Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Sponge Theory: Introducing A New Interpersonal Communication Theory, Ben Brandley

Shared Knowledge Conference

Abstract Law enforcement is an extremely stressful career. In exploration of the influence of career stress on law enforcement officers’ relationships, data was collected from eighteen in-depth interviews and ninety hours of participant observation with American peace officers. The results of this research found that while all of the officers admitted to the omnipresent nature of their career stress, the majority of them repeatedly devalued the impact of present or potential detriments caused by that stress. For example, they often invalidated emotions through jadedness and dark humor, challenged the stance that their organizational culture is harmful (e.g. many officers undermined …

The Critical Need For Mental Health Education To Be Mandated In New Mexico's Public Schools, Bonnie L. Murphy

Shared Knowledge Conference

Based on a review of research and best practices in mental health awareness and skills, this inquiry project argues for state legislative policies that would require mental health awareness and skills in the K-12 curriculum. Mental health affects individual accomplishments in every stage of people’s lives beginning in early childhood and throughout the life cycle. Prevention and treatment of mental illness plays a key role in the ability of an individual to cope with loss and develop resiliency and perseverance in challenging times and to make better decisions that improve the individual’s life and the lives of those around them. …

Purposeful Processes: Strategizing Resilience With Communication, Matthew Charles Higgins

Shared Knowledge Conference

Statement of Problem: Eating disorders have been described as an epidemic and the “modern psychopathology of our culture” (Granek, 2007). Between 2 and 4% of the US population is affected by eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. Eating disorders are a pervasive issue with only 10% of reported diagnoses coming from men (Granek, 2007). While there is a lack of research regarding the experiences of eating disorders in men, there is also a lack of research regarding the recovery process as well. The purpose of this study is to share lived-experiences of male anorexia as well as …

Translating Global Nature: Territoriality, Environmental Discourses, And Ecocultural Identities, José R. Castro-Sotomayor

Communication ETDs

In this study, I explore environmental discourses circulating among Indigenous transboundary organizations working on environmental initiatives at the border between Ecuador and Colombia. I focus on three global environmental discourses –sustainability, development, and climate change– as they are at the core of the global environmental governance vernacular. La Gran Familia Awá Binacional (GFAB), one of the few transboundary Indigenous organizations working along the binational border, utilizes these global concepts to frame their environmental initiatives and projects. I use a critical and interpretive qualitative approach to investigate, deconstruct, and rearticulate global environmental discourses circulating among and translated by two of the …

Ya No Tengo Vecinos: Local Understandings Of Neighborhood Change In Cusco, Peru, Kalyn Finnell

Architecture and Planning ETDs

This thesis involves the San Blas neighborhood in the Historic Center of Cusco, Peru. It aims to better understand local effects of the changes that San Blas has undergone since the 1990s and to explore possibilities related to improving the qualities of life of long-term residents (vecinos) who have lived in San Blas for at least two generations. It has two principal objectives: 1) Make recommendations to present to various public and private entities who have a presence and influence over the San Blas neighborhood to improve the likelihood that vecino demands are heard, 2) Illuminate the ways that vecinos …

International News Agencies In The Era Of Global Communications: Cctv’S Contra-Flow And The Factors That Influence U.S. Media’S Selection Of News About China, Huan Ran

Communication ETDs

This research aimed to measure the initial perceptions of CCTV+ among U.S. journalists in 2011, a moment that marked the launch of CCTV News Content or CCTV+, a global news service by CCTV. The research was based on an analysis of surveys (n=572) with managers and directors of U.S. news agencies. Survey data collected was complemented with analysis of qualitative data from open-ended interview questions to explore how ideological factors influence U.S. journalists’ selection of news through CCTV+. The research found that the most important attributes of news coverage in U.S. journalists’ decision-making to use a foreign TV news service …

Kenyan Youths’ Experiences Of Intercultural Conflict: Negotiating Context, Intersectionalities, And Agency, Lindsay Scott

