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Rural-Urban Differences In Dental Care Utilization After A Public Health Emergency, Quazi Minhaz Tabassum, Redwan Bin Abdul Baten, Ahmed A. Arif

Rural & Underserved Health Research Center Publications

Overview of Key Findings

• Past year dental clinic visits declined among both rural and urban populations after the COVID-19 pandemic. However, rural patients are more likely to report delayed dental service utilization than their urban counterparts.

• Participants residing in Medicaid expansion states or with health insurance coverage were 16% less likely to delay dental visits overall.

• The COVID-19 pandemic further worsened the existing challenges in dental healthcare access for urban and rural communities.

Dextromethorphan And Trace Level Detections Of Dextrorphan In Post-Race Urine Samples – A Case Report And Analysis, Kimberly Brewer, Justin C. Holmes, Clara Fenger, Abelardo Morales-Briceño, Andreas F. Lehner, George A. Maylin, Robert Holland, Levent Dirikolu, Thomas Tobin

Maxwell H. Gluck Equine Research Center Faculty Publications

Dextrorphan is a Phase I equine metabolite of dextromethorphan, a widely used anti-tussive / cough suppressant medication marketed and available in numerous over-the-counter formulations in the United States. Dextromethorphan is an Association of Racing Commissioners International (ARCI) drug class 4 penalty class B substance and a Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Authority (HIWU) CONTROLLED S7 B substance and is regulated as such in horse racing. In horses, dextromethorphan is metabolized to its Phase I metabolite, dextrorphan, which is next glucuronidated and the resultant dextrorphan-glucuronide conjugate then excreted at remarkably high concentrations in equine urine. Dextrorphan is therefore at times identified in …

Increasing Uptake Of Diabetes Self-Management Education And Support (Dsmes) In Rural Kentucky Primary Care Clinics, Mary E. Lacy, Jessica Elliott, Vance Drakeford, Laura Wright, Brent Mckune, Key C. Douthitt, Aaron J. Kruse-Diehr, James W. Keck

Epidemiology and Environmental Health Faculty Publications

Background: Diabetes self-management education and support (DSMES) is an evidence-based intervention that improves outcomes for people with diabetes, but uptake is <10%. We conducted a pilot pragmatic trial to increase DSMES in rural primary care clinics that integrated health information technology with a quality improvement (QI) learning collaborative. Methods: Two healthcare systems from rural Kentucky participated in the study. Within each system, 2 clinics received the intervention and 1 clinic served as a control (N = 6 clinics). Each intervention clinic identified a QI team (5-6 individuals) who participated in a 9-month QI learning collaborative followed by 5 months of follow-up. Our primary outcome was DSMES referrals; secondary outcomes were DSMES attendance and percentage with A1c >9%. Results: The 6 study clinics served 1,803 patients with diabetes; n = 1083 (60.1%) from 4 intervention clinics and n = 720 (39.9%) from 2 control clinics. DSMES referrals significantly increased in the intervention clinics compared to the control clinics (31.7% vs 0.1%, P < .001) and continued to increase throughout 5-month follow-up (40.0% vs 0.1%, P < .001). Conclusions: A structured QI intervention can significantly increase DSMES referral rates in primary care clinics. Findings highlight the potential of systems-level approaches to address persistent gaps in diabetes care delivery in rural settings. Clinical Trial Registry: Using Practice Facilitation and Operationalizing Referral Information Technology to Increase DSMES Utilization (Clinicaltrials.gov registration number no. NCT05472142). Clinicaltrials.gov URL (https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05472142).

The Association Between Human Papillomavirus Type 16 E6 Seroprevalence And Degrees Of Anal Disease Among Men With Hiv, Krystle A.Lang Kuhs, Christopher Otieno, Staci Sudenga, Tim Waterboer, Weiqun Tong, Dorothy Wiley, Jay H. Bream, Steven Wolinsky, Jeremy Martinson, Gypsyamber D’Souza

Epidemiology and Environmental Health Faculty Publications

Introduction: Human papillomavirus type 16 (HPV16) E6 antibodies may be an early biomarker of anal cancer. We cross-sectionally evaluated when in the course of anal disease, HPV16 antibodies are induced. Methods: A nested case-control study of 846 men who have sex with men (MSM) was conducted within a prospective study of men with and without HIV. Cases of anal HPV16 (N=262), biopsy-confirmed high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (HSIL;N=140), and anal cancer (N=21) were individually matched to controls (N=423) on HIV status, study-participation duration, and age. Serum samples closest to diagnosis underwent HPV serologic testing; prediagnostic serial samples were tested for anal …

