Master's Graduates

M.A. Graduates

Master's Program in Communication

Thesis Titles

Adcock, Christine M.: “La Leche League International’s Liberatory Promise Renders

Lactating Bodies ‘Docile’” - May 2002 - Chair, Robert Brookey

Andersen, Tiffany N.: “The Stress Associated with Caregiving: Strategies for Reducing

Uncertainty When a Parent Has Alzheimer’s Disease” – August 2006 – Chair,

Kory Floyd

Baker, Joyce M.: “Privacy Regulation Mechanisms in Japan and the United States” - May 1989

Barnes, Debra P.: “Communication in the Art World: A Cultural Approach” - May 1991

Bean, Sundae R.: “Exploring Tourist-Host Encounters Through Communication, Culture,

and Identity” – August 2006 – Chair, Sarah Tracy

Berke, Jason M.: “Structuring Socialization: ambiguity and Pretense Behavior on the Sales

Floor” - August 1997 - Chair, Sandra Petronio

Book, Patricia L.: “Implications of Effective Listening Responses for Interaction with

Alzheimer Patients” - August 1996 - Chair, William E. Arnold

Booth, Ewan: “Enacting a Dual Rhetorical Strategy: Communicating Transsexual Gay

Male Identity” – August 2007 – Chair, Daniel C. Brouwuer

Bower, Carol Lynn: “Winning Thread: The Political Message and Communication Style in

Arizona’s 1998 Gubernatorial Election” - July 2001 - Chair, A. Cheree Carlson

Broadfoot, Kirsten J.: “Theory of a Faceted Cultural Self: The Role of Communication -

December 1995 - Chair, M. Cristina Gonzalez

Buerkle, C. Wesley: “The Drama of (Hetero-) Masculinity: A Burkean Analysis of the “Sissy”

in Two American Films” - May 2000 - Chair, Thomas K. Nakayama

Butler, Ruth Leon White: “Double-Voice in the Rhetoric of African American Women” - August

1994 - Chair, A. Cheree Carlson

Calafell, Bernadette M.: “More Than a Latin Lover: Ricky Martin and the Politics of

Disidentification” - May 2000 - Chair, Olga I. Davis

Cantrell, Kimberly N.: “The Language of Power: The Tensions of Cultural Identity, Power,

and Language Negotiation Onboard a Multicultural Cruise Ship” - June 2003 - Chair,

Sarah J. Tracy

Carleton, Jill M.: “Resignifying Gender: A Feminist Intervention in Shakespeare’s Troilus

and Cressida” - May 1994

Carver, Mary Heather: “Forgotten Bodies: A Feminist Narrative Criticism of HIV Education

Videos” - August 1994

Cherry, Pamela J.: “Diffusing Innovations: Frontline Managers’ and Supervisors’ Responses

to Organizational and Environmental Sources of Change” - May 1997 - Chair,

William E. Arnold

Chia, Sue-Ann Y.: “Effects of Acculturation Modes and Language Ability on International

Students’ Adjustment” - May 2004 - Chair, Judith Martin

Cole, Mark A.: “Relational Distance and Personality Influence on Conflict Communication

Styles” - May 1989

Colp-Hansbury, Christina: “Remembering the Other: A Rhetorical Examination of Public

Memory and Identity in the Limits” – December 2004 – Chair, Daniel Brouwer

Conrad, Karin E.: “Dialogues with Others: Narratives, Agency and Change” - May 2003 -

Chair, Kristin Valentine

Cordischi, Maria L.: “Youth Anger: When Youth Access Space To Speak” - April 2002 - Chair,

Laura Guerrero

Cornelius, Sharon C.: “The Effect of Social Class Differences on Union Officials’

Conflict Management Styles” - August 1992

Davis, Wade S.: “Starving for Freedom: A Rhetorical Analysis of the 1981 Irish Hunger

Strike” - August 1996 - Thomas K. Nakayama

DeFrancesco, JoRita: “Effects of Information Shared on Group Decision Quality” –

May 2006 – Chair, Robert McPhee

Derk, Ian: “A Public Face of Islam: IKHWANWEB.COM, Social Movements, and Counterpublicity”

– January 2008 – Chair, Kelly M. McDonald

Dicochea, Perlita R.: “Salsera Heterosexualities: Chicana/Latina Agency and the Feminist

