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Articles 901 - 930 of 1063

Full-Text Articles in Communication

To Share Or Not To Share: The Impact Of Disclosing Sexuality On Instructor Communication Apprehension, Instructional Effectiveness, And Student Relationships, Justin Rudnick Jan 2012

To Share Or Not To Share: The Impact Of Disclosing Sexuality On Instructor Communication Apprehension, Instructional Effectiveness, And Student Relationships, Justin Rudnick

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Previous research has explored the role LGBTQ instructor sexuality plays in the classroom. However, little research explores the effects of disclosing LGBTQ sexuality on the individual instructor. This study examines how LGBTQ instructors report disclosures of their sexuality to influence their Communication Apprehension, Instructional Effectiveness, and their Relationships with Students. Qualitative interviewing methods were used to survey nine self-identified LGBTQ college instructors from mid-size Midwest universities, and a grounded theory approach was used to identify emergent themes pertaining to LGBTQ instructors' experiences with their sexuality in the classroom. Interviewees reported varying degrees of communication apprehension, instructional effectiveness, and heightened personal …

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Becoming "Black" In America: Exploring Racial Identity Development Of African Immigrants, Godfried Agyeman Asante Jan 2012

Becoming "Black" In America: Exploring Racial Identity Development Of African Immigrants, Godfried Agyeman Asante

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This qualitative study critically examined how African immigrants experience racialization and the process of developing Black racial consciousness. Focus group interviews were conducted to sample the collective racial experience among African immigrants. Thematic analysis was used as the basic methodology for analyzing the data. It was discovered that the participants "become African" and also "become Black" during the process of racial identification. "Becoming African" and "Becoming Black" constituted two sets of processes that simultaneously shaped the identity of African immigrants as they assimilated into the United States. From the study it became evident that there was tension between ethnic identification …

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"I Now Pronounce You...Uhh": A Qualitative Autoethnographic Exploration Of Women's And Men's Marital Surname-Choice Experiences, Julie Louceil Germain Walker Jan 2012

"I Now Pronounce You...Uhh": A Qualitative Autoethnographic Exploration Of Women's And Men's Marital Surname-Choice Experiences, Julie Louceil Germain Walker

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Marital name change has been a topic of fierce debate in social settings and has received some attention from academia, but largely scholarship on marital name change focuses on female choices and their rationale. Using a combined in-depth qualitative and autoethnographic approach, I sought to understand the connections between name and identity. I interviewed 11 heterosexual, married women and men about their marital name choices to explore the possible name-identity connections. Choosing a surname requires some type of pre-choice negotiation, either individually or with a partner, and several post-choice negotiations, such as with family members and the process of changing …

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Negotiating The Ideological Boundaries Of "The Four Freedoms": An Analysis Of African American Rhetoric From World War Ii, Jansen Blake Werner Jan 2012

Negotiating The Ideological Boundaries Of "The Four Freedoms": An Analysis Of African American Rhetoric From World War Ii, Jansen Blake Werner

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This project explores how African Americans continued the quest for civil rights during WWII. In order to do so, however, one must acknowledge that black spokespersons responded to competing discourses--particularly, the discourses of U.S. officials such as President Franklin D. Roosevelt. In an era where propaganda pervaded the public sphere, the sheer force of the white majority in the U.S. was politically and socially overwhelming. Thus, non-dominant groups, such as African Americans, were forced to react from a restricted discursive space. In this regard, my analysis cuts two-fold. First, I examine how President Roosevelt galvanized support for his "Four Freedoms" …

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Refugee And Immigrant Services: An Investigation Of Social Service Organization's Mission And Intercultural Interactions, Bethany J. Wenell Jan 2012

Refugee And Immigrant Services: An Investigation Of Social Service Organization's Mission And Intercultural Interactions, Bethany J. Wenell

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

While previous research has looked at the impact of acculturation processes from immigrants and refugee's point of view, little research has focused on the functionality of the organizations devoted to assisting them. The purpose of this study was to provide insight into the mission of social service organizations and how organizational members interact with immigrants and refugees experiencing the acculturation process. Eleven members of a social service organization from a Midwest City were interviewed and a grounded theory approach was applied to identify themes pertaining to member's perceived mission of the organization and the way organizational members interact and relate …

