The study aims to explore the use of L1 Bahasa Indonesia in the L2 English writing process specifically within the demographic of Indonesian students currently studying in U.S universities. In the second language writing field research related to L1 in L2, even though there have been studies with many Asian demographics like Chinese, Korean, and Japan. However, there seems to be little studies have been conducted with Indonesian demographics. Moreover, research within this particular topic is mostly conducted quantitatively by looking at how much L1 is used during the L2 composing process by incorporating Think-Aloud protocols. In addition to that, it can be seen that Think Aloud Protocols have also predominantly been used to investigate the issue of L1 in L2. Even though Think-Aloud as a method has been proven to be useful, it can also be argued that such a method is too intrusive for the participants. Therefore, this current study is conducted with qualitative descriptive without Think-Aloud Protocols looking at ten participants from ten different universities in the U.S. studying non-English majors. The data were gathered from questionnaires, writing tasks that occur simultaneously with writing observation, as well as stimulated recall interviews to enable triangulation. The findings from the data analysis suggest there are similar patterns that can be found on participants with some unique difference. For example, the instruction to think aloud is not given by the researcher yet some participants practiced thinking aloud naturally during their writing process. Furthermore, L1 use are found to be a complex as accessing linguistics repertoire, recalling memory or start the first sentence/paragraph. While some L1 use effects include sense making, looking for ideas and time efficiency. Therefore, each participant's interaction with their L1 and the effects of L1 use in L2 are discussed.

Rather than being the lawless barbarian society that history and popular culture have painted it, medieval Scandinavian culture was more complex and nuanced. This dissertation interrogates the use of a rhetoric of reasonableness (hóf) in the medieval Nordic society to give voice to this silenced tradition. Specifically, this research focuses on the use of rhetoric in civic and legal settings to show that medieval Scandinavians were more interested in reasonable solutions than unreasonable ones.

Civic rhetoric among the medieval Nordic people relied heavily on hóf to keep civic practice manageable. Working in small towns and villages without central bureaucracies, reasonableness became important to the functioning of the village. Large scale disruptions could mean the death of all inhabitants in the area due to social disruption if violence occurred, so finding reasonable means of dealing with social problems was of paramount importance to the Norse. Using readings and analysis from the Icelandic sagas, I show the mechanisms of their rhetoric were used to manage civic life.

Legal rhetoric was also based on reasonableness. If civic actions became violent or potentially violent, then the courts needed a way to redress and maintain the peace in the area. The practice of law was heavily influenced by the rhetorical stance of hóf. The Scandinavian tradition of court cases appears in their early laws and in several sagas which allows a picture to be created of their rhetorical stance of reasonableness in the law cases. Analysis of historical data and saga manuscripts give evidence of a rhetorical tradition of reasonable redress in the legal system.

This thesis is exploring the potential disconnect between the operational and cultural parts in the making of sustainability at Arizona State University (ASU) to find the disconnect in operational goals, student engagement, and thus student behavior in building sustainability at the university. To do so, I compare and contrast how ASU, Northern Arizona University (NAU), and the University of Arizona (UA) define, create, and demonstrate sustainability in their university’s culture and campus engagement programs. I first define what “culture” is in this study to provide context on how the word is being applied. Next, I assess how culture is reflected in the mission, vision, and/or goals of each university to set the tone for how the university intends to shape the culture of student experience through its services, as well as provide context where sustainability concepts may fit within. Then I assess what sustainability is demonstrated and defined as at each university. To thread each of these components together, I compare and contrast campus sustainability engagement programs at ASU, NAU, and UA based on the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System (STARS) reports produced by The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education’s (AASHE), as engagement programs are a reflection of the university’s vision, goals, and values brought from theory to practice. My findings are demonstrated in the form of a policy analysis, followed by recommendations on closing the gap where engagement programs and opportunities are potentially missing. These recommendations are intended to advance a stronger culture of sustainability on campus at ASU.

This dissertation explores findings from a year-long investigation of the context-driven practices, strategies and beliefs of five multilingual Cultural Health Navigators (CHNs) working in a local pediatrics clinic serving large numbers of refugee families from a variety of cultural backgrounds who are experiencing a range of healthcare challenges. Grounded in a methodology of engagement (Grabill, 2010), this inquiry systematically documents and analyzes the range of ways in which the CHNs assist refugee families and their healthcare providers, their rationale for the decisions made and actions taken, and their concerns about the challenges they encounter. I show that while much of what the CHNs do to assist refugee families and their healthcare providers is routine and can be expected, CHNs also tend to manage complex work involved in mediating refugee families’ interactions with healthcare providers and the healthcare system in ways that cannot always be anticipated in advance. Through a close analysis of their practices and reflections, I show how their various interactions, actions and decisions are responsive to specifics of the situation at hand, informed by their lived experiences as CHNs and immigrants/refugees, and influenced by a dynamic, emergent and embodied notion of context. The findings of this study demonstrate how the CHNs’ collective and distributed knowledge production work shapes experiences with acquiring health literacy, and the material consequences of such efforts and practices.

Drawing on ethnographic research methods and critical-incident methodologies that involved the CHNs in the inquiry process, this study provides a nuanced analysis of the different kinds of work they do, the constraints they encounter, and how they creatively respond to such constraints in real time. The findings demonstrate that a collaborative engagement with critical incidents as a method of intercultural inquiry facilitates a more robust and dynamic understanding of the distributed nature of decision-making practices and ways of knowing. Embodying sensitivity to situated ways of knowing and dynamic practices in institutional settings, this study demonstrates the value of combining social science methodologies with rhetorical inquiry methods to conduct interdisciplinary and cross-institutional research to address pressing social problems in ways that benefit historically marginalized groups.

