Digital Commons Network^™

Communicative Ai And Techno-Semiotic Mediatization: Understanding The Communicative Role Of The Machine, Göran Bolin

Human-Machine Communication

Mediatization discourse has so far mainly been centered on media from institutional or social-constructionist approaches. The technological developments within communications industries coupled with the wider societal process of datafication might, however, beg for dusting off the smaller, although the long-time existing, technological approach to mediatization as a complement to the two other approaches, in order to understand aspects of automation and human-machine communication. This theoretical article explores how existing mediatization approaches can refocus to include lessons learned from human-machine communication. The first section accounts for the main mediatization approaches. The second section discusses debates on communication, artificiality, and meaning-making. The …

Theatrical Tools To Support The Community Agreement, Bethany E. Post

Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024

When working with a new group of people, it is common practice to create a Community Agreement in pursuit of quality outcomes. This tool uses dialogue to methodically outline the desired educational or creative environment, democratically articulating the commitments and expectations to remain in place throughout the duration of the group's existence and setting all participants in accord with the work to come. However, the Community Agreement can fail to support individual participants during moments of inevitable tension. In such moments, participants may experience unplanned emotional or physical reactions in response to triggering material or ideas. To navigate these reactions …

Triggered By Socialbots: Communicative Anthropomorphization Of Bots In Online Conversations, Salla-Maaria Laaksonen, Kaisa Laitinen, Minna Koivula, Tanja Sihvonen

Human-Machine Communication

This article examines communicative anthropomorphization, that is, assigning of humanlike features, of socialbots in communication between humans and bots. Situated in the field of human-machine communication, the article asks how socialbots are devised as anthropomorphized communication companions and explores the ways in which human users anthropomorphize bots through communication. Through an analysis of two datasets of bots interacting with humans on social media, we find that bots are communicatively anthropomorphized by directly addressing them, assigning agency to them, drawing parallels between humans and bots, and assigning emotions and opinions to bots. We suggest that socialbots inherently have anthropomorphized characteristics and …

Chatgpt, Lamda, And The Hype Around Communicative Ai: The Automation Of Communication As A Field Of Research In Media And Communication Studies, Andreas Hepp, Wiebke Loosen, Stephan Dreyer, Juliane Jarke, Sigrid Kannengießer, Christian Katzenbach, Rainer Malaka, Michaela Pfadenhauer, Cornelius Puschmann, Wolfgang Schulz

Human-Machine Communication

The aim of this article is to more precisely define the field of research on the automation of communication, which is still only vaguely discernible. The central thesis argues that to be able to fully grasp the transformation of the media environment associated with the automation of communication, our view must be broadened from a preoccupation with direct interactions between humans and machines to societal communication. This more widely targeted question asks how the dynamics of societal communication change when communicative artificial intelligence—in short: communicative AI—is integrated into aspects of societal communication. To this end, we recommend an approach that …

“A Cog In A Wheel That Gets It Done”: A Qualitative Study Of The Experiences Of Faculty Seeking Administrator Support, Lakesha Anderson, Mattea A. Garcia

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

This qualitative study sought to determine the stressors that motivate faculty to seek administrator support and examined faculty experiences of administrator support. Participants were 27 full- and part-time faculty members who completed a seven-item online questionnaire. Findings show that many participants felt unsupported by their administrator while navigating the stressful situations for which they sought help. This lack of support led to negative departmental cultures and faculty feeling insecure, undervalued, and isolated. This study highlights the need for policies and practices designed to build relationships between faculty and administrators. Efforts to improve the faculty-–administrator relationship can lead to increased understanding, …

A Typology Of Perceived Negative Course Evaluations, Heather Carmack, Leah E. Lefebvre

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

Instructors and administrators continue to debate the merit and value of using course evaluations to assess instructor effectiveness and course outcomes, especially when students see course evaluations as satisfaction surveys where they can unload negative and/or hurtful comments directed at instructors. Little is known about instructors’ perceptions of negative course evaluations. This study qualitatively examined faculty’s (N = 90) perceptions of negative course evaluation qualitative comments. Using a grounded analyst-constructed typologies approach, three types of negative course evaluation comments were identified: professional, personal, and performance. These types of negative comments call into question the disconnection between what students and instructors …

Examining Patient-Physician Communication As A Form Of Mutual Persuasion Using The Conversational Argument Coding Scheme, Pritam Kanthala