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Tying It All Together: An Autoethnographic Exploration Of Lgbtq Forensic Competitors, Alyssa Barrie Reid Jan 2012

Tying It All Together: An Autoethnographic Exploration Of Lgbtq Forensic Competitors, Alyssa Barrie Reid

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

It is a common held belief amongst the intercollegiate forensic community that it breeds a culture of affirmation towards marginalized identities. However, as a competitor I never felt confident portraying my LGBTQ identity while at a forensic tournament. This prompted me to employ interviews of former LGBTQ competitors to explore how they managed their identity. Using grounded theory and autoethnography I uncovered themes related to gender, sex, sexuality, and gender identity performance as they confronted and interacted with forensic competition.

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Communication Effectiveness And The Emerald Ash Borer Mitigation Campaign, Jonathon Heide Jan 2012

Communication Effectiveness And The Emerald Ash Borer Mitigation Campaign, Jonathon Heide

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Environmental risk communication is scrutinized by several research fields including, as Herndl and Brown (1996) show, technical communications. This technical communications thesis rhetorically analyses how large and small government agencies in the State of Minnesota communicate a specific environmental risk: emerald ash borer (EAB). EAB is an insect native to Asia and arrived in Detroit on a cargo ship sometime in the 1990s (Cappaert 2005, 153; Poland 2011, 46). By 2012, it spread to the 15 states and two Canadian provinces (USDA--APHIS 2012). EAB's life cycle will causes tree decline in Minnesota, the state with the most ash (MNDNR 2012). …

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Older, Wiser, Novice: An Autoethnographic Study Of Nontraditional Students' Participation In Collegiate Forensics, Laura Kathleen Pelletier Jan 2012

Older, Wiser, Novice: An Autoethnographic Study Of Nontraditional Students' Participation In Collegiate Forensics, Laura Kathleen Pelletier

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

There is a growing trend in nontraditional college student enrollments in the United States. Older, nontraditional students are currently the majority on many college campuses. Due to the constraints on nontraditional students' time, they are often unable to spend as much time on campus as traditional students and are unable to fully partake in campus life and socialization. Cocurricular activities, such as collegiate forensics, can be time consuming activities which for nontraditional students, especially those who have children, may seem like an impossible fit for their already busy schedules. Because college demographics continue to change and there are a growing …

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Forensics And The Basic Communication Course: A New Path To Satisfying Learning Outcomes, Benjamin Walker Jan 2012

Forensics And The Basic Communication Course: A New Path To Satisfying Learning Outcomes, Benjamin Walker

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Forensic scholars have long written about the educational benefits of forensics, but very few have attempted to tie the activity to learning objectives from the curriculum. This thesis seeks to determine if collegiate forensics can offer the same learning opportunities as one of the most common and fundamental communication classes in the discipline: the basic communication course. This research uses experiential learning as a pedagogical framework for forensics in attempting to answer if forensics can offer the same learning opportunities of the basic communication course, and if so, how the activity does this and what the students actually learn. Likert …

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Electronic Portfolios As Job Search Tools: Perspectives From Students, Career Counselors, And Human Resource Professionals, Emily Werschay Jan 2012

Electronic Portfolios As Job Search Tools: Perspectives From Students, Career Counselors, And Human Resource Professionals, Emily Werschay

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Electronic portfolios have traditionally been used by artists as a means of showcasing and organizing projects and accomplishments. Within academia, colleges and universities have implemented electronic portfolios as a way for students to showcase and share their papers, projects, and course work. Universities and colleges typically license e-portfolio software and distribute the platform to students. The eFolioMinnesota software is free for all students and residents in the state through the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System (MnSCU). Unfortunately, little has been researched about the use of e-portfolios in career development or employee recruiting. Never before have e-portfolios integrated with workforce …

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Are There Roles For Technical Communicators In Small Community Food Systems?, Brent William Chisholm Jan 2012

Are There Roles For Technical Communicators In Small Community Food Systems?, Brent William Chisholm

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The author explores the viability of incorporating technical communication genres, practices, and theory, into various components of small community food systems. He argues that certain types of food systems and users in those food systems allow technical communicators to participate in ways aligning with genres of conservation writing described by Johnson-Sheehan and Morgan (2009). He also incorporates ideas about authorship, describing that technical communicators can improve food systems by reconciling disparate agricultural technical material, advocacy for action, and the articulation of previously non-existent food systems.

