Communication Commons^™

Heated Discussion: Strategies For Communicating Climate Change In A Polarized Era, Jessica Merzdorf, Linda J. Pfeiffer, Beth Forbes

Journal of Applied Communications

The 2018 report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warns that Earth’s temperatures may soon reach a tipping point that threatens humanity’s future. Scientists from many disciplines agree that anthropogenic climate change is a serious problem yet many Americans remain skeptical of the existence, causes, and/or severity of climate change. In this article, we review recent research on climate change communication focusing on audience variables and messaging strategies with the goal of providing communication practitioners research-based recommendations for climate change message design. Factors that influence audience acceptance and understanding of climate science include: demographic variables (such ...

Interactive Infographics' Effect On Elaboration In Agricultural Communication, Erin Burnett, Jessica Holt, Abigail Borron, Bartosz Wojdynski

Journal of Applied Communications

In public health, politics, and advertising, interactive content spurred increased elaboration from audiences that were otherwise least likely to engage with a message. This study sought to examine interactivity as an agricultural communication strategy through the lens of the Elaboration Likelihood Model. Respondents were randomly assigned a static or interactive data visualization concerning the production of peaches and blueberries in Georgia, then asked to list their thoughts in accordance with Petty and Cacioppo’s thought-listing measure. Respondents significantly exhibited higher elaboration with the interactive message as opposed to the static, extending the results of past research in other communication realms ...

A Comparative Content Analysis Of News Stories And Press Releases During The 2015 Blue Bell Ice Cream Recall, Brandyl Brooks Calley, Courtney Meyers, Courtney Gibson, Erica Irlbeck

Journal of Applied Communications

In 2015, Blue Bell Creameries had its first recall in the company’s history. Blue Bell issued a voluntary recall of all of its ice cream products after Listeria was detected and was linked to 10 illnesses that resulted in three deaths. With the theoretical framework of framing and Situational Crisis Communication Theory, the purpose of this study was to explore how this recall was presented in company press releases and news media coverage to determine what crisis communication strategies Blue Bell implemented and how the media presented that information. This study was a content analysis of 23 press releases ...

Communication Channel Preferences: A Descriptive Audience Segmentation Evaluation, Kevan W. Lamm, Abigail Borron, Jessica Holt, Alexa J. Lamm

Journal of Applied Communications

For over 70 years the use of opinion leaders in a two-step communication process has been employed and validated. However, despite the accepted importance of communicating with opinion leaders as a means to cascade information to opinion leaders’ networks of influence there have been few empirical studies specifically examining agricultural and natural resource opinion leader communication channel preferences, particularly from an audience segmentation perspective. The results reported in the study capitalize on previous research data examined from a unique perspective. Specifically, communication channel preferences were analyzed according to opinion leader self-reported demographic categories serving as audience segments. Associations between sex ...

Does Good Design Matter In The Seedstock Advertising Business? Effects Of Graphic Design In Beef Seedstock Ads On Cattle Producers’ Trust And Credibility, Morgan L. Marley, Katie M. Abrams, Daniela Castillo

Journal of Applied Communications

Designers are trained professionals who understand how to effectively visually communicate based on executing principles of design and an understanding of their audience. Within the beef seedstock industry, ad design varies widely in terms of technical effectiveness, but how do those differences affect potential customers? This study tested the effects of seedstock ad’s graphic design on the viewer’s trust and credibility among 561 Angus cattle producers. Our results show the graphic design of a beef seedstock ranch ad promoting an upcoming bull sale did not influence producers’ perceptions of trust and credibility. However, results did reveal better designed ...

Patient And Provider Perspectives On Sexual History Taking During Gynecological Care: A Pilot Study In An Academic Family Medical Setting In New York City, Ashley M. Chastain

Dissertations and Theses

Background: In the United States (US), women face a number of serious issues concerning sexual health. Current surveillance data indicates that overall rates of bacterial sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are increasing rapidly. While rates of new diagnoses have decreased, the risks of acquiring HIV are still relatively high for some females, specifically Black/African-American women. In New York City (NYC), where this dissertation research was conducted, similar HIV/STI rates exist among females of reproductive age (aged 15-44). Among women in the US, there are also high estimated rates of other sexual health problems, such as sexual anxiety, sexual dysfunction ...

