Communication Commons^™

The University Of Nebraska At Omaha's Criss Library Mobile Resources: A Study Of User's Preferences, Teonne A. Wright

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Theses

In March of 2010 the University of Nebraska at Omaha Dr. C.C. and Mabel L. Criss Library launched mCriss, the library mobile website to support the educational objectives of on-campus and distance students as well as the research goals of UNO faculty and staff. The study investigators conducted an online survey of UNO students, faculty, staff, alumni and UNO Library Friends ages 19 and older. The purpose of this study was to collect data on UNO community member use of mobile devices and UNO Criss Library mobile services, to determine if participants: are aware of the different aspects of the …

The Public Service Role Of The Local Pensacola Mass Media During Hurricane Ivan, Chad D. Morehead

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Theses

During disasters, residents from impacted areas need information to help them respond to and cope with the destruction. The local media play an important role in providing this disaster related information to their community. This is especially true during major disasters which knock out electrical power and information distribution channels and make it difficult for residents to receive mediated information. While the public’s informational needs vary from disaster to disaster, some disasters such as hurricanes provide the media opportunities to provide information that can help the public prepare for the disaster, respond to the disaster, and recover from the disaster. …

(Re)Conceptualizing Intercultural Communication In A Networked Society, Damien S. Pfister, Jordan Soliz

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

We offer four theses about how intercultural communication is altered in a digitally networked era. Digital media shape intercultural communication by (1) producing new public fora capable of (2) hosting rich, multimodal ‘‘spaces’’ of contact on (3) a scale of many-to-many communication that (4) challenges traditional modes of representation

Negotiating Tensions Across Organizational Boundaries: Communication And Refugee Resettlement Organizations, Sarah Steimel

Department of Communication Studies: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Voluntary non-profit organizations play a critical role in mediating the transition of refugees into their new host communities in the United States. Furthermore, mediation is fundamentally a communicative phenomenon, as social services are provided in through communication between nonprofit workers and clients. Critically, for voluntary mediating organizations to create empowering spaces for refugees, communication is central. In this study, I emphasize the tensional processes inherent to mediating interactions and explore how refugee resettlement organizational staff members and refugee-clients describe and manage the communicative tensions which emerge when they interact with one another.

I conducted eighteen in-depth interviews with fifteen organizational …

The Gateway To The Digital World, Frauke Hachtmann

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Faculty Publications

Attending the annual AEJMC conference always signifies the end of the summer and the beginning of a new academic year. Every August, I look forward to learning about cutting-edge research, the latest news from the industry, innovative teaching ideas, and of course connecting with friends and colleagues. As programming chair last year, I had the privilege to represent one of the most vibrant AEJMC interest groups and to look behind the scenes of what it takes to organize and stage a conference with 2,192 delegates, 355 sessions, and a record of 896 papers. The ad division contributed 113 papers with …

Blood-Speak: Ward Churchill And The Racialization Of American Indian Identity, Casey Ryan Kelly

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

After publishing a controversial essay on 9/11, Professor Ward Churchill’s scholarship and personal identity were subjected to a hostile public investigation. Evidence that Churchill had invented his American Indian identity created vehemence among many professors and tribal leaders who dismissed Churchill because he was not a “real Indian.” This essay examines the discourses of racial authenticity employed to distance Churchill from tribal communities and American Indian scholarship. Responses to Churchill’s academic and ethnic self-identification have retrenched a racialized definition of tribal identity defined by a narrow concept of blood. Employing what I term blood-speak, Churchill’s opponents harness a biological concept …

Navigating Socio-Spatial Difference, Constructing Counter-Space: Insights From Transnational Feminist Praxis, Sarah E. Dempsey, Patricia S. Parker, Kathleen J. Krone

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

In recent years, feminist activists have increasingly transnationalized their struggle against local forms of oppression. Our study explores the contentious nature of feminist transnationalism, asking how transnational feminist networks (TFNs) navigate socio-spatial inequalities within their own practices and as a wider social movement. We argue that: (1) TFNs make socio-spatial differences meaningful in part through their constructions of regional, international, and trans-local imaginaries; and (2) TFNs construct resistant feminist counter-spaces through dialogue and strategies aimed at destabilizing dominant structures. Our findings highlight the central role of spatial praxis within transnational feminism.