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Special Section – Critical Thought In The Age Of Forensics, Bruce Wickelgren Jan 2012

Special Section – Critical Thought In The Age Of Forensics, Bruce Wickelgren

National Forensic Journal

No abstract provided.

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The Success Gap, Katie Donovan Jan 2012

The Success Gap, Katie Donovan

National Forensic Journal

When Lisa Uhrig, Cathie Craig and Ruth Brisbain won Impromptu, ADS and Persuasive at the 1971 National Forensics Association National Tournament, the forensics community breathed a collective sigh of relief. These women had won three of the six events the NFA offered at the time. Apparently, the lack of women in the activity had been solved. Over the next several decades teams were encouraged to diversify and include more women. However, while these efforts brought women into the activity, they failed to create a culture of equal success between men and women in forensics. Instead, we have considered the issue …

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Small World: A Forensic Dialectic, Jamie Bingham, Kylia Goodner Jan 2012

Small World: A Forensic Dialectic, Jamie Bingham, Kylia Goodner

National Forensic Journal

No abstract provided.

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Questions Surrounding Questions: A Rhetorical Analysis Of The Use Of Research Questions In Academic Writing, Stephanie Orme Jan 2012

Questions Surrounding Questions: A Rhetorical Analysis Of The Use Of Research Questions In Academic Writing, Stephanie Orme

National Forensic Journal

The fact that researchers have begun to question the potentially unethical use of questions in research, and that the research question has become an increasing presence in all scholarly rhetorical criticism– including 99% of the speeches you will see this year– the use of the research question in a venue that has traditionally avoided it merits investigation. So in order to explore the objectivity and academic effectiveness of research questions in our field, I performed a content analysis of top rhetoric journals using Hyland’s method for analyzing questions found in the article “What do they mean? Questions in Academic 54 …

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Connecting Past And Present: A Rhetorical Analysis Of How Forensics Programs Use Storytelling To Promote Team Legacy, Stephanie Orme Jan 2012

Connecting Past And Present: A Rhetorical Analysis Of How Forensics Programs Use Storytelling To Promote Team Legacy, Stephanie Orme

National Forensic Journal

Given forensics programs' status as organizations at academic institutions, these teams experience changes in membership far more often than typical organizations. Each year, a team will graduate a class of seniors who, through their four years as a competitor, have helped shape the program's culture and legacy in numerous ways. Yet this void left by the graduating members is then filled by the incoming freshman or transfer student competitors who will now play a part in reshaping the team's culture. This constant change in organizational culture makes it vital that forensic programs go to extra lengths to ensure that their …

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21 Building Bridges: Connecting Performance Studies And Forensic Oral Interpretation, Alyssa Reid Jan 2012

21 Building Bridges: Connecting Performance Studies And Forensic Oral Interpretation, Alyssa Reid

National Forensic Journal

Forensic educators have faced long standing criticism, within our discipline and beyond, in regards to the true educational benefits of forensic competition with particular scrutiny towards oral interpretation events. Although forensic interpretation events may seem like fun raucous performances, they are in many ways are grounded in sound pedagogy of oral interpretation scholarship. However in recent years, forensic oral interpretation has evolved to move beyond mere rendering of a text. In many ways forensic interpretation has shifted towards a paradigm of performance studies. Therefore, I shall reexplore past criticisms of forensic interp in order to argue for new ways to …

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Reframing Competitive Critical Analyses: An Argument For Education-Application Based Methods For Speech Writing In Ca And Rhetorical Criticism, Katherine L. Hatfield-Edstrom Dec 2011

Reframing Competitive Critical Analyses: An Argument For Education-Application Based Methods For Speech Writing In Ca And Rhetorical Criticism, Katherine L. Hatfield-Edstrom

