Communication Commons^™

Call And Response : Experiments In Storytelling, Deanne Fernandes

Masters Theses

Being part of RISD's inaugural Masters of Illustration cohort has been an immense honor. This journey has been nothing short of transformative and healing, as it has allowed me to unearth layers of self-discovery through my creative practice.

In my thesis, I introduce a fresh research methodology rooted in the principles of call and response, with adaptability, creativity, and storytelling as its foundational pillars. Through the lenses of visual storytelling, experimental animation, graphic journalism, and fictional world-building, I demonstrate how these techniques can effectively bridge the gap between theory and practice. This dynamic approach fosters meaningful connections among diverse perspectives …

Bridging Empathy, Qianwen Lu

Masters Theses

As a jeweler, ally, and sympathetic witness to the traumatic stories of survivors, my work aims to support the process of reconstruction and reintegration for victims and the greater community. To move beyond isolation, resentment, and debilitating helplessness requires care and support. I want my jewelry to act as catalysts in the healing process by straddling both sides of the trauma-induced situation, to create greater awareness and empathy. National Coalition Against Domestic Violence shows that women are more likely to become victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, or other forms of physical and psychological abuse in unhealthy emotional relationships. These …

You Are Cordially (Un)Invited: My Korean Femme Strategy And Aspiration For Survival And Queer Futures, Nahyun Kim

Masters Theses

You are cordially (un)invited: My Korean Femme Strategy and Aspiration for Survival and Queer Futures documents a series of ceremonies dedicated to the years I have survived. This book has branched from a project of the same name that consists of a durational installation, performance, and series of events. The project and book are an aspirational gesture to send off the part of myself–that had to compromise, comply, and negotiate with institutions–for a rebirth to live a life beyond survival.

As a book and project, You are cordially (un)invited is a culmination of my experiences as a Korean femme, using …

Stakeholders And Stakeseekers’ Perceptions Of Cultural Violations And International Crisis Communication, Najwa Nishaa Albaqami

Masters Theses

Applying the expectancy violation theory (EVT) to the crisis communication context, this research explores to what extent stakeholders and stakeseekers’ perceive violations in an international crisis context. Specifically, this study investigated to what extent organizations stakeholders and stakeseekers’ perceive cultural and expectancy violations in an international crisis. Through a case study that analyzed tweets, web blogs, and The New York Times articles, this study identified that the cultural violation theme has two components, including (1) perceived responsibility and harshness of the violation and (2) damage done by the company’s transgression. Whereas expectancy violation theme included (1) frequent use of verbal …

The Toolkit For Social Support And Social Anxiety: S*A*S*S*, Cynthia E. Kmety

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to create a toolkit for social support and social anxiety using the Communal Coping method. There was background research conducted on social anxiety and social support, COVID impact, Communal Coping, and resilience and skill building. Before constructing the toolkit, a survey was conducted with 29 Eastern Illinois University students to measure their assessment of their social anxiety and social support. The results of this survey found that students have a need for social support and are affected by their anxiety. Once the toolkit: the workbook and the facilitator’s manual, were completed, a pilot class …

More Than Just Sticks And Stones: Effects Of Interpersonal Interactions On Liminality And The Negotiation Of Identity, Conlon Muhr

Masters Theses

The following study contains the detailed findings of my lived experiences studied in an autoethnographic method with a focus on the effects of interpersonal communication on identity negotiation during liminality. This study is conducted to expand upon the large and dense web of communication studies. During the use of the autoethnographic process, I provide in-depth insight into my lived experiences during liminality. The main goal of the study is to explore how interpersonal interaction affects liminality and the formation of identity. Liminality support, rejection, complication, and acceptance are the emergent themes found by combining liminality with interpersonal communication.

Emotional Destruction: How Supervisors Can Transform A Subordinate’S Emotions Towards The Workplace, Diane K. Carr

Masters Theses

Workplace emotions have become an increasingly important area for researchers and organizations. Organizational structures and interpersonal interactions activate emotional responses for employees. This emotional strain can lead employees to search for outlets, such as social media, to express their emotions and seek emotional support. This thesis uses a content analysis to examine how macro level policies and procedures and micro level interpersonal interactions between supervisors and subordinates impact the messages expressed on Twitter.

