Other Communication Commons^™

Assessment Of Customer Perceptions Of The Hazardous Materials Pharmacy, Sean M. O'Brien

Theses and Dissertations

The Air Force began operations of a Hazardous Material Pharmacy (HMP) in the late 80s. This thesis identifies causes of positive and negative perceptions of the HMP among its customers. Focus groups were used to determine customer perceptions. Several Total Quality Management (TQM) tools were used in this analysis. Brainstorming was used to generate customer perceptions. Affinity diagrams were used to group data into meaningful categories. Interrelationship digraphs were used to determine influence among causes of perception and to rank the causes of perception. This study showed that lack of clear policy and support of the HMP were the leading …

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 …

Pregnancy, Bedrest, And The Family: Development Of Communicative Tools Which Reflect The Stressors And Coping Strategies Of Childbearing Families Requiring Bedrest During Pregnancy, Amy R. H. Weeks

Honors Capstone Projects and Theses

No abstract provided.

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 …

The Political Psychology Of Deception Research, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article describes some substantive and ethical complexities in research on the psychology of deception.

Hardball Politics, The Chinese Connection, And The Psychology Of Linkage: Some Implications Of, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

IBPP has posited some effects of globalization on individual psychologies ("Political Psychology and Globalization" (Vol. 1, No. 13)) and political tactics and structures ("Psychopolitical Effects of Globalization on Power: When Weakness Becomes Strength" (Vol. 1, No. 14.)) This article describes how new information technologies and old principles of social psychology may be combined in an era of globalization for effective information warfare during political conflict.

Political Propaganda: A Postmodernist Analysis (Part Ii), Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

Part I of this paper (IBPP, Vol. 1, No. 17) describes the conceptual problems inherent to propaganda as process. Now Part II will describe the psychological rationale for why propaganda is employed by governments and nonstate actors regardless of these problems.

Political Propaganda: A Postmodernist Analysis (Part I), Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article presents a number of conceptual problems with assuming that political propaganda is an effective tool in seeking political power.

Common Law, And Privacy In Computer-Mediated Environments, Stephen D. Cooper

Communications Faculty Research

Computer-mediated environments pose a special challenge to our legal and cultural protections of privacy. These environments are unprecedented in the way commercially valuable information can be generated in their very use. The ease and low cost with which electronic information can be gathered and disseminated in these environments have led many to advocate regulation protecting privacy interests from commercial encroachment. At the same time, the use of digital communications to support criminal or terrorist activities have led others to advocate regulation allowing law enforcement agencies to eavesdrop or intercept. The cultural history of the Internet as a self-regulating, almost anarchical, …

Perceptions Of Basic Communication Texts: Factors In Student Learning And Textbook Adoption Decisions, Donald D. Yoder, Robert A. Davilla

Basic Communication Course Annual

The purpose of this study is to assess existing pedagogical assumptions about basic communication course textbook features. Two separate surveys were administered to students (N= 1,379) and instructors (N= 118) in basic communication courses at 15 colleges and universities.

The findings of the study are twofold. First, students and teachers differ in their perceptions of usefulness of textbook pedagogical features. Second, students perceive basic course texts to be less difficult and less theoretical though more interesting, enjoyable, relevant, and practical than other introductory course texts. When making publication and text selection decisions, the findings help authors and teachers better choose …

A National Survey Of Tenure And Promotion Standards In Communication Departments, Philip Emmert, Steven A. Rollman

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

This article presents information on a survey on tenure and promotion standards in academic departments in the U.S. Among the most important decisions in the academic world are those of promotion and tenure. The importance of these decisions is underscored by the controversy that accompanies them. The conflict surrounding these, as well as merit decisions, is usually focused on the criteria for making these determinations. In mid 1993 surveys were sent to the chairpersons of every department in the Speech Communication Association Directory that included in its title the words communication, speech or rhetoric. This resulted in 627 mailings to …

Using The Internship As A Tool For Assessment: A Case Study, Beverly Graham, Pamela G. Bourland-Davis, Hal W. Fulmer

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

This article presents a case study involving public relations internship letters that were used to generate a checklist for the assessment process. The case study suggests three key points about the usefulness of internships in assessment. First, the internship can be translated into empirical results, greatly assisting those individuals who directly shape the public relations program. This empiricism should also be advantageous when confronting non-program administrators (deans, vice-presidents) with the need for additional human and physical resources. Second, this case study highlights the significant confluence that occurs between the program administrator (the faculty typically), the students of the program, and …

The Frequency, Form, And Perceived Benefits Of Service Learning In Speech Communication Departments, Timothy L. Sellnow, Laura K. Oster

