Matthew S. VanDyke

University of Alabama | UA · Department of Advertising and Public Relations

Machine learning (ML) models can simulate flood risk by identifying critical non-linear relationships between flood damage locations and flood risk factors (FRFs). To explore it, Tampa Bay, Florida, is selected as a test site. The study's goal is to simulate flood risk and identify dominant FRFs using historical flood damage data as target variable...

This study examines water contamination issues using social media data (n = 420.7 k) to unveil the roles and patterns from the top 10 most influential users in their respective networks determined by their reply, retweet, and mention networks. Findings from RQ1 show diverse entities within this group, encompassing political figures, organizations,...

Although many science communicators strive to inspire audiences, scant research has sought to understand how media may evoke inspiration. The present study was a three-condition (modality: text-only, audio-only, and audiovisual) between-subjects experiment examining how media content about the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) motivated participant...

Direct‐to‐consumer (DTC) genetic testing has become incredibly popular for assessing health risk related to specific diseases. However, how this risk is conveyed and whether the limitations of the tests are fully communicated can impact how customers interpret results. Through a qualitative content analysis of three different DTC genetic testing on...

Due to climate change, the frequency and intensity of floods have dramatically increased worldwide. The innate social inequality has been exposed and even exacerbated by increasing flooding. It is imperative to assess flood risk in a comprehensive manner, accounting for both physical exposure and social vulnerability. Harris County in Texas, U.S.,...

Consumer reaction toward corporate social advocacy (CSA) stances can often be swift and visceral. These reactions may be due to messages evoking emotions that are self-transcendent-bigger than the individual and bigger than the company or its products or services. However, no research to date has examined the nature of self-transcendent emotions in...

Purpose The purpose of this research was to understand the role of interdisciplinarity in research and how communication structures and processes at universities facilitates such work. Design/methodology/approach Twenty-one semi-structured interviews with administrators, faculty, and staff from US R-1 Carnegie-designated higher education instituti...

Within the direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic test industry, attracting customers can be difficult especially due to the highly sensitive nature of these products. How these tests are communicated to consumers may be one avenue in which companies can impact customer purchase intentions. A 2 (message sidedness: one-way vs. two-way refutational) x 2 (h...

Purpose This study examines perceived transparency of direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic testing communication and measures its impact on consumers' trust, attitudes, and the intention to recommend the test to others. Design/methodology/approach An online survey of US–based adults (over 18 years of age) ( N = 271) was administered by the online pane...

This study investigated what (risk) information related to COVID-19 was most amplified through online discussions in environment-focused communities and how amplification and ripple effects evolved over time. The population of posts and comments (N = 14,156 observations) posted to 135 environment-focused subreddits from Dec. 1, 2019-Aug. 31, 2020 c...

Guided by the literature in diffusion of innovations, the technology acceptance model, and risk information sharing, this paper reports the results of a survey distributed to National Weather Service (NWS)-Memphis Weather Forecast Office (WFO) stakeholders who receive the Mississippi River Outlook product and its embedded 28-day experimental foreca...

The purpose of this paper is to build from the infrastructural approach to risk communication, rethink the internal management of risk communication, and critique the current literature’s discussion of how risks emerge, the role of the risk communication manager, and the decentralization of the risk communication function. Some of the risk communic...

There are parallels, intersections, and contrasts between how theory and practice in the public relations and science communication literatures have evolved. Given the need for systematic evidence-based theory to inform communication practice in both contexts, and the need for critical inquiry into the values and power structures that define and re...

While the National Weather Service and its River Forecast Centers and Weather Forecast Offices produce visuals, graphics, and outreach designed to support weather forecasts and warnings and inform decisions about natural resource management and emergency services, opportunities exist for risk communication scholarship to refine theory and promote b...

For-profit organizations play a considerable role in the dissemination of scientific research and information. In the case of direct-to-consumer genetic testing, this is important because how consumers learn about genetic science can influence health decisions and support for science. Through a content analysis of Twitter posts ( N = 1,000), this s...

Limited research has evaluated organizations’ public communication strategies for creating and maintaining dialogue about water risks with constituents. To fill this gap in the literature, 24 semi-structured telephone interviews with 25 officials employed by Texas groundwater conservation districts were conducted to determine how these officials en...

Although scholars have examined numerous facets of broadcast sports, limited research has explored the use of statistics in these broadcasts. Reference to statistical summaries of athlete or team performance have long been a component of sport broadcasts, and for some viewers the rise of fantasy sport has led to even greater interest in quantitativ...

This study was designed to collect formative information for the development of theoretically driven water conservation communication efforts targeting the business sector of water users. Members from a West Texas Chamber of Commerce were recruited for participation in an online survey. Questionnaire responses were collected from 176 commercial and...

Public communication about drought and water availability risks poses challenges to a potentially disinterested public. Water management professionals, though, have a responsibility to work with the public to engage in communication about water and environmental risks. Because limited research in water management examines organizational communicati...

In the current media landscape, organizations often communicate about science directly with publics through online channels rather than relying on journalist gatekeepers. Online platforms present organizations with the opportunity to participate in two-way communication in order to increase engagement with science. The present study examined how th...

Literature suggests a need to develop climate communication tools that focus on the impacts of climate change at local scales to increase proximity and communicate the risks on a more personal level. However, the nature of raw climate projection data makes accessibility by the lay audience a challenge and necessitates the need for innovative techno...

This content analysis examined the characteristics of environmental advertisements (N = 449) published in Newsweek, Time, and U.S. News and World Report in 1990, 2000, and 2010. Findings revealed that responsibility frames were dominant as the strategy used in environmental advertisements over time. The species/habitat protection issue was the domi...

Presidential elections in the United States present a unique media research opportunity because their outcomes produce a range of impacts for different countries around the world. Unsurprisingly, these elections generate a substantial amount of media interest; nearly 1,500 reporters covered both party conventions in 2012 and continued reporting to...

Hydraulic fracturing (HF) is a focal topic in discussions about domestic energy production, yet the American public is largely unfamiliar and undecided about the practice. This study sheds light on how individuals may come to understand hydraulic fracturing as this unconventional production technology becomes more prominent in the United States. Fo...

As traditional thinking about science communication is modified to emphasize engagement with science, public relations theorizing—particularly related to dialogic communication—may contribute to science communication theory and practice. Despite calls to move beyond the deficit model, we argue that many science organizations continue to practice on...