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Communication between the patient and the physician in clinical encounters has traditionally been considered a passive interaction on the side of the patient, whereby the healthcare provider examines the patient's condition and circumstances, evaluates the situation, and prescribes a certain treatment plan or procedural solution that will heal the patient's ailment. However, recent research and fundamental communications understanding strongly emphasizes that effective communication is a two-way endeavor that ideally should involve input and insight from both sides of the conversation. Treating all clinical interactions as a one-way didactic experience where a provider usually goes through a checklist of commonalities would …

Analysis Of Lepilemur Edwardsi Seasonal Acoustic Activity, Samantha Henry

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) has historically been used as a noninvasive technique to study biodiversity, activity patterns, distribution, and species dispersal. The use of acoustic data has expanded in ecological research; however, studies focusing on primates are underrepresented, especially for nocturnal species. This study seeks to increase the understanding of acoustic activity in the nocturnal Milne-Edwards' sportive lemur (Lepilemur edwardsi). This species is endangered and endemic to the lowland dry forests in northwest Madagascar. Specifically, this study aims to describe the daily and annual acoustic activity patterns of the L. edwardsi. The PAM survey was conducted using …

Propaganda, Criticism, And War: A Study Of Regime Criticism By Propagandists In War, Jack C. Seay

Honors Undergraduate Theses

This paper investigates when propagandists criticize their country's war effort, examining instances where propagandists openly criticize the regimes they are expected to support during an armed conflict. This is a unique and relatively unexplored angle on propaganda, differing from widespread research on the range of effects that propaganda has on a target population, the reasons behind using propaganda on a target population, and the methods propagandists use to raise support for a political authority. Understanding when propagandists criticize their country's war effort can mitigate their influence by helping audiences identify when and how propagandists use criticism to their advantage. The …

The Effect Of A Standardized Training Program To Enhance The Therapeutic Alliance In Patients With Chronic Low Back Pain: A Mixed Methods Analytical Approach, Marino Bucci, Dominick Haynes, Megan Cundiff

UCF DPT Research Capstone

Background: Chronic low back pain (cLBP) affects up to 84% of adults. Evidence suggests a strong therapeutic alliance (TA) enhances care in a variety of ways. While themes associated with strong alliances have been identified, few studies have provided instructions on utilizing this information to craft a strong TA in physical therapy. Therefore, the aim of this study was to look at the effectiveness and feasibility of a training protocol to enhance the TA in patients with cLBP.

Methods: A total of 19 practicing physical therapists and 16 physical therapy students completed a TA training course with a pre and …

Episode 21: Mindy Shoss: Cultivating Positive Workplace Well-Being, University Of Central Florida

Knights Do That Podcast Transcripts

In episode 20 — the sixth of season two of Knights Do That — we speak with Mindy Shoss, an associate professor of psychology. She shares her research and expertise when it comes to workplace well-being and advice on how we can improve our communication in the workplace, what companies can do to have the most satisfied employees and common misconceptions about burnout.

Examining The Use Of Digital Tools To Facilitate Multilingual Patient-Physician Communication: A Scoping Review, Esha V. Ghosalkar

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The United States healthcare system cares for and supports a diverse patient population. Patients come from various ethnic backgrounds, speak different languages, hold distinct religious affiliations, and more. These differences can create a chasm in the patient-provider relationship, impacting the quality of care or health outcomes. Specifically, language-discordance can affect patient-provider communication; however, technological interventions, such as access to electronic medical record tools and digital translators, can facilitate this dyadic communication. This scoping review examines the literature present on the use of digital tools to facilitate multilingual patient-provider communication. The initial search in PubMed with MeSH terms resulted in 531 …

Uncommon And Non-Traditional Urban Relationship Strategies: From Relationship Loss To Relationship Recovery, Lasonya L. Moore

Journal of English Learner Education

With increasing student diversity across our nation, there is a growing need to scale up educational innovations related to building holistic relationships. Many students in K-12 public schools enter educational settings with uncommon and nontraditional ways of building and developing longitudinal relationships that allow students to thrive and not just survive. Specifically, teachers/educators feel ill-equipped and ill-trained to adequately support the increasing number of English learners(ELs) and Exceptional education students (specifically Students of Color (SOC) with emotional and behavioral disorders) identified in inclusive classrooms. Thus, there remains an urgent need to share uncommon and non-traditional strategies to develop and build …