Communication ETDs

Kenya is faced with a myriad of intercultural conflicts that impact youth. This study shifts attention to eleven diverse Kenyan youth leaders, to understand how they experience and respond to conflict. To collect data, I facilitated a conflict transformation and peacebuilding workshop in Meru, Kenya. I analyzed participants' written reflections and workshop discussions using a critical textual analysis. Participants identified contextual structures, such as tribalism, politics, economics, and patriarchy as enabling and constraining conflict. I also found that accounting for intersectional subject positions is important during intercultural conflict because how participants are positioned influences their capacity to respond to conflict …

A Church’S Approach To Intercultural Communication Encounters In Short-Term Missions, Carolotta Anweiler

Communication ETDs

The prevalence of short-term mission trips by churches and/or faith-based organizations has increased tremendously (Howell & Door, 2007, Anaheier & Themudo, 2005). However, no research has been completed on the training offered to in preparation for these types of trips, specifically, training for intercultural trips. I joined a church on their short-term mission experience to examine as a participant observer how they were trained to interact with people of another cultural group and then, how the training affected the interactions on the trip.

Through the use of Grounded Theory, I examined the discourse used in the trainings offered and throughout …

Negotiating Culture In Africa: A Critical Analysis Of Organizational Discourse In Ghana, Eric Karikari

Communication ETDs

Organizational culture is a concept that is theoretically contested, particularly within critical approaches to communication. However, it is a highly crucial area of research which has symbolic and material implications for individuals, organizations and communities. This study contributes to the conversation about how organizational culture is constituted by interrogating the forces at play in this constitution. One of such forces is neoliberalism, which operates by subsuming all organizational practices under the umbrella of market value. The study takes a cultural materialist approach to organizational culture through the analysis of discourse at the National Communications Authority (NCA) in Ghana.

The NCA …

Realidades Culturales De Argentina: Demystifying (Trans)National Ideologies In Study Abroad Curriculum, Matthew Hoeg

Communication ETDs

The study focused on discourses in a study abroad textbook titled Realidades Culturales de Argentina which was designed for students from the United States studying abroad in Argentina. The aim was to understand what educational texts in (trans)national spaces such as study abroad programs, are expecting of students in relation to communicative practices that extend beyond language learning. The study used a critical discourse analysis approach to deconstruct first the expectations of the students and second how these expectations worked in the (re)construction of (trans)national ideologies. Examining four recurring discursive practices in the textbook demonstrated that students were expected to …

(Lie)Alectics And The Discursive Dequeerification Of Political Spaces Based On Religious Freedoms: A Critical Rhetorical Analysis Of The Mormon And Gay Website, Myra N. Roberts

Communication ETDs

Over the past decade, sexual orientation and identity has increasingly been added to state and federal anti-discrimination laws, prompting a rhetorical situation by the Christian Right in attempts to exempt themselves from upholding anti-discrimination laws pertaining to sexual identity and orientation. This study analyzes the Mormon and Gay website—a website dedicated to advancing the position of the Mormon Church on issues of non-heterosexuality. Utilizing rhetorical textual analysis, I develop two theoretical frameworks: (lie)alectics and dequeerification to demonstrate how the discourse under examination attempts to appear non-homophobic while maintaining homophobic church doctrine. I argue that this model stands to influence the …

Fresa Style In Mexico: Sociolinguistic Stereotypes And The Variability Of Social Meanings, Rebeca Martinez Gomez

Linguistics ETDs

This dissertation examines the flexibility in the social meanings of sociolinguistic stereotypes and how linguistic and non-linguistic information affect these meanings. The investigation consists of four empirical studies surrounding the case of fresas in Mexico –members of the upper class that are perceived as using a unique linguistic style.

Study 1 investigates the linguistic and non-linguistic characteristics associated with the fresa stereotype. Through a qualitative analysis of 64 webpages and 3 performances of the style, it is shown that fresasare perceived as the counterpart of another construct, nacos,and that their linguistic style is linked to English due to …

The Fight For Historical Representation And Accuracy: Statues Of The Confederacy, Ashley R. Koger

2018 Award Winners

No abstract provided.