This investigation sought to bridge the communication and marketing fields by applying schema theory (Bartlett, 1932) to advertisement information processing. A theoretical framework was developed which described how television commercials are remembered. Specifically, the theory hypothesized that: (a) recall of product brand will be significantly higher in the sample of participants who are exposed to the commercials emphasizing brand early on in their format, than the participants who view the commercials stating the product's brand name in the latter half of the commercials, and (b) individuals who see the brand name formatted commercials will have significantly higher levels of commercial information recognition than the individuals exposed to the commercials that do not state the brand name at the onset. The results of the study provided intial support for the proposed framework and suggested that brand name formatted commercials will generally enhance recall and significantly impact recognition.

An extensive literature review has been undertaken to create an accurate portrayal of North American Indian Sign Language as used by both deaf and hearing American Indians. Historical accounts are stressed as the primary source for understanding the extent of signed language use among the American Indians of North American and its decline to the present status as an endangered language. This sign language has functioned in two significant ways: (1) primarily (for hearing tribal members) as an alternative to the spoken language and (2) as a primary, or first language for deaf tribal members. It is critical to bear this distinction in mind for future investigations into the linguistic status of North American Indian Sign Language. Additional historical accounts related to American Indians' encounters with the signed language use among Deaf Anglos are also included. An ongoing research project involving the preservation of old film in which North American Indian Sign Language has been documented in 1930s and the current data collection of deaf NAISL signer is discussed as a potential source for future research and as a viable access to the heritage of American Indians.

Master of Arts / Department of Communication Studies, Theatre & Dance / LeAnn Brazeal / President George W. Bush's September 20, 2001 televised address to a Joint Session of Congress stands in history as his Administration's first deliberate official rhetorical response to the events of 9/11 and the first instance of the "Bush Doctrine." Although 9/11 has become an increasing topic of scholarly review and this speech is the first presidential policy response, few have explored Bush's choice of metaphors in this speech. Metaphors are a powerful tool of rhetoric, especially in political rhetoric, because metaphors are uniquely adept at simplifying complex topics, and a study of metaphor can reveal a speaker's underlying worldview and beliefs. Through metaphorical analysis, this study identifies nine clusters of metaphor in Bush's September 20, 2001 address: FORCE/WAR, BODY, FEAR, LIGHT/DARK, NEAR/FAR, UNITY, FAITH/FATE, GOOD/EVIL and SAVAGE. This study contrasts metaphor clusters to "prophetic dualism," a worldview that defines foreign policy within the context of a specific set of moral beliefs, and concludes that the artifact meets all tenets of prophetic dualism as well as the core characteristics of presidential crisis rhetoric and civil religion (although the artifact does not meet all characteristics of presidential war rhetoric). The study closes with a discussion of practical, rhetorical and methodological implications that may be useful to scholars of rhetoric and political science, including suggestions for future research of prophetic dualism and presidential war rhetoric.

In this dissertation I present the implementation of a speech recognizer based on a fuzzy relational neural network model. In the model, the input acoustic features are represented by their respective fuzzy membership values to linguistic properties. The membership values are calculated with II functions, and trapezoidal functions. / The weights of the connections between input and output nodes are described in terms of their fuzzy relations. The output values, during the learning phase, are obtained by the use of the max-min composition, and are given in terms of fuzzy class membership values. The learning algorithm used is a modified version of the gradient-descent back-propagation algorithm. / The classification of unknown patterns is made using different approaches, one of which is the relational square product. The results and a comparison with several systems are presented as well. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 55-04, Section: B, page: 1521. / Major Professor: Wyllis Bandler. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1994.

