Communication Theses and Dissertations

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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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
“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.
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.
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.
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.
DISINFORMATION THAT ENTERTAINS: THE ALT-RIGHT’S USE OF POPULAR AND POLITICAL CULTURE STRATEGIES
(2024) Montgomery, Fielding Edmund; Parry-Giles, Shawn J.; Communication; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
This project takes seriously the nested relationship of popular culture and political culture, highlighting how that relationship has promulgated alt-right disinformation in the long Trump era. Throughout this study, strategies of conspiracy, horror, and dog whistles are examined, as well as considering audiovisual concepts like realism and mimesis. Such alt-right disinformation establishes reactionary frames of racism, misogyny, and anti-governance. This work looks at both sides of the popular/political culture relationship, examining cinematic films, political campaign advertisements, and social media posts. I conclude by offering satire as one potential counterstrategy against alt-right disinformation that also resides in the nested relationship between popular and political culture.
THE PUBLIC PERSPECTIVE: EXAMINING THE ROLES AND SOCIAL INFLUENCE OF INSTAGRAM INFLUENCERS AND UNCOVERING IMPLICATIONS FOR PUBLIC RELATIONS PRACTICE AND THEORY
(2023) KAMRAN, NEHA; Anderson, Lindsey B; Khamis, Sahar; Communication; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
This dissertation examines the public relations roles played by Instagram influencers.Specifically, I explore how social media publics (e.g., followers) perceive influencers. I do so by applying role theory as a primary theoretical lens and apply Cialdini’s principles of persuasion (authority, consistency, scarcity, reciprocity, liking, social proof, and unity) to investigate the experiences and perspectives of social media followers directly. This dissertation addresses the following three research questions by exploring the social media influencer-follower storyline: RQ1: How do social media influencers define ‘social media influencer’? RQ2: How do social media followers engage with social media influencers and what public relations roles do they see them fulfill? RQ3: How do social media influencers–through persuasive principles–exert influence on different publics? These questions contend with, respectively, firstly, how social media followers define a social media influencer, the second is concerned with the nature and frequency of social media followers engagement with social media influencers. The third and final research question answers what sources of influence used by social media influencers are described as persuasive and worthy of support by followers. By answering these questions, the dissertation serves to fulfill the goals of capturing how publics perceive and define social media influencers; what unique roles social media influencers play from a public relations perspective or viewpoint; and finally, the extent and nature of the influence that social media influencers enact in the public space. Given these research questions, I used qualitative methods of inquiry. Specifically, I conducted an initial questionnaire, which was followed up with in-depth interviews and triangulated by a content analysis. The findings, in order of the aforementioned research questions, (1) illuminated how publics define influencers and engage with them on Instagram—as extensions of their social circle akin to family and friends, (2) demonstrated that social media influencers add to the social influence aspect by building a relationships with their publics, and in doing so, (3) showed how Instagram influencers play an important role in participants lives through the platform and engaging with on an almost daily basis. These specific findings are the ones that fulfill the goals of the research project; the rest of the several findings are by-products or offshoots and can serve as future research areas. In the theoretical context, there have been attempts to define exactly what is meant by the term ‘influencer’, especially in a public relations context. This study fulfills the need of showing how social media influencers are perceived by their publics and how they are changing the landscape of public relations functions research and practice. As such, this work explicates the influential roles influencers play in public relations and in doing so contributes to public relations research and practice. In the applied context, this study examines how social media influencers, with their communication, occupation of online spaces, and bonds with their social media users create relationships with publics. The discussion explores the ramifications of the relational power that is exerted by enacting the role of social media influencer in the public relations space. Social media influencers are staking their place, and much of that role has been enacted through the Instagram platform. This study gets directly at the viewpoint of Instagram users, or in other words, the followers of Instagram influencers.
A New Journalism For A New Climate: Is Solutions Journalism The Solution?
