Digital Commons Network^™

Misinformation In Countries With Limited Technological Literacies: How Individuals In Sub-Sahara Africa Engage With Fake News, Gregory Gondwe

Communication Studies Faculty Publications

In an event where the problem of information access is almost terra incognita, the derivate challenge is whether too much information is bad. Most research suggests so, yet very few attempts have been made to examine the digital inequalities and literacies that shape how an individual is exposed, consumes, shares, and ends up believing in fake news. This study builds upon focus group data from six sub-Saharan countries to examine how people in sub-Saharan Africa engage with misinformation. This study focuses on variations in digital access and literacy, which indicate how individuals in Africa are exposed to, consume, spread, and …

Topical Analysis Of Nuclear Experts' Perceptions Of Publics, Nuclear Energy, And Sustainable Futures, Hannah K. Patenaude, Emma Frances Bloomfield

Communication Studies Faculty Publications

Nuclear energy experts consider commercial power from fission to be a strong contender to help mitigate the increasing effects of climate change, in part due to its low-to-no carbon emissions. Nevertheless, nuclear energy’s history, including meltdowns such as Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and Fukushima, and dumping in sacred Indigenous land such as Yucca Mountain, raises important concerns in public deliberation over nuclear power. These communicative dynamics are crucial to study because they inform larger conversations in communication scholarship about the role of experts in scientific controversies and the complicated nature of public trust in and engagement with science. Thus, this …

Cooperativism In Cultural And Tech Sectors: Promises And Challenges, Greig De Peuter, Bianca C. Dreyer, Marisol Sandoval, Aleksandra Szaflarska

Communication Studies Faculty Publications

This article reports on a survey of co-operatives in the cultural and technology sectors in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Creative industries are a growth area for new cooperativism, with more than a quarter of surveyed co-operatives in operation for less than five years. While the findings show that co-operation is a promising strategy for countering individualised experiences of work, for democratising workplaces, and for facilitating satisfying work in creative industries, they also reveal significant challenges which individual co-operatives and the wider co-operative movement must confront for cooperativism to have a sustainable and inclusive future in the …

Co-Operatives, Work, And The Digital Economy: A Knowledge Synthesis Report, Greig De Peuter, Gemma De Verteuil, Salome Machaka

Communication Studies Faculty Publications

This report surveys recent literature on co-operative approaches to improving work and livelihoods in the digital economy, specifically in the gig economy, the tech sector, and digital creative industries. It introduces concepts that update co-operative theory and practice for the digital age, including platform cooperativism, open cooperativism, distributed co-operative organizations, and Exit to Community. It outlines how the co-operative model has been adopted by and for self-employed workers, platform workers, technologists and communication professionals, and data subjects. While the report presents evidence of co-ops’ potential to improve working conditions and mitigate power asymmetries in the digital economy, it also addresses …

Climate Communication And Storytelling, Emma F. Bloomfield, Chris Manktelow

Communication Studies Faculty Publications

As part of its Assessment Reports (ARs), the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) publishes Summaries for Policymakers (SPMs) that review key findings on climate science and climate change’s potential impacts. We argue that the IPCC could create more engaging SPMs by incorporating narrative features. This project evaluates AR5’s SPM for narrative opportunities, which are elements that could be narratively restructured or strengthened. Storytelling does not compromise the goals of the IPCC but rather helps public audiences understand and relate to the information. We encourage the adoption of storytelling elements to increase public understanding of and engagement with climate science.

Communication Outside Of The Home Through Social Media During Covid-19, Natalie Pennington

Communication Studies Faculty Publications

This study explored, through quantitative and qualitative survey analysis (N = 307), the role of communication through social media during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected in April 2020 to understand how individuals engaged with their network through social media and the subsequent relationship with subjective well-being, conceptualized as loneliness, life satisfaction, and positive and negative affect. Results identified that passive social media use contributed to greater loneliness and a decrease in life satisfaction. Some active use of social media contributed to an increase in positive affect. However, other active uses increased feelings of loneliness. Results also spoke to …

Disaster Resilience As Communication Practice: Remembering And Forgetting Lessons From Past Disasters Through Practices That Prepare For The Next One, Rebecca M. Rice, Jody L. S. Jahn

Communication Studies Faculty Publications

Communities learn important lessons about their vulnerabilities from disasters. A crucial aspect of resilience is how communities apply past lessons to prepare for future events. We use a practice lens to examine how communities remember and forget lessons through everyday communication surrounding their preparedness activities. We analyze two cases of disaster preparedness in one community. The first site, a local Office of Emergency Management, adapted national policies to the community while also keeping local disaster lessons in mind (i.e. remembering lessons). The second site represented an intractable conflict between the U.S. Forest Service and a community group that inhibited the …

