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Basic Communication Course Annual

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Basic Communication Course Annual

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Basic Communication Course Annual Vol. 27

Basic Communication Course Annual

Full issue (196 pages, 7.0 MB)

Javan Gibbon (Hylobates Moloch) Non-Vocal Social Communication And Gesture Use With Conspecifics, Melanie Bell

All Master's Theses

I explored gestures used by captive Javan gibbons (Hylobates moloch) at the Gibbon Conservation Center (Santa Clarita, CA). I hypothesized that a sender gibbon’s gesture modality would vary with the recipient gibbon’s attentional state and the sender would be equally likely to use all modalities (tactile, visual, actions, and facial expressions) when the recipient was attending (facing the sender), but would use more tactile gestures and actions when the recipient was non-attending (oriented away from the sender). I collected data from 10 individuals using all-occurrences sampling and an ethogram to score behaviors from video recordings. In 1,143 interactions, …

Evidence Of Things Not Seen: A Semi-Automated Descriptive Phrase And Frame Analysis Of Texts About The Herbicide Agent Orange, Sarah Beth Hopton

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

From 1961 to 1971 the United States and the Republic of South Vietnam used chemicals to defoliate the coastal and upload forest areas of Viet Nam. The most notorious of these chemicals was named Agent Orange, a weaponized herbicide made up of two chemicals that, when combined, produced a toxic byproduct called TCDD-dioxin. Studied suggest that TCDD-dioxin causes significant human health problems in exposed American and Vietnamese veterans, and possibly their children (Agency, U.S. Environmental Protection, 2011). In the years since the end of the Vietnam War, volumes of discourse about Agent Orange has been generated, much of which is …

Turning The Page: Fandoms, Multimodality, And The Transformation Of The 'Comic Book' Superhero, Matthew Alan Cicci

Wayne State University Dissertations

Superheroes are increasingly becoming more affiliated with film media than comic books. The amount of revenue generated, the formation of new fans, and the interests of comic publishers’ parent companies all suggest that superhero film adaptations are the medium most associated with the superhero character. Such a monumental shift in the distribution of superheroes—comic books were long the dominant medium of superhero characters—is indicative of ongoing media convergence practices; the success of these contemporary adaptations, from 1998 on, have not only caused the filmic superhero to eclipse the comic one, it has inevitably led to a rewriting of superhero comic …

From Grapes To Wine To Brands To Culture: A Qualitative Study Of Kentucky Wineries And Kentucky Wine Producers, Benjamin J. Triana

Theses and Dissertations--Communication

The Kentucky wine industry has grown from six wineries in 1999 to more than sixty wineries as of 2013. However, the industry has reached a crucial point in its development as funds allotted from the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement ended in 2014. As a result, Kentucky wine producers must navigate the demands of local, regional, national, and international wine markets without the same amount of economic support provided in the early stages of the industry’s development.

The purpose of this study was to investigate (1) how Kentucky wine producers use cultural associations to manage their brands, (2) communicate with multiple …

Giving Voice To The Silence Of Family Estrangement: Comparing Reasons Of Estranged Parents And Adult Children In A Non-Matched Sample, Kristen Carr, Amanda J. Holman, Jenna Abetz, Jody Koenig Kellas, Elizabeth Vagnoni

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

This study investigated 898 parents’ and adult children’s reasons for estrangement in light of research on interpersonal attributions and the relational consequences of perspective taking. Three primary categories emerged: estrangement resulted from intrafamily, interfamily, or intrapersonal issues. Within each category, the frequency of parents’ and children’s reasons for estrangement differed significantly from each other. Parents reported that their primary reason for becoming estranged stemmed from their children’s objectionable relationships or sense of entitlement, whereas adult children most frequently attributed their estrangement to their parents’ toxic behavior or feeling unsupported and unaccepted. Parents also reported that they were unsure of the …

Expanding Eco-Visualization: Sculpting Corn Production, Jennifer E. Figg

Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation expands upon the definition of eco-visualization artwork. EV was originally defined in 2006 by Tiffany Holmes as a way to display the real time consumption statistics of key environmental resources for the goal of promoting ecological literacy. I assert that the final forms of EV artworks are not necessarily dependent on technology, and can differ in terms of media used, in that they can be sculptural, video-based, or static two-dimensional forms that communicate interpreted environmental information. There are two main categories of EV: one that is predominantly screen-based and another that employs a variety of modes of representation …

A Measure Of Social Behavior In Team-Based, Multiplayer Online Games: The Sociality In Multiplayer Online Games Scale (Smog), Chelsea M. Hughes

Theses and Dissertations

Video games have become a new platform for social interaction. I review the sociality of video games and the relationship between virtual- and real-world behaviors. I review and address the pros and cons of methods of measuring social behavior. Finally, I present two studies drawn from internet populations. In Study 1 (N = 250), I develop a scale, The Sociality in Multiplayer Online Games Scale (SMOG), which measures the frequency of social gaming behaviors in team-based, multiplayer online games. I hypothesized these to align on dominance and affiliation dimensions of social interaction (Kiesler, 1982). In Study 2 (N …

Editor's Note, Janie M. H. Fritz

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

This is the Editor’s Note to Volume 34, Issue 1 of the Journal of the Association for Communication Administration.

