Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Audible Inhalation As A Practice For Mitigating Systemic Turn-Taking Troubles: A Conjecture, Jeffrey D. Robinson

Communication Faculty Publications and Presentations

Extending Jefferson’s analysis of the limited utility of turn-constructional-unit (TCU)-initial particles in managing overlapping talk, this article limits itself to a similar turn-taking context/position in which current speakers bring TCUs to places of possible completion when it is relevant for next speakers to take a turn of talk. This article examines situations in which current speakers continue to audibly inhale in the transition space, arguing that inhalations (a) are pre-beginning actions; (b) bestow a weaker right to speak next than does talk; (c) are not accountable for obscuring next speakers’ talk (if it eventuates); (d) allow for beginning TCUs while …

The National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard Of 2016: Intersection Of Technology And Public Understanding Of Science In The United States, Brianne Suldovsky, William K. Hallman

Communication Faculty Publications and Presentations

Genetically modified (GM) foods have been commercially available in the US for more than two decades, yet Americans know very little about them. With the implementation of the National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard of 2016, food manufacturers will be required to disclose the presence of GM ingredients in their food products. How food manufacturers communicate with consumers about GM ingredients may have consequences for public understanding of GM technology. In Study 1, we explore how food manufacturers characterize GM ingredients within their food products on SmartLabel, a digital disclosure website established by the Grocery Manufacturers Association. In Study 2, we …

Editorial: Helping Scientists To Communicate Well For All Considered: Strategic Science Communication In An Age Of Environmental And Health Crises, Brianne Suldovsky, Marcia Allison, Marina Joubert, Ingrid E. Lofgren, Scott Mcwilliams

Communication Faculty Publications and Presentations

From documenting evidence-based science communication training programs to examining issues of intersectionality and inclusivity in science communication, each of the 12 articles in this special issue offers a unique perspective on science communication, public engagement, and inclusivity. The case studies of training programs provide helpful lessons learned that have broad applicability. The descriptions of how social scientific and rhetorical approaches have been used to enhance inclusive science communication offer new insights into more effective science communication practices. Our hope is that, taken together, these articles will inspire improvements in our collective ability to more effectively and equitably apply scientific research …

Parent Attitudes Towards Childhood Vaccines After The Onset Of Sars-Cov-2 In The United States, Douglas J. Opel, Anna Furniss, Chuan Zhou, John D. Rice, Heather Spielvogle, Christine Spina, Cathryn Perreira, Jessica Giang, Jeffrey D. Robinson, Multiple Additional Authors

Communication Faculty Publications and Presentations

Objective: To understand the influence of a novel infectious disease epidemic on parent general attitudes about childhood vaccines.

Methods: We conducted a natural experiment utilizing cross-sectional survey data from parents of infants in Washington and Colorado participating in a larger trial that began on September 27, 2019. At enrollment, parents completed the short version of the Parental Attitudes about Childhood Vaccines (PACV-SF), a validated survey scored from 0-4, with higher scores representing more negative attitudes. The exposure variable was onset of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in the US, with the before-period defined as September 27, 2019 –– February 28, …

The Game Of Life: How Playing Gamified Interactive Narratives Affects Career Planning In Cambodia, Lauren B. Frank, Paul Sparks, Sheila T. Murphy, Lizzie Goodfriend, Paul Falzone

Communication Faculty Publications and Presentations

To improve economic opportunity in Cambodia, we used social cognitive theory to develop gamified, interactive narratives using mobile phones. Participants guided their chosen character toward their “dream job” goal while encountering a series of barriers along the way. Participants (N = 1,625) were randomly assigned to one of four message frequency experimental conditions: a no-play control condition or playing the interactive narrative one, two, or five times. Compared with not playing the interactive narrative (control), those who played showed higher perceived self-efficacy, response efficacy, and behavioral intentions. Playing more times was associated with less attentional focus and enjoyment, but greater …

“It’S Like 1998 Again”: Why Parents Still Refuse And Delay Vaccines, Jiana L. Ugale, Heather Spielvogle, Christine Spina, Cathryn Perreira, Ben Katz, Barbara Pahud, Phd Amanda F. Dempsey Md, Jeffrey D. Robinson Phd, Kathleen Garrett Ma, Mph Sean T. O’Leary Md, Mph Douglas J. Opel Md

