Communication Commons^™

Dear Pandemic: A Topic Modeling Analysis Of Covid-19 Information Needs Among Readers Of An Online Science Communication Campaign., Aleksandra M Golos, Sharath Chandra Guntuku, Rachael Piltch-Loeb, Lindsey J Leininger, Amanda M Simanek, Aparna Kumar, Sandra S Albrecht, Jennifer Beam Dowd, Malia Jones, Alison M Buttenheim

College of Nursing Faculty Papers & Presentations

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic was accompanied by an "infodemic"-an overwhelming excess of accurate, inaccurate, and uncertain information. The social media-based science communication campaign Dear Pandemic was established to address the COVID-19 infodemic, in part by soliciting submissions from readers to an online question box. Our study characterized the information needs of Dear Pandemic's readers by identifying themes and longitudinal trends among question box submissions.

METHODS: We conducted a retrospective analysis of questions submitted from August 24, 2020, to August 24, 2021. We used Latent Dirichlet Allocation topic modeling to identify 25 topics among the submissions, then used thematic analysis to …

The Cowl - V. 87 N. 14 - March 16, 2023

The Cowl

The Cowl - student newspaper of Providence College. Vol. 87 No. 14 - March 16, 2023. 20 pages.

Exploring The Link Between School Discipline And Restoring Relationships Using Restorative Conferences!, Derrick C. Bailey, Julia Bullock

National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference

Participants will be able to identify the link between effective restorative conferences and school discipline. They will learn strategies that are effective for reactive and proactive conferences. Participants will analyze scenarios of actual conferences and prepare a list of things to avoid. Participants will learn how to use data to assess the effectiveness of their conferences and adjustments that may need to be made.

The Cowl - V. 87 N. 13 - March 2, 2023

The Cowl

The Cowl - student newspaper of Providence College. Vol. 87 No. 13 - March 2, 2023. 20 pages.

The Cowl - V. 87 N. 12 - February 16, 2023

The Cowl

The Cowl - student newspaper of Providence College. Vol. 87 No. 12 - February 16, 2023. 16 pages.

The Cowl - V. 87 N. 11 - February 9, 2023

The Cowl

The Cowl - student newspaper of Providence College. Vol. 87 No. 11 - February, 9, 2023. 28 pages.

The Cowl - V. 87 N. 10 - January, 26, 2023

The Cowl

The Cowl - student newspaper of Providence College. Vol. 87 No. 10 - January, 26, 2023. 16 pages.

المترجم بين الصورة والكلمة: حالة النصّ المصوّر, Lina Jarrah

Al-Kīmiyā

This article explores the interactive relation between the various signs of image-texts that are considered part of multimodal texts, in which meaning is conveyed by the complex interaction of their semiotic systems. Given the multimodal nature of image-texts, the translator needs to rely on a semiotic approach taking into account the visual-verbal interplay, in order to grasp the meaning and successfully translate image-texts, while preserving the same effect in the target language. The article gives examples of print advertisements that serve as a type of image-texts, in order to show how visual-verbal interaction is exploited in the translation process and …

Compassion In The Stem Curriculum: Integrating Emotional Peer Support Within Undergraduates’ Classroom Work, Jared Berezin

Educational Studies Dissertations

Students’ academic success and wellbeing are interconnected, yet university classrooms rarely promote mental health. To bridge the divide between academic and social-emotional learning, I introduced a classroom intervention titled the Care Bear Connection, during which students were required to post a message in Slack offering support to their classmates. In this mixed methods study, quantitative data were collected from first-year undergraduates (N = 36) in two team-based engineering courses (intervention group n = 24; comparison group n = 12). A pre- and post-intervention survey assessed students’ beliefs and experiences in their respective course concerning six compassion-related variables: social connectedness, …

Black Quarterback, White Masks: A Critical Analysis Of The Nfl Anthem Protests, Cody Walizer

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The NFL anthem protests were and are an important cultural moment and social movement. The widespread emulation of the protest, and the adoption of the kneel as a symbol of unity, reverence, and silent objection demonstrates the protests’ continued relevance. This dissertation critically analyzes Colin Kaepernick’s protest through the lens of racial rhetorical criticism (Flores, 2016) and Fanonian communication studies (Towns, 2020). Through the case studies of David Brooks, Lee Siegel, and Colin Fleming, and their New York Times opinion pieces on Kaepernick from 2016-17, this study argues that the common discourses surrounding the protest exist within the strategic rhetoric …