A Comprehensive Analysis Of Jurisdiction-Specific Laws Related To Scheduling Or Required Prescription Drug Monitoring Of Gabapentin In The United States, 2016–2024, Katherine Gora Combs, Rachel Vickers-Smith, Collin Stewart, Daniel Wacker, Juan M Hincapie-Castillo

Epidemiology and Environmental Health Faculty Publications

Gabapentin prescription use has increased across the United States since the late 2000s. Concerns of potential misuse and growing overdose involvement have led to the passage of jurisdiction-specific policies targeting gabapentin prescribing; however, the current legal landscape of these policies is not well documented or understood. We conducted a comprehensive, longitudinal analysis of policies related to scheduling or required prescription drug monitoring of gabapentin across 51 jurisdictions in the United States from January 2016 through December 2024. Across the study period, 25 jurisdictions (49 %) enacted policies related to gabapentin scheduling or required prescription reporting. Eight (16 %) jurisdictions classified …

Optimizing Control Definitions In Opioid Use Disorder Genetic Research Using Electronic Health Records, Maria Niarchou, Ellen L Tsai, Mariela V Jennings, Annika Faucon, Hyunjoon Lee, Kritika Singh, Justin D Tubbs, Panos Roussos, Tian Ge, Richard C Crist, Rachel Vickers-Smith, Howard Edenberg, Amy Moore, Bradley T Webb, Eric O Johnson, Rachel L Kember, Jordan W Smoller, Lea K Davis, Brandon J Coombes, Georgios Voloudakis, David Burstein, Travis T Mallard, Vanessa Troiani, Sandra Sanchez-Roige

Epidemiology and Environmental Health Faculty Publications

Amidst the opioid crisis, understanding the genetic basis of opioid use disorder (OUD) is crucial for identifying biological mechanisms and intervention points. However, genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have been hampered by inadequate sample sizes and often the use of control populations not assessed for prior opioid exposure. Because opioid exposure is a prerequisite for the development of OUD, consideration of exposure history in controls is important. Electronic health record data (EHR) paired with genomic information allow a broader sampling of patients with OUD and exposed controls. We leveraged data across two healthcare systems to evaluate the impact of using controls …

Shaping The Future Of Human Biomonitoring (Hbm), Maryam Zare Jeddi, Nancy B. Hopf, Karen S. Galea, Kate Jones, Henriqueta Louro, Maria João Silva, Adrian Covaci, Tiina Santonen, Paul T.J. Scheepers, Susana Viegas, Lesliam Quirós-Alcalá, Asif Qureshi, M. Elizabeth Marder, Natalie Von Goetz, Konstantinos M. Kasiotis, Kyriaki Machera, Ovnair Sepai, Radu Corneliu Duca, Manosij Ghosh, An Van Nieuwenhuyse, Ming Kei Chung, Jihyon Kil, Shoji F. Nakayama, Aziza Menouni, Kaoutar Chbihi, Ana Maria Vekic, Gustavo Souza, Maisarah Nasution Waras

Epidemiology and Environmental Health Faculty Publications

Human biomonitoring (HBM) continues to play an indispensable role within exposure science, offering insights into aggregate chemical exposures across populations and life stages. Since 2018, the European chapter of the International Society of Exposure Science Human Biomonitoring Working Group (ISES Europe HBM WG) has aimed to facilitate generation of more and high-quality HBM data. The working group aims to strengthen integration of HBM data into regulatory frameworks through improved study design, harmonized methodologies, and enhanced reporting practices. Key achievements in the past seven years include the harmonization of HBM metadata through development of minimum information requirements for HBM (MIR-HBM), development …

Association Between Educational Attainment And Discharge Disposition Following Incident Stroke Hospitalization, Ning Li, Erin L. Abner, Silvia Koton, Lena Mathews, Kunihiro Matsushita, Anna Kucharska-Newton

Epidemiology and Environmental Health Faculty Publications

Background – The relationship between educational attainment and discharge disposition after stroke hospitalization remains unclear. This study examined whether educational attainment is associated with discharge disposition after incident stroke and whether stroke severity modifies this association. Methods – The study included Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) participants with an incident stroke hospitalization from 1991 to 2020 who were enrolled in fee-for-service (FFS) Medicare at discharge. Discharge disposition was obtained from hospitalization claims. Educational attainment was categorized as “less than high school” vs. “high school or more.” Multivariable logistic regression models were used to estimate associations between educational attainment and discharge …