Communication Faculty Publications and Presentations

We conducted a qualitative study from 2018 to 2019 to update the reasons why US parents’ refuse or delay vaccines. Four focus groups and 4 semi-structured interviews involving 33 primary care pediatric providers were conducted in Washington and Colorado. A thematic analysis was conducted to identify themes related to reasons for parental refusal or delay. Five predominant themes were identified: (1) vaccine safety, (2) relative influence of information sources, decision-makers, and timing, (3) low perceived risk of contracting vaccine-preventable disease, (4) lack of trust, and (5) religious objection. Vaccine safety was the theme mentioned most frequently by providers (N = …

Entertainment-Education Behind The Scenes: Case Studies For Theory And Practice, Lauren B. Frank, Paul Falzone

Communication Faculty Publications and Presentations

This Open Access book tracks the latest trends in the theory, research, and practice of entertainment-education, the field of communication that incorporates social change messaging into entertaining media. Sometimes called edutainment, social impact television, narrative persuasion, or cultural strategy, this approach to social and behavior change communication offers new opportunities including transmedia and digital formats. However, making media can be a chaotic process. The realities of working in the field and the rigid structures of scholarly evaluation often act as barriers to honest accounts of entertainment-education practice. In this collection of essays, experienced practitioners offer unique insight into how entertainment-education …

The Scicommdiversity Travel Fellowship: The Challenge Of Creating A Sustainable Intervention, Alberto I. Roca, Cynthia-Lou Coleman, Tara S. Haelle, Danielle N. Lee

Communication Faculty Publications and Presentations

Diversifying a community requires outreach, recruitment, and retention which in this case targets the science communication (SciComm) workforce. Establishing a strategy to accomplish such diversification includes designing, launching, and sustaining the new intervention. Here we review the 6-years history of the DiverseScholar SciCommDiversity Travel Fellowship. This intervention was designed to build a community of minority science communicators that would interact with experienced professionals at the ScienceWriters conference. The travel fellowship reduces the financial burden of conference attendance while introducing the fellows to mentors who facilitate networking and knowledge-building during the event’s professional development opportunities. The first two years of the …

The Role Of Perceptual Simulation In L2 Vocabulary Acquisition, Min Zhu, L. David Ritchie

Communication Faculty Publications and Presentations

Research in embodied cognition suggests that perceptual simulation may play a role in language comprehension. In this study we use a combination of experimental and qualitative research to explore the potential of simulation exercises to improve acquisition of esoteric literary English vocabulary by English majors at a Chinese University. Through quantitative analysis of the data from one pre-test and two post-tests of the experimental and control groups, and qualitative examination of the student feedback collected from an open-ended survey and face-to-face interviews, we find that most of the students in both conditions have simulations of the learned words whether based …

Rheumatology Clinicians’ Perceptions Of Telerheumatology Within The Veterans Health Administration: A National Survey Study, Rachel Matsumoto, Bryant R. England, Ginnifer L. Mastarone, J. Steuart Richards, Elizabeth Chang, Patrick R. Wood, Jennifer Barton

Communication Faculty Publications and Presentations

Introduction: The Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Health Administration (VA) Strategic Plan (Fiscal Year 2018–2024) identified four priorities for care including easy access, timely and integrated care, accountability, and modernization, all of which can be directly or indirectly impacted by telemedicine technologies. These strategic goals, coupled with an anticipated rheumatology workforce shortage, has created a need for additional care delivery methods such as clinical video telehealth application to rheumatology (ie, telerheumatology). Rheumatology clinician perceptions of clinical usefulness telerheumatology have received limited attention in the past. The present study aimed to evaluate rheumatologists’ perceptions of and experiences with telemedicine, generally, and …

Reclaiming A Unified American Narrative Lexical, Grammatical, And Story Metaphors In A Discussion Of Polarized Identities, L. David Ritchie

Communication Faculty Publications and Presentations

As part of an on-going project to apply metaphor analysis to understanding the cultural polarization that has recently obstructed discourse about political and cultural issues in both the United States and Europe, this essay examines the lexical, grammatical, and story metaphors in a recent editorial column, by conservative columnist Ross Douthat, that also focuses on this topic. In a key section of the essay, Douthat uses a blend of complex grammatical and lexical metaphors to highlight the contrast between the traditional American identity narrative of settlement and conquest and a recently emerged liberal counter-narrative, which Douthat epitomizes by quoting former …

It's Not Easy - Impacts Of Suicide Prevention Research On Study Staff, Jason I. Chen, Ginnifer L. Mastarone, Lauren M. Denneson

Communication Faculty Publications and Presentations

Suicide prevention researchers who work with individuals at high risk of suicide or are exposed to details of suicide attempts and deaths may experience negative impacts on their own well-being. This is not unlike the experiences of mental health providers, where repeated exposure to clients' difficult experiences gas long been identified as an occupational risk (Molnar et al., 2017). however, there have been few studies evaluating how exposure to details of suicide-related behavior impacts researcher well-being. This gap in the literature is worrisome, as researcher' mental health and well-being might be negatively impacted by repeated exposure to graphic details of …