Infinity Wars: Post 9/11 Superhero Films And American Empire, Peter J. Bruno

All Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

In the last two decades, superhero films have accounted for some of the most popular and financially lucrative films of all time. This thesis analyzes some of the aesthetic and ideological dimensions of various superhero films following their post 9/11 boom. Beginning with America’s response to the events of 9/11 and a subsequent retreat into a Manichean world of good versus evil, I introduce the term “empirical reality” in order to account for the ways daily American life is shielded from the worst effects of U.S. foreign policy. On screen this manifests by perpetuating the myth ...

Guide To The University Relations Records, University Of San Diego University Relations

University Records

The University of San Diego University Relations records document the functions of the University Relations department and its offices. These functions include publication design, editing, and final products; planning for activities and events; surveys and research on community relations; and fundraising activities.

Finding Aids are tools used to aid research by describing the materials in a collection. University Records Finding Aids include historical and/or biographical information along with a description of the collection and a folder listing of the content.

To view this collection please email University Archives and Special Collections staff at spcoll@sandiego.edu.

Fully Immersed, Fully Present: Examining The User Experience Through The Multimodal Presence Scale And Virtual Reality Gaming Variables, Andre Adame

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Over the past few years, video games have served as a catalyst for virtual reality (VR) technology to become more accessible to the average consumer, resulting in an increased interest in VR’s potential applications across several disciplines. To best capitalize on these applications, however, researchers require a thorough understanding of the user’s experience in virtual environments. And while many studies on VR experiences tend to focus on presence, video games offer another angle of approach: immersion. This study uses both qualitative and quantitative methods to examine the relationships between the VR experience of presence and the gaming experience ...

To Be Or Not To Be: An Exploratory Study Of Intercultural Differences In Mexican American And Caucasian American Romantic Relationships, Jessica Helen Vierra

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Intercultural romantic relationships have increasingly become more common in the United States between Mexican American and Caucasian American males and females. Predominantly, this study investigates how Mexican Americans and Caucasian Americans in intercultural romantic relationships visualize conflict in their relationship. The research question: What are the intercultural communication differences in romantic relationships between Mexican Americans and Caucasian Americans? Research findings support cultural differences being related to power, cultural gender differences, language barriers, child care, and religion. Although there is a vast amount of research focused on intercultural relationships, it seems there are few studies that have investigated intercultural communication differences ...

Connecting Theory And Practice, Hannah Gallant

Lake Union Herald

No abstract provided.

Elected To Serve, Gillian Panigot

Lake Union Herald

No abstract provided.

Afro-Cuba Transnational: Recordings And The Mediation Of Afro-Cuban Traditional Music, Johnny Frias

All Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

This dissertation analyzes the way audio and video recordings and the internet have impacted, shaped, and helped create a transnational Afro-Cuban music scene. My focus will be on the most popular and widely-recorded genres of Afro-Cuban music—rumba and the religious repertoire of Santería, particularly batá drumming—both of which I also perform regularly with other Cuban musicians in Miami. Incorporating interviews, online ethnographic research, and participant-observation as a musician, my research has three main arguments.

First, recordings of Afro-Cuban music helped create a transnational Afro-Cuban music scene by increasing the popularity of these traditions outside of Cuba, including their ...

Online Courtship: Interpersonal Interactions Across Borders, James Johnson

James Johnson

No abstract provided.

Dating_Missrepresentation.Com: Black Women’S Lived Love-Hate Relationship With Online Dating, James Johnson

James Johnson

No abstract provided.

Prestigious Ohioana Grant Awarded To Cedarville Alumnus, Mark D. Weinstein

News Releases

Cedarville University 2017 alumnus David Grandouiller has been named the Ohioana Walter Rumsey Marvin Grant winner for 2019. The $1,000 grant is awarded by the Ohioana Library Association every year to an Ohio prose writer under the age of 30 who has not published a book.

Spartan Daily, August 29, 2019, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2019

Volume 153, Issue 4

Innovative Facemask Clip Reduces Football Collision Impact, Mark D. Weinstein

News Releases

Big hits are a well-known facet of football, but two dreamers tinkering in a garage are on the verge of making a game-changing impact on one of America’s favorite sports.

Rich Williams, a 2011 alumnus of Cedarville University, and his friend and business partner, Justin Summerville, have created the S.A.F.E. (Shock Absorbing Football Equipment) Clip, which attaches the facemask to a football helmet in a revolutionary way.

Volume 116 Issue 1, Southwestern Oklahoma State University

The Southwestern

No abstract provided.

Spartan Daily, August 28, 2019, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2019

Volume 153, Issue 3