Digital Commons Network^™

Literacy Nonprofits And Social Media: Advancing An Understanding Of Message Functions And Communication Flows In Online Stakeholder Engagement, Diane M. Goodman

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Countless nonprofit organizations in the United States have worked diligently to increase adequate access to literature and to improve child literacy rates through supplemental programming. Revenue growth in a nonprofit depends largely on the relationships between the organization and the public, yet nonprofits face additional obstacles to achieving strategic organizational goals in comparison with their for-profit counterparts (McGee & Donoghue, 2009). Although the majority of nonprofit organizations have been addressing societal issues at a grassroots level (Carter et al., 2019), most community-based nonprofits have faced challenges expanding to other communities and difficulties in replicating effective stakeholder engagement strategies (Nardini et …

The Intersection Of Visual Communications, User Experience, & Design Theory: A Case Study With The Dog Spaw, Jessica Miltner

Honors Projects

This project explored the intersection of visual communication, user experience, and design theory, focusing on researching design and UX principles and applying them in a real-world case study with The Dog Spaw from Celina, Ohio. The project resulted in a redesigned website that aims to influence user behavior by improving perceptions of trust, professionalism, brand consistency, and ease of use, and by examining how these perceptions, in turn, influence user action.

Shame On You! The Socialization Of Self-Conscious Emotions In Early Childhood, Ashton K. Allen

Theses and Dissertations

This study examined how parents and children discuss self-conscious emotions across early childhood. Self-conscious emotions such as shame, guilt, embarrassment, awe, and pride play a critical role in children's social and emotional development. Although prior research has demonstrated links between parent and child emotion talk about basic emotions such as happiness, anger, disgust, fear, sadness, less is known about how parents and children talk about self-conscious emotions. Participants for the current study were 247 parent-child dyads. The dyads completed a wordless storybook task designed to elicit discussion of five self-conscious emotions (shame, guilt, embarrassment, awe, and pride) annually across three …

Digital Touchpoints: Investigating Contact Page Accessibility And Visual Authenticity Within Medical Tourism Health Websites, Alicia Mason, Elizabeth Spencer, Kristen Livingston, Treyton Meyers, Sakshi Bhati, Himika Akram

Faculty Submissions

This study examines two critical digital touchpoints on medical tourism provider (MTP) websites: (1) the accessibility of contact pages which often function as entry points for inquiries, scheduling, and pre-travel coordination, and (2) the authenticity of visual imagery used to shape expectations about care environments, personnel, and technological capacity. A sample of 105 MTPs across all six World Health Organization regions were analyzed using quantitative web accessibility testing and qualitative visual analysis. Results indicate pervasive accessibility errors on contact-page touchpoints and extensive reliance on inauthentic imagery to depict patients, providers, and medical technologies. Together, these practices may distort user expectations …

Cowpox And Counterpublics: A Rhetorical Analysis Of Anti-Covid Vaccine Conspiracy Theories On Social Media, Cole Melton '26

Honor Scholar Theses

In order to better understand why people construct and perpetuate anti-COVID vaccine conspiracy theories, I perform a rhetorical analysis of some conspiracy theories widespread on social media during the height of the COVID vaccination effort. I begin with a literature review, highlighting the history and efficacy of vaccine technology, gathering characteristics and definitions of conspiracy theories, and reviewing the history of the anti-vaccine movement. Ultimately, I argue that anti-COVID vaccine conspiracy theorists understand vaccination as an attack on personal rights by the U.S. government, prompting the conspiracy theorists to establish an ideological institution rival to the U.S. government that would …

Butterflies & You: Considerations Of Human Relationships With The Natural World (Paper), Madison Colby

2026 Awards for Excellence in Student Research and Creative Activity - Documents & Media

Science communication only accounts for approximately 2% of the entire scientific output of 2017-2022 (Parejo-Cuéllar et. al, 2024). It is an under-researched and under-valued field, especially in an age that has devalued science as a whole. The delicate art of explaining complicated ideas to people who are unfamiliar with scientific jargon is vital to humans’ understanding of the world. Butterflies & You is a documentary film exploring the relationship between humans and the many different butterfly species that call Illinois home. Video-based science communication is important to research and practice because of its impact on environmental advocacy and the growing …

