Communication Commons^™

I Love It When Linus Reminds Me What Christmas Is About, Mark Routhier

UCF Forum

As Linus said: “Sure, Charlie Brown, I can tell you what Christmas is all about. Lights, please: ‘And the angel said unto them, Fear not, for behold, I bring unto you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you this day is born in the City of Bethlehem, a Savior, which is Christ the Lord...’”

First Month With My Newborn Was Both The Fastest And The Longest Of My Life, Leandra Preston-Sidler

UCF Forum

I haven’t slept more than two hours straight in a month. Showers elude me. The house that used to be filled with wine and planned dinners is now filled with diapers and frozen pizza.

'To Change Is To Learn And To Learn Is To Change', Bob Porter

UCF Forum

“To change is to learn and to learn is to change.” That was often the advice given to me by my mentor in life, Lew Treen, a war veteran, semi-pro baseball player, high school principal and coach.

Queen B: A Modern Feminist Critique Of Beyoncé, Catherine Demi Ray

Communication Studies

No abstract provided.

Moving Beyond The Single Disciplines: Building A Scholarship Of Engagement That Permeates Higher Education., Linda Silka, Robert W. Glover Editor, Karen Hutchins, Laura Lindenfeld, Amy Blackstone, Catherine Elliott, Melissa Ladenheim, Claire Sullivan

Publications

Communities face complex problems that are best addressed by integrating the perspectives of multiple disciplines, yet many forms of engaged scholarship remain disciplinarily specific. Universities struggle to bring together highly disparate disciplines linking knowledge with action to address community problems. Sustainability is an important example of a complex, urgent problem that is best addressed by integrating multiple disciplines. In the United States, a unique multi-year initiative, Maine’s Sustainability Solutions Initiative (SSI), addresses sustainability problems by working across disciplines on engaged research. Scholars, representing multiple disciplines and most of the higher education institutions in the state, working with their community partners, …

Native American Empowerment Through Digital Repatriation, Michelle L. Fitch

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Following the Enlightenment, Western adherence to positivist theory influenced practices of Western research and documentation. Prior to the introduction of positivism into Western scholarship, innovations in printing technology, literary advancements, and the development of capitalism encouraged the passing of copyright statutes by nation-states in fifteenth century Europe. The evolution of copyright and positivism in Europe influenced United States copyright and its protection of the author, as well as the practice of archiving and its role in interpreting history. Because Native American cultures practiced orality, they suffered the loss of their traditional knowledge and cultural expressions not protected by copyright. By …

The Lived Experiences Of Acute-Care Bedside Registered Nurses Caring For Patients And Their Families With Limited English Proficiency, Jami-Sue Coleman

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Approximately 8.6% of the total U.S. population is considered limited English proficient (LEP), a term that has been used by official US federal policy and will be used throughout this study. In a landmark report, the Institute of Medicine found that minorities received lower-quality health care than Caucasians even when insurance status, income, and other factors were equivalent. These differences were tied to issues such as bias, stereotypes and communication barriers between patients and their caregivers. In the hospital setting, registered nurses provide the most direct contact with patients and their families. Effective communication between patients and health care professionals …

Media Bias Through Facial Expressions On Local Las Vegas Television News Programs: A Visual Content Analysis, Jessica Zimmerman

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

Trust in news media has been considered an important base for social order and cohesion in society and is a crucial variable for evaluating news media. Media credibility has been questioned by the audience for some time and the audience's trust in the media has been slowly diminishing over the years. When a news broadcaster communicates a story on local television news, it is possible for his own opinions to leak through nonverbal communication, specifically facial expressions. This thesis explores the six local Las Vegas television news stations' anchors and reporters to visually analyze whether facial characteristics reveal media bias …

Let's Set Aside Differences – Not Just During This Season, But All Year, Erin O'Flaherty

UCF Forum

‘Tis the season, the season of giving—whether giving thanks, praises, spare change, an extra tip or bonus. You name it, and it’s officially “the season” for it.

