Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Traversing Bourgeois Spaces: How A First-Generation College Student Makes Sense Of The Academy, Tabatha L. Roberts

Masters Theses

This thesis presents an autoethnographic interrogation of the intersections of identity for a first-generation college student (FGC) in the process of becoming an FGC PhD graduate/student. It explores the intersections of social class and power and how both concepts are embedded in educational practices, specifically through interpersonal relationships of teacher/student, and within institutions of higher education. Through the theoretical lenses of co-cultural theory and critical communication pedagogy, and the methodologies of autoethnography and the sensemaking paradigmatic framework it is possible to see how I interrogate my positionality as a working-class first-generation college graduate/student in the context of higher education institutions, …

Using Attachment Theory And The Hyperpersonal Model To Examine Relationship Maintenance, Satisfaction, And Affectionate Communication In Romantic Relationships, Christina J. Gentile

Masters Theses

In this study, individuals in long-distance and geographically close romantic relationships are surveyed to examine if there are differences in regards to one's relationship maintenance, affectionate communication, and relationship satisfaction via Facebook that is exhibited to a romantic partner. Attachment theory also is utilized to examine the same variables, but to assess if the results vary by attachment style. Both this theory as well as the hyperpersonal model (Walther, 1996) is used to guide this research. This model is typically used to explain why initial interactions among strangers can lead to heightened levels of communication and idealization, but limited research …

Liminal Losers: Breakdowns And Breakthroughs In Reality Television's Biggest Hit, Caitlin Rickert

Masters Theses

This study explores how The Biggest Loser, a popular television reality program that features a weight-loss competition, reflects and magnifies established stereotypes about obese individuals. The show, which encourages contestants to lose weight at a rapid pace, constructs a broken/fixed dichotomy that oversimplifies the complex issues of obesity and health.

My research is a semiotic analysis of the eleventh season of the program (2011), focusing on three pairs of contestants (or “couples” teams) that each represent a different level of commitment to the program’s values. Specifically, I focus on dramatic “breakdown” moments in which these contestants are disciplined by …

Ethical Ambivalence In Local Television Weathercasting: A Rossian Analysis, Vernon Keith Thompson

Masters Theses

Today’s television weathercasters are being called upon increasingly to go beyond benign weather prognostications to become the “newsroom experts” for science topics. The expectation to act as both scientists and journalists can cause ethical ambivalence (EA), a sociological condition in which, faced with conflicting norms, the subject feels that he/she is being pulled psychologically in two different directions (Jansen & Von Glinow, 1985). This thesis presents a Rossian analysis of climate change in weathercasting, a topic that captures the most important ethical tensions arising from conflicting duties within the weathercaster role, specifically: a) how might the duties of the television …