PhD in Communication and DSC Dissertations
Students pursuing a Ph.D. in Communication or a Doctor of Strategic Communication in the School of Communication & the Arts will complete a dissertation before graduating from their programs. Doctoral students demonstrate their knowledge by crafting original research that will have a positive influence on communicators across industries.
PHD Communication Dissertations
Clejetter Cousins | John Keeler, Ph.D. |
Communicating in Color: Attitudes Toward African American Language Use on a College Campus | |
Rennie Cowan | Kevin Crawford, Ph.D. |
Transformed Not: Colonial Ideology and Influence in the Motion Picture Franchise Transformers | |
NiCole Dennler | Stephen Perry, PhD. |
Where Have All the People Gone: The Infusion of Tourism and the Decisions that Impact to the Maijuna Community of the Amazon Rainforest in Peru | |
Jeanne Fox | Kevin Crawford, Ph.D. |
Deviant Voices: News Agency Coverage of Controversial Public Figures (2012-2022) | |
Eric Frederick | John Keeler, Ph.D. |
Faith Based Communication Transformation During COVID-19 | |
| Elicia Frelix | Carol Hepburn, Ph.D. |
A Narrative Inquiry of African American Women in Stem-Technology Fields | |
Linda Hernandez | Carol Hepburn, Ph.D. |
Madonna: Age Hypogamy and Medellin | |
Haley Higgs | Stephen Perry, Ph.D. |
Communicating Unconventionally: A Qualitative Analysis of the Perception of Telemental Health, by Mental Health Practitioners, During COVID-19 | |
Candice Hassell Karako | William Brown, Ph.D. |
Bridging the Racial Divide: Extracting Effective Communication Strategies from Interracial Couples | |
Stefanie Leiter | John Keeler, Ph.D. |
Communicating Through the Enneagram: A Christian Higher Education Leadership Study in Pre-Crisis Communication | |
Matt Mattingly | William Brown, Ph.D. |
Visual Hegemony: The Image as Political Theory, Visual Hegemony in Political Communication: The COVID-19 Twitter Conspiracy | |
Chloe Mayhew | John Keeler, Ph.D. |
Communication Along the Journey: The Experiences of Female College and University Presidents as They Rose to the Top | |
Candace Moore | William Brown, Ph.D. |
Celebrity Pastors’ Designer Fashion Representations on Instagram: A Qualitative Star Studies Analysis Applying the Sociology of Impression Management, Visual Communication, and Semiotics | |
Alicia Mucha | William Brown, Ph.D. |
After Abortion: Communicating Healing and Forgiveness to Women and Abortion Survivors | |
Varaidzo Nyamandi | John Keeler, Ph.D. |
Comparing Metaphors of Aging and Older Adults Used Among Zimbabweans Based on Length of Time Living in The United States | |
Karl Otto | William Brown, Ph.D. |
Public Healthcare Communication During the COVID-19 Pandemic | |
Karen Russell | Stephen Perry, Ph.D. |
Race, Radio, & Records: A Historical Case Study of WLAC Nashville 1940 – 1970 | |
Crystal White | John Keeler, Ph.D. |
Socially Sharing Between the Lines: A Netnography Using Reception Analysis of the Representation of Flannery O’Connor’s Short Fiction in Online Communities | |
David Yebuah | Jeffrey Gardner, Ph.D. |
WhatsApp,God? A Comparative Analysis of Intercessory Prayer by ICGC Members on WhatsApp and In-Person Congregational Settings in Accra, Ghana | |
Doctor of Strategic Communication Dissertations
Allison Campbell | Mary Myers, Ph.D. |
Will They Pray Publicly When Called Upon? A Quantitative Survey Examining Public Prayer Apprehension (PPA) | |
KiYong Kim | Mary Myers, Ph.D. |
Dynamic Internal Communication Capabilities and Employee-Organizational Relationships | |
Mary Pauley | Carol Hepburn, Ph.D. |
Athlete Satisfaction and Motivation: Athletes’ Perceptions of Coaches’ Communication Skills During Off-field Interactions | |
PHD Communication Dissertations
| Akosua Asare-Frempong Let’s talk about Africa: A Comparative Content Analysis of Media Coverage of Ghanaian Presidential Elections. |
