Interpersonal and Small Group Communication Commons^™

Educational Technology And Innovation Capacity In Arkansas Public Schools, Allie Nicole Taylor

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

We all have high hopes for our educational system. As they stress the need for 21st century learning, governments recognize the importance of innovation and creativity in schools and invest resources to develop learning environments that foster these qualities. This thesis adapts Crosling, Nair, and Vaithilingam’s (2015) model to provide a framework for studying factors that contribute to a creative learning ecosystem (intellectual capital development, 21st century literacies, climate for innovation, and integrity of the system), the quality of the educational system, and the system’s innovation capacity. A survey of 126 Arkansas high school teachers, indicates that two variables, student’s …

Development And Validation Of The Communication Apprehension About Death Scale, Heather J. Carmack, Jocelyn M. Degroot

SIUE Faculty Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity

Two studies (N=621) were conducted to develop and initially validate the Communication Apprehension About Death Scale (CADS). In Study 1, 302 general public participants completed a preliminary list of 66 items. An exploratory factor analysis identified two distinct dimensions of communication apprehension about death: communication anxiety and communication avoidance. A different group of participants (n=319) participated in Study 2. Participants in Study 2 completed the CADS measure, a fear of death measure, and a general communication apprehension measure. Concurrent validity support was provided through the significant positive correlations between communication apprehension about death and fear of death as well as …

Psychometric Testing Of The Presence Of Nursing Scale: Measurability Of Patient Perceptions Of Nursing Presence Capability Of Nurses In An Academic Medical Center, Rebecca L. Turpin

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: Nursing presence occurs when nurses expend themselves on the behalf of a unique patient. This phenomenon requires further research to develop instruments. The Presence of Nursing Scale (PONS) measures the patient’s perspective (Kostovich, 2012). Psychometric testing of PONS-Revised using exploratory factor analysis is warranted to further develop a reliable and valid measure of nursing presence. Contextual workplace variables need exploration in inpatient settings for correlation with nursing presence.

Method(s): A convenience sample of 122 adult inpatients from ten acute-care nursing units in a Southeastern Magnet hospital were surveyed to conduct the first psychometric testing of this revised instrument using …

Social Learning Remixed: Peer-Based Learning And Social Status In An Online Community Of Practice, Christopher Erin Mikkelson

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

People have engaged in peer-to-peer learning within communities of practice (CoPs) for centuries. Thanks to web 2.0 technology, people in the 21st century can now learn together and enact Social status even if they have never met face-to-face. Online communities of practice have since formed around a wide variety of activities, one of which is remixing. Remixing is defined as combining or editing existing materials to produce something new, but leaving each part recognizable as a separate entity. Remixing has recently been recognized as form of digital literacy because users must understand each component to make a good remix. Much …

Talk About Race In The Undergraduate Classroom: A Discourse Analysis, Leighnah L. Perkins

Media and Communication Studies Summer Fellows

As researchers have noted, many people are afraid to talk about race (Alexander, 2010; Miller & Harris, 2005). Given the race-related events and tragedies occurring in the U.S. today, people need to find ways to move past this fear in order to work together to solve societal problems. Harris (2003) suggested that the undergraduate classroom is a key place to engage in discussions about race. This research project examined the ways that college students talk about race and race-related problems in the classroom. The data collected for this project included observations and audio recordings of three sections of a seminar …

Crowdsourcing A Skill Set To Manage The Legal Information Of The Future: Learn How To Pitch, Wendy Moore

Presentations

Provides an updated assessment of the importance of "elevator pitches" and tips for being a more effective, concise, and conversational communicator.

A Discourse Analytic Approach To Accusations Of Infidelity In Romantic Couples' Natural Conversations, Neill Korobov

The Qualitative Report

This study uses a discourse analytic approach to examine how twenty young adult heterosexual romantic couples (ages 19-26) formulate accusations and insinuations of infidelity in their unstructured natural conversations. The analyses demonstrate how accusations of infidelity among romantic partners work to pursue and avert relational trouble. They indirectly index local interactional breaches that may, if left unattended, lead to non-affiliative interactional outcomes. Unlike mainstream psychological work that would treat talk about infidelity as a sign of emotional insecurity or jealousy, the present study posits that accusations of infidelity may function as a brief but effective way for one partner to …

Drawing With Milo, Jarod Roselló

Occasional Paper Series

Having illustrated his essay in the style of a comic or graphic novel, Roselló captures the dynamics of his negotiations with young Milo, including his own self-doubt, through both language and image.

Playing Out: The Importance Of The City As A Playground For Skateboard And Parkour, Mike Jeffries, Sebastian Messer, Jon Swords

Occasional Paper Series

The authors document young skaters and freerunners’ improvisational use of public space and the development of their interpersonal relationships and learning.

Witnessing The Power Of El Sistema In Urban Communities: Sister Cities Girlchoir, Erika M. Kitzmiller

Occasional Paper Series

Explores the powerful role of an after-school girls’ choir in the lives of urban youth.

Enhanced Participation: Creating Opportunities For Youth Leadership Development, Clara Waloff

Occasional Paper Series

Demonstrates how young people in an arts-based after-school program develop leadership.

Changing Through Laughter With “Laughter For A Change”, Laurel J. Felt, Ed Greenberg

Occasional Paper Series

This paper describes systematic observation, research, and analysis of Laughter for a Change (L4C)’s 2011–2012 after-school improv workshop, revealing the program’s multiple impacts. Our data suggest that improvising creates a “safe space,” a supportive context in which participants feel empowered to take risks and play freely.

