Face it: The Impact of Gender on Social Media Images

Social websites like Facebook enable users to upload self-created digital images; it is therefore of interest to see how gender is performed in this domain. A panel used a literature review of pictorial features associated with gender traits, and a sample of Facebook pictures to assess gender stereotypes present in Facebook images. Traits emerging in greater prominence in pictures of males included active, dominant, and independent. Those prominent with female users included attractive and dependent. These findings generally conform to gender stereotypes found in prior research and extend the research regarding stereotypical gender traits displayed in professional media depictions to self-selected social media displays. They also extend the research on gender differences in impression management generally, in both interpersonal communication and social media, to include gender-specific traits that are part of young mens and women's impression management.     

‘There are other people out there!’ Successful postgraduate peer groups and research communities at a New Zealand university

Recent research has highlighted the various benefits of postgraduate peer support, including timely degree completion. This article describes and considers an initiative that sought to manufacture postgraduate peer-support groups and communities at a New Zealand university. It intends to further understanding of this area and, in particular, to discuss positive characteristics of postgraduate peer groups and the role of the institution in supporting them. Drawing on interviews with 12 postgraduate peer leaders, key findings include: the possibility of manufacturing peer-support groups, with a legitimising function coming from overt institutional support; that peer groups can be made up of students from across a wide range of postgraduate courses and disciplines; that, given an open mandate from the institution, peer leaders can contribute to the challenge of creating a positive research community; and that a collaborative institution-wide approach to postgraduate support provision is achievable.     

The Persuasive Effects of Audiovisual PSAs to Promote Organ Donation: The Mediating Role of Psychological Reactance

The use of shared experiences and an accurate representation of real life situations is critical to effective speech education. This essay examines the use of role playing and principles of learning applied to the modern speech classroom.     

Assessment matters: Early intervention: Using assessment to reduce student attrition

Brian A. Vander Schee describes how incorporating the College Student Inventory into an existing freshman seminar measurably improved student retention.