Digital Commons Network^™

Exploring Changes In Nascar-Related Titles In The New York Times And The Johnson City Press., Wesley Michael Ramey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

NASCAR has become one of America's fastest growing spectator sports, and corporate sponsors have played an important part in this upsurge in popularity. Race teams, drivers, and sanctioning bodies use the income that sponsors provide to operate at NASCAR events. This study provides an analysis of how corporate sponsorships have changed the way that NASCAR is presented in print journalism. Using Burke's method of indexing, NASCAR-related titles in the New York Times and the Johnson City Press from 1950 to present day are analyzed. The analysis reveals not only a steady increase in the number of NASCAR-related titles, but 4 …

Examination Of How Attraction Dimensions Predict Collaborative Mentoring Relationships In College Students., Ashlee Lorraine Poppo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Research has identified that one limitation of traditional mentoring occurs when there is a mismatch between the mentor and the protégé in work styles and personalities. Further, most of the literature on mentoring has not examined the informal mentoring that occurs between college students. Recent research has identified this type of peer mentoring as collaborative mentoring. The purpose of this study was to examine the role of interpersonal attraction in the development and success of collaborative mentoring relationships and to further examine which attraction dimension was the best predictor of the success of the relationship. Multiple regression analysis showed task …

Faculty Perceptions About Instructional Technology In Eight Community Colleges In The Tennessee Board Of Regents Higher Education System., Nicole Cardwell-Hampton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine faculty members' perception of the status of technology support and services, their attitudes towards the incorporation of technology in general and with specific applications, and the barriers they perceive to technology use. Additionally, the study focused on the association among the predictor variables of faculty members' gender, age, professional status, years of higher education teaching experience, and tenure versus nontenure status with their degree of technology use.

An online survey was designed to collect data to address the research questions in the study. The survey consisted of 44 questions, including areas for …

Adult Texting In Context : Exploring Norms For Mature Users Of Text-Messaging Technologies., Angela M. Barlow

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

An online survey exploring the patterns of adult text-message use was completed by 150 traditional college age young adults ages 18-24 and 171 adults ages 25-68. Because youth traditionally are among the first group to adopt new communication technologies, much research has been conducted among the adolescent and young adult population regarding the prevalence and importance of text-messaging; however, a research deficit exists regarding adult textmessage use. Data gathered from this survey were categorized and analyzed for emergent content regarding the use of text-messaging, what roll texting plays in adult's communication patterns, the sociological impact of text-messaging on survey respondents, …

Tea And Sympathy: The United States And The Sudan Civil War, 1985-2005., Peter William Klein

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The specters of violence and economic insecurity have haunted the Sudan since its independence in 1956. The United States Congress has held numerous hearings on the Sudan's civil war and U.S. television news outlets have reported on the conflict since 1983. While attempting to engage the Sudan in a viable peace process, the U.S. Congress has been beset by ineffectual Cold War paradigms and an inability to understand the complexities of the Sudan civil war. U.S. television news programs, on the other hand, engaged in a process of oversimplification, using false dichotomies to reduce the conflict into easily digestible pieces. …

Faith And News: A Quantitative Study Of The Relationship Between Religiosity And Tv News Exposure, Raquel Marvez

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between religiosity and broadcast news usage. This study examines the level of religiosity of individuals and its correlation to broadcast news exposure. The correlation between religiosity and perceptions of violence on broadcast news was also measured. Two theories were applied in this study. Uses and Gratifications asserts the active character of the audience to choose what they watch, how often, etc., and Selective Exposure defends the ability of the individual to select media that coincides with personal value systems. These two theories complement each other and provide support in the …

Monarch Cheers, Integration Whimpers, And A Loyalty Conflict: Kansas City Call's Coverage Of The Black Yankees, 1937-1955, Eric M. Eames

Theses and Dissertations

Already regarded as one of the top teams in Negro League baseball, the Kansas City Monarchs became known as a powerhouse unit in the 1930s and 40s. They rolled into towns with lights, amazing athletes, and competitive play. They won championship after championship during these years as Kansas City baseball fans strongly supported them. As they became an integral part of the city, the Monarchs' success, open-seating policy, and jazzy home openers fostered a large following of mixed-race fans. The local black newspaper, the Kansas City Call, held them up on a pedestal, while sportswriters for the mainstream Kansas City …

Manager Tools Podcast: A Study Of Podcasting's Effectiveness With Profit Potential, Quincy Frodesen Beal

