Digital Commons Network^™

Covid-19 & University Stakeholders: A Faculty Perspective, Torie Fowler

Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to investigate faculty member perceptions of job satisfaction, response efficacy, organizational communication efforts, along with organizational trust and goodwill in relation to the COVID-19 crisis. A cross-sectional survey was conducted, using faculty members employed at their institution of higher education during the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 academic years. A total of 285 responses were analyzed.

Results of this study suggest faculty member perceptions of job satisfaction and response efficacy were significant in predicting perceptions of trust and goodwill. The most significant predictor of organizational trust and goodwill was perceptions of organizational communication efforts. Also, this …

The Cowl - V. 86 N. 10 - Dec 9, 2021

The Cowl

The Cowl - student newspaper of Providence College. Vol. 86 No. 10 - December 9, 2021. 40 pages.

Contextualizing Motivating Language To Corporate Social Responsibility (Csr): How Leader Motivating Language Affects Employees’ Csr Engagement And Employee–Organization Relationships, Yafei Zhang, Chuqing Dong, Andrea Mm Weare, Song Harris Ao

Communication Faculty Publications

Drawing on motivating language theory (MLT), this paper aims to demonstrate the effects of strategic leader speech in the context of internal corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication. Specifically, the study (1) examines how leader motivating language strategies used in CSR communication influence employees’ CSR engagement and employee–organization relationships (EORs) and (2) identifies the mediator explaining the underlying psychological mechanism of the effects. Structural equation modeling was performed on a sample of 406 participants who are full-time and part-time employees in the U.S. The results showed that leader motivating language was positively associated with employees’ CSR engagement and EOR quality. Such …

Spartan Daily, December 2, 2021, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2021

Volume 157, Issue 43

Including A Chaplain And Culturally Sensitive Notary In End-Of-Life And Earlier Difficult Healthcare Issues, John Stonestreet

Journal of Health Ethics

Would patients and families benefit from a Doctor Body Cam? Linked from www.DoctorBodyCam.com, this article explores innovations providing accountability for ethical communication surrounding major healthcare decisions. One of the greatest challenges physicians face is living up to their own ideals, let alone others’ expectations, for high-stakes doctor-patient/family communication, especially at the end of life. From emotional strains to time limitations, a multiplicity of factors obfuscates the pursuit of excellence in this vital endeavor. Evidence suggests that, like nearly every other sector of healthcare and society, African American patients and families are most likely to get the short end of the …

Supporting Online Doctoral Student Socialization Through Talk About Writing: A Case Study Of The Short Life Of A Graduate Writing Center, Maureen J. Barney

Faculty & Staff Publications

This dissertation project was a qualitative case study of one writing center for online graduate students, the Graduate Writing Center at Concordia University–Portland. This study focused on synchronous interactions between peer writing consultants and online doctoral students to determine if the synchronous writing support sessions were a space where online doctoral students experienced affective support and socialization experiences. In this research, I analyzed four document sets: seven transcripts of synchronous sessions conducted via Zoom, interviews with three writing consultants and six online doctoral students, anonymous responses to appointment feedback surveys, and my fieldnotes.

Studying Users Interactions And Behavior In Social Media Using Natural Language Processing, Sultan Alshamrani

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Social media platforms have been growing at a rapid pace, attracting users' engagement with the online content due to their convenience facilitated by many useful features. Such platforms provide users with interactive options such as likes, dislikes as well as a way of expressing their opinions in the form of text (i.e., comments). As more people engage in different social media platforms, such platforms will increase in both size and importance. This growth in social media data is becoming a vital new area for scholars and researchers to explore this new form of communication. The huge data from social media …

How “Interested” Criticism Fueled The Formulation Of Nineteen Eighty-Four’S Cultural Afterlife, John Cameron Bosch

All Theses

George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four carries a “cultural afterlife” as a result of “interested” criticism, which has a set political/practical barometer or motive. While everyone agrees that the novel presents a frightening dystopia, many also consider it a prophetic piece that illuminates the possible corruption of executive power of a nation thanks to this cultural afterlife; the modern and popular term “Orwellian” resulted from these sorts of analyses and have only escalated in the years since its inception. As a result, within the past decade, multiple scholars, analysts, and journalists have referenced Orwell’s novel as a factual representation of this executive …

The Future Is Full Of Monsters: Queer Survival One Click At A Twine, 'Aolani N. Robinson

