Matching Items (36)
Description
The economic crisis in 2008 triggered a global financial shockwave that left many wondering about the origins of the crisis. Similarly, in the early twentieth century, Wall Street faced catastrophic losses that set the stage for the Great Depression, which resulted in a decade of economic depression, leaving millions of people out of work. Using discourse analysis to understand how economic crisis is framed through the mainstream press, this research project analyzed the stock market crash of 1929-1932 and the mortgage-backed financial crisis of 2007-2009 through the lens of two mainstream publications, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. Comparative analysis focused on explanations for the causes of the crises, attributions of blame, culprits, and proposed solutions emerging in news coverage of the 1929 panic and the 2007-2009 financial crises. Mainstream media accounts of the 2007-2009 crisis are then compared with `alternative media' accounts of crisis causes, culprits, and solutions. These comparative analyses are contextualized historically within economic paradigms of thought, beginning with the classical economists led by Adam Smith and transitioning to the Chicago School.
ContributorsPrice, Eun (Author) / Nadesan, Majia (Thesis advisor) / Gruber, Diane (Committee member) / Ramsey, Ramsey E (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
Smoking prevalence has been a significant issue in China. This present study investigates family influences on the smoking behaviors of highly-educated Chinese youths (HECY) and explores whether family factors work as distal factors in the revised framework of the theory of planned behavior. Convenience sampling and snow-ball sampling have been utilized to select participants from highly-educated Chinese youth population who are students studying in colleges or universities and people who recently graduated from Chinese colleges or universities with Bachelor's and/or Master' degrees. This study relies on quantitative methodologies to analyze the data from the participants' responses to online cross sectional surveys with SPSS. This present study has determined that family influences do contribute to the smoking behaviors of highly-educated Chinese youths. In addition to examining the proximal factors (highly-educated Chinese youths' attitudes toward smoking, self-efficacy and social norms of smoking) in the model of the theory of planned behavior, this current study has examined the following distal factors: (1) parental communication about smoking, (2) communication about smoking among siblings, (3) parents, siblings and/or cousins' attitudes toward smoking, and (4) smoking behaviors of parents, siblings and/or cousins.
ContributorsJin, Xianlin (Author) / Waldron, Vincent (Thesis advisor) / Nadesan, Majia (Committee member) / Kwon, Kyounghee (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
ABSTRACT The goal of this study is to use neoclassical realist methodology to add to the growing body of literature explaining why America is failing so horribly in its media war with militant Islamists. The general argument being conveyed is that inconsistencies in America's ostensibly liberal diplomacy strategy leaves it open to criticism and deprives it of the credibility necessary to muster an adequate rebuttal. To accomplish its aim, the analysis begins with an investigation into the origins of America's current liberal rhetorical approach. It is believed that with this sort look beneath the surface of the idealistic romanticism U.S. citizens have been continually conditioned to embrace, it becomes apparent that the grandiose pronouncements made by America's national political elite are actually based on rather dubious foundations. The evaluation then turns to a more focused rhetorical examination, which spans from the start of the so-called Arab Spring uprisings on December 18, 2010 to the delivery of President Obama's highly publicized State Department address regarding these demonstrations on May 19, 2011, in order to go behind the White House's official statements and uncover what truly motivated its policy decision making. The belief here is that a close review of the administration's abysmal performance during this historic period assists in making the inadequacy of America's current rhetorical narrative all the more evident. Finally, once the contradictory nature of contemporary American liberalism has been fully demonstrated, the last section concludes with an effort to explain why replacing America's liberal strategy with a straightforward realist stance is best for both American's relations with the Muslim world and America's overall security.
ContributorsThomas, John H., III (Author) / Mean, Lindsey (Thesis advisor) / Ramsey, Ramsey E (Committee member) / Nadesan, Majia (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
Although the social network site (SNS) Facebook achieved great success around the world, in China, it was over taken by the local website Kaixin001. Using comparative analysis and interviews, this thesis compared the architecture of the two websites and Chinese users' attitude towards them. From one side, the result indicates that they are almost the same, but not quite. Kaixin001 is a copycat which adapts to local cultures and political regulations. From the other side, the research also highlights that people associate Kaixin001 with a game platform rather than a social tool. It suggests that there are two layers of digital divide: access and utilization. Chinese users can not get equal access because of the Great Firewall. At the same time, unlike western users, they are fond of playing games, listening music and other functions, rather than creating original content or building social capital. Therefore, the SNS utilization is not equal. Because of regulations and self-surveillance, their SNS use is enjoying the apolitical does not challenge the Chinese state. At the end of the thesis, the author points out the limitations of this research. As Internet-mediated qualitative research, this study lacks extended time and samples to explore the SNSs in global context. Further research is needed to collect extended samples. Moreover, the users' dependence on social network websites may be addressed to seek more comprehensive and deeper understanding of SNS.
