Communication Commons^™

Editor’S Note, Don W. Stacks

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

This is the Editor’s Note to Volume 31, Issue 1 of the Journal of the Association for Communication Administration.

Building Support For The Introductory Oral Communication Course: Strategies For Widespread And Enduring Support On Campus, Jon A. Hess

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

A strong introductory course is important for many communication departments, for the discipline, and for meeting our obligation to society. This paper utilizes the example of a recent curricular reform that threatened to eliminate a required oral communication course to reflect on strategies departments can use to build widespread and lasting support for the course. The paper reviews the events that led to the challenge and details the department’s response, which offers lessons that may be useful for other institutions. Four lessons include: tailoring the introductory course to the institution’s needs and mission, involvement in university work, making compelling use …

Clarifying Communication Competencies Through An Interdisciplinary Approach To Communication Pedagogy, Mary Mino

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

The increased focus on assessment has resulted in a greater demand and pressure for communication programs to validate that students have learned and can apply communication competencies. However, for the most part, communication educators have offered no well-defined guidelines or systematic approaches that have been endorsed unequivocally. Although literature has described Relationship Enhancement (RE) as an extremely successful approach for improving oral communication, it has not been studied by the majority of communication educators. Through its nine basic skills, the RE Approach offers specific guidelines that systematically operationalize how to communicate effectively. This essay shares integrative research that develops a …

Forensics As A Correlate Of Graduate School Success, Todd T. Holm, Heather J. Carmack

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

Forensics is an extremely popular extracurricular activity in the communication discipline and often provides competitors with skills required for success in graduate school. This exploratory study examines the relationships between forensics competition and success in graduate school. Through a survey of 169 graduate students, we compare graduate students with a forensics background (n = 35) and those without a forensics background (n = 134). The study generates several important findings. First, graduate students who competed in forensics report higher levels success in graduate school and are more likely to present conference papers and publish in academic journals. Second, the level …

Administrating Integration: The Principles Of Integrated Communication In The Institutional Setting, Brian G. Smith

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

As an emerging paradigm for communication management, integrated communication, also referred to as integrated marketing communication (IMC), poses challenges to communication administration, particularly when institutes of higher learning face a departmentalized context that may impede integration efforts. This article outlines the principles of integrated communication and illustrates them in a university’s integrated communication efforts. Integration may function as an organic process of interpersonal and social connected.

From The Perspective Of A University President, Thomas J. Hynes Jr.

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

No abstract provided.

From The Dean's Perspective, Richard R. Ranta

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

No abstract provided.

Complete Issue, Volume 31, Issue 1

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

This is the complete issue for Volume 31, Issue 1 of the Journal of the Association for Communication Administration.

Editor's Note, Don W. Stacks

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

This is the Editor’s Note to Volume 31, Issue 2 of the Journal of the Association for Communication Administration.

The Effect Of Recruitment Messages On Undergraduate Beliefs About The Communication Major: A Quasi-Experiment, Eric B. Meiners, Karen L. Rudick

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

Despite the importance of attracting talented and qualified undergraduates into the major, the subject of recruitment for communication has received little attention. This study examines the effectiveness of a one-shot informative recruitment message on students’ beliefs and attitudes toward the communication major. As part of a quasi-experiment using a Solomon four-group design, two upper-division majors presented recruitment presentations addressing the benefits of, and misconceptions toward, the major to 130 students enrolled in introductory public speaking classes. Post-tests revealed that students exposed to the message reported significantly more favorable attitudes toward communication than those who had not seen a presentation (n …

A Sense Of Belonging: New Technologies' Effect On Recruitment Practices Of Graduate Programs, Elizabeth Dorrance Hall, Emily C. Simmons

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

College recruiting has changed drastically as a result of new technology such as interactive Web sites, blogs, social media, and on-line videos. This study surveyed 144 college undergraduates about their attitudes and interests in enrolling in their institution’s graduate program as well as different types of recruitment technology. Video, printed handouts, and Web sites, were explored to assess their effectiveness as recruitment tools and discover how views of effectiveness are constructed. The study found video is perceived as the most interactive and influential recruitment tool and Web sites are the most credible, trustworthy, and user-friendly recruitment tool. This study allowed …

Assessing Organizational Image Through The College Open House: A Tool For Success, Andrea M. Pampaloni, Andrea Vadaro Tucker

