Communication Commons^™

Four Meta-Literacies Model In Digital Multimodal Communication: A Brick-By-Brick Construction Using Qualitative Interpretative Meta-Synthesis, Jane Elizabeth Keil Strong

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

A digital skills gap has been noted in the literature as college students are joining the workforce lacking the communication competencies needed and expected by employers. Workplace communication is characterized by multimodal expression. The multimodal communication environment is complex and ever-changing requiring workers to possess multiple literacies, but what are these multiple literacies? The purpose of this study was to conduct a qualitative interpretative meta-synthesis (QIMS) of multimodality and multiliteracies to theorize a meta-literacy model in digital multimodal communication. The four meta-literacies may serve as future building blocks to inform pedagogies that may help close the digital workplace gap. The …

American Young Adults' Self-Perception Of Interpersonal Communication With Family And Friends Online Through Social Media And In-Person, Patrick Joseph Wolf

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Social media has been a dominant factor in the emerging world of 2022. Nearly all-American young adults (ages 18-24) have some mobile device and form of social media. However, the effects of mass social media consumption have not fully been applied to Communication scholarship, particularly regarding multiple social media applications' effects on young adults' interpersonal communication abilities with family and friends. Applying Walter Ong's Theory of Second Orality to social media today and Social Exchange Theory, Social Penetration Theory, Relational Communication Theory, and Family Systems Theory helped find comparative academic research that aided in grounding the theoretical framework of this …

Assessing The Intention, Attitudes, And Social Influences On Covid-19 Preventive Behaviors Among Non-Rural Black And Rural Appalachian White Populations: A Faith-Based Community Study, Maria L. Gomez, Tofial Azam, Jean Edward, Hannah Bowman, Lovoria B. Williams

Journal of Appalachian Health

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has had detrimental impacts in non-rural Black and rural Appalachian populations. Yet despite the pandemic’s magnitude, there is a scarcity of research exploring potential influences of attitudes and social influences within these populations on their adherence to COVID-19 public health preventive behaviors.

Purpose: This study examines the intention, attitudes, and social influences to adhere to COVID-19 preventive behaviors among non-rural Black and rural Appalachian congregants in Kentucky by integrating the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB).

Methods: Secondary analysis of cross-sectional data was used to assess the association between the TPB constructs and four key public health …

A Visual Identity-Based Approach Of Southeast Asian City Branding: A Netnography Analysis, Bahtiar Mohamad, Ridwan Adetunji Raji, Ghadah Alarifi, Ahmed Rageh Ismail, Muslim Diekola Akanmu

All Works

Cities and places had been progressively being marketed as brands by using the concept of ‘City Branding', which is a unique idea. The scholars of ‘City Branding’ believed that the concept of branding helps the city in marketing activities. A city metaphorically could be seen as an entity given the advantage to display its visual characteristics to tourists, visitors, and residents. Unique visual identity such as iconic architecture and graphic design could make a city stands out from the others. Thus, the research examined the role of visual identity in city branding. Specifically, the aim was to contribute to better …

Lindenwood Digest, July 20, 2022, Lindenwood University

Lindenwood Digest

The Lindenwood Digest has been a digital employee newsletter since 2009.

Ouachita Awards First Johnny And Susan Wink Scholarship, Julie Shands, Ouachita News Bureau

Press Releases

Alex Moore, a junior English and philosophy double major from Gulfport, Miss., was named Ouachita Baptist University’s inaugural Johnny and Susan Wink Scholarship Award winner. He was recognized during an April ceremony in Ouachita’s Young Auditorium.

“He’s been a student of mine in several classes,” said Dr. Johnny Wink, Betty Burton Peck Professor of English and namesake of the award along with his wife, the late Dr. Susan Wink, professor emerita of English. “He’s a splendid fellow and a stellar student. I’m pleased as punch to have him be the first awardee of this scholarship.”

