Other Communication Commons^™

Bridging Physics And Communications: Experimental Detection And Analysis Of Web Site Users’ Paths In An Environment Of Free Choice, David M. Frye

Open Access Master's Theses (through 2010)

A role for professional communicators to play in a postmodern context is to work as an experimentalist, designing a system that supports users’ free engagement with the content of the system, inviting people to engage that system, observing the ways in which those engagements proceed, and from those observations, learning how to refine the system to support more fruitful future engagements.The role serves to cultivate an environment in which users’ conversations with one another and their interaction with the system’s content may thrive.This thesis purposes that the experimentalist is a useful and practical role for a communicator in the current …

More Word Games In The United States Presidential Campaign: Intervention And Isolation, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article highlights a corruption of language in public discourse related to the United States (US) presidential campaign.

Terrorism In The Mideast And The United States Republican Presidential Campaign: Ideological Terror And Public Discourse, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article describes the use of ideological terror by the United States (US) Republican presidential campaign in the wake of the terrorist attack on the USS Cole.

Before You Say Yes: A Planning Guide For Speakers, Charles A. Francis, Heidi Carter, Cris Carusi, James W. King

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

We need guidelines to help us decide whether to accept invitations to speak, whether to a class on campus or a special interest group outside. As educators and workshop organizers, we could also use suggestions on how to approach potential speakers. This article describes a single-page format that can be used to guide the planning process. Essential elements include contact information, location and organization of the activity, audience, learning goals, expected content, conclusions, and evaluation. Use of this planning sheet can give organization to an often haphazard process of planning, and enhance the potential of achieving the learning goals of …

Responding To Innuendo: A Case From The Ivory Coast, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article describes some of the psychological Issues involved in successfully responding to political innuendo.

Trends. The Effects Of Televised Violence: Anecdotal Data From Lebanon, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article discusses the effects of televised violence in Lebanon, and its impact on both Hezbollah and Israeli Defense Forces.

Dealing With Co-Workers We Don't Like, Jon A. Hess

Communication Faculty Publications

When we take a job with a company, we instantly develop a large network of new acquaintances. The relationships we have with co-workers are called “nonvoluntary relationships” because as long as we hold a job with that organization, we have no choice but to interact with the other people who work there.

As long as we like our co-workers, the nonvoluntary nature of these relationships is unremarkable, but for most of us it is inevitable that we won’t like a few of those people. This can cause a difficult situation. Relationships with co-workers we don’t like are stressful. The stronger …

Trends. Mixed Messages And Mixed Metaphors: 21st Century Political Discourse, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article discusses the use of mixed metaphors in political communication.

Trends. Are The Bush Missile Defense Guidelines Defensible?, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article discusses George W. Bush as a US Presidential candidate providing guidelines on the viability and nature of an anti-ballistic missile defense system for the United States, emphasizing the need for public discourse.

Propaganda Analysis: The Personal Is Political, But The Political Is Personal, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article analyzes implications of a propaganda theme--viz., the personal is political.

Trends. Wanted: An Internet Psychology, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article discusses the prospect of analyzing internet psychology, or the impact of internet use on human psychology and political socialization.

Online Counseling: Much To Do About Nothing In The Political World?, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article describes some of the common issues in assessing the efficacy of online counseling.

Younger And Older Adults’ Schematic Representations Of Intergenerational Communication, Jake Harwood, Jordan Mckee, Mei-Chen Lee

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

The current paper examines younger and older adults’ cognitive representations of intergenerational conversations. In interviews, younger and older adults were asked to imagine various types of conversations with older and younger targets. They were prompted to provide a wide variety of information about the targets and the conversations. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed to uncover types of conversations commonly reported. Through a combination of coding and hierarchical cluster analysis, a hierarchical arrangement of types of conversations emerged in younger and older adults’ descriptions. Each of the types is described in detail. In a second study, exemplars of each type …

Two Schools Of Thought About The Political Psychology Of The Internet, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article describes and critiques two common assumptions about the psychopolitical consequences of continual modification and dispersal of the Internet.

