Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Andrews University’S Thought Leadership Communication On Linkedin: A Textual Analysis, Nana Ama O. Akoto-Boateng

Master's Theses

Thought leadership is fast becoming a powerful communication tool for most industries and sectors including higher education institutions (HEIs). This study employed textual analysis to determine how Andrews University's thought leadership on LinkedIn compares with four other top-ranking Adventist universities, namely Loma Linda University, Pacific Union College, Southern Adventist University and Walla Walla University. The text elements that were analyzed during the study were image posts and video posts on the respective LinkedIn pages of these institutions, spanning from January 2021 to June 2021. Among other findings, the results of the study revealed that Andrews University compares as the least …

Get Into It: Unpacking The Relationship Between Hegemonic Norms And The Race And Gender Of Pop Artists, Bailey Shelton

Master's Theses

Many contemporary popular musical artists are victims of media controversy while they simultaneously make musical chat history. As a culture founded and sustained by a white supremacist capitalistic patriarchy, race and sex appear to influence the way hegemonic in-groups treat minorities and the way minorities are perceived and live within the confines of said hegemony. With the context of understanding feminist theories, hegemonic norms, parasocial relationships, celebrity appeal, and norms, the researcher wanted to understand if there are clear relationship among these frameworks in modern society. This study employed a 2x2 2between subjects factorial design method to gather information about …

Andrews University Communication Under The Covid-19 Pandemic: Feedback Analysis Of International Students, Brice B. Eboule

Master's Theses

This research is an informative analysis of international students’ feedback on the Andrews University (AU) crisis communication during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Participants were 21 years or older, on student visas, living on-campus or in student communities and had attended AU for at least 2 years. The theory informing this study is situational crisis communication theory (SCCT). The SCCT argues that the severity of the crisis defines which communicational crisis strategy will be more effective in minimizing attributions and adverse press while both maintaining and enhancing the organization's credibility. The findings of this study indicated that 84 percent of …

Vocal Response Of Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops Truncatus) To A Novel Stimulus, Lindsey Johnson

Master's Theses

Bottlenose dolphins utilize acoustic signals as their primary mode of communication. Although some aspects of dolphin vocal behavior are well understood, less is known about vocalizations in different behavioral contexts and how these vocal behaviors may indicate habituation and sensitization. The focus of this study was to investigate how bottlenose dolphins respond vocally to a novel stimulus. Archival data from three populations of bottlenose dolphins (N = 20) living in a human-care facility were exposed to a novel apparatus (a mirror) for 10 trials, each lasting 20 minutes. Five of the trials presented the mirror covered with an opaque …

Ethnography: Andrews University Lady Cardinals Soccer Team And Group Dynamics, Liz Dominguez

Master's Theses

Problem

The Andrews University Lady Cardinals soccer team has a reputation of having back to back unsuccessful seasons. Hypotheses and research questions were formulated, and the answers provide further insight into the difficulties the team experienced during the 2018 soccer season. They are as follows:

Research Hypotheses:

1. Team members with higher skill levels will be more highly valued by the coach and other team members.

2. If the team does not have an adequate preseason, it will not be prepared to play as a team, thus it will have difficulty having a successful season.

3. Players who have positive …

Development Of Semantic Reference For Location Symbols By Bottlenose Dolphins (Tursiops Truncatus) Using A Two-Way Communication Keyboard, Alyssa Taylor

Master's Theses

The ability for humans to communicate with another species has been an aspiration and well documented. One example is through training animals to make associations between a designated cue and conditioned response (Pryor, 1986). Two-way communication, however, in which both species can express wants/needs has been predominantly pursued with apes and dolphins. Studies conducted by Louis Herman demonstrated the capabilities of dolphins to comprehend complex semantic and syntactic commands in an artificial language system (Herman, Richards, & Wolz, 1984). Researchers working with primates have used American Sign Language, a computer keyboard system with discrete lexigrams, and a portable lexigram keyboard …

A Systems Theory Analysis Of The Goshen Seventh-Day Adventist Church's System Of Communication, Clavour R. Tucker

Master's Theses

Problem

The Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA) is a complex and multilayered nonprofit organization (NPO), with carefully outlined policies and guidelines for almost every aspect of the organization. However, the philosophical or structural framework that guides communication within the organization is not clear. It is my hypothesis, having been a member and employee of the organization for almost 30 years, that not having such a structure has led to the creation of a fragmented culture of communication, which is observable in local congregations. This research assesses this phenomenon at the Goshen SDA Church, in Chicago, IL, and seeks to answer the …

