<p> The Internet and social media are tools that possess the ability to make communicating with celebrities, politicians and all types of important figures an actual possibility. This content analysis explores the use of then- presidential candidate Donald Trump&rsquo;s use of Twitter to communicate with his followers. A random sample of tweets was selected following the time period after the Republican National Convention to a week after the general election. The study relies on Kent and Taylor&rsquo;s (2001) principle strategies of how to create effective relationship building through dialogue. There is very little research available concerning political candidates and dialogic theory on social media. However, what is found in this study remains consistent with that of similar studies on dialogic theory and celebrities and organizations&rsquo; use of social media. Social media as a tool for building effective relationships through the use of dialogic principles is severely under-utilized. Despite the lack of dialogic principles, Trump&rsquo;s followers remained highly engaged into his tweeting habits, especially with tweets that attacked an individual or the media. The findings prove that these types of tweets were published most often thus lending credence to assert that the aggressive rhetoric was popular amongst his followers.</p><p>

Freedom of speech and the art of argumentation have long held fascination for the American rhetorician. Unfortunately, few rhetoricians have seen fit to analyze the overlap which exists between these two areas of rhetorical study. This dissertation attempts to remedy this predicament. Utilizing the works of Otto Dieter, concerning points of stasis in arguments, and Richard Weaver, concerning types of arguments, the public arguments over the First Amendment issues of flag burning, funding for the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Mapplethorpe trial in Cincinnati were analyzed. The variables used in this analysis consisted of: (1) to which First Amendment issue an argument pertained; (2) whether an argument was pro or anti First Amendment; (3) the point of stasis upon which the argument hinged; and (4) the type of argument used. Chi-squared analysis was run between the variables to determine if differences exist, with special attention given to the differences between anti and pro First Amendment arguments. The findings indicated that the anti free speech side divided their arguments more evenly between the argument types described by Weaver. In addition, when compared to the pro free speech arguments, the anti free speech side utilized more arguments from circumstance and less argument from genus. These findings indicated an overemphasis of the immediate situation and less of a concern for the long term consequences by the anti free speech side. With regard to the points of stasis, both sides were found to rely more heavily on point of stasis, with the finding being stronger on the pro free speech side. It was presumed that this finding was due, not to qualities possessed by proponents of either side, but to situational factors. In addition, when compared against each other, the anti free speech side utilized more points of quality and definition than the pro free speech side.

<p> This thesis is a partial replication of a previous study by Lee, Choi, Kim, and Kim (2014). This study was conducted in order to better understand how young American voters ages 18&ndash;35 interacted with their political social networks and how those networks influenced their political behavior through the lens of their social network sites&mdash;such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Social Network Theory was used as a foundation for this study because it provides a theoretical explanation as to how social networks are formed and how humans typically interact with their networks. The variables Network Heterogeneity, Opinion Polarization, Social Network Site Usage, and Political Discussion were measured. A series of Pearson&rsquo;s r correlation and stepwise multiple regressions were run in order to ascertain the relationships between the four variables. The major result of the study found a significant relationship between Network Heterogeneity and Opinion Polarization, which potentially indicates that having a diverse social network can lead to polarized political opinions. The results of this study lead to multiple opportunities for future study in both the fields of communication and political science.</p><p>

<p> This study examines the rhetoric used by Republican politicians regarding voter ID laws. Using Kenneth Burke's theory of cluster analysis, key words and clustering terms are analyzed to identify the speaker's worldview. The main sections include: philosophical assumptions about political rhetoric, the theoretical basis derived from Burke's <i>identification</i> and <i>victimage</i> theories, a review of literature on the history of voting in the United States, results and discussion from the analysis of selected rhetoric from Republican politicians, and areas of further study. Statements from Republican politicians in Iowa, Texas, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania were selected for the analysis. The results of the study revealed worldviews of those analyzed filled with fear and violence. There is a long history of voter discrimination in the United States and the push for voter ID laws coincide with the election of the first black President. The purpose of the proposed Republican voter ID legislation is oriented toward retaining political power, not protecting the integrity of US elections.</p>

