Digital Commons Network^™

When Online Gambling Was Legalized, Did We As A Society Think About The Long Term Consequences?, Joshua Linnehan

Interdisciplinary Senior Seminar

Legalized online gambling has increased the amount of problematic gamblers, due to companies such as DraftKings and FanDuel advertising their product, and the governments in US and Canada having a liberation point of view when it comes to people’s free will to gamble. This paper covers the rise of sports betting since its legalization, and how it impacts various demographics of people in order to understand the limits of sports betting and to not be persuaded to gamble irresponsibly by outside influences.

Ua3/10 President's Messages - Spring Semester, Wku President's Office - Caboni

WKU Administration Documents

President's Message emails sent by Timothy Caboni to faculty & staff during spring semester, 2025.

• Accreditation
• Budget
• Buildings
• Cherry Hall Renovation
• Commencement
• Enrollment / Recruitment
• Legislation
• Semester Kickoff
• Semester Review
• Student Retention
• Summer Review

Columnas: The Honors Program Newsletter At Bentley University, Alyssa Galin, Hayden Jennato, Isabella Ramirez, Micaela Corzo, Tiara Morales, Christos Chatziioannou

Honors Program

ADAPTING AND EMBRACING COLLEGE LIFE AT BENTLEY:

Page 2: The Best of Both Worlds by Amanda '25

Page 3: How Bentley Has Changed My Life by Yun Song '25

Page4: From the Andes to Boston by Gabriel E. Mendoza Hancco '28

Page 5: Navigating Imposter Syndrome: A First-Generation Ethiopian Student's Journey

TECHNOLOGY AND ITS IMPACT

Page 6: The TikTok Ban by Khussam Mohamed '28

Page 7: My Haphazard (Yet Steadily Improving) Relationship with AI as a Lifelong Writer by Sahil Raut '27

REDEFINING HAPPINESS

Page 8: Hack Your Happiness by Sadie Fitzpatrick '28

Page 9: Don't Wait by Sinead Keyes …

Cyber Offending Among Adolescents: The Role Of Thoughtfully Reflective Decision-Making And Victimization, Revital Sela-Shayovitz, Tamar Berenblum, Sharon Toys

International Journal of Cybersecurity Intelligence & Cybercrime

There has been growing attention to the role of the decision-making process in crime involvement in recent years. However, less is known about the association between the decision-making process and adolescents’ online offending. The present study examined whether thoughtfully reflective decision-making (TRDM) and cyber victimization are related to adolescents’ cybercrime. Data were obtained from self-report questionnaires administered to 510 Israeli adolescents aged 13-20. The results indicate that TRDM is negatively associated with engagement in online offending. Furthermore, cyber victimization is significantly associated with online offending. In addition, a significant predictor of online offending is intense activity on social media. We …

Ua19/16/2 Baseball Press Releases, Wku Athletic Media Relations

WKU Administration Documents

Press releases and game statistics for WKU baseball team in spring 2025.

Code^Shift Newsletter Spring 2025, Srividya Ramasubramanian, Manaswini Pillai

CODE^SHIFT Research

No abstract provided.

Ocd Online: Strategies To Build Engagement For Mental Health Content On Social Media, Casey Matthews

Senior Theses

Social media is a tool with the potential to shape health communication. This study seeks to apply models of social media engagement from brand communication studies to explore how social media practitioners can effectively build engagement for mental health messaging. The study takes root in the concepts of social media engagement behavior (SMEB) and active vs. passive engagement outlined in the work of Dolan et al. (2019) and Shahbaznezhad et al. (2022). The application of these concepts to health communication provides new insight into the effectiveness of various messaging strategies—with a focus on OCD, a disorder that faces high levels …

Tiered Clinician Vaccine Communication Strategy To Improve Childhood Vaccine Uptake: A Cluster Randomized Clinical Trial., Douglas J. Opel, Jeffrey D. Robinson, Chuan Zhou, Kathryn Colborn, Heather Spielvogle, Anna Furniss, Christine Spina, Cathryn Perreira, Sean T. O'Leary

Communication Faculty Publications and Presentations

No experimental studies to date have tested the effectiveness of clinician communication strategies to improve vaccine uptake among children of parents with negative vaccine attitudes.

