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Full-Text Articles in Communication

Restoration, Shannon M. Slaight-Brown Jan 2017

Restoration, Shannon M. Slaight-Brown

Theses and Dissertations

The marks I make in clay have different characteristics, and the physical mark of one’s fingertips or visual record of the hand is personal and intimate. This visible activity is the evidence of my constant presence and control within each object. Its repetitive meditation produces a private relief from my persistent anxieties. This exploration for me is not only visual, but also physical. This is the start of my infatuation with the idea of pattern. It has its own discrete visual language and modes of communication; and through my research I am developing a method of intercommunication.


A Rhetorical Analysis Of Catholic Feminism: Understanding Prophetic And Deliberative Responses To The Institutional Catholic Church, Mridula Mascarenhas May 2014

A Rhetorical Analysis Of Catholic Feminism: Understanding Prophetic And Deliberative Responses To The Institutional Catholic Church, Mridula Mascarenhas

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation contrasts the Catholic Church's rhetorical framing of feminist activism within the Church against the rhetoric of two organizations that speak on behalf of Catholic feminism. The study conceptualizes the engagement between the Church hierarchy and the feminists as a chorus of voices, each claiming to advocate for authentically Catholic principles. The rhetorical voice of each agent is analyzed to uncover underlying rhetorical strategies. The dissertation argues that although the Church establishment, through the use of the doctrinal voice, claims a contradiction between Catholicism and radical feminism, Catholic feminists attempt to dissolve the alleged contradiction with the use of …


The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints In National Periodicals, 1982-1990, Matthew E. Morrison Jan 2005

The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints In National Periodicals, 1982-1990, Matthew E. Morrison

Theses and Dissertations

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has continued to receive exposure in national periodicals. This thesis will explore that image from 1982 to 1990. During those years, the church continued to grow in membership and expand its existing programs.

National periodicals can assist in assessing the public image of the Church because they help "mould public attitudes by presenting facts and views on issues in exactly the same way at the same time throughout the entire country." In this manner, they help to form the public opinion about the Church. They also reflect existing opinions because magazine publishers …


An Analysis Of The Newspaper Coverage Of Latter-Day Saint Temples Announced Or Built Within The United States From October 1997 Through December 2004, Kevan L. Gurr Jan 2005

An Analysis Of The Newspaper Coverage Of Latter-Day Saint Temples Announced Or Built Within The United States From October 1997 Through December 2004, Kevan L. Gurr

Theses and Dissertations

President Gordon B. Hinckley, the fifteenth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, excited the membership of the Church by increasing the number of temples available to members. He announced that the Church would construct smaller buildings – as compared with existing temples at the time – thereby allowing for greater numbers of temples to be built. He set a goal to build 50 temples in a two and half-year period: double the number the Church had ever attempted to build in any decade. Thirty-four of these temples were built in the United States, and newspapers – …


The Longterm Effects Of Television Mediation On Lds Young Single Adults: An Exploratory Study, Jennia Parkin Jan 2004

The Longterm Effects Of Television Mediation On Lds Young Single Adults: An Exploratory Study, Jennia Parkin

Theses and Dissertations

This exploratory study examines what Latter-day Saint young single adults remember about their parents mediating the television and its use, and how those recollections contribute to their current attitudes and values toward the media, as well as their media choices. A stratified random sample of 267 LDS young single adults across the United States and outside the state of Utah responded to a cross sectional mail or online survey. The three mediation styles established by Valkenburg, Krcmar, Peeters, and Marseille (1999)—Restrictive, Instructive, and Coviewing—were used as the independent variables while scales assessing television offensiveness levels, attitudes, orientation, and usage were …


Latter-Day Saints In Popular National Periodicals 1970-1981, Adam H. Nielson Aug 2003

Latter-Day Saints In Popular National Periodicals 1970-1981, Adam H. Nielson

Theses and Dissertations

The public image of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is the product of several factors. This thesis investigates that image as presented in national periodicals from 1970 to 1981. During this time "Mormons" and "Mormonism" was a popular topic as the religion gained notoriety, and as an awareness of its peculiar beliefs and practices increased.