Knowledge Exchange: A Two-Way Street, Elise Lequire

Joint Fire Science Program Digests

The best available science is of little use if it gathers dust on the shelves of library stacks or is deeply embedded on an obscure website. A key part of the Joint Fire Science Program (JFSP) mission is to ensure research on wildland fire science is readily available to practitioners in a useful format so it can help support sound management decisions. The JFSP has made great inroads in this arena on a national level, but managers short on time often have to sift through an overload of information that may not be specific to their region. In the next …

Does Trust Really Matter? A Quantitative Study Of College Students' Trust And Use Of News Media, Soo Hui Lee

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Theses

Media polls reveal that trust in news media has been on the decline in recent years and so is the consumption of news. This quantitative study reveals no significant correlation between overall trust and use of news media. It finds that college students have more trust in traditional news sources and view TV as their most important news source. Yet they are more likely to seek out a future news event from online news sources, despite having less trust in them. Results indicate that social media sources, such as Facebook and Twitter, are used as frequent sources for news and …

Strategic Discussions For Nebraska - Opportunities For Nebraska: Energy, Climate And Sustainability, College Of Journalism And Mass Communications, Robert And Ardis James Family Foundation, Unl Institute Of Agriculture And Natural Resources

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Faculty Publications

Innovation

Soil: Techniques and Production Methods and How They Conserve Resources • Mark Kuzila

Soil Productivity Vital for Economical Crop Production • Richard Ferguson

Leading Through Sustainable Management of Natural Resources • Charles Wortmann

Scientific Trait Development • P. Stephen Baenziger

Center for Plant Science Innovation: Developing Better Foods and Fuels • Edgar Cahoon

Crops Innovations Overview • Mark Lagrimini

Grapes and Wine: Adding Value to Nebraska’s Economy • Paul Read

UNL Plant Trait Research Saves Water, Grows More Food • James Specht

Feeding the World from Nebraska’s Research Technology • Larry Berger

Research Means Better Ag Productivity, Better Marketing …

Psychological Net Worth: Finding The Balance Between Psychological Capital And Psychological Debt, Michele L. Millard

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This multi-level study examined a proposed framework of psychological net worth that builds on the current psychological capital conceptualization of positive psychological assets provided to an organization by articulating the construct of psychological debt or those psychological liabilities in an organization. By describing psychological debt as a collection of negative attributes that occur at the individual level for individuals that hamper productivity, morale, and effectiveness in organizations, this framework of psychological net worth proposes the need to create a psychological balance sheet of psychological capital and debt. Psychological debt is described using the dimension of emotional labor, job insecurity, job …

You're @ Cojmc: An Integrated Marketing Communications Campaign, Ambidex

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Student Advertising Projects

Campaign Challenge The University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s College of Journalism and Mass Communications has entered the Big Ten conference and would like to assure its position among other competing mass communications programs with a more integrated and memorable recruiting and branding campaign designed to promote the CoJMC’s strengths of community, faculty, and the new worlds of digital and mobile technologies.

Target Audiences High school students, their parents and advisers, and college transfer students from other community colleges.

Budget The budget for this campaign was under $10,000.

Objectives To research, concept and create an integrated marketing communications plan that will effectively promote …

Networked Expertise In The Era Of Many-To-Many Communication: On Wikipedia And Invention, Damien S. Pfister

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

This essay extends the observations made in E. Johanna Hartelius’ The Rhetoric of Expertise about the nature of expertise in digital contexts. I argue that digital media introduce a scale of communication—many-to-many—that reshapes how the invention of knowledge occurs. By examining how knowledge production on Wikipedia occurs, I illustrate how many-to-many communication introduces a new model of “participatory expertise.” This model of participatory expertise challenges traditional information routines by elevating procedural expertise over subject matter expertise and opening up knowledge production to the many. Additionally, by hosting multiperspectival conversations on Wikipedia, the participatory model of expertise introduces epistemic turbulence into …

‘‘The Love Games People Play’’ Survey: Using Research Methods To Examine Gendered Scripts And Stereotypes, Kristen Lucas

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

The purpose of this activity is for students to examine systematically gendered scripts and stereotypes about romantic relationships. As a secondary purpose, the activity demonstrates the value of communication research in seeking dependable answers to important questions

Extending Intergroup Theorizing To The Instructional Context: Testing A Model Of Teacher Communication Behaviors, Credibility, Group-Based Categorization, And Instructional Outcomes, Angela Hosek

Department of Communication Studies: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The purpose of this study was to determine how students’ (N =348) perceptions of teachers’ communication behaviors predicted the extent to which students believed they shared similar group-based categorizations with their teachers and how, if at all, these beliefs impacted instructional outcomes. This study was grounded in Social Identity Theory, the Common Ingroup Identity model, and Communication Accommodation Theory, which provided a foundation to examine the intergroup relations at work within the instructional context. Through structural equation modeling attitude homophily, background homophily, and global shared social identity and teacher credibility were examined as potential mediators between teacher communication behaviors …

