Mass shootings are becoming a common occurrence in the media. Often times, in an effort to cover mass shootings, reporters are putting out information as soon as possible. The coverage often encompasses victims, suspects, death tolls and gruesome details. That practice leaves room for victims to become statistics and leaves many questions unanswered, which may result in insensitivity. The media has a duty to report the facts to the public, but what precautions should be taken when reporting on an issue that requires the lense of ethics? In an effort to better understand the perspective of journalists, a focus group consisting of media personnel was conducted. The focus groups allowed for open conversations between media personnel about the professional requirements of reporters during field reporting and the privacy expectations of victims. The focus group consisted of four media personnel who had been in the industry for several years and came from different backgrounds. The focus group was given five guided questions and the discussion was recorded. This study hopes to open up a discussion about the ethical coverage of mass shootings. These results could yield future guidelines that pertain to the ethical coverage of mass shootings.

Young people spend two-and-a-half as much time watching Internet videos as they do traditional television. Business concerns aside, questions remain about other effects of this change in media consumption. One such concern is of celebrities and their influence. Research demonstrates that celebrities are influential, in part because people consider them credible sources, even with regard to political information. Research also shows that a credible source is more effective at changing one’s attitude and behavioral intention than a low-credibility source. These research findings might alter what was previously perceived as the influence of traditional celebrities – movie stars, pop groups, and the entertainment industry as a whole. With the growth of particular participatory platforms and social media sites, a new type of celebrity exists: microcelebrity. Defined as an act of bolstering digital self-representation through media and technology, the term microcelebrity has since evolved to include individuals who construct self-representation and garner popularity online. Although there is a great deal of research demonstrating that microcelebrities are also influential, especially regarding consumer good purchases on social media, the question of microcelebrity influence on politics remains. In a two by two experiment, this study starts with a literature review on credibility, traditional celebrity, their political influence on audiences, followed by an introduction to microcelebrities and their influence, with a method section that leads to a few hypotheses. First, according to past literature, it is hypothesized that traditional celebrities are evaluated as more credible than microcelebrities. Second, male celebrities (both traditional and microcelebrities) are expected to be evaluated as more credible than female celebrities. Third, traditional male celebrities will be more credible than any other kind of celebrity. Given credibility is deemed by scholars as a crucial component of persuasion, assessing microcelebrities’ credibility provides a better understanding of their societal and political mpact.

Conservation is a pressing and widely discussed topic. There are many people and organizations involved in the issue, meaning there are many different perspectives and opinions. In his paper “Conservation in the Anthropocene,” Peter Kareiva presents controversial ideas about modern day conservation. Based on my rhetorical analysis of his paper, I argue that he takes advantage of the controversy by presenting his ideas in a purposefully more provocative way than he needs to. In this paper we see him attacking conservation icons and ideals as well as putting forward arguments against currently held ideas in the conservation movement and directly attacking traditional environmentalists. This enrages much of his audience, and through that controversy he brings more attention to his paper and his ideas. This paper analyzes how he uses rhetoric to emphasize the controversial aspect of the ideas he presents in this paper to attract more attention to his argument and to open up a discussion about the issues he presents.

Theodosius Dobzhansky was a prominent 20th century scientist, who proved to be an eloquent rhetor, catalyzing the interdisciplinary synthesis of modern theories of evolution by bridging the great divide between Mendelian and Darwinian schools of thought. In March 1973, The American Biology Teacher published his essay “Nothing in Biology Makes Sense Except in the Light of Evolution.” This sentence has become the memorable line from the essay, often used anecdotally against religion and in support of evolutionary theories by the scientific community. However, this use directly contradicts Dobzhansky’s goal of persuading readers that science and religion aren’t mutually exclusive, through arguing for evolution as proof of God’s greatness, attempting to unite these two disciplines. Theories of evolution have long been tied to and in confrontation with religion. This contention prevails today; in 2017 alone multiple bills were introduced into the U.S. House lobbying for equal time spent teaching both evolution and creationism in public schools. I argue that Dobzhansky’s rhetorical eloquence allows him to appeal to two audiences. Through the use of prolepsis, anecdotes, and devoutness to God he is able to address his religious audience while simultaneously giving educators persuasive tools for teaching evolution in a religious context. Going forward, we can pull from Dobzhansky’s rhetorical strategies to facilitate productive conversations between polarized schools of thought, such as seen today in the American political climate.

