Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Digital Commons Network

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Articles 1 - 11 of 11

Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network

Moving From A Textbook To Facebook College Students' Motivations For Using Social Networking Sites In Education, Heather J. Halter Jan 2010

Moving From A Textbook To Facebook College Students' Motivations For Using Social Networking Sites In Education, Heather J. Halter

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined college student motivations for using social networking sites for educational purposes. Motives were examined through the uses and gratifications approach. If we can determine student motivations for using social networking sites, perhaps we can determine a way to successfully implement social networking sites into the classroom. By adding the concept of satisfaction, we can also determine if students will use the sites again. If students are satisfied with educational social networking site use, they will return to these sites for educational purposes again. Data was collected by giving a questionnaire to undergraduate students that assessed social networking …


Increasing Self Reported Argumentativeness In College Level Public Speaking Students, Kim E. Long Jan 2010

Increasing Self Reported Argumentativeness In College Level Public Speaking Students, Kim E. Long

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Argumentativeness, or the predisposition “to advocate positions on controversial issues and to attack verbally the positions which other people take on these issues” (Infante & Rancer, 1982, p.72), has been associated with a number of positive outcomes. Research among student populations indicates that compared to people who are low in argumentativeness, people high in argumentativeness display higher ability to learn, higher self esteem, greater ability to creatively manage conflict, and higher ability to see both sides of a situation (Barden & Petty, 2008; McPherson Frantz & Seburn, 2003; Rancer, Whitecap, Kosberg, & Avtgis, 1997). Promoting argumentativeness among college students should …


Dialectical Tensions Between Glocalization And Grobalization For Wal-Mart In The United States, Laura Lord Jan 2010

Dialectical Tensions Between Glocalization And Grobalization For Wal-Mart In The United States, Laura Lord

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative analysis examines Wal-Mart managers‟ perspectives of the strategies that the U.S. corporation has implemented in order to increase its sales and profits at more than 4,000 stores in local U.S. communities. Two theoretical paradigms are specifically used: glocalization and grobalization. The former refers to cultural adaptation; the latter means standardization. The ultimate goal of the researcher is to identify the dialectical tensions between those two current forms of globalization. In-depth, face-to-face, qualitative interviewing of ten Wal-Mart managers in Central Florida allowed the researcher to actually comprehend managers‟ perspectives, gather fresh data, and construct a final product to enlighten …


Designing For Multicultural And International Audiences: Creating Culturally-Intelligent Visual Rhetoric And Overcoming Ethnocen, Bridget Moore Jan 2010

Designing For Multicultural And International Audiences: Creating Culturally-Intelligent Visual Rhetoric And Overcoming Ethnocen, Bridget Moore

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Various cultures interpret visual rhetoric differently; therefore, technical communicators must adjust their rhetoric accordingly by creating effective visual rhetoric for their international and multicultural audiences. Although there is a great deal of research in the field regarding how to create effective visual rhetorical rhetoric, this research often fails to take into international and multicultural audiences into consideration. Many visual rhetoric solutions proposed in technical communication involve 'catch all' approaches that do little to communicate to people of non-Western cultures and can even serve to offend or confuse international and multicultural audiences. These solutions are generated by a globalization mindset, but …


A Qualitative Investigation Of Adolescent Females' Use Of Social Networking Websites, Janine Pate Jan 2010

A Qualitative Investigation Of Adolescent Females' Use Of Social Networking Websites, Janine Pate

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The aim of the present study was to explore the ways adolescent females, age 14 through 17, utilized social networking websites such as MySpace and Facebook for communication, self-presentation and identity development purposes. Uses and gratifications theory served as a framework for identifying the participants' motivations for heavily using these websites, which allow users to post pictures, interests and updates for their friends to view and interact with online. Using a qualitative method, one preliminary focus group and ten in-depth interviews were conducted, totaling fifteen female participants between the ages of 14 and 17. Interview questions covered topics such as …


Interactive Text-Image Conceptual Models For Literary Interpretation And Composition In The Digital Age, Beth Nixon Weaver Jan 2010

Interactive Text-Image Conceptual Models For Literary Interpretation And Composition In The Digital Age, Beth Nixon Weaver