The rationale for using national magazines to assess public image is the assumption that they "reflect prevailing points of view" and help "formulate public opinion." Since popular attitudes are one of the factors that influence how the Church is accepted in the …


Motivations And Gratifications For Selecting A Niche Television Channel: Byu Television, Diena L. Simmons Jan 2002

Motivations And Gratifications For Selecting A Niche Television Channel: Byu Television, Diena L. Simmons

Theses and Dissertations

The growth of direct broadcast satellite television distribution to the home as a viable competitor to cable and terrestrial broadcast has fostered the availability of special interest or niche channels and therefore provided greater choice to the viewer. This study, based on uses and gratifications theory, examined the relationships among ritual and instrumental viewing motivations and satisfactions, viewer religiosity, and viewing attentiveness as they related to the selection of a niche television channel, Brigham Young University Television.
The uses and gratification approach provides an appropriate framework for studying "media consumption, the interrelated nature of television user motives, and the relationships …


"Woman Arise!": Political Work In The Writings Of Lu Dalton, Sheree Maxwell Bench Jan 2002

"Woman Arise!": Political Work In The Writings Of Lu Dalton, Sheree Maxwell Bench

Theses and Dissertations

In 1872, Mormon plural wife, educator, and suffragist Lucinda Lee Dalton began writing fiery political essays and insightful poetry for the Woman's Exponent from her small community in southern Utah. Through her writings Dalton endeavors to shape the opinions of Exponent readers by working within public discourse toward the goal of equality for women. At times both optimistic and troubled, she uses the rhetorical strategies of humor, irony, reason, identification, and persuasion to educate men and women on disparities and to encourage women to participate actively in their own emancipation. She often engages in a dialogical process with other writers …


Making Friends To Last A Lifetime: An Ethnographic Study Of Parasocial Relationships And Soap Opera Characters, Emmalee Elizabeth Haight Pryor Jan 2002

Making Friends To Last A Lifetime: An Ethnographic Study Of Parasocial Relationships And Soap Opera Characters, Emmalee Elizabeth Haight Pryor

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to build theory about parasocial relationships and to examine what affect, if any, religion had on parasocial relationships. Using qualitative methods, the researcher watched the show three times with five women followed by an in-depth interview. The women chosen were LDS stay-at-home moms who had watched a soap opera for at least a year.
From this data came several surprising findings about religion and soap opera viewing. The women said they did not feel guilty about the content of the shows, rather the time required to watch. This guilt was alleviated by structuring their …


Fame And Latter-Day Saint Youth: Value Conflicts And The Interpretive Audience, Shellie M. Frey Jan 2001

Fame And Latter-Day Saint Youth: Value Conflicts And The Interpretive Audience, Shellie M. Frey

Theses and Dissertations

Fame is a paradoxical issue: a phenomenon that is both embraced and shunned simultaneously in American culture and particularly within many religious institutions. Leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), for instance, discourage its members (particularly the youth) from seeking out fame as well as famous individuals as role models. Yet they also incorporate positive rhetoric about fame as well in terms of famous LDS people, landmarks or groups. Furthermore, various aspects of the LDS Church (worldwide televised conferences, widely distributed books written by Church leaders, etc.) are highly mediated, thus, integrated with a public venue …


The Influence Of Religiosity In The Construction Of Meaning From Advertising Messages Intended To Promote Lifestyle Values, Lillian Billing Jan 1999

The Influence Of Religiosity In The Construction Of Meaning From Advertising Messages Intended To Promote Lifestyle Values, Lillian Billing

Theses and Dissertations

Religiosity has largely been ignored by consumer research as a factor in the negotiation of meaning from magazine advertisements containing lifestyle messages. A meaning based study was undertaken to seek to identify its presence and emergence within a religious audience. A qualitative methodology employing in-depth, phenomenological interviewing was designed. Six members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, three men and three women, were invited to give their interpretations, thoughts, and feelings towards four magazine advertisements. A second in-depth phenomenological interview was conducted with each participant to provide individual lifeworld contexts. Analysis employed a previously tested conceptual construct, …


Family-Of-Origin Distress And Intimacy In Later-Life Couples, Paul James Birch Jan 1999

Family-Of-Origin Distress And Intimacy In Later-Life Couples, Paul James Birch

Theses and Dissertations

Married couples aged 55-98 were surveyed regarding their perceptions of family-of-origin distress, their affective communication and problem solving communication skills, and their emotional intimacy. Two 2-way ANOVAs were performed with husbands' (model 1) and wives' (model 2) emotional intimacy scores as dependent measures and family-of-origin distress scores as the independent measures. Then both models were re-analyzed with affective communication and problem solving communication entered as co-variates. Results suggested that for both husbands and wives, emotional intimacy was affected by family-of-origin distress. Additionally, intimacy was affected by the distress in their spouses' family-of-origin in both models. Post-hoc analyses suggested that as …