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis seeks to understand further the effectiveness and profit potential of podcasting. The study combines the theories of uses and gratifications and subjective theory of value to create a model for podcasting's value. The model is put to the test using the Manager Tools podcast as the subject. Data suggest the three main drivers behind perceived podcast effectiveness are pleasure, habit, and information gathering. Relaxation proved to have a negative influence on perceived effectiveness. The audience's willingness to pay was determined by perceived effectiveness, scarcity, and habit. Though not a generalizable study, the conclusion discusses the findings' implications on …

Aristotle’S Contribution To Scholarly Communication, Stephen Edward Bales

Doctoral Dissertations

This historical study examines the Aristotelian foundations of the Library and Museum of Alexandria for the purpose of (1) understanding how the Library and Museum differed from preceding ancient Near Eastern information institutions (i.e., “protolibraries”) and (2) how Aristotle’s methodologies for producing scientific knowledge were carried out in Alexandria. While protolibraries served as safeguards for maintaining a static cultural/political “stream of tradition” and created, organized, and maintained “library” documents to this end, the Library of Alexandria was a tool for theoretical knowledge creation. The Library materialized Aristotelian pre-scientific theory, specifically dialectic, and served the scholarly community of the Museum …

Backpack Journalism In Television Newsgathering: Audience Perceptions Of Quality, Charles Wesley Gee

Doctoral Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to explore preferences by younger news audiences of backpack journalism in local television news. Local television news has to compete with Internet and other media to attract viewers. The theoretical foundation for this study, uses and gratifications, proposes audience members will actively seek news information using television as a primary source.

The focus of the study centered around technology’s influence on television newsgathering techniques and if the techniques delineated the quality of journalistic presentation. Four hundred and ninety three college students were surveyed about their media use, news gratification, and preferences of production quality …

How Mexican-American Women Define Health: Cultural Beliefs And Practices In A Non-Native Environment, Emma Kathleen Wright

Doctoral Dissertations

Culture impacts the ways people evaluate and respond to health and illness. As a result, Mexican-American culture plays a part in how women take care of their heath and react toward the threat of breast cancer. Using previously identified dominant cultural factors that may influence the health of Mexican-American women as a foundation, this qualitative study describes how Mexican-American women define and maintain health, particularly breast health.

Hispanics are the fastest growing minority group in the United States. As a result, it is important to better understand how Mexican-American women define health and take care of themselves. Doing so will …

No Sickness, No Need: A Qualitative Exploration Of Female Undergraduates‘ Health Message Perspectives, Cheryl A. Lambert

Doctoral Dissertations

College student health scholarship indicates a stark contrast between health impediments college students identify and the health information their respective campuses provide; campus health promotions often lacking personal relevance for college students, and health programs that utilize control-based strategies to compel behavior change. College student health scholarship also indicates a heavily positivistic research slant with little consideration given to humanistic, student-centric approaches. The purpose of this dissertation was to explore college student perspectives about health messages to enhance college student health communications, thus bridging the disciplines of public relations and college student health. Findings revealed that female undergraduates are proactive …

“Successful Communication In A Social Movement: A Case Study Of The Montgomery Bus Boycott, Felicia Mcghee-Hilt

Doctoral Dissertations

The Montgomery Bus Boycott was a social movement. It is often referred to as the first defining movement within the broader context of the Civil Rights Movement. Planned communication can be critical to the success of a social movement. This historical case study analyzed the communication that occurred during the 1955-1956 Montgomery Bus Boycott, a 381-day protest of the segregated bus system in Montgomery. The overall research questions addressed were: How was communication used during the boycott to inform and mobilize the participants? How did news organizations mediate and frame communication? How was the information about the boycott communicated among …

"George Bush Doesn't Care About Black People": Hip Hop, Public Discourse And Black Politics In The Early 21st Century, Hazel Bell James Cole

Dissertations

Recently, more scholars are examining hip hop as a powerful cultural, communicative force, yet hip hop's political orientation goes unnoticed. This study highlights the politics found in hip hop culture and in rap music since 2000 by exploring hip hop as a social movement. This study utilizes a critical, cultural approach by applying ideological case study and textual analyses methods. Song lyrics, activist efforts and black politics prove the political orientation of hip hop culture, which revealed that rap music in general is limited by capitalistic, hegemonic restraints juxtaposed to rappers serving as the legitimate voice of the marginalized and …

The Content And Role Of Web Sites In Public Relations Of Religious Congregations, Jerlen Young Nelson

Dissertations

This study presents an analysis of the content of Web sites belonging to local religious congregations. The study included a quantitative content analysis of the Web sites of 120 local congregations, which represented 12 different religious organizations. These religious organizations were all members of the Religious Communicators Council organization. Results of the study emphasized the basic content and functions of the Web sites. Overall, this study found that 43.3% of the Web sites were used for informational purposes only. For example, a few of the most prevalent variables on the Web sites were the general contact information, staff information, e-mail …

The Creation Of Real Magazine, Fallon Wilburn

Morehead State Theses and Dissertations

A thesis presented to the faculty of the Caudill College of Humanities at Morehead State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts by Fallon Wilburn in December of 2008.

