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PROFESSIONAL AND TECHNICAL COMMUNICATIONS CONTRIBUTIONS TO STUDENT AFFAIRS WRITING COMPETENCIES
Title
PROFESSIONAL AND TECHNICAL COMMUNICATIONS CONTRIBUTIONS TO STUDENT AFFAIRS WRITING COMPETENCIES
Creator
Schaefer, Kelly
Date
2016, 2016-05
Description
Student affairs practitioners in mid-level positions write in the workplace daily, but in many cases they do not formally or intentionally...
Show moreStudent affairs practitioners in mid-level positions write in the workplace daily, but in many cases they do not formally or intentionally train themselves or their staff members to write. I used qualitative methods of semi-structured interviews, observations, and document analysis to investigate how and to what extent mid-level managers are competent writers. And in terms of their organizations, I investigated the value placed on writing and how and to what extent writing training happens. The investigation of writing practices of professionals working in campus centers in the field of student affairs shows that mid-level campus center professionals write extensively in their positions, including writing across many document types (letters, memos, reports, financial documents), and for multiple audiences in and outside of the university setting (students, staff, peers, supervisors, community members, alumni). Mid-level managers value writing ability and the ability of their staff members to be able to write, and could improve writing knowledge and ability through competency training and development by connecting with work in the field of professional communication. Professional associations can and should support professionals using competency language that supports writing and writing training to develop writing skill and ability competencies. Mid-level managers, as both writers and supervisors, could join associations in employing intentional strategies for writing and writing training suggested by professional communication research.
Ph.D. in Technical Communication, May 2016
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Masculinities in Games for Gay Male Audiences
Title
Masculinities in Games for Gay Male Audiences
Creator
DeAnda, Michael Anthony
Date
2019
Description
Games offer a unique site to understand how culture operates and works upon us. With the recent push for more representation of LGBTQ bodies...
Show moreGames offer a unique site to understand how culture operates and works upon us. With the recent push for more representation of LGBTQ bodies and experiences in AAA games, queerness provides a necessary framework to critique the politics of these representations. In this project, I question the extent to which games marketed to gay men challenge or reify problematic values of heteronormativity and hegemonic masculinity. I argue that discussing representation in games necessitates interrogation beyond visual and narrative elements to include mechanics, constraints, rules, and systems. Here, I emphasize understanding how these components of games allow players to play with bodies or limit interactions in games and what these affordances/constraints relay about gender identity and sexuality. In my second chapter, I investigate how a game played on RuPaul’s Drag Race with male underwear models codes male/female binaries into gay sexuality. In Chapter 3, I analyze Drag Bingo through participant observation and oral histories with drag queen hosts and discuss how these hosts develop a liminal space in which players can joyfully play with gender and sexuality. I “close play” Robert Yang’s Cobra Club in Chapter 4, locating the game within the history of surveilling homosexuality. A design discussion of Bulge Lab, an Alternate Reality Game I developed that focuses on body image, masculinity, and viruses, comprises my fifth chapter.
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