Advocating for controversial issues: The effect of activism on compliance‐gaining strategy likelihood of use

Previous research has demonstrated that compliance‐gaining strategies can he arrayed on an unidimensional continuum, anchored by positive, pro‐social strategies and negative, antisocial strategies (Hunter & Boster, 1987; Rolojf & Barnicott, 1978, 1979). Individual differences, including argumentativeness and verbal aggression (Boster & Levine, 1988), have been shown to affect one's ethical threshold. This ethical threshold is consistent with a Guttman simplex and determines both how many, as well as how antisocial, compliance‐gaining strategies individuals may consider using. Activists, who are highly involved and committed to their cause and who tend to be less verbally aggressive and more argumentative than the general public (Campo, 1999), are likely to have a lower threshold and to use more strategies. This study examines to what extent activism predicts one's ethical threshold, when controlling for the known effects of argumentativeness, verbal aggressiveness, and sex. Participants (N = 454) at two separate universities completed a repeated measures questionnaire that asked them to indicate their likelihood of use of 25 separate compliance‐gaining strategies. Based on respondents’ likelihood of use of these 25 strategies, the data were consistent with a Guttman simplex. A multiple regression model was tested, and indicated that one's ethical threshold is directly predicted by level of activism and verbal aggressiveness. Sex and argumentativeness were not found to be significant predictors in this revised model. In addition, activists used more strategies than non‐activists. Implications for advancing research related to activism and compliance‐gaining strategy selection are discussed.     

Information seeking among organizational members

Investigation of information seeking has focused on initial organizational entry hut there is evidence information seeking strategies continue to develop throughout organizational careers. This study begins an investigation of information seeking as a day‐to‐day component of organizational life. Individual characteristics of organizational members and situational variables were investigated to determine their relationship with information seeking behavior. Respondent age was found to influence selection of information seeking strategy. The situational variables of employment classification and length of employment also significantly influenced information seeking strategy. Taken together the differences suggest that information seeking strategies change in predictable ways throughout organizational careers.     

Educating Zoo Visitors about Complex Environmental Issues: Should We Do It and How?

Modern zoos are committed to environmental education and thus have a mandate to inform the public about biodiversity and conservation. Historically, zoos have avoided complex topics like biodiversity loss from overpopulation and overconsumption in their educational materials, for fear of being offensive or creating a sense of hopelessness. To measure visitor attitudes towards educating about such topics and to help determine effective presentation techniques, we assessed people's knowledge of and attitudes towards the commercial hunting and consumption of wildlife in West and Central Africa (the bushmeat crisis) and examined how the use of different types of images affected these variables. Zoo visitors were exposed to one of six series of photographs, each accompanied by the same text. Photos in three of the series contained explicit, disturbing images of dead animals. The other three series presented benign images related to the bushmeat crisis (i.e., logging, changes in hunting practices). While 83 percnt of visitors had never heard of the bushmeat trade, 98 percent felt zoos should be educating about the topic. Ninety‐seven percent felt the disturbing images were appropriate for zoo visitors except for children under the age of 12. While people spent significantly more time looking at the disturbing images, this did not lead to increases in knowledge (factual or conservation‐related) on the topic. However, visitors who saw the disturbing images were significantly more likely to report being influenced by the images. While the type of image did not affect the frequency of conservation‐related behaviors, significantly more people engaged in a conservation‐related behavior when an opportunity was provided on‐site rather than off‐site. The results demonstrate that the public believes zoos should educate about bushmeat, and that realistic images influence people's perception of an issue. However, visitors' lack of knowledge gains, even when disturbing images are used, suggests that a static display of text with photographs may not be the most effective method for educating about complex issues like bushmeat. Finally, the results show that zoos should provide on‐site opportunities for people to turn their conservation interests into action.     