(2023) Thier, Kathryn; Nan, Xiaoli; Communication; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
Climate change is an existential threat to humanity. Yet news warning about its risks has not typically included information about how to address it, possibly depressing support for policy action. Some scholars and practitioners suggest that an emerging reporting practice, solutions journalism, may offer an antidote. By showcasing credible, collective responses to social problems, such as climate change, solutions journalism may make progress seem possible, thereby increasing support for pro-social policies. However, little is known about climate solutions journalism, particularly its effect on audience climate action policy support. Accordingly, through content analysis and an experiment this dissertation seeks to answer two overarching and interconnected questions: 1) What is the nature of solutions journalism about climate change? and 2) How does solutions journalism about responses to climate change, compared with problem-oriented journalism, impact news audiences? In Study 1, I undertook an inductive quantitative content analysis guided by Entman’s (1993) four functions of framing. Cluster analysis of 244 text-based climate solutions news stories published in U.S.-based outlets resulted in three previously undescribed news frames. The most prevalent frame, the future is now, focused on adapting to a changing climate which causes environmental problems. The next most prevalent frame, the undeterred stewards, described a variety of climate impacts and causes, frequently mentioned climate change’s victims, and focused nearly equally on mitigation and adaptation responses. Stories emblematic of this frame featured responses led by people typically drawing on place-based identity and working cooperatively beyond partisanship. The least frequent frame, moral mitigation, focused on mitigation and who was responsible for both causing and addressing climate change. Study 2 examined the effects of climate solutions journalism on preference for public-sphere policy support of climate action and climate misinformation susceptibility. I conducted a 3 (government solution vs. business solution vs. problems) x 2 (food waste vs. wildfire) + 1 (control) between-subjects online experiment among U.S adults (N = 368). Results showed that threat appraisals mediated the effect of solution (vs. problem) on preference for policy support, with topic-level analysis revealing the effect present for stories about climate-related wildfire, but not food waste. Additionally, political ideology moderated the effect of policy support preference in a manner consistent with solutions aversion, the idea that ideologically (in)congruent solutions bias information processing of solutions to social problems. This experiment also added to a growing body of research that solutions journalism increases audience positive affect, decreases negative affect, and increases media trust. Surprisingly, there were no evidence that several efficacy constructs mediated effects of story orientation on policy support. However, solutions journalism did decrease climate misinformation susceptibility through negative affect, but raised it through positive affect. This dissertation provides several theoretical and practical implications. First, this study shows that climate solutions journalism is framed differently than traditional, climate journalism. In focusing mostly on climate change’s negative environmental impacts, adaptation over mitigation, with little mention of causes, the most common climate solutions frame may not convey that mitigating greenhouse gas emissions is critical. Furthermore, the less frequently employed frames may better engage conservative audiences. This dissertation is the first to demonstrate that solutions journalism can increase threat appraisal, despite increasing positive affect and decreasing negative affect, and do so without depressing support for policy action. In doing so, this dissertation answers calls for solutions research guided by theory although findings suggest additional theory development is needed. In sum, this dissertation offers support to the idea that climate solutions journalism is a promising journalistic approach for the reality of the Anthropocene age.
The Paradox of Expertise: U.S. Abortion Law from 1973-2022
(2023) Farhat, Aya H; Parry-Giles, Shawn; Communication; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
In the last fifty years, abortion rights in the United States have gone from being criminalized in most states, to being legal on a federal level, to being regulated through individual state legislatures. In 1973, the landmark abortion case Roe v. Wade granted fecund persons a federal right to abortion for the first time in this nation’s history. To do so, the Supreme Court conceived of abortion rights within a rhetoric of expertise. The Court relied on legal, medical, and personal conceptions of expertise as knowledge, procedure, and deference to ground abortion rights in a precedent of privacy tied to the trimester framework. Since its codification, multiple cases at the Supreme Court and lower court levels have challenged the precedent established in Roe. These challenges have worked to both protect and constrict fecund persons’ abortion rights to various degrees. Each of these post-Roe cases have reconfigured the triangulation of expertise to make sense of abortion rights in their particular political and temporal moments. For instance, the landmark abortion case Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey (1992) sought to reinforce the precedent in Roe by clarifying its legal and medical inconsistencies with the undue burden standard. Thirty years later, the Court in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (2022) decided such inconsistencies warranted returning the abortion decision back to the states. The ability for abortion rights to undergo such a significant shift legally exposes the rhetorical paradox of expertise. The last fifty years of abortion law indicates the inability of legal and medical knowledge and procedures to consistency define the boundaries