Organizational Communication Commons^™

Deepfakes As Crisis Triggers: Experimental Evidence On Response Strategy Effectiveness, Responsibility Attributions, And Sharing Intentions, Alicia Mason, Mariah Laman, Tanner Glenn, Treyton Meyers

Faculty Submissions

The term deepfake refers to falsified media content created using artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to manipulate audio, video, or images. Deepfake news fabrications are designed to appear highly realistic, making it difficult for audiences to distinguish them from authentic content. Responding to deepfake-induced  reputational threats therefore presents a unique challenge for organizations. Despite the growing prevalence of deepfake technology, little experimental research has examined how different crisis communication strategies perform in mitigating the reputational and relational harm posed by deepfake-induced crises. Accordingly, this study seeks to (1) examine how exposure to deepfake news relates to public perceptions and affect toward …

Informal Language As An Instructional Tool: Benefits, Drawbacks, And Teacher Intentions, Halle J. Connors

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

This study examines the role of informal language, including slang and popular culture references, as an instructional tool in secondary classrooms. Traditional teaching emphasizes academic language; however, research suggests that integrating informal communication can create stronger teacher-student relationships, increase student engagement, and improve learning outcomes. Using a survey of public secondary teachers in Southeast Kansas (n=47), this study investigates teacher perceptions of the benefits and drawbacks of incorporating informal language and measures their willingness to adapt when presented with evidence of best practices. This study found, through a pretest, educational intervention, and post-test design, that educators show reduced …

Closing The Gap In Crawford County: Enhancing Collaboration Through Interorganizational Communication, Hailey N. Goodrich

Graduate Student Creative Works

This project examines how organizations in Crawford County, Kansas communicate services related to poverty, homelessness, food insecurity, mental health, and crisis support. Through a qualitative content analysis of five local organizations, the project explores how communication practices shape accessibility, service navigation, and coordination across community resources. Guided by interorganizational relations (IOR) and domain theory, the project analyzes public-facing communication including websites, referral information, service descriptions, and organizational messaging. Findings reveal a consistent pattern of strong internal communication but limited visible coordination between organizations. While each organization clearly communicates its own services and role within the community, communication rarely reflects a …

Religiously Online: A Digital Media Communication Audit Of A Midwestern Church According To The Frameworks Of Uses And Gratifications Theory And Affordances Framework, Jada N. Ortiz

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

This thesis examines the digital media practices of a faith-based organization through how leadership communicates with internal congregation members. By applying the theoretical framework of uses and gratifications theory and affordances framework, a communication audit was conducted of a Midwestern Protestant church to uncover any gaps between congregational members' uses for digital media and how the church leadership was gratifying those needs through their digital media practices. Accordingly, this study investigated (1) what digital media content needs congregants expect their church to fulfill, (2) what the church is currently doing to gratify congregants' digital media content needs and (3) church …

Digital Touchpoints: Investigating Contact Page Accessibility And Visual Authenticity Within Medical Tourism Health Websites, Alicia Mason, Elizabeth Spencer, Kristen Livingston, Treyton Meyers, Sakshi Bhati, Himika Akram

Faculty Submissions

This study examines two critical digital touchpoints on medical tourism provider (MTP) websites: (1) the accessibility of contact pages which often function as entry points for inquiries, scheduling, and pre-travel coordination, and (2) the authenticity of visual imagery used to shape expectations about care environments, personnel, and technological capacity. A sample of 105 MTPs across all six World Health Organization regions were analyzed using quantitative web accessibility testing and qualitative visual analysis. Results indicate pervasive accessibility errors on contact-page touchpoints and extensive reliance on inauthentic imagery to depict patients, providers, and medical technologies. Together, these practices may distort user expectations …

Exploring The Web And Language Accessibility Of Medical Tourism Providers’ Websites: Implications For Online Marketing And Patient Recruitment Practices, Alicia Mason, Elizabeth Spencer, Kristen Livingston, Treyton Meyers

Faculty Submissions

Background: Web accessibility as an attribute of the digital presence of organizations has been studied across domains and contexts. Our study aims to add to existing lines of research inquiry by examining the web and language accessibility of medical tourism provider (MTP) websites commonly used to market and promote international medical tourism treatments and services globally.

