THE RHETORIC OF AMERICAN BEAUTY: A VALUE ANALYSIS

A Thesis
Presented to The Graduate Faculty of The University of Akron
December, 2006

AUTHOR:
Jessica L. Papajcik

ABSTRACT:

Released a few months from the turn of the twentieth century, the Oscar-winning film, American Beauty (1999), depicts one of the central cultures in America today, suburbia. Not only does the film illustrate the largest growing segment of U.S. population, it also illuminates the social controversies and crises of contemporary suburban America.

This thesis explores the values, value system and ideographs embedded in the film American Beauty, in an attempt to discover the definition of the suburban culture they collectively embody. It will be argued that the values, value system and ideographs revealed are used by viewers to familiarize themselves, rationalize their decisions, and define their culture and attitudes towards the external world. Hence, American Beauty not only critiques contemporary suburbia, it also shapes the way in which we, as human beings and as Americans, understand it.

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Family Communication Patterns: Can They Impact Leadership Styles?

Graduate Studies and Research
Masters Theses
Western Kentucky University
Year 2008

AUTHOR:
Suthida Prasitthipab

ABSTRACT:

A plethora of studies has worked on family communication and leadership separately. Little research has combined these two components although they both relate to personality characteristics and communication styles. Therefore, this thesis investigated correlations between leadership styles and family communication patterns during childhood. Two hypotheses were proposed representing the relationship between conformity orientation and task leadership, and between conversation orientation and relation leadership. Faculty, non-academic staff, and students in leadership positions from Western Kentucky University were samples of this study. They completed a questionnaire voluntarily. Family communication pattern scale and Leadership Behavior Descriptive Questionnaire were used in the survey. Pearson Product-Moment correlation (one-tail) was used to examine the two hypotheses. The first hypothesis was significantly supported. The results indicated a positive relationship between conversation orientation and relation leadership. Moreover, data showed that most respondents came from conversation-oriented families and used relation leadership styles.

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Gender differences in communication styles: The impact on the managerial work of a woman school principal

Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists (ANZCA) Conference, Power and Place. Wellington, July 2008

AUTHOR:
Tshilidzi Netshitangani

ABSTRACT:

Communication is an important managerial function of school principals. Research indicates that women’s communication styles differ from those of men. This article supports and provides evidence for the claim that women and men use language differently. We live in a society in which there is substantial inequality and some of these inequalities are partly grounded in gender social relations and the construction of different gendered identities based on male-female dualism. A number of competing explanations for this situation and considerable controversy exist among different positions. Literature suggests that women display linguistic politeness and converse cooperatively, while men tend to organise their conversations competitively. The differences in the communication styles of women and men may cause misunderstandings in conversations. Due to other factors involved in communication, such as culture, class and age, as well as lack of knowledge about effective ways of communicating, miscommunication can occur not only in mixed gender talk but also in same-sex conversations. Consequently, managers should acquaint themselves with gender differences in communication to avoid miscommunication. Moreover, women educational managers in rural contexts in South Africa experience cultural barriers to communication as African women are not expected to talk much and should feign to know little in the presence of men. Using qualitative research methods, a single case study was conducted in Limpopo Province, South Africa, to explore the communication strategies of a woman principal. Findings indicate that the woman principal was a good communicator who overcame cultural barriers, often by practising what is not traditionally acceptable. Moreover, the woman principal’s communication was shaped by the context in which she functioned as a woman, a mother, a wife, an African, an educational manager and as an individual with her own unique personality. 

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