http://hdl.handle.net/1957/11960 2013-05-25T23:46:32Z 2013-05-25T23:46:32Z Harper, Elizabeth A. http://hdl.handle.net/1957/12826 2009-10-13T21:00:00Z 2006-12-05T00:00:00Z

New activity programs In long term care : theatre and eudaemonics Harper, Elizabeth A. Educators and other individuals within the long term care continuum along with current gerontological researchers call for consideration of quality of life factors related to aging. Optimal aging applies to physical health, as well as cognitive and socio-emotional health. Each is imperative to a quality of life, specifically in long term care settings. Aristotle suggests that eudaemonics or a state of happiness, is revealed at end of life and constitutes a life well lived. Research reveals factors related to optimal wellbeing remain unrealized by many residents in the long term care system. The large number of baby boomers yet to embark on their elder journeys further exacerbates this deficiency. The resources that will be required for the care of our elder baby boomers are of great concern not only to elders, but also to family members, gerontologists, researchers and educators. Thus, exploration of new and innovative programs within long term care may address this increasing population. One such tool is therapeutic dramatics, or theatre utilized as an activity within the activity programs in the long term care continuum. The effective utilization of selected theatre techniques can augment current activity programs while simultaneously providing therapeutic engagement through communication. Consequently, by application of theatre as communicative action, improvements in connectivity between residents, health care professionals and family members may improve. This action can reveal the level of eudaemonic wellbeing that a resident is experiencing and provide a measurement device for subsequent research as well as enhance communication through cognitive and socio-emotional exercises. This can lead to optimal aging and ensures quality of life factors go beyond rudimentary levels. In short, the revitalization of activity programs, and the delivery of academic information to professionals within the long term care environs, will benefit elders. Graduation date: 2007

2006-12-05T00:00:00Z Boes, Cynthia D. http://hdl.handle.net/1957/12364 2009-08-13T17:44:14Z 2003-07-11T00:00:00Z

Other-directed protest : a study of Galen Fisher's anti-internment rhetoric Boes, Cynthia D. This study seeks to show how a member of an empowered group is able to argue on behalf of a disempowered group. Other theorists in the field of other-directed protest have claimed that these protestors have a negative effect on the disempowered group and only serve to raise their own positions. But this thesis seeks to show that this position is not always accurate. The rhetoric of Galen Fisher, a protestor of the Japanese internment during World War II, is an example of a protestor who was largely successful in having a positive effect on the Japanese and not seeking to raise his own status in society. I found that Fisher's history with the Japanese, as well as his method of placing praise and blame on various members of the empowered groups contributed to a successful, if not immediately effective, other-directed protest. Graduation date: 2004

2003-07-11T00:00:00Z Seuser, Christina N. http://hdl.handle.net/1957/12075 2009-07-15T23:17:08Z 2009-06-08T00:00:00Z

Weaving Walt : a rhetorical exploration of narrative techniques within Walt: the man behind the myth Seuser, Christina N. The Disney Company is an inescapable force in American life that is often detached from the stigma of big business and instead viewed as something particularly valuable, the United States’ foremost storyteller. In addition to the stories that the Disney Company produces through its animated and live-action productions, there is another story directly tied to the Disney Company that has the ability to affect audiences, the story of Walt Disney himself. This study focuses on how the documentary Walt: The Man Behind the Myth moves the audience towards adherence to the Walt Disney life-story presented within the documentary. In order to achieve this end, a narrative analysis of the documentary that is influenced by the works of Fisher (1987), Barthes (1966) and Genette (1980) is conducted. In addition to providing insight into how the Disney Company presents an acceptable narrative to the audience, the narrative analysis of the documentary also provides a model for uncovering persuasive techniques through the lens of narrative rationality. The narrative analysis reveals Walt: The Man Behind the Myth utilizes a variety of techniques throughout the narrative that result in the narrative reaching a high level of narrative coherence and fidelity, giving the version of the Walt Disney life-story presented a strong chance at achieving audience adherence. In exploring the techniques used, the study lends insight into the way other fact narratives and life-stories may achieve narrative persuasiveness within an audience. Graduation date: 2010

2009-06-08T00:00:00Z Shields, Matthew J. http://hdl.handle.net/1957/12001 2009-07-09T17:45:30Z 2009-07-09T17:45:30Z

A pentadic analysis of Tropico : dramatism and digital games Shields, Matthew J. How do digital games convey meaning? Academic studies of video games seem concerned with creating discipline-specific new methodologies for examining the medium. From the standpoint of the rhetorical critic, however, new forms of communication can still be examined with traditional techniques. This paper analyzes the 2001 video game Tropico using the dramatistic pentad, a methodology derived from the work of literary and rhetorical scholar Kenneth Burke. Since the world created by certain video games are recreations of a series of events, then the five elements of dramatistic theory – the act, the agent, the agency, the purpose and the scene – are also present. In this paper, the game is broken down along the lines of each of the five pentadic elements, in addition to the ratios between the elements, taking into account the peculiarities to dramatistic analysis that this particular medium generates. It is argued that the dominant pentadic element in Tropico is that of purpose, that all other dramatistic elements are ultimately subordinate to monetary desire, and that this allows the designers of the game to create a world of economic and political cynicism they use to describe the benefits of modern Western-style social welfare. Studies like this will be important not only to to establish a link between traditional scholastic methodologies and the discourse surrounding the study of digital games, but to advance the academic understanding of how video games create persuasive meaning as well. Graduation date: 2010

2009-07-09T17:45:30Z