Digital Commons Network^™

Towards A Consummated Life: Kenneth Burke's Concept Of Consummation As Critical Conversation And Catharsis, Cherise Marie Bacalski

Theses and Dissertations

Consummation was the one term about which Kenneth Burke wasn't particularly long-winded - odd considering his claim that it was the apex of his theory of form. Perhaps Burke never explained exactly what consummation was because he himself was never clear on the subject, as he told John Woodcock in an interview toward the end of his career. Burke began conceptualizing his theory of form early on - in his 20s - and published it in his first critical book, Counter-Statement, in 1931. At that time, Burke's theory of form had already taken one evolutionary step - from self-expression, with …

The Cowl - V.77 - N.17 - Mar 14, 2013

The Cowl

The Cowl - student newspaper of Providence College. Vol 77 - No. 17 - March 14, 2013. 28 pages.

Souls4soles/Running Warehouse 2013. An Application Of Communication Principle In Non Profit Event Planning, Vianna Hochstrasser

Communication Studies

I wanted my senior project to revolve around something that would not only hold personal interest but also make a difference within others lives. We decided to put on an event utilizing Soles4Souls, a charity that helps donate old athletic shoes to adults and children in need around the world.

To begin this charitable effort we would work with San Luis Obispo’s Running Warehouse. Our set goal would be to persuade people to attend our event at Running Warehouse. The price of admission would be one dollar, and a pair of old running or athletic shoes. The money would help …

Building Collaboration Within The Quarter Horse Community: The Obstacles And Hurdles, Allison Grayson

Journalism

The following study investigates how to increase collaboration within the Quarter Horse community through Twitter. Twitter is increasingly one of the top social media tools for many organizations, including organizations within the Quarter Horse community. Twitter is an important tool in creating a dialogue between community members, and the organizations to which they are members. Research shows, “Users believe that using Twitter can improve their performance or their ability to achieve specific goals and, thus, they are more extrinsically motivated to continue to use it” (Agrifoglio, Black, Ferrara & Metallo, 2012, p. 38). That being said, it is important that …

The Cowl - V.77 - N.16 - Feb 28, 2013

The Cowl

The Cowl - student newspaper of Providence College. Vol 77 - No. 16 - February 28, 2013. 28 pages.

The Cowl - V.77 - N.15 - Feb 14, 2013

The Cowl

The Cowl - student newspaper of Providence College. Vol 77 - No. 15 - February 14, 2013. 36 pages.

The Cowl - V.77 - N.14 - Feb 7, 2013

The Cowl

The Cowl - student newspaper of Providence College. Vol 77 - No. 14 - February 7, 2013. 28 pages.

Commentary: Changing The Channel: Public Health Communication In The 21st Century, Anna Goodman Hoover

Frontiers in Public Health Services and Systems Research

This commentary asserts the need for research examining the use and efficacy of social media as a tool for meeting public health stakeholders’ information needs. The author points to several potential research questions for the field, situates studies addressing these questions within the PHSSR Research Agenda, and introduces the work of Harris et al. that is included in this issue of Frontiers. The commentary closes with a call for horizontal stakeholder communication that supports evidence-based decision-making.

Are We Becoming More Socially Awkward? An Analysis Of The Relationship Between Technological Communication Use And Social Skills In College Students., Cecilia Brown

Psychology Honors Papers

This study examined the relationship between the use of technological communication and social skills in college students. A total of 112 male and female undergraduate students at Connecticut College were surveyed about their social skills, social anxiety, technology use, and technology preference. Sixteen of these participants returned to participate in a conversation taking place in a lab setting that was observed by the researcher, in order to evaluate non-verbal social skills. We predicted that participants who used technological communication more frequently or preferred it to face-to-face communication, would have lower social skills and high social anxiety. In addition, women were …

Reviewing The Critics: Examining Popular Video Game Reviews Through A Comparative Content Analysis, Ben Gifford

