Department of Communication (CIS), General

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Affective, attitudinal, and cognitive responses to music in modern U.S. political advertising
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2012) Ezell, Jonathan Elliot; Zhou, Shuhua; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
This dissertation investigated attitudinal, affective, and cognitive responses to musical and message content in modern U.S. political advertising by manipulating musical tempo, message valence, and music-message congruity as a function of musical modality in a within-subjects laboratory experiment. Conceptually, the present research adds to the understanding of the effects of music-message congruity by comparing it to music-message ambiguity; modally congruent messages featured either major- or minor-key musical content (when positive or negative, respectively), while musical content in modally ambiguous messages did not contain sufficient information to be classified as either major- or minor-key. Methodologically, a novel design was devised with the intent to control for verbal-visual content and isolate responses to musical content in the context of advertising messages. This design produced unexpected confounds for several of the dependent variables, particularly tests of memory and self-reported affective response. Initial findings were insignificant, with the exception of attitudinal measures relating to hedonic evaluation, which found significant main effects for music-message congruity and message valence, as well as an interaction between message valence and tempo, in the expected directions. Subsequent analysis of facial electromyography data along the zygomaticus major and corrugator supercilii muscle groups found that participants differed significantly in their responses to the independent variables based upon their level of political sophistication. Politically sophisticated participants exhibited psychophysiological affective contrast and the politically unsophisticated exhibited affective assimilation for the independent variables of music-message congruity, message valence, and musical tempo. The affective responses of political sophisticates that were inferred psychophysiologically were inconsistent with self-reported hedonic evaluation of the sample as a whole. These findings suggest that further research concerning the use of music as an affective cue is warranted, and that more thorough investigation of the role of political sophistication in affective and cognitive judgments be undertaken. Discrepancies between evaluative and psychophysiological results confirm the utility of response triangulation in experimental settings. For practical purposes, these results suggest the importance of utilizing affective content including music in different ways depending on the needs of the message and the level of topical sophistication estimated in the target audience.
African-American female executives organizational experiences: managing success, support, and workplace relationship satisfaction
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2011) Murray, Creshema Rekuise; Meares, Mary M.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
Addressing the workplace experiences of African American female executives has taken a backseat to contemporary organizational communication topics. The lived experience of Black females in the workplace is a subject with a scarce amount of supporting literature. The lack of scholarship addressing their workplace experience has left a significant number of questions unanswered and unexamined. This project explored the relationships and workplace experiences that African American female executives experience during organizational advancement. Through an examination of the lived experiences of African American women executives this study sheds light on (a) the communicative experiences of successful African American women executives in workplace organizations with dominant- culture members, (b) the various modes of organizational support that aids in their workplace success, and (c) the effects that mentoring relationship have on organizational advancement for African American women. Through face-to-face interviews with seven Black female executives in American based organizations, this research highlights the untold stories about a unique group of women leaders. The findings in this study reveal that Black female executives have workplace communicative experiences similar to other traditionally muted groups, rely on social support from friends and family to help them progress through organizations, and use mentoring relationships as a key tool to advance through organizations.
Analyzing predictors of knowledge, beliefs, and public engagement: has political entertainment become a factor?
