Communication Commons^™

A Study Of The Speech Philosophy Of Alexander Campbell And The Application Of That Philosophy, Rudy L. Morrow

Dissertations and Theses

A great religious Awakening was taking place in 1805 until the end of the Civil War. Religious debates became the order of the day, and were at least equal in importance to the political debates. Alexander Campbell was one of the leading debators of the period. He was born September 12, 1787, in Ireland, but moved to America in 1809, settling in western Virginia. In 1812, Alexander and his father, Thomas Campbell, launched what they called "The Restoration Movement", in which they were seeking for the unity of all Christians on the basis of the Bible.

A Study Of The Problems Of Translation, Rhetorical Analysis, And Translation Of A Speech Of Mohammed Mossedeq, Gholamhosain Janati-Ataie

Dissertations and Theses

Through the translation and analysis of a major speech, the political thought and rhetorical devices of Mohammed Mossedeq, former Prime Minister of Iran (1951-1953), are examined. Just as cultural and philosophical differences account for many problems in such a translation, so have they led to Mossedeq's being largely misunderstood in the West. The study therefore presents a more positive view of Mossedeq, emphasizing his nationalism, which has inspired countless movements toward independence among the Third World nations. Chapters deal with the background of the study, problems of translation (including the semantic and lexical nonequivalences between languages, as well as cultural …

Effects Of Speaker-Sex-Difference On Listeners' Perception Of Vocal Roughness In Normal Vowel Productions, Patsy J. Phillips

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of speaker-sex-difference on listeners' perception of vocal roughness in the vowel [ӕ] produced by normal male and female speakers. In a previous investigation by Wendahl (1963) it was found that when listening to two synthesized vowels, of equal aperiodicity, judges tended to rate the lower pitched vowel as being more vocally rough. If this is true for listeners' perception of human vowel productions as well then it might be advantageous for voice clinicians, when making vocal roughness assessments, to regard male and female speakers as two separate populations in view …

An Experimental Study And Analysis Of Saudi-Arabian - American Proxemic Behavior As Observed In Homogeneous And Heterogeneous Dyadic Interactions, Gary D. Robinson

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis is an attempt to refine the analysis of an empirical study in intercultural proxemic behavior research conducted by Watson and Graves and is, as well, a partial and modified replication of that study. The hypothesis of this, study is that Arabs will exhibit significant differences in proxemic behavior from Americans, with Arab's being closer and more direct in their proxemic, behavior than Americans. To test this hypothesis eighteen Saudi-Arabian and eighteen American male students were observed as two groups of nine homogeneous dyads and as one group of eighteen heterogeneous dyads.

Seven-minute dyadic interactions in a controlled, laboratory …

The 1972 Cigarette Tax Referendum: A Mass Communication Campaign, Gwendolyn Moore Danielson

Dissertations and Theses

During the past forty years, Oregon voters have approved only two tax proposals; both taxes on cigarettes. The subject of this study is the campaign carried out by proponents of H.B. 3064 to pass the most recent Oregon tax referendum measure. Central to the questions asked in the investigation of the 1972 cigarette tax campaign was why the outcome of this proposal was successful. The thesis hypothesizes that the critical variable was the involvement of major socio-economic interest groups in formulating and disseminating persuasive campaign messages.

The rationale for entering into such a study was the shortage of information on …

An Exploration Into The Applicability Of A Psychological Technique For Anthropological Research, Gwendolyn Marie Harris Pierce

Dissertations and Theses

This thesis purports to explore and describe the types of information that would be obtainable to the anthropological researcher if he used the minimally structured small group (MDMS-SG) technique with members of a selected ethnic group. The approach was tried on Japanese Portland State University students and also on Saudi Arab Portland State University students for six sessions each. They were told that a graduate anthropology student wanted to get to know them and learn what they thought she should know about their countries.

The sessions were taped and notes written after each session. This corpus of material was analyzed …

Communicative Abilities: An Analysis Of The Interactions Of Reticent And Non-Reticent Task Groups, Myron W. Lustig

Dissertations and Theses

This study is focused upon an investigation of observable interactive behaviors which might be characteristic of reticence. A reticent individual is defined as one for whom apprehension about participation in oral communication consistently outweighs the projection of gain from the situation.

Previous research in the area of reticence has been focused on an analysis of the reticent student's attitudes toward communication relying primarily upon subject self-reports via journals and the in-depth interview. This in turn has provided possible areas in which observable reticent behaviors might evidence themselves in face-to-face small group communications with other reticents and non-reticents.

An answer to …

"The Development Of Social Behavior In Primates", Robert A. Hinde

Special Collections: Oregon Public Speakers

No abstract provided.

The Rhetoric Of Sir Thomas More And Dietrich Bonhoeffer In Original Work And Dramatic Portrayal, Robert C. Harvey

Dissertations and Theses

Chapter I. This is a critical study of the rhetoric of Sir Thomas More and Dietrich Bonhoeffer and of plays in which they are portrayed. The purpose is to discover whether or not the rhetoric of the playwrights preserves the integrity of the ideas of the central characters as evidenced by the rhetoric found in their original works .

Chapter II. Rhetorical criticism is rendering a judgment on the fitness, correctness or appropriateness of those discourses, spoken or written the aim of which is to influence the readers or hearers. There is much variety in methods of rhetorical criticism. This …

An Empirical Study Of The Effect Of Systematic Relaxation Training Of Chronically-Anxious Subjects On The Communication Variable Of Closed-Mindedness, La Ray M. Barna

Dissertations and Theses

This is a study of whether an attempt to reduce the trait of high tension-anxiety by means of systematic neuro-musculature relaxation training will result in a decrease of the communication variable of closed-mindedness.

A general review of the literature showed that the problem of tension-anxiety is complex, pervasive, and detrimental to effective communication. First, an attempt is made to bring relevant information to the field of general speech by citing a few findings from the research of other disciplines concerning the nature and effects of tension-anxiety. Currently-used methods of anxiety reduction are mentioned, and one, neuro-musculature relaxation training, discussed as …

An Experimental Study Of The Effects Of Personal Proximity Upon Selected Aspects Of Conversational Content, Ronna S. Loewen

Dissertations and Theses

Proxemics is an area of study devoted to the interrelated theories of man's use of space as a special elaboration of culture. Edward T. Hall, an anthropologist, has begun to draw these theories together in his work dealing with proxemics.

It is the purpose of this study to determine whether certain dimensions of interpersonal conversations vary with the distance between the conversants. Three distances were used as experimental variables. Intimate distance was set at nine inches, personal distance at three feet, nine inches, and social distance at eight feet. A total of fifty-four subjects was used with nine pairs situated …