Digital Commons Network^™

Can You See Me, Or Can You Smell Me? An Investigation Into Information Transfer In Betta Splendens, Alex Daniel Lynch

School of Biological and Marine Sciences Theses

Visual communication in Betta splendens has been studied in great detail. Chemical information transfer in this species has been studied less, and the interaction between chemical and visual information transfer less still. Betta may have a need for chemical information transfer; a need which is often neglected when housing this species in isolation from conspecifics. There is evidence that many fish species communicate using visual signals and spy on one another using chemical cues. Which type of information transfer is important and how they interact in which social context is less clear. Eavesdropping and mate choice has been studied extensively …

Examining Trust And Its Influence On Emotional Self-Disclosure, Demetria Thomas-Masso

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Communication is an important aspect of a relationship of any kind as thoughts, feelings, and ideas are conveyed from one party to the other. However, communication styles vary, which can contribute to lack of comprehension of content among individuals resulting in misinterpretation. This study focused on examining whether trust, an identified variable indicative of a secure relationship, could influence individuals’ willingness to emotionally self-disclose within a romantic relationship. One hundred fifty-eight individuals were randomly placed into one of three groups (two were priming groups) for the purpose of assessing whether trust influenced their willingness to disclose their emotions to their …

Design Of Educational Material And Public Awareness Campaigns For Improving Work Zone Driver Safety, Ricardo Chahine, Prince Adu Gyamfi, Nandhesh Subash, Wonsang Cho, Krista O. Kelley, Stacey L. Connaughton, Konstantina Gkritza

JTRP Technical Reports

This project aims to help improve work zone driver safety in Indiana through driver education and public awareness campaigns. The project focused on two specific objectives: (1) to design a public awareness campaign to increase drivers’ knowledge and influence positive attitudes about work zone driver safety practices; and (2) to prepare educational materials to be incorporated into driver’s education or training curriculum prior to taking driving test and getting a driver’s license issued. The campaign was informed by formative research, conducted using a survey to assess public knowledge and attitudes. Based on these results, campaign messages were designed. The team …

Strategies For Building A Positive School Climate: Keeping Teachers Happy And Students Motivated!, Katherine L. Kelbaugh

Southeast Conference on School Climate

School climate matters. Principals are the primary drivers of school climate. Principals deserve direct instruction as it relates to how to intentionally shape positive school climate. This information is valuable and meaningful considering the significant impact school climate has on teacher and student outcomes. This session will offer principals much-needed, detailed strategies for shaping school climate. Following this session, principals will be able to implement positive school climate features immediately.

The session will thoroughly explore specific strategies for shaping school climate and dive into proven, practical examples of these strategies. As a result of the session, participants will gain a …

Worker Experience A Year Into Covid: Job Demands And Resources In The Philippines, Emerald Jay D. Ilac, Jaimee Felice Caringal-Go, Ma Tonirose De Guzman Mactal, Mendiola Teng-Calleja

Psychology Department Faculty Publications

This study aimed to examine the positive and negative job characteristics that impact employees’ working experience in a country located in the Global South during the COVID-19 pandemic using the job demands and resources (JDR) theory as a framework. Data collection happened approximately one year after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines. Data came from a qualitative online survey of 122 workers which was then subjected to thematic analysis. For both demands and resources, four superordinate themes emerged: intrapersonal, interpersonal, work or task-related, and organization- related. Intrapersonal job demands included health and safety, and the complexity of …

The Case For Alternate Media Requirement Expressions In Systems Engineering, Jason Kolligs

Dissertations

“Requirements” are often presented as a necessary, if not mandated, component or tool of the systems engineering process. Despite their place in engineering, low quality requirements are the first potential mistakes of an engineering project and their effects are potentially felt downstream in the form of increased costs and schedule overruns. Innovations to improve requirements engineering have historically omitted the requirement media. This research provides the rationale and process heuristics to include alternate media requirement expressions within systems engineering which shifts accountability to higher context requirement expressions that may require less cognitive load while decreasing effort and schedule thereby potentially …

Shared Governance At Virginia Commonwealth University: Increasing Awareness Of Shared Governance Among Faculty, Andrea H. Becker, Carlton H. Goode, Jennifer C. Rivers, Melissa W. Tyler

Doctor of Education Capstones

Abstract

SHARED GOVERNANCE AT VIRGINIA COMMONWEALTH UNIVERSITY: INCREASING AWARENESS OF SHARED GOVERNANCE AMONG FACULTY

By Andrea H. Becker, Carlton H. Goode, Jennifer C. Rivers, Melissa W. Tyler

A capstone project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education in the Department of Educational Leadership at Virginia Commonwealth University

Virginia Commonwealth University, 2022.

