Communication Commons^™

The Status In 1980 Of The Toulmin Model Of Argument In The Area Of Speech Communication, Jeffrey Robert Sweeney

Dissertations and Theses

In 1958 Stephen E. Toulmin wrote of inadequacies of formal logic and proposed a new field-dependent approach to the analysis of arguments. Despite a generally negative response to his proposal from formal logicians, Toulmin's model for the laying out of arguments for analysis was subsequently appropriated by several speech communication textbook writers. In some textbooks, the Toulmin model has become successor to the syllogism as the paradigm of logical argument. Yet, perhaps due to their seemingly uncritical acceptance of Toulmin's approach there appears to be serious disagreement and confusion among speech communication professionals about the nature and applications of the …

Toward A Test For Ethnocentrism And Ethnorelativism Based Upon Reference Group Orientation, James C. Mayer

Dissertations and Theses

The object of this investigation is to determine whether two aspects of reference group orientation, 1) multiplicity and 2) structural variation, are possible indicators of ethnocentrism. Most of the thesis is devoted to a theoretical formulation in which reference group orientation and ethnocentrism are placed in a peroeptual framework. Reference group orientation is defined as a person's use of a frame of reference that is formed through adoption of a reference group's perspective. Ethnocentrism is defined as a person's use of a frame of reference that keeps him from accepting the viability of other cultural frames of reference. The acceptance …

An Investigation Of The Relationship Of Organizational Structure To Job Satisfaction Within Social Service Organizations Serving Elderly Clients, Anne Marguerite Wilkinson

Dissertations and Theses

This study investigated the relationships between organizational structure of client serving organizations and the job satisfaction of the members. The exploration of these relationships was conducted using a three dimension model of job satisfaction and seven dimensions of organizational structure. Data was gathered using interview and survey research techniques from 428 service providers within 42 social service agencies serving elderly clients.

A Comparison Of Maternal Remarks To Normal And Language Delayed Children, Vanessa Jow Bunker

Dissertations and Theses

This investigation compared maternal remarks to language delayed offspring and maternal remarks to normal language developing offspring in an attempt to determine if and where differences occurred. The following questions were asked:

1) Do mothers of language delayed children present their children with a significantly different percentage of verbal constraints (commands and question) than do mothers of normal language developing children in a play situation?

2) Do mothers of language delayed children present their children with an equal number of utterances as mothers of normal language developing children in a play situation?

3) Is the maternal mean length of response …

Cultural Values, Educational Methods And Small Group Communicator Styles In The United States And The People's Republic Of China, Lynda Lee Densem

Dissertations and Theses

The increasing contact between countries in today’ shrinking world indicates an urgent need for effective communication between cultures. Fundamental to satisfying this need is an understanding of cultural value systems--what factors have created them and how they interact within society. This paper addresses the value systems of two countries that recently have found themselves in positions of expanding contact, the United States (US) and the People's Republic of China (PRC). The value systems of the cultures are traced from their transference to the young of the cultures through formal educational systems to their effect on learning and perceptual sets. General …

Factors Involved In The Utilization Of A Divorce Counseling Service, Jean G. Demaiffe, Richard H. Weiss

Dissertations and Theses

This report presents a descriptive study of characteristics of persons using a family court service. A comparison is made between persons using the service and a sample of the population whom the agency was designed to serve.

The purposes of the study were to determine if the agency was serving the client population it was designed to serve and to provide a socio-demographic data base for further research and planning at the agency.

Group Painting As A Means Of Self-Expression And Communication For Mentally Retarded Persons: Three Case Histories, Yaeko Steidel

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis presents the results of a longitudinal study of a painting class for a group of mentally and physically handicapped young adults. The author's observational journal and the students' paintings provided the basis of the thesis.

The author gave maximum freedom to her students and the students fully exercised creativity through their painting activity. This experience brought a new identity to the group. The students evolved from a collection of separate people into a cohesive social unit.

The author tries to show, in this developmental process, how intellectual and emotional events and problems were met and solved by the …

"Is Human Understanding Finite?", Peter Brian Medawar

Special Collections: Oregon Public Speakers

No abstract provided.

