing economic interdependence with the United States, the country is succeeding to its long history of anti-Americanism. Although Japan and South Korea have been considered pro-United States allies since the Korean War (1950–1953), the countries’ younger generations have often expressed critical opinions of the United States. What is the cause of this anti-American sentiment in the East Asian countries? The purpose of this study is to examine the determinants of anti-American sentiment in East Asian countries using a cross-national survey. The results of the empirical analyses support previous approaches and promote four theoretical concepts: (1) the people’s knowledge and curiosity about the United States is the most influential factor of anti-American sentiment for East Asian college students (the cognitive-orientation); (2) individual’s attitudes towards American culture and society influence anti-American sentiment in East Asian countries (the cultural-cleavage); (3) anti-American sentiment in East Asian countries is mostly affected by people’s general ideas about the roles of the United States in the world and United States’ foreign policies (the anti-hegemony); and (4) the people’s general perception on the relationship between their own countries and the United States is another determinant of anti-American sentiment in East Asian countries (the equal-relationship). In contrast, it explains that gender and the financial condition of East Asian college students are not significant determinants of anti-American sentiment.

Abstract This study compares and contrasts experiences of harm to nonhuman animals in the lives of 830 college students in The Bahamas and the United States. Overall, students in The Bahamas were more likely to have been exposed to seeing animals harmed (65%) than those in the United States (16%), and they were more likely to have seen an animal killed (22% in The Bahamas and 12% in the United States). Bahamian students reported a higher rate of participation in harming animals than United States students. Stray animals were at greater risk of harm than animals designated as companion animals. The occurrence of coerced harm to animals including zoophilia was low. Participants were indirect victims of animal harm at older ages than the ages at which they had first witnessed or participated in harming animals. Cross-societal implications of harming animals are discussed in the context of teaching animal welfare.

The drinking problems of 156 Israeli college students were examined in 1986. The data suggest alcohol is used and negative behavior is exhibited with its use. Compared to research on United States college students' drinking problems, lower drinking activity appears to exist in Israel. This exploratory study is viewed as an initial step towards a systematic assessment of college students' alcohol use throughout Israel.

Four waves of Cuban immigrants have arrived to the United States from the early 1960s with the fourth wave still in progress. The changing reasons these immigrants fled Cuba have resulted in diverse characteristics for each wave of immigration. This qualitative study investigated Cuban American students’ perceptions of their cultural background and Spanish proficiencies. The results of this study indicate that all participants possessed limited Spanish proficiencies and a strong desire to maintain their heritage. Implications are discussed in light of the current political climate in the United States.

This study examined which channels, messages, and sources were most effective in increasing political involvement among college students. Political participation among college students has decreased in every election since eighteen year- olds were given the right to vote. Numerous campaigns targeted to increase political participation among college students have been implemented but there is no evidence that these campaigns have been effective. This study developed a grounded theory for increasing political participation among college students l;!ased on several focus group interactions. Students were asked to report on which channels, messages and sources they currently received political information from and were then asked to collaborate on which channels, messages, and sources they predicted would increase political participation among college students. The grounded theory indicated that simplicity and convenience in information acquisition and reform in political dialogue regarding message formation, credibility, trustworthiness, and honesty from message sources were necessary in increasing political participation among college students. Previous research has stopped short of making predications based on prior research and qualitative analysis of what is truly effective in increasing political involvement among college students. This study sheds important insights toward increasing political involvement among college students from a comprehensive communication perspective.

The problem of this study was to determine the levels of physical activity in international college students. A non-experimental, cross-sectional survey design was used to examine the problem of the study. The participants of this study were 64 international college students enrolled in Ball State University. The 13-item instrument of this study consisted of six personal demographic questions and seven measure of physical activity in the past seven days.Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. Descriptive statistics, which included frequencies and percentages, were used for demographic and physical activity questions. T-tests were used to test the differences in physical activity level between gender, classification of degree program, and academic majors. One-way ANOVAs was used to test the differences in physical activity level among different continents and among different length of stay in the U.S.The results showed that a high percentage of the participants in this study met the recommended criteria for physical activity. There were no statistically significant differences between genders, classification of degree program, academic majors, different lengths of stay in the U.S., and different continents where the international students come from. The demographic variables were not significantly associated with physical activity level of international college students.
Department of Physiology and Health Science