Politics of Mestizaje” - May 1999 - Chair, Frederick C. Corey

Donaghy, Ryan: “The Red Crystal: A Case Study in Intractable Conflict” – May 2007 –

Chair, Bud Goodall

Donnerstein, Carolyn H: “Parentally Bereaved Sibling and Coping Strategies as Related to

Health Outcomes” – August 2005 – Chair, Kory Floyd

Driscoll, Gillian: “Teasing in Marriage: A Discourse Analysis of Naturally Occurring

Conversation” - December 1992

Drzewiecka, Jolanta A.: “Ethnic Jokes and Intercultural Interactions” - May 1995 -

Chair, Judith N. Martin

Edmonds, Leonard M.: “Double Duty: The Discourse of a War in Vietnam and a

Battle with Cancer” - May 2002 - Chair, Kristin Valentine

Eleff, Leanne S. Ralya: “A Bird Takes Flight: How One Feminist Mother and Her Children

Co-Create Gender Identity” – August 2005 – Chair, Angela Trethewey

Elizondo, Timothy S.: “Not All Men Are Created Equal: The Ideology of Hegemonic

Masculinity within the World Wrestling Federation” - December 2000 - Chair,

Thomas K. Nakayama

Elsey, Lauren L.: “Unity in Diversity: A Study of the Communicative Functions of Food in

Religious Identity of Hindu Americans in Metropolitan Phoenix” - May 2004 -

Chair, Nemi Jain

Farinelli, Lisa J: “Perceptions of Resource Allocation: An Examination of Inequality and the

Effects on the Adult Sibling Relationship” – December 2004 – Chair, Susan Messman

Feldman, Alice E.: “Cultural Communication in an Institutional Society: The Re-Presentation

of Native American Cultures by Non-Native Museums” - December 1992

Fenske, Mindy E.: “‘Very Stylish Very Youish Very Duckadoolish’: A Postmodern Perspective

of English Usage in Japanese” - May 1995 - Chair, Thomas K. Nakayama

Fields, Patricia A.: “Exploring the Communication Dynamics of Writing and Performing

Personal Narrative Within the Native Images Group” - December 1993

Gaffney, Cynthia M.: “Sleeping among Thorns and Blossoms: The Narrative Weave of

Sexuality, Voice, and Action” - December 1998 - Chair, Angela Trethewey

Gavin, Erin: “Breaking Through the Class Ceiling: Women Helping Women Climb the

Corporate Ladder” – May 2007 – Chair, Angela Trethewey

Genette, John: “Emerging From the “Dark Night of the Soul”: Mindfulness, Performance

and Personal Transformation” – August 2005 – Chair, Frederick Corey

Girard, Eric P.: “A Study of the Relationship Between Individualism-Collectivism and

Verbal Aggressiveness Among Students” - May 1996 - Chair, Nemi C. Jain

Golden, Douglas: “An Exploration of Jewish Identity in Secular Jewish Families” - August 1997

- Chair, Michael L. Hecht

Gomez, Jessica: “The Semiotics of Racial Vision: Negotiating the Value of Diversity

Within University Spaces” – December 2006 – Chair, Jacqueline Martinez

Gorman, Sharon E.: “Communication Effectiveness, Adjustment, and Commitment of Employees

in the Multicultural Organization” - August 1991

Granato, Christina M.: “‘Wonder If Anything Good’s on TV Tonight?’: An Exploration of

Maintenance in Couples’ Television Watching” - August 2000 - Chair, Jess K. Alberts

Gunter, Jeanne: “Multicultural Education and Racial Discourse: A Case Study at High Pointe

High” - May 1998 - Co-Chairs: Judith N. Martin, Lisa A. Flores

Hantla, Sylvia L.: “The Impact of Communication on the Persistence of High-Risk

Versus Traditional Students in Higher Education” - December 1991

Hardekopf, Ellishequea V.: “Under My Skin: Transforming Nappy Roots into the Roots of

Wisdom and Liberation” - May 2004 - Chair, Linda Park-Fuller

Henry, Jessica M.: “The Negotiation of Intercultural Communicative Rules in Courtroom

Setting: A Focus on Mexican- and European-American Interaction” - May 1995 -

Chair, Jess K. Alberts

Herberger, Jeanne L.: “A Focus on the Changing Meaning of Health for Middle Aged Women:

The Language of Menopause” - May 1995 - Chair, Katherine I. Miller

Hicks, Jeffrey A.: “Supermarkets: A Microethnography of a Place to Communicate for Older

