Emotional Labor in the Academic Library: When Being Friendly Feels Like Work

Although the Guidelines for Behavioral Performance of Reference and Information Services Providers recommend that librarians “welcome the patrons and place them at ease … [and] make the patrons feel comfortable in a situation which may be perceived as intimidating, risky, confusing or overwhelming” (Reference and User Services Association, 2004 Reference and User Services Association.2004Guidelines for behavioral performance of reference and information services providers. http://http://www.ala.org/rusa/resources/guidelines/guidelinesbehavioral (http://http://www.ala.org/rusa/resources/guidelines/guidelinesbehavioral)  [Google Scholar]), our literature provides little exploration of welcoming behavior. To fill this gap, we introduce the concept of emotional labor to the library context, presenting a qualitative analysis of librarians' experiences. In addition, we offer recommendations to help librarians manage the emotional aspects of work and discuss implications of librarianship's changing emotional demands.     

Storying the News through Category,Action, and Reason

From a sociolinguistic and discourse-analytic perspective, news stories have often been considered as operating within a similar structural framework to oral narratives (Labov, 1972 Labov, W. 1972. Language in the inner city, Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.  [Google Scholar]), sharing formal elements with narratives produced in other contexts (although as Bell (1991) Bell, A. 1991. The language of news media, Oxford: Blackwell.  [Google Scholar] has demonstrated in relation to print news, these elements occur in temporal disorganization). In this paper, in line with other recent treatments of news stories, we suggest that news does not conform to this kind of “narrative” structure as such. Examining data taken from print and live-broadcast TV news through a Sacksian (1995) lens, we argue that it is possible to simplify the analysis of news structure by approaching the news as “stories,” where the story elements are organized around the notions of category, action, and reason rather than as a series of narrative clauses involving orientation, complicating actions, evaluation, and resolution (Bell, 1991 Bell, A. 1991. The language of news media, Oxford: Blackwell.  [Google Scholar]; van Dijk, 1988 Van Dijk, T. A. 1988. News as discourse, Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.  [Google Scholar]).     

EVOLUTION OR REVOLUTION?

This is a report and summary of the debate of the Consortium of University Research Libraries (CURL) and British Library commissioned report Optimising storage and access in UK research libraries held at a seminar at the British Library Conference Centre, 13 December 2005.1 ¹PowerPoint presentations from the seminar are available on the CURL web site at http://www.curl.ac.uk/about/EvolutionorRevolutionevent.htm      

Managing Dialectics to Make a Difference: Tension Management in a Community-Building Organization

This article is an ethnographic report of the dialectic tension management practices of a community-building organization called the Nehemiah Group. ¹ The Nehemiah Group, in 2009, changed their name to the Nehemiah Network to reflect their expanded involvement of business leaders (Our History, n.d. Our History . ( n.d. ). Retrieved from http://www.nehemiahnetwork.org/about  [Google Scholar]). This group unites local churches to serve the community. This three-year participant-observation study documents how group members manage two primary and intertwined dialectic tensions: noncooperation-cooperation and unity-division. Members use multiple practices to manage these tensions and other intertwined tensions: They construct narratives to voice moral issues, to alternate between tension poles to address pragmatic obstacles, to frame tensions as complementary through segmentation, and rely on prayer rituals to reframe tensions. From this analysis, three implications follow: (a) moral narratives serve to construct framing options, (b) a larger discursive history is utilized to create counternarratives, and (c) metadiscursive practices rely on rituals to manage tensions.     

Employee Perceptions of E-mail Monitoring from a Boundary Management Perspective

This research contributes to the growing body of literature exploring employee perceptions of workplace communication monitoring and surveillance by developing an explanatory model based on predictions derived from communication boundary management theory (CBM; Petronio, 1991 Petronio , S. ( 1991 ). Communication boundary management: A theoretical model of managing disclosure of private information between marital couples . Communication Theory , 1 , 311 – 335 .[Crossref] , [Google Scholar], 2001 American Management Association . ( 2001 ). 2001 AMA survey: Workplace monitoring and surveillance . Retrieved September 27, 2003, from http://www.amanet.org  [Google Scholar]). Specifically, this study explores the perceptions of workplace e-mail monitoring from a cross-section of 155 workers. The data suggest that when employees feel that there is a large amount of e-mail monitoring and believe that the monitoring is inappropriate, they respond negatively to top management. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

