Kitchen Antics: The Importance of Humor and Maintaining Professionalism at Work

The role of humor in workplace organizing is examined through a year-long ethnography of a hotel kitchen. An institutional and communicative frame reveals how the chefs use everyday humor to make sense of and shape their labor processes and to maintain their professional autonomy and identity and to resist managerial control of their craft.     

Humor in High-Stress Relationships: Understanding Communication in Police Officers' Romantic Relationships

A career in law enforcement is highly stressful given the nontraditional shiftwork, uncertain interactions, and risk of harm. These combined stressors likely spillover into one's romantic relationship and, thus, the study reported here explored one potential communicative coping mechanism—humor. Research exploring humor suggests that humorous communicators are better able to respond to stress, and this study explored if humor appears to benefit relational communication in police officer relationships. Findings begin to support this argument, revealing that romantic partners of police officers with a high humor orientation (HO) report using humor more to cope as well as experiencing less stress (both perceived and physical) and conflict (lower frequency of conflict and less intense/hostile conflict). Path analyses revealed that the use of humor to cope mediated the relationships between self-reported HO and stress, as well as conflict. Implications for humor and romantic relational communication are discussed.     

The boundary-spanning role of a cooperative support organization: managing the paradox of stability and change in non-traditional organizations

This project provides an interpretation of how one cooperative support organization, the Nebraska Cooperative Council, discursively functions to help its constituent cooperatives consolidate resources in order to better intersect with organizations in a larger bureaucratic system. In analyzing qualitative data collected through in-depth interviews, surveys, and organizational documents, we found the paradox of stability and change a revealing prism through which to make sense of participants' experiences. We work toward locating and describing how the Council, through its boundary-spanning activities, helps cooperatives manage the paradox of stability and change while protecting their core participatory ideologies. By providing networks of learning, promoting the legitimacy of cooperative forms of organizing, and protecting cooperatives' interests, the Council is an entity helping cooperatives to reconcile their internal requirements for democracy with the external demands of the marketplace.     

The boundary-spanning role of a cooperative support organization: managing the paradox of stability and change in non-traditional organizations

This project provides an interpretation of how one cooperative support organization, the Nebraska Cooperative Council, discursively functions to help its constituent cooperatives consolidate resources in order to better intersect with organizations in a larger bureaucratic system. In analyzing qualitative data collected through in-depth interviews, surveys, and organizational documents, we found the paradox of stability and change a revealing prism through which to make sense of participants' experiences. We work toward locating and describing how the Council, through its boundary-spanning activities, helps cooperatives manage the paradox of stability and change while protecting their core participatory ideologies. By providing networks of learning, promoting the legitimacy of cooperative forms of organizing, and protecting cooperatives' interests, the Council is an entity helping cooperatives to reconcile their internal requirements for democracy with the external demands of the marketplace.     

Using Relevant Humor to Moderate Inappropriate Conversations: Maintaining Student Communication Satisfaction in the Classroom

This study assessed students’ (N=195) perceptions of instructors’ relevant humor and inappropriate conversations in the classroom and used expectancy violation theory (EVT) as a lens to position instructor relevant humor as a moderator between instructors’ inappropriate conversations and student communication satisfaction. Results showed a positive association between students’ perceptions of instructors’ use of relevant humor and student communication satisfaction, and in contrast, a negative relationship between perceptions of instructors’ inappropriate conversations and student communication satisfaction. Consistent with the tenets of EVT, results also indicated that instructors who use relevant humor in the classroom may overcome students’ negative perceptions of inappropriate conversations and maintain student communication satisfaction.     

How Promotional Content Changes Ratings: The Impact of Appeals, Humor, and Presentation

This study assessed the impact of content--as opposed to structural--factors on television program ratings, seeking to locate clusters of components that would identify effective on-air promotion and allocate content a better-defined place within theoretic models of media priming. Stepwise multiple regression analyses of 1,547 on-air promos for 155 prime-time programs demonstrated that 5-9% of ratings variance was accounted for by content appeals, humor, and presentation in promos for comedy programs. The influence of content variables was greater for familiar than unfamiliar comedies, and humor and presentation in promos contributed to variance in ratings for mid-rated but not high- or low-rated comedies.     

