Communication Apprehension and Imagined Interactions

Communication apprehension (CA) is associated with fear of anticipated communication. Yet, imagined interactions (IIs) can help reduce fear of communication in which individuals use mental imagery before and after to prepare and review communication. A series of regression analyses in which characteristics of IIs were the independent variables was used to predict overall CA, as well as in four different contexts. The regression analysis indicated that CA could be predicted by the II characteristic of discrepancy across multiple contexts. The II catharsis function was predictive in one context. Results are discussed in terms of cognitive modification as a therapeutic technique for treating CA.     

Political Communication and Statistical Interaction: Reexamining Issue,Image, Involvement,and Interpersonal Conversation

Statistical interactions present complex problems in analysis and interpretation for research on communication. Recently, Pinkleton (1999) examined how the relevance of political conversation is associated with issue attention, image attention, and situational involvement. He reported significant interactions but did not fully interpret them. Our reexamination of his findings provides tips for avoiding common pitfalls in analyzing statistical interaction. Understanding the pattern of an interaction requires considering simultaneously the unstandardized regression slopes for the interaction term and for the separate interacting variables. We illustrate how interpreting any slope in isolation can lead to incorrect conclusions. Graphical methods are recommended for exploring the model-implied associations and for diagnosing data problems that can undermine the analysis, such as coding errors, outliers, and so forth. With a coding error corrected, Pinkleton's data in fact showed no significant interactions. We conclude by noting a need for conceptual clarification in the theoretical relation between issue and image attention.     

Vocal and visual cue training in behavioral lie detection

The present study tested the effect of training observers to detect deception using different behavioral cues. Participants were trained to detect deception using either:(1) vocal‐only cues, (2) visual‐only cues, or (3) a combination of vocal and visual cues. A fourth group of observers did not receive any training and served as a control. Results indicated that trained observers were more successful than untrained observers in detecting deceptive communication. More specifically, observers trained to use either visual or both visual and vocal cues were more accurate detectors of deception than untrained naive observers. No differences were found between training conditions with respect to determining the veracity of truthful communication.     

Conversation Orientation and Conformity Orientation Are Inversely Related: A Meta-Analysis

The two central constructs of family communication patterns theory—conversation orientation and conformity orientation—have been studied in their relation to a host of outcomes. In measuring these orientations, researchers often acknowledge that the empirical relationship between the two constructs tends to be negative. A meta-analytic review was conducted (k = 32, N = 8,171) to assess the magnitude of this relationship. In addition, respondent type (i.e., child versus parent respondents) was tested as a moderator. The weighted mean effect size was –.33 (95% CI [–.35, –.31]). The findings gave preliminary evidence that the relationship was weaker for parent respondents compared to child respondents. The findings hold implications for future work, such as by suggesting certain analytic decisions.     

医学论文中logistic回归分析的误用及案例分析

logistic回归分析在医学研究领域应用较为广泛,但因其涉及的因素较多,统计方法较为复杂,部分研究者未咨询流行病学和卫生统计学专业人员而盲目套用统计学方法,造成其在应用logistic回归分析处理数据时出现诸如自变量选取和纳入、统计模型选择、结果表述和报告时误用错用情况的发生。本文选取公开发表的医学论文,举例分析文章中logistic回归误用错用的情况,指出其正确应用方法,为医学期刊编辑处理类似稿件提供参考。     

Negotiating Dis/Ability in Families: Constructions and Contradictions

This project uses a narrative view of identity to interrogate how individuals construct notions of ability and disability within their families. Participants include children with disabilities from diverse ethnic backgrounds, their parents, siblings, and extended family members. Interactions within four families are explored as well as interactions family members have with people outside their families. Interview and observational data demonstrate ways that participants construct identities that highlight intersections of ability/disability and individuality/relationships. Results indicate that families primarily construct identities of “normal” through their interactions and routines as they negotiate contradictions inherent in their everyday lives. Theoretic implications of narrative dimensions of constructions and contradictions are offered. Finally, practical applications for professionals and families of children with disabilities are suggested with future directions for research and practice.     

