Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

University Homepage Affordances: The Influence Of Hyperlinks On Perceptions Of Source Credibility, Patricia Dellacorte

ETD Archive

The technology affordances of university website homepages were evaluated to inform the development of prototypical examples of accessible public university and exclusive private university homepages. Affordances are characteristic of the environment that, when perceived, afford or provide opportunities for action (Gibson, 1986). In addition, affordances, such as hyperlinks, also prompt heuristic processes that lead to judgments that are based on peripheral cues rather than substantive information. Integrating the MAIN model (Sundar, 2008) and the Two-Factor Theory (Herzberg, 1966; Zhang & Von Dran, 2000), eye tracking and survey methodology were used to assess differences in perception and credibility judgments of the …

Clinton Fire Prevention, Dr. Sharon Varallo, Mike Tortorelli, Grant Slater, Colin Hepner

2015-2016: Clinton, Iowa

No abstract provided.

"I Warn You Ming, Stay Away From My Friends!”: The Language Of Superhero Mythology In Flash Gordon, R. James Buehner

ETD Archive

The Flash Gordon (Stephani, 1936) serial is a profoundly important, indeed seminal superhero film that has not been granted the critical attention that it deserves within modern film scholarship. Its position at the beginning of the genre of the modern screen superhero is examined through its evident thematically mythic implications and its culturally centered historical aspects. The serial Flash Gordon is treated and analyzed as a self-standing text that provides clues to the ontological and genealogical foundation and conventions of the screen superhero that is dominant in the media landscape today. This analysis is conducted through the Freudian – Jungian …

Diabetes Interaction Study: Communicating Understanding And Social Support, Dana K. May

Wayne State University Dissertations

The current study evaluated a brief individualized feedback intervention developed to improve communication style of parents with an adolescent with type 1 diabetes. Seventy-nine parent-adolescent dyads (13-18 years) were randomized to receive a single session of brief feedback to target parental person-centered communication skills (n = 39) or to receive an educational comparison group (n = 40). Families were asked to discuss a diabetes related problem. A clinician concurrently rated the parent’s communication skills to identify communication strengths and weaknesses. Parents in the feedback group received feedback on their use of person-centered communication during the conversation using motivational interviewing techniques. …

The Role Of Patient And Physician In Establishing Patient-Physician Communication In The In-Patient Environment, Tamanna Sahni

AUCTUS: The Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Scholarship

Communication in the in-patient environment is crucial, and the relationship between a patient and physician can enhance patient health and improve overall wellness. Patients need to feel confident with their abilities in order to feel comfortable conversing with physicians, which would thus improve health and treat symptoms more effectively. This communication has decreased over time, hence patients are often are unable to obtain medical information from their healthcare providers. Are there psychological factors involved in a patient’s inability to communicate with a physician? What is the relationship between self-esteem and quality of patient-physician communication? In addition, what can physicians do …

Globalization, Mobile Technology, And Social Media's Influence On Leadership Communication Involving Millennials, Rasheedah Dunston

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Current research identifies effective leadership communication, which includes frequent direct conversational communication from company leaders, influences worker performance during organizational change. Social media, mobile technology, and the Millennial workforce have shifted leader communication style from purely top-down, town hall style communication to incorporate more collaborative and engaging forums. The case study addressed how globalization, social media, and mobile technology affects leadership communication and then subsequently effects worker performance as Millennials join the workforce. Qualitative data were collected from observations and interviews from a purposeful selection of 9 Millennial employees, including 2 Millennial leaders, and 8 non-Millennial leaders of a Fortune …

A Qualitative Examination Of The Perception Of Risk In Warnings For Severe Weather, Teresa Simmons

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In the past decade, weather disasters have claimed thousands of lives and resulted in billions of dollars in damages. Awareness of a storm threats can occur hours or days in advance, but disaster assessments indicate many people do not heed storm warnings. This problem is old. Despite 50 years of research, and new technologies and training to improve responsiveness, the basic issue– understanding how people interpret and respond to weather warnings–persists. An exploratory study that incorporated human behavior theories and communication models not traditionally associated with severe weather analysis was conducted to learn how weather risks are perceived by nonscientists. …

Education Program For Nurses Working In An Immigration Detention Facility, Dr. Tiney Elizabeth Ray

