Communication Practices (communication + practice)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Comparisons of U.S. Government Communication Practices: Expanding the Government Communication Decision Wheel

COMMUNICATION THEORY, Issue 3 2010
J. Suzanne Horsley
Government communication is pervasive and has an impact on every aspect of American public life. However, there is minimal theory-driven research in this critical area of communication. This research explores comparisons of communication practices and the status of professional development among the four levels of U.S. government organizations through a survey of 781 government communicators. The study identifies six significant differences and two similarities in how the public sector environment affects communication practices at the city, county, state, and federal levels. The findings were applied to a modification of the government communication decision wheel, a model that offers a theoretical foundation for the study of government communication within its unique environmental context free from the bias of corporate-centric research assumptions. The findings contribute to communication theory development for the underresearched public sector. Comparaisons des pratiques de communication du gouvernement américain : pour développer la roue des décisions communicationnelles du gouvernement J. Suzanne Horsley, Brooke Fisher Liu, & Abbey Blake Levenshus La communication gouvernementale est omniprésente et affecte tous les aspects de la vie publique américaine. Néanmoins, il existe très peu de recherches guidées par la théorie dans ce domaine critique de la communication. Cette recherche explore des comparaisons dans les pratiques communicationnelles et le développement professionnel auprès de quatre niveaux gouvernementaux américains, par une enquête menée auprès de 781 agents de communication du gouvernement. L'étude identifie cinq différences importantes et trois similarités dans les façons par lesquelles le milieu du secteur public influence les pratiques de communication aux niveaux de la municipalité, du comté, de l'État et du pays. Les résultats ont été appliqués de façon à modifier la roue des décisions communicationnelles du gouvernement, un fondement théorique pour l'étude de la communication gouvernementale dans son milieu unique, sans les biais des hypothèses de recherche axées sur le secteur privé. Les résultats contribuent au développement des théories en communication à propos du secteur public, toujours sous-étudié. Vergleiche von Kommunikationspraktiken der US-Regierung: Eine Erweiterung des Kommunikationsentscheidungsrads der Regierung J. Suzanne Horsley, Brooke Fisher Liu, & Abbey Blake Levenshus Die Kommunikation der Regierung ist allgegenwärtig und berührt jeden Aspekt des Lebens der amerikanischen Öffentlichkeit. Dennoch gibt es wenig theoriebasierte Forschung in diesem zentralen Feld der Kommunikation. Diese Studie betrachtet Vergleiche der Kommunikationspraktiken und professionellen Entwicklung auf vier Ebenen der US-Regierung mittels einer Umfrage unter 781 Regierungskommunikatoren. Die Studie identifiziert fünf signifikante Unterschiede und drei ähnliche Aspekte, wie der öffentliche Sektor die Kommunikationspraktiken auf Stadt-, Landkreis-, Länder- und Bundesebene beeinflusst. Die Ergebnisse wurden zur Modifikation des Kommunikationsentscheidungsrads der Regierung herangezogen - eine theoretische Basis für die Untersuchung von Regierungskommunikation innerhalb ihres einzigartigen Kontextes und frei von Befangenheiten unternehmenszentristischer Forschungsannahmen. Die Ergebnisse tragen zur Entwicklung von Kommunikationstheorie im bislang unterbeleuchteten öffentlichen Sektor bei. Las Comparaciones de las Prácticas de Comunicación del Gobierno de los EE.UU.: Expandiendo la Comunicación de la Rueda de Decisión del Gobierno J. Suzanne Horsley, Brooke Fisher Liu, & Abbey Blake Levenshus Advertising and Public Relations, University of Alabama, 255 S Central Campus Dr., Room 2400, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA Resumen La comunicación del gobierno es dominante y toca cada aspecto de la vida pública Americana. No obstante, hay un mínimo de investigación dirigida por la teoría sobre esta área de comunicación crítica. Esta investigación explora las comparaciones de las prácticas de comunicación y el desarrollo profesional entre 4 niveles del gobierno de los EE.UU. mediante una encuesta de 781 comunicadores del gobierno. Este estudio identifica 5 diferencias significativas y 3 similitudes en cómo el sector público del medio ambiente afecta las prácticas de comunicación al nivel de la ciudad, el condado, el estado y el estado federal. Estos hallazgos fueron aplicados a modificación de la comunicación de la rueda de decisión del gobierno, una fundación teórica para el estudio de la comunicación del gobierno dentro de este contexto único del medio ambiente libre de las preconcepciones de las asunciones de la investigación centradas en las corporaciones. Los hallazgos contribuyen al desarrollo de la teoría de la comunicación para el sector público poco investigado. [source]


