Communication Commons^™

Gun Violence And Advocacy Communication, Minhee Choi

Theses and Dissertations

Gun violence has been a major threat to the United States in recent decades. Through the concept of media advocacy from health communication and mass communication literature, this dissertation used an experiment with 331 respondents to test the strategic value of public health framing and certain types of mobilizing information on social media as part of the media advocacy process, including how those elements may lead to attitudinal and behavioral responses related to gun-related policies. Political orientation and gun ownership were examined as potential moderating factors that affect individuals’ perceptions of public health framing. Finding provide public health framing is …

A Cross-Cultural Comparison Of Perceptions By Public Relations Practitioners In The United States And Germany, Leila Schmidt

Theses and Dissertations

In our globalized world, becoming aware of the interdependence between public relations and culture becomes more and more important. This cross-cultural study combines an emic and etic approach to explore how PR practitioners in two individualistic countries, the United States of America and Germany, experience and perceive the impact of culture on their practice, specifically the development of campaigns. To understand the broader image, the study incorporates Hofstede’s (2009) cultural dimensions; to examine similarities and differences in terms of cultural nuances, the study relates to Spitzberg’s (2015) intercultural communication competence. The participants consisted of sixteen male and female PR practitioners …

Breaking The Silence: Extending Theory To Address The Underutilization Of Mental Health Services Among Chinese Immigrants In The United States, Jo-Yun Queenie Li

Theses and Dissertations

Mental health services underutilization has been a prevalent issue in Chinese immigrant community in the United States. Using a nation wide survey of 445 Chinese immigrants in November 2017, this study investigates the effects of cognitive barriers (i.e., acculturation levels) and affective obstacles (i.e., mental illness stigma) on Chinese immigrants’ perceptual, attitudinal, and behavioral responses toward mental health services, by combining situational theory of problem solving and the theory of planned behavior. This study also examines the effects of mainstream and ethnic media use on acculturation and perceived stigma. Findings provide empirical support for the combined model, showing that all …

Hydraulic Fracturing In The United States: A Framing Analysis, Kenneth Stephen Cardell Jr.

Theses and Dissertations

This research considers the issue of hydraulic fracturing, a controversial method of extracting natural gas from shale and coal deposits. The technology, commonly referred to as “fracking,” has only been employed on an industrial scale since the late 1990s and is increasingly becoming the focus of news coverage. In this thesis research, a representative sample of both national and regional newspaper coverage on the issue of hydraulic fracturing is analyzed, looking at several key elements of framing. This study also examines differences in issue framing between the national elite press and regional news sources, as well as based upon partisanship. …

Performing Private Life On The Public Stage: Tracing Narratives Of Presidential Family Lives, Leisure And Masculinities In Us News Media, Kathryn Michele Kallenberger

Theses and Dissertations

Images and stories about US presidents’ family lives, private vacations and athletic identities are constants in the political news media landscape. These news representations texture and shape how the presidents are envisioned in popular imagination as powerful political figures and embodiments of contemporary masculinities. This study explicates US news media representations of President Bill Clinton and President Barack Obama in select mainstream political news publications from the 1990s to the 2000s. This study further considers how the cultural forces of heteronormativity, patriarchy, Baby Boomer masculinity, class, race and taste influenced popular presidential images. Much of the news discourse regarding presidents …

Rugby's Rise In The United States: The Impact Of Social Media On An Emerging Sport, Benjamin James Kocher

Theses and Dissertations

In this study, the grounded theory approach was used to conduct a qualitative study about the effects the media has on rugby players in the United States. This study involved in-depth interviews with American-born-and-raised rugby players from the top rugby colleges and universities in the United States. These interviews helped identify the role played by traditional and social media in encouraging new players to begin playing the sport of rugby. Results showed that traditional media did not play a large role in bringing out new players in the United States. However newer, social media played a much larger role. New …

How Social Media Affect The Social Identity Of Mexican Americans, Kaitlin Eve Felsted

Theses and Dissertations

This is a thesis conducted qualitatively using the Grounded Theory approach where in-depth interviews were conducted with 12 legal Mexican Americans in order to understand how social media affect Mexican Americans' social identity. This effect was understood by discovering the relationships between social identity theory and integration. Results showed that Mexican Americans felt that social media helped them with their English skills and connected them to their friends and family in Mexico. Mexican Americans were able to use social media to connect to their in-group community, and Mexican American community leaders were able to connect Mexicans to their in-group within …

The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints In National Periodicals, 1982-1990, Matthew E. Morrison

Theses and Dissertations

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has continued to receive exposure in national periodicals. This thesis will explore that image from 1982 to 1990. During those years, the church continued to grow in membership and expand its existing programs.

National periodicals can assist in assessing the public image of the Church because they help "mould public attitudes by presenting facts and views on issues in exactly the same way at the same time throughout the entire country." In this manner, they help to form the public opinion about the Church. They also reflect existing opinions because magazine publishers …

An Analysis Of The Newspaper Coverage Of Latter-Day Saint Temples Announced Or Built Within The United States From October 1997 Through December 2004, Kevan L. Gurr

Theses and Dissertations

President Gordon B. Hinckley, the fifteenth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, excited the membership of the Church by increasing the number of temples available to members. He announced that the Church would construct smaller buildings – as compared with existing temples at the time – thereby allowing for greater numbers of temples to be built. He set a goal to build 50 temples in a two and half-year period: double the number the Church had ever attempted to build in any decade. Thirty-four of these temples were built in the United States, and newspapers – …

Sowing The Seeds Of War: The New York Times' Coverage Of Japanese-American Tensions, A Prelude To Conflict In The Pacific, 1920-1941, David Robrt Schreindl

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the New York Times' coverage of unique generational influences between Japan and the United States from 1920 through the start of hostilities at Pearl Harbor in December 1941. The purpose of this project was to see if the Times gave Americans an accurate picture of the relationship between the two countries or to determine if there was a lapse in coverage exhibiting negligence on the part of this prominent paper.

This thesis concludes that the New York Times was not negligent in its coverage of the issues prior to World War II. However, it was the …

Latter-Day Saints In Popular National Periodicals 1970-1981, Adam H. Nielson

Theses and Dissertations

The public image of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the product of several factors. This thesis investigates that image as presented in national periodicals from 1970 to 1981. During this time "Mormons" and "Mormonism" was a popular topic as the religion gained notoriety, and as an awareness of its peculiar beliefs and practices increased.

The rationale for using national magazines to assess public image is the assumption that they "reflect prevailing points of view" and help "formulate public opinion." Since popular attitudes are one of the factors that influence how the Church is accepted in the …

Belle S. Spafford: Leader Of Women, Gayle Morby Chandler

Theses and Dissertations

This historical/descriptive study analyzes the speaking career of Belle S. Spafford and attempts to document the relationship between her speaking and her influence with her peers. For over fifty years, the dedicated woman served as a spokesman for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the National Council of Women, briding the gap between the secular and religious world of women. A rhetorical analysis of four speeches indicates the following findings: Mrs. Spafford appealed to her audiences through a focus on shared values; she had credibility because of her positions of authority and used it wisely; she effectively …