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation focuses on text-image conceptual models for literary interpretation and composition in the digital age. The models investigate an interactive blend of textually-based linear-sequential approaches and visually-based spatial-simultaneous approaches. The models employ Gestalt-inspired figure-ground segregation models, along with other theoretical models, that demonstrate the dynamic capabilities of images as conceptual tools as well as alternate forms of text. The models encourage an interpretative style with active participants in openended, multi-sensory meaning-making processes. The models use the flexible tools of modern technology as approaches to meaning-making with art strategies used for research strategies as well as a means to appreciate …


The Communication Implications And Related Experiences Associated With Transracially Adopting A Child From Vietnam, Lan Marie Malin Jan 2010

The Communication Implications And Related Experiences Associated With Transracially Adopting A Child From Vietnam, Lan Marie Malin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study investigated the communication experiences of adoptive parents of children transracially adopted from Vietnam. Though adoption has been extensively studied in communication research, transracial adoptions involving children from Vietnam has not. Thus, this study examined adoptive parent communication experiences using dialectic theory and relational dialectics. By examining adoptive parents’ communication with their adopted child and others, we can determine tensions that occur in different communication experiences. Data were collected through eight qualitative in-depth interviews conducted with adoptive parents of children from Vietnam. Openness with both strangers and the adopted child(ren) and preservation of key aspects of the adopted children’s …


A Content Analysis Of Elite U.S. Newspapers' Coverage Of Iran, 1979 And 2005, Melissa Kamal Jan 2010

A Content Analysis Of Elite U.S. Newspapers' Coverage Of Iran, 1979 And 2005, Melissa Kamal

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study is a quantitative content analysis of the New York Times and Washington Post coverage of Iran during the period surrounding the Ayatollah Khomeini's ascension to power in 1979 as well as the period surrounding Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's election in 2005. The results showed that coverage of Iran in the elite American print media as it related to terror was higher in the period after Khomeini came to power and also in the period after Ahmadinejad's election than it was in the period immediately preceding their respective ascensions. The results also showed that there was more coverage of Iran as …


The Effects Of Power Distance, And Gender On The Use Of Nonverbal Immediacy Behaviors In Symmetrical And Asymmetrical Power Cond, Vincent Santilli Jan 2010

The Effects Of Power Distance, And Gender On The Use Of Nonverbal Immediacy Behaviors In Symmetrical And Asymmetrical Power Cond, Vincent Santilli

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Previous cross-cultural research in nonverbal immediacy indicates that nonverbal immediacy behavior varies across cultures, and some researchers have suggested that power distance might serve as a moderating variable, however no research has systematically set out to determine whether that is the case. This study assessed the perceived use of nonverbal immediacy under symmetric and asymmetric power conditions, as well as gender, in three cultures: Brazil, Kenya, and the United States. Quantitative data was collected from 527 participants who completed a nonverbal immediacy measure and an individual power distance measure under either a symmetric or an asymmetric power condition. Results related …


Jealousy And Attachment 2.0: The Role Of Attachment In The Expression And Experience Of Jealousy On Facebook, Megan Cole Jan 2010

Jealousy And Attachment 2.0: The Role Of Attachment In The Expression And Experience Of Jealousy On Facebook, Megan Cole

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The main objective of this research was to investigate how people use Facebook within the context of their romantic relationships from an attachment theory perspective. In the present study, a convenience sample (n = 179) completed an online survey with questions about Facebook use, attachment style, uncertainty-related behaviors, jealousy, relationship satisfaction and commitment. Results indicate that 1) there is a positive correlation between jealousy and Facebook use; 2) also, there is a positive correlation between jealousy and the time an individual spends viewing their partner's profile; 3) further, jealousy is positively related to uncertainty-reducing behaviors. Taken together, these results support …


Source Representation And Framing In Childhood Immunization Communication, April Raneri Jan 2010

Source Representation And Framing In Childhood Immunization Communication, April Raneri

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research has indicated a strong interest in knowing who is being represented and how information is being represented in the communication about childhood immunization. This study uses a two-part analysis to look at source representation and framing in childhood immunization communication. A quantitative analysis of articles from the New York Times and USA Today were examined for their source representation, their use of fear appeals, through the Extended Parallel Processing Model (EPPM), and the use of frames, through the application of Prospect Theory. A qualitative semiotic analysis was conducted on 36 images that appeared on www.yahoo.com and www.google.com to find …