Digital Commons Network^™

Executive Function Predictors Of Children's Talk, Jacqlyne D. Weber

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Relatively few studies have investigated the relationship between executive functioning (EF) and language development, and even fewer have researched hot and cool EF as a predictor language development. This study is an investigation into the relationship between EF and language development in preschool aged children. More specifically, the ability for hot or cool EF to predict language, this will be the focus of the study. It was found that hot EF was a better predictor of language development in preschool aged children.

Openness To The "Other" During A Summer Language Study Abroad In Madrid, Spain: Six Case Studies, Samuel Cox

Dissertations (1934 -)

The purpose of this study was to explore the interaction of summer language study abroad students in Madrid, Spain, with a cultural and linguistic "Other," and to examine the resulting evolution in those participants' openness to that Other. Gordon Allport's four optimal conditions for prejudice reduction in intergroup contact theory provided the framework for this analysis. The student in a language study abroad context is both a linguistic and cultural minority, an experience manifested in multiple daily interactions that potentially affect openness to the linguistic and cultural Other. As such, qualitative data were drawn from six participants via interviews during …

Do Facebook Status Updates Reflect Subjective Well-Being?, Pan Liu, William Tov, Michal Kosinski, David J. Stillwell, Lin Qiu

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Nowadays, millions of people around the world use social networking sites to express everyday thoughts and feelings. Many researchers have tried to make use of social media to study users' online behaviors and psychological states. However, previous studies show mixed results about whether self-generated contents on Facebook reflect users' subjective well-being (SWB). This study analyzed Facebook status updates to determine the extent to which users' emotional expression predicted their SWBspecifically their self-reported satisfaction with life. It was found that positive emotional expressions on Facebook did not correlate with life satisfaction, whereas negative emotional expressions within the past 9-10 months (but …

Monstrosities, Money, & Machines: A Metaphoric Analysis Of Fantasy Football As A Social World, Arthur Alexander Aguirre

Communication ETDs

In this study, the world of fantasy football is examined through the lens of the ethnography of communication and the utilization of metaphor/cluster analysis. Fantasy football has emerged as a highly popular sports-related activity and has become a multi-million dollar industry. By analyzing two popular fantasy football podcasts, I explore the use of metaphors within the social world of fantasy football. Through an examination of these metaphors, 11 defined metaphor categories emerged. I explored the context in which these metaphors were used to determine the premises needed to employ these terms and meanings. Finally, by analyzing these premises, terms, and …

Signaling Instructional Video For Mathematics, Kimberly W. Milner

STEMPS Theses & Dissertations

Video provides an increasingly valuable medium for delivery of instruction in a growing number of content areas. Growth of online instructional applications has been prompted by expansion of the Internet and video streaming technology, adding to the need for design practices that produce more effective and efficient instructional videos. This study examined the use of signaling for multimedia to reduce cognitive overload and increase mental effort when learning mathematical concepts and procedures from instructional video. Signaling addresses the issue of directing the learner's attention by using visual or verbal cues that stress importance and organization (Mayer, 2009). Effectively signaled instructional …

Understanding How Patients Perceive Their Medical Providers’ Communication In A Hospital Based Emergency Department Setting, Balpreet K. Grewal-Virk

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Background: In recent years, a chief patient complaint has been that there is a breakdown in communication with their healthcare provider. This is concerning because poor provider-patient communication can lead to reduced medication adherence, misdiagnosis, increased healthcare costs, and even death. Furthermore, the implementation of the Affordable Care Act has availed healthcare insurance to more individuals, which will increase the insured patient population. This will lead to a rise in patient visits, but also means that there are not enough physicians to support this new volume of patients. Other healthcare providers, like nurse practitioners and physicians assistants are more …

Marketing In Ethnically Diverse Markets, Candice B. Ward-Ferris

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

As illustrated by the 2010 U.S. Census data, the demographics of the United States have changed. If companies concentrate their marketing solely on the majority demographic, they could lose an opportunity to capitalize on the spending power of other non-majority consumers or create brand identification with other cultural or ethnic groups. As companies appeal to various demographics, they also have an obligation to avoid harm and produce a benefit – what William David Ross refers to as one’s prima facie duty (Ross, 2002). Appealing to various co-cultures or ethnic groups has been a focus for both advertisers and researchers for …

