Communication Commons^™

Curiosity, Courage Keys To Diverse Journalism, Carla Kimbrough

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Faculty Publications

Curiosity and courage, I said, are essential characteristics for being a great journalist and producing great journalism.
That comment apparently struck two aspiring journalists because they approached me following a recent panel discussion about diversity at Colorado State University. They wanted more.
Curiosity, I explained, allows journalists to ponder the reality of the world around them. By putting aside assumptions of knowing how life is, great journalists can spark their desires to learn or know more about people and their circumstances.
Courage enables journalists to ask about all the things they are curious about without fear. Or, to borrow somewhat …

“You’Re My Parent But You’Re Not”: Dialectical Tensions In Stepchildren’S Perceptions About Communicating With The Nonresidential Parent, Dawn O. Braithwaite, Leslie A. Baxter

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

The nonresidential parent plays a role in the lives of stepchildren and in stepfamily households. The focus of the present study was on the interaction between the nonresidential parent and his/her child who resides as part of a stepfamily household. Grounded in relational dialectics theory, the researchers performed an interpretive analysis of 50 transcribed interviews with college-aged stepchildren. Stepchildren’s perceptions of communication with the nonresidential parent were animated by two contradictions: parenting/nonparenting and openness/closedness. These two contradictions form a totality, interwoven with one another. The parenting/nonparenting contradiction reflected stepchildren’s ambivalence over parenting attempts of nonresidential parents. Stepchildren wanted nonresidential parent …

Assessing Library Collections Using Brief Test Methodology, Jennifer Benedetto Beals

E-JASL: Electronic Journal of Academic and Special Librarianship (1999-2009, Volumes 1-10)

Abstract

The brief test methodology was developed by Howard White as an assessment tool to determine or verify the existing strength of a library collection. The relatively quick and inexpensive procedure utilizes the Research Libraries Group’s Conspectus levels, subject expertise, and cataloging records in WorldCat. In support of the University of Tennessee Libraries’ continuing efforts to encourage resource sharing with Information Alliance partners, I developed a project with art counterparts at the University of Kentucky and Vanderbilt University. Using brief tests, I completed an assessment of each institution’s collection in the subject area of African art. The results enabled us …

Subject Librarians In The Changing Academic Library, Louise Feldman

E-JASL: Electronic Journal of Academic and Special Librarianship (1999-2009, Volumes 1-10)

Abstract

This article overviews the literature and key topics surrounding the role of subject librarianship in the evolving environment of academic libraries. Subject librarians are looked at in the context of the broad trends affecting librarianship and in the context of the traditional roles they have held in collection development, instruction, and reference. The author opened a discussion on this topic entitled, “Subject Librarians: Viable or Vanishing?” for the RUSA-CODES Dual Assignments Discussion Group at the American Library Association Midwinter Meeting in San Antonio, Texas in January of 2006.

Tiered Reference: The New Landscape Of The Frontlines, Susan Gardner

E-JASL: Electronic Journal of Academic and Special Librarianship (1999-2009, Volumes 1-10)

Introduction

When one walks into a typical academic library today, he or she is hard-pressed to see a reference librarian in plain view working at a public services desk. The well marked “reference desk” of yore, staffed by a smiling librarian and once a staple of every traditional academic library, has evolved into a less visible, more amorphous facility. Most libraries now use a new service strategy called “tiered reference,” whereby the initial reference contact point is with trained students or paraprofessionals at a general service desk. These non-librarians field all manner of questions, including directional, computing, and occasionally reference. …

Exploring The Lsu Libraries’ Virtual Reference Transcripts: An Analysis, Jenna Ryan, Alice L. Daugherty, Emily C. Mauldin

E-JASL: Electronic Journal of Academic and Special Librarianship (1999-2009, Volumes 1-10)

Abstract

Virtual reference is an important service provided by the Louisiana State University Libraries. A subcommittee within the Reference Department of Middleton Library decided to quantitatively and qualitatively review virtual reference transcripts for the 2005-2006 school year in order to assess and evaluate strengths and weaknesses of the services provided. The transcript analysis provides information reflecting how our patrons are using virtual reference and how our librarians are performing in the virtual environment.