大学生学习行为的影响机理研究——以《信息检索》课程为例

[目的/意义]基于三元交互理论,研究大学生在翻转课堂中参与《信息检索》课程学习与个体特质、组织环境、课堂设计的关系。[方法/过程]通过梳理和总结相关研究成果,预调查和专家调查,形成学生课堂参与行为测量量表。利用因子分析方法提炼关键变量,通过结构方程模型方法探究个体特质、组织保障、组织认同、课堂设计等变量对大学生学习能力的影响。[结果/结论]研究发现作为前置因素的个体特质、组织认同、组织保障变量相互影响;组织认同和个体特质不仅直接作用于课堂设计,还通过课堂设计对大学生学习行为发挥积极而显著的作用。本文认为采取完善支撑环境、引导大学生自主学习、优化课堂设计以及加强课外实践等措施可促进大学生学习,提升大学生信息素养。     

Communication as Ventriloquism: A Grounded-in-Action Approach to the Study of Organizational Tensions

Tension-centered analyses are increasingly popular in organizational communication studies. Hence, how tensions emerge and are dealt with by organizational members in their work activities are key issues of debate in our field. The purpose of this article is to develop a ventriloqual approach for investigating how organizational tensions (whether expressed in the form of contradictions, dilemmas, paradoxes, or situational ironies) are communicatively constituted through the mobilization of figures that contradict or clash with each other. To demonstrate the theoretical and empirical value of this approach, we use it to analyze two fieldwork cases from a seven-year ethnographic study of Médecins sans Frontières, and thus show how tensions shape organizational members' realities by being felt and sensed in interactions.     

Sex Differences in Goals for Supportive Interactions

One explanation for sex differences in supportive behavior is that men and women pursue different goals in supportive interactions. Sex differences in goals may themselves be explained by personality traits such as expressivity and supportive self‐efficacy, or situational factors such as target responsibility. The current study examined sex differences in the pursuit of eight supportive goals, and the extent to which differences were explained by personality and situational factors. Participants (254 men, 386 women) read hypothetical scenarios involving a distressed friend who was depicted as responsible or not responsible for his or her problematic situation, and responded to measures of supportive goals and personality traits. Results indicate that women are somewhat more likely to pursue a range of goals that are likely to result in effective supportive messages (e.g., emotional support, problem‐solving). Many of the sex differences in goal pursuit were mediated by the personality traits of expressivity and supportive self‐efficacy.     

Understanding channel choice in users' reporting behavior: Evidence from a smart mobility case

Public service producers are heavily investing in the development and implementation of more efficient new digital channels to engage users in citizen sourcing efforts, such as the reporting of public service-related issues. Nevertheless, user-reporters have continued to favor earlier implemented channels including traditional (e.g., phone, office) and e-government channels (e.g., web, email) over new digital channels such as m-government channels (e.g., mobile applications). Drawing on channel choice literature and theories, this study aims at explaining users' reporting behavior by examining the role of users' personal factors, including digital divide determinants, users' service experience, and channel satisfaction. We use a combination of survey and log data on actual reporting behavior among smart bike-sharing users to explain users' channel choice. Using a multinomial logistic regression, we found that the digital divide predicts user-reporters' channel choice. Moreover, user-reporters with a longer service membership favor traditional and e-government channels, over the newly implemented m-government channels. Finally, user-reporters' satisfaction with the mobile application is negatively associated with the user-reporters' choice of traditional and e-government channels. Our results expand and update the empirical evidence on channel choice at the user level, and provide insights for public service producers who aim at enhancing public service delivery through digital users' engagement.     

Love is all you need: A content analysis of romantic scenes in Chinese entertainment television

A large sample of entertainment television programs that were aired on 28 channels in China in 2004 was analyzed for romantic and sexual content. Romantic scenes, typically portraying men and women already in committed relationships, appeared in 80% of the 196 programs analyzed. The analysis suggested that, according to Chinese television in the early part of the twenty-first century, emotional love was more important than physical sexual interaction in romantic relationships. More than half of the 1112 romantic scenes analyzed depicted love between the partners without any discussion or display of physical sexual behavior. Only 8% of scenes included discussion or depiction of sexual behavior (e.g., touching, kissing, and intercourse) without some sense that the partners were in a loving, committed relationship. Sexual intercourse was implied or depicted in fewer than 2% of the romantic scenes. Findings are discussed in light of the Chinese government's periodic regulation of sexually suggestive media content and attempts to filter Internet content. The extent to which such content may affect young viewers' perceptions of romantic relationships and sexual behavior is also discussed.     

