Digital Commons Network^™

This Is Herpes: A Qualitative Investigation Of The Disclosure Patterns Of Hsv2 Individuals, Katrina Miles

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

It is estimated that by 2025, 49% of the female population and 39% of the male population, aged 15-39, will have contracted herpes simplex virus 2, or as it is more commonly known, genital herpes (Fisman, Lipsitch, Hook & Goldie, 2002). However, little is understood about the ways that those with genital herpes communicate their condition with potential partners, friends, or family members. Using in-depth qualitative interviews this research focuses on understanding the unique patterns that individuals with genital herpes engage to disclose their status to significant others. Utilizing the theories of Communication Privacy Management and the Disclosure Decision-Making Model …

I Heart Communication In The Library: Exploring Communication Satisfaction, Jennifer A. Keach

Libraries

This poster presents findings about organizational communication within a mid-sized academic library. Discover if demographic differences, the number of connections, attendance at events, or use of technology helped or hindered communication. Learn about ways to do a communication audit at your own library.

Girls Are Us: A Collection Of Oral Histories From The Jmu Community, Anne M. Sherman

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

On a campus where women make up a majority of the student population, it is especially important that female voices are heard and given a platform on which they can control their own narrative. I wanted to give those female-identifying voices that platform. I conducted a series of interviews to examine how college-aged female-identifying students feel about their identity and how they construct that identity within the climate of the JMU community. I was particularly interested in the intersections of gender, race, ethnicity, class, sexual preference, and ability. I asked each person to share their stories of times when they …

News Media Bias And The Syrian Refugee Crisis, Marisa S. Campanella

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Since 2011, turmoil has erupted in Syria causing the displacement of many individuals now seeking refuge. It has impacted other areas of the world, filling the media with stories of daily events surrounding the initial attacks. The increase in media coverage of the Syrian refugee crisis led me to question whether the stories in the news were accurate representations of what was actually happening. I chose to compare two distinct sources of news in a content analysis, Fox News and CNN, to see whether there was a discrepancy in how they reported the same topics. After analyzing seven articles from …

Migrant Archives, Byronaé Lewis

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Migrant Archive is the cultural exploration of what design can be when it intertwines with the depth of ethnographic narratives . No longer allowing stationary boundaries to define where a culture begins and ends, as the space explores the migration patterns between divisions of each neighborhood within a city. The migrant hub works to capture and drop-off memory relics to tell the history of each region. The focus is to understand a culture through design while celebrating the positive and negative aspects within the past that have influenced the current moments.

Argument Education In Higher Education: A Validation Study, Paul E. Mabrey Iii

Dissertations, 2014-2019

Argument education can play an important role in higher education for leadership development and responding to increasing calls for post-secondary accountability. But to do so, argumentation teachers, scholars, and practitioners need to develop a clearer definition and research agenda for the purposes of teaching and assessing argumentation. The research conducted here contributes to this project by first establishing a definitional construct and observable behaviors associated with learning and practicing argumentation. Second, an argument education assessment instrument was created based off of the literature-supported definition of argumentation. Third, debate and argument education subject matter experts reviewed the definition, behaviors, and assessment …

Clicks, Likes, And Shares: Using The Theory Of Planned Behavior, Self-Efficacy, And Impression Management To Predict Digital Activism Activities, Aaron Noland

Dissertations, 2014-2019

Social media has evolved as a space for connection, advocacy, and commerce in recent years. Nonprofit organizations have been called to engage stakeholders on the Internet generally, and social media specifically as the pervasiveness of online presence has increased. In addition, nonprofit organizations have struggled to sustain engagement with the millennial population over the same time. Millennials have been termed digital natives and use social media proficiently. The convergence of these two mandates for nonprofit organizations – to engage via social media and to engage millennials – represents the importance of this study. To begin to help nonprofit organizations develop …

#Zika #Olympics: The Use Of Dialogue In Tweets Regarding The Zika Virus And The 2016 Rio Olympics, Daniel W. Vieth

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Previous research has observed the use of social media by health organizations; however, few studies have addressed how health organizations use these media to build relationships with publics. This thesis addresses this gap by applying Kent and Taylor’s (2002) dialogic tenets to Twitter messages regarding the 2015-2016 Zika virus epidemic and the 2016 Rio Olympics. First a pilot study used a quantitative survey to find that individuals were using online media to seek information about Zika, and that the public generally had high threat salience toward the virus. Next, social network analyzer Netlytic was used to collect Tweets that mentioned …

Assessing The Reliability And Accuracy Of Advocacy Group Data In Hate Group Research, Mark S. Purington

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

In the 1980s, the term “hate group” began to appear increasingly in American media reports, often referring to the Ku Klux Klan or various neo-Nazi activities. There is no legal definition of the term, as it is not illegal to belong to such organizations, and so the designation of hate groups generally falls to private advocacy groups that claim to track them, such as the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) of Montgomery, Alabama. When the media or academic researchers require data on hate groups, they often turn to advocacy groups, usually due to a lack of other sources and because …

No Stigma, No Shame: Reducing The Stigma Of Mental Illness In College Freshmen Dorms, Ashley R. Reynolds

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

With a rise in college students who report symptoms of mental illness and the high number of college students who do not seek professional help because of the stigma of mental illness, it is evident that the stigma of mental illness on college campuses needs to be addressed. A health campaign that seeks to reduce the stigma of mental illness on campus was designed, implemented, evaluated. The Model of Stigma Communication, which explains how stigma is developed and reinforced, is a sound framework for exploring the stigma of mental illness and was used to guide the campaign. First, a survey …

