Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Puppy Love And [Information] Play: An Intersection Of Theatre, Queer Kink, And Consent, Emily Kitchens

Faculty and Research Publications

This note from the field centers on a nexus of queer kink subcultures and consent-based intimacy work in theatre. I report, investigate and wrangle with the process of incorporating queer kink aesthetics into the production of Love and Information by Caryl Churchill I directed at KSU February 2023. What I have learned and hope to demonstrate throughout the paper, is that queer kink subcultures are often paradigmatic examples of communities built on consent, and we as performing arts practitioners can more visibly expand the margins of our cultural competency dialogues to not only include them but look to them as …

Understanding The Audience In Framing Research: Empirical Evidence From Three Studies Examining Hiv Framing In China, Tianen Chen, Minhao Dai, Nancy Grace Harrington

Faculty and Research Publications

Guided by framing theory, this three-phase mixed-methods study explored (a) how Chinese government-sponsored newspapers frame HIV and (b) framing effects on people’s HIV beliefs. A content analysis of two government-sponsored newspapers and a survey of 210 readers showed discrepancies in frame and frame valence. In-depth follow-up interviews with 15 media and public health experts revealed that the discrepancies were related to people’s attitudes toward the media and beliefs about HIV, which could further be explained by the political environment, media ecology, historical framing, and cultural identities in China. We discuss theoretical implications for framing theory and practical implications for HIV …

Agendamelding And Covid-19: The Dance Of Horizontal And Vertical Media In A Pandemic, J. Benjamin Taylor, Milad Minooie, Chris J. Vargo

Faculty and Research Publications

How are attitudes formed in the 21st Century, and who sets the agenda for initial COVID-19 coverage in the United States? We explore these questions using a random sample of 6 million tweets from a population of 224 million tweets collected between January 2020 and June 2020. In conjunction with a content analysis of legacy media such as newspapers, we examine the second-level agendamelding process during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. The findings demonstrate that in the early weeks of the pandemic, public opinion on Twitter about the virus was distinctly different than the coverage …

Sport Celebrities’ Covid-19 Prevention On Social Media: The Effect Of Credibility, Social Distance, Identification, And Message’S Power Style On Health Behavioral Intentions, Kyu-Soo Chung, Chad Goebert

Faculty and Research Publications

During the COVID-19 outbreak, there emerged on social media an active cohort of sport celebrities, promoting through their messages virus-prevention behaviors. The study tested how people’s intentions to adopt COVID-19 prevention practices were affected by their perceived credibility of sport celebrities, perceived social distance of sport celebrities, and identification with sport celebrities. The study also tested how the message’s power style moderated those relations. The researchers selected four sport celebrities who were active on social media and applied powerful and powerless linguistic styles in developing their social media messages. College students (N = 284) were randomly exposed to one of …

Building Research Capacity Through An Academic Community Of Practice: A Design Case Study, Olga Koz, Anissa Lokey-Vega

Faculty and Research Publications

Purpose – The study’s purpose was to examine the faculty-driven organization’s design and development that supports faculty research needs, track the emergence of the community of practice (CoP) and provide greater insight into continued organizational design iterations.

Design/methodology/approach – In this longitudinal design case study, the authors employed different methods to collect and analyze archival, quantitative, and qualitative data to capture the phenomenon’s complexity.

Findings – The findings challenge the assumption that only formal organizational structures and top-down management approaches stimulate research and build research capacity in universities and propose a new sustainable and agile informal organizational structure and strategies …

E-Government As A Tool For Stability And Socio-Economic Development In Post-Conflict Libya., Abdulmajid H. Mohamed

Faculty and Research Publications

Usually, great challenges lie ahead of any post-conflict government, especially in states that have historically been under dictatorship, like Libya. It has been six years since the violent regime change that took place in Libya in 2011, yet no signs of improvement is foreseen in public service delivery and constructive citizen participation in influencing national policy formation and evaluation. In fact, the situation of public services has been worsened due to the absence of political and executive power from a strong, united government. The resulting widespread of collective frustration and political uncertainty has become a catalyst for a more defective …

The Price Of Strength: Black College Women's Perspectives On The Strong Black Woman Stereotype, Lindsey M. West, Roxanne A. Donovan, Amanda R. Daniel

Faculty and Research Publications

Black feminist scholars posit that the Strong Black Woman stereotype (SBW) is a compelling image that depicts Black women as strong, independent, and self-sacrificing. Research suggests SBW internalization is related to mental and physical health problems. This study asked Black college women open-ended questions on several SBW-related topics. Thematic analysis of approximately 90 participants revealed definitions of SBW, including, strong, independent, hardworking, and caring. Contrary to SBW’s positive perception, the majority of participants reported SBW’s negative effects on their health, highlighting SBW’s paradox. Findings increase awareness of the SBW stereotype for mental health professionals who work with Black college women.

