36 results
Search Results
Now showing 1 - 10 of 36
Item Online Interaction and Identity Development: The Relationship between Adolescent Ego Identity and Preferred Communication Activities(North Dakota State University, 2011) Tobola, Cloy DouglasThe purpose of this study was to evaluate the types of communication activities adolescents reported as important and used most frequently, and how these communication preferences were reflected in adolescents' identity development status. Participants were approximately 600 new university students who completed a survey regarding 18 communication activities, along with the Erikson Psychosocial Stage Inventory identity subscale. Data analysis was conducted in two phases. To reduce the frequency and importance data to a manageable size, exploratory factor analyses and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted. Two identical factors were identified and validated related to the importance and the frequency of communication activities. The first factor comprised four items related to online ''performance": online gaming, participation in virtual reality settings, live chat with strangers, and live chat with groups unknown to the individual. The second factor comprised four communication activities that occurred on social networking sites as individuals created lasting "exhibits" of themselves: updating a personal profile, viewing the profiles of others, posting status messages, and sharing pictures or other content (articles, jokes, videos) with others. Analysis of means indicated that the three communication activities rated as most important and frequently used were face-to-face interaction, voice calls and text messaging. These were followed by social networking activities, and then writing activities such as blogging. The performative activities identified in the exploratory factor analysis were ranked as least important and least frequently used. Regression analysis revealed small but statistically significant negative relationships between the reported importance of performative activities and identity development status, and between the reported frequency of performative activities and identity development status. Small positive relationships were also identified between the importance of face-to-face interaction and identity development status, and the importance of voice phone calls and identity development status. Small positive relationships were also identified between the frequency of face-to-face communication and identity development, between the frequency of voice phone calls and identity development, and between the frequency of email use and identity development.Item "Cause You Don't Really Need a Teacher to Learn Stuff": Theorizing a ‘Lanes of Learning' Model of Informal, Self-Directed Learning(North Dakota State University, 2021) Vareberg, Kyle RobertThe goal of this dissertation was to explore how self-directed learners assess their learning in informal contexts. Self-directed learners experience high intrinsic motivation and learner control, so studying these learners’ experiences provides valuable insights into learning. I pose four questions: 1) How do self-directed learners in informal contexts satisfy their need for a) autonomy, b) relatedness, c) competence, and d) prioritize the satisfaction of these needs? 2) How do self-directed learners in informal contexts self-regulate their learning? 3) What affordances are perceived by informal learners during self-directed learning? 4) What relationships exist between the satisfaction of learners’ basic needs, self-regulation, and perceived affordances during self-directed, informal learning? I employ multiple methodologies, including interviews (N = 19) and an open-ended survey (N = 154), and based on this evidence, theorize a Lanes of Learning model to explain how learners regulate learning, assess competence, involve others, and use tools to meet their needs. Participants’ needs also influenced which learning tools they integrated and, from those, what they perceived as possible, including accessibility, personalizability, and adaptability. Evidence shows learners in 1) Lane A prefer efficiency, collect confirming cues, involve others to meet a goal, and use tools that provide a set of correct steps; 2) Lane B prefer structure, collect confirming cues and add affirming cues, involve others for functional purposes, and used tool that resemble the real thing; 3) Lane C prefer depth and chase information as it becomes relevant, collect affirming cues, involve others for emotional reasons, and use tools that provides more information to chase; and, 4) Lane D prefer innovation, collect affirming cues and add confirming cues, involve others to build a network, and use tools that are inspirational, not educational. I argue people are motivated to learn when that learning is on their terms, and this motivation manifests in the strategies and processes taken by individuals during learning.Item Too Many American Icons: Conflicting Ideologies of Wild Horse Management in the American West(North Dakota State University, 2019) Sullivan, Curtis J.Wild free-roaming horses in the American West continue to exist in tension with the land they inhabit, the government that “manages” them, and the people that are impacted by them. The problem, argued here, is the result of the ideological construction of mustangs in American culture, and it calls forth questions about human-nature relationships as well as contemporary understandings of Environmentalism. This research follows in the theoretical foundations of Raymond Geuss