An Iphone In A Haystack: The Uses And Gratifications Behind Farmers Using Twitter, Sarah Van Dalsem

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Theses

The fast-growing social media site, Twitter, is growing in popularity among Americans from all walks of life, including farmers who are using it to share information with other farmers and consumers. This thesis expands on Uses and Gratifications Theory by looking at how farmers are using the social media site to promote agriculture and reach out to others. Based on a qualitative analysis completed on 22 interviews with farmers, four major purposes for using Twitter came to light: (1) Farmers are using Twitter to seek information; (2) they are using it as a tool to lead others within the agricultural …

Communicatively Forming Developed Adoptive Identity: Explicating The Association Between Parental Communication, Developed Adoptive Identity, And Adoptee Adjustment, Colleen Colaner

Department of Communication Studies: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Adoptive families are inherently discursive, with communication acting as the lifeblood connecting the child to his or her adoptive parents.  Adoptive families rely upon communication to create and maintain their relational bond.  Communication is also the basis of our understanding of self as our identities are rooted in social interaction.  Identity development for the adoptees is a unique process in which adoptees construct both a cohesive definition of the self and an understanding of what it means to be an adopted person.  In the current study, I examined the communicative pathways through which adoptive identities are formed.  I specifically focused …

Floyd Gibbons: A Journalistic Force Of Nature In Early 20th Century America, Andrew J. Nelson

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Theses

“Floyd Gibbons: A Journalistic Force of Nature in Early 20^th Century America” examines some of the key journalistic work of dashing newsman Floyd Gibbons and his status as one of the top reporters to ever file a news story. This thesis will look at the world in which Gibbons inhabited 85 to100 years ago, what made him the man and journalist he was and his work as a reporter for the Chicago Tribune compared to what his competitors at national newspapers wrote.

As a reporter, Gibbons was remarkably aggressive and could be counted upon to get the story, no …

Why Anonymous Sources Are Used: Inside The Different Situations Calling For Reporter-Source Confidentiality, Erich Eisenach

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Theses

Anonymous sources for years have been a hard thing for editors to figure out.  In journalism, they’re the kind of factor that editors can’t live with, and yet they can’t live without.  That’s because for years, anonymous sources have been critical to the completion of many major stories.  Some of the situations they are used in are obvious, and yet some are not so obvious.  In the thesis below, which includes material from two of the most veteran journalists within Nebraska borders, I talk about anonymous sources and why they are used in certain situations.  Here, I acknowledge the people …

Secular Salvation: Sacred Rhetorical Invention In The String Theory Movement, Brent Yergensen

Department of Communication Studies: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

String theory is argued by its proponents to be the Theory of Everything. It achieves this status in physics because it provides unification for contradictory laws of physics, namely quantum mechanics and general relativity. While based on advanced theoretical mathematics, its public discourse is growing in prevalence and its rhetorical power is leading to a scientific revolution, even among the public. By presenting a history of continual discovery of extra dimensions, string theory proponents draw upon key thinkers in physics such as Theodor Kaluza and Albert Einstein and frame them as pioneers for the emergence of string theory.

Popularization of …

"The Gifted Pen": The Journalism Career Of Susette La Flesche Tibbles (1854–1903), Erin E. Pedigo

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Theses

This thesis explores the journalism career of Susette La Flesche Tibbles (Bright Eyes), a nineteenth-century Omaha Indian woman. She was the oldest daughter of Joseph La Flesche, Jr. (Iron Eye). Her father was metis, born of a French father and Ponca mother. Joseph La Flesche was the last chief of the Omaha tribe chosen in the traditional manner.

Susette’s work as an Omaha Morning World-Herald reporter during the Ghost Dance trouble and Wounded Knee massacre at Pine Ridge Agency from December 1890 to January 1891, and from 1893-1895 as a writer for both the American Nonconformist and the Lincoln …

Staying Genuine And Creating Connections: Networking And Involvement For Introverts, Kiyomi D. Deards

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries: Presentations

Introversion, often thought of as a negative attribute, can be a tool to build strong personal connections. How can introverts create and maintain professional networks without feeling fake or insincere? How can introverts balance solitude with interpersonal interactions? What are myths about introverts and how can we combat them?

