Communication Commons^™

Art In Climate Argumentation, Matthew Morely

Comm-entary

My paper examines the role of art in the environmental crisis that we are currently facing. I believe that the climate emergency is largely the result of a disconnect between the scientific community and the non-scientific community. In other words, scientists are trying to portray scientific information to a non-scientist demographic. I believe that if we are to prevail during these uncertain times, we need a middleman between these two parties. We need someone who is able to take the information that the scientists are bringing to the table and break it down to non-scientists in a way that makes …

Analysis Of 'My Sister’S Keeper' And Parents Of Terminally Ill Children, Brie Surawski

Comm-entary

This paper uses the film and the novel that it is based on to examine the behavior and communication strategies of parents with terminally ill children.

Empathy Meditation To Soothe Division, Kaley Lambert

Comm-entary

In that widespread lack of empathy and the presence of excess stress may be contributing factors toward harsh social division in the United States, programs to increase empathy and decrease stress may help to soothe these issues. Classrooms act as spaces which may be specially suited to trial and implement such programs. This research presents the foundational backing for such programs, and offers a detailed proposal for one set within the structure of a college level course.

Remembering The Aids Crisis & Act Up: The Failures Of The American Public, Government, And Cultural Institutions, Céilí Flot

Comm-entary

This paper discusses the history of the AIDS crisis and the activist group ACT UP. During the early stages of the outbreak, there was much confusion and hysteria surrounding the nature of the illness. Many misconceptions about the illness had led to inaction from the public and government. In response, ACT UP had formed to address this inaction. This paper analyzes a set of six photographs taken during ACT UP’s protest efforts and analyzes the arguments within them.

Kill ‘Objectivity,’ Save The Planet, Kaley Lambert

Comm-entary

This piece argues that objectivity is a flawed journalistic standard that is detrimental to pursuits for climate crisis action. Objectivity encourages practices that reiterate structures of injustice, disadvantage voices from marginalized communities while simultaneously advantaging stances with minimal scientific backing, and worsens matters of audience disengagement. In pursuit of reducing or eliminating this environmentally burdensome practice, this paper proposes a transition toward transparent objectivity as a possible alternative to objectivity for journalistic standards.

The Death Penalty Does Not Deter Murder, Samuel Maynard

Comm-entary

No abstract provided.

Rhetorical Analysis Of 'Surviving R. Kelly', Grace Righini

Comm-entary

This essay discusses the documentary Surviving R. Kelly, which details allegations of sexual abuse against the musician Robert "R" Kelly. The documentary provides a platform for young black women to speak out against Kelly and explain why he is an abuser. It also sheds light on victims' difficulties in obtaining justice, particularly when a celebrity is involved. The essay analyses the impact of the documentary and how it has empowered women to come forward with their own stories, regarding other women speaking out during the #MeToo movement and paving the way for future documentaries speaking out against other powerful celebrities. …

Death With Interruptions Short Analysis, Lydia Osmer

Comm-entary

In this writing piece, Death with Interruptions by José Saramago is analyzed through the lens of its stream of consciousness writing style. Using concepts from End of Life Communication studies and traditional literary analysis, this short analysis on Death with Interruptions focuses on the both the personified character of Death as well as Saramago’s stylistic choices throughout the story in order to illustrate human perceptions of love, life, and death.

A Comparison Of The Expressive Language Characteristics In Schizophrenia And Wernicke’S Aphasia, Taylor Thomas

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Mental illness and language disorders are rarely linked together as a way of making a comparison. In this study, a comprehensive scoping review was initiated to discuss the differential diagnostic characteristics of expressive language in Schizophrenia and Wernicke’s Aphasia (WA). This study will examine the domains of language where there are overlaps between the characteristics of expressive language. Semantics, pragmatics, and discourse will be further examined while comparing what aspects of expressive language are key in each domain. Schizophrenia being classified as a mental illness and WA being classified as an acquired language disorder, there are fundamental properties of language …

The Student-Teacher Romance Film Genre: Hollywood's Historical Representation Of Abuse Of Power, Darby Gilliland

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Despite vast literature analyzing films that depict romantic and sexual relationships between young students and their teachers, scholarship has yet to explicitly call this category of films and television a genre. The purpose of the present thesis is to define the student-teacher romance film genre and identify patterns that make it up as a means of illuminating the genre’s exploration of abuse of power in the classroom. I use a historical-generic methodology and gaze theory as a framework to conduct this analysis. I identify three distinct eras of the genre and analyze films from each time period. The first era …

The Myth Of Perfection: Charting The Rhetoric Of Veteran Disability For A Course To Stability, Nicholas Rader

All Dissertations

This dissertation rhetorically analyzes discrimination in Western institutional discourses and documentation procedures, such as architectural texts and procedures, through a historiographic lens. An analytical methodology will be offered to show how discrimination of intersectional bodies is historically informed and reaffirmed by the manipulation of Western myths and mythos. Specifically, by mapping navigational mathematics and cartographic methods over rhetorical, architectural, and historiographic theory, it will be shown how the manipulation of Western myths establishes and reifies patriarchal discrimination that eventually fissions into eugenicist logics in nineteenth and twentieth century France, England, and the United States. In modernity, the practice of manipulating …

