Communication Commons^™

You’Ve Always Got Time: (Disposable) Coffee Cup Litter As Discursive Regime(S), Marc A. Ouellette

English Faculty Publications

Quick, convenient cups of coffee from the seemingly infinite number of outlets might fuel a nation(’s workers) but once the liquid has been consmed little can be done with the supposedly disposable paper, fibre or styrofoam cups. Even though the cups cannot be recycled they do not necessarily find their way into the trash – at least not immediately. The coffee’s convenience and the concomitant (alternative) disposal methods of consumers have produced a discourse in litter by virtue of the places and positionings – that is, the practices – through which what I will call “discursive littering” occurs. Once the …

Attacking The Body Politic: The Terroristin In 1970s German Media, Clare Bielby

Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture

In a 1977 special feature on female terrorism, the German weekly newsmagazine, Der Spiegel, published a photograph of a woman with a bomb strapped to her front, masquerading as a pregnant woman. This image perfectly encapsulates the "paradoxical" quality of the female terrorist, who instead of giving life takes it. Furthermore, if, according to Tamar Mayer, women are represented in national and cultural narratives as "the nation's social and biological womb," the threatening quality of such representations for the body politic of the nation starts to become clear. As Mayer asserts "an attack on these [female] bodies becomes an …

Clear And Present Danger: Brandenburg Test After September 11, 2001, James Connor Best

LSU Master's Theses

In a post-September 11, 2001 America and in light of the very real threat posed by radical Islamic terrorist, the courts must rethink the line between protected speech and incitement to violence. The Brandenburg test, which was previously understood to be the modern test to distinguish protected from unprotected advocacy, should be questioned. By examining the development of the Court's First Amendment doctrine leading up to Brandenburg v. Ohio (1969), I establish that Brandenburg is ill fitted to be applied to advocacy of terrorism. In Brandenburg, the Court actually conflated two previously distinct speech tests-Judge Learned Hand's incitement test and …

Uncomfortable Performances: Discovering A Subversive Scenario For Rape Discourse, Annamaria Ruffino

LSU Master's Theses

Current trends in representations of rape show a new fascination with a rape scenario, a fascination that puts a normative slant on discourse surrounding rape. Normalizing the rape scenario carries various consequences for women; the first and foremost is that it turns the experience of rape into an entertainment commodity, thus causing women’s voices to be appropriated into dominant discourses and the capitalist project. One possible way to circumvent this normalization is to look toward feminist performance strategies in order to subvert this rape scenario and the discourses surrounding it from within. In this thesis, I explore ways to accomplish …

News Narratives And Television News Editing, Keren Esther Henderson

LSU Master's Theses

This study seeks to understand how and why television news editors impose meanings onto news packages through montage editing. Through a qualitative content analysis and in-depth interviews, this study will advance the notably few past narrative editing studies by investigating the norms and routines of television news editors. While other researchers recognize the significance of studying montage editing in television news, this is the first study to clarify the relationship between montage techniques and the creation of television news narratives.

The Failure Of Louisiana Campaign Finance Law: A Case Study Of Brnext And The 2004 Mayoral Election, Casey Elizabeth Rayborn

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis is a case study in how weak campaign finance laws and government oversight can undermine democracy in a local election. It does so by demonstrating how Louisiana campaign finance law enabled one wealthy businessman to play a major role in a mayoral election under the auspices of an issue-based political action committee. Through the examination of the Louisiana PAC BRNext, its financial activities, and its relationships, this study suggests that BRNext and its founder Lane Grigsby were able to violate the spirit of the law in each of these areas. BRNext was able to take advantage of the …

Public Relations And Political Controversy: A Case Study Of The Assembly Of Turkish American Associations' Public Relations Campaign Regarding The Ottoman Empire's Deportation Of The Armenians, Tamar Grace Meguerditchian