Creative Thesis Project: Handbook For Developing Trust With Gender And Sexual Minority Students In A Campus Health Care Clinic, Anne E. Pettit

Masters Theses

Trust is an important element in patient-provider relationships in the health care field. Patient trust in the provider is linked to higher satisfaction of care, better adherence to treatment plans, overall higher success in health care visits, and better likelihood of seeking out medical care in the future. Trust can be difficult for health care providers to establish with gender and sexual minority (GSM) patients due to health care’s well known history of harassment and discrimination against the GSM community. The Handbook for Developing Trust with Gender and Sexual Minority Students in a Campus Health Care Clinic addresses health care …

(Dis)Respect In The Classroom: A Gendered Perspective Of Academia, Abriana Nichole Vesconte

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine gendered practices and the experiences of women instructors within academia. Women face different challenges than men in the classroom, and many times, they are challenged by their students. In order to complete this study, I conducted narrative interviews with women faculty ranging from Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs), contractual instructors, as well as tenured and untenured professors at a Midwest university. I was able to interview eight women faculty members of varying positions. After completing the interviews and analyzing the data from each instructor, three prominent themes emerged. These themes are: (1) public …

Student-Instructor Negotiations Of Vulnerability In Higher Education, Kelli A. Halfman

Masters Theses

Brené Brown, author of Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead states, "Vulnerability is not weakness, and the uncertainty, risk, and emotional exposure we face every day are not optional" (p. 2). The purpose of this study is to examine student-instructor negotiations of vulnerability via acts of self-disclosure both inside and outside of the classroom. For the traditional student, college is a transitional period that prove challenging, leaving one feeling vulnerable. This study offers a unique perspective of vulnerability and expands our limited knowledge on how vulnerable self-expression manifests within …

Interpersonal Impressions Of Emoji Use In Computer-Mediated Decision Making, Austin Jonathan Beattie

Masters Theses

Text-messaging is among the most popular forms of computer-mediated communication (CMC). However, the lack of most nonverbal cues in text-messaging interaction limits communication in certain contexts. Some recent innovations, such as emoji, attempt to enhance nonverbal limitations in text messaging. However, despite ample scholarship in text messaging, nonverbal communication, and CMC, a smaller body of research explores their intersections. This study reviews literature in these areas and, through the lens of Media Richness Theory, offers several hypotheses regarding the effects of emoji on interpersonal impressions in a decision-making scenario. It then experimentally tests and quantitatively measures how emoji usage in …

Support For Friends And Family Members Of Incarcerated Individuals, Brandon M. Goodman

Masters Theses

The aim of this thesis is to investigate and identify communication practices that affect incarcerated individuals and their families, specifically focusing on emotions and family communication patterns. Statistics show that there is a need for this type of research into support for loved ones of incarcerated individuals. This thesis then identifies the uses of theory and concepts related to family communication, emotions, and identity. The thesis also provides an overview of previous research on communication and incarceration, including interdisciplinary research crossing into sociology, as well as social interaction, family studies and more. In conclusion, the thesis argues that prisonization is …

The Role Of Sexual Self-Disclosure In Partner Relational Satisfaction And Uncertainty, Riley Richards

Masters Theses

Sexual communication and sexual self-disclosure (SSD) are often viewed as taboo and uncomfortable when discussed between sexual partners. Prior research has demonstrated a strong connection between SSD and other relational factors in current dating and married partners. To that end, this study uses an Actor-Partner Independence Model (APIM) with current cross-sex sexual and romantic partners to understand how emergent adults experience SSD and the role it plays in their relational satisfaction and uncertainty. Social Penetration Theory (Altman & Taylor, 1973) undergirds this study as a theoretical foundation in fleshing out the ways emergent adults self-disclose about their sexual lives to …

Relationally Managing Weight Loss, Clinton L. Brown

Masters Theses

Previous research emphasizes the link between social support and weight loss. However, scholarship has failed to explore how family members enact support during an individual's weight loss attempt and how participation in a weight loss program impacts family communication about dietary choices. This project examines how family members enact support for individuals in a weight loss program and how as a result of participating in a weight loss program family members renegotiate relational norms and rules regarding dietary behaviors. Thirteen individuals (n= 13), eleven (11) females and two (2) males enrolled in a medically supervised weight management program journaled about …

How The Internet Is Used By The Millennial Generation And Its Impact On Family Interaction, Kendra Myers

Masters Theses

The purpose of the current study was to examine how Internet technology is used by the Millennial Generation and how it impacts family interaction. A questionnaire developed by the author was posted online and the final sample consisted of 92 participants, 13 men and 79 women. The average age of the participants was 27.97 (SD = 4.46). Findings showed that that the Millennial Generation used the Internet multiple times a day and for many reasons which were sorted into six distinct themes: 1) research/information seeking, 2) work, 3) social media/communication (besides email), 4) academics, 5) email, and 6) personal/entertainment. …