The Erasure Of Rural West Texas Voices In Higher Education Institutions An Autoethnographic Study Of Minoritized Students Of West Texas In Their Journey To Obtain Success In Higher Education Institutions, David Whaley-Weems Sr

All Dissertations

I was once told there is a person in the world who has locked within his or her mind the framework for the cure for cancer or even the ability to create an energy model that will revolutionize how society consumes natural resources. Now imagine if I told you I have seen that person alive and well working as an oil well driller on a rig in Mentone, Texas. The first question most people would ask is, “Why is the person drilling in the middle of nowhere Texas instead of impacting the world by way of displaying his or her …

Circumventing Ableism: A Grounded Theory Study Exploring Caregiver Strategies To Promote A Positive Identity, June Furr

All Dissertations

This qualitative research study explores how caregivers and persons with disabilities navigate the rhetoric of disability and caregiving through the interviews of fifteen caregivers and fifteen persons with disabilities using the lens of grounded theory and Burke’s (1952) dramatistic pentad. Significant findings describe how focused disability description can circumvent ableism when rhetorical resources that assist caregivers and persons with disabilities to navigate the rhetoric in disability descriptions are provided. Disability description theory includes the three stages that define, collaborate and revise, and practice and apply a disability description. This qualitative research offers an introduction into the phenomenon of …

Nebraska Women In Journalism: The Groundbreakers Before Us And Surrounding Us, Jolie Peal

Honors Program: Senior Projects (Public)

Nebraska women in journalism: The groundbreakers before us and surrounding us is a 30-minute documentary about six Nebraska women and their journeys as journalists. This project seeks to answer the question: “How do women in the media overcome gender bias?” I interviewed six women ranging in age and from a variety of journalistic fields to discover what biases they faced in the industry as well as their advice for young journalists as we enter into a field that is constantly evolving. I discovered that Nebraska women in the media do experience the bias we see throughout the nation and in …

Understanding The Support Local Movement From The Perception Of Generation Z In The Nwa Region, Daniela Medina

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The support local movement is a growing trend within Generation Z, with that comes the need to understand marketing strategies Generation Z responds to best. As Generation Z is entering the workforce and purchasing their groceries there is a need to understand how this generation perceives the term local beef. There is currently little research in regard to Generation Z and their perceptions of local beef. This study aimed to fill a gap within research by conducting a qualitative study to gather rich data to understand Generation Z’s perception of the term local beef and what marketing strategies impacted them …

Toward A Better Understanding Of Social Network Site Engagement In Influencing Health Behaviors: An Examination Of The Relationship Between Message Framing, Endorsement Cues, And User Engagement, Shawn Chunhsien Chiang

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The use of social network sites (SNS) to deliver health interventions has been on the rise in recent years due to their popularity among the general population and functionalities that facilitate interactions with the content, or with other users of SNS. Despite that, scholars have noted challenges, including low engagement, associated with SNS-delivered interventions. This dissertation’s overall purpose is 1) to document the current state of measuring engagement within SNS-delivered health interventions, and 2) to empirically examine the interplay between message framing, social endorsement and engagement in a randomized experiment using Instagram. Results from the scoping review showed that a …

Research And Scholarship Studies In Media Literacy - How The Umsl Community Knows What It Knows, Joshua Preston, Vince Costa

Undergraduate Research Symposium

The topic of news literacy has climbed in public interest, more and more every year for decades. In recent years, Missouri SB 678 from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education established a pilot program from 2024-2026 to implement pilot news literacy education programs in Missouri school districts and report findings at its conclusion.

UMSL’s Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) conducted research of UMSL news literacy habits in partnership with UMSL’s Political Science Academy (PSA). An initial survey in Fall, 2023 sought to identify the news mediums that are most often used through UMSL’s community, perceptions on …

User Polarization From Ai Social Media Algorithms, Theresa Colombini

Undergraduate Research Symposium

This research project delves into the contemporary phenomenon of political polarization exacerbated by artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms in online content consumption using scholarly articles and survey data. The research investigates how AI-driven recommendation systems influence the selection and exposure to politically charged content across various digital platforms. The findings of this study are intended for a deeper understanding of the societal implications of AI algorithms and provide insights into potential strategies for mitigating political polarization in online environments.

Environmental Vs. Social Problems: American Perspectives In The 2020s, Nicholas Eldridge

Undergraduate Research Symposium

This study explores American perspectives on environmental and social issues through an open-ended survey with approximately 10,000 responses. Participants were asked to prioritize between environmental and social issues and to explain their reasoning. The responses were qualitatively coded based on seven main variables: choice between social and environmental concerns, perceived immediacy of effects, motivation (intrinsic or extrinsic), solvability of issues, perceived connection between social and environmental problems, appeal to future generations, and presence of conspiratorial or denial views.

