Abstract of the research: What does Dancing Have to Do with Blogging? A  Study of Verbal and Non-verbal Communication among Dance Bloggers Dance, in its essence can be seen as a form of social interaction. Unique role of dancing is the recurrent motif in dance-related theories which underline that dance should not be approached only from the perspective of physical exercise but also interpreted within its social context.  In other words, dance is a symbol of a changing society Dance is can be also seen as a non-verbal expression of emotions. These are projected from the inner subjective world of an individual onto the audience. Non-verbal communication through movement and gestures, as well as spatial arrangement of bodies predominates but the recent trends show the development of a ‘verbal’ dancing occurring online via specialized blogs and social networks. The growing popularity of dance blogs implies a great diversity within the communicative methods used by dancers. The traditional view of dance as a representative of non-verbal interaction will be challenged in this paper and hypothesis stating that the verbal and non-verbal communication are strictly interrelated will be suggested. Moreover, the paper will concentrate on the impact that online blogging communities have on socialization and identity formation among dancers. The research question revolves around the idea that dance blogging demonstrates the need to use verbal signs to complete the predominantly non-verbal communication. Furthermore, the reasons motivating bloggers to write about dance will be analyzed. This will be done in order to demonstrate how attitudes to dancing and communicating as well as dancers’ distinctive ways of socialization are reflected by their belongingness to the blogging community. The investigation attempts at identifying the mechanism behind online interactions among dancers and the ways in which the Internet influences socialization and formation of dancer’s identity. The theories used in study are rooted in both macro- and micro-sociology and their aim is to clarify concepts such as communication, meaning and identification within a group. The data will be collected through interviews conducted with dance bloggers and through the observations of thirty dance blogs. Content analysis of such data will, hopefully, demonstrate how significant blogging is for the online and offline communication processes.

The purpose of this study was to analyze the effects of audience response systems on the secondary classroom. High school students (n=61) participated in one of three groups: (1) a control group, which heard traditional lectures with verbal questions only, (2) a clicker group, which had questions displayed and used clickers to answer, and (3) a questions only group, which had questions displayed but used slips of paper to answer the question. ANOVA was used to analyze various sources of data, including: test scores, post-test scores, and others, and it was found that there was no statistical difference between the control and two treatment groups. A focus group (n=4) was held to gather qualitative data. Students in the focus group indicated that they enjoyed using clickers for various reasons. Focus group participants indicated that clickers allowed for increased interaction between students and teacher and between students, the graphs allowed students to understand how they performed compared to the class, and gave opportunities for competition. More data needs to be collected on the use of clickers and how the discussion they foster might lead to increased learning. / text

Facial expression has been used as a measure of pain in clinical and experimental studies. The Sociocommunications Model of Pain (T. Hadjistavropoulos, K. Craig, & S. Fuchs-Lacelle, 2004) characterizes facial movements during pain as both expressions of inner experience and communications to other people that must be considered in the social contexts in which they occur. While research demonstrates that specific facial movements may be outward manifestations of pain states, less attention has been paid to the extent to which contextual factors influence facial movements during pain. Experimenters are an inevitable feature of research studies on facial expression during pain and study of their social impact is merited. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of experimenter presence on participants’ facial expressions during pain. Healthy young adults (60 males, 60 females) underwent painful stimulation induced by a cold pressor in three social contexts: alone; alone with knowledge of an experimenter watching through a one-way mirror; and face-to-face with an experimenter. Participants provided verbal self-report ratings of pain. Facial behaviours during pain were coded with the Facial Action Coding System (P. Ekman, W. Friesen, & J. Hager, 2002) and rated by naïve judges. Participants’ facial expressions of pain varied with the context of the pain experience condition but not with verbally self-reported levels of pain. Participants who were alone were more likely to display facial actions typically associated with pain than participants who were being observed by an experimenter who was in another room or sitting across from them. Naïve judges appeared to be influenced by these facial expressions as, on average, they rated the participants who were alone as experiencing more pain than those who were observed. Facial expressions shown by people experiencing pain can communicate the fact that they are feeling pain. However, facial expressions can be influenced by factors in the social context such as the presence of an experimenter. The results suggest that facial expressions during pain made by adults should be viewed at least in part as communications, subject to intrapersonal and interpersonal influences, rather than direct read-outs of experience.

This thesis explores the nature of communication in television documentary, based on an investigation of production, reception and their interrelationship. It assumes that social context is fundamental to an understanding of mass communication. Doise's (1986) levels of analysis (intrapersonal; interpersonal/situational; positional; cultural/ideological) provide the framework for conceptualizing social context. Audience reception research, which appreciates viewers' active role in reception and influence on production, inspires the qualitative approach. Whilst these premises challenge a traditional transmission approach to mass communication, the thesis argues against simultaneously rejecting the concept of information transmission. The thesis is located within a ritual approach to communication (Carey, 1989), exploring the potential for information transmission by extending this approach to situational and positional levels. As a distinctive information genre, the television documentary is perfect for investigating transmission. In this endeavour, the thesis explores the assumptions of both broadcasters and audiences concerning the function, structure and content of documentary communication. The methodological structure comprises three qualitative studies - production context, reception context and a case study. The production study involves twenty one interviews with television documentary broadcasters and establishes two intersecting dimensions embracing their perspectives. The reception study includes eight focus group discussions, and finds documentary expectations differing by socio-economic status and gender. These studies provide the context for analysing the nature of communication in one documentary programme, "Parental Choice", comparing a producer interview with four audience focus group discussions. The results highlight a lack of awareness amongst broadcasters of the varying genre-specific criteria used by documentary audiences in programme interpretation. Information transmission is possible if viewers accept a documentary's credibility. However, perceptions of credibility vary at the situational and positional levels, thus transmission is limited and ritually-based. The emerging nature of documentary communication contributes to academic debate on mass communication, audience research and the television documentary genre.