Managing Patient-centered Communication across the Type 2 Diabetes Illness Trajectory: A Grounded Practical Theory of Interactional Sensitivity

This article uses the theoretical and methodological framework of Grounded Practical Theory (GPT) to provide a lens for analyzing and interpreting discourse as a situated form of social action in routine Type 2 diabetes visits. Drawing on a total data-set of 400 audio-recorded routine visits, we randomly selected 55 visits for qualitative analysis. In this article, we use Conversation Analysis to document communication techniques, which we in turn use as evidence to ground our claims within the GPT framework. We use two single cases of interaction to analyze communication techniques physicians use when recommending a change from oral medication to insulin. We argue treatment intensification is a key moment in health communication to reflect about patient centeredness because physicians can find themselves in an interactional dilemma: while insulin may effectively help control unstable disease, an insulin recommendation may simultaneously counter patient values and treatment preferences. Our analysis suggests that physicians use what we call interactional sensitivity to balance medical need and patient preferences when making medical decisions by tailoring their communication according to the local situation and the patient's larger illness trajectory. We propose that interactional sensitivity is a type of communication work and a quality of patient-centered communication characterized by the theoretical relationship between tailoring communication to the contingencies of the local interaction and the global illness trajectory. Overall, this article contributes to health communication scholarship by proposing a normative model for reflecting on how physicians negotiate challenging interactions with patients during routine chronic illness visits.     

A Meta-Analytical Review of Family Communication Patterns and their Associations with Information Processing,Behavioral, and Psychosocial Outcomes

This meta-analysis reviews the findings of 56 studies (n=19,745) examining the associations among family communication patterns (i.e., conversation and conformity orientations) and information-processing, behavioral, and psychosocial outcomes. When both conversation and conformity orientations are considered collectively, the cumulative evidence indicates a small, but meaningful relationship between family communication patterns and overall outcomes (r=.285). Similar overall effect sizes were observed for conversation (r=.262) and conformity orientations (r=.253), though the average effect size for conversation orientation and psychosocial outcomes (r=.460) was greater in magnitude than those obtained for information processing (r=.238) or behavioral outcomes (r=.276). Slightly larger effect sizes were observed when researchers used the Revised Family Communication Patterns scale (r=.332) as compared with the Family Communication Patterns scale (r=.261), though this difference in magnitude was statistically non-significant. Collectively, the results suggest that family communication patterns have a meaningful association with a variety of cognitive activities and relational behaviors, as well as individual well-being.     

Assessing the Effectiveness of Collaborative Interorganizational Networks Through Client Communication

A hallmark of today’s civil society sector is the prevalence of collaborative interorganizational networks. The purpose of this study is to investigate how collaborative interorganizational network structures affect interactions within client networks, and how this in turn impacts assessments of collaborative interorganizational network effectiveness. In particular, we focus on recommendations as key indicators of collaborative interorganizational network effectiveness in relation to client networks. We identify client networks of phantom populations as an important but unexamined aspect of collaborative interorganizational network effectiveness that warrants further research. We present an empirical investigation of a collaborative interorganizational network of social service agencies working to address the problem of homelessness in Boulder County, Colorado (USA). Findings indicate that organizations with a greater number of connections with other organizations generate more recommendations within client networks. Our study demonstrates a relationship between the degree of connections within a collaborative interorganizational network structure and the recommendations generated with a phantom population.     

Modeling time-to-trigger in library demand-driven acquisitions via survival analysis

Conventional statistical methods (e.g. logistics regression, decision tree, etc.) have been used to analyze library demand-driven acquisitions (DDA) data. However, these methods are not well-suited to predict when acquisitions will be triggered or how long e-books will remain unused. Survival analysis, a statistical method commonly used in clinical research and medical trials, was employed to predict the time-to-trigger for DDA purchases within the context of a large research university library. By predicting which e-books will be triggered (i.e., purchased), as well as the time to trigger occurrence, the method tested in this study provides libraries a deeper understanding of factors influencing their DDA purchasing patterns. This understanding will help libraries optimize their DDA profile management and DDA budgets. This research provides a demonstration of how data science techniques can be of value for the library environment.     

Daughters' Perceptions of Communication with Their Fathers: The Role of Skill Similarity and Co-Orientation in Relationship Satisfaction

This study examines the communication skill similarity between fathers and daughters. Participants were 186 daughters who identified perceptions of both their own communication competence and their father's communication competence. Results indicated that perceived similarity was related to relational satisfaction and quantity of communication. Using the Family Communication Pattern (FCP) model, father-daughter relationship satisfaction and communication skill similarity varied depending on the family type (i.e., consensual, pluralistic, protective, laissez-faire).     