National Forensic Journal

This project offers a contemporary exemplar that students and coaches in competitive speech, specifically in the events of rhetorical criticism or communication analysis can use to help reframe traditional notions or methods of how to write a speech for competition. I contend that the event in competition has become too “cookie-cutter” and devoid of innovation or “thinking outside the box,” which can limit the educational experience for our students. Thus, this project begins as a full critical analysis employing the theoretical framework of public memory and follows with a discussion of how a student in competitive speech could approach the …

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Biological Sex As A Predictor Of Competitive Success In Intercollegiate Forensics, Kiranjeet Dhillon, April Larson Dec 2011

Biological Sex As A Predictor Of Competitive Success In Intercollegiate Forensics, Kiranjeet Dhillon, April Larson

National Forensic Journal

This study examines biological sex as a predictor of the level of success in intercollegiate policy debate, impromptu speaking, and extemporaneous speaking. Secondary data analysis of tabulation sheets from NDT, AFA-NIET, and NFA, revealed three findings. First, there are more male than female competitors in policy debate and males significantly experienced more out-round success than females. Second, there are more males than females in impromptu speaking; however, there was no significance between biological sex and success in out-rounds. Third, there are more male than female competitors in extemporaneous speaking and males significantly experienced more out-round success than females.

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After Dinner Speaking: Problems, Causes, And Still No Solutions, Brandi Lawless Dec 2011

After Dinner Speaking: Problems, Causes, And Still No Solutions, Brandi Lawless

National Forensic Journal

Since its adoption as a competitive event, After Dinner Speaking has been critiqued and criticized by several scholars. Despite the quantity of literature produced on this topic, changes to the event have been minimal. This author chooses to look at four areas of controversy including: defining the event, differentiating After Dinner Speaking from Speech to Entertain, differentiating After Dinner Speaking from other platform events, and developing a judging standard for this event. With the use of humor, this paper not only examines these problems, but also the need for discussion surrounding the pedagogical goals of After Dinner Speaking as a …

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They Know What They're Doing But They Don't Know Why: A Theoretical Exploration Of Intertextuality In Interpretation Events, Megan Orcholski, Dan Cronn-Mills Dec 2011

They Know What They're Doing But They Don't Know Why: A Theoretical Exploration Of Intertextuality In Interpretation Events, Megan Orcholski, Dan Cronn-Mills

National Forensic Journal

Our agenda is to offer a conceptual/theoretical understanding of the post-structural approach to literature interpretation/performance. We make a practice of the theory in the construction of the paper—we allow the text to speak for itself. We provide a juxtaposition numerous authors. We focus on the text rather than the author. We offer the following reading instructions: Please read the text as a whole and skimming the referential notations. The citations are provided for readers who wish to further the topic. We realize we depart from the traditional academic writing form. The common occurrence of the style in competition underscores the …

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The Official Language Of Academic Debate, Marcus Paroske Dec 2011

The Official Language Of Academic Debate, Marcus Paroske

National Forensic Journal

Academic debate continues to face the long term issue of how to reconcile competing philosophies of argument pedagogy and competitive practice, especially between adherents technical and civic debate theories. Using the theories of Pierre Bourdieu, this essay offers an analysis of this division, focusing on the role of dominant language formation and the role fluency plays in constituting power dynamic in the activity. The conception of a translation approach to judging is offered as a remedy for the exclusionary effects of technical language use in debate.

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Using Science Fiction To Teach Science Facts, Stephanie N. Putt Jan 2011

Using Science Fiction To Teach Science Facts, Stephanie N. Putt

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Hugo Gernsback, the publisher of one of the first science fiction magazines and the man whom some people label as the godfather of modern science fiction, defined science fiction as "a charming romance intermingled with scientific fact and prophetic vision" (cited in Westfahl, 1998, pp. 38-39). If science fiction truly includes scientific facts, it can have serious implications for the teaching of science to students, as well as implications for the general reader. Studies by Negrete and Lartigue, as well as by Stanhope, Cohen, and Conway, have provided evidence that information learned through narratives can be retained for a longer …

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Defining Success: Examining What It Means To Be Good In Forensics, David J. Brennan Jan 2011

Defining Success: Examining What It Means To Be Good In Forensics, David J. Brennan

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

For decades college students have been competing in forensic activity (forensics), spending countless hours researching, writing, and performing speeches. Forensic scholars have never created an overarching definition of what it means to be successful in forensics. A survey was created and sent out on the individual events listserv, asking competitors and coaches to define success. Analysis reveals both competitors and coaches believe success in forensics is a combination of competitive achievement, building communication skills, and personal growth.

