Communication Masters Papers

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Case Study: Implementation of the Top Five Freedom of Information Act Cases into Media Law of the Republic of Tajikistan
(North Dakota State University, 2009) Yakubova, Muhabbat
The purpose of this study is to explore and study the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) in five cases. The study will analyze the importance of FOIA for the growth of media for developing countries like Tajikistan. The study conducts a comparative analysis of the FOIA cases. The study will examine FOIA adoption history in the United States of America's legislative system; the reasons, purposes, and the implementation of FOIA by media personnel; and current media law of the Republic of Tajikistan. Also the study will discuss where certain aspects of FOIA could fit in Media Law of Tajikistan that would lead to the development of media field's and journalists' access to information for a Tajik audience.
Communication Strategies for DPRCA and Other Non-profit Arts Organizations
(North Dakota State University, 2009) Smith Warren, Sarah Jane
The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between the sojourn, or overseas travel, and the development of traveler intercultural communication self-efficacy. Self-efficacy, an individual's perception of his or her own ability to accomplish tasks (Bandura, 1997), originates from the psychology discipline and has rarely been applied to communication. The study examines and extends the work of Milstein (2005), a communication scholar who investigated the relationship between the sojourn and intercultural communication self-efficacy and found a positive relationship between the two. This study investigated how the experience of the sojourn affects traveler perceptions of their own intercultural communication self-efficacy. Data were collected through individual face-to-face interviews with participants. The researcher selected a convenience sample of 20 respondents who had all participated in separate sojourns. Participants in the study differed in age, ethnic identity, sojourn destination, and purpose for the sojourn. Responses to interview questions were tape recorded and transcribed preceding analysis and categorization of data based on emergent themes. The perceptions of travelers were analyzed to understand how the sojourn affects self-efficacy. Results of the study supported a positive relationship between the sojourn and development of intercultural communication self-efficacy among travelers with no previous exposure to multicultural settings prior to the sojourn. Travelers with prior exposure to multicultural settings in the home culture did not perceive an increase in intercultural communication self-efficacy as a result of the sojourn. How the background of the traveler may affect perceptions of the sojourn and the specific types of events abroad that were perceived as contributors to self-efficacy development are discussed.
Corporate Social Responsibility: A Roadmap for Georgia
(North Dakota State University, 2010) Kvaratskhelia, Tamar
Today, more than ever, business companies are held accountable and judged for their business practices. They are expected to work in ways that make a positive impact on the environment and the society. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is often conceptualized as companies intentionally exceeding their primary responsibility of making profit in order to support the common goal of creating secure, just, and productive communities while protecting the environment. Although CSR is widely practiced in Western countries, the concept is still relatively new and emerging in Georgia, a country with a transitional economy and democracy. Current CSR practices are less stable or efficient, but have a high potential for development. Therefore, this project reviews the literature to identify some of the most common trends of CSR in developed countries, describes successful examples and practices, and proposes a roadmap - a model adapted to the current reality of Georgia. The roadmap is a CSR plan with general activities that could be implemented on a country level to ensure more efficient use of business, public, and government resources for the benefit of the nation.
Carl Bildt's Assertive Sweden: Rhetorical Exigence, New Identity, and Prominence
(North Dakota State University, 2010) Carlson, Chris John
This study examined the text of a speech by Carl Bildt, Foreign Minister, Kingdom of Sweden, in Stockholm on December 19, 2006. Analyzed through the prism of Lloyd Bitzer's (1968) "rhetorical situation" theory, a discourse of re-identification appears as a means to re-establish Swedish relevance and influence in the continent. The elements of exigence, audience, and constraints were analyzed in relation to the text, and emergent discursive themes discussed. A discussion of the inherent limitations and implications was also offered.
Theory, Research and Application: An In-Depth Look into the Practice of Mass Communication
(North Dakota State University, 2010) Foy, Blair Ann
These major papers examined the aspects of theory, research and application in regard to mass communication through examples in each designated paper. As the portfolio title indicates, the methods analyzed throughout these major papers will first feature theory through an analysis of rhetorical criticism, then move to research with the literature review on environmental communication, and finally discuss application with a case study concerning the crisis communication efforts utilized by the state of Minnesota during the I- 35W bridge collapse. Each of these facets of communication were included and analyzed for their contributions to the field of mass communication itself. Through establishing the importance of theory, research and application in the context of mass communication, this portfolio provides insight into the educational foundations of my graduate program with detailed explanations into why each piece was chosen. In addition to this in-depth look into my curriculum, this portfolio also includes suggestions for future research as well as discussion on what lessons I learned through the completion of my graduate program.
Exploring Communication Used Between the Marginalized and the Hegemonic
(North Dakota State University, 2010) Swain, Denise Brown
The underclass, the underprivileged, and the impoverished are in an ongoing fight to get their voice heard. To accomplish a vocal position in society, this group must overcome a dismantling by their privileged adversaries. Success is first achieved by exhibiting fierce resilience. Next, it is important for this silenced group to defend and justify their need to be heard. The intent of this study is to illustrate the communication that exists between marginalized groups and hegemonic groups. Marginalized groups are faced with oppression by hegemonic groups. How the marginalized sustain themselves through communication is the thrust of this study. The method of observation is through three lenses: rhetorical criticism, ethnography and case study. This portfolio concludes that communication between divergent groups is vital; communication ushers in understanding of other cultures; and communication generates a platform for dialogue.