Sanguinus Oedipus In A Habitat Of Brotherly Love, Haley Atkinson

The Pegasus Review: UCF Undergraduate Research Journal

This observational study analyzes the social dynamic and agonistic behavior between the two youngest males in a captive troupe of cotton-top tamarins, Sanguinus oedipus, found at the Central Florida Zoo and Botanical Gardens located in Sanford, Florida. The troupe consists of a breeding pair, two sets of twins, and a set of triplets– totaling nine individuals. The study focuses on the second-youngest and youngest males in the troupe and how they interact with each other. S. oedipus possess certain social and communication behaviors. The main behaviors observed in this study are vocalizations and movements indicating aggression between the two …

Radio Vs. Streaming Services: Exploring How Radio Is Facing Competition, Kyra L. Allen

Honors Undergraduate Theses

With the increasing number of online streaming services available in the world, it is astounding to note how radio is still around maintaining excellent ratings and listener interaction. It is essential to analyze the media industry, and while there are many outlets a person is capable of accessing music, people still turn to their local radio. The literature indicates how the business of radio still exists with the primary competition of today.

The study includes interviews from twelve radio professionals at Cox Media Group (CMG) Orlando, the home of seven different format radio stations. All interviewees hold a range of …

Gender Negotiation Among People In Poly/Consensual Non-Monogamous Relationships, Vanessa Rijo - Sánchez

Honors Undergraduate Theses

In the United States, people are encouraged and even coerced by social forces to behave and interact according to rigid social mores that tend to privilege individuals from a specific gender, racial, and class backgrounds. As many theorists have stated, sexual, gender, and racial minorities navigate their lives experiencing oppression at different levels and at the intersections of different systems of inequality. The marginal social location of these identities often results in people re-defining the social meanings through which they construct their social lives. Although much research has been devoted to investigating the different ways in which people resist the …

A Content Analysis Of Jihadist Magazines: Theoretical Perspectives, Catalina M. Udani

Honors Undergraduate Theses

During its violent spread across the Middle East, the Islamic State of Iraq and Sham (ISIS) amassed both a local and international following in large part due to its usage of emergent media distribution. Beginning in 2014, ISIS’s Ministry of Media published an English-language magazine, Dabiq, disseminating its issues through online platforms. Dabiq and its successor Rumiyah both serve as propagandistic recruitment material for ISIS’s international community as well as broadcasting the message of the jihadist movement to ISIS’s enemies. This study analyzed ISIS’s publications using a qualitative content analysis in order to identify jihadist recruitment strategies through the perspectives …

The Effect Of Controlling Messages On Doctor-Patient Communication, Kayla A. Ladez

Honors Undergraduate Theses

The doctor-patient relationship is a very important aspect of a patient's health and wellbeing. It is a complex relationship that requires trust and understanding by both parties. Doctor shopping and changes in technology that allow patients to independently learn about their health have further complicated this relationship. This study looks at how participants perceive controlling language depending on the gender of the doctor. Participants were 339 University of Central Florida undergraduate students (112 men and 227 women, age M= 19.29, SD = 3.60) recruited through SONA. Participants first listened to a recording of a male or female doctor speaking to …

Learning From A Complex Communications Experiment In My Own Home, Carolyn Massiah

UCF Forum

I am living in what I believe is the most complex communications experiment that could be designed by researchers.

Improving The Cala's Social Media Experience: The First Cala Social Media Survey, Sai Deng, Melody Leung, Anlin Yang, Chenwei Zhao

Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

The Chinese American Librarians Association (CALA) currently uses three social media channels, CALA Facebook, WeChat, and YouTube. In order to improve their presence and better serve the CALA members, CALA's first social media survey was conducted at the end of 2016 to seek feedback from its members and friends. This poster will present the background information for the survey, its methodology, findings, recommendations and follow-up. 18 questions were compiled, added to LimeSurvey and distributed to the CALA members via its Listserv. These questions attempted to address the users' social media usage, participation level, time spent on the CALA's social media …

Chinese American Librarians Association: Embracing Diversity And Outreaching To The Global Community, Sai Deng, Ying Zhang

Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

No abstract provided.

Nurse Perceived Barriers To Effective Nurse-Client Communication, Sara J. Brandenburg

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Successful client care depends on effective nurse-client communication. It is essential in meeting clients' needs, providing quality care, and maximizing positive client outcomes. The intent of this thesis was to explore nurse perceived barriers to effective nurse-client communication. A literature review was conducted and nine articles were identified as addressing nurse perceived barriers to communication. Four major barriers were identified: nurse comfort and knowledge, environment, time, and culture and language. Research on interventions to address nurses' perceptions of barriers to effective nurse-client communication may provide a better understanding of communication barriers and address issues created by ineffective communication with clients.