ETD Archive

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the current critical climate in popular online video game reviews (i.e., video game criticism written for a general audience). So far, most of the research published in this area focuses on how the reviews reflect the games themselves, rather than strictly examining the content of the reviews in this growing body of literature. This study uses computer-aided text analysis (CATA) supplemented with human coding to identify typological differences between film and video game reviews, as well as differences in theory usage and critical thought and style. Video game reviews are more concerned …

A Hub Website Of Online German Learning And Teaching: Resources For The Development Of 21st Century Skills, Carrie Christensen

All Graduate Projects

Rapid technological developments and relaxed international trade agreements have created increased global competition in the job market (Committee for Economic, 2006). In this global society and economy, a new set of skills will be required of the United States workforce. These 21st century skills include autonomous learning skills, communication skills, and technological literacy (Partnership, 2008). In order to support the development and instruction of these skills in the high school German classroom, a hub website of online resources for German teachers and students has been created. The resources available on the hub website include teacher resources, reference resources, instructional websites, …

The Cell Phone Calling And Texting Behaviors Between Close Relationship Partners, Stephanie Kownacki

Theses & ETDs

The calling and texting behaviors of college students were studied using information about the participants' communication partners, age and sex demographics, and reasons for communication mode choice. Additionally, an examination of the validity of self-reported communication data was conducted via comparisons with actual calling and texting logs. Students completed a survey asking about their perceived communication with four close relationship partners (parent, sibling, intimate partner, and best friend). Also, the survey collected data on the age and sex of both interlocutors, the physical distance between them, and reasons why the participant would choose to call vs text, or text vs …

Communication Of Emotion In Music, Jesse Paul Huhnerkoch

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The communication of emotion in music has been shown to be dependent on musical structure and emotional prompting with lyrical messages. This study seeks a new approach to researching the communication of emotion in music by creating musical samples that are based upon the sound wave frequency parameters of emotive speaking. An electronic survey containing six different emotive musical samples was conducted to gather listener interpretations of the intended emotional quality. Further research is needed to properly distinguish the parameters of emotive frequencies in order to provide for exposure of the functionalities of this phenomenon.

Exploring Motivation Through Athlete Communication, Tye G. Davis

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The current study examined the communication ecology of athlete motivation. Furthermore, gender differences in communication ecologies were evaluated, as were variations in communication tendencies for highly and lowly motivated athletes. Findings suggest that teammates and parents are strong motivators for athletes. Mass media were associated with athlete motivation while social media were not. Gender differences were found with males reporting being more motivated by mass media than females, while females were more strongly motivated by their parents and friends. There were significant differences found in the communication ecologies of highly motivated athletes compared to less motivated athletes. Athletes who were …

Media Preferences That Facilitate Interpersonal Communication Regarding Sexual Health: Racial Differences Among College-Aged Females, Rasheeta Chandler, Versie Johnson-Mallard, Kevin Kip, Mary Evans

Nursing Faculty Publications

Young women are increasingly diagnosed with sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV. The aim of this study was to test various types of mass media and their associations with interpersonal communication about sex and HIV or AIDS among female college students, stratified by race. The study used a nonexperimental cross-sectional design and an electronic survey. The sample consisted of female college students (N = 776) at a 4-year public university in the southeast. We found that the race of college women influenced their preferred media source for reception of information about sex and HIV/AIDS, which subsequently either motivated or …

The Role Of Acculturation On Bosnian Refugee Adult Child Mate Selection, Emina Herovic

Theses and Dissertations--Communication

Forced by the atrocities of war from their native country, Bosnian families came to United States seeking refuge and a new life. Immigrating to a new country, however, involves the process of acculturation which can dilute many native practices. Like many refugees that immigrated, Bosnians sought to adapt to the American way of life, while keeping their traditional ethnic customs, practices, and religion (Val & Iain-Walker, 2003). Many Bosnian refugee parents worked to keep the Bosnian practices prevalent in their first and second generation Bosnian American children. By doing so, Bosnian parents imbedded into their children the original customs, practices, …