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Nursing response to medical emergencies has been an ongoing issue in immigration detention centers. Lack of teamwork and poor communication with medical and security staff have resulted in detainees sustaining injuries during medical emergencies. This project was developed to persuade Immigration and Customs Enforcement Health Service Corps (IHSC) leaders to consider piloting the TeamSTEPPS emergency response curriculum for nurses working in the immigration detention center. Tuckman and Jensen's model of group development will provide guidance to IHSC leaders in understanding the transformational stages of forming a successful team. TeamSTEPPS will address gaps in emergency health care competency by improving collaboration, …

Disconnect To Connect: Emotional Responses To Loss Of Technology During Hurricane Sandy, Joni Schwartz

Publications and Research

This chapter examines loss of technology by community college students during Hurricane Sandy and their resulting communication and behaviors without technology. It is a qualitative research study.

Determinants Of Active Pursuit Of Kidney Donation: Applying The Theory Of Motivated Information Management, Stacy M. West

Theses and Dissertations

End stage renal disease (ESRD) is a growing epidemic impacting the United States. While the optimal treatment for ESRD is renal replacement, barriers exist making this treatment difficult and sometimes impossible for patients to pursue. One potential solution to existing barriers is to encourage patients to actively seek living donors. This is an inherently communicative and social process. The Theory of Motivated Information Management (TMIM) offers a framework for understanding factors that contribute to patients’ conversations about transplantation with their social networks. It is also possible that Patient Empowerment can add to this model, and inform future patient education.

Specific …

Beyond Blood: Examining The Communicative Challenges Of Adoptive Families, Mackensie C. Minniear

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This study examined how adoptive families discursively create family identity through their communication. Building on theories of discourse dependence and family communication patterns, this research examined how families whose identity does not meet a bio-genetic view of family must re-define family using communication. Often times, families that are created outside biological means must renegotiate family identity both within the family, and outside the family, from those who feel comfortable commenting and questioning their family composition. Communication becomes a tool that adoptees must use to understand their family identity, as well as their own adoptive identity. Furthermore, this study looked to …

Perceptions Of Ict Use In Rural Brazil: Factors That Impact Appropriation Among Marginalized Communities, Paola Prado, Alejandro Tirado-Alcaraz, Mauro Araújo Câmara

Arts & Sciences Faculty Publications

This study of digital inclusion among the rural poor examines how residents of remote mountain communities in Brazil perceive the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs). It analyzes social factors that impact ICT appropriation and the behaviors and attitudes that advance digital literacy among marginalized rural populations. The authors conducted factor analysis and logistic regressions to survey data collected. Results confirm the presence of a gender divide in ICT adoption. Women were more likely to perceive that ICT use brings social benefits to the community, and considered that ICTs provide better opportunities for the young.

Queer Stories Of Coming Out In The 21st Century, Bradley Wolfe

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Queer Stories of Coming Out in the 21st Century was written by Bradley Wolfe for his Communication Studies master’s capstone project. The research was conducted at Minnesota State University, Mankato during the 2015-2016 school year. The research problem was to analyze the relevance of the Cass Model of queer identity development in a cultural environment which has shifted greatly since its origination. 10 semi-structured interviews were conducted to understand what aspects of the model still held true and if other models better describe the identity development process for queer individuals. The research found the Cass Model was not correlating with …

Communicating Social Support: Understanding Complexities Of Breastfeeding Communication Among African American Mothers, Nicole Rachael Peritore

Theses and Dissertations--Communication

Breast milk is the best choice for meeting the nutritional needs for an infant whenever possible. Despite the knowledge that this nutritional choice is the best choice for an infant, data demonstrates that there is a sharp decline in the rates of breastfeeding mothers. Among African Americans, breastfeeding rates are significantly lower than the national averages. Despite many of the applications of social support in communication research, there is a gap in knowledge on the social support systems in the context of breastfeeding, especially for African Americans. With the social ecological model as a framework, social support theory provides understanding …

I Heard It Through The... Vine: A Look Into Virality And Its Importance, Jennifer L. English

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

Environmental Dynamics: A Compendium Of Rhetorical Application, Annalisa Perez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Technology, albeit exceedingly useful, has exponentially exacerbated the communications dilemma between the technical and the non-technical. Additionally, based on a current new understanding of the term environmental, it can no longer be fully defined by terms such as air, water, waste, or purification. Rather, the meaning of environmental has been globally transformed in several ways. The term environmental is encompassing an expansion of understanding and is further defined with words such as essence, perception, rapport and multi-dimensional spaces. This work, Environmental Dynamics: A Compendium of Rhetorical Application (EDC), provides a framework where communication can be enhanced in areas where communication …

