Communication Commons^™

Exploring Primary Care Providers’ Compassionate Care And Their Evidence-Based Practice With Death, Grief, And Loss: Patient Experience And Perspective, Kathryn Krzykala

Dissertations

Research on primary care providers’ (PCPs) education regarding Death, Grief, and Loss (DGL) remains limited. Specifically, data is lacking regarding patients' perceptions and opinions on what they need and expect from their PCPs regarding grief and loss. This exploratory mixed-method study comprised 146 participants who had experienced death and non-death loss. It examined participants' perceptions of 1) PCP compassion, 2) PCP utilization of evidence-based grief and loss practices, 3) their own level of comfort discussing DGL with their PCPs during medical visits, and 4) their personal grief and loss experiences. The findings revealed that PCPs' grief-informed evidence-based treatment, as reflected …

“The Ai Pushed Me To Consider New Perspectives”: Preliminary Observations On A Chatgpt Intervention Designed To Elicit Critical Thinking About Media Headlines, Karina Luna, Chelsea Julian Reynolds, Ali Zain

Journal of Media Literacy Education Pre-Prints

This study explored whether a custom AI chatbot could be a relevant tool for promoting critical thinking about news bias. The research team discusses the development of a custom critical media literacy chatbot and its implementation in an upper-division critical media studies course at a large North American public university. Students interacted with the chatbot to analyze news headlines about transgender issues, employing a scaffolded framework to dissect media framing and generate alternative frames. We argue that the same AI technologies fueling anxiety can be reimagined as partners in cultivating critical media literacy and guiding future directions in journalism pedagogy. …

Expanding The Cognitive Attentional Standards Platform Through Artificial Influence Assessment (Aia): Rationale, Development, And Measurement Design, Delante Clark

Graduate Scholarship and Creative Works

Artificial intelligence is increasingly shaping how individuals access information, make decisions, and interact with digital environments. The Cognitive Attentional Standards Platform (C.A.S.) was developed to assess attention related harms, cognitive safety, digital autonomy, and platform influence across digital systems (Clark, 2026). However, the growth of generative AI, conversational agents, and algorithmic decision support technologies has introduced new forms of influence that may not be fully captured by existing assessment domains. This paper proposes the Artificial Influence Assessment (AIA) as an expansion of the C.A.S. framework designed to measure AI mediated influence on cognition, behavior, autonomy, and information processing. Drawing on …

Governing Algorithmic Attention: Attention Safeguard Models And The Cognitive Attentional Standard As System Level Interventions In Human Computer Interaction, Behavioral Economics, And Artificial Intelligence, Delante Clark

Graduate Scholarship and Creative Works

Algorithmic recommendation systems and interface designs shape attention by combining visually salient cues with uncertain reward timing and low friction interaction. These conditions can sustain anticipatory checking, extend time on task, and reduce natural disengagement points through patterns such as infinite scrolling and autoplay. This paper synthesizes research across neuroscience, human computer interaction, behavioral economics, and artificial intelligence to argue that attention capture is a predictable outcome of incentive driven design rather than an individual failure of self regulation. It advances the Attention Safeguard Models and the Cognitive Attentional Standard as system level interventions that regulate exposure conditions, pacing, and …

Self-Help Or Hype? How The Public Seeks And Uses Health And Self-Help Information, Bailey Fraser Dr., Joanna Pozzulo Dr., Emily Pica Dr.

Journal of Social, Behavioral, and Health Sciences

The rapid growth of the global wellness industry and increased availability of health information through social media and self-help resources have raised concerns about the public’s ability to evaluate credible health information. This study examined how adults in Canada and the United States use health information, what they consider qualifies information as evidence, and their reading behaviors related to physical and mental health, including self-help books. A total of 96 participants completed an online survey assessing health information use, criteria for evidence, reading habits, and self-help book selection. Participants reported using health information primarily to make personal health decisions and …

Using Amish Scribes’ Newspaper Letters To Portray The New Wilmington, Pa, Amish Settlement, Kristin Park

Journal of Amish and Plain Anabaptist Studies

In studying distinctive ethnoreligious communities, it is preferable to listen to and analyze the voices of members themselves. This paper interprets the professed values, activities, and priorities of an understudied, hybrid Andy Weaver / Old Order Amish settlement using Amish scribes’ letters to two Amish and one non-Amish newspaper. Quantitative and qualitative content analysis of the newspaper letters discovered dominant themes of emotional expression, illness and accidents, visits, weather, and work and compared their prevalence across the newspapers. Amish newspapers were more emotionally expressive and highlighted members’ illness and injury while the non-Amish newspaper primarily focused on visiting, weather, and …

Toward Professionalization: Insights From Sign Language Interpreters In Vietnam, Anh P. Doan