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2017) Baker, Kimberly; Bissell, Kimberly L.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
Within the backdrop of the 2016 U.S. presidential election, this study collected data from an online survey of college students in considering factors predicting knowledge, beliefs, and public engagement. A proposed model synthesized theoretical contributions from knowledge gap theory, belief gap approaches, and entertainment theories. Predictor variables included four areas of interest: demographics, media use, political views, and political entertainment, with the latter including motivations for engaging (i.e., information-seeking, entertainment value, emotional release, and social involvement). Three research aims guided the conceptualization and operationalization of measures: Research Aim I considered predictors of knowledge about public topics; Research Aim II analyzed predictors of beliefs toward polarizing political issues; and Research Aim III explored factors related to public engagement (e.g., social media news reading, sharing and reacting, and voting intentions). Statistical analyses included regression tests for each of the three research aims and provided significant results. Regarding Research Aim I, education was found to be a significant predictor of knowledge, such that higher education predicted greater knowledge; news customization was significant, such that those engaging in customization of news feed predicted greater knowledge compared to those not customizing; and, political entertainment was significant, with those engaging for entertainment value and social involvement showing greater knowledge as compared to those without the motivations. Regarding Research Aim II, sex, religion, news source type, and partisanship were found as significant predictors: Females were more liberal in their beliefs as compared to men; those highly involved in church were more conservative in beliefs as compared to other groups not attending church or infrequently; and those ranking as having a greater polarizing score predicted their beliefs in the same direction as their partisanship view. Regarding Research Aim III, news following and beliefs predicted social media news reading; race, news following, and beliefs predicted social media news sharing; and news following predicted social media news reacting. Also, a greater interest in following news predicted greater reading, sharing, and reacting of stories. In sum, this study found support for a proposed testing model of predictors for the three research aims relating to knowledge, polarizing beliefs, and public engagement.
Anchoring effects in comparative nutrition claims: the presence of anchor brand and the role of scale
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2015) Shen, Bin; Zhou, Shuhua; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
Although anchoring effects have been considered highly robust and pervasive in decision-making, the theory of anchoring and adjustment has been rarely applied in studying comparative advertising or health claims. This dissertation fills the gap by examining the effects of brand anchoring on people's nutritiousness perception, attitudes toward the ad, attitudes toward the brand, and purchase intention. It also examines whether different scales (percentage vs. fraction) on which a nutritional attribute is expressed has any advertising effect. Furthermore, this dissertation extends the investigation into the possible moderating roles of personal involvement, health consciousness, and product experience in anchoring procedures. In order to examine the anchoring effect in comparative nutrition claims, a 2 (without anchor brand vs. with anchor brand) × 2 (expanded scale vs. contracted scale) × 2 (products) mixed-factorial experiment was carried out. Data were collected from 304 students recruited from a business school at a Western university. Findings revealed significant differences across anchoring conditions for the granola bar ad, but not for the chocolate ad, which supported the case-by-case approach adopted by the FTC in regulating health claims and warranted future studies on additional product categories. Results also showed that using an anchor brand or an expanded scale to describe nutrition content resulted in an inflated perception of product benefits and more favorable attitudes toward the ad. This dissertation offers insight into the effectiveness of using comparative nutrition claims to attract consumers and the importance of developing remedies to protect consumers from confusing claims. Furthermore, the research results are consistent with existing anchoring research suggesting that an anchoring process is generally not moderated by traditionally recognized moderating factors in comparative advertising research, including personal involvement, health consciousness, and product experience. The theoretical implications and practical applications of the research findings are finally discussed.
Antecedents and consequences of ethical leadership of PR practitioners
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2009) Kang, Jin-Ae; Berger, Bruce K.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
The purpose of this research was to explore antecedents and consequences of public relations practitioners' ethical leadership behavior. Before doing so, this study integrated practitioners' ethical behavior into the concept of ethical leadership behaviors. Ethical leadership behavior in public relations is not only the application of ethical standards in day-to-day work, but is also the promotion of ethics: A practitioner promotes ethics by acting as an ethics counselor, and an activist. I administered an online survey to the 252 members of Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) in August and September of 2008. I mainly used factor analysis and regression analyses to test the research questions and hypotheses. Ethical behavior of public relations practitioners are composed of two dimensions - applying ethical standards, and promoting ethics within an organization. This result is consistent with the conceptual definition of ethical leadership. In addition, ethical autonomy was found to be a prerequisite of ethical leadership. The findings suggested that organizational environment and individual factors affect ethical leadership behaviors. Regarding organizational environment, the ethics of the top management were found to be a fundamental source of an organization's ethical culture. Top management's support for ethical behavior facilitated the establishment of formal ethics