LSU Master's Theses

An organization will almost always use persuasive communication tactics to influence public opinion. Persuasive communication tactics can be either pubic relations or propaganda. The definitions of both public relations and propaganda, as well as a study of the relevant models, reveals that neither practice heavily stresses the importance of social responsibility. Using the importance of social responsibility in honest persuasive communication tactics, this qualitative case study of the Assembly of Turkish American Associations’ (ATAA) determined that the efforts of the ATAA’s persuasive communication efforts are in line with the methods of propaganda, as stated in the operational definition of propaganda …

The Black Church And Political Mobilization Of African Americans, Misty Noel Johnson

LSU Master's Theses

This study investigates the political and social activities of black church congregations within a southern community by assessing the effectiveness of three churches in mobilizing their congregations and serving as channels for political communication. The study pays particular attention to the differences between affiliations within the black church, the influence of religious leaders on political involvement, attitudes regarding political involvement and political influences outside of the church. The thesis begins by placing the black church in its historical context —as a giver of spiritual and community orientation as well as a social and political mobilization agent. Using survey results from …

The Effects Of Psychological Factors On Media Usage: An Examination Of Immigrants' Media Use Patterns, Motives And Acculturation In The United States, Suping Zhang

LSU Master's Theses

Earlier studies have provided evidence for the importance of mass media in the acculturation process of immigrants. The current study intends to further investigate acculturation by exploring the influential factors in immigrants’ mass communication activities. A survey has been conducted among 208 participants from diverse ethnic backgrounds in the Baton Rouge area. Having examined the mass media and Internet consumption of the respondents, this study finds that psychological factors, not demographic backgrounds, are the primary influential variables in predicting immigrants’ media use patterns. According to this study, respondents’ stronger adaptive personality and acculturation motivation would lead to more consumption of …

Gulf Coast Journalists And Hurricane Katrina: Mounting Challenges To The Work Routine, Shearon Roberts

LSU Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to explore through sourcing and framing the changes Gulf Coast journalists made in their news reporting as a result of directly experiencing Hurricane Katrina. Data for this study was obtained through the archives of The New Orleans Times-Picayune and through the Nexis/Lexis database. Many Gulf-Coast journalists lost their homes and were affected by the storm in various degrees with one case of a reported suicide attempt. The daily newspapers of the cities of New Orleans, La. and Biloxi, Miss., received Pulitzer Prizes for Public Service for ceaseless and tireless reporting of the disaster. This …

The Portrayal Of Science In Children's Television, Tristi Bercegeay Charpentier

LSU Master's Theses

Scholars argue that a scientifically literate public is a requirement for a democracy. Children are watching television more today than ever before, and studies have shown that children learn academically educational content from television. The Children's Television Act of 1990 requires broadcasters to provide educational and informational content for children. This study qualitatively evaluated a sample of 38 children's television programs to obtain a description of the scientific content contained in children's television. The study yielded a large quantity of scientific content, yet the quality of the content left much to be desired. Based on the findings of this study, …

Methodological Lagniappe: A Walk In Representations Of The Red Stick Farmers Market, Jesica Eileen Speed

LSU Master's Theses

In this thesis, I take you on a walk – a walk in the making of representations – around the Red Stick Farmers Market in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. This thesis is written at a moment of instability, or crisis, in this discipline. In a “crisis of representation,” how do we represent anything? Experimenting with various methodologies of writing, representation, dialogic performance, history, and ethnographic inquiry, this thesis provides a walk over various terrains. We begin by building the framework for the walk, then tour three areas of ethnographic expansions and alternatives: new ethnography, performative writing, and historicity. John VanMaanen calls …

"Khmer Pride": Being And Becoming Khmer-American In An Urban Migrant Education Program, Theresa Ann Mcginnis

Journal of Southeast Asian American Education and Advancement

This article focuses on the ways an urban migrant education program becomes a space where middle school Khmer students can explore who they are as Khmer youth living in an urban American context. I discuss how the youth are able to take a transformative, interactional stance to the literacy and sign-making practices within the program. I argue that the Khmer youth's identities are reflected within these literacy and expressive practices. Further, I suggest the experiences of these Khmer middle school children of agricultural workers provide rich examples of how immigrant youth draw on a variety of cultural resources (from urban …

Book Review - Reyes, A. (2006) Language, Identity, And Stereotype Among Southeast Asian American Youth: The Other Asian, Keo Chea

Journal of Southeast Asian American Education and Advancement

No abstract provided.

