Communication Commons^™

Making When Ends Don’T Meet: Articulation Work And Visibility Of Domestic Labor During Grassroots Innovation., Prashant Rajan

Prashant Rajan

Critical Animal And Media Studies: Expanding The Understanding Of Oppression In Communication Research, Nuria Almiron, Matthew Cole, Carrie P. Freeman

Carrie P. Freeman

Generational Growing Pains As Resistance To Feminine Gendering Of Organization? An Archival Analysis Of Human Resource Management Discourses, Kristen Lucas, Suzy D'Enbeau, Erica P. Heiden

Kristen Lucas

Guided by a feminist communicology of organization framework, we examine generational growing pains by analyzing discourses appearing in HR Magazine at three different points in time, which approximately mark the midpoint of Baby Boomers’, Gen Xers’, and Millennials’ initial entry into the workplace. We reconstruct historically situated gendered discourses that encapsulate key concerns expressed by human resource management professionals as they dealt with younger generations of workers: Personnel Man as Father Knows Best (1970), Human Resource Specialist as Loyalty Builder (1990), and Talent Manager as Nurturer (2010). We propose that frustrations expressed by older generations about Millennials may not be …

Workplace Dignity In A Total Institution: Examining The Experiences Of Foxconn’S Migrant Workforce, Kristen Lucas, Dongjing Kang, Zhou Li

Kristen Lucas

In 2010, a cluster of suicides at the electronics manufacturing giant Foxconn Technology Group sparked worldwide outcry about working conditions at its factories in China. Within a few short months, 14 young migrant workers jumped to their deaths from buildings on the Foxconn campus, an all-encompassing compound where they had worked, eaten, and slept. Even though the language of workplace dignity was invoked in official responses from Foxconn and its business partner Apple, neither of these parties directly examined workers’ dignity in their ensuing audits. Based on our analysis of media accounts of life at Foxconn, we argue that its …

Physician-Pharmacist Communication: Quotes, Quandaries And Quality, Nicholas E. Hagemeier

Nicholas E. Hagemeier

No abstract provided.

Etsu Didarp Project 1: Health Care Provider Communication And Prescription Drug Abuse And Misuse, Nicholas E. Hagemeier, Fred Tudiver

Nicholas E. Hagemeier

No abstract provided.

Comfort, Complexities, And Confrontation: Health Care Provider Communication And Prescription Drug Abuse And Misuse, Nicholas E. Hagemeier, Fred Tudiver

Nicholas E. Hagemeier

This presentation describes (1) the role of communication in prescription drug abuse prevention and treatment and (2) the outcomes of 5 focus groups conducted in the Appalachian Region.

Americans, Marketers, And The Internet: 1999-2012, Joseph Turow, Amy Bleakley, John Bracken, Michael X. Delli Carpini, Nora A. Draper, Lauren Feldman, Nathaniel Good, Jens Grossklags, Michael Hennessy, Chris Jay Hoofnagle, Rowan Howard-Williams, Jennifer King, Su Li, Kimberly Meltzer, Deirdre K. Mulligan, Lilach Nir

Chris Jay Hoofnagle

This is a collection of the reports on the Annenberg national surveys that explored Americans' knowledge and opinions about the new digital-marketing world that was becoming part of their lives. So far we’ve released seven reports on the subject, in 1999, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2009, 2010, and 2012. The reports raised or deepened a range of provocative topics that have become part of public, policy, and industry discourse. In addition to these reports, I’ve included three journal articles — from I/S, New Media & Society and the Journal of Consumer Affairs — that synthesize some of the findings and place …

Taking Care, Kelly A. Dorgan

Kelly A. Dorgan

Excerpt: It’s July 26, 2010, late. I’ve sunk onto the edge of the bed in my childhood home. The bedroom reminds me of one of those cozy, pretty Valentine’s Day shoeboxes I made back in elementary school: small, pink, white, flowery.

Navigating Family Cancer Communication: Communication Strategies Of Female Cancer Survivors In Central Appalachia, Kathryn L. Duvall, Kelly A. Dorgan, Sadie P. Hutson

Kelly A. Dorgan

In a multiphasic study, the stories of 29 female Appalachian cancer survivors were collected through either a day-long modified story circle event (n=26) or an in-depth interview (n=3). Qualitative content analysis was used to identify emergent themes in the data. The analysis revealed 5 types of family cancer communication including both pre-diagnosis and postdiagnosis cancer communication strategies

Barriers To Family Cancer Communication In Southern Appalachia, Kathryn L. Duvall, Kelly A. Dorgan, Amber E. Kinser

