Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Using The Integrative Model Of Behavioral Prediction To Understand Gay Men’S Beliefs, Intention, And Behavior On Prep Uptake, Minhao Dai

Theses and Dissertations--Communication

Antiretroviral treatment pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is an effective daily prevention medicine to reduce risks of HIV infections in high-risk populations. The current study examined PrEP uptake among gay men using the integrative model of behavioral prediction (IMBP) as the theoretical framework. Briefly, the IMBP states that attitude, norms, and behavioral control predict intention, which then predicts behavior. The intention-behavior relationship is moderated by actual control variables: skills and environmental constraints. To examine how IMBP variables affect PrEP uptake among gay men, I first conducted formative elicitation interviews with gay men; then I used the results from the interviews to construct …

Mom To Mom: Online Breastfeeding Advice, Jennifer D. Furkin

Theses and Dissertations--Communication

Exploring online support groups has gained more and more popularity in the last decade. Investigating the type of support messages users send each other has broadened the already extensive social support framework built in the last forty years. Mothers utilize online support for various topics, and a very common topic is breastfeeding. The perception of breastfeeding has changed throughout history with shifting beliefs and societal norms coupled with solid facts about its importance in the sustaining of infants. Online breastfeeding support has been previously explored through the categorization of types of support and themes within the interactions. This study extended …

Quitting Together: Formative Research To Develop A Social Marketing Plan For Smoking Cessation Among Women In A Residential Treatment Facility For Substance Abuse Recovery, August D. Anderson

Theses and Dissertations--Communication

Both smoking addiction and illicit substance abuse are prevalent issues in the United States today. Furthermore, these are issues that have significant impact on women’s health and mental state. Despite research that shows that smoking cessation coupled with substance abuse recovery can decrease likelihood of relapse post-recovery, few substance abuse recovery facilities today offer smoking cessation programming options. To address the issue of smoking addiction on top of substance abuse recovery, formative research was conducted through this study to determine the underlying causes of smoking habits coupled with recovery efforts and the attitudes. Through focus group sessions with women in …

Keeping It All Together: The Challenge Of Complexity, Reputation, And Supply Chain Crises, Kathleen L. Ambrose

Theses and Dissertations--Communication

Supply chains are developed to reduce business expenses and increase efficiency. However, a disruption in the supply chain, or a failure in one of the links, can expose organizations to crises that can severely impact short-term bottom line and long-term corporate reputation. This study examines the communication challenges inherent in supply chain crises using Samsung’s 2016 Galaxy Note 7 phone crisis as a case study. Results of this study show, in a supply chain crisis, stakeholders hold the organization responsible, regardless of where in the supply chain the break occurred. This study also examines the impact of complexity inherent to …

The Effect Of Admissions Viewbooks On Students’ Expectancies And Engagement, Hayley C. Hoffman

Theses and Dissertations--Communication

This study seeks to explore the impact that admissions viewbooks have on students’ expectancies of an institution as well as their academic and social engagement. Because few studies exist on admissions viewbooks, the literature review seeks to establish a base for the importance of viewbooks in students’ college choice and their development of expectancies of their chosen institution, as well as the subsequent impacts of violated expectations on engagement and retention. Using both qualitative and quantitative methods, this study examines (1) the promises made by institutions in their viewbooks as found via textual analysis and (2) the impact of violated …

Acculturative Stress And Identity Negotiation: A Dyadic Experience, Ana X. De La Serna

Theses and Dissertations--Communication

Institutions of higher education in the United States have long been attractors for international students from all over the world. The number of international students had been constantly growing until the past couple of years. This is a concerning issue because international students play several important roles in higher education institutions. International students bring different points of view that enhance other students’ learning and institutions gain financial benefits from the presence of international students. Thus, it is important to understand how to improve the experience of international students. For the present study I used a phenomenological approach to explore the …

Instructor Caring: Using Self-Determination Theory To Understand Perceptions, Measurement, And Impact Of Instructor Caring On Motivation And Learning In Online Contexts, Amanda J. Lawrence

Theses and Dissertations--Communication

At least one third of college students enrolled in a given year take at least one course that is 80%+ online delivery (Allen & Seaman, 2015). This number has increased from 10% of students just within the last decade. Given this increase, the need for instructional communication research in this context has also grown.

One construct that has had little attention in online settings is that of perceived instructor caring. Caring instructors are perceived as concerned, sensitive, not self-centered, and having students’ best interests at heart (McCroskey & Teven, 1999). Caring has the potential to impact various aspects of student …

Exemplification Effects Throughout Disaster Stages In Social Media, Robert George Rice

Theses and Dissertations--Communication

Two studies were performed to research potential exemplification effects throughout various stages of natural disasters. Exemplification theory (Zillmann, 1999, 2002) promotes the use of exemplars, media examples, because of their potential ability to motivate risk related information seeking and their possible influence in optimizing protective action (Zillmann, 2006). Study one examined potential exemplification effect differences between various stages of natural disasters. Study two was designed to test for differences in trust, perceptions of severity, and intentions to volunteer depending on the organization type supplying related exemplars in social media. Results indicate that exemplification effects do not differ depending on disaster …

Message Effects And The Communication Theory Of Identity: Does Making Message Recipients Mindful Of Identity Gaps Influence Their Health Behavior Decisions?, Jacob J. Matig

Theses and Dissertations--Communication

Situated within the context of college students’ excessive drinking behaviors, the current study drew from dissonance theory, self-consistency theory, and hypocrisy induction methodology to evaluate the utility of the Communication Theory of Identity within persuasive health message design. Specifically, it examined whether hypocrisy induction manipulations that focused participants on salient identity layers made them mindful of corresponding identity gaps, which in turn caused them to experience cognitive dissonance that they sought to resolve by reporting intentions to change their excessive drinking behavior.

Participants (N = 279) completed an online experiment in which they were randomly assigned either to one …

Budweiser In The 2017 Super Bowl: Dialectic Values Advocacy And The Rhetorical Stakeholder, Benjamin P. Windholz

Theses and Dissertations--Communication

Organizational-public relations discourse is changing given the advent of social media, and corporate statements are evaluated under different criteria in the digital age. Grounding Budweiser’s response to controversy over their 2017 Super Bowl advertisement in terms of consumer expectations for corporate social responsibility provides a new perspective for approaching Bostdorff and Vibbert’s (1994) conceptualization of values advocacy. This study recognizes the power of the rhetorical stakeholder, a discursively created public, and demands re-evaluation of the values common to society from a co-creational OPR perspective. Conceptualizing dialectic values advocacy outlines the changing values among contemporary, common stakeholders as well as the …

Not Your Grandma’S Iud: Identifying Memorable Messages About Larcs, Carina Mazariegos Zelaya

Theses and Dissertations--Communication

Reducing the percentage of unwanted pregnancies has been one of the top objectives of the national health promotion "Healthy People" since the early 1980s. As the increase of unwanted pregnancies continues, research is necessary to uncover factors that influence the decisions women make about their contraceptive methods. The current study examines the topics and the sources of memorable messages regarding LARCs. To address the research questions, this study will analyze interviews conducted with young women about memorable messages regarding LARC methods. This study is a formative research of memorable messages in the context of contraceptive methods, specifically long-acting reversible contraceptives …