Cosmos was a widely popular TV show that presented science to general audiences in the United States. It first aired in 1980 as Cosmos: A Personal Voyage, with famed astrophysicist Carl Sagan spearheading the making of the show, hosting it and becoming one of the most popular scientific spokesmen in the late 20th century. The show was redone in 2014 as Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey, hosted by Neil deGrasse Tyson. The revival season featured mostly the same subject matter as the original and had some of the same writers and producers, so the differences in presentation are mostly due to new scientific discoveries and new public perspectives towards science. While many rhetoricians of science have analyzed the shows, no comparison has been performed to see how rhetoric in public science presentations has changed over time. In this presentation, I will analyze corresponding episodes of Cosmos, one from each season, to determine how the presentation of scientific topics has changed for the better and to rediscover past rhetorical strategies which could be employed once again in contemporary scientific discourse. A tone of wonder and awe permeates the 1980 Cosmos while one of excitement is present in its 2014 counterpart; it is this change in particular that may have detrimental effects if the two tones are not merged in public rhetoric going forward.

Oral history projects documenting Japanese incarceration typically prioritize the stories of those that directly experienced the traumas of incarceration. Although trauma can be experienced by one generation, it can manifest and be passed down to subsequent generations through storytelling; trauma can also be experienced through silence, or the refusal to share stories surrounding a traumatic event, affecting individual and cultural identity. Very little scholarship has documented or closely examined the oral histories of those who did not experience Japanese incarceration themselves but have family members who did. The goal of this project is to examine the intergenerational communication of trauma and the cross-generational effects of Japanese incarceration on the Sansei generation (grandchildren of Japanese immigrants). Densho is an organization that documents and makes accessible through their online database the oral histories of Japanese incarceration experiences using digital video recordings and full written transcriptions of interviews conducted by them. I used digital video footage and interview transcriptions to qualitatively analyze for emerging themes or trends among the Sansei interviews surrounding how incarceration was communicated to them and its effects on them. I expect a common theme of emotional restraint and lack of communication of trauma among family members due to the impact of incarceration on identity and cultural practices. I also expect a trend among the Sansei interviews for seeking alternative means outside of family storytelling to learn about Japanese incarceration. Another result I expect is having their sense of cultural identity radicalized to seek justice for incarceration in varying ways. Placing significance on the generation of Japanese Americans who did not directly experience incarceration can further broaden the discourse of meaningful oral histories.

On October 5, 2017, the New York Times revealed sexual harassment allegations against American film producer, Harvey Weinstein. The allegations opened up a floodgate on social media. Actress Alyssa Milano tweeted, “If all the women who have been sexually harassed or assaulted wrote ‘Me too’ as a status, we might give people a sense of the magnitude of the problem.” When networked publics joined in, creating a hashtag, adding their voices, they demonstrated the staggering number of people who have experienced or had something to say about sexual harassment or assault (according to their own definitions). This study examines the cultural and institutional changes created from the hashtag movement. Tweet and retweets with the hashtag #Metoo were collected and analyzed using RiteKit, the social media toolkit. A qualitative analysis was done through tracking the terms “sexual assault,” “sexual misconduct,” “sexual harassment,” or “me too” during the past four months using TheSkimm, an American media company that provides a subscription-only newsletter. The two-part study looked at the use of #MeToo, which created a cultural change as people began to publicly acknowledge sexual harassment and assault as issues and sought to understand how #MeToo lead to substantial and concrete changes, implementations, progress, and/or actions.

With the growth of the internet, social networking sites have become an important part of relationships. A preliminary literature review has found post-dissolution distress is positively associated with online surveillance. Limited research has been done in understanding if breakup distress can predict post-dissolution online surveillance on other platforms. Therefore, systematically investigating the relationship between post-dissolution online surveillance and distress among young individuals will fix this gap in knowledge. As there has been a contradiction of gender as a predictor of breakup initiation, this study will also look at gender difference and breakup initiation as predictors of post-dissolution distress. There are three hypotheses in this study. H1: There is a positive relationship between post-dissolution online surveillance and post-dissolution distress. H2: There will be a statistically significant difference in distress between male and female. Female will experience more post-dissolution distress. H3: There will be a statistically significant difference in post-dissolution distress between those who attribute the breakup to their partner and those who initiate the breakup. Those who attribute breakup to their partners will experience more post-dissolution distress. This study will go under IRB review shortly and data collection and analysis will be conducted in April. The long-term goal of the research is to provide positive insights to human use of social networking sites and emotional health. Results of this project will ultimately help young individuals further their personal well-being.

