Communication Commons^™

Spring 2021

Conversations

Dean's Letter: Education in a Time of Pandemic; A Talk with a Journalism Legend; The Virtual College of Communication; Walking the Talk: Internships provide students with the experience they need to stand out in the job market; Dispatches from a Rust Belt Femme: An alumna recalls how DePaul nurtured her self-expression; The Art of Alvin Hollingsworth

‘I Am Just A Part Of The Community’: Amish And Ultra-Orthodox Women And The Third Person Perception, Rivka Neriya-Ben Shahar

Journal of Amish and Plain Anabaptist Studies

This article focuses on the third-person perception (TPP) of Amish and Ultra-Orthodox Jewish women. TPP’s central insight is that consumers believe media influences “her/him” (the third person) much more than “me” (the first person). Since media technologies pose challenges to these women’s sense of religious devotion, their TPP toward secular media contributes to the discussion about religion, gender, and media. The study uses quantitative and qualitative methodologies, including a survey, participant observation, and interviews, to answer three research questions: (1) Do Amish and Ultra-Orthodox women have the third-person perception, reflected by their estimation that the negative influence of secular media …

Visual Framing Effects Of News Coverage Of Police Use Of Deadly Force On Intergroup Relationships, Lucile Henderson, Riva Tukachinsky Forster, Leora Kalili, Simone Guillory

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

The study examines the effects of visual framing in news coverage of law enforcement use of lethal force. In a 2X2 online experiment, participants read one of four versions of a news story that included visual racial cues (images depicting a Black vs. a White victim) and a delinquent/normative frame—depicting the victim wearing attire that signifies either normative or delinquent behavior (regalia vs. a hooded sweatshirt). Both race and delinquency framing influenced the readers’ stereotype endorsement and feelings toward Black Americans. However, judgment of the police officer’s behavior solely depended on the victim’s race. These findings demonstrate the importance of …

The Guardian, Week Of May 24, 2021, Wright State Student Body

The Guardian Student Newspaper

News articles from The Guardian for the week of May 24, 2021. The Guardian is the official student-run newspaper for Wright State University. It has been published regularly since March of 1965.

Explicating The Process Of Communicative Disenfranchisement For Women With Chronic Overlapping Pain Conditions (Copcs), Elizabeth A. Hintz

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation builds upon the extant literature in fields such as medicine, psychology, sociology, women and gender studies, and communication studies to theoretically explicate and develop a measure of the process of communicative disenfranchisement (CD). This dissertation refers to CD in two capacities: (a) as the phenomenon of CD (i.e., a communication construct and process unfolding over time), and (b) as a theoretical framework (i.e., that builds on CIFC tenets and elucidates the phenomenon of CD) which is abbreviated TCD (i.e., theory of communicative disenfranchisement). TCD enables scholars to assess how talk may disempower and empower again individuals and communities …

#Oscarssowhite: Millennials, Generation Z And Oscars Viewership, Marissa L. Thomas

Theses - ALL

This study explores the declining viewership of nationally broadcasted awards shows through the Oscars in connection with Millennials and Generation Z's call for diversity and inclusion. This thesis utilizes relationship management theory and corporate reputation theory to explore the current relationship between the Oscars and the Millennial and Generation Z generations. Through a mixed methods qualitative and quantitative process, this study seeks to determine whether Oscars viewership would benefit from the adoption of diversity and inclusion initiatives.

Imaginative Rhetorical Invention In The 21st Century: An Analysis Of Afrofuturism And Black Utopian Thought In A Black Lady Sketch Show As An Avenue Toward Black Liberation, Natalie Weathers

Theses - ALL

Inspired by recent events following the deaths of unarmed Black bodies killed at the hands of police officers and white vigilante citizens (Griffith, 2020; Oppel, 2020; BBC, 2020) this thesis seeks to validate the seemingly impossible aspirations of Black struggle and liberation in attempt to dismantle white supremacist ideology and oppression. Grounded in rhetorical theory emphasizing the imagination and canon of invention alongside critical perspectives of Afrofuturism and Black utopian thought, this thesis demonstrates the liberatory power of the Black American imagination within the United States in the 21st century through an analysis of A Black Lady Sketch Show (2019).