The Relationship Between Parent Communication Orientations And The Self-Efficacy Of Student-Athletes, Sara Marie Erdner

Masters Theses

The influence of parent(s)/guardian(s) communication on a student-athlete’s self-efficacy has received limited attention despite its potential implications for the athlete’s sport performance. Student-athlete participants (N = 290) completed measures to report their level of self-efficacy along with the student-athlete perceptions of their parent(s)/guardian’(s) communication orientation. Further, efficacy-enhancing techniques were measured to report frequency-of-use and effectiveness as these strategies were administered by the parent(s)/guardian(s). Significant relationships were found between conformity- and conversation communication and a student-athlete’s self-efficacy. However, these communication orientations did not interact to influence a student-athlete’s self-efficacy. Mean scores are reported to demonstrate which efficacy-enhancing techniques are the most …

Factors Impacting Ffa Involvement After High School, Danielle Eve-Marie Sanok

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine the factors that influence FFA members to continue or discontinue with their FFA experience past high school. The specific objectives of this study were to determine the reasons why students discontinue with their FFA experience past high school, determine membership needs from the Collegiate and Alumni FFA Organization and ways to overcome membership attainment barriers.

Data collection methods included three sets of focus groups: (a) one for inactive FFA members, (b) one for current Collegiate FFA members, and (c) one for current and past State Officers. Data was analyzed using the thematic …

The Role Of Leader Communication Patterns, Lmx, And Interactional Justice In Employee Emotional Exhaustion And Outcomes, Ashley Danae Nelson

Masters Theses

Employee burnout contributes to employees’ job satisfaction, turnover intentions, and organizational commitment and it can also cause a variety of serious health issues. Evidence has linked leaders’ transactional and transformational communication patterns, quality of leader-member exchange (LMX), and employees’ perception of justice, and each can affect employee burnout. However, very few researchers have studied the relationships among these variables. This paper provides an overview of the research on the various relationships between transformational and transactional leadership, LMX quality, and interactional justice, and explores how these factors influence employee burnout. Following the literature review, a proposed model of employees’ perceived leader …

Student-Teacher Relationships And Impacts Of Goal Orientation, Personality, Socio-Economic Status, And Performance: An Examination Of Those Served By Project Grad Knoxville, Kensey Ruth Parker

Masters Theses

This study seeks to understand the importance of teacher student relationships and the impacts of goal orientation, personality, socio-economic status, and student achievement. The study used a sample of students served by Project GRAD Knoxville, a non-profit organization that serves students in the heart of the city. The sample consisted of 110 college students who have received a scholarship from the organization. The results show that learning goal orientation is a significant predictor of student-teacher relationships. Knowing a student’s LGO and time spent discussing social topics can predict whether or not students will end up on academic probation 64% of …

Using Attachment Theory And The Hyperpersonal Model To Examine Relationship Maintenance, Satisfaction, And Affectionate Communication In Romantic Relationships, Christina J. Gentile

Masters Theses

In this study, individuals in long-distance and geographically close romantic relationships are surveyed to examine if there are differences in regards to one's relationship maintenance, affectionate communication, and relationship satisfaction via Facebook that is exhibited to a romantic partner. Attachment theory also is utilized to examine the same variables, but to assess if the results vary by attachment style. Both this theory as well as the hyperpersonal model (Walther, 1996) is used to guide this research. This model is typically used to explain why initial interactions among strangers can lead to heightened levels of communication and idealization, but limited research …

The Effects Of Prior Knowledge And Stealing Thunder On Interpersonal Social Attraction, Kathrine Amanda Williams

Masters Theses

This study first examines the effectiveness of stealing thunder in increasing the target’s liking for the discloser. The study further inspects liking relative to the amount of information known about the discloser prior to their initial interaction. Additionally, the target’s perception of the negativity of the information revealed is observed. 120 subjects participated in an experiment during which they were either exposed to the negative information via the confederate or the experimenter or were not exposed at all. Results, although interesting, were largely inconsistent with the hypotheses. This could have been due to several factors namely, poor experimental execution and …

Sibling Interaction: Sisters' Use Of Advice Episodes In The Construction Of Relational Identities, Melissa R. Gornick

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine how sisters collaboratively construct advice episodes in naturally-occurring conversation and how they used these advice episodes in their negotiation of relational identities. Thus, two research questions were addressed: 1) How do sisters collaboratively construct advice episodes in naturally occurring conversation, and 2) How do sisters use advice episodes in their negotiation of relational identities. The database for the study consisted of four sister sets who audio taped naturally occurring conversation. Jefferson's (1984b) transcript notation system was used to transcribe sibling conversations which contained advice episodes and the transcripts were analyzed using the …

