Critical and Cultural Studies Commons^™

Turning Points In The Development Of Blended Families, Leslie A. Baxter, Dawn O. Braithwaite, John H. Nicholson

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

A modified retrospective interview technique (RIT) was employed with members of 53 blended families to determine the types of turning points they reported experiencing and the developmental trajectories of their respective blended family’s first 4 years. Findings revealed 15 primary types of turning points, of which “Changes in Household Configuration,” “Conflict,” “Holidays/Special Events,” “Quality Time,” and “Family Crisis” were the most frequent. A cluster analysis revealed five basic trajectories of development for the first 48 months of family development: Accelerated, Prolonged, Stagnating, Declining, and High-Amplitude Turbulent. The trajectories differed in the overall positive-to-negative valence ratio, the frequency of conflict related …

Communication Of Social Support In Computer-Mediated Groups For People With Disabilities, Dawn O. Braithwaite, Vincent R. Waldron, Jerry Finn

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

This study documented the types and extent of social support messages exchanged by persons with disabilities who participated in a computer-based support group. A modified version of Cutrona and Suhr’s (1992) social support category system was used to code 1,472 support messages. The largest percentage of these messages offered emotional and informational support, whereas network support and tangible assistance were least frequently offered. It appeared that many of the support messages directly redressed limitations and challenges associated with disability-related mobility, socialization, and self-care. Results are discussed in terms of the generalizability of existing category systems for coding support to this …

Protecting Communication Departments: Reflections On The Nebraska Experience, Ronald Lee, William J. Seiler

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

Eight years ago, in the first week of the 1991 fall semester, the Acting Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs announced a series of vertical budget cuts that included the elimination of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s department of Speech Communication (now Communication Studies). Over the next seven months the department fought against the proposed action. In March 1992, the Budget Reduction Review Committee voted against the Vice Chancellor’s recommendation. Later in the month, the Academic Planning Committee also voted to rescind the budget cutting measure.

These actions ended the battle and assured the continuation of the department. In an earlier …

The Role Of Rituals In The Management Of The Dialectical Tension Of “Old” And “New” In Blended Families, Dawn O. Braithwaite, Leslie A. Baxter, Anneliese M. Harper

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

In this study we examined how members of step- or blended families interact and develop their families by examining their successful and unsuccessful ritual enactments. Blended families provide a fertile context in which to study ritual adaptiveness and the possible relationship between successful enactment of rituals and their adaptability. Data were in-depth interviews with 53 members of blended families concerning their successful and unsuccessful ritual enactments. A qualitative/interpretive analysis indicated that blended families face an ongoing dialectical opposition between the “old family” and the “new family.” Blended family rituals are important communicative practices that enable blended family members to embrace …

Everyday Relating Or “The Grout Around The Tile”: Studying The Ordinary Aspects Of Personal Relationships, Dawn Braithwaite, Kathryn Dindia, Valerian Derlega, Mark Fine, Mark Leary, Rowland Miller, Julie Yingling

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

In answering the call to explore everyday aspects of personal relationships, we planned a thematic symposium for the 1997 INPR [International Network on Personal Relationships] conference in Oxford, Ohio, titled, “‘Everyday Relating’: Studying the Ordinary Aspects of Personal Relationships.” We brought leading scholars together to facilitate discussion groups to explore how this diverse group would respond to the call to focus research attention on everyday relating. We asked the participants to consider: “How should we approach and study everyday relating in personal relationships?” We gathered panelists representing diverse disciplines, theoretical perspectives, and research methods. Panelists shared their perspectives and led …

Envisioning A Capstone Course In Communication: The View From A Departmental Armchair, William J. Seiler

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

For many departments, the need to develop an assessment package has been the driving force in the consideration of adding a capstone course to their communication curricula. But there are other reasons to justify the creation of such a course. In general, the capstone course has been described by some as a course in which students are required to integrate diverse bodies of knowledge to solve a problem or formulate a policy of societal importance. The dictionary describes a capstone as the “final or crowning part.” That may be a bit presumptuous, but it illustrates the notion of what most …

