Communication Commons^™

The Role Of Translation In Multilingual User Experience, Tetyana Zhyvotovska

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Examining the intersections of technical communication, user experience, and translation, this study focused on the contexts of a user experience (UX) research center as a site where these intersections occurred and on practices of multilingual users while encountering translated information. In order to explore translation practices in relation to UX and cover the gap in understanding multilingual UX, the study examined how multilingual users worked with translated content, how they acted and reacted to it, and what they experienced during this process. Based on the existing scholarship in translation and usability studies in technical communication, this Dissertation undertook empirical research …

The Rhetorical Mediator: Understanding Agency In Indigenous Translation And Interpretation Through Indigenous Approaches To Ux, Nora Karina Rivera

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

In 2018, I became involved in a collaborative community-based project to co-organize an event with the purpose of collecting resources to help in the professionalization efforts of Indigenous translators and interpreters. Drawing on Indigenous and decolonial theories, this interdisciplinary study examines the work done during this event through a user experience (UX) research lens that analyzes the various ways in which Technical and Professional Communication (TPC) and Translation and Interpreting Studies (TIS) can better support Indigenous language practices. The colonization of the Americas brought a layer of issues that continue to affect the way in which Indigenous communities conduct their …

Graduate School Application Accessibility For International Students, Estefania Castillo

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The graduate school application is a time consuming, yet important, process that can often be complicated for students. However, this process is made even more complicated for international students who often face extra steps and other obstacles when applying to graduate programs in the US. Following my own experience of applying to a master's program as an international student, I set out to further explore how international students experienced and navigated this process. This research project explored the graduate school application process through the experiences of international students that were shared in testimonios through platicas, or open and friendly conversations. …

The Female Nature: Representations Of Motherhood And Nature In Dystopian Films, Veronica Andrea Martinez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This study will explore female representation and conceptualization of nature in dystopian narratives by examining dystopian films. The study is guided by film theory and ecofeminism to investigate themes of domination of both nature and women. The main goal is to examine the structure, themes, dialogue, and visuals in the films to explore the underlying essence of dystopian narratives and examine roles of reproduction and motherhood of female characters. The study contributes to previous studies on female and nature representation in media.

The Rhetoric Of Low Carbon Energy Technology Scientists And Engineers, Nicolas Cesar Hernandez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Scholars in the burgeoning field of Energy Communication have successfully contributed to communication studies and environmental communication practice. However, energy communication scholars have largely focused on energy of media coverage, corporate communication and decision making in the context crisis. While rich and informative, this tendency has left quotidian aspects of energy communication rather understudied. As such, this Thesis contributes to the understanding of the internal, non-untechnical rhetoric of low carbon energy technology (LCET) scientists and engineers (herein LCET professionals). Textual analysis was used to examine LCET professionals' internal rhetoric at professional trade conferences and through long form, semi-structured interviews. Wind …

Technological Literacy Across Disciplines: Examining Graduate Instructors' Experiences, Sidouane Patcha Lum

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This dissertation critically examines graduate instructors’ technological literacy across disciplines in a four-year university, in order to explore avenues through which their challenges teaching with classroom technologies can be met. It also investigates the possibility that non- resident instructors and resident instructors’ difference in cultural orientations (patterns, norms and ways of doing) influence instructors’ ability to use technology for their specific functions. For this purpose, Multi (modal) literacy theories and the TPACK framework (technological, pedagogical and content, knowledge) are used as theoretical underpinnings which foster a better understanding of instructors’ technological literacy, while grounded theory developed by Glaser and Strauss …

Literacies Of The Disaster Zone: New Media Genres And Participatory Rhetorics After The 2010 Gulf Of Mexico Oil Spill, R. J. Lambert

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

On April 20, 2010, explosions at the British Petroleum (BP) Macondo Project in the Gulf of Mexico initiated what would become the world's largest accidental release of oil into the ocean. This ecological disaster, a unique combination of natural and human causes, is one of many significant traumas over approximately the last two decades that various stakeholders have documented, participated in, and responded to largely through the expanding and increasingly ubiquitous media of the internet, computers, cell phones, and other networked communicative technologies, which both enable and constrain the variety of responses to traumatic events.

