Digital Commons Network^™

Communicating Colorectal Cancer Risk To Average Risk Adults: Examining The Impact On Risk Perceptions And Health Behavior Intentions, Carrie A. Miller

Theses and Dissertations

Background. CRC risk can be reduced though lifestyle modification and regular screenings. Providing CRC risk feedback that promotes preventive behaviors to those at average risk has the potential to significantly reduce CRC morbidity and mortality.

Purpose. The purpose of this dissertation was to examine the impact of CRC risk assessment feedback among adults aged 50-75 with no personal or family history of the disease. The specific aims were to: (1a) test personalized (vs. generic) risk assessment feedback on individuals’ risk perceptions and intentions to engage in three risk-reducing behaviors (e.g., physical activity, diet, and screening); (1b) determine if the provision …

Consuming Digital Debris In The Plasticene, Stephen R. Parks

Theses and Dissertations

Claims of customization and control by socio-technical industries are altering the role of consumer and producer. These narratives are often misleading attempts to engage consumers with new forms of technology. By addressing capitalist intent, material, and the reproduction limits of 3-D printed objects’, I observe the aspirational promise of becoming a producer of my own belongings through new networks of production. I am interested in gaining a better understanding of the data consumed that perpetuates hyper-consumptive tendencies for new technological apparatuses. My role as a designer focuses on the resolution of not only the surface of the object through 3-D …

Escapism: Indulging In Daydreams, Tanruk Pairoj-Boriboon

Theses and Dissertations

A fantasy world, that exists only in our minds, provides us a place where we can mentally escape from everyday reality. Escapism, such as indulging in daydreams, allows us to experience comfort and makes us feel safe, eliminating feelings of insecurity and vulnerability.

This study aims to use playfulness and reverie as a tool to access and confront mental discomforts. Transforming disturbing situations into an experience of reverie; a correction of unsatisfying reality, by converting a solid component of the real world into a desirable infinite form will provide alternative viewpoints.

Throughout my work, this method has been employed to …

“How Interactivity Can Build Transparency: What Tech Can Teach Us About Rebuilding Media Trust, Nik Usher

Communication: Faculty Scholarship

edited volume abstract:

The election of Donald Trump and the great disruption in the news and social media.

Donald Trump's election as the 45th President of the United States came as something of a surprise—to many analysts, journalists, and voters. The New York Times's The Upshot gave Hillary Clinton an 85 percent chance of winning the White House even as the returns began to come in. What happened? And what role did the news and social media play in the election? In Trump and the Media, journalism and technology experts grapple with these questions in a series of …

Deliberate Communication With Pictures: A Science Fiction?, Stuart Medley

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

There are assumptions about images and how these compare with words, in terms of what is afforded us in communicating with each other. These assumptions have been limited by religion and economic imperatives in the past, and by education systems that grew out of those vested interests. One way to push past these assumptions might be to imagine a world without writing. Some science fiction examples are examined for their feasibility. In addition, the reader is reminded of humanity’s pre-writing past, and that pictures that survived from then are viewed through our present contextual lenses as containing a child-like view …

Caught In The Frame: A Critical Analysis Of Australian Media Representations Of The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict 2014–2015, Mayyada Mhanna

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

Despite the many current conflicts in the Middle East and the world, the Israeli- Palestinian conflict is still one of the most significant conflicts of the modern era. The reasons for this include the history and violence of this conflict and the lack of practical solutions for it. The significance of this conflict is reflected in its prevalence in many disciplines, such as political science and media studies. Related literature shows that Australian media coverage of this conflict has not been investigated thoroughly. Hence, this study attempts to bridge this gap in literature, aiming to identify how Australian media portray …

Columbia Chronicle (12/11/2017), Columbia College Chicago

Columbia Chronicle (student newspaper)

Student newspaper from December 11, 2017 entitled The Columbia Chronicle. This issue is 48 pages and is listed as Volume 53, Issue 15. Cover story: "Johnson Publishing Building sold and saved". Editor-in-Chief: Zoe Eitel

The New Sexy: A Rhetorical Analysis Of Sherlock, Krystal A. Fogle, Toni Maisano

Conversations: A Graduate Student Journal of the Humanities, Social Sciences, and Theology