Managerial Emotionality In Chinese Factories, Kathleen J. Krone, Ling Chen, Diane Kay Sloan, Llinda M. Gallant

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

Managerial emotion may be experienced and handled differently when reason and emotion are understood to be continuously (e.g., Eastern cultures) rather than dichotomously (e.g., Western cultures) related. Using a social constructionist perspective, this study investigated emotionality among directors from 48 different factories in the People’s Republic of China. Social, moral, and material/economic situations were identified as sources of pleasant and unpleasant managerial emotional experience. Thought-feeling continuities were identified in how the managers described their emotional experiences. Both pleasant and unpleasant emotions were experienced very intensely and were managed in ways that both conformed to and departed from cultural ideals. Managerial …

Approaches To Managerial Influence In The People’S Republic Of China, Kathleen J. Krone, Ling Chen, Hongwei Xia

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

This study identifies approaches to managerial influence in the People’s Republic of China and examines the reflection of cultural themes in these approaches. Forty-eight factory directors from state-owned enterprises completed a survey in which they reported what they would say to workers in obligatory and nonobligatory work situations. Descriptive coding was used to develop message category systems for each situation. A more interpretive form of analysis was used to identify how the cultural themes of values, political ideology, and changing managerial roles were reflected in the influence approaches reported. The interrelated cultural values of group-centeredness, hierarchy, and face concern were …

“Here?” Strategies For Teaching About Cultural Diversity In Non-Diverse Settings, Anneliese Harper, Carol Cumber, Charles Braithwaite, Dawn O. Braithwaite

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

How can educators motivate people in ethnically non-diverse areas to learn about multiculturalism? The roadblocks people may encounter in this process are explored and ways instructors may address multiculturalism in the classroom are presented.

A Binding Tie: Supportive Communication Of Family Kinkeepers, Margaret S. Leach, Dawn O. Braithwaite

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

Families are an important source of social support, and little scholarship exists regarding how family members stay in touch and provide support for one another. Kinkeepers are said to provide support and keep family members informed about one another, yet there has been little research on who family kinkeepers are and how they communicate and enact this role. Two studies were undertaken. The first study used surveys to provide demographic data on kinkeepers and to ascertain information on their activities. The second study used diaries and interviews to document the activities of a set of kinkeepers and to describe outcomes …

The Nebraska Department Of Communication Studies Story: There Are Happy Endings That Go Beyond Football And A Good Crop Year, William J. Seiler

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

The following essay discusses the proposed targeting of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s Department of Communication Studies for total elimination. The essay describes the department’s demographics, the university’s budget crisis, and the department’s status at its time of peril. The essay reveals how the department learned of the proposal to eliminate it, how the department reacted to the proposed cut, how the administration established an appeals process to the proposed cuts, what explanation and criteria were used to target the department, how the department responded to the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affair’s (VCAA) criteria for targeting the department, how the VCAA …

“I Do” Again: The Relational Dialectics Of Renewing Marriage Vows, Dawn O. Braithwaite, Leslie A. Baxter

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

This study provides descriptive insight into the dialectical themes of one public relationship ritual in modern US society, the renewal of marital vows between spouses. Interpretive analyses of in-depth interview data revealed that this ritual allows spouses to manage three underlying dialectical contradictions: private-public, stability-change, and conventionality-uniqueness.

Responding To The Americans With Disabilities Act: Contributions Of Interpersonal Communication Research And Training, Dawn O. Braithwaite, Denise Labreque

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

The enactment of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), has resulted in considerable misinformation and resistance, especially when ablebodied individuals and persons with disabilities interact. This essay reviews contributions of interpersonal communication researchers who address the challenges persons with disabilities face when communicating with ablebodied others, suggesting ways to mitigate communication discomfort and to reduce problems in helping situations. The authors suggest foci for future research and training which can contribute to the acceptance and effectiveness of ADA and to facilitate communication between ablebodied persons and persons with disabilities.

