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2006

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From Wise Woman To Mutilated Hag: Witchcraft Violence In Ghana, Laura A. Truxler Jan 2006

From Wise Woman To Mutilated Hag: Witchcraft Violence In Ghana, Laura A. Truxler

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

Gender based witchcraft violence in Ghana is one of the ways in which violence against women manifests itself in the society. Historical analysis of witchcraft in Africa is widely addressed in the literature, however, there is a comparative neglect of the gender dimensions of witchcraft violence and consequences for such women in terms of human rights violations. Within the northern agriculture regions of Ghana, the legitimacy of female land inheritance, in addition to government pressure to seek out western medical care instead of low-cost traditional herbalists, are threatening power structures and sparking witchcraft violence. Locating witchcraft violence in Ghana within …

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Framing Bad Art: A Semiotic View Of Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Blithedale Romance, Scott B. Givonetti Jan 2006

Framing Bad Art: A Semiotic View Of Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Blithedale Romance, Scott B. Givonetti

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Blithedale Romance has been criticized contemporaneously and subsequently by such figures as F. O. Matthiessen, Mark Van Doren, and Rudolph Von Abele for its lack of romanticism or realism, depending upon the critic. This thesis uses a semiotic approach to explore Hawthorne's deconstruction of his first-person narrator, Miles Coverdale, and the resulting confusion among critics regarding authorial control in what some call his "anti-romance." Coverdale, as a detached artist, is responsible for reality's misinterpretation and misrepresentation, somewhat lampooning Transcendentalism. The triadic relationship of object, sign, and interpretant modeled by Charles Sanders Peirce is discussed using Liszka, Sebeok, …

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Foucault's Techniques Of Power In Street-Level Organizations, Kathleen A. Mcginn Jan 2006

Foucault's Techniques Of Power In Street-Level Organizations, Kathleen A. Mcginn

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

This study uses Foucault's (1979, 1983, 1995) theoretical work as a guide in examining relation of power and resistance within the unique context of street-level bureaucracies (Lipsky, 1980). It explores relationships by asking how employees and managers are objectified within street level organizations, if there are any similarities in objectifications across organizations providing different government services, and how these objectifications intersect within relations of power and resistance. As an artifact of the relations of power between street-level bureaucrats and managers, ten purposively selected collectively bargained contract documents from public organizations in Florida are analyzed in this research. Ethnographic Content Analysis …

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Global Feedback In Hierarchical Motion Pattern Formation, Stacey W. Brownlow Jan 2006

Global Feedback In Hierarchical Motion Pattern Formation, Stacey W. Brownlow

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

An array of four motion quartets (stimuli for which either horizontal or vertical motion is perceived depending on quartet aspect ratio) is arranged in a diamond configuration such that two global motion patterns are formed: (1) Rotation---alternating counterclockwise and clockwise motion is perceived, and (2) Parallel path motion---the perceived motions of all the elements are simultaneously horizontal or simultaneously vertical. The perception of rotation resulted in global feedback that biases the motion perceived for an individual component motion quartet to be more consistent with rotation than aspect ratio. Stronger rotation produced greater bias. Under certain conditions, the feedback-induced bias occurred …

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Hawthorne's Play On Gender And Sexuality In "The Blithedale Romance", Brooke J. Rubin Jan 2006

Hawthorne's Play On Gender And Sexuality In "The Blithedale Romance", Brooke J. Rubin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

Feminist critics have primarily concentrated on the character of Zenobia, Nathaniel Hawthorne's premier feminist in The Blithedale Romance, to unravel Hawthorne's stance on the emergent sexual politics of the time. This thesis not only examines the importance of Zenobia but also analyzes the significance of Hawthorne's allusions to gender and sexuality constructs in terms of his other characters: Coverdale, Hollingsworth, Priscilla, Westervelt, and Moodie. In addition, I argue that Hawthorne's purpose is to experiment with societal constructs of gender and sexuality among his central characters, a literary experiment that inadvertently subverts his ostensible traditional, patriarchal perspective. In essence, my reading …

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Indicators Linked To The Success Of Students With Psychological Disabilities In Urban Community College Allied Health Sciences Programs, Deborah A. Casey Jan 2006

Indicators Linked To The Success Of Students With Psychological Disabilities In Urban Community College Allied Health Sciences Programs, Deborah A. Casey