Kelly A. Dorgan

This study examines cultural issues surrounding family cancer communication in Appalachia, providing insight into participants’ communication choices regarding their illness within their families. Stories of 29 female Appalachian cancer survivors from Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia were collected via a mixed methods approach in either a day-long story circle (N=26) or an in-depth interview (N=3). Qualitative content analysis was used to identify unique barriers to family cancer communication in Appalachia. Two barriers emerged: 1) the health of other family members and 2) cancer in a “taboo” area. These findings suggest that Appalachian female cancer survivors struggle with similar issues as …

Barriers To Family Cancer Communication In Southern Appalachia, Kathryn L. Duvall, Kelly A. Dorgan, Amber E. Kinser

Amber E. Kinser

This study examines cultural issues surrounding family cancer communication in Appalachia, providing insight into participants’ communication choices regarding their illness within their families. Stories of 29 female Appalachian cancer survivors from Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia were collected via a mixed methods approach in either a day-long story circle (N=26) or an in-depth interview (N=3). Qualitative content analysis was used to identify unique barriers to family cancer communication in Appalachia. Two barriers emerged: 1) the health of other family members and 2) cancer in a “taboo” area. These findings suggest that Appalachian female cancer survivors struggle with similar issues as …

Organizational Communication: Perceptions Of Staff Members' Level Of Communication Satisfaction And Job Satisfaction, Priti Sharma, James Lampley, Donald W. Good

Donald W. Good

The purpose of this research study was to explore the topic of organizational communication in higher education and examine staff members’ perceptions about their level of communication and job satisfaction in their workplaces. This study was also designed to test the relationship between communication satisfaction and job satisfaction by analyzing the significance of different dimensions of Communication Satisfaction with the view that satisfaction is multifaceted.

The results of the study indicated that gender differences and the number of years in service do not seem to make a significant difference in the level of satisfaction among staff members, but the level …

Infusing Critical Thinking Into Communication Courses, James P. Dimock, Kristen P. Treinen, Daniel Cronn-Mills, Robert S. Jersak

Daniel Cronn-Mills, Ph.D.

The importance of critical thinking is generally recognized by educators and during the past 20 years numerous initiatives have been taken to improve critical thinking. Although research demonstrates courses in communication study can have a positive impact on critical thinking skills, we argue that instruction in critical thinking can be more explicitly covered in basic communication courses. This article details our efforts to infuse critical thinking into an entrylevel communication course and outlines a guide to help communication teachers integrate critical thinking into their courses.

Thomas Mueller.Jpg

Dr. Thomas Mueller

No abstract provided.

Demonstrating Collegiality: A Co-Constructed Narrative Inquiry, Elizabeth A. Curry, Deborah Cunningham Walker

Elizabeth Curry

“Demonstrating Collegiality: A Co-Constructed Narrative Inquiry” seeks to define a collegial relationship through the experiences of two first year doctoral students at a large state-supported university. The techniques used to develop the co-constructed narrative parallel the authors’ development of a collaborative relationship. Using autoethnographic essays and interactive interviews, the authors co-construct several narratives that describe the process of moving from a friendly, social relationship to a scholarly, collaborative relationship, as well as the process of moving from peer reviewers to co-authors. An introductory narrative frames the paper; each of the “interior” narratives is accompanied by an extensive analytic introduction and …

Narratives Of Workers On The Crisis Line: Dialogic Conversations About Domestic Violence, Elizabeth A. Curry

Elizabeth Curry

This paper is my exploratory study of the interpersonal communication between domestic violence workers who answer crisis calls and the callers who seek help. I am focusing on the perception of those who answer the crisis lines. This is part of my on-going research into the meaning and experiences of the women who work against domestic violence. There are approximately 1,900 local domestic violence programs and state coalitions in every state, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. This paper is based on the experiences of women working in one local program, CASA. I will briefly compare the CASA advocates …

Voices Of Engaged Scholarship: Relationships & Research In University-Community Project, Elizabeth A. Curry

Elizabeth Curry

This paper is about engaged scholarship and a university-community initiative as an example of research collaboration. It addresses the negative perceptions community activists hold concerning researchers, the development of the research relationship with the community organization and the reactions of academic researchers within the research team. The paper covers the first four months of developing a partnership between the University of South Florida (www.usf.edu) and an organization that works against domestic violence, CASA (www.casa-stpete.org). Using narratives, I explore issues such as incentives and barriers for the community agency to collaborate with the university and for university faculty to pursue a …

Narrative As Communication Activism: Research Relationships In Social Justice Projects, Elizabeth A. Curry, Deborah Cunningham Walker

