BACKGROUND: Research has established the positive link between physical activity and its impact on health among adults. Generally, as people get older, they are less likely to be active. Black women comprise 13% of the women in the US but constitute 52% of women who are inactive. Existing articles on exercise motivation among Black women have generally assessed sedentary individuals. Little research has examined the motivations to exercise among physically active Black women. METHODS: Guided by the regulators of the Self Determination Theory, the 56 item Motivations of Marathoners Scales for Triathletes (MOMS-T) was used to assess the motives of (N =121) midlife to older Black women (36+) and then transformed into a semi structured guide to interview (n =12) women to further understand their motives for participating in triathlons. RESULTS: Univariate and two way analysis reveals age as a predictor for the four regulators (external, introjection, integration and intrinsic) but BMI and distance are not. Integration demonstrated the highest mean. Qualitative results indicated that construct of self competition and receiving medals are important aspects of participation but are not measured in the survey. A new scale, triathlete lifestyle, should be considered within the MOMS-T. CONCLUSION: Findings were representative of the study population and comparable to previous studies. The survey transformation of the MOMS-T into an interview guide provided additional qualitative explanations of the survey answers demonstrating a secondary method of gathering data as important to provide further understanding about constructs not measured in the survey form of the MOMS-T.

The reproductive justice movement gives a voice and representation to women of color whose experience of reproductive control is impacted by intersecting layers of oppression. This thesis uses an intersectional approach to develop the concept of racial reproductive control logics, which describes the relationship between racial logics and racial patterns of reproductive control. The study uses qualitative interviews and content analysis of organizational material to explore how the reproductive justice movement is influenced by racial reproductive control logics.

This study is an investigation into why people with depression and anxiety use complementary and alternative medicines at higher rates than the general population. The study examines perceptions of mental illness and meanings assigned to depression and anxiety, others’ perceptions of mental illness, and experiences with conventional medicine. All participants were using complementary and alternative medicine at the time of the study; their reasons for CAM use as well as how CAM affected perceptions of their illness were main research questions. I conducted three focus groups with individuals diagnosed with depression who were using complementary and alternative medicine as forms of treatment. Focus groups were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using the coding software Nvivo. Participants were also given two questionnaires that were analyzed using SPSS. This study shows that complementary and alternative medicine ultimately gives individuals perceived control, a sense of agency, action, and acceptance in regards to their mental illness.

Popular culture scholar Henry Jenkins chronicles the intellectual and emotional labor of being an “aca/fan” – or an academic, trained in media criticism, who also operates as a media consumer. This panel explores aca/fan identity through Joss Whedon’s media narratives, such as The Avengers, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Cabin In the Woods, Dollhouse, Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog and Fire

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Studies have demonstrated that classroom climate strongly affects the likelihood of students communicating within the classroom (e.g., Henson & Denker, 2009; Ifert Johnson, 2009). Furthermore, students are more likely to engage within a supportive environment (Myers & Claus, 2012). By exploring the impact of classroom discussions of diversity, such as gender, race, sexuality and class, this panel seeks to highlight the importance, difficulties, and possibilities of discussing diverse issues while maintaining a supportive classroom climate.

Recent media scholars have taken, as their focus, relationships between qualitative research methods and examinations of contemporary media texts (e.g., Fox, 2013; Manning, Dunn, & Stern, 2012; Meyer, 2012). The purpose of this panel is to further examine these relationships. Participants will demonstrate how a qualitative research method (e.g., ethnography, autoethnography, narrative analysis, textual or discourse analysis, audience studies) can be used to study contemporary television and film texts (e.g. Coronation Street, Here Comes Honey Boo Boo, Orange is the New Black, Mad Men, Cabin in the Woods, The Butler). Participants will first discuss their particular method and then provide an exemplar of that method as they examine their chosen media text(s). To assist with the audience discussion of these methods and texts, participants will also include a brief clip/excerpt of their chosen texts.

Backchanneling – maintaining real-time online conversations alongside the primary group activity or live spoken remarks – is a growing part of our mobile-enhanced, networked world. Backchanneling is now prominent in many contexts, including presidential debates, conferences, and classrooms. As such, backchanneling offers possibilities and challenges for communication scholars, including carnival, collaboration, bricolage, and performance. This panel will present various theories and practices of backchanneling and encourages backchanneling from audience members through the Twitter hashtag #csca14bc.

Each panelist has chosen an artifact (or type, genre, etc.) from the recent past and interrogated its role as an influence on contemporary popular culture, working to show the linkage between then and now. This type of work is underappreciated and we would like to attempt to show how informing ourselves on popular culture past can make us better critics in the present. Our hope is to inspire others to take up that cause as well. In that spirit, we would like to encourage people to come prepared to discuss ideas and share their own work in a workshop type environment.

With the 2012 releases of The Cabin in the Woods and The Avengers, writer/director Joss Whedon moved beyond his cult status and into the mainstream. His cult television work, however, remains admired in both the popular imagination and in the academic world of popular culture studies. This year’s CSCA13 corresponds with the ten-year anniversary of the cancellation of Whedon’s first successful cult television show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Whedon’s other work, including Firefly, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along-Blog, Dollhouse, Angel, etc., are not only cult fan favorites, but favorites in popular culture academia. The participants on this panel will explore various aspects of Whedon and the Whedonverse, including: Whedon’s rhetorical framing regarding his transformation from cult director to mainstream phenom; his genre-bending frameworks across his various projects; his examination of gender roles; exploring and exploding Whedon’s use of mythology; and how Whedon’s characters manage to out-organize formal organizations.