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Item Hindutva Movement: Burkean Examination of Violence as Retributive Justice(North Dakota State University, 2012) Chandrasekaran, RamyaThe thesis examines the Hindutva movement as a rhetorical text to understand how it contributes to the rhetorical study of social movements. The Hindutva movement is a mass movement that has grown in influence and in number in the last thirty years and its final goal is to wage a battle to create a Hindu rashtra (nation) in India with a monolithic Hindu culture. The rhetorical texts of V.D. Savarkar and M.S. Golwalkar are analyzed with Burkean guiltredemption-purification cycle. These rhetorical tools provide an insight into the guiding question of this thesis: how Savarkar and Golwalkar use rhetoric in ways that justify and motivate audiences to accept violence in order to restore a Hindu Nation.Item Connecting with Instructors on Facebook: Why and Why Not(North Dakota State University, 2013) Wang, RuoxuThe following thesis examined the student-instructor connection on social network sites (SNS). Facebook is the most popular SNS and it covers a range of users include both students and instructors. On Facebook, some students are willing to connect with their instructors whereas others are not. This study sought to accomplish two major goals: 1) to explore students' decisions of connecting with instructors on Facebook from various school experiences; 2) to examine if college students' self-disclosure, frequency of updates, information sensitivity, and privacy concern would predict their decisions of connecting with instructors on Facebook. The study found that college students rarely connect with instructors on Facebook. If they connected with instructors on Facebook, they prefer to connect with past instructors rather than current instructors. The study also found that both self-disclosure and frequency of updates have significant impacts students' decisions of connection.Item Activism Challenges Faced by Black Student-Athletes at Predominantly White Institutions(North Dakota State University, 2022) Pitchford, AlexisFor decades, black athletes have used sports as a stage to spread awareness of the injustices that are overlooked in our country. Black student-athletes are treated as ambassadors of the predominantly white universities they represent in their sports. However, they still endure prejudice from students, faculty, and local community members who are supposed to be their supporters. In this study, I investigated the factors influencing black student-athletes’ willingness to speak out on social issues. Through interviews with ten black student-athletes at NDSU, I found the concerning factors, identity issues, and levels of comfortability that black student athletes experience at this predominantly white institution. I argue that inconsistencies of support from the athletic department and fan base make it harder for black student-athletes to engage in activism. I recommend that student-athletes collaborate with athletic departments and local organizations in their activism to improve their communities.Item Tonight It’s Government Funded: A Rhetorical Analysis of Manufactured Social Controversy and Government Funding of the Arts(North Dakota State University, 2013) Beckermann, Kay MarieThomas Goodnight’s definition of controversy offers an initial examination of Reverend Donald Wildmon and Reverend Pat Robertson’s attack of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), initiating the Culture Wars of 1989. Using their most reliable communication tactics, Wildmon and Robertson attempted to garner support for their values by manufacturing controversy related to government funding of the National Endowment for the Arts. Together, they manufacture social controversy around two inter-related themes, one of morality, in which they argued Christians were being persecuted by the art community, and the other against federal funding of objectionable art, using Andres Serrano and Robert Mapplethorpe as symbols of corruption. In addition to the initial attacks on Serrano and Mapplethorpe, my rhetorical analysis illustrates how Wildmon’s and Robertson’s rhetoric seemingly sanctioned the manufacturing of a social controversy regarding the Federal funding for objectionable art as a way to promote their pro-family and anti-homosexual agenda.Item Automated Approaches for the Early-Stage Distinguishing of Palmer Amaranth from Waterhemp(North Dakota State University, 2022) Venkataraju, AkhilPalmer amaranth is an invasive pigweed species, possessing rapid growth, posing a threat to the economy of crops including corn. Its early detection and mitigation are of utmost importance; however, it is visually similar to waterhemp in the early growth stages. In this study, automated approaches are employed to distinguish palmer amaranth from waterhemp, within two weeks after emergence, from their RGB images. Morphological characteristics of these weeds are estimated and fed to several Machine Learning (ML) models. To improve classification accuracy, RGB images are augmented, and a Convolutional neural network is trained on 16000 images. Validated on images embedded with gaussian noise, it produced a better accuracy compared to ML approaches. Finally, YOLOv5, an object detection algorithm based on transfer learning, is successfully prepared. Tested on synthetic images consisting of both weeds, YOLOv5 successfully detected a significantly high number of palmer amaranth objects while also distinguishing it from waterhemp.Item Extending the Diffusion Model in Risk Communication: A Case Study of Risk in a Public Health Campaign(North Dakota State University, 2010) Beauchamp, Kimberly A., M.S.Everett Rogers' (2003) diffusion model provided a theoretical framework through which to measure change among publics. However, use of Rogers' diffusion model can lead