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Item Open Access Freedom of Expression Across Borders: Communication, Culture, and Language(2023) Shearman, Sachiyo M.; Kean, Linda G.; Tucker-McLaughlin, Mary; Witalisz, WładysławThis book examines how freedom of expression can be defined, shared, acted on, and responded to globally. Scholarly contributions come from a variety of disciplines including communication, literature, linguistics, translation, journalism, cultural studies, art, and other humanities and social science perspectives. In designing this volume, the editors collected works on freedom of expression and communication, culture and identity from a broad swath of viewpoints. This compilation addresses ideas such as language and translation and their impacts on expression, mass media, and its ability to create and restrict freedom of expression, humor, and political satire, and the impact of expression of thought in the classroom and around the globe. Essays included in the volume were presented at the Across Borders IX Conference—Freedom of Expression: Communication, Identity, and Culture on May 16 - 19, 2022, co-organized and cosponsored by East Carolina University College of Fine Arts and Communication, Jagiellonian University ID.UJ Excellence Initiative Programme, and State University of Applied Sciences in Krosno. All essays included in this edited book went through the blind peer review process. The editors would like to thank the contributions of the following esteemed reviewers, Władysław Cholpicki ( Jagiellonian University), Cindy Elmore (East Carolina University), Todd Fraley (East Carolina University), Monika Goghen (Jagiellonian University), Christopher Gullen (Westfield State University), Erika Johnson (East Carolina University), Elżbieta Mańczak-Wohlfeld ( Jagiellonian University), Mariusz Marczak ( Jagiellonian University), Brian Massey (East Carolina University), Aysel Morin (East Carolina University), Adrienne Muldrow (East Carolina University), Maria Piotrowska ( Jagiellonian University), Keith Richards (East Carolina University), Eric Shouse (East Carolina University), Borim Song (East Carolina University), Jessica Teague (East Carolina University), and Deborah Thomson (East Carolina University). These scholars representing various fields reviewed and provided valuable comments on the manuscripts of this book.Item Open Access Beliefs About and Attitudes Towards Menstruation Among American Youths and Their Suggestions to Improve Early Menstrual Communication(East Carolina University, 2023-04-27) Pun, Insha; Shearman, Sachiyo M; School of CommunicationMenstruation is a crucial event for over half of the people in the world. Young people report being ignored, confused, stressed, embarrassed, and stigmatized during their early menstrual conversation (EMC). The strained EMC impacts menstruators' physical, and psychological health, social participation, and education. Young men find it difficult to relate to women and enforce sexist attitudes. The current study examined American youth's experiences of EMC and its impact on stigmatizing beliefs and attitudes towards menstruation (BATM). The study also explored their suggestions to improve future menstrual education sessions in schools. Young adults' early menstrual conversation and attitudes toward menstruation were examined, drawing from Goffman's stigma theory. A cross-sectional descriptive design was used to survey the attitudes and experiences of young adults (n=368) in the US. Self-administered survey questionnaires were distributed through Qualtrics. EMC was measured using a 10-item semantic differential scale. Menstrual stigma was assessed using an adapted 45-item BATM scale with five sub-scales such as annoyance, secrecy, prescription and proscription, disability, and pleasant. A linear regression analysis was performed to examine the association between EMC and their attitudes toward menstruation. The model explained 8% variance in the annoyance sub-scale with predictors F (8) = 3.541, R2= .081; 21% variance in the secrecy sub-scale with predictors F(8) = 10.949, R2 = .211; 24.7% variance in the prescription and prescription, F (8) = 13.404, R2 = .247; and 10% variance in the pleasant sub-scale with predictors F (8) = 4.615, R2 = .101. Participants who had their EMC with a smaller number of people older than themselves considered menstruation annoying. Those with negative emotional perception of EMC were more likely to agree that menstruation was annoying and be kept secret. Those who discussed more negative topics in their EMC, who engaged in menstrual conversation later in their life, and those who interacted with a smaller number of peers were more likely to endorse menstrual restrictions. Participants' suggestions to improve EMC in schools include having co-ed menstrual education session, with an emphasis on the biology of menstruation, and satisfying curiosities about menstrual taboos and myths. They recommend the combined use of lectures, demonstrations, and participatory activities such as games, storytelling, and use of videos, documentaries, and film clips. Thus, to start creating a positive cultural change around menstruation and reducing the stigma around it, teenagers should have positive EMC experiences. To ensure positive EMC, we recommend that menstrual topics be introduced to adolescents early, in a predictable manner, making them feel relaxed and confident, creating a space to ask and listen to the experiences of multiple same-age peers and non-peers including