Theses and Dissertations

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Open Access
A uses and gratification study of public radio audiences
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 1982) Bluebond, Scott D., author; Phillips, Dennis D., advisor; Bruner, Howard D., committee member; Pendell, Sue D., committee member
This thesis sought to find out why people listen to public radio. The uses and gratifications data gathering approach was implemented for public radio audiences. Questionnaires were sent out to 389 listener/contributors of public radio in northern Colorado. KCSU-FM in Fort Collins and KUNC-FM in Greeley agreed to provide such lists of listener/contributors. One hundred ninety-two completed questionnaires were returned and provided the sample base for the study. The respondents indicated they used public radio primarily for its news, its special programming, and/or because it is entertaining. Her/his least likely reasons for using public radio are for diversion and/or to transmit culture from one generation to the next. The remaining uses and gratifications categories included in the study indicate moderate reasons for using public radio. Various limitations of the study possibly tempered the results. These included the sample used and the method used to analyze the data. Conducting the research necessary for completion of this study made evident the fact that more research needs to be done to improve the uses and gratifications approach to audience analysis. The identification of the uses and non-uses of public radio have helped lay a foundation for future research in this area.
Open Access
Rhetorical operatives in selected blues lyrics of Bessie Smith
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 1983) Bowers, Detine L., author; Vancil, David L., advisor; Irvine, James, committee member; Gravlee, G. Jack, committee member; Sims, William, committee member
A joint study of music and rhetoric allows for the expansion of the function and scope of both disciplines. This study is concerned with the periphery of rhetoric, specifically, its relationship to 1920s Blues. Thus, the purpose of this study is to examine whether popular musical lyrics can be analyzed rhetorically and to further assess the potential rhetorical operatives in Blues lyrics by Bessie Smith. The subject, Bessie Smith, and the study, are justified because both attempt to articulate an idea based on a particular culture; the former applies the theory whereas the latter explains the theory and how it has useful rhetorical dimensions. Thus, the study examines how Blues lyrics modify existing attitudes. In order to assess the extent of attitude modification, the study reviews the cultural context in which Blues was performed, develops a conceptual model, based on Burkeian theoretical premises, for analyzing rhetorical operatives in Blues lyrics, and applies the model to selected Blues lyrics. The conclusion to this study points to how a poetic form functions rhetorically. By analyzing nine selected lyrics composed by Bessie Smith between 1923 and 1930, it can be concluded that her lyrics were persuasive statements which sustained Black America until the inception of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. In many respects, Blues serves as a liberating catharsis for Blacks amidst oppression. Bessie Smith employs an epideictic address while influencing the Black audience. At the time of Bessie Smith's performance, Blacks were in the midst of a premovement era and Blues was a means for communicating by evoking the transcendence of pain incurred by Black degradation and deprivation. From this perspective, it may be concluded that Bessie Smith's Blues was a "responsible rhetoric."
Open Access
A dangerous message: the material effects of Enough
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2006) Richards, Joseph P., author; Holling, Michelle A., advisor; Bubar, Roe W., committee member; Dickinson, Greg, committee member
Domestic violence is a cultural epidemic in U.S. society. How we define, perceive, and treat domestic violence is a product of the material rhetorics about it. Since film is a prominent mode of rhetorical discourse, I examine how the issue of domestic violence is represented in the 2002 film Enough. I argue that the film presents a view of domestic violence that offers space for empowerment, but serves to potentially place real women in danger. I undertake a dual-methodological approach using a textual analysis of the film and a focus group discussion with female domestic violence professionals/providers to discern the negative material effects of Enough. In my concluding section, drawing from feedback from the focus group participants, I offer suggestions for improving portrayals of domestic violence that may lead to ending this problem.
Open Access
Prostitute, victim, survivor, woman: examining the discursive structures surrounding women in sex trafficking situations
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2010) Taylor, Julie Lynn, author; Broadfoot, Kirsten J., advisor; Griffin, Cindy L., committee member; Coke, Pamela K., committee member
Within the realm of sex trafficking, the discourse that describes women often floats between naming the women as victims or as agents. To be an agent assumes that women are complying prostitutes. To be a victim assumes that the women are being put in the situation against their will. Significantly, the perpetrator rarely is discussed. Moreover, in most descriptions, the woman is described as the lone actor in the rape and its aftermath. Interviews were conducted with four different organizations within Colorado that understand and describe sex trafficking situations in unique ways. Through the interview data, discursive connections and discrepancies were illuminated, allowing for the researcher to follow the flow of discourse among organizations. In this study, the consequences of these descriptions, and their impact on voice, agency and space of action, are examined.