Antichrist In The Oval Office: The Rhetoric Of 'Antichrist' In Online Discourse Surrounding Donald Trump, Meagan Bojarski

Theses - ALL

This thesis examines how people compare the president to the Antichrist online, specifically during the Trump administration. Looking at digital Antichrist comparisons as distinct communicative practices, I argue that the digital affordances and logics that allow for the rapid spread of ideas online work synergistically with the historical weight of the Antichrist as a concept, helping the comparisons to spread further and faster than they could have through other mediums while simultaneously being more impactful than other digitally-spread content due to the wealth of sources, both within religion and pop culture, which can be drawn on. In examining a Twitter …

Why Is The Culture Surrounding Electronic Music So Attractive, Joseph Monopoli

Theses - ALL

Electronic Dance Music, also known as EDM, is a musical genre that has recently dominated the current music landscape and industry. However, there is a lack of understanding behind this beloved genre in terms of its culture and the fans that idolize it. In fact, this new culture that EDM fans have created, coined by them as "Rave Culture", is understudied. This research project is designed to take an exploratory approach into answering questions about this newfound culture and what makes this culture that surrounds Electronic Dance Music, so attractive. Because of this newly established culture, research surrounding this topic …

How Perceived Real-World Risk Affects Vr Experience, Shengjie Yao

Theses - ALL

Dwelling on presence theory and breaks in presence theory, the purpose of this study is to investigate how real-world risks may affect people's use of VR devices. A two-group comparison experimental design (N=51) was adopted to test how a less ideal play environment with potential risks can affect people's experience in using virtual reality compared to an ideal VR playing set up. The results suggest that people in a less ideal play environment with potential risks tend to pay less attention to the VR content as well as enjoy the experience less compared to an ideal VR playing set up. …

Toward A Public Relations Theory Of Integration, Kelly Coolican Gaggin

Dissertations - ALL

Health and human service nonprofit organizations provide a multitude of support services to marginalized and underserved populations in the United States and abroad. Public relations and communications professionals are often focused on supporting goals that are directly tied to the organization which are also strongly tied to revenue seeking through increasing awareness of mission and need for financial contribution. This qualitative constructivist grounded theory study explores the extent to which public relations and communications roles can impact the integration of service populations into their communities.Through interviews with 13 refugee aid organization staff and 11 refugees, primary barriers to integration, including …

Uncovered Magazine: A Magazine Prototype And Business Plan, Avery Bowman

Honors Theses

Through developing a skin care magazine prototype and business plan, this thesis aims to show how a print magazine can be successful to a young audience. By studying the history and development of both magazines and skin care and focusing on today’s industries, now is the perfect time to launch a skin care magazine. Uncovered Magazine will not only focus on filling this gap, but also will aim to empower women to find beauty in their natural skin.

Police Brutality And Black Lives Matter Protests: Portrayal In The Mainstream Media And The Effects On Audience Perception, Tyriana Chanel Evans

Theses - ALL

Police Brutality and Black Lives Matter Protests: Portrayal in the Mainstream Media and the Effects on Audience Perception examines newspaper coverage of the #BlackLivesMatter protests following the police killings of Baltimore resident Freddie Gray in 2015 and Korryn Gaines in 2016. The thesis seeks to analyze newspaper articles written by journalists of mainstream presses and Black American presses to interrogate the audience's perception of #BlackLivesMatter protests. In other words, how is the audience's perception about #BlackLivesMatter protests cultivated after reading the news? Through qualitative research, findings determined that The Washington Post and The New York Times occasionally published articles associating …

Antichrist In The Oval Office: The Rhetoric Of ‘Antichrist’ In Online Discourse Surrounding Donald Trump, Meagan Bojarski

Theses - ALL

This thesis examines how people compare the president to the Antichrist online, specifically during the Trump administration. Looking at digital Antichrist comparisons as distinct communicative practices, I argue that the digital affordances and logics that allow for the rapid spread of ideas online work synergistically with the historical weight of the Antichrist as a concept, helping the comparisons to spread further and faster than they could have through other mediums while simultaneously being more impactful than other digitally-spread content due to the wealth of sources, both within religion and pop culture, which can be drawn on. In examining a Twitter …

Why Is The Culture Surrounding Electronic Music So Attractive, Joseph Monopoli

Theses - ALL

Electronic Dance Music, also known as EDM, is a musical genre that has recently dominated the current music landscape and industry. However, there is a lack of understanding behind this beloved genre in terms of its culture and the fans that idolize it. In fact, this new culture that EDM fans have created, coined by them as “Rave Culture”, is understudied. This research project is designed to take an exploratory approach into answering questions about this newfound culture and what makes this culture that surrounds Electronic Dance Music, so attractive. Because of this newly established culture, research surrounding this topic …

#Oscarssowhite: Millennials, Generation Z And Oscars Viewership, Marissa L. Thomas

Theses - ALL

This study explores the declining viewership of nationally broadcasted awards shows through the Oscars in connection with Millennials and Generation Z’s call for diversity and inclusion. This thesis utilizes relationship management theory and corporate reputation theory to explore the current relationship between the Oscars and the Millennial and Generation Z generations. Through a mixed methods qualitative and quantitative process, this study seeks to determine whether Oscars viewership would benefit from the adoption of diversity and inclusion initiatives.

