Interpersonal and Small Group Communication Commons^™

Outbreak Communication: Exploring The Relationships Between Health Information Seeking Behaviors, Vested Interests, And Covid-19 Knowledge In U.S. Midwest Populations, Alicia Mason, Josh Compton, Elizabeth Spencer, Kaitlin Barnett

Faculty Submissions

On February 15, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) Director, General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, stated at a Munich Security Conference, “We’re not just fighting an epidemic; we’re fighting an infodemic,” (Zarocostas, 2020, p. 676). The term ‘infodemic’ refers to the onslaught of both accurate and inaccurate health information surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. The concept of an ‘infodemic’ was quickly integrated into mass media, popular culture (i.e., documentaries, podcasts), and eventually scholarly literature. In response to COVID-19, health communication scholars have centered on understanding specific messaging strategies such as the use of fear appeals (Stolow et al., 2020), nature of advertising …

The Steaks Are High: Covid-19’S Impact On Direct-To-Consumer Marketing In The Oklahoma Beef Industry, Linnea Langusch, Dwayne Cartmell, Quisto Settle

Journal of Applied Communications

The COVID-19 pandemic encouraged some beef producers to market their products directly to consumers. For many consumers the idea of buying beef products from local sources is appealing. Relationship management theory framed this study, as beef producers used relationship building as a path to product promotion. This study explored Oklahoma beef producers’ perceptions of changes that have occurred in direct-to-consumer marketing and consumer communications in the beef industry during the COVID-19 pandemic using semi-structured interviews. This study consisted of 16 participants found via snowball sampling. Participants were Oklahoma cattle ranchers over 18 years old who used one or more channels …

The Great Resignation Among Restaurant Workers: A Content Analysis Of News Sources’ Portrayals Of The Covid-19 Labor Shortage, Mackenzie M. Williams

The Cardinal Edge

When workers left the labor market in large numbers during the COVID-19 pandemic, proclamations of a labor shortage emerged extensively throughout the news. In this study, I analyze the coverage of the worker shortage among three news sources with different political orientations. Several themes emerged from analyzing a total of 75 articles. The findings showed that the perspective shown in the article, the cause of the labor shortage, restaurant worker portrayal, support of solutions, and opinion of the labor shortage all differed based on the political identity of the news source. This research supports previous findings that show there is …

Exploring The Impacts Of Covid-19 On Lgbtq+ Intimate Communication, Jakob L. Coykendall

Ursidae: The Undergraduate Research Journal at the University of Northern Colorado

The question guiding this exploratory qualitative research study is, “How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted LGBTQ+ intimate communication and relationships?” Recently, scholars have demanded that communication scholarship be conducted through an intersectional lens that analyzes multiple dimensions of social identities, including LGBTQ+ identities. Queer Theory poses questions around gender, sexual, and romantic identities that can help expand our understanding of different forms of intimate communication. “Queering” interpersonal communication research involves challenging traditional understandings of communication within identities such as sexuality and gender at the individual and structural levels (Chevrette, 2013). Queering communication research supports a more in depth analysis of …

Sexual Relationships During Covid-19, Katherine Hahn-Boisvert

Honors Capstones

During the early parts of COVID-19, no one knew what to expect. In a world where it was suddenly unacceptable to shake hands or give a hug, how did sexually intimate couples navigate being sexually intimate? In this study, sexual self-disclosures, relationship satisfaction, and sexual communication satisfaction were measured during the COVID-19 pandemic. The costs and rewards of COVID-19 related self-disclosures was also measured to see what people thought was the costliest and how it would impact a sexually intimate relationship. Data was collected using an online survey which had 15 participants. The results indicated that COVID-19 had a negative …

The Great Resignation: A Content Analysis Of News Sources' Portrayals Of The Covid-19 Labor Shortage., Mackenzie Williams

College of Arts & Sciences Senior Honors Theses

When workers left the labor market in large numbers during the COVID-19 pandemic, proclamations of a labor shortage emerged extensively throughout the news. In this study, I analyze the coverage of the worker shortage among three news sources with different political orientations. Several themes emerged from analyzing a total of 75 articles. The findings showed that the perspective shown in the article, the cause of the labor shortage, restaurant worker portrayal, support of solutions, and opinion of the labor shortage all differed based on the political identity of the news source. This research supports previous findings that show there is …

Six Feet Apart: Relational Turbulence Theory And Coping With Covid-19 Within Long-Distance Relationships, Mia Waymack

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Among research that currently exists, no studies thus far combine elements of COVID-19, long-distance relationships, and Relational Turbulence Theory to explain how each of these elements impacts the others, if at all. Previous research does exist on each of these elements individually, although research regarding the long-term effects of COVID-19 on relationships is minimal considering the pandemic is ongoing. Long-distance relationships have been studied using Relational Turbulence Theory in previous studies within military relationships but have not been studied in connection with either COVID-19 or among college students. This study was conducted by way of qualitative, one-on-one interviews to determine …

Examining Motivation In Turbulent Times: A Self-Determination Theory Replication, Jessalyn I. Vallade, Renee Kaufmann, T. Kody Frey

Basic Communication Course Annual

The purpose of this study was to replicate and extend previous work (Chiu, 2021a, 2021b; Vallade et al., 2020) by applying self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985) to student motivation and engagement in the basic communication course during the shift to online learning in the initial onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Results indicated that students were most often motivated and engaged through instructor communication and behavior that met their need for relatedness, with a particular emphasis on instructor presence. Theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed within the context of the basic communication course.