President Mrs. Kimball: A Rhetoric Of Words And Works, Janelle M. Higbee Jan 1998

President Mrs. Kimball: A Rhetoric Of Words And Works, Janelle M. Higbee

Theses and Dissertations

Scholars of rhetoric and speech communications have suggested that the study of a women's rhetoric should focus on the "distinctly female modes of leadership" that may be found among women in "out-groups" that challenge established political authority. Such leaders must be especially inventive to be effective, and are thus likely to be talented rhetoricians. In looking for such leaders, the religious and political rhetoric of early Latter-day Saint women provides a noteworthy, unique study. Nineteenth-century Mormon women not only battled discriminatory political norms—arguing fervently for both universal woman's suffrage and for the freedom to practice polygamy—they did so from their …


The Influence Of Out-Group Network Ties On The Television Usage And Attitudes Of Mormon Women, Lois D. Brown Jan 1997

The Influence Of Out-Group Network Ties On The Television Usage And Attitudes Of Mormon Women, Lois D. Brown

Theses and Dissertations

Analysis of survey data collected from more than 400 LDS women (n=429) indicates that as the number of non-LDS or inactive LDS network associates increases, so does the women's identification with modern female TV characters. The frequency of network conversations about television also correlates to several television behaviors and attitudes such as watching entertainment and informational TV programming, identifying with modern characters, and regarding TV as useful. Mirroring the national trend, LDS women who are more educated use television less. A model is presented which details the flow and impact of personal network influence on the television habits and attitudes …


A Qualitative Study Of Interpretive Communities Among Lds Women, Oleah Clegg Jan 1995

A Qualitative Study Of Interpretive Communities Among Lds Women, Oleah Clegg

Theses and Dissertations

Recent studies have shown that a number of researchers have turned to the concept of the interpretive community to explain how audiences interpret the media within the context of their everyday experiences (Biocca, 1989; Gunter, 1989; Lindlof, 1989, 1992; Radway, 1984; Schrøder, 1994). D. A. Stout (1993) conducted a study that discovered three interpretive communities among LDS women who watch television, establishing that interpretive communities do exist among religious media audiences.

In 1994, K. Schrøder showed that the interpretive community can be further understood by taking a "social semiotic" approach to analyzing interpretive community members' social interaction with other communities. …


Wendell J. Ashton: Advocate, Publisher, Civic Leader, Val L. Peterson Jan 1994

Wendell J. Ashton: Advocate, Publisher, Civic Leader, Val L. Peterson

Theses and Dissertations

Wendell J. Ashton has been described as a pacesetter in the communications field in the Intermountain West. He was a trailblazer in public relations in the early days of his career at Gillham Advertising. His life has been filled with challenges such as publisher of the Deseret News, director of the LDS Church Communications Department, principal in Gillham Advertising, and various civic and community activities.

Ashton's communications career was one of innovator and pioneer as he helped forge the public relations industry in the Intermountain West. His career has followed in the footsteps of many other professionals such as …


Pornography And Premarital Sexual Activity Among Lds Teenagers, Mark A. Harris Jan 1994

Pornography And Premarital Sexual Activity Among Lds Teenagers, Mark A. Harris

Theses and Dissertations

This study investigates the relationship between several independent measures and premarital sexual activity among 1,393 LDS teenagers living along the east coast. Results indicate that among these LDS teens, exposure to pornography is strongly and significantly related to the probability of having engaged in premarital sex. This holds true even when controlling for peer influence, family structure, religiosity, gender, and age. Teens who were exposed to pornography (1 to 24 exposures) are 2.6 times more likely to have engaged in sex as compared to those who report no exposure to pornography. Furthermore, those teens exposed to a higher amount of …


Measuring Press Release Placement From Brigham Young University's Public Communications Office To Utah's Newspapers, Gregory T. Kunde Jan 1993

Measuring Press Release Placement From Brigham Young University's Public Communications Office To Utah's Newspapers, Gregory T. Kunde

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is a replication of a study conducted at Oklahoma State University in 1986. This study measures the percentage of Brigham Young University press releases published in Utah newspapers during a four month period in 1989. The results of the two studies are analyzed and compared.

Additionally, personal interviews were conducted with thirty Utah newspaper editors to help determine any additional factors that may affect publishing decisions among Utah's newspaper editors.


