Speech and Rhetorical Studies Commons^™

The Rhetoric Of Blame: A Rhetorical Framing Analysis Of Othering And Blame In Historical Health Crises, Colin G. Cameron

Master's Theses

The United States’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic was hallmarked by blame rhetoric and fluid social and political expedience. However, the pervasiveness of othering and blame in contemporary pandemic discourse is perhaps consistent with the blame rhetoric of health crises throughout history. Using a rhetorical framing analysis approach, this study aims to explore the various elements of blame rhetoric embedded in newsprint media frames regarding historic infectious disease outbreaks. In doing so, this study investigates three case studies: the San Francisco smallpox outbreak of 1876, the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918, and the AIDS crisis of the 1980s – 1990s. …

The Wakefield Phenomenon: A Rhetorical Examination Of The Resurgence Of The Anti-Vaccination Movement In The 20th & 21st Century, Karen Boger

Master's Theses

This thesis explores the phenomenon of the anti-vaccination movement and existing publications documenting significant points in its resurgence in the late 20^th and early 21^st century following the now redacted publication by the former Dr. Wakefield asserting a correlation between children receiving vaccinations and children exhibiting the onset of developmental disorders, with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) garnering the most public attention. With increasing numbers of parents delaying or forbidding their children from receiving vaccinations, along with the re-emergence of previously eradicated disease outbreaks and casualties, questions about the salience of Wakefield’s anti-vaccination statements arise. Investigation here is key …

Menstruation Regulation: A Feminist Critique Of Menstrual Product Brands On Instagram, Max Faust

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Much research about advertisements for menstrual products reveals the ways in which such advertising perpetuates shame and reinforces unrealistic ideals of femininity and womanhood. This study aims to examine the content of Instagram posts by four different menstrual product brands in hopes of understanding how these functions may or may not be carried out by social media posts by these brands as well. Building on the body of research about menstrual shame and advertising, I specifically ask: How do the Instagram pages for four menstrual product brands dissuade individuality; how do they prescribe femininity; and how do these functions differ …

Adding Soul To The Message: Applying African American Jeremiad Rhetoric As Culturally Competent Health Communication Online, Wilbert Francisco Laveist

English Theses & Dissertations

This study examines whether online health communications targeting African Americans could be more effective by structuring the message in the format of African American jeremiad rhetoric, a culturally unique version of the American jeremiad literary form. Health disparities (also known as health inequality) persist among African Americans despite increased health knowledge, improved communication practices, and access to health facts online. The problem is systemic, and thus a predictable outcome that requires change in societal structures that produce and maintain inequality. Individual behavior changes to improve health is also necessary. Information alone does not change behavior. Altering environmental factors is also …

To Be The Golden Girl: Disordered Eating Within Figure Skating, Giulia Christine Thomas

Communication Studies

No abstract provided.

Contesting “Obligation”: Memory, Morality, And The (Re)Construction Of Divestment Narratives, Christina Quint

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Leaders in the medical field representing organizations abroad such as the British Medical Association (BMA) and MedAct have called for health care organizations to divest from fossil fuels, on the grounds that it is hypocritical for health care leaders to take the Hippocratic Oath and be implicated in the health impacts for which the burning of fossil fuels is responsible. The emerging discourse highlighting the imperative to divest draws parallels to the health care sector’s leadership in divesting from tobacco in the 1990s on the grounds of its health implications. Even before the current fossil fuel divestment movement and the …

Listening Fatigue And Response Time In Normal Hearing Listeners, Rachel E. Pittard

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Individuals with hearing loss undergo exertion with the change in the auditory environment they are exposed to throughout the day. This fatigue causes individuals with hearing loss to expend more effort in order to achieve the level of speech understanding that a normal hearing individual would under the same environmental circumstances (Gosselin and Gagné, 2011). Because of this, hearing aid users experience listening fatigue by the end of the day, especially in the presence of background noise (Rabbitt, 1991). This listening fatigue affects school aged kids and their ability to perform and succeed on grade level in the classroom. Older …

Labeling Disability In America, Nicole C. Webster

Communication Studies

This paper explores how labels are used in regard to disabilities in the dominant American culture. Ignorance is the link between language and discrimination and inequalities for people with disabilities. Americans can be educated through disability studies so as to become capable of empathizing with and enabling, rather than disabling, their compatriots.

The Rhetorical Strategies Of Pregnancy Support Centers Including The Visual Rhetoric Of Fetal Ultrasound Technology, Raymond Kyle Jones

Dissertations

This study examined the rhetorical strategies, including verbal and visual rhetoric, of pregnancy support centers that provide clients with fetal ultrasounds to persuade those who may be considering abortion as a means of resolving their unplanned pregnancy to carry to term. Qualitative data were gathered from 12 interviews of directors and ultrasound personnel from 7 states as well as from television advertisements and printed material. Eighteen research questions investigating the rhetorical transactions between centers and clients were answered. Rhetorical analyses were performed on the verbal and visual messages used in client interactions.

The grounded theory approach of inquiry resulted in …

Social Skill Training Effects On The Interpersonal Distance And Touch Recognition Abilities Of Second Grade Children, Thomas E. Redden

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

The effects of training on interpersonal distance and touch recognition abilities among 46 second grade children was evaluated. The children were involved in two, 45 minute training sessions each week for three weeks. Training effects were measured using the Emory Dyssemia Index-Brief Form (EDI-b). The teachers rated the children with the distance and touch subtest ofthe EDI-b. Pre-test and Post-test measures were obtained. A one way analysis of variance was used to analyze the data. Alpha was set at .05. There was no significant difference between the experimental and control groups prior to training. There was a significant difference between …

The 1972 Cigarette Tax Referendum: A Mass Communication Campaign, Gwendolyn Moore Danielson

Dissertations and Theses

During the past forty years, Oregon voters have approved only two tax proposals; both taxes on cigarettes. The subject of this study is the campaign carried out by proponents of H.B. 3064 to pass the most recent Oregon tax referendum measure. Central to the questions asked in the investigation of the 1972 cigarette tax campaign was why the outcome of this proposal was successful. The thesis hypothesizes that the critical variable was the involvement of major socio-economic interest groups in formulating and disseminating persuasive campaign messages.

The rationale for entering into such a study was the shortage of information on …