The Last Article About A New Millennium? Alarms About Alarms About Political Terrorism, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article describes some of the communication complexities in informing and alerting the general public about political terrorism.

Front Cover

Basic Communication Course Annual

No abstract provided.

Overcoming The Dichotomy: Cultivating Standpoints In Organizations Through Research, Debbie S. Dougherty, Kathleen J. Krone

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

Feminist standpoint theories are seldom used by researchers. One possible reason is the ongoing debate between postmodern theorists and feminine standpoint theorists. The debate has been constructed in bipolar terms such that the issues are perceived as mutually exclusive. However, bipolar assumptions are damaging to women, both in general and in organizations. We contend that feminist standpoint theories should theorize similarities, material reality, and communal agency while being sensitive to differences, multiple realities, and individual agency. A study of academic women is used to illustrate how standpoints can develop around similarities while respecting differences. Using a creative narrative, participants’ organizational …

Why Communication Is Important: A Rationale For The Centrality Of The Study Of Communication, Sherwyn P. Morreale, Michael M. Osborn, Judy C. Pearson

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

This article defends the importance of studying communication. Academic disciplines in higher education are routinely called upon to explain and justify their role in the educational enterprise. Some academic fields such as history and philosophy are more central in the pursuits of liberal arts, while others such as business administration and engineering are more related to career development. The discipline of communication is fairly unique as it crosses these boundaries. As a result, a need exists to provide a rationale for the study of communication. The National Communication Association, in response to requests from communication departments and administrators for evidence …

What College Students Should Know And Be Able To Do, Rebecca B. Rubin, Sherwyn P. Morreale

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

This article discusses the issue of college students' communications skill and knowledge. The end of the 20th century provides educators and administrators with an opportunity to reflect on how well they have accomplished their goals. The communication discipline, since its beginning, has been concerned with skill achievement and knowledge generation. But not until the latter part of the century have scholars and national associations attempted to identify and agree upon what it is that students should know and be able to do. These efforts reflect maturity of the discipline and generation of a body of knowledge that allows such conclusions …

Educational Assessment Grows Up: Looking Toward The Future, Phil Backlund, Pat Arneson

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

This article explores the history, the present, and the future of educational assessment in the U.S. to enable readers working with communication assessment issues to make more informed decisions. The time frame illustrates the evolving narrative of education. This narrative not only presents assessment as part of our educational life-story, it also functions to continually create our educational reality -- a reality that includes assessment. As educators, we have an obligation to participate in the ongoing development of this narrative to shape the future of education. The assessment movement was born in the middle 1970s, and many people thought it …

The Future Of Communication Education In The Community College, Lori E. Zakel, Dianna R. Wynn

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

This article discusses the future of communication education in community colleges in the U.S. Recently, business and political leaders have begun to take note of the important role of community colleges within higher education. Bill Gates, chairman of the Microsoft Corp., firmly stated that community colleges are becoming "absolutely critical" in the information age. He continued by adding, "The more I've learned about the community-college system throughout the United States, the more I've been impressed." President Bill Clinton's vision of expanding education for all Americans to include grades 13 and 14 moves the community college to a more visible location …

Communication Laboratories: Genesis, Assessment, Challenges, Kathleen Ellis, Pamela S. Shockley-Zalabak, Michael Z. Hackman

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

The purpose of this article is to briefly describe (a) a rationale for creating communication laboratories; (b) communication laboratory curricula and approaches; (c) development strategies for communication laboratories; (d) communication laboratory assessment, accountability, and research opportunities; and (e) communication laboratory issues and challenges. The article concludes with a list of guiding principles that lead to the successful implementation of communication laboratories. The communication laboratory is one educational strategy for addressing the issue of communication competency in the 21st century. Communication laboratories across the United States exist at schools such as Columbus State University, East Tennessee State University, Golden West College, …

Oral Communication Across The Curriculum: The State Of The Art After Twenty-Five Years Of Experience, Michael W. Cronin, George L. Grice, Patricia R. Palmerton

