Other Communication Commons^™

Communicatively Managing Religious Identity Difference In Parent-Child Relationships: The Role Of Accommodative And Nonaccommodative Communication, Colleen Warner Colaner, Jordan Soliz, Leslie R. Nelson

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

Guided by Communication Accommodation Theory, we examine the communicative management of religious difference in parent-child relationships. Using survey data from emerging adults (N = 409), we found that religious difference is associated with decreases in relational satisfaction and shared family identity. Further, parents’ religious communication has the potential to promote relational well-being. Accommodative communication (religious-specific supportive communication and respecting divergent values) was associated with increases in relational satisfaction and shared family identity. Two forms of nonaccommodative communication (inappropriate self-disclosure and emphasizing divergent values) were associated with decreases with relational satisfaction and shared family identity; giving unwanted advice was associated …

Parental Socialization Of Ethnic Identity: Perspectives From Multiethnic Adults, Audra K. Nuru, Jordan Soliz

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

Participants (N = 113) who indicated that their parents had different ethnic or racial backgrounds provided retrospective accounts of parental messages they perceived as influential in the development of their ethnic identity. Three themes of parental messages concerning ethnic identity emerged from the participants’ responses: (a) parental messages of encouragement/egalitarianism, (b) parental messages of preference, and (c) lack of explicit parental messages/silence. Findings are discussed in terms of implications for understanding multiethnic identity development, and future directions for research are put forth.

Discursive Struggles Animating Individuals’ Talk About Their Parents’ Coming Out As Lesbian Or Gay, Diana Breshears, Dawn O. Braithwaite

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

The goal in the present study was to understand the discourses that animate children’s talk about having a parent come out and how these discourses interplay to create meaning. Data were gathered through 20 in-depth interviews with adults who remembered a parent coming out to them as lesbian or gay. One discursive struggle animated the participants’ talk about their parents’ coming out: the discourse of lesbian and gay identity as wrong vs. the discourse of lesbian and gay identity as acceptable. Analysis of participants’ talk about their familial identities revealed a range of avenues for resisting the negative discourses regarding …

Theory And Research From The Communication Field: Discourses That Constitute And Reflect Families, Kathleen M. Galvin, Dawn O. Braithwaite

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

From the disciplinary perspective of communication studies, we review theory and research in family communication, including a brief history of the family communication field; the contributions of a family communication perspective; and 5 theories of family communication: communication accommodation theory, communication privacy management theory, family communication patterns theory, narrative theor(ies), and relational dialectics theory. We then illustrate the concept of discourse dependence in family communication processes and discuss current trends in family communication research. We also suggest emerging directions for family communication scholarship.

Veteran Educators' Perceptions Of The Internet's Impact On Learning And Social Development, Matthew Vincent Glowiak

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

In a time where some 2.4 billion Internet users exist worldwide, children are increasingly impacted by the Internet's influence, both directly and indirectly. With technology now playing a significant role in childhood learning and social development, many unforeseen shifts are occurring that will ultimately impact lifespan development. Although researchers have provided mixed results concerning the impact of the Internet on learning and social development, the body of evidence indicates that veteran K-8 educators who are comfortable and experienced with the Internet view it more favorably. This grounded theory study systematically generated the multisystem technological engagement theory (MSTET) to explain the …

Editor's Note, Janie M. H. Fritz

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

This is the Editor’s Note to Volume 33, Issue 1 of the Journal of the Association for Communication Administration.

Strategies For Easing Faculty-Management At Institutions Of Higher Education, Sarah H. Vanslette, Zachary A. Schaefer, Kathy Hagedorn

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

With calls across the discipline of communication to use our research to enhance the lived experience of organizational members and employees of all industries, this essay focuses on the often tense communication between university faculty and university leaders. Using communication and business scholarship as our foundation, we recommend communication strategies that should facilitate better communication between university faculty and management. These strategies will not only help faculty and staff overcome disagreements and avoid uncivil discourse, but the strategies can also be applied to uncivil non-academic workplace environments. The authors will also outline how these incivilities and recommended communication strategies play …

Informing The Undergraduate Teaching Assistant (Uta) Debate, Deanna D. Sellnow

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

Inherent in the job of communication administrators (e.g., basic course directors, chairs, directors, deans) is the never-ending challenge of finding the right balance between economic efficiency and instructional integrity in terms of course delivery. Therefore, the question we continually struggle to answer is where to find balance with regard to compromising educational quality for financial frugality. Although always an issue, this subject is spotlighted prominently today as funding support for higher education wanes. The proliferation of online courses now being offered (e.g., MOOCs/massive open online courses) serves as a prime example.

Exploring The Educational Value Of The Undergraduate Teaching Apprentice (Uta) Experience, Molly Reynolds, Deanna Sellnow, Katharine Head, Kathryn E. Anthony

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

Employing graduate students as teaching assistants (GTAs) is a common practice in universities across the United States. Using undergraduate students as teaching assistants/apprentices (UTAs), however, is not only less common but also often sparks debate among various stakeholder groups (e.g., teachers, administrators, community members). Moreover, relatively little empirical research has been published to support arguments on either side of the issue. The present study extends research by providing evidence to support the educational value of employing UTAs as teaching apprentices. More specifically, researchers conducted a grounded theory qualitative analysis of free-write essay responses collected from 33 UTAs throughout the course …

The Undergraduate Teaching Assistant: Scholarship In The Classroom, Sarah M. Flinko, Ronald C. Arnett

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

This essay casts the role of the Undergraduate Teaching Assistant (UTA) within a Kantanian sense of imagination—the not yet pushes off of the actual and the tangible (Kant, 1781/1963). The UTA accesses a temporal glimpse into a professional scholar/teacher vocation through experience in a lived context that unites teaching and scholarship. The role of the UTA offers what Martin Buber (1965/1988) called “imagining the real” (p. 60), a moment of creative ingenuity that begins with the doing of concrete tasks within the profession.

