Communication Commons^™

Navigating The Starless Night: Strategies For Understanding Autobiogeography, Matthew Wolf-Meyer, Davin Heckman

Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture

[First paragraph]

Ancient mapmakers relied upon the presence of celestial bodies for their conceptualization of the world, for their external knowledge-making tools, as if a far-off body could help to make sense of our terrestrial life/as if it couldn't. Cosmology, as a practice, relied on the construction of an external body of knowledge that the local meaning-maker could situate him- or herself into, and more broadly, their entire society and culture -- the interior is determined by its relationship to the exterior (or the exteriorized). For the ancient Greeks then, the font of Western culture, this cosmology works at once …

Autobiography And Geography: A Self-Arranging Question, Frédéric Regard

Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture

[First paragraph]

The border between fiction and truth in autobiography has been the subject of numerous investigations, yet the question of what we might call the assignations to residence of the author remains largely ignored. Critics have written abundantly about autobiography in its relation to the origin of the author as living personality with his own story, but never truly treated the idea of the spatial modalities, the layout, of the author's writing self. In his relatively unknown 1967 article On Other Places, Michel Foucault, then on assignment in Tunis, saw in this thematic situation the stage of a …

Processes Of Embodiment And Spatialization In The Writings Of Paul Auster, Markus Rheindorf

Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture

[First paragraph]

Processes of embodiment and the spatialization of interior categories such as thought and memory are defining characteristics of Paul Auster's novels, essays, and poetry, and a brief survey of these aspects can offer a new perspective on Auster's oeuvre as an organic whole. It is the underlying assumption of this paper that the transformation of interior into exterior constitutes a specific instance of the transpositional processes discussed therein. Within the theoretical framework of cultural studies -- as opposed to the more narrowly defined literary studies -- such transformations can be regarded as processes of embodiment, that is to …

Framing Intelligibility, Identity And Selfhood: A Reconsideration Of Spatio-Temporal Models, Sally Munt

Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture

[First paragraph]

The relationship between intelligibility and identity over the past thirty years has largely been approached through the linguistic construct of the subject. Proposing that our subjectivities be theoretically comprehended (made intelligible) as discursive effects is now common sense. Poststructuralism, following particularly Michel Foucault, Jacques Derrida and Jacques Lacan, has ensured that the subject is a cardinal category of contemporary thought; in any number of disciplines, it is one of the first concepts we teach to our undergraduates. But are we best served by continuing to insist on the intellectual primacy of the subject, formulated as it has been …

On Public Culture 12.3: Special Issue On Cosmopolitanism (2000), Dorothy Barenscott

Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture

[First paragraph]

For those engaged in any dimension of the vastly complex and highly contentious network of ideas, theories, and interdisciplinary projects under the rubric Cultural Studies, <> is a valuable, if not essential, journal. Since its inception some fourteen years ago, <> has maintained its mandate of intervention, creating a valuable and much needed space to publish politically charged and critically engaged work, often by unknown and marginalized scholars. Today these names read like a virtual who's who of the cultural studies world -- Homi Bhabha, Gayatri Spivak, Jurgen Habermas, Michael Taussig, Dipesh Chakrabarty to name but a few. This of …

Activist Desire, Cultural Criticism, And The Situationist International, David Banash

Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture

[First paragraph]

In the world of Anglo-American criticism, Situationism was once the province of hip theorists, progressive art historians, and a few scattered Marxists. No more, for the nineties saw Situationism come from obscure movement to the defiant avant of our cultural-critical-garde. Not only has the past decade seen the publication of a dozen books, countless articles, dissertations, and both academic and activist web-sites, the Situationists have moved right into the main line of pop-culture. Situationist graffiti turns up as the epigraph for gen-xer Elizabeth Wurtzel's Bitch: In Praise of Difficult Women (1988), and, with Rolling Stone darling Greil Marcus's …

Deception In Advertising: A Content Analysis Of The Legal Parameters Of Deception, E. Carla Mitchell

Theses and Dissertations in Business Administration

One of the primary attributes of a free market economy is the uninhibited flow of truthful information regarding the goods and services available in the marketplace (Azcuenaga 1995). This free flow of information, in the form of advertising, enhances market performance by informing consumers and enabling firms to compete equitably based on the attributes of their offerings. Studies reveal that, for the vast majority of marketing managers, the regulatory environment serves as the primary influence in advertising strategy development and decision-making (Davis 1994). However, in their theory development, behavioral researchers often ignore the legal aspects promulgated by the FTC. Furthermore, …