How Perceived Real-World Risk Affects Vr Experience, Shengjie Yao

Theses - ALL

Dwelling on presence theory and breaks in presence theory, the purpose of this study is to investigate how real-world risks may affect people’s use of VR devices. A two-group comparison experimental design (N=51) was adopted to test how a less ideal play environment with potential risks can affect people’s experience in using virtual reality compared to an ideal VR playing set up. The results suggest that people in a less ideal play environment with potential risks tend to pay less attention to the VR content as well as enjoy the experience less compared to an ideal VR playing set up. …

Treatment Anxiety Education For Pediatric Cardiac Neurodevelopmental Patients, An Evidence Based Project, Mary Nagel

Doctor of Nursing Practice Final Manuscripts

Abstract

Background

Congenital heart disease (CHD) is the most common birth defect and affects almost 1% of all live births. Treatment anxiety is common among children with CHD who undergo multiple procedures early in their lifetime. Dramatically increased life spans for this cardiac population has led to a shift from focusing on survival to their long-term health outcomes.

Methods:

Administration of the Peds QL Cardiac Module 3.0 assesses health related quality of life (HRQOL) during annual visits to a Cardiac Neurodevelopmental (ND) Clinic by evaluating the level of Treatment Anxiety a patient experiences during healthcare appointments. The questionnaire scores are …

Toward A Public Relations Theory Of Integration, Kelly Coolican Gaggin

Dissertations - ALL

Health and human service nonprofit organizations provide a multitude of support services to marginalized and underserved populations in the United States and abroad. Public relations and communications professionals are often focused on supporting goals that are directly tied to the organization which are also strongly tied to revenue seeking through increasing awareness of mission and need for financial contribution. This qualitative constructivist grounded theory study explores the extent to which public relations and communications roles can impact the integration of service populations into their communities.Through interviews with 13 refugee aid organization staff and 11 refugees, primary barriers to integration, including …

Police Brutality And Black Lives Matter Protests: Portrayal In The Mainstream Media And The Effects On Audience Perception, Tyriana Chanel Evans

Theses - ALL

Police Brutality and Black Lives Matter Protests: Portrayal in the Mainstream Media and the Effects on Audience Perception examines newspaper coverage of the #BlackLivesMatter protests following the police killings of Baltimore resident Freddie Gray in 2015 and Korryn Gaines in 2016. The thesis seeks to analyze newspaper articles written by journalists of mainstream presses and Black American presses to interrogate the audience’s perception of #BlackLivesMatter protests. In other words, how is the audience’s perception about #BlackLivesMatter protests cultivated after reading the news? Through qualitative research, findings determined that The Washington Post and The New York Times occasionally published articles associating …

Different Brands Stealing Thunder: How Brand Personality Impacts Crisis Response Strategy Choice, Dongqing Xu

Theses - ALL

This study aimed to examine the impact of brand personality on participants’ brand perceptions and crisis response evaluation. To be more specific, the study aimed to examine how stealing thunder (i.e., brands disclosing the crisis and response before revealed by the third-party) as a proactive response strategy could impact brands with different personalities in crisis. Employing a 2 (brand personality: sincere vs. exciting) × 2 (crisis response type: proactive vs. reactive) experimental design, the study found the main effect of brand personality on participants’ perceived credibility, brand attitude, and purchase intention, such that sincere brands were perceived more credible and …

Designing Human-Computer Conversational Systems Using Needs Hierarchy, Souvick Ghosh

School of Information Student Research Journal

No abstract provided.

Relations Of The Catholic Church And The Government Of The Republic Of Lithuania Relations During The Crisis Of Covid-19: Partnership Or Dispute?, Audris Narbutas

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

The religious liberty is one of the most profound and fundamental deep freedoms in the West World. The vast majority of the modern democracies recognize the people’s right to worship God according to the particular traditions and norms of the different religious communities.

The state of Lithuania belongs to this family of democracies where the religious liberty plays a significant role in the legal system of the Lithuania. The rights to express and practice each one’s faith are established in the Article 26 of the Constitution of the Republic of Lithuania[1] and in the bilateral treaties with the Holy …

Coronavirus Communication: Interaction Of Church, State, And Constitution In The Pandemic Environment, Valeriia Manchak

Helm's School of Government Conference - 2021-2024

This paper investigates the response to Covid-19 by examining the communication problem between the government and religious institutions. During the outbreak, some faith-based organizations used religion-abetted value judgments which affected viral spread (Whitehead and Perry 2020). Religious institutions can also inspire people to be supportive while the world endures hard times. (Wildman, Bulbulia and et al. 2020). This paper will explain where churches have contributed to the challenges of dealing with the COVID virus and provide recommendations for the better response (Wildman, Bulbulia and et al. 2020). This paper also discusses where the government violated constitutional rights and how to …

Lights, Camera, Action! Defining The Idol In Contemporary Asia, Nathalie López Del Valle

