Communication Commons^™

Gratification Changes Among Country Music Radio Listeners, Larry E. Oathout

Masters Theses

Several past studies explore the gratifications received by mass media users. However, no former research focuses on radio as a single medium and investigates how gratifications change over a person's lifespan. This study utilized an altered version of Elliott and Quattlebaum's (1979) ten media gratification list and questioned a 14 to 60 year old sample group about the gratifications they receive from country music radio. The researcher selected country music because it is the most popular radio format today and because it provided the wide age parameters needed for the study. Two hundred and thirty-nine users of an Internet country …

Can We Talk?: Gender And Age Differences In Self-Disclosure Among Close Friends, Nancy Curtin Alwardt

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Volume 23, Number 6, Post Amerikan

The Post Amerikan (1972-2004)

Community News; New Show at CVA; HIV/AIDS Support Group Offered; Hate Crimes Against Native Americans; Ms. Hippie; Jesse Smart's Telephone Etiquette; Pantagraph Sends Scabs to S.F.; Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual Issues; Russian Homebirth Project; Animal Magnetism; Yummy Recipes; Thoughts on the Recent Mike Cockrill Exhibit; Voice for Choice News; Interview with a New Theatre Group in Bloomington/Normal; New Age Center to Open in Bloomington; Holidays and Consumption

Volume 23, Number 5, Post Amerikan

The Post Amerikan (1972-2004)

Community News, Ms. Hippie, Rutherford's Double Standards, Winter Wren's Star Guide, Ethics in Psychism, Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual Issues, 200th Issue Special Section, Voice for Choice/Election Summary, Towanda Reviews Books, Why You Should Watch TV Nation, ISU Music Schedule, Good News for Vegans - Restaurant Review, Animal Magnetism: Stop Gillette, Famous Veggies

Volume 23, Number 4, Post Amerikan

The Post Amerikan (1972-2004)

O.J. Simpson's Hidden Shame, What lies in your future? /Winter knows, Ms. Hippie returns/Broom closet, Animal Magnetism, Deer killed by police in Hancock Stadium, Doonesbury censored by guess who, Womeri For Guatemala, Pell grants for prisoners cut, Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual issues

Volume 23, Number 3, Post Amerikan

The Post Amerikan (1972-2004)

The Incredible Shrinking Post Amerikan, Larger Than Life Figures II, Male Genital Mutilation, Voice For Choice News, Oh, Well, Whatever...Nevermind, Winter Wren's Star Guide, Support for Safety Strikers, Roadkill on Taxes, Naropa

Volume 23, Number 2, Post Amerikan

The Post Amerikan (1972-2004)

Letters; Raffle Winners; Classy Frieds; Blue Moon Coffeehouse Schedule; Community News; Ms. Hippie; Winter Wren's Star Guide; Animal Magnetism: Premarin; Milk--It Does a Body Bad; 101 Reasons to Be a Veggie, Finale; Notes from the Land of Anti-Fat; Episiotomy--Genital Mutilation Amerikan Style; A Matter of Identity; News from Voice for Choice; Generation X: Marketing, Stats, Reflections; Take 2 Tablets; Modernization Revisited--The Zapatista Rebellion; Dave a Life, Save the World; News from NGLTF: Bisexual, Gay, and Lesbian Issues; Condom Facts; Ollie's Fun Page; Love Post Amerikan Style

Volume 23, Number 1, Post Amerikan

The Post Amerikan (1972-2004)

Community News; Uppers/Downers; 1994 Predictions; Think About It; FDA Targets Food Supplements; Bioregionalist Perspectives: A Quest for Human Identity and Survival; Anarchy, Revolution, and Christ; Anarchy, Revolution, and Crestwicke; Ms. Hippie; Notes from a Local "Lefty" and Small Business Owner; Rittenhouse Letters: Responsibility and the Rape Culture; Attention Meat-Eaters; Diet Styles of the Rich and Fatuous; Famous Larger-Than-Life Crossword Puzzle; Voice for Choice; Homebirth: Fighting for Another Reproductive Right; Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Public Aid; Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual Issues

Communication Apprehension As A Determinant Of Conflict Management Style, Jennifer C. Eikenberg

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Hunter S. Thompson's Bid For Sheriff Of Pitkin County, Colorado: The Rhetorical Anatomy Of An Unconventional Campaign, Eric Bruce

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Affinity-Seeking In The Classroom: A Study Of Differences In Instructor Gender And Status, Darin L. Garard

Masters Theses

Affinity-seeking is the process by which individuals attempt to get others to like them. The purpose of the present study was to analyze student perceptions of instructor use of affinity-seeking strategies as a function of instructor gender and status by replicating the research of Bell and Daly (1984) and Roach (1992). A pilot study was first conducted to determine if research in this area was indeed warranted; results were significantly positive to that effect. For the present study, research questions were developed to examine the differences between male and female instructor affinity-seeking, Graduate Teaching Assistant and faculty affinity-seeking, and to …

A Rhetorical Analysis Of The Persian Gulf Debates, Daniel F. Hickey

Masters Theses

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to analyze selected senatorial speeches for and against using military force against Iraq.