I'M Not Gonna Be Like That Guy: Exploring The Montana Meth Project Through The Eyes Of That Guy, Jaysen Nicole Ferestad

Dissertations and Theses

Graphic images of meth addicts have swept across Montana in television, radio and print ads as part of the state's latest anti-drug campaign, the Montana Meth Project. From a labeling perspective, the negative portrayal of meth addicts in these ads has significant implications for meth addicts in terms of their reintegration. The unintended population of drug addicts potentially affected by public service campaigns has failed to gain attention in the literature despite the implications suggested by labeling theory. This poses a significant gap in our knowledge and understanding, which this study addresses through the voice of recovering meth addicts. This …

A Convergence-Building Model Of Superfund Site Communication: Building On Lessons From The Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant, Anna G. Hoover, Lindell Ormsbee

Anna G. Hoover

Best practices approaches have guided governmental risk communication efforts at Superfund and other chronic risk sites for more than two decades, playing an important role in the ways in which those most affected by contamination make sense of risk. Such approaches can affect the information environment in two separate but related ways: 1) directly, through the explicit sharing of information, and 2) indirectly, through ongoing stakeholder interpretations of the processes by which that information is shared. To date, the indirect, process-related effects have not been addressed in assessments of communicative efficacy at Superfund sites. Thus, it increasingly is necessary to …

The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year, Rebekah Mccloud

UCF Forum

When is the most wonderful time of the year? December — right? — despite the many people and things that try to blur the calendar.

Solving The ‘Mystery’ Of Cranberry Sauce At The Holiday For All Americans, Maritza Martinez

UCF Forum

About this time of year the past several years, my husband can’t help but comment on the total departure from the “traditional” Thanksgiving feast available at our family’s gathering.

Combating Terrorism On The Free Highway, Raphael Cohen-Almagor

raphael cohen-almagor

The Internet has enabled transnational jihad based on a decentralized network that overcomes the limitations of face-to-face interaction. Terrorists are making the most of the Internet to: 1) find essential information, 2) communicate, and 3) coordinate among each other in order to wage violent anti-social operations.

An Open Letter To List Articles, Nathan Holic

UCF Forum

Dear List Articles,

Conceptualizing Communication Capital For A Changing Environment, Leo Wayne Jeffres, Guowei Jian, Sukki Yoon

Communication Faculty Publications

With rapidly evolving technologies, boundaries between traditional modes of communication have blurred, creating an environment that scholars still describe from viewpoints as researchers in interpersonal, organizational or mass communication. This manuscript looks at the social capital literature and argues for conceptualizing “communication capital” to help understand the impact of communication phenomena in a changing environment. The literature has treated interpersonal communication variables as components of social capital and mass communication variables as factors affecting social capital, but scholars long ago recognized their reinforcing nature, leading us to develop a concept of communication capital merging symbolic activity across domains in its …

Re-Cognizing Power In The Culture Of Dementia Care Knowledge, Ryan T. Deforge

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

In light of increasing system demands, system regulations, and constrained resources, those living and working with dementia in the long-term care sector are vulnerable to oppressive care practices. This is true so long as our understanding of how social power affects the ways in which dementia care knowledge is created, shared, and enacted remains limited. Based on prolonged field observations and on informal and formal interviews with care recipients, family members, and staff, the aim of this critical qualitative research was to examine the culture of dementia care knowledge in two sites: a specialized dementia care unit in a long-term …

Forum Magazine, November 2013

Forum Magazine

No abstract provided.

Robert Boyer, Hiroyasu Uemura, And Akinori Isogai (Eds.) Diversity And Transformations Of Asian Capitalisms. London And New York: Routledge. 2012., Kate Barclay Ph.D.

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review.

Richard Smith. Mapping China And Managing The World: Culture, Cartography And Cosmology In Late Imperial Times. New York: Routledge, 2013., Daniel Knorr

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review.

Astri Suhrke. When More Is Less: The International Project In Afghanistan. New York: Columbia University Press, 2011., Saroj Kumar Rath Ph.D.

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review.

Francis L. F. Lee And Joseph M. Chan. Media, Social Mobilization, And Mass Protests In Postcolonial Hong Kong: The Power Of A Critical Event. New York: Routledge. 2011., Wai-Chi Chee Ph.D.

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review.