All HCAS Student Capstones, Theses, and Dissertations

Spurred by a desire to explore queer rhetoric through interactive forms of media, this project analyzed the game-making program Twine to uncover how independent queer creators use the tool to explore queer survival against time, capitalism, and constrained identities. A more accessible platform than other game-making tools, Twine’s unique interactivity puts the ability to make interactive games and stories into the hands of indie marginalized creators who are often overlooked in both mainstream gaming and queer rhetorics (Anthropy, 2012). Thus, this thesis contributes to queer rhetoric, game studies, and trans rhetorics by exploring the strategies indie Twine creators use in …

Using Expectation Violation Theory To Evaluate Dialectal Bias In Courtroom Contexts, Christina Joseph

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

There is much evidence to indicate the role of speaker accent expectations and its impacts on the subsequent rating of the speaker. Additionally, examples including the Central Park Five as well as Rachel Jeantel of the Trayvon Martin case indicate the impacts of this speaker rating particularly in the context of the courtroom. This necessitates the further evaluation of the impact of dialectal bias on speaker ratings especially in the context of a courtroom due to the severity of the impacts. Utilizing a 4x2 between subjects experimental design manipulating on the basis of both dialect and speaker expectation, this study …

The Game Of Life: How Playing Gamified Interactive Narratives Affects Career Planning In Cambodia, Lauren B. Frank, Paul Sparks, Sheila T. Murphy, Lizzie Goodfriend, Paul Falzone

Communication Faculty Publications and Presentations

To improve economic opportunity in Cambodia, we used social cognitive theory to develop gamified, interactive narratives using mobile phones. Participants guided their chosen character toward their “dream job” goal while encountering a series of barriers along the way. Participants (N = 1,625) were randomly assigned to one of four message frequency experimental conditions: a no-play control condition or playing the interactive narrative one, two, or five times. Compared with not playing the interactive narrative (control), those who played showed higher perceived self-efficacy, response efficacy, and behavioral intentions. Playing more times was associated with less attentional focus and enjoyment, but greater …

Bringing Instagram Posts Into Being: A Study Of Fyc Students' Self-Sponsored Posting Practices And Transfer Opportunities, Jessica Kester

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

Social media platforms have offered students—and all of us—more opportunities for self-sponsored writing. In response to calls from researchers to explore students' 21st-century writing practices and their relevance to college writing instruction, this dissertation articulated and applied a feminist teacher research methodology and a mixed-methods research design to explore first-year composition (FYC) students' self-sponsored writing practices, attitudes, and transfer opportunities on a popular, albeit under-examined, social media application: Instagram. This study found that students have developed elaborate, rhetorical, multimodal composing processes that include planning, drafting, evaluating, selecting, and styling images as well as planning, drafting/revising, and styling captions. Additionally, though …

The Influences Of Medicaid On Mental Health Practitioners, Matthew Mohan

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Medicaid is the largest publicly funded health insurance program which influences the mental health practitioners’ treatment of low income individuals (Altman & Frist, 2015; Rowland et al., 2003). To understand how Medicaid influences mental health practitioners, this study utilizes institutional theory by using the five propositions from Lammers and Barbour (2006) to analyze how Medicaid’s communicative practices influence mental health practitioners who treat those who are in poverty. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 mental healthcare practitioners who accepted Medicaid: two psychologists, five social workers, one psychiatrist, and two psychiatric nurse practitioners. The results demonstrate how mental health practitioners respond …

Covid-19 Masks In Terms Of Functional, Expressive, And Aesthetic Consumer Needs, Lily Highley

Apparel Merchandising and Product Development Undergraduate Honors Theses

The purpose of this study was to assess consumers' perspectives of COVID-19 masks under the functional, expressive, and aesthetic areas. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, masks have become an “accessory” to everyday life, and it was essential to research masks under these unique areas and explore consumer perceptions.