This cross-sectional study examined the relationships between length of residence in the United States (U.S.) and dietary and physical activity acculturation, and the relationships between dietary and physical activity acculturation and weight status in 55 Chinese college students. Length of residence in the U.S. was positively associated with larger portion size, greater amount of physical activity, and change in BMI in male participants. Adoption of a Western diet was associated with weight gain. Portion size change was positively associated with BMI change. Lunch size change was positively correlated with BMI change in males while negatively correlated with BMI change in females. And dinner size change was positively correlated with BMI change in males. This study suggests that dietary acculturation is positively associated with weight gain in Chinese college students. Future interventions focusing on multi-dimensional aspects of dietary behavior change--especially portion size and meal size changes--while emphasizing the importance of changes in physical activity are needed. Such interventions may help maintain healthy weight status and prevent individuals in this population from becoming overweight or obese.

The author argues that beyond religious beliefs and conservative politics, rhetorical identification played an important role in the relative calmness of the BYU campus during the turbulent Sixties. Using Bitzer's rhetorical situation theory and Burke's identification theory, the author shows that BYU's calm campus can be explained as a result of communal identification with a conservative ethos. He also shows that apparent epistemological shortcomings of Bitzer's model can be resolved by considering the power of identification to create salience and knowledge in rhetorical situations. During the Sixties, BYU administration developed policies on physical appearance that invited students to take on a conservative identity, and therefore a conservative behavior. Relationships of power and hierarchy at BYU can be understood not as quantitative and oppressive matrices, but as rhetorical choices of students to identify with the character of school president, Ernest Wilkinson, and the administration. Power, then, is as Foucault envisioned it—as a field wherein identity and discourse are negotiated. This thesis argues for a more broad understanding of identification, ethos, and power for explaining rhetorical behavior in communal situations.

Chinese international students in American colleges and universities report low levels of physical activity involvement, which may limit them in terms of realizing their full human potential (i.e., cognitively, physically, socially). The purpose of this dissertation was to investigate the psychosocial mechanisms as well as the sociocultural influences to understand physical activity behavior among Chinese international students in American higher education. The first manuscript reviewed the background of physical activity participation among Chinese students. It also reviewed empirical findings related to the Youth Physical Activity Promotion (YPAP) model (Welk, 1999). The second manuscript tested a model of meeting physical activity recommendation (MPAR), using the YPAP model as the guiding framework in an effort to identify theoretical predictors of physical activity participation among Chinese international students. Results revealed that the predisposing, enabling, and reinforcing factors predicted MPAR among Chinese international students. Different from Welk's (1999) model, however, we found that the enabling and reinforcing factors influenced physical activity indirectly through the predisposing factors, able(i.e., Am I able?) and worth (i.e., Is it worth it?), instead of directly. The results clarify how the YPAP model might be used to understand the physical activity behavior of Chinese international students studying in American colleges and universities. The third manuscript qualitatively explored the physical activity experiences of Chinese female international graduate students in terms of meanings, facilitators, and barriers to participation. It revealed that physical activity provided the participants with a break from their academic work, allowed them some alone time, gave them feelings of accomplishment, and taught them a process for accomplishing other things in their lives. Major facilitators included social influences, the availability of ample resources, their changing perceptions of femininity, and the need to improve or maintain their health. The most frequent barriers included a lack of time, self-efficacy, social support, "how to" information, and cultural barriers. This study adds to our understanding of the physical activity experiences of Chinese international graduate students, as well offers some direction to colleges and universities in the U.S. regarding how they might facilitate the physical activity behavior of Chinese international graduate students in the future. Based on the two empirical studies, colleges and universities ought to provide physical activity resources, as well as social resources, to increase the perceived competence, self-efficacy, positive attitude, and enjoyment of physical activity among Chinese international students. University curriculums and fitness training programs should include cross-cultural course content to increase awareness of the unique needs of international students, as well as to help them to remove barriers to their physical activity participation.
Graduation date: 2012

