Mass Communication Commons^™

The Future Of Radio, Samuel Murray

Senior Honors Projects

Since its inception and rise to popularity among major forms of mass media communication, radio has been thought to be the next technology to become obsolete. When television came out people thought radio was going to die out, but alas radio and television coexist to this day. When music videos, and eventually channels like MTV came out, radio was put into jeopardy as music would become more and more visual and the need for the radio would cease. This was not the case. When satellite channels came into being and started getting big name celebrities like Howard Stern to broadcast …

A True Fairytale “Happily Ever After”: An In-Depth Communication Analysis, Courtney E. Dempsey

Senior Honors Projects

Walter Fischer’s Narrative Paradigm states that people are natural born storytellers, they will convey thoughts and feelings through creating a story. These stories must adhere to two principles, fidelity and coherence. While coherence addresses the structure of the narrative, if this story has any resemblance to an archetype, fidelity deals with the story’s rationality, does it make sense? Fischer’s narrative can be applied across many different disciplines.

For this particular analysis I chose to apply Fischer’s Narrative Paradigm to different bridal narratives. While being a bride is an archetype itself, within that narrative there are distinct themed narratives that have …

Old Media Vs. New Media: Characterizations Of Free Speech During Times Of War, Jamie A. Mercurio

Senior Honors Projects

Old Media vs. New Media: Characterizations of Free Speech During Times of War

Jamie Mercurio

Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Ian Reyes, Communication Studies

If citizens want their voices to be heard, they must know how to make them be heard. This project will outline and discuss several situations throughout recent history in which citizens with significant statements to make managed to catch the eye of the mass media and practically become household names. Each of the cases plays upon American First Amendment rights against a backdrop of two noteworthy time periods in American history: the Vietnam War era (specifically the late …

System Analysis Of The Uri Hurricane Preparedness Plan, Rebecca Harlow

Senior Honors Projects

If a hurricane were to hit URI in the upcoming fall semester what would happen? This project is a thorough evaluation of the current URI plan, how it works, how it doesn’t and who has the answers. The project is framed from an information systems perspective. The analysis of the system is based on where vital information is stored, how it is communicated when needed and who is involved. To find the answers to these questions, in depth interviews were conducted with key emergency personnel. Among them are URI’s Director of Safety and Risk, J Kevin Culley, Major Baker of …

Communicating With Students Via E-Mail: Creating No Excuse For “There’S Nothing To Do On Campus”, Jessica Rusack

Senior Honors Projects

In the past decade, technology has transformed how society communicates. From the internet to cell phones to iPods and video games, interactive communication has become the norm. At the University of Rhode Island, students adapt quickly to the constantly changing technology. Yet student organizations and the University as a whole have not adapted as quickly to such changes. This has led to an uninformed and uninterested student body when it comes to programming and events on campus. As students instant message on their laptops and text message on their cell phones (simultaneously, of course), organizations, clubs and athletics struggle to …