From The Studio To The Street: Cultivating Democratic Norms In Uganda, Lee Shaker, Paul Falzone, Paul Sparks, Ruth Kugumikiriza

Communication Faculty Publications and Presentations

Communication interventions can make valuable contributions to the democratic development of citizens. This article reports on a nongovernmental organization’s (NGO’s) effort to leverage a television rap news program in Uganda to strengthen viewers’ democratic norms. Two different approaches addressing government failures and malfeasance are tested with an experiment conducted in six villages outside of Kampala. Results indicate that soft news segments can influence viewers’ perceived democratic norms and shape downstream behaviors as well. Beneficial effects were strongest when participants were exposed to stories that featured relatable citizens demonstrating desirable democratic attitudes and behaviors. Treatment effects were most pronounced among less …

Communicating Environmental Risks: Local Newspaper Coverage Of Shellfish Bacterial Contamination In Maine, Brianne Suldovsky, Eva Arbor, Victoria Skillin, Laura Lindenfeld

Communication Faculty Publications and Presentations

Coastal resources play a vital role in Maine’s cultural and economic wellbeing, contributing an estimated 168 billion dollars to the Maine economy. There are numerous risks to the sustainability of Maine’s shellfishing industry and working waterfront, including pathogenic bacterial pollution. In this study, we ask a broad fundamental question central to science and environmental journalism: how do newspapers cover localized environmental risks and what are the implications of those approaches? Utilizing the northeastern US state of Maine’s shellfishing industry as an exemplar environmental issue, this study examines how Maine’s two most read newspapers, the Bangor Daily News and the Portland …

Impact Of The Childhood Vaccine Discussion Format Over Time On Immunization Status, Douglas J. Opel, Chuan Zhou, Jeffrey D. Robinson, Nora Henrikson, Katherine Lepere, Rita Mangione-Smith, James A. Taylor

Communication Faculty Publications and Presentations

Objective: Presumptive formats to initiate childhood vaccine discussions (e.g. “Well we have to do some shots.”) have been associated with increased vaccine acceptance after one visit compared to participatory formats (e.g. “How do you feel about vaccines?”). We characterize discussion format patterns over time and the impact of their repeated use on vaccine acceptance.

Methods: We conducted a longitudinal prospective cohort study of children of vaccine-hesitant parents enrolled in a Seattle-based integrated health system. After the child’s 2, 4, and 6 month visits, parents reported the format their child’s provider used to begin the vaccine discussion (presumptive, participatory, or …

Exploring The Policy Value Of Cable Franchise And Peg Fees, Duncan Stewart, Lee Shaker

Communication Faculty Publications and Presentations

Subscribers to cable television typically pay Franchise and Public–Educational– Governmental (PEG) Fees. Ostensibly, these monthly fees exist to compensate communities for the private use of public goods and to bolster the marketplace of ideas. Little empirical research, however, assesses the utility of these fees as policy mechanisms. In this article, we track the existence and dispensation of the fees in the 20 largest American cities by examining their recent annual budgets. This provides a foundation to consider the fees’ contributions in the context of ongoing legal challenges to their existence and the increase of digital television services beyond their purview.

Clinician-Parent Discussions About Influenza Vaccination Of Children And Their Association With Vaccine Acceptance, Annika M. Hofstetter, Jeffrey D. Robinson, Katherine Lepere, Morgan Cunningham, Nicole Etsekson, Douglas J. Opel

Communication Faculty Publications and Presentations

Objective: To examine how clinicians communicate with parents about influenza vaccination and the effect of these communication behaviors on parental vaccine decision-making.

Study Design: We performed a secondary analysis of data obtained from a cross-sectional observational study in which health supervision visits between pediatric clinicians and English-speaking parents of young children were videotaped. Eligible visits occurred during the 2011-2012 and 2013-2014 influenza seasons, included children ≥ 6 months, and contained an influenza vaccine discussion. A coding scheme of 10 communication behaviors was developed and applied to each visit. Associations between clinician communication behaviors and parental verbal vaccine acceptance …

Each Medium Tells A Different Story: The Effect Of Message Channel On Narrative Persuasion, Nathan Walter, Sheila T. Murphy, Lauren B. Frank, Lourdes Baezconde-Garbanati

Communication Faculty Publications and Presentations

Limited attention has been given to the medium of story presentation in this process of narrative persuasion. The present study (N = 243) fills this gap by directly comparing narrative involvement across print and audiovisual versions of the same cervical cancer-related story. The mediation analysis revealed that exposure to an audiovisual narrative was associated with higher levels of cognitive and emotional involvement than exposure to the exact same narrative in its printed form. Yet the higher levels of transportation in the audiovisual condition came at a price of enhancing psychological reactance, eliminating the relative advantage of the film narrative.

