Digital Commons Network^™

Tools Or Teammates? Examining Agency Negotiation In Human-Genai Collaboration In Creative Work, Yuan Sun, Ignacio Fernandez Cruz, Donggyu Kim

Human-Machine Communication

As Generative AI (GenAI) becomes increasingly integrated into creative work, creative professionals face an emerging dilemma: while they can leverage powerful AI capabilities through prompts, the automated process also introduces uncertainties and risks. This study, based on semi-structured interviews with 18 creative professionals, explores their experiences and perceptions of using GenAI tools in creative work. The findings revealed that GenAI’s perceived adaptability, creativity, and scalability enhanced sense of agency in the creative process. Conversely, limitations in customizability, uncertainty, and feedback mechanisms undermined human agency. These perceptions were influenced by users’ conceptualization of GenAI—as either a simple tool or a collaborative …

Investigating The Persuasive Potential Of Communicating With Generative Artificial Intelligence Chatbots For Mental Health: The Roles Of Perceived Message Contingency, Cognitive Elaboration, And Issue Involvement, Hanyoung Kim, Yanyun (Mia) Wang

Human-Machine Communication

With the ever-increasing adoption of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) chatbots in diverse communication roles, there is a burgeoning need to address how people process and respond to messages from these technologies. This study explores the theoretical mechanisms by which the use of GenAI chatbots influences persuasive outcomes related to mental health, examining perceived message contingency and cognitive elaboration as mediators, and issue involvement as a moderator between the two mediators. Through an experimental setting using ChatGPT, compared to non-conversational online resources, we discovered that GenAI chatbot use led to greater cognitive elaboration through an increased sense of message contingency, leading …

Generative Ai In Higher Education: A Comparative Study Of Chatgpt Adoption, Perception, And Use Among College Students In The Global North And Global South, Shudipta Sharma, Louisa Ha

Human-Machine Communication

Generative AI tools like ChatGPT have become the fastest-adopted technology, raising concerns about its misuse in education. This study explores ChatGPT usage for class assignments among 646 college students in the U.S. and Bangladesh, focusing on their perceptions and trust in the tool. Using the technology acceptance model, along with internet efficacy and social persuasion theories, we found that students in both countries had high levels of awareness and adoption. Individual factors did not significantly influence ChatGPT usage, while social persuasion, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and country were the strongest predictors. The findings suggest that AI technology may …

Making Sense Of The Role Of Chatgpt In Education: An Examination Of Student Views In China, Italy, Kenya, Uruguay, And The U.S., Leopoldina Fortunati, Autumn P. Edwards, Weiming Ye, Anna Maria Manganelli, Chad Edwards, Soledad Caballero, Lusike Mukhongo, Giovanni Ferrin

Human-Machine Communication

This article investigates the diffusion and adoption of ChatGPT among college students from a multinational convenience sample, informed by the scholarly literature on the diffusion and progressive appropriation of ChatGPT by students and teachers within the education sector and the strategies adopted by academic institutions. We applied a figurational approach to this study, offering two theses that try to understand the societal meaning of ChatGPT diffusion in the educational sector. Operationally, we explored university students’ behavioral intentions, practices of use, and opinions toward ChatGPT in five countries (China, Italy, Kenya, Uruguay, and the United States of America) through an online …

“Made Classes Easier Than A Coloring Sheet”: Student Perceptions And Uses Of Genai, Jessalyn I. Vallade, Renee Kaufmann, Trenton Upchurch

Human-Machine Communication

Student use of GenAI is growing and so are the faculty concerns. With research providing mixed suggestions and approaches, this study sought to understand the student perspective on ethical uses, their own motives and perceived benefits of GenAI use, the risks involved, and their perceptions of susceptibility and severity related to unethical use (i.e., plagiarism/cheating). Results revealed the complexity of student considerations regarding the uses, risks, and benefits of GenAI and its potential for personalized learning enhancement. Students generally view the likelihood of being caught submitting AI-generated work as their own as high and the consequences as severe. The viability …

Coding Openai In An Open-Sourced Code Sharing Platform: Exploring The Collaboration Networks On Chatgpt Projects On Github, Jingyi Pu, Xinzhi Zhang