| George Bovenizer Black Baseball in California: Breaking the color Barrier Through Print Media Coverage of Satchel Paige and Other Black Stars |
| Jennifer Constantine Unlimited Potential for Higher Education Transformational Change: A Diffusion of Innovations Exploration at Broward College |
| Jana Duckett The Phenomenology of Polymedia: Exploring the Effects of Technology on Marital Communication Among Millennials in the Polymedia Home |
| John Dunkle Homiletical Prayers: Exploring the Rhetorical Value of Public Prayer in Preaching |
| Kimberly Feld Afghans Who Aided the United States: Communication and Cross-cultural Adaptation of Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) Recipients and Spouses of SIVs |
| Nancy Flory Communicating the Faith: Passing Down Beliefs from Grandparents to Grandchild Through Storytelling |
| Doug Johnson Technology Decision and Adoption in the Local Church: A Case Study Surrounding the COVID-19 Pandemic |
| Beryl Nyamwange Visionary agents or Vulnerable agenda: Communication of justice among children and youth in humanitarian conflict in the Middle East |
| Dara Phillips Multitasking Fitness Routines and Media Consumption: A Uses and Gratifications and Mediatization Exploration |
| Jonathan Powers George MacDonald and Interpreting Myth Fantasy as Truth-Telling |
| Andrew Phillips Ears to Hear: The Effects of Deductive and Inductive Preaching in the Church of Christ |
| Michael Ruest That Dragon, Cancer: Exploring Audience Involvement with a Videogame that Entertains to Educate |
| Deborah Sacra Mediatization of Liberian Young Adults during COVID-19 |
| Richard Schutta Understanding Early Exposure to Digital Media and its Influence on Mobile Phone Dependency |
| Dollie Speights Connecting/Bridging Identity, Identifying Gaps: A Spiritually-Integrated Communication Theory of Identity Perspective |
| Mary Weber Illegitimacy During the “Baby Scoop Era”: A New Look at the Stories Lived, the Stories Told, and the Stories Unheard and Untold |
| Jude Whitton Examining Social Support & Privacy Management of the Bereaved |
| David Yebuah A Comparative Analysis of Intercessory Prayer by ICGC Members on WhatsApp and in-Person Congregational Settings in Accra, Ghana |
Doctor of Strategic Communication Dissertations
| Brandon Donnelly The Role of Communication in Video Game Enjoyment |
| Darren Zancan Exploring the Effects of Negative User-Generated Tweets on Athletes |
PHD Communication Dissertations
| Jinger Bernhardt, Ph.D. Reaching the Least Reached People Group in the World: Communicating the Christian Faith to the Deaf Culture |
| Andrew Bolin, Ph.D. Take Me Out To The Ballgame?: Situational Crisis Communication Theory and the Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the 2020 Major League Baseball Season |
| Abram Book, Ph.D. The Holiness Movement’s Mark Twain: The Preaching Style of Reuben V. ‘Uncle Bud’ Robinson and the Use of Humor and the Southern Oral Tradition to Move Audiences. |
| Michael Cuozzo, Ph.D. I May Accept It, But I Don’t Support It: Exploring and Furthering Kelman’s Three-Process Model of Opinion Change and Changing Marriage Norms |
| Adrienne Garvey, Ph.D. Working Through Trauma: The Use of Comfort Dogs in Television Newsrooms |
| Stephen Kabah, Ph.D. Connected and Disconnected – The Third Wheel: Social Media Digital Intimacy and the Role of Mediatization on Marriage Well-Being |
| Kalah Kemp, Ph.D. Rape Culture and The Spiral of Silence: A Cultural Analysis of #MeToo in India and the US |
| Xiang Li, Ph.D. The Preparation for the Winter Olympic Games: The Soft Power of China’s Citizens Created China’s Global Promotion |
| Cynthia Long, Ph.D. End of Life Dialogue and Its Influence on the Grief Process |
