Baseball was once seen as America's pastime, but somehow lost its way. Baseball was inherently American, and stood for more than a game. Yet a number of events caused baseball to fall from grace. Using Ernest Thayer's poem “Casey at the Bat: A Ballad of Republic Sung in the Year 1888” as a frame work, this project identifies three events that caused baseball's fall and three additional events that currently threaten the game, which will be evaluated according to Aristotle's doctrine of the mean. Understanding the game's past and present will help to develop a methodology to apply to threats of the game to ensure baseball's future.<br> To begin, this project identifies three events that originally caused baseball's fall: the Black Sox Scandal in the 1919 World Series, two franchises moving from New York to Los Angles, and the Labor Strike of 1994. Each event creates distance between the game of baseball and its idealized past. The first chapter also propels the following three chapters by viewing the current threats of the game as three imaginary pitches for Casey with the goal of attempting to change his original fate from the poem, in which he struck out.<br> Chapter II, Casey's first imaginary pitch, deals with the steroids crisis. The home run era helped to revitalize the game after the Labor Strike, but the success was short-lived. “The Mitchell Report” was first published on December 13, 2007. The report was the culmination of a 21-month investigation of anabolic steroid-use in baseball, and identified 89 MLB players linked to steroids. Although the records and statistics were put into question, the harshest result of this event was that it called into question the ethics of the baseball – with the ongoing suspicion and a lack of trust toward the game, baseball no longer fosters havens of trust. Additionally, the lack of an immediate response by the league showed a delayed reaction, one of deficiency. This is the first strike to Casey in the imaginary at bat.<br> Perhaps propelled by the Steroid Era, the next event that continues to threaten the game is the sabermetric movement, marked by the publication of Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game (Lewis, 2003). Sabermetrics in general attempt to provide new and more technologically driven metrics to better understand the game. Although learning more about the game is good, dismissing old statistics causes people to lose ground and connection to the past. The over-emphasis of sabermetrics shows excess, again causing Casey to swing too early and miss another pitch. The final event that threatens the game of baseball is the implementation of technology, namely instant replay, into the game, which occurred in 2008. The game of baseball assessed the successes of other sports’ uses of instant replay, withheld implementation over 20 years later than the NFL, and originally made modest additions to the game. The focus on the past helps to preserve tradition and helps to foster a good connection for the game in the present game. With the third pitch, Casey found the balance between deficiency and excess and hit a home run. The final chapter lists ongoing problems to each of the three events identified in Chapters II-IV, provides a detailed critique of progress as understood through Modernity, assesses the ways in which Aristotle’s doctrine of the mean can be used as a philosophical framework to deal with ethical issues, theorizes various uses of this methodology, and finally discusses the ways in which baseball can be preserved for the next century.<br> The afterward revisits the original poem of “Casey at the Bat” and provides an updated version, “Casey’s Hope.” / McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts; / Communication and Rhetorical Studies / PhD; / Dissertation;

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Duquesne University, 2006. / Title from document title page. Abstract included in electronic submission form. Includes bibliographical references (p.194-203) and index.

This project contends that hope for ethical communication in a postmodern age lies in the ability to rethink ethics in terms of "existential pathos." To that end, this study locates communicative responsibility in the responsive element of the self-other relation by relying primarily on the work of the twentieth-century Lithuanian-born French philosopher Emmanuel Levinas. I maintain that Levinas's disruption of the philosophical tradition informs a communication ethic comprised of dialectical, dialogical, and rhetorical modes of interpersonal interaction that are fundamentally rooted in an existential understanding of human striving. Further, I assert that these dialectical, dialogical and rhetorical components are best appreciated when Levinas is placed in dialogue with Kierkegaard, whose influence on existential phenomenology is undeniable, and whose recognition that pathos marks the essence of the human condition is indispensable to this project. Dialectic, dialogue and rhetoric are viewed here as praxis-oriented concepts that emerge in the context of a Levinas-Kierkegaard interplay that works to frame communicative responsibility as "response-ability." By looking at the ways that Levinas radically re-positions philosophical discourse about ethics, and placing those challenges in conversation with Kierkegaardian themes, this study seeks temporal answers to historically situated questions about the promise of ethical interpersonal interaction in a time of uncertainty. / McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts; / Communication and Rhetorical Studies / PhD; / Dissertation;

The aim of this diploma thesis is to introduce attributes of marketing communication in the area of pharmaceutical industry in the theoretical part. Practical part is focused on relationships between pharmaceutical branch and medical community, including ethical aspects of promotion in the Czech Republic with emphasis on keeping ethical principles.