Media Choice Proliferation And Shifting Orientations Towards News In The United States And Norway, 1995-2012, Eiri Elvestad, Lee Shaker

Communication Faculty Publications and Presentations

Around the world, rapid media choice proliferation is empowering audiences and allowing individuals to more precisely tailor personal media use. From a democratic perspective, the relationship between the changing media environment and news use is of particular interest. This article presents a comparative exploration of citizens’ changing orientations towards local, national and international news in two very different countries, Norway and the United States, between 1995 and 2012. Prior research suggests that more media choice correlates with a decrease in news consumption. Our analysis shows a pattern of increasing specialization in news orientation in both countries. We also find that …

“Metaphor Wars”: Time For A Truce?, L. David Ritchie

Communication Faculty Publications and Presentations

Are metaphorical words and phrases merely clever use (or abuse) of language, or do they tell us something important about human thought and communication? Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT), initially proposed by George Lakoff and Mark Johnson in 1980, claims that commonplace metaphorical expressions like “rising prices” and “a warm relationship” reflect deep conceptual relationships (e.g. MORE IS UP and AFFECTION IS TEMPERATURE) that shape almost all of human cognition. CMT is supported by the “embodiment hypothesis,” the proposal that ordinary language use and comprehension involves areas of the brain primarily concerned with perception and muscle control (e.g. Barsalou, 1998). These …

Social Norms About A Health Issue In Work Group Networks, Lauren B. Frank

Communication Faculty Publications and Presentations

The purpose of this study is to advance theorizing about how small groups understand health issues through the use of social network analysis. To achieve this goal, an adapted cognitive social structure examines group social norms around a specific health issue, H1N1 flu prevention. As predicted, individual’s attitudes, self-efficacy, and perceived social norms were each positively associated with behavioral intentions for at least one of the H1N1 health behaviors studied. Moreover, collective norms of the whole group were also associated with behavioral intentions, even after controlling for how individual group members perceive those norms. For members of work groups in …

Information Scanning And Vaccine Safety Concerns Among African American, Mexican American, And Non-Hispanic White Women, Meghan Bridgid Moran, Lauren B. Frank, Joyee S. Chatterjee, Sheila T. Murphy, Lourdes Baezconde-Garbanati

Communication Faculty Publications and Presentations

Objective: A significant number of parents delay or refuse vaccinating their children. Incidental exposure to vaccine information (i.e., scanned information) may be an important contributor to anti-vaccine sentiment. This study examines the association between scanned information, trust in health information sources and vaccine safety concerns among African American, Mexican American, and non-Hispanic White women.

Methods: Women (N=761) in Los Angeles County were sampled via random digit dial and surveyed regarding use of and trust in health information resources and vaccine safety concerns.

Results: Analyses indicate that the sources of information associated with vaccine safety concerns varied by …

The Ability Of Narrative Communication To Address Health-Related Social Norms, Meghan B. Moran, Sheila T. Murphy, Lauren B. Frank, Lourdes Baezconde-Garbanati

Communication Faculty Publications and Presentations

Social norms are an important predictor of health behavior and have been targeted by a variety of health communication campaigns. However, these campaigns often encounter challenges related to the socially specific context in which norms exist: specifically, the extent to which the target population identifies with the specific reference group depicted and the extent to which the target population believes the campaign’s message. We argue that because of its capacity to effect identification among viewers, narrative communication is particularly appropriate for impacting social norms and, consequently, behavioral intention. This manuscript presents the results of a randomized trial testing the effectiveness …

Telling Stories, Saving Lives: Creating Narrative Health Messages, Lauren B. Frank, Sheila T. Murphy, Joyee S. Chatterjee, Meghan B. Moran, Lourdes Baezconde-Garbanati

Communication Faculty Publications and Presentations

Increasingly, health communication practitioners are exploring the use of narrative storytelling to convey health information. For this study, a narrative film was produced to provide information about the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) and cervical cancer prevention. The storyline centered on Lupita, a young woman recently diagnosed with HPV who informs her family about HPV and the availability of the HPV vaccine for her younger sister. The objective was to examine the roles of identification with characters and narrative involvement (made up of three dimensions: involvement, perceived relevance, and immersion) on perceived response efficacy, perceived severity, and perceived susceptibility to HPV and …