of legal abortion. But it also shows how the Court has deferred to these expert institutions time and time again to first expand, and then constrict, fecund persons’ personal expertise over the abortion decision. The Paradox of Expertise explores the complex triangulation of expertise in abortion law through an analysis of three pivotal U.S. Supreme Court cases: Roe (1973), Casey (1992), and Dobbs (2022). In each of these cases, the justices interpreted this triangulation in differential ways to shift the boundaries of legal abortion. In Chapter One, I explore how Roe read the legal-medical history of abortion to authorize the trimester framework and regulate fecund persons’ abortion rights and expertise. By regulating abortion through the trimester framework, the Court entangled legal, medical, and personal expertise in a complex web that ultimately privileged legal and medical expertise throughout a fecund person’s pregnancy. In Chapter Two, I analyze Casey to show how the Court responded to the ambiguities presented by the trimester framework. In Casey, the Court reinterpreted the precedent in Roe to affirm abortion rights under an undue burden standard. Because the Court failed to define this standard in a consistent manner, future courts continued to battle over the ambiguities of abortion law. In Chapter Three, I examine the decision in Dobbs to show how such legal battles over expertise allowed the Court to reinterpret abortion history and warrant returning the abortion issue back to the states. But because the Dobbs Court failed to clarify the past inconsistencies in abortion law, state legislators, medical physicians, and fecund persons struggle to make sense of the legal, medical, and personal barriers to abortion access in the present moment. Today, the current landscape of abortion politics is still mired in the paradox of expertise that foreshadows the long road ahead for pro-abortion advocates and those seeking abortion access and care.
Psychological inoculation against vaccine misinformation: why and how it works
(2023) Wang, Yuan; Nan, Xiaoli; Communication; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
Vaccine misinformation has posed a significant threat to public health. Drawing upon inoculation theory, this dissertation investigates whether exposure to an inoculation message – a message that forewarns and refutes potential persuasive attacks – can confer resistance to misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines. Based on two online experiments, this research seeks to answer four overarching questions: Can exposure to an inoculation message reduce susceptibility to misinformation? Through which mechanisms does inoculation message confer resistance to misinformation? Does the effect of inoculation messages vary among initially informed, uninformed, and misinformed individuals? How do partisan source cues (in-group vs. out-group) impact the effectiveness of inoculation messages among politically affiliated individuals? Study 1 investigated the effectiveness, mechanisms, and recipient factors related to inoculation messages. A two-condition (inoculation vs. control) between-subject experiment was conducted (N = 659). Results indicated that exposure to an inoculation message effectively reduced individuals' susceptibility to misinformation. Inoculation message not only counteracted beliefs in misinformation but also protected positive attitudes and intentions toward COVID-19 vaccination. Moreover, perceived ease of counterarguing and anger were identified as significant mediators underlying the persuasive effects of the inoculation message, while counterarguing was not a significant mediator. Furthermore, the effectiveness of inoculation message remained consistent among initially informed, uninformed, or misinformed groups, suggesting that inoculation message offers both prophylactic and therapeutic effects. Study 2 examined how partisan source cues impacted inoculation message effectiveness. A 2 (in-group vs. out-group inoculation) X 2 (in-group vs. out-group misinformation) between-subject online experiment was conducted among politically affiliated individuals (N = 448). Results showed no main or interaction effects of in-group (vs. out-group) inoculation and in-group (vs. out-group) misinformation on persuasive outcomes, suggesting that the efficacy of inoculation messages in conferring resistance to misinformation did not differ based on whether the inoculation or misinformation messages came from an in-group or out-group source. Additionally, party identification strength moderated the impact of in-group (vs. out-group) inoculation on beliefs in COVID-19 vaccine misinformation and COVID-19 vaccination attitudes. Surprisingly, the advantage of in-group inoculation over out-group inoculation was stronger among individuals with lower levels of party identification. Moreover, out-group inoculation appeared to be more persuasive than in-group inoculation among individuals with extremely strong political identification. This dissertation offers several theoretical and practical implications for health communication research and practice. First, this research contributes to inoculation theory by examining two alternative mechanisms – perceived ease of counterarguing and anger – underlying inoculation message effects. The findings underscore the importance of considering cognitive, meta-cognitive, and affective routes that underlie resistance to persuasion. Additionally, this research expands the scope of inoculation theory by demonstrating its effectiveness among initially informed, uninformed, and misinformed individuals. These results suggest that inoculation messages can be useful beyond the traditional scope of cultural truisms, offering both prophylactic and therapeutic effects. Furthermore, the study challenges the conventional assumption that messages from in-group sources are more persuasive than those from out-group sources, indicating that political groups should work together to address vaccine hesitancy. Overall, this dissertation supports the use of inoculation messages as an effective tool in counteracting misinformation and promoting vaccination acceptance.