Telling Our Story: A Case Study Of A Collaborative Departmental Blog, Stephanie J.H. Mcreynolds, Anne E. Rauh

Librarian Publications

This case study will take readers through the planning and publication process of a collaborative departmental library blog at Syracuse University, which is a large private, non-profit research intensive university located in central New York State. It will provide an overview of the history of the project and the mission of the blog. It will describe the technical aspects, developing a publication schedule, and the editorial responsibilities of maintaining the blog. The impact of the blog is documented. The blog has raised awareness of the librarians’ expertise and this is explored alongside how posts have contributed to a number of …

Family Dinner Across Generations: My How Times Have Changed?, Dayna E. Parrett

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

In an effort to determine differences between family dinners across generations, this study examined typical family dinners of participants and how they have changed across the four generations addressed. Previous qualitative research has been conducted to determine communication frames that occur during family dinners and the effect of parenting styles on family dinners, but little research connecting generational differences to family dinners has been published. Data were collected from a homogeneous sample of twenty-four women living in three counties across the Commonwealth of Kentucky. By asking open ended questions during interviews, similarities and differences between family dinners across generations were …

Physical Challenges In Forensics: An Autoethnography Advocating For Accommodations On Behalf Of Speakers With Physical Challenges In Competitive Speech Environments, Elise Mccauley Row

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The realm of competitive forensics is filled with challenges including written and unwritten rules and norms, multiple categories with different guidelines for each, a distinct culture only people intimately connected with the activity can navigate without conscious effort, and a basic knowledge of the ever-changing world of communication. For competitors who struggle with physical disabilities, the challenges are beyond daunting. Using the method of autoethnography, this paper investigates how students with physical challenges can successfully participate through accommodation and how speech coaches can advocate for their physically-disabled speakers and request and implement the best accommodations.

Trust, Jealousy And Communication In Long-Term Couples Practicing Consensual Non-Monogamy, Christina Wang

Theses, Dissertations, and Projects

This cross-sectional exploratory quantitative study examined trust and communication patterns among adults practicing consensual non-monogamy (CNM). Previous relationship research in this area has primarily examined couples in demographically homogenous relationships (heterosexual, white, and married). A review of the literature suggested that adults engaging in consensual non-monogamy are more diverse. Our recruitment strategies and study design was successful in recruiting a more diverse group of participants. Twenty-eight adults in long-term CNM relationships completed a 56-item online questionnaire. Responses were examined to explore the relationship between communication patterns and relationship tenure. The relationship tenure of couples and the gender preference of participants …

An Analysis Of Stakeholders Communication In Collaborative Software Development Projects, Wei Zhang

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Software development is a multidisciplinary collaboration involving many stakeholders. However, existing software development processes exhibit many issues related to that collaboration. Because prior research on stakeholder analysis and teamwork revealed the importance of communication, this study analyzed stakeholder communication with reference to team activities as a social and cognitive process. The study’s goal was to understand the collaboration process during software development and to delineate factors that influence this process. We focused on communication between the software developers and their clients during the requirements gathering phase, the team process, and the inter-team and interdisciplinary collaboration, in particular between software engineers …

Modulation Of Behavior In Communicating Emotion, Martin Gardiner

Animal Sentience

King discusses many examples where two animals, as they bond, behave in ways we interpret as expressing love for one another. If one of the bonded animals then dies, signs of loving are replaced by signs we interpret as expressing grief by the animal who remains. I propose a pathway for emotional communication between an animal and an observer that can have a central role in these and other observations by King and in our overall ability to interpret observed behavior in relation to emotion. This pathway provides evidence of emotion in an observed animal by communicating evidence of emotion’s …

Exploring U.S. Business Leaders' Strategies For Enhancing Team Communication, Susan Kuehn

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many senior project managers (PMs) and other business leaders lack effective strategies for enhancing communication among their team members, thereby reducing profitability and organizational cohesion. The purpose of this exploratory case study was to explore communication strategies used by 22 PMs who were members of a project manager professional (PMP) association in Colorado, with 5 or more years of relevant experience and who worked at a leading technology company recognized for its effective PM communication strategy for enhancing business-team communication. The conceptual framework for this study was built on interpersonal, mass communication and profound leadership theories. PMs were interviewed, and …

