Digital Commons Network^™

The Impact Of Targeted Marketing On The Health Of Teenagers In America: Regulatory Safeguards And Implications, Katelyn Overbay

Senior Theses

The rise of digital marketing has transformed how companies engage with consumers, particularly those that fall within the adolescent age group. Teenagers represent a uniquely vulnerable demographic due to the developmental stage they are in, making them especially susceptible to targeted advertising strategies that leverage data analytics, social media algorithms, and behavioral tracking. The aim of this study is to examine the direct and indirect impacts of targeted marketing on the physical, mental, and social health of teenagers in the United States. Drawing on existing literature, case studies, recent lawsuits, and regulatory analysis, the research gathered explores how industries such …

Evaluating The Impact Of Social Determinants Of Health On Outcomes Of Type Ii Diabetes In South Carolina, Alexander G. Downs

Senior Theses

Type II diabetes mellitus (T2DM) represents a significant public health burden in South Carolina, where 13.5% of adults are affected, surpassing the national rate of 12%. This integrative literature review examines the social determinants of health most strongly associated with T2DM morbidity and mortality in South Carolina, including race and ethnicity, socioeconomic status, rural or urban residence, educational attainment, healthcare access, and food insecurity. Evidence drawn from peer-reviewed studies, epidemiological reports, and state health data reveals that African American, rural, and low-income populations bear a disproportionate share of the diabetes burden in the state. These disparities arise through multilevel mechanisms …

Conservation Communication In Web 2.0: A Mixed Methods Analysis Of Alveus Sanctuary's Strategies On Twitch.Tv, Hope Denison

Senior Theses

This thesis examines how environmental creators can effectively transmit conservation messages in the evolving Web 2.0 media environment. The case of Alveus Sanctuary, a virtual sanctuary and education center on Twitch.TV, is used to explore the strategies currently used to engage audiences and raise ecological awareness online. Thematic analysis of interviews with the sanctuary’s founder revealed that Alveus combines traditional environmental education with an influencer business model to engage online audiences, leveraging parasocial behavior, interactivity, and collaboration to garner support. A quantitative content analysis of social media posts revealed that these strategies effectively induce parasocial engagement in online spaces. These …

Eating Disorder Prevention And Early Intervention In U.S. Higher Education – A Comparative Benchmarking Study, Jake R. Arcement

Senior Theses

Eating disorders (EDs), including anorexia nervosa, have the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric illness, yet remain underrecognized relative to their severity and treatment burden. Because the period of peak onset aligns with the college years, institutions of higher education are uniquely positioned to play an important role in prevention, early identification, and referral to specialized care. However, limited research has examined how colleges and universities structure ED prevention and treatment resources. This thesis applies a comparative benchmarking framework to assess current institutional practices across U.S. colleges and universities. A national survey of student health and counseling centers examined staffing, …

Performing Politics: Contextual Shifts In Identity Expression Amongst Ingroup And Neutral Settings, Elsa Geriane Johnson

Senior Theses

Increased political divisiveness and the rise of social media have contributed to a widening gap between individuals situated on the political left and right. However, prior research has not determined whether individuals express their political identities similarly when among in-group members versus in more neutral spaces.

Individuals were observed in politically charged settings and in politically neutral settings to determine how the expression of political identities differs when among in-group members versus when discussing politics in classrooms. Data was analyzed using a systemic thematic process through the lens of social identity theory. Findings supported the hypothesis that political identities are …

America’S First Comic Role, “The Negro”: An Analysis Of Historical Caricatures And Their Influence On African American Characters And Archetypes, Skyla A. Praylow

Senior Theses

A stereotype is defined as “a set of ideas that people have about what someone or something is like, especially an idea that is wrong.”1 Even though stereotypes are understood to be harmful, “contributing to prejudice and discrimination,” they are still believed to have some “kernel of truth,” and are viewed as “overgeneralized beliefs about social groups in society.” These stereotypes are then used as propaganda to reinforce oppressive systems in the US.2 Stereotypes create the basis of opinions that are used to create caricatures. A caricature is “a picture, description, or imitation of a person in which certain striking …

