Digital Commons Network^™

The Influence Of Technology On Family Dynamics, Alessondra Villegas

Proceedings of the New York State Communication Association

A powerful tool, that contemporary society uses not only to entertain but also to communicate and educate, there is an ever-present availability to media access. However, there is an ongoing debate over whether or not the power of this influence and its ubiquitous availability yields positive or negative consequences in different aspects of our lives. One area of concern, in particular, is the dynamics of the American family. With the rapid progression of technological advances it is difficult to observe the influence that these devices are having on the ways in which a family interacts. There is research to support …

"Nobody Wants To Eat Them Alive:” Ethical Dilemmas And Dual Media Narratives On Domestic Rabbits As Pets And Commodity, Gayane F. Torosyan, Brian Lowe

Proceedings of the New York State Communication Association

Using semiotic analysis, this study explores changes occurring in the societal perception of rabbits as farm animals as juxtaposed to their increasing popularity as domestic companions. This study is based on a preliminary hypothesis that rabbits are increasingly perceived and portrayed in media as domestic companion animals similar to cats and guinea pigs, which challenges a parallel narrative that views rabbits as commodities for their meat and fur. Operating within a theoretical framework that considers news media as both socially constructed reality and recorded history, the study examines the dynamics of change in numbers of coded news narratives drawn as …

Argumentation Analysis Presentation: Evaluating Rhetoric-In-Action, Evelyn Plummer

Proceedings of the New York State Communication Association

Via a small group project format, students conduct a close analysis of a persuasive message (a speech, an editorial, a position statement, etc.) Referring to models of argumentation (e.g. Toulmin [1958], Eemeren & Grootendorst [2004] , Rieke, Sillars, & Peterson [2012]), the team members work cooperatively to examine the communicator’s rhetorical choices in structuring claims, selecting data, and establishing warrants. After assessing the effectiveness of the message, each team presents its findings to the class.

This activity accomplishes several additional learning objectives, including: collaborative learning, critical analysis, applied communication, reinforcement of classic rhetorical canons and/or Aristotelian forms of artistic proof, …

Beyond Critical Communication: Noor's Soap Opera, Noura Hajjaj

Proceedings of the New York State Communication Association

Noor has occupied the minds and the hearts of the Arab audiences. This Turkish soap opera has reached levels beyond ordinary success of a soap opera and gained wide ranges of popularity. The aim of this research is to examine traditional and modern roles that the main characters play within the episodes of Noor. Paying special attention to the roles of female actors within the episodes, the critique will also scrutinize how Noor presents the Western definitions of acceptable roles for women. It is hoped that the results will help to illustrate a wide-ranging dialogue about women and feminism in …

Mediated Bodies: The Construction Of A Wife, Mother, And The Female Body In Television Sitcoms: Roseanne, Saniya Lee Ghanoui

Proceedings of the New York State Communication Association

After first examining several theoretical concepts related to the construction of gender on television and the way in which women are characterized, this paper examines the television show Roseanne to explore the way it changed the representation of a feminist on television. No longer did women have to be childless and career-minded to be equal to men or in some cases better than men, as the character Roseanne Conner reveals on the show. Rather, women were able to articulate their feminist outlooks through their opinions, expressions, and actions. I break the show into four distinct notions of gendered representations: socioeconomic …

“Their Image Of Me”: A Phenomenological Study Of Professional Dress Choices Of Female Professors, Laura Abbasi

Proceedings of the New York State Communication Association

In recent years, scholarly attention to professional dress as a form of nonverbal communication has faded into the background. However, I believe professional dress is an important area of study, considering the changing conditions in the world of work. Therefore, I decided to conduct this phenomenological study of the dress choices of female professors at a small, liberal arts college to discover what professional dress did for them internally and professionally. The analysis of the data suggests that these women try to use dress to represent themselves as who they are internally, without losing sight of their image as a …

Keynote: The Transmission Of Information: An “Awful Deformation” Of What Communication Really Is – John Shotter, John Shotter

Proceedings of the New York State Communication Association

It is easy to think of communication as being primarily to do with the transmission of information, with the communication of facts, of intelligence, of things people want to know about—a view given scientific expression long ago by Shannon and Weaver (1949). The taken-for-granted background to this view being the Cartesian assumptions of a mechanical world of separate, identifiable, interacting entities in motion according to discoverable laws. Everything changes, however, once we switch to a view of communication as occurring within a ceaseless, indivisible flow of entwined strands of spontaneously responsive, expressive, living, bodily activity—a view adopted by all those …

Keynote: Fast Media/Media Fast – Tom Cooper, Tom Cooper

Proceedings of the New York State Communication Association

This Keynote address was delivered at the 70th annual New York State Communication Association Conference on October 12, 2012. Dr. Cooper showcases an overview of some of the highlights in the history of media ethics research and key conclaves. His “overview of overviews” will lead to an examination of the epistemology and ecology of an important overview topic in the field – media saturation. Just as Thoreau went to Walden to gain a perspective on the environment of his day, Dr. Cooper conducted a “media fast” to examine the media environment of the 1980s and has been taking his classes …

From The Editor, Roxanne M. O'Connell

Proceedings of the New York State Communication Association

In this foreword, I’d like to do three things: 1) give the readers a sense of the amazing “reach” we have now that we are on the BePress system; 2) give a summary of what this issue of the proceedings contains; and 3) muse a bit on the kinds of publishing we as scholars are involved in.