Online Personalized Normative Alcohol Feedback For Parents Of First-Year College Students, Joseph W. Labrie, Andrew M. Earle, Lucy E. Napper

Psychological Science Faculty Works

This study examined the efficacy of a personalized normative feedback (PNF) alcohol intervention for parents of students transitioning into college. A sample of 399 parent-student dyads were recruited to take part in the intervention during the summer prior to matriculation. Parents were randomly assigned to receive either normative feedback regarding student drinking and other college parents’ alcohol-related communication or general college health norm information. Students completed measures of alcohol use, alcohol consequences, and parent-child alcohol-specific communication both 1- and 6-months after matriculation. The results indicated that in comparison to the control condition parents who received PNF reported immediate changes in …

Exploring The Information Source Preferences Among Canadian Adult Golf League Members, Melissa J. Davies, Dianna Gray

College of the Pacific Faculty Articles

With an aging demographic, and the abundance of physical inactivity in Canada, sport professionals need to understand how best to recruit and retain adults in sport and recreational activities, namely, golf leagues. Canadian golf league participants (N = 419; Mage = 62 years old) completed an online survey detailing their propensity to utilize a variety of information sources prior to making the decision to join a golf league. Results from a principal component analysis of a revised Information Sources Inventory, suggested that golfers in this sample were most likely to utilize Personal and Social sources of information associated with their …

Exploring Strategies To Gain Frontline Employee Buy-In During Change Initiatives In Manufacturing, Charles James Iv

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

The high failure rates of change initiatives threaten the sustainability of commercial printing operations. The focus of this qualitative multicase study was to research the strategies commercial printing managers use to succeed in gaining frontline employee buy-in during change initiatives to improve productivity and profitability in a manufacturing environment. The participants included four commercial printing managers from the Midwestern United States. Each manager had implemented successful change initiatives in the past 2 years and maintained profitability of the business for 12 months before the study. McGregor's (1960) Theory Y served as the basis for the conceptual framework. Data collection included …

Distributed Cognition In Cancer Treatment Decision Making: An Application Of The Decide Decision-Making Styles Typology, Janice L. Krieger, Jessica L. Krok-Schoen, Phokeng M. Dailey, Angela L. Palmer-Wackerly, Nancy Schoenberg, Electra D. Paskett, Mark Dignan

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

Distributed cognition occurs when cognitive and affective schemas are shared between two or more people during interpersonal discussion. Although extant research focuses on distributed cognition in decision making between health care providers and patients, studies show that caregivers are also highly influential in the treatment decisions of patients. However, there are little empirical data describing how and when families exert influence. The current article addresses this gap by examining decisional support in the context of cancer randomized clinical trial (RCT) decision making. Data are drawn from in-depth interviews with rural, Appalachian cancer patients (N = 46). Analysis of transcript …

The Future Of Advertising: What You Should Know, Valerie K. Jones, Rishad Tobaccowala

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Faculty Publications

We live in an empowered age with empowered consumers. Technology has become a slingshot enabling each of us consumers to defeat Goliath, the big companies and marketers. Consumers have god-like power, able to see, hear, discover, and uncover almost anything through all of the devices available today. Digitization, globalization and demographic shifts are requiring us to replace old models of thinking about communication and advertising. The chapter introduces new models of thinking about about the future of advertising, guided by a few fundamental principles: delivering utilities and services, as opposed to a message; reaggregating audiences, as opposed to segmenting them; …

Communication Efficacy Using Technology Within Virtual Teams, Jeremy Daros Ma

All Student Scholarship

Technology has given businesses the flexibility to allow employees to collaborate beyond the limitations of geography. Today’s businesses are taking advantage of collaborative teams that are separated by distance, but work together as if they are in the same room.

Conflict Resolution Behaviors And The Affect Of Identity Standards And Empowerment Needs On Individuals Using External Augmentative And Alternative Communication Devices, Amy R. Parker

Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

Individuals with communication impairments (CI) are at a distinct disadvantage when attempting to interact through more traditional conversational means. Although their intentions may be similar to peers, physical limitations make verbal articulation of thoughts and feelings a more laborious undertaking. For some, the use of external augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) has offered an otherwise unavailable communicative opportunity. However, this type of communication requires more of the non-AAC using conversation partner and, unlike traditional forms of communication, may increase the likelihood of miscommunication. Although there is agreement as to the importance of understanding the experience of individuals using external AAC, …