Not Forgetting The Fathers: A Qualitative Narrative Review Exploring The Involvement And Psychological Well-Being Of Fathers In The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit., Kayleigh Gahagan, Kevin Hambridge, Matt Carey

School of Nursing and Midwifery

BackgroundDespite policy commitments to family-centred care, neonatal services often remain implicitly structured around maternal presence. Fathers, although increasingly acknowledged as vital to early child development, frequently experience feelings of exclusion throughout the neonatal journey, from antenatal care through to the neonatal intensive care unit.AimThis review explores how fathers experience involvement and psychological wellbeing during their infant’s admission to a neonatal intensive care unit.MethodsA narrative review of qualitative studies was conducted using the SPIDER framework to guide the search strategy. The nine included studies, which met the inclusion criteria were identified via searching the databases CINAHL, PubMed, and PsycINFO. Studies were …

Prioritising Follow-Up For People With Suspected Epilepsy Using A Digital Eeg Biomarker, Rohit Shankar, John Terry

Peninsula Medical School

Lengthy waits for follow-up testing are common for people with suspected epilepsy. This delays diagnosis, prolongs uncertainty and increases seizure risk. Initial EEGs are frequently inconclusive, yet follow-ups are often dictated by referral date, and there is no established method for risk-based prioritisation. Here, we tested whether an established digital EEG biomarker could help prioritise those most likely to have epilepsy for expedited follow-up EEG testing. We analysed 196 normal non-contributory (non-diagnostic) initial EEGs collected from six National Health Service (NHS) sites in England. From these recordings, we extracted eight previously validated computational features that quantify the likelihood that the …

Evaluating The Patient Journey Through Integrated Mental Health Services Using Routinely Collected Data: Utility Of The Dialog Patient-Reported Outcome And Experience Measure, Stuart G. Spicer, Rahul Bhattacharya, Katelyn Smalley, Akshith Shetty, Paul Sharpe, Richard Byng

Peninsula Medical School

Aims and method DIALOG is a patient-reported outcome and experience measure. We analysed anonymised DIALOG scores routinely collected from East London NHS Foundation Trust. We aimed to (a) examine changes in DIALOG scores through the patient journey (‘assessment’, ‘review’ and ‘discharge’); and (b) assess the impact of community mental health (CMH) transformation by comparing pre- and post-DIALOG scores. We analysed 11 198 DIALOG scores from 5007 patients in 2018–2019 and 2021–2022. Results DIALOG scores improved across treatment stages in both years. There was no clear difference pre- and post-CMH transformation, although in 2021–2022 there were lower satisfaction scores at referral. …

The Positive Impact Of Postsecondary Education Prison Programs On Social Identity, Recidivism, And Reintegration, Kimberly Redfern

Interdisciplinary Leadership Dissertations

This exploratory qualitative research with an interpretative phenomenological design seeks to understand how postsecondary education programs influenced incarcerated individuals and their post-release success. Postsecondary education prison programs have long been subject to criticism, as they provide incarcerated individuals with access to knowledge and social ideals that challenge the traditional power structures and social expectations in carceral settings (Castro et al., 2018). The primary research question: What role did social identity play in postsecondary prison education programs, with emphasis on their impact on recidivism and support for post-release reintegration for formerly incarcerated students? Findings from this study indicate that finding a …

Navigating Cultural Biases And Self-Worth For Black Women Leaders In Higher Education, Robbin Mitchell

Interdisciplinary Leadership Dissertations

African American women leading at public universities share their thoughts and perspectives on days filled with more than just tasks; they bear silent struggles and the hidden expectation of being recognized for their work without being marginalized. While building inner strength, some find their voices amid doubt and pressure. Progress is made not through grand gestures but through small acts of care. Viewed through the lens of Black Feminist Thought (Collins, 2000), their lives reflect complex realities. Du Bois’s (1903) concept of split identities is relevant—not by choice but by context. Being Black and female reshapes their identities in leadership …

More Harm Than Good: Criminal Penalties For Wage Theft, Alia Al-Khatib

University of Richmond Law Review

“Wage theft is a crime.” Workers, their advocates, and even some policymakers have made this declaration repeatedly to emphasize the severity of violations of wage and hour laws. In recent years, this campaign has moved beyond mere rhetoric into increased criminal enforcement. Various obstacles to seeking remedies through the civil system have buoyed this expansion. This Article critiques criminal strategies to remedy wage theft. It first identifies three spheres of harm caused by wage theft: (1) to individuals laboring in low- wage industries; (2) to the workplaces where employers engage in wage theft, and (3) to communities to which impacted …