Adults” - December 1991

Hilder, Kay R.: “Perceptions of the Role of the American Sign Language/English Interpreter”

- August 1995 - Chair, Katherine I. Miller

Hinrichs, Robert J.: “Alienation and Reconciliation in Environmental Discourse: A Critical Reading

of Al Gore’s Earth in the Balance” - August 1999 - Co-Chairs: Angela Trethewey,

R. Eric Ramsey

Horn, Christopher A.: “Communication and the Elderly: A Selected Review and Recommendations”

- December, 1992 - Chair, Norman K. Perrill

Hoskins, Kami M.: “Violence, Identity, and the Future of Racism: A Discourse Analysis of the

U.S. Mixed Race Identity Movement” – August 2005 – Chair, Jacqueline Martinez

Hubbard, Bryan K.: “Nuclear Criticism After the Cold War: A Rhetorical Analysis of Two

Contemporary Atomic Campaigns” - May 1997 - Chair, Marouf A. Hasian

Huffman, Kristen: “Sex, Power, and Discourse in the Institution: A Critical Examination of

The Sexual Harassment Policy” – May 2007 – Chair, Kelly M. McDonald

Iffert, Audrey: “ABC’s, Birds, & Bees: Talking Sex With Children” – August 2007 – Chair,

Daniel J. Canary

Jones, A.Todd: “No Ordinary Friendship: A Narrative Analysis of the Communication of

Relational Value in Male Best Friendships” - December, 2001 - Chair, Laura Guerrero

Kelly, Eli Natsume: “Relationship-Oriented Perceptions of American Men Toward Asian Women”

- May 1996 - Chair, Nemi C. Jain

Klink, Marianne E.: “Symbolic Convergence and the Selling of Open Adoption: A Case of

Metaphoric Transformation” - May 1994

Koehler, Milissa Hutloff: “Politics of Privacy: The Handling of Privacy Violations Experienced

By Graduate Teaching Assistants” – December 2005 – Chair, Laura Guerrero

Krizek, Robert L.: “The Socialization of Baseball Rookies: A Focus on the Communicative

Activities of Organizational Insiders” - May 1990 - Chair, Charles Bantz

Krizek, Stacey Simpson: “Role Conflict Within the Organization: An Application of Negotiated

Order Theory” - December 1991

Kuwabara, Alison Y.: “An Application of Burkean Analysis to the Poetry of Sankichi Toge:

A Translation into a Production Concept” - May 1992

Larkey, Linda K.: “Equivocality Reduction in an Organization Simulation: A Test of Wick’s Model”

- August 1990 - Chair, Steven R. Corman

Laskowski, Margaret M.: “‘Take My Life, Please’: An Analysis of Stand-Up Women Comedians

and the Comic Frame” - August 1998 - Chair, A. Cheree Carlson

Linde, Jennifer A.: “Violating the Silence: A Feminist Rehearsal Text” - December 1995 -

Chair, Kristin B. Valentine

Lobdell, Christine L.: “Differential Effects of Expectations in the Context of Intercultural

Reentry Adjustment” - May 1991

Loschiavo, Rosa: “When Good Friends Go Bad: Exploring Attachment, Reasons, and Strategies

in Friendship Termination” - April 2002 - Chair, Susan Messman

Maestad, Odd Kjartan: “Kurta and Doughnuts: National Cultures’ Influence on Organizational

Culture” - December 1992

Marshall, Laura Y.: “Growing Concerns: Performing, Protecting and Policing the Pregnant Body

at Work” - August 2000 - Chair, Angela Trethewey

McEwan, Breanna Lynde: “Functions of Gossip: An Exploration of Uncertainty Reduction,

Social Penetration, and Relationship Maintenance” – December 2005 –

Chair, Laura Guerrero

McKibben, Cheryl: “‘We’re All Working Towards Dessert’: Women, Metaphors, and a

Beauty Salon” - August 1996 - Chair, Kristin B. Valentine

McKinnon, Sara L.: “Navigating Deserts: Interpretive Research of ‘Lost Boys of Sudan’ Identity”

- May 2004 - Co-Chairs: Judith Martin, Sarah Tracy

Mease, Jennifer J.: “Doing White Identity, (Un)Doing Whiteness: A Field Study at the