Redesigning Services for the Net-Gen and Beyond: A Holistic Review of Pedagogy,Resource, and Learning Space

Oblinger and Oblinger (2005) described the Net Generation or Net Gen, who have never known life without the Internet. They note the incremental nature of change: “One generation's technology is taken for granted by the next” (p. 2.1). In a world increasingly dominated by technology, the academic library has become a place to learn that is constantly adapting and changing, reflecting “what the student does” (Biggs, 2007 Biggs, J. 2007. Teaching for quality learning at university: what the student does, , 3rd ed, Maidenhead: Open University Press.  [Google Scholar]). Pathfinder funding from the Higher Education Academy has enabled Bournemouth University (BU) to explore the pedagogies of learning in a hybrid environment and consider how Web 2.0 technologies within a virtual learning environment contribute to the acquisition and development of academic literacy skills. Good library design demonstrates agility and adaptability in the use of space (Heppel et al., 2004 Heppel, S., Chapman, C., Millwood, R., Constable, M. and Furness, J. 2004. Building learning futures. A research project at Ultralab within the CABE/RIBA “Building Futures” programme 〈http://rubble.heppell.net/cabe/final_report.pdf〉 (accessed 24 July 2008) [Google Scholar]). Virtual environments enable integration of resources within the unit of study. Subject librarians, academics, and learning technologists are developing new ways of working together to deliver resources. The rate of change is exponential but is full of opportunity (“Libraries Unleashed,” 2008). In 2009 Bournemouth University will open a new library for postgraduate business students without any books, but with each student equipped with an e-book reader. This article will discuss the academic skills and learning spaces students will need to read for a degree in an environment that is predominantly electronic.     

How We Hired a Content Strategist (And Why You Should Too)

Libraries were once the trailblazers for developing Web sites in the early 1990s, but today many library Web sites are bloated with outdated, irrelevant, and unfriendly content. Some institutions have recently turned to content strategy—the practice of planning “for the creation, publication, and governance of useful, usable content” (Halvorson 2011 Halvorson, K. 2011. Understanding the discipline of web content strategy. Bulletin of the American Society of Information Science and Technology 37:23–25. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/bult.2011.1720370208.[Crossref] , [Google Scholar], 23)—to address these problems. In this article, the authors argue that large libraries can benefit from creating a dedicated staff role for content strategy. They explore how the University of Arizona Libraries moved from its first forays in content strategy to adding a full-time, permanent content strategist to the staff. The authors describe the key elements that were important in making the case for this position and detail considerations for recruitment and hiring. They also discuss the role a content strategist can play for improving the overall user experience beyond just the library Web site.     

Strategic Communication during Marital Relationship Dissolution: Disengagement Resistance Strategies

This study investigated the communication strategies used by divorced individuals who did not wish their marriages to end (non-initiators). Participants were 270 divorced persons drawn from divorce recovery and support groups as well as network sampling. An adaptation of Buss's (1988 Buss , D. M. ( 1988 ). From vigilance to violence: Tactics of mate retention in American undergraduates . Ethology and Sociobiology , 9 , 291 – 317 . [CROSSREF] [CSA] [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) taxonomy of partner retention tactics served to capture the communication strategies of non-initiators during marital dissolution. A factor analysis revealed that four disengagement resistance strategies—commitment, alignment, negativity, and harm—are used by non-initiators during the process of marital dissolution.     

Second Life as Innovation

Recently, the business and technology research firm Gartner released its 2009 Hype Cycle Report, which tracks upcoming technology tools and their relative social expectations associated with them (Fenn, Raskino, & Gammace, 2009 Fenn , J. , Raskino , M. , & Gammage , B. ( 2009 ). Gartner's hype cycle special report for 2009. Retrieved August 13, 2009, from http://www.gartner.com  [Google Scholar]). One often-hyped technology in the library world is Second Life, which has experienced a dramatic rise and fall in the past few years in terms of patron and librarian interest. Guest columnist Christopher Guder considers Second Life in terms of Everett Rogers’ Diffusion of Innovations theory, which offers insight into whether this technology is actually viable in a library setting.

Christopher Guder is a Reference & Instruction Librarian at Ohio University. His subject specialty is Education, and he is currently working on a Ph.D. in Instructional Technology. In addition to being a member of the Alden Library Technology Team, Guder is also responsible for adaptive technology. He will assume editorship of the Technology column with the next issue.     