Not A Stitch Out Of Place: Assessing Students’ Attitudes Towards Multimodal Composition, Jeanne Law Bohannon

Faculty Articles

This article traces a brief history of multimodal composition practices in the field of writing studies. It frames writing instruction through the theoretical lens of democratic pedagogy and presents the works of key composition scholars. The author then describes a mixed methods research study, conducted with first-year students on the STEM campus of a state comprehensive university. Students participated in a survey that asked their attitudes towards multimodal writing assignments, digital literacies, and learning outcomes. The author draws conclusions about the effectiveness of multimodal composition based on students’ responses and provides supplemental information on the types of assignments and examples …

Training And Application Of Correct Information Unit Analysis To Structured And Unstructured Discourse, Audrey Bretthauer Cohen

Dissertations and Theses

Correct Information Units (CIU) analysis is one of the few measures of discourse that attempts to quantify discourse as a function of communicating information efficiently. Though this analysis is used reliably as a research tool, most studies' apply CIUs to structured discourse tasks and do not specifically describe how raters are trained. If certified clinical speech-language pathologists can likewise reliably apply CIU analysis within clinical settings to unstructured discourse, such as the discourse of people with aphasia (PWA), it may allow clinicians to quantify the information communicated efficiently in clinical populations with discourse deficits. Purpose: The purpose of this study …

Climate Change Discourse And Gendered Communication, Meagan Newsom Pierluissi

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

Climate change is one of the most critical threats facing the 21st century. The effects on the planet, humankind, jobs, food supply, and other vital resources increase every year. Those communicating these details to the American public through mass media are doing so with gendered discourse. This study analyzes three speeches from predominant climate change communicators representing three different platforms: politician Al Gore, cultural figure Leonardo DiCaprio, and climate scientist James Hansen. Using discourse analysis informed by feminist standpoint theory, this study suggests that frames, words, phrases, and communication styles embedded in discussions of climate change continue to use gendered …

God's Eye News: The Use Of Drones In Journalism, A Documentary Film, Robert Lance Carroll

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis uses the format of documentary film to investigate the aesthetic, legal, and ethical issues surrounding the use of Unmanned Aircraft Systems, commonly known as drones, in journalism. Particularly important are the topics of public perception, safety, freedom of speech, and privacy. Do journalists' First Amendment protections extend to the right to gather images using drones? How will the privacy of citizens be protected against aerial cameras that can go virtually unnoticed? Can drones be safely integrated into the National Airspace System? The goal of the documentary is not necessarily to answer these questions, but to gather opinions from …

Technical Communication As Teaching: A Grounded Theory Study Of Cognitive Empathy And Audience Engagement Among Computer Science Majors In A Technical Communication Classroom, Robert Michael Rowan

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation is a grounded theory study of empathy, ethical awareness, and audience engagement activities in students in a technical writing service course. The course was designed around an empathy-oriented approach to teaching technical writing and writing research. The students are primarily computer science majors, and the teaching methods include a genre and writing research approach as well as the use of an extended metaphor of technical communication as a form of teaching. Findings indicate that students respond to the metaphor by drawing upon positive and empathetically-informed models of teachers and teaching to guide how they would work with and …

The Implementation Of Communication Theories To Assist In Resolving Perennial International Conflicts, Kelly Witkop

Communication Studies

No abstract provided.

Josè Mujica's Speech At The Un: A Post-Colonial Look At A Neo-Colonial Issue, Alberto Ganis

Communication Studies

No abstract provided.

Trust Management: Multimodal Data Perspective, Krishnaprasad Thirunarayan

Kno.e.sis Publications

No abstract provided.