The Nashville Predators Social Media Audit, Sam Baranek, Connor Clouthier, Toniya Johnson, Mary Kate Reid, Micaela Trimble

[Archive] Belmont University Research Symposium (BURS)

This report and presentation will deliver a comprehensive social media audit completed on the Nashville Predators, a national hockey team. In the end, it will show results of our group’s analysis of the communication strategies on the various platforms that the Nashville Predators use for their business and brand. While we already have prior knowledge and experience in social media, we plan to use the theories and principles to come to even better conclusions about the success of the Nashville Predators’ online presence.

The Nashville Predators are known for being a professional hockey team in the NHL. The Predator’s brand …

Enablers And Barriers Of Communication In Virtual Engineering Teams: The Role Of Teamwork Skills And Emergent Conflict, Pilar Pazos, Francisco Cima

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

Communication is a critical process that facilitates team members' coordination, expertise exchange, decision-making, and, consequently, team elfectiveness. A focus on effective communication is critical in virtual teams due to their lack of face-to-face interactions and social presence. Communication becomes challenging in remote settings, and specific skills emerge as more essential to success. It is known that effective teams rely on planning, execution, and interpersonal skills to be successful. Still, the specific impact of these skills on virtual team effectiveness is not well understood. Additionally, conflict can emerge as a significant barrier to collaboration for remote teams that can hinder their …

A Typology Of Perceived Negative Course Evaluations, Heather Carmack, Leah E. Lefebvre

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

Instructors and administrators continue to debate the merit and value of using course evaluations to assess instructor effectiveness and course outcomes, especially when students see course evaluations as satisfaction surveys where they can unload negative and/or hurtful comments directed at instructors. Little is known about instructors’ perceptions of negative course evaluations. This study qualitatively examined faculty’s (N = 90) perceptions of negative course evaluation qualitative comments. Using a grounded analyst-constructed typologies approach, three types of negative course evaluation comments were identified: professional, personal, and performance. These types of negative comments call into question the disconnection between what students and instructors …

“My Ob/Gyn Has The Worst Bedside Manner…” A Qualitative Analysis Of Patient-Provider Communication And Mental Health Outcomes Of Women In Rural Georgia, Tobi F. Oloyede

College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Despite technological advances in medicine and public health innovations, maternal mortality in the United States remains significantly higher than in other developed countries. Specifically, Georgia ranks as the second worst place to give birth in the country. Maternal mental health conditions are common, manageable complications that can happen at any point during pregnancy, childbirth, or in the first year following delivery, with 1 in 5 women affected. Unfortunately, 75% of women who experience MMH symptoms are left untreated.

This study focuses on patient-provider communication through the birthing experiences of women who have been pregnant in Georgia to examine how their …

“A Cog In A Wheel That Gets It Done”: A Qualitative Study Of The Experiences Of Faculty Seeking Administrator Support, Lakesha Anderson, Mattea A. Garcia

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

This qualitative study sought to determine the stressors that motivate faculty to seek administrator support and examined faculty experiences of administrator support. Participants were 27 full- and part-time faculty members who completed a seven-item online questionnaire. Findings show that many participants felt unsupported by their administrator while navigating the stressful situations for which they sought help. This lack of support led to negative departmental cultures and faculty feeling insecure, undervalued, and isolated. This study highlights the need for policies and practices designed to build relationships between faculty and administrators. Efforts to improve the faculty-–administrator relationship can lead to increased understanding, …

Speaking To The Head And The Heart: Prioritizing Empathetic Communication In The Post-Covid Workplace, Kevin T. Caffrey

Administrative / Professional Faculty Articles

As of August 2022, COVID-19 continues to affect our daily lives in physical, psychological, and financial ways. Many vulnerable individuals are struggling to adapt to returning to work and as a result, employee morale is at risk. In times of crises, empathy is needed in the workplace to support one another, but many leaders and employees may not have a firm grasp of the concept. This article seeks to define empathetic communication and explore the need for prioritizing empathy amid the current post-COVID-19 workplace. Through a literature review of empathy, psychological safety in the workplace, and crisis leadership, the author …

Examining Patient-Physician Communication As A Form Of Mutual Persuasion Using The Conversational Argument Coding Scheme, Pritam Kanthala