Journal of Interpretation

This study examines how sign language interpreters in Vietnam perceive the professionalization of their field and the strategies they propose for establishing it as a recognized profession. Despite growing demand for communication access, sign language interpreting in Vietnam remains an emerging field with limited institutional infrastructure and no formal interpreter education programs. Data were collected through an online qualitative survey of 28 hearing interpreters working in sign language interpreting across Vietnam. Responses were analyzed using thematic analysis to identify key themes in interpreters’ experiences and perspectives. Findings show that many interpreters enter the field through informal pathways such as community …

The Meme Event: Memefication, Memory-Making And Political Resistance In The Biafra Digital Discourse, Chimaobi Dick Onwukwe

Theses - ALL

In this thesis, I examine the Biafran digital commemoration on May 30th every year—Biafra Commemoration Day. Specifically, I examine how the Biafran digital commemorative culture functions as memorialization and political action. Drawing on theoretical reserves from modern meme studies and performance studies, I propose a theory of “meme event”—a coordinated digital practice that encompasses not just memetic content but the larger ecology of its creation, circulation, strategic timing (May 30th), and strategic deployment. The rallying slogan “We don’t die, we multiply” serves as the anchor around which the meme event revolves, circulating both memetic content and non-meme posts. This theoretical …

The Strange Case Of Family: How The Dual Character Is Represented In 2025 American Horror Films, Camila Flores

Theses - ALL

This thesis examines the representation of dual-role characters in contemporary American horror cinema through a qualitative textual analysis of three 2025 horror films: The Monkey (Osgood Perkins), Sinners (Ryan Coogler), and Frankenstein (Guillermo del Toro). While dual or doubled characters have historically been analyzed through psychoanalytic frameworks centered on the ego, repression, and identity fragmentation, this study argues that recent horror films move beyond the traditional “double as self” narrative. Instead, these films position dual-role characters within broader social, cultural, and familial contexts, emphasizing how doubling reflects generational trauma, collective memory, and systems of oppression. Guided by Stuart Hall’s theory …

The Effect Of Narrative Advocacy Messaging On Perceived Csa Authenticity: The Mediating Role Of Narrative Transportation, Christine Eunseol Park

Theses - ALL

This study examines whether narrative advocacy messaging can enhance perceived authenticity in corporate social advocacy by increasing narrative transportation, and whether brand–issue justification strength affects this process. Using a 2 (advocacy message format: narrative vs. non-narrative) × 2 (brand–issue justification strength: strong vs. weak) between-subjects experiment with 198 U.S. adults, participants viewed a fictitious denim brand’s advocacy advertisement for immigrant rights. Narrative messaging increased transportation, transportation positively predicted perceived authenticity, and transportation mediated the effect of narrative format on authenticity. The results also revealed a competitive mediation pattern: narrative messaging produced a positive indirect effect through transportation but a negative …

Online Rights Defense Among Chinese Americans Against Racial Aggression In The U.S. During The Covid-19, Fangzhu Lu, Wenshan Jia

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

Purpose

This study investigates how Chinese American communities responded to heightened racial discrimination during the COVID-19 pandemic by utilizing social media platforms to safeguard their civil rights, articulate collective concerns, and mobilize resistance against racial aggression.

Methodology

Through qualitative case study analysis, the research examines the social media activities of six advocacy organizations, including three X accounts (WashTheHate, Chinese for Affirmative Action, Asian Americans Advancing Justice) and three Instagram accounts (Stop AAPI Hate, Stop Asian Hate, Advancing Justice: AAJC). The analysis focuses on the content strategies and communication mechanisms employed to counteract racial hostility.

Findings

The selected organizations used social …

Legitimacy And Reputation In Sports Corporate Social Advocacy: The Role Of Communication Strategies, Issue Position, And Fan Identification, Maria Grover

Dissertations - ALL

Corporate social advocacy (CSA) has become increasingly common in professional sport, yet most research has examined individual athlete activism or sport consumer brands rather than leagues and teams. This dissertation examined how two public-relations communication strategies – highlighting a collaborative decision-making approach and creating a strong explanatory link between an organization and an issue – impact perceived CSA legitimacy and organizational reputation, and how audience-level factors such as fan identification and pre-existing issue position condition those evaluations. A 2 × 2 between-subjects experiment with a control group (N = 302) presented U.S. NFL fans with a fictitious league statement advocating …

Locate Alternative Media In The Digital News Ecosystem: A Cross-Country Comparative Study Of Alternative-Mainstream Audience Overlap Networks, Qinfeng Zhu, Fan Liang, Gabriel Miao Li

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

This study examines alternative media within the digital news ecosystem in six European countries: Norway, Sweden, Austria, Germany, France, and Spain. Using a network approach and a cross-country comparative design, we analyze audience overlap between alternative and mainstream media, the positions alternative media occupy within these networks, and how media systems and political contexts may shape these dynamics. Our findings show that while overall audience overlap is low, it is higher in countries where far-right populist parties have greater institutionalized access to political discourse. We also identify alternative media enclaves within the Northern-type media system characterized by strong professional journalism—particularly …