Only 2000 Psi Of Bottom-Time Air: A Case Study Of Diveheart Participant Social Capital, Kirk J. Williams

Nonprofit and NGO Studies Student Projects

Social capital development for many, but not all, is a relatively organic process, and as social creatures, people work together to reach collective goals. The defined interactions related to the practices of societal norms, taboos, and broad cultural acceptance are constructs of communal decisions lending deep credence to the value of any number of the social capital definitions. However, opportunities are not always readily available to individuals living with disabilities, so they can and do get left out to varied degrees. With unsurprising results, previous research relied on comparing survey data from individuals with and without disabilities to identify possible …

Letting The Narrative Unfold: Black Female Storytellers Of The 21st Century, Jalila Waller

Honors Program Theses and Projects

The important aspects of film and television are the stories that are portrayed. Everyone has a story to tell. However, who tells the story is equally important as who portrays the story. This thesis analyzes three Black female auteurs and the work they have created with Black women at the center of those narratives. Shonda Rhimes, Ava DuVernay, and Issa Rae are Black female auteurs because they are Black female storytellers each with their own story to tell. They each have created and produced content that portrays Black women in a three-dimensional light.

Get The Jab Or Else: Examining The Role Of Fear Appeals In The Herman Cain Award Subreddit Using Protection Motivation Theory, Julia May

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

In 2021, I conducted participant observation research on the Herman Cain Award subreddit, examining the effectiveness of fear appeals on social media. In that research, I determined that fear appeals on social media platforms are just as effective as when used on mass media platforms. The research also showed that the fear appeals in the subreddit worked to appeal to the unvaccinated users’ fear of online ridicule rather than a fear of bodily harm. I found this finding interesting and worked to expand my research, now two years later, by further investigating the platform using Protection Motivation Theory, a health …

Tourism Marketing To Southeast Asian Countries Via Social Media And Its Ethical Implications, Emma Parker

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

As the influence of social media on the tourism marketing industry continues to grow, it becomes necessary to analyze how these platforms are being used. This study aims to determine the ways in which the combination of visuals and written copy in an Instagram post work to create an advertisable overall image of Southeast Asian countries as tourist destinations.

Using a qualitative content analysis, twenty seven posts from the official tourism Instagram accounts of Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines were analyzed to determine what overall image is being presented, how this is being accomplished, and if the advertisement of these …

A Rhetorical Criticism Of “Bothsidesism” In Journalism, Jess Kirby

Departmental Honors & Graduate Capstone Projects

In recent years, a term called “bothsidesism” has come into public use as both a critique of journalists participating in false balance and as an expectation that journalists should cover all sides of an issue—no matter if a side’s claims are unfounded. I argue that bothsidesism is problematic because 1) bothsidesism is a fallacious rhetorical tactic that minimizes objective fact; 2) the term “bothsidesism” and the act of practicing it both reinforce bipartisan thought, which stymies political action; 3) false balance is at odds with the role of a journalist; and 4) false balance is perpetuated by comment sections. I …

Social Media: Factors That Impact Sports, John Wilke

Undergraduate Research Symposium Podium Presentations

Sports have been a popular form of entertainment for centuries and have become more refined over time. As new forms of sports entertainment emerges, various factors will play a significant role in how much a participant will earn. This study will focus on social media, specifically Instagram, and how it plays a role in total earnings.

Positive And Negative Attitudes Towards Skincare Products, Jordan Rachelle Barcenas, Jessica Herrera

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

Understanding consumer attitudes about skincare products. Rise in skincare products from COVID. More demand for higher quality products. Examine price sensitivity, brand exclusivity, positive results, and clean ingredient preferences.

Social Media Marketing Related To Nike, Felipe Herrera

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

This research examines positive and negative attitudes about social media marketing within Nike. Understanding consumer attitudes about social media marketing is important because it affects our lives every day and we are exposed to it on a regular basis. Previous research about this product category showed that there are new tactics Nike is using to expand business, how the pandemic affected usage of social media, and the percentages of apps being used by adults in the last year. I conducted three netnography analyses by observing consumer groups on Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit social media platforms on Nike to understand consumer …

What Made You Choose?, Reyes Felix

Undergraduate Research Symposium Posters

The social, revenue, and other differences between iPhones and Samsung phones are examined through netnography and literature reviews. Individuals were surveyed on their current and previous devices.

Intellectual Humility And Diversity, Emmanuel Gutierrez

Undergraduate Research Symposium Lightning Talks

Intellectual humility has many positive effects which include enhanced perspectives, collaboration & reduced bias, and continued learning & adaptability. Using a personal narrative about the application of intellectual humility, 3 goals will be possible: bringing awareness, increasing collaboration, and encouraging diversity.

The Stylistic Achievement Of Mere Christianity, Gary L. Tandy

Sehnsucht: The C. S. Lewis Journal

This essay will not attempt to explain the cultural, sociological, and theological reasons for the ongoing relevance of Lewis’s Mere Christianity. It will, however, look closely at several aspects of the work in order to assess its rhetorical and literary achievement. It will also suggest that, while Lewis’ understanding of Christian doctrine and his mastery of logical argument are important (and have received the bulk of critical attention), the success of Mere Christianity has more to do with the style through which the author communicated its content. Specifically, Lewis’ rhetorical or apologetic theory led him to focus on the …