Turning Toward Or Away From God: Religious Coping Strategies Activated In Times Of Crises, William Andrew Robinson

Masters Theses

This study, which consists of two phases, explores the relationships between religion and coping with stress within the framework of interpersonal and intrapersonal communication. Both pastors and congregational members (n = 855) were surveyed about their perceptions of the role of religion in managing and coping with stress. A focus group involving five members of the clergy was implemented to conduct phase II of the research. This thesis examines how church relationships (i.e. with God, the pastor, and among congregational members) affect our abilities to function through stressful times. For phase I, a modified RCOPE survey (Pargament, Smith, Koenig, & …

Pheidippides Revisited, James C. Stockwell

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

The Development Of Cross-Sex Friendships: An In-Depth Look At Rawlins' Model Of Friendship Development, Corina Franz

Masters Theses

The following study examines the development of three cross-sex friendships through in-depth interviews. The development of cross-sex friendship has been neglected in much of the research, and Rawlins' Model of Friendship Development has been assumed to fit the development of cross-sex friendships. This study compares the development of these friendships to the friendship development model. The results show that much of the development of cross-sex friendships has characteristics similar to Rawlins' model, yet the model does not address all the developmental issues cross-sex friends encounter. Limitations to the study and suggestions for future research are presented.

Narrating Identities: Adult Children Of Alcoholics And Their Social Support Systems, Laura J. Wolff

Masters Theses

This study examines communication between adult children of alcoholics and the social support systems that result from their relationships with their alcoholic parents. These relationships may form either with the alcoholic parent or with others around them. Surveys and a focus group were used to draw information from participants concerning social support systems, communication patterns, coping methods, and critical incidents that occurred during childhood. Adult children of alcoholics were also found to suffer from interpersonal problems, dependency problems, poorer communication skills, approval seeking tendencies, and intimacy problems. The findings of this report suggest that good social support minimizes the negative …

Self-Disclosure Within Intimate Romantic Relationships: Determining Relevant Relational Factors, Gretchen L. Clark

Masters Theses

The Romantic Intimacy Survey assessed the value of self-disclosure in intimate romantic relationships. Males and females place a stronger disclosure importance in specific intimate relationships, such as mom/female guardian, friends from college, friends from high school, previous romantic partners, dad/male guardian, cross-gender friends, and siblings. In addition, females place more disclosure importance than males on specific intimate relationships. These specific relationships included siblings, current roommates, instructors, and peers within social organizations. Males and females categorize relationships into different factors when assessed by a factor analysis. Males and females also thought different relationships had disclosure importance. Males thought adult friends should …

Aggressive Communication, Parental Communication, And Sibling Communication, Kristi K. Eustice

Masters Theses

The family is often seen as the center of instruction for children and the base for learning communication patterns. Aggressive communication is often seen in the family, especially as a parenting method. In this thesis, the current state of available literature on aggressive communication in the family is examined. This includes parenting styles, communication relationships between one parent and one child, and the negative effects verbal aggressive communication has on children. A t-test is used to research the responses of 100 students who have verbally aggressive parents. At 2.59, the t-test supports the hypothesis that parenting communication styles concerning aggressiveness …

Social Support Among Women In Families: A Descriptive Study Of Support In Intergenerational Relationships, Gina L. Bauswell

Masters Theses

This study examines the effects of social support in intergenerational relationships among women in families. The research examines ethnography as a study, some of the benefits of research done in intergenerational communication, changes in this communication over the time span of the intergenerational relationships, the transmission of this communication, social support, the positive effects of the phenomenon of this type of communication for all those participating in this dynamic process, and the heuristic value of this research. The participants were forty women in my extended family, and this study is based upon their answers to a questionnaire and focus group …

Interpersonal Solidarity In Relationships: A Cultural Analysis Of Lawyers Vs. Sports Agents, Andrea L. Cairns

Masters Theses

The cultural affects on relationship solidarity and satisfaction in relationships between lawyers and their clients, and sports agents and their professional athlete clients was examined. The results were gathered through a process of correlation tests and frequency report tables. All four groups of subjects were asked to complete a twenty questions survey which contained variables such as interpersonal solidarity, relational satisfaction, and communicative patterns of interaction. The results indicated that the two types of relationships are adversely co-dependent with respect to self-disclosure and it's relationship to interpersonal solidarity within a client-agent relationship.