Geek Culture: An Annotated Interdisciplinary Bibliography, William L. Svitavsky

Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture

[First paragraph]

In recent years, there have been numerous studies on science fiction fans, role-playing games, comic book fans, and the culture of those strongly interested in computers. When a study profiles a group engaged in one of these activities, it is not unusual for the group's participation in the other activities to be mentioned as well. In popular culture (as opposed to studies of popular culture), this overlap has been recognized all along. Each of these groups has been ridiculed as geeks or nerds, and each has subverted those terms into proud self-identification. In his work on media fandom, …

Review Of Comic Book Nation: The Transformation Of Youth Culture In America, By Bradford Wright, Matthew Wolf-Meyer

Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture

No abstract provided.

The Role Of The Internet In Chinese Foreign And Domestic Affairs, Jean Bowman Leedy

Graduate Program in International Studies Theses & Dissertations

Problem: Rapid dissemination of Internet technology and the free access to information it affords poses a threat to non-democratic states that rely on control of information to maintain power and stability. This is of substantial concern to the Communist regime in The People's Republic of China due to the fact that its repressed population constitutes the fastest growing body of Internet users in the world.

Methods: This paper examines the potential impact of the Internet on Chinese foreign and domestic policy through interpretation of existing literature as it applies to the Internet, interviews with experts studying the emergence of China's …

A History Of Public Radio In An Urban Community: Its Impact Upon Education, Culture, Public Opinion And Policy, Barry K. Graham

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Education

In a relatively short history, Public Radio in Hampton Roads has emerged as a most important cultural and educational asset to the urban community. The dynamic growth of the Hampton Roads urban infrastructure is the result of several political, economic, and cultural factors. Public Radio has been one of these factors and has served as a catalyst for change and growth in the community. This case study focuses upon Public Radio stations WHRO-FM and WHRV-FM and the elements which brought about their historical development.

The study presents a history of events that marked the beginning of Public Radio in Hampton …

From Johnson To Nixon: Narrative Shifts In Gay Male Pornography, Jeremiah Smith

Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture

[First paragraph]

In Culture Clash: The Making of Gay Sensibility, Michael Bronski argues that dramatic differences occurred in gay male pornographic magazines around the 1969 Stonewall Riots in New York City. With a sample of gay male print pornography my partner and I have collected, ranging from 1966 to 1970, this article will explore the differences proposed by Bronski and ultimately prove their truth. On the surface, it does appear that the magazines prior to 1969 attempt to masquerade their gay prurience while the artifacts published after 1969 had shed the shame and secrecy of the closet rejoiced in …

Understanding The Digital Divide As It Relates To Electronic Commerce, Franklin D. Gaillard

Theses and Dissertations in Business Administration

There exists an electronic digital divide within the United States. This digital divide concerns access to the Internet and its corresponding technologies. The U.S. government is concerned about the digital divide because it appears that certain ethnic groups and income levels are being excluded from computer technologies and the Internet. These groups include African Americans and Hispanics, who are lagging the Caucasians significantly in gaining access to the Internet. For a while the gap between majority and minority groups appeared to be widening. Since Internet access is a prerequisite to electronic commerce, an understanding of the relationship between the digital …

The Prayer Of The Holy Name In Eastern And Western Spiritual Traditions: A Theoretical, Cross-Cultural, And Intercultural Prayer Dialogue, E. James Baesler

Communication & Theatre Arts Faculty Publications

Investigates the Holy Name prayer from the perspectives of eastern Hindu and both eastern and western Christian spiritual traditions. Interpersonal prayer as spiritual communication; Historical and theoretical dialogue; Comparison of the method and function of Eastern and Western Holy Name prayer traditions.

A Model Of Interpersonal Christian Prayer, E. James Baesler

Communication & Theatre Arts Faculty Publications

A model of interpersonal Christian prayer (ICP) was created based on a review and synthesis of traditional and social scientific prayer literatures. The ICP model accounts for global theoretical constructs such as active and receptive types of prayer and includes a subcategory of receptive prayer called radically Divine communication. The ICP model describes prayer progressions, specifically the developmental and cyclical nature of prayer. A list of 12 research questions based on the ICP model are provided. Two specific suggestions for future research dealing with the relational quality of prayer and intercultural receptive types of prayer are outlined.

