Digital Commons Network^™

Censorship In The Media

Communication Research Trends

The principle of freedom of expression in the press, book publishing and broadcasting has been one of the hard-won battles in human history. Without this freedom, a democratic society,, could not exist. Yet every community and nation has to make painful decisions about what will, or will not be communicated. Libel and privacy are obvious examples. Otherwise our societies would virtually disintegrate. Does freedom of speech have limits? If so, how do we decide on these limits?

New forms of censorship are always creeping in. Currently it is insinuated that consumer protection groups such as Action for Children's Television in …

Television's Influence On Cultures

Communication Research Trends

It is widely assumed by the public, broadcasters and some communication researchers that television has caused major shifts in contemporary world view and values. McLuhan introduced the notion that the form of the medium itself- the simultaneous sound and vision - has brought about a new intuitive, holistic pattern of thinking. For McLuhan, the generation gap is the product of a television generation. Gerbner sees television as the central cultural arm of American society. Like a religion, it is the chief source of repetitive and ritualised symbol systems cultivating the consciousness of mass publics.

Others think that the process is …

The Language Of Film And Television

Communication Research Trends

An increasing number of people receive most of their news, entertainment and even religious inspiration through the visual media of film, television or illustrated magazines. We all "watch" television.James Monaco notes that some cats watch television attentively! But how well do we grasp the specific language of the visual media?

In countries such as the U.S., there is evidence that the post-1950 generation that has grown up with television has a pattern of thinking more attuned to the visual than to print media. Yet, some cross-cultural studies suggest that many American children, for all of the long hours of TV …

Tax Trends, E. S. Linett

Tax Adviser

No abstract provided.

The Intersection Between Child Marriage And Climate Change: An Example Of Malawi, Musu Bakoto Sawo

Journal of African Policy Studies

Child marriage affects 39,000 girls daily, totaling 650 million women married before age eighteen globally. While driven by poverty, tradition, and limited education, climate change is emerging as a significant new factor, particularly in developing nations such as Malawi, where 42% of girls marry before age eighteen. An estimated 1.5 million girls in Malawi are at risk due to climate-exacerbated food insecurity and displacement. This paper, using feminist theories of intersectionality, postcolonial feminism, and feminist political ecology, examines the complex link between climate change and child marriage in Malawi. It critiques existing international, regional, and domestic policies, highlighting their inadequacy …

The Healthcare Workforce In Nevada, 2024, Olivia K. Cheche, William E. Brown Jr., Caitlin J. Saladino

Health

This fact sheet presents data on the healthcare workforce in Nevada. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics Query System provides data on the amount of employment in all job sectors at the state and metropolitan statistical area (MSA) levels. This fact sheet focuses on employment and wage data for the State of Nevada, the Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, NV MSA, and the Reno, NV MSA as of May 2024.

A Narrative Study Of How Secondary School Teachers Experience Generative Ai Writing Tools In The English Language Arts Classroom, Nick Brodell

Doctor of Education (EdD)

With the presence of artificial intelligence (AI) programs such as ChatGPT commonplace in secondary English language arts (ELA) classrooms, scholars and practitioners are both curious and skeptical about the technology’s ability to help students improve their ELA skills. Teachers have been using tutoring software and Web 2.0 technologies for decades, yet AI writing tools offer new functionalities. Teachers and administrators have experiences engaging with the benefits and burdens of the technology, and scholars of composition pedagogy, ITS (intelligent tutoring systems), and ML (machine learning) have theories about students using it for skills acquisition and practice. This study collected and analyzed …

The Criminal Record As A Death Sentence: Unmasking The Ignored Realities Of Formerly Incarcerated University Graduates On Professional Licencing Challenges, Mbongiseni Mdakane, Bongani Innocent Nkambule, Sindile Amina Ngubane

Journal of Prison Education Research

Recently it is increasingly common practice for universities and professional registration councils to probe into applicants’ criminal records as a precondition for admission. Using social constructionism, this qualitative study explored the experiences of six formerly incarcerated individuals previously sentenced to life imprisonment, who hold professional university degrees in Law, Education, Psychology and Social Work and investigated whether having a criminal record had any bearing when applying for professional registration. The results indicate that due to the perceived stigma of, and discrimination against a criminal record, there exist varying degrees of criminal record disclosure ranging from partial, to full and non-disclosure. …

Incidence And Clinical Profile Of Cardiovascular Abnormalities In Infants Of Diabetic Mother, Kailas Randad, Praveen Das, Akash Dnyandeo Sarkate, Qudsiya Ansari

Digital Journal of Clinical Medicine

Background: Maternal diabetes is associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes, notably congenital heart disease (CHD) in infants of diabetic mothers (IDMs). This study evaluated the prevalence and spectrum of CHDs in IDMs and the effect of maternal glycemic control.

