Repetitive and stereotyped behaviors (RSB) constitute one of the three core diagnostic domains of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). However, relatively little is known about the behaviors in this domain, as compared to behaviors in the social and communication diagnostic domains, particularly early in the development of ASD symptoms. This prospective longitudinal study examined RSB between 18 and 24 months of age in children who were later diagnosed with ASD (n=50), and matched groups of children with developmental delays (DD) in whom ASD had been ruled out (n=23) and children with typical development (TD, n=50). Precise measures of proportion and rate of RSB for each child were obtained through systematic observation of behavior samples from the Communication and Symbolic Behavior Scales Developmental Profile (Wetherby & Prizant, 2002). Children with ASD demonstrated significantly higher proportion and rate of RSB with objects, RSB with body, and total RSB than TD children and significantly higher proportion and rate of RSB with objects and total RSB, but not RSB with body than children with DD. In addition, a unique linear combination of RSB distinguished children with ASD with rotating/spinning/rolling objects and stiffening the arms and hands contributing most strongly to this combination. In the children with ASD, RSB was not related to social competence or eye gaze to face in the second year. In addition, only RSB with body and total rate of RSB were significantly correlated concurrently with developmental level in the second year. There were modest relationships between RSB in the second and fourth years of life. Social and developmental functioning in the second year predicted RSB and social symptoms in the fourth year. The results have important implications for early identification of ASD. The findings are consistent with the notion that social and nonsocial (RSB) symptoms may be subserved by separate underlying mechanisms in the second year of life. / A Dissertation Submitted to the Department of Communication Disorders in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester, 2006. / March 27, 2006. / Toddlers, Early Identification / Includes bibliographical references. / Amy Wetherby, Professor Directing Dissertation; Janet Kistner, Outside Committee Member; Howard Goldstein, Committee Member; Richard Wagner, Committee Member.

This is a baseline examination of political bloggers, it profiles who they are, discovers how they view the blogosphere, explores their motivations for blogging, and researches their influence on the media agenda via the two-step flow hypothesis. Key political organizations were asked which blogs they read to create a census of influential political blogs. The respondents of these blogs hailed from across the country and the political spectrum. Data was collected via a SurveyPro online questionnaire and tabulated with SPSS. The data revealed that bloggers tend to be married, educated, white males in their 40's. They are concerned about their reputation as contributors of an online rumor mill. Most do not blog professionally and are not making money from their blogs. The data also showed a digital divide between minorities and the poor and a gender gap among political bloggers. / A Thesis Submitted to the Department of Communication in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts. / Fall Semester, 2006. / November 3, 2006. / Media Agenda, Political Bloggers, Political Blogs, Two-Step Flow, Agenda Setting, Blogosphere, Blogs, Influence / Includes bibliographical references. / Steven McClung, Professor Directing Thesis; Jay D. Rayburn, Committee Member.

In 1960, J. C. R. Licklider, a well respected academician and professional, published an article entitled, "Man-Computer Symbiosis," in the fledgling research journal, the IRE (Institute of Radio Engineers) Transactions on Human Factors in Electronics. Reflecting back on its publication, Internet historians and Internet pioneers consistently cite the influential nature of the article in predicting the Internet's development. Using diffusion of innovations and the agenda-setting function as the theoretical framework, this study examines the influence network produced by a set of articles that cite Licklider from 1960-2001. The purpose of the study is to investigate the spread and influence of the ideas expressed in "Man-Computer Symbiosis" among published citing works in order to clarify our understanding about the article's contributions. Diffusion of innovations assists in explaining the spread of Licklider's ideas among citing authors. Agenda-setting offers insight into the events in Licklider's career that positioned him to publish "Man-Computer Symbiosis" while also identifying the salience of particular ideas over others in citing authors' works. Citation analysis and quantitative content analysis are combined to produce the data set. Citation analysis identifies the influence network for "Man-Computer Symbiosis," as represented by a set of citing authors. Quantitative content analysis examines the appearance of Licklider's ideas within the article citations. Study results indicate that of the 110 citing articles examined, the idea for symbiosis was most frequently cited. In general, the hierarchy of ideas presented in "Man-Computer Symbiosis" was reflected overall in the citing authors' hierarchy. The majority of citing authors were academicians affiliated with top-tier institutions who published in well-respected science/technology outlets. Citations to "Man-Computer Symbiosis" have remained relatively stable during a 40-year period, and the article continues to diffuse slowly but steadily among the research community. / A Dissertation Submitted to the Department of Communication in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester, 2004. / March 15, 2004. / Diffusion Of Innovations, Agenda-Setting, Academic Publishing, Licklider, Man-Computer Symbiosis, Internet, Content Analysis, Citation Analysis / Includes bibliographical references. / Stephen D. McDowell, Professor Directing Dissertation; Charles R. McClure, Outside Committee Member; Philip J. Grisé, Committee Member; Gary R. Heald, Committee Member; Andrew R. Opel, Committee Member.

