This dissertation explains theory and research concerning international teaching assistants, intercultural communication, nonverbal and verbal immediacy, cognitive, affective, and behavioral learning, and sex differences. One research question and five hypotheses were tested via MANOVA and correlation tests. Six hundred and seven undergraduate students completed instruments measuring verbal and nonverbal immediacy, and cognitive, affective, and behavioral learning. Results supported the research question and three of the five hypotheses. Specifically, U.S. Teaching Assistants used more nonverbal immediacy than International Teaching Assistants. Students attitudes toward International Teaching Assistants correlated with students learning. Students perceptions of ITAs and USTAs on verbal and nonverbal immediacy positively correlated to students learning.

This thesis focuses on Louisiana Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blancos press strategies. The first section of the paper provides the standard and documented description of the role and press strategy for a governor. The second section provides a background of the responsibility of the press within a democratic society in the context of the Social Responsibility Theory. The third section examines what elements define a press/politico relationship and what defines positive and negative aspects related to this type of relationship. This research utilizes a qualitative research design, including in-depth interviews, participatory observation/field notes and case studies. Perceptions, derived from the governors staff members inside the Blanco administration and one capitol bureau reporter, examine; 1). Governor Blancos press strategy; 2.) Elements for a successful news story, and; 3). A description of the press/politico relationship. There is a lack of research on gubernatorial press relations. Therefore, three topics from the Blanco administration are examined as case studies in this paper. The topics include the negotiations with the Saints, the Executive Order on non-discrimination against gays and lesbians and Union Tank Car. These were the most popular issues covered by the press in the governors first year in office. Each followed a press strategy within the organization and provided valuable situations to evaluate with regard to the press and the strategies within an Executive level of government. From the thesis and out of the perceptions of the interviewees, a successful governor will manage a message to the media by first being successful in managing a message within the administration. If these messages are disseminated in an organized fashion, reporters are more apt to objectively reporting the elements of a story. Interviewees also perceived that objective reporting is defined for how accurate the news stories are in relation to the information that was provided by their political source. It was also found through the interviews that for the governor to have a successful press strategy may mean that she will use discretion with accessibility to the media. Meaning, the governor is aware that speaking openly to the press on all occasions, may not guarantee success, but will successfully provide media accessibility.

Womens dress and appearance can reflect a lot about a civilized society. It is influenced by many factors as well. The dress and appearance of contemporary Chinese women have not been studied much by mass communication researchers. This paper, however, explored the factors that influence the development and evolution of contemporary Chinese womens dress and appearance. It traced back from Dynastic China to Republican China and then to Maos red China to examine the historical and political influences imposed on the dress and appearance of Chinese women. Then, it used in-depth interviews to find out factors that influence womens dress and appearance in contemporary China. Especially, this paper analyzed the result of all these factors that typically were transmitted or reinforced by mass media. The paper found that media played a very important role in contemporary Chinese womens dress and appearance. Chinese women depend on media very much in choosing their dress style and clothes. In addition to this, peers opinion and social environment also influence Chinese womens choice in dress. Since the results showed that media dependency could also be applied to Chinas contemporary society, the paper concluded that media in China will have much more role on the society especially on womens dress and appearance in the future. It also concluded that Chinese women would not be totally westernized but would maintain some Chinese characteristics in dress and appearance in the future.

The purposes of this study were to determine the likelihood of reporters to adopt Geographical Information Systems and to predict the future of the diffusion of GIS in the journalism industry using the diffusion of innovations theory. The study used two data collection methods: in-depth interviews and a Web survey. The indepth-interviews revealed factors that will influence the diffusion of GIS, including the availability of map data, competition between media agencies, the ease of getting management to buy GIS once its functionality has been demonstrated to them, and the general use of secondary GIS products. The Web survey showed that 63% of the reporters were aware of GIS but only 11% of the reporters surveyed currently use GIS. OLS regression showed that men were more likely to adopt GIS than women, while younger people were more likely to adopt GIS than their older counterparts. The results also showed that reporters who used other technologies in their work were more likely to adopt GIS on a trial basis.

This study employs the organization-public relationship (OPR) scale to measure member perceptions of an art museum affiliated with a Southern university. The scale is a 15-item, multi-dimension tool developed by Bruning and Ledingham to measure a publics relationship with an organization (Ledingham, 2001). The three dimensions are personal relationship, community relationship, and professional relationship. The study found that member perceptions of the museum-public relationship differentiated members who voted to continue their membership from those who voted to discontinue their membership with the museum. Further, this study supports the relationship management theory of public relations as a viable framework for practicing museum public relations and quantifying museum public relations outcomes.

