Social Influence and Political Communication Commons^™

Implicating Bitzer's Rhetorical Situation In Comparative And Non-Violent Rhetoric: A Rhetorical Analysis Of Three Ecofeminist Movements From East To West, Shahreen Mat Nayan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the study of social movement rhetoric, scholars often focus on movements based in Western nations, foregoing study of social change in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and other parts of the world. Similarly, the focus on non-violent rhetoric has also been lacking, despite its use by great leaders such as Mahatma Ghandi and Martin Luther King. This dissertation contributes to the study of social change in a globalized world, by taking a comparative approach to non-violent rhetoric in three diverse case studies. As sub-areas, both comparative rhetoric and non-violent rhetoric require further deliberation due to the numerous debates concerning …

Lessons From Libya: A Situational Approach To The Generic Criticism Of President Obama's March 28, 2011 Address To The Nation On Libya, Amy L. Schumacher

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Many scholars have called the utility of the generic method of rhetorical criticism into question. Adopting a situational approach to generic rhetorical criticism increases the value of the method considerably. By analyzing situational constituents (scene, purpose, agent, act, agency, and audience) surrounding a discourse, a critic gains a holistic understanding of that text. When coupled with generic comparisons - whether the critic proceeds inductively or deductively - he or she can then trace the recurrent rhetorical strategies across time and place and, simultaneously, highlight the elements unique to the particular rhetor and discourse. I demonstrate this approach through an analysis …

Advertising The Thin Ideal-The Effect On Women, Christine Murphy

Irish Business Journal

Debate on the thin ideal has been prevalent for many decades, however given the substantial increase in eating disorders and the omnipresent influence of the media the time is now ripe for decisive action in the area of women in advertising. Most research in this area has focused on the psychological impact of the thin ideal. The new research presented in this paper is important as it explores the marketing implications of the portrayal of women in the fashion and cosmetic industry. The success of this industry depends entirely on how receptive consumers are to the images portrayed. This paper …

Genesis In Hyperreality: Legitimizing Disingenuous Controversy At The Creation Museum, Casey R. Kelly, Kristen Hoerl

Scholarship and Professional Work - Communication

This essay analyzes the argumentative structure of the "Answers in Genesis" ministry's Creation Museum in Petersburg, Kentucky. Founded by a $27 million grant, the 70,000 square-foot museum appropriates the stylistic and authoritative signifiers of natural history museums, complete with technically proficient hyperreal displays and modern curatorial techniques. In this essay, we argue that the museum provides a culturally authoritative space in which Young Earth Creationists can visually craft the appearance that there is an ongoing scientific controversy over matters long settled in the scientific community (evolution), or what scholars call a disingenuous or manufactured controversy. We analyze the displays and …

Selective Amnesia And Racial Transcendence In News Coverage Of President Obama’S Inauguration, Kristen Hoerl

Scholarship and Professional Work - Communication

The mainstream press frequently characterized the election of President Barack Obama the first African American US President as the realization of Martin Luther King's dream, thus crafting a postracial narrative of national transcendence. I argue that this routine characterization of Obama's election functions as a site for the production of selective amnesia, a form of remembrance that routinely negates and silences those who would contest hegemonic narratives of national progress and unity.

Political Efficacy And The Use Of Local And National News Media Among Undecided Voters In A Swing State: A Study Of General Population Voters And First-Time College Student Voters, Louisa Ha, Fang Wang, Ling Fang, Chen Yang, Xiao Hu, Liu Yang, Fang Yang, Ying Xu

School of Media and Communication Faculty Publications

News media play a crucial role in democracy by serving as the watchdog of government and a distributor of political information and campaign messages to the general public. In the U.S., commercial media dominate the market, and they receive monetary support during the electoral campaign season via political advertising. In the 2012 presidential campaign, U.S. television media received 75% of the $1.1 billion dedicated to campaign advertising (Wilner, 2012). So much money is spent because the votes of undecided citizens in swing states are crucial to winning presidential elections. Most recently, the Democratic Party successfully targeted and won key swing …

Visible Identities, Visual Rhetoric: The Self-Labeled Body As A Popular Platform For Political Persuasion, Joel Penney

College of Communication and Media Scholarship and Creative Works

This study examines how political T-shirts--i.e., those featuring printed images, symbols, or words that make explicit reference to electoral politics--are used by their wearers as identity labels for the purpose of advancing persuasive messages in the public sphere.

Ironic Advertising: Theory, Evidence And Practice, Ekin Pehlivan Yalcin

2012

Irony is one mechanism that advertisers use to attract consumer attention. Although ironic advertising (IA) is utilized in the mass media, it has received surprisingly little conceptual or empirical attention from marketing scholars. Perhaps one reason for this is that in marketing irony has been viewed primarily from a postmodern perspective. This is in marked contrast to psycholinguists where the phenomenon is approached from a more ecumenical, realist point of view. This dissertation is based on the premise that a realist approach to ironic advertising would produce insights for both marketing theory and practice.

This dissertation comprises of three papers …

Public Relations In Kenya: An Exploration Of Models And Cultural Influences, Dane M. Kiambi, Marjorie Keeshan Nadler

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Faculty Publications

This pioneer study explores the public relations models that inform the practice of public relations in Kenya, and the cultural values that influence this practice. Results show the personal influence model as the most used by practitioners in Kenya, while individualism is the most experienced cultural value. The strong correlation between personal influence model and Hofstede’s cultural value of femininity points to the practitioners’ strong desire for good interpersonal relationships with colleagues, supervisors, clients and key publics.