Explaining How College-Aged Individuals Provide Information To Friends Experiencing Romantic Relational Uncertainty, Tara G. Mcmanus, Yuliya Yurashevich, Courtney Mcdaniel

Communication Studies Faculty Publications

College-aged individuals report having difficulty deciding what and how much information to provide to friends, yet they often turn to one another for information when experiencing relational uncertainty in a romantic relationship. Given the central role friendships have in college-aged individuals’ lives, identifying ways to decrease the difficulty of providing information is necessary. By framing friends’ relational uncertainty conversations as an information management process, the information-provider’s cognitions and emotions are highlighted as factors likely influencing the information provided to friends requesting it to manage their relational uncertainty. In an online survey (N = 367), participants recalled their most recent conversation …

The Circulation Of Climate Change Denial Online: Rhetorical And Networking Strategies On Facebook, Emma Frances Bloomfield, Denise Tillery

Communication Studies Faculty Publications

This study uses a topical, rhetorical approach to analyze how climate change denial circulates online through the 25 most popular posts on the Watts Up With That and the Global Warming Policy Forum Facebook pages. These groups adopt the appearance of credibility through reposting and hyperlinking, thus establishing a supportive, networked space among other skeptical sites, while distancing readers from original sources of scientific information. Visitors use a variety of rhetorical strategies to echo posts’ main themes and to discredit alternative viewpoints. Differences between the topoi and rhetorical strategies of WUWT and the GWPF show that the climate change denial …

Is Civility Contagious? Examining The Impact Of Modeling In Online Political Discussions, Soo-Hye Han, Leann Brazeal, Natalie Pennington

Communication Studies Faculty Publications

This study examines a way to promote civility in online political discussions through modeling discursive cues. An online experiment (N = 321) was conducted to investigate the impact of civil and uncivil discursive cues on participants’ mode of discussion. Results show that participants who were exposed to civil cues were more likely to engage in civil discourse themselves, stay on-topic, and offer additional perspectives in their comments. We also found that metacommunication (i.e., talking about the tone of discussion) engendered more metacommunication. This study illustrates the impact of modeling discursive cues and illuminates the possibility that participants in online discussion …

Making Implicit Methods Explicit: Trade Press Analysis In The Political Economy Of Communication, Thomas F. Corrigan

Communication Studies Faculty Publications

The political economy of communication (PEC) situates media systems and practices in their structural and historical contexts; however, PEC scholars rarely articulate or justify their research methods. To address this oversight, this article explains how PEC scholars use trade publications to study media industries, practices, policy making, and discourses thereof. Following a critical realist approach, PEC researchers “burrow down” in trade press advertisements and reports and “listen in” to the frank, insider discussions therein. This article evaluates the trade press against Scott’s four “quality control criteria” for documentary sources—authenticity, credibility, representativeness, and meaning. Trade publications employ daunting industry jargon, and …

Monsters To Destroy? The Rhetorical Legacy Of John Quincy Adams’ July 4th, 1821 Oration, Jason A. Edwards

Communication Studies Faculty Publications

This essay examines how the John Quincy Adams’s foreign policy maxim of “we do not go in search of monsters to destroy” has been appropriated in contemporary foreign policy, including the recent 2016 presidential campaign, arguing his aphorism are authorizing words that validate and ratify the positions of pundits, politicians, and policy-makers of not only critics of U.S. foreign policy, but those who defend it. Mapping Quincy Adams’s aphorism allows us to explore the boundaries and direction of America’s role in the world and how it impacts America’s exceptionalist ethos.

Connecting Political Communication With Urban Politics: A Bourdieusian Framework, Yongjun Shin

Communication Studies Faculty Publications

In this article, I connect political communication with urban politics by conceptualizing an interdisciplinary urban politics research framework. Drawing on Pierre Bourdieu’s theories of practice and communication, I offer an urban politics research model that simultaneously addresses the dimensions of power struggle and symbolic struggle in urban politics. The theoretical modeling is discussed from an interdisciplinary approach to social studies and constructed with a methodological suggestion of tripartite social network analysis.

Foreign Policy Rhetoric In The 1992 Presidential Campaign: Bill Clinton's Exceptionalist Jeremiad, Jason Edwards

Communication Studies Faculty Publications

This essay examines presidential candidate Bill Clinton's rhetoric regarding America's role in the world during the 1992 presidential campaign. Despite the fact that foreign policy was George H.W. Bush's strength during the campaign, candidate Clinton was able to develop a coherent vision for America's role in the world that he carried into his presidency. I argue he did so by fusing together the American exceptionalist missions of exemplar and intervention. In doing so, Clinton altered a tension embedded in debates over U.S. foreign policy rhetoric. To further differentiate his candidacy from President Bush, Clinton encased this discourse within a secular …

Stuart Hall: An Exemplary Socialist Public Intellectual?, Herbert Pimlott

Communication Studies Faculty Publications

This article offers an assessment of the Stuart Hall’s role as a socialist public intellectual during the 1980s and the circulation of his Thatcherism thesis via public interventions writing for the periodical, Marxism Today.