Communication practices of coaches during mediator training: Addressing issues of knowledge and enactment

CONFLICT RESOLUTION QUARTERLY, Issue 1 2009
Cindy H. White
The purpose of this study was to describe how coaches of mediators-in-training manage interaction in role-play sessions and help trainees learn about mediation practices. Using a qualitative, discourse analytic approach, we examined role-played mediation sessions where thirteen professional mediators each provided coaching to two pairs of student trainees who had completed training in interest-based mediation (for a total of twenty-six sessions). We argue that the techniques we observed at crucial moments in mediation training seemed designed to improve trainees' understanding of the mediation process but offered limited help in teaching trainees how to enact the communication practices that are essential to mediation. We consider how the demands of giving advice and assessing communication behavior affect what coaches say to trainees in these circumstances. [source]


Communication and Uncertainty Management

JOURNAL OF COMMUNICATION, Issue 3 2001
Dale E. Brashers
The fundamental challenge for refining theories of communication and uncertainty is to abandon the assumption that uncertainty will produce anxiety. To better explain processes of communication and uncertainty management, we must answer questions about (a) the experience and meaning of uncertainty, (b) the role of appraisal and emotion in uncertainty management, and (c) the range of behavioral and psychological responses to uncertainty. This paper outlines and extends a theory of uncertainty management and reviews current theory and research in this area. In addition to the theoretical advances promised by this perspective, the paper describes applications to health communication practice. The drive in disease prevention to reduce uncertainty about the state of health and illness has led to a "culture of chronic illness." Constant surveillance of people's health, combined with improved methods for screening and monitoring, virtually guarantee finding something wrong with every person, creating a society divided into the chronically ill and the worried well (i.e., those waiting to be diagnosed). [source]


Communication practices of coaches during mediator training: Addressing issues of knowledge and enactment

CONFLICT RESOLUTION QUARTERLY, Issue 1 2009
Cindy H. White
The purpose of this study was to describe how coaches of mediators-in-training manage interaction in role-play sessions and help trainees learn about mediation practices. Using a qualitative, discourse analytic approach, we examined role-played mediation sessions where thirteen professional mediators each provided coaching to two pairs of student trainees who had completed training in interest-based mediation (for a total of twenty-six sessions). We argue that the techniques we observed at crucial moments in mediation training seemed designed to improve trainees' understanding of the mediation process but offered limited help in teaching trainees how to enact the communication practices that are essential to mediation. We consider how the demands of giving advice and assessing communication behavior affect what coaches say to trainees in these circumstances. [source]


Transparency in government communication

JOURNAL OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, Issue 1 2007
Jenille Fairbanks
Basic to a successful democracy is the existence of a public informed about government actions. This requires government information to be open and accessible to the public. This study sought to understand how communicators in government value and practice transparency. Constant comparative thematic analysis of 18 semi-structured interviews of government communicators revealed a transparency model for government communication. This paper outlines that model and identifies practices and structures that promote transparent communication practices. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


Communication skills for the anaesthetist

ANAESTHESIA, Issue 6 2009
A. M. Cyna
Summary Anaesthetists have traditionally focused on technological and pharmacological advances when considering the provision of anaesthetic care. Anaesthetists are expected to be able to communicate effectively with peers, patients, their families and others in the medical community; however, few details are provided regarding how this might be achieved. Recent evidence suggests that communication practices should include a consideration of conscious and subconscious processes and responses. This model has potential relevance when learning and teaching how to communicate effectively in the stressful environment of anaesthetic clinical practice, and includes: reflective listening; observing; acceptance; utilisation; and suggestion. Understanding these processes could allow the development of a learnable framework for effective communication when the usual strategies are not working. This concept could also be used to facilitate communicating with surgeons and other colleagues, with potential benefits to patients. [source]


Comparisons of U.S. Government Communication Practices: Expanding the Government Communication Decision Wheel