A “Glowing Marble”: “Brushed With Clouds” Or “Parched, Scorched, And Washed Away”? Barack Obama’S Use Of Contrasting Metaphors And Stories In Framing Climate Change., L. David Ritchie, Mariko Thomas

Communication Faculty Publications and Presentations

This paper examines President Barack Obama’s use of contrasting metaphors and metaphorical stories to frame the issue of climate change and the associated political controversies in a major policy speech at Georgetown University in 2013. One major theme in the speech contrasted a series of metaphors based on violence and destruction with a series of metaphors based on peace, tranquility, and health, all within an overall framing story about the Apollo 8 astronauts and the picture they took of the Earth from lunar orbit. Another major theme is the contrast between metaphors of passivity or obstruction and metaphors of movement …

“Nixon Stonewalled The Investigation”: Potential Contributions Of Grammatical Metaphor To Conceptual Metaphor Theory And Analysis, L. David Ritchie, Min Zhu

Communication Faculty Publications and Presentations

Halliday’s (1985; 1998) theory of grammatical metaphor (GM) has been quite influential among scholars who study structural approaches to language but has received little attention among researchers in cognitive linguistics. In this paper we summarize the aspects of Halliday’s approach that are most relevant to cognitive linguists, and show how key aspects of grammatical metaphor are related to the analysis of lexical and conceptual metaphors. Using an example of scientific writing analyzed by Halliday (1998) as well as examples from discourse previously subjected to conceptual metaphor analysis, we show how the two approaches might usefully be combined to yield new …

When ‘Seeking Love Is Travel By Bus’: Deliberate Metaphors, Stories And Humor In A Romanian Song, Elena Negrea-Busuioc, L. David Ritchie

Communication Faculty Publications and Presentations

Drawing on a song by Romanian blues rock singer and satirist Alexandru Andrieș, Transport în comun, we argue that both listeners and metaphor researchers must sometimes assume that a metaphor has been deliberately used and transformed in order to make sense of a metaphorical story, particularly when the metaphor is embedded in a particular cultural and political context. On the face of it Transport în comun is a song about seeking love, but it opens with a decidedly unromantic metaphor, “women are buses,” then develops this song into a story that is intelligible only on the assumption …

The Transformative Power Of Narrative As A Behavioral Change Communication Tool To Reduce Health Disparities In Cervical Cancer Among Latinas: Global Implications, Lourdes Baezconde-Garbanati, Joyee S. Chatterjee, Lauren B. Frank, Sheila T. Murphy, Meghan B. Moran, Lisa N. Werth, Nan Zhao, Paula Amezola De Herrera, Don Mayer, Jeremy Kagan, Dave O'Brien

Communication Faculty Publications and Presentations

Cervical cancer is the third most common type of cancer in women globally. Latinas carry a disproportionate burden of this disease. In the United States, when compared with non-Hispanic Whites (NHW), Latinas endure much higher incidence rates (13.86 vs. 7.70 per 100,000) with mortality rates 1.5 times greater than for non-Hispanic white women . In order to address this disparity, a multidisciplinary team engaged in a transformative study to test if narrative, developed in culturally specific ways as a behavioral change communication tool, works better than non-narrative in increasing knowledge and changing attitudes and behaviors and, if so, why. This …

Dead Newspapers And Citizens’ Civic Engagement, Lee Shaker

Communication Faculty Publications and Presentations

Using data from the 2008 and 2009 Current Population Survey conducted by the United States Census, this article assesses the year-over-year change in the civic engagement of citizens in America’s largest metropolitan areas. Of special interest are Denver and Seattle, where the Rocky Mountain News and Seattle Post-Intelligencer closed during the intervening year. The data from the CPS indicate that civic engagement in Seattle and Denver dropped significantly from 2008 to 2009 – a decline that is not consistently replicated over the same time period in other major American cities that did not lose a newspaper. The analysis suggests that …

“Now Everyone Knows I’M A Serial Killer” Spontaneous Intentionality In Conversational Metaphor And Story-Telling, L. David Ritchie, Elena Negrea-Busuioc

Communication Faculty Publications and Presentations

Drawing on data from a series of informal conversations about public safety and police-community relations, we distinguish between a speaker’s generalized communicative intentions with respect to metaphor use and story-telling, based on what Chafe (1994, p. 145) calls “unifying ideas that persist in semiactive consciousness” and the spontaneous intentions that arise within the short-term focus or spotlight of consciousness and guide the production of actual utterances. Although speakers occasionally enter a conversation with a fixed intention to express an idea with a particular metaphor, tell a particular story in a particular style, or accomplish some other speech act, such as …