Open Access
Dancing in/out/around/about the closet: narrating autoethnographic agency from [a] marginalized voice
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2010) Hummel, Gregory Sean, author; Griffin, Cindy L., advisor; Aoki, Eric, committee member; Brantmeier, Edward J., committee member
The purposes of this study were threefold: (1) to understand the significance of autoethnography with the communication studies field; (2) to question the relationship between/within theoretical frameworks on identity, voice, and agency; and (3) to theorize on the affects of coming out through the lenses of identity, voice, and agency from an autoethnographic perspective. In short, the study finds autoethnographic perspectives to be a fruitful endeavor for communication scholars seeking to understand a more holistic picture of the human condition, while calling for more research to enhance theoretical conceptualizations of identity, voice, and agency. Furthermore, this study suggests that autoethnographic perspectives can offer voice to otherwise silenced identities, while also providing re/presentations for individuals who lack representation in and/or outside of the academy. Finally, this study urges individuals who avow to being an ally for marginalized individuals/groups to actively voice their support in order to create more comfortable/safe spaces within and/or outside of the classroom.
Open Access
Unmasking the expert deceiver: grounded theory analysis of long-term, high-stakes deception expertise development
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2010) Bertrand, Heather, author; Merolla, Andrew, advisor; Unnithan, N. Prabha, 1952-, committee member; Anderson, Karrin Vasby, committee member
The current study attempted to garner knowledge about expert deceivers by analyzing personal accounts of their deceptive behaviors. The goal was to understand the methods these individuals employed to become master deceivers. A selection of 12 autobiographical texts describing the exploits of three types of expert deceivers (i.e., confidence artists, espionage agents, and undercover law enforcement agents) were analyzed using a categorizational system derived from previous grounded theory research. The results from the analysis led to the development of the deception skill model, which illustrates the complex relationship of processes that occur during the development and utilization of deception expertise. Knowledge gained from this study adds to the existent body of deception research along with, potentially, adding a new avenue of deception research and practical applications for deception detectors.
Open Access
Representations of immigration and the border fence: an evaluation of media frames in two U.S. newspapers
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2010) Rodríguez-Escobar, Manuel A., author; Dickinson, Greg, advisor; Sagás, Ernesto, committee member; Aoki, Eric, committee member
On October 26, 2006, President George W. Bush enacted the Secure Fence Act in response to what many congressional members and U.S. citizens deemed a growing immigration problem. In the months immediately preceding and following the authorization of the bill, various discourses arose across the nation to engage in a growing debate on ways to solve the perceived dilemmas caused by immigration. This study evaluated and compared the dialogues engaged within two U.S. newspapers to determine how the news outlets described and discussed immigration. More specifically, this study first explored news reports found in the Washington Post, since this newspaper serves as the leading periodical in the Washington D.C. area, where the Secure Fence Act was debated amongst journalists, politicians, and lobbyists. Next, this project investigated newspaper articles found in the Brownsville Herald, which serves a targeted audience living along the U.S.-Mexico border. The goal of this investigation was to compare the two divergent discourses in order to identify the common themes and frames employed by media outlets to describe immigrants and immigration. This study incorporated theories of frame and metaphorical analysis to determine the common themes utilized by journalists, politicians, and lobbyists in their descriptions of immigrants and immigration. Additionally, this project surveyed articles that included the key terms "immigration" and "border fence" in order to narrow the sample on dialogues centered around the passage of the Secure Fence Act. Lastly, this examination explored articles published in the three months prior to and three months following the enactment of the Secure Fence Act to best gauge suggestions, responses, and reactions to the U.S. governments' response to the perceived immigration problem. The findings indicated that the two periodicals discussed immigration and offered representations of immigrants utilizing very different themes and metaphors, which raised concerns about whether the 109th Congress appropriately and effectively responded to the perceived immigration problem. The author suggests that frame and metaphorical analysis can be incorporated into future studies focused on understanding how a particular issue is represented within a variety of media outlets. The author's hope is that understanding the various sides and concerns of any particular issue can lead to a more productive dialogue on how to most effectively resolve the problems identified by various communities.
