Thesis

As a Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College scholar, one requirement that I had to fulfill was completing an undergraduate thesis. Utilizing the perspectives of the six principles of “Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication” (CERC), I thoroughly analyzed the effectiveness of Johnson & Johnson’s crisis communication responses and tactics of two crises - the 1982 Tylenol crisis and the current talcum powder crisis. Within the thesis, I answered three research questions through two case studies and subsequent analyses, in-depth, semi-structured interviews with communications professionals and IMC students, and the “think-aloud” interview method. This 116-page project encompassed about 1.5 years of planning, development, research, writing, and editing, which culminated in my successful defense in early May 2024. In June 2024, this thesis was officially published to eGrove, Ole Miss’ digital collection of academic dissertations.