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Full-Text Articles in Communication
Adjustment To Life In America: Black African Graduate Level Students, Denver Daniels
Adjustment To Life In America: Black African Graduate Level Students, Denver Daniels
Masters Theses
The purpose of the study was to examine what challenges Black African graduate students face when adjusting to life in the United States. A secondary concern was to examine what coping strategies were used during the transition. A qualitative approach was used to interview the participants and through coding, develop themes related to their time as graduate students.
This study concluded that there were a number of issues that Black African graduate students face. The students reported that they experienced homesickness, culture shock, and discrimination during their time at school. Specific themes also emerged as to how they coped with …
Students Reception Of Ethnic Diversity Topics From White And Non-White Faculty, Cobi Christiansen
Students Reception Of Ethnic Diversity Topics From White And Non-White Faculty, Cobi Christiansen
Masters Theses
The purpose of the study is to investigate the phenomenon of the student population being more ethnically diverse than the teacher population as well as examining student perceptions of ethnic diversity topics based on their perceptions of faculty ethnicity. A quantitative using a survey method was designed to investigate students' reception of ethnic diversity topics from White and Non-white faculty. From three different institutions in Central Illinois, 141 undergraduate education students, which included students who are majoring in early childhood, elementary, or secondary education as well as students who are receiving teaching certificates with their majors, participated in this study. …
Support For Friends And Family Members Of Incarcerated Individuals, Brandon M. Goodman
Support For Friends And Family Members Of Incarcerated Individuals, Brandon M. Goodman
Masters Theses
The aim of this thesis is to investigate and identify communication practices that affect incarcerated individuals and their families, specifically focusing on emotions and family communication patterns. Statistics show that there is a need for this type of research into support for loved ones of incarcerated individuals. This thesis then identifies the uses of theory and concepts related to family communication, emotions, and identity. The thesis also provides an overview of previous research on communication and incarceration, including interdisciplinary research crossing into sociology, as well as social interaction, family studies and more. In conclusion, the thesis argues that prisonization is …
Steven Avery, A Case Study: Making A Murderer Or Making An Identity, Allison Grussing
Steven Avery, A Case Study: Making A Murderer Or Making An Identity, Allison Grussing
Masters Theses
Steven Avery, a Wisconsin native, has spent the majority of his adult life in prison, once for a crime he was later exonerated from, and then again for murder. The Netflix series Making a Murderer documents Avery's murder trial, and uses only first hand accounts. Ultimately, this research had two goals: one was to better understand how the series utilized framing to engage in advocacy for Avery and the second was to uncover what identity was constructed by the producers and series for Avery. With a thematic analysis approach and open and axial coding this research revealed three themes that …
Welcome The Stranger? Recent History Of American Christianity And Refugee Policy, Brenda Edith Cuellar
Welcome The Stranger? Recent History Of American Christianity And Refugee Policy, Brenda Edith Cuellar
Masters Theses
Immigration is a controversial and complex issue. The United States has a history of welcoming millions of immigrants and refugees. Recent political rhetoric surrounding immigration has been negative and associated with danger and terrorism. Religious leaders along with their congregations have a history of advocating on behalf of the marginalized as well as combating against a broken immigration system that leaves eleven million people undocumented. This research paper uses a case study to explore the Sanctuary movement, a religious and political campaign that provided shelter for thousands of Central American refugees fleeing war. Interviews with seven religious leaders in Arizona …
The Impact Of Social Media On The Grieving Process, Resa Ware
The Impact Of Social Media On The Grieving Process, Resa Ware
Masters Theses
In 2015 the Pew Research Center reported that 72% of adult Internet users are on Facebook and it continues to be the most used social networking site in the world (Duggan, 2015). Facebook is a source of social expression, connections, and support for others. It is becoming much easier to express feelings such as grief in an online setting. In fact, the online expression of grief has been found to empower individuals who feel that traditional grieving practices are ineffective (Carroll & Landry, 2010). The purpose of the current study was to explore the impact of social media (i.e. Facebook) …
How The Internet Is Used By The Millennial Generation And Its Impact On Family Interaction, Kendra Myers
How The Internet Is Used By The Millennial Generation And Its Impact On Family Interaction, Kendra Myers
Masters Theses
