Tag: COMM

Noah Cabalona

Narrative Criticism on Three K-Rino Songs About the Media

A rapper named K-Rino focused on how many people are mentally poisoned from listening to a lot of mainstream media, mainly radio songs. Three songs were used in this narrative criticism. The narrative analysis of these songs made it clear that they had a unified objective in them. This project is a criticism of each of these songs, as singles, as well as a group. Understanding each of the features of these songs was also a goal in this criticism. I assessed each of the features and compared them to each other to see if each of them had a unified topic. Each element had common strategies to help persuade his message to the listeners. After understanding these songs, I realized that K-Rino wanted to persuade his beliefs to his listeners by the art of storytelling. His beliefs consist of how humanity shouldn’t mindlessly believe what they hear just because it was taught to them. He used imaginative narrative to get a clear message to his viewers about how they need personal change in their lives.

COMM 499, Capstone

Doyle Srader

PFB 003

Noon – 12:30 PM

Colby Hanson

To speak or Listen? Taking a second look at our attitudes toward listening. 

We are often given the choice to speak or listen in our daily communication. However, many people hold an implicit definition of listening that likely alters this decision. Due to this implicit idea people hold, there is a common idea that speaking is better suited for situations where any form of persuasion or debate is involved. Through our study, we set out to test if this is indeed a phenomenon. By using a questionnaire with varying situations, we hope to get a clearer picture on what exactly this implicit definition looks like.

We believe that in contrast to this implicit definition, listening is actually better suited than speaking in many situations that involve persuasion or debate. We plan on surveying a number of debate judges and asking if it was the better speakers, or the better listeners that won the given debate. We believe that the common consensus among judges will be that the better listeners won the debate. 

Using these two sets of data, we hope to explore and explain the role of listening in communication.

COMM 370, Listening Behavior

Doyle Srader

Banquet Room

1:00 – 3:00 PM

Colby Hanson

The ideology of military advertising 

One of the best ways to sell a product or recruit people is through effective advertising. This concept is no different for the Army. How does the Army attract students who might otherwise be heading for higher education? Based on one of their ads, they do this by making the experience seem like a more adventurous experience with all of the benefits of college. 

I will be presenting a rhetorical criticism of this ad posted by the army, using the ideological criticism method. In this ad, the army tailors certain situations to fulfill nearly everything someone would receive from going to school including diplomas, team membership, academic breakthroughs, and more. Additionally, the army uses hidden power moves to attempt to create a new ideology towards joining the army. In doing so, they deceive the viewer by leaving out irreconcilable elements of being in the military. Such elements include the presence of enemies, any serious danger, any serious struggle, and more. This ad creates an incomplete view of an alternative to college. This is what I will explore in my critique.

COMM 441, Rhetorical Criticism

Doyle Srader

Banquet Room

1:00 – 3:00 PM

Jessica Harwood

Perceived Relationship Maintenance and Satisfaction in Romantic Partnerships

The aim of this research project was to better understand the correlation of relational maintenance and satisfaction. There have been many studies to gain a better perspective of how relationship satisfaction is reached through varying styles of relational maintenance behavior. I found ten couples on campus and gave them a questionnaire that measured the perceived relational maintenance done by a partner and another that analyzed the participant’s relational satisfaction. I then averaged the perceived maintenance results that correlated with their relational satisfaction and compared their partner’s scores. I suspected that the perceived high maintenance scores would result in higher satisfaction within the relationship. In addition, men and women would excel in different forms of relational maintenance, for example, women use assurance techniques, while men are prone to task oriented styles.

COMM 499, Capstone

Doyle Srader

PFB 003

11:00 – 11:30 AM

Joshua Higashi

Relation Communication in Education Environments

Northwest Christian University is a small school in the middle of a college town. With a well-known University right next to NCU and another small college a few minutes away we aim to understand how NCU is different than other schools both small and large. With a smaller student body, NCU’s faculty and staff have the opportunity to work with each student personally and develop a relational closeness. NCU has a different approach to leadership than secular universities. With the geographical closeness of our school we also foster a denser social network. Mainstream universities aim for community, but large student populations make that hard to accomplish. Northwest Christian University isn’t the only school with a small student population, therefore what sets NCU apart from other small schools?

