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The Role And Growth Of Celebritization In Presidential Campaign Coverage, Johnathan Bradford Long Jun 2009

The Role And Growth Of Celebritization In Presidential Campaign Coverage, Johnathan Bradford Long

Honors Theses

The thesis covers the growing role of entertainment and celebrity-style news in the domain of hard presidential campaign television news coverage. Having done prior research on such entertainment news outlets as E! News, Entertainment Tonight, Access Hollywood, among others, I found that I was seeing the same treatment of celebrities as hard news programs were giving to presidential candidates. In light of this thought, the study covers what has been written about the evolution of presidential campaigns and the integration of celebrity news elements into campaigns. This study also performs a media analysis on the network news …


Communicative Violence In Romantic Relationships, Christina L. Moore May 2009

Communicative Violence In Romantic Relationships, Christina L. Moore

Honors Theses

Verbal abuse occurs in college relationships, but this form of abuse lacks a clear definition and definitive characteristics. I studied the dialogue that surrounds verbal abuse. I was interested in how verbal abuse was discussed instead of the specific details of the experiences. Verbal abuse was purposely studied separately from physical abuse. Prior research and legal statutes were reviewed before conducting this study. Through the use of focus groups, one-on-one interviews and key informant interviews a broader perspective of verbal abuse was gained. The six salient themes to emerge were (1) how to protect one’s identity, (2) characteristics of the …


Lines Of Nation, Lines Of Flight : Retroping Immigration Policy, Jessica Thaller May 2009

Lines Of Nation, Lines Of Flight : Retroping Immigration Policy, Jessica Thaller

Honors Theses

This thesis studies the rhetoric of U.S. immigration policy, specifically as related to Mexican immigration to the United States. Using Kent Ono and John Sloop’s theory of discourse, it examines the rhetoric employed in the Secure Fence Act (SFA) of 2006 and its turns towards wartime rhetoric, immigrant dehumanization, and immigrant deviance. It then contradicts these turns to those seen in the rhetoric of Hometown Associations (HTAs), “outlaw” discourses that operate by systems of logic different from the dominant logic of the SFA. HTAs emphasize family/cultural connections, unique financial considerations, and the liminal existence of the immigrant. More importantly, they …


Get On The Solar Track To Accelerate Your Wmu Experience, Amanda Jandahl, Andrea Sell Apr 2009

Get On The Solar Track To Accelerate Your Wmu Experience, Amanda Jandahl, Andrea Sell

Honors Theses

The Western Michigan University Sunseeker solar car team is faced with the challenge to raise awareness and educate the WMU community about the excellent opportunities that the team provides to WMU students. The team, as a whole, seeks to increase public education about renewable energy, especially solar energy, through the races in which the solar car competes. In order to recruit new participants, raise funds for construction and competition, and keep the solar car as a point of pride at Western Michigan University, the team needs to increase promotional activity. The promotional campaign titled Get on the Solar Track to …


U.S. Perceptions Of China In The Context Of The 2008 Beijing Olympics, Madeline Leigh Casey Mar 2009

U.S. Perceptions Of China In The Context Of The 2008 Beijing Olympics, Madeline Leigh Casey

Honors Theses

No abstract provided.


The Worth Of A Comfortable Shoe, Kristina Mellinger Jan 2009

The Worth Of A Comfortable Shoe, Kristina Mellinger

Honors Theses

The topic that I have chosen allows me to research not only the health concerns for wearing high heels (which was my original intent), but also the psychological, cultural, and historical aspects of wearing high heels and even shoes in general. This has allowed me to have endless possibilities during my research. I have learned many interesting facts about the history of shoes, and I find myself reading into the wee hours of the night just to learn more. My interest in this topic is derived from my own experience of wearing uncomfortably high heels. When I wear these ridiculous …