Digital Commons Network^™

Game, Set, Empower: A Comparative Instagram Analysis Of Branding And Engagement In The Confederation Of African Football (Caf) Women’S And Men’S Champions League, Nour Abdelkader Ms

Theses and Dissertations

The rise of women’s football has placed new emphasis on digital branding, with social media becoming a vital space for visibility, engagement, and representation. This thesis investigates how Instagram content strategies influence fan engagement during the CAF Women’s and Men’s Champions League tournaments. Specifically, it examines the role of content type (match, behind-the-scenes, off-the-pitch, promotional), marketing orientation (organic, sponsored, collaborative), and post format (reel, carousel, photo, graphic) in shaping audience interaction.

Using an explanatory sequential mixed methods approach, the study analyzed 674 Instagram posts (276 CAFWCL, 398 CAFCL) and conducted semi-structured interviews with five digital sports professionals, including CAF digital …

Development Of Preventive Dental Guidelines In The Primary Healthcare Setting In Egypt: A Delphi Method, Basant Mehriz

Theses and Dissertations

This study addresses the critical need for standardized preventive dental care guidelines within Egypt's primary healthcare system amid the rising burden of oral diseases. Through a systematic two-phase methodology combining a comprehensive literature review and a Delphi consensus-building process engaging 35 dental professionals, the research established priorities for contextually appropriate preventive measures. The consensus framework revealed strong support for clinical interventions (mean of 83% agreement), particularly fluoride-based prevention; community initiatives (mean of 83%), especially school-based programs; policy measures (mean of 77%) such as workforce and educational development, though with variable support for taxation and social determinants approaches. Statistical analysis demonstrated …

Transmedialidad E Intertextualidad En El Caso De Five Nights At Freddy's Desde La Semiótica De La Cultura, Daira Pando Tamayo

Journal of Roleplaying Studies and STEAM

El presente artículo busca establecer, notar y delimitar que la intertextualidad y la transmedialidad juegan un papel de gran importancia al momento de crear narrativas en los videojuegos en la contemporaneidad. Enfatizando la creciente complejidad (y por lo tanto remarcando la diferencia de estructuras narrativas convencionales) que existe en las narrativas de los videojuegos y necesidad de interacción y configuración no lineal dentro de las historias de los mismos.

Narrativas Transmedia, Fandom Y Convergencia Mediática: La Reconfiguración Contemporánea De La Industria De Los Juegos De Rol En Brasil, Diogo De Almeida Camelo

Journal of Roleplaying Studies and STEAM

Este artículo analiza cómo la industria de los juegos de rol (JDR) ha evolucionado en Brasil en respuesta a los cambios tecnológicos, culturales y económicos. El objetivo es investigar cómo la convergencia mediática, las prácticas de narrativa transmedia y el fandom han remodelado las dinámicas de producción, circulación y consumo de los juegos. La metodología utilizada fue cualitativa, fundamentada en análisis documental de fuentes primarias y en revisión histórica, con base teórica en Jenkins (2006) y Fine (1983). El estudio es parte de una tesis de maestría, y muestra que en Brasil el rol se ha transformado en un ecosistema …

Narrating The New Cold War: Investigating Chinese Cyber Propaganda And Sino-American Tensions On Bilibili, William G. Highfill

Undergraduate Theses, Capstones, and Recitals

This thesis examines Bilibili, a Chinese video-sharing platform originally known for its anime, comics, and gaming (ACG) content, as a critical site for the formation and circulation of nationalist discourse in the context of a “New Cold War” between the United States and China. As ideological rivalry increasingly shifts from traditional state media and military posturing to decentralized digital platforms, Bilibili offers a unique case study in how propaganda evolves in participatory online spaces. Through a combination of digital ethnography and discourse analysis, this research explores how Bilibili’s algorithmic infrastructure, comment culture (弹幕), and remix-oriented design allow users to not …