BETWEEN POLITICS AND PROFESSION

This article examines the key factors shaping the opportunities for feminist journalism in large, mainstream media organizations. It shows how journalists' notions about gender, different professional journalistic ideals, and feminist media activism advance or hinder feminist journalism at different levels of media production. The impact of these factors is explored further in the particular contexts of the post-authoritarian societies of contemporary Serbia and Croatia. While individual Serbian and Croatian pro-feminist journalists were often able to pursue socially committed journalism in their day-to-day choice of topics, sources and approaches, their opportunities to affect programme, departmental or channel policy were more limited. Such opportunities depended on a constellation of the following factors: the strength of women's non-governmental organizations' media activism; media management's support for gender equality initiatives and/or critical forms of journalism; and the broader political developments concerning gender and media politics in the two countries.     

Awareness,Reporting, and Branding: Exploring Influences on Brazilian Journalists’ Social Media Use across Platforms

ABSTRACT

This study examines the individual and organizational level factors shaping Brazilian journalists’ use of social media. Results from a survey of 774 reporters show that individual factors influence awareness and reporting uses, while organizational factors are associated with branding. Results suggest no difference between groups of journalists, when it comes to incorporating social media for reporting; but online reporters engage in branding and use social media as an awareness system more than their counterparts. Findings also reveal that journalists have not fully embraced the participatory potential of social media, as only trust in information posted by other journalists relates to adoption.     

Perceptions of social‐sexual communication at work: The effects of message,situation, and observer characteristics on judgments of sexual harassment

Social‐sexual communication at work may contribute to either the initiation of an organizational romance or sexual harassment. We examined forces that influence perceptions of sexual messages as harassing rather than flirtatious. We presented 94 working adults with questionnaires soliciting workplace attitudes and experiences. Then, participants reviewed newsletters describing male and female coworkers in a fictitious organization. Finally, participants evaluated the degree of sexual harassment evident in six hypothetical interactions wherein one of the employees introduced in the newsletter makes a suggestive remark to his or her coworker. Newsletters and questionnaires manipulated the explicitness of messages, the initiator's status as supervisor versus subordinate, the attractiveness of the message initiator and target, and the initiator's sex. Message explicitness accounted for 88% of the variance in perceptions of harassment. A five‐way interaction among message and situational cues suggested that perceptions of sexual harassment are also influenced by contextual information. Females rated highly explicit messages as more harassing than did males, and individuals who were more accepting of socializing or dating between coworkers rated scenarios as less harassing. Exposure to socializing at work had a curvilinear association with perceptions of harassment such that low to moderate exposure corresponded with perceptions of greater harassment and moderate to high exposure was associated with lower ratings of sexual harassment. The discussion highlights applications for sexual harassment training programs within organizations.     

Using a Behavior Change Model to Document the Impact of Visits to Disney's Animal Kingdom: A Study Investigating Intended Conservation Action

Abstract Over the last 10 to 15 years, zoos and aquariums have set out to influence visitors' conservation‐related knowledge, attitudes, affect, and behavior. In 2000, the Institute for Learning Innovation collaborated with Disney's Animal Kingdom (DAK) on a comprehensive baseline study conducted to assess the outcomes of a DAK experience on visitors in four areas: knowledge, attitudes, affect, and behavior. This article describes one aspect of the comprehensive study: an investigation of the long‐term (two‐to‐three‐month) impact of a visit to Conservation Station at Disney's Animal Kingdom on visitors' intended conservation action. The study used a behavior change model from the health arena: the Prochaska Model of Behavioral Change. The model proved helpful but had some drawbacks, suggesting the need to develop a more sensitive change model. The implications of this study could assist institutions in thinking about what audiences or messages to emphasize in order to influence behavior.     

