Digital Commons Network^™

Freedom Of Expression: An Introduction, Bonnie Brennen

Bonnie Brennen

No abstract provided.

Erich Fromm: From Social Unconscious To Class Consciousness, Bonnie Brennen, Erich Fromm

Bonnie Brennen

No abstract provided.

Bridging The Backlash: A Cultural Materialist Reading Of The Bridges Of Madison County, Bonnie Brennen

Bonnie Brennen

No abstract provided.

Billboards Of The Dream: Walker Evans On 1930s U.S. Advertising, Bonnie Brennen

Bonnie Brennen

No abstract provided.

Lifestyle Drugs And The Neoliberal Family, Kristin Swenson

Kristin Swenson

Since 1997, advertisements for lifestyle drugs have saturated the U.S. airwaves, print media, and the Internet. Viewers are asked to see their children’s difficulty in school as attention deficit disorder, their worry as anxiety, and their flagging sex life as dysfunction. And for each disorder, there is a corresponding pharmaceutical solution. Through the lens of these advertisements, Lifestyle Drugs and the Neoliberal Family unpacks our contemporary obsession with obtaining easy solutions for difficult problems. The ads’ discourse illuminates the experience of living within a society increasingly affected by the policies of neoliberalism, one that requires us to invest and manage …

Being In Common: In Celebration Of Ronald W. Greene's Woolbert Award, Kristin Swenson

Kristin Swenson

Dr. Kristin Swenson's contribution to Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies, Volume 12, Issue 4, 2015.

Selling Truth: How Nike’S Advertising To Women Claimed A Contested Reality, Jean Grow, Joyce Wolburg

Joyce Wolburg

This study tracked the evolution of three “big ideas” in Nike’s advertising to women from 1990 to 2000: empowerment, entitlement, and product emphasis. It also takes a longitudinal look at the process from which the ads were created and the way the creative team addressed the constraints upon that process. Based on depth interviews among key informants at Nike and its two ad agencies during that decade, it is the story of how the creative team produced advertising that challenged the media norms that affect the roles of women associated with the institution of sports. Though their creative strategy was …

Forward To The C-Span Archives: An Interdisciplinary Resource For Discovery, Learning, And Engagement, Lynn Turner

Lynn H. Turner

No abstract provided.

Teaching For Social Justice In The Engaged Classroom: The Intersection Of Jesuit And Feminist Moral Philosophies, Joyce Wolburg, Karen Slattery, Ana Garner, Lynn Turner

Lynn H. Turner

No abstract provided.

Newspaper Theft, Self-Preservation And The Dimensions Of Censorship, Erik Ugland, Jennifer Lambe

Erik Ugland

One of the most common yet understudied means of suppressing free expression on college and university campuses is the theft of freely-distributed student publications, particularly newspapers. This study examines news accounts of nearly 300 newspaper theft incidents at colleges and universities between 1995 and 2008 in order to identify the manifestations and consequences of this peculiar form of censorship, and to augment existing research on censorship and tolerance by looking, not at what people say about free expression, but at what they do when they have the power of censorship in their own hands. Among the key findings is that …

How To Negotiate Better Than Donald Trump, Peter R. Reilly

Peter R. Reilly

No abstract provided.

E-Government In Public Diplomacy: An Exploratory Analysis On Factors Affecting Interactive Interfaces In Ministry Of Foreign Affairs Web Sites, Hyung Lee, Kevin Wang

Kevin Wang

In an attempt to empirically explore the ways in which governments take advantage of interactive interfaces on the Web for public diplomacy purposes, the authors conduct a content analysis on 83 nations’ ministry of foreign affairs Websites. Through a statistical analysis, they found that a nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and level of telecommunication infrastructure are significant factors in accounting for variations in the level of interactivity offered in such E-Government Websites. In addition, the findings indicate a notable disparity between nations in the interactive adoption in several ways. The authors discuss implications and suggestions with respect to success factors …

Mixing Metaphors: Sociological And Psychological Perspectives On Virtual Communities, Kevin Wang

Kevin Wang

This chapter explores the theoretical and conceptual assumptions underlying the notion of virtual community. Drawing from relevant literature, the author first examines the fundamental properties of the Internet as both technological and cultural artifact and argues that the Internet can embody different technological, functional, and symbolic meanings that will have direct implications for how communities are formed and experienced. Building on that framework, the second part of the chapter focuses on the sociological and psychological bases of community and explores how such conceptions change with the emergence of the Internet. The author concludes that studies of virtual communities must be …

