Communication Commons^™

An Analysis Of Communication For Foster Parents: Interpersonal, Small Group, And Public Speaking Skills Necessary For Foster Parenting, Kaitlyn Randall

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

Communication is a core aspect of what foster parents do every day. However, communication research focusing on foster parents is limited. Foster parents should understand interpersonal communication, small group communication, and public speaking. Understanding the basic principles of these communication disciplines will help foster parents succeed in their role. Interpersonal communication creates relationships between the foster parent and child through inclusion, control, and affection. Small group communication aspects of group roles, meeting facilitation, and conflict management are used in interactions with caseworkers. The public speaking skills of preparation and practice are used during court proceedings, orientations, and support groups. Providing …

Review Of Small Group Communication: Forming And Sustaining Teams, Justin Walton

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

Review of Small group communication: Forming and sustaining teams (2021) by Jasmine Linabary and Moon Castro found at https://open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/textbooks/small-group-communication-forming-sustaining-teams.

Request Strategies Used By English Language Learners: Student-Professor Email Communication, Padam Chauhan

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

Recently, email communication between students and professors in the U.S. higher educational institutions where English is the medium of instruction has become increasingly popular. However, ESL students in these educational institutions encounter numerous challenges to write email to their professors because of their unfamiliarity with email etiquette in English, inadequate English language proficiency, and lack of understanding of socio-cultural norms and values. Also, writing emails to professors requires higher pragmatic competence and critical language awareness of how email correspondence takes place in academic setting. Email requests written by ESL students are often seen as inappropriate or informal by their professors, …

It Is. It Isn't. It Is., Chad Kuyper

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

This piece was written in late July 2020. Stay-at-home orders had been lifted a couple months prior in Minnesota, but both the state and the country were seeing a steep rise in COVID-19 infections. No viable vaccine was on the horizon.

I wanted to play with chronology in this piece. Spending fourteen months inside the same set of walls makes both time – and memory – slippery. Hard to wrestle into a recognizable shape. So the events of these two days are told in a chronological jumble that more closely resembles how I recall events of the last year. And …

Unveiling Race And Japanese Identity Through Kokusai Kekkon, Manami Matsuoka

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Kokusai kekkon, marriage among Japanese and non-Japanese nationals, are common, yet sometimes it comes with difficulties. The study aims to uncover Japanese people’s hidden perceptions of gaikokujins, foreigners, and Japanese identity shaped in relation to gaikokujins based on race and ethnicity within cross-national marriage. 18 Japanese spouses of U.S. Americans were interviewed for the study. The study employed thematic analysis to disclose Japanese beliefs and worldviews through interpreting Japanese interviewees’ experiences and their families’ discourses regarding marriage with U.S. Americans. The study found that whiteness and the sense of inferiority to the West and superiority toward the East influence Japanese …

Understanding Communication Dynamics In Group Home Setting, Jacinta O. Anyanwu

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Purpose: Limited research has examined the communicative interaction patterns within group home settings between adults with developmental disabilities and their non-disabled direct care staff. There is evidence from studies that improving the communication pattern of caregivers will eventually lead to better interaction with residents. An approach that might clarify this issue is to have direct care staff who currently work in group homes describe their interaction with their residents. This study evaluated the communication pattern of direct care staff and their residents in group home settings by looking at the types of instructions that direct care staff use on a …

The Person We Knew: Perceptions Of The Identity Of Loved Ones With Dementia By Family Caregivers, Amber Jannusch, Dena Huisman

Speaker & Gavel

While several studies have looked at the identity of dementia patients, most focus on the point of the view of the patient. However, caretakers’ and family members’ view of the identity of the dementia patient is unstudied. This study attempts to see how family caregivers’ view of their family member’s dementia manifests in communication about the loved one. This study is a preliminary examination of family caregivers’ constructions of the identity of their loved one, revealing that caretakers have one of three views: the patient without an identity, the patient as a different person, or the patient as “not lost” …

Doubling Down On Student Discussion: A Simple Technique For Increased Involvement, J. Jacob Jenkins

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

Objectives

1. Students will actively participate in classroom discussion.

2. Students will learn to not “over share,” allowing opportunities for others to speak.

3. Students will be accountable for the material discussed in class.

The Art Of Making Conversation: Learning The Skills Small Talk, Kelly L. Mckay-Semmler, Shane Semmler

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

Although “small talk” is often dismissed as trifling and superficial communication, the ability to converse comfortably with potential relational partners in initial interpersonal encounters is foundational to building closer relationships. In this assignment, students enhance their interpersonal communication competence through the application of six small talk guidelines in two peer-to-peer conversations and in a capstone conversation with the instructor one-on-one. This assignment is appropriate for a variety of communication courses, including the basic course, interpersonal communication, and courses in professional communication, as it develops students’ skills in active listening, self-disclosure, nonverbal immediacy, and anxiety/uncertainty management in interpersonal communication with strangers.

