Communication Commons^™

What Works And What Doesn't: An Analysis Of Brand Engagment On Facebook, Laurie Hiebert

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Brands and organizations utilize Facebook ‘likes’ and connections in order to promote brand awareness, a positive brand image, and improve purchase intention. Compared to Twitter and Instagram, Facebook remains the dominant platform for brands to sell products and engage consumers with new and upcoming merchandise and events. Consumers are dependent on their friends ‘likes’ and comments in order to make decisions about brands more than they are brand-made posts. This study looks at brand intention, message type, and the ‘like’ to determine what messages, days, and months are the most effective in generating consumer engagement.

Social Media And Collegiate Athletic Recruitment: Friends Or Foes?, Brittney Nicole Jackson

Honors Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to better understand the effects of social media on college athletic recruitment through student-athlete exposure, the transition from a coach-controlled recruitment process to a player-controlled recruitment process, student-athlete and collegiate athletic program reputation management, and overall increased revenue. The effects will be examined through a review of nineteen published literature sources and the qualitative analysis of interviews conducted with high-school senior student-athletes, university recruitment and media relations staff, and college freshmen student-athletes. Qualitative research will be conducted with interviews of high-school seniors who are at least 18 years of age who are currently going …

Defining "Evangelicals" In Print Journalism, Logan D. Williamson

Honors Theses

Evangelicalism, a movement grounded in faith and individual morality, appeared to integrate into the GOP in the late-1970s and 1980s. In 2016, national newspapers reported that 81% of white evangelicals voted for Donald Trump, prompting a question of how the movement is defined today. I look at the recent history of the evangelical movement and the troubles that scholars, analysts and other cultural observers have had in offering a conclusive definition for the term. Next, I seek to answer how print journalists define the term and how that influences or is informed by polling results on Election Day. I interview …

The Latino South: Race And Racialization, Brittany M. Brown

Honors Theses

Taking into consideration the South’s historic black-white racial binary, this multi-media research project documents the place-specific experiences of 23 Latinos living in Oxford, Mississippi, using anthropologic methods. A digital archive accompanies the written thesis. Through interdisciplinary methods, this research examines and seeks to understand how the Latino community is conforming to or challenging the staunch view of race and identity in the U.S. South, where race is and has always been at the forefront of culture and society. Through knowing the history of race in the South and understanding the black-white racial binary, the presence of Latinos is creating space …

Young Adults' Perceptions Of The U.S. National Anthem Protests: Examining The Role Of Form Of Expression, Empathic Concern, & Perspective-Taking, Daymon Wilson

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The US national anthem protests, which is a movement that began when some athletes, most notably Colin Kaepernick, chose to not simply stand during the US national anthem, has had a major influence in numerous ways on people, regardless of whether they view it favorably or unfavorably. This study examines young adults' attitudes towards these anthem protests. This study is going to examine some possible determinants of the positive or negative perceptions about the anthem protest. The study will examine how young adults perceive the national anthem protest, positively or negatively. It will also determine if participants see one form …

Third Parties In The U.S. Political System: What External And Internal Issues Shape Public Perception Of Libertarian Party/Politicians?, Jacqueline Ann Fiest

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The current two-party system has dominated American politics for much of history, but as voters find themselves frustrated with a limited set of choices, more are becoming open to the idea of a third-party option. According to Newsweek, 61% of people believe America needs a third major political party. That number jumps to 77% among independents (Haltiwanger, 2017). In almost every other part of American life, a variety of choices is considered a benefit.

A CNN poll done in conjunction with ORC International reflected that only 5% of Americans feel the federal government in Washington DC, which overwhelmingly consists of …

Demonstration Policies At Private Universities: A Case Study And Analysis, Bastiaan Vanacker

School of Communication: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Unlike public universities, private universities are not bound by the First Amendment when regulating students’ on-campus speech. This has provided administrators at private universities with great leeway in putting restrictions on student demonstrations. This article starts out with a case analysis of Loyola University Chicago, where the demonstration policy was loosened after pressure from the university community. This example frames the research questions of this study, analyzing the prevalence and nature of demonstration policies at private universities. Compared to public universities, private universities are less likely to have a demonstration policy, and the language and procedures contained in these policies …

Sketchy Communication: An Experiential Exercise For Learning About Communication In Business, Camille Johnson, Linda Dunn-Jensen, Pamela Wells

Faculty Publications, School of Management

To be an effective communicator, students need to learn how to select the appropriate means of communication and be aware of potential obstacles. The model of communication process can be an effective framework for students to understand many pitfalls of the communication process. The described activity enables students to experience communication at different levels of richness (e.g., face to face, instant messaging, email) and with varying levels of feedback and noise. After completing the activity, students will understand the importance of precise, rich messages, seeking and providing feedback, and the difficulties that can occur at every step in communication.

