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This study examined seven historically Black newspapers’ coverage of the landmark Supreme Court case Loving v. Virginia (1967), which overturned anti‐miscegenation laws that prevented non‐White individuals from marrying White individuals. A content analysis of frames and source usage within 31 news stories about the case indicated that about half of the stories (N = 14) advocated for the Lovings and a small number (N = 1) advocated for the State of Virginia; the remaining stories were either informational (N = 7) or objectivist (N = 9). Because the media is said to be a cultural mirror of public opinion, the results of this study may indicate the public's views on the issue of intermarriage laws. This study's findings also showed that historically Black newspapers agreed with their mainstream counterparts more than they disagreed.

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As a group learning experience in a graduate cartography course, a focus group study was performed of a recently-redesigned map of the Michigan State University campus. The learning process involved two parts. Part one was a 75-minute focus group discussion during regular class time with the instructor as the moderator, one student as the assistant and notetaker, and the other members of the class as the subjects. After instructions were given, everyone studied the map for a brief period and then discussed a set of issues focused on the design of the map. Discussion was orderly but lively and packed with relevant comments. Part two occurred at the next class session. Students discussed the experience, the results, the assigned readings on the method, and relevance of the method to other projects. A written report was then prepared for the producers of the map. Reactions to the learning experience were highly positive, and several participants have since used qualitative methods in other research. An actual study proved an effective means of learning the fundamentals of focus group research.

In this poster presentation, the author presents results of a study about student journalist perceptions of the wearable technology Google Glass (Glass). This poster presents the first set of results of an ongoing research project designed to determine what factors play the largest roles in student decision making processes about whether or not to use a new technology. Survey results of students in a semester-long capstone journalism course are presented. Results indicate that students' perceptions of social norms related to the new technology shaped early use of the wearable device. After becoming more familiar with Glass and using the device in training sessions, student social norm apprehensions did not decrease. This printed poster will include video footage related to the project through augmented reality technology accessible via smartphones.