A Comparative Study Of Communication Style In Japan And The United States As Revealed Through Content Analysis Of Television Commercials, Noriko Huruse

Dissertations and Theses

This study is an empirical analysis of communication styles in Japan and the United States. In particular, the study deals with communication styles in Japanese and American television commercials as a reflection of human communication styles in the two countries.

A Comparative Study Of Perceptual Ratings And Fundamental Frequency In Female And Male Esophageal Voices, Anne Terese Heinrich

Dissertations and Theses

This study proposed to determine if male and female esophageal voices were rated in the same manner by naïve listeners. Answers to the following questions were sought:

1. Is there a difference in the social acceptability ratings given to female esophageal voices compared to male esophageal voices, when the speakers are matched for speaking ability?
2. Does a relationship exist between the fundamental frequencies of female esophageal voices and ratings of social acceptability given by naïve listeners?
3. Does a relationship exist between the fundamental frequencies of male esophageal voices and ratings of social acceptability given by naïve listeners?
4. Do male and female …

An Analysis Of Sex Role Bias In Clinician's Evaluations Of Client Behavior, Shari Paula Greenberg

Dissertations and Theses

This study investigated the effects of sex differences on clinical judgements. It was hypothesized that: l) clinicians will respond differently to aggressive, self-assertive, or dependent behavior, depending upon whether this behavior was performed by a man or a woman; 2) clinicians will have different treatment goals for a man and a woman who behaved in the same manner; 3) clinicians will describe the client engaged in aggressive, self-assertive, or dependent behavior differently, depending on the sex of the client; 4) clinicians will have different feelings towards men and women behaving in exactly the: same manner, and; 5) clinicians will rate …

A Readership Study Of Oregon Wildlife Magazine, Deborah C. Sullivan

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent and frequency of readership of the Oregon Wildlife magazine and this relationship to Klapper's reinforcing hypothesis.

The basic question posed was: What population of individuals in Oregon read which types of fish and wildlife articles in the Oregon Wildlife magazine, and how do these respondents assess the readability and accuracy of the magazine?

A Study Of The Perceptual Parameters Of Voice In Aging Females, Barbara Ann Mathers

Dissertations and Theses

An interest in understanding the aging processes, as they relate to voice, has prompted research investigating physiological, acoustical, and perceptual attributes of the aging vocal mechanism. Recently, it has been demonstrated that perceptual parameters, in older male voices, differentiate speakers according to age estimations, as determined by a group of listeners.

The purpose of this study was to determine the perceptual characteristics of the female voice which are associated with perceived age, as contrasted to chronological age.

An Exploratory Study Of Adolescent Perceptions Of Communication Behavior, Pat Adams, Marion Summers

Dissertations and Theses

The interaction between troubled adolescents and the adult world is generally characterized as laden with ambiguity and conflict, and is rarely seem as productive or mutually satisfying. This research project is an attempt to study the way in which this interaction is perceived by a group of female adolescents involved in the Bridge, a short-term residential program for girls in a state of early crisis as demonstrated by runaway behavior. This study specifically focuses on communication behaviors of parents and of adults other than parents as perceived by the adolescent upon her entry into The Bridge and at her release …

Women In Menopause: A Study Of Gynecologist's Perceptions, Zadell Cogan, Sharon Kennedy

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to explore the needs of women experiencing menopause. Since women at this time experience physical, social and emotional changes, they may have a special need for services. Doctors were selected as the population for study because they treat so many women at this age and because they are powerful transmitters of our culture. This exploratory study was designed to provide descriptive information about the doctors' perceptions.

Results are reported from interviews with seventeen gynecologists from the Portland metropolitan area in Oregon. Attempts were made to interview all female gynecologists in the area. Male gynecologists …

Verbal Strategies In Small Group Communication, Christine Marie Bunsick

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study is to investigate certain types of verbal communications people use in small task-oriented groups. The verbal communications analyzed are certain phrases a speaker may use prior to the central idea of the statement uttered. These verbal communications are referred to as "language tactics".