This Dissertation improves our understanding …

Perceptions On Collaborative Writing: Exploring Student And Instructor Perceptions Of Collaborative Writing Practices In Professional Communication, Levi Ray Martin

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This research study focuses on the perceptions of collaborative writing held by undergraduate students enrolled in professional writing course at The University of Texas at El Paso. Working with current scholarship surrounding effective collaborative writing practices as well as Achievement Goal Theory (AGT), the author observed two different courses of professional writing. Three types of data were collected: 1. survey responses from participants at the beginning-of and end-of the course; 2. interviews with participants at the end of the semester; and 3. classroom observations. The range of data collected provided similar and different perceptions held by the student participants. The …

The Creation Of The Border Crisis: How The Media Influenced The Situation At The U.S./Mexico Border In 2014, Alejandra Baron

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

In 2014, thousands of women and children from Central America trekked across Mexico to reach the United States border in hopes of seeking asylum. As oppose to previous immigration surges, it was the first time that this amount of asylum seekers had reached within a short period of time the border. The media in the United States took an important role in describing the occurrences at the U.S./Mexico border in the rhetoric and dialect used. The polarization of the audience mimicked the partisan government that could not agree on a solution and left the situation at the border in a …

Examining Perceptions On Women's Issues Including Intersectionality Of Class, Misogyny, And Stereotypes Of Mexican And Latin American Women Within The Telenovela La Reina Del Sur, Donna Garcia Sianez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

In many cultures dominated by a patriarchal society, the media have had their influence on how women's issues such as intersectionality of class, misogyny and stereotypes are perceived. One particular medium is telenovelas which are a popular form of entertainment among Latino/a viewers. Therefore, this analysis is based on perceptions in the roles of women through La Reina Del Sur, a popular telenovela, and how it relates to Mexican and Latin American cultural norms.

The Ball's In Her Court: Communicating Gender And Sexual Identity In Today's Wnba, Jose Maldonado

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Prior research has demonstrated certain societal issues that impact not only female basketball players, but all female athletes on more of a larger scale than just participating in sport. With social media rapidly becoming a popular form of communication today, and the dilemma of these women being analyzed for something other than their basketball prowess, it is important that certain communication strategies in a mediated environment be further researched. Using textual analysis, three of the WNBA's most popular players will be examined to determine if there are significant themes and differences that confirm the previously established gender norms, along with …

New Black Boxes: Technologically Mediated Intercultural Rhetorical Encounters On The U.S.-Mexico Border, Beau Scott Pihlaja

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Activity theory (AT) and actor-network theory (ANT) as theoretical frameworks begin their analysis of the world with the concept of "actors" engaged in activity towards some objective and with other actors in the human and non-human world. In this project, I use AT and ANT to analyze the mediating effect of communication technologies in intercultural rhetorical contexts, in this case a binational small business, and address two questions: 1.) How do common communication technologies (email, phone, IM chat, texting applications) define and transform intercultural rhetorical encounters? And 2.) How do individuals rhetorically engage perceived cultural others using common communication technologies …

The Effects Of Sign On Speech Segmentation In Infants, Alma Rosa Acosta

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Introduction: The ability to extract words from fluent speech (speech segmentation), perhaps one of the greatest obscure achievements for the purpose of learning language, is dependent upon imperceptible endeavors. Remarkably, infants are active participants from the moment they are born, using auditory and visual information to assist them segmenting speech. As motivated parents attempt to use baby sign to bridge communication gaps, visual information in the form of baby sign may benefit children in extracting words from speech. To examine the effects of baby sign on speech segmentation, a systematic replication of the Hollich et al. (2005) study, a within-subject …

Parental Perception On The Impact Of Continued Use Of Baby Sign On Stress And Parent-Child Interaction: Follow-Up Survey One Year Post Hoc Of A Baby Sign Workshop, Brenda G. Compean

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Introduction: Past research has indicated that teaching baby sign language to infants can be stressful for parents. Thus, a previous study to test this assertion was conducted. A baby sign workshop was conducted and consisted of teaching the parents approximately 200 signs and information on implementation. Results indicated that parents did not report stress as a result of using baby sign with their children. The current case study administered a modified version of the baby sign workshop survey one year post hoc. Purpose: To observe continued use of baby sign, as well as parental perception of the impact of baby …