Testimony flows from a story that originates long before the opportunity to be a witness about human atrocities occurs. And, ironically, testimony – the voice that is suppressed during times of state sanctioned terror – continues to flow long after the perpetrators fade from power. It is this ethereal and enduring paradox that raises the questions of what testimonial forms are, how they communicate, and whether they positively impact social justice as evidenced by enhanced communicative freedoms. The testimonial forms of this study are narratives about human rights atrocities which emerged from the 17-year military junta in Chile led by Augusto Pinochet. This project examines the development and uses of official and unofficial testimony surrounding times of transitional justice using a multi-modal analysis incorporating narrative and historical analysis, communication ethics, and critical theory which yields a meta-analysis of testimony and the context in which it functions. This research concludes that a life cycle of testimony exists that is organic and evolving. Furthermore, due to the unique circumstances of transitional justice periods, a theory of testimony ethics is called for to increase individual communicative freedoms that lead to enhanced social justice as well as to increase the success of truth commission communication processes.

In this study, we have analyzed Warner Bros. Games communication regarding their recently published video game, Hogwarts Legacy, in relation to the controversial backlash the author of the fictional universe, J.K. Rowling, has received. We have arrived at two research questions to study the subject: What discourse can we identify that has been formed through the excerpts we’ve found from Warner Bros. Games external communication, about and in Hogwarts Legacy regarding the controversies that have circulated the game? and How does this discourse illustrate Warner Bros. Games’ external communicative management of the situation, and how can we interpret this from a critical perspective?  Our study is based mainly on Faircloughs (1989) three-dimensional model within the Critical Discourse Analysis tradition, with help from Beck (1997) and his theories on the modern society with his term sub-politics. We have used these frameworks to analyze a total of seven artifacts from Warner Bros. Games and their related organizations. Our collected material has been limited, but our results we’ve gathered from it show that the communication of Warner Bros. Games and their related organizations within the same brand has been ambiguous and tentative. This leads to a series of problems, both ethically, for those affected by the situation, and operationally, for Warner Bros. Games as an organization.  Our study contributes to the field of organizational communication by showing an example of how affected modern organizations are by their surroundings, including parts that do not directly relate to their operations. It also demonstrates the influential position individual celebrities carry over certain brands and organizations, which can result in critical issues. More research is required on the subject, to help us understand the phenomena and give us tools to work with them. Hopefully, our study is an example of such research.

This dissertation explores a number of issues facing international nonprofit organizations and individuals working in agricultural interventions supporting rural development with the goal of creating an ethical foundation of communication values and practices. A theoretical framework is formulated, with the principles of environmental communication as a foundation. Special emphasis is placed upon knowledge management strategies utilized when working with indigenous populations. From these theoretical foundations, the emergent 7Cs ethical model of communication is constructed via the concepts of: Collaboration, Culture, Community, Conservation, Capacity, Care, and Consistency. A critical-rhetorical ethnographic case study of the Binational Agriculture Relief Initiative?s discourse is offered to explore the functionality and applicability of the 7Cs model. Using the 7Cs model as a guide, this analysis examines issues associated with nonprofit advocacy and developing communication strategies for international organizations serving agricultural development. Conclusions for the 7Cs ethical model of communication offer perspective on the model as a discursive response to neoliberal policies and international development ethics.