A Word From The Writing Team (April 2025), Pam Walter, Mfa, Hemma Murali, Ms

A Word From the Writing Team (Newsletter)

This issue includes:

• Publication Spotlight
• Sign up for the April 4th Writing Retreat (Online)
• Check out the Health Humanities Consortium (HHC) Conference
• Come to the 3rd Annual Jefferson Science Slam
• Visit the Write that Baby in 9 Weeks Workshop Canvas Page

Information Literacy: How Students Search For & Verfiy Health-Related Information On Social Media, Isabel Sousa

Honors Projects in Communication and Language Studies

Today, younger generations utilize social media to access what they perceive to be reliable and accurate information, yet there are some concerns regarding validity and the ease of which students share information. This thesis evaluates how undergraduate students search for and verify information seen on popular social media platforms and analyzes the proficiency of their information literacy skills. The data collected will be used in determining which social media platforms are most frequently used and trusted by students, which types of sources are used in verification of this information if verified at all, and their perception of information literacy. The …

Exploring The Web And Language Accessibility Of Medical Tourism Providers’ Websites: Implications For Online Marketing And Patient Recruitment Practices, Alicia Mason, Elizabeth Spencer, Kristen Livingston, Treyton Meyers

Faculty Submissions

Background: Web accessibility as an attribute of the digital presence of organizations has been studied across domains and contexts. Our study aims to add to existing lines of research inquiry by examining the web and language accessibility of medical tourism provider (MTP) websites commonly used to market and promote international medical tourism treatments and services globally.

Objective: This study aims to (1) systematically analyze the web and language accessibility of MTP online health messages and (2) discuss challenges and implications for medical tourists’ user experiences when seeking health information online.

Method: We conducted an exploratory quantitative content analysis of web …

Investigating Child-Informed Considerations For Animated Picture Symbols Representing Emotion For Aac Use In Children With Asd, Hannah Kitsmiller

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Development of emotional competence is an important area of consideration when supporting individuals who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). Emotional competence includes skills related to identifying and communicating about one’s emotions. Individuals who use AAC may struggle to develop strong skills in emotional competence. One potential barrier to developing emotional competence may be access to symbols that facilitate understanding of the represented emotion. Emotions are abstract and challenging to represent in visual symbols. Additionally, evidence suggests individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may have visual perceptual differences when viewing faces. Current emotion symbols are often depicted using isolated facial …

Holding Ground In The Cerulean Tide: Minority Party Legislators' Strategies For Advancing Climate Policies In Landslide States, Sukjae Lee

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

This dissertation addresses a key puzzle: Why do states sometimes adopt nationally polarized policies, such as climate change legislation, even when doing so does not align with strict partisan interests? The analysis focuses on “landslide states,” where a single party overwhelmingly dominates, and the minority party cannot realistically expect to gain a majority. In these environments, reduced partisan conflict allows minority party legislators to break from traditional partisan paths. As a result, I argue that electoral motivations drive them to signal moderation by advancing liberal policy agendas or incorporating provisions that minimize backlash from their core constituents in landslide states. …

Everyday Storytelling: The Function, Meaning, And Impact Of College Student's Storytelling And Storylistening, Sophie K. Richards

Department of Communication Studies: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The current study investigated the stories that 102 college students heard and told through the course of a 1-day diary study with surveys administered at four timepoints. Investigated through the perspective of the small story framework (Bamberg & Georgakopoulou, 2008), everyday talk (Goldsmith & Baxter, 1996) and Communicated Narrative Sense-Making (CNSM) theory (Koenig Kellas, 2022), participants reported about the stories that they heard and told throughout their day, as well as completed self-report measures of well-being. The study aimed to understand the characteristics of everyday stories, the functions they serve, the meanings they hold, and their impact on well-being. Participants …

Giving Voice To Student Grief: Using Community-Based Participatory Research To Develop And Pilot A Translational Storytelling Intervention For Bereaved College Students, Cassidy Rae Taladay-Carter

Department of Communication Studies: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The purpose of this dissertation was to employ community-based participatory research (CBPR, Wallerstein et al., 2018) methods to attend to a pressing issue in the community. In partnership with one local grief center, we identified the need for enhanced grief support for current emerging adult undergraduate students in our area. Nearly 50% of U.S. emerging adults enrolled in four-year residential universities experience the death of an important figure (Cox et al., 2015; Cupit et al., 2021), at a time when they are developing important facets of their narrative identity. Without the coherence and meaning structures provided by narrative identity, students …

The Impact Of Provider Communication On Treatment Adherence In Patients With Hypertension And Diabetes, Trey Carlson

