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Bioelectronic medical approaches to control vagus nerve-to-organ signaling have the potential to treat cardiac, respiratory, gastrointestinal (GI) and metabolic diseases, such as obesity. Unlike cervical vagus nerve stimulation (VNS), abdominal VNS could provide specific therapeutic control of the GI tract without off-target effects on thoracic organs; however, surgical approaches for abdominal VNS electrode placement are not well established. Moreover, optimal device configurations and additional placement of GI recording electrodes for closed-loop control are largely unknown. We designed VNS cuff and GI planar serosal electrodes and tested placement of these devices in laparoscopic surgery in two cadavers. We determined that electrode positioning on the ventral abdominal vagus nerve and gastric antrum was feasible but other sites, such as the duodenum and proximal stomach, were more difficult. The current investigation can guide potential placement and design of VNS cuff and GI electrodes for development of closed-loop GI therapeutic devices.

This paper seeks to contribute to the understanding of how and why religion affects psychosocial health outcomes. We propose a theoretical model predicting that when women with breast cancer defer control to God they will experience fewer breast cancer related concerns. Deferring control to God, however, should also reduce the likelihood that they take a proactive coping approach, which will be exacerbated by lowered breast cancer concerns. We therefore predict that this passive coping style will ultimately result in lower levels of quality of life.Data were collected as part of a randomized clinical trial funded by the National Cancer Institute. A total of 192 women with breast cancer participated in a computer-mediated social support group. Deferring control to God statements were captured by using computer-aided content analysis of discussion posts. Psychosocial outcomes were measured using longitudinal survey data. Analysis was performed using structural equation modeling.The results of our analysis largely confirm our mediation model for which we find significant model fit. As predicted, deferring control to God leads to lower levels of breast cancer concerns but also to more passive coping styles. Ultimately, deferring control to God can lead to lower levels of quality of life.Our study demonstrates how and why religious coping can lead to both positive and negative psychosocial health outcomes. Health care practitioners should encourage patients who are relying on religion to keep their end of the bargain and maintain an active coping style.

For many years, individuals have been intrigued by superheroes, more recently in film and television where it has become prevalent in today’s society. This study explores how identifying with superheroes in television shows and film may help viewers improve their self-esteem and well-being. This analysis used three theories to explore the relationship between individual fans and these superhero narratives: transportation, where one is transported through narrative to a different reality; identification, where viewers identify with specific characters; and TEBOTS (temporarily expanding boundaries of the self), where media viewers experience temporary relief from everyday life while they are engaged in a narrative. This study interviewed fifteen participants to gain a deeper understanding of how empowered feelings might translate into the physical world.

Previous research has suggested individuals take a homogenous approach in selecting romantic partners. Specifically some researchers have suggested political partisanship could contribute to homogenous dating behaviors. However, little research has explored why individuals employ homogenous (or political homophily) dating behaviors and their role in initiating, developing, and sustaining romantic relationships. This is especially important to explore because researchers have indicated that political homogeneity can lead to political enclaves, increased polarization, and decreased political tolerance. Based on these prior findings, the current study proposed that social identity theory (SIT) and self-categorization theory (SCT) could explain how ingroup and outgroup social identification can lead to biased evaluations of others and the self, which ultimately contributes to homogenous dating behaviors. Specifically, the current study examined this relationship within an online dating context. It was purposed that when one’s social identity is made salient (i.e., niche dating websites) and ingroup prototypes are easily accessible (i.e., matched online profiles), this social identity becomes the dominant factor by which we evaluate and categorize potential partners. In order to examine this relationship, the researcher conducted an online survey experiment with a generalized convenience sample, where participants viewed a political affiliation designed dating website and a user’s profile, then reported on perceptions of trustworthiness, expectations of romantic satisfaction, self-esteem, willingness to date, and political attitudes. Results of this study suggested the salient social identity influenced biased evaluations of potential partners. Specifically, ingroup favoritism skewed perceptions of trustworthiness of potential romantic partners, which indirectly influenced expectations of relationship satisfaction and willingness to date. However, outgroup derogation did not influence perceptions of self-esteem or indirectly strengthen political attitudes, as prior research has indicated. The results of this study find support for homogenous dating behaviors, which are caused by ingroup-biased perceptions and might be limiting possible exposure to and socialization with people who hold other ideologies.