Contrary to most assessments of the influence of scholars and public intellectuals, which are based upon an implicit assumption that their widespread circulation are a result of the veracity and strength of the ideas themselves, this article focuses on the processes of production and distribution, including the intellectual’s own contribution to the ideas’ popularity by attending conferences and public rallies, writing for periodicals, and so …

British Prime Minister Tony Blair’S Irish Potato Famine Apology, Jason A. Edwards, Amber Luckie

Communication Studies Faculty Publications

In June 1997, Prime Minister Tony Blair issued a statement expressing remorse for the British government’s inaction to assist the Irish during the potato famine of the late 1840s. Blair’s contrition was met with praise and criticism, but it proved to be part of the larger narrative in the peace negotiations within Northern Ireland. Although Blair’s apology is often cited as an exemplar of political leaders apologizing for historical injustices, little actual scholarly work on this subject has been conducted. To that end, this paper examines Blair’s potato famine apology through the theory of collective apology. We argue that collective …

The Good Citizen: Presidential Rhetoric, Immigrants, And Naturalization Ceremonies, Jason Edwards

Communication Studies Faculty Publications

This essay examines how American presidents define the “good citizen,” particularly as it relates to naturalized immigrants. Because citizens who are naturalized have to go through an onerous process to become citizens they can offer lessons to natural-born Americans who take their citizenship for granted. I argue that presidents construct naturalized immigrants as the lifeblood of American progress and power. The accomplishments of individual citizen heroes provide something for all to emulate. At the same time, presidents define the good citizen in a one-dimensional way that undermines the potential of communal activities to bring issues and problems to light that …

A Functional Analysis Of 2012 U.S. Presidential Primary Debates, Mark Glantz, William L. Benoit, David Airne

Communication Studies Faculty Publications

This study examines the Republican primary debates from the 2012 U.S. presidential campaign. With a weak economy, numerous Republicans vied to challenge President Barack Obama who was completing his first term in office. Of course, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney eventually seized the Republican nomination. This investigation employs content analysis and applies Functional Theory to the primary campaign debate messages. Acclaims were more common than attacks, which in turn occurred more frequently than defenses; and policy was discussed more often than character. Findings from the 2012 debates are compared with results from analysis of presidential primary debates in earlier campaigns.

A Superpower Apologizes? President Clinton’S Address In Rwanda, Jason Edwards, Thomasena Shaw

Communication Studies Faculty Publications

The failure to intervene in Rwanda was one of the greatest foreign policy mishaps of Bill Clinton's presidency. In March 1998, Clinton made an extended tour of the African subcontinent with a stop in Rwanda. During his brief visit, the president attempted to repair the image of the United States among Rwandans and the broader international community. Clinton used three primary image repair strategies: democratization of blame, corrective action, and transcendence. Despite his emphasis on the important lessons that the world could learn from the Rwandan genocide, we argue that his rhetorical choices ultimately undermined his larger mission and led …

The Debate Confessional: Newt Gingrich, John King And Atoning For Past Sins, Joseph M. Valenzano Iii, Jason Edwards

Communication Studies Faculty Publications

Religious affiliation has always played a prominent role in the vetting of US presidential candidates, especially for those seeking the nomination of the Republican Party. Candidates within that party must appeal to fiscal, foreign policy and social conservatives, the last of which contain significant numbers of self-described evangelical Christians. During the 2012 Republican Presidential Primary appeals to these social conservatives became as significant a factor as any other with a Mormon candidate, a Catholic candidate who made his faith a centerpiece of his campaign, and a divorced former Speaker who recently converted to Catholicism. With the race still very much …

Insurrectionary Womanliness: Gender And The (Boxing) Ring, Melanie J. Mcnaughton

Communication Studies Faculty Publications

Integrating sociological theory on sport with Judith Butler’s concept of insurrectionary speech, the author explores why and how womanliness is produced and problematized. In particular, this article investigates how participating in combat sport violates conventional womanliness by foregrounding physical capability and aggression. Using her identity as a female fighter as a starting point to engage the cultural construction of womanliness, the author connects a critical/cultural look at gender and sport with autoethnography.