The Current 'Ban-Demic': School Book Bans In The U.S., Barbara Perez, Jane Caputi

Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy

This essay examines the alarming rise of U.S book. Our stance is grounded in our experiences as educators and academics in Florida, the state with the highest number of book bans and legislation that has significantly impacted education. Book bans infringe on freedom of expression, right to access information, = students’ right to education, and real harm to targeted communities (i.e., LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC communities), as the bans contribute to the ongoing marginalization and stigmatization of these communities. Diverse representation is key in literature and education. Banning popular culture texts from the classroom stifles critical thinking, social dialogue, and, ultimately, …

Enhancing Multi-Step Stock Price Forecasting With Social Media Sentiment And Engagement Metrics, Damilare Olaniyan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigates whether social media sentiment can improve the accuracy of stock price prediction beyond traditional historical data. While financial markets have long relied on structured numerical indicators, the growing influence of public discourse on platforms like Twitter has introduced new opportunities for extracting market-relevant signals from unstructured text. The study focuses on four major technology firms and combines sentiment features derived from Twitter with historical stock prices in a hybrid machine learning framework. Engagement-weighted sentiment, linguistic complexity, and polarity intensity were extracted using natural language processing techniques and incorporated into classification and regression models. Results show that including …

How Executive Leaders Build Trust: Navigating Organizational Disruption During The Covid-19 Mega-Crisis, Marji Karish

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic, declared a global health crisis by the World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11, 2020, created a “mega-crisis” characterized by intersecting physiological, economic, political, social, and cultural disruptions. This study examines how senior organizational executives narrate their response to the crisis, focusing on their engagement with organizational stakeholders. Using a constructivist grounded theory methodology, I conducted in-depth interviews with 12 organizational leaders to construct the Theory of Social Crisis Leadership Communication (SCLC).

Findings highlight the centrality of trust as an interdependent relationship in which executive leaders and organizational stakeholders rely on each other to navigate crises successfully. …

Amplifying Extremism: Small Town Politicians, Media Storms, And American Journalism, Nik Usher, Jessica C. Hagman

Communication: Faculty Scholarship

Within a week, a no-name Republican state representative from a town of 384 people in Illinois catapulted from obscurity to a prime-time appearance on Fox News' Ingraham Angle. This newly empowered politician, Darren Bailey, would go on to steer the pro-business Republican party in Illinois toward extremism. Democratic backsliding emerges across all levels of politics, but the threats posed by small-town politicians have been overshadowed by national-level politicians. This microstudy of a single politician's debut in the public eye showcases a novel approach to media corpus construction that combines proprietary and open databases, aggregated search tools, and targeted searching, and …

Ai And Affective Polarization: The Ethos, Pathos, And Logos Of Political Rhetoric, Odette A. Henry

Student Theses and Dissertations

Campaign messages created using artificial intelligence (AI) tools were used in the 2024 Presidential election. AI videos, images, and audio recordings were used for the first time in campaign strategies to influence voters. The purpose of this research is to examine the AI campaign messages to identify rhetorical strategies used to influence voters. A selection of campaign artifacts was analyzed according to Aristotelian rhetorical strategies – ethos, pathos, and logos. Aristotle states that these techniques can be manipulated in the interest of political persuasion. The findings support his position and indicate that most 2024 AI campaign messages are partisan, manipulative, …

News Portrayals Of Women In The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict, Zinnia Sheikh

Student Theses and Dissertations

This study examines how The New York Times visually framed women in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. A quantitative content analysis of 592 news images of gender (male, female) and objects was conducted through the lenses of framing theory and visual framing theory to understand gender representation in conflict reporting. The photo sample analyzed a period of two years, starting from January 1, 2023, to December 31, 2024. The findings indicate that The New York Times portrays women as victims more often than men, which supports the previous traditional gender portrayals of women showing them as victims. However, the findings challenge the …