Des études récentes ont démontré une augmentation de la prévalence de l’infertilité au Canada ainsi qu’une augmentation fulgurante de l’utilisation de la procréation assistée. Le Québec s’est doté en 2010 d’un programme de financement de la procréation assistée visant un accès universel ainsi que la protection de la santé des mères et des enfants. Les diverses parties prenantes attribuent un certain nombre de lacunes à ce programme, incluant l’absence de mesures de prévention et de promotion de la santé visant à réduire la prévalence de l’infertilité. En effet, une proportion significative de cas d’infertilité découle de facteurs modifiables et relatifs aux modes de vie tels que le tabagisme, les infections transmises sexuellement et par le sang, les problèmes de poids, les toxines environnementales et l’âge. De plus, l’âge maternel avancé ainsi que l’usage de la procréation assistée comportent des risques pour la santé des mères et des enfants au sujet desquels la population ne possède pas une connaissance suffisante. Des approches en amont ont été proposées par diverses organisations et dans divers pays, toutefois, peu ont été adoptées. Force est de constater que ces initiatives représentent de grands défis au point de vue de l’acceptabilité sociale, en raison de la nature sensible du sujet et d’une grande valorisation sociale de l’autonomie reproductive. L’éthique des communications en santé permet d’identifier ces défis qui touchent l’usage de tactiques persuasives, le risque de stigmatisation et l’attribution indue d’une responsabilité. Si leur élaboration tient compte de ces enjeux, les campagnes de communications en santé ont le potentiel d’informer adéquatement la population afin de favoriser l’autonomie et la santé reproductive des individus, sans causer de dommage iatrogénique. L’éthique de l’ « empowerment », qui requiert l’attribution d’une responsabilité individuelle de nature prospective, l’apport de ressources concrètes et l’implication des communautés, permet d’identifier les besoins en termes de solutions législatives favorisant des contextes socioéconomiques qui soutiennent la santé reproductive et l’autonomie reproductive. / Recent studies have demonstrated an increased prevalence of infertility in Canada and a tremendous growth in assisted reproductive technologies use. In 2010, the Quebec government launched a public funding program for assisted reproductive technologies, which aims to provide equitable access and to protect the health of mothers and children. Various stakeholders have identified a number of shortcomings to this program, including the absence of prevention and health promotion measures aimed towards reducing the prevalence of infertility. Indeed, a significant proportion of infertility cases is attributable to modifiable and lifestyle related factors such as smoking, sexually transmitted infections, weight problems, environmental toxins and age. In addition, both advanced maternal age and assisted reproductive technologies utilization pose risks to the health of mothers and children, about which the population is not adequately informed. Preventative approaches have been proposed by many organizations in various countries but few have been implemented. A reason for this might be that these initiatives represent major challenges in terms of social acceptability, due to the sensitive nature of the subject and the strong social respect for reproductive autonomy. Health communication ethics highlights these issues such as the use of persuasive tactics, the risk of stigmatization, and undue attribution of responsibility. If designed effectively with these challenges in mind, health communication campaigns for infertility prevention have the potential to adequately inform the public, thus fostering reproductive autonomy and health, without causing iatrogenic damage. The ‘ethics of empowerment’, with its requirements for assigning only prospective individual responsibility, providing concrete resources and involving communities in social change, helps in identifying the needs for policy solutions that address the social context in order to enhance reproductive health and reproductive autonomy.