Exploring Introductory Communication Course Administrators' Relationship Management During Covid-19, Ashley N. Aragón, Drew T. Ashby-King

Basic Communication Course Annual

The COVID-19 pandemic rapidly changed the context of higher education during the Spring 2020 semester. As the virus began to spread across the United States, colleges and universities canceled in-person classes and activities, closed campus, and moved all operations online. Within the communication discipline, introductory communication course (ICC) administrators and instructors were not only dealing with these challenges, but they were also navigating the transition of large multi-section, often standardized, courses online at large institutions. This research project used semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 18 ICC administrators from institutions located in 14 states across the Midwest, mid-Atlantic, Southeastern, and West Coast …

Improving Networking Supports For Women In The Workplace, Karen E. Pennesi, Javier Alvarez Vandeputte, Zsofia Agoston, Rawand Amsdr

Anthropology Publications

This report describes findings from research on networking activities and strategies among women in executive and leadership positions in Canadian organizations. The project was carried out by graduate student researchers in collaboration with the Women's Executive Network. Networking is defined as the creation and maintenance of a community of diverse interests, through in-person and online engagements, that can be mobilized for the benefit of oneself or other members of one’s network. We found that the shift to primarily online networking activities due to COVID-19 removed some existing barriers related to age, gender and location, while introducing others related to family …

Toward A New Community Of Care: Best Practices For Educators And Administrators During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Cody M. Clemens, Tomeka M. Robinson

Journal of Communication Pedagogy

The onset of COVID-19 left people feeling unsettled, confused, and afraid of what tomorrow may hold. As university professors specializing in health communication, we too were left with these same feelings. As health communication scholars, we focus on issues surrounding illness, risk, crisis, care, health inequities, and wellness. COVID-19 is a health crisis, yes, but it has also changed the way we operate not only in higher education but in daily life. We begin this essay with an overview of COVID-19 and its impact on students, educators, and administrators. Then, we suggest four best practices to foster a community of …

It Is. It Isn't. It Is., Chad Kuyper

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

This piece was written in late July 2020. Stay-at-home orders had been lifted a couple months prior in Minnesota, but both the state and the country were seeing a steep rise in COVID-19 infections. No viable vaccine was on the horizon.

I wanted to play with chronology in this piece. Spending fourteen months inside the same set of walls makes both time – and memory – slippery. Hard to wrestle into a recognizable shape. So the events of these two days are told in a chronological jumble that more closely resembles how I recall events of the last year. And …

A Qualitative Examination Of The Agency Of Women In Their 30s And 40s Who Use Dating Applications, Tera Buerkle

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

The use of dating applications (apps) to find romantic and sexual partners is widespread across age groups, however, there is a paucity of research on dating apps with those in middle adulthood. Sexual script theory suggests that women’s agency (i.e. the ability to act in one’s own best interest) may be impacted by expectations from an inherently sexualized context, such as dating apps. Feminist theory contends that women’s agency is complicated by gender socialization due to the imbalance of power in society that greatly favors men. In this study seventeen women aged 30 to 49 completed in-depth semi-structured interviews, and …

Together Apart

Conversations

Social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic has added another layer of stress to our lives. Associate Professor Tim Cole, who focuses his teaching and research career on relational communication, offers suggestion of actions people can take to help alleviate the stress of social isolation.

Teleboard: The Move To A Virtual Family Advisory Board, Sheryl Chadwick, Deejo Miller, Kathryn Taff, Amanda Montalbano

Patient Experience Journal

Restrictions on in-person meetings were going to hamper the ability for the well-established Family Advisory Board (FAB) for our pediatric hospital to continue meeting unless a virtual meeting platform was introduced. The FAB was moved to a virtual platform for the April and May 2020 meetings. Attendance rates from family members and staff were measured and compared to the previous 14 in-person meetings. Contributions during the virtual meetings from each attendee type were recorded to analyze engagement during virtual meetings. There was no statistical difference in average attendance for virtual compared to in-person meetings, 75% versus 64.3% for family members …

Beyond Platitudes: A Nurse’S Journey Of Self-Reflection And Vulnerability, Monica Friesen

Patient Experience Journal

The efforts taking place in healthcare organizations and communities globally should represent what is best in humanity, perhaps even more so in this unprecedented time of COVID-19. This short personal narrative is the acknowledgement that “best” needs to start with “me” and my story of self-reflection and journey of vulnerability.

Experience Framework

This article is associated with the Staff & Provider Engagement lens of The Beryl Institute Experience Framework. (http://bit.ly/ExperienceFramework)

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Social Distancing: The New Professional Civility, Benjamin Hunt

Graduate Research

As a naturalistic paradigm dictated by dialectal practices, culture must be understood in relation to a time and place in order to make ethical sense of society. Similarly, culture cannot be appropriately measured and studied without a reference to prior historical and geographical contexts. Naturalism is a dialectic that manifests as a type of evolution within our society. This cultural phenomenon allows human beings to reflect on those constructs through empirical means in order to understand the world, and to best prepare a society for how to move forward. The actions of the United States Government in regard to social …