<p> This dissertation studies historical and contemporary conservative rhetoric to argue that the political right's variant of American populism defines the rhetorical figure of "the people" as ontologically opposed to the state. This state-phobic rhetoric poses a threat to democratic deliberation, I argue, because it presumptively cancels the very appeals to shared space that tend to make democracy thrive. By turns examining the new right, the 2008 financial crisis, the 2008 presidential campaign, and the rise of the Tea Party, this dissertation suggests American democracy is trapped in a populist feedback loop that creates tragic modes of melancholic democratic politics. This democratic melancholia contributes directly to contemporary political trends of hyper-partisanship. </p>

<p> Set against the backdrop of the 2014 Illinois gubernatorial election between Pat Quinn and Bruce Rauner, this study utilizes content analysis to measure object and attribute salience of newspaper endorsements and campaign news releases. Although newspaper editorial boards used similar frames to describe the candidates, the study identified key differences in object salience, the frequency with which each candidate was referenced (Subject), as well as in the attribute salience, or tone of the assertions used to describe Rauner and Quinn (Valence). Rauner was the subject of the endorsements 60% of the time, versus 39% for Quinn. Coverage for Rauner was also significantly more positive in valence, with 64% positive assertions. Quinn, by contrast, received primarily negative-neutral coverage, with 49% negative, 28% positive, and 22% neutral coverage. The findings suggest endorsements contributed to positive associations of Rauner and negative associations of Quinn on frames that were given a high priority by the media agenda, and thus the public agenda. </p><p>

This study examines deliberative democracy in Amherst, Massachusetts' town meeting. I use ethnography of communication to examine the rhetorical practices that constitute this communication event and legislative body. I briefly examine the history of town meeting and develop a thorough description and analytic interpretation of a key term for talk, “speaking to the issue,” focusing on “questioning” and “arguing.” Conflict was present as an early feature of town meeting talk. Town meeting is a communication event that can also take on agent status. While democracy is often conceived as a messy process, this research shows how participants in a democratic body organize their talk and use self-imposed rules and self-regulate and order their communication, using the same general set of rules across issues. This order protects those in the minority on an issue. “Speaking to the issue” emerges as a vital feature of structuring talk and allowing political access. Town meeting participants in Amherst employ rhetorical strategies I term “weaving,” “scene-changing,” and “active-listening” as they communicate during the event. Many Amherst town meeting members used a “trustee” style of representation, and speak for those who could not participate in electing them.

<p> This thesis sought to narrow some of the knowledge gaps in political communication and advertising. By examining the content of local newspapers about U.S. Senate candidates, this research determined female candidates receive just as much, if not more, newspaper coverage than male candidates. There were few endorsements given to candidates, especially from national and state office holders. Additionally, this thesis found that many of the newspaper articles were focused on non-issues. Previous studies on women in politics suggested female candidates often face more media hurdles than their male counterparts, specifically receiving less print media coverage. In contrast, this thesis found that women may no longer face the same barriers as they once did.</p>

<p> This paper examines national Internet control from a policy regime perspective. The mechanisms through which governments attempt to control the Internet may be developed and implemented by different institutions and agencies, or fall outside of a formal regulatory structure entirely. As such, the totality of the institutions and practices of national Internet control is better conceptualized not as a regulatory regime, but as a control regime. After a survey of the critical policy and control dimensions, a six-part typology of control regimes is proposed. The purpose of this study and typology is exploratory. With comparative research about Internet control regimes at a relatively early stage, this paper aims to enable the formation of concepts and hypotheses about the interrelationship, or co-presence, of key distinguishing variables in different Internet control regimes.</p>

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2008. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 69-11, Section: A, page: 4172. Adviser: Scott Althaus. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 196-221) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.