An Examination of How People in Romantic Relationships Use Communication to Manage Financial Uncertainty

Money is critical for financial and relational well-being, yet financial communication is often considered taboo, and most Americans receive little financial guidance. Not surprisingly, romantic couples experience financial uncertainty, which has been negatively correlated with satisfaction and trust. Through in-depth, semi-structured interviews of 40 individuals in married or cohabitating relationships and the lens of Uncertainty Management Theory (UMT), this investigation examines how people are (un)able to manage financial uncertainty. The study uncovers tangible ways individuals can negotiate financial uncertainty via uncertainty reduction, maintenance, and adaption, as well as information, communication, time-management, and/or sociocultural barriers that can impede uncertainty management. The investigation suggests the extension of UMT to consider the role of the dyad and offers practical implications for financial literacy and communication efforts.     

Uses of information and communication technologies in HIV self-management: A systematic review of global literature

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has been applied increasingly in supporting human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) prevention and treatment. The technological advances have extended to the field of HIV self-management. The objectives of this paper are to examine the design and use of ICTs in HIV self-management programs, to identify the knowledge gaps in existing practice, and to provide recommendations for future research and program development. A systematic review was conducted to search all English literature published prior to August 2016 in six electronic databases. The inclusion criteria also included either quantitative or qualitative assessments of HIV self-management programs that utilized at least one ICT platform in the program protocol. The search identified six studies conducted in Australia and the United States. The studies were diverse in sample size and enrollment criteria of study population. The major functionalities of ICT platforms (mobile phones and websites) included delivering information modules, sending medication reminders, supporting self-monitoring for medical adherence and risk behavior reduction, enhancing communication among participants, and providing easy access to HIV self-management information. The major challenges faced by self-management programs utilizing ICTs were lack of interaction and concern of privacy. The HIV self-management programs that employed ICT platforms were limited in number and geographic coverage. Most of the programs were also tested at an initial stage with small size samples and minimum technical innovation. The lack of explicit guiding theories and models on information behavior or technology use was observed in all studies. Use of ICTs in HIV self-management interventions is an emerging field. Future research would benefit from paying more attention to technical innovation and interactive features in applying ICT platform in self-management programs. The ICTs platforms, with increasing innovation in connecting people and places, can serve as a powerful tool to reduce the disparities in health care and health promotion. Future research is also needed to explore the feasibility of applying ICT platforms in self-management programs that serving populations from diverse socioeconomic background and in resource-poor settings.     

Eliciting a thousand words: A case for photo-elicitation in interpersonal communication research

The current paper argues photo-elicitation is a valuable and worthwhile method of analysis that ought to be utilized in interpersonal communication research. First, three approaches to photo-elicitation are detailed and discussed. Next, arguments as to why photo-elicitation is a viable methodological tool for the interpersonal communication discipline, interpersonal communication researchers, and participants is presented. Lastly, how photo-elicitation may be incorporated into interpersonal communication research via photo-elicitation procedures, data analysis, and the presentation of results is articulated.     

基于调度通信平台的煤矿广播系统解决方案

本文主要介绍一款基于调度通信平台的KT242矿用广播系统。系统利用调度通信平台,不仅能实现广播功能,还具有全双工通话和区域对讲等功能;并且可以在广播和通话两种不同的工作状态间任意切换,实现系统间的联动响应。     

Facebook as a Communication Tool for an Academic Library: East West University Library,Bangladesh Perspective

The primary objectives of this research article are to explore the concept of communication tools using Facebook, and to evaluate the performance of the East West University (EWU) Library Facebook page as a communication tool. The EWU Library Facebook page uses a variety of strategies and techniques to engage with its patrons. The author's intention is to examine this library Facebook page, which is explored using a case study method. This article also focuses on how Facebook facilitates collaborations between the library and the patron's community, as well as the implications for academic libraries in the future. This case study reviews the literature on the use of social networking while focusing on Facebook as a communication tool and engaging libraries in social networking. The article emphasizes the author's experience of working in an academic library to identify the main trends in providing services based on posting various topics through the Facebook page of the EWU Library, Bangladesh. The numerous issues in adapting Facebook as a communication tool and an exploration of the opportunity and drawbacks of the use of the Facebook application in academic libraries are also discussed.     

Money as Relational Struggle: Communicatively Negotiating Cultural Discourses in Romantic Relationships

Using the lens of Relational Dialectics Theory, this study sought to uncover how competing U.S. cultural financial discourses are negotiated in people’s everyday conversations with their romantic partner. The investigation uncovered that in multiple and varied ways, participants understood money to be a major source of tension in their romantic relationships. One overarching discursive struggle animated participants’ financial talk with their partners: “money is everything” versus “money isn’t everything.” Within this struggle, participants communicatively negotiated the cultural value of money in an attempt to marginalize its power and potential negative influences on relational and economic well-being. Although money is critical in helping people meet their basic needs, this study suggests that deemphasizing the importance of money as all-consuming and omnipotent has the potential to alter couples’ financial and relational well-being.     

Comparing social media use,discussion, political trust and political engagement among university students in China and Hong Kong: an application of the O–S–R–O–R model

Adopting the Orientation–Stimuli–Reasoning–Orientation–Response (O–S–R–O–R) model of political communication effects, this study examines the mediating roles of online/offline political discussion and political trust on the relationship between social media information seeking and online/offline political participation in China and Hong Kong. Findings through structural equation modeling showed that the relationship between information seeking and online participation was mediated by online discussion for both samples. Moreover, the relationship between information seeking and offline participation was mediated by offline discussion, and offline discussion mediated the relationship between information seeking and online participation. Political trust did not mediate any of the relationships in China and Hong Kong and all significant paths involving political trust were negative. Implications of the findings for youth political participation in China and Hong Kong are discussed.     

言语交际中模糊语浅议

模糊语作为交际的一种常见现象,是交际者在交际活动的示意和释义过程中出现的种种不确定性的总称。既然在言语交际中说话人很少有言谈追求刻意,那么基于语用学的角度,从说话人表达和受话者理解层面分析言语交际中的模糊语现象,指出模糊语可以使言语交际中的话语更加得体、合适,有其积极作用。     

试论伊朗“Twitter革命”中社会媒体的政治传播功能

本文试图通过伊朗Twitter革命的个案研究,来观察和分析社会媒体在国家危机中发挥的政治传播功能与效用,特别是在发达国家具有先发技术优势的背景下,社会媒体与国际政治力量结合对发展中国家可能产生的消极影响。     

奥运赛事在大众传播中传播模式的研究

体育活动本身就是传播活动,奥运赛事更是最广泛的体育文化传播形式,通过对奥运赛事在大众传播中的传播模式的研究可以对奥运赛事进行直观简洁的描述。借助传播学上的模式论对于奥运赛事在大众传播中的传播过程进行研究,掌握对现实性有指导作用的模式有助于正确认识奥运赛事的传播现象,并具有巨大的启发作用。