Into The World Of Privatized Publicity: Online Privacy On Social Network Sites, Yongjun Shin

Communication Studies Faculty Publications

Social network sites enable and drive users to express themselves, attract attention, and gain recognition from other people by disclosing private and sensational information about themselves to their networks as well as to the public. As a result, social network sites have affected the perception and concept of privacy. In this vein, this paper aims to discuss how to address the social transformation regarding privacy on SNS space through a systematic literature study. To this end, it reviews the current research on online privacy, particularly focusing on the logic of the users’ disclosure of personal information and changing notion of …

American Exceptionalism, U.S. Foreign Policy, And The 2012 Presidential Campaign, Jason Edwards

Communication Studies Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Contemporary Conservative Constructions Of American Exceptionalism, Jason Edwards

Communication Studies Faculty Publications

Ever since President Obama took office in 2009, there has been an underlying debate amongst politicians, pundits, and policymakers over America’s exceptionalist nature. American exceptionalism is one of the foundational myths of U.S. identity. While analyses of Barack Obama’s views on American exceptionalism are quite prominent, there has been little discussion of conservative rhetorical constructions of this important myth. In this essay, I seek to fill this gap by mapping prominent American conservatives’ rhetorical voice on American exceptionalism.

Determinants Of Issue Emphasis In Gubernatorial And Senate Debates, William L. Benoit, David Airne, Leann Brazeal

Communication Studies Faculty Publications

This study employs computer content analysis to investigate the issue emphasis of political campaign debates. Issue Ownership Theory (Petrocik, 1996) posits that each political party “owns” a set of issues, which means that a majority of the public believes that one party is better able to handle that issue than the other party. He predicts that political candidates will emphasize the issues owned by their own party. This study applies computer content analysis to 12 gubernatorial and 12 senatorial debates. The results confirm the predictions of issue ownership theory: Candidates discussed the issues owned by their political party more, and …

Functional Federalism And Issue Emphasis In Political Television Spots, William L. Benoit, Leann Brazeal, David Airne

Communication Studies Faculty Publications

Peterson’s (1995) theory of Functional Federalism recognizes that political offices at different levels of government have different responsibilities, so that senators are more likely to emphasize national issues than governors. This theory was tested and extended. First, 1651 political television spots from 2002 and 2004 gubernatorial, US Senate, and US House races were subjected to computer content analysis. As predicted, gubernatorial spots emphasized local issues (54%) more than national ones (46%) whereas House and Senate spots stressed national issues (63%, 64%) over local ones (37%, 36%). Second, we extended Functional Federalism by arguing that presidential TV spots should stress national …

Implementing Montana's Indian-Education-For-All Initiative In A K-5 Public School: Implications For Classroom Teaching, Education Policy, And Native Communities, Phyllis B. Ngai, Peter Koehn

Communication Studies Faculty Publications

The Montana legislature’s requirement that public schools implement programs that fulfill the inclusive Indian education intent found in the state constitution is groundbreaking in U.S. educational history. Supporters of the revived Indian Education for All (IEFA) law agree that including Native perspectives in the mainstream curriculum is long overdue. Advocates often frame IEFA as an initiative that will promote transformative understanding of local American Indian tribes. The data presented in this research report relate to a learner-focused assessment of the model K-5 IEFA program initiated at Lewis and Clark Elementary School in Montana. Did this public school-based IEFA program change …

Voting Abroad: Cultural Diversity And Democratic Institutions In A Global Era, Mark Hayward

Communication Studies Faculty Publications

The past decade has witnessed a dramatic increase in the number of countries that have made provisions to allow for voting in national, regional and local elections by individuals residing outside the national territory. The adoption of these policies—in place in 110 countries at the time of writing—can be seen as a response to an increase in international migration since the end of the Second World War, a period that has witnessed that movement of hundreds of millions of people around the world. Recent estimates indicate that there are between 150-200 million people currently residing outside of their countries of …

Defining The Enemy For The Post-Cold War World: Bill Clinton’S Foreign Policy Discourse On Somalia And Haiti, Jason A. Edwards

Communication Studies Faculty Publications

American presidents use images of savagery to identify and construct America’s adversaries, especially prior to and during some form of armed intervention. During the Cold War, presidents used images of modern savagery to craft a Soviet enemy and its proxies. In the post-Cold War world, Bill Clinton did not have the luxury of a monolithic enemy to organize American foreign policy. He faced a threat environment that was more complex, transnational, and diffuse. Within this environment, I argue Clinton used images of primitive and modern savagery to define America’s adversaries. An analysis of Clinton’s discourse reveals that his use of …

An Emerging Native Language Education Framework For Reservation Public Schools With Mixed Populations, Phyllis B. Ngai

Communication Studies Faculty Publications

Currently, we lack a viable indigenous language education framework for reservation public schools with mixed Native and non-Native student populations. Can stakeholders holding different and often conflicting points of view agree to accept and nurture Native language education programs in the public school arena? In search of a workable framework that will guide language education efforts acceptable to most (if not all) stakeholders in mixed districts, the author gathered grassroots input across communities with mixed populations on the Flathead Indian Reservation in Montana. Study participants suggested approaches for dealing with existing obstacles and ways to include diverse local perspectives. The …