Human-Machine Communication

Amid rapid advancements in generative AI (GenAI) tools, individuals and organizations—including both professional and amateur developers—are actively sharing and collaboratively developing GenAI code on open-source platforms, driving the adaptation and creation of new applications. However, it remains unclear whether such collaboration disrupts existing technological hierarchies or reinforces them; addressing this question is crucial for assessing the democratizing potential of open-source practice and informing policies for equitable innovation. Drawing on world-systems theory, we examine owner-contributor networks in ChatGPT-related GitHub repositories since ChatGPT’s launch in late 2022, complemented by qualitative content analysis of major repository themes and code functions. We find that …

Use Matters: How Different Ways Of Using Chatgpt Drive Ai Acceptance And Solutionism, Florian Golo Flaßhoff, Fabian Anicker, Frank Marcinkowski

Human-Machine Communication

Artificial intelligence is central to solutionism—the vision of a world where all major problems are solved through technology. This study theorizes about how human–AI communication shapes attitudes toward AI and influences the formation of public opinion, sparking solutionist imaginaries. We empirically examine the attitude formation resulting from the non-simulated use of an unmanipulated conversational model in a controlled laboratory experiment. Using a between-subjects design, participants engaged in three semi-structured 20-minute sessions with ChatGPT, providing a novel perspective on the effects of its use. The findings reveal that mere use of ChatGPT causally increases AI acceptance; however, its impact significantly depends …

Generative Ai: Another Chapter Of Human-Machine Communication, Seungahn Nah, Patric R. Spence

Human-Machine Communication

This editorial introduces a special issue of Human-Machine Communication that explores how generative AI reshapes the communicative relationship between humans and machines. It highlights emerging research on technology use, education, interpersonal dynamics, and trust in AI-generated content, emphasizing that generative AI’s significance lies not in novelty but in the social negotiations it provokes around meaning, authority, and credibility.

The Relationship Between Evening Screen Time Use And Objectively Measured Sleep Outcomes In Us College Students, Donya Sedaghat

The Pegasus Review: UCF Undergraduate Research Journal

High amounts of nightly screen time have been thought to negatively affect sleep outcomes (sleep duration, quality, and latency). There is a lack of evidence exploring if this pattern exists in U.S. college students. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between evening screen time use and objectively measured sleep outcomes in U.S. college students. College students (N = 29) junior or senior standing in a Health Sciences major were recruited to participate in this cross-sectional study. Participants wore accelerometers on their non-dominant wrist for 24hr/day for 7 days to capture sleep (duration, efficiency, awakenings, timing). Participants …

Investigating Soil Co2 Flux Among Varying Soil Types During Inundation Conditions, Jennifer Volk, Arya Patel

The Pegasus Review: UCF Undergraduate Research Journal

Land use change has contributed to the increase of carbon dioxide (CO₂) release, exacerbating global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. CO₂ is also naturally produced in the soil via microbial respiration which breaks down soil organic matter (SOM). Several studies have investigated factors affecting CO₂ flux from soils, but few have compared CO₂ flux from a range of soil types under controlled conditions with varying water levels. This study subjected intact soil cores from six different soil types to varied periods of inundation and dry events using the same water and timing. During each event, CO …

Creepy, Invasive, And Exploitative Algorithms: A Cpm Analysis Of Users' Privacy Breakdowns And Recalibration Practices With Social Media Algorithms, Matthew J. A. Craig, Jeffrey T. Child

Human-Machine Communication

Social media content filtering algorithms can both provide desired personalized content and ads for users. However, sometimes these recommendations can resemble individual private information. How might users navigate these experiences to best manage their private information? The present exploratory study utilizes the rules- and systems-based framework of communication privacy management (CPM) theory to explore social media users’ experiences of privacy breakdowns with social media algorithms and investigates what users do in response to said breakdowns. These responses were refined using content analysis and divided into different categories of privacy breakdowns and recalibration strategies. Implications for future research surrounding human-machine communication …

The Hai-Io Model: A Framework For Understanding The Human-Ai Communication Process, Rae Francis Quilantang

Human-Machine Communication

The increasing integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into daily life calls for new theoretical frameworks that capture human-AI interaction’s dynamic, feedback-driven nature. Traditional models treat AI as a passive medium, overlooking its adaptive capabilities. This paper proposes the Human-AI Interaction Outcomes (HAI-IO) model, an interdisciplinary framework synthesizing human-machine communication, social exchange theory, dialogue systems, and computational feedback models like cybernetics and reinforcement learning. The HAI-IO model frames interaction as iterative and bidirectional—AI adapts through predictive processing while users adjust based on AI feedback. This mutual adaptation shapes trust, engagement, and system optimization. The model informs AI system design, user education, …

