Digital Commons Network^™

A Pokébalancing Act: The Management Of Japanese Cultural “Odor ” In Pokémon, Nicholas Raes

Theses and Dissertations

In this project, I analyzed two seasons of the Pokémon anime to discover patterns of cultural “odor” management employed by the show’s producers and editors. In the first season of Pokémon, the producers of the anime included many symbolic representations of Japanese cultural artifacts within the visual features of the show. However, between the Japanese and US versions of the season, most instances of Japanese linguistic text were either “scrubbed” from scenes entirely or replaced with English text. These techniques struck a careful balance between including and excluding Japanese specificity within the first season, subtly expressing to non-Japanese audiences the …

#Digitalactivism: Examining #Yesallwomen And Teaching Social Media Activism In Technical Communication, Karishma Verma

Theses and Dissertations

In May 2014, 22-year-old Elliot Rodger killed six people and injured fourteen others near

the University of California campus in Santa Barbara. A “hatred of women” was cited as the

reason for his crimes. This incident inspired the hashtag movement #YesAllWomen on social

media. Users shared examples of how although “not all men” engage in violent behaviors that

Rodger exhibited, all women go through their lives fearing. This thesis uses a technofeminist

framework to examine how the #YesAllWomen movement functioned as an online social

movement on Twitter to encourage conversation as well as promote change. I also discuss how

technical …

A Place To Stand: Community Media Centers, James Joseph Knightwright

Theses and Dissertations

With the experience of 30+ years in community media, I envision providing a resource for scholars as well as community media practitioners and stakeholders. I am investigating the processes of training at community media centers (CMC) to determine potential impacts and effects. Functioning as a participant observer, I will prepare a documentary film focusing on the practices and processes utilized by CMCs to serve their communities.

Concentrating on Columbia Access Television (CAT TV), Columbia, Missouri and the Sun Prairie Media Center (SPMC), Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, I plan to visit each location to interview station staff, volunteers, and community members. These …

From Ideology To Ideologue: How The Mormon Church Utilizes The Ideograph To Interpellate Identity, Alexander Ewers

Theses and Dissertations

This study sought to form a more thorough understanding of how a prominent U.S. religion has utilized internally-generated media to interpellate its preferred identity onto members. Specifically, this research investigated how the ideograph was utilized as a tool for interpellation in the context of Mormonism. To do this, an ideological criticism of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ Ensign magazine was conducted. A single ideology was found: The ideology of the perfect order. Constitutive ideographs of this ideology were also discovered. In connection to the use of gender, sex, and sexuality language to express the perfect order ideology, …

Diffusion Of Innovations And Public Communication Campaigns: An Examination Of The 4r Nutrient Stewardship Program, Henry Seeger

Theses and Dissertations

This project is an examination of how strategies for innovation in fertilizer application are communicated to agricultural communities. Specifically, this project examines the 4R Nutrient Stewardship Program‒a public communication campaign seeking to encourage the use of specific strategies, tools, and best practices in fertilizer application. The campaign is advanced by the Fertilizer Institute, an industry trade association, and targets local agricultural communities within the United States. To understand how this campaign functions to encourage adoption of innovative fertilizer application behaviors, this project draws on the principles of diffusion of innovations theory as well as established concepts within public relations, including …

Every Rose Has It S Thorn: A Feminist Critique Of How The Bachelor Communicates Ideal Femininity, Katy Biddle

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the messages ABC’s The Bachelor sends about ideal femininity. Specifically, the first and twentieth seasons were analyzed through a liberal feminist lens to determine if the women on The Bachelor aligned with stereotypical representations of women in media. I focused my attention on the women who progressed to the final three within the competition and the women who were depicted as the villains within the series. Then, I compared the first season’s portrayal of the contestants with the twentieth season’s portrayal. The three themes that were uncovered were sexuality, confidence, and “ladylike” behaviors. Ultimately, I argue that …

Communication In Live Sports Broadcasts: Attributions Of Task Performance Errors, Benjamin J. Lynn

Theses and Dissertations

A single study was conducted exploring perceptions of causal attributions communicated through a task performance error during a live sports broadcast. Participants were recruited from within the live broadcast sports community and causal attributions of a camera operator’s performance were measured using a Multidimensional Observer Attributions for Performance Scale (MOAPS) developed by Rutherford, Harari, and Rudolph (2013). Additional scales were created to measure perceptions of importance, frequency, and future hiring recommendations. Results found that following a camera mistake in a live sports broadcast, the camera operator’s relationship with the director significantly influenced future hiring recommendations and attributions of ability in …