Gauging The Alignment Between School And Work: An Activity Theory Analysis Of Police Report Writing Instruction, Marianna R. Hendricks

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This Dissertation is based on a fifteen-month study of police report writing instruction at one agency, connecting the curriculum at the training academy, field training, and the needs and expectations of multiple report audiences and users. It draws from Rhetorical Genre Studies (Miller, 1984; Russell, 2009), Activity Theory (Engeström, 2008), and Situated Learning (Lave and Wenger, 1991; Dias, Freedman, Medway, and Paré, 1999) to explore how novices learn a new genre through activity, and how this is complicated by a transition between school and work outside of a university context. Specifically, it focuses on the role of andragogical (rather than …

Practicing Philosophical Pluralism With `Forrest Gump' A Speech-Act Body-Mind Analysis, Robert Lorenzo Oropeza

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This essay looks at three different types of philosophy: Pragmatism and communication, phenomenology and Zen Buddhism. I discuss these philosophies using the film, Forrest Gump as a guide to get through the convoluted ideas and make the concepts easier to understand. We first wade through the waters of analytical philosophy and the language game in communication. We discuss speaker's intention in meaning according to Paul Grice and Forrest's problems with the implicatures of language. In the second chapter I focus on the phenomenology of the characters as well as the perspective of the person viewing the film. How do we …

Que No Te Eduque La Rosa De Guadalupe - Stereotypes In Telenovelas, Ana Gomez

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Gender-based discrimination and gender-based violence prevail in cultures where sexism and violence are usual. According to feminist organizations our best solution is education from an early age. However, in places where means of formal education are scarce, we may turn to alternative solutions such as television. Television has been examined in multiple studies for its role in the formation of gender, and other type of stereotypes. But also it has been considered a useful tool in challenging traditional notions about gender and in helping to promote social change. For this reason, a textual analysis was conducted on La Rosa de …

Secondhand City: Stolen Stories From La Limonada, Byron José Sun

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Roboton, Jupa and Calicas have just been drafted by the city of La Limonada to petrol, to rob, to intimidate, to extort, to kill and when necessary to protect those citizens that need it; as their crime spree progresses their tactics and abilities improve shaping them into criminal machines. The three new criminals will be tasked with the reality of destroying people's lives in order to insure La Limonada maintains its dominion over every citizen by controlling every aspect of their past, present and future. Many of those citizens are clueless on how they are controlled; it isn't until their …

Todas Las Muertes De Lázaro, Diego Murcia

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

TODAS LAS MUERTES DE LÁZARO es una novela negra que habla de corrupción, ansias de poder, ambición y decepción. En este libro, el tema de la muerte es una excusa para hablar de todo un paí­s, El Salvador, y sus contradicciones a través del cinismo, el humor y el escepticismo. Su personaje principal, El Pí­tbul, es una representación del desamparo generalizado que el ciudadano común tiene de las instituciones del Estado. Este detective se embarca -por orden presidencial- en una búsqueda misteriosa que le requiere dar con un amo del disfraz. A medida que el investigador se interna en los …

The Impact Of Interpersonal Communication On Breastfeeding, Jennifer Alarcon

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The medical community has offered a lot of evidence in support of breastfeeding which has led to many of the leading medical associations (i.e. the American Academy of Pediatrics, World Health Organization) to recommend breastfeeding infants exclusively for the first six months of life and for at least a full year, up to two years or whatever is mutually desirable to mother and child. However, in the United States, many mothers do not follow this recommendation. Research shows that instances of women being unable to breastfeed exist but are minimal. Many people have attempted to address the problem of low …

Acculturation Effects On Preference For English And Spanish-Language Tv Commercials Among Hispanic Audiences Of Mexican Descent, John Burton

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The growth of the U.S. Hispanic population and its purchasing power over the past twenty years continues to be monitored closely by corporate interests anxious to gain market share and brand loyalty of the segment that now represents the largest minority group in the country. Marketers continue to look for competitive advantages in effectively communicating targeted messages to Hispanics in order to increase revenues and profits.