Using Communication Infrastructure Theory to Formulate a Strategy to Locate “Hard-to-Reach” Research Participants

In health-communication research, participants who are disproportionately affected by health disparities are often “hard-to-reach,” making them difficult to identify for formative research. This study used communication infrastructure theory (CIT) to create a strategy for locating a specific subset of residents—those who use 911 for healthcare—within a low-income Atlanta community. Findings suggest the need for strategies that involve employing both the communication channels that are part of the neighborhood storytelling network and the community's discursive spaces, more specifically the communication hot spots and community comfort zones located within the community's built environment.     

Text Categorization Based on Regularized Linear Classification Methods

A number of linear classification methods such as the linear least squares fit (LLSF), logistic regression, and support vector machines (SVM's) have been applied to text categorization problems. These methods share the similarity by finding hyperplanes that approximately separate a class of document vectors from its complement. However, support vector machines are so far considered special in that they have been demonstrated to achieve the state of the art performance. It is therefore worthwhile to understand whether such good performance is unique to the SVM design, or if it can also be achieved by other linear classification methods. In this paper, we compare a number of known linear classification methods as well as some variants in the framework of regularized linear systems. We will discuss the statistical and numerical properties of these algorithms, with a focus on text categorization. We will also provide some numerical experiments to illustrate these algorithms on a number of datasets.     

“Kind,Sensitive, and Above All,Honest”: Long-Term Cancer Survivors’ Quality of Life and Self-Advocacy

ABSTRACT

Long-term survivors of cancer (LTS) are a growing population whose needs differ significantly from patients undergoing cancer treatment. Many LTS suffer from late effects of cancer treatments or symptoms that persist after treatment concludes or appear following remission. This study explored the relationship between LTS perceptions of quality of life with late effects and perceptions of patient self-advocacy through quantitative and qualitative analyses. A negative statistical relationship emerged between the variables. LTS median self-advocacy scores were quite high, reflecting their preference for health-care providers who listen actively, understand patient needs, are knowledgeable and compassionate, and utilize joint decision making.     

Parental Response to Child's Incongruence: Verbal versus Nonverbal Primacy in Parent–child Interactions

Whereas the question of verbal versus nonverbal primacy has gained intensive interest, considerably less attention has been devoted to parental response to children's verbal/nonverbal incongruence. This study comprehensively analyzed parental responses to children's incongruence during mutual interactions. Parent–child interactions (n = 160) in structured joint game sequences were filmed in their homes and analyzed using a mixed multivariate design. Unexpectedly, parents related almost equally to verbal and nonverbal channels. The analysis of a wide range of social and situational contexts, including child's sex, parent's sex, SES, and task difficulty, highlighted their significant effects and delineated the contexts that activated verbal primacy, nonverbal primacy, and incongruent responses. This study provides a composite theoretical framework for the relative dominance of verbal versus nonverbal communication.     

Young Breast Cancer Survivors’ Experiences of Uncertainty

Evidence indicates recent increases in breast cancer diagnoses among young women. Research also suggests that younger women diagnosed with breast cancer may experience more psychological distress than older women. In-depth interviews with 25 breast cancer survivors age 40 and under were conducted to explore the uncertainties young women face throughout survivorship. Results indicate that young women experience unique sources of uncertainty and that communication may facilitate or hinder the management of uncertainty across the survivorship trajectory. Implications of these findings for theorizing on uncertainty, healthcare providers’ interactions with young women, and social networks’ communication with survivors are discussed. These data also have important implications for the practical treatment of young breast cancer survivors and applied, communicative recommendations for providers are proposed.     

Predicting Success: Revisiting Assumptions about Family Political Socialization

This study, guided by family communication patterns theory, examined the role of family communication in political socialization. We tested whether certain communication styles were associated with higher levels of political similarity within the family. Additionally, the independent influences of the mother and father, as well as the direction of these influences, were considered. Results suggest that different communication styles are associated with higher levels of political similarity. Additionally, it was found that children were more likely to share their mothers' political attitudes than their fathers'. Explanations for these findings are discussed and implications focusing on the role of communication in the socialization literature are considered.     

医学期刊中容易误用的统计学方法辨析

对医学期刊中容易误用的几种统计学方法进行辨析,包括重复测量方差分析的误用、非参数检验的误用,并对多元线性回归与Logistic回归进行了差异性分析,使编辑能够分辨论文统计方法的正误,并作出正确处理,以提高论文的科学性和期刊质量。