Presidential Rhetoric for Second Modernity: Three Cases from the Discourse of Barack Obama
(North Dakota State University, 2011) Geiger, Jude Justin
In this paper, I present studies of three of Barack Obama's speeches. In section two, I analyze Obama's "New Beginning" speech in which he attempts to improve relations between the United States and the Muslim world and find that Obama's speech fulfills the requirements ofNeo-Aristotelian analysis and benefits from Obama's ability to view the world from different perspectives. I then study in section three Obama's "Prague Speech," in which the President advocates for the reduction of nuclear arms, and reveal that Obama crafts a new metaphor that centers on a journey in which nations traverse a bridge from the past to the present. Third, in section four I examine Obama's speeches on the liberation movement in Libya from the perspective of narrative criticism. I discover that Obama crafts a new narrative of internationalism that creates a Libyan identity centered on agency. I conclude and describe how Obama' s speeches serve as evidence of second modernity and discuss what I have learned during my time at NDSU.
Smart Move Fargo Moorhead: Communications Plan for the Greater Fargo Moorhead EDC
(North Dakota State University, 2012) Gulland-Nelson, Lisa Marie
An economic development corporation is, in many respects, the marketing arm of a community or metro area. The Organization needs to effectively sell the region to prospective companies and residents. The Organization also needs to tell its own story assuring its stakeholders that the Organization is effective. To do that, the Organization needs a communications plan. This paper uses stakeholder theory to evaluate the investors’ roles to drive the communication plan. The paper also reviews economic development theories on marketing effectiveness. Finally, a survey of the Organization’s electronic newsletter recipients was conducted evaluating current communications efforts. A majority of participants represent investor companies, and the remaining participants represent partner institutions and primary-sector companies. Together the research and survey results provide feedback to evaluate the 2008 communication plan and provide guidelines to create a current communication plan.
Communication Accommodation in Context: An Analysis of Convergence and Divergence in Action
(North Dakota State University, 2012) Sand, Nathan Thomas
This collection of essays examines nature and relationship of discourse and social distance by focusing largely on the concepts of divergence and convergence throughout the communication process. The first essay examines the risk communication strategies used by officials to effectively and accommodatively confront and manage the outdoor New York City smoking ban. The second essay performs a rhetorical criticism of former-President Bush’s September 11th Speech, outlining specific instances in discourse that both decrease and increase social distance with the audience. And the third essay steps into the ESL classroom to propose ways in which we can better recognize and understand the effectiveness of different communication accommodative teaching styles from ESL instructors. Overall, the collection discusses how a better, more comprehensive understanding of convergence and divergence may provide more efficient and powerful discourse throughout various everyday communicative scenarios in the world.
From Preparation to Practice: An Applied Sports Broadcasting Course
(North Dakota State University, 2013) Mathiasen, Marney Rae
This project establishes the immense popularity of sports and explores the connection between sports and society, while establishing past weaknesses of broadcast education. It provides evidence of previous philosophical differences that existed between journalism educators and journalists, and explains the benefits of an applied learning course that emphasizes strong writing skills. This project provides details on sixteen weeks of course content, addresses both student and course assessment, and summarizes the overall strengths and weaknesses of the proposed course.
Learning to Speak Effectively in Business Settings: The Importance of Delivery
(North Dakota State University, 2014) Carlson, Tasha Ann
This project explores the integral role of delivery in public speaking and recommends a training curriculum in vocalics and kinesics in order to become an effective public speaker. Business professionals are the key demographic for the recommended curriculum. Current public speaking training methods were studied in addition to textbooks and trade books on the subject of delivery, mainly vocalics and kinesics. The intent of the author is to use this curriculum to train business professionals on their delivery skills.
Rising Above Relational Aggression: A Research-Based Coaches Guide to Identifying and Coping with Relational Aggression
(North Dakota State University, 2015) Osterfeld, Pamela Joy
This paper served as a method to develop training materials for high school volleyball coaches pertaining to addressing and coping with relational aggression. The training materials were developed based upon research and personal experience to help convey the importance of increasing knowledge on the subject of relational aggression in high school volleyball. Based upon research and input from qualified peers, the paper defines relational aggression, provides suggestions on how to identify and cope with relational aggression should it occur within the framework of a volleyball team, and offers examples of relational aggression. Role play exercises to do with a team in an effort to prevent and cope with relational aggression are also provided.
The Use of Rhetorical Frames to Create Hope During Wars and Genocides: The Case of the Yezidi Women
(North Dakota State University, 2022) Haider, Ezzat
Scholars referred to the importance of hope communication during natural disasters. However, we rarely applied hope to the case of wars and genocides. This study investigates how women talk to their captors during wars, and genocides might help to create more hope. I applied Kenneth Burke’s comic frame to the narrative stories of the Yezidi women to investigate the process of building hope in their dialogues with their captors. After identifying texts and analyzing them, I learned that there is a significant connection between the comic frame and the process of building hope during wars and genocides. Besides the comic structure and the amount of violence it brought upon the Yezidi women, the tragic frame also sometimes helped those women to create some hope.

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