Being at a small school has many pros the cons are just as evident. A big issue with fostering a strong sense of community happens when students get so involved that there becomes a bubble around the school. When there is an in-group there is an out-group. With being close to a large university is a part of NCU’s identity how does NCU maintain their identity while maintaining balance? Students at NCU can be both immersed in the community at NCU, but if they become suffocated they can retreat to the University of Oregon with the simple crossing of a street. Northwest Christian University is mix of many great aspects of a small university and a large university.

COMM 240, Communication Theory

Doyle Srader

Banquet Room

1:00 – 3:00 PM

Hannah Roddy

Self-Disclosure and Co-Rumination at NCU Night Chapel

This senior capstone project evaluates the effectiveness and impact of an event regarding self-disclosure and co-rumination. The event was held on Northwest Christian University campus as a Night Chapel event. Students were encouraged and given the opportunity to verbally share their struggles and experiences as others listened. Attendees were counted, self-disclosure participants were counted, and each participant was anonymously rated with regards to how personal or deep his or her response was, in order to measure the effectiveness of this event. 

COMM 499, Capstone

Doyle Srader

PFB 003

10:30 – 11:00 AM

Candace Rodgers

A Rhetorical Criticism of Mother”Hood”

The rhetorical method of fantasy-theme criticism is designed to offer insights into the shared worldview of groups. I use this method to analyze the Simlac video Mother “Hood.” The video is a satirical look at the groups with which parents self-identify. These groups are formed around parenting methods. There is a tension created between the individual’s convergence with these groups and divergence from the overarching worldview of motherhood. Simlac uses the symbolic convergence of the reality that “we are parents first” as a marketing strategy to sell baby formula. 

COMM 441, Rhetorical Criticism

Doyle Srader

Banquet Room

1:00 – 3:00 PM

Candace Rodgers

Language, Feelings, and Hidden Biases 

This Capstone project is modeled after the method of Anna Deavere Smith. Through conducting interviews with students, faculty, and staff at NCU I sought out people who had stories within a similar theme. I will perform portions from each interview, weaving together the different perspectives on the power of language and our hidden biases. 

COMM 499, Capstone

Doyle Srader

PFB 003

11:30 AM – Noon

Nick Sullivan

Relational Maintenance: The Difference between College Freshmen and Seniors

This study was conducted in order to compare the relational maintenance techniques used by college freshmen opposed to college seniors. Specifically, how freshmen and seniors talk to long distance friends that were developed before college. Nine students completed a five day survey that required them to keep a log of what friends they talked to. Results indicated that Freshmen are in more frequent contact with long distant friends and family from back home, than college seniors. The findings provide support for higher relational maintenance among college freshmen. 

COMM 499, Capstone

Doyle Srader

PFB 003

2:30 – 3:00 PM

Sarah Delp & Colby Hanson

Relational Closeness Through Simple Self Disclosure.

The purpose of the study is to evaluate and compare social penetration effectiveness between handwritten notes, and text messages. We will be communicating singularly with our participants through one of the two mediums using simple self-disclosures, and then evaluating relational closeness. The hypothesis we will be testing is, subjects receiving surface disclosures via CMC will report greater relational closeness than those receiving the same messages in writing. 10 random participants from Northwest Christian University will be asked a series of the same 8 simple, surface level questions by one of the researchers (ex: what is a hobby of yours? Where did you grow up?) by either text messages or handwritten notes. The person not asking and answering the questions will then deliver the handwritten notes. After the 8 exchanges, we will then ask the participants to fill out McCroskey and McCain’s (1974) social attraction sub scale questionnaire, The Measure of Interpersonal Attraction. This will then be used to measure the relational closeness as well their disclosures and emotional states to the researcher using their given communication method.

