Digital Commons Network^™

The Status Of Public Relations In Russia., Inga Lvovna Ragozina

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study explores the status of public relations in the fledgling democratic Russian Federation. The purpose was to determine: whether public relations practitioners in Russia practice Grunig and Hunt's (1984) press agentry, public information, two-way asymmetrical, and two-way symmetrical models of public relations; how public relations has contributed to the political and economic transformation in Russia; and how the former communist propaganda has affected contemporary public relations.

Telephone interviews were conducted with 10 Russian public relations practitioners. The findings revealed that the 4 models of public relations are practiced in Russia; communist propaganda affected contemporary public relations; and, the field …

Sixth-, Seventh-, And Eighth-Grade Students' Experiences With The Internet And Their Internet Safety Knowledge., Tonya Berrier

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

According to a 2002 National Center for Education Statistics report, 98% of schools in 2001 were connected to the Internet and 63% of public classrooms had Internet connections. According to a 2003 United States Census Bureau report, 68.3% of homes with children subscribed to the Internet. These statistics reveal the scope of access children have to the Internet. This study focused on the children's voice by investigating the children's report of their online activities and their awareness of cyber security, ethics, and safety issues. The purpose of this study was to gain insight into the specific reported online activities and …

Current Public Relations Status In China., Fang Meng

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study is to explore the status of public relations in China. It examines if J. Grunig and Hunt's (1994) four models of public relations-press agentry, public information, two-way asymmetrical, and two-way symmetrical-are practiced by Chinese public relations practitioners and if there are additional patterns of practicing public relations in China. It is a qualitative study. Long interviews with 10 participants were conducted to learn about the phenomenon of public relations in China. The interviews were based on one-to-one chat via the Microsoft Messenger software online. The data were collected using open-end questions that allowed the participants to provide in-depth …

From Teacher To Teller: How Applied Storytelling Informs Autobiographical Instruction., Peggy Rosann Kent

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis uses autobiographical inquiry to "re-member" how I came to understand that applied storytelling was a valid teaching tool in facilitating autobiographical expression in mature learners. It is an examination of how story sharing and story listening can transform a continuing education classroom into a learning community. Applied storytelling can help elders reframe their negative mental models about the value of their stories, memory, and mythology and create opportunities for positive story sharing experiences. I selected highlights of my journey that best represented my experience and use of applied storytelling techniques. Each chapter includes an exercise and reflection as …

Cinema, Race, And Justice: A Qualitative Analysis Of Selected Themes., Katherine Clay Thompson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to examine 7 different crime and justice films and provide a content analysis incorporating restorative justice and peacemaking perspectives. The 7 films examined in this study included 12 Angry Men, A Family Thing, American History X, American Me, Crash, Shawshank Redemption, and Traffic. The researcher examined the films and used content analysis to examine the behaviors and actions of the characters. The films were examined using 5 different analytical themes: "embracing change", "second chances", "hope", "connectedness", and "becoming more human". The current study found the 7 films …

A Media Analysis Of Racism And Ethnocentrism Issues Framed In Us And European Mass Media Within The Setting Of The 2006 Fifa World Cup Competition., Monica Nastase

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The present exploratory study, framed in agenda-setting theory, analyzes the way European and US newspapers frame racism and ethnocentrism issues, on the background of the 2006 FIFA World Cup. By combining quantitative and qualitative methods, 2 research hypotheses and 9 research questions were explored. The results showed the distribution of articles that used a positive frame and the ones that used a negative frame was relatively equal across geographical regions.

The US media have shown as the most ethnocentric nationality the Spanish, while the European media, the Scottish. There is an agreement across different geographical regions that the French and …

Employee Use Of The Internet And Acceptable Use Policies In The Academic Workplace: Controlling Abuse While Creating Culture., B.J. King

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The use of the Internet has grown substantially, especially since the late 1990s. Businesses are relying increasingly on the Internet and intranet as tools to promote productivity. Use of the Internet has several implications for institutions of higher education. Some of the issues institutions are faced with include legal liability for defamatory postings and sexually explicit materials, monitoring versus privacy, motivations to abuse Internet privileges, and use of the Internet to create a corporate culture. Institutions of higher education need to consider how the Internet is being used and how it should be used when acceptable use policies are being …