The Influence Of Verbal Aggressiveness And Verbal Argumentativeness On College Student Leadership Styles, Jane Anne Mattina

Dissertations

The behaviors and styles of leaders have been studied for many years yet, the study of college study leaders has not been as prevalent. This study examined the possible relationships between the levels of verbal aggressiveness and verbal argumentativeness and college student leadership styles as described by the Student Leadership Practices Inventory (Kouzes & Posner 1995).

Using quantitative and qualitative approaches with multiple college student leadership groups at three different universities and community colleges, this study found that college student leaders are less verbally aggressive than student non-leaders, and are more verbally argumentative than student non-leaders. Furthermore, positive and negative …

Communication, Crisis, And Identity: Dialectical Tensions In Family Narratives About Hurricane Katrina, Laura Poole Rogers

Dissertations

In this study victims of Hurricane Katrina ordered their experiences with the crisis into meaningful themes which expressed their values, actions, inactions, occupations, needs and losses, and feelings. In interviews participants explained what happened, when it happened, how they responded, how they thought they should have responded, and how they handled situations surrounding the storm. Narratives about situations after the storm revealed descriptions of their and others' relationships in interactions with representatives of larger social units. The dialectical analysis revealed dialectical tensions that emphasized participants' dynamic and changing relationships and identities. Dialectical analysis of narratives about those relationships revealed dialectical …

Podcasting The Primaries: A Comparison Of The Washington Post’S Print And Podcast Coverage Of The 2008 Presidential Primaries, Billy J. Roberts

Masters Theses

Podcasting has become something of a buzzword in several different circles from education to entertainment. It is being used as a way to disseminate lectures at major universities. Government officials are using it to broadcast messages to their citizens. It is also a new venue for independent artists and Internet users to generate publicity and to express themselves creatively. Yet, very little research on podcasting has been published.

This thesis explores podcasting, and the differences between the print edition of a national newspaper, The Washington Post, and two of its podcasts by asking: How does the political coverage of …

Framing Anti-War Theatre: Public Perceptions Of Embedded, Jeremy Gordon

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Extending research of framing anti-war protest is framed in the public sphere, this study examines theatre critics' reviews and viewers' responses to Tim Robbins' anti-war play Embedded. My research examines how two groups of publics interpreted Embedded: (1) professional theatre reviewers and (2) a sample of Utah State University students. It is important to note that the majority of the students who participated in this study are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon), a consistently social and political conservative religious sect. Thus, how this specific group of viewers deciphered Embedded is of special …

A Comparison Of Us And Korean Consumers: A Cross-Cultural Study Of Brand-Related Ugc Found In Discussion Boards Of Product Review Sites, Hyuk Jun Cheong

Masters Theses

This study is a partial replication of Fong and Burton’s 2008 study. Fong and Burton (2008) conducted a cross-cultural study comparing Chinese and US Internet users in terms of willingness to engage in information-seeking and information-giving, utilizing Hofstede’s (1980; 1991) individualistic/collectivistic cultural dimension.

The current study examines cross-cultural differences in the use of UGC between US and Korean consumers by conducting a content analysis of the discussion boards of six digital camera review sites based in the US and Korea. It content-analyzes 1871 online postings on discussion boards of US-based and Korea-based product review sites.

The study adopts Hofstede’s (1980; …

A Cross-Cultural Comparison Of Corporate Social Responsibility Practices: America And China, Christine Carol Ray

Masters Theses

This study examines the cross-cultural similarities and differences of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) practices between leading America companies and leading Chinese companies. It pays particular attention to the why, what, how and where of CSR practices and discovers how these companies manage and localize their efforts through the comparison of corporate websites. Utilizing corporate websites to perform a content analysis, fifty of the top American Fortune 500 businesses were analyzed. The results from the fifty American Fortune 500 companies were then compared to twenty-three top Chinese Fortune 50 companies. The codebook elements that were used to compare CSR practices between …

Adaptation In Egyptian Television: The Perception And Impact Of Egyptian Sitcoms On Egyptian Youth: A Case Study, Sara El Nagar

Archived Theses and Dissertations

This thesis studies adaption in Egyptian television. Specifically studying how Egyptian youth perceive the idea of Arabizing sitcoms, what their preferences are in comparison to American sitcoms, and how successful do they see the experience of Arabizing American sitcoms. It also studied the impact of the Egyptian (Arabized) sitcoms on the behavior and lifestyle of Egyptian youth.