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

This article aims is to guide administrators and faculty in developing oral-communication-across-the-curriculum (OCXC) programs. It examines the rationale for and the most common arguments against OCXC; presents recommendations for designing, implementing, and assessing such programs; reviews published assessments of learning outcomes relevant to OCXC; and offers suggestions for the continued development of OCXC. OCXC was first began in 1975 at Central College in Pella, Iowa. A dissertation and a master's project have examined OCXC. The National Communication Association has promulgated resolutions to guide the development of OCXC and has offered a three-hour short course on OCXC at the past ten …

What Is Good Communication?, Brian H. Spitzberg

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

This articles examines the question: What is good communication? The nature of good communication is both ambiguous and ambivalent. This claim can be taken as a reference to the characteristics that defame good communication, or as a reference to the state of scholarly knowledge about the concept of good communication. On its face, the statement seems clear, and yet, in claiming ambiguity and ambivalence, it is a self-fulfilling prophecy. Such are some of the subtleties of communication itself, and it is such subtleties that require a re-examination of the composition of good communication. The qualifier "good" suggests a nexus of …

Developments In Communication Ethics: The Ethics Commission, Code Of Professional Responsibilities, Credo For Ethical Communication, Kenneth E. Andersen

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

This article looks at the state of communication ethics study and practice in the U.S. Ethics has always been a dimension of communication theory and practice. But the definition of its role and the awareness of and emphasis given to it varies from communication theorist to theorist and practitioner to practitioner. These variations can be traced from the rhetorical theories and practices of ancient Greece to the present. Similarly, the approach to and emphasis given ethics as an element in communication has varied in the communication field's teaching and research. The academic units historically identified as speech, speech communication, communication …

Employment Trends In Communication Arts And Sciences, Michael E. Smilowitz, Philip Emmert

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

This article looks at the career opportunities for communication arts and sciences graduates in the U.S. As graduate students planning academic careers seek counsel for their programs of study, there is a need for good answers regarding career opportunities. Departments planning curricula and seeking to fill position vacancies likewise require reliable information regarding the directions in which their disciplines are moving. The analysis for curricula development, program growth, and career choices requires more than anecdotal evidence. Incidental conversations at conventions and the occasional reviews of the "state of the art" are helpful, but not adequate for considering concerns as important …

The Communication Department In A State Of Perpetual Crisis: Discount Store University?, David Ritchie

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

This article explores the implications of the discount store metaphor as it is commonly used and understood, and considers its implications for how academic departments are led and administered. The metaphor of the discount store is often offered as an implicit criticism of the legislators, trustees and administrators who demand that academic departments justify their curriculum and methods in financial terms. It is also sometimes offered as an implicit criticism of the students and parents who ask about the relevance or usefulness of course content, choose courses and majors with an eye to career and earning potential, complain about the …

Assessment And Skill Development For Esl Students In Mainstream Communication Classes Requiring Oral Presentations, Katherine G. Hendrix

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

This article discusses the rhetoric-based teaching strategies which address how to assist the oral and written competency of English as a Second Language (ESL) students in separate, specialized speaking, writing, and/or preparatory courses. This article also offer two areas of preparation for professors and graduate teaching assistants who have a small number of ESL students enrolled in regular sections of public speaking courses. In addition, this article provides an overview of the campus setting, areas of preparation recommended by B. L. Quigley and colleagues, application of the recommended assessment and instructional strategies, perceptions of the ESL study participants regarding the …

The Re-Education Of An Old Debater, James E. Sayer

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

Recounts the experience of joining a faculty debate on the issue of changing a university's quarter system to a semester system in the U.S. Modification on the style of argumentation to better match that of non-debaters; Overview of the format for the debate; Lessons learned from the debate after hours of research and oral/e-mail argument.

Scholarship Reconsidered, Scholarship Assessed: What Boyer's Report Means For Communication, Rebecca B. Rubin

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

Introduction to the Special Topic.