ContributorsQin, Yuchun (Author) / Wise, Greg (Thesis advisor) / Kassing, Jeffrey (Committee member) / Waldron, Vincent (Committee member) / Mean, Lindsey (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
This study examines long-distance relationships between grandparents and their adolescent grandchild through the qualitative identification and analysis of relational turning points and trajectories. A sample of 30 grandparents yielding 99 individual turning points allowed for an in-depth understanding of these relational constructs that previous research neglects to explore from the perspective of a grandparent. A constant comparative analysis of these turning points reveals 8 distinct categories of relational turning points including Spending Time Together, Family Relational Dynamics, Geographic Distance, Lack of Relational Investment, Use of Technology, Relational Investment, Lack of Free Time, and Grandchild Gaining Independence. These turning points vary in how they positively or negatively impact relational closeness between participants and their grandchildren. The use of Retrospective Interview Technique (RIT) yields 30 individual relational trajectory graphs categorized into five trajectories including Decrease in Closeness, Increase in Closeness, Multidimensional Changes in Closeness, Minimal Changes in Closeness, and Consistent Relational Closeness. Results provide theoretical contributions to aging and family literature as well as practical findings pertaining to current and future grandparents. These implications as well as suggestions for future research are discussed.
ContributorsBangerter, Lauren Reed (Author) / Waldron, Vincent (Thesis advisor) / Kassing, Jeffrey (Committee member) / Kelley, Douglas (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
The discussion board is a facet of online education that continues to confound students, educators, and researchers alike. Currently, the majority of research insists that instructors should structure and control online discussions as well as evaluate such discussions. However, the existing literature has yet to compare the various strategies that instructors have identified and employed to facilitate discussion board participation. How should instructors communicate their expectations online? Should instructors create detailed instructions that outline and model exactly how students should participate, or should generalized instructions be communicated? An experiment was conducted in an online course for undergraduate students at Arizona State University. Three variations of instructional conditions were developed for use in the experiment: (1) detailed, (2) general, and (3) limited. The results of the experiment indentified a pedagogically valuable finding that should positively influence the design of future online courses that utilize discussion boards.
ContributorsButler, Nicholas Dale (Author) / Waldron, Vincent (Thesis advisor) / Kassing, Jeffrey (Committee member) / Wise, John (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
This thesis explores the relationship between sports and human rights based on United Nations reports and literature within the growing Sport for Development and Peace (SDP) sector. Recognizing the benefits of sport (including physical activity and play), SDP posits sport as an effective tool for achieving humanitarian, development, and peace objectives. Inspired by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's (LLS) Team in Training (TNT) sports charity training model, which provides participants valuable coaching in exchange for charity fundraising, this research looked at the contribution of TNT and endurance sports to SDP for individual and social change. Interviews were conducted with TNT staff and team members (who are recent or current participants of the program) in order to find out specific reasons about why people join the program and to identify the benefits of combining endurance training with charity fundraising and what impacts this had on personal life goals and challenges. Using thematic analysis to identify key themes from the interview data, the study acknowledged the program's successes in developing endurance athletes and raising money for LLS research and services but also found an additional dimension to the merit of the program. The accomplishment of completing four months of training culminating in the completion of an endurance event with the support of team mates and coaches provides a life changing experience for participants. The study concludes that positive impacts of the TNT program can be applied to other organizations, causes and social issues. In particular it showed how endurance sport not only has physiological benefits but can be used as a method of healing and reconciliation, can aid in advocacy and awareness, and promote individual development.
ContributorsAdviento, Laura Marie (Author) / Mean, Lindsey (Thesis advisor) / Elenes, Alejandra (Committee member) / Kassing, Jeffrey (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
Treating the Pro-Life Movement as a monolithic entity creates a blind spot regarding the cognitive effect of the fetal personhood rhetorical framework. This study applies an interpretive lens, using legal and discourse analysis as tools, to provide a critical analysis of personhood laws and web content to shed light on how linguistic patterns construct, and are informed by, worldview. Examining variations in proposed Human Life Amendments—and asking how, or if, proposed bills achieve their specified aim—reveals tension in state and federal jurisdiction of abortion regulations. It also exposes conflicts concerning tactical preferences for attaining fetal personhood and ending abortion that are useful to differentiating the Pro-Life and Personhood Movements.
Framing and discursive practices of the Personhood Movement reflect a ‘black and white’ mentality and an overly-simplified worldview. Movement cognition is shaped by patterns of omission and exclusion, inclusion, repetition, troubling phrases, and the power of labels. The linguistic choices demonstrate, constitute, and reinforce the dominant narratives of the movement and are integral to advocacy, praxis, and legislative efforts. While the struggle to pass personhood-compliant legislation has not been successful, the rhetorical practices and representational framework of the Personhood Movement have succeeded in altering the national discourse surrounding beginnings of life and abortion. The extreme views of the Personhood Movement reconstitute the middle—making tactics of the mainstream Pro-Life Movement seem moderate and reasonable by comparison, which allows dangerous legislation to slide by under the radar.