Vitamin D An Examination Of Physician And Patient Management Of Health And Uncertainty, Keisa Bennett, Brandi Frisby, Laura Young, Deborah Murray

Laura Young

Vitamin D has been a topic of much research interest and controversy, and evidence is mixed concerning its preventive effects and health benefits. The purpose of our study was to explore the decision-making strategies used by both primary care providers and community members surrounding vitamin D in relation to uncertainty management theory. We conducted semistructured interviews with primary care providers (n = 7) and focus groups with community members (n = 89), and transcribed and coded using the constant comparative method. Themes for providers included awareness, uncertainty, patient role, responsibility, skepticism, uncertainty management, and evolving perceptions. Community member …

Clearing The Smoke: Understanding Organizational Change Communication And Misalignment In High-Risk Contexts, Laura Young

Laura Young

Recent economic turbulence in the United States has resulted in budget cuts for many city-funded organizations, including high-risk organizations such as local fire departments. Budget cuts trigger organizational change and create uncertainty among employees, which is a major concern for high-risk organizations. This dissertation examined internal communication practices used during organizational change in an urban fire department and the influence of organizational structure and culture on communication satisfaction. This robust case study used a multi-method approach including interviews with middle managers (i.e., district majors), and focus groups and channel preference surveys with full-time firefighters from lower level ranks (i.e., firefighters, …

The Role Of The Common Core In The Gubernatorial Elections Of 2014, Jonathan Supovitz, Bobbi Newman, Ariel Smith

Bobbi Newman

After the Spring 2014 primaries, the Common Core State Standards were viewed as a political hot potato. As former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee said, “the Common Core has become toxic, I think it’s radioactive…It has become an incredibly controversial topic on both the left and the right.” Even so, the Common Core turned out to play a role in some of the governor’s races in November 2014. In this analysis of candidate positions and the role of the Common Core across the 36 gubernatorial races of 2014, CPRE researchers Bobbi Newman, Jonathan Supovitz and Arial Smith used campaign websites, debate …

The Contemporary Television Series/Cable Visions: Television Beyond Broadcasting, Kenneth Creech

Kenneth C. Creech

This article reviews the books "The Contemporary Television Series," edited by Michael Hammond and Lucy Mazdon, and "Cable Visions: Television Beyond Broadcasting," edited by Sarah Banet-Weiser, Cynthia Chris, and Anthony Freitas.

Broadcast Indecency, Kenneth Creech

Kenneth C. Creech

Reviews the book `Broadcast Indecency: FCC Regulation and the First Amendment,' by Jeremy H. Lipschultz.

A Communications Cornucopia: Markle Foundation Essays On Information Policy, Kenneth Creech, Lee Wilkins

Kenneth C. Creech

Reviews the book `A Communications Cornucopia: Markle Foundation Essays on Information Policy,' edited by Roger G. Noll and Monroe E. Price.

Big Voices Of The Air, Kenneth Creech

Kenneth C. Creech

Reviews the book 'Big Voices of the Air,' by J.C. Foust.

Conceptualizing Beauty: A Content Analysis Of U.S. And French Women's Magazine Advertisements, Pamela Morris, Katharine Nichols

Pamela K. Morris

Although beauty is a major industry, it is elusive and based on culture. The purpose of this investigation is to expand the idea of female beauty beyond physical characteristics through an exploration of women’s magazine advertisements from France and the United States. Over 570 ads from ten women’s fashion magazines are content analyzed. Among the major findings is that American publications consist of more hair care and makeup products than in France, in contrast, French magazines include more ads for lotions and perfumes. In terms of tone, people in American publications show more smiles, while people in France are more …

Congress, The U.S. Supreme Court And Must-Carry Policy: A Flawed Economic Analysis, Nancy Whitmore

Nancy J. Whitmore

The Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992, which requires cable operators to carry the signals of local broadcast television stations, was hailed by supporters as a measure that would preserve the economic viability of the local independent broadcaster by unlocking the anticompetitive grip that the local cable company places on access to its system. In upholding the Act in 1997, the United States Supreme Court seemed to ignore the degree to which the cable and broadcast industries have become vertically integrated. In the end, local independent stations became economically viable not because they were guaranteed carriage on …