A History And Analysis Of Cala's Social Media, Sai Deng, Xiao Hu

Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Under the rapid development of social media and social networking sites, a number of social media channels have been deeply integrated into people's professional and private lives. The Chinese American Librarians Association (CALA), started its social media presence in 2012 with Facebook, and then expanded to YouTube and WeChat. While CALA's Facebook and YouTube channel are more public and social platforms for its news, announcements and documents, its WeChat group is more of an informal space for sharing news and embarking discussions. This poster will look into the various aspects of these social media channels and provide statistical and textual …

Social Media For Librarians And Users, A Global Perspective, Sai Deng, Ying Zhang, Jing Xu

Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works

Social media has increasingly become an integral part of our personal and professional lives worldwide, and it revolutionizes how we communicate and share information. Libraries and librarians are early adopters and proponents for the use of social media. In countries such as China, social media has gained momentum in the recent years, and particularly in colleges and libraries.

This poster first investigates social media's presences and applications especially in university libraries in the U.S. and in China. The two countries use different social media apps such as WeChat, Facebook, Twitter, Weibo and Blog. It then focuses on a case study …

Classroom Projects As Embodied And Embedded Outcomes Assessment, Garnet C. Butchart, Margaret Mullan

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

Although educators already recognize the value in engaging student learning through classroom projects and service-learning, assessment of student learning through classroom projects may be accompanied by a shift of attention from mastery of ideas to embodied knowledge. We argue that embodiment is the basic semiotic condition of being human—of being both an expressive and perceptive (communicative) being among others. Linking this philosophy of communication principle to the topic of assessment, the article offers assessment research a focus of attention on learning settings: from embodiment as learning context, to the built environment of classrooms, as well as to group interaction. We …

Dog Ownership As A Catalyst Of Conflict And Relationship Maintenance In Romantic Relationships, Ashley Elrick

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Pets are a common aspect of life for many Americans. In 2012, 36.5% of American household owned dogs and 30.4% owned cats (American Veterinary Medical Foundation, 2012). The purpose on this study was to explore the influence of dog ownership on romantic relationships. Specifically, this thesis investigates how dog ownership acts as a catalyst of relational maintenance and conflict behavior in interactions about the couple's dog. No prior research has been conducted on the role dogs' play in enacting relational maintenance or conflict in romantic relationships, so it is unclear if there is an influence to the these behaviors. This …

An Exploration Of Communication Perceptions Between Elementary School Staff And The Parents Of The Children They Serve, Cynthia Gardner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this quantitative research study was to explore the perceived school communication between elementary school staff and the parents of the children they serve. Staff members and parents, from a central Florida public school district, in both Title I and Non-Title I schools completed an online survey regarding (1) timely school communication, (2) school's website being informative and easy to use, and (3) staff members knowing what is going on in schools. Researchers have long explored the importance of family involvement in children's academic success, communication between home and school is an important link in the process. The …

Talking Back: Mathematics Teachers Supporting Students' Engagement In A Common Core Standard For Mathematical Practice: A Case Study, Mercedes Sotillo Turner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The researcher in this case study sought to determine the ways in which teachers support their students to create viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others (SMP3). In order to achieve this goal, the self-conceived classroom roles of two teachers, one experienced and one novice, were elicited and then compared to their actualized roles observed in the classroom. Both teachers were provided with professional development focused on supporting student engagement in SMP3. This professional development was informed by the guidelines that describe the behaviors students should exhibit as they are engaged in the standards for mathematical practice contained in …

The Undergraduate Teaching Assistant: Scholarship In The Classroom, Sarah M. Flinko, Ronald C. Arnett

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

This essay casts the role of the Undergraduate Teaching Assistant (UTA) within a Kantanian sense of imagination—the not yet pushes off of the actual and the tangible (Kant, 1781/1963). The UTA accesses a temporal glimpse into a professional scholar/teacher vocation through experience in a lived context that unites teaching and scholarship. The role of the UTA offers what Martin Buber (1965/1988) called “imagining the real” (p. 60), a moment of creative ingenuity that begins with the doing of concrete tasks within the profession.

Cat Got Your Tongue? (The Lost Art Of Conversation), Rebekah Mccloud

UCF Forum

My mother and I were eating dinner recently at her favorite restaurant. We spent several hours talking, laughing and enjoying our meal.