Understanding Coalition Dynamics: A Role Play Class Activity, Anthony M. Ocaña

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

The purpose of this activity is to illustrate the role and challenges of coalitions in group conflict and decision making. In this activity, students take on the roles of organizational members tasked to arrive at consensus, but having different goals, interests, and information that could impact the decision. In discussing this activity experience, instructors can illustrate the six principles of coalitions presented in Wilmot and Hocker’s Interpersonal Conflict text. This activity is applicable to any course that addresses conflict and group interaction, including interpersonal and group communication, organizational and professional communication, family communication, and workplace skills seminars.

Illustrating The Perceptual Process Through A Music Video, Stacey A. Peterson

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

This exercise uses a popular music video to illustrate the significant role that perception plays in the communication process. Perception is a continual and active process that impacts how people see their world, themselves, others in it, and the ultimate creation of meaning. By using a music video, students are immediately engaged because it is a medium that they are very familiar with. Upon completion of this activity, students will demonstrate a better understanding of how and why people perceive the same thing(s) in a variety of ways. They will also have a tangible example of the centrality and complexity …

Constructing Space And Time For Work And Family: A Structuration Perspective On Bed And Breakfasts, Jennifer A. Butler, Daniel P. Modaff

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

This qualitative study explored how bed and breakfast owners communicatively construct privacy while operating a business out of their personal home. One hundred eighty-two B&B owners from 20 U.S. states and 20 countries responded to an electronic qualitative questionnaire that, in part, explored the issue of privacy. Three themes emerged from the data, including: traditional organizational structures, perception of availability, and banking of time and space. These themes revealed that the owners of the nontraditional businesses relied upon recognizable organizational structures used in more traditional organizations to create and maintain private space and time. They also engaged in communication with …

Identifying Rhetorical Visions And Group Roles Through Role-Play, Brent Kice

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

This classroom activity allows students to experience small group communication components firsthand. Students will be divided into groups of five, with each member receiving a character background that the member will role-play. The character backgrounds are to be kept hidden from other members, and each member has an ulterior goal that the member will try to achieve, unbeknownst to the other members. The character backgrounds are designed to force conflict among the group members. At the conclusion of the activity, students will discuss how the different character roles affected the group, and what unifying message might have worked in uniting …

The 'Ex' Factor… Will They Be Friends? A Qualitative Analysis Of Post-Dissolution Communication Among Former Premarital Cohabitating Couples, Brittany Bunkers

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

This study explores the nature of the communication between former premarital cohabitating couples. Eight research participants (n=8) were interviewed to explore how and why they do or do not continue to communicate with their former partner since the relational termination. Four categories emerged from the qualitative analysis. First, couples “slid” into cohabitation for convenience-based purposes rather than deliberately decided. Second, they experienced a breakdown in or lack of communication before and/or during the disengagement. Third, the relational termination was a gradual process, and forth, the participants offered reasons for why they do or do not remain in communication with their …

Group Dynamics: Managing Interpersonal Conflict In The Group Decision Making Process, Brandon J. Semler, Stuart A. Schneider

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

The purpose of this activity is to introduce students to group communication concepts, to teach methods of communicating, to expand student awareness of group dynamics, to expand student awareness of group decision-making, and to involve students in group discussions. Providing students with an opportunity to participate in discussion helps students develop an understanding of various dynamics at play in group communication and shows how group communication affects interpersonal relationships. The outcome of the activity is to improve students understanding of group decision making resulting in better decisions, less conflict, and more efficient use of time when working in groups.

Twenty-Three Days: An Autoethnographic Account Of The Washington, D.C. Sniper Shootings, Chelsea Jordan Gutshall

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

Our lives are often defined by the struggles we confront because in facing these trials we must reflect upon experiences and the power others have in shaping our reactions. The Washington, D.C. sniper shootings of October 2002 are one case of such terror. My own experiences with two shootings in my hometown and living extremely close to others serves as the background for this autoethnography, detailing what I and my family faced during that single month. The focus, however, is not the snipers but family communication and how parents help children cope during unimaginable crises. This autoethnography is divided into …

Broken Up But Not Broken: Satisfaction, Adjustment, And Communication In Post-Dissolutional Relationships, Stephanie Villella

