Communication Theses and Dissertations
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/2755
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Item VIRTUAL RISK: PERCEIVED PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTANCE OF THREAT IN IMMERSIVE VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS(2024) Leach, John; Namkoong, Kang; Communication; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Wildfires pose a significant and growing threat to human health and the environment, exacerbated by climate change. This study explores how to communicate the urgency of wildfires and climate change using Construal Level Theory (CLT) and immersive virtual environments (IVEs). CLT explains how people psychologically distance themselves from events, perceiving them as either abstract or concrete. Typically, environmental issues like wildfires are construed as distant and abstract, reducing the likelihood of proactive behavior.A promising strategy to counter this is "proximizing," or making threats seem more immediate, thereby reducing psychological distance. However, past research on proximizing environmental messages has yielded mixed results. Immersive media, particularly virtual reality (VR), offers a unique opportunity to create vivid simulations that feel like direct experiences, potentially overcoming psychological distance. Through a two-part experiment, this dissertation investigates how IVEs can be used to enhance the relationship between psychological distance, threat perceptions, and pro-environmental behavior by simulating wildfires and testing various narrative framings. Study I tested the effects of immersive format and social distance framing on threat perception and behavioral intention. Results indicated that VR heightened the sense of presence and perceived threat, aligning with previous research on VR's impact on environmental communication. However, the social distance manipulation did not significantly affect perceived threat or behavior, suggesting the immersive quality of VR might overshadow social distance effects. Study II focused on social and spatial distance construal, finding that closer spatial framing increased perceived threat, supporting the idea that spatial proximity is more immediately relatable and impactful. These findings suggest that while IVEs can effectively enhance threat perception, manipulating social and spatial distance requires careful consideration. The sense of presence in IVEs plays a crucial role, mediating the relationship between immersive format and perceived threat. This research contributes to communication theory by exploring the nuanced interplay between psychological distance, presence, and immersive experiences. Practically, it offers insights into designing effective environmental messages to reduce psychological distance and promote pro-environmental behavior. Future research should further investigate the complex dynamics of psychological distance and presence in immersive environments to optimize VR's use in environmental communication.Item EXPLORING PUBLIC ACTORS IN THE CONTEXT OF EMERGING TECHNOLOGY: NETWORK-BASED PUBLICS AND THEIR IMPACTS(2024) Lee, Saymin; Lee, Sun Young; Communication; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Organizational actors, such as research institutes and media, no longer hold an exclusive role in leading social discourse on emerging technology. Individuals not representing an organization, referred to as public actors, now actively engage in communication about emerging technology. This dissertation explores public actors in the communication of emerging technology. Specifically, drawing from the network ecology approach, this dissertation identifies and characterizes public actors in the issue network of emerging technology. It also examines the impacts of public actors on motivating other publics to address issues, proposing a public-to-public communication model in the context of emerging technology.First, a series of social network, cluster, and content analyses identified and characterized public actors in the issue network of emerging technology. Using Twitter data, issue networks in the contexts of AI chatbots and self-driving vehicles were constructed, and active actors in each issue network were identified. Public actors predominantly comprised the active actors, with the remainder being organizational actors. These active actors were then clustered based on their network positional features, identifying seven types of communicative roles: mega-influencer, influencer, micro-influencer, bridge, influencer associate, enthusiast, and engager. Compared to organizational actors, public actors were proportionally prominent in the roles of influencer associates and enthusiasts. In addition, a content analysis of Twitter user profiles revealed the science-related profiles of public actors in each communicative role. Interestingly, the science-related profile of each communicative role corresponded to its positional feature in the network. For example, influencers held technology-related professions. Bridges were