COMM 460 Technology, Change and Communication

Doyle Srader

Banquet Room

Colby Hanson & Joshua Higashi

A Debate Over the Individualism-Collectivism Dichotomy

We will be having a debate on the validity of the Individualism/Collectivism dichotomy. Individualism is can be described as actions/behaviors that are focused on one’s selfish interests. Collectivism can be described as actions/behaviors that focus on the group’s interests rather than the individual’s. This dichotomy has been used frequently since its creation to describe and understand cultural behaviors and intercultural interactions. However, many scholars have called the widespread use of this dichotomy into question. 

COMM 220 Intercultural Communication

Doyle Srader

P003

10:30 AM

Hayley Leno & Jaime Terwilliger

Two Truths and a Lie: Deception Detection Based on Mode of Communication

Lies can often be exchanged through text based communication and face to face communication. The following study was conducted to determine if lies were detected more often through face-to-face or text-based communication and whether not it mattered if the participant knew the researcher well. The first hypothesis was that when the participant does not know the deceiver, deception detection will succeed more often through text-only communication than face-to-face communication. The second hypothesis was that when the participant does know the deceiver well, successful deception detection will be equally likely in face-to-face and text-only communication. Twenty-seven participants from Northwest Christian University participated in a game of Two Truths and a Lie, once face-to-face and once over text message. The results show that there was not a significant difference between face-to-face detection and the text based detection. Also, in either medium, there was a not significant difference in lie detection between participants who knew the researcher well, or did not know the researcher well.

COMM 460 Technology, Change and Communication

Doyle Srader

Banquet Room

1 – 3 PM

Makenzie McLauglin

How General Practitioners can Communicate with Patients who have Symptoms of Depression

People across the globe know that depression exists to some extent, but those who do have depression are still afraid to talk about it in public or to their general practitioner. Studies have shown that campaigns can be helpful to an individual if it addresses the problem to the individual’s close family or friends. Once the family or friend see’s the campaign and speaks to the individual while showing their concern, the individual might be moved enough to go see their general practitioner. To be able to help their patient, the general practitioner must be knowledgeable on how to speak to the patient about depression, and how to asses them effectively. The practitioner could ask their patient to take a survey that could help them diagnose the patient’s extent of depression and how to treat it effectively. This paper can help people on both sides of the conversation know how to give a positive feedback about depression.

COMM 207 Special Topics: Health Communication

Doyle Srader

Banquet Room

1 – 3 PM

Kayla Ping

Service learning project- Coach Athlete Satisfaction

The following document follows a service learning project including the Northwest Christian University volleyball team. The team took part in a service learning project with the team’s three coaches. The three coaches will be referred to as coach A, B, and C. The service learning project included tracking communication and more specifically implementing immediacy behaviors by the coaches to try and promote team cohesion and success. The service learning project tracked the team’s response and satisfaction through the 4 month season regarding coach’s communication strategies and tendencies. The study shows the effect on the athletes when the coaches started using immediacy tools. Implementing simple behaviors such as eye contact, body positioning, listening behaviors and positive statements have been shown to increase satisfaction between individuals. The project aimed to identify if specific behaviors would get specific results from the athletes. The paper includes and introduction, prior research, description of the project, findings, and a discussion with a conclusion. 

COMM 499 Capstone

Doyle Srader

P003

1:30 PM

Miles Adkisson

9/11 Conspiracy Theories and the Narrative Paradigm

Following the attacks that took place on September 11, 2001, many conspiracy theories arose claiming that the original explanation that al-Qaeda was behind the violent attacks, in which thousands of Americans were killed, were falsified to cover up government involvement in the attacks. Since the attacks, a wide variety of conspiracy theories have been put forward in websites, books, and films. This study seeks to explain which argument has more coherence and fidelity, according to Walter Fisher’s narrative paradigm, and why such theories arise following traumatic historical events.

COMM 407, Special Topics: Narrative Paradigm

Doyle Srader

Banquet Room

1 – 3 PM

Tianna Bushman

Competing Narratives: Is this systemic racism?