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

The aim of this study was to examine adjustment, satisfaction, and the frequency of communication that occurs between ex-partners in post-dissolutional relationships. Participants (N = 239) were surveyed on their levels of satisfaction, adjustment to the break-up and communication with their most recent ex-romantic partner as a means to explore the process of redefining romantic relationships into platonic friendships. Results demonstrated that who initiated the break-up influenced levels of satisfaction and adjustment. Adjustment and frequency of communication were affected by whether ex-partners had moved on to a new romantic relationship. Differences were also observed between how males and females adjusted …

Extraordinary Everyday Stories: Audio Resources For The Communication Instructor, David E. Engen

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

Communication instructors often supplement course texts with artistic works such as feature films, short stories, and memoirs. A less common form of supplementary material is the audio documentary/story. The discussion below introduces several audio resources likely to help students deepen their understanding of communication in general and interpersonal and intercultural communication in particular. I also offer a few ideas to those instructors wishing to help students create their own small-scale audio productions.

Scripting Relationships Through Adolescent And Adult Dramas: Perceptions Of Completion In Romantic Relationships, Jenna Mcnallie

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

This content analysis sought to observe the number of relational messages present in adult and adolescent serial television dramas in order to understand the presence of Galician’s (2004) Mass Media Myth #10, or “Finding the right mate ‘completes you’” (p. 201). The presence of this completion ideal illustrates the Cultivation Analysis Theory (Gerbner et al., 1986) and is significant in the development of adolescents’ identities and attitudes due to the persuasive power of repetition. Analysis of 101 conversations in 13 episodes found that relational messages are more frequent in adolescent dramas than adult dramas, but Myth #10 is emphasized more …

The Reality Of Role-Playing Games: How Players Construct Reality Through Language, Jessica Carlson

Journal of Undergraduate Research at Minnesota State University, Mankato

Role-playing games have a unique structure and exist in multiple mediums. Although some research is available on communication in computer mediated role-playing games, little exists on communication practices in tabletop role-playing games. In my research, I reviewed existing scholarly literature on tabletop role-playing games, as well as theory on the role language plays in constructing reality. I conducted passive participant observation on a group of people playing Advanced Dungeons and Dragons. By applying theory to my ethnographic research, I demonstrated how players constructed a collective reality through communication. Players did this by demonstrating their own enthrallment with the game and …

Impact Of Text Messaging On Communication, Heidi Hemmer

Journal of Undergraduate Research at Minnesota State University, Mankato

This study used two focus groups to learn about college students and their use of text messages. All of the students were from the Arts and Humanities College at Minnesota State University. One focus group contained five females and other focus group contained five males. The main focus of this study was to find if text messages displaced face-to-face communication. The results of this study suggest text messages do have a displacing effect on face-to-face communication. But text messaging is not the only technology that has the displacement effect. This study also suggests males and females view text messages differently. …

Roommate Rants: Understanding Roommate Conflicts Among Msu Students, Kimberly Halpin

Journal of Undergraduate Research at Minnesota State University, Mankato

Roommates seem to go hand in hand with the college experience. Conflicts are inevitable in life and when a pair or small group of college students live together, conflict is likely to occur. The purpose of this study was to find out what conflicts roommates experience, how they communicate those conflicts, and how they resolve those conflicts. All conflicts would involve a Minnesota State University, Mankato (MSU) student and their roommate(s). An online survey, consisting of twenty questions, was created and administered to Dr. Kristen Treinen's SPEE 100: Fundamentals of Speech Communication class; twenty out of 750 students responded. The …

Social Presence Theory, Isalt Team

iSALT Resources: Theories, Concepts, and Measures

No abstract provided.

Improving Communication And Team Cohesion In A Long Term Care Facility, Jen Watson

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

The purpose of this Capstone project was to provide a staff development training that was researched based and educational. The training focused primarily on communication with a secondary emphasis on team cohesion. Training aimed to equip staff with skills and knowledge useful for working within various systems

Implications Of Skinner's Verbal Behavior For Studying Dementia, Jeffrey Buchanan, Daniel Houlihan, Peter J.N. Linnerooth

Psychology Department Publications

Persons with dementia experience continual declines in a number of abilities. Language abilities are particularly hard hit and become increasingly impaired as the underlying disease progresses. These language impairments make verbal communication very challenging for family and professional caregivers. As a result, caregivers may inadvertently punish verbal behavior, thereby exacerbating the deterioration of verbal repertoires. Although the topography of language impairments associated with dementia have been well described, less empirical work has been conducted concerning how to minimize these impairments and their deleterious effects. In 1957 B.F. Skinner outlined his conceptualization of language and cognition in his book Verbal Behavior. …