This research explores the underrepresentation of students of color in the STEM fields, focusing on the University of Washington as a case study and examining retention, representation and inclusion. In recent years, there has been a push to graduate and increase the number of students joining the STEM work fields in the U.S. The completion rates of STEM students, especially students of color, has increased concern. A study found that only 37% of students studying a STEM major completed their degree. That percentage is much smaller when students of color are taken into account. When education prior to college comes into play, studies have noticed that many of these students may not have the chance to consider STEM because of the lack of resources and opportunities in their middle schools, high schools and even as early as elementary school. This is a problem because pre-college achievement and participation in STEM go hand in hand. I have examined change over a 10 year period at the UW and compared my findings to the change on a national level. To understand the trend of underrepresentation of students of color at our school, I have collected quantitative and qualitative data in various forms including data from the UW president and offices. It's believed that students of color simply are not interested in STEM or college but this is not the case. My research explores the access of STEM for students of color, representation and exposure and specifically takes a look at retention, representation and inclusion within the UW system.

Hip hop is both a globalized movement and culture that gives marginalized community members an outlet to express themselves creatively. The hip hop community posits itself as one that welcomes individuals based on one’s credibility through the four pillars: rapping, DJing, breakdancing, and graffiti art. However, despite the “openness” the industry pushes forth, an individual’s race and gender, especially not being a Black, heterosexual male, complicates one’s access to opportunities. Asian Americans, in particular, must simultaneously subvert and reclaim their identities from controlling ideologies through their navigation of hip hop. In this study, I conducted a semi-structured focus group with Asian American hip hop artists from the greater Seattle area (all ranging in age). I conducted individual follow-up interviews with participants, utilizing a narrative inquiry methodology. The combination of the focus group and individual interviews enables me to outline the richness of participants’ hip hop experiences. My preliminary findings indicate that Asian Americans must not only face impositions by mainstream media outlets but also within the liminal spaces of hip hop. Renegotiations and reaffirmations of identity prove critical for Asian Americans because they correspond to a liberation from racialized and gendered scripts. Moving forward, one implication of this study is the limited scope of Asian ethnic representation within all four of the pillars of hip hop, and the need for Asian Americans to redefine themselves within hip hop.

“Jamming” is characterized by fluid behavioral coordination of musicians unhindered by expectations. The jammers come together without a plan on what they are producing in hopes of finding unification through their music leading to a sense of self-satisfaction. More specifically, a musical jam session, originally coined by the jazz community, is an impromptu gathering of musicians with the purpose of improvising together. Jamming has had an effect on the players, but no qualitative research has been done pertaining to the audience. It is important to look at the relationship between the jammers and the audience because whether one is jamming or a member of the audience, that person is still considered a listener of the music and can, therefore, interpret the musical “conversation” from different perspectives. Listening to people jam increases the listener’s sense of wholeness and it is likely that the players feed off the audience and vice versa. Thus everyone in attendance is involved.

Previous research has shown that transfer students do not receive adequate support and materials to ease their transition into a university. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the information that the University of Washington disseminates to transfer students, and to determine if it is helping students make a successful transition. The findings of this study will provide suggestions for how universities can improve their dissemination of resources and information about the transfer process. Research questions include how transfer students get information and support specifically tailored to their needs, what is communicated about the transfer experience through various four-year programs, and how student engagement programs respond to and implement the needs of transfer students. To examine these questions, 2-3 focus groups consisting of 4-5 transfer students will be conducted. Students will be asked to share their experiences about the transfer experience. The results of this research provide insights into how universities can support transfer students by facilitating leadership positions, improving the clarity of transfer course policies, and promoting campus resources that meet the unique needs of transfer students. One of the goals of this research is to give visibility to transfer students and to better integrate them within the larger campus community. Findings from this study can inform transfer support programs at other universities.

While the population in America is becoming more and more diverse, the faculty that train our future workforce are not. At predominately white institutions (PWIs) across the United States, racial disparities amongst faculty are problematic. As of 2015, African Americans made up approximately 12.7% of the United States population. At that same time, male and female African American full-time faculty at degree granting college institutions made up only 3% of the workforce. With inadequate representation of African American male faculty, there are voids in the bonding experience between a student and professor. This study critically examines the limited representation of African American men in higher education, and the effects such representation might have on students and faculty, particularly regarding mentoring opportunities. The implications of racial disparities in higher education have been explored through in-person, semi-structured interviews with African American faculty members, graduate students, and undergraduate students. The results of this project have shown that the lack of representation amongst African American male faculty is negatively impacting the college experience for not only students but also staff at PWIs. This research has gained a better understanding of the importance of mentoring and the effects of limited representation and has added to the overall conversation regarding African Americans males in higher education.