Materials and Methods: A prospective observational study was conducted over 18 months at a tertiary care centre in Mumbai. A total of 112 IDMs were enrolled. Maternal glycemic status was assessed using HbA1c and random blood sugar. All infants underwent clinical examination, oxygen saturation measurement, and echocardiography.

Results: CHDs were identified in 26.7% of infants. The most frequent lesions …

Native American Elders’ Perspectives On Death And Dying, Ji Hong, Stephenie M. Wescoup, Gul Nahar, Rockey Robbins

Journal of Indigenous Research

This article employs a qualitative method to facilitate the expression of 16 Native American elders about their feelings about aging and death. They discussed resentments, acceptance of their life experiences, the inevitability of death, participation in the natural re-cycling of nature, and hopes they had for Native Americans in future generations. Throughout the study, theoretical and empirical findings in the field of psychology and Native American literature are cited to help interpret the participants’ remarks. An extended clinical implications section may be helpful to practitioners.

Parents’ Experience Of The Effects Of Racism On The Psychological And Physical Health Of Teenagers With Intellectual And Developmental Disabilities, Akane Nakamura

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many children and adults in the United States experience developmental disabilities and mental health challenges, leading to bias, marginalization, and economic hardship. Racism exacerbates these issues for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), increasing depression, isolation, and health disparities. The purpose of this study was to explore parents' perspectives on the impact of racism on the psychological and physical health of teenagers aged 13–18 years with moderate IDD in the Northwestern United States. Disability critical race theory provided a lens for examining how race and disability intersect to create barriers for these teenagers. The research method was qualitative. Phenomenology …

Approximating Data-Driven Combinatorial Search In The Feature Space: Pwfs, Mehmet Bugrahan Ayanoglu

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation presents the development and application of a novel feature selection method, Probability Weighted Feature Selection (PWFS), designed to address key challenges in machine learning involving high-dimensional, noisy, or biased datasets. It is a comprehensive exploration of feature selection strategies to enhance the performance, interpretability, and practicality of machine learning models in both engineering systems and educational data mining. PWFS introduces a structured, probabilistic approach to feature selection that adaptively weights features based on their empirical contribution to model performance. This method not only accelerates convergence to near-optimal feature subsets but also enhances flexibility for ensemble learning by encouraging …

Gender Equality Training For Students In Higher Education: Scoping Review, Claire Condron, Mide Power, Midhun Mathew, Siobhan Lucey, Patrick Henn, Tanya Dean, Michelle Kirrane-Scott, Walter Eppich, Siobhan M. Lucey

Research Outputs: 2025-Present

No abstract provided.

Jewish Orthodox Women In Higher Education: A Case Study, Tamar Kimmel

Doctorate in Education

This qualitative case study explores the lived experiences of Orthodox Jewish women navigating higher education within the United States. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with 13 participants enrolled in undergraduate and graduate programs, this study investigates the intersectional challenges these women faced as students, mothers, and members of a visibly religious minority. This research examines barriers related to gender expectations, religious observance, and antisemitism on college campuses. Participants reported a complex interplay of community support, institutional challenges, and personal resilience in their pursuit of academic success. The analysis reveals a pressing need for higher education institutions to implement culturally responsive policies, …

Sacred Bonds: The Association Between Religious Giving And Relationship Quality, Sofia C. Suxo-Sanchez

Theses and Dissertations

Grounded in interdependence theory, we sought to understand how religious giving is associated with relationship quality by drawing on two distinct datasets, one from emerging adult couples and another from established couples. Using structural equation modeling, we tested the direct association between religious giving and relationship quality, and whether it was mediated by materialism. Our quantitative findings contrasted previous research; we did not find materialism to mediate the association and found a significant, negative association between religious giving and relationship quality. Through a team-based coding approach, we explored how and why established couples believed religious giving impacted their relationship quality. …

Reducing Use Of Force In Law Enforcement Through Higher Education, Joseph J. Davern

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This quantitative research study examined whether earning a college degree reduced police officers’ use of force in Massachusetts during 2023. Reducing force incidents is a concern for both citizens and law enforcement due to increasing public scrutiny and a need to improve community-police relations. The purpose of this study was to determine whether police officers with college degrees are less likely to use force during citizen encounters compared to those with only a high school diploma. The first research question explored the difference in the amount of force used by municipal police officers with college degrees versus those with high …

Unveiling The Clinicopathological Outcomes Of Breast Cancer In Young Women: A Perspective From Resource-Limited Settings, Kulsoom Shaikh, Aiman Arif, Mehwish Mooghal, Lubna Vohra