Discursive Security: F.B.I. Stings And The Nature Of Peace, Adam Testerman

Dissertations and Theses

The current study utilizes Critical Discourse Analysis and Thematic Analysis to study newspaper coverage of F.B.I. sting operations in The New York Times, Washington Post, and USA Today. F.B.I. sting operations are a modern counter-terrorism policy designed to preempt acts of terrorism. This study develops a theoretical approach to understanding F.B.I. sting operations by reviewing the critique of security. The critique of security suggests that nations construct threats in order to produce and maintain ideological and practical hegemony. Thematic categories of the newspaper discourse are formulated and analyzed in the context of security. The study employs aspects of grounded theory …

Textese As An Identifiable Genre, Christian Miemiec

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

This study is focused on determining if textese (the acronyms, shortcuts, emoticons, etc., used in texting) is a definable genre. The study uses communication theory centered on understanding how people interact in the computer mediated communication space to manage and foster strong relationships and understand each other when there are little or no visual and verbal cues. Defining textese as a genre helps support social information processing as the study supports the position that textese can be used for close relationships. Using textese is shown to support social interactionism as textese is an indicator of how well people know each …

The Impact Of Communication Impairments On The Social Relationships Of Older Adults, Andrew Demetrius Palmer

Dissertations and Theses

Communication forms the foundation of social interaction. For older adults, however, there is known to be an increased risk of developing conditions that interfere with the ability to communicate. These conditions may occur for a variety of reasons, including age-related changes in physical or sensory functioning, injury, and disease. It is estimated that 55% of all Medicare beneficiaries have a communication impairment of some kind. Social contact is known to be vital for older adults' mental and physical health but, because communication impairments often co-occur with other types of disability, it is difficult to generalize about the relative impact of …

Health-Related Beliefs, Practices, And Experiences Of Migrant Dominicans In The Northeastern United States, Constance Sobon Sensor

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

Purpose: This study aimed to discover and describe migrant Dominican cultural beliefs and practices related to health, the ways that migrant Dominicans take care of their health in their new environment, and their experience with professional health care in the Northeastern United States.

Design: This descriptive qualitative study was guided by Leininger’s Theory of Culture Care Diversity and Universality and four-phase analysis method. The health-related beliefs, practices and experiences of a convenience sample of 15 self-identified adult Dominicans living in the United States for six months or more were explored in three focus groups, assisted by trained culturally appropriate interpreters. …

Smartphones: A Game Changer For Psychological Research, Wei Wang, Jibo He

Publications and Research

As technology continues to advance and smartphones continue to grow in popularity, we argue that smartphones have rapidly evolved as a suitable tool for psychological research. In this editorial, we will first briefly introduce the technological and social features possessed by smartphones that are ideal for psychology research. Then we distinguish two approaches to use smartphones for research, highlighting the external and internal validity of each approach. We further discuss computer skills and analysis methods needed for research with smartphones.

Parlance, Perception, And Power: An Inquiry Into Non-Standard Language Use In Digital Media, James Thomas Jarc

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

This study investigated the effects of Internet slang use (inclusive of slang, initialisms, abbreviations, emoji, and hashtags) on perceptions of source credibility among constituents of nonDrit organizations. The author hypothesized that a user’s level of comfort/fluency with digital media would impact how they perceive organizations that use non-standard language online. This study used a content analysis of social media posts from 2 national organizations to analyze patterns of non-standard language use, and applied the engagement index (EI) to quantify constituent engagement actions with those posts on 3 social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram). An accompanying survey revealed correlations between …

Names Are Words: A Study Of Age, Gender, Class And Race, Alexandria Michelle Baker

Communication & Leadership Dissertations and Theses

Just over 4 million babies are born in the United States each year, and as many people know each baby eventually gets a name. In an extension of research demonstrating both Symbolic Interaction Theory and the Coordinated Management of Meaning, through the use of semantics and pragmatics, the present study examined what names communicate about age, race, gender and class. Using data obtained from the first group of participants in Survey 1(i.e. names of each individual and their demographics), Survey 2 participants, a random sampling of Americans, were asked to look at 14 names and determine what those names communicated. …

Spartan Daily, May 13, 2015, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily (School of Journalism and Mass Communications)

Volume 144, Issue 42

Spartan Daily, May 12, 2015, San Jose State University, School Of Journalism And Mass Communications