technologists and/or technology users. Influencer associates did not display professional expertise but featured their trust in science or membership in scientific communities. Enthusiasts were technology fans. Second, structural topic modeling of Twitter posts revealed the topics public actors engaged with in issue networks. Public actors covered topics ranging from technology risks to benefits. Third, a set of experiments uncovered the impacts of the identified public actors on motivating other publics to address emerging technology issues. Extending the framework of the situational theory of problem solving, a public-to-public communication model was proposed. This dissertation research contributes to advancing public relations theory and practice. The findings provide empirical evidence illustrating actor dynamics in issue-driven networks in scientific contexts. The identified public actor types, characterized by varied communicative roles and science-related profiles, serve as a framework for strategizing around public actors to mobilize issue networks. Lastly, the findings propose one of the first public-to-public communication models, outlining the interactions between public actors and other publics in emerging scientific contexts.Item COMICS AND MORALS: COMMUNICATING THE RISKS OF VAPING TO YOUNG ADULTS THROUGH MORALIZED GRAPHIC COMICS(2024) Lin, Tong; Nan, Xiaoli; Communication; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)In 2020, the global population of e-cigarette users reached 68 million (Jerzyński et al., 2021), with adults aged 18 to 29 more likely to use them than older individuals (Lin et al., 2022). The increasing prevalence of vaping among young adults is a pressing public health issue. The rapid adoption of e-cigarettes has surpassed the spread of evidence-based information, posing challenges for health educators and policymakers. As nicotine addiction threatens a new generation through vaping, developing effective communication strategies that resonate with this demographic is urgent. This dissertation explores the effectiveness of graphic comics with moralized narratives in conveying the risks associated with vaping, aiming to examine their persuasive power compared to traditional methods. It seeks to answer three main questions: Firstly, what is the efficacy of graphic comics as a persuasive tool according to existing research? Secondly, how do graphic comics influence young adults’ responses to anti-vaping messages compared to text-only messages? Thirdly, how do moral appeals influence young adults’ responses to anti-vaping messages compared to non-moral appeal messages? In Study 1, I conducted a systematic review examining the effectiveness of graphic comic-based messages on persuasion outcomes. Eleven articles using randomized controlled trials published from 2007 to 2023 were analyzed. Graphic comics emerged as a dynamic and effective tool for health education, addressing a wide range of topics, audiences, and objectives. Their ability to combine visual appeal with narrative depth allows for a unique engagement with health issues that transcend traditional educational barriers. Study 2 examined the efficacy of utilizing moral appeals in graphic comics to communicate the risk of vaping to young adults. I conducted a 3 (moral appeals: care, sanctity, non-moral appeal) x 2 (communication formats: graphic comics vs. text-only) between-subjects online experiment among young adults aged between 18 to 25 years old (N = 596). Results showed that care and sanctity moral appeal messages elicited stronger negative emotional reactions than those without a moral appeal, which positively influenced individuals’ perceptions of message effectiveness and heightened their beliefs about the risk of vaping. When comparing sanctity and non-moral appeals, such effects were found to elicit stronger negative attitudes toward vaping which decreased intentions to vape in the future. Furthermore, I found that individuals’ endorsement of care moral foundations moderated the effect of sanctity appeals on negative emotions, highlighting complex dynamics in processing information and how individuals’ perceptions and beliefs can be influenced by their existing moral values. Although graphic comic stimuli did not show a statistically significant direct effect on negative emotions when compared to text-only messages, they positively impacted satisfaction with the message and perceived argument strength. This dissertation provides several theoretical and practical implications. First, it enhances our understanding of moral appeals by examining their role not just as simple emotional triggers but as complex frameworks that influence persuasive outcomes. The finding of the experimental study is empirical evidence of the propositions in the Moral Foundations Theory by showing how moral appeals can influence perceptions of the message’s effectiveness and beliefs about the health risks of vaping, by engaging individuals on emotional levels. Such perceptions and beliefs are likely to enhance individuals’ thoughts of vaping being