Every Cloud Has a Silver Lining: How Residents in Flood-prone Areas in China Cope and Cultivate Community Resilience in the Post-Crisis Stage
(2023) Yan, Yumin; Liu, Brooke; Communication; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
Background and Purpose. Catastrophic crises such as floods have resulted in millions of fatalities and tens of billions of dollars in direct economic losses annually worldwide throughout the twentieth century (Merz et al., 2021). Crises can create severe and widespread disruption, but successful communication may also act as a catalyst for constructive change in the post-crisis stage, as it fosters a shared understanding of the situation and provides protective action taking instructions (Liu et al., 2016; Sellnow & Seeger, 2021). The role of crisis communication in the post-crisis stage is insufficiently examined (Liu & Viens, 2020) despite the fact that many communities have the greatest need for support when the media spotlight and widespread public attention disappears. This dissertation emphasizes the notion of learning from crises in the post-crisis stage (Huber, 1991; Moynihan, 2009; Renå & Christensen, 2018) by examining individuals’ coping and their perceived community resilience in the post-crisis stage within a collectivistic and non-democratic context (i.e., mainland China). Theoretical Frameworks. To understand how individuals adapt to emotionally charged situations like floods, this dissertation draws insights from the integrated crisis mapping model (i.e., ICM; Jin et al., 2012; Jin et al., 2016), the infectious disease threat appraisal model (i.e., IDT; Jin et al., 2020; Jin et al., 2021), emotional contagion theory (Barsade, 2002; Barsade et al., 2018), social appraisal theory (Manstead & Fischer, 2001; Parkinson, 2011; 2021), and identity-based emotions research (Mackie et al., 2008; Smith & Mackie, 2015; Tajfel & Turner, 1979; Turner et al., 1987) to explore how individuals’ appraisal of a crisis, susceptibility to emotional contagion (Doherty, 1997; Jin et al., 2020), and identification with their local communities influence individuals’ coping and perceived community resilience (the communities advancing resilience toolkit (CART) assessment; Kim et al., 2023; Pfefferbaum et al., 2013; Pfefferbaum et al., 2015). Methods. As a country prone to flooding, China’s flood damage constitutes a significant portion of global flood losses (Ding et al., 2022; Guo et al., 2023; Qazlbash et al., 2021). Yet, no found crisis communication research provides evidence-based scientific guidance for individuals and social groups in flood-prone areas of China to recover and rebound. Thus, this dissertation explores how individuals cope and cultivate community resilience in the post-disaster recovery phase in the Lukou District, Zhuzhou City, Hunan Province of China. This dissertation deploys a self-report survey utilizing systematic cluster sampling to test the proposed model. Because the flood season in Hunan historically is from April to the beginning of September (Du et al., 2019; Hu et al., 2021; Zeng et al., 2021), the data collection started in mid-September 2022 and was completed by mid-October 2022 to capture residents’ post-flooding experiences. A total of 1,000 complete responses were collected. Because this dissertation’s proposed model includes latent factors, a two-phase modeling process (i.e., measurement and structural; Muller & Hancock, 2019) with maximal likelihood with robust standard error (MLR) estimation is adopted for analysis. Results. The overarching idea delivered in this dissertation’s findings is that individual coping mechanisms (e.g., perceptions, affective experiences, and behavioral intentions) as adaptive and socially functional coping, further contribute to individuals’ perceived local community resilience. Focusing on the adaptive perspective of individuals’ coping, this dissertation’s findings show that vulnerable individuals (e.g., those who perceive greater incurred damage and resource constraints) are more likely to experience negative emotions and less likely to engage in information seeking behaviors or take protective measures to recover from damage and prevent future threats in the post-crisis stage. This dissertation’s findings on the relationships between individuals’ crisis appraisals (e.g., perceived crisis predictability, controllability, and responsibility) and individuals’ affective experiences of emotions and behavioral intentions differ from previous research that focuses on the pre-crisis and crisis stages in Western contexts (e.g., Austin et al., 2021; Jin, 2010; Jin et al., 2020). Furthermore, this dissertation’s findings reveal that negative and positive emotions’ influences on individuals’ information seeking intentions, passive protective action taking intentions, and active protective action taking intentions are largely muted in the post-crisis stage within a collectivistic and non-democratic context. Focusing on the socially functional perspective of individuals’ coping, this dissertation reveals that individuals’ perceived social support, feature-driven emotional contagion, meaning-driven emotional contagion, and ingroup identification influence individuals’ affective experiences of negative and positive emotions, information seeking intentions, passive protective action taking intentions, and active protective action taking intentions. Specifically, findings on perceived social support show that participants who perceived higher levels of social support are less likely to experience negative emotions about floods and more likely to have passive protective action taking intentions. Findings on feature-driven emotional contagion in public emergencies show that participants with higher tendencies of unconsciously capturing others’ emotional