This dissertation examines the origins and impact of student activism on southern college campuses during the 1960s. Southern students of the sixties joined their colleagues in other parts of the nation in addressing the major social and political questions of the day, but the political mobilization of these students has received scant attention from historians. When a student-led sit-in movement against segregated public establishments swept the South in 1960 and 1961, it initiated a new era in the region's political history and in the history of southern higher education. The sit-ins provided new precedents for southern students as political actors while they simultaneously exposed limitations on academic freedom. On this foundation, southern students built a student movement that challenged not only the racial discrimination in the region but also inadequacies in the region's higher-education system. The escalation of American military involvement in Vietnam intensified this movement in the late 1960s. At the same time, the emergence of black-power rhetoric signaled a rise in militance among the region's black students and raised questions about the meaning of integration in formerly segregated colleges and universities. In 1969 and 1970, campuses throughout the region experienced unprecedented demonstrations. Nevertheless, faced with strong resistance and beset by internal weaknesses, the southern student movement soon lost momentum Based on research conducted at a variety of institutions throughout the region, this dissertation differs from most previous studies of the student movement of the sixties by adopting a biracial focus. Historically black institutions and predominantly white campuses provided different contexts for the emergence of a student movement. But despite the differences, the clashes on black and white campuses were part of one movement---a movement that sought to remake southern higher education and, in the process, southern society
acase@tulane.edu

This research compared structured physical activity patterns to changes in body mass index (BMI) of Chinese university students. Chinese students attending Midwestern universities completed a 26-itemized, validated and reliable physical activity questionnaire. The questionnaire assessed demographics, time spent in various physical activities, BMI, and perceived barriers to exercise prior to and after residing in the U.S. for at least three months. Analysis of variance revealed that, after residing in the U.S., males had a greater increase in time spent in moderate-intensity physical activity compared to females (p < .01), while females had a greater increase in time spent in vigorous-intensity physical activity when compared to males (p < .01). Also, students 21 years of age or older were more likely to increase their time spent in moderate- and vigorous-intensity physical activities combined than those 20 years of age or younger. Lastly, change in BMI appeared to be affected by geographical region of origin (p < .05), where participants from the Eastern region of China had a greater increase in BMI than those from the Western, Northern, and Southern regions. Overall, educating Chinese university students on the importance of incorporating structured physical activities may help prevent future increases in BMI after immersion into the U.S lifestyle.
Department of Family and Consumer Sciences

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)
When the United States entered World War I in April 1917, many Americans quickly rallied to support the nation. Among the numerous committees, organizations, and individuals that became active in the mobilization process were the forty-eight state councils of defense. Encouraged to form by President Wilson and his administration in the days and weeks following U.S entry in the war, the state councils grew as offshoots of the Council of National Defense and assisted in bringing every section of the country into a single scheme of work. Everyone was expected to do their part in WWI, whether they were fighting overseas or helping on the home front. The state councils, broken down into various sections and county, township, and high-school level councils, made sure that this was the case by reaching down into local communities and encouraging individuals to become involved in the war effort. Their work represented the embodiment of a “total war” philosophy and, yet, studies on these organizations are surprisingly scarce, giving readers an inadequate understanding of the American home front during the conflict. This thesis therefore places the focus directly on the state councils and examines the work they undertook to make the United States ready for, and most effective in wartime service. In particular, it explores the efforts of the Educational Section of the Indiana State Council of Defense. By concentrating on this one section, readers may gain a better understanding of the lengths that the state councils went to in order to put every person – teachers and students included – on a wartime footing.

AbstractThis study investigated whether White college students experience cognitive dissonance when taught by immigrant professors of color and if so, how do they restore harmony and balance in order to complete the course successfully. Cognitive dissonance refers to feelings of discomfort that arise when a person’s behavior or attitude is in conflict with the person’s values and beliefs, or when new information contrary to their beliefs is presented to them. The participants in this study were 321 preservice teachers who were enrolled in a culturally and linguistically diversity course and a bilingual education course at a large, predominantly White university in the southwestern United States Using three archival instruments including anonymous questions, a guessing activity, a mid-term and end-of-semester evaluations, the students manifested dissonance by “othering” the professor through cultural and racial profiling, questioned the professor’s qualification, professionalism and credentials, and expressed anger and anxiety towards the course. These processes have significant implications for the career trajectory of the immigrant professor of color, while at the same time impacting the knowledge access for White college students.