Building The Ryan White Hiv/Aids Program Bench In Kentucky, Lauren Bifulco, Kathleen Harding, Jana Collins, Anna Rogers, Lenon Farkash, Marwan Haddad, Alice Thornton

Epidemiology and Environmental Health Faculty Publications

The Ryan White HIV/AIDS program (RWHAP) is governed by legislative and programmatic guidelines that ensure comprehensive services are provided to persons with HIV (PWH) across the United States. Comprehensive training and skill building opportunities for programmatic staff are rare. RWHAP funding recipient organizations may struggle to acquire and retain essential program-specific knowledge, with downstream impact on patient care and treatment. We designed a comprehensive 11-session videoconference learning series to improve program staff’s confidence and competence with RWHAP fundamentals. Quantitative pre-vs-post session data were analyzed using Wilcoxon Signed-Rank tests, and qualitative data using thematic analysis. We enrolled 136 staff from 23 …

Decreased Gabapentin Prescription Fills Among Medicaid Enrollees Following State-Level Schedule V Controlled Substance Classification In Kentucky And West Virginia, Katherine Gora Combs, Stephen W. Marshall, Rachel Vickers-Smith, Alan Kinlaw, Nabarun Dasgupta, Juan M. Hincapie-Castillo

Epidemiology and Environmental Health Faculty Publications

Background: Driven by concerns of gabapentin misuse and other harms, Kentucky (KY) and West Virginia (WV) became the first states to classify gabapentin as a schedule V controlled substance in July 2017 and June 2018, respectively. This study examined the association of these policies with gabapentin utilization among Medicaid beneficiaries. Methods: Using a controlled interrupted time series design, we modeled a segmented generalized least squares regression and calculated the immediate and trend changes of gabapentin prescriptions among Medicaid enrollees in 2 states (KY, WV), separately. North Carolina (NC) was used as a control to account for secular changes; there was …

Nutrient-Driven Transcription Factor-Dna Interactions And Their Signaling Mechanisms In Metabolic Disease, Evelyn A. Bates

Theses and Dissertations--Nutritional Sciences

Metabolic homeostasis is maintained through tightly coordinated signaling networks that integrate diverse physiological inputs. Central to this regulation are transcription factors, which sense nutrient, hormonal, and vitamin-derived signals and translate them into coordinated gene expression programs. Transcription factor activity is governed by DNA binding, recruitment of coregulatory proteins, and interactions with specific response elements in gene promoters, which allows them to selectively modulate diverse metabolic pathways. Owing to their multifactorial and tunable nature, transcription factors have emerged as promising targets for the treatment and diagnosis of metabolic diseases, including metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). This dissertation explores the molecular …

Autologous Peripheral Nerve Tissue Grafts Implanted Into The Nucleus Basalis Of Meynert And Substantia Nigra At The Time Of Bilateral Deep Brain Stimulation In Parkinson Disease: A Report Of 2 Cases, Samuel R. Daly, Jorge E. Quintero, Lisa M. Koehl, Elizabeth Roslyn Wallace, Zain Guduru, Julie A. Gurwell, Tripp Hines, Jaimie Hixson, Saad Hulou, John T. Slevin, Frederick A. Schmitt, Greg A. Gerhardt, Craig G. Van Horne

Neurosurgery Faculty Publications

Background and Objectives: Cholinergic degeneration in the nucleus basalis of Meynert (NBM) is implicated in the cognitive impairment seen in Parkinson disease (PD) and is being examined as a potential therapeutic target. We have previously shown the safety of delivering investigational autologous cell-based therapy, ie, peripheral nerve tissue (PNT), to the substantia nigra (SN) at the time of deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery in PD (DBS-Plus). In this study, we assessed the safety and feasibility of simultaneously delivering that PNT to both the NBM and SN at the time of DBS.

Methods: Two patients with idiopathic PD and mild cognitive …

Changes In Telehealth Usage Among Medicaid Beneficiaries With Mental Illnesses In A Rural State: An Analysis Of Kentucky Medicaid Dataset Over 5 Years (2018–2022), Chizimuzo T.C. Okoli, Tianyi Wang, Bassema Abufarsakh, Sarret Seng, Zainab Almogheer, Jarrah Al-Kayed, Pooja Bhattarai, Holly Stith, Andrew Makowski

Nursing Faculty Publications

Introduction: Accessing mental health care remains challenging for Medicaid beneficiaries with mental illnesses (MI) in rural settings. The COVID-19 pandemic prompted telehealth service expansion through temporary policy changes and shifts in health care delivery. Despite the increased availability of telehealth as a modality to address disparities in health care access, telehealth adoption and associated use are inadequately explored among Medicaid beneficiaries with MI in Kentucky.