Not A Stitch Out Of Place: Assessing Students’ Attitudes Towards Multimodal Composition, Jeanne Law Bohannon

Faculty and Research Publications

This article traces a brief history of multimodal composition practices in the field of writing studies. It frames writing instruction through the theoretical lens of democratic pedagogy and presents the works of key composition scholars. The author then describes a mixed methods research study, conducted with first-year students on the STEM campus of a state comprehensive university. Students participated in a survey that asked their attitudes towards multimodal writing assignments, digital literacies, and learning outcomes. The author draws conclusions about the effectiveness of multimodal composition based on students’ responses and provides supplemental information on the types of assignments and examples …

How Spokesperson Rank And Selected Media Channels Impact Perceptions In Crisis Communication, Jieun Lee, Sora Kim, Emma K. Wertz

Faculty and Research Publications

This study examined the impact of spokesperson’s rank and selected media channels in crisis communication by employing different ranks (i.e., CEO and communication director spokespersons) and media channels (blogs, websites, and newspapers). Findings indicated that CEO spokespersons were more effective in terms of lowering publics’ crisis responsibility attributions than communication director spokespersons and that blogs were more effective in lowering crisis responsibility attributions than websites and newspapers.

Clash Of Civilization Or Clash Of Newspaper Ideologies? An Analysis Of The Ideological Split In British Newspaper Commentaries On The 2002 Miss World Riots In Nigeria, Farooq Kperogi

Faculty and Research Publications

Riots that erupted in the northern Nigerian city of Kaduna over a newspaper article that some Muslims interpreted as blaspheming the Prophet Muhammad on account of Nigeria’s decision to host the 2002 edition of the Miss World beauty pageant captured the attention of the media around the world. This article investigates how the British press framed the riots in their opinion columns and editorials. Through an interpretive textual analysis of the opinion pages, the study shows that while the ideological persuasions of left-leaning British press predisposed them to express opinions on the Miss World riots that resonated with what might …

News With Views: Postobjectivism And Emergent Alternative Journalistic Practices In America’S Corporate News Media, Farooq Kperogi

Faculty and Research Publications

One of the inchoate yet defining features of journalism in the twenty-first century has been the profession’s unannounced but nonetheless consequential repudiation of the time-honored journalistic ethos of ‘‘objectivity.’’ In this paper, I argue that the gradual renunciation of the ideals of objectivity in contemporary journalistic practice, especially in the United States which birthed the concept, is both a return to journalism’s roots and a back-handed, if profit-inspired, embrace of certain hallmarks of ‘‘alternative journalism,’’ which emerged as a counterfoil to nineteenth-century notions of ‘‘objective journalism.’’ I demonstrate my thesis by historicizing ‘‘objective journalism’’ and linking its emergence to multiple …

Social Media: Changing Advertising Education, Deborah A. Lester

Faculty and Research Publications

Creating an academic assignment that closely parallels an advertising agency's real world business experience is a challenge, but social media has destroyed many of the barriers that historically limited media options and completion of advertising plans. Because digital media is cost effective and easily used, commercials, videos, podcasts, and multimedia messaging can be filmed, edited, and broadcast, within the time frame of an advertising course This article presents an applied advertising project that incorporates YouTube, Flicker, MySpace, Face book, Twitter, Linkedin, Ning, Tagged, Google +, and other online social networking sites as the foundation for an integrated marketing communication strategy. …

Exploring Touch As A Positive Workplace Behavior, Bryan Fuller, Marcia J. Simmering, Laura E. Marler, Susie S. Cox, Rebecca J. Bennett, Robin A. Cheramie

Faculty and Research Publications

Whereas most research has focused on the negative aspects of touch in the workplace (i.e. sexual harassment), this study focuses upon the positive use of touch. In an effort to explain individual differences in the use of workplace touch, three sequential studies are used to introduce the concepts of workplace touch self-efficacy and workplace touch initiation anxiety. In Study 1 we develop scales to assess the constructs. Study 2 provides an initial examination of the construct validity of the measures developed in Study 1. Results of Study 3 indicate that supervisor reports of touch self-efficacy and physiological touch anxiety are …

Teaching The Art And Craft Of Giving And Receiving Feedback, Patricia L. Harms, Deborah Britt Roebuck

Faculty and Research Publications

The article examines the teaching of business communication related to feedback, or the performance evaluation of employees and executives. The importance of feedback in both management and among teams in the workplace is considered. Models of performance evaluations are discussed. Teaching methods for discussing feedback in business communication courses are considered, with specific class assignments related to performance evaluation and evaluation among teams in the workplace are described. Reactions of students to these teaching methods are discussed.

