Research and Creative Activity

2020 ANNUAL REPORT

RESEARCH AND CREATIVE ACTIVITY

women wearing a face mask looks foward

Publications

Serena, Inc.: Using Instagram to build brand equity after a crisis

Journal of Digital & Social Media Marketing

A recent paper by Professor Frauke Hachtmann examined how Serena Williams used Instagram to manage her brand after an argument with the chair umpire escalated into a heated debate.

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Instagram Logo

Firearms, brass knuckles and Instagram: Intended and unintended influence of social media advertising

Journal of Brand Strategy

A recent paper by Associate Professors Valerie Jones and Byran Wang investigated the influence of organic Instagram advertising from the Transportation Security Administrations (TSA) on attitudes towards the brand and unintentionally towards the issue of gun control.

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two arrows on a chalk board pointing in different directions

Balancing Transparency and Privacy in a University Sexual Misconduct Case: A Legal Public Relations Case Study

Journal of International Crisis and Risk Communication Research

A recent paper by Dean Shari Veil and Chelsea Woods, assistant professor, Virginia Tech, examined the decisions making process used by University of Kentucky administrators and the Kentucky Kernal (university newspaper) employees in response to a sexual misconduct investigation.

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Bronze statue of lady justice

Gen Z and Digital Distractions in the Classroom: Student Classroom Use of Digital Devices for Non-Class Related Purposes

Journal of Media Education

A paper by Professor Barney McCoy examined the results of a survey of university students about the distractions created by the use of digital devices in class for non-class related purposes. 

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two hands resting on a table next to a cell phone

Proactive Approach to Diversity and Inclusion: Designing an Immersive, Performance-driven, Virtual Reality-based Diversity and Inclusion Training Program

Journal of Design and Creative Technologies

A recent paper by Associate Professors Adam Wagler and Changmin Yan and Assistant Professor of Practice Katie Krcmarik examines the results of a study that aimed to develop measurable, accessible, and sustainable VR-based diversity and inclusion training.

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virtual reality headset sitting on a table

Misogyny and Media in the Age of Trump

Rowman & Littlefield

A book edited by Professor Maria Marron, Misogyny and Media in the Age of Trump, argues that misogyny has increased in the United States under President Trump and that although women’s experiences under misogyny are by no means universal, patriarchal social and institutional systems facilitate gender-based hostility.

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woman holding a flag that reads "The Future is Female"

Divided Loyalties: Young Somali Americans and the Lure of Extremism

Michigan State University Press

Associate Professor Joseph Weber examines the cases of the more than fifty Somali Americans, mostly young men from Minnesota, who made their way to Somalia or Syria, attempted to get to those countries, aided people who did, or financially backed terrorist groups there.

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car on fire

Revisiting the Best Practices in Risk and Crisis Communication

Chapter in Handbook of applied communication research

Dean Shari R. Veil, Kathryn E. Anthony, Timothy L. Sellnow, Nicole Staricek, Laura E. Young, and Pam Cupp conducted a research study on best practices in risk and crisis communication. This research is conducted through a multi‐case analysis. 

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finger pointing at a digital network

Fixing the broken link: Communication strategies for supply chain crises

Chapter in Handbook of crisis communication

Dean Shari R. Veil and Kathleen L. Ambrose wrote a chapter critically examining exemplar supply chain crises to determine what factors affected the communication strategies available to the organization. They also examined the impact of those strategies on stakeholder perceptions and the organization’s reputation.

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digital representation of the earth

Reputational interdependence and spillover: Exploring the contextual challenges of spillover crisis response

Chapter in Handbook of crisis communication

In this chapter, Dean Shari R. Veil and Lindsay L. Dillingham explore three crisis cases to determine effective communication practices that can limit the negative effects of crisis spillover and increase an organization’s competitive advantage within an industry. The crisis cases include the food, automotive, and airline industries.

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aerial photo of an urban area

Creative Activity & Engagement

A Space of Their Own: A monument to Women in Design

Goodall Gallery, Columbia, South Carolina

Assistant Professor of Practice Katie Krcmarik created an installation to serve as a monument to women in design. Women take up little space in design history books despite often playing at least a strong supporting role, if not a more significant role in design history. 

sculpture made of cardboard rectangles

Nebraska Stories: D-Day And The Oldfield Effect

Nebraska Educational Telecommunications

A documentary by Professor Barney McCoy looks back at the war correspondents recruited by Nebraskan and US Army press officer Barney Oldfield, including Omaha’s Bob Reuben, a Reuters news correspondent. 

Barney Oldfield Headshot

Nebraska towns pay millions to fight nitrates as water bills go up

Special Feature, Omaha World-Herald

In a special feature for the Omaha World-Herald, Assistant Professor Jessica Fargen Walsh examines the economic impact of nitrate contamination of groundwater on both large and small Nebraska Communities.

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water pouring from a pipe into a lake

Smuggle a lion: A Nebraskan's unusual post-World War II mission

Special Feature, Omaha World-Herald

In an Omaha World-Herald special feature, Professor Barney McCoy examines the role of Nebraska-born Colonel Barney Oldfield in the retrieval and return of the bronze 4-ton Isted Lion statue to Denmark after World War II.

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Statue of a lion in a crate

Panic and the pandemic

Opinion, Lincoln Journal Star

In an op-ed for the Lincoln Journal Star, Professor John Bender explores the First Amendment implications of mask mandates issued in response to the COVID-19 global pandemic.

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illustration of a virus

Islamist terrorism hasn’t gone away. As president, Biden will have to confront it

Opinion, Miami Herald

In an op-ed, Associate Professor Joe Weber examines the current state of Islamic terrorism and challenges facing President-elect Joe Biden.

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Man stands in front of coffin

Grants

Analyzing Visual Cancer Misinformation on Social Media

Kappa Tau Alpha

To help combat misinformation line, Associate Professor Byran Wang will use grant funds from Kappa Taul Alpha to analyze how emotions in visual misinformation posts are associated with audience engagement, such as the number of views and shares, as well as which accounts are most likely to spread misinformation.

illustration of cancer cells

Death in the Foothills: Love, loss and murder in Appalachia

UNL Research Council

Assistant Professor Chris Graves will use grant funds from the UNL Research Council to research an upcoming narrative nonfiction book, Death in the Foothills. The work will examine the role of family — particularly of matriarchs — in Appalachia and offer a fresh, distinctive portrait of the economic upheaval and decline of rural America.

railroad bridge over a forest