Structuring Constraints On Perceptions Of Upward Influence And Supervisory Relationships, Kathleen J. Krone

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

This research examined the effects of centralization of authority on employees’ perceptions of the likelihood of attempting upward influence and their perceptions of supervisory trust and leader-member exchange. Three hundred and sixty-two employees from five different organizations responded to a questionnaire that assessed perceptions of centralization, attitudes toward upward influence, leader-member exchange, and supervisory trust. Consistent with earlier formulations, centralization was operationalized as perceptions of participation in decision making and job autonomy (Hage, 1980; Hage & Aiken, 1967). Results revealed that both job autonomy and participation in decision making significantly affect subordinates’ attitudes toward attempting upward influence and the levels …

The Contributions And Challenges Of Family Communication To The Field Of Communication, Sandra Petronio, Dawn O. Braithwaite

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

As the Family Communication Commission in the Speech Communication Association is off to a good start, it seems appropriate to bring attention to the contributions and challenges studying family communication has for the discipline of communication. More than a decade ago, Bochner (1976) outlined several fruitful areas of investigation. Clearly, people heeded Bochner’s persuasive arguments and produced research on family communication problems (e.g., Bochner & Eisenberg, 1987; Fitzpatrick, 1988; Noller & Fitzpatrick, 1988; Petronio, 1982; Sillars, Weisberg, Burggraff, & Wilson, 1987). But, the need to examine family communication in more depth is essential to the growth and development of the …

A Comparison Of Organizational, Structural, And Relationship Effects On Subordinates’ Upward Influence Choices, Kathleen J. Krone

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

This research examined the extent to which organizational membership, centralization of authority, and subordinates’ perceptions of supervisory relationship quality affected how frequently they report using different types of tactics in their upward influence attempts. Participants from five different organizations were surveyed. A typology of upward influence tactics was created based on the extent to which: (1) the means employed to attempt influence are open or closed, and (2) the desired outcomes are openly expressed or left undisclosed. The resulting dependent variable consisted of three types of tactics: open upward influence, strategic upward influence, and political upward influence. MANOVA results indicated …

Managerial Communication Practices In Chinese Factories: A Preliminary Investigation, Kathleen J. Krone, Mary Garrett, Ling Chen

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

This paper presents the results of a preliminary study of selected managerial communication practices in Chinese factories. Members of a delegation of Chinese managers visiting the United States were interviewed to explore: (a) the extent to which Chinese factories conform to a bureaucratic model of organization, and (b) factory director communication within these organization. Of particular interest were their upward and downward communication practices, and their methods for persuading and motivating workers and managing conflicts with problem employees. The results of our investigation reveal a distinctive form of bureaucracy operating within these factories. Moreover, we describe patterns of managerial communication …

“Just How Much Did That Wheelchair Cost?”: Management Of Privacy Boundaries By Persons With Disabilities, Dawn O. Braithwaite

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

Persons with physical disabilities were studied to determine how they communicate when they perceive able-bodied persons are expecting or demanding disclosure about their disability in new relationships. An interpretive analysis was performed on 350 pages of transcripted data from interviews with disabled adults. The results showed that disabled persons were able to describe the communication of able-bodied others and their attributions when disclosure was demanded or expected. This study revealed communication strategies disabled persons use to manage disclosure. These strategies were discussed as regulating privacy boundaries, whereby disabled persons seek to be acknowledged as “persons first” by controlling dissemination of …

Effects Of Leader-Member Exchange On Subordinates’ Upward Influence Attempts, Kathleen J. Krone

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

This research examined the extent to which subordinates’ perceptions of supervisory relationship quality affected how frequently they use different types of tactics in their self-reported upward influence attempts. Based on their responses to the Leader-Member Exchange Scale (1982), three hundred and thirty-seven respondents from five different organizations were classified into an in-group or out-group supervisory relationship. As a part of a larger study, a typology of upward influence messages was created based on the extent to which: (l) the means employed to attempt influence are open or closed, and (2) the desired outcomes are openly expressed or left undisclosed. The …

The Experience And Expression Of Emotion In The Workplace: A Study Of A Corrections Organization, Vincent R. Waldron, Kathleen J. Krone

