Communication Commons^™

Mark Henry's Retirement: Breaking Genres And John Cena, Kayla Stanley

ASPIRE 2026

This project explores Mark Henry’s 2013 “retirement” speech in WWE as an example of how genre expectations can be used, or broken, for rhetorical impact. Professional wrestling blends athletic competition with theatrical storytelling through kayfabe, where scripted storylines are presented as real. When Henry delivered his emotional retirement speech on live television, it closely followed the structure and tone of traditional sports retirement speeches. Because of this, it seemed like many audience members believed the moment was genuine.

The speech included familiar elements found in well-known athletic retirements such as gratitude, reflection on career highlights, acknowledgment of family, and a …

The Media's Influence On The Public's Perception Of Police Use Of Force, Kristopher D. Lauro

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Police use of force has long been a concern within law enforcement, but in recent decades, it has faced increasing scrutiny from the general public and across all sectors of society, sparking widespread debate on the practice. The rise of body-worn cameras (BWCs) and the prevalence of cell phone recordings of police incidents have amplified attention on the issue. Media representations of police use of force are influential in bringing together or shaping public opinion and often encapsulate ideological biases; the pervasive publicity associated with such incidents provides a unique opportunity for detailed examination of the underlying relationship between media …

Correlating Communication Channels With Baptism Outcomes: A Quantitative Case Study Using Media Multiplexity Theory In The Texas Conference Of Seventh-Day Adventists, Kenrunne L. Dixon

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the use of social media within the local church setting as a tool for engaging diverse communities through tailored, targeted messaging that addresses their unique needs and desires. The use of multiple channels helps connect on different levels, allowing for more profound and lasting relationships (Ledbetter, 2021). This quantitative research explored the local church and how it invests in connecting to its communities outside the church walls through multiple communication channels. Local church congregations invest significant time and resources in planning programs that seem only to attract current members. Their congregations …

A Qualitative Study Of Expectancy Violations Theory On Instructor Feedback For Online Graduate Students Within United States Universities: How Student Perceptions Form When Their Expectations Are Violated, Josephine Hudson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Distance education has become increasingly commonplace as technology and digital connections have become widespread in everyday life. Like traditional classrooms, feedback in online classrooms is a critical form of communication between professors and students to facilitate learning and foster relationships despite the lack of face-to-face communication that distance education imposes. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore how graduate and doctoral students’ experiences with expectancy violations influence their perceptions of feedback through the lens of Expectancy Violations Theory. Graduate and doctoral students who were or had been enrolled in at least two distance education courses participated in this …

Public Willingness To Report Suspicious Activity Captured On Facebook Viral Videos, Tamika S. Bouldin

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

The widespread use of social media platforms has transformed how individuals observe, engage with, and respond to public events. Viral videos depicting potentially unlawful and dangerous behavior have become common, yet little is known about the factors that motivate viewers to report such content to the authorities. The study aimd to examine the factors influencing the public's willingness to report suspicious activities observed in viral videos across Facebook. Using a cross-sectional correlational quantitative design, the research employed a structured survey questionnaire collecting data from a diverse sample of adult Facebook users in California. Key predictor variables included trust in law …

Redefining Aesthetics: The Communicative Construction Of Body Image And Self-Esteem Among Young Female Adults In Fiditi And Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria, Christopher Omamuromu Amojo

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study examines the communicative construction of body image and self-esteem among young female adults in Fiditi and Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria, within the context of contemporary social media use. Although a substantial body of scholarship has explored social media’s relationship with body image, much of this research is situated in Western contexts and framed predominantly through psychological or effects-based paradigms. Addressing this gap, the present study adopts a qualitative interpretive approach grounded in social construction theory and the sociocultural communication tradition to investigate how meanings surrounding beauty, self-worth, and identity are produced and negotiated through mediated interaction in a …

A Qualitative Interpretive Study Of How A Trucking Company Coordinates The Management Of Meanings Of Its Communications In The United States Of America, Travis J. Koch

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This study examines how communication between truck drivers and their managers can support meaningful behavioral change by co-constructing shared interpretations, as described by coordinated management of meaning theory. It focuses on how meanings are negotiated in everyday conversations and how specific conversational mechanisms shape drivers' performances. The central claim is that certain conversational mechanisms can reduce uncertainty, ease friction between co-workers, and improve safety and operational efficiency. When supervisors and drivers successfully develop shared meanings, greater clarity, stronger working relationships are more likely. Those outcomes matter in a high stake, complex industry. This research extends scholarship on organizational meaning-making and …

