Digital Commons Network^™

"Do N'T Stop Believin'"In A Pair Of Socks: How The Sopranos Shapes Our Understanding Of Mental Illness, Adam Richard Brockman

Theses and Dissertations

This study rhetorically analyzed the final season of The Sopranos for its argument about

the nature of psychological depression in several contexts and forms. Consisting of nine

episodes, the final season of the series features pivotal moments in which characters confront the

sources of their depression and respond to them in a variety of ways. The study used both an

intertextual analysis and Burkean frames to provide insight into how the final season argues one

might overcome various forms of depression. It specifically considered depression related to

one’s family experiences, their existential concerns regarding death and spirituality, and their

indulgence …

"But We Can Be Friends": An Analysis Of Turning Points In Platonic Friendships Among Former Significant Others, Desiree Hernandez

Theses and Dissertations

This study aims to understand the patterns of post-dissolution communication. Specifically, the purpose of this qualitative analysis was to describe the functions of turning points individuals experienced in a platonic friendship with an ex-romantic partner. Three themes emerged from 13 in-depth interviews: framing distance as reparative, redefining boundaries, and providing ongoing support. The results provide initial insight into what turning points individuals experience during post-dissolution communication.

Increasing Engagement With Student Government Associations: An Examination Of Student Publics, Viraj Patel

Theses and Dissertations

Student Government Associations (SGAs) are campus organizations comprised of student leaders which advocate on behalf of the student population. Participation in SGAs have proven academic, professional, and social benefits, yet the engagement in the organization has declined. This study employs Daft and Lengel’s (1986) Media Richness Theory to examine if different media affect the composition of student publics. These publics are defined using Grunig’s (1979) Situational Theory of Publics (STP). Additionally, the impact of self-efficacy, response efficacy, and perceptions of social norms on the variables in STP is also examined.

"It Does N'T Seem Like A Big Deal": A Media Ecology Analysis Of Digital Teen Sexuality And Sexting Education, Allison Marie Metz

Theses and Dissertations

In the state of Illinois, any person in possession of sexually explicit photos of a minor, even if the subject is oneself, can be prosecuted as a felon for possession of child pornography and be required to registered as a sex-offender (705 ILCS § 405). Concurrently, the recent trend of ‘send nudes’ depicts humorous ways to request the transmission of sexually explicit photos, increasing this act as a normative practice for young people (Bradford, 2018; Thomas, 2017). This trend is incongruent with Illinois statue (705 ILCS § 405) and school administrative policy about transmitting sexually explicit photos of a minor. …

No “Me ” Before The Nation: Portrayal Of Nationalism And Religious Identities In Bollywood Movies Created During Modi-Era, Misha Khan

Theses and Dissertations

This study analyzed three Bollywood films, Raazi, PM Narendra Modi, and Gully Boy, that were released during the administration of the current Prime Minister of India, PM Narendra Modi. The research questions focused on the portrayal of nationalism and religious identities in the analyzed films. The recurring theme in all three films remained to be nationalism However, drawing on the past research, this study found an existing intertwined relationship between the portrayed nationalism and religious identities. Other central themes in the films included patriarchy, the notion of Othering, and class hegemony. This study draws added implications through its results and …

The Polite Abuser: Using Politeness Theory To Examine Emotional Abuse, Cimmiaron Alvarez

Theses and Dissertations

Over the last few decades more and more cultural attention has been paid to intimate partner violence, especially emotional abuse. Follingstad, Rutledge, Berg, Hause, and Polek (1990) established that emotional abuse fell into six distinct categories, however, little attention had been paid to how abusers can utilize polite communication to hurt their partner. Equally, Brown and Levinson’s politeness theory (1987) had never been applied to problematic communication (Austin, 1990). This study aimed to understand how polite communication can be used as a form of emotional abuse. In-depth, semi structured interviews were conducted with 20 participants who self-identified as having been …

Perceptions Of Outreach, Theory, And Practice At Centers For Teaching And Learning, Samantha Dunn

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation examines Centers for Teaching and Learning (CTLs) and how they are perceived by the instructors and employees who work in higher education. CTLs focus on accessing and assessing faculty and staff while creating programs and research which offers insight into the faculty, instructional, and organizational needs of an institution. The needs that CTLs focus on include the professional, educational, instructional, and, sometimes, personal development of employees. Yet, the theories and practices which drive the research of educational development—specifically CTLs—are fragmented due to the interdisciplinary nature, vast scope, and practical-focus of directors and researchers.