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Current research cites effective provider communication as an important factor in improving treatment adherence and the health outcomes of patients. This study examines the effect of provider communication on treatment adherence in patients with chronic illnesses with a specific focus on hypertension and diabetes. Provider communication was measured using patient satisfaction surveys and treatment compliance was measured as the percentage of hypertensive and diabetic patients with a blood pressure below 140/90 mmHg and hemoglobin A1C levels below 9%. A one-way MANOVA revealed that provider communication had no significant impact on the combined treatment compliance variables for hypertension and diabetes (Wilk’s …

Interactive Pathways: Designing Accessible Museum Experiences, Bryce M. Christian

Senior Theses

This research examines the educational strategies employed by the Columbia Museum of Art in addition to similar institutions to explore how museums can optimize their educational impact on K–12 students by applying human-centered design strategies that prioritize accessibility, engagement, and real user needs. Many museums struggle to fully serve K–12 students due to physical, financial, and perceptual barriers. While digital platforms have expanded reach in some institutions, others prioritize in-person experiences and community engagement. This research uses artificial intelligence tools such as supervised data to accelerate and enhance the analytical process. The study evaluates these approaches through the lens of …

Communication During Perimmigration: A Life-Line Interview Method Study, Giada Roberta Rossi

Communication & Theatre Arts Theses

This thesis examines the communication challenges faced by migrants and their impact on acculturation using a new approach. The study analyzed autobiographical memories of immigrants’ communication to explore both positive and negative experiences over time. The study extends previous intercultural communication research by using the Life-Line Interview Method (LIM) (Assink & Schroots, 2010) to collect autobiographical narratives from twelve participants about their communication journeys. The findings reveal consistencies with past intercultural communication research insofar as uncertainty and identity problems were pervasive, but also positively extends past research arguing that supportive environments, characterized by culturally responsive educators and peer networks, play …

Cultivating Community And Commerce: A Summary Of The Statewide Social And Economic Impacts Of Utah Farmers Markets, Jaclyn Pace, Bryn Watkins, Roslynn Mccann, Steven Price

Outcomes and Impact Quarterly

Data collected from six markets throughout the market seasons between 2023 and 2024 highlights the transformative impact of Utah’s farmers’ markets on the state’s economy, health, and sense of community. According to market patrons, Utah’s farmers' markets are vital economic and social hubs supporting local agriculture, small businesses, and community well-being.

Crafting Connections: Language Use And Cultural Resonance In Marketing Campaigns For The Hispanic Market, Santiago Reyes, Alessandra Noli Peschiera, Kristina Simon, Melany Sarcevic

AMTP Proceedings 2025

Considering the rapid growth and relevance of the Hispanic market in the U.S., this study explores strategies employed by brands in their communication efforts to connect with this consumer base. Through a qualitative content analysis, the study analyzes emerging themes and patterns in terms of language use and cultural values employed in marketing and advertising campaigns directed to the U.S. Hispanic market. Results reveal a prevalent use of Spanish, with a rise in the use of English reflective of changing demographic trends of Hispanics in the U.S. Cultural values resonant with Hispanic identity are also employed in campaigns. Important implications …

The Guardian The Month Of April 2025, Wright State Student Body

The Guardian Student Newspaper

News articles from The Guardian for the Month of April 2025. The Guardian is the official student-run newspaper for Wright State University. It has been published regularly since March of 1965.

The Role Of Affordable Housing In Enhancing Tenants' Economic Stability In Connecticut: A Focus On Income, Employment, And Housing Stability, Osaid Zubi

Dissertations

This study examined the role of affordable housing in promoting economic stability among low- and moderate-income households in Connecticut. Focusing on income security, employment opportunities, and housing retention, this research highlighted the significance of affordable housing as a means to alleviate financial strain, support job retention, and foster community resilience. Utilizing a phenomenological approach, the study gathered insights from tenants, policymakers, and developers through conducting interviews and a focus group. Connecticut was chosen as the study site due to its high cost of living and affordable housing shortage, exacerbated by its proximity to New York City. Findings underscore the economic …

A Rhetorical Analysis Of The Emasculation Of Men Through Televised Forums Of Entertainment, Skylar G. Sexton

Senior Honors Theses

What constitutes manliness stands on the brink of collapse. Society wages war on the idea of biological men and women. This simultaneously blurs the lines of the distinctive characteristics that define a man such as initiative, protective instincts, self-control, and leadership. Media forums act as a reflection as well as an influencing medium for a cultural body. Films have fundamentally changed their depiction of men in television since the 1960s and 1970s. Manliness is being redefined through films' depictions of a man, as well as by societal movements such as feminism. Men are being emasculated in society today, which is …

El Campanario (Volume 1, Issue 2), St. Mary's University

Honors Program Newsletters

No abstract provided.

