Communication Commons^™

Shimmer Methodology: May 2026 Cultural Studies Association Of Australasia, Lola Montgomery

Staff Scholarship - Australia & Dubai

This webinar presents an overview of the contemporary state of creative-practice research and autotheory before introducing Shimmer, an emerging methodological framework developed through creative practice, postgraduate supervision, and reflective inquiry. The presentation argues that while creative-practice research has successfully established creative work as a legitimate form of knowledge production, and autotheory has legitimised lived experience as theoretical material, both traditions leave relatively under-theorised the embodied moment through which insight first emerges.

The significance of the work lies in its contribution to ongoing debates around embodiment, affect, intuition, and knowledge production within creative-practice research. Shimmer proposes a language for understanding …

In What Style Shall I Confront Them? The Role Of Social Relationships In Social Correction Of Misinformation Among The Uk And Arab Social Media Users, Muaadh Noman, Mohamed B. Almourad, Ala Yankouskaya, Firoj Alam, Raian Ali

All Works

This study investigates how social factors influence the likelihood of employing direct or indirect communication styles when correcting misinformation on social media in two different cultural contexts, the United Kingdom (UK) and the Arab Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. We conducted an online survey, supported by vignettes, that involved 686 participants, 367 from the UK and 319 from the Arab GCC countries. Participants were presented with a misinformation scenario and asked about their likelihood of using direct or indirect communication styles to correct their acquaintances. The survey captured variations in gender similarity (same vs. different gender), social status (lower vs. …

Source Credibility, User Commentary, And Social Media News Sharing In The United Arab Emirates, Azza Ahmed

All Works

In the digital age, social media (SM) platforms have changed how people access, verify, and share news. This study explores the effect of source credibility and user commentary on news-sharing behaviors among Arabs in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Using media literacy theory, the research examines self-reported credibility-checking and how user commentary may impact news-sharing behavior. A survey of 324 respondents shows that while most use SM daily as a primary news source, nearly one-third do not share news. Therefore, the analysis includes an analytic subsample of 220 news sharers. Smartphones lead in news sharing, though usage patterns differ across …

A Design Of Our Own: Legal Ramifications Of Progressing Our Own Replacements One Face At A Time, Katlin Thorpe

Student Scholar Symposium

No abstract provided.

Nonprofit News Public Communication Data, Nik Usher

Communication: Faculty Scholarship

This is the link to the data for:

Nonprofit news outlets have emerged as potential solutions to the market failure of for-profit journalism, particularly in local news "deserts." However, it is unclear whether digital-first nonprofit news outlets themselves are articulating their distinct value proposition to a wider public. Using an original dataset of 336 nonprofit news outlets across 45 states and Washington, D.C., we analyzed digital-first news nonprofit websites to assess public communication strategies across different geographic scopes (local, state/regional, national/international) and coverage types (investigative, explanatory/analysis, news and events). We specifically assess the presence of impact statements, evidence of financial …

Indian Culture Through The Lens Of Bollywood, Harika Rao

Lynn University Digital Press Books

Indian Culture Through the Lens of Bollywood offers a comprehensive exploration of Indian culture, delving into its rich tapestry of traditions, beliefs, and social structures that have evolved over millennia. The eBook examines the diverse aspects of India’s society, from its major religions and linguistics to culinary traditions and artistic expressions. By presenting a nuanced view of Indian culture, this text aims to provide readers with a deeper understanding of the complexities and richness of one of the world's oldest civilizations. Course: DJLC 200

In The Bodies Of Gods: Bharathanatyam Diaspora Organizing And The Production And Dismantling Of Colonial Logics, Nivethitha Ketheeswaran

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Bharathanatyam is a dance form dating back to 300 BCE of what is now Tamil Nadu, South India. Bharathanatyam uses hand gestures, facial expressions, and footwork to narrate stories and demonstrate rhythm. This dissertation explores how the global diaspora of bharathanatyam practitioners organize around bharathanatyam informed by colonial logics. In this dissertation I aim to a) define “diaspora organizing” beyond nation-state identity b) apply this definition of diaspora to the global practice of bharathanatyam, and c) explore practitioners sensemaking of their experiences with bharathanatyam. I approach the first goal by defining diaspora in terms of anti-colonial theorizing and describing its …