systems, such as codes of ethics, ethics training programs, and ethics officers. It also fostered an open communication environment. Among formal and informal ethics systems, only an open communication environment significantly affected the level of ethical autonomy. The organizational environment also fostered dissent actions against unethical decisions. If top management did not encourage ethical behavior, public relations practitioners were more likely to confront management against unethical decisions. Agitating tactics were more often used in the organizations which did not have an ethics code. In an organization that repressed discussion, practitioners were more likely to use information selectively to make their own arguments against unethical decisions, and to sabotage the unethical decisions. On the other hand, individual ethical positions affected practitioners. Practitioners with a high level of idealism and low relativisitic ethical stances were more likely to apply ethics standards at work, and to act as ethics counselors. Practitioners with high idealistic and low relativistic ethical stances preferred confrontational actions. Advocates of ethical relativism were more likely to collect information to make their own arguments, use sabotage and even leak information about unethical decisions. As consequences of ethical leadership behaviors, the levels of ethical influence and job satisfaction were examined. The more practitioners perceived that they applied ethical principles to their work; the more likely they were to perceive that their views about ethics were influential. The perceived level of ethical influence was also strong among practitioners who confronted management over unethical decisions. These behaviors appeared to increase job satisfaction through an increase in ethical influence. However, enacting the ethics counselor role was not positively associated with the level of ethical influence. Lastly, answers to the open-ended question suggest that ethical conflicts decrease practitioners' job satisfaction.
Anxiety/uncertainty management and its relationship to community as an anxiety management mechanism: a mixed methods, across case study of online graduate students
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2013) Whitaker, Maryann Stark; Wallace, Danny P.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
This study examined student perceptions of community formation and maintenance as an anxiety management mechanism before, during, and after a mandatory on campus orientation for an online Master of Library Studies program. Anxiety/Uncertainty Management Theory provided the theoretical foundation for the study. Twenty-one participants were drawn from 171 students enrolled in four successive online cohorts of the program. Participants completed a 40-item online attitude questionnaire and a six-item online written interview. The questionnaire, which was an analogue to the theory, was analyzed using descriptive statistics, and the interview was analyzed along with a prior document analysis of the written materials provided to one of the participating cohorts prior to the orientation. Analysis generally supported the axioms of the theory, especially those associated with seeking common ground with strangers as a basis for confidence about interacting, positive expectations and suspension of negative expectations in their interactions with strangers, and the desire for ethical interactions with strangers. Participants responded with strong agreement to the statements of reduced anxiety when they perceived that they knew how strangers would react, shared language or jargon, had an opportunity to realize and correct any mistakes in communication, and that managing anxiety was a key to effective communication with strangers. However, additional research under similar conditions is needed to further revise and refine the theory and determine the extent of community as a crucial anxiety management mechanism.
Artist-fan engagement model: implications for music consumption and the music industry
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2013) Stewart, Sarita Martin; Zhou, Shuhua; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
The Artist-Fan Engagement Model was developed to help explain the various factors present within the music artist-fan relationship. Its premise is based on the simple consumptive action of listening to an artist's music. The model contains two key constructs, the first being the individual's "Response To Artist," which is explained using an expanded construct of parasocial interaction theory (e.g., Identification, Affinity, Similarity, and Imitation). A second "Response To Music" variable is comprised of four different music responses (e.g., Emotional, Sensorial, Imaginal, and Analytical) key in hedonic consumption. The influence of these two variables on "Engagement" was assessed. This was followed by an examination of how "Engagement" influences "Recorded Music Access" (e.g., broadcast, unpaid downloads, free streaming) and "Recorded Music Ownership" (e.g., paid subscription, paid downloads, and physical products). The study's hypotheses and research questions were tested using an anonymous online survey. A total of 1,576 participants accessed the survey, with 940 respondents evaluating 806 individual song titles by 568 music artists. Structural Equation Modeling was the methodology used to analyze the collected survey data, which is in keeping with previous music oriented consumer behavior studies. Empirical support was not found for the Artist-Fan Engagement Model. However, within the sample data, strong positive correlations were found among the "Response To Artist" factors, which was consistent with previous studies. Strong correlations were also found between the "Response To Music" and the various listening responses. Both "Response To Artist" and "Response To Music" variables were positively related to "Engagement." This variable in turn had strong positive correlations to "Recorded Music Access" and "Recorded Music Ownership." Finally, the various relationships among the consumption outcomes related to "Recorded Music Access" and "Recorded Music Ownership" were evaluated. The dissertation concludes with a discussion of the implication of these various findings to music marketing activities, as well as the study's limitations and future research considerations. The scholarly contribution of this dissertation blends together a theoretical understanding of parasocial interaction theory and hedonic music consumption in an applied fashion working within the structural framework of the music industry.