The Blending Of The Traditional And Professional Approaches To Communication: Department Chairs Share Administrative Challenges, Opportunities, And Best Practices, Rod Troester, Molly Wertheimer

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

The genesis of this article was a 2013 Eastern Communication Association panel that gathered department chairs of blended communication programs (those combining a traditional communication studies perspective with a mass media perspective) to exchange challenges, opportunities, and best practices of administering such programs. The article reviews the available literature and synthesizes and summarizes the experience of participating department chairs tasked with administering blended departments.

Complete Issue, Volume 34, Issue 1

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

This is the complete issue for Volume 34, Issue 1 of the Journal of the Association for Communication Administration.

Communicating Ethos At The Center, Kristen Hoerl, Mercedes Kolb, Ethan Gregerson, William Butler

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

Tutoring center staff must communicate their credibility to effectively assist students. Ethos is a term used within the discipline of rhetoric to describe the process of demonstrating one’s good character and credibility. Based on the works of Aristotle, ethos is one of three devices or modes of argumentative support. Ethos refers to the character of the speaker, whereas logos concerns effective reasoning, and pathos relates to the use of emotional appeals. Although they are often considered separately, appeals to ethos, logos, and pathos may function collectively to persuade an audience. While a speaker’s prior reputation influences audience perceptions, the concept …

The Benefits And Risks Of Telling And Listening To Stories Of Difficulty Over Time: Experimentally Testing The Expressive Writing Paradigm In The Context Of Interpersonal Communication Between Friends, Jody Koenig Kellas, Haley Kranstuber Hortsman, Erin K. Willer, Kristen Carr

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

The overarching goal of the current study was to determine the impact of talking interpersonally over time on emerging adults’ individual and relational health. Using an expressive writing study design (see Frattaroli, 2006), we assessed the degree to which psychological health improved over time for college students who told and listened to stories about friends’ current difficulties in comparison with tellers in control conditions. We also investigated the effects on tellers’ and listeners’ perceptions of each other’s communication competence, communicated perspective taking, and the degree to which each threatened the other’s face during the interaction over time to better understand …

High School Adolescents’ Perceptions Of The Parent–Child Sex Talk: How Communication, Relational, And Family Factors Relate To Sexual Health, Amanda Holman, Jody Koenig Kellas

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

This research focuses on how high school adolescents’ (n= 159) perceptions of parent– adolescent communication about sex, including communication frequency, parent–child closeness, parents’ communication competence and effectiveness, as well as the larger family environment relates to sexual risk-taking and permissive sexual attitudes. Findings show that perceived parental communication competence and effectiveness were the strongest negative predictors of adolescents’ permissive sexual attitudes and sexual risk-taking, whereas peer communication frequency was a significant positive predictor. In contrast with previous research, adolescents’ perception of parent communication frequency and family communication climate (e.g., conversation orientation and conformity orientation) was unrelated to adolescents’ sexual risk.

Chaos, Reports, And Quests: Narrative Agency And Co-Workers In Stories Of Workplace Bullying, Stacy Tye-Williams, Kathleen J. Krone

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

This study examined narratives that targets of workplace bullying told about their difficult work experiences along with how co-workers were framed in these narratives. Three different narrative types emerged from their accounts: chaos, report, and quest narratives. Co-worker responses of support or lack thereof were related to the construction of various narrative forms and the level of narrative agency evident in target accounts. The study has important implications for the difference co-workers can make in a target’s ability to withstand bullying and narrate his or her experience.

Computer Anxiety And Computer Self-Efficacy Of Older Adults, Elizabeth Diane Cooper-Gaiter

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many older adults (aged 55 and older) need training to acquire computer knowledge and skills. Using computers and the Internet could provide access to vital resources for improving older adults' health and maintaining their connections with family and society. This study examined 2 psychological constructs--computer anxiety and computer self-efficacy--that have been shown to impact a person's successful use of computers and related technology. Guided by Bandura's self-efficacy theory, which emphasizes the importance of adult learners being motivated and taking charge of their learning, this study examined the impact of a computer knowledge and skills workshop on older adults' computer anxiety …

Students’ Perceptions And Misperceptions Of The Communication Major: Opportunities And Challenges Of Reputation, Nichole Egbert, Joy L. Daggs, Phillip R. Reed

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

This study investigates undergraduate students' perceptions of the content, difficulty, and value of the Communication major. Students in majors other than Communication from two universities indicated that the content of the Communication major was valuable and, in some cases, involved difficult tasks. However, the major was perceived as easier than any other compared discipline. The students surveyed demonstrated low to moderate belief in most popular “myths” regarding Communication as an academic field. A number of potential strategies to increase awareness of the value of a degree in communication are provided, which can be adapted for use with existing departmental marketing …

Public Speaking Anxiety And Graduation: Assessing Student Progress And Institutional Need, Ronald P. Grapsy

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

This article is designed to accomplish two goals. First, data from six-year student cohorts are examined for patterns emerging among those who failed to graduate from a public, state-affiliated university. The data imply strongly that a significant percentage of students who did not graduate failed primarily due to an inability to pass through the basic public speaking course – part of the general education program – and that communicative anxiety may be the root cause. Also, the article discusses the design and implementation of a successful model for a basic speech course dedicated to students with debilitating levels of public …