Objective: This study aims to (1) systematically analyze the web and language accessibility of MTP online health messages and (2) discuss challenges and implications for medical tourists’ user experiences when seeking health information online.

Method: We conducted an exploratory quantitative content analysis of web …

A Multilayer, Multimethod Web And Language Accessibility Analysis Of U.S. Nonprofit Organization Websites: Considerations For The Marketing And Promotion Of Online Giving, Alicia Mason, Lauren Baldwin, Tatum Ahring

Faculty Submissions

In lieu of recent declines in individual giving to US nonprofits focused on social causes, education, environment, and animal welfare, this study examines the web and language accessibility of US nonprofit websites. By examining potential accessibility design barriers, we seek to understand whether US nonprofit organizations are limiting their outreach to online donors, specifically persons with disabilities (PwDs). Nonprofit websites were systematically and randomly sampled from Charity Navigator's Alphabetical Listing of the Top 1000 Most Visited Charities database. Using a multimethodological approach consisting of manual verification and computer-automated analysis techniques, we assess the web and language accessibility of leading US …

Analyzing The Message Complexity, Signal Words, And Readability Of Medical Tourism Warning Messages, Alicia Mason, Sakshi Bhati

Faculty Submissions

Medical tourists are deemed to be a vulnerable patient population because they often have limited knowledge of the specialized health care treatment and services they seek. They are also frequently unfamiliar with the medical tourism physicians, providers, and facilitators with whom they interact. As a result, travel, biomedical, and procedural risks are often difficult to define and estimate. This analysis uses computer-automated technology to analyze the risk and warning messages distributed by government and private medical associations to medical tourists. Results show these messages are often complex and highly textual with little visual graphic elements. The messages frequently lack key …

Identifying Accessibility Improvement Opportunities For Global Environmental Communication Websites, Alicia Mason, Josh Compton, Sakshi Bhati

Faculty Submissions

Digital environmental information presented with low web accessibility reduces parti-cipation in environmental advocacy and information seeking behaviors for many people with disabilities, creating a consequential digital divide. We use WEB AIM computer automated analysis of web accessibility to assess the general accessibility of online environmental communication messages. Results show 95.3% of the popular websites in our sample had indicators of potentially critical accessibility errors. Our findings highlight the importance of addressing digital environmental information accessibility shortcomings so that educational, informational and persuasive environ-mental messages can increase environmental literacy of vulnerable populations and help to bridge the digital divide.

Medical Tourism & Communication, Alicia Mason

Faculty Submissions

Medical tourism (MT), sometimes referred to as health tourism or medical travel, involves both the treatment of illness and the facilitation of wellness, with travel. Medical tourism is a multifaceted and multiphase process involving many agents and actors that requires careful planning and execution. The coordinated process involves the biomedical, transportation, tourism, and leisure industries. From the communication perspective, the process can be viewed as a 5-stage model consisting of the: (a) orientation, (b) preparation, (c) experiential and treatment, (d) convalescence, and (e) reflection phases. Medical tourism is uniquely situated in a nexus of academic literature related to communication, business …

Using The Theory Of Emotional Stakeholders To Experimentally Test The Influence Of Proxy Communicators About Organizational Crises In Digital News Reports, Alicia Mason, Elizabeth Spencer, Kelley Macek, Alison Smith, Stephanie Potter

