Writing
Do images influence voting habits? Study indicates it’s possible
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Images can influence the perception of political candidates, but the effects vary depending on gender, according to new research from Purdue University.
“Gender here played a huge role,” said Diana Zulli, an assistant professor in the Brian Lamb School of Communication at Purdue University.
Zulli’s research explores the role of Instagram images in shaping perceptions of candidate electability, vote likelihood, and overall evaluations. The research focuses on three features of Instagram that might affect candidate perceptions: visual liveness, visual authenticity, and visual emotionality.
Visual liveness involves images implying an activity happening in the moment with suggested physical movement. Visual authenticity depicts relatable images, such as the candidates casually dressed. Visual emotionality involves close-up images depicting either positive or negative emotions.
The research surveyed 1,008 people who were either shown one image or shown no images, then asked what they think about a candidate. All partisanship was removed from the photos along with being made to look like authentic Instagram photos.
“Overall, they’re very, very mixed,” Zulli said when discussing the study’s results. “There’s not a super consistent narrative we can tell from these results.”
One identifiable result was that the female candidate, Elissa Slotkin, was judged more harshly by participants than her male counterpart, Andy Levin.
Slotkin didn’t benefit from her being pictured with positive emotionality, but being pictured with negative emotionality hurt her perception. Levin’s perception was negatively affected by being pictured with negative emotionality, but being pictured with positive emotionality helped his perception.
An authentic photo of Slotkin decreased perceptions she would win an election, but caused the participants to be more likely to vote for her. Levin’s perception of an election victory, however, positively increased when participants were shown an authentic photo of him, along with participants becoming more likely to vote for him.
The study provides preliminary insight into which types of Instagram images influence perceptions of candidates. The findings were mixed, suggesting some limitations to the persuasive value of liveness, authenticity, and positive emotionality.
“Absent of media narratives, images alone might not be able to paint a complete enough story for participants and voters to think, ‘Yes, this person can win their election,’” Zulli said. “A lot of the media narratives we hear help us construct those perceptions.”
The study indicates Instagram might be a challenge for political candidates to present themselves as electable and better leaders while campaigning.
Zulli conducted the research with Oakland University professor and Purdue University graduate Dr. Terry Towner.
About Purdue University
Purdue University is a top public research institution developing practical solutions to today’s toughest challenges. Ranked the No. 6 Most Innovative University in the United States by U.S. News & World Report, Purdue delivers world-changing research and out-of-this-world discovery. Committed to hands-on and online, real-world learning, Purdue offers a transformative education to all. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue has frozen tuition and most fees at 2012-13 levels, enabling more students than ever to graduate debt-free. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap at purdue.edu.
Writer: Josh Martin, josh@joshuamartin.me
Source: Diana Zulli
(This was a class assignment)
City Council opts-in to opioid settlement, tables towing and facial recognition ordinances
The West Lafayette City Council approved an ordinance to opt-in to the opioid settlement the council opted-out of in June 2021, which would hold opioid providers responsible for damages done to the city.
City Attorney Eric Burns says most of the city governments that opted-out will probably opt-in after the law change.
“Almost all, if not every single community government, will hop back in because of that shift, which gives us safety in numbers,” Burns said.
The previous law would make cities pay 70% of the settlement back to the state instead of the money going to the city. The change in law allows city governments to keep 35% of the settlement earnings and lowers legal fees by 25%.
A raise for the cap of $85 per vehicle towed was proposed by Karrie Driscol, Secretary of Indiana Towing and Wrecker Association Secretary. Driscol says under the financial caps implemented since 2003, the tow trucks are operating at a loss when they tow vehicles.
Driscol said towing vehicles costs $117.47 on average, leaving the towing companies with $37 deficit on every tow. She also said towing companies end up keeping 25% of all towed vehicles, incurring additional costs to dispose of them by auction.
Driscol said the deficit would increase soon, citing an expected 7% cost increase for fuel next month due to inflation.