“This Is A Pakhtun Disease”: Pakhtun Health Journalists’ Perceptions Of The Barriers And Facilitators To Polio Vaccine Acceptance Among The High-Risk Pakhtun Community In Pakistan, Sayyed Fawad Ali Shah, Tamar Ginossar, David Weiss

Research, Publications & Creative Work

Abstract Introduction Pakistan is one of only three poliomyelitis-endemic countries in the world. Twelve wild poliovirus (WPV) cases were recorded in the country in 2018. Even though resistance to oral polio vaccine (OPV) has decreased over time, there are still pockets of communities, mostly ethnic Pakhtun living in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, that resist OPV. Although local journalists may be important sources of health information, past studies have overlooked their role in this context. The purpose of this study was to examine Pakhtun health journalists’ beliefs regarding OPV and their views of the barriers and facilitators that influence OPV …

Perseveration Or Perseverance: Investigating Interpretations Of Echolalia, Self-Stimulatory Behaviors, And Intervention Approaches For Children Who Have Autism, Ashlynn Rae Kufleitner

Senior Independent Study Theses

The broad purpose of this study was to examine professionals’ perceptions of self-stimulatory behaviors in school-age children who have autism and the relation of these behaviors to communication. More specifically, I investigated whether and how speech-language pathologists and applied behavior analysis therapists address these behaviors during therapy by analyzing what factors may influence the selection of intervention methods and how these methods may be used to shape restrictive behaviors into functional communication. Through pursuing this topic, I hoped to increase research concerning the ways that echolalia and self-stimulatory behaviors are perceived by clinicians who work with clients on the autism …

The Soft Power Of Ephemeral Communities A Short History Of Las Vegas Technology Conventions, 1959-2019, Julian Kilker

Hank Greenspun School of Journalism and Media Studies Faculty Research

This article presents an overview of the large Las Vegas–based technology conventions: Comdex, CES (the Consumer Electronics Show), and NAB (the NationalAssociation of Broadcasters trade show).

Youth Study Recruitment Using Paid Advertising On Instagram, Snapchat, And Facebook: Cross-Sectional Survey Study, Kelsey Lynett Ford, Tashuna Albritton, Tara A. Dunn, Kacy Crawford, Jessica Neuwirth, Sheana Bull

Publications and Research

Background:The use of paid social media advertising for targeted study recruitment is an effective strategy in health research and evaluation, specifically to reach diverse youth participants. Although the literature adequately describes the utility of Facebook in recruitment, limited information exists for social media platforms that are more popular with youth, specifically Instagram and Snapchat.

Objective:This paper outlines a paid advertising approach using Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook to evaluate a statewide youth marijuana prevention campaign. The objective of this study was to compare recruitment metrics across Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook for two surveys documenting youth knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors related to …

What's In A Tag? A Quick Primer On #Siop19, Paul H. Thoresen, J. Drake Terry

Psychology Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Addressing Divergent Audiences In Conservation Communication: An Examination Of Land Trust Websites In Northern California, Tova Fleming

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

In a world rich with a diversity of stories and values, successful conservation must not rely on everyone thinking and feeling the same way. Values are the foundation of the cognitive hierarchy of human behavior and are relatively fixed and unlikely to change. As a result, environmental communication that is reliant on a particular set of values may cause polarization around conservation issues. The reasoned action approach offers a way to explore communication techniques that address the cognitive hierarchy of human behavior at its most malleable point, behavioral intentions. Because land trusts work with historically divergent audiences who are often …

Volunteer Tool Kit, Lydia Brooks

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The Williams Syndrome Association is a nonprofit organization that helps raise funds and awareness about Williams syndrome. Williams syndrome is a disorder that is not very well known and has a lot of unique challenges associated with it. Individuals with Williams syndrome have serious health concerns and tend to be extremely friendly, outgoing, and empathetic. The Williams Syndrome Association is dedicated to raising funds to aid research, creating awareness for the disorder, and providing support to families that are affected by the disorder. The association recruits volunteers to put on an annual Walk for Williams Syndrome in their area. These …