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

The purpose of this study was to identify what climate indicators (attitudinal, support provision, student interaction) found in allied health sciences classroom and clinical settings at a northwest community college contribute to the success of students with psychological disabilities. Three climate assessments and a series of interviews revealed crucial information regarding academic support necessary to assist students with psychological disabilities within the allied health sciences. Utilizing mixed methodologies, the researcher collected and analyzed data during the Fall 2005 academic quarter from 177 climate assessments and facilitated 33 interviews, five student focus groups, and five follow-up interviews with students with psychological …

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Influence Of Consumers' Trust Beliefs On Intentions To Transact In The Online Environment: An E-Tail Study, Enrique P. Becerra Jan 2006

Influence Of Consumers' Trust Beliefs On Intentions To Transact In The Online Environment: An E-Tail Study, Enrique P. Becerra

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

With the increased importance of retailing through the Internet, or e-tailing, researchers and practitioners alike have been interested in the role that trust can play in intentions to transact online. However, influences of trust on intentions to provide personal information to complete the transaction, and influences of trust in the product category, and/or in the brand, on intentions to transact, have received little attention. This research fills the gap in the exiting literature by understanding the influence of product category trust, brand trust and vendor trust on intentions to transact online, a combination of intentions to purchase and intentions to …

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Intimate Partner Homicide Methods In Heterosexual And Homosexual Relationships, Krystal D. Mize Jan 2006

Intimate Partner Homicide Methods In Heterosexual And Homosexual Relationships, Krystal D. Mize

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

From 1976 to 2001 over 50,000 people in the United States were victims of documented intimate partner lethal violence. In a study of intimate partner homicides in Chicago, Block and Christakos (1995) found that the weapon used varied based on the offender's gender. Relative to heterosexual partners, homosexual partners experience added stress due to a lack of social support of their relationships. The current study examined the effect of sex and sexual orientation of intimate partner homicide offenders on brutality of killing methods. Two hypotheses were formulated addressing the brutality of the murders as a function of the offender's sexual …

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Interaction Between Surface-Based And Edge-Based Motion Mechanisms In The Perception Of Apparent Motion, David F. Nichols Jan 2006

Interaction Between Surface-Based And Edge-Based Motion Mechanisms In The Perception Of Apparent Motion, David F. Nichols

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

The motion of an object may be perceived based on a change in location of either its surface or edges. By isolating the luminance changes produced by a moving object from the physical displacement of its surface and edges, it was found that a static object appears to move when the luminance changes are restricted to a narrow area adjacent to it. Therefore, changes in the luminance contrast of edges are sufficient for the perception of object motion. However, the existence of different motion signals based on luminance changes of edges and surfaces was confirmed by the occurrence of different …

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Masks, Carmel Codd Leen Jan 2006

Masks, Carmel Codd Leen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

The story of an Irish grandfather, Brendan Doran, covers the period 1918 through 1966; the story of his granddaughter, Maisie Doyle covers the summer of her seventeenth year. Brendan's perceptions are given in the first person viewpoint; Maisie's in the third-person viewpoint. A faithful following is given of Brendan's vernacular in young manhood; then, as he grows in sophisticated use of language his first-person narration reflects this. Both stories trace the psychological development of the two, leading to questions regarding the similarities and the differences between the romantic dreams of a young man and a young woman. An omniscient narrator …

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Measurement Of Cognitive Function Using The Cant Ab Neuropsychological Battery In Current And Previous Human Ecstasy (Mdma) Users: A Polydrug Control Study, Andres L. Paz Jan 2006

Measurement Of Cognitive Function Using The Cant Ab Neuropsychological Battery In Current And Previous Human Ecstasy (Mdma) Users: A Polydrug Control Study, Andres L. Paz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

Widespread use of the illicit drug ecstasy (MDMA or 3,4- Methylenedioxymethamphetarnine) and the possible neurological damage caused by its abuse is disconcerting. This study examined possible cognitive impairments in ecstasy users while controlling for polydrug use. The CANT AB neuropsychological tests was used to test working memory capacity, immediate and delayed perceptual matching, shifting of attention, episodic memory, and learning in current and previous ecstasy users compared to non-ecstasy polydrug users. The prediction that current and heavy previous ecstasy users would perform worse on the neuropsychological tests, when compared to polydrug control group, denoting neurological damage was not confirmed. The …

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Men's Partner-Directed Insults And Sexual Coercion In Intimate Relationships, Valerie G. Starratt Jan 2006

Men's Partner-Directed Insults And Sexual Coercion In Intimate Relationships, Valerie G. Starratt