Gendered Jokes: Humor As A Subversive Activity, Janet M. Bing

English Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Brain Sex: How The Media Report And Distort Brain Research, Janet M. Bing

English Faculty Publications

Testosterone gives men a particular advantage in that it is focusing and galvanizing a brain that is already, by its very structure, more focused than the female. Remember that the male brain is a tidier affair, each function in its special place . . . Biology, then, every bit as much as social conditioning, militates against a strongly feminine role in areas traditionally regarded as male preserves.

Communication To Reduce Embarrassment Between Individualistic And Collectivistic Cultures, Puvana Ganesan

Institute for the Humanities Theses

lntercultural communication is an inherent aspect of life, and "as we move or are driven toward a global village and increasingly frequent cultural contact, we need more than simply greater factual knowledge of each other. We need, more specifically, to identify what might be called the 'rulebooks of meaning' that distinguish one culture from another" (Barnlund, 1975, p. 7).

This thesis sought to discover and contribute valuable content to this "rulebook of meaning" through intercultural communication between high context, collectivistic cultures and low-context, individualistic cultures in the situation of experiencing embarrassment. One goal of this study was to determine if …

Meta-Ethnographic Development Of A Dialogue Methodology Applied To Organization Discourse, Shelley P. Gallup

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

A gap exists between theoretical stances that acknowledge the importance of dialogue as a dynamic within socially constructed structures, and "steersmanship" of those constructs--e.g., directing, intervening or transforming organizations. A "mechanism" which links theory with practice is missing, leaving practitioners with an acknowledgment of dialogue's central position, but without tools to enact this centrality in practice or research. This research constructs a conceptual model of dialogue, derived from the literature. Using this model as a base, the research seeks to generate a dialogue methodology bridging theory and practice with respect to organizational dialogue. The model, methodology, and research results are …

Public Journalism, The Second Level Of Agenda-Setting And Public Policy: The Role Of The Daily Press Newspaper In Creating, Framing And Fostering The Issues Of Regionalism And Consolidation On The Virginia Peninsula, 1944-1996, Shannon O'Bier Jackson

Theses and Dissertations in Urban Services - Urban Management

This study uses quantitative content analysis, with qualitative elite interviewing as a supplemental tool, to investigate the role of the Daily Press newspaper in creating, framing and fostering the locally controversial issues of regionalism and consolidation on the Virginia Peninsula from 1944-1996.

The investigation supports earlier findings regarding the second-level of Agenda-setting in terms of the newspaper's ability to cumulatively create "the pictures in our heads" of events or issues. The dissertation suggests that by selecting thematically related attributes over time, the newspaper acts to transmit issue salience, but that the potential impact of the "picture in our heads" is …

On Their Own: Female Correspondents In Vietnam, Joyce Hoffmann

English Faculty Publications

Women went to Vietnam as war correspondents in unprecedented numbers in the 1960s and early 1970s. A combination of intellectual curiosity, professional longings to be at the center of a big story and a simple lust for adventure drew women to the jungles of Southeast Asia, just as those same urges had long drawn men to the spectacle of war. For a decade and a half, women begged, cajoled or simply paid their own way to Vietnam. Together they transformed the role of women as war correspondents from an aberration to a norm. But very few of them were acknowledged …

Dispatchers' Perceptions Of Computer-Aided Dispatch (Cad) In Police Communications Operations: An Exploratory Study, Anthony L. Luckman

Sociology & Criminal Justice Theses & Dissertations

Since the 1970s, law enforcement officials, policy makers and academics have promoted the use of computer-aided dispatch (CAD) as a way of improving both the efficiency and effectiveness of police operations. Past literature on CAD focused on the technology's assumed capabilities for meeting certain goals. However, little if any research has, either objectively or subjectively, tested CAD's ability to meet these goals. This study utilizes subjective data collected from both dispatchers currently using CAD and those who are awaiting its implementation to determine their perceptions of CAD's ability to meet some of these goals. Of primary interest here was CAD' …

The Effects Of Procedural Explanation In Lessening Anxiety During Dental Hygiene Care, Michelle Leigh Sensat

