CST
499 (Senior Project in Communication Studies) is our
capstone experience course that allows students to plan,
design, and implement original research in the field. The
course was taught this semester by Dr. Ronda Knox and Dr.
Doug Swanson. We like to call CST 499 “goal-directed
problem solving.” After working on their projects for a
full semester, students then make 15-minute presentations
of what they’ve learned. They are prepared to answer
questions about their research, and talk about what future
investigation needs to uncover. Here's the list of our
projects (in order of presentation) from Spring, 2003.
The
(*) indicates a finalist for the "Outstanding Senior
Project" award. The award winner was Cathy Paul.
Congratulations!
Saturday, May 10, 2003
Mandy
Shaver:
Happily ever after: A study of college women and
their perceptions of idealistic marriage messages from the
media
Katie
Kleiber:
Long distance relationships: Is there greater
relational satisfaction and stronger commitment?
Katie
Troeger:
Touch
Avoidance: Do
touch scores reflect true feelings?
Lori
Wiedenfeld:
Understanding health club advertisements and their
impact using the Elaboration Likelihood Model
Tana
Mann:
Relationship between metacommunication among
romantic partners and their level of relationship
satisfaction
Joe
Stadele:
A content analysis of sexual behaviors in music
videos
Emily
Barth:
Perception of age in advertising
Staci
Melby:
How is the ‘Aloha Spirit’ communicated to
non-natives in Hawaii?
Leddy
Drechsler: Couples’
communication: Narratives of engagement stories
Clint
Scullion:
Hockey fans and verbal aggression: Exploring the
relationship between fans and forms of aggression
Gena
Pangburn:
Selection of newspaper front page photographs: The role of
agenda setting and gatekeeping in the selection process
Angie
Soppe:
Beyond the glossy pages: A descriptive analysis of
female fascination with women’s magazines
Kim
Steeno:
The Use
of Hip Hop in MTV advertisements: A Content
analysis
Monday,
May 12, 2003
Bridgett
Littel: When roles reverse: Coping
strategies use when parents do not fulfill their roles
Becki
Sherven:
Differences in musical tastes among men and women in
romantic relationships
Julie
Haley:
Attraction to MTV’s “The Real World”
characters: Parasocial relationships
Traci
Rogers:
Communication styles and their affect on women in
leadership positions
Diane
Radzajewski:
What are they really saying: Consumerist ideology
in image advertising
Margaret
Kuchler:
The impact of culture on Internet use
KT
Schmidt:
Commercials and emotion: What makes people talk?
*Laura
Hookham:
Let’s watch it together: A qualitative study of
college students’ experiences of watching TV with
friends
Rusty
Braby:
Language and reality: How international students
perceive their new world
Emily
Lawrence:
Female adolescent popularity and social cruelty:
Messages of aggression
Lindsey
Golackson:
Two-way communication: Exploring intimacy with God
Dena
Luciani:
How union representatives make sense of their union
experiences
Tuesday,
May 13, 2003
Abaigael
McGraw:
Relational turning points: A qualitative analysis
examining interracial and homogenous romantic
relationships
Dana
Dial: Using
incentives to improve response rates
Nicole
Pezze:
How care providers communicate about working with
developmentally disabled adults
Jennifer
Claeys: The
world of work: Portrayals from the sitcom “Friends”
Jerri Peterson: Analysis of exit interviews at
‘Company X’: Looking for causes of turnover
Leena
Jacob:
Who am I?: A qualitative investigation of
minorities’ perceptions of mass media stereotypes
Kelly
Galstad: Turning points and closeness in sibling
relationships
Misty
Kratt:
Female entrepreneurs and credibility: A qualitative
study of how female entrepreneurs communicate their
credibility
Eric
Kammer:
An analysis of parasocial television viewing
behavior by applying third-person perception
Josh
Golackson: Self-disclosure
in intercultural communication among university students
in the Midwest
Leann
Deal:
Beyond the birds and the bees: Exploring the
effectiveness of the ‘sex talk’
Teresa
Obinger: Birth
order and different communication patterns
Wednesday,
May 14, 2003
Tim
Bevers:
Thematic analysis of American music: How terrorist
attacks have affected American musical themes
Nate
Marshall:
"The Toy": A metaphoric analysis
Jordann
Ojanpa:
Exploring the effects a father’s influence has on
a daughter’s romantic relationships
Sarah
McCalvy:
Is the future of American Airlines "Up in the
Air?": An Analysis of American Airline's Crisis
Management Strategies after 9/11...
Gregg
Wavrunek:
Perception of a quarterback: Does race matter?
Ginny
Brocker:
Big bad bullies: An examination of aggressive
girls
Thursday,
May 15, 2003
*Laura
Olson:
Communication among the hearing-impaired:
Understanding the effects of technology on the deaf
culture
Jaclyn
Sorenson: The
green-eyed monster: Jealousy in romantic relationships
Becky
Foster:
Communicating uncertainty: An analysis of how
deaf and hearing impaired individuals indicate
uncertainties with one another
Katie
Moenssens:
How family members sense make the effects of
alcoholism: An analysis of their stories
*Cathy
Paul:
The Truth Campaign: Fear appeals, self-efficacy and
changing risky behavior Outstanding Senior Project
Award Winner
Jodee
Huiras:
A weighted issue: Media effects on body
dissatisfaction in college women
Leah
Scholl:
Generic analysis of President Bush’s rhetoric to
the UN and the American public concerning the war on Iraq
Becky
Merfeld:
Managing the unavoidable: An examination of
employee perspectives of conflict management style
Cole
Passe:
Major League Baseball as a business: From a fan’s
perspective
Mollie
Stenslien: Buy,
buy, buy - pop, power, and parasocial relationships: How *nsynch’s
online fan clubs promote more than just music
Josh
Perkins:
Music and the Internet:
A content analyis exploring the types of
information contained within fan affiliated Webpages
Mike
Blesi:
The relationship between cinematic violence and
gender
Thursday,
May 15, 2003
Tim
Alberts: Perceptions
of celebrities based on media portrayal
Stuart
Shave:
We
are Americans: George W. Bush’s use of identification in
post-9/11 rhetoric
Emily
Suchla:
“To live simply, proudly, boldly, manly, THIS is
the high life”: A content analysis of televised beer
advertisements and lifestyle messages
Bob
Woelfel:
Racism in sports: How black athletes talk about
their experiences playing in predominantly white societies
Paul
Ness:
How corporations help shape UW-L students’ social
construction of reality
Michelle Thelen: The meaning behind the ink: Personal feelings and experiences related to tattoos
Matt
Bielanski: “So
there I was…”: A look at self-concept and cultural
identity in the war stories of soldiers
Danielle
Hunsader:
Communication of parents to providers of in-home
child care vs. commercial child care center providers
Melissa
Brown:
Media impact on elite gymnasts
George
Shields: