Digital Commons Network^™

Illuminating The Communication Analysis Of Investigative Interviews And Interrogations: An Interdisciplinary Qualitative Interpretive Meta-Synthesis, Erica N. Heller

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This dissertation explores communication in investigative interviews and interrogations through a qualitative interpretive meta-synthesis (QIMS) across the three disciplines of communication, psychology, and criminal justice. This investigation was guided by two research questions: identifying communication themes in investigative contexts and examining the variations in how the disciplines approach investigative interviews and interrogations. Through the utilization of the QIMS method, this study investigated and analyzed interdisciplinary artifacts from academic and professional (gray) literature. This resulted in the discovery of two key themes, confession-focused goals and inconsistent terminology, and three sub-themes: interviewee focus, siloed mindset, and individualized methodological focus. The findings of …

Exploring Higher Education Shared Governance Constitutional Documents As Potential Culture Building Contributors To Friction Between Faculty And Administration Through A Qualitative Analysis Of Foundational Institution Documents, Lanna Monday Emmett

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This qualitative research project investigates the role shared governance documents in higher education institutions play in communicating the guiding principles and expectations used to create, sustain, and challenge culture through a content analysis of foundational institutional documents. Colleges and universities face challenges driven by technology, globalization, the capitalization of education, and shifting expectations regarding diversity, equity, and sustainability. These changes require institutions to adapt their organizational models for more competitive decision-making while navigating evolving governance issues. In some instances, these changes have been cited as one cause for friction between institutional stakeholders, particularly faculty and administration. Previous studies have more …

It Is Not Clear How Well Physical Activity Promotion Materials Are Understood: Findings From A Rapid Literature Review, Jafra D. Thomas, Jasmine C. Wong, Regina F. Hockert, Yi Sheng Wu, Winston Kennedy

Topics in Exercise Science and Kinesiology

Topics in Exercise Science and Kinesiology Volume 6: Issue 1, Article 6, 2025. Efforts to promote physical activity and other health-related behaviors are more effective when resource materials are understood by a wide and diverse audience. Before our lab’s previous investigations (Thomas et al., 2024), only one study seemed to use the cloze procedure to directly test the comprehension (i.e., readability) of physical activity promotion material (Cardinal & Seidler, 1995). Thus, this rapid literature review sought to (a) determine the extent the cloze procedure has been used to study physical activity promotion material comprehension in lay adults and (b) collate …

Respectability, Code-Switching, And Expression: Examining The Experience Of Black Expressive Arts Therapists Through A Sociolinguistic Lens, Darrien Bush

Expressive Therapies Theses

This literature review explores how the linguistic phenomenon of code-switching can be applied to expressive arts and expressive arts therapy to describe the experience of Black expressive therapists. The review outlines the evolution of the term, reasons why individuals switch codes, and how this affects their experience. The understanding of code-switching is then examined in expressive arts and the expressive arts therapy field. A history and understanding of code-switching in Black communities is also explored, connecting Black experiences of code-switching and expressive arts therapy programs. A discussion suggests that culturally relevant practices are implicitly discouraged due to dominant expectations. Future …

Women In The Traditional Gender System Through Sexualized And Inappropriate Performances In The Modern Advertisements, Ruoning Xia

Communication ETDs

This study examined the body and gender identity performances and narratives of women in different Chinese advertisements, and deconstructed the motivation and representation of humiliation, sexual harassment, and gender offside toward women in public spaces. The study takes feminism, patriarchal capitalism, and rhetorical criticism to analyze the situation of Chinese women’s identity and gender in the traditional gender system, as well as the status of women’s situations with patriarchy and capitalism discourses. Through the analysis of the advertisements, the study criticized the gender (mis)representation of women’s gender identity and bodies among women's identities, bodies, and patriarchy, and deconstructs the gender …

The Algorithm Of Inclusion: Homonationalism, Queer Advocacy, And Digital Marketing Of Un Ecosoc Ingos And Indian Ngos, Dewansh Chauhan

Master's Theses

Advocacy organizations have increasingly turned to social media as digital platforms become integral to contemporary activism, shaping public discourse and securing institutional legitimacy. This thesis examines the organizational communication of organizations that support marginalized sexualities within a neoliberal and homonationalist context. Employing Critical Content Analysis (CCA), the study analyzes a representative sample of 200 Instagram posts from 2024, comparing two international NGOs with ECOSOC status at the UN (Outright International and ILGA) and two national NGOs in India (Humsafar Trust and Naz Foundation). The findings reveal how homonationalist tendencies may manifest at the intersection of engagement metrics, identity-centric rhetoric, brand …

A Theory-Based Examination Of Factors Influencing Caregivers’ Intentions To Disclose Sickle Cell Trait Status To Their Children, Christine A. Chaba

WUSM Theses and Dissertations – All Programs

Sickle cell trait (SCT), the heterozygous form of sickle cell disease, has significant implications for health and reproductive decision-making. Timely disclosure of SCT status to children by their caregivers is critical for promoting genetic awareness and supporting informed reproductive choices. However, many caregivers delay or avoid this conversation. This study examined the psychosocial and behavioral factors influencing caregivers’ intentions to disclose SCT status to their children, guided by the Theory of Planned Behavior and the Theory of Regret Regulation. A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted with 78 caregivers of Children with SCT, who completed an online survey. The study addressed …

Rhetoric Of Soft Power And Public Diplomacy A Case Study Of Saudi Arabia, Sihmy Algamedi

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Soft power is the capacity to exert influence over the actions of others in order to accomplish one's goals. It refers to the ability to influence others without seeking any tangible benefits. Soft power emanates from a country's cultural, political beliefs, and foreign policies. Soft power refers to the capacity to achieve desired outcomes using methods that involve shaping the agenda, employing persuasion, and generating positive appeal (Alkatheeri, and Khan 26). In order for this endeavor to achieve success, the concept of legitimacy plays a pivotal role in the effectiveness of soft power. Public diplomacy is a component of foreign …

Empowering Nurses, Enhancing Mobility: A Qi Initiative Using Plof And Clof To Promote Patient Ambulation, Kaela Nguyen

Master's Projects and Capstones

The quality improvement project involves the intervention of implemented mobility educational flyers about the mobility tools, Clinician Reported Level of Function (CLOF) and Patient Reported Level of Function (PLOF) and aims to increase patient mobility post surgery. The quality improvement project was conducted in two medical surgical units in a San Francisco hospital. To address unmet mobility goals, during change of shift, in-services on the educational flyers about the mobility tools (CLOF and PLOF), were utilized to provide education about the importance of mobility, how to utilize the mobility tools, and correctly document ambulation. More than twenty flyers were posted …

Gotta Be Fresh: Comedy Central’S Workaholics, Masculinity, And Paratextual Decay, Adamandrew Lenox

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This thesis examines social media marketing materials for Workaholics, a sitcom aired on Comedy Central from 2011 to 2017, to study paratextual temporality/ephemerality, the “brand as friend” social media strategy, and how masculinity is articulated through paratexts. The project incorporates theories from the fields of social media and internet marketing studies, television content and industry studies, and promotional paratext studies. Research centered on 100 Workaholics X (formerly Twitter) posts, published from January 2012 to March 2017. Posts were collected using Google Chrome extension TwExportly. Qualitative textual and content analysis of these paratexts results in three categories of findings. First, I …

The Voices Of Black Motherscholars: Navigating Academia, Motherhood, And Beyond, Danae Peterson

Masters Theses, 2020-current

The experiences of Black women in academia are shaped by the intersection of multiple, often conflicting identities. As mothers and scholars, Black women navigate the complex terrain of competing responsibilities, societal expectations, and institutional barriers, all while striving to achieve personal and professional aspirations. This daily balancing act is complicated by the compounded effects of racism and sexism in academia, coined as misogynoir (Bailey, 2018). Misogynoir, a specific form of anti-Black racist misogyny, manifests through stereotyping, marginalization, and invisibility affecting Black women’s ability to thrive in academic spaces that were not designed with them in mind (Patton & Njoku, 2019). …

