Have you ever listened to a speech, seriously attempted to discern the speaker’s message, then realize you have forgotten most of, if not, the entire message moments after the speech is finished? Far too often audiences sit through a presentation focusing as best as they can, only to have the speaker craft a message in a way that is nearly impossible for the audience to remember. The best speakers not only deliver a memorable message, but also one that inspires their audience to action or change of mindset. Speakers at Ted Conferences are faced with a difficult challenge: they are given roughly 20 minutes to deliver a speech that is both unforgettable and inspiring. This thesis will examine how to craft speeches that are both memorable and inspiring.

Recent economic turbulence in the United States has resulted in budget cuts for many city-funded organizations, including high-risk organizations such as local fire departments. Budget cuts trigger organizational change and create uncertainty among employees, which is a major concern for high-risk organizations. This dissertation examined internal communication practices used during organizational change in an urban fire department and the influence of organizational structure and culture on communication satisfaction. This robust case study used a multi-method approach including interviews with middle managers (i.e., district majors), and focus groups and channel preference surveys with full-time firefighters from lower level ranks (i.e., firefighters, lieutenants, and captains). Together, the data points provided a robust understanding of how organizational structure and culture influences communication satisfaction during change in a high-risk organization. As this dissertation was most concerned with information dissemination throughout the fire department during times of change, structuration theory provided direction for how to best explain the structure, dissemination, and preference of communication and Schein’s Model of Organization Culture helped to explain organizational culture differences. The framework of communication satisfaction then offered a basis for further understanding of message dissemination and communication processes. Findings suggest the chain of command, use of internal media, rumors, and filtering of information were active influencers on communication satisfaction. Further, findings suggest that a misalignment in the organizational structure and culture resulted in the dissemination of misaligned messages. These misaligned messages frustrated organizational members and therefore influenced levels of communication satisfaction. When organizational members receive contradictory information, they are less likely to be satisfied with overall communication. Therefore, misaligned messages fostered by the communication climate are a structural and cultural barrier to communication satisfaction and can alter trust of leadership and increase the risk for organizational members. These findings are critical to high-risk organizations because misaligned messages increase risk for organizational employees as well as community members.

The roles and responsibilities of middle school teachers are never ending. From instructing students on state-mandated curriculum to the enrichment of character and inquiry, teachers make daily decisions about how and what to disclose to their students. The current study reexamines Hosek and Thompson’s (2009) study on how teachers develop privacy rules and coordinate boundaries using Petronio’s Communication Privacy Management as the theoretical framework. Studying middle school teachers, in lieu of college instructors, allows for a better understanding of how privacy rules and boundaries are constructed and used within the middle school. This provides a better understanding of the important factors that influence teachers’ communicative decision making within the classroom.

The purpose of this study was to replicate and expand upon the survey research by Erffmeyer and Mendel (1990) on the perceived relevance of graduate training in industrial-organizational (I-O) psychology at the terminal master’s level. A review of the literature discussed core competencies, as well as the advantages of internship experiences and thesis requirements. Results indicated that graduates view their training as well targeted towards knowledge and skills they regard as useful at their internship, first job, and current position. Results also indicated that graduates viewed their internship experiences as highly beneficial and worthwhile experiences, regardless of their supervisor. Results additionally indicated that graduates value the thesis requirement significantly more than current students and view the knowledge, skills, and abilities associated with completing a thesis as high in usefulness. Implications and limitations of these findings are discussed, and directions for future research on master’s level I-O training are discussed.

This study examines whether interpersonal relationships serve as a moderating factor in reducing post-graduate stress. A researcher developed survey was used to gather data and examined three areas: interpersonal support, perceived stress, and self-optimism. Interpersonal support encompassed familial and peer relationships. Perceived stress encompassed anxiety and depression symptomologies. Self-confidence encompassed graduates’ individuation and optimism levels regarding major life tasks after commencement. Perceived stress and self-confidence levels were also used to identify how interpersonal relationships impacted graduates’ interpretation of stress. Further analysis of the study also examined whether interpersonal support impacted perceived stress and self-confidence across various racial groups. Findings of the study suggest that interpersonal support has an impact on post-graduate stress.