A non-probability purposive sample of 403 Egyptian youth was tested. The sample consisted of both males and females almost evenly distributed between both sexes and between all age groups. The sample was tested using a questionnaire.

Results of this study showed that Egyptian …

Film Families: The Portrayal Of The Family In Teen Films From 1980 To 2007, Caroline Clayton Clark

Theses and Dissertations

American adolescents watch an average of 3.5 hours of television and movies everyday; many attend more than one movie a month. Adolescents as a group watch more movies than any other group of the population, yet little research has been done on what is shown in teen movies. Adolescence is a time when values, beliefs, and opinions are formed and the media has been found to be a place that adolescents find information that can influence the construction of these identities. While there has been a vast amount of research looking at the family as portrayed on television shows, there …

From Suffragettes To Grandmothers: A Qualitative Textual Analysis Of Newspaper Coverage Of Five Female Politicians In Utah's Deseret News And Salt Lake Tribune, Holly M. Cox

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines press coverage in the Deseret News and Salt Lake Tribune of five female politicians in Utah history: Martha Hughes Cannon (1896), Reva Beck Bosone (1948), Karen Shepherd (1992), Enid Greene Waldholtz (1994), and Olene S. Walker (2003). A total of 438 articles were reviewed using qualitative textual analysis. Coverage by candidate varied, though it was not in general overtly biased concerning candidate gender. However, the press did call attention to the gender of candidate and gendered commentary was present. The press also called attention to the rarity of women running for high political office and addressed the …

E-Health And The Internet: Factors That Influence Doctors' Mediation Behaviors With Patients, Erin Robinson

Communication Theses

The Internet’s popularity as a health resource (also referred to as e-health) for patients is impacting the doctor-patient relationship and health care overall. Many patients now tend to look on the Internet for the information they seek in order to avoid the hassle of going to the doctor. It is important to investigate how the doctors themselves feel about this impact and see what factors influence their behaviors toward patients with regards to e-health. This study used mediation behavior theory and the theory of reasoned action to assess the relationship between doctors’ beliefs/attitudes and their subjective norms about e-health and …

Dialectical Relationships In Pre 9/11 And Post 9/11 White Supremacist Discourse, Abigail Smith Williams

Communication Theses

My thesis argues that a shift has taken place in white supremacist rhetoric post September 11, 2001. I focus on the pre-9/11 rhetoric of Jared Taylor, the post 9/11 rhetoric of Patrick Buchanan, and identify the attacks of September 11th as a catalytic event in the history of white supremacist rhetoric. Through careful rhetorical analysis, I identify the 9/11 shift as a shift in placement vis-à-vis the political mainstream.

Georgia Newspaper Coverage Discovering Conventional Practices Of The 'Cherokee Question': Prelude To The Removal, 1828-1832, James Hollister Hobgood, Jr.

Communication Theses

This thesis analyzes the specific journalistic conventional practices of newspapers in Georgia as they focused on the “Cherokee Question” in 1828-1832, the critical period during which the state considered the removal of the Cherokees from Georgia. The research compares news and opinion texts in five Georgia newspapers with news and opinion texts in the newspaper launched by the Cherokee nation in 1828,the Cherokee Phoenix. While the conventional practices in the white-owned press tended to legitimize removal, the Phoenix adopted some of the same conventions in order to defend and negotiate Cherokee culture and issues.

Contagion From Abroad: U.S. Press Framing Of Immigrants And Epidemics, 1891 To 1893, Harriet Moore

Communication Theses

This thesis examines press framing of immigrant issues and epidemics in newspapers and periodicals, 1891 to 1893. During these years, immigration policies became more restrictive because of the Immigration Act of 1891, the opening of Ellis Island in 1892, the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1892, the New York City epidemics of 1892, the National Quarantine Act of 1893, and the nativist movement. Framing theory guided the following research questions: 1) How did articles in newspapers and periodicals frame immigrants and immigration issues in the context of epidemics from 1891 and 1893?; and 2) How did the press framing of immigrants …

Mourning And Message: Martin Luther King Jr.'S 1968 Atlanta Funeral As An Image Event, Rebecca Poynor Burns

Communication Theses

The seven-and-a-half-hour series of funeral rites that occurred in Atlanta on April 9, 1968 in honor of assassinated civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. were broadcast live to 120 million U.S. television viewers and reported extensively in local and national newspapers and magazines. While King's April 4 assassination triggered deadly riots in more than 100 cities, Atlanta remained peaceful before and during the funeral. In this research thesis I explore how the funeral was leveraged by three disparate stakeholder group's King's family, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and Atlanta's liberal white leadership- to stage image events. I create a …