Open Access
Talking peace: an evaluation of peace circle community building events in secondary education
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2010) Bruns, Mallorie Ann, author; Merolla, Andrew, advisor; Timpson, William M., committee member; Griffin, CIndy L., committee member
The dialogue-centered program, Peace Circles, aims to foster connection between school community members by bringing them together to share stories from their lives. Advocates of Peace Circles contend that they help community members develop a greater understanding and appreciation for one another. The purpose of this study is to examine and evaluate two Peace Circles events that took place in April 2009 in northern Colorado high schools. More specifically, this study sought to determine the degree to which participation in Peace Circles affects students' and community members' perceptions of school connectedness. In addition, this study explored the reasons that participants would or would not participate in future Peace Circles. This study employed a survey-based methodology, asking participants to complete surveys both before and after partaking in Peace Circles. Results indicated that individuals' perception of school connectedness increased following their participation in the Peace Circles. That is, participants reported statistically significantly higher scores on school connectedness items on post-event surveys than on pre-event surveys. Over 95% of participants also reported that they would be willing to participate in future Peace Circles. Content analysis of participants' written responses produced six categories of reasons for why participants would attend future Peace Circles events: 1) the event was a positive experience, 2) the event fostered connection, 3) the event resulted in a sense of gain, 4) the event was conducive to sharing, 5) the event had a process that participants appreciated, and 6) the event fostered a better school environment. To conceptualize program effectiveness, the author draws upon literature from adolescent and child development, as well as educational research on school connectedness. Several theoretical perspectives were utilized to define the goals of Peace Circles, including dialogue, restorative practices, and conflict resolution. Applications and suggestions for future research are offered by the author, with the goal of promoting continued, theory-based utilization of Peace Circles in schools.
Open Access
Put your best face forward: adolescent use of Facebook and the establishment of a hypermeality
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2010) Taddonio, Elizabeth A., author; Diffrient, David Scott, 1972-, advisor; Lupo, Jonathan, committee member; Snodgrass, Jeffrey G., committee member
This thesis seeks to understand how adolescents, aged 13-15, use the online social network (OSN) of Facebook to perform identity. Over the course of three chapters, the researcher uses the frameworks of social semiotics, narrative studies, and performance studies to analyze the site's design, features, and users, respectively. This analysis is meant to clarify whether Facebook as a medium rearranges and changes the activities of a generalized adolescent population in U.S. America, or if the medium simply reinforces pre-existing social practices. To answer this question, the study focuses heavily on the use of a new term, "hypermeality," in order to explain the communal narrativization of the social self online. The study concludes by stating that Facebook creates a hyperreal environment for both negative and positive outcomes of networking. These negatives include cyberbullying, self-centrism and problematic Internet use, while the positives include online community building and cosmopolitanism that might extend to offline behaviors and awareness. It is the goal of this thesis to add to the conversation on new media technologies, contributing to a better understanding of how the previously mentioned theoretical frameworks can be applied to the study of OSNs—their role and function in the lives of adolescent computer users. This knowledge should foster the development of safe OSNs, intergenerational computer-mediated communication, and the de-stigmatization of new media cultures.
Open Access
"Can we fix it?": Bob the Builder as a discursive resource for children
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2010) Freed, Brianna, author; Broadfoot, Kirsten, advisor; Aoki, Eric, advisor; Harvey, Ashley, committee member; Aoki, Eric, committee member
This thesis examines the discourses and representations constructed in the popular children's television series Bob the Builder--a discursive resource that engages work as its central theme. Through a critical cultural lens, the study uses critical discourse analysis and visual semiotics to explore the constructions of work/er, organization, non-work activities, family, gender, and diversity as they are (re)presented in the show. The study found that Bob the Builder distinctly (re)presents values of the postmodern, postindustrial worker of Western, advanced corporate capitalism. Leisure and play are portrayed as activities which, ideally, do not affect work. Family is equally placed in the periphery as family members are either placed entirely outside the organization--as with Wendy's family--or as contributing members to its operation--as with Bob's family. Gender representations are problematized by Wendy's denied occupational identity as a builder equal to her male counterpart. Diversity in the show is problematic with minimal non-White ethnic representation and two overtly stereotypical representations of supporting characters. Directions for future research are offered in the conclusion.