This study builds upon previous …

A Resistance In Red: Ideographs In The Handmaid's Tale, Jessica Marie Wozniak

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the first season of the television show The Handmaid’s Tale, in order to better understand why the program has resonated in this historical moment to the extent that political activists use costumes from the show in their protests. I applied McGee’s (1980) ideograph theory in combination with a feminist lens to identify and explore five prominent symbols in the show. One ideograph in particular, , is especially dynamic in that it transforms from a marker of oppression to one of solidarity. I argue that the ideographs, which are highly gendered and mainly visual in nature, give The …

“There’S Something That I Want You To Know ”: An Analysis Of Coming Out Videos In Relation To Community Building And Co-Cultural Theory, Franklin J. Kimmell

Theses and Dissertations

There has been no previous research analyzing coming out videos published to YouTube

by content creators in relation to discourse dependency, online community building, and co- cultural theory. Galvin’s (2006) discourse dependent communication has been used in family communication research to examine how non-normative families have to use communication to prove their identity as a family unit. Orbe’s (1998) co-cultural theory is used to study interactions between members of the dominant culture and members of co-cultures, specifically looking at the strategic ways in which members of co-cultures communicate with dominant group

members. In this study, I aimed to analyze how …

The Delocalization Of The Local Election, Caleb T. Carr

Faculty Publications - Communications

Local elections are no longer just influenced by, marketed toward, or relevant to only a small, geographically constrained electorate. Social media increasingly connect politics to publics that may extend beyond politicians’ or issues’ local constituencies. Every election—from Senator to alderperson—has been rendered accessible and relevant to broad individuals, organizations, and interests. Now, campaigns—particularly in close races or battleground areas—can canvas beyond the local level to seek donations, campaign volunteers, or to encourage local residents to vote. Social media have become venues to demonstrate a candidate’s likability with users, which are parlayed into local goodwill and electability. And foreign nationals and …

Long-Term Effects Of A Short-Term Study Abroad On Mindset, Madasyn Hofstedt, Heidi Harbers, Amy Yacucci

Graduate Independent Studies - Communication Sciences and Disorders

This literature review will examine 10 studies. The first section will discuss one study regarding common personality traits that practicing SLPs and SLP graduate students possess. The next section will review four studies about studying abroad. The final section will summarize four studies about the impact of mindset on life experiences and one study on how a growth mindset may potentially affect a study abroad experience.

Toward A Theory Of Procedural Rhetorical Systems: Demonstrations Of Player Agency In Uptake Of Rules In Video Games, Sydney A. Klem

Theses and Dissertations

This paper expands Ian Bogost’s (2007) procedural rhetoric by broadening the rhetorical view of games to encompass the arguments that they make not just about the material, but about themselves. The theory of procedural rhetorical systems (PRSes) views game systems as arguing toward how players should be following their rules, and like in any form of rhetoric, players possess agency in how they take up these arguments and how closely they follow rules. To demonstrate this, this paper analyzes a specific game, the 1996 platformer Super Mario 64, alongside various digital artifacts demonstrating how players have taken it up, including …

Let’S Be Perfectly Clear About Ambiguity: Exploring Instructor Use Of Strategic Ambiguity To Enhance Student Work And Learning Outcomes, Anna M. Wright

Theses and Dissertations

Instructors often desire to be clear in their teaching. However, a new area of research raises the possibility that instructors can use ambiguity strategically in courses and assignments to foster improved learning outcomes in students. This study uses quantitative research methods to explore how student characteristics affect learning outcomes when presented with varying levels of instructor messaging regarding clear and ambiguous assignments. Specifically, the measured student’s tolerance for ambiguity, mindset, as well as learning orientation and grade orientation as well as the impact instructor messaging regarding assignments has on student’s learner empowerment and affective learning. Findings suggest that instructor messaging …

Examining The Relationship Between Media Consumption And Kenya's Political Culture, Gilbert Kipkoech

Theses and Dissertations

Using data collected from 206 participants, this country-specific study examines the relationship between media consumption and Kenya’s political culture. Political scientists and communicators contend that political culture encompasses several aspects. In this study, only four aspects of a country’s political orientations (culture) and its relationship with the media are examined (a) Political participation, (b) political trust, (c) patriotism, and (d) inter-ethnic attitudes. Drawing on past research, the study establishes a link between media use and political attitudes and behaviors of the Kenyan people, operationalized in the study as the political culture. While the literature is divided on whether the media …

Inked Bodies, Blank Pages; A Study Of Amazigh Tattooing, Hannah Mesouani

Theses and Dissertations

The tradition of Moroccan Amazigh tattooing reflects the values and lived experiences of the communities that partake in this sacred practice. Adorning their fellow women with symbols of protection, tribe alliances and fertility, Amazigh women display their core values on face and body that come to represent their community. The power of these images and the women that wear them have stood the test of time, even in a newly male-dominated, Islamic Morocco that frowns upon body modification and promotes a nationalism that leaves little room for Amazigh tradition. In a corner of the world where literacy rates are low, …

"We Need To Stop Temporarily Caring: "Pulse, Spoken Word Poetry, And Audience Counter-Narrative Creation, Hannah G. Trew

Theses and Dissertations

On June 12, 2016, 49 people were killed, and 53 people were injured in a shooting at Pulse, a popular gay club in Orlando, Florida. The Pulse Nightclub shooting was the deadliest mass shooting in the United States at that time and the deadliest violent act against the LGBTQ+ community in the United States (Hancock & Haldeman, 2017; Jackson, 2017; Walter, Billard, & Murphy, 2017). The media were divided in labeling the shooting a terrorist attack or a hate crime, creating a master narrative surrounding the shooting. However, LGBTQ+ spoken word poets rejected the media’s storylines, developing counter-narratives, and instead …