This study examined how proenvironmental messages contained within entertainment programming impacted an individual's environmental attitude accessibility, descriptive and injunctive norm accessibility, behavioral intent, and behavior. Participants filled out a questionnaire about their environmental attitudes at least a week in advance of the experiment. When participants came to the computer lab they were exposed to one of four television show clips (For Rent with proenvironmental messages, For Rent without proenvironmental messages, Design on a Dime with proenvironmental messages, or Design on a Dime without proenvironmental messages) and completed the latency response time questionnaire. Relative to those who watched the shows without proenvironmental messages, those that watched the shows with proenvironmental messages had more positive attitudes toward proenvironmental behaviors. Further, accessibility of positive injunctive norms predicted both behavioral intent (r = -.372, p = .01) and behavior (r = -.308, p = .028). / A Thesis Submitted to the School of Communication in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts. / Summer Semester, 2010. / June 16, 2010. / Entertainment, Attitudes, Education, Norms, Accessibility, Environment / Includes bibliographical references. / Laura Arpan, Professor Directing Thesis; Arthur Raney, Committee Member; Andrew Opel, Committee Member.

Few studies have been conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of social stories. Studies conducted to date have combined social stories with other intervention tactics, such as behavioral supports, picture prompts, and video modeling. They have found these social stories therapy packages effective in teaching alternatives to challenging behaviors. This experiment investigated the effects of social stories written according to Gray (1998) to address problem behaviors that are not being addressed by other interventions for three children with autism. On-task behavior increased following implementation of the social story intervention. Providing a pictorial version of the social story resulted in further improvement in on-task behavior for one participant and may have facilitated maintenance for the second participant. / A Thesis Submitted to the Department of Communication Disorders in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science. / Summer Semester, 2005. / June 20, 2005. / Social Stories, Visual Auditory Support Systems, Autism / Includes bibliographical references. / Howard Goldstein, Professor Directing Thesis; Monica Delano, Outside Committee Member; Juliann Woods, Committee Member.

The theory of planned behavior (TPB) has been criticized for not incorporating emotions in its theoretical framework and for not explaining the origin of attitudes. This dissertation sought to address the sufficiency of the theory by analyzing the effects of guilt on individuals' intentions to participate in physical activity and the effects of media exposure on their attitudes toward physical activity. This study employed a two-wave panel design and used both a convenience sample and a random sample based on the undergraduate students drawn from a university in the southeastern United States. A two-step structural equation modeling procedure was utilized to analyze the data. Two path models were proposed and compared. The initial model included the TPB variables, self-efficacy, and past behavior, and the final model included guilt variables in addition to those included in the initial model. The study confirmed that the TPB was a good theory in predicting individuals' intentions to participate in physical activity and their physical activity behaviors, but the inclusion of guilt further augmented the sufficiency of the theory. More specifically, this study found that individuals' anticipated guilt predicted their intentions to participate in physical activity and that past guilt was not a significant predictor of their intentions. Multiple regression analysis revealed that individuals' attitudes toward physical activity were predicted by their exposure to health, entertainment, and fashion magazines, and were not predicted by their sports magazine reading or their exposure to slim or muscular body images in television programs. Results from the two samples revealed generally consistent patterns. Both theoretical and practical implications are discussed, and future research directions are provided. / A Dissertation Submitted to the Department of Communication in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester, 2006. / June 15, 2006. / Persuasion, Health Behavior, Theory of Planned Behavior, Media Exposure, Guilt / Includes bibliographical references. / Gary R. Heald, Professor Directing Dissertation; Akihito Kamata, Outside Committee Member; Barry S. Sapolsky, Committee Member; Laura M. Arpan, Committee Member; Vicki B. Eveland, Committee Member.

