Communication Studies - Student Works

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https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14078/53

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Strategic communications in the global security environment: StratCom’s shift of the balance of power
(2024) Koch, Hayden
The public-facing aspect of national defence communications is a lesser understood organizational function of militaries around the world. Though conventional propaganda and diplomacy efforts date back centuries, the modern approach to military Strategic Communications (StratCom) is a murky, fast-evolving discipline that is not well understood by the public. As such, the topic bears further examination due to its vital importance in achieving defensive and strategic military objectives. Through defining StratCom’s function and the contexts that led to its inception, this paper gives an overview of how StratCom has been useful for the U.S. and its Western allies in their navigation of a tense, nuclearized global security environment. Thereafter, through examining the new ways these strategies are employed in our hyper-connected world, this paper demonstrates that the West’s adversaries have leveraged StratCom to tip the scales of hard power in the contemporary hybrid war environment.
Research recast(ed): S3E16 - Student Research Day: student research spotlight - Karrissa Goulding and Dawson Hartman, Ashley Platz, and Kayla Friesen
(2024) Leschyshyn, Brooklyn; Smadis, Natalie; Goulding, Karrissa; Hartman, Dawson; Platz, Ashley
In today’s episode, we are joined by three student researchers here at MacEwan: Karrissa Goulding and Dawson Hartman on the impacts of Alberta’s pension plan, Ashley Platz on cultural differences in book stores, and Kayla Friesen on how marketing can save lives.
Farewell Hong Kong
(2024) To, Erica; Wurfel, Marlene
When we travel, we forge new friendships, explore new natural habitats, and begin to appreciate different ways of living. This five-minute video is a digital story of my dad who left Hong Kong to go to University of Oregon and study, so he can help his father (my grandfather) run a large business. But we all know that life is full of unexpected surprises. The people and places around us change our views and uncover values that resonate in our hearts. These self discoveries can be enough to make someone leave their home and live apart from their family. I am here because of my dad's decision to say farewell to Hong Kong, and I hope this video conveys my gratitude and appreciation.
Radical third spaces: how independent bookstores contribute to culture
(2023) Platz, Ashley; Vermeer, Leslie
This study focuses on comparing the book culture of Glass Bookshop in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada with Lighthouse Bookshop in Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom. Unobtrusive observation of the stores' websites, book club and in-store pop-up events, and in-store browsing habits at Glass Bookshop and Lighthouse Bookshop contributed to the data collected. Analysis of the stores' websites and events were one-time occurrences. In-store observations at Glass Bookshop and Lighthouse Bookshop occurred three times a week for two weeks. Data was analyzed using a qualitative approach. It was found that Glass Bookshop's minimalistic aesthetic was reflected through all its mediums. Lighthouse Bookshop's slightly busy aesthetic was reflected in the warmth surrounding its event and store aesthetic. A survey was distributed to both store's staff and customers, but the results are not discussed.
The siren song remains the same: cult recruitment: tactics and rhetoric
(2024) Homeniuk, Emily; Hutchinson, Heather; Dorsey, Candas Jane; Mazo, Lucille
Stories of cults, particularly those fueled by accounts of violence, have captivated the public throughout history. Beyond the fascination with high-profile cases lies a genuine curiosity about the factors that lead people to join and remain in cults. Particularly interesting are the methods cults use to persuade their followers to embrace self-annihilation willingly. While communication’s role in cult recruitment may seem obvious, it remains an unexplored realm of study. Therefore, this research sought to shed light on the communication and rhetorical strategies employed by established cults like the Peoples Temple (Moore, 2013), the Branch Davidians (Rifkind & Harper, 1994), and Heaven’s Gate (Robinson, 1997), compared to the tactics employed by the self-help organization Teal Eye LLC (Swan, 2020). By examining the details and impact of Teal Eye LLC’s (Swan, 2020) communication methods, the study aimed to determine if this organization employs a cult-like stratagem. This research employed historical, content, and critical discourse analysis to determine what communication tactics cults use to attract and retain followers. Moreover, this investigation addressed the scarcity of research and the strength of virtual connections in contemporary cult dynamics, considering the influence of digital platforms and online interactions.