Playing With Dialectics: Black Female Friendship Groups as a Homeplace

Female friendships are significant to many Black females because they represent a homeplace, or a safe space. This study uses Baxter and Montgomery's (1996 Baxter , L. A. , & Montgomery , B. M. ( 1996 ). Relating: Dialogues and dialectics . New York , NY : The Guilford Press . [Google Scholar], 1998 Baxter , L. A. , & Montgomery , B. M. ( 1998 ). A guide to dialectical approaches to studying interpersonal relationships . In B. M. Montgomery & L. A. Baxter (Eds.), Dialectical approaches to studying interpersonal relationships (pp. 1 – 16 ). Mahwah , NJ : Lawrence Erlbaum . [Google Scholar]) relational dialectics theory and Collins’ (2000 Collins , P. H. ( 2000 ). Black feminist thought: Knowledge, consciousness, and the politics of empowerment ( ed.) , 2nd . New York , NY : Routledge . [Google Scholar]) Black feminist thought to understand the interplay of contradictions in the stories that Black females tell in their friendship groups. The contradictions embedded in the stories were finances (spending/saving), language (“good”/“bad” English), appearance (satisfaction/dissatisfaction), and race (acceptance/rejection of otherness). The interaction of these tensions showed that the friends engaged in group segregation and integration, which ultimately enabled them to freely express their culturally based truths without fear of marginalization.     

Perceived and experienced stigma among people living with HIV: Examining the role of prior stigmatization on reasons for and against future disclosures

HIV remains a significant health concern entering the fourth decade of the epidemic [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2014. HIV basics. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/basics/index.html], and people living with HIV continue to grapple with stigma. This study uses Leary and Schreindorfer's [1998 Leary, M. R., &; Schreindorfer, L. S. (1998). The stigmatization of HIV and AIDS: Rubbing salt in the wound. In V. J. Derlega &; A. P. Barbee (Eds.), HIV and social interaction (pp. 12–29). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. [Google Scholar]. The stigmatization of HIV and AIDS: Rubbing salt in the wound. In V. J. Derlega &; A. P. Barbee (Eds.), HIV and social interaction (pp. 12 Lekas, H. M., Siegel, K., &; Schrimshaw, E. W. (2006). Continuities and discontinuities in the experiences of felt and enacted stigma among women with HIV/AIDS. Qualitative Health Research, 16, 1165–1190. doi:10.1177/1049732306292284[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]–29 Lekas, H. M., Siegel, K., &; Schrimshaw, E. W. (2006). Continuities and discontinuities in the experiences of felt and enacted stigma among women with HIV/AIDS. Qualitative Health Research, 16, 1165–1190. doi:10.1177/1049732306292284[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage] conceptualization of stigma to explore prior stigmatization on reasons for and against future disclosures. We interviewed HIV+ individuals (N?=?59) and used a combination of deductive and inductive coding to analyze participants’ responses. Deductive codes consisted of four stigma characteristics (pose a threat to others’ health and safety, deviate from group standards, create negative emotional reactions in others, and failure to contribute), experiences of feeling stigmatized due to HIV status (yes or no), and the degree to which HIV stigma was a concern (major, minor, or no concern). Inductive coding identified examples of perceived and experienced stigma and stigma concerns on future disclosure decision-making. Practical implications discuss individual, institutional, and societal stigma-reduction interventions and programs.     