Open Access
. . . [elipsis]
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2010) Ernest, Alicia C., author; Broadfoot, Kirsten, advisor; Diffrient, Scott, advisor; Ishiwata, Eric, committee member
The ellipsis performs various functions in U.S. culture. It euphemizes, it transgresses, it represents an omission of text, and it occupies a space between words and yet has meaning. For these reasons, the ellipsis is an appropriate icon to organize the chapters of this text. This thesis proposes that the speaking subject is always already in a position that is simultaneously defined and transgressed by language and analyzes the subsequent linguistic performances enacted to negotiate with that position. The borders that form individual and national identity perceptions are imagined and yet, consequential. All speaking subjects exist in a space of discontinuity and must forever negotiate the irreducible gap between meaning and language, and subsequently, a temporal experience of identity. This thesis proposes that this condition of language renders the speaking subject a linguistic audience as abject. In an effort to negotiate this unbearable abjection, the speaking subject continuously participates in identity boundary performances in order to delineate spaces of self and other and spaces of identification, as well as to experience meaning. This delineation process in itself is neutral, but must be analyzed for its effect in practice. The effects of these performances become highly consequential in the complicated and highly contested spaces of national identity. In these spaces, the illusive boundary between self and other is exaggerated with simultaneous attempts to assimilate difference within. It is the task of this thesis to engage poststructural and psychoanalytic theories with texts that inform and delineate the frames of U.S. national identity and Native American identity. This thesis will primarily take up and build upon Kristiva’s abjection, Baudrillard’s conceptions of the virtual positive, and a Barthesian and Derridian influenced notion of authority. These theories are then engaged in an analysis of texts that inform Native American realities. The purpose for this engagement will be to challenge the reader to realize her/his own authority in the texts that inform her/his own identity and the identity of the self-created other. The aim is to position the subject in a space of conscious participation in responsible meaning making. The analysis will focus on the texts, “Native” and “House Bill 10-1067,” relying on these texts’ intertextual references to complicate seemingly harmless recent associations. These texts are relevant to this study because they continue to inform past and present conceptions of the United States as a nation-state and in turn continue to frame the material realities for Native communities. Overall, this thesis unpacks the notion that all speaking subjects are participating players on the stage of a large-scale identity boundary performance. In framing the subject’s position in this elliptical space, there is a suggestion for subjects to consider their lines in this performance, for their consequences and potential, in the forever negotiation of difference/self-reference, mise-en-abime.
Open Access
Ushering in participatory democracy on cyber waves of change? The possibilities of an interactive White House
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2010) Purnell, Amanda Lynn, author; Griffin, Cindy, advisor; Daum, Courtenay, committee member; Sprain, Leah, committee member
This thesis seeks to understand in what ways the Obama administration uses web-based technologies to fulfill key campaign promises for transparency and participation, as well as how those strategies may foster participatory democracy. To answer these questions, the thesis engages conversations of interactivity, interpellation, participatory democracy and the role the net generation plays in the future of participatory democracy in the United States. The project considers two key features of WhiteHouse.gov—the Briefing Room and the Blog—as well as the administration's online presence on Facebook through their White House Live feature. It concludes that the administration is fulfilling most of their campaign promises, but not all of those promises have the capacity to promote participatory democracy. The American public has more access to their government, and to information, but has little actual influence in everyday governing. This thesis also suggests that the Obama administration is putting forth a new understanding of American citizenship that interpellates an active citizen. The characteristics the administration attributes to this active citizen align with the characteristics attributed to members of the net generation. The implications of these findings and the barriers to participatory democracy are discussed as the project concludes by considering the future of politics in the United States.
Open Access
Should I stay or should I go?: the rhetoric of "scorned political wives"
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2010) Reeder, Mal, author; Burgchardt, Carl R., advisor; Carcasson, Martin, 1972-, committee member; Sloane, Sarah, committee member
This thesis examines the rhetoric of Elizabeth Edwards and Jenny Sanford, two "scorned political wives." In the wake of their husbands' extramarital affairs, Edwards and Sanford needed to respond to embarrassing and identity-challenging rhetorical situations. Forced to defend their choices as wives and mothers, Edwards and Sanford answered the question, "Should I stay or should I go?" Although their persuasive purposes were quite different, Edwards and Sanford each employed effective rhetoric to heighten their credibility and restore their place in society. Elizabeth Edwards chose to preserve her marriage, while Jenny Sanford decided to sever her marital bonds. By examining the themes and persuasive strategies each woman used to meet her overall goals, this thesis uncovers lines of argument, or topoi, that may be characteristic of an emerging genre of "scorned political wives."
