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Regent University School of Communication PhD Communication and DSC Dissertations

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

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