family members and teachers.Item Open Access Social Media, Social Support, and Mental Health of Young Adults During COVID-19(2022-02-21) Longest, Kaitlyn; Kang, Jin-AeItem Restricted The Value of Exposure: The Connection Between International Contact, Ethnocentrism, and Intercultural Sensitivity(East Carolina University, 2019-08-13) Taylor, Erin R; Shearman, Sachiyo M; School of CommunicationAs higher education continues on the path of globalization, a persistent focus is placed on creating internationally competent professionals. The most prominent method used to achieve this is through the internationalization of curriculums on college campus. Through this, students have various options to engage in intercultural contacts while they pursue a degree. This study examined the effect of intercultural contact offered on campus on the levels of ethnocentrism and intercultural sensitivity among college students at ECU using the generalized ethnocentrism scale (GENE) created by James McCroskey and James W. Neuliep (1997) as well as the Intercultural Sensitivity Scale (ISS) developed by Guo-Ming Chen and William J. Starosta (2000). Additionally, this study examined the association between students' level of ethnocentrism, intercultural sensitivity, and their willingness to interact with international students on campus through a series of hypothetical situations. A total of 310 seniors at ECU, 21.6% being male, 72.9% being female, participated in a survey distributed online, which examined students' ethnocentrism, intercultural sensitivity, and willingness to interact in relation to their participation in five intercultural contact programs: Global Understanding courses, language acquisition, study abroad, the First Friends program, and clubs and activities. Results yielded that there is little correlation between international contact and ethnocentrism or intercultural sensitivity. However, there is significant correlation between levels of ethnocentrism, intercultural sensitivity and a student's willingness to interact.Item Open Access The Effect of NFL Protest for TV Viewership(East Carolina University, 2018-05-01) Phillips, Austin; Howard, John; CommunicationTwo things have significantly impacted the National Football League (NFL) in the last year: First, there was a decrease of viewership of around 9.7% in the last Nielsen ratings of 2017 (Rovell, 2018). Second, the protests during the national anthem started by former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, ultimately involved over 180 players in the 2017 season (Breech, 2017). There has been much speculation regarding why viewership has been down and many discussions regarding the impact of player protests. The purpose of this research is to see the effect of NFL player national anthem protest on TV viewership of NFL games. This protest, of course, has a short history and limited research has been conducted on it. In order to better understand the role of the protests this project first reviews the actions of Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf in the NBA. The NBA’s restriction of his protest. And the viewer responses to the protest. This background is used to inform the discussion on player protests and guide the construction of a Qualtrics survey to learn about viewer attitudes regarding the NFL, Colin Kapernick, and the ongoing protests during the anthem. Through the self-report responses I was able to develop a preliminary assessment of how viewer’s opinions and viewing behaviors have changed. From a email link that brought responders to a online survey that was powered by Qualtrics. The results showed the impact of race and political affiliation on how people view the protest. The results also showed that people opinion’s of protest did not always affect their viewership of the NFL.Item Open Access Building Civic Capacity for College Students: Flexible Thinking and Communicating as Puppeteers, Community Partners, and Citizen-Leaders(2016-07) Thomson, Deborah; Dumlao, Rebecca J., 1955-; Howard, JohnCollege students face a complex world filled with pervasive social problems that require strong knowledge bases, critical thinking abilities, and sustained engagement in civic life. This article details key pedagogical practices for our innovative health puppetry program, in which undergraduate honors students use puppets to share information about healthy eating, diabetes prevention, and active lifestyles with children and their families in community settings. We articulate a notion of “flexible thinking” as the ability to take on and perform new roles within the public/civic arena by seeing complex social problems from multiple perspectives and responding with creative solutions and engaged action. We look to the written reflections of our student puppeteers to share, in their own words, multiple ways their thinking and communication changed as they grew as puppeteers, community partners, and citizen-leaders. We also offer insights about promoting flexible thinking through in-depth service-learning.Item Open Access College Men and Women and Their Intent to Receive Genital Human Papillomavirus Vaccine(2016-02-05) Richards, KeithThe study set out to investigate what influences the intentions of college students to get vaccinated against genital human papillomavirus (HPV). College men and women were surveyed to understand their intentions. Regression was used and supported that the constructs of the health belief model (HBM) as well as gender, norms, and information seeking