“Instead Of Growing Under Her Heart, I Grew In It”: The Relationship Between Adoption Entrance Narratives And Adoptees’ Self-Concept, Haley Kranstruber, Jody Koenig Kellas

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

Adoptees are partially or entirely disconnected from those involved in their birth stories, so adoptive families create adoption entrance narratives to fill that void. Scholars assert that these narratives impact adopted child well-being later in life, but that assumption has yet to be empirically tested. The goal of this study was to examine themes emerging from adoption entrance narratives (n = 105), and to then determine the impact of story content on adoptees’ self-concept. Seven themes emerged: openness, deception, chosen child, fate, difference, rescue, and reconnection. Results indicate the salience of the chosen child, negative reconnection, and difference themes …

How New Librarians Used Branding And Outreach To Create Communities Of Practice, Kiyomi D. Deards

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries: Presentations

Want to get involved and make a difference? Come learn how one librarian got involved and used branding and outreach to promote and increase membership in their professional service organization, and developed their personal community of practice. Find out how you can get involved professionally. Learn how you can define and promote a unique brand for a professional group or yourself, and see how getting involved can exponentially increase your professional network while serving others.

Making It Happen: Building Positive Relationships With Children. Hef601 Participant Guide, Tonia Durden

Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families, and Schools: Faculty Publications

This program provides information to help adults build positive, nurturing, responsible, and dependable relationships with the infants, toddlers, and preschoolers in their care.

Objectives: After completing this lesson, you will (1) have learned strategies to promote children’s social emotional development, (2) be able to identify strategies that can be used to build positive relationships with children, (3) understand how to encourage children’s positive social behaviors, and (4) have a better understanding of the importance of building relationships with the child(ren) in your care.

It's The Cheese: Collective Memory Of Hard Times During Deindustrialization, Kristen Lucas, Patrice M. Buzzanell

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

Unquestionably, food and the way we communicate about it are important markers of identity. Like other chapters in this volume that illuminate connections to cultural, social, and gendered identities, food also is inherently linked to social class. Dougherty, Dixon, and Chou (2009) explain that people from different social classes have distinct relationships with food. From the security and taken-for-grantedness of food in middle and upper classes to the insecurity of food in lower socioeconomic classes, people's relationships to food structure everyday practices and discourses. Particularly for working class people (because "food on the table" is not always a taken-for-granted assumption), …

Measuring Scholarly Metrics, Gordon R. Mitchell, Scott Church, Travis Bartosh, Getachew Dinku Godana, Rachel Stohr, Sarah Jones, Adam Knowlton

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

The following chapters explore six contemporary metrics of scholarly authority (Journal Impact Factor, Web of Science citations, h-index, SCImago, article download usage data, university press book publication), considering each metric’s strengths and weaknesses as measurement tools, and speculating on the consequences their widespread utilization of each might mean for the field of Communication, the academy, and society. Leaving the task of a systematic meta-analysis of scholarly metrics for another day, this report instead is designed to work as an entry point for readers interested in how the advent of new digital measurement tools carry potential to compete with traditional gold …

Social Networking Sites: What They Are And How To Navigate Them (Leader Guide), Maria Deguzman, Deborah J. Weitzenkamp Dr., Anita Hall, Deanna Vansickel-Staudt, Car Mun Kok, Jessica Lake

Kimmel Education and Research Center: Faculty and Staff Publications

The use of social networking sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn has dramatically increased in recent years. Today, over 50 percent of teens and 35 percent of adults in the U.S. are using at least one type of social networking site. If used well, these sites can have many personal and professional benefits. Social networking can be a fun way to communicate with others, and an effective way to expand one’s social and professional connections. It is important to practice good judgment and proper “netiquette” when developing personal profiles and interacting with others through such sites. This community program will …

The Working Class Promise: A Communicative Account Of Mobility-Based Ambivalences, Kristen Lucas

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

In-depth interviews with 62 people with working class ties (blue-collar workers and adult sons and daughters of blue-collar workers) reveal a social construction of working class that imbues it with four core, positively valenced values: strong work ethic, provider orientation, the dignity of all work and workers, and humility. This constellation of values is communicated through a ubiquitous macrolevel discourse—which I coin the Working Class Promise—that elevates working class to the highest position in the social class hierarchy and fosters a strong commitment to maintain a working class value system and identity. However, this social construction is only a partial …

Oral Self Critique: Raising Student Consciousness Of Communication (In)Competence, Kristen Lucas

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

Communication teachers spend considerable time instructing students how to organize and deliver professional oral presentations, design effective PowerPoint slides, answer interview questions, and communicate effectively in problem-solving teams. Yet considerably less time is spent systematically teaching them the communication skill they will use most: day-to-day verbal communication. Improving verbal communication competence will contribute to students’ success across a variety of communication contexts (Worley, Worley, & Soldner, 2008). Therefore, the primary purpose of this activity is to raise students’ consciousness of their own verbal communication patterns and give them a starting point for improving their verbal skills.