Digital Commons Network^™

The Influence Of Medical Dramas On Patient Expectations Of Physician Communication, Kayla M. Fadenrecht

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The present investigation applies para-social contact theory to better understand the role of viewing a medical drama on patients’ expectations towards physician’s empathic communication. Results demonstrate that overall, participants form para-social relationships with television characters. Exposure to the stimulus in the current study did not influence participants’ communicative expectations or para-social interaction with characters on the medical drama used. A positive correlation was found between para-social interaction with televised characters and patient expectations. Results are discussed with an emphasis on how Cultivation theory describes the role between exposure to medical dramas and patient expectations, as well as para-social interaction theory.

Blended Framework: Bill Mckibben's Use Of Melodrama And Comedy In Environmental Rhetoric, Megan E. Cullinan

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

In the last five years, as climate change became less abstract and more noticeable, conversations surrounding the issues have begun to change. In the past, solutions to climate change were framed in terms of how individuals can made a difference—and yet, no significant changes have occurred. Research shows that the main contributors to climate change are the fossil fuel industry, as both extraction and consumption of fossil fuel products are irresponsible and unsustainable. Thus, it is important for climate change conflict to leave the personal sphere and become more prominent as a political controversy.

Bill McKibben’s blended framing of climate …

The Occurrence Of Place-Based Narrative In U.S. Senatorial Campaign Advertisements, Brian K. Munis

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Narratives have been increasingly subject to study within social science disciplines. However, research pertaining to narrative within political campaigns is incomplete. For example, there has been a relative lack of attention in the literature to the symbolic discourse and imagery in many political campaign advertisements that—seemingly—exists in order to link candidates to specific geographic “places” within their constituencies. A more complete understanding of the association between narratives of place and political campaigns will allow us to more effective and accurately gauge how, when, and why candidates use this potential strategy; as well as its possible effectiveness in election outcomes. This …

Diabesties: How Diabetic Support On Campus Can Alleviate Diabetic Burnout, Kassandra E. Martin

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

The purpose of this study is to determine what types of supportive communication Type One diabetic students need when entering college to decrease diabetic related distress. A training program for students living with Type One Diabetes was created on the barriers they face to effective disease management on campus. This training plan was developed using Beebe, Mottet, and Roach’s (2013) Needs-Centered Training Model. The main issue that appeared from the Needs Assessment was that students are feeling high distress when it comes to keeping with a strict medical regimen. What they expressed interest in was a need for information from …

Resisting Nsa Surveillance: Glenn Greenwald And The Public Sphere Debate About Privacy, Rebecca Rice

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

In May of 2013, National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden flew to Hong Kong with thousands of classified NSA documents. He contacted Glenn Greenwald, blogger, activist, and journalist for The Guardian. Greenwald and several other reporters flew to Hong Kong, where they spent a week interviewing Snowden. Greenwald began reporting on the documents in The Guardian, publishing many articles that demonstrated that the US government was spying on US citizens without court warrants. The leak was considered the biggest in NSA history. One year later, Greenwald published No Place to Hide: Edward Snowden, The NSA, and The U.S. Surveillance State. …

Remaking Nature In Montana: Topophilic Considerations Of Wolves And Wolf Trapping, Andrew Myers

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

In 2011, after nearly forty years of federal protection, the gray wolf was removed from the Endangered Species List in Montana and its management entrusted to the Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks. The implementation of public trapping seasons in 2012 as a method to control wolf populations has further inflamed an already embroiled debate. The purpose of this research was to investigate how the presence of wolves and wolf trapping impacts human attachments to landscapes of “nature” in Montana by focusing on the following questions: What are the public’s social constructions of wolves? What are the public’s social constructions of …

Speaking For You: Positions Of Montana Ranching Organizations On Beef Market Concentration, Katie Marie Leblanc

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Beef market concentration continues to be a highly contentious issue; especially in the culture-­‐rich ranching industry of Montana. The agriculture industry, specifically the beef sector, has experienced a tremendous amount of integration and consolidation over the past 50 years. This amount of industry restructuring has crafted a beef backgrounding and processing sector with the highest rates of concentration ever witnessed, with a Concentration Ratio (CR4) reaching nearly 82%. This research aims to qualitatively investigate ranching organizational positions, on the topic of beef market concentration and potential impacts this has had on the organization and their members who are located and …

Against The Grain: Railroad Ramifications As Oil Crosses Wheat Country, Laura Scheer

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Over the past two years, grain growers along Montana’s Hi-Line have experienced significant shipping delays because of heavy traffic on the railroads in the northern plains. The delays caused declines in wheat prices and many farmers had to build extra storage to house the crops they couldn’t get on the rails. Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway, the main railroad serving the Hi-Line, blames the congestion on harsh winter weather, a larger than average crop harvest and an increase in shipping demands across all sectors. Farmers say the railroad has favored increasing shipments of crude oil from the Bakken shale formation …