Interpersonal and Small Group Communication Commons^™

Beyond Blood: Examining The Communicative Challenges Of Adoptive Families, Mackensie C. Minniear

Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers

This study examined how adoptive families discursively create family identity through their communication. Building on theories of discourse dependence and family communication patterns, this research examined how families whose identity does not meet a bio-genetic view of family must re-define family using communication. Often times, families that are created outside biological means must renegotiate family identity both within the family, and outside the family, from those who feel comfortable commenting and questioning their family composition. Communication becomes a tool that adoptees must use to understand their family identity, as well as their own adoptive identity. Furthermore, this study looked to …

Relationally Managing Weight Loss, Clinton L. Brown

Masters Theses

Previous research emphasizes the link between social support and weight loss. However, scholarship has failed to explore how family members enact support during an individual's weight loss attempt and how participation in a weight loss program impacts family communication about dietary choices. This project examines how family members enact support for individuals in a weight loss program and how as a result of participating in a weight loss program family members renegotiate relational norms and rules regarding dietary behaviors. Thirteen individuals (n= 13), eleven (11) females and two (2) males enrolled in a medically supervised weight management program journaled about …

How The Internet Is Used By The Millennial Generation And Its Impact On Family Interaction, Kendra Myers

Masters Theses

The purpose of the current study was to examine how Internet technology is used by the Millennial Generation and how it impacts family interaction. A questionnaire developed by the author was posted online and the final sample consisted of 92 participants, 13 men and 79 women. The average age of the participants was 27.97 (SD = 4.46). Findings showed that that the Millennial Generation used the Internet multiple times a day and for many reasons which were sorted into six distinct themes: 1) research/information seeking, 2) work, 3) social media/communication (besides email), 4) academics, 5) email, and 6) personal/entertainment. …

Photography's Power To Shape Our Realities, Anna Catherine Molinaro

Honors Theses and Capstones

No abstract provided.

A Study Of The Success Of Group Formation In Virtual Teams Using Computer-Mediated Communications, Eliel Melón-Ramos

CCAC Theses and Dissertations

In the digital domain, virtual teams within organizations and corporations are becoming common. Restructuring an organization or corporation is vital because competition and globalization are increasing. In this era of globalization, distributed working groups need to develop a competitive advantage in these ever-changing environments. Historically, teams had experienced problems stemming from geographical and temporal limitations. With the increase of technology in telecommunications, organizations are increasingly forming virtual teams, which have become critical to the survival of nearly any corporate entity.

Virtual teams have some of the same problems that regular teams have. One of the key challenges is the method …

An Examination Of Serial Arguing And Marital Satisfaction In Premarital Cohabiters And Direct Marriers, Rachel Reymann

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Negative communication behaviors that occur prior to marriage often continue into marriage without proper intervention (i.e. marriage counseling). One such communication behavior is the serial argument (i.e. an argument that occurs and reoccurs over time). The topics that married couples argue about offer a unique insight to the health of one's relationship. The present study examined differences between 124 individuals, 93 who cohabited with their spouse prior to marriage and 31 who did not, in both the topics and frequency of serial arguments and overall martial satisfaction. The results indicated that there was no difference in frequency (number of topics, …

Transitions In Polyamorous Identity And Intercultural Communication: An Application Of Identity Management Theory, Allison Table

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the intercultural communicative strategies and non-monogamous identity formation of polyamorous individuals. The purpose of this study is to investigate the identity management tactics that polyamorous individuals utilize to navigate a society in which monogamy is the norm. Interactions of polyamorous individuals within a monoganormative society are treated as a type of intercultural communication due to the contrasting cultural identities and communication rules. E-interviews with 38 polyamorous individuals provided basis for phone and Skype interviews. The Retrospective Interview Technique (Huston, Surra, Fitzgerald, & Cate, 1981) required interviewees to recall development of their polyamorous identity and interactions with monogamous …

White Paper On Mentoring Research And Best Practices, Elina Erzikova, Diana Martinelli

Faculty & Staff Scholarship

Sponsored by the Plank Center for Leadership in Public Relations, this white paper draws upon mentorship research literature and summarizes 12 key insights and eight best practices gleaned from that work. Key insights include: mentoring as a bi-directional and multiple relationship process, mentors as co-learners, long-term benefits for protégés, mentorship’s long-term value, the roles of involvement and similarity, the power of both formal and informal mentorship, mentorship as leadership development, and the promise of e-mentoring. The paper also includes sections on mentoring college students and ways to evaluate mentoring programs.