Paralinguistic Cues And Their Effect On Leader Credibility, Monte Brian Reid

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

Paralinguistic cues are powerful non-verbal communication elements that have the ability to make even good news sound horrible or bad news more palatable. Drawing upon the hermeneutical phenomenology communication theory of Dilthey (1961) and Shannon’s (1949) communication channel model, this thesis targeted the six primary paralinguistic cues of fluidity, articulation, sonority, tempo, emotion, and dynamic intensity to discover how these cues interact and affect the credibility and palatability of a leader’s message. To facilitate remembrance of these cues, the acronym F.A.S.T.E.D. was coined and used. Three different groups consisting of managers, non-managers, and media and public relations professionals were surveyed …

Information Overload: The Effects Of Advertising Avoidance On Brand Awareness In An Online Environment, Gregory David Salyer

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

When information overload occurs, an individual consumes information at the expense of other information. Advertising avoidance, or banner blindness, is a protective mechanism that can be triggered when an individual receives too high an informational load. This study uses methods developed from information overload theory, selective attention studies, information entropy and information redundancy to seek the connection between information overload and banner blindness. In aiming to measure the overall effect that these two phenomena have on brand awareness and individual’s ability to recall an ad from a web browsing session, this study relies on prior work in the area of …

The Influence Of Communication Strategies On Charitable Races, Vicky Jean Daniels

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

Charitable races are happening all over the United States. These races are a competitive way for charities to receive funds to help support their causes. However, not all charity athletic events and races are promoted equally. This success or lack thereof is in part due to how the events’ messages are communicated and perceived by potential attendees. This study interviewed experts in the field of marketing charitable events, and surveyed participants of charitable events to see what communication strategies most influenced their decisions to attend. The study highlighted the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon series, which has been very successful for …

Communication In A Traditional Organization, Nidia Haydee Marichalar

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

This study examines if a mismatch exists between the traditional structure of communication, and the communication needs and expectations of teachers and staff in a rapidly growing and changing charter school system, which in turn contributes to the burgeoning turn-¬‐over and the perceived plummeting morale amongst teachers and staff at the school. Anonymous surveys were administered, and interviews and focus groups were conducted at one school, seeking to gauge teacher and staff perceptions of 1) How well leaders communicated about the school’s and teachers’ mission, strategy, and goals; 2) How well were these ideas and expectations matched to the experiences …

Empathy During Times Of Crisis And Corporate Reputation, Ann T. Gallagher

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

How an organization responds to victims is central to crisis communication management and protecting organizational reputation. While there is significant literature about best practices for crisis response, one area which has not been explored is the relationship of empathic communication and corporate reputation during times of conflict. This study examined this relationship through a study of the British Petroleum Gulf Oil crisis of 2010. The qualitative study used focus groups with working professionals and personal interviews with communication experts. The research is grounded in Coombs’ (1998) Situational Crisis Communication Theory (SCCT), and Benoit’s (1977) image restoration theory, which is used …

Social Media In Higher Education: Networked Tools In A Traditional Strategy Organization, Trace M. Eddington

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

This study examined (a) how the traditional organizational communication strategy in place at a university impacts the utilization and effectiveness of social media as a university communication tool, (b) to what extent and how effectively have relational and networked approaches been incorporated into the traditional structure of communication at a university, and (c) how the flow of communication and the social media strategy on campus are impacted by the traditional structure of the university, identifying any potential communication bottlenecks and workarounds. The literature review examined the theoretical underpinnings behind traditional strategy organizations and the communication challenges that can arise in …

The Impact Of Texting On Our Society: A Look Into The Utlization Of This Communication Conduit And The Possible Positive Or Negative Impact It Has On Drivers, Michelle Crowther

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

Communication is an essential part of our everyday lives, without it we would have no way to form a community or societal structure that would allow us to effectively work and live amongst one another. Advances in technology, such as texting, have created a virtual forum for people to communicate within. Due to this change, other consequences, such as vehicle injuries and fatalities have become a recurring problem. To attempt to find potential positive or negative impacts that texting has on individuals while driving, 10 face-to-face interviews were conducted and 100 surveys were sent to a random sample of participants. …