| Brian Mattson, Ph.D. Articulating Christianity: Jacques Ellul’s Dialectic on Technology, Culture, and Power |
| Jessica Morris, Ph.D. Fact vs. Narrative: Building Food Allergy Awareness in a Non-Allergic World |
| Collen Palmer, Ph.D. A Qualitative Investigation of Teens’ Interpretations of the Controversial Show 13 Reasons Why; Using Audience Reception Theory to Analyze a Viable Media and Social-Emotional Literacy |
| Andrew Phillips, Ph.D. Ears to Hear: The Effects of Deductive and Inductive Preaching in the Church of Christ |
| Dara Phillips, Ph.D. Multitasking Fitness Routines and Media Consumption: A Uses and Gratifications and Mediatization Exploration |
| Philip Williams, Ph.D. The Image of Witness |
PHD Communication Dissertations
| Pauline Andrea, Ph.D. Going Beyond Borders: Organizational Citizenship Behavior Redefined an Expanded Perception within Nigerian Culture |
| Nadine Barnett Cosby, Ph.D. The Revolution may Not Be Televised but It Will Be Hashtagged: The Impact of Social Media on Social Movements, Racial Perceptions, and Real-World Activism |
| Shannon Bates, Ph.D. During the Week: An Ethnographic Study of Pastoral Communication |
| Hanisha Besant, Ph.D. Captivating the Listener: Learning Best Practices of Indirect Communication from the Sermons of Barbara Brown Taylor |
| Kristi David, Ph.D. Parasocial Attachment within Social Networking Sites: Finding Comfort and Security in those You Follow Online |
| Brooke Dunbar, Ph.D. Connection and Disconnection in the Online Spaces: An Analysis of Semantic, Latent, and Cultural Themes across Reddit |
| Lynelle Ellis, Ph.D. Seventh-day Adventists and the Movies: An Historical and Contemporary Exploration of the Conflict between Christianity and Visual Media |
| Tiffany Eurich, Ph.D. Knitting Together a Community: Understanding Cultural Reaffiliation in Hobby-Centric Social Media Communities |
| Ijeoma Eze, Ph.D. The Rise of Feminists: Gender Equality among Millennial Nigerian American Women |
| Nicole Fairweather, Ph.D. Media’s Role in Public Perceptions of STEM: Understanding Television Portrayals of Scientists through Examination of The Big Bang Theory |
| Diane Gravely, Ph.D. Power, Collaboration, and the “Team of Eight”: An Analysis of Power within Texas School Board Governing Groups |
| Aloni Hill, Ph.D. The Steve Harvey Signifying Effect in the Post-Literate Era: A Comparison of Identification and Parasocial Interaction through Eurocentric and Afrocentric Lenses |
| Justin Jackson, Ph.D. The Treacher Collins Experience: Narrative Explorations into What It Is Like Living with Treacher Collins Syndrome |
| Flora Khoo, Ph.D. Innocence Killed: Recruitment, Radicalization and Desensitization of Children in the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria |
| Jason Leverett, Ph.D. Connecting the Dots: Exploring Religious Organization-Public Relationships in a Predominately Religious Setting |
| Joshua Mims, Ph.D. Artistry and Authorship: Examining Unique Artistic Voice in Collaborative Filmmaking |
| Joshua Mims, Ph.D. Artistry and Authorship: Examining Unique Artistic Voice in Collaborative Filmmaking |
| Lana Myers, Ph.D. An Analysis of the First Year of Marriage in the Situational Comedy, Mike & Molly, Through the Lens of Attribution Theory of Conflict and Marriage Types Theory |
| Carmen Navarro, Ph.D. Jihadist Recruitment through Popular Media: Analysis of the Television Series Black Crows |
| Jonathan Peterson, Ph.D. StoryBrand Narrative Marketing: An Examination of the Influence of Narrative Marketing on Organizations |
| Roger Rome, Ph.D. Narrative Virtual Reality Filmmaking: A Communication Conundrum |
| Dana Sleger, Ph.D. Shrimp Nickel Tales: How Stories about Food, Faith and Family are Used in the Generational Transmission of Values within the Mississippi Gulf Coast Seafood Industry Culture |