Fisher wrote that all people are storytellers, and that narrative rationality is determined by coherence and fidelity. Could Fisher’s paradigm prove useful in real world controversies? Brown, Baucham, and Anyabwile from the Gospel Coalition each offered a response to the Ferguson trial debates. Each of these individuals developed compelling arguments for the perspectives in which their narratives take place. In this study Fisher’s theories of narrative rationality and of the ideal audience were applied to these three narratives in order to show whether Fisher’s narrative paradigm could prove useful in assessing competing narratives in real world situations. 

COMM 407, Special Topics: Narrative Paradigm

Doyle Srader

Banquet Room

1 – 3 PM

Tianna Bushman

Does dressing more masculine or feminine affect whether a woman will get hired or not? 

Dress plays a huge role in first impressions, especially in an interview setting. There are many studies on how masculine dress could portray confidence and thus help one in an interview setting. However, with gender roles and expectations changing, will dressing more feminine or masculine actually affect a woman’s chances of getting hired? 

COMM 499, Senior Capstone

Doyle Srader

A201

10 – 10:30 AM

Nick Peloquin

Relational Maintenance with College Peers and Richness of Communication Channel 

This study was intended to compare relational maintenance amongst traditional college graduates who have been graduated for three to six years from a private Christian university located in Eugene, Oregon. This research attempts to answer if the use of a rich channel of communication will correlate with the level of relational satisfaction, level of perceived closeness and frequency of contact. With the data collected the results indicated there was no correlation.

COMM 499, Senior Capstone

Doyle Srader

A201

9:30 – 10 AM

Madison Reed

Competing Narratives of Alcohol Addiction

This study looked at the competing narratives and explanation for alcohol addiction imbedded within the story, evaluated the fidelity and coherence of the two narratives, and how each of the narratives reached their audiences. From the two narratives, a coexisting narrative was formed to better account for the multiple explanations regarding alcohol addiction. 

COMM 407, Special Topics: Narrative Paradigm

Doyle Srader

Banquet Room

1 – 3 PM

Miles Adkisson & Denise Barrett

Personal Space and Helpfulness

People have an invisible bubble that surrounds them to keep people at a safe distance. Although the distance as to which someone feels comfortable varies slightly from person to person. There is a threshold that, once crossed, can make someone very uncomfortable. The present investigation explores how people respond to an invasion of their personal space. Participants were chosen at random and asked for directions on the University of Oregon campus either from a socially acceptable distance or with an invasion of the participant’s personal space. Our findings suggest that an invasion of personal space does not necessarily receive a negative response.

COMM 430, Nonverbal Communication

Doyle Srader

Miles Adkisson & Madison Reed

Power Differentials Between Genders

This study was completed to show how each gender responds to the display of power by resident assistants at a university. An experiment was conducted that included 10 students who lived on campus. An original hypothesis stated that female students would respond positively when asked to complete a task, whereas male students would respond positively when ordered to complete a task. After conducting the study, data confirmed the hypothesis for females but wasn’t supported for males.

COMM 413, Advanced Interpersonal Communication

Doyle Srader

Denise Barrett & Hayley Leno

Stress and Break-ups

Stress after a break up will occur in almost any circumstance. This study was conducted to measure stress after a break up based on frequency of interaction. The hypothesis was higher stress level would be positively correlated to more interaction. A survey was given to people at NCU and U of O, which asked to report on their stress level after a break up. The results showed almost no difference in the stress based on interaction but showed a significant difference in stress levels based on gender. The results showed proximity does not have a factor in stress level after a break up.

COMM 413, Advanced Interpersonal Communication

Doyle Srader

Tianna Bushman & Candace Rodgers

Affectionate Communication

Affection exchange theory (Floyd 2001) makes explicit links between expressed affection and survival. This study examines the link between affectionate communication and life threatening experiences. Sixty-three adults completed questionnaires about their expressions of affection towards loved ones. Of these sixty-three, thirty-five had experienced some sort of life threatening event and twenty eight had not. Results revealed that those who had experienced a life threatening event were more affectionate towards their loved ones. However, the difference was not significant. Further research to support the link between expressions of affection and human viability is necessary.