Service learning, as one form of experiential education derived from David Kolb's experiential learning model, integrates service with classroom instruction. It can be applied in primary, secondary and higher education setting. According to its broad definition from National Society of Experiential Education in the United States (1994): service learning is “any carefully monitored service experience in which a student has intentional learning goals and reflects actively on what he or she is learning throughout the experiences”. Under the rapid urbanization and economic development in China, higher education is experiencing great challenges in terms of its mission and pedagogy. I share my pioneer teaching experiences of service learning among undergraduate students at a teaching college in Guangdong, China with insufficient institutional support and community partnership. With the details of my course design, practice, and reflections on students' learning, I conclude that students benefit from service learning in their personal growth, civic learning and academic enhancement.

Just as senior administrative roles in higher education are political, the role of a college student government holds similar responsibility as a function of an institution. The intersections of college student government and social justice are necessary to explore in order for senior administrators to share responsibility with and for students. Issues of social justice are being taken up on college campuses across the United States. It is common for student governments to legislate and engage with local, state, and even inter/national issues. The political nature of higher education has enabled and almost forced student governments to take up a wide array of concerns, leaving campus administrators—and students—to look for cues as to where to spend (limited) time, energy, and resources. This chapter illuminates a range of politics and current events, factors associated with institutional and individual influence(s), and final recommendations for higher education practice.

Abstract Chapter 1 introduces the central questions and puzzles that motivate and guide this book. Why did states create special college access programs for students of color in the 1960s? Since there is debate among scholars about the role of urban uprisings in the creation of college access opportunities, did the urban rebellions of the 1960s play a role in the creation of these programs, and if so, how? Moreover, since these programs were designed specifically for students of color, how are they part of the broader history of affirmative action policy in the United States? Finally, since many of the initiatives that led to greater college access for historically excluded groups in the 1960s—including affirmative action, student financial aid, and state support for higher education—have been significantly diminished, what political factors help explain the survival of a college access program for students of color?

"Every year Malthus is proven wrong and is buried—only to spring to life again before the year is out. If he is so wrong, why can't we forget him? If he is right, how does he happen to be so fertile a subject for criticism?" I wrote those words in the 1960s in an introduction to an anthology of essays on population. How naive I was! I supposed that the voices that were then sounding the alarm about population growth would at last get the public's attention. And so they did for about a decade during which environmentalists made common cause with populationists. But some of the most influential of the environmental activists viewed population as a dangerous and unwanted diversion from what they conceived to be humanity's true problems. Their stifling of public concern for population problems was reinforced during the Reagan years by self-styled "supply-side economists." Soon the predominent population message broadcast by both the political left and the political right was "Not to worry!" In 1968 ZPG, Inc., was founded to promote zero population growth as an ideal both for the United States and for the world. Its membership was confined mostly to 350 chapters on college campuses. Twenty-one years later, in 1989, the number had shrunk to just nine. Though Paul Ehrlich's The Population Bomb was a bestseller in 1968, worrying about population growth did not become a growth industry. Malthusians saw population growth as a "root cause" of inflation, unemployment, pollution, congestion, unwanted immigration, influxes of heartrending refugees, trade wars, drug wars, and terrorism. Each of these pathologies has many causes; anti-Malthusians belittled population. Common economic experience made it hard to believe that a population gain of 2 to 4 percent per year (which characterizes poor countries) could be serious; the less than one percent annual growth rate found in rich countries seemed even more trifling. Students of population, however, pointed out that the average gain in world population during the past million years has been less than 0.002 percent per year. That "small" rate of increase, operating over a million years, has produced our present five billion people, not a "small" number by any standard. When it comes to rates of increase that are continued indefinitely, no rate that exceeds zero by the most minute amount can be regarded as small.

“It is a Baldwinian moment,” a colleague says to me in the spring of 2016. He says this at the end of an academic year in which college students across the United States have—with a speed that seems to surprise even themselves—organized protests and occupied buildings and issued demands for greater racial diversity, equity, and sensitivity on their campuses. Those students are reading Baldwin, quoting Baldwin, rediscovering Baldwin. The measure of a certain kind of public conversation, my Facebook feed flashes regularly with snippets of ...