Crisis Management In Public School Districts, Barbara S. Gainey

Faculty and Research Publications

School districts, as public institutions serving kindergarten through high school students and their communities, can improve their crisis-ready status by strengthening crisis response strategies. Crisis management offers strategies and processes for preparing for, preventing, responding to, managing, recovering from, and learning from crisis events. Proactive steps can be taken to improve crisis readiness before, during, and after a crisis event. In the crisis-rich environment of the new decade, education systems need to continue to evaluate current crisis plans, modifying them to address emerging issues, incorporate new communication methods, and respond to diverse stakeholder groups.

Crisis Leadership For The New Reality Ahead, Barbara S. Gainey

Faculty and Research Publications

It is too easy, according to business consultant Laurence Barton, Ph.D., for businesses to operate on cruise control, sure of the familiarity of the road and without the protection of a current crisis response plan that could offer some protection for the bumps and hazards to come. Numerous researchers, however, are sounding the alarm. Without the sense of urgency of a 9/11-scale crisis, the number of organizations without current crisis plans in place is slowly decreasing, according to a 2005 American Management Association study. Yet the warning signs of uncharted territory ahead are everywhere. Organizations must prepare for new crises …

Facilitators And Obstacles Of Intercultural Business Communication For American Companies In China: Lessons Learned From The Ups Case, Hongmei Gao, Penelope Prime

Faculty and Research Publications

This article analyzes how the execution of business strategy for global enterprises is shaped by the dual challenges of communicating in a different national culture and working in a changing economic environment. The article develops a framework from the UPS case in China to illustrate the key components of strategy for US companies operating businesses in China. The article proposes that Chinese-American communication effectiveness can be achieved through overcoming five obstacles: cultural multiplicity, relationship/ task orientation, time concept, business style difference, and language use, while utilizing five facilitators:pragmatism, gender equality, English, American pop culture, and a "big country mentality."

Blogging Communities Spurred To Action, Leonard Witt

Faculty and Research Publications

The article discusses the use of blogs to raise awareness of civil rights and social justice issues. When the public recognizes the invaluable role that high-quality journalism plays in social action, the author says that social media and journalism will become truly linked in common purpose. He suggests making the coverage of civil rights and social justice issues the core of a digital news organization or creating such content in partnership with other journalistic enterprises. He believes that if various online communities can find ways to come together in common purpose, they can come up with a new model of …

Social Networking As A Communications Weapon To Harm Victims: Facebook, Myspace, And Twitter Demonstrate A Need To Amend Section 230 Of The Communications Decency Act, Joshua N. Azriel

Faculty and Research Publications

The article discusses how social networking sites can pose a danger to victims of online offensive content. Part II provides an overall analysis of the dangers the Internet, especially social networking, poses to victims. Part III reviews Section 230 of the CDA, including the “Good Samaritan” provisions for social networking websites such as Twitter and Facebook. Part IV analyzes three recent court cases that demonstrate how these social networking tools are used as weapons to harm victims. Part V concludes with a discussion of how the growing number of online incidents stem from social networking sites. It recommends that Congress …

A Best Practices Service Learning Framework For The Public Relations Campaigns Course, Audrey Wilson Allison

Faculty and Research Publications

Public relations curriculum often incorporates professional experience for progressive skill development. In the traditional public relations (PR) campaigns course, students typically research, develop, and implement a strategic campaign for a community organization as the client. Service learning is an effective pedagogical approach for the PR campaigns course with value-added learning outcomes, such as critical thinking and civic engagement. Adapting a National Society of Experiential Education (NSEE) best practices approach helps integrate service and reflection components as learning components. The instructional framework presented in this article combines service and reflection principles with course and campaign planning, implementation, and evaluation. Using the …

Conflict Tactics In A Mediation Setting, Linda Johnston, Michelle Lebaron

Faculty and Research Publications

This essay examines the results of a pilot study undertaken at George Mason University as a joint effort between the Psychology Department and the Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution. The authors discuss the task of behavioralizing tactics commonly used in conflict situations, defining particular conflict styles often used by participants in conflicts, and the ability of the participants in the study to identify and agree upon the tactics and styles when viewed in a film. The authors also examine the relationship of shame, guilt, and anger in the conflict setting as it relates to the tactics used.