How Promotional Content Changes Ratings: The Impact of Appeals,Humor, and Presentation

This study assessed the impact of content--as opposed to structural--factors on television program ratings, seeking to locate clusters of components that would identify effective on-air promotion and allocate content a better-defined place within theoretic models of media priming. Stepwise multiple regression analyses of 1,547 on-air promos for 155 prime-time programs demonstrated that 5-9% of ratings variance was accounted for by content appeals, humor, and presentation in promos for comedy programs. The influence of content variables was greater for familiar than unfamiliar comedies, and humor and presentation in promos contributed to variance in ratings for mid-rated but not high- or low-rated comedies.     

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.     

Motivating factors: perceptions of justice and their relationship with managerial and organizational trust

Research on trust in organizations shows that it facilitates relationships, cooperation between individuals and organizations, organizational commitment, and employees’ motivation to innovate. Organizational justice, which refers to perceptions of the fairness of workplace outcomes or processes, is often considered an antecedent to managerial and organizational trust. The current research sought to determine whether different types of justice relate to managerial and organizational trust in unique ways. Participants from numerous organizations representing two geographic regions were surveyed regarding their last performance appraisal. Results indicate that procedural justice was the strongest predictor of both organizational and managerial trust, distributive justice only predicted managerial trust, and interactional justice did not predict either type of trust.     

It isn't a matter of just being funny: Humor production by organizational leaders

This study explored whether organizational leaders recognize humor as part of their management style and how compatible the leaders ‘ humor strategy is with their overall communication style. Results reveal that leaders use more pro‐social humor than anti‐social humor in the workplace. Several relationships between the emotional aspects of humor production and the communicator style constructs indicate that leaders use humor as a socially acceptable communication technique to control groups and enhance their own communicator image.     

Testing a cyclical model of communicative openness in relationship development: Two longitudinal studies

This paper reports the results of two longitudinal studies of openness‐closedness cycling in relationship development based upon a model by Altman, Vinsel, and Brown (1981). Study 1 consists of behavioral observations of interactions among acquainting dyads over four weeks. Study 2 consists of self‐reported measures of subjects’ openness, openness of other, communication satisfaction, and relationship satisfaction in intact relationships over ten weeks. Fourier Analyses of the time series were conducted and meta‐analyses were conducted to test the hypotheses. Both studies strongly support a cyclical model. There appear to be short cycles recurring within conversations superimposed over larger cycles across conversations. The results also suggest that people match and time the amplitude and frequency of their own cycling behavior to coincide with that of their partner. Study 2 found that the cycles of perceived openness coincide with fluctuations in communication satisfaction and that deteriorating relationships and older relationships evidence greater amplitudes in their cyclical fluctuations.     

The impact of organizational factors on management information system success: An investigation in the Iran's agricultural extension providers

Information system success has been widely discussed in the past two decades. As systems and technologies are being improved and developed, discussions on their effectiveness and evaluation on their success have been continuously debated by researchers, scholars and practitioners throughout the years. Besides the major concern of IS effectiveness, factors influencing IS effectiveness are also important. One of these factors is the organizational factor. Using perceptual measures, this study aims to investigate the influence of organizational factors on MIS success. Survey questionnaires were gathered from 132 Extension Managers from Iran's Agricultural Extension Providers. Seven items were identified to influence MIS success. They are IS department structure, top management support, management style, managerial IT knowledge, goal alignment, resources allocation and IS infrastructure. The study also identified five MIS success dimensions; systems quality, information quality, perceived Ease of use, organizational impact and individual impact. The study found that the MIS success variables are significantly and highly correlated. The study also found all the organizational factors are significantly correlated to the five IS success factors investigated; the system quality, information quality, perceived ease of use, organizational impact and individual impact. Multiple regression analyses also found goal alignment as the highest predictor of IS success, followed by IS department structure, IS infrastructure and management style.     

基于网络信息资源组织管理的DC和MARC比较研究

文章通过元数据MARC和DC的比较分析,认为目前MARC虽能够适用于网络信息资源的描述,但DC比MARC更适合于一般网络信息资源的描述;从长远看,DC必然成为网络信息资源的主要编目格式,以及组织网络信息的重要工具.     