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

This study evaluated Rafaeli and Sutton’s (1989) model of emotional expression in the workplace by examining descriptions of emotional interactions occurring among members of a state government agency. The results indicated that qualities of felt emotions influenced emotional expression, which in turn yielded changed relational perceptions and changed communication behavior subsequent to the emotional event. Content analysis of the event descriptions resulted in preliminary generalizations about the types of emotions experienced by members, the nature of repressed emotional messages, and the dimensions of relationship changes stemming from the emotional events. The results are interpreted as evidence of the importance of …

Developing The Personalized System Of Instruction For The Basic Speech Communication Course, William J. Seiler, Marilyn Fuss-Reineck

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

The purpose of this article is to discuss major planning and development decisions required in order to use the Personalized System of Instruction (PSI) method in the basic speech communication course. In this article we examine: (1) how major PSI components are implemented and (2) how the PSI course is managed. By documenting the decisions required to use PSI in speech communication courses which include performances, we hope to provide helpful guidelines for those interested in applying the PSI method to their basic speech communication courses.

Extending Orientation: Telephone Contacts By Peer Advisers, John Ragle, Kathleen Krone

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

The telephone has been used for delivering a variety of services to college students. Because consumers typically initiate the telephone contact themselves, the effectiveness of these programs depends on the extent to which students are aware of the availability of services and of their own needs for assistance. First-semester freshmen may have the least adequate information about what constitutes a problem and where to go for help on campus. In 1982 the Dean of Students Office at the University of Texas at Austin conducted a pilot study of a telephone contact program in which peer advisers placed telephone calls to …

Characteristics Of Rejection Letters And Their Effects On Job Applicants, Fredric M. Jablin, Kathleen J. Krone

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

This study attempted to describe the structural and content characteristics of actual employment rejection letters (following job screening interviews). Their impact on applicants’ feelings about themselves (self-concept and self-satisfaction) and about letters (perceptions of letter clarity, “personalness” and appreciative tone) are assessed. Results provide a profile of the “typical” rejection letter and indicate that while few of the letter characteristics affected applicants’ feelings about themselves, a number of these attributes were related to applicants’ perceptions of the letters.

Psi: An Attractive Alternative For The Basic Speech Communication Course, William J. Seiler

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

The Personalized System of Instruction (PSI), often referred to as the Keller Plan after its founder Fred Keller, was developed to teach introductory psychology courses. Since it was first used, however, PSI has seen widespread use in many disciplines. Sherman estimates that six thousand PSI courses have been taught at all levels of education by virtually all disciplines. Boylan reports that more than thirteen hundred individuals presently use the PSI method on the university and college level; that 80.5% of the individuals surveyed represent four-year institutions, with the remainder representing two-year institutions; that 66% of the colleges and universities are …

Communication Apprehension And Teaching Assistants, William J. Seiler, John P. Garrison, David W. Brooks, Frederick K. Sikora, Thomas J. Tipton

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

The authors of this note have developed a program aimed at training, providing feedback to, and evaluating the performance of graduate teaching assistants. It includes the use of a tool called the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension, which is reliable and valid.

Communication Skills Needed By Persons In Business Organizations, Vincent Disalvo, David C. Larsen, William J. Seiler

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

Whether we like it or not, this is the age of subject matter relevancy and educational accountability. In order for instruction to be interesting, meaningful, and practical for students, it must be essentially a microcosm of that segment of the “real world” students will be entering upon graduation. The objective of competency- or performance-based models of education suggests that educators should be held accountable for what they teach. However, before teachers can be held accountable they need to know what skills and abilities their students will require in order to be successful in their career objectives.

In addition to the …

Pitch Of Voiced And Whispered Vowels, R. E. Mcglone, W. H. Manning

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

A Historical Study Of The Theatre Of The Mother Lode During The Gold Rush Period, Berton Everett Trulsson

University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations

Many events of the gold rush have been adequately narrated in numerous books and articles. The succeeding pages in this thesis will recall, historically by topic, important incidents of one phase of that period never before treated as a separate study that phase is the theatre of the Mother Lode region.

The argonauts of the Mother Lode wanted to be entertained and could pay for it. Many preferred the saloon and gamboling hall, but the theatre did not languish because of this, and in fact, developed in some instances directly out of the saloons and fandango halls.

It was the …