Working Selves, Working Gendered Contexts [Review Of The Book Negotiating Gendered Identities At Work: Place, Space And Time], Craig Rich

Communication Studies Faculty Works

No abstract provided.

Approaching Chinese Culture: Strategies American Expatriates Adopt For Learning Chinese Culture, May Hongmei Gao, Deanna F. Womack

Faculty Articles

It is generally believed that cultural sojourners have diffi culties adapting to a wide range of business, academic, and social situations in a host culture. They need to adopt certain strategies to learn a foreign culture. Building upon existing literature on intercultural learning, adaptation, and perception, this research investigates American professional expatriates’ experience of coping with cultural others in China. In particular, this research investigates communication strategies that the American expatriates adopt in learning Chinese culture. Twenty in-depth interviews were conducted in China to collect data from multiple perspectives on how American professional expatriates adapt themselves from home (American) culture …

Death Of Journalists Creates Void: Black Trailblazers Boyd And Bradley Leave Behind Many Great Lessons, Carla Kimbrough

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Faculty Publications

November 2006 marked the deaths of two journalistic giants whose careers should teach us much about journalism and diversity. I speak of Gerald Boyd, former managing editor of The New York Times, and Ed Bradley, correspondent with CBS News magazine show "60 Minutes." Boyd, 56, and Bradley, 65, died within days of each other.

In the Times' obituary, Boyd was recognized for his leadership roles in work that garnered the newspaper nine Pulitzer Prizes. The topics: the first World Trade Center bombing; children of poverty; the complexities of race relations in the United States; and the aftermath of the Sept. …

Space Invaders: A Cinematic Examination Of Privacy-Invasion And Defamation In The Australian Media, Vanessa Jean Barnett

Theses : Honours

The prime objective of my creative film project and exegesis is to explore the Australian commercial media's unethical treatment of its human subjects, with a particular focus on the issues of privacy-invasion, and defamation. I have endeavoured to produce a short film that prompts the audience to evaluate their own values and attitudes towards an individual's privacy. I believe my research area is significant because acts of privacy-invasion by the media can have serious negative impacts on the life of an individual. Defamation can destroy an individual's livelihood, their standing within the community, and self-esteem. I believe commercial media organisations …

Comparison Of Catholic Broadcasting In The Republic Of Korea And The United States: Pyeonghwa Broadcasting Corporation (Pbc) And Eternal Word Television Network (Ewtn), Kisung Yoon

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

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Increasing Effectiveness Of Public Private Partnerships In The Irish Construction Industry, Louis Gunnigan

Doctoral

By 2003 the first Irish Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects had reached the operational stage. Media reports were emerging of significant differences in the effectiveness of these projects.

This research set out to find a means by which effectiveness of PPPs could be increased and to develop a model that would assist PPP practitioners with this task in the future. Through a literature review, the Irish PPP process was mapped, the changes encountered in the introduction of PPP were investigated and a conceptual model – based on a traditional process model - was proposed. The model was tested by examining …

Journalism 2.0: How To Survive And Thrive, Mark Briggs

Textbooks Collection

This handbook introduces journalists to the skills necessary to survive and thrive in the digital environment. The content is practical, not conceptual, and readers will be able to perform skills the same day they read about them. The handbook is organized to focus on on discipline at a time, and guides users along the way, breaking down each skill and technology into digestible lessons that will be immediately usable.