Ned Ward’s monthly The London Spy (1698–1700) maps the life and character of London and exposes “the Vanities and Vices of the Town” (2). Written after the lapse of the Licensing Act in 1694, the work also exemplifies new freedoms of the press that flourished when pre-publication censorship was no longer enforced: The London Spy is unabashedly scandalous, and frequently critical of public institutions and the state. Ward profited from the public’s interest in his always irreverent, frequently indecorous and salacious tales. However, he aims to be critical and insightful as well as superficial and shallow in The London Spy; by capitalizing on the differences between his two characters, the Spy and his Friend, Ward vilifies “Vice and Villany,” with one hand while satisfying a voyeuristic appetite for the prurient and scatological with the other. This study examines how the two perspectives of The London Spy, the Spy and his Friend, work together within a highly fragmented and contradictory framework in order to show how Ward attempts to please both the unrefined reader looking for salacious material and, occasionally, the more discerning reader who understands the underlying problems and appreciates satire. Ward uses two differences between the Spy and his Friend to negotiate the balance between these two perspectives. First, The Spy is a naive and ignorant spectator and tourist, while the Friend is a cynical and experienced guide. The second difference is that the Spy is curious and at times compassionate where the Friend is diagnostic in his approach and unaffected on a personal level by the troubles of other people. The Spy and his Friend also distance themselves from the crowds and spectators they encounter, acting as observers or “spies.” The two perspectives of The London Spy are central to Ward’s negotiation between voyeuristic and knowing audiences.

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Facial expression has been used as a measure of pain in clinical and experimental studies. The Sociocommunications Model of Pain (T. Hadjistavropoulos, K. Craig, & S. Fuchs-Lacelle, 2004) characterizes facial movements during pain as both expressions of inner experience and communications to other people that must be considered in the social contexts in which they occur. While research demonstrates that specific facial movements may be outward manifestations of pain states, less attention has been paid to the extent to which contextual factors influence facial movements during pain. Experimenters are an inevitable feature of research studies on facial expression during pain and study of their social impact is merited. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of experimenter presence on participants’ facial expressions during pain. Healthy young adults (60 males, 60 females) underwent painful stimulation induced by a cold pressor in three social contexts: alone; alone with knowledge of an experimenter watching through a one-way mirror; and face-to-face with an experimenter. Participants provided verbal self-report ratings of pain. Facial behaviours during pain were coded with the Facial Action Coding System (P. Ekman, W. Friesen, & J. Hager, 2002) and rated by naïve judges. Participants’ facial expressions of pain varied with the context of the pain experience condition but not with verbally self-reported levels of pain. Participants who were alone were more likely to display facial actions typically associated with pain than participants who were being observed by an experimenter who was in another room or sitting across from them. Naïve judges appeared to be influenced by these facial expressions as, on average, they rated the participants who were alone as experiencing more pain than those who were observed. Facial expressions shown by people experiencing pain can communicate the fact that they are feeling pain. However, facial expressions can be influenced by factors in the social context such as the presence of an experimenter. The results suggest that facial expressions during pain made by adults should be viewed at least in part as communications, subject to intrapersonal and interpersonal influences, rather than direct read-outs of experience.

With the general global decline in the popularity and profitability of traditional orchestras, ways to build new audiences, develop new repertoires and create new networks and business partnerships are being explored. The aim of this thesis is to analyse the various elements of a proposed Orchestral Sustainability Framework and determine if and how these elements contribute to an increased audience connection with the music performance experience. Three main elements are explored in this Orchestral Sustainability Framework: 1. Social aspects of audience connection such as performer/audience interaction and ways of emotional engagement 2. Artistic aspects of audience connection such as the impact of poly-stylistic genres, blend of instruments and sounds and the importance of inter-sensory perception using visuals, theatre and music 3. Economic aspects of audience connection such as networking with business partnerships, impact of branding and marketing and the importance of distribution channels Audience reactions are central to this approach. Audiences from a variety of existing orchestral models have been researched through case studies, interviews, surveys, focus groups and participant observation. An orchestra, formed specifically for this project, performed to selected audiences and at the Brisbane Festival of Arts in 2006 and is now achieving commercialisation. The style of this orchestra is characterised by audience and performer interactivity, theatrical staging, visuals, spontaneity and less formality. Research has been conducted on this orchestral model, with contributions from the musicians, directors, producers, promoters and audiences. The research hypothesis proposes that a greater connectivity with the audience results in a more sustainable product, where sustainability is indicated by the orchestras’ ability to generate a sufficient amount of box office revenue and sponsorship. A variety of different models are considered which demonstrate orchestras that can achieve their mission of satisfying their audience, while being financial viable. The findings from the literature and the case studies clearly demonstrate the importance of many elements in the sustainability framework to achieve a greater level of audience connection with the orchestra.

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