Objective: To examine trends and factors associated with telehealth use by residence status among Kentucky Medicaid beneficiaries with MI.

Design: A retrospective analysis of Kentucky Medicaid claims data obtained from 174,354 beneficiaries aged 18 years …

Ceo Compensation Changes Following Acquisitions, Leonce Bargeron, David J. Denis

Finance and Quantitative Methods Faculty Publications

We find that CEO compensation increases following acquisitions only in those deals in which acquirer stock is used as the method of payment. These compensation increases are driven by increases in equity-based compensation and are concentrated in riskier acquirers, in riskier acquisitions, and in acquirers whose CEOs have low exposure to the stock price. We find little support for traditional agency cost explanations of changes in CEO pay following acquisitions. However, our findings are broadly consistent with compensation changes representing a contracting solution to a two-sided adverse selection problem that is present only in stock acquisitions.

Cannabis Retail Environment And Treatment For Cannabis Use Disorder, Jeremy Mennis, J. Douglas Coatsworth, Nikola Zaharakis, Nathaniel R. Riggs, Aaron Brown

Social Work Faculty Publications

Purpose: This research investigates whether the efficacy of a digital cannabis use disorder (CUD) treatment for young adults (age 18–25) differs by exposure to cannabis retailers in the residential neighborhood and activity space (significant places visited throughout daily life).

Methods: This is a secondary analysis of data from a randomized clinical trial of the digital substance use disorder treatment Peer Network Counseling-txt (PNC-txt) for reducing cannabis use among young adults with CUD ( n = 425). We hypothesize that the indirect effect of treatment on reducing cannabis use via the mediating mechanism readiness-to-change is moderated by exposure to cannabis retailers, …

Trade-Offs In Avian Parental Care, Rebekah A. Mckinnon, Malgorzata Lagisz, Sheeraja Sridharan, David F. Westneat, Kimberley J. Mathot

Biology Faculty Publications

The selective forces shaping parental care have been studied for over 50 years. While theoretical and experimental work has yielded qualitative progress, the large body of empirical work testing predictions about parental investment based on life-history trade-offs has yet to be synthesized. We first provide an overview of the core life-history theory exploring how selection might shape parental care. We then conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis on studies that experimentally manipulated brood size in birds, a widely used experimental approach to manipulate parental investment. We extracted 313 estimates from 62 studies representing 31 species of birds from 19 different …

Economic Exchange And Relational Work In Doubled-Up Households, Hope Harvey

Sociology Faculty Publications

Doubling up, or sharing a home, is an increasingly common way that families make ends meet. Drawing on over 170 in-depth interviews with 60 parents, I ask how doubled-up household members understand and contest their economic relationships. I show that the success of intra-household economic exchange depends not only on the amounts exchanged, but also the shared meanings behind these exchanges. Given the lack of institutionalized expectations guiding doubled-up household relationships, household members draw on competing norms, framing the household as either a solidarity unit or a series of independent nuclear family units. Although disagreement over economic relationships is common, …

Perceived Adolescent Insecure Attachment With Mothers And Fathers, Helena Pipová, Martin Dolejš, Jaroslava Suchá, Alexander T. Vazsonyi

Sociology Faculty Publications

The aim of this study was to test relationships between adolescent insecure attachment (anxious and avoidant) with mothers and fathers and three outcomes: food addiction, eating disorders, and weight status, in a large multi-regional sample of Czech adolescents. Anonymous, self-reported data were collected from 3,677 adolescents (1,688 boys, 45.9% and 1,989 girls, 54.1%). Both anxious and avoidant attachment with mothers were positively associated with food addiction (p <.001) and eating-disorder risk (p <.001). Importantly, avoidant attachment with fathers uniquely and additively explained variance in both food addiction (p <.001) and eating-disorder risk (p =.003), after controlling for maternal attachment. Weight status was unrelated to attachment and was predicted by sex and parental education only. Study findings highlight the salience of insecure attachment with both mothers and fathers for food addiction and eating disorders among adolescents and identify the parental relationship as a key potential preventative strategy.