A Qualitative Study Of The Uses And Gratifications Theory In Tiktok’S Short-Form Video Influence On Users Behaviors And Motivations Among Young Adults In The Commonwealth Of Pennsylvania, Jonathan V. Robertson

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

This qualitative dissertation explored the TikTok consumption and engagement behaviors of young adults aged 18-25. The TikTok social media platform is well-known for its active community of content creators producing high-quality, short-form, eye-catching video content. These videos are tailored to individuals' personal interests, beliefs, and values, shaping users' daily lives. Alternative social media platforms offer similar capabilities; however, they fall short of TikTok's powerful algorithm. The uses and gratifications theoretical framework were specifically selected to help understand why young adults engage with TikTok, how their unique motivations shape their engagement behaviors, and the role TikTok plays in identity development. The …

Divide And Conquer: Polarization, Power, And Conspiracy Theories, Lilly Vanhouten '26

Honor Scholar Theses

The following paper is designed to explore belief in conspiracy theories, especially conspiracy theories surrounding the distrust of government like the Uniparty theory in relation to polarization, cults, moral and psychological factors, populism, precedence for having distrust in the government, and influencers. I sought to discover why people believe in conspiracy theories like the Uniparty theory and conducted a media analysis; researched polarization, cult and conspiracy, moral and psychological factors, populism, and precedence; analyzed influencers I watch reflecting conspiracy theory belief; and wrote poetry about conspiracy theories to determine the answer. I found that conspiracy theory belief is influenced by …

The Wandering Role: A Rhetorical Analysis Of Gamal Abdel Nasser, Ethan Nichter '26

Honor Scholar Theses

In the mid-twentieth century, Gamal Abdel Nasser emerged as a powerful figure in Egypt and the rest of the Arab world, seeking to uplift the region in the era of decolonization. While contemporary scholars have analyzed Nasserism as a contradiction of itself, an ideology that originated as liberation but resulted in autocratic rule, less attention has been paid to instead break down what made Nasserism so appealing to his audience. I draw upon Max Weber’s theory of charismatic authority and Maurice Charland’s concept of constitutive rhetoric in interpreting Nasserism in three phases: as a political theory, as a ruling ideology, …

Cowpox And Counterpublics: A Rhetorical Analysis Of Anti-Covid Vaccine Conspiracy Theories On Social Media, Cole Melton '26

Honor Scholar Theses

In order to better understand why people construct and perpetuate anti-COVID vaccine conspiracy theories, I perform a rhetorical analysis of some conspiracy theories widespread on social media during the height of the COVID vaccination effort. I begin with a literature review, highlighting the history and efficacy of vaccine technology, gathering characteristics and definitions of conspiracy theories, and reviewing the history of the anti-vaccine movement. Ultimately, I argue that anti-COVID vaccine conspiracy theorists understand vaccination as an attack on personal rights by the U.S. government, prompting the conspiracy theorists to establish an ideological institution rival to the U.S. government that would …

Media Center Gets New Studio, Name, Timesdaily

Documents

New Media Center and grand opening for the new Communications Building (former Gymnasium) in 1988

Mass Communication Floor Plans, Architect Hill, Howard, & Nix, Muscle Shoals

Documents

Floor Plans for Communication Department at University of North Alabama

Short-Form Content And The Long-Term Effects, Grace Brown

Research Days

This research aims to explain the rapid growth of short-form digital content. This is an exploration as to why platforms, like TikTok, have taken over modern entertainment. As media evolves away from long-form content with high-production towards short-form with minimal editing, audiences adapt. Short-form content allows social media users to scroll past “uninteresting” videos with ease, validates shortened attention spans and creates more economic incentives. TikTok has successfully developed a highly personalized and fast-paced algorithm, which many social media apps have attempted to mimic. This algorithm sustains engagement by encouraging rapid scrolling and continuous content consumption. While users can easily …

Res Historica, Volume 5, Alpha Rho Epsilon Phi Alpha Theta, Lindsay Rae Smith Privette Phd

Res Historica

The 2026 journal of historical research by Anderson University students, Res Historica.

The editorial team for this edition of Res Historica was Dr. Lindsay Rae Smith Privette, Julia Ackerman, Callyn Wright, Logan Davis, and John Hinton. Cover art by Mary Beth Lee.