In recent history, there have been movements advocating for conversation and change regarding traditional gender roles. As a central part of culture, British television has not escaped this scrutiny. BBC's crime drama Sherlock directed by Steven Moffat has received both critical acclaim and attention from the general public for its portrayal of women. In this essay, we venture into this conversation, and explore portrayals of existing gender roles and how the writers of the show choose to dissent with the audience's expectations of gender portrayal. We examine connections between past and present portrayals of the classic character, Sherlock Holmes, and …

Rebranding Visual Feedback As A Product-Making The Unspeakable Visible, Nicolette Wever

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

PROJECT ABSTRACT

Rebranding Visual Feedback as a Product

Why do visuals work and why do they have such impact on the process of change? Because visuals connect directly with feelings, they have the power to improve the life of others. They have the power to improve and enrich communication. They have the power to handle information overload and they have the power to bridge cultural differences. ‘Images speak louder than words’ because images are connected with emotions in our long term memory. When ten different persons look at one single image, they see ten different things. Like a mirror, the …

A Strategic Communication Plan For The Florida Tech Wellness Committee, Anushka Karina Boyd

Theses and Dissertations

With rising healthcare costs, it is critical for corporate wellness to be prevalent in the workplace in order to assist employees and their family members to make healthy lifestyle choices. The materials provided in the following design project serve as a guide for the Florida Institute of Technology Wellness Committee in the form of a strategic communication plan. For the Wellness Committee to succeed and have a more profound presence on campus, missions, goals, and objectives must be set in place. In addition, to efficiently make use of their time, the Office of Human Resources staff members should set tasks …

Newsroom Convergence Of Print And Online Media: A Study Of The Gulf News And Alittihad In The Uae, Ahmed Saddiq Mohamed Mansoori

Philosophy Dissertations

The media industry in the UAE, like elsewhere in the world, is experiencing significant changes due to the innovations brought by Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). Newsrooms are especially the center of such changes, forcing media owners and managers to recognize that convergence of print and online media is inevitable to sustain their newspapers. This research intends to develop an assessment method to determine how newspapers are performing in a convergent media environment. To investigate the three types of newsroom convergence levels (coordination, cross-media, and full integration); the study develops an assessment model for the ten dimensions of newsroom convergence …

Looking Through Outdoor Advertising Images For Beauty In Argentina, Chile, Hungary, And Romania, Pamela K. Morris

School of Communication: Faculty Publications and Other Works

This investigation expands scholarship on beauty and cross-cultural communication through the unique perspective of outdoor advertising. With a content analysis method 1,700 portrayals of men and women in outdoor advertisements, from four different cultures, including Argentina, Chile, Hungary, and Romania, were examined through a framework of advertising and consumer culture, globalization, and theories of beauty. The findings reveal differences across cultures and that beauty ideals are culture specific. Implications are important for practitioners in marketing communications to better understand subtle cultural variations in order to develop effective promotional programs required in the globalized economy.

The American Pickers Demonstrates Communication Skills, Jeffrey Brand

Discourse: The Journal of the SCASD

This activity prepares students to identify persuasive communication practices in non-classroom environments and to view reality-based television programs as a learning platform for understanding communication theories and concepts. Using selected scenes or an entire episode from a popular reality-television program, American Pickers, students can observe how Mike and Frank establish a rapport with new customers, get to know them and their stories, negotiate sales, interact with each other as a team, and leave with a new relationship (client) and connection intact. The purpose of this exercise is to help students observe these initial contacts and relationships as they develop on …

Constructive Peer Evaluations: The Toilet Paper Stuck To My Shoe Lesson, Stephanie Kelly

Discourse: The Journal of the SCASD

Peer evaluation is a useful learning tool that provides students with a holistic view of their work. However, getting students to provide quality feedback to their peers can be a struggle. The purpose of this activity is to make students realize that constructive criticism, when given tactfully, is the only polite option so that they will share thorough, useful feedback throughout the semester.

“Symbols Are Important”: Nation-States And The Images On Our Money, John R. Katsion

Discourse: The Journal of the SCASD

Visual rhetoric has been an area of growing interest for those within the communication field, and this study aims to add to that body of work. One area within the study of visual rhetoric is the everyday, mundane images produced by nation-states, and more narrowly, the images on a nation’s currency. Traditionally, scholars who study images on currency have seen them through the lens of state-as-pedagogue—in other words, that the state is using that “sacred space” to teach their citizenry. Political theorist and scholar Jacques E.C. Hymans (2204, 2010) challenges this notion, and instead posits that nation-states try to connect …

The Guardian, Week Of September 11, 2017, Wright State Student Body

The Guardian Student Newspaper

News articles from The Guardian for the week of September 11, 2017. The Guardian, the official student-run newspaper for Wright State University. It has been published regularly since March of 1965.