“Policymakers Need To See This!”, Ramona G. Olvera, Peter Balvanz, Owusua Yamoah, Kesla Klingler, Marisa D. Booty, Sylvia A. Ellison, Amy Farmer, Amy K. Kuntz, Hilary L. Surratt, Carrie B. Oser, Margaret L. Mcgladrey

Sociology Faculty Publications

The use of Photovoice methods to identify and address public health challenges has evolved since this participatory action research method’s inception in the 1990s. However, there is a notable lack of research on the dissemination of Photovoice findings to promote community action and change. This study evaluates audience and Photovoice participants’ experiences of dissemination events presenting the results of 21 Photovoice projects that supplemented the HEALing Communities Study (HCS), a multistate community-based study of strategies to reduce opioid overdose deaths. The Photovoice projects captured the perspectives of people with lived experience of substance use disorder and front-line providers regarding their …

Understanding Resilience In Children In Out-Of-Home Care: Using Person-Centered Health Services Research, Hyeeun K. Shin

Theses and Dissertations--Health Services Research (HSR)

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), which refer to exposure to traumatic life events before age 18, and instability in caregiving experiences contribute to poor physical, mental, behavioral, and developmental health outcomes for both children and adults. Previous research shows that these experiences can have negative effects both in the short term and throughout a person’s life. However, children’s strengths, which are the internal and external assets that support their development, can help protect against the impact of ACEs. Effective parenting, positive social support, and self-regulation skills are essential factors that build resilience, helping individuals adapt to challenges that may affect their …

The Digital In The Library: Finding The Mutually Beneficial Synergy, James M. Donovan

Law Faculty Books and Chapters

With the value of access to digital resources abundantly demonstrated during the COVID-19 lockdown, enthusiasm for the format is reaching new heights. This chapter counsels restraint, rebutting the argument that skepticism concerning the wide adoption of digital materials into the library is due merely to nostalgia by anti-technologists for a now-bygone age. Despite their obvious usefulness in certain situations, patrons have not responded well when libraries propose to discard legacy print collections in favor of transient electronic formats.To explain this rejection, this chapter argues that libraries are built upon principles of collection development and organization of materials in order to …

College Student Perceptions Of A Pilot Cooking And Nutrition Education Workshop Through The Lens Of The Social Cognitive Theory: A Qualitative Study, Emma Watras, Amelia Sullivan, Emalee Harrington, Mona Therrien-Genes, Kathryn Yerxa, Makenzie Barr-Porter, Jade Mcnamara

Dietetics and Human Nutrition Faculty Publications

This study qualitatively examined college students' perceptions of a pilot cooking and nutrition workshop, College Cooking Connection (CCC), through the Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) framework. Undergraduate students who attended at least one CCC workshop (N = 29) were invited to a 30 min virtual focus group. A trained moderator guided the discussion to gather perceptions of the program. Themes were identified using thematic analysis with a directive and deductive approach based on SCT. Focus groups revealed eight major themes across the SCT. Cognitive themes included: (1) improved nutrition literacy, (2) understanding the nutrition-mental health connection, and (3) increased awareness of …

Do Magnesium Ions Have Similar Effects As Calcium Ions On Resting Membrane Potential?, Anthony Hana, Youngwoo Kim, Joy Bidros, Katie Neglia, Robin L. Cooper

Biology Faculty Publications

Maintaining a membrane electrical potential of biological cells is a dynamic process, as some cells have a continually changing potential, like pacemaker cells, while other cells may function with large or small changes in the membrane potential. Additionally, some cells may change their electrical potential when stimulated or inhibited by electrical signals, chemical compounds, or both—either simultaneously or episodically. The persistent leak of K⁺ through two-pore-domain potassium channels (K2P) and of Na⁺ through Na⁺ leak channels (NALCNs) and the action of pumps and exchangers are primarily responsible for maintaining a resting potential. Ca²⁺ ions are known …

An Evolving View Of Lineage Diversification, Pascal O. Title, L. Francisco Henao-Díaz, Rosana Zenil-Ferguson, Thais Vasconcelos

Biology Faculty Publications

Systematists have long been fascinated by the astounding variation in species diversity across the various branches of the tree of life, a net result of the uneven rates at which lineages undergo speciation and extinction over time. The past 30 years have seen the development and widespread application of tools that allow diversification to be quantified and characterized in empirical data sets. These advances have, in turn, enabled the statistical evaluation of hypotheses about the causes behind the uneven distribution of species richness among lineages, leading to a more nuanced understanding of diversification rate variation, as reflected in an ever-expanding …

