Communication Commons^™

Framework For Enhanced Intergenerational Connectivity (Eic): A Professional Program Development Report, Amanda Michelle Reigle

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

This program development report documents the implementation and facilitation of the Sages and Seekers pilot program at California State University, San Bernardino (Palm Desert Campus) from 2022 to 2025. Grounded in communication theory, intergroup contact principles, and instructional design, the report outlines a structured intergenerational intervention aimed at enhancing empathy, connection, and understanding between older and younger adults. Drawing from facilitator observations and program implementation experiences, this work led to the creation of the Framework for Enhanced Intergenerational Connectivity (EIC), a five-point planning model emphasizing leadership, facilitation, administrative support, participant continuity, and structured program design.

The EIC framework is accompanied …

Student Perceptions Of Ai In University Studies, John Robert Fisher, Louis K. Falk, Margaret Mittelman

Communication Faculty Publications

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) in higher education is transforming students’ learning experiences, decision-making, and academic efficiency. This study explores student perceptions of AI’s benefits, challenges, and its role across academic disciplines. Findings indicate that while students recognize AI as a valuable educational tool, they also express concerns regarding privacy, reliance, and the need for improved AI training. Statistically significant differences were observed in AI’s impact on learning efficiency, decision-making, and academic engagement, supporting the hypothesis that AI enhances education but presents notable challenges. The study also highlights the necessity for balanced AI integration, ensuring that AI complements rather …

Epistemic Dysfunction In American Politics: The Impact Of Misinformation On Knowledge Acquisition., Megan Crowley

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

Political misinformation has become an increasingly prominent topic of discussion among scholars across disciplines, particularly in the wake of the 2020 American presidential election. Despite growing scholarly interest in this phenomenon, however, contemporary research has yet to examine misinformation alongside traditional epistemological theory. This thesis aims to remedy this gap by synthesizing classical epistemology, journalism and media research, and political science to investigate the impact of misinformation on political knowledge acquisition. To accomplish this goal, the analysis will focus on the justification condition, conceptualized according to both internalist and externalist perspectives. The internalism section will cast misinformation as a form …

A Mixed-Method Examination Of Social Media Influencers’ Source Characteristics In Sponsored Health Campaign Messaging: An Application Of Psychological Reactance Theory, Lauren Pick

Communication (PhD) Dissertations

Social media influencers (SMIs/influencers) are frequently used for marketing and public relations purposes (i.e., influencer marketing), but can be leveraged to avoid resistance to health campaign messages. Guided by psychological reactance theory (PRT), the purpose of this dissertation was to (a) uncover micro-influencer characteristics that mitigate reactance toward sponsored social media posts, (b) investigate whether influencers induce less reactance than non- influencers when disseminating sponsored health content, and (c) experimentally test whether influencer source characteristics mitigate reactance to sponsored health messaging. In Study One, focus groups with Gen Z Instagram users (N = 12) identified SMI use of controlling, “one …

Equipping The Saints For The Work Of Ministry In The East London Church, Andrew C. Fleming

Doctor of Ministry Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this project was to implement a qualitative evaluation process to measure the progress of the East London Church’s transition toward a flatter team-based ministry model. The research evaluated the effectiveness, fitness for purpose, and procedural weaknesses of the church's articulated leadership goals, which included equipping members for ministry, increasing member involvement, forming ministry teams, and sharing power and resources. The study employed a mixed-methods approach, integrating quantitative data from two Church Health Assessment (CHA) surveys separated by a three-year interval with qualitative insights from focus groups to provide a comprehensive understanding of the transition process. The CHA …

Hearing God's Word Through Ecclesial Listening, Nathan Burrow

Doctor of Ministry Theses and Dissertations

This project dissertation was designed to enhance ecclesial listening when sermons are preached at the Hillcrest Church of Christ. The challenge of listening to the Word of God in a way that forms community is not unique to Hillcrest. It is a common problem for preachers and churches today. Our context, marked by shifts in church membership, societal division, and the isolating effects of digital culture, calls for a renewed emphasis on listening as a church community. This project explores the ways in which we can cultivate practices that encourage ecclesial listening—a way of hearing the preached Word that draws …

