Communication Commons^™

Ok, Google: How Are You Supporting Working Women? An Evaluation Of How Working Women At Google Are Impacted By Covid19, Carlyn Corcoran

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

This case study evaluates how tech giant, Google, responded to the novel coronavirus pandemic from a policy and resource standpoint and the implications for the women employed by the company. Through the evaluation of company materials along with news reporting on the company response, this case study will attempt to draw conclusions on how working women at Google may have been able to navigate work life balance (WLB) in a work from home (WFH) environment. Using a feminist standpoint theory, which underlines that the experience of gender has a direct relationship to power dynamics and lived experience, this case study …

A Content Analysis Of Advertisement To Volunteer In The Global South, Kristina Medero

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

In the past decade, volunteer tourism, or the venture to volunteer abroad as a learning or leisure activity, has grown immensely. This study conducted a content analysis through a cultural intelligence theoretical framework to examine the strategies of persuasive rhetoric and images in voluntourism advertisement. The data revealed that organizations that requested monetary donations used images of egoistic appeals on websites p> 0.05, t(13) = .76. However, no significant difference was recorded between volunteer tourism organizations that required time commitment or monetary donations when using expectations of exchange. Considering the volunteer tourism organizations used a variety of techniques with …

Using From The Heartland In The First-Year Writing Classroom: Measuring Instructor Reception Of The Customized Textbook, Sarah Cohen

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

The aim of the first-year writing program at the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) is to equip students with critical reading and writing tools and strategies to advance effective written communication well into their future. This study examines and measures attitudes of UNO composition instructors – who come from a variety of pedagogical and theoretical backgrounds – toward the efficacy of UNO’s self-published Composition I textbook, From the Heartland: Critical Reading and Writing at UNO. In many ways, From the Heartland embraces what Richard Fulkerson refers to as “a critical cultural pedagogy” which encourages students to consider personal …

Abiding By Poe's Law? How Users Interpret Ambiguous Messages Of Polarizing Content Posted On Social Networking Sites, Kelly Johnson

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Today’s political climate is marked by a polarized citizenry and widespread use of social media for politically-charged exchanges. It can be difficult to discern whether posts that demonstrate an extreme position on face value intended the message to be parody or whether the author expressed sincerely held beliefs. In an online Creationism debate, a user summarized this difficulty with, “Poe’s Law: Without a winking smiley or other blatant display of humor, it is [utterly] impossible to parody a Creationist in such a way that someone won’t mistake [it] for the genuine article.” Studies have shown people are more inclined to …

Entertainment-Education Has A Potential Source For Comprehensive Sexuality Education: A Content Analysis Of The Netflix Series Big Mouth, Kristina Medero

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Health communication researchers have studied the potential for entertainment-education, to increase health literacy amongst adolescents regarding sexuality education (Moyer-Guse, 2008). This study will analyze the Netflix series Big Mouth with normative theoretical framework laid out by Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States (2008) to provide support about the extent to which the series can act as a potential source for comprehensive sexuality education. This content analysis of Big Mouth will potentially provide a significant level comprehensive sexuality education to its audience, p < .05 through a one-way ANOVA that will test topics covered, relevance of social context, and inclusivity of material presented in the series.

Follow My Voice: The Future Of Phr Authentication, Jeanette M. Rose, Ryan Schuetzler, John R. Windle, Ann L. Fruhling

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

The current electronic personal health record (PHR) has low patient adoption [1]. Increasing use and adoption of the PHR will improve patient-centered care. Users often have difficulty remembering passwords or share them, giving multiple people access to one account.

Utilizing biometrics for authentication is becoming more common in our daily lives – think of the fingerprint sensor on a smartphone or retina scanners at high security corporations. The quickly evolving technology that runs our lives calls for incorporating biometric authentication into more systems. Using biometric authentication can ensure that passwords would not need to be remembered and that only the …

Why Follow? Followership Favorability And Followership Styles, Hanna M. Miller Ms.

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Given the choice between leading or following in a group setting, which would you choose? Leadership and followership both have strengths and limitations. However, the perceptions of followership are typically unfavorable when compared to leadership. This quantitative study expands on the perceptions of followership by analyzing followership favorability among group members and followership styles as they relate to the Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) Theory and Follower’s Active Engagement Theory.

Keywords: Followership, Leadership, LMX Theory, Leader-Member Exchange, Unfavorable Perceptions, Followership Styles, Active Engagement

Authenticity In College Classrooms: A Qualitative Study Exploring Student Perceptions And Instructor Insights, Ursula Vanantwerp

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

The political and financial disturbances that have occurred in recent times have created a universal desire for trustworthy leadership. This widespread unrest makes the study of authentic leadership a timely and worthwhile pursuit. The purpose of this study is to examine how college students identify authentic instructors and explore how authentic instructors view themselves. Through a textural analysis of five college students and four college instructors interviewed in-depth in 2016, the findings indicated that the students identified as authentic the professors who shared common interests, showed interest in them, and were comfortable with who they were as instructors. Instructors that …

Volunteer Perceptions Of Upward And Downward Communication Facilitate Organizational Commitment, Kelly Prange

UNO Student Research and Creative Activity Fair

Retaining productive volunteers is an essential issue nonprofit organizations face, as volunteers help extend the services of their target populations. The current study examined upward and downward communication and training as important volunteer management practices with respect to facilitating volunteer engagement and commitment. Using social exchange theory as a framework, the present study investigated the reasons why organizations should stress giving volunteers training and open communication and soliciting feedback from volunteers. Doing so may initiate a social exchange relationship in which volunteers receive training and communication from organizations and in turn become more engaged and committed to the organization. As …