expressions are more likely to experience negative emotions about floods and have passive protective action taking intentions. Findings on meaning-driven emotional contagion in public emergencies show that participants with higher tendencies to capture others’ emotional expression by cognitively interpreting the crises are more likely to experience positive emotions about floods and have active protective action taking intentions. Findings on ingroup identifications show that participants’ identification with the local community contributes to their information seeking intentions, passive protective action taking intentions, and active protective action taking intentions. For individuals’ perceived community resilience, this dissertation’s findings show that participants with higher information-seeking intentions and active protective action taking intentions were more likely to perceive greater community resilience. Whereas there is no found statistically significant relationship between participants’ passive protective action taking intentions and perceived community resilience. Theoretical and Practical Implications. This dissertation’s findings contribute to crisis communication research and practices. This dissertation contributes to crisis communication research by examining individuals' coping in the post-crisis stage, extending existing crisis communication literature on emotion by integrating group-level factors (e.g., feature-driven emotional contagion, meaning-driven emotional contagion, and ingroup identification) and broadening previous crisis communication literature by studying a collectivistic and non-democratic context. This dissertation also advances crisis communication research on community resilience by tripling the explained variance of perceived community resilience (from 21% to 65%) and paving the way for future crisis communication research by providing measurement instructions with high reliability scores. This dissertation also offers valuable insights for crisis communicators, enabling them to comprehend the intricate mechanisms of individuals' coping and community resilience in a collectivistic and non-democratic context. This dissertation's findings can assist crisis communicators in devising culturally sensitive messaging and recovery-focused intervention programs that cater to the needs of vulnerable groups while bolstering the community's overall capacity to rebound in the crisis recovery phase.
What makes a college worth it? A critical examination of constructions and interpretations of institutional prestige in U.S. higher education
(2023) Ashby-King, Drew T.; Anderson, Lindsey B.; Communication; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
In the United States (U.S.), attending and graduating from college has been positioned as necessary for individuals to get a good job, earn a high salary, and be successful in life (Ashby-King & Anderson, 2022). However, not every college degree seems to be created equal as graduates of elite (i.e., highly selective, well resourced, highly ranked, prestigious) institutions have been found to experience an increased return on investment in comparison to their peers at less selective institutions (Ge et al., 2022). Colleges and universities then compete to increase their ranking and decrease the percentage of students they admit trying to gain prestige and symbolic capital in the marketplace of U.S. higher education (Blackmore, 2018; Brewer et al., 2002). As not every institution can be highly ranked, in addition to engaging in prestige-seeking behaviors, they also use communication and public relations practices to communicatively construct themselves as prestigious. Thus, I suggest that it is important to examine and understand how institutions are constructed as prestigious and how students interpret said constructions as they seek to gain capital themselves by attending college and earning a degree. As determinations of what is deemed worthy capital in different fields creates the social structures that exist in said field, I took a critical public relations approach to examining this problem to understand how communicative constructions of prestige reinforce and/or challenge dominant ideologies—especially neoliberalism and whiteness. In this dissertation, I conducted a two-part qualitative study that included a textual analysis of articles related to prestige and rankings published in two media outlets and in-depth interviews and a follow-up questionnaire with currently enrolled college students. Based on my critical thematic analysis, I argue that discourses of institutional prestige functioned to reinforce the notion that higher education is a marketplace by focusing on competition, hierarchy, and exclusivity. As students interpreted these discourses, they were less focused on institutional prestige and more concerned with the social capital they would gain from an institution that would help them get good jobs post-graduation. Throughout this process, when interpreting institutional communication college students did not always trust the institutions. Therefore, they sought additional information from social media and their networks and interpreted said institutional communication in relation to other texts and discourses. Through this project, I advance theory by (1) emphasizing the agency individuals and publics have when they communicate with organizations; (2) theorize public relations as a vehicle for communicating the social and cultural capital an organization can offer publics; and (3) reinforce the ways discourses of institutional prestige function to reinforce neoliberalism and whiteness. I conclude by offering practical implications to inform public relations and communication practice within and beyond the context of higher education.