Open Access
Care-ing about patients: the construction, performance, and organization of communication and care in medical education
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2010) Clement, Elise, author; Broadfoot, Kirsten J., advisor; Merolla, Andrew J., committee member; Shaw, Jane R., committee member
In an era where health care is becoming increasingly expensive and reform is on the political agenda, it is important to understand what specifically can be reformed or altered to change the way health care is both understood and administered. To begin, what can be revealed through analyzing the way that health care providers themselves understand both care and communication? This master's thesis uses a dialogic approach to understand how both communication and care are taught and understood in medical education programs. Medical educators at five medical schools in the United States were interviewed regarding their role in teaching communication and clinical skills at their respective schools. Interview data was coded and categorized in effort to better understand how each school constructs and performs the concepts of communication and care. After uncovering how these ideas are understood, suggestions were put forth regarding how medical education curriculums might be changed in the future to better equip future doctors with the demands of delivering quality health care to a multitude of patients with varying desires, needs, and understanding of what it means to be "healthy". After analyzing interview data, this study reveals that the ways in which medical students understand communication and care have material implications for the ways they engage in clinical interactions. Therefore, altering the way these concepts are understood can potentially change the ways doctors interact with their patients. In a time when health care is changing drastically each year, these findings provide tools to make cost and time effective changes in medical education that create important changes for future of medicine. The specific changes offered by this study provide a framework for future curriculums to follow to ensure that programs meet accreditation standards, while also providing the most innovative and advanced teaching and learning methods to educate future doctors. While the sample used for this study is small, its findings still illustrate how medical education might change to better educate students. Further, the study illustrates a need for change and suggests how the methods used here might be combined with others to reveal further areas of focus for curriculum reform. The conclusions of this study reveal that health care reform can begin in the context of medical education and how reconceptualizing foundational ideas like communication and care can better equip medical students for their future clinical interactions.
Open Access
The challenges of populism: an analysis of Tea Party structuring narratives
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2011) Coughlin, Alex T., author; Sprain, Leah, advisor; Dickinson, Greg, committee member; Saunders, Kyle, committee member
The lead up to the 2010 midterm elections saw the rise of a new face in American domestic politics: the Tea Party. Riding a wave of conservative dissent following 2009's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the Tea Party exploded onto the political scene and helped to Republicans to score 680 legislative seats. This study compared the structuring narratives of the Tea Party to uncover the way the movement identifies its political aims, goals and actors. More specifically, this essay analyzed the narratives of the Tea Party on teaparty.org and teapartypatriots.org as well as in editorials and op-ed pieces in the New York Times and Washington Times from April 15 through November 15, 2010. Furthermore, because of frequent claims of the Tea Party's populist nature, this project further examined the movement's use of populist rhetoric. The goal of this project was to further understand the competing understandings of the Tea Party and the mode in which the movement used themes of populist rhetoric. This study incorporated theories of narrative analysis to determine common methods of the Tea Party's structuring of protagonists, antagonists, plot, climax, and other important identifying factors. These characteristics were then compared to the rhetorical tactics and themes of past American populist movements. The findings indicated that the Tea Party was identified with a concise structuring narrative in the Washington Times and on teaparty.org and teapartypatriots.org , but this identity was questioned and problematized by the New York Times. The author further suggests the Tea Party's use of populist rhetoric was effective, but will pose problems in the future as questions of authenticity will surround populist rhetorical themes and their campaign fundraising. The author's hope is that studying the rhetorical tactics of the Tea Party will add to the discussion of American sociopolitical movements and the way they communicate.