Capstone Chair: Jonathan D. Becker, Ph.D., Department of Educational Leadership

The primary focus of this study is to understand and define the concept of shared governance as practiced at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). The researchers approached the study through three guiding questions: …

Where Are My People? A Historical Analysis On Nasa’S Equal Opportunity Initiatives, Heather D. Smith

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis uses historical analysis to review how the NASA Communication Office published information about its equal opportunity efforts from the 1970s through the 2010s. NASA press materials were examined using various keywords to search for programs and initiatives to recruit and maintain women and minorities in the space agency. The idea to create internal programs to increase women and ­­minorities within NASA appeared in the mid-1970s, but the agency did not report initiatives until the late 1980s and 2010s, when the keywords women, minorities, and equal opportunity ­were mentioned most often. NASA continues to develop and implement …

In America: A Content Analysis Of The 2021 Met Gala, Mary Beth Clarke

Honors Theses - Providence Campus

This study examined the 2021 Met Gala and how its theme In America: A Lexicon of Fashion was applied. It answered the question of: how was this theme interpreted via the attendees’ attire? This study was conducted via content analysis of the Met Gala attendees (using digital images), supplemented with additional Internet research to provide more context. The findings show that the attendees’ outfits had many influences, including icons, personal heritage, activism, and red-carpet norms, to name a few. The implications of this study are that “America” can have varying meanings for different people, depending on their values and lived …

Factors Influencing The Effectiveness Of Managing Human–Robot Teams, Theodore B. Terry

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Certain factors can influence the capabilities of a robot–human team by affecting their social and behavioral dynamics in a work environment. But these factors were not known due to the progressive nature of human–robot partnerships and a lack of peer-reviewed literature on the topic. This e-Delphi study aimed to identify and understand these unknown influential factors based on the participants’ insights. The overarching research question asked about the need to determine factors that might influence the effectiveness of managing human-robot teams. The basis for the conceptual framework for this study was the theory of communication used in organizational management. Twelve …

Positive Family Relationships In A Digital Age: Hearing The Voice Of Young People, Nicola F. Johnson, Zoe Francis

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

This study focused on young people's perspectives about family relationships and how they can be strengthened or weakened through digital media practices. Located in Melbourne, Australia, 20 participants aged between 13 and 17 years were interviewed about how digital devices and practices shaped the way they interacted with family. The thematic analysis points to the young people's commitment to family cohesion. This was demonstrated through responsible use of social media, admitting the need for device-free time, acknowledging the challenges of being online, and their sense of responsibility as a family member, which informed and shaped the way they individually acted.

Andrews University’S Thought Leadership Communication On Linkedin: A Textual Analysis, Nana Ama O. Akoto-Boateng

Master's Theses

Thought leadership is fast becoming a powerful communication tool for most industries and sectors including higher education institutions (HEIs). This study employed textual analysis to determine how Andrews University's thought leadership on LinkedIn compares with four other top-ranking Adventist universities, namely Loma Linda University, Pacific Union College, Southern Adventist University and Walla Walla University. The text elements that were analyzed during the study were image posts and video posts on the respective LinkedIn pages of these institutions, spanning from January 2021 to June 2021. Among other findings, the results of the study revealed that Andrews University compares as the least …

Investigating Patient Attitudes Towards Quality Of Service Management In The Public Health Service Sector: Evidence From Saudi Arabia, Aseel Bahareth

Plymouth Business School Theses

Purpose - Healthcare has been recognised as one of the key social responsibilities in any society, and the quality of healthcare available in a country is one of the key recognised standards and indicators for measuring the quality of life and standard of living obtainable in a particular society or country. Several previous studies have also shown that service satisfaction and quality experienced by patients vary from one country to another, while most developing nations fall at the bottom of these satisfaction ladders or rankings due to little (or non-available) research evidence in these areas. Therefore, this study will employ …

Cyberbullying In Middle School Students: An Intervention Using An Educational Mobile Application For Caregivers: A Pilot Study, Gregory C. Claxton

Journal of the Georgia Public Health Association

Cyberbullying among middle school students is a growing problem that is shown to affect psychological development in middle school youth which can result in self-harm and suicide. Evidence suggests more frequent communication between children and their caregivers is a protective factor against cyberbullying. The KnowBullying app is designed to increase caregiver and student communication to prevent bullying. This study examines the effectiveness of the KnowBullying app regarding enhanced caregiver and child communication and cyberbullying experience reduction in middle school students. Five students and nine caregivers were given surveys before and after the caregivers downloaded and used the KnowBullying app. The …

System Statuses In Academic Libraries: Increasing Transparency And Improving The User Experience, Lauren Puzier, Rebecca A. Nous