Teacher immediacy has been positively associated with many desirable academic outcomes, including quality student-teacher relationships, student participation in the classroom and in extra-class interaction, and increased student learning. Thus, scholars have consistently encouraged educators to increase their use of immediacy in contacts with students. However, some previous research found that high levels of teacher immediacy can be problematic in relationships and detrimental to desirable educational outcomes. Immediacy behavior tends to promote personal relationships and inclusion. However, excessive immediacy may change the meaning that students receive from the behavior. Using a message interpretation perspective, this study examined how sex of the student and sex of the teacher effects students interpretations of teachers high immediacy behavior in both in-class and extra-class contexts. Results reveal that students interpret high immediacy from male teachers as control but the same behavior from female teachers is interpreted as caring. Students also perceive excessive immediacy as more inappropriate when it is from a male teacher than from a female teacher. Female students are more likely than male students to identify the high immediacy behavior as sexual harassment. Students are also more likely to interpret excessive immediacy as sexual harassment when it occurs in extra-class contexts, such as in the professors office or in informal contacts in the student center than in the classroom.

The study of southern rhetoric and public address remains important to the study of American rhetoric and public address. However, recent years indicate a decline in the amount and variety of scholarship in this area of study. This project provides a meta-critical analysis of the history of southern rhetorical scholarship, focusing mainly on southern public address. By tracing ideology from the Agrarians, Richard Weaver, Dallas Dickey, Waldo Braden, Stephen Smith, and Stuart Towns, clear attitudes and definitions of the South, southern identity and southern rhetoric evolved to create an area of study in much need of revision. The remainder of the project suggests theoretical approaches such as Maurice Charlands use of constitutive rhetoric and Linda Hutcheons theory of parody as just a sample of possible ways southern rhetorical studies may be further developed. These theoretical views are used in light of three case studies a grassroots organization known as the League of the South, a southern politician Senator Zell Millers speech at the 2004 Republican National Convention, and a 1919 African American education activist Charlotte Hawkins Brown. These case studies show the need for re-conceptualizing southern rhetoric and re-evaluating the limited canon now facing southern public address.

Breastfeeding is a pressing social issue in terms of womens equality, preventative healthcare, and the preservation of a valuable natural resource. Future progress in breastfeeding advocacy will depend on an accurate investigation into the current situation. In this study, three womens prenatal magazines (American Baby, ePregnancy, and Parenting) are analyzed via content analysis for one calendar year, looking specifically at infant formula-related product advertisements, breastfeeding-related product advertisements and variations of the mothers role in infant feeding. The content of breastfeeding-related magazine articles also is analyzed within the context of the advertisements. This sample of media appears to have evolved away from negative stereotypes about breastfeeding being primitive, disgusting, cow-like, or an excretory function. However, breastfeeding product advertisements were found to cater to negative stereotypes more than infant formula product advertisements. The amount of product advertising was not influential in the positive or negative representation of breastfeeding within article content.

The purpose of this study is to determine bias in press news coverage of the 2003 post-election street protests, which resulted from the presidential election in Azerbaijan. This study provides a look at the extent of state and private media ownership of newspapers in Azerbaijan conducting a content analysis of three highly circulated local newspapers, one state owned and the others privately owned, during a three week period following the election day when the main subject of local newspapers coverage was protest actions in the streets of the capital city, Baku. The data are news and articles regarding the street protests from three newspapers: state owned Kalg, privately owned Echo, and Zerkalo. The period under study consists of 3 weeks, from October 15, 2003, the election day, to November 7, 2003. A content analysis of 126 news articles in the three local newspapers found that significant differences exist in newspaper coverage reflecting differences in ownership. The study showed how ownership of media outlets affects political coverage of the street protests by opposition party supporters through unbalanced coverage and framing. The general conclusion of this study is that the privately owned newspapers are more objective than state owned newspapers in their coverage of the political protest.

The study analyzed how independent and state media's news programs differ in the way they framed the Georgian Revolution of Roses. The paper analyzed what sources, frames and key words journalists used to describe the protest in order to investigate if the coverage was objective or biased in any particular direction. Study provides evidence that by framing protests in a different way, politicians and journalists give different meanings to the same issues and suggest what is at issue. Each party of the political elite tried to promote their own political viewpoints. By preferring sources from the ruling party and their supporters and repeating frames and key words suggested by the ruling party, state television supported the ruling party. By quoting frequently reformers and their supporters and framing the event in a way offered by the reformers, the independent media supported the viewpoints of the reformers. This participatory position of the independent station is supported by developmental theory, which says media in countries in transition have to assist to the process of democracy. (Baran & Davis, 2003). In the case of Georgia, the opposition was considered eager to fulfill democratic reforms and so the independent media supported their political views. However, the free press theory suggests that bias is against all professional norms of journalism, regardless the intentions of media to have bias for the "right" side of an issue. (Leigh, 1974). A free press has to offer balanced and objective reports of the event or issue. Otherwise, it will not be credible and lose the public trust, which is most valuable to a free press. (Leigh, 1974). The coverage of the Revolution of Roses in the independent station was not beneficial to the development of a free press. It becomes even more obvious how important an unbiased press is now that the former reformers have become the government. The state TV is still maintaining the ruling party's political viewpoints and the independent television became part of the government's public relations machine by conveying mostly positive news about the policymakers and policies.