Spring, 2004 Senior Projects 

Department of Communication Studies
Senior Projects, Spring 2004

Senior Project presentations will be made during Finals Week. A schedule will be posted on the CST web site when available.

  • Tom Abel: A survey analysis of the ideal spring break and actual spring break behaviors
     

  • Carrie Amann: You’re not the boss of me: Tensions a manager feels after being promoted internally
     

  • Jody Arena—Sibling communication: The occurrence of verbal aggression in same sex and cross sex sibling relationships
     

  • Darlene Benedetti: Gender, does it affect sportscasting?: A qualitative analysis of female sportscasters
     

  • Liz Blegen: What’s with these strangers?: A qualitative study of college students’ motivations for watching MTV’s “The Real World”
     

  • Erin Bong: Who do we want: Recruitment messages used by organizations that are “Great Places to Work”
     

  • Sara Brunner—In the closet with reality television
     

  • Rachel Burnham—Humor communication: A quantitative study of the effects of gender differences on humor appreciation
     

  • Korrie Carlson: Gender portrayals in film: A feminist criticism of career-oriented women in film
     

  • Adriana Christians: How different types of humor are used by gays:  A content analysis of “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy”
     

  • Wendy Christopherson—A look at children and how the touch they receive from their parents and daycare providers differs and is affected by gender: A quantitative study
     

  • Kristin Cupertino—Speed dating: An observation of initial interaction and attraction in the context of speed dating
     

  • Jill Degenhardt: Ambiguous advertisements: What are they really saying? A qualitative study of messages received through T. V. advertisements of alcoholic beverages
     

  • Natalie DeGezelle: Hot sex, fortune, and fame; Professional athletes sexually out of control: The sensemaking tactics of professional athletes for exploitative sexual behavior
     

  • Alaina DeMeyer—The effect of an undergraduate internship on anticipatory socialization
     

  • Jim Draeger—The meaning of red, white, and blue: A semiotic analysis of an American myth
     

  • Matt Ellenz: Organizational change and the framing of the new leadership of the 2004 Chicago Bears’ franchise
     

  • Lisa Evenson: A thematic analysis of the www.jennycraig.com's use of testimonials in a public relations attempt to build rapport with website viewers
     

  • Todd Fabos: A content analysis of the Green Bay Packer’s Public Relations team’s framing of the “Rebirth of a legend” of Lambaugh field
     

  • Betsy Francoer—Brand image and Walt Disney: A qualitative analysis of “Magical Gatherings”
     

  • Nicole Frymark—Portrayals in magazines: The effects on women
     

  • Janell Gadzalinski: A content analysis of a popular press book relating to romantic jealousy
     

  • Lindsey Heimerl—Endomorphic, mesomorphic, and ectomorphic: A quantitative content analysis of how females are portrayed in the media
     

  • Jared Heintz:  Media and Public Relations in sports:  A qualitative study of the relationship between sports editors and sports information directors
     

  • Heather Hemmingsen: How adult children of alcoholics sensemake how the disease has affected them
     

  • Angie Kingsley:  A content analysis of the messages Big 10 schools are sending in order to recruit minority students
     

  • Alissa Kuster—Communicative behaviors and the Mental Adjustment to Cancer scale: A qualitative study
     

  • Nathan Larson— How do members of local church create, coordinate, and manage meaning in their relationships? An ethnographic study of friendship
     

  • Crissy Lobermier—What radio audiences desire from radio personalities
     

  • Tia Lukowitz—Relational dialectics in men’s friendships: An ethnographic study
     

  • Kristy Mayfield:  Are all women romantics?: The uses and gratifications of watching TLC’s “A Wedding Story”
     

  • Lindsay Murty—Conflict styles in relationships: A comparative analysis of adult children from divorced and nuclear families
     

  • James Neu—Relationships between fathers and sons in a juvenile diabetic family: A relational dialectics study
     

  • Sara Norton—Anorexia nervosa: Sense-making the contributing factors
     

  • Aaron Pabst:  Organizational symbolism in residence life at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse: A content analysis and auto ethnography of what it means to excel in residence life
     

  • Melissa Potter—The relationship between television news viewing and college students’ knowledge of current events
     

  • Lisa Repinski: A content analysis of the portrayal of relationship dissolution in “Sex in the City”
     

  • Matthew Rizzo: How student athletes’ sensemake the stereotypes placed upon them
     

  • Leah Spaulding: How esteem influences willingness to communicate: A quantitative study
     

  • Emily Stobbe—Cohabitation before marriage and relationship satisfaction: A quantitative study
     

  • Veronica Szpot:  Communication style compatibility based on satisfaction between roommates in the dorms
     

  • Elizabeth Tomcek—A quantitative analysis of humor and embarrassibility
     

  • Alejandra Torres—Music and Attraction: A qualitative study of how music plays a role in a couples’ communication of their attraction
     

  • Reuben Torres: Do clothes make the man/woman after all?: A qualitative study on the nonverbal code of dress/appearance
     

  • Courtney Turnoth—What are the differences in the perception of success between long-distance and geographically close relationships: A qualitative study
     

  • Becky Verhey— Private talk in public spheres:  A qualitative study of rules applied to cell phone usage
     

  • Kelly Wagner—A quantitative study on the effects of gender on platonic roommate situations
     

  • Sara Weisenbeck—More than just coworkers: The significance of workplace friendships
     

  • Monica Wilkerson—Impression management through clothing: A qualitative study of working women’s clothing choices
     

  • Wenona Wolf: Cross-sex friendships and sensemaking: How communication changes after unexpected sexual feelings or occurrences arise in interpersonal relationships
     

  • Linda Wong—Intimate relationship with Final Fantasy X: Wishful identification and parasocial interaction with favorite characters
     

  • Lore Vang:  The uses and gratifications of examining Marvel Comics’ X-Men