No one is an island: the misdirection of the individual climate impact narrative
(2023) Hutchinson, Heather; Colville, Elyse; Pratch, Grace; Mazo, Lucille
This paper seeks to examine, through secondary, mixed methods research, the ability of the individual to affect positive change regarding the climate crisis through their specific choices. By reading myriad scholarly, scientific, and journalistic sources, we found that though positive changes can be made on a smaller government scale, individuals’ ability to reduce environmental harm through their own choices and habits is minimal. Further, corporations and others in positions of power engage in both long- and short-term efforts to actively sabotage efforts of groups working to make societal changes or bring attention to the issues of the climate crisis. The researchers suggest that ecological communications should change direction from scolding the individual to emphasizing systemic change. It is recommended that further study be conducted of cohesion in activist organizations and collectives and the effects of education in rhetoric.
Nostalgic to my childhood, symbolic to your culture: discussing the intercultural adaptation of culturally bound fairy tales
(2022) Bergum, Jaime
This essay explores fairy tales as culturally bound stories that serve as the means of preserving and passing on cultural values and collective identity. Under the guise of cultural preservation and teaching, fairy tales communicate cultural values, therefore keeping cultures ideologically stagnant; however, when appropriated fairy tales, the fairy tales cannot be fully appreciated for their cultural and ideological value. By first establishing fairy tales as communication symbols that inform cultural tradition and ideology, fairy tales are discussed for their role in moral education for children and in shaping children’s perceptions of culture. German fairy tales from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and the Brothers Grimm are examined for their association with the construction of German culture and the rise of German nationalism. Finally, fairy tales are discussed for their role in American culture, though as appropriated texts, are tokens of entertainment rather than culture.
Spelling errors and social media outrage: on the Conservative Party of Canada’s error-ridden pamphlet
(2022) Sweet, T. Andi
After Elections Canada announced the 2021 Canadian Federal Election in August of the same year, the political parties implemented their campaign strategies. Amongst social media and doorknocking campaigns, one document released by the Conservative Party of Canada attracted attention online due to excessive spelling errors. To better understand whether this mailer was an error or intentional, this paper explores the CPC’s larger social media campaign and the strategic patterns used historically by their marketing company to provide more context to why something as simple as spelling errors can be a piece of effective campaigning. By understanding the firehose of outrage-inducing content implemented by the CPC in the 2021 election, this paper concludes that the spelling errors were part of an intentional plan to build outrage and stoke further divide between Canada’s increasingly polarized political parties.
Teaching every body: a critical analysis of school programming on body image
(2022) Giacobbo, Angela
Body dissatisfaction in children grows into harmful practices as they age. Schools provide education and programming to promote body satisfaction and positive body image in adolescents, but these teachings can be improved. This paper analyzes educational stakeholders’ services on body image through a critical lens while suggesting solutions to improve lessons, courses, and programming. Through braiding internal lessons with external programs, schools can fight against the potential risks of negative body image on adolescents. The literature review highlights the need for early education on body image and the importance of caregiver intervention. A critical review of the teacher and student dynamic introduces the opportunity that teachers as caregivers have to promote positive body image. Next, this paper discusses external intervention programs and the effectiveness of gender-specific programming while remaining critical of a lack of male-focused programs. This paper then discusses how teachers have more opportunities to hold open discussions for students to learn and share. Lastly, this paper describes how physical education classes can be modified to promote feelings of attractiveness and positivity while correcting misconceptions regarding exercising and gender. These changes to school programming will promote positive body image in students and open up classroom conversations.