College Students’ Perceptions Of Artificial Intelligence (Ai) Risks And Benefits In Pakistan, Rauf Arif, Muhammad Ittefaq, Lamia Zia

Human-Machine Communication

With the rapid advancements in technology over the past 2 decades, it has become crucial to understand people’s attitudes toward artificial intelligence (AI) adoption and its associated risks. Given the increasing access to the AI technologies, it is imperative to examine how young people in non-Western societies like Pakistan perceive AI risks and benefits. We conducted an online survey of college students who had used AI technology in the past 6 months. The results of our study indicate that the majority of college students view AI technology positively and perceive it as an opportunity to enhance workplace productivity. In addition, …

Casa Renovations: Examining Social Responses To An Anthropomorphic Media Representative That Is Separate From The Core Technology Being Represented, Rabindra Ratan, Dayeoun Jang, Taenyun Kim, Kelsey Earle, Gabriel E. Hales, Yiming Skylar Lei, Chaeyun Lim, Andrew Gambino

Human-Machine Communication

To extend our understanding of CASA and account for changes in technological complexity and configuration, this research asks: Do increasing levels of social cues in a media representative that is separate from the core technology it represents lead to increased perceived anthropomorphism of the core technology? And does such perceived anthropomorphism predict positive treatment of the core technology? We conducted two complementary studies observing e-scooter use and treatment, an online experiment focused on responses to video stimuli and a field experiment focused on actual user behavior. Findings suggest that, indeed, social cues in a media representative (i.e., an e-scooter rental …

Transformations And Revelations: The Communicative Constitution Of Trustworthiness And Trust Through Ai Development Practices, Tessa Bruijne, Anouk Mols, Jason Pridmore

Human-Machine Communication

This study explores AI development practices to understand how trustworthiness is built into AI systems, and how this generates trust in AI. Through a multi-sited ethnography based methodology, we analyze observations, interviews, and documentation from AI developers working on trustworthy AI. Our analysis shows two key practices: transformation and revelation. Through transformational AI development practices trustworthiness is (re)constituted, though more or lesser degrees. Through revelation practices, AI developers communicatively engage with others to generate trust. This focus on developers adds to the user-centric perspective and shows the role nontechnical development practices have in shaping trust and trustworthy AI before it …

Socio-Technical Exchange With Machines: Worker Experiences With Complex Work Technologies, Cameron W. Piercy, Reaia Turner-Leatherman

Human-Machine Communication

Machines are now commonplace work partners and Human-Machine Communication (HMC) is part of modern work. Guided by the machine heuristic and Social Exchange Theory (SET) this paper uses interviews with 22 workers to explore the socio-technical relationships between humans and machines at work. Participants worked with complex machines across a wide variety of industries and roles and findings reveal participants see machines as part of the work ecosystem, develop everyday machine heuristics to guide repeated interactions with machines, and that elements of human uniqueness persist in evaluations of humans and machines. Discussion points emphasize situated and developing human-machine interaction scripts, …

Gradient-Based Optimization And Control Of Systems With Two Decision-Makers And Delayed Information, Mohammad Safayet Hossain

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

In today’s world systems are complex in nature, often involving two or more decision-makers (DMs) each attempting to optimize the performance of the system using an objective function that reflects its own preferences and is usually different from the other. Such systems are very common in power, microeconomics, and other systems. The focus of this research is how such systems are optimized and how the results of optimization are implemented in practice. Without loss of generality, we consider systems with two DMs, each attempting to optimize the system’s by minimizing its own objective function. The solution of these types of …

Tail-Imbalance Diffusion Equalizer For Class-Balanced Generation, Chinmay Dhanraj Nehate

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

Real-world image corpora are often imbalanced. On long-tailed datasets, the head class can outnumber the tail by a large margin, and a vanilla diffusion probabilistic model (DPM) consequently loses fidelity and diversity on rare categories, undermining controllable generation. To address this gap, we present Tail Imbalance Diffusion Equalizer (TIDE), a training framework that restores class balance without discarding data or adding extra training stages. Our contribution is threefold: (i) score field rebalancing, where we embed class-prior knowledge into a mixing matrix that routes gradients toward minority classes, with this class-prior knowledge consisting of the empirical label frequencies in the training …