As United States higher education moves from the gilded age to a more challenging one, this research examines how the changing demographics of American college students should influence how political science faculty teach their classes. With more first-generation, underrepresented students (FGUS) on college campuses, the study offers five best practices to improve student success for political science faculty. Additionally, the research proposes that the content in political science courses should reflect the changing demographics of our students – both in revising our existing courses and offering new ones. Finally, diversification of faculty in political science is vital when teaching students of underrepresented groups.

Wagner College is participating in a ground-breaking project that brings migrant families together after years of separation. This project has been not only inspirational for both faculty members and students, but is also a great opportunity to learn about forced migration and alternatives to keep families together. The “Transnational Project: San Jerónimo Xayacatlán-Port Richmond” was created to connect communities in both the United States and Mexico and to preserve their cultural identities that have been threatened by forced migration. In this chapter, I would like to present the project focusing on three aspects: the history of the project, the individual stories of members who migrated and of those who stayed in their homeland, and the impact of this educational opportunity in the classroom. I will use a series of interviews with the members of Ñani Migrante (the group formed by the members of both the San Jerónimo and the Port Richmond communities), the presentations of both panels that took place at Wagner College, and the reflections of students who attended them.

Some state and regional study abroad and international education-based consortia of community colleges have been struggling to remain operational. Key outside factors that have created trials include the United States' (US) economic downturn that ensued from 2007-2009, ongoing regulations set by government officials, and internal logistical challenges such as changes in leadership at member institutions, alterations in financial aid requirements, and emphasis placed on degree completion. There has been much analysis on “why” these consortia exist in the field; in contrast, this chapter focuses on “how” they persist. The Maryland Community College International Education Consortium (MCCIEC) is one of the nation's state consortia that continue to be active and flourish, navigating through economic trials, governmental policies that offset international student entry in to American higher education, and common logistical issues; this chapter uses MCCIEC as an illustrative model to show how community college consortia may function to prosper. MCCIEC uses four main approaches—1) gaining higher administrative buy-in, 2) encouraging full institutional support at membership colleges, 3) incorporating strong incentives for member activity, and 4) stimulating growth—to not only survive, but to thrive.

Does consumption of mobile news make a difference in acquiring knowledge of public affairs? Focusing on news regarding the relationship between North Korea and the United States, this chapter examines the learning effect of mobile news among the surveyed college students in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Taipei. Results reveal that male respondents are more politically knowledgeable than are female respondents; need for orientation is a significant predictor of political knowledge. In addition, societal factors such as information accessibility also affect Asian college students’ acquisition of political knowledge—respondents living in a highly accessible city tend to know more about the North Korea and U.S. relations than do their peers living in a city with restricted access to digital information. In learning from mobile news, both the hardware (4G networks and smartphones) and software (global outlook, access, and openness) are equally important in producing informed and engaged young citizens in Asia.