The Use Of Scholarly Monographs In The Journal Literature Of Latin American History, Meiyolet Mendez, Karen Chapman

E-JASL: Electronic Journal of Academic and Special Librarianship (1999-2009, Volumes 1-10)

Abstract

This study explores the use of the monograph in the journal literature of Latin American history through a reference study of Hispanic American Historical Review for the years 1985, 1995 and 2005. The authors found that the use of monographs as secondary sources increased over time. Monographs in Spanish and Portuguese were heavily used, although English was the predominant language. Distribution of publication dates varied somewhat over the period, with less use of works from the previous five years in 2005. The most frequently-cited publishers were university presses. The authors concluded that the monograph continues to play a vital …

The Cost Of Our Counties, Katherine Mayse, Brian A. Hernandez, Mark Mahoney, Meredith Grunke, Michele Brown, Jessica Donovan, Danielle Welty, John Bender

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Student Media

This series of 15 stories examines County government in Nebraska -- how it came to be as it is, what it does. what it costs, and what it means to the people who live in central and western Nebraska. The stories were reported and written by students in the Depth Reporting class at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Journalism and Mass Communications. Cooperating in publication of the 15-part series were the Kearney Hub, North Platte Telegraph, and Scottsbluff Star-Herald.

Contents
Series looks at questions of state's county structure
Despite job's big changes, career lawman still is …

How To Improve Critical Thinking Skills In The Media Tsrategy Course By Implementing An Online Peer Learning Component, Frauke Hachtmann

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Faculty Publications

This study addresses how a specific teaching standard set forth by the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications (ACEJMC) can be measured in one of the core courses in an accredited advertising program at a large Midwestern university. Specifically, it focuses on how critical thinking skills can be improved using online peer learning in the advertising media strategy course. This study is the result of an inquiry course portfolio the author developed as a fellow of the "Peer Review of Teaching Project."

One Big Family, One Big House: An In-Depth Look At Lincoln's Clinton Elementary School, Brent Atema, David Bennett, Nicholas Berry, Joel Gehringer, Sean Hagewood, Steve Hermann, Yangkyoung Lee, Benjamin Mccarthy, Craig Reier, Jeff Salem, Andrew Stewart, David Story, Amy Thompson, Whitney Turco, Jason Wiest, Mary Kay Quinlan, Nancy Anderson, Timothy G. Anderson, Bruce Thorson

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Student Media

Lincoln’s Clinton neighborhood is a nondescript one in many ways, not unlike hundreds of other neighborhoods around the nation. Mature trees line streets with decades-old houses in varying states of repair. And the neighborhood elementary school, a stately, 1920s-era brick building, is right out of Central Casting. But within this very ordinariness is a story about a neighborhood where many families struggle with poverty, as they have for decades in this corner of Lincoln, and where the schoolhouse doors open to a refuge for some 400 children who collectively speak a dozen languages and rely on the teachers and staff …

Navigating Dangerous Deliberative Waters: Shallow Argument Pools, Group Polarization And Public Debate Pedagogy In Southeast Europe, Gordon R. Mitchell, Damien S. Pfister, Georgeta Bradatan, Dejan Colev, Tsvetelina Manolova, Gligor Mitkovski, Ivanichka Nestorova, Milena Ristic, Gentiana Sheshi

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

An Albanian social movement called Mjaft ! serves as a synecdoche for wider trends unfolding in Southeast Europe, where student, driven public deliberation is enlivening the political landscape not only in Albania, but also in Bulgaria, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Romania. What do these initiatives suggest about the political dynamics of linkages formed between academic debating groups and civil society organizations? Can public debate democratically energize South, east European citizenries? What general insight does this case study reveal about argumentation as applied critical practice? This paper explores these questions by drawing from collaborative research conducted by the authors under …

