Department of Communication Studies
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Item Understanding Organizations: Interpreting Organizational Communication Cultures(University of South Carolina Press, 1993-05-01) Bantz, Charles R.; Pepper, Gerald L.The organizational communication culture method has been used in more than 200 analyses of "real-world" organizations (e.g., a legal services office, a cooperative food store, an engineering unit of a major corporation, a rock band) and organizations presented in literature (e.g., the U.S. Army of Joseph Heller's Catch-22). By using the OCC method interpreters come to understand the symbolic world of the organization they study as well as the process by which members construct, maintain, and transform organizations. By presenting the method and presenting Gerald Pepper's case study illustration of the method (chap. 10), the book seeks three sets of readers. First, the role of communication in the construction of symbolic realities is an important intellectual question that is receiving a great deal of scholarly attention (e.g., witness the impact of Fisher's 1987 book Human Communication as Narration); this book will contribute to those discussions. Second, the OCC method has been valuable for helping students analyze organizations; the book makes the OCC method available to students of organizational communication and organizational theory. Third, given the intense practical interest in organizational culture in the 1980s (e.g., Peters's and Waterman's In Search of Excellence [1982]), managers of organizations and those studying to be managers will find a systematic approach to understanding organizational culture helpful. The book is useful, then, to scholars, students, and managers of organizations.Item 'Translating scholarship into practice': An alternative metaphor(http://trip.iupui.edu, 1999-05) Petronio, SandraExcerpt: Effectively translating scholarship can help people solve social problems. We may contribute to alleviating obstacles and dilemmas that people face. We may enhance the lives of others if communication scholars become translators of their own work or encourage others to function as transporters. Although we may initially concern ourselves with contributions that the communication discipline brings to the everyday world, this is a two-wy street. Not only might others benefit, but the discipline also stands to gain heartily from this investment. Showing how communication contributes to improve our understanding of the mundane and traumatic gives the discipline credibility in a wider arena. ... Through translation, we are able to preserve the integrity of the research and theory because it bridges knowledge production with knowledge utilization. Translating means that we take the knowledge discovered through research or theory and interpret it for everyday use.Item Communication About Lifestyle Change Between Cardiac Patients and Their Partners(2006) Goldsmith, Daena J.; Gumminger, Kristin Lindholm; Bute, Jennifer J.Although adherence to a heart-healthy lifestyle can improve recovery from a heart attack or bypass surgery, compliance with recommended behavior modifications is generally low. A spouse or partner can influence patient lifestyle change but much remains to be learned about what types of interactions facilitate adherence versus produce overprotection or resistance. We interviewed 25 persons who experienced a cardiac event in the past year and 16 partners. Our goals were to describe how couples talk about adherence and to identify features of communication that were variable, meaningful, and potentially consequential. Couples varied in how often they talked about adherence and those who talked a little, a lot, or occasionally differed not just in quantity of talk but also in the meaning of talk and strategies for regulating its frequency. Adherence talk occurred in various speech events, including praise, problem-solving discussion, acknowledgment, meta-communication, argument, and compliance-gaining. Different types of episodes entailed different roles and relational qualities. When partners engaged in compliance-gaining, the style in which they attempted social control (e.g., direct or indirect, humorous or serious, ritualistic or not, verbal or nonverbal) shaped its meaning. Our findings are consistent with Goldsmith’s (2004) theory of social support and have implications for how we conceptualize and measure couple communication about adherence. Our descriptions of behavior may help couples understand why they experience interactions as supportive or not. Describing behaviors can also give validation to couples experiencing communication challenges as well as offer a range of possible alternatives for interacting.Item Effects of Communication-Debilitating Illnesses and Injuries On Close Relationships: A Relational Maintenance Perspective(2007-12) Bute, Jennifer J.; Donovan-Kicken, Erin; Martins, NicoleA communication-debilitating illness or injury (CDI) presents significant challenges for patients as well as for friends and family. In a qualitative study of the effects of a CDI on close relationships, 28 individuals with loved ones who had experienced a CDI were interviewed. Participants described adjustments in communication with the patient and explained what it is like to experience a relationship with a CDI patient. Themes that emerged transcended the type of illness and relationship. Recommendations are made for further research that focuses on patients' relationships with