On Shadowing the Hybrid Character of Actions: A Communicational Approach

This article extends the discussion of McDonald (2005) McDonald, S. 2005. Studying actions in context: A qualitative shadowing method for organizational research. Qualitative Research, 5: 455–473. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar] concerning the use of shadowing as a research technique for studying actions in organizational contexts. It addresses McDonald's observation that the few studies that refer to this technique do not make any attempt to discuss their methodological choices or their epistemological standpoints. In this paper, we intend to contribute to this emerging debate in two ways. First, we explore and discuss some contrasting applications of shadowing in the organizational literature in order to render explicit the researcher's ontological and epistemological standpoints. Second, we present our own application of shadowing starting with the redefinition of organization as a plenum of agencies (Cooren, 2006 Cooren, F. 2006. “The organizational world as a plenum of agencies”. In Communication as organizing: Practical approaches to research into the dynamic of text and conversation, Edited by: Cooren, F., Taylor, J. R. and Van Every, E. J. 81–100. Mahwah, NY: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.  [Google Scholar]) that emerges from communication (Taylor & Van Every, 2000 Taylor, J. R. and Van Every. 2000. The emergent organization: Communication as its site and surface, Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.  [Google Scholar]). Considering these theoretical grounds we propose, inspired by Latour's (2005) Latour, B. 2005. Reassembling the social: An introduction to actor-network-theory, Oxford: Oxford University Press.  [Google Scholar] motto “follow the actors,” to shadow the hybrid character actions. This implies, from a methodological point of view: 1) documenting the flows that compose these actions, over the course of which a set of objects are mobilized in series of interactions, (2) applying an equivalent analytical strategy to whatever actor we are studying, and (3) grasping both the material and discursive dimension of communication as action.     

Selectively Social Politics: The Differing Roles of Media Use on Political Discussion

In the modern media environment, people are afforded a variety of options for political information. In addition, people now use multiple media sources (e.g., television, radio, blogs) to obtain information about all aspects of politics (Eveland, 2004 Eveland, W. P., Jr. (2004). The effect of political discussion in producing informed citizens: The roles of information, motivation, and elaboration. Political Communication, 21, 177–193. doi:10.1080/10584600490443877.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, 2009 Eveland, W. P., Jr., & Hively, M. H. (2009). Political discussion frequency, network size, and “heterogeneity” of discussion as predictors of political knowledge and participation. Journal of Communication, 59, 205–224. doi:10.1111/j.1460-2466.2009.01412.x[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). The purpose of this study was to examine how use of particular media sources influenced the frequency of political discussion with people from the same political party (political in-group members) and people from a different political party (political out-group members). Guided by a uses and gratifications perspective, which emphasizes the role of the user in media effects, we examined how specific user background characteristics (e.g., age, sex, political opinion leadership, political social identity, political content affinity), motives for using traditional and social media for political information, and use of different media sources work together to influence discussion with political in-group and out-group members. Our results allowed us to identify several distinct differences between people who talk to political in-group and out-group members.     

Interface of Political Opportunism and Islamic Extremism in Bangladesh: Rhetorical Identification in Government Response

Critical approaches to study Bangladesh's political development have been widespread, especially in the fields of political science and international relations. What is missing from the existing critical account is an examination of the language that Bangladesh's political leaders use as symbolic means. This paper will critically analyze a rhetorical event, Address to the Nation by Begum Khaleda Zia, former Prime Minister of the People's Republic of Bangladesh, at the Fourth Anniversary of the former Alliance Government at Dhaka, Bangladesh on October 10, 2005 Zia , B. K. ( 2005, October, 10 ). [Address to the Nation]. Speech presented at the Fourth Anniversary of the Alliance Government. Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh. Retrieved January 6, 2006, from http://www.mofa.gov.bd/st_prime_minister.htm  [Google Scholar]. The purpose is to investigate the responses of the then Bangladesh government to growing Islamic militancy in the country. Kenneth Burke's concept of identification will be used to this end.     

Evidence for the Construct Validity and Reliability of the Co-Cultural Theory Scales

Co-cultural theory provides a theoretical framework that examines the ways that members of co-cultural groups communicate when interacting with members of a dominant culture (Orbe, 1998a Orbe, M. 1998a. Constructing co-cultural theory: An explication of culture, power, and communication, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar]). The tenants of the theory were inductively derived via phenomenological analyses of focus group and interview data. Two of the central theoretical components, preferred outcome and communication approach, have been conceptualized as general tendencies that influence communication practices by co-cultural group members within interactions with members of dominant cultural groups. This article reports on the design of a self-report measure of these two components of co-cultural theory and provides evidence from two studies for the construct validity and reliability of the co-cultural theory scales (C-CTS).     