Scholars, over decades, have examined the complex and dynamic intersection between religion and society in the United States. Church attendance measurements reveal a decrease in church participation, indicating to some that a “secularization” of society may be occurring. Regardless of church attendance records, religion continues to be influential in the meaning-making and identification processes of individuals in the United States. This implies that scholars should continue to explore how and in what ways religion is incorporated in processes of identification, meaning-making, and communication. The purpose of this study is to examine how media and identity processes are constructed, negotiated, and revised over time among evangelical Christian women. Broadly, I attempted to answer three overarching questions, (a) how do Evangelical Protestant women negotiate their identities both individually and collectively?; (b) how do media processes inform, and how are they informed by this identity negotiation?; and (c) how are media and identity processes incorporated in the routine communications and lived experiences of Evangelical Protestant women? To answer these questions, I employed qualitative methods, including participant-observation, group interviews, and one-on-one interviews. These methods were chosen specifically to allow me to investigate issues of identity, religion, and media from the position of Evangelical Christian women. The results of the study support the claim of symbolic interactionism that individuals in a collective are positioned differently, and therefore interpret and interact with the objects in their environment differently. For the women who spatially, temporally, and relationally are positioned closer to the center of church power, their presentation of self more closely aligned with the norms and values of the church institution than for the women at the periphery. Furthermore, the women’s interpretation of and talk about media varied in relation to their position to the center of power within the institution. These results indicate a complex relationship between identity, media, and religion.

Research on fraternity and sorority life has primarily consisted of quantitative reports by those outside the fraternity and sorority (collectively referred to as “Greek” or “Greek life”) community to evaluate negative behaviors associated with membership (chiefly fraternity membership), such as binge drinking, sexual assault, drug use, and strict adherence to traditional gender roles. This dissertation sought to break this tradition by using the researcher’s experiences as a member of Greek life to inform the research, and using qualitative in-depth interviews to allow sorority women some agency over their identity. These in-depth interviews allow the women to share their lived experiences with the academic community, so that academic research may be more representative of the true nature of sorority women’s experiences. The main purpose of this dissertation was to understand the ways in which sorority women use media, chiefly, social media, to construct and maintain their identities as individual sorority women and their collective chapter-specific identity. Forty-four interviews with active, currently-initiated sorority women, from a large Southwestern university were conducted by the researcher, a sorority alumnus herself, to understand and explain the lived experiences of sorority women, and the ways in which media reinforces and maintains these women’s identities. Additionally, this dissertation sought to understand the influence prior exposure to Greek life had on sorority women, the impact of the recruitment process of sorority women, and the extent to which stereotypes about sororities impact sorority women and their perceptions of themselves and of their chapter. Social identity theory, self-categorization theory, and media systems dependency theory were the primary theoretical lenses through which the analysis was informed. A secondary theory of presentation of self was also utilized to inform analysis. Formal recruitment, taking place in August a week before formal classes begin, was found to serve as the most important aspect of and representation of sorority life. Recruitment was experienced in one of two ways, as either a) a potential new member or b) an active, creating two paths for sorority women depending on their membership status. Media intertwined itself at every level, and each stage, of the experience for both actives and potential new members, yet in different ways. Media serves as a way to aid in the sorority socialization process, and in the construction of both the individual “sorority girl” identity, and the assimilation into larger chapter identity. There were five different stages in the journey to joining and/or continuing membership in a sorority, all revolving in some way around formal recruitment. For potential new members the five stages included: (a) pre-recruitment; (b) formal recruitment; (c) new member period; (d) initiation; and (e) chapter integration and recruitment preparation. For active sorority members, the five stages included: (a) pre-recruitment; (b) formal recruitment; (c) the training and indoctrination of new members; (d) initiation and assimilation of new sisters and the process of chapter identity maintenance and; (e) continued recruitment preparation. There were also four primary ways sorority women use media to construct and maintain their identity through: (a) the transition from an outgroup PNM to ingroup new member; (b) the ways in which new members display their newly-earned membership; (c) chapter identity maintenance through presentation of self online; and (d) the ways in which sorority women who do not construct or adhere to the “ideal” sorority identity. Overall, sorority women use media to construct and maintain their identities by cultivating an image, primarily on social media, that they want others to see and believe is true- even if this is not necessarily the case behind closed doors. They do this in order to achieve or maintain status within the Greek community, and those who do not risk a loss in status and reputation.

The more undergraduate college students report satisfaction with their university, the more likely they are to remain enrolled and graduate. College student satisfaction is strongly influenced by students’ social identification with their university (e.g., they demonstrate pride as and strongly identify with being a student of the university). Students can interact with their university directly and its associated "brand" on social media platforms, using platforms such as Twitter (e.g., by posting tweets directed at a university's Twitter account or posting tweets about the university). Universities often expend substantial effort to produce content through such channels to engage students. Interacting with the university through social media may strengthen students’ social identity with the university and lead to increased student retention. This study thus examined how social media interactions with and about a college student's university may play a role in their social identity with the university and overall university satisfaction. Online questionnaires were completed by participants before and after their Twitter data was collected by the researcher to assess changes in the social identity and university satisfaction of 198 undergraduate students at a large public four-year university over a period of approximately 30 days. Data from the students’ Twitter accounts were collected during this interim time period, and a content analysis of the tweets was conducted to identify interactions with the university's Twitter account and tweets about the university in general. Results indicated that, in both the pre- and post-collection questionnaires, the more students reported social identification as a university student, the more likely they were to report overall satisfaction with the university. The more students directly interacted with the university's Twitter account, the more likely they were to report higher levels of social identification as a student; however, general interaction with the university "brand" (i.e., tweeting about the university in general) did not reveal the same significant relationship. More Twitter interaction of either kind also did not result in greater university satisfaction, despite the significant association with social identification, and therefore, future research is necessary to better understand the relationship between social identification and satisfaction. Results from this study suggest that, based upon social identity theory, when trying to build stronger identification among undergraduate students with their university, universities should focus their efforts on creating opportunities that encourage direct engagement with the university's account.