Reap What You Sow: Using Historic Enrollment Data To Strategically Recruit Students, Hayden Cherry

Honors Theses

As the higher education landscape continues to become more competitive, adapting our marketing strategies to affordably recruit students will be imperative to maintaining both relevance and financial stability. Research has predicted an increase in tension as institutions weather the enrollment cliff, a period characterized by a steep decline in the number of college-age students in the United States. While this research is useful in informing our outlook in the coming years, there is little research surrounding the most efficacious methods for recruiting college students. Using data from Mississippi State University's Office of Institutional Research and Effectiveness on student status and …

Community Voices, Climate Action Choices: Working Towards A Resilient Monterey County, Lesley A. Solano Alonso

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Vulnerable communities in Monterey County face disproportionate environmental and health impacts due to climate change, yet many residents remain unaware of the tools and resources available to support local action. This capstone project was implemented in partnership with Ecology Action (EA) and the Resilient Central Coast (RCC) campaign to increase awareness and engagement with the RCC platform. Serving diverse communities across Monterey County, the project included bilingual outreach efforts, community tabling, educational presentations, and a climate action survey. Over 650 residents were engaged directly, resulting in 99 new household sign-ups on the RCC website, a major milestone for the agency. …

Educational Empowerment: Building Connections Through Interventions, Melanie V. Partida

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

This capstone project explores the intersection of substance use disorder (SUD) recovery and educational empowerment, focusing on the clients and peer supporters at Janus of Santa Cruz. The initiative developed an educational support model to enhance recovery through access to adult education, vocational training, and reliable study environments. Utilizing structured surveys, the project identified the educational barriers faced by peer supporters and clients, such as limited access to internet connectivity, mental health challenges, and a lack of awareness regarding local resources. In response, this project included the creation of a comprehensive educational resource directory and a Peer Mentorship Model, enabling …

Pathways Beyond Performance: How Curriculum Style Impacts Emotional Intelligence And Interpersonal Communication In Medical Students, Dan Yacubovich, Jonathan Tadros, Jennifer Fischer, Dana Zambito

Rowan-Virtua Research Day

Background: Medical schools employ various curricula to foster medical knowledge and professional competencies. Emotional intelligence (EQ)—the capacity to manage emotions and interpersonal relationships—is essential in clinical care. While research links EQ to academic and communication skills in nursing and international medical students, limited data exist for U.S. medical students, particularly regarding curriculum type.

Objective: This study evaluates whether different curricula—Problem-Based Learning (PBL) and Synergistic-Guided Learning (SGL)—are associated with differences in EQ and interpersonal communication skills (ICS) at Rowan-Virtua SOM.

Methods: EQ was measured using the MySkills Profile (EIQ16). ICS scores were derived from standardized patient encounters in the pre-clinical years. …

Populism And Religious Rhetoric In Spain's Right-Wing Vox Party, Ainsley Taylor

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Theses

This thesis examines the intersection of populism and religious rhetoric in Spain’s right-wing political party, Vox. By analyzing Facebook posts from Vox’s national and regional accounts in the months leading up to the 2019 and 2023 national elections, as well as key regional elections in Andalusia and Cantabria, this study explores how the party strategically employs religious themes to shape its populist discourse. The findings indicate that Vox primarily uses religious rhetoric to construct an exclusive national identity, framing perceived external threats such as immigration, secularism, and leftist politics. While the party's use of religious rhetoric declined slightly between 2019 …

Moving The Goalposts: American Sports Coverage In Newspapers And The Construction Of Gender, Race And Sexuality In The Olympics In 1928, 1932, 1936., Jacob Havers

All Theses

This thesis takes an in-depth look at the media coverage of women in the Olympics in 1928, 1932 and 1936. Specifically following the track athletes Kinue Hitomi, Louise Stokes, Tidye Pickett and Mildred “Babe” Didrikson the thesis explores how by being athletic women they had their identities as feminine figures heavily questioned and scrutinized in newspapers at the global level. The harshest of these critics was often the American media, who held strict standards of race, gender and sexuality in the late 1920s-mid 1930s. They sought to uphold these standards at the global scale, and the American media’s interrogation of …

