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Articles 1 - 15 of 15

Full-Text Articles in Interpersonal and Small Group Communication

Does A Sender’S And Recipient’S Relationship Influence Readers’ Interpretation Of Message Tone?, Allison Arp Aug 2022

Does A Sender’S And Recipient’S Relationship Influence Readers’ Interpretation Of Message Tone?, Allison Arp

Masters Theses, 2020-current

Given the importance of computer-mediated communication (CMC) and the uniqueness of the cues that have meaning in this environment, research is warranted to investigate how the relationship between the people communicating via CMC might impact the way the message and cues are interpreted. This study aims to investigate whether different inherent levels of authority and familiarity between a message sender and recipient affect how email tone is interpreted. Previous studies demonstrate that when individuals communicate with authority figures, they employ different strategies than when communicating with peers. Furthermore, individuals adapt their behavior to mimic the interactants behavior, which in turn …


Yet It Was Good Of You To Share In My Troubles: An Autoethnographic Study Of A Mother-Daughter Relationship Experienced Through A Wounded Body, Kathleen Smith May 2022

Yet It Was Good Of You To Share In My Troubles: An Autoethnographic Study Of A Mother-Daughter Relationship Experienced Through A Wounded Body, Kathleen Smith

Masters Theses, 2020-current

This thesis is an embodied autoethnography that examines my experiences of accepting and coming-to-terms with my relationship with my mother through my chronic illness. Utilizing creative vignettes and short personal stories, throughout this autoethnographic thesis project I shine light to my lived experiences as a daughter in a Catholic household, diagnosed with chronic illness in adulthood. I use narrative theorizing to understand how the stories I tell in this thesis create meaning in my relationship with my mother. Through personal narratives I explore themes of autonomy and connection within a mother-daughter relationship, illness narratives and illness as a turning point, …


Understanding Motivations To Attend Various Sized Churches: A Study Using Family Communication Patterns, Expectancy Violations, And Anxiety To Predict Church Attendance, Molly Bradshaw May 2021

Understanding Motivations To Attend Various Sized Churches: A Study Using Family Communication Patterns, Expectancy Violations, And Anxiety To Predict Church Attendance, Molly Bradshaw

Masters Theses, 2020-current

Two separate studies were conducted to examine whether communication variables impact religious views and church attendance. For the first study, 228 students from a large Southeastern university completed a web survey. The second study was a web survey of 204 adults that was conducted via Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTURK). Both surveys were sent out to determine one’s motivations to attend a small, medium, or large church using family communication, anxiety, expectations, and religion variables as predictors. Family communication, anxiety, and expectancy variables were positively correlated to many aspects of religious views. Hierarchical regression models utilizing demographics, family communication, anxiety, expectancy …


Young, Gifted, And Black: A Narrative Of Persistence Of Black Women In Academia, Zelda Tackey May 2020

Young, Gifted, And Black: A Narrative Of Persistence Of Black Women In Academia, Zelda Tackey

Masters Theses, 2020-current

The purpose of this thesis is to explore the storied experiences of Black women at predominantly white institutions (PWI) of higher education. I adopt a phronetic iterative approach to the qualitative analysis of interviewed Black women to explore how the image of a Strong Black Woman mediates a storied understanding to microaggressions, invisibility and racial battle fatigue. I present that survivor narratives typically employed to explain Black women’s encounters on the PWI are ill-suited for interpreting their experiences of campus life, and that the storying of persistence may be more insightful for generating an understanding of a Black womanhood that …


An Exploration Of Student Athletes Perception On The Athletic Trainer/Coach Relationship, Nikki Owens May 2020

An Exploration Of Student Athletes Perception On The Athletic Trainer/Coach Relationship, Nikki Owens

Masters Theses, 2020-current

The goal of this study was to explore how the athletic trainer and coach relationship impacts the social support provided to Division I intercollegiate student—athletes. Through a qualitative-case study design, eleven participants were recruited and interviewed for the study. Criterion for inclusion included all NCAA sports at the university. This included males and females in various years of school and sport. After the completion of data analysis, four main themes were developed. These themes included social support, positive impact, negative impact, and unforeseen findings. Seven of the eleven student—athletes reported feeling that there was a direct relationship between the athletic …


Indigenous Language Revival: The Wôpanâak Language Reclamation Project As A Case Study In Indigenous Identity, Representation, And Place-Based Knowledge, Kyle Woodward May 2018

Indigenous Language Revival: The Wôpanâak Language Reclamation Project As A Case Study In Indigenous Identity, Representation, And Place-Based Knowledge, Kyle Woodward

James Madison Undergraduate Research Journal (JMURJ)

Indigenous societies face issues related to cultural preservation, representation, and declining autonomy in resource and land management. For most indigenous groups, native languages serve as the medium through which culturally unique identities are expressed, and allow a highly contextualized environmental knowledge base to be passed down intergenerationally. Native language preservation therefore facilitates the overall survivability of an indigenous group’s culture, traditions, and collective knowledge. Unfortunately, many indigenous languages today are in danger of extinction or have already been lost. The Wôpanâak Language Reclamation Project serves as a prominent example of native language revival in the United States. Wampanoag progress in …


"Expanding That Story": How Nonprofit Leaders Portray The Populations They Serve, Sarah Koth May 2018

"Expanding That Story": How Nonprofit Leaders Portray The Populations They Serve, Sarah Koth

James Madison Undergraduate Research Journal (JMURJ)

This paper examines how nonprofit leaders talk about the populations they serve, specifically financially disadvantaged populations in food pantries and homeless shelters. Previous literature exploring the nonprofit sector considers volunteers and their experiences, although leaders set the tone for the organization’s language, and ultimately the quality of service. Five nonprofit organization leaders from different organizations participated in semi-structured, in-depth interviews that lasted between 36 to 72 minutes. Questions inquired about their average workweek, their contact with clients and volunteers, and how they break stigmas about their clientele. Findings suggest that nonprofit leaders consider their clients as individual cases, and their …