Let's Talk About Sex, Baby! Gender Roles In Parent-Child Sexual Communication, Alexandra Henrici

Dissertations and Theses

Parent-child sexual communication remains a fruitful avenue to increase safe sex behaviors, which are currently in decline by today's adolescents. Historically, mothers have reported engaging in parent-child sexual communication more than fathers do. Previous scholarship suggests this difference could be due to traditional gender role beliefs or conflicts with traditionally masculine attributes. Using social cognitive theory and social role theory, this study conducted a cross-sectional survey on parents of children aged 9 through 16. Positive relationships existed between outcome expectations, self-efficacy, and level of detail in sexual and reproductive health conversations between parents and children. Though no statistical difference was …

Sounding Resistance: The Young Stunners And The Rise Of Urdu Rap In Pakistan, Shanzay Salman

CLAMANTIS: The MALS Journal

No abstract provided.

Beyond The Priesthood: Patriarchy, Faith, And The Feminist Movement With The Lds Church, Chelsee M. Niebergall

CLAMANTIS: The MALS Journal

No abstract provided.

Lindenwood Digest, June 11, 2025, Lindenwood University

Lindenwood Digest

The Lindenwood Digest has been a digital employee newsletter since 2009.

Joker Forum Theatre As A Classroom Teacher: Qualitative Research Data., Nadarajan Thambu

Spect-actor: A Journal of Pedagogy & Theatre of the Oppressed

The task of maintaining the focus and interest of students on the teaching and learning process in the classroom is still a challenge for teachers of Moral Education subject. Students who do not pay attention, cannot understand moral values, accept and show commitment to them. The failure of students to focus will also fail the effort to produce moral human beings. Meanwhile, the role of theater in the field of education is also undeniable. Therefore, a form of community theater named Forum Theatre has been used as a pedagogy of teaching Moral Education among preservice teachers. In the context of …

The Very Fine Line: Utilitarian Aesthetics And Threshold Politics In Now You See Me Moria, Nik Rye

Spect-actor: A Journal of Pedagogy & Theatre of the Oppressed

Now You See Me Moria (est. August 2020) is an international socially engaged art collective that brings visibility to the inhumane conditions of the Moria refugee camp, aiming to influence European Union migration policies. This paper examines the collective’s work across digital and physical gallery spaces, analyzing the role of utilitarian aesthetics in both image and process, and situating the project alongside the migratory journey of a specific member. The resonance of this initiative, and the actions it has catalyzed, reveals a societal push to disrupt the contemporary art mainstream in favor of an emergent movement that privileges lived experience …

This Is Theatre: Deconstructed Repetition And Theatre-In-Education During Covid-19, Subbah Mir

Spect-actor: A Journal of Pedagogy & Theatre of the Oppressed

This project report is a practical application of deconstructed repetition model, I devised by merging Augusto Boal and Baz Kershaw, in an undergraduate Composition Writing class in Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, U.S. As the facilitator Deconstructed repetition means cost-effective repetition of personal and local stories for introspection in order to engage the community members, address the oppression, and celebrate the local culture. The four stipulations of the models are: avoiding the Western canon (or hegemonic voice), making the audience(s) see direct and indirect oppression, circumventing commodification while maintaining audience interest, and celebrating local culture instead of downright criticizing it. …

What's So Funny About Theatre Of The Oppressed?, Jennifer Schaupp

Spect-actor: A Journal of Pedagogy & Theatre of the Oppressed

This article examines my 2023 Pedagogy and Theatre of the Oppressed Conference virtual workshop within the framework of comedy and embodiment. It considers the activities I facilitated and their origins along with my perception of participant reaction for other educators and facilitators to adapt for their own educational experiences.