An ordinance that would provide adequate oversight of facial recognition data was proposed and table until the council meeting in April.
Council member David Sanders proposed the updated ordinance after his previous proposal was vetoed by West Lafayette Mayor John Dennis in December 2021.
“The concern is about the technology and about the discriminatory effects of the technology,” Sanders said.
Sanders is also concerned about what happens to facial recognition data when it ends up in the hands of private entities. He said there’s been concerns with Clearview AI, the company many Indiana cities use to handle facial recognition data. The ordinance would give cities oversight over the companies handling the facial recognition data.
Marcus Truscio, a senior in the College of Liberal Arts majoring in mass communication, was in attendance and is concerned with the proposed towing cap increase.
“I have friends that get towed more often than they should. They won’t be happy if they have to pay more to get their car back,” Truscio said. “I’m interested to see where the council goes and what that means for West Lafayette residents and students.”
New factory will bring 500 jobs to area
Even after working seven days a week, single mother Betty Jones can’t support her two children as well as she would like. Grocery shopping at Aldi, buying clothes from Goodwill, and using hand-me-down furniture isn’t enough for her to get ahead and buy her children nice things.
Jones, 35, earns minimum wage working at an Arby’s restaurant. She works so much that she’s tired all the time and isn’t home enough to see her kids as much as she would like.
“I just want to be able to put a roof over my kids’ heads, buy them some nice things,” Jones said.
Jones’ wishes may be coming true after West Lafayette Mayor Dennis Lester announced on Monday that Computers R Us will be opening a 500-person factory — the largest in the company — hopefully late next year. All 500 workers will be hired locally and will be paid $17.25 per hour, along with two weeks of paid vacation.
Construction for the plant is planned to start immediately while the company plans to begin accepting applications for the 500 jobs in the next few months. The company will continue hiring as needed until the plant opens.
The unemployment rate in the West Lafayette area for unskilled labor is 12%, increased due to the major employers in the area — SIA, Caterpillar, Alcoa, Staley — recently laying off employees.
Tom Binkman, vice president of the New York-based Computers R Us, said West Lafayette was chosen due to its location near Interstate 65 and the impressive presentation by Mayor Lest and the West Lafayette council members.
Ann Miller is an employment counselor at the local Department for Employment and felt the city is lucky to have these job opportunities open up.
“This news gives a lot of hard-working people a lot of hope for a better future,” Miller said. “We have a lot of good people who aren’t afraid to work hard. They are honest people who deserve a chance for a good future. Now they have it.”
The new Computers R Us facility gives Jones hope. Most jobs in the area for low-skilled workers pay minimum wage — Computer R Us will be changing that.
“This new plant could be a dream come true,” Jones said.
Miller said applications for employment at the plant will be distributed through the Department for Employment with the exact date applications will be available announced soon.
(This was a class assignment)
National Parent Teacher Association urges parents to discuss sex with their teens
If the U.S. wants to curb its teen pregnancy problem, parents need to talk to their children about sex, according to a doctor who spoke at West Lafayette High School on Monday.
“Most teens say that it would be easier for them to postpone sexual activity and avoid teen pregnancy if they were able to have more open, honest conversations about these topics with their parents,” said National Parent Teacher Association representative Dr. Vivek Murthy. “Yet nearly one in four teens say they have never discussed sex, contraception, or pregnancy with their parents.”
Murthy is the honorary chairman of a national PTA campaign against teen pregnancy. His speech on Monday night was one of 50 he’s making across the country, offering advice aided by research to parents and school faculty.
Indiana has the fifth highest teen pregnancy rate, making it an important stop on Murthy’s campaign. The national teen pregnancy rate is 97 per 1000 girls between the ages of 15-19, yet Indiana’s teen pregnancy exceeds the national average with 125 pregnancies per 1000 girls in the same age group, according to the Alan Guttmacher Institute.