Undergraduate Instructor Assistants (Uias): Friend Or Foe, William J. Seiler, Jenna Stephenson Abetz

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

Undergraduate students have been and continue to be employed as instructor assistants (UIAs) in a variety of courses across disciplines. However, relatively little empirical research has been published regarding the educational merits for them or their students. The present essay extends such research by focusing specifically on UIAs’ perceived value of the Personalized System of Instruction (PSI) on their learning and personal growth. The authors conducted in depth interviews with six former UIAs and employed a qualitative thematic analysis of their responses. Perceived benefits that emerged from the analysis include, for example, learning how to balance many different roles and …

Editor's Note, Janie M. H. Fritz

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

This is the Editor’s Note to Volume 33, Issue 2 of the Journal of the Association for Communication Administration.

Teaching Communication Ethics As Central To The Discipline, Robert L. Ballard, Leeanne M. Bell Mcmanus, Annette M. Holba, Spoma Jovanovic, Paula S. Tompkins, Lori J. N. Charron, Melba L. Hoffer, Michelle A. Leavitt, Tammy Swenson-Lepper

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

Communication ethics as a field of study within the communication discipline has made significant contributions in a variety of areas, including teaching. This paper offers an historical overview of communication ethics, with special attention to four major approaches to pedagogy – ethics in human communication, moral psychology and intuition, a communication ethics framework, and a critical communication ethics pedagogy. For the department seeking to incorporate communication ethics through stand-alone courses or throughout curricula, the authors suggest ways for communication administrators to address questions of desired competencies for communication graduates, and to articulate related learning outcomes. Future recommendations for the field …

An Explanation Of Course Flipping And Its Application To Basic Course Instruction, Mary Mino

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

Flipping courses has become a topic of interest for communication instructors. This essay’s primary purpose is to assist communication educators and administrators in understanding course flipping as an instructional delivery approach. Course flipping, encouraging consistent active student learning during class sessions and appropriately using technology (or another means) to prepare students for these sessions, has most effectively accentuated instructional objectives. In fact, flipping the basic course has significantly increased students’ understanding of the relevance of the course and positively affected performance outcomes. In addition, to help instructors who want to employ this approach, a process in which they can engage …

Back To The Future: Cicero's Five Canons As An Assessment Framework, Jeanne M. Persuit, Julie-Ann Scott, Richard K. Olsen

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

Responding to an external mandate to engage in program level assessment, an assessment ad hoc committee within a large and broadly focused communication studies department invokes the Five Canons as the framework for an imbedded assessment process. The article explores the challenges that the Five Canons helped resolve and the unique organizational and curricular advantages that the Five Canons offer.

From The Voice Of The President: Advancing The Discipline Through Communication Leadership, Amanda Mckendree, Christina Mcdowell Marinchak

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

College and university presidents hold significant leadership positions not only in an administrative capacity, but also in their respective academic disciplines. This summary report presents results from a study of college and university presidents who hold an academic degree in communication at any level (BA, MA, and/or Ph.D.). The interview findings are organized according to the following major themes: Disciplinary identity, Ethical communication, Communication leadership, and Advocacy within the discipline. The summary report concludes by highlighting responses to the interview findings from top leaders within the communication discipline.

Complete Issue, Volume 33, Issue 2

Journal of the Association for Communication Administration

This is the complete issue for Volume 33, Issue 2 of the Journal of the Association for Communication Administration.

Towards A Practical Communication Intervention, Florentin Smarandache, Stefan Vladutescu

Branch Mathematics and Statistics Faculty and Staff Publications

The study starts from evidence that several communication acts fail, but nobody is called to intervene and nobody thinks of intervening. Examining different branches (specialties) of the communication discipline and focusing on four possible practices, by comparison, differentiation, collating and corroboration, the current study brings arguments for a branch of the communication discipline that has as unique practical aim the communicational intervention, the practical, direct and strict application of communication research. Communication, as discipline, must create an instrument of intervention. The discipline which studies communication globally (General Communication Science) has developed a strong component of theoretical and practical research of …

"This Is Exactly Why We Sweep Things Under The Rug:" A Polite Approach To Abc's Modern Family, Andrea Fasciano

Masters Theses

The sitcom has remained a popular choice for television viewers since its inception. They have evolved in their methods of entertaining their audiences, often depicting unlikeable characters engaging in antisocial behaviors. This study examines one such sitcom, Modern Family, through the lens of Brown and Levinson's politeness theory, and related concepts contributed by other theorists. These theorists maintain that a primary motive behind any interaction is the presentation and maintenance of a chosen identity or "face." Those actions that fail to maintain face, for either participant are called "face-threatening acts." This study attempts to determine if the characters behave in …

Always A Bridesmaid Never A Bride: Examining The Deinstitutionalization Of Marriage And The Modern Day Spinster, Kasha Nicole Glynn

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the deinstitutionalization of marriage and the stigmatization of women who remain single past the expectant marital age. The goal of this research was to investigate the social identities of women who remain single past the age of twenty-five, and to gain an understanding of how gender-based stereotypes influence their lives by examining their personal experiences. In an effort to better understand the stigmatization of today’s single woman, a qualitative method using focus groups was adopted for this study.

Twenty-five participants were selected using a purposive, inclusion/exclusion sampling technique. Three focus groups consisting of six participants each and …