Faculty Submissions

The emergence of new and social media has transformed the way that stakeholders and organizations interact between and amongst each other. Online news consumers are now able to directly respond to crisis news reports by offering their own interpretation, thus expanding the diversity of viewpoints audiences are exposed to (Carpenter, 2010; Springer, 2014). Using the Theory of Emotional Stakeholders framework our study aims (1) to understand how positive and negative user-generated comments in response to online news reports of crisis events impacts audience perceptions of organizational blame; (2) to examine the persuasive effects of user comments when expert or official …

Opportunities For Departmental Strategic Planning: Enhancing The Experience For Incoming Transfer Students In The Department Of Communication, Gabriela Gumucio, Katlin Dunsing, Bethanne Elliott, Rebecca Henderson, Kaylin Lake, Karlie Lower, Alicia Mason

Paper Presentations

The COMM 765: Strategic Planning & Communication Campaigns course conducted research on behalf of the Department of Communications to inform the future 2018-2023 planning and goals for the department. A quantitative survey was designed to examine key stakeholder groups including: faculty, staff, donors, current students and alumni. Each stakeholder group received a unique set of research questions. For example, donors were surveyed to determine their willingness, interest and knowledge of how to support department initiatives through the PSU Foundation; while current students were asked to share their thoughts on the effectiveness of current student organizations, and perceptions toward course developments …

Beyond Greening: The Challenges To Adopting Sustainability In Higher Education., Catherine Hooey, Alicia Mason, James Triplett

Faculty Submissions

It is common for colleges and universities to include sustainability in their mission statements and strategic plans. On many campuses, however, sustainability is associated with green practices only, rather than the comprehensive integration of social equity, economic, and environmental principles on which the concept was founded. Here, Hooey et al examine the obstacles to the comprehensive adoption of sustainability in institutions of higher education, in general, and to suggest a conceptual framework of a sustainability culture as one most appropriate for the more effective incorporation of comprehensive practices.

Images Of Alzheimer’S: A Visual Analysis Of The Imagery Used To Globally Market Alzheimer’S Services Online​, Elizabeth Spencer, Alicia Mason

Faculty Submissions

Currently more than 46 million people are living with dementia globally (ADI, 2015). The World Health Organization (WHO) reports the worldwide population of persons 60 years of age and older will more than triple between 2000 and 2050 to two billion. The concept of Western patients receiving long-term dementia care in foreign countries is a new and emerging phenomenon (Gray, 2013; Pomareda, 2014; Wegerer, 2014). This study examines the visual images within Alzheimer’s care facility websites (n=105) and uses a cross cultural comparison lens to contrast differences in patient representations and treatment facilities. The goal of this study is to …

Overcoming The “Dual-Delivery” Stigma: A Review Of Patient-Centeredness In The Costa Rica Medical Tourism Industry, Alicia Mason

Faculty Submissions

Due to the growing globalization of health care and an increase in access to technology many consumers are utilizing the World Wide Web for securing medical services abroad, a phenomenon commonly known as medical tourism. The current investigation employs an emic cultural approach for analyzing the Western concept of patient-centeredness within several public and private medical facilities within Costa Rica. Through a detailed field investigation and personal interviews with directors of Costa Rica’s largest accrediting institutions (AAAAF and ProMed), hospital organizations, and private health clinics an interpretative framework for evaluating patient-centeredness and quality of care is offered. Discussion, implications, and …

Medical Tourism: The Role Of Communication Regarding Risks And Benefits Of Obtaining Medical Services Abroad., Kevin Wright, Alicia Mason

Faculty Submissions

The ever-increasing globalization of healthcare has led to a greater number of consumers using the World Wide Web for the purpose of accessing health information and medical services that transcends international borders (Kangas, 2010; Lunt, Mannion, & Exworthy, 2012; MacReady, 2007; Snyder, Crooks, Adams, Kingsbury, & Johnston, 2011). When faced with the high cost of health care or limited treatment options in the United States, more and more Americans are looking to developing countries to obtain a variety of health-related services, including cosmetic surgery, dentistry, diagnostic testing, fertility treatment, and major surgeries such as heart valve operations and organ transplants …