Language tactics are defined here as specific phrases a speaker may use to excuse, justify, rationalize, or interpret for the listener(s) what the speaker is about to say before saying it. The purpose of this study is to look at language tactics as they are used by members of small task-oriented groups …

A Comparative Study Of Aristotle's Poetics And Ezra Pound's Abc Of Reading, Michael P. Hagensick

Dissertations and Theses

This paper is a comparative study of Aristotle's Poetics and Ezra Pound's ABC of Reading to discover and determine values in literature, especially poetry, which reflect on the nature and the manifestations of human communication. I feel that scholars in the field of communication can benefit personally and academically from exposure to those poets who have expressed themselves on the reasons or the manners in which people communicate. To pursue this question requires the use of a guide to poetry, a method by which I can learn to recognize a poem on sight; so that when it comes to discourse …

A Descriptive Study Of Thai Nonverbal Communication, Suriya Smutkupt

Dissertations and Theses

Nonverbal communication is especially significant in the area of intercultural communication. Familiar signals often signify and convey different and unexpected messages, usually out-of-awareness, and then unfamiliar stimuli cause confusion and uneasiness. This is a report of Thai NVC, which intends (1) to describe selected Thai nonverbal behavior, (2) to relate these to appropriate time and context, (3) to explain a cultural component that makes the behaviors acceptable and/or mandatory, and (4) to report how Thai nonverbal behaviors may affect intercultural and cross-cultural communication.

Selected Thai nonverbal messages are described: (1) nonverbal signals: the sign language of wai, the kinesthetic …

A Historical Analysis Of The Traditional Japanese Decision-Making Process In Contrast With The U.S. System And Implications For Intercultural Deliberations, Shoji Mitarai

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this research is to (1) describe and analyze the different methods used by Japanese and by U.S. persons to reach agreement in small group deliberations, (2) discover the depth of commitment and personal involvement with these methods by tracing their historical beginnings and (3) draw implications from (1) and (2) as to probability of success of current problem solving deliberations involving members of both groups.

In the Yayoi period of Japanese history (250 B.C. - 300 A.D.), a special set of circumstances in both the ecological and cultural sphere encouraged the consensus type of decision-making and commensurate …

Symbol And Artifact: Jungian Dynamics At Mcluhan's Technological Interface, Mike Amana Glick

Dissertations and Theses

Our goal was to establish some form of interpretation between the analytical work of Carl Jung in depth psychology and the views of Marshall McLuhan regarding the impact of media. It was hoped that such a correlation of contrasting viewpoints would yield additional insight in the study of mass reactions to media.

In accomplishing this purpose a “universe” based upon analytical psychology was juxtaposed with an expressly “McLuhanesque” analysis of media and technological effects. After establishing correlations between the major dynamics of the two systems, several functional conclusions were reached. These are: (1) that media have an inescapable influence, (2) …

The Effects Of Low, Moderate, And High Self-Disclosure On Electromyographic, Psychogalvanic, And Attitudinal Response, Jonathan I. Lange

Dissertations and Theses

This is a study of the effects of three different levels of intimate self-disclosure, low, moderate, and high, on electromyographic, psychogalvanic, and attitudinal response. The electromyography (EMG) and psychogalvanometer (GSR) are both devices which measure physiological "activation" or excitation level of the individual.

A Comparative Study Of The Relative Incidence Of Various Vocal Parameters Among Black And White College Females, Barbara Kuhl Jacobs

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to make a comparative investigation of the voice quality of black and white women. A review of the literature revealed considerable research has been conducted in the area of black-white language differences in the United States, but very little research has been conducted regarding comparisons of voice quality of Blacks and Whites. The suggestion that certain voice qualities are more characteristic of Blacks or Whites when compared as groups led the writer to pursue the present investigation.

A Comparison Of Concepts Of The Basic Underlying Assumptions Of The Introductory Speech Communication Course In The Oregon Community Colleges As Seen By Speech Communication Faculty And Self-Reported By Students, Vickie L. Hilgemann

Dissertations and Theses

This study is focused upon an investigation of the content and methodology of the introductory speech course in the Oregon community colleges. The current content appears to be one of an emphasis on skill building in the area of public speaking.