Staging Technological Change: Media Ecology, Cultural Memory, And Fantasy Theme Analysis In The Tesla Cybertruck Unveiling, John Rodgers

Communication Theses

This thesis examines contemporary product launches as communicative events, arguing that they help shape how technological change is publicly interpreted and remembered. Drawing on media ecology and cultural memory, and using Fantasy Theme Analysis as the primary method, the study analyzes Tesla’s 2019 Cybertruck unveiling as a case of symbolic meaning-making at the moment of introduction and in its immediate circulation. The analysis identifies four dominant fantasy themes that organize the launch’s symbolic world and cohere into a rhetorical vision presenting Tesla as a disruptive actor introducing a resilient technology for an already arriving future. It then traces how that …

Quantifying Potential Spatial Accessibility To Adult American Sign Language Classes In Los Angeles County, Caroline R. Baumann

The Geographical Bulletin

This research examines potential spatial accessibility of adult American Sign Language (ASL) learning opportunities in Los Angeles County, California (USA). Over 90% of all deaf children are born to hearing parents, who typically do not know sign language. Research has shown that deaf children whose parents learn sign language tend to have better outcomes than those who do not. Thus, adult accessibility to sign language classes is crucial for the success of deaf children. The Two-Step Floating Catchment Area (2SFCA) method was used to calculate a provider-to-population ratio using network analysis and aggregate these ratios within population catchment areas. The …

Do We Think Globally? A New Journal, 75 Years In The Making, Nicholas David Bowman

Media Studies - All Scholarship

In an editorial ending their tenure as editor of Critical Studies in Media Communication, Steiner (2007) warned of the scourge of journal proliferation, invoking a concern that increasingly, these new journals mostly benefit individual careers and publishing house profits. Meanwhile the “just-planted crop [of manuscripts] is generally bringing diminishing returns to the field” (p. 384) because we are publishing far more than we can read, evaluate, ­integrate, and engage. Steiner is hardly alone in her critique. Others call out the invisible labor of editorial stewardship, showing for example how inefficient systems not only exploit scholars (Chalmers & Solomon, …

Political Mediatization In The Digital Era: The Case Of Walhi West Sumatera’S Environmental Advocacy, Muhammad Thaufan Arifuddin, Ernita Arif, Yuliandre Darwis, Rinaldi Rinaldi, Muhammad Al-Amin Dalmenda

JURNAL KOMUNIKASI INDONESIA

This article examines how political mediatization operates at the local level through environmental civil society activism in post-authoritarian Indonesia. Focusing on the West Sumatra chapter of the Indonesia Forum for Environment (WALHI) as a critical case, the study argues that media logic is not merely imposed by political elites or mainstream media, but is strategically appropriated by local civil society organizations to contest oligarchic power, shape public agendas, and sustain democratic engagement at the subnational level. Using a qualitative case study approach, data were collected through participant observation, in-depth interviews with environmental activists and youth organizers, and an analysis of …

Building Connections With Graduate Students Through Credit-Bearing Instruction, Michelle Desilets, Kimberly Pendell

Library Faculty and Staff Publications and Presentations

Graduate students often need support with research skills and other professional development that is under-recognized by their programs. Librarians play a key role in helping students fill in these gaps. This case study reviews student feedback on a librarian-developed and -delivered credit-bearing course. The course, Library Research and Scholarly Communication Fundamentals, is offered to graduate students across all disciplines. The curriculum is flexible and applicable to each student’s research, covering topics such as researching literature, citation and data management, and publishing in scholarly journals. The course has generated positive and constructive feedback from students, encompassing themes of self-efficacy, improved research …

Diagnostic Trends And Service Enhancements In Deaf Mental Health: A Longitudinal Analysis, Kent Schafer, Steve Hamerdinger, Frank Wu, Rie Sakai Bizmark, Charlene Crump