Grief As Slip: (How Little I Show) An Exploration In Clay, When Words Are Not Enough, Michelle A. Smith

Masters Theses, 2020-current

Grief as Slip (how little I show) implies that even as we acknowledge our mortality and the fleeting nature of life, we still only reveal a fraction of our true selves or our deeper realities. The ceramic artwork in this exhibition carries and conveys a journey through the present and remembered emotions of the artists’ personal narrative. By juxtaposing the tactile nature of clay with the ethereal quality of human experience, Smith contemplates the profound interplay between material transformation and emotional resilience. The exhibition’s intent is to translate the essence of complex emotional states into abstracted forms so they can …

Critical Editing Studies: A Textual-Intertextual Approach To Editing, Rhetoric, And Cultures Of Sensitivity, Amanda Keren-Happuch Yaa Emefa Anka

Masters Theses

This study explores how editing influences public discourse and perception by analyzing two major editing controversies, one involving the written word and the other, image. The method of analysis I employ is close textual-intertextual analysis in which I rely on the original source, that is, the written word and image in question, and supplement the analysis with secondary sources, such as media articles, scholarly works, and public reactions. The first case study focuses on the issue of bowdlerization as regards Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl and the second artifact focuses on digital editing as it relates to …

The Role Of Popular Culture In Decolonial Transformative Learning: A Racially Minoritized Adult Educator's Journey, Riyad Shahjahan

Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy

While a growing body of literature examines the role of popular culture in transformative learning, much of it centers on fostering transformative experiences among learners, rather than educators themselves. This paper addresses that gap by exploring how popular culture enhances transformative learning for racially minoritized adult educators. Drawing from my experiences as a graduate instructor at a predominantly white institution, I reflect on how engaging with popular cultural texts facilitated my own transformative learning within my teaching practice. Grounded in decolonial theory, which emphasizes the inclusion of Indigenous and marginalized knowledges while confronting contemporary colonial oppressions, my reflexive approach highlights …

Decoding Symbolic Influence On Youtube Engagement, Emotion Resonance And Trust In Information Campaigns, Diwash Poudel

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined how symbolic images in YouTube videos influences viewers’ emotions, trust, and engagement with political content online. Approximately 2,000 videos were collected and analyzed, with a focus on both thumbnails and standout frames. The findings revealed that cultural symbols were particularly effective at capturing attention and evoking strong emotional reactions—especially anger and disgust. Notably, these same symbols also enhanced viewer trust, making audiences less susceptible to misinformation. Statistical tests confirmed that these effects were consistent and significant. To ensure the validity of these results, additional analyses were conducted to assess potential biases in YouTube’s recommendation algorithm, as well …

Predicting Crisis: Using Computational Methods To Forecast Crisis Conditions, Michelle Marie Johnson

Dissertations - ALL

The vast scale of digital information generated daily provides unprecedented opportunities to analyze human behavior in ways that can improve crisis prediction and response. This dissertation introduces PREDICT, a theoretical framework that reconceptualizes crises as predictable phenomena rather than unknowable disruptions. Grounded in chaos theory and complex systems theory, PREDICT operationalizes crisis prediction through three constructs: Perceived Rupture of Equilibrium (PRE), Dynamic Interactions (DI), and Crisis Trajectory (CT). These constructs enable a shift from reactive crisis management to proactive crisis forecasting by identifying early signals of instability, modeling stakeholder interactions, and mapping potential crisis trajectories. To test PREDICT, this study …

How Toxic Communications In Chinese Online Fan Groups Affect Fan Engagement, Tian Xia

Theses - ALL

Abstract The study used a Self-Determination Theory (SDT) theoretical framework to explore how toxicity impacts fan engagement in online fan groups in China. An online survey method in China with a sample size of 205 participants was used to measure the hypotheses 1)Toxicity causes fans to feel less autonomy in online groups, 2) Toxicity causes fans to feel less skilled (competence) in online groups, 3) Toxicity causes fans to feel less relatedness in online groups and research questions and the research questions 1) How will autonomy, competence, and relatedness relate to specific fandom behaviors? 2) What is the difference between …