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Communication between the patient and the physician in clinical encounters has traditionally been considered a passive interaction on the side of the patient, whereby the healthcare provider examines the patient's condition and circumstances, evaluates the situation, and prescribes a certain treatment plan or procedural solution that will heal the patient's ailment. However, recent research and fundamental communications understanding strongly emphasizes that effective communication is a two-way endeavor that ideally should involve input and insight from both sides of the conversation. Treating all clinical interactions as a one-way didactic experience where a provider usually goes through a checklist of commonalities would …

Professional Staffing Small Business Strategies For Reducing Voluntary Employee, Gwendolyn L. Johnson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Some small business owners need help reducing voluntary employee turnover, often putting the business at risk for performance failure. Grounded in Herzberg’s two-factor theory, the purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore strategies professional staffing small business owners used to decrease voluntary employee turnover. The participants were five professional staffing small business leaders in the Washington, D.C., area with successful strategies to retain talented employees. Data were collected through semistructured interviews and analyzed using Yin’s five-step process. Three themes emerged: (a) employee recognition, (b) communication, and (c) advancement and training. A key recommendation for small business owners …

Comparison Of The Effects Of Telehealth Versus N95 On Nurse-Patient Communication, Tony Christopher Bloomfield

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Telehealth and face masks are some of the infection control measures nurses use while attending to patients. Nurses provide the most patient care in hospital settings and thus spend the most time with patients in their recovery journey. Because communication is paramount to the role nurses play as health care professionals, there is a substantial need to investigate how infection control measures affect the quality of nurse-patient communication. The purpose of this quantitative cross-sectional study was to describe the relationship of methods aimed at maintaining social distancing between nurses and patients to nurse-patient communication and to compare differences in the …

Professional Staffing Small Business Strategies For Reducing Voluntary Employee, Gwendolyn L. Johnson

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Some small business owners need help reducing voluntary employee turnover, often putting the business at risk for performance failure. Grounded in Herzberg’s two-factor theory, the purpose of this qualitative single case study was to explore strategies professional staffing small business owners used to decrease voluntary employee turnover. The participants were five professional staffing small business leaders in the Washington, D.C., area with successful strategies to retain talented employees. Data were collected through semistructured interviews and analyzed using Yin’s five-step process. Three themes emerged: (a) employee recognition, (b) communication, and (c) advancement and training. A key recommendation for small business owners …

Healthcare Provider Uncertainty And Communicative Management Strategies, Katie Benson

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Uncertainty exists ubiquitously within provider-patient interactions. Healthcare providers (HCPs) often face uncertainty during patient-provider interactions, for reasons including inconclusive test results, ambiguous communication, and lacking the resources to make diagnoses. When healthcare providers experience uncertainty, their behavior and communication can be negatively impacted. For example, prior research suggests when HCPs experience uncertainty, they may engage in authoritative, prejudiced and assumption-ridden behavior towards patients (Dietta & Rand, 2007; Drewniak et al., 2017: Portnoy et al., 2013; Poteat et al., 2013). To date, research on HCP uncertainty has been limited to specific health conditions and contexts such as cancer, vascular anomalies, and …

Comparison Of The Effects Of Telehealth Versus N95 On Nurse-Patient Communication, Tony Christopher Bloomfield

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Telehealth and face masks are some of the infection control measures nurses use while attending to patients. Nurses provide the most patient care in hospital settings and thus spend the most time with patients in their recovery journey. Because communication is paramount to the role nurses play as health care professionals, there is a substantial need to investigate how infection control measures affect the quality of nurse-patient communication. The purpose of this quantitative cross-sectional study was to describe the relationship of methods aimed at maintaining social distancing between nurses and patients to nurse-patient communication and to compare differences in the …

A New Era Of Policing: Uncovering Ways Officers Believe Community Relations Can Be Restored, Bradi Kai Kooyman

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

The present study qualitatively investigated law enforcement officers’ opinions on creating more positive relationships with community members and how news media can play a role in deteriorating community attitudes and perceptions of law enforcement officers. A total of six participants were selected to participate in a forty-five-minute interview. Participants were asked questions regarding positive and negative factors in their relationship with their communities, local and national law enforcement portrayals in news media, reforms needed within law enforcement, beliefs toward community policing, and factors that lead to success in their relationships with citizens. This study discovered that building trust, implementing community …