This study focused on the historically dominant mass-reach medium of television and explored concepts of acculturation theory to examine the effects of acculturation sub-dimensions on TV commercial language preference and attitudes among Hispanic audiences …

This Is The Art Form: Examining Concept Albums' Methods Of Constructing Meaning In The Digital Age, Mario Alonzo Dozal

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

This study examined how the communicative characteristics of concept albums (music albums that center on a specific theme) have been adapted from a traditional physical form to exist in the digital age. Using three rock concept albums, this study examined how three different formats (vinyl, audio compact disc, and digital download) of the same concept album communicated the overall theme of the album to listeners, and also examined the advantages and disadvantages of each format. Additionally, using discursive analysis, this study sought to expand the academic literature on concept albums by examining the role that supplementary material plays in helping …

Androgyny And Musical Identity: Glitz, Glamour, And Everything In Between, Tanya Yvette Flores

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Discourse of androgyny and how it functions and how it is constructed will be central to analyzing how it is utilized in popular music and how artists, particularly androgynous artists, use it to complicate their expression of identities. Androgyny is described as a mixing of both male and female genders, where there can be distinct lack of coherent gender identification. Androgyny has been revealed as an identity that neither men nor women are born with, but embody through time. It is important to illustrate a growing recognition of androgynous artists to offer us an opportunity to glimpse the spectacular evolvement …

The New Mexican Migration: Remembering Violence, Connecting, And Living In The Third Space, Uriel G. Posada

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The concept of identity has become a topic of discussion in the last few decades, especially with the growing immigration across several countries. Countries such as the United States and Canada are receiving people who arrive from different parts of the world and who are changing the composition of these countries. In this thesis I explore how a group of Mexican journalists are adjusting their identity as they live in countries outside of Mexico. Five of the journalists are now living in the United States, and one of them is in Canada. They were forced to leave Mexico after they …

Adios, Cuba, Zita Arocha

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Memoir about a family's immigration from Cuba to the United States in the late 1950's, and how exile from native country is like the Buddhist state of bardo, an in-between condition and transition between life and death.

Fan Commitment And Its Transformation Into Communitas Through The Process Of Proxemic Exchange, Arthur Alexander Aguirre

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Live performances are comprised of various elements that scholars have utilized to understand the artist-fan relationship as well as the relationship among the fans themselves. In this study, I look at fandom in independent, or “indie” music and utilize my findings to creation a foundation for the understanding of fan commitment. I then argue that when a fan of a particular artist attends a live performance by that artist, they inherently engage in a proxemic exchange with the artist as well as the fans around them. This proxemic exchange is driven by fan commitment and facilitates the creation of communitas …

Swimming In Static, Sahalie Saecker Hashim

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

In this novel, two young adults exist simultaneously in separate worlds. Torn apart by perception, culture, and socioeconomic differences, these individuals come to learn what it means to see the world, and understand one another through extraordinary experiences.

Hybrid Interactive Rhetorical Engagements In Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (Mmorpgs): Examining The Role Of Rhetors And Audiences In Generative Rhetorical Discourses, Yowei Kang

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

The dissertation explores the emerging rhetorical practices in Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games (MMORPGs) in general and World of Warcraft (WoW) game in particular. The study applies Kenneth Burke's rhetorical theories and concepts to examine the persuasive processes employed by both game designers and players at various stages of their gameplay experiences. The author argues that the analysis of these interactive rhetorical discourses during gameplay helps rhetorical scholars to understand the emerging rhetorical practices where the rhetors and the audiences collaborate to co-generate their hybrid intensive rhetorical engagement (H.I.R.E.).

On the basis of the gaming sessions captured by the researcher …

Phronesis Through Praxis: Cultivating The Habit Of A Rhetorical Disposition In Positive Deviance Action Research, Lucia Dura

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Positive deviance is an asset-based, community-driven, problem-solving approach to social change premised on the idea that in every community there are certain individuals or groups whose uncommon behaviors and strategies enable them to find better solutions to problems than their peers, while having access to the same resources and facing similar or worse challenges (www.positivedeviance.org). Positive deviance has been used in over 40 countries to address issues as diverse as productivity in the workplace, infection and disease prevention, education, and child trafficking. This dissertation situates positive deviance within the areas of social change and change studies in the discipline of …

Department Of History Newsletter, Department Of History

Department of History

E-newsletter of the UTEP Department of History.