COMMUNICATION THEORY, Issue 3 2010
J. Suzanne Horsley
Government communication is pervasive and has an impact on every aspect of American public life. However, there is minimal theory-driven research in this critical area of communication. This research explores comparisons of communication practices and the status of professional development among the four levels of U.S. government organizations through a survey of 781 government communicators. The study identifies six significant differences and two similarities in how the public sector environment affects communication practices at the city, county, state, and federal levels. The findings were applied to a modification of the government communication decision wheel, a model that offers a theoretical foundation for the study of government communication within its unique environmental context free from the bias of corporate-centric research assumptions. The findings contribute to communication theory development for the underresearched public sector. Comparaisons des pratiques de communication du gouvernement américain : pour développer la roue des décisions communicationnelles du gouvernement J. Suzanne Horsley, Brooke Fisher Liu, & Abbey Blake Levenshus La communication gouvernementale est omniprésente et affecte tous les aspects de la vie publique américaine. Néanmoins, il existe très peu de recherches guidées par la théorie dans ce domaine critique de la communication. Cette recherche explore des comparaisons dans les pratiques communicationnelles et le développement professionnel auprès de quatre niveaux gouvernementaux américains, par une enquête menée auprès de 781 agents de communication du gouvernement. L'étude identifie cinq différences importantes et trois similarités dans les façons par lesquelles le milieu du secteur public influence les pratiques de communication aux niveaux de la municipalité, du comté, de l'État et du pays. Les résultats ont été appliqués de façon à modifier la roue des décisions communicationnelles du gouvernement, un fondement théorique pour l'étude de la communication gouvernementale dans son milieu unique, sans les biais des hypothèses de recherche axées sur le secteur privé. Les résultats contribuent au développement des théories en communication à propos du secteur public, toujours sous-étudié. Vergleiche von Kommunikationspraktiken der US-Regierung: Eine Erweiterung des Kommunikationsentscheidungsrads der Regierung J. Suzanne Horsley, Brooke Fisher Liu, & Abbey Blake Levenshus Die Kommunikation der Regierung ist allgegenwärtig und berührt jeden Aspekt des Lebens der amerikanischen Öffentlichkeit. Dennoch gibt es wenig theoriebasierte Forschung in diesem zentralen Feld der Kommunikation. Diese Studie betrachtet Vergleiche der Kommunikationspraktiken und professionellen Entwicklung auf vier Ebenen der US-Regierung mittels einer Umfrage unter 781 Regierungskommunikatoren. Die Studie identifiziert fünf signifikante Unterschiede und drei ähnliche Aspekte, wie der öffentliche Sektor die Kommunikationspraktiken auf Stadt-, Landkreis-, Länder- und Bundesebene beeinflusst. Die Ergebnisse wurden zur Modifikation des Kommunikationsentscheidungsrads der Regierung herangezogen - eine theoretische Basis für die Untersuchung von Regierungskommunikation innerhalb ihres einzigartigen Kontextes und frei von Befangenheiten unternehmenszentristischer Forschungsannahmen. Die Ergebnisse tragen zur Entwicklung von Kommunikationstheorie im bislang unterbeleuchteten öffentlichen Sektor bei. Las Comparaciones de las Prácticas de Comunicación del Gobierno de los EE.UU.: Expandiendo la Comunicación de la Rueda de Decisión del Gobierno J. Suzanne Horsley, Brooke Fisher Liu, & Abbey Blake Levenshus Advertising and Public Relations, University of Alabama, 255 S Central Campus Dr., Room 2400, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA Resumen La comunicación del gobierno es dominante y toca cada aspecto de la vida pública Americana. No obstante, hay un mínimo de investigación dirigida por la teoría sobre esta área de comunicación crítica. Esta investigación explora las comparaciones de las prácticas de comunicación y el desarrollo profesional entre 4 niveles del gobierno de los EE.UU. mediante una encuesta de 781 comunicadores del gobierno. Este estudio identifica 5 diferencias significativas y 3 similitudes en cómo el sector público del medio ambiente afecta las prácticas de comunicación al nivel de la ciudad, el condado, el estado y el estado federal. Estos hallazgos fueron aplicados a modificación de la comunicación de la rueda de decisión del gobierno, una fundación teórica para el estudio de la comunicación del gobierno dentro de este contexto único del medio ambiente libre de las preconcepciones de las asunciones de la investigación centradas en las corporaciones. Los hallazgos contribuyen al desarrollo de la teoría de la comunicación para el sector público poco investigado. [source]


Ritualized Transmission of Social Norms Through Wedding Photography

COMMUNICATION THEORY, Issue 1 2006
Michele M. Strano
This article explores the applicability of ritual theory to social norms research. Wedding photography is used as a test case to demonstrate how gender norms are perpetuated and resisted through ritualized communication practices. The author concludes that looking at social norms transmission through the lens of ritual performance brings to light three theoretical approaches that might be usefully applied to future social norms research. First, the transmission of social norms may be perpetuated and contested through the conventions associated with ritualized communication performances, rather than through the simple communication of information from one person to another. Second, since ritual performance allows or requires a degree of distancing from the ideal, individuals may resist or play with notions of injunctive norms, perhaps embracing opposing descriptive norms. Finally, since ritual communication is performative, evidence of compliance with social norms may occur symbolically rather than literally. [source]