and Tommie Shelby to unpack the epistemic properties (empirical evidence of the contexts from which ideologies are formed), functional properties (consequences of suffering and benefits as a result of ideologies), and genetic histories (historical contexts the construct the ideologies in a culture) of ideologies relating to wild horses in the West; by doing so it also provides insight into nature identification, the borders and barriers of human creations, and the limitations of access for performing environmentalism. This text focuses primarily on the life and experiences of Velma Bronn Johnston as an exemplar of environmental change in unexpected ways. Her narrative culminates in the passing of the Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act of 1971 that created material changes for the lives of mustangs in the West as well as long-term consequences for citizens of the United States of America. Consequentially, mustangs of the West face a population “problem” that costs the United States more than $80 million annually with almost no signs of decreasing.Item Using Conditional and Unconditional Process Approaches to Determine the Effectiveness and Comprehensiveness of Instructional Risk and Crisis Communication Messages(North Dakota State University, 2021) Beauchamp, KimberlyMany individuals willingly or unknowingly consume food products that have been implicated in recall announcements. Exposure to potentially contaminated food products puts people at risk for contracting foodborne disease. Given the serious health complications associated with foodborne disease, a new message-design approach was needed that compels and empowers at-risk individuals to take appropriate life-saving actions when food-related, public health crises become imminent. The IDEA protocol was put forth to improve how we instruct and motivate at-risk audiences to self-protect against foodborne disease during food contamination events (T. Sellnow & D. Sellnow, 2013). IDEA-modeled messages, relative to alternative messages, are predicted to address audience diversity and produce more accurate receiver perceptions, which in turn translate into more appropriate behavioral intentions. The IDEA model has not yet been adequately or appropriately tested, despite arguments to the contrary. This study advanced the IDEA model by presenting: (1) a rigorous tool that more appropriately tested hypotheses, (2) a visually-friendly conceptual diagram for depicting a path-analytic framework, (3) important guidelines that scholars should employ to examine the IDEA model’s utility, and (4) justification for theoretical grounding in Witte’s (1992a) extended parallel process model (EPPM) in addition to D. Kolb’s (1984) learning cycle model. Rather than relying on tests based on analysis of variance to test theory, the present message-testing study employed a regression-based approach that more appropriately tested the IDEA model hypotheses. My conditional process model efficiently integrated moderators and mediators into a single path-analytic framework. My unconditional process model excluded the two moderating factors and their interactions from the statistical framework. Both statistical models included six parallel mediating mechanisms and two behavioral intention measures. The results of this message-testing experiment demonstrated how regression-based approaches that incorporate moderation, mediation, moderated-mediation, and moderated-moderated mediation should be employed to test the IDEA protocol. I found that an IDEA message was not consistently superior to an alternative message. My results suggest that an IDEA-modeled message should be thoughtfully designed to prevent inappropriate outcomes among target audiences. Improved message-design approaches should be explored for motivating and empowering at-risk individuals to self-protect against foodborne disease during contamination events.Item Leaving the Family: Exit from Totalistic Organizations(North Dakota State University, 2013) Hinderaker, Amorette NicoleThe purpose of this study was to explore how members exit totalistic organizations. Existing organizational communication research has treated employee membership in an employment institution as the universal organizational relationship. This study argues that certain organizational relationships are best understood not by the presence or absence of pay, however, but in relation to the extent of organizational reach into the member's life outside the organization. This study advances the notion that such totalistic organizations share important characteristics including value-based memberships, centrality of organizational values to the member's life, the involvement of primary relationships, and a requirement of organizational fealty. This study advances the study of organizational exit within this totalistic context. A microstoria narrative analysis was used to examine the exit narratives of members of both paid and unpaid totalistic organizations (police officers and firefighters: N = 50, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints: N = 50) to gain a better understanding of exit from totalistic organizations. The findings of this study suggest several contributions to the study of organizational communication and exit. First, the findings of this study expand our definition of organizational memberships beyond current literature, which defines memberships based on payment. Second, consideration of totalistic exit challenges existing models of role/vocational socialization, suggesting that foundational values can originate from an