Inspired by the expansion of television news programming and growth in the number of US citizens living well beyond the age of 65, this study qualitatively explores what uses and gratifications seniors living in and around Tallahassee, Florida, get from television news. A review of uses and gratifications and popular literature leads to the exploration of three research questions. The questions concern seniors' television news programming choices, what uses and gratifications they get from the programs that they choose, and what their program choices say about how they define television news. The results of this study reveal a range of uses and gratifications associated with seniors' consumption of television news programming, including several potential new gratifications. A definition of news as indicated by participants' program selection is also discussed. / A Thesis Submitted to the Department of Communication in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science. / Summer Semester, 2004. / July 14, 2004. / Aging, Elderly, Senior Citizens, Seniors, Focus Groups, News, Television, Television News, Gratification, Use, Gratifications, Uses, Uses And Gratifications, News Programs, News Programming, News Definition, Defining News, Qualitative / Includes bibliographical references. / Steven McClung, Professor Directing Thesis; Jay D. Rayburn, Committee Member; Donnalyn Pompper, Committee Member.

Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) student Patricia Stephens sat down at the Woolworth's lunch counter on Monroe Street in Tallahassee, Florida on Saturday February 20, 1960 and attempted to order food. When she and a group of eleven others were ordered to leave the counter they refused and were arrested. This thesis examines portions of Stephens' correspondence during her forty-nine day stay in the Leon County Jail, from March 18 to May 5, 1960. One letter she wrote strikes particular interest. This 'Letter from Leon County Jail' establishes the Civil Rights Movement's earliest known student refusal to pay a fine, and instead to accept a jail sentence, as a tactic against segregation. The content of the 'Letter from Leon County Jail' smuggled out by visiting ministers, was a public letter in the tradition of Martin Luther King's 1963 'Letter from Birmingham Jail.' According to Haig Bosmajian: The public letter…has long been a means of persuasion used by reformers and politicians, writers, and prisoners. This thesis argues the 'Letter from Leon County Jail' outshines King's 'Letter from Birmingham Jail' as a lasting artifact of rhetorical significance from the Civil Rights era based on its originality, intensity, and defining impact on Tallahassee CORE and the 'Movement.' This thesis conducts a critical interpretive analysis to: 1) Describe the program of Tallahassee CORE in 1960, as detailed in Stephens' Letter from Leon County Jail; 2) Unpack the overarching rhetorical themes in the discourse of Tallahassee CORE, as reflected in Stephens' correspondence, and, 3) Examine the relationship among these elements to demonstrate the overall persuasive effect of Patricia Stephens and Tallahassee CORE in 1960. The Tallahassee Civil Right Movement of the 1960's makes it own claims to heritage among North Florida's history of resistance to oppression. Characteristics of that history were embodied in Patricia Stephens , a volunteer of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) born in nearby Quincy, Florida. A family friend invited Patricia and sister, Priscilla to attend a summer 1959 interracial, nonviolent, direct action workshop sponsored by Miami CORE. Following this meeting, the sisters started a CORE chapter in Tallahassee, on the FAMU campus. Tallahassee CORE planned two sit-in actions against segregated downtown variety store lunch counters in February 1960. The first event on Saturday, February 13 was held without major incident. The second event, of February 20 led to eleven immediate arrests, and eight sentences of three hundred dollars fines or sixty days in jail. Ultimately, five students choose to remain in Leon County Jail for the full sentence refusing to pay the fine. Patricia Stephens was one of these five students. / A Thesis Submitted to the Department of Communication in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science. / Summer Semester, 2005. / June 30, 2005. / The Pain and the Promise, Glenda Rabby, Patricia Stephens Due, Tallahassee CORE, Tallahassee Civil Rights Movement, The Civil Rights Movement, African-American History, African-American Rhetoric, CORE, The Siege of Tallahassee, The Black Man and the Promise of America, Freedom Ride, Tallahassee Civil Rights Movements, Freedom in the Family: A Mother-Daughter Memoir of, FAMU, The Letter from Leon County Jail / Includes bibliographical references. / Marilyn J. Young, Professor Directing Thesis; Danielle R. Wiese, Committee Member; Felecia Jordan-Jackson, Committee Member.