Spartan Daily (School of Journalism and Mass Communications)

Volume 144, Issue 41

Students As Neighbors: Utilizing Dialogue And Deliberation To Manage Town-Gown Tensions, Courtney C. Herb, Lauren A. Holder, Alison L. Steed

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

The integration of the university and its students into the broader Harrisonburg community has promoted increased interaction amongst JMU students, JMU faculty and staff, and community members. Navigating this complex relationship can be challenging and, in recent years, this relationship has become increasingly strained. The following research seeks to cultivate processes that aid in its improvement. The research finds that utilizing dialogue and deliberation as an approach to designing public process is a promising approach to mending and maintaining the relationship between JMU students and the broader Harrisonburg community, as well as to addressing town-gown tension at large. The research …

Let’S Chat: Willingness To Communicate And The Development Of A Destigmatizing Campaign, Ethan D. Smith

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

Abstract

Low treatment rates for depression are commonly observed among young adults of typical college age in particular. Fear of social judgement makes stigma a commonly identified barrier to depression treatment. What is unclear is how the willingness of university students to communicate about depression may influence or be influenced by stigma. Guided by the Theory of Planned Behavior and the Health Belief Model, the present thesis investigates the stigma attitudes of students toward depression, as well as their willingness to communicate about depression. To do this, an online survey was conducted with depression stigma scales and adapted willingness to …

Policing Charities: A Genealogy Of The American Nonprofit In The Context Of Neoliberalism, Jaclyn Carroll

Masters Theses, 2010-2019

This project offers a critical rhetorical history of “the nonprofit” over the last 50 years of American political discourses. The author explicates the value of genealogy and rhetorical history as methodologies in critical communication studies. She then examines three discursive junctures. Beginning with Ronald Reagan’s public addresses and his deployment of the neoliberal epideictic, the author traces different rhetorical treatments of “the nonprofit.” The author then examines the emergence of nonprofit watchdogging agencies in the 1990s, and discourses of surveillance and resistance that developed at this time. Particular attention is paid to the discursive shifts surrounding September 11, 2001.

The …

A Case For An Ecological Approach And Against Language Commodification In Elt, Vinicius O. Souza

MA TESOL Collection

This paper aims to provide an alternative approach to the English language education practiced in many developing countries which can help reverse their current low-proficiency status, as revealed by standard international examinations such as the PISA scores and others. The author argues that this can be best accomplished by adopting an ecological approach to teaching which promotes language learning as emergent and socially situated phenomena, two concepts largely neglected by current teaching methods. In fact, many of these countries have long been dominated by an extremely commodified and cognitivist ELT market, where business interests have taken precedence over pedagogical considerations. …

A Quasi-Experimental Study Of Teaching Intercultural Sensitivity On Foreign Language Learning Motivation, Chunling Niu

Dissertations

Through an experimental intervention of a four-week cultural project based on the intergroup contact theory, this study sought to (a) explore the possible pedagogical effects on participants’ levels of Intercultural Sensitivity; and (b) investigate the complex interactions between learners’ Intercultural Sensitivity, Foreign Language Motivation, and their Language and Cultural Backgrounds. Sixty-eight Chinese learning students from a southcentral American university initially participated in the study, whereas only 43 participants completed the required activities and were pretested and posttested on Intercultural Sensitivity and Foreign Language Motivation. The 21 experimental group participants were instructed to complete four cultural assignments during February 2014, namely, …

Assessment Of Cultural Awareness In Communication Sciences And Disorders Students, Kimberly Green

Dissertations

As defined by Clinton (1996), cultural awareness is achieved when an individual becomes aware of the fact that culture can contribute to attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors. Cultural awareness (CA) is dependent upon an individual’s awareness of one’s own culture to the same degree as the awareness of outside cultures. It can be viewed as a prerequisite to a more complex understanding of this somewhat ambiguous concept. The topic of this quantitative study involves an examination of the level of cultural awareness among students in communication sciences and disorders (CSD) programs in the state of Kentucky. This dissertation threads literature and …