organizational source. Third, the process of exit revealed by the narratives of this study suggests a view of exit that was unlike both current phasic models or considerations of volunteer exit. The process of exiting a totalistic organization was less linear and more prolonged than exit describe by existing literature, and was marked by deep personal doubts and fears. Finally, members of totalistic organizations described active concealment of both their decisions to exit, and the doubts about both the organization and the self that contribute to exit, suggesting a communicative pattern during the exit process that diverges from the expected announcement/exit phase of Jablin's (2001) model.Item Journalists' Framing of Terrorist Attacks and Audience Reaction: A Longitudinal Case Study of The Boston Globe(North Dakota State University, 2021) Mou-Danha, Seseer PrudenceThis study aimed to elaborate on the presentation of news about the Boston Marathon bombing on The Boston Globe’s Facebook page and people’s reaction to it. A social crisis such as this invites people’s attention to online news sources for seeking details. Reports presented by journalists can encourage, elicit fear, strengthen communities, and/or foster cooperation. As much as journalists try to be objective in their reporting, the ways in which they frame a story can influence audiences’ responses. The primary objective of this study was to understand how news frames align with audience response. The analyses of news posts and audience comments were guided by theoretical frameworks of Framing and the Six-Segment Strategy Wheel. Content and interpretive analyses were performed to identify and explain the primary themes in The Boston Globe’s news texts and images, and the responses of their audience. Data related to the Marathon bombing were collected from The Boston Globe’s Facebook posts and comments, dated April 15, 2013–April 30, 2014. The study employed a constructionist approach, arguing that reality is created through interactions on social platforms. Content analysis was done by applying traditional news frames: economic, human interest, responsibility, morality, and conflict, as well as Taylor’s SSSW. Interpretive analysis was carried by interpreting the findings through a societal context. This study demonstrated that framing a terrorist attack through a criminal justice model as opposed to a war-based model had milder implications for punitive action. In addition, journalist’s identification of a suspect as a terrorist did not seem to mitigate the justice view of the case. More importantly, social identification of the suspects played a salient whole in perceptions of guilt and penalty.Item A Rhetorical/Interpretive Analysis of Edward R. Murrow's Criticism of Broadcast Journalism: Implications for Broadcast Journalism Educators(North Dakota State University, 2012) Quanbeck, AaronCorporate influence has been an ongoing concern for working journalists. Even in the early days of television, Edward R. Murrow saw a bleak future for society if broadcasters succumbed to corporate greed and failed in their responsibility to inform the public. This rhetorical study of Murrow's 1958 speech to the Radio-Television News Directors Association, guided by Perelman's theory of the universal audience and presence, argues that Murrow's speech prioritized broadcast journalism's obligation to a democratic society and warned that commercial intrusion was impacting the profession's moral obligations. At the same time, in appealing to a particular audience, Murrow deemphasized the role of individuals in the process, including both working journalists and the viewing audience. I apply the findings of my rhetorical analysis to a qualitative case study analysis of three collegiate broadcasting textbooks to examine how closely Murrow's vision for the industry is being passed on to the next generation of broadcast journalists. My findings suggest that tensions exist between the two, including Murrow advocating a more proactive rather than a reactive approach to broadcast journalism. I conclude by offering recommendations to broadcast educators in helping young journalists balance the obligations Murrow envisioned for the industry and the corporate realities of broadcasting.Item Story-Selling: The Persuasive Effects of Using Stories in University Recruitment(North Dakota State University, 2012) Burns, Michael EdwardThe purpose of this dissertation was to examine the persuasive effects personal stories have on the university recruitment process. Specifically, this study explored how Fisher's (1984) concepts of narrative probability and fidelity influenced Ajzen's (1991) theory of planned behavior model using a four-staged quasi-experimental study. Jablin's (1982) anticipatory socialization phase of organizational assimilation theory acted as a context for this applied dissertation. This study evolved over four stages while working with the North Dakota State University Office of Admission. The first stage provided qualitative data exploring students' opinions of using story-based recruitment material. Focus groups also revealed what types of stories would be helpful for prospective students during the college admission process. Stage two developed and tested the narrative probability and fidelity scales based on Fisher's (1984) narrative paradigm. These newly created scales were used to determine the level of narrative probability and narrative fidelity in each of the experimental conditions. Stage three consisted of the creation and testing of the recruitment videos used in each