Capital, Consumption, Communication, And Citizenship: The Social Positioning Of Taste And Civic Culture In The United States, Mark Rademacher

Mark A. Rademacher

In this paper, we analyze the field of cultural consumption in the United States, drawing on the methods of correspondence analysis employed by Bourdieu (1979/1984). Using the 2000 DDB Lifestyle Study, we analyze a cross section of Americans (N=3,122) in terms of their occupational categories, media usage, consumption practices, social behaviors, and indicators of civic and political engagement. In doing so, we find many parallels to the determinants of taste, cultural discrimination, and choice within the field structure observed by Bourdieu in 1960s French society, though there are also some notable differences, consistent with Peterson and Kern's (1996) concept of …

Downshifting Consumer = Upshifting Citizen?, Mark Rademacher

Mark A. Rademacher

Critics suggest that contemporary consumer culture creates over-worked and over-shopped consumers who no longer engage in civic life. We challenge this conventional criticism against consumption within an individualistic lifestyle and argue instead that consumers who are "downshifting" do engage in civic life. In particular, this research examines downshifting attitudes among members of freecycle.org, a grassroots "gift economy" community. Results of an online survey show that downshifting consumers are indeed less materialistic and brand-conscious. They also tend to practice political consumption (e.g., boycotts, buycotts). Most importantly, they tend to engage in a digital form, but not a traditional form, of civic …

Fashion And The College Transition: Liminality, Play, And The Structuring Power Of The Habitus, Mark Rademacher

Mark A. Rademacher

Fashion has long been a signifier of social divisions within the education system as well as society at large. This paper seeks to examine how young people’s use of fashion varies in two distinct social milieus – the high school and college peer cultures. Interviews with 19 college freshmen were conducted to ascertain how fashion contributed to, or hindered, social divisions within each milieu. While informants recognized numerous social divisions marked by fashion choices within the high school milieu, during their initial weeks on campus no social divisions were identifiable. In this new milieu it appears fashion contributed to a …

Heroines Of Film And Television: Portrayals In Popular Culture, Carol Savery, Maja Bajac-Carter, Bob Batchelor

Carol Savery

As portrayals of heroic women gain ground in film, television, and other media, their depictions are breaking free of females as versions of male heroes or simple stereotypes of acutely weak or overly strong women. Although heroines continue to represent the traditional roles of mothers, goddesses, warriors, whores, witches, and priestesses, these women are no longer just damsels in distress or violent warriors.

In Heroines of Film and Television: Portrayals in Popular Culture, award-winning authors from a variety of disciplines examine the changing roles of heroic women across time. In this volume, editors Norma Jones, Maja Bajac-Carter, and Bob Batchelor …

Boost Or Blight?’ Graffiti Writing And Street Art In The ‘New’ New Orleans, Doreen Piano

Doreen M Piano

Before the storm, responses to graffiti writing and street art in New Orleans were typical of other urban environments where it was viewed as being “out of place” (Keith, 1999), “a spectacle of filth” (Conquergood, 2004), involving what Ferrell (1993, p. 37) describes as a “war of the walls.” David (2005) describes the political aspects of street art in New Orleans as “visual resistance” (p. 233), a term that captures relations of power among graffiti producers, their products, and the effects of their actions (p. 233). However, attempts to eliminate graffiti and street art by enforcing stricter penalties, encouraging neighborhood …

Guest Lecture: Plain Language And Ethical Action, Russell Willerton

Russell Willerton

Strategies For Adopting Consumer-Generated Media In Small-Sized To Medium-Sized Tourism Enterprises, Stephen Burgess, Carmine Sellitto, Carmen Cox, Jeremy Buultjens

Carmen Cox

Consumer-generated media (CGM) are created when consumers submit, review or respond to online content. The bulk of research into CGM has focussed upon its use by consumers, with less research examining the use of CGM by small businesses. This article discusses small business sector use of online technologies such as CGM, concentrating on tourism small businesses as a key industry sector affected by CGM activities. A CGM ‘strategy’ framework, developed from an existing small business strategy framework, is proposed. This serves as a practical tool for developing CGM strategies and as a theoretical foundation for conducting research into the use …

The Theoretical Bases Of Stock Issues, William Harpine

William D Harpine

No abstract provided.