This study took place after background research on the topic and the FEA model. The study included a survey sent to Bumpers College students upon approval from the IRB. The data was analyzed and interpreted specifically in the FEA areas and can be useful to better understand the students at the University …

Nonprofit Narratives: How Two Organizations Use Social Media And Rhetorical Appeals To Address Issues Of Sexual And Domestic Violence, Samuel Hiester

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Though often seen as a panacea for organizational objectives, nonprofits must be judicious in deploying social media, particularly due to resource limitations. Nonprofits deploy many types and styles of digital texts, including social media. Classical rhetorical appeals can be effective means for achieving positive impact in that context. When used correctly, these ‘digital texts’ can be leveraged for maximum engagement with audiences. This study examines both a large, national organization – the National Sexual Violence Resource Center – and a small, regional one – Branch House Family Justice Center – for not only what sort of digital texts are utilized, …

Integration Of Blockchain Technology Into Automobiles To Prevent And Study The Causes Of Accidents, John Kim

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Automobile collisions occur daily. We now live in an information-driven world, one where technology is quickly evolving. Blockchain technology can change the automotive industry, the safety of the motoring public and its surrounding environment by incorporating this vast array of information. It can place safety and efficiency at the forefront to pedestrians, public establishments, and provide public agencies with pertinent information securely and efficiently. Other industries where Blockchain technology has been effective in are as follows: supply chain management, logistics, and banking. This paper reviews some statistical information regarding automobile collisions, Blockchain technology, Smart Contracts, Smart Cities; assesses the feasibility …

Welcoming Families With Children To Csusb: Making An Intergenerational Difference, Leslie Leach

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Coming back to school after a gap in your education can be a daunting task. For students with children (SWC), the undertaking has different challenges than their classmates. Providing resources geared towards their success plays a significant role in the student's ability to complete their education. It also allows the SWC to feel a sense of belonging within their institution of higher learning. This project analyzes other California State Universities' family housing programs to advocate a similar program at California State University, San Bernardino. Using the Communication Theory of Identity (CTI) and Organizational Identity (OI), I can illustrate how resources …

Spartan Daily, December 1, 2021, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily, 2021

Volume 157, Issue 42

Executive Tweets, Richard M.Crowley, Wenli Huang, Hai Lu

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

We explore the tweeting behavior of S&P 1500 firms’ executives (CEOs and CFOs) and its market consequences during the period of 2011 to 2018. We document that executives tweet financial information related to their firms and time these tweets to firms’ major events, and that investors respond to executive tweets in addition to firm tweets. Using the latest machine learning techniques, we develop an innovative construct measuring the content similarity between executive tweets and firm tweets. We use this measure to disentangle whether the market reaction comes from new information or trust. We show evidence consistent with the view that …

Teaching Healthy Communication Skills For College Students With Disabilities, Molly Mcshane

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

For college students with disabilities, interpersonal communication can be difficult. There have not been sufficient supportive services for college students with disabilities when it comes to learning communication skills in a college environment. Without effective communication skills, college students with disabilities may face social barriers and fewer chances for personal connections, which may lead to social isolation. In order to address this issue, I planned to create a 2-hour lesson for members of the Student Awareness for Disability Empowerment club (S.A.D.E) at California State University, Monterey Bay.

Further The Field: Revamping Collegiate Athletic Digital Marketing Efforts, Ryan Sells

Theses

This paper closely analyzes digital marketing strategies and athletic communications campaigns in a more technologically and content-driven era. Recent scholarly research has indicated the shift from traditional marketing methods to more current applications. This thesis paper helps to guide potential sports marketing or communications professionals in the everchanging industry of collegiate athletics. Successful campaigns have been closely analyzed and serve as an indicator of potential future marketing plans that can be put in action. Scholarly articles were strong components in the research process and helped to explain the impact of two-way communication and personalization content ideas. To implement successful digital …

Analyzing The Gender Gap In Field Positions On Commercial Construction Projects, Adriana L. Frazier

Construction Management

The percentage of women working in the construction industry is on the rise. However, most women working in the construction industry often fill administrative roles, office positions, and project management roles rather than field positions such as tradeswomen, foremen, or superintendents. According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of 2020, women constitute 10.9 percent of the entire construction industry. Specifically, 86.7 percent of those women are in office positions with only 3.5 percent of women in trade positions. Those numbers signify that the construction industry is not benefitting from women in field positions. That is due to …

Robo-Ump: A Study Of The Prospective Impact Of Automated Strike Zone Use In Major League Baseball Games From The Perspective Of Broadcasters And Media, Bob Greene

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Theses

A qualitative analysis of the Major League Baseball industry’s perspective on the use of technology within the game, specifically the incorporation of an automated strike zone in place of traditional umpires, through targeted survey results from current MLB broadcasters and journalists or media members. Evidence from the research suggests that though those who are in favor of umpires being replaced by technology within the game, at least in some fashion, there are concerns that the technology in place is currently ready to provide the type of experience desired for MLB play when it comes ruling on balls and strikes with …