Sultan Qaboos University Medical Journal

Objectives: This study aimed to assess the incidence of breast cancer in young women over a ten-year period and examine its association with clinical characteristics, risk factors, treatment modalities, and survival outcomes. Methods: A retrospective analysis of the Breast Cancer Registry at our institution was conducted. Of the 2,238 women diagnosed with breast cancer between 2012 and 2021, 535 (23.9%) were aged 40 years or younger at the time of diagnosis. Cases with missing data for independent variables were excluded from the respective analyses. Results: The mean age at diagnosis was 34.5 years (range: 15–40). The most common clinical …

Autism And Down Syndrome: An Examination Of The Baby And Infant Screen For Autism Traits In Toddlers With Down Syndrome, Celeste Tevis

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Current research suggests that children with Down Syndrome (DS) are at an increased risk for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) compared to the general population. Detecting ASD early in children with DS is crucial to providing access to additional treatment services and supports that may be necessary. Despite a critical need to identify ASD as early as possible, diagnoses of ASD are often delayed in individuals with DS. It can be especially difficult for clinicians to differentiate between symptoms attributed to intellectual developmental disorder (IDD), a primary feature of DS, and possible ASD symptoms. Only two research studies have evaluated the …

New Approaches To Media Education

Communication Research Trends

There is increasing consensus among educators around the world that some form of education for the use of the public media - especially television - should be an integral part of the primary and secondary school education.

Teachers are daily experiencing the fact that one of the major cultural influences forming the imagination of their students is the often long hours watching television. Sometimes television is a more important 'educational experience' than the school. Too often, however, the school, family life and the· television set are three mutually antagonistic or indifferent poles that leave young people drifting in a no …

Critical Reviews Of Advertising

Communication Research Trends

In the late 1950s and early 1960s a series of very influential thinkers began a strong movement of criticism of advertising. This questioning of advertising led to a deeper questioning of the 'cult of consumerism' which advertising propagates.

Vance Packard in his popular book, The Hidden Persuaders (1956) attacked advertising for using the techniques of depth psychology to raise 'subliminal anxieties' and manipulate desires for alcohol, cigarettes and other consumer items. John Kenneth Galbraith, in The Affluent Society (1958) pointed out that advertising was encouraging a wasteful consumerism which allowed a small portion of the world's people to use up …

Guidelines On Access To Justice And Effective Remedies In The Context Of Toxics, Marcos Orellana

PEEL Faculty Scholarship

Guidelines on access to justice and effective remedies in the context of toxics

Report of the Special Rapporteur on the implications for human rights of the environmentally sound management and disposal of hazardous substances and wastes, Marcos Orellana.

Community Perspectives On Engaging Stakeholders For Human-Sumatran Tiger Coexistence In The Bukit Barisan Selatan Landscape, Rinekso Soekmadi, Novriyanti Novriyanti, Burhanuddin Masy’Ud, Damayanti Buchori, Christine Wulandari, Ismanto Ismanto

Forest and Society

The Bukit Barisan Selatan (BBS) landscape, a vital habitat for the Sumatran tiger (Panthera tigris sumatrae), is increasingly degraded and fragmented by plantation and agricultural expansion, driving tigers into human-dominated areas and creating conflict zones beyond conservation boundaries. However, despite global frameworks like the Kunming-Montreal 2050 Biodiversity Framework and IUCN advocating coexistence by integrating ecological and socio-economic priorities, the practical implementation at the site level remains uncertain, particularly regarding local perspectives on coexistence and their alignment with competing stakeholder interests. This study analyzes the alignment of parties in the context of the potential coexistence of human-tiger conflicts in …

Differences In Children’S Food And Beverage Consumption Between School And Summer: Three-Year Findings From The What’S Up (Undermining Prevention) With Summer Observational Cohort Study, Michael Beets Med, Mph, Phd, Sarah Burkart, Christopher D. Pfledderer, Elizabeth L. Adams Phd, Robert Weaver Med, Phd, Bridget Armstrong, Keith Brazendale, Xuanxuan Zhu, Alexander Mclain, Gabrielle Turner-Mcgrievy Ph.D., Rd, Russell R. Pate, Andrew T. Kaczynski, Amanda Fairchild, Brian Saelens, Hannah Parker, Amy L. Yaroch, Emily Eglitis, Anthony J. Holmes

Faculty Publications

Background

Summer vacation is a time when youth gain excessive weight. A key driver of unhealthy weight gain is poor dietary quality. The absence of consistent structure (e.g., school), is hypothesized to be one of the reasons for lower diet quality during summer. This study examined differences in school and summer dietary quality among a diverse cohort of children across three years. We also examined the impact of attending structured programs on children’s diets.