Intersection of White Identity and the Discourse of Whiteness” – May 2006 –

Chairs, Sarah Tracy and Judith Martin

Mikkelson, Alan C.: “The Nonverbal Immediacy of Preachers and Interpretations of Relational

Messages” - May 2003 - Chair, Kory Floyd

Milliron, Mark D.: “Studying Individuals in Organizational Cultures: A Study in Organizational

Identification and Inclusion” - May 1992

Moles, Stephen O.: “Lying As a Form of Facework: A Cross-Cultural Study of Liars’ Motivations”

- August 1992

Monroe, Raquel L.: “Black Girl Dancing, Gonna Draw A Crowd: Phenomenological Analysis of the

Dancing Black Female Body” - July 2001 - Chair, Olga Idriss Davis

Moore, Denyse S.: “Neither Black Nor White But Biracial” - May 1999 - Chair, Judith N. Martin

Moran, Sarah V.: “A Comprehensive Evaluation of a Diversity Training Initiative in a Global

Company” - May 2000 - Chair, Kristin B. Valentine

Nakao, Yuka: “Yoko Ono: A Rhetorical Analysis of the Social Discourses and Autobiography” - May

1999 - Co-Chairs: Kristin B. Valentine, Lisa A. Flores

Nelson, Katherine L.: “A Study of Quality Improvement Process Programs and Organizational

Communication at Three Hotels” - August 1991 - Chair, Norman K. Perrill

Newton, Melissa A.: “Museum of the Self: A Personal Narrative Account of My Great Grandmother

Dora L. Hathaway’s Life As a Farmer’s Wife From Stafford County, Kansas” – August

2005 – Chair, Bud Goodall

Nieuweboer, Sarynina: “Managing Informal Organizational Alliances: Trust and Communication in

Cooperative Arrangements” - July 2001 - Chair, Robert D. McPhee

Pantoja, Christine M.: “an Analysis of Victor Turner’s Social Drama: Going Beyond the Boundaries -

August 1998 - Chair, Kristin B. Valentine

Park, Lynn: “A Practical Exploration of Epideictic” - December 1993

Powers, Cariann: “Perceptions of Verbal and Nonverbal Sexual Harassment” - May 1997 -

Chair, William E. Arnold

Qiu, Ni: “Asian Teaching Assistants’ Verbal and Nonverbal Immediacy Behaviors and Teaching

Evaluation” - August 1997 - William G. Davey

Reeder, Jennifer: “Patchwork Pieces: Quilts as Cultural Artifacts for the Relief Society” -

August 2001 - Chair, Kristin B. Valentine

Reeves, Leslie A.: “Narrated Epiphany: An Ethnographic Study of One Woman’s Transformational

Experiences” - May 1998 - Co-Chairs: Frederick C. Corey, M. Cristina Gonzalez

Roach, Michelle K.: “Casual Considerations: Perceptions of Casual Day at a Law Firm” - May 1999

- Chair, Angela Trethewey

Riforgiate, Sarah: “Dividing Household Labor: Communication Implications of Same-Sex

Roommates” – August 2007 – Chair, Janet K. Alberts

Rigamonti, Aaron E.: “Angel Stories: Using Communication to Create New Businesses” –

August 2006 – Chair, Angela Trethewey

Rodriguez, Brendaly: “The Borderlands Identity: Communication of a Culture of Emergence”

- December 1994

Rohr, Steven B.: “On the Straight and Narrow: An Exploration of Judaeo-Christianity Within a

Queer Theoretical and Queer Theological Frame” - May 1995 - Chair,

Thomas K. Nakayama

Sandhu, Karina: “Identification In Sex Based Organizations: Hooters: A Case Study” –

December 2006 – Chair, A. Cheree Carlson

Schiefelbein, Jill S.: “Conversational Involvement In CMC: Signifiers and Emoticons In Discussion

Boards” – May 2006 – Chair, Laura Guerrero

Schlemmer, Katherine E.: “An Exploration of Intersections Between Mentoring and Women’s

Ways of Knowing” - May 2000 - Chair, Angela Trethewey

Scoles, James H.: “Lived Experience: The Healing Process of a Written and Performed Personal

Narrative” - August 1995 - Chair, Kristin B. Valentine

Scutti, Theodore J.: “Rich, White and Domestically Obsessed: The Iconic Representation of the

Martha Stewart Living Reader’ - May 1998 - Chair, Lisa A. Flores

Severson, Lori K.: “Perceptions of Sexual Harassment and Behavioral Responses to Perpetrators

in the Workplace” - December 1993

Shelly, Patricia A.: “The Tomonokai: Social Construction of Japanese Ethnic Groups in the