contributed to predicting intent to receive the HPV vaccine, R2 = .61, F(6, 159) = 39.41, p < .001. Benefits and barriers were the most influential variable, and men were more likely to intend to receive the vaccine. The findings should be applied to future campaigns aimed at increasing preventive health behaviors, especially vaccinations among college students.Item Open Access College Men and Women and Their Intent to Receive Genital Human Papillomavirus Vaccine(2016-02-05) Richards, KeithThe study set out to investigate what influences the intentions of college students to get vaccinated against genital human papillomavirus (HPV). College men and women were surveyed to understand their intentions. Regression was used and supported that the constructs of the health belief model (HBM) as well as gender, norms, and information seeking contributed to predicting intent to receive the HPV vaccine, R2 = .61, F(6, 159) = 39.41, p < .001. Benefits and barriers were the most influential variable, and men were more likely to intend to receive the vaccine. The findings should be applied to future campaigns aimed at increasing preventive health behaviors, especially vaccinations among college students.Item Open Access Investigating and Sharing the Stories of Our Community's Heroes(2015) Jewell, Jessica; Tucker-McLaughlin, Mary; School of CommunicationThis short documentary shines a light on Greenville Fire-Rescue, its daily operations, and the men and women who serve the Greenville community from behind the scenes. Greenville Fire-Rescue follows a nationwide trend in combining firefighting and emergency medical services (EMS) into one department, meaning no worker is just a paramedic or a firefighter. This documentary follows Greenville Fire-Rescue workers in the field on fire and EMS calls, training and working at the station, and solidifying the bonds that characterize the family they have formed with each other.. All video footage and interviews were shot during volunteer ride-alongs on ambulances and fire trucks with two Greenville Fire-Rescue stations. This piece showcases the history of these departments, the tasks of its workers, and the emotions experienced by those dedicating their lives to saving others. The purpose of the documentary is to provide a unique perspective into the rarely shared culture of the men and women heroically serving the Greenville community, beyond the stereotypes of the general public and information the media shares. The components in this documentary bring life to a necessity that is all too often trivialized or taken for granted by those it serves. Here, through video, I explore not only what the Greenville Fire-Rescue workers do, but also how they do it, and more importantly why they do it.Item Open Access School of Communication Student Channels Study: How Do College Students Communicate?(2015-04-26) Martin, Kristen Leigh; Tucker-McLaughlin, Mary; School of CommunicationCollege students use different channels of communication to stay in contact with friends and family as well as coworkers and classmates. The channels of communication vary between intimate, such as text messaging, and professional, such as email. This study examines the channels of communication that a medium-sized southern university’s school of communication students use to communicate in their different networks. To determine the methods of communication, the students were surveyed on their social media usage and interactions with the School of Communication. Students also participated in a focus group discussion to elaborate on the survey results. A comparison of the data shows that students prefer to use social media and other informal methods to communicate with their family and peers but would prefer to use more professional methods to communicate with professors and other faculty.Item Open Access PERFORMANCE FOR ETHNOGRAPHY, DIALOGUE, AND INTERVENTION : USING ACTIVATING THEATRE TO EXPLORE THE REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH ISSUES FACING KENYAN ADOLESCENT GIRLS(East Carolina University, 2014) Kimaiyo, Purity J.; Thomson, Deborah; CommunicationThis thesis explores the utility of using performance, specifically activating theatre, both as a reproductive health intervention and as an ethnographic tool for exploring the reproductive health worldview of 17 adolescent girls, all peer counselors at a state-run all-girl boarding school in Rift Valley Province, Kenya. The study is grounded theoretically in the traditions of action research, critical ethnography, performance theory, and dialogic expression. I facilitated a week-long activating theatre workshop that included warm-ups, bridge work, improvisation, and activating material. The workshop, which was video recorded, was analyzed alongside a reflective journal and audio recorded semi-structured interviews and a post-workshop focus group for core themes and categories using grounded theory. My analysis shows that the use of activating theatre is an effective tool for understanding the reproductive health perceptions of adolescent girls, for encouraging them to openly discuss their reproductive health issues, for increasing their sense of agency, for improving their decision-making skills, and for helping them critically assess the social and historical roots of reproductive health issues. The project web site which includes workshop video clips is at http://purityjerop.wix.com/kapkenda-performance.Item Open Access Breaking Barriers in Provider-Patient Relationships : An Analysis of Perceived