Organizational Change and Renewal: Can Strategic Communication Methods Ease the Pain? A Case Study from the University of Southern Queensland

ABSTRACT

Strategic communication is not solely the remit of library managers and directors, but is the product of internal culture and engagement with the organization's brand. Libraries need to communicate strategically, in order to demonstrate to individuals across the organization that their message is on point, and that they understand, are committed to, and actively support the university's goals. Much of this work happens via the myriad of interactions library staff at all levels have with students and staff (and indeed community members) of all kinds. When the attitude and behavior of library staff does not truly reflect the library's and the university's branding or goals, this undermines more explicit measures of value. It is important for the leadership of academic libraries to understand and influence how every library staff member views his or her role in the organization, so that their communication is reflective of a confidence in themselves and their profession, and a solid understanding of their institution and the higher education landscape. In large-scale organizational change, both intellectual and emotional buy-in to the organization can wane. We seek to show how a people-centered change process, rather than adversely affecting staff buy-in, could instead increase buy-in to the organizational change.     

The accurate reporting of software‐generated p‐values: A cautionary research note

Quantitatively oriented researchers differ in how they report the results of tests of statistical significance. Some authors report statistically significant results as less than an alpha level (e.g., p < .05), while others report exact p‐values (p = .04) from statistical software readouts. This paper argues that three reporting errors are possible when p‐values are reported based on computer readouts. First, the p‐value of obtained data can never be equal to, or less than, zero. Thus, reporting that a finding is p = .000 is an error. Second, rounding down errors can lead to factual inaccuracies. For example, it is inaccurate to report a p = .052 as p < .05. Finally, p‐values for wrong‐direction effects with one‐tailed tests must always be p> .50. Awareness of these issues should facilitate accurate statistical reporting.     

Development and test of a cognitive rules model of interaction goals

Although scholars frequently describe communication as goal oriented, they offer limited detail about how people form interaction goals in situations. This paper presents a “Cognitive Rules” model which specifies assumptions about the structures and processes underlying goal formation. According to the model, people represent their knowledge about goals within an associative network model of memory, which contains cognitive rules linking situational features and desired outcomes. People's likelihood of forming a goal depends on the accessibility of relevant cognitive rules as well as the fit between perceived situational features and rules. An experiment testing these assumptions is reported. As predicted, a priming manipulation influenced interaction goals in attributionally ambiguous but not in attributionally clear compliance‐gaining situations. Unexpectedly, the effect of priming on goals occurred only for people high in construct differentiation. Implications of these findings for accounts of goal formation and message production are discussed.     

On the various and changing meanings of organizational membership: A field study of organizational identification

The primary aim of this study was to analyze and interpret some aspects of the process of organizational identification in a corporate field setting. Specifically, the study focused on how an individual's identification (or identifying) with an employing organization influences on‐the‐job decision making. Past research efforts have been limited by their treatment of organizational identification as a product or state, rather than as a process. The wider perspective on identification is well represented by Herbert A. Simon and Kenneth Burke, whose writings were integrated to provide a theoretical framework for this study. While this study neither examined the phenomenon of identification over time nor placed it in a clearly‐defined causal chain, it explicitly recognized identification as a continuing development involving many changes. The study employed two methodologies for the examination of identification in a corporate field setting: moderately‐scheduled interviews that produced largely qualitative data and a questionnaire instrument that yielded quantitative data. The methods were “triangulated” so as to provide a more detailed “snapshot” of the identification process than either would offer alone; moreover, the “accounts” elicited in employee interviews yielded retrospectives on individual‐organization relationships. The results suggest the soundness of the theoretical framework advanced at the outset. Most employees who were interviewed saw organizational interests as directly relevant to work‐related decisions. Their comments as well as their questionnaire responses indicated that they also identified with the organization, thus offering support for the link between organizational identification and decision making.     