United States Through Communicative Processes” - August 1991

Slater, Daryl J.: “An Autoethnographic Confrontation of Whiteness Including an Original

Performative Writing Piece, ‘Now I See Me, Now I Don’t’” - May 2003 -

Chair, Linda Park-Fuller

Smith, Alison M.: “Remembering the Future: Science Fiction, Fantasy, and the Rhetorical Art of

Memory” - December 1999 - Chair, Thomas K. Nakayama

Smyres, Kerrie M.: “Gender Dynamics in Young Adult Fiction” - December 2001 -

Chair, Frederick Corey

Snider, Eric S.: “Strategic Embarrassment and Face Saving Strategies” - August 1992 -

Chair, Sandra Petronio

Stempien, David R.: “The Symbolic Coordination of Cultural Diversity: The Loose

Coupling of Unity” - August 1992

Steyn, Melissa E.: “Whiteness Just Isn’t What It Used To Be: White Identity in a Changing

South Africa” - August 1996 - Chair, Thomas K. Nakayama

Sulistyo, Api A.: “A Study of Intercultural Adaptation of a Muslim Community in Metropolitan

Phoenix Area” - May 1996 - Chair, Nemi C. Jain

Sulistyo, Tamara Hawkinson: “Office of the CEO: An Alternative Organizational Communication

Structure” - May 1998 - Chair, M. Cristina Gonzalez

Susag, Karen V.: “An Expansion of Hofstadter’s Paranoid Style: A Fantasy Theme Analysis of

Evan Mecham’s Supporters’ Rhetoric” - May 1993

Switzer, Frank C.: “Rhetorical Strategies of the Baptist Foundation of Arizona: Extending Affinity-

Seeking to the Religious Arena” - May 2004 - Chair: Clark Olson

Taylor, Donna J.: “The Development of a Computer-Generated promptbook for Performance

Studies” - August 1992

Terrin, Trace N.: “Empathy, Appraisal, and Coping: Relationships Within the Helping Interaction”

- August 1991

Townsley, Jennifer M. (formerly Gluc): “Patients’ Perceptions of Chiropractic Physicians’

Communication and Listening Skills” - August 1991

Tuder, Jennifer L.: “Sadomasochism and Identity: The Horrible Pleasures of the Flesh in

Hellraiser” - December 1998 - Chair, Frederick C. Corey

Van Deman, Felicia B: “An Examination of the Arizona Republic’s Portrayal of Sheriff Joseph

Arpaio” – May 2005 – Chair, Frederick Corey

Vrooman, Steven S.: “Ideographic Web(Site)S: Of Movements and Revolutions in an Internet

Campaign” - May 1997 - Co-Chairs: Thomas K. Nakayama, Marouf A. Hasian

Walker, Thomas E.: “What People Say Back: Verbal Responses to Verbal Expression of Prejudice”

- August 1997 - Chair, Lisa A. Flores

Ware, Kimberly A.: “Understanding the Effect of the Performance on the Performer: Self-Reflection

and Awakening In the Vagina Monologues” – December 2005 – Chair,

S. Amira De la Garza

Wechsler, Julie K.: “Toward a Framework of Competencies for Facilitators of Culturally Diverse

Groups” - May 2003 - Chair, Benjamin J. Broome

Wilson, Marilyn: “Interpretation of Near-Death Experience Reports Through Analysis of Enabling

Metaphors” - August 1996 - Chair, Robert J. Kastenbaum

Yesilonis, Erika J.: “The Political Nature of Storytelling: An Analysis of Women’s Narratives of Their

Career Development” - May 1998 - Chair, Angela Trethewey

Zhao, Weike: “Culture and Empathic Listening” - May 1991

Zhao, Ziying: “Cultural Identity, Organizational Identity and Communication Satisfaction” -

August 1996 - Chair, Michael E. Mayer

Zingsheim, Jason M.: “The One with the Whiteness: A Critical Rhetorical Analysis of Sitcoms”

- May 2004 - Chair, Thomas K. Nakayama

Zukic, Naida: “Disciplining Discourses and Vices of Resistance: A Study of Gothic Subculture as a

Site of Contention” - May 2001 - Co-Chairs: Daniel C. Brouwer,

Thomas K. Nakayama