Open Access
Dynamic disorders: narratives of eating disorders and the father-daughter relationship
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2011) Mouton, Ashton, author; Broadfoot, Kirsten, advisor; Aoki, Eric, committee member; Canetto, Silvia, committee member
Eating disorders affect women all over the world, particularly adolescents, at a rate which has grown in the last several decades. As obesity becomes one of the most battled health risks, those seriously underweight are ignored, praised, and/or forgotten, and as the fear of obesity grows, so does the incidence and prevalence of eating disorders. Previous research on eating disorders has focused on the family system and/or the mother-daughter dyad for their etiological significance, but relatively little attention has been given to the father's place in the family system or the father-daughter dyad in this context. Using Bronfenbrenner's (1979) ecological model as a lens, this thesis expands the literature of eating disorders by asking questions about the father-daughter relationship and the father's role(s) in the development, maintenance, and recovery of their daughter's eating disorder experiences. Narrative interviews, which record daughters' perceived experiences of the father-daughter relationship in the context of their eating disorders, were collected from women who self-identify as having an eating disorder. Analysis of the daughters' narrative accounts reveals six themes that define the father-daughter relationship and daughters' experiences of their eating disorders. Throughout the narratives, daughters communicatively construct their relationships with their fathers through the dialectical tensions of closeness/distance and openness/closedness. Interestingly, daughters do not communicatively construct their relationships with their fathers based on interactions about food, weight, or appearance but rather around issues of quality interactions, support, and closeness, as daughters construct the father-daughter relationship as an evolving emotional experience. Eating disorders, then, are perceived as relational artifacts of the father-daughter relationship, marking certain relational turning points. Within the narratives, fathers potentially enable the development of the eating disorder through actions and inactions nonrelated to daughters' food intake, appearance, or behavior and potentially further enable the performance of the eating disorder through their silence and passive reactions to their daughters' disorders. However, fathers have the potential to aid in the recovery process with care, support, and expressed closeness, and when fathers do actively participate in their daughters' recovery, the relationship and the recovery process can both benefit from their active participation. These findings highlight the need for further research on fathers (and other father-figures) in this context. Future studies should examine and compare narratives of both fathers and daughters in this context to gain a more complete picture of the father-daughter relationship experience. In addition, future studies should inquire about the family's influence on eating disorders but also the eating disorder's influence on family interactions. Finally, future research should conduct studies with relational dialectics and relational turning points as their main focus in families with eating disorders.
Open Access
Injecting ineffably: a qualitative study of homelessness, communication, and injection drug use in Denver, Colorado
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2011) Conner, Christopher N., author; Dickinson, Greg, advisor; Aoki, Eric, advisor; MacDonald, Bradley, committee member
This study provides qualitative analysis of intra- and intergroup communication dynamics between injection drug users experiencing homelessness and people who do not inject. The analysis is grounded in Classical categories of techne and phronesis with expressive modes of mimetic and diegetic learning. Analysis also considers functional uses of public secrecy in discourses about injection drug use and secrecy's effects on social appropriations of phronesis, techne, and subjective identity with injection. This study presents five unique case studies of interviews with injection drug users experiencing homelessness in Denver, Colorado to discuss how themes of injection drug use are experienced, and/or communicated at the street level. Particular attention is directed to themes of initiation to injection drug use. This study is informed by a harm reduction curriculum set forth by the Break the Cycle program and the Harm Reduction Action Center in Denver, Colorado.
Open Access
Parents' communicative practices with ADHD and non-ADHD children
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2011) Canillas-Rucker, Shani Estelle, author; Pendell, Sue Davis, advisor; Merolla, Andrew J., committee member; MacPhee, David, 1954-, committee member
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) has become more commonly diagnosed in the U. S. over the last decade. Several theories exist for what causes ADHD and how to properly treat the disorder, with an increased emphasis on parenting and its effect on children`s behaviors. To date, little research has examined the differences between parents` communicative practices with children diagnosed with ADHD versus non-ADHD children. The purpose of the present study was to determine if differences exist between the parenting practices of ADHD-diagnosed children and non-ADHD children. Specifically, this study examined verbal and nonverbal differences in parents` communication practices. Ninety-five parents participated in an online survey, offering insight into the ways in which they parent during various situations. The Parenting Practices Interview (PPI) was used to determine the parenting practices parents used with their children. Additionally, the survey included demographic questions and questions requesting specific information regarding each child within the family. An independent samples t-test was conducted, as well as a series of Pearson correlations between the various categories of parenting practices. Significant differences were found within the areas of parental monitoring, appropriate discipline, harsh and inconsistent discipline, and clear expectations. Parents of children diagnosed with ADHD tend to use more appropriate discipline, yet they also practice more harsh and inconsistent discipline. They also employ clearer expectations in their parenting practices. Parents of non-ADHD children tend to monitor their children significantly more than parents of children diagnosed with ADHD. No significant differences were found when examining physical punishment, positive verbal discipline, or praise and incentives. These results offer important areas of parenting to consider when looking at how parenting practices influence children`s behaviors. Results are consistent with other research stating that differences exist between the parenting practices of parents with ADHD-diagnosed children and parents with non-ADHD children.