This study examined which, if any, of the source characteristics--attractiveness, credibility, or power--had the most persuasive effect for female speakers in influencing changes in attitude. / Subjects (503) enrolled in communication courses at Florida State University listened to a female confederate made-up to look attractive and unattractive give a videotaped speech that advocated requiring a listening course as a part of graduation requirements. / Speeches of introduction were used to alternate high and low levels of credibility. Power was manipulated by giving the speaker the ability to grade an essay that the subjects believed they would have to write concerning her speech. After listening to the speech of introduction and the persuasive speech, subjects completed a posttest attitude measurement, an attractiveness scale, a credibility scale, and a power scale. / Results indicated a significant difference in attitude between the pretest and posttest scores in support of the required listening course. Subjects viewed the speaker differently on attractiveness, credibility, and power, but no significant differences were found for gender or for the different levels of the source characteristics. A possible explanation for this non-significant finding is that more extreme levels of attractiveness, credibility, and power may have been needed. A significant difference was found in the way females and males viewed the speaker on dynamism and power. Females viewed the female speaker as having more dynamism and power than did males. / The study suggests that female speakers should be aware of the differences that attractiveness, credibility, and power make when attempting to persuade mixed audiences. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 54-02, Section: A, page: 0372. / Major Professor: Thomas R. King. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1993.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of humor in learning fitness concepts and to investigate students' perceptions of teachers who use relevant humor in the learning environment. Therefore, two research questions guided the study. Is there a significant relationship between humor usage and the learning of fitness concepts? What perceptions do Personal Fitness students have of teachers who use humor in the classroom? / Subjects for the study included 543 ninth grade Personal Fitness students from the State of Florida. For generalization purposes the subjects were selected from a northern, central and southern region of the state. Subjects were divided into groups; one group was shown a fitness and weight control lecture via videotape while the second group received the same lecture with humor included in the presentation. Immediately following the lecture, subjects were asked to complete a 15 item exam over the content presented in the lecture and a 5 item questionnaire which asked questions regarding the lecturer's likability, credibility, and effectiveness. / The analyses used for analyzing the questionnaire responses as well as the scores on the examination included t-tests and Chi-Square analysis. All statistics were calculated using the Statistical Analysis System (SAS). / Results of the study indicated that students were more receptive toward the instructor who incorporated humor into her lecture. In addition, students who viewed the humorous video indicated that they were more motivated to improve their present fitness levels. Findings did not show significant differences in the learning of fitness concepts with humor. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 54-11, Section: A, page: 4028. / Major Professor: Charles H. Imwold. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1993.

This dissertation examines the introduction of a new man-machine interface, namely automatic speech recognition (ASR), and its application to the mobility impaired, who may lack the physical abilities to write, or to access a computer using a conventional keyboard. Eighteen case studies were conducted with users of the four main high vocabulary, speaker-dependent, isolated word/discrete utterance, computerized voice recognition systems, which in 1993 were DragonDictate$\sp{\rm TM}$, IBM VoiceType$\sp{\rm TM}$, IBM Speech Server$\sp{\rm TM}$ Series, and Kurzweil VOICE$\sp{\rm TM}$. In addition, over 50 interviews were carried out with manufacturers, rehabilitation centers, hospitals in the US and the UK, and with other professionals. There can be little doubt that the innovation is having a substantial effect: Sixteen out of the 18 case studies said it is leading to a significant increase in the quality of their lives, and the remaining two said they thought it would. Two thirds of the subjects said the new technology was also changing the way in which they communicate, resulting in the formulation of more elaborate, detailed, and accurate messages. As the rate of diffusion accelerates, ASR has huge potential for both the non-disabled, and disabled communities. In particular, recent increases in the number of people with repetitive stress injuries (RSI), one of the leading causes of acquired disability in the US and in Europe, and indications from RSI sufferers in this study, would indicate that this new technology has the potential to be a major preventative tool. In 1991, the number of RSI cases in the US was estimated to be 200,000, mainly caused through keyboard usage. (Rees, 1991). According to The Bureau of Labor Statistics, ergonomic disorders were identified as the most rapidly growing category of work-related illness in 1992, accounting for 56 per / cent of illnesses reported to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). That compares with only 18 per cent in 1981, and 28 per cent in 1984. The six RSI case studies all reported that computerized voice recognition was allowing them to return to full-time work. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 54-10, Section: A, page: 3632. / Major Professor: Edward J. Forrest. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1993.

