Interpersonal and Small Group Communication Commons^™

The 'Ex' Factor… Will They Be Friends? A Qualitative Analysis Of Post-Dissolution Communication Among Former Premarital Cohabitating Couples, Brittany Bunkers

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

This study explores the nature of the communication between former premarital cohabitating couples. Eight research participants (n=8) were interviewed to explore how and why they do or do not continue to communicate with their former partner since the relational termination. Four categories emerged from the qualitative analysis. First, couples “slid” into cohabitation for convenience-based purposes rather than deliberately decided. Second, they experienced a breakdown in or lack of communication before and/or during the disengagement. Third, the relational termination was a gradual process, and forth, the participants offered reasons for why they do or do not remain in communication with their …

Group Dynamics: Managing Interpersonal Conflict In The Group Decision Making Process, Brandon J. Semler, Stuart A. Schneider

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

The purpose of this activity is to introduce students to group communication concepts, to teach methods of communicating, to expand student awareness of group dynamics, to expand student awareness of group decision-making, and to involve students in group discussions. Providing students with an opportunity to participate in discussion helps students develop an understanding of various dynamics at play in group communication and shows how group communication affects interpersonal relationships. The outcome of the activity is to improve students understanding of group decision making resulting in better decisions, less conflict, and more efficient use of time when working in groups.

Twenty-Three Days: An Autoethnographic Account Of The Washington, D.C. Sniper Shootings, Chelsea Jordan Gutshall

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

Our lives are often defined by the struggles we confront because in facing these trials we must reflect upon experiences and the power others have in shaping our reactions. The Washington, D.C. sniper shootings of October 2002 are one case of such terror. My own experiences with two shootings in my hometown and living extremely close to others serves as the background for this autoethnography, detailing what I and my family faced during that single month. The focus, however, is not the snipers but family communication and how parents help children cope during unimaginable crises. This autoethnography is divided into …

Broken Up But Not Broken: Satisfaction, Adjustment, And Communication In Post-Dissolutional Relationships, Stephanie Villella

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

The aim of this study was to examine adjustment, satisfaction, and the frequency of communication that occurs between ex-partners in post-dissolutional relationships. Participants (N = 239) were surveyed on their levels of satisfaction, adjustment to the break-up and communication with their most recent ex-romantic partner as a means to explore the process of redefining romantic relationships into platonic friendships. Results demonstrated that who initiated the break-up influenced levels of satisfaction and adjustment. Adjustment and frequency of communication were affected by whether ex-partners had moved on to a new romantic relationship. Differences were also observed between how males and females adjusted …

Effects Of Personality Preferences And Perceptions Of Others' Conflict Styles Impact On Roommate Satisfaction, Candice Morgan

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

The researcher sought to determine if personality preferences influenced perceptions of others’ conflict styles in roommate relationships. It was hypothesized that perceptions of conflict styles would impact satisfaction. Personality preferences for extraversion-introversion and thinkerfeeler were measured along with perceptions of the roommate’s conflict style and overall satisfaction with the relationship. Surveys were distributed and completed at the end of first semester by 133 first-year students living in college residence halls. Results partially supported the prediction that personality preferences would impact perceptions of roommate’s conflict styles. Consistent with previous studies, participants perceived the conflict styles of integrating, compromising, and obliging to …

Extraordinary Everyday Stories: Audio Resources For The Communication Instructor, David E. Engen

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

Communication instructors often supplement course texts with artistic works such as feature films, short stories, and memoirs. A less common form of supplementary material is the audio documentary/story. The discussion below introduces several audio resources likely to help students deepen their understanding of communication in general and interpersonal and intercultural communication in particular. I also offer a few ideas to those instructors wishing to help students create their own small-scale audio productions.