Ex Post Transparency: Shattering The One-Way Mirror, Ruifeng Song

University of Richmond Law Review

The digital world is becoming a one-way mirror: tech companies gain unprecedented knowledge of individuals who remain ignorant of how companies handle their data. Tech giants have been able to discreetly train their artificial intelligence models on vast troves of personal data, raising privacy concerns. This shows that we have yet to fully learn the lessons of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, where the infamous company misused the personal data of millions of people until the misdeeds were revealed by whistleblowers. A largely overlooked aspect of the scandal is that the law failed to enable timely detection of anomalies because data …

Effects Of Face-To-Face Communication On Network Recall, Gage Austin Pierce

Theses and Dissertations

Research in the field of social cognition found that humans use schema for the storage and processing of network information. Schema use differs by gender and power, in theory because individuals differ in the schemas that apply to the network structures they are involved with. I analyzed a survey dataset collected during the COVID-19 pandemic that asked respondents about how often they interacted with people, and organizations, as well as what forms of communication they used. In addition, a network recall survey experiment was conducted to measure their network recall accuracy. If schema are learned cognitive rules the brain uses …

Destruction, Possession, And Power: The Treaty Of Hartford As A Prototype For United States Indian Policy, Madyson Anne Buchalski

Theses and Dissertations

Amidst a growing interest in the field of Native American legal history, this article aims to bridge a gap in the scholarship between the colonial period and the United States’ nineteenth- and twentieth-century federal Indian Policy. By examining the terms presented in the lesser-known Treaty of Hartford, signed in 1638 following the Pequot War, it is demonstrated that many foundational legal precedents which reappeared in later centuries emerged much earlier than typically assumed. By highlighting this overlooked agreement and comparing it against later proceedings, this article takes a fresh approach to Native American legal history by drawing a throughline from …

Comparing Stress Levels And Experiences Between Mothers And Fathers Of Children With Angelman Syndrome, Katherine Helen Fix

Theses and Dissertations

Angelman syndrome (AS) is a neurogenetic disorder characterized by significant developmental and cognitive impairments, disruptive behaviors, and a hallmark happy demeanor. Past studies have shown that certain features of AS contribute to increased parental stress. Other studies report that in general the stress of parents of children with disabilities is influenced by stereotypical gender roles surrounding factors including daily care taking tasks, financial responsibility, and medical care involvement. This study aimed to compare perspectives among mothers and fathers of individuals with AS to identify discrepancies and themes relating to stress, specific hardships, and caregiving roles. Parents of children with AS …

Are We Talking About Culture?: Exploring Discussions In Clinical Supervision, Rosalba Bonilla

Theses and Dissertations

Cultural competence is understood as a necessary piece in providing mental health services (American Psychological Association, 2017), however little research has evaluated how conversations pertaining to culture occur during clinical supervision. This study is designed to examine the frequency, content, and predictors of cultural discussions in 631 clinical supervision sessions between 93 supervisor-therapist dyads. Using transcripts from school-based mental health services in California and South Carolina, descriptive analyses were applied to identify commonly used words informed by multicultural dictionaries and the ADDRESSING model. The most commonly used words in the dataset pertained to gender (36.5%) and national origin (17.4%) cultural …

Understanding Contemporary Declines In Psychological Well-Being Among Youth: A Self-Determination Theory Approach, Shawn Stewart Mcnally

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines contemporary declines in psychological well-being among older adolescents and emerging adults through the lens of Self-Determination Theory (SDT). Across three interrelated papers, it explores how changing social conditions may shape experiences of autonomy, competence, and relatedness, SDT’s basic psychological needs, and how these processes may be especially consequential during adjustment to and navigation of college. The first paper is conceptual in nature and argues that contemporary societal pressures, parenting practices, and technology-related contexts may operate together to undermine basic psychological needs. The second paper is qualitative in nature and uses interviews with undergraduate students to examine how …

