Topic Avoidance,Everyday Talk,and Stress in Romantic Military and Non-Military Couples

Relationships are increasingly impacted by military involvement, necessitating a deeper understanding of communication within these couples. This study examined perceptions of everyday talk, topic avoidance, and stress of participants romantically involved with (a) a military partner (n = 118) or (b) a non-military partner (n = 94). Couple types avoided similar topics, but non-military partners avoided these topics more frequently than military partners. Both couple types engaged in everyday talk, but military partners found this communicative exchange to be more important. Non-military partners experienced greater stress than military partners, and communication was predictive of the stress experienced. The results of this study highlight similarities and differences in romantic couples and reveal areas in which relationship education can address these communicative nuances of military couples.     

Interpersonal construct differentiation,attitudinal confidence,and the attitude‐behavior relationship

Subjects differing in interpersonal construct differentiation completed a measure of religious attitude, a measure of attitudinal confidence, and a 20‐item religious behavior self‐report inventory. High‐confidence subjects exhibited greater attitude‐behavior consistency (r = .69) than did low‐confidence subjects (r = .51). Despite high power (N = 313), high‐ and low‐differentiation subjects did not differ significantly (r = .61 and .66, respectively), indicating that the role of differentiation as a direct mediator of non‐interpersonal attitude‐behavior consistency is a comparatively small one. But the influence of attitudinal confidence on attitude‐behavior consistency was larger for low‐differentiation subjects (r = .75 for high confidence, .51 for low) than for high‐differentiation subjects (r = .68 for high confidence, .50 for low), suggesting that interpersonal construct system development may indirectly influence the relationship of non‐interpersonal attitudes and behaviors.     

Problem‐solving performance in naturalistic groups: A test of the ecological validity of the functional perspective

Critics argue that the use of zero‐history laboratory samples to study the processes of small‐group communication lacks ecological validity and limits our ability to determine the usefulness of small group communication theories for the everyday practitioner. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the functional perspective of small‐group communication has real‐world significance by testing its predictive ability in naturalistic problem‐solving groups in an organizational setting. Statistical analyses provided partial support for the relationship between functional requisites and problem‐solving performance in an applied setting. Specifically, analysis of the problem, orientation/establishment of operating procedures, and evaluation of the positive consequences of alternatives were each found to have an independent main effect on the level of decision utility.     

Preempting Dissent: The Politics of an Inevitable Future,by Greg Elmer and Andy Opel

This paper discusses the role of television in the lives of the residents of a public shelter for homeless men in New York City. Participant observation and informal interviewing support a detailed account of the ways and means of television watching in two of the shelter's recreation rooms. It shows that, over and above what is actually on TV, television as a cultural object is used by certain groups of homeless individuals to reflect and reinforce status differences and social boundaries between them. This finding suggests that the consumption of culture, well understood as part of the process of social distinction among the middle and upper classes, can perform a similar role among those at the bottom of the social structure as well.     

An Innovative Use of Instant Messaging Technology to Support a Library's Single-Service Point

A library service model that provides reference and instructional services by summoning reference librarians from a single service point is described. The system utilizes Libraryh3lp, an open-source, multioperator instant messaging system. The selection and refinement of this solution and technical challenges encountered are explored, as is the design of public services around this technology, usage of the system, and best practices. This service model, while a major cultural and procedural change at first, is now a routine aspect of customer service for this library.     

Communicating Social Relationships via the Use of Photo-Messaging

The present study applied theories of diffusion, technology acceptance, and uses and gratifications via an exploratory model to explain the photo-messaging behavior of 682 college students. Structural equation modeling results indicate that greater photo-messaging activity within one's social network predicts personal relationship formation and relationship maintenance motives. Relationship maintenance motives had a stronger influence on behavioral intention to adopt photo-messaging than did relationship formation. Technology cluster ownership also predicts perceived ease of use for photo-messaging activity. The technology acceptance model (TAM) conceptualizations were generally supported for photo-messaging.     

The Influence of Computer-Mediated Communication Apprehension on Motives for Facebook Use

The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of computer-mediated communication apprehension on motives for using the interactive features on Facebook. An online survey was completed by 417 undergraduate students. Guided by uses and gratifications theory, communication apprehension in a computer-mediated context was found to be inversely related to interpersonal, self-expression, entertainment, and passing time motives for using Facebook. This study also investigated how Facebook motives predict the use of its interactive features. Interpersonal communication, self-expression, and entertainment motives all significantly predicted use of interactive features on Facebook.     

An Exploratory Study of Undergraduates’ Attitudes Toward Affirmative Action Policies for Asian Americans in College

This exploratory study examined white undergraduate students’ (a) racial attitudes towards Asian Americans, (b) principled policy attitudes toward affirmative action, and (c) self-interest in relation to their support for college-based affirmative action policies for Asian Americans at a Midwestern university. A sample (n = 264, 28% male, 72% female) of white undergraduate students from a mid-sized public university in the Midwest was surveyed. The findings indicate that white undergraduate women have significantly more favorable principled policy attitudes toward affirmative action in general and for an affirmative action college policy for Asians, in particular, than do undergraduate males. Implications for issues of equity and social justice are shared.