Rooted In Love And Solidarity: Student Encampments For A Popular University, Robin Brandehoff

Spect-actor: A Journal of Pedagogy & Theatre of the Oppressed

In the spring academic semester of 2024, universities across the nation saw an uptick of student encampments asking for a divestment of university funds from Israel and its military operations (Reeve, 2023). These encampments have incited arrests of students, faculty, and community members; violent brawls between protesters and masked counter-protesters; cancellations of university graduations for the COVID-19 generation who did not get to experience their high school graduation either—and yet these encampments have also created on-campus teach-ins, opportunities for students and administrators to learn from another, and for the building of campus communities which extend beyond the classroom and school-sanctioned …

Gen Z Hybristophilia: The Role Of Tiktok In Young Women’S Attraction To Deviant Men, Emma Virginia Treggia, Maria Ioannou, Calli Tzani, David Lester, Lucas Rogers, Thomas James Vaughan Williams, John Synnott, Michelle Drouin

Health Services and Informatics Research

This research explores hybristophilia (an individual’s sexual interest in and attraction to those who commit crimes) among Generation Z women, particularly through investigating how Gen Z female users interact with and feel about hybristophilic content and how this content impacts their attraction to offenders. Study 1 involved a content analysis of 66 videos and 91 comments on TikTok, identifying seven main themes: The Halo Effect, Actor-Offender Transference, Sympathy, Romance and APD, Protection and Loyalty, “I Can Fix Him,” Gen Z Irony, and Victim Fantasy. Study 2 used a cross-sectional survey with 95 women aged 18–27 to measure exposure to and …

Analyzing The Intention To Volunteer Through The Integrated Model Of Behavioral Prediction, Sage Mendre

University Honors Theses

Nationwide, a significant portion of adults lack basic, functional literacy skills. To combat functional illiteracy in the United States, non-profit organizations who focus on literacy require the services of volunteers. In Portland, Oregon, the Portland Literacy Council (PLC) is responsible for training volunteer tutors to help people learning English as a second language (ESL) and native English speakers who want to improve their literacy skills. The integrated model of behavioral prediction (IMBP) is a communication theory that identifies the core factors that can lead to the intention to perform a behavior. The connection between volunteering in literacy environments and IMBP …

Le Joueur Et Le Joué : Petit Précis D’Éthique Communicationnelle Et Dramaturgique, Philippe Mustière

Dirassat

The dedramatization of public speaking often remains at the center of requests for training in “expression”. Breaking the silence often represents an act of great violence for the student. Who is the player ? who is the played ? For around fifteen years, to understand the micro-rituals, the unspoken gestures of daily life, teaching throught theatre or role-playing has been provided in our schools and universities.

Why the choice of dramatic play? Theater presents this rare particularity of designating in a clear and visible way the two inseparable instances of all cultural practice: the actor and the spectator. If many …

Les Formes De L’Ironie Et Discours De Haine Dans Les Réseaux Sociaux. Cas Du Séisme D’Alhaouz, Amina Erradi, Zakaria Ouallou

Dirassat

This article examines the discursive strategies used in social networks, in this case the Facebook platform, to analyse hate speech during the Al Haouz earthquake. Based on a lexical-semantic study of sequences from a video posted on the Facebook page of a TV programme, "C à vous", broadcast on France 2, the article explores the different linguistic forms used to convey hostile feelings and expressions used to express positions regarding this situation. The goal is to understandthe linguistic dynamicsunderlying this particular discourse, which vacillates betwenhaterd and irony.

Lindenwood Digest, June 4, 2025, Lindenwood University

Lindenwood Digest

The Lindenwood Digest has been a digital employee newsletter since 2009.