Mapping The Social Across Lived Experiences: Relational Geographies And After-School Time, Louai Rahal, Jennifer A. Vadeboncoeur

Occasional Paper Series

This article is divided into two sections. The first offers a theoretical frame that enables key concepts to be defined and discussed. The second reviews current approaches to methodology that enable researchers to study the movement of youth over time and across space in an effort to examine the learning that is occasioned by different relationships. Here, we offer ways to begin thinking about mapping social relationships across lived experiences. The article ends with a brief conclusion, in which we note the significance of documenting the developing experiences of children and youth, mediated by social relationships, and the necessity of …

Dialectical Tensions Experienced During Pediatric Chronic Illness: Analyzing Art Therapy Conversations From A Relational Dialectics Perspective, Katherine A. Rafferty, Erin Parcell

Journal of Clinical Art Therapy

Relational dialectics theory (RDT) provides a framework for understanding the dialectical tensions families experience when talking about pediatric chronic illness. One place where families may express these tensions is during clinical art therapy sessions, where therapists encourage child patients and their family members to use the creative process of art to tell stories while engaged in art making. Subsequently, we studied one clinical art therapy program for families with chronically ill hospitalized children. We examined the naturally occurring conversations during the art making process. Family members’ talk enumerated three primary dialectical tensions describing the pediatric illness experience. Findings and implications …

Learning How To Speak Like A “Native”: Speech And Culture In An Online Communication Training Program, Tabitha Hart

Faculty Publications

This article examines the oral communication training that took place in Eloqi, a virtual language-learning community. Eloqi (a pseudonym) was a for-profit start-up that built and operated a proprietary Web-based, voice-enabled platform connecting English-language learners in China with trainers in the United States. While it existed, Eloqi’s unique platform was used to deliver short, one-on-one lessons designed to improve students’ oral English communication skills. Using the ethnography of communication and speech codes theory, a theoretical–methodological approach, the author presents an analysis of the speech code, or code of communicative conduct, employed at Eloqi. This code of English logic, which Eloqi’s …

Adolescent Self Esteem And Instagram: An Examination Of Posting Behavior, Anna Hill, Lamaja Denman

Concordia Journal of Communication Research

Social media is a way that people can communicate and share parts of their lives through the internet ("Social Media", n.d.). Being that the media tends to have an influence on the general public, it has an influence on adolescents as well. Sometimes this influence can be quite negative (Sanders, 2015). Because of this, exploring their connection would be insightful. This study explores how a specific social media site, Instagram, may affect adolescent girls and their self-esteem. The researchers issued a self-esteem questionnaire to a gorup of girls on their self-esteem and compared it to their Instagram profiles. In this …

Texting Etiquette And Its Effects On Our Perceptions Of Intimate Relationships, Taylor Clarke

Communication Studies

Abstract

This study seeks to understand the association between texting habits and characteristics and partner perceptions of intimate relationships. This study investigates multiple aspects of texting such as: temporality, participants’ perceived satisfaction with their significant other, length of text messages, frequency of communication, among others. It is hypothesized that texting etiquette and its various sub-components will be influential in how participants will rate their level of satisfaction (closeness, intimacy, emotional support, and effort) with their significant other. Ten in-depth interviews were conducted with college-aged participants. They were asked questions regarding the texting etiquette of their significant other as well as …

The Emergence Of Efficacy: Effects Of An Orientation Leader Training Program On Participant Self-Efficacy, Hayley Marisa Walker

Communication Studies

This study examined the effects of California Polytechnic State University’s Spring Training Program for student Orientation Leaders on participants. Specifically, the present research explored the impact of the programming on participant levels of self-efficacy over the course of ten weeks. Data were collected from individuals who volunteered to partake in the research by responding to two questionnaires throughout the program. The results show that participants’ reported higher perceptions of self-efficacy at the end of the program than they did at the beginning. Further, such increases are significantly influenced by the performance of, and relationships with, prominent leaders within the program. …

Psychological Abuse, Mental Health, And Acceptance Of Dating Violence Among Adolescents, Jeff R. Temple, Hye Jeong Choi, Joanna Elmquist, Michael L. Hecht, Michelle Miller-Day, Gregory L. Stuart, Meagan Brem, Caitlin Wolford-Clevenger

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

Purpose

Existing literature indicates that acceptance of dating violence is a significant and robust risk factor for psychological dating abuse perpetration. Past work also indicates a significant relationship between psychological dating abuse perpetration and poor mental health. However, no known research has examined the relationship between acceptance of dating violence, perpetration of dating abuse, and mental health. In addition to exploring this complex relationship, the present study examines whether psychological abuse perpetration mediates the relationship between acceptance of dating violence and mental health (i.e., internalizing symptoms of depression, anxiety, and hostility).

Methods

Three waves of longitudinal data were obtained from …

Academic Freedom, Public Art, & Private Universities: Examining The Expression Of Communication At Usd, Ivy M. Guild

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This present case study explores how language styles and power distance led to miscommunication between an administrator and student via computer mediated communication. Email exchanges were examined using textual analysis between an administrator and an undergraduate student. Results indicate high-context and low-context communication and power distance roles led to problematic actions and decisions. Furthermore, divergent speech with regard to communication styles was an additional problematic. Implications of the results specific examples of how this interaction could have been prevented were discussed.