In recent years, millions of refugees have migrated across the globe fleeing persecution, in search of better lives. Among these refugees are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) individuals who are escaping maltreatment for their sexual orientation. At the time of writing, there were 76 countries with laws imposing harsh sanctions against same sex intimacy, varying from fines, imprisonment, violence, and even death. Because of their unique situations, these refugees and asylum seekers are doubly marginalized as forced migrants and sexual minorities. This study investigates how LGBTI refugees, asylum seekers, and asylees navigate their identity through the interactions throughout the migration process. Identity is produced and reproduced through social interaction. This study’s main goal was to investigate how social interactions, embedded in the lived experiences of LGBTI refugees/asylees during their migration process, created and shaped meaning specific to their identity. More specifically, the current study looked at social interactions using communication, mediated and interpersonal, to negotiate identity. In order to answer the overall research question of identity negotiation, interviews and a focused ethnography were conducted. Six self-identifying gay refugees/asylees from the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region, now residing in California’s Bay Area, were interviewed. Additionally, a focused ethnography was conducted in the queer diaspora of San Francisco’s Castro neighborhood. The LGBTIs use of media was influenced by English and computer literacy. In a pre-asylum context, media were used for asylum seeking, to find information on gay culture, and to build relationships with other queers living in secret. Whereas interpersonal communication was used to find and initiate escape routes. In a post-asylum context, media were used to find other LGBTIs in the queer diaspora, however not used to build relationships. Interpersonal communication was utilized more in the queer diaspora to foster relationships, acculturate, and shape identity. Intersectionality, marginalization, and power come together to shape the identities of the LGBTI refugees/asylees. For most of the participants, being a ‘refugee’ was substantially part of who they were. It defined their past and situated their present. For others, however, ‘refugee’ was an identity they wanted to shed. They wanted to create a new life and leave their pasts behind them. In both scenarios, being gay was still the most salient attribute of their identities. In sum, the media they consumed pre-asylum helped the refugees realize “what they were,” while the media post-asylum helped them negotiate “who they are.” The LGBTIs interviewed communicated that little aid was received from NGOs in the migration process; however, the NGOs positioned themselves as LGBTI refuge-focused. To further understand the communication endeavors seven LGBTI refugee-focused NGO employees, each charged with communication tasks, were interviewed. Specific to identity, the niche NGOs strive to create counter-narratives that help foster positive and nurturing categorizations of LGBTI refugees and asylees. They, and other LGBTIs in similar areas, have been socialized in with pejorative categorizations of gay and LGBTI. The goal of the NGOs is to change these meanings and instigate a more positive categorization for the LGBTIs and in the process save lives. The NGOs also focused on creating a more encouraging and supportive environment for the LGBTIs in their new home post-asylum. By fostering a sense of tolerance coupled with volunteers and staff who are LGBTI-friendly, the NGO introduces a social institution where more advantageous interactions can take place. These interactions help shape and reshape meaning for the LGBTIs, ultimately helping them create a social identity that cultivates happiness and a sense of self-worth.

This study examined the intention of teachers to intervene in cyberbullying situation when they encounter it at school by utilizing the theory of planned behavior (TPB). It investigated how attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control and perceived responsibility affects the teachers' intention to intervene. Questionnaire in a paper pencil format was used to collect the data from teachers in Indian schools during January-March 2016. Hierarchical regression was conducted to assess the proposed independent variables predicting the teachers’ intention to intervene. The results found that the theory of planned behavior (TPB) proves to be a strong and appropriate model to predict the teacher’s intention to intervene in cyberbullying at schools in India. All the main TPB predictor variables - attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control significantly influenced the teachers’ intention to intervene. All the variables collectively explained 40.9 % of the variance in the intention to intervene. Perceived responsibility also added a small but significant variance to the TPB model, 2.7%. Of all the predictor variables, attitude was the strongest predictor of the teachers’ intention. Moreover, the study has identified the specific underlying cognitive beliefs, determining the attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control, which indirectly influences the teachers’ intention to intervene. This formative research provides a good resource to design future school-based interventions with an aim to prepare teachers to mediate the impact of cyberbullying on students in India. Overall, the results produced important insights about teachers’ attitudes, perceptions and beliefs towards intervening in cyberbullying in India.