Communication Commons^™

Corpulent Counter-Publics: Radical Cheerleading And Resignification Of The Fat Body, Emily Dianne Cram

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

This thesis investigates the power of language, discourse, and symbols in the dominant construction of corpulence, and how it simultaneously constricts subjectivity and offers avenues of resistance and revolt. I focus my analysis on the public protest actions of San Francisco's radical cheerleading troupe The Bod Squad. I argue that The Bod Squad's protest constitutes a counter-public sphere in its rhetorical functions of positive self-representation and public confrontation. Through their protest actions, The Bod Squad stretches dominant ideologies of corpulence to create discursive space for alternative articulations of identities, interests, and needs. This thesis challenges traditional counter-public sphere theory and …

Western Images In African Media: A Semiotic Investigation Of Three Nigerian-Made Films, Terence Ebi Ekiseh

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

This study makes a critical analysis of the portrayal of Western images in African-made films as represented in three selected Nigerian home-made movies. In other words, the study seeks to find out how images of Western European and North American cultures are portrayed in African films. The three films selected for the study are Spirit cf Love, Market Seller, and One Dollar. The films were selected on the basis of their popularity among Nigerian film audiences. They were also selected because they are recent, and are produced by renowned Nigerian filmmakers. The study utilized qualitative method to achieve its objective. …

Give ‘Em Hill: The Fighter Persona In Hillary Clinton’S 2008 Presidential Campaign, Rebecca Diane Buel

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Hillary Clinton announced her intentions to form a presidential exploratory committee on January 20, 2007. The campaign that followed this announcement was complicated by the many existing images created by Hillary Clinton's many years in the public eye. Throughout these many years, Hillary Clinton struggled to establish voter identification, and was frequently the subject of public criticism, rendering many existing images negative. Furthermore, she served in a variety of roles: governor's wife, first lady, senator, and most recently presidential candidate. Because of the conflicting data resulting from Hillary Clinton's negative publicity and her many roles, her presidential campaign faced a …

From Heteronormative To Strategic Ambiguity: Crafting A Scholarly Sexual Persona, Kelsey Anne Harr

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

All of the choices scholars make, from what to study to how to study it, are political and moral choices, and they speak as loudly about the scholar as they do about the text. Although scholars often engage in discussions about how their sex, race, class, and gender interact with their scholarly work, very few of them seem to spend time and space thematizing their sexual orientations. Using rhetorical methods, I identify three ways that scholars thematize sexual orientation in scholarly writing. First, an overt persona is demonstrated by scholars who explicitly state their sexual orientations. This option removes any …

An Examination Of Intercultural Communication Training Programs For U.S. Sojourners In Denominational And Non-Denominational Organizations, Stuart L. Holsing

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Whether for business or personal pleasure, service projects or military service, each year millions travel to destinations very different from their own culture. The preparation of the sojourner for effective interaction in their host culture will largely determine success or failure in meeting the mutual objectives all parties involved. My experiences both as a participant and leader of seven different teams of volunteers with Christian agencies led me to investigate what training is given to equip sojourners for the challenges they will face in navigating the unfamiliar territory of cultural differences in the course of performing their mission. How is …

“The Mormon Education Of A Gentile Justice: George Sutherland And Brigham Young Academy”, Edward L. Carter, James C. Phillips

Faculty Publications

Even within the eclectic group of men and women who have sat on the U.S. Supreme Court, Associate Justice George Sutherland (1922-38) was truly one of a kind: The only Justice ever to come from the state of Utah, he grew up as a non-Mormon in a cloistered 19th century Mormon society—and yet he rose to become one of the community’s most popular and even beloved political figures. As a lawyer, Sutherland defended Mormon men charged with “unlawful cohabitation” for polygamous lifestyles—and yet as a U.S. Senator he championed women’s rights, including suffrage. As one of the so-called “Four Horsemen …

Barriers To Providing Mtms, Robert N. Yale, Natalie Litera, Jeremy P. Fyke, Corinne Corbett

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Communication And The Knowable Community, Bonnie Brennen

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

This essay draws on Raymond Williams's concept of a knowable community in an effort to understand the myriad of connections that exist between individuals and society. Williams, who sees communication and community as synonymous, suggests that a knowable community may ultimately emerge through the process of communication and that in the discovery of connections between individuals and society, an understanding of historically specific patterns may be shown. This essay also discusses an oral history project with journalists who worked for Gannett in the 1960s as an example of an emerging knowable community that questioned traditional notions of community and challenged …

Smoking Cessation: Why Do Smokers Fail?, Joyce M. Wolburg

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

Purpose:

The purpose of this article is to probe three explanations for the difficulty that cigarette smokers have in quitting: the addictive nature of the product; the failure to deliver messages with effective quit strategies; and the resistance to enacting smoking bans in bars and restaurants. It aims to argue that the latter two issues result in misplaced marketing.