to research shortcomings such as lack of consequence research, change agent tendencies, proinnovation bias, and inadequate research methods. Through new model development, the current study introduced a specific data analysis process that distinctly measured and merged a relationship between communication, outreach, and scientific effects. The application of a public health campaign served to test the new model's ability to overcome previous diffusion research shortcomings. Using an integrated approach of diffusion and gap analysis, the study investigated and quantified effects of risk communication. This new model has value in that it supports the collaborative efforts of multi-disciplinary projects, while promoting and strengthening the position of each discipline through joint research. The model serves to help researchers seek, find, and work within a respected and common ground platform.Item Powerful and Powerless Language in Health Media: An Examination of the Effects of Biological Sex and Topic Focus on Language Styles(North Dakota State University, 2010) Fandrich, Ashley MariePowerless language has been shown to influence audience perceptions, and the media has been shown to influence health behaviors. However, little research has looked at powerless language in health media. This study expands current research regarding powerless language through an examination of written health media. A content analysis on the use of powerless language in health-related articles was conducted for 12 popular magazines over a one-year time span. Analysis compared differences in use of powerless language relative to three variables: biological sex of the author, the biological sex of the audience, and the magazine's overall topic focus. Female authors and health-focused magazines used more powerless language than male authors and generic-focused magazines. Powerless language was more often directed towards a female audience than a male audience. Implications of such findings and suggestions for future research are also discussed.Item The Perception of Risk Messages through Facebook during Severe Weather Events(North Dakota State University, 2012) Haarstad, NigelThis study used computer-mediated focus groups to investigate how college students perceive risk messages about severe weather that are communicated through Facebook. The results of this study found that perceptions of risk were consistent with many factors outlined by the Risk Perception Model, developed by Covello, Peters, Wojtecki, & Hyde (2001). Despite this, communication using Facebook requires additional factors to be considered. The model should be amended to differentiate between the different levels of trust that influence perceptions on Facebook. The tone of the message becomes a factor separate from the previously established factors of risk perception. These findings stem from the perception among college students that Facebook is a platform meant for entertainment and socializing. These implications lead to many practical considerations that risk communicators can use to increase the perception of risk during severe-weather events in order to encourage individuals to take action to protect lives and property.Item The Dangers of International Awards: A Lesson from Aung San Suu Kyi’s Nobel Peace Prize(North Dakota State University, 2019) McMillin, Taylor RaeHaving spent over 20 years under house arrest fighting for democracy in Myanmar, Aung San Suu Kyi has been a bastion for peace for decades. She has received many international awards, including the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991, which she accepted in person in 2012. The plight of the Rohingya, a Muslim minority in Myanmar, has marred Suu Kyi’s reputation as a bastion of peace, leading to calls for her to lose her Peace Prize. Why is it that Suu Kyi’s image as the future of peace so different from reality? That question is what this research attempts to answer. Through a rhetorical analysis of Suu Kyi’s Nobel lecture and the media coverage that followed it, the impact of the use of tropes becomes evident. Metonymy, synecdoche, and narrative emerge in both the lecture and media coverage. Suu Kyi’s use of tropes heavily influences public perception of her.Item Purchasing for a Cause : Millennials' Perceptions of the Cause-Related Marketing Campaigns of Susan G. Komen for the Cure(North Dakota State University, 2011) Phillips, Alicia ElizabethMillennials make up the largest generation to date and are highly involved in the support of social causes. Due to their philanthropic interests, Millennials have recently become the target of cause-marketing campaigns. Two studies utilizing focus groups were conducted with 70 college students in order to study the Millennial generation's perception of cause-related marketing campaigns. Study 1 focused on Millennials' general perceptions of cause-related marketing. Study 2 examined the Symbiotic Sustainability Model by focusing on Millennials' perceptions of partner number and relationships of a specific NGO (non-governmental organization), Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Focus group data from both studies indicated that Millennials were very familiar with cause-related marketing campaigns and see the marketing on a daily basis. Participants noted that donation amounts, donation methods, partner congruency, and transparency were all important factors in evaluating cause-related marketing campaigns. The participants were optimistic about cause-related marketing in theory. but were resentful of corporations and sympathetic of NGOs in the examples that they gave. Susan G. Komen for the Cure was seen negatively because they were perceived as monopolizing and dominating the cause market. Participants also believed that pink ribbon breast cancer marketing was too common and had negative effects on pink cause-related marketing campaigns.