Methods

Parents of 1,032 children (age 5–14 years, 48% girls) completed a time use diary each day for 14-days during school (April/May) and again in summer …

Assessing The Potential Of Thailand's National Forest Reserves For Tourism Development And Sustainable Recreational Use, Nantachai Pongpattananurak, Sangsan Phumsathan

Forest and Society

This research aimed to evaluate the potential of Thailand's national forest reserves for promoting sustainable recreational activities. Research tools included a comprehensive tourism potential assessment form for evaluating tourism development. Additionally, semi-structured interviews and focus group meetings with key informants were conducted to gain insights into local perspectives, challenges, and opportunities related to tourism. Site surveys were conducted during January - August 2021. The study initially conducted an assessment of 122 destinations located within 85 national forest reserves across the country to determine their tourism development potential. Subsequently, 16 national forest reserves exhibiting high potential were selected for on-site surveys. …

Constructing Victims And Perpetrators: A Textual Analysis Of Media Discourses On Sexual Violence, Farah Ali

Global Language Studies Faculty publications

Sexual violence has become increasingly visible in the public eye, which has in turn prompted scholarly research across disciplines to critically examine how such cases are handled, ranging from the investigation processes to how the accused and accusing parties are impacted. Linguistic research in particular has made an important contribution to our understanding of the role of language in interpreting and evaluating sexual violence by focusing on the narrations of specific cases. Yet linguistic perspectives are somewhat sparse with regard to mass media discourse, which can play an influential role in shaping discussions on sexual violence. This study examines discourse …

Longitudinal Sequencing Of Cardiometabolic Multimorbidity Among Older Adults And Association With Subsequent Dementia Onset, Corey L. Nagel, Siting Chen, Heather G. Allore, Anda Botoseneanu, Jason T. Newsom, Nick Bishop, David A. Dorr, Jeffrey Kaye, Ana R. Quiñones

Psychology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Patterns of development of cardiometabolic multimorbidity (CMM) and the impact of specific cardiometabolic disease combinations on cognitive function are not well understood. This study utilizes sequence analysis to describe the ordering and timing of cardiometabolic disease accumulation over a five-year period and to assess both sociodemographic predictors and cognitive outcomes of typical cardiometabolic disease sequences.

The Last Human Job: The Work Of Connecting In A Disconnected World By Allison J. Pugh, Princeton University Press, 2024, Karen Levy

Comparative Labor Law & Policy Journal

“I FEEL SO SEEN!” has become a Gen-Z catchphrase for the sense of personal validation when something you experience resonates with your own way of being in the world — say, when you learn that a lyric you’ve always misheard is also misunderstood by someone else, or that a guilty pleasure in which you indulge isn’t unique to you. These days, the phrase is often thrown around light-heartedly online in response to memes or TikTok videos. But the experience of really “being seen” is far from trivial; it’s a form of recognition essential to human functioning and community. Seeing another …

The Impact Of The Covid-19 Pandemic And Race On Access To Maternal Healthcare Services For Patients Based On Insurance Status, Trishana Monlyn

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Due to insurance status, COVID-19 has restricted how and when patients can access healthcare providers. In the health services community, examining obstetric care services during the coronavirus outbreak was important because it increased awareness about how changes to maternal healthcare access affect the health of the mother and unborn child during a pandemic. The theories and/or concepts that grounded this study include the intersectionality theory, which examined the connections between social groups and systems as individuals try to access health services based on health insurance reform, depending on their race. The purpose of this study was to determine if there …

Experiences And Meaning Of Seeking Help And Resources For Male Victims Of Intimate Partner Violence, Dr. Cierra A. Ozolin

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Experiences and Meaning of Seeking Help and Resources for Male Victims of Intimate Partner Violence by Cierra Ozolin MSW, Walden University, 2022 BA, BS, Central Washington University 2019 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Human Services Walden University August 2025

Conversational Systems For Social Care In Older Adults: Protocol For A Scoping Review, Rosiered Brownson-Smith, Ananya Ananthakrishnan, Oksana Hagen, Cen Cong, Amir Aly, Ray B. Jones, Edward Meinert

School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics

Background: Social care systems worldwide face increasing demographic and financial pressures. This necessitates exploring innovative technological solutions to enhance service delivery without substantially increasing costs. Conversational interfaces, including interactive voice response, chatbots, and voice assistants, have gained traction as a means to improve accessibility and efficiency in social care. The rapid development of large language models such as ChatGPT has further accelerated interest in conversational artificial intelligence (AI). These technologies can offer intuitive interactions, particularly for individuals with limited digital literacy. However, their real-world impact, usability, and ethical considerations in social care remain underexplored. Objective: This scoping review aims to …