Framing and discursive practices of the Personhood Movement reflect a ‘black and white’ mentality and an overly-simplified worldview. Movement cognition is shaped by patterns of omission and exclusion, inclusion, repetition, troubling phrases, and the power of labels. The linguistic choices demonstrate, constitute, and reinforce the dominant narratives of the movement and are integral to advocacy, praxis, and legislative efforts. While the struggle to pass personhood-compliant legislation has not been successful, the rhetorical practices and representational framework of the Personhood Movement have succeeded in altering the national discourse surrounding beginnings of life and abortion. The extreme views of the Personhood Movement reconstitute the middle—making tactics of the mainstream Pro-Life Movement seem moderate and reasonable by comparison, which allows dangerous legislation to slide by under the radar.
ContributorsDay, Sarah Lee (Author) / Behl, Natasha (Thesis advisor) / Mean, Lindsey (Committee member) / Nadesan, Majia (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
ABSTRACT
Elite experience and careers in judged female sports complicate the binary categories of retirement while they are especially exposed to cultures of abuse, pressure and subjectivity. This thesis is comprised of multiple voices and experiences from the elite female athletic perspective, including my autoethnographic narrative. Highlighted and discussed are the topics of sexual assault and abuse, family pressure on children to do and excel at sport, the National Team experience representing the United States and subjected bodies and judging. It is an aim of this thesis to culminate all of those factors in the final chapter and hold that the experience and the cultures of athletic identity within synchronized swimming, gymnastics and figure skating not only cannot be explained by current research on athletic identity through retirement but have the capability to retire undeveloped young women by overdeveloped athletic identities. Through a sampling of voices and experiences across different female judged sports, over three decades, the reader will observe similarities that cause these sports to have a culture of solidarity through the aspects they hold in common with each other. The narrative highlights pivotal moments in the lives of the elite female athlete within these sports, which add to the calculation of their athletic identities and the lack of their personal identities. Through reflection and analyses of not only my story, but the interviewees from my original research and that of Joan Ryan’s as well, I aim to voice a mutual experience of elite athletes. Consisting of multiple factors throughout many years we will see through my autoethnography, paralleling with other voices and experiences, how it all intersects and contributes to this: Who am I now and where do I go from here?
Elite experience and careers in judged female sports complicate the binary categories of retirement while they are especially exposed to cultures of abuse, pressure and subjectivity. This thesis is comprised of multiple voices and experiences from the elite female athletic perspective, including my autoethnographic narrative. Highlighted and discussed are the topics of sexual assault and abuse, family pressure on children to do and excel at sport, the National Team experience representing the United States and subjected bodies and judging. It is an aim of this thesis to culminate all of those factors in the final chapter and hold that the experience and the cultures of athletic identity within synchronized swimming, gymnastics and figure skating not only cannot be explained by current research on athletic identity through retirement but have the capability to retire undeveloped young women by overdeveloped athletic identities. Through a sampling of voices and experiences across different female judged sports, over three decades, the reader will observe similarities that cause these sports to have a culture of solidarity through the aspects they hold in common with each other. The narrative highlights pivotal moments in the lives of the elite female athlete within these sports, which add to the calculation of their athletic identities and the lack of their personal identities. Through reflection and analyses of not only my story, but the interviewees from my original research and that of Joan Ryan’s as well, I aim to voice a mutual experience of elite athletes. Consisting of multiple factors throughout many years we will see through my autoethnography, paralleling with other voices and experiences, how it all intersects and contributes to this: Who am I now and where do I go from here?
ContributorsHaylor, Alyson (Author) / Colbern, Allan (Thesis advisor) / Mean, Lindsey (Committee member) / Kassing, Jeffrey (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
Using a critical textual approach and a feminist lens, this paper analyses the television adaptation, Outlander, and its depictions of sexual violence. The nature of adaptation and how the adaptation process can lead to incidental as well as intentional alterations in the storytelling are addressed throughout the paper. The analysis is done in two parts, the first exploring emergent themes such as the use of bodies’ geographic location, scars, and nudity to depict messages about power, the impact of the adaptation’s choice to promote Jamie’s perspective, and the use of cinematic techniques as narrative devices. The second half of the analysis covers how notable characters and events are framed by the show to promote a division between pure evil (embodied by Capt. Randall) and the heroes of the story, Claire and Jamie, whose problematic behaviors are minimized or promoted by the narrative. Many of the scenes in the show can be read multiple ways, sending different or even contradictory messages. However, despite the positive critical response to the show, this paper argues that Outlander still reinforces the notion that female characters are natural victims, and undermines the trauma of their assaults, in contrast to the focus given to the rape of Jamie, the heterosexual male lead.
ContributorsHeath, Mary (Author) / Mean, Lindsey (Thesis advisor) / Nadesan, Majia (Committee member) / Gruber, Diane (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019