From Adolescence To Adulthood: The Impact Of Parental Support, Resilience, Academic Motivation, And Mental Health In Black Women & Girls: A Multi-Manuscript Dissertation, Jessica Mikaja Barnes

Theses and Dissertations

Fatherlessness in the Black community is a growing phenomenon that has been widely studied. Although this has been widely studied, there is limited literature that focuses on Black adolescent girls and Black women in early adulthood, more specifically, high school age and college aged women. The literature that has been previously published presents an overwhelmingly negative connotation when connecting Black girls and absent fathers. This multi-manuscript dissertation consists of two studies, both of which explore the impact of fatherlessness on resilience, parental support, and academic motivation, and mental health of Black girls and women. For the first study, I employed …

A Connected Life: Functional Communication, Social Participation, And Real-World Outcomes In Chronic Post-Stroke Aphasia, Lauren Marie Hammond

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines functional communication in persons with chronic post-stroke aphasia (PWA), with a focus on how communication ability is conceptualized, measured, and related to real-world participation. While traditional aphasia assessments primarily measure impairment-level language abilities, they often fail to capture the contextual, multimodal, and interactive nature of communication as it occurs in everyday life. Addressing this gap, the present work investigates functional communication from multiple perspectives, including measurement approaches, assessment development, and real-world communication outcomes.

Aim 1 presents a scoping review of functional communication assessments used in aphasia research and clinical practice. Studies were reviewed to identify formal and …

Politics And Intergenerational Conflict: Investigating The Impact Of Affective Polarization On Well-Being In The Vietnamese American Community, Van Phan

Theses and Dissertations

Vietnamese Americans are more likely than other Asian subgroups to identify as Republican. Despite this, Asian American youth, including Vietnamese Americans, still overwhelmingly identify with the Democratic Party. While political orientation could be a source of intergenerational conflict between Asian American generational groups, few studies assess these issues. The present study is an exploratory, hypothesis-generating study investigating the effect of affective polarization in politics on the relationship between intergenerational conflict and well-being for first-and-second-generation Vietnamese Americans. Results showed that affective polarization did act as a moderator for intergenerational conflict on perceived stress for both first-and-second-generation Vietnamese Americans. Specifically, Vietnamese Americans …

Assessing Hereditary Cancer Risk And Genetic Counseling Knowledge And Interest In Appalachian Kentuckians, Ashton Farmer

Theses and Dissertations

Appalachian Kentucky has the highest cancer incidence in the United States and about 5-10% of all cancer has a hereditary cause. Despite this, there are no board- certified genetic counselors located in the area, and few genomic studies have been done in this population. This study aimed to define Appalachian Kentuckians’ interest in cancer genetic counseling and knowledge of cancer risk factors. An original online survey including multiple choice, Likert scale, and open response items was utilized to assess interest in pursuing cancer genetic counseling and how knowledge of cancer causes impacts interest in cancer genetic counseling. A total of …

Recollection Of The Archaic Psyche: A Comparative Study Of Viacheslav Ivanov’S Realistic Symbolism And Carl Gustav Jung’S Analytical Psychology, Jack Wilson Dedmondt

Theses and Dissertations

While nominally appearing disparate in their construction, the theoretical systems pioneered by Russian Symbolist poet Viacheslav Ivanov and Swiss psychologist Carl Gustav Jung operate under parallel hermeneutics of inference concerning the symbolic comprehension of reality. This dichotomy is drawn between an immediate (conscious) stratum of sensible reality of Apollonian, concrete, individual, and intelligible forms, and a transcendent (unconscious) stratum of Dionysian, associative, collective, and nominally unintelligible forms. In the present investigation, we aim to identify the proximity between Jungian analytical psychology and Ivanov’s “Realistic Symbolism” in order to provide the groundwork for future application of Jungian methodologies as an interpretive …

Resting-State Functional Connectivity Of Dopaminergic Reward Pathways Across The Adult Lifespan, Julia Cardarelli

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates the effect of age on three major dopaminergic reward pathways using resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging. Resting state imaging refers to low-frequency brain connectivity in the absence of task demands or directed thought patterns. The pathways included in this thesis are as follows: the nigrostriatal, mesolimbic, and mesocortical pathways. These pathways rely on dopamine and are known for a variety of functions, most notably regulating responses to rewarding and aversive stimuli. This analysis compared the connectivity between key regions of interest, where transmission originates in the midbrain and substantia nigra, and terminates in the orbitofrontal cortex, …