JADARA

A longitudinal study investigated mental health diagnostic trends and patterns among Deaf and Hearing individuals using a comprehensive dataset from Alabama Department of Mental Health spanning 2004-2024 (Deaf=4,547; Hearing=2,056,188). Chi-square analysis revealed significant proportional differences in diagnoses between the groups. Deaf individuals showed significantly higher proportions of psychotic (12.93% vs. 8.33% Hearing), mood (20.76% vs. 18.84% Hearing), and personality (0.58% vs. 0.43% Hearing) disorders. These findings suggest that increased access to specialized and competent mental health services for individuals who are Deaf, particularly following the increase of staffing patterns for the Office of Deaf Services in 2015,contributed to more accurate …

The Relative Importance Of Cultural Competence And Compassion Fatigue In Predicting Nurse Prescribing Self-Efficacy, Debarah Lane Jowett-Gordon

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

As a result of the growing diversity among citizens requiring medical care, there has been a substantial increase in immigrants globally and in the United States. In the U.S. healthcare system, nurse practitioners (NPs) have been facing increased cultural challenges. The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine the relative importance of cultural competence and compassion fatigue in predicting nursing prescribing self-efficacy. Cultural competence served as the theoretical framework, as it focuses on how NPs can effectively communicate with patients from diverse backgrounds by understanding and respecting cultural differences, thereby building trust, improving patient outcomes, and providing quality healthcare. …

Beyond The Tropes: Viewing The Horror Genre Through The Lens Of Bipoc Readers, Kimberly Wade

SLIS Connecting

Horror novels have been and continue to grow in popularity among all age demographics in the United States. According to a 2020 Book Ad Report study, horror novels were the fifth highest-grossing genre, topping $79.6 million in 2020 (Herold, 2019, para. 16). With the growing popularity of horror novels within the market, authors and publishers have pushed for inclusion and diversity in who is writing the material, who is reading the books, and who is represented within the pages. This drive to include “Black, Indigenous, People of Color” (BIPOC) and other diverse authors and characters is necessary in allowing young …

Visual Healing In Visual Communication Design: Exploring Calm Aesthetics For The Psychological Well-Being Of Urban Society, Siti Indah Lestari, Ivo Ramadhani

Bahasa dan Seni: Jurnal Bahasa, Sastra, Seni, dan Pengajarannya

This study investigates the concept of visual healing from a Visual Communication Design (VCD) perspective, focusing on its potential contribution to emotional comfort and psychological well-being among urban office workers. Contemporary workplace environments are increasingly characterized by prolonged screen exposure, dense visual information, and sustained cognitive demands, conditions that intensify visual fatigue and psychological strain. In this context, the study positions visual design not merely as an aesthetic practice, but as a psychologically responsive medium capable of shaping users' emotional experiences in everyday work settings. Employing a qualitative Research through Design (RtD) methodology, the study treats the design process as …

The Impact Of Universities’ Social Media Content And Digital Brand Equity On Potential Students’ Perception, Engagement And Trust: The Case Of Egyptian Private Universities, Mahy Shoukry

Theses and Dissertations

Universities are increasingly using social media platforms as tools for marketing, brand building, and student engagement as a result of the digital transformation in higher education. This study investigates how prospective students' perceptions, levels of engagement, and trust are impacted by universities' digital brand equity and social media content. This study attempts to close the knowledge gap on how visual and user-generated information influences the decision-making processes of potential students, given the competitive environment among Egyptian private institutions. Particular focus is placed on how authenticity, video content, and images influence educational institutions' online appearance and reputation. The methodology used a …

Beyond "Place Matters": Making Spatial Analysis Accessible With Dashboard-Driven Geography, Stephen Borders

Public Health

This article presents an instructional module that uses Tableau to teach spatial thinking and policy geography through an analysis of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participation. Tableau’s ability to integrate custom spatial files with demographic and health data makes it an accessible platform for introducing geographic inquiry without requiring specialized GIS expertise. The lesson guides instructors through building maps, bullet charts, and scatterplots that highlight gaps between eligibility and enrolment, while connecting food insecurity to health outcomes. By lowering technical barriers, Tableau provides a pedagogical bridge that helps educators foster spatial literacy in diverse classroom contexts.