Communication And Volunteerism: The Potential Impact Of Role Models, Maggie Briggs, Kristen Cvancara

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

Volunteers are an important subset of society who provide many services to people and organizations in need. Based on Social Learning Theory, a preliminary study was designed to investigate the role communication may play in fostering positive attitudes and behaviors in college students regarding volunteerism. Surveys completed by 321 college students were collected and the relationship between instances of communication with role models (e.g., parents, peers, religious leaders, siblings, coworkers, extended family) and participant attitudes toward and rates of volunteering were examined. Results indicated the more conversations shared between role models and participants the more likely it was that participants …

Tomkat!: Linking Theory And Practice In Communication Studies Course Through The Introduction And Application Of Social Exchange Theory, Rita L. Rahoi-Gilchrest

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

This article describes an activity suitable for either high-school or university-level communication courses. Combining outside online research, small group discussion, and class interaction, this exercise uses Social Exchange Theory, applied to examples of celebrity relationships generated by students and discussed in groups, to illustrate the process by which individuals decide whether or not to initiate and sustain interpersonal relationships. Although students should be reminded that the reasons relationships do or do not survive are difficult enough to understand when we are involved in them, let alone when we view them from an outside perspective, the activity proves intriguing and involving …

Scripting Relationships Through Adolescent And Adult Dramas: Perceptions Of Completion In Romantic Relationships, Jenna Mcnallie

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

This content analysis sought to observe the number of relational messages present in adult and adolescent serial television dramas in order to understand the presence of Galician’s (2004) Mass Media Myth #10, or “Finding the right mate ‘completes you’” (p. 201). The presence of this completion ideal illustrates the Cultivation Analysis Theory (Gerbner et al., 1986) and is significant in the development of adolescents’ identities and attitudes due to the persuasive power of repetition. Analysis of 101 conversations in 13 episodes found that relational messages are more frequent in adolescent dramas than adult dramas, but Myth #10 is emphasized more …

The Future Of Farming In Capable And Small Hands: The Young Farmer’S Movement In Waterloo Region 1907-1924, Morgan Williams

Laurier Undergraduate Journal of the Arts

No abstract provided.

Sugar For Sale: Constructions Of Intimacy In The Sugar Bowl, Emily Zimmermann

Laurier Undergraduate Journal of the Arts

No abstract provided.

"Sometimes The Perspective Changes": Reflections On A Photography Workshop With Multicultural Students In Italy, Robin L. Danzak

Communication Disorders Faculty Publications

This article describes and evaluates an 8-week photography workshop, FotoLab, conducted in Italy at an afterschool-tutoring program for students acquiring Italian as an additional language. Seventeen students, age 8-17 and originating from 9 countries, participated. Co-facilitated by three international educator-researchers, FotoLab's purpose was to promote self-expression, collaboration, and visual literacy. Through a qualitative inquiry of the FotoLab curriculum, photographs and videos, field notes, and student questionnaires, this article reflects on themes of multiculturalism and multilingualism, collaboration, and visual literacy within a sociocultural animation framework. While expressions of cultural and linguistic identity emerged, findings emphasize the challenges and benefits of teamwork …

Intersubjective Norms: Cultural And Interpersonal Perspective, Kimin Eom, Heejung S. Kim

Research Collection School of Social Sciences

Normative perspectives in cultural psychology provide a fresh view to understand the processes of cultural influence on human behavior. Although much of the existing research focuses on individuals’ internalized personal values and beliefs to explain cultural tendencies, the new perspective proposes perceived intersubjective norms as an alternative key component in cultural influence (Chiu, Gelfand, Yamagishi, Shteynberg, & Wan, 2010; Zou et al., 2009). Extending this newly emerging approach, the lead articles in this special issue address some of the important questions and issues of normative perspectives in cultural psychology. The articles provide useful explanations for why individuals vary in the …

The "It" Factor, Ann Gallagher

Leadership Hour at Otterbein University

Gaining the Competitive Edge by Boosting Your Executive Presence

Have you ever known a leader or top executive who has got “it?” Well “it” is executive presence, and having “it” is the difference between moving up the ladder to leadership and being stuck on the middle rung. So have you got “it?”