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

Given the negative psychological and health-related consequences of sexual coercion, recent research has focused on predicting sexual coercion. In two studies, I investigated the relationships between men's partner-directed sexually coercive behaviors and their use of partner-directed insults in the context of intimate relationships. Study 1 secured self-reports from 247 men on the Partner-Directed Insults Scale and the Sexual Coercion in Intimate Relationships Scale. Study 2 secured partner-reports from 378 women on the same measures. Across both studies, the results indicate that men's use of sexually coercive behaviors can be predicted by the frequency or content of the insults that men …

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Method To Create Three-Dimensional Facial Image From Two-Dimensional Facial Data Set, Teerapat. Theerawong Jan 2006

Method To Create Three-Dimensional Facial Image From Two-Dimensional Facial Data Set, Teerapat. Theerawong

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

A method to create 3D-face image using 2D-face images is the objective of this research. The 3D-face image is constructed using a set of 3D-face images of other persons available in a face database. The 3D-face image actually depicts a parameterized form in terms of depth and texture. This concept can be used to facilitate creating a 3D-face image from 2D database. For this purpose, a 3D-face database is first developed. When a 2D-face image is presented to the system, a 3D-face image that starts with an average 3D-face image (derived from the 3D-face database) is projected onto the 2D-image …

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Morbid Jealousy From An Evolutionary Psychological Perspective, Judith A. Easton Jan 2006

Morbid Jealousy From An Evolutionary Psychological Perspective, Judith A. Easton

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

Individuals diagnosed with morbid jealousy have hypersensitive jealousy mechanisms that cause them to have irrational thoughts about their partners and to exhibit extreme behaviors. Because morbid jealousy is defined as a malfunction of evolved jealousy mechanisms such that they produce increased chances of perceiving partner infidelity, research guided by an evolutionary psychological perspective can add insight to the understanding of the disorder. The present research tested eleven evolutionarily relevant hypotheses about jealousy, in an attempt to improve the understanding of the etiology of morbid jealousy. To investigate a large enough sample, I created a database of all the morbid jealousy …

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Mother-Adolescent Conflict And Relationship Quality In Youth With And Without Behavior Problems, Paloma Lopez Prata Jan 2006

Mother-Adolescent Conflict And Relationship Quality In Youth With And Without Behavior Problems, Paloma Lopez Prata

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

Adolescence is a period of significant changes in relationships with mothers, specifically parent-adolescent conflict increases from childhood into adulthood. The present investigation is designed to address these differences by using adolescent and mother reports of conflict and relationship quality. The investigation addresses four research questions. (1) Do characteristics of conflict with mothers differ for adolescents with and without clinical problems? (2) Do perceptions of mother-child relationship quality differ for adolescents with and without clinical problems? (3) Do family characteristics moderate differences between clinical and nonclinical youth in motherchild of conflict? (4) Do family characteristics moderate differences between clinical and nonclinical …

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Nutrire: Nurture, Nursing A Material Culture Analysis Of Invalid/Infant Feeders And The Aesthetics And Caring Of Nursing, Nancy K. Smith Jan 2006

Nutrire: Nurture, Nursing A Material Culture Analysis Of Invalid/Infant Feeders And The Aesthetics And Caring Of Nursing, Nancy K. Smith

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

This dissertation analyzes a nursing artifact: the infant/invalid feeder. A material culture analysis, developed by the author, is utilized for the in depth study of 12 feeders. This work assumes that Caring is the core value of what constitutes nursing and nursing practice. The expression of the aesthetics of nursing through the act of feeding and use of infant/invalid feeders, aesthetic knowing and expression of that knowing, links caring and caring presence. The act of feeding another, whether sick or infant has been the domestic sphere of women throughout history and is also considered one of the most important duties …

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Now You Hear It, Now You Don't: The Effect Of Markedness On The Perception Of Unattested Clusters, Tracy J. Lennertz Jan 2006

Now You Hear It, Now You Don't: The Effect Of Markedness On The Perception Of Unattested Clusters, Tracy J. Lennertz

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

Linguistic theory predicts that speakers are equipped with universal sonority principles that restrict the structure of the syllable: onset clusters with sonority rises are preferred to onsets with plateaus, which are preferred to onsets with falling sonority (bn > bd > lb). We investigate the source of this preference in English, a language in which these sonority profiles are unattested. We gauged speakers' preferences for unattested onsets by examining their susceptibility to epenthetic repair. If English speakers are sensitive to onset structure, then onsets that are universally dispreferred should be more likely to elicit repair (e.g., lbif→lebif). Results from a syllable judgment …