How do trees (live and representational) participate in our theatrical and performed encounters with them? If trees are not inherently scenic, as their treatment in language and on stage might reinforce, how can they be retheorized as agents and participants in dramatic encounters? Using Diana Taylor’s theory of scenario to understand embodied encounters, I propose an alternative approach to understanding environmental beings (like trees) called “synercentrism,” which takes as its central tenet the active, if not 100 percent “willed,” participation of both human and non-human beings. I begin by mapping a continuum from objecthood to agenthood to trace the different ways that plants and trees are used, represented, and included in our encounters. The continuum provides a framework that more comprehensively unpacks human-plant relationships.

My dissertation addresses the rich variety of representations and embodiments by focusing on three central chapter topics: the history of tree representation and inclusion in dramatic literature and performance; interactions with living trees in gardens, parks, and other dramatic arenas; and individual plays and plants that have a particularly strong grasp on cultural imaginaries. Each chapter is followed by one or more corresponding case studies (the first chapter is followed by case studies on plants in musical theatre; the second on performing plants and collaborative performance events; and the last on the dance drama Memory Rings and the Methuselah tree). I conclude with a discussion of how the framework of synercentrism can aid in the disruption of terministic screens and facilitate reciprocal relationships with trees and other environmental agents.

The broke, hungry college student living off packaged noodles and cans of beans—it is the stereotype known across the country, and unfortunately for students it is all too accurate. According to current research, nearly half of all college students across America are considered food insecure, meaning they have trouble acquiring healthy and filling food at some point during the year. Furthermore, problems with food access are often connected to other common issues students face including accessing affordable housing and employment opportunities. Food insecure students face educational consequences as well, including the inability to supply required course materials and even leaving their studies. Simultaneously, at Arizona State students lose thousands of dollars per year in unused meal plan funds, either in the form of meal swipes or Maroon & Gold dollars, and there is interest among students to utilize the funds to support their peers. This thesis explores existing organizations attempting to address student food insecurity both on campus and across the country, analyzing their limitations and benefits. It then proposes a new program, ASU Eats, which would allow students with excess meal plan funds to donate them to their food insecure peers through the creation of a central fund bank. It also discusses potential concerns from the University’s administration and the student body along with the structure this program would need to serve ASU’s continually growing campuses. This thesis concludes by stressing the importance of long-term food security, which ASU Eats would strive to achieve for all students who use the program.

Educators often struggle to effectively engage all students. Part of the reason for this is adherence to behavioral principles which curtail student autonomy and diminish student self-efficacy. Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) can counter this problem; it was designed to increase autonomy for minority youth in urban high schools. I conducted a study to add to the growing conversation about YPAR in settings beyond urban high schools and to look at how YPAR can influence students’ self-efficacy. Drawing on results from surveys, interviews, and field observation, I found that students who participated in a YPAR program showed improved self-efficacy in contexts closely related to their work in YPAR among peers and for a peer audience, but they did not show improved self-efficacy in their relationships with community adults or with their school. Students’ improved self-efficacy stemmed from their social learning experiences and their perception of the community relevance, or authenticity, of their work. Schools seeking to improve engagement among students of any background should consider adopting approaches like YPAR which increase student autonomy and foment self-efficacy with authentic community-linked research.

The purpose of this study was to investigate undergraduate sustainability students' engagement with sustainability in relation to their sense of place in the broader Salt River Valley community. The study was guided by two research questions 1) How do undergraduate Sustainability students explain their sense of place in the Valley with relation to their perceptions of sustainability? 2) Does residency in a different city, town, or state prior to entering the Sustainability program influence students' sense of place in the Valley? The study consisted of two distinct parts. In the first part, twenty students were interviewed using a narrative inquiry process to understand their perceptions of sustainability, their sense of place in the Valley, and how those two components influenced their engagement with sustainability in their communities. In the second part, these narratives were analyzed, synthesized, and samples of the stories were placed into a creative nonfiction collection to express an overall picture of sustainability in the Valley. Results showed that students generally relied on academic, professional, and social factors to identify places in which they could practice or engage with sustainability. Regardless of previous residencies, students expressed similar frustrations or limitations in expressing their sense of place, as related to sustainability, in the Valley.

In June 2013, United States (US) government contractor Edward Snowden arranged for journalists at The Guardian to release classified information detailing US government surveillance programs. While this release caused the public to decry the scope and privacy concerns of these surveillance systems, Snowden's actions also caused the US Congress to critique how Snowden got a security clearance allowing him access to sensitive information in the first place. Using Snowden's actions as a kairotic moment, this study examined congressional policy documents through a qualitative content analysis to identify what Congress suggested could “fix” in the background investigation (BI) process. The study then looked at the same documents to problematize these “solutions” through the terministic screen of surveillance studies.

By doing this interdisciplinary rhetorical analysis, the study showed that while Congress encouraged more oversight, standardization, and monitoring for selected steps of the BI process, these suggestions are not neutral solutions without larger implications; they are value-laden choices which have consequences for matters of both national security and social justice. Further, this study illustrates the value of incorporating surveillance as framework in rhetoric, composition, and professional/technical communication research.