The Specific Character Of News Literacy Teaching In Russia And The Dynamics Of The Media Literacy Level Of Russian Students, Svetlana Shomova

First Global News Literacy Conference

This paper provides a short comparative analysis of known News Literacy teaching programs and methods in the structure of universities in various countries. It will focus on topics that are specific to Russian higher education and which are especially significant to the study of news literacy deficits in Russia. Thus, in the course of News Literacy teaching the National Research University Higher School of Economics puts a special emphasis on the consideration of news in historical retrospective and the role of news content in media spaces; the risks and challenges of “news” as a type of text message; discussions about …

News Literacy Theoretical Background As A Tool To Understand Media Populism, Dorota Piontek, Agnieszka Filipiak

First Global News Literacy Conference

No abstract provided.

Customizing News Literacy Course In Different Class Settings, Huyen Nguyen

First Global News Literacy Conference

One challenge for the news literacy instructor/lecture/trainer is to tailor lessons to different class settings. Fortunately, I have had opportunities to design news literacy courses for different class sizes, from small groups to big classes, and for different time durations, from a 3-­‐session training course to 10-­‐ week and 15-­‐week courses, as well as for students of different cultures, from Vietnamese students to Chinese and American students.

In this paper, I primarily review my experience designing and teaching News Literacy courses for two 30-­‐ student classes at Ohio University and University of Social Sciences and Humanities. In addition, I share …

How Visual Communication Strategies, Brand Familiarity, And Personal Relevance Influence Instagram Users’ Responses To Brand Content, Lijie Zhou

Dissertations

This study comprehensively investigated the effects of visual themes, visual perspective, personal relevance, and brand familiarity on brand constructions (attitude-toward-brand, brand love, brand respect, and three dimensions of brand image) on Instagram. The study consists of two parts. In Study 1, the main and interaction effects of visual design elements on individuals’ visual attentions, brand recognition, and attitude toward brands were examined by using a 4 (visual theme: customer-centric, employee-centric, product-centric, and non-branded) × 2 (view perspective: first-person view vs. third-person view) between-subject eye-tracking test. In Study 2, a 4 (visual theme: customer-centric, employee-centric, non-brand, and product-centric) ×2 (brand familiarity: …

Walking The Line Between Reality And Fiction In Online Spaces: Understanding The Effects Of Narrative Transportation, Sarah Gretter, Aman Yadav, Benjamin Gleason

Journal of Media Literacy Education

Recent contentions about "fake news" and misinformation online has shed light on the critical need for media literacy at a global scale. Indeed, digital stories are one of the main forms of communication in the 21st century through blogs, videos-sharing websites, forums, or social networks. However, the line between facts and fiction can often become blurry in these online spaces, and being able to distinguish between reality and fantasy can have important consequences in the lives of young Internet users. Using contemporary examples from news stories, fanfiction, advertising, and radicalization, this article outlines the features, affordances, and real-life implications of …

Public Relations Strategies To Manage Collegiate Co-Curricular Programs, Sarah Szweda

Masters Essays

The purpose of this project was to illustrate how principles of communications management, specifically the concepts of branding, audience analysis, relationship building and strategic communication plans, should be utilized in institutions of higher learning to manage and promote involvement in collegiate co-curricular events. This study combines research from student engagement with communication concepts and serves to bridge the gap that exists between literature on student engagement and practical public relations strategies. A case study that analyzes one collegiate cocurricular in terms of those four core concepts of communications management, providing practical findings and suggestions for implementing those strategies at other …

A Multimodal Discourse Analysis Exploration Of A Crowdfunding Entrepreneurial Pitch., Victoria Doyle, Olivia Freeman, Brendan K. O`Rourke

Conference papers

This paper explores multimodal discourse analysis (Kress and Van Leeuwen, 2001) as a methodology to address the research question: How are environmentally conscious entrepreneurial ventures constituted in online investment crowd-funding pitches and the communications that surround them? While discourse may be realised in many different ways (Kress and Van Leeuwen, 2001 p.5, Bezemer and Jewit, 2010), multimodal discourse analysis focuses on analysing and describing a repertoire of meaning making resources which individuals use in various contexts (visual, gestural, written, actional etc.). Broadband internet and associated technologies mean that these crowdfunding pitches and many other genres tend to be much richer …

