The Communication of Solidarity in Friendships among African American Women

Data from 60 qualitative interviews reveal the presence of racial tensions in 21st-century United States. Black participants expressed experiencing racial prejudice while operating automobiles. White passengers also reported witnessing instances of driving while Black (DWB) while riding with Black drivers. Specifically, White participants reported instances of profiling, where they witnessed Black drivers pulled over by police officers, although no traffic violation occurred. Two themes emerged for Black participants: (a) fear that they would be pulled over, and (b) motivation to “survive” the law enforcement encounter. Participants’ experiences insinuate a continued racial tension between Black citizens and White law enforcement officers. While the United States has made valuable strides, we still have prejudices to overcome.     

African American Academic Librarians: An Evidence Map Case Study Using Rapid Review Methodology

ABSTRACT

This article explores rapid review and evidence mapping methodology to map library literature on the presence of, status of, or support for African American academic librarians. Rapid reviews include transparent steps and are completed in a short time frame. Evidence mapping is emerging as a way to summarize evidence. A chronological map indicated topics and impacts of papers. Additional analysis also showed four broad themes: diversity, recruitment, retention, and racism. In our view, rapid review and evidence mapping methods should be considered by academic librarians. Further research should look at racism that still seems apparent in academic libraries.     

美国黑人图书馆事业发展研究

美国黑人图书馆事业在整个美国图书馆事业中占有重要的地位。在黑人馆藏、黑人图书馆员及其教育、独立黑人图书馆、黑人图书馆专业组织及黑人图书馆事业研究等方面要素的推动下,美国黑人图书馆事业大致经历了萌芽、奠基、发展、转折和今天的繁荣时期,黑人图书馆事业的发展历程反映了美国不同历史时期社会对待种族问题的态度,是美国社会民主进程的一个缩影。     

Effects of Mass and Interpersonal Communication on Breast Cancer Screening: Advancing Agenda-Setting Theory in Health Contexts

Drawing on components of agenda-setting theory and the two-step flow of information from mass media to news audiences, this study examines the effects of mass and interpersonal communication on breast cancer screening practices among college- and middle-aged women (n = 284). We theorized that screening behaviors among younger women would be influenced more by interpersonal sources of information while screening among middle-aged women would be more influenced by exposure to mass-mediated information. Findings supported anticipated patterns, revealing important and varying roles for both mass and interpersonal communication in the health behaviors of women. Implications for health practitioners and campaign planners, as well as recommendations for future research, are discussed.     

Mothers,Sons and Testicular Cancer: An Exploratory Investigation of Health Communication

This study highlights the importance of parent-child communication of sensitive health-related issues, specifically the importance of cancer prevention discussions. For females, communication about breast cancer has been desensitized; yet, testicular cancer is not being discussed among males, even though it is highly curable when caught early. Testicular cancer primarily impacts males ages 15–40, so introducing the conversation early is important. In this exploratory study, mothers (N = 22) participated in three focus group discussions and described communication with their sons about general health issues and testicular cancer. While the mothers discussed a number of health issues with their sons, they did not mention testicular cancer and believed their sons knew very little about testicular cancer. Mothers' communication about testicular cancer with their sons was characterized by uncertainty and ambiguity. Findings from this study shed light on how little mothers know about testicular cancer as well as the need for comprehensive testicular cancer campaigns that target intervening publics.     

Spatial information literacy for digital humanities: The case study of leveraging geospatial information for African American history education

ABSTRACT

The rise of “digital humanities” and the “spatial turn” in the humanities has generated many new insights in the study of culture, history, literature, and arts. Within this research trend, the library's geospatial service can play an active role by introducing spatial information literacy and technology. In this article, we use the information literacy framework to explore the library's role in supporting digital humanities by introducing a successful collaboration involving a librarian and history and education researchers in hosting a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)-funded summer institute for school teachers. Our results suggest that the framework has opened a new way to facilitate collaborations between librarians and multidisciplinary researchers.     