Bridging The Gap: Management Vs. Leadership And The Path To Mastering Both, Wesley A. Key

Marketing Undergraduate Honors Theses

Management and leadership, though often conflated, represent distinct but complementary skills that are critical for organizational success. This thesis aims to explore the fundamental differences between management and leadership, highlighting how these roles interact and the necessity for individuals to master both to excel in today’s dynamic business environment. Drawing on theoretical frameworks from psychology, organizational behavior, and case studies, this research synthesizes academic literature to address key questions: What core competencies distinguish leaders from managers? How do these competencies align or conflict with one another in real-world settings? And what practical steps can individuals take to develop proficiency in …

The Effects Of Hyper-Communication: A Quantitative Study On Workplace Productivity, David J. Olson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Today's workforce is overwhelmed with information delivered by tools designed to make them more productive. In a milieu of distraction and overload, employees are disadvantaged in processing the tremendous volumes of information they receive. This is called hyper-communication, which is associated with stress, overload, communication misalignment, and, ultimately, distractedness that impairs an employee’s work efficiency. This quantitative study presents research conducted through surveys examining hyper-communication's effects on workplace productivity. A sample of 631 respondents, solicited through social media, participated in this study. The participants came from diverse occupational backgrounds, providing cross-sectional insights into how factors like employees' titles, roles, gender, …

Promoting Safe Firearm Storage Through Media-Based Interventions, Abigail Bordelon

Health, Human Performance and Recreation Undergraduate Honors Theses

Given the ongoing phenomenon of unintentional pediatric firearm deaths, this project seeks to examine how the mainstream media reports on these events and how media frames could be altered to better promote public health prevention efforts.

Interpretation Challenges In Healthcare Settings As Experienced By Refugees And Healthcare Providers In The United States, Lydia H. Samoff

The Eleanor Mann School of Nursing Undergraduate Honors Theses

Background: Language and interpretation barriers are significant challenges for refugees receiving healthcare in the United States. Both providers and refugee patients associate effective communication with a positive healthcare experience. Therefore, it is important to identify themes in interpretation barriers to promote productive communication between providers and refugee patients.

Purpose: To identify themes in literature surrounding interpretation challenges between refugees and healthcare workers in the United States and compare them to lived experience in a clinic in Northwest Arkansas.

Methods: Several databases were searched, including CINAHL, Medline, HealthSource, and Google Scholar, and articles were chosen with the inclusion criteria being research …

Overt Representation And Subtle Clues A Study Of Queer Book Descriptions In English, Croatian, And Serbian, Rachael Phillips

Book Publishing Final Research Papers

Most commonly, a book description is the first contact one has with the contents of a book. It is the elevator pitch on the back of the book or the Amazon page that tries to sell you your next read among literally millions of competitors. In book publishing terms, a book description is a piece of metadata that follows the book throughout its marketing life. It is usually a one to three paragraph description of the book, including the setting, main characters, and some (spoiler-free) plot summary, but also usually includes themes and tone, comparative titles, and potentially author background …

The Influencer Behind The Adventure: How Social Media Influencers And Ai Affect Consumer Travel Intentions, Preferences, And Behavior, Anna A. Buie, Jee Young Chung

Journalism Undergraduate Honors Theses

Social media influencers have become powerful figures in shaping consumer decision-making, particularly within the travel and tourism industry. Utilizing parasocial interaction theory, this study investigates how various aspects of influencers and content types affect consumer attitudes and behaviors. Especially, a 3 (travel content: family, romantic couple, or solo travel) × 2 (influencer type: real vs. AI) × 2 (content type: emotional vs. logical) between-subjects design was employed. The study examines how these factors influence perceived influencer expertise and trustworthiness, credibility, parasocial interaction, attitude and intention to visit a travel destination. The findings offer insight into which influencer characteristics most effectively …