Criminal Policy To Combat The Spread Of Electronic Rumours (Under Decree-Law No. 34 Of 2021 On Combating Rumours And Cyber Crimes), Ashraf Kandil

Journal of Police and Legal Sciences

The UAE's role in combating electronic rumors and reducing its dissemination has been demonstrated by the legislative development of IT crime laws in the UAE. The most recent is the issuance of the Federal Decree-Law No. (34) of 2021 concerning the fight against rumors and cybercrime. Otherwise, the problem of the current study revolves around the flexibility of drafting the procedural texts in order to deal with the constant development of the forms and circumstances of spreading rumors, as well as to indicate their effectiveness in reducing their effects. Therefore, the current study aims to identify the criminal policy to …

Stepping Up For Ouachita 2022 Honorees Announced, Ouachita News Bureau

Press Releases

Ouachita Baptist University’s Office of Development will host its annual Stepping Up for Ouachita luncheon Friday, Nov. 4, at Chenal Country Club in Little Rock, Ark. Simmons Bank is presenting sponsor for the 2022 luncheon, which will honor Nancy Benton of Jonesboro, Ark.; Sheila Powell Strickland of Fort Worth, Texas; Sarah Shell Teague of Fayetteville, Ark.; and Toni Thrash of Little Rock, Ark.

“Stepping up for Ouachita began with the purpose of increasing scholarship dollars for women,” said Terry Peeples, Ouachita’s vice president for development. “The honorees always represent women who love their family and their Lord. They are all …

Small Town, Shmall Town: Here Are The Top Things To Do When You Live In Arkadelphia, Madison Cresswell, Ouachita News Bureau

Press Releases

Growing up in North Little Rock, Ark., I was concerned about moving to a small town like Arkadelphia. Will I ever get out of my room? What would I do on the weekends?

Conservation In The News: Comparing News Coverage Of Nutrient Reduction In Agricultural And Non-Agricultural News Outlets In Iowa, Laura Witzling, Dara M. Wald, Eric Williams

Journal of Applied Communications

Twelve U.S. states were tasked with developing nutrient reduction strategies to help address hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico. To better understand the kinds of messages different stakeholders in these states are likely to encounter about such strategies, we conducted a content analysis focused on the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy (INRS). We examined 483 articles in two agricultural and two non-agricultural news outlets. We found that agricultural news outlets more often led with agricultural themes and more often used agricultural representatives as sources. The non-agricultural news outlets more often quoted representatives of environmental groups. News articles infrequently led with science …

Reporting On Vital Agricultural News In Ireland – A Comparison Between Mainstream Print Media And The Farming Press, Claire Mc Cormack, Pádraig Wims

Journal of Applied Communications

The purpose of this paper is to compare the reporting of vital agricultural news between the mainstream print media and the farming press in Ireland. To achieve this, this study examined coverage of a recent and significant agricultural news event by mainstream Irish newspapers and the Irish farming press. Taking the 2018–2019 Irish beef sector crisis as the case study for examination, researchers conducted a comparative content analysis of the most widely circulated mainstream national newspapers’ (n = 5) and farming newspapers’ (n = 2) coverage of the story over a 14-month period. We analyzed the timing, frequency, …

Reporting A Rural Reality: A Case Study Of An Agricultural Newspaper’S Series On The Rural Opioid Epidemic, Cara R. Lawson, Courtney Meyers, Amy Boren, Erica Irlbeck, Amber Mccord

Journal of Applied Communications

Opioid drug abuse has created an epidemic recognized as a public health emergency in 2017, and the detrimental impacts of this epidemic have reached into rural America. When it comes to presenting information via the mass media, communications professionals serve as gatekeepers for what information is passed on to media consumers. Additionally, news organizations place certain degrees of importance upon issues through the amount of coverage dedicated to an issue. In late 2016, when the Farm and Dairy newspaper editorial staff decided to dedicate a vast amount of time and resources to covering Ohio and Pennsylvania’s rural opioid epidemic, a …

Tolbert Named Vice President For Finance At Ouachita, Julie Shands, Ouachita News Bureau

Press Releases

Jason Tolbert, formerly the chief financial officer at Ouachita Baptist University, has been named the university’s vice president for finance effective June 1.

“Jason has been a key partner in our university-wide journey to make Ouachita’s mission more viable financially,” said Dr. Ben R. Sells, Ouachita’s president. “Ouachita is financially stronger than at any time in the past two decades, and Jason’s leadership has been instrumental. His new title also reflects the additional responsibilities he’s assumed during his tenure.”