Dental Hygiene Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this investigation was to determine if procedural explanation, given during dental hygiene care, significantly reduces client anxiety. The sample consisted of 62 subjects selected randomly from the population of all current clients, with records dating from 1994 to the present, of a private general dental practice in Virginia Beach, Virginia. A randomized subjects, pretest-posttest design was used to determine ii if procedural explanation yields a significant reduction in client anxiety as opposed to no such explanation during treatment procedures, measured by the Mann-Whitney U test and Wilcoxon matched-pairs tests. The Dental Hygiene Fear Survey served as the …

Interpersonal Christian Prayer And Communication, E. James Baesler

Communication & Theatre Arts Faculty Publications

Nationwide statistical polling during the past 40 years have indicated that prayer is a frequent and important activity for a majority of Americans. Yet communication scholars have yet to theoretically consider the relationship between prayer and communication. This investigation compared and contrasted a particular type of prayer, Interpersonal Christ¦·n Prayer (ICP), with a particular type of communication context, Interpersonal Communication (IC). Results suggested that ICP and IC share common ground in their dyadic nature, intentionality, and in specific communication processes, and that they differ in the nature of the relational being one is communicating with, the locus of initial intent …

Persuasive Effects Of Story And Statistical Evidence, E. James Baesler

Communication & Theatre Arts Faculty Publications

The persuasive effects of story and statistical evidence were examined for three different message topics. Students (N = 100) read three story or statistical messages and completed post-test measures, including ones involving beliefs and cognitive responses. A two-way interaction between message topic and evidence indicated that the persuasiveness of evidence varied by message topic. Exploratory analyses revealed that statistics were rated as more scientific and less personal than stories, but these characteristics of evidence were not related to persuasiveness.

Telemedicine: Discovering And Overcoming The Barriers, Dennis Mcclain-Furmanski

Community & Environmental Health Theses & Dissertations

Telemedicine is the use of teleconmrunications for medical diagnosis and patient care from a distance. This multimedia computer based medium serves as an aid to decision making, a means of transmission of care-related data and as a channel for collaborative care management between a provider and a patient. It is of greatest utility in remote areas, or in other cases where transportation of either provider or patient would be problematic or economically less feasible than the telemedicine alternative.

This study examined the current capabilities of the computer hardware and software necessary to implement a telemedicine system. It found that current …

Group Therapy: A Play, Eleanor L. Earl

Institute for the Humanities Theses

Group Therapy is a modem drama set in Portsmouth, Virginia, a small Naval town which is part of a larger area called Hampton Roads. Hampton Roads is best known for its Naval shipyards, Naval bases, and historic landmarks. The year is 1994.

The play focuses on interpersonal communication in a setting that serves as a surrogate family. In the play, seven men and women from varied walks of life come together and share their most intimate joys and sorrows in group therapy. Together, with the assistance of a dedicated psychologist, they struggle to confront and overcome depression and anxiety.

Religious Orientation, Persuasion, And Communicator Style, E. James Baesler

Communication & Theatre Arts Faculty Publications

Using a functional approach to religion as an explanatory framework, this essay argues that a quest religious orientation is associated with particular communicator styles and with religious persuasion. The research positively associates quest religious orientation with susceptibility to religious persuasion and negatively associates it with the religious need to persuade others. The results do not generally support the relationship between a quest religious orientation and communicator styles, but the study finds partial support for the relationship between a quest religious orientation and an attentive communicator style.

A Study Of Similarity And Analogical Decision-Making In Collaborative Design, Christopher Edward Weeks

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Theses & Dissertations

The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of similarity and analogy in design communication and propose a descriptive representation of the analogical decision-making process in the context of engineering design. It is proposed that social, cultural, and contextual knowledge are brought to bear on statements of need in the form of analogy as a means to elicit and evince potential design solutions. A goal of this study is to identify communicative behaviors, representing process variables of analogical decision-making, that can be used to describe how design information is represented, manipulated, and conveyed in a collaborative design effort. …

Women's Profiles, Robyn Lynn Cochran

Institute for the Humanities Theses

This creative project chronicles the development of an innovative short-format public radio series called Women's Profiles. I include a range of pertinent materials, including a record of my public radio internship, a grant proposal, and a public radio script. Using a feminist approach, I create a prototype for a radio show in which women subjects/narrators, in a non-hierarchical interview process, share their life experiences in conversation with one ( or more) women interviewers. By incorporating myself as a subject in this document, with work journals and narrative, I give readers an opportunity to appreciate the effort and process involved in …