Assessing social support at the university level: the relationship between a supportive educational environment and student success/satisfaction
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2009) Joiner, Ashley Elizabeth; Mills, Carol B.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
Social support is a widely studied topic among communication scholars, and one environment in which it deems even more attention is the classroom. In this study, I aim to uncover how prevalent perceived available social support is among university instructors (as perceived by students) as well as factors that affect a student's willingness to seek support from a given instructor. Also, I will uncover whether or not a student's perception (or lack thereof) of available social support from an instructor indicates his or her success in the classroom and/or overall satisfaction with his or her college experience. Moreover, I will explore the relationships among variables such as teacher caring, teacher support, teacher credibility, willingness of students to seek support, students' success in the classroom, and students' satisfaction with their university experience.
Attributions of mental health diagnoses and locus of control: the effect on families' supportive communication
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2012) George, Ashley Joiner; Mills, Carol B.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
Research demonstrates that social support is a key element in close relationships, especially among families. In this study, the relationship between locus of control, attributions and social support among siblings as it relates to mental health diagnoses was explored. Using an experimental design, the relationship between variables such as perceived controllability of illness and effects they may have on sibling's willingness to offer different types of support was analyzed. Results indicated that there was not a significant relationship among willingness to offer different types of support and perceived controllability of the disorder. Thus, hypotheses 1-3 were not supported. However, results did indicate a connection between interpersonal solidarity and willingness to provide support. Additional tests showed that there is a significant difference between males and females for the level of social support that they would provide. Additionally, females were more likely to provide every type of support than were males. Limitations of the study's design are considered, and suggestions for extension of the study are presented.
Being an effective custodian of communication theory: an examination of theory construction, methodological streamlining, and special population use between constitutive rhetoric, attribution theory, and the third person effect
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2009) Turnipseed, Thomas Robert Ian; Bissell, Kimberly L.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
The area of media effects research is important to understanding how one interacts with and is affected by the different forms of media in society. Since this age is called the information age, one is almost always in constant contact with some form of media, whether receiving or transmitting information. As the area of media effects research grows, it is important to reconsider accepted theory and methodology in the hopes of improving on previous research to provide a deeper and more meaningful understanding of society through media. The Third Person Effect, as explained by Davison (1983), is a very good example of this idea. This present study examines the metaconcepts, theoretical terms, and methodological concerns surrounding the third person effect, which have been identified through the previous 26 years of study. To do this, the theoretical terms, metaconcepts, and methodology used to test the perceptual and behavioral hypotheses outlined in the third person effect are examined, and alternatives are offered and tested. Attribution theory, coupled with the constitutive rhetorical processes of othering and interpellation, are examined as more useable theoretical underpinnings for the perceptual hypothesis, and attribution theory is examined in conjunction with the sports communication understanding of fandom and the identification of such. Methodologically, the perceptual and behavioral hypotheses are tested first through a pilot test using a focus group to garner qualitative data for analysis and then to help create quantitative scales for a pre- and post-test experiment. With an N of 40 for the pilot test and 237 for the pre- and post-test experiment, eight research questions were assessed. The overall results show that attribution coupled with constitutive rhetoric serves as a more explanative theoretical position for the third person effect, but methodologically the testing method provides more, better, and deeper data to examine perception. The behavioral hypothesis is benefited by the perceptual data, and consistent data is found to suggest that studying behavior through attribution will finally produce generalizable data. The findings in this study contribute to future scholarship in the areas of media effects research in general, third person effect research, sports communication research, metatheoretical research, perceptual research, behavioral research, and rhetorical theory. From the position of a scholar, this research will hopefully help fuel investigation that will show this model working across all different populations and different theories as well.