Intercultural Communication Competence among Nursing Students(East Carolina University, 2014) Deal, Kelley Paynter; Dumlao, Rebecca J., 1955-; CommunicationCommunication can be particularly challenging for community college nursing students during their labor and delivery clinicals as there is an influx of Latino patients at the local medical facilities due to Migrant and Seasonal Farm Workers (MSFWs) arriving for summer work. As a result, the student nurses provide care for Hispanic women and face particular challenges in provider-patient communication during prenatal outreach as well as labor and delivery care due to language and cultural barriers. The director of nursing at a community college in the Southeastern United States expressed a need for a tool that would assist nursing students to improve their communication with Spanish-speaking patients during labor and delivery clinicals. A website, nursingcomm.blogspot.com, was created to assist second-year nursing students with verbal and nonverbal communication and to provide online communication tools to prepare students for communicating with Latina patients in the clinical setting. The goal of this research is to assess nursing students' levels of intercultural communication competence and to analyze their perceptions of the change, if any, they experience in intercultural communication competence after using the website. Results of this thesis showed evidence that some nursing students' self-perceptions changed after using the website and also that their perceptions of cultural contracts became more co-created. Students demonstrated a higher rate of openness and exhibited the goal of mutually understood communication. Surveys indicated that nursing students using the website more frequently experienced greater improvement in intercultural communication competence than those who used the website less. Implications are offered for future research and nursing student training.Item Open Access STIGMA AND DISCLOSURE : THE HEALTH COMMUNICATION OF GAY AND BISEXUAL COLLEGE MALES.(East Carolina University, 2013) Chambers, Branden; Shouse, Eric; CommunicationThis thesis examines what it means to be a self-identified gay or bisexual male college student, and how stigma and disclosure relate to health. Qualitative research was conducted to explore the reasons some patients withhold disclosure of sexual orientation. A considerable amount of research has been done on disclosure of gay and bisexual males. Yet studies examining the combination of gay and bisexual college-age males, and communication as it pertain to stigma, disclosure, and health is lacking in the field of communication. This analysis attempts to address common reasons gay and bisexual males do not disclose their sexual orientation, how stigma affects that decision and how it relates to health.Item Open Access CAN'T FIGHT THE MUSIC : UTILIZING IMPROVISATIONAL MUSICAL PERFORMANCE TO COMMUNICATE WITH CHILDREN ON THE TOPIC OF BULLYING(East Carolina University, 2013) Smith, Kristin E.; Thomson, Deborah; CommunicationThis thesis examines the utilization of improvisational music techniques as a form of communication to address bullying in the Pitt County Community Schools and Recreation after-school program at Wintergreen Intermediate School in Greenville, NC. The study is based on a three week performance workshop conducted by the researcher with 17 students. The goal of the workshop was to teach children ages seven through eleven strategies to prevent, resolve and cope with bullying using improvisational music. Chapter 1 discusses previous literature on bullying, and improvisational music and performance. It lays the theoretical groundwork and provides the research methodology, while discussing the project's assumptions and limitations. Chapter 2 chronologically discusses the events of the workshop by week, highlighting and analyzing key moments. Chapter 3 discusses the follow up interviews, findings of the study, and recommendations for future projects.Item Open Access Passively Ever After : Disney's Cinematic Abuse in Beauty and the Beast(East Carolina University, 2012) Lederer, Erin Michelle; Shouse, Eric; CommunicationThis thesis examines the manner in which Disney's Beauty and the Beast cultivates stereotypes and gendered behaviors consistent with domestic violence and thereby encourages viewers to accept and tolerate abuse against women. Chapter 1 includes a literature review highlighting gender themes and the film's influence on children. I argue that due to the dangerous, constricting, and sexist gender roles encouraged by the Walt Disney Corporation, films like Beauty and the Beast prime young girls and boys to react to social situations and encounters in a way that mirror the characters' reactions. Because of the films' entertainment value, most of the characters' inappropriate, stereotypical, and often violent behaviors either go unnoticed or are passively accepted. The violence does not have to be blatant nor physical to have a detrimental effect. Passive and indirect acts of violence, such as bullying, ostracism, and criticism, pave the way for physical violence (Muscio, 2010). Therefore, a central argument of this thesis is that our culture desperately needs to broaden the way we conceptualize violence. The chapters that follow provide a unique feminist critical analysis that draws upon domestic violence literature to argue that Beauty and the Beast is an example of cinematic abuse. I propose that cinematic abuse occurs when viewers accept the