Elizabeth Curry

When they talk about CASA or the project, Deb and Elizabeth use the words “we, our, or us,” not “them or they.” Deb and Elizabeth are part of CASA because they understand us. They get it. Lots of people study domestic violence, but they were the first researchers interested in us, the workers. We felt validated because university researchers thought what we did was important, and they asked us to help them understand our work. They didn’t lecture us; they listened to us. These are some of the staff’s observations about our participation in the University Community Initiative Project (UCI), …

I Yelled At My Mother: Narrative Introspection Into The Multifaceted Emotions Of Sympathy & Compassion In Care-Giving, Elizabeth A. Curry

Elizabeth Curry

Sympathy, empathy and compassion have been widely studied in many different disciplines but there has been little agreement among researchers. Studies often address the process of giving sympathy but little has been done with the process of receiving sympathy or the complex intersection of the two. This paper is an autoethnography that explores the relational way we develop an understanding of sympathy and compassion. I use an introspective process to study how I have come to understand compassion and sympathy in care giving for my mother. I seek a different approach to compassion and sympathy as a social process of …

Using Communication And Culture To Prevent Crisis: A Literature Review, Jennifer Palm

Jennifer Palm

Lifestyle Drugs And The Neoliberal Family, Kristin Swenson

Kristin Swenson

Since 1997, advertisements for lifestyle drugs have saturated the U.S. airwaves, print media, and the Internet. Viewers are asked to see their children’s difficulty in school as attention deficit disorder, their worry as anxiety, and their flagging sex life as dysfunction. And for each disorder, there is a corresponding pharmaceutical solution. Through the lens of these advertisements, Lifestyle Drugs and the Neoliberal Family unpacks our contemporary obsession with obtaining easy solutions for difficult problems. The ads’ discourse illuminates the experience of living within a society increasingly affected by the policies of neoliberalism, one that requires us to invest and manage …

Vitamin D An Examination Of Physician And Patient Management Of Health And Uncertainty, Keisa Bennett, Brandi Frisby, Laura Young, Deborah Murray

Laura Young

Vitamin D has been a topic of much research interest and controversy, and evidence is mixed concerning its preventive effects and health benefits. The purpose of our study was to explore the decision-making strategies used by both primary care providers and community members surrounding vitamin D in relation to uncertainty management theory. We conducted semistructured interviews with primary care providers (n = 7) and focus groups with community members (n = 89), and transcribed and coded using the constant comparative method. Themes for providers included awareness, uncertainty, patient role, responsibility, skepticism, uncertainty management, and evolving perceptions. Community member …

Crisis Communication, Learning And Responding: Best Practices In Social Media, Xialing Lin, Patric R. Spence, Timothy L. Sellnow, Kenneth Lachlan

Patric R. Spence

Difficult Conversations Made Easier, Jonathan R. Cohen

Jonathan R. Cohen

The first question a reviewer faces is whether to recommend the book. In this regard, my job in reviewing Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most by Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton and Sheila Heen is trivial: I strongly recommend it. Their topic--how to make difficult conversations productive--is both important and largely unexplored, and their insights are original and highly penetrating. How should one ask one's boss for a raise? How should one tell a spouse that one wants a divorce? How should one talk with an elderly parent about entering an assisted-care facility? For those who either engage in …

We Want Yer, Mckinley’: Epideictic Rhetoric In Songs From The 1896 Presidential Campaign, William D. Harpine

William D Harpine

No abstract provided.

Epideictic And Ethos In The Amarna Letters: The Withholding Of Argument, William D. Harpine

William D Harpine

No abstract provided.

Is Modernism Really Modern? Uncovering A Fallacy In Postmodernism, William Harpine

William D Harpine

Some postmodernists criticize the view that the logics of Western thought can be employed universally. In doing so, they assume without adequate proof that different human societies have greatly different rationalities and employ completely different logics. This essay argues that, on the contrary, widely different cultures often share noteworthy similarities in rationality.

Analyzing How Rhetoric Is Epistemic: A Reply To Fuller, William Harpine

William D Harpine

No abstract provided.

African American Rhetoric Of Greeting During Mckinley’S 1896 Front Porch Campaign, William Harpine

William D Harpine

African American speakers who participated in William McKinley’s 1896 Front Porch campaign events used epideictic rhetoric to address the issues of racial equality. They praised McKinley, but presented few arguments on policy matters. This rhetorical strategy helped them to advocate policies in a manner that would superficially appear to be ceremonial more than deliberative. Paradoxically, in doing so, the speakers advocated their views to ameliorate the injustices of the Jim Crow era, while adapting to the campaign’s rituals.