Beyond The Binary: Examining The Impact Of A Restorative Justice Intervention On Administrator Perceptions And Disciplinary Disparities For Black Male Students, Arianne A. Booker

Theses and Dissertations

For decades, black students have experienced educational inequalities, particularly when it comes to academic achievement and school discipline. The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to investigate the factors leading to the racial discipline gap among Black male students in middle schools. Black males face more punitive consequences that often result in exclusionary practices than their peers. This problem is due to cultural differences between teachers and students, where teachers’ subjective interpretations of behavior—such as disrespect or defiance—lead to removal from the general education classroom. The theoretical framework that guided this study was Critical Race Theory and Culturally Responsive Teaching. …

Inclusive Postsecondary Education Practices & Staff Beliefs Related To Parent Engagement, Abigail Mojica

Theses and Dissertations

Inclusive postsecondary education (IPSE) programs for youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) are expanding across the United States, yet research on parent engagement in these settings remains limited. This study examined current practices related to parent engagement within U.S. IPSE programs and investigated whether specific staff and program characteristics were associated with variations in engagement. A national sample of IPSE program leaders (N = 106) completed an online survey assessing staff demographics, program features, and parent engagement activities. The survey was developed for this study, informed by literature on secondary transition, IPSE programs, and parent engagement in both K–12 …

An Examination Of Gendered Experiences In Undergraduate Engineering Education With Emphasis On Participation, Validation, And Persistence, Madison Lynn Burlett

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates gendered experiences in undergraduate engineering education, with particular attention to academic validation, participation, and belonging. While prior research suggests disparities in retention and representation, these patterns are often examined through quantitative metrics such as grades, self-efficacy, or survey- based perceptions. Such approaches can provide limited insight into how students interpret and navigate engineering environments in practice. This study adds to the existing body of research by examining students’ lived academic experiences through qualitative analysis.

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with undergraduate engineering students across multiple disciplines and academic levels. Interviews elicited detailed accounts of how students approached academic …

A Vision-Language Model Framework For Geographically And Environmentally Informed Soundscape Assessment, Pengyu Chen

Theses and Dissertations

Sound environments shape how people experience urban spaces, yet conventional noise monitoring relies on isolated sensors that lack semantic context and spatial scalability. This study explores whether Vision-Language Models (VLMs) can infer acoustic conditions directly from street-view imagery, offering a scalable alternative to dense sensor networks. This thesis focuses on three tasks: (1) identifying visible sound sources (vehicles, pedestrians, water features); (2) predicting sound pressure levels (SPL) in decibels; and (3) classifying sound type into Natural, Mechanical, or Human categories. I collected 200 field samples across 11 cities using mobile phones and decibel meters, producing aligned image-spectrogram-dB triplets spanning diverse …

The Relationship Between Members’ Characteristics And Their Group Cohesion Perceptions In A University Band Program, Andrew M. Connolly

Theses and Dissertations

Scholars have labeled group cohesion the most important construct to consider when studying group dynamics and often describe it as the result of factors that attract members to the group and encourage their continued involvement. Generations of researchers have studied group cohesion in sports teams and military units, but few have examined the construct in music education. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between collegiate wind band members’ (N = 45) characteristics and their perceptions of group cohesion within their ensembles. I conducted this quantitative, non- experimental study to examine relationships between demographic factors (major and …

The Graduate Piano Student With Adhd: Learning And Practicing With Ongoing Challenges In Executive Function, Molly Alyse Thomas

Theses and Dissertations

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders in the United States. According to the DSM-5-TR, ADHD is characterized by inappropriate levels of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. It is widely considered a disorder for children and adolescents, however, there is a growing number of adults receiving an ADHD diagnosis in adulthood. Because of this later diagnosis, it is unlikely that adults with ADHD have developed effective coping strategies for management of daily responsibilities. While ADHD symptoms create challenges for individuals with ADHD, deficits in Executive Functioning (EF) are one of the foremost contributors to issues with personal, …