Marketing De Moda Predictivo E Inclusivo: Estrategias De Segmentación Avanzada Para Audiencias Diversas Con Inteligencia Artificial, Oscar Barroso Huertas

GDI. Revista de investigación de Género, Diseño e Innovación

Introducción: El marketing predictivo, impulsado por la inteligencia artificial (IA), está transformando cómo las marcas anticipan las necesidades de sus audiencias. En Moda, la personalización es clave para conectar emocionalmente con los consumidores, pero también es esencial que las marcas sean inclusivas, respetando la diversidad y la privacidad. Este artículo explora cómo las marcas de moda usan el marketing predictivo para segmentar audiencias diversas, garantizando campañas personalizadas e inclusivas. Metodología: Este estudio adopta un enfoque mixto, combinando revisión documental y análisis cualitativo. Se revisan fuentes académicas y casos de marcas que aplican marketing predictivo inclusivo, utilizando tecnologías como machine learning …

Quality, Suitability, Understandability, Actionability, And Readability Of Patient Education Materials: Baseline Findings From Slp Graduate Students, Bonnie K. Slavych, Greg Williams, Lauren Siemers, Lauren E. Jones, Alana Mantie-Kozlowski

Teaching and Learning in Communication Sciences & Disorders

This study evaluated graduate SLP students’ ability to communicate complex health information, highlighting strengths and areas for improvement. A cross-sectional analysis of 28 first-semester graduate students enrolled in a voice disorders course examined the quality of patient education materials they created based on fictional scenarios. Quality and credibility were assessed using the DISCERN instrument, suitability with the Suitability Assessment of Materials, and understandability/actionability with the Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool for Printable materials. Readability was analyzed using five formulas: Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level, Gunning Fog Index, FORCAST, New Dale-Chall, and Simple Measure of Gobbledygook. DISCERN scores ranged from 17 to 31 …

#Clandestini: How Italy's Center-Right Parliamentary Coalition Frames The Migrant Crisis On Social Media, Jenna Lynn Depasquale

Dissertations and Theses

This dissertation examines the intersection of Italian neo-fascism, the Mediterranean migrant crisis, and digital media. Through a qualitative content analysis of the Twitter and Instagram posts made by Italy's center-right parliamentary coalition from 2014-2018, this research outlines frameworks that facilitate both the physical and social deaths of migrants. Twitter is a platform on which bite-sized xenophobic messages characterize migrants as criminals, spoiled youth, spreaders of infectious disease, and future terrorists--sometimes in a contradictory fashion. Instagram is a medium for conveying Italian identity and history, which disregards the longstanding contributions of people of color, including Muslims, in Southern Italy. Comment sections …

Evaluating Gamified Website Designs: An Analysis Using The Octalysis Framework, Menna Mohamed Zakaria, Reem Alasfoury, Nesrin Ezzat Gamal, Maryet Youssef Bekhit

Journal of Art, Design and Music

In today's fast-changing digital landscape, websites must stand out to gain and retain user attention. Gamification techniques, which use game-design concepts to improve user engagement and satisfaction, are a method to achieve this uniqueness. This research investigates the significant role of purposeful design in the effective application of gamification on websites, emphasising the importance of deliberate and balanced context-specific implementation of gamification By examining industry-leading websites that employ gamification using the Octalysis framework and related theoretical frameworks The findings highlight that, while gamification has the potential to dramatically distinguish the website and boost user interaction and loyalty, its performance and …

Resilience Of Women Entrepreneurs In Mindanao And The Impact Of Access To Finance And Digital Technologies, World Bank, Ateneo Center For Social Entrepreneurship, Social Enterprise Development Partnerships Inc.

Ateneo Center for Social Entrepreneurship (ACSEnt)

Executive Summary

This report examines the resilience of women nano- entrepreneurs in Mindanao and explores the impact of access to finance and digital technologies on their business sustainability. Utilizing data from the Social Enterprise Development Partnerships Inc. (SEDPI) and focus group discussions (FGDs), the study identifies key challenges and coping mechanisms employed by women-led nano- enterprises. The findings provide actionable insights for policymakers and microfinance institutions (MFIs) to design targeted interventions that strengthen the sustainability of these enterprises, particularly in the face of economic and environmental shocks. Women-led nano-enterprises in Mindanao typically operate informally, with assets ranging from PhP3,000 to …