Beyond The Badge: How Internal Culture Contradicts External Service In Urban Police Departments, Rowan Bari Eiselman

Educational Studies Student Papers and Posters

This ethnographic study examines how gendered workplace culture and mental health culture shape officer retention in two urban police departments: the Orange Police Department and the Los Angeles Police Department's 77th District. Through ride-alongs, observations, and informal interviews with nine current and retired officers (four female, five male) across various ranks conducted between March and April 2026, this research reveals a troubling contradiction: departments tasked with serving diverse communities struggle to support diversity within their own ranks. Female officers navigate professional isolation, prolonged competence-proving expectations, and implicit career-versus-motherhood choices, with experiences varying significantly between the more supportive Orange PD and …

Nbc Peacock North Spring 2026 Newsletter, Peacock North Staff

NBC Peacock North Newsletter

Highlights include: NBC Through the Years -- A Year-Long Celebration as NBC Turns 100 -- SNL’s U.K. News -- Peter Alexander Joins MS NOW -- Mike Noseworthy Salutes Danny Miller’s Retirement -- Legendary Late-Night TV Director Hal Gurnee Turns 101 -- Silent Microphones

Rock On! Examining The Relationship Between Armed Conflict And Rock Protest Music, Dylan Conner Dunn

Senior Theses

This thesis explores the relationship between rock protest music and wars, armed conflicts, and other related events. The purpose of this research is to explore how such specific events, or war and conflict in general, influence rock songwriters. This paper examines a series of nine rock songs ranging across five decades, from the Vietnam War to the 2010s. A variety of artists wrote and recorded these songs, ranging from hard rock to classic rock, to folk rock and beyond. Some are more audially intense, lyrically visceral, and featuring explicit language, whereas others are much more stripped-back and “family-friendly.” Each of …

‘They’Re Squeezing Us Like An Accordion’:Assessing The Information Environment Of Working-Class Residents Of Dublin’S North Inner City, Stephanie Costello

Irish Communication Review

This article assesses the communication environment of the north inner city of Dublin, an area characterised by entrenched disadvantage, rapid demographic change, and neoliberal urban renewal. Findings were produced from a ten-week engagement journalism project involving the Dublin Inquirer, various community groups, and working-class residents. Using Communication Infrastructure Theory (CIT), the study draws on focus groups, participant observation, and interviews to assess local storytelling networks in the context of the project. The findings reveal a fractured communication action context (CAC), where safety concerns, transient populations, litter, lack of public space, and negative national media portrayals constrain residents' ability to connect …

From Lino To Luxury: Class, Taste And Identity In The Mid-Twentieth Century Irish Provincial ‘Good Room’, Angela Mehegan

Irish Communication Review

The aim of this paper is to position issues of class and taste within the context of the home and through the lens of the domestic in mid-twentieth century provincial Ireland from the early 1950s to the early 1970s. This was a time of unprecedented economic growth and heralded a period of social and cultural change. Our homes and the artefacts we surround ourselves with are central to our sense of self and how we wish to be seen by others. Issues of class, taste, status, gender, and aesthetic possibilities are unpacked by focusing on the ‘Good Room’ as a …

Class And The Screen Industries In Ireland – The Unspoken Barriers In The Sector, Caroline Ann O'Sullivan Dr, Mary Ann Bolger Dr

Irish Communication Review

This article proposes the need to widen the diversity conversation in the screen sector in Ireland to one that also considers social inequality. It closely examines the current policies of the main public funders of Ireland’s screen industries, evaluating how these approaches may unintentionally reinforce and sustain structural barriers within the sector. It presents a case study on barriers to entry conducted amongst screen industry practitioners at a professional networking event in 2024. It also draws from qualitative interviews with working class industry professionals who have sought out upskilling and further training opportunities through TU Dublin and Screen Ireland. The …

The Middle-Class Rip-Off'? Subsiding Culture In Contemporary Ireland, Connell Vaughan Dr

Irish Communication Review

In the last few years (roughly since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic) there has been a noted increase in state-led cultural funding in Ireland. Key examples include the raise in the financial allocation to the Arts Council, the introduction of the Basic Income for the Arts scheme, and increased sports capital funding. With reference to the official communication documents of these cases (so-called ‘grey literature’) and deploying the classic 1982 episode of the British sitcom Yes, Minister, ‘The Middle-Class Rip-Off,’ which pitches sports funding against support for the arts, as a satirical lens, this paper reflects on the contemporary …

That’S Sooo Povo!, Sophie O'Toole, Trudy Nolan

Irish Communication Review

When Chantelle and Craoí, two working class Dublin drama students, lock horns over The Plough and the Stars, their combined rage brings forth Queen Povo, a drag-drenched larger-than-life entity who forces the girlos and the audience to examine what they’re thinking about when they think of class. From D'Girlos Theatre, this riotous, razor-sharp debut crashes through class, art, and authenticity with wit, grit, and glitter. A juicy-tracksuit clad call to arms for anyone who’s ever felt too loud, too real, or just too povo.