Queer Ecology of Monstrosity: Troubling the Human/Nature Binary
(2023) Thomas, Alex Jazz; Steele, Catherine K; Communication; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
As a form of visual communication, monsters in popular culture represent and reinforce the changing thoughts and emotions cultures have toward the human/nature binary. This binary, historically supporting discrimination based on race, gender and sexuality, and the environment’s abuse, is often supported through monstrous representations of the Other, but this is a limited view of a monster’s potential. I argue that contemporary hybrid monsters that blend humans and nature together in one queer, boundary-defying body represent U.S. society’s changing relationship with nature while giving the audience a new form of connecting or identifying with the environment and Othered body that critiques the popular ideology of both being something to fear or use. In this study, I advance a monstrous splice of queer theory and ecocriticism that probes the plasticity and queerness of humans and the environment allowing for new narratives, forms of life, and discourses about naturalization and the environment. Through queer ecological theory and methodology, I examine visual and contextual media to study the monster’s potential to embody nature, people, and their conjoined discrimination. The plasmaticness and subversive culture of animation and comics let the monstrous thrive in their display of the plasticity of humans and the environment. I structure my analysis into three case studies focusing on the potential of monsters to critique evolutionary ideology, human exceptionalism, and ecological interaction in light of queer theory’s critique of what is ‘natural.’ Radford Sechrist’s television series Kipo and the Age of the Wonderbeasts and K.I. Zachopoulos and Vincenzo Balzano’s graphic novel Run Wild oppose human exceptionalism by visually plasticizing humanity and giving animals culture and agency in a way that rejects anthropocentric thinking. The monsters of Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart’s independent film, Wolfwalkers and Morvan and Nesmo’s ecological detective novel Bramble critique the cultural separation of urban and green spaces that has excused racial and sexual violence by displaying humanity’s innate connection to nature. Finally, Marguerite Bennett’s erotic graphic novel Insexts and select episodes from Tim Miller’s Love, Death, & Robots challenge evolutionary ideology. In this last case, characters retain their femininity and humanity in their monstrous transformations, rejecting evolutionary and societal inferiority and ultimately showing they can still retain parts of themselves and be powerful and deadly. Taken together, these texts span genres, writing/drawing styles, intended age groups, and environmental messages. They provide a wide range of monster representations and give audiences new ways to view and understand the issues surrounding what we see as ‘human’ or ‘natural’, balancing empowerment, subversivism, and condemnation.