“Parents continue to underestimate the influence they have over their children's decisions about sex, according to new survey data released by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy,” Murthy said.
According to the survey, teens say it would be easier for them avoid teen pregnancy if parents enabled them to have more open and honest conversations about the topic. Nearly 60% of teens surveyed also said their parents are their role models for healthy and responsible relationships, but nearly 25% of teens say they’ve never discussed sex with their parents.
“It cannot be left up to school curriculums. Parents can be key information providers as well,” Murthy said.
With Valentine's Day approaching, Murthy warns parents about teenagers being bombarded with confusing messages on TV and in newspapers that love equals sex. He doesn’t want Valentine's Day this year to be the time young people are robbed of their childhood.
Murthy says one in five adolescents report they have been at a party in the past six months where there were no adults in the house and that 50% of adolescents felt pressure to be sexually active.
“Talk to your children. They will listen. Encourage them to make smart decisions about sex,” Murthy said.
For more information about Murthy’s work, visit https://www.pta.org.
(This was a class assignment)
Finding a good meal can prove to be challenging during exam weeks, when waiting in a dining court line takes more time than students may have to spare.
Diego Ortiz lived in Hillenbrand Hall his freshman year, so his dorm experience has given him a variety of ideas to keep easy-to-make meals from being boring.
“I’d eat a lot of ramen noodles,” the senior in the College of Liberal Arts said. “I’d also get fancy with that just by mixing in an egg.”
He would heat up the ramen halfway, then crack an egg in the ramen and finish cooking it in the microwave.
Ortiz said his most creative meals were the salads he made while on a keto diet.
“There’s only anywhere from three to six ingredients to make a really good salad,” Ortiz said.
Fresh greens, fresh dressing from the refrigerated aisle, walnuts, baked cheese crumbles and a hard-boiled egg cooked in the microwave are his favorite ingredients for salad.
When it comes to microwave meals, Ortiz said Hot Pockets were at the top of his list. He used to buy the more healthy, whole grain kind, ranging from classic pepperoni to breakfast ham and cheese. Frozen burritos were one of his favorites too, he said.
Abby Goodin, a freshman in the College of Education, likes to keep it simple in her dorm room with a microwave. Popcorn, macaroni and cheese and pizza rolls are her go-to microwave meals because they’re quick and easy.
“My friend has soup,” Goodin said. “I’ve eaten her soup before.”
Bagels with cream cheese, Flavor Blasted Goldfish, granola bars and yogurt are her favorite snacks to hold her over between meals.
Ortiz said he likes Pop-Tarts as his favorite in-between-meals snack.
“If I have time, they’re twice as good heated up,” he said. Classic strawberry is his Pop-Tarts flavor of choice.
Both students suggested grocery shopping off campus if possible, since they said the Target on State Street often has long lines and an unreliable inventory of food. Ortiz would ride the bus to Walmart to take advantage of their sales.
If students want to shop at a nearby grocery store off campus, CityBus has stops near Pay Less Super Markets, Meijer and Walmart.
Board of Trustees approves an expansion and new programs, and ratifies faculty
Purdue's Board of Trustees approved a winter recess, an expansion and new programs, and also ratified faculty positions during a meeting on Friday.
A $20 million phenotyping greenhouse expansion will begin in November on the West Lafayette campus and is anticipated to be completed by August 2024.
The new greenhouse will increase opportunities for non-invasive sensor-based phenotyping and add almost 5,000 square feet to greenhouse research space.
Purdue President Mitch Daniels encouraged the board to add a three-day winter recess on Dec. 27-29 for staff on all campuses, keeping the university closed from Dec. 23, 2022 through Jan. 2, 2023.
Shihuan Kuang was named the Cancer Center Chair in Stem Cell Biology and Melinda Zook was named the Germaine Seelye Oesterle Professor of History after the board ratified these new positions.
A new Master of Science degree in applied geospatial analytics and a new Doctor of Philosophy in computer and information technology will be offered beginning in Fall 2022.