The purpose of the current study was to examine how Internet technology is used by the Millennial Generation and how it impacts family interaction. A questionnaire developed by the author was posted online and the final sample consisted of 92 participants, 13 men and 79 women. The average age of the participants was 27.97 (SD = 4.46). Findings showed that that the Millennial Generation used the Internet multiple times a day and for many reasons which were sorted into six distinct themes: 1) research/information seeking, 2) work, 3) social media/communication (besides email), 4) academics, 5) email, and 6) personal/entertainment. …
Barriers To Communicating Sexual Orientation Identity At Work, Marissa A. Guenzi
Barriers To Communicating Sexual Orientation Identity At Work, Marissa A. Guenzi
Masters Theses
Previous research emphasizes the benefits associated with having open gay and lesbian employees. However, many gay and lesbian employees still remain in the closet. This project examines barriers preventing gay and lesbian individuals from coming out at work. Four lesbian women and three gay men in the early stages of their careers were interviewed about their experiences of being closeted at work. Analysis reveals four barriers preventing gay and lesbian individuals from coming out at work and explores how these barriers are reinforced by informal organizational communication. Theoretical and practical implications for organizational communication research are discussed, and recommendations for …
The Inmate Code: The Stories Lived And The Stories Told Of Men Behind Bars, Pauline Matthey
The Inmate Code: The Stories Lived And The Stories Told Of Men Behind Bars, Pauline Matthey
Masters Theses
Using Coordinated Management of Meaning, this study links socialization and identification with the intricate levels of the inmate code that male prisoners live by, or live with anyway, while being incarcerated. In doing so, the research showed that the more highly identified to the inmate code a prisoner is, the less likely he is to have a desire to coordinate the meaning of his stories lived with the stories told of others. Furthermore, this project uncovered a characteristic of metamorphosis, the TRAP, or Temporary Relapse Alluding to the Past. TRAP takes place when prisoners who have developed the ability to …
The Development Of Cross-Sex Friendships: An In-Depth Look At Rawlins' Model Of Friendship Development, Corina Franz
The Development Of Cross-Sex Friendships: An In-Depth Look At Rawlins' Model Of Friendship Development, Corina Franz
Masters Theses
The following study examines the development of three cross-sex friendships through in-depth interviews. The development of cross-sex friendship has been neglected in much of the research, and Rawlins' Model of Friendship Development has been assumed to fit the development of cross-sex friendships. This study compares the development of these friendships to the friendship development model. The results show that much of the development of cross-sex friendships has characteristics similar to Rawlins' model, yet the model does not address all the developmental issues cross-sex friends encounter. Limitations to the study and suggestions for future research are presented.
Aggressive Communication, Parental Communication, And Sibling Communication, Kristi K. Eustice
Aggressive Communication, Parental Communication, And Sibling Communication, Kristi K. Eustice
Masters Theses
The family is often seen as the center of instruction for children and the base for learning communication patterns. Aggressive communication is often seen in the family, especially as a parenting method. In this thesis, the current state of available literature on aggressive communication in the family is examined. This includes parenting styles, communication relationships between one parent and one child, and the negative effects verbal aggressive communication has on children. A t-test is used to research the responses of 100 students who have verbally aggressive parents. At 2.59, the t-test supports the hypothesis that parenting communication styles concerning aggressiveness …
Social Support Among Women In Families: A Descriptive Study Of Support In Intergenerational Relationships, Gina L. Bauswell
Social Support Among Women In Families: A Descriptive Study Of Support In Intergenerational Relationships, Gina L. Bauswell
Masters Theses
This study examines the effects of social support in intergenerational relationships among women in families. The research examines ethnography as a study, some of the benefits of research done in intergenerational communication, changes in this communication over the time span of the intergenerational relationships, the transmission of this communication, social support, the positive effects of the phenomenon of this type of communication for all those participating in this dynamic process, and the heuristic value of this research. The participants were forty women in my extended family, and this study is based upon their answers to a questionnaire and focus group …
The Effects Of Sex Guilt And Communication On Condom Use, Renée M. Souva
The Effects Of Sex Guilt And Communication On Condom Use, Renée M. Souva
Masters Theses
The purpose of this study was to determine whether sex guilt and communication were related to condom use. Past research has examined variables that affect condom use and has found that individuals who communicate more about sexual matters, and individuals who have low sex guilt, have been found to use condoms/contraceptives more consistently. This study examined sex guilt and communication and how they predict condom use. The participants were 80 female undergraduates recruited from psychology classes at Eastern Illinois University. Mosher's revised Sex Guilt Inventory and Catania's Health Protective Communication Scale were administered along with a question that assessed condom …
