Constructing Work-Life Balance and Fatherhood: Men's Framing of the Meanings of Both Work and Family

We explored 18 fathers' interviews to locate how they constructed work-family balance and their fatherhood roles within their particular life contexts. Using the constant comparative method, we found that these men framed and enlarged work-family balance as both work and life negotiations but elevated family as first by linking family to their meanings of work. To them, fatherhood meant webs of responsibilities to others and community engagements with problem solving constituting their main activity. These reconceptualizations of fatherhood and masculinities may indicate that there are ideological changes in the nature of fatherhood that have implications for understanding men's contemporary roles as well as for changing work-life policies and practices.     

性别与传播

本文介绍了“性别传播”研究这一传播学“边缘”学科的历史兴起、研究领域及其对传统学科的挑战。它 70年代兴起于西方 ,有三个最主要的研究领域———女性传播者、传播内容、女性受众。需要强调的是“性别”一词特指社会性别 (gender) ,而非生物性别 (sex)。性别研究进入传播学研究的时间虽不长 ,却因其独特性和批判性而占据了一席之地     

Emotion Work Revealed by Job Loss Discourse: Backgrounding-Foregrounding of Feelings, Construction of Normalcy, and (Re)instituting of Traditional Masculinities

Three emotion work themes were displayed in the discourse of individuals who lost their jobs and of their family members. Foregrounding-backgrounding of emotions indicated not only how some individuals and family members exerted effort to express positive emotions, but also why they would do so (for deep authenticity). In the construction of normalcy, respondents made an effort to portray and enact their lives as similar to the way things were before the job loss. By (re)instituting traditional masculinities, the men who lost their jobs were able to be "real" men in an emasculating situation. Taken together, these findings offer possibilities for further theoretical development and for communication interventions that can be applied by human resource professionals, career and outplacement counselors, family members, friends, and the individuals themselves.     

论性别与传播交叉研究的两种范式

随着社会性别视角以及社会性别理论在传播学中的应用,性别与传播交叉研究逐渐发展成为一个相对独立的研究领域。不过,基于不同的认识论与方法论,该研究领域已然分化出两种截然不同的研究范式,分别是以社会性别理论为主体的“性别传播研究”,和以传播学理论为主体的“性别与传播研究”。本文将阐释这两个基本范畴和研究范式之间的差别,并分析各自的特征与挑战。     

“As ugly and painful as it was,it was effective:” Individuals' unique assessment of communication competence during aggressive conflict episodes

Communication competence plays a role in several problematic relational issues such as conflict management, interpersonal aggression, loneliness, and sexual coercion. This study examined the relationship between communication competence and aggression. Thirty‐one individuals (26 females, 5 males) experiencing aggression during conflict episodes with romantic partners were interviewed, generating 967 pages of transcribed data. The qualitative data analysis revealed that many of the participants assessed their use of aggression according to social customs, finding it inappropriate and ineffective. However, many noted their aggression was appropriate and effective given the circumstances of their relationship. These findings suggest a unique relational culture where aggression is perceived in ways that deviate from social norms. The theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Family Ties: Communicating Identity Through Jointly Told Family Stories This paper is based on the author's dissertation study and was presented on the Top Four Panel of the Family Communication Division at the National Communication Association Convention,November 2003, Miami,FL.

Family stories work to construct family identity. Little research, however, has examined storytelling in families. This study examined storytelling content and process to assess the extent to which families jointly integrated or fragmented a shared sense of identity and how these discursive practices relate to family qualities. Results of a study involving 58 family triads indicate relationships between story theme (e.g., accomplishment vs. stress), person referencing practices (e.g., we-ness vs. separateness), and interactional storytelling behaviors (e.g., engagement, turn-taking). Moreover, story framing, perspective-taking, statements about selves-in-the-family, and identifying as a “storytelling family” emerged consistently as positive predictors of family satisfaction and functioning. The results offer a portrait of how families communicate identity and functioning in joint storytelling interactions and further position storytelling as a communication phenomenon worthy of consideration.     

Role Development in the Managed Care Era: A Case of Hospital-Based Nursing

Managed care poses numerous opportunities and challenges for today's health care organizations and their employees. This article investigates the ways that hospital nurses develop and make sense of their professional roles and organizational environments in a changing and often uncertain managed care setting. The case study approach used in this research combined qualitative methodologies to gain a rich, detailed, and contextual understanding of nurses' work roles and organizational experiences. After an analysis of interviews with 24 nurses and observations of nurses' communicative activities on one inpatient unit, the complexity of sensemaking and role development in a managed care environment is considered. Conclusions are then drawn regarding the theoretical and pragmatic implications of nurses' communicative processes, as they attempted to develop and understand their roles in a changing organizational context.     

网络传播效果聚焦家庭和社区

本文将美国已经发表的对网络传播效果的研究将其按网络对个人,家庭和组织三个层面的影响划分并考察后,揭示出网络传播效果研究在三个研究层面上采取的不同价值取向和对效果的评价标准。以此为基础,本文认为在现代化背景下考察网络新技术对家庭和社区关系的效果可以作为理解网络社会效果并建立起中程理论的有效路径,同时以家庭和社区为聚焦并将社会结构和个人感受作为背景的研究有利于体现出学者的人文关怀和社会责任。从这一立场出发,本文提出了一些未得到充分重视的研究领域和假设。     

Family communication patterns,sex of subject,and communication competence

Two hundred ninety‐nine subjects completed the Revised Family Communication Patterns instrument (Ritchie & Fitzpatrick, ) and the Interpersonal Competence Questionnaire (ICQ; Buhrmester, Furman, Wittenberg, & Reis, ). Results indicate that both family communication patterns and sex of subject influence the ability to enact certain communication skills in both same‐sex friendships and romantic partnerships. Those growing up in a strong conversation‐oriented family are more likely to report the ability to enact a greater number of interpersonal skills in both types of relationships. Women were more likely to report the ability to self‐disclose in a same‐sex friendship; however, a family communication environment that stresses a lower conversation orientation (consensual) diminishes the likelihood of acquiring that skill for women. Women were also more likely to report being able to offer emotional support in both same‐sex friendships and romantic partnerships. Men were more likely to report being able to assert themselves negatively in a same‐sex friendship, and to self‐disclose and manage conflict in a romantic partnership. Additionally, this study found that men and women employ different communication skills depending on the sex of their relational partner. Implications and future research directions are discussed.     

Consuming to Cope: Investigating College Students’ Expressive Suppression as an Indirect Effect of Family Communication and Drinking Context

This study explored relationships between family communication patterns, college students’ expressive suppression, and drinking to cope, aiming to assess whether suppression might represent an indirect effect in the relationship between conformity orientation and drinking to cope. Participants (N = 251) completed an online questionnaire analyzed using CFA and SEM. Results indicated that conformity orientation has a small impact on drinking to cope and that conformity orientation predicts suppression. Specifically, students from protective family types tend to use suppression more and are more likely to drink to cope. Results also demonstrated a small relationship between suppression and drinking to cope. Lastly, college students’ use of suppression acts as an indirect effect in explaining a small part of the association between conformity orientation and drinking to cope.     

“They don’t know what it’s like in here”: Incarcerated individuals’ communication with family members

The incarcerated population is large and growing. Maintaining family connections during confinement is linked to positive outcomes, yet the family communication of incarcerated individuals is understudied. We examine the family communication of individuals incarcerated in an urban county jail for women. Four family communication themes were identified: 1) communication access and understanding, 2) family support, 3) parenting challenges, and 4) family conflict. The findings inform both theoretical and practical implications.