“Taking The Power Away”: An Autoethnographic Exploration Of Intimate Partner Violence, Social Support, And Survivorship, Darrian Pickett May 2018

“Taking The Power Away”: An Autoethnographic Exploration Of Intimate Partner Violence, Social Support, And Survivorship, Darrian Pickett

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

This thesis is an autoethnographic exploration of my experience with same-sex intimate partner violence, the development of the abusive relationship itself, my journey to escape the abusive relationship, and the comfort that I found among my social networks after the abusive relationship ended. First, I provide a brief overview of intimate partner violence. Second, I describe autoethnographic methodology and my rationale for using narrative inquiry as a way to make sense of my experiences and to offer a concrete portrait into the lived experience of interpersonal violence and survivorship. In the narratives, I describe my experiences as a pastor’s kid, …


The Birds And The Bees: The Impact Of Parent-Child Communication On Adolescent Sexual Health, Hannah Adams Apr 2018

The Birds And The Bees: The Impact Of Parent-Child Communication On Adolescent Sexual Health, Hannah Adams

James Madison Undergraduate Research Journal (JMURJ)

Having “the talk” with children can be difficult and uncomfortable. However, recent behavioral research indicates that having this conversation, and having it often, is important for raising sexually healthy adolescents. This paper provides an overview of the literature surrounding the role of parent-adolescent communication in the development of sexually healthy young adults, including benefits for LGBTQIA+ youth. The findings suggest that non-judgmental parental communication can encourage condom use, delay initiation of intercourse, and reduce mental health issues arising from a perceived lack of support for sexual choices.


What Is My Role In This Situation? A White Girl’S Perspective In Ferguson, Mo, Samantha N. Shepherd Apr 2018

What Is My Role In This Situation? A White Girl’S Perspective In Ferguson, Mo, Samantha N. Shepherd

VA Engage Journal

This paper is a self-reflection about white privilege after a service experience in Ferguson, Missouri in 2015. The paper draws on excerpts from a journal kept during the service experience in Ferguson and juxtaposes them with scholarship and news articles about privilege and the Black Lives Matter Movement.


Girls Are Us: A Collection Of Oral Histories From The Jmu Community, Anne M. Sherman May 2017

Girls Are Us: A Collection Of Oral Histories From The Jmu Community, Anne M. Sherman

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

On a campus where women make up a majority of the student population, it is especially important that female voices are heard and given a platform on which they can control their own narrative. I wanted to give those female-identifying voices that platform. I conducted a series of interviews to examine how college-aged female-identifying students feel about their identity and how they construct that identity within the climate of the JMU community. I was particularly interested in the intersections of gender, race, ethnicity, class, sexual preference, and ability. I asked each person to share their stories of times when they …


Relationship Between Sibling Jealousy And Jealousy In Romantic Relationships, Andrea C. Toscano, Harrison J. Seaborn, Matthew G. Webb, Olivia C. Rose, Eliana Joy Huffman May 2017

Relationship Between Sibling Jealousy And Jealousy In Romantic Relationships, Andrea C. Toscano, Harrison J. Seaborn, Matthew G. Webb, Olivia C. Rose, Eliana Joy Huffman

SCOM Undergraduate Research Conference

Research examining whether or not there is a relationship between sibling jealousy and jealousy in romantic relationships.


"Debate: Millennials Don't Stand A Chance" Devised, Documentary And Immersive Theatre: The Story Of Everymillennial, Sean R. Byrne May 2015

"Debate: Millennials Don't Stand A Chance" Devised, Documentary And Immersive Theatre: The Story Of Everymillennial, Sean R. Byrne

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

This thesis aims to discover how communitas can be created through theatrical performances by blurring the line between audience and performer as well as performer and character. The topic of the Millennial generation is used as a thematic element in performance to emphasize the creation of community. A theatrical form will be introduced, called the “Living Biography:” a method of devising based on devising, documentary, and immersive theatre. This form will be shown as one possible option in creating communitas in a performance. While other forms of audience inclusion are frequently used, it will be argued that the “Living Biography” …


Making Sense Of Mediation: The Intersection Of Critical Event Narratives At A Community Conflict Resolution Center, Eric Dirth May 2015

Making Sense Of Mediation: The Intersection Of Critical Event Narratives At A Community Conflict Resolution Center, Eric Dirth

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

This research investigated the unique narratives of one community mediation center’s stakeholders to illuminate the interconnectedness of the center’s stakeholders and the role critical events play in their retrospective sensemaking. A qualitative study, employing an autoethnographic and narrative analysis, was conducted at a local mediation center over a period of six months to explore the communicative interactions involved in the stakeholders’ tellings and retellings of stories of significant change. Results offered a rich understanding of the significant moments taking place at the community mediation center and the communicative triggers of these critical event experiences. Critical event triggers included: accelerated learning, …


Breaking Down Walls, Building Cross-Cultural Relationships, Jonathan H. Bukowski Jan 2015

Breaking Down Walls, Building Cross-Cultural Relationships, Jonathan H. Bukowski

VA Engage Journal

Challenges for young men and women entering the workforce upon college graduation are dauntingly intimidating. Major forces driving against success are very often connected to miscommunication, inter-cultural differences, and misperceptions about contrasting values and beliefs. A very simple and exciting way to learn and build strategies for overcoming these obstacles is choosing to study abroad during college. However, I argue that one should go a step further and make the courageous choice to volunteer while abroad. Not only will students build confidence in their ability to minimize cultural conflicts and issues, but they will also uncover the true cultural norms …