Beyond button-pushing: a look at suasion in gameplay through player, memory, and the rhetoric of gameplay
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2010) Hakima, Aliyah M.; Bennett, Beth Susan; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
This study explores the connection between the rhetorical canon of memory and gameplay as a rhetorical activity. Gameplay is discussed as a form of computer-mediated communication, or CMC, that is decidedly ethical. Gameplay is composed of an external memory system, lectio, and meditatio. This study includes implications for both rhetorical and coercive gameplay structures. This study conceptualizes gameplay through Barry Brummett's post-modern epistemology as an intersubjective rhetorical activity between game designers and players, where players experience an observational looping effect. This study uses Sonja K. Foss' method of Generative Criticism complemented by Giorgio Agamben's method of Archeology in order to study gameplay as a rhetorical construct. Four videogames, Super Mario Brothers 3, World of Warcraft, America's Army 3, and Grand Theft Auto IV: Liberty City are analyzed using the memoria concepts of lectio and meditatio discussed by Mary Carruthers. This study finds that gameplay is a form of rhetorical communication between game designers and players that is virtual and humanistic. Gameplay entails a phenomenologically situated player who is embodied in physical technology and a hermeneutically disclosed rule system. Meaning between players and game designers is established intersubjectively through the act of play
Big Data Analysis of Twitter-Based Sports Fandom: Celebrating Our Achievements Together During the 2019 Fifa Women World Cup
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2020) Fan, Minghui; Billings, Andrew C.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
ABSTRACT Social identification theory suggests that individuals try to categorize themselves into one group with people who shared similarities with them. While this premise applies to sports fans, nations, teams, and gender could be all sharing traits for sports fans to build group identities. Meanwhile, scholarship has uncovered that sports fans prefer to associate themselves with successful teams (i.e., Basking in Reflected Glory, or BIRGing) and to disassociate themselves from unsuccessful teams (i.e., Cutting Off Reflected Failure, or CORFing). Therefore, the purpose of the current study devoted to exploring whether sports fans identified with teams and nations, and how likely national identification and team identification lead to BIRG or CORF on Twitter about England’s matches against Norway, the United States of America (USA), and Scotland and USA’s matches against England, Spain, Chile, and Thailand during the 2019 Fédération Internationale de Football Association Women’s World Cup (FIFA WWC). Additionally, previous literature has confirmed that as a result of media consumption of sporting events, sports in media are male-dominated and may result in perceiving sports through male-gaze and categorizing sports in terms of sports gender typing. This study tried to observe whether the national and team identification outplay the gender differences in the audience. In Studies 1 and 2, statistical analysis and machine learning results both revealed that English fans tended to BIRG when England was leading or victorious. U.S. fans demonstrated the same behavior, BIRGing when the United States Women’s National Team (USWNT) was winning. However, English fans and U.S. fans were both less likely to CORF even though their team was losing or trailing. Rather, the identification with the nation or the team only brings fans together to celebrate. Thus, it is proposed that COATing was more accurate to describe sports fans’ reactions on Twitter. In Study 3, the unsupervised topic modeling analysis revealed that some English fans still BIRFed when USWNT finally beat the Lionesses. This finding challenged an essential assumption about social identification theory, which the inter-group difference does not necessarily result in ridicules or negative attitudes toward the out-group members. Further, by adopting a gender-guessing library from the Python dictionary, the names provided by Twitter users were analyzed for analyzing gender differences among the audience. Findings show that men were more likely to discuss FIFA WWC than women on Twitter. Meanwhile, it offered evidence that women cared less than men about female athletes and female sports. This implied gender differences were not minimized because of the national identity in mega-sporting events. Methodological contributions, theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
Black bodies in the schoolhouse door: material rhetoric and student activism at the University of Alabama
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2017) Lee, Kalyn Iman; Bagley, Meredith M.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
Racial inequality has been a longstanding issue for Black students and Black people at The University of Alabama. Black student activists have used various tactics throughout history to close the racial divide at The University of Alabama. Autherine Lucy, Black sorority recruits during the fall of 2013, sparking the march "The Final Stand", and "We Are Done" activists have all broken major barriers at the University. Though their aim at equality was similar, the approaches were different. In order to understand the impact Black bodies have made on the campus of The University of Alabama, this thesis applies theories of material rhetoric to each of the three protest movements. Finally, this thesis uncovers crucial implications that shape how the Black body ultimately fits within dissenting spaces.