#ISOLATEDNOTALONE DURING COVID-19: EXTENDING THE SITUATIONAL THEORY OF PROBLEM SOLVING TO ONLINE ABUSE INTERVENTION CAMPAIGNS
(2023) Dias, Shawna; Aldoory, Linda; Communication; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
Domestic abuse has long been regarded as a significant public health issue, but intimate partner violence cases increased dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic, leading some reporters to label it as “an opportunistic infection.” The United Nations attributed the increase in domestic abuse to COVID-19 quarantines and shelter-in-place orders, which forced victims to remain trapped in their homes with their abusers. Cosmetics brand, Avon, which has a history of responding to women’s health issues, launched the #IsolatedNotAlone abuse intervention campaign on its social media platforms. The campaign sought to educate the public about the ubiquitousness of domestic abuse and inform victims about available intervention resources. The #IsolatedNotAlone campaign was most active during the spring and summer months of 2020. During that time, the campaign reached an estimated 2.9 million social media users and provided supportive services to nearly 16,000 domestic abuse survivors. Although the campaign was a success, it didn’t reach near as many social media users as other abuse-related initiatives, like the #MeToo movement, which achieved 12 million reposts within its first 24 hours.This dissertation explores the usefulness of the Situational Theory of Problem Solving (STOPS) for understanding how publics organize and react to #IsolatedNotAlone and similar abuse intervention campaigns. STOPS is commonly used to examine public reactions to organizational crises, but this dissertation took an alternative approach and examined its applications for health communication. The research questions ask how situational antecedents, as outlined in STOPS, motivate social media users to learn more about domestic abuse, and how situational motivations and referent criteria influence the communicative actions of social media users. Additionally, the research questions ask how communicative behaviors influence online social support group formation and organization. The sample in this research included ethnically diverse men, women, and non-binary participants who identified as white, Black, Native American, Asian, and Hispanic. I chose to keep the sample demographics wide because I wanted to better understand how diverse groups experience and understand domestic abuse and domestic abuse intervention messages, and their motivations for communicating or not communicating about abuse. Twenty-eight social media users participated in semi-structured qualitative interviews via telephone or Zoom. The data suggests social media users with alike situational antecedents are similarly motivated to communicate about domestic abuse interventions unless they individually recognize significant constraints. Individuals with strong problem recognition and involvement recognition display a wider range of communicative actions than those with low problem recognition and involvement recognition. Based on the findings, this study produces practical implications for abuse intervention message design and distribution. The findings also demonstrate that STOPS has some utility for understanding public response to health intervention messages, though the framework may require adaptation for use in future health communication initiatives. The data suggest that referent criteria, time, and power have a larger role in health communication and influence audience members’ problem recognition, involvement recognition, and communicative actions.
PUBLIC MOBILITY AND THE IMPACT ON SOCIAL NETWORKS: UNDERSTANDING THE SOCIETAL AND TRANSNATIONAL COMMUNICATION OF MIGRANT NETWORKS FROM A QUALITATIVE APPROACH
(2023) Iannacone, Jeannette Isabelle; Sommerfeldt, Erich J; Communication; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)
In considering the realities of 21st century society, research cannot overlook how livelihoods are becoming increasingly defined by one’s (in)ability for and agency over movement, i.e. mobility, especially on the transnational scale. Simultaneously, the relational turn of public relations scholarship has emphasized a network perspective, examining how a set of relations among social actors—be it people, groups, or organizations—create systems that comprise, maintain, and/or disrupt society (Yang & Taylor, 2015). As such, public relations should be inclusive of the depth of multiple, rich, and mobile relationships in social networks that span national borders. Yet the development of the network perspective in public relations has not been without its limitations, notably the absence of public perspectives, actions, and realities—all of which impact the communicative interactions that produce their social networks. This research thereby incorporates a public perspective through insights from people who migrate to highlight an increasingly important dimension to public formation and relationship dynamics: mobility. In doing so, this dissertation takes an innovative qualitative approach to social network analysis (SNA), which integrates a visual network mapping exercise alongside qualitative interviews and ethnographic observations. Findings captured how the enactment and context of mobility impact migrant network dynamics across the world as well as their subsequent communication behaviors and relational expectations, particularly with U.S. civil society organizations (CSOs). They further depicted an organizational perspective that highlighted three dichotomies to how CSOs perceive and maintain their social networks, and showcased the role of mobility as an underlying context generating distinct actors, ties, and positioning. Findings lastly emphasized entanglements between social and other forms of capital as well as patterns in who is perceived as having versus needing capital.As such, this dissertation proposes the conceptualization of the mobile social network ecology, a concept that integrates social network analysis and the experiences of public mobility by accounting for distinct publics and organizations perceptions. It allows for public relations to better consider the impacts of the enactment and context of mobility on key public relationships, inclusive of the distinct publics of the modern world, the CSOs that seek to serve them, and their linkages to civil societies on a transnational scale. Additionally, in noting the significant ties between migrant publics and migrant-serving CSOs, this dissertation connects the exchanges of (social) capital within a mobile social network ecology to relational power dynamics and differentials, emphasizing their lived, embodied impact as well as introducing a new salient category: spatial capital. All together, these contributions advance public relations in reckoning with the transnational, globalized dimensions of the modern world, showcasing how public mobility shapes and complicates our fundamental societal connections and presenting unique takeaways for the field in scholarship and practice.

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