Differential Interferon Synthesis And Signaling Between Parainfluenza Virus Acute And Persistently Infected Cells, Vonisha Kaigler

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

RNA virus infections can transition from an initial acute infection to a prolonged or persistent infection, in which infected cells survive and continue to produce progeny virus. This presents a major clinical problem as persistently infected (PI) cells extend viral shedding, maintain inflammation, and provide potential sources for new viral variants. The RNA virus, Parainfluenza virus 5 (PIV5), with mutations in the P/V gene region (P/V mutant) is a strong inducer of antiviral responses. Interestingly, over time, there is an emergence of cells that survive as P/V mutant PI cells. Given that changes in innate immune signaling pathways can occur …

A Community-Based Wellness Program To Increase Exercise Adherence For Menopausal And Postmenopausal Women: A Mixed-Methods Pilot Study, Kristin M. Badillo

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

Evidence exists that long-term commitment to an exercise routine is beneficial. Contrarily, there is a notable lack in exercise adherence among menopausal and postmenopausal women. Though research has thoroughly examined the reasons why menopausal and postmenopausal women may not be committed to an exercise routine, it remains unclear what motivates those who are adherent. This pilot study employed a mixed-methods design through administering surveys and conducting in-person focus group interviews. Additionally, an 8-week buddy system was implemented to assess the role of social support and its effect on exercise adherence. For quantitative data collection, a total of 7 participants enrolled …

Integrating Education For Sustainable Development Into Elementary Curriculum Through Transdisciplinary Learning: A Case Study Of Teachers At Designated Green Schools, Amanda Ferguson

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

The rising number of sustainability-focused jobs in the United States has underscored the need for greater exposure to Education for Sustainable Development in early education. While higher education and secondary schools offer courses on sustainability and the environment, elementary students have limited opportunities to engage with these topics. This embedded multiple-case study examined the role of Education for Sustainable Development in elementary classrooms, specifically through transdisciplinary lessons. The research was guided by the question: How do elementary teachers in county-designated Green Schools in a Florida district use transdisciplinary lessons to teach sustainability within their existing curriculum?

Using the theoretical framework …

Nou La, We Are Here: A Phenomenological Study On Haitian Students' Identity Development In College, Norma J. Altidor

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

The United States has seen an increase of individuals migrating from Haiti in search of better opportunities for themselves and their families (Camarota, 2024; Ogunwole, Battle & Cohen, 2017). That rise has correlated with an increase in the number of Haitian students enrolling in American higher education institutions. There are many published studies on the experiences of minorities based on race (Harper & Quaye, 2007) compared to studies on ethnically diverse students (Dennis, Phinney & Chuateco, 2005). Existing literature shows that immigrant youth and first-generation Americans often identify more with their ethnicity than their race (Tatum, 1997). As such, there …

Decreasing Administrative Burdens For Promoting Social Equity: Three Essays On Innvations In Public Service Provision, Kyungmin Lee

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

This dissertation investigates three aspects of administrative burdens in public service delivery and explores how these burdens—which often discourage eligible individuals from accessing needed services—relate to individuals' perceptions of and behaviors toward those burdens and ultimately to user outcomes. The first essay examines whether a shift from in-person to virtual service modalities imposes additional administrative burden—digital administrative burden—for service users. Using the secondary data from the 2022 “Survey of Citizens’ Perceptions of Public Administration” conducted in South Korea, the study applies Coarsened Exact Matching (CEM) to assess the relationship between service modality and digital administrative burden. The findings suggest no …

Creating An Archive From Colonial Records: Representations Of The Caribbean In British Periodicals, 1750-1930, Natalie B. Herman

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

The periodization of Caribbean literature is a highly contested topic. Much of this periodization problem relates to the question of what should be included in this category of Caribbean literature, a question that became particularly pertinent during the postcolonial era. Many studies of Caribbean literature have traced its supposed origins to the period of the early to mid-twentieth century when many Caribbean territories were well on their way to postcolonial independence while disregarding works produced during the colonial period as they were considered to favor colonialism. Through examining how Caribbean literature appeared in the pre-1950 period, research conducted for the …