Aim/Purpose: This paper provides the results of the preliminary analysis of the findings of an ongoing study that seeks to examine the social media use, cultural and political awareness, civic engagement, issue prioritization, and social activism of Gen Z students enrolled at four different institutional types located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. The aim of this study is to look at the group as a whole as well as compare findings across populations. The institutional types under consideration include a mid-sized majority serving or otherwise referred to as a traditionally white institution (TWI) located in a small coastal city on the Atlantic Ocean, a small Historically Black University (HBCU) located in a rural area, a large community college located in a county that is a mixture of rural and suburban and which sits on the border of Maryland and Pennsylvania, and graduating high school students enrolled in career and technical education (CTE) programs in a large urban area. This exploration is purposed to examine the behaviors and expectations of Gen Z students within a representative American region during a time of tremendous turmoil and civil unrest in the United States. Background: Over 74 million strong, Gen Z makes up almost one-quarter of the U.S. population. They already outnumber any current living generation and are the first true digital natives. Born after 1996 and through 2012, they are known for their short attention spans and heightened ability to multi-task. Raised in the age of the smart phone, they have been tethered to digital devices from a young age with most having the preponderance of their childhood milestones commemorated online. Often called Zoomers, they are more racially and ethnically diverse than any previous generation and are on track to be the most well-educated generation in history. Gen Zers in the United States have been found in the research to be progressive and pro-government and viewing increasing racial and ethnic diversity as positive change. Finally, they are less likely to hold xenophobic beliefs such as the notion of American exceptionalism and superiority that have been popular with by prior generations. The United States has been in a period of social and civil unrest in recent years with concerns over systematic racism, rampant inequalities, political polarization, xenophobia, police violence, sexual assault and harassment, and the growing epidemic of gun violence. Anxieties stirred by the COVID-19 pandemic further compounded these issues resulting in a powder keg explosion occurring throughout the summer of 2020 and leading well into 2021. As a result, the United States has deteriorated significantly in the Civil Unrest Index falling from 91st to 34th. The vitriol, polarization, protests, murders, and shootings have all occurred during Gen Z’s formative years, and the limited research available indicates that it has shaped their values and political views. Methodology: The Mid-Atlantic region is a portion of the United States that exists as the overlap between the northeastern and southeastern portions of the country. It includes the nation’s capital, as well as large urban centers, small cities, suburbs, and rural enclaves. It is one of the most socially, economically, racially, and culturally diverse parts of the United States and is often referred to as the “typically American region.” An electronic survey was administered to students from 2019 through 2021 attending a high school dual enrollment program, a minority serving institution, a majority serving institution, and a community college all located within the larger mid-Atlantic region. The survey included a combination of multiple response, Likert scaled, dichotomous, open ended, and ordinal questions. It was developed in the Survey Monkey system and reviewed by several content and methodological experts in order to examine bias, vagueness, or potential semantic problems. Finally, the survey was pilot tested prior to implementation in order to explore the efficacy of the research methodology. It was then modified accordingly prior to widespread distribution to potential participants. The surveys were administered to students enrolled in classes taught by the authors all of whom are educators. Participation was voluntary, optional, and anonymous. Over 800 individuals completed the survey with just over 700 usable results, after partial completes and the responses of individuals outside of the 18-24 age range were removed. Findings: Participants in this study overwhelmingly were users of social media. In descending order, YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, WhatsApp, LinkedIn and Tik Tok were the most popular social media services reported as being used. When volume of use was considered, Instagram, Snapchat, YouTube and Twitter were the most cited with most participants reporting using Instagram and Snapchat multiple times a day. When asked to select which social media service they would use if forced to choose just one, the number one choice was YouTube followed by Instagram and Snapchat. Additionally, more than half of participants responded that they have uploaded a video to a video sharing site such as YouTube or Tik Tok. When asked about their familiarity with different technologies, participants overwhelmingly responded that they are “very familiar” with smart phones, searching the Web, social media, and email. About half the respondents said that they were “very familiar” with common computer applications such as the Microsoft Office Suite or Google Suite with another third saying that they were “somewhat familiar.” When asked about Learning Management Systems (LMS) like Blackboard, Course Compass, Canvas, Edmodo, Moodle, Course Sites, Google Classroom, Mindtap, Schoology, Absorb, D2L, itslearning, Otus, PowerSchool, or WizIQ, only 43% said they were “very familiar” with 31% responding that they were “somewhat familiar.” Finally, about half the students were either “very” or “somewhat” familiar with operating systems such as Windows. A few preferences with respect to technology in the teaching and learning process were explored in the survey. Most students (85%) responded that they want course announcements and reminders sent to their phones, 76% expect their courses to incorporate the use of technology, 71% want their courses to have course websites, and 71% said that they would rather watch a video than read a book chapter. When asked to consider the future, over 81% or respondents reported that technology will play a major role in their future career. Most participants considered themselves “informed” or “well informed” about current events although few considered themselves “very informed” or “well informed” about politics. When asked how they get their news, the most common forum reported for getting news and information about current events and politics was social media with 81% of respondents reporting. Gen Z is known to be an engaged generation and the participants in this study were not an exception. As such, it came