Deliberating Debate’S Digital Futures, Carly Woods, Matthew Brigham, Brent Heavner, Takuzo Konishi, John Rief, Brent Saindon, Gordon R. Mitchell

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

Human communities can use collective deliberation to make considered decisions regarding their relationship to technology. Such reflection is particularly warranted, because as sociologist Langdon Winner (1986) observes, "technological artifacts have politics" (p. 19). In other words, choices about technology carry political implications, because patterns of sociality are embedded within technical tools (McMillan and Hyde, 2000). Fortunately, Winner notes, "by far the greatest latitude of choice exists the very first time a particular instrument, system, or technique is introduced" (Winner 1986, p. 29). Winner's insight punctuates the salience and timeliness of this forum exchange, which comes at a moment when the …

The Paradox Of National Liberation: India, Israel And Algeria, Michael Walzer

Podcast Series 1

The Kripke Lecture, a collaboration between the Thompson Forum and the UNL Norman and Bernice Harris Center for Judaic Studies, presents Dr. Michael Walzer a leading American political theorist and professor of Social Science at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey since 1980. His recent books include Arguing about War (2004) and Politics and Passion (2005).

For eighteen years, the E.N. Thompson Forum on World Issues has brought a diversity of view points on international and public policy issues to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the citizens of the state in order to promote understanding and to …

Tragedies Call For Time To Put Life In Balance, Carla Kimbrough

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Faculty Publications

Today your life could change dramatically.
• Your spouse or significant other decides life without you is better than life with you.
• Your child, your parent or perhaps even you discover a terminal illness has invaded your body.
• You lose your job where you've worked a minimum of 50 hours per week for the last five, 10. 15 or 20 years.
• You lose everything that is precious to you: your home, your possessions, your mementos. All you have left are your life and the clothes on your back.
Chances are any of the above scenarios would rock …

Generation X And Generation Golf: What Advertisers Need To Know When Targeting German And American Thirty-Somethings, Frauke Hachtmann

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Presentations

While most of the academic research currently focuses on defining and analyzing Generation Y, trade publications in the advertising and media field are publishing more and more articles about Generation X, primarily because this segment has been extremely difficult to reach for advertisers (Overington, 2005). American companies have conducted business in Germany for many years (and vice versa) and need to understand the next generation that is going to drive global business in a new system that replaced the Cold War and reveals the interdependence of economies: globalization. The purpose of this paper is to compare and contrast what is …

Overexposed: Issues Of Public Gender Imaging, Pamela K. Morris

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Faculty Publications

Make no mistake—it is popularity that makes pop culture important. And it is the powerful visual imagery of advertisements that helps define the largely artificial construction we call gender. Sex-role stereotyping and gender representations are typically studied in content analyses of television and magazine advertisements. Less common are investigations into outdoor advertising, a medium that is ubiquitous and the most democratic—everyone has equal access to visuals. This essay calls attention to and offers insights on advertisements in our outdoor visual space, focusing on gender representations. Capturing and analyzing these ephemeral images can show how they influence how we feel, think, …

Managing Newsroomcan Be A Piece Of Cake, Carla Kimbrough

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Faculty Publications

You may never desire to be a manager, but you still have to manage. Your perspective changes depending on where you sit in the organizational chart. If you're in the lower part of the organizational chart, you may think you have to manage only yourself. If you're in the middle of the chart, you know the tug of war of managing down, across and up. If you're at the top, you know the challenge of managing down.
In truth, wherever you are in the chart, managing yourself, peers and the boss is required.

