Communication Commons^™

Making Sense Of America: A Phenomenological Analysis Of Chinese Nationals' Interactions In The U.S., Donna Marie Ecelroy

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis systematically explores the interactive experiences of Chinese students and scholars in the U.S. Specifically, the research asks: How do Chinese students and scholars (from the People's Republic of China) interpret their interactions in the U.S., and how do their interpretations change over their tenure in the U.S.?

Research on general issues of cultural experience and adjustment is reviewed. Further, meta-theoretical issues in the study of cultural experience and adaptation are addressed. These issues provide a background for both the phenomenological grounding of this study and the qualitative approach used for data collection and analysis.

Intercultural Adjustment Problems Of Costa Rican Students In The United States, Patricia Gonzalez

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study is to determine the adjustment problems Costa Ricans face while living and studying in the United States. The main concern of this thesis is to identify the intercultural communication problems that arise fundamentally from differences in value systems.

Cultural Value Differences In Arguments Between Presidents Ronald Reagan And Oscar Arias, Juan Carlos Flores

Dissertations and Theses

Costa Rica embodies many of the characteristics which the United States would like to foster in Central America and elsewhere. In recent years, however, misunderstandings have often been present in the development of relations between both nations, and leaders. These differences have been particularly visible between Presidents Reagan and Arias when carrying out their foreign policies towards Central America.

Recent developments in warfare, social and political unrest and economic crises in the region added to the emergence of a Central American political leadership--independent of U.S. decision making-have increased international misunderstandings between both political speakers. These misunderstandings are shown by Reagan …

Communication And Socialization Skills Of Three Year Olds With A History Of Language Delay, Pamela Susan Dahm

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to compare receptive language, expressive language, and socialization skills of preschool children who have a history of expressive language delay (ELD) with age mates who have a history of normal language development.

Awareness Of Biculturalism In Families Of Intercultural Marriage, Eleesabeth Carol-Therese Vieira

Dissertations and Theses

The overall purpose of this preliminary study is to generate more information in the area of intercultural marriage. The specific objectives of the study are to explore the extent to which families of intercultural marriage are aware of the issues of biculturalism that are discussed as significant in the literature; the extent to which partners of intercultural marriage discuss these issues with one another or with their children; the extent to which the family members' subjective reports of "awareness" are consistent.

Exploratory Study: Preparation By Japanese Parents In The U.S. For Their Children's Reentry To Japan From An Intercultural Communication Perspective, Noriko Nakagawa

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this thesis was to discover whether or not the Japanese parents who are temporarily staying in the U.S. with their children are anticipating the possibility of psychological and communicative problems their children may face as returnees, and to what extent the Japanese parents discuss these potential problems with their husbands and/or with their children. The question also asked whether or not the Japanese parents are doing anything to prepare themselves and/or their children to cope with the potential problems which their children may face as returnees.

Intercultural Training And International Exchange: An Exploratory Study Of The Association Of Intercultural Training With Hosting Goals Of American Families, Jan Marie Oehlschlaeger

Dissertations and Theses

This study investigated the host family experience, specifically examining the goals of host families and intercultural training of host families. It compares the the importance and accomplishment of goals between interculturally trained host families and untrained host families. The focus of the research addressed the following research questions:

1) Do host families who receive intercultural training rate their goals differently than families who do not receive intercultural training?

1a) Do host families who receive intercultural training rate differently the goals in which the student meets intra-family needs than families who do not receive intercultural training?

2) Do host families who …

Goals Of International Exchange: An Exploratory Study Of Why American Host Families Participate In International Exchange Programs, Deborah L. Fisher-Moore

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis presents the findings of a descriptive study of goals of international exchange and how they are perceived in terms of relevance by host family participants in homestay exchange programs.

The literature of international exchange was examined to identify goals as established and defined by researchers in the field. Experienced exchange coordinators, host families and others were interviewed for their suggestions of additional goals not discussed in the literature. A survey questionnaire was developed and administered to 69 host family members from Tillamook County, Oregon. They were asked to evaluate the importance and achievement of 14 literature-based and 22 …

Correlation Of Preschoolers' Performance On Three Language Comprehension Tests, Alissa Clare Nordlund

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised, (PPVT-R) and receptive subtest of the Preschool Language Scale (PLS), and between the PPVT-R and the Test of Auditory Comprehension of Language-Revised (TACL-R), as well as determine how the tests compare in identifying children in need of further evaluation in the area of receptive language. The reasoning behind the goal of this study was to determine that if the three tests showed a strong, positive correlation and identified the same children as needing further assessment, then perhaps the test which was easier and …

A News Discourse Analysis Of La NacióN, Jimen Chan

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis is a study of La Nacion, the largest circulating newspaper in Costa Rica. The purpose of this study is to examine whether claims made by La Nacion regarding their fairness and balance of news coverage are justified.