a variety of social network members, beyond primary caregivers.Item Hidden challenges: social diversity in conflict(Association for Conflict Resolution, 2008) DiBacco, Aron EThe influence of social diversity in conflict is complex and challenging. It may be on the table for discussion or buried in the taken-for-granted background. No matter where or how social diversity presents, it shapes assumptions and options for everyone involved. Acknowledging the realities of these dynamics opens up difficult conversations, but is a necessary step if we are to understand how they already shape our conflicts and their possible resolution.Item Uncertainty of Social Network Members in the Case of Communication-Debilitating Illness or Injury(2008-01) Donovan-Kicken, Erin; Bute, Jennifer J.Uncertainty is a consequential aspect of chronic illness for patients as well as their family and friends, yet little research has focused on how non-ill individuals experience uncertainty about the condition of someone in their social network. Thirty-one individuals with loved ones who had a communication-debilitating illness or injury (CDI) participated in one-on-one interviews about their experiences. We analyzed transcripts for participants' sources of uncertainty and for ways that they managed the uncertainty. Participants' experiences with uncertainty included questions about the condition itself and involved the impaired communication resulting from the CDI. Participants described managing uncertainty through information seeking, changing the ways they communicated with the person with the CDI, and creating schemata to help reduce uncertainty. We discuss the findings in terms of predominant conceptualizations of uncertainty in illness and address the prevalence of communication as both a significant source of uncertainty and an important means of managing uncertainty.Item The Message Design Logics of Responses to HIV Disclosures(2008-10) Caughlin, John P.; Brashers, Dale E.; Ramey, Mary E.; Kosenko, Kami A.; Donovan-Kicken, Erin; Bute, Jennifer J.This article uses the theory of message design logics to investigate the relative sophistication of responses to disclosure of HIV status. In Study 1, 548 college students imagined a sibling revealing an HIV-positive diagnosis. Their responses to the HIV disclosures were coded as expressive (n= 174), conventional (n= 298), or rhetorical (n= 66). Type of message produced was associated with gender and HIV aversion. In Study 2, 459 individuals living with HIV rated response messages that were taken verbatim from Study 1. Expressive messages were rated lowest in quality, and rhetorical messages were rated highest. The discussion focuses on the utility of message design logics for understanding responses to HIV disclosures and the implications for message design logics.Item Health Communication and Health Education: Empowering Students to Educate Their Communities(2009-04) Bute, Jennifer J.; Kopchick, Char L.Objectives: After completing this project, students will be able to: (a) use health communication research and theory to create educational materials; (b) analyze an audience and develop creative educational materials based on audience characteristics; and (c) consult with key constituents during the development of educational materialsItem The Role of Patient Activation in Psychiatric Visits(2009-11) Salyers, Michelle P.; Matthias, Marianne S.; Spann, Crystal; Lydick, Jennifer; Rollins, Angela L.; Frankel, Richard M.OBJECTIVE: This study identified ways that consumers of mental health services are active participants in psychiatric treatment. METHODS: Four providers (three psychiatrists and one nurse practitioner) were recruited, and ten consumers with severe mental illness were recruited per provider (40 total). Consumers completed questionnaires on patient activation, illness self-management, and medication attitudes on the day of a psychiatric visit. The visit was audiotaped, transcribed, and thematically analyzed. Providers gave information on diagnosis, substance use disorder, and medication adherence. RESULTS: Consumer-rated patient activation was positively related to illness self-management and negatively related to substance use disorder. Transcripts of the psychiatric visit showed that consumers were active in partnership building, seeking and displaying competence, and directing treatment; however, the relationship was weak between consumer-reported activation and observed activation behaviors. CONCLUSIONS: Consumers were found to be active participants in treatment in a variety of ways, but similar to other populations, the relationship between observed patient activation and consumer-reported desire for involvement was not direct.Item “Nobody Thinks Twice About Asking:” Women with a Fertility Problem and Requests for Information(2009-12) Bute, Jennifer J.; Brann, MariaFor women with a fertility problem, responding to questions about childbearing, pregnancy, and the nature of infertility is a salient issue. In this study of talking about infertility, women described their experiences in handling such requests for information. Results suggest that requests come in a variety of forms, that women attribute multiple and potentially conflicting meanings to such requests, and that requests can elicit a variety of responses. From a communication standpoint, such inquiries suggest the varied ways that conversational partners can attempt to elicit disclosive information, thus enabling or constraining the emergent nature of the interaction.