The hybrid librarian: the affinity of collection management with technical services and the organizational benefits of an individualized assignment

Collection management and technical services have a natural affinity that is not reflected in the organization of many academic libraries, where subject librarians are often aligned with reference. This article examines organizational and individual approaches to librarian assignment, along with the place of collection management in the organization.     

浅议抗战档案在抗日专题展中的地位与作用

抗战档案是抗日战争时期形成并流传和保存下来的文献、实物、照片等原始档案资料,反映了抗日战争的原始面貌,是抗战展览的珍贵实物。文章从抗战档案的权威性和史实性谈起,结合新四军纪念馆的展览工作,对抗战档案的重要地位和作用进行分析,以将抗战档案中延伸出来的抗战文化在新时期得到传承和弘扬。     

The role of occupational identity in negotiating traumatic experiences: the case of a rural fire department

Firefighters are routinely exposed to situations involving contact with deceased or injured children, burned and seriously injured bodies, and high-uncertainty calls. Thus, many firefighters suffer debilitating consequences including depression, dysfunctional drinking, and posttraumatic stress disorder. Using an identity tensions framework, we sought to understand the challenges firefighters encounter as they cope with exposure to traumatic events. We interviewed 27 members of a rural fire department and used a constant comparative method to analyze their responses. We found trauma was induced when occupational identity intersected futile situations and those involving children; tensions emerged between traditional and newer, emergent firefighting cultures; and firefighters experience tensions in negotiating how and when to express emotion. Based on these findings, we offer a number of practical implications centering on an occupational identity tensions framework to encourage reflexivity in firefighters and moving beyond older, enduring stereotypes of what it means to be a firefighter.     

The Communication Glue that Binds Employees to an Organization: A Study of Organizational Identification in Two Thai Organizations

Organizational communication scholars have paid scant attention to the motivations of people who choose careers in social service organizations. This study examined organizational identification in the context of two Thai social service organizations: government-run Community Development Department (CDD) and non-governmental Population and Community Development Association (PDA). The degree to which CDD members identified with CDD and PDA members identified with PDA was assessed by using the Organizational Identification Questionnaire constructed by George Cheney (1982 Cheney , G. (1982) . Organizational identification as process and product: A field study . Unpublished master's thesis , Purdue University . [Google Scholar]). Comparison of CDD and PDA scores on Cheney's OIQ provided findings that mirror those of previous studies of organizational identification. Specifically, the level of organizational identification among employees who work for the non-governmental privately-run social-cause organization (PDA) was significantly higher than for employees who work for the government organization (CDD). Thus, the non-governmental organization appears to be more effective than the government organization in fostering employee identification. Interestingly, a factor analysis of Thai responses to the Cheney instrument revealed three dimensions that were different from the three dimensions theorized by Cheney (1982 Cheney , G. (1982) . Organizational identification as process and product: A field study . Unpublished master's thesis , Purdue University . [Google Scholar]). While Cheney's conceptualization of identification included employees sense of membership, similarity, and loyalty to their organization, the Thai dimensions reflected life values (‘pride in membership’), social values (‘fit with organization’), and personal values (‘comfort zone’). These findings hold important implications for communication scholars who study employee motivation in non-Western organizational contexts.     

实践社区内部知识传播的影响因素及管理机制

剖析Swee提出的影响企业内部知识有效传播的主要因素综合框架,对主要因素之间的作用机制进行梳理。阐述实践社区与正式的组织形式之间的一些重要区别以及内部成员间的高度信任感、自发性、良好沟通性等特征。在对影响实践社区内部知识传播的人际关系和个人因素进行理论分析的基础上,构建影响因素之间关系的概念模型,并针对组织如何有效地管理实践社区内部的知识传播活动进行探讨。     

Information life cycle: Its place in the management of U.S. government information resources

This article, which provides the first in-depth analysis of the information life cycle, traces that concept in policy instruments and the primary and secondary literature. Although these contain a number of references to the information life cycle, that concept is never fully developed. Furthermore, there are different explanations of the concept. The information life cycle, however, could contribute to the management of information resources as well as to the study of government information policy. The article outlines the stages of the information life cycle and encourages further discussion, analysis, and standardization of a concept that should be evolving, not static.