Black women are known to wear their hair in different ways from braids and locs to weaves and wigs. Black hair is a way of expression and a lot of thought goes into the process and maintenance of black hair. Early African civilizations used hair as a signifier for their wealth, rank, religion, and marital status and the Afro hair was seen as a political symbol for black power and self-love. Hair is so important to black women that a 2016 Perception Institute research found that black women reported spending more on their hair and booking more professional hair appointments than white women. And while our hair means so much to us, it remains a mystery to many non-black people and so we become the objects of inquiry: we are constantly fielding questions about our hair. I examined the ways in which questions like: “can I touch your hair?”; “how often do you wash your hair?”; and “is your hair real?”, affected black women’s self-esteem and confidence. The study first established what was an intrusive question and the historical and political implications of black hair. Through a focus group with 10-15 black women ages 18-24 along with follow-up interviews with some of them, the study highlighted some of the experiences young black women have faced about their hair and the impact of the intrusive questions on how they viewed themselves. I expected the focus group to reveal that those intrusive questions left black women feeling uncomfortable, inauthentic or fake, and stopped them from frequently changing their hairstyles.

In Hollywood, an industry that is proclaiming “Time’s Up!” there is a burgeoning movement to change both the ways women are treated in film, and the ways their safety is prioritized.  The initiative focuses on sexual harassment in the workplace, specifically, the entertainment industry.  There has been a recent initiative by women in the industry in response to what’s known as the “Weinstein effect,” a recent trend of men in Hollywood being revealed to be sexual harassers and rapists.  They call their initiative “Time’s Up.”  The movement combats rape culture, a concept that names the act of sexual harassment being normalized.  In my literature review I ask: how and why does rape culture permeate the American film industry? First, the research delves into the history of film production, and how various time periods saw paradigm shifts of women's involvement in the process of filmmaking.  The research also examines how women were portrayed during these shifts, and connections between the two.  To understand influences film had during these times, I examined human rights movements that parallel changes in film.  The literature review also explores the economic aspects of filmmaking.  Specifically, how it influences what films are produced, how they’re advertised.  Additionally, legal matters, such as contracts that mandate silence, are also looked into as reasons for lack of response to perpetuators of harassment and assault. The last part of the literature review examines the latest paradigm shift.  The research evaluates the outing of powerful men in the film industry as perpetuators of sexual violence, and the proceeding action that has been taken since.  Women’s involvement in production, as well film themes in the past ten years is analyzed for comparative studies. To conclude, the movements such as Time’s Up is studied to explore further action that is being taken.

My research poses the following question: how does colorism affect the Mexican immigrant community in Yakima, Washington? Colorism is the allocation of privilege or disadvantage based on one’s skin color. In Yakima, Mexican immigrants suffer marginalization not only based upon their class and citizenship, but also their skin color. However, this latter form of discrimination rarely appears in the scholarly literature or in public discussions of immigrant rights. Moreover, Mexican immigrants often understand this racist form of discrimination as normal or are afraid to report such incidents. This is problematic because, while Mexican immigrants experience discrimination at work, school, or society based on their skin color, physical appearance, and language, such actions often go unreported or undiscussed. Therefore, for my primary research , I conducted two focus groups by partnering with a non-profit organization called La Casa Hogar that provides educational services to the Latino population in Yakima, Washington. I had a total of 13 participants in my focus groups where I posed a series of open questions to learn how Mexican immigrants identify and define racism and discrimination. Through transcriptions and coding, I will analyze my data to create a final report that discusses my findings and future research recommendations. Furthermore, my final report will include a literature review that further examines the history of colorism in the United States and Mexico, race relations between Mexico and the United States, the racialization of Mexican immigrants, and how internalized oppression and discrimination are some consequences of colorism.

As late-night talk shows become largely integrated with standard news sources, their influence on the political arena, whether that be by shaping public opinions of candidates through comedy or inviting candidates on their show, asserts the question of whether they should continue to be treated as entertainment outlets or informational broadcast. This research project examines the relationship between viewers and late-night talk shows in contrast to traditional news outlets and how that translates to the political sphere. Late-night entertainment media has moved away from the secular approach of jokingly criticizing politics from the standpoint of personal scandal and moved into criticism of poignant issues. As a result, I believe we will begin to see proportional accountability between traditional news outlets and late-night entertainment media. By examining jokes through statistical evidence, I evaluate target audiences, bias, and to what level of true political salience this satire is afforded by viewers. An analysis of information spread in correlation to accessibility to late night pundits versus standard news segments, additionally how comedic irony sets the tone of discussion on these topics, allowed me to unveil power dynamics critically by employing the theoretical communication approach of agenda-setting. Research in this field indicates that comprehension of political figures, contemporary legislation or substantive issues, is indeed affected by late night humor which is uniformly categorized as liberal-leaning, though research concurrently suggests that viewers place a steadier credence on late-night talk shows then a traditional news broadcast. Further research will inspect the level of impact on political knowledge and favor and how that leads to an extended understanding of entertainment media consumption as it relates to politics.