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Neural Activity Associated With Tolerance To Amphetamine Hypophagia, Kimberlee D. Bachand Jan 2006

Neural Activity Associated With Tolerance To Amphetamine Hypophagia, Kimberlee D. Bachand

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

There is a growing body of literature indicating that drug effects are influenced by the context in which they are taken, and that neuroadaptations resulting from chronic drug use are similarly context dependent. Contingent tolerance to amphetamine-induced hypophagia is mediated by the learned suppression of stereotyped behaviors, and is an example of a drug-environment interaction. This form of behavioral tolerance depends upon instrumental learning, by which rats learn a strategy to suppress drug-induced stereotypies that interfere with feeding. Considerable progress has been made in understanding contingent tolerance at the behavioral level; little is known about the neural mechanisms underlying contingent …

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Neural Correlates Of Auditory Perception, Attention And Expectation, Theodore P. Zanto Jan 2006

Neural Correlates Of Auditory Perception, Attention And Expectation, Theodore P. Zanto

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

This dissertation examined the neural correlates of auditory perception, attention and expectation in three experiments. Experiment 1 analyzed neural correlates of auditory perception and expectation in an electroencephalography (EEG) experiment using a temporally perturbed metronome to establish an expectation for auditory events, then violate and reestablish that expectation. High frequency evoked (phase-locked) gamma band activity (GBA) was observed to follow the onset of tones whereas induced (nonphase- locked) GBA reached maximum power simultaneously with the occurrence oftone onset. Moreover, the latency of induced GBA was perturbed after an expectancy violation and relaxed back into synchrony as the expectation was reestablished. …

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'Persistent Heterogeneity' V. 'State Dependence': A Cross-Sectional Test Of Gottfredson And Hirschi's Low Self-Control Stability Hypothesis, Sandra Medlicott Jan 2006

'Persistent Heterogeneity' V. 'State Dependence': A Cross-Sectional Test Of Gottfredson And Hirschi's Low Self-Control Stability Hypothesis, Sandra Medlicott

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

In A General Theory Of Crime Gottfredson and Hirschi (1990) suggest that "low self-control" is an enduring individual characteristic that is the product of inadequate child-rearing. Sampson and Laub's (1993) Crime In the Making: Pathways and Turning Points Through Life somewhat supports this contention. However, the latter authors also suggest that later life experiences might change the direction of the life path (and self-control). This thesis examines whether adequate child-rearing is the key causal determinant of low self-control in later life. It further tests whether later life-course transitions might alter and/or impact low self-control. The results suggest that the impact …

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Prgmdh Algorithm For Neural Network Development And Its Applications, Chetan. Tangadpelli Jan 2006

Prgmdh Algorithm For Neural Network Development And Its Applications, Chetan. Tangadpelli

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

The existing Group Method of Data Handling (GMDH) algorithm has characteristics that are ideal for neural network design. This thesis introduces a new algorithm that applies some of the best characteristics of GMDH to neural network design and develops a Pruning based Regenerated Network by discarding the neurons in a layer which don't contribute for the creation of neurons in next layer. Unlike other conventional algorithms, which generate a network which is a black box, the new algorithm provides visualization of the network displaying all the neurons in the network. The algorithm is general enough that it will accept any …

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Residue, Susan L. Carlson Jan 2006

Residue, Susan L. Carlson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations 2000 - 2009

This creative thesis contains 19 poems exploring and examining the association of residues, primarily through that of memory and memories, through a process of defining and (re)defining those associations of memory (the residues) that attach themselves to memory and the actions of and upon memory. This thematic thread is woven throughout with narrative prose and verse, traditional and free verse, and the melding of each in an effort to exemplify the relationships between memory and its residual associations through structure, form, and language. Speakers are most often characters who represent the roles of memory and the associate value of the …

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Prophecy And Casuistry: Abortion, Torture And Moral Discourse, M. Cathleen Kaveny Jan 2006

Prophecy And Casuistry: Abortion, Torture And Moral Discourse, M. Cathleen Kaveny

Journal Articles

In turn of the 21st century United States there are serious moral disputes over issues such as abortion and torture among persons who see themselves as belonging to the same moral tradition. These disputes have not given rise to fruitful discussion about differences, but instead led to a breakdown of conversation and even of community. A part of these clashes and breakdowns are not the result of mutually inconsistent moral premises, but are driven by tensions between two styles of moral discourse, the prophetic and casuistical. The former invokes the absolute and fiery rhetorical style of biblical prophets while the …