negative and less socially acceptable, which lowers their intentions to vape in the future. This dissertation is also the first to utilize moral appeals in the medium of graphic comics in vaping prevention among young adults, providing new avenues for health educators and commercial advertisers to craft innovative anti-vaping messages and to foster a community ethos that discourages vaping. As we continue to explore and understand these dynamics, the findings suggest the use of graphic comics could be more widely adopted in public health campaigns, providing an engaging way to communicate risks and encourage healthy behaviors.Item PROPOSING A NEW SURVIVALIST PARADIGM OF INTERNAL PUBLIC RELATIONS(2024) Truban, Olivia; Liu, Brooke F.; Communication; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)The field of public relations is rapidly evolving, with many scholars questioning both the direction and nature of public relations. While public relations has primarily been conceptualized as an extension of organizational operations, limited scholarship has considered the parallels between internal communication and public relations, assessing how internal relationships can inform organizational operations. Specifically, how internal communication strategies appear to inform and influence public relations initiatives for employees. With organizational relationships helping to inform the navigation of a larger system, it is important for public relations to not be viewed as merely an extension of organizational operations and rather a core component of organizational function and, correspondingly, survival. The purpose of this dissertation is to explore how internal public relations contributes to organizational survival in the context of the United States. A two-wave Delphi study was conducted with public relations practitioners in the United States. The first wave was an online questionnaire (n = 174) where data were qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed, and thenfurther informed by the corresponding follow-up virtual interviews with practitioners from the first wave (N = 18). From the Delphi waves, findings indicate that organizational survival is informed by both structural and relational factors, and that employees influence both of these factors. These findings inform the proposed survivalist paradigm of internal public relations, which posits that organizations should value fostering meaningful relationships with internal stakeholders (i.e., employees) because such relationships help organizations survive. From the findings identified, theoretical extensions and practical implications are proposed, as well as future directions for public relations scholarship are discussed.Item NAVIGATING IDENTITY: A CULTURALLY- CENTERED COMMUNICATION APPROACH TO GENDER-AFFIRMING HEALTHCARE FOR LATINE TRANSGENDER AND GENDER NON-CONFORMING INDIVIDUALS(2024) Perez Montes, Ari; Atwell Seate, Anita; Communication; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Access to gender-affirming healthcare is crucial for the well-being of transgender and gender non-conforming (TGNC) individuals, as it has been shown to mitigate mental health issues such as depression and anxiety (MacKinnon et al., 2022). While existing research has identified general challenges in accessing gender-affirming care (GAC), including issues of harmful language and specific barriers faced by TGNC individuals (e.g., financial insecurity, limited access to GAC; Friley & Venetis, 2022; Sequeria et al., 2019), little attention has been paid to how intersecting systems of inequality exacerbate these barriers, particularly for TGNC individuals of color. This dissertation adopts a culturally-centered approach to investigate how Latinx TGNC individuals perceive and navigate these obstacles. Embedded within this culturally centered framework, this study utilizes the communication theory of identity (CTI) and the theory of memorable messages (ToMM) to illuminate how Latinx TGNC identities shape individuals' understanding and navigation of healthcare barriers, as well as their subsequent health outcomes (e.g., anxiety symptoms and body dysphoria). Employing a qualitative method, the study integrates counter-storytelling and semi-structured in-depth interviews (n = 20). Personal narratives draw from the researcher's lived experience as a Latine-trans person, offering valuable insights into healthcare barriers and the development of self in relation to Latinx identity, which guided the development of the study protocol. Subsequent interviews with TGNC individuals delve into their identities within various group affiliations (e.g., family, romantic partners, community) and their implications for health communication. The interviews incorporate a participant creative drawings (PCD) component to further capture participants' perspectives about their identity during their gender affirming healthcare journey, given that language can be limiting for describing TGNC identities. Ultimately, the study's findings offer valuable insights for healthcare practitioners and