Sarah N. Heiss

When a Spoonful of Fallacies Helps the Sweetener Go Down: The Corn Refiner Association’s Use of Straw-Person Arguments in Health Debates Surrounding High-Fructose Corn Syrup

ABSTRACT The American public is increasingly concerned about risks associated with food additives like high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS). To promote its product as safe, the Corn Refiners Association (CRA) employed two forms of straw-person arguments. First, the CRA opportunistically misrepresented HFCS opposition as inept. Second, the CRA strategically chose to refute claims that were easier to defeat while remaining ambiguous about more complex points of contention. We argue that CRA’s discursive contributions represented unreasonable yet sustainable use of straw-person arguments in debates surrounding health and risk.

Effects of interpersonal communication, knowledge, and attitudes on pertussis vaccination in Vermont

Abstract The United States is currently experiencing its worst pertussis outbreak in 50 years. Although pertussis is easily preventable through vaccination, many people are unaware of the severity of the disease and the need for adult booster vaccinations. This study surveyed 629 people using a statewide telephone survey to examine vaccination rates, factors affecting vaccination decisions, and the role of communication with healthcare providers, family, and friends in vaccine decision making. Findings indicate that most participants had not been vaccinated for pertussis in the last 5 years. Furthermore, there are disparate pertussis diagnoses and vaccination rates among adults. The main contribution of this study is the examination of sources of influence on adults’ decisions to receive the Tdap booster. The primary source of influence and vaccine recommendation was healthcare providers. We also found that successful vaccination recommendations were most frequently justified by claims that the booster would protect the participants personal health, rather than community health or infant health. When discussing the adult Tdap booster with eligible patients, healthcare providers should focus information and recommendations on patients’ health, rather than include messages about benefits to community health or the health of infants they may come in contact with.

A “Naturally Sweet” Definition: An Analysis of the Sugar Association’s Definition of the Natural as a Terministic Screen

The political nature of sugar as a cultural commodity can be traced back for centuries. While the issues surrounding sugar consumption have changed, power struggles still exist as stakeholders struggle to identify, make sense of, and manage the relationship between sugar and obesity. I explore the rhetorical contributions of the Sugar Association to public understandings of sweeteners. Specifically, I argue that the Sugar Association positioned sugar as the best choice for consumers by positioning their sweetener within a definition of the natural that the organization constructs. I draw on Burke’s (1966) notion of terministic screens as a theoretical framework through which sugar was positioned as the best sweetener option and HFCS and artificial sweeteners were isolated as unnatural and, therefore, unwise choices for consumers. Then, I argue that the association’s definition of “the natural” was strategically ambiguous, serving to distinguish sugar from other sweeteners. I conclude by evaluating the soundness and sustainability of the association’s discursive contributions to public understandings of health and its implications for key stakeholders in the sweetener community.

Inclusive Branding Strategies for Domestic Violence Agencies Embracing Opportunities to Reach and Better Serve Male-Identified Survivors

Successful strategies for branding that are inclusive of male-identified survivors were identified in this qualitative study through semi-structured interviews with leaders from six domestic violence agencies across the United States: four represented traditional domestic violence agencies and two represented specialized agencies with expertise in providing services to nontraditional survivors. The strategic implementation of (a) inclusive language, (b) visual diversity, (c) community outreach, and (d) communication channels emerged as successful strategies in branding in an inclusive way for male-identified survivors. The implementation of these successful strategies provides the opportunity for domestic violence agencies to create an inclusive environment for male-identified survivors and would contribute to a paradigm shift in how domestic violence is viewed.

Using the Theory of Planned Behavior to Predict College Students’ Intent to Use LinkedIn for Job Searches and Professional Networking

College students and recent graduates are the fastest-growing user demographic on LinkedIn, with an estimated 40 million profiles for these groups. Guided by the theory of planned behavior, 107 college students completed an online survey to determine their LinkedIn use, attitudes, perceived control, and social influences for networking and job/internship searching. The results of this study suggest that students are infrequent and passive users of LinkedIn. Past behaviors, attitudes, perceived behavioral control, and actual behavioral control were related to the effectiveness of LinkedIn to help them find internships and jobs. Parents and friends, attitudes, and past use of LinkedIn were related to their intention to use LinkedIn. Past use of LinkedIn and parents were the significant predictors of future intention to use LinkedIn.

Where's the Joy in Cooking? Representations of Taste, Tradition, and Science in the Joy of Cooking

Procuring, preparing, and consuming foods are symbolic processes learned and reified within cultural boundaries. While many cultures have established tradition or taste as rules to guide food activities, contemporary Americans are mainly guided by a fascination with health and risk (Pollan, The Omnivores Dilemma). As reflections of and contributors to public understandings of food and risk, cookbooks can be rich sites for scholarly investigation (Driver; Nestle and McIntosh). In the current study, we explore the representation of tradition, taste, and science in the introductory materials of the Joy of Cooking. While discussions of science were more common than those of taste or tradition, science did not replace the presence of taste and tradition. The presence of science, taste, and tradition varied over time, suggesting that, though they remain criteria for eaters, their importance is constantly negotiated.