These include overseeing Ouachita’s budget and coordinating budget audits, stewarding the university’s endowment and supervising several administrative areas including business services, …

Myth, Fiction And Politics In The Age Of Antiheroes: A Case Study Of Donald Trump, Igor Prusa, Matthew Brummer

Heroism Science

In this article, we demonstrate that the antihero archetype informs our understanding of Trump in important ways, including his rise to and fall from power. We introduce an analytical framework for analyzing Trump’s antiheroic traits based on his social positioning, individual motivation, and personal charisma. We argue that Trump is fascinating because he is powerful, amoral, and charismatic, and suggest that the American public was primed for Trumpism through a zeitgeist hospitable to antihero worship. That is, Trump’s dogged popularity with nearly half of the American public was foretold by decades of pop-cultural obsession with, and adulation for, the antihero.

Un-Earthing Popular Climate Narratives: Maintenance And Prophecy In Settler World, Hannah Oxford

Communication ETDs

Climate change is fundamentally rooted in facts such as rising global temperatures, carbon emissions, losses in biodiversity, etc. However new information about our changing world is translated and incorporated within the narratives we live by and give form to our personal and collective worlds. While climate change is scientific, our mitigation efforts are entirely storied. This thesis looks at popular climate narratives that frames climate change as an issue of Earthly mechanics fixable through innovative technology. The goal of this thesis is to understand the ways in which settler colonialism, as a communicable mechanism of cultural production, organizes this particular …

Reimagining Rhetorical Ability: (Dis)Embodiments Of Disabled Speakers In The Stuttertalk Podcast And The 2020 Democratic National Convention, Katherine Mulle

Communication ETDs

While communication scholars have dedicated much research towards defining and furthering effective communication, explorations of speech disability, especially from a critical lens, are largely absent in these pursuits. I conducted a critical rhetorical analysis of the (dis)embodiments of disabled speakers through examining segments from the 2020 Democratic National Convention (DNC) program that cover Joe Biden’s story as a person who stutters, and episodes of StutterTalk, a podcast created by and featuring people who stutter. Moreover, I organize this thesis around two claims: (1) As a person who stutters with certain privilege and power, Joe Biden’s DNC story further secured …

Spartan Daily, July 15, 2022, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2022

No abstract provided.

Managing Multi-Language Classroom Motivates Start Of New Esl Program, Mark D. Weinstein

News Releases

Developing a new English as a second language (ESL) program was never what she had in mind, but Ashleigh Stout is proving that the most foreign experiences can oftentimes be the most fulfilling.

Inflammatory Bowel Disease & Social (In)Visibility: An Interpretive Study Of Food Choice, Self-Blame And Coping In Women Living With Ibd, Jessica N. Lolli

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is an interpretive project that uses autoethnography and qualitative interview methods to understand the role Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) plays in women’s quality of life and interpersonal relationships. It focuses on the impacts on patients of dietary changes and how food choice serves to make this ordinarily “invisible” illness visible to others, leading to unwanted exposure. Using Erving Goffman’s stigma theory and its extensions in studies of chronic illness, I demonstrate that IBD is characterized by layers of stigma because it creates situations in which patients are forced to disclose their illness even if they are not ready …

Hardage Named Ouachita's Support Staff Member Of The Year, Felley Lawson, Ouachita News Bureau

Press Releases

Jana Hardage, gifts processor in the Office of Development at Ouachita Baptist University, has been named the university’s 2021-22 Support Staff Member of the Year. Hardage was recognized in March by the university’s staff development committee and Dr. Ben R. Sells, Ouachita’s president.

She was selected from a group of nominees who demonstrated outstanding performance in their work responsibilities; in relating positively to students, coworkers and members of the public; and in supporting the mission of the university.

"Sometimes You Just Want To Be Another Parent And Another Kid At The Party": Exploring Parental Narratives Surrounding Disclosure Of Child's Epilepsy, Lisa German

Communication ETDs

Epilepsy is currently the fourth most common neurological disorder in the world (Epilepsy Foundation, 2022). However, it is largely misunderstood by both the public and those with epilepsy. In addition, epilepsy is still a stigmatized condition in most areas of the world.

