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The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and the Priesthood: An Analysis of Official Church Statements Concerning Black Priesthood Denial

Description: This study sought to determine whether the change in the LDS Church practice of black Priesthood denial on June 8, 1978, was voluntary or was a result of external and internal pressures against the Church. Four official statements given by the First Presidency of the Church were examined using Karlyn Kohrs Campbell's seven elements of rhetorical action. It was determined that external and internal pressures from the NAACP, civil rights activists, and dissonant LDS believers, against the Church'… more
Date: December 1991
Creator: Bolen, Ingrid B. (Ingrid Britt)
open access

Toward a Critique of the Message Construct in Communication

Description: The idea of an inherent structure of meaning in human communication is identified as the message construct. Traces of the construct in textbook models of the basic communication process and in popular magazine images of communication are examined. The argument is raised that objectifying the message has resulted in a paradigm which focuses disproportionately on explicit, representational, and instrumental aspects of communication. An alternative conception is proposed which would take into acco… more
Date: August 1991
Creator: Wilson, John K. (John Kenneth)
open access

Diplomacy Rhetoric and the Human Rights Appeals of Jeane J. Kirkpatrick and Vernon A. Walters

Description: This thesis investigates the extent to which Ambassador Kirkpatrick's and Ambassador Walters' United Nations discourses on human rights reflects the rhetorical themes of "prophetic dualism" and "technocratic realism." A metaphoric analysis of six speeches reveals that both Kirkpatrick's and Walters' arguments were framed through an ideological division between Democracy and Communism. The presence of "prophetic dualism" in Kirkpatrick's and Walters' discourses is explained as an extension of Pr… more
Date: May 1991
Creator: Rogina, Sergio A. (Sergio Armando)
open access

Student Perception of Nonverbal Behaviors of International TAs

Description: Six hundred sixty-six students were queried at the University of North Texas. The appropriate use of nonverbal behaviors of international and U.S. American TAs was surveyed. An eleven item questionnaire (Teacher Nonverbal Measure) was utilized. These questions were tested by an ANOVA. Data indicated that international TAs are less likely to use appropriate nonverbal behaviors than U.S. American TAs. Thus, it is possible to assume that international TAs are more likely to be perceived as using i… more
Date: August 1990
Creator: Nilobol Chantaraks
open access

Suicide: a Solo Interpretation Performance

Description: The purpose of this project was to determine if oral interpretation in a social context setting can be used as a persuasive means of suicide prevention. A script on suicide was compiled, directed and performed as a solo performance by the writer. The thesis includes the script, a history of suicide prevention, the process of compiling a script for solo interpretation performance, and an overall evaluation of the production. This Author's evaluation was influenced by audience and critic response… more
Date: May 1990
Creator: Duncan, Bobby Charles
open access

Alaskan Native Social Integration and Academic Achievement

Description: The variables communication skills, state anxiety, communication apprehension, and level of integration are studied in relation to the assimilation of Alaskan Natives into a western-culture university. Specifically, the differences in communication skills between the two cultures and their effects on course grades are addressed. Results of the statistical analyses (ANOVA, MANOVA, discriminant function analysis, multiple regression) were not significant, most likely due to the small Alaskan Nati… more
Date: December 1988
Creator: Strohmaier, Mahla
open access

Outcomes of Supervisory Communication Competence

Description: The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of the communication competence of supervisors upon an employee's job satisfaction. Results obtained supported the 5 hypotheses proposed. Findings indicated the importance of supervisory communication responsiveness in areas of listening, sensitivity, and expression of interest in subordinate's ideas and concerns in ensuring satisfaction with supervision received. Support was also generated for the value of an "open" communication climate … more
Date: December 1988
Creator: Wallace, Sandra K. (Sandra Kay)
open access

Perceptions of Self-Disclosure in Interpersonal Compliance-Gaining

Description: One hundred thirty-five undergraduate students were queried at North Texas State University. Perceptions of self-disclosure as a compliance-gaining tactic were surveyed. A fifteen item questionnaire was utilized. Fourteen questions were tested by an analysis of variance. One question was tested by chi-square. Data indicated that self-disclosure was viewed as an effective compliance-gaining tactic for both males and females; but females were perceived as more effective than males utilizing the t… more
Date: May 1988
Creator: Vande Zande, Ann R. (Ann Rachel)
open access

Examination of Narrative Point of View Through Production by Two Media

Description: Narrative point of view should be the initial place of focus in the study of prose fiction, but it is often difficult to understand or teach. This study proposes that stage or screen production of narrative fiction may be purposefully structured to enhance the understanding of narrative perspective. The study details grammatical analysis of narrative language and describes implications drawn from that language which influence production decisions. The thesis examines the techniques and technolo… more
Date: August 1986
Creator: Rosewell, Susan Tilden
open access

Readers Theatre in Performance: The Analysis and Compilation of Period Literature for a Modern Renaissance Faire

Description: The thrust of this study was twofold: to research and compile a script of English Medieval and Renaissance literature and to direct a group performance of the script in the oral interpretation mode at Scarborough Faire in Waxahachie, Texas. The study sought to show that a Readers Theatre script compiled of literature from the oral tradition of England was a suitable art form for a twentieth-century audience and that Readers Theatre benefited participants in the Scarborough Faire workshop progra… more
Date: August 1986
Creator: Reed, Delanna Kay
open access

American Gothic: A Group Interpretation Script Depicting the Plight of the Iowa Farmer

Description: This thesis examines the possibilities of social-context issues in interpretation. A group interpretation script relating the current difficult conditions of rural Iowa was compiled. Three experts in the field of interpretation were asked to evaluate the potential of this social-context script. It was discovered that a compiled interpretation script of Iowa literature can successfully depict the social concerns facing the family farms of Iowa.
Date: August 1985
Creator: Doyle, Dennis M. (Dennis Michael), 1958-
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