How Native American Rappers Communicate And Create A Modern Identity, Hannah J. Berge

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Current research concerning identity and Native Americans is sparse outside the realm of expressly Native American scholarship. While most conversations about identity and Native Americans focuses on historical and political aspects, many sources do not explore alternative avenues of contemporary identity creation. This thesis uses Kenneth Burke’s pentad to analyze the lyrics for “AbOriginal” by Frank Waln. The pentad is used to analyze each line of the rap. A new term, alter-agent, is used to identify agents who the agent either associates with or who the agent views as hindering his progress. There is then a count of the number …

Relationship Between Sibling Jealousy And Jealousy In Romantic Relationships, Andrea C. Toscano, Harrison J. Seaborn, Matthew G. Webb, Olivia C. Rose, Eliana Joy Huffman

SCOM Undergraduate Research Conference

Research examining whether or not there is a relationship between sibling jealousy and jealousy in romantic relationships.

Sga Diversity Ad Hoc Committee: Diversity Awareness At Jmu, Kimia Favagehi, Jaclyn Rose Finn, Jacob Christian Ruefer, Sara Elaine Hardiman, Mary Theresa Ross, Christina Elaine Deane

SCOM Undergraduate Research Conference

The Diversity Ad hoc Committee, a branch of SGA that deals directly with issues of diversity on James Madison University's campus, was founded in 2014. The committee "seeks to spread the concept of diversity by collaborating with various other student clubs and organizations on campus."

The Diversity Ad hoc Committee is striving to build upon the organization's reputation and presence on James Madison University's campus. Presently, the organization lacks visibility and recognition from JMU students and faculty. Expressing dissatisfaction with the committee's current situation, the Diversity Ad hoc Committee hopes to expand outreach and support from the JMU community through …

An Ideological Criticism Of Todrick Hall's Visual Album Straight Outta Oz, Rachel Moss

SCOM Undergraduate Research Conference

American entertainer Todrick Hall released his visual album Straight Outta Oz in 2016 in order to communicate his views on a wide range of topics from sexuality to family life. Hall used the video to advance challenging ideologies that discuss the harmful effects of the church on LGBTQ+ youth, problems the LGBTQ+ community face, the discrimination faced by black Americans, and pitfalls of the entertainment industry, with the purpose of forming a call to action for society to advocate for equality. By placing these themes into a medium popular at the time of release, Hall created a better chance for …

The Stories We Tell, Abigail A. Hoekstra

MAD-RUSH Undergraduate Research Conference

Two or Three Things I Know for Sure tells the story of Dorothy Allison as she comes to terms with her past and strives to move beyond it, to be empowered and embodied by it. In this short memoir, Allison explores the relationship she has with her mother and how that relationship has influenced her individuality and character, whose complacency has restricted Allison. Allison breaks away from the stories she has been told to tell a new story of abuse and disembodiment in which she finds love, and in turn, embodiment; the unification of her body and spirit. Story-telling and …

What Happens At Camp Does Not Stay At Camp: A Rhetorical Analysis On The American Camp Association's 'Mission And Vision' Page, Abigail W. Fiege

SCOM Undergraduate Research Conference

Research on mission statements as a genre of rhetoric and evaluation of the American Camp Association's mission and vision webpage based on found criteria.

An Analysis Of George Wallace And His First Inaugural Address As Governor Of Alabama, Logan D. Dupuy

SCOM Undergraduate Research Conference

To understand Governor George Wallace of Alabama, one has to look back at his watershed moment. The 1958 election for governor. From there, one can attempt to explain how Wallace became a figure of tragedy (by his own doing though) and how he had to sell his soul for the governorship. After understanding what made George Wallace tick, I shall move into his inaugural speech in 1963. By explaining this fiery speech through ideological criticism, one will be able to better comprehend the subtleties of both the man and the times. The bulk of the ideological criticism will be on …

“Expanding That Story:” How Nonprofit Leaders Portray The Population They Serve, Sarah N. Koth

SCOM Undergraduate Research Conference

This research aims to understand how nonprofits leaders portray the populations they serve, specifically populations in low-economic status who receive material resources. Previous literature exploring the nonprofit sector considers volunteers and their experiences, although leaders set the tone for the organization’s language, and ultimately the quality of service. Five nonprofit organization (NPO) leaders from different organizations participated in semi-structured, in-depth interviews that lasted between 33 to 72 minutes. Questions inquired about their average week on the job, their contact with clients and volunteers, and how they want the public to view the population they serve. Accounts showed that nonprofit leaders …

Divided We Fall: A Look Into American Crime Story: The People V. O.J. Simpson And How The Media Creates Reality, Angela G. Flanagan

SCOM Undergraduate Research Conference

This event is an undergraduate research conference for undergraduates in the School of Communications at James Madison University.

Budlight's #Upforwhatever Campaign, Jennifer Lopez-Gallardo, Brynn Bresnahan, Brooke Rera, Melissa Swan

SCOM Undergraduate Research Conference

Research Study for BudLight's #UpForWhatever Campaign.

Beyond Promotional: Michelle Obama And The Let Girls Learn Initiative, Isabella Bauer

SCOM Undergraduate Research Conference

Based on a research completed for Rhetorical Research Methods course, three of Michelle Obama's addresses for her Let Girls Learn initiative will be analyzed using cluster criticism.

An Exploration Of The Negative Stigmas Surrounding Greek Life, Lauren E. Palkovitz

SCOM Undergraduate Research Conference

An Exploration of the Negative Stigmas Surrounding Greek Life