The Impact Of Motivational Interviewing On African-American Men With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus, Jamekia Kitchens

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Translational and Clinical Research Projects

African-American men with type 2 diabetes face an immense health disparity in the United States, with alarming mortality rates compared to their counterparts. This pilot study examined the impact of motivational interviewing on African-American Men with type 2 diabetes mellitus. The researcher conducted motivational interview sessions using the components of the Diabetes Management Self-Efficacy Scale to guide the meetings. Pre- and post-confidence levels and pre- and post-hemoglobin A1c levels were collected and analyzed. After the completion of three motivational interview sessions, participants displayed significantly higher self-efficacy scores with significantly decreased A1c levels. The results suggest that motivational interviewing has a …

On The Deconstruction Of Nothingness In Digital Communication, Matthew S. Lindia

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This project argues that digital technologies call for a new problematic of communication, centered around the conditions of (im)possibility for creating perfect digital profiles of users as generated from user data. Beginning with Edmund Husserl’s analysis of essentially occasional expressions, this dissertation posits that user data occurs on three levels: (1) the level of expression, where a user wants-to-say something through their inputs, (2) the level of facticity, where biometric data are involuntarily produced by the user, and (3) the level of nothingness, where the user’s inaction, such as not-answering, is taken as data. Moving beyond what Husserl’s framework can …

“Let Me Be A Bridge”: Language Brokering Among Emerging Adult Latina Professionals In The Midwest, Elise M. Dubord

Faculty Publications

In immigrant families, bilingual children and adolescents regularly act as translators and interpreters for family and community members who are not fluent in the dominant language. These childhood language brokers later shift the focus of their translation activities as they transition into adulthood and develop professional skills. This research explores narratives of language brokering trajectories of three bilingual Latinas who were emerging adult professionals in three cities in Iowa. Based on a series of interviews collected over a 15 month period, this analysis examines how participants described realigning their family language responsibilities while simultaneously transferring their language brokering skills to …

How Does Language In Emails Impact How Recipients Respond?, Ellya Asatryan

Pepperdine Journal of Communication Research

No abstract provided.

The 'Other' In European Colonial Rhetoric: Race, Modernity, And The Legacy Of Imperialism", Mateo E. Roldan

Pepperdine Journal of Communication Research

No abstract provided.

Pepperdine Journal Of Communication Research Volume 15, Issues 1-3, Elizabeth Kresse

Pepperdine Journal of Communication Research

No abstract provided.

Motivating Community Attendance: The Role Of Self-Determination Theory And Message Framing, With Moderating Effects Of Organizational Credibility And Community Attachment, April Batson-Bright

Communication (PhD) Dissertations

A two-part, mixed methods study explored the impacts of motivational messages on a parents’ intention for their family to attend a hypothetical community Snow Day event hosted by the local County parks and recreation division. Grounded in self-determination theory (Ryan & Deci, 2000), message frame theory (Rothman & Salovey, 1997), community attachment theory (Kasarda & Janowitz, 1974), and organizational credibility the study examined these factors and their impacts on behavioral intention. In Study One, two focus groups assessed parents’ perceptions of credibility of a local government agency hosting the event, as well as perceptions of the flyer advertising the event. …

How To Sell A Gendered Fantasy, Matthew Salzano, Jess X. Alexander, Belinda B. Castiblanco, Brianna Chavez, Maura Conley, Chris Connor, Antoine Jones, Ryan Kani, Christopher Munde, Kyleigh Retzlaff, Steffi Santos, Gabriella Simpson, Amberlin Smith, Jenna Zaza