Age, Gender, And Religious Differences In Moral Perspective, Samuel L. Clay Jan 1990

Age, Gender, And Religious Differences In Moral Perspective, Samuel L. Clay

Theses and Dissertations

An investigation was conducted to see if age and gender are related to a preference for a caring versus a justice morality. The World View Questionnaire with 40 word pairs was used to measure a preference for a caring morality. It was found that there was a significant gender difference in the caring score, with the females scoring higher than the males. There also was a significant religious difference in the caring score with religious and especially Mormon subjects scoring higher than non-religious subjects. There was not, however, a significant age difference as was predicted.


Competitive Fire: An Historical Descriptive Analysis Of Adherence To Traditional Journalistic Tenets In Television News Coverage Of The Mark Hofmann Salt Lake City Bombings, B. William Silcock Jan 1989

Competitive Fire: An Historical Descriptive Analysis Of Adherence To Traditional Journalistic Tenets In Television News Coverage Of The Mark Hofmann Salt Lake City Bombings, B. William Silcock

Theses and Dissertations

Television news contains factors of time constraints and deadlines that add pressures to the underlying rules of objectivity, fairness, and bias. This study seeks to determine if the elements of "responsible journalism" dissipate in television news coverage of a highly significant, developing news story. In other words, how well do the rules hold up under pressure? The momentous story selected for observation was the Mark Hofmann bombings in Salt Lake City, Utah. The focus centered on the coverage by local stations rather than the network television news operations.


The Public Speaking Of John Taylor: Champion Of Liberty, Larry D. Anderson Jan 1986

The Public Speaking Of John Taylor: Champion Of Liberty, Larry D. Anderson

Theses and Dissertations

The speaking of John Taylor influenced the lives of Latter-day Saints for five decades. He delivered between two and three thousand addresses. In those addresses he promulgated a diversity of principles concerning the kingdom of God. This study focused on Taylor's ideas regarding liberty. Those ideas were often found in Taylor's speaking between 1857 and 1867. It was a time of threatened liberties for the people he lead. His speeches during those years played a significant part in swaying politcal and military efforts, as well as bolstering Mormon determination.

This study found that Taylor's ideas of liberty are based largely …


A Descriptive Analysis Of The Current Status Of Paid Religious Broadcasting On National Television, Wayne R. Bills Jan 1984

A Descriptive Analysis Of The Current Status Of Paid Religious Broadcasting On National Television, Wayne R. Bills

Theses and Dissertations

In examining the use of paid television by various evangelical organizations (the "Electronic Church") as contrasted with its use by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS), several important differences were discovered. First, the programs of the electronic church are usually designed much like a normal Sunday service with a "preacher" and "congregation" (the T.V. viewers). The LDS approach has been to communicate religious principles through the use of a story. Their productions are attractive to a large audience because they often feature a well-known television or motion picture celebrity, and are aired during prime-time viewing hours.

The …


Belle S. Spafford: Leader Of Women, Gayle Morby Chandler Jan 1983

Belle S. Spafford: Leader Of Women, Gayle Morby Chandler

Theses and Dissertations

This historical/descriptive study analyzes the speaking career of Belle S. Spafford and attempts to document the relationship between her speaking and her influence with her peers. For over fifty years, the dedicated woman served as a spokesman for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the National Council of Women, briding the gap between the secular and religious world of women. A rhetorical analysis of four speeches indicates the following findings: Mrs. Spafford appealed to her audiences through a focus on shared values; she had credibility because of her positions of authority and used it wisely; she effectively …


A History Of The Development And Objectives Of The Lds Church News Section Of The Deseret News, Paul T. Roberts Jan 1983

A History Of The Development And Objectives Of The Lds Church News Section Of The Deseret News, Paul T. Roberts

Theses and Dissertations

The Church News supplement to the Deseret News has been part of the Salt Lake City newspaper for over fifty years. It has evolved from a weekly eight-page tabloid religious section of the daily newspaper to a weekly magazine of feature articles, photographs, editorials and news of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
An historical study of the Church News has not been done previously. Hence, the intent of this study is to observe how the Church News has served its purposes and goals over its history. The study briefly outlines how the publication has developed and will …


An Analysis Of The Speaking Style Of Heber C. Kimball: Mormon Leader, James Francis O'Connor Jan 1978

An Analysis Of The Speaking Style Of Heber C. Kimball: Mormon Leader, James Francis O'Connor

Theses and Dissertations

The primary function of this thesis was to determine, through the analysis of three randomly selected speeches, the speaking style of Heber C. Kimball. The selected speeches were presented in three different utah locations, and they covered a span of nine years (1856-65). All three speeches were presented to a Mormon audience and were religious in nature.