Expressing Experiences Of Being Gender Non-Conforming In The “Ladies” Restroom Through Autoethnography-Based Research Poetics, Ellen D.B. Riggle

Gender and Women's Studies Faculty Publications

Three research poems are created as an autoethnographic response to feedback on a research article on the author’s experiences as a gender non-conforming person in women’s public restrooms. The feedback loop includes the sharing of lived experiences by others and theoretical (why?) discussions in the context of the gendered policing and politicalization of women’s restrooms. The first found poem includes words, phrases, and descriptions of images used to label spaces designated as women’s restrooms. The second prose poem recounts the author's experiences through a reframing of risk to women’s health, understanding the cultural context of male entitlement and White supremacy, …

Legal Professional Identity Development: An Exploration Of The Social And Emotional Processes By Which Law Students Transition From Novices To Professionals, David Hall Abney Ii

Theses and Dissertations--Communication

This dissertation seeks to heed the call for expansion of instructional communication research (ICR) beyond the undergraduate classroom and undergraduate learning objectives by exploring older learners and higher-order affective learning objectives. Legal professional identity development (LPID) is a discipline-specific type of higher-order affective learning that is conceptualized as a continuous nonlinear process that begins in law school and extends throughout a lawyer’s career, involving the internalization of the legal profession’s core values and norms and their integration with an evolving identity. Using a pragmatic ICR approach and a mixed-methods design, Phase 1 employed individual interviews and focus groups to investigate …

“We Do Things A Little Different Exactly As You'd Expect Here...": Egocentric Network Structures As Predictors Of Organizational Culture Type, Ray Celeste S. Tanner

Theses and Dissertations--Communication

This dissertation examines organizational culture as an outcome of communication structures by integrating the Competing Values Framework (CVF) with egocentric network analysis. Although CVF is one of the most widely used frameworks for diagnosing organizational culture and predicting organizational effectiveness, prior research has overwhelmingly treated culture as an independent variable. Responding to calls for greater attention to the antecedents of culture, this study reconceptualizes organizational culture as a dependent variable and investigates how individuals’ perceived communication networks predict perceptions of CVF culture types. Using egocentric network data collected from employees across a diverse range of organizations and industries, this study …

Can Love Bloom On A Battlefield: An Analysis Of Queer Militaristic Fanfiction, Brandon Bost

Theses and Dissertations--Communication

It is noted that readers and fans hold unique and valid interpretations of texts, interpretations that become expressed in fan works like fan art, memes, or the subject of this study, fanfiction. This study performs textual analysis on queer fanfiction in Metal Gear Solid and Code Geass fandoms. It examines the unique relationship militarism holds with intimacy, and how intimacy intersects with violence and control in unique ways in these fan texts. Within these fanfics, militarism can serve as a barrier to intimacy, forcing relationships to adapt to militaristic structures within these fan interpretations.

Exploring The Relationship Between Self-Esteem And Communication Among Equestrians In Facebook Groups, Jenna Young

Theses and Dissertations--Communication

People’s interpersonal relationships and social groups are connected to their self-esteem. Equestrians, a social group unified around riding or working with horses, form identities based on their involvement in the equine industry, whether that be recreationally or professionally. Equestrians’ subjective views of self-esteem may be related to their overall well-being. Theories related to self-esteem and identity indicate that communication within social relationships, like within the equine industry, may impact an individuals’ sense of self-worth. Facebook groups have increased in popularity in the equine industry due to the ease of communication between equestrians. Therefore, this study investigated the relationship between self-esteem …

The Role Of Fandom On Perceived Racial Stereotypes Presented By The Media’S Coverage Of Sport And Crime, Christopher F. Clements

Theses and Dissertations--Communication

This dissertation examines the intersection of sport, media, and race, focusing on the ways in which media portrayals of athletes involved in criminal activity relate to the reinforcement of racial stereotypes. Utilizing social identity theory (SIT), this dissertation employs three video clips of minority athletes at the time of their arrests to examine how media representations of minority athletes contribute to the reinforcement of viewers’ racial stereotypes and to investigate the impact of participants’ pre-existing racial stereotypes upon their perceptions of media representations of Black athletes involved in criminal activity. This dissertation utilizes focus groups to examine how fandom, as …