Investigating effective elements of the interior environment in which are proactive strategies related to active shooting prevention are explored through passive and active measures. The research analyzes changes to the interior environment at Virginia Tech after the 2007 shooting based on the strategic implementation of certain actions, features, and experts involved in the decision-making process. This study aims to investigate effective proactive interior design strategies for higher education campuses (or classrooms) that engage both passive and active tactics, and to identify the process in which the decisions are made and implemented. The reviewed literature identifies important aspects of the policies, procedures, psychological/behavioral contingencies of space, and the convergence of design and the built environment. Utilizing a mixed-methods approach, the study will use interviews, photo-ethnography, and forced connections to identify changes made in policies and design which have impacted the higher education environment and safety. The findings are expected to suggest an intersecting approach between decisions made by outside experts and their effect on the interior environment. The potential impact of this research will guide and encourage collaborative, standards, and best practices relative to evidence-based decisions on protection and proactive actions against active shooter situations at Institutions of Higher Education.

It takes 1/10 of a second to make an emotional impact on your audience. Once you do, customers are eight times more likely to trust your brand, seven times more likely to purchase more, and six times more likely to forgive a mistake. Audiences make deep connections with resonant brands, that is brands that build trust with and provide substantial value to their consumers. Brands that resonate with customers enjoy above average economic gains and business resilience superior to their competition because they rank higher in engaging and connecting with their audience, delivering products/services that matter to those who care, and creating brand loyalty in the form of repeat customers and brand advocates. While resonant brands exceed on both the trust-building and value-providing dimensions, there are also those brands that do not build trust with or provide little value to their consumers, making those brands transactional. Not striving to attain or maintain brand resonance risks not differentiating, becoming irrelevant, and providing transactional value, which can quickly be replaced by alternatives offering a better deal. To avoid from becoming transactional, this study seeks to uncover what elements make for a resonant brand and outline the steps to achieve brand resonance.

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the world has been turned upside down. People everywhere are recommended to self-isolate and social distance to limit the spread of the deadly virus. Older adults specifically are being forced into isolation because they are at the highest risk for severe illness—illness that can result in hospitalization, intensive care, or even death. But this isolation is not new. Even before COVID-19, the older adult population has been suffering through a social isolation epidemic. And now, with social distancing measures in place, even more adults are being socially isolated to remain safe and healthy. But when individuals are isolated for long periods of time and no longer have an active social network to connect with, this social isolation can become harmful. Social isolation is known to increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, obesity, and stroke, and it is associated with anxiety, depression, and cognitive decline. Furthermore, the risk of premature death from any cause increases because of social isolation. With all these negative consequences, it is crucial that we confront the toll that COVID-19 countermeasures have taken on older adults and look for ways to prevent social isolation. Venture Together, a multi-user social media platform designed for older adults, attempts to do just this and more.

This research covers the possibility of airports serving as virus scanning hubs for future intercontinental travels. This aims at providing an idea for better control of tackling potential harmful viruses unknowingly carried by travelers. The benefit of this research is to help prevent less blow to the local economy and businesses, help keep travel industries, especially airlines, operating, slow down the rate of infection, and decrease cases and death rates, by providing a more secure health check for incoming and outgoing air travelers.