Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

We Don’T Want To Talk About It: Communication Strategies For Teaching Less Popular Subjects, Heather M. Stassen-Ferrara, Christine A. Geyer, John M. Livermore, Maureen M. Louis

Proceedings of the New York State Communication Association

Some subjects are the unloved: the required course in academic writing, the required course in public speaking, the course in communication theory, the course in basic mathematics. This paper brings together perspectives from professors in Communication Studies, Mathematics, and Writing to consider the critical connection between communicative practice and learning, applying a networked perspective of interconnections.

What’S Wrong With This Slide? Helping Students Develop Their Presentation Graphics Skills From The Inside Out, Evelyn Plummer

Proceedings of the New York State Communication Association

As a means of enhancing students’ aesthetic awareness and skill in the creation of presentation visuals, this activity uses a small group, problem solving approach to deconstruct and then reconstruct slide show content. By grounding design choices in principles of color and visual theory and using samples of actual ineffective slides and/or of raw content from written sources, each team analyzes and devises a brief but “well-constructed” slide show by coordinating key factors (e.g. enhancement to message, adaptation to audience’s sensibilities, effective aesthetic design).

Ultimately, each team reveals its creation and explains the structural, aesthetic, and software choices. This …

Making The Case For Pro-Bono Public Relations Services For Nonprofit Organizations On Long Island, Jeffrey S. Morosoff

Proceedings of the New York State Communication Association

1. Nonprofit organizations have historically struggled to effectively use public relations tactics and campaigns to communicate with their publics. Three annual surveys of Long Island, New York-based nonprofits conducted in 2011, 2012 and 2013 add evidence to this anecdotal knowledge. These nonprofits either do not have or do not devote significant resources to public relations efforts. As media becomes more complex and the skill sets needed to navigate these changes increase, it may be more incumbent on experienced public relations practitioners to assist these organizations through pro bono services.

Online Dating Profile Analysis: The Intersection Of Identity, Gender & Religion, Sarah-Rose Marcus

Proceedings of the New York State Communication Association

According to standpoint theory, individuals experience the world based on the social groups that they belong to. Using this theoretical lens, my content analysis compared how gender and religion were conveyed on the user profiles of three online dating sites: JDate.com, ChristianMingle.com and OkCupid.com. In my initial reading of data, I used inductive thematic analysis to distinguish 7 categories of words and 7 categories of photographs that were relevant to portrayals of gender and religion. These categories were then analyzed through frequency counts by adding the total number of word types and photograph types used by men and women …

The Hardcore Scorecard: Defining, Quantifying And Understanding “Hardcore” Video Game Culture, Joseph A. Loporcaro, Christopher R. Ortega, Michael J. Egnoto

Proceedings of the New York State Communication Association

ABSTRACT

The goal of the current study is to further conceptualize and define the term “hardcore” as it relates to video game culture. Past research indicates that members of cultural subdivisions favor their own group versus others due to perceived commonalities (Durkheim, 1915; Tajfel, 1970). In gaming culture, the subdivisions of “hardcore” and “casual” games/gamers have become especially salient in recent years. However, the definition of what constitutes “hardcore” and “casual” is inconsistent (Adams, 2000; Alexandre, 2012; Jacobs & Ip, 2003; Juul, 2010; Kim, 2001; Kuittinen, Kultima, Niemelä & Paavilainen, 2007; Wallace & Robbins, 2006). Therefore, it is beneficial to …

Crime Control, Due Process, & Evidentiary Exclusion: When Exceptions Become The Rule, Elizabeth H. Kaylor

Proceedings of the New York State Communication Association

This paper uses the dichotomy between Herbert Packer’s (1968) two models of criminal justice advocacy – “crime control” and “due process” – as a rhetorical paradigm for understanding policy debate about the exclusion of relevant evidence at trial. Understanding the opposition between crime control and due process advocates as a rhetorical controversy, in which commonly-used ideographs camouflage dramatically different constructions of the concepts at stake, helps to illuminate the way each side mobilizes public support for their narrative of doing . While both the exclusionary rule (which prohibits the use of illegally-obtained evidence in criminal cases) and the “fruit of …

Exclusive Breastfeeding And Breastfeeding In Newspapers: Analysis Of Frames, Content, And Valence, Amanda E. Hamilton, Moira Lewis

Proceedings of the New York State Communication Association

Exclusive breastfeeding and breastfeeding durations in the United States are shorter than recommended. No U.S. media content analyses assess exclusive breastfeeding. No studies assess exclusive breastfeeding or breastfeeding portrayals in U.S. newspapers. We fill these gaps. Framing theory suggests media present breastfeeding in particular ways and that such presentations impact breastfeeding. We contribute a systematic theoretical approach to the study of exclusive breastfeeding and breastfeeding representations in 819 newspaper articles published across five U.S. regions. This study is limited by its focus on newspapers. However, since exclusive breastfeeding information is identified using a systematic theoretical approach this study contributes new …

Be Careful What You Wish For: Popular Music In An Age In Which “Information Wants To Be Free”, Thom Gencarelli

Proceedings of the New York State Communication Association

This article posits that the widespread adoption of music recording files as the “preferred” form for the storage, retrieval, and dissemination of music is not, and never has been driven by users/listeners; that this is an oversimplified understanding of what has happened since roughly the turn of the century. Instead, the article makes the historically-based argument that what has happened has been driven by the industry side of the equation – even in the face of what is, again, an oversimplified understanding: that the record industry has undeniably suffered and contracted in size and revenue as a result of the …

The Politics Of Hpv Vaccination Advocacy: Effects Of Source Expertise On Effectiveness Of A Pro-Vaccine Message, Roger Gans

Proceedings of the New York State Communication Association

The Politics of HPV Vaccination Advocacy:

Effects of Source Expertise on Effectiveness of a Pro-Vaccine Message

Persistent public resistance to an apparently safe, effective and life-saving public health practice such as HPV vaccination illustrates a significant issue in the communication of behavioral recommendations based on evidence-based scientific data and consensus views of scientific and medical experts. This study examines the influence of source expertise on pro-HPV-vaccine advocacy messaging effectiveness among audiences of differing political ideologies. The findings support prior research indicating greater resistance to HPV vaccination among political conservatives. Subjects who self-identified politically as Centrists and Conservatives were significantly less …

Stakeholder Communication In Proposing Change, Maria Dwyer

Proceedings of the New York State Communication Association

Abstract

This paper proposes a model for the understanding and management of curriculum change in the academy. The model links Ruben’s five stages in the planning and management of change with his five crucial stages in the change process to provide a way to understand and manage the curriculum change process. Additionally, Ruben’s framework is linked to Lewis’ Stakeholder Communication Model which is particularly sensitive to stakeholder’s perceptions and assessments of each other. It helps to further explain and direct the efforts necessary to manage the proposal and process of change. In essence, this model integrates theory into practical matters. …

From The Editor

Proceedings of the New York State Communication Association

No abstract provided.