Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Social Support And New Communication Technologies During A Life Stressor, Heather Attig

Faculty Scholarship – Communication

Social support, whether emotional, informational, or tangible, is an innate need and is important to our well-being and our personal relationships. While face-to-face communication has been considered the “gold standard” to relational maintenance, we are also using communication technology to maintain our personal relationships and mobilize our social support networks. Technological advances in communication channels have provided new avenues to social interaction and social support.

The purpose of this study was to explore the social support process across new communication technologies. Specifically, I examined how multiple modes of communication (including face-to-face) were used to seek and receive social support to/from …

A Comprehensive Quality Management Model For Community Newspapers, T. Swanepoel

Faculty Scholarship – Communication

The quality of South African (and indeed global) journalism has been under close scrutiny for several years, resulting in criticism regarding issues such as a lack of depth, diversity and accuracy. A lack of effective and efficient media management is one factor influencing the quality of journalism in both the mainstream and community media sectors.

This study focuses on traditional commercial community newspapers that represent the needs, interests and opinions of a demographically and ideologically diverse readership. These newspapers are distinctive, but remain subjected to the same journalism standards as mainstream media because of the vital role they play in …

The Experience And Expression Of Emotion Within Stepsibling Relationships: Politeness Of Expression And Stepfamily Functioning, Emily Lamb Normand

Faculty Scholarship – Communication

While scholars agree there are emotional challenges associated with the divorce and remarriage process, little is known about how stepsiblings interact and manage the experience and expression of emotion within their stepfamily. The current investigation examined the frequency of experience, intensity, and expression of positive, strong negative, and weak negative emotion within stepsibling relationships over time. Using Politeness Theory as a framework, the study also investigated if an association existed between stepsiblings' use of politeness strategies during the expression of emotion and stepsiblings' perception of the quality of their relationship and their perception of the entire stepfamily. Participants were 187 …