These students received financial support from the College of Arts and Sciences to present research at the National Communication Association annual conference in Washington, DC, November 22-24, 2013.

From left to right: Kali Schmidt, Nnedi Ezeala-Harrison, Derek Ziegler, Eric Sloss, Galdino Griego & Anna Bogdan

Each student will present research they have compiled at the conference. Please read their summaries below:

This study examined two athlete's (a professional Chicago Bears football player and a collegiate Florida State University football player) self-disclosure via Facebook after the athletes responded to receiving a "driving under the influence" (DUI) citation. Undergraduate students enrolled in various communication classes at a mid-sized North Texas university (N=389) rated the professional or collegiate football athlete's credibility on one of six different manipulations involving three types of confession: aversion to the event, apology to the event, and anger to the event. Results indicated the three types of reaction greatly affected credibility and public relations management. While the response greatly influenced credibility, the membership of the athletes showed little significance. Future researchers could examine how identification with a team affects credibility.

-Galdino Griego, Anna M. Bogdan, Nnedinma Ezeala-Harrison & Kali N. Schmidt

My two presentations will examine the production on of homelessness in urban spatial politics and the roles and responsibilities of universities in expansion and urban gentrification projects.

-Eric Sloss