A Formative Evaluation Of A Smartphone Application For Couples: The Affectionate Gesture Planner, Patrick Robert Bortz

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

The Affectionate Gesture Planner (AGP) is a smartphone application (i.e., “app”) that aims to increase relationship satisfaction for couples in long-term relationships by prompting couples to complete loving acts for each other on a daily basis. The AGP app is informed by concepts from social exchange theory and the investment model (Rusbult, 1983), which predict that increasing the mutual exchange of beneficial investments to the relationship improves the quality and stability of the relationship. The present study is a formative evaluation on the prototype of the AGP app. Based on participant feedback, the AGP app will be improved prior to …

Secrecy In The Context Of Romantic Relationships, Kristyn Marie Jackson

Theses and Dissertations--Family Sciences

The studies included in this dissertation investigated the experiences of individual romantic partners as secret keepers and couples as collective secret keepers. Study 1 investigated the topics of secrets kept by individual romantic partners and public perception of secret keeping in the context of romantic relationships via qualitative content analysis. The analysis of secret topics resulted in the following themes: (1) secrets about the Redditors’ relationship, (2) secrets about the Redditor, and (3) a discussion of secrecy. The analysis of public perception resulted in the following themes: (1) normalization, (2) advice, (3) comfort, (4) personal reactions, and (5) a request …

Call For Manuscripts

Basic Communication Course Annual

No abstract provided.

Every(Day) Identities In Forensics: Performing Identities Within The Constraints Of Intercollegiate Forensics, Julie Louceil Germain Walker

All Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Other Capstone Projects

Goffman's (1959) dramaturgical theory of identity provides a framework for making sense of complicated, mundane identity performances. Through in-depth interviews and focus groups conducted with intercollegiate forensic co-culture members, the current research builds on Goffman's dramaturgical theory of identity. Crystallization-based analysis showed identity performances are situated within one another like Russian matroyshka (nesting) dolls. Co-cultural expectations produce multi-level professionalism expectations, and overlapping co-cultures mean individuals manage conflicting conventions. Implications are offered for the forensics community, other co-cultures, and identity scholars.

Front Cover

Basic Communication Course Annual

No abstract provided.

Title Page

Basic Communication Course Annual

No abstract provided.

Editorial Board

Basic Communication Course Annual

No abstract provided.

Contents And Abstracts

Basic Communication Course Annual

No abstract provided.

The Internal Marginalization Of Basic Course Scholarship, Cheri J. Simonds, Stephen K. Hunt

Basic Communication Course Annual

There is an adage in the field of communication education that states, the difference between knowing and teaching is communication (Hurt, Scott, & McCroskey, 1978). That is, a teacher can be an expert in his or her field, but if he or she cannot communicate that knowledge in a way that students understand, learning is not achieved.

This statement highlights the central role of communication in the teaching and learning process. As communication education scholars and Basic Course Directors, we conduct research in the domains of communication pedagogy (i.e., research questions that address the best methods of teaching communication) and …

Strengthening The Introductory Communication Course: An Opportunity Through Better Alignment With Today’S Needs, Jon A. Hess

Basic Communication Course Annual

More than a century after its inception in contemporary form, the discipline of Communication has encountered a tremendous opportunity—the chance to become an “essential discipline” in the academy, one like Math or English, which universities consider indispensable to the work they do. And yet, as a discipline, we have not sufficiently moved toward taking advantage of that opportunity. While such a move will require action in curriculum, scholarship, and service, one of the highest-impact areas in establishing the necessity of Communication is the introductory course.

In order to understand the opportunity that lies before us, we have to understand how …

Nontraditional Students, Multilingual Learners, And University Type: The Vital Missing Comparisons In Our Basic Course Research, Melissa A. Broeckelman-Post, Brenda L. Macarthur

Basic Communication Course Annual

After the G.I. Bill was passed in 1944, the United States saw a massive expansion of higher education. The subsequent economic growth, expanding middle class, and support of public education meant that more Americans had access to college education than ever before (Bok, 2006).

In the decades that followed, a typical or “traditional” college student was a person who entered a four-year university at the age of eighteen immediately after completing high school, attended full time, considered their education a full-time responsibility, had no dependents, was employed part time or not at all, and graduated in four years (Center for …

Beyond 'Basic': Opportunities For Relevance, Deanna L. Fassett

Basic Communication Course Annual

Recently one of my colleagues asked me if I could foresee a time when I would give up supervising teaching associates; she said it in a kindly way, but with a cringe and a shrug, as if to suggest that I was sacrificing my efforts on something beneath me…a departmental service. I’ve been coordinating our introductory public speaking course and supervising TAs for fourteen years now, and I still get this question.

Each time, I explain that giving up those responsibilities would be like asking someone to uproot their research passion from, say, performance studies to instructional communication, from any …