This study investigates the key dimensions of IT project collaboration and its outcomes. We conceptualized key dimensions of client-vendor collaboration, and its emerging outcomes based on literature reviews. Then, we proposed a new research framework that links IT development processes to IT project client-vendor collaboration which in turn affects the outcomes of IT project. We examined the key dimensions of IT project collaboration and their impacts on project outcomes. We identified four critical IT development processes and technologies that contribute to the development of project collaboration. Our results include: (1) Coordination practices and technologies (such as communication quality and coordination technology) significantly influence the effectiveness of IT development.; (2) IT project collaboration can be conceptualized as consisting of two related but distinct constructs: cooperation structure and joint development; (3) IT development processes jointly influence the formation and the development of IT project collaboration. We also found that knowledge-sharing activities significantly improve the usage level of the iterative requirement generation process. (4) Different collaboration behaviors as indicated by IT project collaboration constructs affect two types of outcomes: project performance outcomes and emerging outcomes. IT project collaboration significantly improve both the emerging outcomes (such as team cultivation and relational outcomes) and performance outcomes (time, schedule and functionality). (5) Trust fully mediates the effect of cooperation structure on performance outcomes; suggesting that common rules and structures cannot directly benefit project performance without members’ believing in those rules and agreements. Through IT project collaboration, IT vendors can achieve not only traditional project outcomes but also emerging outcomes such as team cultivation and client-vendor relationship building. The relationships among IT development processes and technologies, project collaboration, and the outcomes of project collaboration are much more complex and dynamic than what the extant literature has portrayed. Multiple factors jointly influence the processes of IT development. Different patterns of client-vendor collaboration also affect the outcomes of the project, in addition, the trust level between the vendor and the client plays a major role in mediating the relationship between client-vendor collaboration and project performance.

El propósito de esta investigación fue identificar el rol que cumple la comunicación en la formación, mantenimiento y progreso de una comunidad de blogueros peruanos. Para ello, se ha utilizado la perspectiva teórica de los grupos de buena fe, de las investigadoras estadounidenses Putnam y Stohl en 1990, que permitieron estudiar a grupos que se crean naturalmente y que están compuestos por miembros voluntarios, para así comprender sus procesos comunicativos teniendo en cuenta los límites del grupo y el contexto donde se desenvuelven. El enfoque de investigación fue cualitativo y la técnica de recolección de datos ha sido la entrevista semiestructurada. Los participantes del estudio fueron tanto los miembros fundadores como los nuevos miembros. En total, se realizaron dieciséis entrevistas virtuales. El estudio encontró que la comunicación cumple un papel articulador dentro de la comunidad a través de todas sus etapas de desarrollo junto al dinamismo de su contexto interno y externo. La comunicación grupal de la comunidad de blogueros se caracteriza por ser fundamentalmente horizontal y estar basada en la amistad y la confianza, lo cual permitió no solo la creación de la comunidad, sino también el establecimiento de objetivos consensuados, las normas de convivencia, así como los límites y la identidad de grupo. / The purpose of this research was to identify the role that communication plays in the formation, maintenance and progress of a community of Peruvian bloggers. For this, the theoretical perspective of the groups in good faith has been used, of the American researchers Putnam and Stohl in 1990, which allowed the study of groups that are created naturally and that are composed of voluntary members, in order to understand their communication processes having take into account the limits of the group and the context in which they operate. The research approach was qualitative and the data collection technique has been the semi-structured interview. The study participants were both the founding members and the new members. In total, sixteen virtual interviews were conducted. The study found that communication plays an articulating role within the community throughout all its stages of development together with the dynamism of its internal and external context. The group communication of the blogging community is characterized by being fundamentally horizontal and based on friendship and trust, which allowed not only the creation of the community, but also the establishment of consensual objectives, the norms of coexistence, as well as limits and group identity. / Tesis

Primary goal of diploma is communication plan processing of selected secondary school. Part of the plan is also analysis of the present state and project of advertising plan both from marketing and creative strategy point of view including timing and budget.

This dissertation examines the relational implications of the presence of mobile technology within the basic communication course. To guide the research and interpret the results Mottet, Frymier, and Beebe’s (2006) rhetorical and relational goals theory is utilized. To investigate this phenomenon a survey design was employed, and participants were asked to respond to open-ended, closed-ended, and descriptive questions. Results of this study shed light upon how and when university students use technology, as well as the positive and detrimental results such usage has upon the development and quality of their relationships in the classroom, both with instructors and other students. Results from this dissertation revealed that students are frequent and heavy users of mobile technology (particularly “social” applications), but generally do not feel as if they are dependent upon their devices. In open-ended responses, students described ways in which mobile technology facilitated out of class relationships with peers and instructors, but hindered the development of relationship with peers in the classroom; these descriptions aligned with the fact that students who exhibited or experienced phubbing (snubbing someone with one’s phone) described less classroom connectedness than their peers. While differing perceptions of classroom connectedness among students were correlated with differing experiences of phubbing, perceptions of rapport with instructors did not differ significantly among participants. Further, students who were more relationally oriented experienced higher perceptions of classroom connectedness than their more rhetorically oriented counterparts. Finally, students in this study generally prioritized rhetorical instructor attributes over relational ones. These results are further explored in the discussion portion of this dissertation.

Costume play (i.e. cosplay) is a performance of fandom rife with rituals and communication practices. Cosplay roleplaying performances are cultural practices that reveal how cosplayers interact with one another and among non-cosplaying members of their fandoms. This study examines the expectations that cosplayers hold for roleplay, the forms of roleplay, and the ways in which roleplay can become an instigator of harassment. Through the lens of Face-Negotiation Theory, the author discusses how roleplay functions to maintain or threaten the public images of cosplayers and their audiences, and what strategies cosplayers implement to avoid the loss of face.