Previous research in the area of content and methodology of the basic course have centered on the courses offered at four-year institutions and has asked only faculty and administrators what they felt should be offered in the introductory course. This research study will instead question students and faculty at the vocational level in the community college of Oregon to …

Effects Of Colors, Noun Position, And Verb Proximity On The Acquisition Of Direct Objects, Ronald M. Dohr

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study is to determine if colors can differentially be applied as teaching tools for pre-school children. Previous studies have shown that pre-school children are easily distracted in language development by external stimulation. Studies have also shown that brighter color hues can arouse and facilitate performance of subjects on given tasks. This experiment is an attempt to measure performance of word manipulation by usage of colors. Three independent variables have been selected as stimuli to measure direct object acquisition. Measurement of color, noun position, and verb proximity will be assessed in connection with subject performance on given …

"The Curious Behavior Of Complex Systems: Lessons From Biology", Heinz Von Foerster

Special Collections: Oregon Public Speakers

No abstract provided.

Recovery From Stuttering In A Sample Of Elementary School Children, Carol Deno Kimball

Dissertations and Theses

Several studies have been undertaken to determine the incidence of recovery from stuttering; however, the results of these investigations are not reliable due to methodological limitations. For the most part, ex-post-facto recall judgements on the parts of adults or parents of young children were relied upon in gathering data for the research. It would appear that a requisite factor in determining incidence of recovery from stuttering should be the use of a formal instrument which would quantify the auditory and visual aspects of speaking behavior to determine the presence or absence of stuttering.

The primary purpose of this study was …

The Effect Of Attending Behavior Training Upon Learning, Martha Sue Peden

Dissertations and Theses

Various studies have been implemented concerning the physiological and psychological components of attending behavior, particularly in the area of the exceptional child. Little has been done, however, to develop specific behavioral definitions of attending behavior and to incorporate these into treatment-based research programs involving normal children attending a regular public school.

The purpose of this investigation was to discover if children from a regular public elementary school who are deficient in attending behavior skills can be taught these skills in a short-term behavior modification program and to determine if the skills thus learned facilitate learning within the regular classroom setting.

A Comparison Between Sources Of Student Anti-Hunting Sentiment And Wildlife Information Sources Of A Sample Of Oregon Adults, Ronald E. Shay

Dissertations and Theses

This study investigated the various sources of information utilized by a sample of the Oregon adult population to gain information and ideas about the wildlife resource. The results were compared to those of a study of college and university students and their sources of information that gave them anti-hunting attitudes.

The basic question posed was: What sources of information are most commonly utilized by a sample of Oregon’s population in obtaining ideas and information concerning the wildlife resource and do the proportions of various sources utilized compare with those indicated by college students as sources of anti-hunting sentiments?

Additional questions …

Differential Measurement Of A Language Concept Presented Via Video Tape Playback To First Grade Students, Richard Warren Trullinger

Dissertations and Theses

Educational television began in 1932 at the State University of Iowa. Until 1952, the potential of its contributions to education were not fully recognized. In 1952, however, the Federal Communication Commission created non-commercial television station. From that point in time, educational television has mushroomed.

This study tested the hypothesis: At least 80 percent of a given first grade population will respond accurately to the post-testing of a language concept, after the concept has been presented to them via a video tape playback using puppetry as the teaching method. In essence, the study was designed to determine whether or not an …

Impact Of College Speech Classes On Listening Skills Of Students, Candice Piazza

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of college speech classes upon developing improved listening skills. More specifically it sought to determine the extent to which the students who took Speech 100 or 111 have acquired listening skills.

There has been considerable theorizing concerning listening and auding with only a scattering of experimentation. According to existing data, listening would appear to be a complex human behavior that is only partially understood. There are, however definite listener functions, listening conditions and variables that affect listening. Aspects of attention are also important when considering the occurrence or unoccurrence of …