Towards Characterizing Adversarial Opportunity And Behavior In Critical Infrastructure Network, Md Sharif Ullah

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The growth of information and communication technology is constantly revolutionizing various domains, e.g., energy utility systems, healthcare, the internet of things, etc. This inception of widespread cyber technology enables reliability and first operability of the system, yet simultaneously imposed a risk of significant impact due to disruption of safe and secure operation. The attack surface is expanding, creating a cyber exposure gap which indicates a higher threat landscape and increased risk of compromise. Motivated by this increased threat exposure, this dissertation investigates the attack surface as a static and dynamic indicator of adversary propagation, seeking an efficient modeling paradigm to …

Memetic Rhetorical Theory: An Analytic Model For The Spread Of Information Online, Carleigh J. Davis

English and Technical Communication Faculty Research & Creative Works

Modern discourse is often characterized by such extreme polarization that participants operate from entirely different sets of facts. These alternative facts represent a new line of inquiry for rhetoricians, who must determine how false facts gain credibility. This article outlines Memetic Rhetorical Theory (MRT), a model for understanding how information evolves to become credible in a given environment.

The Role Of Sex: An Analysis Of U.S. Attitudes Toward Climate Change, Chloe Riggs

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study analyzes the intersection of sex, environmental risk perception of climate change, and feminism. More specifically, with a sample size of 8,280 respondents from the American National Election Studies (ANES) 2020 Times Series Study, this research examines the relationship between pro-environmental attitudes and sympathy for feminism, controlling for sex, as well as if a measure of sympathy for feminism influences pro-environmental attitudes, controlling for demographic (age, education, race, sex, and income) and political preference (political ideology and party affiliation) variables. Previous literature strongly supports a sex gap in risk perception, a pattern known as the White Male Effect (WME) …

News Media Trust And Mistrust During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Kaitlyn Seiter

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

With the uncertainty and growing information surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, news media consumption has increased drastically compared to pre-pandemic consumption. At the start of the pandemic, 94% of Americans reported closely following COVID-19 news, with more than half of Americans spending more than two hours consuming COVID-19 news everyday (SSRS, 2020). With the news media serving as a critical source of information through this public health crisis, the public’s reactions, behaviors, and attitudes to the pandemic stem from the level of trust they have in the news media to share COVID-19 information. Because of this, this study examines trust in …

Does Whispering Improve Children’S Memory? Comparing Auditory Vigilance And Salience Hypotheses, Christina M. Barnes

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Oral communication is one of the primary tools children use to learn new information and speech registers can deliver additional meaning to the words someone uses. Cirillo’s (2004) vigilance hypothesis states “Whispering can affect the psychobiological state of recipients, and in particular raise their auditory vigilance” (Cirillo, 2004, p. 76). Building on this theory, the current study investigates the role of whispering and children’s memory by examining a whispering vigilance, whispering salience which focused on the changes between normal and whisper registers, and combined vigilance and salience hypotheses to determine if whispering contributes to the recall of information. Using video …

In The Line Of Duty - A Documentary Film About Davis Duty And His Seeing Eye Dog, Paulina Sobczak

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

“In the Line of Duty” is a documentary film about Jeff Davis Duty, a man from a small town in Arkansas, who lost his sight at the age of five. He is the oldest Seeing Eye dog user in the world. At the age of 22, he was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship at the London School of Economics in England, as the first Fulbright Scholar with disability. Duty achieved great success in his career as a lawyer, leading a fulfilling and enjoyable life. The documentary film’s storytelling focuses on Duty’s life from his childhood to current times and presents all …

A Uniquely Jesuit Approach To Engagement Through Social Media, Karl F. Kozlowski, Shawn M. O'Rourke

Jesuit Higher Education: A Journal

Social media is a relevant and powerful instrument of communication in higher education, especially in the college age population. The use of social media in and out of the classroom on the college campus allows faculty to meet students where they are. Content shared by faculty on social media is a means to continue to educate our students and alumni outside of the classroom and build relationships regardless of geographic boundaries. Through the use of social media platforms, we can also continue to relay and demonstrate our Jesuit ideals. This engagement can help build a relationship between faculty and students …