A Cca Analysis Of How Media Cover Military Policies Regarding Trans Service Members And Veterans: Implications For Policy, Healthcare, And Wellbeing, Jonathan T. Baker

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The military is the leading employer of transgender and gender diverse (trans) people in the United States, and trans people are twice as likely to serve in the U.S. Military compared to the national average. This dissertation analyzes newspaper coverage of transgender service members and veterans between the end of President Obama’s administration and the early months of President Biden’s administration. Guided by the Culture-Centered Approach (CCA) this dissertation focused on cross-paradigmatic questions regarding the role of voice (e.g., quoting or paraphrasing various sources) in this coverage. Specifically, I assessed (a) which groups of people are being cited most often, …

Animal Biographies: Measuring The Efficacy Of Empathy Adjacent Language, Mackenzie R. Bennett

Boise State Graduate Student Projects

With the guidance of a 2019 briefing document from the Seattle Aquarium, Zoo Boise created a new type of exhibit signage meant to encourage personal connection with its animals and empathetic engagement that will hopefully translate to more concern for wildlife conservation in zoo visitors. This new signage provides personal information, such as names, birth dates, and life histories, on the individual animals at Zoo Boise. This is in contrast with traditional zoo exhibit signage, which lists impersonal, species-level information alone. In order to test the efficacy of the new signage in eliciting empathetic engagement, we conducted a comparative study …

Locations Of Possibility: Reengaging Embodied Pedagogy As An Act Of Resistance, Molly Wiant Cummins

Communication Faculty Publications - Archive

No abstract provided.

Reliability And Validation Of An Attitude Scale Regarding Responsible Conduct In Research, Samar Abd Elhafeez, Mohamed Salem, Henry J. Silverman

Faculty Journal Articles

Several studies reveal a problematic prevalence of research misbehaviors. There are several potential causes of research misconduct but ensuring that scientists hold attitudes that reflect norms of acceptable behaviors is fundamental.

Is It Because I'M International: Unpacking Experiences Of International Instructors? Via Critical Communication Pedagogy As Aligned With Cultural Wealth, Yea-Wen Chen, Molly Wiant Cummins

Communication Faculty Publications - Archive

Given the relatively invisible yet growing presence of international academics on U.S. campuses, this study investigates the lived negotiations of “international instructors” across disciplines via critical communication pedagogy (CCP) as aligned with a pedagogy of cultural wealth. We place “international instructors” within quotation marks to challenge a territorial linear logic of the world, and also to facilitate a new space for rethinking academic labors and capitals. Aligned with a pedagogy of cultural wealth, CCP with key commitments to identity, power, culture, and language in the context of pedagogy is an appropriate lens to examine the lived experiences of “international instructors” …

Mothering In A Pandemic: Navigating Care Work, Intensive Motherhood, And Covid-19, Molly Wiant Cummins, Grace Ellen Brannon

Communication Faculty Publications - Archive

Even before COVID-19, women around the world performed more unpaid domestic labor, specifically unpaid care labor, than men. COVID-19 has only exacerbated the gender gap in this domestic labor. For Western women, especially mothers in the United States of America, the normative discourse of intensive motherhood and the gendered pressure inherent in the unrealistic standards set by the discourse have only increased the amount of unpaid domestic and care labor required of mothers. Using qualitative, in-depth interviews with 18 mothers during May–June 2020, this study examines privileged mothers’ perceptions of what they did well in parenting both before and during …

Promoting Development Of Urban-Rural Integration By Urban Agriculture, Qichang Yang

Bulletin of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Chinese Version)

How to solve the widening gap between urban and rural areas caused by the rapid development of urbanization and its siphonic effect has become the focus of the whole society. The unique role of urban agriculture in expanding urban agricultural space, enhancing the elasticity of urban food supply, ensuring residents' physical and mental health, improving the ecological environment, and reducing carbon footprint was discussed, from the perspectives of urban agriculture's connotation and denotation, morphological characteristics and functions. Besides, the potential role of urban agriculture in solving the issues of rural and urban development and the method and strategies of integration …