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Rhetorical Analysis Of Public Policy Rhetoric: Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act Of 2004 And 2010, Julie Ann Stella Jan 2011

Rhetorical Analysis Of Public Policy Rhetoric: Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act Of 2004 And 2010, Julie Ann Stella

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

In this research, I employed content analysis using the constant comparative method to examine and comment on the rhetoric of public policy and its audiences of specialists and generalists in the context of participative government. I examined the specific case of the Child Nutrition Reauthorization Act (CNR) by comparing technical report texts from 2004 and 2010 to reveal and contrast their specialist and generalist features. Unique attributes of the rhetoric of public policy are discussed, particularly authorship and recursion. I organized the research findings into physical features, affective features, and cognitive features according to Carliner's framework of information design (2000). …

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Social Media Communications In Local Community Education Organizations: Researching And Implementing Social Media Communications For Rochester Community Education, Anna Marie Matetic Jan 2011

Social Media Communications In Local Community Education Organizations: Researching And Implementing Social Media Communications For Rochester Community Education, Anna Marie Matetic

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Community Education departments are generally constrained by tight budgets, which can create difficulties in marketing its offerings within the region. Social media is a marketing method with low entry costs, thus making social media an attractive marketing option to Community Education departments. This thesis attempts to determine which social media communications are best for the existing "best customers" serviced by the Adult Enrichment department at Rochester Community Education. The research used a 22-question email survey with responses based on a 5-point Likert scale. The research found the online communication tools most often used by the "best customers" group included emails, …

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Homemaker To Seductress: A Content Analysis Of Gender Stereotypes In Online Embedded Advertisements, Danica L. Stith Jan 2011

Homemaker To Seductress: A Content Analysis Of Gender Stereotypes In Online Embedded Advertisements, Danica L. Stith

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Countless studies have documented and analyzed the presence of gender stereotypes in print and television advertisements, but very few have been performed on online advertisements. While the World Wide Web is no longer an exciting new domain for us, researchers are only beginning to analyze the vast number of gender stereotypes that are presented to viewers on a daily basis. The proliferation of gender stereotypes (specifically female stereotypes) is obvious in print advertisements and television advertisements, but do they also abound in online advertisements? In my research, I performed a content analysis of online embedded advertisements, specifically in three types …

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Ethic Of Responsibility: Teaching Communication Students The Importance Of Ethics, Jennifer Lynn Scarry-Garthwaite Jan 2011

Ethic Of Responsibility: Teaching Communication Students The Importance Of Ethics, Jennifer Lynn Scarry-Garthwaite

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

This paper focuses on the need for ethics instruction in technical communication classes in technical communication programs.

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Attraction And Motivation Of Millennial Generation Volunteers By Nonprofit Organizations, Yuliya Shkuro Jan 2011

Attraction And Motivation Of Millennial Generation Volunteers By Nonprofit Organizations, Yuliya Shkuro

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Attracting and motivating volunteers, especially younger generation volunteers, is a critical but not easy task for leaders in nonprofit sector. This paper examines what factors have been found to motivate Generation Y to volunteer in nonprofit organizations. Furthermore, the paper focuses on examining literature pertaining to help nonprofit organizations gain information about attraction and retention of younger volunteers. The trends learned from literature review have shown that Millennial volunteers are most likely to volunteer when they want to self-improve (professionally, academically), learn new skills, help disadvantaged, develop identity through association with nonprofit organization, socialize, meet new friends, and establish social …

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Improving Communication And Team Cohesion In A Long Term Care Facility, Jen Watson Jan 2011

Improving Communication And Team Cohesion In A Long Term Care Facility, Jen Watson

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The purpose of this Capstone project was to provide a staff development training that was researched based and educational. The training focused primarily on communication with a secondary emphasis on team cohesion. Training aimed to equip staff with skills and knowledge useful for working within various systems

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