This dissertation comprises three studies with the overarching goal of investigating effective messaging strategies to encourage e-cigarette cessation among youth who use e-cigarettes. Study one employs the McGuire’s Communication/ Persuasion model to identify research gaps in the literature on health messages targeting youth e-cigarette use. The systematic review reveals a lack of research specifically targeting vaping cessation among youth who currently use e-cigarettes. As a result, the subsequent studies in this dissertation focus on youth vaping cessation to address this research gap. Study two presents a content analysis of existing vaping-cessation related TikTok videos. The findings of study 2 suggest that themes pertaining to physical health outcomes, nicotine addiction, harmful chemicals, and relatable message sources were associated with higher engagement, underscoring the importance of tailored messaging content and relatable sources to engage the young audience on TikTok. Study 3 consists of an experimental study that specifically examines the effects of message frames (gain vs. loss) and two types of expert message sources (formal vs. informal expert sources) on youth intention to quit vaping. The study found that TikTok videos employing gain-framed messages hold promise in promoting positive emotional responses and, consequently, intention to quit vaping among youth. Lastly, chapter 5 provides a summary of the findings within this dissertation, offering insights into future research directions and proposing practical implications derived from the three studies.

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This dissertation analyzes the discourse of Obama’s speeches to argue my thesis that Obama won election by virtue of his rhetorical speechmaking but more specifically, his ability to manage race in those speeches. I define and refer to Obama’s rhetorical handling of race in his speechmaking throughout the campaign as the rhetoric of race management. By rhetorical race management, I mean the strategic use of race (or obfuscation of race) in one’s discourse to manage or affect the audience’s beliefs or opinions of the listener. From a communication-based standpoint, understanding how race operated in this election requires us to examine the history of racism in the United States as well as critical scholarly work on the subject. Understanding how Obama was able to manage race in his rhetoric is necessary because it forces us to perhaps reexamine and scrutinize the 2008 Presidential election more carefully for several reasons. As rhetorical scholars, if we are in the business of understanding how our icons and politicians can potentially manipulate and use our rhetorical signs and symbols against us—or in spite of us--it is in our best interest to understand why the process occurred and why we allowed it to happen. I suggest that Obama’s deliberate attempt to weave ideological constructs like patriotism and the American Dream into his campaign strategy obfuscated his representation as the marginalized “other” and created a new political identity that has little to do with marginalization. By examining the theories of scholars like Kenneth Burke, Henry Louis Gates Jr., Walter Fisher, and Dana Cloud, I outline how race and racism historically operated in our political elections, from both a sociopolitical, or quantitative perspective, as well as a critical perspective. By using a multimethod analysis, we are better positioned to understand how Barack Obama successfully played the race card in the Presidential Election of 2008. More importantly, I argue in my conclusion why his use of rhetorical race management, was absolutely necessary if he were to become the first African-American president in a historically racist country. / text

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The dissertation examines the use of background appeals in campaign messages. I argue that background appeals allow campaigns to meet two seemingly conflicting incentives in the same message—the incentive to reduce voters’ uncertainty about their candidate, and the incentive to remain ambiguous in their issue positions. Background appeals allow voters to know more about a candidate and develop more certainty about what he will do in office. At the same times, campaigns can achieve this goal while avoiding specific policy commitments, which, on controversial issues, might repel a significant part of the electorate. I test my argument by examining how campaigns plan on using candidates’ backgrounds by interviewing a sample of political consultants. The consultants I interviewed make the candidate’s background a top priority in developing a message plan for their clients. They want to show voters “who their candidate is” as a means of developing likeability and credibility with voters. As expected, campaigns use background appeals frequently, in nearly 80% of advertisements aired by US Senate campaigns in 2000 and 2002. But in these appeals, campaigns avoid specifically connecting their candidate to particular policies. Also, the appeal of ambiguity is so great that campaigns only use more specific background appeals when discussing the opponent’s background. Background appeals can have a positive effect on perceptions of a candidate. Using an experimental design, I vary the background of a mock candidate for Congress while holding constant his issue position. Respondents regard the candidate more favorably when they learn about his occupation than when they receive no such information. / text

The problem of this thesis is to determine the relationship of political promises made by the elected candidates for governor with their achievements in relation to these political promises. From such an evaluation, it is hoped to determine the value of different types of political promises, and thus be more able to judge properly candidates seeking the office of governor.

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