Social Construction Of Sexual Equality In Distilled Beverage Advertising, Kathleen Dianne Lecoe-Cannucci

Dissertations and Theses

One aspect of the role of advertising in the process of maintaining and reinforcing or challenging the socially constructed worlds of maleness and femaleness, and especially the portrayal of the "woman's place," was explored in this study.

U.S.-Soviet Interchange : An Examination Of The Underlying Assumptions Of U.S. Peace Organizations Sponsoring Contact With Soviet Citizens, Hyla Rosenberg

Dissertations and Theses

The research focus of this study was upon U.S. peace organizations which sponsor face-to-face contact with Soviet citizens. Nine U.S. peace organizations were included in the study, the names of which were acquired through a publication produced by the Institute for Soviet-American Relations. The researcher contacted approximately 28 organizations either by telephone or mail, requesting that organizational literature (program descriptions, newsletters, brochures, pamphlets) be sent to the researcher for the purpose of conducting a rhetorical analysis of such literature.

Cultural Relativism In Intercultural Communication Theory : A Descriptive And Heuristic Study, Ellen Linnea Trygstad

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this descriptive study was to determine how the concept of "cultural relativism" is used in the current literature pertaining to intercultural communication. This concept is central to much of the work being done on face-to-face intercultural communication, but a preliminary review of that literature indicated ambiguity and lack of concurrence among authors' views regarding the concept. This research was designed to describe the range of authors' views on cultural relativism as well as to provide some historical and critical perspective regarding "cultural relativism."

Advertising In Restrooms, Karsten C. Hofmann

Dissertations and Theses

There is a common belief that the special situation one encounters in restrooms is likely to evoke negative associations between the setting and a potential product, and that these presumed associations make advertising in restrooms incompatible with the objectives of advertisers.

This general proposition was questioned on theoretical grounds. It was argued that the specific situation in a restroom would be conducive to advertising goals in a number of ways. In addition, while negative associations may occur with certain kinds of products, others were hypothesized to be unaffected. In particular, the potential value of restrooms for communicating public education issues …

A Comparison Of Communication Intentions In Toddlers Between Sixteen And Thirty-Four Months Of Age, Mary Elaine Shiffer

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to compare the frequency and range of communication intentions in normally developing toddlers and ELD toddlers. Data were gathered from ten minute video tapes of low structured parent/child interaction by coding twelve communication intentions commonly acquired in the first two years of life and expressed with five modes of communication.

Communication And Socialization Profiles In Toddlers With Expressive Language Delay, Shawn Spangle-Looney

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to compare expressive communication, receptive communication, and socialization achievement in 18- to 34-month-old ELD toddlers to the same skills in normally-speaking children. The questions this study sought to answer were, how do the three skill areas in ELD toddlers compare with the same skills in normal toddlers?, will ELD subjects evidence specific profiles of deficits involving not only expressive but receptive and social skills as well? and, within the ELD subjects will two subgroups emerge, one group having poor expressive skills only, and a second group having deficits in addition to expression.

Intercultural Factors In Business Negotiation Between Japanese And Americans, Yuko Nagatomo

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis is a review of relevant literature on business negotiation between Japanese and American and an analysis of cultural differences in negotiation from an intercultural perspective. The following four key issues are explored and analyzed with intercultural communication concepts:

1. Major differences in approaches to the process of business negotiation between the United States and Japan;
2. Potential friction between Japanese and Americans in business negotiation that is attributable to Japanese and American cultural differences;
3. The applicability and usefulness of an intercultural perspective in enhancing business negotiation skills; and
4. Main factors affecting the use of an intercultural perspective in cross-cultural business …

John Chrysostom, On The Statues: A Study In Crisis Rhetoric, Douglas B. Radke

Dissertations and Theses

The name of John Chrysostom has historically been held in high esteem by the Christian Church. John was born, circa A.O. 350, in the Syrian city of Antioch. His rhetorical career led him to the apex of religious power as bishop of Constantinople. As a result of his verbal harangues of the political and religious leaders, he was sent into exile, where he died in A.O. 407. During his life time he was recognized both for his eloquence and his controversial style. Since the fifth century he has been remembered by the epitaph "Chrysostom," a tribute to his oratorical abilities, …

The St. Josephs-Blatt, 1896-1919, Steven Wayne Harmon

Dissertations and Theses

The St. Josephs-Blatt was a German-language newspaper published by the Benedictine monks of Mt. Angel Abbey from 1896 through 1952. The only fully extant collection of the St. Josephs-Blatt resides in the archives of Mt. Angel Abbey. The current archivist and Mt. Angel historian is Fr. Martin Pollard, who graciously allowed me to examine original copies of the newspaper and gave me the benefit of his personal historical expertise about both the paper and Br. Colestin. For my research on the newspaper I did not use the original bound copies of the Blatt, which were too sensitive and brittle to …

The Effects Of A Thank-You Letter And/Or Phone Call To First-Time Volunteer Blood Donors, Larkey Sheldon De Neffe

Dissertations and Theses

This study measures two reinforcement strategies designed to increase repeat donations in first-time volunteer blood donors.