Reality-based television programming has become a dominant force in television over the past seven years and a staple of most networks' primetime lineups. This relatively quick change in the television landscape and the sudden increase in viewers' consumption of reality television necessitate an investigation into the impact these shows are having on their viewers. This dissertation examines the effects of competition-based reality shows (such as Survivor and Big Brother) on viewers' perceptions of society through the application of cultivation effects research methodology. Previous cultivation research has shown that heavy consumers of television will have a different or altered perception of society as compared to those who watch little television. The current research examined whether or not increased consumption of competition-based reality programming would lead to increased perceptions of antisocial behaviors in everyday life such as lying, manipulation, and ruthlessness (those behaviors commonly depicted on competition-based reality programs). Study I looked at competition-based reality television shows in general and how they effected perceptions of society. Participants (607) provided data to test six hypotheses. Findings indicated that increased consumption of competition-based reality programming was positively correlated with increased perceptions of lying and manipulation in society. No significant relationships were found between these shows and increased perceptions of ruthlessness or increased perceptions of antisocial behaviors and television consumption in general. Study II looked more specifically at competition-based reality dating programs and the effects they have on viewers' perceptions of dating and relationships. Participants (557) provided data to test three hypotheses. Ultimately, findings did not show any significant relationships between consumption of competition-based reality dating shows and increased perceptions of lying, manipulation, or ruthlessness in dating, or dating as a competition. The dissertation ends with a brief discussion of the limitations, an examination of how these findings impact cultivation effects research and reality television production, and recommendations for future research in this area. / A Dissertation Submitted to the Department of Communication in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Spring Semester, 2007. / March 19, 2007. / Reality Television, Cultivation, Media Effects, Dating / Includes bibliographical references. / Arthur A. Raney, Professor Directing Dissertation; Susan C. Losh, Outside Committee Member; Laura M. Arpan, Committee Member; Jay D. Rayburn, Committee Member.

This dissertation explored HIV-related information seeking among residential university students in three Caribbean countries. The study was one of the first to investigate this phenomenon in the English-speaking Caribbean within the context of the HIV epidemic. The main purpose of the study was to determine predictors of HIV-related information seeking among university students living in Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad. The study tested hypotheses regarding the relationship between university students' direct experience with HIV, health consciousness, perceived HIV risk and self-efficacy and their seeking of information on HIV. A mixed method approach using a quantitative online survey followed by individual interviews guided the data collection. A stratified sample of 628 students was involved in the study. Structural equation modeling using maximum likelihood robust estimation was used to analyze the quantitative data, which revealed that health consciousness and direct experience were significant predictors of HIV information seeking. Self-efficacy and risk perception were not found to be related to HIV information seeking. Qualitative data gleaned from follow-up interviews with 24 students provided support for the quantitative findings. During interviews students noted that while direct experience and health consciousness contributed to their seeking HIV information, low risk perception and high self-efficacy beliefs meant that they did not have a need to seek HIV information. Students felt that HIV information was easily available so they did not need to actively seek it. The study led to a number of recommendations for planning HIV interventions for university students. These include finding creative ways to present up-to-date information on HIV and employing seropositives as messengers in campaigns. Future research on health information seeking should consider using mixed method approaches and longitudinal research designs to better understand the complex phenomenon of not only HIV information seeking but also health information seeking in general. / A Dissertation Submitted to the School of Communication in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester, 2009. / July 1, 2009. / Caribbean, Residential University Students, Health Communication, HIV Information Seeking, Mixed Method Research / Includes bibliographical references. / Gary R. Heald, Professor Directing Dissertation; Betsy J. Becker, Outside Committee Member; John K. Mayo, Committee Member; Jay Rayburn, Committee Member.