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

This study evaluates how effective colleges and universities are in presenting an accurate and positive organizational image via their open house events. The Open House Assessment for Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) © was developed to determine how institutional characteristics identified by potential members as influential to their decision to affiliate with a school were made relevant through the organizational image presented by the school. Open house events at twenty-four colleges and universities were assessed using the tool. Findings indicate that there are overall modifications to open house events that might benefit all schools, suggesting that the tool can be an …

Adapting Assessment For The Field Of Communication, Marcus Paroske, Sarah Rosaen

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

It has now become a universal mandate that communication programs conduct assessment of whether students attain selected learning outcomes. However, approaches to assessment unique to communication beyond the basic public speaking course are rare in the literature. This paper defends a “meta-assessment” approach to communication assessment as a key to negotiating the unique attributes of the field of communication, especially in heterogeneous academic departments and programs. It further argues that this approach can benefit assessment of similar, interdisciplinary academic programs.

Evaluating Basic Public Speaking Course Student Presentations: Some Assessment Considerations, Mary Mino

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

Evaluating basic course students’ presentational speaking skills accurately and effectively has always been a challenging and vitally important instructional task. Considering the communication discipline’s need to clarify and to improve communication course assessment, this essay compares the effectiveness of four valid presentational speaking forms. In order to explain the need for this comparison, first, the essay emphasizes for basic public speaking course instructors the significance of increasing students’ understanding of communication competence both in theory and practice. Second, the essay supports a rationale for examining the effectiveness of presentational evaluation forms using a comparative analysis as the basis of this …

Best Practices In Faculty Evaluation, Sue Pendell

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

No abstract provided.

Helping Junior Faculty Achieve Success In Promotion And Tenure, Jon Hess

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

No abstract provided.

Mentoring Faculty Colleagues, Jeff Kerssen-Griep

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

No abstract provided.

Complete Issue, Volume 31, Issue 2

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

This is the complete issue for Volume 31, Issue 2 of the Journal of the Association for Communication Administration.

The Challenge Of Flexible Intelligence For Models Of Human Behavior, Mathew D. Mccubbins, Mark Turner, Nicholas Weller

Faculty Scholarship

Game theoretic predictions about equilibrium behavior depend upon assumptions of inflexibility of belief, of accord between belief and choice, and of choice across situations that share a game-theoretic structure. However, researchers rarely possess any knowledge of the actual beliefs of subjects, and rarely compare how a subject behaves in settings that share game-theoretic structure but that differ in other respects. Our within-subject experiments utilize a belief elicitation mechanism, roughly similar to a prediction market, in a laboratory setting to identify subjects’ beliefs about other subjects’ choices and beliefs. These experiments additionally allow us to compare choices in different settings that …

Murrow And Friendly’S Small World: Television Conversation At The Crossroads, Kathleen Collins

Publications and Research

Small World

(1958–60), an Edward R. Murrow and Fred W. Friendly television production, brought together political and entertainment figures from around the world, boasting technological innovation and a high level of public affairs discourse. The author discusses critical reception, producers’ ideals, cultural and historical context, and relation-ships to evolving notions of public service broadcasting.

Reducing Risk And Injury To Transit Officers, Christine Teague

Theses: Doctorates and Masters

This thesis examines whether an understanding of the communication and safety culture of transit officers, who form part of a security section of a large state Rail Transport Organisation (RTO), can lead to strategies to reduce their risk of injury. The core functions of the transit officer position are passenger safety and customer service. This puts the officers in the front line of defence against the antisocial behaviour from some patrons that occurs regularly on the railway system. Like urban railways the world over, this anti-social behaviour can range from bad language to severe violence. Whilst these officers are not …

Facebook And Its Users: Using Grounded Theory To Understand Perceived Interactivity As A Constraint In The Rhetorical Situation, Katie Lee Retzinger Pruitt

English Theses & Dissertations

The general term interactivity has been used in a variety of disciplines to describe phenomena that occur in website interfaces; however, definitions and explanations about what constitutes interactivity and how it functions do not consider the specific ways in which interactivity can function and be perceived by users in specific rhetorical situations. In this study, I address the problems with the literature about general interactivity in writing studies and in other disciplines such as computer science, advertising, marketing, and communication studies by distinguishing between two types of interactivity—functional and perceived. I situate the different types of interactivity rhetorically, which can …

Strategic Communication In Women's Rights Organizations: Tools, Challenges And Best Practices, Anastasia Kalinina