This article was published …

Environmental Graphic Design Of The Great Mosque Ornaments For Strengthening Demak City Branding As The City Of Wali, Agus Setiawan, Ahmad Akrom, Khamadi Khamadi, Khairul Mustaqin, Auria Farantika Yogananti

Bahasa dan Seni: Jurnal Bahasa, Sastra, Seni, dan Pengajarannya

This study explores the role of Environmental Graphic Design (EGD) derived from the ornamental heritage of the Great Mosque of Demak in strengthening Demak’s city branding as the “City of Wali” (Kota Wali). Motivated by the need for culturally grounded urban identity amid rapid modernization, the research examines how religious and historical visual elements can be translated into contemporary environmental design. The study adopts a descriptive qualitative approach informed by place branding and visual communication theory. Data were collected through field observations, visual documentation, interviews, and a literature review, followed by an analytical process that involved identifying local wisdom, interpreting …

About The Contributors

Impact: A Journal of Community and Cultural Inquiry in Education

No abstract provided.

The Effect Of Billboard Content On The Electability Of Female Mayoral Candidates In Kendari City In 2024, Sirajuddin Sirajuddin, Dewi Anggraini, Nur Atnan, Sitti Harnia

Jurnal Wacana Politik

This study aims to analyze the effect of billboard content on the electability of female mayoral candidates in the 2024 Kendari City Regional Head Elections (Pilkada). The main issue underlying this study is the fact that every Pilkada in Kendari City always features female candidates, but they repeatedly experience defeat despite conducting political campaigns through various outdoor media, including billboards. The method used is a descriptive quantitative approach with simple random sampling technique and a total of 123 respondents. The independent variable in this study is billboard content, while the dependent variable is candidate electability. Data were collected through a …

Data Visualization In Private Sector University Libraries In Sindh, Pakistan, Sadaf Shahid, Rafat Parveen Siddiqui

Libraries

Purpose – The purpose of this study was to know the understanding of librarians about data visualization, the perceptions of the librarians toward this new and emerging trend and know the librarian’s capabilities in the use of data visualization tools and its impact on their library services.
Design/methodology/approach – To acquire the desired results, a survey was conducted using a quantitative approach. The study’s target audience was the library professional staff at private sector university libraries in Sindh, Pakistan. All respondents were sent an e-mail inviting them to participate in the survey on their own time.
Findings – The sample …

Conducting A Qualitative Umbrella Review For Novice Researchers: A Critical Reflection Of Primary Documents, Mónica Fontana, Celia Camilli Trujillo

The Qualitative Report

The need for scientific evidence in education has accelerated systematic reviews. However, the practice of conducting umbrella reviews is not yet common in education. Among the possible reasons for the scarce number of umbrella reviews in education is the lack of knowledge of the steps required to conduct them and the specific challenges of this method. Their usefulness in the educational context lies in their ability to offer new findings of great scope and transferability based on evidence from multiple systematic reviews in an efficient and in-depth manner. This study provides a critical reflection on the methodological implications of conducting …

Brute Force Branding: Variations & Repetitions Of The Almighty Dollar Banknote, Rui-Long Monico

Artl@s Bulletin

Abstract: This paper examines the U.S. dollar as a global brand and mythic icon, revealing how its stable aesthetic asserts dominance and infiltrates daily life. Through visual analysis and global comparison, it shows how banknotes are battlegrounds where art, identity, and geopolitics collide—currency as a weapon of soft power and cultural hegemony. The dollar’s visual inertia—ritualized, repeated, reappropriated—cements its supremacy as a symbolic force, where repetition enforces authority and variation sparks both resistance and conformity. Banknotes emerge as tools of statecraft and vessels of collective memory, as reflected in the author’s bespoke creation accompanying this study.

Résumé: Cet article analyse …

Appropriations Of Women And Children In World War I Propaganda Posters And Beyond, R. Asli Kilci, G. Azra Yetișkin, Muhammet Öztürk, Jessy Ohl

Speaker & Gavel

WWI has received renewed attention in recent years as a foil for contemporary society. While often overlooked in comparison to other conflicts, WWI shares with the present day a devastating global pandemic, growing geopolitical hostilities in Europe, and the proliferation of new communication technologies. As an example of “total war,” WWI involved mass recruitment of civilians through a variety of means, one of which was the innovative use of propaganda posters. In this article, we analyze one prevalent rhetorical strategy in WWI propaganda posters that continues to influence audiences today— depictions of women and children. By studying the visual and …