Communication Counts, Christine G. Springer

Public Policy and Leadership Faculty Research

The author discusses the necessity of communications in a business setting. She cited the implementation of Plain Talk by the Annie E. Cassey Foundation which proves the fact that policy works best when decision makers, community residents and citizen customers communicate effectively. She also revealed that to surely achieve success in the business, it is suggested to never underestimate the emotional power of human nature and build a sense of community through continual communication.

Plagiarism Pitfalls: Addressing Cultural Differences In The Misuse Of Sources, Nancy E. Fawley

Library Faculty Research

As a branch campus of an American university operating in the Middle East, Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar must take into account the cultural differences that pertain to plagiarism and the misuse of sources before the school can begin to develop methods to address and prevent the problem. Differences in educational philosophies, students’ previous scholastic training and cultural differences in individual motivation are all factors that must be considered

Inside Unlv, Shane Bevell, Diane Russell, Grace Russell

Inside UNLV

No abstract provided.

American Speeches: Political Oratory From The Revolution To The Civil War And Political Oratory From Abraham Lincoln To Bill Clinton, Priscilla Finley

Library Faculty Research

Ted Widmer (director, John Carter Brown Library; speechwriter, Clinton administration) has selected significant familiar examples of political oratory for this two-volume set. The first volume covers the Revolution to the Civil War, and includes selections from the expected Founding Fathers as well as leaders in the antislavery, women's rights, and labor movements.

Encyclopedia Of Gender And Technology, Priscilla Finley

Library Faculty Research

This encyclopedia compiles 213 four- to five-page entries making observations about the role of gender in human interaction with information technology and the IT profession. Intended as a preliminary research agenda encompassing essays on gender and IT education and the workplace, the volume contains many essays that simply survey struggles faced by women in many parts of the world who interact with the Internet or telecommunications technology.

Center For Women And Information Technology Web Archive, Priscilla Finley

Library Faculty Research

The Web site of the Center for Women and Information Technology at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, includes in the Resources section various listings of print and online resources relevant to women's studies.

The Impact Of Emotional Intelligence On Supervisor/Employee Communication, Joseph A. Martinez

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

This study explort1d the impact of emotional intelligence on supervisor/employee communication. The purpose of th~s study was to investigate 1) how emotional intelligence affects supervisor and employee communication from both supervisors' and . employees' perspectives; 2) how supervisors and employees perceive the effects of emotional intelligence on the active listening of supervisors; and 3) relationships among supervisor/employee communication, emotional intelligence, and active listening. This study is expected to facilitate a better understanding of the relationship between active listening and the emotional intelligence of supervisors.

Focus groups were conducted to collect sup~rvisors' and employees' perceptions and thoughts on communication, emotional intelligence, …

Communication And Authenticity: Transformations Of The Self In The Digital Age, John Dowd

Masters Theses

Through an examination of disembodied forms of communication and technological discourse, this project explores the concepts of authenticity and its implications for communication research. Situated within phenomenological notions of embodiment, authenticity can serve as an important tool for doing rhetorical criticism. It provides an ethical component to criticism that is sorely lacking within many social scientific approaches to the study of human communication, which operate under the guise of objectivity. As authenticity, subjectivity, and embodiment are inescapably connected and as all three provide the foundation for this project, chapter one provides a working definition of each. It is argued that …

Underprivileged Black Americans: The Aftermath Of King Cotton, Patience Bryant

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

It has been criticized that the present economic state of Black Americans is a reflection of their history stemming from slavery. Diana Pearce's Feminization of Poverty Theory discusses the idea that the ever-rising number of underprivileged Black Americans is due to the fact that there exists a rise in female headed households. The researcher constructed and analyzed several concepts that fall under the Feminization of Poverty Theory: education, employment, family, and social class. For the analysis the study used the documentary Lalee's Kin: The Legacy of Cotton. Results show that each of the categories are approximately equal in proportion under …