Blackballed: An Empirical Examination of the Impact of Race, Gender, and Identity on the Sports Image Repair Process
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2020) Rush, Stephen Wesley; Brown, Kenon A.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
The spectacle of sports in America has consistently been shown to be a financial powerhouse (PwC, 2019). However, when there is a huge potential for financial gain, there also comes the risk of a huge potential financial loss. When athletes commit an act that is deemed offensive or inappropriate, there is the possibility to incur millions of dollars in lost revenue (Rishe, 2016). So, understanding the most successful way at safeguarding or repairing the image of an athlete is important. However, the image repair process is not as simple as it may seem. Therefore, this dissertation empirically investigated how one’s own identity influenced their reactions to the athlete image repair process. Using both Social Identity Theory and Image Repair Theory, this study explored how better understanding the identity of an audience could also lead to better understanding of the success of image repair strategies. A national sample of 368 individuals participated in an online posttest only experiment. During the experiment, participants were randomly assigned to view one of eight message conditions. Following this, participants responded to a series of questions assessing account acceptability, athlete likeability, likelihood to repeat the act, willingness to share negative word of mouth (nWOM), role model perceptions, and supportive behavior of the athlete. Results supported previous IRT literature in showing the mortification strategy to be the most successful strategy at repairing an athlete’s image, Black participants actually rated athletes that used the denial strategy to be more likeable. Race was also seen to be a strong indicator for how each race condition viewed the athlete in terms of likelihood to repeat the act with White participants believing that the athlete in question was more likely to repeat the act than Black participants or Other participants. White participants also showed slight in-group favoritism towards the White athlete. Another interesting finding was that White participants were more likely to share negative word of mouth about a White athlete regardless of response strategy used and regardless of gender. When looking at how gender impacted the image repair process, it was found that overall, male participants were more likely to accept the account of female athletes, consider female athletes to be more likeable than the male athletes, and believe female athletes were less likely to recommit the crime.
Bloody bogalusa and the fight for a bi-racial lumber union: a study in the Burkean rebirth cycle
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2016) Burks, Josie A.; Black, Jason Edward; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
The Great Southern Lumber Mill (Great Southern Lumber), for which Bogalusa, Louisiana was founded in 1906, was the largest mill of its kind in the world in the early twentieth century (Norwood 591). The mill garnered unrivaled success and fame for the massive amounts of timber that was exported out of the Bogalusa facility. Great Southern Lumber, however, was also responsible for an infamous suppression of a proposed biracial union of mill workers. “Bloody Bogalusa” or “Bogalusa Burning,” to which the incident is often referred, occurred in 1919 when the mill’s police force fired on the black leader of a black unionist group and three white leaders who supported unionization, killing two of the white leaders, mortally wounding the third, and forcing the black unionist to flee from town in order to protect his life (Norwood 592). Through the use of newspaper articles and my personal, family narrative I argue that Great Southern Lumber Company, in order to squelch the efforts of the union leaders, engaged in a rhetorical strategy that might be best examined through Kenneth Burke’s theory of the Rebirth Cycle. In order for the company’s rhetorical strategy to operate within the realm of Burke’s rebirth cycle, the pentadic ratio of Agent: Act was employed in each phase of the cycle in order to define the individual elements that proved pivotal in the success of this drama.
