Communication Technology and New Media Commons^™

Rhetorical Agency In Algorithm-Centered Digital Activity: Methods For Tracing Agency In Online Research, Daniel L. Hocutt

English Theses & Dissertations

Contemporary scholars in rhetoric studies and technical communication have theorized rhetorical agency as engaging human and nonhuman actors in online spaces. One such space, where the work of scholarship, teaching, and technical communication practice intersect, is online research. In online research interfaces, scholars and students alike conduct research; scholars teach and students learn the online research process toward contributing knowledge; and technical communicators design and test meaningful user experiences in these interfaces.

However, the field offers few comprehensive methodologies for studying the emergence of rhetorical agency in online search environments, where the activities of technologies, humans, corporations, and environments coalesce. …

Adding Soul To The Message: Applying African American Jeremiad Rhetoric As Culturally Competent Health Communication Online, Wilbert Francisco Laveist

English Theses & Dissertations

This study examines whether online health communications targeting African Americans could be more effective by structuring the message in the format of African American jeremiad rhetoric, a culturally unique version of the American jeremiad literary form. Health disparities (also known as health inequality) persist among African Americans despite increased health knowledge, improved communication practices, and access to health facts online. The problem is systemic, and thus a predictable outcome that requires change in societal structures that produce and maintain inequality. Individual behavior changes to improve health is also necessary. Information alone does not change behavior. Altering environmental factors is also …

Must Stay Woke: Black Celebrity Voices Of Dissent In The Post Post-Racial Era, Lily Kunda

Institute for the Humanities Theses

In today’s racially charged climate there is an expectation that black celebrities cry out #BlackLivesMatter, get on the field to #TakeAKnee and be #UnapologeticallyBlack whenever they are in the spotlight. This climate transcends what was once seen as a post-racial America— a time where the media portrayed race as no longer being an issue— and encourages black celebrities to address racism. Prior research on black celebrities by Sarah J. Jackson, Ellis Cashmore, bell hooks, James Baldwin and others acknowledges the historical burden placed on black celebrities to publicly discuss racism and represent blackness in order to challenge dominant narratives. Today, …

Evaluating Stakeholder Bias In Stakeholder Analysis In Social Media, Ahmad A. Bajarwan

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Stakeholder analysis is the first step in the planning of most infrastructure projects. Selecting and then applying the best method for a project’s stakeholder analysis is extremely important for correctly assessing stakeholder opinions. Social media platforms allow stakeholders to participate directly in analysis. However, as with most other analysis methods, social media introduces inherent biases.

Social media is a powerful tool for communication and networking, and it also provides a valuable source of information for analyzing user opinions about infrastructure projects. By using data collected from Twitter, analysts can create networks to represent connections among users, quantify their similarities, and …

Rhetorics Of Functionally Applicative Game Design: Designing And Testing The Project Management Game Scrummage, Matthew Carson Beale

English Theses & Dissertations

In this project, I designed and tested Scrummage, a tabletop game to teach the scrum project management system to undergraduate students. The project grew from the gaps in both academic literature and pedagogical tools for project management and collaboration in the technical communication classroom. Although the field of technical communication places significance on project management, research shows that many employers find the project management skills and knowledge of recent graduates to be under-developed. Situated in the fields of game design, game studies, project management, and technical communication, this project asks how we as educators can improve the project management learning …