Mapping the police-media institutional relationship
(2022) McKay, Brett
The relationship between police and media has been and remains one of the most significant for both institutions. The modern police and modern newspaper developed contemporaneously, each influencing the form, function, and popular appeal of the other. Theories of media and power, however, often address the police as part of larger power structures and ignore the unique police-media institutional relationship. This research paper establishes essential characteristics of the police-media relationship and identifies frequent sites of interaction between them, with a focus on crime reporting. Media effects, dominant ideology, and institutional approaches are then assessed as interpretive frameworks, concluding that institutional theory provides the strongest theoretical model for analyzing internal and interorganizational behaviours. The professional norms and practices that compose police and media institutional logics are defined, and their historical origins and evolutions are investigated. These long-established logics continue to direct how police and media construct and respond to crime, and consequently how crime is perceived by the public and treated by legal authorities. Because the habits of crime reporting shape policing practices, altering routine media coverage of crime and police issues may help address systemic problems in policing.
I’m just a rhetorical dirtbag, baby
(2022) Hutchinson, Heather
Rhetoric has acquired a bad reputation in the modern age. Many hear the word in contemporary news and discourse and ideologically wince. It has gone from a neutral term to one that connotes deception and ill-intent. Rhetoric has also unfairly become synonymous with the Right-wing. In the following piece, I will argue that not only must rhetoric be stripped of its pejorative connotations, but that the spice and flair the Right unapologetically utilize must be wielded by the Left, with ethical moderations, of course. This piece will show how, by abandoning the pointless and outdated notions of impartiality and decorum, the Left can be more effective communicators and finally be on a level playing field with the Right. This paper was written as part of a course on Modern and Classical Rhetoric.
Space, time, stillness, and work-life balance
(2022) Kitchen, Breanna
Contemporary society is faced with the constancy of capitalism and the burden of always needing to feel and appear productive. However, this state of mind can be harmful to an individual’s well-being, and it is crucial to find strategies to manage the chaos. This visual research project discusses how humans move through space and time, and the implications capitalism has on that movement. It begins with a literature review that discusses previous studies and ideas about stillness and work-life balance. Next, the visual research consists of six images that portray moments throughout the day of a university student where it is possible to find stillness. Lastly, conclusions are made, and the importance of accomplishing work-life balance and stillness within contemporary society is presented as a crucial part of enjoyable existence.
Small gifts
(2021) Saroya, Japkaran
This poem touches on a perfect moment where the world stands still and you take everything in. This precious moment is one that is taken for granted and one that we don't recognize or even care for in the moment and watch as it passes us by. It also touches on the loss of a loved one and letting go and the bliss that comes with it.
Closing the social distance: mitigating gender inequality in organizations using complexity theory in response to remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic
(2021) McMullen, Lauren; Schultz, Kennedy
The following paper is centered around the potential for organizational change in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper argues that the disruption of “business as usual” during the COVID-19 pandemic provides opportunities to both highlight gendered organizational practices during remote work and explore how organizational actors might contribute to a more equitable restructuring of gendered communication practices once employees return to in-person work. First, the paper contextualizes the COVID-19 pandemic at the time of writing. Next, the literature review examines the notion of organizations as inherently gendered, the history of organizational change from Lewinian Planned Change to models of non-linear change, and bureaucratic organizational structures using a feminist lens. The discussion section then argues that complexity theories offer significant opportunities for improvement due to the destabilization of current workplace practices. This argument is followed up by examples of how organizations can successfully engage complexity theories to reduce gender inequality in the post-pandemic world. The paper concludes that by emphasizing consensus and autonomy, improvements to network communication and the merging of public and private spheres should be the first steps towards the ultimate goal of reducing gender inequality through the deconstruction of bureaucracies.
The white lie of persuasive communication
(2021) Bergum, Jaime
The following is a personal manifesto of the state of 21st-century rhetoric. Rhetoric is so intrinsically bound into all aspects of life and all communication environments that it appears inevitable to communicate by using some form of rhetoric. Though, the ethical nature of rhetoric comes into question when we consider the ways rhetoric might be used for good and for evil. This article explores the ethical state of rhetoric today — what it should or shouldn't be, where rhetoric went right and where rhetoric may have gone wrong, and if the current rhetorical state is our reality, our dream, or our nightmare. First, by establishing rhetoric as a persuasive communication strategy that can be easily learned and both innocently and connivingly used, this article then explores if or how rhetoric can be used in "right" and/or "wrong" ways, and what this means for the present and future state of rhetoric.