A Study Of How Four Black Newspapers Covered The U.S. Masters Tournament 1994 Through 2001., Mark James Sharman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The intent of this thesis is to discuss the manner in which four black newspapers covered the U.S. Masters Tournament, hosted annually at the Augusta National Golf Club, Georgia, from 1994 through 2001. The four black newspapers include two from the North, the New Pittsburgh Courier and the Chicago Defender, and two from the South, the Atlanta Voice and the Birmingham Times. It is my contention that U.S. Masters coverage in the aforementioned black papers is dependent upon the presence of Tiger Woods. Without Woods' participation at the Masters, coverage of the event would be diminished in the …

Touching Is Good: An Eidetic Phenomenology Of Interface, Interobjectivity, And Interaction In Nintendo's "Animal Crossing: Wild World", Bryan G. Behrenshausen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Situating video games and the meaningful practice of playing video games for future study by the discipline of communication, this eidetic phenomenology centers the focus of such inquiry at the site of the body. As video game studies have heretofore largely ignored or presupposed a bifurcation between player and video game, a phenomenology is likewise crucial to investigating the lived experience of video gaming as an embodied activity by theoretically eschewing such subject/object distinctions and methodologically generating genuinely new, heuristic spaces for thinking about this phenomenon. In particular, the existential phenomenology of Maurice Merleau-Ponty, which emphasizes the body as necessarily …

The Public Spectacle Of Italian Masculinity: Nonverbal Display Of Gender Identity, Gino Perrotte

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Italian masculine identity is examined by looking at the following influences: history and structure of Italian society, the public places used for the performance and the culture surrounding the display of masculinity. This research uses an approach similar to an ethnography of communication. Initial data and ideas were gathered through observational fieldwork and interviews that took take place in Italy during July 2006 and July 2007. A methods section describes interviews that later took place with Americans in order to compare and contrast responses with ones previously collected from Italians. The data gathered from these interviews will be used to …

Underprivileged Black Americans: The Aftermath Of King Cotton, Patience Bryant

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

It has been criticized that the present economic state of Black Americans is a reflection of their history stemming from slavery. Diana Pearce's Feminization of Poverty Theory discusses the idea that the ever-rising number of underprivileged Black Americans is due to the fact that there exists a rise in female headed households. The researcher constructed and analyzed several concepts that fall under the Feminization of Poverty Theory: education, employment, family, and social class. For the analysis the study used the documentary Lalee's Kin: The Legacy of Cotton. Results show that each of the categories are approximately equal in proportion under …

Gender Portrayal In J.K. Rowling's “Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix”: A Feminist Rhetorical Criticism, Nicole Ackman

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This study examined J.K. Rowling’s (2003) novel entitled, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Although this novel has not yet been classified as a fairy tale, it does contain fairy tale elements. This study reviewed literature in the field of folklore, fairy tales, and feminism. Foss’ (2004) four-step feminist criticism model was employed to analyze gender portrayals in the novel. According to Foss’ model, the novel was analyzed for masculine or feminine perspectives of the world, effects on the audience, improvement of women’s lives, and impact on rhetorical theory. Although Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix …

Perceived Influence Of The Portrayal Of Women In Beauty And Fashion Magazines On Body Image, Melissa Shrader

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This investigation examines how women perceive that magazines influence the body image of self and others. Seventeen audio-taped in-depth interviews were conducted with college women who read beauty, fashion, and grooming magazines frequently. These interviews were transcribed, coded, and analyzed and the data developed into topics of importance. The findings indicated that informants perceived other women were influenced more by images of women in the media than they themselves were influenced. However, informants did not advocate behavior changes for others or hold pro-censorship attitudes. Other findings include favorable perceptions of magazines utilizing larger sized fashion models, negative attitudes towards advertising, …

Kaho'olawe:A Case Study Of A Movement And The Media In Reclaiming A Hawaiian Island, Danielle Pedro

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The reclaiming of land can provide for heated controversy between communities. The controversy at the outset may seem simple, but is actually quite complex involving hegemonic factors such as social, political, and economic influence. One such factor is the media. This research examines media coverage via framing in a battle between the United States Navy and the Hawaiian people to claim ownership of a Hawaiian island named Kaho'olawe. This research analyzes 519 newspaper articles from two Hawaiian newspapers--The Honolulu Star Bulletin and The Honolulu Advertiser--over a seven-year period. Six framing devices--advocate, economic, environment, Hawaiian, military, and political--are devised and implemented. …