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

Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons™

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

Communication

Minnesota State University, Mankato

Theses/Dissertations

2016

Articles 1 - 8 of 8

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Queer Stories Of Coming Out In The 21st Century, Bradley Wolfe Jan 2016

Queer Stories Of Coming Out In The 21st Century, Bradley Wolfe

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Queer Stories of Coming Out in the 21st Century was written by Bradley Wolfe for his Communication Studies master’s capstone project. The research was conducted at Minnesota State University, Mankato during the 2015-2016 school year. The research problem was to analyze the relevance of the Cass Model of queer identity development in a cultural environment which has shifted greatly since its origination. 10 semi-structured interviews were conducted to understand what aspects of the model still held true and if other models better describe the identity development process for queer individuals. The research found the Cass Model was not correlating with …

Go to article

Intervention E-Mails And Retention: How E-Mails Tailored To Personality Impact An Undergraduate Student's Decision To Return To School Or Not, John Kelly Heffernon Jan 2016

Intervention E-Mails And Retention: How E-Mails Tailored To Personality Impact An Undergraduate Student's Decision To Return To School Or Not, John Kelly Heffernon

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Universities and colleges constantly face a costly problem: low student retention rates. One potential solution to low student retention is a personality-tailored e-mail intervention. The researcher tested this idea with a sample of 59 first-year students from Minnesota State University, Mankato. Participants took a personality assessment in order to measure their personality trait of sociability. Then participants were split into an experimental group and a control group based on a matched-sample paradigm that ensured sociability was not significantly different between the two groups. Participants in the experimental group received four different intervention e-mails throughout the course of the 2015 fall …

Go to article

The Impact Of Pornography On The Genital Body Image And Sexual Self-Efficacy Of Female College Students, Monica Elizondo Jan 2016

The Impact Of Pornography On The Genital Body Image And Sexual Self-Efficacy Of Female College Students, Monica Elizondo

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Given its accessibility and growth in the past decade, internet pornography appears to be influencing the sexual scripts of young adults. That is, sexual expectations and behaviors are likely to be impacted by the consumption of online sexually explicit material. Pornography research documents more harmful effects (e.g., lower body image) in women viewing pornography compared to men (Albright, 2008). This experimental study aimed to explore the effects exposure to online sexually explicit material would have on the genital body image and sexual self-efficacy of 90 college women randomly assigned to three exposure conditions. Results indicated that group membership did not …

Go to article

An Investigation Into Native And Non Native English Speaking Instructors' Assessment Of University Esl Student's Oral Presentation, Rubaiyat Jabeen Jan 2016

An Investigation Into Native And Non Native English Speaking Instructors' Assessment Of University Esl Student's Oral Presentation, Rubaiyat Jabeen

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This thesis aims to conduct a mix-methods investigation into native English-speaking teachers (NESTs) and non-native English-speaking teachers (NNESTs) assessment of university level English as a second language (ESL) student's oral presentation. To collect data for this study, all faculty members and instructors currently teaching in at the departments of English and Communication Studies at Minnesota State University, Mankato (MNSU) were invited to participate in an online survey using Qualtrics Survey Software (Qualtrics). After receiving email invitations, altogether 31 people provided their consent to participate. Among the 31 teacher-participants, there were 19 NESTs and 12 NNESTs. The participants then took part …

Go to article

Physical Challenges In Forensics: An Autoethnography Advocating For Accommodations On Behalf Of Speakers With Physical Challenges In Competitive Speech Environments, Elise Mccauley Row Jan 2016

Physical Challenges In Forensics: An Autoethnography Advocating For Accommodations On Behalf Of Speakers With Physical Challenges In Competitive Speech Environments, Elise Mccauley Row

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The realm of competitive forensics is filled with challenges including written and unwritten rules and norms, multiple categories with different guidelines for each, a distinct culture only people intimately connected with the activity can navigate without conscious effort, and a basic knowledge of the ever-changing world of communication. For competitors who struggle with physical disabilities, the challenges are beyond daunting. Using the method of autoethnography, this paper investigates how students with physical challenges can successfully participate through accommodation and how speech coaches can advocate for their physically-disabled speakers and request and implement the best accommodations.

Go to article

The Relationship Between College Students' Use Of Facebook And Their Feelings Of Alienation From Their Institution, Oleksandr Komarenko Jan 2016

The Relationship Between College Students' Use Of Facebook And Their Feelings Of Alienation From Their Institution, Oleksandr Komarenko

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Today's college students are digital natives who have grown up using technology, such as social network systems (SNSs). SNS use, and specific behavior patterns, have been linked to a variety of psychological and social outcomes. The sense of disconnection from a student's institution, known as alienation, is one significant factor that can be detrimental to students' social and academic experience and performance in college (Gordon, 1998; Loo & Rolison, 1986; Suen, 1983). This study explores the association between Facebook relationship maintenance behaviors (FRMB; Ellison, Vitak, Gray, & Lampe, 2014) and alienation from their university, and whether FRMBs and alienation are …

Go to article

Every(Day) Identities In Forensics: Performing Identities Within The Constraints Of Intercollegiate Forensics, Julie Louceil Germain Walker Jan 2016

Every(Day) Identities In Forensics: Performing Identities Within The Constraints Of Intercollegiate Forensics, Julie Louceil Germain Walker

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Goffman's (1959) dramaturgical theory of identity provides a framework for making sense of complicated, mundane identity performances. Through in-depth interviews and focus groups conducted with intercollegiate forensic co-culture members, the current research builds on Goffman's dramaturgical theory of identity. Crystallization-based analysis showed identity performances are situated within one another like Russian matroyshka (nesting) dolls. Co-cultural expectations produce multi-level professionalism expectations, and overlapping co-cultures mean individuals manage conflicting conventions. Implications are offered for the forensics community, other co-cultures, and identity scholars.

Go to article

Actitud De Los Ciudadanos Andaluces En Cuanto Al Empleo Del Dialecto Andaluz En Los Medios De Comunicación Audiovisuales, Victoriano Pimentel Rivas Jan 2016

Actitud De Los Ciudadanos Andaluces En Cuanto Al Empleo Del Dialecto Andaluz En Los Medios De Comunicación Audiovisuales, Victoriano Pimentel Rivas

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This study presents regulations and linguistic awareness respecting the use of Andalusian dialect on television, radio, and cinema among others to provide a full description of the subject. The qualitative method will reveal aspects more fine-grained through data collection of the different habits and reactions of participants with TV, radio, internet or another audiovisual platform. For example, this research concludes, among other factors, that young Andalusians are more in contact with their dialect than older ones. Empirical and statistical data reflects that the young individual is open to different audiovisual platforms apart from TV and radio. Finally, this thesis leads …

Go to article