Is She Chinese Or American? On The Identity Communication Patterns Between Caucasian Parents And Their Adopted Chinese Daughters In The U.S., May H. Gao, Deanna F. Womack

Faculty and Research Publications

This study explored patterns of identity communication between Caucasian parents and their adopted Chinese daughters. As they grow up in "biracial" and "bicultural" families, adoptees must integrate multiple identities of being "ethnically Chinese," "culturally American," "female," "abandoned," and "adopted." Using qualitative methods, the researchers conducted 1-1 ½ hour in-depth interviews of adoptive parents to identify communication patterns and strategies used to create and manage the bicultural identities of their Chinese daughters.

Turn-Taking And The Local Management Of Conversation In A Highly Simultaneous Computer-Mediated Communication System, Jeffrey F. Anderson, Fred K. Beard, Joseph B. Walther

Faculty and Research Publications

Ongoing inquiry in communication technology research includes the questions of whether and how users adapt communication to the relatively restricted codes provided by text-based computer-mediated communication (CMC). This study proposes that adaptations may be affected by the level of simultaneity in messaging that CMC systems afford users. This suggestion is examined through an analysis of the particular conversational management strategies afforded by a fully synchronous computer-mediated communication system in which message transmission is keystroke-by-keystroke. Conversation analyses performed on the transcript of a three-person online conversation suggest several conclusions: Despite the novelty of the system, the CMC users appropriated and adapted …

Approaching Chinese Culture: Strategies American Expatriates Adopt For Learning Chinese Culture, May Hongmei Gao, Deanna F. Womack

Faculty and Research Publications

It is generally believed that cultural sojourners have diffi culties adapting to a wide range of business, academic, and social situations in a host culture. They need to adopt certain strategies to learn a foreign culture. Building upon existing literature on intercultural learning, adaptation, and perception, this research investigates American professional expatriates’ experience of coping with cultural others in China. In particular, this research investigates communication strategies that the American expatriates adopt in learning Chinese culture. Twenty in-depth interviews were conducted in China to collect data from multiple perspectives on how American professional expatriates adapt themselves from home (American) culture …

Constructing A Framework To Enable An Open Source Reinvention Of Journalism, Leonard Witt

Faculty and Research Publications

When the Los Angeles Times unveiled its Wikitorial, an open source experiment in commons-based editorial writing, it was shut down within two days as malicious trolls began to fill it with obscene photos. The editorial page editors apparently didn’t understand how commons-based peer production works. As journalism institutions consider commons-based peer production, known interchangeably as We Media, Open Content, Open Source Journalism, Participatory Journalism, Citizen Journalism, and Citizen Media, they would be well advised to consider a framework built on the past experiences learned by commons-based peer production in other areas. This article builds on open source/open content literature and …

Periodismo Del Futuro, Leonard Witt, Francisco Seoane Pérez

Faculty and Research Publications

No abstract provided.

Is Public Journalism Morphing Into The Public's Journalism?, Leonard Witt

Faculty and Research Publications

The article reflects upon the conditions and developmental trends of public journalism in the United States as of 2004. Discussion is given noting ways in which the rise of public or civic journalism has effected the sector and are continuing to change due to the advent of blogs, multi-media communications and the Internet. Questions are raised regarding whether or not the public conception of journalism will remain as a specialized field or transition into a political activity done by the public at large.

This Movement Won’T Be Buried, Leonard Witt

Faculty and Research Publications

Presents an outlook on reports of public journalism's demise in the U.S. Motivation of public journalists; Evidence of the enduring presence of public journalism in U.S. society; Financial resources of public journalism.

Developing A Hospital Web Site As A Marketing Tool: A Case Study, Thomas G. Widmer, C. David Shepherd

Faculty and Research Publications

This article presents a case study which described the efforts of Siskin Hospital to develop a Web site as its marketing tool in 1999. Several years ago. Siskin Hospital, a rehabilitation facility in the southeastern U.S., began the process of developing a hospital Web site. It was agreed that a multidisciplinary team was needed. Then, the next step was to determine target audiences for the site based on the objectives. Fourteen distinct targets were identified. The type of information each would require was brainstormed and detailed. The information types were then prioritized using a matrix developed by the team.

The Threat Of Long-Arm Jurisdiction To Electronic Commerce, Robert J. Aalberts, Anthony M. Townsend, Michael E. Whitman

Faculty and Research Publications

Unfortunately for those whose businesses rely on the Internet, an increasing amount of legal conflict is also arising in reaction to this new business medium. As attorneys and the courts attempt to sort out the Internet’s legal status quo, both are considering such pressing substantive issues as electronic contracts, privacy, trademark, copyright, defamation, computer crimes, censorship, and taxation. It is imperative that information system professionals become aware of how evolving Internet law will affect the medium they are charged with administrating. An informed IS community is also much more capable of mounting legal and political challenges to law that might …