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Full-Text Articles in Speech and Rhetorical Studies

Explaining Associations Between Relational Turbulence, Communal Coping, Stressors, And Relational Satisfaction During Military Reunions: At-Home Partners' Perspectives, Jennifer Sue Owlett Oct 2014

Explaining Associations Between Relational Turbulence, Communal Coping, Stressors, And Relational Satisfaction During Military Reunions: At-Home Partners' Perspectives, Jennifer Sue Owlett

Open Access Dissertations

The current study examined how 179 romantic partners of U.S. service members perceived that they and their service members experienced the reintegration transition following a recent deployment. The relational turbulence model (Solomon & Knobloch, 2004) and the theoretical model of communal coping (TMCC; Afifi, Hutchinson, & Krouse, 2006) were used to frame this study. These frameworks had not been previously joined in this context. A revised communal coping measure was constructed to examine 17 hypotheses and 8 research questions because of challenges with the construct and external validity in prior measures. Participants completed an online questionnaire that assessed their perceptions …


La Leche League, The Media, And The Nursing Mother: A Broader Perspective On Persona Theory, Erin F Doss Oct 2014

La Leche League, The Media, And The Nursing Mother: A Broader Perspective On Persona Theory, Erin F Doss

Open Access Dissertations

This dissertation builds on current breastfeeding-related scholarship by suggesting that the lived experiences of nursing mothers could be effective arguments for initial and continued breastfeeding. To do this, I analyzed archival materials related to La Leche League, specifically League newsletters, and media articles from publications across the United States to determine how the "nursing mother" functioned as a persona throughout the second half of the twentieth century. First, in my analysis of League newsletters I theorized a new category of personae, the constitutive persona, which includes personae used by a collective to attract new members and provide them with language …


Dismantling The Great Wall Of Prejudice: A Look At Centrality And Issue Importance In The Perpetuation Of Influence And Prejudice Reduction, Zachary Robert Wittrock Jul 2014

Dismantling The Great Wall Of Prejudice: A Look At Centrality And Issue Importance In The Perpetuation Of Influence And Prejudice Reduction, Zachary Robert Wittrock

Open Access Theses

This study sought to utilize social network analysis to better understand how prejudice reduction can be spread from one person to another via interpersonal influence. Different types of prejudice reducing interventions were combined into one intervention. The role of centrality in the spread and perpetuation of influence was examined by measuring prejudice reduction in socially connected individuals who did not undergo the direct intervention. To further understand the role of centrality in prejudice reduction, the concept of issue importance was included to understand the differential impact that centrality has on interpersonal influence. Study 1 examined the effectiveness of the intervention, …


More Than A Game: Examining Sensemaking And Self-Organisation In Alternate Reality Games, Yeo Yun Ting Alanna Jul 2014

More Than A Game: Examining Sensemaking And Self-Organisation In Alternate Reality Games, Yeo Yun Ting Alanna

Open Access Theses

Alternate Reality Games (ARGs) are an emerging brand of online role-playing games, immersive and highly interactive. This new genre of games pioneered an effective and efficient form of collective play and problem-solving in loosely-defined situations, showcasing powerful and efficient sensemaking and self-organization at work. I intend to study an ARG titled "We Are Earthborne" in order to understand the processes of communication, sensemaking, and selforganization that occurs in the course of an ARG. Using the structure of Weick's organizational sensemaking and Latour's Actor-Network Theory as a lens, this study intends to break down how distributed groups of people can come …


The Rhetorical Constitution Of Online Community: Identification And Constitutive Rhetoric In The Community Of Reddit, Bradley Stephen Ludwig Jul 2014

The Rhetorical Constitution Of Online Community: Identification And Constitutive Rhetoric In The Community Of Reddit, Bradley Stephen Ludwig

Open Access Theses

The concepts of online identity and online community within the context of social media have been major research interests in the field of communication in recent years. Questions of interest include how the Internet and social media contribute to the construction of identity both online and offline, and what factors encourage participation in and contribution to online communities. This thesis will address these questions related to online identity and community from a rhetorical perspective to examine the role rhetoric plays in these processes and build on the application of rhetorical approaches to online contexts. Specifically, this project proposes a rhetorical …