A Cross-Cultural Comparison Of Perceptions By Public Relations Practitioners In The United States And Germany, Leila Schmidt

Theses and Dissertations

In our globalized world, becoming aware of the interdependence between public relations and culture becomes more and more important. This cross-cultural study combines an emic and etic approach to explore how PR practitioners in two individualistic countries, the United States of America and Germany, experience and perceive the impact of culture on their practice, specifically the development of campaigns. To understand the broader image, the study incorporates Hofstede’s (2009) cultural dimensions; to examine similarities and differences in terms of cultural nuances, the study relates to Spitzberg’s (2015) intercultural communication competence. The participants consisted of sixteen male and female PR practitioners …

The Effects Of Instructors Discussing Alcohol In The Classroom On Student Perceptions Of Their Instructor, Nathaniel Swiech Brophy

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is comprised of two studies. Study I is a qualitative exploratory analysis which attempts to uncover students’ experiences with instructors discussing alcohol in the university classroom and how the appropriateness of this behavior is determined. How this mention of alcohol affects the students’ perception of the instructor, as well as the relationship between perceived appropriateness of the behavior and change in perception, are also investigated. Study I found that students have experienced their instructors mentioning alcohol in the classroom as normative student behavior, part of the formal curriculum, and their instructor disclosing personal alcohol use. Participants determined appropriateness …

Preparing For College: The Effects Of High School Speech Experience On Critical Thinking, Information Literacy, Communication Apprehension, And College Preparedness, Brian M. Rohman

Theses and Dissertations

The effects of the college-level basic communication course are well documented. However, a stand-alone, high school communication course is becoming a rare sight across the United States. This study seeks to examine educational outcomes of learning communication skills at the high school level on college freshman. Students enrolled in a college-level basic communication course were surveyed on factors such as critical thinking, information literacy, fake news identification, communication apprehension, and preparedness for college through speech preparation as well as grit. While few significant findings were found, implications for the study of communication at the high school level are examined.

Creating Sustainable Workplace Environments: An Exploratory Study Of Social Energy Expenditure In Cross-Sex, Heterosexual Organizational Friendships, Kathryn Cordelia Green

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis outlines the reasoning and methods used to investigate the concept of social energy expenditure from Hall and Davis’ (2017) communicate bond belong (CBB) theory as a lens for understanding how individuals invest social energy into forming and maintaining cross-sex, heterosexual friendships in organizations. Informed by previous literature, this study explores the intersect between interpersonal communication and organizational communication. Apart from Hall (2018), no other scholars have tested the 2017 CBB theory. Therefore, the present study’s goal is to provide a foundational inquiry into the usability of the theory by utilizing the core concept of social energy expenditure and …

Getting In Each Other’S Way: Enlarging The Possibilities Of Sustainable Community Development Through Communication, Cecelia M. Long

Theses and Dissertations

The ultimate aim of sustainable community development is to produce, promote, and preserve community well-being. When community developers are unable to effectively articulate and actualize this aim, the individuals and communities they serve needlessly suffer, especially those in poverty circumstances, homelessness, and other forms of destitution. In this thesis, I explore the communication between organizational leaders, their collaborative partners, and participatory community members as a vital component of sustainable community development. This study addresses the lack of a comprehensive set of communicative strategies for community developers to produce sustainable change and well-being for all. I conducted twenty-five in-depth interviews with …

Food Discourse: The Communicative Gateway Toward Understanding Formerly Colonized Representation In Parts Unknown, Mitch Combs

Theses and Dissertations

CNN’s television series, Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown, merges food and travel genres to communicate representations of local, indigenous, and other formerly colonized cultures. This thesis will present the significance of Parts Unknown through a review of literature that concerns postcolonial theory and food discourse to which critical insights emerge and explain how indigenous cultures are represented within Western “foodie” television. These insights will then guide a postcolonial investigation of the food rhetoric used to represent/discuss colonized and local groups within three episodes of Parts Unknown. Additionally, potential applications for rhetorical criticism are discussed by using Parts Unknown as an example …

Framed Text Messages As A Nutrition Education Intervention, Michael James O'Halloran

Theses and Dissertations

A youth’s college years is a critical period in health behavior formation, during which body mass index (BMI) and other health behaviors such as diet and physical activity are strong predictors of adult health status. Text messaging is prominent in the lives of most college-age adults. Despite this, relatively few studies have investigated the potential of utilizing a text message-based intervention to target fruit and vegetable consumption, a measure for weight management behaviors. Additionally, few studies utilizing a text message-based intervention have utilized a theory specific to the creation of behavior-motivating text messages. The gain-framed health behavior messages of Prospect …