COMM 413, Advanced Interpersonal Communication

Doyle Srader

Tianna Bushman & Candace Rodgers

Perceived Empathy through Eye Contact

Witkin (1990), as cited in Cline’s The Science and Sanity of Listening (2013), noted that while the process of listening itself is a cognitive function, the perception of listening can be attributed to behavioral attributes. What happens when the cognitive function and the behavioral function do not line up with each other? A person may be portraying one emotion to the audience though the emotions he or she is actually experiencing may be entirely different. Perceived emotion and the emotion being experienced are separate entities, though they do feed off of each other (Cline, 2013).

COMM 430, Nonverbal Communication

Doyle Srader

Noah Cabalona & Edward Fryrear

Nonverbals of T.V. Courtroom Verdicts

This poster shows our predictions on how the t.v. courtroom cases verdict would be based on nonverbal cues displayed. Our assumptions will be based on deception cues learned from the book Nonverbal Behavior in Interpersonal Communications by Virginia P. Richmond. 

COMM 430, Nonverbal Communication

Doyle Srader

Erik Carrazco

Believing you can win, even before you play: A Generic Description of Pre-Game Pep-Talks given by a former athlete

The moments before any athletic match, a coach has one final opportunity to motivate his/her team to victory. A coach or an assigned speaker may use this last chance and deliver a pre-game pep-talk to make a possible underdog feel like they have the upper hand. This presentation will look to describe what exactly a pre-game pep-talk needs in order to be effective. Also the presentation will focus on pep-talks given by former athletes.

COMM 499, Senior Capstone

Doyle Srader

Erik Carrazco & Nick Peloquin

Correlation between Self-Esteem and Eye Contact

We selected NCU students to administer our exam. We sat down with each individual and ask them to select three of their best features. When they answer, we will affirm them through a prewritten script. We will video each interview, we will time how long they held eye contact for, how long they don’t maintain eye contact, and also how many times they break eye contact. This process will happen with each of the three features that they chose. After each interview we will ask the interviewee to complete a Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale test.

COMM 430, Nonverbal Communication

Doyle Srader

Chloe Davis & Jessica Harwood

Religion and Modesty

Jessica and I will be studying modesty tendencies and how it relates to an individuals religion. We will walk around NCU and U of O campuses asking females to fill out a short survey to gauge what degree people hold religious affiliation. Then we will give these females a set of outfits to select from that vary in modesty. From these two variables we will try to see if how religous someone depicts them self to be correlates with how modestly they dress.

COMM 430, Nonverbal Communication

Doyle Srader

LeeAnn Fudge & Adelayde Hoskins

The Effects of Appearance and Facial Expression on Task Compliance

The purpose of our study was to analyze how dress and facial expression influences the task compliance of strangers. In order to complete our study, we went around University of Oregon, approaching strangers and asking them to take a picture of us. We compared how both casual and formal wear, and smile and no smile influenced strangers’ compliance to our request. Results of our study indicated that as a whole, formal wear resulted in strongest compliance.

COMM 430, Nonverbal Communication

Doyle Srader

Juliet Mullen

Societal Reliance upon Technology

I want to observe to see whether students, here at NCU, can go a certain amount of time without using their cell phones. I want to challenge the student body to try to refrain from using their cellular devices in order to show that society is too reliant upon technology and cannot manage without it. Depending on what information I gather, it will show whether NCU falls into the category of needing technology in order to continue a daily routine.

COMM 213, Interpersonal Communication

Doyle Srader

Hannah Roddy & Nicholas Sullivan

Communication with Long Distance Friends and Family Members

We conducted a survey to test how the distance between students at NCU and their friends and families back home correlates to how much they communicate with them.