Design/methodology/approach:

This article examines data from published research, interviews with smokers who have successfully quit, and government statistics to have a clearer picture of the issues.

Findings:

Smokers are exposed to anti‐smoking messages created to discourage youth from starting to smoke, …

Condoms, Cigarettes, And Cell Phones: Does Brand Advertising Increase Generic Demand?, Joyce M. Wolburg

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

Purpose:

This article aims to stimulate discussion of how the advertising of brands affects the product category by creating generic demand.

Design/methodology/approach:

The article outlines the author's personal viewpoint.

Findings:

Although greater emphasis has been given to generic advertising's effect on brands, there is evidence that brand advertising can stimulate generic demand.

Practical implications:

The article takes the discussion of the issue to a different level.

Originality/value:

The article not only explores ways of increasing generic demand, it also provides theoretical explanations for how it can occur.

Differences In The Performance Of Knowledge Transfer Across Projects: A Study Of Gender And Role Of Key Project Stakeholders, Rafael E. Landaeta, Catherine Vergopia, Rey N. Diaz

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

This investigation contributes empirical results of differences identified in key project stakeholders with respect to their use of knowledge transferred across projects. Gender and role were the two individual characteristics investigated. Project managers and members of project teams were the key stakeholders analyzed. Data was collected from 71 closed projects using a survey composed of closed-ended questions. The data collected was cross tabulated and statistically analyzed using Friedman's test and Spearman's correlation. The results provide evidence of the association of the performance of knowledge transfer across projects with (a) the individual factors of gender and role of key project stakeholders …

Gender Stereotypes In Spanish Language Television Programming For Children In The United States, Carlo Andre Romo

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Children's television programming falling within the traditional Saturday morning time slot for four continuous Saturdays on five Spanish language networks in a southwest border city in the United States constituted the sample for this study. Each of the programs in the study was broken down and analyzed for character demographics, character behaviors and consequences received for those behaviors. Eight categories of behavior were scored, including four traditionally male behaviors (aggression, autonomy, construction, dominance) and four traditionally female behaviors (deference, dependence, harm avoidance, nurturing). The analysis of demographic data revealed male characters clearly outnumbered female characters and female characters were significantly …

Demarcating The Right To Gather News: A Sequential Interpretation Of The First Amendment, Erik Ugland

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

The recent spate of cases in which reporters have been subpoenaed, fined, jailed, or otherwise disciplined has laid bare the divisions among the courts over the existence and scope of the “reporter’s privilege.” The cases have also exposed the doctrinal, historical, and theoretical infirmities of the broader law of newsgathering, which encompasses not only source relationships, but also rights of access to places and records, protections against civil and criminal liability for torts and crimes committed in the pursuit of news, and protections against government searches of newsrooms and phone records, among other things. Resolving these conflicts has grown more …

Community Renegades: Micro-Radio And The Unlicensed Radio Movement, Lawrence Soley

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Creative Women In Advertising Agencies: Why So Few “Babes In Boyland”?, Sheri L. Broyles, Jean M. Grow

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore reasons why there are so few women in creative departments of advertising agencies and to discuss what impact that might have on the work environment of those creative departments and advertising messages they create.

Design/methodology/approach – Provides a review of published research and plus opinions of professionals who cover the advertising industry or work in agency creative departments. Personal observations from the authors’ time working in the advertising industry are also included.

Findings – Themes gleaned from the literature look at the gender gap, the creative department of advertising agencies …

Larry Sabato, Sumana Chattopadhyay

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Bowling Alone, Sumana Chattopadhyay

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Reporters Without Borders, Sumana Chattopadhyay

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.

Seeing The World While Staying At Home: Slapstick, Modernity And American-Ness, Amanda R. Keeler

College of Communication Faculty Research and Publications

No abstract provided.