Translating Research For The Public: Lab And Online Engagement, Hannah Jiron

Posters - 2026

In the world of psychological research, we spend countless hours in the lab gathering data that has the potential to change lives. But if that data stays locked away in spreadsheets or professional journals, it remains "invisible" to the very people who need it most. As our research moves into the digital age, we have a unique opportunity to "uncloister" science taking it out of the lab and bringing it into the community. This poster explores why simply having good data isn't enough. For research to truly matter, it requires active management and a heart for public outreach. We argue …

When The Jingle Isn't Human: How Ai-Generated Vs. Human Composed Sonic Branding Shapes Consumer Response, Zecong Ma, Hong-Hee Lee, Danielle Rangel

Posters - 2026

Sonic branding elements—such as sound logos and jingles—shape brand meaning by communicating cues that consumers process quickly and often implicitly (e.g., through affect, fit, and memory). Recent evidence suggests that even specific musical choices (like instrumentation in a sound logo) can shift perceived brand personality traits (e.g., sophistication, ruggedness), indicating that audio can function as a powerful identity signal rather than mere “background.” At the same time, generative AI is rapidly lowering the cost and increasing the speed of producing branded music, making AI-composed jingles a realistic and scalable tool for marketers. Yet consumer responses to AI-generated creative work are …

Family Communication Patterns And Romantic Partner Selection: A Proposed Study Of Divorce Risk And Relationship Stability, Lilliana De Leon, Maria Reeves, Joel Burgess, Monique Rodriguez

Posters - 2026

Family Communication Patterns Theory (FCPT) is described as repeated communication beliefs and behaviors that orient a family system and contribute to a shared reality. There are two different orientation styles describing family communication style. Conformity orientation creates a shared reality respective of parental authority and family rules. While conversation orientation creates a shared reality by encouraging open conversation, discussion, and argumentation. There are four family types including; pluralistic family, protective family, laissez-faire family and consensual family. Each experiencing different levels of conformity and conversation.

Gendered Discourses And Classed Access Routes For Feminist Djs In Irish Subcultural Scenes, Andrea Cleary

Irish Communication Review

This article examines feminist collectives in Ireland’s electronic/dance music (E/DM) and music technology (MT) scenes, focusing on how gender and class intersect to shape access and participation. Drawing on thematic analysis of interviews with five collective members active between 2016 and 2025, it traces paths to participation from "musical homes" to instrument education to university DJ societies. To do this, it examines the overlapping family, cultural and subcultural capitals which shaped their journeys. Finally, this article considers the role of feminist collectives in creating alternative educational spaces and networks for women and gender minority participation in E/DM cultures.

‘It’S The Best Person For The Job’: Gendering Logic And The Hiring Practices Of Music Organisations In Ireland, Yvonne Kiely Dr

Irish Communication Review

Despite calls for reform in the allocation of jobs in music industries, little is known about how music organisations operate internally and the day-to-day realities that male and female workers must navigate. Findings of bullying and harassment in the arts sector by the Irish Theatre Institute prompted the Irish government in 2022 to issue a set of recommendations aimed at reforming the working conditions and gender divisions of labour of arts sector organisations under its remit. These recommendations were made in the absence of academic studies of music organisations in Ireland, and in the absence of centralised data about these …

“This Play Has Become Something That Isn’T For Us”: Working Class Identity, Canonical Inheritance, And The Girlo On Stage In That’S Sooo Povo!, Ciara L. Murphy Dr

Irish Communication Review

That’s Sooo Povo! was first produced in 2025 as part of the Dublin Fringe Festival by D’Girlos Theatre Company. The play follows Chantelle and Croía, two working class Dublin drama students who, when faced with partnering up to perform a scene from Sean O’Casey’s The Plough and the Stars (1926), end up summoning the “drag-drenched larger-than-life entity” Queen Povo (That’s Sooo Povo! | Fringe Festival, 2025). This companion piece firstly aims to examine how O'Casey's The Plough and the Stars has made a journey from subversive class critique to nostalgic institutional property, and what it means for working class women …

Fear In The Forecast: Do You Believe The Government Controls The Weather?, Gabriella Bartsch

Honors Papers and Posters

Weather manipulation by the government is among the most widely believed conspiracy theories in America, with over 49 percent of Americans subscribing to this belief. As belief in weather-related conspiracies continues to gain traction, understanding the political and social factors that drive these beliefs becomes increasingly essential. In this study, data from the Chapman Survey of American Fears, a representative national sample of U.S. adults, as well as a qualitative content analysis of X/Twitter posts from 2020 to 2026, are used. This research examines how political partisanship and conspiratorial predisposition are reflected in media consumption and levels of institutional trust, …