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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Conceptualizing Communication Capital For A Changing Environment, Leo Jeffres, Guowei Jian, Sukki Yoon
Conceptualizing Communication Capital For A Changing Environment, Leo Jeffres, Guowei Jian, Sukki Yoon
Guowei Jian
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 …
Viewing The Public Sphere With Influentials And Citizens, Leo Jeffres, Guowei Jian, Jae-Won Lee, C. Connally, Josie Seikali
Viewing The Public Sphere With Influentials And Citizens, Leo Jeffres, Guowei Jian, Jae-Won Lee, C. Connally, Josie Seikali
Guowei Jian
The currently popular emphasis on democratic discussion in the “public sphere” often is critically viewed by observers commenting on issues of participation, empowerment, and efficacy without input from influentials, whose voices often are the content of public debates. Habermas was critical of the quality of democratic discourse, arguing for an “ideal speech situation” where participants are free to question all proposals; introduce proposals; and express their attitudes, wishes, and needs. This article examines perceptions of the climate of communication in the public sphere by influentials and the general public of a major urban area.