Documenting Emotional Labor: An Exercise In Critical Communication Pedagogy, Molly Wiant Cummins, Audrey A. Huber

Communication Faculty Publications - Archive

This essay builds on Lawless’s call to name and chronicle emotional work. The authors draw attention to the emotional labor that has become an institutional expectation of the academic position, particularly among people with marginalized identities, to name this labor as such and to use this documentation as evidence for compensation. The authors’ emotional labor is grounded in critical communication pedagogy (CCP), which compels them to engage in a fundamentally different form of emotional labor, one that depends on relationship-building and the recognition of systemic and structural forms of oppression through reflexive care and performative listening. This form of emotional …

Influence Of Pediatric Patients’ Developmental Or Chronic Health Condition Status As A Predictor Of Parents’ Perceptions Of Patient- And Family-Cen, Grace Ellen Brannon, Madison Ray

Communication Faculty Publications - Archive

Our study aimed to estimate how a pediatric patient’s health condition status influences parents’ perceptions of patient- and family-centered care (PFCC). We analyzed five years (2013–2017) of Medical Expenditure Panel Survey data in efforts to expand understanding of the family influence in pediatric health encounters, using family systems theory as our theoretical lens. The sample included 36,675 parents of children with developmental or chronic health conditions who reported visiting a health-care provider within the past 12 months. The independent variable was a combined measure of any developmental or chronic health conditions previously diagnosed in the child being assessed. Dependent variables …

'Never Time To Do Anything Well': Mothers' Reported Constraints During A Pandemic, Grace Ellen Brannon, Molly Wiant Cummins

Communication Faculty Publications - Archive

Mothers’ perceptions of mothering could potentially influence several aspects of their home and work commitments. This study explores how mothers perceive their mothering experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic via 18 in-depth interviews. The authors use constraint theory and negotiation frameworks to discuss how family communication processes and perceptions of mothering are related within the context of the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. Findings demonstrated how working from home increased perceptions of family tensions, especially with the lack of home/work separation. Throughout the narratives, participants describe specific constraints at the intrapersonal, interpersonal, and structural levels, as …

Implicating Ourselves Through Our Research: A Duoethnography Of Researcher Reflexivity, Molly Wiant Cummins, Grace Ellen Brannon

Communication Faculty Publications - Archive

Researcher reflexivity is not a new concept in qualitative research. However, how/if researchers engage in that reflexivity varies. In this essay, the authors engage in reflexivity about a research project they conducted together. The previous project consisted of semi-structured interviews with U.S.-based mothers regarding their perceptions about motherhood. We then used intensive motherhood as a theoretical lens through which we analyzed the interviews. The project also encompassed mothers’ perceptions during the COVID-19 global pandemic. Through duoethnography, the researchers reflexively consider major dead angles of their project, challenges they faced, and what reflexivity brings to the forefront. They further reflect on …

Improving Slideshows: Part 1, Matt Meier

S Center Resources

Matt Meier, Director of the Center for Speaking and Listening, shares a practical tip for creating more effective PowerPoint, Keynote, or Google Slides presentations: minimizing on-screen text. By limiting slides to 7–10 words and avoiding full sentences, speakers help audiences focus on listening rather than reading. The video outlines strategies for converting text into visual imagery and highlights available services at DePauw's Speaking and Listening Center.

The Reckoning That Never Happened, Katherine Seltzer

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

Five years after the UMW men’s rugby team was suspended for a violent and misogynistic chant, I am writing about whether the school has fully reckoned with the rugby team’s culture of sexual hostility. The school has mandated sexual harassment training for all athletes, hired a Title IX expert, and settled a lawsuit with Feminists United Club, which sued the school in 2015 for failing to protect members from more than 700 harassing messages over the anonymous app Yik Yak. The club was met with violent rape and death threats following their criticism of the rugby team’s chant. But, as …

The Online Disinhibition Effect, Alexandra Eigen

Communication Theory: In Our Words

The following materials are a collection of student works that aid in demystifying Online Disinhibition Effect by portraying the theory through a variety of lenses.