A Word From The Writing Team (May 2025), Pam Walter, Mfa, Hemma Murali, Ms

A Word From the Writing Team (Newsletter)

This issue includes:

• Publication Spotlight
• Two Ways to Fund Open Access Fees
• Mark Your Calendar for the Drs. Theresa and Charles Yeo Writing Prize Reception & Reading (See Flyer)
• Citation Manager Updates
• Check out the Instructional Design Team’s Podcast, The Learning Curve!
• Looking for Your Next Read?
• The OPWPC Canvas Page Offers Helpful Tools

Double, Double, Toils And Troubles: Analyzing The “Magical” Relationships Between University Leaders’ Personality Traits And Their Self-Efficacy In Leadership Situations, Fay Ludvine Boudreaux

LSU New Orleans Theses and Dissertations

This present study investigated the relationship between higher education leaders’ personality traits and their self-efficacy in leadership situations. A total of 151 leaders employed across the nine institutions within the University of Louisiana System completed a survey that prompted them to identify their personal values, traits, and skill sets, as derived from the online Pottermore quiz, the official Harry Potter Hogwarts House sorting instrument. This niche personality metric was chosen to cater to higher education’s evolving landscape, as it welcomes an influx of Millennials into leadership positions. Participants’ responses were eventually recoded to “sort” them into their respective Houses: Gryffindor, …

Dekonstruktion Der Afd: Eine Analyse Der Rechtspopulistischen Deutschen Partei Der„Alternative Für Deutschland”, Elizabeth A. Breckenridge, Elizabeth Breckenridge

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

Die Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) ist eine rechtsextreme populistische Partei, die innerhalb eines Jahrzehnts rasch an Macht gewonnen hat, insbesondere in den ostdeutschen Bundesländern, aufgrund ihrer Betonung der Nationalisierung, ihrer populistischen Rhetorik und ihrer Anziehungskraft auf Wähler, die Ängste vor Einwanderung und kulturellem Wandel hegen. Die AfD hat es innerhalb von fünf Jahren geschafft, eine starke Wählerschaft zu mobilisieren, 2017 Sitze im Bundestag zu erringen und gilt nun als wichtigste Oppositionspartei zu den etablierten Parteien. Die AfD ist die erste rechte Partei seit 1945, die aufgrund des Aufstiegs rechtspolitischer Ideologien bedeutende Wahlerfolge erzielen konnte. Aufgrund des reaktionären Pendelschwungs nach dem …

Bathrooms As Borders: Moms For Liberty And The Policing Of Women’S Spaces, Eva Burklund

Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects

As debates about transgender identity and inclusion influence discussions and policy across the United States, it is important to understand the rhetoric and manifestations of transphobia and trans exclusion. One organization advocating for the exclusion of transgender individuals is Moms for Liberty which is dedicated to preserving parental rights. On their official X (formerly Twitter) account Moms for Liberty often voices their opposition to the inclusion of transgender women in women’s sports and women’s private spaces, justifying their exclusive stance by denying transgender women’s womanhood. They additionally cast themselves as the authorities on who is a woman and who is …

“Floptok Is Not A Trend. It’S A Lifestyle”: Camp, Performativity, And Community Dynamics In An Adolescent Tiktok Subculture, Drake Hansen

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

Floptok is an online meme-sharing community or subculture that began to take shape in 2021, united by a particular sensibility and set of memetic materials. To outsiders, Floptok is seen as a loud, brash, and often abrasive community whose memes, characterized by low-quality audio and video, often feature “icons”—a range of invented characters and real people—and audio of pop songs heavily edited to feature hypersexual lyrics from the rapper CupcakKe, as well as portions of the 2019 Chinese pop song “Yěhuāxiāng.” This thesis built on scholarship in digital and young people’s folklore in an ethnographic case study of Floptok’s humor …

#Girls Gone Viral: Girlification Trends And The Digital Postfeminist Sensibility, Madison Rose Mcbride