Telepresence and the Exemplification Effects of Disaster News

Exemplification theory (Zillmann, 1999 Zillmann , D. (1999). Exemplification theory: Judging the whole by the sum of its parts. Media Psychology , 1, 69–94.[Taylor &; Francis Online] , [Google Scholar], 2002 Zillmann , D. ( 2002 ). Exemplification theory of media influence . In J. Bryant &; D. Zillmann (Eds.), Media effects: Advances in theory and research ( , 2nd ed. , pp. 213 – 245 ). Mahwah , NJ : LEA . [Google Scholar]; Zillmann &; Brosius, 2000 Zillmann , D. , &; Brosius , H.-B. ( 2000 ). Exemplification in communication: The influence of case reports on the perception of issues . Mahwah , NJ : LEA . [Google Scholar]) suggests exemplar representations in media content may cause people to make overestimated judgments about phenomena included in this content. The current study sought to examine the role telepresence plays in increasing this exemplification effect. Two-hundred and seventeen participants viewed a news story about Hurricane Katrina using one of three channels: HDTV, NTSC, or on an iPod. Data were consistent with predictions as participants who experienced greater spatial presence and perceptual realism while watching this news story reported increased judgments of the severity of hurricanes and also reported a greater likelihood to engage in behaviors associated with hurricanes. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.     

Further Testing of a New Model of Intercultural Communication Competence

Recently, a new model of intercultural communication was proposed and later empirically tested (Arasaratnam, 2004 Arasaratnam , L. A. ( 2004 ). Intercultural communication competence: Development and empirical validation of a new model . Paper presented at the annual meeting of the International Communication Association , New Orleans , LA . [Google Scholar]; Arasaratnam & Doerfel, 2005 Arasaratnam , L. A. & Doerfel , M. L. ( 2005 ). Intercultural communication competence: Identifying key components from multicultural perspectives . International Journal of Intercultural Relations , 29 , 137 – 163 . [CSA] [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). The present study was designed to further test the model and address the limitations of the previous test. Survey data were collected from participants (N = 400) and analyzed using regression analyses. The results mostly supported the previous model. These results plus some new findings in the relationship between empathy and intercultural communication competence are discussed.     

Tall Poppies in the Workplace: Communication Strategies Used by Envious Others in Response to Successful Women

Controversial media representations of the female body can reflect, reproduce, and even challenge ideological systems or Discourses (Jones, 2003 Jones , A. ( 2003 ). Introduction: Conceiving the intersection of feminism and visual culture . In A. Jones (Ed.), The feminism and visual culture reader (pp. 1 – 7 ). New York , NY : Routledge . [Google Scholar]; Louw, 2001 Louw , P. E. (2001). The media and cultural production . Thousand Oaks , CA : Sage. [Google Scholar]). This article interrogates the discourse surrounding TIME Magazine's recent cover regarding attachment parenting, which featured a mother breastfeeding her toddler. The analysis of 1 online comment board shows that, although multiple meanings were present, the talk regarding the cover was overwhelmingly informed by the Discourse of (Hetero)Sexuality, which defines breastfeeding as a sexualized act only appropriate in private and for children of a certain age. This backdrop of sexuality for breastfeeding is significant not only for mothers’ choices and practices regarding nursing, but also for policymakers who seek to support breastfeeding. In addition, the findings reinforce the importance of attending to the interrelations within and between macro- and microlevels of discourse in investigating symbolic systems through which meanings are constructed.     

A Conspiracy of Fishes,or, How We Learned to Stop Worrying About #GamerGate and Embrace Hegemonic Masculinity

Recently, the margins between gaming and feminism have become increasingly contentious (Salter & Blodgett, 2012 Salter, A., & Blodgett, B. (2012). Hypermasculinity & Dickwolves: The contentious role of women in the new gaming public. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 56, 401–416. doi:10.1080/08838151.2012.705199[Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] [Google Scholar]). This article addresses a cultural moment where masculine gaming culture became aware of and began responding to feminist game scholars by analyzing GamerGate conspiracy documents and social media discussions related to the now infamous “DiGRA fishbowl.” Worries about the opacity of academic practices and a disparaging of feminist knowledge-making practices dominate these documents. By looking at these discussions and practices through the lens of conspiracy theories (Fenster, 2008 Fenster, M. (2008). Conspiracy theories: Secrecy and power in American culture (2nd edition). Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press. [Google Scholar]; Hofstadter, 1952 Hofstadter, R. (1952). The paranoid style in American politics and other essays. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. [Google Scholar]) and counterknowledge (Fiske, 1994 Fiske, J. (1994). Blackstream knowledge: Genocide. In Media matters: Everyday culture and political change. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press. [Google Scholar]) we consider the broader meaning of GamerGate's attention to academia.