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Tradition And Development In The Catholic Church's Teaching On Marriage: A Response To Cardinal Trujillo, John J. Coughlin Jan 2006

Tradition And Development In The Catholic Church's Teaching On Marriage: A Response To Cardinal Trujillo, John J. Coughlin

Journal Articles

During the twentieth century, the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church on the nature of marriage remained fully faithful to ancient tradition and witnessed new developments. In his article, The Nature of Marriage and Its Various Aspects, Alfonso Cardinal Lopez Trujillo has afforded a splendid overview of both the timeless and adaptive features of the Church's teaching. In commenting on the article, I have been asked to identify obstacles to the article's reception as well as to suggest possible resolutions. My brief response to His Eminence, Cardinal Trujillo, consists of two parts. First, I suggest that an epistemological issue is …

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The Rise, Development And Future Directions Of Critical Race Theory And Related Scholarship, Athena D. Mutua Jan 2006

The Rise, Development And Future Directions Of Critical Race Theory And Related Scholarship, Athena D. Mutua

Journal Articles

This essay tells the story of the rise, development and future directions of critical race theory and related scholarship. In telling the story, I suggest that critical race theory (CRT) rises, in part, as a challenge to the emergence of colorblind ideology in law, a major theme of the scholarship. I also contend that conflict, as a process of intellectual and institutional growth, marks the development of critical race theory and provides concrete and experiential examples of some of its key insights and themes. These conflicts are waged in various institutional settings over the structural and discursive meanings of race …

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Judicial Selection, Appointments Gridlock, And The Nuclear Option, David S. Law, Lawrence B. Solum Jan 2006

Judicial Selection, Appointments Gridlock, And The Nuclear Option, David S. Law, Lawrence B. Solum

Faculty Scholarship

This Article unfolds in six parts, of which the introduction is Part I. In Part II, The Legal Framework for Judicial Selection, we explore both the constitutional provisions and the Senate rules and customs that bound the judicial selection process. Part III, The Premises of the Model, discusses the analytical assumptions underlying our depiction of the judicial selection process in the form of a simple spatial model that can be easily understood and manipulated. The heart of the article is found in Parts IV and V. In Part IV, A Pivotal Politics Model of the Judicial Selection Process, we set …

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Download It While Its Hot: Open Access And Legal Scholarship, Lawrence B. Solum Jan 2006

Download It While Its Hot: Open Access And Legal Scholarship, Lawrence B. Solum

Faculty Scholarship

This Article analyzes the shift of legal scholarship from the old world of law reviews to today's world of peer reviews to tomorrow's world of open access legal blogs. This shift is occurring in three dimensions. First, legal scholarship is moving from the long form (treatises and law review articles) to the short form (very short articles, blog posts, and online collaborations). Second, a regime of exclusive rights is giving way to a regime of open access. Third, intermediaries (law school editorial boards, peer-reviewed journals) are being supplemented by disintermediated forms (papers on the Internet, blogs). Blogs and internet conversations …

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Georg Kinzer, Woman At A Mirror (Frau Vor Dem Spiegel), 1932, John Schneider Jan 2006

Georg Kinzer, Woman At A Mirror (Frau Vor Dem Spiegel), 1932, John Schneider

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

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Reconsidering Public Relations’ Infatuation With Dialogue: Why Engagement And Reconciliation Can Be More Ethical Than Symmetry And Reciprocity, Kevin L. Stoker, Kati Tusinski Berg Jan 2006

Reconsidering Public Relations’ Infatuation With Dialogue: Why Engagement And Reconciliation Can Be More Ethical Than Symmetry And Reciprocity, Kevin L. Stoker, Kati Tusinski Berg

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

Advocates of dialogic communication have promoted two-way symmetrical communication as the most effective and ethical model for public relations. This article uses John Durham Peters’s critique of dialogic communication to reconsider this infatuation with dialogue. In this article, we argue that dialogue’s potential for selectivity and tyranny poses moral problems for public relations. Dialogue’s emphasis on reciprocal communication also saddles public relations with ethically questionable quid pro quo relationships. We contend that dissemination can be more just than dialogue because it demands more integrity of the source and recognizes the freedom and individuality of the source. The type of communication, …

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The Effects Scholarship Status And Perceived Coaching Style Has On The Motivation Of Division Ii Football Players, Jonathan Paul Young Jan 2006

The Effects Scholarship Status And Perceived Coaching Style Has On The Motivation Of Division Ii Football Players, Jonathan Paul Young

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

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