Master's Projects and Capstones

Most of the academic literature analyzing K-Pop and J-Pop have focused on their historical development, marketing strategies and/or fandoms, typically forgetting about the figure at the center of it all: the idol. This paper addresses this research gap directly by asking: how does a person become an idol? Contrary to commonly held perceptions, idols frequently demonstrate that they are active in the process of their own production, meaning that the process of idol identity formulation is not a one-way process, as it would be in a factory. Rather, idols, producers, trainers, and the public all collaborate to create the idol’s …

Building Research Capacity Through An Academic Community Of Practice: A Design Case Study, Olga Koz, Anissa Lokey-Vega

Faculty Articles

Purpose – The study’s purpose was to examine the faculty-driven organization’s design and development that supports faculty research needs, track the emergence of the community of practice (CoP) and provide greater insight into continued organizational design iterations.

Design/methodology/approach – In this longitudinal design case study, the authors employed different methods to collect and analyze archival, quantitative, and qualitative data to capture the phenomenon’s complexity.

Findings – The findings challenge the assumption that only formal organizational structures and top-down management approaches stimulate research and build research capacity in universities and propose a new sustainable and agile informal organizational structure and strategies …

When I Rhyme It’S Sincerely Yours: Burkean Identification And Jay-Z’S Black Sincerity Rhetoric In The Post Soul Era, Antoine Francis Hardy

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

‌ ‌ The‌ ‌slang,‌ ‌attitude,‌ ‌cultural‌ ‌memory,‌ ‌creativity‌ ‌and‌ ‌innovation‌ ‌of‌ ‌African‌ ‌diasporic‌ ‌youth‌ ‌created‌ ‌a‌ ‌ global‌ ‌cultural‌ ‌movement-hip-hop--that‌ ‌informs‌ ‌all‌ ‌aspects‌ ‌of‌ ‌our‌ ‌society.‌ ‌In‌ ‌this‌ ‌dissertation;‌ ‌ however,‌ ‌I‌ ‌examine‌ ‌how‌ ‌post-soul‌ ‌hip-hop‌ ‌featured‌ ‌black‌ ‌cultural‌ ‌conversations,‌ ‌specifically‌ ‌the‌ ‌ ‘conversation’‌ ‌between‌ ‌Jay-Z‌ ‌and‌ ‌his‌ ‌imagined‌ ‌black‌ ‌audience.‌ ‌Over‌ ‌the‌ ‌past‌ ‌25‌ ‌years‌ ‌Jay-Z‌ ‌has‌ ‌been‌ ‌ known‌ ‌as‌ ‌one‌ ‌of‌ ‌the‌ ‌most‌ ‌acclaimed‌ ‌and‌ ‌successful‌ ‌recording‌ ‌artists‌ ‌of‌ ‌his‌ ‌time;‌ ‌however‌ ‌this‌ ‌study‌ ‌ examines‌ ‌what‌ ‌I‌ ‌term‌ ‌his‌ ‌‌black‌ ‌sincerity‌ ‌rhetoric‌ ‌(BSR)‌.‌ ‌At‌ ‌times‌ ‌Jay-Z‌ ‌is‌ ‌praised‌ ‌for‌ ‌his‌ ‌commitment‌ ‌to‌ ‌ community‌ ‌in‌ ‌verse;‌ …

Biographies

CLAMANTIS: The MALS Journal

No abstract provided.

Building False Trust During Covid-19: How Health Information Is Circulating Differently In The South, Cristy Kennedy

Symposium of Student Scholars

Building False Trust During COVID-19: How Health Information is Circulating Differently in the South

During COVID-19, African Americans in the United States have seen hospitalization rates 3x higher than the national average (Kulke, 2020; Burton, 2020; Soucheray, 2020). Furthermore, African American communities tend to rely heavily on social media sites such as Twitter for health information, (Brown, 2019) carrying this trend into the COVID-19 pandemic. While Twitter has potential to reach diverse audiences through its state and health organizations, it also has potential to spread misinformation regarding important health matters (Hope, 2020; Kouzy et al., 2020; Walwema, 2020). For example, …

Where The Sea Meets The Sky: A Fantasy-Theme Analysis Of H.P. Lovecraft's Celephaïs, Spencer J. Burke

Quest

Application of Rhetorical Methodologies

Research in progress for SPCH 1311: Introduction to Speech Communication

Faculty Mentor: Jennifer Warren

The following essay is a rhetorical criticism written as the final project for the Collin College Honors Introduction to Speech Communication course. This student’s essay utilizes Fantasy Theme Analysis to explore the rhetorical choices of H.P. Lovecraft in his short story Celephaïs. By examining the characters, settings, and actions within the narrative, both in isolation and in relation to each other, Lovecraft’s rhetorical vision is elucidated. Moreover, this essay analyzes if and how group cohesiveness is achieved via a process coined …