The Role Of Platform Design In Excessive Short Form Video Use And The Resulting Impacts On Cognitive Processes, Katherine Levey

Senior Theses

Short form video (SFV) platforms such as TikTok and Instagram Reels have rapidly reshaped global media consumption. This thesis investigates how the defining technological elements of SFV platforms contribute to prolonged viewing behavior by inducing flow, a psychological state characterized by deep immersion and diminished self-awareness. Through a review of nineteen scholarly articles, this study examines how features like infinite scroll, auto-play, and algorithmic personalization create a low-effort, high-reward user experience that sustains attention and facilitates continuous engagement. Once immersed, users often fall into a cycle of passive, prolonged scrolling, consuming more content and spending more time than intended. Findings …

Estimation Of Therapeutic Threshold For Tuberculosis Using Adapted Nominal Group Technique And Clinical Vignettes In Clinical And Community Settings In Southern Africa, Alfred Kipyegon Keter, Alastair Van Heerden, Tom Decroo, Tom Boyles, Shannon Bosman, Thandanani Madonsela, Lindani Innocent Msimango, Lenika Naiken, Carlos Kiyan, Mashaete Kamele

Population Health, East Africa

Background: When confronted with diagnostic uncertainty and a decision on whether to start treatment or not, clinicians consider the potential harm and benefit of offering versus withholding treatment. Treatment can be offered if the probability of tuberculosis (TB) in the patient is above the “therapeutic threshold” (ThT): the probability of disease at which the expected utility of treating and not treating is the same. We estimated ThT for TB in clinical and community settings in Southern Africa using two methods: an adapted nominal group technique (aNGT), and decisions made based on clinical vignettes (CVs).

Methods: We enrolled health …

Giving Voice To Student Grief: Using Community-Based Participatory Research To Develop And Pilot A Translational Storytelling Intervention For Bereaved College Students, Cassidy Rae Taladay-Carter

Dissertations and Doctoral Documents, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2023–

The purpose of this dissertation was to employ community-based participatory research (CBPR, Wallerstein et al., 2018) methods to attend to a pressing issue in the community. In partnership with one local grief center, we identified the need for enhanced grief support for current emerging adult undergraduate students in our area. Nearly 50% of U.S. emerging adults enrolled in four-year residential universities experience the death of an important figure (Cox et al., 2015; Cupit et al., 2021), at a time when they are developing important facets of their narrative identity. Without the coherence and meaning structures provided by narrative identity, students …

Ethical Ai Use And Classroom Integration Training Modules, Daniel Boudon

Open Educational Resources

This project focuses on developing comprehensive training modules to equip students and faculty with the knowledge and skills necessary to ethically and effectively use AI tools in academic settings. The training consists of interconnected modules that cover a wide range of topics, including the ethical use of AI, evaluating AI-generated content, integrating AI tools into curriculum design, and creating AI-enhanced classroom activities. Additional modules emphasize fostering digital literacy, staying updated with AI advancements, and collaborating on best practices for AI in education.

Designed for flexibility, the modules cater to diverse academic disciplines, making them suitable for undergraduate and graduate courses, …

Gatekeeping Girlhood: Tiktok As An Agent Of Gender And Racial Socialization, Kennedy Elyza Davis

Communication & Theatre Arts Theses

This thesis uses qualitative methods to study and analyze how TikTok users and the platform’s algorithm work together to redefine girlhood. By examining individual posts and the origins of the trends that they belong to, I will show why some users reject this new definition, as others have embraced it, and what this means for the future of girlhood. This research will complicate the question of what it means to be a girl on the Internet and the challenges that accompany this experience. Ultimately, I expand on the study of gender roles and the impact of social media as an …

Development Of A Reporting Guideline For Trochim’S Concept Mapping, Sandesh Pantha, Martin Jones, Richard Gray

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Reporting guidelines are created with the intention to enhance the quality and transparency of reporting different research methods. Trochim’s concept mapping (often referred to as group concept mapping) is a six-phase, participatory mixed-method approach to understanding complex constructs. Currently, there is no reporting guideline for concept mapping. Developing a reporting guideline typically follows a three-step process: 1. a systematic review to establish the need for a reporting guideline, 2. a Delphi study to identify candidate items, and 3. consolidation process to inform a draft guideline. We have previously reported our step 1, a systematic review of health-related concept mapping studies. …