"I'M Not Your Inspiration, Thank You Very Much.", Yoseph Mamo, Justin A. Haegele

Human Movement Studies & Special Education Faculty Publications

The development of interactive social media platforms has expanded how disability is communicated or shared with the public. Despite the potential of social media to challenge and educate nondisabled people's understanding of disability, little empirical research has been conducted in this area. In this study, we analyzed comments from a YouTube video from a seminal TED Talk by the late Australian disability rights activist, educator, and comedian Stella Young. The video titled "I'm not your inspiration, thank you very much | Stella Young" had accumulated 1,374,878 views, 22,000 likes, and 975 interactions (comments and responses) at the time of the …

The Role Of Social Media As A Communication Facility For Hydrometeorological Disasters In Shallot Farming Activities, Nurul Khotimah, Dyah Respati Suryo Sumunar, Suhadi Purwantara, Nugraho Sistu Prabintoro, Mohd Hairy Ibrahim, Nasir Nayan

Informasi

Social media as a means of communication plays a role in building a new paradigm of disaster. One of the social media users for hydrometeorological disaster communication is a shallot farmer in Parangtritis Village, Kretek Subdistrict, Bantul District, Yogyakarta Special Region. This study aims to determine the role of social media as a means of communication for hydrometeorological disasters in shallot farming activities. The design of this research is descriptive quantitative research. The research was carried out from April to October 2021 by taking the location of shallot farmers in Parangtritis Village, Kretek Subdistrict, Bantul District, Yogyakarta Special Region. The …

Roles Played By Nigerian Youtube Micro-Celebrities During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Aje-Ori Agbese

Communication Faculty Publications

In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Nigerian social media micro-celebrities were prominent players in the dissemination of information. This study examines the roles that one group of Nigerian micro-celebrities, YouTube video bloggers (vloggers)—also known as “YouTubers”—played during the pandemic. The research analysed the contents of COVID-19-themed videos that 15 popular Nigerian YouTubers posted on their channels between 29 February and 5 August 2020. The study was guided by the two-step flow of communication theory, in terms of which information first flows from mass media to opinion leaders, who then, in the second step, share the information with their audiences. The …

Hey Girl, Feel My Thesis. Know What It's Made Of? Research Material., Mya Lynn Pritts

Masters Theses

As Generation Z becomes the newest generation to enter adulthood, it is valuable to understand their thought processes and communication patterns. Individuals of Generation Z are known to be digital natives, as they were born into a world of technology with the internet at their fingertips. Understanding Generation Z's use of memes is an area where little research has been done so far. The purpose of this study was to determine how Generation Z interprets and communicates with memes on the internet and social media platforms. Unlike previous research, this study analyzed the participants' perceptions, which further contributes to an …

​​Pr 101: A Resource For New Public Relations Professionals, Ilana M. Weinberger

Publications and Research

The field of public relations (PR) is often misunderstood, despite the fact that it is a growing field (Fawkes, 2018). New employees enter the field of PR every year, whether as new graduates or as those making a career change, yet the intricacies of working in PR are not generally taught in the classroom (Meganck, Smith & Guidry, 2020). Most people do not have a solid understanding of what PR professionals do on a day-to-day basis, and in fact, many of those entering the field don’t either. They may think that PR is simply social media management, or even confuse …

The Quest For Influence: Examining Russia's Public Diplomacy Mechanisms In Africa, Isaac Antwiboasiako

Articles

This article examines Russian public diplomacy mechanisms in Africa. These include the intentional use of historical ties, various aid programmes in education and health, the targeted use of international broadcasting and digital media, and the exploitation of anti-Western sentiments on the continent. Russia employs these to win the hearts and minds of African publics for its national interest. The article first explores Moscow’s public diplomacy in general and analyses the challenges Russia faces in Africa, which has become a ‘dumping ground’ for public diplomacy campaigns by the US, the EU and its members, the UK, and China. The article argues …

Stories And Selling: The Impact Of Narrative Storytelling In Video Commercials, Gabriela Martin

Honors Projects in Communication

In a world where business is so closely tied together with the digital world, it can become easy to miss out on the human component of the marketing field. However, it is the narrative storytelling interwoven into advertisements that make them so compelling to consumers. Customers do not just want to be told about the features of a product, but rather they want to understand how having that product will make them feel. This storytelling can be communicated across several different forms of media, but it is especially apparent in the formatting of video commercials. While basic informational videos can …