#Blacklivesmatter: How A Hashtag Maintains A Movement: A Content Analysis Of The Black Lives Matter Hashtag On Twitter, Ashleigh Grimes

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

American society is consumed by social media; thus, digital activism is becoming a prevalent way of advocating for and establishing social progress. The purpose of this study was to identify the frequency of engagement with the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter by Twitter users. The data collection consisted of tweets shared between the time frame of July 17, 2014, to August 17, 2014. The methodology used was content analysis, which included the examination of the volume of Twitter tweets collected from this time frame. This research adds to the impending design of a social movement structure that includes online social movements. The present …

Communication Of Sexual Information From Child To Parent, Andrew Armbruster

Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations

Communication of sexual information from child to parent is an area of communication that remains understudied. During the winter of 2018, a researcher conducted in-depth retrospective interviews with emerging adults from the ages of 18 to 22 to determine what adolescents share with their parents about their sexual beliefs and experiences. Communication privacy management theory was used as a framework for analyzing how and why adolescents shared sexual information and beliefs with their parents. The researcher found a better understanding of the process a child goes through when deciding if they should disclose their sexual beliefs and experiences with their …

Mapping The Road To Maturity: Characteristics Of Leading Research, Evaluation & Measurement Programs, Rebecca Swenson, Michael Ziviani, Nathan Gilkerson

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Family Separation And The Impact Of Digital Technology On The Mental Health Of Refugee Families In The United States: Qualitative Study, Sayyed Fawad Ali Shah, Julia Meredith Hess, Jessica R. Goodkind

Research, Publications & Creative Work

Background: Conflicts around the world have resulted in a record high number of refugees. Family separation is a critical factor that impacts refugee mental health. Thus, it is important to explore refugees’ ability to maintain contact with family members across the globe and the ways in which they attempt to do so. It is increasingly common for refugees to use information and communication technologies (ICTs), which include mobile phones, the internet, and social media sites, such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Skype, and Viber, for these purposes.

Objective: The aim of this study was to explore refugees’ perceptions of the …

Applying A Modified Technology Acceptance Model To Qualitatively Analyse The Factors Affecting Microblogging Integration, Tian Luo, David Richard Moore, Teresa Franklin, Helen Crompton

STEMPS Faculty Publications

The purpose of this research is to examine factors affecting students’ perception and engagement of microblogging integration using a qualitative approach. We employed a qualitative case study design to explore potential factors affecting microblogging integration in a hybrid course. Using the technology acceptance model (TAM) model as an umbrella framework, we examined through in-depth interviews with 18 participants the impact of microblogging integration into instruction that affected students’ reported use and perceptions of their microblogging-supported learning experiences. We found that individual differences, system characteristics, social influence and facilitating conditions all have impact on student participation and engagement in microblogging integration …

Come Together: Inclusive Leadership And Public Relations Education, Heather Paige Preston

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Multiple voices from educational and professional arenas have called for change in the way in which public relations undergraduates are prepared to navigate complex communication challenges in the 21st century. Some scholars have advanced leadership as a way to address this change, identifying the undergraduate public relations curriculum as the ideal place to introduce future practitioners to leadership as a way to better prepare them to initiate and participate in positive social change in complex contexts. However, scholars have neither made in-depth connections with leadership theory and practice, nor provided a framework for designing a curriculum for incorporating leadership into …

Exploring The Effectiveness Of Social And Digital Media Communications On Organization-Public Relationship Building With Employees, Iris Cumberbatch

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

More than a decade after the emergence of social and digital media, professional communicators increasingly use these channels to interact with a wide array of stakeholders. Simultaneously, public relations (PR) and communications leaders seek to understand whether their efforts to communicate and engage with stakeholders through these channels are effective in establishing and building relationships, as well as to measure “effectiveness” in the new technology-driven communications landscape. With this study, I addressed a gap in the academic research with regard to understanding the effectiveness of social and digital media as a communications tool by assessing employees’ perceptions of their organization …

Servant Leadership Characteristics And Empathic Care: Developing A Culture Of Empathy In The Healthcare Setting, Mark Anthony Martin

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

The purpose of this study was to assess the degree to which servant leadership characteristics are exhibited in medical group practices, and the degree to which servant leadership characteristics correlated with measures of empathic care. This study featured an explanatory mixed methods research design embedded in appreciative inquiry. A total of 189 mid-level practitioners consisting of nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and practice mangers responded to a 32-item scale survey that featured a six-point Likert scale to measure servant leadership items and a 10-point continuous scale to assess measures of empathic care. The servant leadership items were based on the seven …