Dissertations and Theses @ UNI

Despite rapid globalization and tremendous expansion of the number of women's rights organizations, international attention to the issues of women and girls remains rather low. While some women's rights networks and organizations leap to prominence, others do not receive recognition and public support. I wanted to know why. I interviewed 13 directors and communication managers of women's rights non-governmental organizations to see how they manage communication. I used a convenience sample that included a wide range of geographical locations and sizes of NGOs. The interviews were held via Skype. I conducted a theme analysis of transcribed interviews. The participants indicated …

Motivation In The Portland Chinuk Wawa Language Community, Abigail Elaina Pecore

Dissertations and Theses

Throughout the world, languages are becoming extinct at an alarming rate. Perhaps half of the 6,000-7,000 languages worldwide will go extinct in the next 50-100 years. One of these dying languages, Chinook Jargon or Chinuk Wawa, a language found in the Pacific Northwest of the United States, is in the process of being revitalized through the concerted efforts of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde (CTGR). Reasons to revitalize endangered languages often seem irrelevant to our modern daily lives, and revitalizing these languages is a difficult process requiring much dedication, commitment, and persistence. In light of this significant struggle, understanding …

Are We Cool Yet?: A Longitudinal Content Analysis Of Nerd And Geek Representations In Popular Television, Christopher Louis Cardiel

Dissertations and Theses

This study explores the representation of nerds and geeks in popular broadcast television programs over the course of the past twenty years. A content analysis of the five most popular scripted broadcast television programs for each year was conducted in order to assess the frequency of nerd characters, as well as the social competence, physical attractiveness, and demographic information of each such character. In addition, a supplemental survey design study was employed in order to collect public opinion data regarding perceptions of nerds in general and on television. The results of these studies indicated that while the per-year frequency of …

Digital Video: Engaging Students In Critical Media Literacy And Community Activism, Jessie Daniels

Publications and Research

This article presents a strategy for teaching health communication that fosters critical media literacy through the strategic combination of digital video, documentary film, video worksheets, and peer-reviewed journal articles. Given the media-saturated environment in which notions of health are shaped, critical media literacy skills are crucial to students in health-related fields. Cases of key concepts illustrated through documentary films and the peer-reviewed literature are presented. The article then explores how one class took the lead in designing a community event that critically engaged both a YouTube video and a documentary film about police brutality as a public health issue.

Implementation Of A One-To-One Ipod Touch Program In A Middle School, Helen Crompton, Julie Keane

Teaching & Learning Faculty Publications

The purpose of this study is to investigate the implementation of a whole school one-to-one iPod Touch project in a middle school in the southeastern United States. While some focused studies have been undertaken in this new field of learning, there has been little research to date that documents activity within a whole school implementation (Chen, Kao, & Sheu, 2003; Conti-Ramsden, Durkin, & Simkin, 2010). Using Rogers' (1963, 2003) theory of diffusion of innovation as a lens for this research, we gathered data from observations, focus groups, and interviews. Our findings indicated that teachers focused on internet-based research activities, formative …

The Impact Of Online Collaboration Spaces On Virtual Team Outcomes, Anil Ustun, Pilar Pazos

Engineering Management & Systems Engineering Faculty Publications

With the emergence of information technology, organizational teams often work virtually, relying on different technologies to successfully complete tasks. This paper investigates the influence of online collaboration spaces on team performance and team affective outcomes such as satisfaction with the process. An experiment will be conducted in which teams of 3 participants will work together on a survival decision-making activity (Lost at Sea). Teams will be collaborating in a web-conferencing (Adobe Connecta™) space and a 3D (three-dimensional) virtual space (Second Life). Based on Social Presence Theory, we expect that the avatar-based 3D environment will provide a richer environment for social …

Parasocial Interaction Between Latino Newscasters And Their Viewers: A Cultural Pluralism Perspective, Laura A. Alvardo

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Latino identity is in a hybrid state that is continuously evolving to include many factors. Latinos no longer feel the need to assimilate and renounce their cultural identity. Multiculturalism proposes the maintenance of Latino identity to include many variables. A Latino today can maintain their identity as well as include many factors to compose a multi-faceted identity. Therefore, a Latino today can listen to both Spanish-language and English- language radio programs. The present study investigates parasocial interaction between Latino respondents and Latino/White newscasters. Parasocial interaction serves as a medium to study the strength of ethnic identification in Latinos. This study …

Adios, Cuba, Zita Arocha

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Memoir about a family's immigration from Cuba to the United States in the late 1950's, and how exile from native country is like the Buddhist state of bardo, an in-between condition and transition between life and death.