School of Communication and Journalism Faculty Publications

The media analysis essays in this collection are the result of an online graduate course at Stony Brook University’s Program in Writing and Rhetoric entitled “Intersectionality and Media.” Drawing upon methods and scholarship based primarily in rhetorical studies, the course aimed to prepare graduate students in a variety of disciplines to write, research, and communicate about issues related to media, identity, and the intersectionality of oppression—especially race, class, gender, and sexuality. How to Sell a Gendered Fantasy analyzes various media artifacts (spanning digital, film and tv, music, and games) and the fantasies about gender that they contain. Gendered fantasies work …

Public Comment: Using Critique-Like Mediating Artifacts To Democratize Discourse At City Council Meetings, Piper Schuerman

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Are local governments designed for equitable citizen participation? While civic engagement aims to empower citizens and support representative governance, barriers to participation can hinder those outcomes. City council meetings, key venues for public input, pose specific challenges such as long durations, dense content, and intimidating formalities. These issues disproportionately affect Generation Z (born between 1997 and 2012), who frequently report feeling underinformed or having limited time to engage. This thesis explores how city council meetings might use multimodal mediating artifacts, inspired by design critique practices, to make public discourse more accessible for Gen Z adults.

Grounded in activity theory and …

Evangelicals For Israel: The Study Of John Hagee’S Rhetorical Influences On Evangelical Israel-Related Ideologies, Abigail L. Schroeder

Masters Theses

This rhetorical analysis investigates preacher John Hagee's recent sermons to identify a rhetorical vision addressing the shifting landscape of 21st-century Evangelical Israel-related ideologies that foster group identification and sense-making. Additionally, it examines how he addresses competing Christian Israel-related ideologies exacerbated by historical Church theology, politics, and current events in Palestine. Evangelicals have adopted one set of ideologies concerning Israel in rejection of mainline Protestantism ideologies supporting Palestine. However, the literature does not address current rhetorical influences shaping this ideology. Through applying symbolic convergence theory to Hagee’s responding sermons to war in Israel/Palestine, this rhetorical analysis identifies the rhetoric shaping the …

Acceptability And Competency Of Motivational Interviewing (Mi) Training And Mi Spirited Communication In An Undergraduate And Graduate Nursing Program, Grace Koons

Honors Theses

Problem- There is a move towards patient-centered care in nursing and Motivational Interviewing (MI) has been one approach to accomplish positive communication. While the use of MI has been increasing in healthcare settings, undergraduate and graduate nursing programs have been slow to incorporate it into their curricula.

Aims- This study aimed to determine the acceptability and MI competency for the use of MI Spirited Communication (MISC) among undergraduate and graduate nursing students at a university in the Southeast region of the U.S. Methods- The design of this pilot study was a descriptive, quasi-experiment with no control group. The …

Assessing The Impact Of The Covid-19 Pandemic On Health Literacy In Patients Presenting To A Student-Run Free Clinic, Sabah Iqbal, Kirsten Carlberg, Krisha S. Patel, Ashlyn Mcclelland, Sarah Marotta, Rebecca Moore

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Background

Health literacy as defined by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), refers to an individual’s ability to find, understand, and use health information and services1. This definition has evolved with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and increasing emphasis on preventative healthcare. We aimed to observe the impact of the pandemic on the health literacy of patients in a free community clinic run by medical students.

Hypothesis

This study aims to assess the effect of various demographic and socioeconomic factors and the COVID-19 pandemic on health literacy levels estimated by the NVS assessment in the patient population …

Epistemic Dysfunction In American Politics: The Impact Of Misinformation On Knowledge Acquisition., Megan Crowley

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

Political misinformation has become an increasingly prominent topic of discussion among scholars across disciplines, particularly in the wake of the 2020 American presidential election. Despite growing scholarly interest in this phenomenon, however, contemporary research has yet to examine misinformation alongside traditional epistemological theory. This thesis aims to remedy this gap by synthesizing classical epistemology, journalism and media research, and political science to investigate the impact of misinformation on political knowledge acquisition. To accomplish this goal, the analysis will focus on the justification condition, conceptualized according to both internalist and externalist perspectives. The internalism section will cast misinformation as a form …