Bodies of knowledge: critical rhetoric in interdisciplinary longitudinal health studies
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2021) Price, Sarah Frances; Ohl, Jessy; Butler, William S.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
The larger study of “Transgender Stress and Resilience Across Sociopolitical Context” (the SPC study) was created in order to counter the persistent othering of transgender and gender diverse (TGD) people and center TGD people and experience within health research practices. Designed by trans scholars in fields of psychology and anthropology, the SPC was developed in order to create health research that speaks directly toward the lived experiences of TGD people and the physiological effects of stress and discrimination on TGD people’s health and well-being. Thus far, critical rhetorical research has largely remained uninvolved in this level of health research, and has yet to fully engage with the rhetorical discourses and systems of knowledge construction and resistance within large-scale, interdisciplinary health practices.Through the theoretical application of autoethnography, rhetoric of the body, and narrative to the different elements of the SPC first wave data and data collection processes, this dissertation constructs three in-depth case studies of critical rhetoric within the larger SPC study: 1) Critical autoethnographic reflection of my work in TGD critical rhetorical studies, 2) Physiological and ideological bodies within biomarker data collection, and 3) Negotiation of personal gender identity within coming out narratives. Each of these case studies deals with the negotiation between the physiological body and lived experiences, and the ideological and social constructions of gender. Within the SPC study, critical rhetoric is situated within the systems of stress and resilience as they play out across the bodies of participants, researchers, and the ideological conceptualizations of gender identity and expression. This dissertation focuses on the critical rhetorical aspects of material and ideological bodies and identity construction within resistive health research practices, looking at the ways in which critical rhetoric functions on the whole within health discourses of gender identity, expression, and performance with physiological consequences of sociopolitical context. Focusing on the development and initial implementation of the SPC study, this dissertation analyzes researcher reflexivity, the biomarker collection processes, and initial participant interviews in order to investigate critical rhetorical discourse in longitudinal, interdisciplinary, big-data health studies.
Brand imitation strategy, package design and consumer response: what does it take to make a difference?
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2016) Qiao, Fei; Griffin, William G.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
Drawing upon visual semiotics and creativity theories, this study investigated the effectiveness of brand imitation strategy on the package design of three different products among millennials. The products were male-targeted, female-targeted and gender-neutral. Three 2 x 2 x 2 between-subjects factorial experiments were conducted with three independent variables: shape (relevant vs. divergent), color (relevant vs. divergent) and icon (relevant vs. divergent) on three products: an energy drink (a male-targeted product), hair spray (a female-targeted product) and a breakfast cereal (a gender-neutral product). Participants’ attitude toward the leading brands served as a control variable. Dependent variables consisted of participants’ attitude toward the brand (Ab), attitude toward the product (Ap) and purchase intention (PI). The findings raised three theoretical implications. First, rather than iconography that imitated that of a leading brand, a similar color scheme was more powerful in influencing participants’ Ab, Ap and PI. Second, a more holistically similar design showed more impact on participants’ attitudinal and behavioral changes than a less similar design. Nevertheless, some “divergence” or distinctive design elements did positively influence participants’ brand and product attitudes, as well as their purchase intention, in relationship to the female-targeted product. More detailed theoretical implications are further discussed in the study. In addition, a conceptual model is proposed to better define brand imitation. Practical implications and study limitations are also included.