Normative Study Of Phonological Process Patterns Of Preschool Children As Measured By The Assessment Of Phonological Processes, Revised, Lori Jean Griffith

Dissertations and Theses

The questions this study sought to answer were: Do normally developing children exhibit phonological process deviations; what is the frequency of occurrence of each phonological process deviation by age group; and does the number of phonological process deviations and the average total frequency of occurrence of phonological process deviations decrease as age increases?

The Cognitive Learning Styles Of International Students, Shelley L. Smith

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this research was to examine the usefulness of David A. Kolb's Learning Styles Inventory (LSI) as a tool for categorization and analysis of systematic differences between American and International students. The research addressed five primary questions:

1. Are the learning styles of the International students tested different from those established by Kolb in previous studies of American students?

2. Do the learning styles of the International students tested differ among the various groups?

3. Are there differences among the groups of International students tested that can be related to gender?

4. Do the learning styles of the …

Care, Need, And Conceptions Of Love: A Reexamination, Janet Gruwell Morris

Dissertations and Theses

The present study examines the roles need and care play in such positive interpersonal attitudes as love, liking, attraction, and friendship, by both replicating and extending a 1982 study by Steck, Levitan, McLane, and Kelley. Subjects were presented with slightly revised Rubin Love Scales which were filled out as if by persons involved in relationships, and were asked to judge how much each hypothetical person loved, liked, was attracted to, and felt friendly toward their partner. In fact, the love scales had been divided into three components, i.e. need, care, and trust, and were filled out with each component at …

A Contextual Analysis Of Selected Communication Strategies Associated With Dyadic And Situation Characteristics: A Field Study, Gisele Marie Tierney

Dissertations and Theses

A contextual analysis investigation of related communication acts is concerned with the multidimensional nature of human interdependence. The communication strategy is a category of relational communication acts that can be viewed as one of the ways in which interactants promote or maintain a working consensus and enhance interpersonal discovery. Strategy use is motivated by the nature of the relationship rather than by the speaker's conscious attempts to direct outcomes.

Comparative Self-Monitoring Behavior And Recall Of Verbal And Nonverbal Interactional Information About Partner In Conversations With Ablebodied And Disabled Partners, Doris L. Werkman

Dissertations and Theses

When strangers meet, there is a high level of uncertainty due to the infinite number of possible alternatives in behavior between the two people. Previous research indicates that communicators will attempt to reduce the level of uncertainty by using available verbal and nonverbal information of the other, by seeking similarities with the other, and by observing the situation itself. This information is used to predict attitudes and beliefs, as well as to attribute characteristics of the other. Other studies indicate that a person will increase her level of self-monitoring activity when the level of uncertainty is increased.

The Grammatic Closure Subtest Of The Itpa As A Screening Device, Cathy Newquist

Dissertations and Theses

Identification and selection of a speech-language caseload in the school setting can be a challenging task. The initial stages of caseload selection are usually in the form of a screening procedure. Although speech-language information is gathered at that time, information about its relationship to each student's academic status is usually not obtained. Such information would be useful in a setting that requires the provision of special education services to be justified from a basis of academic need.

The Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Abilities' (ITPA) Grammatic Closure subtest has been correlated to academic and intellectual measures through various studies. …

A Comparative Study Of Three Language Sampling Methods Using Developmental Sentence Scoring, Cheryl Diane Dong

Dissertations and Theses

The present study sought to determine the effect different stimulus material has on the language elicited from children. Its purpose was to determine whether a significant difference existed among language samples elicited three different ways when analyzed using DSS. Eighteen children between the ages of 3.6 and 5.6 years were chosen to participate in the study. All of the children had normal bearing. normal receptive vocabulary skills and no demonstrated or suspected physical or social delays. Three language samples. each elicited by either toys. pictures. or stories. were obtained from each child. For each sample. a corpus of 50 utterances …

Attitudes Of Otolaryngologists Towards Speech Pathologists Working With Voice Disordered Clients, Judith Patricia-Bader Cross

Dissertations and Theses

This study was designed to collect information about the working relationship of otolaryngologists with speech pathologists who provide service to voice disordered clients.

An Attempt To Reduce Actor-Observer Differences In Attributions, Carla A. Green

Dissertations and Theses

The purposes of this study were (a) to replicate previous research reporting actor-observer differences in subjects' attributions about behavioral causality, and (b) to manipulate the availability of causal information so that those actor-observer differences would be eliminated.

Manipulation Or Education?: Symbolic Language, Belief System And The Truman Doctrine, John Gunn Tilson

Dissertations and Theses

The question arises in the analysis of foreign policy decision making regarding how consensus or approval by the public is attained for policies. Some authors have suggested that consensus is obtained through the manipulation of opinion by decision makers. One case often cited as an example of manipulation is the 1947 announcement of the Truman Doctrine.

In determining the validity of these arguments a review was conducted of the language of the doctrine and the interpretations of newspaper columnists. In addition, a review of personal documents of the decision makers was conducted to determine their impressions.

The data compiled from …