In part due to the stigma, as well as the impact on quality of life factors, disclosure of an epilepsy diagnosis can be a struggle for those with epilepsy as well as their parents or caregivers. Therefore, this study explored disclosure challenges faced by parents of children with epilepsy, utilizing Communication Privacy Management theory and Stigma Management Communication …

Public History Is Now, Sarah E. Dougher

Amplify: A Journal of Writing-as-Activism

A walking tour of downtown Portland in August 2021 raises questions for the writer about the purpose of “memory activism,” its relation to writing-as-activism. Drawing on critiques of urbanist Jane Jacobs and interrogating the concept of “reckoning,” the essay explores ways in which the streetscape and people there can deliver meaning and pose questions about systemic racism and unsheltered existence.

Legal And Ethical Considerations For Public Relations Book Review, Alan K. Caldwell

Pepperdine Journal of Communication Research

Book review and analysis of the strengths and gaps in the content of Legal and Ethical Considerations for Public Relations by Karla K. Gower.

Bathroom Battlegrounds Book Review, Lauren Carlton

Pepperdine Journal of Communication Research

No abstract provided.

One’S Social Media Identity: Article Review, Sasha S. Brenden

Pepperdine Journal of Communication Research

In the last ten years the impact of social media has expanded dramatically. People's identity used to only be affected by face to face interactions; however, now one's identity can be built and shifted through online social interactions and relationships over social media. Fake news causes a shift in identity because of impossible ideals of perfection. Fake news not only dictates what is the ideal image but can create a negative association to those who do not fall into that minesquale category (men and women). These studies show the unlimited communication regulations on social media, which leads to cyberbullying (electronic …

Multiracial Identity Negotiation In A “Monoracial” World, Stephanie G. Chan, Aileen R. Blomdal

Pepperdine Journal of Communication Research

The constant shift of societal values and ideals has historically left multiple individuals in utter confusion over their acceptance in certain social settings. A specific minority group that has been at the brunt of this dilemma for many years, however, are those who identify as multiracial. Mixed-race individuals have struggled to be equally accepted and appreciated for their rich cultural heritages, and with the multiple unique intercultural relationships that currently exist, these individuals are constantly dealing with niched categories, labels, and microaggressions that separate them from other minority groups. Through greater research into the brief history, the modern-day problems, and …

Communication Theories In The Office: Relational Dialectics And Genderlect, Christian J. Parham

Pepperdine Journal of Communication Research

The Office, known for largely for its comedic brilliance and the famous romance between Jim and Pam, also acts as a cultural artifact as it follows the development of their relationship. Through this essay, the interpersonal theory of Relational Dialectics and the intercultural theory of Genderlect communication will be analyzed with key moments from Jim and Pam’s relationship. Relational Dialectics will be used to analyze the interpersonal relationship between Jim and Pam, and the ways in which it develops and changes throughout the seasons. Genderlect will describe the different communication issues Jim and Pam have at different points throughout …

Taking Responsibility For Systemic Failures: Rhetorical Homologies And Discourses Of Sustainability, Health, And Voting, Alice Grosu

Pepperdine Journal of Communication Research

When considering the discourse of presidential candidates, talk show hosts discussing mental health issues, and companies advertising sustainable goods, this essay argues that they share a formal resemblance. Whenever the same formal resemblance, or the same pattern, can be found within different instances of rhetoric, this indicates that the texts are homologous. Making sense of these instances of discourse is essential if one seeks to understand the way in which the public’s political engagement can be hindered by these rhetorical acts.

Persuasive Campaign: Pepperdine Climate Action Initiative, Dawnielle L. Wright, Ruth Childress

Pepperdine Journal of Communication Research

What does it do to a university's credibility if they do not believe in science? 97% or more of climate scientists agree that climate warming over the last century is due to anthropogenic activity (NASA, 2022). However, Pepperdine University is a climate denier in the face of a scientific consensus (Levens, 2022). The Pepperdine administration has refused to admit that anthropogenic climate change is real with the reasoning of "encouraging debate" on the topic (Levens, 2022). Students are upset at this claim due to the implication that climate change is negatively affecting vulnerable populations around the globe, and Christians are …

Accessibility At Pepperdine: A Persuasive Campaign, Abigail R. Morrow, Zoë Walsh

Pepperdine Journal of Communication Research

No abstract provided.