Do Directionality And Network Size Affect Network Structure In Online Social Networks?, Nitin V. Mayande, Charles Weber

Engineering and Technology Management Faculty Publications and Presentations

A study of the online social networks of six Twitter conversations about six YouTube product categories reveals that directionality and network size affect the structure of online social networks. Our results indicate that large networks tend to be non-random, regardless of whether they are directional or not, suggesting that structural attributes of the online networks under study are a true reflection of network's features. Smaller non-directional networks also tend to be non-random, whereas smaller directional networks tend to be random in nature. However, very small networks tend to be random in nature, whether they are directional or not. Our results …

When Bad Genes Ruin A Perfectly Good Outlook: Psychological Implications Of Hereditary Breast And Ovarian Cancer Via Narrative Inquiry Methodology, Cammi Clark

Antioch University Dissertations & Theses

Scientists debunked the belief that breast cancer is always viral with the mid-90s discovery of the first hereditary genetic mutation linked to a significantly higher-than average chance of breast and ovarian cancer. This genetic condition, called Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer (HBOC), passes the mutation from generation to generation in a family. Thousands of variations of such mutations exist, and carriers account for 10 to 15% of all breast cancer, and up to 20% of ovarian (Childers et al., 2017). In addition, genetic testing uncovered a rapidly rising number of healthy people (never had breast/ovarian cancer) who are also carriers, …

Storied Feelings: Emotions, Culture, Media, E. Deidre Pribram Ph.D.

Communications: Faculty Publications

Mass mediated emotional experiences are central to late modern subjectivity. Narrative storytelling creates public sites where audiences encounter and negotiate shared sociocultural circumstances rendered in aesthetic terms. Popular narratives move us by providing access, through felt recognition, to aspects of our emotional existence that would otherwise remain inexpressible. Using examples from film, this chapter explores how emotions as public events, constituted as part of collectively experienced social, cultural, and historical conditions, are enacted or realized through narrative media.

And So It Goes: An Introduction To Volume 2 Of The Journal Of Communication Pedagogy, Scott A. Myers

Journal of Communication Pedagogy

As part of the larger instructional communication education umbrella and similar to, yet distinct enough from, its related subdisciplines such as basic course scholarship, the scholarship of teaching and learning, and critical communication pedagogy, the articles published in this volume of JCP demonstrate the three forms through which communication pedagogy can emerge. That is, whether communication pedagogy centers on the systematic study (i.e., Original Research Studies), reflection (i.e., Reflection Essays), or identification of teaching practices (i.e., Best Practices) across communication curricula, the end result is that communication pedagogy acts as a vehicle through which teaching effectiveness can be improved, strengthened, …

Perspectives On Teaching The Family Communication Course, Tiffany R. Wang, Jeffrey T. Child

Journal of Communication Pedagogy

This article discusses what undergraduate students enrolled in a family communication course should learn. It is intended to provide readers with a general direction on how to design or teach a family communication course so that students understand a communication-centered approach to family. This article highlightssome of the foundational theories and concepts grounding most family communication courses, content areas typically addressed when considering the family communication course, possible assignments that might be useful in teaching the course, and relevant issues related to teaching family communication. If instructors thoughtfully consider content and assignment decisions in the family communication course, they have …

Engaging Persuasion: What Should Undergraduate Students Enrolled In A Persuasion Course Learn?, Stephen K. Hunt, Kevin Meyer

Journal of Communication Pedagogy

In our daily activities we are bombarded with persuasive messages. From advertising on mass and social media to interactions with friends, we are constantly exposed to attempts to change or reinforce our attitudes, values, beliefs, and behaviors. Conversely, we routinely attempt to influence others and gain their compliance through persuasive attempts of our own. Without question, persuasion is a central feature of virtually every aspect of human communication and is found wherever we find people communicating. Fortunately, scholars have developed a great number of empirically tested persuasive techniques, strategies, and theories that can help students become effective producers and consumers …

Multifaceted Contents And Techniques For Designing Health Communication Courses, Maria Brann, Laura Russell

Journal of Communication Pedagogy

Health communication courses explore health phenomena from various angles. Whether focusing on interpersonal and organizational relationships or addressing community and national campaigns, instructors may choose from various contents to design these courses. This essay highlights critical questions, contents, and activities useful for instructors seeking information for designing health communication courses. Moreover, the authors reflect on sensitive issues unique to these courses that instructors should take into consideration when teaching.