organizations aiming to address co-occurring health issues among Latine TGNC individuals seeking gender-affirming healthcare.Item Framing Climate Change: The Impact of Repeated Exposure to Self- and Social-framing Messages on Climate Change Outcomes and Public Segmentation in China(2024) Ma, Xin; Liu, Brooke; Communication; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Background and Purpose. Climate change is an urgent global issue, and China, as the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases, plays a crucial role in the global response to this challenge (Reuters, 2024; Wang et al., 2016; Xu et al., 2022). Despite increased media coverage and public discussion (Huan, 2024; Pan et al., 2021; Xu et al., 2022; Zeng, 2022), skepticism and negative attitudes toward climate change persist among certain Chinese individuals (Chan et al., 2023; Jia & Luo, 2023; Pan et al., 2022, 2023). This dissertation aims to contribute to developing effective climate change communication strategies in China by examining the effects of repeated self- and social-framing messages and using the Situational Theory of Problem Solving (STOPS) model for public segmentation (Florence et al., 2022; Kim & Grunig, 2011; Tao et al., 2020).Theoretical Frameworks. This dissertation draws from the construal level theory of psychological distance to understand self- and social-framing (Liberman & Trope, 2003; Loy & Spence, 2020; Ma et al., 2023), the inverted U-shaped model to examine the impact of repeated exposures (Berlyne, 1970; Cacioppo & Petty, 1979; Lu et al., 2015; Lu, 2022), and the STOPS model to investigate how the effects of self- and social-framing may vary across different public segments and the potential for proportional changes in public segments after longitudinal repeated exposure (Grunig, 1997; Kim, 2006; Kim & Grunig, 2011). Methods. This dissertation employs a two-part study design. The first part is a pilot study designed to validate the manipulation of climate change messages framed as either self- or social-focused, adapted from leading Chinese news outlets. The main study, formatted as a longitudinal between-subjects experiment, consists of six separate exposures spaced three days apart. In the first session, seven hundred and fifty Chinese residents over 18 years old were randomly assigned to one of three conditions, either containing self- or social-framing messages or a mix of both framing messages six times at three-day intervals. Three hundred and thirty-three participants completed all six sessions and are included in the final sample. Results. The results reveal that repeated exposure to climate change messages enhances their persuasive effects on climate change outcomes, including attitudes, beliefs, and private and public pro-environmental intentions. The overall trends are increasing and do not follow the inverted U-shaped model’s predicted pattern of initial growth followed by a decline. After six exposures, the mixed-framing condition slightly outperforms self- and social-framing conditions, indicating the potential benefits of diversified communication strategies for repeated messaging. The results also reveal that situational activity levels in climate change significantly predict positive and negative communicative behaviors and outcomes, with more engaged publics showing stronger climate change outcomes and positive communicative actions (Grunig, 1997; Kim & Grunig, 2011). Results further suggest that six exposures can shift public segmentation, making more individuals more active in climate change issues (Hine et al., 2014; Leiserowitz et al., 2021; Metag & Schäfer, 2018). Theoretical and Practical Implications. Theoretically, the findings do not support the inverted U-shaped model with theoretical explanations (Berlyne, 1970; Cacioppo & Petty, 1979; Lu et al., 2015; Lu, 2022). Also, this dissertation extends the message convergence theory (Anthon & Sellnow, 2016; Liu et al., 2020) by demonstrating the effectiveness of mixed-framing strategies in repeated exposures. It also addresses research gaps in framing combination (Chen et al., 2020; Florence et al., 2022) and provides new insights into the effectiveness of repeated communication strategies in public segmentation using the STOPS model (Grunig, 1997; Kim & Grunig, 2011). Practically, the findings of this dissertation offer guidance for developing repeated communication strategies, suggesting that journalists can leverage the power of repeated exposure and mixed-framing approaches to enhance the impact of climate change communication coverage. The study also highlights the potential for repeated message exposures to actively change public segment types, enabling journalists to design targeted strategies for shifting individuals from less engaged to more active publics in addressing climate change (Hine et al., 2014; Metag & Schäfer, 2018).Item “I THINK I WAS MISINFORMED”: UNDERSTANDING GHANAIAN MOTHERS’ PERSPECTIVES ON, AND EXPERIENCES WITH, MATERNAL HEALTH MISINFORMATION(2024) Agboada, Delight Jessica; Khamis, Sahar; Communication; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Many