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Polymedia, transmedia, and spreadable media are all relatively new foundational theories of mediated communication in need of further interrogation and examination. The panelists examine various aspects of these theories, through differing case studies within popular culture. The examinations in this panel include what it means to “own” players in fantasy football, the language based critical comedy of George Carlin, the flows and “traces” in the Whedonverse, and the phenomenon of Sharknado.

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In this piece the author takes a journey into the meaning of quests through the philosophical terrain of existential phenomenology and authenticity. Unlike quest narratives in literature and popular culture, our life narratives are not yet finished, but ongoing. Comparing the idea of existential homelessness with its undeniable and constant change to that of autoethnographic writing, he examines narrative and memory and how current life events change our understandings of past narratives and our sense of identity. Our life narratives are made up of fragmented thoughts and ideas, the stories others told before we were born—and will tell about us after we are gone.

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This roundtable discussion offers insights from first-year and recent faculty members about the ups and downs of the transition from graduate student to faculty member. While uch of the last year of graduate school is focused on finding a job that fits, adjusting to that job requires a shift in self-identity and role competence in addition to the physical relocation. The expectations and responsibilities as a faculty colleague, instructor, and advisor are greater. Unlike graduate school, you may be the only new person in the department, and so must acclimate to a new culture and navigate new departmental politics alone. And of course, the tenure clock starts ticking. The presenters will each discuss an aspect of the transition based on their own experiences and offer strategies for surviving and thriving in a new position.

Homeless research has focused on the service-directed approach, but few qualitative studies have focused on the critical and sensitive nature of the intake process. Staff in rural and remote communities struggle to refer services and mainstream resources to homeless veterans. The purpose of this case study was to explore case managers' perspectives on intake procedures in rural Pennsylvania communities. Lewin's force field analysis was used as a theoretical basis to examine the rationale for behaviors and forces that impact an individual's state. Six case managers and 1 supervisor were selected for face-to-face interviews based on their experience, job duties, and length of time involved in homeless services. The themes that emerged from coding analysis included coordinated entry, paperwork length and redundancy, geographical barriers including transportation and employment services, identification and outreach, and case management staff. Findings may be used to improve assessment techniques and critical time intervention strategies to reduce the length of homelessness for rural veterans.

Extralegal Factors Important to Judges' Decisions in Child Abuse Custody Cases by Marilyn J. Nolan MS, Pittsburg (Kansas) State University, 1986 BS, Missouri Southern State University, 1982 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Human Services Walden University May 2015 Research has shown juvenile court judges are skeptical of mental health testimony; however there is a lack of research regarding what types of testimony by what kinds of experts are valued by judges. Using the theory of legal pragmatism, the purpose of this study was to assess how 83 Oklahoma District Court judges rated extralegal factors influencing their perceptions of the credibility of mental health expert testimony. Quantitative survey research methods were used to collect the data. Friedman ANOVAs by ranks with multiple comparisons were used to test differences across multiple characteristics, and Spearman rho coefficients assessed relationships of age and gender of judges with their importance ratings of extralegal factors. The results showed that judges preferred PhD psychologists over other mental health professionals, witnesses who drew firm conclusions, testimony in layman's terms, and citing theories accepted by the scientific community. A child's testimony and educational credentials of experts were important to younger female judges when deciding custody as was maintaining the integrity of the family when deciding termination issues. Other findings included: all judges agreed sexual abuse was the most important criteria for terminating parental rights, all forms of child abuse were important case factors that influenced judges' decisions, and disparaging parents and substance abuse by a parent were important to older male judges in their decisions. Results from this study will assist in the development of core curricula for courtroom skills training for mental health experts, paving the way for positive social change. With improved training and quality of expert testimony, judges will be more likely to use testimony from knowledgeable unbiased experts when making decisions which will benefit children, families, and communities.