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

This article focuses on the frequency, form and perceived benefits of service learning in speech communication departments. The widespread availability of service learning opportunities for students in speech communication departments reflects the national trend, across disciplines, to emphasize service learning on college and university campuses. Service learning provides yet another benefit in that it can substitute for traditional internships when such opportunities are lacking. Phelps and Timmis (1984) explain that the availability of traditional internships with profit-seeking corporations is often limited. Increasing participation by speech communication students in service learning, however, may be restricted by a lack of resources. Most …

A "Glimpse" Of The Status Of The Discipline: Internal Identity Of Speech Communication At A Small College, Barbara J. Adler

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

This article discusses the results of a survey administered to faculty and administration at a small U.S. liberal arts college associated with the Lutheran Church, to assess the attitudes toward the speech communication discipline at the college. Speech communication discipline was assessed according to its level of respect, its overall status and its identity as a reputable academic field. Speech communication received its highest ranking for the descriptor applications based, matching the perception that the field is dominated by utility courses that teach students how to give a speech.

The Historical Account Of Undergraduate Theatre Curricula's Rise In The Academy, Anne Berkeley

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

This article discusses the history of post-secondary theatre education in U.S. colleges and universities. The sheer volume and speed of growth of theatre curricula in undergraduate education contradicts the marginal attention it has received by historians of education and theatre. The first phase of collegiate theatre instruction, between 1900 and 1925, grew out of universities' official sanction of extracurricular clubs and productions after the Civil War. As historians of higher education explain it, higher education in the latter half of the nineteenth century initiated a process of democratization and professionalization that provoked radical change and dislocation in the academy. Theatrical …

In Their Own Words: Using Media Artifacts To Teach Media Literacy, Micheal J. Gotcher, Margaret Duffy

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

This article discusses methods and associated readings for teaching media literacy. The prescribed methods allow the media and their decision-makers to implicate themselves using examples of their own products and their own words. Media kits, video news releases and advertisements are used to illuminate and criticize media structures, products and economic imperatives. Media literacy may be defined as the learned ability to understand the rules, conventions and persuasive elements of mass mediated products. Media literacy involves inviting individuals to see media products as part of the process of building realities and of constructing cultures.

The Basic Communication Course: Options For Accommodating Non-Native Speakers Of Mainstream North American English, Donald L. Rubin, Donald Turk

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

This article outlines the various options for basic speech communication classes for non-native speakers of mainstream North American English (NNSMNAE), focusing on the introductory class in public speaking in the U.S. A series of interviews were conducted with twelve NNSMNAE students who had enrolled in mainstream public speaking courses. When NNSMNAE students enter U.S. English as a second language (ESL) programs, their initial oral communication needs are usually associated with everyday world communications tasks like navigating the campus or the supermarket. It appears that the norm for NNSMNAE will be to approach a basic course in speech communication with little …

Technological Approaches For Improving Grading Efficiency And Compatibility In Multi-Section/Multi-Instructor Communication Courses, Chris R. Sawyer, Ralph R. Behnke

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

No abstract provided.

Surviving An Appointment As Department Chair, Paul E. King

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

This article discusses the secret to surviving an appointment as department chairman. Survival as academic department chair involves overcoming obstacles such as role conflict and the difficult task of maintaining healthy relationships with faculty. Both of these, along with several other job related factors, commonly cause significant levels of stress. However, adaptation to and management of the stress are possible. One has survived as department chair when one is able to leave the office and successfully reintegrate into the department without major personal or professional trauma. If one returns to a better department than previously existed, then the ordeal has …

Curricular Fidelity, Diversity With Connection: The Duquesne Experiment, Janie M. Harden Fritz

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

This article presents information on a conceptual scheme detailing the functions of a communication curriculum applied at the University of Duquesne in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. From an organizational systems perspective the excellence of any academic department is shaped by its relationship to its field, its position and role with regard to the mission of the university setting that forms its particular context, and how it relates to the outside world-the community and larger society that it serves. The nature of the undergraduate curriculum is important not only for disciplinary maintenance but also because it concerns a primary enabling public of the …

Assessment In Communication Programs: Issues And Ideas Administrators Must Face, John J. Makay

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

This article discusses issues and ideas school administrators and educators must face with regards to assessment in communication programs. The challenge for a considerable number of communication administrators and other faculty was addressed intensively at the 1994 Speech Communication Association Summer Conference on Assessment. Assessment in communication education from the basic courses through most advanced studies is necessary. By working to meet this responsibility, communication educators can provide the quality of education their constituencies expect in order to educate students to become citizens who will find both satisfaction and success on the career paths they choose to follow. There is …