University Libraries Faculty Scholarship

"is facebook down" trended on Google on October 4, 2021, when Facebook became temporarily globally unavailable. Web users proactively seek information when they encounter issues online. System status dashboards are one way libraries can leverage this behavior to share changes to resources or services and improve transparency, reference services, and the user experience. The University at Albany Libraries Discovery Services Librarian and User Experience Librarian implemented Springshare’s System Status Management tool to share system statuses with library staff and the campus community. The institutional context, implementation, and impact are described in this article. The authors reviewed Association of Research Libraries …

Social Movement Splintering: An Examination Of Stockton Stands With Minneapolis And News Media Representation, Kevin Ozomaro

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The phenomenon surrounding news media’s power to alter group identity and group cohesion is something that rarely a point of focus in communication studies. In this study I worked with a local social movement group called Stockton Stands with Minneapolis. This group illustrated the importance of maintaining shared values. Utilizing relational Interviewing, SSWM members provided evidence showing the connection between news media and group success. News media has had a role in shaping group members’ understanding of SSWM and activism. SSWM has faced internal conflict as a result of negative news representation. SSWM is a relatively small and young (2 …

The Effectiveness Of Policy Communication In Promoting #Kangpisman Program Among University Students, Heni Nuraeni Zaenudin, Rika Sartika, Muhammad Endriski Agraenzopati Haryanegara

Informasi

This study is aimed at measuring the effectiveness of policy communication in promoting #KangPisMan program among university students. #KangPisMan is a top priority program of Bandung Municipal Government to tackle waste management problem. In this sense, the problem of plastic waste has become a global concern about environment, therefore it is a hope that, by promoting #KangPisMan, a new lifestyle will make people more aware of environmental sustainability. The program was established in 2018, so it is necessary to measure the effectiveness of its communicating strategy. In terms of public communication, the realization of promoting the program should be measured …

Achieving Health Goals In India: The Role Of Community Engagement And Communication, Vishal Singh

ASEAN Journal of Community Engagement

India is committed to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) set up by United Nations. Community engagement (CE) and communicating health is the key aspect for achieving the desired results. Goal setting for health sector in India has long history. This systematic review aims to examine the evidence on community engagement and communication from studies that report on program outcomes in India. To our knowledge, there are limited reviews available that examine outcomes of CE in achieving health goals. This review seeks to fill this knowledge gap. We describe role of CE and communication in achieving the SDG health goals …

Karakteristik Komunikator Remaja Sma Yang Berhubungan Dengan Komunikasi Kesehatan Reproduksi Di Kota Palembang, Putri Dwi Oktarini, Fenny Etrawati

Perilaku dan Promosi Kesehatan: Indonesian Journal of Health Promotion and Behavior

Background. Adolescents are the most vulnerable age to experience unsafe and risky reproductive health problems such as abortion and sexually transmitted infections. One of the efforts made by the government to overcome this is through a peer group approach developed in the Youth Information and Counseling Center (PIK R) as a bridge to the communication process. Objective. This study aims to determine the relationship between the characteristics of high school youth communicators with reproductive health communication in Palembang City in 2018. Method. This study used a cross-sectional design. The sample of this study is 112 high school adolescents whose educational …

Higher Education Students’ Social Media Literacy In Ethiopia: A Case Of Bahir Dar University., Atinafu Behailu

Journal of Media Literacy Education

This study investigates the status of Bahir Dar University students’ social media literacy and how associated factors affect developing core competencies. A combination of qualitative and quantitative research methods have been employed in the study. Both descriptive and inferential statistics of means core, standard deviation, one sample t-test, independent sample t-test, correlation and multiple regressions were used to analyze data gathered from the quantitative design. Data gathered from FGD were analyzed qualitatively. Accordingly, the students’ overall social media level was found to be low. Female students perform slightly lower than their counterpart male students. Among the five skills of social …

Beauty Pageant Dalam Persfektif Semiotik Komunikasi Visual, Dony Hermawan

Jurnal Sosial Humaniora Terapan

This research is a semiotic study of visual communication that is analyzing the meaning of signs or symbols in the world beauty contest. The beauty pageant itself has become a spectacle event that attracts millions of viewers when beautiful woman who represents her country walks gracefully on the world-class stage. Behind this phenomenal competition, there are no many people realize that there are various communication symbols that delivers by the participants, both verbal and non-verbal, especially in the semiotics topic. By using the method of studying literature on the study of semiotics, in the world beauty contests, the expected meaning …

Influencing Public Opinion: Activist Public Relations And The Arrest Of Susan B. Anthony, Arien Rozelle

The Seneca Falls Dialogues Journal

The Suffrage movement stands out as an early progressive cause that utilized an integrated approach to public relations in support of a clear objective. The arrest of Susan B. Anthony provided the movement with a huge opportunity to influence public opinion in order to win the right to vote.

