Communication Commons^™

The Role Of The Internet In Intelligence Gathering And Spreading Propaganda, Leila Halawi

Publications

The analysis of American intelligence as an academic discipline exhibits an excellent level of integration regarding subject matter and methods from military history and strategic studies. The knowledge and information revolution steered a different online culture of sharing and oversharing. While the study of intelligence has primarily been associated with historical methods thus far, opportunities for innovation are also afforded by advances in theoretical and conceptual thinking about intelligence. Such revolutions can help intelligence history while concurrently enlightening the disputes on intelligence in the twentyfirst century. The takings from the information age consist of low cost for access to data …

Help In The Time Of Covid: Informational, Emotional, And Instrumental Support Among Graduate Students During A Pandemic, Teanna Staser

Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2020-2023

This study examined graduate students' experiences with social support in relation to stress and uncertainty during the COVID-19 global pandemic. Graduate students as a population have significant levels of stress and uncertainty which may have negative effects on their lives and academic experiences. Graduate students often utilize social support as a way to cope with or mitigate the effects of stress and uncertainty. This qualitative study consisted of six focus groups, ranging from three to six participants, total of 22 participants, who were found using a purposeful snowball sampling method. The participants were masters and doctoral level students in communication …

Effect Of Digital Advertising On Website Traffic At A Kentucky Comprehensive Regional University, Brandon Lee Moore

Online Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to quantify differences in key performance indicators between paid and organic (not paid) website traffic over a one year period of time at a regional comprehensive university in Kentucky, which is located in the southeastern United States. Two distinct sources of website traffic can be measured: paid traffic and organic traffic. Using data from website traffic analytics, this study employed multiple linear regression analysis and time series methods to understand the similarities and differences between key performance indicators of paid traffic and organic traffic as they relate to key performance indicators. Data from Google …

Not Angry But Angy: The Rhetorical Effects Of Non-Standard Language In Memes, Cailin Rhiannon Wile

Online Theses and Dissertations

The use of non-standard language on the internet has long been a topic of controversy, as some believe its prevalence indicates carelessness or a lack of intelligence in the (mostly) younger generations who use it. Non-standard language can refer to spelling or grammar that deviates from preferred language conventions, and is popular in what are called internet “memes.” Though the definition of a “meme” can vary, the term can be used to refer to pieces of culture that are remixed and disseminated by internet users. This thesis identifies patterns of non-standard language in memes to demonstrate that these changes are …

The Healers Issue (2021), University Of Montana--Missoula. School Of Journalism

Byline

Taking the Reins: Providing therapeutic horseback riding to Montanans in need -- More than Superstition: A haunted prison fosters connection during COVID-19 -- Public Health: Local healers leave after divisive legislative session -- Misrepresented and Misunderstood: Why media needs to listen to autistics -- Confronting the Past: Recovering from Native American boarding school trauma -- Welcoming Them Home: The return of native species is healing the land of the Aaniiih and Nakoda -- No Place to Stay: The pandemic is pushing people into Montana - and others out -- They didn't bring any houses with them -- As Missoula affordable …

Colonialism And Sexuality, In Tayeb Salih’S Season Of Migration To The North And Peter Kimani’S Dance Of The Jakaranda., Tomi Adeaga, Peter Kimani

Graduate School of Media and Communications

AbstractThe Sudanese author, Tayeb Salih’s Season of Migration to the North and the Kenyan author, Peter Kimani’s Dance of the Jakaranda both interrogate the connection between colonialism and sexuality in an African setting. While the protagonist in Salih’s novel, Mustafa Sa’eed is the epitome of the sexualized, colonized Sudanese subject, Kimani’s novel examines several sexual relationships, including those of Sally McDonald, the British wife of a colonial administrator in Kenya, Ian McDonald. In Kimani’s novel, Sally McDonald represents a counter image to the white woman in need of protection from the sexual appetites of colonized males. Though Salih’s narration exemplifies …

Media Viability In Uganda, Aga Khan University

Graduate School of Media and Communications

Uganda has diverse legacy media with various newspapers and magazines, a growing broadcast media sector, which as of early 2020 was made up of 40 TV and 199 accredited radio stations. The country also has a fast-growing online media driven by rapid technological developments that have seen greater use of smartphones in the country. The News Media Organisations (NMOs) in Uganda have benefitted from liberalization and privatisation policies that the country adopted in the early 1990s, which freed the airwaves and made private investment in the country’s media less complicated.