Are Advanced Degrees Worth The Time And Effort?, Carla Kimbrough

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Faculty Publications

We’ve read it all before. The more you learn, the more you earn.
High school graduates earn more than those who drop out of school. College grads have higher salaries than those who have only a high school education. Those with graduate degrees often out earn those with a bachelor's degree. Of course, there are exceptions to every rule.
The question of graduate degrees often comes up in our industry. When I've spoken with journalists who are pondering graduate .school, I ask about their motivation. What do you want the outcome to be? What do you think a graduate degree …

Accessing The Spoken Word, Jerry Goldman, Steve Renals, Steven Bird, Franciska De Jong, Marcello Federico, Carl Fleischhauer, Mark Kornbluh, Lori Lamel, Douglas W. Oard, Claire Stewart, Richard Wright

University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries: Faculty Publications

Spoken-word audio collections cover many domains, including radio and television broadcasts, oral narratives, governmental proceedings, lectures, and telephone conversations. The collection, access, and preservation of such data is stimulated by political, economic, cultural, and educational needs. This paper outlines the major issues in the field, reviews the current state of technology, examines the rapidly changing policy issues relating to privacy and copyright, and presents issues relating to the collection and preservation of spoken audio content.

Change And Connections: Passion And Organizational Change, Lynn Baird

E-JASL: Electronic Journal of Academic and Special Librarianship (1999-2009, Volumes 1-10)

First paragraph:

Librarians are change agents, working in an environment that requires us to be both leading and chasing change. We lead change when we create programs to meet our institutional needs based upon our knowledge of our students and faculty, available resources, and our awareness of the potential for what might be. We chase change when institutional priorities shift suddenly, in response to external forces such as funding or politics, or as a result of leadership transitions. Change can be invigorating for us as it keeps the creative juices flowing. Conversely, it can be exhausting when we feel as …

Cross-Disciplinary Prospecting: Educational Technology Offers Up Gold For Library And Information Science Curricula, Michael J. Miller

E-JASL: Electronic Journal of Academic and Special Librarianship (1999-2009, Volumes 1-10)

Abstract

This article provides an overview of the current trends in information and communication technology affecting library services and recommends how, because of these trends, library and information science (LIS) curricula should turn an inquisitive, interdisciplinary eye toward the field of educational technology. Gaps in current LIS professional training and practice are cited, curriculum standards in LIS and educational technology programs are described and compared, and examples are presented to demonstrate how educational technology pedagogy and practice help to successfully augment library skills, service, and practice.

Differences In Indexing Term Vocabularies And Agreement With Subject Specialists, John M. Weiner

E-JASL: Electronic Journal of Academic and Special Librarianship (1999-2009, Volumes 1-10)

Abstract

Index terms are an important component in considering a scientific topic. In a real sense, the indexing terms represent the vocabulary and language of the topic. Study of these critical terms has employed human and machine techniques. Computerized indexing systems can accurately and completely recognize terms, but the different strategies for organizing and evaluating the concepts (i.e., informative terms) and related issues may not be effective in accomplishing the desired descriptive actions. This paper explored the results of two computer supported approaches in indexing scientific documents against a background of simple random generation of informative terms in varying sized …

Papa's Got A Brand New (Virtual) Bag: Real-Time Chat And Reference Discourse, Darren Chase

E-JASL: Electronic Journal of Academic and Special Librarianship (1999-2009, Volumes 1-10)

Abstract

Many librarians agree that virtual reference has expanded the range of library reference services. Along with an expansion of reference service, virtual reference (especially real-time chat) has influenced reference discourse. Style characteristics of chat include its telegraphic brevity, its conversational and informal tone, and its tendency towards interview and exchange. A bedrock feature of traditional reference service is the reference interview-as this and other aspects of reference exchange are conversational, chat is exceptionally resonant within the continuum of reference services. The virtual reference librarian operates in a medium both familiar and leading-edge (a bridge between the traditional and the …

Aligning Campus Portals With Learners’ Needs: A Preliminary Study On The Implementation Of Campus Portals In Iranian Higher Education Communities, Alireza Hejazi, Mitra Dilmaghani

E-JASL: Electronic Journal of Academic and Special Librarianship (1999-2009, Volumes 1-10)

Abstract

Effectively developing and deploying campus portals can dramatically increase productivity and profitability of research and education. The cutting edge of this initiative lies in aligning portals with students’ current needs. Our study aims at identifying these needs and provides a preliminary theoretical framework for portal developers to benchmark their objectives according to educational requirements. The study is mostly done based on local observations and experience of its conductors within higher education communities in Iran. The result of this primary study paves the way of implementing campus portals in the Iranian higher education communities which will be paced by the …