Materials:

• The Impact of the Online Disinhibition Effect
• Online Disinhibition Effect Theory Evaluation

Stigma Management Theory, Jade Larson

Communication Theory: In Our Words

The following materials are a collection of student works that aid in demystifying Stigma Management Theory by portraying the theory through a variety of lenses.

Materials:

• Stigma Management Theory Evaluation
• Communication Theory Project Website

Communication Accommodation Theory, Mccade Ivarsen

Communication Theory: In Our Words

The following materials are a collection of student works that aid in demystifying Communication Accommodation Theory by portraying the theory through a variety of lenses.

Materials:

• Communication Theory in My Words
• Imposter Phenomenon Interview Protocol
• Imposter Phenomenon Theory Evaluation

Post-Colonialism Theory, Larissa Durkin

Communication Theory: In Our Words

The following materials are a collection of student works that aid in demystifying Post-Colonialism Theory by portraying the theory through a variety of lenses.

Materials:

• Ripple Effect Interview Transcription
• Post-Colonialism Theory Evaluation
• Final Analysis Grant Research Project-Decolonizing Research Methods

Diffusion Of Innovation Theory, Kirsten Barott

Communication Theory: In Our Words

The following materials are a collection of student works that aid in demystifying Diffusion of Innovation Theory by portraying the theory through a variety of lenses.

Materials:

• Diffusion of Innovation Theory Evaluation
• A Narrative Inquiry of the Brookings Area Chamber of Commerce’ CEO Guided by a Critical Analysis, Strategic Planning Methods, and Comparison to the Zorro’s Circle Concept Through the Lens of a Hope Theorist.
• Diffusion of Innovation In My Words

Bona Fide Group Perspective, Nicholas French

Communication Theory: In Our Words

The following materials are a collection of student works that aid in demystifying Bona Fide Group Perspective Theory by portraying the theory through a variety of lenses.

Materials:

• Bona Fide Group Perspective Theory Evaluation
• Using The Collective Story Harvest to Decolonize Western Research Methodologies Presentation

Spiral Of Silence Theory, Madison Vanwalleghen

Communication Theory: In Our Words

The following materials are a collection of student works that aid in demystifying Spiral of Silence Theory by portraying the theory through a variety of lenses.

Materials:

• Women in the Sports Media and Broadcast Industry: A Qualitative Interview Study

Affection Exchange Theory, Alexandra Farber

Communication Theory: In Our Words

The following materials are a collection of student works that aid in demystifying Affection Exchange Theory by portraying the theory through a variety of lenses.

Materials:

• Affection Exchange Theory In My Words
• Affection Exchange Theory Analysis & Critique
• Learning Your Workplace ‘Love Language’ Presentation

Big Data And Journalism: How American Journalism Is Adopting The Use Of Big Data, Andrew M. Clark, Julián Rodríguez

Communication Faculty Publications - Archive

This research uses in-depth interviews with three data journalists from the Houston Chronicle and the New York Times in the United States to describe the role of data journalists, and to illustrate how and why they use big data in their stories. Data journalists possess a unique set of skills, including the ability to find and gather data and use that data to tell a compelling written story in a visually coherent way. Results from our interviews and research show as newspapers move to a digital format, the role of data journalists is becoming more essential, as are laws like …

The Balancing Act Is Magnified: U.S. Mothers’ Struggles Amidst A Pandemic, Grace Ellen Brannon, Molly Wiant Cummins

Communication Faculty Publications - Archive

Successes are often noticed in reflection after an event; struggles are felt in the moment. When COVID-19 was recognized as a public health emergency in the United States (US), many mothers felt their struggles more acutely. Much of 2020 feels like a pressure cooker for mothers, where the steam valve does not fully relieve the mounting pressure they felt because of COVID-19. Most families are experiencing additional stress due to COVID-19, but in heterosexual couples, that work disproportionately falls to women, as they are spending, on average, fifteen hours more per week on education and household tasks (Cohen and Hsu). …