Open Access
Connecting spiritual others: Gandhi and Tutu's discourses on establishing pre-dialogue foundations for interfaith encounters
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2011) Jonas, Kyle Michael, author; Aoki, Eric, advisor; Burgchardt, Carl, committee member; Cowell, Pattie, committee member
This thesis seeks to understand how spiritual leaders' rhetoric can work towards promoting pre-dialogue foundations for encountering spiritual others. The three research questions that guide my analysis are: first, how does the discourse of two influential spiritual leaders (i.e., Mahatma Gandhi and Desmond Tutu) provide pluralistic insight for understanding spiritual others in an interfaith context? Second, what are common themes/philosophies between these two spiritual leaders, and how do these themes provide a foundation for preparing individuals to enter interfaith dialogue with a pluralistic mindset? And third, how do relational dialectics, humility, and identification in the leaders' discourses lead to a better understanding of how spaces for interfaith dialogue are potentially opened up? In my analysis, I find that Gandhi and Tutu both define religion in a unique way that encourages interfaith dialogue. Both leaders call for humility and embody it throughout their discourse in a way that promotes self-awareness, openness, and transcendence among individuals. Dialogue's primary tension, totality, and the same/different contradiction are dialectical themes addressed by both spiritual leaders. Both leaders instill pluralistic attitudes that help individuals manage their primary tensions, reflect on their relation to spiritual others through totality, and recognize the similarities and differences between faiths. Finally, identification is prevalent throughout both leaders' discourses to reveal the theme of commonality among faiths. This thesis analyzes how Gandhi and Tutu's discourses potentially function to unite spiritual others towards goals of peaceful interfaith coexistence.
Open Access
Keeping the lights on: post-apocalyptic narrative, social critique, and the cultural politics of emotion
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2011) Grossman, Jeremy Robert, author; Griffin, Cindy L., advisor; Diffrient, David Scott, 1972-, committee member; Langstraat, Lisa, committee member
This thesis considers the ideological representations housed in post-apocalyptic narratives. These narratives, which are stories that take place after The End of the world, are examined in-depth as a way to begin theorizing about what kinds of cultural artifacts pass from contemporary times through the apocalyptic event, and what their ideological transmogrification or stability suggests about which discourses are legitimated in the culture from which these texts emerge. I label these leftovers "post-apocalyptic remains," and argue that their cruciality to the existence and operation of post-apocalyptic narrative invites us to consider how they constitute and articulate discursive statements, in the Foucauldian sense of the word. I identify three categories of post-apocalyptic remains: material items, cultural knowledge, and rituals. Material items are physical, tangible goods that audiences will recognize as having come from contemporary times. Cultural knowledge is a broader, more fluid category that encompasses overt ideological beliefs, language, morality, and other identifiable aspects of thought or belief. Ritual post-apocalyptic remains reference modes of action, often drawn from the everyday, such as before-meal rituals, capitalist consumption rituals, and the ritualistic control of delinquent bodies. I use a poststructuralist lens, drawing from Foucault and Grossberg to explicate how post-apocalyptic narrative articulates and legitimates discursive formations of thought. Additionally, I rely on Derrida and Jameson, who argue that stories about the future and about the apocalypse are strictly textual, and reflect current sociopolitical conditions rather than attempting to prophetically envision the future. I identify social critique and the circulation of emotion, drawing from Ahmed, as two relatively stable points of entry in theorizing post-apocalyptic remains in their culturally situated context. Social critique can often help explain which of the various sociopolitical conditions these stories are emerging out of. Emotion, when conceived of as culturally political, brings discussion of the audience into the analysis and explores more ideological themes. I use three contemporary texts as case studies to explore my arguments: The 2008 film WALL•E, the 2006 novel The Road and its 2009 film adaptation, and the 2006 novel The Book of Dave. Each of these texts represents a different attitude towards both emotion and social critique, and each of them is widely consumed by millions. Also, each text is unique in its use of post-apocalyptic remains, which is useful for rounding out the discussion of their roles in post-apocalyptic narratives. Overall, I argue that post-apocalyptic remains, as a crucial constituent of post-apocalyptic narrative, articulate the social critique and emotion in ways that allude to the purely textual nature of the apocalypse in order to situate stories about after The End within discursively-bound context.