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis provides a critical analysis of viral girlification trends on TikTok to bolster understanding of the rhetoric of popular feminism in the emerging digital landscape. Grounded in feminist cultural theory, this thesis posits that women’s digital engagement influences their notions of self-actualization, their avenues for resisting sexist ideals, and ultimately, their political mobilization. Extending scholarship on postfeminism, I offer two unique but co-constructive features of the postfeminist sensibility: post-irony and the confession paradigm. The first chapter analyzes the “girl dinner” trend as a site of post-ironic discourse. Characterized by ambiguity and ambivalence, post-ironic discourse muddles the line between sincerity …

How Do You Ask Questions? A Thematic And Discursive Analysis Of Question-Asking In Stranger Conversations, Nicholas Elliott

Dissertations

This study used a mixed-methods approach to explore how questions are used in casual conversations between strangers. While conversation has long been studied by linguists, sociologists, anthropologists, and psychologists, a methodological divide persists: conversation analysis versus experimental approaches. Despite extensive research, the rules guiding question-asking in conversation remain unclear. This study integrates both conversation analysis and experimental literature to investigate the role of questions in interactions with strangers. The research began with a quantitative content analysis of questions drawn from a set of recorded conversations known wholly as the Candor Dataset, informed by Brown and Levinson’s politeness theory, which suggests …

The Guardian The Month Of May 2025, Wright State Student Body

The Guardian Student Newspaper

News articles from The Guardian for the Month of May 2025. The Guardian is the official student-run newspaper for Wright State University. It has been published regularly since March of 1965.

Technical Difficulties: An Investigation Of Problematic Social Media Usage And Well-Being Of Emerging Adults, Sarah Swan

Honors Theses

Grounded in previous scholarship investigating the relationship between social media use and psychoemotional outcomes, this study conceptualizes and tests a comprehensive model that constellates predictive factors (i.e., time spent, platforms selected, purposes of use, and emotional regulation abilities) and negative behavioral and emotional outcomes (i.e., addiction and emotional affect), specifically among emerging adults (ages 18-29). A survey of 591 respondents revealed that high usage of certain platforms (i.e., Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook), alongside individual emotional regulation abilities and passivity of social media use, predicts higher levels of addiction and negative emotional outcomes. Additional findings indicate significant differences in social media …

Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story: A Comparative Analysis Of The Representations Of American Serial Killers In News And True Crime Media, Jenelle Walters

Honors Theses

Serial killers are a subject that have fascinated individuals for centuries in both news and entertainment media. Although research has been done on the representations of serial killers in news media, little research has attempted to connect the representations seen in the news media to those seen in true crime entertainment media. Through the use of four case studies, a comparative analysis was done to compare the framing seen in the original news articles, both local and national, to the framing seen in the later true crime films, documentaries, and series. Although the framing originally seen in the news media …

Young People’S Perceptions Of Harm From Accessing Online Sexual Content, Despina Chronaki, Debra Dudek, Giselle Woodley

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Harm—and the ways in which it is interpreted, negotiated, discussed, and unpacked by adolescents themselves—is a key term in almost all debates about young people’s experiences with online pornography. This essay situates the topic of this special issue—adolescents’ perceptions of harm from accessing online sexual content—within a broader context of the discourses and practices that inform research in this field. We show how discourses of harm and risk circulate around the figure of the innocent child in need of protection and argue for more nuanced understandings of and research about childhood that take into account the lived experiences and perspectives …

Digital Activism In Kenya: Moving From The Digital Center To The Digital Periphery Of Long Covid Experience, Emily Mendenhall, Lucy Kamau, Nora Kenworthy, Edna Bosire

Brain and Mind Institute

Digital activism around Long covid has reverberated around the globe, as patients, researchers, and clinicians worked together to understand the chronic condition. However, Long Covid networks, much like other social networks, have hierarchies and barriers that can impede equitable access. In this article, we examine how the global digital center and periphery shape how people with Long covid connect to networks to learn about their illness symptoms, diagnoses, treatments, and experiences. We introduce case narratives of two Kenyan women—one elite Nairobian who was connected to the digital center and another middle class woman who connected with her through a peripheral …