Media Viability In Kenya, Aga Khan University

Graduate School of Media and Communications

The media in Kenya mirrors the social, political and legal transformation that has taken place in the last half a century. Since independence, the media have been affected by the government’s oscillation between more authoritarian and more liberal regimes. Over the past two decades, however, the arc has been towards enhancements of freedom of expression, access to information, and economic growth that has supported the nation’s technological development and the viability of national and local news media. The media landscape is diverse and, with one news producing company for every 320,500 people, very competitive. Ownership of the nation’s news media …

A Silent Struggle: Eating Disorders In College, Grace P. Olechowski

Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts

No abstract provided.

The Rhetorical Landscape Of Public Memory In Alabama, Brendan Lang

Summer Community of Scholars Posters (RCEU and HCR Combined Programs)

No abstract provided.

Fundamentals Of Interpersonal Communication, Teresa Fisher

Open Educational Resources

This textbook introduces students to fundamentals of interpersonal communication. It begins with a foundational chapter about communication including models of, definitions for, basic principles of, a focus on interpersonal communication, and the impact of social media on communication. It continues with chapters exploring various facets of interpersonal communication: intercultural communication, the self and communication, perception, verbal, nonverbal, and listening. The final two chapters look at interpersonal relationships and communication as well as conflict in interpersonal communication.

Media, Sports, And Society, Lawrence A. Wenner

Communication Studies Faculty Works

This chapter interrogates a research journey and the trajectory of study on media, sports, and society. Beginning with reflection on both stimulants to and motivations for this journey, the author makes a case for the necessity of interdisciplinarity in the socio-cultural study of mediated sport. Focusing on key theories, methods, and findings interwoven in his research agenda, the author summarizes key considerations in understanding (1) mediasport fan experiences, (2) dirt theory, commodification, and mega-events, (3) mediasport fan narratives, and (4) the mediasport interpellation. Moving to consideration of the larger state of play in media, sport, and society inquiry, the author …

Playing On The Communication And Sport Field: Dispositions, Challenges, And Priorities, Lawrence A. Wenner

Communication Studies Faculty Works

This chapter considers the origins, development, and epistemological contexts undergirding the study of communication and sport as an emergent and growing field of inquiry. Early in the chapter, the contexts underlying the development of studying sport in communication and media studies are considered and woven into a brief chronology of the area’s maturation towards disciplinary legitimacy. This is followed by an analysis of the challenges presented by competing and complementary interests at play in three disciplinary and epistemological dispositions seen in the study of communication and sport. The closing section of the chapter considers key challenges that need to be …

Truth As A Victim: The Challenge Of Anti-Trafficking Education In The Age Of Q, Bond Benton, Daniela Peterka-Benton

College of Communication and Media Scholarship and Creative Works

The QAnon conspiracy threatens anti-trafficking education because of its broad dissemination and focus on a range of myths about trafficking. These myths are rooted in historic and ongoing misinformation about abductions, exploitation, and community threats. This article examines the extent of QAnon’s co-optation of human trafficking discourses and evaluates its connection to trafficking myths, particularly related to gender, race, class, and agency. From this perspective, the article considers how anti-trafficking education can respond to these myths and build a pedagogy in the age of Q.

Online Communication Wars: A Critical Recursive Frame Analysis Of Online Responses To The Article Entitled, “This Is Why Colin Kaepernick Took A Knee”, Rebecca Jean Arklie

Department of Conflict Resolution Studies Theses and Dissertations

The World Wide Web provides us with a doorway to explore our world and access to social media; a “place” where we can keep in touch with family and friends and meet people from different cultures. Social media provides us with the ability to communicate using an Avatar, providing us with anonymity. Unfortunately, this anonymity gives people the freedom to unapologetically express their opinions, using any type of language they desire, without fear of repercussions. This study of the social and cultural implications from anonymous, unrestrained comments in a discussion thread will interest communications experts, psychologists, academics, and peacekeepers because …

The Media's Framing Of Incarceration In West Virginia, Patrick John Orsagos

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The following is a professional project that examines the way in which the mass incarceration of West Virginians has been framed by the news media. The research presented explains the scope of the problem of mass incarceration, followed by an explanation of research conducted on framing. The literature review explores what other media scholars have published about framing and argues which frame is most dominant in crime reporting by state media. Following this is a methodology for production of a podcast series that utilizes a thematic frame and the practice of solutions journalism to promote dialogue around the systemic issues …

Is Care In The Air?: A Crisis Ethics Case Study Of American Airlines’ Communication During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Lily V. Hicks