Young Children's Talk At Play: Orientation To Self And Orientation To The Joint Exigencies Of Conversation, Paige K. Parker
Young Children's Talk At Play: Orientation To Self And Orientation To The Joint Exigencies Of Conversation, Paige K. Parker
Masters Theses
This study employed a conversation analytic approach to determine how children in naturally constructed play episodes use language as an object of play and how children in their naturally occurring talk display orientation to their own individual activities and others' social actions. The participants were thirty-nine kindergarten and first grade students at South Elementary School in Marshall, Illinois. The study is based upon fifteen hours of conversation collected during recess periods. Relevant segments from the corpus were transcribed according to an adapted version of Jefferson's Transcript Notation System (1984). The findings suggested that (1) the groups of children used language …
Gender Differences In Evaluation Styles, Jean B. Hudson
Gender Differences In Evaluation Styles, Jean B. Hudson
Masters Theses
There is currently extensive research on gender differences in the area of speech communication. This study explores the gender differences in speaking styles and their relation to evaluation styles. Subjects were students enrolled in Introduction to Speech Communication at Eastern Illinois University. After compiling 722 speech evaluation sheets, an analysis of variance, factor analysis, and content analysis was conducted. Significant results concluded that sex of the instructor, sex of the speaker, and sex of the evaluator influence each other. Implications of this study were that speech instructors must be aware of their own speaking and evaluation style to avoid any …
Communication And Aging: Perceptions Of Family And Friend Interaction On Self Reported Life Satisfaction Among Selected Residents Of Three Nursing Homes, Patricia J. Fetzner
Communication And Aging: Perceptions Of Family And Friend Interaction On Self Reported Life Satisfaction Among Selected Residents Of Three Nursing Homes, Patricia J. Fetzner
Masters Theses
The study of communication and aging provides great potential for enriching the lives of the elderly. Of course this should be of great interest to each of us as we are all inevitably aging. One rapidly growing area in communication research deals with how communication affects the life satisfaction of the elderly. Of particular interest is the attitudinal effect of family and friend interaction.
Early research dealing with the elderly focused on two theories: 1. Activity theory, which is the idea that social activity is essential to an older person's sense of well being and; 2. Disengagement theory, which suggests …
What's On Tv? A Demonstration Of The Utility Of Contextualism And Content Analysis In Mass Media Research, Craig P. Gaumer
What's On Tv? A Demonstration Of The Utility Of Contextualism And Content Analysis In Mass Media Research, Craig P. Gaumer
Masters Theses
The purpose of this thesis has been to develop, test and utilize a reliable method to quantify the prevalence of pro- and anti-social behavior on children's television as assessed from a contextualist perspective. Many previous studies in the area of television have arbitrarily assigned either pro- or anti-social labels to television programs without the benefit of analyzing the content of these programs
The few studies that have attempted to analyze the pro- and anti-social content of children's television have used only physical parameters to define pro- or anti-social behavior. Through the development of a reliable method of analyzing the contextually …
A Survey Of Sex Typing On Prime Time Television, Patricia Sue Henry
A Survey Of Sex Typing On Prime Time Television, Patricia Sue Henry
Masters Theses
According to former FCC Commissioner Nicholas Johnson, the average child will spend nearly 25,000 hours in front of a television before he or she is eighteen years old. With this fact in mind, I wondered what America's children learn from watching prime time television regarding sex-typing, or the characteristics which are considered appropriately masculine or feminine.
A review of related literature showed that critics in the early 70s pointed out that women portrayed on television were less numerous than men, less intelligent, brave, and adventuresome. In short, women were stereotyped as supportive underlings.
To find out if women fared any …
An Internal Public Relations Plan For Neoga Community Unit #3'S Title 1 Project, Marilyn Gilmer Rennels
An Internal Public Relations Plan For Neoga Community Unit #3'S Title 1 Project, Marilyn Gilmer Rennels
Masters Theses
No abstract provided by author.
Effects Of Distance And Sex On Verbal Productivity And Anxiety, Peter Lindsay Rogers
Effects Of Distance And Sex On Verbal Productivity And Anxiety, Peter Lindsay Rogers
Masters Theses
The present study was designed to determine whether physical distance between male and female interviewees and a female interviewer affected verbal productivity and anxiety level when interviewees discussed academic, social, and personal topics. The interview was conceptualized as an information-gathering interview. Crucial variables in such interviews are client participation and information flow. Client verbal productivity appears to be directly related to these variables, and was used as one dependent variable to measure the impact of distance on interviewee verbal behavior. A self-report measure of anxiety, the Fear Thermometer was used as a second dependent variable.
The experimental distances used in …