Assessment Of The Perceived Role And Function Of A Community Advisory Board In A Nih Center Of Excellence: Lessons Learned, Margaret L. Walsh, Desiree Rivers, Maria Pinzon, Nina Entrekin, Emily M. Hite, Julie A. Baldwin

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Background: The Community Advisory Board (CAB) was a vital component of the Center for Equal Health. The center addressed health disparities through community-based research and educational outreach initiatives. Objectives: To evaluate the perceived relationship of the CAB and Center, explore members’ perceptions of the CAB’s role, and elicit feedback on how to enhance the relationship between the Center and the CAB. Methods: Ten in-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted. All interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed with a focus on predetermined codes. Results: Main themes focused on perception of CAB roles and need for utilization of board members; overall center challenges; …

Cross-Sectional Assessment Of Safety Culture Perceptions And Safety Behavior In Collegiate Aviation Programs In The United States, Daniel Kwasi Adjekum, Julius Keller, Micah Walala, John P. Young, Cody Christensen, Randal J. Demik, Gary J. Northam Ph.D.

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

A cross-sectional quasi- mixed-method approach was used to determine the relationships between safety culture perceptions and safety reporting behavior among flight students with and without certified flight instructor (CFI) ratings. Respondents (n=259) were recruited from five collegiate aviation programs in the US and took part in the study. Survey Items adopted from the Collegiate Aviation Perception of Safety Culture Assessment Survey (CAPSCAS) were validated using factor analysis analyzed for reliability before use in the study. Researchers sought to find out if the safety reporting behavior (reporting frequency) of respondents could be predicted from their safety culture perceptions. Pearson’s …

Information Diffusion, Facebook Clusters, And The Simplicial Model Of Social Aggregation: A Computational Simulation Of Simplicial Diffusers For Community Health Interventions, Kerk Kee, Lisa Sparks, Daniele C. Struppa, Mirco A. Manucci, Alberto Damiano

Communication Faculty Articles and Research

By integrating the simplicial model of social aggregation with existing research on opinion leadership and diffusion networks, this article introduces the constructs of simplicial diffusers (mathematically defined as nodes embedded in simplexes; a simplex is a socially bonded cluster) and simplicial diffusing sets (mathematically defined as minimal covers of a simplicial complex; a simplicial complex is a social aggregation in which socially bonded clusters are embedded) to propose a strategic approach for information diffusion of cancer screenings as a health intervention on Facebook for community cancer prevention and control. This approach is novel in its incorporation of interpersonally bonded clusters, …

Providing Objective Metrics Of Team Communication Skills Via Interpersonal Coordination Mechanisms, Celine De Looze, Brian Vaughan, Finnian Kelly, Alison Kay

Conference Papers

Being able to communicate efficiently has been acknowledged as a vital skill in many different domains. In particular, team communication skills are of key importance in the operation of complex machinery such as aircrafts, maritime vessels and such other, highly-specialized, civilian or military vehicles, as well as the performance of complex tasks in the medical domain. In this paper, we propose to use prosodic accommodation and turn- taking organisation to provide objective metrics of communica- tion skills. To do this, human-factors evaluations, via a coordi- nation Demand Analysis (CDA), were used in conjunction with a dynamic model of prosodic accommodation …

Language As Leadership, Shirley Freed

Journal of Applied Christian Leadership

"Human beings have a fundamental connection to “home.” Christian leaders all have the underlying goal of leading the way home. We speak of heaven as home; we use phrases like, “home is where the heart is,” and “home Sweet home.” When circumstances are difficult, when we are worn and discouraged, we lean on life’s tired dreams and murmur, “i just want to go home.” home means many things to each of us, but i think that language is one of the vehicles that takes us home. For example, i always jump when i hear a Canadian accent, and i say …

Illness Narratives Of Women With Systemic Lupus Erythematosus And Family Communication: A Mixed Methods Study, Katherine M. Castle

Department of Communication Studies: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a prominent, yet under-studied autoimmune condition that is both life limiting and potentially life threatening and affects more than one million Americans, primarily women. Despite this, the disease continues to go undiagnosed and unmanaged, leading to more severe outcomes of the disease process. Though there is growing recognition of the importance of social behaviors in improving health outcomes, particularly family communication and sense-making, there is a paucity of research aimed at understanding the experience of SLE and how women make sense of the disease in family contexts. This exploratory sequential mixed methods project is framed …