Department: Ph.D. Degree Program

Clementson, D. E., & Xie, T. (Grady PhD student) (2020, Nov.). Effects of partisan bias on perceptions of evasion in a political news interview. Paper to be presented at the 106th National Communication Association conference, Political Communication division, Indianapolis, IN. Abstract: This paper applies truth-default theory (TDT) to political deception. TDT suggests that people detect deception […]

Clementson, D. E., & Xie, T. (Grady PhD student) (2020, Nov.). Narrative storytelling and anger in crisis communication. Paper to be presented at the 106th National Communication Association conference, Public Relations division, Indianapolis, IN. Abstract: This paper reports a test and extension of the model posited by Heath’s (2004) theory of crisis response narratives, in […]

Taylor Voges (Grady Ph.D. Student) and Matthew Binford (Grady Ph.D. Student). SO ORDERED: A Textual Analysis of United States’ Governors’ Press Release Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication. San Fransisco, August 6-9, 2020 Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic presents a unique environment from which each individual state, in the […]

Jeffrey Duncan (Grady Ph.D. Student) and Taylor Voges (Grady Ph.D. Student).  EULAs as Unbalanced Contractual Power Between an Organization and its (Unannounced and Underage) Users: A Mobile Game Textual Analysis. Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication. San Francisco, August 6-9, 2020 * This paper won the Top Student Paper Award, Critical and Cultural Studies […]

Abstract: This study tests how the cognitive component of work attitude, particularly the job cognition as tested by Williams and Anderson (1991), affects the dynamic relationships among trust, commitment, and satisfaction. Our interests emanates from researchers’ continued focus on the dynamic and relational processes in constructing workplace relationships. However, few attention has been paid to […]

Abstract: This paper aims at addressing the value of readiness for Industry 4.0 to the practice of public relations. The researcher argued for the necessity of defining the construct of “readiness for Industry 4.0” in public relations and proposed a conceptual framework that encompasses dimensions relevant for readiness for Industry 4.0 in public relations: cognitive […]

Abstract: Participants (N=88) in a two-condition (Facebook post information level: high vs. low) mixed factorial design took part in a laboratory experiment that utilized eye tracking to gauge what areas of the page in common news layouts attract viewers’ gaze, and whether this viewing amount of information about the story disclosed in the Facebook posts. […]

Abstract: The movement to free Al Jazeera journalists (#FreeAJStaff), imprisoned by Egyptian authorities, utilized Twitter over almost two years, between 2014 and 2015. This study applied a social networks approach to study patterns of information flow, social mediators, and clusters, formed by the #FreeAJStaff movement on Twitter.Analysis of 22 months of data found social mediators […]

Abstract: Institutional knowledge and collective learning are invaluable resources for the corporate communications profession.  How corporations and government agencies have historically communicated with publics provides historical parameters for developing public communication competencies and ethical standards.  Through the lens of organizational learning and historical analogy, this study examines public relations in the era of the Great […]

Abstract: This study, in the context of encouraging participants to enroll in a company’s employee wellness program, uses gain-loss framing (Rothman & Salovey, 1997) and social comparison theory (Festinger, 1954) to examine the effects of messages on participant perceptions of self-efficacy for maintaining a healthy weight, consuming healthful foods and body satisfaction. A 2 (framing: […]