Hypothesis

It was hypothesized that Richard Weaver's hierarchy of argument will provide a useful framework for the identification of arguments and philosophical inclination of the speakers.

Materials

The primary documents comprising this study were the four speeches found in Vital Speeches of the Day by Senator Robert Dole (R-KS), Senator George Mitchell (D-ME), Senator John C. Danforth (R-MO), and Senator Sam Nunn (D-GA). All were delivered in the Senate between January 10-12, 1991. The speakers chosen were well-respected members of …

The Relationship Between Ca And Humor, Michael Sean Mcmurtry

Masters Theses

Research has shown that communication apprehension is seen as a negative effect of speaking in public as well as in other situations. The nervous and anxious feelings experienced in these contexts take away from understanding and add to the breakdown of interpersonal relationships. On the other hand, humor is found to be an excellent coping mechanism to deal with embarrassing and fear-related anxieties and it adds to group cohesiveness. The relationship between CA and humor was of investigated to determine what effects CA has on humor and how well the use of humorous messages alleviates the problems associated with CA. …

A Study Of Required Educational Preparation And Role Of Entry Level Public Relations Practitioners: A National Educator And Practitioner Perspective, Kristin Mary Oelke

Masters Theses

The public relations profession is in a constant state of change, and it doesn't have a clear definition. Without having a clear understanding of public relations, it is difficult to know exactly how to prepare college students who aspire to become public relations practitioners for the profession.

Moreover, there is only limited public relations research and literature regarding the required educational preparation and role of entry-level practitioners. Therefore, due to the limited literature, this study was conducted, in general, to learn more about the required educational preparation and role of entry-level PR practitioners and, specifically, to test the following three …

A Burkean Analysis Of The Rhetoric Of Sexual Harassment: An Examination Of The Polarization Of Attitudes Related To Consensual Relationships On Campus, Loretta Lovelace Wiman

Masters Theses

A history of sexual harassment traces the recognition and development of the issue as a social problem in the workplace and on college campuses. A review of research literature reveals both percentages of students involved and the effects on those students of academic or teacher/student sexual harassment. A brief overview of institutional policy statements shows that some colleges/universities have responded to the issue with a ban on all consensual amorous relationships between teachers and students; some ban such relationships only when a supervisory relationship also exists, and some do neither. Some policies include sanctions on those who violate bans; others …

Robert Frost And Maya Angelou: Poet-As-Rhetor In The Presidential Inauguration: Textual Symbols And The Symbol Of Enactment, Donna M. Witmer

Masters Theses

This criticism uses an organic approach to examine the rhetorical properties of Frost's and Angelou's inaugural poems and their individual enactments respective of the constraints and exigencies in the Presidential inaugurations of Kennedy and Clinton. Apparently responding to the constraints of television's sound bite as well as to exigencies of the traditional inauguration and the need to serve a new generation and a culturally diverse population, the Clinton Administration combined the poetic form, used to heighten an emotional response, with an enactment as a synecdochic symbol, used to assert sociopolitical ideology.

Visualization And Imagined Interaction As Cognitive Interventions For Lowering Levels Of Communication Apprehension, Kathleen A. Snyder

Masters Theses

Communication apprehension is something with which many students and people in general are faced when forced into an involuntary communication situation. Various treatments have been tested for coping with it. Imagined interaction and visualization, two cognitive processes associated with intrapersonal communication, were investigated in this study as interventions for lowering communication apprehension levels in introductory public speaking courses. One-hundred and fifty college students enrolled in introductory speech courses at Eastern Illinois University served as subjects and were assigned to one of four groups: a control group, a script visualization group, a performance visualization group, and an imagined interaction group.

The …

Viewer's Perception Of Local Television Anchors: A Gender Based Study, Mary Elizabeth Wagner

Masters Theses

A number of studies conducted by Lin (1992), Meeske (1992), Stone and Lee (1990), and Weinthal and O'Keefe (1984) have examined which variables are rated highest and most prominent by respondents toward television anchors. Professionalism, voice and speech, personal appeal, and attractiveness have been among the top rated variables, but they have never been researched within a single study. This study examines the above variables for local male and female television anchors and discovers which was rated the highest by male and female respondents. Significant findings within this study include male respondents perceive professionalism to be the highest rated variable …

Volume 22, Number 4, Post Amerikan

The Post Amerikan (1972-2004)

Post Amerikan Declares War on Pantagraph, Page Two Stuff, Community News, Gallery Exhibits, Omigod! A Letter from Bill Flick, Classy Fried Ads Are Back!, Staley Update, 7 Things You Can Do, Horoscopes, Ms. Hippie, Sandra Bernhard Review, Pastor Leon Says: We Must Overcome, Swastika Watch, Car Found Guilty, Boycott News, A View from Bloomington's West Side, The Politics of Coming Out, Vegetarian Reasons Continued, Animal Magnetism, PETA News, Meat Label Update, Voice for Choice News, Think About It..., Uppers/Downers, Prison Legal News, Life in the Fat Lane, AIDS Stamp, Notes from the Land of Anti Fat, Common Sense 1993, Gay/Lesbian/and …