women in sub-Saharan Africa have died because of unmet maternal health information needs (Mulauzi & Daka, 2018). Existing research has established that access to, and use of, accurate maternal health information can optimize maternal health (Mwangakala, 2016). To the contrary, the reliance on, and use of, inaccurate information can result in susceptibility to maternal health complications (Arzoaquoi et al., 2015). Despite the negative impact of maternal health misinformation on mothers’ maternal health behaviors, it has not received substantial scholarly attention, including in the areas of health communication and public relations. Given the scarcity of studies in these areas, this dissertation utilized the situational theory of problem solving (STOPS) and the culture-centered approach (CCA) to investigate how Ghanaian mothers understand, relate to, and experience maternal health misinformation. Specifically, the study posed four research questions based on the independent variables of the STOPS. These questions examined (1) How the mothers identified maternal health misinformation, (2) The extent of their involvement with misinformation, (3) The challenges they encountered when attempting to correct misinformation, and (4) How their prior experiences with, and knowledge of, pregnancy, birth and postpartum enabled them to unpack misinformation. The women who participated in this study were mothers who had either experienced pregnancy, birth, and postpartum in Ghana with children five years or younger or were pregnant. Twenty of these mothers were purposively sampled and participated in semi-structured interviews via WhatsApp voice calls and chat. The findings demonstrate the applicability of STOPS to health communication and to a different sociocultural environment. The study revealed that the participants’ high problem and involvement recognition coupled with low constraint recognition shaped their information acquisition, selection, and transmission. The study also showed that referent criterion significantly shaped problem recognition. Additionally, the study demonstrated how the constructs of the CCA, namely culture, structure, and agency, intersected with the independent variables of the STOPS to inform the mothers’ communicative action. Specifically, it showed how the participants’ culture shaped their problem and constraint recognition, how the mothers’ agency shaped their involvement recognition and enhanced problem-solving, and how structure shaped problem recognition and referent criterion. The study concludes that maternal health interventions targeted at curbing misinformation must be culture centered. Also, the STOPS should be used in segmenting maternal health publics. This approach will help leverage the agency of active mothers for social correction of misinformation.Item RHETORICS OF RIOT: ATTICA, ARCHIVES, AND AFFECT(2024) Robbins, Carolyn; Woods, Carly S.; Communication; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Rhetorics of Riot: Attica, Archives, and Affect revisits the Attica prison uprising of 1971 through an abolitionist lens. Drawing on Aja Martinez’ theory of counterstory and Lisa Flores’ theory of racial rhetorical criticism, this project incorporates archival materials to curate the story of Attica from the perspectives of those who were inside the prison. Much of this curation is conducted through the medium of podcasts in order to platform the literal voices of the Attica Brothers and to reproduce facets of their affective experience. The first chapter offers a theoretical framework for the project as a whole, discussing methods and grounding the research in scholarly and activist literature and praxis. Chapter two offers the stock story of Attica as told by Attica administrators, the Grand Jury, and the New York State Police. Chapter three refigures our understanding of riots. By troubling the hegemonic version of events, it offers an abolitionist approach to riot rhetorics that honors the identity and agency of incarcerated people. Chapter four examines the hypocrisy and oppressive power of hegemonic civility discourses. It then offers an alternate view of civility and citizenship rooted in counterstories from the Attica Brothers. Chapter five concludes the project by discussing broader applications of the abolitionist reading of Attica counterstories. The podcast elements throughout the project constitute a critical public memory countersoundscape, troubling hegemonic memorialization of Attica and adding to the abolitionist efforts to tell these counterstories and speak truth to power.Item TRACING TRANSCOLONIAL INTIMACIES: RELATIONAL RESISTANCE THROUGH THE OCCUPATION OF JAPAN (1945-1952)(2024) Itoh, Megu; Woods, Carly S.; Communication; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Tracing Transcolonial Intimacies seeks to respond to the central question, “how can we work together across difference?” by exploring rhetorical strategies that bring people together across the divisions of coloniality. I enact a relational approach to rhetorical