Visual Genealogies Of Disability In Mexican Visual Culture, Daniela Calvache Garcia

Theses and Dissertations--Hispanic Studies

Disability in Mexico is a visually constructed category, shaped by a long genealogy of representation in which images of bodily difference actively participate in defining power and the management of all bodies. The discursive forces that define disability as unproductivity reduce body-minds to the service of the economic system, affecting our relationship with death, illness, reproduction, size, youth, and beauty. Across the Mesoamerican visual space, such representations have long unsettled dominant systems of truth about bodies. This dissertation examines how conceptions of disability are produced, negotiated, and reimagined through three historical moments and cultural expressions: Pre-Hispanic Mayan imagery, Mexican colonial …

Civic Grammar: Why Classical Architecture Endures In The American State, Jesse Walker

Master of Liberal Studies Theses

The dominant visual language of American federal buildings has been classical, surviving repeated ideological challenges, professional revolts, and political controversy. While this persistence has been widely observed, the mechanism behind it has not been clearly identified. This thesis isolates that mechanism. Drawing on architectural history, federal procurement policy, and primary sources from Jefferson's correspondence through the executive orders of 2020 and 2025, it argues that classicism endures not because its meaning has remained stable, but because federal architecture is governed by a persistent functional constraint: government buildings must be immediately legible to an ordinary citizen, without signage or prior knowledge, …

Artificial Intelligence Adoption Among Future Journalism And Mass Communications Professionals: A Tam-Based Approach To Students’ Generative Ai Adoption Intent, Chinwendu P. Akalonu

Journal of Communication Pedagogy

As artificial intelligence (AI) reshapes industries, journalism and mass communications professions are slowly adapting to these technologies. This study employs the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and AI-TAM frameworks to examine predictors of AI adoption intent among college students preparing for careers in the field. Survey results reveal that perceived usefulness, trust in AI output quality, organizational requirement, ethical awareness, and certain sociodemographic factors such as race predict AI adoption intent. Additionally, the study highlights differences in adoption intent among students in different subfields of mass communication, including journalism, advertising, and public relations. It underscores the importance of expanding traditional TAM-based …

Provoking Generative Ai Futures: Merging Theory And Praxis, Regina M. Luttrell Ph.D., Nick Bowman

Media Studies - All Scholarship

An accessible exploration of the myriad applications and challenges of generative AI for media and communication students, scholars, and practitioners alike.

The latest emergence of increasingly low-cost and scalable AI technologies presents a point of both celebration and concern for the contemporary media and information ecosystem. To this end, this edited volume gathers media and communications scholars and practitioners to engage in discussions and exchange ideas about current trends and developments in the field. Questions this volume asks include: What are the essentials of generative AI from a media and communication perspective? How has generative AI influenced research and scholarship? …

The Power Of A Picture: Building Visual Depictions Of The Eppm Bolstering Sunscreen Application Motivation, Ansley M. George

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

This study investigates visual depictions of efficacy skin cancer health risk messages. Using Witte's Extended Parallel Processing Model (EPPM) and existing literature on fear appeals and visual persuasion as a theoretical framework, the study aims to explore how self and response efficacy imagery impacts individuals' perceptions of health risk messages in the context of skin cancer prevention when emphasizing specific principles of design. Formative research was employed via qualitative photo sorts and participants were exposed to an assortment of images depicting efficacy in the context of skin cancer prevention where they discussed why they felt they were or were not …

Performing The Digital Identity: A Media Discourse Analysis Of Online Identity Construction, Dalya Qasem

Graduate Studies Theses and Dissertations 2026

This dissertation investigates how news media construct narratives about TikTok and its role in shaping digital identity. While existing scholarship has examined issues such as privacy, marketing, and entertainment, less attention has been given to how identity is represented, negotiated, and understood within public discourse. Using Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) combined with computational text analysis through Voyant Tools, this study analyzes a corpus of 111 news articles published between 2020 and 2025 that explicitly reference TikTok and identity. The analysis identifies prominent keywords, topics, and rhetorical patterns across media texts. Furthermore, the research demonstrates a critical analysis of popular understandings …