Promptcat issues for acquisitions: Quality review,cost analysis and workflow implications

PromptCat is a new service offered by OCLC, in conjunction with monograph materials vendors, that provides libraries with a full bibliographic record from the OCLC Online Union Catalog (OLUC) simultaneous to the supply of materials from a vendor. The library's holdings are set automatically on the OLUC record. Because PromptCat eliminates the need for libraries to do individual title-by-title searching and record selection when materials are received, it will streamline local cataloging activities. It may also provide an impetus for libraries to reevaluate local editing practices and determine whether materials can be processed quickly upon receipt in acquisitions rather than in copy cataloging.This article addresses issues relating to PromptCat, including tests of the service conducted at The Ohio State University (OSU) and Michigan State University (MSU), an estimated cost/benefit analysis based on OSU's approval plan, and issues including coordination between OCLC, materials vendors, system vendors, and the library as well as workflow, organizational implications and staffing issues.     

Interorganizational networks: The convergence of cooperative Competitors

This paper extends organizational communication research by considering external organizational issues. It analyzes the interorganizational network of real estate companies and the relationship of their network positions to organization‐level perceptions about the system. The network is divided into: (1) one group of organizations that were sparsely connected, and (2) stand‐alone organizations that were isolated from the prevailing group and each other. This interorganizational network analysis is grounded in institutionalization and resource dependence theory, vis‐à‐vis overlapping perceptions of the system, elicited by answers to open‐ended interviews. Results indicate institutionalized perceptions occurred for the group‐member organizations through indirect exposure to information in the environment. Specifically, organizations who shared similar roles in the network have convergent interpretations. These data support Mizruchi's (1993) theory that prominent organizations are more similar than those who have more peripheral roles in a network.     

Toward a broader conceptualization of jealousy in close relationships: Two exploratory studies

The study of jealousy is typically restricted to the examination of a third‐party threat to one's romantic relationship. In contrast to this rather narrow view, two studies were undertaken to examine the possibility (a) that individuals experience jealousy over a variety of issues, and (b) that jealousy‐of any type—occurs and is expressed in non‐romantic relationships such as cross‐sex friendship. The goal of Study I was to assess the realism of hypothetical situations representing six different types of jealousy suggested within the literature. These included: friend jealousy, arising from an individual's relationships with friends; family jealousy, arising from a partner's relationships with family members; activity jealousy, occurring when a partner is involved in activities such as school, work, or hobbies; power jealousy, arising from influence over a partner being lost to others; intimacy jealousy, arising when one feels that more advice is sought from or disclosed to others; and romantic jealousy, involving a (perceived) third‐party threat to a relationship's exclusive nature. In Study II, participants were presented with the finalized versions of these jealousy‐evoking scenarios and asked to imagine their cross‐sex friends engaging in such behavior. Respondents then rated the degree of jealousy‐related emotions they would experience in response to each situation and reported how they would express such jealousy. Results indicated that individuals’ emotional reactions and response modes differed according to the type of jealousy encountered. In particular, participants reported the most intense reactions to intimacy jealousy and felt that it was best dealt with by direct modes of communication. Implications of these findings for the study of jealousy in close relationships are discussed.     

Differences in anticipatory anxiety and adaptation rate as a function of affect management strategy

This study applies Eysenck's (1967) and Buck's (1984) psychophysiological theories of anxiety development to explain individual differences in anticipatory anxiety and rate of adaptation during public speaking. Sensitivity to anxiety creating stimuli predispose individuals to either an internalizing or externalizing affect management strategy. Because social conditioning and neurological processes combine to create anxiety, internalizing individuals are more responsive to punishment and are more likely to appraise an anxiety‐provoking situation as threatening than are externalizers. However, their overall conditionability permits internalizers to adapt to speaking situations more rapidly than their externalizing counterparts who are less susceptible to negative reinforcement. The findings are reviewed in light of various phobia reducing treatment strategies, such as flooding, systematic desensitization, and cognitive appraisal therapy.