studies, to decenter individual subjectivity and to spotlight resistant relationalities. I combine this with a transcolonial framework, which grapples with the multiple vectors of coloniality. Such orientations enable the theorization of transcolonial intimacies, or mutual recognitions of humanity which bring the Other into the self. This project thus illuminates transcolonial intimacies as a form of resistant relationality obfuscated by colonial hegemonies. I am particularly invested in locating and analyzing transcolonial intimacies through the Occupation of Japan (1945-1952), a period defined by the collision between the Japanese and US empires, and the subsequent rupture of the Japanese empire. The three case studies thus seek to understand how Japanese civilians and Americans involved with the Occupation found opportunities to connect across three themes: race, gender, and foodways. These transcolonial intimacies reverberate, existing within a lineage of solidarities that draw from the past and extend into the future. To reckon with such relations of resistance, which move across time and space, I trace fragmented texts and artifacts situated in archives across national and cultural borders. Chapter 1 foregrounds relationships between Black American men soldiers and Japanese women civilians during a time of anti-fraternization and shared segregation under global white supremacy. Themes from the early twentieth century, such as the world color line and Black internationalism, regained relevance and functioned to reimagine Black American-Japanese solidarities. Chapter 2 examines how American women working for the Occupation and Japanese women union leaders collaborated on the adoption of menstruation leave. I argue that menstruation leave served dual purposes of liberation and containment, and also interrogate the story of menstruation leave as it is told through Mead Smith Karras, an economist for the Occupation administration. Chapter 3 illuminates how the total war period and the Occupation forced Japanese people to adapt their foodways for survival. I shed light on American participation within this process, including consumption of the Other and the uncomfortable reckonings that ensue. The dissertation concludes by following reverberations of transcolonial intimacies into the present, with an acknowledgment of what dehumanizes and divides, but also with an invitation to turn towards what humanizes and connects.Item DIGITAL PLACE-MAKING AND PLATFORM POLITICS: HOW USERS TRANSFORMED AND RECODED THEIR LIVES ONLINE IN THE WAKE OF COVID-19(2024) Phipps, Elizabeth Brooke; Pfister, Damien S.; Communication; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)Digital Place-making and Platform Politics: How Users Transformed and Recoded their Lives Online in the Wake of COVID-19 examines the political & cultural turmoil at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, where daily life for millions around the world shifted to digital platforms. Digital users turned to the unique affordances of these platforms for civic activism through what I term “digital place-making,” the rhetorical activity involved in cultivating digital places through specific technologies and practices. Drawing from an ecological rhetorical approach and an understanding of digital experiences as transplatform, Digital Place-making and Platform Politics utilizes a methodology that incorporates rhetorical space & place theory, textual analysis, visual analysis, digital ethnographic work, and “in situ” field work to capture the overlapping and simultaneous nature of place-making for digital users. How does digital place-making impact the relations between users, platforms, and political culture? To render digital place-making as a concept, this dissertation navigates through three case studies between 2020-2022. The first chapter looks at the video game platform Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and how users experiencing lockdown conditions in 2020 repurposed the platform as a site for political expression. This first study establishes the foundational relationship between infrastructure, user practices, and their engagement with broader political discourse through place-making. The second chapter builds upon this role of infrastructure and user practice creating place by looking at how the platform Twitch trains streamers on their platform to create places for community, and then how streamers leveraged these places for resistance and activism on the platform itself throughout 2021-2022. This second study illuminates the way rhetorical place is constructed through both discourse and infrastructure, and how digital place possesses vulnerabilities unique to the condition of digitality. The third chapter addresses Epic Games’ fraught commemoration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the 1963 March on Washington, held in 2021 on the popular video game platform Fortnite. This final study serves as a capstone illustration of the unique vulnerabilities that digital place-making poses for public memory and political discourse.