"The Elephant In The Room": Post-Tenure Review, Ronald L. Applbaum

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

This article examines the tenure systems used in colleges and universities in the U.S. In psychotherapy, a patient who ignores a central reality in his/her personal situation is said to manifest the elephant-in-the-room syndrome. Similarly, in colleges and universities across the nation, many faculty and administrators are ignoring calls for either elimination of tenure or revision of the tenure process. Many policy makers and taxpayers regard tenure as a system that protects faculty members from evaluation. The purposes of this paper are to explore some of the factors leading to calls for post-tenure evaluation, to compare the definitions of post-tenure …

Graduate Study In The Communication Discipline: An Extension Of 1994 Directory Data, Michael W. Shelton

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

This article provides information on the evaluation of communication education programs at the graduate level in the U.S. American society has become virtually obsessed with evaluation and analysis of its educational institutions and programs. Federal investigations have spotlighted a near crisis state in elementary and secondary education. Scholars and investigators within the communication discipline have devoted much effort to the appraisal of instructional programs, particularly at the graduate level. Specific graduate courses, such as argumentation theory have been examined. Specific programs of study, including mass communication have garnered attention. More generally, masters-level programs in speech communication have been evaluated. The …

Perceptions Of Quality In Journalism And Communications Education: A Delphi Study, Marian A. Smith

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

This article provides information on a study on the perceptions of quality in journalism and communications education. In many academic disciplines, including communications, accreditation has been the ruling paradigm of quality assurance for many years. Accreditation standards often have been used to measure many characteristics of institutions, but such standards may not be capable of identifying and measuring the true quality of institutional excellence. The study gathered information from a selected group of participants about those characteristics students, faculty and practitioners consider to be necessary components of high quality programs. The study also examined whether the accreditation standards used for …

The Oral Communication Competence Dilemma: Are We Communicating Competently About Speech Communication?, Cathy A. Fleuriet

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

This article discusses the oral communication competence problem among students in public schools, colleges and universities in the U.S. In response to concerned administrators who question the value of the study of speech communication, communication specialists are providing definitions and assessment of oral communication competence in order to solidify the speech communication discipline's role in ensuring competence among students in higher education. Many of the schools fulfilling the mandate through English/Language Arts courses included initial statements in their documents explaining that the requirement is being met through communication courses. A major problem in monitoring the oral communication competency mandate, such …

"Other-Campus" Faculty Participation In The Tenure/Promotion Review Process: External Validation For Internal Decision Making, Craig Newburger

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

No abstract provided.

Educational Assessment As Invitation For Dialogue, Ronald C. Arnett, Pat Arneson

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

This article offers a communicative foundation for viewing the act of educational assessment as an opportunity for dialogue with a larger public in the U.S. There are three main areas which comprise an invitation for dialogue with the public: the politics of assessment, foundation for dialogue about the communication discipline and the proposal for a dialogic communication with the public as a way to create shared meaning about the process of communication. Invitation to dialogue envisions communication as socially constructed. Both self and other are central to the emergence of truth. The wise communicator is careful, but in the midst …

Using Cognitive Assessment Testing To Evaluate And Improve A University Program In Communication Studies, Michael R. Neer, Joan E. Aitken

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

This article attempts to demonstrate how cognitive assessment may be used to empower both faculty and students by offering pedagogical and administrative strategies that enhance student learning in the U.S. The faculty limited its cognitive test, the Pre-Communication Assessment Measure to the four competencies--critical thinking, interpersonal, decision-making and theoretical competencies--common to two of five required courses. The components of the cognitive test are: critical thinking competence, interpersonal competence, decision-making competence and theoretical competence.

Administrative Ramifications Of Student Cheating, Susan A. Stearns

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

This article explains the problems associated with ways cheating situations are handled in colleges and universities. Two specific types of knowledge are needed by faculty members: one, what cheating is, and, two, the university's policy. The potential for problems revolves around the University's Academic Misconduct Code: first, many faculty are not aware of their university's code and second, many faculty do not follow the codes. Administrators are also involved in a number of other decisions that could impact student cheating behaviors. Additionally, administrators are typically the university officials implementing the middle and latter steps of the academic misconduct process. Thus, …

Teaching Versus Research: An Imbalance Of Importance?, Norbert H. Mills, Robert E. Pruett, James E. Sayer, David E. Tucker

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

This article features two essays presenting the major argumentative positions advanced by teams Robert E. Pruett and James E. Sayer and Norbert H. Mills and David E. Tucker, regarding the topic: Resolved: that teaching and research are mutually-exclusive activities. Pruett and Sayer upheld the affirmative position on the resolution, while Mills and Tucker upheld the negative. In the traditional sense, it is easy to claim that the function of a professor is twofold: to be an effective and creative teacher and, at the same time, be able to accumulate and disseminate knowledge through research. Regardless of what is said, teaching …