experimental condition. The final stage tested the story-based recruitment and control videos on prospective students visiting North Dakota State University. The results of this dissertation were obtained using a series of ANOVAs, regression analyses, and path model testing techniques. Overall, the results suggested that high levels of narrative probability and narrative fidelity do positively influence prospective students' attitudes toward choosing a university and have a less powerful, but still positive, influence on their subjective norms beliefs and perceived behavioral control of choosing a university. The theory of planned behavior model was also supported by this data. The results of each stage of this study produced theoretical and practical implications. This dissertation concludes with a discussion of the results, implications, limitations, and future research opportunities.Item Are You Buying What They're Selling?: Ethnographically Exploring Organizational Identification through Employees' Everyday Talk(North Dakota State University, 2012) Western, Kai JanovskyThe purpose of this study was to explore how employees' reflect organizational identification strategies in their everyday talk at a big-box retailer. Previous studies on organizational identification have mostly been organization-centric, focusing on the strategies organizations employ to induce employee identification. This study fills this gap by exploring the employee side of the identification process. Using ethnographic methods, the researcher conducted complete participant observation and textual analysis to understand how employees reflect, mock, and/or rebel against the organization's identification strategies in their narratives and rites. This study used a three phase approach to gain a deeper understanding of how employees used everyday discourse to reflect their connection with an organization. In Phase I, complete participant observation and informant interviews were conducted during the 2011-2012 holiday season at a big-box retailer, Big Alpha. Data were coded using thematic analysis. The second phase consisted of textually analyzing organizational artifacts to determine how Big Alpha employed organizational identification strategies. In the last phase, participant observation and informant interview data were compared to the strategies found in Phase II to determine what identification strategies employees reflected in their everyday talk. Findings indicate that employees enact specific identification strategies that reflect identification and disidentification. Additionally, employees utilized the tactic of espoused shared values, indicating their identification with their work group more than with Big Alpha. This study extends organizational identification theory by revealing specific five new tactics and one new strategy that employees use that connect them or disconnect them from the organization. This study also extends research on temporary workers as findings indicated that seasonal, part-time, and college student workers may not perceive themselves as having "real jobs." Finally, this study found that there may be a worker class system that influences the extent to which employees may or may not identify with the organization. These findings suggest practical implications and areas of future research.Item Introducing Parasocial Relationships to Family Communication Scholarship: A Tripartite Model of Family Communication Patterns, Parental Management of Children’s Parasocial Relationships, and Parent-Child Bonding(North Dakota State University, 2019) Srivastava, Shweta ArpitPSRs are one-sided, emotionally-tinged relationships with media characters such as Peter Pan, Batman; Disney characters such as Mickey Mouse, Cinderella, and Mulan; and celebrities such as Justin Bieber, Rihanna, and Harry Stiles (Giles, 2000). This project situates children’s PSRs within the family communication environment by exploring the relationships between Family Communication Patterns (FCPs), parental management of PSRs, and perceptions of parent-child bonding. Four parental management of PSRs behaviors, Guiding, Prohibiting, Supporting, and Neutrality, were studied with respect to the Conversation and Conformity orientations of FCPs. Parental management behaviors of Guiding, Prohibiting, and Supporting had significant impacts on perceptions of parent-child bonding, but Neutrality on its own did not have any significant influence. Guiding was manifested through the FCP path of Conformity instead of Conversation. Prohibiting had a strong inverse relationship with perceptions of parent-child bonding. Besides Conformity, Prohibiting also had a significant pathway through Conversation. Supporting had a strong and positive relationship with perceptions of parent-child bonding and a significant pathway through Conversation but not through Conformity. Although Neutrality on its own did not have a significant impact, it had a significant impact through Conformity. Overall, this study fulfills its goal to look at the impact of parental communication behaviors on perceptions of the parent-child relationship. In the context of PSRs, parental communication about managing children’s PSRs is significantly related to the perceptions of parent-child bonding, and the impact of these micro communication behaviors is mediated by the overarching communication environment. Therefore, this study recommends that PSRs can be introduced to the mainstream discussion of interpersonal relationships such that family communication scholarship can explore the role of PSRs beyond media effects.