The purpose of this dissertation is to create a psychometric instrument, the Attorney Communication Skills Instrument (ASCI), which measures the communication strengths and weaknesses exhibited by attorneys during their client interviews. / The Inventory is composed of three tests, the ACSI-Climate, ACSI-Listening, and ACSI-Nonverbal, which were assessed in three empirical surveys. The first assessment involved a mail survey to 500 randomly selected members of The Florida Bar Association. The second assessment involved the distribution of 333 copies of each test to attorneys attending the 1993 Florida Bar Association's Annual Convention. The third survey was mailed to 3900 randomly selected members of The America Bar Association's Law Practice Management Section. / The results indicate a highly defensible psychometric inventory. The results evidence a strong set of homogeneous, unidimensional items which appear to reliably and validly measure the communication constructs of establishing a supportive climate, listening, and nonverbal communication skills. The resulting items may now be used to test the presence of certain communication skills and how effectively attorneys use those skills when interviewing and interacting with their clientele. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 55-04, Section: A, page: 0800. / Major Professor: Marilyn Young. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1994.

The purpose of this study was to ascertain E-mail users' assessments of two communication modes: computer-mediated communication (CMC) and face-to-face meetings (FTF). E-mail users' judgements regarding the freedom, frequency, and equality of interactions made possible with CMC vs. FTF were analyzed first. Subsequently, the two modes' perceived usefulness, effectiveness, and convenience were evaluated. Finally, the respondents' self-reported usage patterns were examined according to specific communication tasks and selected personality variables. / Data were collected from 202 E-mail users. Paired t-tests for the dependent samples and student t-tests for the independent samples were employed for testing hypotheses. / The major findings were as follows: For E-mail users, CMC was perceived as allowing for freer, more frequent, and more equal communication processing than FTF. For E-mail users, CMC was perceived as more useful, more effective, and more convenient than FTF. In addition, introverts perceived CMC as allowing more equal communication than did extroverts, whereas extroverts perceived FTF as allowing freer and more equal communication than did introverts. There were no differences between introverts and extroverts in the way E-mail users perceived CMC and FTF in regards to frequency of communication. For the E-mail users, CMC was regarded as more useful and more effective than for task-related communication, while FTF was regarded as more useful and more effective than CMC for nontask-related communication. / The results of this study showed that CMC and FTF were perceived differently among E-mail users. Furthermore, the notion of social presence was confirmed. This theory states that media have different degrees of presence and that users have different perceptions of the media according to the degree to which the latter contain social and nonverbal cues. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 55-03, Section: A, page: 0408. / Major Professor: John K. Mayo. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1994.

This study examined the effect of a postural echo delivered contingent upon selected behaviors and its influence upon a subject's preference on nonsense syllables and objects. The relationship of subject awareness, physiological reactions, and gender differences in reaction to postural echo were also examined. / Pilot studies were conducted to produce five nonsense syllables and five common objects with equal probability of being chosen in the experimental studies. / Sixty male and 60 female subjects were randomly chosen out of a representative sample of undergraduate communication courses and randomly assigned to experimenters for the studies. / Experimental Study #1 exposed subjects to five nonsense syllables for multiple thirty second time periods. Unknown to subjects, one of the five nonsense syllables was accompanied by a postural echo. Experimental Study #2 exposed subjects to five objects for single sixty second time periods. Unknown to the subjects, one of the five objects was accompanied by a postural echo. / Heart rate of subjects was monitored and recorded throughout the experimental studies. / Results showed that a contingent postural echo had no significant effects on subject preferences in dyadic communication. Postural echo operated below the level of awareness and did not exhibit the strength expected from a conditioned reinforcer. Postural echo appears to derive its strength from conversation and the interpersonal interaction but as a technique, in and of itself, postural echo is of questionable value. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 50-08, Section: A, page: 2305. / Major Professor: James C. Moore. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1989.