Can Big Whales Inspire Big Behaviors? A Study Of Environmental Communication, And Nature Immersion, Theresa Soley

Master's Theses (2009 -)

Direct contact with wild nature is becoming harder for people to access in present times, yet research suggests that experiencing nature is important to the formation of environmental values, which may lead to conservation behaviors. My thesis experiment theorizes that direct contact with nature has the ability to impact people's behavioral beliefs and intentions toward the environment, applying Icek Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and the New Ecological Paradigm Scale as measures. A questionnaire was administered post-whale watching trips in Juneau, Alaska to determine whether whales, direct experience with charismatic megafauna, could stimulate positive attitudes and behaviors toward recycling. …

The Rise Of The Listicle: Using Eye-Tracking And Signal Detection Theory To Measure This Growing Phenomenon, Jason Robert Freeman

Theses and Dissertations

As online technology continues to progress, the modes of communication through which content can be shared have exponentially grown. These include advances in navigational options for presenting information and news online. Though the listicle has been around for centuries, the internet has proliferated its growth, as content producers rely on its structure as a vehicle for sharing information. This research shows that in the case of listicles, format had no direct effect on recall, however, participants who had a greater interest in the content showed significantly higher levels of memory sensitivity. This critical finding suggests that news outlets and content …

From Print Propaganda To Meme Activism: The Evolution Of Graphic Communication And Its Effect On Socio-Political Climates And Methods Of Activism, Morgan Grace Gutierrez

Graphic Communication

This project will assess mediums of communication used to create and spread political propaganda, namely from print to digital. The development of graphic communication may provide interesting correlation of how values and ideas are visually represented in society and how the people have reacted to shifting politics. This project is inspired by the recent political climate in the United States, and the continuous impact the media has on the public throughout the many visual forms of communication. Inspiration is also drawn from the advancement of technology in the graphic communication industry. This allows for greater ease of access for the …

Modernizing A Podcast Media Organization Via Social And New Media Rebranding Methods, Randi A. Hair

Journalism

The following study and subsequent public relations campaign is intended to explore the difficulties, opportunities, caveats and all facets of transitioning a traditional travel media organization to new media. It unearths the pitfalls/barriers that naturally occur and aggregate over time when an organization or journalist (specifically “Journeys of Discovery with Tom Wilmer” in this scenario) has not adapted nor altered their practices for changing common practices in the media industries. In this campaign, journalist Thomas Wilmer is seeking to increase his podcast audience and digital presence.

The research conducted for this study is two-fold. Firstly, the research demonstrates best practices …

Iran Through Time: A Visual And Content Analysis Of Iranians On The Cover Of Time Magazine, Kianoosh Mousavi Niaraki

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This study analyzed media bias in the coverage of Iran by studying the covers of Time magazine that have featured Iranian individuals, politicians, and ordinary citizens. Previous literature has studied media’s influence on shaping perceptions of various issues and foreign culture and politics, as well as more detailed studies of media’s coverage of foreign countries and societies; however, this study focused on a neglected area of scholarship regarding depictions of Iranians in popular media. It used visual and content analyses of covers to determine the way Time magazine depicts Iran to American audiences.

A Strategic Communication Plan For Dominica-America Scholarship And Culture, Inc., Joan Juliana Joseph

Theses and Dissertations

The aim of this design project was to develop a strategic communication plan for a nascent US-based nonprofit organization with a transnational focus. To accomplish this goal, the researcher drew on concepts and propositions of business and communication theories, best practices and recommendations of nonprofit practitioners and consultants, and studies from research centers. This research was necessary to discover the principles and elements critical to the design of a basic strategic communication plan. To develop a plan specific to the real world experiences and challenges of the nonprofit, the researcher utilized a qualitative research methodology using semi-structured interviews and action …

Deaf Access To Healthcare, Jennifer L. Yates

Senior Honors Theses

Modern medical professionals strive to provide culturally competent care; however, Deaf[1] culture remains overlooked. Common language and experience draw deaf individuals together as a cultural group. Ignorance about Deaf culture perpetuates barriers to holistic care in the medical setting. Deaf patients receive misdiagnoses, delayed treatment, and privacy breaches. Deaf culture understandably avoids healthcare and is characterized by numerous health disparities as a result. Obstacles hindering Deaf access to healthcare are directly opposed to the intended therapeutic relationship and holistic care. Increased awareness of Deaf culture is required to improve the Deaf’s access to healthcare.

[1] The word deaf should …