Health sciences librarians of African heritage: an earnest entreaty for research

In view of recent discussions of diversity in library work, it would seem prudent to have a good understanding of basic facts and considered opinions of health sciences librarians of African heritage concerning their career experiences, opportunities for advancement, perceptions of negative behavior in the library, experiences of bias and discrimination in the library, existence of special information needs of patrons of African heritage, and interactions with non-African-heritage medical librarians and staff. Since there is a dearth of literature and research on these topics, this commentary will attempt to stimulate and encourage such work by providing a brief summary of currently available literature and research and providing some ideas for future academic endeavors.     

Adult Child Perceptions of Communication and Humor When the Parent Is Diagnosed with Cancer: A Suggestive Perspective from Communication Theory

This study examines the function of communication and humor in the older adult parent-adult child dyad when the parent has been diagnosed with cancer. Qualitative data of open-ended data from 46 adult children of a parent recently diagnosed with cancer revealed that discussing diagnosis and treatment procedures was perceived to be a satisfying conversation, whereas withholding information had an adverse affect. The discussion of the parents' feelings during the cancer period was a difficult and complex communicative experience. The Meta-Humorous Interaction Theory (MetaHIT) was used as a conceptual framework to understand the function of appropriate and inappropriate uses of humor in terms of cognitive, affective, and behavioral elements of humor. Humor was often used as a coping or relief function for discussing side effects of cancer treatment. This investigation underscores the importance of understanding how adult children use humorous communication to cope with the unknown conversational territory of a parent's cancer diagnosis.     

美国大学图书馆妇女发展现状分析

以美国图书馆行业最近几年的统计数字及其妇女研究专家MartaMestrovicDeyrup的调查数据为依据,展示并分析了美国大学图书馆行业妇女在经济同等性、领导的职位、领导风格等发展现状,结果表明:妇女与男同事几乎在各个方面差别较小。可以说美国大学图书馆的妇女现状已完成了自己的女权使命,但同时她们在新形势下又面临着新的挑战。     

Information Sources and the Health Information-Seeking Process: An Application and Extension of Channel Complementarity Theory

Contemporary information seekers can acquire health information from an unprecedented variety of sources. The reported study applied and extended channel complementarity theory to explain the use of multiple information sources in the health-information-seeking process. Channel complementarity was extended to consider four characteristics (i.e., access to medical expertise, tailorability, anonymity, and convenience) of health-information sources. The information-seeking behavior of 3,392 respondents from the 2007–2008 Health Information National Trends Survey was analyzed to test study hypotheses. Results indicate that, sources were used complementarily based on tailorability and anonymity during health-information sources. Additionally, the likelihood of using complementary sources based on all four characteristics changed during the search process.     

Analyzing Postcrisis Challenges and Strategies Associated With School Shootings: An Application of Discourse of Renewal Theory

In recent years, the need to understand and identify effective data-driven strategies for the communication challenges faced by schools associated with school shootings has become paramount. The current study reports findings from 10 face-to-face interviews conducted with school crisis team members at the P–12 level who experienced school shooting events. The findings, which extend discourse of renewal theory, identify six primary communication-related challenges that districts face postcrisis and offer effective strategies for overcoming these challenges.     

Communication anxiety and signing effectiveness: Testing an interference model among deaf communicators

Couples coping with cancer are often told to talk about feelings, yet there is limited theoretical, empirical, or intervention research to justify this advice. We interviewed 19 patients and 16 partners about their communication. In a mixed methods analysis, we found talk about feelings was associated with distress and functioning, even after controlling for marital satisfaction, perceived constraint from discussing cancer, or physical functioning; however, patients and partners who focused on feelings and personal issues had worse outcomes than those who focused on facts and medical issues. Through qualitative analysis, we found multiple ways to cope that did not require talking about feelings as well as ways that higher levels of distress affected talk about feelings. Our findings suggest we should reconsider advice to couples, encouraging multiple ways of communicating, and considering contextual factors that influence the timing and desirability of talk about feelings.     