It's Been Here All Along: Increasing Discomfort In Immersive Horror Puzzle Experiences Without Jump Scares, Brittany R. Porthouse

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

This thesis seeks to utilize horror themes in a puzzle-based themed experience without the usage of jump scares. By alerting the body’s startle response once a puzzle is completed with a sudden loud noise or visuals, many horror-themed escape rooms utilize the jump scare tactic to heighten their guests’ adrenaline. While this technique is often effective in eliciting a reaction from participants, the effects are temporary– and sometimes hinder participants’ desire to fully interact with the environment. By primarily using the experience’s narrative and environment to illicit a fear response in guests, as opposed to using the consequences of their …

Analyzing The Global Changes In The Seasonal Cycle Of Sea Level, Storm Surge, And Ocean Waves, Amanda Barroso

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

Changes in the seasonal cycle of extreme sea level components can modulate the flooding risk along coastlines. This dissertation evaluates the changes in and potential co-occurrence of the seasonal cycles of mean sea level, storm surge, and ocean waves. Seasonal cycles characterize the generally expected climate conditions throughout the year with distinct high and low patterns. These regular and predictable cycles have shown non-stationarity in some locations across the globe. This means the timing of the expected peak may shift to occur earlier or later. Shifts in the timing of the maximum sea level impact coastlines with increased risk of …

Design And Development Of A Laser Diagnostic System For Ammonia And Nox Measurements In A Toroidal Jet Stirred Reactor At Atmospheric Pressure, Marzuqa Ahmed

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

The need for more sustainable fuel alternatives in the modern aircraft industry is growing. SAF is the current sustainable fuel in use, but still produces harmful carbon emissions. A promising alternative to SAF is ammonia, which produces zero carbon emissions. By decomposing ammonia (NH₃) into its constituents of N₂ and H₂ using a chemical catalyst, a hydrogen-ammonia fuel mix is created. H₂/NH₃ mixtures still have the desired characteristic of burning without carbon emissions, but are less reactive than pure hydrogen. Additionally, ammonia is a widely used compound, so infrastructure already exists for production, …

Morphology, Evolution And Host-Driven Convergence In Ichneumonidae (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonoidea), Davide Dal Pos

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

Understanding the functional and evolutionary significance of morphology is fundamental to interpreting the tree of life. In recent years, emerging tools have enabled broad-scale analysis of discrete morphological data and facilitated the study of entire phenomes, helping to re-establish morphology as a central component of evolutionary research. These advances allow us not only to examine individual traits in detail but also to compare them across taxa and explore their evolutionary trajectories. This approach is particularly critical when studying hyperdiverse groups that exhibit both high levels of morphological convergence and complex life cycles intricately tied to host use. A prime example …

Characterization Of Electrical And Optical Properties Of Europium Oxide, Mshari H. Alhsawi

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

Oxide semiconductors with high optical transparency hold significant promise for a broad range of optical applications. Among them, europium oxide (Eu₂O₃ ) has garnered considerable attention for its potential in transistor devices, resistive random-access memory (RRAM), white light-emitting devices, and erasable optical storage systems. Additionally, Eu₂O₃ is employed in nanoscale applications, such as photoactive coatings and high-k dielectrics. Its advantageous dielectric properties and high transmittance make it particularly well-suited for capacitor fabrication. The material also exhibits resistive switching behavior and notable optical absorption, further enhancing its relevance for optoelectronic devices.

In this study, Eu₂O₃ thin films were deposited using RF …

Supervised Topic Modeling For Scientific Texts: Bayesian Shrinkage Methods And Domain-Specific Applications In Forensics And Online Aggression Sciences, Amir Alipour Yengejeh

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024

Topic modeling has become a powerful tool for analyzing large-scale textual corpora across scientific domains. However, traditional unsupervised approaches like Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) often produce redundant or weakly informative topics, limiting their interpretability and predictive utility. This dissertation presents a dual-track study that advances the field of interpretable topic modeling and domain-specific text analysis by (1) quantitatively analyzing research trends in Cyber Aggression and Abuse (CAA), and (2) developing a supervised topic selection framework for forensic science literature.

In the first part, we apply LDA to a corpus of 2,309 journal abstracts on CAA sourced from the Web of …