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This research proposes a qualitative case study of American Airlines’ communication during the first month of the COVID-19 global pandemic. Data from the airline’s press releases along with its tweets and a sample of organizational responses to those tweets are offered for proposed analysis using the lenses of Situational Crisis Communication Theory, the Applied Model of Care Considerations, and the body of crisis literature on audience coping and emotions during crises. This in-depth look at a unique communication phenomenon will be a fundamental step in examining how airline communication exhibits ethics or lack thereof and is related to people’s emotions …

Wild And Wonderful: How Both A Local And National Newspaper Framed West Virginia Leading Up To The 2016 Election, Emily Grace Martin

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

During the 2016 Presidential election, journalists from all over the country flocked to West Virginia to try to understand the draw to then-candidate Donald Trump. There is a well-documented history of outsiders flooding the state and its surrounding Appalachian states to attempt to make sense of the current political situation, all while operating off of stereotypes and preconceived notions about the people of the Mountain State. This study aims to determine how stereotyping and the concept of framing or othering — when in-groups create out-groups — were used by a local West Virginia paper, as well as a national newspaper …

A Short Film That Addresses Substance Use Disorders In Rural Communities And Strategies In Prevention And Treatment Of Addiction, Sarah R. Poteracki

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This research paper and accompanying video (link to the short film is here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1etDnUmEvkOds8J0EKnq1gnFO79-GggjY) offer insight into the current state of research collaboration surrounding substance use disorders in West Virginia. This professional project explores the importance of collaboration both in a research and clinical setting and in the social realm. The film was shown at the 2nd annual meeting for the Appalachian Node of the National Institute on Drug Abuse Clinical Trials Network on February 25, 2021. I interviewed 14 researchers and experts from a diverse range of disciplines who shared insights and strategies in the prevention and treatment of …

The Association Of Pregnancy Control, Emotions, And Beliefs With Pregnancy Desires, Meredith G. Manze, Diana R. Romero, Prabal De, Josette Hartnett, Lynn Roberts

Publications and Research

Context

Standard pregnancy intentions measures do not always align with how people approach pregnancy. Studies that have investigated beyond a binary framework found that those with “ambivalent” feelings towards pregnancy are less likely to use contraception consistently, but the reasons for this are unclear. We sought to gain a nuanced understanding of pregnancy desires, and how perceptions about pregnancy are associated with contraceptive use.

Methods

We used non-probability quota sampling based on sex, age, and geographic region for a web-based survey of heterosexual men and women, aged 21–44 years, who could become pregnant/impregnate and were not currently pregnant (n = …

Behind The Lens: How Women Photojournalists’ Experiences Are Impacted By Gendered Double Standards And Emotion Management On The Sidelines Of The National Football League, Caylie M. Silveira

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

Women photojournalists working on the sidelines for the National Football League (NFL) are scarce, despite many advancements made by women in sports media. In the workplace, women face double standards and are expected to manage their emotions differently than their male colleagues. This study aimed to analyze the expectations of women by looking at the different stereotypes and biases that they face as well as the gendered wage gaps. Feminist standpoint theory assisted in the qualitative research approach of this study because it states that women are the only ones that can speak about their experiences since they are the …

Standby Lovers: A Typology And Theoretical Investigation Of Back Burner Relational Maintenance, Dana Borzea

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

The purpose of this dissertation was to investigate the connections between relational maintenance behaviors, theoretical factors, and relational characteristics in back burner relationships. A back burner relationship involves at least one individual who is romantically or sexually interested in a target, but they are not currently involved with the target. Given that back burners maintain communication with each other with the possibility of becoming romantically or sexually involved in the future, Study 1 was concerned with inductively identifying the relational maintenance behaviors used in back burner relationships. Following prior typology methods, participants (N = 86) in Study 1 were …

#Canceled: Positionality And Authenticity In Country Music’S Cancel Culture, Gabriella Saporito

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

From its beginning in film and television and its early adoption by Black Twitter, cancel culture has become a phenomenon in the era of social media. Marked by the popular hashtags #cancel, #canceled, #[InsertNameHere]isOverParty, and #Surviving[InsertNameHere], cancel culture is a practice which involves publicly denouncing and/or shaming a person or company when they do something that is considered offensive or objectionable. It saw a resurgence in the era of #MeToo that has not slowed down in an age dominated by social media presidents and global pandemics. Cancel culture has also seen a recent re-adoption by the political right, which begs …