Des études récentes ont démontré une augmentation de la prévalence de l’infertilité au Canada ainsi qu’une augmentation fulgurante de l’utilisation de la procréation assistée. Le Québec s’est doté en 2010 d’un programme de financement de la procréation assistée visant un accès universel ainsi que la protection de la santé des mères et des enfants. Les diverses parties prenantes attribuent un certain nombre de lacunes à ce programme, incluant l’absence de mesures de prévention et de promotion de la santé visant à réduire la prévalence de l’infertilité. En effet, une proportion significative de cas d’infertilité découle de facteurs modifiables et relatifs aux modes de vie tels que le tabagisme, les infections transmises sexuellement et par le sang, les problèmes de poids, les toxines environnementales et l’âge. De plus, l’âge maternel avancé ainsi que l’usage de la procréation assistée comportent des risques pour la santé des mères et des enfants au sujet desquels la population ne possède pas une connaissance suffisante. Des approches en amont ont été proposées par diverses organisations et dans divers pays, toutefois, peu ont été adoptées. Force est de constater que ces initiatives représentent de grands défis au point de vue de l’acceptabilité sociale, en raison de la nature sensible du sujet et d’une grande valorisation sociale de l’autonomie reproductive. L’éthique des communications en santé permet d’identifier ces défis qui touchent l’usage de tactiques persuasives, le risque de stigmatisation et l’attribution indue d’une responsabilité. Si leur élaboration tient compte de ces enjeux, les campagnes de communications en santé ont le potentiel d’informer adéquatement la population afin de favoriser l’autonomie et la santé reproductive des individus, sans causer de dommage iatrogénique. L’éthique de l’ « empowerment », qui requiert l’attribution d’une responsabilité individuelle de nature prospective, l’apport de ressources concrètes et l’implication des communautés, permet d’identifier les besoins en termes de solutions législatives favorisant des contextes socioéconomiques qui soutiennent la santé reproductive et l’autonomie reproductive. / Recent studies have demonstrated an increased prevalence of infertility in Canada and a tremendous growth in assisted reproductive technologies use. In 2010, the Quebec government launched a public funding program for assisted reproductive technologies, which aims to provide equitable access and to protect the health of mothers and children. Various stakeholders have identified a number of shortcomings to this program, including the absence of prevention and health promotion measures aimed towards reducing the prevalence of infertility. Indeed, a significant proportion of infertility cases is attributable to modifiable and lifestyle related factors such as smoking, sexually transmitted infections, weight problems, environmental toxins and age. In addition, both advanced maternal age and assisted reproductive technologies utilization pose risks to the health of mothers and children, about which the population is not adequately informed. Preventative approaches have been proposed by many organizations in various countries but few have been implemented. A reason for this might be that these initiatives represent major challenges in terms of social acceptability, due to the sensitive nature of the subject and the strong social respect for reproductive autonomy. Health communication ethics highlights these issues such as the use of persuasive tactics, the risk of stigmatization, and undue attribution of responsibility. If designed effectively with these challenges in mind, health communication campaigns for infertility prevention have the potential to adequately inform the public, thus fostering reproductive autonomy and health, without causing iatrogenic damage. The ‘ethics of empowerment’, with its requirements for assigning only prospective individual responsibility, providing concrete resources and involving communities in social change, helps in identifying the needs for policy solutions that address the social context in order to enhance reproductive health and reproductive autonomy.

The thesis presents rich empirical analysis of the role of public relations in facilitating participation in social change in the Arab Gulf. The focus is on what public communication approaches are used and how they are regarded from the perspectives of the key social actors. It presents an historical and sociological background of public communication and media in the Arab Gulf. Moreover, it provides in-depth analysis of two empirical case studies in the Arab Gulf: Ghiras, the national drugs prevention programme in Kuwait, and Be Free, the voluntary anti-child abuse programme in Bahrain. This thesis relates the practice of public communication in the Arab Gulf society to Arabic culture and ethics. The thesis uses a qualitative constructivist paradigm to “re-construct” the multiple realities initially constructed by social actors in the cases to provide original insights on the role of public communication and public relations in social change in the Arab Gulf. It presents a new perspective of 'social change' in the two cases that is tied to Islamic ethics. Besides, it re-constructs original Arabic-oriented understanding of 'relational' and 'persuasion' approaches, which differs from the Western paradigm. One of the key contributions of the thesis is its adaptation of relevant Western communication models to the empirical Arab Gulf cases to identify some of the crucial factors of the practice and role of public communication in the Arab Gulf. The unique contribution of this thesis is that it develops a greater understanding of alternative cultural context that might contribute to the adaptations of existing theory and therefore a first step towards new models. It introduces a theoretical framework for other scholars to develop an Arabic public communication ethics theory and to build up a cultural model of the practice of public communication and public relations in the Arab Gulf. The thesis generates key theoretical implications that contribute to the theoretical discussion on the value and role of media, public relations, social marketing, and public communication in the Arab Gulf society at the age of globalisation.