The Captivity Of Opportunity: The Conversation Surrounding Church-Going Hispanic Immigrants, Nicolet Hopper Bell

Master's Theses

Immigration is a long-standing topic of discussion in the United States. Hispanic immigrants, or families of Hispanic immigrants, living in America face unique challenges. Through focus group interviews, participants from a predominantly Hispanic Protestant church narrated their experience of living in the United States. Guided grounded theory data analysis revealed three categories and 14 subcategories, or themes of conversation, surrounding this hot topic. Participants shed light on the distinctive challenges they faced, how these challenges affected them, and how they attempted to overcome these difficulties. By exploring these results through the lens of social stigma theory (Goffman, 2009) and intergroup …

Being With Bees: An Anthropological Study On Human-Animal Relations In Southern Beekeeping, Kori Nadine Armstrong

Master's Theses

This thesis investigates the complex and dynamic communicative relationship between beekeepers and their managed honey bee colonies, providing insight into the relationship between bees, their stewards, and the interface between nature and culture. It also helps unravel the ways in which this interspecies relationship changes a beekeepers’ perception of what it means to be human. Data collection features extensive participant observation with 21 semi-structured interviews with Southern beekeepers.

The interrelationship between communication and interaction, as well as diverse ways in which messages and cues manifest in the bee yard are explored through olfactory, optical, touch, and mechanical modalities. Variables including …

Leadership Development Programs: Exploring The Real Impact Upon Communities And Organizations, Brandon Steinert

Master's Theses

Leadership development programs are a popular tool utilized by communities and organizations to influence culture, challenge status quo and develop individuals. Research targeting the effectiveness of these programs is voluminous, but much of the work done thus far measures program effectiveness by one of two methods: either by the change in the attitudes and behavior of participants, or by the opinions participants held regarding the content and curriculum of the program. This study sought measure program effectiveness by looking at the real impact upon communities and organizations. This study explored the potential relationship between health and vibrancy of communities and …

Effective Methods Of Communicating Organizational Values: A Case Study, Caralin B. Mchan

Master's Theses

Organizational values affect business success, and employee satisfaction and commitment. Value training begins during socialization. This qualitative case study of Adventist Frontier Missions explored effective methods the organization’s trainers used to communicate and motivate newcomers to assimilate organizational values during the2015 short-term missions training. Through observation, surveys, focus groups and interviews, I found that newcomers were motivated by seeing a connection between the organization’s values and its mission, and by seeing the values enacted by the trainers. I also found that newcomers perceived nonverbal communication of organizational values to be integral to their value-assimilation process. These findings should be useful …

A Description Of Vocalizations And Their Association With Mouthing Behaviors And Social Context In Bottlenose Dolphins, Tursiops Truncatus, Christina Elyse Perazio

Master's Theses

Dolphin communication is multimodal and incorporates physical behaviors and vocalizations. Dolphins often exchange information with conspecifics using different types of vocalizations, and these vocalizations are sometimes associated with specific behaviors. However, the relationship of vocalization type and mouthing behavior type has not been investigated. This thesis examines simultaneous acoustic and visual recordings of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) to determine the relationship between type of mouthing behavior and type of vocalization (whistle, whistle-squawk, chirp, moan, burst-pulse type A, burst-pulse type B, and click trains). The role of the social context of a mouthing behavior is also evaluated. Data were obtained opportunistically …

Adviser Awareness Of The Kansas Student Publication Act (1992), Latisha D. Haag

Master's Theses

This thesis was a descriptive study examining adviser awareness of the Kansas Student Publication Act (1992) as reported by advisers who were members of the Kansas Scholastic Press Association during the academic year 2002-2003. Because there were no studies prior to the passing of the Act, there was no base line study to determine whether the Act has had an impact since its passing. For this study, 216 advisors, the complete membership of the Kansas Scholastic Press Association, were either given a cover letter explaining the questionnaire and questionnaire at one of the fall conferences, or mailed a cover letter …

Cognitive Dissonance In Task-Orientedgroups Under Intermittent And Continuous Success, Arthur Hiram Strock Ii

Master's Theses

In a recent study by Burke (1961), the psychological effects of participation in task-oriented groups were studied. This study incorporated selected communication networks, the wheel, circle, and the all-channel, from a number of experimental arrangements that were conceived and developed by Bavelas (1950). Burke’s eighteen five-man groups were seated at a partitioned table containing slots in a center post through which written messages could be sent. This apparatus was similar in design to the table first used and described by Leavitt (1951). The groups worked on a task that required the members to find one symbol among five that was …