The Impact Of Community-Based Training Outreach In Improving Water Quality, Health, And Sanitation In Kenya, Lavender Matuyia Ntaoti

Theses and Dissertations

Water is an important component of the human body. A greater percentage of the body comprises of water. Digestion, brain function, movement, and sweating among others are the basic functions of the human body that require water. Often, water quality is neglected in developing countries such as Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. Many individuals in these countries understand the importance of having accessible water but do not prioritize the quality and the sources of the water available to them. Public health scholars endorse education, training, and sanitary infrastructure to promote awareness and importance of water quality. To address an existing waterborne …

Disney World, The Mythic Space, And The Disney Company Mythology, Logan Sean Spence

Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, I examine previous literature about Disney, his life, and his company to dissect and illustrate how he functioned as a mythical tale. Disney’s life story is a point of pride for those close to him and his family because it reflected the success of a man in a dire situation. However, once this claim is established, I use it, as well as other academic literature, to assert that the Walt Disney Myth eventually expanded into a broader Disney Company Mythology. The mythology, as I later establish, is less about Disney and more about the ideas he represents …

The Relationship Between College Health Professionals' Communicative Behaviors, Students' Satisfaction, And Students' Perceived Quality Of Healthcare, Prince Adu Gyamfi

Theses and Dissertations

In this thesis, a Pearson product-moment correlation was performed using SPSS to analyze the associations between college health professionals’ communicative behaviors (instrumental and affective), students’ satisfaction, and students’ perceived quality of healthcare. Results showed that college health professionals’ communicative behaviors positively associated with students’ satisfaction and students’ perceived quality of healthcare. The implication is that college health professionals need to pay careful attention to how they interact with students at student health service because their interactions can potentially cause either high or low patient satisfaction or perception of quality of healthcare among students. Additionally, this thesis used anxiety/uncertainty management (AUM) …

“Picking My Battles ”: Examining The Experiences Of Gender Non-Binary Identities Within The U.S., Mika Raylen Richards

Theses and Dissertations

As there is limited research on non-binary individuals, researching the non-binary experience was essential to normalizing their existence. The qualitative research focuses on 12 non-binary individuals who were at different stages of being out. A thematic analysis helped in understanding multifaceted responses from the participants. The data showed that non-binary individuals experience invalidation each day. Heteronormative societies and individuals tend to only see a binary within gender identity and shape their language around it, whether it be from their refusal of learning or a lack of knowledge of the problem. This failure to acknowledge non-binary individuals influenced many of their …

"They Are Supposed To Be There For Me": Using Thematic Analysis To Understand Sexual Assault Disclosures In Hispanic Families, Alyssa M. Hernandez

Theses and Dissertations

The majority of research available on family communication and sexual assault disclosure is almost exclusively focused on Caucasian women (e.g., Basinger, Wehrman, & McAninch, 2016; Fehler-Cabral & Campbell, 2013; Orchowski, Untied, & Gidycz, 2013; Taylor & Norma, 2012). This is problematic because, of all cultural groups on which studies have been conducted about sexual assault reporting, Hispanics are the least likely to disclose sexual assault, although they are at high risk to experience sexual assault (Castaneda, 2018). In this study, I aimed to understand how and why survivors of sexual assault chose to disclose their experiences to their Hispanic families. …

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 …

Investigation Of Graduate Student Stress In Speech Language Pathology, Rochel Lieberman, Lesley Raisor-Becker, Carney Sotto, Erin Redle

Teaching and Learning in Communication Sciences & Disorders

The purpose of this research was to investigate the average stress levels and types of stressors experienced by graduate students (GS) in speech-language pathology (SLP) programs and the academic supports GS perceived to be helpful. An online survey examining stress was administered to 238 GS in SLP. The average stress level, types of stressors, demographic characteristics of participants related to their stress response, and reported academic program supports were analyzed. Correlation coefficients were computed to determine the relationship between reported stress, demographic variables, and program characteristics. Moderate and high levels of stress were reported by 96% of SLP GS as …

Risk Management Practices At University Clinics In Communication Sciences And Disorders, Dorothy Neave-Ditoro, Donald A. Vogel, Susan E. Wortsman, Paul W. Cascella

Teaching and Learning in Communication Sciences & Disorders

This study surveyed university clinic directors of audiology and speech-language pathology programs throughout the United States, and identified the content and risk management (RM) practices embedded into graduate curricula. One hundred and two (102) respondents provided information, via an electronic survey, about their campus and departmental RM practices. More than half of the programs reported embedding RM concepts into at least one graduate course yet only slightly above half of the programs assessed students’ RM knowledge. Pre-professional students were most often trained in protecting patient’s privacy and fire drills. Approximately one-third participated in university-wide programs, and 11 of the 102 …

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 …