as no surprise to discover that, in the past year more than 78% of respondents had educated friends or family about an important social or political issue, about half (48%) had donated to a cause of importance to them, more than a quarter (26%) had participated in a march or rally, and a quarter (26%) had actively boycotted a product or company. Further, about 37% consider themselves to be a social activist with another 41% responding that aren’t sure if they would consider themselves an activist and only 22% saying that they would not consider themselves an activist. When asked what issues were important to them, the most frequently cited were Black Lives Matter (75%), human trafficking (68%), sexual assault/harassment/Me Too (66.49%), gun violence (65.82%), women’s rights (65.15%), climate change (55.4%), immigration reform/deferred action for childhood arrivals (DACA) (48.8%), and LGBTQ+ rights (47.39%). When the schools were compared, there were only minor differences in social media use with the high school students indicating slightly more use of Tik Tok than the other participants. All groups were virtually equal when it came to how informed they perceived themselves about current events and politics. Consensus among groups existed with respect to how they get their news, and the community college and high school students were slightly more likely to have participated in a march, protest, or rally in the last 12 months than the university students. The community college and high school students were also slightly more likely to consider themselves social activists than the participants from either of the universities. When the importance of the issues was considered, significant differences based on institutional type were noted. Black Lives Matter (BLM) was identified as important by the largest portion of students attending the HBCU followed by the community college students and high school students. Less than half of the students attending the TWI considered BLM an important issue. Human trafficking was cited as important by a higher percentage of students attending the HBCU and urban high school than at the suburban and rural community college or the TWI. Sexual assault was considered important by the majority of students at all the schools with the percentage a bit smaller from the majority serving institution. About two thirds of the students at the high school, community college, and HBCU considered gun violence important versus about half the students at the majority serving institution. Women’s rights were reported as being important by more of the high school and HBCU participants than the community college or TWI. Climate change was considered important by about half the students at all schools with a slightly smaller portion reporting out the HBCU. Immigration reform/DACA was reported as important by half the high school, community college, and HBCU participants with only a third of the students from the majority serving institution citing it as an important issue. With respect to LGBTQ rights approximately half of the high school and community college participants cited it as important, 44.53% of the HBCU students, and only about a quarter of the students attending the majority serving institution. Contribution and Conclusion: This paper provides a timely investigation into the mindset of generation Z students living in the United States during a period of heightened civic unrest. This insight is useful to educators who should be informed about the generation of students that is currently populating higher education. The findings of this study are consistent with public opinion polls by Pew Research Center. According to the findings, the Gen Z students participating in this study are heavy users of multiple social media, expect technology to be integrated into teaching and learning, anticipate a future career where technology will play an important role, informed about current and political events, use social media as their main source for getting news and information, and fairly engaged in social activism. When institutional type was compared the students from the university with the more affluent and less diverse population were less likely to find social justice issues important than the other groups. Recommendations for Practitioners: During disruptive and contentious times, it is negligent to think that the abounding issues plaguing society are not important to our students. Gauging the issues of importance and levels of civic engagement provides us crucial information towards understanding the attitudes of students. Further, knowing how our students gain information, their social media usage, as well as how informed they are about current events and political issues can be used to more effectively communicate and educate. Recommendations for Researchers: As social media continues to proliferate daily life and become a vital means of news and information gathering, additional studies such as the one presented here are needed. Additionally, in other countries facing similarly turbulent times, measuring student interest, awareness, and engagement is highly informative. Impact on Society: During a highly contentious period replete with a large volume of civil unrest and compounded by a global pandemic, understanding the behaviors and attitudes of students can help us as higher education faculty be more attuned when it comes to the design and delivery of curriculum. Future Research This presentation presents preliminary findings. Data is still being collected and much more extensive statistical analyses will be performed.

Concerns about safety have generated considerable research on warnings in recent years. A number of factors that influence warning effectiveness have been investigated. One factor is perceived hazard, which is a belief about how dangerous a product, environment or activity may be. The purpose of the present study was to conduct a cross-cultural investigation between the beliefs and attitudes about the safety of consumer products, the roles of product manufacturers and government in product safety, and aspects regarding warnings by participants in Brazil and in the United States (U.S.). A total of 282 individuals (including college students and adult volunteers) were recruited from these two countries. Participants in both countries believed that government would act to protect them by recalling or banning unsafe products and that manufacturers are more concerned with profits than safety. U.S. participants believed that the products in the U.S. were safer at a level that was significantly higher than what Brazilians believed about their products. Interestingly Brazilians reported that they read warnings more than the U.S. participants reported but Brazilian participants believed their warning labels were of poorer quality than what the U.S. participants reported. Other results show additional differences between the two populations. The results are discussed in terms of acknowledging that cultural background can affect safety-related beliefs.