“It Made Me Question If I Was In The Right Hands”: Exploring Cancer Prognostic Conversations Between Providers And Latinx Patients, Yesenia Anabel Carrillo

Master's Theses

People of color are often confronted by barriers within the health-care system that white people are not likely to encounter. Latinx patients are among those who experience racial health disparities, typically due to the lack of health literacy support and limited resource access. Drawing on previous work that focuses on exploring patient, provider, and caregiver preferences for cancer prognostic conversations; this study explores perceptions of cancer prognostic conversations between providers and Latinx patients to better understand the degree of cultural competence among providers and opportunities for enhancing interpersonal communication with Latinx patients. Interviews with seven patients and five providers were …

The Effects Of Deepfakes And Synthetic Media On Communication Professionals, Axel Ebermann

Student Theses and Dissertations

The spread of misinformation and disinformation is regarded as one of the most salient challenges for communication professionals around the world.

Now, a new technology called "DeepFakes" or “Synthetic Media” has the potential to further uproot the infosphere. Artificial Intelligence (AI) will enable the mass creation of synthetic audio-visual content that resembles real videos, in which people will appear to say or do things they never actually said or did.

The existing literature predominantly focuses on three aspects of DeepFakes and Synthetic Media: the technical background, coverage of preexisting DeepFakes and possible solutions to combat the malicious use of the …

How Did Covid-19 Impact The Aviation Industry, Theresa Sonntag

Student Theses and Dissertations

The ongoing coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) has been impacted the whole world. One of the hardest-hit industries in the aviation industry. This research investigates how COVID-19 challenged this sector. It focuses especially on how American Airlines and Lufthansa Group got impacted and what they tried to do to recover from this crisis. This paper’s primary focus is on how those two airlines changed their communication strategy and their marketing to regain customer trust and their reputation. It looks at different researchers and their theories to overcome such a crisis like this and discusses different airlines and what they did when they …

The Cowl - V. 86 N. 10 - Dec 9, 2021

The Cowl

The Cowl - student newspaper of Providence College. Vol. 86 No. 10 - December 9, 2021. 40 pages.

The Mvohc Project, Brooke Day

All Theses

ABSTRACT

A Mvohc is a Morphic Vessel of Human Consciousness. The Mvohc Project traverses' theories of spatial identity in tandem with creative world-building as a method for examining the intricacies of the human condition and reimagining reality. My creations are designed to promote autonomy over the contemporary world's ever-evolving societal complexities to empower individuals, foster imagination and communication, and create space for positive change. This body of work incorporates fleshy biomorphic sculptures inspired by science fiction, deep-sea marine life, and the human body. The abject creatures are partnered with constructed audio-scapes that encompass the frenzy of an overarching internal monologue, …

The Game Of Life: How Playing Gamified Interactive Narratives Affects Career Planning In Cambodia, Lauren B. Frank, Paul Sparks, Sheila T. Murphy, Lizzie Goodfriend, Paul Falzone

Communication Faculty Publications and Presentations

To improve economic opportunity in Cambodia, we used social cognitive theory to develop gamified, interactive narratives using mobile phones. Participants guided their chosen character toward their “dream job” goal while encountering a series of barriers along the way. Participants (N = 1,625) were randomly assigned to one of four message frequency experimental conditions: a no-play control condition or playing the interactive narrative one, two, or five times. Compared with not playing the interactive narrative (control), those who played showed higher perceived self-efficacy, response efficacy, and behavioral intentions. Playing more times was associated with less attentional focus and enjoyment, but greater …

The Meaning Of Movement: Using Motion Design To Enrich Words For Deaf And Hard Of Hearing Children, Hannah Elyse Colasurdo

Masters Theses

This thesis aims to address challenging areas of vocabulary for deaf and hard of hearing children by developing an open resource for students, parents, teachers, and content creators that utilizes motion to enhance written words for deaf and hard of hearing children. This research seeks to study the means of nonverbal communication such as body language expression and paralinguistic prosody (i.e., tone, intonation, volume, and pitch) qualities within the framework of graphic design through motion design. Body movement and expression are essential during face-to-face communication, but written language lacks such context clues. Additionally, the hard of hearing may not fully …

Dissonance Between Christian Beliefs And Eating Habits In The South, Karli Dianne Stringer

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this qualitative study was to initiate understanding of how obesity in the South is still so prevalent even though the majority of inhabitants subscribe to a faith that discourages unhealthy lifestyles. Furthermore, the information presented in this research sought to fill the knowledge gap for communicators and educators concerning the dissonance between Christianity in the South and the unhealthy eating habits of Southerners. Grounded in the Cognitive Dissonance Theory, this study comprised of a semi-structured interview route in which Protestant evangelical Christians in the South (N = 11) participated in a descriptive study conducted by a committee …