Guest Editorial

No abstract available for this article.     

Guest reviewers

As the majority of full-time employees drink alcohol, and alcohol can play an important role in professional interactions and career success, the current study examined the ways in which working professionals who abstain from alcohol manage communication about their non-drinking status. Framed by the theoretical lens of facework, semi-structured, in-depth interviews of 29 non-drinking professionals revealed that non-drinking in the real world is a deviant act that can be face threatening for non-drinkers and drinkers alike. Consequently, non-drinkers deployed a variety of preventive and corrective facework strategies (including passing and humor) to mitigate and remediate positive and negative face threat. This investigation uncovered practical communication tools individuals can use to abstain from alcohol without compromising their careers.     

Guest reviewers

What if new cars could adjust in-car devices to particular ways of speaking around the world? General Motors sought communication research to inform the design of culturally competent in-car human–machine interfaces. We discuss concerns and tensions that arise when balancing commitments of naturalistic study with design development goals. We emphasize the importance of awareness, attentiveness, and cooperation to ensure research integrity.     

Guest reviewers

Healthy eating is an important health-promoting behavior and maintenance of this behavior has repercussions for long-term quality of life (QoL). Given that psychographic factors are important predictors of engaging in health-promoting behaviors and social media can aid in developing self-regulation skills, the purpose of this study was to model the impact of (1) health consciousness and attitude, and (2) health disclosure and engagement with social media, on healthy eating intention. Furthermore, the impact of intention was examined on healthy eating maintenance and subsequent QoL. Five hundred and thirty-two U.S. adults completed quantitative assessments of health consciousness, attitude, social media health disclosure and engagement, healthy eating intention and maintenance, and QoL. Findings showed that beliefs, attitude, and social media engagement with respect to healthy eating significantly predicted behavioral intention and subsequently healthy eating maintenance and QoL. Theoretical contributions and implications for public health interventions are discussed.