Andrews University Communication Under The Covid-19 Pandemic: Feedback Analysis Of International Students, Brice B. Eboule

Master's Theses

This research is an informative analysis of international students’ feedback on the Andrews University (AU) crisis communication during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Participants were 21 years or older, on student visas, living on-campus or in student communities and had attended AU for at least 2 years. The theory informing this study is situational crisis communication theory (SCCT). The SCCT argues that the severity of the crisis defines which communicational crisis strategy will be more effective in minimizing attributions and adverse press while both maintaining and enhancing the organization's credibility. The findings of this study indicated that 84 percent of …

Meeting Their Expectations: Student Expectations And Perceptions Of Instructor Clarity, Credibility, Rapport, And Climate In Online Courses, Nikki Kowalski

Theses and Dissertations--Communication

Continued advancements in technology have steadily increased accessibility to online learning and have provided more tools with which instructors can communicate with their students. As our technology evolves, so too does the students’ expectations for how course content will be communicated. It is important to understand students’ expectations for their online learning experiences so that those expectations can be met. The field of instructional communication has demonstrated the importance of behaviors that establish an instructor’s credibility, clarity, rapport, and climate in the classroom finding these constructs contribute to student cognitive and affective learning. The significance of these constructs has been …

The Design, Development And Validation Of A Persuasive Content Generator, Sam Khataei, Michael J. Hine, Ali Arya

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

This paper addresses the automatic generation of persuasive content to influence users’ attitude and behaviour. Our research extends current approaches by leveraging individuals’ social media profiles and activity to personalize the persuasive content. Unlike most other implemented persuasive technology, our system is generic and can be adapted to any domain where collections of electronic text are available. Using the Yale Attitude Change approach, we describe: the multi-layered Pyramid of Individualization model; the design, development, and validation of integrated software that can generate individualized persuasive content based on a user’s social media profile and activity. Results indicate the proposed system can …

A Variation Of The Delone And Mclean Model For Collaborative Commerce Services: A Structural Equation Model, C. Christopher Lee, Pankaj Nagpal, Hyoun Sook Lim, Laura Dutil, Rebecca Lee, Youngseon Kim

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

This study intends to provide theory-driven empirical findings of the factors affecting users’ loyalty to a collaborative commerce platform provider and further suggests that the platform loyalty lead to future extended use of collaborative commerce services. DeLone and McLean model serves as a basic framework for this study. Our variation of the model tested the impact of perceived value, relationship quality, and service quality on platform loyalty, which would influence future extended use of collaboration commerce services. Our results confirm that perceived value and platform quality were the best predictors for platform loyalty, which in turn, had a positive influence …

Wireless Mobile Phone Technology, Deregulation Policy, Competition And Economic Welfare In Nigeria’S Telecom Industry: An Analytic Model, Onochie J. Dieli Phd

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

This analytic model is about the Nigerian telecom industry’s structural change caused by the arrival of a new wireless mobile phone technology. Nigeria’s telecom industry transformed from natural monopoly to competitive market as a result of deregulation that occurred in 1999. Under the price regulation using underground or above the ground cable telephone lines, it could run only with the help of government subsidies. This study argues that the arrival of a new telecomm technology was the key to success of Nigeria’s deregulation of its telecom industry. An analysis of a simple microeconomic model shows that with the new wireless …

Overcoming Team Boundaries In Agile Software Development, Scarlet Rahy, Julian Bass

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

Abstract: The usage of agile software development methods is increasing and so is the need for enhancing the collaboration between the different stakeholders. Thus, we chose to investigate the communication tools and challenges across the different boundaries and consequently deduce implications for practitioners. This research addresses inter-team communication by exploring the practitioners' perception on the different communication tools and the challenges faced at the three different boundaries, inter-team, team and customers, and geographically separated teams. We aim to enhance the productivity of software development through enhancing the communication between the different stakeholders. In this research, we use grounded theory approach …

Determining Critical Success Factors For Realizing Innovative It Solutions In Higher Education, Anton Meijer

Journal of International Technology and Information Management

There is much research on Critical Success Factors when implementing novel IT solutions in different industries and contexts. However, for the domain of higher education the amount of studies is limited. This is partially due to the fact that what is considered higher education is different across countries. Universities, Universities of Applied Science, Vocational Universities, Polytechnics and related (research) institutes both have similarities and differences. However, one commonality is that institutions in higher education are not sufficiently capable of supporting the development(s) and requirements of educational processes with adequate (innovative) IT. Therefore the purpose of this study is to determine …