Communication Commons^™

The Impact Of Cognitive Function On Patient Language And Quality Of Life Outcomes For Stroke Survivors With Aphasia Who Participate In An Intensive Comprehensive Aphasia Program (Icap), Kortney M. Krieger

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Background: Aphasia is an acquired language disorder that impairs communication, across all modalities of language (i.e., reading, writing, speaking, and comprehension). Aphasia most commonly results from damage to the left hemisphere of the brain (e.g., stroke, traumatic brain injury). Cognitive function including attention, memory, and executive functioning may negatively impact patient outcomes during post-acute rehabilitation of aphasia. Intensive Comprehensive Aphasia Programs (ICAPs) provide intensive, evidence-based and holistic treatment for a cohort of stroke survivors. The impact of these cognitive functions on language outcomes following participation in an ICAP has not been explored.

Aims: To investigate the impact of extralinguistic cognition …

Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind: An Exploration Of Wastewater Issues And Possible Solutions In And Out Of Montana, Keely I. Larson

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Larson, Keely, M.A., Spring 2023

Major:Environmental and Natural Resources Journalism

Out of sight, out of mind: An exploration of wastewater issues and possible solutions in and out of Montana

Chairperson: Dennis Swibold

Co-Chairpersons: Nadia White, Sarah Halvorson

This is a master’s project, featuring three stories, linked in theme. The first starts with a nationally scoped story about septic systems in resort towns and what happens when too many people want to visit areas like Cape Cod, the Florida Keys or, more locally, Seeley Lake, and overwhelm waste disposal methods. Often in these areas that are more remote, septic systems …

Healthcare Provider Uncertainty And Communicative Management Strategies, Katie Benson

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Uncertainty exists ubiquitously within provider-patient interactions. Healthcare providers (HCPs) often face uncertainty during patient-provider interactions, for reasons including inconclusive test results, ambiguous communication, and lacking the resources to make diagnoses. When healthcare providers experience uncertainty, their behavior and communication can be negatively impacted. For example, prior research suggests when HCPs experience uncertainty, they may engage in authoritative, prejudiced and assumption-ridden behavior towards patients (Dietta & Rand, 2007; Drewniak et al., 2017: Portnoy et al., 2013; Poteat et al., 2013). To date, research on HCP uncertainty has been limited to specific health conditions and contexts such as cancer, vascular anomalies, and …

Impacts Of Eating Disorder Recovery On Communication Of Identity Through Food, Rosemary Willett Jeter

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Using the Communication Theory of Identity as a framework, the purpose of this thesis was to investigate how the experience of eating disorder recovery (EDR) impacts one’s communication of identity through and about food, and perceptions of others’ communication about and through food. Purposive sampling yielded 20 adult participants who self-identified as having been in EDR for at least one year. Results from a phronetic iterative data analysis of semi-structured interviews yielded several themes. When considering how EDR influences personal communication through food, main themes include: (a) the inability to share meals creates a gap between the enacted and relational …

Municipal Musk Oxen, Gentry Hale

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

You’d be hard-pressed to find a town with more sled dogs and mushers per capita than Nome, the finish line of the 938-mile Iditarod sled dog race.

It is also home to a growing herd of musk oxen, massive ungulates that Congress reintroduced to the Seward Peninsula in 1970. These icons of the far north have changed little over their 1.8 million years of existence and more closely related to sheep and goats than actual oxen.

While musk oxen pose a risk to dogs and people, they are also a major tourist attraction that helps inject much needed outside cash …

Comedy, Camaraderie, And Conflict: Using Humor To Defuse Disputes Among Friends, Sheena A. Bringa

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This study sought to examine the role humor plays in defusing conflict between friends from an evolutionary perspective. Although a vast amount of research exists on humor, friendship, and conflict, no single study connects all three of these concepts together. This study attempted to fill this gap by examining how different humor styles used between friends in times of conflict relate to friendship satisfaction and life satisfaction. Specifically, the hypotheses predicted that friends who use affiliative humor to deescalate conflict are more inclined to report higher relational satisfaction and improved individual well-being than friends who use maladaptive humor to deescalate …

Navigating Toxic Identities Within League Of Legends, Jeremy Thomas Miner

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

Toxicity is an inevitable part of online gaming for many individuals that participate in the activity. How individuals navigate this behavior affects not only the community but the players themselves. In essence, online world environments affect the identity of the individual within them. The magic circle separates the gaming world and the real world into two separate and distinct places, however crystalized selves posits that the identity of an individual in one sphere is part of the individual in another. Understanding the connection between these two ideas gives rise to the question of whether or not toxic behaviors in a …