Morgan, J.W. & Wu, B. Higher Education Reform In China: Beyond The Expansion. New York: Routledge Press, 2011., Ryan Guffey Ph.D.

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review.

Global Carbon-And-Conservation Models, Global Eco-States? Ecuador’S Yasuní-Itt Initiative And Governance Implications, Conny Davidsen Ph.D., Laura Kiff

Journal of International and Global Studies

The “global carbon age” marks a structural change far beyond the economic realms of implementing carbon trade, affecting the fabric of global environmental governance and its actors. Carbon trade and conservation in the Global South have taken on various forms, and climate change mitigation efforts in light of continued rainforest deforestation are scrambling to establish effective approaches. Ecuador’s Yasuní-ITT Initiative proposes a new global carbon-and-conservation model in the Ecuadorian Amazon that leaves oil reserves of the Yasuní Ishpingo Tambococha Tiputini (ITT) oil fields underground, in exchange for international compensation payments that would be based on voluntary contributions of governments and …

Caizhen Lu. Poverty And Development In China: Alternative Approaches To Poverty Assessment. Routledge Contemporary China Series, 74. New York: Routledge. 2012., Tami Blumenfield Ph.D.

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review.

Transitional Justice: Prioritizing Truth Commissions Or International Tribunals To Ensure Healing And Reconciliation, Jlateh Vincent Jappah, Danielle Taana Smith

Journal of International and Global Studies

There is a recent increased examination of the effects of international funding for truth commissions and criminal tribunals in post-conflict societies as they transition to peace. The discourse on whether to prioritize truth commissions or international criminal tribunals and which form of transitional justice more effectively fosters healing and reconciliation continues to be highly polemical. This paper explores whether, in terms of post-conflict healing and reconciliation, international funding would be better spent on truth commissions than on international criminal tribunals or vice versa. It examines the complexities and heterogeneity of transitional societies and suggests that international funding for transitional justice …

Political Participation Of The Indian Diaspora In The Usa, Vinod Janardhanan

Journal of International and Global Studies

This essay aims to foreground the types and patterns of political participation of Asian Indians in the US and the change and continuity thereof since migration of the community began in significant numbers in the 20th century. It shows how immigration reforms and citizenship laws prevented the community, for over half a century (until at least 1965), from achieving a demographic critical mass, which is a crucial factor in becoming an effective player in the political system of the US, and the community’s reaction to these restrictions. Surveying the political participation of Indian Americans since the years prior to India’s …

Developing Paradise: Tourism, The Local Community, And Nature In Las Terrenas, Dominican Republic, John Ripton Ph.D.

Journal of International and Global Studies

Las Terrenas, a town in the Samanà province of the Dominican Republic, has experienced phenomenal growth of its tourist industry. Electricity only arrived in Las Terrenas in the late 1990s, yet today, more than 70 hotels and other establishments offer thousands of rooms in tourist accommodations. In little more than two decades, the population of Las Terrenas has mushroomed from a few hundred to nearly 20,000. While the forces of commercial development integrate Las Terrenas into the global economy, its municipal infrastructure simply has not kept pace. The national government finances the construction of roads and other projects to promote …

Transnational Policy Networks In Global Water Governance In India, Vandana Asthana Ph.D.

Journal of International and Global Studies

This paper argues that in the processes of global water governance, transnational policy networks play a significant role in defining spaces of engagement that privilege certain voices and versions. These networks produce narratives that not only convey storylines of sustainable water practices but also often have embedded within them the advocacy of a particular policy instrument that they intend to promote. What appears as knowledge is often structured towards the goal at which it is directed. Using application of private sector participation in water as an example from India, the paper explores how these power/knowledge regimes are established and supported …

Taiwan: Introspecting On A Democracy At An Existential Crossroad, Raviprasad Narayanan

Journal of International and Global Studies

Book review on:

• Dafydd Fell. Government and Politics in Taiwan. Abingdon: Routledge. 2012.
• Jean-Marc.F. Blanchard & Hickey, Dennis, V. (Eds.). New Thinking about the Taiwan Issue – Theoretical insights into its origins, dynamics and prospects. New York: Routledge. 2012.