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- Member of: Barrett, The Honors College Thesis/Creative Project Collection
- Resource Type: Text
Consumer automotive vehicles have been an essential part of daily life for many over several decades. Many people also find that the multimedia screens found in the center consoles of many modern vehicles are robust enough to complete a certain number of tasks, such as navigating to a destination, playing music, or taking a phone call. As a result, it is important for designers to look into their decisions and how they might affect the overall experience a person has while interacting with multimedia screen as they are driving a vehicle. This study aims to look into how existing design decisions present themselves in the multimedia screens of modern vehicles and which principles of design users favor when interacting with the systems. With 188 participants and three vehicles tested, including the 2019 Toyota Highlander equipped with native software, the 2019 Hyundai Sonata equipped with Android Auto, and the 2020 Hyundai Elantra equipped with Apple CarPlay, it was found that design principles found in Human Computer Interaction, such as Gestalt principles, are relevant in allowing for a more positive, enjoyable experience in completing tasks such as navigation, playing music, and taking a phone call.
This thesis explores the potential reasons individuals may romanticize violent serial killers and seeks to eradicate the idea that this phenomenon is due to any singular reason alone. In light of the recent explosion of interest surrounding serial killers and other true-crime genre media, this work aims to help the general public understand, not only the reasons that we may feel inclined to romanticize such evil individuals, but also the potential dangers behind such romanticization. This research led to the conclusion that a fascination for media or entertainment surrounding and related to this topic has been long standing in human history. Additionally, it was concluded that, while the personal reasons each individual may have for romanticizing serial killers may vary, today’s media representations of violent serial killers (both fictional and not) appeal to these reasons by subtly portraying killers as more palatable to the public. Ultimately, this project compiled numerous potential causes of romanticizing serial killers in order to conclude that no single reason is the source for this phenomenon, but that it is rather a complex culmination of factors.
Many people are familiar with the practice of parents, step-parents, or other caregivers continuing the abuse they experienced as a child unto children they are taking care of, but are unable to name this experience or explain how it continues. To those who are victims to this phenomenon, it is a struggle to comprehend what is occurring without a basic understanding. Through a comprehensive literature review compiling empirical and non-empirical resources, the phenomenon labeled as “intergenerational transmission of abuse” is defined and risk factors are explained for victims coming to terms with this experience.