Department: Ph.D. Degree Program

Abstract: While risk perception has been the subject of many sport tourism studies, much remains to be linked with risk information seeking, travel-related response, and behavior in the sport tourism contexts. Previous studies lacked evidence-based literature to examine the effect of risk perception on travel decisions in the case of risks associated with infectious diseases […]

Abstract: Effective response strategies and narratives are crucial for organizations to manage crisis situations. Grounded in SCCT (Coombs, 2007) and narratives of crisis (Seeger & Sellnow, 2016), this study aims to advance crisis communication and narrative research in public relations by looking into publics’ responses to organizational crisis communication in response to sexual harassment accusations […]

Abstract: One of the understudied topics in risk communication is why individuals do not follow or are resistant to recommended behaviors that optimize personal health outcomes. To understand the dimensionality of these responses, this study investigates barriers for persuasion (i.e., risk tolerance and message fatigue) and trust in government. An online survey using a representative […]

Abstract: Uncertainty is one of the key characteristics of an organizational crisis that needs to be addressed in an organization’s crisis responses. Although a large body of uncertainty research has been conducted in risk communication, there are limited uncertainty focused studies in organizational communication. To close this knowledge gap, this study examined how perceived uncertainty […]

Abstract: The world is subject to many an affliction and pandemic, as seen most recently with COVID-19. This study, in an attempt to better understand the trends and workings of the past, conducted deep-dive narrative and trend analyses of three prominent virus afflictions: the 1918 Flu, Polio, and HIV/AIDs. Through the lens of public health […]

Abstract: This study uses a novel approach, the conjoint analysis, as a way to investigate the interactions between three factor groupings of the contingency theory variables that are relevant for public relations practitioners when they engage in strategic decision-making. This study’s approach offers unique perspectives and insights into the decision-making process—both furthering the contingency theory […]

Abstract: We examined how age and exposure to different types of COVID-19 (mis)information affect misinformation beliefs, perceived credibility of the message and intention-to-share it on WhatsApp. Through two mixed-design online experiments in the UK and Brazil (total N = 1,454) we first randomly exposed adult WhatsApp users to full misinformation, partial misinformation, or full truth […]

Abstract: An improvement in HPV vaccination rates is one of the primary goals of public health organizations. Toward this end, fear appeal communication is commonly used in health interventions, warning individuals of threats of HPV infection and promoting vaccination. However, little is known about how threat-related emotions, such as fear and anxiety, influence the cognitive […]

Abstract: This study examined if and how Facebook user-generated comments about the flu vaccine influenced psychological reactance in conjunction with pre-existing flu vaccine attitude. Psychological reactance was further tested as a mediating factor influencing behavioral intention to receive the vaccine. An experimental study was conducted with 264 college students. The results showed that pre-existing attitude […]

Kim, Hanyoung (Grady PhD Student), Seo, Y.,(Grady PhD Student) Yoon, H. J., Han, J. Y., & Ko. Y.(Grady PhD Student), (Forthcoming). Abstract: This study examined if and how Facebook user-generated comments about the flu vaccine influenced psychological reactance in conjunction with pre-existing flu vaccine attitude. Psychological reactance was further tested as a mediating factor influencing […]