Multitasking And Communication In The Organization, Cayla A. Stephenson

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

Because communication is an intricate part of how an organization works, and because organizations and employees alike are stressing the importance of multitasking on the job, studying the interaction of communication and multitasking is increasingly important. Studies relating to multitasking have revealed primarily negative impacts: doubling task completion time, overstimulating our brains to the point of dysfunction, generally diminishing our productivity, and extinguishing our stimuli filters and damaging our memories. Other studies show that we can use multitasking in a positive way by utilizing task trainings and practicing focused task completion. The study here completed two focus groups with 12 …

How Skype And Face Time Have Changed The Way People Communicate Emotionally, Penelope Casarico

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

This thesis explores the relationship between technology and emotional communication, and focuses on how technology influences our personal thoughts, feelings, and emotions. By examining the philosophical assumption of Martin Buber that through our dialogue, there is mutual respect and appreciation for the other person involved because we hold that person in high regard and see that person in the image of God, this study seeks to answer the question, How have Skype and Face Time technology changed the way people communicate emotionally? The theoretical basis of this study focuses on Coordinated Management of Meaning, a theory that states that persons …

Generational Differences Within A Corporate Workplace, Marie Jakubek

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

The purpose ofthis study is to examine generational diversity issues within the corporate workplace in order to develop strategies that can be employed to increase intergenerational understanding, morale and, improve productivity. The theory used to frame this study is the Communication Accommodation Theory. This theory allowed for a better understanding of specific challenges and opportunities that can occur when working in a multigenerational workforce. It is important for corporations to effectively address these differences in generations and take advantage of the values and expectations of each generation to keep a happy and healthy workplace. Data for this study was collected …

Connecting Classrooms: Russian Language Teaching Project At Ucf, Alla Kourova

Russian Language Journal

Change happens all the time and in all places. It is a characteristic of our modern world. A current trend in the world is globalization, which occurred by rapid developments in transportation and information technology. Today, people from diverse backgrounds come into more and more contact with each other with a regularity that is unique to this period of human history. As a result, intercultural communication has become increasingly important.

Stories Of Journalistic Careers: From Serial Killers To The Changing Nature Of Journalism, Linda Hughes-Kirchubel

Open Access Theses

A career narrative is a story that helps a person define who she is, and how she should act, within the context of career (Meijers & Lengelle, 2012). This thesis is an analysis of three distinct, yet related, career narratives: a metanarrative, a mesonarrative, and a micronarrative. I examine the field of journalism through metanarratives that reflect the sea-change brought about by the advent of the Internet and the production of on-demand news (see 111th Congress, 2009; Rainey & Wellman, 2012; Weldon, 2008). Using the story of two serial killers, I show how the industry has begun to think differently …

Popular Discontent, Revolution, And Democratization In Egypt In A Globalizing World, Abdel-Fattah Mady

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

This paper examines how informal, discontent actors in Egypt have evolved in a globalizing world and their role in the January 25th revolution. It focuses on the effects of the deteriorating economic and social conditions in Egypt related to the former regime's policy and the role of mass media, information, and communication technologies in facilitating mobilization, recruitment, and eventually the popular uprising. This paper also discusses the issue of how informal discontent protesters and groups formulate their goals and organize themselves to exert pressure on formal institutions of the state. The main conclusion is that informal actors have not yet …

The Nature And Perceived Influence Of Lifestyle Discussions With Older Adults In Primary Care, Shoshana H. Bardach

Theses and Dissertations--Gerontology

The Nature and Perceived Influence of Lifestyle Discussions with Older Adults in Primary Care Rationale: A healthy diet and physical activity help with disease prevention and disease management and can promote quality of life regardless of the age at which an individual begins engaging in these behaviors. Despite the value of these health behaviors, many older adults do not follow lifestyle recommendations. Given that older adults frequently interact with the healthcare system, primary care providers are well situated to counsel older adults to improve their health behaviors. Unfortunately, we do not know how to most effectively engage in this counseling. …