Flattening the curve: the role of communications in Canada's response to COVID-19
(2020) Power, Victoria; Krebes, Amanda
This paper explores Canada’s communications approach to the population during the global pandemic of COVID-19. Canada’s perceptive risk communication plan consists of quick response, transparency, and credible figures as representatives of information that are deemed the current principles of success (as of April 2020). The literature review inaugurates the necessary definitions for the topic and provides detailed information about the action Canada has taken in the 2020 pandemic, while the discussion evaluates and debates Canada’s communicative strengths while acknowledging areas for improvement. Following the tactics explored, comparisons are made against the United States’ pandemic response along with a review of practices to avoid in risk communication, such as blame. Finally, transformative dialogue theory is analyzed as a potential answer to the successful interactions between the Canadian government, authoritative figures, and the public.
Separating religion from cult: an analysis of cult-like organizations
(2020) Wheeler, Alisha
This paper explores the term "cult" and all of the connotations that are attached to it. This paper aims to separate the term cult from religious and spiritual assumptions while positing that the term is an umbrella term for various organizations, with cult-like traits, many of which operate in the corporate environment.
Author functions in Lars Kepler’s The Hypnotist: an analysis
(2020) Merkley, Taylor
This paper examines Foucault's notion of the author function as it pertains to Lars Kepler's bestselling 2011 crime thriller, The Hypnotist. Lars Kepler is the pseudonym of a Swedish husband-wife writing duo, making him the perfect subject for analysis centering on illusory notion of the author. This paper will answer these questions: Who is the true author of The Hypnotist? What factors influence the author function of this bestelling novel? And what can The Hypnotist phenomenon tell us about the relationships between authors and their readers? This paper will demonstrate that no literary works may be ascribed to an individual person, and that authors hold no privileged knowledge of the works they produce, because authors cease to be authors the moment pen is lifted from page.
Who are you, YouTube? The invisible corporate individuals of YouTube and its extremely visible creators
(2020) Small, Emma Joanne
This paper seeks to understand the invisibility of the corporate individuals working for YouTube and how the extremely visible creator community responds to them as a singular corporate person. The paper proposes that to achieve greater visibility and thereby accountability, YouTube should create an organizational chart for its stakeholders, rely less on algorithms, and establish stable individual identities and a consistent professed corporate persona.
Sorry, I should have checked the culture first: an exploration into the use of cultural context related to social orientations in interpersonal apologies
(2020) Kenny, Samantha Christine
Humans make mistakes, and as a result, apologies are an inescapable aspect of intercultural communication. This paper suggests that cultural pragmatics are the foundation for an effective apology. Through a content analysis of sources, the key contextual factors that impact an apology are individualism-collectivism orientations, rooted in the social values of different cultures. Some of the key findings proposed that these different orientations are exemplified in Japanese and American cultures, as they tend to focus on either the group or the individual in an apologetic situation. Apologies are not cross-culturally universal, but based on the pragmatics of cultural orientations, especially individualism-collectivism, they can be predicted. To examine this in the paper, apologies are defined in the context of universality, and Japan/the US are identified as cultures that present strong social contexts, requiring cultural context to create an apology. Then, the literature review establishes the importance of these socially based expectations through linguistics, social purpose, and saving face. The discussion section then argues that these concerns are more important than situational cues, that an individualistic orientation is less complicated to predict in regard to apologies, and that these pragmatic preparations prevent the escalation of the act being apologized for. In the conclusion, it is pointed out that even with these contextual clues, apologies are not entirely predictable, but these tools can help mitigate cultural misgivings.

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