Ethnic Appeal: A Self-Defense Tool For Kenyan Politicians, Dane M. Kiambi

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Faculty Publications

So far, analyses of apologetic rhetoric strategies as used by individuals or organizations to respond to accusations of wrongdoing have been concentrated in the West. An analysis of political apologia in an African setting — in this case Kenya — reveals that while Kenyan politicians have used denial, victimization, mortification, and counterattacking among other self-defense strategies, one particular strategy emerges as the most commonly used by Kenyan politicians — ethnic appeal.

Strategic Communication In Women's Rights Organizations: Tools, Challenges And Best Practices, Anastasia Kalinina

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Despite rapid globalization and tremendous expansion of the number of women's rights organizations, international attention to the issues of women and girls remains rather low. While some women's rights networks and organizations leap to prominence, others do not receive recognition and public support. I wanted to know why. I interviewed 13 directors and communication managers of women's rights non-governmental organizations to see how they manage communication. I used a convenience sample that included a wide range of geographical locations and sizes of NGOs. The interviews were held via Skype. I conducted a theme analysis of transcribed interviews. The participants indicated …

Feminizing Presidents: Joseph Keppler And Gender In Gilded Age Political Cartoons, Jerome Gonzalez

American Studies Senior Theses

Amid the crowded newsstands of American cities in the late nineteenth century, the average reader flipping through a copy of Puck, a weekly humor magazine devoted to political and social issues, may have been surprised to see an unusual print: that of the President of the United States depicted in women’s clothing, with feminine features, performing a womanly task! These few drawings, alluding to both literary and social ideas, done by the Austrian immigrant artist Joseph Keppler, appeared in his Puck magazine in the years 1877, 1880, and 1884, coinciding around an election year. While Presidents Rutherford B. Hayes, James …

Kanye West Is Heading South, Clifton A. Sammet

Communication Studies

No abstract provided.

Ancient Chinese Power, Modern Chinese Thought, Linsay Cunningham-Cross, William A. Callahan

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Ancient Chinese Thought, Modern Chinese Power is the latest publication to come from Yan Xuetong's ongoing research project that explores the interstate political philosophy of China's pre-Qin era. This book is interesting on many levels, and has already drawn attention from public intellectuals and scholars in the West. This essay thus first will examine the scholarly issue of how Yan and his colleagues are employing pre-Qin thought to make philosophical and political arguments about how China will rise. It will consider the relation of the ‘kingly way’ (wang 王) and the ‘hegemonic way’ (ba 霸) to critically analyze Yan's argument …

More Than Memories? Schema Transference From Media Characters To Real People, Hilary Ray

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study focused on whether personality traits and evaluations of television personalities are used to make inferences about new Social interaction partners. It tested the hypothesis that priming schemas of television personalities will bias inferences made about a stranger. The results were mixed. Participants in the experimental condition made more biased inferences about a stranger than did participants in the control condition. This transference was not influenced by participants' parasociability, and methodological limitations prevented conclusive study of the influence of affective evaluations in this effect. Future studies should attempt to increase methodological control and introduce a diverse set of measures …

The Umbrella Effect: The Importance Of Converging Student Media At A University, Karlee Prazak

Journalism

Journalism today is much more than a single reporter, news anchor, photographer or videographer specializing in a single skill. Journalists today need to be multimedia journalists who have skills that encompass anything from writing a story to editing video. Currently, at California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo (Cal Poly), journalism students are learning these skills, but they are learning them separately. Within the three concentrations offered by the journalism department — broadcast, news/editorial and public relations — there are the three student media outlets: Central Coast PRspectives, Cal Poly TV, KCPR radio and the Mustang Daily newspaper. Few students, however, …

Filming For Change: The Art Of Influencing Public Policy Through Documentary Filmmaking, Robert J. Griffith

Journalism

Documentary filmmaking is a very useful tool for bringing an issue to public attention and pushing for political action and policy change on that issue. This form of documentary filmmaking, Filming for Change, has been employed successfully and unsuccessfully by many different filmmakers. There are a few keys to making a successful documentary when Filming for Change, and the first is to appeal to the correct demographic. Those who have the political power to influence policy will tend to be white, male, and between 35 and 64 years of age. These people do not like propaganda or a slanted film. …

Photo Manipulation In The Media, Stephanie Coffaney

Graphic Communication

In today’s society there are photos everywhere; they are in magazines, advertisements, newspapers, and books because photos make the text or the story stand out. Some may not know it, but most of these photos have been edited and retouched. This research paper attempted to determine the majority opinion of what types of photo editing was above the tolerable limit, as well as the public awareness of media manipulation. The different levels of photo editing included changing the contrast, removal of blemishes and dust, addition/removal of objects, and addition/removal of main subjects. The results revealed that most people are aware …

Structural Pluralism And The Community Context: How And When Does The Environment Matter?, Leo Wayne Jeffres, Edward Horowitz, Cheryl Campanella Bracken, Guowei Jian, Kimberly Neuendorf, Sukki Yoon

Communication Faculty Publications

Several long-standing theories intersect in discussing the impact of community characteristics and of the mass media. The structural pluralism model popularized by Tichenor and his colleagues says that social structure influences how mass media operate in communities because they respond to how power is distributed in the social system, whereas the linear model says that the increasing size of a community's population leads to more social differentiation and diversity and corresponding increases in subcultures with their own beliefs, customs, and behaviors. Recently, there has been a concern about how changes in society have led to a decline in organizational activity …

Measuring Social Networks For Real-Time Competitive Advantage, Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

Social networks offer up a goldmine of information just waiting to be exploited. For the first time, human relationships, comments and activities are documented quite publicly on platforms like Facebook and Twitter. Save for privacy concerns, never before has it been easier to know what people think, what they like, and to whom they are connected.