Teaching Information Literacy To The Advanced Writing Class In Three Sessions, Colleen Kennedy

E-JASL: Electronic Journal of Academic and Special Librarianship (1999-2009, Volumes 1-10)

Introduction

As is the case at many universities, Northern Kentucky University’s Advanced Writing class is often thought of as the “Research Paper class.” Frequently, a research paper on a variety of topics is the capstone of the course and many of the other course assignments lead up to it. Students are usually brought to Steely Library for one class during the semester to be taught all the information competencies deemed necessary in one session. The classes are from 50 minutes to 75 minutes long.

The pilot program described here was a first attempt at an informal trial to determine whether …

Information And Communication Technologies And The Effects Of Globalization: Twenty-First Century “Digital Slavery” For Developing Countries—Myth Or Reality?, L. A. Ogunsola

E-JASL: Electronic Journal of Academic and Special Librarianship (1999-2009, Volumes 1-10)

Abstract

The main goal of this paper is to examine the ICT (Information and Communication Technology) revolution and the concept of globalization as they effect developing countries. Globalization as one of the reasons for possible widening of the gap between the poor and the rich nations was examined and the emerging concept of “digital slavery” was carefully evaluated. The wide gap in availability and use of ICTs across the world and the influences ICTs exert on globalization at the expense of developing countries were carefully examined and suggestions and necessary policies were offered for developing countries to leap-frog the industrialization …

Three Steps To Landing Your First Journalism Job, Carla Kimbrough

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Faculty Publications

Four. Five. Maybe even Six. The number of years it took to earn your ticket to the big time.
You've donned your cap and gown and celebrated. Now, it's time to take life more seriously. Your parents warn you that soon you will be responsible for your own livelihood. Student (loan lenders remind you that you have only six months before you'll pay the piper.
You decide it's best to start applying for jobs. You apply to the places you've always wanted to live or the papers you read about during school. You hear nothing, or at least nothing encouraging. …

Kellogg Foundation Chooses Nebraska Initiative For National Grant: Hometown Competitiveness, Jeff Yost

Heartland Center for Leadership Development Materials

Lincoln, Nebraska, USA—HomeTown Competitiveness, a Nebraska initiative currently working in seven counties and communities in Nebraska, has been chosen as one of six recipients of grants provided through the W. K. Kellogg Foundation’s 75^th Anniversary Entrepreneurship Development Systems for Rural America.

The $2 million award, over three years, was approved by the Kellogg Foundation Board of Directors meeting at Battle Creek, MI last month. More than 180 applications were received for the grants to develop six national models in rural entrepreneurship.

HomeTown Competitiveness (HTC) provides a framework for rural communities to help them identify reachable goals and strategies focused …

Good Mental Health Key To Success In Traumatic Job, Carla Kimbrough

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Faculty Publications

Sometimes what we do is no fun. We cover devastation, the horrors of war and tragedy simply because we must. We record history. We tell the stories of life and of death. As journalists, that's what we are called to do.
In this rough and tumble world, we are charged with being ready for anything. The wise among us carry a change of clothes in our trunks, a passport in our top drawer and a can-do spirit in our souls. We are journalists.

‘Omaha Blues’ Recalls Lost Childhood, Timothy G. Anderson

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Faculty Publications

In 1997, I walked into Joe Lelyveld’s office and handed him a newspaper clipping about his parents. Lelyveld was executive editor of the New York Times, and I was one of his nearly 1,100 news department employees. The clipping, from a World-Herald column, noted that the Lelyvelds had once lived in Omaha; that Arthur, Joe’s father, had been rabbi at Temple Israel in the early 1940s; that his mother, Toby, had taught at the University of Omaha; and that the Lelyvelds had divorced in 1964. The news was that Toby had died in New York at age 85. If I …