Communication Efficacy and Couples' Cancer Management: Applying a Dyadic Appraisal Model

The purpose of the present study was to apply Berg and Upchurch's (2007) developmental-conceptual model to understand better how couples cope with cancer. Specifically, we hypothesized a dyadic appraisal model in which proximal factors (relational quality), dyadic appraisal (prognosis uncertainty), and dyadic coping (communication efficacy) predicted adjustment (cancer management). The study was cross-sectional and included 83 dyads in which one partner had been diagnosed with and/or treated for cancer. For both patients and partners, multilevel analyses using the actor-partner interdependence model (APIM) indicated that proximal contextual factors predicted dyadic appraisal and dyadic coping. Dyadic appraisal predicted dyadic coping, which then predicted dyadic adjustment. Patients' confidence in their ability to talk about the cancer predicted their own cancer management. Partners' confidence predicted their own and the patient's ability to cope with cancer, which then predicted patients' perceptions of their general health. Implications and future research are discussed.     

The African American Male Librarian: Motivational Factors in Choosing a Career in Library and Information Science

A recent American Library Association (ALA) report has shown that less than 1% of credentialed librarians are African American males. This article discusses possible reasons for this dearth; and, in an effort to inform future LIS recruiting and marketing campaigns, the included study attempted to discover which factors lead African American males to choose to pursue a graduate degree in library and information science (LIS) and practice LIS as a career. The study also canvassed African American male librarians’ views on gender advantage in LIS, their career goals, perceived triumphs and challenges in LIS, and level of job satisfaction.     

Negotiating the Model Minority Image: Performative Aspects of College-Educated Asian American Professional Men

This study is a chapter in a larger work, in which the authors explore how eight college-educated Asian American professional men negotiate the model minority image to present the performative constructions of their multiple identities within the racialized and gendered context of U.S. organizations where they work. The authors first discuss the participants' perceptions of how others view their social identities as part of a homogenized concept, regardless of their diverse Asian American subjectivities. Then, they examine how the participants engage in performative aspects of the model minority image to promote positive impressions on others and to empower themselves in U.S. organizations. Exploring the subjective standpoint of being the model minority in the context of mainstream organizations, the authors aim to further reconsider the concept of identity as relational in the context of intercultural interactions.     

One Down,Two Involved: An Application and Extension of Inconsistent Nurturing as Control Theory to Couples Including One Depressed Individual

About 10% of the US population suffers from depression (NIMH, 2000/2001) affecting both the client and his/her family members. This study applies Inconsistent Nurturing as Control Theory (Le Poire, 1994) to romantic relationships with depressed individuals (N=68 couples) and examines types and patterns of attempts to curtail depression. Results from in-depth interviews of depressed individuals and their partners suggest partners change their communication strategies over time such that they use more negative strategies before they label depression problematic, actively help and encourage depressed individuals more after the labeling, and revert to a less consistent sequence of positive and negative strategies after the initial control strategies have proven unsuccessful. Implications for health challenges in romantic relationships are discussed.     

北美“图书馆中的女性”研究:重要著述、主要学者及研究框架

结合我国图书馆中女性研究的主要方向和问题,选择该领域研究及实践相对成熟的北美地区为考察对象,从主要著述、相关学者及其观点、研究主题框架三个维度梳理当前的研究情况,以供我国相关学者参考。与此同时,结合国外现有研究指出,我国对图书馆中女性的研究宜融入女性主义视角。     

Social support within an on-line cancer community: an assessment of emotional support,perceptions of advantages and disadvantages,and motives for using the community from a communication perspective

This study investigated an on-line cancer support community emphasizing communication concerns important to the community administrators. The researcher conducted an on-line survey of participants (N v = v 103) focused on their on-line communication activities and social support. The results indicate a modest negative correlation between emotional support received on-line and perceived stress, differences in emotional support scores based on perceptions of disadvantages of on-line support groups, and different motives for using the community between people with cancer and family members. The study also describes suggestions based on the results that were made to community administrators and which could be used by other on-line support communities.