A Brand New Game: a Phenomenalogical Study of How Student-Athletes and Mentors are Managing Personal Branding
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2021) Adamson, Alyssa C; Armstrong, Cory L.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand how student-athletes are guided and mentored to develop and manage their personal brands within their respective athletic departments. With the introduction of Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) legislation across the United States, this has emerged as a pressing topic within collegiate amateur athletics for both student-athletes and university and athletic department administrators. Nineteen total participants split between current and former student-athletes and current athletics mentors from a middle-tier NCAA Division I, were interviewed in a semi-structured interview process about their perceptions and experiences in student-athlete personal brand development and management. Interview responses were evaluated using separate research questions for current and former student-athletes and athletics mentors. Research questions for student-athletes focused on whether they perceived they had a brand and if they believed they had the tools to manage their brand. Research questions for mentors centered on what they perceived their role in the brand management process was. One major theme that presented itself was that student-athletes either did not perceive themselves as having a brand or did not feel like they were given the tools to successfully build their own brand. However, student-athletes did respond that athletic academic mentors did shape the way they networked with alumni and impacted the academic achievements they strove for demonstrating that there was a component of brand building on-going within the student-athlete phase of life. In contrast to what student-athletes reported, many athletic academic mentors responded that they perceived they had little to no role in helping build a student’s brand and most mentors believed other members of the athletic and academic community should be responsible for training. This juxtaposition in thinking between student-athletes and mentors emerged as the main point of emphasis in the results of this study.
The brand persona: operationalizing a synthesis of brand equity and social capital
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2017) Chicotsky, Brandon Kyle; Billings, Andrew C.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
The human brand in social media presents an understudied phenomenon, particularly in the sports domain. The current study focused on sports fans’ perceptions of athlete brands as presented on Twitter. The analysis assessed the rated likeability of athletes based on the social media content attributed to athlete brands. The current study examined this relationship in the context of interacting variables including message tone, group status, and fan identification. Utilizing social identity theory, the overall aim was to understand interaction effects to enhance the ability of scholars and industry practitioners to investigate the phenomenon of human branding in media. Furthermore, the current study intended to expand the brand persona concept to include the social and branding functions represented by humans in media. The current study utilized an experiment with a survey measure. Participants were presented with stimuli via tweets from athletes. The tweets varied on message tone (positive or negative) and group status (ingroup or outgroup), and respondents were categorized as high-level or low-level fans, resulting in a 2x2x2 design. Results indicated a significant main effect of fan identification level on likeability ratings such that those with higher levels of fan identification were more likely to rate athletes as likeable. There was an interaction effect of fan identification and group status with the positive message condition such that fan identification and group status may influence likeability when tweets are positive. There was also a significant main effect of message tone on likeability ratings such that those shown positive tweets by athletes were more likely to rate athletes as likeable compared with those shown negative tweets. Finally, results revealed a three-way interaction such that influence of message tone was potentially greater for those who were exposed to an ingroup tweet, but only among high-level fans. There was a greater difference in likeability ratings between negative and positive conditions for those presented with ingroup tweets, which suggests that tweets from athlete brands may have more impact on high-level fans. Thus, social media posts from athletes of a favorite team or rival team prompt stronger reactions from high-level fans than low-level fans.
Bridging Self-Concept Maintenance and Truth-Default Theories
(University of Alabama Libraries, 2021) Laningham, Andrew Jospeh; Griffin, Darrin J.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
The present research examines the effects of topic intensity, categorization, and the raising of attention to moral standards have on honesty in communication. This study sought to extend a theory of deception from behavioral economics, self-concept maintenance (Mazar et al., 2008), to the field of communication studies. Participants gave two extemporaneous speeches about their opinions on two social topics, one high-intensity and one low-intensity. Participants also completed a questionnaire in which they wrote about their speeches in an open-ended format and completed self-reported honesty measures. Half of the participants in the study received honesty reminders throughout the duration of the study. Analyses revealed that writing about a high-intensity topic significantly lowered the amount of self-references participants used, and significantly raised the amount of negative emotion present in their word choice as compared to writing about a low-intensity topic, which is an indication of deceit in communication. Writing about a high-intensity topic also lowered the amount of authenticity used in the word choice of participants. However, the intensity of the topic had no significant effect on the self-reported honesty scores of participants. Honesty reminders had no significant effect on the word choice of participants nor their self-reported honesty. The findings of this study provide insight into the effects of topic intensity and communication context on honesty and the self-concept of communicators, as well as reveal the extent to which the tenets of self-concept maintenance (Mazar et al., 2008) extend to communication. Limitations and future research are discussed.

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