dominant readings encouraged by films like Beauty and the Beast and are thereby coerced into entering into metaphoric domestic violence relationships with Disney. As I dissect the themes and scenes within the film, Walker's (1979) book, The Battered Woman, is used to support the argument that cinematic abuse victims (viewers) and abusers (the film) mirror the behaviors and reactions of actual domestic violence victims and abusers.Item Open Access AFTER SIX YEARS... : AN EXAMINATION OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE ABOVETHEINFLUENCE CAMPAIGN ON ITS INITIAL TARGET AUDIENCE(East Carolina University, 2011) Moore, Leslie; Shearman, Sachiyo M.; CommunicationIn November 2005, the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) implemented a new form of the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign (NYAMC). The AboveTheInfluence campaign targets 12-17 year olds, with a specific focus on ages 14-16, with messages of living above the influence of drugs and alcohol. In this study, college students (aged between 18 to 23 years) were surveyed to examine their attitudes and use of drugs and alcohol after their exposure to the AboveTheInfluence campaign. This specific age range was chosen because the subjects were part of the campaign's original target audience during its introduction in 2005. Existing literature on campaign effectiveness, drug and alcohol use, and youth attitudes was reviewed. Theoretical frameworks of reactance theory, wearout effects, and the role peer perceptions have on substance use were applied and examined with a survey questionnaire. The current study found that exposure to and recall of the AboveTheInfluence campaign had no significant association with participants' drug and alcohol use behaviors, and attitudes towards alcohol. Furthermore, participants were found to have a drastically overinflated perception of peer drug and alcohol use. Based on the applied theories of reactance and wearout, participants' reactions were found to show no major signs of either. However, initial signs of both reactance and wearout were apparent in participants' general lack of interest in the AboveTheInfluence campaign and its messages. Limitations and implications were discussed.Item Open Access RED AND BLUE IDEOLOGY : A FANTASY-THEME ANALYSIS OF BARACK OBAMA'S POLITICAL DISCOURSE(East Carolina University, 2011) Jarrell, Kelly Elizabeth; Shouse, Eric; CommunicationThis thesis will examine the rhetorical style of Barack Obama throughout the 2008 presidential campaign and his contentious push for health care reform, in order to provide insight into Obama's post-inaugural political discourse. Drawing upon a variety of critical and rhetorical theories--e.g., fantasy-theme analysis (Borman, 1982), the narrative paradigm (Fisher, 1984), and Kenneth Burke's (1969) notion of identification--I argue that Barack Obama's rhetorical style changed drastically after he took office on January 20, 2009. This shift in rhetorical style is especially significant given the declining support for the president since he took office. A total of six speeches have been selected from both the 2008 presidential campaign and those delivered post-inauguration. Based upon an analysis of these speeches, I will argue that Obama employed a unique rhetorical vision throughout his campaign by combining two politically polarized myths to create a blended ideological frame that emphasized notions of bipartisanship. The reason Obama was able to portray such a convincing rhetorical vision that embodied two polarized ideologies is because of his blended racial heritage. Obama's own story of independent success alongside his intimate ties with a disenfranchised group of Americans allowed him recast the American Dream and set forth a unique rhetorical vision that resonated with constituents. This rhetorical vision embodied a moralistic frame predicated on specific values and principles. This analysis also revealed a distinct rhetorical shift in Obama's post-inaugural discourse with regards to his use of narrative elements. Obama's pre-inaugural narratives reveal clearly defined actors who are formed through common archetypal characterizations. Obama pits the narratives' protagonists and antagonists against one another by characterizing them as heroes and villains. The heroes and villains of these stories were ascribed specific character traits and motives, and this enabled Obama to present clear action themes of good versus evil. The specificity of these characters provided Obama's audience with central characters they could identify with. Obama's post-inaugural narratives fail to embrace archetypal character themes or concrete characterizations that expose a clear villain or hero within the drama. As a result, his speeches have lost their dramatic element. These characters were portrayed as vague, obscure figures that lacked basic character motivation and a guiding ideological principle. Instead, these narratives focused on the materialistic benefits of proposed policies and materialistic values as they relate to economic stability. These narratives provide evidence of a distinct shift from the moralistic frame that supported notions of collectivism to a materialistic frame that promotes notions of free enterprise and individual gain. Obama's tendency to cater to conservative constituents demonstrates a confounding ideological shift which depicts an entirely separate candidate from the confident, bi-partisan leader evident throughout the 2008 Presidential Campaign.