Freshman Student Sleep And Academic Stress Levels: An Empirical Study For Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Julia M. Cortese

Beyond: Undergraduate Research Journal

Receiving an adequate amount of sleep is essential for academic success as it prepares the brain each day for the workload ahead. Sleep deprivation is associated with negative cognitive, emotional, and physical outcomes that may affect academic performance. Currently, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) does not have any form of sleep education or awareness for first-year, first-semester students, which leaves them susceptible to a cycle of sleep deprivation, academic underperformance, and stress. This study examines the relationship between sleep habits and academic stress among first-semester, first-year students of Fall 2023 at ERAU. This empirical study used a mixed-methods survey with eighteen …

National Belonging And Cricket Fandom: Narrative Storytelling By Indian Premier League (Ipl) Teams On Instagram, Aman Misra, Adam William Love

Journal of Global South Sport Studies

This study examines how Indian Premier League (IPL) teams employed narrative storytelling on Instagram during the 2020 edition of the tournament, which was held in the United Arab Emirates rather than in India. Throughout the season, IPL teams used social media, especiallyInstagram, to foster online relationships and construct visual narratives reflecting transnational identity and other forms of cultural symbolism. Using Fisher’s (1985) narrative paradigm and Kress and van Leeuwen’s (2006) framework for visual narrative analysis, we investigate how Instagram posts from IPL team accounts articulated political and cultural identities. In doing so, the current study provides a novel contribution to …

A Scoping Review Of Sycophancy In Large Language Models: Operational And Theoretical Recognition, Kallen Zhou, Manning Littlejohn, Isabella Garrard

Endeavors: Mississippi State Undergraduate Research Journal

As large language models (LLMs) usage grows across different domains, sycophancy, the tendency for output to align with users, is increasingly being recognized as a primary issue arising from applying LLMs into critical areas. Current research has provided a variety of theoretical definitions, mitigation techniques, and quantification for sycophancy. However, there is little to no consistency across different papers. This scoping review seeks to connect different works on LLM sycophancy by identifying themes in theoretical definitions, measurement methods, and inducement techniques of sycophancy. By analyzing 26 papers (preprints, conference proceedings, and journal articles) from arXiv, ACL Anthology, and Scopus, this …

Call Center Leaders’ Communication Strategies To Increase Employee Productivity, Tracie Okema Stenson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

No abstract provided.

Lindenwood Digest, June 24, 2026, Lindenwood University

Lindenwood Digest

• Event & Date: The Lindenwood University Employee Digest was issued on June 24, 2026, and catalogs upcoming institutional activities including a Youth in Need golf fundraiser on July 27 and Lindenwood Night at the Ballpark on September 18.

• Geographic Grounding: Campus activities, including multiple Learning Academy professional development sessions, are held in LARC 09, Lindenwood University, St. Charles, Missouri.

• Key Honorees/Awards: Employees recognized in the Q2 Moments section include Director of Information Technology Enterprise Systems and Application Development Karin May; Admissions Counselor for Traditional Students Ben Corson; and Financial Aid Advisor (P-R) Kristie Powell.

• Institutional Context: The digest documents operational …

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Man Down: Exploring Identity, Uncertainty And Resilience In An Autoethnographic Performance Of Prostate Cancer As Applied Health Communication, Kevin Hawley

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this dissertation study was to explore how an autoethnographic performance of my experience of prostate cancer could serve as a method of applied health communication, designed to encourage men to be screened for prostate cancer. One in eight men in the United States will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in his lifetime. However, while the incidence rate of prostate cancer is increasing—particularly of advanced-stage disease—the number of men choosing to be screened is declining (American Cancer Society, 2025).This study explores the barriers to men being screened, both in the literature and in my personal experience. Among those …

Navigating Multiple Roles: Communication Strategies Of Indonesian Postgraduate Women In A Patriarchal Collectivist Culture, Shela Kusumaningtyas, Wawan Hadinata, Nur Iman, Yunati Alinda, Adinda Aulia Nurhaliza, Leoni Nindyasari

JURNAL KOMUNIKASI INDONESIA

This study examines how Indonesian postgraduate women negotiate simultaneous roles as wives, mothers, workers, and students within a patriarchal collectivist culture. Using a qualitative case study with a constructivist orientation, the research focuses on six postgraduate students at the University of Indonesia who were selected through purposive criteria because they simultaneously managed family, work, and academic responsibilities. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, limited contextual observation, and supporting documents, and were analyzed using open, axial, and selective coding procedures. The findings show that role conflict is experienced not merely as a matter of time management, but as a layered burden …