Seven elements of style have been used for the analysis of the three speeches. They are: accuracy, clarity, propriety, economy, force, striking quality, and liveliness. It was determined that President Kimball's speaking style was weak in the areas of accuracy and clarity. In …


The Public Relations Practices Of Directors Of Institutes Of Religion Of The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints In California, 1974-75, Ronald Charl Louw Jan 1976

The Public Relations Practices Of Directors Of Institutes Of Religion Of The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints In California, 1974-75, Ronald Charl Louw

Theses and Dissertations

Seventy-five directors of the Institutes of Religion of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in California, responded to a questionnaire regarding their public relations' practices. Institute directors with formal training in public relations utilized more practices, an average of 30.4, than directors without formal training who used an average of 26.9 practices. Institute directors in different locations (divisions) did not differ in the average number of practices used. Seventeen percent of the directors had structured public relations' programs. Directors emphasized more frequently public relations practices relating to priesthood leaders (72 percent) and students (67 percent) than practices relating …


An Analysis Of The Immediate And Long-Range Implications Of Three Speeches Delivered By J. Reuben Clark, Jr., David Earl Buchanan Jan 1976

An Analysis Of The Immediate And Long-Range Implications Of Three Speeches Delivered By J. Reuben Clark, Jr., David Earl Buchanan

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to provide an analysis of the immediate and long-range implications of three speeches: (1) August 8,1938, (2) September 19, 1952, and (3) September 19, 1956, which J. Reuben Clark, Jr. delivered during the annual Pre-School Faculty Conference at Brigham Young University. The speeches were analyzed and compared to determine the goals and charges given and to determine whether there was carry-over from speech to speech.

The significant findings included: (1) The LDS Church school system is to be manned only by those individuals who have strong, undeviating testimonies of a living Savior, of the …


Basic Principles Of Orally Communicating The Gospel As Found In The Doctrine And Covenants, Reed Amussen Benson Jan 1975

Basic Principles Of Orally Communicating The Gospel As Found In The Doctrine And Covenants, Reed Amussen Benson

Theses and Dissertations

In view of the large lay ministry of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who are called upon to preach and teach the gospel, this study was undertaken to see if the latter-day volume of scripture, the Doctrine and Covenants, revealed basic principles associated with the oral communication of the gospel.

These principles became evident through the frequency that they were mentioned and the emphasis they received. They were (1) righteousness, in particular diligence, humility and meekness, prayer and fasting; (2) knowledge; (3) authority; (4) the right means of communicating; (5) the correct message--with the gospel, testimony, and …


A Q-Sort Comparison Between Cultural Expectations Of Chinese And Cultural Perceptions Of Returned Latter-Day Saint Missionaries From The United States Who Had Been Assigned To Chinese Missions, Gary G. Y. Chu Jan 1974

A Q-Sort Comparison Between Cultural Expectations Of Chinese And Cultural Perceptions Of Returned Latter-Day Saint Missionaries From The United States Who Had Been Assigned To Chinese Missions, Gary G. Y. Chu

Theses and Dissertations

This project was designed to generate information relative to a specific intercultural communication situation, especially directed toward diversity between cultural expectation and performance in the following areas: first, Chinese expectation of American Latter-day Saint missionaries' performance in Chinese contexts; and second, performance of the missionaries, as reflected by their knowledge of proper conduct in Chinese contexts at the end of their missions.

Using Q-card sorting procedures and t-test analysis, an analytically developed instrument consisting of seventy statements grouped in six behavior categories was applied in the specific areas. Twenty-nine of the seventy statements showed significant diversity. Four of the hypothesized …


An Analysis Of Visual Religious Symbols Appearing In The Improvement Era, Ensign, And New Era Published By The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints From 1952-1972, Carl Landus Christensen Jan 1974

An Analysis Of Visual Religious Symbols Appearing In The Improvement Era, Ensign, And New Era Published By The Church Of Jesus Christ Of Latter-Day Saints From 1952-1972, Carl Landus Christensen

Theses and Dissertations

This study analyzes the appearance of eighty visual religious symbols in the Improvement Era, Ensign, and New Era, published by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1952-1972. The study notes their frequency and distribution as well as noting their size, the medium used to render them and the correlation of their religious meanings to the articles they illustrate.

The findings of this study indicate that visual religious symbols are used and that many of them have a high degree of correlation to the articles they illustrate.

This study gives suggestions to those artists who …