COMM 413, Advanced Interpersonal Communication

Doyle Srader

Edward Fryrear

Genre Criticism of Acceptance Speeches

Acceptance speeches come in many different forms. Actors have thanked God; the people who helped them achieve their goals or  celebrated their excellence. Enough speeches have been heard to create a general format of what makes an acceptable speech. Lupita Nyong’o gave a speech that fell within certain parameters of “acceptance format” while still breaking new ground. Generic criticism will show how her speech stands out among the many & why it is so special. Not only to Hollywood Actors but to anyone who has a dream. Proving that  “no matter where you’re from, you’re dreams are valid”.

COMM 441, Rhetorical Criticism

Doyle Srader

Banquet Room

9 – 11 AM

Kelsay Gardiepy

America Is Beautiful: A Fantasy Theme Criticism of Coca-Cola’s 2014 Super Bowl Commercial

Arguably, one of the most controversial commercials ran during the 2014 Super Bowl was Coca Cola’s commercial featuring a             multilingual rendition of “America the Beautiful.” The advertisement highlights a diverse array of American faces playing, eating, & exploring all-American vistas. Using Ernest Bormann’s Fantasy Theme Criticism to analyze the widely talked about commercial, the presenter will address the message Coca-Cola creates in an attempt to unify our diverse nation: America is beautiful. 

COMM 441, Rhetorical Criticism

Doyle Srader

Banquet Room

9 – 11 AM

Kelsay Gardiepy

Group vs. Individual Persuasion: Increasing Student Chapel Attendance at Northwest Christian University

This research study was designed to provide a formal evaluation of the effectiveness of group & individual persuasion methods used on undergraduate freshman students at Northwest Christian University. This study offers empirical data for all those interested in the effectiveness of persuading students to attend University-mandated Chapel sessions. Raw data collection was used to identify whether methods of individual persuasion or group persuasion were more effective in increasing student attendance rates. It was predicted that methods of group persuasion would be more effective than methods of individual persuasion to increase Chapel attendance. 

COMM 499, Senior Capstone

Doyle Srader

A201

1:30 – 2 PM

Sharie Krouse

Let It Go, Cluster Criticism

The use of Cluster Criticism to analyze the song ‘Let it go’ which was written & composed by Kristen Anderson-Lopez & her husband Robert Lopez. Sung by Idina Menzel for the Disney Motion Picture, Frozen released in November, 2013. This will be done by identifying key terms within the song, & specific elements woven within or near them, to discover more about the character. This will help reveal the character Queen Elsa’s Terministic Screen, how she views reality, & her inner struggle between being free & concealing her gift & self from the world.

COMM 441, Rhetorical Criticism

Doyle Srader

Banquet Room

9 – 11 AM

Andrea Baber, Denise Barrett, Erik Carrazco, Miranda Cruz, Matthew Dixon, Eric Fromm, Sharie Krouse, Veronica Schneider, Ethan Souers, Forest Stolk & Timothy Werth

NCU Organizational Audit

NCU’s Communication 341 class has conducted an audit on the university in order to assess the way the members view communication within the organization. The methods for collecting data included two surveys sent out to the campus. Additionally, 15 interviews were conducted with members of the organization. The results show key information about areas of NCU that members feel are excelling in communication, as well as areas in which communication is a struggle. Some of the positive themes found included department cohesion and fulfillment; some areas of concern included trust, employee recognition, and workload.

COMM 341, Organizational Communication

Doyle Srader

P103

1 – 2 PM

Matthew Dixon

Cognitive Dissonance on Post Consumer Purchasing

This paper will investigate cognitive dissonance on post consumer purchases. I will be measuring and trying to prove that female students are more likely to feel more cognitive dissonance after a purchase than male students. I will be using a 22 point scale measuring three different elements, which are emotions, wisdom of the purchase, and concern over the purchase. The questionnaire was placed and distributed to the NCU students at the Beacon Beanery.

COMM 499, Senior Capstone

Doyle Srader

P103

2 – 2:30 PM