Volume 22, Number 3, Post Amerikan

The Post Amerikan (1972-2004)

Community News, Think About It..., Ken's a Queen, Dear Ms. Hippie, Nervendranke und Rohunge Part II (Neurotics and Savages), Get Involved, Swastika Watch, Uppers/Downers, Gun Control No Threat, Staley Lockout Continues, Bulletin Board Systems, Proud to Be on the Rag Again, Animal Magnetism, Attention Meat Eaters: Part II, News from Voice for Choice, GALA News

Volume 22, Number 2, Post Amerikan

The Post Amerikan (1972-2004)

Guilty of Racism, Boycott News, Uppers and Downers, Menstrual Health, Exposed Racism in Our Court Systems: Are There Solutions?, ACLU speaks out about crime and civil liberties, Swastika watch returns, Animal Magnetism: FARM's annual report, PETA stuff, Reagan/Hitler coincidences, 101 Reasons to eat only plants, Dare to be yourself - fat or thin or short or tall or..., Isis goes to the movies

Volume 22, Number 1, Post Amerikan

The Post Amerikan (1972-2004)

Shocking "Truth" Revealed - Homosexuals in the Military: President Clinton proposes lifting ban (cover spoof); Setting up recycling programs; Ms. Hippie urges you to "just say no to drugs"; Towanda's thoughts on the Suzuki billboard; Nazis abound in Normal - we dare you to prove us wrong; Holly Foy discusses midwifery; New plans to open abortion clinic; Animals rights: GM stops, L'Oreal continues; NAAFA what does this acronym stand for?

The More Things Change, The More They Remain The Same: The Feminist Rhetoric Of Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Lisa S. Strange

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

An Analysis Of Employee Print Media Content, Michelle M. Accardi

Masters Theses

This content analysis studies an area that has had limited research: university print media. University print media helps maintain communication between management and employees. Past research links three communication categories together: organizing, relationship and change. Organizing is found to be the dominant content category in business newsletters, according to past research.

The uses and gratifications theory, exchange theory and structural-functional theory all play an integral part in the communication process. Continuous two-way comunication between management and each public can lead to a successful organization. Internal communication, wants vs. needs, and finding common ground are additional variables that determine the effect …

I.A. Richards' Triangle Of Meaning Compared And Contrasted With The Rhetoric Of The Holy Bible, Gregory L. Swango

Masters Theses

It is the Bible's claim to be the inspired word of God. The message from the Scriptures has persuaded millions: from the shepherd of the first century to the business person of our present age. The words chosen, the genres used, and the forms of verbal support employed are prodigious in every way. The rhetorician and linguist, I. A. Richards, has written and spoken on how words come to have meaning, how they are used in context, and how they are used metaphorically. He has developed his ideas through a model called the triangle of meaning. There is justification for …

The Portrayal Of Men In Advertising In Specific Women's Magazines, Suzanne E. Fickes

Masters Theses

No abstract provided.

Good Grief! Coping With Death And Dying In A Hospice Situation, Pegg Warnick

Masters Theses

The purpose of this qualitative study is to discover and examine the coping strategies concerning death and dying from the perspectives of hospice patients and hospice volunteers. A review of applicable literature, informal but structured interviews and participant observation are procedures for the study. The focus of the study lies in three areas: what are the internal attributes used to cope?; what are the external support systems used to cope? and, what are the adjustments in personal goals? Research for this study was patterned after Hegge's study (1991) who surveyed the coping strategies of the recently widowed elderly. The instruments …

Customer Satisfaction Among Cable Tv Subscribers: A Case Study Of Tci Of Illinois, Inc., Gail M. Gilliland

Masters Theses

This study gauges customer satisfaction among subscribers of TCI of Illinois, Inc., cable company. Two research questions were formulated in order to determine the customer satisfaction levels: "Can a satisfaction instrument be generated to measure customer satisfaction among cable subscribers?" and "What are the levels of customer satisfaction among TCI of Illinois, Inc., subscribers?" Data was obtained from personal, mail and telephone surveying of a 10% random sample of Charleston cable television subscribers. The results indicate that a reliable and valid measuring device was generated and 39.5% of the respondents were satisfied with TCI overall.

Women's Communication In Country Music, Heather Elizabeth Yarbrough

Masters Theses

The lyrical content of female performed country songs was evaluated in this study. Female soloist performer's songs ranking in the top hits of each year between 1950 and 1989 were examined. After indepth research into the history of country music and the female role in country music, several songs performed by females and listed as hits between the years 1950 and 1989 were analyzed. The characteristic found in most female songs was relationships with men and family and how women react to the positive and negative aspects of these relationship.

Volume 21, Number 5, Post Amerikan

The Post Amerikan (1972-2004)

4 More Weeks, RU 486, Jesse Jackson Jr., Insanity